Here's my review of the FIFL at the 2025 midseason point:
TC's Top 10
1. Chesapeake (6-1) : Naturally, the team with the best record in the league at the midpoint would be ranked #1. However, this isn’t a team that has a bunch of wins against weaker teams. Four of their 6 victories are against teams with a winning record. Balance seems to be the one thing that makes this team the current leader – case in point, the Tide offense and defense are both ranked 6th overall.
2. Tennessee (5-2) : Never a surprise to see the Riverhawks near the top of the rankings. Their tried-and-true smothering defense combined with a smashmouth style on offense is the formula for success here. Seriously, can anyone remember a time when Tennessee didn’t field a top-tier defense?
3. Green Bay (5-2) : No championship hangover for the Bombers, but they’ve lost the element of surprise they had last season. The defense is carrying them thus far in 2025 (12.7 points against), as the offense is struggling a bit, especially on the ground. Pittsburgh HB Tony Hunt comes to the frozen tundra in a major trade right before Week 8 – will he be the answer to Green Bay’s rushing woes?
4. Connecticut (5-2) : The defending American Conference champs have some unfinished business in 2025. The Coyotes have handed the Tide their only loss, but they’ve been consistently inconsistent over the first half of the season. They’ll need to find their rhythm quickly as they face 5 teams with winning records over the second half of the season.
Aside: When is the “pick up the oldest QB in the league (especially if he's on the FA heap) and start him" philosophy going to backfire on the Coyotes?
5. Honolulu (4-3) : For a team ranked 1st overall in offense and 4th overall in defense, the expectation would be that they wouldn’t be so close to .500 in the W/L department, with all 4 of their wins coming against teams with a losing record. HB Irons continues to carry the load for the Hurricanes, accounting for over half of the team’s total touchdowns so far this season. However, the forecast for Honolulu remains cloudy…
***You could really throw these last five team names in a hat and list them in the order drawn, and it would be comparable to what I’ve done below***
6. Rochester (4-3) : The Raiders are a scrappy bunch, but tough for me to get a definitive read on. The OFF/DEF rankings (14th overall for each) are a bit deceiving when you see that they are 3rd in points scored and 5th in points against. Will they “Stick with Zwick”, or go back to Carter to make a run at the playoffs?
7. Marion (4-3) : I like seeing the Mayhem do well, and I really hope this is the year they finally turn the corner and become a steady contender. But…I’ve been on this ride before*, and it’s aptly a roller coaster with lots of loops, twists and turns only to end up right back where you started.
* - see most, if not all, Midseason Takes prior to this one
8. Springfield (4-3) : Starting the season 1-3 really made it seem that Mike (Blank) was going to be right in predicting that the Slayers would finish 4th in the division. Don’t misunderstand me though – there’s still (a lot of) work to do on this team, especially on the offensive side of the ball. But most of the team’s core from last year’s 10-4 campaign (and Midwest Division title) is still intact. That said, the “schedule gods’ weren’t kind to Springfield as they face Tennessee, Green Bay x2, and Honolulu in the second half of the season. So, go ahead - ask the Magic 8 ball to see if the playoffs are in the Slayers' future?
9. Fort Wayne (3-4) : Last year the team went as Manziel did, and the same holds true this year - just not in the same direction. The 2nd year QB is in a sophomore slump, as he already has more INTs in 7 games this year than he had all of last season. The Safari have faced some tough competition the first half of 2025, and the second half, while a little less tough, will still be challenging. While the defense has been solid, Manziel and the offense need to find some answers (and fast) if they hope to return to the postseason.
10. Wichita (3-4) : The losing record doesn’t paint the true picture for this team. 3 of their 7 games so far have gone to OT, with 2 close road losses (PIT/HON). With 5 of their remaining 7 games against teams with .500 (or worse) records, don’t count the Warlords out of the playoff mix just yet.
Aside: While there are teams that have played in 5 OT games in recent seasons (ROC in 2022, POR in 2021), the record for most OT games in a single (regular) season is Colorado with 6 in 2018:
• Wk 01 – Win at Everett
• Wk 02 – Loss at Wichita
• Wk 08 – Loss at Minnesota
• Wk 10 – Win vs. Minnesota
• Wk 11 – Tie @ Peoria
• Wk 12 – Loss at Honolulu
Offensive Player of the Midseason
Wichita QB James McNear – The Warlords field general leads the league in QB Rating at 104.8 and TD passes with 12, and has only thrown 1 INT. If he had better protection from his O-line, perhaps he would have even better numbers….and a cleaner uniform.
Note: I fully expect some backlash on this one….comments are open
Defensive Player of the Midseason
Going a little different direction for 2025 and giving the award to the Tennessee’s Front 7. The Riverhawks have 3 DL players in the Top 10 for sacks and a LB at #17 – DT Buck (9), DE Nwokorie (7), DE Zeck (7) and LB Dodds (6). For perspective, those 4 players have more or as many sacks than all but 6 teams in the league!
Special Teams Player of the Midseason
Tennessee Kicker Travis Dorsch – 100% success rate on field goals (13 of 13), with a long of 51 yards and also a 100% success rate on PATs.
Honorable Mention: Connecticut Punter Brooks Barnard – leads the league in gross and net average of 50.9 and 40.4 yards respectively. No other punter in the league is within 5 yards on the net average for Barnard.
