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Subject: RQFL #1 - Draft Recap
Posted by: I_AM_CANADIAN
- [227221220] Sun, Sep 05, 2004, 23:49
OK, so going by what the RIFC is doing, these are the topics that we should try to cover:
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
2. What were your favorite picks? Which do you wish you could do over?
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
5. If you could start over, would you do anything differently?
Guru also mentioned in his thread that non-league managers are welcomed to raise questions about the draft if they wanted. |
| 1 | I_AM_CANADIAN
ID: 227221220
Sun, Sep 05, 2004, 23:56
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1)Draft Strategy - Main Strategy: Best Starting Lineup Possible (ie. don't follow in positional runs, & start them if you can). Secondary Strategy: go with 2/3 first picks being RB's and Picking up a QB in the 5th or the 6th according to where the quality dropoff would be. Also, I wasn't planning on picking IDP until the 2nd half of the draft, and was going to decided about K's and TE according to if I saw quality or not. Overall, I feel that #1 was a success. I knew that #2 was very dependent on the picks of other managers, and thus didn't workout quite as well as I had hoped.
2)Fav Picks versus Do-Overs - I'll start with my do-overs. Although each of these I consider "safe picks", they are the ones I am least proud of: Charles Grant 12th round, Michael Barrow 11th round, Mike Vanderjagt 10th round. My Favorites: Robert Ferguson 19th Round, Dennis Northcutt 15th round, Chad Pennington 6th Round.
3)Next best Teams - dwfffan's team is very ballanced although I'm sold on his choice of QB's. Species team is very explosive, I think this team is a contender. Wiggs also very explosive. Some slight question marks, like quality of his 1st QB, but more positives than negatives for sure.
4)Biggest Surprise of the Draft - I guess this is my chance to poke fun at other managers picks eh? Well… how about the initial RB run? 26/42 first picks beeing RB's! Wow! Some should have slipped a little. Bandos' Draft Strategy… Best Postional Players: Gonzo, Lewis, Moss…I hope this works out for you Bandos. Wiggs Pre 18th round w/o a DL, yet having 5 IDP players. Baltimore DEF, Top of the 5th round.
5)Start Over? - I don't think I would really want to redo this draft. I felt I got really lucky on several instances, especially on late picks. I got a few instant messages asking, "He's gone isn't he?", and yet the answer was no. I guess keeping a good eye on my spreadsheets really helped.
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| 2 | WiddleAvi
ID: 582361912
Mon, Sep 06, 2004, 00:01
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I typed this all up at different times so some if it may be repetitve.
1. Edge - If Edge is back in form, which I think he is, then I feel he is 2000 total yards and 15 TD's. He Really started coming on strong towards the second half of last season. If he is back to what he was 3 years ago then he is a steal at #8.
2. Owens - After Moss I think it's a toss up between Holt, TO, & Harrison. I got very scared watching the Rams offense in that game this preseason against KC. Their offensive line also seems to be in shambles. I took Edge in round one so taking Harrison didn't seem to be the best idea. Even in a sort of off year TO did pretty well last year.
3.Curtis Martin - Since I took a WR in round 2 it was a must to take a RB in round 3. Martin was one of the few left who would not be splitting carries. He had an off year for TD's but it has to get better, right ?? So far the word out of camp has him looking great but they always say that.
4. Charlie Garner - I liked that Garner was back with Gruden. I also like that he is a threat as a receiver. I feel it is a must to have 3 backs especially in league this big because if you have an injury your screwed. Now I have depth not to worry about it.
5. Plax - I live in Pittsburgh so get to see the Steelers alot and Plax has looked really good so far. He is a talented receiver and has the ability to 'go up and get it' I think 1100 yards and 8-10 TD's are in order.
6. Fitz - Again living in Pittsburgh I got to see alot of Fitz and this guy is the real deal. Yes the NFL is different but he has the potential to be amazing. So this pick might turn out to be a dud but at the same time he could be the steal of the draft. Since I was set at RB and had 2 good WR's and there were still alot of good QB's out there I felt it was worth the risk.
7.Strahan - Still felt no need to draft a QB yet and since we have to start a DL why not get the best ?
8.Brad Johnson - After my Strahan pick a couple of QB's were picked and I wanted to make sure I had a good QB. Johnson is very underated as a fantasy QB. I think he is good for 3500 yards and 25 TD's. Not bad for the 8th round.
9. Ulacher - I was set at RB, WR and had a good QB and the best DL so I went with the best LB out there.
10.Rodney Harrison - Not sure why I went with Harrison. Yes we don't need a DB but he is one of the best and was pretty much equivlent to the LB's out there.
