2014 FF Draft Work: Teams 2 and 3

I'm not sure who has less of a life: me for writing this or you for reading it.  Let's see what you think of these teams.  I felt it was another couple strong days in the office.  I really wish they paid me for drafting teams (other than the money I'm taking off my fellow owners) or writing about them.

TEAM 2

Setup – 12 team; .5 PPR; 1 keeper (Jamaal Charles); 12^th pick

QB – Colin Kaepernick (7^th)

RB – Jamaal Charles (keeper)

RB – Shane Vereen (4^th)

WR – Antonio Brown (1^st)

WR – Michael Crabtree (3^rd)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Michael Floyd (5^th)

TE – Julius Thomas (2^nd)

K – Nick Novak (15^th)

DEF – 49ers (12^th)

BN (QB) – Tony Romo (10^th)

BN (RB) – Chris Johnson (6^th)

BN (RB) – Christine Michael (11^th)

BN (WR) – Brandin Cooks (8^th)

BN (WR) – Riley Cooper (14^th)

BN (TE) – Ladarius Green (9^th)

BN (DEF) – Buccaneers (13^th)

Having a surefire top-4 pick to start with is always nice.  I used to prefer drafting on one of the ends because I liked doubling up on picks at once. However, I’ve since migrated away from that thinking because I’ve found that you need to reach for players more often.  Or maybe I don’t like sitting around waiting for 20 minutes between picks. 

I was really hoping the Bernard would make it to me and he almost did.  Once he didn’t my only decision was 1 or 2 WRs.  I knew I was taking my man Brown.  I decided to go with a curveball by selecting the Orange Julius.  My general thinking has been to wait on TE if I can’t get Graham.  I do have Thomas as my #2 TE and it wasn’t a stretch to grab so I hoped that wouldn’t put me behind the 8-ball too much. 

I was quite pleased that Vereen came all the back; he’s going to catch a ton of passes.  Maybe not Larry Centers circa 1995 but in the ballpark I’m hoping.  Crabtree and Kap had some good mojo a couple years ago that I think they can rekindle.  I’m content with him as my #2. 

Both Floyd and CJ1K both seemed like real value picks when they got to me. 

As I predicted, there would be QBs in the middle to late rounds that I could snag and walk away from the draft happy with.  I actually think Romo could end up with the better year than Kap but I also correctly predicted he would drop.  There’s just some negative stigma about the guy that I don’t get. 

Cooks was a reach but I’ve already supported my basis for going outside your comfort zone on guys when you’re on an end.  Plus I really wanted to get at least 1 share of a guy who could duplicate the work of Darren Sproles. 

I’d much rather have Green on my 1^st team but I’m not complaining.  I typically like to carry 2 defenses and play the matchup game.  I feel like I have 2 top 10 units with the 49ers and Bucs (in Lovie I trust). 

Overall, I’d consider this another job well done.  I don’t have any perceived weaknesses and I don’t need unrealistic performances from any player or group of players to compete.  Obviously I like my chances to make the playoffs (6 of 12 make it) and I consider myself one of the favorites to win it all (and retain my title). 

This league is on NFL.com and they gave my work an A+.  Another league mate input the draft into his fantasy sports program.  The prognosis on my team is that I have a 99% chance to make the playoffs with excellent in-season management and an 84% chance to make them with merely average in-season management.  I love having my ego massaged but those calculations definitely seem inflated.  I hope he didn’t pay too much for that app. For the results, go here and look at the Draft2 tab. 

TEAM 3

Setup – 10 team; .5 PPR; Auction with $200 budget

QB – Colin Kaepernick ($3)

RB/WR/TE (RB) – Eddie Lacy ($41)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Jordy Nelson ($32)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Antonio Brown ($28)

RB/WR/TE (RB) – Andre Ellington ($22)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Andre Johnson ($21)

RB/WR/TE (WR) – Larry Fitzgerald ($16)

K – Justin Tucker ($1)

DEF – Cardinals ($1)

BN (WR) – Keenan Allen ($16)

BN (WR) – T.Y. Hilton ($11)

BN (WR) – Brandin Cooks ($6)

BN (QB) – Russell Wilson ($1)

BN (WR) – Terrance Williams ($1)

This was only my 2^nd auction ever for football.  I had some player values from ESPN printed out ahead of time but I quickly tossed them aside.  If you look at the entire auction results here on the Draft3 tab, you’ll see some guys who went for way more than expected and some absolute steals. 

