The GOI Football Draft Wrap-Up Special, Part IV

Everyone is doing a review of the GOI fantasy football draft auction so apparently I need one as well.

First of all, DME who was kicked out of the league, probably cause he never wins fantasy, was in my ear on the phone for my first 5 selections. I didn't do extensive research and didn't partake in any mock drafts. Instead I decided to not let price get in the way of the players I wanted. For some reason in auction drafts, people become very stringent in how much they are willing to pay for a player. Oh, I will pay not pay more than 25 dollars for Roddy Roddy White, even though I really love him and believe he can single handedly win me a couple weeks of fantasy football. Sure, sometimes you get into a bidding war and 2 dollars above budget becomes 4 then 6 then 8, but you cannot worry about the future when it comes to auction. This concept is not the same as going stars and scrubs like DME did in baseball where you spend all your money on 3 guys, this is simply extending your budget a few dollars that you may not even need later in the draft. The bench if fairly inconsequential to a fantasy football team. Each player only has 1 bye week and you can probably find a better option in FA once the season starts than anyone you actually drafted.

Football is probably the least skilled sport of any of the top 10 you can think of. The players who dominate tend to be the ones with the freakish athletic ability. I grew up watching Miami-Florida St dominate college football in the late 90's and no one had more freaks than those Florida teams. That was my strategy, simple as that.

There have been too many NFL season's where a single running back has literally won entire fantasy leagues. Whether it be Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson, LT, or Chris Johnson. So it is crazy important to get a top RB and hopefully the top RB. I made the decision that AD, whom I still call AP, was the running back to go with. His athleticism is undeniable with an amazing combination of size, strength, and speed. Only 2 years ago people were anointing him the greatest of all time, and now he is becoming overrated because he fumbled a couple times. It is almost a given that he will lead all running backs in TDs and possibly will lead in yards. His passing skills are suspect, but 43 receptions last year is no chump change and only 7 less than Chris Johnson with an identical average. I love love love CJ, but to think that he can break off 3 80-yard runs again is kinda nuts. I was willing to do whatever for AP, but getting him at $65 while guys like MJD, Rice, and Turner went for the same or more was a huge steal.

I was willing to play the season without a top tier QB such as a Cutler, Palmer, Flacco type, but seeing the prices QBs were going for, I decided it was worth the $36 I paid for Brees. In fact, it was DME who was urging me to stay in the bidding war for Brees which I ended up winning, such that I felt a little bad for spending so much for a QB after paying 65 for AP. But then I thought to myself, how can i feel bad about a QB who throws for 4500 yards and 30 TDs like clockwork.

I bypassed a lot of RBs who I really liked, such as a Charles, Slaton, Jacobs, Mathews simply because I had my top guy at running back locked up. I took a gamble on Run DMC hoping the retards who run the Raiders would stop giving 10 carries each to a clusterfuck of RBs and just make McFadden the featured back. Dude invented the wildcat and may be the greatest college player I've ever seen. Yes, Bush had better numbers in the Pac-10, but Run DMC ran over the entire SEC, without even a marginal QB, and ran for 200 yards against LSU and Alabama. If he played for any other team in the NFL, be would already be in the pro-bowl. I knew this was a dangerous pick, but I made it knowing full well that I was getting Reggie Bush at any cost. I figure that combination of #2/3 RB was a winning complement along side AP. (Side note, I thought Forte at $26 was the steal of the entire draft)

To me, the WR position is like starting pitchers in fantasy baseball. I value them very low because I feel I can find suitable options later in the draft or even FA instead of wasting top picks on them. Sure we all want King Felix, but i'll settle with Clayton Kershaw 8 rounds later. WR simply do not get enough touches on a weekly bases to be worth the money. We complain that Pierre Thomas only got 184 touches last year. Well every great WR not named Andre Johnson only gets 80-90 touches for the whole season! I completely disregarded the whole PPR concept. The difference between 70 and 90 catches is only 10 points over the course of 16 weeks. Who the fuck cares? I stuck to my freak athlete theory and got great value in Marques Colston, who is a top 5 WR talent and is only hindered by having too many weapons around him, and DeShawn Jackson who in the words of Kenny Powers is faster than fuck. My only worry is having Kolb throwing to him. Sorry Cubsfan but Kolb will show up in your nightmares this season. Getting Mike Wallace was a bonus as he is basically a Jackson clone with no Holmes standing in his way. Though I love Santonio Holmes. Then I drafted a barrel of WRs hoping to use as trade bait in Henderson, Heyward-Bay, Moore, and Cribbs.

There is usually a very small point differential between TEs, so no need to overpay for any. None appear to be great/in their prime to really consider spending money on them this year. Only guy who I see as having potential to dominate this year is Witten and that is unlikely. My comp actually logged off for me and autopicked Kellen Winslow, which I had no problem with as he fits the athletic freak category and played for The U.

