Shane “The Juggernaut” vs. Tuco “The Ugly”

• Both Fuelled by whiskey
• Both talk loudly when they win
• Both rant relentlessly about their losses
• Shane is a master of the Bad Beat Stories; Tuco let sure victory slip away numerous times
• Shane once accidentally text messaged his arch rival “I love you” (meant for his wife)
• Tuco was in a scheme that involved getting hung (to then be saved by “The Good”, they would then share the bounty on him once they escaped)

Introducing The Juggernaut

He founded the LPT some 10 months prior to this big night and everything was coming together perfectly. He had clinched the title of being the league’s first ever PLAYER OF THE YEAR just 30 minutes earlier (by securing a top 4 finish) and he was making sure everyone understood how big of a deal this was. The cry of “POY IS ALL-IN” resonated into the wee hours of the morning; Shane had reached the summit. He was the top dog, the best around, the one with all of the bragging rights.

Just like Tuco (The Bad’s character name in TGTBTY), Shane scores his fair share of wins. As much as he savours his triumphs, the next low point in Shane’s competitive endeavours always comes fast and strikes hard. He feels the highs considerably higher than anyone I have ever competed with and feels the lows harder than one would think fathomable.

Since winning the POY title, Shane’s focus has been on his big losses. From losing big pots to his arch nemesis Scott, to throwing his cards on the table in disgust and seeing them bounce back in his female opponent’s face, to hilarious Crown Royal fuelled rants about heads up grudge matches, there is no happy middle. The highlights and low lights of Shane’s part of this battle quite often turn ugly (and yet so entertaining!). Just like the LPT, he is the one that introduced us to the path of our upcoming clash; the 3-headed race that will change the dynamics of this ongoing struggle. Can Shane get out of his own way and become top dog once again?  If he succeeds, will we ever hear the end of it?

In 1966, Sergio Leone produced the Epic 3^rd part of the “Dollars” Spaghetti Western trilogy called; “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”. The instant classic (listed in Time Magazine’s “100 greatest movies of the last century”) pits the 3 main characters in a gun slinging roller coaster ride of a battle for money, gold and power. They form alliances, double cross each other and destroy everything in their path. The battle goes back and forth, with each taking turns at having the upper hand. In the end, the story brings the 3 characters to a final showdown. The winner of this last battle will lay claim to a treasure hidden by a now deceased Civil War soldier. The stake is two hundred thousand dollars in gold coins; the winner will take it all, the losers will be lucky to survive!

An epic battle of our own…

Over the years I have been submerged into a three way battle of my own. Although it might pale in comparison to the gun slinging murderous double crossing filled battle Leone staged, I, Tim and Shane have grown to compete at everything imaginable. The drama has not been lacking. With competitive pride and a few dollars in side bets at stake, the past 15 years have produced their fair share of drama. Just like the great movie, our latest competitive endeavour leads us to our biggest battle yet. All three of us are vying for the unclaimed title! Before we get into those details, the next three parts of this series will offer a closer look at our 3 combatants and set the stage for the “final battle” coming up…

For the 3rd part of this post, we will take a look at some of the best picks of the last 5 rounds of the draft and then I will present the league’s “Power Rankings”.

Rounds 10 through 15

The late rounds of Fantasy Football Drafts are pretty uneventful.  The chosen players are mostly Team Defenses, Kickers, backup Tight Ends and backup Quarterbacks.  However, there always seems to be a few great value picks that make their way into these late rounds.  Here are the ones that stand out from the TnT Bowl 2 draft:

Sidney Rice 11.7 (127):  Joe (Smokingjoe) gets a WR in the 11th Round that has the skills that could make him a solid WR2.

C.J. Spiller 12.3 (135):  (Black Pocket Nines) Spiller was electrifying as a fill in for the injured Fred Jackson late last year.  Even if we didn’t know that Jackson is now injured and gone for 6-8 weeks, Spiller was quite a steal in the 12th Round, a full 3 rounds later than his ADP.

Randy Moss 13.8 (152):  Ben (Skittles) picks up a future Hall of Fame WR that reportedly still has elite skills.  This is an awesome 13th Round pick, regardless of Moss’ ADP.

