Are You Ready for Some (Fantasy) Football?
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James Joyner | Thursday, September 9, 2004 |
The NFL regular season kicks off tonight with a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game between the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriot s and the Indianapolis Colts.
I’m in two fantasy leagues this year, both involving collections of bloggers. I manage the “Beltway Bandits” of the Blogger Fantasy Football League (SoCal Lawyer, Commissioner) and the “Rodeo Clowns” of the Webloggers League (Sean Hackbarth, Commissioner).
The BFFL had its draft Thursday August 26. The league uses traditional scoring but has a slightly different starting player configuration: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, K, D/ST, DEF.
I drafted third of ten in a serpentine draft, meaning I had the 3rd, 7th, 3rd, 7th, etc. picks through sixteen rounds.
My picks:
RB Ahman Green, Packers
RB Fred Taylor, Jaguars
RB Dominack Davis, Texans
WR Steve Smith, Panthers
RB Rudi Johnson, Bengals
QB Trent Green, Chiefs
WR Keyshawn Johnson, Cowboys
QB Marc Bulger, Rams
WR Keenan McCardell, Bucs
RB Kevin Jones, Lions
WR Drew Bennett, Titans
TE Jason Whitten, Cowboys
TE Marcus Pollard, Colts
D/ST Denver Broncos
DB Brian Dawkins, Eagles
K John Hall, Redskins
I subsequently waived Dawkins to sign LB Donnie Edwards of the Chargers and waived McCardell (who is holding out with the Bucs) to pick up RB Lamar Gordon, who was traded from the Rams, where he was 3rd on the depth chart, to the Dolphins, where he is expected to start.
The team is incredibly deep at RB and somewhat thin at WR, especially in a league that starts three wideouts. My plan is to trade one or two RBs as the season progresses. I continue to believe RBs are the most valuable commodity in fantasy football. We’ll see how it works out.
The Webloggers League had its draft Friday September 3. It uses a traditional lineup plus a flex player: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR/RB, TE, D/ST, K.
I drafted 5th of 12 in a serpentine 15 round draft. My picks:
RB Ahman Green, Packers
WR Terrell Owens, Eagles
RB Corey Dillon, Pats
WR Laveranues Coles, Redskins
WR Koren Robinson, Seahawks
WR Isaac Bruce, Rams
TE Jeremy Shockey, Giants
QB Tom Brady, Patriots
RB Eddie George, Cowboys
RB Garrison Hearst, Broncos
WR Peter Warrick, Bengals
QB Jake Plummer, Broncos
WR Keenan McCardell, Bucs
D/ST Buffalo Bills
K Jay Feely, Falcons
I subsequently waived McCardell to pick up RB Gordon, as in the other league.
As in BFFL, I drafted my board and took the best talent available. There was a run on quarterbacks early and less depth at RB owing to the two additional owners.
This is only my second year of fantasy football and my second and third teams. My philosophy is: Draft your board, regardless of what others do; RBs and WRs above all; kickers and defense last, since, aside from one or two elites at both slots, there is almost no consistency in those positions from year-to-year and one can fish the waiver wires if necessary.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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