Mikey D

Best and worst pick time!  Let's go through the rounds:

Round 1
Best Pick: LeSean McCoy (Adam)
Worst Pick: Tom Brady (Brian)
I thought about giving Stacey best pick because she won the Adrian Peterson lottery.  Instead I went with Adam.  Fantasy is mostly about getting value for your draft pick.  Of the eight first round picks, I think Adam's pick is the only one where he got value for the pick (I had McCoy #4 on my draft board)...Conversely, Brian reached a bit for Tom Terrific.  I had no intention of drafting him with Brees, Newton, and Manning on the board, and I'm guessing Adam wouldn't have taken him with his second round pick with the aforementioned QBs still available.  Oh, and I thought about Grace for the worst pick since she reached for CJ, but she LOVES Megatron and the fact is he wouldn't have gotten back to her in Round 2.  That was a case of reaching for a player out of necessity. 

Round 2
Best Pick: Dez Bryant (Jen)
Worst Pick: Robert Griffin III (Stacey)
I seriously debated taking Dez with the first pick in the second round.  Dez is my man crush for the year, so it was tough to pass up on him.  Looking at what Dez did towards the end of the last year and the Cowboys cake-walk of a schedule, that guy is going to challenge Megatron for the top overall WR title in fantasy.  I think he's going to be that good...Don't hate RGIII, but the question marks about his knee alone make him unworthy of being a second round pick.  I also wonder if he still would have been around when Stacey picked again Round 4.  There were four QBs taken after RGIII and Stacey's 4th round pick, and they were all ranked higher by Yahoo! than RGIII.

Round 3
Best Pick: Ray Rice (Adam)
Worst Pick: Danny Amendola (Brian)
Kind of an easy choice for the best pick.  So let me ask this: HOW THE HELL DID RAY RICE FALL TO THE END OF THE 3RD ROUND?!? And to Adam nonetheless (sigh).  Even though Adam already has two quality RBs, what he eventually flips Rice into down the road will be worth the 3rd round price tag...On my draft board, I had Amendola pegged for the 6th or 7th round.  Going before guys like Julio Jones and Demarius Thomas?  No thank you.

Round 4
Best Pick: Trent Richardson (Grace)
Worst Pick: Eric Decker (Brian)
Same as Ray Rice- Richardson at the end of the 4th round???  Man.  The guy was 9th highest scoring RB last year...as a rookie...playing for the Browns.  He's still has to play for the Browns, but now he's fully healthy and has offensive guru Norv Turner as his OC.  Can't help but like Trent's upside.  Grace was very fortunate to land a quality #1 RB this late in the draft...Not a fan of Decker this year.  I'm sure he'll post respectable numbers again, but it's clear that Demarius is the big play guy in Denver.  That means that Decker is fighting with Welker for the rest of the receptions.  How can he post better numbers than last year?

Round 5
Best Pick: Alfred Morris (Stacey)
Worst Pick: Eli Manning (Adam)
Starting to notice a bit of a trend here.  I guess the run on QBs early is to blame for the fall of the these RBs, but wow.  Not often you get to pair a 1600 yard rusher with a 2000 rusher, and Stacey did just that...I know Adam needed a QB, and this is hindsight, but the run on QBs was over at this point.  Because of that, I think Adam could have gotten Eli a round or two later.  Plus with Vick ranked higher and my dad on autodraft (and needing a QB), Eli would have been around still.

Round 6
Best Pick: Vincent Jackson (Mike's Dad)
Worst Pick: Knowshon Moreno (Brian)
Vincent Jackson gets lost in the discussion of top-tier fantasy wideouts for some reason.  Maybe it's his past history in San Diego or the enigma at QB that is Josh Freeman, but Jackson was 6th in WR scoring last year.  I had him eighth on my draft board (behind Larry Fitzgerald), and my dad got him as his #3 receiver.  Yeesh!...I thought about drafting Moreno...in like the 14th round as a potential sleeper.  Really big gamble by Brian.  Knowshon could be the starter Week 1, or the third on the depth chart.  It's that murky of a situation in Denver.

