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Week 7 MVP LenDale White

I was slow this week.  Work got a little busy, and I'm trying to figure out how to use Word 2007, the menus are completely different.

Was this the week where parity started to return?  3 teams with winning records lost.  Injuries are shaking things up, as some teams are without starters, and some former reserves put up monster weeks. 

C’ville Survivors defeated Lindy Hoppers 88.834 to 72.633

Star of the Game – Randy Moss of the Survivors with 20.567 points.  Survivors needed just over 4 points to win, and Moss, who had failed to score 4 points in 3 of 5 games, took advantage of the non-existent Bronco defense with 2 TD’s.

Dud of the Game – New Orleans Saints for the Lindy Hoppers.  Matt has gone all in with the Saints, starting Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Lance Moore, and Taylor Melhaff.  Bush gets hurt, and everything falls apart with the 4 of them totaled 15 points. Brees had by far his worst game of the year, with only 231 yards and no TD’s.

Etc. – Lindy Hoppers lose for the first time this year, scoring 34 points less than their previous low.  With Romo and Brees out for the next few weeks, the Lindy Hoppers suddenly don’t look like such a juggernaut.

Fear Itself defeated Purple Sunday 140.231 to 127.566

Star of the Game – Adrian Peterson of Fear Itself with 25.333 points.  The Lions could keep him out of the end zone, but not the Bears!  2 TD’s  and 12 yards for Peterson.

Dud of the Game – Peyton Manning of Fear Itself with 3.333 points. Peyton threw 2 TDs last week – to the wrong team. 

Etc. – Fear Itself got back into the division title race, now only one game behind the ailing Lindy Hoppers.  Purple Sunday only trailed by 7 before Monday night, but Cutler was pulled (and put back in) and outscored by Wes Welker.

Snowballs defeated Sumthin’ ‘bout Brett 117.966 to 84.832

Star of the Game – Dominic Rhodes for the Snowballs with 24.733 points.  One good thing about being 0-6, you can pick up your opponent’s backup RB when their RB goes down.  And Rhodes was a great pickup this week with 2 TDs.

Dud of the Game – I feel like I’m picking on him, but Brett Favre with only 2.833 points.  Since throwing 6 TDs in week 4, he’s been under 200 yards twice and has 4 interceptions and only 1 TD, against defensive weenies the Bengals and the Raiders.

Etc. – Yay, Vince finally wins.  Now he’s got the unluckiest 1-6 team in league history. 

Randy’s Dandies defeated Bird Brains 128.167 to 102.133

Star of the Game – Sammy Morris of the Dandies with 19.8 points.  There was still a little doubt the Dandies could lose before Monday night, but Morris raced out to 138 yards and a TD and ended this contest and the Patriots game before injuring himself and starting the RB merry-go-round in New England again.

Dud of the Game – Nate Kaeding of the Dandies.  Just named team captain, and only gets 2 points.  Not really his fault, he didn’t miss any FG.

Etc. – The Dandies are the first 7-0 team since 2004, and Randy has his longest winning streak ever.  Both teams had 100% efficiency, thank you bye weeks.  And injuries.  And coke related suspensions.

War Eagles defeated Twinkies 142.768 to 111.834

Star of the Game – Lendale White of the War Eagles with 33.933 points.  White had not gained over 59 yards all season, but then again he had not played against the faux-NFL team in Kansas City.  149 yards and 3 TDs give him the 2^nd most points for the week.

Dud of the Game – Terrell Owens of the War Eagles with 3.767 points.  T.O. is probably even reminiscing fondly of Donovan McNabb after last week.  Or not. 

Etc. – War Eagles start 1-5 and then start winning like every year, ho hum.  Twinkies have their worse record ever, 2-5, and despite being 5^th in total points are in danger of being sucked into the renaming battle.

Whitecaps defeated Team Hostess 143.467 to 73.299

Star of the Game – Mewelde Moore with 33.067 points for the Whitecaps.  Moore has proved to be more than capable as a fill-in for Willie Parker, with 3 TD’s this week. 

Dud of the Game – Team Hostess minus Steven Jackson.  Jackson has 36.267 points, which could have made him week MVP.  But he almost outscored the rest of his team, which only had 37 more points.  And Team Hostess just traded away 2 of the other 3 top “scorers” from this week.

Etc. – Team Hostess would still be the last playoff team right now despite the fewest points scored in the league.   Edit:  Jeff pointed out this is wrong, since Head to Head is before division record as a tiebreaker.  Whitecaps hold the last playoff spot.

Asia Pacific News
October 16, 2008

THAILAND – On August 27, Randy traded away a sickly quarterback and a running back who is making his fans sick.  In return, along with Sammy Morris, the Snowballs sent Jon Kitna, who was immediately heralded (for some unknown reason) as team captain.  Kitna totaled 35.267 points during his 4 game run as the only real starting quarterback for the Dandies before being sidelined by injury.  Still, that short lived career with the Dandies will go down as one of the best in franchise history, at least compared to $71 Kurt Warner who in 2002 scored negative points in half (3) of the games he started and finished with 20 points on the season.

