He Hate Me FF keeper league - year 8

The Game Room
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9 Inch Neils (RNATB) - Really Not All That Bright
1 (2) Maurice Jones-Drew
2 (18) Brandon Marshall
3 (30) Ronnie Brown
4 (46) Mike Sims-Walker
5 (58) Eli Manning
6 (83) Donald Brown
7 (98) Steve Smith - Keeper
8 (99) Kellen Winslow
9 (124) Percy Harvin - Keeper
10 (129) Carnell Williams - Keeper
11 (142) Vince Young
12 (167) Green Bay
13 (170) Devin Thomas
14 (195) Mason Crosby
15 (198) Chicago
16 (223) Mike Thomas

QB - Eli Manning, Vince Young
Another perilous situation at QB. I know you pimped Eli a bit but I disagree. I’m not sure where you get your guaranteed 25 scores from, but the guy reached that number for the first time last season. He’s a middling fantasy QB on a team that wants to run the ball. He got a bump last season due to that inept running game and a porous defense but I’m not sure that repeats itself. I have no issue with him as a starting fantasy QB but not in the 5th round and not ahead of Flacco or Big Ben (even missing 4 games). I’ve been a Vince Young detractor since forever and that doesn’t change here. He is what he is, which means he’s never going to be keeper worthy. He’ll be available in the 11th round or later again next season and if you’re starting him you’ll be in trouble. I suppose as a backup he’s better than say Josh Freeman or Derek Anderson, but you’d be better off with Alex Smith, Sam Bradford or Mark Sanchez.

RB - Maurice Jones-Drew, Ronnie Brown, Donald Brown, Carnell Williams
Thin, thin, thin. You’re really counting on these reports about MJDs knee being nothing. The team is saying he’s fine, maybe it’s the conspiracy theorist in me but when a team issues an MRI and holds him out of practice there’s something to pay attention to, bruise or not. You had to take him of course, but I’d have looked for more depth. I think the Jags are a team on a downward trajectory and I suspect MJD will see a drop in production this year, I might have looked to Turner instead.

Behind MoJo you’ve got the Browns. I agree with your love for Ronnie, he’s positioned for a monster season and that Dolphins O-line will be even better this season. He’ll be healthy and when he’s on the field he’s a dynamo. Of course, he’s not exactly reliable which somewhat compounds the risks with MJD. Cadillac is actually a nice addition to the group, there aren’t a ton of teams featuring a clear cut starter these days and your boy Carnell is one of them. Donald Brown seems to be in the doghouse in Indy and the guy can’t stay on the field either, lucky for him Addai is even more fragile. I think you’ll regret taking Donald over Portis, I mean really, can you count on a guy named Donald? Between the three of these guys you’ll have a strong RB2 but I don’t think you can count on a Flex play. 4 RBs in a league this deep that can start 3 is a risky position to be in.

WR - Brandon Marshall, Mike Sims-Walker, Steve Smith (NYG), Percy Harvin, Devin Thomas, Mike Thomas
Love, hate, love, hate, hate, meh. I think a bunch of the talk about Marshall falling on his face in Miami is silly. The guy was a stud in Denver and I think Henne is a better QB than Orton. The only thing that can slow down Marshall is his attitude running afoul of the Tuna. I really like the Miami offense in general and you’ve got my two favorite players from it. Nice pick, as I mentioned above I might have taken him myself over Megatron. Sims-Walker on the other hand could be a bum. He was generously described as enigmatic last season and that Jags offense is going to have issues, ironically you have the 2 most relevant Jags too. I think Garrard implodes this season and Sims-Walker might get himself benched again.

The silver lining of course is that MSW isn’t really your #2, Steve Smith is and I think he’s a good one. Heck of a keeper and yet another player from the same team. You can pretty much watch your entire fantasy team by watching 3 games. Maybe there’s a certain wisdom to that. I’m a little worried that Smith will be a one year wonder and I think the Giants passing game regresses some and many people seem to feel that Nicks is due to replace Smith as the favored target in Jersey. You’ll be playing roulette with your flex spot all season I think and when you guess wrong you’ll want to throw things, but if one of the RBs or WRs steps up you will be in great shape.

Harvin is a bit of an unknown and I’m very worried that this migraine thing will be a big issue all season. Originally I was bullish on him but after that episode this preseason I’m not. Spending a late keeper on him mitigates the risk a bit, but if you end up relying on him as a flex option you’re playing with fire. Nonetheless, as long as Favre is slinging and Rice is hurt the guy has monster upside. The two reserves are basically junk. Getting a compliment to MSW was smooth and it insures that investment a bit but rookie WRs tend to be useless, this said by the guy who drafted Sidney Rice and Jacoby Jones in the last round of this league in consecutive seasons only to get tired of waiting and throw them back.

TE - Kellen Winslow
I don’t know what to make of this guy, but I suppose you needed a guy from the other Florida team on principle. He’s one of those middling TEs that are in abundance this season and on a potentially anemic Bucs offense I’m not sure he’ll get enough redzone opportunities to make him worth an 8th round pick. I’m pretty sure you over paid but I don’t have a handle one what to expect from him stats-wise.

DEF - Green Bay, Chicago
I’m not a fan of drafting 2 defenses and I’m especially not a fan of drafting 2 subpar ones before the last round. We’ve talked a lot about the Packers defense in the NFC North thread and I still think it’s going to have a lot of issue this season. Though games against the Bears, Vikings and Lions should generate plenty of sacks and INTs. The Bears, sadly, are going to struggle on defense again too. If Peppers becomes a beast they could be good in fantasy, but the secondary isn’t strong and they don’t tackle well. It’s possible that both these defenses are decent in fantasy while being poor in real life. Still, you would have been better served to collect a second Buc in Benn or Huggins and skipped the Packers.

K - Mason Crosby
Be honest, you drafted him because you wanted 2 Packers on you team, right? Are you playing Fantasy Go Fish?

Another pretty solid looking team. Very good frontline players at the key positions bolstered by some solid if unspectacular keepers. The front half of the draft played out really nicely while the back end stumbled quite a bit. An elite QB, more RB depth or some high upside keepers would have boosted the grade significantly.

Potential Keepers: Donald Brown, Steve Smith, Percy Harvin, Cadillac Williams

Grade: B

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I’m not going to do an analysis, because Omni nailed it. I will comment a bit on what he wrote.

