Wow, I haven't posted an update since Week 7. Well, to fast forward, I made some fairly horrendous trades (Chris Johnson for Miles Austin for one just before CJ3 went bananas and Austin injured), knocked myself out of the bye as a result and nearly out of the playoffs altogether, and was half a point away from getting knocked out of the wildcard round. Still, by some miracle, I am in the final week of the championship round (a two-week four-team points battle) and am very much in contention for the top prize.

The standings are as follows going into the final week:

Cavalier King Charles: 183.55
Murphy's Law: 175.65
Invictus: 107.90
Mount Vernon: 88.30

I am looking at a few bad matchups in Week 16 and some very tough lineup choices. We can start QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, FLX, FLX. Remember, TEs get 1.5 PPR, so starting both Vernon and Finley is tempting (although possibly foolish).

My team now is as follows:

QB:
Tony Romo vs PHI
Mike Vick vs DAL

RB:
Lesean McCoy vs DAL
Rashard Mendenhall vs STL
CJ Spiller vs DEN
Donald Brown vs HOU
Shane Vereen (out)

WR
Marques Colston vs ATL
Dez Bryant vs PHI
Miles Austin vs PHI
Demaryius Thomas vs BUF
Greg Jennings (out)
Leonard Hankerson (out)

TE Jermichael Finley vs CHI
Vernon Davis vs SEA

K
Mason Crosby vs CHI

D
Houston Texans vs IND

The obvious must-starts are McCoy and Colston (wow, wouldn't have thought I'd say that back at the start of the year). I am thinking that I have to start CJ Spiller again this week against a weaker run defense than last. Mendenhall has a great matchup and has looked fairly good imo, but that line is a mess and he is not scoring well at all. Still, I'd like to fit him in the lineup somehow if I can.

That leaves Miles Austin and Dez Bryant who were shut down by Philly pretty good last time around (which is my fear again this time). How do I not start Demaryius Thomas after the target hogging performances of late? I started him last week and was rewarded - or not really since Vernon Davis outscored him anyway. Donald Brown is a fairly clear bench this week against Houston's #2 rushing defense (although Stew and Deangelo did ok last week against them) despite his breakout performance last week and fairly decent performances throughout the second half of the year.

Also, do I start Mike Vick (for whom I traded VJax straight up) or the red-hot Tony Romo? I just don't know.

Making even one wrong choice now (which I regularly do - choosing lineups is not a strength) against the high caliber of teams remaining could mean the end and a difference between $7,000 and $2,750 (or less). Luckily, I'll have until Saturday to decide.

Now checking in with the disaster of a team I have in the FFPC $750 League #2. This is the league where I ended up trading (1) Greg Jennings in mid-2010 for Eddie Royal and what turned out to be the 1.8 rookie pick, (2) Darren McFadden for Desean Jackson mid-2010 and (3) Vincent Jackson, Shonn Greene and the 1.3 rookie pick for Jamaal Charles and the 1.10 rookie pick during the offseason.

Over the summer, while the uncertainty of a possible suspension for Kenny Britt was still looming, I traded away Roddy White for Kenny Britt and a very promising-looking 2012 1st rounder (from the team I had projected to be the 2nd lowest scoring team), the fourth 1st rounder I would own at the time.

After Week 1, I traded Kenny Britt straight up for Jahvid Best. Then, disaster struck with Jamaal Charles going down for the season in Week 2. Still, with the nice start to the season and with Fred Jackson and Darren Sproles on the team producing like superstars, I easily could have stayed the course as a likely playoff team. Instead, I decided to hedge my bets more towards the future by trading Brandon Marshall and Darren Sproles for Julio Jones, Pierre Thomas and another 2012 1st rounder (my 5th at the time).

