Category: Fantasy Football (Page 228 of 324)

      My first “Insiders League” draft

      September 1, 2008 /

      I was recently invited to join an “Insiders League” that was sponsored by the Fantasy Sports Writers of America. Maybe it was (ahem) my superior fantasy knowledge, maybe it was my award-winning article, or maybe they just needed a warm body to fill out the league. (I’m betting on the latter, though I’ll make the most of any opportunity to mention my award-winning article. By the way, did I mention I won an award?)

      Anyway, there were representatives from Fanball, Footballguys, The Roto Expert, the Fantasy Football Times, among others. I debated whether or not to actually write about this draft, as one of the owners was on auto-draft and it kind of messed up the flow of things. But I figured that happens in regular drafts too, so what the heck.

      I had the #10 pick and I was none too happy about it. It’s a tough year to have a late first round pick, though it’s generally not a good position in any draft. If you’re sharp, you can put a good team together, but the chips are stacked against you from the start. Whatever owner is lucky enough to draft #1 overall is going to get three of the top 25 picks, and since most of the second round guys are so similar, it’s really his league to lose if he makes good decisions at the 2/3 turn.

      But I was determined to make the best of it, and here’s how the draft went.

      1.10: Clinton Portis, RB
      The way I see the first round, there are eight can’t-miss RBs: LT, Westy, AP, Addai, Jackson, Barber, Portis and Gore. I’m not as high on Gore as the rest of the fantasy community, but I would have been okay with him at #10. Moss and Lynch went ahead of me, so I had to decide between Portis and Brady, and decided to go RB.

      2.03: Larry Fitzgerald, WR
      I was hoping that Wayne would slip, but he went 2.01. At that point, I was looking at either Fitzy or Reggie Bush. I’m in a number of drafts this year and have gone RB/RB in the first two rounds most of the time, so I thought I’d switch it up and go with a WR in this draft. (By the way, this is a PPR league requiring two starting RBs, three starting WRs, a TE and a flex spot, so WRs are pretty important.)

      3.10: Steve Smith, WR
      Smith was a late second round guy before the two-game suspension, so with Jamal Lewis and Ryan Grant off the board, I decided to go WR again. I thought about Earnest Graham and Jason Witten, but thought that one or both would be on the board at 4.03.

      (The LT owner went with a Maroney/AJ combo at 2.12/3.01, which is strong if the Pats elect to use Maroney at the goal line. I don’t think they will, but you never know.)

      4.03: Ben Roethlisberger, QB
      Oops, Graham and Witten (along with Jacobs and Burress) went at the turn, so my only attractive option was Big Ben. I think there’s a drop-off after the top six QBs – Brady, Manning, Romo, Brees, Roethlisberger and Palmer – so I think it’s important to get one of those this season. Besides, the RBs that were available – McFadden, TJ, Fast Willie, Ronnie Brown – weren’t that attractive, not when I could get Edge or Selvin Young at 5.10.

      5.10: Dwayne Bowe, WR
      Oops. (Noticing a trend here?) Selvin went 5.02 and Edge went 5.08, so I took the best player available. Bowe had a tremendous rookie season and I think he’s in for big things in 2008. At this point, I realize that I am really hurting at RB but am stacked at WR. I thought about taking LenDale here, but I was (justifiably, it turns out) worried about Chris Johnson eating into his carries. Besides, White will be there at 6.03, right?

      6.03: Jerricho Cotchery, WR
      Wrong. White went on the turn, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Regular readers know that Cotch is a perennial JP favorite; he is quickly becoming the next Donald Driver – underrated and productive. Now that he has Favre throwing to him, I’m expecting a career (100-catch?) year. I thought about Fred Taylor, but figured he would have a shot at slipping to 7.10.

      7.10: Rashard Mendenhall, RB
      Of course, Taylor was long gone. Mendenhall was a desperation pick. I needed a RB badly and I thought he was the best on the board. In hindsight, Ricky Williams would have been better, but it’s tough to count on him and his situation wasn’t quite as attractive at the time of the draft.

