An eventful week with many storylines to discuss. The big showdown disappoints but some separation begins between teams of all tiers, as 5 teams outright own the playoff spots right now. There's still a lot of work to be done to get to the finish line, and a couple big matchups loom in week 7.

-Commish

Tier 1: Top Tier

1. Bud Ice Penguins (-)

Despite the terrible week against the Sharks, the Penguins find themselves with a W and retain their undefeated record, for now. Another big rival matchup against SL Dynasty will test this team once again. Part of the poor performance from this team was poor coaching choices, with Amon Ra St Brown and Derrick Henry, two starters on any team in the league, on his bench combining for 42.7 points. If Noah can get the right lineup on the field, this team is basically unstoppable due to the wealth of quality, but as I predicted, this can prove to be a challenge. I think Noah will learn more about his lineup and make additional moves throughout the season that should help. I still believe this is still the best roster in the league, despite them not breaking 100 points for the first time this season. Basically every other team in Super League have put up a sub 100 week, including numbers 2 & 3 on this list, so you can't use that as a discrediting factor. The Penguins should have locked up the number 1 spot for good, but this is Super League and no one is safe. SL Dynasty this week and Crooners next week are two huge games to watch, especially given the unbeaten status this team has and the playoff implications of each matchup. For now, the Penguins hold a 2 game lead over the Sharks for first place and should bounce back this week scoring wise.

2. Slatt's Slimes (+2)

Sam got his work done in week 6, putting up an excellent week against a very solid WFT, and gaining some separation on non-playoff teams for the first time all season. The Slimes have continued to be the story of the season, leading the league in points and having possibly the strongest starting lineup in the league. The crazy thing is that there's still more ceiling for the Slimes, as Austin Ekeler and Cooper Kupp have only played 1 game together, despite being rostered all year by the Slimes. With Kelce, Hill, Mostert, Ekeler, and Kupp, the Slimes have built up an insane positional advantage. The previously injury ridden Mostert even has his handcuff, Jeff Wilson, on the roster with him. I'm interested to see what kind of moves this team is able to make when picks are allowed to be traded again (starting on Nov 8th). I didn't expect to ever have this team this high on the rankings but here we are. What a season it's been for the Slimes. There's a very important rivalry match with the Slimes this week, as a loss would lose the season tiebreaker, but a win would put him back over .500 for the first time since week 3. I expect the Slimes to come out swinging as usual this week, and with the Crooners short handed, should glide to victory once again.

3. Zark's Sharks (-1)

I said last week I didn't think I'd be dropping the Sharks from the second spot, but it's hard to ignore the Slimes emergence as a top team this season. If the Sharks and Slimes played every week, they would both be 3-3, so the teams are not very far apart in week-to-week output so far. I have to take the Slimes this week due to a very frustrating week for the Sharks, with an uncharacteristically low scoring total, and his first time even under 119 points this season. It's been a really solid season for the Sharks and their end goal is still as reachable as ever, but the Sharks now have a 2 game deficit behind the Penguins, which pushes the Sharks towards the stronger 3rd seed matchup in the playoffs. On top of this, Jefferson and Richardson (who was looking a huge trade piece) are on the IR, with Richardson unlikely to lace it up again this season, and Jefferson looking to return in 5 or more weeks. The road just got a little bit harder for the Sharks, but no hope should be lost. This is still a very good scoring team with plenty of options, and since playoffs are virtually guaranteed for this team, they can afford to wait on Jefferson's return. The Sharks have two weeks to breathe and get their feet back under them with games against PAJ and Explosive Potential, before heading back into the big boy zone against the Crooners and the Slimes, both of which will be tiebreaker deciding matches. 

4. PGH Crooners (-1)

The Crooners got the job done in week 6, but fall a spot due to the Slimes being a clearly better team than them on the season so far. This theory gets tested immediately, as the two teams face each other this week, with a tiebreaker on the line if the Crooners can take the victory. Beating SL Dynasty not only bolstered his own playoff chances and gave him another tiebreaker, but has SL Dynasty reeling and behind in the standings for the first time in the history of this league. The expansion teams have greatly changed the league dynamic and equation, and the Crooners have been the prime example of this. It's unfortunate that such a big matchup comes on such a bad week for the team, with key players injured and on BYE. A plus side of having several players on BYE now means that he gets them for the remainder of the season, which could help him win the later matchup against the Slimes, what will likely be the rubber match on the season series. There's almost no way the Crooners take home the win this week, but I believe in this team's playoff chances and am very excited to see how this team navigates the market when draft pick trades are re-opened on Nov 8th.

