[DYNASTY] Strategy (1 Viewer)

[-OZ-]

Piggy backing off some other threads of players who are older / values / possibly hitting the wall soon, what do YOU do when your team is very competitive, but getting "old"?

Either hypothetically, or use examples from what you've done, what is the best plan in your opinion?

Say you can win the championship this year, but many of your core players are getting up there in age. Do you keep them and make a run, do you trade one or two, do you completely rebuild? Obviously value makes a difference here, but assume you aren't going to get exceptional deals. We've had other threads that show what these elders go for (or for argument sake, use FBG dynasty rankings)

 

[tjford]

The objective of FF is to win, and you do that with the players that score the most points. No consolation for who can do it with the youngest players.

If your team is old but is championship caliber, you make your run for the title in the next year or two.

 

[QUEZILLA]

If it doesn't look like you are going to make the playoffs by mid-season, then have a fire sale on all of your old guys. Teams that are in the running will usually have no problem trading away rookie draft picks if they are close to a championship.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

If it doesn't look like you are going to make the playoffs by mid-season, then have a fire sale on all of your old guys. Teams that are in the running will usually have no problem trading away rookie draft picks if they are close to a championship.

I used Favre to make a run last year and made it to the Championship game. I would have traded him mid-season if my team wasn't doing much. This year I have guys like Westbrook, Graham and Mike Peterson (IDP) who don't hold a lot of longer term value. If my season starts looking bad in week 7 or 8, I try to trade them for younger guys and draft picks.

 

[T Bell]

If it doesn't look like you are going to make the playoffs by mid-season, then have a fire sale on all of your old guys. Teams that are in the running will usually have no problem trading away rookie draft picks if they are close to a championship.

If you had championship caliber players just a year ago, unless they've completely imploded you should be getting more than rookie picks for them. Example: You have TO and he's no good to you because the rest of your team is sucking wind, you should trade him to a contender for a guy like Greg Jennings and a draft pick. Get both a good young player and a draft pick(s). Draft picks are too much of a crap shoot to settle for that, and besides, if you're trading with contenders you will be getting low picks each round anyway.

 

[whhwalker]

Win now, win now, win now. If as you stated you can win this year with older players I will always try and win. I won't trade an aging starter on championship potential team. Where the rubber meets the road it is the value of a maturing RB2 and WR2 that causes concern.

For example, I have Wes Welker as a keeper. I would consider moving Welker (he would stay as a keeper for other team), for a young WR2 keeper and a mid-round player pick. I would for these reasons:

1) I have Steve Smith as a keeper

2) TO, Randy Moss, Andre Johnson, Holt, Housh, Plax, Marvin are all available in the player draft

3) Smith, Housh and young WR2 (Ted Ginn) helps me as the mid-round player pick would also get me a solid QB2, WR3 or RB3.

Another example, I have Jamal Lewis as an RB2 keeper. I would only consider moving him for a very early rookie pick and other picks....and even then maybe not.

1) The third best RB option available in the player draft is Ahman Green. Granted there are some good rookie candidates and I'll likely get one of Mendenhall/Smith/Rice but I have an entire roster that can win this year with J-Lew. No shot if I have to start Ahman or one of these rookies.

One thing I notice is many coaches focus on drafting rookies and first 3 round of players. If you can get an up and comer keeper and a solid one-year player for an aging RB2/WR2 and if there is depth at the position in the draft you can do both: rebuild and win this year.

Look in the mirror and truly determine if you can win this year. If you can, then try and win it. But if you'll be a .500+ playoff team then rebuild and re-stock because next year your aging star may have little to no value (Shaun Alexander, Deuce, Cadillac).

 

[Portis 26]

I think rebuilding is a disastrous strategy in dynasty leagues. I so often see teams completely dismantle themselves, trading away their good older starters for a bunch of draft picks, and invariably most of the draft picks don't work out and they get stuck at the bottom perpetually rebuilding.

The better strategy is actually to keep the older team together, and to fill the holes that emerge by exploiting this whole rebuilding urge in other teams. For example, I had an old team in one dynasty league that had a big hole at WR. I traded a first round pick for TO and won the last two championships.

Ultimately, even if your team does start to fall apart, you can fill the holes with smart waiver moves and trades.

