Official Fantasy Football Thread

[Mags FTW]

This will be the official FF thread. Any questions as far as "who do I start/sit?" and "who do I drop/pick up?" should go here. And while we're at it, I need 1 more person for my league. If you're interested, say so. Draft is Sunday at 5.

[Captain Erv]

This is my roster in a 10-team league. I made a mistake by taking RB's with 3 of my first 5 picks, thus I'm lacking another big-play receiver. Although, I do have some decent trade bait. Advice for those yet to draft, RB is deep, WR is not.

QB Tom Brady
QB David Garrard

WR Steve Smith
WR Donald Driver
WR Santonio Holmes
WR Lance Moore

RB Adrian Peterson
RB Pierre Thomas
RB Kevin Smith
RB Ray Rice
RB LeSean McCoy

TE Chris Cooley
TE Zach Miller

K David Akers

DE Philadelphia

[LISTEN2JAZZ]

Help me out guys - I joined a league as a favor to a friend who needed one more, but I don't follow football. I'm just going to use the Yahoo pre-rankings, so I'm wondering where the huge mistakes in those rankings are. Are there any players in the top 100 who are injured and will miss half the season? Are there any players at the bottom of the rankings who I should move to the top?

Thanks.

[Newz]

Adam, the new hot way of drafting is to take wide receivers in the first two rounds. This can be a good strategy because number 1 WRs are very thin and if you get two of them they are phenominal trade bait. If you are in the top 5 I rank the running backs:

1. Peterson
2. Forte
3. Jones-Drew
4. Turner
5. D. Williams

Then if you get a pick 6-10 I think I would go WR or if you really like taking running backs in the first round, you can go with whoever you think is best out of Gore, Tomlinson, Chris Johnson, Steve Slaton, Steven Jackson.

I PERSONALLY would go WR between 6-10. I rank the WRs:

1. Calvin Johnson
2. Andre Johnson
3. Fitz
4. Moss
5. Wayne
6. Jennings
7. Colston

So try to get two of those guys in rounds 1 and 2 and then go running back (best available on Yahoo will probably be good enough) in rounds 3 and 4... Ryan Grant, McFadden, Addai and Kevin Smith, Moreno (Round 5 for Moreno) are all really good picks in rounds 3-4-5.

So basically if you have a pick in the top 5 I would go:

Round 1 - RB
Round 2 - WR
Round 3 - WR
Round 4 - RB
Round 5 - WR
Round 6 - QB (Unless a very good WR/RB is available)

If you have anything less than 5th I would go:

Round 1 - WR
Round 2 - WR
Round 3 - RB
Round 4 - RB
Round 5 - WR
Round 6 - QB (Unless a very good WR/RB is available)

Some people like taking QBs in the first 3-4 rounds, I think it is just foolish, personally. I would rather have extremely deep RB/WR positions as QBs have little to no trade value in a majority of leagues. I never draft defenses or kickers until the last 2-3 rounds... Tight End is a pretty deep position this year, a guy like Finley from the Packers should be available late and is a good value pick, will most likely be a solid starter.

If you are drafting with people from Wisconsin, your team should be stacked... Packers players tend to come off the board WAY too early in drafts, which should be nice for you.

That's just my strategy though, sorry if I rambled... Just thought I'd through out my guide to Fantasy Football.

[LISTEN2JAZZ]

Luke, thanks for the reply. I ended up not being able to make the draft, but I pre-ranked my top 50 or so based on your advice. Here's what Yahoo drafted for me:

1. Andrian Peterson RB
24. Randy Moss WR
25. Reggie Wayne WR
48. Wes Welker WR
49. Jason Witten TE
72. Jamal Lewis RB
73. Lee Evans WR
96. Carson Palmer QB
97. Pittsburgh Defense
120. Nick Folk K
121. Laveranues Coles WR
144. Chester Taylor RB
145. Chris Chambers WR
168. Joe Flacco QB
169. Heath Miller TE

I'm kind of irritated that it used my 10th rounder on a kicker, but I guess that's what I get for not making the draft. I also wanted my 2nd RB in the 5th round, where it took a TE, and then the RB that it took in the 6th has a note next to his name that says he almost got cut by his team this week. Wonderful.

