For the Third year in a row, your T-Dub hub for Fantasy Football questions and answers has returned.

We started two years ago with this gem:

http:///message_topic.aspx?topic=418053

then quickly upgraded the following year by increasing in 20 pages in length:

http:///message_topic.aspx?topic=481039

Same rules apply this year. I will do my best to offer insightful advice on drafting techniques, who to avoid, who to pursue, and later on once games start...who to start, and who to bench, and last minute injury reports.

Again, any question asked directly to me, I'll gladly offer insight...all other questions are fair game. This thread is all about opinions and updates, so if you've got em, give em.

With that said, we've begun to see a shift in the landscape of fantasy football, with WR's and QB's becoming bigger factors, and in Brady's case last season, a dominant force for fantasy football rosters. The RBBC is changing the landscape of fantasy football, with their only being 3-5 RB's that are assured to get ~25 touches a game.

Because of this, drafting techniques have changed dramatically. Gone are the days of having to draft RB, RB in the first two rounds, and the BPA (Best Pick Available) is often times a WR in the 2nd rd as opposed to a low end RB.

So, to open things up....

1) what's your drafting style? RB, RB? Never take a QB until after the 5th? No defense before the ~9th? Obviously scoring formats change the scope of things, but what are some general rules that you live by when drafting?

2) Who are your favorite picks in each position? Can Brady do it again? Has Gates passed the torch to Witten? Is AP the second coming of LT?

Let me know what you think and I look forward to this season!

- The Guru

6/13/2008 4:16:00 PM

My biggest problem is drafting players I like instead of the guy who is going to actually produce more points

6/13/2008 5:26:01 PM

First question....gotta be a good luck charm

I need to keep two of the following:

McGahee
Housh
Ernest Graham
Carson Palmer
Brandon Marshall
Welker
Selvin Young

as of now I'm leaning mcgahee and housh. What say you Guru?

6/13/2008 5:27:00 PM

incorrect link

6/13/2008 5:28:08 PM

I'd take Housh and Welker.

I'm afraid of Baltimore's O with Flacco at the helm so that makes me shy away from McGahee not to mention the Ravens won't have Ogden this year.

CP may not have an Ocho Cinco to throw to this year, and the Bengals have been getting worse lately, not better.

Selvin Young is a Bronco RB, no use wasting a keeper on that.

Earnest Graham is a potential keeper here, but not sure I'd do it over Welker or Housh.

There ya go, there's my input.

6/13/2008 5:49:27 PM

dont sleep on Marshall!

6/13/2008 6:44:33 PM

i can keep 0-4 of the following:

drew brees
willis mcgahee
reggie bush
michael turner
anquan boldin
santonio holmes
calvin johnson

leaning toward:
brees, mcgahee, bush, holmes. but it's a close battle between bush/turner and holmes/boldin

good points above about mcgahee. not sure if it's enough to go turner/bush or not though.

[Edited on June 13, 2008 at 7:01 PM. Reason : ]

6/13/2008 6:59:53 PM

ixnay on the ushBay.

6/13/2008 7:23:11 PM

I tend to focus on steals and saves when I really should be drafting home runs and ribbis. anyone else like that?

6/13/2008 7:25:07 PM

I mock draft hundreds of times before my actual drafts.

I think it helps you figure out what it takes to field a team you're comfortable with.

[Edited on June 13, 2008 at 7:26 PM. Reason : ]

6/13/2008 7:25:46 PM

i think bush has potential to develop into a better back now that he's seen how much he has sucked on the pro level. atlanta just scares me and that worries me with turner. its a tough call.

6/13/2008 7:34:51 PM

So who are all of the full time backs this year?

6/14/2008 5:20:16 AM

who ya gonna pick to replace brett farve?

6/14/2008 6:46:23 AM

Quote :

"holmes/boldin"

boldin all the way

6/14/2008 9:29:00 AM

^ In a PPR league, I would agree.

If it's TD heavy (or points for big plays, or 20 yards a point), you may really want to consider Holmes.

I think he is going to have a huge year and is currently being drafted as a mid to low #2 WR.

Sorry for the delay, I've been at the beach!

6/17/2008 3:38:29 PM

looks like the Chad Johnson situation is all but resolved.

