Staff vs Message Board - WCOFF Challenge (Tuesday at 9:00 PM Eastern) (1 Viewer)

Staff Order:

Tremblay (1)

Anderson (3)

Overton (6)

Dodds (7)

Dowling (8)

Bloom (12)

:stretching:

I wonder if LT will last to me at 1.08.

Colin Dowling said:

I wonder if LT will last to me at 1.08.

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I am leaning toward selecting LT with the first pick. (Don't tell the message board crew. I want it to be a surprise.)

Interesting case study would be to see how many times the lower roll from the irony dice game server lead to the pick 1.1 vs pick 1.12.

Draft going on. Picks and comments to follow soon.

Here's my rooster from the 10 spot. Full comments and strategy explanation tomorrow. Will address any questions after I'm done posting everything.

QB - Brees (5), Harrington (14)

RB - Alexander (1), Ronnie (4), Chris Brown (10), Droughns (13), Mike Anderson (17), Lo Booker (18)

WR - Harrison (2), DJAX (6), Muhammad (7), Devery (8), Drew Bennett (9), Mason (11), Ant. Gonzales (15), Bowe (16)

TE - Gates (3), Heath Miller (12)

PK - Feely (21), Longwell (22)

DT - Bills (19), Giants (20)

QB - Bulger, Pennington, Croyle

RB - Addai, Maroney, Deuce, DWill

WR - Javon, Branch, Stallworth, Glenn (Wanted Crayton), Welker, Roydell, Burleson, Copper

TE- Watson, Dallas

PK - Scobee, Nugent

DST - Denver, Minny, Jax

comments and strategy going in to follow tomorrow

My roster from the 11 hole:

QB's - E. Manning (9), R. Grossman (10), J. Delhomme (12)

RB's - T. Henry (1), R. Johnson (2), A. Peterson - Minn. (3), L. Betts (8), A. Peterson - Chi. (16)

WR's - M. Colston (4), J. Cotchery (5), B. Berrian (6), V. Jackson (7), M. Jenkins (13), Roddy White (14), M. Stovall (22)

TE's - Daniels (11), Des. Clark (15), G. Olsen (17)

K's - Wilkins (18), Kasay (19)

Def's - Seattle (20), St. Louis (21)

This being a best ball/Draftmasters format, I believe the best way to win is to get starting RB's early and often. Many starting WR's are available later in the draft. So, here I took the best available RB's - Henry and Rudi with my first 2 picks. Both are the uncontested starters and should score plenty of td's. Both are not reception hounds, but in this format I believe that is still ok. Rudi has a great run schedule and is very safe.

I believe a couple home run picks are important in this format, because the Staff will be very good. So, I chose Adrian Peterson as the home run pick in round 3. If Peterson gets the majority of the carries, his talent will show through. He could break a long one anytime. Plus, I did not want Bloom to get Peterson at the turn because he started with two stud WR's.

4 WR's followed. Colston is going to excel in the NO offense, IMO. He and Cotchery should be big reception guys. Bernard Berrian is another home run pick - he has long td's and thus several big games a year. The same may be true for V. Jackson. I'm hoping for several big games from him and use his points accordingly.

I took Ladell Betts in round 8 purely as a value/upside pick. I wanted another home run WR like D. Henderson (who was picked next), but Betts was too good to pass up. Now I have 4 good RB's, so I can concentrate on other positions.

In rounds 9 - 12, I took 3 starting QB's - Eli Manning, Grossman & Delhomme. Manning is fairly steady and should throw often. IMO, Grossman is fantastic in this format because I get the benefit of his 4-5 huge games per year, but do not have to suffer through his horrible games. I took some grief from the mouthy Staff for selecting him before Brett Favre. Favre has not thrown over 20 tds in either of the last 2 years, so I'm not settling for an average QB, which is all he is at this point in his career. I want huge upside, not a legacy. Delhomme has a great pass schedule, so he fits the bill as 3rd QB.

After not getting a top 8 TE, I am satisfied with what I ended with. Owen Daniels looks great and is a viable option in the Houston offense. Also, by taking both Chicago tight ends, I get the benefit of whatever tight end has the big game for Chicago in any given week.

I also took both Michael Jenkins and Roddy White. Atlanta is going to completely suck. But, Atlanta will have to throw often. They have a great schedule, too. Both these young WR's are #1 picks who actually have a QB who can throw the ball now. I get the benefit of whicheer one succeeds. Joe Horn - over the hill.

K's and defenses are not very important in WCOFF format. Defensive scoring is not a big emphasis. I took two of each simply to fill out the roster.

Overall, I have good depth at QB, RB, and TE. My WR's will be the key. If I can get consistent scoring from these 7, I have a good shot.

buck naked - an excellent draft

See you in Vegas if that is where you are drafting this weekend

I like what buck naked did. But, I even appreciated it more with his discussion and mind set as he went through this draft.

This whole exercise is interesting yet, I don't know how beneficial for WCOFF participants. There's such a difference in BB versus standard "set your lineup" that I'm not sure how much you can take from this. In any case, BN did a good job of explaining his mind set throughout the process although there is no way in hell I would ever take 3 RBs consecutively in a real WCOFF draft. The big difference here is that in best ball, you can get a ton of WRs and hope that a few each week produce. In the real deal, you have to choose your WR starters, and this is what makes stud and top 25 WRs so much more valuable in the real game versus a best ball game. Good luck to everyone.

My roster from the second slot...

QB's - Palmer 5 (4.11) and Quinn 7 (15.2)

RB's - S Jackson 9 (1.2), Edge James 8 (2.11), Julius Jones 8 (6.11) and Turner 7 (10.11)

WR's - A. Johnson 10 (3.2), H. Ward 6 (5.2), Curry 5 (8.11), Furrey 6 (11.2), Crayton 8 (12.11), T. Williamson 5 (13.11), Toomer 9 (14.11), Engram 8 (16.11) and Patten 4 (21.2)

TE's - Witten 8 (7.2), Martin 9 (17.2) and E. Johnson 4 (17.2)

K's - Kaeding 7 (19.2) and Medlock 8 (22.11)

Def's - Bears 9 (9.2) and Bengals 5 (20.11)

RBs - My pre-draft strategy was to get two very good RBs and then go for WRs. I wanted no more than four total if I could get the right four. Knew I would get S Jax at 1.2 and liked Edge at the end of the second round. I thought that J Jones was a solid value at RB 32 and the end of the sixth round. I think he will catch more passes this year. Would have taken Foster at 7.2 but missed him by a pick. Turner is a maybe depending if he gets more opportunity to spell the man at SD. Week 8 will be weak unless Turner can get something.

QBs - I am always a wait on the QB guy, but I thought that Palmer at 4.11 was awesome value. It hurt my top flight WRs however. I also missed out on the second QB run by nabbing the Bears defense. I thought they presented value at 9.2 and didn't mind pulling the trigger although that too was not planned. Thought that one of Schaub or Campbell would be there at 12.11 and then I got stubborn. Wound up with only Quinn to back up Palmer. Pretty sure that Quinn will start, but if its not by week 5 I have a second by week issue, no QB.

WRs - I love A Johnson and Ward, but after that I need to brother-in-law the best ball scores. I have five additional ranked 37 to 64 and I think that Crayton will also be in that range. I expect all of these guys to have nice games, just hope that they are not all grouped together. I also like David Patten to have some big games with long TDs receptions for the Saints. I like the WR group even though I only have two of the top 30.

TEs - I like Witten and his connection with Romo, but had to reach a little for him at 7.2. Liked the value I saw in D. Martin with Green and E. Johnson with Brees, two QBs very used to hooking up with their TEs.

Ks - Kaeding and Medlock

Def - Bears and Bengals. One exceptional defense with a nice schedule and one not-so-solid defense with a nice schedule.

This team is exceedingly dependent on Carson Palmer and needs Mr. Crennel to come to his senses rather early and get Brady Quinn in the line up.

The draft dominator does not like the squad, but I think Quinn is undervalued and multiple QBs are overvalued in this scoring.

A great experience and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Appreciate the opportunity. Look forward to keeping track of the league all season long.

and the winning team:

QBs: Tom Brady (6.06), Jay Cutler (9.07), Matt Schaub (12.06)

RBs: Willie Parker (1.07), Ahman Green (4.06), Leon Washington (10.06), Brian Leonard (15.07), Ron Dayne (17.07)

WRs: Chad Johnson (2.06), Donald Driver (3.07), Calvin Johnson (5.07), DJ Hackett (8.06), Jacoby Jones (11.07), Dwayne Jarrett (19.07)

TEs: Vernon Davis (7.07), Bo Scaife (13.07), Marcedes Lewis (22.06)

PKs: Shayne Graham (16.06), Nick Folk (20.06)

Defs: Miami (14.06), Carolina (18.06), Atlanta (21.07)

Rd 1 - Had my choice of Willie Parker or Larry Johnson. Against my numbers, I actually had Parker a tad ahead in a PPR league. With Dowling drafting behind me, I was fine taking Parker knowing he would scoop up LJ.