 

[fsufan]

i am in a similar situation this year in my main dynasty league.

starting line will be

Palmer

LT

portis

James or T. Jones

Chad Johnson

Burress

Colston

I have the #2 rookie pick. do I draft a young RB like Stewart or Mendenhall with the #2 pick for the future or trade it for an RB that will be an upgrade over James and Jones. I am a believer in winning now if your team is in that stage.

 

[-OZ-]

i am in a similar situation this year in my main dynasty league. starting line will bePalmerLTportisJames or T. JonesChad JohnsonBurressColstonI have the #2 rookie pick. do I draft a young RB like Stewart or Mendenhall with the #2 pick for the future or trade it for an RB that will be an upgrade over James and Jones. I am a believer in winning now if your team is in that stage.

My thinking is you go ahead and draft Stew or Mendenhall, unless you can set up a package that will net you a significant upgrade. I've tried to rebuild my bench players, while maintaing my starting lineup. My old players include LT, Westbrook, TO, Urlacher, Bulluck, and Brooking. I had Hines Ward and Portis on the bench, but traded them for Santonio Holmes and a later 1st which ended up being Chris Johnson. That's a trade that probably looks BAD on paper, but given a desire to get some youth, I think it made sense. I'm honestly having some 2nd thoughts, I mean what happens if one of my top RBs gets injured this year (I'd probably have to start Johnson). OTOH, I've considered dealing TO, Westbrook, or LT - but I know I wouldn't get much for them. It does make me that others think it's best to keep the older guys for a run.

 

[cstu]

i am in a similar situation this year in my main dynasty league.

starting line will be

Palmer

LT

portis

James or T. Jones

Chad Johnson

Burress

Colston

I have the #2 rookie pick. do I draft a young RB like Stewart or Mendenhall with the #2 pick for the future or trade it for an RB that will be an upgrade over James and Jones. I am a believer in winning now if your team is in that stage.

My thinking is you go ahead and draft Stew or Mendenhall, unless you can set up a package that will net you a significant upgrade.

I've tried to rebuild my bench players, while maintaing my starting lineup.

My old players include LT, Westbrook, TO, Urlacher, Bulluck, and Brooking. I had Hines Ward and Portis on the bench, but traded them for Santonio Holmes and a later 1st which ended up being Chris Johnson. That's a trade that probably looks BAD on paper, but given a desire to get some youth, I think it made sense. I'm honestly having some 2nd thoughts, I mean what happens if one of my top RBs gets injured this year (I'd probably have to start Johnson). OTOH, I've considered dealing TO, Westbrook, or LT - but I know I wouldn't get much for them.

It does make me that others think it's best to keep the older guys for a run.

There's a decent chance that the #2 could net someone like LJ, I'd try to make that trade before drafting one of the rooks. Either that or try to trade for the #1 and get McFadden who I think will have a big year and is very young.

 

[Biabreakable]

Well 1st of all (and I think this may be the hardest thing to do) is you need to make an honest assesment of what you see your team being capable of accomplishing in the upcoming season. I think there is a fine line (depending on your league rules and compitition) between having a playoff capable team and a true championship caliber team. So don't only look at your players but also look at what you are up against from other strong teams in your league. If after looking at this you honestly like your chances even with an aging core of players I think you go for another run. If you think your team is very good but you are going to need a lot of help to beat another team or two in your league then you may want to consider biting the bullet now by making moves that will improve your team compared to theirs in years ahead.

I think this gets directly related to starters and depth of your roster. Will one of your players hitting the wall this year cause your team to no longer be able to compete for a title? If you are that reliant on one player for your success then I think you need to look at improving your situation.

There are 3 categories of players holding roster slots on your team:

1. Starters - these guys you will play regardless of match up and these are the players your counting on for success week in week out.

2. Situational starters - these guys are players you will start when situation merits it. They can be older players not at an elite level or younger players who are still hopefully improving.

3. Developmental players - these guys should be players you have invested in that you are hoping to see improve in time. Your rookies and other young players.

Now how your roster is put together in a mix of these 3 types of players will largely be dependent on your leagues rules and total roster size. That being said however I think much of your strategy will be tied to how your roster is set up between these 3 categories of players. And roster management decisions should be focused on improving at any of the 3 levels at all times. Whenever value presents itself.

More to follow as I give some specific examples..

