4 Hours in Hermantown....
So, I'm sitting here at another draft this fine Sunday afternoon and I figured I'd try to put together a column during the time between my picks.
Thinking back to the highlights of the draft - discussion of Ben's latest "test" reports, Wong chucking a soda can at Jason's head, the multiple times bye weeks were forgotten and anything Rico typed - it was a good time. Hard to believe only a week ago a certain owner in the league told me the draft isn't that much fun anyway.
So how did the draft turn out - who is the front runner? Who's team is aimed at the golden throne? Does anyone really care right now? Well, again, I don't quite have the time to take a dump in a box and stamp in guaranteed - but since I'm picking #3 in this draft I have a lot of time between picks, so let's do some analysis.
Thoughts on Wong's team.....Here's what sticks out in my mind. He's relying on 3 somewhat crappy quarterbacks (Delhomme, Griese and Losman) to put up enough points. Each of these guys starts, but the problem is that by not having a clear cut #1 QB on his roster, Wong will get to play the 'who should I start this week?' game -- not a very fun thing to do, especially the weeks when he chooses wrong.
On to Jonny....I think Team Tang is gonna live and die (again) with Daunte. Even more so now that he pairs up Nate Burleson with Culpepper as his #1 WR. Those two should put up some monster weeks for Jonny and with some help from Portis and the hyped up Lamont Jordan, this team could have some very high weekly scores. Will it be enough for Jonny to compete? Well, history tells us it doesn't take a great record to win the Husky division, so maybe.
Ben's Team Nookie was all set after cashing in on the robbery of a deaf guy from a year ago. Keeper Tiki Barber soon became the 3rd (or maybe 4th) best player on Ben's roster after picking up Julius Jones, Randy Moss and Mike Vick in the first 2 rounds. Add in the New England defense and Antonio Gates at TE and Ben's team looks pretty good on paper. Questions are....how does Moss do on the west coast? How does J.Jones do in a full season? How can Gates repeat last year's success? We'll see, but for now, I'd put Team Nookie high on the list of teams to watch out for.
Finally for the Huskies....Rico's team formerly known as Team GOO. Fantasy freak of nature Peyton Manning was joined up with actual freak of nature Terrell Owens by the Cutts man in the 1st round. Was the heat affecting him, or was Rich smart to not grab a RB at that slot in favor of T.O.? We'll see how his starting duo of Chris Brown and Tatum Bell (or Cedric Benson or Marcel Shipp) hold up this year - my bets are that Rico will look early to the Free Agents for help.
As for the Bison....let's start with Mike. Sadida's will field a couple of young RB's with big potential this year. Kevin Jones of The Virginia Tech University will start it up along with Willis McGahee of Miami - not of Ohio. At the WR spot, Mike will have Andre Johnson and Jimmy Smith. If Kerry Collins hits the projections that are out there, Mike will have a nice starting lineup and a good.....no, a very good year.
On to the Flying Hellfish. Suomala will be counting on his big 3 of Edge, Rudi and Trent Green. His 2nd WR (C.Chambers) could bring in the points if the Dolphins have some sort of a running game to open up the passing game.....but WR1 of D-Jax should be solid as the Seahawks will once again put up large fantasy numbers. The 'Fish are gonna need points out of their TE position - and will not be able to make any comparisons to last season's duo of Gates/E.Johnson.
Allow me to introduce....myself. My team sucks....I don't like it. Ok, that's a bit extreme, my team isn't all that bad, but I had WAY too many picks which were prefaced by me saying something to the effect of, "I don't want to do this...." or "Jugs, you are gonna make fun of me for this one...." I do like Shaun Alexander, Stephen Jackson, Marvin Harrison and Hines Ward. I DO NOT like Aaron Brooks, but well, now I got him. My prediction is that somehow Brooks screws me. The unknown is just how/when it'll happen.
Finally for the Bison -- Jugsie. First off, for the record, a round of golf is either 9 or 18 holes. No more, no less. Hell of a putt, but it was all exhibition at that point as far as I was concerned. Anyways....back on point.....looking at Jugs' team after the draft here, I think he's a little weak at RB. Especially once Priest gets hurt. (yea I said 'once' not 'if' - not a mistake). No handcuff to LJ either. Good move? Time will tell. His WR core is solid (Holt, Wayne, Burris, Gonzo). Do I like his QB choices? (Plummer, Harrington, Manning) - any QB core including Plummer and Harrington, I would be nervous of as an owner. Neverless, Jugs team looks good. One of the best in the league I think.
Finally.....the Bulldogs. Good drink, good dog, good hood ornament, good mascot, and heck of a good division in our league. Starting with the big driver - you should have seen the drive today, John Daly reincarnated. Juice donated his first round pick to Ben last year. Once Juice finally got in the draft, he gave Jugs some stuff to think about. He did have LT to start and added Marc Bulger, Javon Walker, Kevan Barlow and Drew Bennett. So I see Juice's team going as far as the B&B&B (Bulger and Barlow and Bennett) picks go. LT will get his stuff done....and with help, Juice will be a player in the division.
Smith's team looks good, actually Smith's team looks real good. I am predicting Smith's team as being the team to beat coming out of draft night for this year. Pairing up Dom Davis with Jamal Lewis is one of the best fantasy backfields in our league this year. Add Rod Smith, Joe Horn and Lee Evens at WR and Shockey at TE, and the receving core is just as solid. Brettski will lead this team from the QB position and bring Smitty into the playoffs.
Jason's team will be led by his starting RB's and young WR's. Curtis Martin and Deuce McAllister should get the Little Red Horse plenty of touches at the RB position while Roy Williams and Michael Clayton should have plenty of balls (as opposed to pop cans) thrown at them as the season progresses. If Tom Brady is Tom Brady and Jermaine Wiggins repeats his work from last year, Jason will once again keep his regular season record on the north side of 0.500.
Last, but not least, our reigning champion, the Little Bastards - who played some of the worst golf I've seen him play at Pike Lake today. Can the champ repeat? I don't think that with this lineup it is a sure thing, but I think he's gonna compete. We are now two years removed from the McSuck year, so Dono is safe to have on the roster. Add Westbrook and Ahman and Jonny's team is solid at the top. The receving side of the team has questions....how will Coles do back with the J.....E.....T.....S.....JETS.....JETS.....JETS? How will Porter do with Moss around? Is Heap actually healthy? Neverless, the LB's should once again be competitive in the annual dog fight that is the Bulldog division.
So for predictions.....I like Nookie to come out of theHusky, the Fantasy Superior to come out of the Bison and Smitty to take the Bulldog. I think that this might be Mike's year to break into the playoffs with a wildcard showing.
We're off to a good start.....so let the fun begin.
Need I say more?
BIGFFBL senior writer Jeremy Carlson (TEQ) sounds off whenever he feels like it on www.bigffbl.com