Rd 2 - I was going WR all the way so loved to get Chad Johnson here. First of many gifts in this draft.

Rd 3 - RBs were flying off the board so I opted to do the opposite of the masses. Being in the middle of the draft allowed me to consistently choose value plays. Donald Driver is a great player in a start 3-4 WR PPR league.

Rd 4 - Before all the backs are gone, I choose Ahman Green. I think he represents great value in this format in the 4th.

Rd 5 - Toss up for me between Calvin Johnson and Santonio Holmes for me. Both have geat upside. I know all about the struggles of rookie WRs, but believe Johnson is going to buck the trend. I can't imagine Johnson not having a great season playing in a Mike Martz offense. Loving my CORE through 5 rounds.

Rd 6 - I had planned on waiting until the 8th round to take QB1. But Brady in the sixth was too much value to pass on. Although QB scoring is downplayed in this format, Brady should have some weeks where he puts up huge points.

Rd 7 - I decide to fill out the rest of my core as TEs are screaming off the board. With his ability to get yards after the catch, I think Vernon Davis will do great in this format.

Rd 8 - Added quality WR depth with DJ Hackett. Most everyone has their core RBs (and no starters left) so just looking to pick my spots and grab my backup RBs at bargain prices.

Rd 9 - Feels like the QB run is coming now so I land another quality player in Cutler.

Rd 10 - Patience is rewarded. I get Leon Washington (who catches enough passes to be a huge steal in this format) as a fraction of the price others paid for their RB depth.

Rd 11 - With a team that I believe should challenge for the title, I swing for the fences with Jacoby Jones. He showed me enough in preseason for me to know he will be starting opposite of Andre Johnson very soon.

Rd 12 - I get the last quality QB (in my opinion) with the selection of Schaub. Slight overkill with 3 QBs, but this should be a major position of strength all year.

Rd 13 - I considered Bo Scaife in the 12th and was happy to see him get back to me in the 13th. Solid player who should catch alot of passes this season.

Rds 14-22 - Stole Brian Leonard in the 15th (should catch enough passes to be great in this format), grabbed the 2nd best kicker in the 16th (I never understand why people wait forever and then not get who they want....most all started drafting their kickers a few rounds later), Added three defenses (In best ball, this can give you a lot of points because of the variability of the position), backed up Ahman Green (to give me the Houston running game).

Fullback Fro said:

Interesting case study would be to see how many times the lower roll from the irony dice game server lead to the pick 1.1 vs pick 1.12.

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I always use low score wins.

buck naked said:

My roster from the 11 hole:QB's - E. Manning (9), R. Grossman (10), J. Delhomme (12)RB's - T. Henry (1), R. Johnson (2), A. Peterson - Minn. (3), L. Betts (8), A. Peterson - Chi. (16)WR's - M. Colston (4), J. Cotchery (5), B. Berrian (6), V. Jackson (7), M. Jenkins (13), Roddy White (14), M. Stovall (22)TE's - Daniels (11), Des. Clark (15), G. Olsen (17)K's - Wilkins (18), Kasay (19)Def's - Seattle (20), St. Louis (21)This being a best ball/Draftmasters format, I believe the best way to win is to get starting RB's early and often. Many starting WR's are available later in the draft. So, here I took the best available RB's - Henry and Rudi with my first 2 picks. Both are the uncontested starters and should score plenty of td's. Both are not reception hounds, but in this format I believe that is still ok. Rudi has a great run schedule and is very safe. I believe a couple home run picks are important in this format, because the Staff will be very good. So, I chose Adrian Peterson as the home run pick in round 3. If Peterson gets the majority of the carries, his talent will show through. He could break a long one anytime. Plus, I did not want Bloom to get Peterson at the turn because he started with two stud WR's. 4 WR's followed. Colston is going to excel in the NO offense, IMO. He and Cotchery should be big reception guys. Bernard Berrian is another home run pick - he has long td's and thus several big games a year. The same may be true for V. Jackson. I'm hoping for several big games from him and use his points accordingly. I took Ladell Betts in round 8 purely as a value/upside pick. I wanted another home run WR like D. Henderson (who was picked next), but Betts was too good to pass up. Now I have 4 good RB's, so I can concentrate on other positions. In rounds 9 - 12, I took 3 starting QB's - Eli Manning, Grossman & Delhomme. Manning is fairly steady and should throw often. IMO, Grossman is fantastic in this format because I get the benefit of his 4-5 huge games per year, but do not have to suffer through his horrible games. I took some grief from the mouthy Staff for selecting him before Brett Favre. Favre has not thrown over 20 tds in either of the last 2 years, so I'm not settling for an average QB, which is all he is at this point in his career. I want huge upside, not a legacy. Delhomme has a great pass schedule, so he fits the bill as 3rd QB. After not getting a top 8 TE, I am satisfied with what I ended with. Owen Daniels looks great and is a viable option in the Houston offense. Also, by taking both Chicago tight ends, I get the benefit of whatever tight end has the big game for Chicago in any given week.I also took both Michael Jenkins and Roddy White. Atlanta is going to completely suck. But, Atlanta will have to throw often. They have a great schedule, too. Both these young WR's are #1 picks who actually have a QB who can throw the ball now. I get the benefit of whicheer one succeeds. Joe Horn - over the hill. K's and defenses are not very important in WCOFF format. Defensive scoring is not a big emphasis. I took two of each simply to fill out the roster.Overall, I have good depth at QB, RB, and TE. My WR's will be the key. If I can get consistent scoring from these 7, I have a good shot.

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Captain Hook said:

buck naked - an excellent draft See you in Vegas if that is where you are drafting this weekend

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radballs said:

I like what buck naked did. But, I even appreciated it more with his discussion and mind set as he went through this draft. This whole exercise is interesting yet, I don't know how beneficial for WCOFF participants. There's such a difference in BB versus standard "set your lineup" that I'm not sure how much you can take from this. In any case, BN did a good job of explaining his mind set throughout the process although there is no way in hell I would ever take 3 RBs consecutively in a real WCOFF draft. The big difference here is that in best ball, you can get a ton of WRs and hope that a few each week produce. In the real deal, you have to choose your WR starters, and this is what makes stud and top 25 WRs so much more valuable in the real game versus a best ball game. Good luck to everyone.

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3 's here. BN had a very good draft.I just did some analysis on best ball WRs and it basically illustrates what many of us already knew - quantity can approximate quality. You can't have craptastic WRs, but 6-7 mediocre ones are a good approx. of 3 studs.I'll elaborate tomorrow if I can, probably on the blogger.

David Dodds said:

Rds 14-22 - Stole Brian Leonard in the 15th (should catch enough passes to be great in this format), grabbed the 2nd best kicker in the 16th (I never understand why people wait forever and then not get who they want....most all started drafting their kickers a few rounds later), Added three defenses (In best ball, this can give you a lot of points because of the variability of the position), backed up Ahman Green (to give me the Houston running game).

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Jeff Pasquino said:

David Dodds said:

Rds 14-22 - Stole Brian Leonard in the 15th (should catch enough passes to be great in this format), grabbed the 2nd best kicker in the 16th (I never understand why people wait forever and then not get who they want....most all started drafting their kickers a few rounds later), Added three defenses (In best ball, this can give you a lot of points because of the variability of the position), backed up Ahman Green (to give me the Houston running game).

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When I took Abdullah Chatman, it was a toss-up between him and Leonard. I like the Ahman Green pick a lot as well. I was hopeful he'd make it to me at 4.11, but it was wishful thinking.

rzrback77 said:

My roster from the second slot...QB's - Palmer 5 (4.11) and Quinn 7 (15.2)RB's - S Jackson 9 (1.2), Edge James 8 (2.11), Julius Jones 8 (6.11) and Turner 7 (10.11)WR's - A. Johnson 10 (3.2), H. Ward 6 (5.2), Curry 5 (8.11), Furrey 6 (11.2), Crayton 8 (12.11), T. Williamson 5 (13.11), Toomer 9 (14.11), Engram 8 (16.11) and Patten 4 (21.2) TE's - Witten 8 (7.2), Martin 9 (17.2) and E. Johnson 4 (17.2)K's - Kaeding 7 (19.2) and Medlock 8 (22.11)Def's - Bears 9 (9.2) and Bengals 5 (20.11)

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this is the winning team...nice draft rzrback

Maurile Tremblay said:

Jeff Pasquino said:

David Dodds said:

Rds 14-22 - Stole Brian Leonard in the 15th (should catch enough passes to be great in this format), grabbed the 2nd best kicker in the 16th (I never understand why people wait forever and then not get who they want....most all started drafting their kickers a few rounds later), Added three defenses (In best ball, this can give you a lot of points because of the variability of the position), backed up Ahman Green (to give me the Houston running game).

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When I took Abdullah Chatman, it was a toss-up between him and Leonard. I like the Ahman Green pick a lot as well. I was hopeful he'd make it to me at 4.11, but it was wishful thinking.