He's healing faster than expected from his surgery (Per NFL Network) and he has made statements saying that he does indeed want to stay with Cincy.

Only issue is that from a fantasy prospective, while talented, he goes quiet for 4 games, then has a blow up game. He has caused headaches for the last few years because of his inconsistencies.

Draft him as you normally would.

6/25/2008 4:30:38 PM

Housh will probably be a better option week in and week out

6/25/2008 4:34:13 PM

most def, especially in PPR leagues....

Andre, Colston, Housh, Smitty, & Owens are all near the top in Points Per Reception formats. Most of those would be anyway, but you get the idea.

6/25/2008 4:42:17 PM

what do you think McGahee is going to do this year? On one hand, he lost Ogden, no clear cut QB, and generally an anemic offense.....but Cam Cameron is now his OC (loves to use the RB in many different ways, good for ppr leagues), and he'll be the centerpiece of the offense.

6/25/2008 4:46:02 PM

Ok, my team is absolutely STACKED at WR, and we can keep 2 keepers per position, so I need some help. Regular scoring, not PPR.

5 keepers, 2 per position:

WR:
Randy Moss
Greg Jennings
Colston
Housh

RB:
Jamal Lewis
Ryan Grant
Lendale White
Willis McGahee

QB:
Tom Brady
David Garrard

Other notables:
Chargers D (#1)

My picks would be : Brady, Moss, Colston, McGahee, Jamal Lewis

The hard part:

Lewis or Grant? Surely without Favre the packers will run more, and Grant looked phenomenal the latter part of the year. But Lewis is safer, I've had him for two years and he seems to not have slowed down a whole lot.

Colston or Housh? Housh is the safer pick I feel like, but with Chad Johnson there, it's a volatile situation. And what happened to him the latter part of the year? Colston has more upside, is in a very pass happy offense, and ended the season strong.

6/26/2008 10:44:25 AM

I'd go grant and housh. Packers will probably lean on the rush, and housh is in a contract year.

6/26/2008 11:20:02 AM

What site does everyone use to run their leagues? We used Yahoo last year and it was managable. The only thing that I didn't like is the fact that you have to pay for anything extra, other than that the layout isn't bad but I would like more options. I hear ESPN offers a little more in the way of extras....

6/26/2008 4:05:32 PM

i usually use Yahoo

reliable and familiar but not quite as many options as some other sites as far as i've heard

6/26/2008 4:16:53 PM

yeah, Yahoo is the status quo for me.

I always do the plus league though because of all of the extra additions.

I hate ESPN's draft format though, and some of the secondary leagues like KFFL, etc. can be great if you have a bunch of diehards...but often times that's not the case.

6/26/2008 5:11:49 PM

Man, I haven't even started looking at this shit yet. I usually don't bother until about two weeks before the draft, at the earliest. I'm looking to three peat in my league this year, so the pressure is really going to be on.

6/26/2008 5:14:08 PM

if you havent run any practice yahoo drafts yet this year, be ready for a surprise to the draft room

it looks totally different from last year, more like espn's but more managable. I personally like it

6/26/2008 8:07:55 PM

Anyone want to mock draft?

Let me know if you are interested.

6/26/2008 9:25:23 PM

i'm down for a mock.

6/27/2008 8:49:20 AM

I will partake in a mock draft

6/27/2008 8:54:11 AM

How did you run a practice draft in Yahoo? Just sign up for a public league that is drafting around that time?

6/27/2008 4:14:18 PM

sportsline has live mocks running 24/7.

6/27/2008 4:25:41 PM

Yea I have done a number of Mock drafts through ESPN already, i was just trying to figure out how to do it through Yahoo

6/27/2008 4:57:58 PM

bttt

More and more drafts have S-Jax moving to the #2 spot and AP heading to #3. On average, AP is still closer to #2, but he is dropping a little.

Anyone else concerned with his durability? He has never had an injury free season that didn't require him missing time in at least his rookie year and all of his collegiate career.

7/8/2008 9:16:26 PM

AP is still #2 on my list. Period.

7/8/2008 11:25:24 PM

I will not own AP this year because I don't think I would take him in the top 2, and I know everyone else will. He did me dirty last season in the playoffs

7/9/2008 8:42:22 AM

So, Peyton Manning is likely out for the entire preseason.

