We are less than 6 days and 17 hours away from the 2012 JFL Draft.
Are you excited?
I know Parker is. He's prepping his spreadsheets right now. He's testing out the perfect setup for the live draft. "How many monitors should I bring this year?" he wonders. He certainly had the coolest GM station at the live draft last year.
The Noise had the best outfit, dressing as a monkey, a picture that shows up on my phone every time he calls me to discuss a Matt Ryan trade. He plans to top that outfit this year, which is great. I'm glad he's thinking about his wardrobe and not where he will draft David Akers or Jason Avant.
At least, as far as it looks, we won't be dealing with a hurricane this year (knocking on wood as I type). As of right now, the Slackers, Attack, Noise, News Team, Toasters, Thieves, Fear and myself will be in attendance for the draft. I'm sure Team Boyer will make the short trek up Route 100, too — and if not, I'm certain the Toasters and News Team will rent a black van and go "Old School" on our boy Blue in Bally and bring him here. So with a packed house, we'll have several tables set up and a podium for draft picks which we will use for the first 5 rounds.
Here's the breakdown of the draft and timing:
Rounds 1-2: Keeper selections, not timed.
Rounds 3-7: 120 seconds per selection. GMs in attendance at the live draft will announce aloud that they have made a decision and I will pause the draft for them to go up to the podium to announce their picks. After they've announced their pick, I will select the player for them and un-pause the draft.
Rounds 8-10: 120 seconds per selection. GMs can still go to the podium for fun, but we will no longer pause the draft.
Rounds 11-15: 90 seconds per selection.
Rounds 16-18: 60 seconds per selection.
The draft is scheduled to start at noon, but I suggest those who are coming to my house for the live draft get here at least an hour early to set up your draft station. I'll have several tables set up, so bring your laptops, notebooks, etc. I have two extra laptops, but I ask you to bring your own if you have one. If you'll need to use one of my laptops, contact me ahead of time.
Because the draft is at noon, we'll be setting up at 11 a.m., and because a lot of people want to get going right after the draft is over, I won't be doing the cookout that I initially wanted to do. However, for those who want to show up at 9 a.m./10 a.m., I'll put out a breakfast spread (eggs, sausage, homemade hash browns — either made my brother or I, we both rock out some awesome hash browns). Please RSVP if you wish to be a part of the JFL pre-draft breakfast.
Everyone not in attendance of the live draft should sign into ESPN's online draft room 15 to 30 minutes early so we can make sure there aren't any issues. I will be taking care of a lot of things at the live draft and troubleshooting an online issue minutes before the draft will be tough.
Also, for those not in attendance, if you have Skype, we could bring you in to the live experience. I can take my laptop up to the podium for you to announce your pick to the room. Let me know ahead of time if you will utilize this and I'll give you my Skype username.
I think that covers everything for now. If there's any questions, you know how to contact me.
Channel 4 News Team
2011 Record, Finish: 9-5, NFC West Champion, lost in NFC Championship.
Career Record : 47-39 (.547)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 5-3 (4)
Keepers: Aaron Rodgers (QB) | Arian Fosters (RB) ★★★★★
I basically could take last year’s paragraph, cut and paste it right here and just update a few numbers. Aaron Rodgers and Arian Foster are for the second year in a row among the best two keepers you can have out there. They are two years removed from being the ranked in the top 2 in their positions. This year, Rodgers comes in at No. 2 again, as Foster falls from No. 1 to No. 5. Still, News Team isn’t complaining. This duo gives him a solid base from which to build for in 2012.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Vincent Jackson, WR
Jackson went 36th overall and outside of four big games, he was a bust. Seven of his eight TDs scored during the JFL season were in the four big games, and those were the only four games that he went over 100 yards receiving. Those four games also represented four of the five times during the JFL season that he hit double digits.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Beanie Wells, RB
In all honesty, the News Team had an awful 2011 draft. Rodgers and Foster accounted for more than 40 percent of his offense, and in the weeks he won, they were huge factors. The rest of his team, not so much. Wells was the most consistent with eight double-digit weeks during the JFL season. His first three picks — Jackson, Miles Austin and Peyton Hillis — were busts. After Wells, the fourth-round pick, he had a bunch of players who he either dropped or watched do virtually nothing all season — Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, C.J. Spiller, Roy Helu, Robert Meachem, Andre Roberts, Chad Henne, Riley Cooper, Tandon Doss. … Yeah, it was a bad draft.
Chinese Organ Thieves
2011 Record, Finish: 4-8-1
Career Record : 45-37-1 (.548)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 2-3 (4)
Keepers: Philip Rivers (QB) | Adrian Peterson (RB) ★★★½☆
Last year, I had problems not giving Adrian Peterson and Philip Rivers five stars as keepers. “Stats don’t lie,” I wrote. But this year, I have no trouble giving them 3½ stars. This doesn’t mean that they can’t be five-star players again, it’s just injuries and inconsistency plagued their 2011 seasons. If Peterson is healthy and Rivers can return to form, the Thieves should steal headlines again.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Hakeem Nicks, WR
Nicks had a few injury issues last season, but he battled through to catch 76 passes for 1,192 yards and seven TDs. He had eight double-digit games during the JFL regular season. The biggest issue was disappearing in some games. He had just three games during the NFL regular season with 100-plus yards receiving.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Andy Dalton, QB
Dalton was his best pick, selected in the 16th round. It’s just a shame that the Thieves dropped him four days after the draft. Dalton had some big games, passing for 3,398 yards and 20 TDs as a rookie.
