Fantasy Football (Non HTF leagues) (1 Viewer)

[Tom Meyer]

Man I'm kicking myself for not taking Deuce McAllister when I had the chance. Among the players I took when he was still on the board (he was the second to last pick in the draft):

Was this a 3 round draft or something !?! Please tell me when your draft is next year so I can come take your money !!

 

[Andrew_Sch]

How in the world did Duece McAlister last so long in your draft?

Most of the people in the league are just casual football fans. The bad thing is, I'm way more than a casual fan, so I have no excuse.

 

[Evan S]

I got McAllister with the 18th pick overall in one of my leagues and should be 2-0 because of it (I'm not because I took Shaun Alexander at #3 overall and we know how he's turned out so far). In my other league, somebody took McAllister in the third round, with pick #21 overall. Both picks are right around where I expected.

In the league where I got McAllister, I actually chose him over Harrison and Moss, who were both still available (very RB heavy scoring system in that league).

Andrew, you should be kicking yourself. Check out post #5 or 6 on this thread where I was talking up Deuce way back when.

 

[Brad Porter]

Here's my dilemma of the week...
My RBs are:
Ahman Green (Doubtful - Probably will be held out)
Eddie George (Questionable - Practiced today! Still not 100%)
Travis Henry (Healthy - Facing the #1 run defense)
Kevan Barlow (Healthy - But in RBBC with Hearst)
Rondell Meally is available, but I don't really have a roster spot that I can open for him. I'm probably benching Green and I'm counting on Eddie George to recover in time to play this week.
So would you start Henry (whom the Bills players were saying they needed to get more involved on NFL2NIGHT) against the speedy, run-stuffing Denver D or Barlow (who has earned the right to get the bulk of the carries for the 49ers) against the enigma that is the Redskins D with a revenge-minded Mariucci likely to unleash the hounds this week.
I'm leaning towards Barlow.
Brad

 

[Evan S]

Brad, I would do whatever you could to pick up Mealey. I think George will play (he's a gamer), but will be spelled often by Mike Green. I highly doubt with the Packers playing the Lions they use Ahman Green AT ALL. They may not even play him NEXT week either if he's not 100% because they have Carolina on the schedule. So, you could get a two week starter out of Mealey.

I'm a HUGE Broncos fan, and our defense is for real. We have two huge run stuffing tackles in Dalton (signed from Baltimore) and McGlocton. We have an all-pro end in Trevor Pryce and we rotate 8 deep on the Def-line. Not only that, but we have two very good corners in Deltha O'Neal and Denard Walker and our linebackers may be the fastest and most underrated in the NFL.

I think Buffalo will be behind in that game and ditch the run much like they did in Minnesota last week, where they score 45pts, but Travis Henry went for only 30yds.

I would try to get Mealey if at all possible or if you cannot, start Barlow. Washington's strength is their linebacking and secondary. Their Def-line is pathetic and Barlow could break a couple nice runs.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Evan, hindsight is definitely 20/20, eh? Let's just hope Walter Jones' return will end our suffering as Alexander owners.

 

[Evan S]

hindsight is definitely 20/20, eh? Let's just hope Walter Jones' return will end our suffering as Alexander owners

Man, you are NOT kidding. In retrospect, I think I made a mistake taking Alexander over Holmes at #3. First of all, our league gives 2pts for each reception and Holmes catches more passes than Alexander (I know, Alexander has caught 12 balls in 2 games, but I believe most of that is because the Hawks are always behind). Second, I didn't consider the change of conference/division for the Seahawks. They are 0-2 so far and still have 4 games left with the Rams and 49ers (who will both have things straightened out by the time they play Seattle).

Have you noticed that teams that make changes to their uniforms often have great seasons? Giants in 2000, Jets in 1998, Broncos in 1997, Patriots in 1996, Rams in 1999, Buccaneers in 1999? I think that streak ends this year with Seattle.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

That's probably because their new unis are hideous and most of the teams you listed above at least arguably imrpoved theirs. The way my league scores is even worse for Alexander owners. Receptions mean absolutely nothing, you get 1 measly point for every 20 yards rushing or receiving, and each TD is worth 6 points. Thank god for Tom Brady and Donovan McNabb.

