This week, we take a quick look at the top 10 point scorers at each position in the Nelson League. There are plenty of surprises as we head into the second half. First, the running backs…
Clinton Portis (Gangsters) 86
Marion Barber (Minds) 81
Reggie Bush (Satellites) 75
Lendale White (Satellites) 73
Frank Gore (Gangsters) 71
Brian Westbrook (Camels) 69
Ronnie Brown (Spies) 67
Michael Turner (Steroids) 66
Matt Forte (Marauders) 66
Adrian Peterson (Oilers) 64
Ladanian Tomlinson is 11th - Matt Forte is leading the Marauders running backs in scoring so far. We all saw that coming, right? Rich Garvey’s team looks like a wrecking crew on these lists. Check out the QBs:
Phillip Rivers (Gangsters) 118
Drew Brees (Minds) 107
Aaron Rogers (Camels) 99
Kurt Warner (Satellites) 94
Jay Cutler (Steroids) 90
Tony Romo (Spies) 88
Brett Favre (Spies) 87
Matt Schaub (Spies) 83
Peyton Manning (Camels) 78
Donovan McNabb (Oilers) 73
The wideouts:
Santana Moss (Oilers) 67
Anquan Boldin (Camels) 63
Larry Fitzgerald (Dangerous) 59
Roddy White (Satellites) 59
Calvin Johnson (Steroids) 58
Greg Jennings (Dangerous) 55
Steve Smith (Oilers) 51
Lee Evans (Dangerous) 50
Laveraneus Coles (Garvey) 49
Vincenr Jackson (Steroids) 48
Santana Moss – not Randy Moss – has been amazing this year. The Redskins have the top running back and the top wideout. Mike has three of the top 8 receivers in the league so far. Vincent Jackson has outscored Brandon Marshall – who knew?
Kickers:
John Carnay (Satellites) 76
John Casey (Oilers) 75
Joe Nedney (Camels) 75
Jason Elam (Spies) 72
Shaun Suisham (FA) 71
Ryan Longwell (Satellites) 70
Matt Bryant (FA) 70
Nate Kaeding (Spies) 70
Stephen Gostkowski (Steroids) 69
Rian Lindell (FA) 68
Three of the top 10 kickers are free agents. The distance between #1 and #10 is a point per week. Matt Prater, who has been terrific for Rich Garvey, is 12th.
This week’s rankings:
1. Dangerous Minds – It was pretty much a walk-over last week against Northboro, with Stephen Jackson a last-minute scratch. Sixty-one points is pretty solid for an off week. They face a stiffer test this week, with Brees on the bye and Barber facing the Giants in New Jersey. On the other hand, they have outscored the Northern Spies every week of this season.
2. Northboro Steroids – We did what we could last week, plugging in Kevin Faulk and Chad Pennington, and we made a game out of it. Braylon Edwards has been very disappointing. If Stephen Jackson is OK this week, we have some good matchups against Rich Garvey. If not, we’re dusting off Faulk for another week. The lack of depth at running back is a serious problem for Northboro.
3. Rocky Brook Oilers – The hottest club in the league, they have outscored every team in the Nelson over the last three weeks. They have an extinction caliber event against the Satellites this week.
4. Georgia Satellites – Lendale White is leading all running backs in touchdowns with 8. I swear, if John plugged in Becky as a game time decision, she’d hammer one in somehow.
5. Phight-in Camels – My favorite metric is the matchup rating, which gives each team a record for each week as if they played every team in the league. So, if you outscore every team in the league, you go 7-0 on the week. If you score the fewest points, you go 0-7 that week. Mike is first with a record of 42-15. Tony is third at 33-23. This has been one of Tony’s most consistent seasons.
6. Garvey’s Gangsters – With a full compliment of players, Rich would be trouble for Northboro this week. But I’m catching Garvey’s crew in a week when Phillip Rivers, Frank Gore and Antonio Gates are all on the bye. The wild card in this game is Stephen Jackson’s leg injury. He’s probably going to be questionable on Sunday.
7. Northern Spies – Rich has made two excellent waiver picks in the last two weeks, adding Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson. Last week, they combined for twenty four points. They need to get Reggie Wayne and Marques Colston healthy. Frosty Bedsheets Bowl II against the first place commish this week.
