Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Looking Ahead 2011: SOCIAL ISoTopes

This is the sixth post of a series of blogs covering each team from the 2010 Brothers Keeper league in detail. We began with the last place team and are moving up to the top of the league standings as it stood at the end of the 2010 fantasy football season (cf. CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS; Kabuki Strikes Back; Simba's Buttkicker!; Points ON the Bench; and Rmmm's Dropping 3's). Sixth up, SOCIAL ISoTopes (M Peltonen).

The eye is shaded evermore

Overview of M Peltonen's Brothers Keeper History
2007 Scrappy Chickens: 6-8-0 (6th Place) 1476.78 points; 12 transactions
2008 Squash-a-nomics 201: 6-7-0 (7th Place) 1183.33 points; 19 transactions
2009 Sea Buzzards: 5-8-0 (2d Place) 1396.22 points; 20 transactions
2010 SOCIAL ISoTopes: 9-4-0 (5th Place) 1445.81 points; 22 transactions

SOCIAL ISoTopes's 2010 Keeper Declaration
In last year's Looking Ahead 2010 post concerning the Commissioner's team, I correctly predicted his selection of F Gore RB, T Romo QB, L Fitzgerald WR, and M Austin WR (developmental). When it came down to the Commissioner's keeper selection in personal conversation shortly after the keeper declaration I strenuously asked why he would keep T Romo QB instead of keeping G Jennings WR implying I really think he should have kept G Jennings. G Jennings would have been an envied 6th Rd keeper in the 2010 draft. Without waivering on T Romo the Commissioner went forward. "TRUE! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why WILL you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed, not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How then am I mad?"

SOCIAL ISoTopes's 2010 Draft
Following the old Keeper League Draft Order Rule SOCIAL ISoTopes (M Peltonen) had the 9th overall draft pick position in the 2010 draft due to his 2009 playoff championship game loss to P Smith's Yer X-MOM. His 2010 draft results are thus (noting those who were kept from his 2009 final roster with a This player is a keeper.):

1.(9)Frank Gore This player is a keeper. (SF - RB)
2.(12)Tony Romo This player is a keeper. (Dal - QB)
2.(12)Larry Fitzgerald This player is a keeper. (Ari - WR)
4.(32)Jason Witten (Dal - TE)
5.(49)Michael Bush (Oak - RB)
6.(52)Ahmad Bradshaw (NYG - RB)
7.(69)Ben Roethlisberger (Pit - QB)
8.(72)Carnell Williams (TB - RB)
9.(89)Dez Bryant (Dal - WR)
10.(92)San Francisco (SF - DEF)
11.(109)Devin Aromashodu (Chi - WR)
12.(112)Derrick Mason (Bal - WR)
13.(129)Austin Collie (Ind - WR)
14.(132)Ryan Longwell (Min - K)
15.(149)Miles Austin This player is a keeper. (Dal - WR)

Here's SOCIAL ISoTopes's 2010 draft compared to the 2010 Brothers Keeper Fantasy Football Ideal Draft Value Chart results:

Last year I wrote that M Peltonen's "goal for 2010 should be to become a better regular season team with a more solid playoff seed thus creating less ambiguity as to whether or not his team is postseason worthy or not. It's not R Johnson bad, but it isn't good either. To achieve a better regular season record, the offseason/preseason goal for 2010 will require more comprehensive draft preparations. Because, as the personal finance sage, Dave Ramsey, says, "90% of making the correct decision is gathering information."

As you can see from his regular season record he improved dramatically. He even made it into the new 6 team playoff team format. But how did he do so? He heeded the advice to do better draft preparation and it showed. Just look at D Pilcher's team and his own! While they both had no draft picks in the first 3 rounds as a result of the keepers chosen, both teams had fruitful draft results in the following 11 Rds (subtracting their developmental keepers later in their draft). While one might initially look at M Peltonen's draft and think it wasn't that good, look at it more closely.

J Witten TE selected in the 4th Rd was easily worth a 3d Rd selection. Nearly every TE selected before J Witten earlier in the draft suffered season ending injuries, J Witten stayed healthy and played. He even played well when his close friend T Romo was injured bad. J Kitna the Dallas Cowboys backup QB did a wonderful job at getting Witten the ball in place of Romo. Yer X-MOM hated having to let Witten go as a keeper after having him rostered for a few years.

In Rd 5 M Peltonen drafted M Bush RB. He missed the Ideal Draft Value Chart by 36.05 FP. That is short by 2.25 FP per week. But the thing is, he still produced despite a preseason injury and a RB rival in the Oakland Raider backfield in D McFadden RB. Either one of those RBs starting without sharing the ball became a fantasy point monster. So maybe this wasn't as bad as you might have thought to begin with. The next pick in the draft was Yer X-MOM's bookend picks of A Foster RB (361.8 FP; #1 in FPOB) and K Kolb QB (80.68 FP).

In Rd 6, instead of keeping G Jennings WR from his previous year's final roster, he selected A Bradshaw RB. He wanted A Foster RB and was upset with Yer X-MOM for picking him with the 50th pick in the draft. "It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain, but, once conceived, it haunted me day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire." But A Bradshaw RB did great scoring 224.2 FP and easily scoring above the Ideal Draft Value Chart level. G Jennings, on the other hand scored 211.15 FP. For a team that needed a RB instead of a WR at this point in the draft M Peltonen appears to have made a relatively equal trade by letting G Jennings go.

In Rd 7 he decided to undercut Yer X-MOM by selecting B Roethlisberger QB. Revenge is sweet. Short but sweet. Roethlisberger, coming off a terrible offseason of legal accusations, began the season with a 4 game suspension. With the embarassment over Roethlisberger helped to lead his team to the Super Bowl in Dallas, TX but lost. In fantasy Roethlisberger averaged 23.78 FP per week. That is a very productive QB for a 7th Rd draft pick. Not bonkers great but definitely good and helpful.

The Rd 8 selection of C Williams RB was probably the biggest blight on the Commissioner's draft for his own team. C Williams is older and his rushing attempts went down dramatically as the season progressed.

D Bryant WR really came into his own as a rookie WR later into the year. While D Mason WR and A Collie WR both performed at a good level for where they were drafted, one should recall A Collie's season was hampered by injuries and could have been much more productive.

This was a really good draft by M Peltonen and despite the setbacks it really seemed to set him up for a season that was very interesting to say the least.

End of Season Commentary
Ah the dreadful greener grass concpiracy. I wish to tell you of the horrors of the 2010 playoffs but that is the end of the great story. So "Hearken! and observe how healthily, how calmly, I can tell you the whole story."

The Commish is prone to name changing. But one thing remains constant. His team's logo. The all-seeing eyeball that makes your eyes water in pain at the sight. You can't stop but wonder if it was inpired by Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart or if Edgar Allen Poe was inspire BY it! "I think it was his eye! Yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture -- a pale blue eye with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me my blood ran cold, and so by degrees, very gradually, I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye for ever."

And so Yer X-MOM did. Before the season began Yer X-MOM saw that the owner of the eye had an injured M Bush RB on the roster. So he grabbed the handcuff RB on the Raiders depth chart, D McFadden before the week 1 game even began. A furious action if there ever was one beyond the A Foster RB draft steal. How dastardly!

"And every night about midnight I turned the latch of his door
and opened it oh, so gently! And then, when I had made an
opening sufficient for my head, I put in a dark lantern all
closed, closed so that no light shone out, and then I thrust
in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly
I thrust it in! I moved it slowly, very, very slowly, so that I
might not disturb the old man's sleep. It took me an hour
 to place my whole head within the opening so far that I
 could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! would a madman
 have been so wise as this? And then when my head was
well in the room I undid the lantern cautiously -- oh, so
cautiously -- cautiously (for the hinges creaked), I undid it
just so much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye.
And this I did for seven long nights, every night just at
midnight, but I found the eye always closed, and so it was
impossible to do the work, for it was not the old man who vexed
me but his Evil Eye. And every morning, when the day broke,
 I went boldly into the chamber and spoke courageously to him,
 calling him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he had
 passed the night. So you see he would have been a very
profound old man, indeed , to suspect that every night,
just at twelve, I looked in upon him while he slept."
Despite being the 4th best fantasy team in week one, it didn't bode well to begin the season reliving the 2009 Championship game all over again. But sometimes that's the way it goes. Yer X-MOM decimated Sea Buzzards 139.84 - 100.23 for two consecutive losses (counting the 2009 Championship game loss). Not even D McFadden's 24.25 FP on Yer X-MOM's bech would have salvaged the week for M Peltonen (along with an optimal lineup from the Sea Buzzards bench). And so the nights went along.

