Diary of a Mighty Bastard

Had my draft in a fantasy football league. I'm not sure how I did... I screwed up hearing one of the rules, and it affected my draft.

Out of 10 teams, I drafted 9th. 1 QB/2 RB/2 WR/1 TE/1 "Flex"/1 Defense/1 K/6 Bench

My mistake was originally hearing that the "Flex" could be WR or TE. In fact, it could also be a Running Back- which made Running backs a lot more scarce than I thought.

Anyways, getting to the draft...

1st Round- Tom Brady, QB. I was the first person not to grab a RB...

2nd round- Randy Moss, WR. ... and I followed it up with the best WR as well. The best RB available was Willie McGahee at this point

3rd round- Torry Holt, WR. OK, maybe I should've grabbed a RB here. But again, by best player, I thought Holt was better than any RB

4th round- Brandon Jacobs, RB. Starting RB for the Giants, a good pick for the round

At this point, I've got a couple sleeper RB planned. But at the fifth round, I see that the tenth team already has two RB, so I think I can get away with the 'best available' again...

5th round- Roy Williams, WR.

And the guy in tenth place takes both of the sleepers I had planned (Michael Turner and Darren McFadden). GAH!

6th round- Kevin Smith, RB. Here's hoping he developes

The rest of the draft is a collection of good backups at other positions, along with a total of 6 running backs, hoping 2 of them will pan out. Here's my total team:

QB- Tom Brady, Brett Farve
RB- Brandon Jacobs, Kevin Smith, Rudi Johnson, Selvin Young, Jason Wright, Kolby Smith
WR- Randy Moss, Torry Holt, Roy Williams, Santana Moss
TE- Owen Daniels
Def- Dallas
K- Adam Vinatieri

So, if you've got any good tips on sleeper running backs, send them this way.

Super Bowl XL… Pittsburgh vs. Seattle

I’m a Brown’s fan, but that doesn’t mean I hate Pittsburgh. Hell, I admire them- I think Pittsburgh is the way a football team should be run. They are always in the hunt, and they always do the fundamental well. I’m not a Steelers fan, but I respect them.

When I don’t have a rooting interest for or against either team, my philosophy is to root for the team that hasn’t won it in my lifetime. Pittsburgh hasn’t won the Super Bowl since 1980- but Seattle has never won it. I’m rooting for the Seahawks to finally win one.

They teams match up well with each other. Both teams rely on the running game, but both have very good (and underestimated) quarterbacks. Both have excellent defenses.

Pittsburgh scored 389 points and only allowed 258. Seattle only allowed 271 (13 more)… but scored 452, most in the NFL (more than Indiana, who scored 439).

I suspect the most important player in the game will be Shaun Alexander, the Seahawk’s Running Back. He is the player most capable of carrying the team on his shoulders.

Honestly, I think Seattle feels like they’re being ignored. To the extent that the media has focused on the game, they have focused on Pittsburgh, with Seattle just being ‘the other team’. Pittsburgh was the #6 seed, Seattle the #1 seed, and somehow Pittsburgh is favored in the betting. I think Seattle is getting a chip on their shoulder, and I suspect it’ll come out during the game.

Official prediction: Seattle wins, 24-13

Various thoughts about the NFL...

* Palmer's injury hurt the Bengals badly. Kitna is a good quarterback, but Palmer really improved his game this year. Pittsburgh won by two touchdowns, but Cincinnati might have been able to pull it off with a healthy Palmer.

* Carolina just wore down the Giants. I'm rooting for the Bears (being a good Chicago boy and all), but unless the weather is so poor that no one can throw, I suspect Carolina will beat the Bears

* I'm amazed how poor Washington's offense was in their game. Yet they still pulled out the victory. If they were playing the Bears next week it might be a 3-0 game. Right now I can't see Seattle losing to them.

* Super Bowl Prediction at this moment: Indiana over Seattle, 27-13. I think this is Indy's year.

* If I'm Houston, I see if anyone is willing to give me a huge package for the #1 pick. The Texans have a decent RB and a decent QB, but their offensive line is so poor that it's killing both of them. People have been talking about Reggie Bush so much that I'd try to get 5-6 picks and work on filling the serious problem on the team.

