Talking Fantasy Football

Random Thoughts on Fantasy Football 2008 - Week 7

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:20:00 +0000

TO Alert Level - Remains at Elevated

Willis McGahee - alot of people had you on the bench this week. 105yds and a TD could have helped many in their games. But you've been so inconsistent no one can trust you.

Steven Jackson - welcome to the world! Watching reports of a quad injury during this week, but this is the performance fantasy football owners were looking for.

Kyle Orton looks to be for real. Like the way he is managing the game and throwing downfield. But if you had either the Bears or Vikings DEF/ST yesterday, you might have gotten no points for the yardage and points given up. If you score INTs, defensive touchdowns and sacks you may have come out with positive points. Look for information on the Devin Hester injury.

Peyton Manning what happened? You and Marvin and Reggie looked great last week and then throw up a dud. And then to have two passes picked and returned for touchdowns. Could have been an abberation. But the Colts are now officially fighting for their playoff lives.

I'm not worried about Drew Brees and the Saints offense. Jeremy Shockey is saying the Saints may have rushed him back too soon. Well, did we expect but an injury or injuries this year from Shockey?

Love the Titans DEF/ST, hate their offense. You would think Kerry Collins would have been better than Vince Young but they are about the same. Collins' stat line yesterday was 11-18 for 123. Game manager to the extreme.

I'll keep saying it until something happens: When is Darren Sproles going to get more touches. Only 2 yesterday while LT2 ran 14 times for 41 yards. Chargers need s spark and Sproles could be the guy but like I said before: They don't want to hurt LT2's feelings.

Random Thoughts on Fantasy Football 2008 - WEEK 6

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 18:07:00 +0000

TO Alert Level - Now At Elevated, up from Guarded

TO didn't have any statement to make after the game yesterday, but did you see the outfit? He had on over sized sunglasses, a dress shirt with a black bow tie and a bright yellow sweater. Wait a minute, words don't do it justice, here it is courtesy of FanIQ

Tony Romo OUT for the next 4 weeks with a broken finger. Brad Johnson steps in. Bad news for TO. Not because Johnson can't throw, but because they'll try to get the run game more involved. Marion Barber owners, your ears should perk up.

Thomas Jones thank you sir for showing up. That is what all us fantasy players expected, though not all in one game. 2TD rushing and 1TD receiving. If you can give 75 yds and a TD a game we'll be extremely happy.

Nice game by the rookie Matt Ryan for ATL in an exciting win. Joe Flacco, not so much. Not that you should have been starting either one of them anyway. Same with JaMarcus Russell.

The Colts offense FINALLY showed up. Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne all looked good. Joseph Addai is now part of my "NEVER DRAFT EVER AGAIN" list. I said earlier this year that he always seemed dinged or coming out of games. He came out in the game and did not return, but Tony Dungy says he's OK and should be available for the next game. Joe is fragile is the only conclusion.

Matt Cassel looked all out of sorts against the Chargers. Randy Moss, left out in the cold. Wes Welker is still valuable in a PPR league with lots of targets and catches, but not getting alot of yardage. Was last week's great game by Cassel an anomaly? We shall see...

Warrick Dunn's 122 yards was made by Earnest Graham putting aside his ego and blocking for Dunn when all the other fullbacks got injured. So watch the injury reports this week and see if Storer and Askew will play. If they don't, Graham might have another bad stats game.

Phillip Rivers had another nice game with 3TD passes. He's going to carry this team the rest of the season as LT2's toe does not seem to be getting any better. I think there is going to be a matter of time before people ask why Darren Sproles is not getting more touches. They don't want to hurt LT's feelings...

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Work, Week 6

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:04:00 +0000

First an apology to Terrell Owens: Seems that the reason he was crying and seemed upset after the game this past weekend was that he had a death in family. My condolences and my apologizes for thinking you were being a jerk because he only had two catches.

TO Alert Level - Now At Guarded, down from High

RB Correll Buckhalter, PHI
RB Lorenzo Booker, PHI
Brian Westbrook has two fractured ribs. Ouch! I don't care if you're wearing a flak jacket. Every defensive back will be making a special effort to reach out and touch Westbrook on his ribs for the coming weeks.

TE LJ Smith, PHI
People forgot about LJ because he was injured early in the season, but he's a big threat when he's healthy. McNabb has to throw it around.

