Well the draft is over and its all set to go.

Can't say I did too badly, but was sure I had elected to pick RBs rounds 1 and 2 like last year, so would have had Alexander and Westbrook, but instead picked up Brady 2nd overall, lets hope he is worth it, worked out well picking up Branch though hope they can connect a few times.
Glad to welcome Shayne Graham back to Berri, last year he was a nobody I stepped up to grab and he was 3rd highest kickier in scoring! Gonzalez will fill the TE spot nicely I hope.

Draft Results
Round 1
1 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Peyton Manning (QB IND)
2 Murray Cod Tom Brady (QB NE)
3 Patriot Games Carson Palmer (QB CIN)
4 PERDIKA PYTHONS Shaun Alexander (RB SEA)
5 Dud Larry Johnson (RB KC)
6 BillsJetsman LaDainian Tomlinson (RB SD)
7 Tomjak Tank Engines Matt Hasselbeck (QB SEA)
8 London Longshots Clinton Portis (RB WAS)
9 Black_and_white_dingoes Edgerrin James (RB ARI)
10 Giant Indian Ruckmen Eli Manning (QB NYG)
11 Magpies Donovan McNabb (QB PHI)
12 sick puppies Cadillac Williams (RB TB)
Round 2
13 BillsJetsman Tiki Barber (RB NYG)
14 Tomjak Tank Engines Rudi Johnson (RB CIN)
15 London Longshots Terrell Owens (WR DAL)
16 Black_and_white_dingoes Drew Bledsoe (QB DAL)
17 Giant Indian Ruckmen LaMont Jordan (RB OAK)
18 Magpies Domanick Davis (RB HOU)
19 sick puppies Ben Roethlisberger (QB PIT)
20 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Steven Jackson (RB STL)
21 Murray Cod Brian Westbrook (RB PHI)
22 Patriot Games Ronnie Brown (RB MIA)
23 PERDIKA PYTHONS Steve Smith (WR CAR)
24 Dud Kurt Warner (QB ARI)
Round 3
25 Magpies Marvin Harrison (WR IND)
26 sick puppies Julius Jones (RB DAL)
27 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Randy Moss (WR OAK)
28 Murray Cod Chad Johnson (WR CIN)
29 Patriot Games Torry Holt (WR STL)
30 PERDIKA PYTHONS Jake Plummer (QB DEN)
31 Dud Willie Parker (RB PIT)
32 BillsJetsman Larry Fitzgerald (WR ARI)
33 Tomjak Tank Engines Warrick Dunn (RB ATL)
34 London Longshots Reggie Bush (RB NO)
35 Black_and_white_dingoes Willis McGahee (RB BUF)
36 Giant Indian Ruckmen Anquan Boldin (WR ARI)
Round 4
37 PERDIKA PYTHONS Corey Dillon (RB NE)
38 Dud Roy Williams (WR DET)
39 BillsJetsman Antonio Gates (TE SD)
40 Tomjak Tank Engines Chris Chambers (WR MIA)
41 London Longshots Marc Bulger (QB STL)
42 Black_and_white_dingoes Joey Galloway (WR TB)
43 Giant Indian Ruckmen Jamal Lewis (RB BAL)
44 Magpies DeShaun Foster (RB CAR)
45 sick puppies Hines Ward (WR PIT)
46 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Jeremy Shockey (TE NYG)
47 Murray Cod Tony Gonzalez (TE KC)
