Thursday August 28, 2003

Note - the Fantasy Football information is quite long. If you want to just look for the Twins or Basketball thoughts, just click on the below links. Thanks!

TWINS THOUGHTS

BASKETBALL THOUGHTS

FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTS

OK, as promised, I will now be posting the results of my two fantasy football drafts. Where else can you find a site with FREE Fantasy Football Drafts? The two leagues below are very different, with two separate and different sets of rules. For those of you who are, or will be, in a fantasy football draft, and are looking for just something to get you looking in the right direction, take a look at these.  From this, you can generate your own cheat sheets and gain an idea of where certain players might be drafted.

LEAGUE 1 -

Here are the particulars for this league:

12 teams,

15 rounds (serpentine drafting)

Must maintain a balanced roster (2 QB, 4 RB, 5 WR/TE, 2 K, 2 DEF)

Weekly Play (QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, K, DEF)

Rushing and Receiving - 1 point for every 10 yards.  6 points per TD run or catch. 2 points for 2-pt. Conversions.

Passing - 1 point for every 25 yards passing. 4 points for TD pass.

Kickers - 1 point for extra-point. 3 pts for FG <=39. 4 pts for FG 40-49. 5 pts for FG >=50.

Defense/Spec. Teams - 6 points for TD. 1 point for sacks. 2 points per safety. 1 point for INT or Fumble Recovery.

I got pick #12 (which means I picked #13 second, then didn’t pick again until #36). I hate that spot. Or, maybe I’m just surprised by how the first 8 picks went, and I thought that there might be other options there for me. Here is the draft in its entirety, followed by the Best Pick, Most Risky Pick, Worst Pick and Seth’s pick in each round. Note these are simply my opinion on these things. They mean absolutely nothing, just fun to “judge” before any of the games are even played.

Analysis -

Round 1 -

Best pick - Priest Holmes (at 8, that is a huge steal… if he’s healthy)

Most risky pick - Marshall Faulk (at 3, might be too soon, based on injuries)

Worst pick - Ahman Green (he’s been going much later in most drafts)

Seth’s pick - Travis Henry (Best RB still available, that I still wanted. Ran for a lot of yards last year. Will be very important early in the year for the Bills.  Willis McGahee possibly being available to play by Week 6 makes it somewhat risky, but he’ll average nearly 100 yards rushing, and some more receiving each week. And, he’ll score some TDs)

Round 2 -

Best pick - Stephen Davis (should get plenty of carries in Carolina!)

Most risky pick - Kurt Warner (could be a steal, but he’s been off for 2 years!)

Worst pick - not really a bad pick, I don’t like Dillon, but he gets yards.

Seth’s pick - Marvin Harrison (It really was a no-brainer. I had preferred to go RB/RB in the first two rounds, but Harrison is the best WR in the league, and if he approaches 140 receptions again this year, he should post plenty of yards and plenty of TDs.)

Round 3 -

Best pick - Fred Taylor (if he’s healthy for 16 games, he’s a steal here)

Most risky pick - Fred Taylor (he’s been healthy all year just once)

Worst pick - Koren Robinson (not a terrible pick, I just had him ranked quite a bit lower)

Seth’s pick - Peerless Price (I’m not sold on him being a great #1 receiver, so I’m not overly confident with this pick.  I hope I’m wrong. If he performs like last year, he’s a top 5 WR)

Round 4 -

Best pick - Hines Ward (he should catch well over 100 balls again)

Most risky pick - Michael Vick (could be a steal, if he comes back at 100% Too early?)

Worst pick - Trung Canidate (is he for sure their starter? And, if so, why?????)

Seth’s pick - Michael Vick (may have been too early, but he was my #1 QB in this format prior to his injury. Hopefully he can be back by week 5. If I can stay in contention that long, he could be a difference maker! He wouldn’t have been around by the time I picked next.)

Round 5 -

Best pick - Laverneus Coles (should thrive in the passing schemes of Steve Spurrier)

Most risky pick - Jerry Rice (you’d have to think that at 42, he’d slow down, right? But we thought that at 41, and 40, and…

Worst pick - Tim Brown (unlike Rice, Brown is done!)

Seth’s pick - Stacy Mack (was always the goal-line guy in Jacksonville. Now he’s the starter for Houston. I think this is a pretty safe pick. The concern is how good (or non-good) the Houston offense will perform this year)

Round 6 -

Best pick - Ashley Lelie (will take time from… <see Worst Pick>)

Most risky pick - Onterrio Smith (he’s a rookie who’s not promised anything. Might be too early)

Worst pick - Ed McCaffrey (<from Best Pick>… who is Done!)

Seth’s pick - Onterrio Smith (I think he’ll be the Vikings starting RB by Week 2 and that he has the potential to be a great RB even this year. It’s probably a reach, but I hope it works out)

Round 7 -

Best pick - Kevan Barlow (getting him this low will prove to be a steal)

Most risky pick - Jeff Garcia (is his back going to be OK?)

Worst pick - Jeremy Shockey (he’s talking too much for someone who’s done nothing! Just too early for a TE when there are so many good receivers left.)

