NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

Most fantasy football drafts are being held around now, so it's time to start our annual thread and keep the FF discussion out of the real NFL football discussion thread.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

We had our draft last night, and here's what I ended up with (1st pick in a 12 team league):

QB:Rivers, McNair, Culpepper
RB: LT, Portis, McAlister, Tatum Bell, Turner
WR: Fitzgerald, Cotchery, I. Bruce, Curry, Brandon Marshall, Crayton
TE: Heap
K: Gostkowski

I took a chance on Portis at 3.01, and felt very lucky to get Fitzgerald at 2.12 -- he was the last of the "stud" receivers on my list that was available. Harrison, Johnson, TO, Wayne, Smith and Holt were all gone, and the team in front of me took Roy Williams, to my delight. If Portis stays healthy, though, I should have two great RB's. My other choices were Edge (already had Fitz from the Cardinals) and Benson. Portis has more upside, IMO.

I didn't want to take Tatum Bell, but he was still there at 8.12, and the next best available RB was Leon Washington, so I had to take him (I hate drafting Lions).

I missed out on Ladell Betts to backup Portis, since he went way too early at 5.03, IMO. I was happy to see Michael Turner last until my 11.01 pick, though. His recent minor ankle injury scared off the vultures who usually take other team's handcuffs.

I'm not thrilled with my QB situation, but the QB run started early, and I got Rivers at the end of it, after Palmer, Brees, Brady, Bulger, McNabb were all gone. I decided to take Rivers at 5.01 (a little high), since only he, Romo and Roethlisberger were left on my list of QB's I wanted as a starter. None of them would have made it back to me at the 6.12/7.1 turn.

Comments?

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

Rock Cartwright? Hopefully, you took him with your last pick, Chuck. You really should have used the roster spot for Michael Bennett to backup LJ. If the pick made your wife happy, though, I guess it's worth it.

Alex, I'm hoping that Tatum Bell will have a couple of good games early (since Kevin Jones is on the PUP and will miss at least the first 6 weeks). If he does, I figure I can trade him to one of the Lions slappies in our league for more value than the 8.12 pick used on him. The guy who took Ladell Betts is a prime candidate. He's my 4th RB, so he'll be on my bench until the bye weeks start.


Shane, we draft individual defensive players instead of a team defense. We start four players -- 1 DL, 1 LB, 1 DB and 1 flex (DL, LB or DB). My four players are:

DL: Terrell Suggs
LB: Tatupa, Cooper (Chargers)
DB: Tillman (Chicago)

I never draft backup defensive players, tight ends or kickers. When the bye weeks start, we can move up to 2 players on bye weeks to the IR slots and pickup backups off the waiver wire. I can always find a one week fill in at those positions on the waiver wire.

Yes, my wide receivers are not spectacular, but Fitz and Cotchery should produce well. We start one RB, one WR, one TE and three flex players (RB/WR/TE), so my starters will be:

QB: Rivers (may start Culpepper Week 1 vs. Detroit, though)
RB: LT
WR: Fitz
Flex1: Cotchery
Flex2: Portis
Flex3: McAlister, Bruce or Curry (depending on matchups)
TE: Heap

Bell, Marshall and Crayton are bye week and injury fill-ins, and Turner is just protection in case LT gets injured. So, I like my starting lineup options, and if Terry Glenn's knee keeps acting up, Crayton could be a sleeper. I used a late pick on him, so he didn't cost me much. Same with Culpepper -- he was my 19th pick in a 20 round draft.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

Does your league give points for receptions, Gary? Ours does, and QB's get 6 points for TD's. Here is what the first round looked like:

1. LT (me)
2. SJax
3. Manning (this owner loves Manning)
4. LJ
5. Gore
6. Bush
7. Westbrook
8. Addai
9. Parker
10. Rudi
11. T Henry
12. Alexander

If I was in the third spot, I probably would have taken LJ, but I wouldn't have felt great about it. It's tough to pass up on that type of possible production, though.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

Gary,

We get a point per reception, as well as rushing/receiving yards points (1 point per 10 yards). So, in that situation, you can even make an argument for Westbrook or Bush at #3. I still think LJ is the safest pick for you, but I'm not real high on KC and his supporting cast, either, so I understand your concern. My take on the other options:

Addai -- too many options in the offense, and has not had to carry the full load in the past.

