I said before the draft that I was thinking about going RB/WR, QB/RB, and WR/QB. And that's exactly what I ended up doing (without much planning). Here's my thoughts on who is the strongest at each position.
QBs: Wicked Weasels - On paper, the Manning brothers and Kurt Warner have a lot to offer. Sure, there are questions on how Eli will fare without Plaxico Burress and whether Kurt Warner is too old, but they have had great performances in the past and have a strong TD/INT ratio. Keep in mind, each has won a Super Bowl. Close runner up - ipresstoocoolbuttons
RBs: Whisky Wednesday - It is hard to say anyone else has a better RB lineup since he took one in each of the first 5 rounds. Turner and Chris Johnson look like the solid starters for most weeks with Ryan Grant and Brandon Jacobs offering good starts based on their matchups. Close runner up - Zoo Tycoons. MJD probably is really a good selection and DeAngelo Williams was an absolute STEAL in the 3rd round. Plus, Marshawn Lynch and Larry Johnson are more than capable of pulling a huge week or two out of nowhere.
WRs: Cumming From Behind - wow - Randy Moss, Roddy White, Greg Jennings - numbers 4, 6, and 8 in Fantasy WRs last year. Plus, he has one of the WRs with the most potential to break out in 09 in Anthony Gonzalez. If Mike wins the championship this year, this is the reason why. Close runner up - Boston Massacre and ipresstoocoolbuttons (TIE). I think my WRs are my strong point. I think Welker, Roy Williams, and Devin Hester all have potential to greatly improve last year's numbers with their new QB situations. I like that Grace has consistent talent in Boldin, and Chad & Calvin Johnson.
Bench: Cumming From Behind - I feel like this is what a FF magazine would say your bench should look like. I think there is a lot of potential in Gonzalez, McFadden, and Brown to have big weeks early in the season. Close runner up - Boston Massacre. I probably drafted Leshaun McCoy 2-3 rounds before I could have, but at least I got my guy. If Chicago's offense pans out, Cutler and Hester will be nice starting options, but that is a big if.
Other notes:
-I own 3 of the top 9 Yahoo ranked players Tomlinson, Steven Jackson, and Fitz)
-Mike's highest ranked player in Yahoo rankings is 17th overall (Randy Moss)
-In regards to total projected points, Whiskey Wednesday's highest ranked player is 21st overall (Joe Flacco)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Winner's Manual
How arrogant is it for Jim Tressel to name his book "The Winner's Manual"? Almost as arrogant as me titling it as my fantasy football preview post. I am so excited for our season to begin that I wanted to give my thoughts on the draft. Is it stupid or just arrogant of me to discuss my strategy? My goal is neither - I just really want to start a debate.
-You know you're marrying the right person when you're looking through Fantasy Football magazines and thing "hmm, would she want me to pick her up a copy?" She said she would've looked it over, if you were wondering.
-Most underrated player: Matt Hasselbeck (109). Quarterbacks rated higher: Cassel, Cutler, Eli Manning. Players ranked higher: Steve Breaston, John Carlson (his own TE), Sammy Morris. I understand he was bad last year (5 TD, 10 INT). However, he was injured much of the season, as were his WRs (who were sketchy at best). Don't forget in 2007 he threw for almost 4000 yards, 28 TDs, and 12 INTs. Plus, they added T.J. Who'syourmama to the team. Finally, they had to face the AFC and NFC East and struggled with the cross-country road trips every week. This year, they will get to face the Lions, Jaguars, Tampa Bay, Houston, and as always, two games a piece against the 49ers and Rams. Look for him to throw 3500+ yards, 24+ TDs, and 14- INTs.
-Most overrated player: Maurice Jones Drew (3). RBs rated lower: Deangelo Williams, Ladanian Tomlinson. The way I remember it, MJD had a bad season last year. I checked his stats and he only had 824 yards rushing. His 565 yards receiving, and 14 TDs improve his resume, however. I get that the fact that he is young and typically receives most of the carries (especially in the red zone) makes him a rare option in a 2-back heavy league. However, I just don't think there is a lot to be excited about with his team. The Jaguars play in an increasingly difficult division and, in my opinion, lack a strong passing game that can take some of the attention off of MJD. He put up a lot of points last year through his TDs and I don't trust a player to be able to repeat that year after year. That being said, I could very well end up drafting him at 8 or 9, which seems like a more appropriate spot for him.
