2011 GGW Playoff Primer (Sponsored by FantasyTrophies.com)

2011 GGW Vegas Odds
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater..... +150
Aikman's Arsenal..... +200
B is for Beluga..... +225
Irish Bulldawgs..... +400
Cool Dog's Pink Bullets..... +500
Wolf Packers..... +800

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Updated Odds:
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater..... +150
Aikman's Arsenal...... +200
B is for Beluga..... +200
Cool Dog's Pink Bullets.... +300

6. Wolf Packers (6-6, 984 points)
- Somehow Ray was able to get a team into the playoffs that is averaging 65.6 ppg. A little bit of luck for the Wolf Packers and bad luck from Achilles's Boys and Old Brigade, but the Wolf Packers found ways to win. Its Tom Brady and a bunch of role players, but does anybody really think Ray Wilson equals Bill Belichek?

Key Players:
Tom Brady (#2 QB), Tim Hightower (#27 RB), LaDainian Tomlinson (#19 RB)

Positive Matchups:
Brady (GB, @BUF, MIA): Brady has 2 home games and a game in Buffalo, but does the weather really matter with Mr. Gisele?
Hightower (@CAR, DAL, @SF): Tim may have finally taken the reins fully from Beanie Wells and he has a matchup this week that is necessary for the upset to be pulled off.

Outlook:
We can't count out a Tom Brady team, but we just don't see anyway the Wolf Packers make a run. The Wolf Packers went 1-4 against GGW playoff teams and we expect them to be 1-5 after this week.
6th Place Finish

5. Cool Dog's Pink Bullets (7-7, 1093 points)
- It helped a lot to have one of the better keepers in Aaron Rodgers, but you still have to hand it to the rookie owner making it into the playoffs during his first rodeo. A concussed Rodgers is not good news for the Pink Bullets, who will have to hope a couple of unsung heroes bust out for some big games.

Key Players:
Aaron Rodgers (#1 QB), LeSean McCoy (#4 RB), LeGarrette Blount (#28 RB)

Positive Matchups:
Shady McCoy (@NYG, MIN, DAL): Honestly, not the best matchups for Shady down the stretch. However, the Pink Bullets will go as far as Shady takes them with Rodgers banged up.
Blount (DET, SEA, @NO): Blount could put up 5 points or 15 points. He's going to need to put up double digits this week and its likely against the Lions at home.
Bears D/ST(@MIN, NYJ, @GB): Have you seen Tavarris Jackson and Mark Sanchez lately?

Outlook:
The Pink Bullets have pretty much been a .500 team all season long and that was with Aaron Rodgers putting up monster numbers. Its going to be really difficult to make a run without Rodgers, but Big Ben is ready to go off the bench. Unfortunately, Big Ben has the Jets this week; however, Carolina and Cleveland await and could put up big points.
5th Place Finish

4. Irish Bulldawgs (7-7, 1049 points)
- While one Irish team was eliminated in the last week of the season, the other Irish team had the leprechaun on his side. Not only did the Bulldawgs catch a break on Monday Night, but now they likely get to play against a similar opponent without its star player.

Key Players:
Peyton Hillis (#3 RB), Michael Turner (#6 RB), Larry Fitzgerald (#18 WR)

Positive Matchups:
Hillis (@CIN, BAL, PIT): Not the best run defenses to go up against, but all cold weather games and Hillis will get to carry the rock repeatedly.
Turner (@SEA, NO, CAR): Look for a heavy dose of Michael Turner to finish out the season for the Falcons. IF the Bulldawgs make it to the finals, Turner may be sitting on the bench the final week.
Fitzgerald (@CAR, DAL, @SF): Fitz has been somewhat of a bust this season, but he actually had a QB last week that might be able to get him the football.

