Super Bowl X

It’s hard to tell if there’s been a bigger upset post-season than the one Original Salt just pulled off. This owner hasn’t been around long enough to see other shocking playoff runs, but from what I can tell, after a run of Super Bowl upsets in 2004-2006, it’s been smooth sailing for the Maize and Blue favorites until last year’s 100 Acre Wood Pooh Bears victory, and now Original Salt’s title. But Pooh Bears were barely underdogs last season, as they were a 9-4 team facing off against a 10-3 Pogiboys squad.

• Original Salt (6-7) vs * Fockers (10-3), 74 - 50

Reno’s team was 6-7 this year — after posting back-to-back 4-9 seasons — and they snuck into the playoffs and then destroyed the #1 and #2 seeds. Well, maybe “destroy” is too strong a word, but there’s no question that Reno’s team took down the only two teams that hit double digit regular season wins this season. Their first round upset of regular season champ Jedi Knights was a shock. Their second round win versus Cameltoe set the stage for an epic upset. And then during the Super Bowl, the ultimate sign that Original Salt was this year’s team of destiny appeared: Andrew Luck, the number one ranked fantasy player, took a bagel in his Super Bowl appearance. Yes, a big fat zero!

It must have been infuriating for Fockers’ owner Hong to watch Luck get pulled during the Colts’ blowout at the hands of the Cowboys. After a Saturday game that saw TE Antonio Gates leap out to 21 points, it looked like Fockers would waltz to a championship. That’s how the storyline should’ve played out, Goliath wallops David.

Instead, all of the things that we pointed out in last week’s Super Bowl preview didn’t happen. Original Salt’s stand-in tight end Jordan Cameron caught a TD and put up 14 points after scoring 8 points combined in his previous nine games. Kicker Josh Brown punched in 15 nasty points, punching Fockers where it hurt, as their kicker, Billy Cundiff, rode the injury pine.

And then there was the defensive collapse by Fockers’ Rams, who gave up -5 points on the week, further adding insult to injury. Between Luck’s no show, a negative defense, and no kicker, it was uphill all the way for the Super Bowl favorites. When Le’Veon Bell and Demaryius Thomas failed to come up big, Original Salt had their title in hand, powered along by Matt Forte’s 15 points, Jordan Cameron, and Josh Brown. Unexpected heroes, just like Original Salt’s entire season.

Usually in this space, we talk about the wonderful stats that the Super Bowl winner put up. But Original Salt only scored 67.5 ppg for the regular season, outscoring only three other teams. They were 3-5 at home, 1-5 in their division, and entered the post-season on a five game losing streak. In fact, after starting off the season 5-1, they stumbled 1-6 the rest of the way. They had one player ranked in the top five at their position, Matt Forte, and one player, Ben Roethlisberger ranked just outside the top five — but Roethlisberger split much of his time with Jay Cutler. The other top scorers for this team? Roddy White, Terrance Williams, and Doug Baldwin. So this really was a miracle playoffs for them!

Instead of looking at the series of occurrences that had to happen for Reno to win the championship, it's better to see this post-season run as an inspiration tale. A with average keepers, a recent history of losing, and tailspinning at the end of the season rode fairy dust and wishes toward a championship. With a little bit of luck, and no Luck, Original Salt will lord it over Maize and Blue for a full year, knowing that they gave the league one of the most unexpected title runs ever. Congrats Original Salt!

As for Fockers, this was a gut punch of an ending to what could have been. They had the path to a title cleared out for them, but eventually fell to the same team that eliminated all of their main competitors. Fockers still have Luck, Bell, and Thomas to push forward with, but this loss will hang heavy in their hearts as the missed opportunity for a title clouds their off-season. Still, Fockers are too talented to not return to contention, and this was a breakout year for them after a recent transferral of management power. Better Luck next year!

Super Bowl Preview

Fockers (10-3) vs Original Salt (6-7)
Alright! Another upset by Reno’s team as Original Salt upended fellow upsetter Team Cameltoe, 65 - 47, on the way toward their first Super Bowl since an appearance in 2008. It’s been a difficult past couple of years for Original Salt (formerly known as Rhythm Drive), but if they can pull of another upset, they’ll have one of the greatest underdog playoff runs in Maize and Blue history.

As for Fockers, they’ve been the model of going from pretender to contender since Hong took over the reins in 2012. They’ve made all the right moves, including trading for Demaryius Thomas, drafting Le’Veon Bell, keeping Andrew Luck over Matthew Stafford, and even scooping up favorite Charger, Antonio Gates in another low key trade. We can even overlook their recent curious trade of a 2018 RD1 for Chris Ivory. (“It was a mistake, I didn’t see that a pick was involved...” GM Hong said when reached for comment.) After neatly dispatching Shoguns of Harlem in the conference finals, 80-71, a championship is in sight, as Original Salt has taken care of all of *Fockers main rivals.

Fockers averaged 87.9 points per game this regular season, leading the league and hitting the magical DeLorean number. Original Salt averaged 67.5 ppg and snuck into the playoffs with a losing record. Still, throw everything out the window because Reno’s team could be destined for victory! Let’s look at next week’s matchup...