So this opens up the door for one of the Dandies legitimate stars to be named team captain.  Who will it be?  Andre Johnson who has the 7th best weekly average for a wide receiver?  Larry Fitzgerald who ranks 2nd among receivers in total points?  Rookie sensation Matt Forte who ranks 6th overall in total points this year?  Drew Stanton, the next savior at quarterback?

Team Owner, Randy Russell, stepped to the podium at the press conference to make the announcement, “NATE KAEDING!” he proclaimed.  Jaws dropped, reporters were stunned, players didn’t know what to say.  According to Russell, “Kaeding won by a 14-2 vote in the locker room”.   The first question from reporter Oh Phuket was, “do 14 people really know who Jake Kaeding is?”  Russell insisted the vote was legitimate and that the Florida votes were counted before “Nate the Great” was elected.

Back in the locker room, Matt Forte was asked if he was upset over not being named captain despite the year he’s had.  He begrudgingly responded, “rookies were not eligible”.  When asked why not he responded, “rookies are not eligible to respond”.

Russell was asked what happens to Kaeding during his bye week when kickers are usually cut.  Russell insisted that Kaeding is going nowhere.  “We have plenty of cut-candidates.  Trust me, that won’t be an issue”.

I suppose on a team with so many cut-candidates and a team named the Dandies, it’s only appropriate that the kicker who ranks 7th in the league in average points per game is named team captain.  The Dandies logo has been updated to honor their new “star”.
 

Week 6 MVP Andre Johnson

There is no parity in the league this year.  For the second week in a row, only one team with a  worse record going in won this week.  The league standings are all spread out.  We have 2 6-0 teams for only the 2^nd time.  We have the first 0-6 team ever.   There are 5 teams with winning records, and right now the last playoff spot would go to a 3-3 team with the fewest points scored in the league.  This is unlike the NFL, where the Rams beat the Redskins and the Vikings barely squeak out against the Lions, despite the Lions starting a QB not smart enough to not run out of the back of the end zone.  This was good for Matt’s survivor pool, where 3 of the 4 remaining undefeated are owners from this league (Yay us!  And yay Ryan Longwell!).

Randy’s Dandies defeated Snowballs 138.199 to 135.

Star of the Game – Andre Johnson of the Dandies with 25.133 points from 10 catches for 178 yards and 1 TD.  I guess Matt Schaub wanted to prove he could throw to Johnson, too.

Dud of the Game – Willis McGahee of the Snowballs with 5.733 points.  5.733 points isn’t that bad, but he left injured, again, in the 3^rd quarter, after only gaining 18 yards on the ground, and when you lose by 3 points that means a lot.  His yards per carry for the season is barely over 3.

Etc. – The Snowballs might be the hardest luck team in league history, now 6^th in overall points but 0-6.  Dandies and Lindy Hoppers are the first 6-0 teams since 2004.  I didn’t pay much attention to MNF, but Braylon Edwards broke out of his season long slump and almost pulled this out for the Snowballs with 25.067 points.

Bird Brains defeated Sumthin’ ‘bout Brett 110.4 to 94.3

Star of the Game – Aaron Rodgers of the Bird Brains with 20.967 points.  Like the Packers in preseason, the Bird Brains had a choice – keep Aaron Rodgers or Brett Favre.  Like the Packers, they kept Rodgers and jettisoned Favre.  The number one QB in points through week 6?  Aaron Rodgers.  The difference in points this week between Rodgers and Favre?  16.967.  The margin of victory?  16.1.  (Like I had a freaking clue.  I just wanted to save $16 so I could throw it away on Todd Heap.)

Dud of the Game – Joseph Addai with 0.3 points for SBB.  Addai had 2 carries for 3 yards before getting hurt, as the Colts rolled over the Ravens.  Do you think he might have scored 16 more points if he had played the whole game?  We’ll never know.

Etc. – Every first place team now has a 2 game lead.  Bird Brains face the undefeated Dandies next week in what looks like a huge game for determining playoff byes.

Team Hostess defeated War Eagles 93.766 to 93.3

Star of the Game – Jason Elam of Team Hostess with 16 points.  Team Hostess boldly traded away their kicker for a QB who was playing this week and added Elam.  Elam kicked 5 FG’s, including the game winner after the Bears botched the squib kick at the end of the game.

Dud of the Game – JaMarcus Russell of the War Eagles with 2.1 points.  The Saints defense got shredded Monday night, but Russell could do nothing against them on Sunday, with 2 costly turnovers and no TDs.

