Draft

The draft has taken place and the season begins. No one I talked to prior to the draft had any confidence in the new system (including me).

Now we can take a look at how the drafting went.

Draft Order

1. Packattackdownsouth (PADS) - Mk
2. Expo - Arial
3. prideofwisconsin (POW)- Kn?
4. Snap It - PJF
5. The Spies - Crl
6. Xillers II - mwz
7. USC 3 Peat!! - sctt
8. Smashpanic - Mrk
9. Dragon Run - Mtt
10. KatoBack - Mg (or house team if she doesn't want to do it)

Let's take a look at each team's draft picks (in draft order). Since I don't have a very deep knowledge of pro players, the commentary may be light on player info.

PADS
Given the first pick of the draft, PADS chose Paton Manning (QB) to head up his team. He will likely be looking for some trades to get a back-ups at QB, TE, (and maybe kicker and defense). He does have some very recognizable names down deep in his bench in the RB and WR positions that may make for some good trade material.

Expo
With the number two spot, Expo picked up Culpepper (QB). She told me that had she known that she was getting such a high pick, she would have set up her list differently. I think that means she wanted a running back (since she was following foxsports' recommended order of RRWWQRWTKD. However, Culpepper will probably do well for her.

She picked up Nugent at kicker (rookie from Ohio St.) (on purpose). It will be interesting to see how that turns out for her. She still needs a backup TE but has three QBs and might be looking for a trade.

POW
With the third pick, POW took Tomlinson (RB) who is questionable for the first game with an elbow injury (although he was still highly sought after and will probably be just fine). It appears that POW also followed the RRWWQRWTKD order and has a quite balanced bench (although missing a backup TE and a little heavy on the RBs).

Snap It
Snap It used the fourth pick to take McAllister (RB) who I don't recognize but I'm sure is wonderful. The theme for Snap It seemed to be "Iowa people" as he picked up Kaeding (K), Clark (TE) and Warner (QB) which earns Jealousy from Xillers and Expo.

This squad has backups for every major position as well as four QBs, which could make him an interesting trade partner with PADS.

The Spies
Entering the league just in time, The Spies grabbed Alexander (RB) with the 5th pick which really seems like a steal that late in the draft. She seems well rounded, although I've never heard of her starting QB (Green from KC). There are a couple names I recognize from the injury list on her team (hopefully nothing serious) such as Portis (RB) and Bettis (RB). But otherwise a fine team.

She is also missing a backup TE, maybe that isn't so important since no one has one.

Xillers II
Although feeling unhappy that they missed getting Alexander by one pick, Xillers II settles for James (RB) (who I've never heard of) and hopes that James does well. Also missing a backup TE. Oh yeah, and Xillers followed the RRWWQRWTKD order.

USC 3 Peat!!
As the 7th pick, USC Sux... I mean USC 3 Peat!! picks up Holmes (RB) who I've heard of (lucky him). He also seemed to follow the RRWWQRWTKD order as well but he has three defenses which might be wasted picks (especially Chicago which was his 10th pick). But he may have a super-secret plan and his team still looks fine.

Smashpanic
Smashpanic picked up McGahee (RB) for the 8th pick. He seemed to follow a modified version of RRWWQRWTKD. He is on the ball today and already has most of his starters chosen. With no backup QB, he is hoping that Brady will do well for him. I'm running out of interesting things to say about random assortments of RBs and WRs.

Dragon Run
Taking Moss (WR) in the first round, Dragon Run assures himself of having at least one jerk on his team (which Arial believes is important in fantasy football). Moss of course, will claim the glory in any Dragon Run wins while placing blame on the other players and management for any losses. DR is secure in the QB department with three and picked up Leftwich (cheap) who has the potential to be good.

KatoBack
KatoBack is Mg's team. She hasn't been asked yet if she wants to manage a team. If she does, she will take over KatoBack. However, if she does not, KatoBack will be a house team. Mrk has volunteered to manage them in that case and only basic functions will be performed (like making sure that it has a full starting roster).

Even with the default draft order though, KatoBack has done pretty well, getting Lewis (RB) and Barber (RB).

Well, that's that. If you want to discuss anything (like the house team), feel free to add comments. Oh, if you have a better way to represent your names (than the current coded system of removing vowels), let me know.

Remember that you still need to assign your players to starting positions before Thursdays games.

mwz