WEEK ONE

Molly Pop 1006 at Griff’s Stoners 939 Don’s Gators 1481 at Eric’s Dolphins 1208 Ming Dynasty 1128 at The Franchise 980 David the Patriots 1735 at The Hart Foundation 893 Manhattan Projects 1459 at The Quarter Pounders 1217 Burrier Bruisers 1272 at Backstreet Boyz 1295

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

MING DYNASTY Be EXCITED about…Peyton Manning. He lived up to the hype by scoring 338 against the top defense in the league. Be WORRIED about…oh those running backs. Their week one total has to be a record. Not only did my two starters only score 32 points, my five total running backs only produced 115. Don’t STRESS about…Arrington. He’s a rookie, starting his first game, playing from behind the whole way against a good defense. His numbers will improve. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…The Redskins defense; a great performance against a bad offense. But can they continue to hold up if the Redskin’s offense continues to suck ass. Love the STATS…I won! I was only 2-4 on opening day prior to this game, which usually leads me to slow starts.

THE FRANCHISE Be EXCITED about…Carson Palmer; a late fumble and late interception killed his point total, but he did look good and based on the week one results, you made the right decision keeping Palmer and not Plummer. Be WORRIED about…you’re ability to manage a team week-to-week. Yeah, the Ravens are a top defense and you used a high pick to draft them, but even you had to consider pulling them when they are playing against one of the best offensive teams in league history. This would have been the perfect time to pick up a FA defense with a good match up. Don’t STRESS about…your receivers. Evans was average at best and Johnson, he was just awful (actually Carr was awful); but these two will see better days this season. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Benson. The Bears’ rookie running back only got ten yards on three carries, but what matters the most is despite the fact he missed all of the preseason; he played. It’s only a matter of time before he’s starting and getting 20-carries a game. He could make good trade bait later in the season. Love the STATS…after running off 24-straight 1,000-point games; Matt has failed to break 1,000 in two straight games, dating back to last season.

MOLLY POP Be EXCITED about…your running back duo. McAllister and Westbrook produced a solid 446. However, you do need Westbrook to get more than 12-carries a game if you’re going to compete. Be WORRIED about…Plummer. Oh Plummer, you heartbreaker. Despite an awful game, he still managed 144 points, but two interceptions and one fumble cannot continue…but why should it stop? He’s been doing it for years. Don’t STRESS about…the Jets defense. They were playing in the first week, on the road, against one of the top offensive teams in the league. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Randle El. On Sunday, he looked like the best receiver in a Steelers uniform, but can he do that week in and week out? Love the STATS…Molly was 0-3 against her husband in their first match up (twice on opening day). This was the first time she’s won their first match-up.

GRIFF’S STONERS Be EXCITED about…the Falcons defense. They shut down of the league’s top offensive teams. The Falcons are looking like a very smart keeper in ’05. Be WORRIED about…those receivers. Ward had two catches in a Steelers WIN? Lelie looked like the Broncos 5th best receiver, not their 1st. Ugly numbers from an ugly loss. Don’t STRESS about…Green. His 121 points is terrible, but the Chiefs aren’t going to jump up on their opponents 17-0 every game. He’ll need to pass more. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Larry Johnson. A backup running back scores 342 points. Are the Chiefs really considering using him this much every game? Love the STATS… This was the first time since 1999, Griff has failed to break 1,000 in week one. Also, this is the 99th straight game Griff has failed to score 2,000 in a single game; the longest streak in history (He’s never done it).

DON’S GATORS Be EXCITED about…a lot of things. Bulger scored big; Moss did too. The Steelers were awesome; even your back up running back (Taylor) showed promise. You should cake walk through the Florida Division. Be WORRIED about…Nothing. Right now, you have nothing to worry about. Don’t STRESS about…Coles 120 points. Think about it; he scored that even though he dropped two huge balls (including a possible TD) We’ll WAIT & SEE about… D. Davis. The Texans looked bad. Could they really take a step backwards? Love the STATS…It’s simple; when you lose your opening game, you have losing seasons. Win you win on opening day, you don’t have a losing season. Guess what? You won’t have a losing season this year.

ERIC’S DOLPHINS Be EXCITED about…Fitzgerald. Wow, I did not see him producing those kind of numbers. If he can really produce stud digits like this every week, winning will come your way. Be WORRIED about…Favre. He score -10 points; which in the end, cost you this victory. With Walker out for the year, can Favre really do it this year? Don’t STRESS about…the loss. You scored fine, over 1,208 with no quarterback. Everyone on your team played well. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Jeremy Shockey. He got a TD, but only 29 yards. He needs to get that yardage total back up to 80-100 yards. Love the STATS… Eric falls to 3-6 lifetime against his father.

DAVID THE PATRIOT Be EXCITED about…Tom Brady. Yeah, you should be excited about the Bills defense too. That was an amazing performance this week, but they’re not going to score 600 points every week. Brady though, if he can play like this every week, then you have a top-five QB, which you’re going to need. Be WORRIED about…Nate Burleson. He looked so average and with no truly proven track record, there is no proof he’s going to step it up this season. Don’t STRESS about…Curtis Martin. The Jets played one bad game; that’s it. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Portis. He scored 200 points, even though the Redskins offense looked bad. But Gibbs is already starting to play QB shuffle and that’s not going to help Portis at all. Love the STATS…Oh Dave, you’re always so good out of the gate. Lifetime you’re now 5-2, you’ve scored over 1,300 points in five of those opening week games and you now had the highest score in week one for the 2nd straight year.

HART FOUNDATION Be EXCITED about…Kevin Jones. His numbers weren’t super, but he got 25 carries in the game. If he continues that, you’ll be in good shape at one running back spot. Be WORRIED about…Cedric Benson. He’s not on your team, but he’s already playing for the Bears, which means you can begin the Thomas Jones to the bench countdown starting…now. Don’t STRESS about…Culpepper’s awful game. Call it bad luck, call it nerves, call it no running game, but don’t call it a trend. The Vikings will figure it out and Culpepper will be back scoring in the high 300’s. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Droughns…he got most of the carries in Cleveland (only twelve) and looked pretty good. But time will tell if that earns him more carries in the future. Love the STATS…Not only did you lose your opening game last year and still won the title, you were the league’s lowest scoring team. And look, you did it again this season.

MANHATTAN PROJECTS Be EXCITED about…your ability to fill a hole. With no solid #2 running back, I thought you were doomed, but you filled the hole with Parker and what’s he do, oh just the best week one running back. And if you didn’t, I think Williams would have been a fine #2. Be WORRIED about…Hasselback. Granted, the Jaguars have a great defense and it was a road game, but Hasselback looked lost. Don’t STRESS about…Jamal Lewis; at least not yet anyhow. He’ll see better games; I think. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Tatum Bell. With Anderson hurt, Bell has his chance to take over the starting role in Denver. However, he didn’t do much with his opportunity this past week. After breaking out for 30 yards in his first carry, He gained only 30-yards on his next 12 touches. Love the STATS…In only his third season, Calderon really knows how to come out of the gate. In fact, his 1,459 is the lowest score he’s had in the opening game.

QUARTER POUNDERS Be EXCITED about…Steve Smith. After week one he looked like what he did in 2003, a number one receiver on a good offensive team. Your running backs are another thing to be excited about; both had solid weeks. Be WORRIED about…Dallas Clark. Ugh, a starting tight end on the league’s best offense walks away with 0 points. Don’t STRESS about…the Patriots defense. The Raiders are going to score a lot on a lot of folks. Look for the Pats to do better the rest of the season. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Driver. It’s excellent news for you that Walker is out for the season; this means that Driver is now the #1 in Green Bay. Let’s see what he does with it. Love the STATS…You just suck on opening day and in your division. The Pounders fall to 0-3 on opening day and 2-11 in division play.

BURRIER BRUISERS Be EXCITED about…Derrick Mason. The Ravens O looked bad, but Mason did not. Be WORRIED about…Fitzgerald. Why? Because if Larry is really the man in Arizona, then that means Boldin is just an average second receiver. Don’t STRESS about…Jackson’s low numbers. The Rams fell behind quickly. He’ll have better days. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…the Bucs defense. Are they really that good, or were the Vikings really that bad? Love the STATS…you’re now 1-4 on opening day and this is the second time you lost an opening day game by less than 30 points.

BACKSTREET BOYZ Be EXCITED about…Collins and Green. Both were question marks coming in, both showed what you’ll get from them this season. Be WORRIED about…the Larry Johnson effect. He stole playing time, yards and a TD from Holmes; I can see the Chiefs splitting time in the backfield to try to keep Holmes healthy all season – which would be bad news for you. Don’t STRESS about…Walker’s injury. The one thing you do have is good dept at receiver. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…your backup receivers. They are all good receivers, but not great. Which one will be able to fill the Walker shoes? Love the STATS…Undefeated on opening day. You’re 4-0 now on the first week of football.