 

[Brad Porter]

I would try to get Mealey if at all possible...

My concerns with Mealey are these:
1. I expect the Packers to rotate Mealey and Najeh Davenport during the game, and
2. Detroit, as pathetic as they are, are better against the run than they are against the pass. I haven't seen any demonstration that Mealey carries the same pass catching ability that Green has, so I don't expect much more than an average game from him at best. I've already got two backups that can provide me an average to poor performance.

Also, I think Green makes it back for the Carolina game. If he doesn't, it could be even more RBBC if they try to work the newly acquired Maurice Smith into the backfield. I've had every opportunity this week to pick up Mealey and I haven't done it... if he has a monster game, too bad for me.

Believe me, I know all about the Broncos D (see my location). In fact, a Bledsoe injury wouldn't surprise me too much considering how long he holds on to the ball. My only hope with Henry is that he gets some goal-line carries for touchdowns.

I think I'll go with Barlow and hope that Hearst doesn't get all the goal-line opportunities.

Brad

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Regarding Mealey, one of my fantasy football rules is that you should always pickup the backup to your #1 pick, provided that backup is capable of producing decent numbers. If you have Green on your roster, you probably used your #1 pick on him, so you should have Mealey on your roster. I am carrying Todd Bouman on my roster to backup Culpepper, and I would have picked up Robert Holcombe to backup Eddie George (my 2nd round pick) if he had not become injured. I do not feel that Mike Green is worth picking up (he's now George's backup).

Last year I picked up Shaun Alexander off the waiver wire because Ricky Watters owner did not have him. Needless to say, Alexander turned my team into a powerhouse. The same owner had Marshall Faulk but failed to handcuff Trung Canidate to him. When Faulk went down for two games, another owner who picked up Canidate reaped the benefits.

I am playing Mealey this week in my second league, where I have Ahman Green as my #1 RB. I also have Travis Henry, but am benching him against Denver. Mealey will not put up the same numbers to be expected by Green, but Detroit's defense is truly pathetic. Yes, their pass defense is worse than the run defense, but Ricky Williams and Robert Edwards ran all over the Pussycats in the season opener. Take it from a Lions fan -- always start players who are facing this defense. The odds are stacked in your favor.

 

[Brad Porter]

I'm happy that my gut was right this week...
Mealey: 5 rushes for 7 yards, 3 catches for 24 yards
Barlow: 15 rushes for 94 yards, 1 TOUCHDOWN!
Henry: 12 rushes for 35 yards, 4 catches for 33 yards, 1 TD, 1 Fumble
My final score for the week is 120.18 and my opponents current score is 114.30. He only has one player left, somebody named Marshall Faulk.
Unfortunately, in the HTF II league I desperately put Michael Bennett in the lineup and left Clinton Portis on my bench. :frowning:
Brad

 

[Evan S]

Brad, good call on Barlow.

In my defense, I wasn't incorrect in telling you to start the Packers backup RB, for he gained over 80 yards rushing and 20+ receiving..but how was I to know (along with the rest of the fantasy football world) that the backup RB for the Pack this week would be Davenport, not Mealey. What a smokescreen that was. I'm sure there are plenty of peeved Mealey owners out there feeling quite misled.

As for my two teams, I have one team at 2-1 even though Edgerrin James has yet to get a TD in three games. My other team is more talented and balanced, but it's now 1-2 due to the amazing suckage of Shaun Alexander who has barely eclipsed 100 total rushing yards in three games. If anyone out there could have forseen the Seahawks total offensive collapse, please come forward.

Being in New England, I watched the Giants/Seahawks game this afternoon. Up 6-0 at the half, you would think the Hawks would come out with a gameplan that consisted of a steady diet of Alexander left, Alexander right, Alexander up the gut. Instead, it was nothing but Dilfer incompletion left, incompletion right, etc. I think they ran Alexander about 3 times in the second half and it's not like they were coming from behind. I just don't understand it.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

As expected, my team fell to 2-1 because I had 4 players on byes and a hobbled Eddie George. This week, though, I'll be back to full strength, with only bench player Garrison Hearst on a bye.

