1997 FFL Week 4 Newsletter
This week’s high scoring team: Grande To The Party struck for 62 while leaving an additional 22 points on the bench. PMS finished second and has yet to score less than 42 points any game this season. The Mystics tied PMS for second at 50 points.
This week’s stooge: NFC Norris turns in the week’s low point total, with 17.
Sunday’s Results:
Natural Mystics 50 NFC Norris 17
Hog’s Breath 38 Palace of Swords 25
Crawling King Snakes 30 Beer Spillers 29
PMS 50 Greenback Iguanas 29
Grande To The Party 62 Bone Club 46
April’s Supercuts 39 Strange Highways 32
What’s inside:
1. Letter from the Commish
2. Transactions
3. Box scores
4. Week 4 Recap
5. The Swami Sez
6. Schedule
7. Rosters
Letter from the Commish:
Entering Week 4, the Commish noticed the waiver wire beginning to heat up and most of it revolved around the good old Moe Division. Seven of the possible eight transactions involving this division were utilized immediately during the "priority pickup" period Wednesday night. The only team with an available transaction by 10:00 that night was Grande To The Party. The only division not to have any moves was the Curly Division. To be clear, the Beer Spillers did put in one claim. However, at 9:57pm Palace of Swords claimed Jay Graham, thus preventing him from making the trip to Brewski headquarters. The Swords claimed Graham as a result of their being bumped for their original claim, William Henderson, by the Strange Highways.
In addition to an increase in waiver pickups, there continued to be talk of possible trading. The Bone Club had an offer on the table of Anthony Miller for Warrick Dunn of Grande To The Party. This offer was rebuffed despite Coach Will’s well known love of the Dallas Cowboys. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to those of us who have had Anthony Miller in either this league or any other (including Coaches Schmitz, Widtfeldt, and Wassem). He has proven to be a fine player----on someone else’s team! The Beer Spillers were offering various packages to both PMS and Hog’s Breath with the possibility of a three way, trade that is, being pitched. The Spillers have declared their openness to any offers from around the league. Talks are also on-going with the NFC Norris.
The Greenback Iguanas and Hog’s Breath pulled the trigger on a trade Thursday night. Hog’s Breath sent WR Tony Martin to the Iguanas to help the Iguanas make up for the loss of Jerry Rice. The Iguanas are holding onto Rice in the remote possibility that he may return near season’s end. Rice came out publicly this week to say he hoped to return by season’s end but doesn’t know yet if that’s possible. In exchange, Hog’s Breath received the Bomb, Natrone Means. This gives Hog’s Breath the RB they’ve been seeking and rids them of Martin, who Coach McCormick did not have a good relationship with. When asked to comment about Martin, McCormick, borrowing a page from Big Tuna, stated, "She just didn’t fit in with the direction this organization is heading."
Coach Young wanted it mentioned that, with the Strange Highways’ dumping of the Giants defense this week in favor of the Patriots, the side bet that existed between these two teams has been settled in Coach Young’s favor. For those of you not in the know, the bet was that the defense that scored the most points over the course of the season would win. Young’s Rams have another 13 weeks to win this one. Levels, Jerry! Eric could’ve won, he just didn’t want to. It’s all about levels. This story may not be over, though. The Patriots have Week 5 off and the Highways will need a defense. Would Highways owner Widtfeldt spot the Bone Club a week’s head start and pick the Giants defense back up again?
Speaking of the Strange Highways, it seems to the Commish that an exorbitant number of franchises around the league thrive on the Highway organization’s misery. When asked if she had any post game comments, Coach Koll faxed over a late press release from the PMS front office after their 49-43 victory in Week 3.
"Yeah, I’ve got some post game comments! I was pleased to find upon my return from the Bermuda Triangle that once again PMS was triumpant! I believe our team was fairly confident in Spanking Sleazy E, even after he sent a vocal message mentioning something about a "Pimp Slap"? New lingo for us...so we settled for an old fashioned BITCH SLAP!!! And let it be known that Strange Highways made a side promise of dinner to the victors...I hope it’s not to Highway Diner!"
GO! P-PLEDGE 2
M-MORE
S-SPLAPPING!
Lastly, Coach Erickson weighed in this week with the news that the trade of Herman Moore had no effect on the Snakes’ Week 3 loss. As Erickson put it, had Moore still been a Snake, the utility player would have been J.J. Stokes rather than Andre Hastings and the Snakes’ point total would have remained the same. The Commish thanks Coach Erickson for that information because I can only observe the action. I can’t always know the thought process that goes into it.