48 Patriot Games Alge Crumpler (TE ATL)
Round 5
49 Black_and_white_dingoes Drew Brees (QB NO)
50 Giant Indian Ruckmen Santana Moss (WR WAS)
51 Magpies DST Steelers (DST PIT)
52 sick puppies DST Buccaneers (DST TB)
53 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Neil Rackers (K ARI)
54 Murray Cod Shayne Graham (K CIN)
55 Patriot Games Adam Vinatieri (K IND)
56 PERDIKA PYTHONS Darrell Jackson (WR SEA)
57 Dud Reggie Wayne (WR IND)
58 BillsJetsman Daunte Culpepper (QB MIA)
59 Tomjak Tank Engines Donald Driver (WR GB)
60 London Longshots Chris Cooley (TE WAS)
Round 6
61 Murray Cod DST Bills (DST BUF)
62 Patriot Games DST Ravens (DST BAL)
63 PERDIKA PYTHONS Trent Green (QB KC)
64 Dud Todd Heap (TE BAL)
65 BillsJetsman Javon Walker (WR DEN)
66 Tomjak Tank Engines Jake Delhomme (QB CAR)
67 London Longshots DST Patriots (DST NE)
68 Black_and_white_dingoes DST Panthers (DST CAR)
69 Giant Indian Ruckmen Mike Vanderjagt (K DAL)
70 Magpies Jason Witten (TE DAL)
71 sick puppies Alex Smith (TE TB)
72 Scottish Claymores 2K6 DST Broncos (DST DEN)
Round 7
73 Tomjak Tank Engines Randy McMichael (TE MIA)
74 London Longshots Plaxico Burress (WR NYG)
75 Black_and_white_dingoes Reuben Droughns (RB CLE)
76 Giant Indian Ruckmen DST Dolphins (DST MIA)
77 Magpies Terry Glenn (WR DAL)
78 sick puppies Michael Clayton (WR TB)
79 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Kevin Jones (RB DET)
80 Murray Cod Ron Dayne (RB DEN)
81 Patriot Games Thomas Jones (RB CHI)
82 PERDIKA PYTHONS Jay Feely (K NYG)
83 Dud Andre Johnson (WR HOU)
84 BillsJetsman Joseph Addai (RB IND)
Round 8
85 sick puppies Michael Vick (QB ATL)
86 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Eddie Kennison (WR KC)
87 Murray Cod Deion Branch (WR NE)
88 Patriot Games Joe Horn (WR NO)
89 PERDIKA PYTHONS DST Seahawks (DST SEA)
90 Dud Brett Favre (QB GB)
91 BillsJetsman Byron Leftwich (QB JAC)
92 Tomjak Tank Engines DST Jets (DST NYJ)
93 London Longshots Aaron Brooks (QB OAK)
94 Black_and_white_dingoes Derrick Mason (WR BAL)
95 Giant Indian Ruckmen Vernon Davis (TE SF)
96 Magpies Jason Elam (K DEN)
Round 9
97 Dud DST Bears (DST CHI)
98 BillsJetsman Lee Evans (WR BUF)
99 Tomjak Tank Engines T.J. Houshmandzadeh (WR CIN)
100 London Longshots Chester Taylor (RB MIN)
101 Black_and_white_dingoes Heath Miller (TE PIT)
102 Giant Indian Ruckmen Steve McNair (QB BAL)
103 Magpies Brad Johnson (QB MIN)
104 sick puppies Cedric Benson (RB CHI)
105 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Mark Brunell (QB WAS)
106 Murray Cod Jon Kitna (QB DET)
107 Patriot Games David Carr (QB HOU)
108 PERDIKA PYTHONS L.J. Smith (TE PHI)
