Tuesday Review v2.4
There was some definite separation this week, as the top two teams put a pretty fair distance between themselves and the rest of the league. The Maestro and the Kellogg Krushers both have surpassed the 500 point mark for the season, while The Dragons and The Bouncers are in the mid 400s. The Dominator and The Outlaws have yet to exit the 300s. This is a marathon and not a sprint, though, so much can and will happen before we get to the end of Week 17.
Standings (Week 4):
The Maestro 522.71 (145.97)
Kellogg Krushers 517.25 (153.83)
The Dragons 454.25 (80.01)
The Bouncers 453.57 (104.91)
The Dominator 394.75 (59.48)
The Outlaws 388.12 (58.03)
Week 4 was the first with byes, and that may have played havoc with some lineups, evidenced by the top 2 teams scoring so much more than everyone else. The importance of QB play was also hammered home, once again, as the three teams that scored less than 100 points all had QBs who failed to reach 25 points. As we progress through the bye weeks, we'll see a little roster shuffling, meaning the sharper owners may be able to steal some productive players from their competitors.
This week's "I Sure Wish I Would Have Played That Guy" Award goes to The Outlaws, who just can't seem to figure out when to pick the hot QB. Carson Palmer (20.68) and Tony Romo (47.98) have both had their spectacular moments this season, along with a low point or two. Unfortunately, The Outlaws never seem to know when that hot day will be. Palmer's struggles last night must have been painful to watch after seeing Romo running around and throwing the ball on Sunday like he was a kid playing in the street with his neighborhood buddies. Speaking from experience, not many things are as frustrating as choosing to play a guy who has a mediocre game while the other guy puts up numbers like he's playing at Texas Tech.
The Maestro held onto the top spot this week on the strength of the big Monday night for Tom Brady (42.02) and Randy Moss (29.10). Those two accounted for nearly half of the team's points for the week, and look to be the ones who will be carrying this squad all season. Joseph Addai (19.30) had a big game before going out early with a shoulder injury. Jason Witten (15.55) benefitted from the Tony Romo sandlot game, while Adrian Peterson (14.80) and Plaxico Burress (11.20) produced something in games where their teams weren't quite clicking on all cylinders.
How sweet it must have been for the Kellogg Krushers to be a part of history on Sunday, as Brett Favre (45.43) became the most prolific touchdown thrower in NFL history. Much like Barry Bonds, who can't claim to be the all time home run king because someone in Japan (not to mention those roided out softball freaks) hit more homers, Favre has to take a back seat to Aaron Garcia who has thrown for 809 TDs in the Arena League. Get to work, Favre! You have a long way to go to be the king. Devin Hester (25.85) was the beneficiary of the 34-point pantsing the Lions gave the Bears in the 4th quarter Sunday, as he got to return 6 kicks in less than 15 minutes. I don't think the Bears are quite who we thought they were. Ronnie Brown (25.35) got his stats, even though the Fish lost the Pillow Fight of the Week at home to the Raiders. Dallas Clark (21.80) was huge for the Colts after they lost Addai and Harrison, making up for another subpar week for Steve Smith (6.60). If Smith doesn't break out soon, it's likely that he will pull a Raenthal and kill either one of the Panther QBs, or DeAngelo Hall, who seemed to put Smith in this funk.
Sliding back this week were The Dragons, due mostly to the egg laid by the Eagles on Sunday night. Dunnavunn McNabb (7.96) spent the night running for his life when he wasn't picking himself up off of the turf. It was like the 49ers' offensive line flew back east, put on green helmets, and played a day/night doubleheader. LaDainain Tomlinson (21.70) had his best week of the season, albeit in a loss at home to the utterly crappy Chiefs. Losing to that sorry band of stiffs just magnifies what everyone already knew: for a head coach, Norv Turner sure is a great offensive coordinator. The Bears' defense (19.00) put up great fantasy numbers, even though their team was killed by their totally inept QB, Rex Gros....I mean, Brian Griese. Kyle Orton is next up for the Bears on the QB depth chart, followed reportedly by Aaron Garcia, Carlos Zambrano, and Sam Yoder, a senior at C.K. McClatchy H.S. whose team has only won once in forever, but is a kid who, according to Bears coach Lovie Smith, "possesses great leadership abilities for someone so young and who can't possibly be as bad as the knuckleheads I already have."