8. Midwest Marauders – Kyle Orton and Matt Forte against Detroit…MJD against Cincinatti...Earnest Graham against Kansas City…Hugh is a dangerous opponent this week because of these delicious matchups. He gets a solid Camels outfit with Westbrook back in the fold and running well. This should be a good one.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Jordan’s Power Rankings – Week 8
John and I have amazing games. This week, the defending champ was missing his #1 draft pick, as Joseph Addai was declared out early in the week. John had Dominick Rhodes thanks to some clever drafting, so he slid the Indy backup tailback into his RB3 slot. Edgerrin James was on the bye. Lendale White slid into the RB2 slot, with a delicious matchup against hapless Kansas City.
I had everyone going and healthy except Michael Turner. I picked up Warrick Dunn on waivers hoping his freaky 22 carries and 115 yards in week 6, which happened only because Earnest Graham was forced into the fullback slot by an injury, would hold for one more week. Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall were going against a horrid New England secondary. I was banking on big numbers there.
John started fast. Lendale White scored two lightening quick touchdowns, and Dominick Rhodes punched one in. Reggie Bush ripped off 55 yards on 9 carries. Then, I caught a break. Reggie Bush blew a meniscus, and he was shelved for the rest of the day – and for the next three weeks. Meanwhile, my only 1:00 player, Mr. Stephen Jackson, was showing why my very savvy son wanted so badly for me to draft him. Jackson ran over, around and through the flailing Dallas defense. He finished the day with 26 gigantic points.
Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Lendale White that he was a backup. White matched Jackson’s heroic effort with 25 points of his own, including an unlikely 80 yard rumble that probably took five minutes to complete. Indianapolis played like a Pop Warner team against Green Bay, but the ole’ Nelson magic was in full bloom. Rhodes scored both Indianapolis touchdowns, including a 3-yard dive in garbage time. So, Rhodes and White combined for 42 points, and I spent the rest of the weekend playing catch up.
The biggest play of the weekend came when I rolled out to get some Kung Pau Chicken from my favorite Chinese joint. Just as I was about to get out of the car, the report came through that Calvin Johnson had scored a 96-yard touchdown. This was a huge play. I was now at 50 points, 18 points back heading into Monday.
I had 3 players in the Monday night game – Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Stephen Gostkowski. The kicker got me seven quick points in the first quarter, but Cutler whacked his throwing hand on an onrushing lineman and was on the sidelines in a stocking cap wrapping his throwing hand in an ice bag. I was going nuts. My wife, looking at the scoreboard where the Pats were cruising, thought I had lost my mind when Cutler threw a second half interception that caused the biggest snap of my fantasy season. The yards were piling up, though, and Gostkoski delivered 12 clutch points. Finally, Cutler heaved a touchdown pass to former Patriot Daniel Graham for the score that pushed me over 70 points, and gathered me an exhausting fifth win of this season.
This week’s Rankings…
1. Dangerous Minds – Mike dodged a bullet as his team’s collective vacation came in a week that he was facing Tony with the Eagles on the bye. Still leading the league in practically everything – I use five different metrics to generate the ratings and Mike is #1 in all of them. The commish has already spent some time looking at weeks 15 and 16, I guarantee it.
2. Northboro Steroids – With Stephen Jackson running wild and Calvin Johnson averaging 77 yards per catch last week, the Steroids have proven themselves to be tough when they’re right. The week 8 bye takes away Jay Cutler, and they have no backup quarterback, so it’s pretty obvious where the waiver pick is going this week. Stephen Gostkowski has won two games for this team this season.
3. Georgia Satellites – There isn’t a dime of difference between Georgia and Northboro statistically right now, but John has injury issues after last week’s bruising loss. Reggie Bush is out, and he joins Joseph Addai on the pine for the next few weeks. John gets Edgerrin James back, though. Tony will be playing with his whole team intact. Westbrook may return.
4. Rocky Brook – They set the league high with 88 points against Rich Garvey last week, who seems to be the cure for every fantasy football problem. Tom now owns both the highest point total and the lowest point total (21) for this season.
