EBF Invitational Team Analysis (1 Viewer)

[EBF]

The 2005 EBF Invitational draft is complete. Who's looking good? The teams are listed below.

This is a 14 team league that starts 1 QB, 2 RB, 4 WR, and 1 TE. WRs and TEs get one pt. per catch.

salmonstud

QB1 - Brett Favre (6.14)

QB2 - Gus Frerotte (12.14)

QB3 - AJ Feeley (17.01)

RB1 - LaDainian Tomlinson (1.01)

RB2 - Tatum Bell (2.14)

RB3 - Lee Suggs (7.01)

RB4 - Frank Gore (11.01)

RB5 - Quentin Griffin (14.14)

WR1 - Javon Walker (3.01)

WR2 - Laveranues Coles (4.14)

WR3 - Chris Chambers (5.01)

WR4 - Mike Williams (8.14)

WR5 - Troy Williamson (9.01)

WR6 - Matt Jones (15.01)

WR7 - Kevin Johnson (16.14)

TE1 - Jeb Putzier (10.14)

TE2 - Chris Cooley (13.01)

jdoggydogg

QB1 - Aaron Brooks (6.13)

QB2 - Chad Pennington (11.02)

RB1 - Shaun Alexander (1.02)

RB2 - LaMont Jordan (2.13)

RB3 - Correll Buckhalter (9.02)

RB4 - Maurice Morris (13.02)

RB5 - Brandon Jacobs (16.13)

WR1 - Andre Johnson (3.02)

WR2 - Muhsin Muhammad (5.02)

WR3 - Brandon Stokley (7.02

WR4 - Ronald Curry (8.13)

WR5 - Marty Booker (10.13)

WR6 - Michael Jenkins (12.13)

WR7 - Robert Ferguson (14.13)

WR8 - Wayne Chrebet (17.02)

TE1 - Jeremy Shockey (4.13)

TE2 - Heath Miller (15.02)

ConstruxBoy

QB1 - Jake Plummer (7.03)

QB2 - Byron Leftwich (10.12)

RB1 - Priest Holmes (1.03)

RB2 - Chris Brown (3.03)

RB3 - Jerome Bettis (8.12)

RB4 - Derrick Blaylock (9.03)

RB5 - Ryan Moats (15.03)

WR1 - Joe Horn (2.12)

WR2 - Roy Williams (4.12)

WR3 - TJ Houshmandzadeh (6.12)

WR4 - Bobby Engram (11.03)

WR5 - Bryant Johnson (12.12)

WR6 - Darius Watts (13.03)

WR7 - Clarence Moore (14.12)

WR8 - Shaun McDonald (16.12)

TE1 - Alge Crumpler (5.03)

TE2 - Alex Smith (17.03)

EBF

QB1 - Daunte Culpepper (2.11)

QB2 - Ben Roethlisberger (10.11)

RB1 - Deuce McAllister (1.04)

RB2 - Carnell Williams (3.04)

RB3 - TJ Duckett (7.04)

RB4 - Maurice Clarett (12.11)

RB5 - Cedric Cobbs (15.04)

WR1 - Isaac Bruce (4.11)

WR2 - Larry Fitzgerald (5.04)

WR3 - Keary Colbert (6.11)

WR4 - Antwaan Randle El (8.11)

WR5 - Kevin Curtis (9.04)

WR6 - Rashaun Woods (14.11)

WR7 - Mark Bradley (16.11)

WR8 - Courtney Roby (17.04)

TE1 - Doug Jolley (11.04)

TE2 - Bubba Franks (13.04)

Team Legacy

QB1 - Peyton Manning (1.05)

QB2 - Patrick Ramsey (12.10)

RB1 - Julius Jones (2.10)

RB2 - Warrick Dunn (3.05)

RB3 - Travis Henry (7.05)

RB4 - Marcel Shipp (9.05)

RB5 - Chris Perry (15.05)

WR1 - Steve Smith (4.10)

WR2 - Derrick Mason (5.05)

WR3 - Plaxico Burress (6.10)

WR4 - Koren Robinson (10.10)

WR5 - David Patten (11.05)

WR6 - Chris Henry (14.10)

WR7 - Dante Hall (16.10)

WR8 - Randy Hymes (17.05)

TE1 - Eric Johnson (8.10)

TE2 - Daniel Graham (13.05)

ravnzfan

QB1 - Tom Brady (9.06)

QB2 - JP Losman (12.09)

QB3 - Kelly Holcomb (17.06)

RB1 - Brian Westbrook (2.09)

RB2 - Duce Staley (4.09)

RB3 - Michael Pittman (8.09)

RB4 - Chester Taylor (11.06)

RB5 - Marion Barber III (14.09)

WR1 - Randy Moss (1.06)

WR2 - Darrell Jackson (3.06)

WR3 - Jimmy Smith (5.06)

WR4 - David Givens (7.06)

WR5 - Terry Glenn (10.09)

WR6 - Samie Parker (13.06)

WR7 - Cedrick Wilson (15.06)

TE1 - Dallas Clark (6.09)

TE2 - Jim Kleinsasser (16.09)

Kleck

QB1 - Matt Hasselbeck (9.07)

QB2 - Drew Bledsoe (12.08)

RB1 - Edgerrin James (1.07)

RB2 - Ahman Green (2.08)

RB3 - Kevan Barlow (5.07)

RB4 - Dominic Rhodes (14.08)

RB5 - Kevin Faulk (17.07)

WR1 - Hines Ward (3.07)

WR2 - Donald Driver (4.08)

WR3 - Keyshawn Johnson (7.07)

WR4 - Amani Toomer (8.08)

WR5 - Antonio Bryant (10.08)

WR6 - Rod Gardner (11.07)

WR7 - David Terrell (13.07)

WR8 - Ike Hilliard (16.08)

TE1 - Randy McMichael (6.08)

TE2 - Erron Kinney (15.07)

rabidfireweael

QB1 - Donovan McNabb (3.08)

QB2 - Rex Grossman (12.08)

RB1 - Willis McGahee (1.08)

RB2 - Fred Taylor (4.08)

RB3 - DeShaun Foster (5.07)

RB4 - LaBrandon Toefield (10.08)

RB5 - Vernand Morency (13.08)

RB6 - Alvin Pearman (16.08)

WR1 - Marvin Harrison (2.07)

WR2 - Eddie Kennison (6.08)

WR3 - Santana Moss (7.07)

WR4 - Justin McCareins (8.08)

WR5 - Tyrone Calico (9.07)

WR6 - Bernanrd Berrian (14.07)

WR7 - Terrence Murphy (17.08)

TE1 - Jermain Wiggins (11.07)

TE2 - Ben Watson (15.08)

LHUCKS

QB1 - Drew Brees (10.06)

QB2 - Kurt Warner (12.06)

QB3 - Jeff Garcia (14.06)

RB1 - Tiki Barber (1.09)

RB2 - Curtis Martin (2.06)

RB3 - Michael Bennett (5.09)

RB4 - Moe Williams (17.09)

WR1 - Anquan Boldin (4.06)

WR2 - Rod Smith (6.06)

WR3 - Charles Rogers (7.09)

WR4 - Keenan McCardell (8.06)

WR5 - Braylon Edwards (9.09)

WR6 - David Boston (11.09)

WR7 - Justin Gage (15.09)

WR8 - Az Hakim (16.06)

TE1 - Tony Gonzalez (3.09)

TE2 - Marcus Pollard (13.09)

radballs

QB1 - Michael Vick (5.10)

QB2 - Jake Delhomme (10.05)

QB3 - Alex Smith (16.05)

RB1 - JJ Arrington (4.05)

RB2 - Marshall Faulk (7.10)

RB3 - Thomas Jones (8.05)

RB4 - Anthony Thomas (11.10)

RB5 - Stephen Davis (13.10)

WR1 - Torry Holt (1.10)

WR2 - Chad Johnson (2.05)

WR3 - Eric Moulds (6.05)

WR4 - Joey Galloway (9.10)

WR5 - Todd Pinkston (12.05)

WR6 - Arnaz Battle (14.05)

WR7 - Corey Bradford (17.10)

TE1 - Antonio Gates (3.10)

TE2 - Courtney Anderson (15.10)

jurb26

QB1 - Trent Green (5.11)

QB2 - Kyle Boller (12.04)

QB3 - Trent Dilfer (14.04)

RB1 - Clinton Portis (1.11)

RB2 - Rudi Johnson (2.04)

RB3 - Cedric Benson (4.04)

RB4 - Ciatrick Fason (13.11)

RB5 - Ladell Betts (16.04)

WR1 - Reggie Wayne (3.11)

WR2 - Deion Branch (6.04)

WR3 - Brandon Lloyd (8.04)

WR4 - Peerless Price (9.11)

WR5 - Reche Caldwell (10.04)

WR6 - Peter Warrick (11.11)

WR7 - Dennis Northcutt (15.11)

TE1 - LJ Smith (7.11)

TE2 - Boo Williams (17.11)

Dave Stauff

QB1 - Marc Bulger (3.12)

QB2 - David Carr (11.12)

QB3 - Eli Manning (12.03)

RB1 - Kevin Jones (1.12)

RB2 - Corey Dillon (2.03)

RB3 - Larry Johnson (5.12)

RB4 - Reuben Droughns (8.03)

RB5 - Mike Anderson (16.03)

WR1 - Jerry Porter (6.03)

WR2 - Donte Stallworth (7.12)

WR3 - Reggie Williams (9.12)

WR4 - Andre Davis (10.03)

WR5 - Travis Taylor (13.12)

WR6 - Jerome Pathon (14.03)

WR7 - Quincy Morgan (15.12)

TE1 - Jason Witten (4.03)

TE2 - Desmond Clark (17.12)

mrharrier

QB1 - Carson Palmer (7.13)

QB2 - Steve McNair (8.02)

QB3 - Billy Volek (14.02)

QB4 - Jon Kitna (17.13)

RB1 - Jamal Lewis (1.13)

RB2 - Steven Jackson (2.02)

RB3 - Ronnie Brown (4.02)

WR1 - Nate Burleson (3.13)

WR2 - Ashley Lelie (5.13)

WR3 - Mark Clayton (9.13)

WR4 - Marcus Robinson (10.02)

WR5 - Jabar Gaffney (11.13)

WR6 - Reggie Brown (12.02)

WR7 - Roddy White (15.13)

WR8 - Vincent Jackson (16.02)

TE1 - Todd Heap (6.02)

TE2 - Jerramy Stevens (13.13)

The Man Who Met Andy Griffith

QB1 - Kerry Collins (5.14)

QB2 - Brian Griese (9.14)

QB3 - Joey Harrington (11.14)

RB1 - Domanick Davis (1.14)

RB2 - Eric Shelton (7.14)

RB3 - Mewelde Moore (8.01)

RB4 - Ricky Williams (13.14)

RB5 - Najeh Davenport (15.14)

WR1 - Terrell Owens (2.01)

WR2 - Drew Bennett (3.14)

WR3 - Michael Clayton (4.01)

WR4 - Lee Evans (6.01)

WR5 - Joe Jurevicius (12.01)

WR6 - Eric Parker (16.01)

WR7 - Greg Lewis (17.14)

TE1 - Ben Troupe (10.01)

TE2 - Freddie Jones (14.01)

NOTE: mrharrier and The Man Who Met Andy Griffith still have one pick each

Here is the link to the draft:

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...pic=160962&st=0

Here is the link to the pick commentary:

http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...pic=160964&st=0

 

[EBF]

