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The 2014 NFL season was my first as a Fantasy Footballer. Well, I'm hooked. Excitement reigned supreme as I awaited this years drafts for my pair of Fantasy Football teams. Big boards, mock drafts, ADP's...the whole nine yards. I make it a point to never do anything half-ass. After all, winning isn't everything, it's the only thing!
As part of an ongoing weekly series, I'll be sharing my results, transactions and strategies with all Fantasy Footballers. Since I'm still a neophyte at this game, I hope you'll share your thoughts on how I can improve my teams and perhaps win a league championship or two!
The Snake Drafts - Strategies & Rationale
To prepare for my pair of Fantasy Football Snake Drafts, I came up with a game plan for successfully drafting the best team(s) possible. The game plan included 6 draft tenets:
1/ Research is king. I spent a considerable amount of time researching players/teams, entering mock drafts and creating a draft board of 200 players.
2/ One of the goals in each draft was to take a balanced approach through the first five rounds. In each draft I managed to take quality players at a number of positions without reaching: 2 RB's, 1 WR, 1 QB, 1 TE.
3/ I place more importance on the Defense, Placekicker and Tight End than many Fantasy Football participants do. I believe these positions can win weeks for you. I like to have both my PK and DEF selected between picks 85 and 120 if possible. If I can draft a quality Tight End, I'll take one fairly early.
4/ I like to target a half-dozen or so specific players that I feel will be available at certain points/rounds in the draft. This year, my targets were RB Arian Foster (dropped in most drafts due to injury), WR Larry Fitzgerald (a great connection with returning QB Carson Palmer), RB David Johnson (a versatile, high upside rookie with a team who knows how to use him; a great fit), RB Melvin Gordon (the rookie bell-cow back for San Diego), QB Tom Brady (dropped in most drafts due to the threat of a 4-game suspension), and TE Tyler Eifert (looking to rebound from injury).
5/ I'm never afraid to take a chance on rookies and higher-risk players with upside.
6/ In the mid-to-late rounds I tend to trust my board explicitly. BPA rules and I'm always searching for value, especially at the RB and WR positions.
Teams/Draft Results
Team Dubs (TST Live 1 Yahoo - 8 Teams)
Pick Position Player Team 1.3 RB Marshawn Lynch Seattle 2.14 QB Andrew Luck Indianapolis 3.19 WR A.J. Green Cincinnati 4.30 RB Melvin Gordon San Diego 5.35 TE Jimmy Graham Seattle 6.46 WR Jeremy Maclin Kansas City 7.51 WR Larry Fitzgerald Arizona 8.62 RB Arian Foster Houston 9.67 QB Tom Brady New England 10.78 TE Julius Thomas Jacksonville 11.83 WR Eric Decker NY Jets 12.94 DEF Denver Broncos 13.99 K Dan Carpenter Buffalo 14.110 WR Kendall Wright Tennessee 15.115 RB David Johnson Arizona 16.126 RB Andre Williams NY Giants
Frank's Team (Yahoo Public 1103417 - 10 Teams)
Pick Position Player Team 1.6 WR Dez Bryant Dallas 2.15 RB DeMarco Murray Philadelphia 3.26 QB Russell Wilson Seattle 4.35 RB Melvin Gordon San Diego 5.46 TE Travis Kelce Kansas City 6.55 RB Alfred Morris Washington 7.66 WR Sammy Watkins Buffalo 8.75 WR Vincent Jackson Tampa Bay 9.86 DEF St. Louis Rams 10.95 RB T.J. Yeldon Jacksonville 11.106 WR Nelson Agholor Philadelphia 12.115 K Justin Tucker Baltimore 13.126 TE Owen Daniels Denver 14.135 QB Joe Flacco Baltimore 15.146 RB Tevin Coleman Atlanta
Week 8 Results & Statistics
A great week for the Team Dubs juggernaut. In a nail-biter (all matchups should be this exciting), I had to sweat out Monday night (Cam Newton and Greg Olsen) to hold on for a 4 point victory. Frank's Team had a much easier time of it, despite horrible performances from my trio of wide receivers. The PK and Def positions once again paid big dividends for both teams. The draft strategy is working!
Both of my teams are 7-1 and leading their respective leagues heading into Week 9, after a pair of victories in Week 8.
5 players I'm glad I selected/added: Devonta Freeman, Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald, A.J. Green and the Denver Broncos defense. 5 players who are my biggest disappointments: Andrew Luck, Marshawn Lynch, Melvin Gordon, Sammy Watkins and Dez Bryant. My top two players drafted in each league have woefully underperformed, although DeMarco Murray is finally hitting his stride. Luckily, solid drafting overall, my waiver wire/Free Agent additions and dismal performances by my opponents have allowed me to remain at or near the top of the standings in both leagues.
