Thoughts on Week 3

Buckos, SoCheesy, BCC

Buckos: Flacco is proving wrong the prediction that he's no fantasy
QB. He out performed Brees in this head-to-head 22.6 to 7.4. This
Bethesda offense in looking good. MJD and Bradshaw plus outstanding
early performances from TE Clark have given Bucks a strong 2-1 start.

SoCheesy shook off last week's loss to the Eagles and out-paced
Payton Manning and a strong show by Dunlop. The SCS passing game did
the heavy lifting here.

Archangels didn't look spectacular at all. But other than Big Ben and 10
pts out of Chris Johnson, BCC didn't show up. Cameron steals one
here. BCC had 177 pts last week. This week they had 82.

Also, Bandits got their win. Pensacola is in a transition, granted.
But a win is a win, especially when it's your first.
Bears showed up the Know-shows. Knows earned their distinction this
week.
Finest's passing game passes the O-men.

Detroit 19, Washington 14

Initial thoughts after the loss to the Lions.

Saying that the 'Skins are worse than the Lions simply still not begin to plumb the depths of their inadequacy in Detroit today.

They got crushed by the Lions.  It was not even as close as the final score.

We were as a team:

Two-for-Ten on Third down offensively.

97 Yards on 9 Penalties.

-(minus) 13:30 Time of Possession differential.

65 Yards rushing.

Campbell looks decent in no huddle, but he's only in that when the game is on the line.  Unfortunately, that too is even an overstatement because in no-huddle situations he's also going against a defense that's giving him the middle of the field.

There is really very little to be enthused about today.  Moss, I guess, got involved more.

It was altogether a rough, rough day for the 'Skins.  Some guys looked dinged-up, too.  Cooley on the last drive limped a bit, Jason, too.

Things are uncomfortable in DC, now.  There will be talk about firing Zorn.  It's hard to think that will really help, but it's easy to see why folks would want that.

There will be talk of benching Campbell.  That may happen.  It's hard to see those two coming out of their slump on the strength of their own resiliency.  It hasn't happened yet.

I think Campbell will sit down before Zorn gets the boot.

It's only one loss.  But it will be writ large in the media this week.  I'd still pick 'em over Tampa next week at FedEx, but for now, this is going to hurt.

Ouch.

The Commish Previews Week 3

Hey!!!

Week 3 is looking very exciting!

We have an interesting match up between two of the only 3 undefeated teams (look at the surprising Know-shohs and the Bears at http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f2/20386/matchup?week=3&mid1=6&mid2=15) Oh, and these two are also our highest scoring teams through the 1st two weeks, with an impressive average of more than 160 a week.

We also have our other undefeated team going up against you beloved commissioner, who fully expects to put up a fight. If DA Commish can pull out a win, he should be ranked 3rd or 4th. Not bad for a team placed 10th by the pre-season predict-erizers.

South Chelsea wants revenge, and looks for blood this week with Dunlop United.

The surprising B-eagles face the Cookies, who might just be able to manage a win, that would be their first of the season. Key word here is "manage".

Angels and BCC swuare off; in what should be a nail-biter.

Bandidos and Bonanzidos clash in an inter-something rivalry. The Bandidos have surprisingly been held to no wins, and are wanting to come in from the cold.

Finally, the Bucks face the Breakers, a mid-league clash that will send one of the teams into the first echelon, and the other into the minors.

Here is Da Commish's line:


1. Finest over Ottermen by 5.
2. Breakers over Buckos by 15, with Brees continuing his greatest show on smurf.
3. South Chelsea over United by 20. (medic!)
4. Beagles over Cookies by 20.
5. Bonanza over Bandits by 30. Don't see it. (can you say MEDIC!!!)

6. United over Angels by 5. (ouch, this is gonna be close)
7. Bears over Know-shohs, because as of press time, they still had McNabb in their starting lineup.

Anyway, this has been fun, and,

GO FINEST!!!

-C.

Thoughts on Week 2

Know-Shohs, Bears, and BCC.

Shohs: another blowout, and they did it without a QB. That's scary.
Frank Gore had 36 pts. They also got 22 pts out of a DL: Dumervil in
DEN.

