1998 Week 10 Newsletter
This week’s high scoring team: Grande To The Party takes high points for the 2nd time, with 48. The Retreads have won high points twice and the Swords have them 4 times.
This week’s stooge: At 12 points, PMS is the weakly stooge for the 2nd straight week, 3rd overall.
What's inside:
Letter from the Commish:
Just when you thought it was safe to go back on-line, Coach Will reared his ugly bald head and got a new account set up. So, henceforth (or at least until the next newsletter), he can be reached, or avoided, at grandepwr@aol.com. And with that, the Commish must excuse himself from speaking of anything Willian for the remainder of the Letter. It’s like gorging one’s self on beer all Friday night long. It may taste good to a point, but it sure does suck the next morning. So, on behalf of the rest of the league, the Commish is sticking his finger down his throat to exorcise his upset stomach.
Coach Widtfeldt finally got the trading itch. Looking for a running back that he felt could put his team over the top, he failed to land Napoleon Kaufman or Emmitt Smith from the Mystics or Antwoine Smith from the Iguanas before finally acquiring Natrone Means from PMS. The full trade was Enis and Moulds going to PMS for William Henderson and Natrone Means. One day later, Enis blew out his knee while Means ran for 78 healthy yards.
The 1998 season has reached the 2/3 point. With but five weeks left to play, the playoff picture shapes up as such: #1 Retreads vs. #4 Grande To The Party and #2 Greenback Iguanas vs. #3 Strange Highways. The Commish enjoys the idea of the top two records being forced to play each other in the 1st round. To be clear, the reason the Party would play the Retreads is because the Party would be the wildcard team and the wildcard is obligated to play the #1 seed. Under this scenario, this automatically eliminates one of the two so-called powerhouses. A victory for the common man. The other matchup doesn’t thrill the Commish as much. You see, the Commish isn’t sure he can stomach the Highways having a shot at the title-a third title in six years. But at the same time, the Iguanas still leave the Commish with the feeling that they haven’t taken enough lumps in their three years of FFL participation to properly savor the feeling of a championship. A little adversity would do them good. And did anyone realize that the Swords’ loss in Week 10 dropped them from the #1 seed to the outside looking in? They are now the #5 team in a league that takes four teams. Meanwhile, both the Iguanas and the Highways could still lose their division lead quickly with the King of Dogs and Montezuma’s Revenge both still lurking close by. The Revenge and the Dogs, however, both enter the killer stretch of their schedules.
With five weeks left in the season, here’s a listing of the contenders remaining schedule:
This brings the Commish to his next topic. This year, we will have our 2nd annual "Shotgun Tournament." The tournament is open to any and all teams but is designed as a means of keeping the non-playoff teams interested in both the FFL and the NFL during the last couple of weeks of the season (Weeks 16 & 17). For the new teams in the league this year, here’s how it works: prior to Week 16, each participating team submits a lineup using the same criteria used during the regular season (1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 U, 1 K, 1 D). This lineup may consist of any combination of players in the NFL; in other words, they do NOT have to be players on your own team. And, yes, there will probably be some overlap from team to team. The starting lineup you choose will be in effect for both Week 16 & 17, regardless of injuries or anything else that may occur. Each team’s combined point total from the two weeks will be added up. The team with the most points for the two weeks combined is the winner. To participate, each team must send $15 to the league treasurer, Lisa Meyer, postmarked BEFORE the start of Week 16 games. Contact Lisa directly if you need her address. The tournament is "winner take all." While certain players would seem like obvious choices, there are many of us around the league that know that Weeks 16 & 17 often are used to rest star players before the NFL playoffs. Thus, it’s not always as easy as it may seem. Last year, we had five participants. Coach Nerz’s entry won the money with a combined two game total of 88 points. If you have any questions, please get in touch with Coach Wassem who will be happy to discuss it further. The Commish will remind everyone again as the time approaches.
Go deep, I’ll throw it!
