Apolyton Fantasy Football D/ST League Draft

[snoopy369]

I dislike having too many bench slots, because then the waiver wire is utterly useless, and there's very little strategy required with who to keep/drop. This is the absolute most you should have, particularly in a fourteen team league; as it is the waiver wire is pretty bland. Add two more bench spots and you might as well give up on ever acquiring a player off it.

IDP has a similar problem, actually; as nobody really picks up defensive reserves, almost everyone has five or six RBs and WRs, many of us will have three QBs, and even TEs will have backups on basically every team. Fairly few useful players will be available on the wire.

Having good players on the wire makes things a lot more interesting. Think Rashard Mendenhall last year, for example. With a deeper bench, he'd have been stashed on someone's bench , but because of the shallower bench, the decision had to be made whether to keep a player with more likely playing time or a player with potential but no role currently...

[snoopy369]

Think about the numbers. If we have 16, that's 2 QB 4-5 RB 4-5 WR 1-2 TE 2 DEF 1 K. At 14 teams that's 4.5*14 = 63 RBs and 63 WRs. Nearly 2 RBs for every team in the NFL. Add two roster spots (28 players) and you'll add:
* Every starting QB plus several non-starting QBs will be on a team
* Another 7 RBs and 7 WRs - so now we've got random WR3s and RB3s? Of course not, those 7 RBs and 7 WRs are nearly all going to be fringe prospects (more so in RB than WR as some WR3 are useful).
* 2 TE on nearly every team now - so no pass catching TE is going to be available
* Some teams will have 3 DEFs; there are only 32 of them, after all. Don't even think of picking one up off waivers, or playing matchups.

With a bench of 14 we'd have:
2 QBs, 4 RBs, 4 WRs, 1-2 TE, 1-2 DEF, 1 K
give or take. Still have three backup RB/WR for bye weeks, and either a backup TE or DEF. But now there are some DEFs on the waivers (as it stands, only around 4 DEFs will be on waivers), there will be a QB or two worth picking up, and we're only using 4*14=56 RBs, so less than 2 RBs per team (and less than 2 WRs per team).

14 is a pretty slim bench, sure, and 15 is quite reasonable - one more RB/WR backup, basically - but either way the wire is much more interesting than with 16, or god forbid 18.

[-Jrabbit]

It's a balancing act to be sure. Too deep a bench and the waiver wires are basically a joke; too shallow and a poorly-researched draft can be fixed without much consequence. I like to see the waiver wires used for more than bye-week kickers. The number of teams in the league makes a huge difference as well, e.g. 32 fewer free agents in 14-team vs 12-team leagues.

BTW, with 20 picks left, the 12-team IDP has 14 defensive bench players rostered. It's true that most players use roster spots originally intended for backup defenders for skill positions - but at least it's a choice. You could argue that some strategy is involved (WR6 vs TE2 vs LB3 vs QB3, blah blah).

Last year in IDP, we saw how the QB scarcity changed things with 14 teams. And yes, the waiver wires were very thin. Now we see it's arguably even worse in D/ST, as team defenses are in even shorter supply than QBs.

IDP currently has 22 roster slots -- 6 more than D/ST. Those slots were intended to cover 4 extra starters (5 IDPs vs 1 team D) and two defensive reserves. It does give managers some strategic flexibility in terms of positional distribution, which I like because the teams are not all cookie-cutter copies of each other structurally. But it might make sense to return to the days when keeping your main kicker or defense rostered on a major bye week was a tough call.

It seems pretty clear to me that 14-team leagues really highlight the problems. Perhaps the best approach is to standardize bench depth for 12-team configurations and adjust downward if there are 14.

[MRT144]

So who wants to do a preseason ranking of the fantasy teams? Al , I know you love doing that ****.

[Al B. Sure!]

Ranking? I don't know about all that. Here's the teams in draft order:

Jonny
QB: Eli Manning, Vince Young
RB: Chris Johnson, Michael Bush, Chester Taylor
WR: Desean Jackson, Chad Ochocinco, Percy Harvin, Jerricho Cotchery, Louis Murphy, Josh Cribbs
TE: Kellen Winslow, Kevin Boss
D/ST: Steelers, Colts
K: Mason Crosby

Berzerker
QB: Donovan McNabb, Alex Smith
RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, Ryan Grant, Joseph Addai, Steve Slaton, Kareem Huggins
WR: Wes Welker, Derrick Mason, Dexter McCluster, Donnie Avery, Greg Camarillo
TE: Vernon Davis, Greg Olsen
D/ST: Jets
K: Rob Bironas

