There must have been atleast 50 different versions of this team. I did build a database query and use spreadsheets.
QB - Jake Delhomme - 13
QB - Jeff Garcia - 8
QB - David Garrard - 2
Many iterations had me going with Brees, but when Garrard became available at $2, I saw he and Brees had the same bye. So I took the $21 I was gonna spend on Brees and took Delhomme and Garcia. Both have good QB SOS, with Delhomme having easy start of the season. At least I have some depth...but do I have quality?
RB - Deuce McAllister - 23
RB - Cadillac Williams - 21
RB - LaMont Jordan - 19
RB - DeShaun Foster - 13
RB - T.J. Duckett - 2
I think in a 0.5 ppr rb scoring, Caddy and Lamont should each approach 3-4 rec. per game. I would have loved to shell out $44 for Reggie Bush and had him on earlier teams, but I wanted to bank money for WR's and TE's late on. So most of these are high on potential. With Deuce, I see him as being a steady performer of 12-15 points per week and a guy who can produce big should something happen to Reggie. Deshaun Foster showed too much value at $13...I hope he can hold off Denagelo Williams all year. An earlier iteration of this team had me cuffing Jordan and Rhodes, but when I changed my QB, the 22 man roster and salary cap forced me to drop Rhodes and stash Duckett for TD vultures.
WR - T.J. Houshmandzadeh - 34
WR - Lee Evans - 29
WR - Isaac Bruce - 15
WR - Ronald Curry - 8
WR - Jacoby Jones - 2
WR - Dennis Northcutt - 1
WR - Sinorice Moss - 1
WR - Kevin Walter - 1
I wanted at least two borderline WR1's and feel I have that with Housh and Lee Evans. I think a lot of contestants have them. The biggest struggle I had was whether or not to go with Santonio Holmes for 14 or Ike Bruce for $15. I have them both at the 180 points area. I went with the more congealed offense (New Steelers coaching staff v. Rams pretty much settled one) and the possibility that if Holt loses time with his knee, Bruce may get more targets. There was no way I could have both. Ronald Curry if he can stay healthy can be a top flight WR....though the QB issue in Oakland could be concerning. I think he will shine if Culpepper gets the nod. I like the idea of having Jacoby Jones at $2. I am hopeful he will be this year's Colston.
TE - Antonio Gates - 35
TE - Jason Witten - 19
At 1.5 ppr, I was not going to pass on Gates. At 1.5 ppr, I was hell bent on trying to fit in Winslow. My thoughts are at 1.5 ppr for te, the TE could be the flex at a great value. My hope is that Witten can return to the 2004 form when he had 87 receptions.
PK - Rob Bironas - 1
PK - John Kasay - 1
I have Kasay projecting for 130 points....and Bironas kicking the long ones. Both show great value at $1.00
TD - Arizona Cardinals - 1
TD - Tennessee Titans - 1
I had the Vikings instead of the Cards early on, but decided I needed that $2 extra bucks to fill out the roster and get to 22 players.
Total value: 250
I have a lot of high hopes on this team. we'll see if I overvalued the role that a good TE plays. I really wanted to find a way to get Drew Brees but could not find a way to do it without wreaking havoc in other areas. The contest makers did a good job, as I was always just a dollar short or needing to add one more player.
That's harsh man.
, it's not as simply as picking the optimal starting lineup IMHO...I know gaming theory will tell you the same, though it's been a while since since I've read up on that topic.
