Fantasy News
Another round, another receiver.
I grabbed Calvin Johnson in the middle of the 5th round. That’s my fourth wide receiver, versus only two running backs. But I don’t see that as a problem.
You can start four wide receivers (there’s a float position). You need to start only two running backs. So there’s no pressure, in my opinion, to force picks (with a very low success rate) on running backs who are going to get hurt, benched, or simply underperform.
More important is overall production. And in this scoring format, with the added dimension of 1 point per reception, Calvin Johnson projects to be a lot better than vast majority of running backs who’ve been selected in the second, third, fourth and fifth grounds. He’s the No. 14 wide receiver on my board. I also have three of the top 9 wide receivers, so I don’t think this team will have any problem scoring points.
The other team that is doing well, in my opinion, is using a similar strategy. John Georgopoulus. He went with Brian Westbrook at 1.04, and since that time has selected three wide receivers and only one other running back. A month or so into the season, I think you’ll be able to look at this league and see that the strategy of locking in on running backs is vastly overrated.
Fanex Football Experts Draft
1.01 RB SD LaDainian Tomlinson (Nazarek)
1.02 RB MIN Adrian Peterson (Cannon)
1.03 RB IND Joseph Addai (Hickerson)
1.04 RB PHI Brian Westbrook (Georgopoulus)
1.05 RB STL Steven Jackson (Allan, trade)
1.06 RB SF Frank Gore (O'Leary)
1.07 RB BUF Marshawn Lynch (Dolfi)
1.08 RB BAL Willis McGahee (Butler, trade)
1.09 RB KC Larry Johnson (Cahill)
1.10 RB WAS Clinton Portis (Kellogg)
1.11 RB DAL Marion Barber (Pitzer)
1.12 RB GB Ryan Grant (Holm)
2.01 WR NE Randy Moss (Holm)
2.02 RB NO Reggie Bush (Pitzer)
2.03 RB MIA Ronnie Brown (Kellogg)
2.04 QB NE Tom Brady (Cahill)
2.05 RB TEN LenDale White (Butler, trade)
2.06 RB JAC Maurice Jones-Drew (Dolfi)
2.07 RB CLE Jamal Lewis (O'Leary)
2.08 QB IND Peyton Manning (Cannon, trade)
2.09 WR IND Reggie Wayne (Georgopoulus)
2.10 RB NE Laurence Maroney (Hickerson)
2.11 WR DAL Terrell Owens (Cannon, trade)
2.12 RB ARI Edgerrin James (Nazarek)
3.01 RB ATL Michael Turner (Nazarek)
3.02 WR HOU Andre Johnson (Allan, trade)
3.03 WR CLE Braylon Edwards (Hickerson)
3.04 WR NO Marques Colston (Georgopoulus)
3.05 TE SD Antonio Gates (Butler)
3.06 WR ARI Larry Fitzgerald (O'Leary)
3.07 WR CIN T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Dolfi)
3.08 WR CAR Steve Smith (Allan, trade)
3.09 WR ARI Anquan Boldin (Cahill)
3.10 QB DAL Tony Romo (Kellogg)
3.11 WR CIN Chad Johnson (Pitzer)
3.12 RB PIT Willie Parker (Holm)
4.01 RB OAK Darren McFadden (Holm)
4.02 WR STL Torry Holt (Pitzer)
4.03 WR DEN Brandon Marshall (Kellogg)
4.04 RB TB Earnest Graham (Cahill)
4.05 WR NE Wes Welker (Allan)
4.06 RB NYG Brandon Jacobs (Dolfi)
4.07 RB CIN Rudi Johnson (O'Leary)
4.08 RB NYJ Thomas Jones (Georgopoulus)
4.09 QB CIN Carson Palmer (Hickerson)
4.10 WR NYG Plaxico Burress (Cannon)
4.11 QB NO Drew Brees (Butler)
4.12 WR DET Roy Williams (Nazarek)
5.01 TE DAL Jason Witten (Nazarek)
5.02 RB CHI Matt Forte (Allan, trade)
5.03 WR IND Marvin Harrison (Hickerson)
5.04 WR PIT Hines Ward (Georgopoulus)
5.05 QB HOU Matt Schaub (Butler)
5.06 TE KC Tony Gonzalez (O'Leary)
5.07 TE CLE Kellen Winslow (Dolfi)
5.08 WR DET Calvin Johnson (Allan)
5.09 WR KC Dwayne Bowe (Cahill)
5.10 RB DEN Travis Henry (Kellogg)
The scoring system for this league is 6 points for TDs, 4 for TD passes, 1 point per reception, 1 point for every 20 passing yards and 1 point for every 10 run/rec yards. Teams start 3 WR, 2 RB, QB, TE, PK, DEF and one flex (WR-RB-TE) player. 18-man rosters. No waiver moves. No lineups (it's a best-ball format). High score after 17 NFL weeks wins.