-The Commish
Stop here for reminders:
Transactions:
Natural Mystics waive WR Ernie Mills and RB Raymont Harris; add RB Skip Hicks and K Mike Vanderjagt
Strange Highways trade RB Curtis Enis and WR Eric Moulds to PMS for RB Natrone Means and RB William Henderson
Detmer Steps In; Leads Party To Tie For 1st Place
Ty Detmer, filling in for the injured Steve Young, overcame 3 INT to throw for 3 TD passes, including a 29 yarder to J.J. Stokes, and lead Grande To The Party to a 48-21 victory over the Palace of Swords. The win puts the Party into first place in the Howe division. The lack of a reliable running game for the Swords was evident in Week 10. While it has been a problem for most of the season, the huge passing and receiving totals of the Swords have masked it well. But against the Party, Cunningham went down early with an ankle injury and the wideouts were unable to pick up the slack sufficiently to offset his loss or the loss of Donyell Bennett who was also injured in the game. RB Priest Holmes finished with 99 yards rushing. Detmer, picked up by the Party prior to Week 9 on the advice of a co-worker, started his 1st game of the season after Young was a pre-game scratch from the starting lineup. The Party improves to 2-4 lifetime against the Swords. The Party plays the Natural Mystics next week while the P. Swords play PMS.
Grande To The Party 48 21 Palace of Swords
Detmer 12 QB 00 Cunningham
C Martin 06 RB 00 D Bennett
E George 08 RB 00 P Holmes
K Johnson 06 WR 02 A Freeman
C Johnson 06 WR 00 T Martin
Chmura 00 TE 06 Coates
Stokes 06 U 00 J Lewis
Vinatieri 04 K 07 Del Greco
Cowboys 00 D 06 Packers
Norris Eliminated From Playoff Chase By Retreads
The Retread rushing attack once again proved too potent for its opponent as Terrell Davis and Fred Taylor combined for 20 of the Retreads’ 36 points in a 37-25 victory over the NFC Norris. The victory pulls the Retreads into a first place tie with Grande To The Party at 8-2 while dropping the Norris to 4-6 and mathematically eliminating it from playoff contention. Jamal Anderson led the Norris with 14 points. Jake Plummer threw for a TD and Gary Anderson kicked 7 points. For the Retreads, the Seahawks D scored again and K Pete Stoyanovich had 6 points. The win gives the Retreads a season sweep over the Norris. The Retreads play Montezuma’s Revenge in Week 11 while the Norris will play the King of Dogs.
Retreads 37 25 NFC Norris
Bledsoe 04 QB 04 Plummer
T Davis 12 RB 14 J Anderson
Taylor 08 RB 00 Dillon
McCardell 00 WR 00 T Brown
Muhammad 00 WR 00 Irvin
Cleeland 00 TE 00 Drayton
Jabbar 00 U 00 R Edwards
Stoyanovich 07 K 07 G Anderson
Seahawks 06 D 00 Broncos
MNF Again Crushes The Bones Of Coach Young
Nursing a 37-24 lead entering the MNF game of the week, the Bone Club could only stand back and watch as Kordell Stewart threw for a TD and ran for one and K Norm Johnson added the other 9 points in a come from behind 43-37 King of Dogs win. The 19 points Monday night allowed the Dogs to remain one game behind the Greenback Iguanas in the Dewey division with its toughest stretch of the season upcoming. Terrell Owens kept the Doggies close with 14 points on Sunday. Also, rookie running back John Avery took over for an injured Karim Abdul-Jabbar and carried for 100 yards and a touchdown. Rickey Watters led the way for the Bone Club, scoring on two 1-yard touchdowns in the 1st quarter and hitting the 100 yard mark for the 1st time since Week 3 of the season. The Bone Club fell to 2-7-1 and last place in the division, guaranteeing that it cannot finish any better than .500 assuming it wins its final five games of the season. The Bone Club’s six game losing streak is its longest in franchise history.
