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Dynasty Rosters (1 Viewer)

Just Win Baby

Footballguy
Posted this in the Dynasty Rankings thread:

I'd be interested in looking at some of the rosters of those that contribute heavily to this thread and seeing some commentary from the owners about how they built the rosters and their outlook moving forward. And discussion about that... maybe like a version of the in season dynasty trades thread.

And I'd love to get some comments on my roster from the savvy dynasty posters here. But I know that is frowned upon. I avoid the AC forum, and I assume there isn't much dynasty activity there, especially not quality activity.

Anyone else interested in this? If so, how best to go about it?
It got some favorable reaction, so I'm starting this thread for that discussion.
 
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:blackdot:

Will get on this with an update when I get to a computer.

Ill also try and do my best to ask questions/critique what others post.

As I said in the other thread it would be good if we could see how teams got to where they are rather than just a current snapshot.

 
Luck, Andrew IND QB ®

Manning, Peyton DEN QB

Blount, LeGarrette TBB RB

Gore, Frank SFO RB

Green-Ellis, BenJarvus CIN RB

Hunter, Kendall SFO RB

Martin, Doug TBB RB ®

Mendenhall, Rashard PIT RB

Wilson, David NYG RB ®

Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR

Harvin, Percy MIN WR (P)

Jackson, DeSean PHI WR

Johnson, Calvin DET WR

Allen, Dwayne IND TE ®

Finley, Jermichael GBP TE

Williams, D.J. GBP TE

Witten, Jason DAL TE

Taxi Squad

Green, Ladarius SDC TE ®

Robinson, Adrien NYG TE ®

---------------

TEs are huge in my main league. So that's why I've stashed them on my taxi squad, and I also added Allen to active roster. Also have lost all faith in Finley, so I picked up Williams early this year to see if he ends up as the Packers starter next year.

I've been a perennial playoff team by building my team around WRs and have won three out of the last five titles. But RB has always been my weak link. So this past offseason, I made a bunch of trades to secure multiple draft picks in what I thought was a great draft. Gave up picks in next year's draft too, which I think is really weak. Got Luck as the heir apparent behind Manning and hopefully addressed my RB situation for years to come with Martin and Wilson.

I really wanted to load up on some youth this year as I'm starting to get old with Manning, Fitzgerald, Witten, Gore. Always trying to play the middle with proven veterans and young guys I like.

No kickers or defense in this league, which is the greatest decision we ever made!

Lineups:

1 QB

2 RB

3 WR

1 TE

1 Flex (RB/WR/TE)

 
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As I've posted in other dynasty strategy threads, in my opinion the most important rule to follow in dynasty is to always package talent to acquire the stud. 9 out of 10 times the team that gives up 2+ players for 1 gets the better deal.

I would also mention that it is important to not be afraid to make trades. This is the fastest way you can better your team. Almost all of my core players I got through trades. Brees, McCoy, Calvin, Julio, and Sproles are all players I have acquired through trades in the last 5 years. I also traded for a draft pick that turned into CJ Spiller. As I said before trading is important, and if you're tuned in sometimes you can get players for cheap before they blow up.

 
QB

Brees

Freeman

Tannehill

RB

McCoy

Spiller

Sproles

F. Jackson

Pead

DeAngelo

Best

WR

Calvin

Julio

Fitzgerald

Baldwin

V. Brown

D

Ravens

Rams

Bills

Raiders

12 Teams 1QB - 2 RB - 3 WR - No TE position - 1 DST - PPR - 6pt pass TDs - Very High Defensive Scoring - 19 Player Rosters/Unlimited IR

My team is pretty stacked, 7-1 right now, and going for back to back titles. I would credit most of this to a very strong initial draft in 2007 which I hit on the vast majority of my picks. Although only Fitzgerald remains from that initial team, I was able to move many of those players for good value. Trading has been the key for me, as I posted earlier, nearly all of my core players I traded for. Packaging depth for the stud is key.

One strategy I have implemented this year, as you can see with my roster, is the mass defense strategy. In this league defenses can score as much as QB, so it is important to have a good match-up at that position. Because I have no depth, and there is very little on the waiver, I decided it was best to stockpile defenses to nail down solid matchups every week, rather than sitting on young players with potential. It has worked great so far, as I have scored 20+ in all but 2 weeks this year, and 14 and 18 the weeks I didn't.

 
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This is the first year of our league of UK fantasy players. 12 teams 26 man rosters, start 3 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE

Cam Newton, Fitzpatrick ,Flynn

Rice, Lynch, Stewart , K. Smith, Dwyer, Powell, Pierce, Cadet

Harvin, Vincent Jackson, Britt, Mike Williams, Avery, Travis Benjmin, Rueben Randle, Santana Moss

Celek, Miller, Paulsen

Walsh, Seahawks

I followed the advice from above this week and traded lots of average to get Cam Newton ( Vick, wilson, Brown, Crabtree and a 1st for him and Britt) and have just traded a 2nd next year and James Jones for Jonathan Stewart. As mentioned, I'm a believer in trading to get elite studs and my next move will be to try sell high on V Jax

 
Ryan, Matt ATL QB Schaub, Matt HOU QB Wilson, Russell SEA QB ®

Forte, Matt CHI RB Jackson, Steven STL RB Martin, Doug TBB RB ® Rodgers, Jacquizz ATL RB Richardson, Daryl STL RB ® Vereen, Shane NEP RB

Brown, Antonio PIT WR Cobb, Randall GBP WR Green, A.J. CIN WR Harvin, Percy MIN WR Jones, Julio ATL WR Moore, Denarius OAK WR Roberts, Andre ARI WR

Celek, Brent PHI TE Graham, Jimmy NOS TE Rudolph, Kyle MIN TE

Gostkowski, Stephen NEP PK Graham, Shayne HOU PK

Cardinals, Arizona ARI Def

12 teams. 0.5PPR. Start 1/2/3/1/1/1 for QB/RB/WR/TE/K/DEF. 22 man rosters. 3rd year of league. I've tried my best to acquire as many stud as possible then full the gaps from FA/WW. Have been fortunate to pick several players off waivers (all my TEs, Richardson, Wilson, Roberts). Also have been able to do several trades for future picks that have landed in top half, allowing me to draft Julio and Martin. Should have 2 top 6 picks this year (which I am working to trade for players/2014 picks). I think my biggest need is RB, but hard to trade in this league and draft is not looking promising. Worst mistakes were trading Charles after his injury last year and picking Vereen over Ridley when deciding which one to trade away.

 
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10 .5 ppr idp full 1pt ppr for te.

Start 1qb 2-3 rb 2-3wr 1-2te obviously one flex is rb wr or te

Relevant offensive lineup

Cam, cutler, alex smith

Foster, trich, spiller, alf morris, ben tate, best

Aj green, nicks, harvin, josh gordon, d moore, little, s holmes

Jimmy graham, Owen daniels, greg olsen jordan cameron

Greg zuerlain, matt bryant

Idp relevant

Charles johnson, shaunessy, b irvin

D ware, burfict, l david, daryl smith, kendricks, d davis, kerrigan,

Woodson t Williams, harrison smith, byrd, barron delmas

Started with basically peyton gore welkerPeyton gonzo and nothing else. WW pickups is where i built my team. I traded Peyton for daniels wells and a third which is where i drafted graham. Traded gore for finley and pt. Traded welker n gonzo for jennings. Then traded finley wells pt bradford which i bought low for cam harvin and tate. I also never gave up trying to get aj green spiller n harvin. I gave up whateevr needed to get trich cam and aj green.

My ww pickups were alf foster gordon olsen d moore n most of my idps aside from woodson and ware and both k's. Hitting late in drafts goung hard after aj n trich and ww pickups have brought me to a contender over the last three years.

 
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Ok, I messed around with how to post rosters cleanly and came up empty -- formatting size etc were a nightmare. So I'll do a summary and follow it with my thinking.

I'm in 12 dynasty leagues -- all PPR. By and large my league formats are similar and the player overlap on my teams is huge, which lets me talk about my teams as a group rather than one by one. My record so far this year is 66-30. If the playoffs started today I'd be there in 11/12, and would have a first round bye in four or five of them.

Now that I don't have any major rebuild jobs pretty much my only 'strategy' is this...

Acquire talented players when they're very cheap and never give up a proven starter to land one -- try to do it with smaller pieces and draft picks. You get draft picks every year, but starters can be hard to find in competitive leagues. My shopping list at any given time is extremely small and I also have a bias towards players already on a lot of my rosters just because I like having fewer decisions to make and rooting for a small number of players -- I'm starting a total of five QBs, seven RBs, twelve WRs and five TEs this week for example.

So I initiate almost all my successful trades and am not very flexible in terms of deal-making.

My starters (# of leagues)

Roethlisberger (6)

Rivers (4)

Freeman (2)

Rodgers (1)

Mendenhall (10)

Charles (8)

R Bush (6)

MJD (4)

McGahee (4)

Lynch (3)

Stewart (3)

F Jax (2)

Garcon (10)

D Thomas (9)

Shorts? (9)

V Jax (7)

Andre (5)

Cruz (3)

S Johnson (3)

Holmes (3)

Fitz (2)

Calvin (1)

Colston (1)

Austin (1)

D Moore (1)

Gronk (7)

Gates (5)

Gresham (4)

Cook (4)

Bennett (4)

Gonzo (1)

Witten (1)

I don't have any problem teams at this point and should be pretty well positioned for the future. I have a first and a second in almost every league.

Some notes about my thinking for the future: Obviously getting Garcon and Mendenhall back should help next year.

In the leagues where Rivers is my QB1 and don't have a strong #2 I'll need to shore up the position before next year. I still think he's fine and it's the team around him that's a mess, but I'm not willing to bet a season on it. Freeman is someone I've been targeting as a nice QBBC complement to Rivers with some possible upside, but some of his owners are valuing him as a future stud right now so I haven't gotten far with that.

I'll be holding MJD in those four leagues even if he doesn't come back until 2013. He's got the profile of someone who could easily play until 30+ and he looked pretty good before the foot injury. I think the average VBD from a player like him at 28 outweighs anything I'd get back in terms of a starter.

Likewise I'll ride FJax, McGahee, Colston, Gates, Gonzo and Witten until the wheels fall off.

If Cecil Shorts pans out I've got great depth at WR and shouldn't be forced to make a WR move for the foreseeable future. I'm not sure anything helps a team more than nailing a solid starter from the WW in a majority of leagues.

In general I think there's a problem coming down the road in FF -- there don't appear to be many really good RBs on the horizon for at least the next two and maybe even the next three years. I expect the top RBs' value to increase dramatically as a result. I loaded up on the class of 2008 over the last few years so hopefully I'm in good shape to ride that out if it comes to pass, but I think the stud RB idea could make a return as the scarcity goes up again. I also think the passing game has changed and it's become easier than ever to land startable WRs. Unfortunately that's true for everyone -- there's not much scarcity. So it's easy to trot three or four pretty good WRs out and gain no advantage at all over your league average lineup. If you look at the actual players on my team it's almost all guys who I either drafted in the startup or who could be acquired very cheaply at some point in the last two or three years. Roeth, McGahee, Charles, Lynch, FJax, Stewart, R Bush, VJax, Garcon, Cruz, Stevie Johnson -- most of them spent some time in the bargain basement or the WW. That's just about the only time I try to buy. Two exceptions that come to mind are D Thomas and Gronkowski. I paid to move up and draft Thomas at #3-#5 in almost all my leagues in 2009 and paid to land Gronk prior to 2011 (but still left some good offers on the table in hindsight).

A few guys I expect to be be targeting this off-season include Rivers and Fitz. I think Freeman and Stewart may be too expensive now. Gates is also someone I can see buying if the price is right. I think I'll also stand pat with my mostly mid and late round firsts. I don't see anyone coming out that I'm dying to land right now and the picks between about six and fifteen are my favorite part of the draft most years anyhow.

 
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QB

Manning, Eli NYG -- drafted 1.9 in 2004

Roethlisberger, Ben PIT -- traded T.Brady for Ben and H.Nicks in offseason 2010

RB

Bush, Reggie MIA -- drafted 1.1 in 2006

Jackson, Fred BUF -- traded P.Thomas to M.Ingram drafter during 2011 draft

Miller, Lamar MIA -- drafted 1.12 in 2012

Rodgers, Jacquizz ATL -- drafted 4.3 in 2011

Spiller, C.J. BUF -- traded VJax + 1.8 2012 for Spiller + 1.12 2012 in offseason 2012

Thomas, Daniel MIA -- traded Dallas Clark + 2.9 2012 in offseason 2012

Turner, Michael ATL -- traded S.Greene + T.Gonzalez for Turner + 4.X 2014 during 2012 draft

WR

Ford, Jacoby (IR) -- FA 2010

Green, A.J. CIN -- drafted 1.5 in 2011

Hilton, TY IND -- drafted 5.9 in 2012

Jones, Julio ATL -- drafted 1.4 in 2011

Little, Greg CLE -- traded A.Boldin + B.Scott to BJGE owner during 2012 draft

Nicks, Hakeem NYG -- traded T.Brady for Ben and H.Nicks in offseason 2010

Roberts, Andre ARI -- FA 2012

TE

Allen, Dwayne IND -- drafted 3.9 in 2012

Gresham, Jermaine CIN -- traded 2.X in 2014

Keller, Dustin NYJ -- drafted 1.11 in 2008

Kendricks, Lance STL -- drafted 3.1 in 2011

Williams, D.J. GBP -- FA 2012

K

Prater, Matt DEN -- drafted 3.12 in 2012

Tynes, Lawrence NYG -- FA 2012

DT

Jets, New York NYJ -- drafted 6.11 in 2008

Redskins, Washington WAS -- FA 2012

24 man rosters, non-PPR, 4/6 pt TD, 1 pt per 20/50. Not too happy right now about trading Gonzo away to pick up Turner. After the Jets bye this week I'm trading either 6.X 2013 or Washington DT for Snelling. Start 1 TE, and I'm obviously looking for someone who can fill that role into the future.

 
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Ok, I messed around with how to post rosters cleanly and came up empty -- formatting size etc were a nightmare. So I'll do a summary and follow it with my thinking.I'm in 12 dynasty leagues -- all PPR. By and large my league formats are similar and the player overlap on my teams is huge, which lets me talk about my teams as a group rather than one by one.My record so far this year is 66-30. If the playoffs started today I'd be there in 11/12, and would have a first round bye in four or five of them. Now that I don't have any major rebuild jobs pretty much my only 'strategy' is this... Acquire talented players when they're very cheap and never give up a proven starter to land one -- try to do it with smaller pieces and draft picks. You get draft picks every year, but starters can be hard to find in competitive leagues. My shopping list at any given time is extremely small and I also have a bias towards players already on a lot of my rosters just because I like having fewer decisions to make and rooting for a small number of players -- I'm starting a total of five QBs, seven RBs, twelve WRs and five TEs this week for example. So I initiate almost all my successful trades and am not very flexible in terms of deal-making.My starters (# of leagues)Roethlisberger (6)Rivers (4)Freeman (2)Rodgers (1)Mendenhall (10)Charles (8)R Bush (6)MJD (4)McGahee (4)Lynch (3)Stewart (3)F Jax (2)Garcon (10)D Thomas (9)Shorts? (9)V Jax (7)Andre (5)Cruz (3)S Johnson (3)Holmes (3)Fitz (2)Calvin (1)Colston (1)Austin (1)D Moore (1)Gronk (7)Gates (5)Gresham (4)Cook (4)Bennett (4)Gonzo (1)Witten (1)I don't have any problem teams at this point and should be pretty well positioned for the future. I have a first and a second in almost every league. Some notes about my thinking for the future:Obviously getting Garcon and Mendenhall back should help next year.In the leagues where Rivers is my QB1 and don't have a strong #2 I'll need to shore up the position before next year. I still think he's fine and it's the team around him that's a mess, but I'm not willing to bet a season on it. Freeman is someone I've been targeting as a nice QBBC complement to Rivers with some possible upside, but some of his owners are valuing him as a future stud right now so I haven't gotten far with that. I'll be holding MJD in those four leagues even if he doesn't come back until 2013. He's got the profile of someone who could easily play until 30+ and he looked pretty good before the foot injury. I think the average VBD from a player like him at 28 outweighs anything I'd get back in terms of a starter.Likewise I'll ride FJax, McGahee, Colston, Gates, Gonzo and Witten until the wheels fall off.If Cecil Shorts pans out I've got great depth at WR and shouldn't be forced to make a WR move for the foreseeable future. I'm not sure anything helps a team more than nailing a solid starter from the WW in a majority of leagues. In general I think there's a problem coming down the road in FF -- there don't appear to be many really good RBs on the horizon for at least the next two and maybe even the next three years. I expect the top RBs' value to increase dramatically as a result. I loaded up on the class of 2008 over the last few years so hopefully I'm in good shape to ride that out if it comes to pass, but I think the stud RB idea could make a return as the scarcity goes up again.I also think the passing game has changed and it's become easier than ever to land startable WRs. Unfortunately that's true for everyone -- there's not much scarcity. So it's easy to trot three or four pretty good WRs out and gain no advantage at all over your league average lineup.If you look at the actual players on my team it's almost all guys who I either drafted in the startup or who could be acquired very cheaply at some point in the last two or three years. Roeth, McGahee, Charles, Lynch, FJax, Stewart, R Bush, VJax, Garcon, Cruz, Stevie Johnson -- most of them spent some time in the bargain basement or the WW. That's just about the only time I try to buy.Two exceptions that come to mind are D Thomas and Gronkowski. I paid to move up and draft Thomas at #3-#5 in almost all my leagues in 2009 and paid to land Gronk prior to 2011 (but still left some good offers on the table in hindsight).A few guys I expect to be be targeting this off-season include Rivers and Fitz. I think Freeman and Stewart may be too expensive now. Gates is also someone I can see buying if the price is right. I think I'll also stand pat with my mostly mid and late round firsts. I don't see anyone coming out that I'm dying to land right now and the picks between about six and fifteen are my favorite part of the draft most years anyhow.
:goodposting:This is exactly the kind of commentary I was hoping for in this thread.
 
