http://kissingsuzykolber.uproxx.com/2006/11/f-k-it-im-throwing-it-downfield.html
If only he was still a starter....
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Season Predictions Part Three
Hello friends. If you're still reading this, then... thanks. Let's cut right to it.
3rd and 4th place
1st and 2nd place
4 - Terrific Tortoises: David's skillz and draft day savvy have steadily improved these past 3 years. I'm predicting his best season yet, anchored by his strong WR's and a solid QB. He does have a bit more risk:reward ratio than other teams, but I'm liking David to finish in the top 4.
*Side note: I am totally not ranking David higher just to get on his good side and hopefully get introduced to one of his female Harvard law school friends, although I wouldn't object to that either
3- Pinchers of Peril: The name change works out for Tim. While nothing really jumps out about his team, Tim has good balance, which goes a long way. Even the Panthers made the Super Bowl... once. Still, he's no match for...
2 - Spider Pig: Piggy decides to rewrite the ending to Lord of the Flies and instead of getting killed, he takes over the island. However, I do recognize that my team is a massive If statement. =IF(AND(CHARLES + CJ2K + FITZ DO WELL),"VICTORY","BACON"). I'm hoping Gio makes me proud and/or Justina trades with me again.
1 - Choux: Aaron's got a strong team, as always. Getting Jimmy Graham was extremely helpful in these rankings, but Aaron is also dangerous on the waiver wire and trading block. If he doesn't get fantasy ADD and commits to managing his team through week 14, Aaron just may be metaphorically hoisting the plaque that Mike Wilson still has.
That's all for now. Good luck and Godspeed everyone.
Pig.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Season Predictions Part Two
So, who ends up in the middle of the pack? Let's start the story from the top.
12 - Seenie J - despite having AP (is he really gonna have a monster season again?), Jeff claims that b-school and "studying" takes up too much of his time. His lack of managerial presence and lack of WRs lands him in a similar spot.
11 - You've Changed Bro - Duke struggles in his first season due to a mediocre core (RB+WR). Unless he's got some fantasy managerial skillz we don't know about, or gets some of his sleeper picks to pan out, he's looking to dine at the bototm.
10 - Password in Taco - Justina's got lots of very important international law things to worry about. So, for the second season in a row, she's going to feed somebody an amazing player (can I haz Lynch again?). We can blame law school, or blame David for poor drafting on her behalf.
9 - The Pain Train - Gabs' teams always look great after draft day, but he somehow falls into middle of the pack as the season progresses. He has some sizable risk and upside, but a fairly strong base team so... like Ellie Goulding says, anything can happen.
Middle of the pack...
12 - Seenie J - despite having AP (is he really gonna have a monster season again?), Jeff claims that b-school and "studying" takes up too much of his time. His lack of managerial presence and lack of WRs lands him in a similar spot.
11 - You've Changed Bro - Duke struggles in his first season due to a mediocre core (RB+WR). Unless he's got some fantasy managerial skillz we don't know about, or gets some of his sleeper picks to pan out, he's looking to dine at the bototm.
10 - Password in Taco - Justina's got lots of very important international law things to worry about. So, for the second season in a row, she's going to feed somebody an amazing player (can I haz Lynch again?). We can blame law school, or blame David for poor drafting on her behalf.
9 - The Pain Train - Gabs' teams always look great after draft day, but he somehow falls into middle of the pack as the season progresses. He has some sizable risk and upside, but a fairly strong base team so... like Ellie Goulding says, anything can happen.
Middle of the pack...
7th and 8th place
5th and 6th place
8 - Charlotte Hornets - Abraham takes on Laura's legacy and comes in with the last playoff spot. He has a pretty even keel team , but could use some help with the RB spot... not a believer in the Rice Rocket. He's another wild card being a league newcomer... I mean, Khoa pretty much ran our league when he first showed up, right?
7 - Unicorn Burps - David usually finds a way to place in the top echelon of our league, but methinks that he starts averting his attention to other things this year... like real life. Also, I think he reached a little for Rodgers in a year where there's not going to be a whole lot to differentiate the top 8 QBs.
6 - Jen Wong's Team - Despite her completely unoriginal team name (come on... give us something!!), Jen's got a pretty decent team. Nothing about her team REALLY jumps out, but I think MJD is gonna bounce back and there's a good chance Foster gets injured so... watch out world.
5 - E-San's Team - No such thing as carrying momentum over between season. Case in point... 2005, yours truly wiped the floor with the league using a Shaun Alexander/Larry Johnson combo. How did pig truly finish in 2006? Dead last. It's also not wild to think that Martin will have a little bit of a soph slump, but I'm giving him some kudos.
If you'll notice, the overall point differential between these next four finishers are marginal at best, meaning that our league is pretty even keel overall. There's not a lot to separate a middle-seed playoff team from the 8th seed which means, there's going to be some awesome jockeying for playoff spots in 10 weeks.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Season Predictions, Part One
This year, your resident pig has decided to do season ending predictions again. This year's algorithm goes as follows:
(You're welcome for the new charts, Justina).
- Ratings by position (QB, WR, RB, TE, Other) weighted based on a 100 point scale goes as follows:
QB - 23%
RB - 30%
WR - 30%
TE - 10%
Other - 7% - Risk: typically injury risk of your superstars or role players. Goes from 0 to -4 and adds onto weighted score
- Upside: Ceiling of yo sleepahz. Goes from 0 to 3 and adds onto weighted score
- Mgr: Managerial ability based on historic performance and adds onto weighted score
The idea here is that your base team (how well you drafted) only takes you so far. There's always a risk that your superstar(s) will flop/get injured or your sleepers pan out (aka RGIII or Doug Martin last year). Good managers find a way to succeed throughout the season through the waiver wire or using smart trades. Final weighted score determines your rank. There are also some comments from yours truly.