Despite Charles going down and the subsequent move towards the future, the team still boasted a pretty nice lineup of Josh Freeman, Jahvid Best, Fred Jackson, Pierre Thomas, Desean Jackson, Julio Jones, Sidney Rice, and Dustin Keller. But then, with Fred Jackson producing like he was this year's Arian Foster, I just couldn't resist cashing in on the success. I ended up trading Fred Jackson for Mikel Leshoure and yet another 2012 1st rounder, this time from a team that looked good on paper but which had underperformers like Chris Johnson and Dallas Clark and had injuries to the likes of Peyton Manning (i.e., a decent bet to be a non-playoff team which, in this format, could potentially be the 2012 first overall pick). It turns out, I undersold Jackson in hindsight because he just looks unstoppable right now. I also ended up trading Dustin Keller straight up for Jermaine Gresham.

After Week 4, with a decent start to the season and the future of the team fairly secure with 6 1st rounders, I decided this time to go the other way and improve my chances to make the playoffs in 2011 by acquiring Darren McFadden for Jamaal Charles and the likely 2012 third overall rookie pick (throwing in Leshoure). Steep price to pay, but McFadden could certainly help me in a playoff push and, should I not make the playoffs, would definitely help my team in the effort to secure the #1 pick through the consolation playoffs.

After Week 6, here is my team:

Josh Freeman, Andy Dalton

McFadden, Best, P Thomas, CJ Spiller

D Jackson, S. Rice, Ju. Jones, Torrey Smith, D. Nelson, A. Benn, Dem. Thomas, J Baldwin

Gresham, Z Miller (Sea)

Not bad and looks to be a contender for the playoffs, but depending on how long Best remains out, I am going to need to find a RB2 quickly if I really want to make a difference this year. For the future, I am down to "only" 5 2012 1st rounders, but a number of those look very promising, and I have future help already on the team in CJ Spiller, Torrey Smith, Arrelious Benn, Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas, etc.. Win or lose in 2011, I am starting to like this team again.

Made a few big moves recently in this league, all aimed at the long term improvement of the team at some expense to the present. This gets a little tricky in a $1250 league as you wouldn't want to mess up a title run with a questionable trade for the future. The goal of course in dynasty is to have your cake and eat it to, win now and win tomorrow (and the day after that and so on), but there is definitely potential for a serious and expensive backfiring in this league.

As of a few weeks ago, things had been going well for me with the following roster (scrubs not listed):

Tony Romo

Lesean McCoy
Chris Johnson
Fred Jackson (yeah!)
CJ Spiller

Greg Jennings
Dez Bryant
Dwayne Bowe
Vincent Jackson
David Nelson
Torry Smith
Demaryius Thomas (holding on to hope)

Vernon Davis
Kyle Rudolph

After a slow start in week 1 (taking a loss to my division rival and last year's champ and collecting a paltry 1 VP), I went on a string of 4 4VP weeks in a row to take the frontrunner position with a 5VP lead over the next place team and a 6VP lead in my division (and a 100+ lead in the points race - which I recently discovered gets you nothing by the way).

Along the way, I traded Torry Smith for a 2012 1st rounder (to replenish my stash of 1sts a bit) and prior to Week 6's game, I traded away the goose laying the golden eggs, Fred Jackson, to the team in 2nd place in the overall standings, for Rashard Mendenhall (who at the time was recovering from a hamstring injury and was suffering from a slow start). This is a good value in return for Fred Jackson and maybe even a slam dunk in other dynasty leagues of mine, but for a team ready to win this year, in this particular format and with the stakes involved, Fred Jackson is worth it...easily. So far, I would think both teams are happy with the results. That said, I sure would be feeling a lot more comfortable from a redraft perspective with Fred Jackson back on the team (as good as Mendenhall may be in his own right).

Following the trade and with Vincent Jackson, Dwayne Bowe and Chris Johnson on bye (and with the team underperforming as a whole in Week 6), my team proceeded to lose a close game and gain only 1 VP for the week (and barely got that point I might add). What hurts even more is that my pre-trade lineup would have garnered a win and 3VP this week which would have resulted in a whole different outlook altogether. Now, the once comfortable "looking" lead of 5 VP over the field is now only 2 VP, with several teams ready and able to pass my team as soon as this week for the all important playoff-bye spots (especially with Lesean McCoy and Vernon Davis on bye this week). I always knew that Weeks 6 and 7 were going to be the big challenge for this team, and so far, my team is failing that challenge miserably.

