It's that time of year again, time for Todd McGee's second-annual midseason TFFL All-Star team.
This is a midyear look at the top performers in the league by position. The team consists of one QB, two RBs, two WRs, one TE, one PK, one defense and then a utility player (either the RB or WR with the highest point total). Points are only earned when your player is on the active roster, so if you have a guy who scored three touchdowns while he was sitting on your bench (and most of us do), those points don't count.
Without further adieu, here are the TFFL Midway All-Stars:
QB: After a slow start, Daunte Culpepper has lived up to his status as the top overall pick by racking up 128 points for the T-Birds. However, he has to share the first-team honor with Jeff Garcia of the Carolina Killers, who has also racked up 128 points. Garcia was the fourth QB taken in the draft with the seventh overall selection. Because Garcia and Culpepper share the award, there is no second-team selection.
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| Curtis Martin leads the back attack. That's Ring cheering in the background. |
WR: Denver's Rod Smith leads the pack of receivers with a whopping 88 points for the Gamblers. San Francisco's Terrell Owens, the 16th player taken in the draft by the Wile E. Coyotes and subsequently traded for Tomlinson after Week 2, is the other first-team wideout with 84 points. Making up the second team are Philadelphia's James Thrash (57 points for the Jellypop Fighters) and Green Bay's Bill Schroeder (46 points for the Berserkers).
Utility: Indianapolis WR Marvin Harrison gets the first-team nod at utility with 66 points for Heelbillys. Harrison was the last player taken in the first round. St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk (54 points despite missing 3 weeks) is the second-team utility player. He was the third overall selection for the Jellypop Fighters.
TE: Green Bay's Bubba Franks is running away with this spot. So far, he has scored six touchdowns for the Berserkers -- good for 42 points. Carolina's Wesley Walls is enjoying a renaissance for the Panthers and for the Fighters, who took a flyer on the battle-scarred veteran in the ninth round -- three picks after the Berserkers took Franks. Walls has scored four touchdowns for 32 points.
K: This has been perhaps the most heated race. Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski, the second kicker taken in the draft by the Jayhawks in the eighth round, has acquitted (maybe we shouldn't use that word for any ex-FSU players) himself quite nicely with 67 points. San Diego's Wade Richey has scored 64 points for the Carolina Killers. Denver's Jason Elam has 62 points, and a trio of kickers -- the Fighters' John Carney, Heelbillys' Jeff Wilkins and the Weathermen's Mike Vanderjagt -- each have 61 points.
Defense: The Wile E. Coyotes' faith in their hometown favorite New York Giants has paid off, as the boys in blue have racked up 66 points this campaign. The San Diego Chargers come in a surprising second with 63 points. The defending Super Bowl champ Ravens are a disappointing fourth for the Fighters with 52 points and have been replaced in Jellypop's lineup by Green Bay.
First team
QB -- Daunte Culpepper, T-Bird2, and Jeff Garcia, Carolina Killers
RB -- Curtis Martin, Berserkers
RB -- Ahman Green, Weathermen
WR -- Terrell Owens, Jayhawks
WR -- Rod Smith, Gamblers
UT -- Marvin Harrison, Heelbillys
K -- Sebastian Janikowski, Jayhawks
TE -- Bubba Franks, Berserkers
DF -- Giants, Wile E. Coyotes
Second team
QB -- none
RB -- Corey Dillon, Carolina Killers
RB -- LaDainian Tomlinson, Wile E. Coyotes
WR -- James Thrash, Jellypop Fighters
WR -- Bill Schroeder, Berserkers
UT -- Marshall Faulk, Jellypop Fighters
K -- Wade Richey, Carolina Killers
TE -- Wesley Walls, Jellypop Fighters
DF -- Chargers, Bottlerockets
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| Rod Smith: a gamble that has paid off. |
It is also interesting to note that six players taken in the first round did not make the team -- Edgerrin James, Kurt Warner, Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, Fred Taylor and Eddie George. James, Taylor and George have been hobbled by injuries, while Warner and Manning are having solid seasons and could play their way onto this team at the conclusion of the campaign. Moss, meanwhile, has clearly been the biggest disappointment, with but two receiving touchdowns and no 100-yard games yet this season. He's still got time left to turn it around.
Unfortunately for Batcho, he's also had another huge bust in Redskins running back Stephen Davis, who has accounted for just 14 points for the Bottlerockets. But with the 'Skins starting to show some life, he could still win up justifying his second-round selection. Watch out for the Bottlerockets. They could experience a dramatic turnaround in the second half if both Davis and Moss begin performing up to expectations.
Other high-round picks who have not lived up to their expectations include the Fighters' Torry Holt (30 points) and T-Bird2's Isaac Bruce (30 points), both of whom were taken in the second round. The Weathermen's Keyshawn Johnson, a third-round pick, has accounted for only eight points and has yet to find the end zone for Bubba.
Johnson isn't the only third-round selection who has been a disappointment. Others taken in that round include injury-riddled Duce Staley (zero points) by the Gamblers, rookie back Michael Bennett (zero points in six starts) by the Carolina Killers, perennial disappointment wide receiver Eric Moulds (nine points in six starts) by Heelbillys, and wide receiver Ed McCaffrey of the Berserkers, who suffered a season-ending broken leg in the first game.
Some of the better late-round picks include Schroeder in the 12th round by the Bottlerockets and Shaun Alexander, also in the 12th round, by T-Bird2.