FantasyFootball

Same strategy on all four teams when I started this season. Draft WRs and DEFs first, get decent QBs (and a few of them) and an ace K.
Now at midseason or so, Byes and injuries are taking a toll on everyone. And then there are the disappointments.

My Numero Uno draft pick on 3 of 4 teams was Megatron. Calvin Johnson, Lions wide receiver and overall really nice guy, is arguably the best receiver in recent NFL history. But when a man is double and triple teamed week after week, he is not going to see many throws – and very few FFL points. But I will not give up hope. Not gonna trade Megatron. Don’t quit just before the miracle.

On the QB front, I went with Flacco of the Ravens as my “meat and potatoes” guy, Stafford as my “just maybe this year” guy, Josh Freeman of the Tampa Bay Buc’s as my “gotta hunch” guy, and Luck as my well you know, lucky guy. And I have been pretty successful so far, except for Stafford. I have hedged with Stafford in that I grabbed the Lions backup QB, Shaun Hill, who has been very successful in previous seasons with several teams, in anticipation of yet another Stafford shoulder injury. Good chance it will happen.

On RBs I bet the farm on Saints first rounder and Heisman winner and Flint Michigan native Mark Ingram. I grabbed him in drafting over the sure bets, and lost. Ingram has done nothing, except text and tweet (put down the phone and pick up the ball buddy). But I still have managed to acquire Peterson of the Vikings who has consistently brought points to my table.

Kicking I have stayed with Sebastian J. of Oakland, and picked up Falcons toe-man Bryant for BYE week. But Matt Bryant has done so well I plug him into 2 set ups every week now.

So where am I now on these four teams? Here is the breakdown…

Week 15 - Playoffs, Baby!

Now in the 15th week of my first year fantasy football experience, I gotta say it has been just as much fun as my friend Dennis told me it would be while he was on a Fox Sports League last season. And now I am in a championship, two semifinals, and a firm 5th place with two weekends left in the season.

I started by drafting Calving Johnson and Matt Stafford, seemingly a solid Lions passing one two punch, for 3 of the 4 teams. But it didn't work out to well and we lingered near the bottom of the standings for the first 3-4 weeks. Stafford couldn't live up to his hype and Megatron was perpetually triple teamed.

My other starting QB was veteran and steady as she goes Joe Flacco of the Ravens, and he was consistently scoring well early on, so I acquired him on two more teams. I also grabbed Adrian Petersen, the Vikings powerhouse who has proven very effective.

But as the season progressed, I started juggling. In fact I dropped and added free agents and those on waivers, proposed trades, and grabbed 3rd tier outliers far more than any of my fellows.

One guy (or gal, not sure) called the Dawg was undefeated at 7-0 and really laid on the trash talk when we played (My FromDarkWater team led by Captain Black was 3-4 at the time.) Dawg won that week, but only 119.2 to 117.8 - pretty damn close.

by Douglas Black, ENERSPEC, December 30, 2012

I fell in love with the gridiron during the seventies while perfecting an option pitch. And even though I was only about 4 foot 5 (with my helmet on), I felt like I could beat anyone. Butkus? Bring it, I’ll run right over him!

Well my playing days were over before the Big Hair Band Days of the 80s even began, and I have still loved the game ever since. But this is the first season I have participated in an NFL Fantasy Football Team. In August, with typical I-can-do-anything bravado, I joined not just one draft but four teams on three different leagues. What the hell.

So now that the season is over, I can say I did pretty good for a rookie. The four teams each had slightly different rules and points schedules, but I used essentially the same strategy for all. That is, hang on to a high caliber WR and RB, get a reliable QB and a rookie QB, and the best Kicker possible. All the rest of the bench would be acquired, dropped, traded and shuffled on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis.

The add/drop strategy worked, and I used it more than any other manager in any of the four teams I participated in – even got awards for “Most Moves” (that’s a good thing, right??)

My WR was Megatron (Detroit’s Calvin Johnson) who, I will admit, had me second guessing after the 4th and 5th weeks. He was being double and triple covered so much that I was seeing no points in my end. But number 81 came through in the long run, delivering steady high numbers to me while earning himself a spot in the record books as all time leader in front of the great Jerry Rice.

Adrian Peterson has been my go-to RB since the first game, and I cannot say how proud I am of this Viking. I bow down to him.

The QB spots went to Flacco of the Ravens (consistent) and a little Luck from the Colts. I put Andrew luck in there on the perfect weeks to capitalize on his strong points. My kicker has been Janikowski of the Raiders, arguably the best, and consistently getting be three times the points per game as most other kicker would have.

So, bottom line. Here are my stats for the 2012 NFL Fantasy Football Season.

Fantasy Football Leagues - That's A Wrap.