-Teams to stay away from: Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. I would say the only Brown you could consider drafting would be Braylon Edwards. I would stay away from him, however, because he is very inconsistent and drops way too many balls. He used to be a #1 WR option, but I think now he is more like a #3. The Chiefs used to have 2 solid draft picks in Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez. This year, Larry's stock has dropped tremendously and Tony's gone to Atlanta. Of their current players, I think Dwayne Bowe is a #2 WR, Johnson is a #3 RB, and Cassel is a late round QB (I'm not buying him at all).
This all leads me to how I see the draft shaking out. I am very happy to have picks #8 and 9 - this is supposed to be the year to be in the bottom half of the draft order. I think the following players will be taken before I'm up (in no particular order): Adrian Peterson, Ladanian Tomlinson, Michael Turner, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Deangelo Williams, Maurice Jones Drew. I am thinking heavily about going with RB/WR. This would logically give me the choice of Matt Forte/Brian Westbrook and Larry Fitzgerald/Calvin Johnson/Andre Johnson. I could imagine more WRs/QBs taken in the first round, however, which would force me to take two of the elite RBs. The second go around, I am thinking about going QB/RB and then QB/WR in the third. I have my eye on 2 particular defenses (I have to keep something secret) so I may take one of them in the 4th go-around, which would be the 7th and 8th rounds.
Regardless of how it goes, I cannot wait until Tuesday.
-You know you're marrying the right person when you're looking through Fantasy Football magazines and thing "hmm, would she want me to pick her up a copy?" She said she would've looked it over, if you were wondering.
-Most underrated player: Matt Hasselbeck (109). Quarterbacks rated higher: Cassel, Cutler, Eli Manning. Players ranked higher: Steve Breaston, John Carlson (his own TE), Sammy Morris. I understand he was bad last year (5 TD, 10 INT). However, he was injured much of the season, as were his WRs (who were sketchy at best). Don't forget in 2007 he threw for almost 4000 yards, 28 TDs, and 12 INTs. Plus, they added T.J. Who'syourmama to the team. Finally, they had to face the AFC and NFC East and struggled with the cross-country road trips every week. This year, they will get to face the Lions, Jaguars, Tampa Bay, Houston, and as always, two games a piece against the 49ers and Rams. Look for him to throw 3500+ yards, 24+ TDs, and 14- INTs.
-Most overrated player: Maurice Jones Drew (3). RBs rated lower: Deangelo Williams, Ladanian Tomlinson. The way I remember it, MJD had a bad season last year. I checked his stats and he only had 824 yards rushing. His 565 yards receiving, and 14 TDs improve his resume, however. I get that the fact that he is young and typically receives most of the carries (especially in the red zone) makes him a rare option in a 2-back heavy league. However, I just don't think there is a lot to be excited about with his team. The Jaguars play in an increasingly difficult division and, in my opinion, lack a strong passing game that can take some of the attention off of MJD. He put up a lot of points last year through his TDs and I don't trust a player to be able to repeat that year after year. That being said, I could very well end up drafting him at 8 or 9, which seems like a more appropriate spot for him.
-Teams to stay away from: Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs. I would say the only Brown you could consider drafting would be Braylon Edwards. I would stay away from him, however, because he is very inconsistent and drops way too many balls. He used to be a #1 WR option, but I think now he is more like a #3. The Chiefs used to have 2 solid draft picks in Larry Johnson and Tony Gonzalez. This year, Larry's stock has dropped tremendously and Tony's gone to Atlanta. Of their current players, I think Dwayne Bowe is a #2 WR, Johnson is a #3 RB, and Cassel is a late round QB (I'm not buying him at all).
This all leads me to how I see the draft shaking out. I am very happy to have picks #8 and 9 - this is supposed to be the year to be in the bottom half of the draft order. I think the following players will be taken before I'm up (in no particular order): Adrian Peterson, Ladanian Tomlinson, Michael Turner, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Deangelo Williams, Maurice Jones Drew. I am thinking heavily about going with RB/WR. This would logically give me the choice of Matt Forte/Brian Westbrook and Larry Fitzgerald/Calvin Johnson/Andre Johnson. I could imagine more WRs/QBs taken in the first round, however, which would force me to take two of the elite RBs. The second go around, I am thinking about going QB/RB and then QB/WR in the third. I have my eye on 2 particular defenses (I have to keep something secret) so I may take one of them in the 4th go-around, which would be the 7th and 8th rounds.
Regardless of how it goes, I cannot wait until Tuesday.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Sac Bunt
I want you to think for a second and decide what you do in this situation. You're a baseball manager, the only kind of coach that wears the same uniform as his players, as if he may step in relief in the 8th. Let's say the game is close late in the game - you are tied or down by one run. Your first at bat in the inning is a leadoff double. Ignoring the batting ability of the guy at the plate or the running ability of the baserunners, do you use him to sac bunt to get the runner over to third or rely on your next few bats to bring him home?
