Standard League
Result - Loss
Score 34 - 88
Power Rank - 8th
Second epic beat down in 2 weeks. After starting strong the first week, my team has not been able to do much of anything. I had 3 starters put up 1 point and another put up 0. You know your team is in for a bad week when your high scorer is your Kicker, mine had 8. Same as last week, no big injuries just bad games. My opponent had 4 players score in the double digits. Just a bad day all around for my guys.
Not much to say about my team right now. I'm not going to panic and start dumping guys, that will only lead to more problems and you can't dig yourself out of a hole by more digging. My team is good and I believe they will turn the corner and start winning some games again. A lot of my guys are first or second year players so sometimes it takes a little longer for them to get going. I have confidence we will make another run at a playoff spot. Just have to sorry about covering bye weeks now. Really only 1 big one this week with my TE - Thomas but I was prepared and will have TE Walker to start in his place.
Made one move this week. Picked up Houston WR DeAndre Hopkins. He was getting the most targets on the team and usually that will turn into points, even if the team doesn't win many games. I'll start him this week and see how things go.
PPR League
Result - Win
Score 132 - 127
I had high hopes for this week but I wouldn't be surprised if I was handed a loss. This was my 3rd division opponent in 3 weeks. Luckily, my team, for the most part, all had good games and his, not so much. I was a little worried when my QB only put up 7.5 to his 24.5 but my WRs and RBs picked up the slack. Each of our teams only totaled 3 TDs and for this league, this was a low scoring game.
Was able to get out of this match up with no injuries also. But, one of my main RBs (Lynch) is on a bye week for this week. I spent most of the draft grabbing hand cuffs for my starters - so of course they all have the same bye weeks. I dropped a RB that I haven't even started yet and picked up RB Blount. He has had a couple of good games and has been scoring a bit even though he is not the starter. He was the best available so in a pinch, he will have to do. I just hope he can score a few for me. I also replaced my kicker this week. Not a big deal, my guy was doing OK but also on bye this week. Just went with the best available here too.
After a discussion with a league manager about divisions and play offs, I feel pretty good. Division wins is the first tie breaker and I have 3 wins there already. Hopefully I can keep this momentum going for a while longer. This week my opponent isn't overly strong at any position but this week, neither am I. We joked that we will have the lowest scoring game this week. My match ups look better this week so if I can get a few more points this week I should be OK.
Showing posts with label Fantasy Football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy Football. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Fantasy Football Week 2 Reviews - The Studs and The Duds
Standard Scoring Redraft League
Result - Loss
Score 41 - 104
Power Ranking - 6th
Well. No matter how many great games you may have, nothing really prepares you for a huge loss like this week. Granted, this is only week 2 and I think I would rather have a loss like this happen earlier rather then later in the season. It's easier to take the loss and still have 10 or so games left, had this been the last game of the season it might be a different story.
Out of all the players this week, I really only had 1 good game. With RB Ben Tate out with an injury, my draft of RB Terrance West proved fruitful. He got the start and put up starting RB numbers, 100 combined yards and a TD. It was all down hill from there. West was the only guy to hit a double digit score. One WR laid a goose egg and 5 other players scored less than 5 points and only 3 total TD from my whole team. It was a rough day. I really just place the blame on there being so many close games last week, even a couple upsets. A lot of teams came from behind to win and several of those players were on my opponents roster. He ended this brutal beat down with 9 total TDs.
But nothing lasts forever, especially in Fantasy Football Land! I have high hopes for this week. Most of my guys have way better match ups and should perform a lot better. My opponent has a good team and he can score some good points but most of his guys are on teams that haven't been playing that well yet.
Moves - I went out and picked up another TE - Delanie Walker from the Titans. With a healthy Jake Locker back at QB, he has been his number 1 target so far (he went off for 13 points last week). He will mainly cover my bye week for Julius Thomas (who has 4 TDs so far). Plus, if I can keep a player of his caliber on my team, even if it's on the bench, and away from the other teams starting line ups, all the better.
PPR Scoring Keeper League
Result - Win
Score 116 - 79
A win is a win. I almost kinda feel bad in a small way that my opponent lost almost half his team to injuries very early in their games. ALMOST. This is why we play the games. On paper, he should have whipped me pretty good and he did win the league last year so you know he has a good team. But his guys can't score if they aren't on the field. One of his guys got hurt before scoring anything, another dropped out after just one carry, leaving him with only 1 point. Another hurt his knee and will miss a few weeks. I hate when things like this happen to me so I know how he must feel, but he his top WR, going into the late game on Sunday Night, as a game time decision. If he did play, he would be playing hurt so he decided to bench him. So, of course he hauls in 3 TDs.
My guys did good, but not great. Had a lower scoring game than I would have thought but like I said, a win is a win. Had a WR and a RB break 20 and my QB came very close. No one got hurt and we will live to play another day. Had some tough match ups in a few games and this weeks games should have better results. Not much else to say, it wasn't very exciting but felt good to have another win against another very tough division opponent. Hopefully this will help me down the road as we fight for playoff spots.
Moves - Only one move this week. I dropped WR Riley Cooper. He wasn't getting as many targets as I thought he would have through 2 weeks. He is good but runs hot and cold and is not very consistent. I went with WR Andrew Hawkins from the Browns. He has 22 targets through 2 weeks. With his QB getting a little better he should start putting up more stats soon. He was more of a stash for right now. Being PPR, this league scores great on WRs so I'm sure he will pay off soon.
Result - Loss
Score 41 - 104
Power Ranking - 6th
Well. No matter how many great games you may have, nothing really prepares you for a huge loss like this week. Granted, this is only week 2 and I think I would rather have a loss like this happen earlier rather then later in the season. It's easier to take the loss and still have 10 or so games left, had this been the last game of the season it might be a different story.
Out of all the players this week, I really only had 1 good game. With RB Ben Tate out with an injury, my draft of RB Terrance West proved fruitful. He got the start and put up starting RB numbers, 100 combined yards and a TD. It was all down hill from there. West was the only guy to hit a double digit score. One WR laid a goose egg and 5 other players scored less than 5 points and only 3 total TD from my whole team. It was a rough day. I really just place the blame on there being so many close games last week, even a couple upsets. A lot of teams came from behind to win and several of those players were on my opponents roster. He ended this brutal beat down with 9 total TDs.
But nothing lasts forever, especially in Fantasy Football Land! I have high hopes for this week. Most of my guys have way better match ups and should perform a lot better. My opponent has a good team and he can score some good points but most of his guys are on teams that haven't been playing that well yet.
Moves - I went out and picked up another TE - Delanie Walker from the Titans. With a healthy Jake Locker back at QB, he has been his number 1 target so far (he went off for 13 points last week). He will mainly cover my bye week for Julius Thomas (who has 4 TDs so far). Plus, if I can keep a player of his caliber on my team, even if it's on the bench, and away from the other teams starting line ups, all the better.
PPR Scoring Keeper League
Result - Win
Score 116 - 79
A win is a win. I almost kinda feel bad in a small way that my opponent lost almost half his team to injuries very early in their games. ALMOST. This is why we play the games. On paper, he should have whipped me pretty good and he did win the league last year so you know he has a good team. But his guys can't score if they aren't on the field. One of his guys got hurt before scoring anything, another dropped out after just one carry, leaving him with only 1 point. Another hurt his knee and will miss a few weeks. I hate when things like this happen to me so I know how he must feel, but he his top WR, going into the late game on Sunday Night, as a game time decision. If he did play, he would be playing hurt so he decided to bench him. So, of course he hauls in 3 TDs.
My guys did good, but not great. Had a lower scoring game than I would have thought but like I said, a win is a win. Had a WR and a RB break 20 and my QB came very close. No one got hurt and we will live to play another day. Had some tough match ups in a few games and this weeks games should have better results. Not much else to say, it wasn't very exciting but felt good to have another win against another very tough division opponent. Hopefully this will help me down the road as we fight for playoff spots.
Moves - Only one move this week. I dropped WR Riley Cooper. He wasn't getting as many targets as I thought he would have through 2 weeks. He is good but runs hot and cold and is not very consistent. I went with WR Andrew Hawkins from the Browns. He has 22 targets through 2 weeks. With his QB getting a little better he should start putting up more stats soon. He was more of a stash for right now. Being PPR, this league scores great on WRs so I'm sure he will pay off soon.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Fantasy Football Week 1 Results
Redraft League Standard Scoring
Week 1 Results
Win
Score - 74-40
Power Rank - 3rd
I felt very confident about this team coming out of the draft. Landed some great starters and several rookies that will play bigger roles as the season wears on. Changed my draft strategy a bit this year, I didn't want to load up on so many running backs right away. Of course, I still went heavy on them as the draft went on, but I got my number 1 target with my first pick then went after some other positions that put up big numbers in our scoring system. I think that is key to winning in any league, know how you can score points and when to acquire those players.
So, instead of grabbing RBs with all my first picks, I went RB, QB then TE and WR. We have to start a TE every week so I made it a point to go after a good one. Julius Thomas from Denver was available so I took him while everyone else was still on the RB kick. My first over all pick was Eddie Lacey, I wanted a stud RB in a system that will lean on him a lot. The Packers are becoming more balanced and Lacey is the main reason for that, he will be the main man in the back field. Took Stafford for my QB, even when the Lions lose, he should put up good numbers. My first 2 WRs, I went with Michael Floyd from Arizona and Keenan Allen from San Diego, both are in pass heavy offenses and should do well.
On to this weeks games. I played all my big names and of course, week 1, how could you now? I had 2 huge games and it turns out that all I would have needed for this win. 25 from Stafford and 23 from Thomas. My next highest score was from my kicker at 8. I had some guys get dinged up during the game and their playing time was limited. The big one was Lacey, he left the game with concussion like symptoms. So far he has cleared the early stages for being able to play next week and I hope he does, he only managed 1 point this week. My other main RB was Bell from the Lions. I drafted him knowing he was a strong runner and will catch a ton of passes. He ran strong and scored a TD this week. I was a little nervous about taking a RB and QB from the same team but I figured with all the points they will score, I should end up doing well.
My WRs did just OK this week. Out of the 3 I got a combined 7 points. This can't happen every week but I know there were several games that the weaker teams just played stronger than expected. I'll most likely keep the same guys in the lineup for next week. Looking ahead to next weeks games, I'll probably keep my line up the same. The only thing I will have to keep an eye on is Lacey. I have a few other RBs that I can start in his place if he can't go, my back up RB from the Browns, Terrance West ran very well after their starter went out with an injury. He managed 100 yards and put up 5 points on the bench. I knew Tate wasn't going to hold up all year but didn't know he would go down this early. I might have another starting RB on my hands sooner than I thought. I didn't post a draft review so I'll list my current team here:
QB - Stafford - Lions
RB - Lacey - Packers
RB - Bell - Lions
RB - Hill - Bengals
RB - Hyde - 49ers
RB - West - Browns
RB - Freeman - Falcons
RB - Williams - Giants
RB - Brown - Bills
WR - Allen - Chargers
WR - Floyd - Cardinals
WR - Evans - Bucs
WR - Benjamin - Panthers
TE - Thomas - Broncos
K - Gould - Bears
DEF - Packers
Keeper League PPR Scoring
Week 1 Results
Win
Score 175 - 130
Had a good draft in this one too. Didn't get a few of the guys I was after but same as above, I grabbed a few guys that will get more playing time as the season wears on and the injuries add up. I have a strong core of starters to build on so I didn't really NEED much, just wanted to get some quality back ups and (hopefully) future stars. On to week 1.
I was 50/50 about my chances this week. My opponent has fielded a strong team every season and we are in the same division. A win for me would be a great start. All my starts showed up and put up some great numbers for my team. Just a great game overall and I ended up with the highest point total in the league for this week. The Cowboys and Seahawks running games are both in great shape, Lynch put up 25 and Murray had 20. RBs have never really been my strong suit and that will probably hold true for much of this season as well as my WRs put up big numbers again this week. Cobb was my lowest scoring WR at 15, others went for 23 - Patterson, 23 Brown and Cooks (my rookie WR) had 19. Cooks is my new addition, I think he has great upside for the Saints this year. I know he's a rookie and they usually don't have great first years, but injuries to a few starters and on a team that throws a ton and he got several targets and made the most of them. I like this kid going forward.
My bench didn't do much, which is why they are there. I went and nabbed a good back up QB this year, something that hurt me last season. I took Cutler, as much as I don't like the Bears, he has really good potential to put up big numbers. Between him and Stafford I should be OK. In the draft I picked up Cooper from the Eagles. I made a last minute change and took him out of this weeks lineup and put in Cooks. Glad I did. I didn't need the points to win but a few last minutes doing research helped out. Looks like Cooks will be my guy for a while.
Here is my team heading into this season. I made a pre draft trade, got rid of Alshon Jeffery and picked up Christine Michaels and a draft pick. I was plenty deep at WR and I wanted some insurance for Lynch. Michaels could very well be the Hawks star RB of the future, maybe not this season. I could have done without this trade but at the time, Lynch was threatening a holdout. I drafted Michaels last season then dropped him half way through when it was clear he wouldn't get any playing time. I'll hang on to him this season.