Snoopy369
QB: Jay Cutler, Chad Henne
RB: Ray Rice, Pierre Thomas, LeSean McCoy, Darren McFadden, Fred Taylor
WR: Roddy White, Malcolm Floyd, Kenny Britt, Mike Williams (TB), Anthony Gonzalez
TE: John Carlson
D/ST: Ravens, Dolphins
K: Robbie Gould

Flash9286
QB: Kevin Kolb, David Garrard
RB: Adrian Peterson, Justin Forsett, Ahmad Bradshaw, Larry Johnson
WR: Reggie Wayne, Brandon Marshall, Mike Wallace, Braylon Edwards, Devin Thomas, Golden Tate
TE: Chris Cooley
D/ST: Denver, Patriots
K: Dan Carpenter

Jaguar
QB: Peyton Manning, Matt Cassel, Matthew Stafford
RB: Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, Clinton Portis, Arian Foster
WR: Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, TJ Houshamdzadeh, Steve Breaston
TE: Heath Miller, Jeremy Shockey
D/ST: Bears, Cardinals
K: Ryan Succup

Al B. Sure!
QB: Brett Favre, Jason Campbell
RB: Frank Gore, Shonn Greene, Fred Jackson, Marion Barber
WR: Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Chaz Schilens, Devin Aromashodu, Bernard Berrian, Jabar Gaffney
TE: Zach Miller (OAK), Tony Scheffler
D/ST: Browns
K: Lawrence Tynes

MRT
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Moore
RB: CJ Spiller, Jerome Harrison, Tim Hightower, Darren Sproles
WR: Calvin Johnson, Marques Colston, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Mohamed Massaquoi, James Jones, Legedu Naanee
TE: Antonio Gates
D/ST: Chargers
K: Sebastian Janikowski

Spaced Cowboy
QB: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart
RB: Michael Turner, DeAngelo Williams, Ben Tate, Kevin Smith, Julius Jones
WR: Steve Smith (CAR), Mike Sims-Walker, Nate Burleson, Davone Bess, Roy Williams
TE: Jermichael Finley, Todd Heap
D/ST: Cowboys
K: Nate Kaeding

OzzyKP
QB: Drew Brees, Trent Edwards
RB: Cedric Benson, Ricky Williams, LaDainian Tomlinson, Donald Brown, Willis McGahee
WR: Andre Johnson, Hakeem Nicks, Eddie Royal, Victor Cruz
TE: Dallas Clark, Jermaine Gresham
D/ST: Eagles, Bills
K: David Akers

joncha
QB: Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton
RB: Rashard Mendenhall, Ronnie Brown, Reggie Bush, Leon Washington
WR: Sidney Rice, Lee Evans, Robert Meachem, Julian Edelman
TE: Visanthe Shiancoe, Brandon Pettigrew
D/ST: Packers, Seahawks
K: Garrett Hartley

duke o'york
QB: Matt Schaub, Matt Hasselbeck
RB: Knowshon Moreno, Brandon Jacobs, John Conner, Jason Snelling
WR: Miles Austin, Hines Ward, Demaryius Thomas, Chris Chambers
TE: Brent Celek, Benjamin Watson
D/ST: Vikings, Saints
K: Ryan Longwell, Kris Brown

Imran
QB: Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger
RB: Steven Jackson, Beanie Wells, Montario Hardesty, Bernard Scott
WR: Steve Smith (NYG), Santana Moss, Pierre Garcon, Jeremy Maclin, Jacoby Jones, Laurent Robinson
TE: Tony Gonzalez
D/ST: Bengals, Texans
K: Matt Prater

Guynemer
QB: Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez
RB: Jonathon Stewart, Felix Jones, Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Vincent Jackson, Terrell Owens, Austin Collie, Mario Manningham
TE: Jason Witten, Dustin Keller
D/ST: 49ers, Buccaneers
K: Adam Vinatieri

Slowwhand
QB: Tom Brady, Sam Bradford
RB: Ryan Matthews, Jahvid Best, Thomas Jones, Cadillac Williams, Toby Gerhart
WR: Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Santonio Holmes, Dez Bryant, Kevin Walter
TE: Owen Daniels
D/ST: Giants, Panthers
K: Stephen Gostkowski


Ranking is silly... I clearly have the best team

[OzzyKP]

So who wants to do a preseason ranking of the fantasy teams? Al , I know you love doing that ****.

I'd like to see someone do it.