Bears: another convincing win. Strong day at RB (36 pts). Marion Barber the
story here, out-scoring Peterson. This RB corps will be tough to beat.

BCC: over 60 pts at RB this week including 45 from Chris Johnson.
Five sacks for DE Odom for 22pts and Big Ben's 20 put BCC safely in
the Win column.

Of note: Miramar gets their first FFFF win over SCS. SCS not looking
their usual intimidating selves. Low-show from Hasselbeck, 6 Pts, and
Eagles QB's 22 was the difference here.

Also, last-year's championship rematch went to the Bonanza. The Passing game was the difference in an otherwise evenly-matched game. Phil Rivers is off to a good start in SD.

Good shows also from Finest and Ottermen. Weak D did in a strong offensive show from Archangels.

Another loser for the Bandits. They're getting killed at RB. Weak day from Hester, but he was up against PIT.

Thoughts on Week 1

For all of the excitement round the league in the first week of the '09 season three items stand out.

First, how about the Bears putting up the weekly high 181.80. This made it impossible for Pensacola who had a strong 138 even to make it close. The Bears had 33 points at QB, 34 at WR, and 50 at RB. That 117 points on offense. Wow.

Second, the Know-Shohs, what's going on there. They had an even stronger week on offense than the Bears: 20/57/30 plus 21 at TE. If these guys are for real, the rest of the league is in trouble.

Third, Annapolis-BCC, what a barn burner. The O-men have their #1 pick Brady to thank for digging them out of the hole on Monday night. The .05 margin of victory is the narrowest possible.

Also of note: Peterson and Brees earning their reputation for great fantasy picks.

The Bandits are puzzled about LT's injury. McNabb should concern Shoh's slightly.

Of concern for the future of FFFF?

Mark Maske's article in yesterday's post points to the season after next (2011) as a year without the NFL.

What do you think?

NFL Kickoff Means FFFF '09 Kickoff

Thursday 8:30 PM marks the kickoff of FFFF '09.

Teams are looking to get some quality points with the talent that will be on the field that night.

Offensive notables playing in the Steelers - Titans game are:

Cookies - K Jeff Reed and RB Mewelde Moore
BCC - QB Big Ben and RB Chris Johnson
Bears - WR Hines Ward
Bandits - K Bobby Bironas
Know shos - Santonio Holmes

Defensive notables include:

Cookies - Woodley
Archangels - Polamalu
Side - Bosh and Harper
Finest - Haye and Jones
Breakers - Farrior
D. United - Griffin
Bandits - Harrison
Ottermen - Smith

All in all it's looking to be a good start to the season with a few teams pulling ahead early because of some big point scorers. So make sure you have your rosters set to go because it's game time baby.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: Power Rankings

Here they are in short form.

Go ahead. Have at 'em!

1 Annapolis

2 So Cheesy

3 Pensacola

4 Palm

5 Cameron

6 BCC

7 Bullish

8 Bethesda

9 Bowie

10 Lauderdale

11 Miramar

12 Dunlop

13 Killer

14 Know Shohs

Comments are welcome.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #1 Annapolis Ottermen

These guys went with Brady first overall in '08, paid the price for it and still rallied. They reached for him again in the first round in this year's draft and will not be denied. After assembling two-thirds of his roster off the post-draft waiver wire the Ottermen put together a run which took them to the semifinals.

This year, drafting a full roster, a healthy Brady, solid receiving and running, as well as a defense combining top tacklers Ruud and Barton with the return-man strategy, these Ottermen will take it to the limit and be the team to beat.

Look out for the Ottermen in week 17.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #2 South Chelsea Side

Can they be beat?

It will require besting the best WR corps in all the FFFF.

It will require getting past a strong show from the Houston QB who will have something to prove. It will require stopping a tough fantasy back in Chi's Forte.

Dansby, Scott, and the Returnman/CB Wilson will put up numbers all season long.

He's a shifty one, side's owner, already tallying up more moves than anyone in the preseason.

'07's champ and '08's semi-finalist could be the team to beat.

And there may only be one who can do it.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #3 Pensacola Bonanza

Defending Champions are never to be taken lightly.

