Well here it is…after 8 CONSECUTIVE YEARS of posting a weekly ranking for the AAA teams (a few years I posted rankings for both AA and AAA…) this is my LAST rankings EVER!!!I do not post weekly rankings during the playoffs because ultimately the top teams beat the lower teams until the undisputed champion comes out on top…and if you’re not #1 at the end of the playoffs…who really cares where you rank???
These final rankings are easier than most years since almost every team has played each other and the playoff seeding is all but finalized…either way…this is just the opinion of one 30+ year old Caucasian overweight nobody who cares what too much about a league that no one has heard about outside of the respective players, coaches, referees, and all their family and friends…
1 – Rebels 7-1
Until you knock the defending champs off their throne…they deserve to be ranked #1…I should’ve followed this motto throughout the season as Dixie proved that once again when push comes to shove…they push a lot harder than anyone else.Now with home-field secured throughout the playoffs anyone wanting a chance at holding that trophy up on June 30th will have to beat the back-to-back champs on their turf, in front of their fans, and I don’t know if that can be done…
2 – Shock 6-1
Did I believe too much in this team???Did I let my emotions overcome my mind???While their season has been a memorable one there’s no denying that ANYTHING short of a championship will fall hard on the hearts of the Shock in what has been deemed as their farewell tour.Truth is that I don’t know if they deserve the #2 spot over the Stealth who are playing MUCH better ball at the moment…yes they beat them head-to-head but a lot has changed since then…fortunately, us fans will have a chance for that discussion to be settled on the field in a few weeks…
3 – Stealth 5-2
Could VERY easily be the #2 team in the league but they’ll have a chance to prove where they belong when it matters most…How dominant has this defense been??? Take away the Shock game (gave up 35 points) and they’re holding teams to under 10 points/game…DOMINANT!!!No one wants to face these guys come the playoffs as I think they are the most complete team in the league…capable of winning anyone at anytime…now they have to face the Stampede two weeks in a row…we’ll see how they use those two practices for building their team for the semi-final and championship games…
4 – Revolution 4-3
The Revolution turned the ball over multiple times…didn’t have their starting two RBs, and still put up 35 points on the road against the Stampede…Chuckypita appears to be back to his true form as he’s getting multiple receivers involved…Could Mr. Bigplay be the X-Factor for the Rev (6 catches for 100+ yards, and int, 3.5 tackles, and a pass deflection)??? Either way the Revolution are right where they want to be as they control their postseason destiny when they faceoff against the Spartans this weekend…while the defense wasn’t fort knox by any means…they did hold Jenkins to his lowest numbers on the season…a big step forward for a team that fully plans on playing football on June 30th…
5 – Spartans 4-3
I don’t even know what to say…not only was the loss last week to a previously winless team surprising…but giving up 30 points to a team who had only scored 36 in the previous 6 games COMBINED is downright embarrassing for a team that used to pride themselves on their defensive capabilities…even with the loss the Spartans still control their one destiny as they can host a first round game with a win this Saturday…
6 – Stampede 3-4
Secured their spot with a loss last week…continue to lose key players to injuries and now having to face the GIANT Stealth for two weeks in a row may leave them with no players left…Stampede clinched this spot back on April 14th when they beat the Mudducks (6-0).Another year in the AAA, and another trip to the playoffs…congratulations to the Stampede for getting back here, but now we all want to see if you can do anything in June…
7 – Mudducks 1-6
The aforementioned Stampede game on April 14th sealed this team’s fate…had they won…(had they even scored) and they’d be preparing for post season participation…This team has experienced more last minute losses this season than anyone else in my memory…they lost to the Rev by 5 in the final few minutes, the Stampede by 6 in the final minutes, they hung with the Spartans before ultimately losing by 10 (in Boise), led the Stealth the whole game before giving up a last minute score to lose by 1…so many “coulda-shoulda-woulda’s” this season…
8 – Bulldawgs 1-6
Get the nod over the Gladiators due to their head-to-head although had the game been in Great Falls I think the outcome would’ve been different…I’ve always respected this team for stepping up to the AAA when so many others backed out…but let me state this clearly Ben, you’re team needs to drop to the AA next season IF there isn’t a dramatic change in your opponents (ie more than 2 local Idaho teams stepping up).We’ll all understand and NO ONE will think less of you as a player or GM…
9 – Gladiators 1-6
Secured their first win in AAA last week…CONGRATULATIONS!!! Seriously great job and it speaks a TON about your team’s overall character and heart to have not given up this season…hopefully some other teams in your market area will either step up next season (Blaze, Phoenix…) or the league will restructure so that you can get back to playing your rivals ona consistent basis…
Well…that’s about it…as I mentioned above…this is the LAST rankings I’ll ever complete…it has been an honor to write about and rank each team over the past 8 years…for some odd reason I’ve really enjoyed it...I won’t lie, I’m looking forward to NOT having to worry about my “self-imposed” Thursday deadline in the future but I’m also going to miss posting these rankings…its been such a big part of my life that I’m a little worried about how I’m going to fill the void (time) that will undoubtedly be felt by yours-truly in the future…I’ll figure it out and will be alright but I do want to sincerely say GREAT SEASON to ALL OF THE RMFL this year…while it may have started out a little rocky (no pun intended)…it turned out to be a lot of fun and for that I thank ALL OF YOU!!!