Go deep, I’ll throw it! -The Commish
Stop here for reminders:
Drop/Adds begin Wednesdays at 6:00pm this year.
Wednesdays from 6:00pm-10:00pm are reserved for pickups based on low season point total.
First come/first serve drop/adds begin Wednesdays at 10:00pm.
All transactions are to be called in to 402-392-9749 and left on my voice mail for date/time stamping. This will serve as the official arbitrator of any disputes that may occur.
All lineups will be called in to 402-392-9749 for the same reasons.
To find out what lineup your opponent is using, either: call your opponent directly (remember to notify me of your starting lineups in any event-see above) or call me at 402-341-2674 after kickoff of the first weekly game.
I realize some trades are made at the last minute but, whenever possible, please notify me of any trades ASAP after they are made by leaving a voice mail at 402-392-9749.
**NERZ** NERZ**NERZ**NERZ**NERZ**NERZ**NERZ**
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Nerz, pay up or we will conduct a dispersal draft of your team!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pay up or I’ll forfeit any win you hope to see in Week 4. I am the all-powerful commissioner; you will feel my wrath you son of a bitch. I am the God of Hellfire. I will strike you down like so many seven game losing streaks. You shall know what it means to feel the sensation of cold steel across the nape of your chunky little neck...i.e. PAY UP, slacker boy!!!
As you may be able to tell from the above, Paul Nerz is the sole remaining league member who owes dues. Please pay Paul Young. He can be reached at 420-2808 in Lincoln or you can mail a check directly to him at 2830 Jameson N. #15, Lincoln NE 68516.
Paul Nerz $25
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Transactions:
09/17 Strange Highways waive D Giants and WR Sean Dawkins; add D Patriots and RB William Henderson
09/17 Grande To The Party waive WR Don Bebee; add WR Ricky Proehl
09/17 April’s Supercuts waive K Scott Blanton and RB Cory Dillon; add K Doug Pelfrey and WR Torrance Small
09/17 The Bone Club waive TE Jeff Thomason and RB Leroy Hooooard; add WR Chris Calloway and WR Rae Carruth
09/17 Palace of Swords waive TE Freddie Jones and QB Todd Collins; add TE Tony McGee and RB Jay Graham
09/17 Natural Mystics waive RB Irving Spikes and WR Rob Moore; add RB Tim Biakabutuka and D Jaguars
09/18 Hog’s Breath trade WR Tony Martin to Greenback Iguanas for RB Natrone Means
09/18 Greenback Iguanas waive QB John Friesz; add TE Jackie Harris
09/19 Beer Spillers waive D Dolphins and RB Mario Bates; add RB Fred Lane and WR Mike Pritchard
09/21 Crawling King Snakes waive WR Ike Hilliard; add WR Mark Carrier
NFC Norris 17 Hog’s Breath 38 Spillers 29
QB- McNair 04 Young 10 Bledsoe 10
RB- Floyd 00 Warren 00 G Hill 00
RB- E George 00 Means 06 Lane 06
WR- M Jackson 00 McCaffrey 06 C Carter 06
WR- Rison 06 J Smith 08 Pritchard 00
TE- Coates 00 Popson 00 B Jones 00
U- Jefferson 00 Westbrook 00 Scott 00
K- Vinatieri 07 Peterson 08 Wilkins 07
D- Raiders 00 Oilers 00 49ers 00
Natural Mystics 50 Palace of Swords 25 King Snakes 30
QB- J George 14 Blake 04 Mitchell 08
RB- Bettis 02 C Martin 06 Stewart 00
RB- Levens 00 R Smith 08 Faulk 06
WR- T Brown 08 J Morton 00 Pickens 02
WR- R Smith 12 A Reed 00 Stokes 06
TE- E Green 00 McGee 06 Drayton 00
U- G Brown 00 C Sanders 00 Hastings 06
K- Longwell 08 M Anderson 01 Kasay 02
D- Jaguars 06 Buccaneers 00 Panthers 00
===================================================================
Iguanas 29 Bone Club 46 Supercuts 39
QB- O’Donnell 00 K Stewart 14 Moon 08
RB- Jabbar 06 Murrell 06 Trl. Davis 09
RB- Alstott 12 B Sanders 08 Phillips 00
