RIFC AAA #1Managers - You are each invited (although not required) to post your general reflections on the completed draft. Comments may be as detailed or as general as you wish. As a catalyst, free free to comment on any of the following:
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?
Non-managers are also welcome to post general comments on the draft, and to raise questions.
1
Ref Donor
ID: 539581218 Sun, Sep 02, 2007, 02:00
name
pos
avg
min
max
count
mine
Diff +/-
Brian Westbrook
RB
1.06
1.05
1.09
4
1.09
3
Chad Johnson
WR
2.08
2.06
2.13
4
2.06
-2
Deuce McAllister
RB
3.11
3.07
4.03
4
3.09
-2
Marques Colston
WR
3.12
3.05
4.06
4
4.06
8
Vince Young
QB
4.08
2.08
5.11
4
5.09
15
Tatum Bell
RB
6.07
5.12
7.02
4
6.06
-1
Chris Cooley
TE
6.13
6.05
7.09
4
7.09
10
Mike Peterson
LB
9.06
8.06
10.08
4
8.06
-14
Will Witherspoon
LB
9.04
8.04
10.02
4
9.09
5
Anthony Gonzalez
WR
14.11
10.06
17.13
4
10.06
-61
Jacksonville Jaguars
DEF
13.02
9.13
16.14
4
11.09
-21
Nick Barnett
LB
12.1
10.09
15.03
4
12.06
-4
Bob Sanders
DB
17.11
13.09
24.03
4
13.09
-58
Chad Pennington
QB
14.14
14.06
16.06
4
14.06
-8
Correll Buckhalter
RB
19.09
15.09
20.14
3
15.09
-56
Kamerion Wimbley
LB
18.06
16.06
21.01
4
16.06
-28
Demetrius Williams
WR
19.01
10.09
23.02
3
17.09
-20
Sean Taylor
DB
16.08
14.09
18.06
4
18.06
18
Dwayne Bowe
WR
21.05
19.09
23.07
4
19.09
-24
Robert Mathis
DL
16.05
12.1
20.06
4
20.06
56
Robbie Gould
K
20.14
17.12
23.03
4
21.09
9
Maurice Stovall
WR
20.14
13.05
23.04
3
22.06
20
Charles Grant
DL
22.04
19.1
23.09
3
23.09
19
David Garrard
QB
24.12
24.06
24.06
1
24.06
-6
Total
-142
2
Ref Donor
ID: 539581218 Sun, Sep 02, 2007, 02:33
Typically, I'm not usually happy with my drafts. But last year in the RIFC Series, I was ecstatic. But after a great start I slowed down before picking it up again then flopping in the Championship. This year, I wasn't as happy but felt I did pretty well--that is until I started analyzing my draft compared to the other RIFC leagues. While I did pick up a few comparitive steals (5 were at least one round later than avg), there were even more comparitive reaches (7 at least a round early on avg). 6 times I was able to get my guy later than anyone else (min 3 leagues selecting), 9 times I picked the guy before any other league. Now obviously drafts started adn ended at different times and there could have been news on certain players in the interim--but I'm suddenly a lot more cautious.
My biggest reaches on avg. were A Gonzales at 10,06 (61 picks early), Bob Sanders (58 early), Buckhalter (56 early--handcuff), Wimbley (2 rounds early). My steals on avg were Robert Mathis (56 picks later), Stovall (+20), Grant (+19), Sean Taylor (+18) and Vince Young (+15). On avg. I reach 142 picks.
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
Wanted to go RB, RB then see what happened. Did not want Gates in the 3rd this year as I regretted that last year. Also wanted to wait until the 5th on a good QB if I could. I took one in the 4th last year and he let me down. BUt I was open to almost anything depending how the draft went. After Westbrook fell to me at 9, I felt Chad Johnson was the best player on the board at 2.06 and felt he was better than the RBs. Felt that the difference from the RB who would be there on my next pick wasn't as much diff as the WR diff would be. Seemed to work out--but we shall see. Other than that, I basically just went with the flow.
2. What were your favorite picks? Which do you wish you could do over? Barring injury, Westbrook at 1.09, Colston at 4.06, VY 5.09, Cooley 7.09, Mathis at 20.06.