WR Mike Walker, JAC
Seems to be the go to guy in Jacksonville. Someone had to step up since no one else was. Also watch Matt Jones. His drug possession case was knocked down because he agreed to drug counseling. So no shot of him missing time. He's been playing well too.

WR Donnie Avery, STL
Someone else besides Torry Holt and Steven Jackson has to make plays for the Rams to break out of their funk. This is a stretch with the Rams playing the way they are. Take a chance if you have bench space.

WR Bernard Berrian, MIN
Emerging guy for the Vikings. Nice game last week. Gus Frerotte is not your ideal QB but he's throwing when they put eight in the box against Adrian Peterson.

Random Thoughts on Fantasy Football 2008 - WEEK 5

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 15:36:00 +0000

Larry Johnson averaged 100 yards per game the last two weeks. Only problem is: He had 198 last week and 2 yds yesterday. 2!!! TWO!!! How pathetic is that?? Damon Huard looked ill-prepared for the game and it's killing Dwayne Bowe owners like me.

Hey Matt Cassel my apologies. I said you could not get Randy Moss the deep ball. You did yesterday in a nice win for the Patriots.

Sage Rosenfels cost his team the game with his fumbles with time running out. But if Schaub was too sick to play, why was he on the sidelines in full uniform? If you were using Schaub as a bye week fill-in, thought he was playing and then found out he wasn't, you got screwed.

The Colts are still not right. They are a couple of plays from 0-4 as opposed to 2-2. Eli is the bettter Manning QB right now, playing on the better team. At least the turnovers gave Reggie Wayne a chance to score the TD at the end of the game. The transfer of #1 receiver is complete. Marvin Harrison's age and injuries have made him the 2nd or 3rd option. But if you have him, you've got the play him.

Speaking of not right you can't tell me something is not right with LaDainian at this point. The Chargers lose again and his stat line is
12-35 rushing
5-22 receiving
I don't think you have any choice but to play him. You'll never get the value you want for him at this point, unless your trade partner is looking at LT2's reputation and not his current stats.

35 year old Isaac Bruce is still pulling down catches in Mad Mike Martz' system. Everyone thought Bryant Johnson would be the man, but Bruce knows this system and JT O'Sullivan trusts him.

Clinton Portis is fantasy RB stud for the year. He's been injury free the last few years and has played up to the potential he had when he left the Broncos. Jason Campbell has been very solid, but not spectacular in fantasy football terms. No turnovers and 4 straight wins.

I am very concerned about Calvin Johnson AKA MEGATRON and Roy Williams. WR talent can't overcome bad QB play and a bad O-line.

Santana Moss! Calling Santana Moss! Where are you? 0 catches. No stat line yesterday. Not even an end around...

Steve Slaton, you are the man. Third straight week of excellent fantasy football stats. 93 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Thanks for showing up too Andre Johnson. Hopefully you can stay off the injury list for an extended period time to put up the numbers you're capable of.

I'm officially on TO watch now. Did you see his press conference? His team won, but he only got two balls for 67 yds and a TD. He made a rambling statement about God and reality and didn't take any questions. He seemed like he was holding himself back because the Cowboys won and he really had no basis for complaining. And then during the game Jerry Jones comes to the sideline to talk to TO. For a guy whose team is 4-1, he sure looks disgusted...

Remember last post I said Cedric Benson was a player I would never draft again after screwing me last year. Benson has come back to haunt me again, signing with the Bengals to take away carries from Chris Perry, who I have in two leagues. Perry is not doing himself any favors, fumbling again yesterday and has a total of 5 for the year. I'm getting reeaaallly close to dumping Perry....

Fantasy Football Players You Love to Hate

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:27:00 +0000

Who have you determined you will NEVER draft in any of your leagues.

I mean EVER...

Maybe you can't even define what it is you don't like about that player.

Maybe you hate their

-personalities on and/or off the field
-injury risk
-the way they look at the camera when giving an interview
-the way their drug arrest/suspension/dogging it killed your team
-the way they breathe

It could be anything. The reasoning could be completely irrational. They could be the best player available but you could not live with your team for 4 months if you had to draft him.

Here's my list:

Jeremy Shockey
Big mouth, oft injured Shockey will never see one of my teams. He swears he is a team player but doesn't come on the sidelines during the Super Bowl and whines about not being involved in the offense. His Giants' teammates say they are not better without him, but we all know they were saying that to save face. They won 11 road games on the way to winning the Super Bowl and started this year 3-0. Oh yeah and now he's injured in New Orleans. Expected. The true meaning of addition by subtraction.