Team Dubs
Week Team Dubs Opponent PF PA Rank Record 1 95.12 88.72 95.12 88.72 1st 1 0 2 93.90 78.06 189.02 166.78 1st 2 0 3 150.32 59.58 339.34 226.36 1st 3 0 4 72.84 81.94 412.18 308.30 1st 3 1 5 117.90 90.26 530.08 398.56 1st 4 1 6 130.98 88.18 661.06 486.74 1st 5 1 7 113.80 83.88 774.86 570.62 1st 6 1 8 118.84 114.52 893.70 685.14 1st 7 1
Position Player Team Fantasy Points QB Tom Brady New England 30.34 RB Devonta Freeman Atlanta 13.10 RB Marshawn Lynch Seattle 8.20 WR A.J. Green Cincinnati 17.80 WR Larry Fitzgerald Arizona 12.40 Flex Jeremy Maclin Kansas City 9.50 TE Jimmy Graham Seattle 7.50 PK Brandon McManus Denver 11.00 Defense Denver Broncos 9.00 Total Points Week 8 118.84
Player Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Tom Brady 27.62 28.24 22.72 Bye 25.30 23.48 29.70 30.34 Andrew Luck 19.72 11.40 18.50 Out Out 27.98 26.02 17.74 Andy Dalton 18.44 Waived Marshawn Lynch 12.40 6.20 2.30 0.00 Out 11.40 18.20 8.20 Melvin Gordon 4.70 9.80 5.10 4.60 7.40 0.90 2.90 6.10 Andre Williams 1.40 4.30 8.90 Waived Devonta Freeman 32.90 25.70 27.60 13.00 13.10 Charcandrick West 18.20 Ronnie Hillman 17.50 Arian Foster Out Out Out 1.50 11.80 17.20 24.50 IR David Johnson 11.50 16.50 4.10 12.10 12.60 1.70 Waived A.J. Green 6.30 10.50 34.70 8.20 7.80 3.60 Bye 17.80 Kendall Wright 16.10 1.70 16.80 Bye 3.00 3.40 Waived Larry Fitzgerald 8.70 29.20 25.40 7.90 11.80 9.30 3.90 12.40 Jeremy Maclin 5.20 5.50 20.10 14.80 8.50 4.80 Out 9.50 Eric Decker 9.70 15.70 Out 10.60 Bye 9.90 9.40 12.00 Jarvis Landry 7.10 Jimmy Graham 11.10 1.10 14.30 2.90 3.00 14.00 3.10 7.50 Jordan Reed Bye Charles Clay 0.70 6.20 2.60 Waived Julius Thomas Out Out Out Waived Dan Carpenter 11.00 2.00 13.00 6.00 2.00 Waived Josh Brown 10.00 Waived Brandon McManus 14.00 Bye 11.00 Pittsburgh Steelers 2.00 Waived Denver Broncos 16.00 22.00 16.00 10.00 22.00 17.00 Bye 9.00
Frank's Team
Week Frank's Team Opponent PF PA Rank Record 1 91.34 79.82 91.34 79.82 3rd 1 0 2 91.14 60.66 182.48 139.88 2nd 2 0 3 68.90 119.06 251.38 258.94 4th 2 1 4 82.38 54.94 333.76 316.48 4th 3 1 5 81.82 63.40 415.58 379.88 3rd 4 1 6 117.32 111.02 532.90 490.90 1st 5 1 7 81.80 37.70 614.70 528.60 1st 6 1 8 88.20 74.74 702.90 603.34 1st 7 1
Position Player Team Fantasy Points QB Russell Wilson Seattle 14.60 RB Devonta Freeman Atlanta 13.10 RB Charcandrick West Kansas City 18.20 WR Marvin Jones Cincinnati 1.40 WR Dez Bryant Dallas 1.20 WR James Jones Green Bay 0.20 TE Jimmy Graham Seattle 7.50 PK Justin Tucker Baltimore 20.00 Defense St. Louis Rams 12.00 Total Points Week 8 88.20
Player Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Russell Wilson 16.14 23.04 16.20 15.48 13.62 18.86 13.40 14.60 Andy Dalton 28.04 21.52 Bye 11.64 Joe Flacco 2.68 22.56 21.48 8.56 Waived DeMarco Murray 14.00 5.50 0.00 4.80 18.00 18.60 7.00 Bye Melvin Gordon 4.70 9.80 5.10 4.60 7.40 0.90 Waived Devonta Freeman 32.90 25.70 27.60 13.00 13.10 Charcandrick West 18.20 Alfred Morris 12.10 7.20 1.90 6.50 Waived T.J. Yeldon 6.70 8.30 4.20 10.90 12.30 Out 18.40 Bye Tevin Coleman 8.00 9.20 Out Waived Allen Hurns 9.00 11.30 Bye Travis Benjamin 29.50 8.50 7.90 8.30 Waived 2.70 Waived Sammy Watkins 0.00 12.00 3.90 Out Out 10.80 Out Bye Marvin Jones 1.00 Waived 1.40 Vincent Jackson 5.10 11.40 4.00 20.70 3.40 Bye 1.30 Waived Dez Bryant 4.80 Out Out Out Out Out Out 1.20 Nelson Agholor 0.50 Waived James Jones 13.70 9.00 Bye 0.20 Travis Kelce 22.60 5.80 10.00 2.90 3.50 8.80 7.30 10.90 Ladarius Green 5.00 Waived Gary Barnidge Jimmy Graham 14.00 3.10 7.50 Owen Daniels 0.50 1.90 8.80 Waived Brandon McManus Justin Tucker 10.00 15.00 6.00 15.00 6.00 8.00 5.00 20.00 Carolina 4.00 Waived St. Louis 14.00 4.00 11.00 10.00 9.00 Bye 25.00 12.00
