Power Powell Rankings: Post Draft 2015
The greatest night of the year is now the furthest night to look forward to next year. It's a somber realization that is delicately soothed by understanding that we still have the fantasy football season to be excited for. There will be months next year from March until August where we'll drown in misery at the mundane tragedy that is life without any NFL football, but now is not the time for melancholy. Gentleman, Extraordinary Gentleman we have a glorious four months of shit talking, trade making, waiver wire seeking and hoping through gritted teeth that the injury is season ending or at least a lingering high ankle sprain for the players that aren't ours (too far?).
This was far and away my favourite draft. I think it's mostly due to the amount of homework everybody put into their sleepers, although I hesitate to call a player that now as after an eighteen round treasure quest our waiver wire is swamp of despair. QB rush for Dalton or Fitzpatrick? Count me out of that one.
I loved that although our rankings of players were in all different orders based on our own preferences, there really wasn't a lot of giving up and just taking a guy because you actually know his name. Hell, if Aaron didn't have that round four and five cluster bomb I'd say it was a perfect night.
There was a part of the draft that didn't sit right with me though. It's the fact that Keith and I had the same player ranked number one in our minds. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Keith is a fantasy fool, thus making me a genius. However, usually when I zig Keith is a consistent zagger. Politically I like to focus on socially progressive issues and Keith would rather have a conservative fiscal policy in place before worrying about that. Keith is a wonderful father and I hope to never have offspring (at least for now). I like to point out the obvious flaws to any plan, person or thing and Keith is more charitable and optimistic about the positive qualities they display. Neither of us are right, neither of us are wrong, it's deeper then that. We're just different shades of grey and it's worked great as a foil for our friendship and, more immediately, for this blog.
Keith and I do share an interest in comic books, however our dynamic plays a role in that as well. Keith has always admired the hero like Batman, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. I've always found the villain more interesting. Albeit, not the Joker. I'd say that a lot of my life philosophy agrees with a nihilistic world view, but he's pushes the boundaries of even my own moral code. In my mind I've always seen Keith and my own dynamic portrayed best in our league by Hal and Sinestro. Sinistro is a character that in his mind is doing the right thing and he can't for one second understand how Hal Jordan could dedicate his efforts to foiling his well thought out plan. Hal is all together altruistic and demands that a high moral code be followed without exception. I find this excerpt sums it up quite poignantly:
Both Keith and I are former champs, but we did so with very different strategies and player profiling. But, now our league is standing at a cross roads that I never believed we'd ever see: Keith and I fantasize about the same players...
I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't initially repulsed by the notion, however I see potential in it in hindsight: Two former champs, bonded by reason and logic will team up and destroy all competition in their paths? Keith may be a little more trepidatious about letting the Parralax inside, but think of the results! 1A and 1B letting it play out to the end. Darth and Luke really do side together and rule the galaxy!! I feel like I'm getting lost in one of our shared fantasies so I'll digress.
Brees, Bradford, Johnson, Miller, Gore and Bridgewater. Are Keith and John are the boring odd couple of The Fantasy League Of Extraordinary Gentleman? "I know you want it!"
This was far and away my favourite draft. I think it's mostly due to the amount of homework everybody put into their sleepers, although I hesitate to call a player that now as after an eighteen round treasure quest our waiver wire is swamp of despair. QB rush for Dalton or Fitzpatrick? Count me out of that one.
I loved that although our rankings of players were in all different orders based on our own preferences, there really wasn't a lot of giving up and just taking a guy because you actually know his name. Hell, if Aaron didn't have that round four and five cluster bomb I'd say it was a perfect night.
There was a part of the draft that didn't sit right with me though. It's the fact that Keith and I had the same player ranked number one in our minds. Don't get me wrong, I don't think Keith is a fantasy fool, thus making me a genius. However, usually when I zig Keith is a consistent zagger. Politically I like to focus on socially progressive issues and Keith would rather have a conservative fiscal policy in place before worrying about that. Keith is a wonderful father and I hope to never have offspring (at least for now). I like to point out the obvious flaws to any plan, person or thing and Keith is more charitable and optimistic about the positive qualities they display. Neither of us are right, neither of us are wrong, it's deeper then that. We're just different shades of grey and it's worked great as a foil for our friendship and, more immediately, for this blog.
Keith and I do share an interest in comic books, however our dynamic plays a role in that as well. Keith has always admired the hero like Batman, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. I've always found the villain more interesting. Albeit, not the Joker. I'd say that a lot of my life philosophy agrees with a nihilistic world view, but he's pushes the boundaries of even my own moral code. In my mind I've always seen Keith and my own dynamic portrayed best in our league by Hal and Sinestro. Sinistro is a character that in his mind is doing the right thing and he can't for one second understand how Hal Jordan could dedicate his efforts to foiling his well thought out plan. Hal is all together altruistic and demands that a high moral code be followed without exception. I find this excerpt sums it up quite poignantly:
Both Keith and I are former champs, but we did so with very different strategies and player profiling. But, now our league is standing at a cross roads that I never believed we'd ever see: Keith and I fantasize about the same players...
I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't initially repulsed by the notion, however I see potential in it in hindsight: Two former champs, bonded by reason and logic will team up and destroy all competition in their paths? Keith may be a little more trepidatious about letting the Parralax inside, but think of the results! 1A and 1B letting it play out to the end. Darth and Luke really do side together and rule the galaxy!! I feel like I'm getting lost in one of our shared fantasies so I'll digress.
