VY on vacation

There are many key men in the 2010 edition of the Tennessee Titans. Start with the coaches. Jeff Fisher is titleless. Last year's 8-2 finish would have been more impressive had it not been preceded by 0-6, and more importantly, 59-0. Chuck Cecil underwhelmed last year as defensive coordinator. During the season he improved the defense from atrocious to average, which gave him a one-year pass. Mike Heimerdinger had to scrap his offense during a mid-season QB switch. We're waiting to see the offensive mind that was considered a head coach of the future, as he was seen during the glory days of the McNair and Eddie George-led offense.

Then there are the players. Chris Johnson will earn the paltry sum of $550,000 this year, which comes after a $3.86 million bonus that no one seems to remember. He's clearly underpaid but this might be the worst time in 25 years to ask for a contract extension. Kenny Britt came to camp overweight. Bo Scaife skipped OTAs for no apparent reason. Jared Cook looks like a less accomplished Ben Troupe. The defense that couldn't consistently rush the passer or even cover guys like Andre Johnson is younger but not necessarily better.

One guy is key. He's the franchise's highest draft pick since Steve McNair. Last year was his best year as a pro. If he can't improve, the team won't go anywhere.
It's mister Vince Young, and if you don't recognize him but happen to stand behind him when he's not wearing a shirt, you'll know his name. I read the travel edition (great choice when tons of Americans are out of work) of ESPN the Magazine (insider subscription necessary) and saw what I thought was a Photoshop job on the cover. Vince Young sits on the bottom of a pool with "V. Young" and a giant cross on his back. I assume that picture won't be part of Tom Condon's presentation when Young's new agent tries to get him commercial work.

Tattoos have no bearing on a player's ability or talent. All they say is "this is the message I want the world to see forever, even if I don't know that yet". If he gets a big number ten on his back, he won't have to wear a jersey on the field.
The article summarized why as a fan I'm torn on Vince. He has big-game ability. His 99-yard game-winning drive against the Cardinals last November was a drive few other quarterbacks could have completed. He did it without running once and without getting the ball to Chris Johnson. The final play was a great example of a quarterback "climbing the pocket". Moving up in the pocket for Vince is even more difficult for a defense than traditional pocket passers. It makes linebackers and safeties want to cheat up, and it gives receivers extra time to get open.

He's clearly made progress. But it's the low point from where he came that frustrates fans who saw him seemingly pull rabbits out of a hat on a weekly basis in the second half of 2006. The magic was gone in 2007 as defenses adjusted and VY got Maddenized. 2008 looked like more of the same before an injury sidelined him. When he ascended back to the starter's role, it was a simple case of "when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose".

You take the good with the bad. He was not good against the Chargers last year in the team's last gasp to make the playoffs. But in the team's eight wins to finish the season, five were by a touchdown or less. You could say that VY is the reason why the games were close in a good or bad way.

While on the ESPN-sponsored trip, he visited a school and was greeted like a hero. You cannot doubt the man's charisma. He has a record label. Ask Frank Thomas how that turns out. He was instrumental in getting relief for the recent flooding in Nashville. Hard to call him a bad man after that gesture.

The story mentioned in passing that VY brought his girlfriend on the trip. Then there was the picture. You never ask a woman if she's pregnant, because if she isn't you have to commit hari-kari immediately. Or never speak to another person as long as you live. His girlfriend is pregnant. It wouldn't take much Internet research to see if this is (allegedly) his first kid. I have to be honest, though. Searching using the terms "Vince Young baby" would lead to a lot of links of people calling VY a baby. Actually that's a good way to keep news about your kids from getting around. When it comes to kid in or out of wedlock, they can help and they can hurt. Tom Brady seems to have done well for himself, but Antonio Cromartie, not so much.

I think the following caption from the article sums up my feelings: "The Colts may rule the AFC South, but Young does a mean cannonball".

WTF? Exactly. We don't know WTF Vince Young is going to do this year. That, along with a thousand other questions, makes the 2010 Titans season quite compelling.

Another blog? Insanity

I wanted to share that I'm posting at T-Rac's Posse. Today's post is on LenDale White's release by the Seattle Seahawks.

My short comments.

Let me expand. First of all, LenDale White is not a difference-maker in the league. Sure, he has a 15 touchdown season and a 1,000-yard season. I think half if not all of the NFL backup running backs could have done what White did. He ran behind one of the best offensive lines in the league. When he averaged 3.9 yards a carry in 2008, Chris Johnson averaged a yard more. Last year White averaged 3.5 yards a carry. Johnson bested that by more than two yards a carry. When the Titans traded him for a slight bump in the fourth and sixth rounds, they got something out of him. That was a triumph.

Javon Ringer could do what White did. Heck, Jarrett Payton probably could do what White did.

