Separation Sunday

27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Matthew Chapter 30. Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. 

The great day of the harvest has commenced and the bundles are being gathered to burn. The first casualties leading up to the championship was In Russ We Trust and Mystery Meat. Both these teams were on borrowed time and were easy to identify as pretenders rather than the stuff champions are made of... wheat. 

Championship Bracket: Round I 

In Russ We Trust is harder to see as a tare, but the numbers behind his previous 8-5 record show that this was bound to happen. In his Week 7 win, he goes off for a total of 139+ of the backs of David Carr (32), McFadden (25 - his highest of the year), and Stefon Diggs (18 - who? exactly). In his Week 9 Win he reaches an even higher total at 142 pts with Antonio Brown blowing up (40 - he is capable of doing this often), Carr putting in a solid performance (33), and Randle Cobb decides to show up(19 - he hasn't been above 10 since then). Then in his Week 10 Win he again gets 130+ pts with A. Brown playing ball (31), Cooks lighting it up (26 - he's had three 20+ games), and Carr (23) doing what he is supposed to do. This was his peak. He went 5-2 from Weeks 7-13. He was bound to fall again. This week he would get back to his roots, becoming the plant that was planted long ago. Reaping as it were what he sowed. Prior to his peak in Week 7, he was 3-3, who had scored below 75 twice. He has the third highest standard deviation following Cameron and Ben, both teams who didn't make the playoffs. 

Mystery Meat on the other hand is easy to see as a fraud. He has beaten his projected score just six times all season and three of those times were the last three weeks. This is even more insightful as he has only been projected to score over 100 twice. This is a team that outdid itself and couldn't keep pace with the Rolling Gazelems. Injuries played a part (Dalton left in the 1st Qtr.), but the Gazelems were primed for this. They saw this win coming a long way off. 

Preview of the Championship Bracket: Round II

Mustache Salad v Persian Lives Matter 

Mustache Salad RBs look to back in the swing of things, with Eddie Lacy finally showing up. Although, Devonta Freeman and the Falcons are playing terrible...However, with Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald going up against the less than stingy Philly Defense. This will be a challenging matchup for Persian Lives Matter, who have a less than spectacular RB crew and has to decide between Tom Brady and Cam Newton. Brady and Newton are ranked 1 and 2.  

Kaeptivating v Rolling Gazelems 

This matchup may come down injuries. Kaeptivating will benefit greatly if Gronk comes back (*UPDATE* he was back this evening and played nicely) and Rolling Gazelems with Marshawn Lynch. There are some holes for both teams. Kaeptivating WRs core has been less than sensational and the team is trending downwards. Rolling Gazelems, as mentioned before, needs a solid fill in at the RB position. 

The Consolation Bracket

Its only a matter of time before Cobra Kai and All Day Some Days meet in the final. My unsolicited advice to All Day Some Days: Get off the burning ship that is the Atlanta Falcons and PLAY MARIOTA! Not in Week 15, but 16.

Both of these teams are currently in the top five of scoring and strength of schedule. Excluding this past week, which was a bye, both teams are averaging over 100 pts/game.