QB - Stafford - Lions
QB - Cutler - Bears
RB - Lynch - Seahawks
RB - Murray - Cowboys
RB - Brown - Bills
RB - Michaels - Seahawks
RB - Dunbar - Cowboys
RB - Murray - Raiders
RB - Williams - Giants
WR - Cobb - Packers
WR - Patterson - Vikings
WR - Brown - Steelers
WR - Cooks - Saints
WR - Cooper - Eagles
K - Hauschka - Seahawks
DEF - Packers
Week 1 Results
Win
Score - 74-40
Power Rank - 3rd
I felt very confident about this team coming out of the draft. Landed some great starters and several rookies that will play bigger roles as the season wears on. Changed my draft strategy a bit this year, I didn't want to load up on so many running backs right away. Of course, I still went heavy on them as the draft went on, but I got my number 1 target with my first pick then went after some other positions that put up big numbers in our scoring system. I think that is key to winning in any league, know how you can score points and when to acquire those players.
So, instead of grabbing RBs with all my first picks, I went RB, QB then TE and WR. We have to start a TE every week so I made it a point to go after a good one. Julius Thomas from Denver was available so I took him while everyone else was still on the RB kick. My first over all pick was Eddie Lacey, I wanted a stud RB in a system that will lean on him a lot. The Packers are becoming more balanced and Lacey is the main reason for that, he will be the main man in the back field. Took Stafford for my QB, even when the Lions lose, he should put up good numbers. My first 2 WRs, I went with Michael Floyd from Arizona and Keenan Allen from San Diego, both are in pass heavy offenses and should do well.
On to this weeks games. I played all my big names and of course, week 1, how could you now? I had 2 huge games and it turns out that all I would have needed for this win. 25 from Stafford and 23 from Thomas. My next highest score was from my kicker at 8. I had some guys get dinged up during the game and their playing time was limited. The big one was Lacey, he left the game with concussion like symptoms. So far he has cleared the early stages for being able to play next week and I hope he does, he only managed 1 point this week. My other main RB was Bell from the Lions. I drafted him knowing he was a strong runner and will catch a ton of passes. He ran strong and scored a TD this week. I was a little nervous about taking a RB and QB from the same team but I figured with all the points they will score, I should end up doing well.
My WRs did just OK this week. Out of the 3 I got a combined 7 points. This can't happen every week but I know there were several games that the weaker teams just played stronger than expected. I'll most likely keep the same guys in the lineup for next week. Looking ahead to next weeks games, I'll probably keep my line up the same. The only thing I will have to keep an eye on is Lacey. I have a few other RBs that I can start in his place if he can't go, my back up RB from the Browns, Terrance West ran very well after their starter went out with an injury. He managed 100 yards and put up 5 points on the bench. I knew Tate wasn't going to hold up all year but didn't know he would go down this early. I might have another starting RB on my hands sooner than I thought. I didn't post a draft review so I'll list my current team here:
QB - Stafford - Lions
RB - Lacey - Packers
RB - Bell - Lions
RB - Hill - Bengals
RB - Hyde - 49ers
RB - West - Browns
RB - Freeman - Falcons
RB - Williams - Giants
RB - Brown - Bills
WR - Allen - Chargers
WR - Floyd - Cardinals
WR - Evans - Bucs
WR - Benjamin - Panthers
TE - Thomas - Broncos
K - Gould - Bears
DEF - Packers
Keeper League PPR Scoring
Week 1 Results
Win
Score 175 - 130
Had a good draft in this one too. Didn't get a few of the guys I was after but same as above, I grabbed a few guys that will get more playing time as the season wears on and the injuries add up. I have a strong core of starters to build on so I didn't really NEED much, just wanted to get some quality back ups and (hopefully) future stars. On to week 1.
I was 50/50 about my chances this week. My opponent has fielded a strong team every season and we are in the same division. A win for me would be a great start. All my starts showed up and put up some great numbers for my team. Just a great game overall and I ended up with the highest point total in the league for this week. The Cowboys and Seahawks running games are both in great shape, Lynch put up 25 and Murray had 20. RBs have never really been my strong suit and that will probably hold true for much of this season as well as my WRs put up big numbers again this week. Cobb was my lowest scoring WR at 15, others went for 23 - Patterson, 23 Brown and Cooks (my rookie WR) had 19. Cooks is my new addition, I think he has great upside for the Saints this year. I know he's a rookie and they usually don't have great first years, but injuries to a few starters and on a team that throws a ton and he got several targets and made the most of them. I like this kid going forward.
My bench didn't do much, which is why they are there. I went and nabbed a good back up QB this year, something that hurt me last season. I took Cutler, as much as I don't like the Bears, he has really good potential to put up big numbers. Between him and Stafford I should be OK. In the draft I picked up Cooper from the Eagles. I made a last minute change and took him out of this weeks lineup and put in Cooks. Glad I did. I didn't need the points to win but a few last minutes doing research helped out. Looks like Cooks will be my guy for a while.
Here is my team heading into this season. I made a pre draft trade, got rid of Alshon Jeffery and picked up Christine Michaels and a draft pick. I was plenty deep at WR and I wanted some insurance for Lynch. Michaels could very well be the Hawks star RB of the future, maybe not this season. I could have done without this trade but at the time, Lynch was threatening a holdout. I drafted Michaels last season then dropped him half way through when it was clear he wouldn't get any playing time. I'll hang on to him this season.
QB - Stafford - Lions
QB - Cutler - Bears
RB - Lynch - Seahawks
RB - Murray - Cowboys
RB - Brown - Bills
RB - Michaels - Seahawks
RB - Dunbar - Cowboys
RB - Murray - Raiders
RB - Williams - Giants
WR - Cobb - Packers
WR - Patterson - Vikings
WR - Brown - Steelers
WR - Cooks - Saints
WR - Cooper - Eagles
K - Hauschka - Seahawks
DEF - Packers
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Fantasy Football 2014 Pre-view - Running Backs I will avoid! - Redraft League
While everyone is arguing over who they think should be drafted in the top 10, I tend to look a little further down the list. We can generally agree on who the studs are so instead of marking up my list with guys I want, I'll start marking off guys I DO NOT want. A little research before hand will save you some headache and scrambling on draft day. The first few rounds of most drafts are usually the quickest, by the time you get done crossing a name off your list, 2 other picks have come in. Owners will have it set in their mind who they want first, even if it's a reach. I will go into draft day knowing who I will not be drafting. This post will focus on the Running Backs.
Running Backs (RB) are huge assets to fantasy teams. They score TDs, rack up lots of yardage and in some cases catch a lot of passes. They can also be a huge disappointment. Ever have one of your top picks leave a game early on because of injury? Only to hand you a loss by just a few points that he would have surly landed you? I usually won't hold a grudge but when this happens time and time again, I have to, at some point, tell my self, not only never again this season but never again in ANY season. It doesn't have to be an injury. It can be another running back on the same team that will steal carries and TDs. I'm looking at you Buffalo! I started this last season. I went through my list and crossed off names that I wanted to avoid in the head spinning confusion that is Draft Day. It helped me out a lot down the stretch, when talent starts getting scarce and you might reach for a name simply because you know who that guy is. This list is nothing personal, they might have a good or even great season but either I have been burned or saw other owners get burned by these guys. I am all including in this list guys that I just don't think will have a good year, based on team change or injury prone or just flat out not that good.
Zac Stacy - Rams. He came in and had a pretty good run at things for the Rams. But look at maybe why that was. One of their main offensive players, Sam Bradford, was lost for the season with a knee injury. They HAD to run the ball. So they did. Now, Bradford is back and healthy. I just don't see them needing to run as much as they did last year. He might have a decent year but I'm not willing to take a chance.
Doug Martin - Bucs. He had a monster rookie season. Then turned in a lot of bad games last year and he was getting injured. Looking back, his big games were against just 2 or 3 teams, he was not very consistent. The Bucs have upgraded their QB situation and have added more weapons on offense. Plus, the coach came out and said they want to go to a committee at RB (not always but usually a death nail for RBs). Having a better offence might open up running lanes for him, but what if they don't give him enough chances? Not a gamble for me.
C.J. Spiller - Bills. He always starts every season with a huge upside. Coaches say they want to give him the ball more, he's a huge play maker, he's all these things....but they also signed Fred Jackson to a new contract. I would consider drafting Spiller, but Jackson is a big reason why I won't. Sure, he's gets his share of chances and he does have good games but it's hard to argue when Jackson comes in and scores 2 TDs and has 100 yards when Spiller only gets a few runs and catches a couple passes. They seam to go back and forth a lot. I can't draft a guy knowing it's 50/50 each week.
Any RB from New England because of Belichick. I can't loose points for a full game just because of one mistake.
Any RB from New Orleans. When you have Drew Brees, running is an after thought. Any one of 3 guys could be their starter on any given week. I won't keep a roster spot open for a guy that might not even get a chance to run.
Ray Rice - Ravens. Not even counting his 2 game suspension to start this season, I just don't trust him anymore. The Ravens used to have a very good running game and Rice was one of the best and also caught a huge amount of passes. Last year, that all went away. Many blame the bad Offensive Line. I'm not sure they can go from almost worst to almost first in one off season. I'm just going to let him be a problem for someone else.
Any RB from the Panthers. They have several guys that will put up good numbers but it will most likely be a different guy each week. Not to mention a QB that will steal yards and TDs. nah, not for me.
That's about it. Nothing against any of these players, personally, but our Championship game came down to the last minute. Points are hard to come by for anyone but especially those who aren't given a good enough chance. I'll let other owners roll the dice on these guys.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
NFL Fantasy Football Keeper League Offseason Player Moves
To keep or not to keep, that is the question.
I will have to narrow my team down to 7 before our draft. Right before the season ends, there is a mad scramble to pick up players that might end up starting or signed to a better team with more fantasy implications. I have a couple of those players on my roster right now. The problem is, I also have several well established vets that I would love to hold on to. Here is a list of who I currently have on roster:
Matthew Stafford - QB Lions
Ben Roethlisberger - QB Steelers
DeMarco Murray - RB Cowboys
Marshawn Lynch - RB Seahawks
Robert Turbin - RB Seahawks
Danny Woodhead - RB Chargers
Donald Brown - RB Chargers
Chris Ivory - RB Jets
Antonio Brown - WR Steelers
Alshon Jeffery - WR Bears
Corderrelle Patterson - WR Vikings
Pierre Garcon - WR Redskins
Randall Cobb - WR Packers
Vernon Davis - TE 49ers
Steven Hauschka - K Seahawks
Browns - DEF
Steelers - DEF
I traded away Rodgers for Stafford as I was making a run into the playoffs. I loved having Rodgers, he was very consistent. The Lions throw the ball a ton and Stafford is a young player that has huge amount of potential. Unless something major happens this off season, I'll be keeping Stafford.
I love my stable of WRs. I drafted Patterson late and I never started him (based on my other WRs having such great seasons). He really started to play well in the last half of the season as the Vikings gave him the ball more and more. I really want to hold on to him and give him a chance. I made a trade for Cobb. When he's healthy, he can be great. Brown and Jeffery blew up and posted great numbers for me. Out of these players, I think Garcon is the one I might have to let go or trade.
I have 3 RBs that I would like to keep, but it will probably end up just being 2. Most likely I'll stick with Lynch and Murray. If I had room I would probably keep Woodhead also, although now that Brown has signed with the Chargers, someone will score less. Turbin was a late season pick up to back up Lynch. Ivory was barely a starter for me and now with Chris Johnson in the mix, he won't be on my roster come draft day.
Not sure how other keep leagues work, but our first draft pick is based on how many players we keep. If I keep my limit of 7, my first pick will be in round 8. Of course, I can "go all in" if I wanted to and try to get a few high draft picks, but I have yet to try that. Kickers and Defense will get dropped first, along with Davis. Some easy choices at RB and some tough ones at WR. Looks like my team will be based out of the NFC North.
I will have to narrow my team down to 7 before our draft. Right before the season ends, there is a mad scramble to pick up players that might end up starting or signed to a better team with more fantasy implications. I have a couple of those players on my roster right now. The problem is, I also have several well established vets that I would love to hold on to. Here is a list of who I currently have on roster:
Matthew Stafford - QB Lions
Ben Roethlisberger - QB Steelers
DeMarco Murray - RB Cowboys
Marshawn Lynch - RB Seahawks
Robert Turbin - RB Seahawks
Danny Woodhead - RB Chargers
Donald Brown - RB Chargers
Chris Ivory - RB Jets
Antonio Brown - WR Steelers
Alshon Jeffery - WR Bears
Corderrelle Patterson - WR Vikings
Pierre Garcon - WR Redskins
Randall Cobb - WR Packers
Vernon Davis - TE 49ers
Steven Hauschka - K Seahawks
Browns - DEF
Steelers - DEF
I traded away Rodgers for Stafford as I was making a run into the playoffs. I loved having Rodgers, he was very consistent. The Lions throw the ball a ton and Stafford is a young player that has huge amount of potential. Unless something major happens this off season, I'll be keeping Stafford.
I love my stable of WRs. I drafted Patterson late and I never started him (based on my other WRs having such great seasons). He really started to play well in the last half of the season as the Vikings gave him the ball more and more. I really want to hold on to him and give him a chance. I made a trade for Cobb. When he's healthy, he can be great. Brown and Jeffery blew up and posted great numbers for me. Out of these players, I think Garcon is the one I might have to let go or trade.
I have 3 RBs that I would like to keep, but it will probably end up just being 2. Most likely I'll stick with Lynch and Murray. If I had room I would probably keep Woodhead also, although now that Brown has signed with the Chargers, someone will score less. Turbin was a late season pick up to back up Lynch. Ivory was barely a starter for me and now with Chris Johnson in the mix, he won't be on my roster come draft day.
Not sure how other keep leagues work, but our first draft pick is based on how many players we keep. If I keep my limit of 7, my first pick will be in round 8. Of course, I can "go all in" if I wanted to and try to get a few high draft picks, but I have yet to try that. Kickers and Defense will get dropped first, along with Davis. Some easy choices at RB and some tough ones at WR. Looks like my team will be based out of the NFC North.