Seth’s pick - Emmitt Smith (this was a stretch, I admit. But I figured he will start out as the Cards top RB. If he stays healthy, 1,000 yards is possible, and he should still rack up some TDs.)

Round 8 -

Best pick - Josh Reed (Will step up and become a star with Price now in Atlanta)

Most risky pick - Robert Ferguson (Favre needs to throw to someone, can Ferguson step up?)

Worst pick - D’Wayne Bates (I hope I’m wrong, I hope he’s lights-out, just think too early)

Seth’s pick - Travis Taylor (he’s been so inconsistent the last couple years.  He’s the guy in Baltimore though, capable of over 1,000 yards and some TDs.)

Round 9 -

Best pick - Steve McNair (never goes as high as he should. He always performs well)

Most risky pick - Kelly Holcombe (I think it’s a great pick, but now he’s the starter, not just the backup, the pressure is on.)

Worst pick - Adrian Peterson (could be a steal if A-Train is given up on, but too early)

Seth’s pick - Miami Defense (With the addition of Junior Seau, they could get a lot of sacks and force some turnovers. Their DBs are great too. Probably too early for a Defense, but the Dolphins and Buccs are the only two D’s I’d really want.)

Round 10 -

Best pick - Andre Johnson (I think he’ll out-produce fellow rookie Charles Rogers)

Most risky pick - Brandon Stokely (never consistent in Baltimore, can he help Indy?)

Worst pick - Alge Crumpler (only 3 tight ends should be considered when WR and TE and lumped as one position... and Todd Heap was still available)

Seth’s pick - Tom Brady (I need a QB who doesn’t have a bye week until after week 6, because of Vick being unable to play. The Patriots like to throw, so hopefully Brady can rack up some yards and some TDs until Vick is able to play.)

Round 11 -

Best pick - Larry Johnson (with Priest Holmes health fear, grabbing his backup is smart!)

Most risky pick - Michael Pittman (it’s hard to put up points in jail!)

Worst pick - Joey Galloway (Dallas’s best offensive option… I don’t know that that means much!)

Seth’s pick - Marc Boerigter (I considered taking him as early as Round 7 because I think he’s a sleeper with huge potential. Big, fast, great hands, and plays in a passing system.)

Round 12 -

Best pick - Kevin Johnson (at this point, he’s a very solid pick)

Most risky pick - Vinny Testaverde (he hasn’t played for awhile and he’s old and slow)

Worst pick - None… We’re talking primarily about kickers and defenses, and they really don’t matter after the first few of each.

Seth’s pick - Olindo Mare (a kicker. I picked out 12 kickers that I could live with. Mare was #10 on that list)

Round 13 -

Best pick - Brad Johnson (never superb, usually pretty solid and consistent)

Most risky pick - Joey Harrington (safe here. He is still young, but they’ll have to throw a lot)

Worst pick - none

Seth’s pick - Matt Stover (kicker #2. #2 Kickers just don’t matter too much to me)

Round 14 -

Best pick - Jamel White (3^rd down back, but will get plenty of touches)

Most risky - are picks this late really risky any more?

Worst pick - again, mainly kickers and defenses.

Seth’s pick - Keenan McCardell (was great in the post-season for the Buccs last season, and is the #2 with Keyshawn Johnson. This is a pretty safe pick at this stage, I think. Worst case, he’s still my #5 receiver)

Round 15 -

Best pick - LaBrandon Toefield (Fragile Fred Taylor’s backup! Not a bad thing to have!)

Most risky pick - see round 14.

Worst pick - None.

Seth’s pick - Houston Defense (they were pretty good last year. But, still just my #2 defense, so I didn’t think real hard about it. They were the only D left on my list of 8 Defenses I’d draft.)

 

So, there you have it. Draft #1 in its entirety, plus some quick analysis. 

How did I do? Which team will dominate? E-mail me.

That brings us to the draft I was in that was held on Tuesday night.

LEAGUE 2 -

Here are the particulars for this league:

This team is a team I co-own with a friend named Tyler. This league is mostly comprised of the teams in a similar fantasy baseball league we are in.

10 teams, 14 rounds (serpentine drafting)

Must draft (2 QB, 4 RB, 4 WR, TE, K,  DEF, 1 Extra (any position))

Weekly play - (QB, 3 RB, 3 WR, TE, K, DEF)

Rushing and Receiving - 70 yards = 1 point, 1 pt for every 10 yards over 70.  6 points per TD run or catch. 2 points for 2-pt. Conversions.

Passing - 250 yards = 3 points. 3 points for every 50 yards passing over 250. 4 points for TD pass.

Kickers - 1 point for extra-point. 3 pts for FG <=39. 4 pts for FG 40-49. 5 pts for FG >=50.

Defense/Spec. Teams - 6 points for TD. 1 point for sack. 2 points for safety. 1 point for INT or Fumble Recovery. 6 points for a shutout.

We got pick #3 (which means we drafted 3^rd, then 18^th, then 23^rd…).