Rivalry Week
Battle of Brotherly Love, Dead Drop Redemption & El Classico are just some of the big rivalry games that will impact playoff qualification & seedings in Week 13. Rivalry Week is here. While every game is important and 'every point counts', some rivalries are bigger than others. The following is a ranking of this week's rivalry games based on a combination of Off Field Rivalry (OFR, how bad do they want to beat each other in everything that they do), Playoff Importance (PLI, how much impact does this game have for Playoff qualification and seeding), Competitiveness (COM, how competitive is the career H2H record of the rivals). All categories are rated from 1-10. In reverse order:
5. Yanni v. Randy OFR 4 + PLI 6 + COM 7 = 17 points (last year's total: 17; last year's rank: 4)
Porno Heist Bowl. This rivalry game has made the Top 5 for the past several years but it has come with Yanni only playing a spoiler role; and in this case (as it was last year), trying to knock Randy from a BYE and potentially even the playoffs. The DelFL writ large wouldn’t mind seeing either of these teams wear the Brown Jacket, and the OFR isn’t contentious (these are two of the most amicable Owners the DelFL has). Only Randy and his COOKie Monsters have the opportunity to win in 2019, will Yanni be able to trip up his Division rival this year?
4. Del v. Sean OFR 5 + PLI 7 + COM 8 = 20 points (last year's total: n/a; last year's rank: n/a)
Shanghai Showdown. The Shanghai Showdown should be called the Lone Star/Two Star Bowl as both Owners will be in Houston for the Thanksgiving slate. These two teams are jockeying around, changing horses multiple times, to the point they don’t even know what they are riding anymore. Darnold is now facing the Kavorkas after leading the Commissioner’s team to their multiple game win streak (now at 7). These two Owners will be watching that Bears-Lions game very closely Thursday morning (especially if the Kavorkas give Montgomery the green light, rumor is they still Snell a winner).
3. Andrew v. Billy OFR 8 + PLI 7 + COM 6 = 21 points (last year's total: 17; last year's rank: 5)
Battle of Brotherly Love. Here we go again, it is a tale as old as time, Andrew at 7-5 with a chance at the playoffs and a 2nd star, but wait, here comes younger brother Billy to rain on his parade and rip that star right off Andrew’s Brown Jacket. There is no question that the Seals are currently in a good spot with the Wildcard points tiebreaker, but they can’t be complacent, first they must beat a solid Militant Left roster that has sadly underperformed their projections every week. The Left gets up for this game and if the Seals are going to win and qualify for the playoffs, they better score 450+.
2. Kapo v. Birdman OFR 10 + PLI 9 + COM 3 = 22 points (last year's total: n/a; last year's rank: n/a)
Dead Drop Redemption. 332 days. That’s how long the Dawgs have waited for this game. The entire DelFL remembers last year’s Finals dead drop of the Jaguars D/ST (dropped by Birdman and picked up by Squid who was playing in the finals against the Dawgs). Everyone remembers the deluge of wechat messages, literally thousands, that poured in due to the scandal. It cost Birdman 500 Del Dollars and a dent to his (not exactly pristine) reputation. But what it did more than anything is create a rival that thinks every second of the day about crushing Birdman’s team. It might not be the #1 ranked Rivalry, but it will feel like it all week long. Dawgs will be barking. 1. Bo v. Tony OFR 9 + PLI 7 + COM 8 = 24 points (last year's total: 21; last year's rank: 1)
El Classico. Does there really need to be more said than this?……. Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock, Tony might be off Wechat, but he’s not ready to turn that clock off.