Randy Moss
Moss has never had significant history of injury, but I always felt one good hit and he will snap in half. Dogging it in Oakland did not help your cause either. If Matt Cassel doesn't get you the ball, how long before you explode? The countdown begins...

Deuce McAllister
By all accounts a great guy and teammate. But those knees...I was tempted to pick you up this week after your 73 yards and TD but I thought better of it. Can't risk it.

Cedric Benson
I took a huge gamble on Benson last year and he absolutely screwed me. Ended up in 11th place out of 12 teams. Half assed running with Chicago and his run-ins with the law make him persona non grata on any of my teams. Only fitting that he signed with the Bungles this week.

Steve Smith
A mighty mite with a temper. Nothing worse than that. Maybe a "teammate" that will sucker punch you at practice is worse. Smith puts up great numbers, but there is something about this cat that I just can't draft him. I have a personal bias against smallish receivers. I know they put up numbers, but that's my thing. Get that counseling brah!

Dishonorable Mention
Terrell Owens has always been a fantasy favorite for me and I have him on a team right now. But man TO shut the @#$! up!! Please. If you think the media is going to "misinterpret" what you say then don't say anything at all. Cause it sounded to me like you wanted the ball more than the 1/3 of the offensive plays you were involved in or targeted with last week. You even got a couple of handoffs from the backfield. If you don't want to be perceived as a selfish ingrate, don't say things that can be perceived as such. We all still remember you yapping behind Donovan on the sidelines in Philly and then getting suspended. How about the situps in the driveway? The "almost" suicide reports? Ridiculous.

Fantasy Football...Would You Kill Over A Loss?

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:49:00 +0000

I love Fantasy Football.

Would I threaten someone over it? Probably not...

But I'm not this guy.

Fantasy Football Player Threatens to Kill Roommate

Random Thoughts on Fantasy Football 2008 - WEEK 4

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:01:00 +0000

Larry Johnson, maybe you're not washed up after all. Fantasy beast this weekend. Damon Huard made all the difference in this game. Herm, what took you so long to figure this out?

Denver DEF/ST = HORRIBLE

So I think Brett Favre digested more of the playbook this past weekend. 6TDs. The Jets DEF/ST didn't come out of the locker room after halftime however. Chad who, Laveranues Coles?

Make sure you have backup plans for Carson Palmer. His elbow issue may linger and he has not sounded too confident on returning this week.

Michael Turner, what is your deal with road games? Fantastic at home, muy mal on the road so far. Oh wait, you played KC and Detriot at home. That explains it.

Miles Austin? I may start believing last week wasn't a fluke.

Terrell Owens, you were targeted in a third of Dallas' offensive plays and you're still complaining. You're a first ballot Hall of Famer but you still haven't learned your lesson from Philly. STFU and play!

I believe in you Jason Campbell. Nice turnaround from your deer in the headlights play Week1. Hey Santana Moss, try not to get get injured!

Welcome back Steven Jackson! Now with Linehan gone, who's going to be your QB next week. I would suspect it's back to Marc Bulger. Jim Haslett needs to do something with that Rams DEF/ST. It just plain stinks!

If you own any Packer WR hope that Aaron Rodgers can play this weekend. You've got two true rookies behind him. Watch that situation this week closely.

Kurt Warner threw for over 450 yards. He also had 3 INTs and 3 fumbles. Kurt time to take off those gloves!

Waiver Wire Potential

Deuce McAllister, NO
Wow! A Deuce sighting! 73 yards and a TD. I'm still wary of his injury history.

Steve Breaston and Jerheme Urban, AZ
I know...I know...Jerheme who???? I would seriously doubt Anquan Boldin is going to play this weekend. Monitor that situation but look for Breaston or Urban on your waiver wire. Urban might have only gotten into the game bacause the Cards were down by 35 and they started using 4 WR sets.

Melwelde Moore, PIT
After Ray Lewis put a crazy pop on Mendenhall, he's out for the season. Moore is the last RB standing for the Steelers until Willie Parker comes back. UPDATE - PIT signed Najeh Davenport today. Davenport might start or split carries with Moore. Davenport has also been in the Steeler system for a long time before being cut.

Miles Austin, DAL
Tony Romo throws the ball all over despite what TO says. Worth a flier.

Lance Moore and Robert Meachem, NO
If you didn't pick them up last week, you might still have chance after nice performances by each this week.