I wish I had waited on Sanders and AGonz for sure. But Sanders is healthy and that D is built around him. We saw in the playoffs last year what he means to that D. I needed a 3rd WR and I wasn't finding any WR I really liked. I knew it was a little bit of a reach when I got him, but with his tools and in that offense--he should be valuable and will take away that 2nd TE threat and take some TE receptions. Really didn't want Pennington as he might lose his job, but I just need him for week 4. Favre was my goal and he went right before me. I reached on some other WRs too but I was looking for upside since I was WR strapped.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
DS' team looks solid. loki has some nice players on the offensive side especially. Same with AG. I love TB's defenders. Cards could be decent if guys stay healthy and play up to their potential--though that goes for most of the others too I suppose.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
How many times my Qs were picked clean. The slowness of the teams to draft at the top. Taxman taking the Ravens D at 3.02. Some of the early picks of some IDPs.
5. If you could start over, would you do anything differently?
Knowing what I know now, of course. But maybe I can answer this better a few weeks into the season. ;)
1.What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
My strategy at the beginning was to draft the standard RB, RB, WR and then try to draft the best position players available at my turn. I also planned to take quality IDPs early since the league requires 6 starting IDPs. With the exception of taking Bugler with 3.07 I was able to keep to this strategy as the draft unfolded.
2. What were your favorite picks? Which do you wish you could do over?
I liked Warwick Dunn at 9.07, J.P. Losman at 12.08 and Ronde Barber at 11.07. I may be wrong, but I think that Norwood’s “stomach ailment” is more significant than Atlanta is reporting, and therefore Dunn will be Atlanta’s starting RB. Losman had a great second half of the season in 2006, and I think he will continue this trend in 2007. If I could not pick Tiki in 2007, at least I could get the identical genes with Ronde.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
I usually find it difficult to evaluate the other teams, but barring injury (as happened to me with Sean Alexander in 2006), Da Bomb with LT starts the season with a significant advantage.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
My only surprise was that most managers chose a second team defense. I had planned on taking one, but out of necessity ended up going with the flow. It did not surprise me that draft rounds were delayed by the same managers as this has happened in most drafts in which I have participated.
5. If you could start over, would you do anything differently?
Most of my draft picks were chosen earlier than the average indicated in Guru’s table which makes me either incredibly astute or incredibly ignorant. I hope that it is the former. That being said, I do not think that I would do much differently.
4
TB Sherpa
ID: 031811922 Mon, Sep 03, 2007, 19:45
The Draft Plan and Execution
Each year that I'm in this format I see something a little bit different during the draft. So far, I had gone RB-RB-WR with mixed success in each of the previous drafts. I've pretty much come to the conclusion that luck plays a much larger factor than anything else in fantasy football. Sure, you need to do some research, but if you grab some starters who stay healthy all year, you have a great shot to make the play-offs. I did not have a draft plan or strategy. I just decided to pick players that filled my needs based on my rankings and ADP.
With my first three picks, I was holding a first round RB and two top-ten WR. 37 other picks had gone to the other 13 teams and 5 were QB's, one TE, one DEF, 6 WR's, and 24 were RB's. Surprisingly, I wasn't stressed about my 2nd RB position, but had I known that a lack of quality receivers were going to be drafted through the first three rounds, I probably would have drafted MJD with my 2nd round pick and still ended up with Fitz and Houshmanzadiamama. Overall, I'm happy with how my team turned out. At QB I expect good things from Leinart and think Grossman is a good back-up. Maroney, Taylor, and Jordan should do okay at the RB position provided they stay healthy, and in Jordan's case, keeps his job. I really like my receivers this year and the depth I was able to draft. TE/K/DL are all about equal to me after the top guys are gone, but I also like who I got at each position, except maybe kicker but his bye week worked for me. Heck, I like my IDP and love my team defense. I'd say my most glaring weakness is at RB and hopefully those guys can outplay their projections.
Favorite Picks and Do-Overs
I already talked about the Steve Smith/MJD decision I had to make in round two, but I can live with it and think my team turned out fine in spite of that decision. In round #11 I took Porter and was seriously debating between him and Curry. I like both for different reasons, but thought Curry would make it back around.
Final Draft Thoughts
Some people didn't live up to their commitment to the league and make timely picks or leave queues. Regardless, we completed the draft on time and I'm ready for the season to start. There are a lot of blank rationales and it would be nice to see people complete them. I know I enjoy reading them after the season is over. I've gone back and read them from every season.
There were a lot of early round smart picks and a lot of late round great grabs by most teams. This is a fun format where talent is to be found to fill holes even late in the draft.
5
Hubble
ID: 25332812 Tue, Sep 04, 2007, 14:50
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned?