WEEK TWO

Griff’s Stoners 1278 at Don’s Gators 1417 Eric’s Dolphins 1497 at Molly Pop 990 David the Patriots 1116 at Ming Dynasty 1299 The Hart Foundation 713 at The Franchise 971 Burrier Bruisers 1377 at Manhattan Projects 1597 Backstreet Boyz 956 at The Quarter Pounders 1506

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

ROBIO’S RANKINGS 1. Manhattan Projects (2-0) Suddenly the top team in the league. 2. Don’s Gators (2-0) Team has under performed, but the Gators still average over 1,400ppg 3. Ming Dynasty (2-0) I’m not dominating, but I’m winning 4. The Quarter Pounders (1-1) You got only one win, but you were consistently good in both. 5. Eric’s Dolphins (1-1) I know, I know; two Vozzola’s in the top-five. It doesn’t look right. 6. Burrier’s Bruisers (0-2) Two “good” loses should make you feel a little better 7. David the Patriot (1-1) One great game, one bad game. I need a third one to understand this team. 8. Griff’s Stoners (0-2) I can’t even remember what a championship game looks like without a Coomer. 9. Backstreet Boyz (1-1) Walker gone, Priest not putting up Priest numbers; the season may start to look long real soon. 10. Molly Pop (1-1) Be happy you landed at least one week in this two-week period 11. The Franchise (1-1) Tell me you weren’t sweating it out last night when Bob’s Cowboy defense was pitching a shutout with five minutes to go in the game 12. The Hart Foundation (0-2) Is it too soon to bring back the Republicans?

MING DYNASTY Be EXCITED about…Horn and Holt, they’re everything I can hope for a 2nd and 3rd round receivers. Be WORRIED about…another week, another week of nothing from my running backs. Don’t STRESS about…Manning; he’ll catch on fire next week against the Browns. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…if my new Roto-defense with the Redskins and Bears are a winning combination. Love the STATS…It only took seven years for me to have my first 2-0 start.

THE FRANCHISE Be EXCITED about…Carson Palmer = Stud. Why did you draft two other quarterbacks? Be WORRIED about…Andre Johnson will never reach 90-catches at this past. Don’t STRESS about…Dillon had one bad game, no big deal. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Ravens are the 30th ranked defense in the league. Love the STATS…How the hell did you win? You don’t deserve a win. Six of your eight players failed to score over 100; hell, four failed to break 50 points.

MOLLY POP Be EXCITED about…Westbrook is putting up the points and got 21 touches this past week. Be WORRIED about…Your QB situation; a team without a QB is a man without a penis – worthless. Don’t STRESS about…McAllister’s low numbers. It was not fair for the Saints first home game to be played in New Jersey. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Clayton’s numbers improved from week one, but time will tell if he suffers the sophomore slump. Love the STATS…Molly’s winning streak, dating back to last year, ends at five games.

GRIFF’S STONERS Be EXCITED about…Alexander finding his sea legs and producing yet another 300-point game. Be WORRIED about…Lelie improved, as did the Broncos as a team, but Rod Smith once again out-produced him. Don’t STRESS about…about your negative points in defense. Even if you had the Falcons in their, you still would have loss and the Falcons D will have better days. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Why can’t Trent Green throw a touchdown? Love the STATS…The 100th straight game where a Stoner team did not break 2,000.

DON’S GATORS Be EXCITED about…Moss and Steelers; you rode these two to a 2-0 start. Be WORRIED about…Still nothing yet. Don’t STRESS about…about McGahee’s low numbers. This game was a fluke. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Davis improved, but we need 250 from him every week. Love the STATS…With a win next week, Don will start the season 3-0 for the third time in four seasons.

ERIC’S DOLPHINS Be EXCITED about…Stephan Davis and Fitzgerald; one old man, one young stud…both could be huge for Eric this season. Be WORRIED about…Ronnie Brown appears to be the wrong guy taken out of Auburn. Don’t STRESS about…Harrison’s numbers have dipped, as all Colts players have, but can they really stay low? We’ll WAIT & SEE about…the Pack keeping falling behind, which is good because Favre then throws a lot. Love the STATS…Eric came close, but that’s now 24-straight games in a row where Eric failed to score 1,500 in a single game.

DAVID THE PATRIOT Be EXCITED about…Chad Johnson is a fucking stud. Be WORRIED about…Nate Burleson is hurt and we’re not sure when he’s coming back. Don’t STRESS about…the Bills We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Portis. He scored 200 points, even though the Redskins offense looked bad. But Gibbs is already starting to play QB shuffle and that’s not going to help Portis at all. Love the STATS…Despite the loss, you still have the best lifetime record against Robio at 7-6.

HART FOUNDATION Be EXCITED about…Thomas Jones. If he continues to average 4.9 yards per rush, there’s no way Lovie could pull him for Benson. Be WORRIED about…Culpepper, Jones and Wayne; the core of this team produced a stunning 103 total points. Don’t STRESS about…the Cowboys defense in the 4th quarter. They could be a good D for you all season. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Droughns is still starting in Cleveland. Love the STATS…Your 1,707 points in the first two weeks are the fifth lowest in league history for the first two weeks of a season.

MANHATTAN PROJECTS Be EXCITED about…having the deepest backfield in the league. Parker and Williams are a monster twosome. Be WORRIED about…Wiggins. Yep, you’re TE is not a top TE and the Vikings O has looked awful. Don’t STRESS about….Jamal. You go to jail and suddenly you can’t find the holes? You got Parker and Williams, so you can be patient with Lewis. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…Bell and Henry. Both could end up starting at some point in this season. Love the STATS…First 2-0 start in Projects history

QUARTER POUNDERS Be EXCITED about…McNabb looked like a freaking stud. Yeah, it was the 49ers, but 565 from a QB is pretty. Be WORRIED about…For a second straight week; Dallas Clark: 1 reception, 4 yards. Don’t STRESS about…Rudi Johnson only played about half the game because it was a blow out. We’ll WAIT & SEE about…the Patriots defense. Their numbers don’t rock, but is there really a better one available on the free agent market. Love the STATS…This was only your third career divisional win (3-11).

BURRIER BRUISERS Be EXCITED about…Steven Jackson. That’s exactly the numbers you want from a #2 back Be WORRIED about…your huge hole at QB. Did you really draft Vick so you could start the backup Ravens QB? Don’t STRESS about…Tomlinson has been slowed out of the gate in terms of yards, but he’s getting the TD’s We’ll WAIT & SEE about…the Bucs defense have been impressive, but are they really that great or were the Vikings and Bucs offense really that bad. Love the STATS…Richie Rich falls to 0-2 for the first time in his career

BACKSTREET BOYZ Be EXCITED about…Roy Williams look like a top receiver in week two. Be WORRIED about…Priest Holmes carries. He got 19 touches, which could end up being the most he gets in any game all season. Don’t STRESS about…Ahman has only been alright while the Packers have struggled, but they’ll improve and so will Green’s number. WE’ll WAIT & SEE about…that second receiver spot, the big, black hole Love the STATS…You’re twelve games streak of scoring at last 1,000 in a game ends at 12, one shy of the top ten longest streak.

WEEK THREE

Molly Pop 1369 at Don’s Gators 1230 Eric’s Dolphins 830 at Griff’s Stoners 1951 The Franchise 1373 at David the Patriots 1301 Ming Dynasty 1576 at The Hart Foundation 1215 The Quarter Pounders 1403 at Burrier Bruisers 1828 Manhattan Projects 1186 at Backstreet Boyz 1674

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

GRIFF STONER – The Stoned one finally earned that first victory and was one 40-yard field goal away from scoring his first 2,000-point game in his career. Although he didn’t reach two-grand, his 1,121 point ass kicking of the Dolphins is the 7th largest in league history. Now which team is the real Griff team? The one that just knocked out 1,951 or the one that managed only 2,217 in the first two weeks?

ERIC’S DOLPHINS – Oh Eric, you’re such a tease. A week after I brag about your victory and talk about a new day is dawning for the Dolphins, you bust out with a lame 830-pt game. You have good news, bad news Tuesday thought. The bad news is Favre is throwing more interceptions then God. The good news is, with Henry gone in Tennessee, you have four decent running backs on your roster. Let’s call that trade bait.

MOLLY POP – With your upset (yes, we’re calling it an upset because only three people picked you to win) over Donnie, you’re now tied for first-place in your division. You’re a long way from last year’s 0-5 start. Over your last twelve games, you’re 7-5. Although you should still be concerned with your QB spot and the receivers didn’t do shit, how about that Brian Westbrook? He’s a late second-round back throwing down first-round type numbers.

DON’S GATORS – The lose hurts, but there could be even worse news for the Gators. With Pennington suddenly out for the year and the Jets already down to their number three QB, Coles suddenly has little, fantasy value. On the flip side, you do have good dept at WR with Muhammad and with Bruce aching with turf toe; Curtis is an attractive start in the next couple of weeks.

