Posts tagged Reality Sports Online

RSO Writer’s League Update: Playoffs

December 17, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

Danny Kelly has always been a Jamal Charles fan (who hasn't? Raiders fans, I imagine). Photo by Phillip Macgruder. — Bob Harris and Jamaal Charles? A winning combination. See below. Photo by Phillip Macgruder.

Congratulations to Bob Harris and Mike Clay, who will be playing in the championship game of the Reality Sports Online Writer’s League. Harris’ team, the fourth seed, was hot in the playoffs, averaging 150 points the past two weeks to defeat Jeff Tefertiller’s fifth seed team and then upset the top seeded squad of Jim Day with a 155-120 victory. Harris received 61 points from Jamaal Charles and received additional help from Danny Amendola’s a 25-point afternoon to out-point Day’s squad that didn’t get its typical advantage from Peyton Manning and Jimmy Graham.

Mike Clay, the No.2 seed, defeated Sigmund Bloom in the semifinals 135-100, thanks to a combined 57 points from Nick Foles and Indianapolis’ team defense. Bloom, who earned a combined 74 points from Shane Vereen and LeSean McCoy in Week 14 to defeat season points leader Matt Waldman in the quarterfinals, only saw this running back duo generate 18 points in the semis.

The tale of the tape for Clay and Harris’ teams is fascinating. Clay has tremendous depth at quarterback with Foles and Drew Brees while Harris is getting by with Matt Ryan and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Matt Forte and Danny Woodhead power Clay’s team at RB and Harris sports Charles and Knowshon Moreno. Clay has the advantage with receiver depth, but Harris’ team is capable of huge individual performances.

Good luck to Bob and Mike who will be competing for a $1000 purse that will be donated to the charity of their choice.

To learn more about the league and Reality Sports Online’s excellent concept, check out this page. In case you haven’t thought about it, I am getting paid to give them my endorsement. However, I don’t do this often – and I am contacted monthly with some kind of offer. RSO is something I truly value and I agreed to start a league and keep a monthly diary because I would have paid to start a league with this format if I knew about it before they reached out to me.

I’ll be keeping this monthly diary next year as well, because I believe in the concept. Stay tuned for opportunities to earn a discount for starting a league next year. In fact, to risk doing the wrong thing – Start your own league and get a discount when you use this coupon code: RSP20%OFF.

Reality Sports Online Writers’ League Update

November 22, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

There are a fair share of Jimmy Graham-sized When Jimmy Graham and Peyton Manning are in your lineup, you don't need much more - ask Jim Day. Photo by Football Schedule. — When Jimmy Graham and Peyton Manning are in your lineup, you don’t need much more – ask Jim Day. Photo by Football Schedule.

Reality Sports Online Writers’ League Update:

November is almost over and it’s time to provide an RSO update on the 14-team league I started with some of the best fantasy writers I know and enjoy competing against. With the playoffs three weeks away, all but one team is still technically alive. Here’s a quick rundown of the state of the league:

Playoff Bound (For Now)

Jim Day is atop the Grinders Division with an 8-3 record and the third in total points scored. Peyton Manning and Jimmy Graham have carried his offense with workmanlike help from Frank Gore and a mid-season boost from Zac Stacy. With the likes of Darren Sproles, Joique Bell, and Mike James on his bench, Day has one of the deepest core of backs in the league. His wide receivers aren’t bad – Eric Decker, Kendall Wright, and Marques Colston, but you’d have to think he’d be trying to deal one of his runners for a wideout – especially when Russell Wilson and E.J. Manuel comprise his QB depth chart. I guess if it ain’t broke, he’s not gonna fix it. Although he could miss the playoffs if he loses two in a row, it’s far more likely he’ll be one of the top three seeds.

Mike Clay and Sigmund Bloom are the Bangers Division co-leaders at 7-5 with Clay currently 12 points ahead of Bloom on the total points tiebreaker (4th and 5th in points scored overall). Clay has Drew Brees leading his starting lineup with Matt Forte, Danny Woodhead, and Andre Ellington (who he has been trying to sell for weeks) as the rotation of three prominent backs in a league that only starts 2 RBs. If Roddy White could return to form for Clay to pair with Victor Cruz, Clay could be even tougher to beat. Bloom’s team has been hot in recent weeks thanks to the return of Rob Gronkowski, Shane Vereen, and Jonathan Stewart. Garrett Graham getting love from Case Keenum hasn’t hurt, either. With LeSean McCoy, Jordy Nelson, and Alshon Jeffery as other strong core players, Bloom will be a difficult team to face in the playoffs as long as he wins out.

If Bob Harris was in the Bangers Division, he’d be tied for first, but he’s a game back of Jim Day with a 7-4 record. The fact that he’s doing it with Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Ryan Fitzpatrick tells you that there’s more ways to win then a stud quarterback. Jamaal Charles, Deangelo Williams, and Andre Brown are helping and Mark Ingram might provide him a boost next season. But I have to say that Harris’ team is a lineup challenge every week with the likes of Steve Smith, Eddie Royal, Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson, and Stevie Johnson as his top receivers. It goes to show that Harris, who is 8th in points scored, is doing a nice job getting the most of his start/sit decisions.

Jeff Tefertiller is 6-4-1 thanks to no decimal scoring in this league. Despite great overall experience with the site and league type, this is one thing I would recommend RSO to change (or to show me where I turned off this option) with its leagues. Tefertiller is seventh in points scored and doing it with good lineup decisions and strength at receiver (Brandon Marshall, Pierre Garcon, James Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, Terrance Williams, and Jarrett Boykin) while he’s hoping Ray Rice can get on track down the stretch. Robert Griffin is still giving him quality points, but not like he’s hoped. Jeff is one of several teams who could move further up the playoff seeding or be bounced out in just two weeks time.

Jackson, let's hope you're seriously back to "Action" down the stretch. Photo by Karen Blaha. — Jackson, let’s hope you’re seriously back to “Action” down the stretch. Photo by Karen Blaha.

Yours truly is 6-5, but because I’m the top point scorer overall I hold the tiebreaker over Bryan Fontaine for the final playoff spot heading into the weekend. Jay Cutler’s injury hurt, so did Terrelle Pryor’s. However, I still have Carson Palmer and picked up Josh McCown weeks ago as a hedge. Both quarterbacks have served me well, especially Palmer’s 400-yard game last week with Indianpolis ahead. My true strength is wide receiver – Calvin Johnson, DeSean Jackson, Keenan Allen, and Cecil Shorts are usually my starting four. Vernon Davis has been holding it down at tight end and Seattle’s defense has been providing me more points per game than my running backs combined. Speaking of RBs, Ben Tate and Steven Jackson are getting healthier at the right time. If my team continues to score at the same pace, I should be one of the more dangerous lower seed match-ups in the playoffs.

On the Bubble

Riley Cooper is one of many players who make Jason Wood's team a dangerous squad if he gets over the bubble. Photo by Matthew Straubmuller. — Riley Cooper is one of many players who make Jason Wood’s team a dangerous squad if he gets over the bubble. Photo by Matthew Straubmuller.

Fontaine (5-6) is sixth in points scored and has one of the more solid lineups around with a lot of players capable of big weeks: Matt Stafford, DeMarco Murray, Larry Fitzgerald, Dez Bryant, Antonio Gates, and Jordan Cameron. The emergence of Chris Ivory hurt Fontaine mid-season (he has Bilal Powell), but Pierre Thomas is fine depth. Tied with me record-wise in the Grinders Division I wouldn’t be surprised if Fontaine overtakes a couple of teams that are currently projected “in” – I hope mine isn’t one of them.

Rivers McCown is 5-6 in the Bangers division and 13th in points scored. Cam Newton, Adnre Johnson, and Rueben Randle are the corps players on his squad and the rest is a start-sit challenged: Daniel Thomas, Willis McGahee, Lance Moore, Tyler Eifert, Sean McGrath, and Jarius Wright. Without a strong starter at RB and Jermichael Finley, McCown has had tough luck down the stretch.

Jason Wood (5-6) has a dangerous team. Despite his record, he’s second overall in total points and has the likes of Philip Rivers, Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, Demaryius Thomas, Eddie Lacy, Riley Cooper, and the Chiefs defense earning big totals for him. The problem for Wood has been up and down weeks against some of the more consistent teams at the wrong times. With the likes of Aaron Rodgers and Rashad Jennings on his bench, Wood has the firepower and depth to be a playoff Cinderella, but getting there is the first priority.

Tim Stafford (4-6-1) has Marshawn Lynch, Wes Welker, and Tony Romo as his solid starters and the rest is a M*A*S*H unit: Randall Cobb, Santonio Holmes, C.J. Spiller, Mike Goodson, Owen Daniels, and Leonard Hankerson to name a few. He still has a shot, but he’ll need huge weeks from his core trio and Spiller and Holmes to get healthy to make some true noise.

I’ll be keeping this monthly diary next year as well, because I still really believe in the concept – so stay tuned for opportunities to earn a discount for starting a league next year. In fact, to risk doing the wrong thing – Start your own league and get a discount when you use this coupon code: RSP20%OFF.

RSO Writers’ League Diary: 2013, Week 5

October 8, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

Pick rookies with a snake draft, sign the rest like the NFL - free agency at Reality Sports Online. Photo by John Martinez-Paviliga — I have two receivers who are Cal alumni on my roster and both are showing me something in the box score. Photo by John Martinez-Paviliga

Week 5 is in the books and my squad is 2-3 and fourth overall in points scored, including a 163-point weekend without Calvin Johnson and a month-long lack of an RB2, thanks to a Steven Jackson injury.

STANDINGS

Team	W	L	Pts	Waiver
Grinders
Jim Day	5	0	775	14
Bryan Fontaine	3	2	739	10
Bob Harris	3	2	639	11
Jason Wood	2	3	747	7
Matt Waldman	2	3	732	5
Ryan McDowell	1	4	554	3
Mike MacGregor	1	4	547	2
Bangers
Sigmund Bloom	4	1	646	13
Tim Stafford	3	1	589	12
Mike Clay	3	2	645	9
Jeff Tefertiller	2	2	606	8
Rivers McCown	2	3	519	4
Matt Papson	2	3	518	6
Lance Zierlein	1	4	368	1

– See more at: http://www.realitysportsonline.com/LeagueHome.aspx?refid=F5C-50765E26623C#sthash.AFtKbBXx.dpuf

The record isn’t pretty, but I’m feeling pretty good considering that I lost by six points in the opener to Bob Harris, suffered a 50-point blowout to Jim Day’s first-place squad, and then took a 56-point drubbing from Jason Wood’s No.2-scoring team. Everyone else will have to face the likes of Day, Wood, and Fontaine and I should be getting Jackson and Johnson back soon enough. Even if I don’t, I’m enthusiastic about the long-term potential of my roster based on my contract-talent balance:

Wide Receivers: This is the strength of my team. I have Calvin Johnson through 2014, DeSean Jackson and Keenan Allen through 2015, and Cecil Shorts through 2016. Allen, my 2013 first-round pick, has shown the past two weeks that he’s not only healthy, but Philip Rivers is developing confidence in the rookie. Then there are Kenbrell Thompkins and Marlon Brown, who are eligible for me to franchise. It’s unlikely I do because, barring health issue, I have a strong corps in place for the next 2-3 years that could get stronger if Marquess Wilson can assert himself as a viable WR3 for the Bears in 2014. Considering I’m strong long-term at 40 percent of my starting lineup, I’m happy.
Running Backs: While a weakness of my team this year, there’s a good chance it could be a lot stronger next. I have Arian Foster through 2014 and Ben Tate through 2015. This could be a fine RB1-RB2 combination next year if Tate stays healthy and a team like the Browns sign him to a free agent deal. Jackson’s deal will expire at the end of this year, so I’m hoping I can get the most from him down the stretch for a playoff run. My depth at this position is poor. I turned down deals for Danny Woodhead and Andre Ellington from Mike Clay – both solid offers that made me think hard about my team’s direction. At the end of the day, I couldn’t give up Cecil Shorts’ four-year deal in exchange for RB2/flex depth with potential long-term upside. It’s likely I’ll be going strong to the hole at running back next year.
Tight End: This is the position I’m most likely to franchise a player in 2014. Vernon Davis and Julius Thomas’ deals will expire at year’s end and Thomas is playing at a level where it will be difficult for me not to tag him if Peyton Manning plays another year.
Quarterback: Jay Cutler is another candidate for franchising, but the 2014 QB class might draw my attention because it would be nice to have a player I could anchor. Still, three years at the early end of a QB’s career isn’t all that appealing when there should be a glut of talent at the position for me to acquire via free agency. If not, Cutler might be my hedge.
Defense: Seattle’s defense is the No.2 fantasy unit in this league and a long-shot candidate for a franchise tag.
Kickers: Robbie Gould and Sebastian Janikowski are solid at this point, but I’m effectively signing year-to-year leases when it comes to this position.

