Without fail, every year within minutes of the draft's conclusion I'm asked who the computer drafting program thinks had the best draft. Of course, letting a computer program that was written in the spring determine who has the best team in the fall is a little crazy, but it hasn't stopped us from using it as a yardstick for years now.
Without further adieu, based on total team strength (starters and backups), here's the LFFL Preseason Power Poll.
10) Alliance Assault (10th Pick) The drafting program does not like this year's Alliance squad. I however disagree. This team's strength is running back where the Assault field two first round backs, Steven Jackson and Shonn Greene. Yes, Jackson plays for St. Louis, but look at his stats- he's played on some really bad teams but he always produces. If he played for any other team in the NFL we'd be talking about this guy like people used to talk about Tomlinson. Greene was the top pick in the 2nd round, but he very easily could have gone in the first round. Where the drafting program really dinged Alliance was at tight end, only drafting one, Chris Cooley, who had only two touchdowns on 29 catches last year. Cooley's numbers should improve this year, as he has an actual QB throwing to him now. QB Carson Palmer will look to bounce back to Pro-Bowl form this year now that he has two divas to throw to, and while they might fight, the result can only be good for the Assault, because who cares who catches the balls, as long as they are touchdowns.
9) Honolulu Muffdivers (5th Pick) Rookie manager Bobby Wilson showed how green he is with this draft that, from the outside, bordered on lunacy. While first round pick Aaron Rodgers is great, it's hard to justify his going 5th overall with backs like Turner, Gore, Jackson and Greene still on the board. It's this writer's opinion that the earliest a QB should go is within the last 2-3 picks of the first round once the marquee, game-changing running backs are gone. However, if you allow the forgoing of a running back for Rodgers in round one, what you cannot support is the drafting of anything but a running back in round two, which is just what the Muffdivers did, taking a wide receiver, Wes Welker. Welker is a great possession receiver, and will undoubtedly catch a lot of balls, but how many of those catches will be in the end zone? Why not Larry Fitzgerald, Miles Austin, Reggie Wayne or Greg Jennings? Each of which was still on the board. Trouble was compounded when Knowshon Moreno was drafted in round three, and another running back didn't join Honolulu until Michael Bush in round nine. The Oakland homer love-fest continued, as the Muffdivers drafted Zach Miller, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Sebastian Janikowski (Rd 8), and the Oakland Defense. On the positive side, beyond Rodgers, this team's bright spot is tight end Dallas Clark. Also, having great potential are WRs Michael Crabtree and Percy Harvin, who might just save this team by season's end. In sum, while on paper the draft may look rough, an ok starting line up can be made if you're creative enough.
8) Weirton Wiggers (6th Pick) This squad is probably better than the draft program thinks. The major knock is having an inexperienced starting quarterback in Kevin Kolb, but if the Eagles are comfortable enough to make him their starter with little audition, why shouldn't Weirton? The real power position in Weirton is running back, with Mendenhall, Pierre Thomas and Jamaal Charles. Each is in a position to better themselves from the year prior, as Mendenhall has a full season to start, Thomas no longer has Mike Bell to steal his carries, and Charles has banished Larry Johnson to the trash heap. Wide receiver Randy Moss is a obvious beast, and tight end Jermichael Finley might go off this year. The Wiggers did show their apparent reliance on an outdated draft magazine as they selected tight end Aaron Hernandez in round 12. Not a fatal mistake by any means, just a surprising miss. Overall though, another strong squad by a veteran manager.
7) Youngstown Zoes (8th Pick) The defending Stram Division champs have assembled a roster full of gritty players who aren't flashy, but get results. Except for wide receiver Andre Johnson, that is. Johnson is suave, flashy, and doesn't just get results, he makes the difference. Now that Larry Fitzgerald is lacking a premier QB to play catch with, Johnson becomes the undisputed best receiver in the NFL, which obviously translates to big points in the LFFL. Running backs Gore and Benson don't get ESPN face time, but they do get yards and carries in the red zone, which is all you can ask for out of running backs. Tight end Vernon Davis is a force, and anytime Terrell Owens is your “worst” skill position starter, you know you're in good shape. This team's question mark is a QB. Brett Favre was selected in the forth round by the Zoes, but at press time he is currently benched for week one in favor of 13th round pick Jake Delhomme. If the QB situation can be resolved, this team can count on being there to defend their division title.
6) Allentown Iron Men (9th Pick) The defending Leight Fantasy Football League champions have assembled a team based on youth and speed designed to capture the Iron Men's fifth league title. Running backs Ryan Mathews, Arian Foster and Matt Forte have a combined three years experience, but are being asked to shoulder the load in Allentown. Mathews is a rookie, but steps into a great situation in San Diego where the sky will be the limit- plenty of carries and goal line work. By draft time, Foster wasn't a secret, and while there's not a lot of film on him, GM Todd Leight is buying on this back with the size, speed and weak competition. The biggest toss up in Forte, who has healed from last year's injuries, and may benefit from a Mike Martz offense. There is much potential in this group, even if there's been few games to substantiate that theory. The obvious star of the Iron Men is quarterback Drew Brees, whom Allentown grabbed in the first round. Brees' resume need not be read to know that he is a rare commodity and will be counted on as a veteran leader. At wide receiver, Greg Jennings is the clear number one, but while his yardage totals are solid, he needs to increase his reception and touchdown numbers from last year. The number two receiver could be either Mike Sims-Walker or Hakeem Nicks, as both have upside and potential to build upon last year's stats. Tight end is up in the air as Owen Daniels tries to return from an ACL injury he sustained last year. Until he is 100 percent, future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez is there to hold down the fort. At the end of the day, the Iron Men's squad is anchored by Brees, who will keep them in games, but home runs will have to be hit in the running back and wide receiver positions in order for this team to repeat and bring home another championship to Titletown, PA.