Graybill’s Generals
2011 Record, Finish: 6-8, lost in first round.
Career Record : 40-44 (.476)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 4-2 (3)
Keepers: LeSean McCoy (RB) | Victor Cruz (WR) ★★★★½
In 2011, the Generals wanted to shift gears. He made a deal for LeSean McCoy and had himself a top RB to keep. A year later — and 17 TDs later — the Generals have a superstar at RB. So, with the 2011 draft-to-keep strategy paying great dividends, the Generals did it again — and again, trading with a division rival — taking Victor Cruz off the hands of the News Team. McCoy and Cruz pair up to create a super-scoring tandem. Cruz had nine double-digit weeks during the JFL season and McCoy had 15 straight double-digit weeks, including seven 20-plus-point weeks, before putting up 4.7 points in Week 16. He sat out Week 17 because the Eagles’ season was over. Together, these two are an exciting keeper tandem and I give them 4½ stars.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Steven Jackson, RB
Jackson injured himself on his second carry of the NFL season — a 50-plus-yard TD against the Eagles — and missed the next week, but when he was 100 percent in Week 4, he put the first of six straight double-digit games. He added a double-digit performance for the Generals in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, but it wasn’t enough. Still, Jackson was a great first-round pick for the Generals, but …
Last Year’s Best Pick: Steven Jackson, RB
Picking up where I left off in my last graf … but Jackson was pretty much the only good pick. Injuries hurt this as Kenny Britt had two sensational weeks before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3. Vernon Davis was a good pick, too, but I’d still put Jackson above him.
Dottsville Toasters
2011 Record, Finish: 5-8
Career Record : 42-40 (.517)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 3-1 (2)
Keepers: Calvin Johnson (WR) | Chris Johnson (RB) ★★★★☆
The Toasters will keep Megatron, and he was "Mega" last season. The Pro Bowler had nine double-digit weeks during the JFL season, catching 12 TDs during the JFL regular season and 16 overall. Johnson scored two TDs in each of the first four weeks of the season, and with a sensational TD catch in a preseason game on Friday night, there's seems to be no reason why he can't duplicate that in 2012. The Toasters other pick? It's Chris Johnson. Johnson had a sub-par 2011, scoring just four TDs and barely getting over 1,000 yards. He was hurt by the lockout and his on personal lockout. He finally signed a deal and showed up for Week 1 not ready to play football. The Toasters hope a full offseason will help him get back to what his tattoo reads: "CJ2K."
Last Year’s Top Pick: Calvin Johnson, WR
For the second year in a row, Johnson was his first-round draft pick and again, it was a great pick. Johnson had eight straight double-digit weeks to start the season, but then he struggled in the final four weeks of the JFL season — and could have easily been the reason why the Toasters fell apart down the stretch. Johnson finished the NFL season strong with a combined 88.8 points in Weeks 15, 16 and 17. The Toasters hope that carries over.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Calvin Johnson, WR
Haven't I said enough about Megatron already?
T-Money
2011 Record, Finish: 6-7
Career Record : 43-42 (.506)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 2-5 (5)
Keepers: Tony Romo (QB) | Frank Gore (RB) ★★★☆☆
Well, I'm really happy about my keeper selections. Yeah, you read that right. T-Money missed the deadline and the extended deadline, so I made them. Most likely, I made the same decisions he would have made. Tony Romo returns to T-Money for yet another season, and Frank Gore is back after being the Money Man's top pick last year. Gore has been solid, but he's 29 and getting to that age where RBs start to disappear. With a lot of RBs on the roster, the 49ers seem to be aware of this and have a bunch of backup ready. T-Money is just hoping for at least one more good season out of Gore.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Frank Gore, RB
Gore was a good No. 1 pick for the Money Man. Gore cashed in for six double-digit games, and had T-Money made the playoffs, Gore added three straight double-digit performances in Weeks 14, 15 and 16.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Steve Smith, WR (Carolina)
Obviously, it was the original Steve Smith, who was drafted No. 65th overall in the sixth round. Smith had only five TDs during the JFL regular season, including two in Week 1, but his seven double-digit performances were big for T-Money. Ranked No. 7 in the WR position, Smith was a great sixth round pick. … He made an even better selection nine picks earlier when he drafted Eli Manning, but for some reason, he dropped him on Sept. 22.
Team Boyer
2011 Record, Finish: 10-5, lost Super Bowl, NFC East Champion
Career Record : 47-38-1 (.552)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 4-4 (4)
Keepers: Tom Brady (QB) | Dez Bryant (WR) ★★★☆☆
A very interesting choice for Team Boyer. Brady, of course is a no-brainer, but Dez Bryant is certainly a shocking selection, especially with RBs like Michael Turner and Marshawn Lynch on the roster. Nevertheless, Boyer moves on from Turner, last year's keeper partner of Brady's, to Bryant who had five double-digit scoring weeks during the JFL regular season as a second-year wideout. He didn't really take off last year until Week 10 at which point he posted six double-digit fantasy games in the final eight weeks to close out the season. Perhaps with the lockout, he didn't get a chance to fully connect with Tony Romo until the end of the season. Furthering that point, one of the late-season games that Bryant didn't hit double-digits in, Romo didn't play. Still, off the field issues and lack of consistency make him a risky keeper. That's why it's three stars, but don't be fooled. This easily could be a four-star duo.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Antonio Gates, TE
Team Boyer made a big move in the first round last year, drafting a tight end, and after six weeks of JFL action, it was a huge mistake. Gates caught eight passes Week 1, suffered an injury and didn’t return until Week 7. When he returned, he put together five double-digit games en route to the Super Bowl. So in the end, the first pick didn’t haunt Boyer too much.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Marshawn Lynch, RB
After the Gates pick, Boyer made several decent selections — including Dez Bryant, Steve Johnson and Willis McGahee — but Marshawn Lynch was the best. Selected 88th overall in the seventh round, Lynch finished as the No. 6 RB in the JFL. He had a slow start, scoring a combined 14.2 points in the first three weeks, but Lynch rolled off double-digit performances in 10 of 11 weeks, leading Boyer to the Super Bowl. Lynch scored 12 TDs during this span and if it wasn’t for his off-the-field issues, “The Beast” would certainly be a keeper.
