giraldi02

Anybody who would take Drew Brees...or ANY quarterback ahead of a top 5 running back in MJD is not competitive IMO. I felt this way the year that Brady went in the top two as well. No quarterback should ever be drafted that high. The fact that two quarterbacks went in the top 7 and Calvin Johnson went in the first round ahead of Moss/Fitzgerald/Austin/White/Wayne makes me discredit this mock as useful information.

Agreed that Rivers and BRady are one and the same for placement... Especially in regards to the question marks that each faces along with the difficult schedule that lies ahead. They both have practically the same schedule...and it's tough against the pass. Both teams face the Bengals which boast IMHO the best starting CB duo in the league NE faces the Jets twice, SD faces the Chiefs twice (Flowers and Carr are outstanding young corners) Each team also has a decent number of question marks on offense. The patriots might be missing Welker, Moss is aging, and the running game is still difficult to gauge. The chargers don't have an O-line, a rookie runningback, and their top receiver is gone for AT LEAST three games. I'll stay away from them both at the top of the draft...but if they free fall into a relatively affordable position (mid/late 4th or 5th) I might be interested.

I've been buying in almost every mock draft I've done. Their CB pairing of Hall and Joseph are probably the best CB pairing in the league. They have a young LB corps...aside from Dhani...and decent..but not great safeties. I think they're a great value pick if you want to wait on a defense

Well...If I'm going to follow the guidelines of picking a player that no one is drafting currently...and could be someone that needs hype...look no further than a player buried on a depth chart and has the real potential to become the #2 running back by the time camp is closed. This player is behind three players past their prime and a couple injuries away from a 1000 yard season. This player has less than 70 yards rushing in his entire short NFL career, but I believe...and thus you should too. Did I also mention that the head coach of this particular team was the man responsible for drafting said player and is very high on him? Save your kickers for the last pick...because you'll need one of those later round picks to select Ryan Torain.

Montario Hardesty seems like a common one...It will really depend on the preseason and presumptions coming out of their training camp but early on I feel he's ranked too highly and is being drafted too early. Ben Tate is another RB that scares me. I don't trust Kubiak and that offense with ANY running back. Gale Sayers could be in his prime on that offense and Vonta Leach would get the majority of the carries. No thanks. Miles Austin is being drafted way too highly for my liking as well. Yes...I understand he broke out of nowhere (to the common fan...many Dallas fans liked Austin's hustle and special teams play in 07 and 08 and speculated he'd be a good to great receiver) and played exceptionally well for the 2nd half of the year. But to be taking him ahead of Larry Fitzgerald, Roddy White, in some cases Reggie Wayne? Absolutely not. The hype train is only going to build in the preseason if he blows up in the Hall of Fame game. I'll take the proven commodities in the early 2nd round. Vernon Davis' hype is through the roof and I am not going to buy in at the price he's going for. He caught 13 TD passes. The 49ers threw a total of 23 TD's all season. TD's are the biggest crapshoot among players...particularly receivers and tight ends. While his numbers for receptions and yards should still place him in TE1 range, I feel like a 70 catch 800 yds season with 7 TDs is a reasonable expectation. Again, he should still be considered a top tier TE, but he's not the best option, and he's too expensive for my liking.

It's honestly like comparing apples to oranges. Matt Ryan completed 58% of his passes last season for 2916 yds and had 22 TDs and 14 INTS. Eleven other QB's had more TD passes than Ryan. Seven of whom also had fewer interceptions thrown. With the exception of Jay Cutler, the other ten QB's also had at least 1000 or more yds than Ryan. Now...Roddy White had 1153 yds and was tied for 2nd in the league for reception TD's with 11. Granted some came from Chris Redman, but Roddy White accounted for 32% of the the teams passing yards. Tony Gonzalez accounted for 24% of the passing yards with 867 yards. Two players, accounting for over half the passing yards and 17 of the 26 passing touchdowns. In Ryan's case...along with Smith's...they have a balanced offense that targets one or two offensive players in the passing game but heavily relies on the running game to do most of the damage. They throw the ball when they have to, but aren't elite passers and do not have very good TD/INT ratio's. The targets themselves get plenty of looks and opportunities, but those QB's should not be counted on week in and week out to carry your fantasy team.

Overthinking a simple situation can get you into trouble. As good of players as MJD and Rice are...their floors are not nearly as high as AP. You want safety at the number two spot. You need a player that will perform week in and week out at the highest of levels. Peterson is the safest among the top four.

