We
are now less than 48 hours away from the World of Noise standing up from his GM
station, walking over to the podium donning his yet-to-be-announced costume and
drafting Jason Avant.
I
can hardly wait.
And
even though, the United States has its eye on a potential hurricane once again
— same letter, too — we don’t have to worry because it’s heading toward Tampa
Bay and not Allentown. Huge difference. Irene wanted to hang out in the
Northeast, while Isaac is a fan of the Caribbean.
I’m
sure we’d all rather be in a calm Caribbean this weekend, but instead, we’ll be
drafting the teams that will either lead us to glory or cause us massive
frustration.
For
some, the frustration is already setting in.
Fear
and Loathing has watched his keeper QB Michael Vick drop back to throw nine
passes all preseason. On the fifth drop-back of the first game, he injured his
thumb. On the fourth drop-back of the second game, he bruised his ribs. Now,
Andy Reid says Vick will sit the rest of the preseason, so a rather cold QB
will be taking the field on Sept. 9 when the Eagles open up against the Browns.
“This
will be a rebuilding year,” Fear’s GM said in a text message.
It
may be.
And
with the No. 6 pick in the draft, Fear is in a good position to do so.
But
if Fear feels he’s in need of a rebuild, I have no idea how to coin a term for
what the Noise needs to do. He made things 200 times better with an offseason
trade to acquire Matt Ryan at quarterback, but with his other keeper being
Marques Colston, who should truly be a third or fourth-round pick at best, the
Noise cherishes his No. 1 overall pick.
He’s
been tight-lip over who he will take, jokingly saying that he plans to take
Jason Avant, but we all know/hope that can’t be true. Even though it would help
us all, it would be a sad day in JFL history when the name of Jason Avant is
called first overall. It’s bad enough that his name gets called period.
Of
course, the Noise doesn’t need a quarterback anymore, but it’s too bad because
there are some good ones out there. Eli Manning is clearly the best, when it
comes to fantasy points. He put up a ton of points last season, finishing as
the sixth-best QB in the JFL.
Peyton
Manning also is out there on the open market — did we ever think we’d see the
day when Peyton and Eli Manning were both available in a 12-team, 2-keeper
league? Amazing.
With
nine teams keeping QBs, it’s likely that we won’t see a big rush on QBs right
away. Then again, with some interesting names out there — including some highly
touted rookies — the teams needing a QB will be gambling if they pass up on one
in the first couple rounds. Last year, backup QBs started going early as GMs’
eyes widened when they pictured the best QB duos in the JFL.
Nine
teams kept running backs and a JFL-record six teams kept WRs.
Oddly
enough, the WR names that are being kept are not the ones you think they’d be.
Calvin Johnson is a definite keeper and Wes Welker is good enough, especially
in a PPR league, to keep. But Julio Jones, Victor Cruz, Dez Bryant and Marques
Colston also find themselves on rosters before the draft.
The
latter, Colston, we all know is there just because he’s the best the Noise
could throw out there.
But
for the other three, we’re looking at owners taking gambles on the next wave of
great receivers. Cruz has been outstanding and the Generals are banking on him
turning the famous Year 3 performance that WRs are known to produce in their
third years.
Dez
Bryant also enters his third year and Team Boyer has his eyes set on a breakout
season, too.
Jones
is entering just his second season, but his potential is through the roof — or
so the Jammers hopes.
So,
with four of the six WR keepers not being who you would expect, that leaves a
lot of big names out there, including Larry Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings, Roddy
White, Mike Wallace, Andre Johnson, A.J. Green, Hakeem Nicks, Dwayne Bowe,
Percy Harvin, DeSean Jackson and Steve Smith.
Larry
Fitzgerald is probably the best out of all of those WRs, but he can’t show it
because Arizona doesn’t have a QB that can get him the ball, so that
automatically drops Fitzgerald out of the top tier. Andre Johnson could be
considered the next best, but he can’t stay healthy. Mike Wallace is a home-run
hitter, but he’s been holding out all camp and he’s a liability.
That
makes the WR draft a little risky, similar to what we see with RBs each year.
It’s
always dicey at running back. If you don’t own a top-tier guy, finding a good
one in the first two rounds is tough. The names are there, but the production
often isn’t. Last season, only Matt Forte, Steven Jackson and Ryan Mathews
lived up to their first and second round picks, finishing in the top 15 in RB
scoring.
Then-keepers
Ray Rice, LeSean McCoy, Maurice Jones-Drew, Arian Foster, Michael Turner,
Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson all lived up to their keeper status,
finishing in the top 15, but first rounders Rashard Mendenhall and Frank Gore
and second rounders DeAngelo Williams, Ahmad Bradshaw, LeGarrette Blount,
Jahvid Best, Peyton Hillis, BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Felix Jones all finished
outside the top 15.
There
were eight RBs taken in the second round and only Ryan Mathews lived up to his
draft position.
Meanwhile,
in later rounds, teams found gems in these top-15 RBs: Fred Jackson (4th),
Reggie Bush (6th), Michael Bush (7th), Marshawn Lynch (7th) and Darren Sproles
(10th).
Finding
that late-round RB gem has been a key to becoming a Super Bowl contender. Last
season, the Jammers had both Reggie Bush and Sproles, while Team Boyer had
Lynch.
In
2010, the Channel 4 News Team won with Arian Foster, who he took in the third
round with the 34th overall pick. Not counting keepers, he was 17th running
back to be taken in the draft, and he finished No. 1 overall in points. The
team the News Team beat in the Super Bowl, the Jammers, didn’t make any big
moves in the draft, but after Week 1, he picked up Peyton Hillis and BenJarvus
Green-Ellis, who both finished in the top 15 in RB points. Hillis was No. 3.
They both could have been drafted late and it would have made the difference
for several teams.
In
2009, the World of Noise for once lived up to his name, going to the Super Bowl
thanks to his 13th-round pick, Ricky Williams, who finished ninth in RB points.
Also worth noting that the Super Bowl Champion Toasters picked Chris Johnson
and Ray Rice with his first- and second-round picks.
As
you can see, it’s such a tough task to find a RB that will lead you to a
championship. There are some big names out there in the 2012 draft, but one has
to wonder what unknown name will step up and shock the fantasy world in 2012.
We
know it’s going to happen. We just wish we knew who.
Good
luck everyone.
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