Jimmy Jammers
2011 Record, Finish: 12-4, Super Bowl VI Champion
Career Record : 64-27 (.703)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 9-4 (6)
Keepers: Matthew Stafford (QB) | Julio Jones (WR) ★★★★☆
The Jammers won the Super Bowl and decided to turn the page in the keeper world. Out are last year’s keepers, Matt Ryan and Larry Fitzgerald. In are Matthew Stafford and Julio Jones. Stafford was amazing in 2012, throwing for 5,038 yards and 41 TDs. Yeah, Calvin Johnson is a beast and helps this offense, but he certainly did not catch all 5,038 yards. Stafford got a lot of players involved and he’ll be just as good in 2012. Jones was slow-going in his rookie year, but really came on late, catching 20 passes for 393 yards and six TDs in the final four games. Many NFL experts thought that was the kind of impact Jones could have right away in the NFL, and perhaps the lockout pushed that "impact" time back a few weeks. A full offseason of work with Matt Ryan and the offense should make things better in his second year. Still, the uncertainty prevents the Jammers from getting a five-star rating.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Greg Jennings, WR
Jennings was the No. 1 overall pick in the JFL, but he wasn’t even the best WR on his team. Jordy Nelson was that. Still, the Jammers benefited from nine double-digit games from Jennings en route to a Super Bowl title.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Matthew Stafford, QB
The 2011 draft was a good one for the Jammers. Grabbing Stafford with the 49th overall pick (fifth round) was a bold move considering Matt Ryan was already on the roster, but the move paid off. Stafford, as mentioned, was the Jammers MVP. Still, looking at the draft, the Jammers made several notable selections — Ryan Mathews (2nd), Brandon Marshall (3rd), Julio Jones (4th), Reggie Bush (6th), Darren Sproles (10th) and Antonio Brown (12th). All six played key roles in winning the Super Bowl.
Sunday Slackers
2011 Record, Finish: 10-4, lost in AFC Championship game.
Career Record : 23-30-1 (.435)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 0-2 (2)
Keepers: Drew Brees (QB) | Ray Rice (RB) ★★★★★(★)
Five stars. No doubt about it. You can’t argue it. The No. 1 QB from 2011 and the No. 1 RB from 2011 equals five stars. Hell, I gave him a sixth just for emphasis. Too bad for my division rival that all those stars didn’t mean much in Week 15 when the Slackers lost in the AFC Championship game. All kidding aside, everyone should be jealous of these two keepers, and they’ll both be All-Stars again this year, leading the Slackers. Surrounding them with a few other fantasy all-stars will be the key.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Matt Forte, RB
All the Slackers did for 10 weeks was brag about his RB corps. With Forte putting up double-digit performances in eight of the first nine games, he and Rice made for a great fantasy duo. After a pair of sub-par performances, karma bit the Slackers and the bragging stopped. Forte went down with a season-ending injury and it certainly played a roll in the Slackers getting upset in the playoffs.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Jordy Nelson and A.J. Green, WRs
The Slackers’ selections in the seventh and eighth rounds were the best. He grabbed a pair of WRs who took care of business all season, as the two combined for 17 double-digit games during the JFL regular season, helping the Slackers win the AFC East. Felix Jones, a second round pick, would have been helpful in the playoffs, but the Slackers dropped Jones and watched him score 13.7 points against him in a playoff loss to the Jammers.
Jawz Attack
2011 Record, Finish: 4-9
Career Record : 8-18 (.308)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 0-0 (0)
Keepers: Maurice Jones-Drew (RB) | Wes Welker (WR) ★★★☆☆
Jawz is facing a similar issue that the Toasters faced a year ago. With RB Maurice Jones-Drew holding out, it’s hard to tell if keeping him will work out. Even if Jones-Drew shows up in time for the regular season, there has to be some worries about a letdown similar to the one Chris Johnson had when he finally showed up to play football for the Toasters. The Attack’s other keeper, Wes Welker, is not an issue. He’ll be a favorite target of Tom Brady once again, so Jawz will benefit greatly from the trade he made last year to get him. Still, with Jones-Drew holding out, I refuse to give him more than three stars.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Roddy White, WR
When the Jammers balked on taking Roddy White with the No. 1 pick, the Attack had no problem adding him to the roster. White wasn’t as good as he was the year before, but he still saw the most targets in the NFL (188) last year.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Fred Jackson, RB
Jackson was by far his best pick after nine straight double-digit performances to start the season. Then, in the 10th game, a season-ending injury added to the unlucky 2011 season Jawz had. The Attack had a few other great picks in Roddy White, Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham and Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben didn’t stick around long, but trading him to Houserville brought back Welker, so in turn, Big Ben was an excellent draft pick.