Rallying on Monday night to crack 100 points for the 4th week in a row were The Bouncers. Through Sunday, Peyton Manning (44.21) and Mason Crosby (12.00) were the only guys to crack double figures. T.J. Houshmanzadeh (23.95) came to the rescue on Monday, though, proving again that consistency is much more valuable to a team than being a flashy blowhard who can't always hang with the big boys (ahem, Chad Johnson). The rest of the lineup was shaky at best, as Marvin Harrison (1.40) went out early with an injury, Jeremy Shockey (1.85) was ignored by Eli, and the Ravens' defense (2.00) was feeling the effects of some key injuries (and the fact that Steve McNair made sure they were on the field for about 54 of the 60 minutes on Sunday). For such young guys, The Bouncers have been very consistent to this point. They probably need to break out with a huge week, though, to move into a position where they can contend.
In what was one of the ugliest weeks in the history of the PPFFL, The Dominator got nothing from anyone but Deion Branch (16.50) and Edgerrin James (11.20)...and even they didn't contribute a lot. Marc Bulger (4.68), who in all fairness is playing hurt, is taking the early lead in the race for the most worthless player in the PPFFL (won last season by Antwaan Randle El). In looking a lot like Alex Smith and Matt Leinart, Bulger is helping promote the theory that offensive coordinators in the NFC West coach their units to let the defense through unblocked so their QBs can run around a bit before throwing a short incompletion...while getting swarmed under by three or four guys. If it weren't for the Seahawks, the whole division could have possibly gone through the season without completing a pass that flew more than 7 yards in the air, seeing that none of the OCs call any plays where the receivers run farther than that down the field.
If it was possible to get uglier than The Dominator's week (and it was), The Outlaws nearly became the first team to put zero players in double figures. Carson Palmer (20.68) was the lone guy to make it to 10 this week, and, to add insult to injury, he was more than doubled up by the guy sitting the bench. The rest of the squad looked like this: Roy Williams (8.65), Willie Parker (7.30), San Diego's defense (6.00), Heath Miller (5.30), Lamont Jordan (5.05), Chris Chambers (3.05), and Jeff Reed (2.00). An unfortunate injury helped drag this squad down, as Jordan was running all over the Miami defense before injuring his back late in the 2nd quarter. Considering how well the Raiders moved the ball in the 2nd half, Jordan could have put up some really good numbers. It's still relatively early, but being nearly 150 points behind is never good, meaning our two oldest owners need to do some serious catching up...and soon.
Notes:
There was some definite separation this week, as the top two teams put a pretty fair distance between themselves and the rest of the league. The Maestro and the Kellogg Krushers both have surpassed the 500 point mark for the season, while The Dragons and The Bouncers are in the mid 400s. The Dominator and The Outlaws have yet to exit the 300s. This is a marathon and not a sprint, though, so much can and will happen before we get to the end of Week 17.
Standings (Week 4):
The Maestro 522.71 (145.97)
Kellogg Krushers 517.25 (153.83)
The Dragons 454.25 (80.01)
The Bouncers 453.57 (104.91)
The Dominator 394.75 (59.48)
The Outlaws 388.12 (58.03)
Week 4 was the first with byes, and that may have played havoc with some lineups, evidenced by the top 2 teams scoring so much more than everyone else. The importance of QB play was also hammered home, once again, as the three teams that scored less than 100 points all had QBs who failed to reach 25 points. As we progress through the bye weeks, we'll see a little roster shuffling, meaning the sharper owners may be able to steal some productive players from their competitors.
