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Subject: RGQFL #2 Draft Recap
Posted by: The Beezer
- Leader [191202817] Wed, Sep 08, 2004, 23:26
Wanted to get this in place as I likely won't have time to post before tomorrow's game.
Quoting from the RIFC draft recap thread, here's some starter questions:
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?
Opinions and questions from others are also welcome. |
| 1 | The Beezer
Leader
ID: 191202817
Thu, Sep 09, 2004, 00:57
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This will likely be long as I wrote up notes as I was drafting.
1. My primary focus going into the draft was to get a solid core of starters at RB and WR that could average 60 pts/week altogether. Then, I would focus on picking up players at positions that looked like they would drop off by my next pick. I figured I would wait on IDPs as there would likely be solid players late to pick up. Also, I was hoping to benefit from the difficulty of evaluating return yardage's impact on scoring - I focused on generating some decent projections for returns as they don't seem to really be available anywhere. This worked out really well as I stuck to this almost the whole way through.
START DRAFT RATIONALES
1.10 - Picking from the 10-hole, I was planning on being upset on missing the top seven RBs and facing a difficult decision on either a lower-tier back or drafting a top WR or QB. I was happily able to make the trained monkey pick of James at 1.10 as he was the last of the seven I targeted and was clearly the best value here.
2.5 - The opportunity to add a solid #2 RB was too good to pass up, especially in a 14-team league where folks know what they're doing. Both Rudi J. and Travis H. were available, and this was a tough call. I went with RJ because I was more afraid of McGahee vultering carries than Perry.
3.10 - With only 6 WRs gone at this point, compared to 25 RBs and 6 QBs, I knew WR was the value pick here. I had targeted either Steve Smith, Mason, and S. Moss for this pick and hoped to see one of them, let alone all three. All three are #1 WRs with good QBs, and I had all of them at about 1000-1100 yards and 7-8 TDs, so it came down to return opportunities. Mason doesn't return many kicks, and Moss had a shot of losing opportunities to McCareins, so I went with Smith.
4.05 - I was disappointed that Moss didn't make it back to this spot, and would have taken Ray Lewis or Gonzalez if they had made it here as they slipped farther than I thought they would. When none of this panned out, I went back to my initial strategy and took Darrell Jackson. I'm not sure if Darrell will benefit from Koren Robinson coming on or not, but thought he was a safe pick here. I gave a spare thought to Todd Heap here but decided I could get a good TE later.
5.10 - I was targeting one player from the get-go with this pick - Dante Hall. My projections had him at a top-5 receiver spot with his return prowess, but chatter about him in other RIFC-style drafts had me worried he'd be gone. Despite that, I nearly passed on him to take a QB as I was afraid that my sleeper QB pick (Garcia) wouldn't make it back with all the QBs off the board. I decided to stick with my original plan and pulled the trigger.
6.05 - I was elated that Garcia made it back around and picked him up with no hesitation. I had him at 2 PPG above any other QB left on the board. Garcia has a lot of good talent at WR, the running game should be much better, and he scores a fair amount of rushing TDs for a QB, which are worth more in this league.
7.10 - All of the RBs I had slotted as starters were gone except for one - Travis Minor. With the void of RBs after him, I decided this was the best value on the board and took him. I didn't seriously consider anyone else.
8.05 - The only place on the board that value stood out for me on this pick was at DT. I had Philly slotted as a top-5 D so I picked them so I wouldn't have to play matchups all year. I also thought about a TE here but I figured I could wait another round and still get the guy I wanted (McMichael).
9.10 - McMichael was still available, so I took him without thinking twice about it. Although Booker may take a few receptions, I figured a lot of the passes to Ricky last season will go here instead, so I had him as a top-5 TE.
10.05 - By this point, I was just looking for value at any position still on the board. In retrospect, I wish I would have taken Carr here, but I was in a rush and just took the highest-rated guy on the table, which was Andre' Davis. Davis is slotted as the #1 WR in CLE and also is a kickoff returner, so he will be a solid fill-in on bye weeks, plus gives me combo opportunities with Garcia.
Trade - BoNkA expressed interest in acquiring a running back, and I noticed that he had snagged S. Moss earlier, so I offered him a trade of Minor and Jackson for Moss and the Miami D which we then completed. Until Gordon was traded to Miami, this was an even trade . Now it isn't. This gave me three of my top-10 projected receivers and another top-5 defense to be used as trade material when needed. I hated giving up the RB depth but hoped I could pull a serviceable sleeper later that I had targeted before the draft.
11.10 - I was kind of lost with this pick, as it was too early to go for any of my deep sleeper picks, but I didn't see anybody that jumped out at me. I decided best RB available was the smart thing to do since I'd just traded by #3 guy, so I took Hearst. He should hopefully not be needed this year, but I thought he might get some opportunities if Q. Griffin doesn't hold up (I'm an OU homer so I'm hoping QG goes for 2000). Since Tatum Bell is likely the backup after his hand heals, this is likely a wasted pick.