 

[-OZ-]

Well 1st of all (and I think this may be the hardest thing to do) is you need to make an honest assesment of what you see your team being capable of accomplishing in the upcoming season. I think there is a fine line (depending on your league rules and compitition) between having a playoff capable team and a true championship caliber team. So don't only look at your players but also look at what you are up against from other strong teams in your league. If after looking at this you honestly like your chances even with an aging core of players I think you go for another run. If you think your team is very good but you are going to need a lot of help to beat another team or two in your league then you may want to consider biting the bullet now by making moves that will improve your team compared to theirs in years ahead.I think this gets directly related to starters and depth of your roster. Will one of your players hitting the wall this year cause your team to no longer be able to compete for a title? If you are that reliant on one player for your success then I think you need to look at improving your situation.There are 3 categories of players holding roster slots on your team:1. Starters - these guys you will play regardless of match up and these are the players your counting on for success week in week out.2. Situational starters - these guys are players you will start when situation merits it. They can be older players not at an elite level or younger players who are still hopefully improving.3. Developmental players - these guys should be players you have invested in that you are hoping to see improve in time. Your rookies and other young players.Now how your roster is put together in a mix of these 3 types of players will largely be dependent on your leagues rules and total roster size. That being said however I think much of your strategy will be tied to how your roster is set up between these 3 categories of players. And roster management decisions should be focused on improving at any of the 3 levels at all times. Whenever value presents itself.More to follow as I give some specific examples..

Well put, and while I did not intend for this to be about my team, perhaps an example / case study could be useful.I've been pretty good at putting together strong starting lineups, but I lack in the developmental area. The team I refer to above, prior to this draft, didn't have any guys I'd really expect to rise in the next few years. Maybe Chris Perry, Chris Henry, Derrick Ward, Shaun Hill, Brad Smith, Matt Jones and Legadu Naanee, but to be frank, anything I get from those guys will be seen as a gift. I did alright in the draft IMO, adding 3 WRs I like (Royal, Jackson, and Caldwell through trade) along with Henne, Chris Johnson, and Curtis Lofton. But again, I don't expect much out of these guys for a few years. So basically, I have older starters (aside from Braylon, Evans, Roy, and Ben/VY) and some rookies. I actually like this team, but there is a wide separation in timeframe here. I could have a couple down years if the elders fall apart.

 

[Biabreakable]

Now here is the roster of a league mate of mine who had a playoff caliber team but never won it all.

Roster at the end of 2005 season:

Cassel, Matt NEP QB 18.62 7 FA

Favre, Brett GBP QB 215.64 6 FA

Frye, Charlie CLE QB 58.38 4 3.09

Harrington, Joey DET QB 130.44 3 FA

Losman, J.P. BUF QB 94.80 9 FA

Martin, Jamie STL QB 68.18 9 FA

Mauck, Matt TEN QB 5.34 10 FA

McMahon, Mike MIN QB 86.92 5 FA

McPherson, Adrian NOS QB - 10 4.09

Orlovsky, Dan DET QB 1.52 3 6.08

Rodgers, Aaron GBP QB -2.60 6 1.11

Barber, Marion DAL RB 102.45 9 2.11

Barber, Tiki NYG RB 310.00 5 FA

Davenport, Najeh GBP RB (I) 27.53 6 FA

Gado, Samkon GBP RB 106.90 6 FA

Holmes, Priest KCC RB (I) 106.80 5 FA

Jacobs, Brandon NYG RB 57.36 5 2.09

Jones, Thomas CHI RB 200.90 4 FA

Parker, Willie PIT RB 172.60 4 FA

Battle, Arnaz SFO WR 56.18 6 FA

Boldin, Anquan ARI WR 190.90 6 FA

Edwards, Braylon CLE WR (I) 70.20 4 1.05

Horn, Joe NOS WR 68.40 10 FA

Johnson, Bryant ARI WR 52.78 6 FA

McDonald, Shaun STL WR 54.70 9 FA

Owens, Terrell DAL WR 114.50 9 FA

Ward, Hines PIT WR 163.60 4 FA

Wilford, Ernest JAC WR 111.10 7 FA

Joppru, Ben HOU TE (I) - 3 FA

Smith, Alex TBB TE 53.10 7 5.09

Witten, Jason DAL TE 116.70 9 FA

Graham, Shayne CIN PK 152.80 10 FA

Tynes, Lawrence KCC PK 142.40 5 FA

Roye, Orpheus CLE DT 100.50 4 FA

Berry, Bert ARI DE (I) 52.50 6 FA

Cole, Trent PHI DE 61.00 6 FA

Mathis, Robert IND DE 102.00 8 FA

Suggs, Terrell BAL DE 104.30 3 FA

Barnett, Nick GBP LB 151.80 6 FA

Newman, Keith MIN LB 52.60 5 FA

Polk, Dashon HOU LB 88.50 3 FA

Tatupu, Lofa SEA LB 141.50 8 FA

Taylor, Ben GBP LB 98.00 6 FA

Thompson, Chaun CLE LB 97.50 4 FA

Thornton, David TEN LB 83.00 10 FA

Wong, Kailee HOU LB (I) 30.00 3 FA

Brown, Sheldon PHI CB 125.20 6 FA

Jackson, Marlin IND CB 57.10 8 FA

Dawkins, Brian PHI S 132.40 6 FA

Wilson, Gibril NYG S 130.60 5 FA

Now this team seeing itself as being competitive kept roster intact to make another run at the playoffs.

Starters -

Favre

Preist Holmes X

Tiki Barber

Thomas Jones

Boldin

Joe Horn X

Terrell Owens X

Hines Ward

Witten

Mathis

Suggs

Barnett

Tatutpu*

Thornton

Taylor

Sheldon Brown

Dawkins

Gibril Wilson

Situational starters -

Frye

Harrington

Losman

Davenport

Gado

FWP

Battle

Bryant Johnson

Shaun McDonald

Ernest Wilford

Alex Smith

Roye, Orpheus CLE DT

Bert Berry

Polk, Dashon

Thompson, Chaun

Wong, Kailee

Developmental players -

Cassell

Martin

Mauck

Adrian McPherson

Dan Orlovsky

Aaron Rodgers

Marion Barber

Brandon Jacobs

Braylon Edwards

Ben Joppru

Trent Cole

Marlin Jackson

X - bust due to age or injury. If your team does not have the depth to be competitve if one of your players busts you should be looking at improving your depth.

*rookie became starter. This should not be counted on at the begining of the season. Roster did have a developmental player at LB who panned out right away.

So what you have here is a owner who did have reasonable reasons to think he could contend for a title. A very aging roster however with Favre, Preist, Tiki Barber, Horn, Owens and Ward as the key starting players. He did very well in adding youth to his roster also in McPherson, Rodgers, Marion Barber, Brandon Jacobs, Braylon Edwards, Cole, Lofa and Jackson. Also Gado and FWP were very good situational starters (FWP became a starter in years ahead).

However as this unfolded the team was not strong enough to contend for a title because Favre had a poor year, Preist did not return to form, Horn fell off, TO missed too many games and the defense was really not up to snuff. You can see by how many QB are being rostered that they owner is trying to replace Favre but doesen't have a good enough backup. Although I can understand the owners decision to try and win it all with what he had (no one was offering anything of value for Preist) I think there was enough risk at the begining of the season that the owner may have been better off working on his depth instead of trying to make another run.

In 2006 his team officialy loses Preist Holmes and Tiki Barber annouces that he will retire at the end of the season. Yet the owner still tries to make another playoff run with obviously deprechiated roster. To his credit he does try to trade Tiki but everyone knows of the announcement so he cannot get reasonable return in trade for him. Still considering the age and depriciation of his players value combined with some good young talent a rebuild would have been a better course of action even if he would have sold off some of his aging players for a bit less than their worth. It would have been better to do this the year before of course when those players had more value.

Roster at the end of 2006 season:

Cassel, Matt NEP QB -0.22 6 FA

Croyle, Brodie KCC QB ® -3.08 3 3.11

Favre, Brett GBP QB 228.10 6 FA

Frye, Charlie CLE QB 150.16 6 FA

Gradkowski, Bruce TBB QB ® 108.54 4 4.11

Losman, J.P. BUF QB 215.10 8 FA

Romo, Tony DAL QB 213.82 3 FA

Rosenfels, Sage HOU QB (I) 28.30 5 FA

Alstott, Mike TBB RB 42.90 4 FA

Barber, Marion DAL RB 184.10 3 FA

Tiki Barber - retired so not shown on EOY roster for some reason. But he was kept for the entire season and never traded.

