The Commish Rates the Draft

Before I start grading your efforts at this year's draft, a few comments.  First of all, I didn't have the exact order of the draft in front of me (only the final rosters), so I won't be commenting on good sleeper or bone-head picks like "Shannon Sharpe at the start of round 2?") 

Second, because I don't have a good feel for all the playes this year, I took a very scientific approach to rating the draft.  I did this by taking projected points for each player and comparing them to the other players at their position.  Then I took this "value" number for each player and just added them up. The high score wins! 

Finally,  Fantasy Football is not scientific!  It wouldn't be fun if there wasn't a whole lot of luck involved.  Nobody knows how many yards Fred Taylor will run for this year.  Nobody knows which player will go down in week one.  So take this rating with a grain of salt and either prove me right or prove me wrong.

Before I jump into it, let me say one thing.  I was most impressed by everyone's drafting abilities this year.  Overall you are a bunch of tough cookies!  I believe parity has happened the right way.

Grade A

Traffic Jammers - Starters: 327, Full Roster: 227.  This team's running back density gravitates this team to the top.  Most of the second team is mediocre.

DJAPD - Starters: 313, Full Roster: 169.  Terrell Davis boosts Doug's score by 165.  I penalized Doug -100 for his Rashan Salaam pick though.  Did Galloway sign?  If so this team moves above the Jammers for best Starters.

Pretty Flys - Starters: 251, Total Score: 243.  The Fly's have the best overall team according to me.  Well what did you expect?  I used my projected points to rate the draft, and not following my own projections while drafting would be kinda stupid.  If you projected points differently than I did, this list would change dramatically.

Big Screen Bobos - Starters: 231, Full Roster: 88.  Dave has a good team with good balance at all positions.  His long shots: Terry Allen and Pat Johnson lowered his Full Roster score.  Should I have given him a -50 for not drafting a defense?

Grade B

Vipers - Starters: 230, Full Roster: -65.  Wade's starters are top notch, but he gets a B due to his long shot picks.  Tim Couch, Skip Hicks, Leshon Johnson and Kevin Johnson all had big negatives.  I hope these gambles work out for you Wade (nah, maybe I don't.)

Atheletic Supporters - Starters: 219, Full Roster: 79.  Dan's got a good solid team from top to bottom.  Like always Dan doesn't gamble much in his draft like Wade or especially Phil.  He did draft David Boston and Andre Hastings who I didn't value highly.

Clueless Again - Starters: 217, Full Roster: 170.  Clueless?  Not really.  They are the third best overall team in my book.  These girls, like Dan drafted a good solid team.  No real "wow" picks but no boneheaders either.  Sometimes you need to look beyond the cheat sheets though to get to the next level.

Grade C

Hot Dogs - Starters: 193, Full Roster: -51.  Steve has always recieved C's from me on his drafts, but he has 2 more Fantasy Bowl rings than I do.  I like this team except for the Chris Warren and Wayne Chrebet picks.  This team has the biggest disparity between Starters and Full Roster scores (hope there's no finger pointing in the locker room.)  Steve will need alotta luck to get that third ring.

UKANDUET - Starters: 175, Full Roster: 52.  Tammie's draft shows me she likes to gamble a bit more than Dan, Gwen and Dianna, but a little less than Wade and Phil.  Unlike her fellow female owners, Tammie looks a little too far beyond the cheat sheets with a tendency to veranalyze.  She values Mitchell, Rison, Sheppard, Edwards, and Richie more than I do.  BTW I didn't penalize her for Brister, I figure Griese will do the same mediocre job as Bubby!

No Namers - Starters: 170, Full Roster: 16.  George on the other hand was wise not to follow his daughter's path into long shots.  He drafted from the cheat sheet which is what a rookie needs to do.  This is a good solid team that may make it to the first round of the playoffs.  Just a light barb for drafting Andre "Grandpa" Reed :-)

Bee Gees - Starters: 149, Full Roster: -39.  When will the Bee Gee's move it to the next level?  Geri must have a life outside of Fantasy Football, because I think she used last years cheat sheet for her draft.  Nothing much to say about this run of the mill team other than good luck.

Grade D

Pinball Wizards - Starters: 146, Full Roster: -23.  My brother's first year on his own will be a bit rough.  Weak at running back and suspect at wide recievers.  Ricky's a rookie and Kirby's a full back.  Bruce has a tight hammy, Jett and Rocket have wheels but no hands, and who is Holt?  Larry got a lesson in cut-throat when Wade drafted Couch out from under Detmer.  I think both teams lost on those picks!

Lightning - Starters: 125, Full Roster: 5.  Eddie George is the only player here of any value.  Pickens signed after I did these totals, so maybe Larry moves above Larry on the list.  As I look to try to justify this grade, I can't find any glaring reasons.  It's just the overall package that has close to zero value as any in the league (at least it's not negative... see below.)

PudWhackers - Starters: 96, Full Roster: -165.  Nobody gets an F this year, but Phil came the closest.  After a laughable draft two years ago, Phil rebounded last year with a great team that could have won it all.  Maybe it's an odd year thing happening, but this team is a gamble.  I realize nobody likes a dark horse the way Phil does, but Ron Rivers?  Joe Makovicka?  Kurt Warner?  Roll the dice and hope you don't crap.

FAQ

Why do my Starters score higher than my Full Roster?  Because some players on your team have negative value compared to others at that position.

Can I get a copy of your projected points and calculations for these scores?  Absolutely not.

Can I offer a rebuttal?  Absolutely.  Send email to [email protected]