I was really looking forward to my turn in the NFFC Zone drivers seat. The first week of NFL games are in the books. We could do an in-depth early season analysis of Team 1 rosters in each league to try and gauge the affects of 3rd Round Reversal. Unfortunately the draft grids for each league are not yet posted, so consider this a substitute article until my next turn (or until another CREATiVESPORTS writer uses the idea).

How did the three CREATiVESPORTS teams fare in the NFFC after week one and what kind of gut-feel can you get from looking at their roster with one week of hindsight? I am certainly not writing on this topic because my team did well, although I had lofty expectations headed into Monday night (but more about my team later).

The CREATiVESPORTS combo team of Lori and Brian lead the contingent posting a strong score of 157.10, good for 41st overall and 1st in New York League 2. Lori and Brian were led by strong performances from Peyton Manning, Torry Holt, Lamont Jordan, and the Steelers defense. If I was in Lori and Brian’s shoes I would be feeling pretty darn good about my team right now. They were able to post an impressive score with limited help from their top running back, Willis McGahee and 11.5 from their 2nd and 3rd wide receivers (Devery Henderson and Jerry Porter). Mike Furrey on the bench will be a usable receiver in coming weeks. Flex Jamal Lewis did not do well against the Steelers, but that was expected to some degree. The roster has room for free agents, as Ashley Lelie and Mike Anderson did not appear to be any part of their team’s game plan. Overall I am jealous of the success of Lamont Jordan, having suffered with him as my first round pick in last season’s NFFC. Knowing that he can help Lori and Brian to a successful season makes me feel better every time I see him catch a pass in Lane Kiffen’s offense that would not have been thrown to him in Art Shell’s offense.

JP Kastner, CREATiVESPORTS entry in the Chicago League 4 posted a strong score of 147.05, good for 72nd overall and 3rd in his league. JP was led by great scores from Tony Romo and Antonio Gates and solid performances from Travis Henry and Chris Chambers. JP faces the task of replacing the injured Chester Taylor and Eddie Kennison in week two. JP has some viable wide receivers sitting on his bench in Brandon Stokley, Dwayne Bowe, James Jones, and Antwaan Randle El. JP also has Ronnie Brown to slide over from Flex to RB2 in place of Taylor.

That leaves just the CREATiVESPORTS Marc team to address. As I mentioned earlier I did have lofty expectations headed into Monday night. The team had 94 points after Sunday with quarterback Alex Smith and wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Darrell Jackson set to play in the late Monday night game. I was honestly expecting to score 50 points easily from those three players in what figured to be a high scoring Monday night affair. Well, things did not quite work out that way as either the Cards and 49’ers offenses are not what I expected them to be or both teams made tremendous improvements on defense in the off-season. Regardless of the reason, the CREATiVESPORTS Marc team sits in lowly 228th place overall and 12th in Tampa League 1. I was encouraged by the strong week one scores from Joseph Addai and Randy Moss but disappointed in Jackson, Fitzgerald, Smith and Randy McMichael. If the 49’ers offense is as anemic as they were on Monday it will be a long season for this squad.