Cubsfan4evr: Fantasy Football Week Two Rankings

Here are my Fantasy football rankings for Week 2. Please keep in mind that I did account for injuries, but updated news could change a player’s status if they don't play at all or if they were doubtful and somehow play like if Hakeem Nicks or Steven Jackson get healthy in time.

Quarterback
1. Michael Vick
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Tony Romo
4. Tom Brady
5. Phillip Rivers
6. Matthew Stafford
7. Matt Schaub
8. Ben Roethlisberger
9. Drew Brees
10. Joe Flacco
11. Josh Freeman
12. Rex Grossman
13. Eli Manning
14. Jay Cutler
15. Chad Henne
16. Kevin Kolb
17. Colt McCoy
18. Sam Bradford
19. Ryan Fitzpatrick
20. Matt Ryan
21. Kyle Orton
22. Mark Sanchez
23. Cam Newton
24. Matt Cassel

Running backs
1. Ray Rice
2. Rashard Mendenhall
3. Adrian Peterson
4. LeSean McCoy
5. Darren McFadden
6. Jamaal Charles
7. Matt Forte
8. Peyton Hillis
9. Michael Turner
10. Cedric Benson
11. Felix Jones
12. Tim Hightower
13. Shonn Greene
14. Arian Foster
15. Fred Jackson
16. LeGarrette Blount
17. Jahvid Best
18. Ahmad Bradshaw
19. James Starks
20. Frank Gore
21. Mike Tolbert
22. Maurice Jones-Drew
23. Reggie Bush
24. Cadillac Williams
25. Chris Johnson
26. Beanie Wells
27. Mark Ingram
28. DeAngelo Williams
29. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
30. Ryan Mathews
31. Knowshon Moreno
32. Joseph Addai
33. Willis McGahee
34. Ben Tate
35. Brandon Jacobs

Wide Receivers
1. Calvin Johnson
2. Andre Johnson
3. Miles Austin
4. Mike Wallace
5. DeSean Jackson
6. Greg Jennings
7. Vincent Jackson
8. Mike Williams
9. Roddy White
10. Brandon Marshall
11. Larry Fitzgerald
12. Anquan Boldin
13. Reggie Wayne
14. Mario Manningham
15. Steve Johnson
16. Kenny Britt
17. Mike Sims-Walker
18. Jeremy Maclin
19. Julio Jones
20. Johnny Knox
21. Lee Evans
22. Nate Burleson
23. Deion Branch
24. Robert Meachem
25. Percy Harvin
26. Steve Smith
27. Brandon Lloyd
28. Jacoby Ford
29. Hakeem Nicks
30. Davone Bess

Tight Ends
1. Jason Witten
2. Antonio Gates
3. Aaron Hernandez
4. Jimmy Graham
5. Jermichael Finley
6. Vernon Davis
7. Owen Daniels
8. Greg Olsen
9. Dallas Clark
10. Brandon Pettigrew
11. Rob Gronkowski
12. Tony Gonzalez
13. Jermaine Gresham
14. Ed Dickson
15. Dustin Keller
16. Jared Cook
17. Marcedes Lewis
18. Evan Moore
19. Fred Davis
20. Benjamin Watson

Football Board Bets 2011 Are Up!

The start of football season is here along with fantasy football which means Game Of Inches "board bets" for this year's football season are back. Recently Sexy Rexy and my self got together and talked a lot of football and we made 12 board bets in addition to the ones we had already. I have also made a few with TBO so check out this year's Football Board Bets which can also be found on the right side of the blog. A special thanks to Sexy Rexy for adding all of the board bets and making sure they are up to date. Without him we wouldn't be ready for football here at GOI. He is the man responsible for making sure the Board Bets page is what it is.

Now make sure you check out the Football Board Bets (2011) and let us know who you think made the better deals!

Cubsfan4evr: Fantasy Players to Avoid

In my last article I discussed players that I am targeting this season. Here is a list of players that I would avoid this season because I think their going to regress from last season, on the decline, or have a good chance of getting injured:

·Michael Turner
·Rashard Mendenhall
·Darren McFadden
·Michael Vick
·Frank Gore
·Peyton Manning
·Reggie Wayne
·Steven Jackson
·Peyton Hillis
·Greg Jennings
·Ryan Mathews
·Joseh Addai
·Austin Collie
·Tony Gonzalez

I didn't go into detail on each player but age, health, and over value were the main factors. Players not on my target I still may draft if the value is right, but not if their on my avoid list.

The PPR Fallacy

"Why would anyone want Michael Turner? He doesn't catch any passes."

This was said to me by David "MVP" Eckstein after Game of Inches held their annual fantasy football draft- this year being a PPR league. In some fairness to DME, he has never played fantasy football in his life and this was his first real draft. However, he is not the only one to share this underlying sentiment. I have gotten questions and emails along the same lines for the same reasons why DME asked his question. The real question is, how do you evaluate players in a PPR league who does not catch any passes?

Last year Michael Turner only caught 12 passes. Clearly, if Michael Tuner is coming out of the backfield, it is to run with the ball. If he steps in front if his line, it is to block, not catch. In a PPR (points per reception) his value is severely hurt.

But here is the fallacy that people get too caught up with: just because a player does not catch many passes does not mean he is a bad player. All that means is you have to adjust the value you assign to a player who does not catch passes accordingly. While it is true that you gain an extra point when a player catches the ball, you still get points for rushing/receiving yards and points for touchdowns. I feel like this concept gets lost when people think of PPR leagues.