QB: Andrew Luck versus Ben Roethlisberger. There’s a chance Jay Cutler could sneak a start here, but we’re assuming it’s Big Ben who will take charge for Original Salt, because who wants their title hopes on the line with Cutler leading the way? Roethlisberger is having a career year, and threw those two games of six TDs each, but he’s not the #1 overall ranked player like Luck is. Comparison over. EDGE: Fockers

RB: We love Matt Forte, who is consistently underrated. His stats will rise even more when next year’s half point PPR kicks in, but Forte was already the #5 RB this season. He’s been a little erratic lately, but he should show up in the biggest game of his life. Fockers will counter with Le’Veon Bell, who has emerged in his second season as the best back in the NFL. His last four games have resulted in 27, 30, 41, and 23 points. So yeah, we’ll give the edge to Bell. EDGE: Fockers

WR: Outside of a WK14 blip, Demaryius Thomas has put up double digits every week since WK5. He’s #3 on the WR charts and won’t be slowing down any time soon. Thomas is a monster. Across from him will be Salt’s Roddy White, who has had a nice bounceback season, but White isn’t in his prime anymore, and he’s only capable of low double digits. Neither team has a solid number two receiver, unless you think Anquan Boldin or Doug Baldwin are worth talking about. So yeah, it’s basically the top options we’re looking at here. EDGE: Fockers

TE: Original Salt’s best tight end, Jermaine Gresham, is sitting the bench due to injury, and his replacement, Jordan Cameron, has scored eight points total since WK7 with seven scoreless games since. That’s not good. Especially when Fockers get to suit up Antonio Gates, who is still a top five option, depsite a string of weak games recently. Still, Gates will likely get more than zero points, which means Reno will be essentially playing seven on eight for the title game. EDGE: Fockers

DEF/K: Yes, we’re comparing defenses. I mean, Salt’s Ravens defense has put up 11, 2, 10, and 21 points over the past month, so they could be more important than almost any non-QB/RB for Reno’s team. They’ll be playing a putrid Texans team next week, so that could be a fantasy bonanza. Fockers have a stiff defense of their own though, the Rams, who have scored three TDs in four weeks, and get to go against the turnover prone Giants in WK16. Pretty even. Buuut, Fockers have lost their kicker, Billy Cundiff for the season, and so they’ll be playing one man down — neatly making up for Jordan Cameron. Robbie Gould has been hurt for Original Salt, but Reno had the foresight to pack Josh Brown as a backup kicker before the post-season roster lock. EDGE: Original Salt

Prediction: While we love upsets, it’s hard to call this for anyone but Fockers. We predict a twenty point blowout, with Reno having a ten percent chance of a crazy upset. Can this long shot take out Hong, the king of gambling? Do you believe in Luck or luck?!

Playoffs: RD1 Recap

Eastern Conference
#4 Original Salt (6-7) vs #1 Jedi Knights (12-1), 95 - 67
Reno’s team hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2008 but they came in and pulled off a huge upset over the regular season wins leader. Jedi Knights only lost one game all season after coming out of the gates 9-0, while Original Salt came into the post-season on a five game losing streak. BUT THAT’S WHY THEY PLAY THE GAME! To add injury to insult, Knights beat Salt just a week ago in the regular season finale...

#2 Team Cameltoe (6-7) vs #3 Another Bad Creation (8-5) , 137 - 78
Despite earning the higher seed for winning Hoke-A-Mania division, Team Cameltoe entered the matchup as underdogs. Well, Russell Wilson, Julio Jones, Jordy Nelson, and Andre Williams defended the honor of the division by helping Felipe handily dispatch Oliver’s ABC team. ABC limps out of the post-season after making the Super Bowl two years ago.

 Western Conference
#1 Fockers (10-3) vs #4 Sweep the Leg Zabka (8-5), 110 - 89
The Western Conference number one seed took care of business behind Le'Veon Bell’s 41 points, not to mention 27 points from Rams defense. New owner Alan had a fantastic first season but he’ll have to bow out after a thrilling run that saw him infuse his team with enthusiasm and talent.

#2 Shoguns of Harlem (8-4-1) vs #3 Italian Stallionz (8-5), 90-78
Not much separated these teams during the regular season — very similar PF and PA — but Shoguns got just enough from Tony Romo, Arian Foster, and Alshon Jeffery to fend off Italian Stallionz, as Porta’s passing attack sputtered.

2014 Final Power Rankings

Playoff Teams

1. Jedi Knights (12-1) - The Knights who Say Ni Division Champions. Best Overall Record 
2. Fockers (10-3) - The Wood Division Champions. Next best overall record. 
3. Shoguns of Harlem (8-4-1) - Lebowski Achievers Division Champions. Next best overall record . 
4. Italian Stallionz (8-5) - Wins tiebreak vs ABC and Zabka via H2H % among tied teams (1.00 v .5 v 0.0) 
5. Sweep the Leg Zabka (8-5) - Wins tiebreak vs ABC via H2H. 
6. Another Bad Creation (8-5) - Next best overall record. 
7. Original Salt (6-7) - Wins tiebreak vs Cameltoe via H2H. 
8. Team Cameltoe (6-7) - Hoke-a-Mania Division Champions. Next best overall record. 

Non-Playoff Teams

1. Detroit Players (6-5-2) - Wins tiebreak vs Pooh Bears via H2H 
2. 100 Acre Wood Pooh Bears (7-6) - Next best overall record 
3. MoRRie’s Pogiboys (5-7-1) - Next best overall record 
4. Mandalorian Warriors (5-8) - Next best overall record 
5. Squirtle Squad (4-9) - Wins tiebreak vs Ouroboros via Total Points Scored 
6. Hungry Hungry Ouroboros (4-9) - Next best overall record 
7. Ann Arbor Bamfers (3-10) - Next best overall record 
8. P Funk All Stars (2-11) - Next best overall record