I don't care that White is the all-time leading touchdown scorer in USC history. In the NFL, most USC players don't amount to squat. Look at that two-time national championship squad. Who on that team has become an NFL star? Steve Smith?

I had the good fortune to use White as a throw-in in a recent dynasty trade. Bullet dodged in my case.

Be sure to bump Justin Forsett and Julius Jones up your draft boards, fantasy folks. Seattle had the worst RB talent in the league before the NFL draft and I don't think it's much worse today.

Sorry, LenDale. Maybe you can team up with Daunte Culpepper in the UFL this year.

A time to let go

It has been another year of me enjoying the rookie drafts just the right amount. I think I'm the only person in the world satisfied with the Lost ending (they had to come up with something) and OK with it being over. I feel the same way about the rookie drafts.

It's fun adding talent to your team and making trade offers, pretending to be a GM. After the draft and the subsequent auctions the team is all but ready for the regular season. There will be injured guys and there will be in-season additions, but this is almost it.

When I manually added the rookie picks onto the Zealots forums, I couldn't help but look back and view the greatest and worst hits. I realized that in the sixth year of the league that I have but three players left from my original draft and rookie draft. Marion Barber, Will Witherspoon, and Charles Tillman are the players. They are fringe starters at best.

It's fun to look at how your roster was created. I got Larry Johnson and Torry Holt in the third round and both guys were cornerstones of my franchise. Holt faded away and eventually didn't make my 53-man offseason roster, which shows how far he's dropped. I traded Larry Johnson for Willis McGahee and some roster chum, and I turned McGahee around for Romo the summer before Romo took over the starting job for the Cowboys. Ben Roethlisberger was the first QB I drafted (Jake the Snake Plummer was my backup), and I was fortunate enough to turn him into two draft picks that became Ray Rice and Michael Crabtree.

A good part of the upcoming summer is that one can rest a bit before the following season. I have a big redraft coming up in August, and that should garner most of my attention. The dynasty cabinets have been restocked and everything on the shelf should be fine until fall.

Fenway, oh Fenway

When I suggested to a vendor that it might be a good idea for us to fly up to Boston for a day, I threw in as a lark a reference to them being able to get us Red Sox tickets. I did not think that they would actually produce them. A week later, we were in.

Overnight business trips are hectic by nature. I got up at 5, made it to Marta by 6:30 and was at the terminal by 7. Is there anything in America like the Atlanta security line? It's long and snakes around like you're waiting to get on a rollercoaster. It is fairly quick. I felt like I had a ton of things to put out with my laptop, two bags, toiletry bag and shoes. We should just get airline-issue smocks and slippers when flying.

We got to Boston at 11 and to our destination at 12:30. This is my idea of a work day. We had lunch, one 90-minute presentation and that was it. After checking in to the hotel we found out that Atlanta has a serious competitor when it comes to rush hour traffic. It took us an hour and a half to get to Fenway. The first parking option was $50. We drove around and found a spot for $40 and felt like that was as reasonable as it was going to get.

A Red Sox game is hard to compare for atmosphere. It’s almost like a college football crowd. There’s an area with shops and such after you show off your ticket, so you can party pre and post game. We went to a bar with our hosts and had a couple of beers. We got in the stadium in the first inning.

The seats were incredible. They were high down the first-base line with a direct view of the Green Monster. We sat on stools and had kind of a counter on which to put our food and drink. We had a waiter take our order. I took a picture for my phone and posted it online but Steve had a nice camera and took tons of pics. The game was fun. The crowd was into it. The Sox won in a blowout and Lester looked great, hitting 95 on his 96th pitch. After the game we went down to the field level to get more pics and soak it in. This was a random Thursday night in May but it felt like a playoff game.

The drive back was rough. Traffic was ten times worse than any Titans game. The game ended before 10 and we got to the hotel at 11:30. It didn't help that we got lost.

My recommendation is to go to Fenway. I assume there are other baseball experiences that are must-sees but this has to be at the top of the list.

I woke up at 5:30 because the sun was already coming up. I slept a little longer and got ready for day two. I won’t have my computer although I doubt that will be an issue.

What to do in the late rounds

A dynasty rookie draft can be a bit like Christmas. You know that you have a set number of packages to open and you want them all. The urge to trade for picks now and lose picks later is fairly large. Trades happen in bunches and it makes you wonder how your roster is set up and if you have a real plan. There is planning involved. You can't just take players that will help immediately. A guy like Miles Austin is a great example. No one drafted him in a rookie draft, mainly because he was undrafted in the NFL, but picking him up as a "lottery ticket" and waiting would have paid off handsomely.

I listen to The Audible. It's the footballguys.com podcast. During this week's two-hour show Sigmund Bloom said that during his dynasty drafts he rarely takes defensive players. He is one of their IDP experts, so it perked up my ears a bit. IDP fantasy does make the game more complex and interesting. Still, you start more offensive players and they almost always score more points, so they are more valuable. In the late rounds it makes sense to take a shot at a WR, QB or RB who may take years to develop if they develop at all, even over a sure starter at a defensive spot.