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I definitely should have taken Leonard before 15.7, a serious error that Mr. Dodds capitalized on and made a strong team stronger. You are also correct that Ahamn Green would have been selected at 4.11, but it would have been by me. Palmer better be consistent early in the year.

LHUCKS said:

rzrback77 said:

My roster from the second slot...QB's - Palmer 5 (4.11) and Quinn 7 (15.2)RB's - S Jackson 9 (1.2), Edge James 8 (2.11), Julius Jones 8 (6.11) and Turner 7 (10.11)WR's - A. Johnson 10 (3.2), H. Ward 6 (5.2), Curry 5 (8.11), Furrey 6 (11.2), Crayton 8 (12.11), T. Williamson 5 (13.11), Toomer 9 (14.11), Engram 8 (16.11) and Patten 4 (21.2) TE's - Witten 8 (7.2), Martin 9 (17.2) and E. Johnson 4 (17.2)K's - Kaeding 7 (19.2) and Medlock 8 (22.11)Def's - Bears 9 (9.2) and Bengals 5 (20.11)

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this is the winning team...nice draft rzrback

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Thanks for the kind words sir. I hope that you judge well.

My roster:

Donovan McNabb

Philip Rivers

Jon Kitna

LaDainian Tomlinson

Jerious Norwood

DeShaun Foster

Vernand Morency

Tony Hunt

Jesse Chatman

Lee Evans

TJ Houshmandzadeh

Joe Horn

Brandon Stokley

Ernest Wilford

Joe Jurevicius

Craig Davis

Kellen Winslow, Jr.

Stephen Gostkowski

Robbie Gould

Jets

Chiefs

Browns

First rounder, Tomlinson, was a no-brainer.

At the 2/3 turn, I took two WRs I have rated higher than most people do -- Lee Evans and TJ Houshmandzedeh.

At the 4/5 turn, I took Donovan McNabb as the third QB off the board. I have him rated as the QB2 and knew he wouldn't make it to me at the 6/7 turn. Then I took Jerious Norwood, which was a tough decision. It was between him and LaMont Jordan. I thought there was an outside chance I could get Jordan at the 6/7 turn, but no chance that Norwood would still be there, so I went with Norwood. As it turned out, Jordan went a few spots later anyway.

At the 6/7 turn, I think I got two steals in Kellen Winslow, Jr. and DeShaun Foster.

At the 8/9 turn, I was all ready to take Ron Curry, but he was snatched before me at 7.11. So I went QB-QB with Philip Rivers and Jon Kitna. I wanted three solid QBs. If Curry had been there, I'd have taken Rivers and then tried to get either Jeff Garcia or David Garrard later in the draft. But without Curry there I decided to take both of my QBs before the inevitable run. I knew there'd be a huge drop-off in QB talent between 9.01 and 10.12 -- and indeed there was. By the time my next pick came up, 8 more QBs had gone, including guys like Rex Grossman and Alex Smith. In hindsight, I'm pretty happy I got Kitna instead of, e.g., Losman as my third QB.

At the 10/11 turn, I grabbed Joe Horn, one of the few remaining NFL WR1s, and Vernand Morency. Morency's bye week isn't great for me (he shares it with Tomlinson and Foster), but he offered too much value at a position of need for me to pass up.

At the 12/13 turn I got Ernest Wilford and Tony Hunt. I've had Wilford and Northcutt as the Jaguars' WR1 and WR2 all summer, while most people had Reggie Williams and Matt Jones there -- and in fact Matt Jones went before Wilford in this draft as well. People will catch up eventually, but not everyone's there yet. (I'd say the same about the OAK WR situation.) I figure Hunt will score TDs many weeks even when Westbrook is healthy, and has nice upside potential if Westbrook misses any games.

At the 14/15 turn I got Jesse Chatman and Craig Davis. Davis was one of the few NFL starting WRs available, and I think he'll be a big part of a potent offense. Like Hunt, I think Chatman offers the combination of contributing something every week, with the potential to be the featured back if the starter is injured (or performs poorly).

At the 16/17 turn I absolutely stole Brandon Stokley, who I think will be solid this year, and then chose Jurevicius over Northcutt in a close call as my last WR.

At the 18/19 turn I got kickers, and at the 20/21 turn I got defenses.

At 22.12 I wanted Zach Miller, but when he was gone I forewent a second TE and grabbed a third defense instead. There were no TEs left who I thought would outscore Kellen Winslow except maybe on Winslow's bye week, but I thought a third defense would probably outscore my other two nearly 1/3 of the time. That's how defenses work.

rzrback77 said:

LHUCKS said:

rzrback77 said:

My roster from the second slot...QB's - Palmer 5 (4.11) and Quinn 7 (15.2)RB's - S Jackson 9 (1.2), Edge James 8 (2.11), Julius Jones 8 (6.11) and Turner 7 (10.11)WR's - A. Johnson 10 (3.2), H. Ward 6 (5.2), Curry 5 (8.11), Furrey 6 (11.2), Crayton 8 (12.11), T. Williamson 5 (13.11), Toomer 9 (14.11), Engram 8 (16.11) and Patten 4 (21.2) TE's - Witten 8 (7.2), Martin 9 (17.2) and E. Johnson 4 (17.2)K's - Kaeding 7 (19.2) and Medlock 8 (22.11)Def's - Bears 9 (9.2) and Bengals 5 (20.11)

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this is the winning team...nice draft rzrback

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Thanks for the kind words sir. I hope that you judge well.

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Great team rzr! I like this a lot too. However, I would say that I think this team would be worlds better if it was a "set your lineup" league versus a best ball. You've got studs at just about every position which would make setting a lineup relatively easy. This team will lose some of that strength against some of the others who made up for a lack of studs with quantity. Still, this could be a team to beat. Very nice job.

I agree with Rads that with the best ball format, this is not what a WCOFF DRAFT will look like. Still, in watching it for the first 9 rounds, I was happy to see a lot of players I am targeting for staurday fell about where I xpected them too.

QBs went to early, and TE's were about right (except for gates. Him falling to 3.10 is a steal for tiger)

Maurile Tremblay said:

My roster:

Donovan McNabb

Philip Rivers

Jon Kitna

LaDainian Tomlinson

Jerious Norwood

DeShaun Foster

Vernand Morency

Tony Hunt

Jesse Chatman

Lee Evans

TJ Houshmandzadeh

Joe Horn

Brandon Stokley

Ernest Wilford

Joe Jurevicius

Craig Davis

Kellen Winslow, Jr.

Stephen Gostkowski

Robbie Gould

Jets

Chiefs

Browns

First rounder, Tomlinson, was a no-brainer.

At the 2/3 turn, I took two WRs I have rated higher than most people do -- Lee Evans and TJ Houshmandzedeh.

At the 4/5 turn, I took Donovan McNabb as the third QB off the board. I have him rated as the QB2 and knew he wouldn't make it to me at the 6/7 turn. Then I took Jerious Norwood, which was a tough decision. It was between him and LaMont Jordan. I thought there was an outside chance I could get Jordan at the 6/7 turn, but no chance that Norwood would still be there, so I went with Norwood. As it turned out, Jordan went a few spots later anyway.

At the 6/7 turn, I think I got two steals in Kellen Winslow, Jr. and DeShaun Foster.

At the 8/9 turn, I was all ready to take Ron Curry, but he was snatched before me at 7.11. So I went QB-QB with Philip Rivers and Jon Kitna. I wanted three solid QBs. If Curry had been there, I'd have taken Rivers and then tried to get either Jeff Garcia or David Garrard later in the draft. But without Curry there I decided to take both of my QBs before the inevitable run. I knew there'd be a huge drop-off in QB talent between 9.01 and 10.12 -- and indeed there was. By the time my next pick came up, 8 more QBs had gone, including guys like Rex Grossman and Alex Smith. In hindsight, I'm pretty happy I got Kitna instead of, e.g., Losman as my third QB.

At the 10/11 turn, I grabbed Joe Horn, one of the few remaining NFL WR1s, and Vernand Morency. Morency's bye week isn't great for me (he shares it with Tomlinson and Foster), but he offered too much value at a position of need for me to pass up.

At the 12/13 turn I got Ernest Wilford and Tony Hunt. I've had Wilford and Northcutt as the Jaguars' WR1 and WR2 all summer, while most people had Reggie Williams and Matt Jones there -- and in fact Matt Jones went before Wilford in this draft as well. People will catch up eventually, but not everyone's there yet. (I'd say the same about the OAK WR situation.) I figure Hunt will score TDs many weeks even when Westbrook is healthy, and has nice upside potential if Westbrook misses any games.

At the 14/15 turn I got Jesse Chatman and Craig Davis. Davis was one of the few NFL starting WRs available, and I think he'll be a big part of a potent offense. Like Hunt, I think Chatman offers the combination of contributing something every week, with the potential to be the featured back if the starter is injured (or performs poorly).

