Well, for the first time in my seventeen years of playing fantasy football, I have finally joined a dynasty league. It's something I've wanted to do for awhile now, but hadn't had a chance to. I was asked to join the Total Dynasty League as a replacement owner just a couple of days ago and greedily accepted. Ironically enough, the team I took over was named the Oakland Raiders. (I'm keeping the name just so I can prove I'm better than Al Davis!!)
Immediately upon seeing my roster I realized a few things....
A) Joining a dynasty league AFTER they've had their rookie and free agent drafts really sucks. The former owner apparently felt that rookie DEFENSE was the way to go and took four(out of five total)of his rookies on the D side. LB Aaron Curry, DE Tyson Jackson, CB Alphonso Smith, and S William Moore. (He also grabbed RB Glen Coffee.)
B) I had no idea what I was doing! The rules of salary caps, contracts, and practice squads made my head spin. Thank god I was on vacation for the holiday or it would have taken days for me to wrap my mind around it. And the fact that this was a sixteen team league! Never have I played in a league with more than twelve.
C) I got a LOT of work to do to get this team looking good ... at least to ME. Not that the roster was that bad mind you ... just not a lot of players I personally was high on.
Here's the roster as it was (and still is actually) when I acquired the team:
Quarterbacks: Joe Flacco (Bal) and Jason Campbell (Was) Definitely not what I was hoping to see. Flacco might be a decent starter down the road if he ever gets some receivers to throw to, but right now he's a backup at best. Campbell is only the starter in Washington by default after the team failed to acquire Jay Cutler or Mark Sanchez. Unless I pull a trade off, I'll have to play this by ear as to which one I'll start.
Running Backs: LaDainian Tomlinson (SD), Ronnie Brown (Mia), and Glen Coffee (SF) This could certainly be worse. LT and Brown are decent starters. The fact that technically, I only have to start ONE RB (three flex positions help) makes up for the lack of depth at the position. Coffee should get enough playing time in SF to merit a start or two during the season.
Wide Receivers: Steve Smith (Car), DeSean Jackson (Phil), Lee Evans (Buff), and Justin Gage (Tenn) Not bad, but depth again is an issue. My initial thought is to trade Smith for some youth at the position. DeSean should be a solid keeper for me for years. Evans is in his prime and might have his best year this season with T.O. drawing the double coverage.
Tight Ends: Kellen Winslow (TB) and Donald Lee (GB). I'm not big on tight ends so was satisfied with these two. Winslow might have a decent season in Tampa if the QB situation is decided early. Lee will get a few scores here and there with Aaron Rodgers at the helm of the Packer offense.
Kickers: Mason Crosby (GB) Pleased to have a young kicker that should be solid and consistent to rely on for a few years. Signed him for four years.
Punters: I have never played in a league that had punters before. And as of this writing I don't have any on my roster. The former owner apparently was waiting until free agency signing to bother with them. Can't say I disagree.
Defensive Tackles: Shaun Rogers (Clev) and Sedrick Ellis (NO) Pleased with Ellis. He's young and looked good in his rookie season. I'll be holding on to him for awhile. Rogers is a decent starter this year. Another need for depth here.
Defensive Ends: Mario Williams (Hou), Dwight Freeney (Ind), and Tyson Jackson (KC) Can't complain with THAT! Two big time starters with a first round rookie behind them. Sweet!
Linebackers: Aaron Curry (Sea), Shawn Merriman (SD), Bradie James (Dal). Desperate need for depth here as three LBs is the minimum start and normally are the RBs of fantasy IDPs. I do like the three I have and if Curry lives up to the hype he might be on my team for his whole career.
Cornerbacks: Nnadami Asomugha (Oak),Leodis McKelvin (Buff), Alphonso Smith (Den) As a Raider fan I love having Asomugha, but he doesn't get a lot of fantasy points. (Still signed him to a long term contract though.) McKelvin is young and doubles as a kick returner so he's going to be very valuable. Need some serious depth here... again.
Safeties: Laron Landry (Wash), William Moore (Atl), and Gerald Sensabaugh (Dal) Landry is a solid enough starter but I need someone else. Hoping to trade for somebody.
By my reckoning if this team is going to contend, it's going to do so with defense. Unless I hit on some miracle free agents or make a few lucky trades, the offense is going to be average at best.
But I'm still excited about the possibilities of the future ... and that's one of the things that a dynasty league brings with it ... endless possibilities.
Thanks to @jmtorrey for hooking me up!
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