The Stereco have done a lot to shore up its offense this season. Yet while the additions of Michael Vick, Drew Bledsoe, and Stephen Davis - among others - has boosted scoring, the defensive play of their Ravens squad has been less than fulfilling. Arguably costing them a game last week against Thomas, Sims hopes its Giants "D" can post improved numbers against the Figs. As for the home team, the Figs are riding high after returning from a 1-1 road trip in which they upended the Abstract Machines. Unlike the Stereco, defense is one of their strengths. First-round draftee Chicago has lived up to its billing thus far, but it will need another big performance to keep pressure off the Figs' offense. Rich Gannon, arguably the team's most reliable scoring threat, will be out on bye.

victims of the bye week:
Sims - DEF Baltimore
Figs - QB Gannon, RB Lewis

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The winless Abstract Machines finally head out on the road to meet up with the undefeated Pimps in a rematch of their Championship Week duel from last season. The Pimps won that game 44-35, and have won a commanding seven straight in the series since their lone loss in Week 4 of 1997.

Despite the team's slow start, first-year starter Drew Brees has handled the Machines' offense well, Marshall Faulk and Corey Dillon are starting to show their midseason form, and the receivers are still threatening. Yet unlike last year, the Machines' Rams defense is struggling to contain its opponents, which has left the team vulnerable to the heartbreaking tie and loss they suffered in the first two weeks. As for The Pimps, their offense found its game last week after a sluggish opening weekend, but they may be primed for a letdown here in Week 3, when three starters - Mark Brunell, Jerome Bettis, and Jerry Rice - are all out on bye. The Machines will need to capitalize off this potential vulnerability if they're to finally break into the win column and end their losing streak in the series.

Victims of the bye week:
Machines - QB Stewart
Pimps - QB Brunell, RB Bettis, REC Rice

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Jody's Colossal Waste of Time finally leaves the comfort of the Vortex after two quick wins and travels this week to face Pirk's Wicked Oil Profiteer$. This is the only meeting of undefeated's this week, but the series history heavily favors the road team.

Jody, who has lost only once to the Profiteer franchise (35-33 in Week 2 of '98) comes into this game with one of the league's most productive offenses. Aaron Brooks has quickly become the leader GM Jody Janis expected him to be, and C.W.O.T. carryovers Anthony Thomas and Martin Gramatica are off to hot starts. Moreover, the two-headed defensive front of Cleveland and Miami are keeping opponents' scores down. On the other sideline, the Profiteer$ have benefited from great receiving and a youthful ground game, but quarterbacks Jeff Garcia and Steve McNair have struggled out of the gate. Regardless, P.W.O.P. bucked one series trend last week and will be gunning to buck another against the C.W.O.T..

Victims of the bye week:
Jody - REC Brown, REC Burress
P.W.O.P. - REC Ward

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The Anderson Brewmeisters and Piana Raze are just two games removed from their Draft Bowl V meeting last year. Perhaps not much has changed, as they sit here in 2002 with just a single win between them. The Brewmeisters, who went 0-2 last year against Piana, has at least shown fight in their two games, winning one. Piana, on the other hand, put up a fight during Kickoff Weekend but then rolled over against Jody last week.

The Brewmeisters are bound and determined to be a factor in the East this season, but a win over the interdivisional Raze would be an immediate reward. Not since Week 10 of '98 has Anderson claimed victory over the Raze. During the FLF's first three seasons, these two franchises combined to win three division titles and three Super Bowls. Since then, however, each club has managed only a single playoff berth as a wild card. Now each one hopes to use the other as a stair-step back up into contention.

Victims of the bye week:
Anderson - RB Taylor, DEF Pittsburgh
Piana - REC Randle El

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Last year, the Irwin Hellions lasted ten weeks before suffering their second loss of the season; a pair of games into 2002, however, the Hellions already find themselves two games in the hole. The Hellions return to their beloved Hellhole this week to open the home portion of their schedule, and, for the third straight year, Thomas' Bock Boys are first up on the bill.

Thomas is boasting a 2-0 start for the first time ever. The primary reason for not doing so sooner is that they've suffered early-season maulings at Purgatory Field in each of the past two seasons. In fact, the Bock Boys are a career 0-3 at the Hellhole, having been destroyed by a combined score of 172-53. So while history doesn't bode well for the visiting team, Thomas knows it can't squander such a great opportunity to bury the defending division champs right out of the gate.

As for those champs, they're in unfamiliar territory. Already two games back of the Bock Boys, they need to stop a losing streak that has now reached four games dating back to last year's regular season. Historically, one would think a visit from Thomas would be the perfect cure, but history stopped repeating itself last week with a loss to the Profiteer$. Irwin needs its playmakers to step up for this game, but Curtis Martin is still hampered with an injury and Jimmy Smith - their biggest receiving threat - is out on a bye. No Hellion wants to even think about the consequences of losing this one.

Will the Hellhole work its magic for the home team, or will Thomas break the cycle and put some serious hurt on Irwin's bid for a divisional four-peat? This should be a good one.

Victims of the bye week:
Thomas - none
Irwin - REC Smith

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