Here are my thoughts on my team:QB1 - Daunte Culpepper (2.11)QB2 - Ben Roethlisberger (10.11)I think this is a solid group of QBs. Culpepper should be one of the better passers available. Roethlisberger is a solid backup with the potential to do some good things. I hadn't planned to take a QB early, but it was hard to pass on Daunte as the 25th player overall. RB1 - Deuce McAllister (1.04)RB2 - Carnell Williams (3.04)RB3 - TJ Duckett (7.04)RB4 - Maurice Clarett (12.11)RB5 - Cedric Cobbs (15.04)I'm pretty happy with this group. McAllister is a reliable #1 back. I still don't think he's had his career year. Ideally I'd have a more proven #2 than Cadillac, but I think he's the best runner from this rookie class and I think he'll start from day one. He has a chance to have a much better rookie year than most people expect. I drafted TJ Duckett as insurance. If Williams struggles or one of my top two backs gets hurt then I can plug Duckett in. He's not great, but he's a solid RB3 in this format. Dunn has a history of missing a few games each season and if he misses extended time then Duckett could be a nice player for me. Clarett and Cobbs were drafted for upside. When I'm looking at sleepers, I look for players with a nice combination of talent and opportunity. Denver doesn't have an established #1 RB, meaning Clarett may get a chance to carry the ball this season. I think Corey Dillon is a high injury risk. Cobbs could surprise if Dillon goes down. WR1 - Isaac Bruce (4.11)WR2 - Larry Fitzgerald (5.04)WR3 - Keary Colbert (6.11)WR4 - Antwaan Randle El (8.11)WR5 - Kevin Curtis (9.04)WR6 - Rashaun Woods (14.11)WR7 - Mark Bradley (16.11)WR8 - Courtney Roby (17.04)I feel ok about this group. Isaac Bruce is solid. My reasoning with Fitzgerald and Colbert was that they could reproduce their rookie seasons and still be viable options where I took them. I think there's good reason to expect a bump in each of their numbers. They could both realistically be top 20 guys this season. If not, then they'lll still get me some yards and catches each week. Things get a little more dicey after my top 3. Antwaan Randle El really isn't my type of WR, but I think he's a nice WR4 in this format. He lacks upside, but he was WR48 last season despite being the #3 target. I expect the Steelers to throw more this year and I expect Randle El to get more looks now that Burress is gone. That could easily translate to top 35-40 numbers, which would make him a great fourth wideout in this league. I like Kevin Curtis a lot. He'll catch some balls as the team's #3 WR and could be a star if Holt or Bruce gets hurt. He gives me insurance in case Ike slows down or has heart problems. Rashaun Woods fits my sleeper mold. He was a first round pick and he's in an open situation. San Francisco's other WRs are scrubs. Woods may be a scrub too, but I think he offers the potential to emerge as the team's top WR. That was worth a shot in late round 14. I'm hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Bradley and Roby. It was late in the draft and I figured that it was better to gamble on a potentially elite rookie than to take a scrub veteran. TE1 - Doug Jolley (11.04)TE2 - Bubba Franks (13.04)I think I'm ok here. I would've liked to have gotten a high-end TE, but I just couldn't work it into my plan. I had to settle for a sleeper TE1 instead. Doug Jolley has had a fairly quiet career, but I think he may surprise this year in New York. He's a good fit with Pennington and the team is obviously high on his ability. If he busts then I have a reliable backup plan in Franks. Overall this was a tough draft. The other owners didn't let much value slip and the league format made the decisions very tough. WRs are very important in this setup, but I still went RB/QB/RB with my first three picks. My reasoning was that I had a better chance of picking the right sleeper WRs than I did of picking the right sleeper QBs and RBs. I'm really counting on Cadillac Williams, Keary Colbert, Larry Fitzgerald, and Doug Jolley to exceed consensus expectations. If those guys have good years and my team stays relatively healthy then I will be tough.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

2005 EBF Comments:Team: ConstruxBoyStrategy: My strategy in this draft was a little different than my normal strategy. I usually somewhat follow the VBD principles, but often "fall" for certain players that I really want on my team. This leads me to stray from true value as I "reach" to get these players on my team. Of course, I'm often right about these players having good years, but I'm still not drafting for value. So in the EBF Invitational, I decided to pretty much chuck this out the window and draft almost exclusively by "VBD". Of course, the VBD and DD applications were not released until about the 14th round, so I had to do this by hand using my projections and a spreadsheet, but I think it worked out nicely. Once the DD came out, I loaded this league into it and it was pretty amazing how often I had picked the "best" player at the position or the position that the DD suggested. So I'm happy that I was able to follow the strategy. Having said that, I don't really like my team. This is to be expected, since I didn't attempt to draft specific players I liked. But I'm hoping that this team ends up being more competitive than people think. The Draftick 1.03 - Priest Holmes, RB KCBy the value board based on my projections, Priest Holmes barely edged out Moss and Alexander for 2nd off the board, after LT2. I worry about how much Holmes has left in the tank and I almost went with the safer pick of Deuce McAllister, whom I like to bounce back strong this year. But I didn't want to divert from the strategy, so I took Holmes. Almost drafted: McAllisterPick 2.12 - Joe Horn, WR NOStarting 4 WRs and with 1 ppr for WR and TEs, I knew that a WR was a must at this point. The exception would be if Culpepper dropped to here. I was hoping that the RB craze would continue and Chad Johnson or Marvin Harrison would drop to me, but that didn't happen. I was getting excited about grabbing Culpepper until EBF took him right in front of me. So, having my choice of Horn or Walker, I went with Horn, whom I have a little bit higher on my board. Almost drafted: WalkerPick 3.03 - Chris Brown - RB TENThis was a bit of a stray from the value-based strategy. I had expected more WRs to be drafted by now, and since they hadn't, that was where the value was. I liked Andre Johnson a lot, but he went right before me. However, just like most leagues, there were fewer RBs left and I was not convinced that there would be a full-time RB when my 4.12 pick came around. This was one of the disadvantages of being near an end of a 14 owner draft. So I went against value and took Chris Brown. Pairing the injury-risk of Brown with Holmes was not the brightest thing in the world, but I decided that if the rest of my draft was full of solid, value picks instead of too many reaches on young players, I might make out OK. Almost drafted: Darrell JacksonPick 4.12 - Roy Williams, WR DETNow I really needed to grab a WR and there were lots left with some great value. I probably would have taken Witten at TE had he fallen, but he did not. I liked Roy Williams alot and was hoping he would fall, but I was prepared to take any of the other guys in his tier (Boldin, S Smith, Bruce). I was thrilled that he made it to me and think he is in for a great year. Almost drafted: No one reallyPick 5.03 - Alge Crumpler, TE ATLThis was probably my worst pick and where I really strayed the most from my strategy. I was trying to convince myself that any TE in Crumpler's tier (with McMichael, Heap and Dallas Clark) would be fine, but I really wanted Crumpler. I was all set to take a WR and hope that Crumpler was still there at the end of the 6th when Shockey was drafted a couple of picks before me. That got me worried that I'd miss out on Crumpler and so I took him instead of Fitzgerald or Mason. As it turns out, I likely would not have gotten Crumpler, but probably could have had Clark with my 6th rounder. Bad pick. Almost drafted: Fitzgerald Pick 6.12 - TJ Houshmandzadeh, WR CINWRs were finally flying off the board, but the value was still there to lock up my WR3. I was hoping that Larry Johnson would drop here, but I didn't expect it and wasn't going to reach for him at 5.03. I have Houshmandzadeh higher on my board than FBG and probably most others, so I'm glad he fell to me. I considered going against the grain and picking up my RB3 instead in Lee Suggs, but I decided that I would wait a couple of picks and decide between him and a QB at the next pick. Almost drafted: SuggsPick 7.03 - Jake Plummer, QB DENWell, Suggs went and there were a couple of QBs taken, but there were still two guys left in my tier, Plummer and Hasselbeck (to go with Brooks and Favre). I think that Hasselbeck is a little bit of a safer pick here, but I have Plummer higher on my board in this league with no penalty on INTs. So I went with Plummer. Almost drafted: HasselbeckPick 8.12 - Jerome Bettis, RB PITI knew that I needed to start getting some RBs, especially having two injury-prone RBs for my starters. I was looking at 4 guys whom I hoped would drop: M Moore, T Jones, Shelton and Pittman. Unfortunately, all 4 were gone by this pick. Instead, there was the older, but still steady Jerome Bettis. He was a good value here so I took him over a more speculative RB in Buckhalter. Almost drafted: BuckhalterPick 9.03 - Derrick Blylock, RB NYJBuckhalter went before my next pick, so I decided I should jump in with one of the remaining top backup RBs. Hasselbeck was still on the board somehow and he was really the best value there, but I just couldn't justify another QB quite yet with only 3 RBs on my roster. Blaylock is a decent fill-in RB and although I don't expect Martin to miss any time, it's not like he's 25 anymore. Almost drafted: HasselbeckPick 10.12 - Byron Leftwich, QB JACSaw a bunch of QBs go, including the guy I really hoped to get here in Griese. I also liked Rothelisberger, but he went right before my pick. So I decided on Leftwich, whom is not a spectacular fantasy QB, but should be good as a QB2. Almost drafted: PenningtonPick 11.03 - Bobby Engram, WR SEAI was really hoping that Marty Booker fell here and in retrospect, I could have gotten either Leftwich or Pennington at this pick and taken Booker in the 10th. Failing that, I decided that I needed my 4th WR. This was one of the toughest picks to keep to my strategy in the draft because I really like Reggie Brown and think he'll have a great season for the Eagles. But Bobby Engram was still higher on my board and I had a plan to stick to the board as much as possible. So I bit the bullet and took Engram as my WR4. Almost drafted: Reggie BrownPick 12.12 - Bryant Johnson, WR ARIStill was some good value at WR and I needed to start getting backups. But I liked Chris Cooley alot and this was a decent spot to take him. However, the value wasn't quite as good as at WR, so I decided to take him with my next pick. I like Johnson to do pretty well this year as it sounds like the Cardinals will be in the 3WR set quite a bit. Almost took a shot on Jenkins, but he wasn't as high on my board. Almost drafted: Cooley, JenkinsPick 13.03 - Darius Watts, WR DENThe best laid plans and all that. Cooley went before this pick. I needed a backup TE, but I didn't really like the value of anyone here with Cooley gone. I probably should have anticipated the TE run upcoming and taken someone anyway, but I decided to go with Watts. I was not scared off by the Rice signing and I expect him to really shine this year. Almost drafted: No one reallyPick 14.12 - Clarence Moore, WR BALAgain, probably should have taken my TE2 here. Looked at Heath Miller, but there were just too many other TEs in his tier so I waited. On the WR front, I had been hoping that Battle or Berrian fell, but they didn't. My value sheet told me to take Kevin Faulk here, but I wanted to get my 7th WR instead. I like Moore this year and think that too many people are expecting Mason and Clayton to be fantastic and get all the targets. Moore is a big guy with great hands who is still learning the game. Almost drafted: FaulkPick 15.03 - Ryan Moats, RB PHIMy value board was screaming to take Faulk here, but I decided that I wanted at least one or two "upside picks" and Moats is a good candidate for that. I'm not at all convinced of Buckhalter's return and I think Moats could easily see 5-8 touches a game by mid-season, which may help me in a pinch. Almost drafted: Kevin FaulkPick 16.12 - Shaun McDonald, WR STLI still needed a TE2, but since the 2 owners at the turn had both their TEs, I decided to go WR here to complete that position. I was seeing some teams take 3rd QBs, but most of the "decent" ones were gone. I gave a long thought to taking David Gerrard to back up Leftwich, but decided to just go with 2 QBs. I like McDonald and he was at the top of my WR value board. Almost drafted: GerrardPick 17.03 - Alex Smith, TE TBA second upside pick to end my draft. I was seriously considering both Kris Wilson and Desmond Clark here as well. Wilson is a "upside" pick as well, but as a TE2 on his own team, the risk was a little too great. I've always thought that Clark was an adequate option for a backup TE and he was the safe/value choice, but I like the tremendous upside that Smith has. I think Gruden will let Becht block and throw Smith in there a lot to stretch the seems. Almost drafted: Wilson, ClarkMy Final Roster:QB: J Plummer, B LeftwichA very good, although not great, set of QBs. Both are pretty tough and durable and will benefit from the lack of a penalty for INTs in this league. RB: P Holmes, C Brown, J Bettis, D Blaylock, R MoatsA very good, but very risky group of RBs. No Bye week issues. If Holmes and Brown stay healthy and Bettis keeps getting the gift TDs, this group will be excellent. WR: J Horn, Roy Williams, TJ Houshmandzadeh, B Engram, Bryant Johnson, D Watts, S McDonaldA solid group of WRs. The first 3 are in the top 22 overall on my board. The 4th WR spot will be a bit of a crapshoot, but someone will step up. A bye week issue in week 10 when both Horn and Houshmandzadeh are off, but we'll get through it. TE: A Crumpler, A SmithA very solid TE1 in Crumpler and a great upside TE2 in Smith. Overall - As I stated before, I don't love my team, but that wasn't the point. The point was to take the best value for most picks based on my projections. We'll see if that ends up working at the end of the year.

