Week 4 kicks off with the surprising Naughty Figs and the Sims Stereco renewing their fierce Eastern Division rivalry for 2008. What was once a heavily lopsided series in favor of the Red and Gold has become slightly more respectable, with the FIgs winning five of the last eight meetings.

The Naughty Figs have emerged as the story of the first three weeks of the 2008 season. They remain the only unbeaten and are riding high following their first win ever over the Irwin Hellions last weekend. The offense is armed to the teeth, with draftee Jay Cutler leading the way, and young Figgies such as Marshawn Lynch and Brandon Marshall showing flashes of dominance at their respective positions. A win this week would give the Figs their second ever 4-0 start and put them just one more win shy of last season's win total.

The Sims Stereco enter Week 4 with a 1-2 mark, but they've actually played really well in each of the past two weeks (a loss to Jody and a victory over The Pimps). Drew Brees has been slinging the ball all around, and Joseph Addai and Brandon Jacobs have anchored an improved ground game. The bad news for Sims is that both Addai and Jacobs will be sitting this one out on bye, leaving Brees and an unremarkable receiving corps to try and match points with the new-look Figgies. Will it be enough to get the Stereco back to .500 for the first time since 2006?

victims of the bye week:
Figs – RB Jordan
Sims – RB Addai, RB Jacobs, REC Welker

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The Pimps visit Bockville and Thomas' Bock Boys in search of their first victory of the season. This is the first interdivisional matchup for both teams, who are probably happy to get a reprieve from divisional play that has left them with a combined record of 1-5.

Just when you think The Pimps may have bottomed out by losing eight of their final nine games of 2007, they lose three more to start out 2008. The team is rich at quarterback, with four on the roster, and they also sport one of the most exciting young backs in second-year man Adrian Peterson. But the receiving corps has been ravaged by injury, and the special teams and defense have under performed thus far. They may need to get some help soon if they're to save to 2008 campaign.

The Bock Boys have one more win than The Pimps, but they're arguably just as disappointing. The electricity of last season's 10-3 run seems to have died out as David Garrard, Randy Moss, and the Patriots defense are playing as mere shadows of themselves. The first bye week of the season is particularly cruel to Thomas, who will be sitting four players and the Patriots defense. The silver lining for the Boys is that Marion Barber is developing into a true stud, and perhaps he can carry the load for his underachieving teammates.

victims of the bye week:
Pimps – QB Kitna
Thomas – RB Williams, REC Johnson, REC Moss, K Vinatieri, DEF New England

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The Piana Raze and the Irwin Hellions meet at the Hellhole in a battle of 1-2 teams. Both clubs started off 2008 with a win, but Hurricane Ike killed that momentum and started an 0-2 skid for each.

The Raze had a talent-rich draft but are now having problems getting all of said talent on the field. With a whopping six running backs on the roster, deciding on the right two to start has proved to be difficult. What they hoped to be their answer at QB – a trade for Ben Roethlisburger – hasn't panned out yet either, with Big Ben having played worse with each successive game as the Raze signal caller. Piana needs a win here to avoid its worst start since 2004.

The once-proud Hellions seem to finally be back on track. Following two seasons without a playoff appearance, Irwin has turned some heads in early 2008. Despite suffering their first ever loss last week to the Figs, the Hellions played well enough to beat any other team, and they are looking to keep that momentum going. Of course, they will need more than the combined 3 points they got from their receiving corps last week.

victims of the bye week:
Piana – REC Wayne, REC Harrison, REC Williams
Irwin – QB Manning, RB Jones, RB Smith

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Pirk's Wicked Oil Profiteer$ hosts the Abstract Machines in a battle of first-place teams in the Western Division. The Machines saw their two-game winning streak snapped last week against the Brewmeisters, while the Profiteer$ have now won two straight following a season-opening loss to Irwin.

Losing Tom Brady for the year is obviously a crushing blow for the Machines. Making matters worse, it seems neither Matt Cassel nor Tevaris Jackson is capable of taking his place. The Machines need to rally together and retain some swagger fast, as repeats of last week's performance (with four starters combining for four points) won't keep them in the divisional race for long.

P.W.O.P. returns home following a big win over Pop and Company, but even they aren't without their problems. An energized Philip Rivers is pushing for playing time over Tony Romo; is there a QB controversy brewing in Oil Town? Thankfully, P.W.O.P. seems to finally have found some quality depth at runningback, where Reggie Bush is finally living up to expectations and rookie Steve Slaton earning rave reviews in practice.

This is also the first meeting between these clubs since Wild Card Week last season, when Pirk crushed the visiting Machines 65-32. That win enabled the Profiteer$ to earn a rare season hat trick, completing a three-game series sweep over the Abstracts.

victims of the bye week:
Machines – QB Cassel, REC Ginn, DEF N.Y. Giants
P.W.O.P. – RB Johnson, DEF Seattle

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The Week 4 Game of the Week should be a doozy. Not only is it a rematch of last year's Super Bowl (won convincingly by Anderson), it's also a heavyweight bout between Eastern rivals with identical 2-1 records. Most surprising, perhaps, is that this battle between Jody's C.W.O.T. and the Anderson Brewmeisters is a battle of second-place teams; both clubs find themselves looking up at the undefeated Figs.

Jody was tripped up at those very Figs in Week 1, but has regrouped with consecutive wins over Sims and Piana. Last week's victory was their best game to date, with four players scoring 9 points or more. One of those was J.T. O'Sullivan, who started in place of the benched Carson Palmer and ripped the Raze for 11 points. Frank Gore has been a superb on the ground, posting double-digits in two of three games thus far.

The Brewmeisters have hopefully fully awakened from their daze following a Week 2 loss at the Profiteer$. After trailing all game to the Machines last week, LaDainian Tomlinson and the Chargers defense finally came to life with huge Monday Night efforts, delivering a big win over an undefeated opponent. But while LT and the defense may have finally found some life, Peyton Manning has gotten worse with each game, and Brian Westbrook is day-to-day with a strained ankle. Manning will get a chance to regroup while sitting this one out on bye, but his drafted replacement (Marc Bulger) is suddenly not a viable option. Who will be their mystery man come Sunday?

victims of the bye week:
Jody – RB BRown, RB Maroney, REC Gonzales, K Gostkowski
Anderson – QB Manning, REC Burress

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