Newsletter: Week 5

Hold the phone, we made it through a whole week without the commissioner posting an incorrect score. And we've made it through four weeks without any team having three wins. And, despite the commissioner being in last place, the site is still being updated with the same efficiency. Well, almost.

Last Week

If Branden could have played the low score the past four weeks, he'd have a win because he actually scored some points this week!  Woo hoo!

Ahead by 26 points going into Monday night, Branden had the game in the bag. There's no way Neil Rackers could score that much, right? Only a fool would doubt him, as he put on his best Jason Hanson imitation and scored Beau exactly 26 points. Unfortunately, Branden still had Brandon, who managed some yards to help his namesake eke out a win. 76-72 is the final score in another heartbreaker for the lowly commissioner.

There was no Monday night miracle this week for Dave.  Down by 8 points, it was Boldin vs. Fitzgerald. And they each scored ten. Rackers scoffs at their totals, and Chris scoffs at the rest of the league, as his 74-66 win rockets him into second place...

Behind his father, who is thanking the schedule gods this week. Bruce has the worst non-Branden week of the year, only to be topped by Randy who could only manage 37 points against Bruce's 44. Still undefeated at 2-0-2, Bruce has taken over the standings.

Useless Info

~The chances of there being no team with three wins at this point in the season is about one in sixty-four, slightly higher when you factor in the possibility of ties.

~Beau has had four games decided by a total of nine points.  The largest margin? Four points this week in the loss to Branden.

~Rackers is 16/16 on field goals so far. In 2002 with the Cincinatti Bengals, Rackers played in all sixteen games, and had only 18 field goal attempts.

~Rackers is the first kicker to be given top POW honors, though Akers once received a runner-up award. Two years ago Billy Cundiff kicked seven field goals in one week, scoring over 30 points in our current system.  But, of course, no one had him.

Trade Tracker

We'll try to make this a regular bit each week here. Simply, you'll be able to see how well your trades have helped, or hurt, your team. Of course, I'm only using raw numbers. They don't account for filling positional needs. For example, you're always going to score more from kickers than wide receivers, but that doesn't mean you made a good trade.

And this doesn't track whether or not you're actually using the players you acquire. Perhaps I'll find some way to truly analyze the trades in the future.

Branden
Released	Prior	After	Acquired	Prior	After	Net Total
WR Chris Chambers	4	10	RB Willie Parker	14	11	1
RB Kevin Jones	2	1	WR Plaxico Burress	11	28	27
D Patriots	11	6	D Colts	25	12	6
WR Drew Bennett	5	3	WR Brandon Lloyd	25	4	1
Total						35

Dave
Released	Prior	After	Acquired	Prior	After	Net Total
RB Kevan Barlow	9	5	RB Cadillac Williams	22	6	1
WR Nate Burleson	2	0	WR Terry Glenn	13	7	7
QB Matt Hasselbeck	21	7	QB Drew Bledsoe	40	7	0
Total						8

Chris
Released	Prior	After	Acquired	Prior	After	Net Total
WR Javon Walker	1	0	RB Larry Johnson	16	8	8
Total						8

Bruce
Released	Prior	After	Acquired	Prior	After	Net Total
No Trades Yet

Randy
Released	Prior	After	Acquired	Prior	After	Net Total
RB DeShaun Foster	3	3	RB Stephen Davis	33	16	13
D Ravens	2	8	D Patriots	11	6	-2
WR Donté Stallworth	6	5	WR K. McCardell	33	6	1
Total						12

Beau
Released	Prior	After	Acquired	Prior	After	Net Total
WR Laveranues Coles	10	0	K Neil Rackers	44	26	26
Total						26

This Week

Branden (1-3) vs. Dave (2-1-1)
Chris (2-1-1) vs. Randy (2-2)
Bruce (2-0-2) vs. Beau (1-3)

We're down to one undefeated team, Bruce, and no winless teams.

BYES: Kansas City, Minnesota, Giants, Oakland

Key Players Out: Priest Holmes, LaMont Jordan, Kerry Collins, Randy Moss, Plaxico Burress, Tiki Barber

Chris really isn't hurt by Fumblepepper's departure, as he picked up Hasselbeck to replace the injured Vick. Matt gets to whip the Rams defense this week.

Beau has given up on Trent Green until he performs and can choose between Brady and Manning Jr. But Beau is seriously hurt by missing his two best running backs. He's hoping Clinton Portis, recently acquired, can fill the stop gap this week as Jamal Lewis still doesn't look like his old self.

Meanwhile, Randy may be hurt by losing Moss, with no consistent receivers besides Owens (OneForElevenMcCardell is not consistent, even if it was for a touchdown) on his bench, though Brees shoud fill in fine for Collins.

Normally, missing Plaxico wouldn't hurt a team much, but without him Branden would be 0-4, and will be seriously hurting at wide receiver this week, with Moss and Lloyd both playing excellent defenses.  Of course, with Manning and Co. facing the 49ers, Branden shouldn't have to worry about the rest of his team.