Craziness!

After two weeks and several big injuries, our league is slowly taking shape. Many top players are underperforming and struggling and that has caused distress to some of our teams. Some good new players may have emerged but it is too early to peg this year's breakout players. Draft night was months ago but dividends from that time are paying off right now...or not in some cases. The only thing that is clear is that the divison to not be in if you want to win is the Inscrutable Drama Kings. Take a quick look at their PF and PA numbers. Every team but one has a PA higher than everyone in Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses.

The Jammers are off to a great start of the season with a 2-0 record and more importantly an injury free roster. QB K Warner has been amazing and WRs M Muhammed and J Morton have proven their skills. (Even with the loss of top WR E McCaffrey the Jammers are alive and kicking). With two solid RBs in J Stewart and R Watters, the Jammers are capitalizing on their weak early schedule quite well.

Buffy stumbled a bit last week in a loss to the DBirds but they still managed to put up almost 100 points. Led by Ram superstars Faulk and Holt, Buffy is looking very pretty with a surrounding cast that boasts the stunning R Smith and sturdy C Dillon. The last WR spot is a bit weak with the struggling Qadry Ismail but Buffy is still a strong contender. They are capable of putting up 134 points (the league high so far in this young season) so be wary.

The Birds are flying high after a three TD performance by M Harrison and consecutive great weeks by J Anderson. Even without a consistent QB and the early season woes of E George the Birds are 1-1. With a deep but inconsistent WR corps, the Birds are a team that needs some more time to gel and to determine if they are the closer to the 83 point team from Wk1 or the 124 point team from Wk2.

The Shrapnel are flaming out. Even with potential all-stars A Green and T Owens on board, the Shrapnel have yet to come close to a win. Much of the reason for that is the early struggles by E Grbac, Cris Carter and E Moulds. T Pinkston was a good pickup but he only had one good week. When your K (D Akers) is outperforming all but one of your WRs, you team may be in trouble. With the devastating season ending injury to J Lewis, C Garner has been moved to starter but management is obviously not confident in his abilities b/c the Shrapnel have five backs on call right now. Look for the Shrapnel to struggle while the team looks for some fuel.

TAGHeuer bet a lot early with D McNabb and so far has been richly rewarded. Even without the emergence of M Bennet, the RBs are okay with E Smith and S Davis. But because both are on weak offensive teams, opposing Ds are shutting them out so far. If this continues the RB situation could be in trouble. TAG pulled out a big win this week with 124 points on the backs of McNabb and J Thrash (both put up 30+). M Robinson cashed in on a good week but TAG has to be concerned about the low number of points put up by his RBs and third WR. If Thrash is not the real deal, this team could be headed for some ups and downs.

Skool has used smoke and mirrors to move his way into a divison leading 2-0 record. Without breaking the 80 point barrier, Skool has two wins and a smile on every member's face. If the magic act can continue, Skool will defy all odds and keep on winning. However, the performance level of this team is not befitting their gaudy record. Outside of D Culpepper (who is struggling a bit) and I Bruce, the rest of the team has been underachieving. R Watters and T Barber have yet to put up a good game between the two of them and K Johnson, J Jurevicius and T Gonzalez have barely pushed into double digits. Skool is coaching his way into some great victories but how long that can last is the question on everyone's mind.

The Monkeys are in trouble. It looks like they are replicating last year's formula of collapsing early and then rising up and winning late. If that holds true, look for Chunky to lose a few more games before things turn around. The problem is, things may not turn around with this roster. Beyond P Manning and his record setting 50 point day, the Monkeys have nothing to show for this season. Superstar RBs F Taylor and T Davis are both hurt. L Tomlinson looks like the real deal but he can't hold it down in the backfield. The three WRs are big question marks too. Outside of J Pathon (a very timely pickup this week) the WRs have proven nothing this season. J Horn and Germane Crowell need to prove their worth or be benched. The Monkeys do have two of the top QBs so far this season but only one can play. That cry for help is coming from the Monkey's bench which was thin to start with and is now depleted by major injuries.

The Green Team's big gambles on draft day are not panning out. Top picks T Green, M Anderson and D Staley have combined for a mere 46 points in two weeks (that’s about 7.5 pts per each week). WR J Smith had a stellar first week, proving his health is not a factor but even with him, this team is in trouble. Troy Brown has proven useful and M Booker and J Rice should make do but the backfield on this team is a mess. W Dunn is doing just as poorly as the top two RBs and there simply isn't enough firepower on this team right now to pick up any wins. Unless draft day gambles pay off soon the Green Team will have to work hard to field a competitive roster.

The Battle Angels are right where they wanted to be when they started the season. Undefeated. With a balanced roster the Angels are proving that they can compete with all comers. B Griese has been simply amazing and with solid talent around the Angels don't need too much. C Martin has been shackled to an extent but has been solid. With A Toomer, Tim Brown, J Stokes and B Schroeder, they have solid pass catchers all around. This isn't even taking into account the mystifying R Moss. While he has undeniably been invisible, his talent will eventaully emerge in a big way. The only question spot on this roster is The Bus who put up only 2 pts in his only appearance thus far. The Angels are gunning hard and hoping to separate themselves from the pack during the upcoming weeks.

Ante Up is an all-star team in the backfield. QB A Brooks put up almost 30 points in Week 1 and he was the backup. J Garcia is the starter and he's been excellent, if somewhat plagued by some dropped balls. E James and L Smith in the backfield make for a crushing running game so why is this team at 0-2? Look over the WRs and the answer emerges. The third WR is T Taylor/ P Warrick, both of whom are young and talented but also unproductive. Top WR D Alexander has been injured and also unproductive. A Freeman has struggled early which all adds up to an almost non-existent WR presence for Ante Up. Until a passing game is found Ante Up will have to be content with having an All-Pro backfield. Despite their problems, it must be noted that Ante Up has eclipsed the century mark once, on the strength of their three superstars.