Fantasy Football

[ElPietro]

Well, I'm in a fantasy league now, and our draft is next week. Too fookin early, but in order to have live draft this was the best time available.

I think this year is extremely tough to choose. I don't even know who I'd pick if I had the #1. Too many question marks beside the superstars. Will Marshall be 100%, and even if so can he keep producing as he has in the past. What about Priest's hip, and contract problems?

Any thoughts on this years top 3-5 backs? I think that if I had to rate them right now, it would probably be something like this.

Clinton Portis
Ladanian Thomlison
Ricky Williams

Ricky though can have injury issues so there is some risk. Portis I think could get even better this year, he's young. Ladanian is a horse, and won't share the ball, and is immortal as far as injuries go so far in his career.

Because it's an early draft, I think the key is to get a solid number one back, that you won't see on the injured list come week 1. I think there are many solid backs to choose up until maybe 8 or 9 and then it might be worth it to pick a receiver such as Harrison, or Owens.

I don't see too many sleepers exploding this year. Stacey Mack? Maybe, I think he'll do well, but nobody will be surprised if he does. Same with maybe a return to form for Stephen Davis. I'm glad to see the 49ers will give Barlow the ball more, I think he is a top 10 back if he starts and gets his share, but Hearst keeps plugging away, so it's tough.

Guys like Edge and Lewis are big risk/reward players as well, but I wouldn't take either of those guys unless it's with a late 2nd round or early 3rd pick.

Anyway, just curious if anyone has looked at this years crop yet.

[Relentless]

I agree with you that Williams & Tomlinson are no-brainers

for the other where injury is a concern, etc., the lower picks get a bit more muddy

I'd be a bit nervous about Portis because of the x-factor of a new QB in denver

What about Deuce McAllister? He's a rushing and receiving target and New Orleans will continue to put up decent numbers this year

Ahman Green will also be decent again this year I think

Stephen Alexander may also be a decent pick though I don't know where I'd rank him... if Hasselback does even mostly as well as he did in the last part of last year, Seattle may actually do well this year

[ElPietro]

Portis is a stud. It's not like Griese was a star, I don't think going with Plummer will make or break the team. Deuce is great, but of course still only one year worth of production, and I think he's been riddled with injury his whole life.

Green I think is sharing the ball this year somewhat. He'll be good, but not great I think.

I think you meant to say Shaun Alexander eh? I was high on him last year and he played like crap the first half. But also the Seahawk o-line was decimated. I think he will have a bounceback year. And yeah, the QB is a factor since Shaun also receives.

As for receivers, I think Koren Robinson may be in the top 5 this year. I also think David Boston will have a sh!tty year, and the bucs aren't going to be anywhere near what they were last year.

With Price gone from the Jills, Josh Reed should get tons of work, Moulds will probably get more coverage as well until Reed proves himself, so I don't think Moulds will come close to his numbers of last year. I think they were career bests anyway.

[Shane]

I'd go with Ricky Williams #1. I had him last year and he was very solid. Considering the Dolphins have a better team this year and should have a slightly improved passing game that should help him out. So I'm listing him as my #1 pick for fantasy football. I would of chosen Priest Holmes hands down if he didn't get the hip injury. Faulk seems to be getting worn down but should still be pretty strong. My order would be:

#1 Ricky Williams
#2 Ladanian Tomlinson
#3 Marshall Faulk
#4 Clinton Portis
#5 Deuce McAllister

[Relentless]

Originally posted by ElPietro
Portis is a stud. It's not like Griese was a star, I don't think going with Plummer will make or break the team. Deuce is great, but of course still only one year worth of production, and I think he's been riddled with injury his whole life.

Green I think is sharing the ball this year somewhat. He'll be good, but not great I think.

I think you meant to say Shaun Alexander eh? I was high on him last year and he played like crap the first half. But also the Seahawk o-line was decimated. I think he will have a bounceback year. And yeah, the QB is a factor since Shaun also receives.

As for receivers, I think Koren Robinson may be in the top 5 this year. I also think David Boston will have a sh!tty year, and the bucs aren't going to be anywhere near what they were last year.