Brees, Bradford, Johnson, Miller, Gore and Bridgewater. Are Keith and John are the boring odd couple of The Fantasy League Of Extraordinary Gentleman? "I know you want it!"
LET IT BEGIN!!!!!
1. Clipboard Jesus (Andrew)- Although I didn't like every single pick Andrew made, he made a lot of great ones. His fortification of his WR and RB corps have given him upside depth and he may find a breakout to put in his flex. Par for the course on his championship chances. Pick of the draft: John Brown and Stevie Johnson.
2. NINERS (Stan)- Stan nailed a lot of his picks and the end result is the most complete and consistent team in the league. There's not a lot on his roster that looks to boom or bust and that will be good enough to win him some weeks on it's own. Pick of the draft: Tie for Amari Cooper and Jordan Cameron.
3. The Keith-glorius Basterds (Keith)- The team is built like a brick shit house with all the running back depth. Keith sniped Brees from me, but I had already mentally prepared myself last month for that eventuality (albeit I thought it would happen sooner then the pick just before). There's lots for me to be excited about on his team because now we love the all the same players. Much like my NFL fandom is going to be sublet to the Eagles this season, my fantasy man crush is The Keith-glorius Basterds. This is getting sick. Pick of the draft: Teddy Bridgewater.
4. Oh That's Nasty (Dawson)- Do you guys understand why I take stabs at you guys in my posts? To inspire you to greatness. I had Dawson lower in my rankings due to his running back depth and he responded by taking two of my top five ranked RBs in Abdullah and Ivory! What a call! Everyone knows it was mostly luck in the form of Bell's late season surge that Dawson won last time, but this year I think he has a legitimate chance to win back to back titles due to strength and depth at the position. Pick of the draft: Chris Ivory (you won't even miss Bell for those two weeks)
5. The Fear Boners (John)- Everything went according to plan for my draft other then the evitable sniping of some of my picks by people who share my love for shiny things. I got a stable of my boys last night, I never settled once. Well maybe Eric Ebron, time will tell there. Pick of the draft: Steve Smith Sr (when I saw Seavers put up a Smith sticker I got sick to my stomach and thought I lost my boy on his farewell tour, but not yet...)
6. NFL OWNER (Shayne)- Shayne came into the draft with a disheveled stack of papers and one cable channel list sticking out randomly. After the draft he announced that I should report that he has no chance this year as he as no faith in his team. I think it's too early to say that, although I do feel some of his picks were questionable. Pick of the draft: Jarvis Landry
7. Sideliners (Steve)- Lots of good picks to come out of Steve's draft. He picked up a couple guys at every position and I liked a lot of them. I think his strength is going to be at running back and defense/IDP that Wake/Suh/Quinn combo will be a matchup nightmare. Pick of the draft: Doug Martin (I think he's a player with the same kind of moxie to prove the doubters wrong in a Steve Smith Sr way this year)
8. Las Vegas Posse (Clarke)- No change for both our expansion teams after the draft, but that's not to say I didn't like what they did with their picks. Quite the opposite I think Clarke put together a team that, barring injury, could compete for a playoff spot. Once you've punched your ticket to the game all bets are off! Clarke showed particular prowess by subverting my attraction to Eagles players (specifically Zach Ertz) with a crass one liner just long enough to steal him for himself. Pick of the draft: My heart says Green-Beckham, but my head says Todd Gurley hubbah hubbah.
9. No Punt Intended (Travis)- There was also a lot of energy emanating from a quiet and collected manager in the middle (of the room). I hesitate to call Travis' picks safe, due to the notions that word brings up in people's minds, but Stan's team is listed number two for picking consistent proven players so I'm not being boorish. Pick of the draft: Ronnie Hillman
10. I Am Like The U In The 80s (Aaron)- There, you got J.J. Watt and you didn't have to sacrifice your social standing within the group to do it (although one could argue that the log jam at the fourth and fifth round produced that same desired effect). If I'm ever in a losing season I will be tempted to tank it just so you never have another swing pick for the duration of TFLOEG history. All that being said most of his draft was good, for the first time I believe there is a solid backbone to Aaron's team and the playoffs are not off the table. Nice work fella. Pick of the draft: Allan Robinson
11. What Are The Chances (Curtis)- Curt had a nice draft and if injuries don't derail his RBs he will be good for a couple wins. Pick of the draft: David Johnson (wink)
12. BISP (Mike)- I'm not going to rail Mike too hard for his lack of preparation at the draft. He's finally gotten around to preparing a little life for himself and that takes priority. However, he was a hot mess last night and it was alarming how much time he spent talking to the cleaning lady. Pick of the draft: Jeremy Maclin
There you have it folks until the end of week one!
-The Commish
Another good write-up. I like the interwoven narrative and your specific player preferences. It's nice that someone is brave enough to compile ongoing team rankings, as I am not.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I won't argue for a second that I was not fortunate to win last season. A modicum of luck is a requisite for absolute victory in any sport, let alone fantasy sports. That's not to say that drafting and manoeuvring has no place, however, as it definitely does ... hence these rankings.
Thanks Dawson, I should clarify that I believe luck plays a large factor in everyone's championship run. It's the breakout players that make all the difference. In your case it was Bell, in my own it was Adrian Peterson's determination to overtake the Eric Dickerson rushing title. It's a mixture of outliers, probability and luck of the draw.
ReplyDeleteI'll also point out that although Andrew's pick of John Brown is the apple of my eye at WR, the player I'm most upset about not having is Ameer Abdullah. I had to come to grips weeks ago that I had no chance to draft him due to the sheer amount of picks before my first one and the scarcity at the RB position. That kid looks great!