Pre Draft Analysis/Setup
There's no ADP data for us draftniks to use and abuse in these mid-season drafts. You've got to set up your value lists and go with your gut. Thats not easy when you're competing against the best of the staff and MBers. Everyone knows what they're doing, while simultaneously feeling out how to take on a mid-season draft. Its a challenge and lots of fun.
I ended up picking the #6 spot in this 3RR because I like trying to scoop value in the middle of the draft. I thought the value bump of those near the turn in 3RR was reduced as no one really knew what to expect (again, no ADP).
I set up the Lineup Dominator with the league's scoring system and set the weights on all weeks outside of the scope of this league to zero. I tried opening the file in Draft Dominator to use some of its features, but I wasn't getting the same set of projections (not sure why). I downloaded Bloom's Week 6 projections to try to every so slightly mitigate having Dodds in this draft. I guess I was rolling with Bob Henry's forward projections. Once I had my value list in LD, I followed it rather closely. I know lots of folks see this as a weak way to draft, but its worked for me in the past.
Bye weeks were a much bigger problem in this round. It was pretty much impossible to avoid them, as I did in round 1 (with the exception of a kicker). The only approach is to try not to load up on too many same byes in a positional group, which I did (skipping players I liked better in the process).
The Draft
I was wedged in between Dodds and Wood; nuff said.
1.06 - Chris Johnson, RB -TEN/7: I like Johnson's big play potential in the best ball format. He's the anchor of my squad. I now know I have a big hole to fill in my lineup come week seven.
2.07 - Steve Smith, WR - CAR/4: Actually considered him at 1.06 but decided I needed a RB instead. I have him as WR1 in weeks 6-10 with no bye week issues. True, he disappointed in leg 1, so this is an optimistic take.
3.07 - Steve Slaton, WR - HOU/10: I'm not Slaton's biggest fan, but he seemed like value here. I have him as RB11 giving me two top backs and the license to address other positions with my next run of picks.
4.06 - Wes Welker, WR - NE/8: A bit dicey with his injury concerns, but he's straight cash :$: in PPR best ball leagues (if he plays).
5.07 - Jay Cutler, QB - CHI/5: Heading into the 4/5 turn, I decided I was going to take either Ryan or Cutler if one was still on the board, but I would pass on QB entirely if they were both there. When Norton grabbed Matt right before me, my decision was easy. Had both been available, I would have rolled the dice that one would fall back to me in Round 6 as only one team on the other side of the draft hadn't yet taken a QB. Cutler is looking strong and has no bye week issues.
6.06- Jeremy Shockey, TE - NO/5: I get the impression (I haven't looked it up) that Shockey is a bit inconsistent as a #1 TE. I had him as TE5 but I felt like I would need another solid option to cover for Shockey's down weeks.
7.07 - Mario Manningham, WR - NYG/10: Perhaps a bit of a reach, especially with Nicks' improvement. Still, he was the top WR (27) on my board, and you need plenty of WRs in this format.
8.06 - Jonathan Stewart, RB - CAR/4: LD was pushing Stewart on me for a few rounds, so I finally took the plunge. Not quite sure what I've got in him, especially when you consider that Carolina's offensive offense and D-Will are two big road blocks to his success. I guess I'm just trusting Bloom and Henry on this one.
9.07 - Donnie Avery, WR - STL/9: Another early season disappointment. The Rams are bad and will have to throw to compete. I'll come to like this pick even more later on in the draft.
10.06 - Muhsin Muhammad, WR - CAR/4: I swear I'm not a Panthers fan. Outside of Delhomme, Rosario, and D-Will, I now have their offense locked up. Oh boy.
11.07 - Chad Henne, QB - MIA/6: I should've taken Orton in the 10th. For some reason my cold-fogged brain deluded me into thinking he'd fall to me in the 11th. Favre, Cassel, Sanchez, Cassel, and Delhomme didn't make it either. I blame Dodds for taking his third cube before most took their second. Henne wasn't at the top of my list but I like his upside. Seems like he should be the starter for the duration of this league, and he showed more than a little last Monday night.
12.06 - Jermichael Finley, TE - GB/5 - Hey check it out I've got two TE1s (barely) with no bye weeks---I like it.
13.07 - New Orleans Saints, DEF - NO/5: The number one DEF on my board. Gregg Williams has them playing well, and that offense puts them in a position to succeed. No byes to boot.
14.06 - Kevin Faulk, RB - NE/8: I love this guy in best ball leagues. With Taylor hurt and Maroney sucking, I like Faulk's chances to get a bit more playing time. He's a great baseline RB in this format.
15.07 - Marc Bulger, QB - STL/9: Not 100% sure why I took Bulger here, except that I have a bit of optimism about his upside after coming in to relieve Boller last week. Bulger to Avery could be a darkhorse connection for me.
16.06 - Julian Edelman - NE/8: Sniped for the first time---I really wanted the Broncos as my second defense. Good work, Wood. I now have three pass-catchers in NE. Edelman will provide a baseline should Welker be ok to play, and a nice handcuff should Wes miss any time.
17.07 - Indianapolis Colts, DEF - IND/6: Just picked the defense off the top of my list. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have taken a team with a week six bye. Now I'm rolling with New Orleans against New York this weekend. Hopefully that won't handicap me too much.
18.06 - Matt Stover, PK - IND/6: Stover, maintainer of journals chronicling every kick he's ever made, including practice, should fill in nicely while Vinatieri convalesces.
19.07 - Davone Bess, WR - MIA/6: Hopefully Henne to Bess flourishes in weeks 7-10.
20.06 - Kelly Washington, WR - BAL/7: Washington has had a slight career renaissance with Flacco heaving him the rock. He teams up with Bess and Edelman to form the back end of my WR corps.
21.07 - Justin Forsett, RB - SEA/7: I didn't want to roll with only four RBs but I hadn't liked anything available for quite some time. Of all the names I scrolled through, Forsett seemed to have the most upside. And today Mike Sando predicts an increase in his touches/playing time. May it be so, Sando.
22.06 - Steven Hauschka, PK - BAL/7: Need someone to score some PK points in Week 6.
The Team
QB Jay Cutler, CHI/5QB Chad Henne, MIA/6QB Marc Bulger, STL/9RB Chris Johnson, TEN/7RB Steve Slaton, HOU/10RB Jonathan Stewart, CAR/4RB Kevin Faulk, NE/8RB Justin Forsett, SEA/7WR Steve Smith, CAR/4WR Wes Welker, NE/8WR Mario Manningham, NYG/10WR Muhsin Muhammad, CAR/4WR Donnie Avery, STL/9WR Kelley Washington, BAL/7WR Julian Edelman, NE/8WR Davone Bess, MIA/6TE Jeremy Shockey, NO/5TE Jermichael Finley, GB/5PK Matt Stover, IND/6PK Steve Hauschka, BAL/7DEF New Orleans, NO/5DEF Indianapolis, IND/6No big bye issues. I like my chances.
The Results...
Code:
BusMan 44-11 - 724.4acefootball 36-19 - 683.4Jason Wood 35-20 - 692.3~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Andy Dufresne 31-24 - 681.5Will Grant 31-24 - 674.4David Dodds 28-27 - 679.1Lash 28-27 661.2EvilGrin72 25-30 - 652.4John Norton 24-31 - 644.4Deranged Hermit 23-32 - 654.9ffjunk 14-41 - 632.1RustyFA2 11-44 - 610.0
It was fun guys good luck to all!
