|
The Fantasy Doctor will be
checking his messages and making house calls on Fridays this season. E-mail your fantasy
questions to fantasydoctor@pfwa.com
Dan: In your opinion, which stud QBs do you absolutely take before a
stud RB besides Faulk and James? I have Warner, Manning and Culpepper rated right after
Faulk and James.
Fantasy Doctor: It sounds like you’re right on par with our PFW rankings.
Those three QBs should likely be in the top five. The only arguments I could understand
coming from my patients would include Randy Moss, Fred Taylor or Marvin Harrison, but
depending on the scoring system in your league, those three top-flight QBs are hard to
keep out of the top five.
E.A. Adams: Welcome back, Doc! My fantasy football draft is coming up
soon and I really could use your help. I'm in a 12-team league and I don't draft until the
second round (first pick of the second round) because I'm protecting a player from last
year (Culpepper). Based on my mock draft, I'm looking at Duce Staley, Lamar Smith, James
Stewart, Jamal Anderson, Ahman Green or Marvin Harrison. I'm leaning towards taking Duce
if he's available. Do you agree?
If he's not available, which of the others above would you suggest and why? Our
scoring system is based on touchdowns and 100 yards rushing/receiving. Thanks for your
help.
Fantasy Doctor: Protecting Culpepper is a good thing, but if your league is
based on touchdowns and 100-yard games, why would you not take Harrison? I’m a big
proponent of taking running backs early because of the lack of depth at the position, but
I may have to submit you for further testing if you let Harrison pass by. He’s racked
up 17 100-yard receiving games and scored 26 times the past two years. Can you expect
eight or nine 100-yard games and 13 touchdowns this season from one of the other players
you mentioned? Honestly? Smith maybe with a really good year, but that would be it. I
would think that a few of them could be there when you select again, so my advice is to
grab Harrison and look for a running back on the rebound.
Trader Mac: I have read the Pro Football Weekly fantasy guide and
have a question in regard to how you guys do scoring. In your league, TD passes account
for three points. In our league, a TD pass counts for six points. How does that difference
affect your rankings? It seems at least Warner, Manning and Culpepper are definitely
first-round picks, but what other difference does it make?
Fantasy Doctor: We use three points per TD pass in order to make the selection
process more fair because rushing/receiving touchdowns are worth six. If TD passes are
worth the same as rushing or receiving touchdowns, your league heavily — and I mean
heavily — favors the quarterbacks. A total of 11 different quarterbacks threw for at
least 20 touchdowns last season. But only one running back or wide receiver (Marshall
Faulk) eclipsed the mark. See where I’m going here? If touchdowns are worth the same
for all players, people would be fools not to grab the big TD-producing passers right away
because the best of the best can be over 30.
Brian: I'm playing in a mixed (yardage/TD) league with 10 savvy players.
I have the first pick and plan to grab James. However, most of the players in this league
are RB-happy, and I think I could get Holt and Bruce on my second- and third-round
back-to-back picks. I wouldn't draft a wide receiver that high ordinarily, but if I could
get both of them, I wouldn't have to watch one or the other steal TDs from me all year.
Any thoughts?
Fantasy Doctor: I was looking for a real question to rise out of that paragraph,
but I failed to find one. My advice: Go for it. Those three players are among the
league’s elite, and it’s doubtful you’ll be able to snag one of the big
three quarterbacks at that point, so I say do it up. Your team would be in pretty good
health on paper, but I would snag another starting running back in the fourth round if I
were you. One more thing: Ever heard of Marshall Faulk?
Anonymous: I have been involved in a dynasty league for the last four
years. I won two titles, then decided to build for the future last year. I drafted Jamal
Lewis last year and now have a dilemma. With Lewis' injury, I am forced to start Thomas
Jones or J.R. Redmond along with Corey Dillon. Do you see either of these guys stepping up
and being a decent No. 2 back this year? I need advice bad.
Fantasy Doctor: What you need is for the Jamal Lewis injury to be just a bad
dream. The Patriots are hoping Redmond steps up and plays well enough to warrant the No. 1
RB spot, but he’s there now largely by default. It’s a mess of a situation there
that could end up in … (wince) a committee system with some contributions from
Antowain Smith or Kevin Faulk. As far as Jones is concerned, Cardinals offensive
coordinator Rich Olson wants to run the ball a lot this year. Problem is, he thinks
Michael Pittman is better-suited to handle the bulk of the workload. But if Jones shows
something in the opener, it could vault him right back into the mix. Either path is not
particularly pretty, so you may want to look at trade possibilities if you’ve got
depth to spare elsewhere. |
