Monday, August 27, 2007
Back to School?
Sunday, August 26, 2007
One can never be too prepared

Thursday, August 16, 2007
Twisted Fates?

Before we begin - Shadow may want to check out what a fantasy expert, who does this for a living, has to say about DeAngelo (it isn't trick videography folks, this is what your commishes told you before this came out) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIxftwuTzOE
Well, well, well...look who grabs an actual team's #1 - Congrats Shadow on adding 3.4 ypc to the impressive stable! Can Russ Grimm and Wisenhunt work Steeler magic in the desert? Only if Faneca is coming with them! Bit risky but you clearly don't mind taking risks this season...hope you don't mind a miserable year, either.
Portis hasn't been getting any love outside Big Dan's world but word is SouthEast Jerome is quietly resting up for an effective season in Saunder's offense. Let's face it - Betts ran all over teams last season, not to mention caught 85% of his pass targets, but where he consistently failed was rushes in the red zone. In the NFC East, you can't afford to waste opportunities - particularly with a rookie signal caller!
3.04 Ninja Mafia - TJH
Boldin seems too obvious for the Mafia although I wouldn't be surprised he pulled the trigger anyways. BUT, Houshmandzadeh is too tempting in that Bengal offense, minus Chris Henry for 8 games. Take it from someone who has had TJH, you love the consitency but crave the yardage bonuses that lesser players routinely get. He topped 1,000 yards for the first time last season but maybe this year will be different...strange hope considering his biggest asset is consistency, don't ya think?Like much of this season, you're taking P-Skert's leftovers...nothing like aspirations, Shadow! You're not a fan of drafting QBs early, despite Peyton still on the board, and you haven't touched Gates since you drafted him a few years back so Conley should be ok - do you take who you think presents the best value in your WR World or make the smart pick and choose Gruden's whipping boy? Defiantly, you make the wrong call - again!
3.06 Big Dan - Used Caddy
You feel like you dodged a bullet with the Boldin pick two spots back, but is Gates really the smart play here? Afterall, it is well known that you have a man crush on a Marshawn and he would solidify your RB starters in the 3rd round, but Gates is so sexy so can't pass him up - especially knowing UCB loves a quality TE and picks next! No, I'm not playing mind games with you, son...your pick doesn't impact me either way. Preparation. But, I have a sneaky suspicion Ninja Mafia may try to make an unusual splash with his extra 3rd...
You better hope Mr. Brady somehow slips through the next 4 picks...we all know you're a creature of habit and pairing RBs with TO and Brady "complete you"
3.09 UCB - Tommy's Boy
Say it ain't so - Do I smell an upside play with Randy here? If it looks like a stud, acts like a stud, plays in a high octane offense that revitalized and controlled one Corey Dillon a couple years back enroute to a championship - it MUST be a stud. Welcome aboard, Mr. Moss! We'll see who has the last laugh...
3.10 Ninja Mafia - Tony G
Who knew having an extra pick could be so difficult? You are hell bent on taking a QB later. You also love a TE but wonder if the value is there next round? Maybe you go defense...only you know for sure but my bet is you go Tony G. He won't be there next pick. A veteran TE is a young QB and struggling offenses best friend. Manning is great - but so are others who might be there in the 4th. And defensively, it's too early in my opinion unless you arrogantly think you can start a run.Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Shaking Things Up...To Say the Least!!!
2.01 --- Some things never change and one thing that is a certainty at the turn is Ricky H. loves Mr. Reggie Wayne and will select him provided #85 is off the board already (right Rick???). I think Rick wants to make a splash - a name for himself - and draft wide-out/wide-out but I think he realizes that Maroney as your #1 and no other back to speak of that has any potential to put up solid numbers with his 4th round pick he has no other choice…or does he??? Let’s play this thing out!!!
2.02 --- Eric Vogel loves Rudi and recognizes he could go Steve Smith but here’s where things get interesting…in Vogel’s own words, “been there, done that”! As much as it pains Vogel to admit he’s learned something from DNice he can’t ignore the fact that DNice has won back-to-back championships with solid running backs (Tomlinson and LJ in ’05 and S. Jax and LJ in ’06). Vogel witnessed Mark piece together a receiving corp with the likes of Joey Galloway, L. Coles and Mike “f-ing” Furrey. Vogel had to struggle every week last season deciding which RB to go with because he took Steve Smith too early….how did that work out for UCB….can you say early exit!!! Great players admit and learn from mistakes … he won’t make the same mistake this season…not with Norwood…give him Thomas Jones and watch him make a run at the Championship!
