Revisiting my projected playoff bracket after four weeks, it looked like this:
- Jedi Knights
- Sacramento Wolfpack
- Uur UPS
- Gandalf the Goat
- Philippines Garbage Dumps
- Cloud 9
- Da Moon’s Huge Craters
Making some adjustments based on Weeks 5-8, I would now adjust my end of season projected playoff bracket to look like this:
- Philippines Garbage Dumps
- Jedi Knights
- Uur UPS
- Moore on the Run
- Da Moon’s Huge Craters
- Cloud 9
- Sacramento Wolfpack
FFC West
The Garbage Dumps have their strongest roster in over a decade and look every part of dominant. My earlier concerns in Week 4 were a top heavy roster which would go up in flames if one of their top stars got injured, but in reality their roster has been strengthened and looks much deeper than four weeks ago. The emergence of Oronde Gadsen has basically erased the role of Quentin Johnston and provided a stud WR/TE option that is startable rest of season. The return of Aaron Jones from injury and a stashed Jauan Jennings provide solid flex options. This team and the next team I’m going to talk about stand head and shoulders above the rest of the field right now as early favorites.
While I initially projected the Wolfpack to win the division with a stronger bench, they have been hurt by the Puka Nacua injury and dud performances from Kenneth Walker and Ashton Jeanty for different reasons. Walker’s fantasy value comes in between the 20 yard lines but he loses a lot of touchdown equity in the redzone. Jeanty is handcuffed to a terrible offense and has to rely on explosive big plays to return his first round value. The shining bright star on the Wolfpack has been second year QB Drake Maye, who is ranked QB2 on the season and has finished inside the top 10 six out eight games so far.
FFC North
The Jedi Knights are currently tied for the division lead in the FFC North, losing the head to head tiebreaker 1-0 against the Pool of the Dead. With a rematch coming in the last two weeks of the regular season, the Jedi Knights at least have an opportunity to control their own destiny and leapfrog the Pool for the division lead. Roster wise, this team is unbelievable and stacked silly across the board. Managing the QB situation has been great so far and all the studs have performed admirably including their mid season acquisition Ladd McConkey who looks like a new man (who now catches touchdowns). The Jedi Knights are on a historic scoring pace as the only team to average over 100 fantasy points a game right now. This and PGD are my two favorite rosters right now.
The current division leader Pool of the Dead is hanging onto the head to head tiebreaker over the Jedi Knights but lags behind in points scored by almost 200. That doesn’t bode well for future matchups and why I (possibly stupidly) have a 5-3 team out of the projected top 7 playoff picture. It’s notable to mention that Brock Bowers and Garrett Wilson have both missed significant time which, yet this team has overcome at 5-3. This exercise is just for how I see roster strength going forward and it’s impossible to factor in matchup luck and points against.
At 4-4, Cloud 9 is getting a major stimulus package for the rest of the season: a returning Lamar Jackson. Jackson lifts the ceiling so high on this team taking it from a two story house to a skyscraper. This is the edge that I am projecting for Cloud 9 to leapfrog Pool of the Dead and re enter the playoff picture.
FFC South
My projected FFC South winner I am standing pat on with Uur UPS as having the best roster in the South with a slight edge over the Craters. I’ve mentioned how much I like this team in the past and players like Tyler Warren and RJ Harvey only getting better as the season progresses. Harvey’s breakout game in Week 8 saw three touchdowns and his versatility as a pass catcher come into effect: something we can possibly see in spot starts as a solid RB3 option going forward. While I have the PGD and Jedi Knights as a 1A and 1B, this team is a half step behind at the #3 spot.
The Craters have led the division all season long. While they split the season series 1-1 between Craters and UPS, UPS has a massive point lead in points scored by nearly 140 fantasy points which is why I have them projected to win the division. The Craters have built a lot of great equity in the early part of the season with a 3-1 divisional record which will keep them in the wildcard conversation as long as possible and are projected to be the 5 seed. Baker Mayfield is coming off the worst game of his season but has played like an MVP candidate and James Cook has turned into his brother Dalvin Cook during his elite fantasy years. Zay Flowers will also get a nice upgrade at quarterback with a healthy Lamar Jackson returning.
At 4-4 the other team in contention in this division is the Doctor. The injury to Skatteboo will be difficult until this team can return a healthy Omarion Hampton who looked elite in his two games as a feature back. Depending on his timetable for recovery, this team could be getting thin at RB when it was a position of strength earlier in the season. The doctor is awaiting heavy reinforcements at the receiver position as they expect Nico Collins and Emeka Egbuka to return to bolster the receiver position.
FFC East
Moore on the Run ripped off an impressive early season start going 6-2 and gained an additional game over Gandalf after they dropped two games in a row. This division appears to be a two horse race and while I thought Gandalf had the better roster initially, Moore on the Run has done nothing but win games while navigating some key injuries. The return of Ceedee Lamb is a huge addition for the second half of the season but the in and out status of Jayden Daniels with his second injury of the season has made the QB situation murky when it should have been locked down as elite. While I touted Swift as a draft steal, his workload has been getting cut into by rookie Kyle Monangai and Alvin Kamara has begun ceding work to Devin Neal. I think this team has some flaws and there is a big dropoff after my #3 in the projected playoff bracket. Despite all that, having a two game lead with one game left against Gandalf the Goat should be enough cushion to win this division once Daniels returns healthy.
Gandalf has been in a slump, but still has some quality pieces and may be a contender in the trade market. Breece Hall has quietly snuck into the top 15 RB rankings after a showcase game with 147 yards and 2 touchdowns. Having security and workload at the RB position with Jacobs and Hall provide a great floor for this team, but they find themselves severely limited at the receiver position. This team has basically gone all in on the Packers offense (passing and rushing) which could be great on certain weeks but provides a limited upside depending on the gamescript. This roster is a little bit weaker than Moore on the Run and while I initially projected them ahead, I have them now battling for a wildcard spot from outside the top 7.
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