Despite the tough loss, I made yet another trade which could threaten to disturb the balance of the squad. I shipped out Dwayne Bowe, Heath Miller and Kyle Rudolph for Jermichael Finley. While this trade may have looked great in the preseason (in a 1.5PPR TE league), Bowe has been ON FIRE lately and the loss of his consistently stellar production could be quite detrimental to the team's success. Bowe had also already gone through his bye week, and now I have created another challenge week in Week 8 with Finley and Jennings on bye. I couldn't resist the offer though as I love Finley in this format, especially for the long term.

The roster now:

Tony Romo

Lesean McCoy
Chris Johnson
Rashard Mendenhall
CJ Spiller

Greg Jennings
Dez Bryant
Vincent Jackson
David Nelson
Demaryius Thomas

Vernon Davis
Jermichael Finley

Thats it for now. I'll report back in a few weeks, hopefully still in 1st place.

I entered a new FFPC dynasty startup this summer (of the $750 variety). I liked what I did in the $1250 with the 6 1st rounders, but I'll always be left wondering what could have been had I kept the 8 1st rounders that I had at one point during the startup draft rather than trading away two of them. I am also left wondering what the team could have looked like if I was not so quick to consolidate value during the offseason (rather than waiting a bit for value to come to me).

So I entered this new FFPC $750 to take a shot at rectifying those mistakes and to see what really is possible. It may well be that I'll end up with a lesser team than what I have in the $1250. It also may be that this strategy isn't all that great to begin with and that it's crazy to try it again, particularly in an even more extreme fashion. I am very open to these possibilities and am going into 2011 a little more skeptical about the strategy in general. That said, I couldn't resist giving the strategy one more shot (as it is a lot of fun to try).

The basic strategy is similar to last year:

1. Aggressively acquire 1st rounders during the startup draft, even sacrificing having the truly elite player to do it. Target number = 8 1st rounders.

2. Acquire players that have the potential of joining the elite ranks in 2012 at the expense of sacrificing production in 2011.

3. Be aggressive in bidding on free agents that will have a potential impact in 2012 where most others are looking to fill lineups for 2011.

Here is the team I drafted:

3.02 AJ Green
3.03 Jon Stewart
3.08 Julio Jones
5.04 CJ Spiller
8.11 Chris Wells
12.11 Alex Green
14.06 Donald Brown
14.08 Demaryius Thomas
15.03 Heath Miller
15.07 Cam Newton
17.07 Tashard Choice
18.06 Jordan Cameron
19.04 James Jones
19.07 Julius Thomas
19.11 Clyde Gates
20.02 Dion Lewis
20.06 Eddie Royal
20.08 Dallas Defense
20.09 Matt Bryant
20.11 Brandon Tate

As you can tell, this team is paper thin with little talent at the moment. I couldn't of had it any other way and still acquire the 9 1st rounders. I am excited though at what this team could become in 2012. On this plus side, there are always gems to be found in the free agent bidding market with the limited sized rosters, so its always good to have a few players that are droppable in any given week. This team has no shortage right now in scrubs.

At the end of the startup draft, I came out with 9 1st rounders, one more than my initial target. The plan for now is to keep all 9 until after the season is over, and then figure out what to do with them during the offseason. Trading them any earlier would likely yield the least value in this format. Besides, I have already experienced the danger of trading a pick or two of teams that were seemingly a lock to make the playoffs. My goal is to come out of this season with 5 or 6 of the top 6 draft picks (a realistic possibility given the number of picks I have).

Moves thus far:

During the free agent bidding period just prior to Week 1, I picked up Danarius Moore for $127 of my $1,000 bidding dollars.

After week 1, I made a trade acquiring Jeremy Maclin for Chris Wells and Cam Newton and picked up Matt Cassel, Andy Dalton and Blaine Gabbert off the waiver wire (using nominal bids).

