Opinions on my Fantasy League Team...

[JMarkJohns]

Today I completed my very first ever live draft for just my third ever fantasy League. Needless to say I'm a novice in the field.

My team is as follows.

1st, 4th overall: LaDanian Tomlinson, RB
2nd, 21st overall: Brian Westbrook, RB
3rd, 28th overall: Tom Brady, QB
4th, 45th overall: Jeremy Shockey, TE
5th, 52nd overall: Donald Driver, WR
6th, 69th overall: Joe Horn, WR
7th, 76th overall: Laveranues Coles, WR
8th, 93rd overall: Cedric Benson, RB
9th, 100th overall: Joe Jurevicius, WR
10th, 117th overall: Chad Pennington, QB
11th, 124th overall: Seattle Defense
12th, 141st overall: Antonio Bryant, WR
13th, 148th overall: Sebastian Janikowski, K

I think it's a pretty good team for the 12-team League. It's very strong at RB and QB, very good at TE and has a few issues with an impact WR. Driver is a solid #2, but the rest of the core are all question marks, either from injury, situation, QB or a combination of the three.

Any comments. Did I draft anyone too high? Did I notch any steals? Players I should look to package and trade or just flat-out dump?

Any info is welcome. Thanks.

Also, TJ Duckett is available on the wire. I'd love to have him, but am not sure who to drop when free agency starts tomarrow. Any suggestions? I'd love to package two of my receivers and or Benson for a borderline #1/#2 then snag Duckett off the wire, especially if he's traded to the Jets. He'd be their feature back I imagine and would be a Lamont Jordan/Rudi Johnson type of back if he did.

[TheTruth]

Lack of depth is your biggest problem. Pick up TJ Duckett ASAP. Only being able to carry 13 players really sucks. I don't see anyone on your team that you can drop without really hurting your depth. You really should be worried if your only bench RB may be splitting carries. Antonio Bryant is good value in the 12th round.

[JMarkJohns]

The League is as follows

QB
WR
WR
RB
TE
RB/WR
K
Def

with a bench of five.

I should have mentioned this in the initial thread.

[scott]

Looks like your season will hinge on whether or not Westbrook is healthy and able to be your every week flex guy. Driver and Horn should be a servicable set of WRs, I think Horn could have a bounce back year with Brees throwing him the ball.

Why would you want Chad Pennington on your team, however? I'd look for another backup QB immediately. 3rd rounds seems a little high for Brady as well, with NE looking to go back to smashmouth football and Branch holding out.

[JMarkJohns]

It's a 12 team League. Backup QB's are hard to come by. Pennington is high risk, high reward and I think he's going to have a bounce back year. If not, then I'll look elsewhere. I wanted Brees, but he was picked one spot ahead of me.

I actually got Brady later than his average selection spot.

I'm hoping by week three I can determine whether or not a combination of Driver, Coles and Horn are good enough to start every week. If so, then I'll look for added RB depth. If not, then I'll address it as need be.

[Loose Cannon]

Pick up Duckett and cut Jurevicious or Bryant. I'd actually cut both and pick up Ernest Wilford who is likely still available, but that's me. You need another backup RB in a major way. Benson, at best, will split carries evenly with Thomas Jones. RBs that split carries are garbage in fantasy football. Duckett is good for a goalline TD at least every other game, which is more than Benson will bring you. And if the trade rumors are true, Duckett could be starting for someone pretty soon.

Your WRs are pretty bad, period.

I'd see if the owner of Chester Taylor would take Westbrook for Taylor straight up. Otherwise, start Westbrook and LT at the RB and flex spots, and start Horn/Driver as your WR. You'll be fine.

[ALVAREZ6]

If LT and Westbrook stay healthy, that team is ownage.

[ABDENOUR POWER]

Westbrook and Pennington are risky. If they stay healthy, though, you should be alright.

[JMarkJohns]

OK, with all the talk of Curtis Martin sitting out the season and with Duckett going from Atlanta to Washington via trade this morning, I dropped Antonio Bryant and picked up Kevan Barlow. I figure he's going to start and have more potential long-term value than Duckett, who might get one or two good weeks, but then goes back to being strictly short-yardage.

[2centsworth]

You need better Wide Receivers. I very much like your RBs, QBs, and Defense.

[JMarkJohns]

I'll give Horn and Driver, two potential 150 point wideouts a chance before I trade my backs.

[JMarkJohns]

OK, so I had another draft tonight.

Took what was said here and think I did better...

Any thoughts?

1. Edgarrin James, RB, Arizona*
2. Stephen Jackson, RB, St. Louis*
3. Chris Chambers, WR, Miami*
4. Warrick Dunn, RB, Atlanta*
5. Joey Galloway, WR, Tampa Bay*
6. Marc Bulger, QB, St. Louis*
7. Joseph Addai, RB, Indianapolis
8. Ben Watson, TE, New England*
9. Jake Delhomme, QB, Carolina
10. Lee Evans, WR, Buffalo
11. LJ Smith, TE, Philadelphia
12. Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco
13. Drew Bennett, WR, Tennessee
14. Jacksonville Defense*
15. Sebastian Janikowski, K, Oakland*

*denotes starter

[Kori Ellis]

Getting Frank Gore in the 12th was a huge steal. What happened? He fell off the list or something?