Round 7
Best Pick: Reggie Bush (Kevin)
Worst Pick: Golden Tate (Brian)
Love me some Reggie Bush this year.  With my Round 6 pick, I really debated hard on taking him over Ridley.  To me, they're equal.  Yes, there are questions about Bush's TD potential.  But with the big play ability he has and the number of passes he's going to catch, he's going to make up the points in yards alone.  I think this was a great #3 RB pick for Kevin, as I would have been content with him as my #2...I like Golden Tate this year, especially with Percy Harvin hurt and Sidney Rice banged up.  I especially like him because he has Russell Wilson throwing him the ball, who I think is a stud.  Like most of his picks, I think Brian just reached a bit early.  Who knows, Tate may tear it up, and this pick will be looking like a steal for Brian.

Round 8
Best Pick: Rob Gronkowski (Mike)
Worst Pick: Wes Welker (Kevin)
I'll finally give myself some love.  There were a lot of great picks this round (Bowe and Murray, to name a couple), and yes, Gronkowski carries a lot risk due to his injuries.  But if he comes back- whenever that is- and is close to his old self, I just found a true difference maker in the 8th round.  You can't beat that value...I could easily choose Brian's pick of Owen Daniels, but I want to slam this one.  I HATE Welker this year.  What upside does this guy possibly bring to your team?  His best years were with Brady, where he got a lot of receptions and yards, with a handful of TDs.  Now he's going to a new system, on the downside of his career, self-admitting he's planning on catching less balls?  If he's not catching passes and racking up yards, and he's not getting TDs, what's his value???

Round 9
Best Pick: Andy Dalton (Stacey)
Worst Pick: TIE- San Francisco and Seattle (Adam and Mike's Dad)
Andy Dalton has so many weapons to play with it's not even funny.  This season for Dalton feels a bit like the season Stafford had two years, where he's under the radar, and then comes in an explodes for 30+ TDs.  The set-up is definitely there, the only thing that worries me is that he doesn't throw it like Stafford (arm strength), and he plays in a black-and-blue division where there aren't a lot of shootouts.  Still, I'd love to have him on my team, because the upside is there...Too early for a defense in my opinion, even though they are great defenses.   If you take a defense this early, you kind of feel obligated to play them week in and week out.  Well Week 1 San Francisco plays Green Bay, and Seattle travels to Carolina.  I can't imagine difference making point totals from either.  Plus defenses are very fickle from year-to-year.  I mean, who had Seattle super high on their draft board last year?

Round 10
Best Pick: Antonio Brown (Mike)
Worst Pick: Matt Bryant (Mike's Dad)
I'll give myself the nod over Adam (Hakeem Nicks) ever so slightly.  I really like Brown this year, and you should too.  Over the back half of last year, who led Pittsburgh in receiving yards?  Nope, not Mike Wallace.  Mr. What Can Brown Do For You!  And guess who's not in Pittsburgh anymore, making Brown the #1 WR?  Yep, Wallace.  I think 1,100+ yards receiving and 6TDs is the floor for Brown this year, whereas with Nicks's injury history, you get the feeling that's kind of his ceiling at this point (although both guys make terrific #3 WRs)...That's what you get when you autodraft.  A fucking kicker in the 10th round.

Round 11
Best Pick: David Wilson (Mike's Dad)
Worst Pick: BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Brian)
Autodraft did a nice job of getting a guy with some great upside.  As of now he's the Giant's starting tailback, so there's that.  He's got big play ability (a la Jamaal Charles or CJ Spiller), but he's probably not going to get the goal line carries.  But if he gets the opportunity to be a feature back, watch out...Why Green-Ellis now?  He showed last year he's not a starting NFL running back.  The one thing you thought he'd be good at- goal line rushes- he was terrible at.  And now they have Giovani Bernard, the top RB taken in the draft, who looks every bit the real deal. I'd guess they start the season doing a 50-50 split, but it's hard to think Bernard is not going to take over the starting tailback job soon.

Round 12
Best Pick: Giovani Bernard (Grace)
Worst Pick: Miles Austin (Brian)
Really went back and forth with this one.  So many upside guys!  Tavon Austin was chosen by Stacey...and then there was TY Hilton by my dad...or Justin Blackmon by me...lots of potential difference makers.  But for the reasons I spoke about above, I like Bernard this year.  He's going to play in a good offense, behind a good line, and since they won't be playing from behind too often, they'll more than likely use him to salt away games.  Plus they are already grooming him as their goal line back.  Could be a great #2 RB by years end...Not a fan of the Miles Austin pick.  I think it's safe to say that after Austin's one phenomenal fantasy season he's been a complete bust.  Either injuries limited him, or he wasn't as good as we all thought.  Either way, with the emergence of Dez, it's hard to like Austin more than as a #4 kind of guy.  Brian should have went with a guy with more upside.

