I was the guy you were in a bidding war with over him. I like him to have a good year too, but I couldn’t justify $15 and I had other WR’s that I liked about the same in my queue. It should be interesting.
One of the reasons I wanted more bench spots was because I like two of those guys and could still afford to get them.
Evil Monkey (MTRG)
I did a couple of mock drafts to get the feel for auction. I had never done an auction before, although I have done FF off and on for the past 15 years. I knew that the prices were going to be crazy. They had to; there were just not enough top tier players to go around. Auction tips offered that if you could spend 2/3 of your budget and get 3 top tier players you were doing OK. This was just not possible when the prices were $70 and $60.
The one thing that stuck with me from the mocks was that I did not want to be in the middle of the draft with less than a third of my cash… $66. So, my strategy was to go after middle tier guys who at least played and played for good teams.
Here’s what I ended up with.
Two RBs from the top 25 for less than $65. Heard some good things about Foster; he’s running the show for Houston. Barber should get most of the work, although that might change. I’m a little concerned about that. Moore is pretty much table scraps, probally will not get too many carries, but does return kicks
Can I compete without a top 10 (5) stud RB?
4. (70) Mike Sims-Walker (Jac - WR) $22 (17)
5. (98) Jeremy Maclin (Phi - WR) $17 (19)
8. (140) Mike Wallace (Pit - WR) $11 (35)
12. (181) Jerricho Cotchery (NYJ - WR) $11 (45)
14. (211) Mario Manningham (NYG - WR) $7 (50+)
Sims Walker and Cotchery are #1s, Maclin and Wallace are #2s who could be #1s. Manningham has his QBs (who is also my only handcuff) name in his last name. $51 for the first four, who are all in the top 50.
2. (18) Vernon Davis (SF - TE) $27 (7)
11. (178) Jeremy Shockey (NO - TE) $5 (30)
My first Nom was for Davis, I guess I wanted to see what TEs were going for in the maelstrom of $70 RBs and $60 WRs. Guess I did OK getting a top 10 TE with serious TD potential for $27.
Don’t know how I ended up with Shockney….really don’t know how that’s going to turn out.
6. (102) Eli Manning (NYG - QB) $15 (13)
7. (105) Tim Tebow (Den - QB) $2 (34)
10. (147) Ben Roethlisberger (Pit - QB) $8 (19)
OK, first let me say that I don’t even like Tebow and really did not intend to even bid on him. For 2 bucks at least we got to laugh about it. Perhaps I hold on to him and see what happens…he’ll be lucky if I let him hold the clipboard.
Back to the real world, I would have liked to had a top 5 QB, but didn’t want to pay. I wanted to try and hold on to some cash for the mid rounds. By the time I bid on Manning, he was one of the only decent QBs left. Probally could have done better; really wanted Rivers for around $30, chickened out at $34.
By end of serious bidding , somehow, I ended up with Big Ben…for $8.
Overall, pretty happy to have two top 20 QBs for $23
9. (145) San Francisco (SF - DEF) $6 (5)
San Fran’s D is going to help them win their division this year. That and a weak division. I wanted a top 10 Defense. Most likely an overbid, but I had some $ to spare.
15. (217) Jeff Reed (Pit - K) $1 (17)
Read that there was a 30 point difference (over the whole season (1-2 points per game)) that separate the #1 and the #20 kicker. Didn’t want to waste the effort on bidding for anyone in particular. Went with the home town kicker for a buck
Unused $1
Guess I stuck to my strategy. Don’t know if it is going to pay off, but at least I got a bunch of starters who have potential to put some points on the board.
For the record, I was a doubter; thought that I would hate auction. I will admit I was wrong.
I really liked the auction format and had a blast drafting with you guys.
Now onto my favorite topic. ME!!!
Going into the draft, I had my little cheat sheet of how much money I would spend on each position. It was the same I had for my 10 team auction draft. I figured the budget was what was important and not how many people were in the draft.
I mostly stuck to it too. I went off budget for three things. I spend about $10 more to get a WR1 I liked, I underspent about $14 on a QB, and I overspent about $12 for my RB3. Those overspending came out of my QB budget and my backups budget, but all in all, I liked it.
When the draft started I was terrified. With AP, Rice, and MJD all going for above 70, Gore going at $66, and Mendenhall at $65, I was sure I couldn’t get a top 7 RB for my alloted $62. I figured I’d sit around for a couple hours without getting a single guy I liked. I took a long look and bid heavily on Stephen Jackson, but I couldn’t justify the $58 for a Rams running back, no matter how much I love the guy.
Then Michael Turner gets nominated, bidding gets up to around 50, and I figure he’s going to go huge, so I put in a $60 bid and got him. I was thrilled. I think he’ll have a great year, have many more TDs than Jackson and was well worth the $60.
