Razzball Draft Recap: Crash and Burn!

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Just participated in the first of my “serious” drafts and let me tell you, it was ug-ly! This was the draft hosted/sponsored by one of my favorite fantasy sites, Razzball. The Razzballin' Rough Riders met tonight, at 7:30 eastern to draft fantasy teams that would duke it out for the 2011 season. I expected some really tough competition given the host, and was not disappointed, though (spoiler alert) some guy named Chedda seems to have decided to lose the league before the draft was over. Personally, I figured “That's novel”, but hey, it's a free country and a free league, and maybe he doesn't take it as seriously as a fantasy nerd like me. Anyhow, there was a good turnout, and the guys who showed up made it lots of fun. This league features 3WRs, 2RBs, and a flex. On to the carnage.

ROUND 1
1	Adrian Peterson, Min RB	The Rhinos
2	Ray Rice, Bal RB	That's So Ravens
3	Jamaal Charles, KC RB	Belichick's Video Rentals
4	Chris Johnson*, Ten RB	Schmohawk Surprise
5	LeSean McCoy, Phi RB	Salty Chocolate Balls
6	Darren McFadden, Oak RB	Clear Eyes Full Hearts
7	Rashard Mendenhall, Pit RB	My Forte
8	Andre Johnson, Hou WR	Killa Beez
9	Arian Foster, Hou RB	Ten Inch Ditkas
10	Aaron Rodgers, GB QB	MAD MEN
11	Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac RB	RT Langes
12	Roddy White, Atl WR	Chedda Bob

The first thing that should pop out at you, is Arian Foster slumming at the 9^th draft slot, a neighborhood he has heretofore been unseen in. This free-fall was courtesy of his freedom of information slash open source posting of the MRI of his gimpy hammy on Twitter. He insisted that he was okay, and wouldn't have posted it if he were hurt. Hmmm...well, 8 fantasy football GMs disagreed with Dr. Foster and left him to the tender mercies of, you guessed it, autopick. Could this turn out to be the steal of the draft? Sure. And that blind date your aunt Selma set up for you could turn out to be a supermodel. But let's not put all our allowance money on it. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the Texans will be the first professional sports franchise with a MRI/Twitter policy.

Chris Johnson did not drop as much as I would have thought. Apparently Mr. Schmohawk (who ruined my draft by picking extremely well right NEXT to me!) is confident that the Titans know where their bread is buttered and will be forthcoming with the Chedda. Spoiler alert, Schmohawk, by my reckoning, had the best draft.

Now I'm not saying I want CJ2K to hold out, but......

MADMEN grabbed Aaron, and by the time we got to the 4^th round it seemed to me that he had gotten away with it. Yes, I'm envious. I would NEVER take a QB in round 1, especially when we have to play 6 running backs and wide receivers, and that's before bye week considerations and injuries. Of course, he had a better draft slot than I did.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

ROUND 2
13	Calvin Johnson, Det WR	Chedda Bob
14	Drew Brees, NO QB	RT Langes
15	Frank Gore, SF RB	MAD MEN
16	Larry Fitzgerald, Ari WR	Ten Inch Ditkas
17	Tom Brady, NE QB	Killa Beez
18	Michael Vick, Phi QB	My Forte
19	Hakeem Nicks, NYG WR	Clear Eyes Full Hearts
20	Michael Turner, Atl RB	Salty Chocolate Balls
21	Steven Jackson, StL RB	Schmohawk Surprise
22	LeGarrette Blount, TB RB	Belichick's Video Rentals
23	Matt Forte, Chi RB	That's So Ravens
24	Vincent Jackson, SD WR	The Rhinos

Not much to see here folks. Three more QBs were snagged in this round. The only pick that was out of order, I think, was my pick of Blount over Forte and Vjax. I'm not saying Marion Barber gives me the willies so much as I'm saying that Forte's production is erratic and he plays behind a Godawful offensive line. I like him from his rookie year, when I got him cheap and he gave me great numbers, but What have you done for me lately? As for Vjax, love him this year, but this roster demands that I attend to the RB slots early, so I did...and I payed for it!