The big decision for me will be whether to start Clinton Portis this week. I was very glad to see him do well (100+ yards and a TD) in his first opportunity. Hopefully, if Olandis Gary is out for this week's game Portis can solidify a starting position with another strong week.

 

[Tim Markley]

I thought that it was kinda funny that Davenport was the one that got all the carries for GB yesterday after everyone said that Mealey was the man. It just goes to show how much misinformation there is in professional sports. I'm sure that if I would've been counting on Mealey, I'd be pissed. You simply can't rely on the information that the teams give to the press, especially concerning injuries.

It was good to see Portis finally get some carries but I don't think it changes anything unfortunately (I have him in 3 leagues). He was getting the touches only because Gary got hurt. Shanahan had previously said that he was gonna go with the hot hand but I have a feeling that he'll go back to Gary. We'll see.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Oh boy, I whipped up this week. The numbers tell the story:
My score: 106 (w/Jeff Wilkins yet to play)
Opponent's score: 53
My QB's: 61
His QB's: -2
For those among you who aren't so mathematically inclined, this does indeed mean that I could have beaten him with just my QB's playing.

 

[Andrew_Sch]

Oh yeah, this week: Shaun Alexander against Minny or Charlie Garner against Tenn.? My gut says Garner, but Alexander could have the kind of week I've been waiting (and waiting) for and I don't want to miss out. I could sit Ahman Green and play them both, but he's a pretty safe bet against Carolina if he's healthy.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Lamar Smith gained over 150 yards against the Vikings pathetic defense, and you must have used your #1 pick on Alexander -- so play him. Is there any way you can play Alexander, Garner and Ahman Green? They should all be good starts this week, provided that Green is healthy.

Barring injuries, I will be starting Eddie George, Charlie Garner, Darrell Jackson, Hines Ward and Jerry Rice, along with QB Culpepper and TE Randy McMichael. That means I will be benching David Patten, Patrick Johnson, Koren Robinson, Garrison Hearst and Clinton Portis. I would like to start Portis, but would rather see him get the carries for more than one week in Denver before putting him in the lineup.

Hopefully Culpepper will come out of his funk. This was the first week where his turnovers really hurt my score, since he still piled up the points the first two weeks despite the fumbles and interceptions. I may try to swing a trade with Tom Brady's owner -- he also has Manning and needs lots of help at the skill positions. I was thinking of offering Jerry Rice and Brad Johnson for Brady. Any comments?

 

[Dean DeMass]

Warner is just killing my team (he is killing many other teams as well) and my backup is Kordell. I am ready to make a trade for either Brady or Bledsoe and bench Warner. I am going to offer Anthony Thomas and Kordell for either QB. Hopefully one of them will take the trade. The rest of my team is good, but Warner is killing me. Maybe I am jumping the gun here, but he has 1 TD to 7 INTs. I am sitting in last place because of the QB position. I can easily get out of it with Brady or Bledsoe.

My starters other than QB:

RB: George/Thomas (backups are Taylor/Portis/Dunn/Wells)
WR: Holt/Rice/Ward/Stallworth (backups are Driver/Franks/Morton)
K: Janikowski (backup is Nedney)
D: New Orleans or Green Bay

-Dean-

 

[BrianB]

Warner is just killing my team

Same here. Second pick in my non-HTF league, and I'm going nowhere. 0-3 so far :-(

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I would not give up Anthony Thomas to get a replacement for Warner just yet. Running backs like Thomas are golden in fantasy football -- he gets all the carries, plays on a good running team, and produces. Be patient with Warner. The Rams have too many weapons for this to continue.

My hopes for making a trade for Brady are on hold for a week -- his current owner also has Manning, who is on a bye this week. Hopefully Culpepper will come out of his funk.