THE BURRIER BRUISERS – Tomlinson blows up, Boldin stepped up, Vick tore up, the Buccaneers D…um…I’m out of “up’s”. If Vick continues to show up, this team will continue to win. On the backup front, Moore looks to have taken the starting job away from Bennett in Minnesota

QUARTER POUNDERS – Oh Pounders, only two teams predicted you to lose this week. You let not only yourself down, but all of us down. We can’t blame you though. It’s not really your fault. You scored over 1,400 which is usually enough to win in this league.

BACKSTREET BOYZ – You won and you should be happy. You walk away from a tough division with a 2-1 record, but I’m still concerned about this team. Both Holmes and Green are average about 150 a game and Stokley is not worthy of a starting spot, but the good news is it appears you found a defense.

MANHATTAN PEOJECTS – Bell looks to be a third-stringer and Parker looks human after all (Staley and Bettis are now back), your once solid backfield is down to two, Williams and Lewis. However, if Lewis can find his groove, that’s one hell of a backfield with one solid receiving core. You should have little trouble winning over the next five to six weeks.

MING DYNASTY – Finally, a running back produced (actually two did). Despite Manning’s inability to do much of anything, the Dynasty produced a solid 1,500-pt game, thanks to more solid defense, the best receiver in football, Witten waking up and Anderson doing just enough. With Bennett done and Arrington looking more and more like a bust, my season may ride on the back of the ex-Marine.

THE HART FOUNDATION – You broke the 1,200-pt mark thanks to Culpepper finally breaking out, but Bruce now has turf toe and that might hurt an already struggling team. Could we see our first 0-6 team in league history?

THE FRANCHISE – I will not be writing a Tuesday Thought for Matt. For two-straight weeks Matt has not been able to find the time to fill out the Pick ‘Em. It’s one thing if its late in the season and you have no shot at winning it, but if he can’t find the time to do that simple task every week, then I’m not going to bother writing about his team. Listen up Matt, start paying attention or this will be your last season in this league.

DAVID THE PATRIOT – A seven-yard receiving or rushing TD away from victory – that’s the difference of being a winning team and a losing team. Could the Bills’ defense be overrated? Look for Martin to start getting tons of carries now that Pennington is done.

WEEK FOUR

Don’s Gators 1533 at Ming Dynasty 1456 Manhattan Projects 1095 at Molly Pop 1212 The Quarter Pounders 1160 at The Franchise 1318 Griff’s Stoners 1787 at David the Patriots 1340 Burrier Bruisers 1583 at Eric’s Dolphins 1802 Backstreet Boyz 995 at The Hart Foundation 695

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

DIVISION FLORIDA DIVISION – Talk about coming out of the gate hot. A 4-0 week, three teams scoring over 1,500-pts, two over 1,700-pts. Sick, baby.

VH1 DIVISION – We got a mix bag of nuts here. Three teams had decent games, scoring over 1,300 points, but only the Franchise walked away with a win and the defeating champs, well, its not looking good.

MTV DIVISION – A shameful week for the league’s best division (or are they?). Only the Bruisers can brag in defeat; there’s no shame in losing when your team scores nearly 1,700 points. But Manhattan and Pounders go down (kind of) ugly and the Boyz were the only team to win and he didn’t even break a grand.

#1 DON’S GATORS – You brought down the last undefeated team with an impressive 1,500-pt game which earns you the top spot in the rankings this week. BIGGEST WORRY: You suddenly look a little weak at the second receiver spot.

#2 MING DYNASTY – Taken down by a fucking kicker. I went into Sunday night with a good lead and an average running back. Don had a kicker. My running back has a crap day, his kicker scores 270 and beats me. That’s rough man, rough. BIGGEST WORRY: No second running back to speak of.

#3 BURRIER BRUISERS – Yeah, the poor Bruiser has only one win, but he’s scoring like a God. He’s just been unlucky. How unlucky? The Falcon’s kick the Vikings ass, but Vick gets hurt, leaves the game and scores a modest score. Your opponent Favre; his team sucks, but they fall far behind, so he passes the entire second half, they rally but lose, but Favre scores big. BIGGEST WORRY: Vick’s health and Watson has not lived up to his sleeper status.

#4 BACKSTREET BOYZ – Another ugly win drops you two spots, but you’re 3-1 and that’s not a bad thing at all. BIGGEST WORRY: Your week five roster? Man that’s ugly.

#5 GRIFF STONER – I can’t and I won’t ignore your impressive past two weeks. I want to, but I’m not able to do it. But if you slide next week, I won’t forget your awful first two weeks. However, look at Backstreet’s bye-week casualty roster next week. He’s your opponent. If you lose to that, I’ll count it as two loses.

#6 MANHATTAN PROJECTS – I’m going to have to say, get passed those amazing no-name running back totals this first couple weeks, and this team has been average at best. With Williams nicked up and Lewis not looking like the Jamal of old, the Projects might have something to worry about. BIGGEST WORRY: With Carnell Williams banged up, how much time will he miss and will Gruden start baby the rookie back?

#7 THE FRANCHISE – I know, I know, it hurts me as much as it hurts you to put Matt in this spot. Especially after he traded away the Ravens defense for Dallas Clark – didn’t he trade Ashley Lelie for Dallas Clark? Oh wait, that was last season. BIGGEST WORRY: Those wide receivers don’t scare anyone, and neither does your defense now.

#8 THE QUARTER POUNDERS – You filled a big need at defense and yeah, you’re right, you won’t be able to rely on them every week, but considering it was pretty much a FA pick up for you, it was a good deal. BIGGEST WORRY: With Dallas Clark gone, you really have no tight end.

#9 MOLLY POP – Yes, I know you’ve won three games, more than four people above you, but I can’t ignore the one simple truth; you’re the second lowest scoring team in the league. BIGGEST WORRY: Porter isn’t getting the job down at the number two receiver slot.

#10 ERIC’S DOLPHINS – You had an amazing week. You have plenty of reason to brag. But I’ve seen this from you before. You’ve teased me like this in the past. Give me another solid win next week against David and I’ll move you up. BIGGEST WORRY: Finding a good 2nd running back rotation

#11 DAVID THE PATRIOT – You lose three in a row and this is where you end up, next to Bob in the basement. Come on, Dave. We expect better from you. BIGGEST WORRY: Curtis Martin being an affection fantasy back.

#12 THE HART FOUNDATION – I’m going to have to do some research, but this has to be one of the top-three worse starts in league history in regard to scoring. Not only that, next week if you lose to Burrier, you’ll tie two others (Tim and Molly) for the worst start in league history (0-5). BIGGEST WORRY: Culpepper’s injury, Kevin Jones losing his starting spot, the Cowboys stopping anyone this season, a second running back and a lot, lot more. You better start thinking trades soon or else.

WEEK FIVE

The Quarter Pounders 956 at Don’s Gators 1454 Molly Pop 1202 at Ming Dynasty 1097 Manhattan Projects 1336 at The Franchise 979 Backstreet Boyz 1091 at Griff’s Stoners 1076 Eric’s Dolphins 868 at David the Patriots 1235 Burrier Bruisers 1625 at The Hart Foundation 1314

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

#1 DON’S GATORS – Davis finally broke out, now we’re all waiting for McGahee to step it up. Now tell me though, is there any argument that this team shouldn’t have been the preseason favorite? Donnie’s scored over 1,400 points in four of his five games this season.

#2 BACKSTREET BOY – You can’t brag about the win, but it was a win and that’s all that matters. You would have lost to seven other teams this week. But when you can win a game with half your team on a bye, the other half injured, you play one player that doesn’t even play, yet you get a win – impressive.

#3 MOLLY POP – I’ll move you up to the three spot, but you won’t be staying here for long. Losing McAllister is a big, big blow. You have no good running back to replace him with, you’re 4-1, so you’re on the bottom of the waiver wire. But maybe you’ll be that team this year that just keeps winning and no one can figure it out. This week I can figure it out; your defense scored more points than, the rest of your team combined. Colts: 608, Brooks, McAllister, Westbrook, Clayton, A El, Crumpler, Kasey: 594.

#4 BURRIER BRUISERS 0 Oh Burrier, how do you do it? You start two Ravens, yet you still win and by the way, feel free to talk shit to anyone who gave you a hard time about keeping Tomlinson and cutting Manning this past draft. Anthony Wright scored more points than Manning, who was facing the 49ers.

#5 MING DYNASTY – It looks like we can finally say that the drafting of Manning in the first round was a mistake. He’s only had one good game, but more importantly, my team is hurting because of the lack of running backs, the same running back I would have drafted in the first round…insert: Rudi Johnson.

#6 MANHATTAN PROJECTS – Hey, was that Jamal Lewis I saw playing on Sunday. The one same Lewis who once rushed for 2,000 yards. Wow, where has he been? Parker did struggle and that’s a bad, but did you see Tatum Bell’s stat line? Not bad for a backup. Maybe you hold on to him and he gets in the starting lineup; maybe he has some trade value. Who knows?