In week 2 Sea Buzzards faced TheSloppyButts, the eventual 2010 runner up. Sea Buzzards won the close game thanks to a mediocre performance by TheSloppyButts's RBs.

In the third week M Peltonen's team lost to Kabuki Strikes Back. It would have been a much closer competition if he had started the Dallas DEF (14 FP) and D McFadden RB (19.35 FP) on Yer X-MOM's squad. Instead, this was on of the three losses out of four total for the season that M Peltonen suffered in 2010 by scoring under 100 FP. His opening week's loss was 100.23 FP. He had a solid team but was beatable only when his team beat himself. He scored exactly 100.23 in the final game of the regular season too but he easily defeated a lagging CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS. But that is jumping ahead too much again.

Just to backtrack, after going 1 - 2 in the first three weeks of the regular season, M Peltonen then went on a three game winning streak taking down an easy team (CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS's score, if doubled wasn't enough to win) and two tough playoff bound teams (Yankinfowlsandfeline and Redmans CatClippers). Yankinfowlsandfeline could have been more competitive if he had benched G Jennings's 3.1 FP performance for H Nicks (30.5 FP) at WR.

In the seventh week SOCIAL ISoTopes lost a game he so very easily could have dominated in. Playing another playoff bound team in B Garner's Ghost, M Peltonen decided to bench M Bush RB (12.85 FP), D Bryant WR (28.63 FP), and B Roethlisberger QB (25.18 FP). Losing by 10.87 FP was preventable. Beating another playoff team was possible but not to be.

That third loss was followed by another three game winning streak trouncing two weak teams (Simba's Buttkicker! and Points ON the Bench) and the ol' week 1 oppenent Yer X-MOM. It was almost like he heard something: "Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. A watch's minute hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers, of my sagacity. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. To think that there I was opening the door little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea, and perhaps he heard me, for he moved on the bed suddenly as if startled. Now you may think that I drew back -- but no. His room was as black as pitch with the thick darkness (for the shutters were close fastened through fear of robbers), and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily, steadily. 

"I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin fastening , and the old man sprang up in the bed, crying out, 'Who's there?' " 

"I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed, listening; just as I have done night after night hearkening to the death watches in the wall.

"Presently, I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief -- oh, no! It was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself, 'It is nothing but the wind in the chimney, it is only a mouse crossing the floor,' or, 'It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp.' Yes he has been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions ; but he had found all in vain. ALL IN VAIN, because Death in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel, although he neither saw nor heard, to feel the presence of my head within the room.

"When I had waited a long time very patiently without hearing
him lie down, I resolved to open a little -- a very, very little crevice
in the lantern. So I opened it -- you cannot imagine how stealthily,
stealthily -- until at length a single dim ray like the thread of the
spider shot out from the crevice and fell upon the vulture eye.
It was open, wide, wide open, and I grew furious as I gazed upon it.
I saw it with perfect distinctness -- all a dull blue
 with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones,
 but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person, for I
 had directed the ray as if by instinct precisely upon the damned spot."

I was able to access the original photo of the eyeball before it was photoshopped (even with color change) and am presenting the photo of the person's eye in full to you now, thus also explaining the new midseason name "SOCIAL ISoTopes." Yes my friends, if you look at the capital letters you too shall have the truth revealed. R Johnson was too happy to find this out and applauded in rapid succession. "Bravo! Bravo!" he yelled.

O yes, where was I? Week Ten. That's right, Yer X-MOM had made a mistake in his lineup and lost. H Ward WR scored a whopping 0 FP while D Bowe WR scored 34.3 FP on the bench. He would have easily made up the difference in the 140.17 - 128.45 loss. But no matter. Yer X-MOM unfazed waited it out. "And now have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses? now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well too. It was the beating of the old man's heart. It increased my fury as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage. But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless. I tried how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eye."

The SOCIAL ISoTopes lost in week eleven to the first playoff team he beat, TheSloppyButts. He could have won. Somewhere somehow along the way, the town bike (everyone gets a free ride!) M Vick QB was plucked from the free agency. R Johnson, B Garner, and maybe even another had M Vick at one point or another all along the way. But here he was starting for the SOCIAL ISoTopes scoring only 20.72 FP. On the bench sat two other QBs who outscored that amount. J Kitna (33.88 FP) and B Roethlisberger (41.5 FP). D Amendola WR scored 16.82 FP and M Austin WR put up14.35 FP on the bench while R Bush was in the flex RB/WR spot and gave him a big fat 0 FP. M Peltonen's SOCIAL ISoTopes could have won the matchup falling 86.32 - 109.79. Would this be M Peltonen's undoing? With a 7 - 4 win/loss record he needed to stop losing with guys on the bench in order to succeed with the potential he had. The final two weeks were wins and he looked poised for the playoffs.

Even though he was tied with the best winning percentage (.692) in the league along side Yankinfowlsandfeline and TheSloppyButts, he ranked third in FP and therefore didn't obtain a first round quarterfinals bye. He was below the #2 seeded team by only 2.83 FP on the regular season. Just one more correct sit/start, just one more win, just one more loss by one of those other two teams and he would have appeared a second time in a Brothers Keeper Championship in two years. That is a completely different outcome than the one that took place.

Sleeping through the Sit/Start choice in week 14 buried him.
Heard he went to Disney World anyhow. That's like planning
the parade before the championship is won.
You see, he lost the quarterfinals game by 3.96 FP to B Garner's Ghost, one of the only teams he didn't beat in 2010. "Meantime the hellish tattoo of the heart increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder, every instant. The old man's terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment! -- do you mark me well? I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder, louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety seized me -- the sound would be heard by a neighbour! The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern and leaped into the room. He shrieked once -- once only. In an instant I dragged him to the floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But for many minutes the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more. If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. I took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all between the scantlings. I then replaced the boards so cleverly so cunningly, that no human eye -- not even his -- could have detected anything wrong. There was nothing to wash out -- no stain of any kind -- no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. When I had made an end of these labours, it was four o'clock -- still dark as midnight."

SOCIAL ISoTopes's Final 2010 Roster
Following the new Keeper League Draft Order, SOCIAL ISoTopes, while failing to win in the quarterfinals had a better regular season winning percentage and fantasy team performance than Redmans CatClippers and Ghost (who actually did win the quarterfinal game). As such, while placing 5th in the standings, SOCIAL ISoTopes will actually have the 7th overall draft pick position in the upcoming 2011 Brothers Keeper fantasy football draft.

I have included the upcoming 2011 draft round and pick number (overall pick is in parentheses) of each player on SOCIAL ISoTopes's final roster followed by the name of the player, player's position, any 1st Rd Keeper Value players, total # of fantasy starts for the season (a * indicates developmental eligibility for 2011's draft; some players were on more than one team but their total starts for all teams is listed); and total fantasy points scored by the player for the 16 fantasy week season (which is not subject to the # of starts):

1. (7) Larry Fitzgerald WR; 12 fantasy starts; 184.85 fp
2. (14)
3. (27)
4. (34) Jason Witten TE; 13 fantasy starts; 198.1 fp
5. (47) Reggie Bush RB; 6 fantasy starts (2 with Point ON the Bench and 4 with SOCIAL ISoTopes); 67.53fp
6. (54) Ahmad Bradshaw RB; 12 fantasy starts; 224.2 fp
7. (67) Ben Roethlisberger QB; 1* fantasy start; 261.6 fp
8. (74)
9. (87) Dez Bryant WR; 2* fantasy starts; 135.98 fp
10. (94)
11. (107)
12. (114)
13. (127)
14. (134) Miles Austin WR; 10 fantasy starts; 176.35 fp
15. (147) Brandon Lloyd WR; 6 fantasy starts; 213.6 fp (Undrafted)
15. (147) Michael Vick QB; 7 fantasy starts (1 with Simba's Buttkicker! and 6 with SOCIAL ISoTopes); 366.32 fp (Undrafted)
15. (147) Danny Amendola WR; 2* fantasy starts (1 with TheSloppyButts and 1 with SOCIAL ISoTopes); 196.68 fp (Undrafted)
15. (147) San Diego DEF; 8 fantasy starts; 138 fp (Undrafted)
15. (147) Josh Scobee K; 8 fantasy starts; 114 fp (Undrafted)
15. (147) Ryan Torain RB; 4 fantasy starts; 132.45 fp (Undrafted)
15. (147) Toby Gerhart RB; 0* fantasy starts; 61.55 fp (Undrafted)
15. (147) Jon Kitna QB; 0* fantasy starts; 204.3 fp (Undrafted)

Looking Ahead at 2011
There is one thing that can be said for M Peltonen: He made his decision about who to keep easier because he dropped F Gore RB from his roster. However, it is a far cry from being easy as it stands now. He probably already has it in mind who he wants to keep but if not, we are going to tease out the possibilities.

