I have no rooting interest in this league. I don’t cheer for or against anyone, except for myself of course. However, come playoff time, I typically root for the favorites. I always want the best two teams in the finals to add some sense of legitimacy. Now that doesn’t mean I always want the top two seeds advancing, because sometimes the best team is a lower seed. However, that’s not the case this season. Seriously, how can I not want a #1 Bob vs. #2 Griff in the finals…the top two teams, the top two scoring teams and the two teams that best pass the “eye test” at the end of the season.

 Having said that…both need to win one more game to get to that point.

SEMIFINALS

(1) MUG LIFE 2 vs. (6) QUARTER POUNDERS

2014 RECORD: Bob 12-2, Colby 7-7 2014 SCORING: Bob 1,543 PPG, Colby 1,389 2014 BREAKDOWN: Bob, 9-4-1 BOB CAREER PLAYOFF: 17-6 overall, 9-2 in quarters, 4-4 in semis, 4-0 in finals COLBY CAREER PLAYOFF: 5-8 overall, 5-4 in quarters, 1-3 in semis, 0-1 in finals 1-SEED IN SEMIS: 7-5 6-SEED IN SEMIS: 1-4

BOB/COLBY THIS SEASON: These two faced off twice this season. Back in week one, without both Todd Gurley and Le’Veon Bell, Bob cruised to a 1,683 – 1,272 victory over Colby. Mug Life was led by 368 points by Rob Gronkowski, 262 from Matt Ryan and a surprising 240 from kicker, Brandon McManus. Colby’s top scorer was actually Ameel Abdullah, who contributed 248 points, while a healthy Andre Luck had 262. However, Greg Olsen (22 points) failed to show and Doug Martin had just 110.

Eleven weeks later, while Bob had pretty much wrapped up the top spot, Colby was 6-5, but getting healthy and looking for a statement win. He would not get it. Chris Johnson would be lost for the year (scoring just 34 points), while just two players hit 200 (Carson Palmer, A.J. Green). Bob managed to only get only 86 points from his two running backs (Gurley, Miller), yet rode 538 from Russell Wilson and 382 from Brandon Marshall, leading Mug Life to a  1,617 – 1,221 victory. FUN FACT: If Colby loses this one, it would be the fourth time in six seasons he’s gotten knocked out of the playoffs by a team he’s facing for a third time.

BOB/COLBY HISTORY: Colby has really struggled against Bob in this league. After losing both this season, he’s now dropped six in a row, as Bob leads the series, 13-5.

BOB/COLBY PLAYOFF HISTORY: These two have faced off three times in the post-season and Bob has walked away the winner in all three. Back in 2006, the 6-seed Colby failed to show in the quarterfinals, handing Bob a 1,373 – 781 victory in the quarterfinals. The following week Bob would get upset by 7-seed Don.

The next two times these two faced off in the post-season, Bob rode victories over Colby to back-to-back championships. In 2010, the 3-seed Bob escaped with a 1,163 – 1,015 victory over Colby in the semis, beating me for the title the following week. The following season, the pair again met in the semifinals and again Bob escaped with a low-scoring, 1,201 – 1,180 victory. He would beat Burrier for his third title the next week.

THOUGHTS:

Right now, heading into the semifinals, everything’s coming up Bob. Todd Gurley is back, Russell Wilson is a God and let’s be honest, Bob strangely gets better looking as he ages. Weird.

This week, he really couldn’t have asked for better match ups. Russell Wilson, who has produced three straight 500-point games, has an awful Browns defense coming to Seattle. Lamar Miller is facing a Chargers unit that couldn’t stop my grandmother from averaging four yards per carry. Both Larry Fitzgerald and Rob Gronkowski will face a pair of the league’s worst pass defenses, while Brandon Marshall should find plenty of open space in Dallas.

The only question mark is health in his backfield. Lamar Miller has an ankle injury (he only got two carries in the second half of Sunday night’s loss). Worse yet, Todd Gurley is listed as questionable/non-injury related. Now Gurley has to play Thursday, which kind of sucks, because this means that the Rams running back has no time to get over whatever it is he needs to get over. However, this is Robioland and it’s important to remember the rules. Bob can keep Gurley in his lineup and even if he doesn’t play Thursday night, he can take him out anytime before Sunday with another player.

Colby needs everyone on deck and right now, it appears only Greg Olsen might be an issue, as he appears to have a knee injury. He’s key, because not only does he have a sweet match up this week, but when healthy, it makes Colby the one team who can compete with Bob/Gronk at the tight end spot.

Like Bob, Colby has a handful great match ups this week. Carson Palmer travels to Philly to face a bad pass defense, while Doug Martin should find yards in St. Louis. Meanwhile, A.J. Green will get to run around a weak 49ers secondary (although without Andy Dalton), while the Jets DST will take on an awful Cowboys offense.

