Anyways, the main point I was arguing against was your comment that he’s always overrated. No one’s expected anything from him since his Cardinal days. He was an afterthought in FFL with Tampa and last year no one thought he’d be anything and he far and away exceeded expectations. This year very well could be different. I think it’ll be about the same. Better offensive system will help him, but the addition of a pricey rookie (BUST!) will hurt. In the end I bet they balance out and make him a perfect Flex Position player.
Sadly we’re not all able to be comfortable in the certainty that is Steven Jackson, Kevin Jones, and Ronnie Brown…
QB Worst pair in the league. No jokes. This will hurt. A lot.
RB Wrapped up like a Duece, another roller in thenight. Then a caddy to ride home in comfort. Nice pair. I love Moore. Too bad Mike Tice doesn’t (when will he realize that Bennet teases like a Playboy bunny at a frat party.) Between Moore, Shipp, and Ricky-tiki-tokee you have a pretty good chance at finding a solid flex player by week 8. Unfortunately, that may be too late.
WR Owens and Branch are pretty much the odd couple of receivers, but I like them both to produce good numbers this year. Kennison is the #1 WR on a top-flight offense. Unfortunately he’s teh #3 option for that offense. Still, a solid #3 fantasy WR. I don’t like either Edwards or Re Williams this year, but both have keeper potential (Edwards more than Williams, I think.) Overall, an excellent group with depth, a pure stud up top, and upside potential in the young guys.
The downside is you will have to root for Terrell Owens to succeed all year. Nobody should have to suffer that pain.
TE Well, you have one, and he didn’t cost too much. Next.
K KC. Next.
DEF Da Bears. They will be up and down. they live off of turnovers, but their pathetic offense will give up plenty, too. hsort fields and back-breaking time-of-possession deficits will have them yielding way too many points some weeks. A bit of a rollercoaster ride, but they will carry you at least 2 weeks with scores from the D-side.
Keeper potential Branch and Edwards might be borderline at 4 & 6 next year. Shipp doesn’t have Denny’s confidence, so he’ll never be a star in Arizona. Ricky will be huge. Or an ayurvedic yogi. Flip a coin.
Mundi Measure My pulse races at the sight of your RB’s and WR. Your backup QB’s appear – not bad for clipboard holders, but where’s the starter? What? Really? BWAH HA HA HA HA
QB Pray that Pennington’s shoulder holds up. Pray hard. No, really hard.
RB One of the finest trios in the league. How the hell did that happen? Seriously, both Barber and Martin will regress to the mean a bit this year. Tiki’s goal line touches will diminish, and Martin can’t really expect another year of perfect health through 370 carries. Hell, unless Pennington’s arm is still a rag he can’t expect 370 carries at all. The key words above, though, are “a bit”. Throw in Jordan (One of the three best #3 backs in the league) and you are solid except for that week 5 tragedy in the making. No depth, though, and since this is by far the strength of your team, a single injury to any of the three and your season becomes very ugly, very quickly.
WR One of the least fine trios in the league. How the hell did that happen? Oh, yeah . . . someone advised you to take Pennington before Burress. Sorry about that. :smack: You may scrape by starting Coles and Toomer all year, if your backs stay healthy. But I think we can up the number of season-ending injury risks on your roster to 6. That ain’t good, since we’ve only identified 6 starters.
TE I’ll be shocked if Shockey ever lives up to the hype. How much rep can one damn preseason bulldozer job gain a man? He’s a solid middle -tier TE. Enjoy.
K Two Kickers enter. Only one can play. Wasted roster spot when you have no depth at RB or WR.
DEF See above.
Keeper potential Jordan may be worth a 3 next year, depending on where you finish. Manning may develop into a solid pick at 7. Forget the rest.
Mundi Measure From straight ahead, they look formidable. Then something catches the eye . . . they are simply carboard cutouts. Two dimensional1 Positively no depth at all.
QB Stripper tits. they look great until you figure out how much they took out of your wallet. Favre is still a solid fantasy QB. Vick is still not. He gets picked too high every year, and you have continued that trend. You spent way too much for a crap shoot on a bye week. Still, except for the cost this is a fine pair.
RB Virgin RB’s. Three for a dollar!! Hey, they all look like studs until they get unwrapped. The potential here is massive, but that potential could be for disappointment. Solid upsides all around, but I think you should have taken at least one proven comoodity in rounds 2-4.
Damn, though, don’t they look sweet all wrapped up under the fantasy tree.
But holy precipice, Batman, it’s a long way down from the top. Colbert, rogers, Williamson – any of them would have been a respectable reach for a 3rd WR (better for a 4th), but you’re going to look a long time before finding a solid #2 guy from that group.
TE Not bad. Would be good if Miami fielded an offense for each game. This year . . . not bad.
K Solid points, solid value.
DEF Love Buffalo, but not that high. Don’t love any Defense before round 10, though. In the real world DEF wins championships. In the fanttasy world, not so much.