Plaxico Burress, Fantasy Football Fool of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:04:00 +0000

Of course the year I pick up Plaxico Burress after his years of being injury prone - he starts the year 100% healthy, puts up decent numbers - AND - get suspended by the Giants for insubordination!!

WTF?!?!?!

Plax, you're a Super Bowl champ. You got the new, freshly signed contract you've been whining about for awhile. What is your problem?????

Giants are on a Week 4 bye, but now Amani Toomer and Steve Smith are good pickups. Even Domenik Hixon in a deep league.

Trent Green starts for Marc Bulger in St. Louis this week. Not sure if that makes a difference. Steven Jackson owners like me certainly hope it makes some difference.

Some other waiver wire potential

Rashard Mendenhall, PIT - Now that Fast Willie is out for at least this coming week

LeRon McClain, BAL - Whenever I hear the name McClain I think of "Die Hard"...but I digress... Willis McGahee is back but who knows how long he'll stay healthy and McClain is getting TDs

Steve Slaton, HOU - He's probably gone but if he's there...

Brandon Lloyd, CHI - Seems to be Orton's top receiving option at this point

Pierre Thomas, NO - Reggie Bush will see alot of action receiving and I'm not sure what the problem is with Deuce McA, but Thomas could be the beneficiary

Lance Moore, Robert Meachem, NO - With Colston and Shockey out, somebody has got to catch passes

Killer of Fantasy Football Dreams - The Bye Week

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:34:00 +0000

In one league I had Thomas Jones and my opponent had Brett Favre and Vincent Jackson.

I was leading by 16.

When I saw Favre got picked twice I thought I had a shot. When TJones I fumbled, I knew I was in trouble.

Favre had 3TDs, 2 INTs. Vincent Jax had 70+ yds receiving. I lost by 10.

Making me 2-1 in one league and 3-0 in the other.

This coming weekend begins the NFL byes. You must work the waiver wire tonight if you have the following teams:

Detroit,Indianapolis,Miami,N.Y. Giants,Seattle,New England

Some inexperienced owners get hosed during the bye weeks because they pick up all their running backs with Week 6 byes and then don't have any replacements.

If you've properly drafted you have at most one stud player out per week and/or have a suitable replacement ready and able to go off the bench.

If you don't, I'll have some options for you next post...

Random Thoughts on Fantasy Football 2008 - WEEK 3

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:17:00 +0000

Maybe Ronnie Brown has fully recovered from his knee surgery? Just wondering...

I just enjoyed that the Dolphins put 38 points on the Pats considering that they killed so many teams last year without mercy. Teams don't fear the Pats without Brady. Look for alot more teams to give NE "the business".

The unusual formations had NE completely confused. Ronnie Brown under center? Chad and Ricky split out wide? WTF!? That may not work again, but they got the victory they wanted.

Randy Moss owners, time to worry. Cassel is not going to get the ball to him on deep passes.

I turn to the Steelers/Eagles game and I see Kevin Kolb in there. Where is Donovan?!?! He comes back in after Kolb has a couple of plays but now I make sure I have a decent backup QB. This was my fear about taking McNabb - injury prone. Same with Westbrook, who left with a ankle sprain and never came back. Bad news for the Eagles - and me!

I may have prematurely called the demise of Carson Palmer with the decent preformance he had, but one thing is still constant - the bad Bengals defense. Nice to see Chris Perry show up and not fumble. I had him on the bench though. Can't trust this offense yet...

What a turn around for Jason Campbell. 2 TDs yesterday and 2 weeks of excellent performances after looking completely lost Week 1 against the Giants.

Besides Westbrook and McNabb, the notable injury I heard of was Jon Kitna. Left the game with a sprained knee. Lions have a Week 4 bye, but I have no idea who the backup QB is. I have big hopes for Calvin Johnson AKA MEGATRON. He and Roy Williams had nothing going yesterday. Rudi Johnson did have a pretty good game, but I'm sure not many people started him. We'll see what comes out of their bye week.

Trent Edwards had another nice performance. He spreads it around so you can't key in on one Bills' WR for waiver wire claim. Bills DEF/ST doing well also. Bills are 3-0.

I don't believe in Larry Johnson yet even after 100+ yards because I don't believe in his QB. Herm, why is Damon Huard on the bench still? Meantine Thigpen is killing Dwayne Bowe and Tony Gonzalez owners.