Going back specifically to Michael Turner. While DME didn't realize this, I was the one who drafted Michael Turner. The reason for this was two fold: 1) Arian Forster, Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy, Ray Rice, Chris Johnson, Jamaal Charles, Darren McFadden, Rashard Mendenhall, and Steven Jackson were all off the board and I needed a #1 running back and 2) I paid less for Turner in this league than I would have in a non-PPR league. I paid less for Michael Turner in a PPR league and paid for his appropriate market price.

The key to ranking and getting players who do not catch passes in a PPR league is to rank them accordingly. The best way to do this is by creating your own personal ranking in a non-PPR format and then move guys who catch passes up a few spots and use pass catchers as a tie-breaker.

I got both Matt Forte and Michael Turner in this league. Matt Forte is a pass catcher and has a boost in his value in a PPR league because of this. That being said, I paid $51 for Michael Turner and only $33 for Forte. I paid $18 more for a non-pass catcher than a good pass catcher, and I believe that is fair and appropriate. While Forte will catch way more passes than Turner, I think Turner will have far superior rushing yards and touchdowns than Forte.

The point I am trying to make here is that do not overreact when if you are in a PPR league or in any league that uses non-standard/normal scoring. Absolutely look at how your league scores and absolutely factor that into your personal rankings, but don't look at the non-standard scoring in a vacuum. Take ALL the ways a player can get you points, not just the one, non-standard way. So if you are in a PPR league, you absolutely need to factor pass catchers into your rankings, but don't overlook the ways players that said player can get you points.

The Game Of Inches Fantasy Football Teams

These teams are for a 14 team, fantasy football league ($200 auction budgets, PPR scoring) with the starting spots being:

• 1 QB
  
• 2 RB
• 2 WR
• 1 RB/WR (choice)
  
• 1 TE
  
• 1 K
• 1 DEF
• 6 BN
  

Here are the four authors teams for this auction league and the prices paid for each player below.

An write up of how this draft went will be posted soon.

Tell us what you think of our teams!

Sexy Rexy

QB- Tom Brady ($23)
QB- Colt McCoy ($2)
RB- Michael Turner ($51)
RB- Matt Forte ($33)
RB- Ryan Grant ($16)
RB- Reggie Bush ($8)
RB- Stevan Ridley ($1)
WR- Mike Wallace ($34)
WR- Santonio Holmes ($21)
WR- Randy Moss ($1)
WR- Danario Alexander ($1)
TE- Aaron Hernandez ($6)
TE- Dustin Keller ($1)
K- Alex Henery ($1)
DEF- San Diego ($1)

David "MVP" Eckstein

QB- Eli Manning ($10)
QB- Kyle Orton ($6)
QB- Tim Tebow ($1)
RB- LeSean McCoy ($68)
RB- Mike Tolbert ($11)
RB- Joseph Addai ($16)
WR- Larry Fitzgerald ($45)
WR- Dez Bryant ($23)
WR- Kenny Britt ($10)
WR- Dezmon Briscoe ($1)
WR- Brandon Gibson ($1)
WR- Eric Decker ($1)
TE- Tony Gonzalez ($5)
K- Josh Brown ($1)
DEF- Dallas ($1)

The 'Bright' One

QB- Drew Brees ($34)
RB- Maurice Jones-Drew ($50)
RB- Rashard Mendenhall ($45)
RB- Ryan Matthews ($17)
RB- Ricky Williams ($1)
WR- Miles Austin ($36)
WR- Robert Meachum ($5)
WR- Lee Evans ($5)
WR- Eddie Royal ($1)
WR- Donald Driver ($1)
WR- Earl Bennett ($1)
RB/WR- Dexter McCluster ($1)
TE- Brent Celek ($1)
K- Rob Bironas ($1)
DEF- Tennessee ($1)

Cubsfan4evr1

QB- Philip Rivers ($28)
RB- Shonn Greene ($37)
RB- Felix Jones ($24)
RB- Mark Ingram ($13)
RB- Jerome Harrison ($6)
RB- Rashad Jennings ($6)
RB- Montario Hardesty ($1)
RB- Jamie Harper ($1)
WR- Brandon Marshall ($23)
WR- Anquan Boldin ($20)
WR- Julio Jones ($10)
WR- Braylon Edwards ($4)
TE- Jered Cook ($5)
K- Nate Kaeding ($3)
DEF- Pittsburgh ($4)

Cubsfan4evr: Fantasy Football Rankings

A few months ago during the lockout Sexy Rexy, TBO, and myself posted our preliminarily fantasy football rankings. Now with the lockout over, free agency done, and players in camp working out with their new teams I finally got around to updating my rankings so here we go. On Tuesday Sexy Rexy and myself did a two podcast special discussing fantasy football and I talked in detail about my rankings. I tweaked these rankings slightly since that podcast to make them even better. Listen to those two exciting podcasts for the exciting analysis while your at work or between studying for school.