At the 16/17 turn I absolutely stole Brandon Stokley, who I think will be solid this year, and then chose Jurevicius over Northcutt in a close call as my last WR.

At the 18/19 turn I got kickers, and at the 20/21 turn I got defenses.

At 22.12 I wanted Zach Miller, but when he was gone I forewent a second TE and grabbed a third defense instead. There were no TEs left who I thought would outscore Kellen Winslow except maybe on Winslow's bye week, but I thought a third defense would probably outscore my other two nearly 1/3 of the time. That's how defenses work.

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This will be a tough team to beat for the MB. Thank goodness MT made a few mistakes. If Winslow misses time he will bleed severely at TE. Foster is basically a wasted pick in bb format, especially when he shares the same bye as LT.

David Dodds said:

Rd 13 - I considered Bo Scaife in the 12th and was happy to see him get back to me in the 13th. Solid player who should catch alot of passes this season.Rds 14-22 - Stole Brian Leonard in the 15th (should catch enough passes to be great in this format), grabbed the 2nd best kicker in the 16th (I never understand why people wait forever and then not get who they want....most all started drafting their kickers a few rounds later), Added three defenses (In best ball, this can give you a lot of points because of the variability of the position), backed up Ahman Green (to give me the Houston running game).

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Leonard is outright thievery in round 15. You are dead on in your comments. This could be the SOD. If Jackson gets hurt, you will have a fantastic team. You have an advantage being in the middle of the draft and being able to pick up falling value much more easily. Scaife is another excellent pick. I thought these two picks were great for later round picks.You had an excellent draft, DD.

Shark Moves:

1) Dodds draft.

2) The Staff "QB Squeeze" on the Message Board. The Staff kept taking QB's, leaving several of my teammates with little depth at QB. That was absolutely the right thing to do in a team format.

3) Fro took B. Wade (10), Demetrius Williams (11) and James Jones (12). These are excellent later round WR's to roster in this format. Go Fro!

Non-Shark Moves:

1) Tremblay's 3 QB's in the first 9 rounds. 3 great QB's to have, but too many, too soon. QB is ONE position to fill. 3 QB's hurts depth at the other positions.

2) 2 defenses in rounds 11 and 12 by Anderson. Huh? The scoring in this format does not lend to that strategy.

3) Dowling had a good thing going until he drafted Moss (6), Porter (8), and B. Jones (10). Each one of these guys, IMO, is very risky. Moss in 6 might be worth the risk, but I cannot get an accurate feel for his value and where I would draft him. I think Curry is the man in Oakland, not Porter.

Drafting from the 12 hole...

I was planning on taking my first QB at the 7/8 turn, and going with the Dodds plan of VY/Romo/Kitna being the choice. Since I drafted TO and MBIII in the first 6 picks, Romo was out. I went VY over Kitna on personal choice, everyone knows how I feel about VY, and he seemed to be playing with fire in the dress rehearsal PS game 3. At that point I knew I had a QB who would score for me most weeks, so I didn't feel urgency to get a 2nd QB. Picking at the turn also made it easier to end up with 3 starting QBs, and I figured that I could definitely get two starters at the 13/14 turn. They were almost dried up when we got there, but I was able to land Tarvaris, who should put up at least 2-4 scoring games with his running ability, and McNair, who looks less stable with the possible Leftwich signing, but should still remain a starter through VY and Jackson's bye weeks. This group should be middle of the pack with only moderate investment, including 2 or 3 weeks where I have the highest QB score in the league thanks to VY.
In an earlier staff survivor with an identical setup, I also went WR/WR from the 12 hole, and I made the mistake of taking a 3rd WR at 4.01 when Javon Walker fell to me. I didn't make that mistake again, getting two solid feature backs in TJones and Caddy. Neither have been explosive backs, but they a decent foundation at RB. I added my explosiveness with an MBIII pick at the 5/6 turn and a KJones pick at the 7/8 turn. MBIII came *this close* to falling to me in the earlier draft. KJones seemed like a no brainer with my roster and the likelihood of him playing in more than half of the games this year. Faulk was just a safety pick - in a PPR, and with NEs RB touches spread out, he should be good for some 5-10 point games and maybe a few TDs. Harrison was a pick to have a 3rd RB in week 10, and also maybe hit something good in the PPR RB category, Quinn locked onto him in his first preseason drive. This part of my draft went exactly as planned.
I was planning on WR WR as long as I could get my top 2 - Smith and TO. the WR run happens from mid 2nd to mid 3rd in these kinds of drafts, and this one was no different. I considered Rudi, but I felt comfortable that I could put together a good RB corps by using 4 of my next 6 picks after seeing how the earlier draft played out. Galloway was too good to pass up at the 5/6 turn, a true #1, whose big play ability meshes perfectly with a best ball format. You all know how I feel about Marshall this year, and Battle should be my safe #4 in case Marshall imploded. I expect Bryant Johnson to have a few long TDs this year, and if Fitz or Boldin gets dinged, he's one of the #3 with starter talent. I considered another supporting WR like Shaun McDonald or Malcom Floyd late, but I felt those picks were more likely to help my team used elsewhere.
I know that Vick is gone and Crumplers knee is balky, but I was still happy to get him that late. I had planned on getting Vernon Davis at the 7/8 turn, but Dodds squashed that, so Crumpler was my consolation. If he hadnt slid to the 9/10 turn, I probably would have gone with a 3 TE committee built with one pick from each of the 11/12, 13/14, and 15/16 turns, hopefully including guys like Scaife, Daniels, and McMichael. I was happy with the very underrated Scheffler as my #2, like Scaife and VY, Cutler just knows where this guy is when the play breaks down.
Not much to see here. I went with SD early because I like their explosiveness with Sproles back in the return game in addition to the attack 3-4 led by Merriman that should be playing a lot with the lead. I do think Kris Brown is a bit underrated with Houston's offense seeming revitalized. The Niners D should also be attack oriented, and they have added Nate Clements, Michael Lewis, Patrick Willis, and Tully Banta-Cain, in addition to Manny Lawson being a year smarter at the OLB position. I also expect the Bucs to give me a few scoring games - they will be better than last year and should not have been one of the last defenses off the board.

Here's my rooster from the 10 spot.

QB - Brees (5), Harrington (14)

RB - Alexander (1), Ronnie (4), Chris Brown (10), Droughns (13), Mike Anderson (17), Lo Booker (18)

WR - Harrison (2), DJAX (6), Muhammad (7), Devery (8), Drew Bennett (9), Mason (11), Ant. Gonzales (15), Bowe (16)

TE - Gates (3), Heath Miller (12)

PK - Feely (21), Longwell (22)

DT - Bills (19), Giants (20)

So here’s what I was thinking before the draft started: the only thing I was 99.9% (never want to commit 100% to a certain strategy) sure about was the following:

· I was going to only carry 2 QB, 2 TE, 2PK, 2DEF, leaving me with 14 RB/WR

· My 4 DEF/PK were going to be my last 4 picks

· I’m going RB/WR with my first two picks

· Be prepared to adjust

I do want to say that where WCOFF scoring is used here, there are two main differences in this league than in the real WCOFF format

· Best ball – having best ball allows you to take a lot more mediocre WRs as you only need 3-4 to hit every week. A nice bonus is that you don’t have to select which guys to start each week. In the real WCOFF format WR is the most important position IMO (see next bullet)

· The WCOFF regular season is only 11 weeks, and this format is 16 weeks. In only 11 weeks, that means bye weeks are extremely important. If you have two of your top 5 WRs on the same bye week, that means you’re playing your WR6 & WR7 at least once (possibly more weeks if injuries occur). This format, not so much.

So here goes:

Round 1: Shaun Alexander – Best RB available

Round 2: Marvin Harrison – Best player available. Harrison is my #1 WR in this format and was pumped to get him here

Round 3: Antonio Gates – Wasn’t planning on Gates falling to me, but I had to take him. Gates is the unquestioned #1 TE, and he really doesn’t have a ceiling. I’ve seen all sorts of combinations of different TE’s from TE 2-6, so I’m glad I didn’t have to make that decision.

At this point I have my #1 WR & #1 TE and I’m very happy.

Round 4: Ronnie Brown – obviously the Cameron news is dropping his ADP. Before the news, it was 2.08. I personally think Cameron is just trying to motivate Brown, and he’ll be fine. He was top 10 in PPR last year before he got hurt. The value here was too much to pass up; as Darrel Jackson (ADP 5.10) was the next WR on my board, so I thought I could get him with my next pick

Round 5: Drew Brees – I have Brees as my QB2……maybe I’m crazy, but I actually think he has a very legitimate shot at scoring more than Manning this year. I would have never made this pick in Vegas (nor do I think he falls this far there) but I had to pull the trigger here. Here’s my thought process: (1) I did a quick calculation and Brees had the highest VBD out of any guy left (2) DJAX was still on the board here, so there was a chance he would last to my next pick, which was only 4 away (3) I originally planned to grab 2 QBs b/w rounds 8-10, but grabbing Brees now lets me wait even longer on a backup QB, b/c he’s not that likely to be outscored too often

So now I have my #1 WR, #1 TE and #2 QB. Time to hammer other positions

Round 6: Darrel Jackson. I’d been debating him on my last two picks, and he’s there!

