The Immovable Object
The good news is that Teddy B! had his best PFL regular season ever. The bad news is he was in the same conference as Dell Barton. And Barton proved to be an obstacle too wide for Brown to get around, and too high to jump over. Brown went 0-3 against Barton this season. Brown has has been swept in the past by divisional foes such as Kwan Drake and Tom Poon. But each time he faced them in the playoffs, Brown prevailed, winning when it counted most. However, Barton's explosive passing attack proved to be too much for the Chargers defense. Brown dug himself a hole early falling behind 14-0 and trailing 28-7 at the half. That was enough for Barton to seal the win, despite the Chargers outscoring the Lions 27-20 in the second half.

Brown had a chance to close the game to 7 when trailing 35-21, Teddy B! tried to force the corner route to Freddie Jones. Barton was sitting on it and picked it off. The Lions later converted the turnover to 6 to go up 42-21, putting the game out of reach for Brown before the game ended 48-38.

Now, Brown must turn his focus to next season. An excellent draft with the addition of quality starters returning should put the Chargers in an even better position to challenge and retain the Madden Division title. Unfortunately for Brown, Dell Barton won't be going away. So one would probably guess that this offseason will be dedicated to getting this monkey (or Lion) of Teddy B's back.

The Barton Dilema
Teddy B! is feeling pretty good about winning his first ever PFL division crown. The bad news for Brown is that he has to face his division nemesis Dell Barton in the next round of the PFL NFC Playoffs. Brown is 2-0 against Barton this season, and neither game was a close contest. That should not phase Brown however. When he made his Supebowl run in 2000, Brown had to defeat two opponents that swept him in the regular season. First, Brown disposed of the pesky Kwan Drake in the divisional round of the playoffs. He then went on to upset the favored Tom Poon in the NFC Championship Game, before losing to James Brooks in PFL Superbowl IV. Poon had also beaten Brown twice in during the 2000 regular season campaign. Will this be a similar season for Brown? Two of his losses came at the hands of Barton. The question for Brown and the Chargers is how to deal with Barton's explosive offense. Brown's defense has collapsed vs. the potent Lions offense, and unless Brown finds away to slow Barton's passing attack, he may find himself falling behind early in the game. And Brown has not demonstrated he is a come from behind player. Things won't get easier for Brown should he win his early game, for the winner of this contest gets to face the winner of the Hilton-Collins matchup. And unless Hilton pulls the upset of the year, Teddy B! really have to earn his way to PFL Superbowl VI. But knowing Teddy B!......he wouldn't have it any other way.

With the confident Dell Barton breathing down his neck, Brown needs a win Sunday combined with a Dell Barton loss to pull two games ahead to make his chances on winning the Madden division better. If the two end up tied at the end of the season, it will be Barton that owns the tie break because he defeated Brown twice convincingly during the regular season.

Chargers Forecast
Brown should do no worst than a split this week. He will need a big game to upend Brooks who is playing his best when it counts. However, Brown should easily dispense of Fox and the Eagles in the late game. Next week, Brown has a better chance of going 2-0. Although he has two foes more than capable of beating him in Hilton and Wayne Allen, Brown is playing with a tremendous amount of confidence, and he feels he can beat anyone.

At any rate, Teddy B! is sitting pretty and should at least finish 11-5 or 12-4. Either one of those would be a personal best. However, he needs some help from Steve Stewart if he plans to keep Barton from snatching away his first ever division crown.