Fantasy Football

It's been a while since I've updated this blog. I recently saw The Thing, but I opted to post the review on the Crimson Monkey website. I do have tons of ideas and things for this blog, as I will be attending the 2011 Next Big Thing concert in Tampa on December 3rd. In the coming weeks, I plan on showcasing the bands I will be seeing. Until then, I wanted to share my latest trend...Fantasy Football!

This is the first year I've ever played Fantasy Football. My good friends Rickey and Noelle convinced me to play in this ESPN league. I figured why not so I signed up for the draft, not really knowing what to do. And well, I made several errors. I remember I drafted Philip Rivers, Roddy White and Steven Jackson, wasted high draft picks on Randall Cobb and Santana Moss (by accident) and also had DeSean Jackson and Jermichael Finley. I didn't understand the point system, as I initially thought it was touchdowns only...only until the third week did I realize that yards counted for points as well. By then, I let go of Finley and DeSean Jackson, as well as Santana Moss and I've been playing in scraps ever since.

It's been a fun experiment though, as I've tried playing off projections, off weak defenses and hunches, which have all led me to a 1-5 record in the ESPN league, which is currently last place.

I thought, well, maybe in 2012, I'll know who to draft!

But then I thought, why wait a year?

Why not sign up for another league or two just to see how I do there as well.

I signed up for 4 leagues.

And it's been interesting. I now play on ESPN, Yahoo, CBS, NFL and Fleaflicker.

I found where I was placed in the draft order really had an impact on my team. I believe ESPN, I was second to last, but on CBS, I was third in line, which is why that team is by far my best.

So you know how I did in ESPN.

Yahoo hasn't worked out well for me, as I am currently 0-3.

My friend Noelle questioned my football knowledge and well, those 2 leagues, yeah...I've done poorly, but I made up for it with my other leagues.

CBS...3-0

Fleaflicker...2-1

NFL...2-1

So, I'll share my current starting line-up for Week 8:

ESPN: Vegas Vegans

QB: Matt Hasselbeck

RB: Steven Jackson

RB: DeMarco Murray

RB: Jackie Battle

WR: Antonio Brown

WR: Demaryius Thomas

WR: Steve Breaston

TE: Aaron Hernandez

D/ST: Bengals

K: Jason Hanson

Yahoo: French Toast Mafia

QB: Eli Manning

WR: Demaryius Thomas

WR: Antonio Brown

WR: Jabar Gaffney

RB: Darren Sproles

RB: Ryan Torain

TE: Jake Ballard

K: Dan Bailey

D: Cincinnati

CBS: The Scary One

QB: Tim Tebow

RB: Fred Jackson

RB: Ryan Torain

WR: Steve Smith

WR: Jeremy Maclin

WR: Jabar Gaffney

TE: Aaron Hernandez

K: Jason Hanson

D: San Diego

Fleaflicker: Hiders from Mars

QB: John Beck

RB: LeSean McCoy

RB: DeMarco Murray

WR: Marques Colston

WR: Antonio Brown

TE: Owen Daniels

K: Josh Scobee

D: Saints

NFL: Foster the Toty

QB: Tim Tebow

RB: Maurice Jones-Drew

RB: DeMarco Murray

WR: Jabar Gaffney

WR: Calvin Johnson

TE: Jared Cook

RB: Ryan Torain

K: Jason Hanson

D: Saints

Notable Bench Players:

Yahoo: Darren McFadden

CBS: Aaron Rodgers

Fleaflicker: Greg Jennings

Each website is different. You'll notice that the number of starting players varies on each time. Yahoo leaves me somewhat limited on who I can start. I love how Fleaflicker's flex spot also includes TE. I am not a fan of how CBS has their Add/Drop feature displayed. NFL's add/drop format is so much better. But ESPN delivers the most info on every player, plus, there's no waiver rotation and I can add and drop as many times as I please. I think I've done 100 changes to my ESPN team which probably leaves my friends thinking, what is he doing?

I'm glad I went into this, as my curiosity is fulfilled. To my friends in my ESPN league, my team might be the worst, but I'm having fun. It's a learning experience. And I thank everyone who is a part of it.

As for my other leagues, save for Fleaflicker, I know absolutely no one and I'm in it to win it!

That's it, this may be one of the few posts I ever do about Fantasy Football, so don't expect this to be a weekly thing. Maybe I'll post another in January after the season.

If anyone is wondering what is up with the names, Vegans is named for a friend. French Toast Mafia was from a name generator, but I believe it's also a youth hockey team. The Scary One seemed like an appropriate name since I have Rodgers, Fred Jackson and Steve Smith. Hiders from Mars is a loose reference to Portlandia's Hide n' Seek skit. And Foster the Toty is a combination of Foster the People and my beloved cat.

Other than that, expect me to go back to entertainment next time!