WR- K Johnson 00 Calloway 00 Harrison 06
WR- T Martin 00 Glenn 00 Galloway 08
TE- J Harris 00 Chmura 06 D Jones 00
U- Thomas 00 Hearst 00 Small 00
K- Hanson 05 Hollis 12 Pelfrey 08
D- Broncos 06 Rams 00 Packers 00
PMS 50 Grande To The Party 62 Highways 32
QB- Johnson 12 Favre 20 Marino 08
RB- Kaufman 02 A Johnson 00 R Harris 00
RB- T Barber 00 Dunn 08 Henderson 00
WR- J Reed 14 Brooks 06 H Moore 08
WR- Freeman 14 Alexander 12 Chrebet 00
TE- Dudley 00 Sharpe 00 Walls 06
U- McCardell 00 Gonzalez 00 McDuffie 06
K- Elam 08 Carner 16 Del Greco 04
D- Steelers 00 Seahawks 00 Patriots 00
Week 4 Recap:
And Then There Was One-George Leads 4-0 Mystics
In a battle of the last two remaining undefeated teams in the league, the Natural Mystics dominated from the early going to defeat the NFC Norris 50-17. The Mystics held the Norris running game scoreless and surrendered only 10 points to the passing attack. On the offensive side of the ball, Jeff George dazzled for the fourth straight week, throwing 3 TD passes and completing passes for 374 yards. Rod Smith had his second straight 2 TD day for the Mystics. Coach Wassem of the 4-0 Mystics was asked to assess his team’s performance. "Obviously, we’re pleased to be 4-0 at this point. In this league, there’s no such thing as a week off. We have some question marks still but we’ll return to practice this week and work to correct those. Jeff George was slightly more animated. When asked about Sunday’s outcome, he responded by referencing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Someone better slap me before I start to rust, before I start to decompose. Looking in my rear view mirror, I can make Nerz disappear." The 3-1 NFC Norris face the winless Bone Club in Week 5. The Mystics move on to face the 3-1 Grande To The Party.
Late Means TD Breathes Life Into Hog’s Breath Team
Hog’s Breath scored its first league win of the 1997 season with a come from behind victory over the Palace of Swords 38-25. Despite the Swords’ talent on paper, it continued to flounder offensively, scoring between 24 and 26 points for the third time in four weeks. QB Blake connected with TE Tony McGee for the Swords’ main highlight. Curtis Martin and Robert Smith accounted for one TD apiece while the WR tandem of Andre Reed, Johnny Morton and Chris Sanders were shut out. Hog’s Breath benefitted from a full game by QB Steve Young (10 points) and an Ed McCaffrey TD. Hog’s Breath shot itself in the hoof when it revised its original lineup that included Marcus Allen and substituted WR Michael Westbrook, he of the bye week in Week 4. However, it was of no consequence by the finish of the Jags game Monday night. The 1-3 Hog’s Breath will now face the Greenback Iguanas in Week 5 while the Palace of Swords travel to meet the red-hot PMS squad.
PMS Rolls Along-Leaves Iguanas Bleeding 50-29
PMS continues to roll along, defeating the Greenback Iguanas Sunday by a 50-29 count. PMS struck for big plays once more as Brad Johnson connected twice with Jake Reed on TD passes. Antonio Freeman contributed 14 points and Napoleon Kaufman grounded out 100 yards rushing. The Iguanas got an outstanding game from Mike Alstott and a TD from Karim Abdul-Jabbar. Additionally, the Iguana defense scored for the 3rd straight week. However, newcomer Tony Martin was shut out and the Iguanas chose not to insert backup QB Vinny Testaverde (14 points). The starter, Neil O’Donnell, was held without a TD pass by a suspect Raider defensive secondary. PMS is 3-1 and will face the Palace of Swords next while the Iguanas try to climb above .500 with a date against 1-3 Hog’s Breath. PMS has scored at least 42 points every game this season.