2.03 --- I almost forgot to mention --- Mark has also had T.O. during both championship runs --- is the third time a charm??? We’ll see because you can bet your ass he’s drafting T.O. with his 2nd round selection! The kid doesn’t have a 3rd round pick with LJ eating it up and you know he wants Tom Brady in the 4th so why wouldn’t he go with what works. You’ll get no argument from me other than it’s all for naught because he just doesn’t have the guns this year…UNLESS………well, let’s just see how this thing plays out!
2.04 --- Kevin Conley has now realized what is happening; realizes he was a bit “off” in his prognostication and sees that RB’s are flying off the board and Young Colin Senuta has yet to make a selection in the 2007 draft. Let me guess you’re saying “who cares what Colin does” - well you should my friend because in case you haven’t noticed, the Shadow is rolling DeAngelo Williams as his RB1…he isn’t even RB1 on the Panthers!!!
You’re now seeing that waiting on RB until Round 4 just ain’t going to play out the way you thought….you take Ronnie Brown because you love LT and he’s the closest thing you’re getting to him this season…just ask Cam Cameron!! Here’s the downer though…as you are putting up the sticker you see the colors and the names and now know you could have had Willis, Rudi or Benson to run alongside Ronnie and found WR’s a bit later….no worries, I am quite sure Chad will “show his stripes” on a more consistent basis this season……..RIGHT???
2.05 --- Well, Big Dan is in attendance and can actually see how things are playing out…he knows he needs backs and is still haunted with the fact he gave up Alexander and Tiki two years ago for Ray Lewis of all people…knowing this he is still going to roll the dice and grab Steve Smith because he is also still feeling the lingering effects of rolling out Edge every week last season and getting nothing! Won’t happen on Wissenhunt’s watch but I can understand the reservation…Smith is solid and he’ll sure up your receiving corp that already includes Evans and Branch…pretty impressive! You can take your chances with Clinton Portis in the 3rd unless Shadow or Drury pull the trigger on a proven vet instead of an unknown….I guess we’ll see…hopefully CP is healthy because if not your rolling out Alexander and who???? Maybe you should grab your back now because if you don’t you may have to run with Marion Barber as your RB2 ….maybe you should have just kept him???
2.06 --- Welcome to the 2007 Draft Shadow…with the 16th overall selection you would like …. Tough call considering things aren’t going the way you were envisioning. Sure, we all know “you’re not concerned in the least” and we’ll let you have that but let’s at least look at things objectively; we know you’ll want to go wide-out crazy and who can blame you with some of the names out there but which one of those wide-outs will be toting the rock for your squad this year??? We’ve seen how your teams have produced before with a plethora of top-notch receivers, yet you’ll try it again and swear this year will be different … will it really??? I tend to lean toward no, but who knows maybe DeShaun Foster gets injured and gives Williams a boost. Hell, maybe you should just draft him and make it happen! Anyway, take your pick of the remaining wide-outs … my guess is you’ll go Holt since Roy, Marvin, and Larry have let you down in the past…….anyone noticing a trend ????
2.07 --- Relax P-Skert, long wait is over and you can go place that Marvin Harrison sticker on the board and breathe a little easier knowing you’ve got two more coming in the 3rd … you are clearly feeling pretty good, as you should because you are clearly head and shoulders above the rest of your Chi-town crew!
2.08 --- And at this very moment the hundreds of thoughts running through Drury’s mind during the last 10 picks are becoming a bit overwhelming and he is just trying to hold it together enough to make this pick count a bit more than last seasons 2nd rounder…shouldn’t be difficult Michael you do remember how ineffective Randy Moss was last season - right? What to do, what to do…I thought Benson or T. Jones would be here and as I am looking through my magazine I can’t seem to find a RB who is up to par with them so I guess I’ll go Andre Johnson because he did well last season….OK, give me Andre Johnson. OK, but you do realize Shadow has two selections before your next pick in the 3rd, right??? Hopefully, he takes another 2 wide-outs and leaves you Caddy, Lynch or Edge…if he goes Back-Back---you’ll take what’s left and like it….man I hope you like it!