Yeah, I was preplanning on taking 2 WRs at this spot, but there were so many keepers this year that there wasn’t anything left for worth justifying a Rd2 or Rd3 pick on. Colston was taken right before me, who I’d have taken. Ronnie Brown could be really solid, but Foster has a much higher upside, and I was looking for the home run. Conservative doesn’t cut it in this league, especially when you already have some solidity with keepers.

Yeah - no PPR makes Welker quite a bit less valuable, but if he hits 80% of his past couple years’ production, it’ll still pay off. I don’t think Boldin will ever again reach the numbers he put up in Arizona, but then I never thought Baltimore would field a high-production offense in my lifetime. He could very well be a Reggie Wayne-lite. At the worst, he’s Anquan Boldin-lite, which is where I drafted him.

Frankly, I picked them because they open against St. Louis and are in a soft division. There is so much turbulence in defense in the course of a year that I’d rather pick based on matchups/SoS than anything else.

Other than depth problems at RB, I really like my team. There are a ton of question marks (QB, WR3), but everyone has to deal with those. I like the upside, knowing full well I could either take the trophy or be picking 8th next year.

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Since Omni is starting at the top with his draft analysis, I figure I’ll start at the bottom and work my way up. I may not have time to get to everyones’ team, but at least I can do some.

First up comes last years Champion (congratulations again!)

VarlosZZZZZ

1 (14) Roddy White
2 (15) Greg Jennings
3 (42) Ricky Williams
4 (56) Aaron Rodgers - Keeper
5 (57) Jerome Harrison
6 (71) Dwayne Bowe
7 (86) Clinton Portis
8 (111) Baltimore
9 (115) Zach Miller
10 (138) Laurent Robinson
11 (154) Brandon Jackson
12 (155) Demaryius Thomas
13 (182) Mario Manningham - Keeper
14 (183) Anthony Dixon
15 (197) Matt Moore
16 (224) Matt Prater

Best pick: Hard to say because we seem to think alike. With most of the talent at RB gone early, it’s pretty darn smart to grab 2 top 10 WR’s in the first two rounds. Roddy is consistently great, and Jennings will bounce back this year (although Finley will poach a lot of red zone catches). Not reaching for a third tier RB was very smart. I also love Zach Miller, Laurent Robinson, and Demaryius Thomas, both for this year and as keepers. I was hoping they’d get to me later.

Worst pick: Ricky Williams. Going WR/WR means you’re going to be sacrificing the RB position, but that’s no reason to reach for Ricky Williams. Granted there wasn’t a lot of talent left, but I liked Forsett, Bush, T. Jones, heck even Jerome Harrison better than Ricky. I just don’t think he’ll produce much this year, even if he gets the opportunities. I thought it was a huge reach. And taking the Ravens in the 8th round was dopey.

Strengths: Wide Receivers. White and Jennings are auto starters. The talk out of KC is that Bowe finally has his head right, so he has nice upside. Add in another #1 WR (albeit for the Rams) Laurent Robinson, and some great keeper value in Demaryius and Manningham, and this is the best WR crew in the league. And the NFL is a passing league now.

Weaknesses: Runningbacks. Harrison and Portis are nominal starters, but neither is elite and they run hot and cold. With Hardesty out, Harrison’s value is up, and Portis, although only 29, has a lot of mileage and I’m not convinced he’ll hit 100 yards in any game this year. Ricky, Brandon Jackson, and Anthony Dixon all need injuries to be worth anything and none are likely to be a starter this year. The depth here is very weak.

Overall: I think it’s a matter of strategery. The way this draft fell, I thought RBs were being hugely overinflated and WR were great value. It seems VarlosZ agreed with me. With the NFL becoming much more a passing league and teams going more and more to RBBC, if you can’t get a stud RB (and you can’t picking last), you’ll be patchwork at RB anyway, so grab those WR’s. I also loved the guys he got.

Draft Grade: B+. Hard to ignore the weakness at RB, but did the best with what he had.

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You guys do know Wes Welker is 6 months removed from ACL surgery, right? If he tops 800 yards it will be a miracle, even in that offense.

125

Omni’s Omnipotents

1 (13) DeAngelo Williams
2 (16) Calvin Johnson
3 (41) Chris Johnson - Keeper
4 (44) Dallas Clark
5 (52) Thomas Jones
6 (69) Philip Rivers - Keeper
7 (72) San Francisco
8 (97) Michael Crabtree - Keeper
9 (100) Stephen Gostkowski
10 (125) Jabar Gaffney
11 (128) Devery Henderson
12 (153) Sam Bradford
13 (156) Steve Slaton
14 (181) Rashad Jennings
15 (184) Greg Olsen
16 (212) Brandon Tate

Best Pick: It’s not really fair to praise or condemn picks that Omni didn’t make, so I’ll say Jabar Gaffney and Steve Slaton. Although both do nothing for me (Gaffney is a possession receiver at best and is only worth considering because he’s default the #1 guy and Slaton can’t hold onto the ball, which kills his value), they were absolutely great value when taken. And I think the autodraft did Omni huge favors getting DeAngelo and Calvin. Excellent picks.

Worst Pick: Again, I’ll exclude autodraft picks. I think Devery Henderson has worn out his welcome as “next big thing” and won’t produce, and Sam Bradford would be good in a dynasty but not in a 2 year max keeper league. If Rivers’ goes down, it could be a long year.

Strength: Studs. CJ, DeAngelo, Megatron, Clark, and Rivers are as formidible starters as any team in the league. There is also high stud potential in Brandon Tate, Michael Crabtree, and Greg Olson.

Weaknesses: Some risk. DeAngelo and Megatron have injury histories and I expect Rivers to throw less this year. It will be interesting to see if CJ can duplicate his numbers from last year, personally, I don’t think so, but he’s amazing valuable keeper.

Overall: Damn this team is loaded at the top. I love Tate’s keeper potential too. All in all, this team could easily crush us like a bug. Great draft, but even better keepers.

Score: B+. Docked a grade for missing the begining, Omni gets points for his awesome keepers, good eye on value, and some nice potential for next year.

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Yeah, Omni’s team looks scarier and scarier. I don’t think he has a legitimate flex starter, though.

