Keepers: Tiki Barber and Tony Gonzalez.
Not a bad set of keepers considering Dave had the worst team last year. Barber (via trade) is a solid double threat
RB who is coming off a career year. Look for the TD’s to go down a little bit thanks to the presence of Brandon
Jacobs and possibly more red zone throws to Plaxico and Shockey. But the yards will still be there (look for close to
2,000 total yards and a decent amount of receptions). Gonzalez is and will always be the best TE in fantasy. With
the new receptions rule (he had over 100 receptions last year), his value increases even more and he is
comparable to such WR’s as Joe Horn or Andre Johnson.
Grade: B+
Draft:
QB: Drew Brees and Trent Dilfer.
Dave waited to get his QB and it could come back to haunt him. It all rests on Brees. If he performs at the same level
as he did in his surprising breakout year, then Dave has a quality #1 QB to lead his team to the playoffs. If not, then
Dave has a glaring weakness at the second most important fantasy position, which could mean another trip to the
lottery next year. People are warning to stay away from Dilfer, but I think he’ll be a serviceable backup. He won’t
post fantastic numbers, but he has some decent weapons in Bryant, Edwards, and Northcutt. Still neither is a sure
fire starter, so I would be a bit worried.
Grade: C+
RB: Jerome Bettis, Reuben Droughns, and TJ Duckett.
Taking Randy Moss first meant having to settle for some suspect talent for a second RB. Bettis looked like a quality
pick, but after news spread of his injury requiring him to miss the first two weeks, looks like he’s headed for another
dreaded RB by committee approach. However, of all the Pittsburgh RB’s, Bettis is probably the one to have as he’ll
get all the goal line touches. Droughns is another member of the dreaded RB by committee approach and has been
less than impressive. He’d be a surefire scrub if Lee Suggs could ever get healthy, but Droughns poor performance
in the preseason has allowed William Green to get noticed. Look for Droughns to follow in the footsteps of Olandis
Gary (another 1,000 yard rusher from Denver who cashed in the following year) and be a complete bust. TJ Duckett
may be the guy Dave is forced to play later in the season. Another goal line guy who is the thunder to Warrick Dunn’
s lightning. But he has potential to get those 3 TD days. Overall, I wouldn’t feel too good with this backfield.
Grade: C
WR: Randy Moss, Drew Bennett, Rod Smith, Brandon Stokely, and Cedrick Wilson.
Dave’s strong point. Thanks to a little help from Scott, Dave was able to nab the #1 WR in fantasy with his #1 pick.
However, the risk of selecting a WR first meant taking a hit at RB. Dave did surrounded Moss with some high quality
talent. Bennett steps in as the #1 WR for Tennessee. People question his ability to be a #1 and whether or not he
can work with McNair (since his best games came with Volek). But all I have to say is Tennessee hired some guy
named Norm Chow as offensive coordinator. He’s brillant. Take my word for. Rod Smith is often forgotten b/c of age,
but he’s still a quality possession receiver (receptions baby) who also occasionally return punts. The true steal of
his receiving core might be Stokely. People were scared off by his injury forcing him to miss game one (although
late reports say he could play, sorry for the bad advice Nick, but I wasn’t the one who mentioned the injury).
Anyhow, Stokely is still the best slot receiver in the highest scoring offense. Wilson is a nice sleeper pick as he and
Randle-El fight to replace Burress.
Grade: A+
TE: Bubba Franks.
One of Favre’s favorite red zone targets was selected by Dave. Now Franks is a good player and would make a
decent starter, but what I don’t get is that Dave already has Tony G. Why carry another TE? Worry about the bye
week later. Unless Dave plans on using him as trade bait (although he won’t get much), this pick doesn’t make much
sense when Dave could have addressed other issues like backup QB or to strengthen the RB depth.
Grade: C
K: Adam Vinatieri.
One of the best clutch kickers in the game is also on a team that is known for kicking a lot of FG’s (unlike say
Indianapolis). A solid pick (just ask Parker).
Grade: B+
DEF: New York Giants.
Not sure if this is a personal pick (as we all know Dave love the Giants), but the Giants could be an improved
defense. The secondary is still a bit suspect, but they still have some quality sack guys.
Grade: B
Best Draft Pick: Randy Moss
Worst Draft Pick: Reuben Droughns
Team Strengths: WR and TE
Team Weaknesses: QB and RB
Key to Success: Drew Brees. If Brees goes for another 25 TD and 7 INT year, then Dave will be handing that
toilet bowl to someone else (my guess………me) next year. Otherwise, he may be keeping that bad boy warm
for another year.