Etc. – Total difference in the last 3 weeks for Team Hostess – 2.5 points.  Another almost comeback on MNF, Jacobs scores an early TD, but only gets 12.7 points when the Giants fall way behind the Browns of all teams and actually use Derrick Ward for large portions of the game.

Twinkies defeated Whitecaps 120.866 to 82.034

Star of the Game – Maurice Jones-Drew with 27.467 points for the Twinkies.  Jones-Drew’s rushing yards by game this year – 13, 17, 107, 32, 7, 125.  He’s either on or he’s off.  This week was an on week.

Dud of the Game – Cedric Benson of the Whitecaps with 0.600 points.  I just want to pick on him.  The Bengals cut Rudy Johnson so they could pick up this guy a couple weeks later?  It’s not like the Bengals are ever bumping against the salary cap either.

Etc. – 2 players scored over half the points for the Whitecaps, Berrian and Wayne.  And the bench had 0 points for the Whitecaps, I guess we’ll have to always expect that for Jeff’s teams when the Steelers have a bye.  This was the only game where the team with the worse record won this week.

Fear Itself defeated C’ville Survivors 137.533 to 73.934

Star of the Game – Marion Barber with 26.967 points for Fear Itself.  The Cowboys may have lost the game and Barber held to under 3 yards per carry, but 11 catches for 128 yards and a TD and it’s still a big week.

Dud of the Game – The Giants.  It was already over, so it didn’t matter, but all of the Giants starters on these 2 teams were terrible.  Giants defense for Fear Itself had 0 points.  For the Survivors, Manning only had 5.633 points, and Toomer had 0 points.

Etc – This is the 4^th time this year the Survivors have had the lowest score for the week.  Survivors bench outscored the position player starters for the Survivors.

Lindy Hoppers defeated Purple Sunday 146.601 to 78.766

Star of the Game – Drew Brees of the Lindy Hoppers with 23.367 points.  Brees had 320 yards passing – his lowest total since week 2 – and 3 TDs and no turnovers.  I know Portis had more points, but his team lost to the Rams and Purple Sunday lost by almost 70 points, so…no.

Dud of the Game – Bears defense for Purple Sunday with 2 points for 1 fumble recovery.  How do you lose a game like that?  And they got passed all over by a rookie QB (who was sitting on the Purple Sunday bench).

Etc. -  Lindy Hoppers are 6-0 but lose their other star QB for 4 weeks.  Purple Sunday have now been involved in the 2 largest margins of victory, winning by 88 in week 2 and now losing by 67.

Week 5 MVP T.J. Houshmandzadeh

It was a week where the teams that were expected to win, pretty much did.  Going into this week, there were only 5 cases where 1 owner had not beaten another owner in the history of the league, and 4 of the matchups were put to the test this week.  Admit it commissioners, you did it on purpose.  2 of those involved one of the 8 original owners with 0-6 records against another original owner.  3 out of 4 of those matchups, the winner was the same team who had always won. 

In 4 of the 5 games the team with the better record won, with one game (Bird Brains-Fear Itself) between 2 teams with the same record.  The result is a big gap in the standings.  There are 4 teams at 5-0 or 4-1, and 4 teams at 1-4 or 0-5.

Whitecaps defeated C’ville Survivors 135.633 to 129.733

Star of the Game – Ben Rothlisberger with 20.2 points for the Whitecaps.  3 TDs and 309 yards with a bum shoulder, throwing passes with 2 lineman draped all over him, it was an impressive performance.  Rothlisberger’s big week on Sunday night got the Whitecaps back within range before Berrian won it on Monday night.

Dud of the Game – Larry Johnson with 0.200 points for the Survivors.  As Dean says in the recap “Herm Edwards let the KCC go on Bye week a week early.” 

Etc. – Both teams has their highest scoring week of the season.  If you were following the live scoring on Monday night during the Saints-Vikings game, this matchup was bouncing back and forth with the Survivors getting a big night from Devery Henderson and Reggie Bush getting 2 TD’s for the Saints defense, but Berrian’s 4^th quarter TD put the Whitecaps ahead for good.

Dean is now 0-4 against Jeff.

Purple Sunday defeated War Eagles 134.1 to 90.167

Star of the Game – Clinton Portis of Purple Sunday with 22.467 points.  I almost said Bears defense but it was against the Lions and they pulled Kitna, so too easy.

Dud of the Game – War Eagles’ QBs.  With Jamarcus Russell on a bye, War Eagles were praying for a Donovan McNabb injury with Kevin Kolb, instead their other QB, Trent Edwards, left with a 1^st quarter concussion and only 0.333 points.

Etc. – Look, no jinx!  Terry is now 7-0 against Brian, the biggest current undefeated margin in FNNFFL history.  War Eagles are 1-4 and always seem to start like this – over the last 5 years they are 1-4, 0-5, 3-2, 1-4, and now 1-4.  Watch out, in the years when the War Eagles started 1-4 or 0-5 their record for the rest of those seasons was a combined 15-9.

