BIFL - Draft '09 in Review

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NBD - Draft '09 in Review

With the NFL (and thus, NBD) season kicking off tonight, I thought I'd take a look back at the draft and share some quick thoughts on our picks before they all get proven horribly wrong.

Round 1
Deuceburger - Adrian Peterson
Woody's Warriors - Michael Turner
A-Town Starbuckers - LaDainian Tomlinson
You Got Got - Maurice Jones-Drew
Wild Stallions - Larry Fitzgerald
Bartelby - Frank Gore
Burke City Giants - Randy Moss
I'm at the Pizza Hut - Tom Brady
Kiss the Baby - Brandon Jacobs
The Death Panel - Andre Johnson
NoFunLeague - Brian Westbrook
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Steven Jackson

I liked that under our new system, johnny-come-lately owners like Kex and the Chief finally got their hands on players that could legitimately be considered 1st-round talent.
I disliked DeYoung's decision to go with Fitzy here. I understand that the fantasy pundits are all hyping the rise of the wideout, and that Larry is probably as sure a thing as anyone drafted behind him, but in our league I couldn't see myself going that route without at least one RB wrapped up as a keeper. DeYoung had two QBs.
I wonder about Derek's LDT pick. I honestly don't know what I'd have done in that position myself, choosing between Tomlinson and Jones-Drew. But I feel like LDT is actually the ballsier pick there, because he could end up taking a lot of shit over it if Tomlinson is in his "It's over" year rather than his "Fuck you" year. So: I'll give him ballsiness.

Round 2
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Clinton Portis
NoFunLeague - Marion Barber
The Death Panel - Drew Brees
Kiss the Baby - Steve Smith
I'm at the Taco Bell - Reggie Wayne
Burke City Giants - Peyton Manning
Bartelby - Ryan Grant
Wild Stallions - Pierre Thomas
You Got Got - Marques Colston
A-Town Starbuckers - Tony Romo
Woody's Warriors - Thomas Jones
Deuceburger - Terrell Owens

I liked what a ridiculous team Michael Toobin was able to have by end of the second round. Having two great late-keeper backs, including last year's #1, allowed him to snag two more guys (Randy Moss and Peyton Manning) that wouldn't shock you by leading their positions, and in fact have done so in the recent past. Certainly an early powerhouse here.
I disliked Tony Romo here. Tony Romo? Did I miss something and he was 2nd-round caliber last year? Am I confused about his receiver options getting worse, not better, this year?
I wonder about the consequences of taking a quarterback high. I've never done it before this year, because I've never been comfortable with having a really questionable guy in that WR2/RB2/Flex position (note: that doesn't mean it hasn't happened consistently). I'm happy to have Brees, and I don't regret the pick, but I wonder if doing this leads to me biting my nails every week when I'm working out those other roster spots.

Round 3
Deuceburger - Larry Johnson
Woody's Warriors - Antonio Gates
A-Town Starbuckers - Marshawn Lynch
You Got Got - Darren McFadden
Wild Stallions - Knowshon Moreno
Bartelby - Antonio Bryant
Burke City Giants - Vincent Jackson
I'm at the Pizza Hut - TJ Houshmandzadeh
Kiss the Baby - Joseph Addai
The Death Panel - Chad Ochocinco
NoFunLeague - Hines Ward
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Braylon Edwards

I liked that Sherwood sticks to his guns and takes Antonio Gates ridiculously high every year.
I disliked almost all the picks in this round (including my own). Not saying they were bad picks or anything, but this is just an unexciting group of players to me. Besides McFadden and Moreno, and theoretically Braylon Edwards, I just feel like all these guys have a very definite ceiling, and that's no fun.
I wonder about Knowshon Moreno conceivably being the first (and only) sub-3rd round keeper in this system next year. Would that be a milestone? No, not really. But I did wonder about it. I think about these things.

Round 4
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Cedric Benson
NoFunLeague - Anquan Boldin (k)
The Death Panel - Matt Forte (k)
Kiss the Baby - Jason Witten
I'm at the Taco Bell - Reggie Bush
Burke City Giants - Wes Welker (k)
Bartelby - Greg Jennings (k)
Wild Stallions - Brandon Marshall
You Got Got - Roy Williams
A-Town Starbuckers - Santonio Holmes
Woody's Warriors - Donovan McNabb
Deuceburger - Santana Moss

I liked the Brandon Marshall pick, and think that the rest of us let him slide too far. It might seem significant in the pre-season that he was suspended from the team, but we all forget that once the season starts, Brandon Marshall wants to make money, and he does that by playing football. Josh McDaniel wants to stay employed, and he does that by winning football games. Marshall will be on the field, and probably playing much better than anyone else taken in this round.
I disliked the fact that Koehler took Cedric Benson, and that Cedric Benson is even a reasonable pick here. This dude just isn't a very good football player, I don't think.
I wonder about the name "A-Town Starbuckers." I have no idea what it means or what it's a reference to.

