I like the pick-by-pick post-mortem. It’s fun to see how someone else was thinking baout things. I think I’ll do the same, after I get home tonight.
Oh, and sorry aboutthe 2 defenses thing. I thought you could tell we were being sardonic. Damn java windows never convey the tone of voice properly.
Well, since everyone else is doing it…
Ricky Williams, RB, Mia.: It was really tough to decide between him and Garcia, but I’m a firm believer in strong runningbacks. I may regret not having a strong QB later, but I just think that Norm Turner as Off. Coor. for the Dolphins is an omen of career numbers for Williams.
Anthony Thomas, RB, Chi.: Corey Dillon was taken right before me, which would have made me wet myself. However, Thomas is a strong back, and will be featured more this year with less FB leeching.
Steve McNair, QB, Tenn.: I think I took him way too soon, but the rush on QBs left me panicking. McNair will put up good, not great, numbers with a healthy Eddie George on the roster. Made a mental note to pick up a solid backup earlier than normal.
Kevin Johnson, WR, Cle.: Someone was questioning this pick, but he was at the top of the remaining WRs on my list. I really wanted Moulds, but he was taken 2 spots ahead, and would have been taken 1 round ahead if he’d lasted. KJ will put up great numbers this year as Couch matures and the Browns head to the playoffs. I considered Chambers, but he needs to prove himself before I’d take him as anything but a WR2.
Troy Brown, WR, NE: I consider Troy the most underrated WR in the game. He’s not an elite WR, but he’s consistent. I don’t think A. Smith will have nearly the year he did last year, and Brown will shine. His return abilities are just gravy.
Travis Henry, RB, Buf.: I was thinking about Barber here, but the Bills look poised to do something good this year. Henry will put up some solid numbers as my flex back.
Shannon Sharpe, TE, Den.: Was really suprised to see 6 TEs go before Sharpe (Walls and Shockey were ranked well below Sharpe on my list). He’s aging, but this isn’t a keeper league - I expect Griese to use him well this year. Great value at Rd. 7.
James Thrash, WR, Phi.: Another great backup. Can fill in as a backup flex, until Barlow takes over the RB job in SF. McNabb doens’t have too many targets, and this guy’s his #1.
Kevin Barlow, RB, SF: With all due respect to Garrison Hearst, Barlow is the future of the SF running game, and that future should start around Week 5.
Philadelphia, DEF: After 7 defenses being taken starting in Round 7, I figured now would be the time. Philly’s defense is nothing spectacular, but they were ranked #3 on the list I made. Of course, after Chicago, Washington, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, they’re all the same.
Kordell Stewart, QB, Pit.: I was suprised to not see an earlier run on backup QBs. There weren’t too many starting WRs or RBs on the board, so this was the perfect time. Sans any future concussions, Stewart could be taking the starting job away from McNair on this team. I like to see my bench players constantly putting pressure on the starters, as it keeps them honest.
Adam Vinatieri, K, NE: I hate kickers.
Koren Robinson, WR, Sea.: Somewhat of a sleeper pick. Was out on injury last year, and has great potential. If he doesn’t pan out, someone has to be waived when my kicker/TE/defense is on a bye week.
Troy Hambrick, RB, Dal.: As someone in the draft said, there’s no love for Emmitt.
Dante Stallworth, WR, NO: If there’s anything I hate more than kickers, it’s rookie WRs. He could be an Isaac Bruce to Aaron Brooks’ Kurt Warner. Or not.
In other news, jarbabyj, please check your e-mail again.
Well, being as we’re all fantasy football geeks here who actually have a tendency to think about this stuff too much, I’ll join in.
1. Kurt Warner. Do I really need to explain this pick? There was some mild Ahman Green temptation there, but when you can obtain someone that instantaneously means big numbers week after week and no worries about the QB position, you go for it. (Hold out, thumb, hold out.) Plus, I have sort of a personal attachment to the guy. I stumbled across him on the waiver wire just before the season started in his rookie year, after my QB went down in Week 1 or 2. Breezed to a championship, and have every other year I’ve had him.
2. Stephen Davis Clearly the best available RB. I was expecting a few more RBs to be available at this point, but there were a few less WRs and QBs taken in Round 1 and the early part of Round 2 than I expected.
3. David Boston The numbers don’t lie. Though it was difficult to pass on both Holt AND Bruce, offering double-TDs whenever Warner throws to them. The TDs are too evenly divided among Warner’s myriad receivers, and you never know which one is going to be up one year and down the next. For example, Holt didn’t do too great for me last year, in the exact same situation (though he did in the playoffs). Don’t have to worry about Boston getting the bulk of his team’s aerial TDs.
4. Olandis Gary You know a RB in Denver’s system is going to rack up stats. Just hoping he ends up being The Man and not Portis.
5. DeShaun Foster An admitted reach here, but for some reason, at the time, I didn’t expect for him to be available when I picked again, and I wanted him. He’s dinged, but when he’s available, in about Week 4, he will be Carolina’s starter. And I’m fairly sure he’s going to be a star.
