Fantasy Football Rankings: The Quarterback

The rankings below are based off a hybrid league of sorts with a standard point system, in addition to half a point per reception (PPR), with a snake draft format .  This is what your ideal fantasy league should look like in 2013, and even if you disagree I'm writing this blog so I can choose what league settings we'll be using.  In recap:

Passing TD = 4

Rushing TD = 6

Receiving TD = 6

Passing Yard = .04

Rushing Yard = .1

Receiving Yard = .1

Reception = .5

Fumble = -2

Interception = -2

The Quarterback:

However you hold your draft (auction, snake, random pull out of a hat) the draft will end with at least six owners more then happy with their quarterback situation heading into week 1.  There can even be a case made that all 12 owners, everyone manager in the league will get the QB target of their choice.  This is a concept that has never been equaled in fantasy history.  While not as traditionally top-heavy as RB, there has never been a parallel year where you snatch up your QB of desire in round 13.  Simply said, there has never been a year like this.

The Rankings:

1. Drew Brees

2. Aaron Rodgers

3. Cam Newton

4. Peyton Manning

5. Matthew Stafford

6. Matt Ryan

7. Tom Brady

8. Tony Romo

9. Andrew Luck

10. Robert Griffin III

11. Russell Wilson

12. Eli Manning

13. Ben Roethlisberger

14. Andy Dalton

15. Sam Bradford

16. Michael Vick

17. Colin Kaepernick

18. Jay Cutler

19. E.J. Manuel

20. Matt Schaub

21. Jake Locker

22. Phillip Rivers

23. Josh Freeman

24. Joe Flacco

25. Ryan Tannehill

26. Alex Smith

27. Carson Palmer

28. Brandon Weeden

29. Matt Flynn

30. Kevin Kolb

31. Geno Smith

32. Chad Henne

33. Christian Ponder

34. Nick Foles

35. Terrelle Pryor

36. Shaun Hill

37. Kirk Cousins

38. Kyle Orton

39. Mark Sanchez

40. Blaine Gabbert

41. Ryan Mallett

42. Tyrod Taylor

43. Ryan Fitzpatrick

44. Brock Osweiler

45. Graham Harrell

46. Chase Daniel

47. Matt Cassel

48. Matt Moore

49. Dominique Davis

50. Seneca Wallace

Who's Number One?

After I stole the name of this section from one of the worst all-time ESPN shows (and that's saying something) I realized that the upper echelon of fantasy greatness is essentially like any modern debate that takes place on First Take.  Whatever the correct answer is it doesn't matter, all that matters is the debate is taking place.

With so much depth and quality players atop the QB rankings, it's more difficult than ever to decide who really is the cream of the crop.  Brees, Rodgers, Newton and Peyton all make strong cases, with Stafford, Brady, Ryan, Romo, RGIII, and Luck as dark horses as the leagues best.  If there are 10 guys with very strong shots at being the best at their position then why be the person who blinks first?

Overvalue:

I won't blink first.  There will be zero leagues that I participate in where any QB comes off draft shelves and onto my roster before pick 60.  Seriously, this position is so fucking deep, mainly due to Commish Goodell turing the league into two-hand touch.  Quarterbacks get 6 seconds in the pocket routinely, receivers can cross in the middle without the threat of James Harrison decapitating them & everyone on the roster can catch, from the elite WRs to third string TEs, everyone on the field has the ability to catch a ball for a first down.

Starting Eli Manning week in and week out is not going to be the reason you don't win your fantasy league.  The reason you fall out of the playoffs is because Jonathan Stewart didn't get you enough points Week 8 or Greg Jennings put up a goose egg Week 11 when you needed it.  There is going to be a solid QB plug and play on the waiver wire ever week.  There aren't going to be any RB or WR plug and plays laying around during bye weeks or on a Saturday.  You need to draft value every round, and there will be more QB value in Round 13 then Round 2.

Kaepernick:

My ranking of Colin Kaepernick means two things: 

#1. I will not be drafting the San Fran QB this year 

#2. Neither should you

As we just discussed, quarterback is a position of mass depth.  We now understand that paying a premier price in the high rounds where there is still strong value sitting in late rounds is a bad move.  Now we learn how drafting the player with the most amount of variance isn't exactly a good idea either.  Everyone knows the phrase "the NFL is a copy-cat league" and it seems fairly obvious to me that the QB option offense caught the league by surprise and running as a whole should decrease with a full offseason for DEs to prep for it.  Mix that in with the fact Kaepernick and Terrelle Pryor had the same amount of 20 point games and this is a dude I want to stay far away from.  