127

Fightin’ Quakers

1 (12) Reggie Wayne
2 (17) Drew Brees
3 (40) Rashard Mendenhall - Keeper
4 (45) Antonio Gates
5 (68) Leon Washington
6 (73) Johnny Knox
7 (96) Steve Breaston
8 (101) Mike Williams
9 (113) Dexter McCluster
10 (114) Golden Tate
11 (139) Darren Sproles - Keeper
12 (152) Jeremy Maclin - Keeper
13 (180) Jerious Norwood
14 (185) Deji Karim
15 (208) Ryan Succop
16 (213) Cleveland

Best Pick: Drew Brees. Far and away the best player available when taken. I had my eye on him, but he was swiped before I got the chance. Nice pick.

Worst Pick: Antonio Gates. Although he’s a stud and without Vincent Jackson his production may actually increase, there is a lot of depth at the TE spot and I think the 4th round is a bit early for grabbing them. I also think there was too much picking for keeper potential than for scoring this year.

Strengths: Potential. Knox, McCluster, Tate, and Mike Williams (TB) are all players with nice potential in the long run.

Weaknesses: It’s just potential. Knox may be the only one of those who produces well this year. And Mendenhall is the only RB on this team worth anything this year. Maybe Leon Washington (thanks for poaching my handcuff so early), but I’m not sold on him as a RB either.

Overall: I’m not impressed. Wayne’s disappearance in the Super Bowl and AFC Championship games have me concerned that he’ll drop out of the top 10 WR, and I’m not sold on Mendenhall’s production (but his opportunities are well worth the draft pick). But there’s too much flash and too little substance on this team for me to think they’ll be anything but middle of the road at best.

Grade: C. An extra half grade for keeper potential next year.

128

Baltimore Weirdos

1 (11) Shonn Greene
2 (27) Ray Rice - Keeper
3 (39) Felix Jones
4 (55) Matt Schaub - Keeper
5 (67) Tony Gonzalez
6 (74) T.J. Houshmandzadeh
7 (95) Kenny Britt
8 (102) Peyton Hillis
9 (123) Miles Austin - Keeper
10 (130) Mohamed Massaquoi
11 (151) Alex Smith
12 (158) Philadelphia
13 (179) Arrelious Benn
14 (186) Nate Kaeding
15 (207) Rob Bironas
16 (214) Chaz Schilens

Best Pick: Outside of some very nice keepers, I’d go with Massaquoi. Although relying on Jake Delhomme to throw you the ball isn’t ideal, Massaquoi has a nice combination of skills and opportunities. In the 10th round, that’s amazing value.

Worst Pick: Other unkept WR’s. I had Massaquoi higher than Housh and Britt, who were taken 3 and 4 round earlier. Housh is an overrated possession receiver going to a new team, and Britt has been a complete flop so far. Austin is a great #1 WR, but behind him it isn’t very good at all. And two kickers? Ugh.

Strengths: Another team with great keepers. Rice, Schaub, and Austin are all top 6 at their positions and will give the Weirdos a chance to win every week. Green is in a position to shine, it’s just a question of whether he can or not.

Weaknesses: Depth beyond those 4. Nobody knows what’s going on with Felix Jones and Dallas, and nobody else on the team scares me at all.

Overall: Fantastic keepers and some nice RB’s will keep this team in contention most of the year. But a weak WR corp will stop it from ever dominating the league. Still, the firepower is there to get to the playoffs.

Grade: B-. A couple of nice picks and some great keepers from last year, but a lack of depth could be the downfall.

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Moridwon - Hamlet

1 (10) Andre Johnson
2 (19) Larry Fitzgerald
3 (38) Beanie Wells - Keeper
4 (47) Justin Forsett
5 (66) Joe Flacco
6 (75) Kevin Kolb
7 (94) Tim Hightower
8 (103) Vincent Jackson
9 (122) Chris Cooley
10 (131) Darren McFadden
11 (150) John Carlson
12 (159) Marshawn Lynch
13 (178) Kareem Huggins
14 (187) New Orleans
15 (206) Louis Murphy
16 (215) Neil Rackers
Hey! That’s me!

Best Pick: All of them, after all I made them. I did really like getting Hightower in the 7th and Vincent Jackson in the 8th round. Both were great values, and have some nice upside. I also liked grabbing Murphy in the 15th round, because his only competition for the #1 WR spot on the Raiders is Darrius Heyward Bey, who couldn’t catch a cold.

Worst Pick: Too many Cardinals. With Fitzgerald, Wells, and Hightower, I have a lot of eggs in a very fragile basket.

Strengths: I love my WR crew. I was amazed and absolutely thrilled that Andre Johnson fell to me, and Larry Fitz was the only guy left on my top tiers at any position. Murphy may be a nice fill in, but I really hope Jackson gets on a team soon because I need him to produce this year dammit!

Weaknesses: Issues at RB. Wells shares time and has a gimpy ankle, Forsett is a starter, but may have limited touches, McFadden has been a bust so far and hasn’t shown any reason to think the light will come on, and Lynch and Huggins are filler/keeper potential only. Not a sure thing in the bunch.

Overall: With most of the talent at RB gone so quickly, I went with BPA and went WR/WR. I hope to find one solid starter between Flacco and Kolb each week. But the questions at RB will plague me all year, unless I catch a break.

Grade: A-. I’d better like the guys I got. I was frustrated when my targeted guys (Brees, Forte, Floyd, Moss, Bowe, Massaquoi, and Naanee) all went right before I was going to scoop them, but I also lucked out at having one more guy available that I considered good to great value, when I picked (A. Johnson, Hightower, Jackson, Cooley, Lynch, McFadden). My lack of solid keepers from last year though started me in a deep hole. I’m not too sure I made my way out of it yet.

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I probably should have hung onto Matt Schaub, with benefit of hindsight.

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Part 1:

Off Constantly

1 (1) Adrian Peterson
2 (28) Arian Foster
3 (29) Anquan Boldin
4 (43) Wes Welker
5 (70) Jamaal Charles - Keeper
6 (84) Jay Cutler - Keeper
7 (85) Sidney Rice
8 (112) Braylon Edwards
9 (140) Tashard Choice
10 (141) Toby Gerhart
11 (157) Kevin Walter
12 (168) Vernon Davis - Keeper
13 (169) Matt Cassel
14 (196) James Davis
15 (210) Arizona
16 (211) Ryan Longwell

The Good: well, you didn’t have much choice with the #1 pick, so while you don’t gain points you don’t lose any either. Braylon is a great value at #8 on potential alone; there’s no way any of the Jets wideouts is a viable starter with Sanchez throwing, but he’s the ultimate spot starter. Rice is an interesting pick; you took him as your third receiver, which he won’t be, but if Favre comes back again next year he’ll be a terrific keeper. Vernon Davis in round 12 is one of the three best keeper values this year. Cutler can’t be any worse than last year, and was the best QB left on the board. Kevin Walter is a sneaky good pick if he can hold onto his starting job.

