Shot_Kings

Our (4 keeper) league expanded from 9 [odd numbers of owners suck ] to 12 many years ago. There was some debate about whether the expansion teams should struggle (ala the Tampa Bay/Seattle expansion of the 70's) or have a chance to be competitive out of the gate. The owners of the best teams were solidly in the "Bucs" model while the owners of the weaker teams were somewhat more collegial, arguing that, since the expansion owners were supposedly our friends & it was only a game, it would seem fairer to give the newbs a chance. The two camps were solidly entrenched & it seemed that neither side could get the 2/3rds necessary to pass their proposal until a compromise proposal was made - expand keepers to 5 & let the expansion teams select their first 5 players in an expansion draft before the regular draft. Two of the good teams decided that the extra keeper was worth cutting the expansion teams a break & the deal was done. My other (2 keeper) league expanded from 10 to 12 last year - although 1 owner dropped without submitting keepers, so the league effectively went from 9 to 12. Again, the decision was made to allow the expansion teams to draft up to the keeper limit in advance of the regular draft. Results were fine - some of the expansion teams did well, some didn't. Personally, I don't see much reason not to have "friendly" expansion. The established teams will still have an advantage over the newcomers by reason of their keepers. The best players will likely be locked up before the expansion draft, leaving the expansion teams to select 2nd tier veterans or gamble on young unproven talent. And then skill (& luck) will out. The only people who might feel miffed by this are the veteran owners with early picks in the regular draft, since they will find those picks diluted somewhat in a "friendly" expansion. Of course, all picks in an expansion draft are diluted, but the early ones are diluted the most, so these owners have a case - especially if they made (or refused) trades based on the supposed value of these picks, which would change due to expansion. But in most cases this problem is minor compared to the gain of a bigger, better league. The best solution is to have a full & fair debate on the issue & then vote on various models of expansion. That way at least everyone can be part of the process & have little reason to feel aggrieved after the fact.

Pretty much exactly the same thing in my league, except my record was 141 in the 8 man era & the 9 man era record set this week is 142 - by the team that had been hands down the worst in the league up to this point. 27 - QB Brady, Tom 11 - RB Addai, Joseph 23 - RB Green, Ahman 12 - WR Burress, Plaxico 03 - WR Cotchery, Jerricho 31 - WR Wayne, Reggie 18 - TE Clark, Desmond 08 - PK Elam, Jason 09 - TM Giants, New York Somehow I doubt that this new record will last long. The undefeated team with Donovan McNabb (& Michael Vick), Larry Johnson, Frank Gore, Deuce McAllister, Torry Holt, Randy Moss, Reggie Brown, Tony Gonzalez, Adam Viatieri, & the Baltimore Ravens will put it all together one week & blow this record out of the water. This is a longstanding (10 years now) 12 team keeper league (5 keepers per team) & the undefeated owner has been diligent in all phases of the operation in building this team - via the draft, trades & working the waiver wire. Still we are appalled that we let him build this Frankenstein monster. But then he has spent the last 3 years being the "best team on paper" going into the season only to see it blow up in his face each time. Here's to hoping that the fantasy gods exact vengeance upon him yet again!

I'm thinking it was a ploy to get other demographics to try out the show. People who had passed on the show originally for whatever reason might have tuned in on Monday night rather than watch MNF. Since FNL is a richly filmed show about complex personal relationships in a relatable environment, a lot of people (particularly women) might have found it more involving than what they expected from a "football" show. The network execs were probably hoping that women would sample the show rather than watch MNF, get hooked on the characters, & come back for more, watching the show for the relationships & putting up with the "boring football" stuff - kind of like they do with the men in their lives. I'll be interested to see if the ploy worked. The show deserves a chance at survival. It really is good tv (even if the football stuff isn't quite believable).

Right, the cap numbers will drive whatever decision is made about Moss. No doubt OAK faces a potential cap problem if Moss stays, just from his base salary. But moving him will probably be pretty challenging cap-wise too, as the prorating of his signing bonus would be accelerated. I doubt OAK will want to eat the cap charge for that. Expect that OAK will seek to restructure Moss's contract looking for some cap relief & Moss's agent will use that as leverage to seek a trade.

