Dreams of Greatness, (or at least a BIG Title), Parto Uno
So here we are, only 9 days away from the 2003 NFL regular season opener and all is good. The draft is completed and 12 out of 12 of us are still playoff eligible (some may argue that is not totally true, but let's give Mike some credit at this point). Jugs has put some thoughts together and done some analysis on the draft. At the same time he has proven to us just how little he really does have to do with his time in late August. That's the beauty of it all.....Jugsie has put in more time on this stuff than the LB has spent on the old loader over the past two weeks, but none of that matters cause it all comes down to luck.
"Oh my, golly gee, holy cow (think Harry Carey accent).....JC is gonna talk about luck again." Well, maybe I am and you'll have to read on to see. I am going to take a little peek at each of your teams and slap my thoughts up. I don't care WHEN you drafted your guys, just if your team looks like the Philadelphia Eagles of the BIGFFBL or more like the Lions (and on a side note, I have to watch that horsecrap team EVERY WEEK AGAIN this year since someone had the bright idea of locating both Michigan Tech and Detroit in the state of Michigan).
So let's start out with Air JC. I figure I'll get myself out of the way first. With the starting lineup of Air JC, I will win the 1998 BIG title (and hopefully the 2003 trophy). I definitely went with the "age and experience" theory of drafting. Bledsoe, Easy Eddie George, Troy Brown, Old man Rice and Jimmy "Smoke and a pancake" Smith will have to try and keep up with the young whippersnappers McNabb and Shaun. For JC to have a shot, some good luck will be needed to keep all the old men healthy. But don't write me off when December comes.
Next up is Dr. Juice. One year removed from the worst trade our league has seen not involving Mike, Juice still sits with The Marshall Faulk. This year the big guy also has the only other BIGFFBL Hall of Fame eligible player on his roster in Randy Moss. That is a sweet pair, but throw in the Tampa D and Trent Green and Juice should enjoy his semester off from UWS. (Note a small issue with RB depth....Emmitt and the "other" Faulk just won't cut it). With Juice's big pair, he should play this hand and hope he has enough good luck to not get screwed on the river.
With 38 minutes until "Playmakers" comes on ESPN, we come to The Flying Hellfish. Suomala's squad reminds me of the Twinkies post 1991. They had that great year ('98 for the 'Fish) and you're just waiting for them to regain that championship caliber (Austin Power's accent). This may be Suomala's year.....with Gannon and Garner, the 'Fish will be lovin' the left coast west coast offense (no typo, just think about it......ok, there you go). Plug in keeper Starvin Marvin and Peerless (especially in Atlanta) and Suomala should once again make the Bison Division a logjam at the top. If Suomala is lucky enough to win it all this year, it would cap the trifecta of getting a ring, getting a job and getting the title.
And Jugs. It doesn't matter to me that he's finished behind me every year (have I mentioned that fact before?) his team still scares me every year after the draft and this year is no different. Other than the EXTREME weakness at QB (Trade for Bledsoe? I'll make you an offer you can't refuse - Marlon Brando accent), Jugs is ready to roll. Edge AND Priest? WOW. The WR's are young and, other than Moulds, unproven as far as I'm concerned, but WR's are easy to take a chance on. Jugs was dealt a 3 and an 8. He's doubled down and I think that this is the year that he's finally lucky enough to draw that face card.
By the way, we're in no particular order here....in case you were wondering. Now on to Smitty....aka "Rocky Mountain Oysters". First off, has ESS even consumed said delicacy? I know that at least 2 of the owners have and I don't think you deserve to call yourself that unless you've consumed a "pair". Anyways....Smut dog is looking ok. Not over the top, but ok. Manning will be Manning. LT with be LT. Vanderjagt will be Vanderjagt. After that, I don't know what to tell you. I feel the same about Smitty's WR's as I do about Jugsies and his backup RB's could go either way (not like THAT...I don't think so anyway). So to stick with a casino theme....Stay away from red or black.....I'd put my money on 0/00.....that means Green....Willie Green.
Let's head out east.....to the beltway or metro area. Wonger made his first long distance draft and it was mostly a success. Other than the lateness on one pick, the LD's followed their patented script to a 't'. Grabbing Dillion to pair with Ricky gives Wong a solid running attack. A few unspectacular but serviceable WR's later, Wong's team is ready to make yet ANOTHER playoff run. For the love of god, can't someone else but Ben in that division beat Wong once or twice? So Wong's luck from last year may need to continue, but my guess is the odds are pretty good to see the LD's make a wildcard appearance in week 15.
Well.....6 down, 6 to go. Mike, Jason, Ben, Jon, Jonny and good old Rico will have to wait till next time. So until then....keep the pointy side forward, your stick on the ice and stay the hell out of Wisconsin.
Need I say more?
BIGFFBL senior writer Jeremy Carlson sounds off whenever he feels like it on www.bigffbl.com