Quarterbacks
Michael Vick scares me because I can see him getting hurt and missing half the season based on the way he plays the game which earns him so many fantasy points. I can also see him regressing because he only had one great season as this high level. The other top two quarterbacks are proven. Peyton Manning’s neck may make him miss some time this season along with his suspect receiver core drops him outside of my top three for the first time in years.
1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Drew Brees
3. Michael Vick
4. Philip Rivers
5. Tom Brady
6. Peyton Manning
7. Tony Romo
8. Matt Schaub
9. Matt Ryan
10. Ben Roethlisberger
11. Josh Freeman
12. Eli Manning
13. Matthew Stafford
14. Jay Cutler
15. Joe Flacco
16. Sam Bradford
17. Kevin Kolb
18. Kyle Orton
19. Ryan Fitzpatrick
20. Matt Cassel
21. David Garrard
22. Mark Sanchez
23. Donovan McNabb
24. Jason Campbell
25. Matt Hasselbeck
26. Tarvaris Jackson
27. Colt McCoy
28. Chad Henne
29. Cam Newton
30. Alex Smith

Running backs
With Chris Johnson holding out I had to drop him a few spots. You will also notice I am really big on Shonn Greene and LeGarrette Blount compared to most people. This goes to my overall feeling on running back this season which you have to listen to the podcast to hear or wait for future posts to read.

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Arian Foster
3. Jamaal Charles
4. Ray Rice
5. LeSean McCoy
6. Chris Johnson
7. Rashard Mendenhall
8. Michael Turner
9. Shonn Greene
10. Darren McFadden
11. Matt Forte
12. LeGarrette Blount
13. Maurice Jones-Drew
14. Frank Gore
15. Peyton Hillis
16. Steven Jackson
17. Daniel Thomas
18. DeAngelo Williams
19. Knowshon Moreno
20. Ahmad Bradshaw
21. Ryan Grant
22. Ryan Mathews
23. Mark Ingram
24. Marshawn Lynch
25. Jahvid Best
26. Felix Jones
27. Cedric Benson
28. Fred Jackson
29. Joseph Addai
30. Jonathan Stewart
31. Mike Tolbert
32. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
33. Brandon Jacobs
34. Pierre Thomas
35. Tim Hightower
36. Beanie Wells
37. Montario Hardesty
38. Jerome Harrison
39. Reggie Bush
40. Willis McGahee
41. Rashad Jennings
42. C.J. Spiller
43. LaDainian Tomlinson
44. James Starks
45. Ryan Torain
46. Thomas Jones
47. Marion Barber
48. Ronnie Brown
49. Bernard Scott
50. Ben Tate

Wide Receivers
I find Wide receivers deep in overall quality and don’t feel the need to get receivers early like I did last year. I am also somewhat low on Greg Jennings compared that he was a sleeper of mine last year.
1. Andre Johnson
2. Roddy White
3. Larry Fitzgerald
4. Calvin Johnson
5. Hakeem Nicks
6. Vincent Jackson
7. Miles Austin
8. Reggie Wayne
9. Mike Wallace
10. Greg Jennings
11. DeSean Jackson
12. Mike Williams (TB)
13. Dwayne Bowe
14. Dez Bryant
15. Jeremy Maclin
16. Anquan Boldin
17. Brandon Marshall
18. Brandon Lloyd
19. Marques Colston
20. Stevie Johnson
21. Mario Manningham
22. Wes Welker
23. Santonio Holmes
24. Chad Ochocinco
25. Percy Harvin
26. Sidney Rice
27. Santana Moss
28. Kenny Britt
29. Austin Collie
30. Mike Sims-Walker (Stl)
31. Braylon Edwards
32. Roy Williams
33. Steve Smith (Carolina)
34. Julio Jones
35. Mike Thomas
36. A.J. Green
37. Pierre Garcon
38. Malcom Floyd
39. Johnny Knox
40. Plaxico Burress
41. Jordy Nelson
42. Michael Crabtree
43. Mike Williams (Seattle)
44. Lance Moore
45. Hines Ward
46. Jacoby Ford
47. Davone Bess
48. Danny Amendola
49. Deion Branch
50. Nate Burleson
51. Emmanuel Sanders
52. Lee Evans
53. Jacoby Jones
54. Steve Breaston
55. Jerome Simpson

Tight Ends
Tight ends is typically the weakest position every year. I am never big on drafting a Tight end early, and there are several tight end sleepers I like this year that you can get later that I think will pay high dividends that you will find out when I come out with my sleeper list or from listening to our Fantasy football podcast from the other night. You can probably tell identify some of these players from being ranked high on my rankings.
1. Antonio Gates
2. Dallas Clark
3. Jason Witten
4. Owen Daniels
5. Jermichael Finley
6. Vernon Davis
7. Jimmy Graham
8. Kellen Winslow
9. Jared Cook
10. Brandon Pettigrew
11. Tony Gonzalez
12. Chris Cooley
13. Greg Olsen
14. Jermaine Gresham
15. Zach Miller
16. Visanthe Shiancoe
17. Rob Gronkowski
18. Dustin Keller
19. Marcedes Lewis
20. Aaron Hernandez
21. Benjamin Watson
22. Tony Moeaki
23. Brent Celek
24. Heath Miller
25. Todd Heap

I hope you enjoyed my fantasy ranking list. I tried to be independent as you can tell of my running back rankings. Next to come will be players to target/avoid and the sleeper list.

Cubsfan4evr1 Fantasy Football Season 2010

I am addicted to fantasy Sports. Every time Fantasy Football, Basketball, and baseball season opens for registration I am the first to sign up so I can have many Live draft's as possible because I love that process. for this reason I usually end up with many teams. More teams than I should manage.

I usually play in 2-4 competitive leagues depending on the fantasy sport and then play in many Public leagues. This way I make sure I devote the proper time to the competitive league, but may slack in the public league if i don't have time or if I am not doing well after half the season I don't feel guilty for not wasting my time on an uphill battle to try and pull off a win that probably won't happen.