49ers Give Up Late TD; Snakes Edge Spillers 30-29
The San Franscisco 49ers D gave up a late TD to the Falcons, costing the 49ers a shutout and the Beer Spillers 4 defensive points. Then, a late two points by WR Carl Pickens gave the Crawling King Snakes a narrow 30-29 win over the Beer Spillers in Week 4 action. The Beer Spillers got a TD from newcomer Fred Lane but watched helplessly as just released RB Mario Bates ran for over 160 yards, scored on two TD runs, and threw for a third. The release of Bates came on the heels of the team’s release of RB Terry Kirby in Week 3. Kirby tallied 2 TD runs of his own in Week 4. The Snakes were witness to a Marshall Faulk sighting, his first TD since the middle of the 1996 season. J.J. Stokes turned in a nice performance, scoring once and narrowly missing a 2nd TD and WR Andre Hastings made an outstanding catch over two defenders to haul in a TD grab. The Snakes stay even with PMS in the Curly Division at 3-1 and move on to face April’s Supercuts. The Beer Spillers drop to 2-2 and meet the 0-4 Strange Highways next week.
Party Gets Started; Rattles Bones By 64-46 Count
Grande To The Party, behind Brett Favre’s career high tying 5 TD tosses, crushed the Bone Club 64-46 in Week 4 action. After sputtering the past two weeks, the Party got started early this day, with Favre connecting to Robert Brooks in the end zone. Derrick Alexander accounted for 2 TD catches, Warrick Dunn caught one and received for 100 yards and K John Carney booted 5 FG and 1 PAT. Additionally, Coach Will continued his recent trend of leaving points on the board against the Bone Club, this week leaving Ki-Jana Carter’s 8 and James Jett’s 14 idle. Carter was left idle after Will asked who his starting RB Anthony Johnson played for and decided to leave him in the lineup despite his questionable status due to a lingering toe injury. The Bone Club received touchdowns from Barry, Murrell and Chmura. Asked for a postgame comment, Coach Will said he was "idly optimistic" over his team’s performance. The rest of us are more optimistic over the team’s performance than we are the coach’s. The Party (3-1) face the Natural Mystics in Week 5 while the Bone Club face the NFC Norris.
Supercuts Trim Highways With Late Scoring Flurry
April’s Supercuts, behind late scores by Terrell Davis, Joey Galloway, and Marvin Harrison fended off the Strange Highways 39-32. The Supercuts were dealt an early 12-0 deficit but the Highways could not make the lead stand up. Warren Moon got the Supercuts started with a TD pass. Terrell Davis brought them closer by going over 100 yards and K Doug Pelfrey narrowed the gap to one with his first FG of the day before the fireworks commenced. Davis got an additional point for going over 200 yards rushing by the gun. The Highways made it close with a Wesley Walls TD catch and a Dan Marino to O.J. McDuffie aerial. The Highway backfield continued to disappoint, being held scoreless for the day. Coach Widtfeldt joined Coach Young two ways: both teams are now 0-4 and both teams have now lost to the ladies of the league in consecutive weeks. Moreover, they each square off twice yet this season. A season split would most likely damage the playoff hopes for each, barring the play of division frontrunners Grande To The Party and the Supercuts. The 0-4 Highways will meet the Beer Spillers next while the Supercuts journey to the Crawling King Snakes.
Swami sez:
Week 5 is already upon us, meaning that the season is reaching the 1/3 point. Here’s a preview of Week 5.
Natural Mystics (4-0) vs. Grande To The Party (3-1)
Power Rankings: Mystics 2; Grande 5
The marquee matchup in Week 5 has to be the Natural Mystics against Grande To The Party. Each team carries in a one game division lead and is riding the crest of high scoring offenses in Week 4. The Mystics will feature the combination of Jeff George to Tim Brown while the Party counters with Favre to Brooks. The Mystics planned to start Raven TE Eric Green although he’s now questionable with a hamstring injury. The Party plan to start Raven WR Derrick Alexander. The Mystics backfield will consist of Bettis and Levens while the Party will throw Ki-Jana and Warrick Dunn out there. Each team plans to utilize the 3 WR attack. Little appears to separate these teams on paper. Flip a coin and hope Favre doesn’t repeat his Week 4 performance. Party is 2-0 the last two seasons against the former LA Riot squad. For possibly the first time in league history, the Moe Division (minus the Party) will be uniformly pulling for a Coach Wassem led team in win.
