Mid Season Report

Mid-season and as we roll closer to the finish line we are seeing some trends emerge and some teams starting to assert their dominance. After ruling the standings for five weeks, mighty Ante Up has fallen. Buffy has taken over the lead, setting up the game of the week between them and the Green Team. One of the three 5-2 teams must fall this week, who will it be? Turbulence continues to assault all teams and some are in danger of crashing and burning. Anything can happen though. All it takes is a few injuries and a hot player or two to go on a winning streak. Some surprise players have risen to the top of the scoring charts and consistently stayed there. Some of the stars have reasserted themselves but injuries are once again taking a toll. Coming off a monster W7 where four teams scored 130+, the league looks to be in good shape.

ANTE UP- Two straight losses. One by 32 the other by 14. What is happening to the cream of the crop? Ante Up has gone from invincible juggernaut to a team with some question marks. MVP candidate Kurt Warner is still doing his part but the rest of the team is in a funk. Underachieving D Staley was lost for the season and F Taylor has not yet lived up to expectations. The pickup of J Bettis and T Biakabutka will help shore up the backfield but the real reason for Ante Up’s travails has been the receivers (and the Jaguars sucking as a whole). J Smith and K McCardell combined for close to 100 catches in 7 weeks but their productivity has been slipping. With the disappearance of T Holt, the once dominant WRs all have big question marks. It doesn’t help that J Smith got banged up this week and K McCardell had to deal with constant double teams. The question here for Ante Up is where they are headed now. It won’t take much to get them back on track but it is undeniable that they are no longer the dominant force they had been.

ATHENA NIKE- Still rolling around at the bottom of the standings, Athena Nike has some big problems on its roster. Even with an uplifting one point win over Escaflowne this past week, Athena Nike has only won 2 games. Much of it can be traced to the underachievers on this squad. RBs T Davis and M Anderson sharing a backfield has been disastrous. With T Davis being withheld finally, Anderson could establish some much needed rhythm. The other back, J Stewart, has been solid but not spectacular. The receivers look great on paper but besides M Harrison, the other two (C Carter and I Hilliard) are not living up to their billing. Carter finally had a big game and got in the end zone so that could be a potential bright spot. A Connell has been all been invisible despite being the Redskins “top” receiver. The only bright spot here is the QB switch from disappointing T Banks to high flying J Garcia. The Washington D is playing better but overall, Athena Nike needs more consistency and big games from its roster. If everyone plays up to potential, this team is dangerous but that is a big if. Look for Athena Nike to steal at least a few games on the rare weeks when the stars align.

BATTLE ANGELS- Last time we checked in, the Battle Angels were a good team on a streak of bad luck. One win later, they are a good team that is still on a streak of bad luck. But now the injury bug hits. R Johnson is out for a few weeks, as is G Crowell. The aging of R Watters (plus the emergence of S Alexander) and Emmitt Smith has led to inconsistency from the running backs. I Bruce is still a superstar receiver but T Glenn has been decent if a bit disappointing. With the loss of Crowell, D Hayes will have to step up, something he hasn’t been capable of all season. The incumbent QB, B Johnson, has been far from spectacular so that leaves another hole at a position. The Battle Angels are staring down the barrel of a long season if they can’t shape up. They have been hit with bad luck and injuries and need to make some roster moves. They have to start that climb into playoff contention now otherwise their season is lost.

BUFFY- Sitting atop the standings, Buffy is suddenly looking very Ante Up-like. Four weeks ago, I said they were a team without consistency. Now, four wins later they are smiling and gearing up for a strong second half of the season. A few free agent pickups (Broncos D, A Hakim, J Rice) has given Buffy some depth to go along with an all-star cast. M Faulk has been dominating games and campaigning for MVP while C Garner is doing his best as a not-so-poor-man’s Marshall. Buffy has one of the best RB combos in the league complemented by solid receivers. T Brown is finally rounding into shape and despite being banged up, M Robinson is putting solid numbers on the board too. If one of the other WRs can step up besides those two, Buffy will have no weaknesses. R Gannon has found his magic from last year and if he and Brown can continue their success, Buffy will have an aerial attack to go along with the two horses. This week’s game versus the Green Team will determine if Buffy will make a run at Ante-Up’s winning streak record.

