Week 6 Game of the Week:

State College and Pennsylvania enter the week both at 4-1 and tied atop Division Three. Both teams are coming off their first loss of the year. The Bandits scored their highest point total on the year but still lost to the Mustangs. The Wildcats scored their lowest points of the year in a week where 4 starters were enjoying NFL offweeks.
ALSO WATCH: Mercer and Los Angeles are both on hot streaks. The Mustangs sit atop Division Two, but they are only 1 game ahead of the Riot!

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Riot! rebounds, others do not…

The Los Angeles Riot! was the only one of 4 potential teams to pull a comeback victory from the Monday night NFL contest. Ricky Watters’ 1st quarter touchdown propelled LA to the win. Pennsylvania and State College both dropped out of the ranks of the undefeated, leaving only New York (4-0-1) as the only undefeated team.

Finals scores:

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New York 60, Miami 34

The Griffons hold onto a near-perfect record, the lone team without a loss at 4-0-1. Only WR Carl Pickens failed to score for NY (albeit K John Kasay’s contribution was negative-2). WR Isaac Bruce bounced back after a couple slow weeks with 20 points to lead the Griffons. WR Herman Moore and RB Ernest Byner chipped in 11 each. The Muffdivers were paced by WR Rob Moore, who scored 17 points. RB Jerome Bettis appears to be back in 1994 form, adding another 8 points this week.

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Butler 58, Wisconsin 42

The “new wave” of Blowfish posted their second win on the season, as the Butler owner continues to re-tool the team that now has only about half of it’s draft-day roster intact. RB James Stewart led the way for Butler with 17 points, and the newly-signed LeShon Johnson added 13 points. Seven of 8 starters scored for Butler. The defending champion Cheeseheads saw their record drop to 1-3-1, and saw QB Rodney Peete lost for the season with a knee injury. Antonio Freeman led Wisconsin on the weekend with 17 points.

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Pittsburgh 57, Richmond 21

The Pachyderms win the Lieberman vs. Lieberman showdown, as 6 of 8 starters scored for Pittsburgh. QB Brett Favre led the charge with 18 points, and K Chris Boniol added 12 while WR Michael Haynes added 11 points. The Raptors were paced by QB John Elway’s 15 points weekend, and the Richmond receiving corps failed to score any points again this weekend. The Raptors will have Michael Irvin back next week.

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Los Angeles 46, Keystone 39

The Riot! managed the comeback win behind a decent 8-point performance from RB Ricky Watters in the Monday night game. Rookie QB Tony Banks and RB Larry Centers paced Los Angeles with 11 points each, as all 8 starters scored for the Riot! Over half the Keystone point total was posted by kicker Jeff Wilkins, whose 22 point performance was the best on the year for a kicker and tied the all-time FFL record held by John Carney from Week 1 of 1993.

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Mercer 44, State College 35

The Mustangs knock the Bandits from the ranks of the undefeated, as both teams settle in with 4-1 marks. Mercer needed a big Sunday night performance from RB Terry Allen, and they got it: 20 points for Allen. K John Carney added 16 points while QB Vinny Testevere was the only other Mustang starter to score (8 points). The Bandits were paced by WR Anthony Miller’s 14 points and K Pete Stoyanovich’s 12 points.

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Dallas 42, Pennsylvania 22

The Armadillos post their first win on the season and hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season. Dallas had big game from WR Mark Carrier, whose 20-point led the Armadillos. QB Gus Frerotte added 9 points and WR Jerry Rice added 8. The anemic Wildcat charge was led by kicker Mike Hollis’ 8-point effort.

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Carolina 30, Newport Beach 16

Big Bang running back Chris Warren finally broke out of his slump, scoring his first touchdown of the year en route to a 14-point performance, leading Carolina on the weekend. QB Scott Mitchell added 10 points in the winning effort. Newport had 5 starters score, but they all scored either 2 or 5 points.