#7 GRIFF STONERS – Oh Griff, this was a sad one. I said I’d give you two losses if you got beat by the Boyz, but the web site won’t let me. You lost to a team the game a player short. If you need to blame anyone, blame the Falcons Defense at home, scoring you a solid -178. That hurts in a game that you only lose by 15.

#8 DAVID THE PATRIOTS – Yet another team who started a RB who didn’t play but still walks away with a win? Thank God for a great QB and solid defensive play. You’re only 203, but I have a feeling you’re going to be a scary team to play with Brady, Portis, Martin, Johnson, Burress, Smith and the Bills Defense. That’s a team that can win a couple of playoff games.

#9 THE FRANCHISE – So how did that trade work out for you this week. Let’s see. The Quarter Pounders’ Ravens/Heiden combo scores 127 points; nothing to brag about. Your Patriots/Clark package scores you -4. Ummm, I’m going to say this was a bad trade (at least for this week).

#10 ERIC’S DOLPHINS – I’m done with you Eric. I’m never going to sing your praises ever again. Every time you make me proud, you blow it and score a 700-pt games. Favre has another solid game and Fitzgerald comes up huge again, but what the hell? Harrison gets 30? 30! Not to mention, you had three players score negative point. Three!

#11 QUARTER POUNDERS – We now know what happens when McNabb struggles. Next week you get Tiki back and that should help, but the Ravens, at least for a week, appear to be a bust and are you now prepared to run the season with 2-catch Heiden at tight end. At the very least, Steve Smith is looking like a top-three receiver this season.

#12 THE HART FOUNDATION – Bobby gets no love. His 1,314 was good enough to beat eight other teams this week, including two teams walking away with wins, but it wasn’t good enough to beat the highest scoring team this week (and in the league). Good news though, you play Eric next week who loses his star QB and his star RB is limping around.

WEEK SIX

Don’s Gators 1393 at Manhattan Projects 1502 Ming Dynasty 1326 at The Quarter Pounders 1613 The Franchise 1236 at Molly Pop 887 3 Griff’s Stoners 1477 at Burrier Bruisers 1625 David the Patriots 1228 at Backstreet Boyz 1043 The Hart Foundation 1349 at Eric’s Dolphins 94

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS (FROM SPAIN)

#1 – Burrier Bruisers – There’s no denying anymore this teams greatness. #2 – Manhattan Projects – Every week you’re able to plug in another running back. #3 – Don’s Gators – Moss going down is a big blow to this team. #4 – Backstreet Boyz – Sometimes you’re just more lucky than good, but you keep winning #5 – Molly Pop – It will be tough for you to find he wins. #6 – The Franchise – It seems like your opponents always have bad weeks when they play you. #7 – Quarter Pounders – You may have finally solved that defensive problem. #8 – David the Patriot – Still a mysterious team I haven’t figured out yet. #9 – Griff Stoners – You’re scoring, just not winning. #10 – Ming Dynasty – Peyton is average, Horn is down and Anderson is a waste at RB #11 – The Hart Foundation – If any really believes Bob has no shot, then you don’t know the history of this league. #12 – Eric’s Dolphins – Thr league’s lovable loser is back where he belongs. Let’s see what you do next week with

WEEK SEVEN

The Franchise 1031 at Don’s Gators 1296 Molly Pop 1330 at The Quarter Pounders 1129 Ming Dynasty 969 at Manhattan Projects 848 The Hart Foundation 1699 at Griff’s Stoners 1745 Eric’s Dolphins 1552 at Backstreet Boyz 1134 David the Patriots 1270 at Burrier Bruisers 726

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

#1 Don’s Gators – This team becomes more clearer every week. It’s all about consistency. No super-duper stars; just a handful of low-to-mid 200’s each and every week.

#2 Burrier Bruisers – All that praise this week and this is how you repay me? Ugly week for Rich as Vick, Tomlinson, Pollard and Boldin all fail to break 50 points. We’ll let this week slide but with your win/lose record, you can’t afford too many more of these.

#3 Griff Stoner – Talk about an amazing week; you take out Green for Brunell; brilliant decision; and despite the fact Finneran gets you nothing; the Falcons D does everything they can to win the game for you.

#4 David the Patriot – A decent game, but a huge win puts you in a three-way tie for 1st place in the division. So far, it’s been a strange season for the Dave. You score back-to-back 1,300-pt games but lose, but you only score in the 1,200’s the last three weeks; all wins.

#5 Molly Pop – Somehow, someway you just keep finding a way to win. The Colts D seems to be the pick up that’s saving your season; along with finally settling on a QB with little Manning. It also helps when only one, single opponent has scored over 1,300 points in any given week against you.

#6 Manhattan Projects – A tough week for the Projects; absolutely no one stepped up this week; Hasselback was your top scorer at 166 and he got most of that in Seattle’s final drive. But what bothers me the most is the fact you’re running game, once thought to be the greatest ever looks like a fantasy nightmare. Do you still think Williams is going to win the rushing title?

#7 Backstreet Boyz – Can we go ahead and change the Boyz team name to Team IR? With both Walker and Green done for the year; that’s two players you’ve lost and the relief isn’t looking pretty; Neither Williams, Staley or Shipp is going to save the day and a three wide receiver look isn’t going to scare any of your opponents.

#8 Eric’s Dolphins – Wow, twice this year you’ve scored over 1,500. Can this be real or is this just another Eric tease? Your four-headed monster at running back; Ronnie Brown, Chad Brown, Julios Jones and Stephan Davis may not send opponent’s trembling; it’s easily now the deepest running back core in the league.

#9 The Franchise – Over the cap and you still lose. Clark finally produced some points at the tight end spot; too bad your defense crumbled again. Let’s do that math, since trading the Ravens, your defenses have produced a three-week total of -179.

#10 Ming Dynasty – Ugly win; but it’s a win. More importantly, the longest active steak of 1,000-pt games is over at 16.

#11 The Quarter Pounders – Another tough loss for the Pounders who once again were defeated thanks to a worthless defensive effort. If it makes you feel any better; neither Clark, Johnson or the Ravens Defense would have helped you.

#12 The Hart Foundation – Now this is a tough defeat and the one negative to the head-to-head format. You had a great week; second best team this week with over 1,600 but when it’s all said and done, it’s a ‘L’. Now, in the past 6-8 has gotten teams in the playoffs, but that was in a 14-game season. This season there is only 13 weeks, so we just don’t know. Can 5-8 get you in? I doubt it. It’s my belief you can only afford to lose one more game this season. Looking at the way you’re team has performed lately and looking at your schedule, it’s not out of the question you can go 5-1 over the last six weeks; but you’re going to need some love and luck on your side.

WEEK EIGHT

Don’s Gators 1668 at David the Patriots 1013 Molly Pop 874 at The Hart Foundation 863 Ming Dynasty 1498 at Burrier Bruisers 1513 The Franchise 888 at Backstreet Boyz 1387 Manhattan Projects 943 at Griff’s Stoners 1424 The Quarter Pounders 1842 at Eric’s Dolphins 737

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

#1 Don’s Gators (6-2) Yet again, he doesn’t get the high score, but he has another solid game. Think about it…Don’s worst game this season was 1,230. It’s simple, you won’t beat Don with luck.

#2 Griff Stoners (4-4) That’s right, two Florida boys sitting in the top two spot. The top scoring team finally sees .500. He’s scored over 1,400 in five of his last six games.

#3 Backstreet Boyz (5-3) Barber III might have just saved Rob’s season. We don’t know how many more games he’s going to start, but who cares, he scored 346 pts, giving Rob the ‘minor’ upset.

#4 Burrier Bruisers (3-5) Another tough break for Burrier. Just look at your opponents’ scores and margin of victory/defeat over the first eight weeks: 1,295 (-23), 1,597 (-220), 1,403 (+425), 1,802 (-219), 1,314 (+311), 1,477 (+148), 1,270 (-544) 1,543 (-30). It’s tough to win when you’re opponent doesn’t have a bad game.

#5 Ming Dynasty (5-3) Manning has a bye-week and I have my best game at QB. A huge win this week taking down Burrier. It’s not enough to overtake Burrier in the power rankings, but it puts me back up in my division.

#6 Manhattan Projects (4-4) Two rough games in a row, baby and you’ll take a hit in your coaching ranking. 20-pts from Cadillac, while Bell’s sits on the bench. Gabriel lays a donut, while Branch gives your bench 238.

#7 Quarter Pounders (3-5) I’ll move you up a bit, but that’s just one win. Give me two impressive wins a row and I’ll declare you a good team that’s been unlucky.

#8 Molly Pop (6-2) Talk about lucky, a missed field goal on Sunday night hands you an ugly victory. Right now, you’re not the lowest scoring team, but you’re close. Barring 1999, when everyone made the playoffs) the lowest scoring team has never been to the playoffs. In fact, the lowest scoring team has never won six games…you already have.

