Ray_T

well, you should give us more info. like the type of draft you are in... rules, and maybe whether it is a keeper draft or not. Given that we have no info, this info is going on the assumption that it is a redraft league with no keepers and standard scoring. 1) I'd stay away from the whole denver situation if I can avoid it. Shanahan has a history of starting someone that noone is expecting and throws everyone for a loop. 2) Ahman Green, Maroney and Addai may be okay but wont likely put up solid numbers til part way through the year. Green due to injury, the other two because they arent #1 on the depth chart yet. it is worth noting I like Maroneys potential better than that of Addai. This leaves Mccallister and Barlow. Mccalister may be a good pick, but hes coming off an injury and may lose a lot of carries to reggie bush. and if bush really lights it up, he may sit more than we would expect. Barlow has the starting job so long as curtis martin is injured. There is a good chance that would be the rest of the season or perhaps forever(if he retires) Barlow is the best backup. Because a backup is a guy who is supposed to step in when you need someone to put up consistant numbers when your starters are hurt or on bye weeks. he will do this. the others due to question marks are not as good as a backup because for one reason or another they have a question mark over their head. however, many of them have potential to be starters. So what you need to do is assess your team. How big of a chance to you need to take to win. If you think you have a good shot at winning it all, and already have solid starters at RB take Barlow. If you dont have a winning team and want to take a chance, then you can pick one of the guys with a question mark such as Ahman Green or McAllister and hope they starts and return to form. or you can take a shot at a rookie and hope for a fluke 'home run' pick. take maroney (I dont think Addai is ready) if you have a keeper league and think you dont have a winning team, then for sure take one of the young guys and hope they progress to the point where you would keep them.

Look man, we need more information. the first question would be... what type of player do you expect to get with a first round and a third round pick. we dont know who the top players available are. We dont know how many players you are allowed to keep from one year to the next. with the info available we cant give you good advice In the end the bottom line is Will the players you get be as good as the one you are giving up. Roy williams is a proven commodity. you cant say the same about your draft picks.

well, lets put it this way.... handcuffing your starter only works if the replacement has a chance to go in and put up good numbers. Turner is probably worth taking as a handcuff in the last round of your draft. I wouldnt take him any earlier than that.

It is also worth noting that there are only 3 or 4 defenses that are worth drafting higher than the last or second last round in every draft. if you miss them you might as well wait until the very end.

well, if its one thing I've learned..... it is that Defenses can be built as quickly as they can fall apart. This years top D is last years weak D. Every year there are one or two defenses that end up in the top 5 that noone expected. Team A drafts 2 top defensive prospects in year 1, but they are slower developing. So they draft 2 more in year 2. they are ready. The first two drafted develop in year 2 and They pick up a free agent or two, and a defense is almost completely retooled. Get a good defensive coach and suddenly team A has a top 10 defense. I have picked up defensive teams on waivers that have done just fine. one year I picked up Tampa Bay on Waivers. They ended up the third best defense in terms of fantasy points that season. There is no justifying taking a defense that early. I'm sorry. Unless they are giving 5 fantasy points for every sack and 5 for every pick, you're behaving as dumb as the rest of your league.

Alexander is still your man. The guy they brought in to replace hutch is pretty good. Alexander will still put up big numbers. They just wont be the overwhelming numbers that he had last year. Tiki Barber is also at that age where RB's hit the wall. and hes not as durable (in my opinion) I think last season was, and will be, the best of his career. He will never have another season like this. Take SA and dont sweat it. Its a no brainer.

Geez, that is an excellent team. To get Rudi Johnson AND Ronnie Brown? I dont know how many RB's you start, but I think you're set in that position. Even if you start 2 RB's, you wont need a large # of backups. those guys are solid #1 guys who wont share carries. your QB situation is fine, but Vick is prone to injury because of the amount he runs the ball(takes more hits than your average QB). so with him its feast or famine. I'd pickup leftwich and dump that spare kicker you have. You wont need a second kicker on any day other than a bye week (and that, my friend, is what the waiver wire is for) otherwise your team is awesome. I'd be surprised if you didnt win with that team.

