As we continue our march toward the Franchise Player deadline (Today at Noon EST) I am running through last year’s TBFL prediction posts…Husslers started a new column in 2014 (that I hope continues into the current year) where he made his weekly predictions and Smack Talk runs called…HUSSLENOMICS…
His 1st post appeared on the Message Board HERE and is preserved for posterity HERE as well…Let’s get to it…
Great keeps for RnT and X Factor!
*HIT* for RNT…other than backup Christine Michael (17) and an all season Injured Dennis Pitta (28)…Throsers Franchise Players averaged 189.3 points on the season…and carried them to the TBFL title…
*MISS* on X-Factor…Alshon Jeffery (247) and Jeremy Maclin (260) both pulled their weight…but Percy Harvin (122) underperformed for a 2nd Rounder…and the other 7 averaged only 79.3 points on the season…
The Draft.
Although I don’t agree with Tre Mason where he went, all in all, I have to think it wasn’t too bad for guessing.
*HIT*…I guess?…can’t find my 2014 ADP data…
I’m surprised how many rookies went flying off the board so quickly. Cooks at 5-3 ? Leaves barely any keeper value and there were solid starter available.
*MISS* Cooks proved to be the 4th best Rookie Wide Receiver…his 13.3 points per game made him the 27th best Wide Receiver on the year…good enough to be an every week starter…and he did prove to have Keeper Value with RNT keeping him in the 2nd Round for 2015…
The only issue I had with the first round was the 1-11 pick…
*MISS* Arian Foster (253 Points) finished as the #5 Running Back…even with missing 3 games on the year…
I like Jordy over Foster….[but] He’s not first round material.
*MISS* Nelson ended the year as the #3 Wide Receiver…305 points scored was the most of any Wide Receiver that was not a Franchise Player…and outscored every 1st Round Wide Receiver (Dez 284, Julio 279, Megatron 201, AJ Green 188, Marshall 175, )…
I really like Josh grabbing Calvin at 3 OVR. He’s the most elite WR in football and can change an outcome every week.
*MISS* Megatron may have begun showing some rust on those Transformer joints…he missed 3 games to injury in the middle of the season…and posted 4 games with Single Digit scoring…including Week 15 in the Playoff Semi-Finals…his 201 points finished him as the #22 Wide Receiver on the year…10 slots out of the Elite zone…
What I like most is that I got to get AP over Forte though.
*MISS* AP’s season was “switched” off after only 1 game for bad parenting…
I think [Forte] lives up to the 1-5 bust spot…I don’t think he hits 175.
*MISS* Matt Forte hit 175 points after only Week 8…he challenged Demarco Murray all season long for the Fantasy Scoring title…finishing as the #1 Running Back going into the Playoffs…
Some of the best value picks of the draft came at the 4-5, 4-6, and 4-8 spots. Wilson , CJ and Wayne.
*HIT* for Russel Wilson (4.05)…his 342 points on the year matched the performance of Drew Brees (2.04) 2 full rounds later…and outscored every other Quarterback taken after him in the 2014 Draft…
*MISS*…Big Miss…on Chris Johnson (4.06)…After teasing yours truly with a 19 point outing in Week 1…Johnson quickly became CJ-No-Play on the Bubba Army bench…posting only 3 more 2-digit scores on the year…
*MISS* for Reggie Wayne (4.08)…he started the season in nice shape…Averaging 14.2 points per game through Week 5…but then the wheels came off…and he skidded through the rest of the season finishing with 5 straight 1-Digit scores in the Divisional Gauntlet and Playoffs…
The best keepers are at 5-10 and 5-11 which is Lynch and Thomas.
*MISS* on Lynch…the best Running Back Franchise Player was Le’Veon Bell (339) at 4.09…the player Husslers had Franchised on his roster…but gave away to Bay Area Thrashers in a disastrous pre-draft trade…
*MISS* on Thomas too…DT had an amazing year finishing with 315 points…but was still only the #2 Wide Receiver and Franchise Player…finishing 2.5 points per game behind Antonio Brown for the season…Bay Area Thrashers bests you again…
A few players were grabbed at great spots for sleepers/keepers.
Sankey in the 7 – Only 2 2-Digit scores on the year…
Bowe in the 10 – 0 starts in TBFL play…0 TDs on the year…
Nicks in the 11 – Matched by a UFA rookie on the same team…
Brown in the 13 – No Sleeper value…proved to be a good Keeper value…
Ebron in the 13 – Started 7 games for the Lions with no results…
White in 14 – 0 Starts for NE or Fudgie Whales…
Carr in 14 – Finished as QB #20 on the year…solid backup…
Helu in the 18 – Finished as RB #36 from the 18th Round…
Hillman in the 18 – Stellar injury replacement…until getting injured himself…
Divisions.
Storm: The weakest division this year.
*MISS* 3 Teams in the TBFL Playoffs…
1. BAT – about the most balanced team in the division. Has decent depth at both RB and WR. Brown is set to have another monster year and the big question mark will be Foster. If he can perform like a borderline rb1/rb2 every week then this team is good to go. Great duo of Qb to go back and forth from.
*HIT* Nailed this…Back-2-Back champ…
2. UO – the next nearest complete team. Like the WR depth a lot but the concern is RB. After McCoy there’s not much there. I do like the Andrew Luck pick however, I don’t see him having such a big year.
*MISS* Analysis was on track except for Luck…He was QB #1 (390 Points)…STOLEN in the 3rd Round…but Eric still was the sole Storm participant in the Empire Cup playoffs…
3. PGL – best QB in the game. Period. What scares me is the lack of WR. Besides Marshall there is a lot of hoping and preying going on there. Other than that, I just don’t like the RB’s but that’s probably just me.