Griffith, Justin ATL RB 49.70 5 FA

Jacobs, Brandon NYG RB 118.23 4 FA

Jones, Thomas CHI RB 172.40 7 FA

Parker, Willie PIT RB 259.70 4 FA

Taylor, Chris HOU RB ® 25.30 5 FA

Battle, Arnaz SFO WR 92.70 7 FA

Boldin, Anquan ARI WR 152.10 9 FA

Crayton, Patrick DAL WR 79.85 3 FA

Hagan, Derek MIA WR ® 30.60 8 2.11

Holmes, Santonio PIT WR ® 122.82 4 1.11

Horn, Joe NOS WR 94.90 7 FA

Johnson, Bryant ARI WR 100.73 9 FA

Owens, Terrell DAL WR 201.00 3 FA

Ward, Hines PIT WR 136.50 4 FA

Williams, Reggie JAC WR 92.60 6 FA - traded Braylon Edwards for him and I think draft picks. Trying to move development of WR forward to get useful player this year.

Lewis, Marcedes JAC TE ® 18.60 6 2.07

Witten, Jason DAL TE 83.40 3 FA

Graham, Shayne CIN PK 132.50 5 FA

Tynes, Lawrence KCC PK 126.10 3 FA

Holliday, Vonnie MIA DT 84.00 8 FA

Anderson, Mark CHI DE ® 75.50 7 FA

Mathis, Robert IND DE (P) 100.00 6 FA

Suggs, Terrell BAL DE 101.50 7 FA

Anderson, James CAR LB ® 32.50 9 FA

Barnett, Nick GBP LB 103.80 6 FA

Phillips, Shaun SDC LB 105.00 3 FA

Shanle, Scott NOS LB 101.00 7 FA

Short, Brandon NYG LB 53.50 4 FA

Thornton, David TEN LB 107.00 7 FA

Bethea, Antoine IND S ® 89.80 6 FA

Chavous, Corey STL S 101.20 7 FA

Dawkins, Brian PHI S 129.80 9 FA

Landry, Dawan BAL S ® 110.60 7 FA

Phillips, Jermaine TBB S 135.20 4 FA

Wilson, Gibril NYG S 118.50 4 FA

Starters -

Favre

Marion Barber

Tiki Barber - Had a good season however Jacobs cuts into his TD numbers.

Thomas Jones

FWP

Boldin

Terrell Owens

Hines Ward

Witten

Mathis

Suggs

Barnett

Tatutpu

Thornton

Jermaine Phillips

Dawkins

Gibril Wilson

Situational starters -

Frye

Romo

Losman

Brandon Jacobs

Battle

Bryant Johnson

Reggie Williams

Vonnie Holiday

Phillips, Shaun

Shanle, Scott

Corey Chavous

Developmental players -

Cassell

Croyle

Gradkowski

Rosenfels

Chris Taylor

Crayton, Patrick

Hagan, Derek

Holmes, Santonio*

Marcedes Lewis

Mark Anderson*

James Anderson

Brandon Short

Bethea, Antoine

Landry, Dawan

X - bust due to age or injury. If your team does not have the depth to be competitve if one of your players busts you should be looking at improving your depth.

*rookie became starter. This should not be counted on at the begining of the season. Roster did have a developmental player at LB who panned out right away.

So the owner attempted to make another run with essentialy the same aging roster as he had the year before. He also hurt his overall strength trading off Edwards in a move to try and help himself now instead of being paitient. He has some developmental players panning out in Tony Romo, FWP and Marion Barber. The team however fails to make the playoffs in a late season loss. But really I think the writing was on the wall that this team would be middle of the road compared to other compition in the league and would have been better served selling off its older players to add more depth, picks and developmental players for a stronger push moving forward.

In fact that is exactly what he decided to do the next season when he still had a roster that could have made another playoff push. In my opinion he correctly identifies that he is good enough to be middle of the pack but not good enough to seriously contend for a title. And the core of his roster keeps aging. So he makes moves to improve the overall value of his team instead of trying to be competitive in 2007. He trades off Favre, Romo (doesent believe in him without TO), FWP, Brandon Jacobs, Ryan Grant, Boldin and TO for other young players and many draft picks. Stacking picks for the 2008 season while adding young players like Leinart, Jamarcus Russell, Michael Turner, Bowe, Greg Jennings and Roy Williams.

Some of you may say that he gave up quality players and hurt his chances to compete in 2007 and I would agree with you. But in doing so he added more talented depth to his roster that has much more long term viability as well as adding many draft picks to be used in 2008 season to further add to his depth of talent.

