Super Bowl IV

In the most exciting CTDB Superbowl EVA, team Buffy was able to pull it out in the end with the narrowest of victories over the Green Team, 99-97. In a game as exciting as advertised, plays were made, fumbles were recovered, and in the end, Buffy was victorious.

In the last few weeks, Buffy GM Roger Cheng has shuffled his lineup a number of times and was truly the team of destiny. We sat down with the GM and had a little Q & A.

Q: How does it feel to win the Superbowl again?
A: It feels great. It's really hard to believe, I'm really proud of my guys, they left everything on the field. It was a rocky season with more downs than ups, but we reached the goal all the teams were going for, and here we are, champs again.

Q: In the beginning of the season, you drafted young, looking to rebuild, why did your philosophy change?
A: Well, we wanted to go young, but we wanted to take a shot. Marshall told me that we could have one more good run at it before we needed to rebuild. This season was for Marshall. It will be his last as part of Buffy and we will be retiring his number after the victory parade.

Q: So you'll be breaking the team up?
A: No, no. You should never break up a championship caliber team. We will keep our big guns and build around them with young exciting players.

Q: Do you anticipate being at the bottom of the league next year due to the CTDB curse?
A: What kind of question is that?? Of course I want to keep the team competitive, but I do have to admit, the curse does scare me. A lot of circumstances revolving around the defending champions each year result in a poor record, but we hope to break the curse. Just to make the playoffs next year would end the curse. I'd like to win back-to-back titles, but that's just wishful thinking at this point. Let me enjoy this one right now. We can talk about next season in a few months.

Q: We know that Marshall Faulk has been your leader on the field and in the locker room the last few seasons, but who was the MVP this year?
A: There is no doubt about it, Corey Dillon was our MVP this year. We drafted him in the first season and traded him because he wasn't happy with his playing time. But we reacquired him this year after he told us how he wanted to do what was best for the team. He didn't complain once, not even during our losing streak. He was a professional all year, and the young guys looked up to him. We look forward to bringing Corey back again next year.

In a cinderella season if you will, Buffy overcame preseason predictions and ended up the CTDB champions. Parity really does exist in this league.

Division Finals

Green Team vs Battle Angels
While Green Team is no stranger to the playoffs, this season has been definitely been one of the strangest in CTDB history. Last years' champion, the Tiiite End Jammers (heavily favored this year to be in CTDB's Fantasy Bowl) couldn't even find his way into the playoffs. The team that broke CTDB's prestigious single week scoring record also couldn't find their way into the playoffs. One of the best team in the league this season didn't have a legitimate household superstar until the acquisition of Jamal Lewis via trade. But we digress ... in what is billed as likely to be one of the closest and hardest fought divisonal championships in recent history, this week's match between Green Team and Battle Angels will surely provide many fireworks.

QB
In any other year, a Drew Brees vs Brett Favre matchup would've been borderline laughable. Brees has a weak arm, can barely see over his lineman and throws to the likes of Eric Parker and Kassim Osgood. But hey, this is football and the year is 2004. Brees is a legit MVP candidate and is a top 5 fantasy quarterback. While he has been slowed in recent weeks, Brees still has 23 TDs to only 6 picks. However, Favre is no slouch. He follows closely at the 6th position and is a legitimate star of his own. Given Brees' matchup against the Browns this week, we expect to see a couple more points from our boy Drew.
EDGE: Battle Angels

RB
Fans meet your starting running backs. CMart, Onterrio, Thomas Jones and Ruben Droughns. Last year, we would've recognized 2 of those names...barely. Flash back 12 months, C-Mart was languishing in fantasy radars and apparently on his way out, Onterrio was squatting behind the rising Michael Bennett, Thomas Jones was probably not on any roster and Ruben Droughns seeing increased carries ... on the practice squad. While none, with the exception of CMart, have been superstars this year, they are bona fide CTDB starters. CMart has resurrected career and is currently the 5th rated runningback behind the likes of Tiki, Shaun, LT, and Edge. Onterrio, while still trying to lock down his spot in Minny, is looking like a real starter in this league. On the flip side, Green Team management has done an awesome job in rotating his players to keep them fresh. Ruben was voted as the top FA signing of the season and has been a stalwart for the Green machine while Thomas Jones has been solid with over 1000 total yards and 5 TDs. EDGE: Green Team

WR
Randy Moss, Moose Muhammad, and Rod Smith vs Eddie K, Hines Ward and Gates ... old fogies versus Hines plus scrubs. However, this group has been solid all season. While Moss has been hindered all season with a gruesome hamstring injury, this could be the week he finally gets everything back. Muhammad has been one of the elite receivers this year and Rod has been rock with almost 1000 yards and 5 tds. On the flip side, Ward has fallen a bit this year with the semi-emergence of Plax. However, with Antonio Gates become a scary TE/WR/PF emerging in the league, Green Team's receiving core has not been a point of weakness. Whether Eddie Kennison can it done this will be huge but the return of Moss really makes all of this moot. EDGE: Battle Angels

DEF/ST
This game will feature the two best defenses this season with Battle Angel's top rated Pitt defense and Green's Ravens. However, the edge lies in the matchup. While the Ravens are slated to play the Indy's powerhouse offense, the Steelers are playing Sheli and his downtrodden GMen. Good luck Sheli.
EDGE: Battle Angels

MOJO
This has been the year of the Battle Angels and Buffy. Once the league's elite powerhouse franchise to the league doormat and now back to the top. I guess thats what makes this league so freakin' awesome. There just seem to be too much goin right for the Angels right now. We say Angels by 10.