* Given the choice between Vince Young and Matt Leinart, I'd rather have Leinart. I prefer pocket quarterbacks to scrambling quarterbacks, because scrambling quarterbacks tend to run and risk injury. I think Michael Vick is one of the most outstanding and watchable players in the NFL, but I'd rather have Trent Green as my quarterback over him.

Enjoy the rest of the playoffs.

My favorite NFL teams are the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. But I have a new favorite NFL player- Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles. And it's not even close.

Two years ago I thought he was overrated, and claimed I could name ten quarterbacks better than him. But that was in the past. In the last 24 months, he's been put through hell- hurt with constant injuries, blasted by the media, and thrown under the bus by his own wide receiver. And during that time, he's been upbeat, calm, rational... he's acted like an adult when his critics have acted like children.

And now, the President of the Philadelphia NAACP wrote a column blasting him, not just for his play, but also 'belittles the real struggles of black athletes'.

OK, that's far beyond a cheap shot. You want to insult and mock the man for being 5-8? Go for it. He's the quarterback, it's in the job description to get the lion's share of both the credit and the blame. But taking a shot at his race is mind-boggingly stupid. It was stupid when Rush Limbaugh brought it up a few years ago, and it's even worse now.

And, like he has with Terrell Owens, McNabb has handled things with class, dignity, intelligence, and maturity. That's a rare combination, especially in sports nowadays. This year has been hell for him. Hopefully karma will come around and reward him next year. I know I'll be rooting for him.

It's been pointed out that I haven't posted my fantasy football teams here. Since I'm big on giving the fans what they want, I'm listing my rosters here.

I'm currently in three leagues, because deep down, I'm a masochist:

League 1-
Name of League: Who Cares?
Team Name: Harry Caray Poet's Society
Number of Teams: 8
Current Record: 1-0

Pos Player Team
QB A. Brooks NO
QB J. Harrington Det

RB P. Holmes KC
RB R. Johnson Cin
RB C. Williams TB
RB JJ Arrington Ariz
RB L. Johnson KC

WR R. Moss Oak
WR N. Burleson Minn
WR A. Johnson Hou
WR D. Bennett NE
WR A. Toomer NYG

TE J. Shockey NYG
TE LJ Smith Phil

K M. Stover Balt
K J. Carney SD

D NE Patriots
D Dallas

Overall thoughts: Love my RB and WR, but I'm going to live and die on my quarterbacks. Already trying to drop Aaron Brooks for Jake Delhomme (who wasn't drafted).

League 2-
Name of League: Old School
Team Name: Harry Caray Poets
Number of Teams: 10
Current Record: 1-0

Pos Player Team
QB T. Brady NE
QB M. Vick Atl

RB A. Green GB
RB R. Williams Mia
RB W. McGahee Buf
RB J. Bettis Pitt

WR H. Ward Pitt
WR L. Coles NYJ
WR J. Porter Oak
WR A. Randle El Pitt
WR A. Toomer NYG

TE T. Gonzalez KC

K A. Vinateri NE

D Washington

Overall: Better, though my WR will give me nightmares. Gonzalez in the third round was probably a reach, but I thought one of the better WR would drop to the fourth round. I was wrong. Still have hopes here.

League 2-
Name of League: WPFL
Team Name: Cleveland Browncoats
Number of Teams: 12
Current Record: 0-1

Pos Player Team
QB T. Brady NE
QB D. Carr Hou

RB L. Tomlinson SD
RB S. Jackson St. Louis
RB W. Green Cle (my only Brown on all three teams)
RB J. Bettis Pitt

WR M. Clayton TB
WR D. Mason Balt
WR E. Kinneson KC
WR S. Moss NYJ

TE T. Gonzalez KC
TE F. Jones Car

K J. Hanson Det

D Atlanta

Overall: Bob killed me this week. Fortunately, it's the non-money league. Even more fortunately, Bob is such a nice guy he won't taunt me half as bad as the others would. Life stays good.


Thoughts and comments welcomed