Overall Grade: B-
Not a bad set of keepers considering Dave had the worst team last year. Barber (via trade) is a solid double threat
RB who is coming off a career year. Look for the TD’s to go down a little bit thanks to the presence of Brandon
Jacobs and possibly more red zone throws to Plaxico and Shockey. But the yards will still be there (look for close to
2,000 total yards and a decent amount of receptions). Gonzalez is and will always be the best TE in fantasy. With
the new receptions rule (he had over 100 receptions last year), his value increases even more and he is
comparable to such WR’s as Joe Horn or Andre Johnson.
Grade: B+
Draft:
QB: Drew Brees and Trent Dilfer.
Dave waited to get his QB and it could come back to haunt him. It all rests on Brees. If he performs at the same level
as he did in his surprising breakout year, then Dave has a quality #1 QB to lead his team to the playoffs. If not, then
Dave has a glaring weakness at the second most important fantasy position, which could mean another trip to the
lottery next year. People are warning to stay away from Dilfer, but I think he’ll be a serviceable backup. He won’t
post fantastic numbers, but he has some decent weapons in Bryant, Edwards, and Northcutt. Still neither is a sure
fire starter, so I would be a bit worried.
Grade: C+
RB: Jerome Bettis, Reuben Droughns, and TJ Duckett.
Taking Randy Moss first meant having to settle for some suspect talent for a second RB. Bettis looked like a quality
pick, but after news spread of his injury requiring him to miss the first two weeks, looks like he’s headed for another
dreaded RB by committee approach. However, of all the Pittsburgh RB’s, Bettis is probably the one to have as he’ll
get all the goal line touches. Droughns is another member of the dreaded RB by committee approach and has been
less than impressive. He’d be a surefire scrub if Lee Suggs could ever get healthy, but Droughns poor performance
in the preseason has allowed William Green to get noticed. Look for Droughns to follow in the footsteps of Olandis
Gary (another 1,000 yard rusher from Denver who cashed in the following year) and be a complete bust. TJ Duckett
may be the guy Dave is forced to play later in the season. Another goal line guy who is the thunder to Warrick Dunn’
s lightning. But he has potential to get those 3 TD days. Overall, I wouldn’t feel too good with this backfield.
Grade: C
WR: Randy Moss, Drew Bennett, Rod Smith, Brandon Stokely, and Cedrick Wilson.
Dave’s strong point. Thanks to a little help from Scott, Dave was able to nab the #1 WR in fantasy with his #1 pick.
However, the risk of selecting a WR first meant taking a hit at RB. Dave did surrounded Moss with some high quality
talent. Bennett steps in as the #1 WR for Tennessee. People question his ability to be a #1 and whether or not he
can work with McNair (since his best games came with Volek). But all I have to say is Tennessee hired some guy
named Norm Chow as offensive coordinator. He’s brillant. Take my word for. Rod Smith is often forgotten b/c of age,
but he’s still a quality possession receiver (receptions baby) who also occasionally return punts. The true steal of
his receiving core might be Stokely. People were scared off by his injury forcing him to miss game one (although
late reports say he could play, sorry for the bad advice Nick, but I wasn’t the one who mentioned the injury).
Anyhow, Stokely is still the best slot receiver in the highest scoring offense. Wilson is a nice sleeper pick as he and
Randle-El fight to replace Burress.
Grade: A+
TE: Bubba Franks.
One of Favre’s favorite red zone targets was selected by Dave. Now Franks is a good player and would make a
decent starter, but what I don’t get is that Dave already has Tony G. Why carry another TE? Worry about the bye
week later. Unless Dave plans on using him as trade bait (although he won’t get much), this pick doesn’t make much
sense when Dave could have addressed other issues like backup QB or to strengthen the RB depth.
Grade: C
K: Adam Vinatieri.
One of the best clutch kickers in the game is also on a team that is known for kicking a lot of FG’s (unlike say
Indianapolis). A solid pick (just ask Parker).
Grade: B+
DEF: New York Giants.
Not sure if this is a personal pick (as we all know Dave love the Giants), but the Giants could be an improved
defense. The secondary is still a bit suspect, but they still have some quality sack guys.
Grade: B
Best Draft Pick: Randy Moss
Worst Draft Pick: Reuben Droughns
Team Strengths: WR and TE
Team Weaknesses: QB and RB
Key to Success: Drew Brees. If Brees goes for another 25 TD and 7 INT year, then Dave will be handing that
toilet bowl to someone else (my guess………me) next year. Otherwise, he may be keeping that bad boy warm
for another year.
Overall Grade: B-
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