Top 5 Fantasy Quarterbacks in 2011-2012

With NFL regular season approaching quickly and fantasy fanatics beginning to prepare for the infamous draft day, I begin to think about what quarterback I would take first. Here's my predicted top 5 QB's for the upcoming season in terms of fantasy numbers:

1. Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles):Could be your best fantasy draft or could be your worst fantasy option. Placing him at #1 on my list of top QB's is making the assumption that he will remain healthy all season; however, this is highly unlikely in my opinion. With a Denard Robinson-like style, Vick's numbers could lead you to the championship game or could leave you in a serious bind to find another QB...least he knows how to tie his shoes.

Top Targets: DeShaun Jackson, Jason Avant, Steve Smith, *Jeremy Maclin*, Brent Celek

*health issues might keep him from being a target this season*

2. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers): Coming off such a successful previous season, we'll just hope Rodgers doesn't have a Superbowl hangover this season. I can't imagine that happening as he is one of the more consistent performers at the QB position.

Top Targets: Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Donald Driver, James Jones, Jermichael Finley

3. Tom Brady (New England Patriots): With the new addition of Pro-bowl receiver Chad Ocho Cinco, Brady should put up some impressive numbers again this year. He has a number of solid receivers and 2 young tight ends that have already solidified themselves as reputable targets. After throwing for 36 TD's and only 4 int's last season, expect Brady to put up very similar numbers this coming season.

Top Targets: Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Chad Ocho Cinco, Brandon Tate, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez

4. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints): Looking to make it further into the play-off's this season, Brees should lead a powerful Saints offense to put up solid fantasy numbers. He did lose a play-making back in Reggie Bush; however, he has a number of other weapons around him that make his job at QB much easier.

Top Targets: Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Robert Meachem, Jimmy Graham

5. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons): Ryan could put up some impressive fantasy numbers this year with his returning cast of receivers and new addition in Julio Jones. He threw for 28 TD's last season and should increase that stat into the mid to high 30's.

Top Targets: Roddy White, Eric Weems, Julio Jones, Tony Gonzalez

How To Dominate Your Fantasy Football League

This Was My Team in 2010.  Only Philip Rivers & Andre Johnson Were Drafted.

by Jacob Allen
Most people will tell you that the easiest most secure path to a fantasy football championship is preparing for, and executing the perfect draft. While there are many elements of truth to that theory, by no means is it the only way.

I personally don’t put all that much stock in the draft. I like to draft good players as much as the guy next to me and I’ve seen teams draft well…and win with the team they drafted, but each fantasy season is long. Things happen. If you play right…the championship is rarely won on draft day. It’s won with the little things in between.

Drafting players is only 1 of 3 ways to acquire talent. Free agency is the 2nd…and trading, my personal favorite is the 3rd. So before you go and label your season a boom or a bust when the last player of the last round gets picked…understand that that if you have a bad draft you can make up for it with relative ease two other ways.

The strategy for grabbing free agent is easy. Pay attention on Sunday. Throw out the notion that your waiver priority matters. It doesn’t. Usually in a rolling waiver format the reason why a certain team is #1 is because they have been paying the least amount attention. They won’t pay a lick of mind to next Sunday’s matchup until Saturday. That’s lucky for us because payday comes on Wednesday when players clear waivers in standard 2 day waiver rules.

Obviously your first 7 picks in the draft needs to fill out your starting roster (less the kicker).

QB RB RB WR WR WR/RB/T TE DEF

What's next is what separates the men from the boys.

 My strategy is this:

Get Free Agents early and get them often.

Bye weeks don’t start until week 7, usually, so outside of a silly injury you are not going to need anybody on your bench until then anyways. I cant stress this enough. Shuffle! Shuffle! Shuffle! Don’t worry about picking up guys based on positional needs or balanced depth. Just grab guys that have the big weeks. Big week 1 games tell a lot.

When a white boy you’ve never heard of playing for fantasy black hole Cleveland named Peyton Hillis carries the rock 20 times and scores…well, you grab him every single time. If nothing else, just make him yours and see what he’s got next week. If he doesn’t bring it the following week…give him 1 more. He fails week 3…pink slip. But now we are only in week 4. We still have 3 weeks until the byes. The risk you take is almost nonexistent, but the reward is the 3rd best back in the league.

Do this with every single bench spot. Once you’re done drafting your starters start drafting players who are either the #1 at that position on their team (like Fred Jackson) or fills another team’s void. Do not be tricked into thinking the bench players you drafted will ever see the field. They won’t. If you do what I’m telling you to do, they will be LONG gone by the time you need to plug them in for a spot start.

The truth is that the picks that come after these first 7 really don’t matter. According to me they are going to be shuffled up first week anyways. Handcuffing is fine. Honestly I can’t really provide too much evidence against handcuffing your running backs, but what I noticed when I handicapped my backs was that that:

a.) You just wasted a pick on a guy you know does not have a shot at playing time unless somebody gets hurt. That’s not good. Plus even if he does assume all the carries at some point, he was not good enough to get them when there was a player in his way at the start of the season.

b.) These handcuffs are almost always not drafted and available at any time during the early to middle part of the season.

c.) I found myself drafting them, only to immediately lose patience when I realized I had a bench spot that served no purpose (outside of protection) and I could not do a single thing with besides wait. Nobody is interested in your handcuff backs so don't draft them. Trust me.

Jamaal Charles owners… Thomas Jones is not getting drafted. Neither is Michael Bush sitting behind DMF or Jason Snelling behind Turner. Etc.

The beginning of the season is when the breakout players are going to float to the surface. Especially in a shallow league, but it is more important to pay attention to them in a deeper league like the one we are about to have, 14 teamer where the talent is few and far between.