Gore -- Is he a one-year wonder? Has a long injury history.

Westbrook -- Seems to miss games every year.

Bush -- Shares the backfield with McAlister

Alexander -- Is he starting to hit that RB wall? Offensive line not as good as in his great years.

Parker -- Will offense change under new coaching staff? Can you really spend the #3 pick on him?

So, I still think LJ should go before all the above options. If you really do not like him though, my next choice would probably be Gore. That opinion may be slightly biased, though, since I have Gore in my dynasty league.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

Shane, I like your receivers and starting QB. Your running backs are a little weak, though. It looks like you went for the all "running back by committee" team.

Kyle, both your teams are stacked! Nice job!

While we are posting teams, here's my dynasty team. It's been pretty awful the past couple of years (I made some mistakes during our startup draft regarding the salary cap). This is the first season I feel that I can actually be competitive:

QB: Rivers, Campbell, Schaub
RB: Gore, Benson, MBIII, TJones, Leon Washington, Lorenzo Booker
WR: TO, Driver, Braylon Edwards, Greg Jennings, Mark Clayton, Meecham, Jacoby Jones
K: Wilkins
DL: Jason Taylor
LB: Urlacher, Poszlusky, Patrick Willis
DB: Antoine Winfield

We do not play a tight end in the above league.

I do need to cut a wide receiver before the season starts in the above dynasty league to get to a legal roster. It's a toss-up between Meecham and Jacoby Jones. I'm leaning towards dumping Meecham (my 2nd round rookie / free agent draft pick), since Jones has looked much better in the preseason.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

Alex,

I see you are on the Jason Witten bandwagon. I was actually targeting him in my money league, but for some reason the tight ends went later than usual. I got to my 7th pick and Todd Heap was still there, and there were no receivers or RB's that looked good at the spot, so I took him. Only Gates and Gonzales were off the board at that point, and the TE run usually happens in the 5th/6th round in this league.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

I'm not that big on Gonzales in a re-draft league. Other than one or two seasons, Indy's third receiver has not been as productive as you might think. Also, rarely are rookie WR's very productive their first year (I know there are exceptions, such as Moss, Boldin and Colston). Even Reggie Wayne was less than stellar his rookie year with the Colts. Finally, if Dallas Clark is healthy, he will eat into the receptions of the 3rd receiver in that offense.

Now, in a dynasty league, I think Gonzales is worthy of a roster spot. Just do not expect much out of him this season.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

I like Brandon Marshall, if he can stay healthy. He's supposed to replace Rod Smith as the #2 receiver in Denver. I drafted him as the 5th WR in my money league.

As for Matt Jones, can you say "bust"? I wouldn't waste a roster spot on him.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

So, how did everyone do in their first week?

In my case, I have a 33 point lead going into the two Monday Night games. My opponent has Carson Palmer, McGahee, Vernon Davis and Chris McAlister left. I have Fitzgerald, Todd Heap and Terrell Suggs remaining. So, the game is still in doubt -- which wouldn't have been the case if I'd left Ronald Curry in my lineup instead of starting Deuce McAllister. That move cost me 24 points.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

Well, I survived and won by 9 points with a less-than-inspiring first week effort from my team. More importantly, none of the rash of first week injuries hit my team, with the exception of my backup QB McNair (and I'm not sure if he'll miss any time). In each of the past two seasons, my money league team has been destroyed by injuries.

Re: NFL Fantasy Football 2007 Discussion Thread

Here are my starting dilemmas this week:

QB: Rivers @ New England or TGreen vs. Dallas?
Flex: Brandon Marshall vs. Oak, McAllister @ Tampa, Curry @ Den, Cotchery @ Balt. (pick two)

This is what I'm leaning towards:
QB: Green vs. Dallas
RB: Tomlinson @ NE
WR: Fitzgerald vs. Sea
Flex1: Portis @ Phi
Flex2: Cotchery @ Balt
Flex3: Marshall vs. Oak
TE: Heap vs. Jets

I'd really like to get McAllister in the lineup, though. I like his matchup this week at Tampa. However, I also like Marshall's matchup, and the Jets will have to throw on Baltimore (they certainly will not be able to run the ball), so I'm having a hard time benching Cotchery.

BTW, I also have Tatum Bell, Patrick Crayton and Isaac Bruce available for the flex spot, but am not really looking at them as options.

Opinions?