Second Place Don't Pay

This is a near-direct quote from last night's Saints-Cowboys affair, illustrating the genius of Theisman: "Sean Payton - he's got a philosophy about winning. He wants to win football games. He wants to build a winning tradition." I expect that's really unique among head coaches - wanting to win football games.

To me, elite players are elite players - you get them no matter what and deal with the "who do I keep" problem when the next draft comes. In general, I keep players with more than 2 years "left in the tank;" those with 2-3 years of above-average production left, I trade for younger talent before the next draft and take my chances. Last year, I sent Harrison off for LaMont Jordan... time will tell if it was a good deal, but so far it's worked out just fine as I backfilled Harrison's slot with Chambers and Santana Moss. Don't sacrifice winning now for long-term potential.

It was closer to 100 degrees at that time, making it much more difficult. Get your facts straight As for Javon, he'll be fine - but Champ Bailey's consistently beating him in practice . Quote from article: "The Broncos did some one on one end zone work and it was a real treat to see Javon Walker battle Champ Bailey. Bailey won their battles proving the defense was ahead of the offense at the start of camp." Link: http://www.fflivewire.com/Article.asp?ID=nha5481zfm1382m

If it's from the other players, it's frowned upon and not something I'd consider. If it's from an exotic dancer, there's no issue.

That must be one seriously back-loaded deal. Vernon Davis signed a 5yr, $23m deal and he was the next selection...and I understand that the TE pay scale is lower than the LB scale, but wow...to go from an average of 6.25/yr to 4.6/yr in one pick...ouch. Good job, Hawk's agent!

Great list. I'd add one I learned 13 years ago... Don't tell the guy who picks after you who you are going to pick before the pick gets to you. Otherwise, he'll trade up in front of you and take Ricky Watters.

The report was erroneous. Rogers is working with the #2 unit. Bradford is working with the first team right now.

Good idea. We hook up a projector to a laptop and enter picks into our web-based drafting program.

We do have a Torpor Bowl trophy for the winner - it's a small trophy cup on a very large stand. The previous year winner is responsible for engraving the new winner's name on the plate and presenting it at the following year's draft (like the Masters). For the loser, we've had a horse's ass trophy. Most trophy shops will mount whatever you want on the stand. Just order something like: http://www.pimphats.com/ecatalog/product_i...69f7e099a20fc43 take it in to a local shop, and they'll handle it.

Thank you for bringing that up. Plummer has improved each year in Shanahan's offense. They've added Walker, and Watts could be a serviceable 3rd receiver with no Ashl-oops, what route was I supposed to run - Lelei holding out. The running attack - even if it's RBBC - keeps defenses honest and allows Plummer to play-action and rollout so he can do what he's best at - throw in open space. He's a great value pick given the stigma he has from his Arizona years and his game-changing interceptions, but he'll put up top 10 fantasy numbers this year. Bledsoe - shoot, the argument that if you pressure him he doesn't perform well holds up for almost all QBs, including and especially your #1 in Manning. He'll still put up stats, especially in a 2-TE set (ah, the Ben Coates days) and with Terrible Moanins.

I've got many team names...most have a primate in them. The funniest name in a new league I'm in this year is "Very Angry Emus." Makes me laugh every time I see it. I like something threatening modifying a non-threatening thing...like: Homicidal Donkeys Deadly Kiwifruit Knife Wielding Squirrels You get the jist.

I think the NFL should extend the combine for a couple of months. Run all the draft-elligible players through a full training camp, positional drills and workout, exhibition games, etc. That way, they can push the draft back closer to training camps, or even the beginning of the season, and the teams can have all the information they need to minimize the risk of drafting a player. There's inherent risk no matter when you draft. Larry Johnson may have an undiagnosed heart condition (please don't let that be true). Shaun Alexander may not be able to read blocks like he did with Hutch in front of him last year. Under a new coordinator, the vaunted Washington offense may take 8 weeks to gel. Drafting early means the most prepared, dedicated, and creative owners will usually be rewarded. The late drafts are always filled with people holding 3-month old magazines anyway. HTH

