Surprises at the Top

The 2010 season has gotten off to a pretty wild start thus far. Through the first two weeks, 3 of the top 4 scoring teams did not make the playoffs last year. There is an incredible amount of parity in this league. It was only a matter of time before the Pylons were bitten by the injury bug, and of course it had to be on a punt return. Even better, the Cowboys stabbed the gambling enterprise in the back. Need a week off after that stress. Oh well. On to the Week 2 recap.


Animals With Eyepatches 143 – Tweeting In The Trenches 98:

Look out for the Eyepatches. This team through the first 2 weeks of the season is the highest scoring team in the league. Back to back 125+ point efforts are pretty impressive. No other team has even put up 110 in both weeks. This team has talent top to bottom, and the decision to release Joseph Addai proved to be a smart one. Sad but true fact of week 2: The Eyepatches have the top scoring kicker in the league in Neil Rackers. The #2 guy in scoring is the Masons’ Mike Nugent. I gave both of these kickers to Jimish and Brandon after they left Game On. Ugh. After winning only 4 games last year, this is exactly the start the Eyepatches needed. TITTY couldn’t find the magic his team had in Week 1. Leaving Jahvid Best and his 49 points on the bench hurt, but at least it would not have affected the outcome of this game. Just one of those weeks where you write it off and move on.

Maybe This Time 122 – Johnson’s Farm 109:

Regardless of anything else that happens, if Chris Johnson scores less than 10 points in a game, odds are the Farm is going to lose. A nice effort from a couple players. A poor showing from some others. Overall the mediocre effort we’ve all come to expect from the Farm. Last year the Farm put up between 106 and 116 a total of 8 times in the regular season, and they’re right back at it. While my prediction was a little off that Nick would be the lowest scoring team of Week 2, after 2 weeks Sam’s opponents have scored the least of all teams. Shocker. While I do think that she actually has a decent team this year, it is a little early to start singing this team’s praises. Jimish and Sam are both 2-0. What has the EFFL come to???? In all seriousness though, it’s good to see every team being competitive. This league has a ton of parity.

Stanky Monkeys 101 – Tequila Party Gnomes 73:

Uh TPG??? Hello?? I’m gonna chalk up the first two weeks to just poor luck. This team seems to have the potential to be a very strong team, but when the starting QB, #1 RB and #1 WR combine for 14 points, you’re not gonna win. This team needs to right the ship quickly. The Stanky Monkeys continued their dominance over TPG. All time Lou is 7-1 against Matt. I was told (as everyone already knew) that this is not a nasty team this year. Honestly as an Eagles fan I don’t even know how you root for that team. Giants Steve Smith and Manningham? Welker? Titans and Rams receivers? The league must keep the Monkeys out of the playoffs this year, and TPG did not hold serve. I’m expecting bigger things in the future. Just not week 3.

The King’s Crusaders 157 – The Stone Masons 144:

I’m sorry. If you score 144 points you should not lose a game. If it’s any consolation, had you been playing the Pylons you would have lost on Hartley’s game winning field goal with 0 time left on the clock on Monday night. The Masons deserve better than their 0-2 start. 7 Titans turnovers and the Redskins inability to finish a game were bullshit. Did you see that Polamalu forced fumble?!?!? Clear cheating! I think this team has untapped potential and a 144 point effort has to be at least a little bit encouraging. I’m not exactly sure what to make of the King’s squad yet. You can’t expect 39 points again from kicker and defense. The Texans combo putting up 67 points is also a rarity. I definitely think they have enough depth to be there all season though. Again.