So, without further ado, here are the bottom four finishers for our league this year!
9th and 10th place
11th and 12th place
(You're welcome for the new charts, Justina).
To a good year. Sincerely, pig.
Pre-season Power Rankings
Uh oh, Fantasy Football has begun. And so the endless blogging begins until December... I hope you guys are up for it.
1. The Pain Train
QB - Robert Griffin III, Philip Rivers
WR - Julio Jones, Reggie Wayne, James Jones, Justin Blackmon, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Kenbrell Thompkins
RB - LeSean McCoy, Frank Gore, Eddie Lacy, Roy Helu
TE - Jermichael Finley
K - Stephen Gostkowski
DEF - Chicago
Gabs starts the season with a strong team. On paper. If they can stay unhurt. Big, big if. Like I mentioned before, McCoy burned me last season with his injury, and I eventually dumped him off to Eric, luckily. Frank Gore? He was old a long time ago. He's just waiting to break. Gabs evidently planned for this by picking up Eddie Lacy, but that's a big question mark as well. Reggie Wayne? Old. RGIII? Who knows how his knee will recover. But, as of right now, Gabs has a strong team. He's got a strong set of WRs, and one of the stronger RB duos in our league. They just have to keep it together and avoid the injury bug, and Gabs could go places this season.
2. E-San's Nifty Team
QB - Michael Vick, Tony Romo
WR - Dwayne Bowe, Mike Wallace, Stevie Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins
RB - Doug Martin, Reggie Bush, Le'Veon Bell, Fred Jackson, Shonn Greene
TE - Antonio Gates
K - David Akers
DEF - Cincinnati, Baltimore
I'm sticking with my prediction as Eric being a favorite this season. While his QB and WRs are weaker than Gabs's, he's got a nice duo of RBs - probably the best RBs to start in our league right now - but the rest of them are looking iffy, especially now with Le'Veon Bell injured. His WRs hold promise, but with all of them teaming up with new QBs, it's hard to know how that will play out. I tend to think of the 4 WRs he has, at least 2 of them will be reliable, which is all you can ask for in a 3-WR, 12-team league. Can Vick be the Vick that he used to be? I'm going to go with yes. Because we all know Eric doesn't want to be starting Tony Romo on a regular basis. Or at all, really.
3. Choux AKA Sweet Buns
QB - Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer
WR - Victor Cruz, Eric Decker, Mike Williams, Michael Floyd, Kendall Wright
RB - Arian Foster, Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Ivory, Mark Ingram
TE - Jimmy Graham, Martellus Bennett
K - Robbie Gould
DEF - St. Louis
Drafting from the beach, Aaron manages to put together a pretty good squad. Sure, he reached for Russell Wilson pretty early, but I think Russell will be eventually prove to be worth it this season. Aaron's got the best TE in Graham, one of the best RBs in Foster, and some WRs who are hard to complain about in Cruz and Decker. It looks like Mendenhall may start come week 1, but Aaron might be sweating bullets if he has to reach to his bench for RBs. We shall see. Aaron has a way of working the system so he gets all the ridiculous waiver wire picks. Don't ask me how he does it, but if he can pull it off again this season, it'll definitely play to his favor.
4. Terrific Tortoises
QB - Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger
WR - Calvin Johnson, Roddy White, DeSean Jackson, Miles Austin, Rod Streater
RB - Stevan Ridley, Lamar Miller, BenJarvus Green-Ellis
TE - Owen Daniels, Jordan Cameron
K - Phil Dawson
DEF - Denver, Green Bay
I was pretty impressed with David's picks this season. Starting it off on a good foot by picking up Calvin Johnson, he was able to supplement his WR corps with Roddy White (who may not end up being so great, but still not bad) and DeSean Jackson (whose success or failure may depend on Vick, but still not bad). I'd say a healthy Miles Austin can do some damage as well. Best starting WRs in our league? Yeah, I'll buy that. He's got a reliable QB, but the big question marks will be at RB. Stevan Ridley should be ok.. maybe. But Lamar Miller? BenJarvus Green-Ellis? One is a rookie on a team that kind of sucks, and the other is an old RB who will most likely get out-played by a Tarheel named Gio. But hey, at least he didn't pick Jimmy Graham and Chris Johnson as his Round 1 and 2 picks this season. Go, David - I'm rooting for you.
5. Unicorn Burps
QB - Aaron Rodgers, Matt Schaub
WR - Demaryius Thomas, Antonio Brown, Anquan Boldin, Lance Moore, Sidney Rice
RB - Alfred Morris, DeMarco Murray, Ahmad Bradshaw, Christine Michael
TE - Jermaine Gresham, Julius Thomas
K - Josh Brown
DEF - New England
David sticks with his best bud, Mr. Rodgers, who will probably have another productive year. He also managed to pick up a pretty decent set of WRs, but fails to put together anything resembling a RB duo that would intimidate. Maybe I have bitter feelings from how DeMarco disappointed me last year, but let's just say I wouldn't want him starting on my team. Overall, though, I don't think David can complain too much about how his draft - he's got a good base of players to work with.