QB

Manning, Eli NYG -- drafted 1.9 in 2004

Roethlisberger, Ben PIT -- traded T.Brady for Ben and H.Nicks in offseason 2010

RB

Bush, Reggie MIA -- drafted 1.1 in 2006

Jackson, Fred BUF -- traded P.Thomas to M.Ingram drafter during 2011 draft

Miller, Lamar MIA -- drafted 1.12 in 2012

Rodgers, Jacquizz ATL -- drafted 4.3 in 2011

Spiller, C.J. BUF -- traded VJax + 1.8 2012 for Spiller + 1.12 2012 in offseason 2012

Thomas, Daniel MIA -- traded Dallas Clark + 2.9 2012 in offseason 2012

Turner, Michael ATL -- traded S.Greene + T.Gonzalez for Turner + 4.X 2014 during 2012 draft

WR

Ford, Jacoby (IR) -- FA 2010

Green, A.J. CIN -- drafted 1.5 in 2011

Hilton, TY IND -- drafted 5.9 in 2012

Jones, Julio ATL -- drafted 1.4 in 2011

Little, Greg CLE -- traded A.Boldin + B.Scott to BJGE owner during 2012 draft

Nicks, Hakeem NYG -- traded T.Brady for Ben and H.Nicks in offseason 2010

Roberts, Andre ARI -- FA 2012

TE

Allen, Dwayne IND -- drafted 3.9 in 2012

Gresham, Jermaine CIN -- traded 2.X in 2013

Keller, Dustin NYJ -- drafted 1.11 in 2008

Kendricks, Lance STL -- drafted 3.1 in 2011

Williams, D.J. GBP -- FA 2012

K

Prater, Matt DEN -- drafted 3.12 in 2012

Tynes, Lawrence NYG -- FA 2012

DT

Jets, New York NYJ -- drafted 6.11 in 2008

Redskins, Washington WAS -- FA 2012

24 man rosters, non-ppr, 4/6 pt TD, 1 pt per 20/50. Not too happy right now about trading Gonzo away to pick up Turner. After the Jets bye this week I'm trading either 6.X 2013 or Washington DT for Snelling. Start 1 TE, and I'm obviously looking for someone who can fill that role into the future.
Just curious how did julio and green fall to the fourth and fifth picks? Even in a two qb league i couldnt see that happening. I was praying to god to land one of them at five that year and was actually surprised to see ingram go ahead of them at first overall. Is this non ppr?
 
Green, A.J. CIN -- drafted 1.5 in 2011Jones, Julio ATL -- drafted 1.4 in 2011
Just curious how did julio and green fall to the fourth and fifth picks? Even in a two qb league i couldnt see that happening. I was praying to god to land one of them at five that year and was actually surprised to see ingram go ahead of them at first overall. Is this non ppr?
Non-PPR. My league eats RB's, and the top 3 picks were Ingram, R.Williams, and D.Thomas to RB needy teams that all had at least one decent WR. I knew I would get at least one of them.
 
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12 team PPR, 26 man rosters with 2 man taxi squad (drafted players you don't call up - can only taxi 2) and a rookie squad (as many picks as you have in the 5 round rookie draft). We also have 4 IR slots.

Original Draft in 2004. My team has won 2 league titles, 3 division titles and I'm 4-4 this year so far.

QB

Tony Romo - FA pick up in 2006

Jay Cutler - acquired via trade (2012 offseason) along with Tony Gonzalez for Peyton Hillis, John Carlson, and my 3rd round pick in 2013

Matt Moore (FA)

Chad Henne - part of a multi-player deal that centered around Fred Jackson last year - see below for details

Kyle Orton - FA (Romo insurance)

Nick Foles - FA in 2012

Colin Kaepernick - on taxi squad - 2nd round pick (17 overall) in 2011

TJ Yates - on taxi squad - 5th round pick (60th overall) in 2011

RB

DeMarco Murray - 2nd round pick (24 Overall) in 2011 rookie draft

Ahmad Bradshaw -5th round pick (60th overall in 2007 draft)

Fred Jackson - traded 2012 1st, 2nd, 3rd, for FJax, Reggie Wayne, Heath MIller and Chad Henne week 1 in 2011

Rashad Jennings - 2nd round pick (22nd overall) in 2009

Michael Bush - traded Marvin Harrison for Bush and 1st round pick (7th overall) in 2007 season

Roy Helu - on IR - 1st round pick (12th overall) in 2011

Andre Brown - waiver pick up

WR

Greg Jennings - on IR - 2nd round pick (21st overall) in 2006

Brandon Marshall - 4th round pick (45th overall) in 2006

Demaryius Thomas - 1st round pick (6th overall) in 2010

Reggie Wayne - acquired via FJax trade

Laurent Robinson - FA in 2011

Mohammad Massaqoui - FA in 2012

Denario Alexander - FA in 2011

Steve Breaston - acquired for a 5th round pick week 4 last year - scored 25 points the one time i needed to play him last year

Joe Morgan - FA 2012

Jauron Criner - Rookie pool - 4th round pick (37th overall) in 2012

Danny Coale - rookie pool - 4th round pick (46th overall) in 2012

TE

Tony Gonzalez - acquired in Jay Cutler trade

Greg Olsen - part of multi-team deal, traded essentially Ryan Grant and Danny Woodhead for him, got the 4th round pick that turned into Criner

Heath Miller - acquired as part of FJax deal

Chris Cooley - acquired in 2006 for 2nd round pick (24th overall) in 2007

K

Robbie Gould - FA

Phil Dawson - FA

DEF

Jets - original draft

Cowboys - original draft

I built a strong team from my original draft focusing on pass catching Running backs like Tiki Barber and strong WR like Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison. I have had several successful trades, generally getting rid of players just in time - a la Harrison just before he fell off a cliff or Marion Barber and Antonio Bryant, just before both of them disappeared last year. Drafting running backs has been a struggle, although a couple I have dealt before they blossomed, like Michael Turner and Jamal Charles, but I've been quite successful finding them on the waiver wire over the years - although the crop I have now is the most home grown RB talent I've had in a long time.

Strong QB and WR play over the years, combined with keen waiver wire work has been the cornerstone, with some well timed trades, in leading my squad to 2 championships in the 8 years of our league - and that's while being in an extremely strong division - 6 of the first 8 titles came from our division, with only 2 coming from the other 2 divisions (both the same team).

 
My worst team

This is a pretty good example of what not to do. This team has been really bad for three years and doesn't figure to be an obvious playoff contender next season either. That's mainly because I had a terrible startup draft. The #1 piece of advice I could give to anyone joining a dynasty league is to do your best to avoid busts in the first five rounds of a startup draft. They will kill you. Here is the draft that started my misery:

14 team dynasty with developmental players. 1/1/1.5 PPR for RB/WR/TE. This draft took place in early March 2010.

2.04 - WR Sidney Rice

2.13 - WR Santonio Holmes

3.02 - RB DeAngelo Williams

3.11 - WR Demaryius Thomas

5.02 - RB Cedric Benson

6.05 - RB Jacquizz Rodgers

6.11 - WR Eddie Royal

7.02 - QB Jay Cutler

9.09 - WR Andre Debose (Florida)

9.10 - QB Andrew Luck

11.01 - WR Malcolm Kelly

12.13 - TE Fred Davis

13.02 - WR Andre Roberts

14.13 - WR Kevin Ogletree

15.02 - WR Darrius Heyward-Bey

16.13 - WR Derrick Mason

17.02 - RB Stafon Johnson

18.13 - WR Malcom Floyd

19.02 - WR Emmanuel Sanders

20.13 - TE Martellus Bennett

21.02 - WR Lance Moore

22.13 - WR Jason Hill

23.02 - Falcons DEF

Pretty ugly. This draft is all over the map. One of the biggest problems is that there was no coherent plan. Even if things had worked out in their favor, Williams and Benson were always going to be win-now guys with short-term shelf lives. I don't think it makes any sense to use early picks on veterans with mediocre production when you can pick up younger players of similar talent. I could've had Mark Ingram or Trent Richardson with either of those picks. They were still in college at the time, but both were firmly on my radar.

I would classify four of my first five picks as mild disasters. Rice, Holmes, Benson, and Williams are all still in the NFL, but they have all failed to deliver consistent numbers for one reason or another. My only truly good picks in the first ten rounds were Demaryius Thomas at 3.11 and Andrew Luck at 9.10. In both cases I bought way above ADP to get two prospects who were a bit underrated by the consensus. That seems to be what I do best. I still have both of those guys and they are key players for me going forward, but missing on 9 of my first 11 picks had catastrophic results. Your first 6 or 7 picks should form the backbone of a team that can compete for years to come. When you blow most of those picks, you are putting yourself in a massive hole.

I actually rebounded reasonably well by getting Fred Davis, Andre Roberts, DHB, Malcom Floyd, Martellus Bennett, and Lance Moore. Here's the problem though: I cut several of those guys due to roster crunches. I find the roster size in this league to be too small for the format, so I am often cutting or selling low on players who blow up on other teams. Not sure how I could've avoided that besides being a bit sharper in evaluating the players once they are actually on my roster.

I won't bore you with every single waiver move I've made since the draft, but here were my trades and picks in 2010-2011:

Gave: RB JacQuizz Rodgers

Got: 1.08 2011 Dev Pick (which became Auburn RB Michael Dyer)

Gave: 1.01 rookie pick

Got: 1.08 rookie pick, 2.06 rookie pick, RB Dion Lewis

2011 Rookie Draft picks:

1.08 - QB Cam Newton

2.01 - WR Clyde Gates

2.06 - QB Blaine Gabbert

Gave: QB Blaine Gabbert

Got: 2012 dev pick (which became the 1.05)

2011 Dev Draft picks:

1.01 - WR Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State

1.08 - RB Michael Dyer, Auburn

I did quite well with my trades and picks that year. I basically turned the 1.01 rookie pick into Cam Newton, Dion Lewis, and the 1.05 2012 dev pick. I avoided the Alshon Jeffery grenade in the dev draft and got Blackmon, who went on to have a monster season and become a high pick. I turned Quizz Rodgers into Michael Dyer, who IMO still has a much better pro outlook.

But even a few good moves couldn't overcome the crappiness of my startup draft. The rebuilding process is a lot slower in developmental leagues because a lot of the top talent who could help your team immediately will already be on other rosters (Trent Richardson, for example, was picked in the startup and thus wasn't there for me when I finished dead last in year one). You also have an extra hurdle in the road. Think of it this way...

- In a standard rookie draft, you're picking from players who have already been vetted by the NFL scouting process.

- In a dev draft, you're picking from players who haven't been vetted by the scouting process.

So you not only have to avoid the 1st-2nd round busts, but you also have to avoid the guys who won't even go that high when the dust settles. Players like Arrelious Benn, Jeff Fuller, and Alshon Jeffery were considered top prospects at the time of their respective dev drafts. Not so much when the actual draft rolled around. Benn and Jeffery were still taken high, but neither was thought to be can't-miss by that point.

Only a fraction of "top" college prospects will actually be high picks. Only a fraction of high picks will become reliable starters.

So when your team is awful in a developmental league, having a top 3 pick doesn't necessarily guarantee you a player who will actually step in and help you at any point. That's pretty tough. You really need to be on the ball. Or you just need to get lucky.

Anyways, 2011 was a slightly better year. My team was still awful, but on the strength of Cam's rookie year I finished with the 1.04 rookie/dev pick instead of dead last. Here are my trades and picks from 2011 up until the start of this season:

Gave: QB Jay Cutler

Got: QB Colt McCoy (cut him immediately), 1.12 dev pick

Rookie Picks:

1.04 - TE Coby Fleener (Martin, RG3, and Wright went 1-3)

2.04 - WR AJ Jenkins

Gave: TE Fred Davis

Got: WR Kendall Wright

Gave: RB Toby Gerhart, WR AJ Jenkins

Got: RB Bernard Pierce, 2013 1st round pick

Gave: 1.05 dev pick

Got: RB Ben Tate

Gave: TE Coby Fleener

Got: 2013 1st round pick

Dev Draft Picks:

1.04 - WR Marqise Lee, USC

1.12 - RB Branden Oliver, Buffalo

A mixed bag. The downside of finishing high in the league is that you get lower picks. So the fact that my draft haul isn't quite as strong as it was in 2011 should be expected. I had Martin/Griffin/Wright as a solid top three, but finished just high enough to miss out on all of them. I had to settle for Fleener and I ended up flogging him off for what looks like a late 1st to save roster spot. Not very good resource management. If you're going to trade back, do it right after the draft when the hype train is in full effect.

The Davis for Wright trade has broken in my favor thanks mainly to Davis's injury. I also think the Gerhart deal was probably a good move since I prefer Pierce and think he has a slightly better chance of emerging as a starter down the line.

I'm not thrilled about giving up the 1.05 dev pick for Ben Tate, but there were no RBs there who looked like great bets for future success. I decided to go with a guy who had already been vetted by the NFL draft process and who had shown well in the previous season. It might work out or might not.

Landing Marqise Lee with the 1.04 dev pick was a combination of good luck and good drafting. He looks like the best skill position prospect in the 2013 or 2014 NCAA classes combined, so getting him for the future was big. But even so...he won't be on an NFL roster until the 2014 season and he might not hit his peak until a couple years after that. I really like the fact that I got Dyer, Blackmon, and Lee out of the last two dev drafts, but they also demonstrate why you can't look to the dev draft for immediate help (unless you just want to use them as trading chips).

I have been active trading this year. Here are the moves I made after opening day:

Gave: TE Tony Moeaki, RB Jonathan Dwyer, 2013 1st round pick (not mine)

Got: WR Jon Baldwin

This is looking like a miss. The idea was to consolidate some of my assets into a better prospect in order to save roster space, but it has backfired in the short term. Baldwin has not broken out and has not looked great. Meanwhile Dwyer (a waiver pickup from the previous season) looks like a potential starting caliber back. And the 1st round pick is just salt on the wound.

Gave: RB DeAngelo Williams

Got: WR Chris Givens

I like it. I finally offload one of my draft mistakes. Givens is not a sure thing, but he fits better with my rebuilding project.

Gave: RB Cedric Benson, WR Emmanuel Sanders

Got: WR AJ Jenkins

Jury is out on this on. Benson had no value in the context of my roster. I'm not even convinced that Jenkins is better than Sanders, but I'll take the rookie first rounder over the third year player who is still just a WR3.

If you haven't fallen asleep yet, here is my current roster after all of those moves:

QB Cam Newton

QB Andrew Luck

RB Ben Tate

RB Daryl Richardson (waiver pickup)

RB Bernard Pierce

* RB Michael Dyer

* RB Branden Oliver

WR Demaryius Thomas

*WR Marqise Lee

WR Justin Blackmon

WR Andre Roberts

WR Kendall Wright

WR Santonio Holmes

TE Dennis Pitta (waiver pickup)

WR Sidney Rice

WR Jon Baldwin

WR Chris Givens

WR AJ Jenkins

WR TJ Graham (waiver pickup)

WR David Gettis (waiver pickup)

WR Clyde Gates (dropped long ago, just picked him back up)

TE Lance Kendricks (waiver pickup)

I also have my 2013 dev pick and rookie pick, as well as the 1st rounder that I acquired in the Gerhart deal.