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Fantasy Football Championship Game Review Standard League
Standard Redraft League
Championship Game Result: Loss
Score: 58 - 64
2nd Place Overall
Very exciting game, even though it didn't end the way I wanted it to. My team was finished playing Sunday and my opponent had 2 players in the Monday night game. Both playing for the 49ers, Kicker and Defense. They were playing the Falcons, who had been having a tough year, so I was a little worried. I was up by 13 points heading into the game.
The game started off great, he got a field goal and a couple of extra points but the Defense had only 1 sack. The Falcons actually started playing really well in the second half. heading into the very last minute of the game I was up by 3 points and the Falcons were down by a TD and inside the 49er 20 yard line. I figured, the Falcons would kill the clock trying to score and the game would end with me being up by 3. Of course, that didn't happen. 49er Defense got an interception (1 point) and ran it back for a TD (6 points) then of course they kicked the extra point (1 point). Game over. Living in the Seattle area, we have grown accustomed to hating the 49ers. This did nothing to change that for me.
Looking back, the position I was most concerned about ended up being my downfall. I had a hard time deciding on which QB to start. I had Luck, Smith and I had picked up Cutler last week. Cutler had the highest projected points (by 1 over Smith), but he had missed several games due to injury and had been knocked out of 2 or 3 games, getting hurt. I knew he had a good match up against the Eagles but I was worried he would not be able to play the entire game. I narrowed it down to Smith or Luck. I went with Smith. The Colts Defense had been playing just OK most of the year, some good game and some bad but the Chiefs Defense was better. I was thinking I could get a TD or 2 from Smith but probably less from Luck. Ended up with only 2 points from Smith. 7 from Luck and 9 from Cutler. Had I gone with Cutler I would have won. I can't blame it totally on the QB spot. I had a couple of other guys that had really good match ups but they didn't produce much. None of my WRs were able to get a TD. Both of my RBs had really good games, got 16 from Lacey and 12 from Charles. I know I won't be able to draft both of those guys again next year but it would be nice.
Overall, this was a really fun season. It came down to the wire, the very last minute of our season. I can't be too mad. I had a really good team this year. I'll have to take those lessons learned and apply them next season and hope for the best. I stand by how I managed my team. Getting into the play offs and into the championship game, I didn't want to change how I managed my team to get them to this point. I didn't play the match ups with my main guys. It had worked out almost all year. Some weeks it didn't but I don't think I would have made it this far had I been chasing points.
I spent a little more time doing my research before the draft and was able to walk away from that with a really good team to start with. I also spent more time managing my team, staying on top of injuries, and mining the waiver wire. Being able to pick up a couple of players before the other teams realized they should have, WR Jeffery and RB Bell were my two best ones. One thing that I will need to get better at is carrying dead weight. I ended this year with 2 guys on my bench that I drafted but after a few poor games from RBs Spiller and MJD, I didn't have any faith in them, not enough to start them even against a good match up. Looking back I probably could have dropped them and looked for better players at other positions, namely QB and TE. If I could have been a little more consistent at those 2 spots, that might have made a difference in this last game.
Vince Lombardi once said that winning isn't everything, it's the only thing. True. But losing this last game, the way it ended, I feel really good about next season. I can't wait to get to the next draft and start this all over again.
Thanks to everyone that followed along with these posts during the season. I hope you were able to learn a few things, either what to do or what not to do. I look forward to sharing my ups and downs again next year.
Championship Game Result: Loss
Score: 58 - 64
2nd Place Overall
Very exciting game, even though it didn't end the way I wanted it to. My team was finished playing Sunday and my opponent had 2 players in the Monday night game. Both playing for the 49ers, Kicker and Defense. They were playing the Falcons, who had been having a tough year, so I was a little worried. I was up by 13 points heading into the game.
The game started off great, he got a field goal and a couple of extra points but the Defense had only 1 sack. The Falcons actually started playing really well in the second half. heading into the very last minute of the game I was up by 3 points and the Falcons were down by a TD and inside the 49er 20 yard line. I figured, the Falcons would kill the clock trying to score and the game would end with me being up by 3. Of course, that didn't happen. 49er Defense got an interception (1 point) and ran it back for a TD (6 points) then of course they kicked the extra point (1 point). Game over. Living in the Seattle area, we have grown accustomed to hating the 49ers. This did nothing to change that for me.
Looking back, the position I was most concerned about ended up being my downfall. I had a hard time deciding on which QB to start. I had Luck, Smith and I had picked up Cutler last week. Cutler had the highest projected points (by 1 over Smith), but he had missed several games due to injury and had been knocked out of 2 or 3 games, getting hurt. I knew he had a good match up against the Eagles but I was worried he would not be able to play the entire game. I narrowed it down to Smith or Luck. I went with Smith. The Colts Defense had been playing just OK most of the year, some good game and some bad but the Chiefs Defense was better. I was thinking I could get a TD or 2 from Smith but probably less from Luck. Ended up with only 2 points from Smith. 7 from Luck and 9 from Cutler. Had I gone with Cutler I would have won. I can't blame it totally on the QB spot. I had a couple of other guys that had really good match ups but they didn't produce much. None of my WRs were able to get a TD. Both of my RBs had really good games, got 16 from Lacey and 12 from Charles. I know I won't be able to draft both of those guys again next year but it would be nice.
Overall, this was a really fun season. It came down to the wire, the very last minute of our season. I can't be too mad. I had a really good team this year. I'll have to take those lessons learned and apply them next season and hope for the best. I stand by how I managed my team. Getting into the play offs and into the championship game, I didn't want to change how I managed my team to get them to this point. I didn't play the match ups with my main guys. It had worked out almost all year. Some weeks it didn't but I don't think I would have made it this far had I been chasing points.
I spent a little more time doing my research before the draft and was able to walk away from that with a really good team to start with. I also spent more time managing my team, staying on top of injuries, and mining the waiver wire. Being able to pick up a couple of players before the other teams realized they should have, WR Jeffery and RB Bell were my two best ones. One thing that I will need to get better at is carrying dead weight. I ended this year with 2 guys on my bench that I drafted but after a few poor games from RBs Spiller and MJD, I didn't have any faith in them, not enough to start them even against a good match up. Looking back I probably could have dropped them and looked for better players at other positions, namely QB and TE. If I could have been a little more consistent at those 2 spots, that might have made a difference in this last game.
Vince Lombardi once said that winning isn't everything, it's the only thing. True. But losing this last game, the way it ended, I feel really good about next season. I can't wait to get to the next draft and start this all over again.
Thanks to everyone that followed along with these posts during the season. I hope you were able to learn a few things, either what to do or what not to do. I look forward to sharing my ups and downs again next year.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Fantasy Football Playoffs Week 2 Standard League
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Playoffs Week 2 Result: Win
Score: 131-41
Could not have asked for a better performance from my team and right when I needed it. I'll have to admit that I was more than just a little worried heading into this match up. My opponent ran over just about every team in the league this year and finished the season at 10-3 and in first place. His team is really strong. Heavy on the Broncos, who just happen to score a ton on the field and in fantasy leagues. He starts, QB Manning, WR Decker, RB Moreno and TE Thomas so he usually has high scoring games. That is, unless the Broncos have a bad game. They have only done that a couple of times this season. With WR Welker being out the last few weeks, I figured Decker, Moreno and Thomas would all receive more targets and put up more points then their average. The Broncos were playing the Chargers and they have been playing well lately. So I had my fingers crossed.
I figured my team would have just an OK week. A few tough match ups and a few good ones but nothing that stood out. I started all my normal players. The only change was QB Luck instead of QB Smith, these two have been about even all year. Luck has more total points but he is less consistent. Smith has not played great when he had a good match up so I left him on the bench. And of course the Chiefs had an amazing game against the Raiders. My RB Charles had one of the best fantasy days of any player ever. I think he made it into the top 5 ever. In this league he put up 40 points. Only 20 rushing yards and 1 rush TD but 195 and 4 TDs through the air. Which also meant that Smith would have shared in those TD for me. Smith had 31 points on my bench.
We both started player that put up a 0. The rest of his team just did not produce last week. His projected points per player were around 7 or 8 for most of his team and he ended up with 1s and 2s. My team was helped by games that featured great comebacks. The Packers and Cowboys game was great and featured one of the great comebacks ever. RB Lacey ate them up in the second half and put up a total of 14 pints for me. My kicker, K Bailey for Cowboys put up 20.
This win put my team in the Championship Game. I feel pretty good about my chances this week. The only real question I have is my QB position. Last week I picked up McCown from Chicago - then Cutler got healthy and came back so McCown was benched. So this week I dropped McCown and picked up Cutler. So now I have 3 QBs to choose from for this last and most important game. Right now I have Smith starting. Chiefs are playing the Colts and the game is in Kansas City. Home for Smith and away for Luck. The Bears are playing the Eagles in Philly so an away game for Cutler as well. Cutler has the best match up but the last good QB match up in Philly did not work out so well for me (Stafford in the now....). My opponent and I are evenly matched and the projected pints are almost even. 71 for me and 69 for him. I feel this will be a close game no matter what I do at the QB position. This game is for all the marbles!
Playoffs Week 2 Result: Win
Score: 131-41
Could not have asked for a better performance from my team and right when I needed it. I'll have to admit that I was more than just a little worried heading into this match up. My opponent ran over just about every team in the league this year and finished the season at 10-3 and in first place. His team is really strong. Heavy on the Broncos, who just happen to score a ton on the field and in fantasy leagues. He starts, QB Manning, WR Decker, RB Moreno and TE Thomas so he usually has high scoring games. That is, unless the Broncos have a bad game. They have only done that a couple of times this season. With WR Welker being out the last few weeks, I figured Decker, Moreno and Thomas would all receive more targets and put up more points then their average. The Broncos were playing the Chargers and they have been playing well lately. So I had my fingers crossed.
I figured my team would have just an OK week. A few tough match ups and a few good ones but nothing that stood out. I started all my normal players. The only change was QB Luck instead of QB Smith, these two have been about even all year. Luck has more total points but he is less consistent. Smith has not played great when he had a good match up so I left him on the bench. And of course the Chiefs had an amazing game against the Raiders. My RB Charles had one of the best fantasy days of any player ever. I think he made it into the top 5 ever. In this league he put up 40 points. Only 20 rushing yards and 1 rush TD but 195 and 4 TDs through the air. Which also meant that Smith would have shared in those TD for me. Smith had 31 points on my bench.
We both started player that put up a 0. The rest of his team just did not produce last week. His projected points per player were around 7 or 8 for most of his team and he ended up with 1s and 2s. My team was helped by games that featured great comebacks. The Packers and Cowboys game was great and featured one of the great comebacks ever. RB Lacey ate them up in the second half and put up a total of 14 pints for me. My kicker, K Bailey for Cowboys put up 20.
This win put my team in the Championship Game. I feel pretty good about my chances this week. The only real question I have is my QB position. Last week I picked up McCown from Chicago - then Cutler got healthy and came back so McCown was benched. So this week I dropped McCown and picked up Cutler. So now I have 3 QBs to choose from for this last and most important game. Right now I have Smith starting. Chiefs are playing the Colts and the game is in Kansas City. Home for Smith and away for Luck. The Bears are playing the Eagles in Philly so an away game for Cutler as well. Cutler has the best match up but the last good QB match up in Philly did not work out so well for me (Stafford in the now....). My opponent and I are evenly matched and the projected pints are almost even. 71 for me and 69 for him. I feel this will be a close game no matter what I do at the QB position. This game is for all the marbles!
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Fantasy Football Playoffs Week 1 Review Redraft Standard, Keeper PPR
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Result: Win
Score: 85-53
I was none too happy about losing the last game of the season and missing out on the Bye Week, but I was very happy to have one of my best games of the season this week. I don't think I went all season with almost every one of my guys scoring a TD the same week. RB Charles led the charge with 19 points followed by WR Gordon with 14. In total I had 6 out of 9 players score in the double digits. I was helped by the other team, they started RB Bush, who was a last minute scratch from his game. He also got 0 from his Defense. Lots of tough games last week.
Prepping for this next week, I picked up a couple of players. TE Clay was available so I grabbed him, he will start for me with week. I let go TE Reed, since his concussion a few weeks ago, he has not been able to play. I also picked up QB McCown, he has been playing great (5 TDs last week). Then I just learned he will not play this week. Oh well. I still have QB Smith and Luck. Leaning towards Smith right now. But I know that Smith has not taken advantage of having easy match ups and Luck had a good match up too and he did play well against Houston earlier this season. Most of my line up will stay the same, except TE Clay starting now. You have to dance with the one that brought you!
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result: Loss
Score: 114.79-160.37
This was a horrible game. Plus, my opponent has a few players on his team that I have in the other league (Charles and Luck) and they had big games, over 70 points between the two. I thought I was in the money with my trade for Stafford, who was starting against the Eagles who have been giving up a ton of points to QBs. Then the snow hit. Stafford fumbled the first snap. I face palmed hard. He only put up 6 points.....
RB Murray had a good game buy Lynch did not, he usually plays really well against the 49ers but they did a good job against him this time. WR Brown had the most points for my team this week at 22. WR Garcon put up a 6. Just a flat week from my team at the worst possible time.