Here is a list of some of the players that have been available on the wire in fantasy football 2009 and 2010

1. Jamaal Charles
2. Miles Austin
3. Mike Vick
4. Peyton Hillis
5. Jacob Tamme
6. Ahmad Bradshaw
7. Legarrette Blount
8. Benjarvis Green-Ellis
9. Mike Tolbert
10. Stevie Johnson
11. Brandon Lloyd
12. Josh Freeman

Look for those guys. Take multiple chances weekly in an effort to find those guys and when you find one. Keep him and don’t hesitate….if he is better than your starter at that position start him. Early emotional decisions will bury you. If he’s better than your first round pick….start him. Until you find guys that you can see being on your team start to finish and through the playoffs….your bench is no more than a stack of poker chips. Risk chips in order to build your stack.

This brings us to the second way you can make up for a bad draft. Trading. For some strange reason people don’t consider trading a legitimate way to shape a fantasy roster. Not me, I love trading. Other people love trading too. There is an art to it, but before you can even think about your negotiations you have to know what guys are going to be willing to trade with you. My strategy is to make at least 1 deal with every team in my league. Some favor me, some favor them…but it will always favor you in the long run. Either you came out on top in a deal, or somebody owes you. I stress….it is VERY important for you to make one sided moves that help the person you are trading with more than it helps you. It builds good relationships. A few years back I tried to make moves that would swindle people, but that just did not work. Sure, I was able to make a few…but people notice. Help other managers. They will help you back.

Always make sure you find a reason on your end and their end to make the trade. Trying to force somebody to make a trade is bad form, and plain old won’t work. A lot of times a manager doesn't know they have a weak spot and it’s OK for you to let them know they do….just don’t make it seem like they have to fix the leak and they have to fix it right now with you. It’s their team and they can do whatever they want.

Here’s how I have been successful. I spend more time studying other peoples rosters than I do studying mine.  I know my guys…and anyways they are going to do what they are going to do. At any given moment I know every player on every teams roster…and I probably have a good read on how they are playing, should be playing, and if they need to be upgraded or not. This enables you to make a snap move at any time. You've already done the research.

What I try to do is all season long trade for players who were ranked top 20 overall players pre-draft. Trade anything to get these guys. My strategy is simple. Give up anything to get these guys. Trade 1 for 1, or 2 for 1, or even 3 for 1 to get them. No matter what you think…it’s an upgrade. That’s why they are ranked there. Target the guys who are ranked real, real, high. Don’t be afraid to go after them either, because they are available no matter what anybody says. Just proposing trades in the fantasy league are the worst way to make a trade. You have a 1 in 20 chance of it getting accepted. When you spot a trade that you know works for both sides

here’s what you do:

Tune in to part 2 to find out more

Dude With A Tude'

Yahoo! Opens Fantasy Football 2011: Part 2

by Jacob Allen
This is part 2 of my original Post "Yahoo! Opens Fantasy Football 2011: Merry Christmas" and you can read about D Town Bro Co's fantasy league at "Yes, The Bros Are Fantasy Football Guys"

So I am actually doing a Yahoo! live mock draft right now.  In June.  Is this straight feeding my addiction way too early?  Yes.  Does that faze me?  No.

I promised in my previous fantasy football related post that I would go over pre-draft rankings, how it relates to me, and how it relates to you….and I will…but let’s blog, draft, and dream for now.

7:33 – I am in the 7th position.  The draft starts in: 52 seconds.  Wow I have not put any thought into this.  I’m just winging this puppy.

7:35 – Top 6 picks went in order.  All the horse RB’s I don’t even need to name.  Ray Rice was available to me, as I had the 7th pick and Yahoo! Had him ranked #7 overall.  I played it safe this pick and took Aaron Rodgers.  In a real draft you will never see me take a QB round 1, but I froze.  In my defense Rodgers is as close to sure things as you could ever get this year, and I can vividly remember all the disappointed owners that took Rice top three last year.

7:37 – I am thinking I need to go RB with the next pick, but let’s wait and see what value I can get.  This draft is basically just going in order so far and having 4 out of 12 people auto-picking is not helping the cause.

7:38 – Surprise.  I took Peyton Hillis #18 overall.  There were a lot of good receivers floating around my draft slot…and I thought about taking Jennings, Fitzgerald, or Bowe, but in the end I had to go with the RB.  Plus Hillis is the “Baddest Man on the Planet”.

7:42 – Lots of options on the board at my third pick.  I feel I reached a little bit and snagged Ahmad Bradshaw with pick #31….perhaps a few slots before he should have gone, but there’s no doubt he’s a top notch talent (despite his documented rumbling fumbling problems).  I now look strong with elite fantasy ballers at my QB, RB 1, and RB 2 spots.

7:43 – At this point I was, and had to be, emotionally committed to a Wide Out, “and with the #42 overall selection King of the Hillis select Brandon Marshall, Miami Dolphins”.  This pick could have and maybe should have gone in Dez Bryant, Santonio Holmes, or Brandon Lloyd’s direction. Marshall was probably not the best choice.

Brandon Marshall is too good to be held down

7:47 – I made Sidney Rice my WR 2 with pick #55.  Atta boy.  Nice pick.  I need thinking about a TE now, but it looks like all the nasty tight ends are gone.  Let’s hope for the best.

7:49 – I freaked out again at #67 and took Ryan Grant.  There’s no doubt that was risky, but look at it this way…I have the QB/RB combo package of the Super Bowl winning point machine Packers.

7:51 – Wrapped up the starting TE spot by taking Pettigrew #79.  I thought hard about Gronkowski from the Pats.  I drafted him last year…thus violating my rookie rule, but something just told me to grab B. Pettigrew.   I vaguely remember him giving me the business last season at some point.