Round 7: Mushin Muhammad. I actually like Devery Henderson more, but looking at ADP, I thought Devery would slide, so I took the risk and grabbed Moosh even though I have him ranked lower.

Round 8: Devery’s there – scooped him up. I absolutely love him in this format as he is home run potential. I’m fully prepared to have him throw up a few non starts in best ball, but I think I hedged that with the WRs I took after this.

Round 9: Drew Bennett – not 100% sure what to expect out of him (WR 2 or 3….purely a safety valve?), but to me he’s safer in a best ball than in the regular WCOFF format and I think he’ll get a few starts.

Round 10: Chris Brown – I’m not sold on Lendale getting tons of carries. I know Brown has an injury history, but he will score some TDs, and if I get a few starts out of him, he’ll have made me happy

Round 11: Derrick Mason – Best WR available.

I know have 6 WRs who I think are capable of being starters any week. Harrison will obviously be my rock here, with the other 5 guys hopefully all mixing up their big weeks. I want 2 more WRs to finish out the draft

Round 12: Heath Miller – This was my worst pick of the draft. I mean how often is Miller going to outscore Gates? As soon as I clicked “pick” I regretted it. I should have went Dominic Rhodes here and waited on a backup TE

Round 13: Rueben Droughns – for not getting Rhodes I was still happy with Droughns as my RB 4. I think it’s decent value here.

Round 14: Joey Harrington – I think I was the last person to take a QB 2 (logic above in Brees writeup) and I could just picture the staff chat room (Squeeze TF out!) as Bloom went QB/QB right before me. Harrington was my target all along, as I think he’ll be passing like crazy all year. I’m happy with him as my QB2.

Round 15: Anthony Gonzales – High upside, just as likely to actually start a few weeks for me as a Mason. Also provides a little insurance to Harrison

Round 16: Dwayne Bowe - Another high upside pick here. Again, all you need is 1 start out of these late round WRs in this format and you have some value. Anything else is gravy.

Round 17: Mike Anderson – best RB on my board. If I get anything out of him, I’m happy

Round 18: Lo Booker – a little insurance on Ronnie (Chatman went too early for me). See Anderson writeup.

19-22: Best PK/DT available – Bills, Giants, Feely, Longwell

All in all I’m happy with my draft. I think my weak spot is RB depth. If Alexander or Ronnie get hurt, I’m in trouble. But I think this team is built for success on the strength of Harrison/Brees/Gates. Out of my 8 WRs, I only have 2 WR3s (Bennett, Ant Gonzales), but each will see signifcant playing time during the year and should produce in best ball.

QB - Brees (5), Harrington (14)

RB - Alexander (1), Ronnie (4), Chris Brown (10), Droughns (13), Mike Anderson (17), Lo Booker (18)

WR - Harrison (2), DJAX (6), Muhammad (7), Devery (8), Drew Bennett (9), Mason (11), Ant. Gonzales (15), Bowe (16)

TE - Gates (3), Heath Miller (12)

PK - Feely (21), Longwell (22)

DT - Bills (19), Giants (20)

You had to take Brees where you did. WAY too much value. I was eyeballing him, one pick behind you.

Huard, Damon KCC QB - 8 14.10

Romo, Tony DAL QB - 8 8.10

Smith, Alex SFO QB - 6 10.10

Bell, Tatum DET RB - 6 5.03

Bush, Reggie NOS RB - 4 1.03

Dunn, Warrick ATL RB - 8 9.03

Rhodes, Dominic OAK RB - 5 13.03

Thomas, Anthony BUF RB - 6 15.03

Chambers, Chris MIA WR - 9 7.03

Coles, Laveranues NYJ WR - 10 4.10

Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR - 8 2.10

Holt, Torry STL WR - 9 3.03

Moulds, Eric TEN WR - 4 17.03

Robinson, Koren GBP WR - 7 20.10

Williams, Mike OAK WR - 5 21.03

Baker, Chris NYJ TE - 10 22.10

Gonzalez, Tony KCC TE - 8 6.10

Graham, Daniel DEN TE - 6 19.03

Elam, Jason DEN PK - 6 16.10

Stover, Matt BAL PK - 8 18.10

Patriots, New England NEP Def - 10 12.10

Ravens, Baltimore BAL Def - 8 11.03

Try and get some thoughts in a while

buck naked said:

Shark Moves:

1) Dodds draft.

2) The Staff "QB Squeeze" on the Message Board. The Staff kept taking QB's, leaving several of my teammates with little depth at QB. That was absolutely the right thing to do in a team format.

3) Fro took B. Wade (10), Demetrius Williams (11) and James Jones (12). These are excellent later round WR's to roster in this format. Go Fro!

Non-Shark Moves:

1) Tremblay's 3 QB's in the first 9 rounds. 3 great QB's to have, but too many, too soon. QB is ONE position to fill. 3 QB's hurts depth at the other positions.

2) 2 defenses in rounds 11 and 12 by Anderson. Huh? The scoring in this format does not lend to that strategy.

3) Dowling had a good thing going until he drafted Moss (6), Porter (8), and B. Jones (10). Each one of these guys, IMO, is very risky. Moss in 6 might be worth the risk, but I cannot get an accurate feel for his value and where I would draft him. I think Curry is the man in Oakland, not Porter.

Click to expand...

I assumed that Tremblay was the Staff sacrificial lamb in the QB squeeze, giving up his team to horde 3 good QBs in a pre-draft plan.

Some general comments: I actually thought most folks drafted really well. There were a couple headscratcher picks and a few times where it took someone 3 minutes to select a 5th RB. Other then that, a pretty solid bit. My favorite moments were Bagger declaring about his own team that "for having drafted 3 Rbs in the first 5 rounds, my RBs aren't that good." Then, Tremblay tried to take Jesse Chatman and managed to pick no one NEAR Chatman on the dropdown. A good time indeed.

My team absolutely owned from the 8 spot.

1.08 - Larry Johnson

2.05 - Peyton Manning

3.08 - Cedric Benson

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I figured LJ would drop to me, which is fine. Herm Edwards is a terrible coach, and I don't trust that LJ is going to catch 40 balls. That said, the PPR disadvantage should be more then compensated for by touchdowns. I thought getting LJ at 1.08 was criminal, but that's just me. Manning was a hair of a reach, but he's also the top QB and not likely to put up any eggs, which is a big deal in this kind of league where every point counts since you are playing every one each week. That was worth missing out on the stud WRs. For Benson, what more can I say? I have him down for 1500 or so yards, 35 receptions, and 12-14 TDs. He was 9th on my board in this system and while I'm sure many folks will look at my team and think my RBs are week because my #2 isn't a big name, I am very confident that my top 3 picks were as strong as anyone's, if not more so.

4.05 - Braylon Edwards

5.08 - Santonio Holmes

6.05 - Randy Moss

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I missed out on the "name" receivers and I don't think it's going to matter. I think Edwards is drastically underrated this season (even with mediocre QB play) and could finish in the top-12 with a little luck. I think that Holmes will be one of those "where did he come from?" kind of guys that offers great value. That said, 5.08 was not where I hoped to get him, even in a PPR league where WR's were going fast. Randy Moss is my wild card. At 6.05, he could be terrible and become an immediate hole in my roster or he could score 15 TDs (as some have predicted) and vault my team in to "almost unbeatable" territory. Gambles like that are worth taking, even in the 6th round.

7.08 - Lendale White

8.05 - JErry POrter

9.08 - Matt Hasselbeck

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Maybe I'm extra giddy because it went in my favor, but there is NO excuse for Lendale White to go in the 7th round. NONE. While the debate will rage on and Chris Brown will definitely get some touches, I've seen enough from White in 2 weeks - and seen the response of teammates and coaches - I feel like he's 275 touches and 7+ TDs waiting to happen. A RB with that kind of forecast has no business going this late. I was so giddy about getting White that I quickly selected Porter in round 8. I probably could have gotten him later, but I think he'll have a solid 65/900/6 type of year so he presented good value here. I really wanted Big Ben, Leinart, or Cutler and all 3 went in a row ahead of my 9th pick. I took Hasselbeck, who was the best QB left, and now I can rest easy with who I hav eunder center.

10.05 - Brandon Jones

11.08 - LJ Smith

12.05 - Dallas Cowboys

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I don't think anyone in Tennessee is going to catch 60 balls. But Jones may catch 50. Solid in round 10. I was hoping for Ben Watson but LJ is in the same ballpark. I didn't want to take TE here, but they were going fast. I definitely reached for the Cowboys D, but short of Chicago or Baltimore, that is who I wanted, so it was worth it.

