Preseason Poll

Just in time for the official beginning of Week 1 (sorry, the Wednesday night opener doesn't really count), I present to you the 2012 VUFSA Preseason Football Poll. As a quick note before I get started, I received votes from half of the 10 league owners, so if results seem a bit skewed, this is probably why. As for how things break down, there are many opinions as to how things will finish this year. There is not a consensus top team (although one squad did get three of five first-place votes). Champ got both a first-place vote and a last-place vote. Drew got a first-place vote and a 7th-place vote. And no one voted the defending champ #1. (I'm not bitter. I wouldn't have voted me #1 either). In order to be fair (since some owners only got four votes instead of five), I totaled up the points and then divided by the number of votes to get the average. Teams are ranked by lowest to highest average. On with the show.

1. Erik Kramer (Ed--2.0 average)
After a one-year aberration in last place, Ed appears to have righted the ship and headed back to his rightful place at the top of the league. Edwin got three of the five first-place votes. A pre-draft trade saw him acquire Tom Brady and Jeremy Maclin, and he was able to hold on to Darren McFadden, Chris Johnson and DeMarco Murray. So he is pretty much set at quarterback and running back. Marques Colston headlines the wide receiving corps. Maclin is there along with Nate Washington and Pierre Garcon. This means the wideouts could be quite good, but they could also be disappointing. As those guys go will probably be as Ed goes. But without question, Ed's team will be much better than last year, and I know that makes him quite happy.
2. Ron Swanson (Stem--2.5 average)
The defending champs (yes, I will beat that dead horse into the ground on this blog before the year is over) did not get a single first-place vote, but also did not get a vote for worse than third. This team features the highest-rated quarterback (Aaron Rodgers) and wide receiver (Calvin Johnson) in fantasy football. Those two will be solid-to-spectacular week in and week out. Beyond that, there are a lot of questions. Adrian Peterson is recovering from an injury and Michael Turner is old. Eric Decker could turn out to be Peyton Manning's favorite target, and if New England scores a lot of points (specifically Brandon Lloyd and Stevan Ridley), I will be a happy guy. This team could be very good, and it could be bad.
3. ChamPeons (Champ--3.6 average)
One owner voted Champ's team last, and I honestly am not sure why. If not for that vote, Champ most likely would have been #2 in this poll, as his other four votes were 1, 2, 3 and 3. Mr. Whitlock returned a solid core of Drew Brees, LeSean McCoy, Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall and Steve Smith. He added to this with the selections of Brandon Pettigrew and Donald Brown. Champ gets to root for the Bears to score a ton of points (not that he wouldn't do that anyway). His starters are stellar, but the bench is a little iffy. An injury to any of these guys (except Brees as he has Tony Romo waiting in the wings) could be disastrous.
4. AustinCollieMeLassie (Eli--3.8 average)
Owner's were split on the Gun's team. He received as high as a second-place vote, and he also got one as low as sixth. Hakeem Nicks, Larry Fitzgerald and Dez Bryant give Eli the best starting group of wide receivers in the league. Cam Newton will do what Cam Newton does (score lots of touchdowns and throw interceptions). Running back is where Eli has some questions. Will Marshawn Lynch have a repeat performance of last year (or will he get suspended for smoking dope)? Will the Lions have a running game? Can Reggie Bush have a successful year as a feature-ish back? Eli did load up on second-string guys like Jonathan Stewart and Kendall Hunter, so if some of the top guys fall off, he could be in an excellent position.
5. Political Propaganda (Drew--4.25 average)
Drew's is another team owners are split on. He picked up a first-place vote, but he also got one for seventh-place. Drew loves AFC North running backs, as Ray Rice, Trent Richardson and Isaac Redman are on the roster. Rice will be fantastic. Richardson will be eventually (though I don't know about this year). Redman will get carries until Rashard Mendenhall is completely healthy. Drew turned Tom Brady into Peyton Manning and Richardson. If Peyton is like his former self, this will be a great trade. If not, it could be a long year for Drew. Wes Welker and Victor Cruz highlight the wide receivers. Like so many other teams in this league, his squad could go one way or the other.
6. Who is Ron Mexico? (Dave--5.8 average)
Tomke's five votes were 2, 5, 6, 7 and 9. I am inclined to think that Dave is more likely to finish in the top half of the league as opposed to the bottom half, but what do I know. Matt Stafford is poised to move into the upper-upper echelon of fantasy quarterbacks. Roddy White is going to benefit from Matt Ryan having a breakout year, and I love the pick of Doug Martin. Frank Gore and Maurice Jones-Drew could be very good. They also could regress because of age/holdouts. Jimmy Graham is the top tight end in the league. Can Andre Johnson return to pre-injury form? The answer to that question will go a long way in determining what kind of season Dave has.
7. Mutiny Over Bounties (Baron--6.0 average) 
Baron's team features the top-ranked fantasy player in Arian Foster. He should be good for at least 15 points every week. If Mike Wallace shows no ill effects from missing most of camp, Baron will enjoy getting double points for every touchdown he scores since he owns Ben Roethlisberger as well. Cedric Benson and Darren Sproles are his other running backs. Rob Gronkowski is right behind Graham on the list of top tight ends (and he dates porn stars, so he's got that going for him, which is nice). Percy Harvin is very good, but can Christian Ponder get him the ball? Will Julio Jones continue to excel in Atlanta? Does God still hate Stevie Johnson?
8. Shellden Conch (Welty--6.8 average)
Welty has Michael Vick, Fred Jackson and Jermichael Finley and a lot of questions. Will Mendenhall recover from ACL surgery? Can Antonio Brown have a repeat of last season? How much does Steven Jackson have left? Will the Bengals utilize BenJarvus Green-Ellis like New England did? Can anyone get Darrius Hayward-Bey the football? If the answers are all positive, Welty will finish better than this slot. If not, this is probably right around where he will finish.
9. Let My Monkeys Go (Viano--7.0 average)
Viano has cornered the market on AFC West running backs. Jamaal Charles, Ryan Mathews and Willis McGahee are all on his roster. All have the potential to be spectacular. Matt Ryan was a great pick at quarterback and is poised for a fantastic year. AJ Green leads the wide receivers. Vincent Jackson gets out of San Diego. Can he have as much success on the opposite coast? In writing this out, I am inclined to think Viano will finish better than I voted him. This team could surprise.
10. YoMama Care (JR--7.75 average)
As the New York squads and Green Bay wide receivers go, so will JR go. Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson will both reach the end zone a lot. JR needs Shonn Greene, Ahmad Bradshaw and Eli Manning to be awesome. Can they do it? Sure. Will they? Who knows? If Miles Austin can stay healthy and Deymarius Thomas becomes a favorite target of Peyton, JR will finish much higher than this in the standings.
 