7:54 – OOPS.  I did not even look at the roster slots before I started this draft and just realized there are 3 starting WR slots and only 2 starting RB slots with no WR/RB/T.  My Ryan Grant pick is now fully confirmed as not good, but I scrambled and still managed to get Robert Meacham in round 9 with the #90 overall.  Of the starting spots it looks like I just have the Defense and a Kicker spots left.   “King of the Hillis” is nearly filled out.

Mutler

7:56 –I just used #103 to draft the Detroit Lions Defense.  I promised myself and others I would not do that.  Good thing this draft is not real.  Maybe this is insight into a much larger issue in my life I need to address.  I’ll watch out for that.  They were ranked #11, but I had to take a D and didn’t have many other options.  My starting lineup is complete.

7:58 – I’m drafting my bench now.  I just took Brandon Jacobs in the 11th.  Not a bad pick.  I handcuffed Ahmad Bradshaw which is good…and Jacobs actually started playing at some point last season.  Still…I have 2 Running Backs on my bench and 2 starting with only 2 total spots available.  I need a receiver next round.  I got my eye on Steve Smith of the Giants and am crossing my fingers.

8:00 – Got him.  That was solid.  Great value in round 12.  Last year he would have gone 5th – 7th.  Take “Super Rookie” Hakim Nicks out of the equation and Steve Smith would be the #1 guy over there in Gotham City.  Eli Manning likes him.  Tom Coughlin likes him.  People on his Facebook page like him….and now I am going to like him.

8:03 – Who I WANTED to take, was Titus Young.  Who I DID take, was Terrell Owens.  Sure…we do not know where he's playing…but he won people weeks last year with top level point production, and I’ll take him this late in the draft any time.  Plus, I do not draft rookies and already have way too many Lions on my team.

Side note:  Randy Moss was also available.  I did not even come close.

8:07 – Dan Carpenter.  Kicker from Miami?  No clue who this guy is.  I do not care who this guy is.  He better kick it straight and narrow or I’m going to drive down there and go Ray Finkle on his ass.

8:10 – I just went with the highest ranked player available.  Pierre Thomas.  It seems odd that these big name backs from only a year ago are still hanging around on lonely island this late.

8:12 – Mark Sanchez.  Draft is over.  I kind of thought about taking Cam Newton, but I am about to blog about my fantasy football strategies my main ones is “do not draft rookies”.  For the sake of that post and my street cred I did not take Cam.  I really did want to though.

Done.  Let’s look over and rate my picks.

The Yahoo! Sports Fantasy team 

1. Aaron Rodgers (GB - QB)   10/10

2. Peyton Hillis (Cle - RB)   8/10

3. Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG - RB)   8.5/10

4. Brandon Marshall (Mia - WR)   7/10

5. Sidney Rice (Min - WR)   9/10

6. Ryan Grant (GB - RB)   5/10

7. Brandon Pettigrew (Det - TE)   7/10

8. Robert Meachem (NO - WR)   7/10

9. Detroit (Det - DEF)   6/10

10. Brandon Jacobs (NYG - RB)   7/10

11. Steve Smith (NYG - WR)   8/10

12. Terrell Owens (Cin - WR)   8.5/10

13. Dan Carpenter (Mia - K)   N/A

14. Pierre Thomas (NO - RB)   6/10

15. Mark Sanchez (NYJ - QB) 6/10


That comes to an average ranking of about 7.3/10 on my draft. Not bad. Not good. I will definitely get better…it’s not as if I don’t have 95 days left to do this.

The post ends here...but if anybody is interested in seeing how this entire draft went here are the results.

Round by Round results
* your team in bold

---

Round 1
(1) Team 1 - Arian Foster (Hou - RB)
(2) Team 2 - Adrian Peterson (Min - RB)
(3) RollTide88 - Jamaal Charles (KC - RB)
(4) Dennis - Michael Turner (Atl - RB)
(5) James M - Chris Johnson (Ten - RB)
(6) Wadsworth - Maurice Jones-Drew (Jac - RB)
(7) Snake - AaronRodgers (GB - QB)
(8) dougbroderick2002 - Ray Rice (Bal - RB)
(9) DonnyV - Andre Johnson (Hou - WR)
(10) Team 10 - Rashard Mendenhall (Pit - RB)
(11) Team 11 - LeSean McCoy (Phi - RB)
(12) andybuckr - Calvin Johnson (Det - WR)


Round 2
(1) andybuckr - Darren McFadden (Oak - RB)
(2) Team 11 - Michael Vick (Phi - QB)
(3) Team 10 - Roddy White (Atl - WR)
(4) DonnyV - Frank Gore (SF - RB)
(5) dougbroderick2002 - Hakeem Nicks (NYG - WR)
(6) Snake - PeytonHillis (Cle - RB)
(7) Wadsworth - Larry Fitzgerald (Ari - WR)
(8) James M - Drew Brees (NO - QB)
(9) Dennis - Greg Jennings (GB - WR)
(10) RollTide88 - Dwayne Bowe (KC - WR)
(11) Team 2 - Peyton Manning (Ind - QB)
(12) Team 1 - Steven Jackson (StL - RB)


Round 3
(1) Team 1 - Philip Rivers (SD - QB)
(2) Team 2 - Matt Forte (Chi - RB)
(3) RollTide88 - Mike Wallace (Pit - WR)
(4) Dennis - Jeremy Maclin (Phi - WR)
(5) James M - Shonn Greene (NYJ - RB)
(6) Wadsworth - Miles Austin (Dal - WR)
(7) Snake - AhmadBradshaw (NYG - RB)
(8) dougbroderick2002 - Tom Brady (NE - QB)
(9) DonnyV - DeSean Jackson (Phi - WR)
(10) Team 10 - Tony Romo (Dal - QB)
(11) Team 11 - LeGarrette Blount (TB - RB)
(12) andybuckr - Antonio Gates (SD - TE)


