Standing surprises are all over the place in the league, from the Berlin Salamanders being only .500 to the Sabercats being above .500. However, of all the truly surprising results I think the Copperheads stand out the most. Picked by most to be a playoff team and my personal choice for second best team in the conference, they've scored less than 100 points despite having a strong OLine, the best RB in the league, and one of the best WR groups in the league. What's more shocking is the teams that they lost to. Their schedule has not been the easiest so far, but they went off the rails during the week 3+4 doubleheader. The first game against the Second Line is likely to be one of the biggest upsets of the entire season, pitting a team with 4 players over 1000 against a team with 7 players over 1200. The Second Line's 3rd LB is Hingle McCringleberry. Austin's is Dex Kennedy. And yet, somehow, Austin lost. The easy place to blame is the D who let up multiple massive plays including the game winning 80 yard touchdown catch with just over 2 minutes on the clock. The offense wasn't up to snuff either though, with 3.9 yards per carry and a 5.3 yards per attempt for the day. Penalties were also a massive contributing factor. While as a team the Second Line are the more inexcusable loss, how the Silverbacks beat them behind a banner day from the rookie running back Brandon Prince is more interesting. As far as bouncing back, it's going to take them winning some games they have a significant chance to lose, starting tonight against the Sailfish. Their next 6 games include only one against a bottom feeder but also only one against a team who is significantly better than them. If they get out of that stretch with a winning record I can see them riding an easy end of schedule (they face 4 of the bottom 6 teams in the league on paper during their final 6 games) to the playoffs.
The other side is much easier. The San Jose Sabercats ARE one of the bottom 6 teams on paper in the league and are blatantly riding a single upset victory and an easy schedule to their current winning record, after beating both the Second Line and the Liberty. While they do get the benefit of facing the Hawks in the second half of the season, they also face the Wraiths and Salamanders, and begin the current week of play with a game against the Outlaws. Due to how things stack up I wouldn't be surprised if this week was the last week in which they end up with a winning record all season.
The other side is much easier. The San Jose Sabercats ARE one of the bottom 6 teams on paper in the league and are blatantly riding a single upset victory and an easy schedule to their current winning record, after beating both the Second Line and the Liberty. While they do get the benefit of facing the Hawks in the second half of the season, they also face the Wraiths and Salamanders, and begin the current week of play with a game against the Outlaws. Due to how things stack up I wouldn't be surprised if this week was the last week in which they end up with a winning record all season.