ROUND 3
25	Mark Ingram, NO RB	The Rhinos
26	Philip Rivers, SD QB	That's So Ravens
27	Shonn Greene, NYJ RB	Belichick's Video Rentals
28	Mike Wallace, Pit WR	Schmohawk Surprise
29	Greg Jennings, GB WR	Salty Chocolate Balls
30	Felix Jones, Dal RB	Clear Eyes Full Hearts
31	Peyton Hillis, Cle RB	My Forte
32	Miles Austin, Dal WR	Killa Beez
33	Reggie Wayne, Ind WR	Ten Inch Ditkas
34	DeAngelo Williams, Car RB	MAD MEN
35	DeSean Jackson, Phi WR	RT Langes
36	Antonio Gates, SD TE	Chedda Bob

The Ingram pick is the flashing neon sign of round 3. It's completely out of line with his ADP, but if we ever have a real live league Happy Hour, maybe I'll get to ask Rhino whether his underwear is Crimson, or Black and Gold? I was appalled by how ravaged the RB ranks were by this point, and gambled my entire season on the idea that the flashes we saw at the end of last year, as well as 2009, and this preseason, really are a sampling of the fantasy goodness to come from the Greene Machine. I mean I passed up Wallace, Jennings, Austin and Wayne for crying out loud. Shonn had better perform dagnabit! The other interesting picks in this round were Felix Jones and DeAngelo Williams, both of which I rate reaches warranting emergency chiropractic intervention . Felix was autopick, which implies that the absent GM actually valued him that highly. But MAD MEN doesn't have that excuse, as he was present and accounted for. DeAngelo has been good to fantasy owners in the past, but to me it's too much wear and tear, and, um, tear. Chedda grabs the first tight end in what I consider to be the first of several questionable choices by our resident cheese GM. I've loved Gates in the past, but as with so many of this year's players, his health is a mystery wrapped in a riddle, hidden by a cloaking device.

Um, no thanks.

So after 3 rounds, I've got myself 3 RBs and am in sole possession of the dreaded RB-RB-RB strategery.

ROUND 4
37	Mike Williams, TB WR	Chedda Bob
38	Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG RB	RT Langes
39	Knowshon Moreno, Den RB	MAD MEN
40	Peyton Manning, Ind QB	Ten Inch Ditkas
41	Beanie Wells, Ari RB	Killa Beez
42	Jahvid Best, Det RB	My Forte
43	Dez Bryant, Dal WR	Clear Eyes Full Hearts
44	Tony Romo, Dal QB	Salty Chocolate Balls
45	Dwayne Bowe, KC WR	Schmohawk Surprise
46	Wes Welker, NE WR	Belichick's Video Rentals
47	Tim Hightower, Wsh RB	That's So Ravens
48	Ryan Mathews, SD RB	The Rhinos

Round 4 was, for some GMs, the beginning of the end. Although hilariously, I'm not sure they were aware of it. MAD MEN in contrast, was setting himself up for a rather nice season with the snag of Mr. Moreno, probably the most underrated RB on the boards. Remember, MAD MEN has Aaron “the boy” Rodgers, and Moreno is his RB3!! Ditka, by this point, was single-handedly making this draft worth my attendance. Seriously, with all the question marks on this team, I thought he'd change his name (mid-draft) to the Riddlers!

1. Arian “327 carries and a bad hammy” Foster
2. Larry “Cards got Kolb 2010 NOT Kolb 2009” Fitzgerald
3. Reggie “Painter? Really?! LOL or , oh that's right, I threw Collins under the bus” Wayne
4. Peyton “Did we pay Kerry $4 mil to sit on the bench?” Manning

Don't get me wrong, if all of those picks work out, he's in the playoffs. But you're not betting my lunch money on that proposition. A Six foot six QB with orthopedic issues, at 35 years of age, with a juicy new contract under his belt, with a lockout extended period of non-professionally assisted not-quite recovery, is not how I want to start my 2011 fantasy season. 

Beanie Wells at 41 is the worst pick so far. We've seen Beanie. We know Beanie. “He is, who we thought he was.” And what he's not, is a 4^th round pick!! I'd take any of the other players in this round over Wells. Go with God Killa. Go with God. 

In a pattern he was to repeat throughout the draft, Schmohawk Surpise T-Boned me by taking the Rainbowe. I was not a happy camper. After the second or third snarffle of one of my prospective picks, I actually chatted that he really should have bought me dinner first. Seriously though, I much prefer an idiot next door during the draft. I enjoy it more, and I end up with a much better team. When the guy next to me drafts like he has spyware on my computer, it makes for a loooooong night.

The Hightower pick unleashed a torrent of dark sentiment concerning the Redskins and as well as Shanahan. And while I would usually chuckle and agree, the fact is that even in this early round the pickings really were getting slim. I've seen Hightower this preseason. I'm not so sure that was a bad pick here. 

