Week 1: Wash-up

Week 1 is done and we have the customary five winners and five losers. Given the previous post by the chatty Illuminators there is no guessing which side I came up on. So let's take a quick look at the other games and come back to the Lighties and their 'win' shortly.

If there is anything consistent through the games I think it is this: wtf? What just happened? Week 1 is supposed to be crazy, right? But this crazy? TE's scoring like rabbits, RB's not even bothering, WRs not receiving and QBs... huh? Peyton Manning, is that you in there?

The General (90) def Endless (83)

The closest game of the week, Endless had four players over 10 points while the General had only two. And still the General took the battle. And that with the mighty Peyton Manning putting up less than 5 points. I watched the Denver game and it was craaazy. No offensive touchdowns for both teams. WR's all sucked in this game. A note to the General, Dez Bryant got injured and will be gone for at least a month, is what I read today. Big shoes to fill.

Marcy (107) destroyed the Farnsworths (55)

Huge start to the season for Marcy with her big guns Rogers and Brown killing it (although about 10 of 19 points for Brown came in junk time: lucky!). The Farn's will be scratching his head wondering wtf happened - a pile of stinking low scores. Opening day jitters for everyone? A note to the Farn's, you don't have to drop players, you can swap them for Available players. Your bench currently has three empty spots, so you can just head to the Available Player list and Add three guys without swapping at all.

Breesus (113) def Agent P (96)

TE's getting it on

Breesus' two RBs put up 28 points to only 15 from Agent P and the Dolphins Def sunk the boots in with 15 points to Agent P's 5. The most interesting feature of this game were the TEs, both teams TE's scored big. That's right, Agent P's Tight End scored big with Breesus Tight End. Bam!

BB (119) def Zim (87)

A great start to the year for Tom Brady and the Patriots in the seasoner opener worked for and against Zim. A nice 27 points to the QB, but also 27 points to BB's TE who caught 3 of Brady's TD's. After that not much happened for Zim with big-draftees Lynch and Graham both stuttering. For BB, though, a week to remember. Romo, Ingram, Jones and, of course, The Gronk(tm) all rockin' it. I watched Julio Jones play, he was a beast and looked awesome on the field.

Lighties (??) somethingsomething Doof (??)

Not sure what happened with this game as the scores appear corrupted. I assume it has something to do with the Illuminator's new source of power, or whatever you call a magical bolo-tie. For now the system is reporting the Illuminator's as the winner, but that makes no sense whatsoever. I have sent a fax to the League Office to query the result and eagerly await the updated scores. In the meantime, I'm going back to watching Breesus and Agent P's TE's workin' it.

Weishaupt’s Conspiratorial Corner

The secret thoughts brought forth from Adam’s brain to your screen.

Yes we’re back, and the season opener was a blast.  When will Doof learn it’s not how famous your players are, it’s how good they are…..

There was some talk in the lead up to the game about the bola-tie wearing Rivers, derisive talk.  But what Doof failed to realise was this was the ancient Mesopotamian Bola-Tie of Power.  I spent this year’s off season in the Tigris–Euphrates river system and with my colleagues from the Ingolstadt University Archaeology Department.  Translating cuneiform is no easy task, but we found the directions to an ancient Amphitheatre in modern day Turkey, this we now know was the home ground of Ur FC the oldest known Football team in the world (but as it’s not in the U S of A it’s that inferior Football with the round ball that people kick with their feet …) and champions for 108 consecutive years. 

Extensive digs were undertaken and finally we found the club rooms, there in the trophy cabinet with the numerous Mesopotamia League Cups we found it … the mystical amulet worn by each captain until the league was disbanded.

Shrouded in secrecy we brought it home and gave it to Rivers, it’s nice to see that Doof noticed it but failed to notice it’s significance (some mad scientist he is).

That’s right with Rivers and his ancient Bola-Tie of power we cannot be defeated.

That’s it Doof better get the I’mAReallyBigLoserInator out.

Week 1: Let's play some ball

The offseason is finally over, the court cases are settled (for now), the draft is done, the players are ready and so are we. This is Week 1 fantasy football, one of the most exciting weekends of the year, the first weekend of NFL wooooooooo!

Endless (119) v US Forces (118)

The number one draft pick, Mr Bell, waits on the US Force's bench this week and next, serving a 2-game suspension for 'illicit substances'. Interesting that the Forces also drafted another toker, Bryant, the military's standards are slipping? Or is the military just a closer reflection on society than the NFL? Scary. Endless is packing a clean team, with few cleaner than Mr Football Russell Wilson.

Farnsworths (114) v Marcy (124)

The Farn's made a quick change this morning, swapping out the injured LaFell for the undrafted Fitzgerald. Smooth move! The Farns still have a spare Bench spot following the immediate dropping of two kickers after the Draft. Suck it Kickers, no one likes you! Looking at Marcy's line-up there is a lot to like this year. No Cam or Eli to start with! Instead we start with Aa Rodgers.

Breesus (119) v Agent P (104)

Second best QB, IMO, starts this week for Agent P, but opens against one of the toughest defenses in the League. A good test? Good to see Mr Brees starting for Breesus - synergy and all that. Love the three QBs on Agent P's list, one wonders what Agent Mongoose, Agent Ps Assistant HC, thought about those drafting choices.

Zim (101) v BB (115)

Tom Brady and The Gronk start on opposing teams this week which may be awkward for these Coaches when it comes to watching today's game. Zim is also rockin' a toker, Blount sits out one week for his sins. My prediction: BB plays the QB Carousel this year with both Romo and Big Ben in the line-up. I'll trade you a Nick Foles for a Ben Roethlisberger.

