Fantasy Football '08

Just as Jesus died and was buried, then rose again on the third day, so Fantasy Football arises out of the ashes of Fantasy Baseball season.

I have 5 teams this year (again...overkill...i wish I only had 2-4). The main reason for this is because of either missed or shitty drafts. There are really only two leagues I care about: an ESPN league with some buddies from college and a Yahoo! league with the guys I play Yahoo! Baseball with. I missed the ESPN draft and I performed poorly in the Yahoo! draft. I'm in one other ESPN public league, which I had a stellar draft for last night, and two other Yahoo! leagues: one with my brother and his friends which I missed the draft for, and another Yahoo! Public league in which I fielded a pretty good team.

With the NFL kicking off last night featuring my beloved Washington Redskins losing on the road to the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, I figured it was high time to post the season preview for my Fantasy squads of the '08 season. Without further ado...
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ESPN

League: ACL I

Team: Chicago Shamecocks

QB: Matt Schaub, Vince Young
RB: Clinton Portis (pictured), Willis McGahee, Reggie Bush, Jerious Norwood, Warrick Dunn, Kolby Smith
WR: Calvin Johnson, Vincent Jackson, Courtney Taylor, Devin Thomas
TE: Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark
K: Ryan Longwell
D/ST: San Diego Chargers

Notes: This is the league with college friends so I'd really like to do well, but I'm going to have to make some improvements. My biggest need on this team is at WR. Calvin Johnson is the only solid bet...and he plays for Detroit. I have two solid TEs so I'm going to shop Gates around for that needed WR and maybe someone else. My QBs are both suspect. I could use an upgrade there, but we'll wait and see how they pan out. Schaub gets the nod for now. My RB corps is impressive, but the only true #1 is Portis. Hopefully McGahee will get healthy and the Ravens O-line will clear some paths for him...otherwise I may need to trade for anotehr RB. Kolby Smith is a waste of space unless Larry Johnson gets hurt (and even then, all bets are off) and I'm looking for someone to fill his roster slot.

Rating: 6/10 Dreadpoints
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League: Jacksonville 643149
Team: Let's Pet Puppies (Hey, it worked in baseball...)

QB: Donovan McNabb, Jake Delhomme
RB: Brain Westbrook, Maurice Jones-Drew, Thomas Jones, Chris Johnson
WR: Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith, Roddy White, Ted Ginn Jr., D.J. Hackett, Sidney Rice
TE: Chris Cooley (pictured, in hot pants), Alge Crumpler
K: Robbie Gould
D/ST: Philadelphia Eagles

Notes: I think this may be my strongest team this year. As long as McNabb stays healthy, he'll be solid as always, and Delhomme is a good backup since he appears fully recovered and his O-line is much improved, protecting for the pass and opening up for the run (which opens up for the pass). I love my four RBs, and will probably shop Jones-Drew around to see what I can get for him. My WR corps is solid as well, especially after Smith's 2 game suspension is over. Reggie Wayne is elite. I have all three parts of Carolina's passing game in Delhomme, Smith, and Hackett. Hopefully White can put up similar numbers to last year, even with a rookie QB. Ginn could attract some trade interest. Rice is Minnesota's #1 (and a Gamecock!), so that should be good for something. Cooley is my favorite player on my favorite team, and a solid option at TE. I'm hoping Crumpler will catch a couple TDs in the early weeks and then maybe I can sell him high for another WR.

Rating: 9/10 Dreadpoints
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Yahoo!