 

[EBF]

I think you have a high-risk/high-reward team Construx. Obviously Holmes is a stud when healthy, but he hasn't been reliable lately. Chris Brown has a history of nagging injuries and Joe Horn is getting old. I like Roy Williams in dynasty leagues, but I don't see much value there unless he can get a firm hold on the WR1 role. I don't see that happening with Rogers and BMW around. I like the Plummer pick a lot. He was a solid choice there. I also like Houshmandzadeh, Leftwich, and Watts quite a bit. Crumpler is solid. I think Curtis Martin has a pretty good chance of getting hurt this year, so I like that you picked up Blaylock. I'm not sure if his production in KC was a mirage or not, but he may get a chance to show his skills this year.

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

In a league this size, it's going to take a little racing luck along the way to win. Overall, the league is very balanced which leads me to my top selection.I think Kleck has the most balanced team. He drafted decent value at QB.......he's solid enough at RB and in a must start WR4, I think he's got the 2nd best group in the league behind The Man Who Forgot To Draft RB's. How do you go into the season with Shelton as your RB 2?Depending on how the rest of preseason shakes out, it's a tough call. Lhucks team is decent, obviously needs another solid year from Brees.EBF can't afford any injuries at RB.The only team with no shot is The Man Who Forgot To Draft Rb's IMO.

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

Construxboy.........I like you. You posted a lot in the comments thread in the Mock Draft and you're a good guy to have in the league so I don't want you to take this the wrong way.However, I don't like the combination of Holmes and Brown. There's just too much risk involved. There may be a couple weeks during the year that your team has high score, but there's a very good chance that you'll have a low score as well with this squad as they'll probably be on the sideline at some point.

 

[LHUCKS]

While evaluating teams remember the following:



1) this is a start 4WR league, that gives ppr to WRs and TEs only.

2) There are no trades or pickups for the entire year.

3) QB Tds are only 4 pts.

 

[ILUVBEER99]

Most of the teams look solid, but I gotta go with Kleck as the best.Very solid everywhere, getting two true stud RB's in a 14 team team league is near impossible. The stud RB theory in a re-draft with knowledgable owners is usually a pipedream, Kleck legitimately has done it.Many confuse the 1 stud/1 mediocre RB in the first 2 rounds as stud RB theory when in reality it is stud/mediocre RB theory. In this kind of draft where WR's get a point a reception it kind of changes things up, but being able to secure 2 real stud RB's and still get solid WR's makes this the team to beat IMO.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

Construxboy.........I like you. You posted a lot in the comments thread in the Mock Draft and you're a good guy to have in the league so I don't want you to take this the wrong way.

However, I don't like the combination of Holmes and Brown. There's just too much risk involved. There may be a couple weeks during the year that your team has high score, but there's a very good chance that you'll have a low score as well with this squad as they'll probably be on the sideline at some point.

No problem at all. You're right that it is a risky combination. I think that Holmes was the right pick at 1.03, but that I should have backed him up with a more solid RB2, even if it meant waiting until the 3rd to get my first WR.

 

[Buckna]

I realize this is footballguys, but it seems some teams focused a little too hard on RB theory. Running my projections (yeah, you may not agree with them!) with this scoring/starting WR requirement setup in the DD, I have 12 WR's, 15 RB's and 1 QB based on their VBD in the first 2 rounds. 20RB's, 20WR's and 2 QB's thru 3 rounds.On the face of it, I think The Man Who Met Andy Griffith had one heck of a solid draft. Those are 4 solid WR's and a good anchor in DDavis as RB1. I think the only mis-step would be (IMHO) was a reach for Collins in the 5th. Perhaps he was expecting a run on QB's before his next two picks came back on the turn? I would of gone RB there, but Shelton and Moore are good gambles for a 2nd starter. Salmonstud and Team Legacy look pretty good in my eyes as well.I like seeing more varied starting requirements, these plain vanilla drafts get old and all look the same after awhile...EDIT: I like Kleck's team as well, but I find the Barlow pick in the 5th puzzling and I'm not as high on that set of WR's as some others. I think Legacy struck gold getting Peyton early and managing to grab Dunn and JJones and cherry picking some good WR with great upside potential.

 

[LHUCKS]

but it seems some teams focused a little too hard on RB theory.

 

[ConstruxBoy]

I think you have a high-risk/high-reward team Construx. Obviously Holmes is a stud when healthy, but he hasn't been reliable lately. Chris Brown has a history of nagging injuries and Joe Horn is getting old. I like Roy Williams in dynasty leagues, but I don't see much value there unless he can get a firm hold on the WR1 role. I don't see that happening with Rogers and BMW around.

I like the Plummer pick a lot. He was a solid choice there. I also like Houshmandzadeh, Leftwich, and Watts quite a bit. Crumpler is solid.

I think Curtis Martin has a pretty good chance of getting hurt this year, so I like that you picked up Blaylock. I'm not sure if his production in KC was a mirage or not, but he may get a chance to show his skills this year.

Thanks for the comments EBF, and for the invite of course. It's weird because during the draft I knew that there was some risk with Holmes and Brown, but didn't think of my team being that high risk overall. But your comments are right on. And I think they helped me uncover an important flaw in my projections. I think that I am overprojecting reliable vets and underprojecting upside youngsters. I think that I am not considering age and general skill decline when projecting guys like Holmes, Horn, Engram, Bettis, etc. And I'm also not giving enough credit to rookies or younger guys who could break out, like Reggie Brown and Larry Fitzgerald. I'm going to have to really re-examine my projections for this "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" bias and adjust accordingly.

 

[Bri]

Salmon, why draft two dolphin QBs? why bother? Pretyy good team, you'll go nuts if Mike Anderson gets the starting job.doggydog's got a nice team, if Shaun's traded he's sittin' pretyy at RB by handcuffing him with Maurice. Bet Chrebet's cut week 1Construx did well. Not a fan of the Engram pick. Isn't he slot WR and Jackson's backup? Maybe I missed an article after Koren left.EBF, you don't have a single "#1 WR" on your team, Stauff too.Legacy got both Henry and Koren? Team could be awesome if they go to a new team and start.Ravnzfan, seems to me you picked Moss and were running behind the rest of the way. Surprised Parker fell to the 13th.radballs, didn't think Holt would be there when it came back to you?rabid, you a jaguar fan?Seems like LHucks wait as long as he could for a QB and it worked out nicely for him.Harrier, like your team alot. Nice job. Kleck too.Man who met Andy, Could be hurting at RB like the WRs, planned tradeoff for you?

 

[LHUCKS]

Bet Chrebet's cut week 1

No pickups or trades in this league.

 

[salmonstud]

In this league format - value of the WR position is at a premium (start 4). I hated to pull the #1 draft slot. I would have preferred to be in the middle of the pack.

My draft strategy was to focus on WR & RB early and often. I only would take Gates, Gonzo, Manning, or C-Pep if extreme value was present. My goal was to fill my QB & TE positions late.

In a 14-team league with no drop/add or trades allowed....it was important to draft 2 solid RB's and hopefully 3. The no trade/waiver wire rule made it crucial to have depth and not always take the best player available. Additionally, this league did not allowed trading of draft picks...so drafting out of the #1 slot made me wait 20 some picks in between picks...which causes me to get in on the wrong side of a few runs. Primarily the #2QB run.

I drafted a few players early with a little more risk than I normally would want early. Overall, I feel that I will be a contender if Bell stays healthy and Javon Walker doesn't listen to Drew R...and avoids a holdout.



Postition Analysis

QB1 - Brett Favre (6.14)

QB2 - Gus Frerotte (12.14)

QB3 - AJ Feeley (17.01)

Favre's value goes way up in this league because there is no penalty for INT's. Favre has a great group of receivers and GB did not get much better on defense....Favre will be airing it out often in 2005 like he did in 2004 and put up some sick fantasy stats in garbage time. I hated to waste 2 roster spots on my #2 QB...but since I got in on the tail end of the #2QB run....I had to take Gus in the 12th. Since there is no waiver wire....I had to grab Feeley in the last round just to insure I had Miami's starting QB. Favre will play with a broken neck...so I plan on only having to start Gus/Feeley once this year.

RB1 - LaDainian Tomlinson (1.01)

RB2 - Tatum Bell (2.14)

RB3 - Lee Suggs (7.01)

RB4 - Frank Gore (11.01)

RB5 - Quentin Griffin (14.14)

I believe Bell is easily the best RB in Denver. Skeletor makes anyone nervous...but the bottom line is if Bell is healthy he is the starting back in RB heaven (Denver). I missed out on grabbing Clarett or Anderson....but Griffin if healthy should be the backup in Denver. Suggs in the 7th round was value. I think he holds off Droughns and gives me a solid #3RB...something not too many teams in this league possess. Worst case scenario...he splits touches with Droughns...and gives me at least some production on Denver/SD bye weeks. Gore is one of my redraft sleeper picks I'm targeting. Barlow did nothing special last year...and Gore has looked sharp in camp and I believe has a very good chance to take over the job by week 4-5. Bottom line...LT & Bell give me one of the best starting RB tandems in the league and Suggs is a solid #3.

WR1 - Javon Walker (3.01)

WR2 - Laveranues Coles (4.14)

WR3 - Chris Chambers (5.01)

WR4 - Mike Williams (8.14)

WR5 - Troy Williamson (9.01)

WR6 - Matt Jones (15.01)

WR7 - Kevin Johnson (16.14)

I had Walker, Coles, & Chambers all in my top 20 at WR. In this league, that is beautiful! I gambled at my #4WR spot taking 3 rookies (Williamson, Mike Williams, Matt Jones). I'm betting on one of them to be a hit and be a solid player by mid-season and give me #3 and possibly #2WR type numbers. I'm hoping one of them will be the Michael Clayton or Larry Fitz of 2005.

TE1 - Jeb Putzier (10.14)

TE2 - Chris Cooley (13.01)

Nothing special....but I think one of them will perform in the #7-#10 range at the TE position. I expect Washington be be playing from behind allot and Cooley looked sharp last season.

