Jordan's 2010 Power Rankings - Week 3

I have always admired the ability of folks like John and Mike to switch off and play matchups that lean to their advantage. Last week, I looked at Jahvit Best at Philadelphia, and Darren McFadden at St. Louis, and I went with the suddenly resurrected McFadden with disastrous results. I take solace in the fact that McFadden did thrive against the Rams’ matador run defense – 32 touches and 145 yards rushing (ole!) is a nice performance from a guy whose selection elicited gales of laughter three weeks ago. But the pick cost me the game – Best would have pushed me into the 80s for the second straight week. Instead, we’re even at 1-1.

This week’s rankings…

1. Garvey’s Gangsters - The team that beat us last week might be the best outfit that Rich Garvey has ever fielded. The eureka factor came from LeSean McCoy, who crushed me last week with his “Last Man Standing’ series late in the Detroit game. That third TD was a killer, and it turned Monday night into a death watch up here in leaf-peeping country. Everything is working for RG right now. Mr. Garvey’s favorite Cowboy, Miles Austin, is playing like the best receiver in football. Rich has won two games with MJD delivering a grand total of five points. There are three interesting players on the bench – Jacoby Jones, Santonio Homes and Ricky Williams. They will help the Gangsters survive the bye weeks coming up.
2. PHIGHT-IN Camels - Last week, Matt Schaub tallied 497 yards and 3 touchdowns. No, that is not a typo. (Is this guy the best fantasy league QB in football?) Early evaluations of Tony’s receivers were not entirely positive, but Kevin Walter has exceeded expectations, Steve Smith is finding the end zone, and Wes Welker is suddenly a red-zone Target. DeSean Jackson is a legitimate number 1 receiver. Did I mention this team has Adrian Peterson?
3. Northboro Steroids – After a nice week one, everything went wrong in week 2. Michael Turner got dinged and missed a chance to post a 200 yard game against an awful Arizona defense. Best took a seat in favor of McFadden – not one of our better guesses. Rob Bironas scored only three points because Pittsburgh’s defense is seriously back. Even so, we scored 64 points, and the bench is looking terrific with the week 3 addition of Michael Vick. Northboro is well set up to thrive in the bye weeks – a stark contrast from last year.
4. Dangerous Minds – Do not underestimate this club. They are very good, and the Dennehy rabbits foot is a-hoppin’ so far. Look no further than New Orleans where Red Zone vulture Reggie Bush will be out until December with a broken leg, leaving Pierre Thomas as option 1, 2, and 3 in Goal line situations. Mike is second in the league in points scored at 148, trailing only Northboro. The matchups this week – Gore against Arizona, Thomas against Atlanta – are tasty.
5. Georgia Satellites – You know what they say – Defense wins championships. John is leading the league in Points Against with 78 in the first two weeks. That’s 13 points less than Mike scored last week. John deeply doesn’t care – he’s 2-0 heading out to Chicago to play a slightly desperate Marauders outfit.
6. Midwest Marauders – How can a team that looked so terrific on paper start 0-2? Last week, Hugh ran head first into Tony on one of the Camel-meister's ‘A’ weeks – not a pleasant experience. Jay Cutler and Donny McNabb suddenly look like a major upgrade at QB over a suddenly geriatric-looking Brett Favre. I still like the running game – Jamaal Charles is just too explosive to be sitting on the bench and Cedrick Benson will not be running against Baltimore every week. This team still looks good. They just need some breaks.
7. Rocky Brook – There’s Tom Brady. There’s Chris Johnson. Then there’s a yawning chasm and an icy void. Tom needs to figure out the rest of his club. Last week, the running “attack” did diddly-squat scoring all of five points. Chris Johnson scored one. Even Stephen Gostkowski has been shaky. If Johnson and Brady don’t perform, this team won’t win.
8. Northern Spies – The Spies are having a Jordan-esque start to the year. The running attack has been evacuated by injuries, and they are leading the league in point against with 148 through 2 weeks. That’s 74 points per week. To make matters worse, they have the #8 waiver pick this week. They play the high-octane Steroids this week in the Battle of Massachusetts.
   

Jordan’s 2010 Power Rankings – Week 2

Greetings all! Phoenix Rising is glad to be back for the 2010 season. The draft was held at the Sheff over Labor Day weekend, with activities slightly delayed due to a wedding in Mr. Garvey’s family – congratulations and best wishes to Rich.