Still an ugly, ugly roster, but at least it's congruent (most of my best players are young) and it least it has some real long term upside. I have two of the best dynasty QBs out there. I have some interesting young backs in Bernard Pierce, Ben Tate, and Daryl Richardson. I have Michael Dyer, who I personally rate as the most talented draft-eligible RB at the moment despite his issues. And at WR I have one superstar (Thomas), a couple solid players, and heaps of guys with high potential (Blackmon, Lee, Baldwin, Wright, Jenkins, Graham, Gettis, etc).

This is still my worst roster in any of leagues, but at this point I'm basically a RB or two away from having a decent team. I will be looking to convert Luck or Newton into RB help at some point down the road, but nobody in the league has come close to matching my valuation of either player, so I've been stuck with both of them.

The lessons here:

- Draft well in the startup. Especially in the first 5 or 6 rounds. This is where the core of your team is built. Have a coherent plan. If you want to go young, go young. If you want to go old, go old. Don't hover between the two extremes. I would have been much better off just selling out for the future and grabbing Ingram and Richardson instead of Benson and Williams. I'd love to have those picks back.

- Manage the waiver wire carefully. I lost some good players like Floyd and Moore because I held the wrong guys like Royal and Debose.

- Don't expect your rookies and prospects to save your terrible team right away. I hit a grand slam with Luck, but he's only just starting to contribute now two years later. I don't think I could have done much better than getting Blackmon, Dyer, and Lee out of my dev drafts. And yet not a single one of those guys is helping me win games right now. I could trade them for useful players, but that would require getting fair value in a trade, which can be tough.

 
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My Best Team

This is my draft philosophy done right. I like to build young teams that are poised to compete for several years. My personal style is to undershoot and draft young guys whose values should only hold steady or increase over the next few seasons. The reason why I like this approach is because even if your team is awful in the first season, you should at least have some young pieces to build around. If you draft an old team and you're bad in year one, you're screwed.

This is a 12 team PPR league that starts 1 QB, 1 RB, 1 WR, 1 TE, and 3 FLEX.

Here are my picks from the startup draft, which took place in April of 2009:

1.06 - WR Greg Jennings

2.07 - WR Brandon Marshall

3.01 - RB Jonathan Stewart

5.04 - QB Matt Ryan

5.06 - WR Hakeem Nicks

6.01 - WR Percy Harvin

7.06 - WR Devin Hester

8.07 - TE Dustin Keller

9.06 - WR Brandon Tate

10.12 - WR James Jones

11.01 - WR Jordy Nelson

12.07 - WR Plaxico Burress

13.06 - WR Keenan Burton

14.07 - TE Martellus Bennett

15.06 - WR Chris Chambers

16.07 - WR Derrick Mason

I had 11 more picks, but the only one of note was Ricky Williams in the 24th round, who went on to have a surprise 1100+ yard rushing season. I whiffed on basically every pick after round 14, yet it didn't matter because the early portion of my draft was so strong. I didn't have a true bust until Devin Hester in the 7th round. By that point I'd already landed Matt Ryan, Jonathan Stewart, Greg Jennins, Brandon Marshall, Hakeem Nicks, and Percy Harvin. It doesn't get much better than that.

I finished near the bottom in year one, but was able to get Ryan Mathews and Jonathan Dwyer with my rookie picks.

I don't think I want to go back and dig up every trade and that I've made since the startup draft, but here are some of the significant ones:

2009

Gave: WR Brandon Marshall

Got: RB Frank Gore

I'm guessing I made this move to shore up my RB depth. As it turns out, Marshall wouldn't stay off my roster for too long...

2009

Gave: RB Frank Gore

Got: RB DeAngelo Williams

A rare misstep in this league. Gore has been much better than Williams over the years. In my defense, I didn't expect Williams to re-sign with Carolina and am still surprised that it worked out that way.

2010:

- "Earn" the 1.02 rookie pick and select Ryan Mathews. Could have had Spiller or Thomas, but eh... Needed a RB and it's worked out okay.

- Also get Dwyer with the 2.02 in this same league.

2010

Gave: WR Hakeem Nicks

Got: WR Brandon Marshall

Pretty close to a wash, but Marshall has been extremely consistent for me. I felt the security was worth unloading the youth.

2010

Gave: TE Evan Moore, 2011 3rd round rookie pick

Got: WR Andre Roberts

A nice little deal to land Roberts, a player that I traded for on the cheap in many leagues after his stock crashed because I liked his college highlights so much. I think it's always a decent strategy to consider making trade offers for prospects you like when they aren't producing. Often times their owners will lose interest if the player isn't getting snaps or producing.

Overall, my team played better in 2010, but still missed the playoffs. I'd have to wait another year for that.

2011

- Draft Jon Baldwin with the 1.04 rookie pick.

- Draft Cam Newton with the 2.04 rookie pick. :excited:

Baldwin didn't quite hit like I thought he might, but I think it was a solid pick given the options at the time. Cam was a massive home run. Getting him in the 2nd round gave me a lot of flexibility and made Matt Ryan expendable...

My team made the playoffs in 2011 and won our first game before being eliminated.

2012

Gave: QB Matt Ryan

Got: 2013 1st round rookie pick (from a playoff team)

Doesn't look great in a vacuum, but in the context of my team I think it's fine. I have Cam at QB and didn't really need Ryan. I'll eventually use that pick to strengthen a position of greater need.

2012 Rookie Picks:

- 1.10 WR Kendall Wright

- 3.10 QB Nick Foles

- Not sure where my 2nd went. Looks like I may have traded it for future picks or as part of a past package deal.

2012

Gave: 2013 1st rounder (mine, which should be late)

Got: 2014 1st rounder (could be early)

2012

Gave: WR Jon Baldwin

Got: WR Rueben Randle

Jury is out on this deal.

That gets us all caught up. This team currently has the best record in the 12 team conference at 7-1, partially because of a favorable schedule and partially because it's a good team that rarely has truly bad weeks. Here is my current roster:

QB Cam Newton

QB Nick Foles

QB Brock Osweiler (waivers)

RB Ryan Mathews

RB Jonathan Stewart

RB DeAngelo Williams

RB Daryl Richardson

RB Jonathan Dwyer

RB Dion Lewis

RB Philip Tanner

WR Percy Harvin

WR Brandon Marshall

WR Jordy Nelson

WR Greg Jennings

WR Andre Roberts

WR Kendall Wright

WR Rueben Randle

WR Brandon LaFell (waivers)

WR Clyde Gates (waivers)

TE Dustin Keller

TE Dennis Pitta (waivers)

This isn't an OMG WOW type of team. I've had better rosters in different leagues over the past few years. But this is probably my strongest overall roster at this point in time. I have no real weaknesses and am pretty well stocked for the future at every position. I have a 1st rounder, two 2nds, and two 3rds in the 2013 draft, along with all of my picks and an extra 1st in 2014. Assuming that I continue to make some decent moves and avoid massive blunders, I think this team is poised to make the playoffs for several years running, which is what I aim for. My only real gripe is that it took two years of sucking to reach this level. I don't mind having a bad team in the first season, but I like to be in the playoffs by the second year.

The lessons here:

- If you avoid busts and draft a congruent team that figures to peak at approximately the same time, you'll be in good shape.

- I also think the startup draft and a couple of my trades illustrate how you have to trust your evaluations and overpay for players if your evaluation of their skills tells you to do that. It took some heart to use those early picks on Nicks and Harvin before they had played a down in the NFL. Those two picks are probably the major reason why this is an above average roster now.

 
My Best Team

This is my draft philosophy done right. I like to build young teams that are poised to compete for several years. My personal style is to undershoot and draft young guys whose values should only hold steady or increase over the next few seasons. The reason why I like this approach is because even if your team is awful in the first season, you should at least have some young pieces to build around. If you draft an old team and you're bad in year one, you're screwed.

This is a 12 team PPR league that starts 1 QB, 1 RB, 1 WR, 1 TE, and 3 FLEX.

Here are my picks from the startup draft, which took place in April of 2009:

1.06 - WR Greg Jennings

2.07 - WR Brandon Marshall

3.01 - RB Jonathan Stewart

5.04 - QB Matt Ryan

5.06 - WR Hakeem Nicks

6.01 - WR Percy Harvin

7.06 - WR Devin Hester

8.07 - TE Dustin Keller

9.06 - WR Brandon Tate

10.12 - WR James Jones

11.01 - WR Jordy Nelson

12.07 - WR Plaxico Burress

13.06 - WR Keenan Burton

14.07 - TE Martellus Bennett

15.06 - WR Chris Chambers

16.07 - WR Derrick Mason

I had 11 more picks, but the only one of note was Ricky Williams in the 24th round, who went on to have a surprise 1100+ yard rushing season. I whiffed on basically every pick after round 14, yet it didn't matter because the early portion of my draft was so strong. I didn't have a true bust until Devin Hester in the 7th round. By that point I'd already landed Matt Ryan, Jonathan Stewart, Greg Jennins, Brandon Marshall, Hakeem Nicks, and Percy Harvin. It doesn't get much better than that.

I finished near the bottom in year one, but was able to get Ryan Mathews and Jonathan Dwyer with my rookie picks.

I don't think I want to go back and dig up every trade and that I've made since the startup draft, but here are some of the significant ones:

2009

Gave: WR Brandon Marshall

Got: RB Frank Gore

I'm guessing I made this move to shore up my RB depth. As it turns out, Marshall wouldn't stay off my roster for too long...

2009

Gave: RB Frank Gore

Got: RB DeAngelo Williams

A rare misstep in this league. Gore has been much better than Williams over the years. In my defense, I didn't expect Williams to re-sign with Carolina and am still surprised that it worked out that way.

2010:

- "Earn" the 1.02 rookie pick and select Ryan Mathews. Could have had Spiller or Thomas, but eh... Needed a RB and it's worked out okay.

- Also get Dwyer with the 2.02 in this same league.

2010

Gave: WR Hakeem Nicks

Got: WR Brandon Marshall

Pretty close to a wash, but Marshall has been extremely consistent for me. I felt the security was worth unloading the youth.

2010

Gave: TE Evan Moore, 2011 3rd round rookie pick

Got: WR Andre Roberts

A nice little deal to land Roberts, a player that I traded for on the cheap in many leagues after his stock crashed because I liked his college highlights so much. I think it's always a decent strategy to consider making trade offers for prospects you like when they aren't producing. Often times their owners will lose interest if the player isn't getting snaps or producing.

Overall, my team played better in 2010, but still missed the playoffs. I'd have to wait another year for that.

2011

- Draft Jon Baldwin with the 1.04 rookie pick.

- Draft Cam Newton with the 2.04 rookie pick. :excited:

Baldwin didn't quite hit like I thought he might, but I think it was a solid pick given the options at the time. Cam was a massive home run. Getting him in the 2nd round gave me a lot of flexibility and made Matt Ryan expendable...

My team made the playoffs in 2011 and won our first game before being eliminated.

2012

Gave: QB Matt Ryan

Got: 2013 1st round rookie pick (from a playoff team)

Doesn't look great in a vacuum, but in the context of my team I think it's fine. I have Cam at QB and didn't really need Ryan. I'll eventually use that pick to strengthen a position of greater need.

2012 Rookie Picks:

- 1.10 WR Kendall Wright

- 3.10 QB Nick Foles

- Not sure where my 2nd went. Looks like I may have traded it for future picks or as part of a past package deal.

2012

Gave: 2013 1st rounder (mine, which should be late)

Got: 2014 1st rounder (could be early)

2012

Gave: WR Jon Baldwin

Got: WR Rueben Randle

Jury is out on this deal.

That gets us all caught up. This team currently has the best record in the 12 team conference at 7-1, partially because of a favorable schedule and partially because it's a good team that rarely has truly bad weeks. Here is my current roster:

QB Cam Newton

QB Nick Foles

QB Brock Osweiler (waivers)

RB Ryan Mathews

RB Jonathan Stewart

RB DeAngelo Williams

RB Daryl Richardson

RB Jonathan Dwyer

RB Dion Lewis

RB Philip Tanner

WR Percy Harvin

WR Brandon Marshall

WR Jordy Nelson

WR Greg Jennings

WR Andre Roberts

WR Kendall Wright

WR Rueben Randle

WR Brandon LaFell (waivers)

WR Clyde Gates (waivers)

TE Dustin Keller

TE Dennis Pitta (waivers)

This isn't an OMG WOW type of team. I've had better rosters in different leagues over the past few years. But this is probably my strongest overall roster at this point in time. I have no real weaknesses and am pretty well stocked for the future at every position. I have a 1st rounder, two 2nds, and two 3rds in the 2013 draft, along with all of my picks and an extra 1st in 2014. Assuming that I continue to make some decent moves and avoid massive blunders, I think this team is poised to make the playoffs for several years running, which is what I aim for. My only real gripe is that it took two years of sucking to reach this level. I don't mind having a bad team in the first season, but I like to be in the playoffs by the second year.

The lessons here:

- If you avoid busts and draft a congruent team that figures to peak at approximately the same time, you'll be in good shape.

- I also think the startup draft and a couple of my trades illustrate how you have to trust your evaluations and overpay for players if your evaluation of their skills tells you to do that. It took some heart to use those early picks on Nicks and Harvin before they had played a down in the NFL. Those two picks are probably the major reason why this is an above average roster now.
this is what I was expecting from this thread - intensive analysis.

OUTSTANDING POST.

 
I'll give a year-by-year breakdown of how my team has looked on week 1 so you can see how my team has morphed over the years. 10 team league, start 1/2/3/1, yardage heavy (1 per 5 rushing/receiving, 1 per 10 passing). No kickers, defensive-scoring is high and performance-based (majority coming from points allowed). Also, punt return yards count the same as receiving yards, and kickoff returns also provide a relatively small bonus (an elite kickoff returner like Harvin gets the equivalent of 5 extra receiving yards per kickoff return).

2007:

Roethlisberger, Cutler, Schaub, McCown, Griese, Huard, Sorgi, Culpepper

Westbrook, Jones-Drew, Lynch, MeMoore, Booker, Tatum Bell, Kevin Jones, Chris Perry

Evans, Owens, Javon Walker, James Jones, Clayton, Glenn, Booker, Parker, Reggie Williams

WinslowJr, Daniels, Desmond Clark

Dallas, Carolina

2008:

Roeth, Schaub, Henne, Pennington, Culpepper

Westbrook, Lynch, JStew, Torain, Booker, MeMo, Kevin Jones, Chris Perry, Andre Hall, Selvin Young

Fitzgerald, Evans, Randy Moss, Jordy Nelson, James Jones, Michael Clayton, Marty Booker, Reggie Williams

Winslow, Daniels, Keller

Dallas, KC, NO, Car

2009:

Roeth, Schaub, Henne, Freeman, Pennington, Pat White

Gore, Tomlinson, JStew, Moreno, MeMo, Gartrell Johnson

Fitzgerald, Hester, Evans, Nelson, James Jones, Garçon, Collie, Austin, Schilens, Sims-Walker, Barden, Clayton

Winslow, Keller, Bennett

Dal, StL, Car

2010:

Roeth, Henne, Hasselbeck, Hall, Delhomme

Rice, BarberIII, Stewart, Tomlinson, Keiland Williams, Brandon Jackson, Huggins

Fitzgerald, Hester, Austin, Nelson, VJax, James Jones, Demaryius, Brandon Tate, Naanee, Aromashodu, Murphy, Evans

Finley, Keller, Carlson

Ari, NO, Car

2011:

Brees, Roeth, Hasselbeck, Henne, McCown

Rice, DeAngelo, JStew, Starks, BarberIII, Woodhead, Dion Lewis

Fitzgerald, Hester, Austin, AJ Green, Moore, Cobb, Little, Roberts, Demaryius, Briscoe

Finley, Olsen, Evan Moore, Lance Kendrick, JT Superstar

KC, NO, TB

2012 (week 1):

Brees, RGIII, Roeth, Cassell, Skelton

Rice, Charles, JStew, Brown, DWill, Dwyer, Rainey

Fitzgerald, Marshall, Austin, Cobb, Moore, Hester, Hill, Randle, Keshawn Martin, Edelman, Jenkins

Gronk, Olsen, Miller, Kendricks

Buf, Cin, NO

2012 (current):

Brees, Roeth, Skelton, Kaepernick, Foles

Rice, Peterson, Charles, Stewart, Brown, Grimes

Harvin, Demaryius, Fitzgerald, Cobb, Austin, Britt, Hill, Randle, Demaris Johnson, Keshawn Martin, Lestar Jean, AJ Jenkins

Gronk, Olsen, Pitta, Kendricks

SF, TB, Was

As you can see, I turn over my roster a lot. The only player ive had since 2007 is Roeth, Stewart and Fitz have been around since 2008, Rice and Austin have been around since 2010, and everyone else has been here two years or less. I actually had Austin in 2009, but traded him away and then later reacquired. I have also twice owned Freeman (since traded away again) and Demaryius. Part of this is because there are a few owners who are just more willing to trade, so we sometimes wind up passing players back and forth. I'm a huge fan of trading. I believe I'm an above average owner, so while the outcome of each individual trade might not be a win, on average, I'll be netting value. The more trades I make, the more value I net. My most common trades involve using 1st rounders as currency. In the 5.5 seasons of the league, I have traded for or traded away a first 20 times. I'm a big fan of consolidating multiple assets into a single stud (as you'll see in a moment). I'm also very conscious of how quickly everything turns over, so I'm willing to overpay for players who are both young and proven. They're rare, and deserve being built around.