Being that this is a keeper league, I'm in a good position already for next season. I have to make some decisions but I will most likely keep a good chunk of my team in place. On the fence about keeping WR Patterson. He has finally been getting chances with the ball and playing really well. I'm loaded at the WR position right now. I'll have to see how things shake down for the other teams in the play offs. Waiver Wire is locked but trading can happen all year long. I know some guys that can and will make a lot of trades to "go all out" and try to win this year. I might be able to grab a few draft picks or young players for next year. I will have to decide what to do about my RBs also. Lynch, Murray, Ivory and Woodhead. I'll just hope that there are no catastrophic injuries for the rest of the season.
All in all, this was a good season in this league. I was the #2 team for most of the year and top scoring during that time also. I learned that keeping up on the news and doing research on guys that are on the wire really pays off. Woodhead and Jeffery were taken from there. Already looking forward to next season.
Result: Win
Score: 85-53
I was none too happy about losing the last game of the season and missing out on the Bye Week, but I was very happy to have one of my best games of the season this week. I don't think I went all season with almost every one of my guys scoring a TD the same week. RB Charles led the charge with 19 points followed by WR Gordon with 14. In total I had 6 out of 9 players score in the double digits. I was helped by the other team, they started RB Bush, who was a last minute scratch from his game. He also got 0 from his Defense. Lots of tough games last week.
Prepping for this next week, I picked up a couple of players. TE Clay was available so I grabbed him, he will start for me with week. I let go TE Reed, since his concussion a few weeks ago, he has not been able to play. I also picked up QB McCown, he has been playing great (5 TDs last week). Then I just learned he will not play this week. Oh well. I still have QB Smith and Luck. Leaning towards Smith right now. But I know that Smith has not taken advantage of having easy match ups and Luck had a good match up too and he did play well against Houston earlier this season. Most of my line up will stay the same, except TE Clay starting now. You have to dance with the one that brought you!
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result: Loss
Score: 114.79-160.37
This was a horrible game. Plus, my opponent has a few players on his team that I have in the other league (Charles and Luck) and they had big games, over 70 points between the two. I thought I was in the money with my trade for Stafford, who was starting against the Eagles who have been giving up a ton of points to QBs. Then the snow hit. Stafford fumbled the first snap. I face palmed hard. He only put up 6 points.....
RB Murray had a good game buy Lynch did not, he usually plays really well against the 49ers but they did a good job against him this time. WR Brown had the most points for my team this week at 22. WR Garcon put up a 6. Just a flat week from my team at the worst possible time.
Being that this is a keeper league, I'm in a good position already for next season. I have to make some decisions but I will most likely keep a good chunk of my team in place. On the fence about keeping WR Patterson. He has finally been getting chances with the ball and playing really well. I'm loaded at the WR position right now. I'll have to see how things shake down for the other teams in the play offs. Waiver Wire is locked but trading can happen all year long. I know some guys that can and will make a lot of trades to "go all out" and try to win this year. I might be able to grab a few draft picks or young players for next year. I will have to decide what to do about my RBs also. Lynch, Murray, Ivory and Woodhead. I'll just hope that there are no catastrophic injuries for the rest of the season.
All in all, this was a good season in this league. I was the #2 team for most of the year and top scoring during that time also. I learned that keeping up on the news and doing research on guys that are on the wire really pays off. Woodhead and Jeffery were taken from there. Already looking forward to next season.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Fantasy Football Regular Season Wrap Up and Play Offs
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Final Record: 7-5-1
Final Power Rank: 5th
Went into this last game with a lot on the line. I was second over all in this league and a win would give me a first round bye in the playoffs. I had already secured a play off spot but I was going after that bye. I decided to bench QB Luck this week and he will likely stay there unless QB Smith gets hurt. Luck has dragged my team down the last few weeks. Smith had a good game. In fact, most of my team had good games.
Had great games from WRs Brown and Jeffery, both had career numbers. Brown had 25 and Jeffery had 24. I put Garcon on the bench this week and that worked out, he only put up 3. I have been having issues with my TEs the last several weeks and it continued this week. I benched TE Miller and started TE Reed - who did not start because he got a head ache right before the game.
My Kicker, Folk, only got one Field Goal. I figured the Jets would need to kick a lot of Field Goals to stay in the game but they have not been good enough even for that. I left RB Bell on the bench in favor of Lacey. Lacey got 1 point and Bell got 12. Spiller got 13 and MJD got 9. I can't really trust either of those guys but it sucks that they had good games sitting on the bench.
Looking ahead to the play offs for this week. I only made one move this week, I dropped Folk and picked up Bailey for my kicker spot. The Cowboys score way more than the Jets and even if it's just extra points, I needed a better kicker. My line up for this game is about the same as last week. I am starting TE Miller. Reed is not a lock to play this week and I don't want a situation like last week again. Starting QB Smith again too. The Chiefs are playing the Redskins and he should have a good game. I know Smith is not known for throwing a ton of TDs and yardage but he has been more consistent than Luck. I don't usually like starting multiple players from the same team but I feel like it's the best option for right now. I have QB Smith and RB Charles from the Chiefs and WR Brown and TE Miller from the Steelers. Anything is better than a 0!
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Final Record: 8-5
Final Power Rank: 3rd
Went into this last game, again, knowing that I already had a playoff spot locked up but I wanted to finish on a high note. I was playing one of the bottom ranked teams but you never know. He made a trade for Payton Manning and he had a great game, scoring 43. I was not so lucky with my QB. I went with Flynn and got 1.
I had great games from RB Murray and WR Jeffery. Murray put up 30 and Jeffery 42. The rest of my team did just OK. I started RB Brown. Earlier in the week they named him the starter. I gave him a shot. He had a bad game until the last drive when he came up with a TD and gave me 13 points. Woodhead, Brown and Lynch all had quiet games.
I made some moves to get my team ready for the playoffs. I dropped Flynn and picked up Roethlisberger. He doesn't put up the best numbers but way better than I had been getting over the last few weeks. I also picked up the Steeler DEF. They have some good match ups over the next few games so I'll play them or the Browns, depending on who they are up against. Browns are playing the Patriots so I won't start them. All my other players have good match ups coming up so I shouldn't have to make any big changes to the line up unless someone gets hurt.
I made a big trade also. With QB Rodgers still out and not knowing for sure when he will be playing again I would have to start a back up QB. I was going to go with Roethlisberger and I also picked up Fitzpatrick. I was not excited about starting either one but had Roethlisberger in my line up. I got a trade offer, Rodgers for Lions QB Stafford. There were also some draft picks that would be traded. I had to think about this one for a while. Being that this is a keeper league, whoever I had as my QB, Rodgers or Stafford, would more than likely be my QB next year as well. I had to look at match ups for Stafford for the next 3 games and looks good. He has not scored less than 25 points over the last 7 games and that will help me now. He's a young player, only 25 and plays with a team that passes a ton, how can you not with Calvin Johnson as the #1 WR. So, I decided to make the trade. I looked at age, Rodgers is 30, Stafford is 25 as well as team upside. Rodgers has a legit running game now. He won't have to throw all the time to win games. Stafford has a good run game also but he throws to those RBs a lot too. The Packers are a great team and Rodgers is their best player but I think Stafford is probably ranked just below him. I don't want to waste all the hard work this year just to keep Rodgers. My plan is Stafford will help me win in the play offs and he will provide a solid starting QB for my team for the next several seasons. Fingers crossed.
Final Record: 7-5-1
Final Power Rank: 5th
Went into this last game with a lot on the line. I was second over all in this league and a win would give me a first round bye in the playoffs. I had already secured a play off spot but I was going after that bye. I decided to bench QB Luck this week and he will likely stay there unless QB Smith gets hurt. Luck has dragged my team down the last few weeks. Smith had a good game. In fact, most of my team had good games.
Had great games from WRs Brown and Jeffery, both had career numbers. Brown had 25 and Jeffery had 24. I put Garcon on the bench this week and that worked out, he only put up 3. I have been having issues with my TEs the last several weeks and it continued this week. I benched TE Miller and started TE Reed - who did not start because he got a head ache right before the game.
My Kicker, Folk, only got one Field Goal. I figured the Jets would need to kick a lot of Field Goals to stay in the game but they have not been good enough even for that. I left RB Bell on the bench in favor of Lacey. Lacey got 1 point and Bell got 12. Spiller got 13 and MJD got 9. I can't really trust either of those guys but it sucks that they had good games sitting on the bench.
Looking ahead to the play offs for this week. I only made one move this week, I dropped Folk and picked up Bailey for my kicker spot. The Cowboys score way more than the Jets and even if it's just extra points, I needed a better kicker. My line up for this game is about the same as last week. I am starting TE Miller. Reed is not a lock to play this week and I don't want a situation like last week again. Starting QB Smith again too. The Chiefs are playing the Redskins and he should have a good game. I know Smith is not known for throwing a ton of TDs and yardage but he has been more consistent than Luck. I don't usually like starting multiple players from the same team but I feel like it's the best option for right now. I have QB Smith and RB Charles from the Chiefs and WR Brown and TE Miller from the Steelers. Anything is better than a 0!
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Final Record: 8-5
Final Power Rank: 3rd
Went into this last game, again, knowing that I already had a playoff spot locked up but I wanted to finish on a high note. I was playing one of the bottom ranked teams but you never know. He made a trade for Payton Manning and he had a great game, scoring 43. I was not so lucky with my QB. I went with Flynn and got 1.
I had great games from RB Murray and WR Jeffery. Murray put up 30 and Jeffery 42. The rest of my team did just OK. I started RB Brown. Earlier in the week they named him the starter. I gave him a shot. He had a bad game until the last drive when he came up with a TD and gave me 13 points. Woodhead, Brown and Lynch all had quiet games.
I made some moves to get my team ready for the playoffs. I dropped Flynn and picked up Roethlisberger. He doesn't put up the best numbers but way better than I had been getting over the last few weeks. I also picked up the Steeler DEF. They have some good match ups over the next few games so I'll play them or the Browns, depending on who they are up against. Browns are playing the Patriots so I won't start them. All my other players have good match ups coming up so I shouldn't have to make any big changes to the line up unless someone gets hurt.
I made a big trade also. With QB Rodgers still out and not knowing for sure when he will be playing again I would have to start a back up QB. I was going to go with Roethlisberger and I also picked up Fitzpatrick. I was not excited about starting either one but had Roethlisberger in my line up. I got a trade offer, Rodgers for Lions QB Stafford. There were also some draft picks that would be traded. I had to think about this one for a while. Being that this is a keeper league, whoever I had as my QB, Rodgers or Stafford, would more than likely be my QB next year as well. I had to look at match ups for Stafford for the next 3 games and looks good. He has not scored less than 25 points over the last 7 games and that will help me now. He's a young player, only 25 and plays with a team that passes a ton, how can you not with Calvin Johnson as the #1 WR. So, I decided to make the trade. I looked at age, Rodgers is 30, Stafford is 25 as well as team upside. Rodgers has a legit running game now. He won't have to throw all the time to win games. Stafford has a good run game also but he throws to those RBs a lot too. The Packers are a great team and Rodgers is their best player but I think Stafford is probably ranked just below him. I don't want to waste all the hard work this year just to keep Rodgers. My plan is Stafford will help me win in the play offs and he will provide a solid starting QB for my team for the next several seasons. Fingers crossed.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Fantasy Football Week 7 Review
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Result - Win
Score 67-63
Power Rank - 5th
Had a pretty good week this time around. Most of my team showed up and put up some good numbers. I knew I would have to have good games this week since my opponent has a really good team. Stafford at QB with McCoy and Martin at RB. My QB, Luck, put up his best game of the year so far. Scored 26 points for me. I also started WR Hilton, I figured Luck and Hilton would pair up and I could double dip on the TDs this week. That has yet to happen this season for me. Colts WR Wayne is now lost for the season so maybe Hilton will get more chances going forward. Luck will be my every week starter at QB regardless.
I did get hit with a bad injury this week. My TE Finley was carted off the field on a stretcher. They are saying he has a bruised spinal cord. He is likely done for the season. With Finley done and my other TE on bye this week, I will try to pick up a guy to cover the rest of the season. I am targeting TE Reed from the Redskins.
I am the underdog again this week. The other team is pretty good. Luck is on a bye this week so I am starting Alex Smith. Not a great back up QB but he does play good and there is a chance that having RB Charles also can lead to some double TD points as Charles does catch a lot of passes.
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result - Loss
Score 110.09 - 139.20
Power Rank - 2nd
This guy has beaten me twice. Even worse, he is in my division. I hope this does not come back to bite me as we head into the playoffs. My team was just OK this week. My WRs didn't have the types of games that they have been recently. That does not help when the other team puts up huge numbers from a few guys. He started the Panthers D (which I dropped only to cover a bye week and wanted to pick them up again, oh well, you snooze you lose), which put up 24. RB Forte and WR Johnson combined for over 60 points.
Had a great game from QB Rodgers. Might have been the best game of the season from him so far, he put up 32. I also had good games from both of the RBs that I started. Lynch and Woodhead. Each scored 15. I'm hoping Murray will be able to make it back on the field soon. I escaped this week with no other injuries.
I have a couple of guys on bye week this week. Only Woodhead would be starting out of that group. So that leaves me starting either Mendenhall or Ivory. Ivory had a good game last week, getting 34 touches and running for over 100 yards. I know Mendenhall scored a TD last week but he had less than 20 yards rushing. I think Ivory will have a better week. Even if Murray does play this week I think I'll sit him.
Result - Win
Score 67-63
Power Rank - 5th
Had a pretty good week this time around. Most of my team showed up and put up some good numbers. I knew I would have to have good games this week since my opponent has a really good team. Stafford at QB with McCoy and Martin at RB. My QB, Luck, put up his best game of the year so far. Scored 26 points for me. I also started WR Hilton, I figured Luck and Hilton would pair up and I could double dip on the TDs this week. That has yet to happen this season for me. Colts WR Wayne is now lost for the season so maybe Hilton will get more chances going forward. Luck will be my every week starter at QB regardless.