For this Fantasy Football season I ended up having 7 Public league teams and 3 competitive leagues. In my competitive leagues, I did not do well. In the GOI league I am playing for 5th place, the same spot I am playing for in another competitive league. In my third tough league I am playing for 7th place this week. I did a pretty good job evaluating the players I wanted to target this season and my strategy, but wasn’t able to execute in my competitive league. That is why it's nice to be in a few public leagues to show my thinking was right, and how dominant I am against lesser talent!!

The Playoffs in the Public leagues start this week being week 15 and week 16. With the regular season in the books I decided to post about how my 7 teams did during the regular season (14 weeks). The teams where I am in first place I have a pretty big lead between the second place team. I decided not to show defense or kickers because they don't matter in fantasy. Most of these teams are in first place, but a few of them have 1400 points and one even has 1514.46 which were great teams averaging over 100 points a week. Looked at these stacked rosters even in a shallow league.

Here are the rosters that helped me dominate these leagues (In same order as standings above):

(Please click to enlarge)

This team could be my deepest roster with many good options.

What do you think of my teams? As you see in some of the leagues I had a tough time deciding who to start every week.

Yahoo Fantasy System Down During the Day!!

The one time I go to check my fantasy teams during the day I get this!!



Who does performance maintenance during the day? Being a IT guy, I have never heard of a big company doing a “scheduled site upgrade” during the day. These are always done at night unless it is an emergency and you have to bring the system down during the day. Way to waste my time and not let me prepare my few remaining fantasy football teams for the playoffs!

Cubsfan4evr Fantasy Football Advice: Wide Receivers

Now with the Game Of Inches fantasy draft done I can follow in the footsteps of "Sexy Rexy" and post my football advice which I am following in my drafts. I have worked hard to come up with my strategies and list of players to target that I think will have good seasons better than where they’re going, and of course a list of "value picks" for deeper leagues. I say "value picks" because what is a sleeper anymore. Any good fantasy football player has the same sleepers if they do their homework. That is why I came out with my strategy of targeting specific players that I think are good value where they are going in the draft. I have already given my fantasy football advice on running backs a few days ago and then did another article on runningbacks to target that will get the ball so now on to my receivers to target and my "value picks" at receiver.

I typically like to target receivers early in a draft. If I get a top 5 pick then you have to take a running back. If your first round pick is after the 6th pick then I would consider taking a receiver in the first round in Andre Johnson. He is a stud and the best receiver by a wide margin.

The two things I initially think about when evaluating a wide receiver are the talent of the receiver and the quarterback of his respected team with the offense. Let’s take a look at some of the top receivers projected this season: Andre Johnson, Randy Moss, Reggie Wayne, and Miles Austin. All of them have a top QB which makes them in a position to succeed. Ranked 4 to 6 are: Calvin Johnson, Brandon Marshall, and Roddy White respectively. All three of these guys are very good, but has unknowns throwing them the ball. Calvin Johnson has a 2nd year QB in Matthew Stafford who still has a lot to prove and the same goes for Chad Henne to Brandon Marshall. Roddy White has Matt Ryan and it looks like his rookie season (Ryan's) was a fluke. With that said all three are still good, but limited to a degree by their QB. Because of the unproveness of their QB I am personally going to stay away from Brandon Marshall and Calvin Johnson. Both are going to have very good seasons, but there are better safer early picks where you should get more value for your return.

Here is a list of the top 15 WR according to Yahoo standard scoring and my take on them:

1. Andre Johnson-A great talent with a great QB as long as Matt Schaub stays healthy.

2. Randy Moss-Some issues at the end of last year but will be fine and repeat last year's numbers.

3. Reggie Wayne-A stud receiver on a great offense. Safest pick besides for Andre Johnson.

4. Calvin Johnson-Why gamble if he will stay healthy and if his QB will develop?

5. Brandon Marshall-New team that hasn't thrown the ball much in recent years. Chad Henne is an unproven so why risk it.

6. Roddy White-A beast who could easily be a top 3 receiver, even with Matt Ryan. Big fan of White who is the real deal.

7. Miles Austin- He has a good QB, and the best option on that team.

8. Larry Fitzgerald-With Kurt Warner spending his retirement on "Dancing with the Stars" Larry's stock drops a lot with Derek Anderson trying to get him the ball. Anderson likes throwing deep so better him at the helm over Leinart, but a big loss because of Anderson's lack of accuracy. He should still get 1.000 yards and some TD from the deep ball.

9. DeSean Jackson- I think his health could be a big concern, but when healthy a stud.

10. Greg Jennings- My favorite receiver this year after Johnson, Moss, and Wayne. He has dropped to 9 after last year's disappointing season, but he is a young dynamic receiver (and only one) in a pass happy offense with my favorite QB. His yards were pretty good last year and that should go up with his TD which you can't predict.

11. Steve Smith (Caronlina)- Could be underrated because of run happy offense, inexperienced QB, and healthy issues he is recovering from.