5) Prospect Pioneers (3rd Pick) By instinct, you want to shoot holes in Dan Coulter's Prospect draft, but it starts off pretty solid, with Jones-Drew, Brady, and Austin. Each of which, you could argue, was the best at their positions on the board at the time of their being drafted. Sure, MJD has had some mystery knee issues which have kept him out of preseason games and practices, and may or may not have required surgery (depending on who you ask) but he's still going to get the ball in the regular season. Joseph Addai isn't flashy, but he was probably the safest running back left in the forth round, and Boldin makes for an good fifth round pick. Antonio Gates is a bargain in the 6th round, and the roster looks pretty solid at this point. Then the Pioneers take the Pittsburgh Defense in the 7th round. The draft room falls silent. As the LFFL starts a flex position, you'd think Prospect might want to pick another receiver or running back here, but instead the Pioneers go defense- a full four rounds before any other team (Chewton would select New York Jets in round 11). Trouble is doubled as in the 8th round Prospect is forced to choose running back Brandon Jacobs as starter Ahmad Bradshaw went to Indiana four picks earlier. So, while the draft started well enough for the Pioneers, they found a way to shoot themselves in the foot in the middle rounds. We may very well wonder what might have been for Prospect had they selected available skill position players like Ochocinco, Crabtree, Jahvid Best, Jonathan Stewart or the aforementioned Bradshaw instead of the Pittsburgh defense.
4) Ellwood Dishsoaps (1st Pick) You simply cannot go wrong with Chris Johnson. There's not much that can be said about Johnson that hasn't been said before. He's the pick at #1 for both his speed and the fact that he'll run and catch, while #2 pick Peterson typically doesn't catch many balls. A guy who does catch a lot of balls is wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has a slight downgrade because of his lacking a true quarterback to receive passes from, but his talent will make up for most quarterback deficiencies. Fun fact: forth round wide receiver Steve Smith (NYG) actually had more catches than Fitzgerald last year, and makes for a great 1-2 punch at WR. Second round pick Tony Romo was the fifth quarterback to come off the board, and while the bottom of the second round might be early by some estimates, if Ellwood hadn't acted when they did, they surely wouldn't have had a premier QB to choose by the time their next pick rolled around in a serpentine draft. The real weakness here is the #2 running back position. Ronnie Brown is ok, but won't cause anyone to look twice, and the next best thing is Laurence Maroney, who joined the Dishsoaps in the tenth round. Yes, a 9th round kicker is early, but this is still Fred we're talking about here. Overall though, this is one of the more solid Ellwood squads we've ever seen.
3) Chewton Champs (4th Pick) Expectations should be tempered a bit because the drafting program loves the Champs pick of Vincent Jackson, but reality tells us that a guy holding out on top of a three game suspension is trouble. Especially when that guy is your fifth round pick. However, Ray Rice is a great first round pick, and Calvin Johnson is a forth round steal (with Roddy White and Miles Austin going before him to other clubs). Sure, you might not like McCoy in the second round at 17th overall, but I ask you to successfully argue in favor of another running back at that point in the draft, knowing what we knew that night. Yes, maybe Benson, Charles or Williams might have been good picks there, but I suggest it's a toss up depending on your gut. Philip Rivers will anchor the offense, and Brent Celek makes for a nice tight end in the 9th round. It's true that Jackson and Ben Tate make for some head-scratching picks, but overall this is a very tight team.
2) Indiana Ignition (7th Pick) This is a nicely balanced team. Not one player is the best at their position, but each is a proven commodity. Go ahead, try and find a question mark or a guy who hasn't shown that they can produce. So, while this team may be vanilla, there's a reason that vanilla is the most popular flavor. The party starts at running back where Michael Turner looks to rebound after a subpar year. This season, he's in better shape and looks to return to his form of two years ago. The same can be said for Ryan Grant, who is in a great position this year, a third round pick there for support, not the only guy toting the rock. You can't argue with Peyton Manning in the second round, and Roddy White and DeSean Jackson are two receivers both capable of being number ones. The third wide receiver position belongs to Chad Ochocinco, and the third running back position could be had by Ahmad Bradshaw or Beanie Wells- either way, the Ignition are safe. Yes, this year's Ignition squad is in great shape to compete all season long, as GM Ryan Alexander looks to win his first Stram Division title, and return to the title game Indiana won two seasons ago.
1) Laurel Skullets (2nd Pick) This ranking is a tad artificially high thanks to the draft software not knowing that Sidney Rice is out for at least eight weeks, but even considering that, this is still a team that belongs in the top four. The draft started well for the Skullets, who had Adrian Peterson gift-wrapped at two, and Reggie Wayne at the back end of the second around, the forth receiver taken overall. Joining Peterson and Wayne are DeAngelo Williams and Marques Colston, two players who could be number ones in their own right. Jason Witten holds down the tight end position, and Steve Smith (CAR) makes for a great third wideout. The gem though might be quarterback Matt Schaub, who has all the tools to be a top three quarterback this season. Yes, Laurel grabbed their kicker and defense a little sooner than most pros would, but they still had some good value backup picks in the bottom of the draft, with Jerricho Cotchery, Rice and Eddie Royal. At the end of the day, considering it was drafted by an Apple iPhone, this is a pretty good team.
That's it, that's the 2010 LFFL Preseason Power Poll. If you're not happy with your ranking, don't sweat it, it's only the opinion of a computer, and what do they know anyway?
The season kicks off on Thursday September, 9th, and from that point on, all bets are off. In the end, there can be only one that lifts high the Leight Cup... who will it be?
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