WaxOnWaxOff Wax entered the draft with an amazing saved team, powered by
franchise player A Rodgers but also a top WR like Julio Jones.
Then Wax ripped off Spi in a pre-draft trade to acquire P Manning
in return for next to nothing. However Wax dropped the ball and
failed to materialize Manning's value by refusing to trade him on draft
day during the 3rd round. So Wax has 2 high quality QBs on the
roster instead of filling holes elsewhere. Best
pick: L Fitzgerald. With the arrival of C Palmer, the
upside is great, and other choices at WR at that point of the draft
where all a notch below. Worst
pick: M Lynch. There is no doubt Lynch will provide
points, but passing on L McCoy is a mistake Wax will regreat. Strength: Depth on offense.
Wax has obviously by far the best backup QB, but also WR Victor
Cruz who could be a starter on most other PQBFL teams. WR depth
is great for Wax including potential 2014 stars Antonio Brown, Justin
Blackmon, and Chris Givens who should bolster Wax's 2014 saved team.
Weakness: Depth on defense.
After starters Kuechly, Woodyard, Burnett, and Jared Allen, the
best backup for defensive flex leaves to be desired especially since
Wax only drafted 3 LBs.
FlyingElvis FE hopes to bounce back
from the post 2011 championship year hangover with a disappointing 5th
place in 2012. FE benefits from an above average saved team, but
franchise player Brady is getting stale and is no longer franchise
player material. We would have liked FE to draft a potential
long-term franchise player in the first round, but the team instead
decided to go with the declining Arian Foster who similar to Brady is
not getting better with age. FE wants to win now and has not
focused much on 2014. Best
pick: Dez Bryant. FE elected to balance his team after QB
and RB were filled by the franchise and 1st round picks and went with
youth at WR. Dez's ceiling is very high. Worst
pick: Arian Foster. His YPC is falling like a rock and the
only reason his production has not declined is the huge number of
carries he got last year. Injuries are starting to catch up with
Foster, and Tate is healthy. The much safer Jamaal Charles should
have been the pick here. Strength: WR backups. V
Jax and Torrey Smith are on the bench in case Dez or Roddy White let FE
down. Weakness: Not a lot of glaring
weaknesses on this team which is average pretty much across the board,
but one would have to say the RB position in general looks shaky.
If Foster misses time, it is not clear who will assume leadership
among D Murray, Sproles, and Andre Brown. The latter is already
injured, and Sproles has capped upside due to his style.
OldNo7 After coming close to 2nd-3rd place in 2011, Old went back to
the PQBFL doldrums in 2012. However Old brings a decent saved
team with guys like Stafford, Ridley, Re Bush, V Davis, Nicks, and
Tillman. This has to be one of Old's best saved teams ever,
benefiting from a few offseason NFL moves particularly Reggie Bush
going to Detroit. Franchise player Spiller could be great but
carries a lot of risk too because he's not built to be an every down
back. Best
pick: L McCoy. The new offense by the ex-coach of Oregon
will greatly benefit McCoy and there was a huge drop off in RB talent
after McCoy. Old brings McCoy back to the team after being the
franchise player last year. Worst
pick: Cobb. Old reached for the up and coming WR but
Cobb would have been available later in the draft, especially since
established veterans like A Johnson, R White, V Cruz, and V Jax were
still available. Old seems too quick to discard Jordy Nelson.
Strength: RB depth.
Spiller and McCoy are both prime-cut starters, and Reggie Bush +
Ridley make for great trade baits later in the season when other teams
starting hurting at the position. Nobody in the PQBFL has a
better backup RB duo than Old. Weakness: WRs. As
mentioned above, Cobb should not be considered a WR1 yet, and after
Nicks the backups are nothing to be impressed about: Garcon, M Floyd,
Tate, Shorts.
BeaudoinBrothers The defending champions benefited from having the first round
pick due to 2012 injuries and took maximum advantage by loading up with
the best available player, or potential best player, at many positions.
Beaud has finished in the top 3 in every single PQBFL season in
the 16-year history, and chances are good that 2013 will not be any
different. Best
pick: EJ Manuel. How often do you find a starting rooking
QB available in
the 4th round? If Manuel can accomplish half of what Newton
(2011) and
RGIII (2012) accomplished, Manuel will be near the top of rookie
standings. Worst
pick: Chris Johnson. The BeaudoinBrothers panicked and
needed a RB and drafted the best available one, after the wave of the
first 9 that were drafted in the top 15 picks of the draft, not
counting the three RBs which were franchised. CJ has been
declining for a few years. Strength: Defense. JJ
Watt is the most dominant defensive player in the NFL and the 49ers are
a top defense. Linebackers Posluszny and Bobby Wagner cement this
unit. Weakness: QB depth.