Round 10
109 Giant Indian Ruckmen Tatum Bell (RB DEN)
110 Magpies Rod Smith (WR DEN)
111 sick puppies Keyshawn Johnson (WR CAR)
112 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Ahman Green (RB GB)
113 Murray Cod Deuce McAllister (RB NO)
114 Patriot Games Curtis Martin (RB NYJ)
115 PERDIKA PYTHONS Laurence Maroney (RB NE)
116 Dud DeAngelo Williams (RB CAR)
117 BillsJetsman DST Redskins (DST WAS)
118 Tomjak Tank Engines LenDale White (RB TEN)
119 London Longshots Jeff Wilkins (K STL)
120 Black_and_white_dingoes Lawrence Tynes (K KC)
Round 11
121 Patriot Games Nate Burleson (WR SEA)
122 PERDIKA PYTHONS Donte' Stallworth (WR NO)
123 Dud Jeff Reed (K PIT)
124 BillsJetsman Matt Stover (K BAL)
125 Tomjak Tank Engines David Akers (K PHI)
126 London Longshots David Givens (WR TEN)
127 Black_and_white_dingoes Keenan McCardell (WR SD)
128 Giant Indian Ruckmen Laveranues Coles (WR NYJ)
129 Magpies Jerramy Stevens (TE SEA)
130 sick puppies DST Giants (DST NYG)
131 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Muhsin Muhammad (WR CHI)
132 Murray Cod Jerry Porter (WR OAK)
Round 12
133 London Longshots DST Jaguars (DST JAC)
134 Black_and_white_dingoes DST Colts (DST IND)
135 Giant Indian Ruckmen Dallas Clark (TE IND)
136 Magpies Fred Taylor (RB JAC)
137 sick puppies Matt Bryant (K TB)
138 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Ben Troupe (TE TEN)
139 Murray Cod Bubba Franks (TE GB)
140 Patriot Games Ben Watson (TE NE)
141 PERDIKA PYTHONS DST Cardinals (DST ARI)
142 Dud DST Vikings (DST MIN)
143 BillsJetsman DST Eagles (DST PHI)
144 Tomjak Tank Engines Jermaine Wiggins (TE MIN)
Round 13
145 Scottish Claymores 2K6 Nate Kaeding (K SD)
146 Murray Cod Rian Lindell (K BUF)
147 Patriot Games Sebastian Janikowski (K OAK)
148 PERDIKA PYTHONS Josh Brown (K SEA)
149 Dud Marcus Pollard (TE DET)
150 BillsJetsman Zach Hilton (TE NO)
151 Tomjak Tank Engines Ryan Longwell (K MIN)
152 London Longshots Jeb Putzier (TE HOU)
153 Black_and_white_dingoes Phil Dawson (K CLE)
154 Giant Indian Ruckmen John Kasay (K CAR)
155 Magpies DST Cowboys (DST DAL)
156 sick puppies Joe Klopfenstein (TE STL)
Round 14
157 BillsJetsman Olindo Mare (K MIA)
158 Tomjak Tank Engines DST Chiefs (DST KC)
159 London Longshots Joe Nedney (K SF)
160 Black_and_white_dingoes Leonard Pope (TE ARI)
161 Giant Indian Ruckmen DST Falcons (DST ATL)
162 Magpies Jason Hanson (K DET)
163 sick puppies John Hall (K WAS)
164 Scottish Claymores 2K6 DST Rams (DST STL)
165 Murray Cod DST Bengals (DST CIN)
166 Patriot Games DST Lions (DST DET)
167 PERDIKA PYTHONS Courtney Anderson (TE OAK)
168 Dud Mike Nugent (K NYJ)  