Fear and Loathing
2011 Record, Finish: 7-6
Career Record : 39-41-1 (.488)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 0-3 (3)
Keepers: Michael Vick (QB) | DeMarco Murray (RB) ★★½☆☆
Michael Vick was a great keeper last year and despite missing a few games again in 2011, I’m still going to consider him a top keeper. He has too many weapons and too much skill not to put up big fantasy points. Yeah, he’ll likely miss a few weeks so a backup QB will be essential for Fear, but it’s a great risk/reward situation. For the second keeper, Fear is moving away from last year’s ACL victim Jamaal Charles to DeMarco Murray, who broke out in Week 7 last year with 253 rushing yards and a TD. He totaled 895 yards and two TDs for the season, and Fear is hoping that Murray gets a lot more playing time. Still, Murray is a huge risk at keeper considering how the Cowboys cycle through one-hit wonder RBs after Emmitt Smith left.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Rashard Mendenhall, RB
For the most part, Mendenhall was a bust. He had five double-digit games during the JFL season and four games of 5.2 points or less. It got worse at the end of the season when he tore his ACL in Week 17, so if there were any thoughts of keeping him, Fear gave up on them in Week 17.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Jason Witten, TE
When your best pick is a tight end, and his name isn’t Jimmy Graham or Rob Gronkowski, you didn’t have a great draft. Witten had seven double-digit weeks which was more than other top picks like Mendenhall, Mike Williams, Brandon Lloyd and Cedric Benson.
Real Houserville
2011 Record, Finish: 7-7, AFC North Champion, lost in Wild Card round.
Career Record : 32-26 (.552)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 2-4 (4)
Keepers: Cam Newton (QB) | Darren McFadden ★★★½☆
Last year, the whole keeper deadline was a tumultuous time for Houserville. The rules kept him from swapping out Peyton Manning because Manning kept saying he planned to return to the field Week 2. Well, that never happened. … And perhaps, it was fate for Houserville. Needing a backup, he went for a young rookie named Cam Newton, and boy did that pay off. Newton is the keeper this year and the dual threat QB is a great keeper to have. I give Newton four stars because his team just isn’t ready to compete. Darren McFadden, who missed the final nine weeks of the NFL season, returns as a keeper for the Ville and knocks the star count down to 3½. McFadden had a great start to the 2011 season and if healthy, he should be able to put up similar numbers. … If healthy, that’s the key and that's why the Ville is sitting at 3½ stars.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Mike Wallace, WR
A big start to the 2011 season made the Ville look like a genius with his first-round pick as Wallace put together seven double-digit games, including three in the 20s, during the first nine weeks. After that, he was overshadowed by his rookie teammate Antonio Brown. … And now, he’s holding out.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Cam Newton, QB
If Matthew Stafford was selected as late as Newton, Stafford would have been the best draft pick of 2011. But Stafford was a fifth-round selection. Newton, on the other hand, was a 12th round pick. He easily had double-digits in every week, including nine 30-plus-point games and three 40-plus-point games. Newton was a superb pick and at No. 12,
Last, and certainly least:
World of Noise
2011 Record, Finish: 2-11
Career Record : 28-54 (.341)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 2-2 (2)
Keepers: Matt Ryan (QB) | Marques Colston (WR) ★★★☆☆
What a mess. Noise had such an awful season and was so buried in the standings, he couldn’t even think. So when he dropped QBs Jay Cutler and Sam Bradford after they suffered injuries, he did not care to think, “Oh, wait. All I have is Rex Grossman. What will I ever do in 2012?” … If only he had placed those guys on the IR instead of dropping them. That is what the IR is for. Lesson learned. And with the lesson learned, the Noise went out and got Matt Ryan in an offseason trade right before the deadline, giving up a fifth round pick in the draft. It works out to be a good deal for Noise because if it weren't for Ryan, he'd be keeping RB Kevin Smith. Instead, it's Ryan and Marques Colston. Ryan has had a good preseason and things just seem to be coming together for him. Heading into his fifth season, I truly expect to see one of his best seasons to date. If the Noise can draft well — a stretch, I know — he could easily turn the AFC North upside down. His other keeper, Colston, isn't ideal, but he'll take it. One might wonder why he doesn’t keep Andre Johnson over Colston, but I can understand why. Johnson misses so many games that it’s such a risk to draft him, let alone keep him. At least Colston is an option for Brees week in and week out.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Sam Bradford, QB
This was supposed to be it. This was supposed to be the QB of the future. With the fourth overall pick, Bradford was the savior. … Or not. So-so performances, injury, dropped. That was his 2011 season with the Noise, who can only look back at the 2011 draft and thought, “What if I drafted Cam Newton, or Matt Stafford, or Eli Manning, or Andy Dalton.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Jay Cutler, QB
I’m stretching here, but Jay Cutler had the best overall season of any player on the Noise. Marques Colston had an OK season, but his biggest performances came in Weeks 14, 15, 16 and 17 — to which the Noise asks, “We play fantasy football in Weeks 14, 15 and 16?” … This 2-11 franchise needs to have a MUCH better draft in 2012.
Are you excited?