This week's "I Sure Wish I Would Have Played That Guy" Award goes to The Outlaws, who just can't seem to figure out when to pick the hot QB. Carson Palmer (20.68) and Tony Romo (47.98) have both had their spectacular moments this season, along with a low point or two. Unfortunately, The Outlaws never seem to know when that hot day will be. Palmer's struggles last night must have been painful to watch after seeing Romo running around and throwing the ball on Sunday like he was a kid playing in the street with his neighborhood buddies. Speaking from experience, not many things are as frustrating as choosing to play a guy who has a mediocre game while the other guy puts up numbers like he's playing at Texas Tech.
The Maestro held onto the top spot this week on the strength of the big Monday night for Tom Brady (42.02) and Randy Moss (29.10). Those two accounted for nearly half of the team's points for the week, and look to be the ones who will be carrying this squad all season. Joseph Addai (19.30) had a big game before going out early with a shoulder injury. Jason Witten (15.55) benefitted from the Tony Romo sandlot game, while Adrian Peterson (14.80) and Plaxico Burress (11.20) produced something in games where their teams weren't quite clicking on all cylinders.
How sweet it must have been for the Kellogg Krushers to be a part of history on Sunday, as Brett Favre (45.43) became the most prolific touchdown thrower in NFL history. Much like Barry Bonds, who can't claim to be the all time home run king because someone in Japan (not to mention those roided out softball freaks) hit more homers, Favre has to take a back seat to Aaron Garcia who has thrown for 809 TDs in the Arena League. Get to work, Favre! You have a long way to go to be the king. Devin Hester (25.85) was the beneficiary of the 34-point pantsing the Lions gave the Bears in the 4th quarter Sunday, as he got to return 6 kicks in less than 15 minutes. I don't think the Bears are quite who we thought they were. Ronnie Brown (25.35) got his stats, even though the Fish lost the Pillow Fight of the Week at home to the Raiders. Dallas Clark (21.80) was huge for the Colts after they lost Addai and Harrison, making up for another subpar week for Steve Smith (6.60). If Smith doesn't break out soon, it's likely that he will pull a Raenthal and kill either one of the Panther QBs, or DeAngelo Hall, who seemed to put Smith in this funk.
Sliding back this week were The Dragons, due mostly to the egg laid by the Eagles on Sunday night. Dunnavunn McNabb (7.96) spent the night running for his life when he wasn't picking himself up off of the turf. It was like the 49ers' offensive line flew back east, put on green helmets, and played a day/night doubleheader. LaDainain Tomlinson (21.70) had his best week of the season, albeit in a loss at home to the utterly crappy Chiefs. Losing to that sorry band of stiffs just magnifies what everyone already knew: for a head coach, Norv Turner sure is a great offensive coordinator. The Bears' defense (19.00) put up great fantasy numbers, even though their team was killed by their totally inept QB, Rex Gros....I mean, Brian Griese. Kyle Orton is next up for the Bears on the QB depth chart, followed reportedly by Aaron Garcia, Carlos Zambrano, and Sam Yoder, a senior at C.K. McClatchy H.S. whose team has only won once in forever, but is a kid who, according to Bears coach Lovie Smith, "possesses great leadership abilities for someone so young and who can't possibly be as bad as the knuckleheads I already have."
Rallying on Monday night to crack 100 points for the 4th week in a row were The Bouncers. Through Sunday, Peyton Manning (44.21) and Mason Crosby (12.00) were the only guys to crack double figures. T.J. Houshmanzadeh (23.95) came to the rescue on Monday, though, proving again that consistency is much more valuable to a team than being a flashy blowhard who can't always hang with the big boys (ahem, Chad Johnson). The rest of the lineup was shaky at best, as Marvin Harrison (1.40) went out early with an injury, Jeremy Shockey (1.85) was ignored by Eli, and the Ravens' defense (2.00) was feeling the effects of some key injuries (and the fact that Steve McNair made sure they were on the field for about 54 of the 60 minutes on Sunday). For such young guys, The Bouncers have been very consistent to this point. They probably need to break out with a huge week, though, to move into a position where they can contend.