Beisde the obvious get best value possible I had few ideas I wanted to respect.
First, draft healthy studs before unproven rookies. If possible secure 2 RB and 3Wr ASAP.
Second, secure a top 3 defense. With the new format adopted last year, DEF became a little more important than before and can give a win any given week bye a strong performance. I had TB last year and it cost me the season, I had a pretty solid draft but had lousy DEF performance every week.
Third, don’t hesitate to reach (compare to ADP) if I felt I needed to fill a position, evitate a run or get a player I trusted.
I think I was pretty successful in all aspect, I’m conscious that I have reached for few picks (including NE Def in round 6) but I feel they are pretty safe reach (if that actually can exist). 2. What were your favourite picks? Which do you wish you could do over?
I certainly expect good thing from S.A. and Cadillac, both have easy schedule early and should be safe pick at the most important position. I like my WR corps (T.O + Driver + Brown + Bennett) and I believe I could secure some good IDP (Urlacher + Hawk + Bailey) without reaching too much. Asante Samuel in round 21, David Martin in round 23 were 2 players I targeted before the draft and got them cheap, considering they will see action as starter in favourable match-ups.
I really was targeting Hasselbeck with my 8.07 pick, but lost him at 8.05. That screwed me and I should have played it safer by trading up. It forced me to get 3 QB instead. I still believe I’m in good shape with those QB (Green, Schaud and Cutler) but spending an extra pick on a 3rd QB deprived me from a good WR back-up. I also wish I’d handcuff Lendale White with Brown, but 9th round was too expensive IMHO. So I’ll leave with it.
Of course you can’t have a perfect team and we’re all bound to have weaknesses. I’m happy with mine as I think I can address them in the course of the season.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?
I seriously didn’t have time to analyze, but at first glance: AG has a good balanced team, but his DEF will be a major weakness. I like Letter_J’s RB situation and IDP’s but WR are a little weak. In no particular order I also like DS, Doug and STLcards. It appears at first glance that all of us have major weaknesses so active (F/A, trade) managers will have an edge IMHO.
4. What surprised you most about the draft?
I hate this question… maybe how people disregarded team DEF… it made such a difference last year that I thought people would jump on them more quickly. Maybe I could have waited a little and still get NE def… but heck, I just didn’t want to miss my top 5 DEF.
5. If you could start over, would you do anything differently?
Well, trade up to get Hassellbeck in the 8 th round. Maybe wait an extra round for Heath Miller, but I was afraid Letter_J (only manager without TE and 2 picks coming) would pick him, so I reached. I wish I made more research on back-up WR and pick 1 or 2 high risk/reward type… But I feel I needed 3 QB and their match-up are working perfectly among them.
Also i just don't trust and base my draft on ADP, just to show how random this is, i made the same chart as REF in post 1. Result show +581 in my favor.
Now if i make a thourough analysis i see that i actually didnt reach for more than 1 round. And that of all the supposed bargain i got, only for were really significat: AJ Hawk, Drew Bennett and Asante Sameul (only 2 rounds bargain)and Mike Bell (4 round at the moment of the draft)(now the new RB situation in DEN makes it less interesting)
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned? My plan entering the draft was to secure depth at RB and WR, not take a QB in round 4, and push IDP off as far as possible. I think IDP are way overvalued and wanted a chance to test it out by drafting them later on. The hope was that would give me better depth at RB and WR. I also think there are plenty of options at QB and in the past I have taken a top QB around the 3rd or 4th round and regretted it. I planned to take two QBs back to back and hope one had a good year. I think I was able to execute my strategy however drafting from the 14th spot really lends itself better to taking top players at the positions I wanted to wait on so I don't have the players I would like to have.
2. What were your favorite picks? Which do you wish you could do over?I can't say that I have a favorite pick on my team. I didn't draft anyone I really like, but hopefully I have enough depth to overcome injuries and bye weeks.
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)?I like TBs team the best. He has very nice depth at RB and WR and a great D.
4. What surprised you most about the draft? Wish I could say I was surprised by it bogging down, but that happens about every draft, so not really unexpected. A defense going at 3.02 made me think that I undervalued D, but I'm still happy getting an underrated Min D.
