An Epic Battle for the Ages!
Ali vs. Foreman. Doc Holiday vs. Johnny Ringo. Wojnowski vs. Wojnowski.That's right, AldenLeaguers - with all the record-setting aside, with the division races and playoff pushes getting swept under the rug, this week presents what is by far the most important matchup of the year: CheektoWojo vs. Fireseed.
The two winningest franchises in AldenLeague history coming into this year square off in an epic #8 seed vs. #12 seed battle royale sure to shake the league to its core. And as for all famous rivalries, timing is everything when it comes down to an historical competition, and this couldn't come at a riper time as Fireseed is only two weeks off from a record-setting 62.02-point day in Week 7 (what record, you say? Only the 4th-lowest-single-scoring-week-EVER) while CheektoWojo is sporting a 4-game losing streak. With a combined 5-11 record, the two teams find themselves sitting pretty, each just 2 games out of their respective division leads with five weeks to go. To make matters even more gripping, Yahoo!'s projections set the combined score of this matchup as just a bit over the weekly average of Justin's Boys of Fall.
As if this matchup needed any more heat, trade talks between the teams heated up earlier this week as owners Todd and Adam idly suggested trading a WR4 for a little-used RB3, of which neither player is regularly starting for their current teams. Said Todd, "What Fireseed needs now is some more cushion, some padding on the bench to really build that reserve depth. That's what's keeping us from getting over the top. With a player like that on our bench, our odds of double-digit scoring weeks would decrease slightly." Said Adam, "Eh, I don't know. Does it really matter?"
This week, CheektoWojo (who, in addition to being tied for the league's worst record is also in sole position of last place in the points-scored race) is favored to win - currently by about 20 points according to Yahoo!'s projections. That (or crippling apathy) has caused owner Adam to decline to add a kicker to his team to cover for Ryan Longwell's bye week. Fireseed has recently added previously-benched and moderately-injured QB Tarvaris Jackson to their roster and starting lineup to cover their own bye week gaps, so the focus now is on which of their RBs is least likely to score single-digit points this week. But the team does indeed have momentum in the form of last week's win over The Risen, which only required the use of 2 ACQs in order to score the 124 points necessary to top Evans' team.
CheektoWojo vs. Fireseed is one of the all-time most intriguing matchups in AldenLeague history, not just for the brotherly combat, but also in terms of closeness. With Adam holding the 7-6 head-to-head edge, it joins Corey/Hoskyns and Todd/Puzan as the long-lasting matchups that are dead-even or one-off. This week's fireworks are sure to only add to the legend.