Keeper potential If any of your WR’s come in, not bad. If fragile Fred finally breaks, excellent. Otherwise, nada.
Mundi Measure Nervous sweats. Moss alone causes a quiver, and if the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Jacksona make it to the New world, watch out natives. Conquistadors on the loose!!! Let the pillage and plunder begin!! Ellis Dee, whatever you do, don’t fall for the $24 in trinkets gag.
QB More stripper tits, but this time with more silicone. Neither one is as reliable as Favre, so you face the dreaded “pick the matchup” game each week. Maybe you’ve had good luck with that in the past. For me it has always just been one more opportunity to watch the Lords of Probability conspire against me.
RB Best 3 RB’s in the league. I expect Portis to bounce back, but even if he doesn’t you have three top backs working for coaches that LOVE to pound the rock. Pound. Pound. Pound. Little coaching woodies from coast to coast. I don’t understand the “uncertainty” around Anderson, personally. He won the job. He’s done it before. Shanahan has always been willing to ride a single guy for as long as he’s productive. And Mike Marine will not get pulled evrey time they get near the goal line. Solid pick at the end of round 3.
Julius worries me a little just because of the injury bug. Is he stays healthy, though, this is a monster backfield.
WR Well . . . I’ve heard of most of these guys. A couple of them used to be really good. A couple of others are supposed to become really good. Not really anyone that makes the heart skip a beat when examining a lineup card.Williams is the best of the bunch, and if Joey can deliver the rock he might become a legitimate #1 this year. The rest are all #3’s. looks like another round of “matchup game” for you each week. Double-your-bets whenever an RB is on bye.
TE A whole Heap of “please be all better this year.” With some “please don’t be all Boller this year” for dessert. Good luck with that.
K Yep. Reed is one. Next.
DEF I lovr the Philly DEF, but not in round nine. Maybe I’ll call them the “stripper thong” in honor of the cheerleader calendar.
Keeper potential Mark Clayton, if the Ravens fid a QB next year. Stallworth if teh Lorsd of Probability spend so much time screwing me that they forget to give him his due. Bradley if receiving yards in the preseason are a good idicator of future success as a pro. (Yeah – that happens all teh time :rolleyes: )
Mundi Measure Scary damned team, silicone tits and all. No sense running away from those backs, so I will hold out two identical tin cans:
[ul][li]whoop ass[/li][li]whoops, I’m an ass for starting _______ this week[/ul][/li]You choose which one to open.
My bad. The orgasmic waves of pleasure I experienced after reading your splendid analyses were so strong that in the post verbal glow I forgot to compliment you. Sorry for the slight.
QB Mmmm, mmm, good, Chunky Boy. Better hope Mama doesn’t call him home to supper, though, because your boys go very hungry without him.
RB rumblin, stumblin, fumblin . . . hey, whose got my back? Dont’ like Green this year. At all. He isn’t the back anymore that can turn a tiny crease into a big play. He is the same back that can turn a big play into a fumbled opportunity. And he will mis those pulling guards. A lot. Good thing you have reliable options at 2 and 3 . . . Oh. Nevermind.
Um . . . you might have a rgeat keeper crop next year. But Gore is teh only one of the three that I really like for future potential. First round busts of the Green/Dayne magnitude rarely turn it all around 4 years later. No mater how many nice things people write about them in preseason.
WR Pizza with sausage, peppers, and Moosh-rooms. Solid starting trio, but not a top-notch topping on the pie. Love the Matt Jones pick – for next year. Converted QB’s can be WR gold, but not in year 1.
TE A steelers TE. The next link in the great fantasy chain of . . . um . . .
Next!
K Yep, you got one. And you paid the perfect amount for him.
DEF Arizona!! Are you freakin’ kidding me? :smack: :smack: :smack: :smack:
:smack:
:smack:
Hey – I;m not done with you yet!
:smack:
Keeper potential Love Jones, but maybe in year 3 when he costs you a 7. He might still be “future potential” next year at 9. Brown is a wild card, but maybe this time the Eagles scout team finally figured out how to grade a WR. Gore has huge upside, but is certainly no sure thing. Troupe migth be solid value next year, but he’ll still just be a mid-tier tight end. Green and Dayne can sit the bench together and reminisce about how dominant they were when playing against 19-year-olds.
Mundi Measure Come back next year when you’re all grown up.
QB This is the story, of a man named Brady, who was putting up some very Brady scores. this week. Next week. Every week. He won’t win me any games by himself, but he’ll keep me in games every week. Joey harrington plays Cleveland on Brady’s bye, and he has at least a hint of keeper potential.
RB Ward, I;m worried about . . . not a damn thing. 2 righteous studs and a very solid flex option. Taylor is a wildcard possibilitiy, depending upon how much of Jamal’s mojo survived the hoosegow.