Johnson, Larry KAN RB Apeshit Ballistic 1 1 1 Tomlinson, LaDainian SDG RB Ellison's Enforcers 1 2 2 Alexander, Shaun SEA RB KARMA 1 3 3 Portis, Clinton WAS RB Very Angry Emus 1 4 4 Brown, Ronnie MIA RB Team pwn@g3 1 5 5 Jackson, Steven STL RB The Worm 1 6 6 Barber, Tiki NYG RB Heinken Henchman 1 7 7 Williams, Carnell TAM RB Horsemen 1 8 8 Johnson, Rudi CIN RB TeamEnoch 1 9 9 Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR Heels 1 10 10 James, Edgerrin ARI RB EuphoricPlaces 1 11 11 McGahee, Willis BUF RB Shugar's Squad 1 12 12 ROUND 2 Jordan, LaMont OAK RB KARMA 2 1 13 Smith, Steve CAR WR Heels 2 2 14 Johnson, Chad CIN WR Apeshit Ballistic 2 3 15 Moss, Randy OAK WR TeamEnoch 2 4 16 Westbrook, Brian PHI RB Team pwn@g3 2 5 17 Jones, Kevin DET RB Horsemen 2 6 18 Davis, Domanick HOU RB Shugar's Squad 2 7 19 Holt, Torry STL WR Heinken Henchman 2 8 20 Jones, Julius DAL RB Very Angry Emus 2 9 21 Boldin, Anquan ARI WR The Worm 2 10 22 Manning, Peyton IND QB Ellison's Enforcers 2 11 23 Gates, Antonio SDG TE EuphoricPlaces 2 12 24 ROUND 3 Taylor, Chester MIN RB Apeshit Ballistic 3 1 25 Owens, Terrell DAL WR Ellison's Enforcers 3 2 26 Benson, Cedric CHI RB The Worm 3 3 27 Chambers, Chris MIA WR Very Angry Emus 3 4 28 Parker, Willie PIT RB Heinken Henchman 3 5 29 McAllister, Deuce NOR RB Shugar's Squad 3 6 30 Wayne, Reggie IND WR Horsemen 3 7 31 Johnson, Andre HOU WR Team pwn@g3 3 8 32 Palmer, Carson CIN QB TeamEnoch 3 9 33 Bell, Tatum DEN RB Heels 3 10 34 Moss, Santana WAS WR EuphoricPlaces 3 11 35 Williams, Roy DET WR Shugar's Squad 3 12 36 ROUND 4 Harrison, Marvin IND WR KARMA 4 1 37 Jackson, Darrell SEA WR EuphoricPlaces 4 2 38 Ward, Hines PIT WR Very Angry Emus 4 3 39 Burress, Plaxico NYG WR Team pwn@g3 4 4 40 Brady, Tom NWE QB Heinken Henchman 4 5 41 Manning, Eli NYG QB Horsemen 4 6 42 Lewis, Jamal BAL RB The Worm 4 7 43 Foster, DeShaun CAR RB TeamEnoch 4 8 44 Walker, Javon DEN WR Apeshit Ballistic 4 9 45 Houshmandzadeh, T.J. CIN WR KARMA 4 10 46 Droughns, Reuben CLE RB Ellison's Enforcers 4 11 47 Dunn, Warrick ATL RB Heels 4 12 48 ROUND 5 Stallworth, Donte' NOR WR EuphoricPlaces 5 1 49 Branch, Deion NWE WR Ellison's Enforcers 5 2 50 Driver, Donald GNB WR The Worm 5 3 51 Evans, Lee BUF WR Very Angry Emus 5 4 52 Jones, Matt JAC WR Team pwn@g3 5 5 53 Gore, Frank SFO RB KARMA 5 6 54 Shockey, Jeremy NYG TE Horsemen 5 7 55 Dillon, Corey NWE RB Heinken Henchman 5 8 56 Jones, Thomas CHI RB TeamEnoch 5 9 57 Dayne, Ron DEN RB Heels 5 10 58 Culpepper, Daunte MIA QB Apeshit Ballistic 5 11 59 Coles, Laveranues NYJ WR Shugar's Squad 5 12 60 ROUND 6 Bennett, Drew TEN WR Shugar's Squad 6 1 61 Edwards, Braylon CLE WR EuphoricPlaces 6 2 62 Brown, Reggie PHI WR Heels 6 3 63 Jones, Greg JAC RB Team pwn@g3 6 4 64 Gonzalez, Tony KAN TE Heinken Henchman 6 5 65 Clayton, Michael TAM WR Horsemen 6 6 66 McNabb, Donovan PHI QB The Worm 6 7 67 Clayton, Mark BAL WR TeamEnoch 6 8 68 Hasselbeck, Matt SEA QB The Worm 6 9 69 Heap, Todd BAL TE KARMA 6 10 70 Brown, Chris TEN RB Ellison's Enforcers 6 11 71 Porter, Jerry OAK WR Apeshit Ballistic 6 12 72 ROUND 7 Crumpler, Alge ATL TE Apeshit Ballistic 7 1 73 Mason, Derrick BAL WR Ellison's Enforcers 7 2 74 Green, Ahman GNB RB Very Angry Emus 7 3 75 Taylor, Fred JAC RB Apeshit Ballistic 7 4 76 Smith, Rod DEN WR Heinken Henchman 7 5 77 Robinson, Koren MIN WR KARMA 7 6 78 Rhodes, Dominic IND RB Horsemen 7 7 79 Perry, Chris CIN RB Team pwn@g3 7 8 80 Vick, Michael ATL QB TeamEnoch 7 9 81 Bulger, Marc STL QB Heels 7 10 82 Bledsoe, Drew DAL QB EuphoricPlaces 7 11 83 Witten, Jason DAL TE Shugar's Squad 7 12 84 ROUND 8 Bryant, Antonio SFO WR Shugar's Squad 8 1 85 Arrington, J.J. ARI RB EuphoricPlaces 8 2 86 Miller, Heath PIT TE Heels 