Fantasy Gameday Keeper - Football season in review

Today I'm going to take a look back at my football season in the Fantasy Gameday Keeper league. First a little background:

-League setup & commissioned by Kelly from Fantasy Gameday
-Managers can protect 5 players going into the offseason & keep 3 each year
-Rotisserie format, which was the first football league of it's sort I've been a part of
-Similar point structure to other leagues out there, with bonus point totals for big games through the air, on the ground, and receiving; new next season will be receptions at 0.5 point per
-10 team league
-Lineup includes:

1 QB
3 WR
2 RB
1 TE
1 K
1 DEF
6 Bench

I started analyzing my draft back in September in this post, but it's interesting how your pre-season view can sometimes differ substantially from your post-season take. My draft went as follows:

Round	Pick	Player	Pos
1	(8)	Willie Parker	RB
2	(13)	Rudi Johnson	RB
3	(28)	Roy Williams	WR
4	(33)	Antonio Gates	TE
5	(48)	Brandon Jacobs	RB
6	(53)	Braylon Edwards	WR
7	(68)	Vincent Jackson	WR
8	(73)	Santonio Holmes	WR
9	(88)	Matt Leinart	QB
10	(93)	Pittsburgh	DEF
11	(108)	Brandon Jackson	RB
12	(113)	Neil Rackers	K
13	(128)	Matt Schaub	QB
14	(133)	D.J. Hackett	WR
15	(148)	Minnesota	DEF

Best Picks:
-Braylon Edwards in the 6th round at 53 overall is a no-brainer. He had a breakout season, and being a lifelong Browns fan having bias towards their players finally paid off. In our league setup, Braylon finished as the #3 performing receiver, behind Moss & TO...not bad company. Whether it's DA (Derek Anderson) or Brady Quinn behind center in 2008, I expect his performance to carry over. I do think he'll start a little slower if it's Quinn, although right now it appears DA is safe in Cleveland for another year, meaning Braylon should be consistent from start to finish.

I'm certainly going to hold him as one of my keepers, and he turned in the type of season I expected from my highest drafted WR (Roy Williams @ 28).

-Although the injuries frustrated some during the year, Brandon Jacobs ended up having a solid season. He was the 48th pick overall, and the 22nd running back selected. Even with the injuries & surprisingly low TD production (4 rushing & 2 receiving), he still finished 18th at the RB position.

I'm likely going to keep him going into next season, although the Giants surprising wealth of youth at RB has me questioning how much of the load he'll carry in 2008. Derrick Ward played very well when filling in this season, and he was more of a receiving threat out of the backfield. Ahmad Bradshaw came out of nowhere (actually he was drafted in the 7th round last year out of Marshall) to put up one big game during the regular season & awesome performances during the post-season. He's shown he's more than simply a "change of pace" back...he can make tacklers miss & carry the load if necessary.

Picks that weren't totally wasted:
-I was also relatively happy with the Parker pick, although he only scored twice during the season & missed the last few games with an injury. He finished as the 11th best running back, although this was ahead of the more highly drafted Steven Jackson, Larry Johnson, Frank Gore, and Shaun Alexander...so I guess I can't complain too much.

Santonio Holmes started slow & missed some time with injuries, but he still outproduced Roy Williams in yards, touchdowns & fantasy points this year (even though Holmes played only one add'l game).

Regrettable Picks:
-Where do I start...Rudi Johnson tops this list. His season wasn't just plagued with injuries, it was plagued with ineffectiveness when he was on the field. Kenny Watson stepped in & proved it wasn't all the surrounding cast with two 100+ yard games (although they were against the Jets & Browns). Rudi averaged a woeful 2.9 yards per carry, and scored only 4 times on the year. Sadly, even when he wasn't injured, I had him riding my bench much of the season.

I am holding him as one of my 5 protected, but it's unlikely I'll keep him going into next season. Not only am I unsure about his ability to produce next year, he's also got to compete against the Kenny's, Kenny Watson & Kenny Irons, for playing time. Irons was a 2nd round pick last year from Auburn who missed the season due to injury. I'm not saying Rudi can't bounce back, but it might take a change of scenery & a fresh start.

-Vincent Jackson's season didn't turn out like I expected. Many experts had him labeled as a sleeper going into this season. What wasn't to like? He was effectively the #1 receiver in a solid offense, who finished out the prior year in strong fashion & stands 6'5 with very good athleticism. Boy was I wrong (during the regular season); he never broke out like expected, and it only got worse when Chambers arrived. After playing well in the playoffs, I think he's positioned nicely to break out next year...but that didn't help any managers out this season.

-Matt Leinart...this one hurts the most. Guess who was picked immediately after Matt? He's one of my favorite QB's in real life...he's dated an American Idol winner & a blond singer (who he vacationed with in Mexico)...obviously I missed out on Tony Romo to take the disappointing Leinhart.

I really thought the Cardinals offense was primed to break out this season, and I really didn't see Warner as competition to Matt; I thought he'd serve as a great mentor to Matt as he became a big time QB. Boy, was I wrong. Matt stunk up the place...then started sharing time with Warner, then got hurt & missed the rest of the season. Romo just went on to have the 2nd best fantasy QB season, behind superhero Brady. Looking at the bright side of things, I picked up Kurt Warner during the season, who ended up having the 10th best year at the QB position...so it could have been worse.

Waiver Wire moves during the season:
I picked up some solid players throughout the year, which kept me in the hunt till the end. Some of the better ones include:

-Picking up Dwayne Bowe immediately after the draft
-Picking up David Garrard in October
-Picking up Kurt Warner in October
-Picking up Mason Crosby in November

I also didn't make any regrettable drops during the year; either I just made good moves or I was too passive with my roster management, and missed out on some of the good players by being conservative.

Looking Back:
Given the lack of a major stud in my lineup, I was pleased with my 3rd place finish. The final standings are below (I am the Splitting Headaches):

Rank	Team	Points	Pts Change	Waiver	Moves
1	BRIWILEY	1767	89	5	78
2	The Fighting Amish	1730	102	9	19
3	Splitting Headaches	1709	88	2	19
4	Corn of Kolb	1685	68	4	9
5	mancrush(on(tombrady	1590	93	10	26
6	Headbangers	1540	55	7	15
7	Kellysmom	1475	107	6	26
8	The Wounded Healers	1443	81	1	6
9	Romo's Homos	1338	79	3	5
10	winabango	1333	93	8	34

Most frustrating for me was the Leinart over Romo pick. I was ready to click to select Romo, but I just thought last year's playoff snafu might carry over into this season. At the last second, I picked Leinart, and regretted it from day one. The difference in points between Romo & my QB's combined would have been more than enough to allow me to win the league; but that's the fun of playing...the "what could have been".

Overall, I was happy with the year my team had & I'm looking forward to next season.

Please feel free to add any comments / thoughts / feedback of your own. Thanks for reading!