Transactions
Team Dubs
| Week | Added | Dropped |
| 4 | Devonta Freeman | Andre Williams |
| Charles Clay | Julius Thomas | |
| 6 | Brandon McManus | Dan Carpenter |
| 7 | Josh Brown | Kendall Wright |
| Pittsburgh | David Johnson | |
| 8 | Jarvis Landry | Arian Foster (IR) |
| Ronnie Hillman | Josh Brown | |
| Charcandrick West | Pittsburgh | |
| Jordan Reed | Charles Clay |
Frank's Team
| Week | Added | Dropped |
| 2 | Travis Benjamin | Nelson Agholor |
| 4 | Devonta Freeman | Tevin Coleman |
| Marvin Jones | Owen Daniels | |
| 5 | Andy Dalton | Joe Flacco |
| Ladarius Green | Alfred Morris | |
| James Jones | Marvin Jones | |
| 6 | Allen Hurns | Travis Benjamin |
| Carolina | St. Louis | |
| 7 | St. Louis | Carolina |
| Travis Benjamin | Melvin Gordon | |
| Jimmy Graham | Ladarius Green | |
| 8 | Marvin Jones | Vincent Jackson |
| Charcandrick West | Travis Benjamin | |
| 9 | Gary Barnidge | Marvin Jones |
| Brandon McManus | Justin Tucker |
Week 9 Starting Lineups
| Position | Player | Team |
| QB | Tom Brady | New England |
| RB | Devonta Freeman | Atlanta |
| RB | Ronnie Hillman | Denver |
| WR | A.J. Green | Cincinnati |
| WR | Eric Decker | NY Jets |
| Flex | Jarvis Landry | Miami |
| TE | Jordan Reed | Washington |
| PK | Brandon McManus | Denver |
| Defense | Denver | Broncos |
| Out | Larry Fitzgerald | Bye |
| Out | Marshawn Lynch | Bye |
| Out | Jeremy Maclin | Bye |
| Out | Jimmy Graham | Bye |
| Out | Charcandrick West | Bye |
The week of the bye. Four of my starters are on a bye this week. Luckily, I've established a lot of depth on this team, enough so that I feel confident starting Eric Decker, Jordan Reed, Jarvis Landry and Ronnie Hillman. Can Tom Brady, Devonta Freeman and the Broncos defense lead Team Dubs to a 5th consecutive win?
Frank's Team
| Position | Player | Team |
| QB | Andy Dalton | Cincinnati |
| RB | Devonta Freeman | Atlanta |
| RB | DeMarco Murray | Philadelphia |
| WR | Allen Hurns | Jacksonville |
| WR | Dez Bryant | Dallas |
| WR | James Jones | Green Bay |
| TE | Gary Barnidge | Cleveland |
| PK | Brandon McManus | Denver |
| Defense | St. Louis | Rams |
| Out | Charcandrick West | Bye |
| Out | Jimmy Graham | Bye |
| Out | Russell Wilson | Bye |
| Out | Travis Kelce | Bye |
| Out | Justin Tucker | Bye |
Again, the week of the bye has affected four of my starters. Depth is a little thinner on this team, especially at the wide receiver position. I'm looking for Allen Hurns, Dez Bryant and James Jones to step up and contribute. It's also time for Devonta Freeman to once again kick it into high gear and score a bunch of points against the 49ers this week.
Keys To A Winning Season
1/ A solid draft from top to bottom.
2/ Correctly setting weekly starting lineups.
3/ Avoiding the injury bug.
4/ Being proactive and vigilant with respect to the Waiver Wire and Free Agency.
5/ Having a good luck charm handy at all times!
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