Fantasy football

Given the difference in quarterbacks and disparity in offensive efficiency, that wouldn't surprise me.

 

Yeah, I think the extreme difference between Manuel and Brees is the obvious reason.

Watkins has the talent to be a top 5 guy, but that might be tough with a crappy QB.

 

I don't get the love for Montee Ball. I know he's the starter on a great offense and he's definitely worth owning (and probably starting), but he's going ridiculously high for someone with four career touchdowns.

 

Paying for potential. I would stay away from him early because of the uncertainty, but there's no one of significance behind him. That along with being in Peyton's backfield minimizes the risk.

 

Ball is going ahead of Lynch and Foster in some leagues.

Matthew Berry has Foster rated one spot higher than Ball and three spots higher than Lynch. The pluses with Ball are that defenses against the Broncos are going to focus on stopping Manning and the receiving corps, and that should open things up for Ball, but picking a guy in the first round who is that unproven, seems like a huge risk.

 

I'd take Ball before Foster. Not touching a RB on a terrible team whose back has betrayed him for a couple years running.

 

I'm not touching Foster this year, and Lynch is going to have to fall to me. (I'm not in any leagues where I'll have the opportunity to draft Ball.)

 

So would I. Ball or Lynch would be a tough call.

The five sophomore RBs, Lacy, Ball, Bell, Stacy and Bernard are typically going in the first two rounds of most mock drafts.

 

There are four RBs worth taking early. FOUR. The game doesn't lend itself to dominant running backs anymore. Other than McCoy, Peterson, Forte and Charles, they All have significant risks. But RBs are always overdrafted, so you either join in or end up with Toby Gerhart as your No. 1 guy.

 

Lacy is a pretty obvious fifth. The other four are almost all going 1-4 in most drafts. After No. 4, it's usually Lacy, Megatron, Manning, Graham, Ball and maybe Demariyus Thomas, who surprises me a bit that he's going that high.

 

Yeah, Lacy is the least risky of the other top dozen or so. If I'm drafting fifth or later, I'm targeting Johnson, Thomas or Graham before Lacy. Might even go Brees or Rodgers near the end depending on the scoring system. As for Thomas, he doesn't have the upside of Megatron, but he's the safer pick. Manning over Stafford.

 

Disagree on Megatron and Thomas. The Lions just throw so damn much. Stafford's worst full yardage season since he became a starter was within 50 yards of Manning's best season before last year. Megatron will get his.

Two tangential points:
- I know Megatron played under Chan Gailey, but how weird is it that the consensus two top receivers came from a school that's now known for the option?
- My buddy named his team "Demaryius Targaryen, First of His Name, Mover of Chains, Breaker of Tackles, Lord of the Eight Divisions, Protector of the League, called the Untouched, Mother of Dragons," which I think is just fantastic.