In this scoring format...my starting roster should be quite formidable in a 14-team league:

-Favre

-Tomlinson

-Bell

-J.Walker

-L.Coles

-C.Chambers

-T.Williamson or Mike Williams

-Cooley or Putzier

 

[footballman_696969]

The 2005 EBF Invitational draft is complete. Who's looking good? The teams are listed below.

Kleck

QB1 - Matt Hasselbeck (9.07)

QB2 - Drew Bledsoe (12.08)

RB1 - Edgerrin James (1.07)

RB2 - Ahman Green (2.08)

RB3 - Kevan Barlow (5.07)

RB4 - Dominic Rhodes (14.08)

RB5 - Kevin Faulk (17.07)

WR1 - Hines Ward (3.07)

WR2 - Donald Driver (4.08)

WR3 - Keyshawn Johnson (7.07)

WR4 - Amani Toomer (8.08)

WR5 - Antonio Bryant (10.08)

WR6 - Rod Gardner (11.07)

WR7 - David Terrell (13.07)

WR8 - Ike Hilliard (16.08)

TE1 - Randy McMichael (6.08)

TE2 - Erron Kinney (15.07)

LHUCKS

QB1 - Drew Brees (10.06)

QB2 - Kurt Warner (12.06)

QB3 - Jeff Garcia (14.06)

RB1 - Tiki Barber (1.09)

RB2 - Curtis Martin (2.06)

RB3 - Michael Bennett (5.09)

RB4 - Moe Williams (17.09)

WR1 - Anquan Boldin (4.06)

WR2 - Rod Smith (6.06)

WR3 - Charles Rogers (7.09)

WR4 - Keenan McCardell (8.06)

WR5 - Braylon Edwards (9.09)

WR6 - David Boston (11.09)

WR7 - Justin Gage (15.09)

WR8 - Az Hakim (16.06)

TE1 - Tony Gonzalez (3.09)

TE2 - Marcus Pollard (13.09)

Dave Stauff

QB1 - Marc Bulger (3.12)

QB2 - David Carr (11.12)

QB3 - Eli Manning (12.03)

RB1 - Kevin Jones (1.12)

RB2 - Corey Dillon (2.03)

RB3 - Larry Johnson (5.12)

RB4 - Reuben Droughns (8.03)

RB5 - Mike Anderson (16.03)

WR1 - Jerry Porter (6.03)

WR2 - Donte Stallworth (7.12)

WR3 - Reggie Williams (9.12)

WR4 - Andre Davis (10.03)

WR5 - Travis Taylor (13.12)

WR6 - Jerome Pathon (14.03)

WR7 - Quincy Morgan (15.12)

TE1 - Jason Witten (4.03)

TE2 - Desmond Clark (14.01)

These three looks like the strongest and have the best shot at winning imo. Kleck got some steals at rb, a solid group of wrs, and a good te and qb. LHucks also got some steals at rb, has a solid group of wrs with good depth, the top te, and a serviceable starting qb in brees. Stauff has two top 15 rbs in jones and dillon, a good starting qb in bulger, some mistakes at wr, and a good te in Witten. Im surprised that the three teams that I think look the strongest drafted at 1.07, 1.09, and 1.12.

 

[salmonstud]

Salmon, why draft two dolphin QBs? why bother? Pretyy good team, you'll go nuts if Mike Anderson gets the starting job.

No waiver wire or trades. You have to have at least 1 solid backup at every position or you could easily get caught not being able to field an entire starting lineup. I saw about 8 QB's go off the board in the late 11th, early/mid 12th round ahead of me. I had to sit and watch as one by one they were picked off...leaving me with Dilfer, Alex Smith, & Gus F. Since I like Miamis' chance at a decent passing game....I selected Gus knowing that if Feeley beats him out in camp....I could have no backup QB....so I had to take Feeley late instead of trying to horde the Denver backfield.

 

[Turbo Punch]

Before I read any commentary I put down teh 4 teams i like best - EBF Kleck, Rabidfireweasal, and LHucks.I think Rabidfireweasal's team is being overlooked in the comments I've read so far.

 

[salmonstud]

The 2005 EBF Invitational draft is complete. Who's looking good? The teams are listed below.

Kleck

QB1 - Matt Hasselbeck (9.07)

QB2 - Drew Bledsoe (12.08)

RB1 - Edgerrin James (1.07)

RB2 - Ahman Green (2.08)

RB3 - Kevan Barlow (5.07)

RB4 - Dominic Rhodes (14.08)

RB5 - Kevin Faulk (17.07)

WR1 - Hines Ward (3.07)

WR2 - Donald Driver (4.08)

WR3 - Keyshawn Johnson (7.07)

WR4 - Amani Toomer (8.08)

WR5 - Antonio Bryant (10.08)

WR6 - Rod Gardner (11.07)

WR7 - David Terrell (13.07)

WR8 - Ike Hilliard (16.08)

TE1 - Randy McMichael (6.08)

TE2 - Erron Kinney (15.07)

LHUCKS

QB1 - Drew Brees (10.06)

QB2 - Kurt Warner (12.06)

QB3 - Jeff Garcia (14.06)

RB1 - Tiki Barber (1.09)

RB2 - Curtis Martin (2.06)

RB3 - Michael Bennett (5.09)

RB4 - Moe Williams (17.09)

WR1 - Anquan Boldin (4.06)

WR2 - Rod Smith (6.06)

WR3 - Charles Rogers (7.09)

WR4 - Keenan McCardell (8.06)

WR5 - Braylon Edwards (9.09)

WR6 - David Boston (11.09)

WR7 - Justin Gage (15.09)

WR8 - Az Hakim (16.06)

TE1 - Tony Gonzalez (3.09)

TE2 - Marcus Pollard (13.09)

Dave Stauff

QB1 - Marc Bulger (3.12)

QB2 - David Carr (11.12)

QB3 - Eli Manning (12.03)

RB1 - Kevin Jones (1.12)

RB2 - Corey Dillon (2.03)

RB3 - Larry Johnson (5.12)

RB4 - Reuben Droughns (8.03)

RB5 - Mike Anderson (16.03)

WR1 - Jerry Porter (6.03)

WR2 - Donte Stallworth (7.12)

WR3 - Reggie Williams (9.12)

WR4 - Andre Davis (10.03)

WR5 - Travis Taylor (13.12)

WR6 - Jerome Pathon (14.03)

WR7 - Quincy Morgan (15.12)

TE1 - Jason Witten (4.03)

TE2 - Desmond Clark (14.01)

These three looks like the strongest and have the best shot at winning imo. Kleck got some steals at rb, a solid group of wrs, and a good te and qb. LHucks also got some steals at rb, has a solid group of wrs with good depth, the top te, and a serviceable starting qb in brees. Stauff has two top 15 rbs in jones and dillon, a good starting qb in bulger, some mistakes at wr, and a good te in Witten. Im surprised that the three teams that I think look the strongest drafted at 1.07, 1.09, and 1.12.

I believe there is allot of balance in the league. Nobody has strength at every position. In regards to the teams above: Dave is strong at the TE & RB position, solid at QB, but lacking at the most important position - WR. Not one single WR that is a #1 WR for their respected teams. Allot of strong #3 to weak #2 fantasy WR's.

Kleck has great balance and depth on his team in all positions. Outside of Edge & possibly Ward....no real studs. I think Green only goes down hill from here on out.

LHUCKS - Best TE in the game, great value at QB taking Brees late. Solid RB's and if Bennett beats out the rest can stay healthy....a stellar #3 RB. No real superstars at the WR position...but 2-3 very solid #2-#3 type players.

 

[Bri]

Salmon, why draft two dolphin QBs? why bother? Pretty good team, you'll go nuts if Mike Anderson gets the starting job.

No waiver wire or trades. You have to have at least 1 solid backup at every position or you could easily get caught not being able to field an entire starting lineup. I saw about 8 QB's go off the board in the late 11th, early/mid 12th round ahead of me. I had to sit and watch as one by one they were picked off...leaving me with Dilfer, Alex Smith, & Gus F. Since I like Miamis' chance at a decent passing game....I selected Gus knowing that if Feeley beats him out in camp....I could have no backup QB....so I had to take Feeley late instead of trying to horde the Denver backfield.

You called it a wasted pick a few posts up but...whatever, thanks, it's interesting to read someone's draft thoughts

 

[salmonstud]

Salmon, why draft two dolphin QBs? why bother? Pretty good team, you'll go nuts if Mike Anderson gets the starting job.

No waiver wire or trades. You have to have at least 1 solid backup at every position or you could easily get caught not being able to field an entire starting lineup. I saw about 8 QB's go off the board in the late 11th, early/mid 12th round ahead of me. I had to sit and watch as one by one they were picked off...leaving me with Dilfer, Alex Smith, & Gus F. Since I like Miamis' chance at a decent passing game....I selected Gus knowing that if Feeley beats him out in camp....I could have no backup QB....so I had to take Feeley late instead of trying to horde the Denver backfield.

You called it a wasted pick a few posts up but...whatever, thanks, it's interesting to read someone's draft thoughts

Bri,It was a wasted pick because if I would have grabbed my #2QB one round sooner, I wouldn't have had to take up 2 roster spots to insure I had 2 starting QB's. Given the flow of the draft.....Feeley was the right pick.

 

[valence]

I like Kleck's and LHUCKS teams out of this group. they seem to be the only 2 teams that are solid at all 4 offensive positions. waiting til the 9th round and still getting a QB like Hasslebeck worked wonders for Kleck.

 

[Kleck.]

Team Kleck

Strategy - To be honest, I really didn't have any set strategy coming into this draft. I ran my projection through a VBD app and WR's were heavily favored, but with 14 teams, RB's would still get slim fast. For the first few rounds I just took players who I thought were the best value at the time and didn't have any particular player in mind. I just let the draft decide it for me as to what player had fallen that I felt shouldn't and went that route. I ended up being very happy with the way it all worked out.

QB's Matt Hasselbeck (9.07), Drew Bledsoe (12.08)

I would have liked to grab a 3rd QB since I was one of the last teams to grab my #1 QB, but there were other players I began to target more and soon after I took Bledsoe, the rest of the QB's were off the board. Instead of drafting back-up QB's, I went with RB and WR depth. I was really hoping to add Griese into my QB mix with my 10th round pick, but he went a few spots after Hass.

I think Hasselbeck will have a good year and should have, or get close to, a top 10 QB season with the potential of top 5-7. I would have gone with a few others, but they went a little too early for my liking, and as the 14th QB taken, I really liked the value I got with Hass. Waiting on my #1 QB was a startegy that worked out well.

Bledsoe was one of the QB's I had thought about as my #2 who I felt I could also get late. I'm not expecting anything special from him and I will probably only start him a couple of times the whole year. Dallas' offence should be on the rise this year and I'm hoping/expecting that Drew has one more good fantasy year left in him.

RB's - Edgerrin James (1.07), Ahman Green (2.08), Kevan Barlow (5.07), Dominic Rhodes (14.08), Kevin Faulk (17.07)

Let's just say I was more than thrilled to start my draft with Edge and Green. Getting two potential top 10 RB's in a 14 team league... I couldn't have asked for a better start. Both RB's fell a few spots too far IMO. As Manning comes back down to earth, Edge's numbers should get closer to his early year's. I'm also not that worried about Green Bay's O-Line and feel Green is being way undervalued this year. The stud RB strategy that I didn't quite intend on doing worked well. I'm always a huge RB guy in every draft, but I'll never reach on a RB in the first two rounds.

