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I’m in two fantasy football leagues this year.  The second of the two has an autodraft, so I’ll just have to make due with the players I get.  Team #1 just had our yearly draft.  I’m feeling pretty good about how it came together.
QB: Aaron Rodgers
WR: Larry Fitzgerald
WR: Santana Moss
WR: Lance Moore
RB: Steve Slaton
RB: Marion Barber
TE: Greg Olsen

K: Ryan Longwell
DEF: Dallas

Bench QB: Matt Cassel
Bench WR: Donnie Avery
Bench WR: Michael Crabtree
Bench RB: LenDale White
Bench RB: Jamal Lewis
Bench RB: T.J. Duckett

Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay should be a pretty solid quarterback.  With all the Favre controversy swirling around it’s hard to remember that Green Bay has an up-and-coming QB that might be just as good.  For the bye weeks or if he doesn’t cut it I have Matt Cassel, Tom Brady’s understudy-turn-damn-good-backup.  A few years ago he was the lowest rated player in fantasy football.  This year he’ll be on the starting lineup for plenty of teams.

My starting WRs are all kind of meh.  Larry Fitzgerald is obviously top-notch.  (He was my #1 pick.  I was the 8th team in the queue), but I’m not massively thrilled.  The other WRs are all solid, if uninspiring.  The sole exception is possible Michael Crabtree.  He’s a rookie and almost went to Seattle (Go Hawks!) this year.  He’s likely to be a starter and if he does well than he will have a definite shot at my 3rd WR spot.

I have 5 RBs.  That’s probably too many, but I want to see how everyone performs the first few weeks.  T.J. Duckett is a seahawk and they run a platoon system.  If he overperforms or turns into their red zone guy he could be useful, but I have fairly low expectations.  The only current benefit is that I’ll hopefully be immune to injuries.

TE: Greg Olson.  I had him last year and he was exceptional.  There happen be a handful of very good TEs out there, so it wasn’t as impressive a pick as in previous years, but I was happy to have him return.

K: Ryan Longwell.  He’s as good as anyone out there.  I tend to mix and match kickers based on who they’re facing each week, but he’s a solid starting kicker.

Def: Dallas.  Like kickers I’ll trade Defenses in and out.  I could do much worse than Dallas.

By and large I’m happy with my team.  I have less big names than last year, but I have less really awful players as well.  I could see the year being either pretty good or rather atrocious, but I’m confident I’ll be in the top half of the bunch.  Throughout the season I’ll be posting my progress.

Go Hawks!

Dear Seahawks, (Can I call you that?)

For over two decades you’ve been near and dear to my heart, but you’re killing me. You were so close, so very close, to Superbowl Victory. I admit that game had some close referee calls and maybe you should have won, but you didn’t need to collapse the year afterwards in mourning. And this year…injuries I know, I know.

It’s a new year and a new season will be coming. You’ve got a few months to prepare, a draft to go through, and plenty of time to make some key trades. You’ve got a new coach with lots of potential. Let’s make this the year, eh?

First, you really need to shore up the front line. You can’t rely on Walter Jones forever. Remember when you had Steve Hutchinson? That was great. Find someone like him. We all know Hasselback (Hassel Bad Back) can’t be getting hit. (Senaca Wallace? Let him try out in preseason, eh?) Get some good linemen and you’ll find that Mo can run pretty well.

The era of the fullback is over. Mack Strong was the last of the generation. Leonard Weaver is phenomenal because he can catch and run on his own. Jones is a bit of a bum and Mo is out after this year, so use him more.

Same deal with John Carlson. He’s pretty good at tight end. Keep throwing to him.

The receiving core is solid, but definitely has room for improvement. Burleson, Engram, Obamanu, Branch. No one that good, but no one really bad. Branch is overpriced and there’s too many injuries. Get some young blood!

Defense! The defense used to be amazing. Seahawks have always had a good pass defense, but it flopped this year. Everyone is just slowing down. Even Lofa Tatupu wasn’t nearly as fast this year. Try to find a few young guys, especially fast guys for the secondary. You can test em out on special teams, which also needs a lot of work.

Finally, Kicker…losing Josh Brown was rough. He could get the ball a lot farther than this new guy. Surely you can find someone out there with a good leg? Whatever you do, don’t forget special teams. Picking up (and preventing) 10 yards here and there comes out big in the end. You don’t need Devin Hester, just someone who can push the ball and a bit farther (and defensively keep the punt returner where he stands).

You’ve got a good shot at it. Injuries took a toll this year, but you’re a good team. Arizona is finally a challenge so you’ll get some practice for the playoffs. And whatever you do, look at people’s ages. Hasselback is getting old. He’s always thrown too many picks. When you get a new player, get someone a bit calmer. Maybe a little thrower at passing, maybe not as strong, but calmer and more judicious. It’ll save us some embarrassment next time we ask for the ball and promptly throw an interception.

Best wishes,
the 12th man