2.09 --- Here we go folks ... for arguments sake … we’ll pretend that Shadow understands he’s never won with receivers and is staring at Edge, Caddy and Lynch to round out his stable of Running backs. No disrespect to any of the above mentioned backs…all of them would be good RB2’s or great RB3’s but to have to be forced to use them as your RB1 when you could have had S-Jax well, that’s just asinine!!! I guess I can’t blame you for going Double D’s here because you might as well take your chances with the LaMont Jordan’s of the Fantasy World and grab as many WR’s as you can…at least you get to brag for the 3rd year in a row that you had the best Wide Receiver Corp in the League!!!
2.10 --- Simply put … I have LT, GORE and JACOBS….so I’ll take a WR and who knows maybe follow that up with the best signal caller in the game – mind you, in the 3rd ROUND!!! Give me Fitz and hold on one second … I just need to enter this one and I’ll be right back with my second of the loop picks…………….
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Brain WINS! Brain WINS! Brain WINS!

Brain gets: #2 pick from Shadow and Tony Romo as a keeper (22nd round)
Shadow gets: #15, #25, and #65
Congrats Brain, you just took the salesman to school!
Not buying it, Shadow - read on.
1.01 Juice - LT
There was a time when consensus felt nobody could screw this pick-up...but then there was Colin. Thank God he didn't have it! Score one for the good guys...
1.02 Brain - Mr. Jackson
Great trade, Brain. I'll take, I mean, you'll take the handsdown, best player on the board after LT. Sorry, I was alittle premature with that one...
1.03 Schoolgirls - Mr. Addai
This spot flat out sucks. You have to go Addai despite a laundry list of reasons not to...lucky for you, the next few backs all have similarly detrimental issues, too.
1.04 Ninja - Reggie, Reggie, Reggie...
Do you really think he'll catch 80+ balls again? Well, maybe he will...but lord knows he won't top 80 yards rushing in a game - EVER! Great RB pick. Better hope MJD is actually legit...
1.05 Brain Part Duex - Brian Westbrook
Unlike your younger brother, you actually got a pass catching RUNNINGback in a historically dynamic offense. Outstanding pick if you don't mind the injury report nightmare...maybe Ricky H's boy will share the Red Blouse he's been wearing???
1.06 Big Dan - Mr. Alexander
My how the mighty have fallen, right Drury? Could Alexander be this year's Steven Jackson - not on Danny Boy's watch! Sorry, D&D, you have no excuse now...
1.07 D&D - 85
You can't take not having a sexy stud like Ocho Cinco on your roster. Since LT isn't in the cards this season, you better hope this Bengal comes out of the jungle more often than last year! If not, this is a terrible pick...but, it may prove to be a terrible pick either way...
1.08 DNice - Willis
You can see the two-time defending champ licking his lips at getting who he believes is the back who falls this year - Willis McGahee. You can't argue with the number of opportunities he should have with Baltimore but one has to wonder if 3.8/ypc and single digit touchdowns warrants a first round pick on a defending champs roster??? I see a bump for the players around him - much like the"bump" that's sure to run rampant around the Charm City. Nothing like plantin' the seed in a new field, right Willis? Unfortunately, LJ doesn't afford you the luxory of taking a chance this year but you will anyways...love the arrogance, DNice.
1.09 UCB - Rudi Johnson
You know me as the batting champ, not the HR hitter. This pick makes tons of sense if you like 1400/12 for the 4th year in a row in a studly offense. I love fast Willie and Warrick's worst nightmare, but something tells me I need to be more careful this year and actually take a steady back if I want to win when it counts. I may not always win, but I always get better. The question is, are you?
1.10 Flava Sava - Cedric Benson
We know Ricky has a love affair with Reggie Wayne but he takes the starting RB in an offense predicated on grinding out yards, punching in 12/yr, and protecting leads when it counts the most. In theory, the perfect pick...
You're up, Juiceman!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Third round is the charm, right DNice and Ricky???
3.01 Juiceman - LT, Larry, and the man-child are daunting to say the least, but I don't see Big Dan packing it in just yet... However, picking a fine set of Double Ds at the turn has to get the bags out of the closet you would think. BUT, there are a few position runs between now and your next pick - Can you afford to pass up on a QB or TE here? As much as we believe QBs can be found late, the question remains, can an impact QB be had late? Brady - Stud. Manning - studly before joining the Brain squad. Palmer - the man who could unseat Peyton. Teams don't win with mediocre QBs in this league...