Round 4
(1) andybuckr - Reggie Wayne (Ind - WR)
(2) Team 11 - Mike Williams (TB - WR)
(3) Team 10 - Vincent Jackson (SD - WR)
(4) DonnyV - Ryan Mathews (SD - RB)
(5) dougbroderick2002 - DeAngelo Williams (Car - RB)
(6) Snake - BrandonMarshall (Mia - WR)
(7) Wadsworth - Jermichael Finley (GB - TE)
(8) James M - Dez Bryant (Dal - WR)
(9) Dennis - Brandon Lloyd (Den - WR)
(10) RollTide88 - Dallas Clark (Ind - TE)
(11) Team 2 - Jason Witten (Dal - TE)
(12) Team 1 - Vernon Davis (SF - TE)


Round 5
(1) Team 1 - Stevie Johnson (Buf - WR)
(2) Team 2 - Marques Colston (NO - WR)
(3) RollTide88 - Kenny Britt (Ten - WR)
(4) Dennis - BenJarvus Green-Ellis (NE - RB)
(5) James M - Wes Welker (NE - WR)
(6) Wadsworth - Jonathan Stewart (Car - RB)
(7) Snake - Sidney Rice(Min - WR)
(8) dougbroderick2002 - Steve Smith (Car - WR)
(9) DonnyV - Ben Roethlisberger (Pit - QB)
(10) Team 10 - Daniel Thomas (Mia - RB)
(11) Team 11 - Anquan Boldin (Bal - WR)
(12) andybuckr - Santonio Holmes (NYJ - WR)


Round 6
(1) andybuckr - Cedric Benson (Cin - RB)
(2) Team 11 - Owen Daniels (Hou - TE)
(3) Team 10 - Jimmy Graham (NO - TE)
(4) DonnyV - Percy Harvin (Min - WR)
(5) dougbroderick2002 - Austin Collie (Ind - WR)
(6) Snake - Ryan Grant(GB - RB)
(7) Wadsworth - Matt Schaub (Hou - QB)
(8) James M - Michael Crabtree (SF - WR)
(9) Dennis - Eli Manning (NYG - QB)
(10) RollTide88 - Pittsburgh (Pit - DEF)
(11) Team 2 - A.J. Green (Cin - WR)
(12) Team 1 - Mike Williams (Sea - WR)


Round 7
(1) Team 1 - Pierre Garcon (Ind - WR)
(2) Team 2 - Santana Moss (Was - WR)
(3) RollTide88 - Matt Ryan (Atl - QB)
(4) Dennis - Mike Tolbert (SD - RB)
(5) James M - Tony Gonzalez (Atl - TE)
(6) Wadsworth - Johnny Knox (Chi - WR)
(7) Snake - BrandonPettigrew (Det - TE)
(8) dougbroderick2002 - Zach Miller (Oak - TE)
(9) DonnyV - Rob Gronkowski (NE - TE)
(10) Team 10 - Mario Manningham (NYG - WR)
(11) Team 11 - Jerome Simpson (Cin - WR)
(12) andybuckr - Felix Jones (Dal - RB)


Round 8
(1) andybuckr - Josh Freeman (TB - QB)
(2) Team 11 - New York (NYJ - DEF)
(3) Team 10 - Green Bay (GB - DEF)
(4) DonnyV - Chicago (Chi - DEF)
(5) dougbroderick2002 - New England (NE - DEF)
(6) Snake - RobertMeachem (NO - WR)
(7) Wadsworth - New York (NYG - DEF)
(8) James M - San Diego (SD - DEF)
(9) Dennis - Philadelphia (Phi - DEF)
(10) RollTide88 - Julio Jones (Atl - WR)
(11) Team 2 - Baltimore (Bal - DEF)
(12) Team 1 - Matt Bryant (Atl - K)


Round 9
(1) Team 1 - Dallas (Dal - DEF)
(2) Team 2 - Stephen Gostkowski (NE - K)
(3) RollTide88 - Marshawn Lynch (Sea - RB)
(4) Dennis - Marcedes Lewis (Jac - TE)
(5) James M - Sebastian Janikowski (Oak - K)
(6) Wadsworth - Mason Crosby (GB - K)
(7) Snake - Detroit (Det- DEF)
(8) dougbroderick2002 - Neil Rackers (Hou - K)
(9) DonnyV - Nate Kaeding (SD - K)
(10) Team 10 - Garrett Hartley (NO - K)
(11) Team 11 - Josh Brown (StL - K)
(12) andybuckr - David Akers (Phi - K)


Round 10
(1) andybuckr - New Orleans (NO - DEF)
(2) Team 11 - Mark Ingram (NO - RB)
(3) Team 10 - Mikel LeShoure (Det - RB)
(4) DonnyV - Fred Jackson (Buf - RB)
(5) dougbroderick2002 - Matthew Stafford (Det - QB)
(6) Snake - BrandonJacobs (NYG - RB)
(7) Wadsworth - Joseph Addai (Ind - RB)
(8) James M - Jahvid Best (Det - RB)
(9) Dennis - Mike Sims-Walker (Jac - WR)
(10) RollTide88 - Braylon Edwards (NYJ - WR)
(11) Team 2 - Knowshon Moreno (Den - RB)
(12) Team 1 - Ryan Williams (Ari - RB)