Sumthin’ ‘bout Brett defeated Team Hostess 79.067 to 77.366

Star of the Game – Jason Witten with 16.567 for Team Hostess.  With the rest of Team Hostess seriously underperforming, Witten has been on fire.  He’s never had fewer than 6 catches or 9 points.

Dud of the Game – So many to choose from.  Antonio Gates of Team Hostess with 1.533 points.  Gates hasn’t had more than 5 catches this year, and this week with only 1 catch and no TDs really hurt Team Hostess.

Etc. -  Liz had the 2^nd lowest scoring team for the week, but gets the win with the favorable matchup.  Team Hostess becomes the first team ever to lose by less than one point in consecutive weeks.  Thursday edit:  Liz got another point from a scoring change so this is no longer true.  This also had some Monday night excitement.  Liz had just taken the lead with Chester Taylor getting the last of his 6.867 points, when Frerotte was knocked silly and Tavaris Jackson comes in.  Alas, Jackson just handed off to Peterson once and Frerotte came back in and won the game for the Vikings.  This was also the only game where the team with a worse record won.

Randy’s Dandies defeated Twinkies 97.366 to 81.9

Star of the Game – Andre Johnson for the Dandies with 22.1 points.  Johnson had only 67 yards the previous 2 weeks behind, but Rosenfels apparently likes throwing to Johnson more than Matt Schaub.  No truth to the rumor that Randy was seen in a Houston restaurant near Matt Schaub on Saturday night.

Dud of the Game – Dandies’ QBs with 0.333 points.  Randy bet on Aaron Rodgers sitting out, which didn’t happen, and Kitna got hurt and/or benched after a poor first half with only 0.333 points.

Etc. – Randy beats Fred for the first time in 7 tries.  The Dandies are 9^th in points but still undefeated, probably because of the fewest points against.  According to the power rankings, Randy is 22-33 in the all-play record, and has 3 woulda lost.

Lindy Hoppers defeated Snowballs 132.333 to 124.667.

Star of the Game – Reggie Bush of the Lindy Hoppers with 21.633 points, 12 from 2 2^nd half punt returns.  The Vikings coach was mad because he ordered the punter to kick both punts out of bounds, but the punter, who has gotten to level 70 on World of Warcraft, didn’t do it.  I’m not sure what level 70 on World of Warcraft means except that he must spend the entire offseason online.

Dud of the Game – Donovan McNabb with 6.333 points.  Probably a little unfair, 6 points isn’t that bad, but the Eagles blew a 14-0 lead partly because the Eagles were awful on offense after that.

Etc. – The week’s top perfomer was on the Lindy Hoppers bench, DeAngelo Williams with 33.133 points.  Snowballs are the first 0-5 team since 2005, but the 2 previous 0-5 teams since 2004 went a combined 9-7 the rest of the year.

Bird Brains defeated Fear Itself 138.266 to 92.534

Star of the Game – T.J. Houshmandzadeh of the Bird Brains with 22.833 points.  Houshmandzadeh only had 6 catches the first 2 weeks of the season but has come alive the last 3 weeks with 2 20+ point performances.

Dud of the Game – Not too many choices.  Brian Griese of Fear Itself.  Griese has his 2^nd consecutive 2.667 point performance, this time leaving because of injury in the 3^rd quarter with only 88 passing yards.

Etc. – The 4^th of the games where one team (Fear Itself) and never beaten the other (Bird Brains).  These 2 teams have only met 3 times ever so it’s not that significant.  The Bird Brains had the most points for the week, but it was only the 3^rd most points the Bird Brains have scored this season.

I Like Big Butz and I Cannot Lie!

"Vince is a man who knows what he likes, and what he likes is to pay full retail for mediocre talent.  He did a bang-up job of this again in 2008, pulling in Jon Kitna ($22), Owen Daniels ($10) Laveranues Coles and Nate Burleson ($15 each).  Vince was also all over Leon Washington ($9) this year, for reasons yet to be explained.  Maybe the cookie he ate before the auction could do some of the explaining for him?  Regardless, the Snowballs do not have a snowball's chance in hell."

Week 4 MVP Brett Favre

There were a lot of close games this week.  4 games were decided by less than 4 points, and 2 of those by less than one point.  Since 2006,  only 4 other times has a game been decided by less than one point, and it happened twice this week. 

Another fun fact – the six highest scoring teams for the week all played each other this week. 

One more – In contrast to last week with so many big scorers on the bench, 5 teams had 100% efficiency this week.  Don’t we all love bye weeks?

OK, on to this week’s results....assuming nothing changes when the stat changes come through.

Randy’s Dandies defeated Team Hostess 99.4 to 99.067

Star of the Game – Stephen Jackson of Team Hostess with 26.467 points.  The only thing that works on the Rams offense apparently is Jackson. 