[MRT144]

Imran coincidentally picked both my keepers in CFC for his running backs; Jackson and Wells.

[Al B. Sure!]

I'll give my thoughts...

Jonny
QB: Eli Manning, Vince Young
RB: Chris Johnson, Michael Bush, Chester Taylor
WR: Desean Jackson, Chad Ochocinco, Percy Harvin, Jerricho Cotchery, Louis Murphy, Josh Cribbs
TE: Kellen Winslow, Kevin Boss
D/ST: Steelers, Colts
K: Mason Crosby

Pretty solid team. A little weak at RB with only 3 guys, with only 1 of them a full-time starter, although it's arguably the best back in football. Receiver corps could've been better considering the lack of depth at RB but can never complain about some of the most explosive players in the game with Jackson, Harvin, and heck, even Cribbs.


Berzerker
QB: Donovan McNabb, Alex Smith
RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, Ryan Grant, Joseph Addai, Steve Slaton, Kareem Huggins
WR: Wes Welker, Derrick Mason, Dexter McCluster, Donnie Avery, Greg Camarillo
TE: Vernon Davis, Greg Olsen
D/ST: Jets
K: Rob Bironas

Very RB-heavy. I imagine he's going to start all 3 RB's, especially since the WR's aren't the greatest. Quite strong at TE and has the best defense in football.


Snoopy369
QB: Jay Cutler, Chad Henne
RB: Ray Rice, Pierre Thomas, LeSean McCoy, Darren McFadden, Fred Taylor
WR: Roddy White, Malcolm Floyd, Kenny Britt, Mike Williams (TB), Anthony Gonzalez
TE: John Carlson
D/ST: Ravens, Dolphins
K: Robbie Gould

Not a very impressive team on paper but things rarely turn out how they appear in August. McCoy and Thomas could both very well be stars, as could Floyd in Vincent Jackson's absence, and Kenny Britt in his sophmore year.


Flash9286
QB: Kevin Kolb, David Garrard
RB: Adrian Peterson, Justin Forsett, Ahmad Bradshaw, Larry Johnson
WR: Reggie Wayne, Brandon Marshall, Mike Wallace, Braylon Edwards, Devin Thomas, Golden Tate
TE: Chris Cooley
D/ST: Denver, Patriots
K: Dan Carpenter

The team that I thought was hands down the best for most of the draft but later picks (like all the Redskins) were a bit lackluster. Still, AP, Wayne, Marshall... that's a hell of a combo of players.


Jaguar
QB: Peyton Manning, Matt Cassel, Matthew Stafford
RB: Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, Clinton Portis, Arian Foster
WR: Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, TJ Houshamdzadeh, Steve Breaston
TE: Heath Miller, Jeremy Shockey
D/ST: Bears, Cardinals
K: Ryan Succup

Jaguar mightaswell re-name his team the Kansas City Chiefs. The 3 QB's is an interesting choice, especially since Peyton Manning never gets injured. A lot is riding on Jamaal Charles not being a one-hit wonder, though, with this team. If Charles flames out, I'm not sure Jaguar will be able to do well in the season (although having Peyton Manning helps his chances)


Al B. Sure!
QB: Brett Favre, Jason Campbell
RB: Frank Gore, Shonn Greene, Fred Jackson, Marion Barber
WR: Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Chaz Schilens, Devin Aromashodu, Bernard Berrian, Jabar Gaffney
TE: Zach Miller (OAK), Tony Scheffler
D/ST: Browns
K: Lawrence Tynes

I decided to add myself for the hell of it... Browns defense screams at you as an obvious weakness. Brett Favre was a clear steal. A bunch of bruising backs who should all be solid. Receiver corps gets progressively weaker after the superb Moss and the okay Crabtree.

MRT
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Moore
RB: CJ Spiller, Jerome Harrison, Tim Hightower, Darren Sproles
WR: Calvin Johnson, Marques Colston, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Mohamed Massaquoi, James Jones, Legedu Naanee
TE: Antonio Gates
D/ST: Chargers
K: Sebastian Janikowski

Very weak at RB. Spiller, Harrison, and Sproles are all elusive home-run hitters but they're all sharing carries, as is Hightower. Aaron Rodgers is great though.


Spaced Cowboy
QB: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart
RB: Michael Turner, DeAngelo Williams, Ben Tate, Kevin Smith, Julius Jones
WR: Steve Smith (CAR), Mike Sims-Walker, Nate Burleson, Davone Bess, Roy Williams
TE: Jermichael Finley, Todd Heap
D/ST: Cowboys
K: Nate Kaeding

I didn't like the early Michael Turner pick but if he's still got gas in the tank, he's a dominating back, as is DeAngelo Williams. Spaced will be hurting a bit if Carson Palmer doesn't return to earlier form. All indications are that Leinart is iffy for the starting job in Arizona.


