Slow PPR Live Draft Blog, Entry 9

In the 9th round, I got stuck fast. I was hoping for an RB in this spot, even a marginal one at that, and they were going off the board one by one. This is what the draft looked like up to the 9.05 mark

8.03
The Knuckles
Winslow, Kellen TBB TE
8.04
Green Bowl Packers
Avery, Donnie STL WR
8.05
Philippe27
Mason, Derrick BAL WR
8.06
Pain Train
Breaston, Steve ARI WR
8.07
Jaguars
Palmer, Carson CIN QB
8.08
Philippe27
Cassel, Matt KCC QB
8.09
River-Rats
Ginn Jr., Ted MIA WR
8.10
The Grim Reaper
Jackson, Fred BUF RB
8.11
Green Bowl Packers
White, LenDale TEN RB
8.12
We Need to Win 1
McCoy, LeSean PHI RB
9.01
We Need to Win 1
Bradshaw, Ahmad NYG RB
9.02
White Mules 1
Sproles, Darren SDC RB
9.03
The Grim Reaper
Norwood, Jerious ATL RB
9.04
Jaguars
Jones, Julius SEA RB
9.05
Feisty Ferrets
Henry, Chris CIN WR
9.06
Smackdown
9.07
Pain Train
9.08
Feisty Ferrets

9.09
Green Bowl Packers
9.10
Smackdown

As you can see, Jones, Sproles, Bradshaw, Jackson, & White all went off the board here. This left me scrambling and looking to trade. After enough maneuvering, I was able to pull off this deal.

The Knuckles gave up

Draft Pick 9.10; Draft Pick 11.10; Draft Pick 12.03; Draft Pick 13.10

Smackdown gave up

Draft Pick 9.06; Draft Pick 12.01; Draft Pick 13.02; Draft Pick 14.10

Now, I had the next pick at 9.06 after giving up some value in lower rounds. Moving up here was very big because I need a RB in this system to fill in for Lynch at least for the first three games. At this point, Hightower was the only "starter" on the board. I put starter in quotations because I think Beanie Wells has already made this RB situation in Arizona a committee, but I'll be happy enough if Hightower gets 15-20 touches in the early part of the season to suffice my team. I cannot imagine this trade hurting me that much and this seemed like the time to move up as the risk seemed minimal in lower rounds.

Slow PPR Live Draft Blog, Entry 8

I have not updated much recently, but at the same time, the draft has moved at an incredibly slow pace. We are eight days into this draft and have only gone through thirteen rounds. Time to do more analysis though as this draft show a significant drop off in player quality once we get to the double-digit rounds.

After my Walter pick, the draft looked like this

7.10
The Knuckles
Walter, Kevin HOU WR
1:54:31 a.m.
7.11
SUPERDAVE
Berrian, Bernard MIN WR
5:52:46 a.m.
7.12
Smackdown
Cutler, Jay CHI QB
11:19:30 a.m.
8.01
White Mules 1
Driver, Donald GBP WR
11:19:30 a.m.
8.02
SUPERDAVE
Ryan, Matt ATL QB
11:19:30 a.m.
8.03
The Knuckles
????????????????


Nothing too crazy and to review, here was my team thus far

QB:
Manning

RB:
Forte
Lynch

WR:
Wayne
Evans
Walter
Ward


I really felt that I needed to plug holes here from a RB standpoint with Lynch gone & TE.

The RB & TE possibilities at this point were:

RB:
Jackson
White
McCoy
Julius Jones
Hightower

TE:
Winslow
Carlson
Miller

I debated long and hard over Fred Jackson, who would be the ideal replacement for Lynch. But an 8th round pick was hard to justify. I thought Winslow was the choice here as Tampa paid a lot for him to be there. I feel while he is a boom-or-bust pick here, this was better than taking a pedestrian RB despite the fact that I needed one badly.

The ninth round blog will discuss my trade and then I am going to discuss my picks together in two’s as we move down below the 10th round.