I'll be watching the Jets @ Chargers closely tonight. How effectively will LT2 play? What will Darren Sproles do? Will Brett Favre be unleashed? Will Thomas Jones get back on track? I have TJones in two leagues so I need some points. Brett, you need to handoff early and often!

Random Thoughts on Fantasy Football 2008 - WEEK 2

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:37:00 +0000

Javon Walker: You played in the game but had no catches???

LaDainian Tomlinson: You are no longer first pick, first round draft material. LT I hope you prove me wrong because we are only two weeks in. But if Darren Sproles is on your waiver wire, get him immediately. I was looking at the replay of his touchdown and I thought they sped up the replay. It was real speed and he looked like he was much faster than anyone else on the field.

Brandon Marshall: A beast. 18 catches, 166 yds, 1 TD. Could be the number #1 fantasy football receiver by year's end.

Tom Brady: Losing Tom Brady is not the end of the world for your fantasy team. If you're depending on one player to carry you to the championship, you've lost already. If your league's Tom Brady owner has given up hope, see what you can get for his/her prime players.

Jason Campbell: I don't know what happened to him this past week, but whatever it is, keep doing it. Haven't seen the game yet but the numbers show he was much sharper than last week's dismal showing.

Kurt Warner: Still got it when he's healthy and has protection. Arizona's DEF/ST still middle of pack, which means lots of shootouts and high scoring games. Great for Warner, Fitz and Boldin.

Players Looking Like Shells Of Their Former Selves
Larry Johnson
Marvin Harrison
David Garrard

Players to Look For on the Waiver Wire
Fred Jackson, BUF
Darren Sproles, SD
Michael Bush, OAK

Ravens/Texans Postponed

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 01:15:00 +0000

If you have Ravens or Texans in your fantasy football starting lineups for tomorrow, take them out.

Due to Hurricane Ike, the game for tomorrow, and then for Monday night, was finally rescheduled to November 9.

Which means there could be some dead weight in your starting lineup.

There may be some waiver wire work that needs to be done tonight and tomorrow morning.

More Random Thoughts on Fantasy Football 2008 - WEEK 1

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 12:29:00 +0000

Darren McFadden left last night's game with a shoulder injury. This could be nothing, I have not seen the reports yet. But this was the knock on him coming out of college, that he was a high injury risk. Look for Justin Fargas as a pickup or even Michael Bush on the waiver wire this week.

Javon Walker, I knew I didn't trust you. Scratched from the game because of a hamstring injury. How many fantasy football owners took you on name reputation alone in their drafts? How many had you in their lineups last night?

On the flipside, Eddie Royal looks like a legitimate player and not just a one week fill-in for suspended Brandon Marshall. With Marshall coming back next week and Jay Cutler playing extremely well, this could be the next high powered offense in the NFL.

Fantasy Football owners - heed this lesson - NEVER, EVER depend on a Bronco running back....unless it is a flex position on your roster.

Random Thoughts on Fantasy Football 2008 - WEEK 1

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:34:00 +0000

Dante Rosario???

Ouch Tom Brady! Is Matt Cassell you reincarnated circa 2001? We're about to find out... This is going hurt all those folks who picked Randy Moss in the first round.

Hey, Matt Ryan! Thank Burner Turner for making you relevant. And Jerious Norwood, how many touches will you get next week?

Alot of people shied away from McNabb because he was without his two "top" WRs. No matter! Donovan throws it over the field. If you need a WR, which Eagle do you pick up?

Peyton Manning looked all out of sorts. Jeff Saturday, get well soon. He said he was fine in the post game press conference, but something isn't completely right. He never rides the bike during a game - had to keep the knee loose.

Dante Rosario???

I mentioned Joseph Addai was seemingly always dinged up. He took a hit that required the Colts to burn a timeout. Yo Joe, man up son!

Matt Forte...please make us all forget the abomination that was Cedric Benson.

Tony Romo, TO, Marion Barber and now Felix Jones. Dallas trying to redeem themselves from last year's playoff loss.

Braylon Edwards, you got to stop dropping all those passes. You left alot of fantasy points on the field.

Dante Rosario???

More after tonight's games....

Fantasy Football - Finally

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:03:00 +0000

As I write this there is less that 5 hours until the kickoff of the 2008 NFL /Fantasy Football season! - I don't count Thursday's game, that is just the appetizer before the main course - Sunday's 13 games!

