Fantasy Sports Blogger

Time to dust off that old football and get your arm warmed up. FFL drafts for 2008 are right around the corner, likely this weekend. But before I get on my high horse and explain why Adrian Peterson should NOT be the #1 pick, there are more important choices to make.

I’m in only two leagues right now - one will be starting its 11th season this September. I was the lead commissioner of this league for the first eight season before I turned it over to my co-commissioner. After a couple years of non-commissioning, our neighborhood got a league together and decided that I should be commissioner. Wonderful.

I’m considering joining a third league this year, and have a real tough choice to make.

That choice would be my team’s name.

In my opinion, a name should exude some level of confidence, be a little edgy, and slightly humorous all in one. My primary team’s name is “Money in the Bank”. This exudes confidence, if only because I know I’m taking your money. It’s not too terribly edgy, though. Perhaps I should give the bank a name, such as “FFL Bitches”. It can be slightly humorous, as I enjoy accepting the season’s entry fees at the draft as “deposits” for my personal needs. And when I lose, yes…the bankruptcy jokes begin.

My secondary team name is a little more edgy - “2 minute drill (in your mom)”. This exudes confidence in scoring ability (in more than one way). It’s definately edgy for obvious reasons. This season I’m considering replacing “mom” with “wife”, but am afraid that I would get some odd looks since this league is played with my neighbors. It’s humorous for many reasons as well. Mostly because I suspect most of the mothers in this league are probably in their 60’s. Yuck.

So, if I move forward with a third team I’m thinking I need something equally as abrasive as the second team, or maybe more so. The league name is “Freaks FFL”, so I don’t think I could offend many people. So here’s a short list, some stolen from other people, in no particular order:

• Children of the Corn Rows (not to abrasive, but pretty damn funny)
• Angry Pirates (go ahead and do a search, you know you want to…but beware)
• The Abusement Park (sometimes you just need to come out and say “I’m going to kick your a$$”)
• 16 will get you 20 (number of players on the roster…total score…prison implications…)
• The Failboat (likely a rename candidate should my first round choice go down in preseason game #4)

Since the commissioner of this 3rd league has a slight FFL God complex (it appears he has a great regular season record, but has only won the title once in the 12 years of his league), I’m seriously considering “The Abusement Park”. And yes, I’ll ask him if he enjoyed the ride when I kick his ass this year.

For those of us that are joining new leagues this year - remember that your team name is your legacy. Choose wisely.

I’m not one to play in a huge number of football leagues. I have my “main” league (in its 10th year) that I play in with old friends and co-workers. I’ll occassionally dabble in a Yahoo league or a neighboorhood league (like this year). I once played in three leagues (a 10 man, 12 man, and yes - a 14 man) and I didn’t know who to root for, so I won’t be doing that again.

The only title I’ve won in fantasy football came back in the 2002 season. Before that, I had led the league in wins one season and made the playoffs a couple other times. The ensuing season, I had a pretty good year. I once again found myself in the championship game. The first round of noon games had completed, and I was in a decent position. A little bit later, the afternoon games were at half time. I had a small lead, but fairly comfortable. I was in prime position to be the first back-to-back champion in our fledgling league.

What happened next will be handed down my children and my children’s children. It has been begrudgingly spoken about to my parents and my in-laws.

It is the primary reason that I will frown upon the majority of females (note that I DID NOT say “all”) that attempt to converse about sports.

Note that I had been married a grand total of one year and eight months to my lovable wife. I mentioned to her, “I’m in a pretty good position, I just might pull this off.”.

She responded, “You don’t need that trophy. You need to share it.”

WHAT!?!?

SHARE IT?!?! ARE YOU F*^%ING KIDDING ME?!?!

The second half of the afternoon games went well, with the exception of Jamal Lewis running over the Browns defense like they were in a that Geico commercial with Matt Hasselbeck. He ended that game with 205 yards and two touchdowns, including a 72 yarder, and I lost by a decent margin. At half-time he had 41 yards and no scores.

Since that time, I have never made the playoffs. I have never even sniffed a .500 winning percentage. I finished 4-10 in 2004, 5-9 in 2005, and 5-9 in 2006. And every year, my wife heard about it.

If I thought I had a bad draft that year (which arguably could be the root of the problem, but I will deny it to my grave), my wife heard about it that night. If I lost a close game, my wife heard about it when I came to bed after Monday Night Football. When I was eliminated from post-season consideration, my wife was informed as soon as the real-time scoring was updated.

