At this time one year ago, two teams had already clinched playoff spots; as you'll see below, no one has clinched yet and only one person can even do so this week, and that requires four games to go his way.

Say it with me: this is the most competitive Blingaleague season there has ever been.

Trade Recap

Only our second trade of the year, and I've been involved in both.

Ed sends Roddy White (WR, Falcons) and Andy Dalton (QB, Bengals) to Kevin for Eli Manning (QB, Giants) and Dwayne Bowe (WR, Chiefs).

Week Ten Recap

Ed def. Dave, 75.87-73.97:

Well, this was about the luckiest win you can imagine. And with it, I move into first place. Neither Dave nor I had good weeks by any means. My high scorer, Matt Schaub (19.20), is now likely out for the year. Dave has two high scorers: both his kicker (Gostkowski) and defense (Packers) had 15.00 points. I'll take this win, but I won't brag about it.

Rob def. Pulley, 117.06-97.32:

This Clash of Hatred went Rob's way, as he got great days from Aaron Rodgers (27.60) and Rob Gronkowski (27.07). Pulley, like Dave, had his kicker (Bironas) and defense (Eagles) score the same amount of points, 13.00. If only past heroes Frank Gore (1.07) and Julio Jones (1.20) had come through for the Pullman, he'd be right in the thick of the playoff hunt. Instead, his greatest nemesis is.

Rabbit def. Allen, 122.55-86.80:

Rabbit prevented Allen from setting a new Blingaleague mark of six straight weeks atop the heap, and did it convincingly. Arian Foster is just ridiculous, putting up 34.00 points. Tom Brady (28.65) joined the fun, and even John Kasay (17.00) points had a big day. Allen was led, as usual, by Drew Brees (24.10).

Matt def. Babel, 141.75-81.24:

Matt's team had a karate explosion! Led by the Bears defense (36.00 points - D, take note, this is what a high-scoring defense looks like), Matt obliterated our Polish friend. And that was with dud-like days from Reggie Wayne (1.73) and Johnny Knox (2.40). Babel was sunk when Michael Vick could only put up 8.30 points against the Cardinals defense.

Derrek def. Kevin, 126.74-94.25:

Derrek got out to a hot start on Thursday night, with Michael Bush scoring a whopping 33.03 points. Larry Fitzerald added 31.47 of his own on Sunday, and D was off to the races. Kevin had a decent week in defeat, with Chris Johnson finally doing well (24.87), but has to feel his season slipping away.

Mike def. Pat, 112.20-52.13:

Pat's season has really spiralled out of control, while Mike continues to build a solid playoff resume. Only one player, Ray Rice (13.95) scored in double figures for Pat; Mike got huge games from his Cowboys, Tony Romo (25.50) and Laurent Robinson (21.73).

Current Standings

1. Ed, 7-3, 1018.56

2. Rabbit, 6-4, 1151.25

3. Allen, 6-4, 1057.69

4. Mike, 6-4, 1055.35

5. Derrek, 6-4, 993.35

6. Rob, 5-5, 1086.52

7. Matt, 5-5, 1023.75

8. Babel, 5-5, 995.34

9. Kevin, 4-6, 1025.60

10. Pulley, 4-6, 909.74

11. Dave, 3-7, 980.87

12. Pat, 3-7, 834.32

"200 Points, Bitches"

Steelers defense:

Week Ten: 5.00

Season-To-Date: 60.00 (6.00 per week)

Points To Goal: 140.00 (70.00 per week (bye week is this week))

The question is no longer whether or not the Steelers defense will score 200 points; it's whether or not they finish the season on D's roster.

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums: Matt's Harrison Hammers came through with a stellar 141.75 points.

Slapped Heartbeat: Pat's team makes me sad. This week, he scored 52.13 points.

Start of the Week: None. Only one close game, and I hurt more than helped myself with my decisions.

Misplay of the Week: Also vacant. I can't really fault Dave for playing whom he did; sure, Torain over Sproles or Celek/Mike Williams/Torrey Smith over Maclin would have given him a win, but would any of us had made those plays?

Weekly MVP: The Bears defense put up 36.00 points for Matt. I have to think that's the highest defensive score of all time. If not, it's close.

Weekly Dud: Darren Sproles scored only 0.37 points for Dave. And he played the whole game.

Pickup of the Week: Rob added Earl Bennett and got a nice 10.80 points from him.

Playoff Scenarios

Ed clinches a playoff berth with:

a win AND losses or ties by Rob, Matt, and Babel;

OR

a tie AND losses by Rob, Matt, and Babel.

Week Eleven Preview

Game of the Blingaweek

St. Olaf Real Stuff (Ed, 7-3, 1st) vs. Optimus Prime (Allen, 6-4, 3rd):

Allen gets blasted by Rabbit, falls out of first place, and now has to face the current first place team.

I'm not that strong, though, at least for a team sitting all alone in first. And I'm coming off a bad week and a major injury to my QB.

I do have two bits working in my favor, though: I quickly retooled at QB, trading for Eli Manning; and Allen is without his QB and MVP, Drew Brees.

I have plenty of doubts about my team, but more about Allen's.

Pick: St. Olaf Real Stuff.

Other Blingamatches

Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 6-4, 2nd) vs. D's AutoPicks (Derrek, 6-4, 5th):

This is our second matchup between current playoff teams. And it's a rough one for D. He has a RB (Mendenhall), TE (Owen Daniels), and defense (do I have to say which one?) on bye this week. All while Rabbit's potential juggernaut lies waiting. Even without Arian Foster, I like Nick's chances.

Pick: Pralines & Dick.

Oedipus Rex Ryan (Mike, 6-4, 4th) vs. Sustantivos de Lugar (Rob, 5-5, 6th):

Yep, all six current playoff teams play each other this week. And this one's hugely important for both. There are too many 5- and 6-win teams for Mike to feel comfortable dropping a game this late in the year; and Rob can't afford to slip below .500 again. Both have some nice matchups, making this a really tough game to pick. I'll err on the side of Aaron Rodgers.

Pick: Sustantivos def Lugar.

Harrison Hammers (Matt, 5-5, 7th) vs. The Yips (Dave, 3-7, 11th):

Matt is quietly waiting in the wings should a team ahead of him falter. Despite my doubting him all year, he's stoically surged to the cusp of the playoffs. Standing in his way this week is the inconsistent team put together by the Fultz boys.

Pick: Harrison Hammers.

Pullman's MondoSquad (Pulley, 4-6, 10th) vs. Goulden Pink OBGYN's (Babel, 5-5, 8th):

Is this another late-season Babel collapse? And after I publicly considered him a top Sanderson Cup contender just two weeks ago? Making his lineup decisions from Mexico, he can't be too happy with what he sees. Of course, neither can Pulley.

Pick: Goulden Pink OBGYN's.

The Chocolate Donuts (Kevin, 4-6, 9th) vs. Camp Hope (Pat, 3-7, 12th):

Both teams had promise at the start of the year. By the halfway point, only Kevin did. Now, with three weeks left, they're both in the same place they were last year at this time: near or at the bottom of the league.

Pick: The Chocolate Donuts.

Closing Thoughts

This is the last week of the 11-week round robin that starts the season. Next week, we'll have our strength-of-schedule games (against the team that finished closest to you in the final standings last year, unless that team is your rival), and after that, our Rivalry Week.

I am sad the season will be ending soon. It's ever so much fun!

Eddo

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