Since I liked my 2 starters so much I felt I could wait on my #3. Barlow may have disapointed plenty last year, but as the 29th RB taken, even a prior disapointment can be a value at some point. It will be a new offence once again for Barlow, and there are still plenty of questions surrounding the rest of the offensive starters, but Barlow has showed us the talent in the past. Early word out of camp is that he's been showing it again along with some maturity. Even if Frank Gore cuts into Barlow's time (which I'm not completely sold on yet), I still believe he can get close to last year's production. If he truely has his desire to play back, and is showing some leadership and maturity, he could easily outperform that.

Since there is no waiver wire, I wanted to get atleast one handcuff and chose Rhodes. Back-up RB's had been scattered all throughout the mid and late rounds and I was actually surprised I was able to get Rhodes as late as I did.

Kevin Faulk might have been my best value pick of the draft. Many players that were taken late were more of the upside guys and in a non waiver wire league I wanted someone consistant. Since he is a good RB target for Brady and is a solid 3rd down back, he'll get playing time. Another 500 total yards season and a few scores should easily be reached again and as the 67th RB off the board... I'll buy it.

WR's - Hines Ward (3.07), Donald Driver (4.08), Keyshawn Johnson (7.07), Amani Toomer (8.08), Antonio Bryant (10.08), Rod Gardner (11.07), David Terrell (13.07), Ike Hilliard (16.08)

In a PPR league, I had valued Ward higher than others who were taken a head of him. He's one of few WR's I see reaching, or getting, close to 100 catches, and that alone will help make up for any shortage of yards or TD's. I don't think Pitt will be able to rely on their running game and defense as much this year, so I'm expecting Ward to regain some of those lost yards and TD's from last year. A lot may depend on how much Roth is able to improve, but at 3.07, Ward was the only WR left that I felt somewhat comfortable with as my #1.

Whether Walker reports or not, Driver will get his stats as long as he and Favre stay healthy. I would have liked to have gotten a player with a higher upside of receptions (was hoping for Boldin), but another 1000+ yard, 8 TD, seasons from Driver will be just fine.

I waited a couple of rounds before taking my #3 WR and was plenty happy to land KeyShawn as the 38th WR off the board. Still a decent posession WR, and at this time of the draft there were only two WR's left that I felt had a decent chance at catching 70 balls, so KeyShawn was an easy choice for me. Not a ton of upside, but I felt he was a safe consistant choice.

I'm really liking the idea of Toomer as a #2 WR. I don't see how teams will not focus on Burress, so Toomer could enjoy a very nice year vs. softer coverage and if Eli can show some improvement. As the 45th WR off the board, and my #4 WR, I like the value I got there.

Bryant and Gardner were two guys I was willing to take a chance on. I really have no idea if I would have been able to take them a round later than I did or not, but their talent intrigues me. Two guys who I classify as highly talented but have yet to show and prove all they are capable of. I'm not sold on Davis or Edwards as Cleveland's #1 this year and would love it if teams focus more on them to leave Bryant in single coverage. Bryant is my highest rated WR on Cleveland this year (not by much) and getting him after where Davis and Edwards were selected was also nice. Gardner, I'm not sure what to think. Does he stay in Wash or go to the rumored Panthers? I really couldn't tell you what situation I'd prefer him to be in. I'd just like it if "50-50" would try to prove some of the critics wrong and play hard more often.

Terrell in the 13th was one of my favorite sleeper picks and let just say I'm very optomistic about him this year. Although most may disagree, I think he could put of a nice 750/6 season and actually push Givens for the #2 spot as the season moves on. I like everything I've been hearing about Terrell fitting in with NE and the good "coach speak" from Belichick so far. Reading mini-camp reports of Brady and Terrell hooking up often in the endzone could also be a sign of things to come. As the 75th WR taken, this could end up being my best value pick if my thinking (hopes) does me well.

Ike! Another one of my favorite sleeper picks. As the team's #3 WR and with the injury history of Galloway, Hilliard should see plenty of action. Gruden's offence which looks to be on the rise, and Griese who I also feel is undervalued this year, should also allow plenty of opportunity for Hilliard. I'm really starting to like the situation of Carnell in the backfield in a 3 WR set, Clayton pulling a safety his way and Galloway running down the sideline, and Ike getting one-on-one coverage or getting lost by the DB's... There I go with my wishful thinking again. As the 95th WR taken, I got nothing to lose with the Ike! pick.

TE's Randy McMichael (6.08), Erron Kinney (15.07)

Randy McMichael, as a TE who quietly puts up top 10 season every year even with crappy QB play, seems to always slip a tad further than he should. I did use the 78th overall pick on him which made him the 7th TE off the board, which I felt was decent value. I would have prefered to wait a round, but I had a huge drop off in TE value after McMichael and Clark (who went with the next pick) so it was an easy choice.

I really like Troupe's potential, but the foot surgery might just allow Kinney to start the year strong. All I need him for is week 4 (Miami's bye) and hopefully Troupe isn't completely up to speed by then. Kinney is also a huge body to help out on the O-Line so he should see plenty of action. A decent pass catcher and with the lack of other solid receiving talent he should also see a few targets each game. Chow has indicated that he'd like to use many two TE sets and has been impressed with his TE's thus far, so that helps make Kinney, the 23rd TE off the board, even a better value pick.

All-in-all, there is little I would have done different when going back over my draft. There were times when I even told myself that I would be pleased with this team in a 12 team league draft. I also wouldn't mind starting my No Mercy draft the same way I started this one, so I really am quite pleased with how it all worked out. Now we wait... Hopefully the injury bug stays away from my team.

 

[Kleck.]

Thanks for all the props guys. Coming from this group of FBG's I had to draft against, and other great Shark Pool contributers, it truly means a lot.There are a few strategies that I'm really intrigued by and to see how they work out. If a few of the high risk players pan out for some, their teams will be very solid. It might have just been me, but it seemd like I was drafting off the same cheatsheet as LHUCKS at times. Quite often throughout the draft I was debating between a player and LHUCKS would take him two picks later. Or on the way back he would take the player I had hoped would fall just two more spots.

 

[Dave Stauff]

QB1 - Marc Bulger (3.12)

QB2 - David Carr (11.12)

QB3 - Eli Manning (12.03)

RB1 - Kevin Jones (1.12)

RB2 - Corey Dillon (2.03)

RB3 - Larry Johnson (5.12)

RB4 - Reuben Droughns (8.03)

RB5 - Mike Anderson (16.03)

WR1 - Jerry Porter (6.03)

WR2 - Donte Stallworth (7.12)

WR3 - Reggie Williams (9.12)

WR4 - Andre Davis (10.03)

WR5 - Travis Taylor (13.12)

WR6 - Jerome Pathon (14.03)

WR7 - Quincy Morgan (15.12)

TE1 - Jason Witten (4.03)

TE2 - Desmond Clark (17.12)

First a couple comments about the format and my strategy. I looked for "healthy" players - in other words, I tried to avoid those with abnormal injury risk. As this season (and training camp/preseason) proceeds, I'm going to enjoy crossing out the names of players on other teams whose injuries take them out for the rest of the season. No, I'm not wishing anyone ill health, but injuries will occur and some players appear more prone to them than others.

Next, I looked at my draft slot (1.12 of 14) and decided I really needed to draft my starting RB corps with my first two picks. Had I waited until 3.12 for my 2nd RB, I would not have had the opportunity to select two RBs worth everyweek starts.

I decided before the draft on my desired roster alignment and amazingly enough I completed with draft with this same alignment: 3 QB, 5 RB, 7 WR, 2 TE.

I was absolutely delighted with the format as the draft unfolded. I don't think I'd use exactly the same approach if I were to do it again, but I also believe there's at least a chance of making the playoffs . . . and once again thanks for allowing me to be a part of it.

1.12 Kevin Jones: A stud in the making if we project forward from the last half of last season. No real competition for touches and an offense that could explode. I was hoping to secure McAllister, McGahee or K. Jones at this spot - - - fortunately Kevin fell to me here.

2.03 Corey Dillon: It was Corey or Rudi Johnson for me here. I'm really not sure what moved the scales in Corey's favor, as I had them very evenly ranked at this point. I did consider EBF's "Over 30 - Over 300 carries" concerns, but New England seems to have given Dillon a new lease on his career and he doesn't have a Chris Perry in the wings.

3.12 Marc Bulger: By now I had realized that picking at a turn in a 14 team draft meant you had to be in on the beginning of a run or you could leave yourself picking up crumbs at the other end. I had Bulger as my #3 rated QB and wanted an everyweek starter at this position. Figured I could find WRs later . . .

4.03 Jason Witten: Another decision dictated by the proposition of waiting through 22 more selections before I got back to the board. In a TE required league with PPR, I historically look for a top TE. I had Witten at #3 and don't see any real dropoff in production. Dallas did nothing to upgrade it's existing WRs and Bledsoe (if memory serves me correctly) utilizes a quality TE when given one. Figured I could find WRs later . . .

At this point I've drafted my entire starting lineup EXCEPT FOR RECEIVERS. You'd think I'd get focused, but along comes my pick at 5.12 and lookie here . . .

5.12 Larry Johnson: In a start 2 RB league, you need three starting RBs to get you through. In this league format, you may need 4. There were still some RBs of note on the board, but none IMHO with the upside of Johnson if Priest were to happen to be injured. This pick will probably define my season - if Johnson takes over at some point, I'll be money in the RB department. If not, well I've got a high priced backup on my roster. Figured I could find WRs later . . .

6.03 Jerry Porter: Time to start finding those WRs. While there were still a few #1 WRs on the board, I chose to take a #2 guy with talent who's going to get single coverage across from Moss. I think Collins is going to have a heyday with these guys (and Curry) and expect the Oakland offense to put up some serious points this year.

7.12 Donte' Stallworth: This guy is one of my favorite underachievers and I just know this year is his breakout year This is one pick where I went away from my "Don't take the ill and infirm" strategy, but 96 players into the draft you start to get squeemish when you only have Porter in your receiving corps.

8.03 Reuben Droughns: In retrospect, I really don't like this pick. I'd made my bed with Johnson at 5.12 and could ill afford to take my RB4 at this point. But I just didn't like the WRs for value here and Reuben looked like the one guy left who might actually be the #1 on his team once the season started. I also figured he might get the short yardage and goalline carries instead of Suggs even if he didn't win the job - - - and that prospect looked better for bye week coverage than hoping Larry Johnson got into the game. [i repeated this same mental logic when selecting Mike Anderson at 16.03.]

9.12 Reggie Williams: By now, I know I'm in deep trouble with my WR corps, so I'm looking for a few boom/bust types in the hopes that I can capture a couple booms among the busts. Reggie fits nicely into this category. The Jacksonville offense is going more vertical this year; Jimmy is another year older; Jones has some learning to do; Taylor is questionable (thus the running game as a whole). This is a guy I believe is undervalued this year and I put my draft pick where my belief is.

10.03 Andre Davis: Would somebody tell me why I drafted this guy? I looked at Andre and Antonio Bryant and tried to determine who had the best chance of putting up numbers knowing that Edwards would be worked in sooner rather than later. I'm clueless

I now have Porter, Stallworth, Williams and Davis as my top 4 WRs :X So at this point in the draft, I decide to use the 11.12 and 12.03 turn to grab my two backup QBs before the pickings get slim.

11.12 David Carr: Really not a lot of thought in the selection of Carr and Manning to follow. I wanted 1) three QBs with different bye weeks (in case one gets injured), and 2) three QBs who will not get replaced due to poor performance. Carr fit the mold . . .

12.03 Eli Manning: See above. I really liked Warner at this point, but his propensity for injury and Green's propensity to change QBs mid season led me to Eli. I think I got the last couple QBs that are assured of having a job all season. These picks started a serious QB run in the 12th round and I'm sure there are a few teams who are not feeling all that comfortable at the QB position - especially if their first QB drafted goes down.