Week 1 is in the books, and there are already moving narratives and cataclysmic disasters to report throughout the league. Let’s get to it:

1. Northboro Steroids – I am always hesitant to list my team too high, but in a week where my club put up 29 points more than any other team in the league, you guys will have to indulge me here. During our draft preparation, Brian pointed out that this year the critical pick was in round 4, where we picked Arian Foster. The thinking was that we had control over rounds 1 through 3 – we would pick the best running back and the two best wide receivers available. Round 4 was a complete crap shoot because it depended on what was picked by other teams. We were very happy that Foster was sitting there, and week 1 showed off why – the performances at the end of last season were not an aberration.
2. Garvey’s Gangsters – Given what we saw out of the Indianapolis defense in week 1, owning Peyton Manning seems like a sound idea. The amazing Manning, who threw the ball 57 times against Houston in week 1, will have one arm longer than the other by the time this season is over, as he tries to compensate for the ineffectiveness of the defense. Bob Sanders’ annual season-ending injury is already in the books. Yikes. Miles Austin, who helped lead Tony to a Super Bowl last year, went 10 catches/146 yards/1 TD on Sunday. The rest of the Dallas offense did nothing. This guy is Wes Welker with better speed. Lesean McCoy (12 rushes for 82 and a TD) should not be spending too much time on the bench. Maurice Jones-Drew's knee (23 carries for 98 yards) is just fine, thanks for asking.
3. Midwest Marauders – I really like this club. The Achilles heel is the QB slot, which was not lost on the defending champion – Hugh picked Jay Cutler in week 1 waivers. The rest of the club looks fantastic. Having Andre Johnson, Roddy White and Steve Breaston as the regular receivers will make for some very pleasant fall afternoons in the Windy City. Steven Jackson and Cedric Benson – regular attendees at Northboro team meetings over the last couple of years – will be big scorers here. This team has a playoff look despite the week 1 loss.
4. Georgia Satellites – It is best not to lose sight of the 7-time Nelson League champion, who had a fine week 1 with a win over Tony. John’s club fortunes this year rest on the shoulders of Rashard Mendenhall and Ray Rice. Mendenhall busted a 50 yard overtime run which was critical in John’s win last week. He has to continue to deliver – this week the Steeler’s back is facing Tennessee.
5. Dangerous Minds – Mike ran into a buzz saw in week 1, with Northboro going off for 88, but the story of the Stephen Cup winner’s season comes down to Matt Forte and Pierre Thomas. If Mike guessed right here – and the week 1 numbers are beyond reproach – then Mike will be a serious threat all year. We know Gore will be effective, but is Forte going to catch 100 balls this year? Is Pierre Thomas going to be able to play a full season? Mike’s fortunes hang in the balance as he heads to New England to face the Spies who, of course, lost Ryan Grant last week.
6. Rocky Brook – Any team that starts Tom Brady and Chris Johnson is worth the price of admission, but Tom suffered two major setbacks to his backfield that could cost him down the line. At the end of last year, Shonn Greene seemed ready to emerge as the next Michael Turner, but his catastrophic week 1 performance could relegate him to a committee situation with LT2. Going back on his word, Eric Mangini seems poised to force Jerome Harrison to split carries with 250-pound Peyton Hillis, who saw touches at the goal line. Anquan Boldin will not sit long on Tom’s bench. After a 7 catch, 110-yard performance against one of the two best defenses in football (the other being his own), Boldin seems ready to put up elite numbers this season. Tom has upside, and some major question marks.
7. Phight-in Camels – Tony got a little too much sun on the back nine on Sunday and missed the fact that Ronnie Brown had a cupcake matchup against Buffalo (65 yards/1 TD). Peterson and DeAngelo Williams are automatic starts at RB, and adding Ronnie Brown for those precious weeks when he’s healthy will give the Camels some serious horse power out of the running attack. Welker may surprise this year as a red zone taget – he got some looks in preseason and scored twice last week.
8. Northern Spies - Bri and I watched our team roll to a week 1 victory in the Deslauriers man cave in beautiful Franklin, Massachusetts. The fist-pumping was kept to a minimum as Rich’s team was struggling all afternoon. The killer was Ryan Grant’s injury, which leaves a hole in the Spies backfield. Brandon Jackson is a good try as the week 1 waiver pick. The other hangers-on – C.J Spiller (7 carries, 6 yards) and Clinton Portis (63 yards, questionable for week 2), do not inspire confidence. There are guys we like elsewhere – Fitzgerald and Marshall should be fine, and Carson Palmer (345 / 2 TDs) looked fabulous in the second half against the Patriots “wave your arms and pray” pass defense. The key here is trying to piece their backfield together.