12. Marques Colston- Would be higher if they didn't pass the ball around so much.

13. Anquan Boldin- Health concern so I would avoid. High risk, high rewards.

14. Steve Smith (Giants)- A safe pick if you missed out on guys I like going before him.

15. Chad Ochocinco- His best days are way beyond him. Better younger options going much later.

Here are the receivers I am targeting early on from the above group:

1. Andre Johnson
   
2. Randy Moss
   
3. Reggie Wayne
   
4. Roddy White
   
5. Miles Austin
   
6. Greg Jennings
   
7. Marques Colston
   
8. Steve Smith (Giants)

These are the safest Wide Receivers to anchor your team with in my opnion. Greg Jennings going 9th among receivers is my boy who I think will have a monster year and love his value for where he is going. If you miss out on a top 6 RB go WR and get 2 from the above list with Jennings completing one of: Johnson, Moss, Wayne, White, or Austin. If you got a RB with your first pick or two then get Jennings with some receivers going much later. After the above eight WR are off the board here are my favorite WR going later.

Here are some Wide receivers I like a lot going later:

1. Michael Crabtree-Shaky QB, but great upside for how late he is going.
   
2. Jeremy Maclin-Best value WR. He is going to be a high level number two option in my opnion.
   
3. Mike Wallace
   
4. Devin Aromashodu
   
5. Jacoby Jones
   
6. Kenny Britt
   
7. Mohamed Massaquoi
   
8. Bernard Berrian

These are my value Wide Receivers of great value for where there going. Jeremy Maclin is going to be a stud and a steal for where he is going in the draft. Mike Wallace is another late flyer who is the number two guy now in Pitt and will be even better in a few weeks when Big Ben comes back. He would be a great backup receiver. Mohamed Massaquoi is another late flyer to take one of your last picks with. He should emerge as the number one option there and be a decent bye week plug in with more upside. Try to snag as many of these guys as possible.
That is my take on Fantasy wide Receivers this season.

Fantasy Football Advice: Every Down Running Backs?

I was recently asked the question what running backs I think will be “every down backs” for this season? That was a hard question to answer because many teams are going away from “every down backs" and towards a shared backfield as everyone knows. So I tried to come up with a list of possible running backs who may accomplish this.

I am going to define a "every down back" as someone with 250+ carries or more. So some teams that run a lot like the Jets and Carolina may have multiple backs that meet this criteria for fantasy purposes. In 2002 there was 19 RBs that had 250+ carries. Last season there was just 9. Here was my first list of candidates:

1. Chris Johnson
2. Adrian Peterson
3. MJD
4. Frank Gore
5. Michael Turner
6. Steven Jackson
7. Cedric Benson
8. DeAngelo Williams
9. Ryan Grant
10. Shonn Green
11. Ryan Matthews

There are not many “every down backs” anymore with so many teams going with two to ease the load and not tax one back too much. For this reason if you don't get a top 5pick, I don’t think you should go after running backs early. Instead, you should concentrate on wide receivers and stock pile running backs later and one of them should be good if not more.

It is very hard to predict who will be every down backs because of injuries and other players who may take away from carries, even receivers, etc.

I am really big on Ryan Grant for where he is going. Again, he isn’t a top tier guy, and I wouldn’t reach for him, but he is every down back so I like him. If you don’t get a top six pick or so then I would go after a guy like Grant. Look at how many carries he has had the past two years
It is for this reason I don’t like Grant for years to come but for the next year or two. Then he will fall apart.

The Jetss like to run like crazy. Last year, as a team, they ran almost 700 times. Thomas Jones had 331 attempts last year and with Shonn green getting those carries he should be golden. Another guy to go after in late 1st round.

Both Carolina backs could get that many because they run so much. Especially DeAngelo Williams, but both should get carries. I don’t like Ryan Matthew for where he is going, but he will get the ball a lot because I think the rest of the team will not be good and be a disappointment.

From my initial list I would be worried about Turner, Benson, and to some degree Jackson staying healthy, but I don’t have that much to prove it on, just sort of a hunch. Jackson is coming off back surgery this offseason and he has had a lot of carries the past few years.

Here are the guys I think will get 250+ this season:
1. Chris Johnson
2. Adrian Peterson
3. MJD
4. Frank Gore
5. DeAngelo Williams
6. Ryan Grant
7. Shonn Green
8. Ryan Matthews

Out of those 8 guys it is hard to say who will really be every down backs. That is something very hard to predict. Personally I would only trust: Chris Johnson, AP, MJD, Gore, Grant, Greene, and Williams. I would be surprised if someone else emerges, but a guy like Mendenhall could, especially with Big Ben being out a few games.

What do you think?

Cubsfan4evr Fantasy Football Advice: Running backs

Now with the Game Of Inches fantasy draft done I can follow in the footsteps of "Sexy Rexy" and post my football advice which I am following in my drafts. I have worked hard to come up with my strategies and list of players to target that I think will have good seasons better than where they’re going, and of course a list of "sleepers" for deeper leagues.

In the first round I would only take a running back if you get a top 5 pick. If you have the opportunity to take Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Frank Gore you should take them. If not then I would take a WR instead in the first round. My strategy is to take a top RB if I can, otherwise to take WR and QB early by stockpiling many average RB later.

This are my rankings for the top 30 RB:
1) Chris Johnson
2) Adrian Peterson
3) Ray Rice
4) Frank Gore
5) Maurice Jones-Drew
6) Michael Turner
7) Steven Jackson
8) Ryan Grant
9) DeAngelo Williams
10) Rashard Mendenhall
11) Jerome Harrison
12) Cedric Benson
13) Arian Foster
14) Ryan Matthews
15) Shonn Greene
16) Pierre Thomas
17) Jamaal Charles
18) Justin Forsett
19) Jonathan Stewart
20) Jahvid Best
21) Joseph Addai
22) LeSean McCoy
23) Ahmad Bradshaw
24) Felix Jones
25) Tim Hightower
26) Matt Forte
27) Beanie Wells
28) Michael Bush
29) Ricky Williams
30) Clinton Portis

As I said though I don't like many running backs for where they are being drafted. So here is a list of the actual running backs I would draft based on where they are going.

