New coach, same result. The Roscoes(2-0) became the first team to officially go to 2-0 on Sunday as they sent the Dirty Dozen(0-2) to their 14th straight defeat as new Dozen head coach Mike Singletary lost his debut. The Roscoes won their second straight road game to start the season, 46-32. It was another bitter loss to take for the Dozen, who have not won a game since week 1 of 2001. QB Drew Brees took his hits, as he made his first career start for the Dozen, but managed to score just 4 points. "I didn't make the plays that were necessary for us to win the ballgame. It's a tough pill to take. But we have to keep plugging away," he said. But Brees was not the Dirty Dozen's only problem. Far from it. RBs Mike Alstott and Eddie George combined for just 2 pts. And the receiving "corps" only had 6 as Joe Horn was the lone WR to score. He caught 6 balls for 120 yds. in the loss. On the other side of the field, the Roscoes were very happy with the outcome. WR Randy Moss had a big game with 11 catches, 111 yards and a score for 13 pts. total. "We've just arrived," said Moss. "There is no telling how far we can go with this thing. I said it last week and I'll say it again. Give me the ball and we'll win." "He definitely makes it easier on the rest of the guys," said QB Peyton Manning. "If I run out of time, I usually just throw the ball his way. And more often than not, he makes the play." The Roscoes also got a huge game out of their defense as they sacked Brees 9 times and scored a TD when they recovered a Dozen fumble in the endzone. The road continues for the Dozen. They will play their second straight Halas division opponent as they go on the road for the first time this season and take on the Tattoo Crew.....the team that they beat so long ago. The Roscoes have a big game coming up. They will finish up their 3-game road trip to start the season and take on another 2-0 team in the Halas division as a new chapter is written in the Roscoes-Rynos rivalry.
The T-Bone Dome debuted in week two and it staged one of the best games in league history. The Wolfpack(0-2) dropped their second straight game, but not before making everybody in the dome sit on the edge of their seats. Entering Monday night's game, the Wolfpack trailed T.N.T.(2-0) by 17 points. WR James Thrash almost helped complete a stunning comeback, but managed to score 15 points as they fell by a final score of 48-46. Thrash caught 6 passes for 107 yards, but the one that made the difference, was his TD. He caught a 39-yd. pass for a score. Had his TD been from 40 yards out, the Wolfpack would've escaped with a one point victory. But few and far between are the breaks for expansion teams. "I'm proud of the guys," owner Steve Ustrak said. "There is no quit in our ballclub. We know the game doesn't end until Monday night. We came up a little short, but played a tough game against a tough ballclub. They are good. And we'll be ready for them when we play them again." The two clubs lock horns again in week 6. The rest of the team did not play so well. K Olindo Mare missed a chip shot 28-yd. FG early in the game that would've given them the victory. "He's going to make those. Unfortunately, he didn't today," said QB Brett Favre. "But next week is a game we've been waiting for. It should be fun." The Wolfpack go on the road and face the commissioner's team, the Night Hawks. T.N.T. knows the feeling of being 0-2. "It's not fun, but we remember what it was like. Last season was not a good one," said WR Antonio Freeman. "But this is a new year. A new team. Things are definitely looking up. But we have to go out next week and do our thing." RB Fred Taylor broke a 63-yd. TD on his way to a 114 yard, 17-pt. game. His injury history was a concern from the beginning, but in the early going, he has responded in a big way. "I'm still getting back into the flow of things. Nobody wants to get injured, but I pushed and pushed until I could get back to where I wanted to be. Now the hard work is paying off. I think me and Edge both feel the same way." WR Darrell Jackson was QB Aaron Brooks' main target, catching 10 passes for over 130 yards. RB Edgerrin James also had a big day, running for 138 and catching 8 passes for T.N.T. They were the only home team to win in week 2, but next week have to go on the road to face the Outlaws.