After that, I waited for value. I was thrilled to get Forsett at $22 and Forte at $27, both good values, although I seem to like them better than most. I thought I overspent to get my mancrush Greg Jennings, but in retrospect that’s about right for him.
I started to panic as QB after QB went for more than I could/would spend. I took a hard run at Schaub, but in the end I wanted more depth on the roster so I let him go. I watched as my fourth tier of QBs disappeared in the teens. After Henne went in the teens and Garrard went at 8, I thought I’d have to overpay to grab someone … anyone. Then I got Palmer for $10. I’m not in love the guy and his O Line scares me, but he’s great value at $10.
My value waiting got me Tim Hightower at $9 and Sidney Rice at $7, both of which made me happy. The rest were just filler, although I like Lynch at $2.
I like my team. I’m not sold on Keller, so I grabbed Gresham cheap. And I’m not sold on Moore, but with 20 teams and only 32 starting QB’s, I had to get a backup. But all in all, I think Turner and Jennings will have good years, I have depth with Forte, Forsett, Hightower, and some nice upside with Naanee, Robinson and Gresham. As long as Palmer stays healthy, I think I have a shot at the playoffs.
Second number in parentheses is the Yahoo rank for the position.
Oh, and I forgot to add, the huge weakness on my team is that I only have 4 WRs with one being out for half the season. That may make it a bit hard when the bye weeks come.
I’m not sure that was. You may be thinking of the $50 for Steve Smith bid, which was meant to be $30.
Last year we discussed the rosters a lot, and I was one of the people who wanted deeper benches, but the general consensus was a short bench. Both because we were already drafting 300 players, and because people wanted some vaguely viable players to be on the free agent lists, and another 2-3 bench slots would pretty much eliminate free agency. I would like to have an extra 2 bench slots though. Maybe discuss it for next year.
The thing about a 20 man league is that the talent is spread thin. Go to our league page, click “2009” on the main page, and look at the draft results. People did not have a team that resembled anything like a team from a 12 man league. A pick in the middle of the 4th round in a 12 man league (pick 42) is someone like Jahvid Best or Tony Romo. A pick in the middle of the 4th round of a 20 man league (pick 90) will be someone like Ricky Williams or Derrick Mason.
So it’s not the auction format inherently that lead to that situation, but rather the fact that there’s so little talent when you spread it 20 ways.
Cribbs is gonna have 300 rushing and receiving yards at least, in addition to 1800 return yards. Not a superstar, but definitely worth owning in this league.
By the way, if you didn’t know, for 2 days after the draft all players are treated as waivers rather than free agents. This allows everyone to bid for them with FAAB dollars. I’m going to go manually add the extra dollars leftover from our draft to the FAAB now. Everyone starts with a base of $100.
Thanks. I need a WR so I know I’m using that FAAB this week.
I brought the issue up a few posts ago, but how do people feel about letting people swap FAAB dollars as parts of trades? It can either be used to do slight tweaking to a slightly imbalanced deal, and it also gives Court Jesters some way to build a semblance of a team, which I think is in the best interest of the league.
I love the idea and support it 100%
Sure, whatever you think is best. And if you don’t think it goes far enough, i’d also support some other mechanism whereby we can ensure that the Court Jesters is a viable team.
Leaving the computer to autodraft in a regular league can still leave you with a pretty decent roster, but in an auction league it’s a disaster. Even if you change your max bid settings before the draft, it seems clear that you can’t make enough allowances to guarantee even a half-decent team, because you can’t predict how the nominations or the bidding will go.
In a 12 man auction it’s not a horrible disaster, the computer can usually manage to make a team out of the yahoo projected values. But with this league, since the average value was so much higher than normal, the computer never stepped in to draft a player. Court Jesters could’ve rectified this by pre-valuing, so any screwing he gets as a result of this is his own fault - but I’m still concerned about the parity implications of essentially having one free win/empty division slot in the league.
Crap. I don’t play the Jesters ONCE!
The best values and biggest overpays in the draft. I haven’t worked out a spreadsheet for optimal adjustments to 20 man leagues or anything like that, so I’m just commenting on what I see as good values or overpriced relative to what others went for.
Running Back
Good values
Knowshon Moreno $29 Varlos’ Zzzzzzz
He’s been a dissapointment but he should have a greater load this year - and $29 is cheap compared to some of the crazy RB prices.
Jonathan Stewart $29 Exploding Pancakes
Possibly the steal of the RBs. There are plenty of touches to go around in carolina and he keeps getting more.
Ronnie Brown $28 Varlos’ Zzzzzzz
I like Ronnie Brown this year. He’s a risk - injured 17 times a year - but he’s one of the best points per game RBs there is.
Jerome Harrison $27 Curry Porkrinds
I’m in man-love with Harrison and Hardesty going down just solidifies his value.
