Before going to bed...early...last night I wrote this line about Stroupe: "He drafts like Phillip Fulmer, but coaches like Mike O'Cain". This was in reference to the fact that he was able to knock off the "Cisco Kids" in successive weeks, but then comes out flat and loses to the old man.

Then I read the box score. Manning 26, Wilkins 8, Vander Jagt 11. 45 points! CZ must appreciate a good Monday comeback. He won his Super Bowl after trailing by 25 points on Sunday's action. Stroupe knows Mondays too. Way back in the archives, seven years ago this week, Stroupe scored 31 on a Monday night to beat Montomery. Until this week, those two games stood out as the Monday comebacks of all time.

Sore Losers A BRFL first occured this week. Never has there been a week where two teams scored in the 50s and lost. Both AB and JK had 56 points in losing efforts. The closest we came before: week 13 in 1998. That week Talbot had 64 points and lost and losers Peil and Bud had 49. That week still remains the week of the highest losing average 45. This week 43.5. I guess we can blame Ricker for holding us back.

CZ left no line-up this week, so he became the first to revert back to your last line-up is your default line-up. He also claimed New England's QBs. Had he started them instead of Da Bear, he would have been worse off. Neither QBs is very solid. If the rules permit, he ought to let Curtis Martin be the QB. At least we know Martin can throw TDs passes.

It's not exactly the '85 Dolphins whipping the Bears, but Bud himself has successfully prevented a BRFL team from making a run at his record sent five years ago when he was 13-0 in the regular season. Bud is 3-1 and leads the league with 217 points scored. That figure is higher than what his legendary undefeated 95 team was after four weeks (205). He had a similar start in 1999, 3-1 and 205 points.

The 68 points is the third most points scored by Bud. Exceeded only by the two 86 point games he had in 95 and 96. 25 of those 68 points were scored by Kurt Warner, but the others were merely an example of Bud working the waiver wire. New pick up Jackie Harris scored twice. Mike Anderson, who Bud picked up before any one else had any clue, had his third consecutive big game. Bud finally started him this week. I guess he figured out that this isn't like the "Twiffle", we can make free line-up changes on Sunday.

AB has fallen from the ranks of the unbeaten. It wasn't from a lack of effort. The 56 points is the most Barry has scored in a loss ever. (Previous record of 47 was wk 2 97 vs Wallace). As usual, AB got a strong game from his recievers. Jimmy Smith and Terrell Owens very visibly scored twice. Owens will pay for his shenanagins - having to sit out in week 5.

The 56 points scored by JK was their most in a losing effort and the highest total since Jackson scored 62 in a week 14 loss to Best in 1998. That distinction is shared with AB, as he also lost with 56 this week. Ironically, 55 of those points were not scored by Marshall Faulk. Faulk had been producing the bulk of the points for JK so far this year. Throughout the 90's, JK have had success in September. They conclude the month without a win, the first time that has happened for them since 1989.

Another thing worth mentioning in this game was the fact that three of the players that have been in BRFL since it's incention all scored. Beside Moses' Andre Reed there was Jackson's Irving Fryar and Best's Jerry Rice. All three were on the pine this week. Most painfully, Irving Fryar, who is on the Splinter Squad for Jackson.

For Best, 38 points was the 10th best score this week. So he was very lucky to win with four starters on a bye. It was his fourth in a row vs Jackson and his 12th in a long season. Often times this game is played in November. It is the earliest in the season it has been played since 1992.

There is something very curious about both the kickers in this game....I'll explain later.

If Outlaw happened to be catching football highlights on the airport monitors as he returned from vacation, he would have been very pleased. He seemed to have all the highlights. Four SF TDs with Emmitt Smith's "answer" and two very long bombs from Torry Holt. Now to the matter of the kicker. Outlaw left his lineup on the forum weeks ago. It had injured kicker Mike Hollis in it. Late Sunday morning "Alan Outlaw" appeared on the forum claiming a kicker. Then "Alan Outlaw" left Wallace's lineup. It was quickly corrected by Wallace, who has been concerned about his posts not making the forum. Interesting...

They aren't as inconsistent as Moses, but something weird is happening with the Dahlin-Bethea team. Score in the 30s, they win. Score in the 40s, they lose. You don't often win when your opponent's QB throws 4 and yours zilch, but they made a darn good run at it. Issac Bruce matched teammate and Outlaw starter Torry Holt with two TDs. Newly acquired kicker, Ryan Longwell, scored 19. Curious thing about Longwell, He was picked up after Brett Conway was injured and subsequently cut by Washington. This week, the DBs cut Longwell. Five field goals and see you later? Interesting...

Ricker had his Vike combo on a bye, but got two late TDs from Jacksonville. He started a trio of Arizona players (Jones, Pittman and Boston) and got nothing. This weeks 25 points was a regression after three weeks of steady improvement.

Incidently both Wallace and Ricker mist want to clean off a little ACL deadwood in the near future. Both Kevin Dyson and Bobby Engram went under the knife last week.

Week 4

Sunday, September 24

• Cincinnati at Baltimore 1 p.m.
• Cleveland at Oakland, 4:15 p.m.
• Detroit at Chicago, 1 p.m.
• Green Bay at Arizona, 4:05 p.m.
• Kansas City at Denver, 4:15 p.m.
• New England at Miami, 1 p.m.
• New York Jets at Tampa Bay, 4:15 p.m.
• Philadelphia at New Orleans, 1 p.m.
• St. Louis at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
• San Francisco at Dallas, 1 p.m.
• Seattle at San Diego, 4:15 p.m.
• Tennessee at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
• Washington at New York Giants, 8:20 p.m.

Monday, September 25

• Jacksonville at Indianapolis, 8 p.m.

(Open dates: Buffalo, Carolina, Minnesota)