I know Parker is. He's prepping his spreadsheets right now. He's testing out the perfect setup for the live draft. "How many monitors should I bring this year?" he wonders. He certainly had the coolest GM station at the live draft last year.
The Noise had the best outfit, dressing as a monkey, a picture that shows up on my phone every time he calls me to discuss a Matt Ryan trade. He plans to top that outfit this year, which is great. I'm glad he's thinking about his wardrobe and not where he will draft David Akers or Jason Avant.
At least, as far as it looks, we won't be dealing with a hurricane this year (knocking on wood as I type). As of right now, the Slackers, Attack, Noise, News Team, Toasters, Thieves, Fear and myself will be in attendance for the draft. I'm sure Team Boyer will make the short trek up Route 100, too — and if not, I'm certain the Toasters and News Team will rent a black van and go "Old School" on our boy Blue in Bally and bring him here. So with a packed house, we'll have several tables set up and a podium for draft picks which we will use for the first 5 rounds.
Here's the breakdown of the draft and timing:
Rounds 1-2: Keeper selections, not timed.
Rounds 3-7: 120 seconds per selection. GMs in attendance at the live draft will announce aloud that they have made a decision and I will pause the draft for them to go up to the podium to announce their picks. After they've announced their pick, I will select the player for them and un-pause the draft.
Rounds 8-10: 120 seconds per selection. GMs can still go to the podium for fun, but we will no longer pause the draft.
Rounds 11-15: 90 seconds per selection.
Rounds 16-18: 60 seconds per selection.
The draft is scheduled to start at noon, but I suggest those who are coming to my house for the live draft get here at least an hour early to set up your draft station. I'll have several tables set up, so bring your laptops, notebooks, etc. I have two extra laptops, but I ask you to bring your own if you have one. If you'll need to use one of my laptops, contact me ahead of time.
Because the draft is at noon, we'll be setting up at 11 a.m., and because a lot of people want to get going right after the draft is over, I won't be doing the cookout that I initially wanted to do. However, for those who want to show up at 9 a.m./10 a.m., I'll put out a breakfast spread (eggs, sausage, homemade hash browns — either made my brother or I, we both rock out some awesome hash browns). Please RSVP if you wish to be a part of the JFL pre-draft breakfast.
Everyone not in attendance of the live draft should sign into ESPN's online draft room 15 to 30 minutes early so we can make sure there aren't any issues. I will be taking care of a lot of things at the live draft and troubleshooting an online issue minutes before the draft will be tough.
Also, for those not in attendance, if you have Skype, we could bring you in to the live experience. I can take my laptop up to the podium for you to announce your pick to the room. Let me know ahead of time if you will utilize this and I'll give you my Skype username.
I think that covers everything for now. If there's any questions, you know how to contact me.
2012 Keepers
I've evaluated everyone's keeper selections and picks from last year with a star-rating system, just as I did in 2011.Channel 4 News Team
2011 Record, Finish: 9-5, NFC West Champion, lost in NFC Championship.
Career Record : 47-39 (.547)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 5-3 (4)
Keepers: Aaron Rodgers (QB) | Arian Fosters (RB) ★★★★★
I basically could take last year’s paragraph, cut and paste it right here and just update a few numbers. Aaron Rodgers and Arian Foster are for the second year in a row among the best two keepers you can have out there. They are two years removed from being the ranked in the top 2 in their positions. This year, Rodgers comes in at No. 2 again, as Foster falls from No. 1 to No. 5. Still, News Team isn’t complaining. This duo gives him a solid base from which to build for in 2012.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Vincent Jackson, WR
Jackson went 36th overall and outside of four big games, he was a bust. Seven of his eight TDs scored during the JFL season were in the four big games, and those were the only four games that he went over 100 yards receiving. Those four games also represented four of the five times during the JFL season that he hit double digits.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Beanie Wells, RB
In all honesty, the News Team had an awful 2011 draft. Rodgers and Foster accounted for more than 40 percent of his offense, and in the weeks he won, they were huge factors. The rest of his team, not so much. Wells was the most consistent with eight double-digit weeks during the JFL season. His first three picks — Jackson, Miles Austin and Peyton Hillis — were busts. After Wells, the fourth-round pick, he had a bunch of players who he either dropped or watched do virtually nothing all season — Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, C.J. Spiller, Roy Helu, Robert Meachem, Andre Roberts, Chad Henne, Riley Cooper, Tandon Doss. … Yeah, it was a bad draft.
Chinese Organ Thieves
2011 Record, Finish: 4-8-1
Career Record : 45-37-1 (.548)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 2-3 (4)
Keepers: Philip Rivers (QB) | Adrian Peterson (RB) ★★★½☆
Last year, I had problems not giving Adrian Peterson and Philip Rivers five stars as keepers. “Stats don’t lie,” I wrote. But this year, I have no trouble giving them 3½ stars. This doesn’t mean that they can’t be five-star players again, it’s just injuries and inconsistency plagued their 2011 seasons. If Peterson is healthy and Rivers can return to form, the Thieves should steal headlines again.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Hakeem Nicks, WR
Nicks had a few injury issues last season, but he battled through to catch 76 passes for 1,192 yards and seven TDs. He had eight double-digit games during the JFL regular season. The biggest issue was disappearing in some games. He had just three games during the NFL regular season with 100-plus yards receiving.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Andy Dalton, QB
Dalton was his best pick, selected in the 16th round. It’s just a shame that the Thieves dropped him four days after the draft. Dalton had some big games, passing for 3,398 yards and 20 TDs as a rookie.