#9 David the Patriot (4-4) Next week I’m just going to put you at number sox or seven and leave you there. You can’t make up what kind of team you’re going to be. Why do I drop you? Since scoring over 1,700 in week one, you haven’t broken 1,340. Also, in week three and four, you scored over 1,300 and lost, but since then you’ve only scored below 1,300, but you’ve won three in a row until this week.

#10 – The Franchise (4-4) You’re actually better than the 10th seed, but you have dropped three of four games. However, why does every defense fall apart once they’re on your roster?

#11 – Eric’s Dolphins (3-5) It’s been a strange year for Lil’ E. You’ve scored your highest scoring game ever and you’ve broken 1,500 once and was three points shy of doing it again. There is time to turn this baby around; you have three very winnable games in the last five weeks. Win those three and that could be enough; pull off one upset, you can be 7-6 and in your first post-season.

#12 – The Hart Foundation (1-7) A tough, tough year. Culpepper is now down and out for the year, but that could be a good thing. I figured before the season started, six wins were going to be needed to make the playoffs. That means you are going to have to win every single game from this point on. You got the Pounders and Don, both tough games, but perfectly capable of beating all three of your divisional foes. It’s going to be tough, but its not impossible.

WEEK NINE

Don’s Gators 1039 at Burrier Bruisers 1450 Molly Pop 865 at Backstreet Boyz 798 Ming Dynasty 1424 at Griff’s Stoners 1543 The Franchise 1069 at Eric’s Dolphins 1510 Manhattan Projects 1233 at David the Patriots 1291 The Quarter Pounders 1537 at The Hart Foundation 1130

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

CONTENDERS

#1 – GRIFF STONERS (5-4) Six years of fantasy football and Griff has lots of accomplishments, but he has never finish the season leading the league in scoring. He’s on track to do that this season. He’s scored over 1,400 points in six of his last seven weeks and he’s finally turned it into W’s, winning three straight.

#2 – BURRIER BRUISERS (5-4) He’s second in scoring and after a tough 1-3 start, he’s now won four of five, including victories over both Griff and Don and with both Backstreet and Manhattan’s teams looking a lot less intimidating, Burrier should be able to withhold the Pounders for a third-straight division title.

#3 – DON’S GATORS (6-3) It’s probably a little unfair to drop Don to three. He can easily blame his loss on the fact Davis was out and no one knew about it and McGahee was on his bye-week.

A PLAYER SHORT, BUT COULD EASILY PULL OFF A THREE-GAME WINNING STREAK IN THE PLAYOFFS

#4 – QUARTER POUNDERS (4-5) Maybe I’m just jumping on a bandwagon, but I can’t help but be impressed with back-to-high scores. How? The Pounders’ running backs of Barber and Dunn can score, he’s got a great receiver, great QB and suddenly it appears they have figured out their defensives woes.

#5 – MING DNYASTY (4-5) But Robio, you’re below .500, you’ve dropped five of six games, you’ve lost your hold of first place…how can you rank yourself the fifth most likely team to win a title? Because I can’t help be impressed with the points I do put up when I’m losing. In my five loses I have scored; 1456, 1097, 1326, 1498, and 1424 and look at how close each of those games have been; 79, 105, 287, 15 and 119. That’s five tough loses and there’s no reason to panic.

#6 – ERIC DOLPHINS (4-5) Yes, the lovable league loser is sixth on the power rankings. Now, you’re thinking, Robio has lost his f-ing mind. But wait, the only thing missing on Eric’s resume is a little winning streak. I’ve seen too many teams in this league over the years flip-flop wins and loses, sneak into the post and suddenly get hot. Even though Eric is most likely to score 600 in a playoff game, Eric has scored over 1,500 points in half of his last six games and he scored another 1497 in week two; so he can put up the points

#7 – DAVID THE PATRIOT (5-4) Dave is the first division leader to be featured on the rankings. Why are all the leaders so low? Because if you ignore their wins, you don’t see a lot of positives. Dave has now won five of his last six and has moved into sole possession first place in his division. Yet he’s only average 1,207ppg during that stretch.

#8 – THE FRANCHISE (4-5) Yeah, I know Matt’s lost four of five and he’s hasn’t always scored that well, but he’s got two things going for him. A) He’s in a weak division; really anyone can win that stinker. Second, he’s got a decent running game with James and Anderson and he’s found a good defense finally. The big question is of all those receivers, can two of them step up and deliver week in and week out?

#9 – MANHATTAN PROJECTS (4-5) I find it difficult to be putting Calderon this low, but his team hasn’t impressed me at all recently. He’s suffering a three-game losing streak and things are only getting worse. His best player, Owens is gone for the season; suspended, so if he keeps him, he cost him his full salary. Second, Parker is hurt which means Staley and Bettis are going to get the opportunity to take all the carries down the stretch. Lewis appears to be done, which leaves him Bell and Williams. I’m excited about Tatum, but Cadillac looks to still be broken. If two of his backs can produce, I’ll move Calderon up.

#10 – BACKSTREET BOYZ – The second of the three division leaders (and yes, he is still the division leader thanks to his victory over Backstreet Boyz), but it has been an ugly season so far. Rob has scored over 1,300 in a game twice this season and its starting to catch up to him as he has dropped three of his last four games. Good news though (and the reason why he’s ahead of Molly), with Parker’s injury in Pittsburgh, Staley has a shot at getting some good carries again this season, which could give Masterson a two starting running backs, as opposed to three average receivers.

#11 – MOLLY POP (7-2) How can the league’s number one seed be so low? It doesn’t seem possible…it doesn’t seem right. I agree with Molly, a win is a win and she has nothing to be ashamed of, but I cannot and will not predict her to win a title. Her opponents just don’t score; her last two haven’t even broke 900. In her seven wins, only once did her opponent break 1,200. Will I pick against her next week and any other week? Hell no!

#12 – THE HART FOUNDATION (1-8) Oh Bob, talk about a defending title gone wrong. You’ve now tied the record for the worst start in league history; and you’ve guessed it, no team has ever started a season 1-9. With five weeks, its time to begin the elimination to the playoffs countdown…If Bob loses next week and if two of the five 4-5 teams win next week, Bob will be eliminated from the playoffs.

WEEK TEN

The Hart Foundation 701 at Don’s Gators 969 David the Patriots 1248 at Molly Pop 1116 Backstreet Boyz 1262 at Ming Dynasty 1677 Burrier Bruisers 711 at The Franchise 1103 Eric’s Dolphins 1317 at Manhattan Projects 1247 Griff’s Stoners 1427 at The Quarter Pounders 1593

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS OKAY FOLKS, BEFORE WE GET STARTED…THE TRADING DEADLINE IS HERE THIS WEEK. YOU HAVE UNTIL GAME TIME THIS SUNDAY TO MAKE TRADES; AFTER THAT NO MORE.

Like every year, I like to remind everyone, there is no league veto when it comes to trades (The commish has the only veto). I expect everyone to be fair; no helping out your roommates, gay lovers, husbands and fathers. Only once has this been a problem, but it was a long time ago and didn’t involve any current owners.

For BOB: In the past, the rule has been, once you’ve been eliminated from the playoffs, your roster was frozen. However, because we are a keeper league, I have decided to scrap that rule. It would not be fair to not allow you the opportunity to improve your team next season. You can still do a trade this week and do add/drops up until the final week. Once the post-season begins though, no more.

NOW THE RANKINGS…

#1 GRIFF STONER – But Robio, Griff just got beat by the Quarter Pounders, how can you still think Griff is the team most likely to win it all? One word, four syllables; consistency…he’s scored over 1,400 in seven of his last eight games. Also, with Priest Holmes down, Griff has not one, not even two, but three dominate backs. You know you’re in good shape when LaMont Jordon is your bench player.

#2 QUARTER POUNDERS – They may technically be number one in their division, but they’re number one in my heart thanks to being the highest scoring team for the third straight week. I know what you’re asking right now; hey Robio, is that some kind of record or something? Not quite. The Pounders are the second team in league history to have the high score three-straight weeks. Do it one more time next week and they will tie Robio, who scored four straight high scores in 1999.

#3 BURRIER BRUISERS – Failure to break a 1,000 drops you down a slot, but next week you get all your boys back, including Boldin, so we can really see what this team is made of. But the sick part is, despite all the great play from your players, you’re only 5-5 and a couple bad games here at the end could kick you out of the playoff picture.

#4 DON’S GATORS – An ugly week and it took a lot of inner-arguing to not drop you to number five. In fact, you’ve had two straight tough games and you failed to break 1,300 in three of your last five. Injuries with Davis and Taylor have gone from an annoyance to a problem. The good news is, with a Molly defeat, you control your own destiny for that #1 seed in the playoffs.

#5 MING DYNASTY – Despite the injuries (Holt, Horn, Dillon), I keep scoring enough. I’ve busted out over 1,300 in six of my last eight games, but unfortunately I’ve only gone 3-5 during that stretch. However, thanks to my 3-0 start in divisional play, I’m in a good position entering back into divisional play.