Solid team.

[T Park]

Thats a damn damn damn good team there Jmark.

Fantastic recovery. Congrats on a great draft.

If you want help with lineups and other odds and ends, visit Footballjerks.com. Best fantasy football website to help you out with all you rneeds and questions!!!!!!!!!!!

[kris]

OK, so I had another draft tonight.

Took what was said here and think I did better...

Any thoughts?

1. Edgarrin James, RB, Arizona*
2. Stephen Jackson, RB, St. Louis*
3. Chris Chambers, WR, Miami*
4. Warrick Dunn, RB, Atlanta*
5. Joey Galloway, WR, Tampa Bay*
6. Marc Bulger, QB, St. Louis*
7. Joseph Addai, RB, Indianapolis
8. Ben Watson, TE, New England*
9. Jake Delhomme, QB, Carolina
10. Lee Evans, WR, Buffalo
11. LJ Smith, TE, Philadelphia
12. Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco
13. Drew Bennett, WR, Tennessee
14. Jacksonville Defense*
15. Sebastian Janikowski, K, Oakland*

*denotes starter

I really like the Steven Jackson pick on the turn.

[JMarkJohns]

I wasn't sure what happened. My first draft was with a bunch of college fans. The second with a bunch of Suns and Cardinals fans.

I would have figured the second league would be more challenging, but I'm not so sure anymore.

I liked the first team alot and while there are things I'm not crazy about with this second team, overall, however, I like my depth much more with the second team, I like top-2 at the skills positions alot more and feel like I'm the best team in the League.

Gore and Bennett late were complete shockers. I had to forgoe some defense and kicking options to take both.

I wanted Hasselbeck or Culpepper as my starter QB and McMichael or Heap as my starter tightend, but each went one selection before my pick. Hasselbeck in the fifth, Culpepper sixth, McMichael seventh and Heap eighth.

Still, Bulger and Watson are solid and I truly believe with Branch holding out, that Watson could be a huge option for Brady.

I'm hoping Gore or Addai make a big impact within the first couple weeks that if necessary, I can trade up for a TE.

[JMarkJohns]

Was able to pry Roy Williams away for my second team. The manager I traded with failed to exclude Domanick Davis and was relying heavily on three injury prone backs in Julius Jones, Deshaun Foster and Corey Dillon. He had great depth at WR with Bolden, Glenn and McCardell, so I offered him Joseph Addai and Drew Bennett and he bit.

I explained the risk with Addai, but he really needed a potential 130-150 point back in case of injury to Jones, Foster or Dillon.

I wanted a potential 9-11 point per week wideout to spot-start them depending on matchup. Also, I want to have as many impact players as I can so that if a player like Tomlinson becomes available, I can offer two of my receivers and a back or two of my backs and a receiver.

Anyways... I was willing to bump the package up to Addai and Evans or even Gore straight up, but I'm very happy he went for the initial deal.

[LEONARD]

Not bad...how'd you get LT2 at #4?

You drafted a QB and TE a little too early...

[JMarkJohns]

In the first League, I got Tomlinson at #4 because the manager who picked first in that League has a man crush on Peyton Manning. He knows he reached by a dozen slots, but he loves Manning. Next went Alexander, then Johnson...

The reason I reached on the QB and TE in this league goes back to last season when I made I went without a TE for the majority of the year (had Alex Smith, Scott Heidon, Tony Gonzalez - who happened to suck for me - and Troupe) and after looking brilliant for taking Palmer in the fourth round and Eli in the seventh, I made a blunder when I traded Palmer for Steven Jackson, Anquan Bolden and Troupe mid-way through the year because to that point, Manning had put up great numbers. Post trade, however, Eli sucked, so I was left with no QB (got so bad I experimented with Billy Volek) and no TE, so despite a skill position core of Harrison, Bolden, Dunn, Jackson and Droughns and a li'l kicker named Rackers, I lost my final six games.

I was very disappointed and I guess I overcompensated for it in my initial Legaue this season. As shown in my most recent one, I learned. Bulger is very good when healthy and Delhomme is a great backup. I went boom or bust the first five rounds, racking up the runningbacks and receivers, praying a top notch QB and TE would fall and I believe they did in Bulger, Delhomme, Watson and LJ Smith.

Anyways... Kris invited me for his redraft league, but I'm in my first year as a teacher and I'm pretty stressed. I figure two teams is all I can handle and I'm not even sure I can do that.

[IceColdBrewski]

OK, with all the talk of Curtis Martin sitting out the season and with Duckett going from Atlanta to Washington via trade this morning, I dropped Antonio Bryant and picked up Kevan Barlow.