The biggest question to me regarding both players is their competition. Darren Sproles and Correll Buckhalter. Buckhalter...when healthy last season, was the clear better RB in Denver. The dude averaged nearly 5.5 yds per carry. This is a situation that I will be watching closely as training camps and pre-season gets underway. Moreno is the future, but the NFL is a win-now league and the potential RBBC might exist if Bucky can stay healthy. As for the situation in San Diego...Ryan Matthews is going to need to learn how to pick up the blitz and defend the prized possession at QB. The biggest problem with rookie running backs is that they often have problems in passing situations protecting their quarterbacks from the blitz. LeSean McCoy lost countless snaps last season to Leonard Weaver due to his inability to read blitzes correctly. If Matthews can't do this, Sproles will be playing a much bigger role behind an already suspect O-Line with it's number one receiver gone for at least the first three games. I think both players shouldn't be drafted until the late third or early fourth round...but if you're going to take one, I'd take Moreno by an inch. Either way, both should be RB2s

To Cara, Look, we're not advocating taking a QB that is of minuscule talent level. But it reiterates the Value Based Drafting formula. Will a QB taken in the 7th round perform THAT much worse than a QB taken in the first three rounds? And, the subsequent follow-up question is...will a RB/WR taken in the first three rounds be THAT much better than a RB/WR taken later? Case in point. Kevin Kolb this year. He already has a lot of positive aspects in that his top three receivers (Jackson, Maclin, Avant) and tight end (Celek) are all young explosive playmakers. Andy Reid historically throws the ball as much if not more than the majority of the league as well. He has a good backfield in Weaver, McCoy, and Bell. So, with the talent around him, does his inexperience really make him five-six rounds worse than a player than Tony Romo? It's possible, but not likely, and I'm willing to gamble on the chances that I draft Kolb and Roethlisberger in rounds 7/8 but take top tier running backs and receivers early on. By the time the season is over, Kolb will most likely be a top 2nd tier QB, possibly a low end tier 1 QB. If you can pull off drafting the rest of your team with sleepers, undervalued talent, and high ceiling guys later in the draft, then drafting a top tier QB early on makes sense. But you generally have to hit on a few players rather than one undervalued QB. I speak from only my personal experience of winning leagues by my strategy. Everyone does things differently, and thus different drafting strategies.

Quite simply...I will never draft a QB in the first three rounds. If seven of the top 35 picks are QB's...and many mock drafts currently seem to follow this trend (generally around five to seven in the first 3 rounds)...then there is a lot of elite talent at the other positions that I can snatch instead. Sure, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning are consistent forces at QB, but the other positions are reduced as a result of grabbing a player like that so high. Which team appears to have a lower floor from it's first four picks? Aaron Rodgers Jamaal Charles Marques Colston Steve Smith (Car) Steven Jackson Larry Fitzgerald Sidney Rice Pierre Thomas Granted, some people can make it work and find talent in the mid-later rounds in positions that were abandoned early...but I'd rather take a dominant player at RB/WR and take a consistent QB w/ upside at a much cheaper price. Last year, Brett Favre/Matt Schaub/Joe Flacco all could be taken from the 7th round or later. This year, Flacco again(why?!?), Kolb, Cutler, Eli, McNabb are all available at a discounted rate...and all have moderate to good fantasy floors. There is a lot of depth at QB. If you get stuck with 2nd/3rd tier QB's, you can still win your league. However, if you're fielding 2nd/3rd tier RB/WR's...you might find it harder.