In what was one of the ugliest weeks in the history of the PPFFL, The Dominator got nothing from anyone but Deion Branch (16.50) and Edgerrin James (11.20)...and even they didn't contribute a lot. Marc Bulger (4.68), who in all fairness is playing hurt, is taking the early lead in the race for the most worthless player in the PPFFL (won last season by Antwaan Randle El). In looking a lot like Alex Smith and Matt Leinart, Bulger is helping promote the theory that offensive coordinators in the NFC West coach their units to let the defense through unblocked so their QBs can run around a bit before throwing a short incompletion...while getting swarmed under by three or four guys. If it weren't for the Seahawks, the whole division could have possibly gone through the season without completing a pass that flew more than 7 yards in the air, seeing that none of the OCs call any plays where the receivers run farther than that down the field.
If it was possible to get uglier than The Dominator's week (and it was), The Outlaws nearly became the first team to put zero players in double figures. Carson Palmer (20.68) was the lone guy to make it to 10 this week, and, to add insult to injury, he was more than doubled up by the guy sitting the bench. The rest of the squad looked like this: Roy Williams (8.65), Willie Parker (7.30), San Diego's defense (6.00), Heath Miller (5.30), Lamont Jordan (5.05), Chris Chambers (3.05), and Jeff Reed (2.00). An unfortunate injury helped drag this squad down, as Jordan was running all over the Miami defense before injuring his back late in the 2nd quarter. Considering how well the Raiders moved the ball in the 2nd half, Jordan could have put up some really good numbers. It's still relatively early, but being nearly 150 points behind is never good, meaning our two oldest owners need to do some serious catching up...and soon.
Notes:
- The Raiders are going to the Super Bowl! All kidding aside, as bad as Kansas City is, as bad as Denver has played, and the fact that San Diego is being dragged down by Norv means that the Raiders might not only win a division game this season, they might actually win the division. These guys won't be participating in the Pillow Fight of the Week for at least another 3 or 4 weeks...or until they lose a couple in a row and match up with the Chiefs.
- Terrell Owens showed up for the press conference on Sunday wearing giant sunglasses that looked quite feminine. What's the significance? Well, last week, after a big win over the Bears where T.O. put up nice numbers, he wore a cheery argyle sweater, no glasses, and gave the press enthusiastic, team oriented answers where he praised everyone from Tony Romo, to Wade Phillips, to the guy who carries Jerry Jones' face-lift maintenance kit. This week, after a big win over the Rams, where T.O. was overshadowed by Patrick Crayton, he showed up wearing shades and was much less enthusiastic in praising the team. If T.O. doesn't get his stats, you can expect that he will skip a press conference soon, or show up wearing an astronaut helmet, followed by working out nude in his driveway while dogging everyone involved with what appears to be the best team in the NFC.
- Matt Light presented the offensive starters for the Patriots last night in a much different way than we are used to. Instead of doing the typical and thugging everything up by giving each player a dumb nickname or saying they're from the "school of hard knocks", "the street", or "the U", Light gave us an analysis of the strengths of the Patriot offense. Seeing as Light is a small town guy who went to Purdue, this shouldn't be shocking, but it did catch the ESPN commentators off guard a little bit, causing Ron Jaworski to jokingly say he thinks Light may be after his job. No worries, Jaws. Even though Light was a refreshing change from the usual way the lineups are presented, he's not better than you at giving analysis. He is, however, a million times better than Theismann, mostly because he has something in his brain that tells him when it's time to stop talking.
The order of free agent claims goes like this: The Outlaws, The Dominator, The Bouncers, The Dragons, Kellogg Krushers, and The Maestro.
Okay, take it easy....
The Commish
posted by Patrick Zalasky at 8:35 AM
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