6. Spider Pig
QB - Matt Ryan, Alex Smith
WR - Larry Fitzgerald, Tavon Austin, Golden Tate, Torrey Smith, Greg Little, Brandon Lafell
RB - Jamaal Charles, Chris Johnson, Giovani Bernard, Bryce Brown, LaMichael James
TE - Vernon Davis
K -
DEF - Houston
Luke is banking on some RBs to go down or kicked out this season (Law Firm - probable, Shady - probable, Frank Gore - probable, but James probably wouldn't replace him at this point), because his starting RBs are going to go down (Charles - possible-to-probable) or fall flat (Chris Johnson - yes). A good strategy? Sure. A sustainable strategy? Possibly. A strategy that will be free of stress? He wishes. But when is fantasy football not stressful? Never. Especially when you're out to defend your title. I think this year will prove whether Luke has the managerial umph needed to repeat and potentially set himself for a three-peat (sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself now). Right now, his team is pretty average. He's got a good QB, a questionable group of RBs, and a waiting-to-blow-up-or-bust set of WRs (Austin is a rookie, Tate, Little, and Lafell have yet to prove themselves, in spite of the hype that surrounds them). For now, this seems like a good spot for the defending champ. For now.
7. Pinchers of Peril
QB - Andrew Luck, Andy Dalton
WR - Brandon Marshall, Randall Cobb, Hakeem Nicks, Cecil Shorts, Aaron Dobson
RB - C.J. Spiller, David Wilson, Daryl Richardson, Shane Vereen
TE - Brandon Myers, Rob Housler
K - Dan Bailey
DEF - Pittsburgh
I went the WR route this year, not wanting to be sorely disappointed when I draft 2 RBs in the first 2 rounds and they both end up disappointing. Spread my eggs. To be honest, I'm not too thrilled with my team. We'll just see how it goes. I'm predicting RBs woes again, with probable WR woes as well as QB woes. I just can't win, can I? Even with the name change...
8. Seenie J
QB - Cam Newton, Joe Flacco
WR - Pierre Garcon, Steve Smith, Greg Jennings, Brian Hartline, Andre Roberts
RB - Adrian Peterson, Matt Forte, Ronnie Hillman
TE - Tony Gonzalez, Fred Davis
K - Matt Bryant
DEF - San Francisco, Tampa Bay
Poor Jeff, evidently forgot about the draft. Yahoo ends up drafting for him, but lo and behold, he does not end up with the worst team in our league. It helps that he already started out with Adrian Peterson. But ok, even from there, Forte isn't a terrible RB2. Cam is a question mark, but he's proved himself to be a worthy starting QB the last two years. Jeff's got a good defense, a pretty good TE, but.. oh, WRs... so sad. Pierre Garcon - lives and dies by RGIII's knee. Steve Smith - hasn't been the explosive WR I once knew him to be. Greg Jennings - no Rodgers = no success. Brian Hartline, Andre Roberts - must I continue? WR will be his Achilles heel this season. He can overcome it, he just won't be able to rely on Yahoo to do it for him.
9. Charlotte Hornets
QB - Matthew Stafford
WR - Dez Bryant, Andre Johnson, Wes Welker, Emmanuel Sanders, Rueben Randle
RB - Trent Richardson, Darren McFadden, Darren Sproles, DeAngelo Williams, Bernard Pierce, Isaiah Pead, Pierre Thomas
TE - Kyle Rudolph
K - Justin Tucker
DEF -
Looks like Abraham took a page out of Justina's book, but instead with RBs. It may be a smarter move in his case, though, seeing as how he has Trent Richardson and Darren McFadden starting... and Darren Sproles and DeAngelo backing them up. His lone bright spot is at WR, where he's got some big names (Dez Bryant, Andre Johnson, Wes Welker) as well as some potential breakouts (Emmanuel Sanders, Rueben Randle.. especially if Nicks gets hurt again).
10. Password is Taco
QB - Colin Kaepernick, Sam Bradford, Eli Manning
WR - Vincent Jackson, Jordy Nelson, Josh Gordon, Malcom Floyd
RB - Marshawn Lynch, Steven Jackson, Andre Brown
TE - Greg Olsen, Jared Cook
K - Blair Walsh
DEF - Arizona, New York Giants
I wonder if Justina has enough QBs. She might need a 4th, just in case. I'm not sure what happened with her draft this year - was she even present? - but Justina's team is looking a little sad right now. I don't really know where to start. All those QBs... I don't even know where to start. Marshawn is the only player I really like on her team. Oh, and Greg Olsen. But that's only because he's a Panther.
11. You've Changed Bro
QB - Peyton Manning
WR - A.J. Green, Kenny Britt, Ryan Broyles, Denarius Moore, Vincent Brown, Percy Harvin
RB - Ray Rice, Ryan Mathews, Jonathan Stewart, Jonathan Dwyer
TE - Rob Gronkowski, Zach Sudfeld
K - Sebastian Janikowski
DEF - Minnesota
Duke decides to go the "old and falling apart" route in his inaugural season. Ok, let's see... Peyton Manning - old (but good... but old), A.J. Green - hurt, Kenny Britt - previously hurt, Ryan Broyles - previously hurt, Percy Harvin - hurt, Jonathan Stewart - hurt, Rob Gronkowski - hurt, etc. etc. At full steam, his team could be dangerous. Right now, they're just.. old and falling apart.
