Bockmed's Family League

It's time to pwn the family again. It's a 12 team, standard scoring, 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1TE, 1Flex, 1K, 1DST, 6BN, snake draft league with 1 keeper kept at one round higher than where you took them last year. I got to keep C.J. Spiller in the 6th round and the 3rd overall pick. It's on like Donkey Kong.

My Team:

QB: Matthew Stafford

RB: Arian Foster

RB: C.J. Spiller

WR: Reggie Wayne

WR: Roddy White

TE: Jordan Cameron

Flex: Frank Gore

K: Josh Brown

DST: Tampa Bay

BN: Hakeem Nicks

BN: Cecil Shorts

BN: Fred Jackson

BN: Sidney Rice

BN: Pierre Thomas

BN: Malcom Floyd

What I love about this team:

-My runningbacks! There are certainly concerns with all of them. But really, find me a single runningback not named Adrian Peterson who you know is going to be healthy all year and isn't going to have anyone cutting into their workload. And AD has been hurt before, too. Arian has some definite injury concerns, but considering what was left, I had to take him. The potential to be the number one guy in fantasy is definitely there and Kubiak says he's going to be fine, so my fingers are crossed. C.J. Spiller is going to "run until he pukes" according to his OC. I think they'll be smart with him and he stays healthy and has a monster year. Gore is the centerpiece of his offense, and admittedly on the decline. But in the third round, I am not about to pass on a productive starting runningback. Fred Jackson and Pierre Thomas will both have a role this year and could be fairly useful if someone ahead of them loses their jobs, providing me with all the depth I need at the position. 

-My receiving corps should be nice and steady. Both starters get a high volume of catches. I think Roddy is good for 1300 yds 8 TDs and Reggie will regress to something like 1150 and 5, which is still pretty solid. Hakeem is fragile, but an explosive playmaker who could turn into tradebait if he returns to his former glory. Cecil could be awesome if his QB shows some improvement. Sidney and Malcom are just guys really. They'll probably be the first to get dropped when something shiny pops up on the waiver wire. But who knows, they've both shown flashes before. 

Dislikes: I missed out on a reliable TE, so I waited and waited and grabbed someone who people are raving about. Honestly, there isn't too much I don't like about this team, so that's what I came up with.

I just kept finding value in this draft, and so I have awesome depth at WR and RB, a QB who could approach 5000 yds and ought to throw for more TDs this year, and a frankly, considering how same all the TEs are after the first 2, who really cares who I have in there?

There are a handful of teams that could pop and dominate if their players turn out, but I don't think any have the caliber of flex player that I do or the overall depth. I'm pretty excited for the prospects in this league this year.

Cheap League

Earlier today (August 24th) I had the draft for my cheapest league. It is a 12 team, $20 buy-in, 0.5 point PPR, snake draft, 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1TE, 1Flex, 1K, 1DST, 6BN. This league is a "keeper league" in the sense that each manager keeps only one player from the year before at one draft round better than the previous season. Two years ago, I drafted Demarco Murray on a whim in the 11th round. With Felix Jones getting hurt that season, I kept him last year in the 10th round and this year in the 9th. This might seem like an epic bargain, but the reality is that each team in this league has one player of similar value at a ridiculous round. (This is often the case with taking a stab at rookie players.) My team:

QB: Cam Newton

RB: David Wilson

RB: Demarco Murray

WR: Calvin Johnson

WR: Andre Johnson

TE: Jared Cook

Flex: Eric Decker

K: Matt Prater

DST: St. Louis

BN: Josh Freeman

BN: Chris Ivory

BN: Andre Brown

BN: Mike Williams

BN: Justin Blackmon

BN: Zach Sudfeld

What I love about this draft:

-My receiving corps is unbelievable. Calvin has the potential to go 10/140/2 each week. Granted, he won't do that all season, but you have to love the best receiver in a pass-heavy system. 

-I scored  Cam Newton in the 5th round. I'm a firm believer that - this year especially - one should not reach on a quarterback. The disparity between the best QB and the 12th-best QB isn't nearly as great as the best at other positions and the last starter at other said positions. Nonetheless, I watched as round-by-round all of the "big name" quarterbacks went off the board but Cam stayed put. He was actually my #1 QB on my board in PPR format. If he rushes a ton this year, he could be an absolute steal.

-Justin Blackmon. Sure, he's suspended for a few games. But when he comes back? If Henne replaces Gabbert, defenses will have to plan around MJD (on a contract year) and Cecil Shorts coming off of a breakout 2012 campaign. This could open up the field for Blackmon and he could be an elite receiver.

-Sudfeld. See my prior post.

