Monday Morning Report (Week One)

HAFFL REPORT
NEW YORK ICONS VS. COLUMBUS CRAZIES

Currently losing 123-73. I still have a chance though. Randy Moss, Janikowski, and the Washington defense tonight. A probable loss, but it will make the games tonight that much more interesting.


IFFL REPORT
MIAMI WAVES VS. WEST VIRGINIA DOLPHINS

Currently winning 61-27. He still has Santana Moss, and you never know, Moss could go crazy.... but I think I've got it won.

Stay tuned!

Week 1 Matchups

Time to take a look at my matchups next week ......


IFFL REPORT
MIAMI WAVES VS. WEST VIRGINIA DOLPHINS

A key division game to start the season. Roger's tentative lineup looks like this:

QB Matt Hasselbeck (Sea QBS at Det)

RB Shaun Alexander (Sea at Det)

RB Brian Westbrook (Phil at Hou)

WR Eddie Kennison (KC vs. Cin)

WR Derrick Mason (Balt at TB)

WR Santana Moss (Wash vs. Minn)(M)

K Jeff Reed (Pit vs. Miami)(Th)

D Broncos (Den at STL)

MY lineup will most likely look like THIS:

QB Kurt Warner (Ariz QBS vs. SF)

RB DeShaun Fosters (Car vs. Atl)

WR Terrell Owens (Dal at Jac)

WR Larry Fitzgerald (Ariz vs. SF)

WR Reggie Wayne (Ind at NYG)

WR Roy Williams (Det vs. Sea)

K Olindo Mare (Mia at Pit)(Th)

D Eagles (Phil at Hou)

KEY GAMES: Philadelphia at Houston, San Francisco at Arizona, Seattle at Detroit

NOTES: With Vinateri nursing a sprained foot, I will play it safe and start Mare for now. I beat the Dolphins twice last year, but they made the playoffs despite it. I'm hoping Detroit can limit Alexander and Hasselbeck to minimal points.



HAFFL REPORT
NEW YORK ICONS VS. COLUMBUS CRAZIES

Facing the defending champ right off the bat. His starting lineup is posted as:

QB Tom Brady (NE vs. Buff)

RB Tiki Barber (NYG vs. Ind)

RB Carnell Williams (TB vs. Balt)

RB Brian Westbrook (Phil at Hou)

WR Dante Stallworth (Phil at Hou)

WR Hines Ward (Pit vs. Mia) (Th)

TE Todd Heap (Balt at TB)

K Neil Rackers (Ariz vs. SF)

D Steelers (Pit vs. Mia)(Th)

(Overtime player)WR Rod Smith (Den at STL)

MY lineup should look like THIS:

QB Kurt Warner (Ariz vs. SF)

RB Larry Johnson (KC vs. Cin)

WR Randy Moss (Oak vs. SD)(M)

WR Torry Holt (STL vs. Den)

WR Chris Chambers (Mia at Pit)(Th)

WR Keyshawn Johnson (Car vs. ATL)

K Sebastian Janikowski (Oak vs. SD)(M)

D Redskins (Wash vs. Minn)(M)

(Overtime player)RB Dominic Rhodes (Ind at NYG)

KEY GAMES: Miami at Pittsburgh, San Francisco at Arizona, Philadelphia at Houston, Baltimore at Tampa Bay, San Diego at Oakland.

NOTES: Lost to the Crazies twice last year. I'm hoping this game doesn't end up going to overtime because I think I'll lose. Common player going against me this week is Brian Westbrook.


That's a quick look at the upcoming week. Comments welcomed.

Key Players

Every year I try to draft 2-4 players that appear on both of my rosters. Last year I had Chad Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald (actually, I traded for him in the IFFL), and Plaxico Burress. This year I have four: Kurt Warner, Matt Leinart (since I have Arizona team QBs in the IFFL, technically, you can say I have both), Laurence Maroney, and Olindo Mare. Now Mare is projected to be my backup kicker in both leagues (to Vinateri in the IFFL and Janikowski in the HAFFL) so really, not much to say there. Maroney ... while he could very well be the Patriots starting RB by the end of the year, his value is limited while Cory Dillon is still in the picture. My "key player" this year appears to be Kurt Warner.

While I projected Warner as my backup in the HAFFL to Eli Manning ... I am going to start him Week One against the 49ers. He is my definitive starter in the IFFL however, and I'm hoping he looks Fitzgerald's way a lot. Double points rock! Now if Warner gets hurt, it's not a HUGE deal. I do have Leinart in both leagues if I need him, but since I have Eli on the Icons, and Michael Vick on the Waves, I'll still be looking okay at QB.

