Gulfman League Championship Preview

A glorious season of barn-burners and blowouts comes down to this. Two teams. One game. The loser will be left to wonder “what if?” The winner will hoist the 2008 Gulfman League Championship Trophy and carry bragging rights into 2009. Oh, the anticipation! It will be a battle of Division Champs: Savage Animal, the New York Division crown holders meet the Carolina Division winning Travelin’ Fools. Time to breakdown this monumental mano y mano.

(1) Savage Animal  (13-2)    vs       (2) Travelin’ Fools (10-4-1)

Both squads have strung together six straight wins. The fools crushed the high-scoring Talkers last week, while top-seeded Animal edged the Furry Beasts by a single point. This has the makings of a classic title game. Enough dilly dallying, let’s dive into some key positional battles:

Quarterback: Matt Schaub vs Jay Cutler

Schaub has tossed for 698 yards and 3 TDs in his last two starts. Now he draws a Raiders team that just allowed four touchdowns to Matt Cassel. Bad-haired Jay is coming off his worst outing of 2008 last week vs the Panthers. On Sunday, he’ll face a Bills D that has allowed only one 300 yard passer. Advantage: Animal

Running Backs: Williams and Portis vs MJD and Stewart

DeAngelo Williams has been the surprise of 2008. Only Michael Turner has compiled more Fantasy points. Portis hasn’t scored since Week 7 and now must contend with a stingy Eagles defense. MJD likes playing the Colts, who rank 25th vs the rush. Stewart has scored three times in his last two games. Advantage: Even

Wide Receivers: Marshall, Calvin Johnson, Walter vs Welker, Steve Smith, Evans

Megatron has produced every week despite a myriad of QB problems in Detroit. Man-child Marshall is a threat every week. Steve “Punchy” Smith has four 100+ games in a row and Welker is second in the NFL in receptions. Advantage: Fools

Kickers: Hmm… I don’t think so.

Defense/Special Teams: Eagles vs Jets

Jets D has accounted for 103 Fantasy points and now they face turnover prone Seattle. The Eagles D won it for Animal last week and has racked up 101 points on the season. Advantage: Even

Prediction: You can’t get a more even matchup than this one. It’ll come down to backfields. Look for Little Hercules Jones-Drew to be the difference. Fools 90, Animal 80.