King of Dogs 43 37 Bone Club
K Stewart 10 QB 00 Moon
Avery 08 RB 00 Vardell
Murrell 02 RB 14 Watters
R Moore 00 WR 00 Pickens
T Owens 14 WR 06 C Carter
Sharpe 00 TE 00 Glover
F Sanders 00 U 08 McCaffrey
N Johnson 09 K 09 Elam
Steelers 00 D 00 Chiefs
Iguanas Slip Away With 32-12 Win Over PMS
While the Greenback Iguanas have done a good job of picking the wrong starting QB for most of the past few weeks, it did not impact them in Week 10 as they managed to grind out a victory over PMS in divisional play. Steve McNair accounted for the only QB points with a 71 yard TD run with 1:46 left in the game to ice it.. Marshall Faulk and Jimmy Smith scored a TD each and the Falcon D accounted for the other score. Barry Sanders averaged 7 yards per carry, rushing for 140 yards total. However, he did not find the end zone. For PMS, only Wayne Chrebet was productive early on. To make matters worse, new PMS starter Curtis Enis, acquired on Saturday in a trade with the lucky as hell Strange Highways, tore his ACL and is through for the season. Down three games in the Dewey division, so probably is PMS. And with the loss, they fall to 2-3 lifetime against the Greenbacks. PMS (3-7) play the Palace of Swords next week while the Iguanas (6-4) meet the Stanley Steamers.
Greenback Iguanas 32 12 PMS
McNair 06 QB 00 Flutie
B Sanders 02 RB 00 Enis
Faulk 06 RB 02 Bettis
J Smith 06 WR 00 J Morton
Dyson 00 WR 06 Chrebet
Brady 00 TE 00 D Moore
A Smith 00 U 00 Moulds
Longwell 06 K 04 Carney
Falcons 06 D 00 Patriots
Mystics Make Magic 26-17 To Double Win Total
The Mystics can relax at last. With their ugly 26-17 win over the Stanley Steamers, they snapped a seven game losing streak, the longest in franchise history. They won their 1st division game of the season. They doubled their win total and no longer are they the lowest scoring team in the league. Yet, they are still 2-8. Newcomer Skip Hicks started and scored while Napoleon Kaufman watched from the bench with a gimpy leg. Emmitt Smith ran for over 140 yards although his vision must need checked because he still couldn’t find the endzone. A defensive TD helped. The Steamers lost Marc Brunell to an injury which hurt their chances. They were led by K Matt Stover’s 7 points and a late TD catch from TE Freddie Jones. The Steamers fall to 5-6, 1 ½ games behind the Strange Highways with 5 to play.
Natural Mystics 26 17 Stanley Steamers
O’Donnell 00 QB 04 Brunell
E Smith 02 RB 00 Hearst
Hicks 06 RB 00 Alstott
R Smith 00 WR 00 H Moore
Rison 00 WR 00 R Brooks
I Smith 00 TE 06 F Jones
Ismail 06 U 00 Bruce
Peterson 06 K 07 Stover
Ravens 06 D 00 Panthers
MNF Both Cruel And Kind In Highways’ Late Tie
MNF-friend, foe and always tormentor. Of all possible bets, the safest bet in most peoples’minds would be a Brett Favre TD pass each and every week of the season. That is exactly what the Strange Highways needed entering MNF, down 18-17 to Montezuma’s Revenge. However, the Gods were cruel, denying Favre a TD pass on the night. Yet, in a twist of fate, Favre did manage to throw for a two point conversion with 4:25 left in the game giving them an 18-18 tie. Newcomer Natrone Means, acquired Saturday in a trade for Curtis Enis, did nothing for the Highways but Rickey Dudley scored 8 points and Jason Hansen booted 3 FGs. Robert Smith had 8 and Doug Pelfrey had 5 for the Revenge. At 5-4-1, the Highways will next play their arch rival Bone Club while the Revenge (4-5-1) play the Retreads and try to avoid dropping two games back with four to play.