13.12 Travis Taylor: More boom/bust WR picks. There are 5 WRs in Minnesota who could see any significant time. I'm betting with this pick that Robinson won't stay healthy, Williamson needs seasoning, and Taylor will discover that a spiral from Culpepper rotates in a manner that allows him to actually catch the damn ball

14.03 Jerome Pathon: I think the WR2 in Seattle will be decided in training camp. I also believe Engram is best suited for the slot, so I'm betting Jurevicius and Pathon battle for the spot opposite Jackson. In the 14th round, that's a flip of the coin I want to make.

15.12 Quincy Morgan: This was supposed to be Ben Watson But some ******* had to take him 4 spots earlier and screw up my backup TE plan. So I jumped to my handy-dandy WR list and looked for another guy who's fortunes could rise if opportunity knocked. Johnson is old! Glenn is old! So if either old guy goes down, I get the Dallas WR2 in the 15th round. Yeah, I'm not all that excited about the Dallas passing offense either, but the picking are mighty slim and several of the positional battles could change significantly in camp, making the selection of some of these guys very risky.

16.03 Mike Anderson: Do I think he's going to be in the mix for RB1 in Denver? Nope. But I do believe Bell is a question mark, Griffin is a 3rd down back at best, Clarett is a project, and Shanahan can do anything he wants . . . nuff said

17.12 Desmond Clark: This was supposed to be Alex Smith, TE, but some ******* had to grab him earlier in the final round. So I grab a guy I really hope to never have to use "just in case". In my mind, Clark's only redeeming value is that he has a different bye week than Witten.

So now I've made my bed and we'll see how sleeping in it feels as the season proceeds. I really like my depth at QB and RB and expect it to serve me well while other teams struggle to actually field a starting lineup as injuries start to take their toll.

Comments/criticisms welcomed . . .

 

[LHUCKS]

Thanks for all the props guys.  Coming from this group and other posters who have followed the draft, it truly means a lot.

There are a few strategies/teams that I'm really intrigued by to see how they work. 

It might have just been me, but it seemd like I was drafting off the same cheatsheet as LHUCKS at times.  Quite often throughout the draft I was debating between a player and LHUCKS would take him two picks later.  Or on the way back he would take the player I had hoped would fall just two more spots.

Yep, we definitely had similar strategies which had us overlapping quite a bit on players.RabidFireWeasel was taking a lot of my players as well...that Santana Moss pick killed me.

 

[tommyGunZ]

at first glance, after 3 glasses of wine, i like rapidweasel and LHUCKS.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Looking at all the teams, I think that we're fairly even. The teams with great WR corps have weaknesses at RB. And teams with strong RBs have deficiencies at WR. Being a Dynasty addict, I love a team full of young players. But I think that rookie WRs are a real risk in a redraft league. A vet like Marty Booker doesn't have upside when you compare him to Troy Williamson. But Booker is more likely to see the field on a regular basis.Thoughts on my team:QB1 - Aaron Brooks (6.13)QB2 - Chad Pennington (11.02)I think Brooks is a very underrated fantasy QB. He finishes every year in the top 10. I did not want to draft a QB this high, but being in the #2 spot, I could have been left with scraps had I waited too long. With a healthy McCallister, I think Brooks has a good year. I didn't target Pennington specifically, but he had good value at the 11.02 spot. Pennington offers decent insurance should Brooks sucumb to injury.RB1 - Shaun Alexander (1.02)RB2 - LaMont Jordan (2.13)RB3 - Correll Buckhalter (9.02)RB4 - Maurice Morris (13.02)RB5 - Brandon Jacobs (16.13)I'm glad to have Alexander on my team. I believe his value isn't as high if he's traded to Jacksonville - so I am hoping he stays put. Alexander is a solid producer, and is almost always a lock to score a lot of TDs every year. I don't expect Jordan to score like a #1 RB. But he will have to try hard to fail on this team. Bad defense or not, Turner will absolutely feed the rock to Jordan. Even though Oakland will trail constantly in games, there will be plenty of gaps in the defense for Jordan to exploit. Buckhalter isn't a bad scoring threat. The Eagles so not think Westbrook should see more than 15-20 touches per game. So a healthy Buckhalter will get a decent amount of touches. Morris is an insurance pick.WR1 - Andre Johnson (3.02)WR2 - Muhsin Muhammad (5.02)WR3 - Brandon Stokley (7.02)WR4 - Ronald Curry (8.13)WR5 - Marty Booker (10.13)WR6 - Michael Jenkins (12.13)WR7 - Robert Ferguson (14.13)WR8 - Wayne Chrebet (17.02)The bad thing about picking #2 is that I missed out on every surefire stud WR. Johnson is a talent, but I would have rather had Chad Johnson, Tory Holt, or even Joe Horn. Muhammad is guaranteed to see a drop in his output. However, I think he can still produce as a safe #2 WR. Stokley, like Muhammad, is likely to see a decreased output. But you have to like a WR in the Indy offense. I dropped down a bit to get Curry. I like Curry's chances this year. Booker isn't a guy I targeted. But I think he was a good value at in the 10th round. Jenkins is not a safe pick. But Peerless Price and Dez White aren't exactly great talents. I think Jenkins steals at least the #2 WR job in Atlanta this year. Ferguson was a good pick this late, and one owner even cussed me out for stealing Ferguson from him. I don't expect much from Chrebet, but if you saw the dearth of talent available in the last round, Chrebet wasn't a bad option.TE1 - Jeremy Shockey (4.13)TE2 - Heath Miller (15.02)I think Shockey is overrated. I believe Jason Whitten is just as good without the big mouth. But alas, Whitten was taken. Still, I like having one of the top 5 TEs on my team. I think Shckey has a a very good year in 2005. Miller is a risk, but Pittsburgh has high hopes for him. I'm hoping that the departure of Burress means targets for Miller.

 

[LHUCKS]

at first glance, after 3 glasses of wine, i like rapidweasel and LHUCKS.

On a Monday? I want your job

 

[EBF]

EBF, you don't have a single "#1 WR" on your team, Stauff too.

First off, Isaac Bruce had more targets than Torry Holt in 2004. I wouldn't bet on a repeat of that in 2005, but Holt and Bruce are essentially 1A and 1B. They each get plenty of looks. Secondly, I can easily see Larry Fitzgerald scoring more fantasy points than Anquan Boldin. I can also see Keary Colbert scoring more than Steve Smith. As I mentioned in the pick commentary thread, Colbert was drafted higher than Smith and had a better rookie year. Steve Smith is a nice player, but he's hardly untouchable as a #1 WR. He's had one good year. The same holds true for Boldin.

At any rate, it doesn't matter if these guys are #1 WRs. If they score like I think I can then my team will be competitive. In big leagues I look at my WR group as a whole. I may not have one top 10 WR, but if I have three top 20 WRs then my group will score roughly the same amount of points as someone with WR5, WR15, and WR25.

 

[radballs.]

radballs

QB1 - Michael Vick (5.10)

QB2 - Jake Delhomme (10.05)

QB3 - Alex Smith (16.05)

RB1 - JJ Arrington (4.05)

RB2 - Marshall Faulk (7.10)

RB3 - Thomas Jones (8.05)

RB4 - Anthony Thomas (11.10)

RB5 - Stephen Davis (13.10)

WR1 - Torry Holt (1.10)

WR2 - Chad Johnson (2.05)

WR3 - Eric Moulds (6.05)

WR4 - Joey Galloway (9.10)

WR5 - Todd Pinkston (12.05)

WR6 - Arnaz Battle (14.05)

WR7 - Corey Bradford (17.10)

TE1 - Antonio Gates (3.10)

TE2 - Courtney Anderson (15.10)

First off, I would like to say thanks to EBF for inviting me back into his league for the second year in a row. I really like that he changed up the format for this year versus last year’s survivor format. I’m sure it will be something different again next year (maybe an auction?). In any case, this draft was a good case study in measuring the principles of VBD against the differences that come about from a DVBD focus. What I mean by that is that by plugging in the league’s scoring rules and starting lineup requirements, wide receivers really jumped up much higher along a ranked VBD list than they would in most traditional leagues. However, with 14 teams there was an even greater emphasis on the dynamic VBD principles with regard to running backs. It would be even tougher to field two legitimate starting RBs with that many teams in the league. I tend to generally focus on supply and demand issues that go out three, four, or more rounds out in a draft. In this league, I took a different approach because of the spot I was drafting from and the fact that I tend to want to zig when other teams are zagging. I don’t want to get caught at the end of runs. I’d rather try to find value elsewhere whenever possible.

When I first saw that I was drafting out of the 10 hole, I immediately wanted to grab two of my top four wide receivers (Moss, Holt, Owens, and Chad Johnson) with my first two picks if possible unless a running back I REALLY liked fell too far. There’s an enormous difference between Torry Holt and Chad Johnson vs. someone that will hopefully crack the top 15. Most 12 team leagues start 3 wide receivers so the starting baseline is 36 WRs deep. In this league with 14 teams and 4 starting WRs, the starting baseline is stretched to 56. Since running backs don’t get reception points, I wanted to really create a huge advantage here. That said, if Owens or CJ had not been there with my second round pick at 2.05, then I would have gone with a running back because I have Harrison a significant cut below them.

Following my first two receivers, I planned on going with the highest valued player on my board whose scoring would separate my team even more from any other competitor. At 3.10, I was targeting Gonzalez, Gates, and then McNabb when we made the turn into the third. I couldn’t believe the big 2 TEs were falling so far. Alas, LHUCKS took Gonzo at 3.09 right under my nose. The running back value really wasn’t there at this point so I went with the next best tight end. I was determined not to reach for running backs just because I didn’t have one yet. After my first three picks, I had two top four wide receivers and the number two tight end, all of whom get one point per reception.

With my fourth round pick I was excited to pick up JJ Arrington at 4.05 because I think he will be a multi dimensional back in what should be a relatively high octane offense. Yes, he is a rookie but I believe he will have the best ’05 season amongst the rookies and beating out Shipp shouldn’t be a problem.

I had really planned on waiting to get a quarterback until very late in the draft, but I started licking my chops when I saw that Vick might make it to me at 5.10 (equivalent of 6.06 in a 12 team league). I know all the counter arguments to Vick, but I honestly feel like his stock has been beaten down to the point where you can actually get him for value assuming he plays all 16 games. Vick separates himself in this league since passing yardage is only 1 point per 25 and passing TDs are only 4 points. That makes Vick’s legs much more important. His receiving core is relative garbage because of youth and no true number one. But, he’s still a difference maker who will only get better with time. Vick’s too talented not to continue to improve, and he’ll be special at some point in this league. I think he will be much improved and will exceed his FBG ranking (not necessarily his ADP).

Once again, I really didn’t feel that any RB value existed at 6.05. And since I only needed one more RB but still needed two WRs to fill a starting lineup, I got greedy and went for a guy who I think could be one of the best value veteran wide receivers this year in Eric Moulds. I was happy to get him as the 75th overall player taken.

It was at this point, where I started to feel that there were certain RBs that were approaching their risk/reward potential so I picked them off as it made sense. Marshall Faulk (7.10) and Thomas Jones (8.05) should at least allow me to score points each week and I believe both of them will be larger integral parts of their respective offenses than they’re being projected for right now. Once I had three RBs on the team, I was looking for the best wide receiver to fill out the starting lineup and that came in the form of Joey Galloway. I considered a couple others including Terry Glenn, but he created bye week issues for me. I think Galloway could have a surprisingly decent season if he stays healthy opposite Michael Clayton.

