eSFL Insider: UPDATED:eSFL Insider-Playoff scenerios 2011

UPDATED: 30 Nov 2011

It's week 13 in the eSFL and the end of the 2011 regular season for the league. Looking back on the season it's hard to believe that it is nearly over already, and on the other hand it has seemed like three years. As commissioner of the league since it's inaugural season in 2000 we have had many surprises, changes, disappointment, and a few who even tried to cheat. This season seems to me to have been one of two stories, one from each division.

Global playoff overview

For the D Crownholder to make the playoffs they must:
-Win
and both Pardue and Rhodes lose
OR
win and Zima lose

For the Runners to make the playoffs they must:
-Win
OR
lose and have either Zima or Crownholder lose
OR
lose and have Pardue win

For the Zima Ruskies to make the playoffs they must:
-Win
OR
lose and have D Crownholder lose

WHO'S IN:

The Global division will enter the final week as probably one of the closest and most competitive divisions in the history of divisional play. Four teams could finish in a four way tie for second place! The Temp team is in with no worse than a 10-4 record. Rhodes, D, Pardue, and Zima all could finish at 8-6 and the playoff teams will be decided by tiebreakers. Let's take a look.

If all four teams finish at 8-6:

Using the eSFL's first tiebreaker (Head to Head) it is implemented in accordance with NFL tiebreaker rules:

1. Apply division tiebreaker to eliminate all but the highest ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2.

The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tiebreaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants.

2. Head-to-head sweep.

When the first Wild-Card team has been identified, the procedure is repeated to name the second Wild-Card, i.e., eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. In situations where three or more teams from the same division are involved in the procedure, the original seeding of the teams remains the same for subsequent applications of the tiebreaker if the top-ranked team in that division qualifies for a Wild-Card berth.

what that means in the paragraph above is each tie is broken individually, so team 1 and 2 is in and teams 3 & 4 go to head-to-head.
Pardue, Zima, and D are in and Rhodes is out because using the eSFL head to head tiebreaker outlined by the NFL:

Pardue eliminates Rhodes (swept)
Zima eliminates D (Swept)

but since we need another team the process is repeated between Rhodes and D. They split, so it goes to the next eSFL tiebreaker of division record. D would have a better division record (7-5 to 6-6) and would make the playoffs.

IN:
Temp
D
Zima
Pardue

If Pardue wins and finishes 9-5

and Zima, D, and Rhodes all finish at 8-6:

Using the eSFL's first tiebreaker (Head to Head) it is implemented in accordance with NFL tiebreaker rules:

Zima eliminates D (2-0)
(All remaining split head to head)
therefore that leaves the teams that are in as:
Temp
Pardue
Zima
Rhodes

If Rhodes wins in week 13:
Rhodes qualifies with a 9-5 record as D and Zima can at best finish 8-6. The final spot would be between Zima and D. If both finish with the same record 7-7 or 8-6 it would go to the first tiebreaker of head to head, which Zima won 2-0 over D.
IN:
Temp
Pardue
Rhodes
Zima (2-0 head to head with D)