Montezuma’s Revenge 18 18 Strange Highways
Elway 00 QB 01 Favre
R Smith 08 RB 00 Means
Dunn 00 RB 00 Lane
B Davis 00 WR 00 Rice
Moss 00 WR 00 Galloway
McGee 00 TE 08 Dudley
Jervey 00 U 00 Gadsden
Cunningham 10 K 09 Hansen
49ers 00 D 00 Raiders
This week’s additions to the FFL Record Book:
Swami Sez:
The Swami went 2-3-1 in Week 10 to drop his mark to 38-20-2 on the season. Enough said. On to Week 11:
King of Dogs (4-5) vs. NFC Norris (4-6)
Power Ranking: King of Dogs 9; NFC Norris 7
A battle between two teams looking to finish the year on a respectable note. The Doggies have had trouble scoring points all season, led by lead non-producer Kordell Stewart. The Norris’ only trouble has been figuring a way out of the Howe division. Four of the Norris’ six losses are intra-divisional. With that plus a potent ground game in the back of the Swami’s mind, the pick is the Norris in Week 11.
Palace of Swords (7-2-1) vs. PMS (3-7)
Power Ranking: Palace of Swords 6; PMS 10
The Palace of Swords fell from the #1 playoff seed all the way to the outside looking in with just a single loss last week. A quick look at these two teams’ records should answer any questions about the favorite in this week’s matchup. PMS simply does not have the firepower to keep up with the Swords. With that said, however, keep an eye on the Swords’ weak running game as well as the status of Brad Johnson and Randall Cunningham this week. Coach Pedersen could very well be shopping around the waiver wire for someone to start Week 11 for the Swords. We like the Swords over PMS but the struggle continues.
Strange Highways (6-4) vs. Bone Club (2-6-1)
Power Ranking: Strange Highways 5; Bone Club 8
Ah, the renewal of one the league’s most storied rivalries; and perhaps the last edition if the rumors of Coach Young’s retirement prove to be true. The Highways own the Club during the regular season, winning four of five lifetime. The two teams have split 1-1 in two head to head matchups for FFL titles (’94 and ’96). On paper, the Highways have the better record. However, both teams have shown peaks and valleys during the season. So, it would not be a major surprise to see the Club pull off an upset here. Any Joey Galloway TD catches will come from Warren Moon, effectively eliminating Galloway this week. Rice could have a big game against the Falcons. But look out for Cris Carter and Carl Pickens, two All-Pro receivers whose teams go head to head this week. Just for sentimental reasons, the pick here is the Boner Boys.
Greenback Iguanas (6-4) vs. Stanley Steamers (4-6)
Power Ranking: Greenback Iguanas 12; Stanley Steamers 11
The Iguanas have sputtered at times in ’98. They are not thrilled with Antwoine Smith’s production. They have played musical QBs and not very effectively at that. But they’ve positioned themselves for the playoffs with a 6-4 record. The Steamers’ starting QB Marc Brunell faces Tampa Bay. For Coach Stamer’s team to have a shot, Herman Moore must start to step up this week. He will face the Bears Sunday night. However, the overall rushing depth of the Iguanas should prove enough to get by.
Montezuma’s Revenge (4-6) vs. The Retreads (8-2)
Power Ranking: Montezuma’s Revenge 4; The Retreads 2
The Revenge have a roster that, on paper, appears ready to explode any time: Warrick Dunn, Robert Smith, Terry Allen, Randy Moss, John Elway. But for some reason, the pieces have not added up to a sum that is greater the whole-whatever that means. The Retreads are averaging 19.9 points per game-from its running backs alone! Need the Swami say more? Look for the Retreads to improve to 9-2. In fact, look for the Retreads to defeat the Mystics in Week 12 and the Steamers in Week 13 before closing out the year with back to back games against the Palace of Swords and Grande To The Party.
Natural Mystics (2-8) vs. Grande To The Party (8-2)
Power Ranking: Natural Mystics 3; Grande To The Party 1
Simply put, the Mystics just cannot score enough points to keep up with the Party, barring injuries to Steve Young, J.J. Stokes and Keyshawn Johnson simultaneously. Even at that, the Party would probably win by 12. Bank on it.