Doof (113) v Lighties (119)

The classic match-up to start the season. These two Original Clubs dislike each other very much and both will be looking to start off strong. My two Mock Draft's did nothing to assist in the Live Draft, the panic still set in and I couldn't overlook my favourite player, Mr Calvin Johnson. But with both Stafford and Megatron am I set up to fail? Thankfully this week the Lighties are going with, *mocking chuckle* Phil Rivers. Sure, start the QB that wears a bolo-tie *snigger*.

And there we have it, Week 1's match-ups. Good luck to everyone that isn't the Lighties.

And before I go, a reminder of simpler times. If you look closely in the glare behind Agent P I'm sure you can see the aholy spirit of Breesus.

Live Draft - after party

At the conclusion of today's inaugural Live Draft the over-excited revellers took to the streets, celebrating their pre-season wins. Police were called at several locations as Head Coaches flipped cars, burnt down a McDonalds and called the head of whoever thought Bryan Adams was a good fit for an AFL Grand Final.
-News Limited, 07/09/2015

Ok, maybe the rag that printed the above got a little carried away. I'm not sure anyone took the streets, unless you mean office-cubicles. The rest is probably true. Especially the Grand Final bit.

Thanks to all coaches for today - it was an ace lunch and ace Live Draft. Sorry that Breesus was separated by a couple hundred kilometres, but I think we all felt his aholy spirit with us.

For my own draft experience, this year I was determined to draft RBs in the first two rounds, following the traditional draft style. But by the time my 8th pick in Round One rolled around the top-tier RBs were snatched up and I was looking at Calvin Johnston, he was looking at me... it was destiny. Come Round 2 and I had the same decision I had in the Mock Draft: LeSean McCoy or DeMarco Murrary. Murray it was, with a lot of trepidation. And so it went.

The NFL.com Draft Rank system seems unimpressed, scoring me a B, estimated 6-8 record. Seems I have some work to do.

There were some technical glitches, Zim lost a pick, the Forces lost a pair of picks, Agent P's finger didn't fing and she drafted an Eli. It wasn't until late in the Draft I found I could a) pause it and b) undo the previous pick. I used the Pause twice to assist the Lighties as they lost connection to the app. I'm sorry I didn't use this earlier to assist those other affected by the glitches. Live and learn and next year I'll be ready.

Things I Loved:
Having the Live Draft! Totally great time draftin', lunchin' and lol'in.
Having ownership of my own B-rated team.
Funny draft choices: Farnsworth's with 3 Kickers that lasted all of 5 minutes before 2 of them hit Waivers. Lighties picking Cam Newton - sucker! Agent P picking Eli - sucker!

How did everyone else go?

Draft results:
http://fantasy.nfl.com/league/1233112/draftresults

Now on FB:
https://www.facebook.com/VP3NFLFantasyFootball

Getting your War Room papers ready

As we count down to the Live Draft (now at The Fringe) the keen Coach will need to consider a range of aspects. Let's start with the Pre-Draft Order.

Remember, none of this is necessary, it just helps make your team a little more yours.

Pre-draft settings

Whether the AI picks or you do, who do you want? Or, as Zim said, who do you not want? 

The first thing to do is log in, click on My Team and select Pre-Draft Rankings (see 1.). This will show you the 1-800ish list of AI ranked players.

If you want to make changes to the AI list, you should first click on the small text "Edit preferred positions" (see 2.). This will let you make a small selection of players without screwing up your entire draft.

For instance, you really want to draft the Texans Defence, but you do not want to draft a Defence until well into the later rounds, let's say, Round 10. In "Edit preferred positions", you can tell the AI not to draft a Defence until Round 10 by Un-selecting All and selecting the Positions you do want to draft. 

This is also useful if you want to take a chance and draft a QB or WR in the early Rounds. Uncheck everything except WR in Round 1 and BAM - you may end up with Antonio Brown.

 Edit Overall Pre-Rank

Once you've selected the Position you're happy to draft in each Round, click on to the Edit Overall Pre-Rank (see 3.) and make your actual Player selections.

For more advice:

How to draft
Fantasy FAQ
Live Draft App
Mock Drafts

Draft Cheat Sheets

My fellow coaches,

Your intrepid League Manager has scoured the web and found some usable Draft Cheat Sheets. No matter where we end up on Monday, a printable player list may well be your best friend.

NFL.com seems to be a little tight with releasing its rankings, so instead these come from different places, and the order is slightly different. But only slightly.

Print and use at your own peril!

ESPN By Position

ESPN 1-300

Fantasy Pros 1-450

Mock Draft 1

My fellow coaches,

Your intrepid League Owner has taken the plunge and experienced his first Mock Draft. For those worried about such things, I did this on my phone using 4G at my desk.

In a draft with 10 other players I drafted through the first 10 rounds which took about 25 minutes. I got 8th spot in the snaking draft.

I decided to follow the traditional drafting method or RBs, WRs, QBs, etc. Those with long memories will recall my experiment last year of not drafting a RB until the 3rd or 4th round. And those may also recall the incessant whining through the season about having no good RBs.

I ended up with the following draft order:

1. LeSean McCoy (RB)
2. DeMarco Murray (RB)
3. TY Hilton (WR)
4. Jeremy Maclin (WR)
5. Ben Roethlisberger (QB)
6. Martellus bennet (TE)
7. Darren McFadden (RB)
8. Martavis Bryant (WR)
9. Sam Bradford (QB)
10. Texans (DEF)

My 11th pick would have been a kicker - whichever was the highest ranked.

Of note, QBs still available were Eli Manning and Cam Newton. Just sayin', Marcy.

If that was my 2015 draft I think I'd be fairly pleased.

The phone experience was smooth and by the numbers. I referred to the Players list on my pc once or twice but it was a little unnecessary.

Bring it!