Round 11
(1) Team 1 - Jay Cutler (Chi - QB)
(2) Team 2 - Joe Flacco (Bal - QB)
(3) RollTide88 - Ryan Torain (Was - RB)
(4) Dennis - Malcom Floyd (SD - WR)
(5) James M - Sam Bradford (StL - QB)
(6) Wadsworth - Kyle Orton (Den - QB)
(7) Snake - Steve Smith(NYG - WR)
(8) dougbroderick2002 - Roy Helu (Was - RB)
(9) DonnyV - Matt Cassel (KC - QB)
(10) Team 10 - Kevin Kolb (Phi - QB)
(11) Team 11 - Kellen Winslow (TB - TE)
(12) andybuckr - Deion Branch (NE - WR)


Round 12
(1) andybuckr - Jacoby Ford (Oak - WR)
(2) Team 11 - Mike Thomas (Jac - WR)
(3) Team 10 - Hines Ward (Pit - WR)
(4) DonnyV - Chad Ochocinco (Cin - WR)
(5) dougbroderick2002 - Aaron Hernandez (NE - TE)
(6) Snake - TerrellOwens (Cin - WR)
(7) Wadsworth - Davone Bess (Mia - WR)
(8) James M - Jordy Nelson (GB - WR)
(9) Dennis - David Buehler (Dal - K)
(10) RollTide88 - Michael Bush (Oak - RB)
(11) Team 2 - James Jones (GB - WR)
(12) Team 1 - Lance Moore (NO - WR)


Round 13
(1) Team 1 - Derrick Mason (Bal - WR)
(2) Team 2 - Chris Cooley (Was - TE)
(3) RollTide88 - Rob Bironas (Ten - K)
(4) Dennis - Brent Celek (Phi - TE)
(5) James M - Danario Alexander (StL - WR)
(6) Wadsworth - Donald Driver (GB - WR)
(7) Snake - DanCarpenter (Mia - K)
(8) dougbroderick2002 - Nate Burleson (Det - WR)
(9) DonnyV - Lee Evans (Buf - WR)
(10) Team 10 - Randy Moss (Ten - WR)
(11) Team 11 - Tim Tebow (Den - QB)
(12) andybuckr - Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buf - QB)


Round 14
(1) andybuckr - Jermaine Gresham (Cin - TE)
(2) Team 11 - Mark Clayton (StL - WR)
(3) Team 10 - Dustin Keller (NYJ - TE)
(4) DonnyV - Benjamin Watson (Cle - TE)
(5) dougbroderick2002 - Jon Baldwin (KC - WR)
(6) Snake - PierreThomas (NO - RB)
(7) Wadsworth - Tony Moeaki (KC - TE)
(8) James M - Greg Olsen (Chi - TE)
(9) Dennis - Carson Palmer (Cin - QB)
(10) RollTide88 - Danny Amendola (StL - WR)
(11) Team 2 - Arrelious Benn (TB - WR)
(12) Team 1 - Visanthe Shiancoe (Min - TE)


Round 15
(1) Team 1 - Kansas City (KC - DEF)
(2) Team 2 - Tampa Bay (TB - DEF)
(3) RollTide88 - Donovan McNabb (Was - QB)
(4) Dennis - Arizona (Ari - DEF)
(5) James M - San Francisco (SF - DEF)
(6) Wadsworth - Robbie Gould (Chi - K)
(7) Snake - Mark Sanchez(NYJ - QB)
(8) dougbroderick2002 - Atlanta (Atl - DEF)
(9) DonnyV - Oakland (Oak - DEF)
(10) Team 10 - Minnesota (Min - DEF)
(11) Team 11 - Cincinnati (Cin - DEF)
(12) andybuckr - Nick Folk (NYJ - K) 

Yahoo! Opens Fantasy Football 2011: Merry Christmas

Register Here
by Jacob Allen
Fantasy Baseball is fine (I guess)...and I don't mean to complain, but it gives me the same feeling that I get the morning after Thanksgiving.  That next morning I'm always "thankful" that it's it is over.  I can only get so excited about Lance Berkman (Or literally plug in any professional baseball player's name here...I promise it is all the same) and his .300 NL leading batting average.  I mean the dude was ranked as the #2 overall player for most of the season and is a "stud", but lets me down 7 out of every 10 times he steps in the box.  As if this insane rate of failure is not enough, these "professionals" just plain old don't make the roster certain days because APPARENTLY the skipper thinks they need "rest".

"REST?!?!?!?!  Are you fuckin kidding me?  Hey LaRosa...stop acting like such a pussy and get Lance and his bat in the GAME.  Please.  I've got a head to head match-up to win...and surprisingly enough I've heard that you have a ball game the St. Louis Cardinals are paying you to win.  What do you think this is some kind of a joke?"

King of the Hillis plans on winning the Shiva Bowl in 11'

This is just great Berkman.  Just great.  So let me get this straight.  You are not JUST going to fail me 70% of the time.  No...what you are going to do, In addition to the failure, is take a few days off every couple of weeks.  For rest.  You faggy little girl.   Heres a dose of reality Grandps...I have 7 days every week to ride you and your and your aging body.  I do this willingly meanwhile day in and day out you can find me fighting for my statistical life.   What that boils down to is this; I am putting in the effort and you are not.  Notice how many times in the next few sentences the word "you" is going to be used.  I should not be surprised at your selfishness, but still I keep giving you chances and still you keep screwing me over.  If YOU decide that it is "ok" for YOU to rest, well apparently YOU know best so YOU must be right.  Lance, there is no time to rest.  That better be the last time I have to say it.  If YOU are going to continue to skip games because YOU  need rest, well on those days you might as well buy a plane ticket to Detroit...take a cab to my house...and piss directly on my face.  That's what it feels like you are doing anyways.  Fantasy baseballers like me deal with this shit daily, but somehow are supposed to find the whole thing fun, rewarding, and enjoyable.  News flash.  Fantasy baseball is not fun, it's certainly not rewarding, and is not even close to enjoyable.  Line 1 of this post said "I don't mean to complain", but boy was that comment inaccurate.  Complaining is exactly what I mean to do.  Fantasy baseball sucks.