6. Emmitt Smith. Two other backs I wanted at this point, Jamal Lewis and Garrison Hearst, are gone (Hearst on an auto-pick just in front of me). Emmitt will still be productive in Dallas, particularly with the TDs.
7. Peerless Price. I am wavering between him and Marty Booker here for my WR stable. But (as seemingly always) you wonder who will be throwing the ball in Chicago, and how well. I expect Bledsoe to do well in Buffalo. Ergo, so will Peerless (and Moulds, for that matter).
8. Marty Booker. Surprise, surprise, surprise. Why yes; I will take a rising star at WR with the 8 pick!
9. Green Bay defense. Far and away the best left. If I go much farther on waiting to get my D, I will be left with junk. (Still grumbling that we won’t have individual defensive players this year. Who prefers this way? And why?)
10. Danny Wueffel Another hopeful pick. It appears he’s going to be the QB in Washington. And judging by Washington’s pre-season performances, Spurrier’s offense is going to do some things. Of course, if Warner stays healthy, who my backup QB is really only matters one week of the season.
11. Donald Driver Yes, he could go either way. With Freeman’s departure, I’m expecting more opportunities for him in Green Bay - with one of the best QBs around throwing to him, too. I think he’s going to emerge. Either way, it’s worth the risk at 11.
12. Tyrone Wheatley - It’s maddening how Oakland splits the loads with their RBs. But Wheatley is always pretty productive, and may be moreso under a new coach. You’ve gotta believe he’ll get the bulk of the short-yardage, red-zone opportunities. And he’s some insurance depth at RB, in case Gary isn’t the man in Denver, and Foster’s injury is worse than expected. A quality pick at 12.
13. Brett Conway. A perrenial upper-tier kicker, in an offense that’s going to do things this year.
14. Cam Cleeland. I was a little freaked at having not taken a TE with only two rounds left in the draft. But when I took Conway, I saw that both Cleeland and Jay Riemersma were still available. Would have been happy with either, and I crossed my fingers. Cleeland did good things in NO, and I expect he will get some use in the Pat offense.
15. Ricky Proehl. I considered taking a second defense here, but thought I might as well take a gamble that Proehl will emerge in the Ram’s offense this year, and still give me that double-TD thing with Warner. I’ll deal with Green Bay’s bye week (as well as the one for my kicker) when I get to it, via the waiver wire.
I don’t feel quite as confident as I did going into some past years. And I see some teams did very well (The Continental Drifters draft caught my eye, for example.) But I think I’ll do fine, and contend.
Okay – my turn:
Shaun Alaxander (2): Second pick of the draft. Warner was a serious temptations, but I figured that I had better odds to find a strong QB with the next pick than an elite back. I like Alexander a bit better than Green, mostly because I think his skills are still climbing while Green has topped out. Injury concerns for Warner and Green balanced out any worries ove rthe offensive tackle situation in Seattle. Besides, the interior line is studly and Alexander runs the inside trap as well as anyone in the league.
Fred Taylor (23): Change in plans. The QB run went early, so the top 6 were all gone. Brooks and Gannon were both still around, and I knew I’d be happy with either. Brooks has more upside, but Gannon is more reliable. Only one team to pick before it came back to me, so I cursed myself for a foll and took a top 5 runnner with a bottom 5 injury history. If karma works, then he owes me big numbers for last year. (Rod Smith was a serious temptation, here, but the list of available WR still looked deep. I took a gamble that some studs would be left when my turn came round again.)
Rich Gannon (26): The Hacks took Brooks, so I grabbed Gannon. It was a bit earlier for Gannon than I would have liked, but I knew he would never drop to me in round 4, and he was clearly the best QB remaining.
Chris Chambers (47): The WR run went early and hard. 13 left the board in 20 picks. The board was left with injuries, inconsistencies, untested youth, and 2nd receivers. I decided to go for youth and upside. Gardner, Chambers, and Burress were the three that intrigued most. I went with Chambers. He has better concentration and feel for the game than Burress and is more explosive than Gardner (though it was hard to pass up the best receiver in Spurrier’s new Funskins offense.)
Rod Gardner (50): Hacks grabbed Burress, so I took the third of my young risers, and I was happy to do so. Both of these picks were too early by straight value, but the run on WR’s dictated my course. I wish that I had been able to grab a more established top dog, but both have great upside and have established that they can get open against NFL corners.
Tiki Barber (71): Value pick. Best flex player left on the board. Liek Milo, I had been attentively watching Hearst’s slide. When he went off the board, Barber was my choice.