The issue with all of these match ups is that they’re all on the road. In fact, every single player currently in Colby’s lineup will be playing a road game. That’s unheard of.

If it’s just straight up talent, Colby can compete with Bob. I’ve been saying that for weeks now. In fact, with Bob’s backfield health issues, this game could be dead even. However, having every player on the road scares me for Colby. Teams, thus players, don’t do as well away from home and in the end, I think that’s what turns this game.

WORTHLESS PREDICTION: Neither team breaks 1,500, as Bob escapes Colby yet again…1,430 – 1,384.

(2) WELCOME 2 FLA, ASSHOLES vs (5) MY BALL ZACH ERTZ

2014 RECORD: Griff 10-4, Matt 9-5 2014 SCORING: Griff 1,504 PPG, Matt 1,321PPG 2014 BREAKDOWN: Griff, 10-4 GRIFF CAREER PLAYOFF: 18-12 overall, 10-4 in quarters, 7-2 in semis, 1-6 in finals MATT CAREER PLAYOFF: 9-5 overall, 4-4 in quarters, 3-0 in semis, 2-1 in finals 2-SEED IN SEMIS: 4-1 5-SEED IN SEMIS: 1-3

GRIFF/MATT THIS SEASON: Heading into week eight of this season, Matt was up on Griff in the standings, despite the fact the latter had outscored him by around 500 points. Yet, Matt increased that lead from one game to two when he beat Griff, 1,772 – 1,467. Matt got a trio of 300-point games from Philip Rivers (370), Julio Jones (354) and surprisingly Ben Watson (also 354). Griff relied on a huge game from Odell Beckham (440 points) and Cam Newton put up nice numbers (286), but he got little from his RB2 spot (Chris Sims scored 92 points) and even less from WR2 (Emmanuel Sanders scored 44). Of course, this was the last time Griff tasted defeat, winning six straight now. Matt is 3-3 since, failing to produce back-to-back wins since that victory.

GRIFF/MATT HISTORY: Griff has struggled against Matt over the years. Mr. Neatock has taken eight of the 11 meetings between the two, including three straight and five out of the last seven.

GRIFF/MATT PLAYOFF HISTORY: These two have faced off just once in the post-season, way back in 2009. That year, behind an amazing keeper class that featured Adrian Peterson, Aaron Rodgers and Wes Welker, Matt defeated Griff, 1,608 – 1,384, earning his second title in three seasons. For Griff, it would be his fifth title game defeat (he’s up to six now, with one win in 2005).

THOUGHTS:

Last year, Matt eliminated the other Coomer to advance to the title game. This year, he’s looking to move on by pulling off what I would consider a major upset in the semifinals over the other.

At quarterback, he’s going with Matt Stafford over Philip Rivers. It’s a tough call. Both have had solid games, but both have really struggled to put up points against anything resembling a competent defense. This is why Stafford vs. the terrible Saints defense is probably the way to go.

At wide out, Julio Jones will be facing a weak Jacksonville secondary. This is important. Matt really needs one of those monster Julio games where he catches 150 yards worth of passes and scores twice. Anything short of 400 may not be enough, because I expect Travis Benjamin to struggle against the League of Boom and the Broncos DST has a challenge this week against the Steelers.

Of course, in the end, it comes down to his backfield. Matt’s running back has been a thorn in his side for most of the year. The fact that he has no choice by to start Melvin “I’m allergic to 200-pt fantasy games” Gordon, proves just how thin he is. Que up Eddie Lacy. The Packers running back is coming off a fantastic game, but if he can’t repeat, Matt’s season will be over this week. Hey, that rhymes.

This week, Griff is set up with some nice match ups. Cam Newton faces a Giants D that is so bad at stopping the pass, an opponent could still pass for 250 yards even if they called out their passing routes out-loud in advance to the G-Men. On top of that, both Adrian Peterson and David Johnson should have little problems finding holes against less-than-stellar run D’s.

They key for Griff is for the players who do have tough match ups, to find ways to put up some kind of points. For example, Odell Beckham. I learned Sunday night that through 25 career games, no one has caught more balls for more yards than the Giants receiver. Plus, like last year, he’s seems to be only getting better down the stretch. However, this week will be his toughest challenge, as he’s facing the league’s top corner.

In that same contest, Griff has the Panthers DST. They’ve delivered a string of 300-point games, but the Giants know how to put up points. The trick for Carolina is to get some turnovers and maybe even score a special teams TD.

WORTHLESS PREDICTION: I think Bob and Griff are the two biggest, baddest boys in town and anything short of them meeting in the middle of the playground for a week sixteen, championship game rumble…would big a disappointment. Griff wins, 1,642 – 1,280.

Good luck to everyone.