What about the rest of the league? Here are some notable teams:

Jason Wood went with an approach to sign core players at each position to long-term deals: Adrian Peterson (2 years), Aaron Rodgers (3 years), Demaryius Thomas (4 years), Reggie Bush (2 years), Eddie Lacy (3 years), Jared Cook (3 years), and Philip Rivers (2 years). Based on his wealth at running back and quarterback, I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s trading some of that depth in the next 12-18 months because as well as he’s scoring, his receiving corp is weak beyond Thomas. This might change as the Chargers find the best way to use Vincent Brown and/or the Vikings continue to use Matt Cassel, who has a rapport with Greg Jennings.

Sigmund Bloom also took the core player approach. His deals with Rob Gronkowski (4), LeSean McCoy (3), and Jordy Nelson (3) diversify his portfolio, but the attempt to capture a stranglehold on quality quarterbacks isn’t working as hoped with Sam Bradford (2) and Ben Roethlisberger (2), and Geno Smith (3). It still could, but Bloom might be hoping to trade one of these guys. It’s massive weight for his team – and the squad is performing well enough that he can win without a top-name signal caller. However he also appears stuck with Jonathan Stewart for a couple of years and Tavarres King at a three-year deal could be costly if he doesn’t hook up with another team and emerge. I wouldn’t be surprised if he franchises Alshon Jeffery at year’s end.

Bob Harris is set at QB (Matt Ryan – 3 years) and keeps Jamaal Charles for through 2014. However, Harris opted to structure his team with a lot of one-year deals and took a cautious approach towards long-term contracts this year – no four-year deals and only one three-year deal for a non-rookie. He could be a major player in free agency next year.

Bryan Fontaine may have Isaiah Pead and Brian Quick signed four-year and three-year deals weighing him down somewhat if the second-year runner and receivers continue to disappoint in the box score, but Fontaine does have multi-year deals with Dez Bryant (3), Larry Fitzgerald (2), DeMarco Murray (2), and Dwayne Bowe (2). With Jordan Cameron and Antonio Gates playing well, I won’t be shocked if one of these studs is franchised and Fontaine is looking hard for a quarterback when Matt Stafford and Jake Locker become free agents at year’s end. Considering Bryan has $10.6 million available before contracts expire, he’ll have a lot of bidding power to find the passer he wants.

Every month I’ll be writing something about the start-up keeper-contract-salary-auction league I’m running at Reality Sports Online. You can read more about RSO’s excellent league formathere. And if you want to start a league with your friends or join a league as an individual, you can earn a 20 percent discount when you use the promo code RSP20%OFF.

RSO Writers’ League Diary Preseason Week 3

August 24, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

RSO founder Matt Papson acquired Antonio Brown as a part of a rebuilding plan. Photo by bmward_2000.

Every month I’ll be writing something about the start-up keeper-contract-salary-auction league I’m running at Reality Sports Online. You can read more about RSO’s excellent league format here. And if you want to start a league with your friends or join a league as an individual, you can earn a 20 percent discount when you use the promo code RSP20%OFF.

in case you missed it, I recruited some of my favorite competitors from the fantasy football industry to participate:

Jeff Tefertiller – Footballguys
Ryan McDowell – Dynasty League Football
Sigmund Bloom – Footballguys
Mike MacGregor – FFToday
Bryan Fontaine – Pro Football Focus
Tim Stafford – Dynasty League Football
Matt Papson- Reality Sports Online
Matt Waldman – Footballguys/RSP/Football Outsiders
Jason Wood – Footballguys
Mike Clay – Pro Football Focus/NBC
Bob Harris and Mike Dempsey – Football Diehards/Sirius XM
Rivers McCown – Football Outsiders
Jim Day – Fantasy Taz
Lance Zierlein – Sideline View

You can’t get much better when it comes to the combined fantasy football savvy of this crew. Since the draft ended in late May there have been 56 waiver wire transactions and 33 players traded to other in the past 93 days. That’s almost a player changing hands per day. RSO founder Matt Papson is behind 19 of these trades after he inherited a team after the draft with a huge cap surplus. Here’s who he’s traded and acquired during this time:

Dealt

3rd Round Pick
Maurice Jones-Drew
Eddie Royal
Zach Ertz
Dennis Pitta
Plaxico Burress
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Robert Meachem
Knowshon Moreno
Mark Sanchez

These are players that were acquired in the auction by the former owner who had to leave early due to unforseen circumstances and he didn’t leave much of a draft list. The result was a team with a lot of D-level fantasy performers but a ton of cap room to use.

Naturally, the former Eagles employee Papson has Michael Vick as his starter in the Reality Sports Online Writer's League. Photo by Matthew Straubmuller. — Naturally, the former Eagles employee Papson has Michael Vick as his starter in the Reality Sports Online Writer’s League. Photo by Matthew Straubmuller.

Papson, a former cap expert with the Philadelphia Eagles, jumped at the opportunity to take over this team because he realized how much financial leeway he had to rebuild the team by giving cap relief to the rest of the league in return for more promising long-term options. You’ll see what I mean with the acquisitions below:

Alex Smith
Vick Ballard
Antonio Brown
Jonathan Baldwin
Rashard Mendenhall
Chad Henne
Michael Crabtree
Darrius Heyward-Bey
Donald Brown
Aaron Hernandez

Because Papson had so much cap room, he could absorb salaries of less-inspired options like Hernandez, Henne, Brown, and Baldwin, while acquiring strong starters like Antonio Brown and Crabtree and serviceable depth like Smith, Mendenhall, Ballard, and Heyward-Bey.

His team now looks a lot better than it did after the draft:

QBs (start 1): Michael Vick, Alex Smith, and Chad Henne
RBs (start 2): Rashard Mendenhall, Ryan Mathews, Jonathan Dwyer Christine Michael, Vick Ballard, Peyton Hillis, Delone Carter, Donald Brown, and James Starks
WRs (start 3-4): Antonio Brown, Kenny Britt, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Aaron Mellette, Michael Crabtree, Jason Avant, Harry Douglas, Michael Jenkins, Chris Harper, Eric Rogers, and Jonathan Baldwin
TEs (start 1-2): Kyle Rudolph, Anthony Fasano, Delanie Walker, and Michael Hoomanawanui
DST: New England
PK: David Akers

The team doesn’t have a great outlook this year unless he has 2-3 strong surprises at running back and at least one overachiever at receiver. However, Papson is in a much better position to turn this team into a much better squad in 2014 due to his cap room of $28 million.

TEAM	2013	2013 ROOM	2014	2015	2016
TEAM	SALARY	2013 ROOM	SALARY	SALARY	SALARY
Matt Waldman	$120,343,604	$2,656,396	$77,840,327	$17,472,051	$5,180,000
Sigmund Bloom	$114,401,854	$8,598,146	$76,924,424	$66,591,995	$22,960,000
Bob Harris	$92,170,194	$30,829,806	$54,648,827	$17,112,459	$0
Tim Stafford	$116,270,444	$6,729,556	$94,096,434	$62,852,424	$20,580,000
Bryan Fontaine	$111,816,814	$11,183,186	$72,813,210	$30,729,608	$1,960,000
Matt Papson	$94,988,621	$28,011,379	$64,724,175	$19,619,729	$0
Jim Day	$122,217,721	$782,279	$84,071,728	$61,630,735	$17,780,000
Jeff Tefertiller	$123,000,227	($227)	$119,408,970	$71,227,712	$16,800,000
Jason Wood	$121,988,128	$1,011,872	$94,011,311	$48,419,492	$19,740,000
Rivers McCown	$115,153,657	$7,846,343	$78,761,128	$61,638,599	$15,820,000
Mike MacGregor	$111,856,984	$11,143,016	$88,618,392	$63,934,800	$27,160,000
Lance Zierlein	$112,661,484	$10,338,516	$71,608,178	$50,644,871	$7,420,000
Ryan McDowell	$106,429,757	$16,570,243	$73,579,640	$61,004,523	$28,980,000
Mike Clay	$121,503,737	$1,496,263	$46,694,512	$14,700,286	$3,640,000

The cap room over the next three years is likely the most fascinating aspect of this league. Will owners like Papson and Bob Harris benefit from the space as injuries and disappointing performances teams throughout the league? Can they acquire the right players that this money will afford them? All great questions as we move forward.

My Team

I’ve had 10 waiver wire transactions since May and most are players I’ve been monitoring during camp. I’m hoping that some of them show enough long-term promise for me to tag at year’s end or they surprise this year:

Zach Sudfeld – until the Patriots tight end fumbled the ball with the one’s on Thursday night, he has been excellent. I still think he earns playing time and might surprise with starter production in fantasy leagues at least until Rob Gronkowski returns. He’s fine depth behind my starter Vernon Davis if Dwayne Allen doesn’t look good after rehabbing a foot injury.
C.J. Anderson – This sounds crazy, but if he didn’t get hurt he might have been this year’s Alfred Morris. A big back with a low center of gravity, Anderson looked more impressive breaking tackles and avoiding penetration than any back on the Broncos depth chart and was just earning second-team reps when he went down. I think the Broncos will keep him and give him a shot to work his way up the depth chart in the second half of the season. I was impressed with Anderson at Cal, but didn’t think he’d be drafted because he wasn’t the starter at Cal. For some additional perspective, neither was Willie Parker at UNC, Priest Holmes at Texas, William Andrews at Auburn (played FB for Joe Cribbs), or Terrell Davis at Georgia.
Russell Shephard – I don’t think he’ll do much this year, but I do think he flashed enough as a rookie with little experience at the position that he could develop at a fast rate and earn a bigger shot by next year. Former Rice quarterback Bert Emanuel wasn’t a bad receiver in Atlanta, perhaps Shephard can follow in those footsteps.
Spencer Ware – You know I love me some Spencer Ware. Talent often has a funny way of rising to prominence – especially physical players like Ware.
Shaun Draughn – I’m not impressed with Knile Davis at all thus far. While Draughn hasn’t played as well as he did last year, I’d be surprised if he’s not part of the backfield picture and a prominent part if Jamal Charles can’t finish the year.
Chad Spann – Not much has been said about Spann after his first week in Jets camp. It’s hard to tell if he’ll earn a role, but I really haven’t seen enough of him in preseason to make a call on him.
Austin Collie – A terrific receiver when healthy, but I don’t know about the fit in San Francisco and there’s enough rust that he might need a team willing to be patient with him and that’s about has common as purple grizzly bears.
Julius Thomas – He continues to look good and might force his way into the Broncos’ lineup with a quarterback who isn’t shy about targeting open players regardless of their draft round, contract, or level of stardom.

Although he may seem like a waiver wire gem, I actually acquired Kenbrell Thompkins in the start-up auction. It’s early, but so far he has proven to be one of my more astute moves now he’s close to earning a starting role in New England. Truth be told, this is the type of move that normally doesn’t work out for me, but I just might have picked the right long shot this year.

Here’s my depth chart heading into the regular season:

QBs (start 1): Jay Cutler, Carson Palmer, and Sean Renfree
RBs (start 2): Steven Jackson, Arian Foster, Ben Tate, Ryan Williams, Shaun Draughn, Spencer Ware, Chad Spann, and C.J. Anderson
WRs (start 3-4): Calvin Johnson, DeSean Jackson, Cecil Shorts, Kenbrell Thompkins, Keenan Allen, Travis Benjamin, Marvin Jones, Marquess Wilson, Austin Collie, Russell Shephard, and Da’Rick Rogers
TEs (start 1-2): Vernon Davis, Dwayne Allen, Zach Sudfeld, and Luke Willson
DST: Seattle
PK: Sebastian Janikowski

Can’t say I love my team right now. Running back needs to stay healthy and I’m concerned about my lack of depth. I also have concerns about my kicker unless Terrelle Pryor can get into the lineup and at least scramble his way into field goal position enough times in games for respectable production. I think my receivers can carry me some weeks if my running backs can stay healthy and play like strong RB2s every week.