--Last edited by alex on 2006-08-01 20:04:17 --

Pretty happy with my draft.  Tomlinson and Barber then Fitzgerald, Gates and Culpepper. If Culpepper stays healthy then he will be the best 5th round choice I've ever had!
 

I went after RBs and got LJ. I had hoped to have a strong RB pairing but I am not sure I got that with Willie Parker. Warner as a QB scares me and my WRs are all questionable. What happened with the Bears defence falling so far? Did I miss something? Heap should be reasonable at TE.

Might need to start the trade ideas.

OK. I'll swap my Redskins for your Bears. Fair Deal?

Considering I didn't really know what I was doing, I'm pretty pleased with my roster. According to the projections, I'll win my division, but hey, projections schmojections, right?! As a Dolphins fan, perhaps I should have picked Culpepper above Bulger, but we'll see how that pans out.

You weren't kidding when you said your mate loved the Buccs, were you Tom?!  

Just a couple of quick questions as I've never done fantasy football before:

If I go for a free agent but don't get him, presumably I don't then drop the player I was replacing with the FA - ??

Are there any restrictions on the roster other than having only 14 players and the required no. of starters?, e.g. if I wanted to, I could drop my reserve QB, RB & TE and load up with 4 reserve WRs - ??  

--Last edited by Jon G on 2006-08-01 21:16:26 --

Whoops - I forgot to set my preferences before my trip to Denmark & my draft results kinda shows this...    

--Last edited by beats on 2006-08-01 21:31:05 --

John you are correct about the sick puppies, but he wants to trade QBs with you!

He says that the Tampa players just fell to him totally by accident, but he did rate them slightly higher than NFL.com

You are also correct about the roster.  You only need a team of starters - the rest can be any position. Just remember that you need players to replace your starters for bye weeks otherwise you won't score any points.


Beats don't you rate Manning?  I thought your team is not too shabby at all!  

--Last edited by tom richards on 2006-08-01 22:05:04 --

Ah, you look to have done alright. Moss, Shockey, Manning not too bad. RBs might be light if Green doesn't perform. but the autodraft was pot luck really.

Oh yeah, I rate Manning.  Moss is a tricky one though, cuz it depends on how well the Raiders O does.  He should still score plenty points for me - hopefully...

Beats you are also correct about waivers.  If you don't get the player you want then your player stays on your roster.

Was very pleased with my selections, solid without being spectacular.  WR is my iffy spot, I think Chambers will be a star, but injury concerns over Driver are big.  my backup RB Lendale White is also a big if, firstly being a rookie and carrying too much weight in the offseason.

Who do you guys rate as the best squads?

As I said earlier I am very happy with my squad.  Two absolute studs at running back is better than I expected. The best TE by a mile. One great receiver and two average ones. My backup RB Addai may turn into a stud as the season progresses. Washington and Eagles defences are competent without being brilliant but it is so hard to predict defences with a lot of certainty.(I should know - I picked up the Bills in the 5th round last year and they were a bust.)
The big question mark is on my QBs. I wasn't going to waste a 1st round pick on a QB and end up with Culpepper or Palmer.  Much better to wait I thought but I got him anyway. He could be the steal of the century or he could also be a bust.  Leftwhich is not much better and is not really a decent starter in fantasy leagues.
As long as my starters stay healthy I will give this league a real shake.

Barber and Tomlinson will make a great combo for Tom, Paul looks good allround,
the Longshots have a great recieving corps, Solid magpies team could be a sleeper with all those starters capable fo tearing it up, not sure what to make of Kevin's boys, time will tell,
the Pythons have two of the best WRs in the game, both with injuries concerns, like wise with Dillon, who'll be getting less carries anyway Alexander will be the core of the team, with TE smith set to have a good year absent any other pass catchers in Philly.
For the claymores Jackson sounds like he's expected to have a probowl calibre year, with his #2 RB Jones in a martz offence could be a lethal combo, Moss with Kennison behind him is solid, and SHockey and Manning don't require comment,
the puppies look to have a good alround team although TE seems weak,
Tankengines look good, Dunn is getting old though wouldn't be surprised to see dave pick up j Ducket just in case.

Overall I'd have to say the Claymores look the best IMHO

Happy with my team but some question marks with McNabb and Foster coming off injuries. Doesn't help that Foster has never gone healthy through a season even though he is the starter for the Panthers this year. Back up RB being Fred Taylor has me worried.

Love having Brad Johnson as backup QB. Terry Glenn and Marvin Harrison at WR looks good but TO could take some yardage away from Glenn this year. Hopefully Harrison doesn't show his age this year (still can't believe got him in the 3rd round!).

Domanick Davis could be a real sleeper for RB with Kubiak taking over in Houston. With his track record with Rb's in Denver hopefully Davis racks up over 1500 yards and 15 TD's - that would be great.

Witten at TE is solid and the Steelers as the DST has me pumped.

Nothing too special about my reserves though (other then Qb Johnson).