Dueling Pylons 146 – Coach Janky Spanky 81:

I hope you enjoyed that 65 point beatdown EEB. With 4 guys going Monday night I said to myself “If I’m within 50 I think I’ll be good”. Never did I expect to already be winning the game heading into Monday night. Nothing like cracking a few Chad tall boys and yelling at Mike Singletary with the game already locked up. This feels like 2006 all over again where the Pylons lost week 1 and then ripped off 9 straight victories. Poor managerial decisions were made in the first week, but this team looks great right now. Janky Spanky seems to be reeling. Constant lineup questions boil down to one thing: this team has far too many hit or miss players to be a serious contender. An 0-2 start looks bleak as Janky Spanky has not scored more than 100 points in either week. This was supposed to be the game of the week and instead turned into the Pylons embarrassing Janky Spanky yet again.


**** Week 3 Preview ****

Week 3 is our rivalry week. This is going to be for bragging rights across the board. Some very intriguing matchups this week that could go a long way towards making things tight down the line.

Stanky Monkeys (1-1) v. Johnson’s Farm (1-1):

The Stanky Monkeys do not look like a threat at all to me. The best thing going in this matchup is the Brees v. Brady battle at quarterback. The Giants defense looks pathetic as does the Eagles through 2 weeks. That makes me believe that the Farm is going to have their way with the Monkeys. The last time these two teams met the Farm dropped 175 points on the Monkeys in a classic romping. I think this projects as the lowest scoring game of the week. The benches of these two teams are just pitiful, yet one of these teams will be 2-1. I think it will be the Farm. I’m not liking this.

Coach Janky Spanky (0-2) v. Tweeting In the Trenches (1-1):

Neither of these two teams put up 100 points in Week 2, but I think things turn up a little for both teams here. This is going to be exciting as Cutler and Rodgers will do battle for these teams on Monday night. Randy Moss against the Bills is scary but it looks to me like Janky Spanky is due for a nice bounce back. Ray Rice against the Browns should be a nightmare for Fusco. I think Janky Spanky puts up 120+ and takes the game.

Dueling Pylons (1-1) v. Tequila Party Gnomes (0-2):

Usually this is a celebrated game surrounding the Lions-Vikings annual matchup. This time around however, this is a critical battle. The Pylons had an impressive showing in Week 2 while the Gnomes had the exact opposite. TPG has never started a season 0-3, and this is going to be a desperate team. Poor Ravens performances again are the culprit, and a home matchup against the Browns is exactly what they needed. I think this game is going to be another high scoring affair, but I think this Pylons team looks far too dangerous at this juncture. The Pylons have not been above .500 since the end of the 2008 season and I fully expect that to change.

Maybe This Time (2-0) v. The King’s Crusaders (2-0):

This is gross. Woody v Woody and neither team has lost a game yet. While Chris has dominated the overall record between the two, Sam has been much better as of late. Chris is going all in on the Texans against Dallas this week, and I don’t think that will prove to be a wise decision. Peterson at home against the Lions is the scariest matchup in the NFL hands down. ESPN is projecting him for a modest 27. If he doesn’t break 40 I’ll be shocked. The King has looked strong so far but I think the stars have aligned for Sam to keep this winning streak going. I can’t believe I’m picking this but I like Maybe This Time to get the win.

**** GAME OF THE WEEK ****

Animals With Eyepatches (2-0) v. The Stone Masons (0-2):

I love the Brandon-Jimish matchups. 8 of their past 9 meetings, the margin of victory has been 21 points or less. These are always close games and always constant battles. Each of these teams sits at the opposite end of the standings. The Eyepatches have performed admirably the first two weeks while the Masons have run into a bit of bad luck. This earns the nod of game of the week; however, because despite it only being week 3, a 2-0 team vs. an 0-2 team becomes a critical matchup for the Masons to win. In addition each of these teams cracked 140 points last week, so we know that they both will come to play. 2 years ago both teams were in the exact same position. The 2-0 Eyepatches faced the 0-2 Jackson Five and the Five came out on top. This time around I think the Eyepatches look too strong. I like Jimish to move to 3-0.


I honestly feel like this league is completely wide open this year. I don’t see a single team that could be dominant all year or a single team that will be terrible all year. We’ll see how this plays out but I know I am looking forward to this week. Good luck to everyone.