So who should I be trying to dump upon the rest of the league? Do I at least have the best kicker in football since he got drafted practically in the 1st round?

[Newz]

Your team is still pretty good.

What is your line-up in that league, do you start a QB, 2 RBs, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Kicker, 1 DST?

If so, you are very deep at WR... Moss, Wayne and Welker are all very good at that position and there is no shame in starting Evans or Coles as a third WR.

Jamal Lewis is an unfortunate pick and is the only weakness on your team. I would try to move one of your top WRs (Moss or Wayne) in a package with Jamal Lewis in order to get another very good running back and a solid back-up receiver in return.

Target teams with a lack of WRs, they should be willing to give up their second best running back in order to get a good player at the wide out spot. If you need more advice, post the proposed trades here and I'll let you know what I think...

[LISTEN2JAZZ]

My league is QB, WR, WR, RB, RB, TE, plus 2 W/R/T positions, so I can start my top four WR's if I want to. I still may put it out there that I could use an upgraded 2nd RB and see what happens though. Even my 5th WR (Laveranues Coles) has a higher start % on yahoo than my 2nd RB does.

[Newz]

Yeah.

You ideally want to start:

Palmer
AP
Lewis
Moss
Wayne
Welker
Witten
Folk
Pitts

I would definitely try to get a better RB2 though, that position is very weak. Other than that though, your team is pretty amazing.

[El Duderino]

Luke, thanks for the reply. I ended up not being able to make the draft, but I pre-ranked my top 50 or so based on your advice. Here's what Yahoo drafted for me:

1. Andrian Peterson RB
24. Randy Moss WR
25. Reggie Wayne WR
48. Wes Welker WR
49. Jason Witten TE
72. Jamal Lewis RB
73. Lee Evans WR
96. Carson Palmer QB
97. Pittsburgh Defense
120. Nick Folk K
121. Laveranues Coles WR
144. Chester Taylor RB
145. Chris Chambers WR
168. Joe Flacco QB
169. Heath Miller TE

I'm kind of irritated that it used my 10th rounder on a kicker, but I guess that's what I get for not making the draft. I also wanted my 2nd RB in the 5th round, where it took a TE, and then the RB that it took in the 6th has a note next to his name that says he almost got cut by his team this week. Wonderful.

So who should I be trying to dump upon the rest of the league? Do I at least have the best kicker in football since he got drafted practically in the 1st round?

See if RB James Davis of the Browns is available on the WW, i think fairly soon he'll be their main running back.

[MikeIsGood]

I picked Davis with the third-to-last pick in one of my drafts (Steg's league). I knew that I wanted him, but I also figured that no one else would take him. Someone did take Lewis many rounds earlier, though. I apologized to them

I am fairly confident that he will be starting for them, or at least getting a majority of the carries, fairly soon. He vs. Lewis in the preseason was night and day. Davis had fresh wheels and made some big plays. Lewis looked like he should have been traded in with Cash for Clunkers.

[El Duderino]

I got the first pick in my draft and had to take the obvious choice, Adrian Peterson. That said, i hate having any Vikings or Bears on my team.

I was considering an offer

Peterson/Miami D/ST

Jones-Drew/Pittsburgh D/ST

On the surface it seems a poor deal, but there i think is a sizable gulf between the two defenses

[MikeIsGood]

By Steg's league scoring, which may differ (I don't remember) from the typical, there was a 20-something+ point advantage to the Steelers' D in 2008, but only a 3+ point advantage for AD. AD's big allure is the potential for a big season, but last season he really didn't light up the TD column. Peterson scored more points in his rookie season when he had 3 more touchdowns but 300ish less yards.

I almost passed up on AD when picking first, because I think other backs could have the better seasons. But AD is the guy that has the potential to have a ridiculous season, it's just whether you think he will or not. Ultimately I couldn't pass him up. If I did, I just know he would have rushed for 1700 and 20 TDs.

Not sure that'll help you or not, but I don't think even on the surface that I'd call that a poor deal.

[Newz]

The reason Adrian Peterson is the number one pick is because, if he stays healthy, he is a sure thing to have a monster year... There isn't really any other back you can pencil in for the numbers that he has... Other guys have the potential to be better, but most likely won't.