Dud of the Game – QBs.  Only 1 QB between these 2 teams actually played, and Ryan Fitzpatrick only scored 5.100 points. 

Etc. – This was the 2^nd closest matchup since the scoring rules change for 2006.  Randy is 4-0 for the first time.

Sumthin’ ‘bout Brett defeated Twinkies 126.867 to 123.268

Star of the Game – Brett Favre for Sumthin’ with 31.333 points.  Brett throws a career high 6 TD passes against Arizona.

Dud of the Game – Phillip Rivers of the Twinkies?  Even with 2 interceptions, it’s hard to call 9.200 points a real dud.  Rivers was the only starter on either team outperformed by a player on the bench, if the Twinkies had started Matt Schaub both teams would have had 100% efficiency.

Etc. – The Twinkies are now 1-3 despite scoring the 3^rd most points overall. 

War Eagles defeated C’Ville Survivors 107.966 to 87.567

Star of the Game – Larry Johnson of the Survivors with 31.467 points.  Johnson scored more points in Week 4 than in the first 3 weeks.

Dud of the Game – Ryan Grant of the Survivors with 0.667 points.  Wasn’t he good last year?  He hasn’t scored a TD yet and for the 2^nd time this season he had a mere 20 yards rushing.

Etc. – Both teams had 100% efficiency, mostly because almost no one on either bench played, either from injury or bye.  The Cowboys defense (2 points) for the War Eagles was the only points on either bench.

Purple Sunday defeated Whitecaps 126.368 to 123.701

Star of the Game – David Gerrard of Purple Sunday with 21.767 points.  Gerrard had been in a funk this season with only 1 TD thrown, but he threw for 1 TD and ran for another against the Texans.

Dud of the Game – Jaguars defense with 0 points for Purple Sunday.  0 points against the Texans, really?   The Texans didn’t give up a sack, that has to be a first.

Etc. – Terry is now 6-2 against Jeff and 12-2 overall against the Grimm brothers.

Fear Itself defeated Snowballs 119.866 to 104.299

Star of the Game – Laveranues Coles of the Snowballs with 31.167 points.  3 TDs and 105 yards for Coles gives him the 2^nd most points for any WR this year.

Dud of the Game – Michael Turner of the Snowballs with 5.933 points.  Turner has been huge at home this year, but a dud in road games.

Etc. – The Snowballs are the 6^th team since 2004 to start 0-4.  3 of the other 5 teams were renamed the next season, and none made the playoffs.

Lindy Hoppers defeated Bird Brains 121.3 to 120.667

Star of the Game – Greg Jennings of the Lindy Hoppers with 24.9 points.  Jennings has never had less than 91 yards this season, and he scored his first 2 TD’s of the season.  He outscored his own QB, the Bird Brains’ Aaron Rodgers, by over 16 points

Dud of the Game – Todd Heap of the Bird Brains.  Zero on Monday night when the Bird Brains lose by less than a point.  The Bird Brains have 2.7 points total from TE this season.

Etc. – Lindy Hoppers win the battle of 3-0 teams are 4-0 for the first time.  However, no 4-0 teams has ever gone on to win the Super Bowl.

Week 3 MVP Reggie Bush

I had never noticed, but myfantasyleague.com generates fantasy recaps each week with made up quotes for each owner.  It’s kind of funny in a way I’ll be totally bored with in 2 weeks.  My favorite quotes this week.

"I want to thank my Lord and Savior," Lindy Hoppers coach Matt Ellenburg said.

"They caught us on an off night," Team Hostess coach Mark Debes said.

This was an interesting week.  There were a lot of points left on the bench this week, as a lot of players who had struggled had huge weeks, while some big names struggled.  I’m adding a big points on the bench section in Etc. this week to highlight some of those.

And the Parity Watch – we have 3 3-0 teams and 3 0-3 teams for the first time since 2004.  It seems unlikely the best record will be 8-5 and a 6-7 team will get renamed this year.  In 2004, we had a team go 7-0 and another team start 11-0, it was the definition of non-parity with 2 11-2 teams.  All 3-0 teams won their divisions , but then flamed out in the playoffs in their first game.  And one of the 0-3 teams made it to the Super Bowl. 

Randy’s Dandies defeated Purple Sunday 109.8 to 98.366

Star of the Game – Marshawn Lynch of the Dandies.  He tore up Oakland for 24.733 points.  Yes, it was the Raiders, but ask Larry Johnson how easy that is.  Honorable mention goes to Matt Forte, the best rookie RB so far, with 23.833 points against Tampa Bay, arguably more impressive.

Dud of the Game – Brian Westbrook for Purple Sunday.  Hurt in the first quarter with only 1.2 points, Terry probably wins with just an average performance from Westbrook.

Etc – Randy is 3-0 for the first time since we’ve had 12 teams.  Big points on the bench – Le’Ron McClain with 19.333 points for Purple Sunday.