12. Jen Wong's Team
QB - Drew Brees
WR - Marques Colston, Danny Amendola, T.Y. Hilton, Chris Givens, Alshon Jeffery
RB - Maurice Jones-Drew, Montee Ball, Ben Tate, Danny Woodhead, Vick Ballard, Knowshon Moreno
TE - Jason Witten
K - Matt Prater
DEF - Seattle
Poor Jen. Asked her to join the league and now she's at the bottom. Call it initiation. David Li had to go through it, right? And look where he's at now.. 3 seasons later. :) But I think picking Brees in the first round may end up biting Jen in the rear, because now she's stuck with MJD (who isn't a terrible option for RB if he can stay healthy), and Montee Ball (not even sure if he's starting yet) as starting RBs; Colston (too inconsistent, too many highs and lows), Amendola (will it work out with Brady?), and T.Y. Hilton (could be her most consistent WR, sadly) as starters. Granted, she has some sleepers on her team (Givens, Jeffery, Tate if Foster gets hurt, Woodhead if Mathews goes down), but sleepers are called sleepers for a reason. Hey, at least she's got a good Defense.
1. The Pain Train
QB - Robert Griffin III, Philip Rivers
WR - Julio Jones, Reggie Wayne, James Jones, Justin Blackmon, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Kenbrell Thompkins
RB - LeSean McCoy, Frank Gore, Eddie Lacy, Roy Helu
TE - Jermichael Finley
K - Stephen Gostkowski
DEF - Chicago
Gabs starts the season with a strong team. On paper. If they can stay unhurt. Big, big if. Like I mentioned before, McCoy burned me last season with his injury, and I eventually dumped him off to Eric, luckily. Frank Gore? He was old a long time ago. He's just waiting to break. Gabs evidently planned for this by picking up Eddie Lacy, but that's a big question mark as well. Reggie Wayne? Old. RGIII? Who knows how his knee will recover. But, as of right now, Gabs has a strong team. He's got a strong set of WRs, and one of the stronger RB duos in our league. They just have to keep it together and avoid the injury bug, and Gabs could go places this season.
2. E-San's Nifty Team
QB - Michael Vick, Tony Romo
WR - Dwayne Bowe, Mike Wallace, Stevie Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins
RB - Doug Martin, Reggie Bush, Le'Veon Bell, Fred Jackson, Shonn Greene
TE - Antonio Gates
K - David Akers
DEF - Cincinnati, Baltimore
I'm sticking with my prediction as Eric being a favorite this season. While his QB and WRs are weaker than Gabs's, he's got a nice duo of RBs - probably the best RBs to start in our league right now - but the rest of them are looking iffy, especially now with Le'Veon Bell injured. His WRs hold promise, but with all of them teaming up with new QBs, it's hard to know how that will play out. I tend to think of the 4 WRs he has, at least 2 of them will be reliable, which is all you can ask for in a 3-WR, 12-team league. Can Vick be the Vick that he used to be? I'm going to go with yes. Because we all know Eric doesn't want to be starting Tony Romo on a regular basis. Or at all, really.
3. Choux AKA Sweet Buns
QB - Russell Wilson, Carson Palmer
WR - Victor Cruz, Eric Decker, Mike Williams, Michael Floyd, Kendall Wright
RB - Arian Foster, Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Ivory, Mark Ingram
TE - Jimmy Graham, Martellus Bennett
K - Robbie Gould
DEF - St. Louis
Drafting from the beach, Aaron manages to put together a pretty good squad. Sure, he reached for Russell Wilson pretty early, but I think Russell will be eventually prove to be worth it this season. Aaron's got the best TE in Graham, one of the best RBs in Foster, and some WRs who are hard to complain about in Cruz and Decker. It looks like Mendenhall may start come week 1, but Aaron might be sweating bullets if he has to reach to his bench for RBs. We shall see. Aaron has a way of working the system so he gets all the ridiculous waiver wire picks. Don't ask me how he does it, but if he can pull it off again this season, it'll definitely play to his favor.
4. Terrific Tortoises
QB - Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger
WR - Calvin Johnson, Roddy White, DeSean Jackson, Miles Austin, Rod Streater
RB - Stevan Ridley, Lamar Miller, BenJarvus Green-Ellis
TE - Owen Daniels, Jordan Cameron
K - Phil Dawson
DEF - Denver, Green Bay
I was pretty impressed with David's picks this season. Starting it off on a good foot by picking up Calvin Johnson, he was able to supplement his WR corps with Roddy White (who may not end up being so great, but still not bad) and DeSean Jackson (whose success or failure may depend on Vick, but still not bad). I'd say a healthy Miles Austin can do some damage as well. Best starting WRs in our league? Yeah, I'll buy that. He's got a reliable QB, but the big question marks will be at RB. Stevan Ridley should be ok.. maybe. But Lamar Miller? BenJarvus Green-Ellis? One is a rookie on a team that kind of sucks, and the other is an old RB who will most likely get out-played by a Tarheel named Gio. But hey, at least he didn't pick Jimmy Graham and Chris Johnson as his Round 1 and 2 picks this season. Go, David - I'm rooting for you.
5. Unicorn Burps
QB - Aaron Rodgers, Matt Schaub
WR - Demaryius Thomas, Antonio Brown, Anquan Boldin, Lance Moore, Sidney Rice
RB - Alfred Morris, DeMarco Murray, Ahmad Bradshaw, Christine Michael
TE - Jermaine Gresham, Julius Thomas
K - Josh Brown
DEF - New England
David sticks with his best bud, Mr. Rodgers, who will probably have another productive year. He also managed to pick up a pretty decent set of WRs, but fails to put together anything resembling a RB duo that would intimidate. Maybe I have bitter feelings from how DeMarco disappointed me last year, but let's just say I wouldn't want him starting on my team. Overall, though, I don't think David can complain too much about how his draft - he's got a good base of players to work with.
