Trendsetters 2013

[Greg Ambrosius]

Can Bill or someone email me the latest update on the Trendsetters League by tomorrow? Tom and I will talk some more about the first 3-4 rounds on Wednesday night on SiriusXM. Thanks.

This week's show will have NFBC guests:

Jeff Butler: Our NFBC XII champion from 2012

Jeff Dobies: Our NFBC Auction Championship winner, who teamed up with Andy Saxton last year to take down that overall grand prize. Jeff has now won the Auction Championship in 2010 and 2012. It should be a fun discussion. Jeff Butler is on at 7:15 pm ET and Jeff Dobies is on at 8:15 pm ET. See ya there.

[Greg Ambrosius]

Thanks all. I've got a copy now. Tom and I will discuss on Wednesday night on SiriusXM Fantasy Channel 210/87 around 8:30 pm ET. Thanks.

[David U Kennedy]

My team from the #3 spot.....

1- RB ARIAN FOSTER

I liked #3 because I was content on starting with Doug Martin or Arian Foster. Some people say I got a gift, but I am not sure I feel that good about him over Martin. One thing I do know is that Foster is one of the few RB's who gets the carries, goal line, and catches. What happens next year when Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels DON'T stay healthy all year (well Daniels missed one game)....those catches should go UP.

2- WR RODDY WHITE

I am glad Glenn Lowy took Chris Johnson in front of me, as he would of been tough to pass on. That being said, I am very happy with Roddy here. Many predicted his demise last year due to Julio getting 100 catches and 15 TD's (yes, there were people who thought that), but he is just steady Roddy. With Gonzo leaving, and durable as ever, I am happy with this pick.

3- WR WES WELKER

When you are drafting in February, you sometimes have to take chances. I RARELY own Welker, and curse him every Sunday when I am playing against him. However, he is as consistent as they come IF he stays in New England. My feeling is that with Gronk hurt and partying too much, and A.Hernandez unable to play a whole season, they MUST keep Welker and think they will do everything they can to keep him. If he stays, I see his ADP in the 2nd round come August, if he leaves New England, this pick looks bad.

4- RB FRANK GORE

As Glenn Lowy said, the RB's were getting rough. Sure "Frank the Tank" is older, but he sure looked good in the playoffs, and the pistol formation helps him IMO. Still the goalline guy and workhorse, I see another solid season ahead. Would just like to see those catches get somewhere near where they were "pre Harbaugh".

5- QB RUSSELL WILSON

It came down to him and Tony Romo, and I like his upside much better, and once they took the reigns off around week 10, he was AWESOME. I think they pick up where they left off as Pete Carroll is a prick who likes to run up the score.

6- WR STEVE SMITH

Really toyed with this pick. A bunch of directions I could of gone, but wanted a safe #1 option who under the right conditions can "go off" any week but offered some consistency. Like Welker, I generally don't own him. Doesn't play as old as he is, and he finished the year really well last year. Carolina won 5 of there 6 final games and Smith averaged 15.81 ppg. As the 30th WR selected in this draft, I like his chances to outperform that ranking.

RECAP...

QB- RUSSELL WILSON
RB- ARIAN FOSTER
RB- FRANK GORE
WR- RODDY WHITE
WR- WES WELKER
WR- STEVE SMITH

Pretty happy with my roster at this point, but like Sabretooth said "very tough to distance yourself" with this crew, and the winning team is going to have last year's Russell Wilson, Alfred Morris, etc.

Always a fun draft!

I have to disagree with your take on the Gronk. He gets a bad rap just for being a young and outgoing personality. Hes a class act and probably the best at his position. He gets video taped in the offseason one time at a night club and hes labeled a partier. I dont think so. Im a Bills fan and dont care much for the Patriots. But Gronk is from Buffalo and I wish the Bills organization werent such bone heads and had drafted this guy. Hes a straight up Stud!! Yes I have a little man-crush.
As far as Welker goes I dont see him getting resigned by the Pats. They dont spend money on aging vets. I also beleive that Brady makes Welker and not the other way around. Welker was pretty disappointing until Hernandez got hurt. I dont see Welker as a difference maker outside of Foxborough. Maybe you get lucky and he goes to the Saints, Indy, or Seattle.

[BillyWaz]

My team from the #3 spot.....

1- RB ARIAN FOSTER

I liked #3 because I was content on starting with Doug Martin or Arian Foster. Some people say I got a gift, but I am not sure I feel that good about him over Martin. One thing I do know is that Foster is one of the few RB's who gets the carries, goal line, and catches. What happens next year when Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels DON'T stay healthy all year (well Daniels missed one game)....those catches should go UP.

2- WR RODDY WHITE

I am glad Glenn Lowy took Chris Johnson in front of me, as he would of been tough to pass on. That being said, I am very happy with Roddy here. Many predicted his demise last year due to Julio getting 100 catches and 15 TD's (yes, there were people who thought that), but he is just steady Roddy. With Gonzo leaving, and durable as ever, I am happy with this pick.

3- WR WES WELKER

When you are drafting in February, you sometimes have to take chances. I RARELY own Welker, and curse him every Sunday when I am playing against him. However, he is as consistent as they come IF he stays in New England. My feeling is that with Gronk hurt and partying too much, and A.Hernandez unable to play a whole season, they MUST keep Welker and think they will do everything they can to keep him. If he stays, I see his ADP in the 2nd round come August, if he leaves New England, this pick looks bad.

4- RB FRANK GORE

As Glenn Lowy said, the RB's were getting rough. Sure "Frank the Tank" is older, but he sure looked good in the playoffs, and the pistol formation helps him IMO. Still the goalline guy and workhorse, I see another solid season ahead. Would just like to see those catches get somewhere near where they were "pre Harbaugh".