The auction value is in parentheses and I made the highest paid players on each the starters. I did italicize a few situations where a bench guy (based on price) might actually represent the more optimal lineup.  What you can’t tell from this sheet is when the player got added.  Trust me when I say that makes a difference. 

Even when you look at my players, it’s impossible to look at individual players in a vacuum.  It’s all relative to everything else going on around you.  From my baseball auction experience, I’ve found that the best deals are early and late.  Even though everyone has money at the beginning, people are hesitant to overpay because they’re still holding out hope for a better deal later.  I’ll shell out a couple extra bucks for a stud if it’s someone I really want.  In the middle stages, the pool of valued players is dwindling and the money usually hasn’t caught up to it yet.  In order to be sure they aren’t stuck holding the bag, people will squabble over the few big names left.  By the end, there are great bargains if you’ve got some money left. 

This league is a bit unique because you can completely customize your lineup outside of your QB, K and DEF.  The other 6 spots can be comprised of any combination RB, WR and TE.  I rode a deep stable of WRs to a 3^rd place finish and you’ll see that I’ve followed a similar strategy this year.  For whatever reason, I’ve found the WRs to be a better value.  There are also few question marks with the WR position versus the RB position which is another reason I tend to lean in that direction.  I had no knowledge of this “Zero RB Strategy” but the logic is documented in this article if you’re curious. 

You’ll see that I didn’t follow that strategy completely by shelling my largest amount on Lacy.  That was at a point in the auction where I still had a lot of money and I was panicking a little bit at the lack of good players I had compared to everyone else. 

My UPS guy (what can Brown do for me?) shows up on a team for the 3^rd.  Nelson makes another appearance too.  I’m not disappointed in either but I also wish I had made a harder push for one of the top 5 WRs. 

I wanted me some Andre Ellington so I splashed the pot when his name was called.  I think it was a very fair price.  I then rounded out my starting lineup with all WRs.  You’d be hard pressed to argue with any of those prices I think.  No TE?  Well, you don’t need one, so no.  All of my WRs except the last few should outscore most TEs anyway. 

I was getting real nervous that I was going to be stuck with someone like Eli or Dalton as my starting QB because I was under $10 without a QB.  Fortunately, most of the people with money left already had a QB or they made the position an afterthought. If you at the results, you’ll see all sort of crazy bargains at the position.  For the 3^rd league in a row, I’m “stuck” playing the matchup game.  I may do the same with DEF so I was fine getting whatever was left. 

The league site didn’t provide any projections for this team.  With the range of teams (some stars and scrubs, some steady across the board), it’s also harder to judge everyone.  I tried to envision my team against a standard snake draft and it comes out favorably.  That might not mean anything actually.  I had a general plan to model my team after last year’s squad after its success.  Of course, that team also had Peyton Manning.  

2014 FF Draft Work: Team 1

Fantasy football season is upon us yet again.  I had 3 drafts the previous weekend.  Like any great artist, I like to take a moment to step back and appreciate my work. I am definitely caught in the HUB undertow at the moment but I surfaced for just long enough to write about my first draft.  Maybe I'll be able to write about the others before my brain is completely fried.  This league is comprised of all co-workers and it's also the one I expect to give and receive the most trash talk for. 

Unless you're in the league, I'm going to assume the likelihood of you reading any further is only slightly higher than my chances of landing a date with Jennifer Lawrence. Below is my team with the round I selected the player.  I'll humor myself that someone is going to click here to see the full draft results.  In addition to the thoughts on the players I acquired, my general draft strategy for this year is revealed.  Feedback on anything you see is always appreciated.

Setup - 12 team; .5 PPR; 4th pick

QB – Tony Romo (8th round)
RB – Matt Forte (1st)
RB – Rashad Jennings (4th)
WR – Jordy Nelson (2nd)
WR – Antonio Brown (3rd)
TE – Antonio Gates (11th)
WR/TE (WR) – Emmanuel Sanders (7th)
K – Dan Bailey (15th)
DEF – Bengals (12th)
BN (QB) – Phillip Rivers (10th)
BN (RB) – Toby Gerhart (5th)
BN (RB) – Pierre Thomas (6th)
BN (WR) – Terrance Williams (9th)
BN (TE) – Eric Ebron (13th)
BN (DEF) – Bills (14th)

There’s a clear-cut top 5 in most drafts so I was thrilled to pull a top 5 pick. In fact, #4 might even be the number I most prefer. I had no problem taking whatever was left and I got a sooner pick on the way back.

My starting WRs are both guys I have in my top 10. Generally speaking, in any draft this year, I find the back half of the top 10 WRs to be a better pool of players to choose from than the back half of the top 10 RBs. Especially with an elite RB, I was confident in my ability to cobble together a collection of RBs to compete for the #2 spot. (That went even better than I expected.)