Week 5 – Game of the Week

The Griffons and the Muffdivers both come into Week 5 with 3 wins, and the winner of this game will walk away with sole possession of first place in the division. New York is back on top in total points, and the Muffdivers have been steadily getting better after a week 1 loss. Both teams scored 71 points this past weekend, so look for this to be another shootout.
KEEP IN MIND: State College vs. Mercer pits 2 teams with a combined 7-1 record. State College has been living inside a fortune cookie to this point, sporting an undefeated record behind an average score of 27-15. We’ll bet it will take more than 27 points to win this contest.
UPSET SPECIAL: Dallas has a good chance to knock off undefeated Pennsylvania, who will be hard-pressed to sport a full lineup with Curtis Martin, Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Marshall Faulk, and Quinn Early all enjoying their off-week.

 

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Week 4 game summaries:

Carolina 73, Los Angeles 31

The Big Bang pulled out of their funk in a big way, behind the arm of QB Scott Mitchell’s season-high 29-point performance. WR Curtis Conway added 14 points, while K Scott Sisson chipped in 12 and WR Terance Mathis added 10 points. RB Napolean Kaufman stepped up with 8 points. Chris Warren, a hot FFL commodity over the past few years, has yet to show up this season for the Big Bang. The Riot! was paced by another huge weekend from RB Ricky Watters, who contributed 20 points. QB Drew Bledsoe added 8.

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New York 71, Butler 28

Griffon 3rd-round draft pick QB Mark Brunnell had a monster week, scoring 27 points in propelling NY back into the overall point lead. RB Terrell Davis continues to prove he is the real deal, adding 23 points this week. Kicker John Kasay also added 11 points. The Blowfish highlight reel was pretty much the WR Tim Brown show, whose 20 points accounted for most of Butler’s score.

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Miami 71, Keystone 45

The Muffdivers had 7 or 8 starters score as the southern-most team is starting to hit it’s stride. QB Erik Kramer broke out of his funk with a 12 point week, but it was the Miami receiving corps that paced this team: Jake Reed scored 14, Rob Moore scored 13, Brian Blades scored 11 and TE Ken Dilger added 6. The Longfellows drop to 1-3 despite their best point performance on the season. WR Brett Perriman led Keystone with 14 points while RB Derek Loville added 11.

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Mercer 61, Dallas 14

The Mustangs continue their strong start with a solid plastering of Dallas. WR Tony Martin posted a career-high 26 points for Mercer, while WR Bert Emanuel and RB Terry Allen added 11 apiece. The Armadillo highlight goes to WR Jerry Rice, whose 8 points counted for more than half the Dallas total.

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State College 36, Richmond 13

State College remains 1 of 2 undefeated, untied teams in the league. WR Andre Rison awoke this week, scoring 20 points for the Bandits. QB Warren Moon returned from the injury list to add 11 points for the Bandits. The Raptors were hard-pressed to find anyone on their team to score… they started last week’s lineup, which had 3 off-week players, and managed positive points ONLY from K Gary Anderson’s 15 points. The rest of the team managed to subtract 2 from Anderson’s total.

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Newport Beach 31, Pittsburgh 22

The Nightmare pick up their first-ever FFL victory, stunning the heavily-favored Pittsburgh Pachyderms, who drop to 1-3 despite ranking near the top in overall scoring. QB Jeff Hostetler led the way for Newport, adding 15 points. Thurman Thomas chipped in 8. RB Robert Smith paced the Pachyderms with 11 points, while QB Brett Favre experienced an off-week by posting only 7.

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Pennsylvania 25, Wisconsin 19

The Wildcats remain undefeated, managing the narrow victory in this defensive struggle. RB Curtis Martin’s 11 points led the way for Pennsylvania. TE Shannon Sharpe’s 8-point performance paced the defending champs, who now drop to 1-2-1.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Week 3 Game of the Week:

A Fantasy Bowl IV rematch features two-time defending champion Wisconsin Cheeseheads and defending points champ New York Griffons. New York is off to a fast start again in 1996, and the Cheeseheads have fallen on some hard times, with Steve Young mysteriously absent from the overall point race and Errict Rhett threatening to hold out all year. New York’s self-proclaimed God Squad of Herman Moore, Carl Pickens and Isaac Bruce have scored as many points between the three of them than a couple other teams have scored through the first two weeks.