Some trends that I've noticed are as follows: (and some are similar to previous posts) -There is no consensus 3rd WR being drafted. However, if you're drafting in the 8-12 spot and you go RB-RB, particularly in a PPR league, you are playing from behind. Nearly the entire 2nd/3rd round is dominated by WR's this year. -Ben Roethlisberger is a certifiable steal in every draft...and I don't see this being a trend that is going to change in the pre-season. If you draft a QB without a week 5 bye, try to snag him as your backup. -I don't know what Darren Sproles and Tim Hightower did, but no one is touching these two players. If you're in a PPR league and want no part of these two in the 10th-13th rounds, you need to get your head checked. Everyone is high on Ryan Matthews, but if he can't pick up the blitz in the NFL, Sproles is going to be a much bigger factor than people are basing on right now. -Chris Cooley is ranked too low on every site, and he's getting limited to no action from many drafters. I'll gladly take a flier on Cooley or Keller. -I don't know the health of Wes Welker or whether he'll be able to come back in time for the start of the season, but to see him generally going around round five is mind boggling. This guy tore his ACL and MCL in week 17. I will not pay that high of a price for Welker. I think too many people are buying into positive reports with minimal information. -Pierre Thomas is a nice RB2 that could produce very high RB1 numbers this season. And he appears to generally go in the late 3rd to middle of the 4th round. Look...lets get something clear right away. The New Orleans Saints run the football. They were 6th in the LEAGUE (2nd in the NFC) at 131 yds per game. At the 8th spot this year, I'd love to get Andre Johnson, Roddy White, Pierre Thomas, and Joseph Addai/Matt Forte.

I really like Frank Gore this season, but I am in agreement with the majority of the posters on this thread. Frank Gore had 75 targets last season which put him in a tie for third with Steven Jackson among RB's (behind Rice and Hightower). His schedule does appear RB friendly and the team has some weapons in the passing game that will open up lanes for him to run through. The team also added some pieces along the offensive line which will help Gore...but that said...I feel like Gore will be a player you want in the 2nd half of the season (think after the bye for a potential trade target). Ray Rice is the player I want from beginning to end. If I have a chance to draft part of the big four, I'm taking it and running with it...or in Rice's case, running and receiving it. Don't overthink it. On the turn around you might be able to get a player like Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson/Roddy White, Jamaal Charles...all of whom could net Gore in a trade later in the year. If Gore suffers an early injury or is having a slow start, he could be a very friendly buy-low candidate. Again...I wouldn't think twice in a PPR league, and in a regular league even, it's very difficult to find a reason to take anyone other than CJ/ADP/MJD/Rice with a top four pick.

I have multiple stages of my draft prep...and really it starts right after the season (fantasy) is finished. First and foremost, I pay attention to the playoffs and offseason in order to see shining stars or duds, roster additions and subtractions, coaching changes, and the draft. If you pay attention to football all the time (not necessarily meaning obsessively) then a lot of your preparation closer to the draft is made easier. Knowing that a player such as Alan Faneca joined the Cardinals might make you view a player like Beanie Wells or Tim Hightower slightly more valuable if they are making a transition towards a running offense. ###### Jauron joined the Eagles defense as a secondaries coach. It could help make their defense not feel the loss of a player like Sheldon Brown as much as someone might otherwise think. Second, I gather information from multiple fantasy sites starting around now. FFToday, ESPN, Sportsline, KFFL, Yahoo...all of which have useful information that can help you plan accordingly. You just need to know what information pertains to you and helps you. Matthew Berry's (TMR) article this year to kick off the fantasy year gives a basic overview of the most essential and basic fantasy news there is. Don't overpay, use tiers, yada yada. But it also has helpful nuggets that reiterate trends you'll see from other fantasy analysts. Yahoo does the Spin Doctors where they compare players that get drafted around the same region. Don't base your picks off this solely, but it's nice to see different viewpoints about whether Mendenhall/Jackson should go first. Third. Mock. Seriously...Mock drafting will make the real thing so much easier. I do a few mock drafts in July to see where players are generally slated from users, and then I start mocking at least once or twice each week during the pre-season until my actual draft. In some mock drafts I'll stay for the entire thing. (providing that the majority of owners do as well). If half the league abandons a Mock by round six, you can't really take much from where players are going. The autopick feature on most websites will make teams take a defense and kicker with their ninth/tenth pick. Yes, there are players that make the mistake of taking a kicker with an early pick, but if three+ teams are doing so, you need to get in a more competitive league ASAP. Fourth. Make Tiers. I use FFToday's tiers, but I make them my own. I for one am not going to rank a player like Miles Austin above Roddy White. Roddy White had 165 targets in 2009. That is FIVE fewer than Andre Johnson. Matt Ryan targets him and there is little competition for the 2nd spot in ATL. Harry Douglas??? Also, it's important to highlight the players that you are interested in as potential sleepers, busts, injured, or position changes. A player in my league last year took Le'Ron McClain before McGahee or Rice. Two picks later, I took Ray Rice. He didn't realize that McClain was moving back to FB because he used poor research materials. Fifth. Get to know the players in your league and who they like or dislike. If I know a guy has a man crush on DeSean Jackson and might overpay for him, it can affect whether or not you'll draft him or not. Sixth...have fun and enjoy the event. If it's a league for money, it can and should still be fun. I'm in a highly competitive league with 11 other guys from my work, and while we all trash talk, we don't take it overboard because it's meant to be enjoyable. Once it gets serious, it loses it's appeal. Have some brews, but don't get belligerent or you might be taking Tim Tebow because his jerseys are selling like hotcakes.