Graybill’s Generals
2011 Record, Finish: 6-8, lost in first round.
Career Record : 40-44 (.476)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 4-2 (3)
Keepers: LeSean McCoy (RB) | Victor Cruz (WR) ★★★★½
In 2011, the Generals wanted to shift gears. He made a deal for LeSean McCoy and had himself a top RB to keep. A year later — and 17 TDs later — the Generals have a superstar at RB. So, with the 2011 draft-to-keep strategy paying great dividends, the Generals did it again — and again, trading with a division rival — taking Victor Cruz off the hands of the News Team. McCoy and Cruz pair up to create a super-scoring tandem. Cruz had nine double-digit weeks during the JFL season and McCoy had 15 straight double-digit weeks, including seven 20-plus-point weeks, before putting up 4.7 points in Week 16. He sat out Week 17 because the Eagles’ season was over. Together, these two are an exciting keeper tandem and I give them 4½ stars.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Steven Jackson, RB
Jackson injured himself on his second carry of the NFL season — a 50-plus-yard TD against the Eagles — and missed the next week, but when he was 100 percent in Week 4, he put the first of six straight double-digit games. He added a double-digit performance for the Generals in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, but it wasn’t enough. Still, Jackson was a great first-round pick for the Generals, but …
Last Year’s Best Pick: Steven Jackson, RB
Picking up where I left off in my last graf … but Jackson was pretty much the only good pick. Injuries hurt this as Kenny Britt had two sensational weeks before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3. Vernon Davis was a good pick, too, but I’d still put Jackson above him.
Dottsville Toasters
2011 Record, Finish: 5-8
Career Record : 42-40 (.517)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 3-1 (2)
Keepers: Calvin Johnson (WR) | Chris Johnson (RB) ★★★★☆
The Toasters will keep Megatron, and he was "Mega" last season. The Pro Bowler had nine double-digit weeks during the JFL season, catching 12 TDs during the JFL regular season and 16 overall. Johnson scored two TDs in each of the first four weeks of the season, and with a sensational TD catch in a preseason game on Friday night, there's seems to be no reason why he can't duplicate that in 2012. The Toasters other pick? It's Chris Johnson. Johnson had a sub-par 2011, scoring just four TDs and barely getting over 1,000 yards. He was hurt by the lockout and his on personal lockout. He finally signed a deal and showed up for Week 1 not ready to play football. The Toasters hope a full offseason will help him get back to what his tattoo reads: "CJ2K."
Last Year’s Top Pick: Calvin Johnson, WR
For the second year in a row, Johnson was his first-round draft pick and again, it was a great pick. Johnson had eight straight double-digit weeks to start the season, but then he struggled in the final four weeks of the JFL season — and could have easily been the reason why the Toasters fell apart down the stretch. Johnson finished the NFL season strong with a combined 88.8 points in Weeks 15, 16 and 17. The Toasters hope that carries over.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Calvin Johnson, WR
Haven't I said enough about Megatron already?
T-Money
2011 Record, Finish: 6-7
Career Record : 43-42 (.506)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 2-5 (5)
Keepers: Tony Romo (QB) | Frank Gore (RB) ★★★☆☆
Well, I'm really happy about my keeper selections. Yeah, you read that right. T-Money missed the deadline and the extended deadline, so I made them. Most likely, I made the same decisions he would have made. Tony Romo returns to T-Money for yet another season, and Frank Gore is back after being the Money Man's top pick last year. Gore has been solid, but he's 29 and getting to that age where RBs start to disappear. With a lot of RBs on the roster, the 49ers seem to be aware of this and have a bunch of backup ready. T-Money is just hoping for at least one more good season out of Gore.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Frank Gore, RB
Gore was a good No. 1 pick for the Money Man. Gore cashed in for six double-digit games, and had T-Money made the playoffs, Gore added three straight double-digit performances in Weeks 14, 15 and 16.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Steve Smith, WR (Carolina)
Obviously, it was the original Steve Smith, who was drafted No. 65th overall in the sixth round. Smith had only five TDs during the JFL regular season, including two in Week 1, but his seven double-digit performances were big for T-Money. Ranked No. 7 in the WR position, Smith was a great sixth round pick. … He made an even better selection nine picks earlier when he drafted Eli Manning, but for some reason, he dropped him on Sept. 22.
Team Boyer
2011 Record, Finish: 10-5, lost Super Bowl, NFC East Champion
Career Record : 47-38-1 (.552)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 4-4 (4)
Keepers: Tom Brady (QB) | Dez Bryant (WR) ★★★☆☆
A very interesting choice for Team Boyer. Brady, of course is a no-brainer, but Dez Bryant is certainly a shocking selection, especially with RBs like Michael Turner and Marshawn Lynch on the roster. Nevertheless, Boyer moves on from Turner, last year's keeper partner of Brady's, to Bryant who had five double-digit scoring weeks during the JFL regular season as a second-year wideout. He didn't really take off last year until Week 10 at which point he posted six double-digit fantasy games in the final eight weeks to close out the season. Perhaps with the lockout, he didn't get a chance to fully connect with Tony Romo until the end of the season. Furthering that point, one of the late-season games that Bryant didn't hit double-digits in, Romo didn't play. Still, off the field issues and lack of consistency make him a risky keeper. That's why it's three stars, but don't be fooled. This easily could be a four-star duo.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Antonio Gates, TE
Team Boyer made a big move in the first round last year, drafting a tight end, and after six weeks of JFL action, it was a huge mistake. Gates caught eight passes Week 1, suffered an injury and didn’t return until Week 7. When he returned, he put together five double-digit games en route to the Super Bowl. So in the end, the first pick didn’t haunt Boyer too much.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Marshawn Lynch, RB
After the Gates pick, Boyer made several decent selections — including Dez Bryant, Steve Johnson and Willis McGahee — but Marshawn Lynch was the best. Selected 88th overall in the seventh round, Lynch finished as the No. 6 RB in the JFL. He had a slow start, scoring a combined 14.2 points in the first three weeks, but Lynch rolled off double-digit performances in 10 of 11 weeks, leading Boyer to the Super Bowl. Lynch scored 12 TDs during this span and if it wasn’t for his off-the-field issues, “The Beast” would certainly be a keeper.