The Bad: I’m not a fan of the Foster pick, especially when you had Jamaal Charles coming as a keeper. Sure, he’s supposedly going to get all Houston’s carries, but Houston finished third from last in rushing last season. Welker is coming off a 12 month injury. It’ll be a miracle if he posts 50 catches, let alone 100. After going running back heavy in the first three rounds you basically failed to draft a viable #4. Better pray none of yours get hurt.

9 Inch Neils (RNATB)

1 (2) Maurice Jones-Drew
2 (18) Brandon Marshall
3 (30) Ronnie Brown
4 (46) Mike Sims-Walker
5 (58) Eli Manning
6 (83) Donald Brown
7 (98) Steve Smith - Keeper
8 (99) Kellen Winslow
9 (124) Percy Harvin - Keeper
10 (129) Carnell Williams - Keeper
11 (142) Vince Young
12 (167) Green Bay
13 (170) Devin Thomas
14 (195) Mason Crosby
15 (198) Chicago
16 (223) Mike Thomas

The Good: No horrible picks here. Balanced past production and future potential quite nicely, sometimes in the same player (see Donald Brown, Mike Thomas, Vince Young). Three unquestioned starters at running back. Embarrassment of riches at wideout. Thomas will be the best WR keeper value next season.

The Bad: Showed up late, and thus got MJD and Marshall instead of Turner and… probably Marshall. I’m only really strong at one position, and I’ll only be starting two of those players, for the most part. That means I’ll be wasting an awful lot of production from Harvin, and to a lesser extent Sims-Walker and Steve Smith. Weak at quarterback by anyone else’s reckoning, although I’m almost certain Eli will throw 30 touchdowns this year and Vince will finish in the top 15 in scoring when you factor in rushing. Injury questions around all three primary running backs. Really should have kept Matt Schaub instead of trading him for (effectively) a better second round pick. Who cares how valuable Thomas is as a keeper? I’ll surely be keeping Smith and Harvin again anyway.

RealCarmenOfGenius

1 (3) Frank Gore
2 (26) Marques Colston
3 (31) Brett Favre
4 (54) Cedric Benson - Keeper
5 (59) Brandon Jacobs
6 (82) Derrick Mason
7 (87) Matthew Stafford
8 (110) Chester Taylor
9 (126) Eddie Royal - Keeper
10 (127) Heath Miller - Keeper
11 (143) Dallas
12 (166) Roy Williams
13 (171) Josh Morgan
14 (194) Darius Reynaud
15 (199) David Akers
16 (222) Colt McCoy

The Good: Three strong running backs. Well, two strong ones and one who should be but strangely wasn’t last year. Um… that’s it. Oh, Colt McCoy might be worth something eventually, and David Akers is always a top 10 kicker.

The Bad: don’t like your quarterbacks, wideouts (except Colston), or tight end. You really effed yourself by taking Favre in the third, and it shows. Of course, the total lack of worthwhile keepers didn’t help.

Fourth & Nineteen

1 (4) Steven Jackson
2 (25) Pierre Thomas
3 (32) Knowshon Moreno
4 (53) Jason Witten
5 (60) Dez Bryant
6 (81) Terrell Owens
7 (88) Devin Aromashodu
8 (109) Laurence Maroney
9 (116) Chad Henne
10 (137) Austin Collie
11 (144) Joe McKnight
12 (165) Mike Williams
13 (172) Mark Sanchez
14 (193) Ben Tate
15 (200) Brandon LaFell
16 (221) San Diego

The Good: Okay, I don’t really like anyone on this team, except Jackson, maybe. TO is a good one-year flier, and he caught a lot of balls in preseason. Maybe Maroney will be this year’s Vernon Davis - the breakout star that doesn’t get the memo for three seasons.

The Bad: Hey, this is the same team I just did! Oh, wait, it doesn’t come with a good kicker. Dez Bryant in the fifth is a nutso pick. Even if he goes for 1,000 yards this year, which he won’t, are you going to spend a 3rd-rounder to keep him next year? Hope not.

New York Fanboys

1 (5) Peyton Manning
2 (24) Jahvid Best
3 (33) C.J. Spiller
4 (61) Chad Ochocinco
5 (80) Ahmad Bradshaw - Keeper
6 (89) Santonio Holmes
7 (108) New York - Keeper
8 (117) Anthony Gonzalez
9 (136) Hakeem Nicks - Keeper
10 (145) Dustin Keller
11 (164) New York
12 (173) David Garrard
13 (192) Darrius Heyward-Bey
14 (201) Tim Tebow
15 (209) Lawrence Tynes
16 (220) Kevin Boss

The Good: Well, from your point of view, you got a lot of homer picks in. Manning looks a bit of a punt at first blush, but I’ve always preached that consistent production is the key to first round picks, and they don’t come any more consistent. Ocho will surely reach 1000 yards. Nicks is looking like a solid #2.

The Bad: Unfortunately, that kept your from drafting a running back who is guaranteed to produce. I don’t see Best or Spiller ever carrying the ball 200 times, let alone this season, so you’re going to take it up the ass on running back scoring, and won’t even be able to keep them next year. No defense is worth keeping for a 7th-round pick, especially one whose best player will be shaking off rust for at least three weeks.

Spiritus Mundane

1 (6) Michael Turner
2 (23) Tony Romo
3 (34) Matt Forte
4 (51) Jermichael Finley
5 (62) Pierre Garcon
6 (79) DeSean Jackson - Keeper
7 (90) Devin Hester
8 (107) Jacoby Jones
9 (118) Willis McGahee
10 (135) Minnesota
11 (146) Lee Evans
12 (163) Bernard Scott - Keeper
13 (174) Joshua Cribbs
14 (191) Josh Freeman
15 (202) Garrett Hartley
16 (219) Nate Burleson

The Good: Big fan of this draft, viz. Turner, DeSean, Forte, and especially Evans.