VUFSA 2012 Football Round One Mock Draft

Well hello there friends. Remember when this blog was active during the last football season? We neglected to write about basketball or baseball, but with football season starting up and me being bored out of my mind, I decided to get things going again by putting on my best Mel Kiper mask and projecting how the first round of the VUFSA 2012 Football Draft will go. A note before I begin: I have zero knowledge of how the rest of you choose to draft (it is at this point I should mention that Ed really wanted Vianos pick to read "whoever Yahoo autodraft has highest ranked). Instead, I am going about this as if I were each of you and how I would draft based on your keepers and such. This is not a way of telling you how you should draft, and I don't claim to be any good at this. Also, I used the Yahoo! composite top 200, so for the most part I identified a position that would be drafted and took the highest remaining player without taking much else into consideration. I'm quite certain I will get the first pick right (as it has been discussed already), but I may not get a single one beyond that (even my own) correct. Please use the comments to mock as necessary. On with the show.

1. Drew -- Trent Richardson RB Cleveland
Between being at the top of the class of rookie running backs and playing for his beloved Cleveland Browns, this is a pretty easy selection for Drew. After his trade with Ed sees Tom Brady and Jeremy Maclin head out of town and Peyton Manning arrive, Drew looks to build his corps of running backs, and he can do so with both of his first round selections.
2. Welty -- Doug Martin RB Tampa Bay
My first draft of this had Welty taking Steven Jackson, then I remembered he had him at one point and traded him away (or something like that), so I figured he would go in a different direction this time. Welty kept two running backs, but with Rashard Mendenhall out until the end of September at least, this seams like a great place to take a running back. Martin isn't as highly regarded as Richardson, but he could be falling into a better situation. The NFC South defenses don't exactly strike fear into the hearts of runners.
3. Viano -- Matt Ryan QB Atlanta
With three running backs and two wide receivers in the fold, Viano will most likely be thinking quarterback here. Ryan has had a fantastic preseason and is the highest-ranked returning quarterback on the board. Viano could go with one of the five rookies who start in Week One, but this seems like the safest pick to make at this spot.
4. Tomke -- Steven Jackson RB St. Louis 
Maurice Jones-Drew is Tomke's lone running back on the roster, and with him currently in a holdout, running back should be addressed here. There are any number of ways Dave could go with this (and my first inclination was to give him a Lion), but Jackson seems like a good bet here. He could go with Gore or Sproles also, but Jackson is my guess here.
5. JR -- Marques Colston WR New Orleans
JR kept two Green Bay wideouts (never a bad choice) and two running backs who play at the Meadowlands, so he could go either way with this pick. I feel like he chooses to go with wide receiver here, and Colston is the best one on the board. Drew Brees has plenty of options, and Colston is one who will be targeted early and often in the Superdome.
6. Baron -- Darren Sproles RB New Orleans
Baron makes it back-to-back Saints to come off the board. He could go with a quarterback here (he kept three wide receivers, a tight end and Arian Foster), but I have a sense that he will wait a round or two and select one of the rookie quarterbacks and instead look to running back here. Frank Gore is still available, and I thought he might go in that direction, but Baron has had Gore before, and I'm not sure he wants to go down that road again.
7. Drew -- Frank Gore RB San Francisco
With his second pick of the first round, Drew could look to add to his wide receivers, but I feel like he will go with another running back here as well. Cedric Benson in Green Bay is an intriguing proposition, but Gore is more established and should have a bounce back type of year.
8. Eli -- Cedric Benson RB Green Bay
Eli is set at wide receiver for the first round or two, so he will most likely address his running back situation here. Many of the starters are off the board by now, so this allows Eli the chance to take a flyer on a guy like Benson. He looked good in the preseason and could give Green Bay the running game that the Packers have been missing the last few years.
9. Ed -- Miles Austin WR Dallas
I'm not sure Ed is sold on the awesomeness of Jeremy Maclin, and with Tom Brady, DeMarco Murray, Chris Johnson and Darren McFadden in the fold, this is a good chance to upgrade at wide receiver. Justin Blackmon is a possibility here, but I think he goes with a known quantity over the rookie. If Austin can stay healthy, he and Dez Bryant can form as good on a 1-2 receiving combination as exists in the NFL.
10. Stem -- Eric Decker WR Denver
If one of the running backs listed above is still on the board, I may very well go in that direction instead. But assuming all those guys are gone, I like Decker here. Peyton loves him some white wide receivers (see Collie, Austin), and Decker fits the mold well. He should benefit as much as anyone from the switch of Tebow to Manning.

So there it is. That's how I think the First Round will turn out. I'm sure I will be totally wrong, but it was a fun little exercise and it's good to have something new on the blog. Enjoy the draft.