GuruReport.com Expert League Draft

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Tue May 23, 2006 3:03 am

Originally posted by Tamuscarecrow:
This is certainly a quote that could come back to haunt you, Tom.I don't think it will. I think Hawk is a legit talent; Colledge has gotten raves from everyone I've talked to; Jennings is a WR who fits the WCO perfectly and I think they flat-out stole Hodge in the third round. I'm not being a homer, trust me -- A LOT of the things Thompson has done so far have left me puzzled -- but I think he did a terrific job on the first day of the draft this year. The second day is always a crapshoot because nobody knows if or how many of those guys will pan out.

As for the 3RB deal, I think you took the BPA on the board at the time and that's the strategy I use for the first 4 rounds. BPA = Best Player Available. I would never pass on a great player for someone I didn't like. For example, if I was in the third round, I wouldn't take Ahman Green over Marvin Harrison just because I wanted a third RB. But if the RB in that round has talent and value (which I believe Droughns does) then I'm going to take him, knowing that I can find plenty of talent at WR in the middle and later rounds. And while Nag doesn't like my WRs I'm very pleased with the four I drafted yesterday. I like all of those guys quite a bit and I think two in particular (Evans and Stallworth) have quality upside. Driver is a rock-solid WR1 with Walker gone and while Porter won't ever be a special WR he'll do well enough as a WR3 most weeks and will provide WR2 production when the matchups are right.

Plus, we still have 6 rounds left to draft and there is still a lot of WRs on the board that I like.

The kicker with the Guru League is I always have one major injury or player problem in that league. It's a given. Three seasons ago, it was Michael Bennett getting hurt; two seasons ago it was Shannon Sharpe retiring a couple of days after the draft and last year I lost Javon Walker (see Nag I took a stud early and it didn't pan out

) and Eric Johnson. So now I just have to look at this team and try to figure out which one of these guys is due to blow out a knee.

[ May 23, 2006, 09:04 AM: Message edited by: Tom Kessenich ]

Route Collectors · Post by **Route Collectors** » Tue May 23, 2006 3:08 am

Originally posted by SNAKE:
hate to play the role of simpleton here The IQ thread is the next one on the left.

BillyWaz · Post by **BillyWaz** » Tue May 23, 2006 3:12 am

Originally posted by SNAKE:
ISHO is to simply IDENTIFY and select the RIGHT players when you blurt out the players name that you are selecting for your squad in the first four rounds (or naturally any roundActually, MANY playoff teams had a "dud" (or more)in the first 4 rounds. You for example had WIllis McGahee, Joe Horn, and Ronnie Brown. NONE of them were particularly "studly" last year (McGahee early), but you STILL managed to finish 17th in the regular season.

Imagine what would have happened had you taken Portis, S.Smith, and Boldin???

It would be great if we could hit on ALL of our players, but hitting on MOST is where you will make money $$ in this business.

Nag' · Post by **Nag'** » Tue May 23, 2006 5:21 am

Originally posted by Tom Kessenich:
Well I can't comment on WCOFF since I've never competed in that event. However, based on all of the other flex leagues I've been in, the key almost always is having quality depth at the RB position. Given the weakness at RB this season (in my opinion) it becomes even more paramount. I honestly couldn't pass on Droughns in a point-reception league as my RB3. Way too much value there. If he had been off the board, I likely would have passed on a RB and hoped to get a decent RB3 in the fourth round -- or at least someone I could stomach.

Nag, it's a matter of personal preference but I'm a staunch believer in having RB strength and the ability to find quality WR talent throughout the draft and especially in the later rounds (where guys like Muhammad, Galloway and Santana Moss to name three examples have come up huge in recent seasons). Tom, disputing the idea that RB strength is important in any draft, league or format is silly, and that is not what I am insinuating. But in THIS format particularly, the common mistake that is made is the overvaluation of RB early in the draft and the undervaluation of Stud WRs. This may be my opinion, but again, it is based on overwhelming evidence from playing and evaluating this particular format. It is quite different from other formats, especially the NFFC (because of the 14 team leagues). That's all I'm going to say on this issue as I have no interest to breaking it down and trying to prove my case for obvious reasons. I wish you good luck in this league and I have no doubt you will do your best to try and prove me wrong. And if you do, please remind me next December.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Tue May 23, 2006 5:28 am

It's all good Nag. I'm simply basing my opinions on the number of years I've been playing fantasy football -- and I'm old and have been playing for awhile -- so the approach I take in each draft is based on what I've found to be successful. However, I am not so inflexible that I will pass on value if I see it. For example, in the KP1 league (which is also a flex league) I took Harrison in the third round rather than a RB because I wasn't comfortable with the RBs who were on the board in that round.

So it all comes down to how each draft is going. I know what my preference would be but I'm not so inflexible that I will ignore talent in order to accomplish a perceived goal.

Nag' · Post by **Nag'** » Tue May 23, 2006 5:42 am

Btw, just for fun, I will tell you that I would've drafted either Holt or CJ with your 2nd round pick instead of McGahee. I don't know the rest of your draft, but I assume you waited a long time on your TE (Stevens) while scooping up WRs in the middle rounds. Drafting the Stud WR early would've relieved the pressure to find solid WRs and given you an opportunity to either get a TE early or take a shot at another RB. Btw, I do remember discussing the importance of TE with you last year on this board and I know you like to wait on one. I, on the other hand believe in the importance of having a Top 6-7 TE as one of the building blocks of a winning roster in THIS format (and the NFFC). This does not mean that I would always draft TEs early but I want to reduce the chance of ending up with an inconsistent TE as much as possible. I think Stevens has more downside to be inconsistent then upside to be a Top 6-7 TE. Again, just my 2 cents.

[ May 23, 2006, 11:43 AM: Message edited by: Nag' ]

Nag' · Post by **Nag'** » Tue May 23, 2006 5:45 am

Tom, question: how many teams make the playoffs in this league?