The division co-leading Sims Stereco look to make it an early season sweep of division rivals when they visit Jody's Colossal Waste of Time at the Vortex. The Stereco are coming off arguably their biggest win in years, having thumped the Anderson Brewmeisters 31-6; their three divisional wins in 2006 have already matched their total divisional wins for 2004 and 2005 combined (when they went 3-13). The C.W.O.T. are also coming off a win, having somewhat avenged their Super Bowl loss by handcuffing the Machines 19-14. The defending division champs find themselves a game back of Sims and Anderson in the East.

Sims will be without its biggest weapon from a week ago, as their Jaguars defense will be sitting this one out on bye. Moreover, wideout Larry Fitzgerald is likely out with a hamstring injury, further depleting their attack. Jody loses four players from its bench, but will welcome back Carson Palmer into the huddle. Palmer, who led the C.W.O.T. to a Super Bowl appearance last season, has gotten off to a slow start in '06, averaging just over 5 points in his four starts.

victims of the bye week:
Sims – RB Addai, REC WIlliamson, DEF Jacksonville
Jody – QB Frye, QB Johnson, RB Maroney, REC Williams

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The Pimps visit the Naughty Figs in a battle for last place in the East. The two clubs have just three wins between them – all against interdivisional foes – and a are a combined 0-6 against Sims, Anderson, and Jody. The Pimps snapped out of a three-game funk in fine fashion last week, besting P.W.O.P. in Oil Town, 24-10. The Figs, meanwhile, lost to a short-handed Piana squad at home, giving them sole possession of the worst record in the league.

The Pimps used a huge defensive effort and strong ground attack to best the Profiteer$ last week, and while Da Bears defense will be good to go on Monday Night, their backfield takes a huge hit as both Corey Dillon and Fred Taylor will be sitting out on bye. With Shaun Alexander already ruled out with an injury, all the pressure will fall on the passing game. The Figs will have to obviously play better than they did last week, when only two of their eight starters managed to score more than 4 points. The good news is that dating back to 2002, the Figs have won four straight home games against the Feathered Ones. They may need to stretch that streak to five to keep any realistic playoff hopes alive.

victims of the bye week:
Pimps – RB Dillon, RB Taylor, REC Wilford
Figs – DEF Indianapolis

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The Abstract Machines and Anderson Brewmeisters come limping into their highly anticipated 2006 matchup. The defending Super Bowl Champion Machines have dropped two straight to fall below .500, and the Brewskies just got rocked by the surging Stereco for their first loss of the year. These two have met twice in each of the past two seasons, with the Machines winning three of those four games, including last year's Wild Card victory right here at Saint Arnold Stadium.

A repeat performance will be harder to come by this week for the Machines, however, as two of the stars from that Wild Card victory – Tom Brady (13 points) and Marvin Harrison (13 more) – will be sitting this one out on bye. As a result, it could be up to Big Ben Roethlisberger and the Ravens defense to try and stop the current skid. The Brewmeisters will also be without their franchise quarterback (Peyton Manning) for this one, but will still have plenty of ammunition in the legs of Brian Westbrook and LaDainian Tomlinson.

victims of the bye week:
Machines – QB Brady, RB Rhodes, REC Harrison, K Gostkowski, DEF Cleveland
Anderson – QB Manning, RB Taylor, REC Driver

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The first of two Western Division battles comes from Purgatory Field, where the Irwin Hellions host Pirk's Wicked Oil Profiteer$. Both clubs are coming off of Week 5 losses; Pirk was drilled at home while Irwin was clipped by the slimmest of margins in Bockville. With the other Week 5 fallout, the entire Western Division is separated by a mere 1/2 game, making every divisional contest that much more important.

Profiteer Byron Leftwich has been on fire the past two weeks (14 and 9 points), but he'll be sitting this one out on bye, leaving Phillip Rivers to helm the offense. Rudi Johnson will be welcomed back from his off week, giving the ground game an instant boost. Irwin will be bale to field a complete team this time around, after having three of five receivers miss out on the Bock Boy game. Plus, the Hellions have the most potent offensive weapon of the season in Donovan McNabb (72 points through the first five weeks). In what was once a very lopsided rivalry, the Men from Oil Town have actually won three of the past four meetings with the Hellions.

victims of the bye week:
P.W.O.P. – QB Leftwich, K Rayner
Irwin – REC Edwards

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The Week 6 Game of the Week comes from En Fuego Field, where the Piana Raze host the resurgent Thomas' Bock Boys in another Western Division showdown. Despite being only 2-2-1 – and even 0-2-1 within the division – the Raze sit atop the pile along with the Hellions. The Bock Boys are a half game back, tied at 2-3 with the Machines and Profiteer$. Thomas rebounded after an 0-3 start with consecutive wins over the Machines and Irwin, while Piana escaped with a 36-29 win over the Naughty Figs last week.

One of the biggest reasons for Thomas' turnaround has been the strong play from defense, special teams, and the QB position. Jeff Wilkins has been a stud since being brought in, scoring 27 points in the past two weeks. Rex Grossman has also shown flashes of dominance with a 10-point outing against Irwin last week. As much as the Bock Boys seem to be moving up, it can be argued the Raze have started sliding down. While they posted an official win last week, they would have come up short against any of the other eight teams. They've gotten zero points from their defense in each of the past two weeks, and offseason acquisition Terrell Owens has only averaged 4 points per game. Marc Bulger has 28 points in his past two starts, however, and he may just need to have another big game if the Raze are to hold off the Boys from Bockville.

victims of the bye week:
Thomas – RB Droughns, DEF New England
Piana – REC Wayne, K Vinatieri

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