Just a Little Fantasy Fun

Thursday, September 4, 2008 ·

To keep the football theme going today, I figured I'd have some fun and discuss the fantasy teams, that are writers have involved ourselves in along with other Philadelphia sports fans.

Keep in mind, Dan somehow got the first pick. John had fifth (but apparently his computer crapped out on him). I had 7th and Pogo ended the first round with the 12 pick. To see our teams, just click below.

Listen, I'm bored and thought I should probably be out in the sun, it feels like a damn sauna.

We'll start with newcomer, Dan. His team is as follows.

QB - Carson Palmer, Trent Edwards
RB - LT, Earnest Graham, Julius Jones, Felix Jones, Maurice Morris
WR - TJ Whoseyamomma, Roy Williams, Dwayne Bowe, Anthony Gonzalez, Ronald Curry, Brandon Stokely.
TE - Greg Olsen
D - Colts, 49ers
K - Rackers

As you can see, He wasted his first pick in odd round status. Outside of LT, he truly lacks some running back depth. Graham could be nice, but it is hard to see him repeating. He has a decent trio of WRs, but Williams is an injury concern and Dwayne Bowe has some quarterback concerns. Anthony Gonzalez's value drops with the return of Harrison and who knows what to expect in Oakland. Olsen could be a nice pick, especially because Desmond Clark is expected to be used more as a blocking TE. The 49ers defense could be a surprise, but we'll see. He's projected to lose 104-101.5 this week.

John's Team

QB - Brees, Bulger
RB - Jackson, Kevin Smith, Jamal Lewis, Chris Johnson, Dominic Rhodes
WR - Bernard Berrian, Jerricho Cotchery, Lee Evans, Sidney Rice, D.J. Hackett
TE - Jason Witten, Kevin Boss
D - Jaguars, Bucs
K - Scobee

John whined and whined because he wanted to pick Tom Brady at #5, but the computer took Jackson for him instead. The computer chose right and John also was able to nab Drew Brees who could turn out to be the 2nd or 3rd best QB this year. Jackson and Lewis should be decent running backs for John. Kevin Smith might lose some carries to recently acquired Rudi Johnson, but we'll see. Their offensive line is still horrible. Chris Johnson could be a nice sleeper as he'll be splitting carries 50/50 with Lendale White.

John's WR aren't exactly to die for. With Trent Edwards nabbed the starter, Lee Evans loses value. If you look back at last year, Evans would not have great numbers when Edwards was under center. Cotchery could be a good sleeper with the acquisition of Favre, but that remains to be seen (though I believe he will be.) Berrian is an "eh" type of guy and is either hit or miss. Hackett is oft-injured and has only practiced 11 times in a new offense with his new team. The Vikings have to throw, right? It is hard to see Rice offer much if anything since the Vikings signed Berrian and Tavarius Jackson is the quarterback. However, John's team is projected to beat Pogo's team 116-96.5.

My Team:

QB: Tom Brady, Phillip Rivers
RB: Thomas Jones, Willie Parker, Ricky Williams, Rashard Mendenhall, Tim Hightower
WR: Anquan Boldin, Wes Welker, Chris Chambers, Justin Gage, Jerry Porter, James Hardy
TE: Chris Cooley, L.J. Smith
D: Eagles
K: Vinatieri

So, I found myself drafting two guys that rack up yards, but rarely found the end zone last year in Parker and Jones. Parker may lose carries and goaline opportunities to Mendenhall and that is why I took the handcuff pick. I think Jones will have an even better year with a quarterback at the helm that will make defense respect the Jets' passing game. This could really open up opportunities for Jones who will not see 8 guys in the box every down. I took Ricky because he's a starter for at least the first few weeks and Ronnie Brown is an injury concern. Same goes for Hightower who might become a value pick, though I argued differently on another site. Hightower is expected to steal some carries and goal line opportunities from Edge.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing Warner throwing in Arizona because Boldin generally puts up great numbers when that is the situation. I picked Welker so I could have the connection with Brady. Double the points! Who knows what to expect from Chris Chambers, but I'm hoping he develops into a nice target for Rivers. He has the ability, but a knack for dropping passes. Gage is going to be the #1 WR in Tennesse, but that isn't saying much. I took Porter and Hardy as sleepers. I figure a team Porter isn't asking to be traded from might help his career. Cooley's production will increase according to him, but decrease according to the play-calling sets of head coach Jim Zorn. I nabbed L.J. Smith who will hopefully become the savior of the Eagles red zone woes. Lastly, I chose the Eagles D because of a much improved return game and they were top 10 in yards allowed, even when they were stuck on the field often. With a good secondary, a better pass-rush, and an underrated linebacking corp, I expected even an improvement. I'm projected to win 127.5 to 106, in what should be a good match-up.

Lastly, we have Pogo's team:

QB: Rodgers, Matt Ryan
RB: McGahee, Larry Johnson, McFadden, Steve Slaton
WR: Santonio Holmes, Greg Jennings, Ted Ginn, Jr. Donte Stallworth, Eddie Royal, Shaun McDonald
TE: Shockey
D: Cowboys, Packers
K: Folk, Kaeding

Rodgers could be really good or just average. He plays 6 games against pass defenses that were not too great last year. In fact, 4 against Minn and Detroit, which were the two worst. Matt Ryan, eh. He's a project and he's not going to offer much this year. Put some pressure on him and he's not that great. I think Pogo got some value picks in his running backs. Larry Johnson and McGahee are coming off injuries and they could have good years on offenses with questions are quarterback. Sure teams will stack the line, but look for both guys to get a load of carries. McFadden is McFadden and he will likely be boom or bust. The guy has a lot of talent and will likely have some big games for Oakland. Steve Slaton is a huge sleeper on everyone's radar down in Houston and will be a decent back in Houston's zone blocking scheme.

Holmes and Jennings should have good years, but they seem like home run type of guys to me. However, in the little glimpse of Aaron Rodgers career that he had last year against Dallas, he found Greg Jennings three times on a scoring drive including a 43 yard pass and later a touchdown. Sure, it is a small sample size, but that is all there is. Stallworth and Ginn, Jr. have been nabbed middle-to-late round value picks at WR by a lot of people. I expect bigger things from Ginn, Jr. He's still a little raw, but his ability is out of this world.

Dallas didn't allow a lot of yards last year, but they did allow some points. We'll see how much the loss of Corey Williams will effect the Green Bay interior defensive line. As mentioned earlier, Pogo is projected to lose to John.

Well, there you have it. These are our teams and I will give weekly recaps on how our season is going for fun. Also, check out The NHL Arena were both Dan and Pogo contribute regarding the Flyers.

3 Comments:

John "Roose" Russo said...
September 4, 2008 at 2:16 PM  

I'm glad I took Jackson but I'm more pissed I get set to auto pick and missed out on getting Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards.

Anonymous said...
September 4, 2008 at 3:40 PM  

I smell pussy

Anonymous said...
September 5, 2008 at 9:11 AM  

In my defense, Graham was the best HB available when I finally got my 2nd pick.

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