Newsletter Week 8

SORRELL'S FANTASY FOOTBALL SEASON XIII

WEEK

Newsletter: Week 8

No Monday night heroics. No Sunday night game. Little suspense in week seven. But, if history serves, there's still plenty of esoteric information to fill out an entire newsletter. We're halfway through the season so there's no time to panic just yet. Even the 5th and 6th seeds are only one game out of a playoff spot. Thanks everyone in helping make this a successful season so far.

Chris' deal with the devil continues as for the second week in a row, he plays the only team he could to secure a victory. LT2 vs. Shaun turned out to be a major dud of a matchup, with the two backs combining for 3 points. Dave was winning right up to the end when Larry Fitzgerald scored a touchdown late in the 4th quarter for Chris. 40-37 is the final score.

Meanwhile, Beau scores more than both of them combined. With the highest score of the year so far, thanks to six touchdowns from his running backs, Beau trounces a game Randy to the tune of 90-55.

And finally, Bruce loses for the first time this year. Steve Smith was on a bye and Torry Holt was scratched at about 11:45 on Sunday morning, all leading to Bruce scoring only 51 points. Branden scores 15 from Priest on Friday night and gets top production all across the board to coast to a 26 point victory.

~Bruce had two receivers score their first touchdowns of the year, Dallas Clark and Lee Evans. Evans' reward? A trade two days later.

~Randy thought his high-score drought was long. This was Beau's first high score since Week 12 of 2003!

~I thought it had been a while since somebody scored ninety points. Not quite. Branden scored 101 points in Week 13 last year.

Next week I hope to revisit the trade tracker. But I don't feel like going through all that work, so let's just update the league on how Dave and Randy's bet is doing.

Total Fantasy Points Scored
Branden Gets...	Pts	Beau Gets...	Pts
QB Eli Manning	17	QB Peyton Manning	19
RB Priest Holmes	31	RB Brian Westbrook	4
WR Reggie Wayne	11	WR Marvin Harrison	15
WR Hines Ward	7	WR Santana Moss	28
Total	66	Total	66

So far, sixteen dollars into the kitty for a dead heat. But despite the even score, both teams have benefited from the trade so far. Branden, desperate for running help, has gotten everything he hoped for from Priest. And Beau, needing no running back help, has scored 62 points from the other three players in the deal to lead him to two straight wins.

At the time of the trade, Branden dangled both Westbrook and Steven Jackson, and Beau took Westbrook. Had Beau taken Jackson, Randy would be way ahead at this point.

Interview:

Kerry Collins, Rudi Johnson, & Adam Vinatieri

Collins is eating a pizza. Rudi is chillin' out and Vinatieri is posing for Playgirl. But just the other day they were all together. Were they being interviewed by SFFL? Nope. They were in group therapy. Thankfully, SFFL got permission to tape their session.

Therapist: Hello, everyone. My name is Horace Horr and we're here to discuss a problem that all of you share. Now let's introduce ourselves. Who wants to go first?
Collins: I...I guess I'll go first. My name is...is Kerry. And I'm on Randy's team.
Rudi: Yo, my name's Rudi , and I'm on Randy's team.
Vinatieri: Hey my name's Adam, and when I'm not playing football or showing off for the ladies, I'm on Randy's team.
HH: Great. It took a lot of courage for you all to admit that. Not just anybody would have the strength to come here. Now, why don't we start with Kerry. How does playing for Randy make you feel?
Collins: Well, see, I like playing for Randy. I really do. He gave me a chance when nobody else would. But I've played poorly, and thus Randy's team gets criticized on a daily basis. If anyone should be made fun of it should be me. Randy doesn't deserve this.
HH: Thank you Kerry for being open with the group. Does anyone wish to comment of what Kerry just said?
Vinatieri: Well, I've played pretty damn well. But I agree, the criticism should go to the players, not the manager. Well, except me. Have you seen these quadriceps?
Rudi: Shut up, kicker!
Vinatieri: When you start scoring points man, then you can talk.
HH: Now gentleman, it does no good to criticize each other at a time like this.
Rudi: Yeah, sorry.
HH: Do you have anything to add to this discussion Rudi?
Rudi: Well, yeah, I guess so. I guess what I'd like to say is that I wish that Randy would stop being the victim of abuse. As a brother, I know how he feels being persecuted for something not under his control.
HH: What do the rest of you think about that?
Collins: Yeah, that would make me feel much better. In fact, if I wasn't worried about Randy's feelings, I know I'd play much better.
HH: Adam?
Vinatieri: Yeah, sure. Whatever.
HH: Well, I think we've had a good session, men. I can't promise any of you that Randy will stop being abused, but I believe we have made an important step today. You have all had a chance to bond about a common problem you all share. You can also share these feelings with your other teammates if you believe it will help. Good luck to all of you this weekend.

This Week

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

BYES: Atlana, Indianapolis, Jets, Seatte

Key Players Out
Beau	Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison
Branden	Reggie Wayne, Mike Vanderjagt, Colts D
Chris	Shaun Alexander
Randy	Curtis Martin, Joe Jurevicius
Bruce	Edgerrin James
Dave	None

Dave has been sliding backwards and another loss could start Dave worrying about his playoff chances, though I hear he is already whining about how awful his team is, despite being in third place. Luckily, he's got the bye week on his side. Branden is missing all of his Colts. Fortunately for Branden, kickers and defenses are easy to replace during bye weeks, and he's got a deep receiving core to replace Wayne. However, if Hines Ward sits this week I'd say Dave gets the egde in this matchup. Especially with LT2 playing the Chiefs.

Chris has just taken over first place despite a couple of poor weeks and holding onto his lead won't be easy. Shaun Alexander will be sitting at home this week, while the rest of Chris' teams plays the league's leading scorer in Beau. Beau is missing Peyton and Marvin, but Tom Brady and Antonio Gates aren't slouches as replacements. The Patriots play the Bills on Sunday night, who have an effective pass defense but are the league's worst team against the run. Beau will probably have a lead going into the game, but Corey Dillon could score three touchdowns to put the score out of reach. If the score remains close, their defenses will be going toe-to-toe Monday night.

Randy plays Bruce at a good time, as his highest scorer, Edgerrin James, is on a bye, and Holt is still gimpy. And with Moss and Owens both likely to play, Randy has a chance at stopping his four-week losing streak. Let's all root for Randy's team!