One weekend down, one round down.  With six playoff teams per league, we had a pair of first round games for each league, the 4/5 and 3/6 matchups.  With the semifinals kicking off tonight, I thought some quick recaps/previews were in order.

Niners Nation #1

I, Frank the Tank, managed a fairly easy win over BarNone, one week after he took me behind the woodshed.  I was fortunate as all but my kicker and defense scored in double figures.  The difference maker was probably 22 points from TE Dallas Clark (only one other double digit performance all season).  #5 ChocoPaco49 pulled out a 10 point win thanks in large part to Revival at the Stick starting Frank Gore over Torry Holt, which would have made up the difference.

The semifinals put Frank the Tank against the #2 seed The Czars.  The Czars is projected to win 102.84-96.22 thanks in large part to his Panther duo of Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams.  Needless to say I'll be watching the Panthers-Giants game intently.  The other matchup is ChocoPaco49 against the #1 seed peckerwoods.  Peckerwoods is favored to win 96.77 to 89.65, primarily through Jay Cutler and Anquan Bolding.

Niners Nation #2

The high seeds advanced here in relatively easy victories. #3 seed "Eight Year Olds, Dude" was the beneficiary of Andre Johnson and Dominic Rhodes absolutely blowing up; riding that wave to a 117.15-88 victory.  Even with his optimal lineup, Maisy's_Cupcakes would have fallen 4 points short.  #4 seed Nosetackle Supreme also rolled to an easy victory by 23 points and his opponent would have lost even with an optimal lineup.

The semifinals pits Nosetackle Supreme against the #1 seed Jamestown Slackers.  Nosetackle is actually a 15 point favorite right now.  If Jamestow set his lineup with the highest predicted points he'd still be 6 point dog.  It's not surprising though, as Nosetackle scored more points during the season than Jamestown.  The other matchup pits Eight Year Olds, Dude against #2 I'm Carrying Underwood.  And again, the lower seed is favored, this time by 6 points.

Niners Nation #3

So the first round of playoffs (and consolation games) are over. Forty9ers3298 pulled an upset over the number 4 seat, The Far Side, in large part because of the awesomeness of Matt Cassel, DeAngelo Williams, and The Eagles Defense. The number 3 seat, The Faithful, had a massive week pulling out a very well fought game against Team Swoosh.While Team Swoosh had solid days from Adrian Peterson and the Jets Defense, a trio of Week 15 statistical power houses, D. McNabb, D. Rhodes, and D. Clark, put The Faithful over the top.

Now Forty9ers3298 is up against the number 1 seat The Norsemen and The Faithful is up against the number 2 seat, Whole11yards. Also Kezar Kids advances to face StrictlyFootball and Rainers advances to face Arnaz 83rd Battalion, in the consolation games round 2.

Niners Nation #4

Both low sides sprung upsets in the opening round in NN #4.  The #6 seed Portland BowlBlazers won by 17, thanks to consistently strong performances from his RBs and WRs, while Hit or Miss saw Chris Johnson struggle to a below average day and TO and Lee Evans combine for 6 total points.  Team Mac Dre won the low scoring game 77.5-70.5.  Team Mac Dre road 25.5 points from Philip Rivers to victory.

The semifinals pit Team Mac Dre against the #1 seed Legacy of Walsh.  Walsh is a slim 2 point favorite, with neither team leaving many points on the bench.  The BowlBlazers square off with the #2 seed Rainers.  In what should be a tight matchup, the Rainers are a .18 point favorite.  Of course, both are leaving some potential big point-scorers on the bench, which could swing this matchup.
___________

We'll see you next week with a look at the various championship games.