Joined A League

As I mentioned earlier, I signed up for a CBS Sportsline.com League. It has filled up and will be drafting next Sunday at 6:15pm. I'll keep you updated.

The Randy Moss Debate

Now that most of the fantasy magazines are out you can get a sense of where most experts rank players in general. And for the most part I agree with these rankings and opinions ...except for one player I feel is being under valued by most experts ... Randy Moss.

In most wide receiver rankings I have seen him ranked anywhere from 14th to 32nd, but almost nowhere can you find him in anyone's Top 10 WRs. In Pro Football Weekly/CBS Sportsline's Fantasy Football Guide he is ranked the 16th wide receiver overall and out of five editors who do those rankings, only one had him in the Top 10 (at 10th). Fantasy Guru.com, another favorite of mine, has him ranked 20th. Some magazines are really underestimating him. FootballDiehards.com's yearly Fantasy Pro Forecast lists him at #34 under such notables as Mark Clayton, Jerricho Cotchery, and Jerry Porter. Jerry Porter? Come on! That's ridiculous. The very idea of Porter getting better numbers in the Raiders offense then Moss in the Patriots offense is ludicrous at best. FootballDiehards.com's other magazine, Fantasy Football Draftbook, rates Moss #31. This would mean Moss is a lower tier #3 fantasy receiver, which I find unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.

Yes, Moss has a turbulent past with a reputation of giving up on plays (and teams), but really, can he be blamed for giving up on the Raiders last year? They have an owner who still lives in the 70's, they had a head coach who thought he was back in the 80's, and an offensive coordinator who had been running a bed and breakfast for years before they dusted his playbook off and dragged him in. The discipline was horrid, the offensive scheme was ancient, and the organization as a whole was just an ugly situation in general. Moss basically booked himself a ticket on the Titanic. Can't tell I'm a Raiders fan can you?

Onto the scene come the Patriots, the model for NFL franchises, with an All-Pro quarterback in an offense that wasn't written on stone tablets. They were one second half away from the Super Bowl last year, and that was with the likes of Reche Caldwell, Doug Gabriel, and Jabar Gaffney at wide receiver. And this year they are once again primed for a great season. They have reloaded with wideouts and other playmakers. Along with Moss, they also acquired Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker along with Adalius Thomas on the defensive side of the ball. To me, they are the Super Bowl favorite.

Now I've heard the argument about how Tom Brady and the offense love to spread the ball around to many different receivers, but think about it ... when has Brady EVER had a receiver with the explosive playmaking ability of Randy Moss??? David Givens? Too inconsistent.Troy Brown? A great possession receiver, but no way he could take over a game like Moss. The closest you might find to a guy that Brady has had that could be special is Deion Branch, and even HE isn't in Moss' league when it comes to speed or red zone savvy.

Looking at the other side of the coin, when has Moss ever had a quarterback with Brady's accuracy and ability to read a defense? Dante Culpepper had the arm, but never the accuracy. Kerry Collins? Yeah right. We won't even mention any of the others, they pale in comparison to even Culpepper. Brady IS the best QB Moss has ever played with, period. And Brady is not stupid, he knows Moss can make the big play at any given time.

All of this seems familiar to me. You almost get a sense of deja-vu from three years ago when Terrell Owens helped the Eagles to the Super Bowl after being labeled a misfit in San Francisco. I personally believe
that Randy Moss will have a year comparable to T.O.'s three years ago. I predict ... and mark this down if you'd like.... 1200 yards and no less than a dozen TDs from Randy Moss this year. Making him a definitive Top Ten fantasy receiver.

Early Draft Strategy

Three months ago at our Draft Lottery I drew the sixth pick out of ten. I had hoped for a top four but had already started running names through my head on who would be available at that spot. But the owner of the West Virginia Dolphins, who drew the second pick, wanted to trade down. Last year he had the first pick and was ready to trade it to me, but was talked into thinking about it, then grudgingly kept it and took Shawn Alexander. After Alexander got injured and basically ruined his season, he decided he preferred the middle of the draft order to "the pressure" of drafting high and opted to trade with me.

So now I have the second pick overall which gives me the choice of anyone except Ladanian Tomlinson who will be the pick of the Cincinnati Superstars. My decision rests between Larry Johnson and Steven Jackson. If our league rewarded points for catches, my choice would be easy ..... Jackson. But it doesn't, so now I'm stuck waiting to see how LJ's contract negotiations go and if he decides to hold out. Although I'll probably still take Jackson even if LJ signs a new deal. I like the Rams offense better than KC's and LJ is primed to get overworked with very few other weapons in the Chiefs arsenal. Hopefully things will be more clear come August 26.

I hope to get a Top 5 QB and another RB with the next two picks at the end of the 2nd round and the start of the third, but if a QB I like isn't available, I'll target a Top 10 WR. The interesting thing about picking at the second spot is that my fellow commish and best friend, the owner of the Cincinnati Superstars will be making two picks in between my picks at the ends of the rounds. It will make for some interesting moments during the draft I'm sure, since the two of us tend to have the same ideas and strategies.

This year I've been keeping an eye on the blog of John Hansen of Fantasy Guru.com He has done several video reports and updates his blog often. I recommend it highly if you have a chance.

Since I don't think I can necessarily stand just being in one league this year, I've opted to join a league at CBS Sportsline.com. I haven't yet committed to it as I'm waiting to pay a few bills first, but when I do, I'll let you know.

A New Year.

Well, I'm going to try this blogging thing again this year. Things got too hectic last year to keep it up. But since I only have one team this year to blog about, maybe it will be a bit easier to update. I apologize to all my great fans who were disappointed when I quit updating.

After a season where I JUST missed the playoffs with a 7-7 record (I lost a tie-breaker in points scored)I chose to leave the HAFFL back in February to give them plenty of time to find a replacement. Unfortunately, it appears interest in the league fizzled in my wake and they decided to close the HAFFL last month. It was fun while it lasted though and I'll always remember my first league championship(so far)was won there.

But enough about leagues that no longer exist, let's talk about the IFFL! Last year did not go well for me at all. A losing record at 6-8 and another disappointing season. I blame a lot of it on Michael Vick, that prick. If I started him, he sucked ... if I benched him, he threw four TDs. All year it went like that. I traded Reggie Wayne and Julius Jones for Rudi Johnson in mid-season because I was getting next to nothing in RB points. It happened the week before Wayne went off against the Broncos for 200 yards and three TDs or something like that .... the team I gave him to ended up winning big that week against his opponent ... and went on to win the league championship ( Ladanian Tomlinson led the way) as well. On top of that I really ticked off the owner of the team he beat that week by making a trade that screwed them royally. So, the season was an unsuccessful one. Never again will I draft four receivers in the first four rounds! NEVER!!!! Never will I draft Michael Vick again, that lame-duck, run-first, dog abusing, bottle smuggling, fan birding piece of #$@%#! NEVER!

Okay, I feel better now that I got THAT off my chest. Enough about the past, next post will focus on the future.