More Draft Photos!

A few more pictures here from Sunday's draft. Enjoy!


The Fonz and Hillbilly. Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!


John receiving his 2004 Championship Medal.



The GM of the Dynasty confers with his Head Of Scouting.

On The Home Stretch, The Broncos selecting thier backup kicker.

IFFL Draft Report (Part 2)

It's two days later and I'm still recovering from the draft. I'm suffering from what my fiance likes to call "Post-Draft Panic". Was Terrell Owens worth the number five pick overall, or will that come back to screw me when T.O. decides to push Bill Parcells and Jerry Jones too far? Should I have taken Cadillac Williams in the second round instead of Larry Fitzgerald? I know any of you fantasy football traditionalists reading this think I must be off my rocker for not going for a RB in the first FIVE rounds .... and I can't say I blame you. My thought at the time was that wide receivers (this includes tight ends) in this league are a more valuble commodity due to a scoring system that awards points to only those who score TDs or get 100 yards rushing or recieving. Plus, the longer the TD, the more points you receive. So the recievers were going fast and furious. (20 of the first 40 picks were receivers!) And I figured, screw it .... grab my receivers early while I can and worry about RBs later.

Now mind you, I don't think I made out too bad on running backs, I managed to grab the Carolina duo of DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams, handcuffing them to guarantee I have a starter to plug into my "run and shoot" offense. I also handcuffed the Cowboys backs, nabbing Julius Jones and Marion Barber. And with my last RB I grabbed Laurence Maroney, who I believe will get the starting job away from Cory Dillon by midseason. My RBs could definitely could have been worse if this was a league of traditional drafters who believe you must have two RBs in the first three rounds. But as it went, I think I came out all right.

Now IF Terrell Owens quits messing around and gets his butt on the field, I'll have THE best receiving corp in the league!! Owens, Fitzgerald, Wayne, and Williams should be a potent foursome. Former Buckeyes Jenkins and Holmes are project picks who I hope I can use during bye weeks.

The biggest suprise in this draft? The defending champ, owner of the Radnor Rangers .... took Neil Rackers .... IN THE FOURTH ROUND!! Wow, I'm still shaking my head about that one.

More to come, here are some more photos:

CHECKING OUT THE BLING

THE CHAMP RECIEVES HIS TROPHY

THE "JERRY PORTER PICK"

YES FOLKS, THAT'S NEIL RACKERS IN ROUND FOUR.

More to come.

IFFL Draft Report (Part 1)

Wow, what a day it was. Great draft, great food, great people! The drama and suprises were many! I even managed to suprise MYSELF! In a league where wide receivers rule I drafted four in a row ... in the first four rounds. Wow. Didn't see that coming at all.

Here is the roster for the 2006 Miami Waves:

Team QB Arizona (Kurt Warner, Matt Leinart)

Team QB Atlanta (Michael Vick, Matt Shaub)

RB DeShaun Foster (Car)

RB DeAngelo Williams (Car)

RB Julius Jones (Dal)

RB Marion Barber (Dal)

RB Laurence Maroney (NE)

WR Terrell Owens (Dal)

WR Larry Fitzgerald (Ariz)

WR Reggie Wayne (Ind)

WR Roy Williams (Det)

WR Michael Jenkins (Atl)

WR Santonio Holmes (Pit)

K Adam Vinateri (Ind)

K Olindo Mare (Mia)

D New York Giants

D Philadelphia

I will have more on the draft later, but right now enjoy these pictures from the event:


BEFORE

AFTER

"HE DRAFTED WHO?"

Da Commisioners

More details and photos to come, stay tuned.

IFFL Draft is almost here!

Well, we're only a few hours away from the IFFL draft and everything is set up. Now when I say "set up", I'm not talking about just a table with some chairs around it ... I mean a huge room at a local library with a huge draftboard, a huge banner, a big food table, trophies, a championship plaque, a "Hall Of Defunct Teams", binders for every team, and other various knicknacks. We went all out this year! Most of the hard work was by Dave. Dave, you've outdone yourself. Really awesome job buddy!



The credit for the big draft banner goes to James and Dave H. Man, they did an awesome job on it!



Now THIS is a fantasy draft war room!!!




I hate having the number five pick to be honest. I'd rather be at the later end of the cycle than right smack dab in the middle. But I'll have to "Buckeye up" and deal with it. I expect to get one of two particular players and I have a draft strategy for each. But as we all know, anything and everything can happen in a fantasy draft. You can do all the preparation in the world, but really all it does is help you target players you won't get in the first place. The key to a sucessful draft is to relax, be sober, and have fun.