TnT Bowl 2 Power Rankings

As I stated in the first part of this post, Fantasy Football is the ultimate game of “I told you so”.  With this in mind, it seems quite fitting for me to finish this post by ranking the teams in order of strength.

A few notes on my ranking criteria:

• I am not factoring in how well I think the teams will be managed today (the first game of week two was played yesterday).
• Even though some teams may have had a number of “steals of the round” mentions, they still might not rank as one of the contending teams.
• I give strong value to RB’s.  Strength of starting RB’s and RB depth are key to winning Fantasy Football.
• WR’s are next in value.
• Stud TE’s and QB’s have strong value, the rest of the players for both positions are too interchangeable to factor heavily.
• I will hardly look at Defenses and Kickers when evaluating teams.  They are difficult to evaluate and typically there isn’t a huge gap between the 1st and 12th best player at these positions.

The three tiers of power

I have divided the teams into 3 separate tiers and there are an even 4 teams in each tier.  The teams are individually ranked but they are fairly interchangeable within their respective group.

Tier 1 – The true contenders

These are the four teams that should be in contention for the prize money (top 3 teams payout).

1) Black Pocket Nines

Black Pocket Nines
1.	(10)	Jimmy Graham(NO – TE)
2.	(15)	Jamaal Charles(KC – RB)
3.	(34)	Doug Martin(TB – RB)
4.	(39)	Jordy Nelson(GB – WR)
5.	(58)	Reggie Bush(Mia – RB)
6.	(63)	Tony Romo(Dal – QB)
7.	(82)	Pierre Garcon(Was – WR)
8.	(87)	Reggie Wayne(Ind – WR)
9.	(106)	Titus Young(Det – WR)
10.	(111)	Matt Schaub(Hou – QB)
11.	(130)	Jacquizz Rodgers(Atl – RB)
12.	(135)	C.J. Spiller(Buf – RB)
13.	(154)	New York(NYJ – DEF)
14.	(159)	Matt Bryant(Atl – K)

My thoughts:  To be honest I don’t think I had the best team in the league before Fred Jackson got hurt and propelled C.J. Spiller as the Buffalo Bills’ new featured Running Back (for a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks).  My Running Back core is now the most complete in the league.  I don’t have any A-List WR’s on my team but I do have 3 solid performers that will provide me with decent production.  I have the No.1 Fantasy Tight End in Jimmy Graham and Tony Romo is a good mid-tier QB.  There are a few weaknesses on my squad (no stud WR and no backup QB), but there are some on every other team as well.

2) Tim (Poolshark)

Poolshark
1.	(3)	Arian Foster(Hou – RB)
2.	(22)	Ryan Mathews(SD – RB)
3.	(27)	Julio Jones(Atl – WR)
4.	(46)	Michael Vick(Phi – QB)
5.	(51)	Percy Harvin(Min – WR)
6.	(70)	Antonio Brown(Pit – WR)
7.	(75)	Jason Witten(Dal – TE)
8.	(94)	DeAngelo Williams(Car – RB)
9.	(99)	Jay Cutler(Chi – QB)
10.	(118)	Malcom Floyd(SD – WR)
11.	(123)	Seattle(Sea – DEF)
12.	(142)	Greg Little(Cle – WR)
13.	(147)	Jason Hanson(Det – K)
14.	(166)	Toby Gerhart(Min – RB)

My thoughts:  Tim has drafted a well balanced team.  He has a potentially terrifying RB duo in Foster and Matthews.  It will be interesting to see how well Matthews plays this year after his return from a broken collarbone.  Julio Jones is being hyped as a WR that could rank as high as No.2 by season’s end.  Tim has a good QB duo in Vick and Cutler.  The biggest concern I would have for this team is its lack of depth at RB.  Success will depend on how well Matthews plays.  If he explodes like a lot of football experts are projecting, this might very well be a championship team.

