Neutral Site Week 2003 kicks off with Beer Bowl IV as the Anderson Brewmeisters hook up with Thomas' Bock Boys. Appropriately enough, the two beer-themed franchises will meet at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. This tilt between 3-3 teams will be the first football game played at Busch since 1991.

Anderson comes into Week 7 off a stirring, come-from-behind road victory over The Pimps. LaDainian Tomlinson returns to action against the Bockers after sitting out last week's win on a bye. This week, the Brewmeisters will have to go without the services of Peyton Manning instead, leaving the offense in the hands of first-round pick Patrick Ramsey. Thomas, meanwhile, welcomes a healthy Daunte Culpepper back into its lineup and will be looking for continued strong play from Priest Holmes. History strongly favors the Bock Boys, who have yet to lose to the Brewmeisters in four career meetings.

victims of the bye week:
Anderson - QB Manning, RB Zeroue, K Vanderjagt
Thomas - none

back to scoreboard

The Pimps and Profiteer$ go Smallville this week as they and their legions of fans converge in the small Texas town of Weser for their annual interdivisional grudge match. Weser represents a neutral spot between the two home towns (Goliad and Gonzales) of the respective owners. Early reports have tailgating in Weser already in full-swing in anticipation of the game.

Both The Pimps and P.W.O.P. are coming off tough Monday Night losses from last week and are itching to get back on the field and right the ship. For The Pimps, the underachieving Tommy Maddox will sit this one out on bye, perhaps opening the door to sophomore David Carr. The offense needs some kind of jolt in the worst way. On the other side of the ball, it appears the Cowboy D has replaced the long-standing Packer squad as The Pimps defense of choice. At 4-2, the Profiteer$ are the real deal. Steve McNair has been unstoppable over the last month, averaging 13 points per game. Ahman Green has played nearly just as well, and the always dangerous Randy Moss will be welcomed back onto the field following his bye.

victims of the bye week:
Pimps - QB Maddox, RB Bettis
P.W.O.P. - REC Ward, K Marler

back to scoreboard

The Sims Stereco and Irwin Hellions converge in Knoxville for a meeting between that last two franchises to win the Super Bowl. Over 100,000 fans are expected to fill Neyland Stadium despite the recent struggles of both clubs; the Hellions and defending champion Stereco have each lost their last two games.

At 2-4, Sims has to wonder if a healthy Mike Vick would have made a difference. While Drew Bledsoe has been inconsistent in Vick's absence, regular playmakers Ricky Williams and Terrell Owens have played below expectations. Stephen Davis has been the offense's best weapon to date, but even he is beginning to show signs of being over-worked. The Hellions have running back issues of their own. Edgerrin James has missed the past two games and will be sitting this one out on bye, and Stacey Mack's already limited production has actually diminished.That leaves Brett Favre and a quartet of talented receivers to get the Hellions back into the win column.

victims of the bye week:
Sims - none
Irwin - RB James, REC Smith, K Reed

back to scoreboard

Penn State's Beaver Stadium will be the locale for the Neutral Site matchup featuring the teams with the league's best and worst records at the halfway point. The Naughty Figs are treading water at 1-5, hoping to overcome a dismal start and avoid the franchise's fourth straight losing season. The Piana Raze, on the other hand, are off to the best start in franchise with a mark of 5-1.

Rich Gannon and Clinton Portis were to be the cornerstone of the Fig franchise, but an ineffective Gannon is out and Matt Hasselbeck is in. Antonio Bryant and Koren Robinson provide speedy targets for their new QB, but the youth movement has yet to translate into wins. Piana also made a quarterback move after the start of the season, ditching Kurt Warner in favor of consistently good Brad Johnson. The team has also been helped by the backfield improvement of Jamal Lewis and William Green. If they can keep the chains moving and the ball out of the Figs' hands, Piana could push the Naughties to the brink of playoff ineligibility.

victims of the bye week:
Figs - QB Blake, RB Taylor, REC Wayne
Piana - none

back to scoreboard

While Jody's Colossal Waste of Time and the Abstract Machines may not be a heated grudge match, nor the series itself be of any historical significance, their meeting at New Soldier Field merits the Week 7 Game of the Week.

Both clubs are coming off big Week 6 wins behind their best team performances of the year. The wins also snapped two-game losing streaks for each club and evened their respective records to 3-3. And now one of them will emerge from the Windy City this week with a winning record and budding confidence heading into the season's second half.

After struggling out of the gate this season on the heels of another Super Bowl loss, Jody may have turned the corner with last week's come-from-behind victory over P.W.O.P. Quarterback Marc Bulger was brought in an provided an instant spark for the offense, and the four-deep backfield committee has shown steady improvement over the course of the season. Of course, the real hero of last week's game was the Miami defense, which has now averaged 21 points per game in its last three starts.

The Abstract Machines got a huge game from their defense as well last week, as their first-round pick Ravens squad busted up the Stereco for 19 points. Yet it was Trent Green who stole the headlines with a monster 17-point game from behind center. The Machines have been waiting for Green to take that next step, and last week's game may have been a sign of things to come. Unfortunately, Green will be missing a pair of very reliable targets, as Marvin Harrison and Anquan Bolding will be sitting this one out on bye.

It's been well documented that Jody has excelled against Western teams, having lost only 9 career interdivisional games in six seasons. It should now be noted that three of those nine losses were at the hands of the Abstract Machines.

victims of the bye week:
Jody - REC Burress
Machines - REC Harrison, REC Boldin

back to scoreboard