C’ville Survivors defeated Sumthin’ ‘bout Brett 108.032 to 101.167

Star of the Game – Hmm, this is odd, the top 2 scorers for the Survivors were the Falcons defense (19 points against the hapless Chiefs), and Larry Johnson with 18 points against the Falcons.  I’ll say the Falcons defense is the star of the game, Johnson got a lot of points in garbage time, and when else will the Falcons ever be the star?

Dud of the Game – Chad Ocho Cinco for Sumthin’ with 3.9 points.  I thought the Bengals offense was just hopeless and TAFKNACJ was having poor season because of that (notice my benching of Houshmandzadeh).  But the Bengals actually moved the ball, and the other Bengals got points this week, and Chad was still useless, and reportedly not giving 100%.   Ugly.

Etc. – These teams were remarkably even by position, except at WR, where Survivors outscored Sumthin’ 23.233 to 11.267.  These 2 actually didn’t leave big points on the bench, Liz had a 100% efficiency this week.

Bird Brains defeated Team Hostess 145.7 to 92.933

Star of the Game – Ravens defense with 27 points for Bird Brains.  Admittedly against struggling opposition, but the Ravens have a rookie QB, their star RB and TE can barely stay on the field, and they are 2-0 because of the defense.  4 players on Bird Brains with 20 points, I could have named any of them the star

Dud of the Game – Patriots defense with 0 points for Hostess.  They let Ronnie Brown in a 1930’s offense crush them.

Etc. – Bird Brains are 3-0 for the first time since starting 11-0 in 2004.  If you switch the 2 defenses, Team Hostess actually wins.  Big points on the bench – T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 24.6 points for the Bird Brains.

Twinkies defeated Snowballs 145.332 to 134.599

Star of the Game – Maurice Jones-Drew for the Twinkies with 23.933.  After gaining 30 yards total the first 2 weeks, Jones-Drew justifies Fred’s persistence with a big week in leading the Jaguars’ upset over the Colts

Dud of the Game – Braylon Edwards for Snowballs.  3.7 points this week, he unofficially has as many drops as receptions this year. 

Etc. – Snowballs had 3^rd most points in the league this week, but it was also the 3^rd most in the division.  Big points on the bench – This is the one that really hurt, Ronnie Brown with 40.866 points for Snowballs.  That was one was kind out of nowhere, only 48 yards the first 2 weeks for Brown, who knew the Patriots were going to mail it in.  2^nd most points in the last 3 years for a non-starter, only behind the Bird Brains leaving Reggie Bush’s 43.8 points on the bench in Week 13 of 2006.

Lindy Hoppers defeated War Eagles 106.887 to 88.2

Star of the Game – Reggie Bush for the Lindy Hoppers with 28.467 points. The Saints have figured out the best way to get Reggie Bush 30 touches is to throw him the ball for 40% of them.  It was enough for the Saints to win, but that’s the coaches fault for choosing to employ Martin Gramatica.

Dud of the Game – Earnest Graham for the War Eagles with 1.6 points.  It’s bad when you do so poorly that you make Brian Griese almost break the NFL record for passes in one game. 

Etc. – Lindy Hoppers are 3-0 also for the first time since 2004.  Big points on the bench – Eagles defense with 27 points for the War Eagles.

Fear Itself defeated Whitecaps 110.632 to 78.334

Star of the Game – Marion Barber with 20.7 points for Fear Itself.  And it was his worse week of the season so far. 

Dud of the Game – Ben Rothliesberger with -1.067 points for Whitecaps.  It’s sad when Tyler Thigpen was your good QB for the week.

Etc. – The 3 TE formation went 0-2 this week, and is now 4-4 for the season.  Big points on the bench – Whitecaps had a remarkable 66% efficiency this week, leaving Slaton (19.733), Bryant (17.1333) and Perry (15.967) on the bench.

Anquan Boldin - Week 2 MVP

After last year’s incredible parity, after week 2 this year, we have 5 teams at 2-0.  That’s a record, we’ve never had more than 4.  We'll have at least 2 3-0 teams after next week.  Another oddity I noticed, the team in each division with the 2^nd most points this week lost, because they played the team with the most points in that division. 

This was a big passing week, lots of QBs and WRs with big numbers.  Stud RBs mostly had a rough week.  And we had an emergency bye week, though for 2 teams no one should be relying on.

Randy’s Dandies defeated C’ville Survivors 86.033 to 75.4

Stud of the Game – Kurt Warner for the Survivors.  24 points this week was the most for either team.  Playing against the Dolphins apparently makes you look young again!  Unfortunately for the Survivors, the Dandies have Larry Fitzgerald and counteracted a lot of those points.  But I didn’t have many choices for the Stud of this game.