#6 ERIC’S DOLPHINS – Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t really think Eric is going to win it all. In fact, only the top four teams are the real competitors. However, Eric does have the potential to be a 7th seed that will knock out a #2 seed in the quarter-finals, but then score 700 and lose in the semi-finals. Why is that? Eric has scored solidly in three of the past four weeks, but I can’t ignore the fact he’s failed to break 1,000 four times this season.

#7 THE FRANCHISE – Matt gets a lot of shit from the league members, including myself. But even I can’t ignore that so far, both his trades this season has improved his team. In the first trade, he got Dallas Clark for the Ravens Defense. Now Clark hasn’t been great, but he’s been a step up for Matt – and the Ravens D…they’ve been cut by three different teams since then. In the second trade, Matt gave up Dillon for Mike Anderson, Jimmy Smith and the Redskins defense. Although the Redskins D hasn’t solved Matt’s defensive woes, Dillon hasn’t been able to stay healthy, so Anderson has actually worked out better for Matt.

#8 DAVID THE PATRIOT – Yo Robio, what the hell? Dave’s in first in his division, he won, he scored more points than Matt, yet the Franchise leaped frog him in the rankings? It’s simple, despite the wins, Dave’s team impresses me less and less each week. He now hasn’t scored over 1,300 in six weeks, but he’s still managed to go 5-1 in that time. He’s like a better Molly. Okay, that’s probably not fair, but with Martin falling flat on his face, David lacks the backs. Another factor, he holds a one-game lead over both Ming and the Franchise, however, he already has a lost against both, so he’s going to need to be both of them in the rematch – there’s no room for error.

#9 MOLLY POP – You finally lost, yet I move you up on the power rankings? Well, it’s not an exact science. Remember, the rankings are based on who has the best shot to win the title and it’s hard to put you behind teams who are going to have trouble making the playoffs. The good news for you this week is the fact Andy Reid finally let the Eagles run the ball; the problem is Westbrook gave up too many carries to Lamar Gordon.

#10 – BACKSTREET BOYZ – The boys are determined to back their way into the playoffs. The amazing thing is, if you lose next week to Burrier, depending on how other’s do, you’ll go from the #3 seed one week, to sitting outside the playoffs the next. It’s not really your fault; the players started to fall and the wins finally dried up.

#11 MANHATTAN PROJECTS – Nothing that happened this week has changed my mind about the Projects. He’s not scoring anymore and he’s now dropped four-straight games, dropping him into sole possession of last place in the division. It seems like only yesterday that he was fielding one of the best teams; now he’s starting players like Porter and Branch. What about all those running backs? Bell, Williams, Lewis, Parker and Bennett score a total of 45 points. So much for Cadillac winning that rushing title.

#12 THE HART FOUNDATION – Not playoffs for Bob, which means he’ll be the first defending champ in league history that failed to make it back to the playoffs the following year. Also, at 1-9, you own the record for the league’s worst record after eleven games. Now, the all-time worst season (regarding wins and loses) is Tim in 2000. He finished 2-12. You got three games to avoid that dubious mark.

WEEK ELEVEN

Griff’s Stoners 1395 at Molly Pop 1098 Eric’s Dolphins 1126 at Don’s Gators 1453 The Franchise 1873 at Ming Dynasty 1515 The Hart Foundation 1358 at David the Patriots 1184 The Quarter Pounders 1224 at Manhattan Projects 1486 Backstreet Boyz 435 at Burrier Bruisers 1572

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

#1 BURRIER BRUISERS – Rich leap frogs both the Pounders and Griff into first on the power rankings. Why? The return of Boldin helps, but the Broncos defense has come up big lately; let’s see if Rich get play a smart G.M. and rotate the Bucs and Broncos defense. If he can, he will win his third-straight division title; only the second owner to do that.

#2 GRIFF STONERS – Its not easy dropping a team after a win, but the one problem with Griff is his lineup is not set in stone, meaning he can’t just start the same brother’s week in and week out. He needs to pick the right QB each week; he needs to pick the right defense each week. It’s tough winning three straight when you have to do that.

#3 QUARTER POUNDERS – A tough week for the Pounders; despite a late rally Monday night. Their record drops to 3-13 in the division, the lowest of all-time. What went wrong? No McNabb, no guaranteed win anymore. I wouldn’t stress too much about it, Delhomme is a better quarterback than what we saw during the Bears game.

#5 DON’S GATORS – I should move Ming ahead of you, considering I would have beaten you the last three weeks, but that’s not what these rankings are about. You’ve clinched the playoffs and you’re probably going to earn the number one seed; now if you can only get healthy.

#4 MING DYNASTY – Another great game that ends in defeat. Let’s look one more time at my scores when I lose; 1456, 1097, 1326, 1498, 1424 and 1515. So the only person who can complain about no luck in this league is me and only me! However, I can only blame myself, if I didn’t trade away Mike Anderson for Corey Dillon, I would have won two more games.

#6 THE FRANCHISE – Impressive win, but you’re not going to score that every week, that’s why you stay below me for at least one more week in the power rankings. However, with Bell hurt, you suddenly have a deadly running back combo that can match Burrier, Griff and the Pounders.

#7 DAVID THE PATRIOT – You don’t score and it finally hurts you. If you can win one of your final two you will make the playoffs; although you do have two tough games coming up. However, even if you lose six might be enough to sneak you in, but right now, you would have a tough time winning a lot of total point tiebreakers.

#8 ERIC’S DOLPHINS – Okay Eric, you still have a decent chance at the playoffs. If you lose to Molly next week, you’re just about out of it. If you win, you’re still probably going to need to beat Griff because you’re only 8th in the league in scoring which means bad news for tie breakers.

#9 MOLLY POP – You’re in, but you’re still only 9th. Eventually I will have to move you up to at least 8th, but I will never be able to overlook the fact you’re second to last in scoring and in breakdown and more than likely, you will be the lowest scoring playoff team in history (Not including 1999 when everyone made the playoffs).

#10 MANHATTAN PROJECTS – You might have just saved your season. You take a tough Burrier team next week, who you already beat in week two. If you beat him next week, you will technically be in first place in the division. If you lose though, you can almost kiss the playoffs goodbye. That’s the kind of year we’re having.

#11 BACKSTREET BOYZ – Tough, tough game. Your 435 is the fourth lowest game in league history. Also, your 1,137-pt asking kicking to Burrier is the 7th largest of all-time. You’re not just going down, you’re going down in flames.

#12 THE HART FOUNDATION – Impress us all Bob and end the season with three-straight wins. But honestly folks, how bad has it been for Bob this season? He’s also in last place in his other league!!

WEEK TWELVE

Don’s Gators 1129 at Griff’s Stoners 1682 Molly Pop 1601 at Eric’s Dolphins 1668 Ming Dynasty 1586 at David the Patriots 1118 The Franchise 948 at The Hart Foundation 879 Manhattan Projects 1131 at Burrier Bruisers 1659 The Quarter Pounders 1382 at Backstreet Boyz 918

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS What a strange year folks…strange year indeed. High scoring teams sitting below .500 for most of the season, injuries killing some teams’ title hopes early and often, Matt on the verge of winning a division title, who here didn’t believe after two weeks Calderon wasn’t going to run the table? Nobody this year is going to crack the top ten in scoring in a season. Just look at the playoffs if they started today:

#1 Don’s Gators vs. #8 David the Patriot #2 The Franchise vs. #7 The Ming Dynasty #3 Burrier Bruisers vs. #6 Quarter Pounders #4 Griff Stoners vs. #5 Molly Pop

What’s missing? Calderon and Masterson! Heck, even Dave could go down. Those are the only three teams that have never missed the playoffs ever! Anyhow, here are this week’s rankings.

TRUE CONTENDERS

#1 Griff Stoner – The flip flop continues between Griff and Burrier for the top spot. These two are on a collision course to face off in the championship game. Why this flip flop this time? Both teams are equal at running back, QB and kicker. Burrier’s got a tiny edge at defense; Griff’s got a slight edge at receiver, but the big difference is Burrier has no tight end worth starting and Griff has the league’s best!

#2 Burrier Bruisers – You scored over 1,500 points an impressive seven times this season. The only thing that worries me is you’ve barely broken 700 twice in the last six weeks. If Tomlinson gets stopped, your team can be beaten.

#3 Quarter Pounders – You’re numbers have dropped slightly; after scoring over 1,500 points four times in five games, you’ve been average to good the last two weeks. The trick to the playoffs is going to be that first round match up. You could end up facing a Molly or Franchise (Good), but you could end up facing a Griff or Burrier (Bad).

COULD PULL OFF THREE-STRAIGHT SHOTS

#4 Ming Dynasty – I have to finally admit, I do have a shot at the title. Could I run the table on the likes of Griff and Burrier? Unlikely. However, you can’t have a bad game against me, because although I’m not going to break 2,000, but I’ve scored over 1,500 in three-straight games and over 1,400 in five-straight games.