Also keep an eye on: Pennsylvania vs. Pittsburgh – – The Pachyderms are riding strong behind former Wildcat Brett Favre, who isn’t loosening his grip on the MVP title. The Wildcats’ have their own version of deity: the trio of Barry Sanders, Marshall Faulk and Curtis Martin leading the RB point race while the receiving triumvirate of Robert Brooks, Quinn Early and Chris T. Jones leads the league in receiving points.

In the bag: Carolina vs. Richmond – – Hurricane Fran ripped through Carolina’s back yard (literally) downing trees and causing damage at the Rupert household. Expect the Big Bang to do the same this week with the Raptors, who are still without Michael Irvin and have a non-existent running game (Ki-Jana who?).

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Our own Jerry Jones…

The NFL has Jerry Jones, but we’ve got LA Riot! owner Sam McClain, who exceeded the FFL roster limit by drafting Fred Barnett and placing him on IR when he had not actually been placed on IR by his NFL team. McClain’s inattention to this matter drew the ire of some other owners, none of whom spoke out louder than former commissioner and New York Griffons owner Nick Fisher, who nearly melted his AOL phone line from the amount of email posted to draw attention to our renegade owner’s tactics.

McClain, it seems, had been extended the benefit of the doubt by Commissioner John Trzeciak, who was aware that McClain was out of the office for over a week. But when the emailbox started overflowing, Trzeciak instituted a deadline for LA to either drop a player or lose WR Deion Sanders (LA’s final draft pick). A day after returning to the Riot! offices, McClain dropped Barnett, ending the roster infraction.

In a private email message to team owners, which was anonymously leaked to the press, McClain apologized for “cowardly dodging” his responsibilities to the league and even making his own Mom “an accomplice to this heinous crime by having her aid and abet me, harboring me from the FFL law.”

But will the renegade owner stop at that? Sources tell FFF that McClain has secretly been talking with representatives from both IBM and Hard Rock Cafe, undoubtedly trying to swing exclusive merchandising deals that would lock out other teams from these rich royalties. Fantasy Football Flyer has vowed to put our crack investigative team of reporters on this story until we uncover the ugly truth.

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Expansion team report
A nightmare through two weeks
From the Newport Beach Inquirer

The feeling in the Nightmare camp has been disaster so far. Poor coaching and even worse play has doomed the Nightmare. In Week 1, the Nightmare “pulled a Nibs,” playing someone who wasn’t even suited up.

The rookie wide receivers have been a disappointment so far. Keyshawn Johnson pulled a “Waugh” in week one (catching only one ball) and bitched to the media all week. A few more catches for Keyshawn in week 2, along with a touchdown, has provided some consolation.

Another rookie WR, Eddie Kennison, looks strong, but who the hell is quarterbacking for the Rams? Was it Raquel Walsh in week one? If it wasn’t Raquel, he sure threw like her. Eric Moulds shows the most potential, but he may be a year away. Rumor has it the Nightmare might be thinking “prospect” with Moulds.

Running backs? Need we say more?

Fortunately, the media has been kind. As a matter of fact, speculation is running high that the Nightmare might only be the second worst team in Southern California.

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Week 2 Game Summaries

Pennsylvania 77, Los Angeles 36

Seven of eight starters scored for the Wildcats, 4 of them in double digits, as the Cats scratched their evil nemesis from the West Coast. WR Robert Brooks led the charge with 20 points, followed by Barry Sanders’ 17, Quinn Early’s 14 and Jim Everett’s 13. The Riot! were paced by kicker Jason Elam’s 12 points. LA’s failure to call in a lineup, while not affecting the outcome, cost the team a few points as they had attempted to play RB Leonard Russell via a Saturday-night email message, which was disallowed by Commissioner Trzeciak.

New York 76, Richmond 33

All 8 starters scored for the Griffons, and kicker John Kasay came within 2 points of setting an all-time kicking record. Kasay’s 20-point weekend set the pace for NY, while QB Mark Brunell added 14 and RB Edgar Bennett and WR Herman Moore each contributed 11 points. Richmond QB John Elway’s 16 points account for nearly half of the Raptor’s total. The Raptors have yet to score a point running this year

Mercer 62, Dallas 28

The Mustangs have come out of the gate strong and look as though they have a lineup which could contend for their first ever division championship. Mercer’s week 2 charge was led by QB Jeff George’s 12 points. RB Terry Allen and WR Tony Martin added 11 each, and kicker John Carney chipped in 10. Only one starter failed to score. The Armadillos, who are having some trouble getting the running game started this year, were paced by kicker Chris Jacke’s 13 points. Dallas also was caught by a lineup snafu, calling in 4 WRs and 1 TE for their lineup. Commissioner Trzeciak had to substitute RB Bernie Parmalee for WR Haywood Jeffries.