So with that said ... LET'S GET READY TO RUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMBLE!!!

HAFFL Draft Report (Part Two)

At tight end is where I suffered my one disappointment. I really wanted Todd Heap and thought he would last until my pick in the sixth round, but the Columbus Crazies snatched him up three picks ahead of me. So I settled on Vernon Davis, who should be the 49ers featured receiver, but will he put up decent numbers in that offense this year? Winslow was also a "settle for" pick as I had L.J. Smith targeted in the 12th round only to see him go one spot ahead of me to the Anchorage Night Watch. Maybe Winslow will have a breakout season, but again, it's a poor offense in Cleveland so he's a dubious choice.

For once I actually resisited the urge to pick a kicker or defense early ... I actually waited until round sixteen to grab either and I'm still pretty pleased with who I got. Janikowski has been a disappointment over the years, never living up to his 1st round pick label, but he HAS been kicking fifty yarders in the preseason, so maybe he can actually be more accurate this year. Miami should have an improved offense this year, giving Mare more chances for field goals and XPs.

On defense I said screw it and went for two who had good returners since we added points for return yards. (I'm still trying to figure THAT one out, but oh well.) The Redskins are actually a solid defense that added Antwan Randall El to the mix and he could return a few punts for scores. Kansas City of course has the X-Factor Dante Hall plus some solid defenders like James Hall and Derrick Johnson, so they are a good number two option.

All in all, I'm pleased with the Icons this year and think I have a contender on my hands. One bit of positive news ... if you can call a season ending injury positive .... is that James Mungro is out for the year at RB for the Colts, which eliminates him from contending for any touches with Rhodes and Addai. Which makes me feel better about grabbing them both.

Now on to this coming draft in the IFFL this Sunday. I have the fifth overall pick and unlike most leagues, this is a receiver-happy group who will most likely snap up a good amount of receivers early and often in the first few rounds as opposed to the normal grabbing of the RBs. It's our scoring system and the fact that a certain individual has had tremendous sucess in the past with his run and shoot style drafting that causes this WR first mentality. To this end I am actually considering a receiver at the fifth overall pick. (I hear a lot of gasping from the peanut gallery.) But it may or may not play out that way because I'm starting to second guess the guy I had targeted for that slot.

More on this later. It's time for me to sign off.

HAFFL Draft Report.

(Sorry my update has taken so long, but I've been working a lot of OT lately.)



Well, here is the roster for the 2006 New York Icons:

QB Eli Manning (NYG)

QB Kurt Warner (Ariz)

QB Matt Leinart (Ariz)

RB Larry Johnson (KC)

RB Dominick Rhodes (Ind)

RB Joseph Addai (Ind)

RB Laurence Maroney (NE)

RB Michael Bennett (KC)

WR Randy Moss (Oak)

WR Torry Holt (StL)

WR Chris Chambers (Mia)

WR Keyshawn Johnson (Car)

WR Mark Clayton (Bal)

WR Braylon Edwards (Clev)

TE Vernon Davis (SF)

TE Kellen Winslow (Clev)

K Sebastian Janikowski (Oak)

K Olindo Mare (Mia)

D Washington Redskins

D Kansas City Chiefs

Not bad if I do say so myself. At first glance I think I'll be going with a one RB, four WR lineup (or "run and shoot") until one of my Colt RBs starts outplaying the other or until Cory Dillon goes down to injury, opening up an opportunity for Maroney to be the featured back in New England.

I got the quarterback I wanted in Eli and got a potential top five backup in Warner so I feel confident in my quarterbacks to start. Matt Leinart provides Kurt Warner insurance and depending on how much he DOES play, could be a suprise keeper for next year.

Yes, I decided on Larry Johnson over LT. Something told me at the last second that had to take the chance. I pray he will be the big point scorer he was last year. My depth at running back may not be the most solid, but I think I got good value out of Rhodes, Addai, and Maroney. (6th, 7th, and 10th rounds respectively.)

I am thrilled about my wide recieving corp! Randy Moss, Torry Holt, and Chris Chambers could all be top ten recievers this year. Keyshawn should be a solid fourth reciever and both Clayton and Edwards could have big sophmore seasons. Hell, if Edwards gets healthy he could be a 14th round steal. Strangely enough, WR was the only skill position (other than kicker) that I didn't take a rookie in.

I'll have more about the draft later this week and thoughts about the IFFL draft coming up this weekend! Seeeya!

One more day!