5- QB RUSSELL WILSON

It came down to him and Tony Romo, and I like his upside much better, and once they took the reigns off around week 10, he was AWESOME. I think they pick up where they left off as Pete Carroll is a prick who likes to run up the score.

6- WR STEVE SMITH

Really toyed with this pick. A bunch of directions I could of gone, but wanted a safe #1 option who under the right conditions can "go off" any week but offered some consistency. Like Welker, I generally don't own him. Doesn't play as old as he is, and he finished the year really well last year. Carolina won 5 of there 6 final games and Smith averaged 15.81 ppg. As the 30th WR selected in this draft, I like his chances to outperform that ranking.

RECAP...

QB- RUSSELL WILSON
RB- ARIAN FOSTER
RB- FRANK GORE
WR- RODDY WHITE
WR- WES WELKER
WR- STEVE SMITH

Pretty happy with my roster at this point, but like Sabretooth said "very tough to distance yourself" with this crew, and the winning team is going to have last year's Russell Wilson, Alfred Morris, etc.

Always a fun draft!

He gets video taped in the offseason one time at a night club and hes labeled a partier. I dont think so.

Here are FOUR separate incidences where he was caught on tape with his shirt off, "partying". Maybe we shouldn't label him a "partier", but after the Super Bowl and getting wrecked with a broken forearm? Clearly it isn't an "isolated incident". Doesn't make him a bad person, but it just doesn't jive with the "Patriots way", IMO.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRFRf6hr39o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynPOngkKrRw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGovQcqltwo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxyJYVD5e38

As for Welker, you very well could be right, but I of course hope you aren't.

[The Franchise]

My prediction is they will let Welker go and try to trade for Harvin.

[Getpaddled]

Better chance at 'Dola then Harvin imo

cheaper... its how NE rollz

[The Franchise]

Better chance at 'Dola then Harvin imo

cheaper... its how NE rollz

NE doesn't roll that way. If they let Welker go and can't get a better player than Edelman then they will just draft a WR that fits their scheme (WR - Tavon Austin WV). Amendola will be more expensive and IMO not that much better than Edelman so to me it doesn't make much sense. BB will go after a player he likes if that player becomes available and he has loved Harvin for a long time

[Sabretooth]

Phase 2 of this draft starts Friday.
Donnie will be on the clock to kick it off then.

[BigBlueNation]

Better chance at 'Dola then Harvin imo

cheaper... its how NE rollz

Conner Vernon - WR Duke. All-time ACC receiver. 4.5 speed. good hands. not enough speed for separation to be a down field threat. doesn't mind going over the middle. QB's best friend.

who does this sound like?

[Rob B]

Trendsetters 2013
Phase 2 – Rounds 7-11
Pick 13

I left the first 6 rounds with the following core:

QB: Brees (1)
RB: Reggie Bush (4) and Jonathon Stewart (6)
WR: Andre Johnson (3) and Danario Alexander (5)
TE: Graham (2)

I enter this phase fairly happy so far. I have arguably the best QB and TE in the game. I have an aging yet still studly WR in AJ and have reached for a WR who I think has top 15-20 potential in Alexander. My RBs are a question mark. I am hoping that DeAngelo moves on and leaves the position to Stewart. If this does happen, I may be in decent shape.

7th Round – Pick 2: I have had my eye on him for a while and will not let him pass me this time around. I add my #3 WR and add to my stable of Saints players. Lance Moore is the pick. I consider this a solid core in the DC format.

8th Round – Pick 13: Now that I have added my 3rd WR, I am looking to add to my RB core. BJE is really the player I am hoping drops to me because after him, there are more question marks for playing time. In him, I know I would have had someone who will be on the field for 60% of his team’s plays. He goes right in front of me. I am now looking at the Jets and Rams RB situations and decide to pull the trigger on Bilal Powell. Greene is obviously moving on and I think Powell, though maybe not the ideal every down back, does have explosive potential. I throw my dart.

9th Round – Pick 2: I thought about calling out Rookie 3 in the 8th round but thought that Powell’s upside outweighed what a rookie might bring. I am pleased that Donnie didn’t call out Rookie 3 on the turn but I do with pick 9.2. At this time I have one QB in Brees and we are down to scraping the barrel for starters. With Rookie 3 I think I have a chance to add a playmaker at RB/WR or find my backup for Brees. I am happy with this pick.

10th Round – Pick 13: More QBs have gone off the board and there is one, maybe two, guaranteed starters left on the board. I don’t care who he is, I am taking him. I add Christian Ponder to my roster. Yes, if he starts more than one game for me, my team is likely toast. Having said that, I at least have a starter behind Brees which might give me more flexibility with the Rookie 3 pick.

11th Round – Pick 2: I have been looking at the Rams RB situation for a few rounds trying to decide who I think might get the starting job if S Jax moves on. Richardson got a majority of the work last year spelling S Jax early on but my gut tells me that Isaiah Pead is the player that gives the Rams the best chance to win. It is likely going to be a timeshare situation and in that case, I prefer the player with the greater upside. This is a kid I don’t want to miss getting and think that adding my 4th RB with upside is better for my team than adding another mid tier WR of which there are several options.

After 11 Rounds:

QB: Brees (1) and Ponder (10)
RB: Reggie Bush (4), Jon Stewart (6), Powell (8), Pead (11)
WR: AJ (3), Danario Alexander (5), Lance Moore (7)
TE: Jimmy Graham (2)

Plus I have the Rookie 3 Pick which is now a wildcard for my team. By the time we make these picks, the picture may be clearer for my RB core. I hope to not have to target any one specific position. I may simply be able to pick the best available high impact rookie on the board.

Honestly, I like my team. If Powell or Pead deliver, this teams core will be solid.