I did get hit with a bad injury this week. My TE Finley was carted off the field on a stretcher. They are saying he has a bruised spinal cord. He is likely done for the season. With Finley done and my other TE on bye this week, I will try to pick up a guy to cover the rest of the season. I am targeting TE Reed from the Redskins.
I am the underdog again this week. The other team is pretty good. Luck is on a bye this week so I am starting Alex Smith. Not a great back up QB but he does play good and there is a chance that having RB Charles also can lead to some double TD points as Charles does catch a lot of passes.
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result - Loss
Score 110.09 - 139.20
Power Rank - 2nd
This guy has beaten me twice. Even worse, he is in my division. I hope this does not come back to bite me as we head into the playoffs. My team was just OK this week. My WRs didn't have the types of games that they have been recently. That does not help when the other team puts up huge numbers from a few guys. He started the Panthers D (which I dropped only to cover a bye week and wanted to pick them up again, oh well, you snooze you lose), which put up 24. RB Forte and WR Johnson combined for over 60 points.
Had a great game from QB Rodgers. Might have been the best game of the season from him so far, he put up 32. I also had good games from both of the RBs that I started. Lynch and Woodhead. Each scored 15. I'm hoping Murray will be able to make it back on the field soon. I escaped this week with no other injuries.
I have a couple of guys on bye week this week. Only Woodhead would be starting out of that group. So that leaves me starting either Mendenhall or Ivory. Ivory had a good game last week, getting 34 touches and running for over 100 yards. I know Mendenhall scored a TD last week but he had less than 20 yards rushing. I think Ivory will have a better week. Even if Murray does play this week I think I'll sit him.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Fantasy Football Week 5 Review Keeper and Redraft Leagues
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Result - Loss
Score 94-88
Record - 2-3
Power Ranking - 5th
It's was a tough loss. I had the second highest point total in the league this week. My opponent has 4 Broncos on his roster. QB, RB, WR and TE - I figured 2 of those guys might have good games but not all 4. 78 points from those 4 guys. Ouch. Putting up 88 points, my guys did have some good games. Luck had a really good game against the Seahawks - I almost benched him just based on the match up. That same match up was the reason I left Hilton on the bench, he doesn't score a very much and going against the Hawks, I figured I had better options this week. Wow, big mistake, Hilton goes off for 19.
My pick up from last week, Alshon Jeffery, came through just like I thought he would. He also set a record for the Bears in receiving yards. He put up 16 in this league. He will probably stay in the line up this week also as the Bears play the Giants. Huge amount of targets the last few weeks and it's starting to pay off. I was hoping MJD would have a good game against the Rams but that didn't happen. He has been horrible for me. I hate to say it but if I don't need him to cover a bye week, I'll have to sit him until he starts putting up something, anything more than what he has been. He can have a seat right next to Spiller. I have Bell back from bye week so he will get the start this week.
I have to make some decisions on WR each week. Between who I drafted and my recent waivers, I'm deep at WR. I can't start everyone each week, wish I could. I get Garcon and Brown off bye this week to go along with Gordon and Jeffery. Going to be tough to decide who to start - we have 2 WR spots and 1 Flex. I'm going to try and get a TE off the waivers this week. Finley, he's OK, but has been putting up small numbers each week. I have to do something about that. Pretty thin out there.
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result - Win
Score 167.87 - 82.56
Record 4-1
Power Ranking - 1st
Had a pretty amazing game here. I felt this game was going to be a lot closer. My opponent was hampered by a few in game injuries and some tough match ups that limited some heavy hitters on his roster (he did have Tony Romo on his bench but that wouldn't have helped). He only got 12 points from Vick before he got hurt and Reggie Bush put in 8 in a tough game against the Packers. Of course I had Rodgers in the game also. Rodgers had a good game, not great. I think he ranked 15th this week in QBs. He did put up almost 20 though. I had a couple of good games from my 2 RBs, Lynch and Murray, each putting in 11. Not great but good. I've been really happy with my pick up of Danny Woodhead, he put up 17 this week. He should see more chances to score points now that Ryan Mathews is going to miss some time.
Started 3 WRs this week and they all put up really good numbers. Blackmon 22, Gordon 16 and Alshon Jeffery with 32. I had Garcon and Brown on bye this week and those have been my main WRs so far this season. Now I have 5 WRs capable of putting up huge numbers every week, 4 are No.1 WRs on their teams. Going to be tough. I'll probably have to really watch the match ups. But that has bitten me before.
Had some really good scoring from my kicker and defense this week. I started the Browns against Buffalo and they scored me 19. I also have the Titans D on my roster so I'll rotate those 2 around match ups. Hauschka had a great game, adding 17. He doesn't score a ton but he has been doing really good since I picked him up a few weeks ago. I probably won't look to make any moves this week but I'll still look to see who's available. I have a couple of guys on my roster that are just taking up space right now but I need them for depth.
Result - Loss
Score 94-88
Record - 2-3
Power Ranking - 5th
It's was a tough loss. I had the second highest point total in the league this week. My opponent has 4 Broncos on his roster. QB, RB, WR and TE - I figured 2 of those guys might have good games but not all 4. 78 points from those 4 guys. Ouch. Putting up 88 points, my guys did have some good games. Luck had a really good game against the Seahawks - I almost benched him just based on the match up. That same match up was the reason I left Hilton on the bench, he doesn't score a very much and going against the Hawks, I figured I had better options this week. Wow, big mistake, Hilton goes off for 19.
My pick up from last week, Alshon Jeffery, came through just like I thought he would. He also set a record for the Bears in receiving yards. He put up 16 in this league. He will probably stay in the line up this week also as the Bears play the Giants. Huge amount of targets the last few weeks and it's starting to pay off. I was hoping MJD would have a good game against the Rams but that didn't happen. He has been horrible for me. I hate to say it but if I don't need him to cover a bye week, I'll have to sit him until he starts putting up something, anything more than what he has been. He can have a seat right next to Spiller. I have Bell back from bye week so he will get the start this week.
I have to make some decisions on WR each week. Between who I drafted and my recent waivers, I'm deep at WR. I can't start everyone each week, wish I could. I get Garcon and Brown off bye this week to go along with Gordon and Jeffery. Going to be tough to decide who to start - we have 2 WR spots and 1 Flex. I'm going to try and get a TE off the waivers this week. Finley, he's OK, but has been putting up small numbers each week. I have to do something about that. Pretty thin out there.
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result - Win
Score 167.87 - 82.56
Record 4-1
Power Ranking - 1st
Had a pretty amazing game here. I felt this game was going to be a lot closer. My opponent was hampered by a few in game injuries and some tough match ups that limited some heavy hitters on his roster (he did have Tony Romo on his bench but that wouldn't have helped). He only got 12 points from Vick before he got hurt and Reggie Bush put in 8 in a tough game against the Packers. Of course I had Rodgers in the game also. Rodgers had a good game, not great. I think he ranked 15th this week in QBs. He did put up almost 20 though. I had a couple of good games from my 2 RBs, Lynch and Murray, each putting in 11. Not great but good. I've been really happy with my pick up of Danny Woodhead, he put up 17 this week. He should see more chances to score points now that Ryan Mathews is going to miss some time.
Started 3 WRs this week and they all put up really good numbers. Blackmon 22, Gordon 16 and Alshon Jeffery with 32. I had Garcon and Brown on bye this week and those have been my main WRs so far this season. Now I have 5 WRs capable of putting up huge numbers every week, 4 are No.1 WRs on their teams. Going to be tough. I'll probably have to really watch the match ups. But that has bitten me before.
Had some really good scoring from my kicker and defense this week. I started the Browns against Buffalo and they scored me 19. I also have the Titans D on my roster so I'll rotate those 2 around match ups. Hauschka had a great game, adding 17. He doesn't score a ton but he has been doing really good since I picked him up a few weeks ago. I probably won't look to make any moves this week but I'll still look to see who's available. I have a couple of guys on my roster that are just taking up space right now but I need them for depth.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Fantasy Football Week 3 Review
Fantasy Football Week 3 Review
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Result - Win
Score 61-29
Record - 2-1
Power Ranking - 3rd
Had a good week. This team had a few tough match ups but it just worked out that the other team had even worse games. I put up 0's from 3 different players. It's hard to imagine winning watching that unfold. A couple of my bigger names got hurt or didn't play well. Spiller had 0, Finley put up 0 but he got knocked out of the game on his first target of the game. Hilton also had 0 in a tough game against the 49ers. The Colts ran the ball a lot so I didn't get much out of Luck either, but at least he ran in a TD.
I had great games from Charles and Brown. Charles has been a great RB for me so far this year. Brown, I drafted him with some high expectations and it is now starting to pay off. 14 from Charles and 21 from Brown.
Bye weeks start now. I only have 1 guy on a bye and it's Finley. He probably wouldn't play anyways but had to mine the waiver wire for a TE. We'll see how that ends up. Other than the injury to Finley, I think I still look good heading into the next few weeks. Lacey did not play this week but should be fine after the bye. I benched MJD this week as he was playing against the Seahawks and of course he has a good game and scores a TD. He is hurt and was playing one of the best Defenses in the NFL so I stand by that benching. Sounds like the Steelers will be able to play Bell soon. That will give me more depth at RB and if he starts doing well I can add him to my normal starting rotation.
Plus, I have Josh Gordon that I can start now also. I drafted Gordon knowing he would be good once he came back from suspension but I thought it might take a few games. He put up 14 points this week. I cannot expect that kind of production every week, especially from the Browns but if he can stay consistent that will help me out as the season progresses.
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result - Win
Score 118.69 - 110.23
Record 2-1
Power Ranking - 2nd
Talk about a nail biting come from behind game! I went into the Sunday night game down by about 28 points. Other team was done for the week and sitting with a pretty comfortable lead. My last player, Brown has been good but not great so I was expecting a loss. Brown went off and scored my 36.26 points. Enough to come from behind and win. I needed those points after some bad games earlier in the day. Rodgers played well, but only scored 17. Lynch had a good game but it was almost like a preseason game for the Seahawks as they started pulling out their starters in the 3rd quarter. Not much from Mendenhall, 4.6. I started Marlon Brown in place of Vernon David this week and he only got 1.6. Davis did not play. I probably won't start Marlin again and might even look to drop him soon. Also had a huge day from Murray 27.8 points. (side note - DeShawn Jackson put up 7.7, I hope this trade keeps working out for me)
So, I won but didn't have the best game and not nearly as good as I could have had. You have to make moves to stay ahead of the curve but I made a few that I would have liked to have back. I should have blown this other team out of the water. Biggest regret was dropping the Carolina defense for the Bills. My main reason for that was Panthers were playing the Giants and even though the Giants are not very good they have been throwing for a ton of yards and in this league, that can kill a defense in scoring. I figured the Bills playing the Jets, I'd be good. The Giants picked a heck of a time to suck the most. Panthers D put up 32 points while I got 2.5 from the Bills.
I've always liked the Seahawks kicker and I was able to pick him up this week. I did have the 49ers kicker so dropping him was good as he only kicked 1 extra point this week. I'll probably hang on to Hauschka for a while, at least until his bye week. I did pick up Danny Woodhead. I like that he catches a lot of passes. He put up 10 points last week. Mendenhall is not a sure fire every week start and having Woodhead give me a little wiggle room to play matchups a bit. I'll start him this week.
I'm starting Sam Bradford this week in place of Rodgers (bye week). I know he doesn't have a great match up against the 49ers but he has been out scoring his projections every week. Plus, the 49er defense is not what it used to be. Might be a sneaky start. I drafted Josh Gordon in this league also. He put up 27.8 in this league. He starts this week too.
Chris Ivory is hurt again. His back up went out and ran for over 150 yards. I'll hang on to him but I don't have too much confidence he will be a starter for me. I'm still hanging on to Patterson also. He is playing well and I think he will only get more and more playing time. He is getting some good points since he also returns kicks, which we get points for return yardage. As soon as he starts scoring on a more consistent basis I'll plug him in. My hope is that I'll end up with more starting WRs that I can handle and I can make a few more trades.
I'm still the scoring leader in this league, not by much, but still. My win this week was against a division opponent so that will factor in down the line. Right now my team is ranked 2nd over all. Feels good but at the same time, almost undeserved. But, maybe every owner goes through this, even with a team winning, still having doubts about who to start, drops and adds and all of it. I'm playing the lowest ranked team in our league this week. If I can beat him I'll brag a little but you never know. Sometimes it's the ones you least expect......
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Result - Win
Score 61-29
Record - 2-1
Power Ranking - 3rd
Had a good week. This team had a few tough match ups but it just worked out that the other team had even worse games. I put up 0's from 3 different players. It's hard to imagine winning watching that unfold. A couple of my bigger names got hurt or didn't play well. Spiller had 0, Finley put up 0 but he got knocked out of the game on his first target of the game. Hilton also had 0 in a tough game against the 49ers. The Colts ran the ball a lot so I didn't get much out of Luck either, but at least he ran in a TD.
I had great games from Charles and Brown. Charles has been a great RB for me so far this year. Brown, I drafted him with some high expectations and it is now starting to pay off. 14 from Charles and 21 from Brown.