This post is one of joy not pain...for today is a happy day.  Today is my day.  Didn't even check my baseball match-up once.  Don't want to.  Don't care.  Want to know why?  Because as of today, no longer is there a hurdle between me and the big dance.  This goes back to my point of Fantasy Baseball leaving me unfulfilled like Thanksgiving.  The day after Thanksgiving officially marks end of the wait and the beginning of the real countdown.  That's right.  I am saying it.  Fantasy Football is my Christmas and anything else (that includes you baseball) that dares to get in between ME and my PESENTS is going to get hit sticked.

Fantasy Football Nation:  Today I am proud to announce, "Santa Claus is coming to town."  Yahoo! is open and it's on like Donkey Kong.  Sept. 8 marks the first day games are played (unless this lockout is the real deal) and that means we have...about....96 days until the jolly old fat man makes his way down our chimneys.   I'm sure I've been naughty not very nice....but I'm making my list and checking it twice anyways.  After all, fantasy is coming to town.

/* Side Note:

The sequence of events leading up to this blog post:

1.  Creeping around on FaceBook

2.  Spot hint on wall post

3.  Mouse to navigation bar

4.  Type in www.yahoo.com

5.  Jizz in my pants

6.  Change pants
*/

Yahoo! opening up the floodgates means more to people than just the fact that commissioners are now allowed to start inviting managers back into leagues.  It also means that the most important and influential player rankings are set and to those who plan on winning...it starts right now.

So while I had started doing my draft homework before this was realized, there is no doubt that I am a little stunned by some of the rankings and this post is purely driven by emotions.  I have settled down a little bit, but those that know me can just imagine.  I was freaking.

Me:  "Wheres Hillis going to be ranked?"

I'm flying through these ranking and articles like a Audi R8 on the autobahn.

Me:  "How long can I wait on Phillip Rivers?"

Chumps and busters must have been just inhaling my dust.

Me:  "What about the Lions Defense?  Wasn't I just blogging about that?"

I was losing control and losing it quickly.

Fast forward to the end, and I'll refrain from posting the latter portion of no less than 150 questions to myself later. I feel like I know less than when I started.

/* Side Note: 
To anybody thats brave enough to tell me that any other website outside of Yahoo! is king of the fantasy world, well you should also be brave enough to admit to me that you don't know shit...you might as well take this time now and face the music.  That comment proves that it is true.  You REALLY don't know shit.  It's 2011, time to get with it asshole.  Put down your flip phone and join the rest of us.

"ESPN is WAAAAAYYYY better than Yahoo! for Fantasy Football.", you might hear these guys saying.

These are the same jabronis that use Bing search instead of Google because "it's a decision engine" and "TRUST them it's better."

No..guy, it's not.
*/


Rankings are fun but also misleading and do not do all that good of a job predicting what a player is going to do and for the most part look at his season as a whole instead of what this cat is going to give you week to week.  Especially early season rankings.  They are based solely on last seasons performance, as an entire body of work.  A million number of things can and will change before kickoff Sept. 8th.

The best part of the early ranking experience is checking out where everybody is ranked on your "last years" squad.  I did it.  Immediately looked at, and griped about where my players were ranked from last year.  Some because I thought they were not getting enough credit...others because I thought they would be ranked lower and that it was possible that I was the only person noticing them putting up 30 points a week in 2010 and maybe I could get them with a bargain pick in the 4th.  Well, I can't...but wishing and scheming is all part of what makes it so fun.

It is unreal how true to form each draft goes to Yahoo!'s pre-draft player ranks.  For example.  Last year, 2010,  rookies Ryan Matthews and Jahvid Best were ranked as the #7 and #27 overall players pre-draft.  I did a lot of mock drafts and more often than not I would see Matthews get snagged in round 1 and Best in round 3.  In our draft Matthews got taken #7 on the money and Best was taken #28....as rookies.  That's crazy.  All it took was Yahoo! to say jump...and experienced fantasy ballers jumped.   I have a theory that simply states to just do not draft rookies.  What is the downside to drafting a vet that has a body of work instead of a college player?  It's so simple, yet if Yahoo! says that you need to dance with these noobs, then odds are you're dancing.  The fantasy gurus over there really do know more than you, or me...but they are not the end all.  Go with your gut  sometimes not your Yahoo! O-Rank list.  In this case they were mostly wrong, as both Matthews and Best struggled in 10'.

My point is that these rankings are the rankings that are going to put the players on peoples teams.  Like it or not if you see that LeSean McCoy is ranked as the 11 overall player....well that means that if you were hoping you could sneak him in late round 2 or early round 3...you can't.  He will go first round.  Write it down and send it in.  He may very well not be first round talent, but if the Yahoo! guys say he is...and they have...then hes going to go where they say.



Lets go over their top players at each position.  I will share some of my thoughts and opinions about players that I had last year and maybe a few who I was hoping to get this year.  I might tell you where I "thought" they would be, where I "wanted" them to be, and where I fully expect them to go.  Since my league, Detroit MI CCY, and the lions share of Yahoo! leagues are 12 team leagues, I will show the top 12 players or the first string guys in each position.  And no, I'm not including the kicker.  Kickers are gay.  You know what else is gay?  My computer being 3000 degrees right now.  My wrists are sweating.


Actually let's stop this post here.  I will do more research and post my thoughts and my rambles in the next day or so giving me time to think before I blog.  Thanks for reading.


To be continued................

Fantasy Football 2011: Detroit Lions

Will You Consider Drafting The Lions Defense?

