Fantasy Football GM's

Hey Everybody,

Just wanted to give you a brief intro about me. My goal is simply to provide useful information and help you guys and gals enjoy your fantasy sports more.

I'm really honored to have been hired to be the senior writer for fantasycrowd.com recently. The owner came across this blog when I signed up for a profile there, like my writing here and offered me a position a couple days later. I feel very lucky that I get write about something I'm so passionate about. When I first started this blog I just wanted to make a few posts and see what happened, so I apologize that I never really introduced myself to those who don't know me.

I'm a 27-year-old fantasy sports enthusiast originally from Detroit and now living in Chicago. As the "About me" section says; Yes, I am a Lions fan, and yes it does suck. Anyways, I graduated from Oakland University in 2006 with a major in communications and minor in marketing. I’ve been working in sales since 2003 and am currently a web consultant for Web Works.

I’ve been playing fantasy sports for about five years now, but like to think that I picked up on it relatively quickly. I won the first free league I ever joined on ESPN when I had Steve Smith and OchoCinco in their primes and was hooked ever since. I won my first money league championship last year in the IDP (individual defensive player) league I’ve been in for three years now. It was a thriller, I ended up winning on one of the last plays of the season when the Bears blocked Mason Crosby’s kick.

My claim to fame in my fantasy career so far has been my waiver wire pickups. Last year I got Kurt Warner the day he was announced the started and well…we all know how well he played in 08’. I really like to study the wire each week and am not afraid to make a bold pickup or two, of course that means you have to be willing to drop somebody on your current team and I have a neat little weekly feature in mind just for this situation…stay tuned. I took so much heat from it one year that I mockingly named my team “The Waiver Wire Legends”. Granted the key is to pick well enough in your draft you won’t have to worry about the waiver wire so much, but my feeling is you can never have enough good players and even if you’re not using them at least nobody else can.

I also go by “Detroit Dave” in many of my leagues now. I would only really consider myself a fantasy football specialist but am pretty well versed in baseball, basketball, college football, college basketball and golf as well.

I’ve been playing real sports ever since I can remember. My first love was baseball, and then moved to basketball, then golf and now football. I played a mean two-bag in high school baseball until I broke my ankle my junior year. I also made for a good 6-7th man off the bench in basketball during my first two years, known for my 3-point shooting but just didn’t have the stamina or desire to play on the varsity level. I was the player of the year for my high school golf team in 2000 and also have a hole-in-one to my credit.

I certainly can’t take credit for the massive amounts of knowledge, stats and otherwise useless information (if it weren’t for fantasy sports) I’ve accumulated over the years. I’ve been blessed with a great group of sports nuts around me from friends, family members, co-workers and neighbors.

I wouldn’t feel right about this article without mentioning my mentor is sports, Al Giroux. Originally from Canada and my neighbor for many years, Al and I have watched just about every Detroit sporting event this decade and attended many of them as well. He really opened my eyes to the role that coaches and refs have in different sports along with how much injuries and psyches can make a difference in a player or teams success. Without a doubt the most knowledgeable sports fan I know. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him.

If there’s anything else you’d like to know feel free to ask or follow me on twitter. I welcome all feedback and look forward to interacting with everybody soon!

Some call them sleepers, others may call them value picks…I like to refer to them as “good looks”. Like in basketball when a player makes a good pass, they say “good look”. In other words, players worth taking a good look at. Always lookin’ out for you, here are some good looks to keep in mind for your 2009 fantasy draft:

1. Matt Forte- Almost everybody has Adrian Peterson going first, but what about second? Well, on April 3, 2009 Matt Forte went from being a fantasy stud, to serious consideration for this spot when the Bears acquired not only Jay Cutler but also massive OT Orlando Pace. Jay Cutler’s arm will open up the field for Forte and if Pace can stay healthy, watch out for a monster year from the second year back.

2. Michael Turner- the NIU product and former LT backup took the fantasy world by storm last year. Add Tony Gonzalez and give Matt Ryan another year under his belt and the sky is the limit. Absolute tree trunks for legs, a tackler’s worst nightmare and a good look at the two or three spot.

3. Maurice Jones-Drew (MJD)- I wouldn’t put him in the AP, Forte, Turner class just yet, but worth a good look in the mid first round. With Taylor off to New England and the Jags investing early picks on the o-line (Eugene Monroe, Eben Britton), this sneaky little running back has the potential to carry a team, especially in a PPR league.

4. Calvin Johnson- Ever heard of the third year receiver theory? Call me a homer but Daunte Culpepper is 30 pounds lighter and reunited with his former offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. The Lions new offense is set up for vertical passing…Think Randy Moss circa 2000. In case you were wondering, 15 TD’s over 1400 yards. Of course, it is a risky pick because if they get off to a bad start again they could be forced to play the rookie Stafford. But on the bright side, they should be trailing in many games, thus forced to throw the ball more. There should be a run on top tier receivers in the second round, and CJ is a good look there.

5. Pierre Thomas- Don’t forget about the PT Cruiser. A back getting goaline touches in one the leagues most potent offenses. He was a pleasant surprise for many who took a chance on him off the waiver wire late 2008. Runs and catches well, and proved to be a very effective compliment to Reggie Bush. Expect him to pick up where he left off and an excellent look in the third round.