OzzyKP
QB: Drew Brees, Trent Edwards
RB: Cedric Benson, Ricky Williams, LaDainian Tomlinson, Donald Brown, Willis McGahee
WR: Andre Johnson, Hakeem Nicks, Eddie Royal, Victor Cruz
TE: Dallas Clark, Jermaine Gresham
D/ST: Eagles, Bills
K: David Akers

Has-beens at RB, no one solid after Johnson at WR, but Drew Brees and Dallas Clark are both fantasy stars.


joncha
QB: Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton
RB: Rashard Mendenhall, Ronnie Brown, Reggie Bush, Leon Washington
WR: Sidney Rice, Lee Evans, Robert Meachem, Julian Edelman
TE: Visanthe Shiancoe, Brandon Pettigrew
D/ST: Packers, Seahawks
K: Garrett Hartley

Somebody was stocking up on QB's! Sidney Rice's injury has go to hurt. Not the greatest depth behind him with Lee Evans and Robert Meachem... And you'd probably not want to go 3 RB's because that means regularly starting Bush or Washington which wouldn't be ideal since those guys likely won't put up the fantasy numbers you'd want to compensate for the loss of Rice. This is a case where the ability to start two TE's might have been helpful.


duke o'york
QB: Matt Schaub, Matt Hasselbeck
RB: Knowshon Moreno, Brandon Jacobs, John Conner, Jason Snelling
WR: Miles Austin, Hines Ward, Demaryius Thomas, Chris Chambers
TE: Brent Celek, Benjamin Watson
D/ST: Vikings, Saints
K: Ryan Longwell, Kris Brown

Average team. John Conner was a reach and is going to force duke to start Thomas or Chambers regularly.


Imran
QB: Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger
RB: Steven Jackson, Beanie Wells, Montario Hardesty, Bernard Scott
WR: Steve Smith (NYG), Santana Moss, Pierre Garcon, Jeremy Maclin, Jacoby Jones, Laurent Robinson
TE: Tony Gonzalez
D/ST: Bengals, Texans
K: Matt Prater

Nothing wrong with this team. Moss, Garcon, Maclin, and Jones were all steals, Robinson as well with the Donnie Avery injury. Strong team at all positions.


Guynemer
QB: Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez
RB: Jonathon Stewart, Felix Jones, Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Vincent Jackson, Terrell Owens, Austin Collie, Mario Manningham
TE: Jason Witten, Dustin Keller
D/ST: 49ers, Buccaneers
K: Adam Vinatieri

Vincent Jackson is the big question mark here. His absence will necessitate starting guys that probably shouldn't be weekly starters in fantasy, even with a 14-team league. I am positive there will be weeks where Dustin Keller will outperform Maroney, Buckhalter, and Austin Collie.


Slowwhand
QB: Tom Brady, Sam Bradford
RB: Ryan Matthews, Jahvid Best, Thomas Jones, Cadillac Williams, Toby Gerhart
WR: Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Santonio Holmes, Dez Bryant, Kevin Walter
TE: Owen Daniels
D/ST: Giants, Panthers
K: Stephen Gostkowski

5 rookies... A lot is riding on Matthews and Best actually turning out to be good backs. Boldin and Driver, as well as Brady, of course, are all good. Kevin Walter was a steal although having Daniels and Walter is an interesting choice.

[MRT144]

I knew you would come through.

[snoopy369]

Jonny
QB: Eli Manning, Vince Young
RB: Chris Johnson, Michael Bush, Chester Taylor
WR: Desean Jackson, Chad Ochocinco, Percy Harvin, Jerricho Cotchery, Louis Murphy, Josh Cribbs
TE: Kellen Winslow, Kevin Boss
D/ST: Steelers, Colts
K: Mason Crosby

Started well with CJ, petered out after that. RBs are incredibly weak, WRs aren't that good, QB is a very weak point in a somewhat QB heavy scoring system even if he duplicates his 2009 (best case). DEF is the only strength of this team, and even there it's mediocre.