As of Week 2, here is my roster:

QB: Dalton, Gabbert, Cassel
RB: Jon Stewart, CJ Spiller, Alex Green, Deji Karim, Donald Brown, Tashard Choice
WR: AJ Green, Jeremy Maclin, Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas, Denarius Moore, Clyde Gates
TE: Heath Miller, Julius Thomas, Jordan Cameron

Preliminary Analysis:

I am set at WR for 2012 with the Green/Maclin/Jones trio, but I'm going to need at least one of the RBs to break out this year and present startable options in 2012. I have a feeling Spiller will be that RB1 stud that I'll need next year. Stew has a decent shot as well, although having Deangelo signed long term is a huge bummer.

I plan to go a little heavier on rookies that I’ll actually draft and roster in 2012 than I did in the $1250. Of course, I'll still need to trade a good amount of the 1st rounders in order to compete in 2012, but I'll worry about those details in the offseason. For now, I need to maximize value on the waiver wire.

I'll be checking in with this team's progress from time to time as developments occur.

Its that time of year again. DRAFT DAY!!! Nothing like dynasty rookie drafts to get back into the dynasty state of mind. I must admit I’ve been out of the loop as of late in the dynasty world. I know, dynasty is a year-round activity. But, between dealing with a significant increase in real life work activity (and the stress that goes with it) and not knowing if there will even be a season this year, I haven’t been nearly as engulfed in my dynasty teams as I normally would be this time of year. That has to change now since I’ve got the $1250 FFPC and the $750 FFPC rookie/free agent drafts going on and I need to be sharp.

This is a good opportunity to talk about my $750 FFPC Dynasty team (since, unlike the $1250 team, I actually have a few rookie picks left including the 1.2).

As you might have noticed, I don’t write about this team nearly as much as the $1250 team. For one I had a miserable 2010 season in a league where I made short-sighted efforts to draft a win now team at last year’s startup draft. Despite collecting 4 1st round picks in the early part of last year’s startup draft, I really felt like an opportunity was there to draft a bye-level team which led me to draft Tony Freaking Gonzalez in the 6th round (1.5 PPR for TE can make you do stupid things). Then I made another “win now” move of trading Hakeem Nicks for Marques Colston a week before we found out Colston had another knee surgery. That alone made it painful for me to look at this team knowing what could have been. Still, going into the 2010 season, I really thought I had a top 2 team on my hands for 2010. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. MJD played hurt in the early part of the year and Sidney Rice was lost for large chunk of the season, and after a 1-4 start, I decided to tear down the team and regroup for a run in 2011. Unfortunately, that led me to trade Greg Jennings for a 1st rounder that was slotted at the 1.1 but, after a massive run to end the year, ended up being the 1.8. It was silly of me to trade a player of Jennings caliber for a 1st rounder since I left myself with no margin of error...it was the 1.1 or bust. And bust it was.

It goes to show that however unlikely, with some luck, a team can turn around its fortunes in fantasy football at any time...including mine. As it turned out, MJD turned his season around, Darren McFadden became a PPR stud (oh, did I mention I traded him away too - sigh), Jennings had an incredible 2nd half and even Colston was pretty good. Had I patiently waited on this team, I would have made the playoffs and possibly could have contended for the title (as I have been painfully reminded by a league mate on more than one occasion).

Anyway, even with all the sulking over the bad trades and over having torn down my team a tad early, I still managed to come out with a decent team for 2011 helped by the 6 1st round draft picks I accumulated (4 during the startup draft and an additional 2 during the season). A few key offseason moves included trading Vincent Jackson, Shonn Greene and the 1.3 rookie pick for Jamaal Charles and the 1.10 rookie pick. I then traded the 1.7 and 1.8 rookie picks for Owen Daniels (a solid value at 1.7 in a 1.5 PPR TE league) and a random 2012 1st rounder. Next was the 1.6 and Golden Tate for Josh Freeman and Braylon Edwards. Finally, just last week, I traded the 1.5, 1.10 and Jacoby Ford for Brandon Marshall, Dustin Keller (whose perceived value, even in a 1.5 PPR league, has been in the gutter lately but whom I still believe will be the stud many predicted he would be) and Fred Jackson (I have Spiller).