Should he stay or should he go?
After being kept a few years in a row now, L Fitzgerald WR is finally worth a 1st Rd keeper value in 2011. Despite one of the worst the round robbin trio of QBs throwing to him in Arizona in 2010, he still did a really solid job posting 184.85 FP. His TDs were down, but he still managed 90 receptions and over 1,100 receiving yards.The Cardinals are speculated to be in trade discussions for K Kolb QB and other potential QBs including M Bulger (who took over for K Warner QB in St. Louis too), D McNabb QB, and perhaps someone like C Palmer QB, M Hasselbeck, or K Orton QB or worst case scenario, V Young QB or T Jackson QB. Whatever the case, L Fitzgerald will no doubt devote everything he can to the team as he already consistently has. He is a solid fantasy WR and definitely not one that should be overlooked.

In the 4th Rd, M Peltonen will need to consider TE J Witten. He, too, had a couple of different QBs throwing his way and gave it his all. He is a workhorse like L Fitzgerald. There is no reason why he wouldn't be a great pick to keep in 2011 unless he were to be injured. Both L Fitzgerald and J Witten are some of the most standup character guys engaged in quality off the field service projects. Again, not an easy pick to bypass when considering who to keep especially when he produced 30.13 FP above the Ideal Draft Value Chart levels.

A Bradshaw RB is definitely the #1 RB for the NY Giants. Being valued at a 6th Rd pick is a great value for him. No one would sneeze at passing up a 200+ FP producing RB in the 6th Rd. If you look at the graph presented in the earlier part of this post concerning SOCIAL ISoTopes's draft compared to the Ideal Draft Value Chart then you should easily see that he produced 49 FP above the value of his pick. It was M Peltonen's best selection of the 2010 draft for his own team.

M Austin WR did suffer a hiccup in 2010, along with J Witten TE, in the Dallas Cowboys offense once the QB T Romo went down. But he still played fantastic. He was the only one kept from M Peltonen's 2010 roster that exceeded the 2010 perfect market value of his draft position. As a 14th Rd draft pick he would be considered a steal again.

Brandon Lloyd WR played out of his mind in 2010 for the Denver Broncos. He wasn't on anyone's radar. In fact, maybe only E Royal WR was worth a consideration drafting in 2010 following the departure of B Marshall and J Cutler. By the way, does this explain the willingness of the departure of B Marshall from the organization? B Lloyd finally lived up to his potential. Will he continue to be a fantasy football worthy player or will he have only been a one hit wonder? Only 2011 will be able to determine that. On it's own, keeping him in the 15th Rd isn't a terrible loss if he was retained but underperformed. But when you consider that a Brothers Keeper team can only keep 3 players and 1 developmental eligible player for an upcoming season you should quickly realize that with such depth on the final roster of SOCIAL ISoTopes's 2010 team the subsequent choking on a question mark like B Lloyd will be detrimental if not catastrophic in consequences. With that said, passing on a guy who scored 213.6 FP is nothing to sneeze at either. The best thing to consider will be to see what he looks like in the Denver offense in a preseason game if there are any before the 2011 NFL season begins. The reason I suggest this is because there is a tremendous amount of change in the Denver Broncos organization right now. K Orton or T Tebow will be the staring QB. Both have their own strengths but will look very different at the helm of the offense. Depending on who the new head coach goes with will make all the difference. The new head coach is John Fox. He was able to do a really good job while in Carolina early on and even took the team to a Super Bowl. In recent years he's been handcuffed by a weak or injured QB situation and has had to run the ball much more than normal. Will the Denver Broncos even know the playbook? Will they run more? Are they the rumored AFC team aggressively sending out playbooks during the lockout? Perhaps so. Will they be able to do more than run the ball if T Tebow is the starting QB? How will all of this impact B Lloyd at WR is yet to be seen. While he did a fine job at WR in 2010 he remains a big question mark on many levels going in to 2011. But he did score 213.6 FPs.

M Vick QB was so pre-dog-fighting prison scandal in 2010 when uninjured. I cannot believe he was on so many Brothers Keeper fantasy teams before finding a more permanent home. Who knows how many tried but were unable to roster him through the waiver wire order? Whatever the case may be, Philadelphia (and M Peltonen) struck gold when they signed him under the insistence of McNabb despite the presence of K Kolb already on the Eagles roster. Once K Kolb went down in week 1 we never knew who the real starting QB was going to be in Philadelphia. Which one was going to be the healthiest or productive option? In fact, M Vick was sort of like the strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde because sometimes you didn't know what you would get. Well, now, M Vick is topping many early fantasy drafts lists of QBs either in great ingenuity or great peril! People are literally debating whether or not to draft him or A Rodgers as the top QB. The potent Philadelphia Eagles were just what he needed to produce in ways he never had done so before. We all knew he could run, but he finally listened to coaching on throwing and it showed big time. He launched the ball to speedy WRs. He ran like there was no tomorrow. He extended plays like crazy and that either put up insane fantasy points on a week by week basis or it got him hurt. It was so awesome to watch late season victories with huge really late in the 4th quarter comebacks like only he and the Philly offense could perform. Whatever will happen in 2011 expect defenses to try to have a better answer than the defenses in 2010 had. Being a 15th Rd keeper value it seems highly unlikely that M Vick would not be kept. But it is the Commissioner's decision.

R Torain RB was another midseason free agent pick up. He did a good job for Mike Shanahan in Washington when healthy. Considering the many years of the Denver offense at our disposal, we know Shanahan loves to run the ball. Torain should not be overlooked outright. Once the backfield cleared up for him and he returned from injury he went on to be at least an average RB if not better. My guess is that he will be relied upon heavily in 2011 when considering the Washington Redskin QB position will be in flux somewhat with a possible D McNabb departure.

THErapist Big Ben?
Now let's think about the developmental considerations... I know, hard to believe we have this much written and we haven't even considered the developmental eligible players on SOCIAL ISoTopes's. But it is true. There are three solid developmental eligible keepers on M Peltonen's squad. B Roethlisberger QB (7th Rd), D Bryant WR (9th Rd), and D Amendola WR (15th Rd). B Roethlisberger leads a consistently competitve offense in Pittsburgh. Despite a four game suspension to begin the season (wasting fantasy teams roster space!) he led his NFL team to the Super Bowl. He still managed to post over 260 FP too. Now that we are in the locked out offseason there have been conflicting reports about whether or not B Roethlisberger's foot had surgery  not, and if so has it healed in time for the upcoming year. At least this year he isn't being loose with his... ahem... package, as he seems to be settling down to marry a girl later on this month (as a side note T Romo and J Flacco have both married this offseason too). Who knows if this too will affect his... foot?

D Bryant WR is a great talent but has had a few offseason blunders with creditors. He isn't the brightest kid on the block but he's got speed and good hands hands and even plays hard when the Cowboys are losing vowing he'll be back where he left off once the lockout is completed. With Romo back, a solid WR in Austin and a high quality TE in Witten, Bryant shouldn't get double teamed. The Cowboys could have a good running game and will look to keep offenses more honest with such a wealth of offensive talent. However this will all fall on the shoulders of their offensive linemen. They need to buy time for the QB or win battles on the line for the RBs. As a result the Cowboys drafted their first offensive lineman early in the 1st Rd of the 2011 NFL Draft since the early 1980's. Yes, almost three decades had passed. With a little more protection and a QB who still might be able to scramble in T Romo and even backed up by a productive backup QB in Kitna, we should see a profitable sophomore year from D Bryant who left school early to play in the NFL. So as a result he is a little younger too and definitely a long term keeper consideration.

