Somewhere along the line, I lost the edge. I have had success in fantasy
football. Won titles, earned respect of like-minded geeks, became
the object of servile fear, etc. But, a new business, more kids, a
move, some health concerns and the ordinary grind of life have transformed
me into just another guy not ready to draft a fantasy football team.
It's kind of embarrassing really. I was burned out. I surrendered
commissioner-ship of the two leagues to which I still belong and
decided to devote my life to Texas Hold 'em Poker. I figured I could
catch up a couple of weeks before the draft and go ape again. However,
reality will intrude and kick you in the sensitive parts just to
remind you that it pays to be cynical.
So, in front of the FFToday crowd, I am living a season on the
brink, so to speak. My entire preparation before draft day last
week was to print out the FFToday cheat sheets. That sound you hear
is Mike wincing as I bank success or failure this season on his
projections and rankings. My intent is to give you regular updates
on the exploits of my re-draft league team drafted without deviation
from the list on this site. The Pepsi challenge, if you will.
Why do this? Why admit to all (two or three) readers of my column
that I have no knowledge of the 2003 fantasy football scene? To
prove a point, dear friend(s). I have long been an advocate for
the notion that a poor draft is not a huge problem in building a
winning team-- that post-draft is a bigger factor. If I have drafted
well, it is partly by accident and partly from expertise not my
own. Whatever the case, I will endeavor to win, and will report
success or failure as the case may be.
The basics: I play in a 14-team league. Each roster must contain
2 qb, 3 rb, 3 wr, 2 te, 2 k and 2 def/spec. Each week you must start
1 qb, 2 rb, 2 wr, 1 te, 1 k, and 1 def/spec. team. The scoring system
gives 6 points for tds, whether thrown, run or received; 3 points
for fgs under 40 yards and 4 points for those 40 yards or longer;
2 or 1 points for conversions, as the case may be. Defense only
counts for actual points scored. Furthermore, 1 point for every
10 yards rushed, received and 1 point for every 25 yards passed.
We just concluded our draft on Sunday, August 24, 2003. I drew
5th pick in a serpentine draft. Here's what I did:
ROUND
PLAYER
1
RB
Clinton Portis
2
RB Curtis Martin
3
TE Tony Gonzalez (via
trade)
4
WR Donald Driver (via
trade)
5
QB Steve McNair
6
WR Muhsin Muhammad
7
WR Chris Chambers
8
QB Kelly Holcomb
9
D/ST Tampa Bay
10
K Jeff Wilkins
11
TE Mikhael Ricks
12
K Morten Anderson
13
D/ST Dallas
15
RB Kenny Watson
I had originally drafted Trent Green with the fifth pick of the third
round, but even as I uttered the name aloud I had this nauseated feeling
I couldn't explain. By the time I came to grips with it I worked a
trade with the owner picking 13th in the third round. I traded Green
and my 4th round pick (10th pick that round) for his third round (13th
pick) and fourth round (2nd pick) slots. With those I drafted Gonzalez
and Driver, respectively, and ended up with McNair as my starting
qb.
Now, I want to remind all of you in 12 or fewer team leagues who
think the above looks really weak that in 14 team leagues the talent
is very stretched, especially at rb. So, without any further apology,
that was my draft.
You, the reader, will follow my trades, free agent moves, lineup
decisions and pitiful attempts to fleece my fellow owners as the
season progresses. You will feel good about yourself as you see
how a total moron runs his team. If I can win, it may be the best
argument yet for not bothering to prepare for your draft ever again.
