NEWS

First and Eight - Week 11, 2005

Steve Dugas, YFFL.com Draft Guru


November 20, 2005


Shaun Alexander
Shaun Alexander has been shouldering the load all season for the Merry Men and it continues this week against the Buddies

First...Merry Men vs Buddies

This AFC West showdown is a must win game for the Merry Men if they hope to have a shot at winning the division and grabbing the coveted first round bye. Both teams come into the week after winning high scoring affairs against the Huskers and Beans and will try to keep the fireworks display going both on the field and in the forum. The Buddies will likely be without Corey Dillon but it won't really matter if Roy Williams plays the way he did last week. Mike Vick had his best game of the season and if he continues to play this way the Buddies will cruise to the Super Bowl. The Merry Men continue to win despite losing a player a week to injury. To beat the Buddies they will need a solid effort from the QB spot and MVP candidate Shaun Alexander will need to continue playing at high level he is. The Buddies have owned the Merry Men during the regular season in recent seasons but the Merry Men are the pick.

Prediction: Merry Men 45 Buddies 42

...And 7. Orangutangs vs Bear Poop

The ‘Tangs and Poop will collide in Chicago this weekend looking to get a leg up on one another for the top spot in the AFC East. With the Poop's recent struggles the ‘Tangs have clawed back into this thing. Both teams will look to their quarterbacks to set the tone but ultimately it will come down to the play of their wide receivers, which happens to be the strength of the Poop. Chad Johnson and Santana Moss will prove too much and the Poop will win a close one.

Prediction: Bear Poop 41 Orangutangs 36

6. Chickens vs Brothers

Fans around the league were disappointed when the Brothers clinched the NFC West crown this past weekend - they were hoping that this would be a game played with the division title on the line. The Brothers will try to keep the high scoring but extremely unlucky Chickens tumbling down in the standings and possibly out of the playoffs, a scenario the Brothers would love to see because it could pave the path to the Super Bowl without having to face the Chickens again along the way. These are the two highest scoring teams in the league and with the NFL bye weeks over this could prove to be a shootout sure to have the owners reaching for the Pepto Bismol.

Prediction: Chickens 72 Brother 61

5. Huskers vs Beans

The Beans will look to get back on the winning track after dropping a heartbreaker to the Buddies last week. Sansone looked visibly shaken as he left 382 East Elm St Sunday knowing a prime opportunity to seize the lead for the wild card was lost. The Huskers made a strong showing last week and Peyton Manning continues to play well after an early season slump. The Beans are loaded with talent but they never know what they're going to get from the QB spot. After failing to obtain McNabb (which turned out to be a good thing) Sansone is forced to draw a name from the hat each week with Brunell and Green. Manning has a tough match-up this week against a good Cincinnati secondary giving the Beans a big edge over the Huskers.

Prediction: Beans 59 Huskers 22

4. Dragons vs Boys

In the fourth game this week featuring first and second places teams playing each other from the same division, the Dragons will try to force Chris to sweat it out a bit longer before he can be declared the division winner. The Big Boys have overachieved all season long and cracks in the armor are being exposed but they just keep winning. The Dragons finally snapped a 5 game losing streak and got the first win in the Brett Favre era last week. It's hard to believe they lost 5 in a row yet with one win stepped right back into the wild card lead. When these two teams met earlier in the season Favre led the Boys to victory and the guess here is that he leads his team to a win once again.

Prediction: Dragons 38 Big Boys 36

3. Eaters vs Thugs

The Eaters run into arguably the hottest team in the league in the Market Thugs. Sansone is even getting points from Lee Evans and JJ Arrington. The Eaters can win this game if their big three: Hasselbeck, Harrison, and Westbrook step up and play well. If Sansone can prod Chris "Joe Pa" Davidson into making a posting in the forum this one could get very entertaining.

Prediction: Thugs 43 Eaters 20

2. White Guys vs Mallards

The Mallards will need Big Ben to come back this weekend if they want to have any shot at sneaking into the playoffs. The White Guys have been playing well of late and if they keep it up they are going to play themselves right out of the Stupor Bowl. This game will come down to whoever can field the most NFL starters.

Prediction: White Guys 33 Mallards 31

1. Refugees vs Llamas

The Refugees enter this game coming off their biggest win of the season upsetting the undermanned Chickens 39-17 despite only getting 2 points from the RB position. The Llamas have struggled this season despite being considered the favorite to win the division. How either of these two teams will perform week to week is anyone's guess. This game still has not sold out and probably will not be aired in local markets in conjunction with YFFL blackout regulations.

Prediction: Llamas 37 Refugees 37