Shark Session Q & A - Week One Sep 10, 2004

I have gotten so many emails this week that I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to live up to my promise to answer each and everyone but after a few very, very, very late nights (it got so bad that when finally crawling into bed somewhere around 2:30 in the a.m. for the second night in a row my wife looked me died in the eye and said “ who in the hell are you?”) I pulled it off and all those that sent in questions got fair and honest replies.

With that said, I am off to Tivo the hell out of the Indy-New England game, sip another cold one, and exhale a final sigh of relief at the end of yet another painfully long pre-season you take a look at five of the many questions that have left my keyboard smoking and fingers swollen.

Remember if you got a question, I got an answer. From Rosters to Individual Player Analysis, trades to waiver wire pick-ups. I am the answer man. Hit me up with your questions by clicking here!

Jason from Idaho: Corey--I read ya religiously man!  Thanks for all the great fantasy advice (there's the obligatory schmooze :-)

My question:  Week 1 QB start: Brad Johnson against Washington or Drew Bledsoe against Jacksonville?  As far as I can tell, both teams have some issues in the secondary.  Any help is appreciated.

Is Griffin a legitimate #2 back going into the season? 

Thanks and good luck this season

Corey D: For week one I would go with Brad Johnson. Last season, week 6, Brad lit up Washington for 268 and 4 TDs. Champ is gone to Denver and Brad has got some legit targets in Tim Brown and Joey Galloway.

Whether or not Griffin can be a every down back in Denver's RBBC country is still to be seen. I wouldn't like having him as a number 2 with Bell and Hearst stealing carries.

Vipers: There are three players that really intrigue me and I'm trying to determine how soon to grab them.  Talking about a dynasty league situation here, (performance scoring) TD and yardage scoring.   In a dynasty league you have to always be looking ahead.  When you are constantly on top or near the top of the league you don't get good draft picks and have to find the young studs thru free agency.  I'm wondering your opinion on Gabriel WR Oak, Cobbs RB in NE and Luke McCown QB in Cleveland.  The common thread to all three is that they are in situations behind aging veterans.  Rice can't last forever and that will create an opening for another starting WR.  Is Gabriel the guy and if so how good is he?  Same story in NE, Dillon is aging and the only real RB behind him is Cobbs.  Can Cobbs cut it as a started with a years seasoning?  And then there's Garcia who is also getting up there in years.  I know the least about Luke McCown but he seemed to do all right in preseason. 

Assuming you don't need them for this season (if they played this year it would be considered a bonus) and could carry them for a year, who do you think has the best chance for success and is worth a roster spot?

Thanks

Corey D: Yo Viper,

I like these kind of questions...they stress the brain a bit more then the typical roster analysis and line up stuff.

Look at Gabriel as a young Porter, size, speed, and questionable hands. He could be something special but Rice leaving isn't where you need to be looking. Gabriel is better suited for catching the rock from Collins who has a better long ball arm then the dink and dunk Gannon. Rice and Gannon are both aging and will be out soon. This is when we will see if Gabriel is worthy.

Cobbs is out for the season and a bit more risky then the other two for future consideration. He has all the tools but he is obviously prone to injury and could take longer to develop. Plus the work on the street is this kid has stone hands. In a offense like NE a pass catching RB is key. Keep an eye on him but don't pick him up just yet.

McCown is a serious long-term project. A project with potential but only slightly better then Cobbs in regards to a Dynasty pick up. This kid has a cannon for an arm but his accuracy and delivery are going to need some work.

Gabriel is worth a pick up but I don't see Cobbs or McCown making any jump to stardom for at least 2 to 3 years.

Dave: I just drafted 15th in a 16-team unsnaked draft.  By the time I was up, the entire top tier and many of the second-tier RB's were gone, so I took McNabb.  By my second pick, the highest ranked RB on my prep-sheet was Charlie Garner.  As a lifelong TB fan, I am loath to rely on Buccaneers for offensive production, but I took him and went on from there. I'm pretty satisfied with the rest of my team, but the RB position leaves me with a cold, sick feeling in the pit of my substantial stomach. We are a yardage/TD league and we start 1 RB, 2 WRs, 1 TE, and 1 RB/WR/TE flex each week.  My roster is listed below.  Am I overstressing or do you have any recommendations?

QB Donovan McNabb
QB Tim Rattay
RB Charlie Garner
RB Julius Jones
RB DeShaun Foster
WR Plaxico Burress
WR Kevin Dyson
WR Marty Booker
WR Cedric Wilson
TE Todd Heap
TE Itula Mili
K   Jeff Reed
K   Jason Hanson
D   New England
D   San Francisco

Corey D: That sick painful rising from the pit of your stomach...that's reality.

Your team is solid except for your RBs and your going to have to entertain some offers to up grade through a trade. The only problem with a trade is it would more then likely dig pretty hard into your WR crew so I would start off trying to score someone off the Waiver Wire (L. Gordon?). Which ever you decide to do I would recommend doing it relatively soon.

Pray that S. Davis goes down in week one!

Frank: I have P. Manning and Bulger. My opponent is starting Torry Holt. I was thinking of starting Bulger vs. the Arizona secondary, and sitting Manning vs. that tough NE Defense. If Bulger does hit Holt for a score, at least I could also get some points off it.

Corey D: Tough call here because typically you never want to sit a stud like Manning. In your case though I would go with Bulger. He is facing a weak defense and should be able to post some solid numbers. Manning didn't have a great preseason and looked shaky at times, nothing to be worried about but when your facing a defense like NE in week one you better have your game face on. I am sure Manning will be fine come game day but I like your point opportunities better with Bulger.

Two things to consider:
1. Bulger is at home whereas Manning is in Brady’s house.
2. New England has got a real RB now and will try to keep Manning and
company off the field by utilizing a newfound rushing attack.

Dave from Austin, TX; I can't escape this nagging feeling that my draft was not as successful as I would have liked this year.  I play in a 10-team league with each owner having one keeper.  My keeper going in was Deuce McAllister, so you can imagine that all the other primo running backs (except Shaun Alexander and Jamal Lewis) were not available.  Manning and Culpepper were keepers and not available.

I had decided going in that my first pick would be for my #2 RB, no matter what, because I felt no decent RB's would be left on the return trip through our snake draft.  I drew the #4 pick and Alexander, Lewis, and Randy Moss were picks 1-3.  After Alexander and Lewis, the next highest available RB on my board was Kevan Barlow so I took him.  That's been nagging at me a bit. With guys like Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Matt Hasselbeck, and even Travis Henry on the board, did I take Barlow too high?

We start 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DST, in a relatively low-scoring
league that relies on TD's more than yardage.  My end-of-draft results were as follows; I'd appreciate any thoughts you might have about how I stack up:

QB: Bret Favre; Aaron Brooks
RB: D. McAllister; K. Barlow; TJ Duckett
WR: Chad Johnson; Javon Walker; Justin McCareins
TE: Daniel Graham; Billy Miller
K:  Adam Vineateri; must pick up another
DST: Cowboys; Rams

Thanks for the expert help!

Corey D: I like the Barlow pick. I know that the other players were tempting but we all know the value of RBs, especially RBs that are the focus of their offense. Your roster looks solid so I wouldn't worry too much. Take a few Rolaids and stop analyzing it...that's my job.