Until next month . . .

Ready to try a start-up keeper-contract-salary-auction league experience that’s easy to play and even easier to run? Go to Reality Sports Online and either start a league with your friends or join a league as an individual. You can earn a 20 percent discount when you use the promo code RSP20%OFF.

RSO Writers’ League Team Profile: Ryan McDowell, DLF

July 10, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

Lots of Luck for Ryan McDowell's team - $103.5 million of him. But he also snagged some deals. Photo by Angie Six — Lots of Luck for Ryan McDowell’s team – $103.5 million of him. But he also snagged some deals. Photo by Angie Six

Once a month during the season, I’ll be writing about the Reality Sports Online Keeper Salary Cap League that I started with 13 other football writers. If you’re seeking a great GM experience that offers the complexities of realistic contract negotiations and salary cap ramifications in an easy-to-use league management system that does all the work for you, join an RSO league. Use the promotion code RSP20%OFF to earn a 20 percent discount.

Pre-draft strategy

Heading into this auction, I was a bit anxious, mainly about venturing to a new site. That was a bit out of my comfort zone, but the team at RSO could not have made that any easier. Following the tutorials they provided, I felt comfortable with the software and couldn’t wait to get started.

My usual plan with auctions is to target a few specific players at each position and go after them. I typically don’t study average auction values or even assign an estimated budget because auctions seem to each be so different. It is difficult to compare one to another and I think it is crucial to be able to make snap decisions as the value of players is adjusted based on when they are nominated and the remaining funds available to teams.

Entering this auction, what I focused most on was the limited use of long-term contracts. I knew I wanted to use my four-year deal and likely both of my three-year contracts on quarterbacks and wide receivers. I narrowed my list of targets down even further with the potential long-term deals in mind.

McDowell’s Team

Mike Glennon (TB) R

Matt Scott (JAC) R

Andrew Luck (IND) 4 years/$103.5 million

Ryan Tannehill (MIA) 2 years/$9 million

Ryan Mallett (NE) 1 year/$500,000

Giovani Bernard (CIN) R

Latavius Murray (OAK) R

Jason Snelling (ATL) R 1 year/$500,000

Chris Johnson (TEN) 1 year/$12 million

Stevan Ridley (NE) 2 years/$16 million

LaRod Stephens-Howling (PIT) 1 year/$500,000

Danario Alexander (SD) 1 year/$3.5 million

Stephen Hill (NYJ) 1 year/$1.5 million

Justin Blackmon (JAC) 2 years/$10.5 million

Nick Toon (NO) 1 year/$500,000

Josh Gordon (CLE) 3 years/$19 million

Jacoby Jones (BAL) 1 year/$500,000

James Jones (GB) 1 year/$7.5 million

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 3 years/$54 million

Julian Edelman (NE) R

Rob Housler (ARI) 1 year/$6 million

Joel Dreessen (DEN) 1 year/$500,000

Virgil Green (DEN) 1 year/$500,000

Josh Brown (NYG) 1 year/$1.5 million

Mason Crosby (GB) 1 year/$500,000

Packers Defense 1 year/$500,000

Falcons Defense 1 year/$500,000

Raiders Defense 1 year/$500,000

Jordan Reed (WAS) R

Joel Dreessen (DEN) R

Virgil Green (DEN) R

Rob Housler (ARI)

Dennis Pitta (BAL)

Josh Brown (NYG)

Mason Crosby (GB) R

ATL Team Defense (ATL)

GB Team Defense (GB) R

OAK Team Defense (OAK) R

– See more at: http://www.realitysportsonline.com/Rosters.aspx#sthash.c38dg4Tn.dpuf

How did the auction unfold for you?

Would Gordon be the best receiver of the 2013 Draft class? Cleveland thinks so. Photo by Erik Daniel Drost. — I wanted Gordon, but was tentative with the first nomination while feeling out the process. McDowell capitalized. Photo by Erik Daniel Drost.

After nabbing the first nominated player, Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon on a three-year deal for $19 million, I began to experience some technical difficulty. I had to close the site and start again, which led to my draft board listing all available players to fail. While this was an inconvenience, it was a small hurdle. Next, I had trouble with my home internet, which ultimately led to me speeding across the street to my office in the middle of the auction.

Once I was setup there, it was not long until one of my top targets, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck was nominated. I was engaged in a bidding war and ultimately overpaid, but got my guy on a four-year deal. I recently stated that Luck might be the safest player to own in a dynasty league, so he is a great option to tag with the lone four-year contract.

Next, I chose to focus on grabbing some deals at running back. I knew with the rapid change from year to year at the position, I did not want to give long-term deals. My next three wins brought me Chris Johnson, Rashard Mendenhall and Stevan Ridley for a total of $31 million, including Ridley on a two-year deal (McDowell has since traded away Mendenhall to Matt Papson’s team for Dennis Pitta).

With some depth at running back, it was time to turn back to the wideouts and I grabbed Hakeem Nicks (3 years/$54 million), Justin Blackmon (2 years/$10.5 million) and James Jones (1 year/$7.5 million). I loved the balance of my team at this point and went on to add my defenses, kickers and young depth at each position. With the auction winding down and my team running out of money, I still had no tight end. I targeted a pair of the most hyped young tight ends of the off-season, Jordan Cameron and Rob Housler. After Bryan Fontaine pushed my limits on Cameron, I focused on Housler and severely overpaid, giving him a one year deal for $6 million.

Because I had acquired solid running back depth and did not feel comfortable with Housler as my starter, I later dealt Mendenhall in a package deal to acquire Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta, who should be a much more reliable option as my starting tight end.

Best Deals (Millions in years)

Josh Gordon (3 years/$19 million)
Stevan Ridley (2 years/$13 million)
Justin Blackmon (2 years/$10.5 million)

Worst (Millions in years)

Andrew Luck (4 years/$103.5 million)
Rob Housler (1 year/$6 million)

Good deals for other owners

Jeff Tefertiller's deal with RG3 has McDowell feeling some buyer's remorse with Luck. Photo by Mike Davis. — Jeff Tefertiller’s deal with RG3 has McDowell feeling some buyer’s remorse with Luck. Photo by Mike Davis.

(Lance Zierlein) Anquan Boldin (1 year/$4 million)- Boldin should be a solid starter in this format and came very cheap.
(Rivers McCown) Doug Martin (3 years/$67.5 million)- The Martin nomination came early and I think everyone was still feeling things out. Well done!
(Jeff Tefertiller) Robert Griffin III (3 years/$46 million)- This deal really makes me re-think my Luck contract.
(Sigmund Bloom) Martellus Bennett (1 year/$0.5 million)- Again, we all fell asleep at the wheel. This would have been a much better choice for me than Housler.

Questionable deals for owners (IMHO)

(Bryan Fontaine) Isaiah Pead (4 years/$7 million)- Giving a possible RBBC the only four-year deal is too risky for me. If it works out, Fontaine is getting a steal though.
(Jason Wood) Jared Cook (3 years/$5.5 million)= Again, Cook is too unproven and I would not want to give a mid-level tight end one of the valuable three-year deals.
(Lance Zierlein) TY Hilton (4 years/$26.5 million)- I really like Hilton, he just would not have been my choice to give the lone four-year contract.

Fave team other than mine

Jeff Tefertiller- Jeff was the talk of the auction early on as he threw out some big contracts early. Of course, that meant that he had to sit and wait for some deals at the end of the auction, but the end result looks good to me. He is loaded with studs at almost every starting position, including Brandon Marshall, Julio Jones, Ray Rice, Robert Griffin III, Pierre Garcon and Torrey Smith. Of course, Jeff will need to find a RB2 and a solid tight end, but in a fourteen team league, there will always be some holes.

Impressions of Reality Sports Online

As I mentioned, I had some early technical issues, but I think that is mostly due to my disappointing Time Warner internet service. The RSO software was smooth and easy to catch on to. It offered a service that I had never envisioned and challenged me to think on my feet, as I not only bid on the services of players, but assigned them contracts at the same time. I would certainly recommend other fantasy players to try out the RSO platform.

Short-term / Long-term View of Team

Stop me if you’ve heard this…but I really like my team for both the short-term and long-term. Although my team is filled with young players, I feel comfortable relying on most of those as starters for the 2013 season, including players like Luck, Gordon and Blackmon. At the same time, the youth of those players offers upside and promise for future success.

After the auction, I was really liking my depth at wide receiver, especially for a fourteen team league, and then Gordon and Blackmon were both suspended multiple games. As a result, the first two to four weeks will be a balancing act, but I still have Jones, Alexander and Nicks to lean on.

I am looking forward to the challenge of managing the contracts this time next year, as well as future seasons. It will be crucial to remain active and dedicated to the league in order to succeed.

RSO Monthly Update: Off Season Grinding

July 4, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

If you acquire Victor Cruz before he became a starter, you're probably a grinder. See below. Photo by Football Schedule. — If you acquired Victor Cruz before he became a starter, you’re probably a grinder. See below. Photo by Football Schedule.

Once a month, I’ll be writing about the Reality Sports Online Keeper Salary Cap League that I started with 13 other football writers. If you’re seeking a great GM experience that offers the complexities of realistic contract negotiations and salary cap ramifications in an easy-to-use league management system that does all the work for you, join an RSO league. Use the promotion code RSP20%OFF to earn a 20 percent discount.

When I was a kid nothing ruled my free time more than pickup games of football. The setting for those games was dictated by your age and neighborhood. When you’re a six year-old living in an apartment complex, it means your games are restricted to whatever kids you could round-up within a two-block radius of the complex.

At eight, your territory expanded to the entire complex and the adjoining neighborhood to include the friends you made at school. By the time you’re 12, your pool of competition and settings for games spanned a five-mile radius of your home.

If your family moved during your childhood, then you know that it adds another dynamic to neighborhood pickup games. I moved three times as a kid and always to an apartment complex, so I’m familiar with being the new guy.

As the new guy if you want to make friends fast you want to maintain that delicate balance of proving that you’re neither the chump nor the bully. Pickup football games were the best way to do it. The first thing I always tried to do before the game started was to show something before we picked teams.

The two easiest ways to heighten your neighborhood draft stock was the vertical game. I always made sure I brought a football with me to the game. Just before the group chose captains I either got someone to throw me a deep pass or I had someone go deep. Do one of those two things and your draft stock jumped from dead-last to at least the middle of the pack.

But the best way to skyrocket your neighborhood draft stock and scout much of your competition at the same time was to initiate a pre-game warm-up of ‘Gator’. If you’re not familiar with the name, you probably played the game. It was essentially a kick return drill. The object was to catch the ball and run through the field of players to the end zone.

As a kid who wore a size 10 shoe by the time he was 9, I was generally big enough to compete with guys 2-3 years older than me. I made sure I did one of three things: caught the kick and ran over someone; knocked the biggest guy down with a block where I had to outrun others to get there; or run through someone on the way to tackling the ball carrier.

The immediate goal wasn’t to try to show everyone you were the best guy on the field. You might not be and that was alright. You wanted everyone to know that you weren’t the chump of the group.

Likewise you always noted the guys who could catch, tackle, and break tackles. But I always tried to spot the kid with the grinder mentality. There was always at least one kid in every neighborhood game who did the little things that made a team good that most didn’t notice. Having one or two stars was important, but you needed quality, capable worker bees to build a winning team.

Alfred Morris, the Grinder's grinder. Photo by Keith Allison. — Alfred Morris, the Grinder’s grinder. Photo by Keith Allison.

You can see the same elements at play with fantasy football owners. While I competed with all-star fantasy writers like David Dodds, Sigmund Bloom, Gregg Rosenthal, Scott Pianowski, and Bob Harris while writing for FFToday.com, becoming part of Footballguys staff in 2009 was like expanding the neighborhood territory for more pickup games.

Invitations to re-draft, dynasty, and IDP leagues came from all directions – especially from Footballguys staff. And this is one of those neighborhoods with a concentration of all-stars in their own right. Bob Henry, Jason Wood, John Norton, and Maurile Tremblay are just a few of the names I could mention.