Dud of the Game – Larry Johnson for the Survivors.  22 yards on 12 carries in a game at home against the Raiders.  That’s not the kind of production you want from your stud RB, especially when a decent performance could have given you a victory.  Then he complained about his role with the team afterward.  That will endear you with Herm Edwards, not that he’ll be an NFL head coach very much longer.

Etc. – I could have named the Survivors whole RB/WR starters as duds.  Dean got 12.933 points from those 6 players.  That has to be a record. Amani Toomer outscored all of his starters with 14.733 points.  The total points in this game was the 4^th lowest in the last 3 years in the FNNFFL, and the lowest this season.

Purple Sunday defeated Sumthin’ ‘bout Brett 175.167 to 86.401

Stud of the Game – Santana Moss for Purple Sunday, with 27.433 points and the game winning TD for the Redskins.  His big week made sure Purple Sunday would win.  Cutler and Westbrook actually had more points than Moss, but Purple Sunday was already going to win, and both were gifted points by mistakes (a ref and DeShawn Jackson).

Dud of the Game – Matt Hasselbeck for Sumthin.  It’s not really his fault, the Seahawks have been crushed by injuries at WR, but 3.2 points at home against the 49ers are very poor fantasy numbers. 

Etc. – 88.766 is the biggest margin of victory in the last 3 years in the FNNFFL, surpassing the 81.567 victory by Twisted Vengeance (Randy’s version I think) over The Repeats in Week 9 of 2006.   And Sumthin’ had the 2^nd highest point total in the division, Liz would have won against the other 2 teams.

Team Hostess defeated Snowballs 91.461 to 78.232

Stud of the Game – No one scored over 13.533 points in this game.  Do I have to name one?  OK, I’ll pick…..Donald Driver for Team Hostess, 13.533 points, and the only TD for Team Hostess. 

Dud of the Game – Braylon Edwards for Snowballs.  4.2 points isn’t that bad, but I think he’s dropped more balls than he has caught this year.  5 catches in 2 games isn’t helping the Snowballs or the Browns.

Etc. – 7^th lowest scoring game in the last 3 years in the FNNFFL.  Each team had a QB hurt in week 1, plus Hurricane Ike took a toll, costing Snowballs 2 starters, and making conditions in the Tennessee-Cincy game a nightmare for passing.  Team Hostess has scored 5.166 points at QB this year, but is 2-0 anyway.

Bird Brains defeated Twinkies 157.167 to 133.733

Stud of the Game – Anquan Boldin of the Bird Brains wins over several worthy candidates with 34 points.  He scores 3 TDs and the Cardinals are 2-0. 

Dud of the Game – Ladanian Tomlinson of the Twinkies.  It’s a bad year for stud RBs.  Tomlinson only scored 4.667 points before pulling himself out and watching his backup score on a long TD. 

Etc. – Twinkies had 0 bench points, mostly due to injuries and the emergency bye week.  These 2 teams have met 14 times, the most prolific matchup in FNNFFL, with the Twinkies winning 8 times.

Fear Itself defeated War Eagles 142.665 to 134.233

Stud of the Game – Marion Barber for Fear Itself.  Barber scored 24.733 points on Monday night, preserving victory for Fear Itself, and for the Cowboys.

Dud of the Game – Tavaris Jackson for War Eagles.  2.433 points, because he only threw for 130 yards and he fumbled once.  It really hurt the Vikings because just one TD instead of one of the 5 FGs is probably enough to win for them.

Etc. – Fear Itself has 6 QBs on the roster, and the highest scoring one was on the bench, JT O’Sullivan for the 49ers. 

Lindy Hoppers defeated Whitecaps 122.933 to 102.634

Stud of the Game – Greg Jennings for the Lindy Hoppers.  187 yards, even without a TD he was the top scorer on both teams, besides defenses facing the Rams “offense.”

Dud of the Game – D’Angelo Williams for the Lindy Hoppers.  3.433 points, mostly in the 1^st half, before apparently losing his starting job to Jonathan Stewart in the 2^nd half.

Etc – Down from 4 teams last week, only 2 teams had 3 TEs this week.  And both started a QB who didn’t play, the Whitecaps starting Seneca Wallace after Jeff Garcia was declared out late in the week.  Every team in the Trunk Full of Weed division has gone over 100 points in the first 2 games, while the other 2 divisions have only gone over 100 points 7 times, 1 less time. 

Week 1 MVP - Willie Parker

I asked Terry and he doesn’t have the time to do the weekly review, so I volunteered to do it this week.  I am in training most of next week so I might not be able to do it next week, but I’ll give it a shot for this week.

Overall stories for this week – Team Hostess won it all last year with the best use of the 3 TE rule the league has ever seen.  Others noticed, because we had a record 4 teams use 3 TEs this week.  It worked for some teams, not so well for others. 