8 3 87 Moats, Ryan PHI RB TeamEnoch 8 4 88 Galloway, Joey TAM WR Heinken Henchman 8 5 89 Roethlisberger, Ben PIT QB Horsemen 8 6 90 Barber, Marion DAL RB KARMA 8 7 91 Cooley, Chris WAS TE Team pwn@g3 8 8 92 Delhomme, Jake CAR QB Very Angry Emus 8 9 93 Winslow, Kellen CLE TE Very Angry Emus 8 10 94 Burleson, Nate SEA WR Ellison's Enforcers 8 11 95 Jurevicius, Joe CLE WR Heels 8 12 96 ROUND 9 Horn, Joe NOR WR The Worm 9 1 97 Glenn, Terry DAL WR Horsemen 9 2 98 Barlow, Kevan SFO RB The Worm 9 3 99 Kennison, Eddie KAN WR Very Angry Emus 9 4 100 Brees, Drew NOR QB Team pwn@g3 9 5 101 Givens, David TEN WR KARMA 9 6 102 Lloyd, Brandon WAS WR Horsemen 9 7 103 Green, Trent KAN QB Heinken Henchman 9 8 104 Curtis, Kevin STL WR TeamEnoch 9 9 105 Watson, Ben NWE TE Apeshit Ballistic 9 10 106 Martin, Curtis NYJ RB EuphoricPlaces 9 11 107 Carr, David HOU QB Shugar's Squad 9 12 108 ROUND 10 McMichael, Randy MIA TE Shugar's Squad 10 1 109 Rivers, Philip SDG QB EuphoricPlaces 10 2 110 Betts, Ladell WAS RB Heels 10 3 111 Smith, L.J. PHI TE TeamEnoch 10 4 112 Muhammad, Muhsin CHI WR Heinken Henchman 10 5 113 Clark, Dallas IND TE Ellison's Enforcers 10 6 114 Plummer, Jake DEN QB KARMA 10 7 115 Williamson, Troy MIN WR Team pwn@g3 10 8 116 Simms, Chris TAM QB Very Angry Emus 10 9 117 Gado, Samkon GNB RB The Worm 10 10 118 Leftwich, Byron JAC QB Ellison's Enforcers 10 11 119 Parker, Samie KAN WR Apeshit Ballistic 10 12 120 ROUND 11 White, Roddy ATL WR Apeshit Ballistic 11 1 121 Turner, Michael SDG RB Ellison's Enforcers 11 2 122 Anderson, Mike BAL RB The Worm 11 3 123 Moore, Mewelde MIN RB Very Angry Emus 11 4 124 Bruce, Isaac STL WR Team pwn@g3 11 5 125 Brooks, Aaron OAK QB KARMA 11 6 126 Rogers, Charles DET WR Horsemen 11 7 127 Bears, Chicago CHI D/ST Heinken Henchman 11 8 128 Moulds, Eric HOU WR TeamEnoch 11 9 129 Wilford, Ernest JAC WR Heels 11 10 130 Williams, Mike DET WR EuphoricPlaces 11 11 131 Williams, Reggie JAC WR Shugar's Squad 11 12 132 ROUND 12 Jenkins, Michael ATL WR Shugar's Squad 12 1 133 Troupe, Ben TEN TE EuphoricPlaces 12 2 134 Kitna, Jon DET QB Heels 12 3 135 Schaub, Matt ATL QB TeamEnoch 12 4 136 Duckett, T.J. ATL RB Heinken Henchman 12 5 137 Cobbs, Cedric DEN RB Heinken Henchman 12 6 138 Houston, Cedric NYJ RB KARMA 12 7 139 Brunell, Mark WAS QB Team pwn@g3 12 8 140 Johnson, Keyshawn CAR WR Very Angry Emus 12 9 141 Lelie, Ashley DEN WR The Worm 12 10 142 Jacobs, Brandon NYG RB Ellison's Enforcers 12 11 143 Warner, Kurt ARI QB Apeshit Ballistic 12 12 144 ROUND 13 Haynes, Verron PIT RB Apeshit Ballistic 13 1 145 Parker, Eric SDG WR Ellison's Enforcers 13 2 146

Make it 4...me (31). Happy Birthday, people.

I think you're spot on. I'd adjust the INTs higher - maybe to 11/12 at 16 games - only because of the youth of the receivers. They may be good, tall targets with mounds of potential, but I bet they run the wrong route or mistime a jump or don't have good body position a couple of times. As for the rushing totals, he'll get his 3-5 TDs from 1-6 yards out (no goalline back, good decision-making), so I'm alright with that. I don't know that the passing yardage (or attempts) will be quite as high. With the defense as good as it is getting back Darius and Drew returning punts, I expect them to play a little more clock-control ball and have shorter fields to play on...so fewer yards. Maybe 45-50 fewer attempts, so approx. 3050 yards... Agreed - though I initially wanted to toss out game a. Your reasoning is solid enough (notwithstanding the playoff game against Carolina). I'm without access from tomorrow until June 21st - I apologize in advance for my delay in responding to your next level of projections... Thanks! This is an absolute blast.