April’s Supercuts (2-2) vs. Crawling King Snakes (3-1)
Power Rankings: Supercuts 10; King Snakes 3
The other top game in Week 5 appears to be April’s Supercuts and the Crawling King Snakes. Both teams are in second place in their respective divisions, one game back. Although it’s early, neither wants to fall any further behind in the standings. The Supercuts will most likely be buoyed by the return of Mark Brunell as the starting QB while the Snakes, too, will be aided by the return from suspension of RB Bam Morris. Morris is said to be in excellent shape entering camp, according to Coach Ted Marchibroda. The Supercuts will be relying on the ground game of Terrell Davis and Lawrence Phillips while the King Snakes will depend upon the fleet feet of wideouts Carl Pickens and Michael Irvin. The Supercuts are 2-1 lifetime against the King Snakes.
NFC Norris (3-1) vs. Bone Club (0-4)
Power Rankings: NFC Norris 5; Bone Club 7
NFC Norris meets Bone Club. Each team enters with two strong RB tandems, George and Watters for the Norris and Sanders and Murrell for the Club. Anthony Miller will be the lead WR for the Club while the Norris counters with Michael Jackson and Andre Rison. While Chmura gets the start at TE for the Club, the Norris will need to pick up a TE to fill the void of Ben Coates’ bye week. Norris will probably start McNair at QB while the Bone Club could go with either Grbac or Kordell. The Norris and Bone Club have split their only 2 games, Norris winning 62-22 in Week 6 of the 1996 season and Bone Club taking a 13-12 win in Week 14.
PMS (3-1) vs. Palace of Swords (1-3)
Power Rankings: PMS 1; Palace of Swords 11
PMS looks to get a firm grip on the Curly Division lead when meeting withPalace of Swords. The Swords feature tandem Blake to McGee but that pales in comparison to the PMS tandem of Johnson to Reed. The Swords will cross their fingers for Viking rushing touchdowns with Robert Smith to neutralize the Johnson-Reed combo. The PMS ground game is strong with Terry Allen and Napoleon Kaufman. PMS gets the better of the WR situation with Antonio Freeman to line up opposite of Reed and TE Ricky Dudley could score at any time. The all-time series is 1-1.
Greenback Iguanas (2-2) vs. Hog’s Breath (1-3)
Power Rankings: Iguanas 4; Hog’s Breath 12
The Greenback Iguanas meet Hog’s Breath a week after their Tony Martin for Natrone Means trade. Hog’s Breath is coming off its first-ever league win in Week 4. The Iguanas continue to play a game of musical QB with O’Donnell and Testaverde. Hog’s Breath will go with Steve Young. The Iguanas feature the WR duo of Martin and Keyshawn while Hog’s Breath will feature Jimmy Smith, Westbrook and McCaffrey. The Iguana D has scored three straight weeks. Mike Alstott comes off two consecutive solid starts. This is the first ever matchup between these teams.
Strange Highways (0-4) vs. Beer Spiller (2-2)
Power Rankings: Highways 8; Beer Spillers 9
Finally, the Strange Highways hope to get off the schneid against the Beer Spillers. The Highways enter the game knowing they will not have to face the Spillers’ Drew Bledsoe, off with a bye in Week 5. The bad news is that they’ll have to face John Elway. Furthermore, they’ll be doing it with their own starting QB also off due to the bye. Marino will sit in favor of Dave Brown (or a new acquisition, possibly?). Both backfields have been disappointing to date although Raymont Harris has been a positive sign of hope at times for the Highways. Each team also has good WR in Carter/Kennison and H Moore/Perriman/McDuffie. Wesley Walls could be a difference for the Highways. This is the first ever matchup between these teams.
At 2-4, the Swami continued to take his lumps and like them in Week 4. This brings the Swami to 10-14 after four weeks. There’s always Week 5:
Bone Club (0-4) over NFC Norris (3-1)
PMS (3-1) over Palace of Swords (1-3)
Grande To The Party (3-1) over Natural Mystics (4-0)
Greenback Iguanas (2-2) over Hog’s Breath (1-3)
Strange Highways (0-4) over Beer Spillers (2-2)
Crawling King Snakes (3-1) over April’s Supercuts (2-2)
NOTE: Bye weeks are Buffalo, Indianapolis, Miami, New England
Wednesday’s order of pickup w/ total points scored for season to date:
1. Hog’s Breath 92 7. NFC Norris 129
2. Palace of Swords 113 8. Greenback Iguanas 138
3. Strange Highways 120 9. Grande To The Party 144
4. April’s Supercuts 120 10. Crawling King Snakes 154
5. Beer Spillers 122 11. Natural Mystics 168
6. Bone Club 125 12. PMS 191