BIGFFBL's very own fantasy guru
THE INJURY BUG (Boy am I glad we have our draft later in the year...)
I happened to be surfing the net the other day and I happened to come across yet another preseason injury. Anquan Bolden, out 2 weeks with tweaked knee. No biggie I thought, he should still be fine by the time the season starts right? Well the next day I woke up, reading an article on how he slightly tore his MCL and he'll now be out 8-12 weeks! This has been the biggest blow to the fantasy football world so far this preseason (well injury wise, not retirement wise) because most everybody had this guy as a top 10 wideout, some even top 5!! Big deal if David Boston is out for the year.....big deal Marcel Shipp is also out 10-12 weeks......big deal that Quincy Carter got caught doing whatever it is he does in his spare time......big deal if it took Kellen Winslow 12 days to sign a contract, saying that he's now the biggest paid TE in the game.......no, this was ANQUAN BOLDEN, the #1 WR on a Arizona offense that was supposed to flourish under first year head coach Dennis Green!
I'll be honest with ya, I had Bolden as my #8 ranked WR so far this preseason. He wasn't going to be the steal that he was last year, but who knows how things might have panned out in the draft. Reality is, I have to find some way to make up not having a second round pick this season right? So what kind of possible sleepers can I count on to bring myself to the fantasy dreamland? I guess I might have to retool my thinking a little.
This injury got me thinking a little though. How many more "marquee" players will go down before the season starts? The more than go down, the better chance it is that whoever has the top three picks in this years draft will succeed at a higher rate. Why I say that is because the talent level of some of the keepers is at a down year so a few of those marquee players that teams weren't able to hang onto, will get drafted right away by the first three picks. It happened to me last year, so it's bound to happen to others. How would that look for the Flying Hellfish to come out of the first round with Harrison as his keeper and either McAllister or Ahman Green for his #1 RB. That just isn't supposed to happen! Get a top tier WR to go along with a top 5 RB. WHAT?!? Are you kidding me?? That would never happen in any kind of redraft situation. The season hasn't even started yet and I can already predict that the 'Fish are on the prowl already!!
Well anyway, all this talk just makes me think about how glad I am that we don't have our draft until late in the preseason. This seems to be the trend of most fantasy leagues now, just for the fact that they don't want to be THAT team, who already drafted, to have chosen a guy like Anquan Bolden in the late second round or early third round. I do plenty of mock drafts during the preseason, as well as check out all "the experts" drafts. I guess I'll never understand why a majority of those drafts are done like in June and early July.....or I've seen "expert" drafts done in MAY!! I'd sure hate to be that guy who drafted Bolden early, and Boston as a late sleeper.......ouch! That is the reason why I'm so glad that my drafts are all pretty late. I'm in four live draft leagues this season, with the first one not being until Aug. 27th, then ours being on Aug 28th. I then have other drafts on Labor Day, and I even have a draft that takes place on Sept. 8th, the Wednesday right before the first game of the year! At least with that draft, there is no chance of me, or any other team in that case, to get screwed by that preseason injury bug.
It's only a couple more weeks boys! Some have yet to wipe the dust off fantasy thoughts but it's getting to be that time. But then again, for some of you, you might not need it as the day before the draft will be enough time for you......(rolls eyes)