2023 Power Rankings - Week 9 - a podcast by LOC Films

 Hello and welcome back to power rankings corner, not to be confused with debate corner - opposite side of the room, no John Bercow’ here. Anyway - it’s the commish back again bringing you this weeks edition! I’m as surprised as you are, but our resident EDOTLOCCA has been frightfully busy of late, so I’ll be doing it again for at least the next few weeks. Apologies for the gap since the last article too, I’ve been a tad unwell. But anyway, let’s get to it!

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12. Forge Flyers (2-6) - down 2: not to stick the knife in, but to be honest Chris would probably scold me himself if I didn’t put him here. To echo his analysis yesterday, the cupboard is just bare right now. QB injuries and players that have just disappointed have curtailed Forge Flyers 2023 season. The vast number of points on the bench certainly haven’t helped either, but to be fair Chris is also in the top half of the league in points against. Henry is the only reliable weapon this team has. I think a freed, gun slinging GM Leach could make this team a bit of a berserker down the stretch though. 

11. Buccing The Trend (1-7) - No change: HE’S DONE IT! THE MONKEY IS OFF HIS BACK! Congrats to Coach Taylor for notching his first, long overdue, win of the season. Conceding by far the highest points of any team on the season, the road has been rough and this team is better than the record - but equally their 7th highest points forward ranking is quite generous, as there’s a wide mark between them and 6th place, and they’re far closer to 12th than they are first. Scanning down the roster there is certainly a chance of a second half surge with a mostly healthy Barkley and a should be freed Jacobs, to go with lynch pin Tua. Behind that however is a fairly thin and inconsistent roster - but one that can turn up on its day. 

10. IKSAN (4-4) - down 9: A 9 place drop is pretty meteoric, but it would have been more gradual if not for the wide gap between articles. A lot of my high ranking on this team was predicated on them getting healthy and play of certain players improving. The health aspect has come to fruition, but not only have struggling players not turned a corner, those players who have now returned are seemingly taking solidarity with the struggling players. Jones, Watson, Mattison just haven’t been firing - to make matters worse Mahomes is also in a funk, Ekeler has shown signs of getting going but hasn’t been overly reliable himself, and Evans, Kirk, Sutton and Meyers have been inconsistent. You could absolutely see them become World beaters, but this team just isn’t clicking at the moment.

9. Thomas& Friends (2-6) - up 3: TE FC is a sneaky good team, but the upside is just capped - especially without an elite QB. JT, Swift’s boyfriend, Diggs and Mandrews is a rock solid core, and they have complementary pieces to go alongside them. Look, the reliance on TEs means the ceiling isn’t as high as other teams, but we see enough low scores in a given week that this team should be able to pick up wins as they should have a fairly steady floor. They could do with filling their last vacant bench spot however.

8. U R Gould (6-2) - No change: a very nice score last week and an impressive record to boot, but they are still massively benefiting from conceding points at a very low clip. The roster is good not great, with AJ Brown being the only real reliable star they have, with a handful of guys chipping in here and there. They’ve been good at the QB streamers of late and fields could be back sooner rather than later. Ultimately they’re in a good position and you can easily see a scenario where they end up in a playoff berth - but much of that is thanks to what has already passed;

7. Tom’s Tyrants (3-5) - up 2: I have no idea what to do with this team, so the 7th spot feels fitting. One week they’re up, the next they’re down. The team on paper is honestly pretty star studded, between Kupp, Burrow and Allen - and they have solid serviceable guys like London, Thielen, Wilson and Robinson. I’m not sure what Cook is at this point, and playoff Lenny could suggest the Bills think the same. Ultimately this team will win some and lose some down the stretch - so yeah, guess 7th is right after all. 

6. Patistan (6-2) - down 2: this teams slight slide is more due to other teams jumping up as opposed to them falling back. From a skill position perspective this team is deep, but I would say not overly top heavy. That however means a steady flow of points with the ability to play matchups. QB is serviceable, so this is an all around pretty good team. Like U R Gould, this team has definitely benefitted from generous opposition with a low points against, as there are teams higher on this list which I think it’s fair to say are better but have worse records.

5. Burdettinators (5-3) - No change: Zombie FC has done a remarkable job to hold a wining record to this point given all the key injuries incurred, and for the first time this season has lost poll position in the division. They’re still very much in contention for the division however, as some good later draft picks and waiver moves have kept the cupboard just about stocked enough to compete. No, they’re not as deep or as strong as some others on this list, but this team can go toe to toe with any team in the league and have a good shot at coming out on top. 

4. Bear Necessities (3-5) - down 1: currently owners of the longest active losing streak in the league after Buccing The Trend’s win, the team on a 4 game slide comes in at 4. After starting 3-1 it’s been a lacklustre month, capitalised by a Coach not paying as much attention to the the team, which has probably contributed but isn’t entirely to blame. Still, this is a strong and dependable team. It’s not flashy like a Lamborghini or Ferrari, but it’s robust and reliable, like a RAM or a Ford Tundra. I don’t really know how better to analyse this team than that, so I’m just gonna leave it there.

3. Great Scott (6-2) - up 4: the 2nd biggest riser on this list and for good reason, as they currently possess a 5 game winning streak (longest active) and are the number 1 overall seed. I liked this team before but they’ve certainly kicked in to another gear of late with Chase speeding up, a savvy add of Foreman, and Gibbs being featured with Montgomery on the shelf. Some other solid options on the team and another smart add of Hubbard adds to the overall squad, a nice job so far by the rookie coach and GM. However, QB isn’t a strong point and Gibbs will take a step back with Monty’s return. Achane will return, but that perhaps muddies the waters again. Overall though this is a very good team primed for a good stretch run and a playoff appearance.

2. Gridiron Gang (5-3) - No change: Still at 2, and the reason is the same as before - lack of depth. At full strength this team would lay a strong claim to the best starting lineup in the league - but the bench is not overly inspiring. My penchant is picking through the trash heap and finding short term options (of which I’ve done so), but if this team suffers any serious injury to a key player it could dramatically change the outlook. They have had back to back wins despite being down Montgomery, and were a mere few points away from keeping their 80 point weekly score streak alive. Currently the leagues highest scoring team, if I keep picking right and continue to get points in the lineup over the bench this team should plough on. 

1. The Dream Team (5-3) - up 5: the biggest riser on the list and only one of 2 teams to be over 800 points, Coach Nathwani has potentially the most stereotypical version of his team ever. Herbert, hill, hall and Etienne ooze the flashy, blow up potential that Viv loves. Guys like Lamb, Davis, McLaurin don’t possess the same upside as the aforementioned, but are definitely cut from the same cloth. Even bottom of the roster guys like Wareen, Jeudy and Palmer could arguably be starters on other teams in the league, but are relegated to mere depth for this team. They’re not first in the division at the moment, but it’s hard to envision a scenario where this team isn’t in the playoffs, and perhaps the same can be said for Corona Bowl XV.

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