13.08 - Chris Henry - WR - Cin

14.05 - Adam Vinatieri

15.08 - Steelers D

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At this point, the WRs are getting super thin and I still need a couple. Even if Henry only plays 8 games, he'll still outproduce most of the guys being selected in this range. On a PPG basis late in the season, he'll be a great find. 36/605/9 last season. Vinatieri = Best Kicker. Steelers give me two defenses that should be aggressive and in the top-12 when all is said and done.

16.05 - MIchael Robinson

17.08 - David Boston

18.05 - Ben Troupe

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Robinson backs up an injury prone RB, offering great upside. I think Boston will challenge for top-25 this season and is still underrated despite the growing buzz. Troupe is not getting the attention of Scaife, and they'll split production, but Troupe (if healthy) is far too talented to sit on the pine. They'll find a way to get something out of him.

19.08 - David Akers

20.05 - Garrett Wolfe

21.08 - Michael Bennett

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Grabbed a second solid kicker to supplement Vinatieri. Backed up Benson. Backed up LJ

22.05 - Michael Bush

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When you're so good in rounds 1-21, you can swing for the fences with a big risk, big upside guy in round 22.

ConstruxBoy said:

buck naked said:

Shark Moves:

1) Dodds draft.

2) The Staff "QB Squeeze" on the Message Board. The Staff kept taking QB's, leaving several of my teammates with little depth at QB. That was absolutely the right thing to do in a team format.

3) Fro took B. Wade (10), Demetrius Williams (11) and James Jones (12). These are excellent later round WR's to roster in this format. Go Fro!

Non-Shark Moves:

1) Tremblay's 3 QB's in the first 9 rounds. 3 great QB's to have, but too many, too soon. QB is ONE position to fill. 3 QB's hurts depth at the other positions.

2) 2 defenses in rounds 11 and 12 by Anderson. Huh? The scoring in this format does not lend to that strategy.

3) Dowling had a good thing going until he drafted Moss (6), Porter (8), and B. Jones (10). Each one of these guys, IMO, is very risky. Moss in 6 might be worth the risk, but I cannot get an accurate feel for his value and where I would draft him. I think Curry is the man in Oakland, not Porter.

Click to expand...

I assumed that Tremblay was the Staff sacrificial lamb in the QB squeeze, giving up his team to horde 3 good QBs in a pre-draft plan.

Click to expand...

Funny thing is, if there was a squeeze planned, no one told me. But I have drafted enough with some of these guys - including an earlier draft where Iwas next to Dodds again - that I could absolutely see it coming. In fact, I had my mind made up to take Leinart or ROethlisberger in the 9th and the moment Roethlisberger came off the board, I knew that the next 2 picks were going Leinart/Cutler and I had to settle for someone else (grabbed Hass).

buck naked said:

You had to take Brees where you did. WAY too much value. I was eyeballing him, one pick behind you.

Click to expand...

I told myself when McNabb came off the board that if Brees made it to me in round 6 or Bulger to me in round 8, I would take him even though I had MAnning already. Missed out on both by about half a round.

Colin Dowling said:

ConstruxBoy said:

buck naked said:

Shark Moves:

1) Dodds draft.

2) The Staff "QB Squeeze" on the Message Board. The Staff kept taking QB's, leaving several of my teammates with little depth at QB. That was absolutely the right thing to do in a team format.

3) Fro took B. Wade (10), Demetrius Williams (11) and James Jones (12). These are excellent later round WR's to roster in this format. Go Fro!

Non-Shark Moves:

1) Tremblay's 3 QB's in the first 9 rounds. 3 great QB's to have, but too many, too soon. QB is ONE position to fill. 3 QB's hurts depth at the other positions.

2) 2 defenses in rounds 11 and 12 by Anderson. Huh? The scoring in this format does not lend to that strategy.

3) Dowling had a good thing going until he drafted Moss (6), Porter (8), and B. Jones (10). Each one of these guys, IMO, is very risky. Moss in 6 might be worth the risk, but I cannot get an accurate feel for his value and where I would draft him. I think Curry is the man in Oakland, not Porter.

Click to expand...

I assumed that Tremblay was the Staff sacrificial lamb in the QB squeeze, giving up his team to horde 3 good QBs in a pre-draft plan.

Click to expand...

Funny thing is, if there was a squeeze planned, no one told me. But I have drafted enough with some of these guys - including an earlier draft where Iwas next to Dodds again - that I could absolutely see it coming. In fact, I had my mind made up to take Leinart or ROethlisberger in the 9th and the moment Roethlisberger came off the board, I knew that the next 2 picks were going Leinart/Cutler and I had to settle for someone else (grabbed Hass).

Click to expand...

There was no group planning at all. But most people in this league have done survivor drafts before, and know that you want three QBs. It's very easy to lose two of them during the same week, and the QB position puts up too many points to be able to take a zero there and survive.So when it gets to the point that the end of the decent QBs is in sight, they start coming off the board very quickly until they are gone.

Since I was at the turn, I had to wait 22 picks till my next pick and I knew the biggest drop-off in talent, by far, between 9.01 and 10.12 would be at QB.

My team, drafting #6:

QB: Leinart (8 - 9.06), Campbell (4 - 12.07), Garcia (10 - 13.06)

RB: Westbrook (5 - 1.06), McGahee (8 - 2.07), Jacobs (9 - 3.06), Jordan (5 - 5.06), Pittman (10 - 11.06)

WR: S. Moss (4 4.07), Bruce (9 - 7.06), Curtis (5 - 8.07), Kennison (8 - 10.07), Ginn Jr. (9 - 14.07), Randle El (4 - 16.07), D. Carter (7 - 18.07), Northcutt (4 - 22.07)

TE: Shockey (9 - 6.07), Pollard (8 - 15.06)

PK: Josh Brown (8 - 19.06), Hanson (6 - 20.07)

DEF: Packers Def (7 - 17.06), Titans Def (4 - 21.06)

Going in, I was figuring on grabbing one of Westbrook/Parker/Gore and then nabbing either a mid first-tier WR in the second round or one of the last remaining second tier RBs. Which one I got would determine my strategy going forward. As it turned out, Willis McGahee was still around at 2.07 for me so I went with the RB-centric strategy with minimal WR. In a Best Ball, I like that strategy as long as 1.) there are at least seven rostered WRs to choose from and 2.) that a few of the late WRs are burners and/or returners so you can pick up a couple of surprise starts from them throughout the year. So a lot of the high-level strategy of my draft was settled at the 2.07 pick. I also had some good luck in being well-positioned to survive runs. Having four starting RBs also helped as I was able to manuever pretty freely in the middle rounds to avoid being shut out of any runs.

QB: This is not the absolute strongest group in the world, but I loved the fact that I got three guys that I'm high on this season with no bye conflicts, so it makes a very good Best Ball QB pack. I'm more optimistic than most on Leinart as I do not believe that Whisenhunt is going to be nearly as conservative as common wisdom indicates. I know from comments made by Hines Ward, Cedrick Wilson, and others this offseason that Cowher, not Whis, was the conservative influence on the Steelers offensive gameplan. Whis would often gameplan and practice spread packages and gadgets only to have them nixed by Cowher on gameday. (I'm a Steelers fan.) So now that Whisenhunt has arrived on a team with an admittedly poor (but improving) offensive line but a franchise QB and one of the top WR trios in the NFL, I think he's going to use them early and often. I was glad to get Leinart right after Fro took Roethlisberger as Leinart was the only remaining QB on the board I would have been comfortable with as my #1. I watched Campbell several times in the preseason and he looked sharp. Joe Gibbs has done his best to signal that there's no going backward by having Todd Collins pick up most of the second team work. And he's got three very dependable targets in Moss, Cooley, and Randle El (his leading receiver in the preseason). Garcia may wind up running for his life this season but he's the type of gritty scrambling QB to be productive in that situation and in Gruden's offense.

RB: This is a strong group. Westbrook in a PPR is , but in a PPR Best Ball with strong complimentary backs he's even better. Willis McGahee will bring a new dimension of speed to the Baltimore backfield that will transform that offense, and he'll get all the carries he can handle. Brandon Jacobs will get the lion's share of the work in New York. And Lamont Jordan will have minimal competition in the backfield for the first 4-6 weeks of the season as the Raiders establish their offensive routine under Kiffin. If he even approaches his target numbers from 2005, he'll represent highway robbery-type value. The versatile Michael Pittman represents good value in a Best Ball format as a mid-rounder whether he's catching passes at FB, playing in one back sets, or spelling Caddy at RB1.