5. Phight-in Camels – Tony ran out of guys to play last week, but he’s getting healthier. He faces a Satellites club that is banged up and unlikely to get another 25 points out of Lendale White. John’s loss (Reggie Bush) is Tony’s gain – he has Deuce McCallister.
6. Garvey’s Gangsters – Rich is favored against the Spies, but he’s been playing well all season to no avail. Perhaps this will all turn around in the second half, but a 2-5 record at this point means the Garv is positioning himself to be a spoiler. This week, Michael Pittman is on the bye and Willie Parker is banged up, but Rich will run out Portis, Gore and Steve Slaton. How many teams have that kind of depth?
7. Northern Spies – They avoid the basement only because Midwest has had such a rotten year. Last week’s 29-point stinker had only one silver lining – Ryan Grant finally had a good week. With Romo out, they may shuffle in Matt Schaub in the QB slot, since Favre looks awful.
8. Midwest Marauders – They almost hammer their way out of the basement with a nice win against the Spies, but they are last in Game Points, and last in points over the last three weeks. Tomlinson’s inability to break long runs is killing this club.
I had everyone going and healthy except Michael Turner. I picked up Warrick Dunn on waivers hoping his freaky 22 carries and 115 yards in week 6, which happened only because Earnest Graham was forced into the fullback slot by an injury, would hold for one more week. Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall were going against a horrid New England secondary. I was banking on big numbers there.
John started fast. Lendale White scored two lightening quick touchdowns, and Dominick Rhodes punched one in. Reggie Bush ripped off 55 yards on 9 carries. Then, I caught a break. Reggie Bush blew a meniscus, and he was shelved for the rest of the day – and for the next three weeks. Meanwhile, my only 1:00 player, Mr. Stephen Jackson, was showing why my very savvy son wanted so badly for me to draft him. Jackson ran over, around and through the flailing Dallas defense. He finished the day with 26 gigantic points.
Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Lendale White that he was a backup. White matched Jackson’s heroic effort with 25 points of his own, including an unlikely 80 yard rumble that probably took five minutes to complete. Indianapolis played like a Pop Warner team against Green Bay, but the ole’ Nelson magic was in full bloom. Rhodes scored both Indianapolis touchdowns, including a 3-yard dive in garbage time. So, Rhodes and White combined for 42 points, and I spent the rest of the weekend playing catch up.
The biggest play of the weekend came when I rolled out to get some Kung Pau Chicken from my favorite Chinese joint. Just as I was about to get out of the car, the report came through that Calvin Johnson had scored a 96-yard touchdown. This was a huge play. I was now at 50 points, 18 points back heading into Monday.
I had 3 players in the Monday night game – Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Stephen Gostkowski. The kicker got me seven quick points in the first quarter, but Cutler whacked his throwing hand on an onrushing lineman and was on the sidelines in a stocking cap wrapping his throwing hand in an ice bag. I was going nuts. My wife, looking at the scoreboard where the Pats were cruising, thought I had lost my mind when Cutler threw a second half interception that caused the biggest snap of my fantasy season. The yards were piling up, though, and Gostkoski delivered 12 clutch points. Finally, Cutler heaved a touchdown pass to former Patriot Daniel Graham for the score that pushed me over 70 points, and gathered me an exhausting fifth win of this season.
This week’s Rankings…
1. Dangerous Minds – Mike dodged a bullet as his team’s collective vacation came in a week that he was facing Tony with the Eagles on the bye. Still leading the league in practically everything – I use five different metrics to generate the ratings and Mike is #1 in all of them. The commish has already spent some time looking at weeks 15 and 16, I guarantee it.
2. Northboro Steroids – With Stephen Jackson running wild and Calvin Johnson averaging 77 yards per catch last week, the Steroids have proven themselves to be tough when they’re right. The week 8 bye takes away Jay Cutler, and they have no backup quarterback, so it’s pretty obvious where the waiver pick is going this week. Stephen Gostkowski has won two games for this team this season.
3. Georgia Satellites – There isn’t a dime of difference between Georgia and Northboro statistically right now, but John has injury issues after last week’s bruising loss. Reggie Bush is out, and he joins Joseph Addai on the pine for the next few weeks. John gets Edgerrin James back, though. Tony will be playing with his whole team intact. Westbrook may return.