Round 5
Deuceburger - Matt Schaub
Woody's Warriors - LenDale White
A-Town Starbuckers - Beanie Wells
You Got Got - DeSean Jackson
Wild Stallions - Willis McGahee
Bartelby - Willie Parker
Burke City Giants - Donald Brown
I'm at the Pizza Hut - Dallas Clark (k)
Kiss the Baby - Derrick Ward
The Death Panel - Jamal Lewis
NoFunLeague - Ronnie Brown (k)
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Laveranues Coles

I liked Ray J's Willie Parker pick, despite its fetid reek of homerism. When did we decide Willie Parker was no better than a 5th-rounder? Just because he got injured last year? Are we really worried about Rashard Mendenhall, who hasn't done Mendenshit, taking over? Willie's never been a touchdown machine, anyway, but he'll give you yards every week.
I disliked taking Jamal Lewis. I was so sure I was taking Donald Brown here that I just sat back and relaxed. And then, three picks ahead of me, he disappeared. PANIC has a name, and that name is Jamal Lewis.
I wonder about just how awful Haller's Derrick Ward pick might just turn out to be. Presumably, when he made this pick Haller was unaware of Raheem Morris's announcement that he would be deploying his running backs in a 2 - 2 - 1 pattern of series. Since then, he has also announced that the first 2 of those series would go to Cadillac Williams. So Derrick Ward gets less than 40% of the carries in the dynamic Bucs rushing game. And goal line carries are almost certainly going to Kimbo Slice look-alike Earnest Graham.

Round 6
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Kevin Walter
NoFunLeague - Lance Moore
The Death Panel - Tony Gonzalez (k)
Kiss the Baby - Lee Evans
I'm at the Taco Bell - Kevin Smith (k)
Burke City Giants - Donnie Avery
Bartelby - Greg Olsen
Wild Stallions - Chris Cooley
You Got Got - Roddy White (k)
A-Town Starbuckers - Jerricho Cotchery
Woody's Warriors - Calvin Johnson (k)
Deuceburger - Jonathan Stewart (k)

I liked the general turn in players from the last few rounds to this one. In 1-5, you feel like your picks have to produce, and thus should be "safe." At this point, though, it feels like the pressure's off and you can go after anyone. Kevin Walter? Could suck. But could be awesome. Who knows? The same can be said for Lance Moore, Lee Evans, and Donnie Avery. This is a nice round to take a tight end or one of those types of guys.
I disliked the receiver picked in this round that I didn't mention a few sentences ago.
I wonder about Elliott relying on Kevin Smith (kept in this round) as essentially his top running back. I don't disagree with him as a keeper or anything, he's clearly way more valuable than his sixth round price tag. I just wonder if I'd have taken another running back before the fourth round.
Actually I don't wonder about that. I definitely would have.

Round 7
Deuceburger - Darren Sproles
Woody's Warriors - Torry Holt
A-Town Starbuckers - Fred Taylor
You Got Got - Matt Ryan
Wild Stallions - Carson Palmer
Bartelby - Devin Hester
Burke City Giants - DeAngelo Williams (k)
I'm at the Pizza Hut - Donald Driver
Kiss the Baby - Ahmad Bradshaw
The Death Panel - Shonn Greene
NoFunLeague - Earnest Graham
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Julius Jones

I liked Haller completing the Earth, Wind and Fire trio, even though they're no longer a trio and at least one of them is probably worthless (see Round 5).
I disliked taking Shonn Greene here. I actually like Greene as a deep keeper for next year (it's a good rushing offense, Thomas Jones is about done, and they'll never let Leon Washington be the primary back). But taking him this early is clearly a result of me freaking out about missing Donald Brown earlier.
I wonder about Deezer taking his third quarterback here (he already had keepers Rodgers and Rivers coming to him later). He claimed at the time that one would obviously be traded, but no such trade has happened since, and games are starting tomorrow. I had assumed he already had something in mind when he made the pick, but instead it seems he just broadcasted to the league that one of these guys exists only as trade bait for him. Doesn't knowing that he needs to unload one basically let us know that we can rake him over the coals?