Fightin' Antz RB Marshall Faulk scored on 2 TD runs of under 10 yards and scored 16 points to lead the Antz(1-1) to their first win of the season, a 51-43 win against the Jorsemen(1-1). Faulk was coming off a tough game in week one, but rebounded well enough to take the team to victory. "This is my team, but we don't win if we don't all chip in," he said. "I felt good out there and D.T. came up with the big play." D.T. would be 2nd year WR David Terrell, who caught just one pass, but that was a 9-point TD catch that turned out to be the difference. "I'm glad I could contribute. Coach Didrickson put me out there because he wanted somebody to make a play. And I did. And we won. Bottom line." The Antz have possible controversy brewing. After the week one loss to the Night Hawks, co-owner Harold Didricksen spoke out to the media and said that if he had put together a starting lineup, the results would have been different. The two owners held a heated closed-door meeting to decide who would be choosing the starters in week two. "I know I wouldn't have wanted to be in there! They had the door closed but we could all hear just about everything they said. There were a lot of f-bombs going off in there," said TE Bubba Franks. After the meeting, which lasted over 2 hours, owner Joe Santana finally conceded to Didricksen. And with the result, this could be an interesting story to follow all season. Another issue the Antz have is with their K position. After K Brett Conway was released due to a leg injury, they went out and signed Doug Brien. Brien came out and missed a 44-yd. FG AND two extra points. So it is back to the waiver wire for the Antz as they prepare for the Warriors, who lead the league in scoring. The Jorsemen tasted defeat for the first time ever. Only one player(RB Charlie Garner, 11 pts.) scored in double digits and 3 players were held scoreless. WR Rod Smith, an expansion draft pick, was held to just 3 catches and 22 yards. "I have to do something if we are going to start a roll here. We can't just be relying on Charlie to carry us. Jerry had a big day also, but we have to find a way to get in the end zone." WR Jerry Rice hauled in 11 passes for 94 yards but did not score a TD. The Slackers are next for the Jorsemen in a battle of 1-1 teams.
For the second week in a row, the Tattoo Crew(0-2) were in the top 3 in scoring. For the second week in a row, they faced the top scoring team and lost. With 10 players scoring in double digits for the 2 teams combined, the Warriors(2-0) and Tattoo Crew combined for the 5th highest point total in league history with a 97-65 Warriors win. QB Donovan McNabb ran a TD and threw 2 more to lead all scorers with 20 points. "When are we going to get respect? I don't know. Maybe never. I don't want to offend anybody in the other locker room, but we knew we were going to win. We just have that confidence right now that we can beat anybody," he said. He has every right to be that confident. The Warriors used a balanced game to win this game which had them as the underdog, even though the Tattoo Crew lost in week one while the Warriors beat the defending champs. "I don't know what it is. But it's not important. It'd be nice to read a paper or something and see that people believe that we can win," said RB Warrick Dunn. "But the truth is all that matters is that we believe we can win." Dunn, WR Marvin Harrison and WR Terry Glenn all caught TD passes as they scored 44 points between them. K David Akers finished the double digit scoring by going 3-3 in field goals, including 2 from over 40 yards. The Warriors play the Fightin' Antz in week 3, as they try to extend their 8-game regular season home winning streak. The Tattoo Crew know they have a chance to be a good team. But they also know, that with three other teams in their division at 2-0, their time is running out early. RB Deuce McAllister continued his hot start as he ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns as he scored 15 points and tied with WR Muhsin Muhammed for the team lead. Muhammed caught 8 passes for 107 yards, including a 22-yd. catch for a TD. Looking ahead to next week, the Crew find themselves up against a team that has not won in 14 regular season games, the Dirty Dozen. The irony is, the team they beat? That would be none other than the Tattoo Crew.