With Price gone from the Jills, Josh Reed should get tons of work, Moulds will probably get more coverage as well until Reed proves himself, so I don't think Moulds will come close to his numbers of last year. I think they were career bests anyway.

yeah, clearly I meant Shaun. Silly me. The Seahawks are returning most of their vets and have signed some decent vets to shore up their defense, which will help them keep games close, which in turn ought to mean more work for ALexander....

you're misled about McAllister. He was healthy and productive through college and he had insanely good seasons playing for Ole Miss... 3 1000 yard rushing seasons and set records in a ton of categories... he also lead the NFC in rushing last year despite missing one (1) game with an ankle sprain. In fact, he rushed for more yards behind the Saints O-line than Ricky Williams did in 16 games. Booya.


For WRs, I like:
M. Harrison
R. Moss
P. Burress
T. Holt
T. Owens
H. Ward
in that order

I think an interesting sleeper may emerge in Tenessee as they look for someone to replace Kevin Dyson who won't be playing this year...

[Wu36]

about tennessee, Bennett is the only one who's performed well in the past. There are too many WR's fighting for that spot to warrant a draft pick, might be a good FA pickup though.

[Y2A]

Originally posted by ElPietro
the bucs aren't going to be anywhere near what they were last year.

With thoughts like this, I expect you to finish dead last in your league

[Wikked1]

Wide receivers.....hhmmmm I didn't see anyone mention Jerry Porter check out his ave. from last year this guy should have an even better year this year and just think who he has feeding him the ball....Rich Gannon.

[MrWebb78]

ontario smith is going to tear it up this year.

pick peyton as your QB, and his sidekick marvin harrison for one of your receivers....im not a biased colts fan or anything though

[Bam Bam]

call your wrs are a bit skewed dont you think i dont have ward or burress top 10

all i know is if we have a wbb league this yr i will defend my crown

and yes i have several rb sleepers

[SquareHead]

Originally posted by El P


the bucs aren't going to be anywhere near what they were last year.

Dude!!! Have you lost your mind? There going to be even better. The offensive line has something to prove. They showed what they had post season and expect to see that for the whole year. And if you think the defense is going to let up you've surely lost it! Gruden said in an interview w/ playboy if they did a back to back super bowl he would run down the road in nothing but a jock strap so there is the motivation for the year! There going all the way again. I predict a dolphins buccs super bowl.

Woohooo I am so ready for football season and fantasy foot ball again.

[GooGoots]

Burress ahead of Owens??????

[ElPietro]

Had our draft last week. It's apparent that a couple people in our league are completely clueless when it comes to fantasy football.

One guy drafted two qbs with his 2nd and 3rd picks, and is now whining on the board that he wants a quality RB for aaron brooks. He actually offered a trade to my buddy, brooks for mccallister. LMAO.

I had a decent but frustrating draft. I made two errors, both the result of not using the draft applet properly. One error had me select Portis instead of Thomlinson, not a huge deal, Portis could turn in a better year in the end. But the second mess up had me select T.J. Duckett with my fourth round pick! I had Torry Holt selected but not in my queue and that made it autoselect duckett somehow.

Oh well, here's my team, after I made the duckett mistake I went for receivers, and then decided to take a lot of project/potential players. No I didn't draft Larry Ned, I just picked him up and dropped finnerman, so I have both of the other backups on minne, in case chapman doesn't start. I will simply go with 2 rbs and 4 wideouts until fred taylor goes down, or I see some other potential sleeper get the starting job. Getting Randy Moss with my 3rd was a steal though, otherwise would have gone with a 3rd RB, then f*cked up with my 4th round with T.J. anyway, oh well, here's to Warrick Dunn getting hurt!

PLAYER

Pennington, Chad
_(QB-NYJ)
Moss, Randy
_(WR-Min)_
Robinson, Koren
_(WR-Sea)_
Coles, Laveranues
_(WR-Was)
Portis, Clinton
_(RB-Den)_
James, Edgerrin
_(RB-Ind)
McMichael, Randy
_(TE-Mia)_
Conway, Curtis
_(WR-NYJ)_
Duckett, T.J.
_(RB-Atl)_
Smith, Onterrio
_(RB-Min)
Rogers, Charles
_(WR-Det)
Toefield, LaBrandon
_(RB-Jac)
Ramsey, Patrick
_(QB-Was)_
Ned, Larry
_(RB-Min)
Elam, Jason
_(K-Den)_
Philadelphia
_(DEF-Phi)

[ElPietro]

Oh, had 4th choice overall, don't ask how Thomlinson slid that far...

[Bam Bam]

you must have been in a league of imbisoles (sp)

[ElPietro]

Nah, just two out of 10 that didn't really understand how fantasy pools work. So they go buy how good a player is, versus how valuable he is fantasy-wise.