3) Steve (redsteve138raiders)

redsteve138raiders
1.	(9)	Darren McFadden(Oak – RB)
2.	(16)	Matthew Stafford(Det – QB)
3.	(33)	Andre Johnson(Hou – WR)
4.	(40)	Frank Gore(SF – RB)
5.	(57)	Marques Colston(NO – WR)
6.	(64)	Vernon Davis(SF – TE)
7.	(81)	Torrey Smith(Bal – WR)
8.	(88)	David Akers(SF – K)
9.	(105)	Denarius Moore(Oak – WR)
10.	(112)	Chicago(Chi – DEF)
11.	(129)	Michael Bush(Chi – RB)
12.	(136)	Daniel Thomas(Mia – RB)
13.	(153)	Ryan Fitzpatrick(Buf – QB)
14.	(160)	LeGarrette Blount(TB – RB)

My thoughts:  Steve has some great weapons on his roster.  He has studs like McFadden and Andre Johnson that can steal him a win on any given week.  However, his team seems to be a bit thin at RB behind his starters.   Usually lack of depth at RB is a big problem, but in this case I feel like Steve has such depth at WR, that he could probably pull a trade and exchange one of his WR’s for a RB at some point during the season.  This is a case where lack of RB depth is countered by good overall depth.

4) Sheldon (P. Willis)

P. WILLIS
1.	(5)	LeSean McCoy(Phi – RB)
2.	(20)	Cam Newton(Car – QB)
3.	(29)	Trent Richardson(Cle – RB)
4.	(44)	Mike Wallace(Pit – WR)
5.	(53)	Aaron Hernandez(NE – TE)
6.	(68)	Dwayne Bowe(KC – WR)
7.	(77)	Jonathan Stewart(Car – RB)
8.	(92)	Kenny Britt(Ten – WR)
9.	(101)	Jake Locker(Ten – QB)
10.	(116)	Detroit(Det – DEF)
11.	(125)	Greg Olsen(Car – TE)
12.	(140)	Kendall Hunter(SF – RB)
13.	(149)	Rob Bironas(Ten – K)
14.	(164)	Cincinnati(Cin – DEF)

My thoughts:  Sheldon has a good mix of top end talent and big upside players.  Lesean Mccoy is a stud that should challenge for top fantasy RB of the year.  The rest of his lineup features explosive players that can all step up to the top echelon of their respective positions.  Aaron Hernandez could challenge for top TE status, Cam Newton might be the biggest upside QB in the league, Kenny Britt and Mike Wallace both had preseason issues but they both have landed in good situations to start the regular season.

Tier 2 – The also-ran’s

This tier contains 4 teams that should remain competitive all season but that will need a bit more good fortune than the teams in Tier 1 in order to take the TnT Bowl 2 title.  They are destined to fall just short of the hardware!

5) Shane (Juggernauts Revenge)

Juggernauts Revenge
1.	(6)	Calvin Johnson(Det – WR)
2.	(19)	Adrian Peterson(Min – RB)
3.	(30)	Eli Manning(NYG – QB)
4.	(43)	Dez Bryant(Dal – WR)
5.	(54)	Brandon Lloyd(NE – WR)
6.	(67)	Donald Brown(Ind – RB)
7.	(78)	Kevin Smith(Det – RB)
8.	(91)	Jacob Tamme(Den – TE)
9.	(102)	Philadelphia(Phi – DEF)
10.	(115)	Anquan Boldin(Bal – WR)
11.	(126)	Roy Helu(Was – RB)
12.	(139)	Alex Green(GB – RB)
13.	(150)	Nate Burleson(Det – WR)
14.	(163)	Tim Tebow(NYJ – QB)

My thoughts:  Shane’s roster is similar to Sheldon’s as it features a lot of depth at WR and has some top end talent in Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson.  This team also consists of high upside players like Brandon Lloyd and Anquan Boldin.  His RB’s are a bit thin, especially if Peterson has more knee troubles this season (he looked good in Week 1) but Shane has an abundance of solid Receivers.  As is the case with Sheldon, if Shane can pull off a deal sending one of his WR’s for a top RB2 type talent, he could make some serious noise.

6) Ben (Skittles)

Skittles
1.	(8)	Drew Brees(NO – QB)
2.	(17)	Larry Fitzgerald(Ari – WR)
3.	(32)	Roddy White(Atl – WR)
4.	(41)	Michael Turner(Atl – RB)
5.	(56)	Ahmad Bradshaw(NYG – RB)
6.	(65)	Fred Davis(Was – TE)
7.	(80)	Robert Griffin III(Was – QB)
8.	(89)	San Francisco(SF – DEF)
9.	(104)	Sebastian Janikowski(Oak – K)
10.	(113)	Rashard Mendenhall(Pit – RB)
11.	(128)	Santonio Holmes(NYJ – WR)
12.	(137)	Brent Celek(Phi – TE)
13.	(152)	Randy Moss(SF – WR)
14.	(161)	James Starks(GB – RB)