Finally we can

stop watching preseason games that don't count

stop watching preseason games that don't count where players get hurt

stop reading every fantasy football magazine printed back in MAY

stop listening to people (myself included) predict what is going to happen to this player and that team

Finally we get down to the sport we love football and the fantasy football we have become addicted to.

Finally!

Fantasy Football - Productivity Drain?? NOT!

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:09:00 +0000

I've seen so many articles on Fantasy Football destroying corporations and ruining lives. OK, I exaggerate but these articles make it seem like the "hours" lost will transform into some major money lost.

Just a sample...

When Fantasy Football Gets In the Way of Work - MSNBC

Fantasy football in the office: morale boost or foul play? TheState.com

Dear Boss: Let Us Play Fantasy Sports - Boston Herald

My philosophy has always been if the work gets done it's not going to hurt. How much productivity is drained by

smoking breaks
talking on the phone for personal reasons
lounging by the water cooler

I think it is unreasonable for these analysts to think that workers are 100% efficient. And any efficiency could be made up by the camaraderie built between coworkers. Here's the chance for the lowly underling to talk to the CEO. Make work fun and interesting and people will work harder. Cause and effect.

Analysis of a Fantasy Football Draft - Part II

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:41:00 +0000

This is a 12 team, PPR. I had the 12th pick. Listed in order of pick.

Terrell Owens

Reggie Wayne

My first two picks will either be a stroke of genius and validate getting away from RBs or show that the running back is still king of fantasy football. The running backs still available at this point that were viable options were Larry Johnson, Ryan Grant and Willis McGahee.

Drew Brees

Drew killed me last year in one league when he got off to a bad start. Still finished with over 4000 yds, but that didn't help me as I started off the season 1-3.

Thomas Jones

They must respect Favre's arm now right? Right??

Fred Taylor

I'm pinning alot of hopes on a 32 year old running back. Maybe the 5th round was too early to take him, but wasn't much else of there. Fred, try to stay out of police custody in the meantime, OK?

Calvin Johnson

I think I got great value for MEGATRON in the 6th round.

Chris Perry

Now that Rudi is gone Perry will get carries. He just has to stay healthy.

Ricky Williams

Ricky has looked good in the preseason. Parcells and company would not have signed him to a contract extension if he wasn't doing something right.

David Patten

Marques Colston is usually dinged up in this high powered offense. Take the second best option.

Darren Sproles

LT is getting older and Sproles is the sparkplug that could get carries along with Jacob Hester.

Steelers D

I'm going to reconsider that, considering the Steelers have the hardest schedule based on last year's win-loss percentages.

Matt Schaub

Could be a fine pick in round 12 only if he and Andre Johnson stay healthy. Big if.

Josh Brown

Kicker. Nuff said.

LJ Smith

McNabb throwing to him. Can't be all that bad for the last pick.

Analysis of a Fantasy Football Draft

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 22:18:00 +0000

This is a 12 team, standard scoring league. I had the 5th pick. Listed in order of pick.

Steven Jackson
No way I could pass up SJax after he signed his contract. No need to be disgruntled this year.

Larry Fitzgerald
Consistent top 10 WR since coming into the league. Risk on his QB now that Kurt Warner has been named starter. Warner is an injury waiting to happen.

Plaxico Burress
I'm hoping Plax can stay healthy. The Giants are a run team, but when Eli throws, he's their best option.

Thomas Jones
A little less risky this year with defenses having to respect Brett Favre. He has to do better than the 1 rushing and 1 receiving TD he had last year.

Dwayne Bowe
The best of the rest of the WR pool. Shaky QB situation but he had the same circumstances last year and put up nice numbers.

Donovan McNabb
I talked about McNabb in an earlier post as being an injury risk. Don't hurt me this year Donovan!

Fred Taylor
Another injury risk but Maurice Jones Drew had a ankle sprain in preseason. C'mon Fragile Fred hold it together this year. NEWS FLASH from Fantasy Football Mastermind - Fred Taylor was arrested for disorderly conduct! WTF is wrong with you Fred?????

Justin Fargas
The Raydaz will have to run and Darren McFadden looks to be a superior talent, I'll take his backup just in case.

Chris Perry
This could be the steal of the draft as Rudi Johnson was cut today by the Bengals. Perry has his own injury issues and could be timesharing with Kenny Watson.

James Hardy
Probably took him too early but a flyer on an up and coming offense. Good size but has had some injuries in the offseason.

Steve Slaton
Another potential steal as Chris Brown was placed on IR. Slaton only has Ahman Green, who is a walking medical report, and Chris Taylor in front of him. I like his chances.