The rest of my picks were based mainly on value and the fact that I wanted my QB, RB, WR, TE breakdown to be either 2, 5, 8, 2 or 3, 5, 7, 2, respectively. After my 9th round pick of Galloway, I sat at 1 QB, 3 RBs, 4 WRs, and 1 TE. I wanted to make sure I had a decent QB2 in case of a Vick injury and the best guy that emerged was Jake Delhomme. A lot of people are pretty high on him this year, but I just think he’ll be slightly better than average. That said, he was still the highest QB on my board at the time and I’m glad I didn’t wait any longer on selecting my QB2. On a side note and while I’m talking about QBs, I was VERY surprised how slowly the QB1s came off the board in this format. However, I think if just two or three teams had started a run, this draft could have looked so much differently. It was almost like everyone was playing chicken with one another about waiting on taking QBs and they continued to fall a long way. Kleck got the QB steal of the draft with where he got Hasselbeck.

Throughout the remainder of the draft, I decided to go with players that fill out the depth as well as fitting in with the upside/consistency tradeoff I was looking for at the time. As for my last couple of RBs, I looked for guys that could have the opportunity to get red zone looks if healthy. A-Train could fill in admirably if Julius Jones gets dinged up and Stephen Davis was a reach. But if Davis plays, he could significantly contribute.

Overall, I like my team a lot but its success hinges on just a couple of players. But, I suppose that’s the case with many of the squads in a 14 team league. I like what I did with balancing upside with more consistent players but time will tell. I still believe that my team will have a huge advantage in its top WRs and TE not only with yardage and TDs but also with receptions. That could be the difference maker. But, the competition was extremely tough and there wasn’t a whole lot of value that was being left on the table. I like a handful of teams and mine is one of them. Again, thanks goes out to EBF and all the other terrific owners that participated. This was a lot of fun.

 

[EBF]

I like your Arrington pick a lot. He was the other RB that I strongly considered at 3.04 (where I took Cadillac Williams). Arrington is in the better situation of the two, but I ultimately decided to stick with my mantra of drafting the most talented player when all other factors are relatively close. We'll see how it works out. Torry Holt is a player that I was looking at in this format, but I couldn't take him at 1.04 and he didn't slip all the way to 2.11. I think your approach was interesting. You're right in noting that your success hinges on only a few players and that most of the teams in this league can say the same. Personally, I need Keary Colbert, Doug Jolley, and Larry Fitzgerald to step up. If those guys flop then I'll be in bad shape. In your case you need JJ Arrington, Marshall Faulk, and Thomas Jones to step up. If those guys flop then you're going to be in trouble despite having Holt, Chad, and Gates.

 

[radballs.]

I like your Arrington pick a lot. He was the other RB that I strongly considered at 3.04 (where I took Cadillac Williams). Arrington is in the better situation of the two, but I ultimately decided to stick with my mantra of drafting the most talented player when all other factors are relatively close. We'll see how it works out.

Torry Holt is a player that I was looking at in this format, but I couldn't take him at 1.04 and he didn't slip all the way to 2.11.

I think your approach was interesting. You're right in noting that your success hinges on only a few players and that most of the teams in this league can say the same. Personally, I need Keary Colbert, Doug Jolley, and Larry Fitzgerald to step up. If those guys flop then I'll be in bad shape.

In your case you need JJ Arrington, Marshall Faulk, and Thomas Jones to step up. If those guys flop then you're going to be in trouble despite having Holt, Chad, and Gates.

I agree with you on all points. As a matter of fact, I really enjoyed having the draft slot that I did because it was right in the area where I could attempt such a strategy and have it make some sense. I would have done the same thing you did with your first two the way it played out. I think this year, I either want top 3 or 10 or later. Actually, if I don't have the number 1, I think I want to go as late as possible in a 12 teamer.

 

[radballs.]

I like your Arrington pick a lot. He was the other RB that I strongly considered at 3.04 (where I took Cadillac Williams). Arrington is in the better situation of the two, but I ultimately decided to stick with my mantra of drafting the most talented player when all other factors are relatively close. We'll see how it works out.

Torry Holt is a player that I was looking at in this format, but I couldn't take him at 1.04 and he didn't slip all the way to 2.11.

I think your approach was interesting. You're right in noting that your success hinges on only a few players and that most of the teams in this league can say the same. Personally, I need Keary Colbert, Doug Jolley, and Larry Fitzgerald to step up. If those guys flop then I'll be in bad shape.

In your case you need JJ Arrington, Marshall Faulk, and Thomas Jones to step up. If those guys flop then you're going to be in trouble despite having Holt, Chad, and Gates.

Colbert, Fitz, etc. are guys that will be great but they're still trying to figure out their roles in their respective offenses. I really like the way you evaluate talent. I just think you jump the gun a bit on when that talent will be fully developed. It's quite apparent that you're all over dynasty formatted leagues, but I think you let too much upside youth and potential talent cloud your redraft rankings, at least imho. But, I really do like your team.

 

[EBF]

I like your Arrington pick a lot. He was the other RB that I strongly considered at 3.04 (where I took Cadillac Williams). Arrington is in the better situation of the two, but I ultimately decided to stick with my mantra of drafting the most talented player when all other factors are relatively close. We'll see how it works out.

Torry Holt is a player that I was looking at in this format, but I couldn't take him at 1.04 and he didn't slip all the way to 2.11.

I think your approach was interesting. You're right in noting that your success hinges on only a few players and that most of the teams in this league can say the same. Personally, I need Keary Colbert, Doug Jolley, and Larry Fitzgerald to step up. If those guys flop then I'll be in bad shape.

In your case you need JJ Arrington, Marshall Faulk, and Thomas Jones to step up. If those guys flop then you're going to be in trouble despite having Holt, Chad, and Gates.

Colbert, Fitz, etc. are guys that will be great but they're still trying to figure out their roles in their respective offenses. I really like the way you evaluate talent. I just think you jump the gun a bit on when that talent will be fully developed. It's quite apparent that you're all over dynasty formatted leagues, but I think you let too much upside youth and potential talent cloud your redraft rankings, at least imho. But, I really do like your team.

There's certainly some truth to that. I didn't really plan to draft so many unproven guys so early (Cadillac, Colbert, and Fitz), but the picks all made sense to me given who was left on the board and what I was hoping to accomplish with my team. Looking at at some of the guys taken immediately after Fitz (Mason, J. Smith, Lelie, Evans, Moulds), I can understand why I made the selection.

Mason - I've always thought he was a little overrated and Baltimore seems like a fantasy WR wasteland.

J. Smith - He was surprisingly good last year, but I get scared about a dropoff once a WR hits 34-35. I get especially scared when there are two first round picks nipping at his heels.

Lelie - I think he's a clear #2 in Denver and I think Watts may develop into a better player. Lelie seems like a feast or famine type, which isn't what I wanted.

Evans and Moulds - These guys are both talented, but I'm avoiding the Buffalo WRs this year. I see this as a run-first and run-second team.

When it came down to it, Fitz seemed like the best gamble of these guys. Obviously the presence of Boldin is a concern, but I think there will be enough balls for both WRs. Fitzgerald was a borderline WR2 in this league's format as a rookie. I think he's the type of player who will improve as he gains experience. He also struck me as having top 10 upside, which I didn't see in guys like Mason, Smith, Lelie, and Moulds.

As for Colbert, here are the WRs who went immediately after him:

Houshmandzadeh - I like him, but I think Chris Henry is a better player. I hate drafting players with dangerous backups, even if the backup is a rookie. I just don't like to risk having my guy get Wally Pipped in the middle of the season.

Brandon Stokley - He had a career year in 2004. Anything can happen, but I'm not going to bank on a repeat.

David Givens - The Patriots spread the ball around and I actually view David Terrell as a legitimate threat to Branch and Givens.

Keyshawn Johnson - Johnson was rock solid last year, but I don't see much opportunity for him with Witten and Glenn around. A healthy running game is also bad news for the Dallas WRs.

Santana Moss - I don't like Moss and I hate the Washington offense.

Charles Rogers - He has the talent of a star, but the situation is ugly for widely-documented reasons.

Donte Stallworth - The Saints throw a lot, but Stallworth is still #2 and he still hasn't shown that he can stay healthy and avoid drops.

I'm not wild about banking on two sophomores, but like I said, they each seemed like the best available option to me when my pick was up. Every year a few young players emerge. You hate to be banking on those players, but that's what I decided to do in this particular draft. I think there are reasons to be optimistic about both guys. We'll see how it works out.

As for Cadillac, there just weren't many quality starting RBs left at 3.04. I took a chance on a guy with a good talent/opportunity combo. I could've gone with my top non-RB value and selected Hines Ward, but I didn't want to end up with scraps at RB. I considered a more proven talent in Warrick Dunn, but he always seems to miss a few games each season and he'll never be much more than what he was last season. Cadillac has the potential to be elite. I like guys like that because they can really give your team a boost.

Anyway, everyone attacked this draft in their own way. The vast majority of the teams appear to have a reasonable shot at contending. It's probably going to be a handful of hits/misses that separate the winners from the losers. I'm hoping for some hits.

 

[ravnzfan]

As mentioned by several others, I want to first thank EBF for the invite. I appreciate the situation he was in putting the league together, as there were many who wanted to test their drafting skills against some of the best this board has to offer. I drafted what I feel is a very competitive team---I wanted solid veteran players whenever possible, and choose that way over younger guys "with upside"...afterall, this was not a dynasty draft, and some times I felt as though it were, the way the rooks were being pulled off the board. Out of respect to every other owner, I will only mention them or a player drafted by them as it related to my strategy---and not in any "I liked my guy better than that guy" kind of thing...

we all obviously place a different value on a players situation, and drafted accordingly...my guys:

QB

Brady (9.6)

Losman (12.9)

Holcomb (17.6)

Nothing like the 3 time Super Bowl MVP to QB your squad---and taken as the 118th player!

My strategy in almost evey league to to sit on the QB position, as the difference between QB8-16 is very small...QB7 usually goes ahead of where I value him, leaving me as one of the last to draft one every year. This draft was no exception.

We start 1, vs 5 positions that score 1/PPR (4WR-1TE). I felt the focus should be on getting a guy that was a solid #1, and one who was STEADY in his production every week. I did not want a guy who would throw for 325 1 week, then 115 the following Sunday---my QB needs to be rock solid in his consistency, and none IMO is more sure of 225yds/1 or 2 TD's per week than Tom Brady.

With any kind of luck, JP Losman starts 1 week for me. I took his b/u with my last pick as insurance, in case he gets hurt---again.

I passed on Hasselbeck here, who Kleck choose right after me, based more on the WR situation of the team over the talent of the player. I thought the WR situation in SEA to be too volitile to count on the QB, given the choice between the 2. Kleck and I certainly went to the same "when do you draft your QB school!"

RB

Westbrook (2.9)

Staley (4.9)

Pittman (8.9)

CTaylor (11.6)

MBarber III (14.9)

Passed on bunch of RB's here, thinking a good, solid RB would be left on the way back. I'm VERY happy to start my RB corps w/Brian Westbrook...and ceratinly felt better when he signed his tender and got his butt to passing camp! Westy is as big a part of what makes Philly tick as any player, and gets the ball in any and all situations. While not scoring the receptions for RB's, his touches in the passing game certainly help pile the yardage up---he is easily a 200+ point RB, which is fine as my RB 1, given the WR's I took.

Staley was certainly getting his work when he got injured, avg'ing ~ 100 YPG prior to the injury. While not a consideration on a dynasty team, he is certainly good enough as my RB2 in this scoring system... health is obviously the #1 concern w/this guy.

