The Jerk was the king of the AFC East in 2015 yet he wasn’t
the king of the JFL. That title belonged to the Choo.
The Jammers had a chance to join them in the playoffs, but
he missed the playoffs by 1 yard (Don’t get me started on that).
And the Slackers? Well, he was just awful.
One thing will change here and that’s the fact that the
Slackers won’t be as awful.
This division will likely be pretty jammed-packed at the
end of the year — like a clown car — as it appears to be the strongest in the JFL from top to
bottom.
The poll agrees. Choo and the Jammers tied for first in the
preseason poll with 33 points, and the Slackers and the Jerk tied for third
with 27. The six points between first and last is the closest in the JFL.
Only three can make the playoffs from the AFC East, but there’s
a chance based on the strength of the AFC Middle East that only one will go.
It’s definitely going to be an all out struggle in the AFC,
and based on the lack of overall strength in the NFC, the AFC will be in good shape to bring home another Super Bowl
title.
T-1. Choo Big TeeDees
(8-5, 2nd in AFC East, Super Bowl Champion)
I still wonder if there is part of Choo that wonders how on
Earth did he win a fantasy football title before he won a fantasy baseball
title.
One thing that those of us in fantasy baseball have learned
is that Choo is never satisfied. Even when winning, he’s not afraid to
completely change up the team with drastic trades.
That’s why it’s surprising to see him turn to a few players
who played a key role in his Super Bowl championship — Carson Palmer, David
Johnson and Odell Beckham Jr.
Of course, Beckham was going to be a keeper — that’s a
no-brainer, especially in the third round — but he was so happy with his QB and
RB, he brought them back.
I did that in 2012 after winning the Super Bowl title in
2011, and it led to my worst season in franchise history. I hope for Choo’s
sanity, that doesn’t happen to him.
QUARTERBACKS
Carson Palmer had a healthy season and it led to 4,671
passing yards and 35 TDs. That’s no surprise. When Carson can play 16 games,
those are the numbers he puts up. Choo should be just fine at QB once again,
however, instead of Blake Bortles as a backup — the QB who started the Super
Bowl for him — he has Alex Smith. That’s a bit of a drop off, but again, Choo
doesn’t hope to have to start him weekly.
RUNNING BACKS
David Johnson had an on and off and on again 2015 season,
totaling 581 yards rushing and 8 TDs, while posting 457 receiving yards and 4
TD catches.
He started the season with double-digit fantasy points in
four of the first five weeks. Then, after four straight single-digit outings,
he exploded for six straight weeks of fantasy glory. That included 42.7 points
in the AFC Championship win over Real Houserville and another 19.3 in the Super
Bowl.
He was pivotal down the stretch and it easily could be said
that without Johnson, Choo would not have a trophy somewhere in his apartment
right now — I'm assuming hidden behind numerous beer cans from breweries across the Northeast.
He was so reliable down the stretch, it appears Choo feels
confident to roll with just him. He does have LeGarrette Blount — 703 yards and
6 TDs last year — but he is hardly the back you want to rely on, especially
while in New England.
Patriots RBs are notorious for have a few big games and that’s
it. In fact, Blount scored 70.5 percent of his fantasy points last year (83 of
117.8) in just four games. So if Choo can pick the right couple games to start
Blount, he’ll maximize his roster value.
Derrick Henry and Paul Perkins are long shots, but who am I
to say that? I’m sure I said the same thing about David Johnson a year ago, if
I even mentioned him at all.
RECEIVERS
This is where the meat of the Choo lineup is. A pair of
Beckhams, a Fleener and a Landry will be the reason Choo finds success in 2016.
Odell speaks for himself. He alone will win Choo a few games by himself. He’s
just that dominant. Jarvis Landry only had 4 TDs, but with 1,159 yards
receiving last year, he will complement Beckham nicely.
And since I foresee one RB starting each week, the WR/TE
spot could be taken up by either Coby Fleener — now a Saint with Drew Brees —
or Dorial Green-Beckham.
Of course, I like the Eagles’ Beckham to potentially have a
nice fantasy season, but I could also see Fleener playing a strong role in the
Saints offense that relies on the tight end.
Either way, four strong options for Choo.
OUTLOOK
Altogether, this team is pretty strong based on last year’s
numbers, and add in the No. 1 defensive tackle in fantasy, Aaron Donald, and
Choo could really contend for the division title this year — and maybe even
another Super Bowl.
