It's Friday and that means mailbag. We were overwhelmed with questions about fantasy football this week. We grouped three questions about fantasy football and grouped them together. But with so much going around of the world of sports, we had to add two more questions. Plus, we added a never-before-seen mailbag question back at you. (Would that be a returned mailbag questions? We think so.)
And all of this, and we still won't be able to discuss Fred Couples picking Tiger Woods for the President's Cup team, which is not unlike Coach K picking Michael Jordan for the U.S, Olympic basketball team.
From the "Shapiro Stinks Studios," here we go...
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson carries the ball during an NFL football game in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)From BIspy4,
5er,
A little sump'in for los mailbag-os ....
As I sat on the pavement of our parking lot at work last week, tire tool in hand, drenched in sweat, removing a tire from the truck after hitting another nail, I got to thinking ...
What measures of a man are left? We don't have to hunt or fish or tend crops for our own food. So I thought, maybe the ability of changing a tire is one of the last true measures. You don't have to know how to rebuild an alternator (though it might help), but the changing of a tire is just a basic guy thing, you know?
Oh, and I'm in two fantasy football leagues this year (ended the fantasy drought last year, a drought that began after a draft in someone's house in Smyrna 10 years ago).
Who would 5 at 10 pick first or see go in the first five selections? Thanks for the vine, and I enjoy the show very much.
(Quick answer on the measures of a man: There is no doubt that the sissification of guys everywhere has reached near pandemic levels. It's gross. Don't get us started about frappuccino lattes and waxings and everything else. And gang, if you order a liquor drink with Red Bull, we need to know what sorority you pledged. Sorry, that's just how we feel. As for changing a tire, yeah, that's a good guy thing. Want another one? Cutting the grass. Anything that can generate a good sweat that is not considered exercise is a good man activity. Let's move on to something really manly, like more questions about fantasy football.)
***
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick (7) looks to throw a pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter of an NFL preseason football game, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh .(AP Photo/Don Wright)From Celtic Vol
Hello 5@10,
We're a little over 2 weeks away from the NFL season kicking off and that means it's time for fantasy football. I know, being a sports editor, that you've got a team. So who's on your team and what draft suggestions (I know how you love drafts) do you have for me?
***
From P-Davi,
Miami Dolphins safety Tyrone Culver, left, and Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll, right, combine to tackle Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) in the first half of a preseason NFL football game, Friday, Aug. 12, 2011, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)5-at-10,
How much stock do you put into preseason games? Is Julio Jones' lack of production something to be concerned about?
We need some help, the fantasy football draft is this weekend.
OK, gang, relax. Let's break this down from the beginning.
The 5-at-10 loves the draft. You know this.
And the 5-at-10 loves fantasy football drafts - in fact draft is the highlight of the fantasy season.
BIspy asked about the No. 1 overall pick and the top-five in general. Unless the scoring systems of your league is extremely quarterback-friendly, we have always been of the belief of taking a running back first. If you draw the No. 1 pick, it's hard not to take Adrian Peterson, the Vikings running back who has ranked in the top five in fantasy points in every year he's been in the league. Plus, with Donovan McNabb now in Minnesota, the Vikings' passing game has to be at least a little bit better than the debacle it was a season ago.
As for the top-five picks, here are our top 5 overall: Peterson, Mike Vick, Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, Arian Foster. We have Foster ranked lower than most and he was a monster last year, but was that a flash of one season (it's hard for a lot of folks who watched Foster's career at UT to trust him as your fantasy bell cow)? As for Vick, the injury risk is there, but if he stays healthy, he has such a high ceiling.
Almost as importantly as making a good first-round pick is avoiding a first-round disaster. We're a little leery of LeSean McCoy, who like Foster was a stud last year, since the Eagles have added Ronnie Brown and will count on Vick for some their rushing totals.
Another thing to try to do in the fantasy draft is maximize value. In the middle rounds (say like four though six), don't be afraid to start the position run. By that, we mean, if your league requires a tight end, go get a Jason Witten or JaMichael Finley or Antonio Gates rather than getting a third wide out. Plus, once the run starts, everyone generally follows so, more times than not you'll still have options the next round and you added the best tight end on your board. (Please note, this rule does not apply to kickers. Kickers are picked last. Period.)
Atlanta Falcons' Michael Turner (33) runs for yardage against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the first half of an NFL preseason football game Friday, Aug. 19, 2011, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Reinhold Matay)As for sleepers, well, we think Michael Turner will have a huge year in Atlanta a the feature back in arguably the NFL's most balanced offense. We would love to have the Arkansas Razobacks backfield of 2007 - we think Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis are each in line for a big year. As for receiver sleepers, we like Giants wideout Mario Manningham, we expect Anquan Boldin to bounce back and we think both Dez Bryant and Roy Williams will benefit from Williams going from Dallas to Chicago. (Sidenote: If you're in a league with Oso you can draft Stafford, Moreno and A.J. Green and he'll trade you any of his players for those guys.)
As for preseason results, P-Davi, that's an interesting questions both for fantasy football and for the gambling world. (Sidenote: Here's saying Vegas is dreading the opening weekend of the NFL. How do you accurately handicap these teams? There will be a lot of blowouts, and veteran teams are going to be at a huge advantage after the offseason that wasn't.)
The limited amount of offseason time for all the teams means rookies and players in their first year in a system (Kevin Kolb in Arizona, for example) are question marks at best. That said, the two rookies we'd consider taking are Julio Jones and Mark Ingram because they figure to get their fair share of opportunities.
UT coach Bruce Pearl yells in the student section before the Lady Vols college basketball game against Duke in Knoxville on Jan. 22, 2007.
(AP Photo/Wade Payne)From UTSupporter
Where on the irony scale would you rank Bruce Pearl having the media over to his house for a bar-b-q to discuss the NCAA's ruling on him for lying to the NCAA about the people at his house for a bar-b-q?
UTSupporter,
Thanks for the question and feel free to come back again.
Pearl's get-together was pretty high on the irony scale. Real high in fact. HERE is our UT ace Patrick Brown's report from the shindig.
The Pearl ruling from the NCAA has kind of set the stage for the rest of the rulings that are on the horizon. This will be the baseline for penalties for coaches and administrators that lie to the NCAA, unless the NCAA reforms its rules and sets different guidelines with specific penalties.
It would be even more ironic for the NCAA to announce those changes at a bar-b-q.
Oklahoma running back Quentin Griffin (22) salutes the crowd Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002, after Oklahoma clinched the Big 12 south division title in Norman, Okla. Fourth-ranked Oklahoma routed number 23 Texas Tech, 60-15. Griffin finished the game with 207 yards rushing. (AP Photo/Jerry Laizure)From McPell
My two cents as far as overrated teams - nationally it's Oklahoma or Oklahoma St.
In the SEC it's got to be South Carolina. LSWho is a close second, especially with all the unknowns about the big bar brawl. No one really knows what goes on in one of those, not that I am speaking from personal knowledge or anything...cough, cough.
McPell,
I agree about OSU whole heartedly, especially after losing offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen.
South Carolina and LSU lead the overrated charge in the SEC, and with new developments from the bar brawl coming out daily - the latest is an eye witness told police that quarterback Jordan Jefferson did kick the victim - plus the NCAA trouble with Russell Shepard, the Tigers appear to be, shall we say, unsettled.
McPell's response leads us to our return mailbag question:
Who is the most underrated college football team in the country? What about the SEC?
Discuss - and have a great weekend.