Newsletter: Week 10

All three games this week had down to the wire Monday night finishes. Okay, so two of them were over by halftime, but it was enough to excite this commissioner, forever looking for stories. The last week for trading should prove to finish off in yet another flurry of activity, as no team is out of the playoffs yet and everyone but Bruce seems to be dissatisfied with their players.

No interview this week.  We had one lined up with Terrell Owens, but he backed out when he discovered he wasn't getting paid for the interview.  Something about not getting any respect. And about Brett Favre being a better interviewer.

Last Week

The most lackluster of the Monday night matchups involved Branden and Randy the 5th and 6th place teams (at the time). Branden trailed 25-21 going into the contest. Reggie Wayne came through with a score to give Branden the victory, as Dillon and Vinatieri couldn't muster much for Randy. Vanderjagt and the Colts D just put more nails in the coffin. 46-30 was the final.

Had Bruce picked Ricky Williams who played Sunday, rather than Mike Anderson who was resting comfortably during the Broncos bye week, he would have only needed 12 points from Edgerrin James and Dallas Clark to beat Chris. Instead he needed 20 for the victory. He got 10 and fell 58-49.  The seesaw battle continues for first, as Chris takes the top spot for the second time in three weeks.

In the battle for third place, Dave landed 30 points from LT2 but still only led by 13 going into Monday night. Beau had Manning and Harrison who picked the game in Foxborough to have their best games of the year. With 32 points between them, Beau takes over third place and nets his second high score of the year with a 75-56 score.

Useless Info

~Chris is the only FFLer without a high score on the year.  He is in first place.  He has also made the most trades.

~Beau extends his league leading point total to 41 points.  He also extends his league leading points against total to ten points. The average contest against Beau winds up with a 65-60 final score.

~Randy's six consecutive losses are not unprecedented. Heather lost six in a row to close out last season. And Shoe lost six in a row between two seasons a few years ago. No one has ever lost seven weeks in a row.  However, a couple years back Ryan went eight consecutive weeks without a win, garnering himself a tie in the middle of the streak.

~Randy and Dave have now matched Branden in only having four players from their original rosters. Bruce, as usual, leads the league in loyalty, with only three new faces.

~Beau is the only team to keep his original defense.

The Trade^_TM

Randy's hopes of recuperating some of his losses look better all the time. Priest, Branden's best player, is out for the season.

Total Fantasy Points Scored
Branden Gets...	Pts	Beau Gets...	Pts
QB Eli Manning	30	QB Peyton Manning	34
RB Priest Holmes	33	RB Brian Westbrook	17
WR Reggie Wayne	21	WR Marvin Harrison	32
WR Hines Ward	10	WR Santana Moss	32
Total	94	Total	115

This Week

Branden (4-5) vs. Chris (6-2-1)
Dave (3-5-1) vs. Randy (2-7)
Bruce (5-2-2) vs. Beau (5-4)

BYES: Cincinatti, San Diego, Tennessee, New Orleans

Key Players Out
Beau	Chad Johnson, Antonio Gates
Branden	None
Chris	Rudi Johnson, Chris Brown, Brandon Jones
Randy	None
Bruce	Carson Palmer, Cincy D, Nate Kaeding
Dave	LT2, Joe Horn, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Shayne Graham

Chris loses two of his running backs, but being forced to play Shaun Alexander and Tiki Barber isn't much of a punishment. Losing Brandon Jones just forces him to play the perpetually gimpy Randy Moss.  Again, he could do worse.

Dave has lost four in a row and things look even worse for him this week, despite facing Randy. With his best scorer on the bench along with his two best receivers, he'll have serious trouble breaking forty points this week. Shayne Graham can be replaced for one week. Randy's best chance for a victory is this week, and if he doesn't, he can kiss his playoff chances goodbye.

Bruce has lost the best quarterback in the league for this week, but he's still got Donovan on the bench, which ain't too shabby. He's got Stover who had a great week last week, and defenses are usually replaceable (just don't ask Chris). Meanwhile, Beau loses two great receivers, but with Harrison, Moss, and Moulds as a replacement for this week, he hasn't lost much. Expect another classic matchup between the league's two highest scoring teams.