No chance I pay for a kicker, so I got Sebastian Janikowski for a dollar. He did play for those Florida St. teams i loved so much and the Raiders should score more points this year. Oh and he's the best 50 yard kicker in the game and those are worth 5 points I believe. Maybe I pick up Rob Bironas if he is dropped by a team with 2 kickers.

I payed less than no attention to defense thinking I would just get on in FA or just stream every week like I usually do, until I saw the Cowboys just sitting there for me. They only have the best defensive lineman in Ware, a stellar secondary, and a 3-4 defense that is very prone to fantasy related stats.

Overall I was extremely happy with how my team turned out. Regardless whether I win or lose, I can feel satisfied knowing i am playing with the team I wanted.

Like Marshawn Lynch when he finds out he's gonna be a baby's daddy again, I am OUT!

get$200
1.(6)Adrian Peterson$65
2.(26)Drew Brees$36
3.(41)DeSean Jackson$16
4.(51)Marques Colston$19
5.(61)Kellen Winslow$11
6.(89)Darren McFadden$10
7.(99)Mike Wallace$10
8.(131)Reggie Bush$10
9.(161)Dallas$2
10.(168)Julius Jones$1
11.(179)Devery Henderson$5
12.(188)Darrius Heyward-Bey$3
13.(196)Lance Moore$1
14.(203)Sebastian Janikowski$1
15.(208)Joshua Cribbs$1


View the GOI fantasy team at http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/goi and vote on who you think the preseason favorites are

View Cubsfan's take on the draft in Part III here
View Sexy Rexy's take on the draft in Part II here
View Part I here

12 comments:

David "MVP" Eckstein said...

Dude, i was not kicked out. I dropped out. Something about bacterial pneumonia...and lots of work I was catching up on for law school...you know, nothing important

The 'Bright' One said...

you were so sick/busy that you simply pseudo-drafted with me on the phone

David "MVP" Eckstein said...

At least I know the difference between Ray Rice and Sidney Rice

Cubsfan4evr said...

Glad you joined in on the fun of doing a wrap up special on the GOI auction draft! It wouldn’t have been the same without hearing your thoughts!

I didn’t think DME followed or cared about football at all. It sounds like he knows his stuff because he likes Kevin Kolb! Here I have to defend him to both of you “Sexy Rexy” and you even more TBO. He is dead on that Kolb will have a great season.

You are right that quality over quantity (depth) is more important in fantasy football. Especially compared to fantasy football where depth comes in handy. I did what you said about not getting worried about price and budget and just go after your guy. I did that with MJD who may have a bad knee and limit him where I could have got any other stud for that price! I also did that with Kevin Kolb who we still have to make a new board bet about.

Your team came out great so wish I would of have followed your style and went after CJ or AP instead of MJD. Were divisional rivals and I play you in week one!

Cubsfan4evr said...

We need to have a long talk soon and make some board bets again. I am in the car a lot the next week so you would have to write them down or enter it into the blog.

Adam Kaplan said...

1) TBO language dude, language
2) Yes, AD is a fantasy stud, you got GREAT value for him, and I rank him and the #2 back so Im extremely high on him

But that being said he is overrated in real life
a) AD didn't even come close to being top of the league in TD until last year
b) Peterson has a fumbling problem like Aroldis Chapman has a walk problem. He fumbles A LOT
c) I think the fact that AD is the best back in the game was like everyone calling Jay Bruce a Hall of Famer after his first ten games. A bit opremature
d) http://gameofinches.blogspot.com/2009/12/adrian-peterson-is-overrated.html
3) I hate you that you barely prepare and have the best team in the league

David "MVP" Eckstein said...

TBO only has the best team because of me. He didn't even want half of his players but I coaxed him into bidding.

Thank you, Matthew Berry

Adam Kaplan said...

If Matthew Berry told you how to draft then TBO is going to have an awful

The 'Bright' One said...

To say that i didnt preprare is an injustice...i've been preparing my whole life.

The 'Bright' One said...

a) peterson's rank in TDs. 2nd, 8th, 1st

b) I love chapman more than strasburg 105mph!!!

c) I too thought comparing Bruce to Mickey Mantle was a bit premature

d) too lazy to copy/paste your old link

Adam Kaplan said...

Yes Peterson was 2nd in TDs three years ago, but with only 12. He jumped from 12 and 10 all the way up to 18.

Again, I like AD a lot. I have him #2 on my list of RB- over my man crush of Ray Rice. His ability to bust off a 70 yard run and to break tackles and to just be awesome in the open field makes him awesome in fantasy.

But in reality, his crappiness of being a good 3rd down back and lack of ability to catch the ball along with his fumbling problems made him not an elite RB in real life. Still better than a good chunk of the league's backs but overrated in the sense that everyone was calling him God's gift to Earth

The 'Bright' One said...

just watch this with your eyes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AP5RgOy5fjA