My thoughts:  Ben would be my sleeper pick to win it all this season.  His roster does not look like a contending group, but he has a lot of upside starters that could make his team very successful.  Larry Fitzgerald is a perennial force that should never be underestimated, Roddy White could very well succeed despite talks of him being overthrown by younger more dynamic teammate Julio Jones; Ahmad Bradshaw has all the tools to be a dominant featured back despite his injury woes and Randy Moss might become RANDY F’ing MOSS Again!!!

7) Mike (The Smashing Crew)

the smashmouth crew
1.	(2)	Aaron Rodgers(GB – QB)
2.	(23)	Steven Jackson(StL – RB)
3.	(26)	Wes Welker(NE – WR)
4.	(47)	Antonio Gates(SD – TE)
5.	(50)	Darren Sproles(NO – RB)
6.	(71)	Stevie Johnson(Buf – WR)
7.	(74)	Miles Austin(Dal – WR)
8.	(95)	Ryan Williams(Ari – RB)
9.	(98)	Beanie Wells(Ari – RB)
10.	(119)	New York(NYG – DEF)
11.	(122)	Matt Prater(Den – K)
12.	(143)	Ronnie Brown(SD – RB)
13.	(146)	Evan Royster(Was – RB)
14.	(167)	Sam Bradford(StL – QB)

My thoughts:  He has the best Fantasy QB, a WR with consecutive 100 catch seasons and 2 starting RB’s that catch a ton of balls out of the backfield.  Is Mike the only one that remembered that this is a Points Per Reception league!  Seriously, Mike has a great looking starting lineup.  If all of his starters can stay healthy (that is a huge if), Mike should contend for the championship, but I fear his demise will stem from his lack of depth at the key positions.

8) Bob (Catch the F’ing Ball)

Catch the F’ing Ball
1.	(11)	Matt Forte(Chi – RB)
2.	(14)	Maurice Jones-Drew(Jac – RB)
3.	(35)	Brandon Marshall(Chi – WR)
4.	(38)	Hakeem Nicks(NYG – WR)
5.	(59)	Philip Rivers(SD – QB)
6.	(62)	Peyton Hillis(KC – RB)
7.	(83)	Ben Tate(Hou – RB)
8.	(86)	Robert Meachem(SD – WR)
9.	(107)	Houston(Hou – DEF)
10.	(110)	Stephen Gostkowski(NE – K)
11.	(131)	Jared Cook(Ten – TE)
12.	(134)	Carson Palmer(Oak – QB)
13.	(155)	Buffalo(Buf – DEF)
14.	(158)	Dustin Keller(NYJ – TE)

My thoughts:  I designate Bob’s team as the “All What If’s” team.

• What if Forte plays like an elite back again this year and ends up being a top 5 RB?
• What if Maurice Jones-Drew has another huge season left in him?
• What if Brandon Marshall rekindles that spark with Jay Cutler that made them so special in Denver?
• What if Jamaal Charles reinjures himself and Peyton Hillis becomes the main Back in Kansas City?
• What if Foster gets hurt in Houston and Ben Tate cuts in?
• What if Phillip Rivers comes out rejuvenated this year?

In poker terms, Bob has like 5 consecutive huge draws he needs to hit to be the year end champion.  He is probably a slight favorite to hit each individual draw, but can he hit ALL OF THEM?

Tier 3; The thin draws: The four remaining teams have a shot at winning the title but in order for this to happen, they need a lot of things to break their way OR they need one or two very improbable things to go their way.  Again in poker terms they are on a THIN DRAW.