6. Spider Pig
QB - Matt Ryan, Alex Smith
WR - Larry Fitzgerald, Tavon Austin, Golden Tate, Torrey Smith, Greg Little, Brandon Lafell
RB - Jamaal Charles, Chris Johnson, Giovani Bernard, Bryce Brown, LaMichael James
TE - Vernon Davis
K -
DEF - Houston
Luke is banking on some RBs to go down or kicked out this season (Law Firm - probable, Shady - probable, Frank Gore - probable, but James probably wouldn't replace him at this point), because his starting RBs are going to go down (Charles - possible-to-probable) or fall flat (Chris Johnson - yes). A good strategy? Sure. A sustainable strategy? Possibly. A strategy that will be free of stress? He wishes. But when is fantasy football not stressful? Never. Especially when you're out to defend your title. I think this year will prove whether Luke has the managerial umph needed to repeat and potentially set himself for a three-peat (sorry, I'm getting ahead of myself now). Right now, his team is pretty average. He's got a good QB, a questionable group of RBs, and a waiting-to-blow-up-or-bust set of WRs (Austin is a rookie, Tate, Little, and Lafell have yet to prove themselves, in spite of the hype that surrounds them). For now, this seems like a good spot for the defending champ. For now.
7. Pinchers of Peril
QB - Andrew Luck, Andy Dalton
WR - Brandon Marshall, Randall Cobb, Hakeem Nicks, Cecil Shorts, Aaron Dobson
RB - C.J. Spiller, David Wilson, Daryl Richardson, Shane Vereen
TE - Brandon Myers, Rob Housler
K - Dan Bailey
DEF - Pittsburgh
I went the WR route this year, not wanting to be sorely disappointed when I draft 2 RBs in the first 2 rounds and they both end up disappointing. Spread my eggs. To be honest, I'm not too thrilled with my team. We'll just see how it goes. I'm predicting RBs woes again, with probable WR woes as well as QB woes. I just can't win, can I? Even with the name change...
QB - Cam Newton, Joe Flacco
WR - Pierre Garcon, Steve Smith, Greg Jennings, Brian Hartline, Andre Roberts
RB - Adrian Peterson, Matt Forte, Ronnie Hillman
TE - Tony Gonzalez, Fred Davis
K - Matt Bryant
DEF - San Francisco, Tampa Bay
Poor Jeff, evidently forgot about the draft. Yahoo ends up drafting for him, but lo and behold, he does not end up with the worst team in our league. It helps that he already started out with Adrian Peterson. But ok, even from there, Forte isn't a terrible RB2. Cam is a question mark, but he's proved himself to be a worthy starting QB the last two years. Jeff's got a good defense, a pretty good TE, but.. oh, WRs... so sad. Pierre Garcon - lives and dies by RGIII's knee. Steve Smith - hasn't been the explosive WR I once knew him to be. Greg Jennings - no Rodgers = no success. Brian Hartline, Andre Roberts - must I continue? WR will be his Achilles heel this season. He can overcome it, he just won't be able to rely on Yahoo to do it for him.
9. Charlotte Hornets
QB - Matthew Stafford
WR - Dez Bryant, Andre Johnson, Wes Welker, Emmanuel Sanders, Rueben Randle
RB - Trent Richardson, Darren McFadden, Darren Sproles, DeAngelo Williams, Bernard Pierce, Isaiah Pead, Pierre Thomas
TE - Kyle Rudolph
K - Justin Tucker
DEF -
Looks like Abraham took a page out of Justina's book, but instead with RBs. It may be a smarter move in his case, though, seeing as how he has Trent Richardson and Darren McFadden starting... and Darren Sproles and DeAngelo backing them up. His lone bright spot is at WR, where he's got some big names (Dez Bryant, Andre Johnson, Wes Welker) as well as some potential breakouts (Emmanuel Sanders, Rueben Randle.. especially if Nicks gets hurt again).
10. Password is Taco
QB - Colin Kaepernick, Sam Bradford, Eli Manning
WR - Vincent Jackson, Jordy Nelson, Josh Gordon, Malcom Floyd
RB - Marshawn Lynch, Steven Jackson, Andre Brown
TE - Greg Olsen, Jared Cook
K - Blair Walsh
DEF - Arizona, New York Giants
I wonder if Justina has enough QBs. She might need a 4th, just in case. I'm not sure what happened with her draft this year - was she even present? - but Justina's team is looking a little sad right now. I don't really know where to start. All those QBs... I don't even know where to start. Marshawn is the only player I really like on her team. Oh, and Greg Olsen. But that's only because he's a Panther.
11. You've Changed Bro
QB - Peyton Manning
WR - A.J. Green, Kenny Britt, Ryan Broyles, Denarius Moore, Vincent Brown, Percy Harvin
RB - Ray Rice, Ryan Mathews, Jonathan Stewart, Jonathan Dwyer
TE - Rob Gronkowski, Zach Sudfeld
K - Sebastian Janikowski
DEF - Minnesota
Duke decides to go the "old and falling apart" route in his inaugural season. Ok, let's see... Peyton Manning - old (but good... but old), A.J. Green - hurt, Kenny Britt - previously hurt, Ryan Broyles - previously hurt, Percy Harvin - hurt, Jonathan Stewart - hurt, Rob Gronkowski - hurt, etc. etc. At full steam, his team could be dangerous. Right now, they're just.. old and falling apart.
