In an intra-division battle, excuse me, war...the Battle Angels, with the lowest winning points last week (72 points), face off against the defending champion Fat Jubas, who was 6 points away from being the worst team last week -- that honor went to the Fobsters (52 pts). So what of this week? Can the champs bounce off the mat and pick up a morale raising victory on their path to a repeat? Or will the CTDB Champion curse -- not to mention the Madden one -- KO them before the season even gets rolling? Here's to our Week 2 highlighted matchup. QB - The Angels have Drew Brees facing off against a weak Green Bay defense. Of course, the Rams and QB Marc Bulger face off against an even weaker San Francisco offense. So what will it be? Here's predicting a field day for both, and multiple TDs for both Brees and Bulger.
Advantage: Even
RB - The Jubas will enter the fray with last year's MVP Shaun Alexander and either Reuben Droughns or Mike Bell. Neither look like great options, but Bell might be the choice here as he time-shares with Tatum against a suspect KC defense. For the Jubas to have any chance to win, they're gonna need more than 4 points from their star. 4 pts!
The Angels outperformed that last week with only one RB! Despite trying out the run-and-shoot for their inaugural 2006 week, the Angels are looking to return to a standard formation with last week's holdover Willis McGahee (10 pts) and new, yet old, workhorse, Ahman Green (14 pts in a reserve role). If they can manage those basic numbers again, the Angels should be okay here, despite facing off against Shaun Alexander.
Advantage: Battle Angels
WR - The Angels are very thin in their pass catching department without superstar Steve Smith. Reggie Brown and Antonio Bryant did a great job last week (combining for 22 pts) but Joey Galloway had nothing. Galloway has been set aside this week for FA find Muhsin Muhammad, who had a great Week 1. Still, the Angels are a bit hamstrung by the lack of their super mite Steve Smith. Luckily, it's not like the Jubas have much in the air time department either. Anquan Boldin is an unqualified star (14 pts) but Lee Evans and Rod Smith (7 pts total) aren't exactly barn burners. TE Jeremy Shockey (13 pts last week in reserve) might be inserted into the lineup soon but for now he sits. Speedster Troy Williamson (two huge drops last week, as well as some nice catches) could be a nice addition, but it's a wait-and-see with him. When in doubt, go with team that starts the superstar -- Boldin.
Advantage: Fat Jubas
Def and K - Oh Mike Vanderjagt, putting up a big fat zero last week. That's not good. When the Jubas' kicker, Shayne Graham, is exploding for 11 pts, that's quite a hole to put your team in. Still, Vanderjagt should be a good kicker and Graham can't kick 3 FGs every week.
Luckily, the Angels have the Steelers D, who are always ready to wreck havoc on opposing offenses. They had a monster 15 points last week and while the Jubas' picked up the revitalized Atlanta defense (dropping Seahawks D, who did have 10 pts in WK 1), they shouldn't be better than Pittsburgh.
Advantage: Fat Jubas, based on Graham over Vanderjagt.
So there you have it, the field is set for a titanic struggle. Will either team break the century mark? One team has to win, who will it be? In the NFL, no Super Bowl champion has ever started off 0-2 and then made the playoffs. Can the Jubas avoid the same fate?
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