Any time before September 4th works for me.

I don't agree with the QB Passing Yard points being changed from one point per 25 yards to one point per 50 yards. I personally believe that it drastically cuts down on the effectiveness of a fantasy QB. In my opinion, it makes having Matt Ryan or Donovan McNabb instead of Drew Brees or Tom Brady only a one or two point difference per week. That doesn't merit drafting Drew Brees over, say, Chris Johnson or LT (as I've seen happen many times in drafts) when you can just wait until round 5-6 and get an almost equal stat production per week with a cheaper pick.

I do agree with the interception point modification, though. -2 makes more sense than -1, in my opinion. And why penalize the QB for getting sacked when it's generally the fault of the offensive line!

I had added two more paragraphs explaining my grievances with both defenses and RB/WR modifications, but somehow my Firefox closed and it didn't save what I typed. I'm too D:< right now to retype the long version, so I'll just type the short version.

The modifications on defenses and RB/WR, as well as with QB as stated before, drastically cut down their fantasy production and make reaching for those key additions to our rosters idiotic. Why draft the Steelers in the 6-8 rounds when you can wait and draft the Dolphins in the 10-13 rounds and get almost the same production based on the current scoring system?

I understand the RB/WR modifications more than most, as you would think the best RBs will constantly put up 60-100 yard games, but I still believe that the default Yahoo settings allow every position to have an equal influence on the outcome of a week.

I heavily suggest that we go with the default Yahoo settings, minus the interception value.

Edited this thing like twenty times. o.o

I'm just especially against the QBs fantasy effectiveness being cut in half (I generally like to reach for a top-five QB, but - in my opinion - with the current scoring system there's no need to do that). To each his own, though.

Well, I botched that one...

I apologize for the idle timer you had to wait for while I inactively picked my team.

Completely forgot about the draft. :'(

LOL

My team is horrible. So much for this league! I guess I'll just worry about the other seven I'm in.

On second thought, it's not completely horrid. It's definitely not what I would've drafted for myself had I been at the draft, but it might be manageable. No way I'm winning this league, though.

Hey, maybe we should do some trading to try and correct our failures.

Sounds good to me!

Edit:

Looking over all the other teams and comparing them to my team, I actually didn't turn out very badly at all. The drafting decisions are a hell of a lot different from ESPN Fantasy drafts (and in my opinion worse! A run for defenses and kickers so early? Why! There's still so much talent left on the board at other positions. I can't blame everyone for going for D/Ks when they notice everyone else doing it, though. Get the good ones while you still can, right?).

I'll be really happy if Carson Palmer does what Yahoo says he does, considering ESPN says that he's not even good enough to be a starter. Hell, on one of my ESPN teams I have Matt Cassel as my starting QB! Of course, in that league, I also have Jay Cutler as a backup and am trying to maneuver a trade for Donovan McNabb. :P

Anyways, I got two really good WRs and two really good RBs, one of the four best TEs, a manageable QB in a 12 team league (all ESPN leagues are 10 player) and a really good defense. If I can manage to get a better kicker, I'll be great all around!

I really don't like my bench, though. Michael Jenkins? Brandon Pettigrew? Josh Brown? Atlanta Defense? Yuck.

biesbol

I wasnt there for the draft gulp

1. Enlightened Posse

Amazing balance with Donovan McNabb, Greg Jennings and Housh, Adrian Peterson and Pierre Thomas, John Carlson, Nate Kaeding, and the Giants defense. Jennings, Peterson, Thomas, and the Giants defense are all but guaranteed fantastic seasons. Also, it isn't too much of a push to say that Housh, Carlson, and Kaeding could have great seasons. The bench isn't all that bad, either. Larry Johnson and Darren Sproles could be strong backup RBs, and Lance Moore is definitely a good backup WR with a lot of upside as the second best receiver on the best passing offense in the league. Jake Delhomme, depending on the team the Panthers are facing, could be a really strong backup QB. Watch out for the two beast Panther RBs to take a large chunk of Delhomme's points, though. Garret Hartley could be a good backup kicker if John Carney doesn't steal the show, along with Hartley's starting job, while Garret's suspended. All in all, although maybe with a couple of bye-week stutters, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to predict Posse as this year's eventual winner.

2. Living Legends

Great starting QB (Rodgers), great starting WRs (Andre Johnson, Wes Welker), good starting RBs (Frank Gore, Darren McFadden), fifth best TE (Owen Daniels), and a strong bench (Derrick Ward, Donald Driver, Brett Favre, Kevin Boss). Only lacking in the kicking (Robbie Gould) and defense (Jets, which could actually be a top-five defense this year) categories, but it shouldn't stop him from going all the way to the championship match.

3. Fooseball Fiend

Great balance with the starting team (Matt Ryan, Reggie Wayne/Antonio Bryant, Michael Turner/Ronnie Brown, Dallas Clark, Nick Folk, Ravens). Only has to watch out for Bryant having no real QB to throw to him and Ronnie Brown getting like half his season total of TDs in one game last year. Brown might be a little iffy. Good backups, though. Trent Edwards is a solid bye-week performer, what with Owens, Evans, and even Lynch to throw to. Beanie Wells looked great in that last preseason game, Bo Scaife should be a solid backup TE as the starter at Tenn, Lindell should be good to back up Folk as long as he doesn't miss to the right, and Coles should be a strong backup WR with a QB like Palmer (when he's healthy) chucking it to both him and Ochocinco. Fooseball could very well put up a fight to get in the championship game.