Accordingly, at the start of the draft, the team was as follows:

QB: Freeman
RB: Charles, Spiller, FJax, Sproles
WR: Marshall, Desean, Maclin, S.Rice, Braylon, Benn, Danario
TE: Daniels, Keller

Surprisingly, I ended up with a pretty good team going into 2011, one I could feel good about.

With the 1.2 pick, I was sure to be able to add some additional fire power and long term value. I knew about 24 hours in advance that the 1.1 would be Mark Ingram, a pleasant surprise given that most other PPR leagues had AJ Green going at #1. I gladly took AJ Green and was happy with how the team looked with him on it as the WR5 for 2011. Nevertheless, within a matter of hours, AJ Green was gone! The trade: AJ Green, Jeremy Maclin, my 2012 2nd rounder, and my 2012 3rd rounder for Roddy White, a 2012 1st rounder (from the team that had the fewest VPs in 2010) and his 2012 4th rounder. That was a lot to give up to get Roddy and the 1st, but I like what the trade does for my team. Here it is now (first week starters in bold):

QB: Freeman
RB: Charles, Spiller, FJax, Sproles
WR: Roddy, Marshall, Desean, S.Rice, Braylon, Benn, Danario
TE: Daniels, Keller
2012 Rookie 1st Round Picks: 3 (including my own)

I don’t have another pick until the 7th round so this is bye for now, but I’ll be back if I am able to trade my way back into the draft.

As I noted on the FFPC $1250 League Page, I made a big move last week to acquire Chris Johnson, the player I consider to be the #1 overall in a 2RB minimum format, especially in the FFPC that allows up to 4 RB in the starting lineup.

The cost? The 1.1, 1.3, Jared Cook and James Starks. As I might have mentioned previously, I love the 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 this year, but I also really like Jared Cook in the FFPC format with 1.5 PPR for TEs. He finished 2010 very nicely, he will be the starter going into 2011 and he is a physical freak a la Vernon Davis (although not quite as fast, but then again, no TE is).

I am seeing lots of young TEs get way overrated these days in terms of their dynasty value. In your typical PPR format, outside of the elite few such as Antonio Gates and Dallas Clark that produce like top WRs, TEs really are not (or should not) be that big of a deal. There are plenty of good options to go around in order to fill 12 starting spots. Not so in the FFPC at 1.5PPR and with the ability to start up to 3. TEs there are worth their weight in gold, especially young ones that can produce at a high level for years and years to come.

Now where was I going with that? Oh yeah, Jared Cook is not an insignificant part of the trade. James Starks is a nice add on as well on just his potential to possibly become the lead back in Green Bay as soon as this year. I recently read on Rotoworld that the Packers look at him as being a poor man’s Adrian Peterson. Now, you don’t normally want to be labeled as a poor man’s anything, but a poor man’s “Adrian Peterson” is high praise for just about any running back out there.

While the feedback I am getting from the other owners has definitely been pro-Chris Johnson, I actually feel like the 1.1, 1.3, Jared Cook (in 1.5 PPR) and James Starks is a bit much to give up for any player in most other dynasty leagues. Then again, elite vet talent is naturally going to cost more in this league than in most others (something about the “$1250” that does it) and overpaying where necessary was always part of the plan (to recap, Year 1 = Accumulate resources, Year 2 = Overpay where necessary to acquire elite talent in order to assemble a monster team). While not yet quite at a monster level, this team is now finally beginning to approach it with Chris Johnson, and I still have the 1.5 and two 2011 1st rounders (neither my own) to play with. Stay tuned.

My team today (starters in caps):

ROMO, Cassel
CJ3, STEWART, Spiller, FJackson, 1.5 (Ryan Williams)
DEZ, BOWE, DESEAN, VJAX, Avery, Demaryius
V.DAVIS, Keller

As a side note, I also recently made a trade of my 2012 1st, 2nd and 3rd, plus the 2011 4.12, plus Ronnie Brown, for another teams 2012 1st and Caddy Williams (whom I will probably end up dropping). In making this trade, I am betting that the other 2012 1st rounder will be worth more than my own (duh) and in this case hopefully a top 3 pick.