Outlook:
Again, when we went to bed Sunday night we thought this team would be a favorite in the consolation bracket. However, now we see this team sneaking out of round 1 in a low scoring affair. Anything can happen in the semi-finals and the Bulldawgs did knock off the overall #1 seed in last year's playoffs. We aren't going to stick our necks out that much, but with two top 10 RBs both could explode any week to pull off the upset.
4th Place


3. B is for Beluga (11-3, 1364 points)
- Before this season, if you told me two things "Cory Pittman and the #11". I would tell you that must of been how many times he started a player on a bye during the entire season. However, that "#11" was the impressive task of  consecutive victories that the Belugas pulled off to start the season. Did the Belugas peak to early? Coach Pittman will tell you that he loves how his team is still competing and that he has one of the coveted first round byes.

Key Players:
Knowshon Moreno (#15 RB), Jason Witten (#3 TE), Steelers D/ST (#1 D/ST)

Positive Matchups:
Moreno (HOU, SD): The passing game has become non-existant for the Broncos and they will continue to hand off to Knowshon(as well as dump offs to him).
Steelers D/ST (CAR, @CLE): The Steelers may(probably will) put up over 40 points in these two weeks combined.

Outlook:
Despite what Cory continues to say, he can not be pleased with the 3-game losing streak going into the playoffs. He also cannot like the fact that Antonio Gates may be out for the year, Ryan Mathews looks healthy,  and that his breakout WRs have slowed down considerably. However, this team was dominant for eleven straight weeks and now only needs to pull off a 2-game winning streak. Unfortunately, we think the better (and hotter) Arsenal will end this cinderella story next week.
3rd Place

2. Aikman's Arsenal (10-4, 1372 points)
- After week 7, the Arsenal were 3-4 and looking at defeats to Van Kirk and Baker. However, the emergence of Michael Vick, Jamaal Charles and Greg Jennings and the acquisitions of Jacob Tamme and Reggie Wayne has this team playing its best ball going into the playoffs. On a 8-game winning streak, there aren't too many teams that want to play this team right now. Can they win three more games in a row?

Key Players:
Michael Vick (#2 QB), Chris Johnson (#8 RB), Andre Johnson (#6 WR)

Positive Matchups:
CJ (HOU, @KC, @INDY): CJ finally looked like he wanted to reach 2000 rush yards last week and this horse may be ready for the final sprint.
Vick (@NYG, MIN, DAL): Not the easiest defenses to face, but is there anyone playing better ball than Vick right now?
A. Johnson (@TEN, @DEN, JAX): He's still not 100%, but Andre just got done torching the Ravens secondary.

Outlook:
The Arsenal are probably the best team in the league right now, but no team has ever won this league without the first round bye. We expect the Arsenal to not have any problems with the Wolf Packers and expect the Belugas to put up a fight in defeat. It will come down to a matchup between the Arsenal and the Doctor. If you won twice already, how could you not win 3?
2nd Place Finish



Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

1. Dr. Kenneth Noisewater (12-2, 1476 points)
- #12! That is what this blog ranked the Doctor after keepers had been selected. However, after a strong draft, the explosion of Arian Foster and some key trades along the way the Noisewater are the favorites going into the playoffs.

Key Players:
Arian Foster (#1 RB), Maurice Jones-Drew (#7 RB), Calvin Johnson (#3 WR)

Positive Matchups:
MJD (Was, @Hou): Both teams allow right around 18 PPG to RBs and MJD will be running hard amidst a playoff run.
FOSTER (@Den, JAX): Both teams average around 21 PPG to RBs and the Broncos are dreadful. Foster may win the semi-final matchup by himself.
C. JOHNSON (@MIA, MIN): Warm weather and domes are always a good sign for WRs and these two opponent are right around the middle in pass defense.
RAVENS D/ST (@CLE, CIN): Cold weather and terrible offenses should lead to low scoring and turnovers for the Ravens D/ST. Special team points are often forgotten, but can be a huge difference maker in the playoffs.

Outlook:
The Noisewater went 12-0 against GGW teams not named Aikman's Arsenal. We feel pretty confident that the Doctor will have no troubles in the semi-finals matchup and will get to test the theory of "third time's a charm". We believe Dr. Noisewater will become the first #1 seed to win the GGW trophy.
GGW CHAMPION