Round 8
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Dwayne Bowe (k)
NoFunLeague - Ben Roethlisberger
The Death Panel - Derrick Mason
Kiss the Baby - Fred Jackson
I'm at the Taco Bell - Leon Washington
Burke City Giants - Ted Ginn
Bartelby - Michael Crabtree
Wild Stallions - Percy Harvin
You Got Got - Owen Daniels
A-Town Starbuckers - LeSean McCoy
Woody's Warriors - Steve Breaston
Deuceburger - Domenik Hixon

I liked the Percy Harvin pick. Traditionally rookie receivers don't contribute much, but last year we saw DeSean Jackson become a viable fantasy option because the Eagles used him in a lot of different ways. It looks like the Vikings are going to do the same for Harvin. But that means...
I disliked the Michael Crabtree pick one spot sooner. Obviously, Crabtree is not contributing soon, and maybe not at all this year. You're really going to keep the guy on your roster all year on the chance that he has a good "rookie" season next year?
I wonder about Fred Jackson. Is there any chance he holds on to the job when Marshawn Lynch gets back? How do you value three weeks of fantasy service? I admit I was kind of intrigued about the possibility of drafting him, but I couldn't ever find a place where it seemed to make sense.

Rounds 9 & 10
Deuceburger - Kellen Winslow
Woody's Warriors - Rashard Mendenhall
A-Town Starbuckers - Josh Morgan
You Got Got - Glen Coffee
Wild Stallions - Le'Ron McClain
Bartelby - David Garrard
Burke City Giants - Visanthe Shiancoe
I'm at the Pizza Hut - Chester Taylor
Kiss the Baby - Chris Chambers
The Death Panel - Matt Cassel
NoFunLeague - Sammy Morris
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Justin Gage

Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Laurence Maroney
NoFunLeague - Muhsin Muhammad
The Death Panel - Miles Austin
Kiss the Baby - Jay Cutler (k)
I'm at the Taco Bell - Ricky Williams
Burke City Giants - Eli Manning
Bartelby - Jake Delhomme
Wild Stallions - Aaron Rodgers (k)
You Got Got - Felix Jones (k)
A-Town Starbuckers - Anthony Gonzalez (k)
Woody's Warriors - Pittsburgh Steelers
Deuceburger - Bernard Berrian (k)

I liked very little about the picks in these two rounds, other than maybe the pair of 49ers.
I disliked a lot, as I said, but I especially disliked Laurence Maroney. It just shows a lack of creativity, as far as I'm concerned.
I wonder about whether DeYoung and I will hate each other by the end of the year, considering that he's got two-thirds of the Ravens committee and I've got the other third. What are the odds that the three share duties enough to make them all worthless?

Rounds 11 & 12
Deuceburger - Brett Favre
Woody's Warriors - Davone Bess
A-Town Starbuckers - Shaun Hill
You Got Got - Matt Hasselbeck
Wild Stallions - Philip Rivers (k)
Bartelby - John Carlson
Burke City Giants - Jerious Norwood
I'm at the Pizza Hut - Nate Burleson
Kiss the Baby - Joey Galloway
The Death Panel - Chris Henry
NoFunLeague - Hakeem Nicks
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Joe Flacco

Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - James Davis
NoFunLeague - Anthony Fasano
The Death Panel - Edgerrin James
Kiss the Baby - Corell Buckhalter
I'm at the Taco Bell - Deion Branch
Burke City Giants - Steve Slaton (k)
Bartelby - TJ Duckett
Wild Stallions - Baltimore Ravens
You Got Got - Chris Johnson (k)
A-Town Starbuckers - Nate Washington
Woody's Warriors - Michael Jenkins
Deuceburger - Dustin Keller

I liked the guys who popped up in these rounds who pop up in these rounds every year. At this point it's basically playing name a guy you recognize. Jerious Norwood? Yeah they're talking about using him more this year, right? Or was that last year? Or the year before? Nate Burleson? Wasn't he supposed to be good once? Corell Buckhalter? I'm not sure where he's playing these days, but he's got some talent, right? I'm not criticizing, either. My picks fits right in.
I disliked seeing Brett Favre get picked. I honestly think this fuckhead believes we want him to keep coming back. Like we need him to be our hero or something. When you draft him in fantasy, you just reinforce that message.
I wonder about who the fuck is going to be keepable from these rounds next year. Is there a chance that anyone from these rounds is going to end up as good as Philip Rivers, Steve Slaton and Chris Johnson, who were kept here from last year? Seems impossible, right? And yet, it will probably happen. It's what makes fantasy great.