However, there were Footballguys not as well-known to me at the time, but they had plenty of game. There are about six I want to mention, but two at the top of the list are Aaron Rudnicki and Jeff Tefertiller. “Ruds” couldn’t make the draft date of the RSO league start-up, but you best believe that until he quits playing fantasy football I’m sending him an invitation to compete in any league I ever run because he’s adept at IDP, re-draft, and dynasty formats and he’s a master pick-sniper on draft day.

Tefertiller isn’t an IDP guy, but I enjoy competing with him because he’s a grinder. In dynasty formats, off-season grinding can build you a winner. Here’s a list of players I’ve added – and sadly, sometimes dropped – while doing the off-season grinding on the waiver wire to enhance the back-end of my dynasty rosters:

Victor Cruz
Alfred Morris
Dennis Pitta
Lance Moore
Brandon Lloyd
Chris Ivory
Andre Brown
Brian Hartline
LaGarrette Blount
Greg Hardy
Vontaze Burfict
Dannell Ellerbe
Thomas DeCoud

Tefertiller is one of the more active dynasty grinders I compete against. So it came as no surprise he’s the most active owner on the RSO waiver wire during the slowest months of the football year and only a month removed from our free agent auction.

Not including RSO co-founder Matt Papson, who took over a team where the original owner had to abandon the auction half way through the process and has made seven transactions and numerous trades since late-May to salvage this team, Tefertiller and I have been the most active off-season grinders, but I only have four transactions to Tefertiller’s 14.

Here’s Tefertiller’s roster with the added players in bold:

Quarterback	Running Back	Wide Receiver
Zac Dysert (DEN) R	Lance Dunbar (DAL) R	DeAndre Hopkins (HOU) R
Brock Osweiler (DEN) R	Michael Turner (ATL)	Jarrett Boykin (GB) R
Robert Griffin III (WAS)	Cedric Benson (GB) R	Deonte Thompson (BAL) R
Shaun Hill (DET) R	Ray Rice (BAL)	Terrance Williams (DAL) R
Kyle Orton (DAL) R	Beanie Wells (ARI) R	Patrick Edwards (DET) R
		Josh Boyce (NE) R
		Brandon Marshall (CHI)
		Pierre Garcon (WAS)
		Julio Jones (ATL)
		Torrey Smith (BAL)

Tight End	Kicker	Defense
Chris Gragg (BUF) R	Shayne Graham (CLE) R	CIN Team Defense (CIN) R
Jeff Cumberland (NYJ) R	Garrett Hartley (NO)	SD Team Defense (SD)
Marcedes Lewis (JAC)		NYG Team Defense (NYG) R
Delanie Walker (TEN) R		JAC Team Defense (JAC) R

Tefertiller has also cycled through this list of players:

Chiefs QB Tyler Bray
Packers QB B.J. Coleman
Packers QB Graham Harrell
Saints RB Travis Cadet
Jets RB Joe McKnight
Browns WR Travis Benjamin

If you pay attention to OTA news then you can see the pattern with the players added and dropped from his roster. It should also be obvious to you that Tefertiller has a good crew of receivers, an RB1 in Ray Rice, and a potential superstar in Robert Griffin. This team may have a hole at RB2 and lack a quality backup at QB, but he has also built this roster to have room to fill these holes through free agency and trades as the preseason heats up.

Cumberland is a serviceable addition at tight end and Thompson, Dunbar, and Boykin all are an injury away from getting a chance to prove themselves as at least rotational contributors. While some owners may have chosen to spend more energy acquiring running backs at this point, wide receiver is the most liquid of positions to trade and he’s building on his strength so he can use this position as a bargaining chip rather than attempting to win the lottery with an unknown back.

Beanie Wells, Michael Turner, or Cedric Benson may not see an NFL field this year, but at this point it’s worth holding onto them to see if a team acquires their services when a starter gets hurt. NFL roster management accounts for finances so backups on a depth chart might be the No.2 or No.3 back in name, but some may only hold those roles because they are cheaper and have growth potential.

Greg Hardy is waiver wire fodder turned double-digit sack monster. Photo by Parker Anderson.

However, a team that sees its starter lost for the season due to injury may decide that a one-year deal at a larger salary for an established veteran is a better option than what’s on the depth chart – especially when these three players have sat at home long enough for it to sink in that a multi-year deal with a guaranteed starting role is a thing of the past.

Quarterback	Yrs	$	Running Back	Yrs	$	Wide Receiver	Yrs	$
Jay Cutler (CHI)	1	4.0	Arian Foster (HOU)	2	51.0	Calvin Johnson (DET)	2	69.5
Carson Palmer (ARI) R	1	3.0	Steven Jackson (ATL)	1	16.5	Cecil Shorts (JAC)	4	18.5
Alex Smith (KC) R	2	2.5	Ryan Williams (ARI) R	1	2.5	DeSean Jackson (PHI)	3	10.5
Sean Renfree (ATL) R	3	R	Ben Tate (HOU) R	3	7.5	Keenan Allen (SD)	3	R
			Alex Green (GB) R	1	0.5	LaVon Brazill (IND) R	1	0.5
			Shaun Draughn (KC) R	1	0.5	Marvin Jones (CIN) R	1	1.0
			Miguel Maysonet (CLE) R	1	0.5	Domenik Hixon (CAR) R	1	0.5
			Bobby Rainey (BAL)	1	0.5	Earl Bennett (CHI) R	1	0.5
						Marquess Wilson (CHI) R	3	R
						Da’Rick Rogers (BUF) R	3	R
						Kenbrell Thompkins (NE) R	1	0.5

Tight End	Yrs	$	Kicker	Yrs	$	Defense	Yrs	$
Vernon Davis (SF)	1	8	Sebastian Janikowski (OAK)	1	0.5	Seattle	1	3
Dwayne Allen (IND) R	1	2.5	Robbie Gould (CHI) R	1	0.5
Luke Willson (SEA) R	3	R
Julius Thomas (DEN)	1	0.5
Zach Sudfeld (NE) R	1	0.1

Like Tefertiller, I continued to add to a strength by acquiring Julius Thomas and Zach Sudfeld after hearing good news from OTAs. If I hit on three tight ends from this group of five, I have bargaining chips to trade for picks, cap room, or depth. In addition to this pair of tight ends, I dropped Cedric Peerman for Miguel Maysonet just until we learn more about the Cleveland depth chart and Richardson’s shin issues.

I also dropped Bobby Rainey today and added Travis Benjamin, who has a good shot to start two games to begin the year. The move also might afford me time to sit on LaVon Brazill to see if he can keep his roster spot as a Colt or find a job elsewhere.

I also traded away Alex Smith to Papson for a third-round pick last month. Cutler and Palmer are enough depth to pull the trigger to give away a player I never meant to acquire.

None of this grinding may help either Tefertiller or my team – in fact, there’s a chance we dropped players who might have helped us more – but I don’t believe it. I think the consistent tinkering and movement of the bottom end of a roster lends credence to that idea that part of skill is creating your own good luck.

Try RSO for your next league. Use the promotion code RSP20%OFF to earn a 20 percent discount.

RSO Team: Fantasy Throwdown’s Mike MacGregor

May 24, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

When Morris could conceivably be your No.3 or No.4 RB by year's end, you're deep at the position - perhaps too deep in this league (if there is such a thing. Photo by Keith Allison. — When Morris could conceivably be your No.3 or No.4 RB by year’s end, you’re deep at the position – perhaps too deep in this league (if there is such a thing. Photo by Keith Allison.

Mike and I (to some extent) run Fantasy Throwdown, a one-on-one, flexible draft, weekly fantasy game that is intuitive, addictive, and free to play. Mike provided a complete writeup of his RSO team . I’ve added a bit from the peanut gallery. If you go to www.realitysportsonline.com and use the promotion code RSP20%OFF, you’ll earn a 20 percent discount. You can join a league for $9.99 as an individual or form a league with your friends.

Pre-draft strategy

First off, I had a conflict the night of the auction and had to hand the reigns over to RSO’s “men behind the madness”, Stephen and Matt, to handle my auction for the first 1-2 hours until I could get online. This was of course going to be the most crucial time in the auction when the highest ranked and highest paid players are bid on. I was bummed to miss it, but thankfully, I was in good hands with the guys who have the most RSO experience.

I started my auction prep by estimating the dollar values for all players. This started as simply finding average auction values (AAV) from the prior year, attaching the QB1 AAV to my #1 ranked QB this year, QB2 AAV to #2 ranked QB, RB1 AAV to my #1 ranked RB, etc., etc., and grossing up all values for the cap in this league. Then I made manual adjustments under the impression that most of the owners in this league will bid more aggressively on stud players, and save less for middle of the road and lower ranked players (creating greater separation from top to bottom than the AAV indicated).

The total dollars attributed to all players in my estimated draftable player pool had to be roughly equivalent to sum of available cap dollars for all teams, after deducting rookie contracts, about $10 million per team left over for in-season acquisitions and a minimum contract value for a pair of kickers and defense. I figured I had $101 million to spend on 21 roster spots, or an average of $4.8 million per player.

At this point with my player rankings and estimated dollar amounts, I highlighted players I would be willing to drop a 4-year or 3-year deal on, plus players I had no interest in acquiring. Not that the don’t acquire players are bad players, but just that I felt the risk and expected cost would be higher than I was willing to pay. Examples of players that made this list included Rob Gronkowski, Arian Foster, Chris Johnson, Darren McFadden, Percy Harvin, Tony Romo and Matt Stafford.

I discussed with Stephen there were certain RB I’d be willing to drop a multi-year deal on, but preferably we want to attach our 4-year and 3-year deals primarily to the WR and QB positions. I made a priority list of 13 players to give a 4-year contract to, feeling that my approach to the RSO auction would be (a) decide how many years you want to give this player, and (b) see how the bidding goes at that length of contract.

Trent Richardson – One of only a half-dozen guys I could unequivocally see as an upgrade to Alfred Morris Photo by Mike Pettigano.

Here is the 4-year list:

Aaron Rodgers
Andrew Luck
A.J. Green
Trent Richardson
Aaron Hernandez
Jimmy Graham
Julio Jones
Calvin Johnson
Russell Wilson
Matt Ryan
Randall Cobb
David Wilson
Doug Martin

And then I made a similar 3-year priority list:

Anyone left on 4-year list
Peyton Manning
Adrian Peterson
Victor Cruz
Pierre Garcon
Demaryius Thomas
Larry Fitzgerald
Cheaper guys (assuming already have a lot of $ tied up in 4-year/3-year deals)
Anyone else highlighted on rankings tab

And from there I pretty much left it to Stephen and Matt, knowing I would be logging on in a frenzy in the middle of the auction in catch-up mode.

MacGregor’s Team

Quarterback	Years	$	Running Back	Years	$	Wide Receiver	Years	$
Tom Brady (NE)	3	$40.0	Trent Richardson (CLE)	4	$97.0	Vincent Jackson (TB)	2	$29.5
Andy Dalton (CIN) R	1	$2.0	Alfred Morris (WAS)	3	$47.0	Brian Hartline (MIA)	1	$1.5
Christian Ponder (MIN) R	2	$2.0	Le’Veon Bell (PIT) R	3	R	Jeremy Kerley (NYJ) R	1	$1.5
Ryan Nassib (NYG) R	3	R	Lamar Miller (MIA) R	2	$25.0	Nate Washington (TEN) R	1	$1.5
Matt Cassel (MIN) R	1	$0.5	Ray Graham (HOU) R	3	R	Brandon Gibson (MIA) R	1	$0.5
			Kerwynn Williams (IND) R	3	R	Andre Roberts (ARI)	1	$0.5
			Roy Helu (WAS) R	1	$0.5	Kenny Stills (NO) R	3	R
			Dion Lewis (CLE) R	1	$0.5	Donald Jones (NE) R	1	$0.5
						David Nelson (CLE) R	1	$0.5
						Mike Thomas (DET) R	1	$0.5

Tight End	Years	$	Kicker	Years	$	Defense	Years	$
Tony Gonzalez (ATL)	1	$13.0	Blair Walsh (MIN)	1	$0.5	Arizona	1	$0.5
Brent Celek (PHI) R	1	$1.0	Justin Tucker (BAL) R	1	$0.5	Carolina	1	$0.5
Brandon Myers (NYG)	1	$2.0

How did the auction unfold for you

When I got logged into the auction, I was flush at RB and the guys got a great deal on Tom Brady relative to some other QB contracts. Brady is on a 3-year deal for $40 million (2013 salary of $12.5 million). I had an estimated bid for Brady at $18 million for 2013. Comparing to some of the other QB contracts (Kaepernick $41 million for 2 years; Newton $49 for 3; Rodgers $62 for 3, Luck north of $100 for 4), I was in good shape with this deal.