Berzerker
QB: Donovan McNabb, Alex Smith
RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, Ryan Grant, Joseph Addai, Steve Slaton, Kareem Huggins
WR: Wes Welker, Derrick Mason, Dexter McCluster, Donnie Avery, Greg Camarillo
TE: Vernon Davis, Greg Olsen
D/ST: Jets
K: Rob Bironas

Good RBs, QBs are a bit of a gamble but possibly worth it. WRs are weaker (Even if Avery had played). DEF is solid but with only one team he can't play matchups, so he's tied to hoping they play up to their potential every week. Will win or lose with Donovan, ultimately.

Snoopy369
QB: Jay Cutler, Chad Henne
RB: Ray Rice, Pierre Thomas, LeSean McCoy, Darren McFadden, Fred Taylor
WR: Roddy White, Malcolm Floyd, Kenny Britt, Mike Williams (TB), Anthony Gonzalez
TE: John Carlson
D/ST: Ravens, Dolphins
K: Robbie Gould

Solid RBs and WRs; QB is a potential hit or miss. DEF is solid and allows for some interesting matchup play (see: Week 16). Still, will likely do as well as Cutler does, unless Henne turns out to be a surprise.


Flash9286
QB: Kevin Kolb, David Garrard
RB: Adrian Peterson, Justin Forsett, Ahmad Bradshaw, Larry Johnson
WR: Reggie Wayne, Brandon Marshall, Mike Wallace, Braylon Edwards, Devin Thomas, Golden Tate
TE: Chris Cooley
D/ST: Denver, Patriots
K: Dan Carpenter

Pretty solid at QB and WR, weaker at RB, though not as weak as some. DEF will be a problem especially as DEN is overrated this year.

Jaguar
QB: Peyton Manning, Matt Cassel, Matthew Stafford
RB: Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, Clinton Portis, Arian Foster
WR: Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, TJ Houshamdzadeh, Steve Breaston
TE: Heath Miller, Jeremy Shockey
D/ST: Bears, Cardinals
K: Ryan Succup

Full of risk/reward picks. QB is solid, of course, and WRs are pretty good also. RB is a question mark - Forte and Charles are both risk/reward picks. DEF is surprisingly good given how late he picked them up, though this week's game is an indication that they might not be who we thought they were.


Al B. Sure!
QB: Brett Favre, Jason Campbell
RB: Frank Gore, Shonn Greene, Fred Jackson, Marion Barber
WR: Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Chaz Schilens, Devin Aromashodu, Bernard Berrian, Jabar Gaffney
TE: Zach Miller (OAK), Tony Scheffler
D/ST: Browns
K: Lawrence Tynes

QB is decent, though not necessarily likely to repeat even last year's numbers. How many games he plays is a big question mark - if he's hurt week 16, or if they've clinched a playoff spot and don't need the minutes, this team could be starting the OAK QB championship week, which would not be fun. RB is pretty good. WR is a position of weakness after Moss, and DEF is a disaster (particularly as he only has one team). CLE as a tandem pick would be great, but is not a good DEF to play every week.

MRT
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Moore
RB: CJ Spiller, Jerome Harrison, Tim Hightower, Darren Sproles
WR: Calvin Johnson, Marques Colston, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Mohamed Massaquoi, James Jones, Legedu Naanee
TE: Antonio Gates
D/ST: Chargers
K: Sebastian Janikowski

Solid at QB, and has some potential to trade Moore later in the season for RB help if Moore repeats his last quarter-season. RB is a total disaster, not one of them is more than a half-time starter and not one of them has a decent O-line. WR is solid, and again could produce some RB help down the line, if he finds a willing trading partner. DEF is not solid enough for a solo DEF, but then most of them aren't.

Spaced Cowboy
QB: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart
RB: Michael Turner, DeAngelo Williams, Ben Tate, Kevin Smith, Julius Jones
WR: Steve Smith (CAR), Mike Sims-Walker, Nate Burleson, Davone Bess, Roy Williams
TE: Jermichael Finley, Todd Heap
D/ST: Cowboys
K: Nate Kaeding

RBs are decent but not amazing, WRs are decent but not amazing. Neither is enough to overcome the weakness at QB, with a backup QB that isn't even assured a starting job. DAL is a terrible solo pick, with a very tough schedule, unless he makes it to week 16 and ARI hasn't gotten back on track yet.