Miami 62, Newport Beach 30

The Muffdivers awoke after a sluggish week 1 to down the expansion Nightmare. Rookie RB Eddie George’s 17 points helped pace Miami. TE Ken Dilger also added 17 points, while RB Jerome Bettis added 14 and WR Jake Reed contributed 11 points. The Nightmare, which tried to play a RB already on Keystone’s roster, was led by kicker Doug Brien’s 9 points

Carolina 41, Butler 33

The Big Bang managed the narrow victory over the Blowfish, as Big Bang owner Wayne Rupert managed to contact his opponents but was unable to contact the Commissioner in light of the aftermath of Hurricane Fran. WR Terance Mathis’ 12 points led the way for Carolina, while WR Kevin Williams’ 11 points paced the Blowfish.

Pittsburgh 38, Keystone 35

QB Brett Favre’s 17-point Monday night performance provided the comeback necessary for the Pachyderms to pull off the narrow victory over the expansion Longfellows. Derrick Alexander added 8 points for the Pachyderms. The Longfellows were paced by QB Jim Harbaugh’s 12 points and K Jeff Wilkin’s 11 points.

State College 25, Wisconsin 15

The Bandits manage another low-scoring win, and improve to 2-0 despite scoring only a combined 49 points through their first 2 games. Wisconsin drops to 1-1 and has to be wondering when Steve Young is going to show up (2 points through 2 weeks). State College was led by QB Stan Humphries’ 8 points. The Cheeseheads were paced by Emmitt Smith’s 11 points.

Week 2 – Game of the Week

Los Angeles and Pennsylvania both scored 36 points in Week 1, which placed them both firmly in the middle of the pack for scoring. Both the Riot! and the Wildcats managed Week 1 wins due primarily to an off-week by their opponent more than anything else. The winning team this week will most likely need to score more than 36 points. Look for both teams to score more than 36 points, with this game not being decided until the Monday night tilt pitting the Eagles and Packers.
Also watch: Carolina vs. Butler offers another good matchup this week, and with Emmitt Smith and Warren Moon both questionable, Wisconsin vs. State College could be a tight, low-scoring affair.

 

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Week 1 in Review:
Surprise Slugfest
The Mercer Mustangs and the Pittsburgh Pachyderms provided a surprise slugfest for Fantasy Football’s opening weekend. The Mustangs and Pachyderms cranked out the 2nd and 3rd highest points of the week, with Mercer taking a narrow 56-51 victory. The New York Griffons, defending high-point champions, continued strong with the top score of the week in a 57-40 victory over the expansion Newport Beach Nightmare.

Two-time defending champion Wisconsin Cheeseheads managed a victory over the newly-named expansion franchise “Keystone Longfellows” – – but a late injury to Emmitt Smith has the Cheesehead Fanatics holding their breaths.

The projected games of the week turned out to be the two games which went down to the wire. Carolina needed a 10 point night from Curtis Conway and Miami needed a 7 point night from Erik Kramer. Neither scenario played out, so the Pennsylvania Wildcats and the State College Bandits both held on to victories.

Richmond owner Chris Lieberman, absent from the draft and absent, too, from reality (some have argued), pulled off the first 2 bonehead moves of the season for the Raptors: 1) He started Rashaan Salaam, who was announced last week as a no-go for the Bears; and 2) he only called in 7 players for his lineup. Applying current league rules, his 8th starter was determined to be Marco Battaglia, TE, Bengals… who also contributed a big goose egg in the scoring column. (NOTE: I originally posted the 8th player as Michael Irvin, but changed it after double-checking the rules). Oops! The Raptors end up with no points for runners or receivers!

Game summaries are at bottom of the page.

