It’s been a rocky fantasy football season in my money league thus far, starting out 0-2, winning back-to-back and eventually winding up at 3-3 at the midway mark. Most of the games have been tight, with the good guys coming through with one- and four-point victories to go with a nine-point loss.
The best news is probably that I am 3-0 in division play. The worst news is that a couple of my early-round picks (draft recap here and here) have been disasters and I shotgunned my own left foot with an ugly trade. So where does that leave me? Right in the thick of things in a hyper-competitive league … praying that Steve Smith pries his head out of his arse. Anyway, here's a review of my draft class at the midway point of my fantasy league's regular season.
1st round: Stephen Jackson
Two of the things I liked about S-Jax this year were that the Rams offensive line actually appeared to be a strong point and there was said to be an emphasis on getting him the ball in the passing game more often. Well, playing for arguably the worst team in the league, Jackson has still somehow found a way to rack up a lot of combined yardage (unfortunately, when your team is down 21-0 in the first quarter every game, it’s hard to get a guy 25 carries). Incredibly, though, he has yet to score a touchdown … so … ouch. He even fumbled on the goal line in Week 6. On the plus side, he has been relatively healthy, has run with abandon and has produced even though he’s perhaps the only valid offensive threat on the team. The hope here is that the Rams get a bit healthier up front and that they can get some semblance of a passing game going to create some room for Jackson.
2nd round: Steve Smith
An out-and-out disaster. No touchdowns, no pass plays over 40 yards, no quarterback. I thought that Jake Delhomme had reached rock bottom in the playoffs last year, but god bless the “Carolina Cajun,” he grabbed a shovel and kept by-god digging. On top of everything else, the combustible Smith is about ready to explode (they didn’t trade him before the deadline, unfortunately), bitching (rightfully so) about not getting enough passes. But hell, maybe it’ll do him some good to beat the shite out of a teammate to sort of reset the season. The only silver lining here is that Smith is way too good of a player not to break out at some point. Right? Hello? Bueller?
3rd round: Marques Colston
As I mentioned, Colston is a guy I really wanted this year—and he is actually one guy who is performing to my expectations and needs. He’s been a bit too hit or miss for my liking (6 points, 6 points, 24 points, 0 points, 0 points on bye, 23 points), and I’d like to see him reach the end zone a bit more often, but he does seem to be the guy that Drew Brees looks to first. Colston’s problem is that the Saints sometimes seem to have too many weapons, but I wasn’t going to be left out of the New Orleans scoring parade (*fill in Mardi Gras joke here*) this year and Colston is poised for a huge second half.
4th round: Roy Williams
Well, I admitted that this was a cringe-worthy pick when I made it, and I was unfortunately right. After a tremendous start (20 points in Week 1), he has disappeared as usual. The reality is that he is simply not an elite-caliber receiver, and he lets too many opportunities slip through his fingers that true No. 1 wideouts take advantage of. Throw in an injury that sidelined him for a little while and I have very few expectations for Roy E. the remainder of the year.
5th round: Lendale White
Not only does Lendale appear to have added on the weight that he had dropped, but he has added fumbling to his list of “skills.” He’s regressed to the point where he is not even really a goal-line option anymore, and it doesn’t help that Tennessee is, in a word, brutal this year. Even if Chris Johnson were to get run down by a short bus at his “alma mater,” EZU, I doubt White would do anything as the top back for the Titans. If only I got points for tequila-diet-related jokes …
6th round: Hines Ward
Somewhat amazingly, arguably my first-half MVP. Ward has been a revelation, consistently scoring in the double-digits each and every week and throwing in a monster Week 6. He hasn’t reached the end zone that much and he has dropped and fumbled a couple, but he is putting together a career year. Roethlisberger is playing well enough that both Santonio Holmes and Ward can be considered No. 1 targets, and Ward is still the guy who gets the first look when things break down for “Big Ben.” Honestly, I don’t know where the F I would be without Ward (*knocked on wood*).