Charlie Garner (74): I had been hoping Portis would slide through Shib’s dual picks, but the Hacks grabbed him. Now I hope (just out of spite) that fumble-itis plagues him all season. Garner was another value pick. Yardage points accumulate at 15 per in this league, and Garner is a yardage monster. He also gives me a very small possibility of double points with Gannon, not enough to be a major factor but enough to tip the scales away from Dunn and Stewart. I like the reliable numbers of feature backs for flex positions, and I took another gamble here that another WR run would not decimate the top “second bananas” before I could find veteran support for my young guys. Because of the early runs on QB and RB, several teams still needed reliable RB depth.
Keenan McCardell (95): Halleluiah! For once, my patience was rewarded. Kickers and the top TEs were starting to fall, but I needed a solid veteran third WR more than anything. McCardell fit the bill perfectly, and he let me exercise just a little bit of homerism. I considered Galloway or one of the Chicago burners herer, but I don’t have faith in Quincy Carter and I still have no idea who other than Booker is going to be seeing chances in Chicago. Robinson, White, and Terrell might be scrambling for scraps all year (not to mention taking some away from Booker). I went with the safest bet on the WR board–I had already done my gambling.
Todd Heap (98): The TE’s had been hit pretty hard. So had kickers, but I think it’s easier to find a top third kicker on the waver wire than a top third TE. I didn’t have any of teh TE’s this year rated as unreserved studs. Middle tier tight ends all produce about the same numbers, and they are all unprediuctable week-to-week. It was a fine place to take another gamble on a young riser: Todd Heap it was. this pick was definitely a reach, with Lewis and Wycheck still on the board, but I took it anyway. Fantasy TE gets no love from me.
Hines Ward (119): Value pick, plus he gave me another reliable veteran behind my young wideouts. I expect his TD’s to go up this year, but even if they don’t his yardage potential makes him a value pick at the end of round 10.
(Besides, Milo had just grabbed Qeurffel, who was my pick for top backup QB, too.)
Tampa Bay D (122): The Hacks grabbed Johnson, who was my other targetted backup QB, so I filled teh defense spot with the best unit still available. I like the sack and turnover potential of the Bucs, though they have a disturbing tendancy to give up the occassional 40 point game.
Jamel White (143): A reach in round 12, but that’s what round 12 is for. White is making a strong case to start in front of William green in Cleveland. He put up a 200 total yard performance last year when given a chance behind James Jackson, and he has looked very sharp in preseason. In my other live draft league, I waited until the last pick to grab him, but with this group I was afraid someone else might be targetting him, too. Usually with my reach picks I aim for someone with huge upside compared to past performance. WHite fits that description perfectly.
Santana Moss (146): The other “deep sleper” that I had targetted for this year. Shib passed on him, so I grabbed him. I will be very surprised if both of these players are on my roster in week 8, but I would also be surprised if at least one of them is not. Let the dice roll in rounds 12 & 13.
Trent Dilfer (167): Time for a backup QB. Of those left on teh board, he has the most upside. He also, unfortunately, is coming off an injury and my starter has an early bye. Oh well, I am losing 5 players in week 3 anyway. I shouild have been mapping bye weeks all along, but this draft moved fast and I lost track until it was time to see when Gannon would be unavailable. If Dilfer isn’t back on track week 2, somebody is going to be getting an email!
Morton Anderson (170): Last team to chose a kicker. He’s still solid, despite being older than Moses, and now he kicks for the Chiefs. Still, chances are very good that he will not finish the season on my roster.
Milo – what do you mean we think abou this stuff too much? I can’t figure out how to parse that sentence.
(trumpets blare as Team Og enters the thread)
First off, I had a great time drafting, and I’m really excited to play
against you people this year. It already seems much more competitive this year than last (grrrrrr at iampunha), so it will be much more interesting. I just feel a little bad for poor WL and the mockery he had to endure. But I’m sure you are all waiting for my thoughts, so here goes:
1)Jeff Garcia: Quick quiz, which NFL quarterback had the most total TDs last year? No, not Warner. Which NFL QB ran for the most touchdowns last year. No, not McNabb or Culpepper, but this guy. How the hell the highest scoring QB of last year fall to me at #8, I don’t know, but I’ll tell you I’m estatic about it. As long as he remains injury-free, he’ll be a great point producer week after week.
2)Eddie George: I’m very high on Eddie this year. Some may say I’m very high for taking him before Edge and A-Train, but he’ll return to form as a top 5 running back. With a healthy toe, and a good offense around him, I don’t feel too bad about reaching for him in the second round, because Og knows he wouldn’t be there in the third.
3)Michael Bennett: Decision time. I opted to go with a RB who is a risk, but who also has a high upside. After Joe Horn went the pick before mine, I was tempted to grab Keyshaun, but figured he’d be there in the fourth round. Figured wrong…
4)Tony Gonzalez: OK, OK. Feel free to mock me, but in a mandatory TE league, this guy is golden. Holdout/sholdout, he’s a WR in TE clothing and there were no WR out that weren’t pretty much interchangeable.