11. Maddox - I has a solid QB but not someone who I can say is a qaruanteed starter week to week. Maddox was good last year. This year his offensive line is better and has a running game to take off some of the pressure. He has maybe the best receiving corp in football. Being able to play either Maddox of Johnson based on the matchup makes me very comfortable with my QB position.
12.Joey Galloway - In case Fitzgerald didn't turn out I picked up Joey. He is the #1 receiver with McCardell out. I think he is great value for the 12th round
13.Anthony Simmons - Simmons is an injury risk but when he wasn't injured he was a top 10 LB. At this point I am set at IDP. I have maybe the best DL & DB. And two really good LB's.
14.Pittsburgh - I was no in rush to draft Defense because whenever my pick came around there were still alot of teams that I thought were quality. Pittsburgh worries me a bit because I don't like their corners but Dick Leboue is back. They have alot of potential
15.Chicago - Defense is a position I like to have 2 of so you can play the matchup. They added Ogunleye and they should be pretty good.
16.Dallas Clark - If you didn't draft one of the big 3 (Shockey, Gonzo, Heap) then I felt the rest were one big mush. Clark was doing really good until he got injured. Only worry I have is the Pollard is still there.
17.Josh Reed - Just wanted to get some more depth at WR and he seemed to be the best one left.
18.Michael Pittman - This is a security blanket. Pittman is out the first 4 games but who knows what the situation will be once he return. Hopefully not the dreaded 'RB by commitee'.
19.Sammy Morris - He played really well for Miami in the final game and in training camp. He may have won the starting job. If you can pick up a starting RB in the 19th then you are doing good.
20. John Kasay - Never felt the rush to draft a kicker just because there were always a bunch out there that I felt comfortable with.
Start with a basic thought proccess.
My Idea was to get 3 RB's who are all pretty decent that way I have some depth for Injury, bye weeks or possibly a trade. After that it was pretty much to draft the best player available. I think the only player I may have reached for was Larry Fiztgerald. But at that point in the draft I already had 3 Solid RB's and IMO 2 solid receivers. With Fitz you never know. He may turn out to be a #3 or 4 receiver or he may me amazing. I really wanted him for that potential. It is my first time playing with IDP so I let the draft flow determine when I would draft them. I am very happy with my IDP's. I have possibly the best DL in Strahan and 2 Solid Linebackers and then I have maybe the best DB in Rodney Harrison. At Receiver I think Plax is ready to be a top WR maybe even a top 10.
My Favorite picks of mine I think is being able to wait for a QB and end up with Maddox in the 11th and Brad Johnson in the 8th. If Sammy Morris gets the starting job in Miami then he could be a steal in the 19th round. I don't think I made any bad picks except possibly picking Fitz in the 6th.
Best other team I think is Pancho Villa. He took Culpepper right before my pick in the 2nd round. Oh well.
Surprise Picks:
Michael Vick at 2.04 before Culpepper !!
Shockey lasting until 6.11
Aside from those I don't think I was taken aback by to many picks.
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| 3 | wiggs
ID: 507593021
Mon, Sep 06, 2004, 00:02
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my rebuttal to IAC,
I realize my QB is weak, I got into one of those ruts where I couldnt decide if it was better to take a qb or the best available and so i took the best available. Maybe that will cost me in the long run.
Dont get me started on the DL thing. We all know the problem that took place there.
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| 4 | I_AM_CANADIAN
ID: 227221220
Mon, Sep 06, 2004, 00:08
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RE: Wiggs
Thanks for the rebutt. I did wan't to point out though, that your team was one of the three teams that impressed me most. (Besides my own) :)
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| 5 | Tree
ID: 87562618
Mon, Sep 06, 2004, 02:06
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i'm wondering when the players are going to get entered into RotoWorld. i'd like a little time to do some roster tinkering before we have to set our rosters...
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| 6 | Bandos
ID: 13762111
Mon, Sep 06, 2004, 11:42
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Being my first D+T football league, I had no idea what to expect other than the other drafts. Thus, I just wanted the best players at their positions. For this I sacrificed the RB spot but in my defense, the Garners of the world were available much later in the RIFC. Once I started down this foolish/risky path, yeah, I executed it pretty well.
Fav picks: Hilliard, Foster (i mean they are publicly saying 50/50 with Davis, I got him in 10th round), SF, Barber
Stretch: Most of em. Vick, Lewis, Gonzo - although they all seemed to go in similar places in other drafts, just to different teams :)
Other teams: love IAC's WR, widdle seems solid, Species RB arte nice.
Surprise: Obviously, the teams taking 3/4 RB before a QB. Some good DEF fell.
I don't know. I am in the #2 league as well and went way more conventional getting LT and Tiki, with Vick, with the first 3, so I'll see how that works out. In essence, I have to have Vick be an absolute monster, win every position, to make up for Wheatley and Emmitt. Very dicey proposition. I was really hoping Dillon would fall to 2.04....