T-1. Jimmy Jammers
(7-6, 3rd in AFC East)
I almost changed my name for this season. I thought that
perhaps it would help rejuvenate the franchise that just hasn’t been what it once
was. A return to glory is in need.
My Jammers competed in five of the first six JFL Super
Bowls, winning two of them, the first and the last. The running joke was that I
must have had the JFL rigged.
Well, since 2011, it’s certainly been a different story,
ending with last year’s playoff miss. I missed by a game, but when looking at
the schedule, the 0.1-point loss to Jawz means the playoffs were lost by 1
yard. One freaking yard.
Man, that stings.
QUARTERBACKS
One thing is for sure: Drew Brees will not lead the Slackers
on a Monday night comeback against my team. Not anymore. Finally, Drew Brees is
mine. With 444.4 fantasy points a year ago, averaging 26.1 per game, I believe
I’ll be in great shape at QB. Backup Joe Flacco was having a stellar fantasy
year before losing his season to injury. If back to normal, this is one of the
better combos in the JFL.
RUNNING BACKS
Selecting a keeper this year was weird. I had to go with
value, and Thomas Rawls was on every expert’s top 20 chart, even as high as 10
on some lists. As a 12th-round keeper, this was a no-brainer.
Still, even as I picked him to be the keeper, I knew there
was a chance Christine Michael could take over. And strangely, with the
receivers on this team, there’s a chance that neither crack the starting lineup
because Melvin Gordon could be the real deal. Last year, he had just 641 yards
rushing and 192 yards receiving, no touchdowns.
That’s right, NO TDs.
That has already changed in the preseason and it really
looks promising for Gordon.
Arian Foster, if somehow healthy, could be a wild card for
the Jammers, too. #ThirdPerson
RECEIVERS
Julio Jones fell to No. 6 in the draft, which was
surprising. I really thought I’d get DeAndre Hopkins back. But, Hopkins went at
No. 5 leaving Jones. He makes his return to the Jammers, along with Jeremy
Maclin. They combined for more than 2,800 yards and 16 TDs last year. Chances
are, those numbers will rise this year.
Then, it’s up to one of the three young WRs to step up
between Tyler Boyd, Kamar Aiken and Nelson Agholor. Aiken had 944 yards and 5
TDs last year, and as a third-year WR, it could be breakout time. Agholor is
admittedly a mess and he was drafted out of sheer frantic panic as I had just
fixed one of the many draft mistakes. I panicked and went with someone on my
queue. Oh well.
Still, I like my two later picks of Boyd, who has played so well
as a rookie (he may start opposite to A.J. Green), and Jimmy Graham, who appears
to be back to 100 percent.
OUTLOOK
Overall, I’m happy with my team. I say this often, and with
three straight winning seasons, and nine out of 10 in my career, I guess it’s
OK to say it. Still, something just feels really good about this squad. Brees
and Julio are fantasy game-breakers, and I truly believe Gordon and Graham will
play pivotal roles.
And who knows, maybe Jadeveon Clowney hits beast mode and
has the double-digit score that can completely flip one matchup this year. … As
I learned last year, that can be the difference between playoffs and watching
my brother play in the playoffs.
T-3. Sunday Slackers
(3-10, 4th in AFC East)
The worst season since 2010. That’s what last year was for
the Slackers. It was the same way in baseball, too, for Parker, as he fell to
the very bottom of his division in 2015.
This year, he’s at the top in baseball heading into the
playoffs, and he’s sure hoping the same thing happens in football.
Even if he doesn’t make the playoffs — a possibility as the
AFC East looks to be the strongest top to bottom — he certainly will have a
better year than 2015 when he didn’t score 85 points once. Not once.
With the wideouts he has, he just has to have one breakout
week, right?
QUARTERBACKS
Goodbye Drew Brees. Hello Andy Dalton and Ryan Tannehill.
Goodbye 4,870 passing yards and 32 TDs. Hello two guys who
didn’t come within 600 yards and 7 TDs of that.
But, the Slackers did it for the good of the franchise. With
the No. 1 overall pick, he just couldn’t waste it on keeper Drew Brees when
Aaron Rodgers was sitting right there on the draft board for him. He knew it
was going to be either Aaron Rodgers or Cam Newton.
But, what did he do? He kept Dalton. Interesting choice.