I've only won one title (on the back of JStew's ridiculous 2009), although that's partly due to terrible head-to-head luck keeping me out of the playoffs in 2010 and 2011. I'm looking good to add a second trophy to my case this year.

Of my 30 players, here's the breakdown of how they were acquired:

Drafted in startup: Roethlisberger

Drafted in rookie drafts: Stewart (2008), Cobb (2011), Kendricks (2011), Stephen Hill, Randle, Keshawn Martin, AJ Jenkins (all 2012)

Waiver/FA Adds: Skelton, Kaepernick, Grimes, Damaris Johnson, Lestar Jean, Pitta, Tampa, Washington (all added this season)

Traded for: Brees, Foles, Rice, Peterson, Charles, Donald Brown, Fitzgerald, Harvin, Britt, Gronkowski, Olsen, San Francisco (yes, pretty much my entire team)

Misc: Austin (added 2009, traded away, reacquired 2010), Demaryius (drafted 2010, traded away 2011, reacquired 2012)

If anyone has any specific questions about my roster construction or philosophy, I'd be happy to answer them.

Edit: forgot to add that I own someone else's 1st in 2013 (probably somewhere in the 4-7 range), and a whopping 4 picks in 2014. I'm going to see if I can either swap my 2013 first for a fifth 2014 pick, or else I'm going to see if I can package them to land Rodgers, Luck, or Newton to get some youth at my only position where I'm still a touch long in the tooth.

 
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I would post, but both of mine are IDP and it seems as though most here do not play IDP so I doubt many would find my roster construction, maintenance, and planning useful.

 
Here's my best team, and also the team I most actively trade with. Since the team is good, I try to aggressively move picks (didn't make any rookie picks the first few years, Kendall Wright is the only pick I've ever made in R1 or 2). Given the team is good, it's surprising how painful some of the trades look in retrospect - giving up Harvin and Nelson, buying LT after he was done, buying high on Vick, etc.

2008 startup (won 2009 and 2011)

12 team PPR starts QB, 2RB, 3WR, Flex, TE, D, K

QB: Vick, Ben, Pryor, Lindley, Foles

RB: Foster, Rice, Mathews, Ridley, Vereen, Bolden, Cadet, WPowell, Best, Ivory

WR: Calvin, Fitzgerald, Britt, Smiff, DeSean, Wright, Gordon, Givens, Hankerson, Edelman, Boykin

TE: Gonzalez, Gates, Tamme, Paulsen, VGreen

D: HOU, CHI

K: Janikowski

Full startup

After Addai, this was a pretty good startup. A lot of the picks are whiffs, but I hit enough home runs to make it good.

QB- Donovan McNabb QB, PHI (2008, 7.05)

RB- Joseph Addai RB, IND (2008, 1.06)

RB- Darren McFadden RB, OAK (2008, 3.05)

WR- Larry Fitzgerald WR, ARI (2008, 2.07)

WR- Chad Johnson WR, CIN (2008, 4.03)

WR- Vincent Jackson WR, SD (2008, 10.3)

TE- Tony Gonzalez TE, KC (2008, 6.08)

DST- Seahawks (21.10)

K-

BN- Kevin Smith RB, DET (2008, 6.03)

BN- Ray Rice RB, BAL (2008, 8.08)

BN- Jerious Norwood RB, ATL (2008, 9.05)

BN- Derrick Ward RB, NYG (2008, 15.5)

BN- LaMont Jordan RB, OAK (2008, 16.8)

BN- Maurice Morris RB, SEA (2008, 17.10)

BN- Shaun Alexander RB, FA (2008, 20.3)

BN- Robert Meachem WR, NOS (2008, 13.5)

BN- Jordy Nelson WR, GBP (2008, 14.8)

BN- Jabar Gaffney WR, NEP (2008, 19.5)

BN- Arnaz Battle WR, SF (2008, 21.5)

BN- Keenan Burton WR, STL (2008, 25.5)

BN- Tony Scheffler TE, DEN (2008, 10.7)

BN- Vince Young QB, TEN (2008, 11.5)

BN- Drew Stanton QB, DET (2008, 18.8)

BN- Shaun Hill QB, SF (2008, 23.5)

Significant trades

There's some minor ones I'm not listing, and some major ones I'm probably forgetting.

Sep 2012:

Leshoure, SHolmes for Britt, BEdwards

Sold Leshoure before his suspension was over because I didn't really trust him.

May 2012

2013 1+2+3+4+5 for 2012 1.9, Doug Baldwin, Steve Smith STL

Took Kendall Wright at 1.9. Flipped Baldwin for Hankerson. Dropped Smith after he was terrible.

Oct 2011

McGahee, MMorris for Ridley

Tried to pair Vereen with Ridley everywhere.

Sep 2011

Mike Thomas for Vereen

Tried to buy Vereen everywhere when he was always inactive.

July 2011:

Brady, Addai, Collie for Vick, Mathews

Bought Mathews at the right time even though the QB swap worked out poorly.

July 2011

Harvin, LMoore, 2012 1.12+2.12 for Best, Collie, Smiff, Mike Thomas

Hurts. I got good use out of Smith and was able to flip Collie immediately thereafter to help get Mathews. But biggest regret in the list.

July 2011

Bowe, Stewart for Calvin

Team had a new owner and was receptive to what he felt was an overpay. Other options he gave me were Rice+DeSean or Foster+DeSean.

June 2011

VJax, JKnox, 2011 2.11+3.11 for Bowe, Harvin, ABenn, 2011 4.something

Team had a new owner who really wanted VJax, and I had been trying to get Harvin in this league for ages. Unfortunately I blew it and flipped him one month later.

May 2011

Winslow, 2011 1.11 for Gates, 2011 3.something

Felt TE was a weakness.

Sep 2010

DMC, Meachem for DeSean, McGahee

Cashed out early on McFadden to get WR depth to cover for VJax's contract dispute. Bad trade in retrospect.

Jun 2010

McNabb for Ben

When Ben was suspended, and McNabb wasn't officially done yet.

Dec 2009

JNelson, KSmith, 2010 2.12+3.12+4.12 for Stewart, DMason

Man, I forgot I ever had Nelson in this league (14th round startup pick!). Was still worth it because Stewart drove home 2010 for me, and then enabled the Calvin deal later.

Jun 2009

SHolmes, JNorwood, DWard, 2010 1.12 for Brady, Winslow, SD DST

Won a bidding war on Brady by willing to give up a 1st.

Oct 2008

Orton, 2009 1.8+2.8 for Tomlinson, Frerotte, 3.something

Team was mediocre year 1 so I made a win-now deal. LT was already mediocre but still was an ok RB2 a few times, and I did make the playoffs which was in doubt at the time.

 
I'll be adding to this thread with a good majority of my teams. Actually just started doing a spreadsheet about my current roster, trades, and draft picks so will hopefully contribute to here about it within the next week.

 
22 man roster; 1 pt/ppr. Start 1 QB, 2-3 RB, 3-4 WR, 1 TE, 1 Pk, 1 DT

Brees, Drew NOS

Roethlisberger, Ben PIT

Tebow, Tim NYJ

Bradshaw, Ahmad NYG

Brown, Donald IND RB

Goodson, Mike OAK RB

Jones, Felix DAL RB

Pierce, Bernard BAL

Powell, Bilal NYJ

Rice, Ray BAL

Stewart, Jonathan CAR

Cobb, Randall GBP

Gibson, Brandon STL

Holmes, Santonio NYJ

Marshall, Brandon CHI

Meachem, Robert SDC

White, Roddy ATL

Fleener, Coby IND

Gates, Antonio SDC

Gould, Robbie CHI

Broncos, Denver DEN Def

Texans, Houston HOU Def

Started in 2006 and I won in 2009 and 2010 and came in second in 2011.

Drafted Brees and Gates back in 2006

Drafted Rice, JStew, Donald Brown, Cobb, Meachem, Fleener, Tebow

I tend not to give up on my first round picks for better or worse.

Picked up Bradshaw and Marshall off waivers before people believed in them and have hung onto them ever since.

Made one big trade: Acquired Roddy White for Shaun Alexander just before Alexander fell apart. Also traded for Big Ben and Holmes.

I tend to be confident in my determinations and don't like to trade a player just to get rid of him if he doesn't immediately live up to expectations. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't but I really do not like to trade low.

Having an anchor RB like Rice has been huge as I have a stable of other guys who can be plugged in, but then having two stud WRs is critical in this league because of the 1 ppr.

 
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Greatest Dynasty team that has yet to win a championship. 12 team highly competitive $$$ PPR Auction League:

QB Rodgers, Stafford

RB AD, Rice, Bradshaw, D. Wilson, Gerhart, Pierce

WR Fitz, Nicks, AJ, S. Smiff, Crabtree, Marvin Jones

TE Gates, Fleener, Cameron

The league started Peterson's rookie year, my goal was to draft youth with a plan to win in year 3. Starting from the initial draft: Spend top 10 money on AD Draft AJ right before he broke out Take $1 flyers on Rodgers and Bradshaw (thanks to Waldman on Bradshaw) Draft the next two years, mid 1st round picks: Rice Nicks Trades: Fitz- pick him up for the perfect buy low sell high. Moved Ronnie Brown right after his wildcat breakout games, MSW and 1st round pick that ended up being a late first Gates- got him for O. Daniels and some other throw in or draft pick with a team that wanted to get younger Smiff- moved Shaub after his breakout for Smiff when his value dropped by having bad QB's Stafford- moved Colt McCoy and draft pick/throw in for Stafford when everyone thought he would never stay healthy Wilson- decided to gamble on him replacing a injury prone Bradshaw in 1-2 years by moving Quizz and a late 1st round pick, outcome TBD One horrible trade I made- moved Gronko for Crabtree after Gronko's rookie season, cant win them all..... I like to acquire talented players that owners give up on too early by trades or from the WW- hoping Wilson and Crabtree??? become these players Invest in talent over situation for the long haul. Still trying to get a championship with this group of studs, just need to catch a break in the playoffs for once

 
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10 teams, non PPR, 6 point passing TDs, 20 man rosters, start 1Q/1R/2W/1T/1K/1DST/3 Flex (Q/R/W/T, max 2Q/3R/4W).

Startup draft in 2010:

1.6 Aaron Rodgers (can start 2 QBs, 6 points for passing TDs, easy call)

2.5 Tony Romo (see previous comment)

3.6 Roddy White (chose to prioritize WRs over RBs)

4.5 Greg Jennings (see previous comment)

5.6 Pierre Thomas (mistake pick)

6.5 Jonathan Stewart (bad short term pick, hopefully solid long term pick)

7.6 Brent Celek

8.5 Hakeem Nicks (steal)

9.6 Michael Bush (looking to pair up Bush & McFadden)

10.5 Darren McFadden (mission accomplished)

11.6 Jerome Harrison (bad pick)

12.5 Chad Henne

13.6 Montario Hardesty (was getting some sleeper hype at the time)

14.5 Heath Miller

15.6 Devin Aromashadu

16.5 Josh Freeman (nice late QB pick in this format)

17.6 Jacoby Jones

18.5 Mason Crosby

19.6 Chaz Schilens

20.5 Dolphins DST

Good moves since startup:

Traded Jennings and Henne for Calvin.

Picked up Cobb via waivers and held him.

Bad moves since startup:

Churned through a lot of waiver moves, and at multiple times prior to the 2011 season, I had both Jordy Nelson and Demaryius Thomas on my roster but later cut them. :bag:

Picked up Ridley via waivers and bundled him and bench players in a trade for Wayne and Lance Moore. Blew that one.

Other moves since startup:

Traded Roddy White for Ryan Mathews straight up in summer 2011. Given I have remained strong at WR, it has worked out okay. I think it will likely still be a positive deal long term.

Traded multiple bench players for Britt in summer 2011. Looked like a brilliant move before his injury in 2011; still think this will be a positive move long term.

Traded McGahee and Michael Bush for Gates in summer 2012. Hurting me now, but might still pan out.

Traded Romo for Rivers in summer 2012. Probably hurt me to date, but might still pan out.

My current roster:

QB - Rodgers, Rivers, Freeman, Locker

RB - Mathews, McFadden, Stewart, Deangelo, Andre Brown

WR - Calvin, Fitz, Nicks, Cobb, Britt, Sidney Rice, Amendola

TE - Gates, Finley

K - Bryant

DST - Chargers

The Andre Brown and Amendola roster slots are for waiver churn. I also play waiver wire defense.

This is the third season of this league. The first two seasons, my team was #1 in points and made the playoffs but did not win the title either season, losing once in the final and once in the semis.

This year, this team is not performing well (3-5, 7th in points entering this week). It has been some bad luck and some injuries, combined with some players who I probably overrated coming into this year. I'm just trying to ride it out at this point.

I have definitely been guilty of overtrading. I traded away my first round picks in both of the two rookie drafts we have held so far, and I swapped 2013 first rounders with another team thinking it would move me up, but it might backfire. Having said all that about trading, it's hard to trade in this league. I don't mind overpaying, but generally no one is willing to part with top players.

 
This is actually the only dynasty team I've got where I was there for the startup draft, all the others I've taken on existing teams.

16 teams, 0.5 PPR

Start 1QB 2RB 3WR 1TE and 1 Flex (RB,WR,TE).

30 man rosters

Startup took place in the summer of 2010 and going in I had three main objectives.

[*]Get a stud QB (absolute gold in this format)

[*]Load up on WR prospects at the expense of other positions, being able to start 4 was big here.

[*]Draft a team to win in year 2. (similar to what EBF said earlier about peaking at the right time, I wanted to go young in this draft as i've generally found that even if they don't perform great younger players hold their value a lot better than older counterparts.

Startup Draft:

Pick Ovr Selection

1.07 7 Rodgers, Aaron GBP QB - this pick made my draft

2.13 29 Mathews, Ryan SDC RB ®

3.08 40 Wells, Chris ARI RB

4.1 59 Bryant, Dez DAL WR ®

4.11 60 Nicks, Hakeem NYG WR - steal

7.01 98 Bush, Michael OAK RB

7.07 104 Benn, Arrelious TBB WR ®

8.1 123 Carlson, John SEA TE

11.03 164 Freeman, Josh TBB QB - great pick considering the format

11.04 165 Thomas, Devin NYG WR

11.05 166 Gaffney, Jabar DEN WR

11.09 170 Starks, James GBP RB ®

12.08 185 Thomas, Mike JAC WR

13.07 200 Graham, Jimmy NOS TE ® - steal of the draft perhaps

15.07 232 Decker, Eric DEN WR ® - steal

16.08 249 Moeaki, Tony KCC TE ®

17.07 264 Titans, Tennessee TEN Def

18.08 281 Douglas, Harry ATL WR

19.07 296 Green-Ellis, BenJarvus NEP RB - steal

21.04 325 Williams, Jeremy FA WR®

22.08 345 Sutton, Tyrell CAR RB

23.07 360 Iglesias, Juaquin MIN WR

24.08 377 Folk, Nick NYJ PK

25.07 392 Flynn, Matt GBP QB

[*]Overall a mixed bag

[*]Completed most of my objectives by accquiring a stud QB and stocking up on receivers.

[*]In hindsight a lot of my WRS didn't work out but I got some great value picks in later rounds.

[*]Although my 2nd and 3rd rounders don't look great RB talent had dried up by then due to the 16 team format. Other guys available were Greene and Dwill, I'd argue I made the right choice.

Major Trades from 2010/11 Season:

[*]Sent a package of 5/6 players (BJGE, Mike Thomas, Gaffney etc) to a contender for Jstew.