Less than twenty four hours to go before the HAFFL Draft and I'm still torn . Larry Johnson? Ladanian Tomlinson? Larry Johnson? Ladanian Tomlinson? I keep going back and forth on the matter of who I want to take with the second overall pick. My good buddy Dave (co-founder of the IFFL with me) came over yesterday and made a strong case for Larry Johnson. And when Dave makes a case, it's a lot like Altoids. (The Curiously Strong Mint!) He pointed out several reasons why he believed LJ to be the better choice. One being that the San Diego Chargers face one of THE strongest schedules against run defenses this year and that Tomlinson is going to have to face eight men in the box until the unexperienced QB Phillip Rivers can prove he can beat teams through the air. Another point Dave brought up, with the help of an interesting article in The Sporting News, is that Willie Roaf's retirement and Tony Richardson's defection to the Minnesota Vikings may not have such a negative effect on Johnson's performance as one may think. According to the Sporting News article, Roaf's absence due to injury for six games last year had only minimal impact on Johnson's numbers and there were also several games that Roaf played but was not one hundred percent healthy that Johnson still put up big numbers. As far as Richardson's impact, the article says that while he IS a good blocker, he was only in on about thirty percent of Kansas City's offensive snaps last year. One other point Dave made, and this one is a good one...... Herman Edwards loves to work his featured back to death. Two years ago, he ran 30+ year old Curtis Martin almost to death and won him the rushing title. Now if Edwards can do that with a back on the tail end of his career ... how much do you think he can do with a 26 year old in the peak of his career who has little mileage on him? Alright Dave, maybe I'm convinced ... maybe I'm not ... arrrrghhhh! Guess I'll just wait and flip a coin when my pick comes up.

But no matter which one I get, I plan on drafting their backup as insurance. If it's Tomlinson, then I'm going to grab Michael Turner. If it's Larry Johnson, I'll grab Michael Bennett. I'm a strong believer in drafting backups at QB and RB. Just because they may not be available to you in free agency when your starter goes down to that torn ACL. I'd rather already have Matt Leinhart on my bench ready to go if Kurt Warner gets his knee destroyed by Larry Little. Leinhart may not put up the big numbers or play very well since he's a rookie who missed a lot of training camp, but he has the weapons to fake it.

I also have every intention of drafting a RB duo who may or may not split time. Since I am drafting toward the end of the rotation and have only two picks between my even numbered rounds and my odd numbered rounds, there's a good chance I could bag maybe Cory Dillon and Laurence Maroney .... or DeShaun Foster and Deangelo Williams. There are at least a dozen other duos in the mix at the RB position I could grab. I hope to get at least one, possibly two.

Seventeen hours until the draft. I will be up bright and early, ready to go. Wish me luck!

Three Days To Go!

Three days to go until the HAFFL Draft and I'm getting stoked! I think I've settled on Tomlinson with my first pick. Even though Larry Johnson may be the better choice as far as rushing yards are concerned, I think LT has the advantage as far as combined yardage goes. I took a poll at Fantasy Football Jungle on thier message boards and the response favored heavily towards Tomlinson as well. So I'll have my featured back in round one, then hope there is an elite reciever and/or a good RB left for me at the end of round two, and the beginning of round three. I'll probably ignore QB until rounds five or six. There are so many quarterbacks with the potential to be good this year, I'm sure I can grab one late and be fine.

One big difference between the HAFFL and the IFFL is that we are required to draft and start tight ends in the HAFFL, which I like. The trend in the NFL is starting to gear towards throwing to the TE more often, especially if the team has a young or inexperienced QB. I think Vernon Davis has a great shot at being Rookie Of The Year, even with Reggie Bush in the hunt. I'm looking forward to hopefully finding a tight end of value that I think is going to have a breakout season. I'm not going to say who I'm targeting but I will tell you that his last name does NOT start with a G.

My draft strategy has always included drafting at least one rookie, although I usually end up with two or more. I don't know why, but I've always had a fascination with getting someone who is at the beginning of thier career so I can say I had him when he started out. This year is no different. I have my eye on several first year guys, one in particular at RB. Again, I won't reveal the name, but I will tell you he did NOT play for USC last year.

Alright, time to hit the mags again. Before you know it, the Icons will be on the clock!!!

One week to go! LJ or LT?

One week until my first draft. I'm going crazy from the wait. With the second pick overall I'm contemplating Larry Johnson or Ladanain Tomlinson. I'm avoiding Shaun Alexander again I know, but I can't help it. I don't like him. I know it's not a good strategy to avoid players because you don't like them, but in my opinion, you have more fun if you actually LIKE and are a fan of the guys you draft. For years I avoided drafting Broncos because I hate the team. I've since stopped doing that, but I can't seem to get over the "Alexander Hump".