Good luck to all!
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| 7 | youngroman
ID: 59242611
Mon, Sep 06, 2004, 13:38
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1. plan/strategy
my main strategy was to get the best value available with each pick. In my opinion that worked well. first pick was a RB and after many others continued picking RB in the 2nd round I went with my planned strategy of picking up either Culpepper or McNabb. Both are one step ahead of the others because of their running ability. the rest of my plan was to fill the most important (QB,2RB,2WR,D) starting positions with my first 6 picks and then look what is out there at other positions and if good value was available take it. there are that many WR out there to get in later rounds so I ended up with 2 defenses when a lot of others had none at that moment. the 2 defense-thing could be worth a lot. I even considered taking a 3rd defense to make that pool even smaller. I took TE, K and the defense positions late because there is not much difference between #5 and #15 at their positions.
Also important was to get a backup at every position except DL and K because there should be enough players available if I need one in the bye-weeks.
2. favorite picks/do-overs
McNabb with 2.08, NE at 5.07, Moe Williams with 12.08 (thanks Mr. Bennett), Pollard at 13.07.
for all the late picks I have to wait and see the if the current starter can handle the job or not. I hope the best for my team.
3. other teams I like
nearly all or none, I don't see teams that will be far ahead of some others. H2H makes it harder to evaluate the teams. If all guys stay healthy it would be a close competition. if not you need the luck that your player gets down before his bye week and after that of the player you pick up. with a limited bench and because of that many drafted RB/WR-backups, some managers will need to do trades they don't want but have to do because of they have no backups at some positions.
4. what suprised me
I was not surprised by the early RB-run. RB are valueable even with this scoring system, but I thought that there would be drafted more QB earlier than some of the WRs.
5. do anything different
at this point I say no. ask me the same question in November and you will get a completely different answer.
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| 8 | Pancho Villa
Sustainer
ID: 533817
Mon, Sep 06, 2004, 16:52
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To be honest, this draft was hard for me to retain my concentration.
The key to most teams is a strong and deep stable of RBs.
Fred Taylor has the ability to be a top tier back along with Priest, Portis and LT. He can break the long one and catch passes, and his reported foot problems are minor. If you were Taylor's coach, would you play him much in pre-season?
Thomas Jones is ready for a breakout season, and will get the touches to show what he's capable of from Game 1.
Beyond that, it's scary. Willis MacGahee may get substantial carries even if Henry stays healthy, and certainly will be the featured back if Henry goes down.Jerome Bettis was having a decent pre-season, Staley can't take the pounding of a 300 carry back, and "the Bus" would seem like a good goal line guy to me. Reports out of Pittsburgh are that Bettis time has come and gone, and may not see the touches that don't go to Staley.
Very happy with Culpepper and Carr at QB.
I don't have a super-stud at WR, but I'll take 3 #1 and 2 #2 receivers. Kevin Johnson was an 1100yd, 9 TD receiver in 2001, so he has the tools. Could be a steal in the 9th round.
Frank Wychwck retires, so Erin Kinney gets all the TE action for the Titans.
Carolina is a top 5 D, and Oakland will be better against the run with Washington and Sapp.
Screwed up with the IDP going by Yahoo rules, but Bert Berry was a double digit sack guy with Denver, and should repeat that effort as a Card.
Wanted Kasay, but with a week 3 bye and no backup, didn't want to shake my team up that early in the season. Kris Brown was 7 of 7 in preseason.
Can't really comment on other teams but late round sleeper picks I liked:
Darius Watts - Tree @ 20.09
Troy Hambrick - Species @18.11
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| 9 | Species
Leader
ID: 07724916
Tue, Sep 07, 2004, 02:28
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Plan/strategy
I typically will go for a balanced team, and tend to concentrate more on filling my main roster first and pray that injuries don't kill you. In a league this deep, if you get one or two bad injuries you're pretty much toast anyways. Also, I wanted to take later round chances on longshots - players only with great value upon a return to glory or upon the injuries of others. Guys like Rice, S. Jackson (although early), Hambrick, James Jackson (hope for trade) could fetch something decent if they do well.
The plan worked pretty well, except I got a QB much earlier than expected, but I was at this crappy point in WR's in the draft, where I would've been taking the top of the tier after C. Johnson/H. Ward and I didn't want to do that, so I took Hasselbeck. As luck would have it, the last WR in that tier on my board was Moulds and he was still there for me 21 picks later.