Slow PPR Live Draft Blog, Entry 7

A long wait for me back at 7.10 and I was very interested to see what was taken in the middle. Picks up until 7.10 shown below

6.03
The Knuckles
Ward, Hines PIT WR
6.04
River-Rats
Parker, Willie PIT RB
6.05
Feisty Ferrets
Jones, Felix DAL RB
6.06
Pain Train
Wells, Chris ARI RB
6.07
Smackdown
Romo, Tony DAL QB
6.08
Feisty Ferrets
Warner, Kurt ARI QB
6.09
Jaguars
Benson, Cedric CIN RB
6.10
Smackdown
Jones, Thomas NYJ RB
6.11
White Mules 1
Moss, Santana WAS WR
6.12
We Need to Win 1
Addai, Joseph IND RB
7.01
We Need to Win 1
Schaub, Matt HOU QB
7.02
White Mules 1
Cooley, Chris WAS TE
7.03
The Grim Reaper
Washington, Leon NYJ RB
7.04
River-Rats
Coles, Laveranues CIN WR
7.05
Philippe27
Daniels, Owen HOU TE
7.06
Jaguars
Cotchery, Jerricho NYJ WR
7.07
Pain Train
Moore, Lance NOS WR
7.08
Philippe27
Holt, Torry JAC WR
7.09
Smackdown
Hester, Devin CHI WR
7.10
The Knuckles
????????????????

I was willing to take the best available player at this point and was hoping that Schaub would drop even though I had Manning. More boom-or-bust picks as we got to this portion of the draft, but I was able to make a safer pick with a decent ceiling in the 7th round. Available players at this point were

QB:
Cutler
Ryan
Palmer

RB:
Stewart
White
Julius Jones
Sproles
Lewis

WR:
Berrian
Walter
Avery
Mason

The RB pool at this point still had some decent players still around (Stewart if Deangelo gets hurt; Julius Jones in what has to be a better Seattle offense), but I had my eye on WR’s. Avery, Walter & Mason all had good value at this spot and I deferred to Walter in this situation in an offense I expect to be high-powered. Mason & Avery are #1 WR’s on their team and I am very intrigued how both will fare. For me, the fear for Mason was age, for Avery, constant double-teams. I decided to go with Walter though, a safer pick, and here’s hoping he’s a Welkeresque player in a New England Lite offense. Time will tell when I look back on this in Oct/Nov if this was the right choice.

Slow PPR Live Draft Blog, Entry 6

The 6th round pick was tricky as well, but looking in retrospect, happy I made it. For me, I wanted another WR and really little had changed after I picked Lee Evans. The picks in between me are below:
5.10
The Knuckles
Evans, Lee BUF WR

5.11
Green Bowl Packers
Brown, Donald IND RB

5.12
White Mules 1
Rivers, Philip SDC QB

6.01
The Grim Reaper
McNabb, Donovan PHI QB

6.02
SUPERDAVE
Ward, Derrick TBB RB

6.03
The Knuckles
?????????


Again options are below:

RB:
Parker
Jones
Wells
Benson

WR:
Cotchery
Ward
Moss
Hester

TE:
Cooley
Daniels
Winslow

I thought about taking Cotchery early as the #1 WR on the Jets, but ended up with Ward in this case. The Jets passing game will probably be average at best this year with Sanchez at the helm. I actually think all other facets of the Jets team are solid (good o-line, thus pretty good RB’s, playmakers on D) but Cotchery will suffer as a result of the undeveloped talent at QB. Ward’s ceiling is not incredibly high, but he still plays on an above-average offense as a solid possession receiver. Plus how can you not love that grin every time he makes a catch…

Cotchery ends up going at the 7.06 slot which makes me feel better about not overpaying for him.

Slow PPR Live Draft Blog, Entry 5

My 5th round pick became easier but for the wrong reasons. The draft is shown again after my Lynch pick and I missed what I perceive as “my guy” the pick above me:

4.04
Green Bowl Packers
Gates, Antonio SDC TE
4.05
Philippe27
Owens, Terrell BUF WR
4.06
Pain Train
Rodgers, Aaron GBP QB
4.07
Jaguars
Royal, Eddie DEN WR
4.08
Feisty Ferrets
Rice, Ray BAL RB
4.09
River-Rats
Moreno, Knowshon DEN RB
4.10
The Grim Reaper
Jackson, DeSean PHI WR
4.11
White Mules 1
Edwards, Braylon CLE WR
4.12
We Need to Win 1
Gonzalez, Anthony IND WR
5.01
We Need to Win 1
Williams, Roy DAL WR
5.02
SUPERDAVE
Jackson, Vincent SDC WR
5.03
The Grim Reaper
Olsen, Greg CHI TE
5.04
River-Rats
Marshall, Brandon DEN WR
5.05
Feisty Ferrets
Gonzalez, Tony ATL TE
5.06
Jaguars
Bryant, Antonio TBB WR
5.07
Pain Train
Clark, Dallas IND TE
5.08
Philippe27
Johnson, Larry KCC RB
5.09
Green Bowl Packers
Holmes, Santonio PIT WR
5.10
The Knuckles
????????????????

I probably should not have expected otherwise with some of these picks as this draft has gone in waves and this was clearly the WR wave. Rice going at the 4.8 spot is surprising & I think shows the knowledge base in my league that he is going that high. When you look at the WR’s, you can notice that 5 went in a row & left very little for me at the 5.10 slot….except that I thought Holmes could drop. I thought surely Holmes would not drop this low, but then went Marshall, then Bryant, and even Grandmama (Larry Johnson) went.

The disappointment was immense when I saw Holmes go at 5.9 and left me with the following options:

RB:
Addai
Brown
Ward
Felix Jones

WR:
Evans
Ward
Cotchery
Berrian
Moore

The hardest part here was picking who I deemed top two on the list, who were either Addai/Brown or Evans and can lead me on another topic of discussion. The topic would be the fact that I would either end up with 3 Colts or 2 Colts/2 Bills. Certain players have perspectives on whether or not they want these combos or not & how this impacts their pick selection. For me, I had to go with Evans, who was one of the last of the tier 3 WR’s (in my rankings), but now leaves me with 2 Colts & 2 Bills. They better have good offenses…..

Slow PPR Live Draft Blog, Entry 5

So haven’t posted in awhile, and here’s the update up to this point.

The picks have not been as easy for me in rounds 4-6 & I expect more difficulty as this draft is set on certain players that I also like in the draft.

In round 4, my main debate was between an RB or to start reaching at TE. The rest of the draft picks are shown below:

1.01
Smackdown
Jones-Drew, Maurice JAC RB
1.02
SUPERDAVE
Peterson, Adrian MIN RB
1.03
The Knuckles
Forte, Matt CHI RB
1.04
Green Bowl Packers
Gore, Frank SFO RB
1.05
Philippe27
Jackson, Steven STL RB
1.06
Pain Train
Williams, DeAngelo CAR RB
1.07
River-Rats
Slaton, Steve HOU RB
1.08
Feisty Ferrets
Johnson, Andre HOU WR
1.09
Jaguars
Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR
1.10
The Grim Reaper
Johnson, Calvin DET WR
1.11
White Mules 1
Tomlinson, LaDainian SDC RB
1.12
We Need to Win 1
Johnson, Chris TEN RB
2.01
We Need to Win 1
Moss, Randy NEP WR
2.02
White Mules 1
Turner, Michael ATL RB
2.03
The Grim Reaper
Jennings, Greg GBP WR
2.04
Jaguars
Westbrook, Brian PHI RB
2.05
Feisty Ferrets
Smith, Steve CAR WR
2.06
River-Rats
White, Roddy ATL WR
2.07
Pain Train
Jacobs, Brandon NYG RB
2.08
Philippe27
Barber, Marion DAL RB
2.09
Green Bowl Packers
Colston, Marques NOS WR
2.10
The Knuckles
Wayne, Reggie IND WR
2.11
SUPERDAVE
Boldin, Anquan ARI WR
2.12
The Grim Reaper
Welker, Wes NEP WR
3.01
We Need to Win 1
Brown, Ronnie MIA RB
3.02
White Mules 1
Thomas, Pierre NOS RB
3.03
The Grim Reaper
Bowe, Dwayne KCC WR
3.04
Jaguars
Smith, Kevin DET RB
3.05
Feisty Ferrets
Grant, Ryan GBP RB
3.06
River-Rats
Brady, Tom NEP QB
3.07
Pain Train
Portis, Clinton WAS RB
3.08
Philippe27
McFadden, Darren OAK RB
3.09
Green Bowl Packers
Brees, Drew NOS QB
3.10
The Knuckles
Manning, Peyton IND QB
3.11
SUPERDAVE
Houshmandzadeh, T.J. SEA WR
3.12
Smackdown
Bush, Reggie NOS RB
4.01
Smackdown
Ochocinco, Chad CIN WR
4.02
SUPERDAVE
Witten, Jason DAL TE
4.03
The Knuckles
????????????????