6. Chris “Beanie” Wells- This guy couldn't have come into a better situation. I've heard him compared to the one and only Jim Brown, so his potential is through the roof. Although Wells is not a perfect fit for the Cardinals system because they run a lot of spread offense, he will have many holes to run through and he attacks the line of scrimmage very well. He should have many opportunities to score in the potent Arizona offense. Injury questions are the only down side here, but worth a good look in the early mid rounds 4-6.

7. Felix Jones- Only played in 6 games last year, but worth a look in rounds 6-8. Although Dallas has a well-balanced offense even without T.O. I expect the run and Felix Jones to get more involved. I love Marion Barber but I have a hunch that his violent running style could keep him out of some games this year, opening the door for Felix and his explosive speed. An especially good look for Barber owners to handcuff their investment in the Cowboy backfield.

8. Greg Olsen- word on the street is that Olsen and Cutler have good chemistry already. Cutler’s main tight end in Denver Tony Scheffler was involved quite a bit and with Chicago’s lack of quality wide receiver’s I would expect many targets and good numbers from Olsen this year. Check out what he had to say on his blog about Cutler http://tr.im/lX8A. Many people will have him as their fourth tight end on the board but I think his numbers will be more worthy of being the first or second tight end taken, thus creating a good look in the mid rounds.

9. Carson Palmer- a risky pick coming off an injury and losing a great possession receiver like Houshmanzadeh. Many gm’s will sleep on him because of this, however the Bengals picked up some intriguing new weapons in the draft for him. Massive OT Andre Smith protecting him should bode well for his production along with finally having a pass-catching TE in Chase Coffman. Coffman won the Mackey Award last season as college football’s top tight end and the Bengals picked him 98th overall in the third round. Look for Palmer to provide great value in rounds 10 and lower.

10. Bernard Berrian- Favre comeback or not, the Minnesota offense will be improved with the addition of Percy Harvin and OT Phil Loadholt. Berrian would have downfield opportunities if they put me in their backfield but defenses will obviously key in on Peterson, Harvin provides another distraction and before you know it double B is in the end zone. A decent two, strong number three receiver with potential to be even more if Favre comes back. Good look in rounds 7-9.

Hope you enjoyed the article. Let us know what you think, spread the word, or follow us on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fantasycrowd1 or http://www.twitter.com/daveseidl.

Even though the media was talking about Favre's return last summer at nauseum, I was still surprised that he came back. After the Jets released him recently and he reportedly met with Vikings head coach Brad Childress this week, many people are predicting another Brett Favre comeback. I wanted to make sure that I was prepared this year, so I have compiled a short list of the effect he would have on the fantasy football season this year if he did decide to comeback again and play for the Minnesota Vikings.

It should be noted that he probably will need surgery on his bicep in order to return but he has ample time to take care of that if he chooses and also that he has said in interviews that he is confident he has played his last game in the NFL. However, if you recall he originally wanted to go to Minnesota last year because of his relationship with Brad Childress and this would give him the opportunity to stick it to the Packers twice a year, who he didn't exactly have the greatest of endings with. Oh yeah, and he has only said about 8 times now that he will retire. All things considered, I think he will return next year and will have a good chance to not only have a successful season but a significant impact on fantasy football. Here are some fantasy football tips and advice on how to handle the situation:

• Being a Lions fan I have watched Brett carve up the Detroit defense many a times. However, it's no secret that he tends to throw a lot of picks. I love his gun-slinger mentality, however your fantasy opponents may also love the points he loses you as well. My feeling towards Brett in regards to my fantasy team has always been to try to get the skilled players around him, but not Brett himself for that reason. Sure you can probably get some good value for him in the later rounds but let somebody else draft him in the mid rounds because of his name if they want to. He does make other players around him better, but often at the expense of his own statistics.

• Particularly this year, I believe that you will benefit the most by having Bernard Berrian on your team. Defenses will obviously key in on Peterson, leaving the speedy Berrian many opportunities downfield. He even posted some decent stats last year without having a quarterback that throws a good deep ball, imagine what would happen with Favre throwing to him.
  

• I would expect Adrian Peterson's stats to increase even more this year with the Vikings investing in other offensive talent to surround him in the early rounds of this year's draft. We know he loves to throw to the tight end so Vincante Shianchoe is an obvious beneficiary as well, along with Percy Harvin. Don't count Percy out just because he's a rookie, remember how quickly Favre developed a rapport with Greg Jennings?

• Upgrade other players in the NFC North division a bit simply because Favre ( and Cutler) will make this a higher scoring division. So players like Aaron Rodgers, Calvin Johnson and Matt Forte will have more opportunities to put up points and thus should be moved up on your boards accordingly.

• I would expect the Packers defense to be fired up to play him, especially at Lambeau. I would also think that they would have a pretty good idea of his tendencies and how to defense him well. So, be sure to see if the Packers defense is available for this game, who might not be a bad defense anyways with the addition of rookies B. J. Raji and Clay Matthews.
  

• I probably don't have to tell you this, but the Lions defense would not be a good pickup for this game, or any other games for that matter.
  

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