This year was different. I actually felt like I had a good draft. Little did I know that my first two picks - Rudi Johnson and Lawrence Maroney - would ride the bench for nearly the entire season after week 3.

Starting 0-4 takes talent. I reminded my wife about that.

Finishing 8-2, which I was fortunate enough to do, takes a different kind of talent. The only two losses came when Addai went nuts against the Patriots (lost by 28) and when McNabb was injured against the Dolphins (lost by 6).

I am now the number four seed with a record 8-6. The other three teams in the playoffs are all 10-4.

I sit in quiet joy as the slight underdog in round one.

I sit in quiet joy knowing that I am the only team in the playoffs to have beaten the #1 seed. 

I sit in quiet joy as The Curse is lifted.

Two semi-major trades took place this week. Michael Bennett was traded from the Chiefs to the Bucs and Chris Chambers was traded from the Dolphins to the Chargers.

 How does this affect the each of the four teams in question? Let’s start with the Bennett trade first.

Bennett was the backup to Larry Johnson before he left. This is more than likely a signal that the return of Priest Holmes is imminent or increased faith in Kolby Smith.  Smith’s reps have ramped up lately. Coach Herm Edwards is not clear if Holmes will be active this weekend, so don’t read too much into the trade from the KC side yet. If you’re an LJ holder and you believe in cuffing your “studs” (and I use that term only out of past respect from LJ), Smith is probably your man (for the next couple of weeks, anyways).

Bennett’s new team - Tampa Bay - needed some serious help at running back with the loss of Cadillac Williams. Rumor has it that Bennett may play a handful of downs this weekend, more than likely to spell Earnest Graham. I think that Graham, 3rd on the Bucs depth chart a few weeks ago, will definately lose some carries to Bennett in the long run. But the question is how much? I’m thinking that in 2-3 weeks, Bennett will get the 75% of the team’s carries. He’s got to work on some of that pass catching out of the backfield though.

The Chambers trade is a little more interesting. Chambers was the number one receiving option in Miami. However, with the loss of Trent Green, Chambers value was plummeting (if he hasn’t hit rock bottom yet). Who’s the big target now? Due to experience, I think Marty Booker gets the most looks at WR. Derek Hagan and Ted Ginn will get a slight increase in looks as well, but look for more out-of-the-backfield pass catching from Ronnie Brown.

Chambers’ new team - San Diego - needed some help to divert attention from LT. Don’t get me wrong - LT is still the man that defenses will game plan for, but look for Chambers to be a big possession/move-the-chains type receiver that will give Philip Rivers more than Gates as an outlet. Look for Chambers to get more catches than he did in Miami, but for less yards. Vincent Jackson will probably get more opportunities to go deep as well, but he will be the third (maybe even the fourth) receiving option now.

How are your teams doing? If teams are anything like mine, you’ve suffered from the injury bug a little and a lapse in judgment here and there. I’m not in quite as many leagues as Mr. Road, and I rarely perform as well as he does (I’ve been cursed since my last FFL Superbowl appearance in 2003, which will be a future topic). I’m 1-4 in one league and 3-2 in another. The 3-2 team is not as bad as the record indicates. I’ve lost one game due to a tie breaker (thanks, Steven Jackson, for the two fumbles in week one) and the other due to a Joey Galloway/Steve Smith no show in the same game.

The 1-4 team, on the other hand, is a perfect example of how NOT to run your team. Example #1: stick Plaxico Burress on the bench against an injured Cowboy defense and watch Deion Branch make zero catches against Tampa Bay. Example #2: Continue to start a struggling McNabb while Delhomme catches fire. Example #3: Carry Maroney and Morris on your roster, but start Maroney.

Speaking of fire, is 1-4 a poor enough start to hold a fire sale? Is 10 team leagues, I find that you usually make the playoffs with 9 wins, and sometimes 8 if you’ve been making out with Lady Luck. In a 14 game FFL season, this team would need to go 7-2 down the stretch.

Possible, but highly unlikely. Use your waiver power to take the best player each week, even when you don’t need him (to a certain limit). Look at the rest of your season schedule. Determine your most difficult matchups and look at offering trades to help you that week. Remember - you’re in a hole each and ever week - don’t be afraid to be aggressive.

When all hope is lost, talk trash because your team is expected to lose. And the few that you win after trash talking will be oh so sweet.