March 6, 2010

Thanks again to FFF for giving the 2010 Trendsetters a chance to blog about Fantasy Football and their first draft of the year.

We whipped through another five rounds in a just a few days.  Let’s get to it!

Here are the rosters through 10 rounds:

Which is your favorite and why?

Here is what the grid looked like for rounds 6-10:  Team 1 picked first in round 6 and so on.

Team composition is always something I like to look at and breakdown. Here is how our teams stack up through 10 rounds. Note that DC style drafts usually differ at this point from standard drafts especially in the NFFC where QBs receive 6 points per TD Pass.





Rounds 6 and 7: I was looking RB all the way here since making the decision to take a TE in the 4th. I was looking at Sproles, Forsett, Hightower and Ricky Williams, all non-starters. I think they all end up with similar point totals under normal conditions so I drafted for upside.

• Rd 6: Sproles is likely on the move and hopefully to Washington where I can only hope he justifies this pick. I should have gone Maclin here. I really like what I saw toward the end of last year. He looked like he “fit” on the field. He knew where to be and really caught on quickly. Dang it!

• Rd 7: Forsett – he should see the field a lot more than JJ this year as he is much quicker and a danger to go all the way. Can he shoulder the load? It doesn’t look like it but he could flourish under Carroll. Upside pick and right now, I NEED him to come through.

Round 8: 2 WRs after 7 rounds is not usually how my teams look. It was time to add WR #3. There were several WRs who I have rated almost even so it really comes down to “the gut” at this point. This group of WRs is the reason I decided to go RB/RB in rounds 6-7. At this point my choice was between Hester or Britt. I toyed with Breaston right here but went with the WR with the better QB and more WR friendly system. Yeah, that’s the Bears and Cutler. Hester is going to get his targets under Martz and opportunities to get the ball in the open field. I’ll take him as my #3 this year.

Round 9: I had to take my 2nd QB here. I had no doubt that this time there would be a QB run. There had to be!  Here is who was left: Orton, Vince Young, Alex Smith, Leinart, Cassell, Henne, Vick….

Since I went with Eli as my starter, I didn’t feel I could afford to wait to see who was left for me. I needed to pick one from this group and my choice was between Orton and Vince Young. I went Orton because even with the loss of Marshall I still think he will continue to remain a steady QB.

Round 10: I was drawn to the WR I ended up taking. Not the most well known name but someone who was a big part of his team’s offense last year. He saw a large share of targets and I do not think that changes this offseason. I like my pick of Davone Bess at this point in the draft to be my #4 WR.

My Current Roster
QB: Eli Manning, Kyle Orton
RB: Pierre, Sproles, Forsett
WR: Wayne, V Jax, Hester, Bess
TE: Vernon Davis

I give myself a B- to C at this time because of the RB issue. See items #1, 3 and 4 below as the major factors leading to this grade.

Take out Sproles, Bess and Vernon Davis and insert McCoy, Maclin and Shockey and do you have a better team?

“Time Will Tell Thoughts” for my team after 10 rounds:

1.    Drafting Vernon Davis over LeSean McCoy – McCoy could have solidified my core and offered tremendous upside at the RB position.
2.    If there is no mini QB run I may have wasted my 5th round pick too when I had another chance to take McCoy.
3.    Pierre Thomas over Grant or Rivers.
4.    Sproles over Hightower, Ricky Williams, Carnell Williams or even the likely starting RB for SD, Tashard Choice. I suck!

Phase 3 of drafting begins March 22nd with team #14, Mark Moyer, on the clock.

Phase 1 of the draft is detailed in the previous thread. Please take a look and feel free to add your comments. We encourage you to do so and would like nothing more than to spur some fantasy football dialogue with the rest of you diehards.

Rob Benetti
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Article 1 - Feb 22, 2010
Introduction and Rounds 1-5

Thanks to Jules, Garret and James for giving me the chance to blog about Fantasy Football here at www.FantasyFreakinFootball.com

Some would say that this is an odd time to start a blog for fantasy football because doesn’t the Super Bowl signal the end of the season? Maybe, but I like to think that the SB signals the beginning of the next season. So as far as I am concerned, the clock has started on the 2010 Fantasy Football Season

So let’s draft!

For the second year in a row, 14 of us have decided to get the ball rolling a tad earlier than most. We created the Trendsetters League in 2009 to bridge the gap between the end of the previous year and the start of the “standard” FF draft season. This year we carry on that tradition with 13 original members and one newbie.

We draft our teams using a series of 6 draft phases each lasting 5 rounds. The first phase starts when the clock strikes zero on the SB clock and the last phase is scheduled to start on May 24th this year. We have phases before and after the NFL draft and include rookie slots from the very start. We draft using email and what basically amounts to a 24 hour timer, yet we finished phase 1, 5 rounds, in 3 days.

This is an official NFFC Satellite sporting a $125 entry fee with the winner receiving entry into the next years NFFC Main Event and second place getting their money back. We are using NFFC scoring and thanks again to Greg Ambrosius of Fanball for running our KDS and hosting this league.

Our first phase of drafting started immediately following the conclusion of Super Bowl #44 and was completed on Feb 10th as everyone was ready to go.

