10 teams in the league, 9 are still in the hot hunt for the remaining 6 playoff spots. Amazing. With talent flowing deep through all teams, no two teams (unless you're a fan rooting for the unlucky Battle Angels) are separated by more than 2 games. Heading into Week 11, this has been one of the fiercest playoff races in CTDB history. Here's a look at who's hot and who's not.
1.
DIRTeByRDeeZ - Rising from the slums of yesteryear, the Birds have become the league's powerhouse team of 2002. Running almost exclusively on the monster quads of Michael Vick, the Birds have quickly risen to the top. With a league leading 7-3 record heading into Week 11, GM Yang has watched his team win 6 in a row. Along with Vick the Sick, the Birds are powered by a talented running duo of Ahman Green and Corey Dillon. The passing attack has been jaw dropping -- led by veteran superstar Starvin' Marvin Harrison,
Plaxico Burress (253 yards and 2 touches last week!?) and Jerry Rice have been simply amazing. NFL Team: Packers Superbowl Odds: 3-1
2.
Chunky Monkeys - The Monkeys are solid once again. Leading the league in points scored, the Monkeys have quietly put together a 4 game win streak of their own. Despite a down year from stud back Shaun Alexander, the Monkeys have still been an offensive juggernaut this year. The lowest score the Monkeys have put up all year has been an astounding 97 points in Week 6. (Think of it this way, in 10 weeks of play, the Angels have only surpassed that figure twice) In fact, the Monkeys are the only team in the league that have never scored below 90 in any given week. With MVP candidate LaDainian Tomlinson leading the charge, the Monkeys have been pushing their opponents more than any other team. Expect much of the same in the coming weeks leading up to the playoffs. NFL Team: Chargers Odds: 4-1
3.
Buffy - A team that plays with fire to say the least. Last year's defending champion has had its share of lumps this year with star receiver, David Boston, quickly becoming the league's leading candidate for Bust of the Year. In the games that Buffy scores over 100 points, the team has averaged 124 pts/game. However, in the games where the team failed to reach the century mark, Buffy has averaged only 84 pts ... pathetic. So which Buffy will show up next week? With a huge matchup against divisional leader, the DIRTeByRDeeZ, in Week 11, we believe that Buffy will be fired up. Old man Gannon along with the Marshall are still the best in the business. Look for additional confidence and fireworks in the weeks ahead. NFL Team: Raiders Odds: 8-1
4.
Philadelphia Phreaks - Probably should be renamed Donovan's Phreaks but whatever. No question who the leader is on this team -- McNabb has been the best quarterback outside of Gannon, averaging a steamy 27 pts a game. The Phreak runners ain't half bad either. What started as a young, inexperienced bunch has become the anchor of this team. Clinton Portis is the second best player on this team and
Jamal Lewis has been a surprise after coming off last year's devastating ACL injury. The receivers are talented but underperforming. Despite a few monster games, the receivers have been a disappointment thus far. An unreliable receiving core is what knocks the Phreaks down a notch below Buffy. However, what the Phreaks do have is momentum -- they enter Week 11 as one of the hottest teams in the league, averaging 109 pts/contest in the last 3 games (3rd best in the league behind the Monkeys and Birds). History shows that once the Phreaks franchise starts rolling, its damn near impossible to stop them. NFL Team: Team Donovan (Eagles by default) Odds: 9-1
5.
Flaming Shrapnel -- Last year's CTDB Chumps of the Year candidate are revamped, retooled and currently sitting pretty at second in the mercurial SMG division. With newly drafted quarterback, Aaron Brooks, at the helm, the Shrapnel offense has been solid this year, averaging exactly 100 points/contest. Not too shabby for last year's doormat team. TO and Moulds now actually have someone who can get them the ball. Shrapnel ball carriers have been disappointing however -- E. George and A. Thomas have all been subpar at best. George has 620 yards and 4 TDs while Anthony Thomas has been worse, having yet to surpass the 600 yard mark. When the running game improves, the Shrapnel team will be a difficult team to play against. Thats a big WHEN. NFL Team: Buccaneers Odds: 10-1
6.
Green Team -- This year's dark horse has gotten a lot darker. After starting out strong with a 3-1 record while averaging a whopping 115 pts per game, the Green Team has slipped considerably in recent weeks. The Green Team is currently mired in a 4 game skid where it has averaged under 90 points a game. What's going on? Favre has been great. Henry has been surprisingly good. Duce has been spectacular. Ward has been a rock. Brown has been ok. Booker has been inconsistent. Patten has been worse that Booker. Jackson is not even predicted to play. Without additional receivers to support Ward, the Green Team passing game has been grounded pretty much the last 5 weeks. Until the team finds its passing attack, its gonna be a hard road ahead. NFL Team: Panthers Odds: 15-1
7.
Ante Up -- A team that features Jeff Garcia, Fred Taylor, and Edgerrin James...rewind this baby back to 1999 and you have yourself a champion team in the making. Alas, Edge is now hurt, Fred Taylor is about to get hurt, and Garcia, well, has been damn good this year despite a slow start. The receivers are inconsistent at best. Pathon, Coles, and Wayne have struggled mightily to find open pockets. When Derrick Mason is injured, Garcia has virtually no targets ... as a result, opposing defenses have been stacking the line, limiting the running lanes available to Freddy and Edge. This week's matchup against a strong Phreak team will be a good indicator of Ante Up's ability to face tough teams. With the presence of the Monkeys, Birds, Buffy, and the Jammers in the IDK division, Ante Up will need to put it all together in order to have any shot of securing one of the 3 slots in their division. NFL Team: Vikings Odds: 20-1
8.
Tiiite End Jammers - Last year's expansion juggernaut team has fallen mightily this year without gun-slinger Kurt Warner in the lineup. While carrying a respectable 5-5 record into Week 11, the weaknesses of this team have been exposed and teams are taking advantage of it. The Jammers are averaging less than 99 pts a game (good for third worst in the league) and is currently on a rough 3 game slid. More telling however, is that the Jammers have not been able to break the century mark in its last 5 games, averaging a pathetic 89 pts a game during that stretch.
Priest Holmes and Ricky Williams are still rock solid and remain one of the top 3 duos in the league but with opposing defenses stacking the line against the run, production from the run game has declined. This week's matchup against the rolling Monkeys will probably result in another loss. NFL Team: Bengals Odds: 20-1
9.
Skool - Despite the exploding emergence of Deuce McAllister and Peerless Price, Skool has little else. Fiedler is injured, Daunte has been benched and everyone else is either hurt or just sucks. Who would've thought that Stephen Davis, Kevin Johnson, Michael Bennett and Tony Gonzalez could suck so much collectively. Injuries and benchings have devastated this team. Maybe next year. NFL Team: Lions Odds: 50-1
10.
Battle Angels - What the hell happened? Last year's wonder boy, Tom Brady along with Curtis Martin and Randy Moss have been leading this team no where. Martin and Moss are right up there in the top 5 busts of the year. At least Shaun has 11 TDs in 9 games. Where was the veteran leadership that we expected? Man, what a messed up year. We know that GM Dinh is better than this and we expect a strong resurgence next year with replenished talent. NFL Team: Texans Odds: 100-1
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