5)Ed McCaffrey
6)Johnnie Morton
7)Mushin Muhammed
Time to start filling my WR corps. Beyond the top 10-12 WR, it's pretty much a crap-shoot, but I really like these three. If just one of them comes through big, I'll be in great shape. Ed is back, and with Rod Smith being a bit gimpy, he'll be in great shape coming back. Speaking of coming back, I was thrilled to get Mushin in the 7th round. Another year with the same QB, a potentially fine running game, and an end to his personal problems, all spell a return to a great year. Johnnie is my guy. I drafted him in every single league I'm in, and I think he'll be this years, Joe Horn. A guy who finally gets a #1 gig, and shines with it. Sure Gonzo will take a share of red zone touches, but I like Morton to surprise.
8)Jonathon Wells: He’ll be a starting RB by Week 4. Of course it’s with the lowly Texans, but maybe, just maybe, he’ll play a few weeks for me.
9)Nate Jacquet: No, I’m not an idiot. Nate is really Antonio Freeman in disguise. You could tell by the Groucho Marx glasses and mustache, couldn’t you. Freeman will need about 4 weeks to get into game shape, and then he’ll take the #1 WR job from Thrash. He knows the system, he knows the coach, and he’ll be McNabb’s guy this year. I can wait a few weeks before plugging him in to my starting lineup. I’m glad I got him so late.
10)Stacey Mack: 115, 111, 125, and 66 yards, and 3 touchdowns in the final four games of last year. Taylor isn’t going to last, and I got his adequate replacement.
11)R. Longwell: As Jarbaby will tell you, the Packers are going to put up some points this year, and Longwell will get a ton of them. He’ll come back after a down year last year.
12)San Diego: I have no clue why defenses went so early. Unlike most every other position, it’s a crap shoot on the points you get from defenses. These guys were my 7th best, but I can live with that.
13)Lamar Smith: After D.Foster’s injury, this guy will get the start in Carolina. Yet another comeback is needed, but I ain’t banking on it. He’s an emergency RB at best in my lineup, but he could surprise.
14)M.Brunell: Plays Houston on Garcia’s bye week. Enuf’ said.
15)Stephen Alexander: Has the build, talent, and skills to be a great TE. Just hasn’t put it together yet. This may be his year. He’s only on this team in case Gonzo doesn’t come back anyway.
Overall: With Garcia putting up the points each week, and Eddie returning to form, I’ll be just fine. I don’t have any sure studs at WR, but I don’t think I need it. My team is mostly comeback players, McCaffrey, Muhammed, George, Freeman, Longwell, L.Smith and if just one of them hit it big, I’ll be in great shape, and if two of them do, I’ll be winning this thing. I am also really pleased with the depth I have at the money positions. Can I win it all? Yes, but I need somebody to step forward.
I’ll post more about the other soon-to-be loser owners in this league later.
I don’t have time to go through all this right now (I have to go scout bars for my IRL FFL draft next week), but I just thought I’d say that you all look like Super Bowl contenders at this point in the year, depending on how things break. I hope you all break down the week that I play you, but Murphy’s Law says it’ll go the other way.
Now, for a few more thoughts:
I’m going to break down each team in my own special way, and make a couple predictions. You may want to bookmark this thread so you can laugh at what I say when the seasons is actually over. But being wrong never stopped me before, and it ain’t now.
Unskilled Hacks (ShibbOleth)
The Good - Marshall Faulk is Fantasy Football God. No choke on the first pick.
The Bad - Clinton Portis. You stole him from half the other players who had him as their sleeper. Of course, that means you may have reached…
The Ugly - Is that Bad Feet, Good Cheese, or your WR corps? Burress, Dyson, and Galloway are your top 3? I’m not convinced Burress is going to emerge this year.
Outlook: Any team with Marshall Faulk on it has a chance. And Shibbs has a better than average shot at the title.
Mundi’s Morning Blues (Spiritus Mundi)
The Good - Youth. Alexander, Chambers, and S.Moss are all young, and possibly good scorers.
The Bad - Todd Heap. Ravens are going to suck, and Heap will along with them.
The Ugly - Injuries. Fred Taylor couldn’t stay healthy in Healthy Square in Healthyville, Healthstate, in the Country of Healthyworld.
Outlook: Next year, this could be the best team ever assembled. This year, if Fred Taylor stays healthy (yeah, right!), and the youth matures, watchout for this team.
The Fightin’ Ferrets (Milossarian)
The Good - Warner, Davis, and Boston were the best combined first 3 picks made in this draft.
The Bad - Cam Cleeland? Danny Wuerffel? Donald Driver?
The Ugly - Foster and Gary coming back from recent injuries.
Outlook - This team is going to be tough to beat if Stephen Davis maintains his form from the last few years. If he doesn’t… could be a long year.
Shlby Shelbyvillians (Munch)
The Good - A good, deep, young RB crew. A-Train, Henry, Barlow, and Hambrick are all young, hungry, and likely quite talented.