The Rynos got their UFFA record 8th regular season player of the week award as WR Peerless Price went off and grabbed 2 TDs, including a 48 yarder, among his 13 overall catches. He ended up with 28 points on the week and the Rynos(2-0) beat the Outlaws, 78-59. "Brian got me the ball and I made people miss. There's no secret. It's just all about execution. And we executed better than they did. I think in beating the champs, we have solidified ourselves as the best team in the UFFA, no questions asked," said Price. "Now we have to establish to our division that they don't have a chance. And that starts next week." The Rynos are definitely picking up where they left off in the 2001 season. After just missing a 1000 point season last year, they have now averaged 81.5 ppg and along with the Warriors are on pace to break that 1000 point mark. Rookie TE Jeremy Shockey became the first rookie TE to ever score in the UFFA as he hauled in a 28-yd. TD pass and posted 11 points as every player on the Rynos scored points. QB Brian Griese was an efficient 14-19 and 119 yards, but threw 2 TDs to give him 9 points on the day. RB Priest Holmes followed up his 36-pt. week one with a 4, but was not needed as they won this one going away. "We have an overall great team. Last week we used the run, this week it was the pass. That is a sign of a good team. We won't know how good we can be until we put together both the run and the pass." A Halas division rivalry is renewed in week 3 as they take on the Roscoes, who are also 2-0. The Outlaws(0-2) became one of 4 0-2 teams in the UFFA, just a year removed from winning the championship. And that has made for a tough environment in the clubhouse. "I think everybody in here should be worried about their jobs. Myself included," said Outlaws coach Captain Morgan. "If we don't perform, we should be concerned." RB Curtis Martin was held to just 5 yards on 4 carries and has made Outlaw fans wonder about what could have been if owner Brian Rupnick would have kept RB Priest Holmes instead of Martin. "I think it's unfair to lay the blame on Curtis," said Rupnick. "Daunte had a good game, but other than that, nobody really stood out. And we ran into a buzzsaw. Those guys over there are the best in the league right now." The Outlaws will host another 2-0 team next week as T.N.T. comes to town.
After being lauded for his decision to start QB Shane Matthews in week one, Night Hawks coach Tom Landry is being second guessed all over the airwaves for his controversial decision to start Matthews again in week two. But from the sounds of it, Landry won't make the same mistake again. "Drew is our QB. He had a great week of practice and Shane had a terrible week. I felt I'd give Shane a chance on game day, but he disappointed. So we'll stick with Drew for the remainder of the 2002 season. However if Shane picks it up in practice, Drew does have a week off coming up. And I have 3 other QBs to choose from. So he may see some action further down the road." Heading into the Monday night game, the Hawks(1-1) were trailing the Slackers(1-1) by 5 points, 57-52. Matthews was the only player left. Well not only did Matthews not score the 5 points, but he actually lost 2 points as he threw for just 62 yards and a pick to make the final score 57-50. The Slackers got another solid game from RB Ricky Williams as he came up with 16 points, including a 10-yard TD catch. WR Jimmy Smith came up with the game everybody was expecting as he caught a 37 yard TD among his 5 catches. But the big question mark for the Slackers is QB Kurt Warner. Warner had his second straight disappointing week as he posted a -1 to nearly match Matthews' -2. For the Slackers to win on a consistent basis, he has got to pick up his game. Or else the Darnay Scott/Kevan Barlow show won't be going anywhere. The Night Hawks are frustrated that their D/ST had such a great game, but they still lost. The D/ST scored a UFFA record 28 points and scored 2 TDs, but those two TDs were the only two that the Hawks managed. No offensive TDs were scored as K Jason Elam and RB Corey Dillon were the leading offensive scorers with just 6 points. QB Drew Bledsoe's 23 pts. and WR Hines Ward's 19 were left on the bench. There were plenty of ways that the Hawks could have won this game, but they didn't. So they are now in a 3-team logjam at the top of the Landry division at 1-1. Both of these teams will be facing expansion teams in week 3 as the Slackers face the Jorsemen and Drew Bledsoe makes his debut for the Night Hawks against the Wolfpack.