2008/2009 NFL Season

[Cassin]

And I am not just saying that as a fan...I am hyper critical of my teams.

 

[Cassin]

merrimen and umenyiora both out for the year. wow

 

[The Gardener]

I drafted my fantasy football team this morning... any criticism? I'm in a 12 team league where we play QB, 2RBs, 2WRs, a RB/WR flex, a Telogen Effluvium, a K, and a Defense/Special teams.

A bit weak in RB depth, but I think I have some receiver value that I can trade later:

QB1 - Donovan McNabb (Philly)
QB2 - Jake Delhomme (Carolina) - I think Delhomme has upside this year
RB1 - Adrian Peterson (Minnesota) - No comment needed
RB2 - Jonathan Stewart (Carolina) - A youngster, but has tremendous physical potential
RB3 - Ahmad Bradshaw (NY Giants) - This is the "Jacobs gets hurt" play, and Bradshaw does get a lot of touch time
WR1 - Calvin Johnson (Detroit) - Sophomore barn burner
WR2 - Wes Welker (New England) - Don't know if he'll repeat his numbers from last year, but, he is on NE, so...
WR3 - Marvin Harrison (Indianapolis) - Risky. He fell down to round 7 in our draft! Once world class, but now in decline.
WR4 - DeShaun Jackson (Philadelphia) - I love this guy from his college days... I hope he breaks out
WR5 - Ted Ginn, Jr (Miami) - Late round crapshoot on a youngster
Telogen Effluvium - Jason Witten (Dallas) - The best in the NFL
K1 - Nick Folk (Dallas) - Had him last year and he was money, Dallas puts up points, ergo...
K2 - Kris Brown (Houston) - Late round bottom feeding

Defenses (I accidentally chose 3, will need to include in my trade bait):
Indianapolis - Had a pretty good year last year
Green Bay - Who knows
Baltimore - Strong pedigree, but in decline

Any suggestions on who I should start?... who should I consider trading away for? Any fantasy footballers out there have any free agent-level sleepers out there?

 

[Cassin]

Thats a damn good team dude...wow. Brilliant drafting.

Only one issue....You have a major problem with this one. QB1 - Donovan McNabb (Philly). McNabb will give you 4 awesome games a year...4 bad ones..4 average ones and 4 non starts. Same story after 4 years.

3rdRB ...........Tashard Choice from Dallas is a freaking stud. If Felix Jones or Barber get hurt grab him the second you can. So far he looks better than Jones.

 

[EasyEd]

We'll have to agree to disagree on Romo, Cassin. And I don't mean to always use Brady as the standard, but to me, he plays to win...whereas I see Romo as a guy who plays for fame. It's certainly impressive what Staubach and Aikman said about him, though...he's obviously got a ton of ability and a swagger that can't be taught.

I will, however, say that my favorite current player in the NFL is a Cowboy:
[youtube:3ki7o1k1]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJRuyhu6ssA[/youtube:3ki7o1k1]

And that's something about Merriman and Umenyoria. Two of the best defensive players in the league today won't play a single down.

 

[The Gardener]

Phew... thanks for that reassurance. It was one of those drafts where every pick in my first five or six rounds just seemed like a freaking miracle. Then I started to worry about some of the question marks.

We used an online draft system for the first time, and although it worked great and we didn't have any technical problems at all, I think some of my league-mates might have been distracted by the technology. The system suggests players based on THEIR ranking system, which frankly I thought sucked when I compared it to SI and the Rotoworld package that has normally served me well.

Plus, the system puts little icons by players' names if they are injured or have had a slow preseason start. I think in the case of Welker and Harrison, the icons' subconscious suggestion allowed those two to drop a round or two lower than they should have gone, even though the actual underlying details aren't really that much of an issue.

Tashard Choice, hmmm... I didn't think of that. I wanted Barber and/or Romo SO badly, but its not good to have so much exposure to one team. I REALLY wanted the Cowboys defense/special teams, but was beaten out for them by ONE draft. Regardless, I'm ab-so-fricken-lutely THRILLED to have picked up Witten in round 5. There's about 2/3rds of a round of tight ends that actually produce offensively, then they sharply drop off in numbers. Witten's the best, he and Gates are the gold standard... Witten gets yards and quite a few touches, and he scores too. That's nice regular production to have in a roster hole that is usually occupied by a stastical pea shooter for most teams.