4. Rocky Brook – They set the league high with 88 points against Rich Garvey last week, who seems to be the cure for every fantasy football problem. Tom now owns both the highest point total and the lowest point total (21) for this season.
5. Phight-in Camels – Tony ran out of guys to play last week, but he’s getting healthier. He faces a Satellites club that is banged up and unlikely to get another 25 points out of Lendale White. John’s loss (Reggie Bush) is Tony’s gain – he has Deuce McCallister.
6. Garvey’s Gangsters – Rich is favored against the Spies, but he’s been playing well all season to no avail. Perhaps this will all turn around in the second half, but a 2-5 record at this point means the Garv is positioning himself to be a spoiler. This week, Michael Pittman is on the bye and Willie Parker is banged up, but Rich will run out Portis, Gore and Steve Slaton. How many teams have that kind of depth?
7. Northern Spies – They avoid the basement only because Midwest has had such a rotten year. Last week’s 29-point stinker had only one silver lining – Ryan Grant finally had a good week. With Romo out, they may shuffle in Matt Schaub in the QB slot, since Favre looks awful.
8. Midwest Marauders – They almost hammer their way out of the basement with a nice win against the Spies, but they are last in Game Points, and last in points over the last three weeks. Tomlinson’s inability to break long runs is killing this club.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Jordan’s Power Rankings – Week 7
So the last shall be first, and the first last
(Matthew 20:16)
Bye weeks and injuries change the chemistry of clubs as they roll through the season. A couple of weeks ago, Northboro looked like one of the league’s strongest teams. The bye weeks, bad matchups and injuries have changed the fortunes of the Steroids. Similarly, The Northern Spies are on a roll after stinking out the joint in the month of September.
The Nelson League is always full of twists and turns, and last week was a towering testament to this. In three of the games, the team with the lesser win total won, and several teams in our fine league are suddenly off the mat and looking spunky after slow starts.
This week’s rankings –
1. Dangerous Minds – John came into last week’s matchup with the Commish with plenty of momentum. He was sent back to Georgia with his butt in a bag after getting hosed by 46 points. Mike had 4 guys in double figures, including 21 points from Thomas Jones. The printing presses are cranking out playoff tickets after standing silent last year.
2. Georgia Satellites – Still hanging on to second place in the rankings despite being pounded like a nerd at Fight Club. This week’s opponent is Northboro. Both Georgia and Northboro lost week 1, won 4 straight, then lost week 6. Their mirror-image seasons end this week.
3. Phight-in Camels – Ok. Allright. They can win without Brian Westbrook. Put the billy club down and stop beating on my head…
4. Garvey’s Gangsters – Rated way higher than their 2-4 record would suggest because they are a good team that is finding all sorts of fascinating ways to lose. Last week, they had to have Eli Manning poop his drawers to avoid ringing up their third win. Sure enough, Manning had his worst game of the year by far and Garvey lost by 1 to Midwest. Note to the audience – if you have receivers or quarterbacks facing New England, play them. The Patriots are helpless against the pass.
5. Northern Spies – They have scored more points in the last three weeks that every team except the Dangerous Minds. Last week, they had six players score in double figures. On the bad side, Romo’s injured pinky shelves one of the league’s best QBs for a few weeks – or does it? Jessica’s boyfriend says he wants to play. This week, they face Midwest as they try to make it three straight.
6. Northboro Steroids – Last week, we had ugly matchups and Tony’s Eagles went bonkers. This week, no Michael Turner. Next week, no Cutler or Marshall. We could be 4-4 very shortly. Braylon Edwards looks like he’s back healthy and Roy Williams departure means Calvin Johnson will be among the league leaders in targets as long as he can stay conscious. The matchup with John should be a beauty.
7. Rocky Brook Oilers – Tom needs a win, but he’s catching no love from the scheduling Gods this week. Adrian Peterson is facing the Bears. Julius Jones is facing Tampa Bay – two ugly matchups. The good news is that Rocky Brook is facing Rich Garvey, who is to Fantasy Football what I am to Acey Deucey. Can this one end in a scoreless tie?