Jimmy Jammers
2011 Record, Finish: 12-4, Super Bowl VI Champion
Career Record : 64-27 (.703)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 9-4 (6)
Keepers: Matthew Stafford (QB) | Julio Jones (WR) ★★★★☆
The Jammers won the Super Bowl and decided to turn the page in the keeper world. Out are last year’s keepers, Matt Ryan and Larry Fitzgerald. In are Matthew Stafford and Julio Jones. Stafford was amazing in 2012, throwing for 5,038 yards and 41 TDs. Yeah, Calvin Johnson is a beast and helps this offense, but he certainly did not catch all 5,038 yards. Stafford got a lot of players involved and he’ll be just as good in 2012. Jones was slow-going in his rookie year, but really came on late, catching 20 passes for 393 yards and six TDs in the final four games. Many NFL experts thought that was the kind of impact Jones could have right away in the NFL, and perhaps the lockout pushed that "impact" time back a few weeks. A full offseason of work with Matt Ryan and the offense should make things better in his second year. Still, the uncertainty prevents the Jammers from getting a five-star rating.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Greg Jennings, WR
Jennings was the No. 1 overall pick in the JFL, but he wasn’t even the best WR on his team. Jordy Nelson was that. Still, the Jammers benefited from nine double-digit games from Jennings en route to a Super Bowl title.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Matthew Stafford, QB
The 2011 draft was a good one for the Jammers. Grabbing Stafford with the 49th overall pick (fifth round) was a bold move considering Matt Ryan was already on the roster, but the move paid off. Stafford, as mentioned, was the Jammers MVP. Still, looking at the draft, the Jammers made several notable selections — Ryan Mathews (2nd), Brandon Marshall (3rd), Julio Jones (4th), Reggie Bush (6th), Darren Sproles (10th) and Antonio Brown (12th). All six played key roles in winning the Super Bowl.
Sunday Slackers
2011 Record, Finish: 10-4, lost in AFC Championship game.
Career Record : 23-30-1 (.435)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 0-2 (2)
Keepers: Drew Brees (QB) | Ray Rice (RB) ★★★★★(★)
Five stars. No doubt about it. You can’t argue it. The No. 1 QB from 2011 and the No. 1 RB from 2011 equals five stars. Hell, I gave him a sixth just for emphasis. Too bad for my division rival that all those stars didn’t mean much in Week 15 when the Slackers lost in the AFC Championship game. All kidding aside, everyone should be jealous of these two keepers, and they’ll both be All-Stars again this year, leading the Slackers. Surrounding them with a few other fantasy all-stars will be the key.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Matt Forte, RB
All the Slackers did for 10 weeks was brag about his RB corps. With Forte putting up double-digit performances in eight of the first nine games, he and Rice made for a great fantasy duo. After a pair of sub-par performances, karma bit the Slackers and the bragging stopped. Forte went down with a season-ending injury and it certainly played a roll in the Slackers getting upset in the playoffs.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Jordy Nelson and A.J. Green, WRs
The Slackers’ selections in the seventh and eighth rounds were the best. He grabbed a pair of WRs who took care of business all season, as the two combined for 17 double-digit games during the JFL regular season, helping the Slackers win the AFC East. Felix Jones, a second round pick, would have been helpful in the playoffs, but the Slackers dropped Jones and watched him score 13.7 points against him in a playoff loss to the Jammers.
Jawz Attack
2011 Record, Finish: 4-9
Career Record : 8-18 (.308)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 0-0 (0)
Keepers: Maurice Jones-Drew (RB) | Wes Welker (WR) ★★★☆☆
Jawz is facing a similar issue that the Toasters faced a year ago. With RB Maurice Jones-Drew holding out, it’s hard to tell if keeping him will work out. Even if Jones-Drew shows up in time for the regular season, there has to be some worries about a letdown similar to the one Chris Johnson had when he finally showed up to play football for the Toasters. The Attack’s other keeper, Wes Welker, is not an issue. He’ll be a favorite target of Tom Brady once again, so Jawz will benefit greatly from the trade he made last year to get him. Still, with Jones-Drew holding out, I refuse to give him more than three stars.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Roddy White, WR
When the Jammers balked on taking Roddy White with the No. 1 pick, the Attack had no problem adding him to the roster. White wasn’t as good as he was the year before, but he still saw the most targets in the NFL (188) last year.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Fred Jackson, RB
Jackson was by far his best pick after nine straight double-digit performances to start the season. Then, in the 10th game, a season-ending injury added to the unlucky 2011 season Jawz had. The Attack had a few other great picks in Roddy White, Percy Harvin, Jimmy Graham and Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben didn’t stick around long, but trading him to Houserville brought back Welker, so in turn, Big Ben was an excellent draft pick.