Now, he’s in a division where the three teams that finished above him all have
QBs who threw for more than 4,400 yards and 32-plus TDs.
Maybe Jared Goff will save him, but praying for a rookie
savior is not ideal.
RUNNING BACKS
What did I say about the rookie savior? Well, enter Ezekiel
Elliott, the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Slackers. The best thing about
this pick is that later in the draft, the Slackers grabbed the backup Alfred
Morris, who appears to have earned himself a bigger role after this preseason.
That also means that Elliott will have a lesser role.
That has to be worrisome for the Slackers considering the
high price he came at.
All that said, I do think this combo could be good for the
Slackers, especially with Giovani Bernard in the mix. Only 2 TDs from Bernard
last year, but his 1,000-plus all-purpose yards are reason for excitement in
the fantasy world, especially with 472 yards coming via the pass. That’s double
points for the Slackers.
RECEIVERS
More double points here for the Slackers as A.J. Green
returns home after a year away from the Slackers. He had 1,297 yards and 10 TDs
during that absence, and mixed in with Sammy Watkins and Jordan Matthews, that
creates a very nice looking trio of receivers. They all could lead to the
Slackers having a tough choice at that RB/WR slot each week.
He also has Golden Tate, who had 813 yards and 6 TDs as a
fourth option.
It’s really a good situation for the Slackers and his
strength.
OUTLOOK
Ryan Tannehill out-threw Dalton by nearly 1,000 yards, so
maybe with some luck, Tannehill will take over the starting gig for the
Slackers. Add that with the strong position players he has, and he’ll certainly
have the points to compete in this division. No more less than 85 points each
week.
T-3. Jerkin’ My Kirk
Herbstreit (10-3, AFC East Champ, lost in AFC First Round)
The Jerk started 8-1 last season, but struggled down the
stretch, losing three of the final five games, including a pair to Choo. That
included his first round loss the Choo in the playoffs.
For the Jerk, it was the second year in a row that he fell
apart in the late going. Combining his two years in the JFL, he has started 14-3
and ended 3-8 with two first-round knockouts.
He hopes 2016 will treat him much better, but one thing is
for sure: If he’s sitting pretty after 8 weeks, he will not rest easy.
QUARTERBACKS
Last year, the QB position was a bit of a quagmire (giggity)
for the Jerk. Blake Bortles and Derek Carr will certainly change that in 2016.
Jerk somehow won the division title behind Marcus Mariota
and Teddy Bridgewater, neither of whom threw for 20 TDs. Even worse for Jerk,
of the 33 TDs they combined for, he only managed to get credit for 16 of them because of the weeks he started them.
Fast forward to 2016, he has two QBs who combined for 67
TDs. Bortles threw for 4,428 yards and 35 TDs while Carr exploded for 3,987
yards and 32 TDs. Jerk will have to pick one to be the main starter — I’m
guessing Bortles — and then he’ll have a solid backup in case anything goes
wrong.
RUNNING BACKS
The Mets had a saying a few years ago: “It’s Matt Harvey and
pray for rain.”
Well, rain isn’t going to help the Jerk, but his Matt Harvey
is Mark Ingram. With 1,174 total yards and 6 TDs, Ingram had a strong season,
especially considering he’s in New Orleans.
For Jerk, Ingram was a decent keeper at the round he got
him, but I guess he thought that it. Because all he added was backup and
third-tier RBs to fill in the holes. Clearly, he will start just one RB each
week, and he certainly will pray for no pain. An injury could doom him at RB.
RECEIVERS
Now, for as weak as the Jerk is at running back, he is
potentially just as strong at WR. I say potentially because injuries do create
a bit of a question mark, but I’m sure we all have no reason to believe that
Dez Bryant and DeVante Parker won’t be the strong wideouts they were when they
were not injured. Both didn’t reach 500 yards last year and they each had just
3 TDs before getting injured.
Jerk should get much more from them, and add that to Amari
Cooper, who broke 1,000 yards with 6 TDs, the Jerk will be running a 3-WR set.
That, or he’ll go with two of them and TE Gary Barnidge, who
quietly scored 9 TDs with 1,043 yards receiving.
OUTLOOK
It’s a QB driven league and the Jerk has two of the top
scorers from a year ago. That's much better than his two QBs who were ranked in
the 20s last year. Jerk will score enough points on a week-to-week basis that
he should easily fall into a winning record.
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