Dislikes:

-My running back corps. Demarco is sure to get a lot of receptions, but will he stay healthy all year? Who knows. David Wilson has so much potential (he had a heck of a game tonight) but what happens when the Giants get to the goal line? How many goal line TDs will be sniped by Andre Brown? Sure I also drafted Brown (mostly as insurance) but I'm not going to do a committee in my backfield. Ivory is a nice piece because he is a starter and will get plenty of touches, but it's the Jets offense and he is unproven as a the sole guy. I like that he gives me flexibility in the event that Demarco gets hurt and/or the Giants go committee, but still, no one wants Ivory to have to start week-in and week-out.

-Andre Johnson. He's getting old. Can he still be productive? He had a great season last year in terms of receptions and yardage, but he rarely found  the end zone. Can he turn that around? Who knows. I'm fortunate to have a ton of depth at WR, so if AJ gets hurt I can integrate Decker/Williams/Blackmon more consistently. Still, I took him high in the draft. At that spot, you want your players to turn out.

Looking at the starting lineups of other managers in this league, I really like how my team turned out. If I avoid the injury bug, this could be a solid unit that will be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs. 

Empire League

Well, it's that time of year again.

FANTASY FOOTBALL.

Last night (Friday, August 23rd) I had my first draft of the year. It was for my "Empire League." This league is a $100 buy-in. There are 12 teams, standard scoring, auction draft, 1QB 2RB 2WR 1Flex 1TE 1K 1DST 6BN.

Unlike other leagues, at the end of the season, only half the pot is paid out. 1st: $350 2nd: $150 3rd: $100. The other half of the buy-in goes to the "empire pot." In order to win the "empire pot" a manager must win in back-to-back seasons. Hence, the minimum the "empire pot" can be is $1,200 assuming that the same manager wins the championship in both year 1 and year 2. (For example, if no one wins back-to-back until year 9 and year 10, the "empire pot" is worth $6,000!)

Part of the strategy of this league is drafting a winning roster. The other part is drafting young players that are skilled and can lead your team in the future.

My team shook out as follows: (the age of the player is included in parentheses)

QB: Matt Schaub (32)
RB: CJ Spiller (26)
RB: Eddie Lacy (22)
WR: Larry Fitzgerald (29)
WR: Randall Cobb (22)
TE: Jimmy Graham (26)
F: Torrey Smith (24)
K: Dan Bailey (who cares)
DST: New England (irrelevant)
BN: Josh Freeman (25)
BN: Chris Ivory (25)
BN: Jonathan Franklin (23)
BN: Kenny Britt (24)
BN: Rueben Randle (22)
BN: Zach Sudfeld (24)

Will this team win this year? Probably not. Do I have a young core to contend consistently for the next 3 to 5 years? Absolutely.

Notes about the draft:
Originally, I wanted to target Trent Richardson as my franchise player. He is just 22, an elite running back, and presumably has many years ahead of him as the starter in Cleveland. CJ Spiller was nominated about 6th overall, and I had him going for about $57 on my board. As the bidding slowed down, I kept bidding on him because he was being undervalued. Suddenly the bidding stopped altogether and I got him for $49. It was at that point that I had to readjust my drafting strategy (and budget) entirely. I suddenly shifted from being able to afford a crappy tight end to having enough money to draft the best tight end possible.

I had no interest in drafting Larry Fitzgerald, but he was another instance in which the bidding suddenly stopped and I was stuck with a player going for strong value. Am I high on Fitz? No. Do I think he will do better with Palmer as QB? Yes. Was he worth the $23 I paid for him? No doubt about it.

What I love about this draft:
-I love that I have great bench depth. Ivory is a viable bye-week filler, and if Lacy (or Franklin) don't pan out, at least I have a majority-of-the-touches running back to fill in. Britt was an absolute steal at $4, and he could easily compete with Torrey to be my starter at flex. If Britt is finally healthy and lives up to his potential, I could have a very dynamic receiving corps.
-Zach Sudfeld. I'm so high on this guy. If Gronk is injured for the foreseeable future, Sudfeld will get all of the reps at TE and could put up huge numbers. Even if Gronk is healthy, Sudfeld has been so impressive in pre-season that there are rumors that the Patriots may be going to two-tight end sets to include him in the passing game. Sudfeld could absolutely be a key player for my team.

Dislikes:
-Rueben Randle. Will he emerge as a viable threat? Who knows. I'm basically banking on Nicks being hurt as some point in the season.
-The Schaub/Freeman carousel. I knew going in that quarterbacks would be way over valued. (Rodgers went for $69(!!!!) and Brees, Brady, and Manning all for $40+. Just incredible.) For this reason, I chose to wait it out, get good core players later, and take a lower-level QB. Both Schaub and Freeman are viable starters, but they won't put up game-changing numbers.

I don't view this as a championship-contending team in 2013. But could it win back-to-back seasons sometime within the 2014 - 2017 time frame? Barring injuries, I think it is plausible. Here's to hoping.

I didn't know I was looking,

but I found the best cat videos on the interwebs. Really good production value on these bitches.

I can die happy