Greetings eUSA,
I got lucky and got the 1st pick in the fantasy football draft. Tell me what you think about my team. I obviously think i am the favorite to win the league. I will update you guys after Week 1.
MILES TROTSKY
1 Arian Foster, Hou RB
24 Darren McFadden, Oak RB
25 Cam Newton, Car QB
48 Marques Colston, NO WR
49 Vincent Jackson, TB WR
72 Steve Johnson, Buf WR
73 Beanie Wells, Ari RB
96 Peyton Hillis, KC RB
97 Brandon Pettigrew, Det TE
120 Reggie Wayne, Ind WR
121 Lions D/ST D/ST
144 Mike Williams, TB WR
145 LeGarrette Blount, TB RB
168 Brandon LaFell, Car WR
169 Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buf QB
192 Jason Hanson, Det K
QB: Cam Newton, Ryan Fitzpatrick
RB: Arian Foster, Darren McFadden, Peyton Hillis, Chris Wells, LeGarrette Blount
WR: Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston, Steve Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Mike Williams, Brandon LaFell
TE: Brandon Pettigrew
PK: Jason Hanson
TD: Detroit Lions
Overview:
We think you're looking good at quarterback and running back. Your squad is therefore easy for us to like despite a bit of weakness at the receiver position. But as weaknesses go, this is one is survivable. It's usually relatively easy to find fill-in guys on a weekly basis until a better player emerges during the season. As long as you stay on top of things inseason, you should be the league favorite or very close to it.
Players we particularly like on this team include Darren McFadden, Brandon LaFell, Peyton Hillis, Mike Williams, and the Lions defense. We have all these guys ranked ahead of where they are typically being drafted.
Bottom line:
With great inseason management, we think you have about a 99 percent chance of making the playoffs.
With good inseason management, we think you have about a 90 percent chance of making the playoffs.
With average inseason management, we think you have a 83 percent chance of making the playoffs.
In any event, we wish you the best of luck. Here's hoping all your weeks are like week 2 of 2011:
Vincent Jackson vs. NE: 172 receiving yards, 2 TD
Darren McFadden vs. BUF: 143 combined yards, 2 TD
Cam Newton vs. GB: 432 passing yards, 53 rushing yards, 2 TD
Peyton Hillis vs. IND: 117 combined yards, 2 TD
LeGarrette Blount vs. MIN: 71 combined yards, 2 TD
Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. OAK: 264 passing yards, 3 TD
QB Summary:
We expect Cam Newton to be a solid starter. According to our projections, he's the #5 QB, so you should be better off than most teams in the starting quarterback slot.
We're not excited about Ryan Fitzpatrick (our #22 QB) as a backup, but he'll probably be adequate.
Incidentally, Fitzpatrick has what we project as a neutral matchup (ARI) during Newton's bye.
Note that the above "thoughts" were generated by David Dodds's projections. Others have different takes:
Some members of our staff have Ryan Fitzpatrick ranked as high as 12th, which would make him a great second quarterback and even a legitimate QB1. Maurile Tremblay defends his high ranking as follows: "Fitzpatrick has played through several stretches over the past couple seasons as an elite quarterback, but he's been inconsistent. The Bills use a short passing game to try to control the ball on offense, and if Fitzpatrick can cut down on the turnovers and be more consistent with his accuracy, he has the ability to be a solid QB1. He's a worthwhile risk at his current ADP."
RB Summary:
Nice work here. We like both your starting running backs, as our projections indicate that they give you a combined 7.2 point-per-game advantage over an average opponent in this league. Our projections have Arian Foster ranked at #1 and Darren McFadden ranked at #4.
Your bench also looks good. Not only do we like Peyton Hillis as a third running back, we love that you stole him from the Jamaal Charles owner. Chris Wells is an excellent RB4.
LeGarrette Blount is a solid depth pick.
WR Summary:
We see both your starters at receiver as below average. Vincent Jackson is our #18 ranked receiver, and we have Marques Colston at #22.
Your bench looks good and should help offset the unexciting starting unit. Tough to do better than Steve Johnson at WR3; he's a likely flex starter. Likewise, Reggie Wayne should be excellent at WR4.
Though some teams will probably be content to roster as few as four players here, it was not a bad idea to take a few extras because you're not particularly strong overall at the position. Of your remaining guys, we like Mike Williams the best, but you should keep the one you think has the best chance of putting up starter numbers. The rest might be considered expendable if you find you need roster space elsewhere.
Note that the above "thoughts" were generated by David Dodds's projections. Others have different takes:
Some of our staffers have Vincent Jackson as high as #8, which would make him a fine first receiver. Andrew Garda's take: "Jackson finally has a team which loves him and is the man in Tampa, even with Mike Williams and Arrelious Benn already there. Josh Freeman has to get right though because otherwise the ball won't reach Jackson in the first place. New head coach Greg Schiano had a no-nonsense program at Rutgers and is doing the same thing in Tampa�reportedly to great relief among some of the players. Jackson was brought in to give Freeman a big-play weapon and I have no doubt he can be that. If Freeman plays like he did his first year or so (and I believe he will play closer to that), Jackson will have a great year. He should still get a lot of targets even if the Schiano-led Bucs run the ball as much as Rutgers liked to. "
Some members of our staff have Marques Colston ranked as high as eighth, which would make him a great second receiver and even a legitimate WR1. Steve Holloway defends his high ranking as follows: "Marques Colston along with Jimmy Graham will be the top red zone targets for Drew Brees and the Saints and I believe that they will need to approach the same offensive production that broke records a year ago to remain competitve in the NFC South. Colston may have even gain targets with the departure of Robert Meachem."
TE Summary:
Brandon Pettigrew, who we have ranked #7, is below average but probably adequate as a starting tight end. You might get by with only Pettigrew, but some additional help here probably wouldn't hurt.
Note that the above "thoughts" were generated by David Dodds's projections. Others have different takes:
Brandon Pettigrew is ranked #5 by some of our writers, which would make him an above average first tight end. Mark Wimer reasons, "Pettigrew's Lions threw the football the most last season (666 times), but he isn't quite the focal point that Rob Gronkowski and Jimmy Graham are because this team has Calvin Johnson to star as the Lions' (and the NFL's) top receiving option. "
Kicker Summary:
Jason Hanson, our sixth ranked kicker, won't win the league for you, but he'll do.
Defense Summary:
The Lions are our #5 ranked defense, so you're in good shape here.
Yours Truly,
Miles Trotsky
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