I picked 13th as I received my 5th choice after Greg ran our KDS. I set my KDS with 1-3 as my first three choices and would have taken one of; Chris Johnson, Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson. After 1-3, I requested backwards from 14, 13, 12, ….getting pick 13 is just fine with me, as in these DC’s I prefer to be near the turns and 13 is perfect.

Thanks to the rest of the Trendsetters for letting me discuss this league in an open forum. I hope that most or all of them will join in the discussion as we draft the first league of 2010.

Here are the 2010 Trendsetters:

So here are the first 5 rounds of the 2010 Trendsetters Draft:

Note: This leagues uses 3RR, 3rd Round Reversal, meaning team 14 picks first in Round 3 with the draft continuing its snake from that point on.

I will touch on my first 5 picks and then open it up to discussion.

Round 1: I went in 95% sure I would take a WR in this round. The only way I wasn’t going to do so was if one of two RBs dropped and they didn’t. When it was my choice to pick I almost felt compelled to draft Reggie Wayne. I feel he is the safest and most consistent player remaining on the board, which at pick 13 – is what I am targeting.

Round 2: I thought team 14 would take V Jax on the turn so I was a bit surprised he was there for me. I have him rated higher than Calvin Johnson mostly because of his situation. Rivers is an elite QB and Jackson is his go-to guy. Just like in round 1, I felt compelled to take Vincent Jackson.

Recap: Reggie Wayne and Vincent Jackson give me the best WR duo in the league. They are elite WR’s and in high powered offenses led by two of the best QBs in the game. Their consistency gives me the feeling I can take a chance or two in the coming rounds. Exactly what I was hoping for when I set my KDS.

• Ryan Grant – I think he would have been a safe pick for me here. I think he will provide consistent numbers and that may have been the better fit for my team? I would have had three players on great offensive teams that I could count to be fixtures in their schemes.

• Rivers was the last of the Big Boys at the QB position. I knew that if I didn’t pull the trigger here, I would be settling for the best duo I could find.

• Pierre Thomas – he was my upside pick. He was the back who I felt could be a fantasy difference maker if Bush leaves town. My hunch is that Bush goes to the highest bidder and even a 5% increase in production from Thomas over the course of a healthy season, could make him a top ten RB this year.

I went upside and drafted Pierre Thomas to go along with my WR duo. I now have three explosive and consistent players from three of the best O’s in the game. I am happy with my start.

Round 4: Lots of excellent players go before the draft gets back to me and to recap:

• 8 QBs have gone off the board leaving me as one of 6 teams without a higher quality starter. I have a few left on my board that I like more than others so I know I am going to take one before the draft leaves me in the 5th. I feel that the other six teams will take a QB before it gets back to me and I will be left with slim pickens. Again, this is a 30 round DC and QBs get 6 points per TD pass.

• Left at RB for consideration: LeSean McCoy (I should have taken?), Ronnie Brown or Fred Jackson. If I would have gone RB, it would have been McCoy.

• WR – I am still enamored with my duo and the group left does not compare to the available RBs.

• TE – I do believe that the depth at the TE position makes it easy to wait until later to take a TE but there are some TE’s whose consistency and level of involvement in their offenses makes them “must picks” at certain points in the draft.

I know I am going to take a QB on this “turn” but team 14 already has P. Manning so I can turn my attention to filling in my core.

I am feeling great with Wayne, Jackson and Pierre – I decide to take the best player available and another player with great upside and a system that now fits him, Vernon Davis.

Why a TE here? I know I am going to take Eli Manning in the 5th because he is the best QB available (more later on this). So the choice now is to solidify my backfield with either McCoy or Jackson or take the #1 TE in the game.

Round 5: I think I have a solid core of four and am committed to the fact that the RB position is the one that is going to have to suffer a bit but all the more reason I need to select the QB who I think can outperform some of the ones taken ahead of him.

I know that when the draft gets back to me in the 6th, that several more QBs will have dropped off the board leaving me with the likes of Leinart, Gerrard, Flacco and such. Had I not taken Eli in the 5th, I may have had to go back to back on the next turn (6 and 7) to secure two mediocre QBs?

Yes, I am banking on the fact that I believe that Eli take the next step with all of that young talent and be a good choice over McCoy who I could have taken.

After 5 rounds here is my team:

QB: Eli Manning
RB: Pierre Thomas (help coming soon)
WR: Reggie Wayne
WR: Vincent Jackson
TE: Vernon Davis

My team features a top 7 or 8 QB and two top 6 WRs to go along with the best fantasy TE for 2010. I think Thomas has top 10 potential if Bush departs and if not will finish in the top 18 offering just enough to keep me competitive if the rest of my core lives up to my expectations.

“Time Will Tell Thoughts” for my team after 5 rounds:

1. Drafting Vernon Davis over LeSean McCoy – McCoy could have solidified my core and offered tremendous upside at the RB position.
2. If there is no mini QB run I may have wasted my 5th round pick too when I had another chance to take McCoy.
3. Pierre Thomas over Grant or Rivers.

Phase 2 of drafting begins March 1st with team #1, Greg Morgan, on the clock.

I have invited the other 14 owners to stop by and share their thoughts on why they made the choices they did and what they think of some of the other teams starts.

Now lets rip this draft apart!

Rob Benetti
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