The Bad - You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to. Troy Brown, Kevin Johnson, and James Thrash are either “Underrated” or just plain too inconsistent to make a big impact. I go with the latter.
The Ugly - Steve McNair is your starting QB.
Outlook - With this stable of RB, they look really good. If the WR crew is indeed underrated, then this team could be the one to beat. I don’t think so, but I’ve been wrong before.
St. Paul Lumberjacks (newton meter)
The Good - Potential. This team is loaded with it. Holmes making the step to elite fantasy back, Dillon stopping running hot and cold. Mason, Lewis, Jones, and Vick could all be great.
The Bad - Potential. That’s what it is right now.
The Ugly - Only 3 WR, one of them Donald “Purple” Hayes, means trouble.
Outlook - This team could either win this thing hands down, or stink up the place. We shall see.
Isotopes (pahles)
The Good - Bruce, Moulds, and Q.Ismael should be a great WR corps.
The Bad - Why use the Isotopes as a team name? Just go with “The Colts.”
The Ugly - Knees. Edge and Duce have bum knees, and there ain’t nobody backing them up.
Outlook - As the Colts go, so does this team. I fear they may be relying too much on injured knees. If everyone stays healthy though, they could easily compete.
WL ‘s Warriors (White Lightning)
The Good - RISKY
The Bad - RISKY
The Ugly - RISKY
Outlook - If everything goes right for this team, they could very well beat all the expectations of their owner. Tons of upside could win the league for these guys, but they need all the pieces to fit.
Og (Hamlet)
The Good - It’s all good.
The Bad - Michael Bennet is my #2 RB?
The Ugly - My ass, which is exactly what everyone else in the league will be watching as I pull away from the pack and establish my dominance.
Outlook - I picked ‘em, so I figure I did O.K. I need a couple of guys to re-emerge and I can win this.
Continental Drifters (Pantellerite)
The Good - The WR corps is the best in this league. With Owens, J. Smith, D.Jackson, and T. Glenn, this team rocks at WR.
The Bad - With the exception of CuMar, the RB’s are questionable. At least there are only 3 of them.
The Ugly - J.Smith’s holdout, T.Glenn’s injury, and T.Green’s interception bug could obliterate this team quickly.
Outlook - If Green does well, this will be a tough team to beat. Dunn is an adequate rb at best, but all-in-all a strong team.
**Austin Robot Monkeys **
The Good - Well balanced team, with solid if not spectacular players.
The Bad - Solid doesn’t always win in fantasy football.
The Ugly - Nothing too ugly.
Outlook - A completely respectable team that was in a tough spot picking from the 11 hole. Will be in contention, but needs a little more UMPH! if it wants to win it all.
Omni’s Omnipotents (Omniscient)
The Good - Two great wr in Moss and Brown.
The Bad - Taking Pollard in Round 4 scared me into taking Gonzo. Bad Boy!
The Ugly - LaDanian Tomlinson is the only RB worth a damn on this team. Alstot may hawk a few, but that’s it.
Outlook - Another solid team that didn’t have the benefit of an early pick. Needs another RB to contend.
Predictions:
Well, there you have it. All the fodder you need for an entire season of making fun of me. Use it wisely.
See you on Sundays!!!
Nice recap, Hamlet. But you left out jarbabyj, and a perfect opportunity to razz her about getting her loveslave. I agree with you on Garcia, my one regret is letting him slip past me. I think I would have taken him if I had the #6 pick.
That’s what I get for cutting and pasting from 2 different documents…
Sorry Jarbaby, but here’s yours:
Fists of Diesel (Jarbabyj)
The Good - The Autodraft worked well, giving you Ahman and Favre, and everybody knows, the more Packers the better
The Bad - everything after Round 4
The Ugly - everything after Round 4.
Outlook - A pretty good core of a team, but it needs a little help to push for the top. Favre might not have a great year after being exhausted every week after servicing jarbabyj’s womanly needs.
Just to set the record straight, I am the Robot Monkeys.
And with a Username like that the best you could come up with was Austin Robot Monkeys? Please don’t squander such potential next time around.
You give the autodraft short shrift. I think it gave Jarbaby one of the strongest lineups in the league. Sure, it went TE,K,D too early, but at least in her case it was 7-8-9 not Pollard in round 4. Her starting 9 are as strong as anyone’s. Holt and Rice match evreyone but Moss-Brown as a duo, and Hearst was a steal in round 6 (at least for the early part of the season). She doesn’t have a quality 3rd back, which will hurt her if Hearst loses playing time, but beyond that she is solid.
Youth indeed! Pah! Do you not see the ageless wonder Gannon dropping off a pass in the flat to Garner? Is not Keenan McCardell waiting to cross over the middle and show the kids how to make the clutch first down? Do I not have a placekicker who once personally dueled with Lou groza?