8. Midwest Marauders – One more win may get them out of the cellar. The one point win against Garvey last week was a bit lucky – if the Giants had done anything except throw interceptions, they could be 0-6. This week, the red hot Spies roll into town and Maurice Jones Drew has the week off.
(Matthew 20:16)
Bye weeks and injuries change the chemistry of clubs as they roll through the season. A couple of weeks ago, Northboro looked like one of the league’s strongest teams. The bye weeks, bad matchups and injuries have changed the fortunes of the Steroids. Similarly, The Northern Spies are on a roll after stinking out the joint in the month of September.
The Nelson League is always full of twists and turns, and last week was a towering testament to this. In three of the games, the team with the lesser win total won, and several teams in our fine league are suddenly off the mat and looking spunky after slow starts.
This week’s rankings –
1. Dangerous Minds – John came into last week’s matchup with the Commish with plenty of momentum. He was sent back to Georgia with his butt in a bag after getting hosed by 46 points. Mike had 4 guys in double figures, including 21 points from Thomas Jones. The printing presses are cranking out playoff tickets after standing silent last year.
2. Georgia Satellites – Still hanging on to second place in the rankings despite being pounded like a nerd at Fight Club. This week’s opponent is Northboro. Both Georgia and Northboro lost week 1, won 4 straight, then lost week 6. Their mirror-image seasons end this week.
3. Phight-in Camels – Ok. Allright. They can win without Brian Westbrook. Put the billy club down and stop beating on my head…
4. Garvey’s Gangsters – Rated way higher than their 2-4 record would suggest because they are a good team that is finding all sorts of fascinating ways to lose. Last week, they had to have Eli Manning poop his drawers to avoid ringing up their third win. Sure enough, Manning had his worst game of the year by far and Garvey lost by 1 to Midwest. Note to the audience – if you have receivers or quarterbacks facing New England, play them. The Patriots are helpless against the pass.
5. Northern Spies – They have scored more points in the last three weeks that every team except the Dangerous Minds. Last week, they had six players score in double figures. On the bad side, Romo’s injured pinky shelves one of the league’s best QBs for a few weeks – or does it? Jessica’s boyfriend says he wants to play. This week, they face Midwest as they try to make it three straight.
6. Northboro Steroids – Last week, we had ugly matchups and Tony’s Eagles went bonkers. This week, no Michael Turner. Next week, no Cutler or Marshall. We could be 4-4 very shortly. Braylon Edwards looks like he’s back healthy and Roy Williams departure means Calvin Johnson will be among the league leaders in targets as long as he can stay conscious. The matchup with John should be a beauty.
7. Rocky Brook Oilers – Tom needs a win, but he’s catching no love from the scheduling Gods this week. Adrian Peterson is facing the Bears. Julius Jones is facing Tampa Bay – two ugly matchups. The good news is that Rocky Brook is facing Rich Garvey, who is to Fantasy Football what I am to Acey Deucey. Can this one end in a scoreless tie?
8. Midwest Marauders – One more win may get them out of the cellar. The one point win against Garvey last week was a bit lucky – if the Giants had done anything except throw interceptions, they could be 0-6. This week, the red hot Spies roll into town and Maurice Jones Drew has the week off.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Jordan’s Power Rankings – Week 6
The haves and the have-nots have shaken themselves out over the last couple of weeks. We head into week 6 with an uncharacteristically clear view of several teams –one of which is already girding themselves to be a spoiler and two that are staring right at each other as the season nears its midpoint.
A few notes jump out as you study the numbers from the first five weeks:
Adrian Peterson and Ladanian Tomlinson are ninth and tenth in the league in scoring among running backs. The Midwest Marauders and the Rocky Brook Oilers picked 1 and 2 in our league draft, and are now last and next-to-last in the league in Game Points. Perhaps folks should not be chubbin’ over drafting early – it does not always make your drafting easier.
Points Allowed is something that no one in fantasy football can control, but it goes a long way toward determining whether you make the playoffs or not. Rich Garvey may be lucky at cards, but he’s more than making up for it on the fantasy gridiron – his opponents have scored an almost unimaginable 352 point through the first five weeks. The next team down the list is Midwest at 308.