Anyway, my draft was tanking because the best player available was Welker. In case you don't get the reference (which would make you a fake football fan) my team name is disparaging of the Patriots. To my chagrin, this would happen again as several Pats now infest my roster. 

Mike Wallace as my WR1 is starting to look better than Shonn as my RB3. But I've always been a sucker for a good RB, especially when he has top 5 potential (see Thomas Jones 2009). So pangs of regret mixed in with hand-rubbing glee and optimism is how I would describe it.

ROUND 5
49	Santonio Holmes, NYJ WR	The Rhinos
50	Brandon Lloyd, Den WR	That's So Ravens
51	Ben Roethlisberger, Pit QB	Belichick's Video Rentals
52	Marques Colston, NO WR	Schmohawk Surprise
53	Jeremy Maclin, Phi WR	Salty Chocolate Balls
54	Steve Johnson, Buf WR	Clear Eyes Full Hearts
55	Jermichael Finley, GB TE	My Forte
56	Fred Jackson, Buf RB	Killa Beez
57	Jason Witten, Dal TE	Ten Inch Ditkas
58	BenJarvus Green-Ellis, NE RB	MAD MEN
59	Jonathan Stewart, Car RB	RT Langes
60	Percy Harvin, Min WR	Chedda Bob

Round 5 finds me panicking about my QB position, because while I usually like to wait on this position, there are limits to even my fortitude. Eli Manning anyone? Um, no. It was extremely difficult to pass up on Colston, Maclin, Stevie Johnson, and Witten, but all I had to do was picture rolling with Eli. Twenty-five interceptions and delusions of grandeur in that recent interview are quite enough thank you. Big Ben? Click. Here's a guy who was clocking top 10 QB numbers  and around 270 YPG when he finally got on the field last year, and I grabbed him at like QB8. Given that this is a 12 team league, and they picked up in pre-season where they left off last year, I'll take it. Not to mention that I hate the Giants anyway. MAD MEN made his first mistake in the draft by grabbing the law firm instead of Harvin. The Patriots drafted at least two rookie running backs who have looked good in preseason. I just don't see BGE getting the workload he did last year which is the only way this price is justified. Britt, Manningham, and Marshall were also available. But would I get any of those guys? Noooooooo!

Because the fantasy gods hate me!

ROUND 6
61	Cedric Benson, Cin RB	Chedda Bob
62	Kenny Britt, Ten WR	RT Langes
63	Mario Manningham, NYG WR	MAD MEN
64	Ryan Grant, GB RB	Ten Inch Ditkas
65	Dallas Clark, Ind TE	Killa Beez
66	Brandon Marshall, Mia WR	My Forte
67	Matthew Stafford, Det QB	Clear Eyes Full Hearts
68	Austin Collie, Ind WR	Salty Chocolate Balls
69	Joseph Addai, Ind RB	Schmohawk Surprise
70	Owen Daniels, Hou TE	Belichick's Video Rentals
71	Anquan Boldin, Bal WR	That's So Ravens
72	Vernon Davis, SF TE	The Rhinos

Round Six started off with another classic move by the Big Cheese: Cedric Benson?! I am still convinced that Chedda made this pick just so he could get the complimentary orange jump suit. I don't like Cedric, I never have. He had a ridiculous (300+) number of carries last year and a poor YPC, he clearly has a discipline problem, and frankly, I think he's worn down. But most importantly, I really don't like Cedric Benson! Chedda is going straight to the underworld, and that's all there is to it. This was the last round with serious talent, and I note that it's an even-numbered round, and the good stuff was gone by the first half of the round....leaving me SOL. The only good news is that I can take this experience into my 12 team draft this weekend. Unfortunately for me, even the Addai pick will probably work for Mr. Schmohawk. Based on some analysts' observations, Addai has apparently outplayed both Donald Brown and Delone Carter. Now I haven't had a chance to watch Indy this summer, so I do not have my own, independent opinion on this, but the Schmohawk may benefit from this with the Addai snag. Boldin was tempting, particularly considering the need for 3 or even 4 WRs in this set-up. So of course I went with........TE. At this point I was more afraid of what comes after Owen Daniels, than I was of missing out on Anquan, and his unimpressive start in Baltimore last year. But seriously, I knew the wheels were falling off my draft wagon by how unappetizing the remaining names were already. Ditka made an impressive comeback from last round's bout of sanity (with Witten!) by going with Ryan Grant?!? A player coming back from injury, who has not played well in preseason, was already being eclipsed by a younger RB, on what is clearly becoming an increasingly pass-first team. Good Move Ditka!