The Bad: Finley in the fourth round? This is a classic case of overvaluing upside, much like the case of Arian Foster. Even if he leads all tight ends in scoring - which he won’t - he won’t have been worth that pick.

Crabby Hermits

1 (7) Randy Moss
2 (22) Tom Brady
3 (35) Marion Barber
4 (50) Hines Ward
5 (63) Fred Jackson
6 (78) LaDainian Tomlinson
7 (91) Robert Meachem
8 (106) Visanthe Shiancoe
9 (119) Pittsburgh
10 (134) Jerricho Cotchery
11 (147) Kevin Smith
12 (162) Dennis Dixon
13 (175) Nate Washington
14 (190) Mewelde Moore - Keeper
15 (203) Antonio Brown
16 (218) John Kasay

The Good: I like Barber in the third a lot. I like Kevin Smith in the 11th a lot. I like Brady in the second, though not a lot. I like Meachem an awful lot, but I think you could have waited a round for him.

The Bad: I don’t like anything else about this team. Moss > Brady makes me think you had planned that before the draft. Well, Moss before Andre Johnson isn’t quite the Raiders taking Heyward-Bey over Crabtree… but it’s along those lines. If the Hot Tub Time Machine doesn’t take us back to 2007, you’re fucked, because your running backs aren’t any good.

Quentin’s JAMmers

8) Ryan Mathews
2 (21) Steve Smith
3 (36) Jonathan Stewart
4 (49) LeSean McCoy - Keeper
5 (64) Malcom Floyd
6 (77) Mike Wallace
7 (92) Donovan McNabb
8 (105) Bernard Berrian
9 (120) Fred Taylor
10 (133) Matt Ryan - Keeper
11 (148) Larry Johnson
12 (161) Brent Celek - Keeper
13 (176) Legedu Naanee
14 (189) Indianapolis
15 (204) Keiland Williams
16 (217) Robbie Gould

The Good: Balance of young and old here. Celek is a terrific keeper value. I like the Berrian pick a lot; I don’t like the Floyd pick at all. Grabbing Naanee as Malcolm Floyd insurance was brilliant, though. I like Steve Smith to bounce back without Jake Noodlearm missing him all season.

The Bad: When Jonathan Stewart is your surest thing at running back, you ought to be worried. Neither Mathews nor McCoy has actually done anything yet. Fred Taylor is a sneaky pick, but it’s hard to stick any Pats RB in your active lineup unless the rest are all hurt because you never know which ones will play in any given week.

DrewBrees’Birthmark

1 (9) Ryan Grant
2 (20) Joseph Addai
3 (37) Michael Bush
4 (48) Reggie Bush
5 (65) Santana Moss
6 (76) Donald Driver
7 (93) Ben Roethlisberger
8 (104) Carson Palmer
9 (121) Julian Edelman
10 (132) Owen Daniels
11 (149) Javon Ringer
12 (160) Montario Hardesty
13 (177) Cincinnati
14 (188) LeGarrette Blount
15 (205) Miami
16 (216) Sebastian Janikowski

The Good: Except for Donald Driver, I could have drafted this team- and in fact you grabbed a lot of these guys just as I was about to. Unspectacular but solid picks throughout. I’m especially high on Santana Moss, because he and McNabb are ideally suited to one another.

The Bad: Addai was a reach, though not on the Foster level; you could have taken Forte or Barber, who will both outproduce him, or even waited a round and still gotten one of the three. Michael Bush is a great guy to have, but the whole point is that you can grab him late. You didn’t - and you didn’t get McFadden, which could come back to haunt you.

Moridwon (Hamlet)

1 (10) Andre Johnson
2 (19) Larry Fitzgerald
3 (38) Beanie Wells - Keeper
4 (47) Justin Forsett
5 (66) Joe Flacco
6 (75) Kevin Kolb
7 (94) Tim Hightower
8 (103) Vincent Jackson
9 (122) Chris Cooley
10 (131) Darren McFadden
11 (150) John Carlson
12 (159) Marshawn Lynch
13 (178) Kareem Huggins
14 (187) New Orleans
15 (206) Louis Murphy
16 (215) Neil Rackers

The Good: There is an awful lot of potential here. Probably the most keeper potential in the league, in fact. I don’t like first-round wideouts, but if you must, this is how it’s done. Unquestionably the best 1-2 wideout punch in the league, and if Jackson ever comes back you might not need to bother starting anyone at the other positions…

The Bad: …which is good, because the rest of your team is awfully weak. My personal belief is that high-risk, high-reward picks should be backed up by safe ones. You did the opposite, especially at quarterback. You kept Beanie Wells at the #38 pick, which is half a round higher than he normally gets drafted.

Baltimore Weirdos

1 (11) Shonn Greene
2 (27) Ray Rice - Keeper
3 (39) Felix Jones
4 (55) Matt Schaub - Keeper
5 (67) Tony Gonzalez
6 (74) T.J. Houshmandzadeh
7 (95) Kenny Britt
8 (102) Peyton Hillis
9 (123) Miles Austin - Keeper
10 (130) Mohamed Massaquoi
11 (151) Alex Smith
12 (158) Philadelphia
13 (179) Arrelious Benn
14 (186) Nate Kaeding
15 (207) Rob Bironas
16 (214) Chaz Schilens

The Good: You did an excellent job of filling in around your three great keepers. That is, if TJ Houshmanzadeh is worth a damn as Baltimore’s #3. You took advantage of me on the Matt Schaub deal, and I applaud you for it.

The Bad: With all that said, I’m not really a fan of any of your players. Rice and Austin are one-year wonders, and Greene and Jones haven’t shown anything much yet.

Fightin’ Quakers

1 (12) Reggie Wayne
2 (17) Drew Brees
3 (40) Rashard Mendenhall - Keeper
4 (45) Antonio Gates
5 (68) Leon Washington
6 (73) Johnny Knox
7 (96) Steve Breaston
8 (101) Mike Williams
9 (113) Dexter McCluster
10 (114) Golden Tate
11 (139) Darren Sproles - Keeper
12 (152) Jeremy Maclin - Keeper
13 (180) Jerious Norwood
14 (185) Deji Karim
15 (208) Ryan Succop
16 (213) Cleveland

The Good: Brees is good value at #17. Mendenhall is obviously great value. Can’t argue with Gates.