If you can see all of my teams, you might think I’m the biggest Antonio Brown fan. I prefer consistency over the boom-or-bust guys (I’m looking at you, DeSean Jackson). Brown had at least 6 catches in every game last year. Plus he’s got the best smile in the NFL.

I had Bernard and Vereen snatched up 1 pick before me, but in the grand scheme of things, they were minor annoyances. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to see Jennings’ name still on the board when I was ready to return my focus to RB.

Gerhart’s carries might result in three yards and a cloud of dust, but it’s all about volume with him. I could do worse for a backup RB, and the same could be said for the criminally underrated (in PPR formats) Pierre Thomas.

I’m loving my flex selection of Sanders more by the minute with every Wes Welker concussion.

I feel that once you miss out on the big 3 at QB, you’re well served to wait and pair a couple quality options. That’s exactly what I did with Romo and Rivers who are both perfectly capable of delivering top 10 seasons at the position. People always seem to mistake real-football shortcomings for fake-football shortcomings when it comes to Romo. He often ends up my team because of that and I’ve never really regretted it.

It’s hard to be strong everywhere and TE is my weakest position. I’m banking on Gates being able to hold off Father Time for another season, and I’m not disappointed to call him my starter.

My biggest disappointments came when filling out my bench, which should tell you how strongly I feel about this team. Julian Edelman kept slipping and I would have been ecstatic to call him my #4 WR had he lasted just 2 picks longer. Instead, I went with Williams over the buzzy Brandin Cooks. I guess potentially using him with Romo some weeks was the tiebreaker.

I also wanted to double down on Chargers tight ends. In addition to being on everyone’s TE sleeper list, Ladarius Green would have made a nice insurance policy for Gates. My nemesis Scott poached both Edelman and Green from me.

The Bengals figure to be another strong DST unit again.

The Bills and Ebron are picks I’m already considering cutting but whatever; maybe I can pick up big ‘ol Matt Adams as my reserve TE (inside joke). 

So Yahoo graded my draft a B+ for whatever it’s worth (probably a place in the sewer). I felt that was a little low but it was also the highest grade they gave out. I should have little trouble reaching the playoffs again. I won’t predict a championship but that’s only because T.J. Housmandzadeh doesn’t play anymore.

Q101: 2010

How did we get here?

2010 (Or, the year the music stopped…but on a good note)

5. “Substitution” – Silversun Pickups

When reactions turn into hurricanes / And the middle ground seems a little tame / Whether full or empty it's all the same / It's so easy to see, everyone can agree, you're not to blame

I already showed these guys some love in 2009 and here they are again in the top 5.  I thank my former co-worker Matt for sharing his library of Silversun Pickups albums with me.  Swoon is my favorite album they’ve released thus far and “Substitution” is probably my favorite track off of that album.  The mellow upbeat tone just hits the spot.  Fun fact: The women playing musical chairs in the video were actually playing for a real prize.  According to Silversun frontman Brian Aubert, it got pretty ugly.

4. “Odd One” – Sick Puppies

Odd one, you're never alone / I'm here and I will reflect you / Both of us basically unattached / To anything or anyone unless we're pretending

Sick Puppies aren’t one of my favorites but they get to join the party.  I think it’s worth noting that I consider the top 5 of 2010 to be a strong collection of songs.  Maybe I latched onto “Odd One” because the lyrics attempted to soothe the disconnected feelings so many of us have had.  I could try to relay some story about being an “odd one” that comes with a hidden agenda, but I’m abandoning that approach for this year.  As the years progressed in this mini-series, it became less about the music and more about stories unrelated to the music.  We’re in the final year of the countdown and it should be as much about the music as possible, plain and simple.

3. “Give Me A Sign” – Breaking Benjamin

Forever and ever / The scars will remain / I'm falling apart / Leave me here forever in the dark 

Fun fact:  Each room in this video features artwork from a Breaking Benjamin album cover.  Can you spot them all?  Breaking Benjamin has made the list several times this decade so it’s somewhat fitting that they make one final contribution.  “Give Me A Sign” is a song I was destined to love based solely on the song title.  I’m always looking for signs to explain why things are the way they are.  It can be my undoing.  In response to some hurdles I was having trouble getting over, a friend recently suggested that I just “ride the wave.”  I’m going to take him up on that sage advice.  Things may happen for a reason but there doesn’t have to be one.  I don’t need to dissect and analyze everything.  Keep your signs for now, Breaking Benjamin.  C’est la vie.