Newton better not get injured, because Dalton/Roethlisberger
would not even be backup QB on any PQBFL team except Adm. Spitoons The Spitoons were in the hunt last year until crashing starting
in week 14 but able to hold on to 3rd place. Spi's saved team is
subpar however, with guys like BJGE, useless Barkley, and worthless
Malcom Floyd. This is because Spi's bonehead trade of P Manning
to Wax pre-draft which caused Reggie Wayne to be cut from Spi's team.
Best
pick: David Wilson. This guy is lightning quick and it was
limited by the presence of Bradshaw last year. The Giants did the
right thing and let Bradshaw go. Wilson was awesome value late in
the 3rd round especially after so many other RBs were taken. Worst
pick: Jason Pierre-Paul. Taking JPP just one pick after JJ
Watt is by definition not getting good value. JPP was taken
before the 2nd LB was taken and he's not even healthy. Strength: QB depth. Luck
is the franchise player, and Romo is the best backup QB in the PQBFL
other than stacked Wax. Weakness: Rookies.
Montee Ball is possibly the third RB on the Broncos team, Barkley
won't play unless Vick gets injured, and Dion Jordan is a defensive
lineman. This squad will be a problem.
JakesBlues Since winning the league
in 2010, it's been downhill for JB with a 5th place in 2011 and last
place in 2012. By failing to submit a legal saved team, JB ends
up with M Turner on the team (what is he up to these days?) and Aaron
Hernandez also as a saved player. Hernandez is the first killer
to be on a PQBFL roster since the days of Ray Carruth. If
Hernandez gets injured in a jail fight, will he accrue injury points? Best
pick: Lamar Miller. There was a huge dropoff after Miller
and the rest of remaining RBs were scrubs. JB correctly picked
the last startable RB to provide good support to starting duo
Forte-Rice. Worst
pick: TY Hilton. Who? In the 7th round? Ahead
of Jordy Nelson, and JB's own Britt? Hilton would have been
available 10 rounds later. Strength: Rookie depth.
Starter Tavon Austin has the upside, and in case he does not do
well, Teo will provide stable reliable stats. The form a good
combo. Weakness: WRs. This is a
crew of has-beens: Andre Johnson, D-Jax, Boldin. The only
potential bright spot is Britt who might surprise and has lots of
upside.
Decepticons Dec was only a middle of the pack team in 2012 but comes into
2013 as a legitimate contender. Dec's saved team is very strong
with McFadden, Vick, S Johnson, and Finley. Franchise player Doug
Martin might not be the best available RB in 2013 but he has as much
long-term potential, if not more, than any other RB. Best
pick: RGIII. Sure he hurt his knee, but he is young and
can recover fast. Huge upside at a key position - he was great
value in the 5th round after so many teams shied away from drafting a
QB in the first few rounds because they already had one. Worst
pick: Bears D. Not that drafting a team defense in the 8th
round is too early, but this defense is not the same as in 2012.
The Seahawks or 49ers were probably 1-2 on everybody's list but
Dec. Strength: RBs. Charles +
D Martin is the best starting RB duo in the PQBFL, and F Gore still has
juice left. Weakness: WR depth. Dec
needs Amendola to perform as a starter, and it's not clear whether he
can stay healthy so backups matter. S Johnson and M Wallace both
play on terrible teams with question marks at QB.
Admirals
Only a few years ago, Adm's GM knew nothing about the NFL. The
team joins the PQBFL this year and will try to do what nobody has been
able to accomplish: assemble a winning team in season #1. Odds
are that it will not happen. However, some teams have been able
to quickly rise to stardom, for example JB won in the team's 3rd year,
while FE finished 3rd in the team's second and third seasons. JB
and FE both finished last in their expansion year. Another
expansion team was Dec in 2006 who finished 4th, but that was after a
one-year absence in 2005. Dec won the league in 2003-2004 and was
not a clueless team in 2006. Prior to that, the Dugongs were also
an expansion team in 2005 and did well with 4th place, but similar to
Dec they had been in the PQBFL in the past. Best
pick: T Bridgewater. The perfect pick for an expansion
team. Bridgewater will not score as much as other college players
in 2013, but has the best 2014 value because he'll be drafted towards
the top of the NFL draft and could start somewhere next year. Worst
pick: MJD. Why spend a 3rd round pick on an aging RB?
If Adm wanted to compete this year, fine, but that is not a good
pick to build on the future. Strength: None. Well, as
an expansion team it's hard to do well and Adm decided to draft a
balanced team rather than load on one particular position. The
only area where Adm seems to be average or slightly above average is
the WR crew. Demaryius Thomas is a top notch WR, and combined
with whoever will emerge among Bowe, Decker, Austin, or Mike Williams
that will form a good starting duo. Weakness: Everything.
For a first draft, Adm actually surprised the author of this
column, but honestly this team will have a rough going this year as any
expansion team. The most glaring hole is probably RB depth: Daryl
Richardson will have competition for his job in STL, Ballard, and Helu
are not starters on the NFL team, and none of them are particularly
stellar investments for the future.