[*]Sent Michael Bush and an early 1st for Kenny Britt and a late 1st

[*]Sent Kenny Britt and two projected early firsts (I'd traded down in the startup to acquire first rounders from next year) for Larry Fitzgerald

[*]Not a trade but I picked Antonio Brown up off waivers during the year (decent WW pickups are pretty rare in this league due to the volume of players rostered)

Season Review:

Finished my first season 8-5 and won my division. Got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs after a Rodgers concussion.

2011 Rookie Draft:

1.15 - Randall Cobb

2.14 - Bilal Powell

2011 Preseason Trades:

[*]Sent a 2nd for Mike Tolbert (this would turn out to be essential as a Mathews owner)

[*]Sent a package (Decker, Edelman, Moeaki, 1st, 2 2nds, 3rd, 4th, 5th) for Dwayne Bowe

2011 Lineup:

Rodgers

Mathews, Wells

Fitz, Nicks, Bowe, Bryant

Graham

Other 2011 Trades:

[*]Sent a 2012 first for Jared Cook (ouch)

[*]Sent Antonio Brown, Beanie Wells and an entire draft (1st through 5th) for Demarco Murray.

Season Review:

Finished 11-2 and won a championship. My plan had been to create a roster that would be strong in the second year and I was successful doing that. I was especially happy that I'd won a championship when the majority of my players were still young.

2011 Post Season Trades:

[*]After Matt Flynn's week 17 performance I sent him and some other pieces to a QB needy/WR Strong team for the 1.05 Rookie Pick. I then made a deal with the team at 1.03 (who wanted Michael Floyd) and gave up some future picks/pieces to move up the two spots.

[*]Sent Josh Freeman for Brandon Pettigrew and 2 late 2nds

[*]Sent Demarco Murray, Dez Bryant and Antonio Gates for AJ Green and Matt Forte

2012 Rookie Draft:

Pick Ovr Selection

1.03 3 Griffin III, Robert WAS QB®

2.13 29 Allen, Dwayne IND TE ®

2.15 31 Coale, Danny FA WR ®

2.16 32 Wilson, Russell SEA QB®

3.15 47 Brazill, LaVon IND WR®

4.01 49 Gordon, Josh CLE WR®

5.05 69 Morgan, Joseph NOS WR

**Note** We do a split draft whereby the 4th round doesn't start until week 2 of the preseason. This means the 4.01 can become a valuable commodity. Over the summer I gave my 2013 2nd for the 4.01 and the rights to Gordon.

2012 Trades (so far):

[*]Gave Dwayne Bowe for Kenny Britt (2 days before Britt's arrest)

[*]Gave Forte and a 2nd for Murray and a 1st

[*]Gave Pettigrew and a 2nd for 2 late future 1sts.

[*]Gave Demarco Murray, Amendola and 2 2013 1sts for Trent Richardson (made this trade last week)

Current Roster (starters in bold):

QB:

Griffin III, Robert WAS QB ®

Rodgers, Aaron GBP QB (P)

Wilson, Russell SEA QB ®

RB:

Brinkley, Curtis SDC RB

Goodson, Mike OAK RB (P)

Jennings, Rashad JAC RB

Mathews, Ryan SDC RB

Powell, Bilal NYJ RB (Q)

Richardson, Trent CLE RB ® (P)

Stewart, Jonathan CAR RB

Tanner, Phillip DAL RB

WR:

Boykin, Jarrett GBP WR ®

Brazill, LaVon IND WR ®

Britt, Kenny TEN WR (P)

Coale, Danny FA WR ®

Cobb, Randall GBP WR

Cooper, Josh CLE WR ® (Q)

Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR

Gordon, Josh CLE WR ®

Green, A.J. CIN WR

Morgan, Joseph NOS WR (P)

Nicks, Hakeem NYG WR

TE:

Allen, Dwayne IND TE ®

Cook, Jared TEN TE

Graham, Jimmy NOS TE

Green, Virgil DEN TE

PK:

Barth, Connor TBB PK

Zuerlein, Greg STL PK ®

Team D:

Colts, Indianapolis IND Def

Titans, Tennessee TEN Def

Injured Reserve

Arrington, Adrian FA WR (I)

1 Total Players

Conclusion:

I'm current 5-3 in this league after a bad 0-2 start. I'm still confident I should make the playoffs as I have an extremely strong roster for a 16 team league. More importantly I feel this team could compete for the next 3-4 years even if I never make another trade or draft pick.

Obviously this is an example of when things go right. I've made enough good trades and draft picks that my bad ones haven't had a huge affect on me.

I wouldn't say I have any "old" players on my roster and I think I can be strong for a number of years.

If I was to pull out one or two "lessons" I'd hope to use in other leagues:

1. Draft young but not totally unproven (guys like Nicks have been huge for me. I drafted more rookies than I would have liked but it's paid off in this case).

2. Bet on the success of your team, I've never actually made a single draft pick using my own original pick (2 rookie drafts and 5 rounds per draft). I've constantly tried to move these picks for future firsts from perceived "bad" teams before those owners realise how bad their teams are.

I think it's an important overall point about first rounders. If you believe team is strong trade your picks as early as possible, most owners believe in their teams and you're better to try and trade your picks before it's confirmed you'll have a late one. (I've already traded all my 2014 picks).

If you believe your team is weaker than wait as long as possible. You'll never get the value you should and you're better to wait for confirmation that you've got an early pick before moving it.

3. Know the rest of your leagues rosters as well as your own. I've moved 2013 1sts for 2014 1sts already, the 2 firsts I own in the 14 draft are from teams that are poor (1-7 and traded away their 13 1st) or old (core of Romo, Gore, Steve Smith, Gonzo). Predicting who will suck 2 years from now is never easy but it's always worth a shot.

4. Load up on WRs, QBs and TEs and then spend time finding RBs. Players at these positions tend to "last longer" so if you can establish a core of young players in these positions you can plough all your resources into finding and replacing RBs.

My laptop battery is dying but I might come back later and update this post. I'll add 2 of my other teams at some point as well.

If anyone has any q's or points I'll do my best to discuss/debate them.

 
I'm giving you a year by year break down of my FF team

2006 2-11 (record)

Gradkowski, Bruce TBB QB,Leinart, Matt ARI QB,Losman, J.P. BUF QB

Droughns, Reuben CLE RB,Harrison, Jerome CLE RB,McAllister, Deuce NOS RB,Taylor, Fred JAC RB,Toefield, Labrandon JAC RB,Turner, Michael SDC RB, Washington, Leon NYJ RB

Boldin, Anquan ARI WR,Chambers, Chris MIA WR,Givens, David TEN WR (I),Holmes, Santonio PIT WR,Horn, Joe NOS WR,Mason, Derrick BAL WR

Moulds, Eric HOU WR,

Gonzalez, Tony KCC TE, McMichael, Randy MIA TE

2007 2-11 (record)

Leinart, Matt ARI QB (I),Losman, J.P. BUF QB,Russell, JaMarcus OAK QB,Testaverde, Vinny FA QB

Droughns, Reuben NYG RB,Harrison, Jerome CLE RB,Irons, Kenny CIN RB (I),Parker, Willie PIT RB (I),Thomas, Pierre NOS RB,

Turner, Michael SDC RB,Washington, Leon NYJ RB,Williams, DeAngelo CAR RB,Wolfe, Garrett CHI RB

Holmes, Santonio PIT WR,Jackson, Chad NEP WR,Mason, Derrick BAL WR,Meachem, Robert NOS WR,Moss, Santana WAS WR,

Northcutt, Dennis JAC WR,Robinson, Laurent ATL WR,

Gonzalez, Tony KCC TE

2008 7-6 (record)

Cutler, Jay DEN QB,Henne, Chad MIA QB,Johnson, Josh TBB QB,Russell, JaMarcus OAK QB

Hillis, Peyton DEN RB (I),Thomas, Pierre NOS RB,Turner, Michael ATL RB,Washington, Leon NYJ RB

Burress, Plaxico NYG WR (O),Holmes, Santonio PIT WR,Jennings, Greg GBP WR,Johnson, Andre HOU WR,

Marshall, Brandon DEN WR,Meachem, Robert NOS WR,Walker, Mike JAC WR

Miller, Zach OAK TE,Scheffler, Tony DEN TE

2009 7-6 (record)

Brees, Drew NOS QB,Russell, JaMarcus OAK QB,Schaub, Matt HOU QB

Brown, Donald IND RB (P),Morris, Maurice DET RB,Scott, Bernard CIN RB,Smith, Kevin DET RB (I),Washington, Leon NYJ RB (I)

Williams, DeAngelo CAR RB,

Aromashodu, Devin CHI WR,Bowe, Dwayne KCC WR,Gibson, Brandon STL WR,Jennings, Greg GBP WR,Johnson, Andre HOU WR

Johnson, Calvin DET WR,

Carlson, John SEA TE,Cook, Jared TEN TE,Miller, Zach OAK TE

2010 7-6 (record)

Brady, Tom NEP QB (Q),Brees, Drew NOS QB,Skelton, John ARI QB ®

Brown, Donald IND RB,Goodson, Mike CAR RB,Green-Ellis, BenJarvus NEP RB,Hardesty, Montario CLE RB ® (I)

Harrison, Jerome PHI RB,Smith, Kevin DET RB (I),Spiller, C.J. BUF RB ®,Starks, James GBP RB ®

Decker, Eric DEN WR ® (P),Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR,Johnson, Andre HOU WR (P),

Johnson, Calvin DET WR (P),Obomanu, Ben SEA WR,Tate, Golden SEA WR ®,White, Roddy ATL WR

Graham, Jimmy NOS TE ® (P),Hernandez, Aaron NEP TE ®,Miller, Zach OAK TE (P)

2011 9-4 (record) won championship

Brady, Tom NEP QB,Kaepernick, Colin SFO QB ®,Orton, Kyle KCC QB,Roethlisberger, Ben PIT QB

Bradshaw, Ahmad NYG RB (P),Green-Ellis, BenJarvus NEP RB,Hardesty, Montario CLE RB,Jacobs, Brandon NYG RB

McFadden, Darren OAK RB (P),Royster, Evan WAS RB ®,Scott, Bernard CIN RB,Scott, Da'Rel NYG RB ®

Spiller, C.J. BUF RB

Amendola, Danny STL WR (I),Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR (P),Johnson, Andre HOU WR,Johnson, Calvin DET WR

Knox, Johnny CHI WR (I),Moss, Santana WAS WR,Smith, Steve CAR WR,White, Roddy ATL WR

Graham, Jimmy NOS TE

2012 7-1 (record)

Brady, Tom NEP QB,Foles, Nick PHI QB ®,Roethlisberger, Ben PIT QB

Bradshaw, Ahmad NYG RB (Q),Ivory, Christopher NOS RB,Jennings, Rashad JAC RB,Jones-Drew, Maurice JAC RB (O)

McFadden, Darren OAK RB (P),Morris, Alfred WAS RB ®,Peerman, Cedric CIN RB,Powell, Bilal NYJ RB (Q)

Stewart, Jonathan CAR RB

Britt, Kenny TEN WR (P),Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR,Hartline, Brian MIA WR (Q),Harvin, Percy MIN WR (P)

Johnson, Calvin DET WR (Q),Robinson, Laurent JAC WR (P),Wayne, Reggie IND WR

Gonzalez, Tony ATL TE,Graham, Jimmy NOS TE

Patience is key when taking over a team like I did. I didn't have the luxery of drafting my team. Took this team over after all the teams took all their good players and the owner decided to quit.

I took alot of risk some good and some horrible. Every owner now hates my team and they don't like trading with me since in their words (will make my team even stronger).

Dynasty, PPR (.5), 12 team league, 1 qb 1-2 rb 3-4 wr 1 te, 1 flex (rb, wr, te), 1 k & 1 def

 
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This could be interesting, just to look back at how these team came to be. I'll list my favorite league, a 32 team league with players available twice each so it plays much like a 16 team league but with a lot more trades and we have a few stacked teams. It's a little bit unique in that we have to start a coach, DT, and Corners. I'm one of the owners that have been around since the beginning, not too many of us left. I trade a lot and have been competitive most years. The team is aging now but it's really challenging to get younger when many teams are in the rebuild process. I'll just list my roster and when / how I acquired the player:

Coach:

Frazier - Waiver pick this year

Schwartz - 2010 waiver

Tomlin - March 08, traded Mike McCarthy, Gary Russell, and Ronald Bartell for Tomlin

QB:

Drew Brees - May 2009, traded Leinart, Warner, KBurton, '10 2nd for Brees

Peyton Manning - traded G McCoy, Kerley for Peyton and Baldwin last week

Joe Flacco - traded Locker, Angerer and 3 picks for Flacco, Misi in early October

RB:

ADP - Nov 09, traded Roethlisberger, Michael Turner, Santonio Holmes for Cassel, BCroyle, ADP, Antonio Bryant

TRich - Traded Dez Bryant, '13 1st for the 1.01

Sproles - Acquired him before the '05 season, but didn't draft him. MFL doesn't have transaction records and it's been 7 years, don't remember what I traded.

B. Rainey - Waiver pick this year

Saine - waiver in 2011

WR:

Joe Adams - 4th round pick in 12

D. Alexander - Oct 11, traded a bunch of late picks for Alexander

Arrington - waiver in 2011

Baldwin - traded G McCoy, Kerley for Peyton and Baldwin last week

Boykin - Waiver pick this year

Caldwell - May 08 traded Michael Bush for Caldwell

Colston - traded Alex Smith, Boldin, Randy Moss, Robison, Fletcher or Colston and Nick Fairley in April

D Harris - 6th round pick in '11

VJax - Traded Maclin, Pettigrew, Witten, Urlacher, Polamalu for VJax, Finley, Ray Lewis, Bell in September '12

Welker - April 2010 traded Antonio Bryant, Jared Cook for Welker and Shawn Nelson

R White - traded Chris Johnson, Crabtree for Locker, White, CCampbell

TE:

Finley - Traded Maclin, Pettigrew, Witten, Urlacher, Polamalu for VJax, Finley, Ray Lewis, Bell in September '12

Watson - Waiver pick this year

Witten - Traded AJ for Witten last month

PK:

Bailey - Sep 2011 waiver pick

Succop - Waiver pick this year

Zuerlien - 8th round pick in '12

DT:

Dareus- 7th round pick in '11

KWilliams - Waiver pick this year

DE:

Jordan - traded CCampbell for Jordan, Urlacher, 13 2nd before the 12 season

CLong - Jan 10 Traded Lawrence Jackson and a '10 7th for Chris Long

Tuck - summer 11 traded '12 1,2,3 picks for Tuck, Beason

Mario Williams - May '07, traded Mark Anderson, 08 3rd for Mario and a 07 6th.

LB:

Beason - summer 11 traded '12 1,2,3 picks for Tuck, Beason

A Curry - Waiver pick this year

Fort - Waiver pick this year

D Jackson - traded VJax, Osi, Ray Lewis for Crabtree, Ayers, Jackson

Ray Lewis - Traded Maclin, Pettigrew, Witten, Urlacher, Polamalu for VJax, Finley, Ray Lewis, Bell in September '12

Lofton - drafted with a late 2nd in 2008

Misi - traded Locker, Angerer and 3 picks for Flacco, Misi in early October

Nicholas - Traded Quinn, Kerrigan and a 6th just a week ago

CB:

Finnegan- traded TWatson, '13 2nd for Finnegan, 3rd in September '12

Griffin - Sep 09, traded Steve Smith (Giants), Ellis Hobbs for Peyton Hillis, Nick Folk, Griffin

K Lewis - Waiver pick this year

Talib - drafted with a late 4th in 2008

S:

Y Bell - Traded Maclin, Pettigrew, Witten, Urlacher, Polamalu for VJax, Finley, Ray Lewis, Bell in September '12

Byrd - Oct 09 Waiver pick

McMillian - Waiver pick this year

Rolle - Nov '11, traded Mallett, PTanner, JMcClain, Carlos Rogers for Alex Smith, Rolle

Woodson - May '11 traded Cutler, late picks and BCarr, KWilliams, JJoseph for Schaub, GMcCoy, Woodson

It's kind of fun to look back at the moves, but I want to kick myself for a few, like dropping Victor Cruz in December 2010 after picking him up in September. (lesson learned - be patient)

A lot of turnover for this team, my longest held players are Mario Williams and Darren Sproles.

The only reason I acquired Peyton is his low perceived value in a league where many active traders are rebuilding and as a defensive move.

I fully expect to ride Brees, Peyton, Sproles, Welker, Witten, Ray Lewis, and Woodson until they retire. Probably the same for ADP.