One thing to add that hasn't been mentioned is the coaching changes. Martz runs a complicated offense based on precise route-running & explosiveness out of the cuts to get separation. He prefers hard-working receivers who know how to go where they are supposed to be to guys who tend to get by on natural playmaking ability. This is why Mike Furrey is starting instead of Mike Williams. Since Martz didn't draft Rogers or Mike Williams, he doesn't feel like he has to try to make them fit into his scheme. So unless Mike Williams grows up & learns how to play receiver the way that Martz wants, he is likely to be the forgotten man in this offense - until it becomes cap-friendly to dump him (or alternatively Martz gets the heave-ho first for not turning the offense around). Anyway, this doesn't necessarily mean that Charles Rogers and/or Mike Williams will always be busts. Either or both could find a new attitude and team/system that fits their strengths. But I'm not betting on it.

This is pretty much the way I read this situation. She finds her friend/client/meal ticket sick & an empty prescription bottle. TO is too groggy to give a satisfactory accounting of the missing pills & so she panics, assuming the worst. She tells the emergency personnel that she thinks it is a suicide attempt, & they quite logically proceed under that assumption, trying to elicit confirmation from a groggy TO. Once the medical emergency passes, TO's publicist realizes that she has helped to create a PR nightmare for her client & proceeds to spin control, developing a case of amnesia about the night's events & casting aspersions on those who leaked the info to the press. I'm expecting the release of the transcript of the 911 call to validate the above version of events. But I doubt the public will never learn the complete truth. That won't stop us from speculating madly in the absence of (or alternatively in complete disregard of) the facts.

I can't believe Albom was trying to make a big deal about the fact that Roy celebrated a first down when his team was down 10-0 early in the game. It's not like the Lions were down big late in the game & Roy was celebrating a garbage time play. He had just made a play to keep a drive alive while his team was showing some signs of life - for all we know he was trying to get the offence pumped up against the tough Bears D, not engaging in self-congratulatory behavior. What did Albom expect Roy & the Lions O to do when down 10-0 - quit on themselves & accept the "inevitable" Bears victory? So in a sense, Roy was right when he replied that "the score means nothing" - at that point in the game it did mean nothing except that the Lions O needed to execute, make some plays, keep their drives alive, & try to put some points on the board. Anyone who thinks that 10 points is a safe lead in the NFL has apparently never watched any of the myriad comebacks of recent memory - witness the Giants' win in OT against the Eagles this week.

Yes

Agreed. But don't expect the absence of Duckett to mean a big improvement in Dunn's TD totals. The team seems to believe that the best way to keep Dunn healthy & effective is to restrict his short yardage carries. Duckett's goalline carries will likely be split among Vick & the fullback, with perhaps some more TE throws in the end zone. Draft Dunn for the yardage & an occasional long TD. Any short yardage TDs will just be gravy.

Yeah, but Terrell both proves & disproves this theory. He fell to the 6th round because of questions about his durability - he had shown flashes of talent in college, but simply couldn't stay healthy. For several years in the NFL he proved his critics wrong, running up massive stats behind the Denver OL & looking all but unstoppable in fantasy ball. And then the wheels came off, as he succumbed to multiple nagging injuries. Thus in the end the durability issue won out. So who was more right - those that said that TD was an injury risk or those that saw the talent? The question is still open.

Good info as always Billy. After seeing Cedric Cobb's stat line last night I was wondering if he was in line to replace Dayne as the #2 back, which would likely mean that Dayne would be traded or released before the end of preseason. But if Denver is looking to move Cobbs, showcasing him in preseason makes sense - & puts his stat line from last night in better perspective. I try to take preseason stats with a grain of salt, but given the value that relatively unknown Denver backup RBs have had over the past several seasons, its hard not to overanalyze things. Thanks for your keen insight into the situation.

I'd add that the number of keepers (& any limitations on keepers) can have a big effect on the style of the league. A league with only one keeper per team is quite different from one with 5 or more. And the dynamics of league where players may be protected indefinitely is quite different from one where a keeper may only be protected for a limited duration - especially if that duration is linked to the player's original draft round. I play in a league with 5 unlimited duration keepers & it plays much more like a dynasty league than many other keeper leagues I have seen.

To address this, our league added a point for a blocked kick to the special teams/defensive scoring. A blocked kick a a big play, & we felt that the team should be rewarded for it.

msaint, when is this "show" on? I don't watch much tv (except football), but I'd like to catch your act with Meatloaf.

Yup, the score killed Portis twice. First, the 'Skins were down so far so early that they had to abandon the run to try to get back in the game. Second, the game was so far out of hand that Gibbs pulled all of his starters by the end of the 3rd quarter. Hopefully Portis's injury is minor. I own him in both my leagues & he is my only non-committee RB in one of the leagues.