Vultures (4-0)Since coming out of the gate fiery hot, Thomas’ team has hardly slowed down and after defeating the number two team last week (Team Rich) in a high scoring battle, 2517-2372, the Vultures have established themselves as the cream of the crop and far and away the best team in the league. They are averaging a cool 2500 points a week behind the spectacular Tony Romo (455 avg) and the rejuvenated Randy Moss (396 avg). Both are vying for MVP honors if they can keep this up. The shocker? LaDainian Tomlison was drafted to lead this crew but he’s only averaging a pedestrian 277 points. Who can slow the Vultures down? Nobody it seems like.
El Nino’s (3-1)
Despite drafting last, Hong’s team has won two straight games and fought their way to the top of the charts. While there are definite holes on this team – Rex Grossman is a starting QB, still – the combination of RB Brian Westbrook (434 avg in three games) and TE Antonio Gates (259 avg) has been enough to give the El Nino’s two blowout wins over Tae and Jermaine the last few weeks. There’s a lot of good skill position players on this roster – Larry Fitzgerald, Jerricho Cotchery, Willie Parker, Wes Welker – but the QB situation will definitely need to be rectified as Eli and Rex aren’t exactly solid.
Team Rich (2-2)If Rich had been able to pull an upset against Thomas this week, we’d be talking about them as the hottest team in the league. Instead, they lost after putting up a tremendous fight. The past three weeks, Team Rich has averaged an astonishing 2561 points per week so it’s safe to say that they’re quite possibly as good as their owner claims. Most of the damage has been done by MVP candidate Tom Brady (406 avg), plus the solid contributions of WR Roy Williams and RB Travis Henry. With numerous trades over the past week, this team has dramatically changed its chemistry but more importantly, added another stud QB, Carson Palmer (347 avg) to pair with Brady. This could mean some big things ahead for Team Rich.
The Dog Killers (2-2)
The Dog Killers have certainly been involved in a lot of close games this season. Excepting a Week 1 blow out win, they’ve lost by 46, lost on a Monday night, and won on a Monday night. While the team certainly can put points on the board (2186 avg, 2463 high), they’re also a bit hamstrung by poor performances from RBs Frank Gore and Reggie Bush. The good news is that the receiving corps is unparalleled with Reggie Wayne, TJ Houshmandzadeh, Plaxico Burress, and the newly acquired Andre Johnson. If the best RB on the roster continues to be rookie Marshawn Lynch, this team’s aerial attack might be the only thing going for them.
Redskins!!! (2-2)
With two wins under their belt, Chris’ team is feeling pretty good about themselves. After stumbling out of the gate with a poor Week 1, Chris has steadfastly worked his team up to the point where they’re now blowing the opposition out of the water. Perhaps the first few losses were due to strong opponents (2488.5 points against average WK1 & 2) so maybe all that says is that Chris’ team isn’t quite ready to hang with the big boys. On the other hand, the Redskins have hardly started clicking and poster boy Peyton Manning is just scratching the surface of his potential with 350 points per week. Once he can get on the same page with Anquan Boldin, Darrell Jackson, Santonio Holmes, and Antwaan Randle El, the team could be ready to take flight.
Renegadez (2-2)Talk about tough schedules. The Renegadez have been faced with three opponents this seaon who have all handily scored over 2000+ points against them. For a team that’s averaging 1960 per game, that should translate to a losing record. However, the Renegadez are still floating along at 0.500 and despite moving their best player away in this week’s trade, they could be poised for better things. RB Edgerrin James is back to his old self, well almost, and newly acquired RBs Jamal Lewis and Maurice Jones-Drew should help the run game. The biggest question now will be if Drew Brees can replace Carson Palmer’s production, or if Derek Anderson and Matt Schaub can continue to progress in their first full time jobs. The next few weeks will be huge for Rene’s team. Hey, at least he found his car (keys)!
StickIT2Em (2-2)The mighty have fallen. After two impressive wins to start the season, Ben’s team has recorded two sub-par weeks and is now at an even 2-2. What happened? Perhaps the answer lies in men who field general the team. Matt Leinart is time-sharing with Kurt Warner and Chad Pennington is tossing touchdowns but not much else. Both are proving to be a bit of a disappointment – it may be time to use Jake Delhomme. While they have quality targets in Torry Holt and Deion Branch, neither veteran has really exploded so far this season. One veteran who is clearly over the hill is Joe Horn, who shouldn’t even be on a roster right now, since he’s averaging barely 50+ a game. The bright spot here is Joseph Addai, who is averaging a nice 322.25 points. If Clinton Portis can pick it up a bit, the StickIT2Em’s can turn their ship right around and rise to glory once again.
(Gutless) Little Bruins (2-2)Okay, this prognosticator thought Tae had a wonderful team. Turns out, they’re sitting near the bottom of the rankings and getting worse by the week. After exploding for 2363 and 2649 points in Weeks 1 and 2, they’ve averaged a pitiful 1384 the last two. Did somebody die? Actually, sort of. Read on. While the QB spot was supposed to be this team’s Achilles’ Heel, it looks like between Brett Favre, Jay Cutler, Jeff Garcia, David Garrard, and Kurt Warner, the Bruins will find two starters. Instead, the problem is that number one pick Larry Johnson has been horrific (197 pts avg) -- or dead. The other “stud” running back Laurence Maroney has been a disappointment too (168 avg over three weeks). The only bright spots on this team is the play of Marion Barber (269 avg) and the rejuvenated Brett Favre (333.75 avg), who’s had nice targets in Donald Driver and Calvin Johnson. C’mon Bruins, where’s your guts?
Call Me Mr. G (1-3)
With the lowest scoring offense in the league (1887 avg), Jermaine’s team has been mercurial to say the least. With one huge win in Week 3 to get out of winless status (against Will, 2587-2378), the Mr. G’s have the firepower to do some damage but they’re inconsistent as hell. Their best player is rookie sensation Adrian Peterson (334.5 avg). There’s a good passing attack in place with Philip Rivers throwing to Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, and Bernard Berrian but the team killer has been the ultra non-production from number two overall pick Steven Jackson. With a 176 point per game average, Jackson has been a millstone around Jermaine’s neck. And it’s not looking like the Rams offense will recover anytime soon. Can young WRs Vincent Jackson and Greg Jennings make up for the lack of a run game? They’ll have to because there’s no real backup RB on this team, aside from Jackson’s backup real life, Brian Leonard. Could be time to trade for another running back!
Ask About Meee!!! (0-4)While Will has yet to win a game, there’s a silver lining here because they’re actually the 6th leading offense in the league. Eventually, scoring all those points will translate to victories right? GM Will has certainly done his best to re-make his team, engaging in two trades that have netted Donovan McNabb, DeShaun Foster, Braylon Edwards, and Kevin Curtis. This quartet will have to pick up the slack because Will needs his first win! The good news here is that QB Jon Kitna has been performing well (343 avg), and he’s got a pair of strong running backs, Ronnie Brown (375 avg) and LaMont Jordan (321 avg), to take pressure off of him.
In short, if your first round pick is doing crappy, so are you – unless your name is Thomas. So while the season is fully underway, there’s still a lot of time for people to make improvements and hope for better days. Here’s to Week 5 and another fantastic round of games!
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