• T-1) Men in Brown (3-4, 27.7, 12th in Steamroller race)

  It's no surprise that Joebob's club has failed to live up to its preseason hype. Losing Terrell Davis is the convenient excuse, but picking Herman "Heartless" Moore in the 2nd round?!? Joebob has the dangerous duo of Brad Johnson-to-Westbrook, 2 decent RB's, and some productive WR's and PK's... so it would not be a surprise if MiB slipped into the playoffs through the back door, but his #10-T midseason Overall power rating position (shown below) indicates that such a maneuver might require more GM skills than Joebob possesses.
  
  

• T-1) 12 Angry Men (0-7, 17.3, 16th)

  The biggest shock in the League is rookie GM Gary's winless (not even any scrub losses) run through the first half of the season. #1 pick Randall C'ham has lost his job, #2 pick Murrell has 3 points all year, #3 Rice has clearly lost a lot, and #4 Skip Hicks is trapped behind Stephen Davis. The outlook for the 2nd half of the season is equally grim. A showdown in Week 10 against Brian looks to settle Toilet Bowl honors.
  
  

• T-3) Y2K Bugs (5-2, 33.1, 2nd)

  Tim's Bugs are solidly among the serious contenders for the Steamroller. The scary news is that Tim's current #2 rank in the Steamroller race has been claimed despite 0 points from Fred Taylor. Taylor is apparently healthy for the balance of the season, so the Bugs - with the #1 WR duo of Marvin Harrison and McCaffrey - just might pass #1 Vesh down the stretch. Tim beat Vesh 34-16 in Week 2.
  
  

• T-3) Ferocious Underwear (5-2, 30.0, 4th)

  Wang's team is clinging to a homefield spot for the 1st round of the playoffs. #2 Plummer, #3 Sharpe, and #6 Michael Irvin are among the ill-fated draft picks. The post-Draft pickup of Kurt Warner has been the saving grace - along with 2 scoring outbursts from Biakabutuka. Wang is firmly entrenched in the #4 position in the midseason power ratings, so if he can find 3 pass catchers who can actually score... Wang just might be able to hang onto the 4th position - and win one playoff game. Aside from 2 games where Irvin scored, Wang has 19 0's from the other WR/TE spots.
  
  

• 5) Jock Itch United (4-3, 21.1, 8th)

  With a tenuous hold on the final playoff berth, Ali's JIU hit the midseason point with 2 scrub wins. The lack of quality RB's identified coming out of the Draft still remains. And the injury to Terrell Owens has hurt. JIU has been carried so far by Freeman and Elam. Marino has produced well when he has been healthy. If Terrell Owens comes back strong and Ali scratches together some RB production, JIU should be able to hang onto a playoff spot.
  
  

• 6) Wide Open Beavers (4-3, 20.6, 9th)

  Guru-for-Life Cals' Beavers are presently on the outside looking in. Being the 12th highest scoring team will not help. Cals has suffered through a (not so) merry-go-round at QB with Chandelier, Mirer, and Garcia. Cals also has a grand total of 0 points from the #2 RB and TE positions all season. Rocket Ismail has stepped in nicely to the Randy Moss sidekick role, and Christie is a solid PK. So Cals might have a chance to make the playoffs - if he can fill in the holes, a solid QB emerges, and Antowain can continue to fight off Linton.
  
  

• 7) Bladerunners (5-2, 24.6, 6th)

  One might think that Clark's squad is a reach in the 6th playoff position, but further analysis presented below supports the notion that Bladerunners ARE a playoff-quality team. Clark occupies the #8 position in the midseason Overall power rankings, so one would expect Bladerunners to make it to the Big Dance. Clark's acquisition of Errict from Vesh (for Gannon) gives Bladerunners 4 fairly solid RB's to choose from every week. Favre and Vinatieri are potential All-RFL players. If Clark can pump up the point output from the pass catchers, Bladerunners might actually move UP in the standings.
  
  

• 8) Skintight Leather Assless Bodysuits (5-2, 31.6, 3rd)

  Brodz' SLAB has proven their preseason detractors wrong. Foge WAS wondering why his preseason ranking of SLAB was so low. Brodz' current #3 standing in the Steamroller race AND #3 ranking in the midseason Overall power ratings indicate that SLAB isn't going anywhere but up. With J George taking over the Viking O; E George, M Alstott, and T Wheatley manning the RB slots; and T Glenn and C Carter at WR... SLAB must be considered a SERIOUS contender for the regular season championship - and for the Aglione Bowl championship!
  