      8.03: Chris Cooley, TE
      I love getting Cooley in the 8th. He’s the most dependable tight end after the top four – Witten, Winslow, Gates and Gonzo – and I think he’ll thrive in Jim Zorn’s West Coast Offense. I probably should have gone RB here, but at this point I was thinking that I’d be able to trade one of my WRs to the auto-pick team. (After seven rounds, his team had two QBs and five RBs! Ha!)

      I went on to grab Chris Perry in the 9th, Jerious Norwood in the 10th, Jason Campbell in the 11th, Ronald Curry in the 12th, Ladell Betts (to back up Portis) in the 13th, Eddie Royal in the 14th, Green Bay and Buffalo DTs in the 15th and 16th, Derrick Ward in the 17th, DeSean Jackson in the 18th, Jeff Reed in the 19th and Mark Clayton in the 20th.

      After the draft, I proposed a Steve Smith-for-Jamal Lewis swap with the auto-pick team, and he quickly accepted. (Whew!) So I ended up with a squad that looks like this:

      Starters:

      QB: Roethlisberger
      RB1: Portis
      RB2: J. Lewis
      WR1: Fitzgerald
      WR2: Bowe
      WR3: Cotchery
      TE: Cooley
      Flex: Perry
      K: Reed
      DT: Packers

      Bench:

      QB: Campbell
      RB: Mendenhall, Norwood, D. Ward
      WR: Curry, De. Jackson, M. Clayton

      Overall, given my competition, I am quite happy with my team. I have a top-six QB, two solid RBs (#5 and #7 last year), a great WR corps (#6, #20 and #23 last season, with upside) and a good TE (#5 last year). I would have drafted better in the middle and late rounds had I known that I’d be able to move Smith for Jamal, but those are the breaks. My bench is not what I’d like it to be, but there is some upside there with Perry currently the RB1 in Cincy and Mendenhall, Norwood and Ward the top backups elsewhere. I like the upside of Curry, Royal and DeSean Jackson (though I’m a little apprehensive about having two rookie wideouts on my team).

      So what do you think? Did I represent The Scores Report well?

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Lions need more than just talented receivers

      September 1, 2008 /

      In the weeks leading up to the kickoff the 2008 NFL Season, I’ll take a look at position groups that could potentially lift teams to new heights, or bury them and their postseason hopes. Today I take a look at how the Detroit Lions will need more than Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson to be successful on offense.

      Roy WilliamsNFL cornerbacks are going to have their hands full trying to defend Detroit Lions’ wide receivers Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson this season. But even with the outstanding talent at wide receiver, the Lions are going to need way more help to succeed offensively in 2008.

      Over the past two seasons, quarterback Jon Kitna has thrown for over 4,000 yards and completed over 62% of his passes. But he compiled those stats in Mike Martz’s offense, the same Mike Martz who is now the offensive coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers.

      Kitna is a tough veteran who probably doesn’t get enough credit for what he does for his team on the field, but can he survive without Martz’s play calling and guidance? Looking at his receiving corps, it’s easy to say yes. But dig deeper.

      While Kitna has compiled outstanding numbers over the past two seasons, he’s also been sacked more times than any other NFL quarterback. The Lions did select promising former offensive linemen Gosder Cherilus in the first round of April’s draft, but he’ll need time to develop. Until he does, Detroit’s offensive line is likely to continue to struggle.

      Matt MillenWhile Lions’ GM Matt Millen deserves credit for building a talented wide receiving corps over the past couple drafts, it should be noted that it took him several tries (and several first round picks) to do so. Millen’s 2003 first round pick, Charles Rogers, proved to be a bust. Millen’s 2005 first round pick, Mike Williams, proved to be an even bigger bust.

      Wide receiver is arguably the most overrated position on the football field, yet Millen used four first round picks on wide out over the past six drafts. Only Williams and Johnson have panned out, while the offensive line remains a mess and the defense is void of talent.

      Fans love to claim how the Lions’ offense will be tough to stop with Williams, Johnson and underrated Mike Furrey. But remember, there’s only one ball and it’ll be tough for Kitna to spread the ball around to all of his weapons while he’s lying on his back.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Anderson to start against Cowboys

      September 1, 2008 /

      You’ll have to wait a little long Brady; It’s being reported that Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson will indeed be starting this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

      Derek Anderson to start week 1Anderson has been sidelined since Aug. 18 with a mild concussion following a second-quarter sack by New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Anderson hit his head on the turf during the play and missed the final two preseason games.