3.02 Shadow - Thomas Jones. No brainer. Quietly solid except for a keeper in DeAngelo who isn't even the starter in Carolina for a head coach who is notorious for favoring veterans and a "number 1 WR" out of Philly who isn't really a #1 anywhere else - think Deion Branch in New England...
3.03 Drury - Cedric Benson. Look at your bench - Can you go anywhere else with two "starting" runners who WILL share the load behind OLines that are significantly weaker this season? Don't answer that...your pick already has!
3.04 Mr. Mafia - I think someone else is in your "Shadow" in ChiTown...but keep in mind the trophy continues to reside in the East! Is it possible to screw your position up - I would like to think not but Coach Shanahan has a knack for turning a promising running game into a timeshare...when was the last time one back got all the carries in Denver anyway...what's that Dan, oh, Portis was...there's been a lot of "perfect fits" in Bronco land since then, remember there names? Neither do we. But knowing you, the RB is the least of your worries right now so it's all about grabbing your most sought after and hyped WR from the desert - Q.
3.05 Brain - It's a draft of names for Brain since he lacked them going into the night - Give him Gates because everyone wants a piece of him in that offense and Brain is incredibly adept at trading away quality for quantity...we know where AG will start, but who knows where he'll finish...
3.06 Big Dan - PORTIS' KNEE - I mean PORTIS' SHOULDER - I mean Ladell Betts' backup. Can you really? Stupid question...
3.07 D&D - Time for a RB since your love affair, AG, is off the board. I hear there's some rookie up in Buffalo who looks like the second coming of Willis McGahee, minus the propensity for wearing down defenses and making lots of women mommies...you may Lynch yourself ultimately but to you, the decision is clear (which maybe the scariest thing of the night!).
3.08 DNICE - So much talent but that greedy bastard in KC is not only preventing you from grabbing a WR, but he's preventing Michael Bennett from toting the...oops. Maybe not. The former track star should be available in the 4th, though...
3.09 UCB - Someone said that Carson Palmer is going to be studly this year...who said that again? Oh yeah - EVERYONE! Welcome aboard, Mr. Palmer.
3.10 Mr. Mafia care of the chain smoker - Stunned aren't ya'? No AG. No Palmer. Hope you had plan C because you officially start thinking now...I'm not sure about you, but I think it may make sense to grab Tom Brady before Ricky does. If not, Tony G is your man...too bad we don't get points for blocking.
The TRUTH......I think You All Are Entitled To It
Monday, August 6, 2007
"Mock" Draft - Round One
I say "Mock" because it really isn't - it is exactly what you will do despite being committed to not letting Senuta and Vogel get in your heads...too late!
1.1 - Juiceman takes LT
1.2 - Shadow takes Mr. Jackson
1.3 - Drury takes the untested Addai despite the weakened blocking unit and never running solo EVER.
1.4 - Ninja takes BWB and hopes that Ricky drafts Tony Hunt and Correl Buckhalter in the 8th/9th and throws them in as a Maroney Bonus! Let's face it - Westbrook's 2006 was an anomaly if you look at his career. I'm thinking 2007 looks a lot like Westbrook/Buckhalter/Deuce Staley back in the day...
1.5 - Brain takes Reggie Bush WAY TO HIGH! 5th pick is awfully high for someone who doesn't even start in the backfield...he doesn't catch that much. That's like drafting Mike Furrey here!
1.6 - Big Dan takes Shaun Alexander because history suggests that backs get markedly better coming off an injury and in their 30s.
1.7 - D&D takes 85 because he loves the available RB1s in the 5th.
1.8 - DNice takes Mini LT despite the presence of a shifty, pass catching back in Lorenzo Booker for the Fins.
1.9 - UCB takes the most feared WR in any league - Steve Smith. No Keyshawn means Rick needs to look for a different vulture this year...
1.10 - Ricky takes Reggie Wayne because without him, the posters of #87 in his bedroom just don't feel right...
In case you missed it....
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Who's Next?
No we're not talkin' FPT 2007 - more like FPT 2017! Is it possible the fantasy godz were manipulating the photo shoot...no Ricky H or D&D offspring! Maybe this is the godz funny way of saying they'll be in the league but not "really" in the league if you know what I'm saying...