The list of runningbacks I would actually draft:

• Chris Johnson
• Adrian Peterson
• Ray Rice
• Frank Gore
• Maurice Jones-Drew
• Ryan Grant
• Rashard Mendenhall
• Jerome Harrison
• Arian Foster
• Justin Forsett
• Jahvid Best
• Ahmad Bradshaw
• Tim Hightower

I wouldn't reach for these players more than a round early, if I didn't think they would come back to me. I would draft other positions, especially wide receivers early on and wait for these running backs that I am targeting. The reason is I think these running backs are good value for where there going. The other running backs I excluded from this list from my top 30 backs are still good and may have good seasons, but I think these players are better values for where there going. So if one of those other players fall a round or two then I would draft them if they are healthy.

Running backs I like later that I think could be great value out weight their ranking and be difference makers for a team are: Justin Forsett, Jahvid Best, Arian Foster (big on), and Michael Bush. I think some of these guys could develop into getting the lion share of the playing time. I think Bhest could be an injury risk, on a bad team, but if he does well he will get most of the carries. Forsett could also develop into getting enough carries a game. Arian Foster could easily emerge with the Texans being down on Slaton. Thus, these are guys I would target with later picks. I wouldn’t reach for them, but if they come to you, jump on them.

I am really big on Ryan Grant for where he is going. Again, he isn’t a top tier guy, and I wouldn’t reach for him, but he is every down back so I like him. If you don’t get a top six pick or so then I would go after a guy like Grant. Look at how many carries he has had the past two years:
It is for this reason I don’t like Grant for years to come but for the next year or two. Then he will fall apart. Depending on your league with the number of teams, if you have a flex, and the number of positions he would be a good number one back if you took a stud receiver with your first pick or a great 1-2 punch if he was your second pick. You can't go wrong with grant this year.

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
Total			$9

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

Game Of Inches Fantasy Football League

It's football season! Sure OTA's are still going on and the GOI authors haven't visited Bears training camp this year. Oh, and the MLB All-Star break haven't happened yet, but it's time to start your fantasy football strategy!

I have created a 14 team, 1/4 PPR, auction league. If you would like to join, contact us at gameofinchesblog@gmail.com or comment on the blog and I will send you the information to join.

I won two years ago and my brother won the league last year. Can you defeat the family dominance?

Football: Sexy Rexy In Review

Now that fantasy football is over and the football regular season is winding down, it's time to analyze how we need. The football board bet results will come soon enough, but here's a list of "me me me" of what I got right and what I got wrong:

What I Got Right
- Don't draft Matt Forte: While I thought he would get injured as opposed to just sucking for 16 weeks, I absolutely knew that all the pre-season love for Forte was overhyped and ended up the year being the 18th best RB behind guys like Rashard Mendenhall and Jamaal Charles.
-Liking Chris Johnson: While most people were like me and was a fan of Johnson (although myself, like essentially every other "analyst," did not expect THIS good of a year), TBO was not. Before the season started, TBO thought that fatboy LenDale White would vulture TDs and fantasy points away from Chris Johnson. In fact, TBO was autodrafted Chris Johnson in the GOI fantasy league and traded him away. Meanwhile, i always liked Johnson
-Having A Man Crush On Rashard Mendenhall: I always have big love for former Illini players and Mendenhall was no exception. Mendenhall was the 14th best RB this year an went, on average, in the 9th round.
-Disliking Marion Barber: I did my own Love/Hate for players per round and Barber was being drafted in the 2nd round, so I hated him. Barber ended up being the 20th best RB- barely behind Forte.
-Disliking Run DMC: Similar to Barber although it was obvious that Darren McFadden would not produce for your fantasy team. Ended up being the 3rd best RB on his own team and not even a top 50 RB.
-Waiting on TEs: I'm not sure what to think of me saying "Don't Draft Owen Daniels" because if you didn't you were pissed at me during the beginning of the season and then let out a sigh of relief during the second half, but many TEs that were drafted late did well. While I never publicly said this, I did draft Vernon Davis- who ended up being the 2nd best TE. I did advocate Visanthe Schiancoe though and he was the 7th best TE. Guys in the top ten were: Brent Celek, Kellen Winslow, and Heath Miller.
-Waiting To Draft A QB: Sure, drafting a guy like Brees worked out well for you, but you still could have gotten value later. Guys like Aaron Rodgers (#1 in fantasy, 4th round), Matt Schaub (#5 in fantasy, 6th round), Tony Romo (#7 in fantasy, 3rd round), and Brett Favre (#8 in fantasy, undrafted) were all guys who would have been great value picks for you.
-Liking Derrick Mason: I wrote a post about how Derrick Mason was a great value pick, and I was right. Mason was a guy who you could get in the later rounds of your draft to be a great #2 wide out or a flex play, and if you had him, I'm sure you weren't disappointed. He was the 18th best wide out over guys like Calvin Johnson, Mike Sims Walker, and Anquan Boldin.
-Not drafting a kicker or defense: Look at the kickers and defense that were top ten and where they were drafted. Big disparity.
-Hating Reggie Bush: I've always hated Reggie Bush and he proved me right yet again. Bush was the 39th best RB this year
-Liking Vincent Jackson: To be honest I don't know if I publicly said this but I've always liked Jackson and traded for him in the GOI league because he's always put up good football outsider numbers. Jackson was the 8th best receiver this year.
-Hating On LT: TBO and myself both called LT done and was the 16th best RB this year. Even his late season surge was not enough to justify wasting your first round pick on him. See also Brian Westbrook.
-Braylon Edwards Sucks: When the Jets traded for Braylon Edwards, I said he would suck. Well, 10 games later and Edwards is the 41st best receiver and 2nd best on his own team.