 
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Green, A.J. CIN -- drafted 1.5 in 2011Jones, Julio ATL -- drafted 1.4 in 2011
Just curious how did julio and green fall to the fourth and fifth picks? Even in a two qb league i couldnt see that happening. I was praying to god to land one of them at five that year and was actually surprised to see ingram go ahead of them at first overall. Is this non ppr?
Non-PPR. My league eats RB's, and the top 3 picks were Ingram, R.Williams, and D.Thomas to RB needy teams that all had at least one decent WR. I knew I would get at least one of them.
I see. Your lucky and set at wr for a long time. Rb fever is in my league too
 
I would post, but both of mine are IDP and it seems as though most here do not play IDP so I doubt many would find my roster construction, maintenance, and planning useful.
:hey: Post away. Some want to see IDP.
Both of mine are a little goofy, one is newer so there's been less moves so I'll do that one now. Will look at the other sometime this week.3rd year

45 player-12 team dynasty-keep 30

1 qb/2-3 rb/2-3 wr/1-2 te/1 k/2-3 dl/2-3 lb/2-3 db

PPR/all TD = 6/no bonuses/tackle heavy/return yardage - int, fum, kick, and punt/tfl's

8 player college taxi squad, redraft annually, no moves permitted in season, all players eligible for NFL draft must be promoted or dropped/the rest can be retained at the draft pick used on them previously or dropped

My strategy has evolved, but basically this is what it comes down to

*throw darts in college draft at potential stars, a blue chip frosh > solid Senior - trend towards offense

*priority #1 - get the best starting offensive lineup possible, try not to go old at any position but don't say no to value either

*priority #2 - get a few young core pieces in place on defense

*priority #3 - get a few cheap vets to backup on offense, guys that usually go sooner but in a dyno will be cheaper

*priority #4 - throw darts at young potential afterthoughts on offense

*priority #5 - mine for gold in IDP

*then - be proactive on waivers, focus on early round picks/guys with positive camp buzz but without a short term opportunity

*trading - as depth builds trade older starters (but not stars) to get younger or fill gaps, try to take advantage of desperate owners with short term voids in their lineup

As my team develops the idea is to build the offense and once that's in place look to make an elite defense, in the meantime I churn through IDP's much more quickly. The last piece of my team I will address is DB, can find plug and play's once Peanut's days are over - Winfield's almost already are.

Luck/Bradford/Kaepernick

Richardson/Bush/Felix/Benson/LMJ/Tanner/Harper/Peerman/Casey

Percy/Andre/Lloyd/Washington/E Sanders/D Baldwin/S Moss/R Moss/AJ Jenkins/Gettis/C Gates/D Harris

Witten/Fleener/Cameron

Tynes

Dumervil/Dunlap/D Morgan/Babin/Kam

Weatherspoon/London/Angerer/KJ Wright/Nicholas/Levy/McClain/Trevathan

Tillman/Winfield/Verner/Cary Williams

Inaugural draft

Andre

J Stew

Felix

Romo

Harvin

Dallas Clark

Mario Williams - dropped him the year he moved to LB

Reggie Bush

Bradford

Other meaningful picks- D Levy, McCluster, Tulloch, EJ Henderson, Kampman, Jared Cook, Favre, Weatherspoon, E Sanders, Peanut, Gettis, Winfield, Angerer, Casey, Victor Cruz, D Alexander, and actually drafted Andre Brown too (dropped before week 1 though, on and off my roster throughout)

2010 College draft key picks - Trent Richardson (1.5), Andrew Luck (2.8), LMJ (3.5), Gabbert (7.5)

2010 key waiver pick up's - Kevin Burnett, Desmond Bishop, Jason Babin, Plaxico Burress, Jerome Simpson

Between 2010 and 2011 - traded for Marcedes Lewis, gave up pick upgrades - oof. Traded Tulloch and got back a future 1 that was used on Fleener.

Dumb drops before 2011 - Cruz(!!!!!!), McCluster

Key Veteran Draft pick up's pre 2011 - Robert Quinn, Tamme (mostly a poor effort)

2011 College draft - also, poor effort

This is when things started getting better

2011 key waiver pick up's - Derrick Morgan, Dunlap, KJ Wright, Pitta, Ayers, Randy Moss, J Cameron, D Baldwin

Dumb drops during 2011 - None!

Smart drop pre 2012 - Gabbert

Dump drops - Pitta (had too many TE's), Ayers (too many LB's - shoulda dumped Levy and kept him)

Pre Draft trade - J Stew/Bishop (post injury pre IR)/R Quinn/Marcedes/J Simpson for Witten/S Moss/D Butler/L Fletcher

2012 college draft (I think I nailed it) - Sammy Watkins, Geno, Marquise Lee, Ryan Swope, CJ Mosely, Sefarian-Jenkins, Kevin Minter, A Dobson

2012 Vet draft adds - Fleener, AJ Jenkins, James Michael Johnson, S Nicholas, Kaepernick, Dwayne Harris, Trevathan

2012 trade #1 - dealt JMJ for Benson (too many LB's, no 3rd RB)

#2 - Romo and D Butler for B Lloyd and future #1 (too many LB's, Luck is my franchise QB, Bradford s capable backup - needed a stronger primary flex option)

#3 - Dumervil and N Washington for Dreesen and Tamme (need a #1 DL and better bye week filler at flex, still too many TE's)

Going forward

I'm 6-2 and barring a record setting night by Brees am looking at 7-2 and will be one win away from a playoff spot being clinched (my division is awful). Long term, I think I have a juggernaut on my hands come 2014 or 2015 - should be competitive in 2013 again too, banking on another healthy season from Bush and Witten. Come 2014 or 2015 this is what I see

Luck/Geno

Richardson

Harvin/M Lee/Watkins

Safarian-Jenkins/Fleener

Weatherspoon/Mosely/Minter

More than likely I will be packaging one of those WR's, a LB, and Bradford for a top 10 RB. I may move Geno isntead of Bradford if I must. I think I will have the LB depth to move another horse and I will be banking on one or two of those many WR darts to emerge for my flex spot. In the meantime I think my team is set for this year, the only players I am not looking to trade are mentioned above - the rest, looking for a good spot. Guys like Dumervil, Peanut, London, Witten, etc. may not go anywhere either, they're types I may ride until the wheels fall completely off - doubt I get value for them and feel I already have in-house plan B's.

 
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Dynasty PPR cap league started 3 years ago.

Eli/Ben/Palmer - went after the left over QBs in the initial draft. Ben and Eli are not the most liked guys, this allowed me to get them at a discount. Palmer was a ww pickup.

Matthews - acquired in year 2 after a terrible 1st season.

Sproles - traded for him beginning of this year. Moved Fleener/Gresham/Floyd/Redman for Sproles/FJax/Daniels. In many leagues youth is overvalued, use this to your advantage.

Mcgahee - traded Freeman/Gates to get him. Underappreciated/underrated high-end RB2.

FJax - acquired in Sproles trade. Was injured at the time and was a throw in by the other owner.

Jacquizz - drafted past offseason.

Hillis - traded ww fodder to get him.

James - prospect on my taxi, will be patient with him.

Calvin - have man love, drafted in year 1, will retire on my roster.

Austin - traded Stewart and Deangelo to get someone who can contribute to my lineup.

Steve Smith - traded VJax /Keller for Witten/Steve SMith. Not loving this trade but needed help at TE.

Britt - very little contribution to my team thus far but will hold for the upside.

Nate Wash - traded Shane Vereen as I didn't want to deal with Hoodies BS.

D. Alexander - flyer picked up last week

Shorts - FA pickup this year.

V. Brown - held since rookie year, hoping he contributes at some point soon.

Broyles - target in last years rookie draft.

TJ Graham - has opportunity but not doing much with it.

Nick Toon - sitting on IR, may have value next year.

Witten - owner was down on him after slow start.

Daniels - acquired in Sproles trade as a throw in.

 
12 Team PPR with start 1 QB, 1RB, 1 WR, 3 Flex, 1 TE that began with an auction draft in 2011. RBs were way overpriced in the auction in my opinion so I went after all the young stud WR's. My goal was to be competitive for the first season and be a perennial championship caliber team thereafter. Julio and Green's development have put my team in contention this year.

This league didn't value rookies as much as I apparently do so I was able to do a lot of damage on the waiver wire picking up Ridley, Leshoure, and Jake Locker last season. This year I picked up Alshon Jefferey off the waivers as well as the owner dropped him after his injury. I don't know if other dynasty leagues are like this but I love stashing young players like that.

QB Robert Griffin III, Tony Romo, Sam Bradford, Ryan Fitzpatrick

RB Marshawn Lynch, Stevan Ridley, Mikel Leshoure, Mark Ingram, Peyton Hillis, Alex Green

WR Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green, Julio Jones, Dez Bryant, Greg Little, Alshon Jeffery, Kevin Ogletree

TE Jermichael Finley, Jared Cook

I had the 5th pick in the draft this year and went with Justin Blackmon. I then packaged Blackmon, Reggie Bush, and Jake Locker for RG3 before the season started as I was looking for a long term QB solution. I was in discussions for an Aaron Rodgers for Calvin trade at one point but they also wanted AJ or Julio which I wouldn't do.

Due to the roster requirements of 1 starting RB and it being a PPR league I don't need a deep bench at RB and am still working on building it up. I've discussed a LeSean McCoy for Calvin trade but haven't been fully into it enough to work out the exact pieces. In dynasty I just have a hard time putting too much value on a RB given their short career arcs. I would rather have a bunch of lottery tickets like Ridley and Leshoure were last season than overpay for a RB.

My worst moves so far go back to the startup auction where I spent a ton of Finley and Ingram... oof that hurts considering I could have had Gronk for much less than either player cost. I also spent too conservatively to start the auction which led to a lot of great depth later on but not much room to pick up interesting players on waivers. I've done a few 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 deals even if I overpay just so that I can open up some roster spots for lottery tickets.

 
2009 Dynasty Startup League (made it to playoffs every year) – converted to IDP in 2011

12 team 40 player roster – 0.5 PPR IDP+KR/PR yards – starts QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1 Flex (RB/WR/ TE), TE, K, 2 DL, 3 LB, 2 DB, 1 Flex (DL/DB)

Quarterbacks

Peyton Manning (via trade)

Robert Griffin III (2012 1.04 Rookie)

Sam Bradford (2010 1.10 Rookie)

Running Backs

Maurice Jones-Drew (2009 1.02 Inaugural)

Demarco Murray (via trade)

Stevan Ridley (2011 4.08 Rookie)

Reggie Bush (2009 5.02 Inaugural)

Daryl Richardson (2012 in season free agency)

Bilal Powell (2011 2.09 Rookie)

Rashad Jennings (2009 offseason free agency)

Evan Royster (2012 offseason free agency)

Cyrus Gray (2012 4.09 Rookie)



Wide Receivers

Julio Jones (2011 1.03 Rookie)

Hakeem Nicks (via trade)

Randall Cobb (2011 2.01 Rookie)

Pierre Garcon (2009 17.02 Inaugural)

Kendall Wright (2012 1.09 Rookie)

Justin Blackmon (2012 1.05 Rookie)

Juron Criner (2012 4.03 Rookie)

Armon Binns (2012 offseason free agency auction)



Tight Ends

Jermaine Gresham (2010 2.04 Rookie)

Tony Moeaki (via trade)

Zach Miller (2011 in season free agency auction)

Anthony Fasano (2012 in season free agency auction)



Kicker (always changes)

Connor Barth (2012 in season free agency auction)



Defensive Line

Jason Pierre-Paul (4.10 IDP draft)

Chandler Jones (4.06 Rookie)

Derrick Morgan (11.03 IDP draft)

Cliff Avril (8.10 IDP draft)

Linebackers

Brian Cushing (2.10 IDP draft)

Jon Beason (1.03 IDP draft)

Daryl Washington (5.03 IDP draft)

Lavonte David (2012 3.09 Rookie)

Bruce Carter (2011 5.12 Rookie)

Pat Angerer (9.04 IDP draft)

Demario Davis (2012 6.12 Rookie)

Terrell Suggs (3.03 IDP draft)

Chase Blackburn (2012 in season free agency auction)



Defensive Backs

Michael Griffin (7.03 IDP draft)

Morgan Burnett (9.03 IDP draft)

Gerald Sensabaugh (2012 offseason free agency auction)

Stephon Gilmore (2012 offseason free agency auction)

Notable Trades

2010 Offseason

Gave up - Matt Schaub (2009 6.11 Inaugural)

Acquired - Carson Palmer, 2010 1st round pick (1.09 Rookie), 2011 1st round pick, 2011 2nd round pick, IDP 1st round pick (1.07)

Gave up - Anquan Boldin (2009 3.02 Inaugural), 2010 2.11, 2010 3.04, 2011 2nd round pick

Acquired - Hakeem Nicks, 20102.02, 2011 1st round pick

2010 Preseason

Gave up - Carson Palmer

Acquired - 2011 2nd round pick – became Randall Cobb

2010 Season

Gave up - 2011 1st round pick, 2011 3rd round pick, IDP 6th round pick (6.10), Jason Witten

Acquired - DeSean Jackson

Gave up - Mike Sims-Walker, Golden Tate, 2011 1st round rookie pick, IDP 1st round pick (1.07), IDP 12th round pick (12.10) and IDP 13th round pick (13.03)

Acquired - Dwayne Bowe, Troy Smith, 2011 4th round rookie pick, 9th round IDP pick (9.04), 12th round IDP pick (12.09) and 13th round IDP pick (13.03)

2011 Offseason

Gave up - Dwayne Bowe, 2012 2nd round pick

Acquired - Anquan Boldin, 2011 1st – 6th round pick (1.09, 2.09, 3.09, 4.09, 5.09, 6.09), and 2011 2nd round pick (2.08), 2012 1st round pick (1.04) – became RG3

Gave up - 2011 1.09, 1.10, 2.08, Anquan Boldin

Acquired - 2011 1.03 – became Julio Jones

2012 Offseason

Gave up - 2013 1st round pick, 2012 4th round pick (4.09), Andy Dalton

Acquired - Peyton Manning

Gave up - Ahmad Bradshaw, Joe Flacco, 2012 1.09

Acquired - Demarco Murray, 2012 1.05 – became Justin Blackmon

Gave up - Desean Jackson, 2013 3rd round rookie pick

Acquired - 2012 1.09 – became Kendall Wright

So after starting out with a starting team consisting of offensive options including:

2009

Matt Schaub or Joe Flacco

Maurice Jones Drew, Marion Barber, Ahmad Bradshaw, Reggie Bush

Anquan Boldin, Lee Evans, Mike Walker, Ted Ginn Jr, Josh Morgan, Laurent Robinson

Jason Witten

To

2012

Peyton Manning or RG3

MJD, Demarco Murray, Stevan Ridley, Reggie Bush, D Richardson

Julio Jones, Hakeem Nicks, Randall Cobb, Pierre Garcon, Kendall Wright or Justin Blackmon

Jermaine Gresham, Logan Paulsen or Anthony Fasano

Brief history of my team:

2009 – 4th place with 7-6 record (made playoffs and lost in Championship)

2010 – 5th place with 7-6 record (made playoffs and lost in first round)

2011 – 2nd place with 9-4 record (made playoffs and lost in semi-finals)

2012 – Currently in 1st place with 7-2 record

I feel like I made leaps and bounds of improving my team. I have made it to the playoffs every year and with this team, I am hoping to make it for the next few years. My goal/hope is to always retool so that I never am out of it. The basic strategy was the draft best available players while trading and bidding on positions of need. If anyone has any questions or clarification on some of the players I acquired, hit me up!

 
I really like the McGahee/Hillman handcuff and paid handsomely for it down the stretch. In a Superflex I traded Randall Cobb and Russell Wilson for Tony Romo and Willis McGahee. I already owned Hillman. This move is obviously an attempt to win money this season but even going forward the next few years I'll have Romo over Cobb/Wilson in the flex. And "RB Broncos" moving forward for the next two.

 
I really like the McGahee/Hillman handcuff and paid handsomely for it down the stretch. In a Superflex I traded Randall Cobb and Russell Wilson for Tony Romo and Willis McGahee. I already owned Hillman. This move is obviously an attempt to win money this season but even going forward the next few years I'll have Romo over Cobb/Wilson in the flex. And "RB Broncos" moving forward for the next two.
Ouch
 
In general I think there's a problem coming down the road in FF -- there don't appear to be many really good RBs on the horizon for at least the next two and maybe even the next three years. I expect the top RBs' value to increase dramatically as a result. I loaded up on the class of 2008 over the last few years so hopefully I'm in good shape to ride that out if it comes to pass, but I think the stud RB idea could make a return as the scarcity goes up again.I also think the passing game has changed and it's become easier than ever to land startable WRs. Unfortunately that's true for everyone -- there's not much scarcity. So it's easy to trot three or four pretty good WRs out and gain no advantage at all over your league average lineup.
I think it is more that the league has increased its passing attempts while reducing rushing attempts almost across the board that is causing fewer RB to be top players than the lack of RB talent. There are only a handful of teams that are running the ball a lot and fewer of those teams that do so with mostly one RB. That trend seems to have a lot of momentum and I do not see that changing any time soon if it ever does.With PPR scoring it flattens out the WR 12-48 quite a bit. If this applies to the RB then I think you should value pass catching RB much higher than you otherwise would. I see the trend moving away from workhorse type RBs. These pass catching RBBC type guys will still be very valuable at times they just won't as be steadily consistent, so you need to roster more of them.
 
