Clancy's Corner
Pat Clancy - Coach: Raleigh Lightning

Another week…Another Story

Squeakers
It came down two tackles. Going into Monday’s night game the Apex Dragonkin had a 10 pt lead over the Rho Tau Warriors. The Warriors had only one player left on their starting roster and he needed to show up big time…and he did. Rocky McIntosh scored 11.5 points to squeak out the victory. But this performance was not predicted by the experts at yahoo, as they forecasted that he would only score 3.86 points. I guess that they didn’t realize he is the starting weak-side linebacker and had 16.5 points last week. This is one defensive dude to keep your eyes on. The lose moves the Dragonkins to 1-1. But this is one tough team as they have the third highest point total. I am sure with a few rosters move they will be near the top by the end of the year. The Rho Tau Warriors look like a battle-tested team and ready to take on the PTL as they have gotten over the slow start from the first week. They have good men at RB, WR and DEF. Their one weak spot is at QB and even that may resolve itself over time.

Surprises of the week…
Okay, honestly….who predicted that the Bengals and the Browns would score 96 points? Not only that, but the Browns would do it with a little no name quarterback Derek Anderson. Anderson has only played in 6 games in his career and already he has come to the attention of fantasy owners. Still, was this just a fluke? Really, did the Cincinnati defense decide to take the day off and let only the offensive squads play? We will not know for sure, but his performance has certainly delayed Brady Quinns’ entrance on the main stage. The Inferno has engulfed Anderson and it will be interesting to see if he will be used in the starting role.

What If?
The PT Bruisers are obviously the team to beat and have picked up right where they left off in 2006. In an effort to display their football prowess, the Bruisers Beat the country out of the Red Neck Raiders. Not only did the team win by almost 100 points (96.9 to be exact) the Bruisers were very close to the all time PTL Fantasy Record. What is amazing is that the Bruisers left points on their bench. Moreover, their premier running back LT only had 3.90 points (one of which was a tackle). What if LT had hit his projection of 13.90 – additional 10 points? What if the Bruisers had started their optimal lineup? 165 points would have been the tip of the iceberg.

PTL Rookies –
Gotterdamerung and the AncientChineseSecret have already made a name for themselves and I don’t just mean because they have strange non-American names. These two teams are already in the top 5 of the PTL – North Division. They both are 2-0 and look to continue to kick some fantasy butt. Although new to the PTL it appears that Justin and his Secrets have had some prior fantasy experience. (sounds like a bad one liner for an adult romance book) Likewise, Gotterdamerung clearly knows how to field a roster and is ready to take on the veterans. These two teams should be respected and all should watch them as they progress through the season. By the way, I think the AncientChineseSecret is those little red peppers because that sh*t will f#ck you up.

Matchup of the week –
I would be remiss if I did not talk about the meeting of perennial titans – Bruisers vs. Lightning. Both teams are 2-0 and lead the league in points. Both should be playoff bound and this very well could be a preview of week 17. One of these teams will improve to 3-0 and will emerge as the premier squad of the league, while the other will fall to 2-1 and will have to find a way to separate themselves from the pack. Early projections have the Bruisers striking the Lightning. This could prove true as many of the Lightning’s players will be on the road and their point totals should suffer for that.

Good Luck Everyone! And see you next week, as we will discuss the keys to wining the PTL.

Patrick Clancy is a free lance writer and owner of the Raleigh Lightning.