Matt Forte $27 Hamlets Out of Ideas
Due for a big rebound this year. Probably not as good as his rookie season, but closer to that than last year.
Clinton Portis $11 Phoenix Redbirds
He seems like the oldest 29 year old ever, but he might find a way to rack up 1000+ yards again under Shanahan.
Tim Hightower $9 Hamlets Out of Ideas
May get nearly half of Ari’s rushing fantasy points.
Thomas Jones $9 Curry Porkrinds
I like Thomas to steal points from Jamal Charles owners this year. Good flex starter.
Leon Washington $4 Garcon’s Cedilla
I like his chances to outperform guys in Washington, or at least return to his return yards/rush yards/rec yards combined usefulness
Bernard Scott $2 Exploding Pancakes
Seems like something is going to catch up to Benson. Injury, arrest, or remembering that he sucks. Scott is talented and ready to take on the whole Bengals load. Best handcuff gamble this year IMO.
Jahvid Best is a borderline value at $36 because I love his upside. Best shot at being this year’s Ray Rice. But I couldn’t put him on the list because he’s not that cheap, and he’s unproven.
Justin Forsett at $22 is borderline too - such an ambiguous situation in Seattle, but he has a high upside.
Overpaid
Chris Johnson $85 Scissor Me Timbers
He may be okay in an absolute value, point per dollar, adjusted for the league way, but I doubt he’s worth $13 more than AP/MJD/etc. He’s going to be top 5 this year but I don’t think he’s a guaranteed #1 - his workload won’t be as big.
Rashard Mendenhall $65 Not Sure
Don’t think he has $15 value over the other young starters in favorable situations - Greene and Matthews who were priced at $49 and $50.
Steven Jackson $58 Garcon’s Cedilla
He can’t score TDs because he won’t get the chances and I doubt he’ll hold up. Wouldn’t want him for most of the guys who went $10 cheaper.
Ricky Williams $20 Unrelated Siblings
His great season last year seems flukey to me. He’s old, Brown is healthy, and the Dolphins will rely less on the running game this year. Only worth this much if Ronnie Brown gets hurt badly early.
I want to put LeSean McCoy at $39 on this list but it’s hard to argue with the starting back of the Eagles. He was just really dissapointing in his chances last year.
I also don’t really like CJ Spiller at $24 with all the competition in Buffalo, plus they suck. But not quite bad enough to make the list - there’s definitely some upside there.
WR
Most of the top WRs seem pretty reasonably priced, especially compared to the top RBs.
Good Values
Greg Jennings $35 Hamlets Out of Ideas
I like him to rebound and be a top 5 WR, and $35 is a pretty good price.
Brandon Marshall $35 Scissor Me Timbers
I never like Marshall but he always produces. Solid value here.
Anquan Boldin $27 Exploding Pancakes
He’s going to get a chance to be the focal point of an offense with a developing QB who’s never had anyone of his talent before. Like Ronnie Brown, his points per game is phoenominal when he plays. I think if healthy he’ll be a top 7 WR, so he’s priced well here.
Joshua Cribbs $6 The Gusterrhoids
Cribbs will have 1700+ return yards, 400+ rushing yards, and 300+ rec yards. Definitely worth owning in this league.
Mohamed Massaquoi $6 Unrelated Siblings
He’s the #1 receiver on an improved passing offense. He managed 600 yards last year with no passing offense whatsoever, and Jake Delhomme is looking rejuvinated with a fresh start. I’d give him 50/50 for 1000 yards, and that’s a great gamble for a $6 pick.
Darrius Heyward-Bey $5 Up by Three
He’s got some high upside under Campbell.
Mike Thomas $3 CMFD
This will end up being looked back on as one of the big steals of the draft. I wanted him myself but $2 was my max bid at the time - I had the winning bid on him until .000001 seconds were left on the clock, at which point CMFD snatch him away from me.
Louis Murphy $2 Garcon’s Cedilla
Nate Burleson $2 Exploding Pancakes
Greg Camarillo $2 Varlos’ Zzzzzzz
All of those guys are going to get at least 600 yards with some upside. Great value to fill out the third WR slot here.
Lance Moore $1 Scissor Me Timbers
He put up almost 1000 yards just 2 years ago. I’d gamble on any NO receiver for $1.
Davone Bess $1 The Brute Squad
He should be a solid #2 or #3 and get some punt return yards. Also may end up with 80+ recs. Love him for a buck.
Danny Amendola $1 CMFD
Looks like he might be the #1 in St. Louis. For a buck, I’d take that gamble all day.
Early Doucet $1 Court Jesters
Good gamble, good sleeper.
Overpaid
Steve Smith $50 Frosted_Lightning
This was apparently a typo and meant for $30 so I guess it doesn’t really belong on this list. But for completeness…
Donald Driver $20 Unrelated Siblings
He’s old, he got his knees replaced with hamster wheels. He’s in a prolific offense, but it’s also full of good receivers. There are higher upside guys to take at this price point.