League: Big Willy's Football League

Team: Shamrocks

QB: Phillip Rivers, Jake Delhomme
RB: Steven Jackson (pictured), Jamal Lewis, Ladell Betts, Dominic Rhodes, T.J. Duckett
WR: Calvin Johnson, Roddy White, Chris Chambers, Drew Bennett, Antwaan Randle El, Reggie Brown, Rashied Davis
TE: Kellen Winslow, Greg Olsen
K: Neil Rackers

D/ST: Philadelphia Eagles

Notes: This is the league I'm in with the guys I always play Fantasy Baseball with. I was present for the draft, but I don't think I did as well as I could've done. Also, the rules and position allowances in this league are very odd. Each week you can play 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, and then there are 4 "utility" slots, 2 that are reserved for either a WR or a TE and 2 more reserved for a WR or a RB. Weird, and as you may guess, this allows for an obscene number of points each week. All that being said, I have pretty good options at every position. Again, hoping for Delhomme to return to form, but Rivers has a great offense around him so he'll be the starter for now. I would like to have another #1 RB. Jackson and Lewis should both be solid barring injury, but my RB quality seriously tails off after that. Likewise with my WRs. Johnson, White, and Chambers are all solid options, wheras the others are either sleeper picks, small producers, or complete last round fliers (i.e. Rashied Davis). My TE corps is good: Winslow is elite and Olsen continues to improve for the Bears (and with their O-line, Orton/Grossman will probably be using the short dump throw often).

Rating: 7/10 Dreadpoints
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League: Taylor Christiano's Group
Team: Shamecocks

QB: Jake Delhomme, Aaron Rodgers
RB: Steven Jackson, Ray Rice, Willis McGahee, Rashard Mendenhall, Chris Johnson, Jonathan Stewart
WR: Reggie Wayne, Chad Ocho Cinco (pictured, HA!), Lee Evans, Reggie Williams, Antwaan Randle El, Vincent Jackson
TE: Jason Witten, Alge Crumpler
K: Rob Bironas
D/ST: New England Patriots

Notes: I didn't really want to have two teams nicknamed the Shamecocks, but this is the league with my brother (the Clemsux Tiger fan) and his friends, so I had to use it again. I don't know why I drafted Delhomme so many times this year. I really hope he doesn't make me eat it. In my defense, I wasn't present for this draft and it appears the autopick waited til the end to choose my QBs. This league has weird position allowances too. You can play 2 QBs, 4 WRs, 2 RBs, and 2 TEs per week. I guess if you allowed only 1 QB, this would be the most realistic setup possible in Fantasy since it more closely mimics actual offenses. Anyway, I'm still relying on Delhomme to be decent and I'm REALLY hoping Aaron Rodgers is ready for the big time. My 5 RBs are awesome in this league; again, I have two solid veterans (assuming McGahee can stay healthy) and then four young phenoms. I'll definitely look to trade an RB, probable for a WR. My WRs aren't bad at all though, with elites Wayne and Ocho Cinco (HA!), and #1s Evans and Williams. Randle El and Jackson round out the corps. To top that off, I have the highest touted TE this year in Witten and a former standout with a new team in Crumpler. Let's hope he and Vince Young can develop a good rapport. It looks like this team didn't turn out too bad, even in my absence.

Rating: 8/10 Dreadpoints
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League: Yahoo Public 543788
Team: The Shams

QB: Jay Cutler, Matt Hasselbeck
RB: Brian Westbrook (pictured, badass), Willie Parker, Jamal Lewis, Ray Rice
WR: Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White, Chris Chambers, Donald Driver
TE: Vernon Davis, Todd Heap
K: Robbie Gould
D/ST: Seattle Seahawks

Notes: This is a standard Yahoo! Public league and I think I had a pretty awesome draft. I'm glad to have Cutler because he has a great arm and just continues to get better in Denver. Matt Hasselbeck was hanging around late in the draft so he was a steal as my backup QB, though he could have a better season than Cutler. I love having Westbrook again. He's a Fantasy god. Fast Willie, Jamal Lewis, and Ray Rice make for a great team of horses. I have four strong WRs and one former great in Donald Driver. Maybe Aaron Rodgers can spark him back to greatness. Also, hopefully Roddy White wasn't a flash in the pan last year. My only question mark is at TE. Vernon Davis underachieved last year, and Todd Heap was once a great pick but has been hurt in recent years. They also play for the 49ers and Ravens respectively. All in all, this is one of my best teams.

Rating: 9/10 Dreadpoints
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It's looking to be another exciting season of NFL football. We'll see which, if any, of my teams stand the test of time and make a run at a league championship.

GO SKINS!