12.05 - I was surprised to see that my #2 ranked kicker was not taken yet, so with the lack of excitement at other positions, I decided to take a decent kicker for once in the form of Jeff Wilkins. High-powered offense + dome + idiot coach that doesn't know field and clock management = lots of points.
13.10 - I finally decided there was something I couldn't wait on at IDP, as Charles Grant was still available. I had him slotted in my top 5 at DL and from other drafts I had checked he looked to be gone before I picked again. Charles is an athletic young guy on a great line, so he should have a lot of 1-on-1 opportunities to wreak havoc.
14.05 - I had just noticed at this point that both Moss and Smith would be off week 3 and I would need 2 WRs to cover. Randle El was at the top of the heap so I took him. Yet another returner, ARE should get a consistent 2-3 points from punts per week and has big-play potential catching, running, or even throwing the ball (he's currently the #3 QB with Batch hurt).
15.10 - I wanted to wait on my deep sleeper RB until the last 2-3 rounds, but noticed that he had gone at about this point in the RIFC. I therefore went ahead and took Josh Scobey from Arizona. He returns kicks and punts for the Cards and led the league last year in total kickoff return yardage due to Arizona's awful defense. Scobey will average 6-7 returns per game and can be counted on for 4-5 PPG even if he doesn't see any offensive snaps. He's also a bit of a homer pick as he went to Northeastern OK A&M and I watch him tear up teams running for the Norsemen.
16.05 - Not many picks were left at this point to fill out my IDP slots, so I decided to take the best LB on my board, James Farrior. He's the successor to the Steelers' LB tradition and projected as a top-10 LB in this point system.
17.10 - I had planned to continue with IDPs, but noticed that one of the backup QBs was rated a lot higher than any other on my sheet. I decided to go ahead and lock up Grossman as my backup. My criteria is that he has a pulse, the Bears will be behind a ton, he plays SF at home on Garcia's bye week, and my girlfriend's mom was one of his teachers in high school (OK, that wasn't a factor, but it is true).
18.05 - More LBs. I actually had Barton slightly ahead of Dan Morgan, but Morgan had been going earlier in drafts so I took him first. Morgan's a solid player on a good defense and can fill in when needed adequately if he doesn't get hurt.
19.10 - Eric Barton made it back to me, so I picked him up. He's another playmaker, but the guys around him are mediocre at best, so he'll have to fight for his points. I still had him as a top 15 LB, so I was glad he fell here.
20.05 - I didn't win the Gordon lottery, which would have been a fantastic way to finish the draft. Instead, I took Desmond Clark, who for reasons I don't quite understand is ranked tenth on my TE board. He'll likely get dropped as I need to get backups in other areas, but he was the highest-ranked guy left, so I took him.
END DRAFT RATIONALES
2. My favorite pick was James at 1.10, because it made everything else a lot easier. I was really happy to get Grant and Farrior as late as I did. The only picks I regret are Hearst at 11.10 and not taking Carr at 10.05.
3. Doug's team is my championship game pick if he can miss the injury bug and hit one of his QBs. Bags, dgrooves, and Peter N. I envy for their RB depth. My playoff picks other than me are Doug, Bandos, Wildcats52, Bags, dgrooves, BoNka, and Peter N., with 5 other teams very close behind.
4. I was surprised by how quickly QBs and RBs went off the board. I was not surprised that this draft was the hardest one I'd ever done.
5. I wouldn't change much about this draft. I felt I accomplished my goals and put myself in position to win. Now we'll just have to see what happens.
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| 2 | Greybear
ID: 47324128
Sat, Sep 11, 2004, 18:30
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Since this is my first Rotoguru (and football) draft, I neither wish to chastise nor flatter any of the other managers.
Drafting in the #11 hole, I knew that I was not getting a marquis-brand RB. Nevertheless, I still opted to fill RB drafting spots first (Barlow, D. Davis as they usually reap the most rewards (in most leagues)).
My big struggle, I feel, was at QB as I felt nobody "consistent" was remaining where I was left with the option of drafting one. I ended up with a homer pick, Bulger (one that throws too many interceptions; however he may reduce that amount as he claims to better understand the offence).
I am happy with many of my picks (given where I had to pick), especially D. Davis, Horn, Johnson and Arrington.
I do NOT understand some of the other managers' picks...if you consider bye weeks!!! But that is JMHO.
Can't tell you who had the best draft... it seems to change yearly. However, I expect a healthy dose of Chiefs, Colts and Seahawks players to do well fantasy-wise.
As is always stated, hindsight is 20/20 and I can't wait to see the outcome of this competitive league,
best regards,
GB
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