The Bad: Weggie Wayne is getting a bit long in the tooth, and his numbers drop ever year. You haven’t got a #2 RB. You haven’t really even got a #3. Instead, you have like 14 receivers whose balls have yet to drop to go with Grandpa Wayne. I think you’ll have a lot of trade bait by Week 8; unfortunately, you might also be out of contention by then.

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Part Deuce:

Omni’s Omnipotents

1 (13) DeAngelo Williams
2 (16) Calvin Johnson
3 (41) Chris Johnson - Keeper
4 (44) Dallas Clark
5 (52) Thomas Jones
6 (69) Philip Rivers - Keeper
7 (72) San Francisco
8 (97) Michael Crabtree - Keeper
9 (100) Stephen Gostkowski
10 (125) Jabar Gaffney
11 (128) Devery Henderson
12 (153) Sam Bradford
13 (156) Steve Slaton
14 (181) Rashad Jennings
15 (184) Greg Olsen
16 (212) Brandon Tate
The Good: I want to marry this draft, autopicks and all. Williams is the best value of the first round. Chris Johnson is obviously the top keeper of the year. Rivers and Crabtree are both kept three full rounds after they’d normally be picked, and you did well with the latitude that bought you.

The Bad: You stole my handcuff, which means you are an asshole. I think Gostkowski was an autopick, but he wasn’t, that was a wasted pick. Same with San Francisco, although I think they will finish in the top 5 among fantasy defenses this year.

Varlos’ Zzzzzzz

1 (14) Roddy White
2 (15) Greg Jennings
3 (42) Ricky Williams
4 (56) Aaron Rodgers - Keeper
5 (57) Jerome Harrison
6 (71) Dwayne Bowe
7 (86) Clinton Portis
8 (111) Baltimore
9 (115) Zach Miller
10 (138) Laurent Robinson
11 (154) Brandon Jackson
12 (155) Demaryius Thomas
13 (182) Mario Manningham - Keeper
14 (183) Anthony Dixon
15 (197) Matt Moore
16 (224) Matt Prater

The Good: Second best 1-2 punch at wideout, and Rodgers is obviously an awesome value. Laurent Robinson might be a sneaky good pick; he looked terrific before getting hurt last season. Prater will finish among the top 5 kickers, and you got him with the last pick of the draft. I love the Matt Moore pick.

The Bad: Your running backs suck, except Portis, and maybe Harrison if he can hang onto his job. While I applauded the Laurent Robinson pick above, you sure as hell didn’t need to take him in the tenth round. That’s the sort of guy you draft in the last three rounds.

133

Might need to change your name to Really Not All That Consistent :smiley:

That said, I agree that 4 was too early for a TE - but sometimes you have to listen to your board. There was no WR/RB that I valued in that spot left on the field, so Finley was BPA. And for the record I do love his upside this year, after a full year of earning Rodgers’ trust in the Red Zone.

134

I should have worded that differently. Obviously, he will be worth a fourth-round pick if he leads all tight ends in scoring. :smack:

I meant that even if you think he’ll lead all tight ends in scoring, he’s not worth that pick, because only the guys that actually have led at the position (ie., Clark, Gates, Witten) are worth that pick.

ETA: He only scored 5 touchdowns last year, and all but 1 came in the last four weeks of the season, so he really hasn’t been earning Rodgers’ trust in the redzone for a full year.

135

Better the last 4 than the first 4.

136

True- but I prefer not to draft people who only have 4 starts under any circumstances.

137

DrewBrees’Birthmark

1 (9) Ryan Grant
2 (20) Joseph Addai
3 (37) Michael Bush
4 (48) Reggie Bush
5 (65) Santana Moss
6 (76) Donald Driver
7 (93) Ben Roethlisberger
8 (104) Carson Palmer
9 (121) Julian Edelman
10 (132) Owen Daniels
11 (149) Javon Ringer
12 (160) Montario Hardesty
13 (177) Cincinnati
14 (188) LeGarrette Blount
15 (205) Miami
16 (216) Sebastian Janikowski

Best Pick: Owen Daniels in the 10th round and Javon Ringer in the 11th. Daniels is an important part of a good offense, but there are serious issues with his knee. He’s worth a flier in the 10th, although you may want to find a backup too. I like Javon Ringer, but he too has issues. His issue is he’s playing behind a complete stud. But if he gets a chance, I think he’ll be good.

Worst Pick: Loading up on RB’s. Maybe it’s the homer in me, but I really like Ryan Grant, but he was a bit of a reach at 9. Addai at 20 was an enormous reach (he’s not likely to get as many TD’s this year), and the Bush brothers aren’t likely to be studs at all. And the price for those RB’s was a weak QB and WR corp. Also drafting a guy who already had an injury history in college and is gone for the year in the 12th round wasn’t the best move.

Strengths: Ummm, running backs? Grant is solid and has no one really taking carries, and I like Michael Bush if he can stay healthy (he can’t). Reggie and Addai are fairly good flex options too, if you’re not expecting too much.

Weaknesses: The WR and QB corp. Although, to be honest, I actually like the some of the guys you got. Santana Moss, with McNabb throwing to him, may get 1000 yards (not many TD’s though), but Driver needs to hold of Father Time, Edelman is in a crowded situation in NE, and … that’s it. I do like Palmer to have a better year, and Rothlisberger has shown he has the potential to score, but they are no sure things.

Overall: I feel like it’s 2002 again, where RB’s ruled the fantasy landscape. But I think the NFL, and fantasy football, is much more flexible in scoring now. Loading up on the RBs at the cost of the WR’s may make for good trade bait (if they all work out), but it’s not a team I’d count on as making the playoffs.

Grade: C-. Not the best strategy this year, and outside of a couple guys, I’m not a fan of the guys taken either.

138

I’m just stopping in to say my draft sucked. People kept taking my targeted RBs, and I kept going with what I had as best player available, and now I have 102 wideouts. If you’re in the market for a keeper-eligible WR, I’m you’re man.

I will say that a lot of people keep forgetting the value of return yards. Leon Washington will be a fine RB2 if he’s the Seattle return man. Still, I’m hoping Michael Turner blows his knee out and Drew Brees doesn’t.