9) Joe (Smoking Joe)

SmokingJoe
1.	(7)	Tom Brady(NE – QB)
2.	(18)	DeMarco Murray(Dal – RB)
3.	(31)	Victor Cruz(NYG – WR)
4.	(42)	Shonn Greene(NYJ – RB)
5.	(55)	Eric Decker(Den – WR)
6.	(66)	Brandon Pettigrew(Det – TE)
7.	(79)	Stevan Ridley(NE – RB)
8.	(90)	Mark Ingram(NO – RB)
9.	(103)	Darrius Heyward-Bey(Oak – WR)
10.	(114)	Pittsburgh(Pit – DEF)
11.	(127)	Sidney Rice(Sea – WR)
12.	(138)	Dan Bailey(Dal – K)
13.	(151)	Josh Freeman(TB – QB)
14.	(162)	Owen Daniels(Hou – TE)

My thoughts:  Joe made some very nice value picks in this draft but his overall roster is pretty underwhelming.  Tom Brady is the lone marquee player in his lineup.  Although Stevan Ridley is one of my favorite picks of the entire draft, his team doesn’t feature enough upside guys to compensate for his lack of star power.

10) Dan (Primetime)

Primetime
1.	(12)	Marshawn Lynch(Sea – RB)
2.	(13)	A.J. Green(Cin – WR)
3.	(36)	Willis McGahee(Den – RB)
4.	(37)	Greg Jennings(GB – WR)
5.	(60)	BenJarvus Green-Ellis(Cin – RB)
6.	(61)	Vincent Jackson(TB – WR)
7.	(84)	Tony Gonzalez(Atl – TE)
8.	(85)	Joe Flacco(Bal – QB)
9.	(108)	Rashad Jennings(Jac – RB)
10.	(109)	Andy Dalton(Cin – QB)
11.	(132)	Jermaine Gresham(Cin – TE)
12.	(133)	Justin Blackmon(Jac – WR)
13.	(156)	Garrett Hartley(NO – K)
14.	(157)	New Orleans(NO – DEF)

My thoughts:  This team is similar to Joe’s in that it is lacking in super star power.  If you’re going to have a bunch of “ho-hum” talent RB needs to be a position of strength.  Dan does have a very good group of WR’s but I think his lack of RB start power is going to keep his team grounded.

11)  Roger (Ray Finkle)

Ray Finkle
1.	(1)	Ray Rice(Bal – RB)
2.	(24)	Peyton Manning(Den – QB)
3.	(25)	Fred Jackson(Buf – RB)
4.	(48)	Jermichael Finley(GB – TE)
5.	(49)	DeSean Jackson(Phi – WR)
6.	(72)	Demaryius Thomas(Den – WR)
7.	(73)	Isaac Redman(Pit – RB)
8.	(96)	Ben Roethlisberger(Pit – QB)
9.	(97)	Mike Williams(TB – WR)
10.	(120)	Mason Crosby(GB – K)
11.	(121)	New England(NE – DEF)
12.	(144)	Heath Miller(Pit – TE)
13.	(145)	Jahvid Best(Det – RB)
14.	(168)	Alex Smith(SF – QB)

My thoughts:  There are some intriguing elements to Roger’s squad.  He has the best overall Fantasy RB in Ray Rice, a QB in Peyton Manning that has a fighting chance to complete the greatest comeback the NFL has seen in decades, and a tight end in Jermichael Finley that is poised to break out.  Unfortunately this trio doesn’t have the supporting cast to make this team a serious threat.  A longshot to win it all, let’s hope this self-admitted Fantasy Football newbie has a competitive season and that he gets good enough results to be interested in playing this great game for years to come.

Your turn

It is your turn to defend your squad, call me an idiot or challenge me to a prop bet that proves me wrong (or right) about your club. As always, you can comment or contact me here.  Good Luck!!!

For Part 2 of this post, we will examine Rounds 6 through 9 of the draft.  These middle rounds are pivotal to building a competitive team that will hold up throughout the fantasy football season.  The key is to not overpay for players in order to fill out your starting roster.  Due to position scarcity, it is often more valuable to build depth at RB and WR BEFORE drafting your TE1 and QB1 to fill out your starting roster.  Most owners don’t buy into this theory and reach for their starting QB or TE too early.  Sharp owners can benefit from this tendency.