12. Jen Wong's Team
QB - Drew Brees
WR - Marques Colston, Danny Amendola, T.Y. Hilton, Chris Givens, Alshon Jeffery
RB - Maurice Jones-Drew, Montee Ball, Ben Tate, Danny Woodhead, Vick Ballard, Knowshon Moreno
TE - Jason Witten
K - Matt Prater
DEF - Seattle
Poor Jen. Asked her to join the league and now she's at the bottom. Call it initiation. David Li had to go through it, right? And look where he's at now.. 3 seasons later. :) But I think picking Brees in the first round may end up biting Jen in the rear, because now she's stuck with MJD (who isn't a terrible option for RB if he can stay healthy), and Montee Ball (not even sure if he's starting yet) as starting RBs; Colston (too inconsistent, too many highs and lows), Amendola (will it work out with Brady?), and T.Y. Hilton (could be her most consistent WR, sadly) as starters. Granted, she has some sleepers on her team (Givens, Jeffery, Tate if Foster gets hurt, Woodhead if Mathews goes down), but sleepers are called sleepers for a reason. Hey, at least she's got a good Defense.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Draft Round 1 Analysis
With less than a week left before our actual draft occurs, I decided to give you all some fodder to chew before the fun begins. It's unfair to judge or rate how good the first round picks were, because the rest of the draft is important in providing context for first round picks. Plus, some managers got an advantage, depending on who they kept. However, I will still provide my commentary, seeing as how some people find pleasure in doing anything except work. At work. (As I write this at work.)
Password is Taco - Marshawn Lynch
Classic pick-stealing here. Now that I'm in Seattle, I was eyeing Marshawn, hoping Justina would go the CJ2K route - he carried her to victory two years ago, right? Why would you want one of the ugliest guys in the NFL on your team anyway? Isn't that why they call him Beast Mode - because he looks like The Beast (from Beauty And or X-men - take your pick)? But alas, Justina took the (in my opinion, at this stage in the draft) smart route and stuck with Skittles. I can't blame her.
Seenie J - Adrian Peterson (Keeper)
Must I compliment Jeff more? No, thanks.
Pinchers of Peril - C.J. Spiller
I'm not 100% sold on my pick, and probably for good reason. By this point in the draft, RBs start to have large asterisks after their names. Duke recommended (in a possibly inebriated state) that I pick up LeSean McCoy, but after my experience with Shady last year, I ultimately decided to pass. LeSean may have a killer year while C.J. disappoints, but I'd rather take that risk than have McCoy for a third year and be disappointed again. For some reason, it hurts me more when I'm loyal to a player and am disappointed by him rather than if I have no previous connection and am disappointed. Call it sentimental.
The Pain Train - LeSean McCoy
Gabs takes the risk I'm not willing to take. Time will tell whether it pays off. Funny thing is, Gabs and I essentially swap players from last year. The not so funny thing is, Shady was my 1st round pick last year. C.J. Spiller? 11th round for Gabs. I lose no matter how you spin it.
David's Team - Calvin Johnson
As Luke mentioned, this might be David's best 1st round pick since he joined our league two seasons ago. With RBs like Alfred Morris and Trent Richardson left, it was smart of him to pick up the #1 WR in the draft. Now it's a matter of how the rest of his draft pans out. Who will he choose as supporting cast for his WR squad? Who will his starting RBs be? Question marks that he'll have to eventually answer. But suffice it to say that David has started the draft off on a good foot, in my opinion. But now that both Luke and I have acknowledged it, he's jinxed for the season. Sorry, David.
Choux AKA Sweet Buns - Arian Foster (Keeper)
Arian Foster is one of those that could carry Aaron's team to a championship, or could totally wreck his team. Aaron had no choice but to keep him, though. And if he spends the amount of time on his team this year as he did last (at least the first half of last year), then I'm sure he'll be fine.
E-San's Nifty Team - Doug Martin ( Keeper)
While E-San's Nifty Team doesn't sound as intimidating as MUSCLE HAMSTER, I guess all Eric needs is the Hamster (who hates the name, by the way) on his team to get the job done, fancy name or not. I'm a believer that Martin will continue to perform at a high level for Eric, and even though it's only the first round, Eric's team is already one of my favorites to do well this season, coming off the crazy momentum he had from last season. It may seem irrational, but if you can give me an example of any of my posts that have actually been rational, I'll take take back what I wrote about Eric's team. Then you'll have to take things up with Eric.
David's Team2 - Alfred Morris
At this point, what could he do? I think Morris is a bit of a gamble, but it's hard to confidently say there's an RB out there at this point in the draft that doesn't have some sort of associated risk. I'm a fan of Alfred Morris. I think he'll do well, especially if RGIII can stay healthy and spread out defenses to open up running lanes. Shanahan has been known for rotating RBs all the time, but if Morris can prove himself to be consistent, I see no reason to doubt his ability to perform.
Spider Pig - Jamaal Charles (Keeper)
As I mentioned in a previous post, I support Luke's decision to keep Jamaal Charles. However, he could be in some deep doo doo if Charles can't stay away from injury. That sux.
Duke's Dazzling Team - Ray Rice (Keeper from Abraham)
Seeing as how he had little chance of picking up a more reliable RB by his last-pick spot, Duke made a wise decision to obtain Rice. While I'm not convinced he objectively came out on top over Abraham in the trade, I think I would personally rather be Duke in this case than Abraham. Sure, he'll lose some ground by not being able to pick in Round 3, but at least he's got a solid RB1 - it'll be interesting to see who Duke picks to support him. With the next pick in the draft, I'd say he has a pretty good list of options.
