Battle Angels (3-1)It's the Curtis Martin show! Now acknowledged as "the most underrated back ever," Martin recently passed Thurman Thomas for 10th on the all time rushing list. Curtis who? Curtis of the combined 500 yards and 5 TDs, that's who. The Angels are flying high in the early going, with a stellar trio of Tom Brady, Randy Moss and Curtis Martin. The Angels have never experienced an early season surge like this (with three century games and one loss by only ten points) and they are hoping it doesn't stop. Even the early season injuries to Steve Smith and Julius Jones couldn't stop the Angels from jumping out to a division lead, as Warrick Dunn and Rod Smith have picked up the slack. With Warrick dinged up, could the Angels be crashing back to Earth soon? Let's hope not because team owner Vu Dinh is already reserving his Super Bowl tickets.
Philadelphia Phreaks (3-1)
Oh what a difference a year makes. Last year the Phreaks managed two wins, despite the prescence of superstar RBs Clinton Portis and Jamal Lewis. This year? The Phreaks already have three wins in a row and are chopping at the bit for more. While some of the wins haven't been pretty (both coming with the Phreaks scoring sub-80 for the week), a win is a win is a win. The early season success for the Phreaks can be attributed to one man, super QB Donovan McNabb, who has outscored the Phreaks second and third most productive players combined. While Portis and Lewis have been slow to get on the gravy train, third back Brian Westbrook has been a yardage sensation -- now if only he could get a few TDs. Young backs Tatum Bell and Kevin Jones have so far been non-factors, but they both have boatloads of promise. Now if only the same could be said of the receiving unit. The WR core has always been weak but at least Javon Walker has flashes of promise. With a re-surgent Terry Glenn and the flashy Deion Branch in tow, the Phreaks are 100% better on the edges than they were last year. The Phreak nation finally has something to cheer for: a winning record.
Green Team (3-1)A team perpetually on the rise, is this finally Green Team's year? A 3-1 record might indicate that this team is finally learning how to win together, after a roster that has experienced little to no upheaval. The Jet connection of Chad Pennington and Santana Moss have been a little slow to catch on so the heavy lifting has been left up to new dual threat RB, Thomas Jones. Installed in the perfect offense for him, Jones looks like he's ready to be a top back this year. And the Green Team will need him because Travis Henry has been a bust so far, and Kevan Barlow hasn't quite become "the Bay Area's LT." In fact, the only player playing to his potential right now (outside of Jones) is Hines Ward, who is quietly going about another stellar season. TE Tony Gonzalez is having a decent season, even as the Chiefs' offense sputters. The continued success of this team will be dependent on Kevan Barlow or Travis Henry rounding out to mid-season form, otherwise the Green Team's early season success could dribble away.
Flaming Shrapnel (2-2)
Every year, one team suffers from having a horrific schedule, stumbling to an uneven season despite putting up all kinds of points. It looks like this might be the Shrapnel's lucky season. With 429 points scored (fourth best in the league), and never a game below 90, the Shrap should be winning a few games. Instead they have faced a schedule that has presented four straight 100+ opponents. But never fear, because GM Liao is positioning his team for a late season surge. Or he better be, since his entire bench is hurt (M Bennett, D Davis, A Boldin, B Lloyd). The Shrapnel have a good team on paper, blending a productive veteran WR corps (T Owens, E Moulds) with up and coming RB stars (C Brown, D Davis). But the dropoff after these four guys (and QB Marc Bulger) is huge. Do the names J Morton, T Carter or T Wheatley scare you? Didn't think so. It looks like the Flaming will just have to wait to ignite later in the season when stars like M Bennett and A Boldin can return to the field.
Skool (0-4)When you have the hottest QB in the league, Daunte Culpepper, is there any reason you aren't winning games? Oh yeah, football is a team game. And Skool doesn't have much of a team right now. Stephen Davis, hurt. Deuce McAllister, hurt. Charlie Garner, out for the season. Skool's big name WRs haven't done much this season either, as Chad Johnson, Koren Robinson, Keyshawn Johnson and Peerless Price have combined for a whopping 88 pts on the season. That's 20 pts a week from the WR unit, not gonna cut it. Waiver wire addition Duce Staley will have to keep up his yardage numbers to give Daunte some support. However, this team is in big trouble unless star RBs Davis and Deuce can return to form very quickly.
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