4. Jotuns

Should be outstanding fantasy QB in Jay Cutler, even without Brandon Marshall/Eddie Royal. Devin Hester gets a rather big boost from Cutler being in Chicago, too. Randy Moss will definitely be huge, and Braylon Edwards is set to have a really big season no matter if it's Anderson or Quinn at starting QB for the Browns. Brian Westbrook will be fantastic if he can stay uninjured, and if Ryan Grant can get some of the magic back from, if I remember correctly, that '07 season, then Jotuns could be a real threat. Decent backup RB in Jamal Lewis, good backup WRs in DeSean Jackson and Hester, decent backup QB (Kyle Orton), and not to mention a great kicking and defensive set (Ryan Longwell from Minn and the Minnesota defense). The difference in my ranking Foose ahead of Jotuns is very small and mainly based upon the fact that I don't think Westbrook will stay healthy.

5. Shinobars

Decent starters (Carson Palmer, Roddy White/Roy Williams, MJD/Marion Barber, Antonio Gates, John Kasay, and the Titans). To be able to win the league, I'll have to have big seasons from Palmer and Williams. Great seasons are almost guaranteed from White, MJD, Barber (if he busts a few big ones here and there and remains the goal line back, snaking away almost every rushing touchdown), Gates, and the Titans defense. The Panthers will need to score more field goals for Kasay to be a big factor, and Palmer/Williams have to at least stay uninjured. Williams is the only real risk at starting WR, as he's yet to prove he can really be a secure #2 Fantasy WR. Bench isn't anything to laugh at, but not great either. Moreno is going to be a boom or bust player, with Holt probably doing better on a better offense, and Matt Cassel/Chester Taylor should most definitely have solid seasons. With the hopeful addition of two new guys to my bench, it should be pretty solid even on bye weeks.

I'm going to hate finishing in fifth place again.

By the way, take into account that I haven't looked at the definite bye weeks for each player. With two or more starters off in one week, most teams will lose that match. Also, if some players have an unfavorable playoff schedule (i.e. Donovan McNabb playing against the Steelers when you need him to put up big points so you can win your playoff match) that will cause that team to fall down my rankings.

Nice overview, Shinobars.

I pretty much agree with how you ranked the teams (I'm actually pretty pleased with how mine turned out for not even drafting), but some of the in-depth analysis I question.

I'd say that Living Legends running department is a lot weaker than you're stating it. Both Gore and McFadden can be outstanding backs to play, but neither of them play consistently. Both are on teams that are trying to emerge from a relatively consistent degradation. Funny that they're both in the Bay Area, because their condition accurately depicts the state of those cities as well. But I digress. The point is, neither of those teams can be expected to win a ton of games, and therefore can't be expected to work their backs if they're running at a point deficit during most of their games. With that being said, I agree that Rodgers, Johnson, and to a lesser extent Welker, are strong enough to compliment a relatively shaky running department. I was going to say that Gould isn't too bad to have as a kicker, but I think with an evolving offense that has both Cutler and Forte at the helm, he won't see as many field goal opportunities as he has in the past.

Fooseball Fiend, I would put ahead of Living Legends actually. Ryan and Turner are a real threat, and looking at the falcons schedule gives me reason to think that they'll perform pretty consistently. If you're willing to disregard the notion of a sophomore slump, I think that Ryan will have an outstanding season this year. Wayne usually performs well, and Bryant will probably decide at least one game for the Legends this season. As he seems to manage to have amazing games out of the blue. Which probably has a lot to do with what sort of secondary the Bucs are up against, and how well their QB (who even knows?) decides to play.

You're pretty much right about the Jotuns, although I have my doubts about Cutler performing well until he finds somebody that clicks. Fortunately, Forte can back him up and even catch his passes if things aren't working with the receiving corps during the first few games. Westbrook staying healthy is definitely key, but for whatever reasons I don't doubt his ability to do so. When he's healthy and performing, he is easily a top back in any given week. Grant is probably going to falter this year in my opinion. With an emerging new offense, Grant is slowly losing his place as the Packers star back. Whether that means he'll share more carries with Jackson and/or Wynn, simply be overshadowed by the all-star passing game in Green Bay, or both, is yet to be decided. Nonetheless, the receiving corps and special teams aspect of the Jotuns is enough to warrant their positioning when coupled with a relatively consistent pair of backs and a tentative stud QB.

Last but not least, the Shinobars definitely have a place on your list. If Palmer stays healthy, he's guaranteed to have good games. I think that Williams is going to perform better than you think, though. With Owens out of the picture, and Crayton his only real contender, Williams should see a lot of balls thrown his way. He is tall, fast, and used to double coverage from when he was in Detroit, so defenses trying to smother him shouldn't be too much of a problem. The rest of the team, aside from Kasay (but it's more the team they're playing than it is the kicker anyway), is pretty stellar. Your bench concerns me a lot more than it seems to concern you though..


That's all the input I got on this. It's actually pretty sloppily hacked together, but hopefully it adds some more enlightenment to this topic.