First year Dynasty league. 12 Man .5 PPR IDP - 1QB 2RB 3WR 1RB/WR 1TE 1DL 2LB 1DB (IDP .1AST TKL/2SOLO TKL/3 SCK/ 3TURNOVER/ 1PASSDEFENDED)

Cam Newton, Car QB

DeMarco Murray, Dal RB

Jamaal Charles, KC RB

David Wilson, NYG RB

Julio Jones, Atl WR

Dez Bryant, Dal WR

Hakeem Nicks, NYG WR

Kyle Rudolph, Min TE

Paul Posluszny, Jac LB

Karlos Dansby, Mia LB

Jason Pierre-Paul, NYG DE

Denarius Moore, Oak WR

Ronnie Hillman, Den RB

Vincent Brown, SD WR

Kendall Wright, Ten WR

Justin Blackmon, Jac WR

Ryan Tannehill, Mia QB

Chris Givens, StL WR

Jonathan Dwyer, Pit RB

Bilal Powell, NYJ RB

Rod Streater, Oak WR

Dennis Pitta, Bal TE

I initially had Ray Rice, Peyton Manning and Brandon LaFell but I traded for Cam Newton, Hakeem Nicks and Blackmon. Let me take you position by position of my thinking in the league.

QB: Newton and Tannehill

Well I couldn't say no to that deal that I just mentioned but I did like Peyton. I got a great discount on him at draft day and I was a believe that he'd be okay for the regular season. Still, the trade presented me with the opportunity to get younger and land a decent prospect. I never thought Cam would get all those touchdowns again and at midway point of the year I was starting to get antsy. What I love about what Cam does is that he seems to always just get you enough points on the days he's not doing well. The offense is trending upwards and I personally would still move Cam for the right guy. The Panthers need to get another guy to catch passes though reliably. That will be crucial to me keeping him or not this year. Also want to see more of a rushing attack work out for this team. Cam is at his best when D.Will or J.Stew are having good games.

I'm a little nervous about Ryan Tannehill. I know hes raw and all so I will keep him around as his value is really low to my fellows in the league. Also I understand that his recievers were poor quality guys. To be honest I'm quite excited for this season but I think that I will not grade Ryan until his third year. This season, my priority acquisition will be to get a reliable bye week fill in quarterback via trade. Just in case I lose Cam.

RB: Murray, Charles, Wilson, Powell, Dwyer, Hillman

I have a couple of guys that I was hoping would get the rock more due to opportunity but some of them might be my cuts after the draft. Murray has been my biggest mistake and I would love to sell him for an earlier 1st in this years draft because I'm worried about whether he can take the punishment. Whats worse about it is that I took him way earlier than most would of thought and sold myself short on an opportunity to get a Doug Martin or T Richardson. If Murray can start the season hot or if theres an owner that wants him before the draft, I will sell this guy.

I didn't have much hope for Powell but I still think he has a role with the jets and could be a guy that can give you a TD on a bad bye week. I'm probably not going to hold him for much longer, but I will wait until camp before I make a decision. I think thats enough time for us to know what his role will be.

I'm really excited for Charles and Wilson however. These two players could be all I need at RB because I think the roof is really high for both of them. Charles in an Andy Reid system will be great, (as if he isn't good already) especially in PPR league. I'm hoping for Shady McCoy + numbers. Add the fact that Alex Smith is there, there will be more opportunities for JC to catch the ball in the backfield vs with Brady Quinn. Also Brady Quinn sucks and maybe Smith will bring a little more legitamacy to the pass game.

I've been hot on Wilson (homer alert). Being able to see what he can do, I just hope hes a 3 down guy like Reese and co. say about him. He can be a fantasy star if thats the case. Hes explosive and illusive but can also take a lick and keep going. He woke up mid season and while his pass blocking isnt up to par yet, theres no reason why he can't improve that.

Dwyer has been someone that I wanted to see pop for a few years now. He needs to go to camp motivated. Signing Ahmad Bradshaw, if the case, would demote him to bench full time and probably find a way to trade him for peanuts. Hillman is in the same place and David Wilson, as far as opportunity goes and if things stay the same in Denver, I will hold on Hillman to see what he can do.

WR: Jones, Bryant, Nicks, Moore, Blackmon, Wright, Streater.

I'm way too deep at WR and I need to move pieces. Its a nice luxury to have to be able to start 4 Wideouts every week though...

What am I going to tell you all more about Jones that you don't already know.

Dez is coming on and this guy is just a freak. I read somewhere that Tim Brown or whoever told him to calm down or hes going to get injured more. Hey Tim Brown, lets not foster laziness in this man. Dez is playing with renewed effort and if he can keep going, he can be the #1 WR in fantasy in 13-14. I think the boys will be down lots and this change to the defense is what'll keep Romo throwing the ball.

Blackmon is a hold until a new QB shows up there. He had a spell where he did well but I will not move on him until someone reliable or someone other than Blaine Gabbert is throwing to him.

I love love love Kendall Wright and I think in PPR, if I weren't so deep already @ WR, I might be using him as my flex. I will hold Kendall Wright because I think hes got the stuff to be a top 25 ppr guy. Its all up to Jake Locker to stay healthy, but if Captain Checkdown is the play here, Wright could have some good weeks.

Streater & Moore... I'd love to trade Moore but as you all know... what are you going to get for him? Streater might be a cut for me next year. I dunno I'm pretty torn about these two. I think I'll wait to see how Matt Flynn does but these two will be on my bench for the time being.

Finally, Hakeem Nicks. Nicks is a man's man and he plays injured all the time. I'm getting a little worried about his foot and I hope he doesn't miss games this upcoming year. It seems like he always produces when hes on the field and when hes healthy, hes elite. Will sell him though for like .80 cents on the dollar because I don't want to play the injury game with him anymore.

TE: Dennis Pitta & Kyle Rudolph

I love this group. I like to mix and match tight ends because I've felt like defense matchups on tight end yield more points per matchup than any position. Duds can be thrown but I think that matching up tight ends with opp. defenses are the way to go from now own because the position is so mangled after the top 4 tight ends. Its best to just stream or matchup play. I think this year's redraft trend will be more teams with 2 tight ends trying to take advantage of matchups or trying to catch lightning. Dennis Pitta and Rudolph are probably my two favorite of the 5-16 group of tight ends. Pitta would be the better PPR play and the departure of Boldin might get some more looks to Pitta. But I will take precedence using matchups when I decide which of them to start. It'll all depend whos playing who to me.

DL: Jason Pierre-Paul.

ugh. Disappointed but I'll take it. Everyone only plays one DL in this league so I felt it was important for me to land either JPP or Allen. If I didnt land either, I wouldn't bother doing anything other than streaming. I did expect more production tbh.

DB: I don't have any on my roster. I also stream this position based on matchup. Same thinking though... If I dont have a top 3 guy, I'll just use matchups to stream. I was fortunate and used Roman Harper and Laron Landry most of the year.

LB: POZZY/?????

Pozluszny has been great. I like tackle heavy linebackers. More consistent scoring. I also like to play matchups with linebackers since this league has so many 3 down options available on waivers. I think the owners are smarting up though and 3 down guys will be gone this year so I need a new second linebacker. I will be drafting a new linebacker this year and I'm open to suggestions. I'll keep that to the assistant coach forum though :)

Last thing fellow dynasty players. I am the commish of this league and I want to open up the IDP more. I want to have at least one more IDP in every position or an IDP flex. Whats the best way to go about doing this? I want to add 2/3 more IDP options so this aspect of the league doesn't feel so cheap.

 
Green, A.J. CIN -- drafted 1.5 in 2011Jones, Julio ATL -- drafted 1.4 in 2011
Just curious how did julio and green fall to the fourth and fifth picks? Even in a two qb league i couldnt see that happening. I was praying to god to land one of them at five that year and was actually surprised to see ingram go ahead of them at first overall. Is this non ppr?
Non-PPR. My league eats RB's, and the top 3 picks were Ingram, R.Williams, and D.Thomas to RB needy teams that all had at least one decent WR. I knew I would get at least one of them.
I think the D. Thomas pick is a great example of what NOT to do. I would have taken AJ Green (with consideration to Julio) at the #3. I'll take the Best Player Available over drafting for need every time
 
I think it is more that the league has increased its passing attempts while reducing rushing attempts almost across the board that is causing fewer RB to be top players than the lack of RB talent. There are only a handful of teams that are running the ball a lot and fewer of those teams that do so with mostly one RB. That trend seems to have a lot of momentum and I do not see that changing any time soon if it ever does.
At the time I meant more that I didn't like the RB talent in the 2013 and 2014 classes. Which turned out to be pretty much true this year anyhow.
 
Remembered this post and was curious about what I'd said, if I'd followed through, and how it looked with the benefit of hindsight... mostly I did what I thought I would and don't have any regrets so far.

Obviously getting Garcon and Mendenhall back should help next year.

Check. Both players should be helpful as 2s or 2/3s.

In the leagues where Rivers is my QB1 and don't have a strong #2 I'll need to shore up the position before next year. I still think he's fine and it's the team around him that's a mess, but I'm not willing to bet a season on it. Freeman is someone I've been targeting as a nice QBBC complement to Rivers with some possible upside, but some of his owners are valuing him as a future stud right now so I haven't gotten far with that.

It was interesting to see that at the time I wrote this post I only owned Freeman in 2 of 12 leagues. After his disastrous end of season I managed to snag him in a half dozen leagues and now have him in 8/11. Great example of people's mental rankings being way too volatile IMO. Basically he's 25 and for some reason is valued slightly below what he's already done from ages 22-24. See the FBG projections for example -- after finishing QB14, QB17 and QB13 (ppg) his average projection is QB17. Barring injury or murder convictions the worst case is that he's a high end QB2 for the next five years. That's what I paid for. Any upside that comes with the stability in Tampa and the possible maturation of Freeman is free.

I'll be holding MJD in those four leagues even if he doesn't come back until 2013. He's got the profile of someone who could easily play until 30+ and he looked pretty good before the foot injury. I think the average VBD from a player like him at 28 outweighs anything I'd get back in terms of a starter.

Still tons of risk, but so far, so good. A one year return to the top-10 wouldn't shock me but most likely non-injury case is strong RB2 production. Which is definitely better than what you could sell him for after the injury.

If Cecil Shorts pans out I've got great depth at WR and shouldn't be forced to make a WR move for the foreseeable future. I'm not sure anything helps a team more than nailing a solid starter from the WW in a majority of leagues.

I'm higher on Shorts than most -- he's inside my top 20 dynasty WRs -- but even if he's just 2/3 type guy the point above is still true. Landing a good/decent starter off the WW takes so much pressure off your team depth.

A few guys I expect to be be targeting this off-season include Rivers and Fitz. I think Freeman and Stewart may be too expensive now. Gates is also someone I can see buying if the price is right.

Obviously bought Freeman but didn't go after Rivers and Gates (San Diego is still a mess) or Stewart (situation/injury fatigue finally set in). Did land Fitz in three leagues, but paid for him with Victor Cruz in all three cases. I'm close to 50/50 on those two, but do like having one player to worry about instead of two.

I think I'll also stand pat with my mostly mid and late round firsts. I don't see anyone coming out that I'm dying to land right now and the picks between about six and fifteen are my favorite part of the draft most years anyhow.

Standing pat at the back of the 1st round worked out as I landed C Michael between 10 and 15 in most of my rookie drafts.
 
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Cool thread, I'll play

16 Teamer, PPR, TEs, 1.5

QB, 2RB, 2WR, RB/WR Flex TE, D, K

Luck

Palmer

Dion Lewis

CJ Spiller

Trent Richardson

SHane Vareen

Bilal Powell

Dez Bryant

Julio Jones

Percy Harvin

Maclin

Josh Gordon

Immanuel Sanders

Julian Edelman

DaRick Rogers

James Casey

Brent Celek

Delanie Walker

Crosby

Houston D

Start up draft was in February of 2011.

My one rule of thumb: Stay under 25.

I had the 1.1 that year, and it was either Calvin or trade back.....I traded back to the 1.8. Took Dez Bryant, and with picks from the calvin trade, Then Harvin, 1.2(Julio), Maclin, Took Spiller in the 6th, took Vareen as a 2nd round draft pick.

I just wanted to build good yound depth with no regard for competing in year one. If I competed out of the chute, great. If I didn't, I knew I'd have 3 solid core guys to build around.

I absolutely had some misses: Sanchez, 7th rounder, Felix Jones, I think 6th?

But for the most part, I had solid hits on Bryant, Harvin, Julio, Spiller.....lukewarm on maclin, and I think Vareen will be solid this year. Took Immanuel Sanders in the 11/12th which should come around this year...

My disregard for competing led to a subpar year, and landed me the 2012 number 1: I took Richardson

I then traded Felix Jones, and a second for the 1.11. I traded Kendall hunter, the 1.7, and the 1.11 for the 1.2.

I took Luck there to give me a solid nucleus for years to come.

TE is a glaring sore spot, especially at 1.5 per PPR, but my team is young enough that I don't have to panic, that I have a decent sized window

Injuries this year, Maclin, Harvin are a concern......but I have Gordon, Sanders, Vareen to fill in that gap.

Team made it to the semis last year.

My biggest regret, was not addressing TE. But overall, I am pretty happy with this team in a 16 teamer....

 
My team in my favorite league. It was a spinoff from a long time redraft league made up mostly of my college friends. We have an in person rookis draft BBQ, and see eachother often - this is why it's my favorite, its not necessarily my most competitive league, but all owners are good owners.

12 Team ppr league, fairly standard scoring QB/2RB/3WR/TE/FL/D/K

QB - Colin Kaepernick (traded Victor Cruz this offseason to obtain him

RB - Reggie Bush (traded David Wilson for Reggie Bush, Percey Harvin and Kyle Rudolph this offseason)

RB - L'Veon Bell (traded up from 1.08 to 1.05 in 2013 rookie draft - gave Bryce Brown and Fred Jackson)

WR - Calvin Johnson (drafted at 4.03 in 2008 start-up draft)

WR - Julio Jones (drafted at 1.04 in 2011 rookie draft)

WR - Jordy Nelson (traded Shane Vereen, Vincent Brown and Ahmad Bradshaw this offseason to obtain him)

TE - Jared Cook (traded Stephen Hill and Carson Plamer this offseason to obtain him)

FL - Ahmad Bradshaw (traded - overpaid - Jason Witten and Kenny Britt to obtain him and Owen Daniels this offseason)

Bench

Percy Harvin (was a major offseason acquisition)

Alex Smith (obtained for a 2014 3rd round pick this offseason)

Brandon Weeden (drafted at 3.11 in 2012 rookie draft)

Vick Ballard, Ike Redman, Jonathan Dwyer (handcuffs)

James Starks

Chris Givens (drafted at 3.03 in 2012 rookie draft)

TJ Graham (drafted in 4th round of 2012 rookie draft)

Chris Harper (drafted at 4.08 in 2013 rookie draft)

Rod Streater (Waiver Wire add last season)

Owen Daniels

Brent Celek

I believe Calvin is the only player I still have from my 2008 start-up draft. Carson Palmer was my 3.03 pick in that draft and Imoved him this offseason. I've done a lot of trading (perhaps too much), but also have added some nice pieces in our rookie drafts. I had Vick Ballard and overpaid for Bradshaw a bit since RB depth was an issue for a team that I think will compete this season - even though I've since lost Harvin I still like my chances.

 
Here is my only Dynasty team now in its 7th year and how I obtained my players. I took over the draft for this team that had already made a stupid trade to get another 1st round pick in the start up draft and took Shaun Alexander and Gore in the first round so I started rough and only have 2 players from start up draft remaining(Rice,Brady). RD=Rookie draft. 12 team 1pt ppr. 24 man reg season rosters 1 player below will not make final roster.

Tom Braday Drafted 4.09 in start up draft in 2007

Matt Ryan (2.04 2008 RD) Traded for Eddie Royal (3.07 2008 RD) after Brady went down in 2008.

