Ariel had five wins all of last season so he must be ecstatic to be sitting atop the division, even if only temporarily. The Players started the season off strong but have slowly dipped from 90 to 80 to 74 to 50 points each successive week. Three wins is three wins but that's not a good trend. Half the starting lineup is on bye this upcoming week too, so that could be a loss. Enjoy the view from up there buddy, it could be a short stay.
As of WK4, the Players haven't touched their starting lineup yet. It's been Robert Griffin III, DeMarco Murray, A.J. Green, Mike Williams, Hakeem Nicks, and Kyle Rudolph all the way. In some cases that's good, i.e. DeMarco Murray who finds himself as a top seven RB. In some cases that has meant sticking with Nicks and Rudolph, who are both kind of floundering. It isn't like Ariel isn't trying to move them out of the starting lineup, it's just that he's got nobody else. Seriously, his bench is paper thin, with Jets WR Stephen Hill the only non-QB player averaging more than three points a game. The Players really need RG3 to find his groove again, and if he and A.J. can pick it up there's a chance for Ariel to capitalize on his fast start to continue into playoff contention. The division title though, is almost assuredly going to the looming juggernaut behind him...
Mandalorian Warriors (2-2)
The defending champs are shockingly only 0.500, despite leading the league in scoring and not playing an awful schedule so far. The Warriors first loss was by one point in WK1 -- to Italian Stallionz -- but overall there's nothing for Matt to worry about here. His team has scored 89+ points in each game and still features the greatest keeper core ever assembled. Hyperbole? I don't know, I haven't been in this league long enough. You tell me. While injuries to Rob Gronkowski, Roddy White, and Steven Jackson have sapped Matt's team of some strength, the Warriors clearly aren't hurting for scoring. Not with Drew Brees and LeSean McCoy leading the way!
Brandon Marshall is doing his best to drag the receiving corps along as he awaits the return of his talented buddies. And heck, Knowshon Moreno has emerged out of the Denver doghouse to pretty much do what Steven Jackson would have been expected to, which is score enough to be right outside the top ten RBs. Heck, Matt Prater is the best kicker around too, as if the Warriors needed more riches. I don't have much else to say here. The Warriors are the cream of the crop, even when injured, and it looks like Matt should start a side project, like maybe picking up a bench mob of all "Matt" players, starting with his recent acquisition, Matt Cassel.
WS Tartars (2-2)Finally, a team that makes sense. When Jay's team scores in the 50s, they lose. When they score near the 80s, they win. Woohoo, paragraph done! Last year produced only four wins for Tartars but with this awesome new system in place, and a soft schedule, it looks like Jay can rest easy and just let his team cruise control to 0.500, alternating 50s and 80s. It would be a stretch to call this team "good," as they don't seem to have a single bright spot on the roster. Its poor keeper score reflected this.
I mean, the franchise cornerstone, Maurice Jones-Drew, has put up nineteen total points this season. And he's been healthy! The other RB, Jonathan Stewart, has been down for the count all season and he's not likely to come in to save anyone's job anytime soon. There's also a lot of confusion at the top as there are four quarterbacks on the roster. Andy Dalton got three okay starts before Alex Smith stepped in to toss three touchdowns last week. He could be the new go-to guy. Behind them are Ben Roethlisberger and Josh Freeman, the latter who should have been dropped weeks ago.
We are glad to see receiver Torrey Smith show some consistency this year -- he leads this team in scoring -- and Stevie Johnson has been good too, along with a possible excellent waiver wire pickup Jerome Simpson. After that it's pretty bare for the Tartars, unless you count hoping for a LeSean McCoy injury to unleash Bryce Brown stuff Tartars fans dream of. We have absolutely no idea where this team is headed, as only a single point separates their PF/PA counts. I'm actually hoping that Jay somehow pilots his team to the top of the division, unseating Mandalorian Warriors and knocking them out of wild card contention to boot. Cross your fingers!
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (1-3)
If you thought Ann Arbor Bamfers' PF/PA disparity was bad, get a load of DM Paper Company's 279-387. They didn't have a record breaking low score but after a normally scored WK1 win, Mike's team faced 99, 107, and 108 point scoring opponents. Ouch. Nobody can win consistently versus that type of schedule. The matchups get a lot easier the next couple of weeks though, so there's a chance for the Paperboys to right the ship. They'll have to work overtime to match their eight wins from last year though. Most of the problem stems from the stalled backfield of Arian Foster and Chris Johnson. Foster is at 12.5 points per game, good for top ten RB status, but he needs to be top three for this team to chug along. As for Johnson, he hasn't hit double digits or the end zone yet. Unfortunately, Jacquizz Rodgers and Foster handcuff Ben Tate aren't exactly ready to slide into full featured roles either.
The receiving game is in trouble too. Dwayne Bowe is having a slow start, Miles Austin's hamstring is acting up (again), Malcom Floyd just got shut down for the season, and tight end Vernon Davis has been very bad after a promising WK1. Nobody-knows-who-he-is Brian Hartline is contributing more than Bowe and Austin this season. Maybe it's time to play youngster Alshon Jeffery? With nobody to pass to, Tony Romo really needs his running backs to step up. Can Michael Scott come in to save the day? Heck, someone call Dwight.
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