What I Got Wrong
-Loving Brandon Jacobs: Jacobs was the 5th best RB on my board and my first overall pick. I'm not going to rant like I really want to, but needless to say the 26th best RB overall was not worth my first round pick.
-Not Liking Ryan Grant: But can you blame me? After his break out season, he had a somewhat disappointing year last year. He rebounded this year just being consistent and awesome being the 8th best RB this year
-Having A Man Crush On Pierre Thomas: Although when on the field, Thomas has been awesome, unfortunately he has not gotten enough carries to really be worth his draft selection. Plus, I thought he's be a top 12 RB and he alas is only the 15th. Close, but not good enough.
-Hating on Big Ben: Guy was the 9th best QB this year and actually proved me wrong because he's had a career year in attempts and is not sucking. Fucker.
-Greg Olson Would Be A Top 5 TE: It's highly correlated that a top ten QB will have a 1000 yard receiver. I made a bunch of huge assumptions like 1) Cutler would be a top 10 QB and 2) Greg Olson has talent. Olson got a shit ton of targets but he sucks. But I made a bunch of huge leaps so this shouldn't be a huge shock that I was wrong, but whatever.

Can't Blame Me Because Of Injuries
-Anthony Gonzales: I thought he would be good but he got injured during Week One. He probably would have been good seeing how well Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have done.
-Fred Taylor: Guy was my Elijah Dukes and Taylor did exactly what Elijah Dukes did for my fantasy team- nothing. But Taylor got injured after only a few weeks and probably would have been at least a top 20 RB, but guy got injured in like Week 4 and didn't do anything until Week 17. But with the success of Laurence Maroney this year, again like Gonzales, I think I would have put Taylor in my "I Was Right" Section without injuries.
-Michael Turner: The dude

For A List Of My Preseason Prediction Visit: here, here, or TBO's and my podcast (above) on 7/20/09

Evaluating my Fantasy Football Draft in GOI

Each week after all of the football games we post the GOI football results looking at how the GOI staff did at Pigskin Pick 'Em and an update to our GOI Fantasy Football league. This is the last week of Fantasy football and after tonight we will know who the winner is in our league. I already know my fate and have finished in 6th place. I decided to look at how I drafted and see how the players did.

Here was the team I drafted. The number on the left was my pick and the one in parentheses is how the player was ranked overall. I feel that it is easier to find productive running backs in later rounds or by free agency, so I drafted many quality wide receivers as you see below. Out of the 15 players I drafted I have 6 of those players to end the season.

1.(10)Larry Fitzgerald-He stayed on my team the entire season and accumulated 173 points to be the 6th best receiver in the game and the 30th best player overall. That is not very good for my first pick.

2.(15)Andre Johnson-I traded him before the season started with Jeremy Maclin for Vincent Jackson and Chris Johnson. Chris Johnson ended up being my best player and that was a good trade even though Andre Johnson also had a very good season.

3.(34)Kurt Warner-He was my QB for the entire season and is ranked the 12th best QB and 24th overall. The 9th best QB was my back-up Eli Manning, but I only played him twice.

4.(39)Joseph Addai-I ended up trading Joseph Addai with Donald Driver and Vincent Jackson for Anquan Boldin and Marion Barber.

5.(58)Santana Moss-I ended up trading Moss with Donald Driver, Joseph Addai, and Vincent Jackson for Anquan Boldin and Marion Barber.

6.(63)Hines Ward- Along with Fitzgerald he ended up being one of my two WR for the entire season. He ended up with 137 points to be the 15th best WR and 56th overall player in our league.

7.(82)Cedric Benson-He was injured and missed a few weeks, but had a very good season for me, especially with him being my 7th pick. He turned out being the 12th best RB and 4oth best plahyer overall. He was one of my few good picks later on.

8.(87)Pittsburgh- I dropped him on October 6th before week 5.

9.(106) Le'Ron McClain- I dropped him on Sep 22 before week 3.

10.(111) Donald Driver-I ended up trading Donald Driver with Joseph Addai, Santana Moss, and Vincent Jackson for Anquan Boldin and Marion Barber.

11.(130) Anthony Fasano- I dropped him on Sep 15 before week 2.

12.(135) Eli Manning- He stayed on my roster the entire season, but only played twice. He was the 9th best QB and ended up 16th overall. I debated every week if I should play him or Warner.

13.(154) Heath Miller- He was my starting TE until I got Visanthe Shiancoe via trade.

14.(159) Tampa Bay-I dropped him on Sep 15 before week 2.

15.(178) Jeremy Maclin-I traded him before the season started with Andre Johnson for Vincent Jackson and Chris Johnson

As you see I didn't draft a kicker so once I made the two trades before the season started I picked up a kicker. I needed to make some trades to fill in my void at RB because I only drafted two. I made a good trade trading Andre Johnson with Jeremy Maclin for Vincent Jackson and Chris Johnson. My trades after that didn't help me that much those. I had a surplus of WR, but wasn't able to get good deals in return. There is always next year!