Round 6
1.	Vincent Jackson(TB – WR)	Primetime
2.	Peyton Hillis(KC – RB)	Catch the F’…
3.	Tony Romo(Dal – QB)	Black Pocket…
4.	Vernon Davis(SF – TE)	redsteve138r…
5.	Fred Davis(Was – TE)	Skittles
6.	Brandon Pettigrew(Det – TE)	SmokingJoe
7.	Donald Brown(Ind – RB)	Juggernauts …
8.	Dwayne Bowe(KC – WR)	P. WILLIS
9.	Andrew Luck(Ind – QB)	Konkey Dicks
10.	Antonio Brown(Pit – WR)	Poolshark
11.	Stevie Johnson(Buf – WR)	the smashmou…
12.	Demaryius Thomas(Den – WR)	Ray Finkle

Round 6 notes:  We had an interesting 3 player TE run in this round and the rest of it featured mostly what I call “catch up WR’s”.  Some owners will feel the pain from sacrificing upper end WR’s in the previous rounds to get non-stud QB’s and TE’s.  The WR pool was deep in this year’s draft but the one’s remaining at this point come with question marks.

Steal of the round:  Mike (smashmouth crew)  has been playing the TnT bowls since we started them a few years ago and he is a regular at the LPT poker games.  Mike shows why he always seems to be in contention in our league with a shrewd pick here in Stevie Johnson 6.11 (71).  Johnson had a case of the “drops” last season but his skill set is elite and he has WR1 upside.

Reach of the round:  Chris (Konkey Dicks) picked up Andrew Luck way too early.  There are at least 4 better fantasy QB’s left on the board and at least one of those should be available in Round 9.  I understand the value of getting a good backup QB, but if Chris was adamant about getting Luck for his backup QB, he could have waited a few more rounds to get him.

My pick:  For some of the same reasons I dislike Chris’ pick in this round, I am not totally pleased with mine.  I did get Romo 6.3 (63) near his ADP, but I don’t think he is the remaining QB that holds optimal value in this spot.  I was very high on Stevan Ridley, but I thought there might be a chance of getting him in the 7th round.  If you look ahead, you will notice that only one more QB was taken between my Romo pick and my 8th round pick and that Ridley was was indeed grabbed before my 7th round pick.  I like Romo, I think he will give me decent fantasy production, but value wise this was my biggest mistake of the draft.

Round 7
1.	Isaac Redman(Pit – RB)	Ray Finkle
2.	Miles Austin(Dal – WR)	the smashmou…
3.	Jason Witten(Dal – TE)	Poolshark
4.	Cedric Benson(GB – RB)	Konkey Dicks
5.	Jonathan Stewart(Car – RB)	P. WILLIS
6.	Kevin Smith(Det – RB)	Juggernauts …
7.	Stevan Ridley(NE – RB)	SmokingJoe
8.	Robert Griffin III(Was – QB)	Skittles
9.	Torrey Smith(Bal – WR)	redsteve138r…
10.	Pierre Garcon(Was – WR)	Black Pocket…
11.	Ben Tate(Hou – RB)	Catch the F’…
12.	Tony Gonzalez(Atl – TE)	Primetime

Round 7 notes:  At this stage, most owners are scrambling to fill out their skill position starting rosters. Others are still looking to string value picks together.

Steal of the round:  I mentioned Stevan Ridley 7.7 (79)  earlier, I think Joe (SmokingJoe) gets the value pick of the entire draft here.   This spot is near Ridley’s ADP, but I think he is extremely undervalued by most Fantasy Football players.  Ridley is a featured back in an explosive offense that has not run the ball much the past few years only because they lacked the personnel.  Ridley has an average RB2 floor but his ceiling is as high as a bottom RB1.

Reach of the round:  Bob (Catch the F’ing ball) is another regular in the TnT bowls that rarely misses a Lewisville Poker Tour event.  I think he reached a bit with Ben Tate 7.11 (83) here.  There are still some starting RB’s left on the board and Tate would probably still be available in another round or so.  I wouldn’t mind this pick as much if it was a handcuff to Arian Foster, but as is, this is a pretty big reach.

My pick:  Pierre Garcon 7.10 (82) is my 2nd WR.  Picking him as a starting WR is risky.  Having a questionable starting WR is the price I paid for grabbing an elite TE in round 1 and not waiting until later to draft my starting QB.  That being said, Garcon has tremendous upside.  I think Washington’s offense will surprise many with rookie RG3 playing under center.  I like this pick and feel that Garcon represented the most value in this spot.