Favorite picks/do overs
Jeremy Shockey at 6.11 was fantastic - a difference maker at TE, assuming health. Drew Bennett in round 13 was solid. Do overs? I probably jumped on Gannon too early, but living in CA I've read all camp about Gannon having a HUGE chip on his shoulder, and this IS the man who was league MVP a couple years back. The riskiest picks are S. Jackson in Rd 10 and Boldin in Rd 11 -- but both are HUGE upside picks as well and probably worth the value, but could be wasted picks. I need PHI's defense to be what I hope it can be. Hugh Douglas falling into their laps might help the 3rd down pass rush and get some sacks/TO's.
Other teams I haven't been able to check everyone, so I'll hold off comment.
Biggest surprise wasn't really a surprise -- people jumped on RB's like they were the cure for the plague. I felt my Rd. 2 pick of Westbrook was a stretch, only to find out a day or two later that Buckhalter is out for the year, creating a LOT more value for that pick now. And the Eagles released Dorsey Levens, so it's Westbrook's job completely.
Start over? Probably research better return yards. I probably screwed up taking Hasselbeck over S. Smith/S. Moss because, honestly, I was too damn busy to really take into account the value of return yardage in our league.
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| 10 | loki
Dude
ID: 4211201420
Tue, Sep 07, 2004, 23:05
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1-Draft Strategy: My overall draft strategy was quit simply to get the best player available at each position. Of course that is more easily stated than done. To execute this I planned on going RB-RB-WR with my 1st 3 picks and then choosing the best position player left for my 4th pick. Seeing all the QBs picked I hedged a little and picked Trent Green at 4.14. I initially planned on waiting until the 2nd half of the draft to pick IDP, K, and TE.
2a-Favorite picks: Trent Green-I think that he will be one of the top QB producers.
Dante Hall-Great pick up at 6.14 as he should give good receiving points as well as return points.
Mark Fields-A sleeper at 13.01 who may be one of the leaders in defensive points.
J. Wilkins-A kicker who will make a difference in close contests.
2b-Do Overs: M. Muhammad-Picked too early for a reserve WR.
D. Levens-Cut before the 1st kickoff.
3-Next best teams-I think that all of the managers were knowledgeable in the initial draft, and I cannot see much separation between them. I think that it will come down to injuries and finding sleepers on the waiver wire.
4-The draft went pretty much as I expected.
5-Starting Over-I am much too weak at RB and will not be able to tolerate an injury to either of my starters. Starting over, I would have picked up another RB. Otherwise I am fairly happy with my draft.
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| 11 | I_AM_CANADIAN
ID: 227221220
Wed, Sep 08, 2004, 01:13
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Hmmm... 4 straight managers not willing to talk about other managers teams?
I think maybe their too chicken to admit that they are not too certain of their own teams right now! (Trying to stir up some competitiveness here guys! ;)
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| 12 | Art of Monk
ID: 32531249
Wed, Sep 08, 2004, 15:55
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1-Draft Strategy- What strategy, I picked last. I wanted to take a different player with picks 14 and 15, but I was worried that I wouldn't get any RB with my 3rd and 4th rd picks. I took risks with Faulk and Griffin, I hope one pays off big and the other is serviceable.
2. Favorite Picks-I like several. Griffin could be the steal of the draft with the last pick in the third, if his numbers are anything like past Den. Rb's. Is it the back or the system. I also like Davenport, once again I will change my name to prophet art once Green gets hurt. warrick is going to turn it around this year and I believe he is still going to return punts and maybe kickoffs, same as cedric wilson. Calico was looking great until he sprained both of his knees. Last one. The Redskins Def. They have had the talent and this is the year they put it together. Gibbs is the master. They will have ball control wiht Portis.
Do overs maybe not have taken so many DL's. I was hoping for a trade and maybe I'll still get one, if not Rucker and Peppers are good enough to play as IDP.
Other teams-tough to say I see some good teams, but we all have some holes or what if's. I do like Species team, but he has some WR's that could be iffy and shockey is always an injury risk.
Starting Over- wish I didn't have the last pick and when you don't pick for 27 picks you don't have any idea of who is going to be around next. I'll be the first to say I took some risks and the back to back QB picks was a little crazy. Once again hoping for a trade to help me at WR possibly . Who knows.
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| 13 | wiggs
ID: 507593021
Thu, Sep 09, 2004, 01:17
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1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
My plan was to get 2 solid RBs right out of the shoot, and I got them, or so I thought. Next thing I know Bennett is hurt. My next plan was to get 3 solid WRs and I feel like I did a good job at that too. Chad Johnson is real nice. I heard Smith is supposed to be healthy and playing very well and Price is back to his old self.
2. What were your favorite picks? Which do you wish you could do over?
Holmes/CJ/Smith
Do over on Bennett atleast til he is healthy again.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
I like alot of the teams. I think all have some potential. The ones I like the best are Loki, Species, Tree, and youngroman.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
some of the rookies surprised me going so early/
5. If you could start over, would you do anything differently?
I would have been here for the whole draft. I think it messed up my flow.
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