CHUNKY MONKEYS- Despite some glaring holes on paper, the Monkeys keep on pulling out victories. Standing at 3-4, they aren’t great but neither are they horrible. After trading away E George and D Culpepper, the Monkeys hoped to make a run but the incoming players didn’t pan out. The two Jamal’s (Andersen and Lewis) have been disappointing and M Muhammed has been hampered by injury and weak quarterback play. R Smith however has been providing a solid ground game in George’s absence. The problem has been at the other RB spot, which remains empty and inconsistent. The receiving corps are actually quite good with R Moss (who is finally playing well), A Freeman (helped by the return of the real B Favre) and E McCaffrey. The QB situation has been a mess, with M Brunell getting pummeled behind a weak offensive line. Hopefully the addition of a more mobile D McNabb will steady the team under center. The Monkey’s problem is a rare one in this league, lack of a solid second back. If they can’t fill that spot, they will continue to be inconsistent and win and lose erratically.

DIRTeByRDeeZ- The Birds stand at 4-3, one win off of the top mark. Yet, they are struggling with offensive woes. Whenever they have eclipsed the century mark, they have won. The three times they haven’t, they lost. It’s that simple. The roster is solid, buoyed by a four team trade which netted D Culpepper and E George. George (on pace for most carries a season) has combined with top back Stephen Davis to give the Birds a huge 1-2 punch. Culpepper continues to play mistake free and create big plays. Phi D has fallen a bit but they are still one of the top defenses. The waiver wire addition of T Owens has given the Birds one of the hottest receivers around and it looks like J Horn is emerging as a solid threat. The other WRs have been shaky (B Schroeder and T Wilkins) but if T Gonzalez continues his progress that won’t be a problem. The Birds are looking good but have not yet found that consistency or magic touch to create a winning streak. The Birds did manage to knock Ante Up off its pedestal in WK6 with a 150-pt outburst. Look for them to find some much needed consistency in the second half of the season.

ESCAFLOWNE- This newsletters’ version of the Bad News Bears, Escaflowne has lost its last two games by a combined total of 7 pts. They are on a four game losing streak and have to look for help. They are not without an upside however. P Manning has been consistent (although not really spectacular) and the receiving duo of E Moulds and E Boston gives Escaflowne some explosiveness. R Williams is pulling it all together as a rushing and receiving threat and after a slow start is starting to put up all star numbers. The second RB slot had been empty before D Levens’ 17-pt performance this past week. Whether he can continue to fill that weakness is an issue for upcoming weeks. (Escaflowne passed on J Bettis as a free agent before Ante Up snatched him up). T Mathis has not been good as the third WR and that position could use an upgrade too. Why C Enis and S McNair are even on this roster is a question for the gods. Overall, Escaflowne could easily have been in contention despite the glaring hole at RB. They remain an explosive if inconsistent (and slightly unlucky) team. Escaflowne could be dangerous down the stretch with the right roster adjustments so look for them to improve over their 2-5 record.

GREEN TEAM- When last we looked in with them, the Green Team was a stud running team, powered by E James (who did have a slow two weeks) and C Martin. While they may no longer be the uncontested top duo in the league, their performance (76 pts last week) continues to power the Green Team to victory after victory. Included was WK 7’s 85-pt smearing of the Battle Angels while setting a new standard for scoring at 155 pts. They have since replaced the disappointing S Beurlein with the super consistent Brian Griese (1 INT all year), upgrading the QB position by two-fold. The problem for them is the same as before, finding that elusive third WR. A Toomer has been a pass-dropping bust and Q Ismail hasn’t quite been the same (although he did have a clutch performance in WK 6 to insure victory) with T Banks disappearance. There’s hope that D Alexander can emerge as a good second WR but even that is a little in doubt. The passing attack has been carried by the explosive R Smith but even this league leading receiver cannot carry the load forever. The special teams and defense are solid so the Green Team can look towards continued success. They are a bit thin at WR so they must look for someone to emerge or perhaps trade away scatback T Barber for a quality receiver. Green Team isn’t without its weaknesses and may be a little lucky to be standing at 5-2. If the stars ever falter, filling those gaps at receiver will be crucial.

That’s it. The mid-season report. The top teams haven’t changed much over the first half of the season and the jockeying for bye weeks will begin soon. (We’re probably gonna start the playoffs WK 14 and #1 and #2 get byes) Those at the bottom will have to work hard to avoid missing the playoffs. Are we all still motivated? It’s a whole new half of the season, anything can happen! Everyone has played each other so here we go again!

Remember that games start this Thursday so lineups must be in before then.

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