139

RealCarmenOfGenius - NurseCarmen
1 (3) Frank Gore
2 (26) Marques Colston
3 (31) Brett Favre
4 (54) Cedric Benson - Keeper
5 (59) Brandon Jacobs
6 (82) Derrick Mason
7 (87) Matthew Stafford
8 (110) Chester Taylor
9 (126) Eddie Royal - Keeper
10 (127) Heath Miller - Keeper
11 (143) Dallas
12 (166) Roy Williams
13 (171) Josh Morgan
14 (194) Darius Reynaud
15 (199) David Akers
16 (222) Colt McCoy

QB - Brett Favre, Matthew Stafford, Colt McCoy
3rd, 7th and 16th. Ouch, that’s a ton to spend to end up with a very uncertain QB situation. I’ve been vocal about my issues with Favre this year, he needs match last season’s numbers to come close to deserving that 3rd round pick and that’s very unlikely. He’s older, his schedule is tougher, he’s nursing injuries, his best WR is hurt and his second best will be a question mark all season, he lost his security blanket 3rd down back and the offensive line is showing it’s age. Perhaps most troubling is that teams will be watching the NFC Championship game tape all season and blitzing the crap out of him and hitting him. Those INT numbers and sacks will go way up and injury may finally catch up with him. Bad times all around, that said, if you’d have drafted him a round or two later I’d have liked the upside.

2 backups with keeper aspirations is far to much to invest especially when you use a 3rd round pick on the position, you took Stafford a full 3 round too early and while I’m bullish on the Lions this year there were other QBs with more reliable production on the board to fill in if Favre goes down. Stafford could have a monster season and wouldn’t be worth a 5th round keeper. I hate McCoy and I don’t think he has a chance as an NFL QB but if you’re looking to keep a rookie QB the last round is the round to do it in. Even if he earns the job there aren’t any weapons in Cleveland for him.

RB - Frank Gore, Cedric Benson, Brandon Jacobs, Chester Taylor
I love the Gore pick, I think he’s primed for a monster season. When an already good running team adds two 1st round picks to their offensive line, and both earn starting jobs, you want that teams running backs. Gore is always a injury risk but the last few years he’s been more reliable than in the past and that’s true of every 1st round RB this season. The only other guy worth considering here was Turner and Gore has more upside. Benson was a very nice keeper and will solidify the position, I hate the guy with the heat of a thousand suns but you will probably get good value for him. There’s always a risk that he’ll become a jackass again and his running style makes him ripe for injury so you want a good backup there, but it’s a solid pick where you got him.

Speaking of backups…whoops. Jacobs is a bum, he’s looked terrible in the preseason and I think this is the year that the Giants finally give up on the guy. He’s no longer a sure thing in short yardage and the redzone and he’s slowed down a ton. You didn’t overdraft like many people have been, but you didn’t score a value on him either. You better not need him in your flex this season. Taylor is a nifty player but he’s useless in fantasy. He’ll be the 3rd down back and with the Bears O-line issues he’ll be blocking more than he’ll be catching. Forte is clearly the better player and the favored RB and the split won’t be anywhere close to 50-50. Taylor isn’t any good as a between the tackles runner so if Forte goes down I don’t see much upside for Taylor still. You took him 3 rounds too early, I’d only consider him as a Forte handcuff. And…that’s it. Two excellent starters with above average injury risks and 2 subpar backups, scary situation. No potential for keepers at all.

WR - Marques Colston, Derrick Mason, Eddie Royal, Roy Williams, Josh Morgan, Darius Reynaud
Man, you really paid the price for over drafting those RBs and QBs here. You attacked the WR position with numbers and I don’t think you’ll get what you need from the position, you made it so you had to have a Flex from this position and I don’t know if I see one. Colston was a defensible pick but I’m down on him this season. Targets are really unreliable in NOLA and as I noted in my earlier comments I’d rather have Meachem or Henderson for 10% the price. I would have liked to see one of the RBs drafted in the next 8 picks here instead. Still, the Saints will score and Colston will get his share when healthy. I dislike Mason and always undervalue him as does most everyone else. You seem to be the one person who doesn’t, generally speaking Mason has proven me wrong every year but this year with Housh, Boldin and Heap there is going to be too much competition for the old man. 2 rounds later I’d love the upside, but I like most of the guys drafted in the 2 rounds after him more.

Royal screwed me last season and he hasn’t seemed to get it together this preseason. Gaffney stole his thunder and they drafted a rookie who could become the #2 at some point if he gets healthy. Supposedly the move to the slot could generate more action for him in McDaniels scheme but that’s a big if. Not terrible as a 9th round keeper, but that’s the same spot I drafted Gaffney who I like much better. Roy Williams could be a steal where you got him, this Dez Bryant hype is coming way too soon for my liking but you have to be wary of Roy, good value you late but he might be worthless come week 5. Morgan is a nice depth pick and if Davis or Crabtree falter he stands to benefit. The Niners offense won’t be high powered enough to support 3 fantasy receivers but Morgan is in a position to over-perform his draft position. Reynaud belongs on the waiver wire, a ambulance chancing RB would have been a better late round flier and there were some better WR upside plays left.

You’ve got 1 WR you can count on and he might be the shakiest of his tier, you needed 3. Gonna be tough going.

TE - Heath Miller
Similar to Royal, a keeper in the round where you probably could have drafted him anyways. Miller is Mr. Reliable but his upside is limited, especially with Ben out, and there were guys taken in the last few rounds with similar upside, Olsen for example.

DEF - Dallas
You got a good one but you spent too much on it. They are in a tough division, though an overrated one this season, but they could benefit from struggles at QB in Philly and Washington and the Giants offense needs to get itself sorted out. If the rest of your positions had been squared away I’d have liked this pick but in the 11th round I’d have been looking for upside keepers instead based on how your draft played out.

K - David Akers
You got one. Second to last round. Why not the last? I dislike Akers because I think this Kolb experiment will have more growing pains than people admit and McCoy is no Westbrook.

This team is riddled with holes after a soild start. Your top 3 players in Gore, Colston and Benson need to carry you and Favre needs a exact repeat of last season for you to have a chance, that’s simply not gonna happen. A injury to any of them is utter disaster and the keeper potential is limited at best.