I definitely was not decisive in knowing who I was going to pick whereas in the first three rounds, it was nearly a given. Here were my options

RB:
Lynch
Rice

Moreno

WR:
Owens
Royal
Jackson
Edwards

TE:
Gates

All of those WR’s have some sort of question mark around them and I was unsure on pulling the trigger when there were more sure players at other positions. Problem with Lynch is clearly his 3 game suspension and with Gates, the TE position is incredibly deep from my perspective, and the top guys value lessen to me when this is the case. At the end of it, I chose Lynch as I felt that he was worth the wait here and I could take my time on a TE later in the draft. I’ll separate round 5 & 6 respectively into separate posts.

Slow PPR Live Draft Blog, Entry 4

So with the briefings from last night, I decided not to take the trade and stay put. I could not justify making that deal in my mind. My pick in the 3rd round was fairly simple similar with the Wayne pick. Progress in the draft is shown below and justification of my pick.












1.01
Smackdown
Jones-Drew, Maurice JAC RB
1.02
SUPERDAVE
Peterson, Adrian MIN RB
1.03
The Knuckles
Forte, Matt CHI RB
1.04
Green Bowl Packers
Gore, Frank SFO RB
1.05
Philippe27
Jackson, Steven STL RB
1.06
Pain Train
Williams, DeAngelo CAR RB
1.07
River-Rats
Slaton, Steve HOU RB
1.08
Feisty Ferrets
Johnson, Andre HOU WR
1.09
Jaguars
Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR
1.10
The Grim Reaper
Johnson, Calvin DET WR
1.11
White Mules 1
Tomlinson, LaDainian SDC RB
1.12
We Need to Win 1
Johnson, Chris TEN RB
2.01
We Need to Win 1
Moss, Randy NEP WR
2.02
White Mules 1
Turner, Michael ATL RB
2.03
The Grim Reaper
Jennings, Greg GBP WR
2.04
Jaguars
Westbrook, Brian PHI RB
2.05
Feisty Ferrets
Smith, Steve CAR WR
2.06
River-Rats
White, Roddy ATL WR
2.07
Pain Train
Jacobs, Brandon NYG RB
2.08
Philippe27
Barber, Marion DAL RB
2.09
Green Bowl Packers
Colston, Marques NOS WR
2.10
The Knuckles
Wayne, Reggie IND WR
2.11
SUPERDAVE
Boldin, Anquan ARI WR
2.12
The Grim Reaper
Welker, Wes NEP WR
3.01
We Need to Win 1
Brown, Ronnie MIA RB
3.02
White Mules 1
Thomas, Pierre NOS RB
3.03
The Grim Reaper
Bowe, Dwayne KCC WR
3.04
Jaguars
Smith, Kevin DET RB
3.05
Feisty Ferrets
Grant, Ryan GBP RB
3.06
River-Rats
Brady, Tom NEP QB
3.07
Pain Train
Portis, Clinton WAS RB
3.08
Philippe27
McFadden, Darren OAK RB
3.09
Green Bowl Packers
Brees, Drew NOS QB
3.10
The Knuckles
???????????


Position availability goes as follows:

QB:
Manning
Rodgers
Rivers

RB:
Bush
Lynch
Addai
Moreno

WR:
Owens
Housh
Marshall
OchoCinco

I did not think too hard on this decision and ended up taking Manning. I debated whether or not to take Bush in this format, but Manning at the 34th pick feels like the right pick. I will be dreaming about that Manning-Wayne combo going off this year. Next pick may be soon as I have the third pick in the fourth round.