Then you add on top of that Peterson is most likely the most physically gifted player in the entire league and that he has a chance to rush for 2000+ yards, that makes him the clear number one choice.

[Badgerlander]

New Orleans RB situation could be worth following. Bush hasn't played all preseason but looks like he will play in the opener. Thomas has a sprained MCL and probably won't play, the next RB on the depth chart is Bell but he didn't do anything in the preseason to make him look like he is worth picking up.

[MikeIsGood]

The reason Adrian Peterson is the number one pick is because, if he stays healthy, he is a sure thing to have a monster year... There isn't really any other back you can pencil in for the numbers that he has... Other guys have the potential to be better, but most likely won't.

Hmm, I guess I disagree, although it may be splitting hairs because we both wind up at the same conclusion. But I think it can make a difference on who you would want on your team when you look at projections.

I think it's almost the opposite. I don't think it's a matter of other guys having the potential to be better - if AD "only" scores 10 TDs again this year, there WILL be backs that have better fantasy seasons than him. He was tied with Brian Westbrook as the fifth-best fantasy back last year, but is now is considered almost unanimously the #1 back (I know I picked him there when I got the chance). He has the potential to blow them all out of the water. He's going to get the yards, I don't really doubt that, but he needs to rack-up the TDs to be the best fantasy option. The thing is, if you pass him up, you're going to feel dumb if he finally does start lighting up the scoreboard and averaging 1.5 TD per game. I think that's the allure of picking AD #1.

[Badgerlander]

AP should win the first three games for you almost single-handedly.
@ CLE
@ DET
SF
Week 5 @ STL
Although the playoffs may not be as easy. Of course injuries could have already taken their toll on these teams.
Week 14 CIN
Week 15 @ CAR
Week 16 @ CHI
Overall a pretty easy schedule though.

[MikeIsGood]

Well I just noticed that Steg's league scoring system is different from the usual. While it's normally 10 yards per point, it's 20 yards per point in our league. That obviously makes quite a bit of difference. 60 yards = 1 TD vs 120 yards = 1 TD.

Regardless, he wasn't the top back last year either way. If he doesn't score the TDs, he won't rack up the points. I think he can score a boatload of TDs, and as a result I took him, but it's conceivable that he doesn't do all the scoring for the team. Last season Taylor had 6 scores himself - only 4 behind AD. Remains to be seen if AD will get more of his TD opportunities or not. But it's also likely that the Vikings get more production from their QB this season.

So while you can look at the schedule and think that AD should be racking up the points in those games, he might be racking up the yards on the ground but they could be going elsewhere for the scores, as they obviously did last year.

My point is that, while the best back in the league IMO, he's yet to put up the big TD numbers you typically see from the top fantasy back.

[Badgerlander]

QBs are more important in Steger's league. I won it last year with Brady. My top backs were Parker and Jacobs, so luckily I had Chris Johnson and picked up Slaton. I think I had Colston as my top receiver and Shockey as my TE too. Sometimes its all about luck and matchups, as I only lost 2 games last year.
You can't go wrong with AP, sure their QB is going to be more productive this year, but that will give the team more opportunities to score. They were ranked 25th in passing offense and 17 in total offense last year. I honestly don't think that you can go wrong with AP, Turner, or Forte. MJD, Jackson and Westbrook all would worry me this year as I think their offenses will be worse this year. LT could have a monster year if he is healthy facing Oak, KC, and Denver twice each, but his playoff schedule is tough.
Edit: My bad I had Braylon Edwards not Colston, and I lost 4 games not two. Man that team sucked, I still can't believe that I won.

[Captain Erv]

Unless I make a trade before Week 1, I need some help deciding on my second RB to go along with AP:

Kevin Smith @ New Orleans
Pierre Thomas vs Detroit
Darren McFadden vs San Diego

[Newz]

I really like Kevin Smith as a fantasy player this season.

I don't know how healthy Thomas is and if he is going to get all the carries, split 3-ways or what... That RB situation kind of concerns me.

I think McFadden could also be good.

Match-ups tell you to go with Smith or Thomas... And after that health and amount of touches tells you to go with Smith, in my opinion.