In the Bag!

My first draft is done. A 12 team non-keeper league. Starting line-up 1 qb, 2 rb, 2 wr, 1 te, 1 dst. No points for catchs.

1-11 Rudi Johnson
2-2 Ronnie Brown
3-11 Reggie Wayne
4-2 Hines Ward
5-11 Rueben Droughns
6-2 Steve McNair
7-11 Drew Brees
8-2 Nate Burleson
9-11 Joseph Addai
10-2 Dallas Clark
11-11 DST Falcons
12-2 Mike Vanderjagt
13-11 DST Lions
14-2 Alex Smith (te not the qb)

The league I was in required 2 DST & 2 TE. I have already placed the DST & TE on waivers to pick up a WR and another kicker. I am grabbing a kicker right now because Vanderjagt has a bye week three.

Immediatly after the draft I traded Ronnie Brown & Steve McNair for Peyton Manning & Duece McAllister. I always feel angst after a trade but I do feel good about this trade especially because I have R. Wayne.

Update: There are 5 objections to this trade so it is not yet official

Bartender I'll have another!

Show me a fantasy football addict with only one team and I’ll show you a drunk that knows when to say no. Face it, FF like any other addiction, is an itch that can never be fully scratched. So to compensate we join as many leagues as we can, which can get quite expensive if these are money leagues. So, as my girlfriend likes to ask, why is it necessary to have more than one team?

Multiple teams mean multiple drafts and after all drafting is half the fun of FF. No matter how experienced a fantasy player is, drafts are unpredictable. For this reason, it is always nice to hedge your bets by drafting more than one team. The more teams you have the more chances to win you have to win!

But, as with any addiction, there is a down side. Several teams means that you will spend several hours each day scouring the waiver wire, reading injury reports and scouting next weeks match-ups. Work, school and friends are placed on the back burner all so you can spend that extra-time selecting the perfect starters for each team.

Last, it can be confusing when you have to play your own players. For example, you have Larry Johnson on one team but in another league, you are playing the guy that has Johnson. And you thought rooting for players playing against your favorite team was tricky.

Harrison VS Wayne

Which way to go Marvin Harrison or Reggie Wayne? It seems that every year is supposed to be the year that Wayne surpasses Harrison as the go to guy for Peyton. I for one was pretty sure that Wayne was going to have a break out season last year. While his stats were not bad, he finished with 83 catches and 1,055 yards, which seems comparable to Harrison’s 82 for 1,146 yards and it is. Well it is until you consider Harrison scored 12 td’s and Wayne only scored 5!

Certainly, father time must catch up to Harrison at some point and let’s face it 34 is old for a WR. His production has significantly declined from the years when he routinely caught 100 balls a year. In 2002 he had 143 catches, 143! Since then he has caught 94, 86 and 82 respectively. Compare that to Wayne who has caught 49, 68, 77 and 83. The stats imply that Wayne is past due to become Manning’s number one weapon. However, you cannot overlook the fact that Harrison continues to be an end zone hawk.

Help is on the way!

While it is never too early to prepare for your next fantasy draft, it can definitely be too late. For those of you slackers here is the perfect tool.

This is an average round draft tool. I am a little surprised that S. Smith is going at #12. It will be immpossible for him to replicate last season and damned surprised to see K. Jones go before J. Jones. But Julius does have Barber behind him and a history of injuries. For those of you too lazy here is the top 36:

1. Larry Johnson RB KCC
2. Shaun Alexander RB SEA
3. LaDainian Tomlinson RB SDC
4. Clinton Portis RB WAS
5. Tiki Barber RB NYG
6. Steven Jackson RB STL
7. Edgerrin James RB ARI
8. LaMont Jordan RB OAK
9. Ronnie Brown RB MIA
10. Rudi Johnson RB CIN
11. Carnell Williams RB TBB
12. Steve Smith WR CAR
13. Brian Westbrook RB PHI
14. Terrell Owens WR DAL
15. Domanick Davis RB HOU
16. Peyton Manning QB IND
17. Torry Holt WR STL
18. Chad Johnson WR CIN
19. Willis McGahee RB BUF
20. Larry Fitzgerald WR ARI
21. Randy Moss WR OAK
22. Marvin Harrison WR IND
23. Kevin Jones RB DET
24. Julius Jones RB DAL
25. Anquan Boldin WR ARI
26. Willie Parker RB PIT
27. Antonio Gates TE SDC
28. Reggie Wayne WR IND
29. Chris Chambers WR MIA
30. Jamal Lewis RB BAL
31. Chester Taylor RB MIN
32. Reuben Droughns RB CLE
33. Hines Ward WR PIT
34. Reggie Bush RB NOS
35. Roy Williams WR DET
36. Darrell Jackson WR SEA

IDP vs DST

Which is better IDP (individual defensive players) or DST (if you dont know what that is you don't play fantasy football)? I play both styles and have my complaints about both.