 

[Cassin]

We'll have to agree to disagree on Romo, Cassin. And I don't mean to always use Brady as the standard, but to me, he plays to win...whereas I see Romo as a guy who plays for fame. .

Fame?

Has any QB been photographed more in celeb magazines than Brady in the history of the league?

Give Romo some time.

Romo's only fault is that he wasn't drafted. He will never get credit outside Dallas until he gets a ring because of that.

He's never choked yet. He let a FG place kick fumble but that has nothing to do with being a QB. And last year against the Giants Crayton dropped that pass.

Oh...and another thing on Brady...he's always had the cheater edge though.

 

[The Gardener]

Hehe... no disrespect, EasyEd, Brady is awesomeness personified, but... lol..

I wonder what Parcells would have thought of this?...

 

[Cassin]

Regardless, I'm ab-so-fricken-lutely THRILLED to have picked up Witten in round 5. There's about 2/3rds of a round of tight ends that actually produce offensively, then they sharply drop off in numbers. Witten's the best, he and Gates are the gold standard... Witten gets yards and quite a few touches, and he scores too. That's nice regular production to have in a roster hole that is usually occupied by a stastical pea shooter for most teams.

Thats a steal brutha...Dallas has no true 2nd WR and a whole lot of "we're not sure what we have at 2 to 6"

 

[Cassin]

Hehe... no disrespect, EasyEd, Brady is awesomeness personified, but... lol..

I wonder what Parcells would have thought of this?...

lol

yeah dude...seriously....How can you say Brady isn't in it for fame?

Bill would have shattered his teeth grinding them.

 

[EasyEd]

Good draft, Gardener. I had mine today, too...we have some similar players. My league is a keeper league, but we can only keep guys who we drafter in the 6th round and later...so I kept Ryan Grant, who I picked up late last year. Anywho, here's what I came out with...I had the 7th pick with 10 total players:

Donovan McNabb (I'm hoping he has one more big year left in him)
Drew Brees (They throw a lot, and have some explosive players, so I think he'll always put up some numbers)
Ryan Grant (He was my keeper, I don't like him as much as I did with Favre, but I think he'll be solid)
Frank Gore (Wasn't crazy about the pick because I hate taking RBs on lousy teams, but he was the best player left at my turn, I felt)
Jonathan Stewart (I think he'll be a huge player...and I got him in the 6th round, so I was thinking keeper for next year too.)
Dallas Clark (One of Manning's favorite targets)
Roy Williams (Stud receiver...just hope he stays healthy)
Chad Johnson (A wildcard for certain, but still lots of ability)
Lee Evans (I'm hoping for a big year out of him...he had an awful year last year, but I think he'll bounce back strong)
Rob Bironas (Tennessee Kicker)
Patriots D (Getting old, but still solid)

Bench:

Bryant Johnson (#1 receiver on a Martz offense...figured I'd take a shot)
Kevin Jones (He's been good for me in the past, and Chicago doesn't have anyone that reliable)
Marty Booker (Chicago's got to throw to someone)
Jamarcus Russell (Loads of talent...figured I'd take a shot)
Sammi Morris (In case Maroney goes down...and is a solid guy anyway, as the Pats use everyone)
Javon Walker (Has had some off the field issues, but has a lot of ability)
Ahmad Bradshaw (I don't know if Jacobs can stay healthy all year with the way he runs, so I took a shot here.)

 

[The Gardener]

Nice team. I hope this is the year Jonathan Stewart breaks out as well. I guess we'll both be pulling for that old battlewagon McNabb this year. Should be fun!

I had Chad Johnson last year... he was really inconsistent. He'd have a HUGE game, then the following week would be Houshmandzadeh time and his numbers would be a whimper. He came through for me, though.

I like Jamarcus Russell as well, I think he's a monster in the making. It's kind of a shame he's been shackled to such a mediocre franchise.