Still, you’re dead right that it all rests on taylor and at least one of the kids (Chambers, Gardner, Moss, Heap) coming up big. Well, if the Jints finally sit Danes melancoly butt down and ride the Tiki express that would help, too. My own picks:
Mundi’s Karmic Glory Taylor pays me back what he owes and I cruise to the championship.
Newton Meter has potential energy to spare. I think Holmes will stand tall, and one of Jones-Lewis-Duckett coming through gives him a stud 3rd back (my bet is Duckett). He’ll have to pick up another wideout, but they can be had.
Jarbaby/Milo/Shib/Hamlet I like them all, but with reservations for each.
Jarbaby needs depth at RB. If Green and Hearst stay healthy, she’s in the playoffs.
Milo needs a real second back. Foster-Smith-Gary with back-to-back picks left him more questions than answers.
Shib needs some receivers and a second back with upside (Bettis is on his last legs, and they’re starting to cramp.) I don’t believe in either Burress or Dyson, but Galloway has nice upside. If he or Portis comes through, that’ll be all the help Faulk and Brooks need.
Hamlet Garcia was a great pick, but I have serious doubts about George+Bennet as your top two backs. If Gonzo holds out, you’re through. If Gonzo returns to form, then you still need a back to come through big. Your receivers are more reliable than mine, but have significantly less upside. If a back and Gonzo deliver, you’ll be laughing at all of us. (Except me, if Taylor and one of my wideouts come through.)
Ugh, missed the damn draft. Luckily I’m not nearly as pissed at the autodraft as I was last year. And considering that I ended up in the final four last year, I’m not feeling too upset.
I have to patch a few holes on the waiver wire due to the late folley of the autodraft, and after I do I’ll chime in with my pick-by-pick coverage.
My chief concern is that I have no Bears to root for, and the damn computer took the Rams D before the Bears!!! Ahhhhh! Lets hope the Bills are able to build a passing game around Bledsoe, I’ve always liked this guy alot.
Well, like I said on the league board, I managed to sleep through the entire draft.
You know when they’re trying to find out if you’re an alcoholic, and they ask you if your drinking has ever interfered with your responsibilities or your day-to-day life? I’ve always been proud to answer that question with a resounding “no.” Today, however, I am ashamed to admit that I was too drunk Saturday night to remember that I was supposed to get up and draft my team Sunday morning. Which is especially shameful, as I have been looking forward to participating in this draft for so long. So the computer picked my whole team for me. I’ve been too frustrated with myself to show my face in this thread since.
I’ll do a pick-by-pick analysis of my team too (I struggled with the idea of doing this. I’m still not sure it’ll be worth the pain of looking at my roster again), but the slant will be slightly different. Oh, one last thing: I’m probably going to whine and moan about the auto-picks. I understand that I have no one to blame but myself for missing the draft, and it’s my own fault that the computer made me such dumb picks. Here goes.
1. Daunte Culpepper: Decent player. I never take a QB in the first round, although with the 8th pick and all the pickable first-rounder RBs already taken, I’m not sure what I would have done. However, I can say this: If it had been me picking a QB here, Team Og would not have seen Jeff Garcia slide to 9th. I mentioned earlier that I wanted to trade up, the idea was to get in position to take Ricky Williams. No one responded. I didn’t show up to the draft anyway. Oh well.
2. Deuce McAllister: This pick is just ludicrous. Deuce is a gigantic reach in round 2, not to mention the absolutely stunning fact that my computer somehow took him before Edgerrin James, Anthony Thomas, and Corey Dillon.
3. Joe Horn: Good player. I wouldn’t have picked him to be my #1 WR, considering all the questions around the Saints’ offense, but he’ll do. There certainly weren’t any WRs left that I’d have taken above him.
4. Michael Pittman: Questionable. Gruden loves using multiple backs, and he’s got the best back for a 2-back system in the NFL in Mike Alstott. I’d never have picked Pittman, and round 4 is a stretch. I’d have taken any of the WRs picked later in the round over him: Moulds, Mason, KJ. Again, though, he was probably the best of the remaining batch of backs, and having picked QB RB WR, taking another RB is a good call. My biggest gripe here is that he’s not one of ‘my’ players – I never considered taking him in any other drafts.
5. Amani Toomer: I despise this player. I hate him. I don’t want him on my squad. Note that this doesn’t mean I’ll trade him for garbage.
6. Byron Chamberlain: Sigh. The pitfall of the auto-drafter: TEs and Ks come too early and too often. This guy had good numbers last year, and he should score some TDs this year as Culpepper’s second look, but I prefer loading up on solid position players early and taking sleepers at TE, K, and backup QB late in drafts (in my one Yahoo! public league, I took Trent Green, Ryan Longwell, Trent Dilfer, Dallas def, and Eric Johnson in rounds 11-15. That’s how I like to draft a football team.). I hope to turn Chamberlain into a backup QB (see round 10).
