The Week 4 Mop Up: No Sophomore Jinx

 

 

 

by Keith Schweigert

LEAF columnist

Oct. 1, 2003

 

Howdy, Pardners!

Week 4 of the 2003 LEAF season is in the books, and I'm back to look at the big winners and losers in The Mop-Up.

After a Week 3 that saw nobody light up the scoreboards, things returned to normal last week, with three teams cracking the century mark and two others finishing just below. There were also some laughably-low totals from our lovable losers.

The big winner was sophomore sensation Nick Bradley, who rode a 114-point performance to No. 2 in the overall standings, one spot ahead of self-proclaimed fantasy guru Rick Reitz and just a point behind delusional championship wanna-be Todd Ruth.

Nick, whose skill at picking fantasy lineups is surpassed only by his ability to post coherent, well-planned missives on the message board, is proving that last season's money finish was no jinx. He has 379 points through four weeks.

Rick's Attack of the Clones dropped from No.1 to No. 3 with a dismal 75-point day. Most of us mere mortals would be reasonably content with such a showing, chalking it up to a down week. But for Rick, who fighting hard to shed that "one-man team" label generated by his love for a Priest, such a setback had to hurt. He's at 373 points overall.

Todd's Turd Burglers claimed the top spot despite his average 83-point showing. But at 380 points, he's got Nick breathing down his neck.

Tom's Fighting Hellfish, er, Goobers, shook off a sub-par outing in Week 3 to post 95 points last week. He jumped from fifth to fourth in the overall standings, just 15 points behind Cloning Scott Baio.

To the delight of everyone on the message boards, fantasy draft genius and much-maligned cheapskate Steve Seeber produced another putrid point total last week, managing just 71 points in a head-to-head loss to Tom's Goobers. Steve, who may need his thumbs broken before he finally parts with the league entry fee, dropped two spots to sixth overall &endash; just behind Bruce, one of his favorite whipping boys.

The bottom half of the standings is led by Yours Truly, who somehow managed to avoid a 100-point performance for the second straight week thanks to his inability to pick the right starting quarterback. The WMDs' 93-point output helped them hang onto seventh overall at 324, just ahead of Eric's resurgent Rough Housers (319).

The rest of the group is still waiting to crack the 300-point plateau. Dave Garner and Troy Shaeffer are lumped in with a pair of rookies (Branden McNally and Andy Fasnacht) in a battle to stay out of the cellar.

YOU'RE NOT SO TOUGH WITHOUT YOUR PRIEST: If Week 4 proved anything, it's that Rick's team is completely dependant on Priest Holmes. As his stud RB goes, so do the Clones.

On the bright side for Rick, at least he can honestly say that Stacey Mack is every bit as good a running back as Mr. Holmes. Priest's 10-point total eclipsed "Mack Daddy's" by a single point.

And then there's Terrell Owens, his other stud at WR. Mr. Owens and the 49ers got their pants pulled down by Randy Moss and the Vikings. Moss out-produced Owens 35-5 in fantasy points &endash; another factor in Rick's one-week decline.

How bad was Owens? He out-pointed Rick's TE (and keeper steal of the draft, right Rick?) Todd Heap 5-4.

TIME TO PAY THE PIPER: I think the league is unanimous in its love for Steve. It's just no fun watching Grandpa's Meat turn rancid. But Steve's stubborn refusal to part with his entry fee &endash; making him ineligible to pick up any free agents &endash; is starting to hurt. Last week, his RB duo of Correll Buckhalter and Kevin Barlow combined for just 15 points, which isn't going to get it done. Either pay your fee and get some help, Steve, or consider dealing one of the 11 QBs on your roster.

MAYBE WE SHOULD CALL THEM THE 'AIN'TS: Brendan banked heavily on the success of the Saints in his draft, and so far the strategy has been about as effective as our president's hunt for Osama and Saddam.

Last week, Joe Horn and the Saints defense combined for 7 of the 53 points he managed to put up. In a final ironic twist, Aaron Brooks scored 6 points on the bench, while starter Jeff Garcia managed 5.

HINDSIGHT IS 20-20: Speaking of brilliant roster moves, I'll include my own blunder here. For the second straight week, my decision to switch starting quarterbacks cost me a shot at 100 points. In Week 3, Tom Brady got me 13 points while reserve Patrick Ramsey scored 28. It was the difference between scoring 104 points and scoring 89.

Realizing my mistake last week, I replaced Brady with Ramsey. The result? Brady 23, Ramsey 5 &endash; the difference between a 111-point week and a 93-point finish.

It's nice to know I have the fate of two QBs in my hands. Whoever I put on my bench this week will probably have a career game.

BIGGEST SURPRISES: How 'bout that Peyton Manning/Marvin Harrison combo? After three up-and-down weeks, Manning exploded for 6 TD passes and over 300 yards last week for an unbelievable 48-point performance. Too bad it didn't help Troy beat Eric in their head-to-head matchup, but Peyton did account for almost half of his point output last week.

Harrison, meanwhile, got 33 points for Bruce &endash; but also didn't help him win a head-to-head matchup. Bruce lost to Nick, 114-95.

And it looks like Jake "The Snake" is the real deal in Denver. Plummer scored 27 points for Eric, who also got 18 points each from Troy Hambrick (!) and Deuce McAllister. Add the 20 he got from the Chiefs defense (which is looking like the free agent move of the year), and Eric had himself a great week.

GOOSE EGGS: Let's give it up for the fantasy duds of the week. Derrick Mason, Chad Lewis and Robert Ferguson all managed 0 points for their respective owners, who are probably very proud.

Also putting up some gaudy numbers were Kevin Faulk (1), Corey Dillon (2) and Tyrone Wheatley (2). It will be hard to keep those guys off your starting list, right fellas?

Well, that's all for me. I'll see you in another three weeks!

*****

Keith Schweigert is the developer of Weapons of Mass Destruction. His "Mop Up" column will appear every three weeks.

Next week: Steve Seeber provides his analysis of Week 5 in this space.

In two weeks: Rick Reitz chimes in with his thoughts on the league in Week 6.

This column is written on alternating weeks by Keith, Steve and Rick.

 

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