Week 5 Recaps
Irwin escapes with a win
The Machines fumble away an opportunity to capture the lead in the West, and the Stereco continue to plague the previously undefeated Naughty Figs. All this and more in ...

The Week That Was in Fantasy League Football

It's only Week 5, but the Irwin Hellions and the Abstract Machines went toe-to-toe in the kind of game that could easily define a club's season. That said, the defending champs took advantage of five Machine turnovers to steal a three-point win away from a dangerous division rival. It was a crushing defeat for the Machines, who were victimized by three turnovers via Elvis Grbac and another uncharacteristic two from Marshall Faulk. These two stars combined for a dismal minus(-) 1 point, yet the Machines kept in the game behind inspired performances from Corey Dillon and Kevin Johnson (11 points each). The Hellions, smelling blood in the water, countered with 10 points form Curtis Martin, 9 from Edgerrin James, and a bombastic 16 from Brett Favre. The Machines' Rams defense bested Irwin's Buccaneer squad 12-6 to make it close, but it just wasn't enough to overcome the offensive turnovers. With the win, the 4-1 Hellions complete the initial four-game sweep of Western division rivals and move into sole possession of first. The Machines, now having lost only two games by a combined four points, drops to second at 3-2.

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The Sims Stereco served the Naughty Figs with ownership papers this week, knocking off the previously undefeated Figs while extending their lifetime record against them to 3-0. Ricky Williams (10 points) and Terrell Owens (18 points) paved the road to victory for the Stereco, while Wesley Walls (6 points) and Bill Gramatica (8 points) made solid contributions in their first appearances of the season. Chris Carter had the Figs only outstanding effort with 9 points, but the overall team got beat out handily on offense, 50-33. The Figs' Ravens defense even lost out to Sims' Chief squad 6-5, cementing their first loss of the season. The win is the Stereco's third straight after an ugly start to the season and moves them to within a game of first in the East. The loss, their first within the division, drops the Figs to 4-1.

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The Pimps rebounded in Week 5 to down Jody's Colossal Waste of Time 34-26, extending the C.W.O.T.'s losing streak to a franchise worst four games. Shaun Alexander, who with every week looks more and more like a team savior, turned in a game high 12 points for The Pimps. He was assisted by another 9 from kicker Jeff Wilkens and a solid 13-point effort from the Packer "D". Jody finally got the kind of game from Eddie George it had been missing, a bruising 9-point effort, which was backed by an inspired 8-point appearance from Doug Flutie. Yet the rest of the C.W.O.T. offense and the Dolphin defense (8 points) came up short, and The Pimps downed Jody for the sixth time in their last seven meetings. The loss drops Jody to 1-4, one loss shy of their 2000 regular season total. The win catapults The Pimps back into immediate contention in the Eastern Division.

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The Piana Raze got mauled in their own backyard by Pirk's Wicked Oil Profiteer$, or, more specifically, by quarterback Jeff Garcia, who torched the Raze for 21 points. Piana's offense struggled so badly, its seven starters could only combine to match Garcia's 21-point effort. That left the rest of P.W.O.P. an opportunity to put the hammer down, which they did. Kicker Joe Nedney posted a season-best 13 points and Emmitt Smith found enough daylight for an additional 7. The only possible highlight for the Raze was that their Saints defense clipped the Profiteer$' Raiders unit 15-10, but that stat will be lost in the haze of a 25-point home blowout. The Raze have now dropped three straight to fall under .500 for the first time this season. By contrast, the P.W.O.P. have now posted back-to-back wins for the first time in a calendar year and are quickly climbing out of the league's basement.

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After struggling for most of the year and actually being benched a week ago, Daunte Culpepper launched a 16-point inferno at the Anderson Brewmeisters, and the Bock Boys prevailed yet again over their beer-themed counterpart. Culpepper was The Man for Thomas, scoring more than twice as much as any other offensive player on the field, including his Brewmeister counterpart Peyton Manning (7 points). As a result, the Bock Boys claimed a 38-34 offensive advantage. On the other side of the ball, Thomas' freshly-inked Bears unit outperformed Anderson's pricey Titan squad 9-5 to secure the win. Anderson is now 0-3 lifetime against the Bock Boys, with all games having been held in Bockyard Stadium. Furthermore, the loss is the Brewmeisters' second straight and keeps them tied with Jody for last in the East. The win is a big one for Thomas, snapping a two-game losing streak and keeping them only two games back of the West-leading Hellions.

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