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Expansion team report
Kickoff with the Longfellows
By I. M. Long
Longfellow Beat Reporter

With their purple helmets glistening in the early afternoon sun, the Keystone Longfellows were unleashed into the FFL on Sunday. High expectations surrounded this squad of unusually LARGE men with their strengths lying in long, deep penetrating drives and multiple scores.

The Longfellows, however, did not rise to the occasion. A crucial error in judgement by head coach Johnny W. Holmes left week one star Keith Jackson on the bench. With his 23 points the Longfellows would have upset the defending chumps from cheeseland. Coach Holmes stated that Jackson did not “measure up” to Longfellow standards in the preseason. Holmes now admits that this was “premature evaluation” on his part, and will seek immediate counseling so that next time he “evaluates” he won’t make such a mess of things.

Longfellow HEAD cheerleader Marilyn Chambers attempted to sum up the day by saying “mmmn mmmnn mmm.” (she really needs to learn not to speak with her mouth full).

 

Stat of the week

compiled by Nick Fisher
Coming into Week 1 of this season, we had several consecutive-week scoring streaks alive. With a generally low-scoring week one, several of those streaks were ended: O.J. McDuffie at 5, Bernie Parmalee at 10, Yancey Thigpen at 14, and Isaac Bruce at 16.

Scoring streaks still alive are:
Terry Allen – 6 weeks
Barry Sanders – 8 weeks
Terrance Mathis – 9 weeks
Derek Loville – 9 weeks
Carl Pickens – 11 weeks
Cris Carter – 11 weeks
Anthony Miller – 12 weeks
Herman Moore – 26 weeks
Emmitt Smith – 37 weeks
Emmitt Smith has scored in every week that he has been played since posting zero in Week 12 of 1993. It should be noted that he was not played in Week 17 of 1994, even though the Cowboys were active that week (he was being rested for the playoffs, if I remember correctly).

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Game Summaries

New York 57, Newport Beach 40
The defending point champions picked up right where they left off in 1995, posting the high score for Week 1, led by Herman Moore’s 17-point effort. Kicker Al DelGreco added 12, and both QB Steve Bono and RB Terrell Davis added 8 apiece. All starters with the exception of Isaac Bruce scored. 13 of 15 players on the entire roster would have scored points. The Nightmare was paced by QB Jim Kelly and RB Thurman Thomas, who scored 11 each.

Mercer 56, Pittsburgh 51
The slugfest of the week posted the 2nd and 3rd highest scores. RB Terry Allen led the way for the Mustangs, posting 20 points. WR Andre Reed added 14, and K Norm Johnson knocked in 10 points. For the Pachyderms, QB MVP Brett Favre picked up where he left off last season, tossing in 18 points. Rookie RB, and No. 1 draft pick Lawrence Phillips added 12 points, and K Steve Christie chipped in 11.

Wisconsin 43, Keystone 26
The defending champs had a consistent but unspectacular day, with 7 of 8 starters scoring, but only RB Raymont Harris scored in double digits (11). WR Shawn Jefferson was the only Cheesehead starter who failed to scored (and he was carried off the field on a stretcher in that game). The Longfellows’ debut would have been memorable had they played TE Keith Jackson, but in his absence the Keystone receivers notched a big goose egg. K Jeff Wilkins led the pack with 9 points.

Pennsylvania 36, Carolina 30
The Wildcats held off the Big Bang in the week’s second-closest contest. RB Barry Sanders led the Cats with 14 points, and 2nd round draft pick Chris T. Jones added 11. The Big Bang saw 7 of 8 starters score, but none managed double-digits. WR Terrance Mathis topped the list at 8 points.

Los Angeles 36, Dallas 21
The Riot! started off the season with 7 of 8 starters scoring, led by WR Cris Carter’s 11 points. Only Tampa Bay RB Mike Alstott failed to score for the Riot! Dallas was paced by Jerry Rice’s 11-point effort. Armadillo fans have to be a little concerned over the situation in Miami. Dan Marino posted a negative 1 on the weekend, and the Dolphins suddenly can win with the running game.