Rounds 13, 14 and 15
Deuceburger - Stephen Gostkowski
Woody's Warriors - Isaac Bruce
A-Town Starbuckers - Jermichael Finley
You Got Got - Kenny Britt
Wild Stallions - Eddie Royal (k)
Bartelby - New York Giants
Burke City Giants - Philadelphia Eagles
I'm at the Pizza Hut - Kyle Orton
Kiss the Baby - Tennessee Titans
The Death Panel - Peyton Hillis
NoFunLeague - Jason Campbell
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Jeremy Shockey

Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Kurt Warner (k)
NoFunLeague - Chicago Bears
The Death Panel - Ray Rice (k)
Kiss the Baby - Austin Collie
I'm at the Taco Bell - David Akers
Burke City Giants - Jamaal Charles
Bartelby - Ryan Longwell
Wild Stallions - Malcolm Kelly
You Got Got - Minnesota Vikings
A-Town Starbuckers - Washington Redskins
Woody's Warriors - Justin Fargas
Deuceburger - Miami Dolphins

Deuceburger - Ladell Betts
Woody's Warriors - Rob Bironas
A-Town Starbuckers - Zach Miller
You Got Got - John Kasay
Wild Stallions - Nate Kaeding
Bartelby - Darrius Heyward-Bey
Burke City Giants - Mason Crosby
I'm at the Pizza Hut - San Diego Chargers
Kiss the Baby - JaMarcus Russell
The Death Panel - Dallas Cowboys
NoFunLeague - Josh Brown
Matt Ryan Loves Dogs - Tim Hightower (k)

I liked that it worked out that the very last pick of the draft was a keeper. Really underscores the idea that you can get a valuable guy anywhere in the draft.
I disliked how I kept forgetting that I had keepers coming. Every time, I'd have grand plans of what I was going to do this round, and then realize like a minute beforehand that I actually had to use that pick on a keeper. It happened here with Ray Rice, which is why I left the draft without a kicker.
I wonder about how any of us is going to compete with Michael Toobin. But then I also know that football, and by extension fantasy football, never works out the way you think it's going to, and that's why it's awesome. Let's get this thing started.

America's Mayor

For whatever reason, I think this is a cool idea, so I'm linking to it:
Yahoo has started a Mayor's League, pitting mayors from 11 American cities against each other for charity purposes. Unfortunately, Bloomberg is not involved, so I'm gonna have to go ancestral on it and support Luke Ravenstahl of Pittsburgh. I will also have a soft spot for Oklahoma City, whose "OMG it's OKC" is the funniest team name, and Sacramento, whose mayor is former Phoenix Suns great Kevin Johnson.

BIFL - A Bunch of Fucking Morons

As the season closes in, Commissioner Bardois has finally set a keeper declaration deadline of September 1st. Some of us have easy decisions, while others will have to weigh the difference between a low-round slot potential cornerstone or a late-round great value. These choices are no small matter, as the right or wrong keeper selection can drive or damn a franchise for years to come. With that in mind, I decided to take a stroll through the Biffle record books and look at some of the choices we've made over the years. Here then are BIFL's Biggest Keeper Blunders.

To determine the truly awful historical Keeper Blunders, I looked at a few criteria. First, the owner must have passed on the opportunity to keep a player who had a monster season that year or signficantly out-played their keeper draft position. Next, I looked at the drop-offs that resulted: Who did the team get as a replacement at that position? Who did they draft instead in that round? And who did they decide to keep? If the answers to those questions were shit, shit, and shit, I knew I had a Keeper Blunder on my hands. So here's a chance to re-live your dumbass mistakes of the past. Enjoy:

In 2008, Mark Michalski had the opportunity to keep a full-fledged starting running back (an increasingly rare commodity in these committee-riddled times) in the third round. But scared away by the threat of a rookie bruiser potentially vulturing goal-line carries, the Chachfaces chose to go elsewhere. The back they passed on? DeAngelo Williams, who would become the top fantasy running back that year, racking up 1,639 total yards and 20 touchdowns. The drop-off at running back was not terrible, as 2nd-round pick Marshawn Lynch went for 1,336 total yards and 9 touchdowns, which is cool if you're into losing 11 touchdowns and a draft round. Even more egregiously, in the 3rd round - where Williams would have gone - Marcus grabbed Torry Holt, whose bank-breaking 2008 tally included 3 touchdowns and under 800 yards.

Every August, football fans salivating over the start of a new season tune in religiously to HBO's Hard Knocks. And every year, some young unknown stands out on the show, making himself a fantasy commodity. In 2006, that doe-eyed starlet was Dwayne Bowe, who achieved late-round flyer status with Spencer's FU BAR squad. Surprisingly, though, Bowe had a solid rookie season, making him an absolute steal as a WR2 in the 17th round in 2007. FU BAR wasn't interested in thievery, however. They were interested in sucking. And so they let Bowe go, using that 17th-round spot on the inimitable DeShaun Foster (367 total yards, 2 tds). The WR2 spot on Spence's roster was filled by Lee Evans in the fifth round, whose 849 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns were only 173 and 2 shy of Bowe's totals, available 12 rounds later. And why didn't Spencer use that keeper on Bowe, anyway? Who was it that was so important to keep? Oh, that's right. It was Joseph Addai in the FIRST ROUND, who managed to match Bowe's touchdown total and nearly 75% of his total yardage! Way to go, Joe!