And that is the main thing that I think was lacking in his team. He had strong starters yes but didnt have quality depth behind them to forestall injuries and bad years from his starters. Even though he very well with free agent pick ups (Romo, FWP, Gado, Ryan Grant) and made good picks in rookie drafts his team was still middle of the pack and unable to compete with the elite teams in the league. Now that he has blown up his starting roster for more youth and depth it makes his team much stronger moving forward in overall value. 2007 season was a loss to do this. But would he have really been better off getting one more year out of players like Favre and TO?

I think not.

His roster now post rookie draft:

Grossman, Rex CHI QB - 8 FA

Leinart, Matt ARI QB - 7 FA

Moore, Matt CAR QB - 9 FA

Orton, Kyle CHI QB - 8 FA

Pennington, Chad NYJ QB - 5 FA

Redman, Chris ATL QB - 7 FA

Rosenfels, Sage HOU QB - 8 FA

Russell, JaMarcus OAK QB - 5 FA

Barber, Marion DAL RB - 10 FA

Bell, Tatum DET RB - 4 FA

Boyd, Cory TBB RB ® - 10 FA

Brown, Thomas ATL RB ® - 7 FA

Bush, Michael OAK RB - 5 FA

Calhoun, Brian DET RB - 4 FA

Duckett, T.J. SEA RB - 4 FA

Forte, Matt CHI RB ® - 8 1.04

Hightower, Tim ARI RB ® - 7 3.11

Hillis, Peyton DEN RB ® - 8 FA

McFadden, Darren OAK RB ® - 5 1.01

Mendenhall, Rashard PIT RB ® - 6 1.03

Rice, Ray BAL RB ® - 10 1.06

Smith, Kevin DET RB ® - 4 1.05

Torain, Ryan DEN RB ® - 8 2.03

Turner, Michael ATL RB - 7 FA

Walker, Darius HOU RB - 8 FA

Battle, Arnaz SFO WR - 9 FA

Bowe, Dwayne KCC WR - 6 FA

Gage, Justin TEN WR - 6 FA

Holmes, Santonio PIT WR - 6 FA

Hubbard, Paul CLE WR ® - 5 FA

Jennings, Greg GBP WR - 8 FA

Shields, Arman OAK WR ® - 5 FA

Thomas, Devin WAS WR ® - 10 1.11

Ward, Hines PIT WR - 6 FA

Wilford, Ernest MIA WR - 4 FA

Williams, Reggie JAC WR - 7 FA

Williams, Roy DET WR - 4 FA

Davis, Kellen CHI TE ® - 8 FA

Lewis, Marcedes JAC TE - 7 FA

Witten, Jason DAL TE - 10 FA

Graham, Shayne CIN PK - 8 FA

Tynes, Lawrence NYG PK - 4 FA

Ellis, Sedrick NOS DT ® - 9 FA

Haye, Jovan TBB DT - 10 FA

Anderson, Mark CHI DE - 8 FA

Mathis, Robert IND DE - 4 FA

Odom, Antwan CIN DE - 8 FA

Adibi, Xavier HOU LB ® - 8 4.05

Brackett, Gary IND LB - 4 FA

Crowell, Angelo BUF LB - 6 FA

Durant, Justin JAC LB - 7 FA

Gooden, Tavares BAL LB ® - 10 4.03

Keiaho, Freddie IND LB - 4 FA

Thornton, David TEN LB - 6 FA

Bailey, Champ DEN CB - 8 FA

Bennett, Fred HOU CB - 8 FA

Bigby, Atari GBP S - 8 FA

Reed, Edward BAL S - 10 FA

Wilson, Gibril OAK S - 5 FA

Will this team be able to contend for a 2008 title? Remains to be seen how some of these players pan out. But I definitly think this roster is much more balanced than the previous ones were and in a much better situation moving forward even if it does not contend this year.

 

[Biabreakable]

2008 team broken down into the 3 categories:

Starters -

Grossman, Rex CHI QB - 8 FA

Leinart, Matt ARI QB - 7 FA

Russell, JaMarcus OAK QB - 5 FA

Barber, Marion DAL RB - 10 FA

Forte, Matt CHI RB ® - 8 1.04 *rookie but allready unquestioned starter.