Butler 34, Richmond 11
The Blowfish kick off the season on the right fin, downing the hapless Raptors. WR Tim Brown led the way for the Fish, scoring 12 points. RB James Stewart added 11. Richmond may be in for a rough start to the season, as injuries and suspensions are hurting this team. Only QB John Elway (6) and K Gary Anderson (5) scored for the Raptors.

State College 24, Miami 17
Looking at these two rosters, you’d expect one team to score 41 points, not both of them combined. WR Tamarick Vanover and K Pete Stoyanovich led the way for the Bandits, scoring 8 points apiece. Kicker Doug Pelfrey chipped in 11 points for Miami.

Did you notice…..
Three teams started Tampa Bay running backs in Week One: LA started Mike Alstott; SC started Jerry Ellison; MI started Reggie Brooks. All three RBs failed to scored. It doesn’t look as though any of these guys will be the “next Errict Rhett.”

ROUND 1

1. Pittsburgh – Lawrence Phillips, RB, Rams
2. Miami – Eddie George, RB, Oilers
3. Dallas – Aaron Hayden, RB, Chargers
4. Mercer – Vincent Brisby, WR, Patriots
5. New York (from RD) – Edgar Bennett, RB, Packers
6. State College – Tim Biakabatuka, RB, Panthers
7. Keystone – Leeland McElroy, RB, Cardinals
8. New York (from NP) – Adrian Murrell, RB, Jets
9. Butler – Leroy Hoard, RB, Ravens
10. Los Angeles – Mike Alstott – RB, Tampa Bay
11. Carolina – Chris Sanders, WR, Oilers
12. Pennsylvania – Karim Abdul-Jabbar, RB, Dolphins
13. Pittsburgh (from RD, from WN) – Michael Haynes, WR, Saints
14. Newport (from NY) – Keyshawn Johnson, WR, Jets

ROUND 2

1. Pennsylvania (from PG) – Quinn Early, WR, Bills
2. Mercer – Tony Martin, WR, Chargers
3. Miami – Jake Reed, WR, Vikings
4. Los Angeles (from DS) – Marvin Harrison, WR, Colts
5. New York (from RD) – Charlie Garner, RB, Eagles
6. State College – Tamarick Vanover, WR, Chiefs
7. Newport – Jim Kelly, QB, Bills
8. Keystone – Terry Glenn, WR, Patriots
9. Butler – James Stewart, RB, Jaguars
10. Los Angeles – Larry Centers, RB, Cards
11. Carolina – Tommy Vardell, RB, 49ers
12. Pennsylvania – Chris T. Jones, WR, Eagles
13. Wisconsin – Antonio Freeman, WR, Packers
14. New York – Mark Brunnell, QB, Jaguars

EXTRA PICKS FOR THOSE NOT PROTECTING FULL 5

1. Dallas – Darrick Holmes, RB, Bills
2. Richmond – Neil O’Donnell, QB, Jets
3. Wisconsin – Shannon Sharpe, TE, Broncos

ROUND 3

1. Keystone – Jim Harbaugh, QB, Colts
2. Newport – Eddie Kennison, WR, Rams
3. Butler (from PG) – Kevin Williams, WR, Cowboys
4. Mercer – Aaron Craver, RB, Broncos
5. Miami – Erik Kramer, QB, Bears
6. Dallas – Derrick Mayes, WR, Packers
7. Pittsburgh (from RD) – Johnnie Morton, WR, Lions
8. State College – Pete Stoyanovich, K, Chiefs
9. Butler – Torrance Small, WR, Saints
10. Los Angeles – Dorsey Levens, RB, Packers
11. Los Angeles (from CL) – LeShon Johnson, RB, Cards
12. Pennsylvania – Rick Mirer, QB, Seahawks
13. Wisconsin – Raymont Harris, RB, Bears
14. Los Angeles (from NY) – Leonard Russell, RB, Chargers

ROUND 4

1. Newport – Eric Moulds, WR, Bills
2. Keystone – Rodney Thomas, RB, Oilers
3. New York – Frank Sanders, WR, Cards
4. Butler – Zack Crockett, RB, Colts
5. State College – Stan Humphries, QB, Chargers
6. Pittsburgh (from RD) – Kordell Stewart, WR, Steelers
7. Pennsylvania – Sean Dawkins, WR, Colts
8. Mercer – Sherman Williams, RB, Cowboys
9. Los Angeles – Tony Banks, QB, Rams
10. Carolina – Napolean Kaufman, RB, Raiders
11. Miami – Doug Pelfrey, K, Bengals
12. Pittsburgh – Chris Boniol, K, Cowboys
13. Wisconsin – William Floyd, RB, 49ers
14. Dallas – Gus Frerotte, QB, Redskins