  

• 9) Crazed Beagles on the Run (4-3, 25.6, 7th)

  Wally's pups are in a dogfight for a spot in the playoffs. The Beagles are smack dab in the middle of a cluster of teams between #5 and #8 in the midseason power ratings, but if Wally fails to crank the scoring up a notch or two... the Beagles might be vulnerable to some of those teams looking to climb into the playoffs. Moulds' current injury won't help, but he is due back shortly. The injury to Robert Smith of EFH helps Wally's Hoard. Wally's high profile pair of TE's (Cleeland and Wycheck) has failed to score thus far. And the Matthews/McNown QB pair isn't too monstrous.
  
  

• 10) Don't Call It a Comeback (3-4, 29.1, 11th)

  Being the 6th highest scoring team in the League should give Kevin hope for DCIAC's run in the 2nd half. Kevin has lost #1 Jamal and #5 Gary Brown for the season. DCIAC has also suffered through injuries to #3 Natrone and #4 Yancey. Kevin needs Natrone and Yancey back fully healthy if DCIAC will indeed make a push for a postseason spot. Peyton Manning appears to be the lone bright spot on this team presently.
  
  

• 11) Romanians (5-2, 36.6, 1st)

  2nd to 12 Angry Men's fall is Vesh's Romanians' rise. Despite losing Testaverde in Week 1, and bumbling through 5 weeks of Pederson and Hobert at QB... Vesh has won 5 in a row, and now has Gannon as his QB. However... trading Rhett for Gannon and an injury to Ron Rivers has left the Romanians preciously thin at RB. An injury to Curtis Martin or Bettis (these guys NEVER get injured, do they?!?) could knock the Romanians down from their pedestal. Isaac Bruce, Wesley Walls, and Vanderjagt are All-RFL candidates. Tony Martin and Curtis Conway are a fantastic pair of #2 WR's. If this team stays healthy, Vesh must be considered the current favorite for the Steamroller and Aglione Bowl crowns.
  
  

• 12) Enid Furth Harmony (2-5, 19.3, 13th)

  Stan's EFH has struggled through the 1st half of the season, but this team might have found its way with a 2-game winning streak heading into the 2nd half. If Brunell can regain his confidence in the 2nd half of the season, if Robert Smith and Olandis Gary can pick up the pace, and if Tim Brown and Derrick Mayes can keep up their pace... EFH just might be able to sneak up 5+ positions and nab a postseason invite.
  
  

• 13) Upper West Side Stomp Mongers (3-4, 32.6, 10th)

  UWSSM is currently the 3rd highest scoring team, but an 0-3 scrub record has Dylan needing to climb over 2 teams to get into the postseason. Dylan has top-notch stars in Bledsoe, Emmitt, Stephen Davis, Duce, and Del Greco... but sketchy production from the pass catchers has been the weakness. Connell and Muhsin might prove to be adequate WR's. So... Dylan will just need to stop the scrub losses, and things should be ok. No one will want to face this team in the playoffs.
  
  

• 14) The South Side Black Sox (5-2, 26.6, 5th)

  JoePa's Sox are fighting for homefield in the 1st round of the playoffs - a far cry from where they were projected to be at this point. JoePa has started 4 QB's so far in 7 weeks. Air McNair appears ready to grab the reins once again. Edgerrin has been a solid contributor so far. Ricky Williams has not. Riemersma has been great at TE, but the Alexander/Dyson/Toomer trio has been more miss than hit at the WR slots. JoePa is in the #5-#8 group in the midseason power ratings, so The Black Sox should make the playoffs without too much effort. The question will be... can JoePa put together a roster that will do some damage in the postseason?
  
  

• 15) Team Desai (2-5, 18.1, 14th)

  If not for a 2-0 record in scrub decisions, Shiv/Snehal's Store 24 proprietors would be winless. Team Desai is the only franchise yet to execute a transaction in the '99 season. It would appear that Shivan is executing the "stick with the girl you brought to the dance" philosophy; whereas the older and wiser RFL GM's understand that you gotta trade up when the opportunities present themselves. So... the pieces are all still here from the Draft: Kordell, Watters, Garner, Keyshawn, Pickens, Santiago, and Hall. But to the other 15 GM's... it is fairly obvious that these 7 pieces will add up to 3-5 wins. Office pools are being run around RFL-land as to when Snehal will re-seize control of this once-proud franchise.
  
  

• 16) Brian's nameless buncha bums (1-6, 12.6, 15th)

  Brian's failure to name his team has actually gone unpunished - as Brian already has a victory for his woeful franchise! #1 pick Steve Young got knocked senseless early on, #2 Galloway is still playing flag football in Ohio, #5 Chmura is out, and #12 Boniol just never got untracked. The 2nd half of Brian's schedule includes 4 5-2 teams, Joebob and Dylan at 3-4, and Gary. Brian's squad (Dilfer, Bam, Kirby, Dawkins, M Robinson, Glover, Carney) is a step or 2 above atrocious, so we're looking at about 2 wins max for Brian's inaugural season.
  

©1999-2000 RFL Inc.
All rights reserved.

Revised: October 11, 2000