Dynasty WR Rankings – TOP 30

Here are revised rankings (already). Unlike some other rankings, for better or worse, mine will change regularly. Nothing crazy, but I tend to react (and sometimes over react) quickly to developments, market perception changes and the like. Any change is fair game, except that you won’t likely ever see Calvin or Fitz get moved out of the top 3 at any given time (that just how it is).

1. Calvin Johnson: Fitz has always been my favorite, but Calvin is more likely to have better production in the short term, has a higher ceiling and is still super young. Like I said in my mock draft, I would take him 2nd overall in a FFPC format startup draft today.

2. Larry Fitzgerald: Once the perennial #1 on my WR rankings (and overall as well), he was bumped down by Andre Johnson last year and now Calvin this year. He is till very much in his prime and will be for a number of years. Even without a good QB he produces. Improve the QB situation and he could jump back to #1.

3. Andre Johnson: Getting a bit old for my taste. I felt that going into last year when I had him at #1, but his expected production is too great to bump down any further than this.

4. Hakeem Nicks: I will never be able to live down the trade of Nicks straight up for Colston in the FFPC $750 Dynasty. I LOVE this guy and its sad that I only have him in two leagues (for only $160 in combined entry fees). Offered Dwayne Bowe (whom I also love) PLUS the 1.5 for him in the $1250 and was rejected.

5. Dez Bryant: I don’t have him in nearly enough leagues (hard to believe only 2), but at least I have him in the most important one, the FFPC $1250 Dynasty (through a mid year trade). Admittedly, I came around just a tad late in getting him up my rankings fast enough to get him in more leagues. Read More...

Doing the mock draft got me going (finally) on a set of rankings. Hope you enjoy.

1. Calvin Johnson: Fitz has always been my favorite, but Calvin is more likely to have better production in the short term, has a higher ceiling and is still super young. He could be the #1 player overall in dynasty (and is for me in most formats).

2. Larry Fitzgerald: Once the perennial #1 on my WR rankings (and overall as well), he was bumped down by Andre Johnson last year and now Calvin this year. He is still very much in his prime and will be for a number of years. Even without a good QB he produces. Improve the QB situation and he could jump back to #1.

Read More...

Lets take a look back at my detailed response to a comment regarding my plans at TE for the FFPC $1250 Dynasty League along with my review in hindsight.

First, here was the comment:

“I noticed that you rated the teams with top TE's very high due to the 1.5 ppr. With that in mind, why did you choose to punt the position? For a team building for the future, wouldn't your first couple of picks be better served picking a celek and z. miller assuming the top 5 or so were gone by the time you made your first pick?”

My response (with my analysis in hindsight in brackets):

“Thanks DD! Great question (and one I ask myself from time to time).

First on me rating the best teams as those having the best TEs. Im not sure thats the case since I did rate the team with Dallas Clark (the top TE on my redraft board) at 10th best and the team with Finley AND Davis at only 8th best. I have Best of the Best squeaking in the playoffs with Scheffler as the TE1 (would rate even higher with a healthy Sidney Rice).

[Hindsight Review: I couldn’t have been more wrong on this one. The team with Dallas Clark (Invictus) ended up taking down 2nd place! So much for being able to predict draft picks (although to be fair, I did end up with the 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 and 1.11 which is still pretty good).] Read More...

The team continues to take shape and the excitement is building. I need to keep reminding myself that I should wait until closer to the draft in order to maximize the trade values of the draft picks, but I am finding it very hard to resist acquiring the vet pieces now in order to see what I have sooner rather than later. I now only have the 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5 picks left after another two recent trades.

Trade 1: Traded Danario Alexander for Fred Jackson. I probably would not make this trade in my typical lower stakes dynasty leagues since Danario looks like he could be special and Fred Jackson is merely a 1 or 2 year rental at best. Still, I have Spiller here and Fred Jackson could be a valuable piece to have in 2011 as a RB2 or RB3 if Spiller’s arrival is delayed. My RBs are now Stewart, FJax/Spiller and Starks. Not great, yet, but acceptable already “as is”. I plan to bring on more help in the coming months (Ingram, a vet or a combination of both).