EXPANSION TEAM EXTRAS

1. Keystone – Jeff Wilkins, K, 49ers
2. New York (from NP) – Steve Bono, QB, Chiefs

Game of the Week:

We’re off and running, as NFL Week 1 kicks off Sunday, September 1. Our first Game of the Week pits two of last season’s playoff teams, as the Pennsylvania Wildcats tackle the Big Carolina Bang. Both of these teams return a core of solid players, and both teams took some calculated gambles in the draft. It should be a high-scoring contest.
Miami vs. State College this weekend also offers an interesting matchup, as these two teams both look much more solid this year and both are hoping to make playoff runs.

Post-draft rankings

For Fantasy Football Flyer’s first post-draft exercise, and our premiere news item on the World Wide Web, we’ve painstakingly ranked this year’s teams and analysed each roster using Pro Football Weekly’s Fantasy Draft Board, posted on ESPNet on August 19, 1996. PFW ranked the top 25 quarterbacks, 25 tight ends and 25 placekickers, and ranked the top 50 running backs and 50 wide receivers.

FFF has taken these rankings and assigned the ranking to each Fantasy Football League player on the entire roster (drafted and protected players). If the team drafted or held any player that wasn’t ranked, they were given a point value of 26 (for QBs, TEs and Ks) or 51 (for RBs and WRs).

For instance, Emmitt Smith=1, Jerry Rice=1, Jeff George=4, Leroy Hoard=37, Kevin Mack=51).

Using this ranking system, a low number signifies the highest-ranked team, according to Pro Football Weekly. Here are the results:

Pennsylvania Wildcats – 311 points
New York Griffons – 341 points
Big Carolina Bang – 391 points (*366)
Pittsburgh Pachyderms – 391 points
State College Bandits – 395 points
Miami Muffdivers – 399 points
Los Angeles Riot! – 411 points (*386)
Mercer Mustangs – 414 points
Butler Blowfish – 418 points (*393)
Keystone Longfellows – 442 points
Dallas Armadillos – 445 points
Wisconsin Cheeseheads – 450 points
Richmond Rattlin’ Raptors – 461 points
Newport Beach Nightmare – 466 points (*441)

*Two things should be noted: Carolina, Los Angeles, Butler and Newport Beach are all carrying one more RB or WR than the rest of the clubs, so their rankings most likely fall somewhere in between the ranking they were given and their ranking minus 25 points (*in parentheses). Also, IR players were not counted toward the rankings.

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Nick says…
1996 EARLY PREDICTIONS:

Division 3

• PA – Solid all around and is a lock for another division championship.
• PG- Definitely in the money for the first time and are expected to make a wildcard run. Any injuries will kill this team.
• SC- Best draft. Will fight it out with PG for wildcard spot.
• BR- Weak draft. Best 4th place team in league. Will miss $ for first time.

Division 1

• NY- Don’t expect a 13-1 record, but should have enough to come out on top.
• CL- As usual, well balanced and deep. Good draft.
• MI- Improved substantially, but not enough to make a serious run.
• NP- Solid for an expansion team.
• RD- traded away today for a chance at tomorrow.

Division 2

• WN- Continuing decline, However not much competition in this division.

(Places 2 through 4 are too close to call)

• MR- Weak draft but expect George to carry the team.
• LA- Don’t count them out.
• DS- Continuing improvement, though at a snails pace.
• KS- A good draft won’t help make up for a weak expansion draft.

Weakest Division is Division 2.
Strongest Division is Division 3.
Best drafts (taking into account placement)- SC, VC, MI and CL.

Playoff predictions:
Playoff teams: NY, PA, WN and wildcard is PG in tiebreaker over SC
Consolation teams: SC, CL, MI and 2nd place team from Div. 2. BR loses out on tiebreaker.

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