Round 13
Best Pick: Le'Veon Bell (Jen)
Worst Pick: TIE- Stephen Gostkowski and Phil Dawson (Stacey and Brian)
Bell will probably miss the first month, so let's get that out of the way first.  By Jen drafting him, she knows he's going to sit on her bench for at least the first four weeks.  That's fine.  When Bell comes back, he's going to start.  Who on Pittsburgh can even be considered an NFL back?  The fact Pittsburgh invested a 2nd round pick in Bell means they want to use him as their feature guy.  This draft pick may not pay immediate dividends, but there is definitely some long term potential...Kickers?  This early?  Come on now...

Round 14
Best Pick: Stevie Johnson (Stacey)
Worst Pick: Denarius Moore (Brian)
Stevie Johnson kind of disappointed last year, so it would make sense he fell a bit this year in the draft.  But wow, 14th round?  He's still Buffalo's #1 WR, so at this point, why not take a chance?  Maybe he'll produce like two years ago, and instead of being a backup, he'll be starting for Stacey...Does anyone really want to touch a Raider this year?  I'm thinking they are possibly the worst team in the NFL at this point.  I mean, Terrell Pryor is about to start for them.  Yuck.

Round 15
Best Pick: Shane Vereen (Kevin)
Worst Pick: Houston (Mike's Dad)
Really interested to see how New England uses Vereen.  With Woodhead, Welker, and Lloyd gone, Hernandez in jail, and Gronkowski hurt, there's definitely an opportunity for Vereen to be a big part of the offense.  I've heard they may line him up as a WR in the slot, or use him in a similar fashion as they did Woodhead.  Either way, it sounds like he's going to get a lot of touches.  How much is "a lot" is to be determined...Not a big fan of Houston in general.  I think their window of opportunity has closed, but we'll see.  I think there a team on a downward trend, although they'll probably still make the playoffs based on a weak division (and AFC in general).

Round 16
Best Pick: Jordan Cameron (Grace)
Worst Pick: Graham Gano (Jen)
Well, it was between Cameron and DeAngelo Williams.  Normally I'd take the starting RB here, but tell me what Williams has done since 2008?  Go ahead, I'll give you a second...Nothing?  Oh, right.  I get that he's a starter, but there's Cam and Tolbert who are going to get the goal line runs.  Therefore, I'll take the guy with a little upside.  I like that Cameron is going to be a big part of the offense, but it's still Cleveland we're talking about.  That said, I do think he's got an outside shot of being a top-10 TE, which isn't bad for your last pick in a draft...Graham Gano is the worst pick because, well, he's a kicker.  And also because Jen said she drafted him only because he's "cute".  Oye.

~Mikey D

For the 11th time in 16 years, MSU is in the Sweet 16!  Now is where the fun begins.  One could argue that if MSU makes it through the next two games (Duke, Louisville?) it would be harder than any potential matchups in the Final Four.  This Friday will be an extremely tough task and we'll need to bring our A-game.  As Izzo always says, PP-TPW ("Players play...tough players win").

Go Green.

 

If you read the messageboards like I do, there is a lot of hate between MSU and Memphis fans.  Memphis fans are running their mouths about their superb overall record this year (and reminding State fans of a 2008 tournament beatdown), while MSU fans are ripping Memphis for their cake schedule and laughable disrespect for the Spartans. 

Only one school will be able to back up the talk...let's hope it's MSU.  It should be an UGLY game, as both teams have a propensity to turn the ball over.  I could care less as long as MSU wins.

~Mikey D

Not exactly a smooth last six games of the season, huh?  We played arguably the worst basketball we have all year, and part of that is due to the stiff competition we've played.  When we make mental mistakes or dumb plays, they're magnified tenfold against elite competition.  Still, even with the string of losses MSU has endured, they were never really out of any game.  The floor for this team is still pretty high, but the inconsistencies are maddening. 

So we'll see which MSU team shows up this week.  First up is Valpo, a solid shooting team, but a defensively weak team.  We should be able to control the paint, so Payne/Nix should get theirs, and the rebounding advantage should be decisively in our favor.  I would love to see an emphasis on defending the 3-ball, as it seems like Valpo's best bet for staying in this game.  Also, it'd be nice to see some improvement on the pick-and-roll defense- it's been layup city off that all year for the opponent. 

MSU-Valparaiso.  Let the madness begin!