2. “The Crow & The Butterfly” – Shinedown

Just like a crow chasing the butterfly / Dandelions lost in the summer sky / When you and I were getting high as outer space / I never thought you'd slip away / I guess I was just a little too late

This is another of those Shinedown songs off of The Sound of Madness album that enjoyed some crossover success.  Fun fact: the album is the 2^nd one ever to have 4 singles top the chart.  There is a certain nostalgic appreciation that one can gain from this song.  I know I loved it as soon I heard it and the crow/butterfly analogy is genius.  I’d venture we’ve all been the crow at some point in our lives chasing after a butterfly just out of our grasp.

1. “Kings And Queens” – 30 Seconds To Mars

We were the kings and queens of promise / We were the victims of ourselves / Maybe the children of a lesser God / Between Heaven and Hell.

Anything associated to Jared Leto is pretty much pure gold.  Am I right?  “Kings And Queens” is an eruption of awesomeness.  The buildup lures you in and by the time the full ensemble of instruments and choric chanting takes effect, you’re ready to take on whatever lays before you.  The video for this song perfectly captures the possibility and promise this song inspires.  The song even made its way into my sports consciousness because ESPN uses it as background music during its promotional commercials for the big tennis tournaments it airs.  I couldn’t think of many better songs to close out the final year of Q101’s top 101 songs.

Q101: 2009

How did we get here?

2009 (Or, the year “Wheels” helped resuscitate the corpse of alternative music)

5. “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” – The Offspring

A rose that won’t bloom / Winter’s kept you / Don’t waste your whole life trying / To get back what was taken away

The lyrics in this one are pretty easy to connect.  It’s an outreach to a girl who was raped at a young age and the singer feels obvious remorse over his passive reaction to the situation.  I liked the song pretty much right away, but I didn’t know who the group was.  An internal conversation with myself went something like this.  “Hey, wait a minute.  That voice sort of sounds like Dexter Holland’s voice.”  “Nah, it can’t be.  Just listen to the song.”  “No, I really think it is.”  “Since when did The Offspring have a softer side?  Come on, they’re penning the lyrics that will incite the next great riot or accompany some WWE wrestler into the ring.”  “Yeah, you’re probably right.  That mediocre ‘Hammerhead’ song they came out with recently is what I’ve come to expect from them.”  Weeks passed, and I heard the song a few more times.  I still couldn’t shake my belief that maybe, just maybe, it was The Offspring.  Sure, I could’ve just looked up who performed the song.  I have an idiosyncrasy (I know, right?) where sometimes I like to let the discovery of an artist or song come naturally in the flow of the day.  There is fun in the anticipation.  It’s sort of like the notion that the pursuit of something is better than what you’re actually after.  Needless to say, I did eventually discover that “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” was by The Offspring.  A mixture of shock and approval ensued.  A meaningful contribution by The Offspring helped serve notice that alternative music wasn't dying.  Those past couple years were pretty rough.  No, the genre wasn’t the vibrant being I had come to love, but it was taken off life support.  My total number of downloaded tracks for this year pales in comparison to the glory years, but the top of the list is certainly worthy of attention.  In an era where my musical tastes were more diversified, that was all I could ask for.

4. “Wheels” – Foo Fighters

Well I wanted something better man / I wished for something new / And I wanted something beautiful / I wished for something true / Been lookin' for a reason man / Something to lose 

Yesyesyesyesyes!  This one’s for you, Mandie.  I couldn’t wait to formally acknowledge the greatness of this song in blog form.  (Mandie has spewed so much vitriol in its direction and I’m not entirely sure why.)  I can honestly say that her disgust had nothing to do with its inclusion in my top 5, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a little smirk because of it.  I’m very proud to capture some of that past musical nirvana (pun only slightly intended) with the inclusion of a song from one of my old favorites.  I simply adore those stutter stops throughout the song.  Sometimes I find my body rhythmically tensing up in conjunction with the stops as I’m listening along.   Kentucky Fried Chicken.  What does “Wheels” and the Foo Fighters have to do with KFC?  Nothing, but this is 2009, and my family took a vacation to the Smoky Mountains that year.  We toured and ate at the original KFC restaurant along the way.  If ever there was a time to re-enact the scene from Family Guy where Peter tries to meet The Colonel, this was it.  I ordered my meal and made my request, hoping they were familiar with the show and I didn’t sound like too much of an idiot.  (They hadn’t and I did.)