Between receiving advice from several sources, I think I'm going to go with LJ. I was worried at first about the loss of Willie Roaf and what impact that could have on the OL of the Chiefs, but after being given a rundown of LJ's numbers while Roaf was out last year and seeing they were just as good when he was in the lineup .... I'm thinking LJ is the way to go. Now maybe I'll change my mind, afterall the scoring system for this league is 1 point for every ten yards rushing and recieving and LT might have the advantage there.

Also working in Tomlinson's favor is nostalgia. He was my #1 RB on my championship team three seasons ago. He, along with Edgerrin James, Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, and Chris Chambers have become my faves when it comes to draft day. (Chad has been a member of the Icons the last four years running and was a member of the Waves last year.) Yeah, if I have a draft weakness, it's the nostalgic aspect. Well, that and drafting defenses way too early. Which IS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN! I'm never going to hear the end of my drafting the Baltimore defense in the ninth round and then boldly declaring: "The run of defenses has begun!" ... only to have no other defenses drafted for several rounds after. Oh, and did I mention the Baltimore defense SUCKED as far as fantasy points last year???

For the moment I'm planning on Larry Johnson, but maybe the owner of the Talahassee Tigers changes his mind and drafts Johnson, then I can draft LT without any remorse.

August 6, 2006: HAFFL Draft Lottery Results

HAFFL REPORT
The draft will be held August 20th, so It's a go for me. I drew the second pick overall!! Whoo hoo! Highest pick I've had in either league in a long time. So now I have two weeks to get ready. I had a brief pow-wow with the owner of the Tallahassee Tigers, who owns the first pick and he said if the draft was today, he would take Shaun Alexander. Which would leaving me choosing between Larry Johnson and Ladainian Tomlinson. An interesting choice to say the least. I'll be talking about it on other posts. For now, it's time to go plan!

August 4, 2006: The Wait

The wait is growing ever so shorter now. The drafts are just around the corner and the planning is proceeding nicely. Training camps are in full swing and reports are coming in constantly. Ahhh yes.



IFFL REPORT
With just 22 days until the draft I have a fairly good idea of who I'll end up drafting in the first couple of rounds. After talking to a few owners and getting reliable info about others, the probable shape of the first few picks has taken form. Having the fifth pick overall may not turn out as bad as I first feared. I had really hoped initally to get one of the top four choices and even had made a quick trade on lottery day for the first pick overall. But the deal fell through .... and only time will tell if I will want to thank Roger (West Virginia Dolphins
) or throttle him for changing his mind. Heheheh, no hard feelings hillbilly.



HAFFL REPORT
In two days we have the draft lottery meeting and I will finally know where and when I'll be drafting. Not really much else to report here. I'll let you know the results of the meeting soon after it happens.



All in all, I'm getting very antsy and excited about the upcoming weeks. Hope everyone is enjoying it as much as I am.

July 30, 2006: Introduction

Okay, let's get the general info out of the way. I have played fantasy football for sixteen years now. I am currently in two leagues. The first is the Icon Fantasy Football League, which except for a couple of years, I have been in for fifteen years and am a co-founder. My team is the Miami Waves. Despite being in this league for so long, I have never had the honor of winning the league championship. Last year I thought I had a good shot and even now, looking at the stats of the players I had, I wonder how in the hell I ended up with a 7-8 record and missing the playoffs! Carson Palmer at QB (Actually, we play team QBs in this league, so technically it was the Bengals QBs.), Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis, Steven Jackson at RB (Ronnie Brown was a reserve.), Chad Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, and Plaxico Burress at WR. I was one of the league's top point scorers .... but luck is a cold cold woman. This year I hope to turn things around. I have the fifth pick (out of ten) and already have a couple of players targeted at that spot.

My other league is the Happy Asshole Fantasy Football League, I have played in this one for about eight years and won the league title back a couple of years ago. My team in the HAFFL is the New York Icons. (Formerly the Oakland Icons until last year, but I wanted to change divisions and mix things up.) Not so lucky last year however ... another 7-8 team. This might have something to do with the fact that my two of my three keepers were total busts ..... Dante Culpepper and Jamal Lewis. This year however is non-keeper year so hopefully the fresh start will work to my advantage. We will be drawing for the draft positions next weekend, but there is a slight chance they may want to hold the draft on the same day as my other league ... in which case I will not be participating most likely. So there is the possibility I will only have one league, which on one hand will suck, but on the other it will let me concentrate on the Waves.

Alrighty then, I'm off and running. Give me a holler if you hear me!