Jon Kitna
With Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson aka MEGATRON to throw to, he should have a decent year. Need to cut the picks and up the TDs.

Eagles DEF/ST
Blitzing crew with Asante Samuel now for some INTs.

Mercades Lewis
The hot flyer TE of the moment. We'll see.

Jason Elam
Kicker in a dome in ATL.

First Fantasy Draft Under My Belt for the Season

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:08:00 +0000

I'll have a detailed post later but here are a few things that show the unpredictability of any draft. You never know who is going to do what in what round.

Eli Manning in the 2nd Round!

Marc Bulger not drafted!

Jason Witten in the 6th Round!

Where Do You Draft the Suspended?

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:45:00 +0000

Chris Henry just resigned with the Bengals and is out for the first 4 games.

Brandon Marshall is out for 2-3 games, depending on if he goes to counseling.

Steve Smith is out for a game.

The nature of fantasy football says that you must win now, much like the real NFL. You can't go down 0-3 in a 12 or 14 team league.

Fighting your way back means getting on a streak to finish 8-5 or 7-6 at season's end. Not impossible, but the odds are stacked against you.

You've got to focus on drafting guys who are going to start right away, Week 1.

So where so you draft these guys?

I say it depends on your number of starting WRs, and how many reserve players you can hold.

Marshall is a beast and I believe is going to have an excellent year. I am looking at him in the 3rd-4th round. Because the latest he can come back is Week 4, he'll be right in time for the first week of byes.

FYI - Week 4 Byes are Lions, Colts, Dolphins, Patriots, Giants, Seahawks

Henry is a nice downfield option for the Bengals and may play a more significant role now that Ocho Cinco separated his shoulder and TJ is nursing his own injuries. Great talent, just can't stay out of trouble. 4th-5th round for me.

I never liked Steve Smith. He puts up numbers, I'll give him that, but I like to draft WRs with size, like TO, Santonio Holmes, Plaxico, who can fight off and outjump the generally smaller cornerbacks. But if you like him I would say 2nd-3rd round since he's only going to miss one game.

My Top 6 Questions for Fantasy Football This Year

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:07:00 +0000

One of the joys of fantasy football is that there are are so many combinations of lineups you can create. Your pick in Round 1 will determine what the next person picks and someone else does in Round 5. I like the possibilities that one choice can make you legendary in your league, or make you the laughing stock of the league.

#1 - Can Tom Brady Repeat?

50 TDs is a hard number to match, most people would be ecstatic if he hit 35-40. More concerning are the injuries he seems to be piling up. Late last year it was the ankle, now he seems to have another ding on his leg. If they were successful last year I don't see why wouldn't continue throwing the ball. Which means this year I'm not touching any NE RB. Which one do you take? They have 5 now.

#2 - Will WRs Overtake RBs as the most valuable commodity in drafts?

Two reasons for this question - the prevelance of PPR leagues and RBBC. I talked about this in an earlier post and I'm trying to think of a team that has one primary back that will get the bulk of carries. Off the top of my head

San Diego
NY Jets
Buffalo
Kansas City
Indy
Philadelphia
Washington
Dallas - we'll see about Felix Jones
St. Louis - If he ever gets to camp

So that's 25% of 32 teams. Which means that when you take a flyer on a RB in the later rounds, you hoping for (I hate to say this) injury, suspension or poor play so your guy can get a chance.

I've got to see if I can find the number and percentage of touches for RBs on a team. What would be a good percentage? 60%? 70%?

#3 - Is Michael "The Burner" Turner for real?

ATL didn't bring over Turner to be the backup to Jerrious Norwood. He's going to be the man for the Falcons, and with M Vick playing prison yard football and iffy QB play, they are going to lean on the running game.

#4 - What's up with the Cincinnati offense?

Carson Palmer seems to be OK. TJ is OK. Rudi Johnson, not sure. Chris Perry might be running hard enough to take Rudi's job. Chad Johnson had a dislocated shoulder this past weekend, so we are not sure about him. The Bengals are even talking about resigning Chris Henry because they can't get any decent #3 WR play.

#5 - What's up with the Arizona offense?

I hated when Whisenhunt decided to take Leinart out and put in Kurt Warner for certain situations last year. I didn't have either one of them on any of my teams, but what kind of managing is that? Why even bother put him in to start? I would pissed off if I was was Leinart. If I'm the QB I should the QB the entire game unless bad play or injury take me out. And Edgerrin James has hit the magic 30 years, which means his production should fall. He was serviceable last year but not great.