      Although not 100-percent committed, Browns general manager Phil Savage also hinted to reporters over the weekend that Anderson should be ready.

      “The expectation is ‘DA’ will be back and ready to go,” Savage said.

      This doesn’t come as too much of a surprise, I think everyone expected that he’d be ready for the opener. There’s no way the Browns would put Derek Anderson under center if he wasn’t ready, especially with the beast that is DeMarcus Ware lurking about on the other side of the line of scrimmage.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Has the quarterback situation improved in Miami?

      August 31, 2008 /

      In the weeks leading up to the kickoff the 2008 NFL Season, I’ll take a look at position groups that could potentially lift teams to new heights, or bury them and their postseason hopes. Today I take a look at the Miami Dolphins’ quarterback situation after the team added Chad Pennington.

      Chad PenningtonTo say the Miami Dolphins had quarterback issues in 2007 would be putting it lightly. Whether it was Trent Green, Cleo Lemon or rookie John Beck, the results were the same and losses piled up in the standings.

      Heading into 2008, the depth chart has changed but will the results? Gone are Green and Lemon; in are former New York Jets’ starting quarterback Chad Pennington and rookie Chad Henne.

      When Bill Parcells took over the football operations for the Dolphins this summer, one of the areas he knew he had to upgrade was quarterback. And after watching Henne and Beck struggle in camp over the summer, Parcells reached out to the recently released Pennington – the quarterback he drafted when he was the Jets’ head coach.

      The book is already out on Pennington: weak arm, severely limited, can’t throw downfield, etc. But he’s also a fundamentally sound veteran and a solid leader that can hopefully help tutor Beck and Henne for the future. Pennington is also familiar with the division and new offensive coordinator Dan Henning used to be his QB coach in New York so he knows the offense.

      Eventually the Dolphins have to see what they have in Beck and Henne. It’s wise to allow young quarterbacks develop slowly, but sooner or later they have to sink or swim on the field. And while Parcells has a tendency to prefer players that he had a hand in drafting, Miami did spend a second round pick on Beck last year, so it would be unfair to give up on him too soon.

      Chad HenneBut at the very least, Pennington buys Miami more time to see what they have at the position. It’s also fair to say that Pennington gives the Dolphins the best chance to win this season and Parcells did him a solid by drafting massive left tackle Jake Long with the first overall pick in last April’s draft. Long will be counted on to protect Pennington’s blind side and hopefully give the Dolphins a cornerstone tackle for years to come.

      While it’s unlikely he’ll lead the Dolphins to the playoffs this year, Pennington at least gives the team a respected veteran presence in the huddle and on the field. Time will tell if Henne or Beck can develop behind him.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bengals cut Rudi Johnson

      August 30, 2008 /

      Two years ago, Rudi Johnson rushed for 1308 yards and 12 TD. In the two seasons before that, he rushed for at least 1450 yards and 12 scores. Today, he’s unemployed.

      …the Bengals cleared out right tackle Willie Anderson, running back Rudi Johnson, and cornerback Deltha O’Neal on Cutdown Day to get down to the 53-player limit.

      They all made Hawaii in 2005 as the Bengals celebrated the AFC North title. Johnson’s 1,458 yards and O’Neal’s 10 interceptions in that season are still in the book as club records.

      “Obviously the play fell off in ’07, and we just haven’t seen a lot of change thus far this year,” said head coach Marvin Lewis in a late afternoon news conference. “It’s a hard decision to make.”

      Even though he returned to practice last week, the Bengals apparently decided they hadn’t seen enough of the new and improved Johnson this summer and cut the man projected to once be their bell-cow running back in 2008.

      It’s amazing how over-the-hill the 28 year-old Johnson seems right now. He had 1039 carries from 2004-2006, and it appears that they really took their toll. If he can get healthy, he can probably help someone, but for now he’ll join former top fiver Shaun Alexander in the ranks of the unemployed.

      From a fantasy point of view, this is a big upgrade for Chris Perry (the current “starter”) and Kenny Watson. Perry has had his own injury problems in the past, so if you can grab both players, do so. Watson has always been productive when given the chance.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