WR: "Go deep" was my operating philosophy here. Get a big enough pool of WRs in the mid to late rounds such that there will be three or four productive players every week, and pull in a few home run guys. Like I said above with Campbell, I was impressed with him in the preseason so I was happy to make Santana Moss my #1 and grab Antwaan Randle El in the 16th round. ARE led the Redskins in receiving this preseason and has the #2 WR job locked down along with returning punts, so I have him in several leagues. Isaac Bruce in the 7th made sense especially with the rumors floating around about Torry Holt's condition. Kevin Curtis in the 8th is a guy who will be a deep threat in Philadelphia and who could easily wind up as McNabb's WR1. Kennison is a steady-state guy who always seems to slip too far in drafts. Ted Ginn is seeing his role increase in Miami's offense and he's a dangerous returner. Drew Carter is one of the non-Smiths in Carolina, but he was cheap in the 18th round. And Dennis Northcutt has been the Jaguars steadiest receiver this preseason playing out of the slot. I might have a problem with this position week 4 when I've got Moss, Randle El, and Northcutt all on byes but on the other weeks I expect to have enough critical mass to produce three solid starters.

TE: Another strong group. I like Shockey this year because the loss of Tiki Barber is going to cause a lot of short-midrange targets to be redistributed to other Giants, and Shockey should be a big beneficiary. And Marcus Pollard should represent great value in the 15th round as Holmgren has gone out of his way to state that he will be heavily used in the Seattle offense.

PK: Solid. Two veteran kickers (one dome, one outdoors) whose respective offenses are expected to put up a lot of points, whose jobs are secure, and who have different bye weeks, both selected in the extreme late rounds.

DEF: I watched the Packers several times this preseason and was impressed, and they hung around until the 17th round. I filled out with the Titans in the 21st.

gotta love the preseason...everyone's team is the best.

what league # is this so i can find it in mfl so i can give my writeup?

WR get return yardage? If so, this is differnet than wcoff scoring.

Fullback Fro said:

WR get return yardage? If so, this is differnet than wcoff scoring.

Click to expand...

they shouldn't.

Fullback Fro said:

WR get return yardage? If so, this is differnet than wcoff scoring.

Click to expand...

I don't think so.

Garrard, David JAC QB - 4 13.05

Green, Trent MIA QB - 9 14.08

Roethlisberger, Ben PIT QB - 6 9.05

Big fan of 3qb's in this format. I have been targeting Ben in the 9th for most of my drafts and I saw a qb run about to happen so I grabbed him and started a serious qb run. Hopefully the offense in Pitt spreads it out and airs it out as much as its been talked about. Garrard may be able to provide some contributing weeks based his running ability and Trent Green is a starting QB. He was one of the last on the board.

Gore, Frank SFO RB - 6 1.05

Hicks, Maurice SFO RB - 6 22.08

Jackson, Brandon GBP RB - 7 8.08

Lynch, Marshawn BUF RB - 6 4.08

Morris, Sammy NEP RB - 10 16.08

Taylor, Fred JAC RB - 4 7.05

Nice RB#1 in Gore with his true backup Maurice Hicks. All the Michael Robinson owners out there beware, us SF locals know that if Gore go's down its Hicks' job with Robinson providing his normal occacional 3rd down duties and he's breather role.

Have some young rookies in Marshawn Lynch and Brandon Jackson. Either could be splitting carries and either could take the ball and run with it. Who knows. I hope so. But in a BB format they are perfect b/c they WILL get utilized and they WILL get touches no matter what. They are young fast and will get worked into the offense one way or another. Coaches like to use their new toys. Luckily I don't have to care when that is.

Rounding out the Backs are Steady Freddy and my sleepr RB of the year Sammy Morris. Sammy Morris can do it all and has the knowledge and wherewithall to excel in all situations for Bilicheck. He can be used on first down and third downs. He is a workingman's RB who will be trusted and will get carries and catches for the Pats. Who knows, he could even split carries with Moroney if he contiunes on with his hot preseason into week 1 and beyond. Freddy aint going anywhere. Give me a few games buddy. Esp in week 6.

Boldin, Anquan ARI WR - 8 3.05

Brown, Reggie PHI WR - 5 5.05

Jones, James GBP WR - 7 12.08

Wade, Bobby MIN WR - 5 10.08

Williams, Demetrius BAL WR - 8 11.05

Williams, Reggie JAC WR - 4 17.05

Williams, Roy DET WR - 6 2.08

"You are now abvout to witness the stremf of street knowledge" - This is the strength of this team. WR are safer picks than top tier RB's in wcoff scoring. Less WR's bust compared to RB's and the top WRs start scoring around what the top 10 RB's score around the 10th ranked RB season's end. But if you look at the names there will almost always be different and unexpected RB names up there while the WR's remain fairly consistant.

So I grabbed two studs in rounds 2 and 3. I think Roy could top out at #1 this year. I currently have him ranked 6th. Boldin will be strong. Really wanted Deon Branch where I took Reggie Brown but he wnet one pick before me. Reggie should be in for a consistant year with consistant targets for a consistanly higher pass to run ratioed team. Is ratioed a word?

After my top three, in rounds 10, 11, and 12. I grabbed so solid guys. Wade, I hope will be give me consistant targets. Demetrius Williams and James Jones are young explosive guys that have a chance to score for my team if they can have some big games here and there. I really like this style of player in this format. GB explosiveness.

Rounding out the tribe is Reggie Williams. Career underacheiver. First round draft pick gone bad. Subject of benchings and motivational ploys. Led all Jax Wr's last year out of the gate. Who knows what's going to happen with him, but in round 17, who cares. Hopefully he can flower this year.

Cooley, Chris WAS TE - 4 6.08

McMichael, Randy STL TE - 9 15.05

Coolio is my third ranked TE this year. I got some slack for jumping on him in round six but I have had to be sure that I get him in most drafts this year. He is 50/50 to be there in round seven. Well guess what. I activated a TE run. They flew off the board after my pick and it looks like I made the right decision. Coolio is playing the Tony Gonzalez position in Terry Shea's ovffense. With one year knowing the system he will be HUGANTICLE this year. Wife beater as a late round TE2 in round 14 was neccessary but not exciting.

Mare, Olindo NOS PK - 4 19.05

Nedney, Joe SFO PK - 6 20.08

Kickers. Mare will do well in a dome for a high powered offense. Nedney was just tributed in bradyfan's (bigbottom) newest parity. I had to snag him.

Colts, Indianapolis IND Def - 6 21.05

Eagles, Philadelphia PHI Def - 5 18.08

Two DEF/JAM's . Nothing exciting. They don't need to be.

I'm happy. Very happy, actually. I'm headed to Vegas tomorrow to compete in the real dealio. This was a good tune-up. The real wcoff will be quite different with out the best ball format, but this was not only good, but good for you. Like 'Celery'.

Fro in '08.

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Classic.

BassNBrew said:

Thank goodness MT made a few mistakes. If Winslow misses time he will bleed severely at TE. Foster is basically a wasted pick in bb format, especially when he shares the same bye as LT.

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I've never understood MT's strategy of spending high at TE and not taking a b/u - esp. in best ball/survivor (if you recall, BnB, he did the same thing in SOS and was booted in week one when Gates had his one game holdout)

Well here's mine (bagger):

Roster Summary

QB: Culpepper (5), Favre (7), Losman (6)

RB: Davenport (6), Jones-Drew (4), JaLew (7), Portis (4), C. Taylor (5)

WR: Booker (9), Burress (9), Mark Clayton (8), G Jennings (7), Matt Jones (4), Steve Smith (NYG) (9), Nate Washington (6), Wayne (6)

TE: Heap (8), Zach Miller (5)

PK: Rackers (8), Tynes (9)

DT: Raiders (5). Cardinals (8)

First I drafted much like I would at a traditional WCOFF draft, with the exception of pushing PKs and DTs back a bit due to the 22 rounds.

I drafted at the 9 slot in a WCOFF satellite earlier in the summer, so went with what many think is a so-so slot that I feel like I have had success with.

1.09 - Maurice Jones-Drew (4)

Typically MJD is a RB who I target coming back in the early 2nd round here. However, the first 8 drafters took exactly the guys who I would take. Typically you have a Manning, Rudi Johnson, or Shaun Alexander lover who will pull the trigger in the first 8 picks letting someone like FWP fall. With all of the RBs I really like gone, MJD was my next highest back. It was either take him or a WR. I had actually put Wayne (my #1 WR) in the drop down menu and was about to pick him when I thought there was a good likelihood that I could get him coming back. With MJD I did not think that was there. Really, MJD will need to live up to his hype to justify this draft slot, something I never like to do. In all likelihood he will not be "value" but at worse will be a top 13 RB. At 1.09 I could do a lot worse. Also, at this time I know for a fact I will not be taking Fred Taylor. I have projected MJD this high for a reason. I live and die with this pick, without making a bad move to handcuff him over a better alternative later.

2.04 - Reggie Wayne (6)

So my guy fell as predicted. I feel good taking Wayne here in the early 2nd. Should be a top 5 guy without a problem, good chance for #1 if Harrison finally declines a bit. After going RB in round 1 (a necessity to me), I always go for best RB/WR value in round 2. Going WR here gives me some good flexibility going forward. I plan on taking 8 WRs in this draft. 1 down.