That's funny. I just dropped Barlow for Bryant. I've heard from two sources now that it's going to be a RB-by-Committee show for the Jets this year, and that Bryant was clearly Smith's favorite target in the preseason.

[JMarkJohns]

I'll give a week and see a week or two and see what's what. Bryant is still available on the market as of now. We'll see.

[IceColdBrewski]

I'll give a week and see a week or two and see what's what. Bryant is still available on the market as of now. We'll see.

I hear ya. Part of me was saying to wait a week or so, but I'm in a really competitive league with guys that I've played with for years. I can't count how many time I've told myself, "well, he'll still be on the market next week", only to watch him get snatched up a few hours later. :pctoss

[JMarkJohns]

Yeah... that's sort of where I'm at. My one saving grace is the majority, if not every other member, has a better receiving corp than I do, but not many have a better runningback core. I figured Barlow was worth the pickup and if he can go for an average of 8-10 per week, then perhaps I can package him with one of my 20ish receivers for a top-15ish receiver.

I'm not a fan of the 13 man roster in a 12-team league. It really, really sucks. Talent is already stretched pretty thin as it is without a manager having to decide on a weekly basis which quality option to cut for another quality player for backup at another position.

[JMarkJohns]

Anyone heard of a dude named Colston? He's the #2 wideout for New Orleans. Yes, he's a rookie, so I shouldn't expect great things... however, Yahoo has him labeled as a WR/TE. Let's say he disappoints as a receiver, netting just 700 yards (50 per game) and a handful of touchdowns. Well, that's up there with the LJ Smith's and Jeremey Shockey's of the world.

Anyways, I dumped Janikowski in my 2nd league and picked up Matt Stovar, then, from the freed up roster spot after the 2-for-1 trade, I picked up Colston. Just to see. I don't need a backup kicker or defense until week 6 and 7, so I'm solid.

[johnsmith]

The dude I'm playing this weekend had Miller from Pittsburgh and Ronnie Brown from Miami last night. I fucking hate fantasy football.

[JMarkJohns]

My first League is interesting. I'll get to it in a minute.

My second League I won by 30 over a pretty solid team that included Brady, Alexander, K. Jones, Driver, among others.

I didn't start Gore and am upset about it, but what can ya do?

OK, in my first League, my opponant is completely finished and sits at 82 points. I have Tomlinson and Drunkalotski going tomarrow. How likely am I to pull this one out? I need 22 for a tie, 23 for a win. The two are projected for 26, but I don't want to get my hopes up, as their projector is routinely wrong. So I'm asking any here who have an opinion.

Thanks...

Oh, BTW, I'm only relying on LT and SJ because I'm an idiot. I played the matchups, starting Horn and Jurevicius for a grand total of two points while sitting Coles and Driver and a grand total of 25 points. I play the right wideouts, I win going away.

I always effin' overthink things!


Also, Colston went for 10 points in Yahoo's league. Being a TE/WR, he's going be valuable as he fills two positions. Wish I had him in my 13-man roster league, rather than my 15-man roster league.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Depends on the scoring system, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

[JMarkJohns]

1 point for every 10 yards rushing/receiving, six points for every TD
1 point for every PAT, 3 for 39 yd or shorter FG, 4 for 40-49, 5 for 50+

I figure Tomlinson is good for 70-90 yards rushing, 30-40 yards receiving and a touch or two and Janikowski for two or three PATs and a FG or two.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I think you will get more than you expect from LT with that point system.

In fact, I think you're going to win. Even with your predictions, you win.

[JMarkJohns]

I know how good LT is. He's the player I craved last year but could never get. However, I really want to win vs. this guy, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, only to lose. This bud of mine loves throwin' jabs in my direction... Always talkin'. We split our contests last year, but he beat me to eliminate me from playoff contention, so I've got a score to settle, so to speak.... In fact, my lust for a win this week is what got me to switch out my receiving corps from Coles and Driver to JJ and Horn. The latter duo had better projected stats and that swayed me. I go at him again next week in the other league, so even if I fail this week, hopefully I can even things up next week.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

8 rushes, 88 yards.

I think you're going to be okay.

[JMarkJohns]

That's what I was thinking, up until of late. Janakowski is still a no-show thanks to the inept offense and LT is spinning his wheels in the last three drives.

I need six points for the win. C'mon!!!

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

LT will get you those six points before the end of the quarter.

Bank it.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

You know, I did mean the fourth quarter.

:lol

[JMarkJohns]

Need 3 to tie, 4 to win.

[JMarkJohns]

$&#@! :pctoss

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Yeah, with that TD, I think I'm going to lose the first week in the 250 league.

[JMarkJohns]

LT's 1 yard rushing, 2 yards passing from netting me another two points. That's half way there. I really wanted that goalline TD just now.

[JMarkJohns]

Damn I got my hopes up when they focused on Janakowski stretching with 15 seconds left and me needing 3 points for the win. Like a figured, too good to be true. I get one FG from any random kicker, I win. That's the damnable misery of it...

Effin' Raiders' offense!