Turner, Michael ATL RB - 7 FA

Bowe, Dwayne KCC WR - 6 FA

Holmes, Santonio PIT WR - 6 FA

Jennings, Greg GBP WR - 8 FA

Ward, Hines PIT WR - 6 FA

Williams, Roy DET WR - 4 FA

Witten, Jason DAL TE - 10 FA

Mathis, Robert IND DE - 4 FA

Odom, Antwan CIN DE - 8 FA

Brackett, Gary IND LB - 4 FA

Crowell, Angelo BUF LB - 6 FA

Keiaho, Freddie IND LB - 4 FA

Bailey, Champ DEN CB - 8 FA

Wilson, Gibril OAK S - 5 FA

Bigby, Atari GBP S - 8 FA

Situational starters/depth -

Pennington, Chad NYJ QB - 5 FA

Redman, Chris ATL QB - 7 FA

Orton, Kyle CHI QB - 8 FA -backup to Grossman or starter if Grossman gets benched.

Rosenfels, Sage HOU QB - 8 FA - backup who played well when Schuab was injured.

McFadden, Darren OAK RB ® - 5 1.01 *rookie but should play a lot right away

Bush, Michael OAK RB - 5 FA

Duckett, T.J. SEA RB - 4 FA

Smith, Kevin DET RB ® - 4 1.05 *rookie but should play a lot right away

Bell, Tatum DET RB - 4 FA

Calhoun, Brian DET RB - 4 FA

Walker, Darius HOU RB - 8 FA

Battle, Arnaz SFO WR - 9 FA

Gage, Justin TEN WR - 6 FA

Wilford, Ernest MIA WR - 4 FA

Williams, Reggie JAC WR - 7 FA

Lewis, Marcedes JAC TE - 7 FA

Haye, Jovan TBB DT - 10 FA

Anderson, Mark CHI DE - 8 FA

Thornton, David TEN LB - 6 FA

Bennett, Fred HOU CB - 8 FA

Reed, Edward BAL S - 10 FA

Developmental players -

Moore, Matt CAR QB - 9 FA

Boyd, Cory TBB RB ® - 10 FA

Brown, Thomas ATL RB ® - 7 FA

Hightower, Tim ARI RB ® - 7 3.11

Hillis, Peyton DEN RB ® - 8 FA

Mendenhall, Rashard PIT RB ® - 6 1.03

Rice, Ray BAL RB ® - 10 1.06

Torain, Ryan DEN RB ® - 8 2.03

Hubbard, Paul CLE WR ® - 5 FA

Shields, Arman OAK WR ® - 5 FA

Thomas, Devin WAS WR ® - 10 1.11

Davis, Kellen CHI TE ® - 8 FA

Ellis, Sedrick NOS DT ® - 9 FA

Adibi, Xavier HOU LB ® - 8 4.05

Durant, Justin JAC LB - 7 FA

Gooden, Tavares BAL LB ® - 10 4.03

When looking at this team compared to the previous 2 rosters the starters do not look as strong. However Favre, Preist, Tiki are all retired. That was going to be a loss anyways. Horn is also not worth rostering. The only players missing from the previous core are TO, Suggs and Barnett.

The team now has 5 viable starters at WR with 4 WR who could be used situationally (and may be WR1 for their teams). None of these guys are likely to replace TO however the team has a lot more depth and flexibility in choosing its starters than it had before and most of these players are very young and should be starting for a long time ahead.

At RB the team no longer has a Preist or Tiki Barber but Marion Barber may move into that role in 2008. Turner and Forte may only be RB3's but are unquestioned starters allready. For situational players and depth the team has McFadden who may end up playing like a RB1 depending on how the Raiders use him. He also has all of the detroit RB so that should be considered a 5th starter for him. He also has Mendenhall and Rice as RB who may develop into starters in time. And some long shots in Torrian Boyd and Hightower. This team has the potential to end up with 5-10 starting RBs depending on what happens with these guys.

QB is still a weakness but his players are in good situations to succeed. If not he has enough depth at other positions that he should be able to address the weakness through trade.

His defense still needs some work but that was not a strength of his team before.

Overall I would have to say that he is in a much better situation having re-loaded by trading off his older players and sacrificing a season of competing than if he would have stayed the course with his aging players. The main difference you see is in his depth.

While it is good to consolodate value by trading 2 for one elite player in trades in FF. I think in dynasty it is important to build talented depth on your roster 1st so as to enable you to afford making moves for elite players, while still having the depth to keep rolling when injuries or other circumstances hurt your starters. You cannot just redraft next year if your starting lineup doesen't bring it all home. You are tied to those players. So having depth and balance in your roster is essential to being competitive year in year out. This is one of the fundamental differences imo between the 2 styles of play. And depth should not be overlooked in dynasty like you may do in a redraft league.