D Amendola is on a team on the upswing in recent years. He was overshadowed by a few other WRs on the St. Louis squad in the 2010 preseason but once S Bradford QB started to work his magic the Amendola went free. He was a valuable free agent pickup for sure. However he was only used twice.

Now that we have looked at the players individually let's look at the depth of the positions involved. There are 2 solid QBs, 2 RBs, 4 WRs and one more questionable WR, and 1 TE. How should we narrow that down some more?

If I were to take a random PPR ranking like KFFL's and look at the list I wonder which of the players who are potential keepers are top 5 or top 10 at their position. Both QBs make the top 10. L Fitzgerald and M Austin are in their position's top 10. Also, J Witten is a top 3-4 TE. At RB, I would actually probably argue that A Bradshaw is closer to the top 10 than KFFL's rankings solely because F Gore, J Best, P Hillis, and even K Moreno don't seem worthy to be ahead of A Bradshaw. That would put A Bradhshaw in the top dozen RBs but not top 10.

Can this be pared down even more? It has to. Basically there is only one QB started each week. Do you go with Vick who is worth a 15th Rd pick and ranked higher or Roethlisberger who is great but is a 7th Rd keeper? Roethlisberger could be retained as a developmental if you wanted to toss Vick aside. But then M Peltonen would lose out on keeping D Bryant or D Amendola. But for convenience sake I'm going to guess Vick is kept. The only reason to think about maybe keeping Roethlisberger is knowing that Vick could be hurt at some point during the season. But if he isn't well that would just be a waste of a roster spot except for the occasional weak matchup or bye week. Otherwise Roethlisberger would be considered trade bait to make it deeper into the playoffs if need be.

At WR L Fitzgerald, while ranked high and definitely productive no matter how hard he labors, he just might not be worth the value of a 1st Rd Keeper. Perhaps he could be this year. We don't know yet. But as a 2d Rd keeper in 2010 he scored about 47 FP below perfect market efficiency. He'd be a huge loss if finally released from the SOCIAL ISoTopes after having had him originally from the beginning of the league.

In more messes than one
M Austin would definitely be worth his weight in gold with the return of Romo. In a league where you can start up to 3 WRs a week keeping Vick, L Fitzgerald, Austin, and D Bryant or D Amendola makes a lot of sense. However Vick, with Austin, Witten or Bradshaw, and D Bryant could also work. Is that stronger than Fitzgerald and Roethlisberger instead of Vick and Bryant? Does M Peltonen need to keep a RB? If he lets go of Fitzgerald will he be able to draft Fitzgerald in the 7th spot or pick a RB better than Bradshaw? Lot's of great questions to ask. The Commish will have to answer them for himself to gain clarity if he hasn't already decided. When speaking to him at the end of the season last year he seemed like he felt his team was poised for the future and indeed it is. With which players he will do that with and the need to make that decision in the next month and half will be critical to that future success. I have a feeling the 2011 offseason is a very important place in the history this Brothers Keeper team going forward. The 2011 draft should be a solid one again with adequate preparations. Hopefully he will not be slighted again by the very short margin that he suffered as he did in 2010. It is not an easy step to finalize a championship. There are many viable contenders left to consider in the upcoming Looking Ahead series. But what M Peltonen can control is his team's keeper selections and what a mess that decision looks to be.

My Best Guess at SOCIAL ISoTopes's 2011 Keepers
My best guess as to what M Peltonen will do is this: M Vick QB 15th Rd, M Austin WR 14th Rd, A Bradshaw RB 6th Rd, and D Bryant WR 9th Rd as his developmental. This opens up his 1st Rd selection too. If he thinks that is too Cowboys heavy then switch out L Fitzgerald for M Austin. Either way this selection gives him a solid QB, RB, and 2 stud WRs. That would place him well on his way to building a potential championship team. He needs to move into a win now mode rather than merely building/planning for the future.

Brothers Keeper Third Party Consultant's Best Guess at SOCIAL ISoTopes's 2011 Keepers
What happen to T Romo? O and A Collie? All right Fitzgerlad is a no brainer. I'm almost 100% sure the Cardinals sign a veteran QB this year in FA. That would bump Fitz back to the first Rd value. Lots of rumors out there have Kolb going but I think its more down to McNabb, Bulger or possibly Palmer.

The second guy I would keep would be Vick and to keep him as 15th rounder is crazy value. The guy should perform but if Kolb is there I would draft him as well because you might end up needing him.

I'm gonna roll the dice on Miles Austin. I think the guy is a legit number one and with Dez still needing about a year or two maybe a life time to mature and take that spot. I like Miles. The guy can fly and he's a great route runner plus Romo's back and red Jesus likes to air it out.

As a developmental you have to go with Dez. The guy is your golden nugget for the future. I mean the guy's a beast on the field when he wants to be and as soon as he figures it out and learns to shut his mouth and wear a belt he'll be an All Pro. The only person I would trade Dez Bryant for would be the for Justin Blackman and he's not coming out of Oklahoma State till next draft.

Brandon Lloyd is hard to let go of but in a John Fox offense Tebow and Orton are probably not gonna get the chance to air it out 35-60 times a game like they did last year. Maybe you could work a deal for Bradshaw and Lloyd for another keeper/1st Rd pick to use for a RB.

I like Torrain and Bradshaw as players but Torrain is slow, injury prone, and in a bad offense without a proven QB. So far Bradshaw splits carries with Brandon Jacobs who I've read has gotten over the the foot/ankle/knee injuries and is ready to take over as the #1 back for the Giants again. If Bradshaw does bolt in FA to a team with a starting spot then I would drop Miles Austin and keep him and still probably end up with Austin in one of the earlier picks or hope Bradshaw is available in Rd two. Either way both should out produce the Rd and pick they get taken. If you're a trading man I would take a long hard look at trading for Desean Jackson maybe even giving up Dez if you don't think he'll live up to his billing.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Looking Ahead 2011: Rmmm's Dropping 3's (a.k.a. Redmans CatClippers)

This is the fifth post of a series of blogs covering each team from the 2010 Brothers Keeper league in detail. We began with the last place team and are moving up to the top of the league standings as it stood at the end of the 2010 fantasy football season (cf. CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS; Kabuki Strikes Back; Simba's Buttkicker!; and Points ON the Bench). Next up, the team called Redmans CatClippers until a very late season change to Rmmm's Dropping 3's (D Pilcher).

Don't let the hat or the cake color fool you. He's red through and through.

Overview of D Pilcher's Brothers Keeper History
2007 RedMans Warriors: 10-4-0 (7th Place) 1795.57 points; 39 transactions
2008 RedMans CatChuckers: 7-6-0 (6th Place) 1303.53 points; 33 transactions
2009 Redmans CatPunters: 6-7-0 (6th Place) 1494.79 points; 14 transactions
2010 Rmmm's Dropping 3's/Redmans CatClippers: 8-5-0 (6th Place) 1451.1 points; 24 transactions

Redmans CatClippers's 2010 Keeper Declaration
No one envies having to toss talent back into the pool of draftable players. According to the 2010 Brothers Keeper Keeper Declaration D Pilcher tossed aside players like P Thomas RB 3d Rd, E Manning QB 5th Rd (developmental), F Jackson RB 9th Rd, D Driver WR 10th Rd, and worst of all L McCoy RB 11th Rd. Can one honestly believe keeping M Bell RB, Denver's perennial throw away RB turned mall vendor, over and above the Superbowl Champion E Manning QB as his developmental was a good choice? Nope. Neither was letting L McCoy go worth it... especially as an 11th rounder.

But when you keep T Brady QB 1st Rd, R Wayne WR 1st Rd, and M Forte RB 3d Rd, well, as long as they produce they'd be worth it. M Forte did exceed the Ideal Draft Value Chart but R Wayne and T Brady did not. No one could have foreseen that P Manning would struggle so mightily or that R Moss would exit New England's offense or that L McCoy would dominate as such a skinny RB. But that's what happened.