7. James Stewart: I’ll take him as my flex back in round 7. This might be my best pick of the draft.
8. Martin Gramatica: Again, nothing better can be expected, but I don’t like this pick either. He’s a little iffy, as is the Bucs’ offense, and he’s struggled in the preseason. By comparison, Ryan Longwell, my standby this year at kicker, was taken in round 11 by team Og. Good picks here would be McCardell, Thrash, or Booker, all of whom I’ve taken in mid-to-late rounds in other leagues as really good #2 or #3 guys, and I’m working with only Horn and Toomer in my receiving corps at this point. This is going to hurt.
9. Cleveland: Ugh. Miami and Philly are taken 10 and 12 picks later, respectively. I rose to the top last year on the backs of the Philly D, and I happen to be a Dolphins fan, so this is particularly painful. The Browns defense could turn out to be decent, though, so I feel alright about this pick as long as I avoid thinking about who it could have been.
10. Kerry Collins: No talent whatsoever. he’s destined for the waiver wire, I’ll tell you right now. I wouldn’t want him on my team if we had 2 extra spots reserved solely for backup QBs and he was going to be my fourth-stringer. Bad QB, porous O-line, hacks at WR.
11. Derrick Alexander: He’s not even starting. This is where my team starts to actually physically smell. He’s dropped already. I’ll tell you who I am desperately hoping he’ll become tomorrow night. This is where I’d be picking my kicker after having taken a playable WR in round 8.
12. Trung Canidate: I don’t like picking backup RBs and waiting to vulture starts, hoping the guy in front of them gets hurt. (Viniateri lasted this long? HUGE steal for Shelby.) I also have this funny idea that you guys probably laughed at me when my computer made this pick.
13. David Terrell: Also not starting. He’s been dropped too, and he is going to turn into a guy who’s a huge sleeper for our league. Dilfer would have been a good pick here, I love him as my backup QB this year – I’ve been telling people in leagues all over the country that he’d be coming off my bench to lead me to the league championships.
14. Alge Crumpler: I like this pick. He should have quite a strong year. If all goes well, he’ll be my starting TE if I can turn Chamberlain into a playable WR.
15. Todd Peterson: Picking 2 kickers is dumb. He’s been dropped for my backup defense. I gather you guys were poking fun at teams with 2 defenses, but I believe in it firmly: I almost always pick 2 in the rounds between 8-12. It not only gives me two strong options at the position (behind QB) that is most likely to carry your weekly score for your team, it also takes one away from another team. I’m satisfied with the unit I plan on picking up off waivers.
Two quick thoughts about the league at large:
First, I love the Shelbyvillians. Ricky and Eddie in the first two rounds is gigantic. McNair is going to have a big year in the new AFC South. Travis Henry in 6 and Thrash in 8 are nice, Philly Def in 10 is a steal, Kordell in 11 is a NICE option at backup, Viniateri as I mentioned is living large in round 12, Hambrick is great value in 14 (I’d take him over my Canidate in 12), and I cannot get over Stallworth in 15. That’s an incredible steal. This team has at least 2 or 3 of the best steals of the draft.
Second, Team Og has the best team I’ve noticed in my quick perusal. Garcia at the helm, George and Bennett in 2-3, followed by Gonzo and two eagle-eyed picks at WR. McCaffrey and Morton are solid, and Muhammed is at least a #1 WR, and having one of those as your #3 is never bad. The flex position and flex depth may be questionable, but Longwell and San Diego in 11-12 provide great value, and from 1-6 this team has no peer. Injuries could derail its quest for glory, but none of those guys is very prone to that kind of thing, despite Eddie Mac’s fluke accident last year.
As for my outlook? I have no illusions about being at the top of this league. With some luck, a soft schedule, maybe one or two canny waiver acquisitions, and unceasing vigilance of analysis in my choices to play each week, I hope to at least be close to contention for the 4th playoff spot. Maybe a pipe dream, but I gotta keep myself interested somehow.
Well, let’s just start by breaking down the Lumberjack’s first game, against Og:
QB Brian Griese vs Jeff Garcia
Edge: Garcia. Hands down. Griese can’t compete at this level.
WR Rod Smith vs Ed McCaffrey
Edge: Smith. Strained groin vs strained quadricep. Who cares, I get points for McCaffrey’s touchdowns (think Griese) anyway.
WR Derrick Mason vs Johnnie Morton
Edge: Even. Really. A toss up.
RB Priest Holmes vs Eddie George
Edge: Holmes. Let the touchdowns begin.
RB Corey Dillon vs Michael Bennet
Edge: Dillon. Let the yardage begin. I really don’t like Bennet’s chances in Chicago this week. Sorry, Hamlet.
TE Frank Wycheck vs Tony Gonzalez
Edge: Gonzalez, unless he doesn’t play. Wycheck is good for four TDs a year. Not a great chance that any given week is one of the lucky ones.
Flex Jamal Lewis vs Muhsin Muhammad
Edge: Lewis. Lewis plays against Carolina. Fact: Carolina had the worst defense in the entire league, both points against and yards against, last year. Hahaha.