OzzyKP
QB: Drew Brees, Trent Edwards
RB: Cedric Benson, Ricky Williams, LaDainian Tomlinson, Donald Brown, Willis McGahee
WR: Andre Johnson, Hakeem Nicks, Eddie Royal, Victor Cruz
TE: Dallas Clark, Jermaine Gresham
D/ST: Eagles, Bills
K: David Akers

Solid at QB, especially if Edwards continues performing well. RBs don't necessarily look as impressive, without as much depth as you'd like with those picks, but they might be enough. WRs are a definite weakness. DEF is quite strong, especially with the matchups.




joncha
QB: Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton
RB: Rashard Mendenhall, Ronnie Brown, Reggie Bush, Leon Washington
WR: Sidney Rice, Lee Evans, Robert Meachem, Julian Edelman
TE: Visanthe Shiancoe, Brandon Pettigrew
D/ST: Packers, Seahawks
K: Garrett Hartley

Strength is definitely at QB, although his RBs are decent. WR is a problem, even with Rice this would be a significant weakness. DEF will have some good matchups to take advantage of, particularly with SEA playing in the awful NFC West (which may produce a sub-.500 division winner).


duke o'york
QB: Matt Schaub, Matt Hasselbeck
RB: Knowshon Moreno, Brandon Jacobs, John Conner, Jason Snelling
WR: Miles Austin, Hines Ward, Demaryius Thomas, Chris Chambers
TE: Brent Celek, Benjamin Watson
D/ST: Vikings, Saints
K: Ryan Longwell, Kris Brown

QB is his only strength, although it might be good enough to win some games on Schaub's back alone. RBs are incredibly weak. WR has some promise but not spectacular - at most above average. DEF will play well but unfortunately both have tough playoff schedules - not that he's likely to make the playoffs anyway.


Imran
QB: Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger
RB: Steven Jackson, Beanie Wells, Montario Hardesty, Bernard Scott
WR: Steve Smith (NYG), Santana Moss, Pierre Garcon, Jeremy Maclin, Jacoby Jones, Laurent Robinson
TE: Tony Gonzalez
D/ST: Bengals, Texans
K: Matt Prater

QB is solid (and exactly my holding in IDP, entirely coincidentally). RBs are okay, particularly if one of the two Ohio RBs pays off, but if not this is a weak point of the team. WRs are likely okay simply out of sheer quantity - one of Maclin/Jones/Robinson will probably step up and fill WR3 (after Smith and Garcon - Moss is not likely to be useful). DEF is somewhat weaker, definitely a gamble.

Guynemer
QB: Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez
RB: Jonathon Stewart, Felix Jones, Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Vincent Jackson, Terrell Owens, Austin Collie, Mario Manningham
TE: Jason Witten, Dustin Keller
D/ST: 49ers, Buccaneers
K: Adam Vinatieri

QB is reasonably solid, although Sanchez is a bit more of a gamble than I'd like to see backing up a solid QB that you're not benching barring injury. RB is decent. WR looks better on paper than it is; Fitz will regress some due to QB concerns and VJ might sit out the whole season. None of the others impress me. DEF will be a strength with some great matchups along with one DEF that actually could stand on its own.

Slowwhand
QB: Tom Brady, Sam Bradford
RB: Ryan Matthews, Jahvid Best, Thomas Jones, Cadillac Williams, Toby Gerhart
WR: Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Santonio Holmes, Dez Bryant, Kevin Walter
TE: Owen Daniels
D/ST: Giants, Panthers
K: Stephen Gostkowski

QB is solid, again I'd like to see a more comfortable backup behind a likely 15 game starter, but Brady's hard to argue with either way. RBs are very solid and likely will be one of the better crews in the league if not the top - even with the gambles he's taking on rookies, TJ and Cadillac will have enough upside to fill in if one of the rookies falters. WRs are pretty solid also. DEFs aren't great individually but should have enough matchups (and CAR's weaker division) to take advantage of. This is probably the team I'm most afraid of facing any given week.

I ranked everyone 1-14 based on QB, RB, WR, and DEF, both taking into account strength of starter (2/3 weight) and strength of bench (1/3 weight), and then weighted them 2:3:2:1 based on how important the positions are (and numerous) to the success of a team. Then I added the totals up, and lowest total = first, to highest total=last. (TE and K are both less significant, and harder to predict, than the four primary positions, so I left them off.)

My predicted order of finish (not taking into account matchups, which is a huge determiner of finish of course):

Slowwhand
Snoopy369
Imran
OzzyKP
Jaguar
Berzerker
Joncha
Flash9286
MRT
Al B
Guynemer
Spaced Cowboy
Duke o'York
Jonny


The team that seems most underrated by this metric: Guynemer, who is primarily affected by the WR ranking and by the fact that he doesn't have one single 'high' category like most of the other good teams.