Trade 2: Traded Rob Gronkowski and the 1.4 for Vernon Davis. He’s gone…again (Gronkowski) and he’s baaaack (Vernon). I’m really developing a thing in this format for TEs. My trio is now Vernon Davis, Dustin Keller and Jared Cook. Love it!

Here is the current roster (starters in CAPS):

QB TONY ROMO
RB JONATHAN STEWART, James Starks, CJ Spiller, FRED JACKSON
WR DEZ BRYANT, DESEAN JACKSON, VINCENT JACKSON, DWAYNE BOWE, Demaryius Thomas, Donnie Avery
TE: VERNON DAVIS, Dustin Keller, Jared Cook

Rookie Picks: 1.1, 1.3, 1.5 (plus two 2012 1st rounders including my own)

ROUND 2:

Team 12 – 2.1: Lesean McCoy: Probably should have slotted him a bit higher in the 1st round.

Team 11 – 2.2: Rashard Mendenhall: His yards per carry is a bit of a concern, as is the workload. Still, the guy looks like he’ll be a touchdown machine for years to come.

Team 10 – 2.3: Jonathan Stewart: He did just enough at the end of the year to win me back over. With the mess in Carolina this year and his early poor performances, I must admit that he had me worried, very worried.

Team 9 – 2.4: Jermichael Finley: Yes, still over Antonio Gates, Jason Witten and others. The injuries are a concern, but this guy is amazing and worthy of being the cornerstone of a dynasty franchise in this format.

Team 8 – 2.5: Greg Jennings: One of my team regulars. I am a bit concerned that Finley will take away looks the way he did at the beginning of 2010, but Jennings’ performance in 2010 showed me that he still belongs among the elite.

Team 7 – 2.6: Brandon Marshall: Hard to believe I am bumping him down to the 2nd round (I’ve drafted him in the first round for years now), but there are just a lot of great players this year at the top.

Team 6 – 2.7: Aaron Rodgers: Oh my, forgot about this guy. He should be at 2.3 just before Stew perhaps.

Team 5 – 2.8: Darren McFadden: Injuries always a concern with him, but he showed that he can be elite when healthy.

Team 4 – 2.9: Desean Jackson: WR9 will likely be higher than most others’ rankings, but this guy is one of my favorites. He has yet to hit his true ceiling.

Team 3 – 2.10: Vernon Davis: What can I say, I really like TEs in this format (particularly young ones with elite talent).

Team 2 – 2.11: Antonio Gates: Getting long in the tooth, but if he recovers in time for the 2011 season, he could be worth this price with the monster numbers he puts up in this format. None of my teams would take him this early (and for that reason, he should fall to the 3rd round next mock draft), but someone surely will. Should easily be the #1 TE in this format for redraft.

Team 1 – 2.12: Philip Rivers: Looked awfully good in 2010.

Its time to MOCK DRAFT!!! The first dynasty mock draft of the year!

Basic Rules: One round at a time. FFPC Dynasty rules – 12 team PPR, TE=1.5PPR, QB, 2RB, 2WR, TE, 2 RB/WR/TE. To add to the fun, I’ll be on a 1 minute clock for each pick with an additional minute after the pick to write a description. No deep thinking this early in the year, and no editing (other than typos).

ROUND 1:

Team 1 – 1.1: Chris Johnson: Despite a disappointing 2010, I’d still take him #1 in this format.

Team 2 – 1.2: Calvin Johnson: Possibly too early in a 2RB min league, but his shelf life as an elite player should easily outlast the elite RBs. If not for Chris Johnson’s superior market value, I would probably take Calvin #1.

Team 3 – 1.3: Ray Rice: Another disappointing year for a stud RB, but he’s young and excellent in PPR.

Team 4 – 1.4: Larry Fitzgerald: It seems like so many are down on him these days. I still have him as the #2 WR for fantasy. Still young and very much in his prime.

