Week 4 Notes

Ron Yeany

Game of the Week – Week 4

A rematch of Fantasy Bowl III, the Wisconsin Cheeseheads gets Steve Young back from an off-week and hope the San Francisco passing game gets back on track, while the Pennsylvania Wildcats hope to ride a hot stable of running backs who have been on fire the first three weeks. ALSO WATCH: State College vs. Richmond, the two lowest-scoring teams so far this year feature the 3-0 Bandits against the 1-2 Raptors. It is not out of the question that 25 points might win this game. MAIL IT IN: Pittsburgh has some key players who are about ready to explode against inferior opponents this week, so look for another bad dream for the Nightmare.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The new roster size cutdown rule goes into effect this week. All teams must drop 1 player before kickoff of Week 4. All rosters must be trimmed down for 14 players before this week’s kickoff.

After 4 years and 3 weeks, the FFL has produced it’s first-ever tie game. The Week 3 Game of the Week, a rematch from Fantasy Bowl IV, featured a 17-point comeback effort from RB Terrell Davis, which pulled the NY Griffons into a 44-44 tie with the defending champion Wisconsin Cheeseheads. New York’s record goes to 2-0-1, while the Cheeseheads record goes to 1-1-1.

Week 3 Game Summaries

Pennsylvania 81, Pittsburgh 45

Seven of 8 starters scored for the Wildcats, who wrestle the early point lead away from the Griffons. RB Curtis Martin led the charge, with the high score of the year so far — 25 points. Rookie RB Karim Abdul-Jabbar chipped in 20, and Barry Sanders added 12 as the Wildcat running attack alone racked up 60 points. WR Chris T. Jones also contributed 14 points. The Pachyderms were paced by QB extraordinaire Brett Favre’s 12 points, while RB Robert Smith and WR Michael Haynes added 11 apiece.

Los Angeles 68, Dallas 22

The Riot! get back on the winning track, paced by RB Ricky Watter’s big 22 point week. QB Drew Bledsoe finally enjoyed a good outing, adding 15 points. WR Michael Jackson added 11 and K Jason Elam chipped in 10, as 7 of 8 starters scored for the Riot! Dallas’ only scorers were QB Dan Marino (16) and K Chris Jacke (6). The rest of the lineup produced goose eggs.

Miami 50, Newport Beach 29

Muffdiver RB Jerome Bettis provided Miami with the big Monday night come-from-behind victory, contributing 23 points for the Divers. K Doug Pelfrey added 10, as Miami improves to 2-1. Newport drops it’s second-straight game to the Muffdivers, and Jim Kelly tied the all-time league low points with a negative-4 point performance. K Doug Brien (11) and TE Ben Coates (8) were the lone bright spots on the Nightmare lineup.

New York 44, Wisconsin 44

The rematch between last year’s Fantasy Bowl IV finalists produced the first ever FFL tie game. The Griffons needed a big 17 point performance in the Sunday night game from RB Terrell Davis to pull even with the Cheeseheads. Kicker Al DelGreco added 9 points for New York. The self-proclaimed God Squad, operating at 2/3 strength (Isaac Bruce had a bye week) produced 10 points for the Griffons. The defending champs were paced by QB Rodney Peete’s 15 points and Emmitt Smith’s 14.

Keystone 40, Mercer 38

The expansion Longfellows, whose logo made it’s debut this week (check out the Rosters section), picked up the first-ever win for the franchise with a tight win over the Mustangs, who suffer their first loss on the year. The Longfellows were paced by RB Marcus Allen’s 14 points and QB Jim Harbaugh’s 9-point effort. The Mustangs countered with their Allen running back, Terry, who led the way with 17 points.

State College 23, Butler 17

The Bandits remain one of only two undefeated, untied teams left in the league (along with PA) as State College squeaks out another low-scoring win. WR Anthony Miller’s 8-point week led the Bandits. The Blowfish attack was led by the reliable Tim Brown, who chipped in 8 points.

Richmond 20, Carolina 13

The Fantasy Football Flyer’s “sure bet” of the week turned out to be the biggest shocker, as the Raptors pull the upset over the Big Bang. RB Ki-Jana Carter finally showed some signs of life, contributing 8 points for Richmond. Kicker Scott Sisson’s 8-point performance was the high score for a Carolina team that has the pundants baffled.