5. If you could start over, would you do anything differently? I think I would try to trade up out of the #14 spot.
7
Letter_J
ID: 353551013 Fri, Sep 07, 2007, 11:27
What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned? Having selected 1.03, 2.12, 3.03, etc., I knew that I was left with the headache of choosing between F Gore, L Johnson, J Addai, etc. I assumed (wrongly!) that someone would want to move up somewhat and have their selection of one of these three and I was leaning (heavily) towards making a trade. No one wanted to deal and the L Johnson preseason situation was giving me a headache…so I selected Gore.
I’m a believer that RB depth wins or loses games for you in deep leagues such as this (12+ teams) and that WR depth can usually be found on the waiver wire. For that reason, I knew that I was going to go (at least) RB/RB, if not RB/RB/RB-WR/RB and maybe RB…but I really did not like what was going to be available at 2.12. When Hubble put the 2.08 pick up for sale, I moved up and selected C Portis, giving me two bona fide studs (if healthy).
As I do every year, I planned on, for the most part, foregoing IDPs early (as I felt that there was good value to be had later in the draft). Kicker and Team Defense would, of course, be put on the back burner unless real value (and only as far as Team Defense went) emerged as we went along. I panicked somewhat and selected the Steelers D, although I satisfied with that pick.
In past years, I have been a slave to my cheat sheets. This year, I modified a series of cheat sheets with a sliding scale (moving players up or down) that I really liked. Fantasy football is also, first and foremost, supposed to be fun and, by and far, I will enjoy watching the players that I drafted.
I also planned on allowing the draft to come to me and select those players that I had rated highly and were sliding.
What were your favorite picks? Which do you wish you could do over? I believe that I will enjoy watching Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN.
As I also said earlier, fantasy football is supposed to be fun. In years past, I have selected whoever was at the top of my cheat sheet. This year I drafted players that I will enjoy watching. Portis (aka SouthEast Jerome/Dolla Bill/ Sheriff Gonna Getcha/Dr. I don’t know/Coach Janky Spanky) is an exceptional talent. I’m enamoured with the prospects of wide receivers Ronald Curry and Brandon Marshall; time well tell if my gut served me well with these WRs.
Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)? This is always tough, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I like teams that have depth, therefore:
TB and Oaktown Raiders – Although the RB situation is “up in the air” (but who’s RB situation is not), both managers have assembled a very deep team.
deepsnapper will be tough - As the draft was progressing, he and I seemed to be on the same page, as he was drafting several players that I had targeted pre-draft. He also seems to have good depth throughout his roster. I believe that that he, TB and the Oaktown Raiders will be well served by that depth as the season progresses.
Da Bomb – he has a nice foundation with LT, McNabb and Holt although he has concerns at IDP and his lack of depth would worry me.
What surprised you most about the draft? I have played in RIFC leagues for several years now, but the quality of the managers in this league never ceases to amaze me.
If you could start over, would you do anything differently? I might not select Ben Roethlisberger at 9.03, although I think that he will have a very good year. Maybe I'd wait on a Defense. Other than that, I’m pleased with the way that my team looks.
1. What was your plan/strategy entering the draft? Were you able to execute as you had planned? I usually draft 2 running backs, a wide receiver and then adjust. My plan was to take the best RB (Addai or Alexander) hopefully if he fell in round one at the #5 spot and then see what came back to me in round 2. Edgerrin in round 2 was a surprise, but with the increased emphasis on the running game in AZ, I felt it was a safe pick. I surprised myself by taking Brees in Rd 3, but with the depth at WR, I felt it was more important to take a high value QB. This adjustment to my plan was made due to the number of WR available still on the board. All in all, I was very satisfied with how the draft played out.
2. What were your favourite picks? Which do you wish you could do over? Witten @ Rd 8.10 was a bargin to me. He's a homer pick for me, but knowing how much of the offense in Dallas is going to run through the TE position moved him up on my board. I also like my depth at WR. Do over would be to pick a Team Defense a little earlier. not sure what round though so I don't know how this helps me. lol
3. Looking over all of the teams, which ones do you like the most (other than your own)? If I had to pick a team, it's be letter_j. My concern for him would be depth at WR. Aside from him it's Cards or TB. Depth in this league is what gets to you either during the bye weeks or by injury depletion. Time will tell I guess.
4. What surprised you most about the draft? The lack of priority drafting WR. In a league starting 3 WR, depth at the positon didn't seem to be a priority. Lots of IDPs taken ahead of WR IMO.
If you could start over, would you do anything differently? Probably stick to my original plan to draft a QB later and take 2 RBs and 2 WRs before a QB. It seems to work out for me better in leagues. You never seem to know though when the opportunity presents itself. Time will tell.