Willis and Ware anchor a strong defense. Portis has another 1200 yards this season. T.O. catches on in Buffalo. Rivers stays tough in SD.

All these happen and Bonanza goes deep into the post season.

Weakness at RB will likely cost them a go at the repeat in the end. Bonanza is in big trouble is anything happens to Portis.

Always a nail-biter taking on the champs.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #4 Palm Beach Breakers

2009 is the fourth team in as many seasons for the winners of the first FFFF Championship in 2006. This year's Palm Beach Breakers are reveling after an excellent draft day performance.

Setting Brees aside, Breakers look strong offensively. WRs and RB and TE are all putting up consistent, if not stellar numbers this season. Add even a decent season from Brees and they look like a shoe-in for a top 4 finish.

A word on their WRs. Things are strange in SF at QB for Morgan. Also, Boldin is behind Fitz and Ariz has a good #3. This is probably good for Boldin, but also risky. Mush in Cin is a strong #2. Cooley is always a threat for points in DC. Not a bad draft for Palm Beach.

Even defensively these guys look tough.

It'll be tough, this year to swim out past these Breakers.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #5 Cameron Archangels

They, too, will be tough this year. Last year's Virginia Gentlemen are strong this year as the Archangels especially at QB (Warner) and WR (C. Johnson, Welker, and Royal).

Welker is always good for a ton of grabs opposite Moss. Warner should have a blast with his 3 WRs. And Royal gets good fantasy pts.

They can be beat at RB, if Pierre Thomas fails to surprise and the Raiders are repeats of last season. Both are quite possible.

A potential Week 15 Shootout against Palm Beach Breakers' QB Brees in Dallas and Cameron's Warner against Detroit will determine the final four.

For now, the pre-season edge goes to Brees and the Breakers.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #6 BCC United

Another good draft year from the BCC's owner.

Strong at WR (S. Smith, B, Edwards, Housh) and RB (M. Turner and C. Johnson), especially.

Vilma and Sims on D will add nearly 20 points a week, also.

While no one questions his toughness, Roethlisberger has never been a huge fantasy QB. There is no depth at this position in United's roster. This may be the only real weakness.

A tough team.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #7 Bullish Bears

A great draft day will get these Bears into the playoffs this year. The Bears missed the '08 post-season by a game, but finished the year taking four of their last five in impressive manner. If the owner turned it around, then look out for the Bears.

With Adrian Peterson and M Barber, the backfield will rack up reliable points.

With Romo and decent wideouts, the Bears may not be pushovers in the first round of the playoffs this year, either.

The best Kicker in the league and return men on D will keep these guys around all year.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #8 Bethesda Buckos

Strongest at RB (MJD and R Grant) and only slightly less strong at WR, '08's runner-up Bethesda Buckos will have to work to sneak into the playoffs this year.

Flacco's great rookie leadership on field last year didn't translate to Fantasy Points.

When the QB complements the RBs that's when the points pile up in this league. That will require a hidden brilliance in Flacco's sophomore performance.

However, some heads-up draft day picks on defense are going to keep this team from being shrugged off so easily.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #9 Bowie Bandits

The shape Bowie is in following the draft is as good as they have been, with one exception: injury potential.

Each, after great '07 totals, QB Palmer, WR Colston, RB Tomlinson and are all coming off of injury-abbreviated '08 seasons.

A repeat of that may keep the Bandit's in '09 not only out of the top tier, but even out of the playoffs for the 2nd straight year.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #10 Lauderdale's Finest

Finest are looking towards strategic regular-season adjustments to compensate for the fallout from a hectic draft day. Pennington, can be reliable and RB, D. Williams will heap up the fantasy points.

But return-man strategy at WR belies concern for the WR position which will require monitoring all-season long in order to keep it from proving too much of a drain.

Productive TE (Gonzales) and K (Carney), could provide as many as an average of five extra fantasy points per week for these positions which normally get overlooked.

Finest will take all these points he can get this year.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #11 Miramar Bald Eagles

A new team this year in the FFFF, the Miramar Bald Eagles are the beneficiaries of a good draft day.

Particularly strong at RB (T. Jones and S. Jackson) the focus turns to QB, WR, D, and owner.