Bye weeks start now. I only have 1 guy on a bye and it's Finley. He probably wouldn't play anyways but had to mine the waiver wire for a TE. We'll see how that ends up. Other than the injury to Finley, I think I still look good heading into the next few weeks. Lacey did not play this week but should be fine after the bye. I benched MJD this week as he was playing against the Seahawks and of course he has a good game and scores a TD. He is hurt and was playing one of the best Defenses in the NFL so I stand by that benching. Sounds like the Steelers will be able to play Bell soon. That will give me more depth at RB and if he starts doing well I can add him to my normal starting rotation.
Plus, I have Josh Gordon that I can start now also. I drafted Gordon knowing he would be good once he came back from suspension but I thought it might take a few games. He put up 14 points this week. I cannot expect that kind of production every week, especially from the Browns but if he can stay consistent that will help me out as the season progresses.
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
Result - Win
Score 118.69 - 110.23
Record 2-1
Power Ranking - 2nd
Talk about a nail biting come from behind game! I went into the Sunday night game down by about 28 points. Other team was done for the week and sitting with a pretty comfortable lead. My last player, Brown has been good but not great so I was expecting a loss. Brown went off and scored my 36.26 points. Enough to come from behind and win. I needed those points after some bad games earlier in the day. Rodgers played well, but only scored 17. Lynch had a good game but it was almost like a preseason game for the Seahawks as they started pulling out their starters in the 3rd quarter. Not much from Mendenhall, 4.6. I started Marlon Brown in place of Vernon David this week and he only got 1.6. Davis did not play. I probably won't start Marlin again and might even look to drop him soon. Also had a huge day from Murray 27.8 points. (side note - DeShawn Jackson put up 7.7, I hope this trade keeps working out for me)
So, I won but didn't have the best game and not nearly as good as I could have had. You have to make moves to stay ahead of the curve but I made a few that I would have liked to have back. I should have blown this other team out of the water. Biggest regret was dropping the Carolina defense for the Bills. My main reason for that was Panthers were playing the Giants and even though the Giants are not very good they have been throwing for a ton of yards and in this league, that can kill a defense in scoring. I figured the Bills playing the Jets, I'd be good. The Giants picked a heck of a time to suck the most. Panthers D put up 32 points while I got 2.5 from the Bills.
I've always liked the Seahawks kicker and I was able to pick him up this week. I did have the 49ers kicker so dropping him was good as he only kicked 1 extra point this week. I'll probably hang on to Hauschka for a while, at least until his bye week. I did pick up Danny Woodhead. I like that he catches a lot of passes. He put up 10 points last week. Mendenhall is not a sure fire every week start and having Woodhead give me a little wiggle room to play matchups a bit. I'll start him this week.
I'm starting Sam Bradford this week in place of Rodgers (bye week). I know he doesn't have a great match up against the 49ers but he has been out scoring his projections every week. Plus, the 49er defense is not what it used to be. Might be a sneaky start. I drafted Josh Gordon in this league also. He put up 27.8 in this league. He starts this week too.
Chris Ivory is hurt again. His back up went out and ran for over 150 yards. I'll hang on to him but I don't have too much confidence he will be a starter for me. I'm still hanging on to Patterson also. He is playing well and I think he will only get more and more playing time. He is getting some good points since he also returns kicks, which we get points for return yardage. As soon as he starts scoring on a more consistent basis I'll plug him in. My hope is that I'll end up with more starting WRs that I can handle and I can make a few more trades.
I'm still the scoring leader in this league, not by much, but still. My win this week was against a division opponent so that will factor in down the line. Right now my team is ranked 2nd over all. Feels good but at the same time, almost undeserved. But, maybe every owner goes through this, even with a team winning, still having doubts about who to start, drops and adds and all of it. I'm playing the lowest ranked team in our league this week. If I can beat him I'll brag a little but you never know. Sometimes it's the ones you least expect......
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
NFL Fantasy Football Week1 Review
Dedraft League: Week 1
Loss 64-94
0-1
Stunk up the league this week. Got very little production out of some big names. Granted, there were a lot of really good games against tough defenses in week 1 so I'm not too concerned about future games. Between Spiller and MJD I only got 4 points. Ouch. I can't feel too bad though. I put up the best team I could. The only exception was Eddie Lacey from Green Bay. He actually had a good day. But that would not have helped. I was out scored big time. Adding in Lacey's 9 point game would not have made a dent. Not much else to say about this team at the moment. No one got hurt and everyone has better match ups this week. Hoping for some bounce back performances from most of my running backs.
Keeper League: Week 1
Loss 124.08 - 133.30
0-1
Fared a little better but still not enough to pull off the win. Going into Monday night, I needed good games from both Garcon and DeShawn. Got the good game from DeShawn. I figured that if I could get 100 yards and a TD from each guy I could win. I was getting mad at the Redskins as they fell behind and kept rushing the ball. I got some horrible games from my running backs. Lynch faced a tough game and only got me 6 points. Ingram only got 1. That hurt. I think I'll start Mendenhall this week. He didn't have a great game last week, but he's still the main guy in that backfield and I feel better with him over Ivory and Ingram. I wasn't expecting much from my rookies and didn't get much. Michaels got nothing and Patterson was only used on a few passing plays and he ran back a few kicks so he was able to get a few points. I'm hoping Patterson gets more playing time soon. I don't feel too excited to be starting Davis but he did have a good game against Green Bay and should do well as teams are now aware of how they will be using Boldin.
My opponent had a great game from Cruz this week. If he had even half his points I would have won. It's not every week he will score 3 touchdowns. My teams don't score a ton of points so it's a matter of trying to have good match ups and have the other team hit a snag somewhere. My philosophy has been start who I have and hope the other team just sucks this week. Hooray!
Loss 64-94
0-1
Stunk up the league this week. Got very little production out of some big names. Granted, there were a lot of really good games against tough defenses in week 1 so I'm not too concerned about future games. Between Spiller and MJD I only got 4 points. Ouch. I can't feel too bad though. I put up the best team I could. The only exception was Eddie Lacey from Green Bay. He actually had a good day. But that would not have helped. I was out scored big time. Adding in Lacey's 9 point game would not have made a dent. Not much else to say about this team at the moment. No one got hurt and everyone has better match ups this week. Hoping for some bounce back performances from most of my running backs.
Keeper League: Week 1
Loss 124.08 - 133.30
0-1
Fared a little better but still not enough to pull off the win. Going into Monday night, I needed good games from both Garcon and DeShawn. Got the good game from DeShawn. I figured that if I could get 100 yards and a TD from each guy I could win. I was getting mad at the Redskins as they fell behind and kept rushing the ball. I got some horrible games from my running backs. Lynch faced a tough game and only got me 6 points. Ingram only got 1. That hurt. I think I'll start Mendenhall this week. He didn't have a great game last week, but he's still the main guy in that backfield and I feel better with him over Ivory and Ingram. I wasn't expecting much from my rookies and didn't get much. Michaels got nothing and Patterson was only used on a few passing plays and he ran back a few kicks so he was able to get a few points. I'm hoping Patterson gets more playing time soon. I don't feel too excited to be starting Davis but he did have a good game against Green Bay and should do well as teams are now aware of how they will be using Boldin.
My opponent had a great game from Cruz this week. If he had even half his points I would have won. It's not every week he will score 3 touchdowns. My teams don't score a ton of points so it's a matter of trying to have good match ups and have the other team hit a snag somewhere. My philosophy has been start who I have and hope the other team just sucks this week. Hooray!
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Fantasy Football 2013 Redraft and Keeper League Draft Results
I thought I was pretty prepared this year, for both drafts. One thing I have learned is to research the players that I expect to be available in the late rounds. Spent a lot of time looking at Wide Receivers, a position that, in many leagues, is very deep and you can mine some good sleepers from. Helps that in most leagues you have to start 3 so a lot of big names go fast. Good rookie class of Running Backs this year also. Of course, drafting in mid August, you never know how preseason is going to end up or when the dreaded injury bug pops up. Let's start with the Redraft League
Redraft League - Standard Scoring
Ended up with the 3rd over all pick. I was pretty happy with that. I always like to load up on RBs in this league. Last year we added a Flex position. So, having the option to start 3 RBs that could possibly score a lot of points, I had to get off to a good start. My first pick, I went with Jamaal Charles - I figured he had such a great season last year after his injury that a full year removed from it and with a better coaching staff in place, he could really put up some good numbers. Plus, I really like RBs that catch. Watching the other teams draft, it became clear that I would be choosing a couple more top tier RBs with my next 2 picks. Second pick, I went with C.J. Spiller. Slight injury concern but I could not pass up on the upside. 3rd pick, Maurice Jones Drew. Again, slight injury concern but he gets the ball a ton and in this offense he will be given every chance to score, plus he will be playing this year for a new contract.
I decided to wait on drafting my first Wide Receiver. My first WR, I went with Pierre Garcon. With a healthy RG3, Garcon was a stud last year and he played most of the season hurt. RG3 should not be running the ball as much as last year so that means more down field passes to Garcon. Felt pretty good about that pick. We start a Tight End in this league so I tried to get a good one. Jermichael Finley should have a good year. It sounds like Aaron Rodgers has more trust in him than in previous seasons and with Greg Jennings gone and Jordy Nelson on the mend from knee surgery, Finley should see a fair amount of targets.
With so many good Quarter Backs this year I held off as long as I could. I knew I could still land a good QB in later rounds and I did with Andrew Luck. He looked great as a rookie last season. More experience, some good receivers and a not so great running game and I see a great season in Luck. I also drafted T.Y. Hilton in the 9th round. He also looked good last year, doubling up on Colts, I never would have done that a few years ago, but these guys should score a lot this year. My second WR was Antonio Brown. I figured in the Steeler offense, Brown has a good shot at being the number 1 target down field. I feel even better about this pick now as news comes in about the injury to rookie RB Bell. Back field mess, with good QB and good receivers, should put up some nice numbers.
Pick in the 9th round went to Hilton. My next 2 picks I went with WRs also. Josh Gordon, he should have a good year. Browns offense is not the greatest BUT their QB is improving and they have a really good RB. Should help give him room to shine. I feel good about this next pick, Cordarralle Patterson. He's a rookie but he has a similar skill set to Percy Harvin, who was traded away. I don't have a lot of confidence in the Vikings QB, but Harvin still had great seasons with him. Took a chance with Patterson. I also took a shot with Eddie Lacey in the 8th round. If he ends up with the starting job he could do well with the Packers offense.
Grabbed a good back up QB in Dalton. He should have a good year and if my first pick pans out, I won't have to start Dalton except to cover the bye week. But if Luck happens to have a down year or get hurt, I have confidence in Dalton to be able to start for my team every week. In the 13th round, I took one of my "sleepers". Danny Woodhead. He is listed as a 3rd RB with the Chargers but if we all look back on the Chargers last year, their "star RB" Ryan Mathews, he gets hurt a lot and he had a lot of bad games last year. Recent reports have the coaches talking about using Woodhead in a "Sproles" type of roll, which I was hoping for here. Change of pace RB that will catch a lot of balls also. I don't expect a lot out of the Chargers with year but Woodhead could shine.
I believe I left this draft in really good shape. I have a strong group of starters and some really good back ups. Even if I lose one or two guys to injuries, I can still field a good team every week and that's with not taking any guys off the waiver wire yet. I have a few names in mind for that also, but that will have to wait until the season starts to see how my team pans out.
Keeper League - PPR Scoring
I kept way to many scrubs last year and I had a bad season because of it. I did some thinking and decided to only keep 2 players this time around. Aaron Rodgers and Marshawn Lynch. Knowing that I would be drafting 3rd I liked my chances of landing a rookie RB to help build around. But of course, the 2 teams ahead of me decided to go "all in" and not keep anyone, thus giving them the first 6 picks. So basically in the first 2 minutes of the draft I was looking at picking up a guy that I really didn't want or start drafting the guys I put back into the pool this year. It can be easy to get frustrated on draft day in this league because every team know so much about the game and they do so much research it can be hard to "pull a fast one" and sneak a guy that no one else really knows about. But, my team needs RBs.
I was able to land some good guys. Not on the best teams in the world but, they should all be starters and get a good work load every week. My first few picks I grabbed, Chris Ivory, Mark Ingram and Rashard Mendenhall. Not my ideal team but upon closer inspection, they should all be starters on opening day. Not super concerned with injuries out of these guys either. Mendenhall was pretty bad last season but was not 100% healthy either. He should have a much better year in Arizona. Ivory's switch to the Jets, I'm not too stoked about because, c'mon, it's the Jets, but they will have to run the ball a lot since their QB situation is a mess. Ingram should put up good numbers with the Saints. The Saints are well known for passing but they also have a strong running game and Ingram should get the bulk of the carries.
Since this league is PPR scoring, having some good WRs is a must. I had Garcon last year and was able to pick him up again this time. I also landed Brown from the Steelers (see above). I really wanted DeSean Jackson and I was able to get him. I don't really like the Eagles but that new coach seems to have a fast game plan in mind and losing Maclin for the year will only mean more targets for Jackson. Plus we gets points for return yardage and Jackson makes a lot of noise on Special Teams. I took a look at the best available pass catchers and I decided to go with Vernon Davis. He should have a great season with most of the other receivers in San Fran either hurt, over the hill or just not that good. Also picked up Josh Gordon and Cordarralle Patterson again. Young guys that should be able to step up and put together a good year.
In this league, it pays to take a chance on some rookies and hope they pan out. I grabbed 2 and so far I'm really happy with one of them. Christine Michael RB in Seattle. I've seen him run in the preseason games and he looks just like Lynch if not a little quicker. I drafted Turbin last year as my handcuff for Lynch but something just stands out about this kid. My other reach was for Latavius Murray RB with Oakland. I know I know. I had some good games with Reese last year when he started for the often injured McFadden. I really felt good after the draft about this pick but now reports are saying he might not even make the team. Oh well. If he doesn't it's not like a wasted a high draft pick on him. I might just hang on to these 2 guys for a while and see what happens.