I ask this because I have seen Jim Leyland in this situation 3 times this year where he sac bunted. Two times there was a guy on second and one time was with a guy on first and second (it happened twice against the Red Sox tonight). And only one of the three times lead to a run. Because I feel outs are precious, I don't give them up to advance someone to third. A well hit ball can bring someone home from 3rd or 2nd, so what does it matter where they are standing? Keeping that first out will allow you more opportunities to get that hit. That being said, what are your thoughts?
I ask this because I have seen Jim Leyland in this situation 3 times this year where he sac bunted. Two times there was a guy on second and one time was with a guy on first and second (it happened twice against the Red Sox tonight). And only one of the three times lead to a run. Because I feel outs are precious, I don't give them up to advance someone to third. A well hit ball can bring someone home from 3rd or 2nd, so what does it matter where they are standing? Keeping that first out will allow you more opportunities to get that hit. That being said, what are your thoughts?
Monday, August 03, 2009
Boycott Everything
Things I am currently boycotting:
1. The Subway near work - a few months ago, the staff completely turned over. The new staff takes their sweet ass time while making subs and don't know how to handle transactions properly. When I go in at 2pm, I should not be 4th in line and it should never take 5 minutes to make just my sub and take my money.
2. Twitter - I still have never used it because nobody cares about the mundane details of their friends' lives and nobody should care about celebrities' mundane lives. Especially when you see this http://twitter.com/THE_REAL_SHAQ and it makes you realize athletes are even less intelligent than you thought.
3. Facebook - because it lead to the growth of Twitter. Since I closed my account a few months ago, I have not missed it one bit. People always say "it's great because it connected me with people I haven't spoken to since high school". There's probably a reason why you haven't spoken to them since then...
4. Hiring this girl - because a good job is not a right, it's earned (and I am currently interviewing people to replace my old position). I disagree that a college education is something that should be available to everyone because it devalues its worth. The end result is that you have people who achieve mediocre grades from a mediocre school who expect to have a good job before they graduate. When I entered the job market, I was out on my own. The business school hosted interviews on campus, but that was pretty much it. You have to find your own opportunities and learn to market yourself because the college isn't going to do it for you.
5. Going to North Korea or Iran - seriously? You were vacationing in Iraq and accidentally walked into Iran? You went to North Korea, probably the most controlling nation in the world, for a journalism assignment?
6. The following reality TV shows: A Real Chance at Love, Dating in the Dark, Megan Wants a Millionare, Tori & Dean, Paris Hilton is My New BFF, Kendra, NYC Prep - because I have some standards (Quick test Kevin - how many of those have you heard of before?)
7. Allowing the Tigers to give up 5+ runs per game - I should have stopped allowing them to give up so many runs before, but no longer!
1. The Subway near work - a few months ago, the staff completely turned over. The new staff takes their sweet ass time while making subs and don't know how to handle transactions properly. When I go in at 2pm, I should not be 4th in line and it should never take 5 minutes to make just my sub and take my money.
2. Twitter - I still have never used it because nobody cares about the mundane details of their friends' lives and nobody should care about celebrities' mundane lives. Especially when you see this http://twitter.com/THE_REAL_SHAQ and it makes you realize athletes are even less intelligent than you thought.
3. Facebook - because it lead to the growth of Twitter. Since I closed my account a few months ago, I have not missed it one bit. People always say "it's great because it connected me with people I haven't spoken to since high school". There's probably a reason why you haven't spoken to them since then...
4. Hiring this girl - because a good job is not a right, it's earned (and I am currently interviewing people to replace my old position). I disagree that a college education is something that should be available to everyone because it devalues its worth. The end result is that you have people who achieve mediocre grades from a mediocre school who expect to have a good job before they graduate. When I entered the job market, I was out on my own. The business school hosted interviews on campus, but that was pretty much it. You have to find your own opportunities and learn to market yourself because the college isn't going to do it for you.
5. Going to North Korea or Iran - seriously? You were vacationing in Iraq and accidentally walked into Iran? You went to North Korea, probably the most controlling nation in the world, for a journalism assignment?
6. The following reality TV shows: A Real Chance at Love, Dating in the Dark, Megan Wants a Millionare, Tori & Dean, Paris Hilton is My New BFF, Kendra, NYC Prep - because I have some standards (Quick test Kevin - how many of those have you heard of before?)
7. Allowing the Tigers to give up 5+ runs per game - I should have stopped allowing them to give up so many runs before, but no longer!
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