Tier 2: Playoff Hopefuls

5. Parma Pirates (+1)

The Pirates are in a great position to capitalize on a playoff lead in the coming weeks, with an almost guaranteed win this week versus Potential, and winnable but playoff defining matchups against WFT and SL Dynasty on the horizon as well. This team has been lead by Adam Thielen, and the one week they won't have him, they face the worst team in the league. I still think at least one draft compensation type move will be made, but the Pirates now find themselves in the driver seat and are completely able to control their own destiny with a solid core of players. I wasn't expecting to be this solid this season, tbh.

6. Washington Fantasy Team (+1)

WFT is just solid. They had another successful week scoring wise, but fell short as the Slimes explode once again. They have now put up over 119 points in 3/4 of their recent matchups since the roster changes, and truly look to be in the mix for a playoff spot. Their hidden lineup trick is one that is now 1-1, but I like the gamesmanship at work here. The intangibles are getting better for this squad, and with the next 4 against Biz, Pirates, Potential, and SL Dynasty, there is room for this team to fight for a spot and then some. The squad does have two matchups remaining versus the Sharks, and one versus the Slimes, but the Pirates also have to play the Penguins twice, so I don't believe this is so much of a factor. The real test will be next week versus the Pirates, where playoff implications will be heavily on the line. If Taylor can get it going, this team could be a huge problem and could very well win a play-in matchup.

7. The SL Dynasty (-2)

Uh oh. Really tough loss this week as this franchise fails to break 100 points again for the second week in a row, which are the only times this has happened in franchise history. We haven't seen come-from-behind Hurney (the kids call him that) in Super League ever, as he has been a top team in both previous season, so I'm not totally sure what to expect. I wonder if this team is actually a sell candidate at the deadline. Jack hasn't made draft pick trades before, but he's never had a down season where he could be receiving positive draft compensation. It will be interesting to see how this season plays out. The SL Dynasty will have more chances for wins later in the year, but will likely fall to 2-5 this week unless they are able to upset unbeaten Noah, which would catapult their chances of making the playoffs and send a big statement to me for putting them this low. I think SLD is very much still in the picture given their remaining schedule and chances to make up ground against both WFT and the Pirates, but for now, they are behind both those teams in the season outlook.

Tier 3: Womp Womp

8. Play Action Jackson. (-)

Play Action Jackson bounce back and win the game they should (it was looking close for a minute there...). PAJ has an absolutely brutal rest of season schedule, with 2 matchups versus the Sharks and SL Dynasty respectively, and the remaining games being the Penguins, Slimes, and Pirates. What I said for Carter may also be true of this team, it's possible the winning has come to an end. I could see this team get a few wins over that stretch, but they basically have no chance at the playoff outside of a huge, all-in type of trade, or a pure miracle. They win so they don't lose their spot, but they're absolutely looking like womp womp right now.

9. UNFINISHED BIZ (-)

Carter lost to me this week. Hahaha

He has a must win in week 7, as every game is crucial at this stage of the season. He has the record to get back in the fight, but I don't believe he has the roster. I think this team will have to accept its fate sooner than later, with 5 straight matchups against 5/6 top teams in the coming weeks, all likely losses given the roster. Week 6 was only the second time this season this team broke 110 points, so at least there was a bit of growth to report this time.

10. Explosive Potential (-)

While regaining CeeDee Lamb is probably a great long term move, it puts him in a horrible spot this week and he basically has 0 chance of winning now. Add this to his basically 0 chance of making the playoffs, and you still are left with 0. I really do like the core of this team now, but I can't help but wonder if Jacob will trade over his roster into a worse position. Only time will tell, and the Nov 8th pick window is quickly approaching, which should give this team a chance to make some more future facing moves.