Round 8
1.	Joe Flacco(Bal – QB)	Primetime
2.	Robert Meachem(SD – WR)	Catch the F’…
3.	Reggie Wayne(Ind – WR)	Black Pocket…
4.	David Akers(SF – K)	redsteve138r…
5.	San Francisco(SF – DEF)	Skittles
6.	Mark Ingram(NO – RB)	SmokingJoe
7.	Jacob Tamme(Den – TE)	Juggernauts …
8.	Kenny Britt(Ten – WR)	P. WILLIS
9.	David Wilson(NYG – RB)	Konkey Dicks
10.	DeAngelo Williams(Car – RB)	Poolshark
11.	Ryan Williams(Ari – RB)	the smashmou…
12.	Ben Roethlisberger(Pit – QB)	Ray Finkle

Round 8 notes:  Rosters are getting filled out, high upside players are rightfully being targeted in this round.

Steal of the round:  I hated Roger’s (Ray Finkle) 1st QB pick of the draft but I love this one.  Ben Roethlisberger 8.12 (96) is a proven QB with a full arsenal of receiving threats on a team with a questionable running game.  Big Ben is a huge bargain in the 8th round even though it is relatively near his ADP.

Reach of the round:  The 8th round is way too early for Steve (redsteve138raiders) to take a kicker.  I understand he might have been content with his starting roster, but building DEPTH in the skill positions is where the value is in the 8th round.

My pick:  Reggie Wayne 8.3 (87) is a good WR3 with high WR2 upside.  It looks like WR will be the biggest weakness of my squad and Wayne helps fill the void.

Round 9
1.	Mike Williams(TB – WR)	Ray Finkle
2.	Beanie Wells(Ari – RB)	the smashmou…
3.	Jay Cutler(Chi – QB)	Poolshark
4.	Green Bay(GB – DEF)	Konkey Dicks
5.	Jake Locker(Ten – QB)	P. WILLIS
6.	Philadelphia(Phi – DEF)	Juggernauts …
7.	Darrius Heyward-Bey(Oak – WR)	SmokingJoe
8.	Sebastian Janikowski(Oak – K)	Skittles
9.	Denarius Moore(Oak – WR)	redsteve138r…
10.	Titus Young(Det – WR)	Black Pocket…
11.	Houston(Hou – DEF)	Catch the F’…
12.	Rashad Jennings(Jac – RB)	Primetime

Round 9 notes:  Defenses and Kickers are starting to stream in with the skill position players in this round.

Steal of the round:  Steve (redsteve138raiders) gets the best Raiders receiver in Denarius Moore 9.9 (105).  Moore is injured to start the season and Oakland is a run first team, but Moore is a young talent with a great skill set.  This is a good upside pick, a real steal in the 9th round.

Reach of the round:  None 

My pick:  Young is a high upside WR that plays in a high scoring Offense.  He will never overtake Calvin Johnson as the main guy in Detroit, but he could produce decent numbers as Detroit’s 2nd WR if he can gain control of that role.

A recap of my first 9 picks

Here is my roster after the first 9 rounds:

Black Pocket Nines
1.	(10)	Jimmy Graham(NO – TE)
2.	(15)	Jamaal Charles(KC – RB)
3.	(34)	Doug Martin(TB – RB)
4.	(39)	Jordy Nelson(GB – WR)
5.	(58)	Reggie Bush(Mia – RB)
6.	(63)	Tony Romo(Dal – QB)
7.	(82)	Pierre Garcon(Was – WR)
8.	(87)	Reggie Wayne(Ind – WR)
9.	(106)	Titus Young(Det – WR)

My lineup is shaping up nicely, but I do have some problems.  I seem pretty light at WR and my two starting RB’s are dynamic but Charles doesn’t get a ton of carries and Martin is unproven at the Pro Level.  All of this stems from my doing two uncharacteristic things in this draft:

a) I Drafted a non RB/WR in the first round.  My hand was kind of forced, Graham was too good to pass up.

b) I didn’t wait for a high value late draft QB (like Griffin or Roethlisberger).

I still think I have had a pretty good draft, but I a couple of my high upside picks need to hit for me to be a prime contender.  Hopefully I land on a few gems in the final five rounds.

What’s next?

Part 3, the final installment of this series, will feature a general overview of the late rounds of the draft. I will wrap things up by ranking the top four teams drafted.

Your Turn

Do you agree with my analysis thus far?  Want to stand up for one of your picks that landed in the “reach of round” category?  I would love to hear you thoughts in the comments.