I did make a HUGE mistake this year. I still kick myself for it. I had back to back picks in the late rounds. Percy Harvin was just sitting there and went undrafted and being that he won't even see the field until late in the season, most teams just passed him up. I totally forgot about this league and the IR spot. You can have one guy on it, if a player is officially placed on Injured Reserve by his team. So my plan was to draft Harvin late, but forgetting about our IR spot I thought I would have to forget about grabbing some of my late round "sleepers". so I went ahead and drafted those other guys and right after I did I regretted it. The very next pick, someone drafted Harvin and placed him on his team IR spot. Total facepalm move on my part. Maybe Harvin won't pan out in Seattle, maybe he will always get hurt and not score much. Yeah.
Draft Review for both leagues
I really feel I have a good team in the Redraft League. I might have to mine the waiver wire sooner than later but I think I'm off to a really good start. We also decided that our draft order for next year will be based on record from this year and not random. We have always done it that way before so this will be something new and will give some teams that tanked a chance at some better picks next season. I plan on having the 10th pick next year. I noticed this year that I tend to get excited when other teams start drafting QBs and WRs early and I have my choice of top 10 RBs. I ended up with 3 of them this year. Last year I had too many starters and not enough roster spots, it became a game of who to start when they can all have big games. Let's hope I don't end up like that again this year.
Aside from my Harvin facepalm moment I think I did OK. Not at all what I was expecting my team to look like after the draft but not too horrible. My only concern is that if my team starts out slow and I have to start dropping guys and combing over the waiver wire everyday I might be in trouble. I have to be patient. Too many times have I drafted a guy, dropped him to early, only to have him scooped up by another team and all of a sudden he's a starting running back on a team that run a lot.
Be patient. If you really want a guy, pick him when you want. Don't wait. If you feel like that player will help you win, do it. Unless your choice is drafting a Defense in the 4th round. Don't do that. Yes, that did happen in the redraft league. I facepalmed for him.
I already have some new plans for drafting next year. I want to try and keep track of the draft as it happens and keep an updated draft board. Not just crossing names off my book. That helps for knowing who is gone but does nothing with trying to predict what a team needs as the draft progresses.
My Rosters for both teams
Redraft League (drafted in this order)
RB Charles
RB CJ Spiller
RB MJD
WR Garcon
TE Finley
QB Luck
WR Brown
RB Lacey
WR Hilton
WR Gordon
WR Patterson
QB Dalton
RB Woodhead
DEF Browns
K Barth
RB Murray
Keeper League (not drafted in this order)
QB Rodgers
QB Dalton
RB Lynch
RB Ivory
RB Mendenhall
RB Ingram
RB Michael
RB Murray
WR Garcon
WR Brown
WR Jackson
WR Gordon
WR Patterson
TE Davis
K Dawson
DEF Browns
Monday, December 17, 2012
Stadard League Season Review
Standard League Season Review
Post Season Record 1-1
It can be such an bad feeling when you load up your team for the playoffs, get a huge win in the first game and start talking smack. Only to fall flat the next game and lose by 20 points. Most owners know the feeling of having a stud player have a bad game or taking gamble and have it backfire. I had all that happen this weekend. I only had good games from 3 guys, Matt Ryan, DeMarco Murray and Hernandez. Other then that.... not much. Between Ray Rice and Doug Martin I got 1 stinkin' point. Also got a combined 1 point from both of my wide receivers, I started Jordon and Alexander.
My team was just outplayed this week. My opponent had Drew Brees, The Law Firm, Alfred Morris and Eric Decker - those guys alone won him the game, he only scored 5 points between the rest of his team. I only left 14 points on my bench so no matter who I started I still would have lost. At least I can say that, it's not like I left a guy out that ended up having a career game - I've had that happen before.
There is not much I could have changed at the end of the year. I picked up guys of the waiver wire that helped me out (and kept them away from the other teams). I didn't have too many injuries. I didn't have to scramble to keep my team together either. Just got handed a few bum games. I feel better than the last few years when I got into the playoffs but lost the first game. I was able to keep the fun going for a few more weeks this time around.
Looking ahead to next season, I know that I won't have a chance to get a team this loaded again. I knew some rookies would pay off and they did and that helped me to spend draft picks on big names early on. Now most of my team is made up of big names. That's the neat thing about a Re-Draft League, everyone gets a clean slate each year. Man, what I wouldn't give to keep a few of these guys for next year though.
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Fantasy Football Season Review-Post Season Start
Fantasy Football Season Review
Post Season Preview
Standard League - Record 7-6
The last month of the regular season was a nail biter. After leading the division and heading for a post season bye week, I lost 3 games in a row to lose the division lead. I had to win the last game of the season to get into the playoffs. I won and was able to grab the last wild card spot.
The last few weeks of the season I was dropping some dead weight and picking up players that are peaking at a good time. I do have a strong team but my opponent this week does too. I will need some really good games from my studs to pull this one out. My guys do not have any "bad" match ups this week, but you never know when a defence will step up and play well.
Just like I planned, I am loaded at the running back position. The bad thing is, now I have to choose who to start. Guys are getting healthy and starting to play well. I know DeMarco Murray is back but, with Ray Rice, Doug Martin and I picked up Bryce Brown this week, Murray will sit on the bench. He would get the start if we could start more running backs. I also have Maurice Jones-Drew waiting in the wings - if he gets healthy enough to start. I can't look to far ahead. I have to win this week first.
Since I am starting 3 running backs, that means I can only start 2 wide receivers. I'll go with Randall Cobb and Josh Gordon. I have Jeremy Maclin, Antonio Brown and Justin Blackmon on the bench. I like Maclin, especially with DeShawn on IR. But I don't feel like he will help me this week. The Eagles have a rookie QB playing now and if he cannot get things going, Maclin will suffer. Plus, I added Bryce Brown this week and since McCoy has been out, Brown has been putting up huge fantasy numbers. I'll go with Brown. I had Percy Harvin sitting on my bench for the last few weeks and just found out he is on the IR - ending his season. He is now the only guy on my team with no chance of playing. If I make it to the next round, I will drop him and grab another receiver.
The match up this week is a good one. Our teams are pretty equal and have about the same potential to put up huge games. The only real position that I think I have an advantage on is the tight end. I will start Aaron Hernandez and he has Vernon Davis. Davis is good and can have big games but over all has had a down season. Hernandez has been more consistent and actually has been getting more targets since the injury to Gronk.
Fingers are crossed this week. I feel confident. Going to be fun games to watch this week.
PPR Dynasty League - Record 5-8
Lost the last 3 games of the season. My team was still in the playoff hunt until the last game. I needed to win and needed another team to lose. They lost, but so did I. Adding insult to injury, I will receive the dreaded "Tranny Award" for my division. At the end of each season, the teams with the worst record in each division trade divisions.
Being this is a dynasty league, the season is never really over. Since the regular season has ended, I have already completed a trade. Teams in the playoffs will try to grab players from other teams to help them win. Those of us that missed out will be trying to plan for the draft for next season. The trade I made was for a draft pick. I was able to nab a 12th round pick for the Seattle defence. I might try to make a few trades before all the games are said and done.
I have a few players that I will be keeping for next season. I also have a few young players that I will evaluate and decide to drop or keep. It's tough every year to try and decide to keep a guy and lose a draft pick. If you have a guy that didn't have a great season, but has high potential, is he worth giving up a draft pick for? On paper, my team is pretty good. Had a few bad injuries pop up in the last few weeks. Can't really do much about that.
Time to pour over endless stats, projections and speculation. Let the research begin.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Fantasy Football 2012 Week 10 Review Standard/PPR
Fantasy Football Week 10 Review
Standard and PPR Leagues
Standard League Team
Over the last few weeks I made a few changes. As of right now I am winning my division, even though I will lose this week. I am starting to plan on making the playoffs and how to put my best team forward to win those important games. I was able to drop some dead weight and pick up a couple guys that are hurt right now but should slowly make their way back and be full time starters by the time we start wrapping things up and heading into the playoffs. The biggest addition has been Maurice Jones Drew. He was dropped last week, due to his injury, which scared off many of the other owners. I've already got a few really good running backs but I could not pass MJD up. He is a full time RB on a team with no other weapons, so he gets the ball a ton no matter what. He can take a seat on my bench for now, right next to DeMarco Murray. Once those two guys get back on the field and I can add them to my lineup on a weekly basis, right next to Ray Rice and Doug Martin, look out!
Getting over injuries can be tough. This week was a bad one for me. I'm going to lose this week but I will still be on top with a 6-4 record. I got bit by some injuries and bye weeks at the same time. I even had to start 2 guys that were out because everyone on my bench was on a bye or injured. Didn't have a bad week for scoring, we put up 64 points, but just not enough. Matt Ryan is still producing at a very high level. Two other guys that usually put up good numbers, Percy Harvin and Aaron Hernandez, both out this week. I saw this coming but being that every guy on my bench was not available and our waivers are only once a week on Wednesday, there was nothing I could do.
Heading into week 11 I can drop one of my Defences and a Running Back that went and got himself suspended for 4 games. Not a big deal, he was only there to cover bye weeks anyway. I don't have a plan for what to pick up this week. It's a good spot to be in not to have to scramble every week. 2 of my last 3 games are against playoff teams, including the other division leader (at the moment). Most likely I will go after something like another Wide Receiver and maybe a Running Back. I only have 1 more bye week to cover for week 11. Trying to think ahead and not get over confident.
PPR League Team
Lost the last 2 games. I was thinking it would be 3 in a row since my main guys are on a bye week this week. I was able to add Phillip Rivers to cover for Aaron Rodgers and he put up a good game. Also had some really good games from my Running Backs, which is good because I really only have one good one with Lynch. I picked up Marcel Reece once I heard the other Oakland Running Backs were out and he put up a nice game for me. He won't be counted on once the 2 main guys get back but until then I'll start him. I also added Isaac Redman for the time being, had a good game last week so we shall see how long he can get playing time. I have Donald Brown on my bench. Once he gets healthy and gets his normal playing time he should put up decent numbers.
Last year I made the playoffs for the first time in this league. I don't think that will happen this year. After this week I will be 5-5. Not horrible, but there will be a tie for the lead in the division and also a tie for second place. I will get my big guys back next week so that will help. I will have to make a few moves to try and keep up. I don't make many trades as many other owners want my top guys and aren't willing to give up much of anything good.
I try to take advantage of starters getting hurt. It works but only for a short time. I have had to mine the waivers each week. Not in full on panic mode, but there is not much there. I have a few guys that I am hoping will turn into full time starting Running Backs for next year so I will try to do what I can while hanging on to those guys for next year. Just going to try and finish strong and at least above .500. Not too confident about my chances but you never know. Can't give up.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Fantasy Football Week 5 Review - Week 6 Preview
Fantasy Football
Week 5 Review & Week 6 Preview
Redraft League - Well, started the season 2-0. Since then, dropped 3 in a row.
My team has been scoring good points each week. But we have been getting beat, quite soundly, the last 3 weeks. A lot of other mid range names have been having great games, while some of the bigger names have yet to fully realize their potential. Matt Ryan is still doing great. Had a few stinker games from my running backs. We get yardage points but only 20yds for 1 point so while a running back with a 100 yard game sounds great, its only 5 points without a TD. So, while Ray Rice is just about a lock for 100 yards each week, unless he can score, that's only 5 points.
I haven't had to scrounge the waiver wire too much to cover injuries. The thing that sneaks up on me every year is the bye weeks. Injury + bye week = no kicker. This usually happens for 1 game every year in this league. Only having the waiver wire open once a week and having the first picks go to the teams with the worst records kinda sucks. You can't just research a name and go grab him right away. You have to put in a claim and wait and see if he falls to you. If he doesn't, you're out of luck. If you were counting on that player to cover an injury or bye week, ouch.
Had a few weeks of really low scoring from my wide receivers and running backs. I'm hoping they can get back on track here soon. On paper, my team should be killing it right now. I'm not one to play the match ups, if I have a good player I'll start that player regardless if he plays against a tough defense. I have to count on my main guys to pull through, once they get rolling again I should bounce back. A couple of my receivers had injuries a couple of weeks back, nothing major but its the little injuries that can linger. You always hope your guys don't get hurt. When you have a guy get a small injury but he is still able to play, that can kill your score. A guy can start but not be 100%, so he doesn't play the whole game, and when he does play, he's not effective. Puts you in a tough spot sometimes. I was lucky enough, the players that went down with season ending injuries the last few weeks weren't any of mine.
I can shake a few of these little injury bugs and get past a few bye weeks and get my team back on track. I'm still confident about a post season birth.
Keeper League - Turned this one around, a little. Now at 2-3.
Through week 3, my highest scoring players were my back up QB and my Defense. Tough spot. Rodgers should be able to turn things around. Facing the toughest defenses in the league in the first few weeks of the season hurts. I don't even want to get into the Hawks vs pack Monday Night game.
Lynch is still doing good, he needs to score a bit more but his yardage totals are still getting points. I really felt, after the draft, that by this point I would have a few good running backs. Not the case. I kind of knew Kevin Smith would loose his starting job eventually, but it came on really fast. One week he was the starter, the next, not even one carry. I expected to see his role get smaller first and I would have time to find another decent back. I went with having to start Bush every week. Having to re lie on a #2 running back, just sucks. I dropped Smith, Pead, Turbin. Some starting backs went down with season ending injuries so I tried to act quickly and grab some back ups. La Rod Stephens Howling - I had him a few seasons ago as a back up and all of a sudden his going to be a starter, or atleast have a big role. I was a little proactive and took a chance on Jahvid Best, he should get cleared to play and see some good playing time.