To read the writeups on the picks in the 2008 draft (where each expert explains his picks) click here.
The most up-to-date info on the Fanex League can be accessed at www.myfantasyleague.com.
-Ian Allan
- Comments [6]
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Posted by DANIEL WILLIAMS | May. 19 at 06:36 PM
Ian, I disagree with your assessment of C.Johnson as the 14th rated REC on the board, but at least I could see probability of it happening. But please explain, the pick (not yours, of course) of M.Schaub in the 5th Rd??????????????? Ahead of McNabb, Rothliesberger, D.Anderson, Bulger, Hasselbeck. Is that pick for real ??????
Posted by IAN ALLAN | May. 19 at 07:13 PM
I will defer to Jim Butler on the Schaub pick. I'm not sure what he was thinking, and he hasn't yet posted a scouting capsule. In my opinion, Butler has had both the odd-looking picks in this draft. He took LenDale White in the second round. White ran for 1,100 yards and 7 TDs last year, but he doesn't catch many passes, which is huge in this system.
Posted by Eugene Hitt | May. 20 at 03:26 PM
I'm surprised at you Ian. Matt Forte' as your #2? Seem's like a tremendous reach. I could see Julius Jones, Jonathan Stewart,D'angelo williams, Rashard Mendenhall, even Duece Mcallister,Fred taylor or TATUM BELL.....! Forte even as the primary RB on his team is scary considering the division he's in, not to mention that he's NOT the primary RB on a mediocre Chicago Team... To bad you don't start 5 WR's..
Posted by IAN ALLAN | May. 20 at 03:46 PM
Julius Jones isn't going to do anything in Seattle. I can promise you that. I don't think Mendenhall is going to play much this year. McAllister, I'm not sure he's even going to be on a roster. And Taylor doesn't fit this scoring system -- he's caught 11 passes in his last 22 games. I considered going after both of the Carolina backs, but I think Forte will be fine. He'll be the No. 1 back there.
Posted by Eugene Hitt | May. 20 at 05:07 PM
No offense, but Julius Jones, regardless of speculation is in a way better position to succeed than Forte'. He hasn't even taken a snap with the first team offense in mini camp. Care to digress about your position on JJ? he's got starter money, a well coached line, a Pro Bowl caliber QB and an attacking defense in a paddycake division. Forte' seems to have a high paid{albeit underacheiving} incumbent starter in front of him{with a 1st round pedigree}, an inconsistent{at best} QB, virtually no receiving threats and a pretty rough division to contend with. Your Thoughts please...
Posted by IAN ALLAN | May. 20 at 06:39 PM
If you're drafting one of the Jones Brothers, I suggest you go with the other one. They'll be using a committee approach up here, with Julius Jones, T.J. Duckett and Maurice Morris all involved. That's the plan. Duckett will be the goal-line back. Morris will play on passing downs. And they'll all get some running work. I know they gave him the big contract, but I'm not sure that Jones is any better than Mo Morris. Jones played awfully poorly in Dallas last year, where he averaged 1.2 fewer yards per carry than Marion Barber. Nobody there wanted the Cowboys to re-sign him. I'm confident that this guy Matt Mezzo-Forte is going to put up better numbers than the Orange Julius.