I'm getting excited. Football is here!

Going back to the Brady/Romo thing... I guess I must admit that Romo has his share of baggage too:

 

[Cassin]

No doubt...but as so far I don't see him modeling for ads and walking down Hollywood like Mr. Brady so Ed's comparison is odd at the least.

No harm Ed, just pointing that out.

 

[EasyEd]

LOL...I definitely stepped on the rake talking about another QB loving the fame, as there is definitely no greater camera wh*** than Brady. I'm just a typical Boston fan who gets defensive, I guess. I listen to sports radio a lot here, and there are often callers from Texas who rant and rave about how Romo is better, and I just find that ridiculous. To me, Romo is nothing more than a talented QB with a lot of upside and a lot to learn...whereas Brady is in my opinion (and in the opinion of many) the greatest QB to ever play football. Yes, my comparison was an awful one saying Romo is a camera wh***...I guess what I meant to say was that he doesn't deserve the hype that he gets, because I don't think he's achieved anything great just yet. I do, however, have a great deal of respect for the Cowboys and their fans...one of the true great organizations of all American sports.

 

[EasyEd]

And since I don't want to start a Cowboys-Patriots war this early in the year, I'd like to point out that I think TO is the best receiver in the game, and I would take him over Moss any day of the week. And I've said my piece about Barber. Man...I LOVE football season!!

 

[The Gardener]

Brady is in my opinion the greatest QB to ever play football.

I agree.

 

[Cassin]

LOL...I definitely stepped on the rake talking about another QB loving the fame, as there is definitely no greater camera wh*** than Brady.

lol...yeah you kinda did.

I listen to sports radio a lot here, and there are often callers from Texas who rant and rave about how Romo is better, and I just find that ridiculous.

hmmmmmmmmmm

I listen to sport radio all day at work, "the official Cowboys station" and I can't recall anyone saying that here. I wonder if its just a group of folks stirring it up because there us so much to compare between the two. If someone said that here I guarantee the radio show I listen to would laugh them off the air. Believe it or not they are not a homer station since they didn't become the "flag ship" station until a decade after they were created.

By the way...in Peter Kings Monday Morning QB about a month ago Romo says he idolizes Brady in how he works the pocket and studies him weekly.

IMO until Romo gets a ring saying he is better is silly.

To me, Romo is nothing more than a talented QB with a lot of upside and a lot to learn...

as in "experience"? then yes.

whereas Brady is in my opinion (and in the opinion of many) the greatest QB to ever play football.

I dunno...the whole cheating thing throws this off. Besides..I hate absolute rankings. Its a stream of arguing that goes nowhere. I think I would take Roger.

...I guess what I meant to say was that he doesn't deserve the hype that he gets, because I don't think he's achieved anything great just yet.

Its an amazing story though,

...one of the true great organizations of all American sports.

My top 3 order!

Cowboys
Yankee's (puke)
Manchester United

 

[Cassin]

And since I don't want to start a Cowboys-Patriots war this

Yeah we might have cool it and not pick this up again until December. I have a feeling you and I can type about 10 pages a day of responses arguing. hah

Man...I LOVE football season!!

To me nothing is better than windows open with a cool breeze with some football!!!

 

[Cassin]

Good draft Ed...

Frank Gore is your ultimate wild card....he could very well be a good value pick.

 

[EasyEd]

Cassin, regarding the sports radio talk, you might be right in saying that it's probably just some people calling to stir things up. The reason you might not have heard such a thing is the fact that, as you said, the Cowboy station is not a homer station. The most popular show (The Big Show) on the most popular sports station here (WEEI) is such a homer station that it makes me f*cking sick. I don't like the hosts of the show and the way they treat callers, but I couldn't believe that there were actually people out there who thought there was actually a case for Romo being better than Brady at the time.

And Cassin, I was ready to move on with the Brady/Romo discussion, but you had to do it...you had to go there. I mean, you're clearly a smart dude and certainly have a very good outlook on sports...please don't tell me you actually believe the "cheating" stuff has actually played a role in Brady's career and success.