Bowe receives the call informing him that the 2007 FU BAR are fucked without him.

To many fans, Drew Brees will always be the face of Pet Monkey. Drafted back in 2005 in the 9th round, Drew put in three solid years in monkey brown as Billy's chief signal-caller. As the 2008 season neared, though, Billy faced a tough decision. Brees was becoming expensive, and demanded a draft spot commensurate with his skills as one of the top quarterbacks in the league (the 3rd round). The notoriously stingy owner balked, opting for the cheaper, younger option of Ben Roethlisberger, kept in the 9th round. Little did Billy know that Brees' departure from the Monkey would be much like his departure from San Diego: explosive. That year, Brees threw for career highs in yardage (5,069 - holy fuck that's a lot of yards) and touchdowns (34). His replacement, Big Ben, connected in the end zone half as many times. But at least Hollywood didn't have to burn that 3rd-round keeper spot so that he could take Antonio Gates, he of the 704 receiving yards in 2008.

Drew Brees is such a nice guy, this is his "Fuck You" smile

You knew this one was coming:
Julius Jones. Lamont Jordan. Larry Johnson. What do these three have in common? They were all late-round running back sleepers as back-ups or timeshares that Bardey drafted and watched turn into productive starters. The pattern seemed to be repeating itself in the summer of '08, as Bardey saw Michael Turner, who he'd drafted in the 8th round of the '07 draft as a back-up to LaDainian Tomlinson, get his chance as the new starter in Atlanta. But with a deepening field of running backs thanks to the new committee trend, and several high-profile players becoming re-available thanks to expiring keeper contracts, Bardey decided to roll the dice on winning with receivers. Instead of keeping the Burner's 1,699 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in the 8th round, the Commish went with Santonio Holmes' 6th-round 821 yards and 5 touchdowns. Replacing Turner in the backfield was Ryan Grant, with a respectable 1,319 all-purpose yards and 5 touchdowns (merely a dozen less than Turner!), and replacing him in the 8th-round draft slot was Patrick Crayton (550 yds, 4 tds). I'd take that trade-off any day of the week, so long as it was part of a plea bargain commuting my multi-year prison sentence for running a dog-fighting ring or carrying an unlicensed weapon into a nighclub and then shooting myself in the leg with it.

In a futile effort, Turner tries to remind Bardey that he's starting for the FALCONS now

The 2006 Ass-Ramming HotCocks: Great BIFL Team? Or the Greatest BIFL Team? With a roster that boasted the kept running back tandem of Steven Jackson and Willis McGahee, Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne at receiver, and the late-season addition of Michael Vick (in his last appearance as a pre-con), this was a powerful team to be sure. But believe it or not, they could have been stronger. While McGahee (kept in the 9th round) proved valuable in the Biffle Bowl, for most of the season he rode the pine behind Fred Taylor, making him not strictly necessary to the HotCocks title hopes and a potential waste of a keeper. Who might have occupied that keeper spot instead? How about Carson Palmer, whose 4,035 passing yards and 28 touchdowns could have been kept in that same spot, thus negating the trade that sent away powerful WR3 Javon Walker and brought in Vick, who ultimately shit the bed in the final game. Granted, it's hard to second-guess a champion, but Sovic will always be left wondering if he missed the opportunity to make a great team the Greatest Team.

An unidentified fan sympathizes with Palmer, who could have been a Champion HotCock and ended up an Also-Ran White Guy.

In 2006, Ben Dekker kept Ronnie Brown in the 3rd round. With almost 1,300 all-purpose yards and 5 touchdowns, that's the back half of a quality running back tandem. With the 4th non-keeper pick in the draft, he should have been able to fill out the top end of that tandem. And he did, using that pick on top-10 ranked Houston rusher Domanick Davis. But a funny thing happened between the draft and the start of the season. Davis changed his name to Domanick Williams, and then changed his identity from a potent multi-purpose threat and former Rookie of the Year to an enormous pussy who refused to play on a previously-injured knee that had been completely cleared by doctors. Dekker's first round draft pick would never play another down in the NFL. A sad story, for sure, but what does it have to do with keepers, you ask? Well as it turns out, there was another young rusher on Dekker's 2005 roster that could have been kept. His name was Frank Gore. He was drafted in the ninth round. And he ended up rushing for nearly 1,700 yards, receiving 485 more, and scoring 9 touchdowns in 2007. By not keeping him, Dekker opened up that ninth-round draft spot for tight end Ben Watson, who finished the year with 643 yards and 3 touchdowns. Wouldn't you be bitter?

