Week 1 Recap

One of the lower scoring weeks in VUFSA History- just the 3rd time that only 3 teams broke the 100 point barrier (Week 4, 2004 and Week 1, 2005 being the others). We saw the lowest "high score of the week" ever as well.

JR mentioned that there were 3 major upsets this week, and while that may be true based on preseason poll numbers, we won't know for sure for another couple weeks. Sadly, Eli will not be writing recaps this season, so Jon Clayton and Scoop Jackson are not likely to appear either. I'm writing them at least this week, so enjoy my nerdy half-wit, and let me know if you want to write/help write recaps for the blog. We pay pretty well, actually.

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Madd Skillz- 116.25
Tice's Partyboat- 91.25


Game Summary: The aforementioned lowest high score ever of 116.25 was really more than enough to pull out a victory. A pretty close game after Sunday's action was kept close during the first Monday Nighter, but blown open in the first quarter of the nightcap, when LaDanian Tomlinson went nuts.

Madd Skillz: Steve Smith's vacancy being filled by a donut was the only real disappointment this week. Larry Johnson (12.50) wasn't his previously dominant self, but Tomlinson (20.50) and Rudi Johnson (15.50) were more than acceptable. Philip Rivers didn't throw much, but in the red zone it was all Antonio Gates (8), which is a good thing. John Abraham (14.25) was simply amazing, and made for a relatively stress-free victory. By the way, Brandon Jacobs.

Tice's Partyboat: Edgerrin James (14.50) is going to be just fine in the suddenly unstoppable Cardinal Offense. Also great news from Warrick Dunn (13.50) who will make for a very nice RB2 all season. Ruben Droughns (2) was dreadful, and is a source for mild concern in the TCB front office. It was a slow week for QBs all around, so it's hard to read into any performances, but Drew Brees' numbers suggest he'll be solid. Only 2 touchdowns from the starters (Alge Crumpler (8.50) and James) make Adam Vinateri (14) the team's 2nd leading scorer.

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The Nihilist Marmot- 113.25
Cellar Dwellers- 85.75

Game Summary: Kurt Warner and Tiki Barber did everything they were expected to (and more), while Stem's studs shot blanks. Warner's 27.25 points was the league's highest overall score, and the all the Sunday Night Thunder TNM was saving up turned out to be unnecessary.

The Nihilist Marmot: The three players in double figures were all tremendous; Warner, Barber (17) and Tony Gonzalez (15). Marvin Harrison (9.50) was oustanding for not having reached the end zone, and Antonio Bryant (7) was a gamble that paid off in the flex spot. Cadillac Williams (5.50) being banged up is scary, and LaDell Betts' (4.50) run as a starter was over in the first half of his first game. Some real uncertainty at RB from here on out. Also, it's worth mentioning that every time I look at Chris Henry, I'm reminded of this clever blog post from a few months back.

Cellar Dwellers: For the first time in franchise history, Andrew Stem is 0-1. Reasons: Shaun Alexander (3), LaMont Jordan (2), Kevin Jones (4.50). That's 9.50 points from three keeper running backs, folks. Just a disaster. Maybe it's all out of their system. On the other hand, the keeper receivers were spectacular, 22.50 combined for Larry Fitzgerald and Plaxico Burress. The team's high scorer was Donte Stallworth (16) who could be this year's version of Joey Galloway/Terry Glenn- the forgotten receiver having a huge season. Tom Brady (11.75) would have been considerably more terrific had it not been for 2 turnovers.

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ChamPeons- 94.25
Naj Davenport's Poop- 93.50

Game Summary: This will be the last time I say it- Champ has now won the last 4 games against Viano by a total of 5.5 points, which is ludicrous. Andy seems angry at everyone, despite five double digit performances to Champ's three. Frank Gore isn't really a hilarious folk hero anymore, he's actually the best running back in the league for the time being. Viano needed just a little bit of effort from Peyton Manning in the second half of MANNING BOWL I, and didn't get it. Unfathomable.

ChamPeons: There is no question that Eddie Kennison (1) remains the most clutch ChamPeon of all time. Got great news from the Cowboy game, when Terrell Owens (13) and Julius Jones (15) both played like true #1s. Laurence Maroney (8) looked great, and Corey Dillon (9) was good as well, a touchdown from either makes them an outstanding RB3/Flex play all year long. Champ did a great job of managing the locker room after a four point Thursday. This team always believed in themselves, and really have great chemistry.