Last year I wrote, "If Redmans CatPunters wants to show up late for the 2010 draft he mind as well keep P Thomas or M Forte. At least he'd hurdle his first three obstacles called draft picks." This actually probably best explains why he kept the three he chose to keep. As you will see, D Pilcher has a dirty little secret.

Rmmm's Dropping 3's 2010 Draft
Following the old Keeper League Draft Order Rule Rmmm's Dropping 3's (D Pilcher) had the 4th overall draft pick position in the 2010 draft due to his 2009 1st Rd playoff loss to R C Smith's CYBOG PIRATE NINJAS and subsequent 5th place game playoff loss to J Smith's Yankinfowlsandfeline. His 2010 draft results are thus (noting those who were kept from his 2009 final roster with a This player is a keeper.):

1.(4)Tom Brady This player is a keeper. (NE - QB)
1.(4)Reggie Wayne This player is a keeper. (Ind - WR)
3.(24)Matt Forte This player is a keeper. (Chi - RB)
4.(37)Jahvid Best (Det - RB)
5.(44)Brent Celek (Phi - TE)
6.(57)Dwayne Bowe (KC - WR)
7.(64)Felix Jones (Dal - RB)
8.(77)Terrell Owens (Cin - WR)
9.(84)Jay Cutler (Chi - QB)
10.(97)Marion Barber (Dal - RB)
11.(104)Pittsburgh (Pit - DEF)
12.(117)Johnny Knox (Chi - WR)
13.(124)Brandon Jacobs (NYG - RB)
14.(137)Adam Vinatieri (Ind - K)
15.(144)Mike Bell This player is a keeper. (Phi - RB)

Here's Redmans CatClippers's 2010 Draft compared to the 2010 Brothers Keeper Fantasy Football Ideal Draft Value Chart results:

As I hinted at above, there's a dirty little secret about D Pilcher's 2010 Brothers Keeper Draft. It wasn't him who drafted his remarkable team. But it was D Pilcher who sank his team. There just is no excuse not to draft your own keeper team and then sink it's chances. But that story will be detailed in the End of Season Commentary. For now, suffice it to say that Pilcher's son-in-law, the venerable Brothers Keeper Fantasy Football League Commissioner, M Peltonen drafted in his father-in-laws place much of the draft. After all, D Pilcher did give permission to the Commissioner to marry his daughter. Well, it was time to pay up some good standing with the father-in-law so M Peltonen being the good son-in-law drafted players he himself wanted for his own team, the SOCIAL ISoTopes. M Peltonen was as prepared as ever last year and it showed. Under normal circumstances D Pilcher probably never would have heard of the rookie from the 2010 NFL Draft J Best RB or perhaps wouldn't recall the name of the TE in Philadelphia who surged late in 2009, B Celek. But according to M Peltonen, "He did like his team though." He's such a good son-in-law.
This is how he drafted in 2010.
Will he draft this way in 2011?

D Pilcher did not have a draft pick until the 4th Rd. When comparing the draft to the Ideal Draft Value Chart we can see that the first couple of selections, J Best and B Celek, actually underperformed. B Celek played with the revolving injury door at QB between K Kolb and M Vick and was thus worse off.

The middle draft rounds had much more success in D Bowe WR, F Jones RB, and T Owens WR. The next pick was J Cutler QB, who could have been a lot closer but probably still below perfect market efficiency if he hadn't missed a game due to injury. M Barber RB wasn't a terrible pick for the 10th Rd as anyone drafted after the 9th Rd would be below replacement level and not a regular starter. He was the insurance for the 7th Rd F Jones RB selection as the handcuff of the Cowboys running game. This was followed up by 3 really tremendous picks in Pittsburgh DEF, J Knox WR, and A Vinatieri K. Considering the previous four teams in the Looking Ahead 2011 series of posts, the combination drafting by M Peltonen and D Pilcher looks much more like a successful draft.

End of Season Commentary
Week 1 was a dominating week that was 2 years in the making. T Brady QB (29.32 FP), R Wayne WR (17.95 FP), M Forte RB (29.55 FP), and J Best RB (19.8 FP) flashed the potential 2010 sleeper candidate's team. It was impressive. Redmans CatClippers was only outscored by one other team to begin the season. Thankfully he played the worst team of week 1 and easily doubled his opponents FP total. D Bowe WR only scored 1.65 FP and was promptly dropped... the move that sunk Redmans boat. Perhaps Redmans CatClippers will be blessed by the Fantasy Fairy this year with a ridiculously easy schedule?

In fact, D Pilcher was blessed by the Fantasy Fairy with the easiest schedule in the league. It was so blessed that it was 100 FP easier than the 2d easiest regular season schedule. In week 2 Redmans CatClippers scored the highest FP total and played the lowest scoring team again. Poor Yankinfowlsandfeline didn't have a chance. However, this 2 week dominance was followed by 2 straight losses. The first loss to Points ON the Bench by 5 FP could have easily been avoided by starting bench players. Week 4's loss to Ghost was unavoidable. By week 3 D Bowe WR was breaking the 10 FP barrier but was on Yer X-MOM's team not Redmans CatClippers.

Feeling enraged Redmans CatClippers clipped Simba's Buttkicker! in half. For the second time in 5 weeks of fantasy play Redmans CatClippers easily doubled his opponent's total FP embarrassing the competition with the second highest FP total of the week. He had foiled two of his nemeses as well. Life was looking good with a 3 - 2 win/loss record.

Then came 2 defeats. In week 6 D Pilcher's son-in-law out maneuvered the old man and won  95.51 - 103.02. Only D Bowe's 23.4 FPs could have saved D Pilcher's hide but he was long gone. In week 7 D Bowe scored 19.05 FP against Redmans CatClippers. Yer X-MOM beat Redmans CatClippers with a player Redmans CatClippers had drafted! Salt in the wound doesn't feel good.

The week 8 opponent should have been warned. TheSloppyButts lost to Redmans CatClippers 89.10 - 81.47. In all fairness, there was nothing TheSloppyButts could have done as his whole bench except for the injured S Rice WR was on a bye. Redmans CatClippers could have scored a few more FP and not made it as close but a win is a win after 2 losses and he took what he could get winning another two weeks after that.

Before week 11's game against Yankinfowlsandfeline, Redmans CatClippers was sitting pretty with a 6 - 4 record. He was solidly producing fantasy points and wins. Now he faced the nemesis he beat in week 2. This time Yankinfowlsandfeline got him with a solid 147.54 - 111.99 win. D Bowe was laughing on Yer X-MOM's team scoring 23.45 FP.

In week 12 Points ON the Bench could have bested Redmans CatClippers by starting M Cassel QB but it wasn't the case. Remdans CatClippers finished the season with a 2 game winning streak and entered the playoffs scoring the highest point total in week 13. He was primed to do damage.

Entering the playoffs hot with the 5th overall seed, an 8 - 5 win/loss record playing the 4th seeded Yer X-MOM with an equal 8 - 5 win/loss record in the quarterfinals looked to be a good matchup. But scratching below the surface, we discover these two teams were different. Yer X-MOM scored 1633.19 total FP in the regular season while Redmans CatClippers scored 1451.10 FP. That is a difference of 182.09 FP. D Bowe WR scored 195.05 FP in the regular season. That is a mere 12.96 FP difference.

But something more haunted D Pilcher. In the previous 3 years of Brothers Keeper league play, he had lost every year in the quarterfinals. Would the 2010 quarterfinals be another loss making it 4 years in a row? Would he be dealt another blow by the very man he drafted but dropped after week 1, D Bowe?

The quarterfinals had been redesigned in the middle of the season. In the previous years of Brothers Keeper history the 5th seeded team played the 4th seeded team in the quarterfinals as it still would happen in 2010 after the change. No rule change was going to change what took place next.

After the Sunday night game was completed, before the Monday night game began, Redmans CatClippers had a commanding lead 129.46 - 77.03. Yer X-MOM was down by 52.43 FP. He started an injured A Gates TE and didn't score any FP for the TE position as a result. The stout defense of the Baltimore Ravens was going to face the Houston Texans on Monday night. Yer X-MOM had D Mason WR, A Johnson WR, and A Foster RB playing. Even if Yer X-MOM had started B Westbrook RB in place of R Mendenhall RB he would have been down 41.93 FP or even 34.29 FP if he had started D McNabb over M Ryan at QB. But as it stood, he was 52.43 FP below a tie.