Fantasy Football season is a great time of the year for sports fans. The Fantasy Draft is where we lay the groundwork for the ultimate armchair athlete season. The start of the NFL regular season is just a month away and most fantasy drafts taking place in the upcoming weeks; it’s time to get ready!

It sucks to leave your draft hating your team. Overreaching for players that could have been picked 4 rounds later, drafting injured players while thinking they are fully healthy and not being aware of player movement are all things that can crush your chances of fielding a competitive team. To help you avoid these pitfalls, I have written a quick guide on how to get ready for the BIG DAY.

Fantasy Football draft resources

The fantasy football magazine

The most common way to get your draft day information is to purchase a good Fantasy Football magazine. Although they all follow a pretty generic format, make sure to pick one featuring a cheat sheet that ranks the top 300 players or so. I also recommend choosing a magazine that ranks players by positional tiers. Tiers are used to group players playing a specified position with similar projections. This classification helps you figure out which player you should target if you miss out on the one you had on your “must own list”. Here are the top 3 magazines I recommend:

• Footballguys.com’s draft guide
• Athlon sports fantasy football guide
• Fantasy football index

The online football website

Online websites have an edge on magazines because they offer late breaking news on player movement and position battles. The downside to most Fantasy Football websites is that they typically charge a fee for things like player projections and draft cheat sheets. Some of my favorite sites:

• Yahoo Fantasy Football
• Rotoworld.com
• Footballguys.com

Basic fantasy football strategy

Although there are countless factors that will influence your draft, focusing on the following 3 simple tips will help you draft a competitive squad.

Consider your league’s settings

Roster settings

The standard fantasy football league features twelve teams. Each team must field 2 running backs, 2 wide receivers, a tight end, a kicker and a team defense for their weekly starting lineup. If your league is setup with this lineup configuration, the standard advice given in all the draft guides apply. If your league applies some tweaks to these settings you must adjust accordingly. For instance, if your league starts 2 weekly quarterbacks, you must give quarterbacks more value and draft them earlier. If your league uses a flex position (an extra starter at RB or WR), you must value these positions a bit more.

Scoring settings

Most Fantasy Football leagues use a very common scoring system . Compare your league’s scoring settings to the one in the link. Just like for the roster settings, you must adjust your drafting strategy for any tweaks your league might apply. For instance, some leagues credit players with a point per pass receptions (commonly known as PPR leagues). In this case, Wide Receivers, Tight Ends and Running Backs that catch a lot of passes get a boost in value. Avoid following your favorite draft day cheat sheet blindly without examining your league’s scoring rules, doing so could be the equivalent to comparing apples and oranges.

Position scarcity

One of the most important concepts in evaluating your draft picks is position scarcity. When there is a shortage of good fantasy players in a given position YOU MUST COVET THEM. This explains why stud Running Backs are so valuable (there are not that many of them and most leagues start 2 each week) and why most experts advise you to draft them early and often. Quarterbacks are often the opposite. There are so many QB’s that are projected to produce a lot of fantasy points that you should probably hold off drafting them in the early rounds of your draft.

Value based drafting

Value based drafting is a simple yet misunderstood concept. Projected fantasy points scored is not the only criteria to consider. Draft players that will outperform the remaining players THAT PLAY THE SAME POSITION and you will have a very successful fantasy football season. For example, if there is a Quarterback still on the board projected to score 20 points per week and a Running Back on the board projecting at 16 points, it is possible that drafting the Running Back is your best move if there are very few quality Running Backs left to draft and that a high number of quality Quarterbacks are available.

For goodness sake, relax and have some fun!!!

To have the most knowledge and to be the most prepared for the draft does not mean you are a shoo-in to win your league. Variance plays a big role in fantasy sports. Injuries, trades, and inexplicable busts are all factors that make fantasy football quite difficult to predict. So pick your team’s Running Back a round or two early, allow yourself to pick your fantasy sports crush ahead of his projected slot and trash talk away for the ensuing 17 football weeks. There will only be a couple of winners, but for the rest, the ups and downs of the Fantasy Football Season should offer plenty of value far beyond the prize pool of their fantasy football league.

Your Turn

Have any questions? Comments? Opinion on this post or anything Fantasy Football related?  Please share your thoughts in the comments thread.