Anyone scared? Really, this likely has little to no impact IMO, but interesting nonetheless.

BTW, where in the hell are all of the fantasy footballers?

This isn't off to the engaging start I had hoped for.

7/16/2008 8:34:13 PM

It's 1.5 months until the season starts. It gets more active when people are considering their sitters and starters, right?

[Edited on July 16, 2008 at 8:38 PM. Reason : ]

7/16/2008 8:38:24 PM

I could write more, but I don't have that many questions and I don't want to give away my picks.

7/16/2008 10:53:26 PM

Oh, man. You wouldn't believe some of the programs I've written. I might post some graphs later.

7/18/2008 12:50:10 PM

Quote :

"where in the hell are all of the fantasy footballers?"

playing fantasy baseball and/or NCAA Football 2009

7/18/2008 12:51:53 PM

Quote :

"The Dallas Morning News reports that Marion Barber will be an every down back despite the Cowboys using their first round pick on RB Felix Jones. Felix Jones may keep Barber from getting 300 carries, but he should get close, barring injury. Barber should be considered a top-10 running back both for his ability at the goal line and his role in one of the league's best offenses."

There is some SERIOUS upside here with MB3, if you can get past the durability questions of him never carrying the full load over the course of the year.

7/18/2008 12:59:29 PM

i cannot wait for Fantasy Football

7/18/2008 1:01:12 PM

Quote :

"what do you think McGahee is going to do this year? On one hand, he lost Ogden, no clear cut QB, and generally an anemic offense.....but Cam Cameron is now his OC (loves to use the RB in many different ways, good for ppr leagues), and he'll be the centerpiece of the offense. "

any opinions (ppr league)? I think I'm pretty much set on using him as one of my keepers, I'm still leaning toward housh as my other....other options are:

Palmer: I think I could pick him up in the 2-3 round of the redraft tho, however I do love having the housh/palmer connection.

Welker: Pretty much a toss up with housh, but I think with the johnson situation, housh could emerge as a top tier #1 wr.....and he's is in a contract year which is always good

Ernest Graham: Was seriously thinking about him until all the talk of a platoon....unless something changes he's out.

Marshall: Was also seriously considering him until the injury/legal stuff...probably no go now.


In general in a two keeper league would you rather start with:

#1 qb/#1 wr
#1 wr/#1 rb
#1 rb/#1 wr
2 good wr's
2 good rb's

7/18/2008 2:45:04 PM

Serious question: How early is too early to take Brady? The guy was by-far the most dominant player in my league last year, and seems set to have another huge year this season. Still there's that whole "taking a QB in the first round" stigma I'd have to deal with if I picked him.

Right now, there aren't too many players I'd take ahead of him -- LT, Adrian Peterson, Brian Westbrook, and possibly Randy Moss. Thoughts?

7/18/2008 3:01:18 PM

it really depends on your league size and scoring, but 5th or later as a general rule (behind at least LT, jackson, westbrook, peterson)

imo, you'd never want to take moss before brady....logic says brady will have at least as many td's as moss.

[Edited on July 18, 2008 at 3:10 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2008 3:07:49 PM

Yea Brady will most likely go 5 or 6 in most leagues

7/18/2008 3:12:58 PM

McFadden or Stewart?

McFadden is fast, but can't break tackles.

7/18/2008 3:14:05 PM

Stewart is much more likely to get more carries in my opinion. I think Carolina is starting to get fed up with DAW. McFadden has potential to be great, but most likely he will be picked way too high for my own liking in the draft. He is not guaranteed to get a ton of carries this year.

7/18/2008 3:16:24 PM

Stewart's gonna be a touchdown vulture..I wouldn't be surprised to see him with less than 600 rushing yards and 10+ TDs

^I don't think carolina is necessarily getting fed up with DeA....he just can't hit it between the tackles like stewart...I expect to see him with 1000+ yards, but less td's than stewart. I do think that if you pick one, handcuffing with the other is almost a necessity (stewart will go first with DeA in the late rounds).

[Edited on July 18, 2008 at 3:19 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2008 3:17:26 PM

i've got first pick in a dynasty league - strongly considering Stewart

7/18/2008 3:30:22 PM