EUGENE, OR--When faced with a rash of injuries, there are two options for a team: fold up your tent and go home, or dig deep and gut out a victory. The Bronco Nagurski's, a fantasy team owned by 30-year-old Tim Markow, chose the latter option in beating their opponent, the Pigskin Gangsters, on Sunday.

The B-Nag's won despite missing three offensive starters.

“Wow, that was impressive,” said Markow. “I really had no expectation of winning this game. I had Marvin Harrison, Larry Johnson, and Alge Crumpler all on the injured list. But man, did the reserves come through. This team plays best when their backs are against the wall. I’ve been seeing it all season. They may not be the most talented bunch, but they really pull for each other, or seem to anyway.”

Markow was forced to start reserve back Jesse Chatman over Johnson, and Tennessee’s Justin Gage over Harrison. In place of Crumpler was the Giants Jeremy Shockey, who turned in his best performance of the season in relief.

“If you told me that Shockey would put up better numbers than Crumpler normally does or that Justin frigging Gage would get 90 yards and a touchdown, I would have said you were nuts,” said Markow. “And how about Chatman? That guy came out of nowhere to get 124 yards! I think I put the league on notice with this game. But I’m not resting on my laurels. I’ve got 24 hours to celebrate and then I have to get this team ready to play next week.”

While Markow gave most of the credit to the players, he did pat himself on the back for “pushing the right buttons.”

“Of course the players are the ones making the plays, but I think I deserve a little credit for pushing the right buttons and inserting the right guys into the lineup,” said Markow. “Not to mention the work I did in grabbing Chatman and Gage off the scrap heap, and taking a chance on Shockey when everybody thought he was washed up. I model my player-evaluation style after the New England Patriots. I have a system, and I pick guys who fit into that system. It’s more about the whole than the sum of the parts.”

When his starters come back for their injuries, Markow might have some tough decisions to make. Johnson probably won’t be 100 percent if he does return this year, and the same could go for Harrison. Does Markow stick with his super-subs or remain loyal to his more consistent point-producers?

It’s questions like that that keep the 30-year old up at night.

“When you run a fantasy team, tough decisions like that are part of the job,” he said. “My reserves are near and dear to me, but it’s hard to leave a Marvin Harrison or a Larry Johnson on the bench. I guess I’ll just play it by ear. These situations usually have a way of working themselves out anyway, like the time when I had both McNabb and Favre and they were both having great seasons and I had to decide who to start, and then McNabb ended up getting hurt. Boom. Decision made, and I avoided a quarterback controversy.”

Copyright 2007, The Brushback - Do not reprint without permission. This article is satire and is not intended as actual news.