Pittman is still going to get his work in TB, as Gruden has proven over the years RBBC is his preference. He can spell my starters, and will see some touches weekly even w/Caddy getting more work as the year goes on, if injury hits the ranks.

Chester Taylor is getting ALL the work this off season, as Jamal Lewis has just finished serving a 4 month stint for being a dumb-###, and now sits in a halfway house in Atlanta, until Aug 2nd or 3rd, several days after training camp starts. The coaching staff hasn't said it out loud, but lobbied HARD w/the half way house on the importence of Lewis making mini-camps and training camp---getting into "football" shape AND learning a new system under Fassel. Taylor proved to be a decent enough fill in when Lewis missed 4 starts last year, in addition to not finishing 2 other games. Look for CT to grab a BUNCH of passes out of the backfield, "Tiki-like", and far outproduce the #'s Joe and David have projected for him.

Marion Barber III, if the Tuna holds form, will be seen later in games, as long as he can learn how to block for Bledsoe---if not, he won't see the field...as RB5, he is strickly "upside"--one of a couple I drafted.

WR

RMoss (1.6)

DJackson (3.6)

JSmith (5.6)

Givens (7.6)

Glenn (10.9)

SParker (13.6)

CWilson (15.6)

Moss is the cornerstone to this team...#2VBD player on the board, I was thrilled to grab him @1.6 and not look back. This scoring system rewards owners who can put a couple of the top WR's together on their squad. Projected to grab 95 balls by Joe and the boys, I see Moss having every opportunity to go off much like Owens did last year...6-100-1 almost a lock weekly, in the "defensively challanged" AFC-W. I have seen posts where many have questioned "Moss out doors"---gimme Moss against the likes of Den, SD and KC in Dec on the west coast---every time!

DJackson is a GREAT WR2...projected WR9 overall, he is steady and can be just short of great if he can hold onto a few more passes. Seattle WR situation is up in the air---AFTER this guy. I see DJax in the 80-1100-9 range

Jimmy Smith approaches his mid 30's...and still catches a ton of balls. Another not to see this team if we were drafting dynasty, Smith as WR3 puts me ahead of the curve, IMO, as I have 3 guys that will catch as many passes as others will have with 4 WR's...70-1050-6 would be a great season, and very attainable, IMO...he is square in the middle of a tier of WR's that rank from WR17-WR25...most teams took their WR2 from this group--I am fortunate to have Smith as WR3 from the same tier.

Givens...does the one that scored 82 points in the first 8 games (standard scoring), or the one that scored 23 in the second 8 games...show up?

Solid in the first half, nagging injuries had him rendered ineffective the second half of the season. Patten out, Terrell in as competition (along w/SB MVP Branch) has this pick a ???

Glenn can very well be WR4 for this team, if Givens is ineffective or if one of the others gets hurt. I have Glenn well above the baseline of WR54, again keeping me ahead of the curve on the position requiring 1/2 of our starters each week.

SParker and CWilson will get but a start or 2 tops, unless their situations (or my teams situation) changes during the year

TE

Dallas Clark (6.9)

Kleinsasser (16.9)

Clark was sharing time w/Marcus Pollard last season--a combo that combined for

54-723-11...SOLID production for TE's, to be sure...if Clark gets 45-625-6 of it this year, I'll consider it a value pick, as TE8. Heap and McMicheal were on my board alittle higher, but went 7 & 1 pick in front of me. I saw a drop after Clark, and was happy to get any of the 3.

Projected lineup:

Brady

Westbrook

Staley

RMoss

DJackson

JSmith

Givens/Glenn

Clark

While the QB/RB's will score slightly below the average, I have this WR/TE group putting up ~355 receptions...a number that will be tough for any of the other teams to beat...while others are trying to guess which will be their "hot WR" this week, the only real ??? with this group is Givens or Glenn.

I want to say "good luck" to all the other owners, and that I had "a blast" drafting this league with you!

 

[jurb26]

Thanks to EBF for the invite and great draft by all. It was really fun! I think this league is going to be very competitive and in reality be decided by injuiries (or lack there of).On to my team and stratagy:QB1 - Trent Green (5.11)QB2 - Kyle Boller (12.04)QB3 - Trent Dilfer (14.04)RB1 - Clinton Portis (1.11)RB2 - Rudi Johnson (2.04)RB3 - Cedric Benson (4.04)RB4 - Ciatrick Fason (13.11)RB5 - Ladell Betts (16.04)WR1 - Reggie Wayne (3.11)WR2 - Deion Branch (6.04)WR3 - Brandon Lloyd (8.04)WR4 - Peerless Price (9.11)WR5 - Reche Caldwell (10.04)WR6 - Peter Warrick (11.11)WR7 - Dennis Northcutt (15.11)TE1 - LJ Smith (7.11)TE2 - Boo Williams (17.11)General Strat:Looking at the odd starting requirment and complete lack of any WW system or trades I valued safe players far more than usual. I also valued RBs a lot more than most. The bottom line is this though: RBs get hurt every year and in bunches! I wanted to make sure I had at least 3 starting ball carriers (which I didn't expect to be as hard as you would think with the WR format) and at least 1 handcuff to a primary ball carrier on my team. Other than that, I just wanted the BPA as I saw it.QB1 - Trent Green (5.11)QB2 - Kyle Boller (12.04)QB3 - Trent Dilfer (14.04)I'm rather happy with this group here. I took Green earlier than I had planed on going QB. His consistancy both in production and in ability to stay on the field really sold me though. He is a top tier starting QB in FF and has managed to play every game since becoming a Chief. As for Boller and Dilfer, after landing what seems to be a safe play in Green I felt I could wait out the rest of the QB class and just try and land starters. Boller has more upside than I think most realize and could certainly fill in for Green, though I would hope it wouldn't have to be for long. Dilfer could surprise in Clev if they feel the need to pass a lot this year. RB1 - Clinton Portis (1.11)RB2 - Rudi Johnson (2.04)RB3 - Cedric Benson (4.04)RB4 - Ciatrick Fason (13.11)RB5 - Ladell Betts (16.04)My favorite part of the team and certainly my strength. Got 2 boarderline studs and certain RB1s in Portis and Rudi. This was my ideal way to start the draft coming in. Both guys finished 10th and 11th last year and both appear to be in better situations heading into this year. Followed them 2 up by going for Benson in the 4th. Was the highest quality starter on the board at the time IMO and has great upside.... something that I could take a bit of a chance on having both Portis and Rudi already. Fason was about nothing but upside and the chance that he may get 2 or 3 starts this year. If he does, I think he will be productive. I'm certainly not counting on it though. Betts is the handcuff I was looking for. Sure Perry would appear to be more ideal on the surface, but I knew coming in that the price to get Perry would be far greater. Wanted 3 starters and got them. Though the price was not cheap. Had to spend 3 picks in the 1st 4 rounds to get them. I think this will work out in my favor though. I'm sure just about every team will have at least 1 RB go down for a few weeks, some more. I think my team is better prepared to deal with this than most. We have NO inseason changes at all, so this was priority #1 for me coming into this draft.WR1 - Reggie Wayne (3.11)WR2 - Deion Branch (6.04)WR3 - Brandon Lloyd (8.04)WR4 - Peerless Price (9.11)WR5 - Reche Caldwell (10.04)WR6 - Peter Warrick (11.11)WR7 - Dennis Northcutt (15.11)Obveiously, my WRs paid the high price for my RBs. Seeing how long I waited to really address them though, I think they turned out half decent. I ened up with more than likely 3 WR1s in Branch/Lloyd/Price. They may not be great, but should see the lions share of their teams passes. Wayne may not be a #1, but very well could pass Harrison this very year. Wayne has managed to increase his production in Rec, Yds, and TDs every year in the league. If this trend continues, Wayne should be the #1 in Indy this year. Even if it doesn't, I think another good year is certain baring injury. My strat was basically to land the best WR on the board after addressing my RBs. Then try to grab as many WR1s as I could. When they were all gone, move again to BPA. Thats where Caldwell/Warrick/Northcutt fell. WR seems to be less than ideal, but think they will prove managable.TE1 - LJ Smith (7.11)TE2 - Boo Williams (17.11)Would have loved to get 1 of Gonzo or Gates in this format, but it was clear very early on that so would everyone else. Once they were gone, I didn't see much reason to highly target any of the TEs. Basically, Smith was at the bottom of my 2nd tier so I took him there. I really didn't like the drop off after him. Williams was my last pick and was all about getting the BPA.Not seing a lot of discusion about my team in the thread yet. Could be good, could be bad. Feel free to tear into them though.

 

[There it is]

Great stuff. Thank you for sharing.

 

[bagger.]

So can we all put our leagues in here to be analyzed?

 

[680]

I thought the Shark Pool was for information only.Doesn't this thread belong in the ACF?

 

[jdoggydogg]

The 2005 EBF Invitational draft is complete. Who's looking good? The teams are listed below.

I said it before, but thanks again for the invite EBF.

 

[tommyGunZ]

bagger and Cpt. Paranoid - stop pissing on other people's parades. Good thread - plenty of player analysis that we can all benefit from. These guys are all Shark Pool regulars and put quite a bit of time and effort into their writeups.

 

[The Man Who Met Andy Griffith]

I'll do a write-up of my team later, but I think the most underrated team around is clearly salmonstud's. I don't see him mentioned amongst the league leaders, but he would be my bet for the champ when all is said and done.I would be surprised if he doesn't get at least one solid (top 30) WR out of his trio of rookie WR's (BMW/Troy/Matt Jones). Combined with easily the best RB tandem of LT/Bell, an average QB1 in Favre and an average TE1 in Clark, he is looking pretty good to me.

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

I'll do a write-up of my team later, but I think the most underrated team around is clearly salmonstud's. I don't see him mentioned amongst the league leaders, but he would be my bet for the champ when all is said and done.

I would be surprised if he doesn't get at least one solid (top 30) WR out of his trio of rookie WR's (BMW/Troy/Matt Jones). Combined with easily the best RB tandem of LT/Bell, an average QB1 in Favre and an average TE1 in Clark, he is looking pretty good to me.

I've been looking forward to reading yours.

 

[bagger.]

bagger and Cpt. Paranoid - stop pissing on other people's parades.

Good thread - plenty of player analysis that we can all benefit from. These guys are all Shark Pool regulars and put quite a bit of time and effort into their writeups.

I was just clarifying.

 

[salmonstud]

I'll do a write-up of my team later, but I think the most underrated team around is clearly salmonstud's.  I don't see him mentioned amongst the league leaders, but he would be my bet for the champ when all is said and done.

I would be surprised if he doesn't get at least one solid (top 30) WR out of his trio of rookie WR's (BMW/Troy/Matt Jones).  Combined with easily the best RB tandem of LT/Bell, an average QB1 in Favre and an average TE1 in Clark, he is looking pretty good to me.

Thanks TMWMAG. I use to think your posts were all hogwash....but now they instantly have credibility

 

[jdoggydogg]

No one likes my team. That's cool. I like rooting for the underdog

 

[jurb26]

No one likes my team. That's cool. I like rooting for the underdog

Yeah, not sure if I should take nobody commenting on our teams as a bad thing or a good thing. Could be they don't see anything they like about them or could be they see no weaknesses.

 

[jdoggydogg]

I dig. I'm not concerned. I pretty much drafted the best team I could given my slot. I really do not like getting such a high position in a 14 team draft.

 

[LHUCKS]

No one likes my team. That's cool. I like rooting for the underdog

Yeah, not sure if I should take nobody commenting on our teams as a bad thing or a good thing. Could be they don't see anything they like about them or could be they see no weaknesses.