Fear and Loathing
2011 Record, Finish: 7-6
Career Record : 39-41-1 (.488)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 0-3 (3)
Keepers: Michael Vick (QB) | DeMarco Murray (RB) ★★½☆☆
Michael Vick was a great keeper last year and despite missing a few games again in 2011, I’m still going to consider him a top keeper. He has too many weapons and too much skill not to put up big fantasy points. Yeah, he’ll likely miss a few weeks so a backup QB will be essential for Fear, but it’s a great risk/reward situation. For the second keeper, Fear is moving away from last year’s ACL victim Jamaal Charles to DeMarco Murray, who broke out in Week 7 last year with 253 rushing yards and a TD. He totaled 895 yards and two TDs for the season, and Fear is hoping that Murray gets a lot more playing time. Still, Murray is a huge risk at keeper considering how the Cowboys cycle through one-hit wonder RBs after Emmitt Smith left.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Rashard Mendenhall, RB
For the most part, Mendenhall was a bust. He had five double-digit games during the JFL season and four games of 5.2 points or less. It got worse at the end of the season when he tore his ACL in Week 17, so if there were any thoughts of keeping him, Fear gave up on them in Week 17.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Jason Witten, TE
When your best pick is a tight end, and his name isn’t Jimmy Graham or Rob Gronkowski, you didn’t have a great draft. Witten had seven double-digit weeks which was more than other top picks like Mendenhall, Mike Williams, Brandon Lloyd and Cedric Benson.
Real Houserville
2011 Record, Finish: 7-7, AFC North Champion, lost in Wild Card round.
Career Record : 32-26 (.552)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 2-4 (4)
Keepers: Cam Newton (QB) | Darren McFadden ★★★½☆
Last year, the whole keeper deadline was a tumultuous time for Houserville. The rules kept him from swapping out Peyton Manning because Manning kept saying he planned to return to the field Week 2. Well, that never happened. … And perhaps, it was fate for Houserville. Needing a backup, he went for a young rookie named Cam Newton, and boy did that pay off. Newton is the keeper this year and the dual threat QB is a great keeper to have. I give Newton four stars because his team just isn’t ready to compete. Darren McFadden, who missed the final nine weeks of the NFL season, returns as a keeper for the Ville and knocks the star count down to 3½. McFadden had a great start to the 2011 season and if healthy, he should be able to put up similar numbers. … If healthy, that’s the key and that's why the Ville is sitting at 3½ stars.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Mike Wallace, WR
A big start to the 2011 season made the Ville look like a genius with his first-round pick as Wallace put together seven double-digit games, including three in the 20s, during the first nine weeks. After that, he was overshadowed by his rookie teammate Antonio Brown. … And now, he’s holding out.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Cam Newton, QB
If Matthew Stafford was selected as late as Newton, Stafford would have been the best draft pick of 2011. But Stafford was a fifth-round selection. Newton, on the other hand, was a 12th round pick. He easily had double-digits in every week, including nine 30-plus-point games and three 40-plus-point games. Newton was a superb pick and at No. 12,
Last, and certainly least:
World of Noise
2011 Record, Finish: 2-11
Career Record : 28-54 (.341)
Playoff Record (Appearances): 2-2 (2)
Keepers: Matt Ryan (QB) | Marques Colston (WR) ★★★☆☆
What a mess. Noise had such an awful season and was so buried in the standings, he couldn’t even think. So when he dropped QBs Jay Cutler and Sam Bradford after they suffered injuries, he did not care to think, “Oh, wait. All I have is Rex Grossman. What will I ever do in 2012?” … If only he had placed those guys on the IR instead of dropping them. That is what the IR is for. Lesson learned. And with the lesson learned, the Noise went out and got Matt Ryan in an offseason trade right before the deadline, giving up a fifth round pick in the draft. It works out to be a good deal for Noise because if it weren't for Ryan, he'd be keeping RB Kevin Smith. Instead, it's Ryan and Marques Colston. Ryan has had a good preseason and things just seem to be coming together for him. Heading into his fifth season, I truly expect to see one of his best seasons to date. If the Noise can draft well — a stretch, I know — he could easily turn the AFC North upside down. His other keeper, Colston, isn't ideal, but he'll take it. One might wonder why he doesn’t keep Andre Johnson over Colston, but I can understand why. Johnson misses so many games that it’s such a risk to draft him, let alone keep him. At least Colston is an option for Brees week in and week out.
Last Year’s Top Pick: Sam Bradford, QB
This was supposed to be it. This was supposed to be the QB of the future. With the fourth overall pick, Bradford was the savior. … Or not. So-so performances, injury, dropped. That was his 2011 season with the Noise, who can only look back at the 2011 draft and thought, “What if I drafted Cam Newton, or Matt Stafford, or Eli Manning, or Andy Dalton.
Last Year’s Best Pick: Jay Cutler, QB
I’m stretching here, but Jay Cutler had the best overall season of any player on the Noise. Marques Colston had an OK season, but his biggest performances came in Weeks 14, 15, 16 and 17 — to which the Noise asks, “We play fantasy football in Weeks 14, 15 and 16?” … This 2-11 franchise needs to have a MUCH better draft in 2012.
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