Before the season began most people had roughly the same playoff teams penciled in for a repeat, with slight tweaks to the final standings. It seems like that's a possibility, but both conferences have their surprises waiting to take shape. In the ASFC, the Otters have struggled to win away games, while in the NSFC it's the Baltimore Hawks that are biting at the heels of the Yeti and Wraiths. My bold prediction is that Baltimore will make the playoffs this year, thanks to the league's most efficient offense and an improved defense can that at least hold its own as the Hawks attempt to steal the few extra road games they'll need to hurdle into second place. They have the team to do it too. QB Scrub Kyubee needs to work on his accuracy and deep ball but has been hanging in there with Chris Orosz and Logan Noble, two of the best leading his division rivals. Their secret weapon, though, is their running game which is just nearing its peak. Every team has struggled to run well so far, and while the Hawks 3.7 YPC is nothing to write home about, Darlane Farlane's ability to control the ball and keep possessions going is what allowed them to hold on to dirty wins against the Otters and SaberCats. Their rookie TE Carmel Gibson has also been a surprise, though he needs to work on consistency to help the team hang on to the lead late in games. Defensively, they are (a distant) second in the league in sacks with the duo of Hendrix and Broadway leading the way. Their secondary leaves a bit to be desired, and they are especially weak at Safety, but Delacour and Turner are a solid couple on the outside and continue to improve. If this team can work on Safety and put Scrub Kyubee in a position to have a great season, they have the best chance at stealing a playoff spot. I'm not saying it will happen, I'm just saying don't be surprised when it does.
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