Potential Keepers: Josh Margan, Colt McCoy

Grade: D+

140

Fourth & Nineteen - Wilson
1 (4) Steven Jackson
2 (25) Pierre Thomas
3 (32) Knowshon Moreno
4 (53) Jason Witten
5 (60) Dez Bryant
6 (81) Terrell Owens
7 (88) Devin Aromashodu
8 (109) Laurence Maroney
9 (116) Chad Henne
10 (137) Austin Collie
11 (144) Joe McKnight
12 (165) Mike Williams
13 (172) Mark Sanchez
14 (193) Ben Tate
15 (200) Brandon LaFell
16 (221) San Diego

QB - Chad Henne, Mark Sanchez
I’m a big fan of Henne this season, but I’d be very concerned with him as my starter. His upside is excellent and I think you’ll be ok, but waiting that long on QB is a major gamble. I think the gamble worked out as well as one could hope, but it’s a gamble still. With the addition of Marshall and some more seasoning from the O-line this offense could be really potent and aside from the Jets the defenses around the division are shoddy. They ditched Pat White so that experiment is over and Henne may lose fewer snaps to the wildcat now that they’ve got more talent.

Sanchez is a nice compliment to Henne and as reliable of a backup as you can hope for. You waited forever on the QB position and got one guy with big upside and 2 guys who are assured of the starting job for the duration. Very nicely done. I think Sanchez sucks, he’s a poor man’s Chad Pennington, and I’m not sure how seriously he takes his job but that team has lots of weapons and a running game that should provide him plenty of redzone opportunities. Interesting strategy and I like the way it played out, we’ll see.

RB - Steven Jackson, Pierre Thomas, Knowshon Moreno, Laurence Maroney, Joe McKnight, Ben Tate
By waiting on QB you were able to go heavy on RBs and it provided mixed results. I think Jackson was the wrong pick there, Turner is safer and has more upside. That said, I like Jackson this season with the addition of Bradford and an improving O-line. As I mentioned earlier I bet the farm on him in the Auction league and that’s largely because he’s one of the few guys without another back to spell their starter, that’s a blessing and a curse. Thomas is filled with questions but I think he’ll be a little more of a feature back this year than last, which in that offense mans points. I think I’d have rather had Brown or Forte here, but it’s not a disaster. This is basically the Foster pick all over again.

You took Moreno third which implies that he’ll be your flex play all season. That’s a pretty good situation to be in but if you need him as your RB2 I’d be worried. That you could have had both Ronnie Brown and Forte as your RB2/RB3 has to sting. Moreno is still unproven as is the Denver running game in general but he’s still the 3rd best 3rd round running back so it’s not a big problem. Looking at your top 3 it’s a very nice situation, but it’s a situation that could have been much much better.

Maroney might finally step up in a contract year and be the starter in New England, but I wouldn’t bet on that happening. Belichick doesn’t seem to like the guy and Maroney can’t stay out of his own way. In the 10th round I’d have liked him, not in the 8th. There’s at least a slim possibility that he becomes the feature back in New England if he plays great and Faulk, Morris and Taylor all retire for next season. It’ll be interesting. In McKnight and Tate it’s obviously that you’re reacting to not having any keepers this year. Overreacting I think. McKnight hasn’t looked good on Hard Knocks and I genuinely believe that Chauncey Washington (a guy I wanted the Bears to claim from the Cowboys last season) will win the backup job once LDT moves on. I love me some Ben Tate, but our rosters simply aren’t deep enough to carry dead weight all year long. If Foster or Slaton latch on this season next year isn’t exactly a sure thing.

WR - Dez Bryant, Terrell Owens, Devin Aromashodu, Austin Collie, Mike Williams, Brandon LaFell
You waited on QB, went heavy on RB and sorta punted on WR. Not the strategy I’d have expected. Dez has upside but that’s way to early to draft him, and the 5th round is way too late to start getting WRs. Did we forget the meme that rookie WRs never pan out? You’re essentially banking your entire season on a rookie WR who isn’t even officially a starter yet in a offense with lots of other weapons and one of the premiere WRs in football. Bad times. Complicating matters further, unless Dez becomes a top 10 WR immediately he’s not gonna be worth a keeper next year. TO is a little undervalued this season and I think he’ll be a TD producer if not a big yardage guy, still that’s a crowded offense with a QB who has questions. In many ways he’s similar to Braylon Edwards who was available many rounds later. I’d like him as a WR3, as a WR2 you’re going to be disappointed. Aromashodu went from dramatically undervalued to somewhat overvalued during this offseason and I think you paid about the right price for him. I think he’s going to have a nice season, especially in the redzone, but I don’t think I’d want to be relying on him to start for me week in and week out. There’s going to be inconsistency with all the Bears WRs this season.

The backups are looking very nice. I actually prefer Mike Williams over Collie here and you paid less for him. I suspect Collie will be the odd man out in Indy and that Gonzalez will claim that 3rd WR role but that’s far from a sure thing and if Gonzalez stumbles Collie stands to be a nice spot play. Williams however is the high upside guy of the group. Seattle might suck royally and he wasn’t able to get a job last season, but he’s had a strong Summer and due to the lack of talent in Seattle he might be the guy getting all of Hasselbeck’s looks. If Hasselbeck has another big year in him Williams could absolutely explode. Very nice late pick, I had him queued up myself and decided to roll the dice with Slaton instead. Lafell might be a steal and a monster keeper if he blossoms alongside Smith and eventually claims the #1 role. He’s disappointed in the summer but they will be counting on him and when the lights are on there’s lots of potential. I was tempted to take him late myself.

TE - Jason Witten
I’ve burned enough calories explaining my position on TEs early, but things are especially dicey here. Witten simply isn’t in that top tier any more and you’d have been much better off taking a guy like Bowe, Floyd and Garcon here and solidified that WR1/WR2 spot. There was a TE run and you seem to have panicked, not good.

DEF - San Diego
Not a great defense, but you got them in the last round and they play in a crappy division with major QB issues. I like it.

K - None
You gotta have one, now you gotta drop a guy. You’ll probably be ditching Tate for one which is fine, but it’s a wasted pick.

I don’t like this team. There aren’t any massive holes but there’s just far too many questions to be answered. You took a big gamble with the QB and it paid off, but the benefits should manifest themselves at the other positions. You should have a much more solid position at RB and WR than you do and the RBs at the top of your draft are 90% of what they should be. Good strategy, poorly executed. Might be a nice team next year though due to a few solid WR keepers.

Potential Keepers: Devin Aromashodu, Laurence Maroney, Chad Henne, Mike Williams, Brandon LaFell.

Grade: C-