Fantasy files: Draft diary part one

I have two draft diaries. One involves the actual draft, like who was taken and the other has to do with the draft-day experience. 75% of your fantasy football fun should be vested in the people in the league. If you have good people who are challenging competitors, good friends and willing to drink hard liquor with you, how your team is matters but not as much.

Let's talk the boring, who I took part. When I completed my last few Draft Dominator simulations, quarterbacks were very popular. There were seven taken in the first two rounds almost every time with a bit of a drop off after that. I assumed that our league would be different, and for the first two times we've done a complete redraft, it has been different. Maybe four guys would go in the first round and there would be a wait while the running backs and wide receivers flew off the board.

We had changed the rules to make the league PPR and add a WR/TE flex spot. This should have bumped up the value of wide receivers. It was not so when the draft started.

We drew lots on Friday night. I wanted a otop four pick for obvious reasons. I got pick eight. No one in the top half of the draft wanted to trade. I wasn't sure who I would take at that spot. I assumed ht thae top five running backs would be off the board and I would have to decide between Andre Johnson, Steven Jackson, Michael Turner and grabbing the first quarterback. As things happen in real life, that was not my decison.

The Big Four went in the first four picks. That's when the predictability of the league ended. Pick five was Michael Turner, a guy I thought would certainly be there at my pick. Pick six was Andre Johnson. I had Andre Johnson for the past four seasons. He's in my team's Hall of Fame. I'll miss him. Pick seven was Drew Brees. I didn't hesitate. I took Frank Gore.

Should I have hesitated? Sigmund Bloom, one of the experts among the footballguys.com staff, suggested the quarterback by committee route this year. Ten QBs threw for 4,000 yards last year and it's likely to happen again this year. It's a pass-happy league.

Four teams picked before my second round pick. All four took quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers went at the nine slot. Tom Brady went 12th. Peyton Manning and Tony Romo went before me. Draft Dominator told me to take Matt Schaub. I wasn't ready to go QB. I got Miles Austin.

The league wasn't done with quarterbacks. Schaub went after my pick. Rivers went two picks after me. By the third pick of the third round, the tenth QB went off the board. It was Joe Flacco. I decided then to play a game of quarterback chicken. I would wait for quarterback, and my all too astute leaguemates were very aware of this. Cutler went, then Carson Palmer in the fourth. I stayed put. I got Brandon Marshall in the third, Knowshon Moreno in the fourth, Hakeem Nicks in the fifth and Vernon Davis in the sixth. Heading to my seventh-round pick someone took Donovan McNabb as his backup quarterback (ironically to the Kevin Kolb owner). I had to fire.

I got Eli Manning as the 13th QB off the board. I paired him up with a 2010 solution in Brett Favre. After taking Laurence Maroney and Fred Jackson (injury d'oh) in the next two rounds, I was astounded to see Matthew Stafford still on the board in the 11th round. I got him. Hester went in the 12th and the rest of the draft was a mess of defenses, kickers, and many many shots. In the final round I took Arian Foster as a what the heck fifth RB but the pick was ripped off the board by the league because we have positional limits. Obviously we drank but we didn't drink enough.

The next draft diary entry will be about the draft experience. This will be more entertaining for the non fantasy football follower.

Quick pick summary:
1.08: Frank Gore
2.05: Miles "to go before I sleep" Austin
3.08: Brandon Marshall
4.05: Knowshon Moreno
5.08: Hakeem Nicks
6.05: Vernon Davis
7.08: Eli Manning
8.05: Brett Lorenzo Favre
9.08: Laurence Maroney
10.05: Fred Jackson
11.08: Matthew Stafford
12.05: Devin Hester
13.08: Miami D
14.05: San Diego D
15.08: David Buehler
16.05: Jared Cook
17.08: Arian Foster (pick ripped off due to roster limits)