While in the final stages of the 2010 TBFL Selection Meeting, I am on Skype with AnD, Thrashers, Bubba Army and I openly talk about the fact I should take LeGarrette Blount in the 17 th and Peyton Hillis in the 18 th round. Do I make those selections? Nope, thus one of the many reasons I have retired for a final time. A 13 th , 14 th and 15 th round that could have consisted of Ben Tate, LeGarrette Blount and Peyton Hillis would have definitely caused me to hang around one more year but other teams benefit from my mistake. At least I got the satisfaction of waving Brett Favre during the course of my season and I was moments away from winning with an All-White Starting Lineup.
Armed N Dangerous
Miller’s last year that he has his man-crush Aaron Rodgers locked into T&A night in an AnD uniform. While Miller was pillaged in the original trade to get Rodgers back onto his roster it has definitely panned out in the long run. In the 8 th , AnD gets to complete a nice QB duo with Matthew Stafford. If Stafford stays healthy this will be a fun season for AnD at QB. AnD goes homer keeper with Jermichael Finley but does have a potentially nice combo with Brandon Pettigrew. Tight Ends should be mandatory and Miller would have a nice combo every week during the season. The Law Firm rounds out AnD’s nice selection of keepers. BenJarvus Green-Ellis should have a good season with the Patriots loaded on offense.
Trading away Marshawn Lynch makes sense on some level, but I am not seeing it.
Bay Area Thrashers
Kevin also joins AnD with a nice set of keepers with a bonus that these are all later round selections. Thrashers benefit greatly from me being a dummy and not taking Blount in the 17 th round last year. Jamaal Charles and Blount should be a good combo for two more seasons at least for Thrashers. Two solid WRs in Mike Thomas and Pierre Garçon along with Mike Tolbert and Josh Freeman are icing on the cake.
I would have tried to figure out some way to keep Montario Hardesty and traded him to Hustlers for Ben Tate and Hustlers get to keep a Hillis/Hardesty combo. It’s a win/win and it would be a beautiful thing.
Bubba Army
Army’s keepers are what they are. Tampa’s Mike Williams and Fred Jackson should produce serviceable numbers.
There really isn’t anyone else worth mentioning so let’s keep going.
Fudgie Whales
Gasper is set with a viable QB in Joe Flacco and a definitive number one WR in Santonio Holmes. Sticking with the Chargers for a 12 isn’t a bad call either, consider six games against a bad AFC West.
Keeping Braylon Edwards and Demaryius Thomas may have been worth it, but can’t knock throwing both back into the waters.
Hurricanes
I cannot believe I am saying this, but I really like Hurricanes keepers. Excellent wheeling and dealing and the Hurricanes are stacked heading into 2011 and beyond. Sam Bradford and The Dog Killer at QB could be a combo that gives AnD a run for his money in that department. Arian Foster, Rashad Jennings and Marshawn Lynch give Hurricanes a solid set of RBs to start the season. Vincent Jackson, Danny Amendola and Jacoby Ford give the ‘Canes lots to smile about. Vernon Davis and Jimmy Graham only lend credence to the fact that TEs should be mandatory and the gravy on top in the form on the Steelers defense. Lots to like here, in fact, far too much to like which means this can only end badly. I like this squad a lot. Sorry ‘Canes but I am going to jinx you with the mantle of preseason favorite.
Hurricanes get the luxury of drafting the best available all the way through the draft. No “needs” based drafting at all.
Husslers
A little biased here but I love Peyton Hillis despite the Madden cover jinx. As I said during Thrashers review, getting Montario Hardesty would have fit really well here. I am not sure of the logic in getting rid of Ben Tate and not keeping the face of the franchise in Brian Hartline, but it has to make sense somehow.
I will freely admit I have done zero research on who is available, but Dez Bryant was worthy of being a keeper as well.
Money Inc.
Darren McFadden is good. Let’s admit there is not much to see here, move along.
I might have decided to keep the Sanchise with all the talent that kid has around him.
Playground Legends
Legends start the season with a solid set of WRs. Lance Moore, Johnny Knox, Miles Austin and Mario Manningham should be solid, safe choices all year long. Colt McCoy looks to be legit but four games a year against Pittsburgh and Ray “I’ll Cut You, I Have in the Past.” Lewis’ team are not fun thoughts. I like but have huge concerns regarding Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall saw a lot of work last year, 410 total touches, would give me some panic attacks every time he gets hit. Two physical games a year against The Killer and the rest of the Ravens give Danny plenty to worry about.
Legends threw back nothing worthy of noting.
Runs N Throses
There is a lot to like, just not sure I like it a lot. Matty Ice is obviously a solid #1 QB but the complementary pieces don’t thrill me a bunch. Vince Young will see action this year because the Dog Killer can’t play all 16 games. Tebow is Tebow. Roddy White and Jeremy Maclin give Throses a nice pair of WRs, but the rest just appear to be filler. Pierre Thomas is a legit starting RB while Bernard Scott can cover if Cedric Benson can’t stay out of jail.
As always, Shawn gets to make a few picks and then take an extended nap with all of his keepers.
UO Grandmasters
I said this once already, but I am going to say it again here. Let’s just move along, nothing to see here.
I think Jason Campbell would have been a solid investment late in the draft, but what do I know?
Warriors
Let’s just pencil in Warriors needing to draft Tom Brady or Drew Brees right now, but neither will be available to him or at least shouldn’t be available. Warriors have a unique set of keepers with lots of boom potential and a whole lot of bust potential. Cedric Benson is going to wish he was back in jail instead of the Cincinnati backfield. His homerism in getting Tim Hightower and Ryan Torian will only crush him when Coach Skeletor and his orange face can’t decide from play to play who his preferred running back is. The Warriors do have a nice set of WRs, but no marquee name that makes anyone say Wow! Mike Sims-Walker should benefit from an emerging Sam Bradford. Steve Johnson and Arrelious Benn are solid #2 or #3 options, while Roy Williams is already making lots and lots of friends in Chicago.
I am a bit surprised that Ryan Fitzpatrick or The Sex Cannon wasn’t kept as bye week filler for Brees or Brady. Oh that’s right, Warriors won’t get Brady or Brees.
X-Factor
X-Factor kept a nice balance core of guys that should keep him in contention all season long with a good draft. All signs point to The Rapist (allegedly) having a great season for the Steelers. If Roethlisberger’s offensive line can give him some time to work through his reads Big Ben will put up lots of points. Nice balance within the X-Factor backfield as well. Ahmad Bradshaw should get plenty of touches in the Giants offense and could produce excellent and more importantly consistent numbers. James Starks, Tashard Choice and Ben Tate could all see significant action this year. Hakeem Nicks is poised for a massive year and it wouldn’t surprise me if Mike Wallace joined Nicks as a top 10 WR. Can Sidney Rice succeed despite a bad QB? Lastly Eric Decker, is there any question why I like this kid? If you have to question why just ask yourself why did I have a lineup that featured Wes Welker, Jordan Shipley and Brian Hartline.
I wish X-Factor would have kept Jay Cutler so I could slam something about his keeper list. He did not, so I get no fun.
The Buccaneers Division definitely takes the lead with the best overall keepers, with AnD and Thrashers in the mix.
The NFC West, err, the Bandits division looks like it will once again be the doormat of the TBFL.
The Pre-Draft Power Rankings firmly have the Hurricanes in the number one slot. It will be interesting to see if he can take the ball and bring destruction or does the pressure turn out to be too much and the Hurricanes turn into nothing but a lot of blustery wind.
Yes, I went there.
