The month of November saw the rise of
the O's, the fall of the 69ers, and
the continuous lack of one team taking
control in the American League. The
O's entered November 4-4, but now sit
at 7-5 with their only loss of the month
coming in a 123-120 defeat by Lightning.
The O's scored at least 120 points in
all four November games, including a
146 point performance in Week 9. Aside
from the key trade acquisition the O's
got from the 69ers (te Jeremy
Shockey), the biggest turnaround
of November may have come from defending
Player of the Year Peyton
Manning. After scoring 195 points
in the first two months (27.9 points
per game), Manning was dominate in November
scoring 170 points (42.5 ppg). Manning
surpassed the 45 point mark in three
of four November starts, all of which
resulted in a victory for the O's.
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
With just two weeks left in the season,
it appears that five of the six Prestige
Playoff spots are secured (though there
are mathematical possibilities which
don't make it official). It looks as
if H, 69ers, O's, A II P, Lake Show
are in. The last Wild Card spot is still
up for grabs and there are fours teams
that still have a shot (KC Whoa is the
only team in the league that is currently
eliminated from the Prestige Playoff
picture). All four of these teams (Lightning,
United, Tormenta, and Tomcats) won last
week. The key Week 13 game will be between
the Tomcats and Lightning. A win by
the Tomcats would really shake things
up because all four teams could potentially
still have a chance entering the final
week. If Lightning wins, the Tomcats
and Tormenta would automatically be
eliminated and United would need a Week
13 win to have a chance entering the
Regular Season finale.
The
Division races are a little less complicating.
Particularly in the National League,
where H has unofficially sealed up their
3rd division title (2001 and 1995 were
their others). The 69ers mathematically
still have a shot, but it's near impossible
because they would have to win the next
two weeks, have H lose both weeks, and
(the most challenging aspect) is they
would have to surpass H's 303 points
scored lead- which would be a gap of
152 points a game. The American League
is proving to be much more competitive.
In fact, it seems as though nobody wants
to step up and take the crown. A II
P has held either the lead or a share
of the lead since Week 1, but they have
never gained enough ground over Lake
Show, who has been tied with them since
Week 9. Really it's going to come down
to next week's showdown between the
two teams. A II P does have the tiebreaker
advantage so if they were to win this
week and Lake Show were to lose, it
would leave Lake Show with the challenge
of not only defeating A II P in Week
14, but also gaining ground on their
current 99 points scored lead.
RECORD SCENARIOS
The saying goes that records are meant
to be broken. Well, true to form, more
season scoring records are in danger
of being broken. Most in danger is Tony
Gonzalez's 2000 record of 175 points.
69ers te Antonio
Gates (who is averaging almost 17
points per game) is only 10 points from
breaking the record. Gates has scored
at least 10 points in 8 of his 10 starts
this year. Even if he does not break
the record, Gates is well on his way
to ending Gonzalez's amazing 5-year
run as Scoring Champion (only Marshall
Faulk has won more the 2 straight)…
A II P k Neil
Rackers is within range of breaking
the kicker record of 149 points scored
by Mike
Vanderjagt in 2003. Rackers would
need to score 15 points over the next
two weeks. On the season he is averaging
13.5 point per game…. H wr Steve
Smith has a chance at breaking the
2003 scoring record of 232 points by
Randy
Moss. Smith currently is stands
at 185. He would have to increase his
average of 16.8 ppg to 24 ppg in order
to break the record. He needs 48 points
over the next two weeks…. One other
potential record this season could come
from Lightning, who has a chance to
become the only team in league history
to reach the Prestige Playoffs in 7
consecutive years. Lightning is currently
tied with A II P (1995-2000) at a record
6 straight Prestige Playoff appearances.
Entering Week 13, Lightning is currently
holding the 6th and final playoff spot.
TOP PERFORMERS OF NOVEMBER
O's qb Peyton
Manning was awarded Player of November
honors for the second consecutive season.
Manning lead all qb's with 170 points
in four starts… For the 3rd consecutive
month, United rb Ladanian
Tomlinson lead all rb's in scoring
with 86 points. Tomlinson is the first
player to lead his position for three
straight months, and he also became
the first player to be awarded Player
of the Week honors three times during
the same year. H's Shaun
Alexander (85 points) and Lake Show's
Larry
Johnson (75 pts) also produced solid
rb scoring production in November…
At wr A II P's Larry
Fitzgerald, who scored 63 points
lead the way alongside teammate Chad
Johnson who added 51 points this
month. Marvin
Harrison (62 pts), Donald
Driver (51), and Torry
Holt (51) were the other wr leaders
in November… The O's Jeremy
Shockey was the leading te scorer
of the month with 61 points. Lightning's
Alge
Crumpler was also strong, scoring
55… A II P 's Neil
Rackers outscored every other kicker
by at least 20 points, scoring 50 this
month… At d/st, it was H's Panthers
that lead the way with 56 points, but
Tormenta's free agent acquisition Jaguars
(55) and the 69ers Bears
(52) were not far behind.
>>
As the 2005 Regular Season wraps up,
there will be several features arriving
to the website within the next couple
weeks, including League Awards and Player
and Owner of the Year ballots. Also,
the Annual A2P Fantasy Sports Online
Postseason Preview will once again be
featured prior to the start of the Playoffs.