This year we changed it up and have it so that the inverse order of standings picks where they want to draft. Our commissioner made sure that everyone fielded a competitive team to avoid controversy. While it's a competitive league, we also all play with gamesmanship and respect of the other teams in the league. Also, the league champion, me in this instance, automatically gets assigned the final slot available. If we have a new entry to the league, they will pick their spot right before me.

It started this weekend and it seems to always hold true year in and year out. Defense wins championships. The vikings defense obliterated the Cowboys vaunted offense. The colts shut down Baltimore, and aside from the TD at the end by the Chargers, the Jets shut down one of, if not the hottest team in the NFL in their own stadium. You can say all you want about Kaeding missing the field goals, but one was from his career long (if I'm not mistaken), and another was from 44 (no gimme, just ask Scott Norwood). That's a defense shutting down the other offense and keeping them out of the end zone. The Jets are for real, and it's not going to be a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination for Indy. I really wouldn't be surprised to see the Jets win this game...in fact, I'm kinda banking on it

First Place in my main money league. Schaub, MJD, Rice, Mason, Grant, Boldin, Wayne, David Harris...all drafted by me led me to the promised land with outstanding performances throughout the year. I benched Wayne in the season finale for Mason and it helped big-time. Cheers!

I think the biggest aspect of this is the implications for next week. Buffalo is not in contention for a playoff spot and thus the Colts and the majority of their starters are going to get VERY limited minutes. If New England gets the 4th seed you could very well be looking at a rematch of earlier in the season....and a rusty Indy team facing a white hot Pats team

PPR League Championship. I'm starting with confidence Derrick Mason over Reggie Wayne. He had a phenomenal game last outing and Pittsburgh's defense hasn't been that good at all this season...even games where they were completely healthy. I think it's a case by case basis. Remember, this is for all the marbles in the majority of the leagues. You HAVE to have a set floor that you want achieved from your starters. BOOM potential is always nice, but you can't have a player produce a zero or close to it now. Look at the names that have been shut down against this defense...there are top 3 fantasy WR's on there (Moss and Johnson), not to mention other near un-benchable players in Steve Smith, Roddy White, and Marques Colston. Bench this stud this week.

I'm rolling with Derrick Mason instead of Reggie Wayne. The combination of Revis and potential limited playing time make me very hesitant to think otherwise. I know Wayne got me to this point, but neglecting the match-ups and sticking to the "never bench your stud" theory will burn some people this week...I don't want to be one of them. Mason has a nice matchup against Pitt and he had a great outing last time.

Quinton Ganther needs to get 11 more points in the 2nd half....please Redskins...get him the ball. Preferably with screen passes...maybe oh say...11 of them

Unless Fred Davis scores 52 points in the 2nd half I'm in the finals for my main league I need Quinton Ganther to score 11 points for my other league. sigh =/

I'm petrified of this second half. They brought Cartwright in for pass protection and to be honest I don't know if they're going to remove him now. #$@#$%#$... Please Ganther....give us something to cheer about. Please...........?

I have MJD and Wayne in my main league. One other team in the playoffs has MSW. My other league I have Wayne and went up against Addai and Clark. Other than that, no other players in last nights game were on playoff teams. My third money league starts the playoffs next week ...but I have Wayne in that one too and have won my division and am the #2 seed

Sorry...but I'll wait yet again to take a QB until later in the draft. I'll never buy into the taking a QB in the first round argument. Don't be surprised to see Michael Turner slipping back up in the draft boards along with Ryan Grant and Jamaal Charles. Along with FA and the draft, it's too early to consider the picks outside of a top 5. But the top 4 players you have listed are all going in the top 4 barring an injury

I was in full blown mode during the bye week. I picked up Quinton Ganther as well as Maurice Morris. I won't play either as I am starting MJD and Ray Rice...but I do not want to be defeated by a playoff cinderella.