Team 5 – 1.5: Adrian Peterson: I could make a case for taking him #1 due to immense talent but also #12 due to wear and tear (he’ll be an “old” 26 this March). Look at the hit Frank Gore’s value has taken this offseason. That could be Peterson in 2 years.

Team 6 – 1.6 Jamaal Charles: Wish I jumped on his bandwagon sooner. This guy is a stud!

Team 7 - 1.7: Andre Johnson: Gut call. I’m getting a little worried about taking him this high due to age, but he could lead a team to the title in 2011.

Team 8 – 1.8: Hakeem Nicks: Still hurting from trading him away for Colston during the preseason in the FFPC $750 Dynasty League. IDIOT!!!

Team 9 – 1.9: Roddy White: Tough call here between him and Dez Bryant. The tie breaker - Roddy has better market value.

Team 10 – 1.10: Dez Bryant: Based on this mock draft, I guess I have Dez as the WR6 (technically not the “Top 5” WR that I claimed him to be in a prior post).

Team 11 – 1.11: Arian Foster: Could be a popular choice for #1 in 2011 redraft leagues. I was slow getting on his bandwagon and may, to some extent, still be disrespecting him with a mere #11 ranking. I already traded him this offseason in one league for Roddy White.

Team 12 – 1.12: Maurice Jones-Drew: Another immensely talented player dropping down some due to injury and wear and tear concerns (and, like Peterson, is also turning 26 this March).

Quick Observation: The talent at the top is deep this year. Having the 1.12 in a startup in this format would not be a bad place to be.

Offseason trading time in the $1250 FFPC Dynasty, and I’m off to a fast start with two trades. First off, I traded the 1.11 for a 2012 1st rounder (of a team that could finish anywhere on the spectrum). This could certainly backfire if last year’s draft is any indication, where in a seemingly poor depth year, 1.11 netted Mike Williams (TB) in many dynasty leagues.

Still, drafting another rookie at 1.11 (my 6th rookie pick) may be overkill, so why not roll the dice and turn the pick into a lottery ticket for next year. At the very least, it would increase the fun factor in 2011 by creating a vested interest in another team. Who knows, with some luck, I could end up with a top rookie pick next year. Maybe even land the 1.1, Trent Richardson (I can dream, can’t I?). Also, having the extra pick in 2012 may allow me a little more flexibility in 2011 to take a little more of a win now approach with a portion of the remaining resources at my disposal.

The second trade: Heath Miller and the 1.6 for Dustin Keller. Heath Miller plus the 1.6 may seem a little high to some given Keller’s disappointing finish in 2010, but I REALLY like Keller as a budding superstar TE and at 1.5 PPR for TE in this league, you have to take your chances on young TEs before they totally break out (and become too expensive). Keller already at one time became too expensive after his nice run at the beginning of the year. He has the potential to get back there again in 2011, making Miller and 1.6 a fair price to pay. Keller, Gronkowski and Cook now make for a very nice TE corp for 2011, so I may be done tinkering with that position – for now.

This post has been a long time coming. Real life took over unfortunately. I’ll try to get this going again now that we are in the dynasty offseason.

With the 2010 fantasy season now in the books, this would be a good time to assess where my team stands in the $1250 FFPC Dynasty League. First off, lets take a look at the projected keepers. We are permitted to keep 16 players (out of 20) going into the draft.

QB: Tony Romo, Matt Cassel
RB: Jonathan Stewart, CJ Spiller, James Starks
WR: Dez Bryant, Dwayne Bowe, Desean Jackson, Vincent Jackson, Demaryius Thomas
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Jared Cook, Heath Miller
K: Matt Prater
DEF: Eagles

On the bubble (I can choose to keep only one if the above roster holds): Danario Alexander, Donnie Avery (IR), Golden Tate, Chaz Schilens, DHB, and Kareem Huggins (IR). This will be a tough call between Alexander, Avery and Tate I would think.

Rookie Picks: 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.11 – I unfortunately missed out on the 1.2, but 5 out of the top 6 is still very good. Read More...