Jennings is still battling with his groin injury. I have it covered but to have a guy like that out hurts. Welker was able to get some more playing time and get some good numbers. I never thought he would have as good a season as last year, but he started this year horribly. Britt. I still have him. I have yet to start him. I'm sure he will get some better games as the season get going but its hard to trust him now.
My 2 wins were really nice. one game I won by less than a point. I think that's how things will go for me the rest of this season. Kind of wierd but when I play a winning team, thier guys usually have bad games or less than average for them. In this league the waiver wire is open 24/7 and its first come first serve. I've been watching that a lot closer now. It's helped me get a few guys that should help. Time will tell. If I can get just a couple of these moves to pan out I should be able to pull out a couple more games.
Friday, September 21, 2012
NFL Fantasy Football Week 1&2 Review, Week 3 Preview
Fantasy Football Updates
Redraft and Keeper League
Redraft League - Let's start with this team. Currently sitting at 2-0. Off to a great start, all my studs are producing and winning me games, just like they should.
Huge games from Matt Ryan and good numbers from all my running backs. I drafted the Giants rookie Running Back, David Wilson, thinking he would be the #2 RB on the team. That has been my biggest disappointment I think. Currently he sits as maybe #3 on the depth chart, and in this league, he has not scored any points. I also have only dropped one player, Juston Blackmon, WR for the Jags. Not for any other reason than I needed to grab a TE to cover me while Aaron Hernandez is out. I was able to get Brent Celek to take his place.
Pretty happy with this team so far. Being 2-0 really helps. I have 4 really good running backs and we can start 3, that's a great position to be in, especially this early in the season. I have started Kevin Smith in my first two games but he will ride the pine this week. I like my wide receivers, even though my best ones are banged up right now. I have Jeremy Maclin and Pierre Garcon out with injuries right now. I think they will get healthy and get back to having a good season for me. Antonio Brown and Percy Harvin will keep things rolling for me.
I shouldn't have to worry about the waiver wire too much at all. I still stick by my draft strategy of only drafting one TE, K, and Defense. That has paid off this year, allowing me to draft more Wide Receivers and Running Backs, the more of those you grab, the higher your chances of ending up with some good ones. The only draw back to this is the injuries that pop up. Got bit by the Hernandez injury but got that covered, so far so good. If you are going to have to cover an injured player, I think its better to have it happen early in the season when there are more good players will on the wire and not hidden away on some other teams bench.
The rest of the teams in the league are doing well and by that I mean putting up good numbers. Winning games will not come easy in any week. I feel confident about my chances of getting into the playoffs this year and from there, its any ones guess. I just plan to stoke this little fire I have going now and see where it leads.
Keeper League - Ugh..... 0-2. Where should I start with this crew?
I wasn't 100% happy with my team after the draft but I felt I had plenty of potential to wins some games. My 0-2 start, I feel, has more to do with tough games at the start of the season for most of my guys. Aaron Rodgers played against the 49ers, Bears and the Seahawks this Monday Night. All tough defenses and while I think the Packers can win against the Hawks, I don't expect better than average stats from this game. I will have a lot riding on it though. I will start Rodgers and Nelson from the Pack and Lynch and the Hawks Defense. While I will be rooting for both teams to have a good game, I always want the Pack to win. Going to be tough for both teams and hopefully a great game to watch.
My running backs have been OK. Lynch put up some great numbers last week against the Cowboys and Kevin Smith had a great first week and just an OK week 2 - but just about anyone have who played the 49ers. I'm keeping an eye on the Lions backfield. Hoping Smith can hang on to his starting spot for at least a while longer. The 3 rookies I drafted haven't done much of anything yet. I drafted Turbin, mostly as a handcuff for Lynch who, at the time, had a possible league suspension hanging over his head. I might hang on to him just for insurance for Lynch. If Lynch does not start I feel Turbin can step in and get close to what Lynch would get.
The other 2 guys, not so much. I drafted Pead from the Rams thinking, like almost everyone else, that he would end up as the #2 behind Jackson. That hasn't happened. So far he has only got a hand full of carries and works mainly on special teams. If this changes soon I might hang on to him, but if he can't get to the #2 spot, he will get dropped. Same issue with Hillman from Denver. Drafted him thinking #2 RB on a great running team. Nope! Here he sits as #3. Same thing with Pead, if he doesn't move up the roster soon, I'll have to look elsewhere. I did make a move this week. I dropped Javon Ringer and picked up Martellus Bennett - TE for the Giants. I saw how many passes were being thrown his way and in a PPR format, that can be a great thing. I started him this week and he played Thursday Night and already grabbed a few passes and a TD to get me off to a good start.
My receivers have been just OK. I'm perplexed by what is happening with Welker in New England. I have to keep starting him and hope things turn around. Maclin is hurt, he's great when he plays so I'm hoping he won't loose much more time. Jennings is hurt, this one doesn't hurt as much since I have been starting Nelson anyways. I drafted Kenny Britt, even with his bad knees and suspension. Now that he's back on the field and cleared for full playing time, I'm hoping he can produce some good stats and make up for possibly losing Kevin Smith in the near future. I'm starting Michael Bush this week with Forte being out. Not sure how much time Forte will miss, but any time he's out, Bush will be a must start for my team. That's why I drafted him so I better use him.
I'm really happy with the way the Seahawks Defense has been playing. They manhandled the Cowboys last week. Not sure what to expect Monday Night with the Packers. I'm hoping for good stats for everyone, both of these teams are too good for any huge blow out to happen. I'm playing against the league champ this week and to have everything come down to Monday Night, I might not have much hair left on my head after this one.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Fantasy Football Keeper League Draft
Fantasy Football Keeper League Draft
This league can be pretty hardcore. We use a Points Per Reception scoring system so it changes a lot of the rankings for almost every position. Defencive scoring is based on points and yards given up, you can end up with a negative score if you start a team that has a bad game. The Keeper part of this league is very interesting. You can keep 8 players. Most often, if you have a star player, you hang on to him for dear life! These types of players will usually stay with one team once they deem themselves worthy. Only being moved if a huge trade happens or a catastrophic injury. Some owners have a death grip on the positions that are the hardest to fill, like running backs. But, what I love about this league, the PPR scoring gives value to more players, making everything more exciting.
Like I said, if you end up with a highly valued player on your team, you can keep him. This season I kept 6. My last season went well. I made the playoffs for the first time in this league, that was a big step forward. While often flying by the seat of my pants and getting lots of luck, I was hoping to improve on my baby steps from last season. In this draft there were a lot of rookies with potential. My strategy was to grab a few of them and hope at least one would pan out. But everyone knows that so many rookies go fast. This is where a good draft can make or break your season.
I'll do a quick run down of my keepers so we both know what I had to work with for this draft. My draft position was 6th (based on last seasons record) and keeping 6 players would make my first pick in round 7.
#1 - QB Arron Rodgers. Not much to say here. He has been a top QB in the NFL since being named the Packers starter. Also NFL MVP last season. He should stay that way for many more years.
#2 - RB Marshawn Lynch. Things are starting to turn around for the Seahawks. Lynch really turned it on last year, having a career season. Very consistent. I am slightly worried about a suspension that might be looming and his reported case of back spasms (kept him from one game last year and a few preseason games). The Hawks don't have a home run hitter at QB or WR so they will run early and often. If Lynch can stay on the field he will produce.
#3 - WR Greg Jennings. He is a top target in the high powered Packer offence. He stays relatively healthy and has league MVP Rodgers looking for him. Very consistent player.
#4 - WR Jordy Nelson. Not sure where or when I landed Nelson last season, but wow what a surprise. 15 TDs. I'm sure he won't have that many this season but he's young, fast and like Jennings, has Rodgers looking for him down the field. Nelson turned many short passed into huge gains last season. Sure, I might not start both Green Bay receivers each week, but last season it paid off more often than not. In a PPR league like this one, Nelson is a keeper.
#5 - WR Wes Welker. Welker is a PPR beast and he had a career year last season. I don't think he will match his production from last season but he has the potential to and that's all I need.
#6 - WR Jeremy Maclin. Had a slow start last year due to a preseason illness and battled a leg injury late in the year. But even that was enough to overtake the #1 WR spot on the Eagles. I'm hoping he can stay healthy and put up a career year for me.
So that brings me to round 7 in the draft. We get a draft board a week before the draft and from there you plan. You can see what the other owners are doing at that point. Every year there has been at least one owner that goes "all in", meaning he does not keep any players so he can start drafting in the early rounds. This can pay off big time if you are trying to grab rookies and if other owners are trying to keep their rosters intact. This year, one owner went all in and had the first 5 rounds all to himself and the second pick in the 6th round. Good for him, bad if you came to the draft looking to pick up some younger players to hang on to.
The top 3 RBs I had on my list for draft day were gone and I kind of thought I might only get one of them, but they all went fast. I had to switch to plan B and C before I had my first pick. Not a time to panic. So I had to reach a little and take what I could. I took a couple of rookie RBs with my first 2 picks. The RB position is my weakness. I know it and the other owners know it. I had many trade offers for RBs heading into the draft. Nothing to exciting and I turned them all down. Knowing that I was "loaded" at the WR spot I was able to focus on RB for most of my early picks. I'm hoping this pays off once the season starts. Come to think of it, I only drafted 1 WR this time.
Last season I had a few RBs that ended up in starting positions because of injuries to starting RBs. Seems like I'll follow that path at least a little this year as well, it paid off for me last year. Injuries happen. If you can grab a #2 RB on a good team and wait it out, it can work. What do you do when that guy never gets his chance? You curse the starter, of course. Of the 6 RBs that I drafted, 1 is a starter, and 3 are rookies. The rookies have a ton up upside. If one or more of them pay off, I'll be looking pretty dang good. Of course, if not, I'll be ready to throw in the towel about the mid way point in the season. Let's hope not.
Here is a quick run down of the players that I drafted. I did not keep as good of records for this league as trades happen often and draft picks get swapped around a lot. I'll just make the list and give a short reason why.
RB Isaiah Pead. He was my first pick. The Rams have just about used Steven Jackson up. Jackson is only 29 but he has more miles on his legs then most RBs over 30. I'm hoping Pead will get a few chances to start and eventually work his way to a full time starter. Might not happen this season but if he shows promise and if anything happens to Jackson, I might have struck gold here.
RB Kevin Smith. The Lions need someone in the back field and when Smith is healthy he can put up big numbers. He does come with injury risk but I'm taking a chance on him. He's a starter on a very good offence.
RB Robert Turbin. Not knowing 100% what will happen with Lynch (possible suspension) I grabbed this rookie. I watched him in preseason games and he run hard and pushed the pile. If Lynch misses any time at all for any reason I feel Turbin can step in and get about the same production. If the Seahawks turn this into a Running Back By Committee, both of these guys might get a start, I'm crazy like that.
RB Ronnie Hillman. With the Broncos signing Manning that will take a lot of pressure off the O-line right away. McGahee is getting older and I believe Hillman will get some good work in this season. Again, I'm hoping I've landed a rookie that will eventually become the #1. The Broncos run the ball a lot. Even with Manning at QB, they might even get a little better at it.
RB Javon Ringer. I picked up Ringer very late in the draft. Mainly for depth and if anything happens to Chris Johnson he might be worth a few starts. Or trade bait. We'll see.
RB Michael Bush. I had Bush last year and he paid off big time when McFadden went down. Bush is again behind a #1 RB in Forte but I think Bush still has value. I was able to get him in the later rounds of this draft. He is a strong RB and can produce on 3rd and 4th downs as well as goal line carries. He might be worth a few starts even at a #2 spot, but again, if anything happens to the starter (and Forte had a big knee injury last year), I could have struck gold again. Bush should be a starter for any team.
WR Kenny Britt. The only WR I drafted this year. Got him late in the draft. I think many owners were scared off by his off season troubles and knee injuries. We just learned he will only get a 1 game suspension and that will give his legs more time to heal before starting. When he does start he can be a great WR and should be a #1 target for the Titans. Just realized I drafted 4 Titan players.........
K Rob Bironas. A kicker is a kicker. But this guy has been really good. The Titan offence is looking better than the last few seasons and he should get more FGs. We get points based on how far FGs are. He should be a good weekly producer.
Seahawk Defence. I like how they look this year. They were flying to the ball on every play. They should be able to hold more teams in check this year while also getting more turn overs and the occasional score.
QB Jake Locker. The Titans named Locker their starter so he will get his chance early to show what he can do. He is in his second year but only played in a few games last year. He looks good. He can run and throw. I (hopefully) will only need him for a bye week. But I'm also not 100% sold on him. I've been watching another QB that I might pick up and drop Locker for. We will see how this pans out.
I feel good about how this draft went. You just never know how things will fall into place once the season starts. I feel like I am ready to take the next step with this league. I'm just hoping that step will be forward. If even just one of my "struck gold" type guys pan out I should do good.
With this league, the action never stops, even after the NFL season has ended. Trades can happen at any time and they happen often. You have to be smart about it. The other owners in the league know what they are doing and any miss step can be bad. Drop the wrong guy at the wrong time and he gets snatched up in a hurry. One strategy can be to offer draft picks for next season for a player now. This happens a lot too. A few owners had a full team several rounds before the end of the draft.
With these owners being as good as they are, it feels good to have had a winning team and break into the playoffs last year. So, here is to having an OK draft, a good up coming season and being the underdog!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)