#5 Don’s Gators – The early season favorite is starting to slide. It seems like almost every week a player he has in his starting lineup goes down early in the first quarter. Moss has been just plain bad and if it wasn’t for Curtis’ big catch in overtime, he would have produced 0 points. Worse yet, Don’s vaunted running backs, the one I thought would lead him to a championship, are ranked 16th and 16th in the league in scoring. McGahee hasn’t broken 100 points since week eight. Don may end up with the #1 seed, but the first round may be as far as he goes.

OUTSIDE SHOT, NEEDS EVERYTHING TO COME TOGETHER

#6 The Franchise – Yes we were all impressed with your career high 1,873 last week, but besides that you really haven’t done much. Take away that game and you’ve only broken 1,100 once (that was 1,103). The reason you’re in this spot is because you do have some talent; a top QB, a top running back, a good second running back and good tight end. The Redskins need to stop disappointing and you’re going to have to make sure you have the right receivers in during. You can’t have Reggie Brown in there scoring zero points.

#7 David the Patriot – You’ll most likely get in, but you’ll probably end up doing what you always do; score under 1,000 in the first round and lose. You have the league’s best receiving combo and big names at QB and running back, but you’re going to need them to start putting up Dunn/Barber numbers instead of the 150’s they keep producing.

#8 Eric’s Dolphins – Now that was one impressive win against Molly; winning when your opponent breaks 1,600. However, you’re still 21-pts shy of the playoffs and things don’t get any easier next week when you face Griff, who eats 1,600-pt games for lunch. You have an outside shot, but its unlikely because it involves you making a lot of smart decisions each and every week: Favre or Bledsoe? Brown, Brown, Davis or Jones at running back? Vikings or the Eagles defense? That’s too many questions for a serious championship run.

#9 Molly Pop – Can you believe there’s hope in Molly Pop land? And no, not because she scored over 1,600 points for the first time this season. Hell, she scored over 1,400 for the first time this season. What excites me is DeShaun Foster. That’s right. It appears that Foster is starting to get most of the carries down there in Carolina. Davis will still get his touches, especially around the goal line, but suddenly Molly has a decent #2 running back. At that to a solid #1 running back, a solid QB and a top defense, Molly can score a few points. However, she still has no receivers, so I don’t expect too much.

PRAY, BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING TO NEED A MIRACLE

#10 Manhattan Projects – You know, back in 2003 the Projects went into the final week of the season sitting outside the playoffs. To make the post-season he needed to beat first play Rob Masterson, he need both Bob and Matt to lose, he needed Jeff/Colby to lose to force a total point tiebreaker instead of a head-to-head tiebreaker (which he would have lost). Well, all that happened and Calderon won, thus, pulling off the greatest final week miracle and sneaking into the 8th seed. The rest, as they say, is history. Can lighting strike twice? This season Rich needs Jeff/Colby, David and Eric to all lose this week, then he needs to pass up both David and Eric in total points to earn the 8th seed.

JETS! JETS! JETS!

#11 Backstreet Boyz – It’s been a rough year for Rob and luckily for him it will be over after this week. Hopefully my keeper email from the other day can help him decide who he will be taking next season with one of the top three picks. With no real potential keepers (maybe Walker), say good bye to this team forever.

#12 The Hart Foundation – Can he play spoiler? With yet another QB down, he’s going to need to find a starting QB, but wouldn’t it be satisfying to be the one who can possible keep the league commish out of the playoffs for the second straight year?

WEEK THIRTEEN

Don’s Gators 1296 at Molly Pop 999 Griff’s Stoners 1625 at Eric’s Dolphins 929 David the Patriots 1067 at The Franchise 1614 The Hart Foundation 1812 at Ming Dynasty 1414 Burrier Bruisers 1206 at The Quarter Pounders 1058 Backstreet Boyz 739 at Manhattan Projects 988

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS Okay kids…the Seahawks pulled their starters, Bob upset Robio, Don beat Molly and David took the 8th seed. The Manhattan Projects Cinderella weekend is over. Let’s do a quick Tuesday thoughts, followed by a quick look at the 1st-round match ups.

*Note – For those of you who are out now; your rosters are frozen; no more adding, dropping, nothing. I’ll post your keeper situations next year sometime this week.

WHO’S IN:

#1 DON’S GATORS – You hang on to the first seed which is the first time you’ve been the top seed. However, you ended the season as the 4th highest scoring team; this is the lowest a top seed has ever been. Previously they were ranked 1st, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 1st, and 2nd

#2 THE FRANCHISE You become the first team to have the first pick in the draft and then win the division in the same season. However, your scoring hasn’t been that impressive. This is the third time in league history a division winner was only third in his own division in scoring.

#3 BURRIER BRUISERS You become the second team in league history to win three-straight division titles and for the third straight year, you go into the playoffs as the third seed. Here’s the hard part though; in week one you face the third highest scoring team (Ming). If you win and if either Don or Franchise lose and Griff wins (all good possibilities), then you will have to face Griff (the highest scoring team) in the second round.

#4 GRIFF STONER Your 1,488ppg this season puts you on pace to end up with the third best scoring season ever, but you still weren’t able to pull off the division title. If any seed below you wins (and you beat Molly), you could face Burrier in the second round.

#5 MOLLY POP Your 1,111ppg average is the 5th lowest for a playoff team and you’re entering the post-season with a four-game losing streak. However, since 2000, three teams have entered the playoffs riding 4-game losing streak. All three of those teams won their first round game; two made it to the final game, but lost.

#6 MING DYNASTY Five times this year I’ve scored over 1,400 and lost, including four of my last six games. But on the positive side, I’ve scored over 1,400 in six straight games; the only team to do that.

#7 QUARTER POUNDERS The sixth seed is the highest seed in Pounders’ history. But once again, you guys only managed six wins. In three seasons, the Pounders have won only six games in all three seasons; but since Ming passed you up in total points, you fall back to the 7th seed where you face the Franchise, rather than Burrier. Who would you rather face?

#8 DAVID THE PATRIOT With both Backstreet and Manhattan missing the playoffs, David is the only owner in league history to make it to the post-season in every year; seven seasons, seven playoff appearances. However, despite all these post-season trips, you’ve never been higher than a 4th seed and this is your second pass as an 8th seed.

MISSED THE PLAYOFFS

#9 MANHATTAN PROJECTS You almost pulled out the miracle playoff push, but losing five of your final seven was too much to overcome. Remember what I’ve been repeating over the last half of the season; your season would come down to picking the right running backs each and every week. This week if you would have played Willie Parker and not Jamal Lewis, you’d be in the playoffs. Despite the struggles though, you’ll walk into ’06 with another good keeper class.

#10 ERIC’S DOLPHINS You just missed the playoffs for the fifth time in five years. Worse yet, it’s the third time you’ve had the same record as some playoff teams, but lost out in the total point tiebreaker. However, it’s not completely your fault. Your opponents averaged 1,428ppg this season, the second most ever in league history. However, if you wanted to look back at one thing that you did wrong, it was your failure to find a replacement defense for when the Eagles were on the road. Take away just one of those bad Eagles’ road games and you’d be the 8th seed.

#11 BACKSTREET BOYZ Too much to overcome and a solid 4-2 start to the season ends with only one win in your final seven games. Let’s see what you can do with the second pick in the draft next year. By the way, you ended the season with the lowest total points.

#12 THE HART FOUNDATION Thanks to a dominating Seahawks defense in the final Monday night game, you’ve become the first team to finish dead last in the league in wins, but have a high score in any given week during the season. Also, Seattle’s 850 points is the most points ever scored by a single “player”.

LET’S TAKE A QUICK LOOK AT THE PLAYOFF MATCH UPS:

QUARTER-FINALS

#1 DON’S GATORS (9-4) vs. #8 DAVID THE PATRIOT (6-7) FIRST MEETING: Don ripped David 1,668-1,013. Both teams will be running with nearly identical teams in this second match up. Neither team is flying into the playoffs though. David’s lost four of his last six; including his last three. Don has broken 1,300 only once in his last five. BY SEED: The #1 seed is 5-1 against the 8th seed

#2 THE FRANCHISE (8-5) vs. #7 QUARTER POUNDERS (6-7) FIRST MEETING: The Franchise beat the Pounders 1,318-1,160 in week four. Both teams will be starting very different lineups this time around, so the first game may not be a great indicator. The Franchise has won four straight; the ninth time a team has entered the playoffs with a 4-game winning streak. Four of those nine won the title. BY SEED: The 7th seed has managed to pulled off two upsets in six years

#3 BURRIER BRUISERS (8-5) vs, #6 MING DYNASTY (6-7) FIRST MEETING: Burrier beat Ming by 15 total points, 1,513-1,498 in week eight. This was the weird game where I went to bed thinking I had won, but CBS made a correction in the middle of the night, thus giving the victory to Burrier. This is the top match up in the first round as the second highest scoring team (Burrier) faces the third highest scoring team (Ming). BY SEED: The 6th seed has won three games, the 3rd seed has won three games

#4 GRIFF STONER (8-5) vs. #5 MOLLY POP (7-6) FIRST MEETINGS: In the first meeting, Molly pulled out the 67-pt victory; 1,006-939. It would be the only time this season Griff would fail to break a grand. In the rematch, Griff pulled out a 1,395-1,098 win. Griff rides in with a three game winning streak, Molly enters with a 4-game slide. We talked about teams who enter the playoffs with four-game losing streaks, but what about winning streaks? Ten times a team has entered the post-season on a three game winning streak; four won the title, one lost in the title game, three made it to the post-season and only two lost in the first round. BY SEED: The 5th seed leads the series 4-2.