Can’t complain at all about the quality of the RB on the roster: Trent Richardson, Alfred Morris, Lamar Miller plus Le’Veon Bell from the rookie draft. My concern is too many dollars and, more importantly, too many years tied up at the RB position, which has the most annual turnover. Richardson has a 4-year, Morris a 3-year and Miller a 2-year. I am a believer in Morris – honestly, I wouldn’t have been willing to give him a 3-year otherwise – but there is still something unsettling about a 3-year deal on a Mike Shanahan RB, especially when he’s already used one of this good years.

I was definitely in catch-up mode when I got logged in, with quality players getting nominated one after the other. I can’t remember the last draft I was in where I didn’t have a running list of players crossed off my rankings, so I needed to take a good look through the available player lists to see how deep the remaining positions were, especially WR. To buy time, I added some kickers and defense to my queue, and I got them at a minimum contract.

WR were definitely getting thin for my needs having to fill 3-4 starter spots. I aggressively went after Vincent Jackson and Tony Gonzalez became a must-have on a one-year deal. I estimated his value at $17 million and got him for $13. I should have gone even more aggressive at WR but got a little gun shy with still many roster spots to fill. With WR bottoming out and some quality TE still available, I figured I would spend for better backups there who would likely man my flex starter spot, while taking a shotgun approach to the WR position trying to tag unheralded guys in situations with upside.

I stayed pretty close to my target of saving $10 million for in-season, but the way the auction unfolded, I should have spent more of that considering most guys did not save that much, and I can’t necessarily win any player I like off waivers given one team abandoned the auction at midnight and has $60 million in available cap space. A much better WR2 and this team would feel a lot better. As it stands, a RB for WR trade could be in the works either before the season starts, or once the NFL gets underway, but in that case we’ll need each of our RB to start the season strong.

Waldman’s Thoughts

I think the running back depth will work out in MacGregor’s favor because he will have great trade bait – especially if Andy Dalton plays well enough to sneak into the low-end of the top-10 and he can dangle a player like Tom Brady. My belief is that wide receivers are the easiest players to acquire. If MacGregor has the hardest position to get a quality player and winds up with four of them on his roster, he’ll be able to trade one of them easily for a good starter at his position of need. He might also get by with a tight end as a flex-option this year. Andre Roberts and Jeremy Kerley aren’t players you want as your No.2 and No.2 receivers at the beginning of the year, but they have the talent to provide sustainable production.

Best Deals (Millions in years)

If Brady truly is "bad WR-proof" he'll be a fine value even with MacGregor's long-term deal. Photo by Jeffrey Beall. — If Brady truly is “bad WR-proof” he’ll be a fine value even with MacGregor’s long-term deal. Photo by Jeffrey Beall.

Tom Brady: $40 for 3
Tony Gonzalez: $13 for 1 – Compared to the 2013 salary for Jimmy Graham ($26) and Gronkowski ($18), happy to get Gonzo who looked absolutely stellar last season. He’s an ageless wonder.
Trent Richardson: $97 for 4 – If you’re going to give a 4-year deal to a RB, this is the guy to give it to, and at a 2013 salary of only $21 he’s a great deal relative to what other top RB are being paid this season.
Andy Dalton: $2 for 1 – I don’t love Andy Dalton for fantasy, but given the talent they’ve surrounded him with and his age I was shocked to land him as my backup for a mere $2.

Worst (Millions in years)

Christian Ponder: $2 for 2 – Did I really put a 2-year deal on Ponder? Geez, don’t remember that. Think I waited too long to use my last 2-year deal. At least a small dead cap hit next year if Ponder craps out.
Alfred Morris: 47 for 3
Lamar Miller: $25 for 2 – I don’t mind either (Morris or Miller) deal individually, but I’d rather have the money or contract of one of these guys invested in any one of a bunch of wide receivers instead.

Good deals for other owners

(Matt Waldman) Cecil Shorts: $18.5 for 4 – I had to step away from the computer but definitely would have driven the price up on Shorts, although perhaps couldn’t compete with a 4-year deal.
(Rivers McCown) Rueben Randle: $2.5 for 1 – Cheap for a young high upside player. Surprised no one dropped a multi-year deal on Randle at this price. Michael Floyd got a 4-year deal, Kendall Wright signed a 2-year.
(Ryan McDowell) Josh Gordon: $19 for 3 – Like this kid and consider this a good deal over three years. We’ll see how the Browns’ QB play pans out.

Questionable deals for owners (IMHO)

According to MacGregor, Jim Day has great QB depth, but at a great cost photo by Football Schedule.

(Lance Zierlein) Chris Ivory: $15.5 for 3 – Ivory screams stop-gap to me. Can’t imagine him paying off in Year 3 and I wouldn’t even feel comfortable with a 2-year deal.
(Jim Day) Peyton Manning, $31.5 for 2 + Russell Wilson, $63.5 for 4 – A lot tied up in the QB position. Actually, really like the Manning contract, but can’t justify tying up this much cap for one starter spot. Some plans for wheeling and dealing perhaps, but Jim has no cap room, so he’s in a bad negotiating position.
(Fontaine) Jordan Cameron: $5 for 1 – A big premium amongst of sea of TE with similar expectations. If he hits, great, but think the hype train got a hold of this bidding. On the plus side, Bryan landed Antonio Gates for a mere $1. Cheap bet for a bounce back from the former stud TE.

Fave team other than mine

I’m split between Tefertiller (he needs an RG3 recovery and a 2nd RB) and Fontaine (He believes in Pead, but I don’t really and he needs Bradshaw to sign and play big role). I love the starting wide receivers for each of these teams. I may have WR envy.

Impressions of Reality Sports Online

I Really like RSO. The website is clean and the overall auction runs well. I might not want to play in more than one RSO league, given the complexity and time involved. The auction is going to be long and there isn’t a way around that. If you are doing a league like this, you want it to be fairly deep. (Editor’s note: As the commissioner of this league, I can tell you that if you draft 20 spots and keep the nomination and bid times at a minimum, you can finish in 3-4 hours, tops and if you adjust the number of multi-year contracts each team can award, you don’t need a deep league – it’s a flexible setup).

Heck, actually, I do already play in another dynasty with very similar contracts and rules. We use a combination of ESPN (for their auction software), MFL (to run the league in-season) and spreadsheet to track the contracts all year. Given that, I can see why these guys put together this website! [Last editor’s note: See what I’m talking about . . . ]

Short-term / Long-term View of Team

I love my team for this season. I would love to lobby for RB to be included in the flex position, but I know that is a non-starter with the Commish. Going to pray my RB stay healthy and productive (at least 3 of the 4) for the bulk of their contracts and then long-term should be in good shape. How rookies pan out will ultimately create separation between the top teams and bottom teams in the league, because they will be on cheap contracts. Liked my initial pick of Bell, but didn’t love the rest of my rookie draft.

Remember, if you go to www.realitysportsonline.com and use the promotion code RSP20%OFF, you’ll earn a 20 percent discount. You can join a league for $9.99 as an individual or form a league with your friends.

DLF Writer Tim Stafford’s RSO Team

May 22, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

Marshawn Lynch. Photo by Matt McGhee. — When you get Marshawn Lynch as one of two RBs that can be your RB1 on a keeper league, you did pretty well. Tim Stafford gets credit for doing so. Photo by Matt McGhee.

Tim Stafford (@dynastytim) is a writer at Dynasty League Football. He directs the forums at DLF and co-hosts the site’s podcast with Jarrett Behar. DLF is a quality site because of people like Stafford, Behar, and Ryan McDowell. Stafford and McDowell participated in the Reality Sports Online Auction Draft last weekend. I’m giving you my take of his team along with his own assessment.

First, here’s what Stafford had to say about his RSO experience:

I was very impressed by the RSO platform. I know some people had some issues with the player list [Matt’s note: there were some bugs to work out when trying to nominate a player if you didn’t preset the nomination], but running it on Windows 7 with Chrome was flawless. My favorite form of fantasy football is salary cap and this takes it to the next level. Bidding simultaneously on the contract amount and length is very slick. There was some strategy to when you burned your three and four-year contracts. I’d easily recommend RSO to anyone who is considering starting a salary cap league.

I think Tim is dead-on. If there’s time, I’m going to set up an IDP league with this format. I probably won’t cover it here, but I enjoyed this format too much to just be in one league with it. If you go to www.realitysportsonline.com and use the promotion code RSP20%OFF, you’ll earn a 20 percent discount. You can join a league for $9.99 as an individual or form a league with your friends.

Stafford’s Squad

Quarterback	Yrs	$	Running Back	Yrs	$	Wide Receiver	Yrs	$
Tony Romo	3	28.5	Marshawn Lynch	2	40.5	Randall Cobb	4	73.5
Matt Schaub	1	2.5	C.J. Spiller	3	75.0	Wes Welker	2	21.0
Tim Tebow	1	0.5	Mike Goodson	1	0.5	Sidney Rice	2	7.5
			Evan Royster	1	0.1	Greg Little	1	2.5
			Taiwan Jones	1	0.5	Santonio Holmes	1	4.0
			Montee Ball	3	R	Ryan Broyles	1	3.5
			Mike Gillislee	3	R	Leonard Hankerson	1	4.0
			Denard Robinson	3	R	Dexter McCluster	1	0.5
			Kenjon Barner	3	R	Andrew Hawkins	1	0.5
						Lestar Jean	1	0.5
						Damian Williams	1	0.5
						Quinton Patton	3	R

I think Stafford used his multi-year deals well. Lynch and Spiller and 2 and 3-year deals are sensible windows of time to tie up a running back. Anything more than three years could be too ambitious for the NFL. Both players are capable of top-five production and I think it’s realistic to expect both runners to have RB1 seasons in 2013. Combine this running back duo with a solid QB1 like Tony Romo – another good choice to give a three-year deal – and a four-year deal to Randall Cobb, and I think these four acquisitions were money well-spent. These four players – if healthy – give Stafford a competitive team.

The two-year, $21 million deal to Welker is a probably a good deal. There is the element of a gamble in the sense of a new situation and how much production will the veteran really have with Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker also in the Broncos lineup, but we’ve seen Peyton Manning deliver 1000-yard seasons to three receivers multiple times in the quarterback’s career. I’d be shocked if Welker doesn’t deliver two years of at least 65-70 receptions – and probably one of them will be a season of 80-90 catches.

A two-year deal for Sidney Rice could also be criticized as “iffy,” but at $7.5 million total I would categorize any flak that Stafford gets as nitpicking. Because we get to franchise one player each year, it’s the one-year deals that teams chose to make that are most fascinating to me.

Ryan Broyles is a good example on Stafford’s team. I love what Broyles brings to the table as a route runner with big-play ability. However, his 2013 season won’t begin until November. I can see Stafford franchising Broyles if the Detroit receiver flashes what he did briefly from his first return from an ACL injury in November of 2012. Still, the amount of money to invest in a franchise tag on a receiver with a handful of games could be a tough call.

Still, I like upside picks on one-year deals and I think Stafford did well to take players like Leonard Hankerson, Greg Little, Mike Goodson, Dexter McCluster, and Santonio Holmes, who all have the talent to outperform current expectations and be considerations for that one franchise offer in 2014.

Paired with Lynch, Spiller gives Stafford a sound 1-2 punch for his starting lineup. Photo by Matt Britt

Here’s what Stafford had to say about some of these players:

I was happy to start off by winning Spiller and Lynch – especially Lynch – $40.5 million over two years. Compare that to Charles who went off right before Lynch at $60.5 million over two years. I view Lynch as a solid RB1 for the next several years. Paired with Spiller, I think I have a solid one two punch.

