Mid-Season Review: Part 1

The Phreaks are number one! It's been awhile since Ping's team has sat in the driver's seat and while it's mostly a tie-breaker thing, there the Phreaks are atop the Spunky Misunderstood Geniuses Division. In fact, there are actually no clear cut favorites here as the top four teams are all 4-3 and separated by only 19 Points For between them. Plus, the last place team could soon be headed upwards. This is truly the division that's making it all happen this year. Let's take a look at what's been going on.

Philadelphia Phreaks (4-3)
The Phreaks are the only team in their division to have played the majority of their games against the other division. They've feasted on the Inscrutable Drama Kings by winning three of four games. Now their schedule turns to divisonal foes and it's going to be a much tougher road.

Powered by the RB duo of Marshawn Lynch and Maurice Jones-Drew, the Phreaks have found a steady ground game. Their one limiting factor is that QB Donovan McNabb isn't finding the right receivers. TJ Houshmandzadeh has been a steady WR but he's only put up 8 points for the Phreaks because he's always on the bench. Big play guys like Santana Moss and Laveranues Coles have had only one big (no, huge) game each. At least rookie WR DeSean Jackson has been playing very well (four weeks of double digit points). The question now is which Roy E. Williams will show up the rest of the season now that he's a Cowboy?

But why complain too much when the Phreaks are the third highest scoring team in the league and coming off of back to back century games? This might be the year for the Phreaks to capture their first ever divisonal title. Then Philly fans will have something to celebrate!

Fobsters (4-3)
Talk about a turnaround. From the time that Jimmy's team went winless two years ago, they've been compiling talent and wins at a breakneck pace. This year, they started out 4-1 on the strength of three century games and were looking like the runaway favorite in their division. Replacing Tom Brady with Aaron Rodgers was a great move (Rogers is top three overall right now) and Reggie Bush emerged as a solid number one back, finally.

But then came this week's 50-76 clunker against the defending co-champs Gang Green. And then the news that Reggie Bush would be out at least a month, which places him for a comeback around the playoffs. Without Bush, is there enough on this roster to even get the Fobsters there?

Well, the Fobsters do have some good receivers to work with in Calvin Johnson, Jason Witten, and Jerricho Cotchery. All of them are above average options and to be honest, Jason Witten has been amazing (four of seven games over 12+ points). RB Earnest Graham has been steady but the biggest issue is who will replace Bush? Is his real life backup, Deuce McAllister, up to the task? We're pretty sure that Larry Johnson won't be able to pick up the slack from the bench. But he is good at assaulting/spitting on women.

Battle Angel (4-3)
This is it, the hottest team in the league right now. After stumbling out of the gates with three straight losses (albeit very close losses), Vu's team has picked it up dramatically and ripped off four wins in a row, including a stretch with three straight century games. The biggest change? Ditching the running game. After suffering through a few weeks of the Laurence Maroney experience (now thankfully placed on IR), the team tried out Chargers backup Darren Sproles to little success as the #2 man in the backfield. Rudi Johnson and Edgerrin James weren't really the answer either. So Coach Vu ditched the run and took to the air!

Thirty-six year old Isaac Bruce has entered the lineup to turn this offense into a run-and-shoot and while he's slowed down a bit recently, his savvy experience has opened up the game for star WRs Andre Johnson, Greg Jennings, and Steve Smith. Actually, the return of Steve Smith might be the reason for the Angel's success. He's scored 9, 19, 12, 14, 21 since WK2. And Greg Jennings is proving that he doesn't need Brett Favre to succeed as he's averaging 15.1 pts a game and is the top pass catcher in the game. With super accurate QB Drew Brees slinging the ball, look for the Angels to keep flying high for the rest of the season -- especially if their lone good RB, Willis McGahee, is back to form.

Gang Green (4-3)
There's no keeping a good team down. Just when it looked like Greg's championship defense might be over soon after a 1-3 start, he takes three straight games and is now back in contention. They even had a season high 152 points in WK5 on the strength of Brett Favre's 48 point carryover (although they did lose the week before when he actually threw six TDs). Now imagine if Greg had used Ronnie Brown for his 42 point explosion and subsequent carryover.

As always, Gang Green is winning by using a balanced lineup that features solid players at every position. RBs Brandon Jacobs, Ronnie Brown, and Thomas Jones are all quietly solid options and push out about fourteen points a game. Randy Moss is certainly headed for a less than jaw dropping year but he's still got three big games this year and being lazy isn't negative points yet in our league. His fellow receivers Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward are doing their usual quality work and on the horizon is Bernard Berrian, who has scored 20, 22, 17 in recent weeks. Four quality options is a good problem to have.

The one thing here is that it might be time for a change at the top. Brett Favre has been horrendous recently and that other New York QB, Eli Manning, has been playing just a tad bit better. Actually, it might behoove Gang Green to get another signal caller altogether. Still, the champs are looking strong again and fighting hard for a playoff spot. Looks like the championship curse is clearly over after the 2006 and 2007 champs returned to fight strong the following year.

Fat Jubas (2-5)
The Jubas should be having a good season. RBs Frank Gore and Michael Turner are both top ten and QB Kurt Warner is throwing the ball everywhere (five straight weeks of 20+). So what's causing the team so many problems? The last four weeks has presented Eric's team with four scores below 90 and it hasn't been getting much better. Looking over the roster, the answer is obvious. There's no functional receivers here. Brandon Marshall and the Broncos have dramatically cooled down, Tony Gonzalez wants out, and Marques Colston returned but didn't catch a pass last week. Oh and Joey Galloway and Jeremy Shockey are still injured. And um, cut.

On paper, the Jubas are just fine, especially if Colston and Marshall return to form. With a balanced team all around, they should be moving up the charts soon, instead of embroiled in a four game slide. Amazingly, I think the record shows that the Jubas have gone through five defenses this season (Ravens, Dolphins, Chiefs, Panthers, and now the Steelers). That must be a record.