Chris Johnson (1.07 2008 RD)

CJ Spiller (1.04 2010 RD)

Daniel Thomas (1.05 2011 RD)

Doug Martin (1.03 2012 RD)

Lamar Miller (2.04 2012 RD) Traded Gore(2007 Startup) and Delone Carter (3.03 2011 RD) for Miller, 2.09 2012(Broyles) and Floyd

Mike Gillislee (3.07 2013 RD)

Hakeem Nicks (1.05 2009 RD)

Sydney Rice Drafted 8.09 in start up draft in 2007

Emmanual Sanders (3.04 2010 RD)

Brian Quick (2.03 2012 RD)

Ryan Broyles (2.09 2012 RD) See Lamar Miller Trade

Austin Collie (3.03 2009 RD)

DeAndre Hopkins (1.07 2013 RD)

Justin Hunter (2.02 2013 RD) Traded Pitta and 2.07(Markus Wheaton) For 2.02(Hunter) and 3.01(Kelce)

Charles Johnson (4.07 2013 RD)

Cecil Shorts FA Oct 2012

Malcolm Floyd See Lamar Miller Trade

Jermichael Finley FA June 2009

Germaine Gresham (2.04 2010 RD)

Ladarius Green (3.03 2012 RD)

Travis Kelce (3.01 2013 RD)

Randy Bullock (5.07 2013 RD)

Chargers D Drafted 11.07 in Start up draft in 2007

FA on roster bubble

Tyler Bray

Ronnie Brown

Davone Bess

Chris Harper

Josh Brown

So looking at my team it's built primarily through the draft and trades around the draft. My early rookie drafts were horrible with nothing past 1st round really doing anything but have been better the past couple years. My 1st round picks have been solid throughout minus Daniel Thomas. My WR's have always been a weak spot but now that my RB's should be set for a few years I can focus on WR like this year. I dodged a huge bullet unloading Pitta(FA pickup Sept 2012) during this years rookie draft. I've landed a couple solid players trough FA(Shorts,Finley) but getting a stud starter in Dynasty proves to be a challenge. All said I think my team is finally ready to make a push for the title.

 
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22 man roster; 1 pt/ppr. Start 1 QB, 2-3 RB, 3-4 WR, 1 TE, 1 Pk, 1 DT

Brees, Drew NOS

Roethlisberger, Ben PIT

Tebow, Tim NYJ

Traded Roethlisberer as part of a deal to get Witten when Gates was underperming

Drafted EJ Manuel:He is a good prospect and I got him with pick 2.11.

Brees is my starter and should be good for another 3 years; if Manuel shows promise he could be my future or I still have time to get another QB prospect. If Brees gets hurt this year I am trouble, however.
Bradshaw, Ahmad NYG Brown,

Donald IND RB

Goodson, Mike OAK RB

Jones, Felix DAL RB

Pierce, Bernard BAL

Powell, Bilal NYJ

Rice, Ray BAL

Stewart, Jonathan CAR

Taylor, Stephen, AZ

Deangelo Williams CAR

Ingram, Mark, NO

Traded for Ivory--basically my first round pick in 2014

Then Traded Ivory and Fleener for Deangelo Williams (given Stewart's slow recovery to foot surgery) and Ingram and Miles Austin

Drafted Taylor with 3.11 rookie pick; he has good upside for such a late pick.

Now my starting RBs are:

Rice (with Pierce as his backup and future for BA)

Bradshaw or Deangelo Williams/Stewart

with Ingram and Powell as spot starters this year depending on injuries to other players on their team or my team. Ingram is still only 23 years old and has some value long term.

Cobb, Randall GBP

Gibson, Brandon STL

Holmes, Santonio NYJ

Marshall, Brandon CHI

Meachem, Robert SDC

White, Roddy ATL

Austin, Miles

Sanu, Mohammad

Hunter, Justin

Avery,

Picked up Sanu and Avery as a FAs last season

Drafted Hunter with 1.11; like his physical potential and drafting in late first I prefer to go for potential since no one there is a sure thing anyway

Traded for Miles Austin as part of Trade. By getting Austin I now have four solid WRs and have the option of going 2RBs and 4 WRs if the situation and matchup is favorable:

Starting WRs: Cobb, Marshall, Roddy White, and Austin.

Hunter and Sanu give me a couple of good, young prospects at this most important position.

Fleener, Coby IND

Gates, Antonio SDC

Witten

Traded Roethlisberger and Goodson for Witten. Traded Fleener with Ivory for Deangelo, Ingram and Miles Austin.

I am very happy to have Witten and expect him to be top 3 the next two years. Gates is aging and I missed the chance to trade him. But he should be ok as a backup and if he does better than expected will try to move him to a competitive team that has weakness at TE.

Gould, Robbie CHI

Broncos, Denver DEN Def

Texans, Houston HOU Def

Started in 2006 and I won in 2009 and 2010 and came in second in 2011. Drafted Brees and Gates back in 2006 Drafted Rice, JStew, Donald Brown, Cobb, Meachem, Fleener, Tebow I tend not to give up on my first round picks for better or worse. Picked up Bradshaw and Marshall off waivers before people believed in them and have hung onto them ever since. Made one big trade: Acquired Roddy White for Shaun Alexander just before Alexander fell apart. Also traded for Big Ben and Holmes. I tend to be confident in my determinations and don't like to trade a player just to get rid of him if he doesn't immediately live up to expectations. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't but I really do not like to trade low. Having an anchor RB like Rice has been huge as I have a stable of other guys who can be plugged in, but then having two stud WRs is critical in this league because of the 1 ppr.
I've made quite a few changes since this posting, which I updated in Red.

 
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After the 2010 season ended, I decided to look for an orphaned, last place dynasty team takeover to turn around. I found a 1-12 team in a 12 team ppr dynasty with an 18 man roster limit and 2 taxi spots. Start 9 w/3 @ WR and 1 flex between RB/WR.The only notable plyers on the roster were Matt Ryan and Dez. The other 16 were waiver wire guys nobody wanted.

Ryan and Dez might seem like good players to start with now, but in 2010 Ryan was a marginal QB1 and Dez was high profile prospect but also an oft-injured problem child who wasn't a starter. That's pretty much all I had to work with other than having the 1.01 rookie pick.

Had I realized then what I know now I would have joined a different league. With no cap or rising salaries, no contract years and no forced drops like a keeper league, there's no incentive whatsoever to move a starting calibur player other than age and/or injury. Trades for starters are few and far between, and usually require taking on a higher level of risk than normal.

I don't remember all of the moves I made, but early on I picked up the 1.04 to pair with the 1.01. I then went on to make the biggest mistake during my time in this league. I had nothing for starters at running back, so I took Ingram over AJ Green with the 1 hoping Julio would be there with the 4th pick which didn't happen. I doubled down picking Daniel Thomas. Meh. Though slightly improved, I only managed to finish with a 5-8 record.

However, by the end of 2011 through trades I set myself up to start 2012 with these guys:

Peyton Manning

M. Lynch

Steve Johnson

A. Bolden

G. Olsen

And the 49ers D.

Later on during the off-season I traded Boldin and a late rookie pick for Eric Decker. Then picked up Heath Miller and LaFell off waivers. I also drafted Andrew Luck and Fleener. So I went into week 1 with:

Peyton Manning

A. Luck

Lynch

S. Johnson

Decker

LaFell

Olsen

Miller

49ers D

Towards the end of the year I added Cecil Shorts, Golden Tate, DX and Russell Wilson to my roster via waivers.

Though I was knocked out in the 1st round, I did manage to make the playoffs with a 7-6 record. My original plan was to try to turn this into a playoff team in 3 years (for a 2013 showing) so hitting that goal a year early was encouraging.

At the end of the season I moved Decker for Ryan Mathews and Greg Jennings. Many didn't like the trade and for a while I was second guessing it. But with Welker in Denver now, I'm feeling a little better about it. I don't expect Jennings ever to return to his top 10 days but if he can at least be a decent WR2 for me, then everything Mathews produces will be gravy for me. I also don't expect Mathews to be a RB1. All I need out of him is the occasional bye or injury start.

My last trade was very unpopular and had I been in any other league I wouldn't have pulled the trigger on it. It was R. Wilson and a late 1st for Pettigrew, Dalton and the 1.04(which I later turned into Montee Ball). I decided to go with it for a few reasons.

1. I'm not getting Miller back until later in the season and its possible he may not return to form. With Fleener splitting time with Allen, I really didn't have much of a backup plan behind Olsen. If Pettigrew can cut down on the drops and reach his full potential, even better.

2. Though I know I could have done better for Wilson regardless of my depth at the position, the fact remains that I'd probably never actually start him. Getting Ball was another depth move that I'll actually use at some point, particularly given Mathews injury history. So the way I see it, I gave up depth at one position Ill probably never use for depth in 2 positions that I'm lilkely to rely on more often. Having Dalton as a #3 QB isn't exactly horrible either.

So that's where I am now:

Peyton, Luck, Dalton

Lynch, Mathews, Ball

Johnson, Jennings, Shorts, DX, Tate

Olsen, Pettigrew, Miller, Fleener

A top kicker

A top D

All in all, I don't think it was a bad turn around given where I started and the limitations of the league itself. I was hoping to have landed a true #1WR by now to bring my team to another level, but having 3 WR2s might be just as good. So we'll see where this season brings me. Anything less than looking for a win in week 15 will be a disappointment though.

 
This could be interesting, just to look back at how these team came to be. I'll list my favorite league, a 32 team league with players available twice each so it plays much like a 16 team league but with a lot more trades and we have a few stacked teams. It's a little bit unique in that we have to start a coach, DT, and Corners. I'm one of the owners that have been around since the beginning, not too many of us left. I trade a lot and have been competitive most years. The team is aging now but it's really challenging to get younger when many teams are in the rebuild process. I'll just list my roster and when / how I acquired the player:

Coach:
Frazier - Waiver pick this year Dropped
Schwartz - 2010 waiver Dropped
Tomlin - March 08, traded Mike McCarthy, Gary Russell, and Ronald Bartell for Tomlin

John Fox - Traded Flacco, T Tyler, late 4th for Pitta, Fox, Reece, Suh, early 3rd

QB:
Drew Brees - May 2009, traded Leinart, Warner, KBurton, '10 2nd for Brees
Peyton Manning - traded G McCoy, Kerley for Peyton and Baldwin last week

Osweiler - traded J Baldwin for Oz and a late 4th
Joe Flacco - traded Locker, Angerer and 3 picks for Flacco, Misi in early October Traded Flacco, T Tyler, late 4th for Pitta, Fox, Reece, Suh, early 3rd

Tyler Wilson - pick 4.23

RB:
ADP - Nov 09, traded Roethlisberger, Michael Turner, Santonio Holmes for Cassel, BCroyle, ADP, Antonio Bryant
TRich - Traded Dez Bryant, '13 1st for the 1.01
Sproles - Acquired him before the '05 season, but didn't draft him. MFL doesn't have transaction records and it's been 7 years, don't remember what I traded.
B. Rainey - Waiver pick this year Dropped
Saine - waiver in 2011 Dropped

Reece - Traded Flacco, T Tyler, late 4th for Pitta, Fox, Reece, Suh, early 3rd

WR:
Joe Adams - 4th round pick in 12
D. Alexander - Oct 11, traded a bunch of late picks for Alexander
Arrington - waiver in 2011 Dropped
Baldwin - traded G McCoy, Kerley for Peyton and Baldwin last week traded J Baldwin for Oz and a late 4th
Boykin - Waiver pick this year
Caldwell - May 08 traded Michael Bush for Caldwell Traded in package for M. Hardesty
Colston - traded Alex Smith, Boldin, Randy Moss, Robison, Fletcher or Colston and Nick Fairley in April
D Harris - 6th round pick in '11 Traded in package for M. Hardesty
VJax - Traded Maclin, Pettigrew, Witten, Urlacher, Polamalu for VJax, Finley, Ray Lewis, Bell in September '12
Welker - April 2010 traded Antonio Bryant, Jared Cook for Welker and Shawn Nelson
R White - traded Chris Johnson, Crabtree for Locker, White, CCampbell

J. Wright - Traded Cameron Jordan for J Wright

TE:
Finley - Traded Maclin, Pettigrew, Witten, Urlacher, Polamalu for VJax, Finley, Ray Lewis, Bell in September '12 Traded Finley, Beason, 3rd for TGonzo, Derrick Johnson (Playoff push last year)
Watson - Waiver pick this year Dropped
Witten - Traded AJ for Witten last month

James Hanna - Waiver

Gonzo - Traded Finley, Beason, 3rd for TGonzo, Derrick Johnson

D Pitta - Traded Flacco, T Tyler, late 4th for Pitta, Fox, Reece, Suh, early 3rd (Before injury)

Vance McDonald - traded Nicholas, Turbin, for Vance McDonald, Nico Johnson

PK:
Bailey - Sep 2011 waiver pick Traded with a 7th for Gostkowski
Succop - Waiver pick this year dropped
Zuerlien - 8th round pick in '12

Gostkowski - traded Bailey and a 7th for Gostkowski

DT:
Dareus- 7th round pick in '11
KWilliams - Waiver pick this year dropped

Suh - Traded Flacco, T Tyler, late 4th for Pitta, Fox, Reece, Suh, early 3rd

Poe - Waiver

DE:
Jordan - traded CCampbell for Jordan, Urlacher, 13 2nd before the 12 season Traded Cameron Jordan for J Wright
CLong - Jan 10 Traded Lawrence Jackson and a '10 7th for Chris Long
Tuck - summer 11 traded '12 1,2,3 picks for Tuck, Beason
Mario Williams - May '07, traded Mark Anderson, 08 3rd for Mario and a 07 6th.

Margus Hunt - pick 5.25

LB:
Beason - summer 11 traded '12 1,2,3 picks for Tuck, BeasonTraded Finley, Beason, 3rd for TGonzo, Derrick Johnson (Playoff push last year)

Derrick Johnson - Gonzo - Traded Finley, Beason, 3rd for TGonzo, Derrick Johnson
A Curry - Waiver pick this year dropped
Fort - Waiver pick this year dropped
D Jackson - traded VJax, Osi, Ray Lewis for Crabtree, Ayers, Jackson
Ray Lewis - Traded Maclin, Pettigrew, Witten, Urlacher, Polamalu for VJax, Finley, Ray Lewis, Bell in September '12
Lofton - drafted with a late 2nd in 2008
Misi - traded Locker, Angerer and 3 picks for Flacco, Misi in early October
Nicholas - Traded Quinn, Kerrigan and a 6th just a week ago - traded Nicholas, Turbin, for Vance McDonald, Nico Johnson

Roach - Waiver

Nico Johnson - traded Nicholas, Turbin, for Vance McDonald, Nico Johnson

CB:
Finnegan- traded TWatson, '13 2nd for Finnegan, 3rd in September '12
Griffin - Sep 09, traded Steve Smith (Giants), Ellis Hobbs for Peyton Hillis, Nick Folk, Griffin dropped
K Lewis - Waiver pick this year
Talib - drafted with a late 4th in 2008

X Rhodes - pick 7.29

S:
Y Bell - Traded Maclin, Pettigrew, Witten, Urlacher, Polamalu for VJax, Finley, Ray Lewis, Bell in September '12
Byrd - Oct 09 Waiver pick

Matt Elam - pick 3.15
McMillian - Waiver pick this year
Rolle - Nov '11, traded Mallett, PTanner, JMcClain, Carlos Rogers for Alex Smith, Rolle
Woodson - May '11 traded Cutler, late picks and BCarr, KWilliams, JJoseph for Schaub, GMcCoy, Woodson

It's kind of fun to look back at the moves, but I want to kick myself for a few, like dropping Victor Cruz in December 2010 after picking him up in September. (lesson learned - be patient)
A lot of turnover for this team, my longest held players are Mario Williams and Darren Sproles.
The only reason I acquired Peyton is his low perceived value in a league where many active traders are rebuilding and as a defensive move.
I fully expect to ride Brees, Peyton, Sproles, Welker, Witten, Ray Lewis, and Woodson until they retire. Probably the same for ADP.
Didn't have any high picks this year as I had traded them away.

Lots of small deals this off-season, only "big" deal and I slightly regret it is trading Flacco for Pitta, but that was before injury and Flacco wouldn't do much for me any way.

The Trent / Dez trade is interesting in hindsight, don't think I would do it today in this league but in many formats it's still a decent deal.

Been shopping for a young QB, but can't get decent value for Brees or Peyton, so I'll hope Wilson (doesn't look too good right now) or Osweiler turn out good. Overall this team is aging and my window is closing.


 

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