K Bill Gramatica vs Ryan Longwell
Edge: Longwell. Here’s an equation for all you math-lovers: Atlanta defense = laughable. Now, simplify both sides to yield Longwell = big tub of points.
Def New England vs San Diego
Edge: Who knows. Better defense, New England or San Diego? Better offense, Pitsburgh or Cincinnati? It’s a wash.
Coach Newton meter vs Hamlet
Edge: Newton. Sheer coaching genius. The winner of the 2000 Yahoo! Public League 103415 has no peers when it comes to game time decisions. Sorry, Hamlet.
Namesake Isaac Newton vs Francis Bacon
Edge: Newton. You can’t fake physics and calculus by buying the Cliffs Notes and watching The Lion King. Sorry, Hamlet.
Roshambo Paper vs Rock
Edge: Paper. Covers rock. It’s really just a question of which Lumberjacks team shows up–the paper or the scissors (chainsaw). Though I like the chainsaw’s chances against the rock too. Sorry, Og.
Pizza Anchovies and mushrooms vs anything else
Edge: Anchovies. Doesn’t matter what you order for gametime, Hamlet. Nothing compares to the anchovy/mushroom combo.
Predicted result: Me. I win. Sure, Garcia’s money in the bank. Sure, Tony Gonzalez might score you a few unexpected points. But when you include all the intangibles, it won’t even be close.
kg m²/s²
I asked the Yahoo! computer to provide a special guest analysis of jarbabyj’s draft. I just got this in my email:
for (idx = 0; idx < NFASTBINS; ++idx) {
p = av->fastbins[idx];
/* all bins past max_fast are empty */
if (idx > max_fast_bin)
assert(p == 0);
while (p != 0) {
/* each chunk claims to be inuse */
do_check_inuse_chunk(p);
total += chunksize(p);
/* chunk belongs in this bin */
assert(fastbin_index(chunksize(p)) == idx);
p = p->fd;
}
}
initial :: [(Int, Constraint)]
initial = let n = length (head template)
l = [(rw, cl, template !! (rw-1) !! (cl-1))
| rw <- [1..n], cl <- [1..n]]
in concatMap (replicate n) (zip [1..n] (replicate n (Con l)))
(define-syntax extend-backquote
(lambda (x)
(syntax-case x ()
((_ Template Exp ...)
(with-syntax ((quasiquote
(datum->syntax-object #'Template 'quasiquote)))
#'(let-syntax ((quasiquote
(lambda (x)
(syntax-case x ()
((_ Foo) #'(my-backquote Foo))))))
Exp ...))))))
10 FOR X=100 TO 1 STEP -1
20 PRINT X;"Bottle(s) of beer on the wall,";X;"bottle(s) of beer"
30 PRINT "Take one down and pass it around,"
40 PRINT X-1;"bottle(s) of beer on the wall"
50 NEXT
It kind of faded out after that, I don’t think there’s any more.
I gotta say, Newton Meter is starting to walk away with the most creative, yet slightly incomprehensible Smack-Fu award. At least he’s got the best rookie thing just about locked down, which is incredible this early in the season. Which makes the early matchup between the newbie and the old Zen master in the first week just the sort of thing that the Networks would kill for.
Note to WL: I don’t know about ranking Edge that high until we see how he recovers from last years injury. Maybe he’s a gold mine, maybe Tony Dungy turns him into 1.5 yards and a cloud of 'turf. Deuce may pleasantly surprise you. Last time somebody jettisoned a known quantity for a relatively untested sophomore like this the result was Daunte Culpepper’s first season as a starter. Of course that was a different coach, different circumstances, and McAllister doesn’t have Cris Carter and Randy Moss to throw to, but my point is that I have no idea what the hell I’m talking about.
First, and most important, I just looked at the Waiver Wire. Drifters picked up Antonio Freeman, but Hamlet had “reserved” him during the draft. Commish may need to step in. Pantellerite, I think you might have missed the Live Draft but Freeman was not on the list yet, but Og selected him by drafting some ridiculous player at the bottom of the WR list to hold his place. I think you should at least get first free rights of refusal to regain Finneran since you didn’t know about this.
Jlcwhite, you don’t have the option for me to edit your team. As Shibb said, Hamlet has the rights to Freeman. Please drop him, or trade Hamlet for his Freeman-stand-in.
…and now for my Pessimistic Picks, wherein I endear myself to everyone by pointing out weaknesses* in your rosters:
Ogs:
Isotopes:
Austin Robot Monkeys:
Mundis Morning Blues:
Fists of Diesel:
Omni’s Omnioptents:
Shelby Villians:
Fighting Ferrets:
Continental Drifters:
WL’s Warriors:
St. Paul Lumberjacks:
Unskilled Hacks:
So, it’s clear that no one has a legitamite shot at the title this year.
*Even though I don’t necessarily believe these myself. Just the natural pessimist in me.