The other big story was QB injuries. Both starting QBs get hurt in Foxboro, but I doubt anyone really cared about Brodie Croyle’s injury.  Vince Young tries to quit, then gets hurt.  Then is put on suicide watch (or not, depending on who you believe).  

Randy’s Dandies defeated Sumthin’ ‘bout Brett 109.734 to 88.564

Stud of the Game – Matt Forte for Randy’s Dandies torched the Colts for 123 yards, including a 50 yard TD run that gave the Bears an early lead. 

Dud of the Game – So many candidates.  I’ll go with Joseph Addai for Sumthin’ ‘bout Brett.  Liz was probably feeling pretty good before Sunday night’s game, score was almost even, and she just need Addai to outscore Forte and Greg Olsen.  Instead Addai lays an egg with 5.033 points, which is less than he scored in any game last season, and leaves injured in the 2^nd half, though he should play this week.

Etc.  – Liz was one of 4 owners to use 3 TEs this week, but only got 6.6 points from them. 

Purple Sunday defeated C’ville Survivors 107.233 to 77.633

Stud of the Game – Hines Ward for Purple Sunday.  I’ll admit it, I didn’t want him preseason, I figured he’s got to start showing his age.  21.6 points from 6 catches, 76 yards, and 2 TDs, he just keeps getting better.

Dud of the Game – Torry Holt for Purple Sunday.  He is showing his age.  1 catch for 9 yards.  A bigger problem might be the Rams’ general ineptness.

Etc. – I’m picking on WR ages, I know.  Average age of the WRs started between these 2 teams – 32.  Only one was below age 31 (Lee Evans – 27).  Purple Sunday was one of 4 teams with 3 TE's, but only got 11.067 points from the 3 of them.

Team Hostess defeated Twinkies 97.433 to 89.7

Stud of the Game – The 3 TE formation for Team Hostess.  Gates, Witten, and LJ Smith score over 11 points each and 34.6 total.  Only 1 WR and 4 RB scored more than any 2 of these TEs combined.

Dud of the Game – Seahawks defense for the Twinkies.  You play against Trent Edwards and only get 2 points?  I predict a long season coming in the Pacific Northwest.

*** SPECIAL ***

Dud of the Year – Oh, Tom.  I guess Giselle is the new Cathie Lee Crosby? (Mark will get it)

Etc.  -  Team Hostess has beaten the Twinkies the last 3 season on opening week.

Bird Brains defeated Snowballs 113.233 to 100.501

Stud of the Game – Michael Turner of the Snowballs in a losing effort.  LaDamian Tomlinson’s former understudy shows he learned well – 34.933 points and 220 yards rushing to lead all players in opening week.

Dud(s) of the Game – Injured Ravens offensive players.  Willis McGahee never gets off the bench for the Snowballs and gets a 0.  But that’s better than the Bird Brains’ Todd Heap.  1 catch for 5 yards and a fumble for -1.167 points, and he leaves injured. 

Etc – The Bird Brains have won 5 straight opening days.  And does anyone understand how the Coulda Won, Woulda Lost works on the Power Rank page?  Because that page says Snowballs coulda won, but the Bird Brains had higher potential points.  The same for War Eagles vs Whitecaps, though the system might be fooled because of the adjusted points for 3 TEs on that one.  I don’t get it.

Whitecaps defeated War Eagles 126.066 to 111.066

Stud of the Game – Willie Parker of the Whitecaps.  I think his broken leg has healed just fine.  138 yards and 3 TDs for 31.8 points.  Will the Texans ever stop looking like an expansion team?

Dud of the Game – Not a lot of choices, both teams generally did OK at least.  I’ll pick Chris Perry for the Whitecaps, only 2.200 points, not a good way to start the post Rudi era in Cincinnati.

Etc. – The #1 WR for the week was on the War Eagles bench, Broncos rookie Eddie Royal (Go Hokies!) with 24.5 points.  The Whitecaps use of 3 TEs was effective as Kellen Winslow and Randy McMichael each outscore all other WR and RB on the Whitecaps except for Parker and Reggie Wayne.

Lindy Hoppers defeated Fear Itself 132.001 to 109.799

Stud(s) of the Game – Drew Brees and Reggie Bush for the Lindy Hoppers.  Bush had 8 catches for 112 yards and 1 TD, and 46.2 points between the 2 of them.  I’ve seen teams go with the QB-WR connection to get double points, this looks like it might be the 1^st QB-RB connection with double points for each reception.

Dud of the Game – JT O’Sullivan for Fear Itself.  From 3^rd string to starter, but it was hardly a fairy tale story – 3 turnovers and only 0.433 points for JT.

Etc. – Fear Itself was the lowest scoring team in the Trunk Full of Weed division, but outscored everyone from the Puff, Puff, Pass division.

Whitecaps management will try to employ a Bengal’s tactic and will trade Perry, Slaton or Colston for "a legitimate wide receiver"....honestly I will be will to look at any trade.