Jacoby Jones $18 Phoenix Redbirds
I like Jones’ potential too, but at $18 you could get a legit proven receiver.
I don’t have a lot of bad things to say about the WR prices. Wayne and Austin are a little overpriced, as are Braylon Edwards and maybe Housh, but the receiver pricing is pretty savvy.
QB
Good Value
Matt Schaub $35 Return of Ryan Leaf
Philip Rivers $34 Phoenix Redbirds
Tony Romo $32 The Brute Squad
I like all of those guys roughly equally much at their value. Rivers may be a notch below due to a predicted regression, but at solid. Romo is the best value of the bunch.
Donovan McNabb $13 The Gusterrhoids
McNabb doesn’t get enough real football or fantasy respect.
Carson Palmer $10 Hamlets Out of Ideas
I don’t think Cinci will go pass-wild, but he’s great value for $10 there.
Derek Anderson $3 Exploding Pancakes
I like his ceiling. He’s flakey as hell but good receivers can make him into the 2007 monster he was. I’m willing to bet $3 on that, although obviously I’d be more comfortable if I had a solid starter in front of him in case he doesn’t pan out.
Jake Delhomme $1 Garcon’s Cedilla
Jake’s in for a rebound this year.
Overpaid
Aaron Rodgers $60 Curry Porkrinds
I love Rodgers, and $60 may actually be very solid points per dollar in this league, but I don’t like him at $15 more than Brees and $17 more than Brady.
Joe Flacco $30 Unrelated Siblings
He has a potential big year with his new weapons, but I can’t justify this price at only $2 less than Romo (who will significantly outperform him) and $4/5 less than Schaub/Rivers
I think you meant to quote Hamlet here and not me. I bid on Cribbs because he’s a solid return guy. 100 points from the flex spot is nothing to sneeze at in this league.
Posting this message to all my leagues.
We use a built-in system in yahoo to handle free agents during gameday with one tweak. In the old days, when a player went down and his backup suddenly became valuable, the person closest to their computer would be the one who rushed in and added him to his roster. It hampers the enjoyment of the games to always be worried about that, so we came up with a system whereby at the start of each player’s game, they were put on waivers for two days rather than being free agents. That way if MJD went down, everyone would have a chance to put a waiver claim on Rashard Jenning. Since we’re using FAAB this year, it would then be resolved by who bid the most.
We used to do this manually, but now yahoo has an automatic system for doing this. It has two settings - free agents go on waivers after the first game of the week, or players go on waivers from Sunday at 1pm. I’m going to use the latter, otherwise Thursday night games would make it so you couldn’t pick up a guy on Saturday. But this leaves us with one potential problem - if, say, Adrian Peterson were to go down in tonight’s Thursday game, his backup would be up for grabs as a free agent, which defeats the purpose of our system. So our custom rule is this: Even though yahoo waits till Sunday at 1pm to put all players on waivers, we consider any free agent involved in a game to also be on waivers. The proper thing to do if you want to pick up a player who played in a Thursday or Saturday night game is to wait until Sunday when all free agents go on waivers, including the ones from the games earlier in the week. If someone picks up a player from a team involved in those games, the pickup will be manually reverted.
Any questions?
Not that McNabb doesn’t get the respect from me. The 'Skins O-Line has been awful the past few years, and even with some smart work in the offseason, and a recognized need for shaking it up, it’ll be amazing if they get to being average.
Two trades to announce. Dale42j is remaking his team apparently.
Phoenix Redbirds give up Jacoby Jones, Brandon LaFell, and Jermichael Finley and Garcon’s Cedillia gives up John Carlson, Devery Henderson, and Louis Murphy.
and
Phoenix Redbirds gives up Philip Rivers and Tony Scheffler and Exploding Pancakes gives up Derek Anderson and Anquan Boldin.
Team review
QB:
Kevin Kolb - I’m not sure if I trust his abilities, but he’s always put up numbers filling in for McNabb. Only having one makes me a bit nervous, but thankfully his bye is late.
WR: the only position I’d say I’m strong at
Calvin Johnson
Mike Williams
Terrell Owens
Ted Ginn jr
Sammie Stroughter
Darrious Heyward-Beys
Three starters, and two backups who see the field. This seems like a strong bunch.
RB:
Ray Rice
Jason Snelling
Tashard Choice
Mike Tolbert
Maurice Morris
I’m not sure how I ended up with 3 good handcuffs/backups, but no RB2. I definitely would’ve been better off spending $40 for a guy like Arian Foster and $30 for a guy like Justin Forsett than $70 for Ray Rice
TE
Brandon Pettigrew
at $1 I should be doing ok here
k - don’t care
def - Ind spent $1 can’t complain