The Pimps shake off the hangover of a Week 3 tie to host the division rival Naughty Figs in the first game of the FLF's Week 4. These two teams battled for the division crown early last season, but The Pimps eventually ran away with it while the Figs dropped out the playoff race entirely. Three games into 2002, the Figs have yet to recover, having already lost two divisional games.

Rich Gannon returns to the lineup for the Purple and Gold after sitting out a bye week, which should give the offense an immediate boost. Rookie Clinton Portis is reported to get the start alongside the resurgent Lamar Smith in the backfield, which could test the Pimp defenders. The Pimps' offense gets a much needed shot in the arm as well with the return of Mark Brunell, Jerome Bettis, and Jerry Rice to active duty. Last week, the team struggled mightily to put any points on the board against the Machines and were bailed out by the defense. Despite two losing seasons, the Figs have surprisingly won three of the four against The Pimps and could square their season with another upset here.

victims of the bye week:
Figs - REC Gardner
Pimps - DEF Indianapolis

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Pirk's Wicked Oil Profiteer$ pick up the pieces from their Week 3 defeat and take aim at the team they kicked out of the playoffs in 2001, the Sims Stereco. Following that 20-18 Wild Card Week loss, the Stereco dropped their first two contests of 2002 before posting their first win last week against the Figs.

P.W.O.P. enters the game with questions abound - will Ahman Green play this week? Will Randy Moss stay out of trouble of the field and return to producing on it? Where has Jeff Garcia (off this week) gone? As a result, Steve McNair will likely get his third start of the season, with Travis Henry and James Thrash expected to provide the offensive fireworks. The Stereco's offense, which finally seemed to gel last week, will have to go without their own share of stars, including Michael Vick and Terrell Owens. Drew Bledsoe will make his second start to the season and be backed by a very impressive Ricky Williams and expanded receiving corps. Sims would like nothing better than to avenge their playoff defeat and send the Profiteer$ below .500 for the first time in '02.

Victims of the bye week:
P.W.O.P. - QB Garcia, REC Stokes
Sims - QB Vick, RB Davis, RB Hearst, REC Owens, REC Jackson

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These are tying - I mean trying - times for the Abstract Machines. In fact, they haven't won a game since their Wild Card Week romp over this week's opponent, Thomas' Bock Boys. The Boys enter the game having blown a chance to bury the Hellions last week, but retain first place in the slow-starting Western Division.

Bock Boy Priest Holmes is making a case to surpass Marshall Faulk as the most dangerous back in the FLF. He accounted for half (17 points) of Thomas' entire offense last week, and lit up the Raze in Week 1 with 18. Thomas hopes the offensive collapse of the other starters was one-week bug and that the likes of Daunte Culpepper and David Boston will return to form against the Machines. As for the home team, they might be without their two biggest weapons this week as Marshall Faulk is nursing a neck sprain and Marvin Harrison is out on bye. Originally thought to be a contender in the West, the Machines have self-destructed over the first three weeks of the season. Remarkably, however, if they can pull it together and win this game, they'll pull even with the Bock Boys.

Victims of the bye week:
Thomas - QB Matthews
Machines - REC Harrison, DEF Washington

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The Irwin Hellions let the world know last week that the two-time defending Super Bowl champions were still one of the best the FLF has to offer. While they destroyed the Bock Boys to break into the Win column, the Piana Raze fell just short in their own quest for Victory One, instead tying Anderson 34-34.

Irwin finally got all the pieces back together last week, putting forward the league's best effort. Yet the Hellions could be without a running game this week, with Edgerrin James and Warrick Dunn out on bye and Curtis Martin nursing a bum ankle. Too bad for the Raze, Brett Favre or Donovan McNabb could be enough to fill that void. Piana is a dismal 5-11-1 since the start of the 2001 campaign. Their running game has imploded, and Kurt Warner - their offseason coup - has been a bust. Straight up, this one looks like a blowout waiting to happen, but the bye week and Martin's injury gives Piana hope. And, if for nothing else, the Raze have won three of the last four against the Hellions, including the last two at En Fuego Field.

Victims of the bye week:
Irwin - RB James, RB Dunn
Piana - K Vanderjagt

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A classic Eastern Division rivalry is renewed as Jody's undefeated and Colossal Waste of Time continues its road trip to Saint Arnold Stadium to take on the Anderson Brewmeisters. Now a combined 4-1-1, these two teams' last meeting determined who went into Draft Bowl V.

Jody has gotten better faster than anyone in the league would have thought they could. Aaron Brooks may well already be the team's MVP, and second-year man Anthony Thomas has rookie Deuce McAllister have re-established this backfield as one of the best. Add that to their depth at receiver and on defense, and the C.W.O.T. have their first 3-0 start since 1997.

Anderson, at 1-1-1, is off to their best start since 1998, the year they won the Eastern Division and defeated Jody in the Super Bowl. Well, they don't have Steve Young now, nor will they have Peyton Manning this week as he is off on a bye. Instead, the offense will be powered by an impressive ground attack pulled from Fred Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson, and the freshly-inked Charlie Garner. The Brewmeisters receivers have always been strong, but the defense has been surprisingly suspect this season, particularly their first-round draft pick Steelers squad.

Can Anderson bring it together for another win over the C.W.O.T. franchise, or will a new and improved Jody team extend its lead in the East?

Victims of the bye week:
Jody - REC Ismail
Anderson - QB Manning

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