Teams that score 80 points or more this year are 2-0. If they score between 70 and 79 points, they are 7-1. If they score between 60 and 69 points, they are 4-3. If they score between 50 and 59 points, they are 4-5. If they score between 40 and 49 points, they are 3-7. If they score less than 40, they are 0-4.
This week’s rankings:
1. Dangerous Minds – Still leading the league in Game Points by a comfortable margin (354). The Minds have had one minor bump in the road against the upstart Oilers, but otherwise have been sailing along like a Herreshoff yacht. (Google that one, boys!) They have performed with breathtaking consistency, scoring between 67 and 78 points every week.
2. Georgia Satellites – John piled up 87 points last week against poor Rich Garvey, which was a league high in Game Points so far this year. John has been getting phat on Reggie Bush’s punt returns, which have inflated Bush’s value to both New Orleans and the Satellites. Bush is now the #2 running back in the league in under our point system.
3. Northboro Steroids – The #1 running back in the league is Northboro’s Michael Turner, who had a nice week last week with 12 points. The hero against Tom, though, was Stephen Gostkoski, who picked a heck of a week to score 14. Storm signals are up for Northboro, though – the league has scored only 239 point against them through 5 weeks – the lowest total in the league. Sitting on your couch praying that the other guy doesn’t score is not a path to Nelson Bowl glory.
4. Garvey’s Gangsters – Still underachieving at 2-3, this team has been running into a headwind of wretched luck. In the three games they’ve lost, their opponents are averaging 78 points per game. This cannot continue, and they are getting terrific performances from everyone on the team. Matt Prater has turned out to be the kicker we all wanted.
5. Phight-in Camels – As Westbrook goes, so go the Camels, and that’s not a good thing right now. BW has two broken ribs, and is probably a game time decision. Tony may have saved his playoff chances by picking up Aaron Rogers, who is now this league’s top scoring quarterback. Plaxico Burress, well rested after his ‘personal bye,’ will be a welcome addition against the 4-1 Steroids.
6. Rocky Brook – The Oilers are coming off an ugly week when nothing went right (21 points). Tom looks to bounce back with Adrian Petersen against the awful Lions. This week will test Rocky Brooks’ depth – they have Chris Johnson and Larry Johnson on the bye.
7. Northern Spies – Right now, the Spies bench is outscoring its starting lineup. Last week’s pine bomb was DeAngelo Williams, who ran wild for 25 points. Rich is happy to have escaped the basement. They enter week 6 with no one on the bye unlike their opponents – Rocky Brook.
8. Midwest Marauders – Luckless, Wretched, and beleaguered, Hugh has got to be working hard on the Rosary beads, trying to get LT back to 100%. Turf toe injuries are the kiss of death for a running back. It seems like they just never heal. Terrell Owens and the rejuvenated Isaac Bruce will take some of the sting away for Midwest. I honestly can’t remember a team ever going 0-5 in our league before.
A few notes jump out as you study the numbers from the first five weeks:
Adrian Peterson and Ladanian Tomlinson are ninth and tenth in the league in scoring among running backs. The Midwest Marauders and the Rocky Brook Oilers picked 1 and 2 in our league draft, and are now last and next-to-last in the league in Game Points. Perhaps folks should not be chubbin’ over drafting early – it does not always make your drafting easier.
Points Allowed is something that no one in fantasy football can control, but it goes a long way toward determining whether you make the playoffs or not. Rich Garvey may be lucky at cards, but he’s more than making up for it on the fantasy gridiron – his opponents have scored an almost unimaginable 352 point through the first five weeks. The next team down the list is Midwest at 308.
Teams that score 80 points or more this year are 2-0. If they score between 70 and 79 points, they are 7-1. If they score between 60 and 69 points, they are 4-3. If they score between 50 and 59 points, they are 4-5. If they score between 40 and 49 points, they are 3-7. If they score less than 40, they are 0-4.
This week’s rankings:
1. Dangerous Minds – Still leading the league in Game Points by a comfortable margin (354). The Minds have had one minor bump in the road against the upstart Oilers, but otherwise have been sailing along like a Herreshoff yacht. (Google that one, boys!) They have performed with breathtaking consistency, scoring between 67 and 78 points every week.