Frank Gore brandishes a football at Dekker, reminding him that it's important to draft players who will actually touch one.

2006 was a monstrous year for the Indianapolis Colts' passing game. Although their numbers would be obliterated only a season later by Tom Brady & Co., Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison, and Reggie Wayne struck through the air in '06 in ways that had not previously been seen. If you had a player who might be on the end of a Peyton Manning pass on your roster, you were probably in good shape. Chuck Kelly had a shot at perhaps the most dangerous of those receivers, with the chance to keep Reggie Wayne (1,310 yds, 9 tds) in the seventh round. Instead, McNutt used that seventh-rounder on Curtis Martin, who must have been sharing ideas with Domanick Davis/Williams that season as he also NEVER PLAYED AGAIN. The Bearcats filled their wide receiver vacancy with fantasy sparkplug Eddie Kennison (860 yds, 5 tds), and at least got one touchdown out of 5th-round keeper Cadillac Williams.

Reggie Wayne celebrates his liberation from the Bearcats roster.

Earlier we examined Bardey's early success with late-round running back keepers and wondered what ever led him astray from that strategy. Well, perhaps it was this: Going into 2007, the White Guys exercised their options on two ballcarriers, the Chiefs' Larry Johnson in the 5th round and the Falcons' Jerious Norwood in the 15th. Between the two, they combined that season for 1,635 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns. Those would be pretty great numbers for one back, but not two. Knowing that Norwood was a questionable RB2, Bardey spent his first three draft picks on receivers and backs, securing a quarterback in the fourth. Marc Bulger had a decent year that year: 2,392 passing yards and 11 touchdowns. But that's a pretty far cry from Carson Palmer, who connected for 4,131 yards and 26 touchdowns that year, and was available to be kept in the 4th round - the same one where Bardey took Bulger.

Palmer devours a hot dog, along with Bardey's championship hopes.

Sometimes the full ramifications of a Keeper Blunder are not felt until years down the road. If he was sober enough to remember back two years, Bryan Dick felt that pain in 2007. Back in '05, Dick had selected a sweet young thing with a troika of rings to helm his squad. But despite winning a Super Bowl championship that year, Dick decided to drop him. Apparently, Santana Moss's 790 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns were more valuable to Dick in the 7th round than the Boston Bombshell's 3,529 passing yards and 24 touchdowns would have been in the 8th. That pick was better spent on Todd Heap. Yes, THE Todd Heap. Replacing the pretty boy under center was Matt Hasselbeck in the fourth round. Hasselbeck put up respectable enough numbers (2,442 passing yds, 18 tds) to merit being kept in 2007. Of course, if Dick had kept Mr. Bundchen in '06, he could have kept him again in '07, when he had the best fantasy season that anyone has ever had, ever. To put some numbers to it: The difference between Tom Brady and Matt Hasselbeck, over the 2006 and 2007 seasons, comes to 1,926 yards and 28 touchdowns. The Seal Slayers could have been making hay on Tom Brady for years, but like me buying my first Skins jersey, they threw their money away on Santana Moss.

Tom Brady is rugged, yet vulnerable.

So there you have it, the Biggest Keeper Blunders in BIFL history. Unfortunately, I didn't have draft information for 2004, so I couldn't calculate any '05 blunders. I'm sure you idiots made plenty of them, though. Since I didn't find any for Will, I'll assume that he made a bunch that first year.

What do you guys think? Which is the biggest Blunder of them all? Do you guys remember any that I missed? And what sorts of hideous decisions will the coming season bring about? We'll begin to see in the next few weeks.

NBD Manifesto '09

Native Burke Dwellers ’09 Manifesto

Site:
Once again this year we will be using Yahoo PLUS, which means you do not need to pay for Stat-Tracker or any of the draft kits, etc. http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/nbd

Fees/Payouts:
The entry fee this year will once again be $100. I will be collecting and paying out the money via PayPal or check, and all payments are due by the draft. If you have not paid, you will not draft. To submit your payment online, go to paypal and send $100 to sr.sovic@gmail.com. You can use a credit card, but PayPal charges a fee for this, so ideally everyone can set up a PayPal account (if they don’t already have one) connected to a bank account so that we don’t get charged the fee. If you don’t want to use PayPal, please get a check in the mail to
Mike Tarasovic
163 Huntington Street, Apt. 2
Brooklyn, NY 11231
Payouts will be $650 for the league champion, $300 for the runner-up, $150 for the regular season champ, and $100 for the third place finisher. Past winners will note that these payouts are slightly higher; this is due to the fact that the league costs less this year.