[MRT144]

Jonny
QB: Eli Manning, Vince Young
RB: Chris Johnson, Michael Bush, Chester Taylor
WR: Desean Jackson, Chad Ochocinco, Percy Harvin, Jerricho Cotchery, Louis Murphy, Josh Cribbs
TE: Kellen Winslow, Kevin Boss
D/ST: Steelers, Colts
K: Mason Crosby

Chris Johnson won't be able to carry this team alone but it looks like that is what he'll have to do considering the QBs. This team has good WR options but little depth there. TE's are ho hum as are the defenses but the Crosby is excellent.



Berzerker
QB: Donovan McNabb, Alex Smith
RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, Ryan Grant, Joseph Addai, Steve Slaton, Kareem Huggins
WR: Wes Welker, Derrick Mason, Dexter McCluster, Donnie Avery, Greg Camarillo
TE: Vernon Davis, Greg Olsen
D/ST: Jets
K: Rob Bironas

Qbs are a question mark here but the RBs are the best assortment, and in the PPR format Welker is a beast-machine. TEs are great, Defense is great, Kicker is good. This is will be one of my top teams this year.

Snoopy369
QB: Jay Cutler, Chad Henne
RB: Ray Rice, Pierre Thomas, LeSean McCoy, Darren McFadden, Fred Taylor
WR: Roddy White, Malcolm Floyd, Kenny Britt, Mike Williams (TB), Anthony Gonzalez
TE: John Carlson
D/ST: Ravens, Dolphins
K: Robbie Gould

Good RBs and good depth but everything else is kind of a gamble. With the format of the league Cutler could be a liability if he doesn't take to the Martz system. Roddy White is the only solid WR and Carlson is middling. I like the potential of either QB but I don't necessarily rank the tandem that highly.

Flash9286
QB: Kevin Kolb, David Garrard
RB: Adrian Peterson, Justin Forsett, Ahmad Bradshaw, Larry Johnson
WR: Reggie Wayne, Brandon Marshall, Mike Wallace, Braylon Edwards, Devin Thomas, Golden Tate
TE: Chris Cooley
D/ST: Denver, Patriots
K: Dan Carpenter

Amazing WR corps with a risk at QB and a dropoff at RB. Cooley might flourish with Mcnabb but there's a risk that cooley get's hurt or mcnabb get's hurt and that could limit the potential. Not big on the defenses at all especially the patriots.

Jaguar
QB: Peyton Manning, Matt Cassel, Matthew Stafford
RB: Jamaal Charles, Matt Forte, Clinton Portis, Arian Foster
WR: Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, TJ Houshamdzadeh, Steve Breaston
TE: Heath Miller, Jeremy Shockey
D/ST: Bears, Cardinals
K: Ryan Succup

Solid team through and through with only a slight question mark at WR3 or Flex. Will Housh return to CIN form? Can Breaston perform with either Leinart of Anderson at QB?

Al B. Sure!
QB: Brett Favre, Jason Campbell
RB: Frank Gore, Shonn Greene, Fred Jackson, Marion Barber
WR: Randy Moss, Michael Crabtree, Chaz Schilens, Devin Aromashodu, Bernard Berrian, Jabar Gaffney
TE: Zach Miller (OAK), Tony Scheffler
D/ST: Browns
K: Lawrence Tynes

High risk picks at nearly every position except RB. Gore and Greene will carry this team but ultimate success hinges on Favre. Unfortunately he is not good in HtH leagues because of a propensity to be either white hot or ice cold. WRs have some potential sleepers that could push this team up a few spots. Defense is terrible except if Cribbs scores a touchdown every game.

MRT
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Matt Moore
RB: CJ Spiller, Jerome Harrison, Tim Hightower, Darren Sproles
WR: Calvin Johnson, Marques Colston, Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Mohamed Massaquoi, James Jones, Legedu Naanee
TE: Antonio Gates
D/ST: Chargers
K: Sebastian Janikowski

Excellent QB, Good Recievers and TE but horrible risks at everything else. This team will need a whole lot of luck from the RBs to compete. There are some potential scheduling problems to boot with more than half the team with a week 10 bye which could ultimately cost an integral game.

Spaced Cowboy
QB: Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart
RB: Michael Turner, DeAngelo Williams, Ben Tate, Kevin Smith, Julius Jones
WR: Steve Smith (CAR), Mike Sims-Walker, Nate Burleson, Davone Bess, Roy Williams
TE: Jermichael Finley, Todd Heap
D/ST: Cowboys
K: Nate Kaeding

Good RBs but lacking in WR and QB both in starter quality and depth. Finley is poised for a breakout season and could very well be the saving grace of this team.

