SFL Power Rankings: How the West was One

Washington did not have enough to stay there and instead Vancouver notched their first signature win and have put themselves in the pole position out in the West. Elsewhere, chalk reigned supreme, besides another Queen City loss, which may have also been chalky depending on who you ask. Week 8 is here and the wave of Byes are past us for now as we enter another Top 16 bloodbath!

voting breakdown

I figured I would’ve run out of gas by now for this section but midway thru the season and there’s still aa few surprises to be had! Namely, Strength Rating hates Washington’s 17 point loss where Vancouver pinned 40 on them in what was almost a repeat score of the Super Bowl (and this was between the #1 & #2 ranked teams at he time as well). Denver is slowly winning over voters as they creep into the top 10 but Brett is still unconvinced as he places them out of the money at 17. But he makes up for it a bit by showing that unbiased reaction do still exist as he put Baltimore in the top spot over his own franchise. I didn’t see this until right now as I am writing this but BJ might also give Sam a run for his money with Fort Worth at 3, Sin City at 4 and DC down at 12. Nashville has another chance this week to officially put OKC into the cellar with their match vs Queen City as the Renegades will be trying their best to not get embarrassed by a surging Minnesota team.

enigma rising?

#15 Lexington Miners (3-3)

The running joke I’ve had with Jack “Spreadsheet Merlin” Wall since we started this JaxData venture has been that Lexington FKA Tulsa Desperados were and are an enigma as they will show spurts of greatness then drop games to cellar dwellers. And here we are in Week 8 and they are 3-3 with a shock win over Baltimore (they got trounced 50-7 in the Wild Card last season) in Week 1, one of Denver two losses in Week 4 but then gambled late vs Pittsburgh and lost at the doorstep of the endzone. All in all, it feels like a better showing for the Miners with more good than bad but the record doesn’t always match up with feelings. Coming out of the bye is a date with Florida who is back to creating unique playbooks and has their QB1 in Cockren back, two crucial divisional games and then they face the defending champs. With two late byes in the back half of their schedule this is it for Lexington; this run of games will define them and if they can make a push into playoffs and then some. I just hope they can get a few more signature wins so they don’t have to worry about being a weak 7-5 team who ends up short of the dance again.

week 8 premier matchup

#5 Carolina Skyhawks @ #3 Albuquerque Atoms(-3.5) | O/U 39.5 | FEB. 23rd 6:30 PM EST

I feel like I end up taking about the same couple of teams here but the top end of the rankings have been good to us and continue to give us top matchups to feast over. The Atoms come into this matchup with a perfect 10-0 record at home and have yet another test for that record this week with a Skyhawk team that may have just figured everything out this season and are looking like a force to be reckoned with towards the top of the table. But with the promised land beginning to take form the obstacles always seem to increase and going on the road vs Albuquerque and then following that with a road game against the Trident shows every game matters in the SFL for every team and a bright future can be cast aside just as quickly. Will the Skyhawks be the ones dropping the payload or will they end up caught in the crossfire?