2. Georgia Satellites – John piled up 87 points last week against poor Rich Garvey, which was a league high in Game Points so far this year. John has been getting phat on Reggie Bush’s punt returns, which have inflated Bush’s value to both New Orleans and the Satellites. Bush is now the #2 running back in the league in under our point system.
3. Northboro Steroids – The #1 running back in the league is Northboro’s Michael Turner, who had a nice week last week with 12 points. The hero against Tom, though, was Stephen Gostkoski, who picked a heck of a week to score 14. Storm signals are up for Northboro, though – the league has scored only 239 point against them through 5 weeks – the lowest total in the league. Sitting on your couch praying that the other guy doesn’t score is not a path to Nelson Bowl glory.
4. Garvey’s Gangsters – Still underachieving at 2-3, this team has been running into a headwind of wretched luck. In the three games they’ve lost, their opponents are averaging 78 points per game. This cannot continue, and they are getting terrific performances from everyone on the team. Matt Prater has turned out to be the kicker we all wanted.
5. Phight-in Camels – As Westbrook goes, so go the Camels, and that’s not a good thing right now. BW has two broken ribs, and is probably a game time decision. Tony may have saved his playoff chances by picking up Aaron Rogers, who is now this league’s top scoring quarterback. Plaxico Burress, well rested after his ‘personal bye,’ will be a welcome addition against the 4-1 Steroids.
6. Rocky Brook – The Oilers are coming off an ugly week when nothing went right (21 points). Tom looks to bounce back with Adrian Petersen against the awful Lions. This week will test Rocky Brooks’ depth – they have Chris Johnson and Larry Johnson on the bye.
7. Northern Spies – Right now, the Spies bench is outscoring its starting lineup. Last week’s pine bomb was DeAngelo Williams, who ran wild for 25 points. Rich is happy to have escaped the basement. They enter week 6 with no one on the bye unlike their opponents – Rocky Brook.
8. Midwest Marauders – Luckless, Wretched, and beleaguered, Hugh has got to be working hard on the Rosary beads, trying to get LT back to 100%. Turf toe injuries are the kiss of death for a running back. It seems like they just never heal. Terrell Owens and the rejuvenated Isaac Bruce will take some of the sting away for Midwest. I honestly can’t remember a team ever going 0-5 in our league before.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Jordan’s Power Rankings – Week 5
Before the pixels were completely dry on my last post, Rocky Brook took the Commish’s best shot and plowed their way to a win over the previously undefeated Minds. We are 4 weeks in, half the league is tied for first, and the momentum has shifted to a couple of clubs who haven’t gotten a lot of love from the Rankings so far.
1. Rocky Brook Oilers – They killed the king, they get the crown. Tom has had quite a start in his first year, piling up wins by gathering just enough points each week. They are now six deep at running back with the addition of Le’ron McClain last week. The running game is a beautiful mix of old Warhorses (Larry Johnson), crispy new things (Chris Johnson), and super-stud Adrian Peterson. This team is built to win in the bye weeks.
2. Dangerous Minds – The Commish’s idea of an off week is to rack up 67 points despite coming up empty with Marion Barber. That won’t happen very often. Still leading the league in Game Points (282). The 67 points last week was their lowest total to date. Despite the hiccup last week, the Minds are dangerous indeed.
3. Northboro Steroids – Winners of 3 straight after surviving a scare against the old roommate, the Steroids head into the matchup against Rocky Brook without their #1 draft pick – Mr. Stephen Jackson who is on the bye this week. Despite being second in the league in Game Points (252), Northboro doesn’t seem to be as well structured for the bye weeks as other teams. After running out Ricky Williams this week for lack of alternatives, the Northboro contingent is facing an ugly week 8, when Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall take a seat. My week 8 opponent: The Dangerous Minds.
4. Georgia Satellites – John is hot, and he’s getting production from players you might not expect like Reggie Bush and Edgerrin James. The QB situation is improved with Warner and Jason Campbell in the fold. Excluding Week 1, John is third in the league in Game Points behind the Commish and Northboro. The best game in the Nelson this week is Satellites-Gangsters.
