Week 5 Rankings, 2012

Got a few charts for your interest, 5 weeks in. The most interesting stories, line-wise? The slow, steady rise of the Stars, the free-fall of the Yaks and Chi, and the bouncing Cactus at the bottom of the charts. To come later – charts of Yahoo’s Power Rankings, and of the standings. Take a guess – which of the two has a higher correlation with the Coaches Power Rankings?

12. Cactus watch out! (Steve S.)
Average Ballot Position: 11.5 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 11
Standings: 12
W-L: 1-4

Oof. That’s two horrific weeks in the past three. On the plus side, the four bench players outscored the nine starters, by almost ten points!

11. Minions (Chris)
Average Ballot Position: 11.3 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 12
Standings: 11
W-L: 1-4

Well, that’s three players on the IR. Doesn’t sound promising for the rest of the year.

10. Chi Don't Dance (Luke)
Average Ballot Position: 8.5 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 10
Standings: 10
W-L: 2-3

Another rough week for one of two teams yet to break triple digits (the Minions are the other). A lot of young talent on this team, which right now translates into a lot of inconsistency.

9. Yakety Sacks (Jaron)
Average Ballot Position: 8.3 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 9
Standings: 9
W-L: 2-3

The Sacks finally put together a decent week, and have a great shot at climbing back above .500 by going up against the fading Minions and Cacti over the next two weeks.

8. MutantMennoMarauders (Brett)
Average Ballot Position: 7.8 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 6
Standings: 6
W-L: 3-2

Tough defeat last week, and now several of their prolific scorers go on bye this week. Things are looking a bit bumpy right now.

7. Obese Geese (Steve E.)
Average Ballot Position: 6.0 (1)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 8
Standings: 8
W-L: 2-3

After a great two week stretch, the Obese fell with a splat. Now they have to try to rebound against the league’s best team – they have the firepower, but can they put it all together?

6. Z Power (Andy G.)
Average Ballot Position: 5.8 (1)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 7
Standings: 7
W-L: 2-3

Explosive win for a team that’s really starting to click. Despite sitting in 7th place, they’ve scored the second most points in the league and appear to be as capable as anyone.

5. The Schmuckernators (Jason)
Average Ballot Position: 5.2 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 5
Standings: 5
W-L: 3-2

Disappointing showing for a team struggling with injuries/lack of depth. That fast early season start is in danger of fading to a memory if they can’t turn it around this week.

4. Bacon Cheeseburgers (Andy K.)
Average Ballot Position: 4.8 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 4
Standings: 4
W-L: 3-2

One of the more up-and-down teams so far this year had another great up week to bounce back into 4th place. They’ve got quite the daunting schedule over the next month, so it will be interesting to see how they respond.

3. ChalicePastryCarnage (Adam)
Average Ballot Position: 4.2 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 3
Standings: 3
W-L: 3-2

It wasn’t pretty, but the Carnage pulled out a narrow, and sorely needed win to stay near the top. They have scored fewer points each and every week as the season has progressed, a trend that will need to reverse itself soon if this season is to be a success.

2. Sack Attack SuperPAC (Danny K.)
Average Ballot Position: 2.8 (0)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 1
Standings: 2
W-L: 4-1

Speaking of not pretty, the PAC dodged a bullet matchup-wise to snag the W on a sub-par week. Their three stars produced solidly enough to save them, but they’ll need stronger bench play to really move up.

1. Stars (Dan B. H.)
Average Ballot Position: 1.7 (4)
Yahoo Power Ranking: 2
Standings: 1
W-L: 4-1

Another week, another powerful effort for a veteran team that just keeps steadily climbing. Any good news for the rest of us? It’s a tough bye week with their first two draft picks sitting out, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if they slipped a bit in their next matchup. But that wouldn’t really mean they were regressing, would it?