A Johnson WR scorched the Baltimore secondary scoring 28 FP. A Foster RB ran hard against the tough run defense scoring 15.25 FP. It all came down to the ancient one, D Mason WR. What he did next was just the icing on the cake of his long career. He scored 21.9 FP. It will probably be his last dominate fantasy football performance of his career. Yer X-MOM had just picked him up for that game and dropped him right after the game. Those 3 Monday night players scored a combined 65.15 FP. It was an unbelievable come from behind performance with the odds stacked against Yer X-MOM with A Johnson and A Foster playing against such a formidable defense. The game even went into overtime. With the hometown Ravens victory P Smith was flying high.

Redmans CatClippers lost 142.18 - 129.46 to Yer X-MOM. Surprisingly D Bowe only scored 1.15 FP on the bench of Yer X-MOM. It was a half of a point less than his week 1 effort for Redmans CatClippers the team that drafted him. So this wasn't the reason why he lost. He lost by 12.58 FP. On Redmans CatClippers bench sat two men who could have helped narrow the gap. A Hernandez TE scored 2.95 FP while the player he started, B Celek TE, scored 0 FP. Next, D Brown RB scored 8 FP while M Forte RB scored 6.3 FP. With B Celek and D Brown active Redmans CatClippers would have still lost by 7.93 FP. T Ownes WR was the next irreplaceable offender scoring 2.1 FP. Just a few days beforehand, even Redmans CatClippers could have snagged D Mason WR off of the free agency pool and won.

Rmmm's Dropping 3's Final 2010 Roster
I have included the upcoming 2011 draft round and pick number (overall pick is in parentheses) of each player on Rmmm's Dropping 3's final roster followed by the name of the player, player's position, any 1st Rd Keeper Value players, total # of fantasy starts for the season (a * indicates developmental eligibility for 2011's draft; some players were on more than one team but their total starts for all teams is listed); and total fantasy points scored by the player for the 16 fantasy week season (which is not subject to the # of starts):

1. (6) Tom Brady QB (1st Rd Keeper Value); 13 fantasy starts; 392 fp
1. (6) Reggie Wayne WR (1st Rd Keeper Value); 13 fantasy starts; 212.75 fp
2. (15) Matt Forte RB; 13 fantasy starts; 237.25 fp
3. (26)
4. (35) Jahvid Best RB; 10 fantasy starts; 171.85 fp
5. (46) Brent Celek TE; 6 fantasy starts (4 with Simba's Buttkicker! and 2 with Redmans CatClippers); 91.95 fp
6. (55)
7. (66) Felix Jones RB; 9 fantasy starts; 160.5 fp
8. (75) Terrell Owens WR; 12 fantasy starts; 175.15 fp
9. (86) Jay Cutler QB; 0* fantasy starts; 265.16 fp
10. (95)
11. (106) Pittsburgh DEF; 11 fantasy starts; 183 fp
12. (115) Tim Hightower RB; 5 fantasy starts (1 with CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS and 4 with Redman's CatClippers); 123.4 fp
13. (126)
14. (135) Adam Vinatieri K; 13 fantasy starts; 136 fp
14. (135) Donald Brown RB; 2* fantasy starts (1 with CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS and 1 with Redman's CatClippers); 91.95 fp
15. (146) Denver DEF; 0* fantasy starts; 48 fp (Undrafted)
15. (146) Javarris James RB; 0* fantasy starts; 57.88 fp (Undrafted)
15. (146) Kenneth Darby RB; 0* fantasy starts; 41.75 fp (Undrafted)

Looking Ahead at 2011
Last year I pontificated in this section:
Potential is a funny word. Potential could become squandered. Ask the 30 year old C Palmer QB if his potential has been squandered. I bet he might be furious inside. At least he has the money to show for it. I guess. For Redman's CatPunters I see the potential for squander. T Brady and R Wayne are nearing the end of their peak years of performance. They might be able to keep Redman's CatPunters in 6th place again, you know, just those two alone. ... Because Redmans CatPunters seems so willing to occupy the 6th place spot annually I am going to guess he stays with the two guys who have kept him there the past 3 years in T Brady QB and R Wayne WR.
Falling short in the quarterfinals for a 4th time in a row, and his 3d year in a row 6th place finish definitely puts the Looking Ahead at 2011 section into clear focus. He needs to win a quarterfinal game. Pure and simple. Otherwise the potential his team has will be even more squandered.

So where does D Pilcher need to get that last umph into the semifinals? Well, his team was poised. It was there. He had a lot of fantasy points on the season. In fact, if he had played either of the other quarterfinal teams in 2010 (his son-in-law's SOCIAL ISoTopes or B Garner's Ghost), he would have won. They both scored below his team's effort in week 14. It was a bad playoff seed this year that cursed him. The Fantasy Fairy's ride of an easy schedule was over. D Pilcher just needs to do what he did in 2010: Let the son-in-law draft his team and maybe next time, don't drop D Bowe.

As for his team's final roster, D Pilcher needs to figure out who to keep. This will be a tougher choice than his 2010 choice almost a year ago but it will still be pretty simple too. T Brady QB Rd 1 and R Wayne WR Rd 1 are a year older now though. M Forte RB Rd 2 is still the RB in Chicago. If D Pilcher keeps those 3 players again, no one would think he didn't have a good first three rounds of draft picks in 2011. There's no reason to believe R Wayne could do better in 2011 if all his other WRs are healthy and keeping defenses more honest. T Brady has a slew of shifty white guys who can catch the ball still despite being without R Moss WR potentially. M Forte will still be relied upon with J Cutler at the helm in Chicago.

J Best RB Rd 4 might be a good candidate to consider instead of one of those 3 guys but he will have more competition in the Detroit Lions backfield now that they have drafted RB Mikel Leshoure in the 2011 NFL Draft. Jim Schwartz will likely spread the carries and passes and goal line TDs to his running backs according to their strengths when they are all healthy. Perhaps 40-45 %. From a 2011 draft perspective, keeping J Best instead of T Brady, R Wayne or M Forte frees up a 3d Rd draft pick.

F Jones RB 7th Rd might be a good keeper to consider too but with M Barber RB and T Choice RB the Dallas Cowboy backfield is crowded too.
Can you say, "multitasking"?
Fantasy sports and watching twins.
Can you say, "socks and crocks don't match"?

The player formerly known as T Owens WR appears to be recovering from an offseason ACL injury repair according to recent news reports. After being on 3 different teams in the last 3 years he has been like the walking dead at his ripe old age. He will turn 38 in December. I'm sure he could beat me in any foot race after he recovers from his surgery but 38 is just old for a WR in the NFL and he is no longer worth having as a regular starter. Maybe he pulls a C Ochocinco and becomes a Kicker! If not, he should not be touched with a 49 and a half foot pole despite his agent's claims that he isn't retiring.

From the available developmental keeper choices D Pilcher should only seriously consider J Cutler QB for 2011 who appears to be recovering well from his late injury. I might give a nod to D Brown RB if I knew that J Addai RB was going to be gone but not until I knew for sure. While Cutler has gotten a bad rap, one that in my opinion is incorrect, about being a softy not playing through injuries, J Cutler would be a pretty good backup QB to T Brady. At the very least he could be trade bait to a team in need of a QB too. Giving up a 9th Rd pick to retain Cutler is not just a steal, but also wise to do. Now that J Cutler has been in Chicago a year, maybe his chemistry with J Knox WR, M Forte RB, and others is beginning to solidify into a more effective offensive machine.

My Best Guess at Rmmm's Dropping 3's 2011 Keepers
Yeah it would be fair to say I think D Pilcher will keep T Brady QB, R Wayne WR, M Forte RB, and J Cutler QB as his developmental. He'll stick with the guys he's had lose the quarterfinals every year.

Brothers Keeper Third Party Consultant's Best Guess at Rmmm's Dropping 3's 2011 Keepers
The Comedian Wayne Brady
"I'm going with Brady, Wayne, Forte and Cutler. I really like Wayne Brady as a comedian and as individual players but Forte is kind of a hard choice to make. The guy's a great player when his line plays decent but when his line can't block for him (9 out of 12 games) he sucks. He does catch passes which makes up for the carries he loses cuz of the long second and 3rd downs. I kind of like Felix over him if [the] Cowboys are gonna let him touch the ball 200+ times in limited time. The guy [has] been a stud but injuries and sorry coaching keeps him grounded. I really do think Forte is a solid player but Jones is an elite player if he's a starter. I would wait it out till the last few days to decide between those two if Felix is a starter."