There are a number of "ifs" here:

If Rogers is on again, and if the no. 2s in Tampa and Phi get the looks, and the D line-up shows up, then Miramar could make quite a rookie splash.

Provided, (biggest "if") only if they move their players into starting position.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #12 Dunlop United

The United are FFFF newcomers in 2009. With their home base at Dunlop, they enjoy the advantage of operating from surroundings rich in the FFFF legacy. Dunlop was the site of the 2007 and 2009 FFFF Drafts, and has been a focal point in season and out of season for all things FFFF. Their owner, while at the helm for the first time, certainly knows a thing or two on how to direct men. What remains to be seen is, whether he knows how to direct FFFF men.

Their primary asset is P. Manning at QB. Another season has added only wisdom and desire to a future-Cantoner QB who always produces tops points at his position. Addai and F. Jones won't be at tops points-getter tandem, but will produce weekly. S. Moss, Coles, and Tony Gonzales, as well as Cooley are likely, too, to provide weekly consistency at WR.

Starting a Manning, Addai, and Gonzales is strong and risky at the same time. As the Colts go, so go the United.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #13 Killer Cookies

Killer Cookies are in their second year of FFFF. Last year they were known as "Flying Torpedoes."

Cookies have creativity and exuberance at the position of owner. Their QB, RB, WR trio of Cutler, B. Westbrook, and B. Marshall will be their bread and butter along with Pace and Woodley on defense.

The Cookies are subscribers to the "return man" strategy and hope starting CB, Ellis Hobbs adds to their final score.

In their debut "Flight," last year's Torpedoes finished the regular season 5-9, good for at tie for 9th in overall winning percentage, but 12th in overall scoring. They also made the fewest roster moves in the league.

The Cookies' strength is also their weakness, especially WR and RB. Brandon Marshall is the only Starting #1 WR, and while he will contribute when his hip heals and he lands a contract, nevertheless his conduct off the field places his weekly consistency in jeopardy. Westbrook can be deadly, but he can sit for 4 or 5 games, too.

WR is a roster position in this league which can bolster a team through tough times if it is itself consistently producing around 200 yards and 1 TD's (for all 3 WRs) per week or more than 25 points. The Cookies are looking at 10/wk.

The FFFF3600 preseason Top 14: #14 Know-Shohs

The '08 Bethesda Hooligans are back as this year's Know-Shohs...that is, if they ever show up. That doubt will plague this otherwise impressive draft-day roster.

Strong WRs, especially L. Fitzgerald, will have to produce to compensate for questionable RBs. Things are not always certain in SF for F. Gore or in Det, and that may be weakness for Know, even if he were to be right on top of things

Briggs and Lewis on D are good for another year, but not showing up to pick-up DEs and DTs is already hurting these guys.

If things don't change, don't expect too much more than a repeat of the '08 performance.

The FFFF Top 14 are coming...

Get ready.
The FFFF Top 14 will be revealed soon.
See how the FFFF stacks up this year with in depth power rankings.
Who is predicted to make the playoffs? Who's going to have a long season?
They're coming soon.

Beyond FFFF

Not sure why The Washington Post is front-paging this.

So they have the scoop on the 'Skins selling tickets to brokers against club policy and also suing fans for breaking their season ticket contract.

And now Boswell has taken up the banner to further bash Snyder.

But why?  Why this story?  Why now?

I've got some ideas but none of them quite cover it.

What do you think?

Tom Boswell's article

Thursday's page A1, top-fold

Wednesday's page A1, top-fold

Trades

Will they play a factor in FFFF this year?
Some have gone so far as to call trading "this year's wildcard."

While I'm not really sure what that means in all it's implications, it does seem to communicate a preliminary appreciation for what has otherwise been missing from FFFF.

I remain doubtful that owners would break-up rosters which already have high-value talent spread so thinly, but I've been wrong before.

One thing's for sure, Bironas is staying right where he is.

FFFF 2009 Has Begun!

We're underway for the 2009 season.
Draft day was a success.
The league has expanded by two teams this season, bringing our total to 14.
A warm FFFF welcome to the Miramar Bald Eagles and the Dunlop United!

Looks like it'll be as fun as ever.