First, IDP, the league I am in scores 2 points a tackle, sack, int, and safety. This seems excessive to me because every LB out there regularly goes for 30 points. I have won and lost many a game solely on defensive players. Thankfully my league starts only 1 LB, 1 DL & 1 CB. It really pisses me off to lose to a LB on Monday night, after a 20 point lead. The scoring definitely needs to be re-worked. However, the draft is about 6 rounds longer and after all, the draft is the half the fun.

DST, its nicce because rarely can you get screwed by a DST and you can focus all energy on offesive players during the draft. It is also nice to draft a defense such as the Bears last year it gives you a decided advantage all season and the the first 2 or 3 defenses never play the best.

If you do not have hours to dedicate to fantasy football it is best to go with DST but if you are a complete addict then IDP is the way to go. If for no other reason than the draft.

Trades

It is that time of the year, the draft(s) are only a few weeks away and trading is getting fast and furious. I recently traded 1-3 & 3-3 for 1-5 & 2-7. The kicker is that I am keeping L. Johnson for my 2-10. So I got my 2nd round pick pack and I will still get a top back. I hope to get TO with the 2-7, but since there are 1 point per catch it does not seem likely.

AAAHHH

So little time so much to do. Well, I have been serioulsly neglecting this blog because of summer school. I have my drafts coming up and trading is becoming heated. I will attempt to post more shortly.

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NFL.Com's free fantasy football is back. While the leagues are not usually to competitive its always fun to have a juggernaught team.

Cedric Benson VS Thomas Jones

Without a doubt, one of the biggest stories in the 2006 season will be Thomas Jones versus Cedric Benson. Many fantasy players expected Benson to be an immediate impact player last year due to the Bear’s weak QB and RB situation. Unfortunately, a lengthy holdout led the way for Jones to snatch the top spot. Benson barely played and was a huge disappointment, rushing for a meager 225 yards, 0 td’s and 1 fumble.

While Jones had his best year ever, recording 1,335 rushing yards and 9 td’s he skipped OTA’s to show his displeasure over his contract situation. All of this confusion surrounding who will start both has dropped in drafts. As of now, it appears that more people are expecting Chicago to give Benson the nod over Jones. Here they are both going in the fourth, Benson #37 and Jones #47, while in this draft Benson is goes in the third while Jones is not drafted until the sixth. Personally, I believe Benson has much more value than Jones, if only because the Bears do not want to have $35 million dollars sitting on the bench.

Who is number 1?

Last year, Tomlinson was the consensus number 1 pick, hell most of the dissenters were championing Peyton Manning. While anyone that picked Manning #1, likely missed the playoffs Tomlinson crapped out the last five weeks of the season. This year Tomlinson has good company, Shaun Alexander and Larry Johnson. Johnson is the currently the hottest of the three but he is not without question marks.

Larry Johnson:
Strengths: 1,750 yards and 20 td’s despite being on the second team for the first half of the season.
Weaknesses: Losing Tony Richardson one of the best blocking backs in the NFL and the fact that he has never started an entire season.

Shaun Alexander:
Strengths: Resigned with Seattle, has scored at least 14 td’s for the last five seasons.
Weaknesses: After the monster year he had some drop-off is expected, lost Hutchinson arguably the best guard in the NFL, the Madden cover jinx

Ladanian Tomlinson:
Strengths: TD machine, proven and durable
Weaknesses: First year QB means that defenses will probably stack nine men in the box until Rivers makes them pay

Overall, the upside for Johnson is probably too good to pass up. More than 1,700 yards, 20 td’s in only nine starts and 5.2 yards per carry.

Priest Holmes

NFL Total Access just reported that Priest Holmes will likely start the season on the PUP list. This means that he will not be available until the 6th to 8th week of the season. Holmes refuses to retire but has yet to be medically cleared to play this season.

Needless to say this is great news for Larry Johnson owners and those who have the number 1 overall pick.

Just one more month

It is July and that means that you had better have your scouting done if you hope to win anything. I just started this blog today or 6/30/06, much more FF news to follow daily.