Scoring:
Scoring will be the same as last season: a point for every 10 rushing or receiving yards and a point for every 25 passing yards. Rushing/Receiving touchdowns are worth 6 points each, while passing touchdowns are worth 4 points each. For a full explanation of the scoring system, check out the league site.

Keepers:
This year we are using the Late-Round Keeper Plan, wherein only players drafted after the 3rd Round and kept on your roster all season can be kept. This includes players who were drafted by another team and traded to your roster. Every team can keep 2 players, plus a third keeper spot for rookies, who can be kept from any round (even the first 3). Kept players will occupy the round that they were drafted in last year. Keepers must be declared to the commissioner by Friday, August 28th at 12:30pm (48 hours prior to the draft).
Next year, we will follow the same policy, except that players who have been picked up during the course of the season will also be keepable, so long as they were picked up before the trade deadline. These players will count as 15th-rounders in next year’s draft. In the event that someone wants to keep more than one undrafted player, they will count as the 14th- and 15th-rounders. Players can not be kept more than once (i.e. players kept this year will not be keepable next year).

Waiver Wire:
The waiver wire this year will use an auction system. Each team will begin with an imaginary budget of $100, and will place silent bids on desired players during the waiver period. The team with the highest bid at the end of the waiver period gets that player. If an owner runs out of auction money, they can place $0 bids on players or acquire them as free agents once the waiver period is over.

Rosters/Draft:
Each team will start the following positions: 1 QB, 2 WR, 2RB, 1 WR/RB, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 D/ST. There will be 6 bench spots, meaning a full roster of 15 players. Each team will also have an Injured Reserve spot on their roster (they must be on the NFL’s official list). Yahoo has implemented an actual IR spot on the site, so you will no longer need to declare IR players to the commissioner.
The draft will be 15 rounds. Draft slot priority was determined via weighted lottery, and then chosen by you. It will be:
1) K Manning
2) E Sherwood
3) D Haller
4) J Colly
5) J DeYoung
6) R Tarasovic
7) M Toobin
8) E Toobin
9) M Haller
10) M Tarasovic
11) S Papkin
12) J Koehler
and will reverse in the even rounds.

The date for the draft is Sunday, August 30th at 12:30pm 7:00pm, and will be held using Yahoo’s online draft application. If anyone can not make that date, please let me know as soon as possible so that we can try and work out a date that works for everyone.

BIFL - Possible Keepers for '09

With summertime looming (5 more days of school for me), it's time for my annual re-immersion into the world of Fantasy Football. So for those of you who've been checking this and the Cluj blog daily for any kind of update (hi, Will!), today is your lucky day.

Here's a team-by-team list of potential keepers for each team. The official list, I suppose, should come from Commissioner Bardey, but I believe this is pretty accurate. Round is listed in parentheses, asterisks indicate number of times a player has been kept already, and Lassard's picks for best value are italicized.

Dr. Dre
WR L Fitzgerald (1)
RB C Portis* (1)
WR H Ward (4)
RB B Jacobs** (4)
RB J Stewart (6)
QB J Cutler (8)
RB J Fargas (9)

Bardois
RB R Grant (1)
WR A Johnson* (1)
WR M Colston (2)
WR S Holmes* (3)
RB K Smith (4)
RB E Graham (4-via trade)
RB M Forte (5)
QB D McNabb (7)
WR D Hester (14)

Chalski
WR R Wayne (1)
RB M Lynch* (1)
WR T Holt (3)
RB M Barber** (4)
WR J Cotchery (5)
QB M Hasselbeck (6)
QB P Rivers (10)

Chester McNester
QB P Manning (1)
RB R Bush (2)
WR R Moss* (2)
RB R Brown (4)
TE J Witten* (6)
WR B Berrian (6)
TE Jeremy Shockey (7)
WR DeSean Jackson (10)
RB Steve Slaton (16)

Bev
RB M Jones-Drew (1)
WR T Owens* (1)
QB T Romo (2)
RB R Mendenhall (6)
WR E Royal (15)

Dick
RB L Tomlinson (1)
WR S Smith (2)
QB C Palmer (3)
RB F Taylor* (3)
WR L Coles (4)
TE C Cooley* (4)
WR D Driver (5)
RB D Williams (8)
QB E Manning (9)
WR K Curtis (10)
RB L Washington (16)

Hollywood
RB L Johnson (1)
RB W Parker (2)
TE A Gates (3)
WR R White (4)
WR S Moss (5)
RB L White (6)
QB B Roethlisberger* (6)
WR DJ Hackett (7)
RB J Norwood (10)
WR A Toomer (11)
QB A Rodgers (12)

