Originally posted by BillyWaz:
quote: I also don't like the luck element of the draft slot where I've had 13th in the 2004 football main event, 12th in the 2004 football Draft Champions and 15th in the 2005 baseball Main Event.
So to say rule changes (or lack of) have no impact on attendance....wrong. As much as I didn't like drafting 14th last year BEFORE the draft, it IS NOT a disadvantage.
JP, you for example took 3 WR's with your first 3 picks, which put you behind the "8-ball" right from the start. You could have taken Joe Horn instead of Eric Moulds, Corey Dillon instead of Torry Holt, etc, but you chose different players. The point I am trying to make is that the draft is not won in the first 2 rounds, but it can be lost, so draft position is not as big of a deal as most people think. My team was made because I got Horn in the 3rd and of course Gates in the 11th. My first two picks (Brian Westbrook- didn't do much till round Week 10 & Fred Taylor - was mediocre at best last year) were not the reason I won, it was what I picked up later.
That being said, unless I had the #1 pick this year (where I could take LT), I would PREFER a late round pick because at least I know I can nab 2 quality RB's, whereas the people drafting 1st-4th for example really can't say the same thing. [/QB][/QUOTE]Wow, handsight is 20/20, but even so your statement isn't quite right. You did great getting Horn after I took Moulds. I think Horn benefited from the fact that the NO running game was a disaster. If you saw that, more power to you.
Torry Holt outscored Corey Dillon by 33 points last year so that comment is a non-starter.
My first two picks, 12th and 17th (Harrison/Holt) finished as the 9th and 10th best RB/WR/TE. That's as much as I could possibly have hoped for. My 3rd pick (Moulds, 40th) finished as 31st best RB/WR/TE. I'm excluding QBs because my plan all along last year was to take a QB late.
My problem was picks 4 and 5. Wheatley was relatively ineffective in the first games then went down with a shoulder injury. What hurt worse was the delay in Onterrio Smith's suspension. My plan was to have Moe Williams start for 3 weeks until I could get a WW replacement as a RB. Bennett was hurt and Smith supposedly suspended. The delay gave Bennett time to heal and Williams was never a factor.
You beat me fair and square. Why? You had the aforementioned Onterrio Smith (10th round)and he was huge those first weeks. I applaud your source in the league office. Your 11th round pick of Gates was also big. I liked Gates and Witten. I took Terry Glenn (later injured) in the 11th and then took Witten in the 12th after you took Gates.
Bottom line, I was forced to come up with an innovative draft strategy because of my draft position. The strategy failed not because it was wrong, but because of the luck factor... a change in plans decreasing the value of Moe Williams and the injury to Tyrone Wheatley. If Moe started instead of Smith in weeks 1 to 3, perhaps I'd be 10-3 and you might be 10-3 or 9-4.