Since I also have Ball from the rookie draft, I felt I was fairly set at RB in a league where you start two. I’m also hopeful about my rookie RBs – Ball and Gillislee. If Gillislee somehow beats out Lamar Miller I’ll be able to trade one of them for a nice WR upgrade.< /p>

This allowed me to focus my attention and money elsewhere. I got a little nervous after I took Romo as my third player – this league requires a lot of starting WRs. I forced it a bit on Cobb and then went in to WR by committee mode taking a total of 12. I think grabbing Welker was a decent move in an SC league. He’s someone I’d avoid in traditional dynasty but short-term rentals are fine in this format.

I ended up overpaying for a couple of WRs later in the auction. I had money left and the pool was thinning. Broyles at $3.5 for one year isn’t worth it, nor is Hankerson at $4 million. But as I mentioned above I needed bodies.

I think Gillislee is a nice runner who plays with the type of intensity one seeks from an NFL starter. I think the drafting of Gillislee is (not intentionally as I’m stating it) a message to Lamar Miller to keep working and notice to Daniel Thomas that he hopefully was working hard to prepare for a fight for his spot on the depth chart in 2013.

Miller makes the Broncos a good pick as a team defense. Photo by Jeffery Beall.

Tight End	Yrs	$	Kicker	Yrs	$	Defense	Yrs	$
Owen Daniels	1	4.0	Jay Feely	1	0.5	Denver	1	0.5
Brandon Pettigrew	1	0.5				Dallas	1	0.5
James Casey	1	1.0

I think Stafford went the safe route on tight ends. Daniels has top-five upside, but just barely. However, he’s as close to a lock as a top-10 tight end in fantasy leagues as one can get. Pettigrew is a disappointing fantasy player based on his potential. I’m not saying he should be a an elite tight end, but I think his physical skills and this Detroit offense should translate to production that is similar to Daniels’ upside rather than sitting outside the top-10 in healthy years.

If you’ve read my blog for any length of time then you know I’m a fan of James Casey’s potential. The beginning of the Chip Kelly era in Philly is a development I’m eager to see. The reason Kelly has Casey, Brent Celek, Clay Harbor, and Zach Ertz is that this up-tempo offense uses multiple tight ends to foil his opponents’ attempts at gap control.

This doesn’t always translate into great receiving production at the position, but there may be enough opportunities for one player in this group to emerge as a fantasy option. I’m not counting on Casey to be the one, but if injury strikes to the depth chart then Casey has upside. I’m not sure I would have picked him in a league like this because unless it’s clear he’ll be the man to own before the first week of the season, he’ll most likely present diminishing returns.

Denver’s defense is a nice option for the minimum price. The league awards points for sacks, turnovers, and points score and Denver’s unit should be in a good position to play aggressor most weeks – especially in an AFC West that is now a weak division on paper.

Stafford didn’t have any comments about this part of his roster, but he did talk about other deals that teams made in the auction that I think are worth mentioning. Amounts mentioned are in increments of millions

Good Deals

Ryan McDowell – Josh Gordon ($19 over 3): Gordon could become a high end WR2. If that happens this was a steal.
Mike MacGregor -Tom Brady ($40 over 3): This was a steal and happened because seven or eight teams already had QBs at this point and let it happen. We probably should have price enforced a bit here. But that’s a risky proposition.
Sigmund Bloom – Martellus Bennett ($0.5 over 1): Great player to get early in the auction at league minimum. Not sure how he pulled this one on us.
Jeff Tefertiller – Brandon Marshall ($60 over 4): Terrific value. Marshall at about 10% of his cap, yes sir.

Deals Stafford Didn’t Like

Lance Zierlein – Colin Kaepernick ($41 over 2): This seemed rather pricey to me. Compare this to Drew Brees at ($30 over 2).
Ryan McDowell – Andrew Luck ($103 over 4): Same thing. This is way too rich for my blood. This is a bet that Luck will be a top-5 QB in 2013 and beyond. Maybe/maybe not.
Rivers McCown – Josh Freeman ($3.5 over 1): Not really much money of course, but Freeman isn’t my cup of tea. If I’m going to draft a back-up QB I’d like to get one with either some upside (i.e. Locker/Tannehill) or one that is the surefire starter (i.e. Schaub).

Personally, I don’t see much wrong with Freeman. I doubt Mike Glennon is a threat to Freeman this year. I agree that Kaepernick and Luck earned higher contracts than I would have paid, but I’m a Luck fan so if I were to go bold with a passer I’d pay that premium on the Colts quarterback. McDowells also stole Gordon. I nominated Gordon as the first player off the board in the auction. I wish I hadn’t.

McDowell’s team was Stafford’s favorite:

His projected starting lineup is Luck, CJ2K/Mendy, Nicks/Gordon/James Jones/Blackmon, Housler. He’ll have to shuck and jive until Blackmon returns and he needs Housler to break out, but this is potentially a very nice team for the long haul. He also has Gio Bernard in the wings. And he has good options to replace Blackmon short-term.

More analysis of this draft coming in the next 4-6 weeks. Remember, if you go to www.realitysportsonline.com and use the promotion code RSP20%OFF, you’ll earn a 20 percent discount. You can join a league for $9.99 as an individual or form a league with your friends.

RSO Writers League: Site Review and My Draft

May 19, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

I'd start my fantasy season with Calvin Johnson, wouldn't you? Photo by Mike Morbeck. — Start your fantasy season with Calvin Johnson? How about signing him to a two-year deal? Even better. Find out where you can do it online and no Excel needed. Photo by Mike Morbeck.

This weekend I donned the commissioner hat of a fantasy league for the first time in six years. This is no run-of-the-mill league. Not only are the owners an extraordinary group of fantasy writers, but Reality Sports Online’s style of game and draft application is taking fantasy football in a direction I want to go.

Sigmund Bloom equated the process to an expedition to undiscovered territory. Thanks to your’s truly, who opted to have each team sign 25 players in the free agent auction it felt like a never-ending quest. Fortunately, there were no fatalities and most of our adventurers made it to the end. The overwhelming sentiment was that they relished the journey.

I believe if you’re the type of fantasy owner who reads my work or the work of guys in the league below, you’ll relish what RSO has to offer. Today, I’m covering the start-up process of this league, providing my takes on each team, and reviewing the RSO site and application.

In subsequent posts, I’m going to profile the rest of the teams.

Taking the Plunge with Reality Sports Online’s Front Office Format (Salary Cap-Keeper-Dynasty -Contract-Auction Format)

Have you ever learned a skill that appears more daunting than it actually is? My wife has a good example – installing tile. She’s been tiling kitchens and bathrooms for years – it was even a part of what she did when she owned her own business.

At first, the idea of getting these individual pieces on a wall at the appropriate level and coordination of color seemed difficult to her when thinking about how few mistakes one can make during this process. But a little front-end preparation revealed it was a lot easier than she imagined.

RSO’s format can have that kind of feel at first and the learning curve seems a lot steeper than it really is. Once you spend a few minutes learning the rules and trying out the draft room, you realize the process is not only intuitive, but it might be one of the most promising ways to run a league that I have seen yet.

To use a more dramatic example of RSO’s learning curve, I immediately thought of Bud (played by Ed Harris) from the movie The Abyss when he dons a tricked-out deep-sea diving helmet that requires him to breathe liquid:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b338ZWuYsJ0?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

There’s an initial fear factor, but then it’s a lot more natural than you’d expect. The reason is many of you hardcore owners are doing contract or keeper leagues now, but spending time keeping up with your own spreadsheets and calculations. RSO is among the first I’ve seen that are doing it for you.

There are a few kinks to work out to make the RSO platform a little more flexible when it comes to setting up pre-draft lists and adding players to a nomination queue, but I have tried numerous auction sites over the years and the application on the whole is intuitive, smooth, and had no breakdowns. Try a league at RSO and use the promotion code RSP20%OFF to earn a 20 percent discount.

RSO won the FSTA’s 2012 Rookie of the Year Award and was a Finalist for the Most Innovative Product Award. I get the vibe that these guys are working hard to make the product the best it can be and they appear open and responsive to feedback.

The Basics

RSO is a league management fantasy football website runs keeper leagues that operate with contract values that mimic the NFL’s system. The site owners are former NFL employees – one of them helped run a team’s cap. I think I can boil down the details to keep it simple:

Each team is given approximately $123 million in cap space (the number moves each year with the NFL cap).
Leagues can be a wide variety of sizes: Offense w/team defense or IDP.
Every year there is a rookie draft (serpentine) and free agent auction draft that is completed in one sitting.*
There are three basic contract types:
- A standard, three-year or four-year deal for your rookie draft picks based on the draft order (contract settings determined by commissioner).
- A standard, one-year deal as determined by the winning bid in a free agent auction.
- Three types of multi-year contracts that your league can determine how many each team can offer:
  - Four-year
  - Three-year
  - Two-year
The site manages trades and free agency according to the cap and it’s all automated.

The multi-year contracts and the auction is what seems harder than it really is. The auction room tracks how much cap room you have and what it’s going to cost you to win a player. One you use all your multi-year deals, the site only allows you to bid with one-year deals. It’s also encouraged that you save $5-$10 million of your $123 million for drop/adds.

Once you see how it all flows, it’s really just a facet of what makes RSO’s league format something I want to try again and again.

*We got the benefit of doing a slow rookie draft due to the schedules of our writers but after using the application, we could have easily done everything in one night if we had 20-man rosters and shorter nomination and bid times.

Contract/Auction Strategy

A good example of this contract strategy in play is how an owner chooses to award its multi-year deals. Some owners will regard a stud like Calvin Johnson as player they will try to sign with a four-year deal. This makes sense: the longer the deal, the less money paid per year and the easier it is on your cap room if Johnson continues to have the same quality career for the next four years.

The risk is if Johnson gets hurt or under performs. Then you’re in a deal that’s costing you money over the next four years and you’ll still have some of this money on your books during that time even if you cut Johnson. All of this is calculated for you on the site, so it’s not something you have to dwell on until it’s time to start thinking about roster moves. You don’t have to be a capologist to play this game, but it spells out the details so you feel like you’re one.

Another strategy could be to sign young, ascending talents to long-term deals. Perhaps you love T.Y. Hilton’s game or you think Russell Wilson is about to reach Drew Brees territory and you want to sign them at a minimal cost and hope they become studs after you locked them into a bargain rate. Of course, the risk is they never take that next step and you’ve tied up mediocre talent.

These contracts become more important when making trades, dropping/adding players, and how much money you have available for future rookie drafts and free agent auctions. This is where RSO’s format takes on some of the realism of the NFL.

Let’s say Michael Floyd has a break-out year opposite Larry Fitzgerald now that Carson Palmer is in Arizona and Bruce Arians drafted a couple of guards. If a team only signed Floyd to a 1-year deal, they might not be able to afford to get him back in 2014 and could lose him to a team with a lot of cap room at that point.

Waldman’s RSO Writer’s League Strategy: Rookie Draft and Free Agent Auction

Here’s the basics about this 14-team league:

Scoring Basics

PPR w/a 1-point bonus after 10 receptions
4 pts/Pass TD; 6 pts/Rush-Rec TDs
Points bonuses at 100, 150, and 200 yards rushing and receiving
Points bonuses at 300, 350, and 400 yards passing
Penalties for interceptions

Roster, Draft, and Cap/Contract Basics

Starting lineups: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (WR/TE), 1 DEF, 1 K
30 Roster spots and 3 IR spots
Five-round, serpentine rookie draft (no trades)
Each team has the following number of multi-year contracts available in the Free Agent Auction Draft
- 4-year Free Agency Contracts (1)
- 3 -year Free Agency Contracts (2)
- 2 -year Free Agency Contracts (3)
- 1-year contracts (19)
Note: rookie contracts in the serpentine draft are all three-year deals at a tiered value according to draft spot. Rookie contracts offered in the free agency draft are “free agent deals,” which means it can be a multi-year deal or a one-year deal based on bid.

I had the eight-spot in this 14-team rookie draft and I stuck close to the RSP Post-Draft playbook with one major exception:

1.08 – WR Keenan Allen
2.07 – WR Da’Rick Rogers
3.08 – WR Marquess Wilson
4.07 – TE Luke Willson
5.08 – QB Sean Renfree

While RSO allows for a third running back as a flex-play in its league setup options, I personally dislike it. There’s something that goes against my football aesthetic when I see fantasy leagues with a third running back. I play in them all the time, but since this was “my” league I got to make the rules.