WR Ward, I’m worried about . . . Ben roethlisberger. Hines is still capable of double-digit TD’s IF Big Ben can get him the ball. Rod Smith is old, but he is still the #1 receiving target in Denver. Those Smith boys just keep going and going, it seems. Hell, he logged 200+ return yards last year, too. Just a little fantasy bonus that helped make him the 12th ranked WR in the league last year. Not that many people noticed. Santana Moss is a great fit for Joe Giobbs, and should also benefit from soe return yards – but if I have to start him more than 3 times this year it isn’t a good sign. Caldwell and Curry are crap shoots with upside. Glenn is a situational bandaid, unless he and Bledsoe step into teh wayback machine together.
TE Hunter S Thompson made me do it. I’ll thank him when I;m dead.
K Best in football and fantasy. Paired with Gonzo he represents a minimum 4 point expected position advantage except for byes. Insignificant? 4 points a gmae was the difference between Rudi Johnson and LT last year. It was the difference between McNabb and Aaron Brooks.
DEF Washington’s D will be monstrous., but it’s still just a D. Move on.
Keeper potential Crap shoot: Moss, Taylor, Harrington, Caldwell, Curry, Glenn all have potential. Some folks think keepers are all about the studs. Hell, my teams were consistently rated as having 0 keeper value last year, except for Ricky (who I traded away). I ended up keeping 3, and I was quite happy to do so.
It’s all about relative value for the draft pick. Nobody predicted me to keep Dunn last year. To me, it was a no-brainer. With the last pick in round 5 I get the 15th ranked RB from last year. Nothing happened this off season or preseason to singificantly change his expected value. Same offense, same coach, same backup. Is he a lock, solid stud? Of course not. But the backs taken in the draft were Travis Henry and Lee Suggs. Dunn was a great value pick. Vinatieri was a good one at the end of round 11 (5th kicker taken). Taylor was a reach, but at the right place for it (RB’s on either side of the draft were Shipp and Gore).
Mundi Measure Not teh scariest team in the league, but most of you will be unhappy to see me in a dark stadium.
So, in my money league I’ve got a decision to make for starting RB.
I can play Deuce McAllister against the stout Carolina D, or I can play Steven Davis against the decidedly less stout Saints D.
Deuce is the stud, and the guy who’s assured of all the touches. Davis is the primary within a committee on a run first team. Plus with the whole displacement of the Saints, I’m curious how effective they’ll be.
I’ve looked closer, and my starting RB decision is a little tougher than it first appears.
We play 2 RBs (don’t ask me why I decided to make it a 3 WR league and not a flex position) and I drafted very RB heavy.
Here’s the stable:
McAllister @ Carolina
J. Jones @ San Diego
M. Anderson @ Miami
W. Dunn vs. Philly
S. Davis vs. New Orleans
I’m thinking Jones is a no brainer, Dunn is riding pine. However, Anderson/Davis/Deuce provide for a bit of a conundrum. I’m sure no matter what I do, the guys on the bench will combine for about 60 points, but I’m interested in opinions.
What league are you talking about? This league has 2 RBs and a flex position; we do not have 3 WRs unless you want to start three. ???
The Saints won’t have the heart to stop the run, whereas the Panthers do. Miami is a crapshoot on defense, IMO. They’ll be good at something, but I’m not sure what that something will be. Philly let go of Corey Simon because they’re so stacked at DT. Does that sound like a team you can run on? Julius Jones is the no-brainer, and the next is a toss-up in the Saints / Panthers game. My logic would dictate Davis should start, but the Deuce is so damn much better than him I can’t rightfully recommend it.
Are you watching that game? There’s something to be said for earning fantasy points for every run in a game…
Big Ben has shown me nothing to fear his aerial attack, while he’s shown me plenty to fear his handing off prowess. Kyle Orton, OTOH, is a wildcard. Therefore, IMO Moose has more upside.
I’m assuming that the Fightin’ Quakers are employing the flex defense philosophy, noting that the Cards face Eli Manning in week 1. If he actually drank the koolaid and believed the preseason hype about Arizona’s defense, well, then, I agree with your reaction.
Okay, so reading comprehension isn’t my strong suit.
A money league, eh? I think you have to trust Denver, the proven success story, and Jones. Big money contracts almost always equal letdown in the immediate future, so the Deuce has two strikes against him. Davis could break at any moment. I just heard his knees popping getting out of the shower from here!
Regarding the Moose / Ward decision, wait 30 hours and decide after seeing their first game at least.
I gotta go with neuroman on this and go with Ward. Big Ben may have had a few problems last year but compared to Orton he’s Terry Bradshaw. And while Moose is a nice big target, I don’t see the Bears in the red zone, let alone throwing the ball in the redzone, all that much. I think Ward is a clear choice.
As to your “problem”, fuck you. I’d kill for that kind of decision. I have to decide between Barlow or Arrington as a week one starter. Now that’s a “problem”.