I like curtis, but I wouldnt pick him up just now. I'd wait and see how things shape up in St Louis. He is #3 on the depth chart, but Bruce is getting old, and could split the #2 role with Curtis. And if Bruce gets hurt again, I'd say the #2 role is his to keep. he may put up as little as 600 yards, or as much as 1100. I'm betting on about 750-800 yards unless bruce gets hurt

well, branch wont hold out forever I dont think Fred Taylor does get hurt a lot.... he usually will blow the doors off for a couple of games before hurting himself. so if you want to trade him, dont do it now. Wait for him to have a couple of big games... then shop him. there is always someone willing to take the chance when they see he has had back to back 150 yard games. That's when you will get the best value for him (unless you have him at the trade deadline. people will always pay for him at that time if hes healthy)

well, you are also forgetting one thing. if this season is lost... the name of the game is having the 3 best keepers at the end of the year so you can have a better team next year. If I'm in his spot, I dont trade SA. I would trade practically my whole roster to get another quality keeper to Go with SA, but I wouldnt trade SA himself. it would take substantially more than market value to get him outta there if the guy knows anything about fantasy football. on the other hand.... looking at his team, it may be fair to assume he doesnt know anything... so pursuing trade talks wouldnt hurt I guess. but if you send him a bunch of crap for him, theres a decent chance it will be vetoed anyhow. I still feel the price you'd have to pay would be steep enough that you wouldnt help yourself too much this season. The one guy was right, you would likely have to pay Rudi Johnson and one of your stud WR's and probably another player (most likely another RB)and some draft picks to even have a chance to get him.

well, I will say one thing for Bush.... I havnt seen a linebacker that can do a good job covering him yet. He's too damn fast. And if his hands are as good as I've heard, he will be killer. if teams cant cover him out of the backfield with a linebacker, that means they need to use a DB or a Safety to do the job (or double cover him with two LB's). This will open up the whole offense. and it's not like New Orleans has terrible receivers. also of note: Drew Brees is the master of the Checkdown play. If he has McAllister AND Bush available on checkdowns, teams arent gonna know what to do. In two back sets, if a team overpursues, they can get burned on a screen to either side of the field (assuming Bush and McAllister split to either side of the field similar to what Gates and LT often did in San Diego) Also, this could also mean a huge year for Horn and Stallworth. with so many weapons, I would love to see some of the schemes they put together. I dont know if he'll put up the huge numbers you say he will, but I will assure you of one thing......... New Orleans games will now be damn fun to watch.

Listen to the man, he knows his stuff the big deciding factor for me was the loss of Hutchinson from the line. The line is still solid, but there are some guys on there whose best years are behind them. They will still be good, but not quite as dominant as they were the last couple of years. As such, SA's numbers wont be what they were last year. Also worth noting: Backs rarely have back to back Career years. While I would agree Alexander is capable... but he has a lot to overcome to have another year like he did last season. you can pick LT with confidence. He is the best choice.

well, given his size, & hands, he makes an ideal possession receiver. Hes not exceptionally fast. but a target as large as him doesnt need to be. I think that he, Matt Jones, and Williams will split the receptions for the most part. It will be fairly even, but Jones will eventually get the bulk. I wouldnt bet on any of the receivers getting much past 1000 yards, but Jones and Wilford should get close. I'm predicting 900 yards for Wilford this year and 6-8 touchdowns.