Might start looking at wheeling and dealing again this year.

A few injuries could mix the whole thing up again. lol

Hard to go past Tom's running back stable, that is a frigthening combo.  And any team that has Peyton Manning has championship written all over it in fantasy.

The Tank Engines are very solid at QB, Hasselbank and Delhomne give great depth.  Rudi Johnson is a running machine, and agree that Dunn is getting older, but the Falcons run game is fantastic.  i deliberatley went St and defence later this season, i find kikcers to be fairly random.  kast year my backup defence was clearly better than my first choice.  I like the way the Jets defence looks this year, so hopefully they will bring hom the bacon, otherwise i don't really want to have to depend on the Chiefs!

Quote :

Foster has never gone healthy through a season

IIRC he was my #3 last year behind Barber and Edge and ended up getting cut

Quote :

i find kikcers to be fairly random

I reckon it is better to get a kicker with a good offence, than to just go on kicker's ability. Went for Graham last year as I just kept reading about howmuch was expected of the Bengals offence so seemed like a good bet. Akers will probably be alright this year, as although the offence will struggle unless Reid put the ball on the ground alot more than he ever has Akers is one of the best kickers of the deep ball IMHO, his range goes out to 55  unless it is windy. Lots of westbrook runs or runs after the catch should breakout to put us in range but without any good WRs the offence won't have that endzone ability it did last year with TO, so FGs are the likely result...

I like the look of my rushing corps (although not nearly as much as I like the look of Tom's!  ) - Portis should get us some big numbers and Bush obviously has the potential to have a big season, but if not Chester Taylor should be a more than useful back-up. Pleased with our WRs - for all his many failings as a human being, TO is still a quality receiver although I have my worries about Dallas providing him with enough ammunition to really star this season. The rest of the team's pretty so-so, but will hopefully still put enough points on the board for us to be competitive.

Sam, sorry but I'm wishing injury on Foster. Not just because you're in my division but DeAngelo Williams is my #3 and could be a bolter if Foster goes down early. I'm not sold on Willie Parker as my #2. I did try to get Taylor from Jon but unfortunately he was far too astute to be fooled for a straight swap of Williams and Taylor. I expect a big year from Taylor (since I'm a vikes fan).

I'm really not sure how well Warner is going to do and I'd love to give Farve up. Not least because he's a cheesehead but I want to be able to cheer him on as he fails to pieces...

My receivers are very hit and miss. All three could have big seasons but it's hard to tell that for now.

I blew off kickers. But on defence the Bears and Vikings. I think both have great potential. Perhaps if the Vikings does well enough they may be a tempting trade option down the track. They will probably still leak some yards but I love the turnover/td potential. The Bears look stronger than last year but whether or not that equates to fantasy success who knows.

Reggie Bush having an impact year looks even more promising as teh Saints just traded Michael Bennet to the Cheifs today.  Interesting as they only just picked up Bennet before the draft, and with duece McAllister coming of a Knee ACL he will get plenty of looks.  Despite the Cheifs saying no, it doesn't l;ook good for one of my personal favourite players in Priest Holmes with that transaction.

Quote :

Sam, sorry but I'm wishing injury on Foster.  Not just because you're in my division but DeAngelo Williams is my #3 and could be a bolter if Foster goes down early.

Wishing not required as I am expecting Foster to miss at least half a season with many injury problems. Seems everytime he is injured he misses excessive amounts of time so not happy have him on my team. Williams would have to be a bolter anyway. Fox loves running the ball and the only way to keep Foster healthy is to spread the carries and see this happening with the Panthers this season, unless Smith and Johnson prove too good an option in the aerial game.

Fles,
Read that Holmes is on the PUP list for the Chiefs and might be retiring due to back/spinal injury he got last season. The trade for Bennett has been seen as a precautionary measure due to this and the fact that looking more then likely that Holmes will retire. Holmes wants to play but his doctor will not give him clearance. That can't be good.