Jen Wong's Team - Drew Brees
Bold pick by Jen. I'm not sure if this is a result of her relative lack of experience in fantasy football (no offense intended), or if she's got something up her sleeve that I don't know about. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and go with the latter. I can't blame her for not trying to pick up a so-so RB and instead going for an elite QB. So I'm intrigued to see how the rest of her draft plays out. Dark horse candidate, anyone?
Charlotte Hornets - Trent Richardson (From Duke)
After giving up Ray Rice, Abraham settles for Richardson. Depending on who he picks up in Round 3, and how Richardson's season plays out, Abraham could end up making bank in this trade. I'm hopeful. Reservedly hopeful, but hopeful.
Password is Taco - Marshawn Lynch
Classic pick-stealing here. Now that I'm in Seattle, I was eyeing Marshawn, hoping Justina would go the CJ2K route - he carried her to victory two years ago, right? Why would you want one of the ugliest guys in the NFL on your team anyway? Isn't that why they call him Beast Mode - because he looks like The Beast (from Beauty And or X-men - take your pick)? But alas, Justina took the (in my opinion, at this stage in the draft) smart route and stuck with Skittles. I can't blame her.
Seenie J - Adrian Peterson (Keeper)
Must I compliment Jeff more? No, thanks.
Pinchers of Peril - C.J. Spiller
I'm not 100% sold on my pick, and probably for good reason. By this point in the draft, RBs start to have large asterisks after their names. Duke recommended (in a possibly inebriated state) that I pick up LeSean McCoy, but after my experience with Shady last year, I ultimately decided to pass. LeSean may have a killer year while C.J. disappoints, but I'd rather take that risk than have McCoy for a third year and be disappointed again. For some reason, it hurts me more when I'm loyal to a player and am disappointed by him rather than if I have no previous connection and am disappointed. Call it sentimental.
The Pain Train - LeSean McCoy
Gabs takes the risk I'm not willing to take. Time will tell whether it pays off. Funny thing is, Gabs and I essentially swap players from last year. The not so funny thing is, Shady was my 1st round pick last year. C.J. Spiller? 11th round for Gabs. I lose no matter how you spin it.
David's Team - Calvin Johnson
As Luke mentioned, this might be David's best 1st round pick since he joined our league two seasons ago. With RBs like Alfred Morris and Trent Richardson left, it was smart of him to pick up the #1 WR in the draft. Now it's a matter of how the rest of his draft pans out. Who will he choose as supporting cast for his WR squad? Who will his starting RBs be? Question marks that he'll have to eventually answer. But suffice it to say that David has started the draft off on a good foot, in my opinion. But now that both Luke and I have acknowledged it, he's jinxed for the season. Sorry, David.
Choux AKA Sweet Buns - Arian Foster (Keeper)
Arian Foster is one of those that could carry Aaron's team to a championship, or could totally wreck his team. Aaron had no choice but to keep him, though. And if he spends the amount of time on his team this year as he did last (at least the first half of last year), then I'm sure he'll be fine.
E-San's Nifty Team - Doug Martin ( Keeper)
While E-San's Nifty Team doesn't sound as intimidating as MUSCLE HAMSTER, I guess all Eric needs is the Hamster (who hates the name, by the way) on his team to get the job done, fancy name or not. I'm a believer that Martin will continue to perform at a high level for Eric, and even though it's only the first round, Eric's team is already one of my favorites to do well this season, coming off the crazy momentum he had from last season. It may seem irrational, but if you can give me an example of any of my posts that have actually been rational, I'll take take back what I wrote about Eric's team. Then you'll have to take things up with Eric.
David's Team2 - Alfred Morris
At this point, what could he do? I think Morris is a bit of a gamble, but it's hard to confidently say there's an RB out there at this point in the draft that doesn't have some sort of associated risk. I'm a fan of Alfred Morris. I think he'll do well, especially if RGIII can stay healthy and spread out defenses to open up running lanes. Shanahan has been known for rotating RBs all the time, but if Morris can prove himself to be consistent, I see no reason to doubt his ability to perform.
Spider Pig - Jamaal Charles (Keeper)
As I mentioned in a previous post, I support Luke's decision to keep Jamaal Charles. However, he could be in some deep doo doo if Charles can't stay away from injury. That sux.
Duke's Dazzling Team - Ray Rice (Keeper from Abraham)
Seeing as how he had little chance of picking up a more reliable RB by his last-pick spot, Duke made a wise decision to obtain Rice. While I'm not convinced he objectively came out on top over Abraham in the trade, I think I would personally rather be Duke in this case than Abraham. Sure, he'll lose some ground by not being able to pick in Round 3, but at least he's got a solid RB1 - it'll be interesting to see who Duke picks to support him. With the next pick in the draft, I'd say he has a pretty good list of options.
Jen Wong's Team - Drew Brees
Bold pick by Jen. I'm not sure if this is a result of her relative lack of experience in fantasy football (no offense intended), or if she's got something up her sleeve that I don't know about. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and go with the latter. I can't blame her for not trying to pick up a so-so RB and instead going for an elite QB. So I'm intrigued to see how the rest of her draft plays out. Dark horse candidate, anyone?
