Mike's Mix Playoff Style

Well ladies and gentlemen playoff time is here. Time to put up or shut up. Time to start the run to destiny. Sadly only 6 teams are eligible to make that run. Those teams are: Open For Business, The Church, Could Be Good, The 3 Time Champ, The Purple People Eaters, and The Purple Pride. So now before we take a look at the matchups this week lets take a look at each individual team. I would also like to wish good luck to most of the teams this year, when I say most I mean 5/6. Here we go.

The Purple Pride (2 Seed)
The Pride enter the playoffs with a record of 9-3-1. The are coming off a very good week in which they scored 130 points. They have a bye this week which is a good thing for them, considering they don't exactly have the best matchups this week with their star players. Their three best players are up against Baltimore and Dallas. That doesn't matter however as they will move on to the second round. The Pride are definitely capable of making a run to the championship game, and if they get there anything could happen. I wouldn't pick this team to win the league but they have kind of flown under the radar all year. If this is the case in the playoffs The Purple Pride might be extra happy around the holidays.


Could Be Good (6 Seed)
Could Be Good fought their way into the playoffs by winning their last two games of the season. Now that they have gotten in, they intend to stay. Could Be Good is perhaps the most inconsistent team in the league as far as scoring goes. They can go for 120 one week and then 80 the next. The will need to be more in the 120 range for their first round matchup this year. The team can argue that it has the best receiving corps in the league. The running backs of Could Be Good however are the X factor. From Willis McGahee to Joseph Addai and Ronnie Brown this team has running backs that are capable of going for 30 but also could go for 7. It is crucial that they combine for 30 points a week in the playoffs if Could Be Good wants to make a run. They have won two in a row and Could Be Good Could Be Streaking at just the right time.


The 3 Time Champ (1 Seed)
Being the one seed in the playoffs should mean that they will be favored to win it all. The 3 Time Champ looks to become a 4 Time Champ but will face tough competition. The Champ has a solid running back core as long as Tiki Barber can stay healthy. Steven Jackson is one of the most dangerous players in the league if the matchup is right. The Champ also sends out Drew Brees at QB, and Brees has put up crazy good numbers at times this year. The Champ is definitely capable of winning it all, but he will need his receivers to step up. If they don't and his running backs have even an average game, it will mean trouble for The Champ. He is very very very lucky that he doesn't play this week when Mr. Jackson plays against Chicago. That has been the story of his season though, so maybe the luck will carry him to his 4th title.


The Purple People Eaters (5 Seed)
The Purple People Eaters are definitely the underdog of the playoffs. They are the 16 seed in the NCAA tournament and looking to shock the world. Their whole team is up and down, capable of lighting up the scoreboard but also capable of failing hard. The Eaters will need to make sure they send out the right players each week to advance in these playoffs. Tatum Bell is coming off a very good game but faces a difficult San Diego defense this week. I would be surprised to see this team advance past the first round, but who knows, thats why they play the game.


The Church (3 Seed)
The Church has one weapon that no other team in the league can even come remotely close to. He is absolutely unreal at times. You can watch him play and not believe what you are seeing. Often times you will find yourself yelling "He did what?!?!?!" He is definitely one of the most dangerous players in the NFL and he has shown it this year. Yes thats right folks, from 100 yard and multiple touchdown games to illegal firearm and drug possession, Chris Henry does it all. If The Church is going to make a deep run into the playoffs they will need Henry to act like he is in church and avoid being arrested......again. The Church has respectable running backs in Jamal Lewis and Willie Parker and they should be able to keep him in most games. Oh yeah I forgot a huge part of this team, The Church also has Andre Johnson, who is one of the top receivers in the NFL. He is coming off a huge week where he went for 9 yard on 1 catch. He also managed to run for -4 yards in the process. If Johnson can continue to produce The Church could be equipped for a deep playoff run.


Open For Business
Open For Business enters the playoffs on a hot streak. Basically for all practical purposes they are winners of 4 straight. They have without a doubt the best running back core in the league and also possibly the best receiving core. This team is not one that you want to mess around with. If Chester Taylor and Brian Westbrook can manage to stay healthy and Open For Business does not mess up on who they start at wide receiver, the team will be tough to beat. If an injury does happen however, or a disasterous start at receiver position combined with a good week from his opponent, Open For Business could lose. Assuming everything goes well though, this team is yours truly's personal pick to win it all. If I were to pick the most well rounded team it would be this team.

Matchups

Open For Business vs. The Purple People Eaters

What can I say about this matchup other than it is kind of one sided. The Business is favored by 40 points!!!! Thats right 40 points!! That is not something we see very often throughout the year and probably not something that The Eaters wanted to see now. The Business has better players in every position except the defense and kicker. I will give The Eaters the edge in those two positions. This basically means that they will have to net A TON of points in those two categories to be in this game. However The Eaters are capable of putting up some nice numbers so they will also have a shot to win. Open For Business did not go for 126 yet, and they could instead go for 95. If they go for 95 The Eaters have a shot to pull of the upset. However in the end, my money is on The Business.

Final Score : Open For Business 118 The Purple People Eaters 88

The Church vs. Could Be Good

This matchup is not as lopsided as the previous one. The Church is favored by 18 but it is possible that neither team has their real starting lineup in. This game will come down to one thing, that being the difference in RB's and WR's. The Church will score more points than Could Be Good in the running back position but Could Be Good will score more points than The Church in the wide receiver position. Which side this will favor no one knows, but whoever it does favor will win this game. The rest of their lineups should be equal within a few points barring a breakout performance from one of those players. This one will most likely come down to the wire on Monday Night Football. It doesn't get any better than that. The Church does not have the best record with close games being decided on Monday Night. If this trend continues bad things could happen for The Church. He needs to build a 30 point lead to feel comfortable and anything that is below 15 he is going to assume he lost. In between and who knows what will happen. This one could be one to remember.

Final Score : The Church 104 Could Be Good 107

So there you have it, the overall assessment of the teams that are playoff bound. See you next week.... hopefully.