Yes...The Bros Are Fantasy Football "Guys"

by Jacob Allen
Dear Coalition Of Fantasy Ballers,

Championship Round

Every fall a few of the bros, myself, and a few other   friends and family compete in what is becoming a serious fantasy football league.  Staying true to my roots, as commish, I chose Detroit, MI CCY as the name of this league.    This embodies how all of us feel at D Town Bro Co.  Like Eminem on "Recovery"...or Ma$e on "Welcome Back"...each and every year I believe that the city of Detroit is going to storm ferociously back.  Why can't we?  The Tigers came back after a lifetime of sucking.  The Pistons came back from the damn teal horsie jerseys...and they won a title.  The Lions seem to have come back or at least started coming back.  The Red Wings dont need to come back...but even the mighty winged wheel managed to come back from being down 0-3 to force game 7.  (No...we are not going to talk about that game)  This year is not unlike any other.  Detroit is making a comeback.  Believe me or dont...i really dont care, but the writing is on the wall.


So onto our league.  I am without a doubt "Stat Geek".  I have already begun doing extensive research on next years draft...and yahoo wont even let me open the league because its too early.  Enough said.  I am also the guy that fell head over heels in love with Peyton Hillis because I got him on the waiver wire week 1.  Our league has a mix of all the other "guys".  Let me briefly outline who these guys are.  This will include current and past members of the league.

   The Jerk


   The Stat Geek


   The Wing It Guy


   The Drunk Guy

The Stat Geek:  King of the Hillis (Me or Snake to the Bros)


King of the Hillis:  Plans 5 months in advance.  Writes fantasy football posts on his blog in early May.  Strategicly negotiates trade partners in early May.  Already knows his top 12 picks so he wont be surprised with his draft position.  Total STAT GEEK.  Completely obsessed.  I win or find myself in contention in any fantasy league in any sport I am in.  This is a product of my lack of a life and total obsession with digital domination.  Sad...at best.

The Jerk:  Mandigo (Matt Waz) & Winners Win (Lucas Allen) in a 2 way tie


Mandingo:  Refuses to trade Vick all season yet has Drew Brees on his team and we can only start 1 QB.  Total JERK.  Same guy that was egging me into forming some sort of secret alliance with him all season long because he wanted to make sure he at least got a little piece of the pie.  I think the last time he proposed this offer to me i was 13-2.  Week before the playoffs.  Again, Total Jerk

Winners Win:  Drafts Ryan Matthews and Shonn Green with his first 2 picks.  Then boldly claims that neither me nor anybody else knew anything because he is sweet at fantasy and doesn't think he needs to prove it.  Hes the guy that desperately needed to make a trade to save his season but turned down an offer of Peyton Hillis for Jason Snelling week 4 because, "Jacob...you don't know shit.  Jerome Harrison is the guy in Cleveland.  Trust me".  The only chance he had to save his season was trading his QB, Brady, but would not make the move unless the manager on the other end of the trade was willing to deal back his #1 RB and #1 WR in return.  Well played little brother.  Fast forward.   He ended up backing his bold draft and bold statements with a convincing 11 of 12 place finish.  I guess winners do win the last game of the year to see who finishes dead last and who squeaks into the 11 spot.  Round of applause.

The Wing It Guy: Little Giants (Thomas Paci) *easiest guy to identify*

200+ yards and 4 TD's Later

I've Spotted the Sucker

Little Giants:  Signs up for the league 2 days before the draft and only found an open spot because of a VERY late drop.  He confidently decides to come to the live draft with us (knowing full well he was in way over his head), sits next to me, and starts off decent by picking Peyton Manning with lets say the 10th overall pick.  Then it all goes south.  He proceeds with his next move; which is to select Beanie Wells 15 overall and quickly and severely loses his shit.  The entire league crucifies the pick...which causes Tom to admit to me in no more than a subtle (for my ears only) whisper, "This is my first time.  I have no clue whatsoever what im doing."  Looking back I wish that I had said this, "Tom....you really don't need to whisper.  You just picked Beanie Wells with the 15th overall pick.  The secrets out."   But as his friend and life encompassing mentor I did the right thing.  Which apparently was me drafting his entire team for him..."yada yada yada".  Needless to say I walked away from that draft telling myself and any others that would hear me, "Tom is the mark...and hes been the mark since day 1."  Tom if you are just now finding this out I am sorry.  It is like Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) said in Rounders, "Listen, here's the thing, if you can't spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker".  I'm willing to say that out of 14 regular season weeks....I had to set Paci's lineup 8 or 9 times.  Just wingin' it from start to finish.  Paci ended up finishing in the money...3rd place, but for every "wing it guy" you have a makes decisions for "wing it guy" guy.  Tom is getting no credit here and ive decided to reward myself with a pat on the back.  Somehow I finished #2 and #3 in the same year with only 1 team.  Weird.

On a side note, Beanie started the year off injured and did not manage to see Paci's starting roster 1 time all year long.  I will take a short break from my stat geek roll and play the jerk for a sentence or 2.  Great pick Tom.  You really hit a homer on that one.  

The Drunk Guy:  Mouse Trap (BroCo's Front Man Matt Netzel or MDotNetz)

Consolidation Round

Mouse Trap:  Matt overextended himself fantasy football wise this past year.  Fact.  He was in 5 leagues simultaneously.  Despite being a mainstay in Detroit MI CCY...Matt was probably burnt out on draft day.  I found him unable to log onto to the yahoo draft page which I cured with a simple cache clear.  It was almost as if Matt was lost before he even started his journey.  He was recovering from the year before in which he saw himself cruising towards the title...only to be derailed by a late season Ronnie Brown injury.  Shocking.  On draft day Matt could not dig deep and shift his focus to the fantasy draft from the Boise State v. Virginia Tech football game that was crankin on the B Dubs big screen.  Although Matt was not hammered at the draft....he was hammered when he revealed to our friend, and league champ Adi, information that he should not have leaked.  Mouse Trap took down the title of "I finished dead last" and for that I commend him.  I have faith that he will turn things around next year and again smell the aroma of success.


