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Devils Walk Into the Gauntlet, Stoners Catch a Breather

Claude Schefter

The Run-In

Remaining schedule difficulty, hardest first — Week 7
Team Opp PPG Difficulty (0–100) Trend
1 SeaBirds 150.2 64
2 Apes 148.3 62
3 MudDogs 146.0 62
4 Killers 146.9 62
5 Veterans 147.0 62
6 Dawgs 145.8 61
7 Roos 145.7 61
8 WhoopAss 143.8 58
9 Badgers 142.8 58
10 Yeti's 142.4 58
11 Saints 144.2 58
12 Kraken 143.4 58
13 Wolverines 142.2 57
14 Devils 140.7 57
15 SnakeEyes 142.8 57
16 Troopers 141.8 57
17 Nemesis 140.7 57
18 SaltyDogs 142.1 57
19 Chupacabras 142.0 57
20 Roughnecks 141.3 57
21 Rhinos 140.4 56
22 Goats 141.8 56
23 Lions 139.8 56
24 Dragons 140.0 56
25 Banditos 141.3 56
26 Sandmen 141.4 56
27 Invaders 140.0 56
28 Hawks 140.5 56
29 Snappers 140.6 56
30 Hurricanes 139.6 56
31 Tikis 140.7 56
32 Lumberjacks 142.7 56
33 Nomads 139.6 56
34 Islanders 141.2 56
35 Spiders 141.9 56
36 Nordics 140.5 56
37 Hoosiers 141.6 56
38 KitKats 140.1 56
39 Twisters 140.0 55
40 Mafia 139.6 55
41 Tigers 139.0 55
42 Fox 139.6 55
43 Razerbacks 140.1 55
44 Geese 138.1 55
45 Bears 141.0 55
46 Gladiators 139.5 55
47 Bandits 139.6 55
48 XMen 141.6 55
49 Cellmates 139.9 55
50 Admirals 138.8 55
51 Ducks 140.2 55
52 Lobstahs 139.8 55
53 Terminators 139.2 55
54 Rafters 139.4 55
55 Jockeys 140.6 55
56 Freeze 138.8 54
57 Highlanders 139.1 54
58 Jackalopes 139.8 54
59 Hitmen 139.1 54
60 Stonecutters 139.4 54
61 Rams 138.4 54
62 Mammoth 139.8 54
63 Barracudas 139.0 54
64 Bruisers 139.0 54
65 Apache 139.1 54
66 Moose 140.7 54
67 Sioux 137.9 53
68 Chargers 138.9 53
69 Demons 138.1 53
70 Battalion 137.8 53
71 Maddogs 139.3 53
72 BearCats 138.4 53
73 Hippos 138.6 53
74 Waves 137.3 52
75 Tombstones 137.2 52
76 Magnums 136.2 52
77 Plague 136.7 52
78 Deadly 137.8 52
79 Kung Fu 136.7 52
80 Scorpions 137.9 52
81 Pirates 136.6 52
82 Bombers 136.2 52
83 Vikings 136.5 51
84 Luchadors 136.9 51
85 Wizards 136.2 51
86 Eagles 135.0 50
87 Monkeys 135.2 50
88 RailRoaders 134.8 50
89 Hydras 134.6 50
90 Vipers 135.1 50
91 Outlaws 134.9 50
92 Phantoms 135.1 50
93 Crushers 135.8 50
94 Assassins 134.6 49
95 Monsters 133.1 49
96 Beasts 134.1 49
97 Chickens 132.1 48
98 Stingers 133.0 48
99 Celtics 131.8 47

Boom! Here is the Gauntlet for Week 7, and I'm told the biggest mover of the week is the Devils, who climbed 44 spots into a much harder remaining slate with a difficulty of 57 and opponent PPG of 140.7. League sources tell me that jump is the spiciest finding on the board, so check out the Gauntlet rankings before you set another lineup. Money is nice, but championships are better, and the Devils are walking into a buzz saw.

The hardest road belongs to the SeaBirds, sitting at difficulty 64 with an opponent PPG of 150.2, and nobody has changed that number. The Apes follow at 62, while the MudDogs, Killers and Veterans all share a difficulty of 62, with the Veterans climbing a staggering 24 spots. If you're tracking where your team actually stands in the mix, the standings will show you who is ahead of you on the calendar, and the trade builder is the place to start fixing any roster that looks stuck on a gauntlet.

Now the schedule luck, and this is where I get fired up. The Bears are 0-12 against a brutal slate, the WhoopAss are 1-11 against a brutal slate, and the Magnums are 2-10 against a brutal slate, which means those records are lying to you. Those are teams that got beaten up by hard opponents and deserve a second look. Don't let the scoreboard fool you, because the schedule tells a different story.

Week 7 is the league-wide wall, with an average opponent difficulty of 55, so nobody gets a free pass this week. On the other side, the Stoners were the biggest faller, dropping 49 spots into a far kinder remaining slate, and the Mammoth and Barracudas also caught major breaks. I'm told the owners who made roster moves this week are already in the transaction log, so if you think you need a reinforcement before the wall hits, that is where you find out who moved.

That's the Gauntlet for Week 7, and the full picture lives in the Gauntlet rankings, with the heat map and week-by-week grid showing exactly where every team's road gets rough. Study it, plan your trades, and remember that the schedule is the one thing you can see coming. Stay tuned, because I'll be back with more breaking news on the league.

Schedule Luck

Schedule victim

Bears

0-12 against one of the league's tougher slates (past difficulty 55). Better than the record says.

Schedule victim

WhoopAss

1-11 against one of the league's tougher slates (past difficulty 54). Better than the record says.

Schedule victim

Magnums

2-10 against one of the league's tougher slates (past difficulty 55). Better than the record says.

Trap Weeks

Full dashboard: week-by-week heat map
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