#6 - Can Mad Mike Martz work his magic in San Fran?

JT O'Sullivan??? But he looks to be the 49ers starting QB. I liked Sean Hill coming into the year over Alex Smith, but with Martz's new offense , JT has the edge because he was with Martz before and knows the system. The real question is how does this effect Frank Gore? Does he become the new Marshall Faulk? Can Frank Gore stay healthy the entire season? I do like Bryant Johnson and Isaac Bruce in later rounds. Johnson never got a chance to shine behind Fitz and Boldin in Arizona.

Drafting Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:19:00 +0000

I'm picking 5th in a non-PPR and 12th in a PPR.

I've been going back and forth about my strategy in picking players for each league.

For the 5th pick - Non PPR
Tough one. LT and AP will be gone. Westbrook too. I'm not sold on Addai. Steven Jackson is not in camp. I might go with...Marion the Barbarian!

There is something to be said about picking the #1 RB in one of the best offenses in the league. Steven Jackson if he is there, is in a contract year and has everything to prove after a season where the Rams were dismal. But I'm really getting concerned about this holdout. Could he feasibly miss the start of the season...the entire season???

Marc Bulger is a injury waiting to happen. If he goes down...well trouble. 8 in the box for SJax. Quick name the Rams backup QB. Yeah I thought so. There is a reason why you can't.

For the 12th pick - PPR
All the top tier running backs will be gone. As well as Brady and Moss. I'm thinking two top tier wide receivers.

Running back by committee rules. So does it make sense with the 12th pick to grab a RB you could get in round 3-4 with comparable numbers. There are only a limited number of top flight WRs too. PPR means those WRs get 5-10 more points each week also. It also means they won't be as consistent as your RB. It could go like this

WK1
8 Catches, 165 Yards, 2 Touchdowns

WK2
3 Catches, 77 Yards, 0 Touchdowns

Decisions, decisions....

Mock Fantasy Football Drafts

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:23:00 +0000

Found a great site for Fantasy Football drafts:

Fantasy Football Calculator

They have drafts starting every few minutes, you can pick your draft slot to simulate your own live draft and have a nice interface that lists the players by position and expected point production.

No registration needed. Just go the site and start drafting.

Very nice!

Brett The Jet

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:40:00 +0000

The New York papers said it all today and they both said the same thing...

JET FAVRE!

Until I see Brett Favre in a news conference with the Mangenius and GM Tannenbaum with a Favre Jets jersey, I won't believe it. Because we all know how wishy washy and indecisive Brett Favre can.

He may wake up this morning and say "WTF?! I'm going to the JETS??????"

Can you imagine that?

And now he's in New York so the media would hound him from sun up to sundown...like they weren't planning to do that already.

What Is Your Drafting Strategy?

noreply@blogger.com (brian) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:05:00 +0000

That is the REAL question, in a year when more teams are going RBBC - Running Back By Committee - the two stud running backs in the first two rounds may not be the ideal. So what do you on draft day?

Most would agree the first 5 picks of the draft in a standard or PPR scoring league are pretty straightforward...

LaDainian Tomlinson
Adrian Peterson
Brian Westbrook
Steven Jackson
Joseph Addai

Then spot 6 - what do you do?

Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Marion Barber, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore - these are all names I've seen in the 6-7-8-9 spots in the first round.

Decisions, decisions....

First make sure you know your league rules. PPR, Non PPR, 6 or4 or 3 point per touchdown pass, etc, etc.

Use resources like Fantasy Football Mastermind. Wherever you can get great research, use it to formulate a strategy on who to take. With that don't get locked in on a particular player. Have a group of 3-4 you would have taken at that point in the draft in case the person right before you takes your guy.

Find mock drafts online and USE them. They are helpful in getting you comfortable when you see a certain player taken and knowing who your next best option is. I was never a fan of mock drafts until recently and found myself using them, taking an odd player and then seeing what everyone else (or the computer picker) would do.

Feel out the other owners in your league. You keep your mouth shut, but let others talk. Is someone hot for one particular player(s)? Make mental notes.

But even the best laid plans can be laid to the wayside by injuries, injuries to other players on your fantasy player's real NFL team, subpar performances, arrests, suspensions. You never can tell. But if you do a little study and keep your wits about you, you can put yourself in the best position to win.