That was my mindset for my latest picks in the fifth round. I traded a fourth-round pick last year to get the Pu Pu platter of Kevin Jones and his detached ACL. I got a fifth round pick as a throw in in another deal and my own fifth rounder. I made my first-ever remote pick when I realized it was my turn to draft but I was about to go to a wedding. Since I have not mastered my phone web thingy I called my dad and had him put in the pick for me. I would have taken Brandon Graham, as MFL has him listed as a LB and not a DE which will be his position in the pros. MFL putting in an incorrect player position helped me in the past. He wasn't there so I went with Tony Moeaki. The Chiefs don't have a good TE on the roster and Moeaki was at Iowa, which means he can block and they had a guy named Dallas Clark there a while back. When Chris Cooley went down last year I was sunk. It's a deep draft for tight ends, at least it looks like it.

With my latter fifth-round pick I went WR. Another underrated aspect of a rookie is their ability to contribute on special teams. Return points can be critical on heavy bye weeks and as a tiebreaker when ranking players. Jacoby Ford is such a Raiders player. He's the fastest guy in the draft and they're not exactly stacked at wideout. He'll return kicks and while he may be no Yamon Figurs, it's worth a shot at this point.

Actually the auction we do after the draft might be more exciting than the draft. Every year it yields a couple of studs, like Marques Colston back in the day and Johnny Knox last year. It's worth it to drop some roster chum like Kevin Jones for a shot at players who can contribute. This is when to add IDPers who can easily be dropped on opening day if need be.

Wheeling and dealing

In life, your interest in any subject depends on your buy in. If you live on the periphery, you’re probably not going to care very much. If you’re in the eye of the hurricane, and by hurricane, I mean the small whirpool that you create when running the garbage disposal, you are much more inclined to care.

My dynasty team was on top of the world for most of last season. I had a two-time defending champion. A season that started 6-0 ended 3-4 with a first-round playoff exit. Heads would roll.

When the rookie draft started, I barely paid attention. I let fantastic players like Montario Hardesty fall to me. Was Hardesty going to lead me to the promised land? When has a Browns running back ever helped a team to a championship, besides last year? I had to make a splash.

I found a trade partner. One team had the guts to select Ndamukong Suh at 1.07 in the rookie draft. This was my huckleberry.

I started with a simple salvo. I thought that Matt Schaub and Jamaal Charles would be enough to entice the Adrian Peterson (of the Vikings) owner.

I consulted with a fellow fantasy nutjob and found my offer a bit weak. I changed it to Matt Schaub, Jamaal Charles and a first-round pick for Adrian Peterson. It was brilliant. It wasn’t good enough.

Normally after the first offer, the trade either is accepted or dies. If you get a little negotiation, you feel compelled to hang on. I know that in one deal that we went back and forth probably a dozen times. I got totally fleeced.

The counter was Matt Schaub, Michael Turner, Dallas Clark and my 2011 first-round pick for Adrian Peterson, the corpse of Todd Heap, and a 2011 2nd round pick. This was addition by complication. I didn’t want to give up my top-ranked fantasy tight end so easily. Nor did I want to pick up one top back just to trade off another one. I have plans for The Burner.

I countered with Schaub, LenDale White, Owen Daniels, Troy Polamalu and a first-round pick for Peterson. Keep it simple. Offer White in hopes that a move to Seattle would make him viable. Offer Daniels since before his ACL tear he was scoring at a pace near that of Clark. Polamalu was one of my many quality safeties added as a sweetener.

This was not good enough. My adversary tweaked things one more time. Daniels was gone, replaced by Charles. He offered his 2011 second-round pick again.

Did I want to drop two quality-level starting running backs in the deal? Was four players and a premium pick good enough for ADP and a not so premium pick? I wasn’t sure. Actually no, I was very sure that this was a good deal. I was going to get the best player in the deal. My running back corps next year will be Peterson, Turner, and who cares. I still have Peyton Manning and a gaggle of quality receivers. And I keep the Dallas Clark/Owen Daniels duo, even though the Texans have selected four tight ends in the last two drafts, making it highly unlikely that he stays with the team following this year.

The final offer: Matt Schaub, Jamaal Charles, LenDale White, Troy Polamalu and my 2011 first-round pick for Adrian Peterson and a 2011 second-round pick.

One of the reasons why I started this trade idea was that I thought I might be able to pull one over on this owner based on one horrible rookie draft pick. After wheeling and dealing, I can say that the pick my have been an aberration. Mark brought it.

I mashed the button. Now we wait for commissioner approval. That’s fine, because my sixth round pick is about to come up. Mike Kafka or Jonathan Crompton? Anyone?