OzzyKP
QB: Drew Brees, Trent Edwards
RB: Cedric Benson, Ricky Williams, LaDainian Tomlinson, Donald Brown, Willis McGahee
WR: Andre Johnson, Hakeem Nicks, Eddie Royal, Victor Cruz
TE: Dallas Clark, Jermaine Gresham
D/ST: Eagles, Bills
K: David Akers

Has at least 1 great player at QB, WR, K, DEF and TE but the RBs seem to all be in the twilight of their career.

joncha
QB: Phillip Rivers, Matt Ryan, Kyle Orton
RB: Rashard Mendenhall, Ronnie Brown, Reggie Bush, Leon Washington
WR: Sidney Rice, Lee Evans, Robert Meachem, Julian Edelman
TE: Visanthe Shiancoe, Brandon Pettigrew
D/ST: Packers, Seahawks
K: Garrett Hartley

Like the above team but without "great" preceding it.

duke o'york
QB: Matt Schaub, Matt Hasselbeck
RB: Knowshon Moreno, Brandon Jacobs, John Conner, Jason Snelling
WR: Miles Austin, Hines Ward, Demaryius Thomas, Chris Chambers
TE: Brent Celek, Benjamin Watson
D/ST: Vikings, Saints
K: Ryan Longwell, Kris Brown

I only like his QB and two starting WRs. Everything else is meh except for the stellar defenses (Vikings in stopping and Saints in scoring).

Imran
QB: Joe Flacco, Ben Roethlisberger
RB: Steven Jackson, Beanie Wells, Montario Hardesty, Bernard Scott
WR: Steve Smith (NYG), Santana Moss, Pierre Garcon, Jeremy Maclin, Jacoby Jones, Laurent Robinson
TE: Tony Gonzalez
D/ST: Bengals, Texans
K: Matt Prater

Good QB, solid RBs and at least two WRs that should perform above average. I only really don't like the defenses and the choice of a Rapesburger as a backup.

Guynemer
QB: Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez
RB: Jonathon Stewart, Felix Jones, Laurence Maroney, Correll Buckhalter
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, Vincent Jackson, Terrell Owens, Austin Collie, Mario Manningham
TE: Jason Witten, Dustin Keller
D/ST: 49ers, Buccaneers
K: Adam Vinatieri

QBs are good, Two decent RBs, but the WRs don't excite me. Vincent Jackson may be a complete waste this year. Fitz might suffer like Calvin Johnson did last year under a subpar QB. Witten is solid and the niners should be excellent on D this year especially given 6 games they play in the NFC west.

Slowwhand
QB: Tom Brady, Sam Bradford
RB: Ryan Matthews, Jahvid Best, Thomas Jones, Cadillac Williams, Toby Gerhart
WR: Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Santonio Holmes, Dez Bryant, Kevin Walter
TE: Owen Daniels
D/ST: Giants, Panthers
K: Stephen Gostkowski

Brady should be solid per usual but I am not high on the rest of the team. WRs are okay but with suspension for holmes and Driver's age and injury potential and Dez's own injury potential, if anything happens in the first few weeks we could see a WW WR corp. RBs have more base upside but there are steep downsides if they dont perform or split time. Daniels is a secret weapon. Don't like the defenses that much but the Giants return game is good.

I rated each position on each team 1 to 5 and then did .25:.3:.25:.1:.05:.05 for QB:RB:WR:TE:K: DEF

Jaguar
Berzerker
OzzyKP
Flash
Guynemer
Al B
Snoopy
Imran
Slowwhand
Spaced Cowboy
Duke o' York
MRT
Joncha
Jonny

[snoopy369]

Not commenting on the specifics of your ratings, but rating K and DEF similarly is utterly idiotic.

[Guynemer]

I realize much hinges on VJ for me. High risk, high reward.

On the other hand, there is usually at least one WR who comes out of nowhere to have a great season; if I can identify and claim him early, I may be alright.

[MRT144]

I realize much hinges on VJ for me. High risk, high reward.

On the other hand, there is usually at least one WR who comes out of nowhere to have a great season; if I can identify and claim him early, I may be alright.

The problem is in a league with 14 teams and the amount of spots on the roster, the waiver wire is thin.

[MRT144]

Not commenting on the specifics of your ratings, but rating K and DEF similarly is utterly idiotic.

Perhaps you're right but i wanted to do this quickly and cleanly.