Naj Davenport's Poop: Mike Bell (14) did have a really good showing, and Manning (14.25) actually had an above average week as far as QBs in this league. The receiving corps is especially thin right now, with Joe Jurivicius (0) out and Javon Walker (3.50) getting knee cancer. Matt Jones (5.50) appears to be serviceable and Todd Heap (4.50) is getting looks from Steve McNair.

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The Slumpbusters- 98.25
Who is Ron Mexico- 52.75

Game Summary: SLM had a defender outscore WIRM's QB by 20 points. What the hell else is there to summarize?

The Slumpbusters: London Fletcher (13.75) had half of the team's touchdowns- and they still fell just shy of 100 points. Jeremy Shockey (10.50) was the only other 'buster to reach the colored rectangle. The Rams had to kick 48 field goals against Denver, which hurts a lot, but Steven Jackson (14) showed what a monster he's going to be all season long. Clinton Portis didn't start anywhere this week, but looked healthy, and scored a TD. He's back in the lineup to stay. Is it really a matter of time before Michael Vick becomes the starter here? His numbers look great.

Who is Ron Mexico: Chester Taylor (17.50) looked like a legit RB1 with his new team on Monday, and li'l Eli Manning (15) is basically an every week start in our league now. The receivers on the bench performed far better than the motley crew assembled in the real starting lineup. DeShaun Foster (8) will get better as the Carolina offense does, though DeAngelo Willams (0.50) might not be a strong flex play much longer. Reggie Bush (12)is not just a keeper-potential guy anymore. Actually scored less this week than they did in the franchise debut. Jake Plummer had -6.25 points. Let's all sit quietly and think of how stupid that is.

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Father Abraham- 105.75
Fresh Legs- 99.75

Game Summary: The supposed 'game of the weak' turned out to be the league's best matchup. Donovan McNabb and his 27 points were just the brightest of many bright spots for FA. Baron's Thursday-based momentum was stopped by Carson Palmer's miserable Sunday. After Palmer's disappointment, FL never recovered.

Father Abraham: Fred Taylor (18) has got to be the week's biggest suprise. Sure there's always the health question, but it's nice to just enjoy a solid game from the fragile back. Same goes for Jamal Lewis(13), who is slowly morphing back into a dependable runner. Anquan Boldin and Drew Bennett (11 each) look like very dependable receivers to go along with sure-to-improve Joe Horn (2.50). I'm going to refrain from making any dead or zombie references because if healthy, this is a team that should compete. They have an elite QB and an elite WR, plus two guys that can run at a high level. That's a great base. The rest of the guys do need to step up, and they need to get deeper to sustain success though.

Fresh Legs: Brian Westbrook (18) has proven to be well worth a first round pick, at least so far. Baron's great talent for finding good WR late in the draft continues with an apparent steal of Laverneus Coles (11). Deuce McAllister (6.50) and Thomas Jones (6.75) need to establish themselves as their teams' number one guys, or this could fall apart rather quickly. Baron does have a fortified bench, but those are guys he's counting on. Ahman Green looked great, though was on the bench. 13 points against the Bears defense is nothing to overlook. He should probably get the flex spot next week over the Dominic Rhodes, as Indy can't run.

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One final essay on something on my mind. I wonder if we're really in for a low scoring season. I can't decide if this was a one week anomaly, or a bunch of teams regressing to average scores.

The league is getting deeper, and thus more diluted. Not only do we have expansion teams this year, but those expansion teams had full keeper rosters heading into this season. The player pool, notably the free agent part of it, is thinning, just as the flex and RB3 spots continue to get weaker. Plus, it's been touched on other places, but there are a ton of NFL teams who refuse to commit to just one runner. We are already seeing that effect on the league- three NFL Teams had 2 starting runners in the VUFSA, and others like Clinton Portis, Travis Henry and Brandon Jacobs were worth a spot, despite not being a "starter."

On the other hand, our early week scores have always been lower than the late season scores. First off, NFL teams don't exactly know what they really have until later in the season, and thus we don't really set our lineups accordingly or with any confidence until week 4 at the earliest. We certainly lacked the big time weeks that have been a benchmark of the league (the 130s, the 140s) so far, but outside of WIRM's 52.75, no one dropped below 85. Despite only three century club members, the league average was 104.50 this week. (edit: the following are week 1 numbers from the past) In 2004 (8 teams) we were at 113.69, but at 96.8 last season. Could we be seeing lower high scores, but a higher overall average?

Sure, all of this is ridiculously premature, but I wonder about what our expected totals should be at this season. Should we expect everyone to be between 85-115 or should we expect some 70s and some 130s? Our average league score was 110 in year1, and 101 in year2. Will we see a significant drop this year? Just wondering.