Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Pre-Season Rankings (With Draft Analysis) - Part 2

Happy Wednesday!  Pre-Season Power Rankings Part 2 features spots #5-#8.

5. Terrific Tortoises

QB - Cam Newton $10, Nick Foles $5 - Grade: B-
RB - Giovani Bernard $46, Shane Vereen $22, Joique Bell $8, Chris Johnson $3, Knowshon Moreno $1 - Grade: B-
WR - Julio Jones $42, Andre Johnson $22, Percy Harvin $23, Sammy Watkins $5 - Grade: A-
TE - Zach Ertz $4, Dennis Pitta $4 - Grade: B+
K - Phil Dawson $1 - Grade: B
DEF - Arizona $2 - Grade: B-
Intangibles - Grade: B-
Unused $2

David Li began the draft rather quietly, likely scared off by the excess spending, like the rest of us fake-money-savers.  Because of this, he ends up with some deals he'll live with: Gio for $46 and Julio for $42, all things considered:
He stumbles a little by fighting Aaron aka Yahoo's crappy autodraft, and ended up reaching a little for Shane Vereen, although it wasn't all-too-terrible if Vereen stays healthy:
David finished with some OK deals: Cam for $10 (which I don't think was on purpose), Chris Johnson for $3, and potentially Percy Harvin:
While his WRs are pretty good as they stand right now, they have huge question marks next to them, as all 3 have had a history of injuries.  That could end up biting him in the rear end... but if they stay healthy, it would be his strong-suit.  Only time will tell.

6. Odoyle rules!

QB - Aaron Rodgers $42, Jay Cutler $5 - Grade: A
RB - Le'Veon Bell $42, Ryan Mathews $16, Bishop Sankey $5, Bernard Pierce $5 - Grade: B-
WR - Larry Fitzgerald $23, Wes Welker $22, Torrey Smith $9, Emmanuel Sanders $16, Terrance Williams $4, Steve Smith Sr. $3, Doug Baldwin $2, Marqise Lee $1 - Grade: B+
TE - Jordan Reed $5 - Grade: B
K - Unfilled - Grade: C
DEF - Unfilled - Grade: C
Intangibles - Grade: B-
Unused $0

I'd say my draft was pretty average.  I tried not to stretch too far for the big names, and managed to get a few deals I was happy about:
People were just going off the board at way too high of a price, and with me being a saver, I couldn't fork out the money for the players I wanted (especially Peyton Manning, JEFF).  There are a few question marks on my team that I don't feel entirely comfortable about - Le'Veon Bell's mary jane problem, Wes Welker's broken head, and now Bernard Pierce's "mild concussion."  But if those clear out, I'm liking my chances of redemption.  I have some sleepers I'm hoping will pan out, and if all else fails, I'm banking on Aaron Rodgers putting up some big points this season.  I'm hoping my strategy pays off, but honestly I'll just be happy to finish not last.  Preferably in the top half, which I think is doable.

7. I'm Coming Home.

QB - Colin Kaepernick $3, Ben Roethlisberger $2 - Grade: C-
RB - Alfred Morris $34, Andre Ellington $36, Stevan Ridley $5, Steven Jackson $2 - Grade: B-
WR - Calvin Johnson $64, Roddy White $20, Josh Gordon $4, Brandin Cooks $5, Odell Beckham Jr. $1 - Grade: A-
TE - Rob Gronkowski $19, Eric Ebron $1 - Grade: A
K - Shayne Graham $1 - Grade: B+
DEF - Cleveland $1 - Grade: B
Intangibles - Grade: C+
Unused $2

Duke was relatively quiet at the beginning of the draft, mostly because everyone was outbidding everyone else and he probably couldn't justify dropping so much for the big names.  However, once he started picking up players, he did so with purpose:
Megatron was a pricey pickup, but probably a good one, given that Duke had the money to play with.  He ended up with a good deal on Gronk, assuming he stays healthy:
But I definitely questioned his Josh Gordon pick:

Which he responded with:

Sure, Luke kept pushing it, but I would just let him have Gordon, but that's just me.  If Gordon is allowed to play this season, however, this could be the best pickup of the entire draft.  If not, I guess all Duke would have lost was $4 of fake money.  I've also realized that since this league doesn't involve real money, Duke probably doesn't care.  Which may explain the funniest moment of the draft:
Speaking of which...

8. MUSCLEhamster!

QB - Eli Manning $1 - Grade: F-
RB - LeSean McCoy $66, Ray Rice $17, Reggie Bush $32, Maurice Jones-Drew $1, Pierre Thomas $1, Devonta Freeman $1 - Grade: A
WR - Jordy Nelson $43, DeSean Jackson $18, Rueben Randle $6, Dwayne Bowe $8 - Grade: B+
TE - Martellus Bennett $3 - Grade: B+
K - David Akers $1 - Grade: B
DEF - Denver $1, New York $1 - Grade: B+
Intangibles - Grade: B
Unused $0

Eric spends nearly 60% of his money on RBs - more than anyone else in the league - and ends up with a good RB lineup, but a not-so-good everything else.
While that wasn't a terrible deal, putting all his money down early costed him big-time.  Jordy and DeSean are good WRs, but the drop-off after those two is pretty significant.  Plus, I'm not sure any team in our league, as far as I can remember, started Eli Manning and ended up in the top half of the league.  Just sayin'.

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