The strategic influence of this wrinkle to starting lineups is that receiver and tight end depth become a little more important if thinking long-term. On the one hand, running backs tend to make a bigger impact early so I can see how drafting backs makes more sense in a league like this because at least you get a year or two of strong production from a top-end runner before they become free agents and the market value sky-rockets. Receivers, tight ends, and quarterbacks might take a few years and never deliver a return on investment with your squad.

As I finish writing this last paragraph I wonder if I didn’t make a mistake to take running backs with Lacy, Lattimore, Franklin, and Stacy all on the board. However, those were the only backs left in the first round who I felt have a strong chance to make an impact in the first three seasons and not enough to dislodge me from Allen.

Rogers has the kind of upside to render draft status useless. Photo by Wade Rackley.

Rookie Thoughts

Keenan Allen: This is a PPR league with yards and reception bonuses and I think Allen has the type of versatile skill set to see a lot of targets from the slot, but also used on the perimeter. I regard Allen as a player similar to Michael Crabtree, but with more upside due to his quarterback. All apologies to Colin Kapernick, who is a promising young player, but Phillip Rivers is a better down field passer and at this point a savvier quarterback. The San Diego offense under Mike McCoy should feature enough short passing for Allen to provide quality fantasy production this year. As a player whose draft stock was littered with risk, I see Allen as one of the safer picks in this draft class.

Da’Rick Rogers: Once Travis Kelce and Stedman Bailey left with the picks just ahead of me, I opted for the upside of Rogers. Steve Johnson’s recurrent groin issues and the lack of quality receivers in this depth chart before the 2013 NFL Draft make this a nice landing spot for the rookie. Rogers reminds me of a mix of Dwayne Bowe and Terrell Owens. If Rogers even approaches these comps, I have a player with 70-catch potential and the skills to be the most productive receiver on this Bills team. I think Robert Woods is a better technician and will see the most time this year among the rookies if Johnson can stay healthy. However, Johnson’s leg issue could open the door for Rogers in 2014 if the rookie behaves.

Marquess Wilson: There’s a common theme with my first three picks. All three are wide receivers with first- or second-round talent who slid due to factors outside game film study in the pre-draft evaluation process. At just 20 years of age, Wilson will have three years of NFL experience by the time most players his age get drafted. My hope is that Wilson doesn’t break my heart by coming into his own late in year three when I can’t reap any return on him. I think he’s a great fit for Jay Cutler and capable of stepping into the starting lineup this year if called upon. I love his ability to adjust to the ball. He makes a lot of tough catches and can play outside or in the slot due to his quickness. If he can take this difficult year and turn it into a learning experience, he could be the most productive receiver I drafted on this list. I think Marc Trestman and the Bears have similar sentiments.

Luke Willson: Wilson fits the athletic profile of tight end capable of developing into a primary contributor in fantasy leagues. His 4.5-speed the body of an in-line tight end is every bit as promising as his Rice teammate Vance McDonald, but an ankle injury prevented Willson from making the same impression on NFL teams last year. He made an early impact in mini camp and at this point, I decided to take the chance on Willson’s prospects of developing into a high-end TE1 rather than settling for prospects at the position that I rated higher, but have less upside.

Sean Renfree: Admittedly this probably a wasted pick. Renfree and Wilson are why I wish I opted for four-year contracts for rookies instead of three. I think the Duke quarterback has the skills to earn the No.2 role in Atlanta this year if he can return from a torn pectoral muscle by July. If not, I still think he can do enough to earn the No.3 spot and work his way into the backup role by 2014. I’m banking on a chance for Renfree to showcase his wares in preseason or a Matt Ryan injury so Renfree can attract a market once he becomes a free agent. I also planned to take Matt Ryan but I execute as well as I should and Football Diehards owner Bob Harris earn Ryan at a steal. More below.

Pre-Auction Strategy

The running joke in the auction chat room was that by the time we figured out the best ways to approach this league, we’d be halfway through the auction and without the funds to do anything about it. Looking back at my pre-auction strategy I would say my experience was not the same. I had a good clue, but my poor analysis of my cap hindered my execution.

With just one, four-year deal I hoped to spend it on a quarterback. They have the longest fantasy lifespan of any position and it made the most sense to anchor a high-end starter at that position to my roster for multiple years. The two players I decided to target were Matt Ryan and Russell Wilson. If I could land one at a reasonable price with my four-year deal, I’d feel great about the long-term outlook of my team.

I also wanted one stud at running back and wide receiver signed to a deal of no less than a two-years so my team can have a chance to remain competitive as my one-year contracts turn over in 2014 and my rookies continue to develop. These are the two positions I hoped to acquire the most depth – especially at receiver. I believe wide outs are the easiest to trade and I want to afford myself flexibility to make deals.

As for executing an auction for your team, there are three basic ways to do it:

Studs and Duds: Spend a high percentage of cap on a few big-name starters and then pay the minimum for a supporting cast and depth. This is the most aggressive approach. I won three writers leagues in two years with this technique but its name would be more apt as Studs or Duds because it’s often either/or as a team outcome with this approach.
Middle of the Road: This technique is about setting hard budgets for players and pacing yourself. You don’t go over certain bid amounts. The downside is you rarely land the known studs, but the upside is that you acquire quality depth and spread a number of viable options across your starting lineup. If your fantasy performers demonstrate week-to-week consistency at a high level, you have a winner.
Control the End: My friend, Footballguys.com co-owner, and one-time, regular auction competitor David Dodds loves to wait until the rest of the league has spent enough of its cap for him to maintain control of the auction and win the discount deals – and there are always enough – to build a quality team. Dodds loves to talk ridiculous trash to his competition. It’s a common joke among those of us who draft with him that he’s still picking from his top-50 list 200 picks into a draft.

Personally, I try to incorporate a mix of the first two methods. I aim for at least two studs and then opt for mid-level starters – mid-range WR2s and RB2s, and low-end QB1s and TE1s – hoping that half of them have strong years. Then I try to stay patient long enough to have some money at the end and pick a few late-round hopefuls with high upside.

The problem with auction drafts is that I don’t do them as much as I’d like. They are by far my favorite form of league, but time constraints limit me from joining new leagues. If I can convince half of my leagues to adopt this format, I’d be pleased.

Until then, I don’t get as much practice with auctions as I’d like and there are pitfalls I have to be especially careful to avoid:

Impulse Buying: It’s easy to get an itchy trigger finger in the opening 50 picks when you see stud after stud coming off the board and you have all of your money in your pocket. I don’t mind paying premium for a couple of players, but when a “couple” is used casually to mean “3 or 4” you can derail your strategy really fast.
Trigger Shyness: For me, this happens when I don’t feel clear about player value once the bidding comes down to me and another owner over a player. A couple of seconds of hesitation can cost you a good deal despite a bidding war that seems to go on for minutes at a time.
Sticking It to Yourself: One of my favorite aspects about auction leagues is watching owners engage in the practice of increasing the bid on players to police other owners from earning deep discounts. Jim Day and Chad Parsons’ were the best at this on Friday night. They jacked up bid after bid, but made deft exits at the right time to make sure their opponents paid at least what the player was worth – if not more. The danger is that if you pick the wrong player to enforce this strategy, you can get stuck with a guy you don’t want.

In an auction with fantasy writers these practices can get magnified if you’re not careful. Especially with wily vets like Bob Harris, who claims he’s never drafted in an auction league. The Hall of Fame fantasy writer (yes, there is such a distinction) is not a shark as much as he’s a spider with a lair somewhere in the southwest. He spins a really pretty web . . .

Bob Harris stole Matt Ryan and I was the Keystone Cops. Photo by Football Schedule.

My Auction

I won’t know until I dig deeper into the rest of the rosters, but at first glance I feel better about my team than I did during the auction. I made three mistakes during my draft – one from each category above – and I nearly hamstrung my efforts. Yet, I pulled out some solid deals in the mid-to-late rounds. Perhaps my marathon film study sessions helped me as my competition get sharper as others faded into the night. Probably not, but it sounds good.

I will be profiling other teams soon. Here are links to the league’s rosters and the auction results. For the info displayed below The contract amount is in increments of millions. The “R” next to player’s names is for “reserve” a designation based on my potential starting lineup. If there is an “R” in the $ box then it means they were a rookie draft pick with a designated salary by spot in the serpentine draft.

Quarterback	Yrs	$	Running Back	Yrs	$	Wide Receiver	Yrs	$
Jay Cutler (CHI)	1	4.0	Arian Foster (HOU)	2	51.0	Calvin Johnson (DET)	2	69.5
Carson Palmer (ARI) R	1	3.0	Steven Jackson (ATL)	1	16.5	Cecil Shorts (JAC)	4	18.5
Alex Smith (KC) R	2	2.5	Ryan Williams (ARI) R	1	2.5	DeSean Jackson (PHI)	3	10.5
Sean Renfree (ATL) R	3	R	Ben Tate (HOU) R	3	7.5	Keenan Allen (SD)	3	R
			Alex Green (GB) R	1	0.5	LaVon Brazill (IND) R	1	0.5
			Shaun Draughn (KC) R	1	0.5	Marvin Jones (CIN) R	1	1.0
			Cedric Peerman (CIN) R	1	0.5	Domenik Hixon (CAR) R	1	0.5
			Bobby Rainey (BAL) R	1	0.5	Earl Bennett (CHI) R	1	0.5
						Marquess Wilson (CHI) R	3	R
						Da’Rick Rogers (BUF) R	3	R
						Kenbrell Thompkins (NE) R	1	0.5

Quarterbacks

Here’s where I made the biggest auction gaffe for my team. I got into a bidding war with Bob Harris for Matt Ryan. Mike MacGregor recently acquired Tom Brady with a three-year deal for $40 million. I’d say a deal that comes out at a little more than $13.3 million per year for Brady is a strong buy – even at Brady’s age.

As the competition dropped to the wayside on Ryan, Harris and I were creeping north of $30 million and I hesitated on Ryan’s value. I didn’t have a clear cut-off on Ryan. Was it too much? Clock ticking . . . Didn’t Brady go off the board for more? Clock ticking . . .What was that amount again? 4 . . . 3 . . . Should I use a four-year or three-year deal? 2 . . .

I click the four-year deal, but not in enough time and Harris signs Ryan – perhaps the quarterback in the NFL with the best mix of consistency, years left, upside, and surrounding talent in the league for a paltry $31.5 million for 3 years.

Steal.

I’m a little upset with myself at this point, but Russell Wilson is still left in the auction. The problem is that the next owner smartly nominates Russell Wilson immediately after Harris nabs Ryan, which means Wilson is now in a pool with a bunch of owners who just woke up and realized they let Ryan go off the board for a song.

I realized right after losing the Ryan bid that I was willing to pay $14-15 million per year for the Falcons quarterback so I will probably have to pay at least that much for Wilson based on what just happened. Sure enough the bidding comes down to me and Officer Jim Day of the RSO Writers League Bidding Police Precinct 411.

Within seconds Day and I raise Wilson’s price from $9 million per year to $12 million and climbing. When we reach $15 million per year – alternating with 3- and 4-year offers – I’m stretching beyond my comfort zone because I already spent big money on two other players. Ultimately, I decided to stand down on Wilson and Day landed the Seahawk as his backup to Peyton Manning with a 4-year deal at $63.5 million (total).

Day will have trade bait with that four-year deal if he wants to dangle it. So I opted for plan B – a quarterback by committee with two players I think have a realistic shot at low-end QB1 production and the talent to deliver even more to fantasy owners if the offensive lines improve: Jay Cutler and Carson Palmer for a combined $7 million. While it’s half the price of Wilson – it’s conceivable I get half the quarterback play, too.

Still, I feel good about what’s happening in Chicago with Marc Trestman as the architect and I like the possibilities the Cardinals have with Palmer, Floyd, Fitzgerald, and most important, the upgrades along the offensive line. I wish I didn’t have to talk about Alex Smith, but “what had happened was . . . ” I tried to increase the bid on Smith early and realized I was doing so with Alex Smith.

Don’t get me wrong, Palmer and Cutler could get hurt by mid season if the Bears and Cardinals offensive lines revert to recent form so Smith could be useful. I also paid a whopping $2 million for 2 years. It may not be what I meant to do, but it was a minor mistake compared to letting Matt Ryan slip in the dark of night to Harris.