Buffy vs Chunky
It's a battle of the titans as former champion Buffy has resurrected themselves, coming off of three huge weeks (152-152-122). But eternal challenger Chunky Monkeys isn't too shabby himself, with 144 points two weeks ago. The Monkeys have managed to beat Buffy in both their meetings this year (WK1 and WK10) but this is a far different Buffy team. But this ain't the regular season folks.

Marred by a "great regular season, terrible post-season" tendency, can the Monkeys finally break through and get into the Fantasy Bowl? Having rested for an entire week (Chunky has never experienced the joys of a playoff bye), the team should be ready to make that final push to the top of the moutain. But will Buffy let him? Stop what you're doing this Sunday, bring your M16s, your uzis, your grenade launchers, your fifty pound cannonballs, this matchup is about to be war.

QB
The matchup here is the record breakin Peyton Manning versus Matt Hasselbeck or Brian Griese. What're you kidding me? Hasselbeck and Griese are having a nice fantasy run but really, it's Peyton. He hasn't been under 30pts in a game until last week's 26pts. Usually PM is tossing four TDs and off the field by the end of the third quarter. Buffy better hope that one of his QBs can have an awesome game to at least blunt some of the damage Peyton could make, even against a fierce Ravens Defense. EDGE: Monkeys

RB
On paper, LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander versus Michael Pittman and Corey Dillon is a joke. Sure Dillon is nice but c'mon now, it's LT and Shaun! Together these two are a guaranteed 40pts, even on a bad day. So, can Pittman and Corey score a few TDs to keep pace? They didn't last week and ended up with mediocre stats, 11 and 14 respectively. That's not gonna be enough. EDGE: Monkeys

WR
Luckily for Buffy, this game isn't going to be just a ground war. Buffy's strength every year has been receivers. And this year is no different. The deep and talented quartet of Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Joe Horn and emergent Michael Clayton is 200% better than anything else the Monkeys can put on the field. Oh but maybe Darrell Jackson (23 last week) and newly acquired TJ Houshmandzadeh (23-29pts) can keep up their magic. Or maybe not. One thing's for sure, right now Chris Chambers and Andre Johnson aren't looking like #1 WRs. So it's gonna be up to Darrell and TJ to keep this aerial attack flowing. Otherwise it'll be a Buffy air attack, which they'll need to offset the Chunky QB and RB edge. One big problem for Buffy is that it's almost suicidal to play both Rams WRs. Rare has been the game where they've both excelled. Does he sit one and risk having that one blow up? Can Michael Clayton really be sat down after a 28pt game? This GM decision could make or break Buffy's season. EDGE: Buffy

DEF/ST
Usually we don't bother rating DEF/ST but in this case, Buffy has NE, which is a pretty good defense. NE is facing the inept Miami offense while the Chargers face the equally inept Cleveland offense. Look for both defenses to make an impact this game. If this game comes down to a kicker, you know M Vanderjagt (of Buffy) will be the man.

MOJO
I gotta say, Buffy has been a juggernaut of late. If there is a team of destiny, this looks like it. Can Chunky make a convincing case for why they deserve to go to the big game? Sure they can. This is their most complete roster in years. And with Peyton throwing TDs like peanuts, anything can happen. Still, the mojo belongs with Buffy, who is riding a hot streak. The question is, when will it end? In WK15 or WK17?

Phreakin Record!

Shanghai, China,

Even in a losing season, the Philadelphia Phreaks are not going quietly. In dismantling division-leading Green Team, the Phreaks set an all-time CTDB record for most points scored in one game - 174. The 174 points shatters the unofficial record held by the Phreaks, 167, set in week 14 of last year - and easily bests the official record of 155 points, set by Buffy way back in week 16 of the 2001 season.

On their way to 174 points, the Phreaks even found room to leave 57 points on their bench, with Clinton Portis and Kevin Jones combining for 4TDs and nearly 400 total yards. Phreak captain Donovan McNabb led the charge with 51, Brian Westbrook lit it up with 41, and rookie sensation Julius Jones chipped in with a relatively "measly" 39 points. All told, the Phreaks rolled up 1,016 yards of total offense and 12 TDs, dominating the 392 yards and 3 TDs from Green Team.

"All I can say is 'wow'," said McNabb, "What we showed here today is the potential that we have for next year, and the explosiveness that we bring to the table. How many teams do you know that could go off for 174 points in one game? Some teams out there need two weeks to get 174."

Rookies Julius and Kevin Jones (no relation) were simply sensational this weekend, combining for 394 rushing yards and 5 TDs. Clearly the top two running backs in this year's class, the Phreaks will have an interesting dillema on their hands when it comes time to trim the keeper roster down to 5 players. "The Phreak backfield, after struggling for much of the season, has really come on as of late," said ESPN's Ron Jaworski, "the two Jones boys, Westbrook, and even Portis, have been unreal. The Phreaks always have this potential - it's just baffling that through a combination of luck and scheduling, they have been struggling so much in recent seasons. But this is a young, young team, and also a very good one, so the future is very bright for these guys."