Week One Newsletter

Montezuma's Revenge got the 1999 season started in fine fashion with a 55-20 blowout of the King of Dogs. Steve McNair, coming off of 3 straight disappointed seasons, blew the lid off this game early with 20 points for the Revenge. If no other starter had scored, the Dogs would still have had enough points to beat the feable offensive showing of the Muttss. But, as it was, the Revenge got a 1 yd plunge from Cory Dillon, 8 points from Keyshawn Johnson and two late TD catches from '99 sleeper Sean Dawkins. The Dogs only scoring was 10 points from QB Brad Johnson, a TD from Frank Sanders and 2 PATs from K Morton Anderson. The starting Dog backfield went scoreless. However, Rob Konrad, waived prior to the game by the Dogs in favor of Sean Bennett, scored for the Dolphins on MNF. After the game, Keyshawn became emotional enough to beat his fists and throw a towel during the press conference. It's unknown if it was his concern over losing his starting QB, Vinny Testaverde, for the season or if he just missed his old chum Wayne Chrebet. The Revenge, the Commish's preseason favorite in the Dewey division, gets an early leg up at 1-0 and tie the all-time series at 1-1 vs. Lady while the Tramps start 0-1 after beginning last season 0-3.

Staring 0-1 directly in the face, the NFC Norris got 4 late Brett Favre TD passes to overcome the Bearded Clams 39-32 in Week 1 action. Favre threw 4 TD passes for the 14th time in his career, third on the all-time list behind Dan Marino (21) and Johnny Unitas (17). He also surpassed 300 yards for an additional 2 points. Rocket Ismail scored 8 points as the result of his 76 yard game winning reception in OT of the Cowboys-Redskins game. Tony McGee tacked on a TD while Jimmy Smith scored 2 for the Norris. The favored Clams led until late in the 3pm games before succumbing. Michael Irvin made a huge 1999 statement with 14 points. His 2 TD receptions already surpassed his 1998 production. Emmitt Smith scored 8 and K Ryan Longwell had 4 points. However, Steve Young, the 1998 FFL MVP, was shut out as his 49ers were spanked severely by the Jags 41-3. The Clams fall to 0-1. Last year's 4 new teams combined to go 2-2 in their first week of FFL competition. The Norris is 1-0 for the 3rd time in the last 4 years and is tied with the Revenge for 1st in the Dewey division. But as we all know, it's not how the Norris starts but rather how they end the season that brings so much fun for the rest of us.

The defending awoke Monday morning, staring 0-1 in the face after their 47-17 loss to Grande To The Party but that may have been the least of their concerns. Starting QB Vinny Testaverde went down in the 1st quarter with a ruptured achilles tendon leaving the Palace of Swords without their #2 draft pick for, not only the game but also, the season. Last season, the Swords suffered a similar fate with the loss of Brad Johnson. They picked up his backup---some guy named Randall Cunningham. No other team in the league put in a claim for Cunningham, who went on to propel the Swords to the '98 FFL championship. As of this writing, there was no word yet to whether the Swords would be staking a claim to Tom Tupa or Rick Mirer. No starter stood out for the Party. Instead, balanced scoring was the theme of the day. WR Ed McCaffrey lead the way with 20 points. K Al Del Greco had 11 points. Curtis Enis and Cris Carter each scored 6. Randall Cunningham added 4. For the Swords, Testaverde threw one TD before his injury while other Sword scorers were K Martin Gramatica with 7 and Utility player Leroy Hoard with 6. The running game as well as the starting wideouts were all shut out. The Swords start 0-1 after beginning 1998 1-0 with an 81-57 win against the same Grande To The Party squad. The Party is 1-0 on the year and is now 3-4 lifetime against the Swords.

It wasn't over until the MNF game was. But the Greenback Iguanas held on for a narrow 30-29 season opening win over PMS. Mike Hollis was the difference for the Iguanas as he totaled 16 kicking points, 10 of them in the 2nd half. The other Iguana points were 6 each from Bledsoe and E George and 2 bonus points from Ms. Terry Glenn which was the difference in the score. Duce Staley led PMS with 14 points while Marc Brunell and OJ McDuffie had 6 each. K Jason Elam had a surprisingly low 3 points for PMS, 14 points less than the Iguanas kicker. PMS starts the year 0-1 and falls to 2-4 lifetime versus the Iguanas. The Iguanas, 1-0, are tied for the early lead in the Cheatem division with Grande To The Party.

Two defensive TDs by the Giants D, along with 10 late Kordell Stewart points, catapulted the Strange Highways to a narrow 35-32 season opening victory over the Retreads. Neither starting RB scored for the Highways nor did either starting WR. Antowain didn't even tally 10 yards rushing while Herman Moore left the game in the 1st quarter with an injury. Utility player Isaac Bruce caught 1 TD for the Highways and K Mike Vanderjagt added 7. The Retreads got 6 points from QB Doug Flutie but left a possible 14 points on the bench in the name of Kurt Warner. Edgerrin James and Michael Westbrook scored 8, the Seahawks D had 6 and Eric Moulds and John Hall each had 2. The Retreads made a surprise move by starting a double TE formation. I can only remember that being done 2 or 3 times in the past--once by Grande To The Party (it also included OJ Santiago) and by PMS several years ago. Tony Simmons, hyped by Coach Detwiler on draft day, was left on the bench while living up to the hype with a 58 yard TD bomb from Drew Bledsoe. Yet, it's hard to be critical of the move in light of the Retreads success making such moves in '98. The Fighting Irish, er, Highways start 1-0 while the Retreads begin 0-1. The Highway win evens the all-time series 1-1 and is worth a six pack to Coach Widtfeldt as the result of a side bet during the week leading up to the game.