Heres a few other awards I am going to hand out:


The Loyalty First Guy:  P-U-N-K  (C-Bus to the Bros) 
The Holds On To Players Too Long Guy: P-U-N-K


P-U-N-K formerly known as He Hate Me & JayMariottisPimpHand:  Casual readers will not be able to relate to this but Chris took my side and my brothers side over others.  Chose right over wrong.  He was rewarded with a Vick for Cutler straight up trade at the end of the season that eventually put him in the playoffs.  I did take advantage of him when he was acting like the Holds On To Players Too Long Guy.  In this instance he held on to Brett Favre way way too long and I took advantage of him in one of the most vulnerable spots.  Halftime of a monday night game in which Sexty Brettzky had like -4 points at halftime.  This was the same game he got Randy Moss.  The same game Chris probably thought was going to put Favre back on the map.  A quick text offering him Jay Cutler straight up for Megatron as the first half came to and end was executed before the ball was kicked off to start half #2.  Brett went on to throw about 3 TDs in the second.  Chris loves to finish around 3rd or 4th every year.  He doesn't win...but hes always in the playoffs and its just a matter of time before he takes one down.

Best Team Ever Assembled, But First Losers

The Wow Your'e Cocky Guy:  King of the Hillis  (Me)


King of the Hillis:  See Image.  This was my Christmas card sent out to the members in the league.  Thats a combination of the Stat Geek being the I Know Photoshop Guy being the Wow Your'e Cocky Guy.




The Best Team Name Guy:  Nerd Alert  (Jeff Cherritt...a.k.a. Big Cuz)
The Best Spot Start Guy:  Nerd Alert
The How Does He Keep Winning? Guy:  Nerd Alert


Nerd Alert:  I firmly believe that Jeff spends loads of time picking out names of his teams.  Whether he does or doesn't one thing is true.  He sticks to them through the thick and thin.  Heres a rundown on team names in the last 3 leagues I've been in with him.

Detroit MI CCY - Nerd Alert  9/10
The Association - Lunch Eaters 10/10
Fear the Schlong's Reality - Doc Givers 8.5/10

Just solid fantasy gold.  His team names year in and year out rival a Mariano Riviera cut fastball.

His spot start of the year came week 7 when he played me.  I was 6-0 and he was 5-1.  #1 v. #2.  I will always remember it as the day I got "Britted".   He was decimated with bye weeks and as you can probably guess he snatched Kenny Britt off of waivers...this was before Kenny Britt had done a single thing all year.  Britt went on to drop 40+ on me and in an unexpected whirlwind of Britt my dreams of running a train on everybody else every week and finishing with an undefeated season were dashed.  Impossible as it sounds...anybody in the know would say that I did have a very real shot.  My 2 losses came to Vick and his 57 Monday night points the same week I traded him to C-Bus as a favor, and to Kenny FREAKING Britt and his career break out game.  I hate it.  That day Jeff came to visit.  We sat next to each other and what started out as 2 adults acting like giddy excited children ended in almost silence.  I was sour for weeks but no argument possible at this point big cuz.  Great spot start.  Great win.  This kind of transitions right into Jeff's final designation...the How Does He Keep Winning? Guy.  These types of wins were his staple all year long.  Every week he had somebody step up out of nowhere.  That and he had Arian Foster.  I suppose that helped.  He finished the year heading into the playoffs with a record that would have been good enough to get the #2 seed had he been in the other division.  He lost early in the playoffs but fantasy playoffs are just dumb luck sometimes.  He'll do it again...and next fall I have no doubt that hell keep turning what seems like water into wine....week after week after week.  Jeff is a way above average fantasy baller and I thoroughly enjoy playing any fantasy league with him.  A total top bro top to bottom.

The Puck Wont Bounce My Way Guy:  SnakeKillers  (Ryan Griffin)


SnakeKillers:  First off Ryan was a fantasy football rookie, but as a rookie played a tremendous season.  He would make good smart moves only to find himself running into the top point scorer of the week.  Every week he would do the right thing.  He would start the right players.  He would grab the right waivers.  And every week he would lose his match up due to crazy gypsy magic circumstances.  Ive never seen the fantasy gods or some type of voodoo magic shaft a team harder than they shafted his all season long .  A perfect example of this is around week 10 we played each other and he ended up losing by something like 2 points on a last second defensive touchdown by my NYJ D.  At one time SnakeKillers appeared a sure thing to make the playoffs, but eventually ended up missing.  With 6 playoff spots available SnakeKillers headed into week 15 as the 7 seed on a total points tiebreaker.  True to form.  Ryan...the future is bright keep plugging along.


The No Add, No Trade, No Move Guy:  Kiss The Baby (Adi Dalvi)
The Champion Guy:  Kiss The Baby


Kiss The Baby:  What can I say?  He drafted the same team he played with the entire year...and then took me down in the finals.  No more than 4 total transactions the entire year.  The photo to the right shows the extent in which I bent him over in a late regular season match up, only to have him re bend me and return the favor in the finals.  I am just getting over hating him for it...but a congrats is in store.  You may not have deserved it, but you did get it.



So as fantasy football season draws closer I will be raining posts on the comings and goings of the Bro's league.  I will be providing updates as to the status of Detroit and how its making a run at this CCY trophy.  And I will share as much of my Stat Geek inside information as I deem appropriate.


Love,

Your Commish Snake