Fantasy Sports Blogger

Well, the first one is behind me now.  It feels good to get out of the gates, especially when this was probably the most difficult draft preparation for me.  I really struggle with my timing and strategy in 12 team league drafts.  This one was no different and it seemed to show when it came to my QB selections.  Starters for this league include QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 Flex, TE, K, D/ST.  Here’s the order in which I picked them (7th pick in odd rounds and 6th in even rounds)….

1. (7) L. Tomlinson - Fitz & top 4 gone, LT looked quick in game last night
2. (18) F. Gore - Elite WRs, Brees, Manning gone (should I have taken Brady?)
3. (31) Colston - Westbrook, R. White, Boldin, Jennings, P. Thomas gone now
4. (42) Welker - Had hoped to get Rodgers, Warner or Housh but all gone
5. (55) Addai - Panic; McFadden, Ward and OchoCinco gone so I gambled
6. (66) D. Clark - Got lucky that top 4 TE remained in 6th round
7. (79) M. Ryan - Couldn’t wait any longer on QB
8. (90) D. Driver - Safe #3 WR instead of reach for QB#2 (Hasselbeck)
9. (103) Sproles - Hasselbeck gone, Benson gone so I got a safe handcuff
10. (114) D. Branch - Lost out on Garrard, so between Branch, Rice, Coles
11. (127) K. Orton - Ginn Jr. went pick before so I scrambled to get QB#2
12. (138) K. Curtis - Available starter in 12th felt like steal
13. (151) Chicago - Got ancy as D/STs started coming off the board
14. (162) Celek - Pre-draft Sleeper pick so I went with solid depth at TE#2
15. (175) T. Choice - C. Taylor went right in front of me so Choice was choice
16. (186) J. Brown - Needed K, so I went with the strong leg and indoor K

(more…)

I’m hours away from my first draft of the season tomorrow morning.  It’s a 12 team online draft and I have the 7th pick in the odd rounds and the 6th pick in the even rounds.  Actually, that’s not too bad.  I’m really feeling unprepared for this draft as I generally stay away from league’s this large due to the talent drain on certain positions.

For those of you wondering who I’m going to take in the first round, I hate to disappoint you but I’m not sure.  I don’t like anyone outside of the top 4 (Peterson, Turner, MJD, Forte) in the first round.  If one of those guys slips to me, I’ll probably have to be revived first, but I’ll draft them for sure.  After them, you have Steven Jackson, LT, Deangelo Williams, Chris Johnson, Gore, Fitzgerald and Andre/Calvin Johnson.  All of them have inherent flaws.  Jackson, LT, Gore, Andre Johnson are all injury prone.  Williams has a hard act to follow.  Chris Johnson has LenDale taking carries and Calvin has a rookie QB.  Fitzgerald looks like a good pick until you consider half of his TDs last year when Boldin was hurt. 

Who will I end up with?  I don’t know and maybe I don’t care.  Remember, drafts are made in rounds 6-12, not in 1 and 2. 

Ok, this is probably the most over cliched and misunderstood label thrown around on draft day.   Most people think you have to grab a guy from the back of the draft or someone that you don’t know in order to qualify as a sleeper.  I’m more of the opinion that a sleeper is simply a guy right below the surface that you can get 2-4 rounds later than his actual value.  So far this year a few names at each position have jumped out at me.  Here’s who’s on my mind…

QB
Trendy Sleepers — Palmer, Schaub, Cutler, Garrard, Favre
My Sleepers — Rodgers, Delhomme
Deep Sleeper — Sanchez

(more…)

According to multiple sources and Brett’s mom, Deanna and Brett left this morning on a 9am flight in Hattiesburg and landed at Noon in Minnesota.  Pending a physical, Favre should be a Viking.  He may even see a few reps at QB in the Friday preseason game with Washington.  The immediate Fantasy impact is that Peterson and Taylor probably gain 10% more yards and 5% more catches.  This also bodes well for WRs and TEs.  Berrian and Harvin may become worthy of a late round pick now.

STL QB Marc Bulger broke his pinkie finger on the center exchange this morning and is out at least 2 weeks.  Kyle Boller steps in as the Rams leader for now.  Bulger should have only been on your list of potential backups.  If you were counting on Bulger, keep an eye on this.  Remember that Romo broke his pinkie last year and he struggled down the stretch.  This could have an impact on Stephen Jackson and Donnie Avery’s production.

Hey, he’s no Bill Simmons, but he is pretty good with his fantasy advice.  I’m talking about ESPN’s Matthew Berry, aka Mr. Rotoguy.  He throws a lot of stuff against the wall but the article gets better as  you move down the page.  It’s a good read to get you in the mood for draft day if you haven’t gotten bitten yet.

ESPN’s Fantasy staff rolled out it’s first cut at a 2009 NFL Fantasy Football Mock Draft this week.  It sure looks different than years past.  AP is now the consensus #1 and LT is slipping.  Look at the top ten newcomers like Michael Turner, Chris Johnson and Matt Forte.  This is going to be an interesting draft this year.  For the first time in years, I think this is a wide open field to pick from.

For the full mock draft and Eric Karabell’s analysis of it, click here. And look for another mock draft on the site soon.

Round 1
1. Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings (Keith Lipscomb)
2. Michael Turner, RB, Falcons (Eric Karabell)
3. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers (Ken Daube)
4. Matt Forte, RB, Bears (AJ Mass)
5. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jaguars (Tristan H. Cockcroft)
6. Chris Johnson, RB, Titans (Matthew Berry)
7. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals (Pierre Becquey)
8. Steven Jackson, RB, Rams (Brendan Roberts)
9. DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers (James Quintong)
10. Frank Gore, RB, 49ers (Christopher Harris)

Say it with me now… Michael Vick will be in the same huddle as Donovan McNabb.  Believe it or not, here’s the story.  If I weren’t such a diehard Eagles fan, I would have to say this was the steal of the decade, given the guy can still play.  However, I do bleed green and I must say, I’m disturbed by this pick up.  The rumor is that the Eagles were negotiating with Vick even before Kolb got hurt.  I expect more from this organization than this move portrays.  However, they have been on a downhill slide since they cut Dawkins and now the ACL injury fairy has taken out at least 2 more players. 

 From a fantasy perspective, I think this has a real impact on Eagles players… in a bad way.  If Vick gets on the field and gets the ball, who is he taking touches away from?  McNabb, Westbrook, D. Jackson all would lose chances.  We’ll have to see if he makes the team in the end but I gotta believe he’s with this team for the year. 

Do you think Vick’s community service will be cleaning cages at the Humane Society?

For the past 8 years, our league has been hosted on Fantasy Commissioner Web by First Place Sports.  As many times as we thought we would find greener pastures elsewhere, we ultimately end up back at www.webleaguemanager.com.  It’s hard to explain really.  It’s almost like  your first love.  You know all of her shortcomings, yet you only remember the good times.  Well, that may not be fair to this site, as they have addressed their issues over the years.  There price as swelled as well from $50 early on to upwards of $89 now.  Let’s take a deeper look at this site’s offerings….

(more…)