We are now more than halfway through the season so let's zoom out take a look at the teams and see where they rank in the Elite division.
1. Powerpuff Boys
Record: 5-0
Points For: 35
Points Against: 22.6
There is no question who the top dog in the Elite division is right now. Powerpuff is playing both sides of the field at an extremely high level. Shu made an early proclamation on the CFL pod that Sims would be the best qb in the league and that take is looking great right now. They are a squad who just shows up and knows how to play together. They don’t try anything fancy, on defense they come out man you up and they believe that their guy can cover your guy. On offense it seems effortless at times, Sims throws the ball before guys are open cause he knows Miguel, Deehraj and all his other receivers will be in the right spots. They are a well oiled machine who look like the runaway favorites in the league right now.
2. Caliphs
Record: 3-2
Points For: 23.2
Points Against: 18.8
AZ came back from winning a championship and wasn’t willing to settle for just a good season, he grabbed even more talent declaring that they were making a run for the repeat. He grabbed a pair of veteran CFL qbs in Danny Pooran and his son Mark in addition to his brother the great receiver Lexi. Add in the best deep threat duo in the league with Will and Tayvon and that is what put Caliphs in the second spot. They have the high end talent that will come through in the playoffs and make big plays. When we have written a paragraph on your team and haven’t even mentioned ZQ or reigning finals MVP Safwan you have a juggernaut on you hands.
3. The U
Record: 3-2
Points For: 27.6
Points Against: 22.2
The U are coming off a tough loss to the Niners but before that ripped off three straight wins. Ken is a CFL lifer who has won at a high level so he knows what it takes to make a team that can compete come playoff time. He has the most important part down, a good quarterback. Dre can make all the throws, has good mobility to keep plays alive and either the right amount of cockiness or a little too much depending who you ask. A lot of their receivers are new to the CFL scene but they seem to have the right blend of size and speed to make plays. One thing that does seem like it could be a problem is team cohesion, there seemed to be disagreements on the field between players of situational football. There is also an X factor Ken has in his back pocket if he can make it to three more games, maybe the fastest receiver CFL has seen in DJ. Whether he qualifies will make a big difference on The U’s outlook for the season.
4. Niners
Record: 2-3
Points For: 30.4
Points Against: 37.2
A couple of things that stand out about captain Moody’s team, who is gonna show up every week and can they stop anyone? The two games that the main Niners we have seen for years like Josh, Esteban and Ruhel have shown up for they have looked good and gotten wins. Many weeks though it seems like a ragtag bunch trying to compete. In the three games Esteban has played he has quarterbacked two thrown 5 touchdowns each time and gotten two victories so the formula seems obvious right now. The defense has to be cleaned up though, the idea that you are just going to outscore everybody almost never works, though with the offense looking this good and the potential return of Nafi for the playoffs maybe they can do it.
5. Pluto
Record: 1-4
Points For: 26
Points Against: 37
Pluto was looking like a team who would play a lot of fun football but not get many wins this season, their inaugural in the Elite division, but then they made a call. They brought in some players from the old Ravens squad that made a championship appearance in Jordan and Ihsan who add talent and experience and will compliment their guys like Toheed who has been a stellar receiver so far. Shak looks like he belongs as a quarterback at this level but has to clean up his mistakes, especially on the goal line. He has the players to maybe make some noise in the playoffs but improvements on defense where they have been an absolute sieve are probably the number one goal.
6. Ballers
Record: 1-4
Points For: 20.4
Points Against: 24.8
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Usman’s squad is struggling right now. Their lone victory was to a bare bones Niners squad and other than that they have not been able to find the form that they captured last season to make the title game. Was last seasons MVP campaign by Umair a fluke, the number would say so as the Ballers are last on offense and are having trouble moving the ball on that side. If there is something they can hang their hat on it is that they are playing solid defense and that will keep them in most games. Usman knows how to build a roster so the struggles cannot be pinned on lack of talent, they have time to figure it out before playoffs but not much. One season wonders?