Running Backs

I had to nab a stud here. I could have gone with a younger guy with upside, but decided I didn’t want to be a part of a bidding war for Trent Richardson or Doug Martin. Football Outsiders writer Rivers McCown nabbed Martin for a reasonable $67.5 million for 3 years, paying somewhere around $22 million of his current year cap as guaranteed money for 2013. This actually looked like a nice deal compared to what Jason Wood shelled out for Adrian Peterson – a two-year signing for $71 million.

It was on the heels of that Peterson deal that Arian Foster hit the block and instead of trying to slow roll the bid a little higher and hope I got a deal, I decided to go strong to the hole and hope my competition would hesitate. My competition was still messing around with contracts for $4 million when I upped the number to a two-year, $40 million deal.

If I remember correctly, most of the bids dropped out and after the next competing bid that inched skyward of $41 million, I came hard over the top again with $50 and wound up winning at 2 years, $51 million for Foster. Not a great deal compared to Martin or even Mike MacGregor’s, 4-year $97 million signing of Trent Richardson at a little less per year for twice the tenure, but Harris has a two-year deal on Jamaal Charles for $60.5 million and Tim Stafford has C.J. Spiller at 3 years, $75 million.

I can live with what I paid for Foster – especially for two years.

Steven Jackson at one year for $16.5 million seems pricey for his recent performances in St. Louis, but if you think he still has the juice for at least one more year then he’s at least as skilled as Michael Turner – the Atlanta runner, who had at least 1300 yards and double-digit touchdowns in three of his four seasons between 2009-2011.

I’ll pay $16.5 million for that kind of production. Heck, I’ll pay it for top-20 production for one year and that’s what Turner delivered last year despite a more pass happy system and operating at a step slower than he appeared in the past.

Ben Tate fortunately didn’t get added to the block right after Foster joined my team or else I probably would have to pay a little more. As Lance Zierlein noted, getting Tate at three years, $7.5 million is a nice deal considering that he’ll be a free agent in 2014. I’m not a huge Tate fan, but I have to agree.

Few backs move to a new team in recent years and become studs. Michael Turner, Marshawn Lynch, and Reggie Bush come to mind and they are the minority. However, even if Tate joins a committee the price is still good value.

Ryan Williams’ stock is at rock bottom. He’s coming off his second injury in two years and Bruce Arians named Rashard Mendenhall the starter. Still, Williams has starter talent. Arizona’s upgrades make me feel like I could get $2.5 million dollar’s worth (at least) from a finally healthy Williams as my second back off the bench.

Alex Green is a cheap option who still has a chance to make the team. We’ll see if he’s finally healthy enough to compete at the level he’s capable. Shaun Draughn surprised me last year. I saw him at North Carolina and thought he was a good, but not great college runner. He looks a lot quicker than I remember from his days in Chapel Hill. He might still give the Chiefs competition a run for that No.2 spot. Cedric Peerman and Bobby Rainey are two players I believe have the talent, but lack the opportunity.

I just realized I have three receivers from Cal on my squad. DeSean Jackson needs to play to that form to help me contend. Photo by Avinashkunnath.

Wide Receiver

I probably overpaid for Calvin Johnson. My deal came on the heels of Lance Zierlein giving up $92.5 million for three years. I should have resisted, but I admit that I got impulsive with the prospect of having Johnson on my team. He has been a top-five fantasy receiver for three straight years, he’s been the top fantasy receiver overall for two years straight (even with only 5 touchdowns in 2012), and he’s winning against triple coverage. He’ll be 28 in September. If there’s a player in a PPR league worth this kind of money, Johnson is it.

Although I paid a premium for the best wide receiver in football I did have some pleasant surprises in the middle rounds. My four-year deal went to a player I didn’t anticipate signing: Cecil Shorts. A polarizing player in the fantasy community, Shorts has big-play skills but spotty quarterback play has some people down on the receiver’s future. Chase Stuart gives a balanced opinion with the stats and some context to the numbers. At 4 years, $18.5 million I paid for a young player with high-end No.2 upside without a good quarterback at a No.3 receiver price point.

I also think DeSean Jackson could be a steal at $10.5 million over 3 years. I’m not chest-thumping this signing yet, because he hasn’t had starter numbers since 2011 and he hasn’t truly played like one since 2010. If he an return to 2009-2010 form, I’ll have a formidable corps at a bargain – even with Calvin Johnson.

Bryan Fontaine has one of my favorite receiving trios in this league: Dwayne Bowe, Larry Fitzgerald, and Dez Bryant for a total of $108.5 million. My trio has the potential to match that production as a unit at a $10 million savings. I also have two of my deals of at least three years whereas Fontaine only has one deal over two years. I’m not trying to tell you that my corps is better than Fontaine’s group, but I’m not as far away as it appears on paper.

Domenik Hixon is skilled enough to win the slot job in Carolina and even outplay Brandon LaFell. The rest of my wideouts are RSP favorites with chances to earn playing time this year: Marvin Jones, LaVon Brazill, and Earl Bennett all have potential to contribute and they’re excellent players with the ball in the air.

Can't go wrong with this VD. Photo by The Bay Area Bias. — Can’t go wrong with this VD even if I went wrong with Smith. Photo by The Bay Area Bias.

Tight End	Yrs	$	Kicker	Yrs	$	Defense	Yrs	$
Vernon Davis (SF)	1	8.0	Sebastian Janikowski (OAK)	1	0.5	Seattle	1	2.5
Dwayne Allen (IND) R	1	2.5	Robbie Gould (CHI) R	1	0.5	Detroit	1	0.5
Luke Willson (SEA) R	3	R

Tight Ends, Kickers, and Defenses

If Vernon Davis produces like he did during the 2012 season, I overpaid. If Davis plays like has in the postseason, I’ll have a bargain. I think he’s the best all-around tight end in football, but he doesn’t get the chance to show it as a receiver due to quarterback play. Hopefully Kaepernick continues to find Davis like he did in January. I’m a Dwayne Allen fan and I believe he’ll provide good bye-week value.

Janikowski and Gould are like the Odd Couple. One is on a team that might have trouble scoring but can boot it from 60 yards. The other lacks great range, but should see more opportunities due to the offense. I’ll roll with these two for a total of $1 million.

I paid about twice as much for Seattle than I wanted, but it’s another case of paying for value. Detroit is my bye-week option.

Team Outlook

I’m not going to say my team is a great contender. If I got Matt Ryan or Russell Wilson I think I’d feel a little more confident. As it stands, I think my team is in the middle of the pack. The upside of I think Johnson, Foster, and Steven Jackson will keep me competitive as long as I get similar play from Cecil Shorts and Vernon Davis at their best stretches of 2012. If Cutler, Palmer, or DeSean Jackson play to their potential I’ll have a real shot.

Stay tuned this week for more analysis of RSO teams and try a league. Use the promotion code RSP20%OFF to earn a 20 percent discount.

Reality Sports Online Writers Keeper-Contract League

May 9, 2013 0 Comments read Matt Waldman

How much would you pay for A.J. Green in a Contract-Auction-Dynasty League? Photo by Football Schedule.

Over the course of the next year, I have accepted the opportunity to start a unique league with a rookie snake draft and a free agent auction. Today, we’re kicking off a five-round rookie draft. The cool thing about this league is that the contract and cap mimics the NFL. In fact the owners of this site –Reality Sports Online – were both former employees of an NFL team. One was the capologist and the other legal representation. They’ve built an award-winning site that distills a process that takes 2-3 months in the NFL into a matter of hours.

The RSO Writers League is a 14-team, contract/keeper/salary cap format. Here are more basics about the league. Start your own league and get a discount when you use this coupon code: RSP20%OFF

Scoring Basics

PPR w/a 1-point bonus after 10 receptions
4 pts/Pass TD; 6 pts/Rush-Rec TDs
Points bonuses at 100, 150, and 200 yards rushing and receiving
Points bonuses at 300, 350, and 400 yards passing
Penalties for interceptions

Roster, Draft, and Cap/Contract Basics

Starting lineups: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (WR/TE), 1 DEF, 1 K
30 Roster spots and 3 IR spots
Five-round, serpentine rookie draft (no trades)
$123 million cap
Each team has the following number of multi-year contracts available in the Free Agent Auction Draft
- 4-year Free Agency Contract (1)
- 3 -year Free Agency Contract (2)
- 2 -year Free Agency Contract (3)
- 1-year contracts (19)
Rookie Contract Length – 3 Years

For more about Reality Sports Online’s rules and basics, check out its FAQ page.

Reality Sports Online holds its rookie draft as the first step prior to the free agency auction. It’s automated on the site. However, we’re all newbies with their brand of contact/auction drafts so we’re opting for a slow-email draft so there is time for each owner to learn the rules and try to auction room before the draft. The results of the draft will be detailed below.

Round 1

Jeff Tefertiller: WR DeAndre Hopkins
Ryan McDowell: RB Giovani Bernard
Sigmund Bloom: WR Tavon Austin
Mike MacGregor: RB Le’Veon Bell
Bryan Fontaine: WR Cordarrelle Patterson
Tim Stafford: RB Montee Ball
Matt Papson: RB Christine Micheal
Matt Waldman: WR Keenan Allen
Jason Wood: RB Eddie Lacy
Mike Clay: RB Marcus Lattimore
Bob Harris and Mike Dempsey: RB Johnathan Franklin
Rivers McCown: TE Tyler Eifert
Jim Day: RB Zac Stacy
Lance Zierlein: WR Robert Woods

Round 2

Lance Zierlein: WR Markus Wheaton
Jim Day: QB E.J. Manuel
Rivers McCown: WR Justin Hunter
Bob Harris and Mike Dempsey: WR Aaron Dobson
Mike Clay: TE Travis Kelce
Jason Wood: WR Stedman Bailey
Matt Waldman: WR Da’Rick Rogers
Matt Papson: WR Chris Harper
Tim Stafford: WR Quinton Patton
Bryan Fontaine: QB Matt Barkley
Mike MacGregor: WR Kenny Stills
Sigmund Bloom: QB Geno Smith
Ryan McCowell: TE Jordan Reed
Jeff Tefertiller: WR Terrance Williams

Round 3

Jeff Tefertiller: WR Josh Boyce
Ryan McDowell: RB Latavius Murray
Sigmund Bloom: WR Marquise Goodwin
Mike MacGregor: RB Kerwynn Williams
Bryan Fontaine: WR Charles Johnson
Tim Stafford: RB Mike Gillislee
Matt Papson: TE Zach Ertz
Matt Waldman: WR Marquess Wilson
Jason Wood: QB Tyler Wilson
Mike Clay: RB Andre Ellington
Bob Harris and Mike Dempsey: TE Gavin Escobar
Rivers McCown: RB Stepfan Taylor
Jim Day: TE Levine Toilolo
Lance Zierlein: RB Joseph Randle

Round 4

Lance Zierlein: TE Vance McDonald
Jim Day: RB Mike James
Rivers McCown: WR Ryan Swope
Bob Harris and Mike Dempsey: WR Ace Sanders
Mike Clay: RB Knile Davis
Jason Wood: WR Corey Fuller
Matt Waldman:TE Luke Willson
Matt Papson: WR Aaron Mellette
Tim Stafford: RB Denard Robinson
Bryan Fontaine:RB Chris Thompson
Mike MacGregor: QB Ryan Nassib
Sigmund Bloom: WR Tavarres King
Ryan McDowell: QB Mike Glennon
Jeff Tefertiller: QB Zac Dysert

Round 5

Jeff Tefertiller: TE Chris Gragg
Ryan McDowell: QB Matt Scott
Sigmund Bloom: TE Dion Sims
Mike MacGregor: RB Ray Graham
Bryan Fontaine: “HB” Rex Burkhead
Tim Stafford: RB Kenjon Barner
Matt Papson: WR Eric Rogers
Matt Waldman: QB Sean Renfree
Jason Wood: TE Ryan Otten
Mike Clay: WR Justin Brown
Bob Harris and Mike Dempsey: QB Landry Jones
Rivers McCown: RB Theo Riddick
Jim Day: RB Michael Hill
Lance Zierlein: RB Cierre Wood

Tight End

Yrs

$

Kicker

Yrs

$

Defense

Yrs

$

*We got the benefit of doing a slow rookie draft due to the schedules of our writers but after using the application, we could have easily done everything in one night if we had 20-man rosters and shorter nomination and bid times.