A brutal week for us as we fall 0-3 to 24-21. QB Sullivan came out swinging for ELP and the Vampires simply weren't prepared for a resurgent WR Corey Baxter. Hartford's offensive line wasn't ready for DE Anagnostis who kept chasing QB Barker all day. And finally... SAO missed an opportunity to punch their ticket on a 3rd and long late in the 4th quarter. Their defense had played well but ran out of gas trying to cover WR Wojdylo and Hartsock that WR Feigenbaum and TE Davison found some wiggle room.

Week 17 is upon us and there are quite a few prizes up for grabs. Shreveport and San Antonio are fighting for the division. Brooklyn and Kansas City are looking for a first round bye. Miami, El Paso, and Fargo, and Atlanta are fighting for two spots with Boise City and Seattle in with a tiny chance. I think there's some value here...

Miami at Fargo (-4) - Both coaches have a simple message to their teams this week: "Just win, baby." Should either team lose this week, they are almost certainly out of the playoffs. A win gives them the division crown (pending tie-breakers for MIA and ELP, if they both win).

The earlier matchup in week 8 could've gone either way-- turnovers and penalties were too much for the Sodbusters to overcome but they crested 500 offensive yards and reached the red zone 7 times. Fargo continues to be an explosive offense but turnovers and missed opportunities place them in the middle of the pack with respect to scoring efficiency. The defending champs have all the talent in the world but a little regression was to be expected.

Miami is coming off an impressive win against KCY where they completely neutered the Storm's aerial barrage. WR Padron was the only one to find any meaningful yardage while the usual suspects in WR Elder and TE Dial combined for under 50 yards. DE Nichols made his return from concussion protocol and wreaked absolute havoc on the KCY offensive line. It was an outstanding showing and could be the performance they need to seal the deal this week.

Both teams are now healthy going into this matchup and while the betting public is throwing money on the Sodbusters, there are some large bets on the Talons to upset. As impressive as Miami has been, I don't think they'll be able to repeat their week 8 showing. The Sodbusters know what's at stake here and should protect the ball just a little bit better. The game might be close but Fargo's offense should distance themselves over four quarters: FAR wins 36-27.

San Antonio at New Orleans (-4) - The Stingers have had some bad luck recently but they're in with a chance. A win against NOS and a SHR loss at TEN puts a playoff berth on QB Logan's short resume. Can they win against a (consensus) more talented roster though?

The Voodoos lost their way in the middle of the season and find themselves out of the playoff race but as of this writing have not shut down QB Fryday or their other young assets. That may change in the coming days, but the team definitely needs playing time to improve. Injuries to CB Lauher, S Gibb, and LB Leinaweaver diminished the team's chances to make noise in the postseason but they held their own against a talented BOI squad. They will be missing these players again with the Stingers in town as these three players would've been tasked with containing QB Logan in the pocket.

Rookie WR Newton has emerged as QB Logan's favorite target and averages almost 9 targets a game since the midseason acquisition. NOS will certainly take him out of the picture and force SAO to spread the ball around. I don't know if QB Logan's passing is quite at the level it needs to be to compensate for this change of plans. I favor the Voodoos but expect motivation to be the decisive factor this week. SAO wins on the road: 24-21. This number assumes all of the NOS starters are playing but again, that could easily change so keep on top of roster updates.

Seattle at Boise City (-2) - It's unfortunate that this game is at the same time as the FAR/MIA and ELP/DEN games. If we knew those results, betting this would be far less perilous since if either MIA or ELP wins, these two teams are out. For the moment, I'll preview this game assuming both teams will be displaying full effort.

The Stampede's slide is setting up for one of the bigger midseason collapses we've had this year. A 6-1 start was followed by a 2-6 stretch with their only wins coming against bush league TEN and ORE teams. The switch back to veteran QB Allen upon his return wasn't enough to right the ship and QB Fitzgerald was soon handed the reins. Week 4 saw SEA win this matchup at home but the teams are now on vastly different trajectories.

The biggest criticism of QB Fitzgerald was his lack of chemistry with WR Brown. The one two punch of WRs Wagner and Brown lost a lot of its bite this season and though WR Hendon looks every bit as talented, a 5'9" receiver simply doesn't have the same impact. RBs Lovallo and Arnold have lost a few steps and do little to force defenses to respect the run. It's the last gasp of an aging system with aging pieces and I don't expect much success against the Spartans.

QB Emmons has to be salivating at the opportunity to end BOI's season. The Stampede has dominated this matchup in recent history, only really losing on the Spartans' unmatched 2059 performance. LT Such is doubtful to play this week meaning LB Nordland and DE Wallace should keep QB Fitzgerald off balance. SEA wins on the road though they may not get a playoff spot out of it: 21-14.

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GL Division Champions: 2057, 2059, 2065
EFC Champions: 2057