I have participated in a fantasy football league with my high school friends since 2003. We are now entering year 7. (I posted about my 2008 team here.) We have a trophy that we engrave each year with the winner. I have one engraving on that trophy in the past 6 years, which I’m proud of. Although I was out in California during the draft, I was able to draft via phone through a proxy who was present at the live draft. I’m really happy with the team I ended up with. Just last season we shifted to a keeper league, which adds a nice element to the mix. In a keeper league, you get to keep players for next season in exchange for next season’s draft picks. It promotes you taking agressive risks on young players with high potential for the next year.
Here’s the team I ended up with:
QB (start 1): Ben Roethlisberger, Jake Delhomme
WR (start 3): Steve Smith (on the Panthers), Chad Ochocinco, Roy Williams, Chris Chambers, Earl Bennett
RB (start 2): Clinton Portis, Kevin Smith, Jamal Lewis, Cedric Benson, Ricky Williams, Michael Bush, Peyton Hills
TE (start 1): Dallas Clark
I’m really excited about my team. At RB, I have 4 guys (Portis, Smith, Lewis, Benson) who are undisputed starters on their teams and the other 3 guys are all very capable backups who could shine if given the starting opportunity. I’m really confident in my WRs, and I’m looking for a big time bounceback for Chad Ochocinco. I’ve been following him on Twitter and he’s got me sold that this will be a big year for him. I’m only half joking. Chambers can put up huge numbers on occassion and I’m hoping Bennett hooks up with Cutler to rekindle the magic they shared in college. I’m confident that Dallas Clark will put up top TE numbers. The only position I’m worried about is at QB. I’m not sold on Big Ben or Jake Delhomme. Neither of them consistently put up big numbers at QB. Luckily, my league doesn’t give too many points at the QB position, but it’s still nice to get good numbers out of that position.
Last year I finished second. The goal, as always, is to win it all this year.