*MISS* The Legends challenged for the Division Title…Demarco Murray (323) proved to be all the RB they needed…Jordy Nelson (305) was Elite…but RG3 lost his starting job for the Redskins mid-season…
4. AnD – not only the worst team in the division but worst in the league. Give me a minute I’m still looking for a starting WR. I like Lacy but I don’t know if he can stay healthy. Same goes for Bush. A-rod will be solid by the time season is over. Low depth. It’s likely Miller will be using waivers to build starting options.
*MISS* – 3rd in the Division was 6th best in the League with Miller & Company making the TBFL Playoffs…Lacy stayed healthy…but Bush could not…and the Android did what the Android does…
Bucs: The strongest division!
*MISS* 3 Wins short of the Storm Division…and a losing record against the Storm Division…
1. Hurricanes – surprise surprise, starting the season out with Graham, Cruz, Thomas doesn’t hurt things. I’m not sure about not drafting til the 3rd. That’s why your best RB is Matthews or Gore. An elite RB would have made this team Champ worthy. Still a great contender though.
*MISS* 8 Game losing streak to start the season…finished dead last in the league…
2. RnT – what a solid team pre-draft! Looking back I like the trade for Foles. Not sure if a three was appropriate but still better than CK. The best starting RBs on a team in this league by far. Good depth, I think Gronk will be the key to success.
*HIT* Off on the order…but solid analysis…and they won the Championship…
3. X- Factor – the best WR corps in the league. All monsters capable of going off any given Sunday. Bold move only having Ryan on the team but He’s a stud that should be top 5 potential with a healthy team. Josh is really missing that RB1. Tate gets hurt and both him and Gerhart aren’t used to their feature role they are stepping into. If these RB can stay healthy and average good points then the WR will give him the edge to hold down the division.
*HIT* Finished 3rd…had a solid WR crew…a Week 10 loss 98-141 to Armed N Dangerous cost them the Playoff slot…
4. Warriors – all the teams in this division are good. Either one can dominate the league. This is a good team that is really hurt by that Gordon suspension. The team needed him. The RB and WR depth is good. He needs someone to step up and be that big time game changer. Could be TY or Wright. Interesting team here.
*HIT* Again off on the order as Warriors finished 2nd and made the Playoffs…but solid analysis of the situation on the Warriors…
Bandits:
What?…No commentary here?…
1. Bubba Army – wins league championship. Has a great corps of WR and depth behind it. RB is a big IF, but I think CJ has a great year and Pierre Thomas solidifies more of a every down back role. Not a big fan of Steelers defense but that’s a small matter. Good balanced team.
*MISS* I thought it looked good on paper…not to be in 2014…
2. Husslers- team Hussle makes their first playoff appearance this year. Martin steps back up to the plate and has a great season. Ap is AP . Green is Green. Has the Bucs starting RB WR and TE. With his move back to Florida this month he went with the Hometown roster. Great RB and WR depth . Cutler is the only concern.
*HIT* If only for calling the fact that Husslers would make their 1st Playoff Appearance…outright winning the Bandit Division title…
3. Fudgie – 2nd best WR corps in the league. Huge upside there. The lack of RB is the problem with this team. One big RB1 thrown in there instead if a WR and Brees takes this team all the way.
*HIT* Not for order but for solid analysis…RB trouble plaugued the season…forcing the trade of Julio Jones for some depth…but too little too late…
4. Money – not sure what happened after Charles . Nuff said. Got a really good defense though!
*MISS* Money Inc held a piece of the Division Title for 9 of the 1st 12 weeks in the regular season…ultimately losing control in Week 13 with a 173-94 loss to Husslers…
Playoff projections:
Grading solely on who made them…
BBA
HUR
RnT
BAT
HUS
XFA
Best QB:
1. Brees – Finished as QB #4…344 Points
2 Peyton – Finished as QB #3…358 Points
3. Stafford – Finished as QB# 15…not a starter
4. Ryan – Finished as QB #7…just outside the Top-5…
5. Brady – Finished as QB #8…after a very slow start…
Best RB:
1. McCoy – Finished as RB #12…just over the Bust Line…
2. Peterson – Finished with 1 game played…Don’t beat kids…
3. Lynch – Finished as RB #4…Beast Mode wins championship…
4. Charles – Finished as RB #7…just outside the Top-5
5. Forte – Finished as RB #3…best in the regular season…
Best WR:
1. Calvin – Finished as WR #22…almost a non-starter…
2. Green – Finished as WR #28…beat out by 3 Rookies…
3. Jones – Finished as WR #5…by Points Per Game anyway…
4. Dez – Finished as WR #4…best drafted WR in Round 1…
5. Brown – Finished as WR #1…can’t do any better…
Best TE:
1. Graham – Finished as TE #2…but only because…
2. Gronk (12+ games) – Played all 16 games to Finish as TE #1…
3. Thomas – Finished as TE #6…but 41 points out of the Top-5…
4. Davis – Finished as TE #36…not even close…
5. Witten – Finished as TE #9…10 points behind Thomas…
Best D:
1. Seattle – Finished as DEF #4(t)…tied with St Louis…
2. NE – Finished as DEF #8…just outside the Top-5…
3. Cincinnati – Finished as DEF #20…3 weeks of negative scores…
4. Kansas City – Finished as DEF #17…but had 0 negative scores…
5. Arizona – Finished as DEF #9…just inside the Top-10…
That is a 1st year out score of 25-42…37.3%…Good enough for baseball…
Commish