QUARTER FINALS

David the Patriots 1239 at Don’s Gators 1136 Molly Pop 1190 at Griff’s Stoners 1792 Ming Dynasty 1816 at Burrier Bruisers 1295 The Quarter Pounders 1222 at The Franchise 1060

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

GRIFF STONER – Suddenly the league’s highest scoring team is now the highest seed in the playoffs. You know what scares the shit out me though? It’s the fact that Griff will have the running back duo of Shaun Alexander & Larry Johnson for THREE MORE YEARS! We could be looking at the beginning of a dynasty. And to think, Griff voted against turning this into a keeper league.

MING DYNASTY – We should have saw it all coming; my teams be the most consistent over the last six weeks; scoring over 1,400 in every game, but what’s incredible is I bust over 1,800 without any help from my defense. A funny thing about these playoffs though, if I was to beat the Pounders this week and (assuming Griff beats David) and then I beat him, it would be the first time in league history a team won the title being three teams he lost to during the regular season. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself though.

QUARTER POUNDERS – You ‘escape’ with the lowest scoring victory of the week, but you will be scoring more points next week with some great match ups coming your way. Griff may think the playoffs are going to be a cakewalk, but life won’t be that simple for him. All the remaining teams may be lower seeds, but the Ming Dynasty and Quarter Pounders were 3rd and 4th in the league in scoring.

DAVID THE PATRIOT – Stud Dave becomes the second #8 seed to knock off a #1 seed in the past three years. Although it was the most points you’ve scored since week five, it was the lowest score of all the winners, so maybe you’re more lucky then good. But back in ’01, you were just an average team, entering the playoffs on a four-game losing streak. After escaping the first round, you ended up upsetting the two-time defending champ in the semis. Can history repeat itself? In ’05, 3-game losing streak, barely get by the first round, facing the two-time runner up. You never know.

DON’S GATORS – How fitting is you lose a game by 103 points in a game where yet another player was hurt during the game (McGahee). All year long, you’ve suffered similar fates with Moss or Davis. But we should have saw it coming, despite the fact no one did (everyone picked you). A #1 seed hasn’t won the title since ’01; that’s bad.

THE FRANCHISE – Two playoff appearances; two playoff loses. You got a good foundation for next year with Palmer and James, let’s see what you can build around them next season. Start doing your research now!!

MOLLY POP – It was a tough year that you’re ending on a 5-game losing streak. Whatever you do, don’t start 0-4 next season. There is hope for next season though. Your keeper options are good next season with Brian Westbrook in the 2nd and your choice between Foster in the 5th, Colts DST in the 6th or Manning in the 5th. Keep hope alive!

BURRIER BRUISERS – Oh Burrier, we should have seen it coming. You haven’t broken 1,300 in three of your last five games. Look at Tomlinson’s numbers, take away the one 500-pt game three weeks ago and he’s only averaged around 150ppg. You’re not going to win with that kind of production from your star player.

SEMI FINALS

David the Patriots 1295 at Griff’s Stoners 1388 The Quarter Pounders 1880 at Ming Dynasty 1540

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: #7 QUARTER POUNDERS VS #4 GRIFF STONER

Fifteen weeks and we final got our championship game. Those 4th and 7th seeds may not be the prettiest, but these were two of the four top scoring teams all season, so it should be a good one.

For Griff, this is amazingly his fifth title game in seven years. This year’s team is its best, thanks to having the biggest, baddest running game in town. The Pounders’ running backs aren’t a couple of maggots; in fact this game will feature three of the league’s best running backs over the past three weeks; Johnson, Barber and Alexander. I’ll be giving my prediction sometime in the next few days, but first, let’s take a quick look at what to expect.

POUNDERS: They’ll need to make a decision at QB; Delhomme at home against a Cowboys defense recently abused by the Redskins, or Big Ben at Cleveland? At running back, there are no questions with Tiki and Dunn, however, Tiki has had to pick up some of Dunn’s slack right now. At receiver, things look real good. Smith should have no problem at home against the Boys and Todd H. is this year’s Reggie Wayne and he should produce nicely against a Bills defense that has been awful on the road. The big question is what will the Jags do against a Texans offense that has actually looked good and score some points recently. Remember, it was the Jags who got whooped on the road in St. Louis. Colby and Jeff should be very confident; there are a lot of favorable match ups this week.

STONER: Brunell looked good this week, but Griff will probably go with Green at home against the Chargers. It doesn’t really matter who the match ups are, you run with Green and Johnson, but isn’t Larry due for a letdown game? Griff’s receivers have been a little inconsistent; only 86 total points last week. They’re both going to need yards and a touchdown to match the Pounders’ duo. Griff’s got the advantage at TE with Gates, but he’s got a gut-wrenching call at the defensive spot. Does he play the Falcons Defense against his beloved Buccaneers in Tampa (A game I’d bet he’s going to be at) or play an average Lions defense against the Saints in Texas?

EARLY CALL (WHICH I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE): The Stoner will probably get the slight edge with the Guru; let’s say Alexander and Barber break even, Dunn’s not going to put up Larry Johnson numbers in Tampa. He’s going to need to make that up at receiver, which he can easily do. Right now; slight edge to Griff, but it’s a real slight edge.

LET’S TAKE A LOOK BACK AT THE SEMI’S:

QUARTER POUNDERS OVER THE MING DYNASTY Pounders – Tiki, Tiki, Tiki…Dunn’s fading, but Barber is making a run at MVP, you needed to score a lot to beat Ming and you did it with ease. This is the perfect example of how thanks to keepers, you can take two years to build a championship team. Think back, the Barber deal from last year, coupled with the Jaguars Defense this year, Robio has traded to you you’re two key players. At least this year, I got something in return.

Ming – A tough, tough lost, especially when you consider I would have beaten the two other semi-finals. But that’s how it all goes. Although disappointed by the loss, I’m happy my team continued to play well. I’ve scored over 1,400 in eight straight games, which is a record (Five of the last six have been over 1,500). Unlike last year I had only Michael Bennett as a keeper, next season I have some great hope. I’ll get to keep Rudi Johnson with the 10th pick in the draft and possibly the Bears Defense in the 6th rd. I can tell you now I’ll be taking my second back with the 15th pick.

GRIFF STONER OVER DAVID THE PATRIOT Griff – Wow, what a game. In case you missed it, Griff had a decent 178-pt lead going into the second half of last night’s game. David had no one, but Griff had the Falcons Defense. Suddenly, the Bears, leading 6-3, bring in Rex Grossman who rallies the team for a touchdown. By the time the 4th quarter started, Griff’s Falcons Defense gave up 10 points and had a 73-pt lead. The Bears got the ball back after a turnover in Falcons territory. They move the ball a bit, but with four minutes, they try for a field goal. This field goal would have put the Falcons into the next category (dropping them another -50 points). However, he missed the field goal and later, the Bears just run the clock out. The missed 50-pt field goal was the difference in Griff’s 48-pt victory.

David – You almost pulled off one of your playoff miracles, but instead Griff holds on and knocks you out of the playoffs for the third straight year. Now, let’s look ahead. With the 9th pick in next year’s draft, I’m assuming you’re keeping Portis. I’ll also have to assume that keeping Brady in the 6th and Burress in the 8th are good possibilities. If so, you got a lot to look forward to; a top QB, a top-ten running back and a great 2nd receiver. That’s a good start as any for ’06.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

The Quarter Pounders 739 at Griff’s Stoners 1882

TUESDAY’S THOUGHTS

And it only took seven years. It only took five shots at the title, but Griff finally won his first Robioland Fantasy Football title. The #7 seed Pounders had no real shot. They had a solid run, becoming the first 7th seed to make it to the title game, but even though Griff wasn’t the top seed or the top scorer, he was the best team the entire second half of a season.

The only questions is, are we talking about a dynasty? And I’m not talking about just Griff. Colby/Jeff will have solid keepers in 2006, led by Tiki Barber. However, Griff has a real shot of becoming the first back-to-back champion since 2000. He’s got the top two running backs returning next season. Scary.