3. “Panic Switch” – Silversun Pickups

When you see yourself in a crowded room / Do your fingers itch? Are you pistol-whipped? / Do you step in line or release the glitch? / Can you fall asleep with a panic switch?

I’ve really grown to like this group.  The lead singer’s voice and their distorted melodies reminded me of one of my favorite groups, the Smashing Pumpkins.  They’ve even got a female band member like the Pumpkins.  Silversun’s emergence also indicated a potential resurgence of the alternative scene for me.  They would never have the impact of someone like The Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, or even Fall Out Boy, but I was just glad to have a new group I could get behind.  Carnavas was a solid album but Swoon took it up a notch.  “Panic Switch” is meant to represent a nervous breakdown.  You’d like me to launch into some story about how this song symbolizes some moment in my life or parallels some underlying feelings of insanity, wouldn’t you?  Sorry to disappoint.  I may be weird but I ain’t crazy.

2. “Second Chance” – Shinedown

Tell my mother, tell my father / I've done the best I can / To make them realize this is my life / I hope they understand / I'm not angry, I'm just saying / Sometimes goodbye is a second chance

Fun fact: this is the final song legendary disc jockey Casey Kasem played before signing off for the final time.  I can remember eating lunch in my car while attending USF, listening to Shinedown sing about “staring down the barrel of a 45,” and I fully expected them to become just another one of those groups from the early 2000s that would fade away.  “Second Chance” is off The Sound of Madness album, which had some major crossover success.  I know I enjoyed several songs off the album.  The lyrics of this song are ones that I always wanted to sing with some meaning.  Living at home all those years and being frustrated with the way things were going, I had dreams of breaking it off and moving far away to start over.  This is the song I was going to leave them with.  You know now that I’ve moved out but I’m still very much in the area.  I’m close with my family and you can’t deny what feels right.  I know many friends who weren’t as fortunate as I have been.  Some of them barely talk to their siblings or parents.  I know I’ve been blessed and I was raised the right way.  Maybe I never needed a second chance after all.  Here’s a picture taken during that aforementioned family trip to the Smokies.  This was shortly after shaving off all of those glorious shoulder-length locks I had.  I remember we left our house on this trip not knowing our destination.  My boss, in particular, was miffed at the notion of such uncertainty when I told her our “plans.”  What can I say?  That’s just how the Younkers operate sometimes.  I shrugged and told her we didn’t have to decide until we got to a certain fork in the road.  If my dad turned left, it was going to be Gettysburg.  If it was right, we’d see the Smoky Mountains.

1. “Audience Of One” – Rise Against

We're all ok until the day we're not / The surface shines while the inside rots / We raced the sunset and we almost won / We slammed the brakes, but the wheels went on

Here’s another submission for my Mount Rushmore of songs.   Its place on that hollowed monument is pretty secure because I’d arguably call it my favorite song of the decade.  I don’t agree with the decidedly liberal agenda being pushed throughout the video but if a band’s political views were a prerequisite to liking to their music, I suspect there would be very few songs up for top 5 consideration.  There is no doubt that the lyrics are the best part of “Audience of One.”  I could have pasted the full set of lyrics above because they all apply.  Some days, I feel like I’m slowly rotting away.  I just know that something’s missing.  You wouldn’t see it if you weren’t looking for it.  I don’t want to wake up one day wishing I could’ve done it all differently.  I feel like I’ve positioned myself nicely for a fulfilling life.  I’ve made good choices and tried to do it the right way.  Does it get better?  Tell me I’m on the right track.  I’m sure there’s a greater plan in the works and nobody likes a backseat driver; I’d just like to know where we’re going.  This song represents the natural progression of life.  You drift apart from many people that you knew.  I’m sure I’ve broached the subject before in prior blogs but it’s rather difficult to make new friends after college and it only gets harder with each passing year.  Have you met people recently through mutual friends?  Are you now hanging out together?  Doubt it.  If so, you’re much better at life than I am.  You just have to hope that you’ve still got an audience to play in front of when the dust settles.  For most people, this is a spouse and kids.  My two best friends growing up, Matt and Tom, have since moved to away (to Texas and Bloomington, respectively).  Matt has been happily married for years and Tom probably will be sooner than later.  I guess I’ve never really replaced them.  Your wife and kids should be the most important part of your life, and I’d be fully committed to mine like any good husband and dad.  It’s selfish for us out there on our own to expect the attention we used to get.  I’m reasonable, if nothing else.  A blog with limited followers has prepared me to accept my audience of one but I don’t ever want to be OK with it.  Life can be a long trip by yourself.  Maybe you’ll just let me ride along once in a while.