ƒ
RB S Jackson* (1-via trade)
RB D McFadden (1)
WR Plaxico Burress* (1)
RB W McGahee (2)
WR D Bowe (4-via trade)
QB D Anderson (5)
WR B Marshall* (5)
TE T Gonzalez (6)
RB J Jones (7)
QB J Delhomee (11)

Big Cat
RB L Maroney (1)
RB A Peterson* (1)
WR B Edwards* (2)
WR G Jennings (3)
TE D Clark (6)
RB C Taylor (7)
WR V Jackson (10)
QB K Warner (10-via trade)
WR M Clayton (11)

Soots
QB T Brady (1)
WR C Ochocinco (2)
RB T Jones (3)
RB J Lewis* (3)
TE K Winslow (5)
RB D McAllister (8)
TE O Daniels (10)
ummm...

Lassard
WR TJ Houshmandzadeh (2)
RB M Turner (3)
WR A Boldin (3-via trade)
QB B Favre (6)
RB C Johnson (7)
WR W Welker* (10)
QB J Campbell (11)

Le Frogg
RB J Addai** (1)
RB F Gore** (1)
QB D Brees (3)
WR C Johnson (4)
WR L Evans (5)
RB F Jones (6)
RB P Thomas (11)

Can't wait til this information actually means something.

NBD - Possible Keepers for '09

[UPDATE: Now that Keepers have been declared, I've gone back through and emboldened the players that were actually kept. I am not sure the word "emboldened" can be used in that way, but I'm sticking with it.]

The NBA season finally ended a few days ago, and I'm up at 1am on a Wednesday after a nearly four-hour "nap" this afternoon, so I'm back to work at the ol' Lassard blog. I recently compiled the list of possible keepers for NBD '09, so I figured I'd publish it here. First, a refresher on the keeper policy this year:

*Each team can keep 2 players, plus an optional 3rd spot to keep a player who was a rookie in '08

*Only players drafted after the first three rounds can be kept, except for rookies, who can be kept from any round

*Only players who were on your roster from draft day to the end of the season are eligible to be kept (this includes players who were drafted by another team and traded to your roster, or you players who you drafted and then designated to Injured Reserve)

*Kept players will occupy the round in which they were drafted in '08

With that in mind, here are the possible keepers for NBD '09. I compiled this list using the draft results and final rosters listed on our '08 league page. That page no longer displays our transaction log, so it's possible that some of the players on here were actually dropped and re-added during the season. If that is the case, you are on your honor to follow our league rules and refrain from keeping those guys. Also, if anyone placed someone on IR last year and I failed to list them as eligible for you this year, let me know and I'll rectify that.

OK here they are, with keeper-round listed in parentheses and asterisks indicating rookies:

R Tarasovic
WR G Jennings (4)
WR M Harrison (5)
TE C Cooley (6)
RB R Mendenhall* (7-IR)
WR L Coles (8)
QB D Garrard (9)
TE T Heap (10)
RB W Dunn (14)

M Tarasovic
RB M Forte* (4)
WR H Ward (5)
TE T Gonzalez (6)
RB R Rice* (14)

J DeYoung
TE J Witten (4)
RB J Jones (6)
WR S Moss (9)
QB A Rodgers (10)
QB P Rivers (11)
WR E Royal* (13)

M Toobin
WR W Welker (4)
RB D Williams (7)
WR K Curtis (8)
QB J Delhomme (11)
RB S Slaton* (12)

E Toobin
QB B Roethlisberger (4)
TE D Clark (5)
RB K Smith* (6)

M Haller
WR B Marshall (5)
QB J Cutler (10)

J Koehler
WR R Williams (4)
RB T Jones (5)
WR D Bowe (8)
RB C Taylor (10)
WR R Brown (11)
WR J Porter (12)
QB K Warner (15)
RB T Hightower* (15)

S Papkin
WR A Boldin (4)
RB R Brown (5)
WR C Chambers (7)
QB D McNabb (8)
WR V Jackson (12)

E Sherwood
WR C Johnson (6)
RB F Taylor (7)
WR J Cotchery (8)
RB A Bradshaw (11)

K Manning
TE K Winslow (5)
RB J Stewart* (6)
WR L Evans (7)
WR B Berrian (10)

D Haller
RB L White (4)
QB E Manning (8)
TE V Davis (9)
QB B Favre (9-via trade)
WR A Gonzalez (10)
TE D Lee (13)
WR M Muhammad (15)

J Colly
RB D McFadden* (3)
WR C Ochocinco (4)
WR R White (6)
WR D Driver (7)
RB F Jones* (10)
RB C Johnson* (12)

If there is someone you believe should be keepable that is not listed here, please let me know and I will look into it.