Lingerie Football

Thanks to a Comcast Sportsnet special report, I have discovered an amazing new sport that combines sexy women in lingerie with football.



This sport is called lingerie football and it features sexy women in lingerie uniforms playing football (that sounded awfully John Madden-esque). According to the Comcast report, the players in the league strongly feel that the sport is about much more than "half naked women" and that the fans who attend the games really get into the "game" aspect of of half naked women tackling each other. Good for them and for believing in the good, pure-intentioned hearts of men everywhere.



Now I know what you are thinking. "Wow, that is both exploitative and offensive" and I entirely agree with you. It is highly offensive to men, as it sort of ruins football...at least for those who like the game for the game and the stats and live in their mother's basements. For me however, who kind of hates football, it is a reason to watch football. Hell, just check out these player profiles. Now compare them to those of baseball players. Not enough for ya? Well, even Mike Ditka is getting a piece of the Lingerie Football action.



Goodbye Arena Football, hello Lingire Football! It is the true fantasy football league.

The Disappointing First Round

So far, for fantasy football, the player you drafted in the first round, probably isn't doing as well as you wanted them to. Sure, players like AD- most likely the number one overall- is doing well, but if you didn't have the number one pick (or you were Matthew Berry), is your #1 acted like a number one? Obviously every league is different so the top 12 in my league is probably not the same as yours, but I bet it's pretty darn close. Let's take a look at Yahoo!'s top 12 pre-ranked players

1) AD- obviously been well for you
2) Michael Turner- his 3 TD game last Sunday helps his overall numbers, but he's only the 10th best RB this year. (32rd best RB in Week 1, 10th in Week 2, 23rd in Week 3, bye in Week 4)
3) MJD- I've actually seen him go 2 in a whole bunch leagues and I thought that was dumb. Turns out I was dumb. 5th best RB this year
4) Matt Forte- I could have predicted that he wouldn't be this. Everyone was hatin' on Mark Schlareth for saying Forte would not be good. I guess he's laughing now. 28th best RB overall so far.
5) Brian Westbrook. Really, an old injury prone RB on a team that only runs 40% of the time sucks? Shocking. 39th best RB overall this year
6) DeAngelo Williams. We all forget just how an awful terrible QB can suck down an entire team. 32nd best RB this year.
7) LT. Brian Westbrook lite. Did last year not show you why you shouldn't have drafted him high? 65th best RB overall.
8) Larry Fitzgerald. He's been good, but only the 10th best wide out this year. You could have waited a round later for Andre Johnson or Reggie Wayne though
9) Steven Jackson. See DeAngelo Williams except substitute "QB" with "entire team". 20th best RB this year.
10) Frank Gore. I have a hard time hatin of Gore because he was so good when healthy, but health is a part of fantasy football. Still 15th best RB this year.
11) Brandon Jacobs. Ahmad Bradshaw has more fantasy points this year than Jacobs- and its not even close. 26th best RB this year.
12) Chris Johnson. He went 12 in leagues? No way leagues were this dumb. He's been awesome. 3rd best RB this year.

Value Picks this year:
-Cedric Benson, 7th round, 4th best RB
-Steve Smith (NYG), 7th round, best WR
-Ronnie Brown, 3rd round, 2nd best RB
-Mario Manningham, undrafted, 7th best WR
-Chad Ochocinco, 6th round, 8th best WR (and consistent)
-Vincent Jackson, 5th round, 11th best WR
-Kellen Winslow, 7th round, 2nd best TE
-Vernon Davis, 12th round, 4th best TE
-Ben Roethlisberger (ugh this pains me to say), 10th round, 2nd best QB
-Matt Schaub, 6th round, 3rd best QB
-Eli Manning, 12th round, 4th best QB

Great Production from your Late Round Picks
14th Round
-Tim Hightower: double digit fantasy points 3 out of his four weeks playing
-Brent Celek: 6th best TE this year above guys like Owen Daniels, Tony Gonzalez, Chris Cooley, and Jason Witten

13th Round
-Joe Flacco: 6th best QB this year above guys like Brady, Brees, Farve, Rivers, and Cutler

Why the D you Drafted Sucks:
Here's a list of the top 12 D/ST that weren't drafted in my league:
2) 49ers
3) Denver
4) New Orleans
8) Seattle
9) Cincy
10) Indy
11) Atlanta

7 of the top D/ST this year were not drafted

My fantasy football team is better than yours

Pos	Player	Opp	Status	Projected	Actual
QB	Matt Schaub (Hou - QB)	@Ari	L, 28-21	19.29	22.34
WR	Calvin Johnson (Det - WR) P	Pit	L, 28-20	9.22	0.20
WR	Roddy White (Atl - WR)	@SF	W, 45-10	8.56	33.00
RB	Thomas Jones (NYJ - RB)	@Mia	L, 31-27	8.49	16.20
RB	Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG - RB) P	Oak	W, 44-7	10.02	28.50
TE	Benjamin Watson (NE - TE)	@Den	L, 20-17	4.26	7.30
W/R	Michael Turner (Atl - RB)	@SF	W, 45-10	10.09	27.70
K	Matt Prater (Den - K)	NE	W, 20-17	8.06	9.00
DEF	Atlanta (Atl - DEF)	@SF	W, 45-10	7.13	13.00
Total				85.12	157.24