Final Power Rankings, the Playoff Edition

After another fascinating season of fantasy football, International Shoe's regular season concluded this past week. Owner Stavros Papadopolous summed up his feeling for International Shoe, saying simply "I love this league." Here's a look back and forward for the 10 teams of the league simply known as I-Shoe.

1) Manimals - the 3-time league champs finish the regular season where they started it - atop the power rankings. The Manimals consistency continued, as they finished 12 of the 14 weeks above 90 points and notched 8 performances over 100 points, ultimately finishing the season first in overall points. The finished with the #1 overall QB and WR - Drew Brees and Anquan Boldin - and 3 RB's in the top 10. With some salaries skyrocketing but others staying cheap, the Manimals will likely be back in the hunt next season. Preseason draftees Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, and Pierre Thomas are all having amazing season, albeit on other rosters.

Playoff matchup, round 1 (-1) v. Melonheads~. The two teams played twice in the regular season, with the Manimals winning both. Is the third time a charm for Brian Emeson? Watch for this one to come down to David Akers FG's on Monday night.

2) Melonheads~ - the 2-time league champs finish the regular season where.... wait, where have we heard that before? Again, this team was ridiculously consistent, never scoring less than 85 points (week 1) and racking up 13 straight weeks over 90 points, including 8 over 100. Finishing second in the league, Emeson's squad rolled with $1 QB Kurt Warner and $2 RB Michael Turner. Although perenniel star LaDanian Tomlinson disappointed slightly, he still put up solid RB1 numbers and helped the Melonheads avoid some tough competition and grab the 4th playoff spot. Cheap talent like Brandon Marshall and Brandon Jacobs make it likely we'll see this team back in the spotlight next year. A strong contender to win it all, but faces a toss-up first round matchup with the league's #1 team.

Playoff matchup (+1) v. Manimals.

3) Kapitalizm Stompers - Looking for a repeat trip to the finals, the Stompers relied on exceptional balance to make the playoffs comfortably. Chris Johnson, Greg Jennings, Tony Romo - this team was well diversified and a nice mix of youth and veteran talent. The Stompers were an explosive if inconsistent team, scoring 131 and 147 (a league high) but also hitting scores below 70 three times (all of which they lost). They avoided a round 1 matchup with either of the top 2 teams; can they take advantage? This team is solidly built for another run next season; will commissar McKeon keep expensive talents like Romo and Jennings?

Playoff matchup (-5) v. Athens. The matchups and injury situation clearly favor's McKeon's squad, as Stavros looks to get a healthy Marion Barber and Clinton Portis back on track. Can LenDale White upstage his much more fit backfield partner?

4) Athens Panathinaikos - No, they didn't score the most points, or have the flashiest players. All Stavros' squad did was win, to the tune of 11-3 and the 2nd seed in this year's playoffs. Throughout the season, Athens reinvented itself, first acquiring Marion Barber before the draft, the picking up Portis, Rivers, Johnson, Gonzalez, and White - the rest of his starting lineup. The risk-taking and in-season manuevering was solid team management, and now Athens is in the hunt for their first ever league championship. With expensive talent, the future is now for this team.

Playoff matchup (+5) v. Stompers.

*************************************************************************

5) AJFA - By far the best non-playoff team, AJFA got career years out of 3 players - DeAngelo Williams, Thomas Jones, and Jay Cutler. And still missed the playoffs. Why? Two reasons: (1) they faced the hardest schedule in the league (97.66 points against weekly); and (2) they left points on the table. AJFA had the league's deepest running back corps, boasting 5 players with over 100 points, but notably not a single WR over 100 points. They also had 2 QB's with over 200 points. Their inability, or unwillingness, to pull the trigger and turn RB talent into WR talent (even at a loss) probably doomed their season. Moves for Andre Johnson, Dwayne Bowe, Randy Moss, Roddy White, or any of numerous other WR's probably would have put them safely in the playoffs, if not the #1 seed. Yet, in the last few weeks, they started WR disappointments Braylon Edwards and Chris Chambers while either DeAngelo Williams or Marshawn Lynch rotted on the bench. As is, a good number of their cheap players are facing huge salary increases, as AJFA faces a salary cap # of nearly $1000. It will be intereting to see how this team rebuilds. Will they start looking to trade?

6) FC Castro - While AJFA will look at 7-7 as a disappointment, the mood is probably different for the 7-7 Castro. Castro took huge strides this year, finishing with their first .500 season since Josh Teague was the owner, and using improved talent accumen to acquire rising stars Jonathan Stewart, Eddie Royal, Pierre Thomas, Calvin Johnson, Joe Flacco, and yes, Tim Hightower. While they didn't quite have the firepower of the top 5 teams this season, they stayed competitive due to aggressive management and smart trades. With no real salary problems aside from Johnson, the Castro are well positioned to take the next step next season. One or two trades plus good drafting, and we could see the Castro in the playoffs next year.

7) Bafana Bafana - This was a tough year for Bafana, as its owners were either battling Ugandan warlords or intensive chemotherapy. However, they still posted a respectable point total and showed some chutzpah in making a widely-panned blockbuster trade that brought back a cheap Donovan McNabb and rising star Matt Forte (more points this year than Adrian Peterson). This is a team that could turn around - VERY QUICKLY - if Tom Brady is healthy and Randy Moss is 2007 Randy Moss. Coupled with Forte and maybe some trading, Bafana has a chance to be competitive in 2009.

8) Stingrays - a bizzare season for this team, that was bursting with talent (Brian Westbrook, Larry Fitzgerald) but endured a season with minimal management. Their record of 6-8 was probably the worst record the team could have recorded, as they benched their entire team one week and would have won that game, plus they started injured/benched players with regularity. Due to neglect, the team has Westbrook and Fitzgerald and nothing else. There are no promising young players on this squad. Absent some significant moves, this team will be one year older and no better in 2009.

9) Greece Lightning - in the race for the bottom, the Lightning come up ahead, despite scoring fewer points than the LA Rams (#10). Why? In this editor's opinion, the Lightning demonstrated a core belief in their team and had the patience and vision to see it through a tough season in which they never seriously contended. Beginning the season with considerably less talent than any team in the league, Petros stockpiled players with high upside, such as Kevin Smith, Dustin Keller, Aaron Rodgers, Race Rice, and Rashard Mendenhall. Can a team with these players be competitive next year? No; but they took their lumps this year and should have plenty of room to add a few veteran superstars in next year's draft. Things could turn around in a hurry.

10) LA Rams - the polar opposite of AJFA, in that Anthony traded with any and everyone. The problem was that the trading lacked any clear vision for the team's future. Case in point - the Rams traded for promising running back Jonathan Stewart, then confusedly dealt him to Castro for veteran RB Willie Parker, then ended the season by cutting Parker in favor of Darren Sproles. The team is not devoid of talent, as their are 3 quality QB's (Palmer, Schaub, Thigpen) and some decent WR's (Bowe, White, Jackson) but it is unclear exactly how those players will translate into a successful season. A team with Stewart or Rivers would definitely be more exciting; however, we have a feeling Mr. Khoury is not done trading. We look forward to see what other moves will be made.

Toilet Bowl odds: LA Rams (-15) v. Greece Lightning.

In sum, it was another very interesting season. Unbiased observers are rooting for a Stompers or Athens title to break the Manimals-Melonheads~ hegemony. Unfortunately, at least one of those teams will be in the title game. There are several teams to watch for in next year's draft and season, and for the teams that aren't playing, next year cannot start soon enough. Thanks for a great season everyone.