I still need a third good RB but can make a deal for one if I need to. I want to find out who the starter is in minnesota, and also watch for Fragile Freddy to go down and hopefully Toefield wins the starting spot.

[ElPietro]

I won't complain though, it's $100 from each of us, so a pretty decent payout.

[ElPietro]

Let me get your thoughts on a potential trade:

I could trade Koren Robinson for William Green. That would give me my third starting RB, but I'd lose a potentially deadly receiver. I think Koren will be top 10 this year, but would still trade him for Green if I were more confident in him being consistent.

Any thoughts?

[Tackleberry]

What does your starting lineup have to consist of?

if you have a flex lineup where you can start 3 rb's, then i would say do it. if not, then i'd only do it if i were to get a WR also, of course it would be a lower value WR.

[ElPietro]

It's 3 WR, 2 RB, 1 Flex (RB/WR).

I guess I have a lot of time to decide, and the more I wait, the better picture I get on some of the rookie/potential sleepers I have on my roster.

I'm more concerned with touchdowns. Robinson and Green had I believe the same number of TDs last year, and similar yardages, although if you add in green's receiving yards, he has a couple hundred more.

But this year it's hard to tell. Robinson went off when Hasselback took over, and they seem to be a dynamic duo now. I think I can expect perhaps more yards and a couple more TDs. Green also will probably do well, but I think cleveland is going to have a bust year, so how often will they be running the ball in the 4th quarter of games. It will probably be Couch or Holcombe throwing pics to the opponent D. I think in fantasy points terms, both will improve, but who will improve more I guess is the question.

Others are telling me to keep Robinson, so I think I will just sit on him for now. But curious of any other points of view.

[ElPietro]

Thanks for the points of view homos!


Anyway, I just pulled the trigger on a trade.

I send:

Koren Robinson
T.J. Duckett

I receive:

Jamal Lewis
Reggie Wayne


So now I have the best RB combo in our pool of Portis, James and Lewis. I could easily get 50 tds and 5000 yards from this combo, and now can dress one less receiver. Wayne is sorta a toss in, but could also potentially have a big year this year. But regardless I still have Moss and Coles as receivers, with Rogers as my rookie that could be good, if not oh well.

Receivers are always way more of a gamble, considering RBs are always going to get their yards. Lewis should also be receiving more this year, so I expect his numbers to improve somewhat.

[gino]

I'd put money on Jamal Lewis being a stud this year, being the second year off his knee injury. Tomlinson will have a great year because(aside from being an awesome RB) I think Drew Brees will light it up and soften up opposing defenses a little. I think Ricky Williams will do well, but not as good as last year - he broke out of his "decent back" group last season and more defenses will key in on him now, especially with the quarterback situation in Miami being relatively unstable. Travis Henry is a great pick, in only his second season, last year he rushed for over 1400 yards and 13 TDs, and went to the pro bowl. If he hangs onto the ball, he can have(healthy) Preist Holmes-like numbers this year. I'd bet on him getting 1500+ yards and 15+ TDs this year. Portis and Green will have good sophomore seasons.

[ElPietro]

Yeah, my league allows 3 wrs 2 rbs 1 rb/wr flex spot. So having three stud RBs I think puts me ahead of the pack. If you are only with 2 rbs and one goes down it's season over. Now at least I have some cushion, and a quality RB week to week will always outplay the best WRs in the league. Considering Lewis is ranked somewhere around 13th as a RB and he had 1700 all purpose yards, there isn't a wideout that will touch that. It's just a matter of how many tds he can score on the lame ravens O.

Anyway, in fantasy leagues WRs are a dime a dozen. Let's say Koren has a 1300yd 8td season, I can still find guys on the waiver wire that will get 800+ yards and 6 tds, so not a huge dropoff considering...

Besides, I still have Moss. :evillaugh

I agree Henry will be huge this year, I'm not sure thomlison will be as good as last year. He had so many touches and won't get as many attempts this year. That could mean less total yards. Or maybe he'll be fresher each game and run stronger, we'll see.

The biggest question mark for me is whether or not edge can be a top 10 back. If that happens then I think I own this pool, if not...I think I own this pool.

[Airflight89]

Im in desperate need of WR. My weak WRs are J Reed, Conway, Jimmy Smith and Peter Warrick. My RBs are Garner, James, Betts and Green. There is a flex WR/RB position in my league. Please advise.