5. Garvey’s Gangsters – They led the league in points last week, and they’ve been piling up points all year. After Dangerous Minds, this is the team with the strongest roster top to bottom. They will be in the playoffs, and they will be a dangerous playoff opponent. They need to win some close games, starting this week.
6. Phight-in Camels – Brian Westbrook is down, but Tony cranked out a very impressive 69 points without him last week. He was ahead of us all on Deshaun Jackson, and Aaron Rogers looks good, if Green Bay can keep him stitched together. Peyton Manning is going to win some games for this club before it’s over. This is a team that’s hard to read.
7. Midwest Marauders – This is too good a team to be 0-4, and some unlucky club is going to pay a price for the Marauders’ ill luck to date. Jones-Drew has been disappointing, but Hugh has Earnest Graham and Jonathan Stewart on the bench. They have been caught by the poor performance of Cincinatti (Chad Ocho Cinco) and Cleveland (Kellen Winslow). They face the remorseless Minds this week.
8. Northern Spies – Two straight weeks looking up at the rest of the league. The Spies have had a strange season. The two top individual point totals so far this season are Ronnie Brown’s 33 points week 3, and Brett Favre’s 29 points week 4. Both of those gentlemen were burning up the pine for the Spies. We’ll see if they can get off the shnide against the Camels this week.
1. Rocky Brook Oilers – They killed the king, they get the crown. Tom has had quite a start in his first year, piling up wins by gathering just enough points each week. They are now six deep at running back with the addition of Le’ron McClain last week. The running game is a beautiful mix of old Warhorses (Larry Johnson), crispy new things (Chris Johnson), and super-stud Adrian Peterson. This team is built to win in the bye weeks.
2. Dangerous Minds – The Commish’s idea of an off week is to rack up 67 points despite coming up empty with Marion Barber. That won’t happen very often. Still leading the league in Game Points (282). The 67 points last week was their lowest total to date. Despite the hiccup last week, the Minds are dangerous indeed.
3. Northboro Steroids – Winners of 3 straight after surviving a scare against the old roommate, the Steroids head into the matchup against Rocky Brook without their #1 draft pick – Mr. Stephen Jackson who is on the bye this week. Despite being second in the league in Game Points (252), Northboro doesn’t seem to be as well structured for the bye weeks as other teams. After running out Ricky Williams this week for lack of alternatives, the Northboro contingent is facing an ugly week 8, when Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall take a seat. My week 8 opponent: The Dangerous Minds.
4. Georgia Satellites – John is hot, and he’s getting production from players you might not expect like Reggie Bush and Edgerrin James. The QB situation is improved with Warner and Jason Campbell in the fold. Excluding Week 1, John is third in the league in Game Points behind the Commish and Northboro. The best game in the Nelson this week is Satellites-Gangsters.
5. Garvey’s Gangsters – They led the league in points last week, and they’ve been piling up points all year. After Dangerous Minds, this is the team with the strongest roster top to bottom. They will be in the playoffs, and they will be a dangerous playoff opponent. They need to win some close games, starting this week.
6. Phight-in Camels – Brian Westbrook is down, but Tony cranked out a very impressive 69 points without him last week. He was ahead of us all on Deshaun Jackson, and Aaron Rogers looks good, if Green Bay can keep him stitched together. Peyton Manning is going to win some games for this club before it’s over. This is a team that’s hard to read.
7. Midwest Marauders – This is too good a team to be 0-4, and some unlucky club is going to pay a price for the Marauders’ ill luck to date. Jones-Drew has been disappointing, but Hugh has Earnest Graham and Jonathan Stewart on the bench. They have been caught by the poor performance of Cincinatti (Chad Ocho Cinco) and Cleveland (Kellen Winslow). They face the remorseless Minds this week.
8. Northern Spies – Two straight weeks looking up at the rest of the league. The Spies have had a strange season. The two top individual point totals so far this season are Ronnie Brown’s 33 points week 3, and Brett Favre’s 29 points week 4. Both of those gentlemen were burning up the pine for the Spies. We’ll see if they can get off the shnide against the Camels this week.
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