Monday, June 27, 2011

Looking Ahead 2011: Points ON the Bench

This is the fourth post of a series of blogs covering each team from the 2010 Brothers Keeper league in detail. We began with the last place team and are moving up to the top of the league standings as it stood at the end of the 2010 fantasy football season (cf. CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS; Kabuki Strikes Back; and Simba's Buttkicker!). Now it is time to turn our attention to Points ON the Bench (D Kessler).

Good looking family with D Kessler's face mask

Overview of D Kessler's Brothers Keeper History
2007 Junior Asparagus: 4-10-0 (10th Place) 1211.51 points; 8 transactions
2008 PAIN: 9-4-0 (1st Place) 1420.68 points; 14 transactions
2009 Favre$Footlong: 8-5-0 (8th Place) 1247.90 points; 25 transactions
2010 Points ON the Bench: 3-10-0 (7th Place) 1222.65 points; 23 transactions

Points ON the Bench's 2010 Keeper Declaration
D Kessler declared T Gonzalez TE, J Stewart RB, B Marshall WR, and V Shiancoe TE (developmental) as those he wished to retain from his 2009 squad. Due to his limited selection this probably was his best choice other than maybe selecting S Rice WR instead of two TEs as I had guessed. But looking back on it S Rice didn't do so well due to his own injury and B Favre's injury. Rice only played in 6 games in 2010. Points ON the Bench did the best he could have at selecting his keepers after all.

Points ON the Bench's 2010 Draft
Following the old Keeper League Draft Order Rule Points ON the Bench (D Kessler) had the 6th overall draft pick position in the 2010 draft due to his 2009 1st Rd 4 FP playoff loss to R Johnson's Simba's Buttkicker!. His 2010 draft results are thus (noting those who were kept from his 2009 final roster with a This player is a keeper.):

1.(6)Shonn Greene (NYJ - RB)
2.(15)Philip Rivers (SD - QB)
3.(26)Chad Ochocinco (Cin - WR)
4.(35)Tony Gonzalez This player is a keeper. (Atl - TE)
5.(46)Reggie Bush (NO - RB)
6.(55)Jonathan Stewart This player is a keeper. (Car - RB)
7.(66)Brandon Marshall This player is a keeper. (Mia - WR)
8.(75)Pierre Garcon (Ind - WR)
9.(86)Clinton Portis (Was - RB)
10.(95)Matthew Stafford (Det - QB)
11.(106)Mason Crosby (GB - K)
12.(115)Minnesota (Min - DEF)
13.(126)Jacoby Jones (Hou - WR)
14.(135)Cleveland (Cle - DEF)
15.(146)Visanthe Shiancoe This player is a keeper. (Min - TE)

Here's Points ON the Bench's 2010 Draft compared to the 2010 Brothers Keeper Fantasy Football Ideal Draft Value Chart results:


From Here

The draft had a few ups and downs but more downs than ups and the ups weren't ones that exceeded the Ideal Draft Value Chart by much if they did. T Gonzalez was the earliest keeper selection but scored a little under 30 FP below the Ideal Draft Value Chart. J Stewart RB was injured so he too failed to meet his Ideal Draft Value Chart value as a keeper. B Marshall was his best keeper and only underperformed his Ideal Draft pick position by an acceptable 12 FP. That's a little under 1 FP per week. V Shiancoe TE failed to meet his Ideal Draft Value too thanks to B Favre's injury and the hole called the Minnesota Vikings QB. But losing a 15th Rd draft pick would not have been a terrible gamble on V Shiancoe.

S Greene RB didn't do well as a 1st Rd draft pick. He may be worth a 1st Rd pick one day but L Tomlinson is in the way on the NY Jets depth chart. So until then Points ON the Bench will need to be patient and sacrifice at least the 2010 campaign if not the 2011 1st Rd pick as well.

P Rivers QB performed excellent despite losing some quality WRs and a late season injury to A Gates TE. It really was a remarkable statistical year for Rivers who competes hard even when his team is losing. He was Points ON the Bench's only consistent weekly point producer.

With his next two picks in the draft, C Ochocinco WR and R Bush RB, D Kessler bombed. It would be difficult to sustain that many high draft picks producing so far under the Ideal Draft Value Chart levels and expect the results in the win-loss column to be different.

2010 End of Season Commentary
Our worst to first champion has had a slower turn around since winning the big one in 2008. The 8th place finish was bested this year by a 7th place finish. However, while he scored a similar FP total in the regular season of 2010 as he did in 2009, his regular season winning percentage was awful. He went from an 8 - 5 record to a 3 - 10 record in 2010. That is strange. So what was the issue then?

If we take a look at the points scored against Points ON the Bench in 2009, 1223.49 FP were scored. In 2010 there were 1417.66 FP scored against him. It was the 5th hardest regular season schedule in Brothers Keeper in 2010 while scoring the third lowest FP total. The issue was a much more difficult schedule... or it could be that Kessler himself knew what happened, namely, that he started the wrong players: In midseason, Favre$Footlong was renamed Points ON the Bench. In the commentary below I will look at the matter on a week to week basis but would like to eventually follow up with a study on how the league did at sitting and starting fantasy players on a weekly basis along with related elements from the data I have from 2010.

Points ON the Bench only had three regular season wins. His first win came in week 3 against Redman's CatClippers (97.07 - 92.83). His second win came 2 weeks later against Ghost (89.91 - 82.48). Three weeks later in week 8 came his third and final regular season win against CYBORG PIRATE NINJAS (102.59 - 64.90).

Benching C Ochocinco WR (25.95 FP) in favor of S Greene RB (1.25 FP against a stout Baltimore DEF) caused the loss in week 1 for Favre$Footlong. However, if Yankinfowlsandfeline had started H Nicks WR (25.75 FP) instead of P Harvin WR (3.17 FP), the Ochocinco start would have been negated. But Nicks didn't start and only Kessler could decide to sit or start certain players on his roster. He could have won.
In week 2 Favre$Footlong played against Yer X-MOM. Unfortunately when 44% of your starters (4 players) score less than 10 FP on a given week it would be tough to overcome a really strong game by an opponent. Week 2 was a loss straight up at 137.19 - 94.59. The benched players couldn't even have helped him attain a win. But Favre$Footlong's name was changed before week 3 to Points ON the Bench.

It must have been good luck to change the name because as indicated above, week 3 had D Kessler's first win. However, Redmans CatClippers's bench could have beaten Points ON the Bench. In week 4 Points ON the Bench's bench would not have made up the 18 point deficit to TheSloppyButts. In week 5 Points ON the Bench beat Ghost straight up as Ghost had no one on his bench with the ability to make up the 7 FP loss.

In week 6, again, even Points ON the Bench's bench points could not have helped him win. In fact, it is the same story week 7, 9, 10, 11 and 13. Week 8 was his final win. It wasn't until week 12 when D Kessler could have started M Cassel QB (36.12 FP) instead of P Rivers QB (8.1 FP) for a win that his bench would have helped him win. But with P Rivers performing so well for him all year long, no one would have benched P Rivers for M Cassel. With a win in week 12 and maybe even the week 1 would have only provided 2 more wins for Kessler. Five wins would not have been enough to make the playoffs under the new playoff format. Winning in week 1 and week 12 would have required a week 13 win just to even have a chance to make the playoffs according to winning percentage. But Ghost scored about 200 more FP in the regular season and Kabuki Strikes Back scored about 160 FP more than Points ON the Bench. So even if we got a

All of this proves that Point ON the Bench misnamed his team. The bench points would have only given him maybe 1 or 2 wins total which would not have even given him a shot at the playoffs.
It is easy to wonder about "what ifs" and other hypothetical scenarios. But the best thing one can do is provide your team with a lot of depth to pool your best sit/starts on a weekly basis. When a team's draft places you in a poor position in the depth department then you are going to just have to suffer and make it as fun as possible. Part of that fun could even be misnaming your team! isn't that right NoRegiNoRerunNoRent?