7th round: Jay Cutler
I took a gamble a bit with Cutler, and he has rewarded my faith with consistent 20-plus-point outings. He’s still capable of making rookie-like, WTF throws, but he also makes throws that no other quarterback in the league can make. I expected Cutler’s abilities to elevate a subpar receiving corps, and he has done so thus far, aided by the emergence of Johnnie Knox(ville). Cutler can also run with the ball a little bit, so I would hope that the Bears will call a few more bootleg plays in the red zone with him in the second half, an area where they have struggled.
8th round: Ahmad Bradshaw
I’m a jackass. To expound, I traded Bradshaw for Dustin Keller when I was 0-2. In my defense, Keller was breaking through and I wasn’t starting Bradshaw at the time, so I was looking to make a move to shake things up. I had my reservations at the time, and in retrospect, it was the worst trade I’ve made in my decade in this league. My team would be a bit scarier if he was still on the roster. Dammit.
9th round: Fred Taylor
To illustrate my “luck” in fantasy football, Taylor racked up a 100-yard game when he was on my bench, so I started him the next week and he broke his ankle and was gone for the year (maybe career). You roll the dice with “Fragile Fred”—and I crapped out. So instead of Bradshaw and Taylor rounding out my running back corps, I have LeRon McClain and Jamaal Charles. Dammit, times deux.
10th round: Kevin Boss
He’s been horrible after a promising six-point start. Most of us felt like he would play a larger role this year, not expecting Steve Smith and Mario Manningham to emerge like they have. Instead, his lack of output dictated a bad trade and relegated his three-catch, 14-yard-having arse to the bench.
11th round: Kyle Orton
He’s my backup, but he’s only had one game where he’s thrown for less than 229 yards. I liked him because the Broncos have a lot of weapons, and now that Brandon Marshall appears to have his head on straight, Orton looks that much better. His yardage is up there, but I’d like to see his TDs increase. Either way, I doubt he’ll get off the bench, but he got me 30 points on Cutler’s bye week and he’s been good to have around. As an unexpected bonus, the “Neck Beard” has added a ‘stache this year. Good times.
12th round: Panthers
Really bad, but they were the best defense remaining at the time. They’ve endured injuries beginning in training camp and continuing to this day, so I’ve only started them a couple of times (to not-so-hot results).
13th round: Mason Crosby
He was a guy that I couldn’t believe was still available after several other kickers were taken, and he’s been really, really good so far. He’s tied for fourth in the league in made field goals and he has a strong leg, so he’s been fairly dependable for me thus far.
14th round: Tony Scheffler
Well, he was the guy I had to drop to make room for Keller in the earlier trade, so it figures that he would start going off after I jettisoned his arse. Tight ends are so tough to gauge, but looking back, I should have stuck with my gut and kept him. After all, Bradshaw and Scheffler would be looking a lot better to me right now than McClain and Keller.
15th round: Bobby Engram
Dude was Nowheresville for the first couple of weeks, so I dropped him for another Random Kansas City Receiver in Bobby Wade (who promptly had two weeks with touchdowns on my bench). I really thought Engram would have a Welker-type role with the Chefs, but they blow and he blows, so … this was not a terribly surprising development.
16th round: Jerheme Urban
A good guy to have for depth purposes, he had 74 yards in Week 1 with Steve Breaston out, so I think he could do it if he had the chance. For now, though, he’s the fourth WR on a pass-happy team, so … it is what it is.
17th round: Dan Carpenter
I started him during Crosby’s bye and I think he had a few points. Beyond that, though, he’s just a dude.
18th round: 49ers
They haven’t been consistent enough to qualify as a revelation, but San Fran has proved to have a pretty damn good defense this year (except for the Atlanta game). There was a 48-point outburst in Week 5 (THREE defensive touchdowns), but they’re still not to the level that I can pencil them in every week. I have to go by matchup between the Niners and the Panthers, but the good news is that Frisco has a shite schedule from here on out.
Wish the Scooters luck … we haven’t had much of it and we need it.
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