Ndamokong Suh

Everything about the NFL is getting bigger. Twenty five years ago the average defensive tackle was 6ft3 and tipped the scales at 275lbs. This season the average DT weighs in at 6ft5, 300lbs. Mr. Nice Guy, Ndamukong Suh of the Lions, is 6-4, 307.

Quarterbacks used to be smaller, too (the brains of the squad, not brawn). This year’s crop of phenom QBs include Andrew Luck of the Colts at 6-4, 234lbs; Tennessee’s Jake Locker 6-3 and 234lbs; Washington Redskin RGIII 6-2, 217; and Buccaneer Josh Freeman, a towering 6ft6 and 240 pounds. That's the size of a Tight End in 1988.

We Got A Bigger X

by Douglas Black, January 5, 2013

Dallas Cowboys' Owner Jerry Jones

CowboyVision

And the owners are on the bigger-is-better bandwagon, too. Just look at their pixel envy of each others’ stadium screens. Jerry Jones, the less-than-timid owner of the Dallas Cowboys, raised eyebrows when the super-screens in his new stadium were so big that punters were getting the pigskin tangled up in the scaffolds.

Not to be outdone in their home state, the Houston Texans are soon erecting two humongous screens at Reliant Stadium. Manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric’s Diamond Vision Systems Division, they will have an image area of 52.49 by 277.17 feet, totaling 14,549 square feet of display surface and weighing in at more than 100 tons each.

The Tennessee Titans have the biggest end zone video boards, sporting not one but two audaciously over-the-top, Daktronics made superscreens measuring 8,475 sqft each, and installed by ANC Sports.

That’s like a 2,000 inch flat screen - too big for the mancave. I’ll have to build an addition.

sources; Daniel Beaton , Pro-Football-Reference.com

Relative sizes of all the mega-displays in NFL stadiums

First Round of the NFL Draft is complete, and the big guys on the line dominated the picks. Eighteen lineman, 10 offense and 8 D, with the first overall pick going to Eric Fisher from the Chippewa’s of Central Michigan University, the first number one from a school from the MAC.

Only one quarterback landed a spot, EJ Manuel of the Florida State Seminoles will see far less sunshine in Buffalo playing for the Bills.
No running backs were tagged for Round One, but 3 WR’s went, notably Tavon Austin from the Moutaineers of West Virginia to the Rams in a strategic number eight pick. The Speedster Austin, who ran the 40 in 4.34 seconds at the Combine, could fill many rolls for St Louis.

Two outside and one inside linebackers chosen, none of which were Notre Dame’s controversial Manti T’eo, Heisman shortlister who infamously sported an imaginary girlfriend last season in the “catfish-gate” incident.

The Detroit Lions went with Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah, star defensive end from Brigham Young in a surprising move that will build upon the edge-of-control strength of Suh. Ziggy, who boasts only 5 or 6 sacks in his career at BYU, may be the “Ansah” for the Lions D eventually says Lions head coach Jim Schwartz.

Chicago Bears picked Oregon Duck Kyle Long, a 6’6”, 313 pound offensive lineman, giving Long bragging rights over both his brother Chris Long, a 2008 Round Two Rams choice, and their Hall of Fame father Howie, who went in the second to the Raiders 32 years ago.

by Douglas Black, ENERSPEC, April 26, 2013

Big Men On The Line Dominate First Rounders

Only One QB, No Te'o

WR Tavon Austin (West Virginia) Goes No8 to Rams

Only One QB Picked , and it wasn’t Geno.

by Douglas Black, ENERSPEC/enerficiency, April 26, 2013

Choosing the Big Men of the OL and DL, NFL team management went with solid conservative moves across the board.

Round Two will see the start of the big money, risky business choices. Some make or break decisions will be made.

Fans can be especially brutal when a b’zillion is spent on a red carpet receiver or quarterback only to see him –well, never as is sometimes the case with injury prone prima donnas.

So where will Geno Smith go? My money says The Cleveland Browns will pick him up. But he may play with a chip on his shoulder as QB EJ Manuel of Florida State went to The Bills as a number 16 pick in the first round.

Smith was considered the No. 1 quarterback in the draft by some after throwing for 4,205 yards and 42 touchdowns this past season.

The last time a quarterback was picked in the First Round (a Number One overall) it was Michael Vick. That’s all I will say about that.

Gunslingers are a gamble as we see with The Jets’ Tebow Troubles and Stafford seeing little action in the first year with Detroit.

The Vikings passed on Manti. So when will the Notre Dame star linebacker and Heisman Trophy runner up go? Round 3 is my guess.

Where will Manti go? More importantly, where does that apostrophe go? Teo’? T’eo? ‘Teo?