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.