I dont agree with ranking Tiki Barber #4. I'm sorry, but Given his age, and the workload he had last year, I just dont think hes capable of duplicating the amazing season he has last year. I'd say that last season is going down in history as his best season of his career. Also, My feeling is that the passing game will develop further, and he wont get as many touches. I also think he will get some goal line carries taken from him this year. (the biggest reason for my downgrading him... less TD's) I also think you rank Edge too high. I would lower him. Not due to talent, but due to playing on a weaker team with a weaker O-Line. His numbers have to drop from last year even if he gets more carries, I wouldnt count on his numbers getting better. He may be the fourth or fifth best all around back in the NFL, but he will be #10 or 11 in terms of fantasy points due to the team he is on. I also think Ronnie brown will have a huge year. I'd go on about that, but I've done so on ronnie brown forums for the last month and you guys dont need to hear it again. I would rank Rudi Johnson #4 Ronnie Brown #5 Stephen Jackson #6 Lamont Jordan #7 Portis #8 (because of injury) Edge #9 Barber #10 Cadillac #11 However, it is worth noting, I feel that the difference from #6 to #11 is not exceptionally large in terms of production. So if you prefer one over another I wouldnt debate it... I'd just take the player I like best. (sometimes this is the fun thing about fantasy football) also, in a keeper league, I would upgrade Cadillac due to his young age and the fact I think he will get better still.

if he stays healthy I can see it happening. They have a good situation there, upgraded their receivers a bit. And with a backup that can push him, I think he'll have the best season of his career.

well, I'd be taking either ronnie brown or Rudi Johnson with the #4 pick. take that for what it's worth. I'm just glad I dont have to make that decision.

well, I wouldnt exactly call him unproven. He started a handful of games last year, and got close to 1000 yards. this is better than about 1/3 of the starters out there who dont share carries. and if he starts 2 or 3 more games, he would likely have been in the top 1/3 of rbs. caution is still to be used a bit cuz hes still a young player, but with the numbers I've seen and the games I've watched, I think hes the real deal. if its a keeper league, I'd take brown. if its a redraft league, I would say that they will have comparable numbers this year, so take the one you like better.

yeah, dont coddle them. tell them that a change in scoring or keeper structure of the league needs to be voted on (2/3 majority) with implementation for the NEXT season unless 100% of the teams agree to do it for this season. rules like this should be in the constitution, but if they're not, you should put them in.

honestly, I would avoid both and take the next best receiver or Antonio Gates if hes available. those guys are too risky.

Hey, I love rod smith and have done well keeping him on my team over the years.... but at his age, I would bet that Walker would be the #1 guy. I figure they brought him here specifically for that reason. Thats why Lele is pissed because that's the job he wanted. Once the writing was on the wall, he had a temper tantrum and demanded a trade. Rod will be a quality #2 possession receiver, but the big gun will be walker. I figure smith(if he stays healthy) will be lucky to put up draftable numbers.

what about Brandon Stokely? with Edge gone, I think they may pass the ball more than they did last season. I think this means more balls for the #3 option in what is still an amazing passing offense.

yep. he got picked in the 4th or 5th round in our draft(3 keepers so the equivalent of rd 7 or 8)

well, for what I think it's worth, I dont think this is a situation where you can make the deal. for what you would need to give up(a top player, and a top draft pick and maybe another player and possibly more if he is a tough negotiator), I dont think Alexander will put you over the top. Of course, i havnt seen the rest of your team so I cant say for sure.... but the part of the team I do see, doesnt look like a championship squad. If I were to make a package deal of that sort, I'd go after a younger player Like LT or LJ. then you have a couple years to build around him. Given SA's age, that's not an option. You deal for guys like him to win this year.

I'd make that trade and not think twice about it. but do you seriously think that the league wouldnt veto this? Matt Jones isnt even in the ballpark of reggie bush when it comes to talent. bush will get his carries, and his yards. Most likely 800 yards rushing and 400 yards receiving. 6-8 rushing touchdowns and 3-5 receiving touchdowns. and that is if McAllister is healthy. if hes not... the numbers will get better. I like matt jones. got him on my team, but he wont put up 1000 yards receiving this year unless all the planets align perfectly. I've got him pegged for 800 or 900 yards and 7-8 touchdowns.

Parcells wouldnt come out the loser if TO pulled the same crap. I think parcells would do the same thing the eagles did. Sit him. Take away his stage....and if he doesnt start to practice soon, I can see Owens missing game 1. Parcells loves to make examples out of people, and Owens is putting himself in harms way. I'd say there's a 50/50 chance that Owens plays game 1 right now. And I wouldnt feel good about betting on either side of that bet.