What I learned in my auction last night

[mroban]

Had my auction last night and it was very interesting. First, we used the ESPN software which is pretty good, but we had 3 guys from the west coast that got kicked off the server for an hour and almost killed our auction. But eventually it worked out and we got it done. But here is the important football related information you will all be interested in ($200 per team at auction, keeper league with 5 players max keepers per team):

 

1. The top WRs were going at a premium but the 2nd tier WR really were going for eye popping prices. For example Vincent Jackson went for an absurd $34. Some of this is based on a few variables: a) the top WRs were all keepers (Moss, Andre Johnson, Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson), b ) some serious homer-ing going on (the guy that paid $34 for V Jax is a huge Chargers fan and incidentally he is one of the best players in my league, consistently one of the best in the league. we were bidding up the Chargers knowing he would bite, but that was ridiculous.

 

2. Earl Bennett went for $10. Yes, a Bears fan paid up for him. But there were 3-4 players in the bidding. Sure there were a few "who is he" type of comments. But only a few. Bennett is on the radar and I wouldnt assume you can get him as a $1 last round flier.

 

3. same goes for players like Jermichael Finley, Bernard Scott and James Davis. All went for $4-5. So they are on the radar of the geeks. The casual guy who reads a magazine printed in July isnt hip to these guys, but my league is full of the geeks that scour the internet every day. And the longer pre-season continues, the more radar they will be on. Particularly Finley I think.

 

4. With respect to QBs, there was the usual heated interest in Peyton Manning, Brady and to a lesser extent Kurt Warner. But most interesting was the utter lack of interest in Donovan McNabb ($11) despite at least 1 major Philly homer. Matt Cassell went for $2 and I got Favre for a $1 (l threw him out there for a buck and nobody else bid). Matt Schaub, Carson Palmer, Romo and Cutler all went for about the same price ($10-12).

 

5. The price on RBs has definitely gone down as WR prices have gone up. This is not an accident. Dont expect to get guys like Houshmanzadeh for less than $30.

 

I went in with a specific strategy and executed it perfectly. Lets see if it pans out. As its a keeper league, I wanted to get both Wells and Moreno and I did that (for $18 and $20 respectively which would make them good keepers for next year. Marshawn Lynch went for over $50 as a rookie a few years ago). I wanted Warner too and two top receivers (I had Andre Johnson as a keeper along with Steve Slaton). So my team looks as it does in my signature. I got Warner plus Favre and Shaun Hill (hopefully neither of them will play more than 1 game total). Ill cut one of them. I brought in Bernard Scott and Michael Bush too at RB for depth and Chambers, Burleson and Steve Smith (NYG) at WR

.I also really wanted Tony G at TE. I think he is going to be motivated to have one last shot at the playoffs and is going to have a very big year.

 

Couldnt be more excited. Hope it pans out. Good luck to everyone. My best advice is to budget how much you want to spend at each position and map it out before the auction. If you know you want two top WRs, you have to budget to pay for them. And dont be afraid to spend a few extra bucks to get the guy you want. But remember then you probably wont also be able to afford Tom Brady. Think of the lesser priced players that you want and at what prices you feel comfortable paying for them to go with the studs. Always pay up a bit for studs because they are a scarce commodity. The worst thing you can do is "save your money" during the auction only to find out you have a lot of extra cash and a bunch of mediocre players. Id rather be the guy who gets cash strapped after buying 3 top players and then has to bargain hunt at the end.

Michael

[vikinglion]

$200 league?

Your team looks real good if the young backs come through for you and Warner and/or Favre stays healthy.