I’m back baby!!!

That’s right. I’m back after a week off from writing this column. But more importantly, I am back in the playoffs after a two year hiatus.

Now the real season begins.

To everyone in the playoffs, good luck. We all need it. We all want that trophy so bad. Some of us do not want history repeating itself (Jason finishing in
second, Rich losing in the first round, myself losing to Scott yet again). So this weekend will be nerve-racking, intense, and impossible to predict. Just
like the season was.

To those who have the 2009 lottery to look forward, I feel your pain and disappointment. I’ve been there. I’ve won the toilet bowl. But this game works in
patterns. Every team will go through ups and downs. You guys are down now, but you have nowhere else to go but up. And next year’s lottery will have
an abundance of talent to choose from. And some of you have ridiculous options at keeper.

  • Jay – AP
  • Jarrett – Lynch/Steve Smith
  • Nick – Jacobs
  • Marc – Santana Moss/Thomas Jones
  • VA Chris – T.O
  • Chris – Boldin

And the guys you get to pick from???

  • Andre Johnson
  • Frank Gore
  • Joseph Addai
  • LaDainian Tomlinson
  • Lee Evans
  • Peyton Manning
  • Reggie Bush
  • Reggie Wayne
  • T.J. Houshmandzadeh
  • Whichever college rookie RB gets the most hype

With that said, here are some early trends I foresee going into next year’s draft.

  1. People will go less by name recognition and begin to realize that some players you stay away from (and are best drafted for value).
  2. Youth prevails. Expect to see less early drafting of players on the downslide of their careers.
  3. Rookies matter more so than ever. Look to see more rookie RB’s taken early, while more risks will be taken in the mid-late rounds on guys who
    could get carries as the season goes on. And rookie QB’s and WR’s will be taken way too early, in hopes of finding the next Eddie Royal and
    Matt Ryan.
  4. WR’s over RB’s. This will be a continuation of this year’s theme, but look for most people to keep at least one WR and the top 20 WR’s to go off
    the board by the end of round two of the draft. So plan accordingly.
  5. Be careful with QB’s. Especially the top tier ones. They all never finish as the top five QB’s.

Also, I don’t want to make predictions on the playoffs, but I will make some generalities.

  1. We will have a new member of the champions club.
  2. It will come from someone seeded 3, 4, 5, or 6.
  3. The streak of Syracuse alumni winning will reach two.

Finally, a few thanks.

Thanks to Marc Epstein for all the hard work: For keeping the website going, for helping to make the message board relevant again, and for being the
best commissioner in all of fantasy football.

Thanks to Chris Brockman for providing us with something to listen to (most of the time). And for making us all feel like very important people during our
guest interview spots.

Thanks to Scott Watson for the most in depth playoff analysis.

Thanks to Dave Allocco for making us all fear you and worry that you may kill one of us if we take too long to draft next year.

Thanks to Parker Deay for keeping us laughing.

Thanks to Navid Sadri for providing the message board post of the year.

Thanks to Jay Cantor for losing with some grace and humility.

Thanks to Jarrett Blass and Rich Kiss for getting engaged and giving us a reason to hang out with each other during the offseason.

Thanks to Chris Rosenthall for proving he was the right choice to replace a great friend and league member.

Thanks to Jason Sherman for asking the question, “Who has the biggest penis in the league?”

Thanks to Nick Serrano for providing the best and most engaging interview on politics.

Thanks to Josh Lukin for opening the trading floor.



That’s all I got this week. Good luck to everyone in round one.