3.09 - Clinton Portis (4)

Portis went at 3.08 in my WCOFF satellite and couldn't believe he almost made it to me. Here he dropped all the way. My typical round 3 WRs were gone anyway with Evans, Boldin, and Driver all being taken. If one of them was there I probably go WR. However despite the injury to Portis, getting him in the late 3rd was HUGE value. Even the fact that he shared a bye week with MJD didn't stop me from getting him. However, with the conflicting bye weeks I will need to get my 3rd RB ASAP. Depending on value in the next 2 rounds will determine whether I go RB/WR or WR/RB. Round 6 I plan on going TE here, passing on Gates. I figure a Portis/Heap will outperform Gates+whoever.

4.04 - Plaxico Burress (9)

I like Burress here, nothing flashy but will be a nice #2 WR to Wayne and he doesn't share a bye week. Need depth at WR and Burress is the best available here.

5.09 - Jamal Lewis (7)

I have been getting JaLew here in many drafts. He's not the best in the PPR format, but is consistant and will be a nice 3rd RB to have for injury and bye week fill in. I would be surprise if he ever starts in the flex, but getting a 3rd RB here gives me that option and added depth for the flex spot in addition to RB. This is why I only take RBs and WRs through the first 5 rounds in WCOFF, no exceptions. Depth is critical. Especially in a best ball or total points format when the bye weeks hit depth will win me a lot of games. I joked that through 5 rounds I really don't like any of my RBs. However, the point was that none of them were flashy, but I expect all of them to at least live up to their draft spot. I can typically get good value in the middle part of the draft with WRs, TEs, and QBs so with 3 taken I can now focus on those positions.

6.04 - Todd Heap (8)

I love this spot in the 6th as you typically are the one who has the option to start the TE run. At worst you have the choice between Heap and Winslow, which is never a bad thing. Getting a TE here allows me to wait significantly on taking a backup TE and should give me a good point differential advantage over almost everyone but the Gates owner at this position. Great spot in the draft to add a quality player to your team at a position that drops off fast.

7.09 - Mark Clayton (8)

With only 2 WRs before round 7, it is now time to start hammering WRs often in the next 3-4 rounds. "Value" is out the window here. It is best available WR. I like Clayton's upside and can be a big time performer in this format. I also have still avoided any bye week conflicts for my WRs, critical in a start 3 + flex where the WR is typically the best player for the flex.

8.04 - Greg Jennings (7)

Again, BAP here in terms of WR. I again avoided any bye week conflict and I also like Jennings' upside. With Wayne and Burress as my two proven WRs, I have some latitude here.

9.09 - Chester Taylor (5)

Value with Taylor was too huge to pass up. I was going to initially go Leinart here if no WR knocked my socks off, but the FBG always overvalues QBs and takes them too early. I didn't like many of the WRs here, and a few guys that I did like had ADP later. Taylor here gave me the final piece to RB depth, further flex depth, and big time upside.

10.04 - Brett Favre (7)

Standard QB squeeze here. Everyone making a play due to no FA in this format. Grabbed Favre who will platoon nicely with two others. While the staff was so concerned with taking QBs, they let me have Taylor in round 9 and I still got Favre in round 10. QB squeeze has never worked, and will never work. At least not against me.

11.09 - JP Losman (6)

Losman should hit 3k yards, the only question mark is TDs. I think he can surprise and when he does have big games I won't have to worry about not have started him. Solid QB2 here with a different bye week as Favre. I will get a 3rd QB here sometime down the road. Plenty of talent still available...

12.04 - Matt Jones (4)

A team's #1 WR in the 12th round? Thanks. Solid WR5 for my team here. After getting away from WR the last few rounds I had to get back to WRs.

13.09 - Marty Booker (9)

Another very good WR here for where I took him.

14.04 - Daunte Culpepper (5)

My final QB. After another mini QB run the pickings were slim. I didn't want to wait until 15.09 to grab my last guy so I got Daunte. His schedule is easy and he is another year removed from being injured. I don't expect much here. Even having 1-2 weeks to cover a bad week by Losman or Favre or an injury is worth it here.

15.09 - Nate Washington (6)

WR7 through round 15. I am not lying when I say WRs are invaluable in WCOFF. There are plenty of other rounds for DTs, PKs, backup TEs, etc. [bruce Dickenson]You're gonna want more WR![/bruce Dickenson]

16.04 - Steve Smith (9)

Rookie WR who I followed very closely at USC. Toomer is getting up there in age and Smith may be WR2 before the year is done. As my WR8 I can go for a rookie WR here for big upside. It was between Bowe and Smith, and with TF taking Bowe my choice was easy. With 8 WRs taken through 16 rounds, I am now done with my WR push. Late value RBs, TEs, and filling out PKs and DTs is now the gameplan. At this point I would love to have Kellen Clemens as my 4th QB. I can't justify it though. People are going to regret letting him go undrafted.

17.09 - Najeh Davenport (6)

Got him to handcuff Willie Parker. Oh wait...I don't have Willie Parker. I laugh to myself and have another beer. No shtick, slight "mistake". It was either him or TJ Duckett. I hate the other 2 RBs in Detroit and am torn about not taking Duckett. I don't have enough picks to take him though. Oh well. At least I got my handcuff.

18.04 - Neil Rackers (8)

Best PK available IMO, I take him and move on.

19.09 - Oakland Raiders (5)

Slight DT squeeze here. I tell TF in chat that I think every defense may be taken. We need to grab two here on the turn. He gets angry as I take the Raiders.

20.04 - Arizona Cardinals (8)

I did a poor man's DTBC analysis. What was left over I looked at and saw that AZ did a decent job matching up with Oaktown. Whatever. Defenses do not score a lot in WCOFF format, especially with best ball giving me the best option. At this point wife comes in and shakes her head with a look that combines sadness, pity, and disgust at my nerdiness. This is what is going to give me the motivation to finish off the draft strong.

21.09 - Lawrence Tynes (9)

Starting PK for the NYG. As long as he keeps the job he is a solid backup for Rackers.

22.04 - Zach Miller (5)

I love this guy. Named the starter today officially, he could catch 40+ balls for Oakland. I need someone for a late fill in for Heap. I was tempted to take McMichael significantly earlier in the draft, but opted for a WR instead. I like what Miller can do, and is a nice last round gamble on a position where I have a stud.

Recap

Overall I really like my team, as well, a team. It was built in a methodical manner to consistantly throw up big numbers every week to beat the majority of the field. I think that as we get into bye weeks, I will start to get some separation from the pack from teams who may have better "starters" but lack appropriate depth.

It wasn't a "perfect draft", but in my experience you don't need to be perfect to win.

Are the full draft results of this league accessible by non-participants? Link?

Thanks!

So does this thing score automatically?

This is where I stand currently:

QB: Favre 9.3

RB: MJD 9.0

RB: Portis 15.8

WR: Burress 40.4

WR: Wayne 30.5

WR: Booker 6.2

Flex: Davenport 7.0

TE: Miller 5.3

Tynes: 14.2

Def: Oakland 6.0

Total: 143.7

Players still to play: Mark Clayton, Todd Heap, Neil Rackers, Arizona Cardinals Defense

I should get up to 160 or so I would think, but at least into the 150s. Not bad for a horrendous day out of my QB and RBs.

I think I'm solidly in the middle of the pack this week.

Colin Dowling said:

I think I'm solidly in the middle of the pack this week.

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which is where in terms of points? i haven't mustered the energy to start scoring everyone's points.160 is real good in normal WCOFF where you start people, but i assume is not as good where your best players start every week.

just realized the live scoring link tallies the scores.

:11:

Standings before tonight's games:

Anderson (171.45 pts)

Overton (156.40 pts)

Bloom (146.25 pts)

buck naked (146.00 pts)

Dowling (145.50 pts)

bagger (143.70 pts)

Team Legacy (138.95 pts)

rzrback77 (138.10 pts)

Tiger Fan (136.20 pts)

Tremblay (119.60 pts)

Dodds (118.15 pts)

Fullback Fro (107.65 pts)

Not sure who has players tonight.

bagger said:

just realized the live scoring link tallies the scores.:11:Standings before tonight's games:Anderson (171.45 pts)Overton (156.40 pts)Bloom (146.25 pts)buck naked (146.00 pts)Dowling (145.50 pts)bagger (143.70 pts)Team Legacy (138.95 pts)rzrback77 (138.10 pts)Tiger Fan (136.20 pts)Tremblay (119.60 pts)Dodds (118.15 pts)Fullback Fro (107.65 pts)Not sure who has players tonight.

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Starting at the bottom, Fullback Fro has Frank Gore (-8.5), Anquan Boldin (-3.8), Demetrius Williams (-6.9), and Joe Nedney (-4.4).Dodds has Chad Johnson (-5.7), Vernon Davis (-7.5), Shayne Graham (-9).I have TJ Houshmandzadeh (-4).I would say I'm probably the favorite to be kicked off the island -- but it's close between me and Fro.Any team that gets to 139 is safe, as Team Legacy has nobody left to play tonight.