The first weekend of the second half proved most entertaining. Here are the current playoff seedings with projected outcomes.
First Round Bye: Whipsnakes
Eliminated: Cannons
The first round match ups would be:
#2 Archers vs. #7 Chaos
#3 Atlas vs. #6 Redwoods
#4 Chrome vs. #5 Waterdogs
Let’s again assume these playoff games take place this coming weekend. How about two rematches from this past weekend’s excellent slate in Connecticut.
We can be very quick and confident with those match ups assuming Trevor Baptiste and Logan Wisnauskas are healthy. Atlas wins comfortably. Chrome could win easily as well if Ryan Brown and Michael Sowers aren’t ready to roll. This current alignment would set up very favorably for the Atlas who would be favored against the Chrome as well in the semifinals.
The Archers and Chaos tilt is far more interesting. Certainly the most compelling of the projected first round match ups. How much time does Grant Ament need to dust off his rust? As explosive as the Archers looked yesterday, the Chaos defensive corp starting with reigning MVP Blaze Riorden provides a far stiffer test. Can Justin Inacio replicate his 73% performance again against weaker competition? He has struggled against the premier face off talent but the Chaos don’t have a top option on their roster.
We’ll take the Archers to advance if only to see Whips vs. Archers in a do or die setting.
A fair question.
Baptiste had been in our previous rankings despite our views on him only playing a small portion of every game which is why we ranked him so low in our number one overall draft pick rankings. He has been excellent this season winning draws and also contributing on the offensive end of the field with seven points aided by a two point goal.
Baptise has as many points as Sergio Perkovic and more points than Zed Williams, Wes Berg, and Stephen Rehfuss.
We didn’t include him in this week’s MVP rankings because he didn’t play and the Atlas absolutely should have won without his services. The Atlas had an 8-1 second quarter. If you just saw the box score, you would have assumed he played. If they had won without him, the case against his MVP candidacy would be even stronger. If he comes back and continues to be hovering around 72% and pumping in points, we’ll move him back into our discussion.
