Monthly Archives: June 2012

Mock Draft: Version 1 (Footballguys.com Staff)

1 Reply

On Saturday, June 23, I participated in a mock draft with other staffers at footballguys.com.  The rules of which were the following: 12-team PPR/6-pt pass TDs Draft (20 rounds / Starters – 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 flex, 1 PK, 1 Def).

My picks will be  bolded and italicized.  Let’s go.

1.01 1 Foster, Arian HOU RB
1.02 2 Rodgers, Aaron GBP QB
1.03 3 McCoy, LeSean PHI RB
1.04 4 Rice, Ray BAL RB
1.05 5 Mathews, Ryan SDC RB
1.06 6 Johnson, Chris TEN RB
1.07 7 Johnson, Calvin DET WR
1.08 8 Jones-Drew, Maurice JAC RB
1.09 9 Graham, Jimmy NOS TE
1.10 10 McFadden, Darren OAK RB
1.11 11 Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR
1.12 12 Charles, Jamaal KCC RB

I had planned the draft going Foster-Rice-McCoy in some order, so I was ready to take Rodgers.  With him gone, I altered the plan.  While Rice is ranked higher than McCoy on most boards, my board isn’t one of those.

Pick of the Round: Calvin Johnson.  I contemplated taking him at 4, but he shouldn’t go later than 5 in any PPR league.

Click here to see more rounds

Fantasy Football: Overvalued Players

Leave a reply

Each year, the footballguys.com staff is asked to choose undervalued players, overvalued players, and deep sleepers based on Average Draft Position. Clicking HERE will take you to a page with links to each article (still free at this time of year!)

Since every staffer is obviously oozing with fantasy knowledge (and gets to pick 3-5 players per position), each piece tends to be lengthy. So in this space, I’m providing a break down of how the votes played out (displaying any players who got three or more votes or were selected by me) and will share only the very compelling cases for certain players. I’ll also highlight the guys I voted for with BOLD print. Off we go…

QuarterbacksRobert Griffin III – 7 votes

Heath Cummings – Current ADP shows Griffin taken ahead of Jay Cutler, Ben Roethlisberger, Josh Freeman…all of whom will outproduce him in 2012. Don’t get me wrong, I still like Griffin better than Andrew Luck, I just think everyone is getting a little excited because of what Cam Newton did last year. That was an anomaly, not the norm to expect from athletic rookie quarterbacks in the future.

Cam Newton – 7 votes

Steve Holloway – Newton ranked as the #4 quarterback a year ago as a rookie even though he ranked 10th in passing yards. I expect that his rushing yards (709 yards) and TDs (14) will significantly decrease this year leading him to fall back in the rankings.

I have to interject here and disagree with my esteemed colleague – not because I think he’ll be wrong but because of the reasoning. Newton’s rushing numbers may well go down, but some maturation is to be expected as he enters his second season – and his first with mini-camps and OTA’s. A bigger – but less-used – knock on Newton is the fact that defenses adjusted to Carolina’s long-ball attack, and Newton’s passing numbers went down in the second half.
Continue reading the players footballguys.com staff thinks are overvalued

Fantasy Football: Undervalued Players

1 Reply

Each year, the footballguys.com staff is asked to choose undervalued players, overvalued players, and deep sleepers based on Average Draft Position. Clicking HERE will take you to a page with links to each article (still free at this time of year!)

Since every staffer is obviously oozing with fantasy knowledge (and gets to pick 3-5 players per position), each piece tends to be lengthy. So in this space, I’m providing a break down of how the votes played out (displaying any players who got three or more votes or were selected by me) and will share only the very compelling cases for certain players. I’ll also highlight the guys I voted for with BOLD print. Off we go…

Quarterbacks
Ben Roethlisberger – 9 votes

Matt Waldman – One thing that Todd Haley does well is maximize the effectiveness of his offensive weaponry. The Steelers have the makings of a dominant passing offense and I think Haley will create a system that elevates this team into a unit that can compete with the likes of the Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles as that next tier of aerial attacks just a notch below the best units in the league.

Click here to read the rest of the Footballguys Undervalued Players

Fantasy Football: Risers and Fallers 2.0 – WRs and TEs

2 Replies

Back in the beginning of June, I did my first set of “Risers and Fallers.” Now that more news is available and teams are getting into mandatory mini-camps, it’s time for another version.

Rising WRs
Jeremy Maclin (27 / 19) – For some reason, I’m getting higher and higher on a couple of NFC East offenses in Philadelphia and Dallas. Maclin is going to be the most-targeted pass-catcher on an explosive offense. I’m in. Also in on Maclin? Michael Vick.

Pierre Garçon (58 / 25) – Early reviews have been glowing. and the fact that THIS is even a question (guy with experienced QB in proven offense vs guy on new team with rookie QB and an offense that struggled in 2011) speaks to how highly regarded Garçon is. Also, he provides the rare opportunity to use the cedilla in a fantasy football article.

Darrius Heyward-Bey (38 / 32) – A blurb HERE says he’s looking more and more like a #1 wideout. I’ll take a beat writer’s opinion (especially when it is the same as mine).
Continue reading →

Fantasy Football: Risers and Fallers 2.0 – QBs and RBs

2 Replies

Back in the beginning of June, I did my first set of “Risers and Fallers.” Now that more news is available and teams are getting into mandatory mini-camps, it’s time for another version.

Rising QBs
Michael Vick (prev: 8 / now: 6) – Vick only played in 13 games last season. He only had ONE rushing TD after having NINE in 2010. He still finished 11th among fantasy QBs. Even of you subscribe to the theory that Vick will miss three games, expect passing stats to increase, rush TDs to increase, and turnovers to decrease. All were relative anomalies last season.

Matt Ryan (15 / 13) – For some reason, I’ve always been a Matt Ryan hater. Perhaps it’s because he’s head of the class of “Non-Franchise QBs Who Are Considered Franchise QBs.” Winning doesn’t matter in fantasy though, and Ryan has serious weapons around him – particularly Julio Jones, a player with which his relationship is blossoming.

Carson Palmer (16 / 14) – The Oakland WR corps is young but very talented. Palmer will be throwing a lot too. As you can tell by the lack of statistical support, this is “gut feel” more than anything else.

Joe Flacco (22 / 19) – It pains me to do this – partly because I’m a Steeler fan and partly because Flacco is in an ongoing battle with Ryan for the group of QBs mentioned in Ryan’s section above. Mark Sanchez now feels left out for not being mentioned.
Continue reading →