Ten inches my @$$ !

ROUND 7
73	Matt Ryan, Atl QB	The Rhinos
74	Sidney Rice, Sea WR	That's So Ravens
75	Chad Ochocinco, NE WR	Belichick's Video Rentals
76	Matt Schaub, Hou QB	Schmohawk Surprise
77	Reggie Bush, Mia RB	Salty Chocolate Balls
78	Lance Moore, NO WR	Clear Eyes Full Hearts
79	Marshawn Lynch, Sea RB	My Forte
80	Mike Thomas, Jac WR	Killa Beez
81	Mike Tolbert, SD RB	Ten Inch Ditkas
82	James Starks, GB RB	MAD MEN
83	Marcedes Lewis, Jac TE	RT Langes
84	Sam Bradford, StL QB	Chedda Bob

First of all, kudos to Rhinos for waiting this long on a QB. And Matty ice no less. At this point of the draft I still only had one WR!!! So of course the best player available was....a (&*@#&$*(&^$% Patriot! I am hoping that folks are nice enough to trade for these Patriot players, but I'm not holding my breath. Schmohawk getting Schaubby this late just proves that life is not fair. I believe that was the pick that sealed his championship. Reggie Bush on the radar means you've gone p r e t t y deep into your draft. Will he outscore Lynch? Who knows. But I think I would have picked Tolbert over those two, which is weird because now I can't make fun of Ditka this round! I thought Starks was a decent pick down here. A bit of a gamble, but seriously, take a look at the neighborhood! Lewis down here, could be a steal. Some sites have him as high as TE5.

ROUND 8
85	Josh Freeman, TB QB	Chedda Bob
86	Pierre Garcon, Ind WR	RT Langes
87	Santana Moss, Wsh WR	MAD MEN
88	Brandon Jacobs, NYG RB	Ten Inch Ditkas
89	C.J. Spiller, Buf RB	Killa Beez
90	Julio Jones, Atl WR	My Forte
91	Michael Bush, Oak RB	Clear Eyes Full Hearts
92	Jordy Nelson, GB WR	Salty Chocolate Balls
93	Jimmy Graham, NO TE	Schmohawk Surprise
94	Johnny Knox, Chi WR	Belichick's Video Rentals
95	Robert Meachem, NO WR	That's So Ravens
96	A.J. Green, Cin WR	The Rhinos

Apparently, the Big Cheese actually wins the prize for waiting on QB, and does it the right way by taking Freeman and Bradford with back-to-back picks. See, he did something right! I thought there were some decent values in this round starting with Santana Moss. I like Jordy Nelson at this value, and Schmohawk getting Jimmy Graham in the 8^th round was a clear message that I need to get my butt to church more often.

After that round, the picks get ugly and the names become absolutely obscure. I'm not sure what I would do differently, though obviously moving down in draft order would be the first step. I thought the clear overall winner of the draft was Schmohawk, followed by:

Salty

Ravens

Forte

Mad Men

Oddly, I thought Chedda had the best corps of WRs, but since he devoted like 4 of his first 5 picks to WRs, you kind of expect that. HA!  As for myself, here's what I ended up with:

BELICHICK'S VIDEO RENTALS
3	Jamaal Charles, KC RB
22	LeGarrette Blount, TB RB
27	Shonn Greene, NYJ RB
46	Wes Welker, NE WR
51	Ben Roethlisberger, Pit QB
70	Owen Daniels, Hou TE
75	Chad Ochocinco, NE WR
94	Johnny Knox, Chi WR
99	Malcom Floyd, SD WR
118	Lee Evans, Bal WR
123	Patriots D/ST D/ST
142	Darren Sproles, NO RB
147	Rob Gronkowski, NE TE
166	Jacquizz Rodgers, Atl RB
171	Steve Smith, Phi WR
190	Alex Henery, Phi K
195	Isaac Redman, Pit RB

I had Jamaal Charles on literally every one of my fantasy teams last year.  Obviously, the bandwagon's a little crowded this year because you need a top 4 pick to get him. I'm hoping he has one more ridiculous year left in him.  I've got Patriots at WR1, WR2, Defense and TE2. Ugh. And don't discount that TE2 slot, because Gronk finished top 10 last year.  The cupboard was bare after round 7, as you can see from the scraps I ended up with. There is an outside chance, that I might get some late season production out of Steve Smith.  There is a greater chance that it'll all be over by then anyway.

Now that I've been properly humbled, hopefully I'll do a lot better tomorrow night at the NHNP draft.