[Rain Man]

As we move into the back stretch of the season, my three teams have the following story lines.

Anchorage Eskimos - It took a few weeks for new QB Peyton Manning to figure out his receiving corps, but the offense is clicking on all cylinders now. With the most productive offense in the league based on points and yards, and no weak spots, injuries are the only risk. On defense, we're playing strong, and are ranked well in yards allowed and big defensive plays. However, the team is middle of the pack on points allowed and is looking to improve in that area. The team appears to be getting stronger as the season progresses.

Seattle Undertakers - This team is a poster child for line play. The offense is quite talented, but can't get off the ground as Joe Flacco is taking pressure consistently and running backs Doug Martin and Arian Foster can't find running lanes. Foster is averaging only 3.1 yards per attempt. The defense is faring better, being strong overall and particularly against the pass. However, our strong D has not translated into big plays, which has hurt. Nonetheless, the D is carrying this team right now. They're starting to move in the right direction, and we're shaking up the offensive line this week to see if we can get more production.

Provo Lone Wolf Pack - This team got off to a hot start, with a surprisingly potent offense and swarming defense. Right now, we're hit hard by the injury plague with 12 players out this week, and we're missing all of our QBs and our top 2 HBs. The pressure will be on free agent QB Todd Blackledge to maintain the winning winning record until Roethlisberger returns. Up to now, we have the #4 offense in the league in yards, but have lost Maurice Jones-Drew for the year. On defense, we have big name linebackers, and our DL and backfield have been overachieving no-names who have played surprisingly well. The D has also been hit hard by injuries, losing Orakpo early on and then his replacement Sean Weatherspoon. Weatherspoon will be back soon, though, and will bolster our efforts. This is a team that is above average statistically in every way but points, so we're hoping that evens out. This team is entering rough waters the next few weeks.