Points ON the Bench's Final 2010 Roster
I have included the upcoming 2011 draft round and pick number (overall pick is in parentheses) of each player on Points ON the Bench's final roster followed by the name of the player, player's position, any 1st Rd Keeper Value players, total # of fantasy starts for the season (a * indicates developmental eligibility for 2011's draft; some players were on more than one team but their total starts for all teams is listed); and total fantasy points scored by the player for the 16 fantasy week season (which is not subject to the # of starts):

1. (3) Shonn Greene RB (1st Rd Keeper Value); 7 fantasy starts; 106.6 fp
2. (18) Philip Rivers QB; 12 fantasy starts; 370.6 fp
3. (23) Tony Gonzalez TE; 5 fantasy starts; 138.8 fp
3. (23) Chad Ochocinco WR; 9 fantasy starts; 132.55 fp
4. (38) Pierre Thomas RB; 4 fantasy starts (4 with Simba's Buttkicker!); 83.08 fp
5. (43) Jonathan Stewart RB; 6 fantasy starts; 100.15 fp
6. (58) Brandon Marshall WR; 11 fantasy starts; 153 fp
7. (63)
8. (78)
9. (83)
10. (98) San Francisco DEF; 8 fantasy starts (2 with SOCIAL ISoTopes and 6 with Points ON the Bench); 121 fp
11. (103) Mason Crosby K; 12 fantasy starts; 118 fp
12. (118)
13. (123) Jacoby Jones WR; 8 fantasy starts; 123.07 fp
14. (138) Visanthe Shiancoe TE; 8 fantasy starts; 85.5 fp
15. (143) BenJarvus Green-Ellis RB; 5 fantasy starts; 195.05 fp (Undrafted)
15. (143) Jacoby Ford WR; 0* fantasy starts; 146.67 fp (Undrafted)
15. (143) Kenny Britt WR; 1* fantasy start; 134.75 fp (Undrafted)
15. (143) Matt Cassel QB; 1* fantasy start; 293.14 fp (Undrafted)

Looking Ahead at 2011
From Here
In my opinion the only sure fire fantasy producer on D Kessler's team is his QB P Rivers Rd 2. Others have the potential to be productive but not as sure fire as Rivers. So the question becomes, who will be a more assured fantasy footballer in 2011 than the others in the list of potentials?

S Greene RB is the future RB for the NY Jets but with Rex Ryan riding on the last of the treading on the wheels called L Tomlinson, the future for Greene may still be a year away. But there's nothing like learning from one of the decade's best RBs in the meantime and that future could be bright for Greene. Is he worth a 1st Rd pick though?

There's no telling where C Ochocinco will play in 2011 since he is asking to be traded. And even if he remains in Cincinnati his QB situation is not at all fixed either with C Palmer requesting a trade as well. So we'll leave the talent also known as C Johnson the soccer player etc. a big question mark. Hopefully it is a clear scenario before the Brothers Keeper keeper declaration date. This is probably too big of question for a Rd 3 value too.

P Thomas is a solid RB. Last year he was injured. He is also on a team that has depth at RB and doesn't always require him to run. With that said, he is good and probably will perform at least at a Rd 4 level where he'd be kept.

J Stewart is a solid RB when healthy. He has missed time for injury every year which doesn't bode well. He could have the most healthy year in 2011 but he is such a nimble quick runner that he could hurt himself just by running too fast. D Williams is a free agent so we are unsure as to whether or not he'd remain in Carolina or sign elsewhere. As a 5th Rd value keeper he'd have the potential to either perform like A Foster or R Bush. Here's why: It definitely depends on whether or not D Williams is in front of J Stewart on the depth chart and if M Goodson RB shares a large number of carries as a backup to Stewart. With a new head coach in Carolina for 2011 we'll have to wait and see what happens in the preseason following the signing of D Williams.

From Here
B Marshall WR had an interesting year in Miami in 2010. He was a great threat when in Denver. Now he has C Henne passing the ball. C Pennington QB will not play this year and become another former player analyst on TV. So if Henne goes down again Pennington isn't there to be the solid backup and still keep B Marshall productive. He isn't a bad value as a 6th Rd pick, but he would need to outperform what he did in 2011 by about 1 FP per week to just meet the 2010 Ideal Draft Chart Value. He performed like a 10th Rd selection. He is in a much more solid situation than C Ochocinco WR or J Stewart RB. His QB has thrown to him before and his coaching staff remains in place. Now that he will be in his second year in Miami he should be back to a more productive line with a higher reception total and thus more chances to score TDs.

From Here
While it may be hard to believe, B Green-Ellis RB is also on the list under consideration. His 195.05 FP is nothing to sneeze at. L Maroney RB has left the building and B Green-Ellis appears to lead the pack of RBs in NE now. When he ran the ball close to 20 times a game he had around 80+ yards and a really good chance at scoring a TD. Not bad for a 15th Rd keeper value.

J Ford WR, K Britt WR, and M Cassel QB, all 15th Rd value keepers, are Points ON the Bench's developmental eligible players. Depending on where Points ON the Bench wants depth, QB or WR, will determine which of the 3 to keep. Both WRs will experience new head coaches. So we have no idea how each will learn a new play book or even be utilized. Nor is the QB situation in Tennessee or Oakland a lock, let alone filled with talent. K Britt is having offseason legal issues which makes him more questionable too. There was a reason all three of these went undrafted in last year's draft. They could easily be unkept probably too.

My Best Guess at Points ON the Bench's 2011 Keepers
If I were to guess who Points ON the Bench would keep I might be tempted to say D Kessler would keep a TE again. T Gonzalez TE is definitely a future Hall of Famer. He has a great QB throwing the ball in Atlanta too. But keeping a TE in the 3d Rd in 2011 makes no sense when it wasn't productive to do so in the 4th Rd in 2010. Besides, there have been a lot of TEs emerge as viable fantasy options in recent years and the top TEs are no longer as select as they once used to be. Plus, T Gonzalez is old for an NFL player. So in my guess, I will say Kessler is finished with keeping the TE. The strategy may have had a helping hand in 2008 for his championship run but now is the time to work on a new strategy and his team could be a playoff contender for a few years with S Greene RB, P Rivers QB, and B Marshall WR. If not S Greene (freeing up a 1st Rd pick) then he would probably go with P Thomas RB over J Stewart RB. That provides Kessler with a 1st and 3d Rd pick too. So maybe P Thomas is the one to go with other than S Greene unless he thinks J Stewart will do well in 2011 despite the unknowns in Carolina.

Brothers Keeper Third Party Consultant's Best Guess at Points ON the Bench's 2011 Keepers
"I'm going Rivers, J Stewart, B Marshall and Kenny Britt as the developmental keeper. That gives him two WRs and one RB with a 1st and 3rd pick still to follow. In those rounds I would probably go with an RB (Greene) at #3 or the best available WR. He's got decent building blocks with J Stewart having the skills to be the best back in the NFL. The guy is a legit option as a top 3-5 pick if he's a starter and D Williams is out the door in Carolina next year. Rivers is the best fantasy QB in the NFL right now. The guy is a one man show and Turner shows no signs of slowing him down and as a 2nd Rd pick is about where he would go. Marshall and Britt are great WRs with bad QBs. If Marshall would have stayed in Denver he would be a top 3 WR. Britt is an absolute beast on the field when a QB with decent talent is throwing him the ball. If you go back and watch his highlights from that 200 yrd game he had you'll be surprised he didn't have 300 yrds. He is almost impossible for DBs to tackle."

The Pending Impending Brothers Keeper 5 (2011) Fantasy Football Season

This is just a quick reminder for the league participants of Brothers Keeper to sign in to the league. You should have received an email concerning the matter from the League Commissioner last week. Those yet to sign up include:

J Smith
D Kessler
R Johnson
R C Smith
J Fullerton (UPDATE: Per the League Commissioner, he has decided to retire from Brothers Keeper)
New Guy

I will cross your name off the list as I see you log in to the league website. Anyone wishing to discontinue their league participation please contact the League Commissioner promptly (by email, text message, phone, or in person) as we will have a number of procedures to follow once you forfeit your team (Canons IV. Team Transfers). Your promptness and help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Have a good Summer.