The Natural Mystics started the '99 season with a bang, scoring a 68-26 victory over the Stanley Steamers behind a sudden 35 scoring burst midway through the 12:00 games. Peyton Manning hit Marvin Harrison with a pair of scoring tosses, Wesley Walls caught one, Terry Allen had a 22 yard TD run and Adam Vinatieri scored 3 of his 12 points as the Mystics never looked back. The Steamers got an early TD from the Saints D and a pair of FG from Steve Christie. All other Steamer points came in the 3pm games, long after the outcome was decided. QB Jon Kitna had a solid game with 200 yards passing and a pair of TD strikes for the Steamers while Chris Calloway added a meaningless TD. For the Swords, Ki-Jana Carter had a TD, Antonio Freeman had 8 and the Jets D also had 8. Only U Troy Edwards did not score. The Mystics start the year 1-0, tied with the Highways for the early lead in the Howe division while the Steamers are 0-1. The Mystics are 2-1 lifetime vs. the Steamers.

Swami Sez

The Swami started off with a respectable 4-2 showing for the season's first week, missing only the NFC Norris-Bearded Clams game and the Strange Highway luckfest against the Retreads. Week 2 is a non-division week but features several old rivalries in the PMS-Strange Highways and Natural Mystics-Grande To The Party games.

Montezuma's Revenge (1-0) vs. Stanley Steamers (0-1)

After witnessing the Steelers' 43-0 thrashing of the Browns in Week 1, the Swami can only imagine what Steve McNair might do against them. Sean Dawkins gets the Bears who are coming off allowing Derrick Alexander 6 catches for 154 yards despite their Week 1 win over KC. One key to the Revenge's week, and year, will be whether the Jets can "still give Keyshawn the damn ball." The Swami doesn't foresee anything spectacular out of the Revenge backfield in Week 2. However, we like Kitna to neutralize Dawkins and see good games for Terrell Davis and Jerome Bettis this Sunday and will be interested in seeing if Chris Calloway can duplicate the Redskins' WRs this week vs. Dallas. In a close game, we like the Steamers.

Bearded Clams (0-1) vs. Palace of Swords (0-1)

Will the Swords go with Kent Graham at QB? 1999 is already at a crossroads for Coach Pedersen's team. An 0-2 start is staring one of these two teams in the face. The Clams need Steve Young (NO) to get untracked and will be without Marshall Faulk, who has a bye. Any thoughts about starting J.J. Johnson must be tempered by Cecil Collins' status for Week 2. Emmitt and Irvin face a good Falcon D that held the Vikings to 17 points in Week 1. The Swami likes the Sword running game in Week 2 and sees several possible starting combinations at WR. While the jury is still out on the Swords' 1999 chances, that verdict can wait another week as the Swords will stave off the 0-2 start with a win over the Clams.

NFC Norris (1-0) vs. Retreads (0-1)

The 1-0 Norris have Brett Favre against one of his personal whipping teams, the Detroit Lions but the Swami sees little RB production in Week 2. Any hopes for a Norris win fall squarely on the shoulder pads of the wideouts. The Retreads' Fred Taylor will heat up this week while Edgerrin James could be a factor again. Since the Swami usually favors a strong running attack over an aerial one, the choice here is the Retreads.

Natural Mystics (1-0) vs. Grande To The Party (1-0)

This game is a battle of a pair of 1-0 teams but it's also a matchup of the two winningest regular season coaches in OFFL history (of course, neither has a championship). For the Mystics, everything went right in Week 1. That's usually an indication that things are about to change. Freeman must have a big game vs. the Lions for the Mystics to have a good shot. The RB situation is unsettled with Means making his 1st start and Cecil Collins' status unknown still. Meanwhile, look for Randall to break out this week vs. the Raiders and Charlie Garner to play big vs. the Saints. The Party will take the lead in coaching wins.

King of Dogs (0-1) vs. Greenback Iguanas (1-0)

The matchups say it all here. The Iguanas have Bledsoe vs. IND, Anderson vs. DAL, Eddie George vs. CLE, and Terry Glenn vs. IND. The Dogs have Watters vs. CHI and Tony Martin vs. ARI. Brad Johnson faces the Giants. The Swami likes the Iguanas' players betters and also the matchups. Iguanas to win in Week 2.

PMS (0-1) vs Strange Highways (1-0)

So how will the Highways win in Week 2--a botched FG for a TD? Two defensive scores? A play being overturned by instant replay incorrectly? Anything's possible with this better-lucky-than-good gang. PMS will have to win through the air. Brunell, Moss and McDuffie could have good games. But Kordell, Curtis Martin, A Smith and Terrell Owens all look solid. With Vinny's injury, the Swami looks for Martin to incur an even bigger load this year. The Highways should come out on top.