The AFC West

The AFC West is undoubtedly the most up-for-grabs division in the league. The Buddies and Merry Men have a slight advantage over the Thugs and Eaters but that could easily change at any point this season. The Merry Men have been "blessed" with Culpepper's outrageous performances but he won't be playing against the Texans or Saints defense every week or even inside a dome. The Merry Men are strong with Culpepper and Alexander but the rest of Steve's lineup is surprisingly lousy. Stallworth, who Steve had hoped to trade for a first round draft pick, has scored a WR team-leading 12 points. After him, no one has topped 4 points forcing Steve to play the likes of T.J. Hosyoudaddah. The Merry Men absolutely need the bye because I don't think Steve wants to count on Culpepper scoring 30+ points for three rounds of playoffs. With that said, I like the Buddies to make it an all-Mike showdown in Super Bowl XII. The reigning World Champion Market Thugs have played both the Men and the Buddies in the past two weeks and the Buddies have much more scoring opportunities. They come at you with Vick, Suggs, Dunn, Dillon, Holt, Moss and Roy Williams. The Merry Men come at you with Culpepper, Alexander, McAllister and one-year wonder Rudi Johnson.

Unsung Heroes?

Alot of my readers have asked me about an All-Unsung Hero Team. The guys who score week in and week out but never get any publicity on yffl.com. Well, I'll start with Brett Favre at QB. That ol' bastard is still a great fantasy option at QB largely because the Packers are so far out of games by half-time that they just throw the ball all second half. My RBs are two of my favorites - Warrick Dunn and Tiki Barber. Both benefited greatly from the scoring rule change a few years back and have been great fantasy players ever since. My WRs are Javon Walker and Reggie Wayne. I am kicking myself in the groin for trading away Walker, Burleson and a first round pick for Plaxico Burress last year. If you guys are ever reluctant to trade with me, let it be known that trades rarely work out for me. Reggie Wayne is quietly out-producing Marvin Harrison this season. My All-Unsung TE could be anybody since only Kellen Winslow Jr gets any publicity. I still would never consider drafting a TE in the Top 5 of any YFFL draft since they usually don't score more than 50 points a season, but Chris D has won a few more championships than me so he'll probably prove me wrong. I'll put Antonio Gates just ahead of Eric Johnson on my team. As for my kicker, I've always thought John Carney is highly underrated. He had back-to-back weeks of 12 and 16 points earlier this year but because of a lineup snafu, he was not in the Poop's lineup for either game. Good news though, he makes my All-Unsung Hero Team! As for my UT, no All-Unsung Hero team could be complete without a player from my own roster. I'll throw Marcus Robinson on the team. Robinson has turned the once "worst WR corps" in the league into a viable threat (once I can afford to stop starting Pinkston). Boldin, Robinson, Curry and Evans leaves me with a legitimate cast of WRs.

These Guys Are Terrible!

The ripple effect of expansion forces owners to start players who have absolutely no business starting. I went around the league and formed a team of players who have started at least 66% of their team's games and formed one horrible fantasy team.

QB - Josh McCown, Refugees - Trailed Emmitt Smith in TD passes up until Week 5
RB - Ron Dayne, Poop - You really could take anyone of the Poops RBs
RB - Kevin Jones, Refugees - Aceto's probably regretting passing up Steven Jackson now
WR - Todd Pinkston, Thugs - He's so horrible and skinny, I'm just waiting for him to snap in half
WR - Jerry Porter, Merry Men - This was supposed to be the year he breaks out...not Ron Curry!
TE - Dallas Clark, Merry Men - The Colts back-up TE is the latest in long line of Merry Men TE busts
K - John Kasay, Huskers - Averages a league low 3 points a game. 3 Points!!!!
UT - Robert Ferguson, Llamas - Battling Porter for most games under 50 yards receiving