Charlotte Hornets - Trent Richardson (From Duke)
After giving up Ray Rice, Abraham settles for Richardson. Depending on who he picks up in Round 3, and how Richardson's season plays out, Abraham could end up making bank in this trade. I'm hopeful. Reservedly hopeful, but hopeful.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Friday, August 2, 2013
A Brief History of Nearly Everything - A NU START
Pre-2005
The OF's (original fantasizers) spent the inaugural years figuring out how to play fantasy football while hoping Jake Delhomme could lead the Panthers back to the Superbowl. Who was EliteFobVicTURD?
2005-2006 - Keepers and a Plaque
2005 was the first year our league instituted keepers (could keep up to 3 players) and also had a live draft. There was also a plaque involved that Mike Wilson took in 2006 and never relinquished.
Other Highlights
- Fueled by fantasy hubris, Luke felt good going into 2006, but caught "the dreids" and went from first to last
- 2005 was fantasy founder and commissioner, Tim Chang's best year. Like the Panthers, he's found it difficult to replicate that success in subsequent years
- The league finally figured out what "gnateinnoc" meant in time for Gabs to change his team name to rawrasaur
- Justina and Aaron join the league
2007 - Crapinator year
I don't actually remember anything about this year
Other Highlights
- Fueled by his innate hubris, Aaron declares that he knows all the draft steals. He also asserted that Ricky Williams played for the Green Bay Packers
2008-2010 - Fantasy dark ages
Most of the league was in/out of college in these years, resulting in some churn in the league... even the commish himself took a year off. David Lin capitalizes on this and rules the league with back-to-back championships... the only manager to ever repeat.
Other Highlights
- King Joffrey finally comes out of the fantasy closet in 2010 and dubs his team "The Rainbow Warriors"
- In 2009, Laura gets married and cleverly comes up with "Mrs Jones" as her team name.
- Who was Khoa and why did he dominate our league in these years?
2011-2012 - Age of Pig
The perfect storm brews across the league, resulting in a renewed interest in fantasy football. This is the age of the FFNUTHANG blog and pig analytics. Power rankings and weekly predictions became the norm as trash talk became a norm in the league. This is also when trade meddling took off, which coincides with Aaron's return to the league in 2011
Other Highlights
- The league welcomes David Li in 2011
- Justina finally wins the league in 2011 becoming the first female winner
- Keepers are reintroduced after a 7 year break in 2012
2013 - A NU START
We bid adieu to another OF (Laura) and welcome 3 new players to the league. Along with these changes come with lots of new questions:
- How will Tim's complicated keeper system work in 2013?
- Will Abraham, Duke, or Jen continue the long tradition of trash talking via the blog?
- Are haters really going to hate?
With that said, here are a few charts showing managerial performance over the years...
- For this analysis, I've analyzed our team names over the years and scored them on a scale of 1-to-awesome. The criteria are below:
The OF's (original fantasizers) spent the inaugural years figuring out how to play fantasy football while hoping Jake Delhomme could lead the Panthers back to the Superbowl. Who was EliteFobVicTURD?
2005-2006 - Keepers and a Plaque
2005 was the first year our league instituted keepers (could keep up to 3 players) and also had a live draft. There was also a plaque involved that Mike Wilson took in 2006 and never relinquished.
Other Highlights
- Fueled by fantasy hubris, Luke felt good going into 2006, but caught "the dreids" and went from first to last
- 2005 was fantasy founder and commissioner, Tim Chang's best year. Like the Panthers, he's found it difficult to replicate that success in subsequent years
- The league finally figured out what "gnateinnoc" meant in time for Gabs to change his team name to rawrasaur
- Justina and Aaron join the league
2007 - Crapinator year
I don't actually remember anything about this year
Other Highlights
- Fueled by his innate hubris, Aaron declares that he knows all the draft steals. He also asserted that Ricky Williams played for the Green Bay Packers
2008-2010 - Fantasy dark ages
Most of the league was in/out of college in these years, resulting in some churn in the league... even the commish himself took a year off. David Lin capitalizes on this and rules the league with back-to-back championships... the only manager to ever repeat.
Other Highlights
- King Joffrey finally comes out of the fantasy closet in 2010 and dubs his team "The Rainbow Warriors"
- In 2009, Laura gets married and cleverly comes up with "Mrs Jones" as her team name.
- Who was Khoa and why did he dominate our league in these years?
2011-2012 - Age of Pig
The perfect storm brews across the league, resulting in a renewed interest in fantasy football. This is the age of the FFNUTHANG blog and pig analytics. Power rankings and weekly predictions became the norm as trash talk became a norm in the league. This is also when trade meddling took off, which coincides with Aaron's return to the league in 2011
Other Highlights
- The league welcomes David Li in 2011
- Justina finally wins the league in 2011 becoming the first female winner
- Keepers are reintroduced after a 7 year break in 2012
2013 - A NU START
We bid adieu to another OF (Laura) and welcome 3 new players to the league. Along with these changes come with lots of new questions:
- How will Tim's complicated keeper system work in 2013?
- Will Abraham, Duke, or Jen continue the long tradition of trash talking via the blog?
- Are haters really going to hate?
With that said, here are a few charts showing managerial performance over the years...
- For this analysis, I've analyzed our team names over the years and scored them on a scale of 1-to-awesome. The criteria are below:
- clever names with pop references score well (Kardashian Esk Bros)
- name is intrinsically competitive/instills fear (like rawrasaur)
- Reasoning: do you want to be the "Browns" or the "Panthers"?
- if I didn't understand the name.. low score (The Debbinator, Rokquewars)
And for J, here's a chart. Red bar is team name score (higher is better) and blue line is average placement (lower is better)
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