Is it possible this ranking could come back and bite me in the ass with Kaepernick being a top QB at the end of the year?  Yes.  My rankings of Mike Vick, Jay Cutler, and Sam Bradford can all bite me in the ass too, and one of them will.  As is what happens every year, some high variance QB hits the jackpot and plays his way towards fantasy stardom while the other four bust out.  In a quarterback class that is this deep and this good, I'd rather pay for proven above average talent then a QB who can land anywhere on the spectrum.

The Floor:

Again, in order to beat it into your head "There is no reason to reach for a QB".  Every year at least one ball thrower comes out of the woodwork to post a top 12 season.  Last year we had Russell Wilson and Josh Freeman finish the year inside the top 12 despite both largely going undrafted on draft day. 

If you are the owner who takes Roethlisberger in Round 13 and he falls off a cliff, you can also be the guy who adds 2013 Russell Wilson to his roster.  There are going to be at least 8 owners in your league who feel having a backup QB is wasted roster space, so when someone shows up off the waiver wire out of nowhere, you'll only be competing with a maximum of four owners for their services.  Truth be told, even if your QB flops or gets injured, someone will be available to make the sting hurt less, which is something you can't say if Alfred Morris goes belly-up.

Conclusion:

Don't draft a QB til the late rounds.  Just don't do it.

The Indians, the Draft & (more) Depression

It's August 1st, so everyone is writing Trading Deadline articles on how boring it was thanks to the new extra Wild Card or how the date needs to be moved back since teams aren't selling right away.  I have made an executive decision for Cleveland Rocks to not piggyback these stolen ideas and retread them like every other blog on Earth.  Instead, I am starting a blog series that I'll hopefully actually complete in a month analyzing the past 20 years of the Indians drafts.  It starts with the World Series era (94-01), otherwise known as the "FUCK! The Browns Moved" & the rest has been a bunch of sad seasons mixed in with 2 random above average ones.

If you were (un)lucky enough to continue paying attention to the Tribe after the Browns came back, you will have realized after the John Hart era the Tribe has decided to suck both in the war room and on the field.  Mark Shapiro and his heir apparent Chris Antonetti have more or less produced a giant bucket of asshole in the draft, which right now Brad Grant is trying to convince is a trend that is changing.  While the team has made tons of savvy trades flipping many of these failed prospects for something of value, they would be much better off to actually draft good players instead of finding them on other teams.  

Since I'm not about to do and ungodly amount of research, we are going to have a 2 pieces of groundwork that we'll be following.

1. Only Players who Signed with the Team Count.

It's way to hard to project how a guy like Desmond Jennings would've come up with the Tribe, and it's even harder to pretend I have any idea of whether the team was really trying to sign an out of high school Tim Lincecum or not.  Either way, the Brian Sabean and the Giants will continue doing backflips thanks to Lincecum and Brian Wilson (TWICE) not signing with us.

2. You Gotta Play in the Big Leagues.

I'll try and mention little tidbits about guys who we traded and brought in some value for, but I have no idea who we traded to get Chris MaGruder and I'm really not going to pretend like anyone involved in that transaction had value.

Honestly, I have just assumed that the Tribe has been worse the Browns when it comes to drafting and that's why I'm doing this this.  Anyways, less paragraphs about what I'm doing and more mentions of Chan Perry.

1994 draft: 

RHP Jaret Wright (1), RHP Rick Heiserman (3), RHP Danny Graves (4), 3B Russell Branyan (7), SS Julius Matos (16), OF Bruce Aven (30), and 1B Chan Perry (44)

Initially, this is what our typical drafts looked like.  Wright reached uber-prospect level in '96 and we ultimately felt his future career was more important then dealing him straight up for the best pitcher of the steroid era Pedro Martinez.  While we mostly remember Jaret for being a failure he gave us a 1.4 and 2.0 WAR season at ages 21 & 22.  All signs pointed towards a career path similar to Jake Westbrook in terms of productivity with a good season here and there & maybe even an All Star birth or two.  Instead Wright went the way of Fausto Carmona and totally blew sack in '99 going 8-10 with a 6.06 ERA and 1.65 WHIP in 26 starts.  Over the next 3 years he would only pitch in 24 games (22 starts), hit free agency & immediately bolted.  Still, overall Jaret gave us a few good years and actually ranks as our second best 1st round pick, which is just a quick sign of how ugly things are to come.

Heiserman and Graves were both flipped in '95 to help us reach the World Series.  Heiserman, our 5th round pick named Pepe McNeal (clearly awesome name), and David Bell went to St. Louis for Ken Hills & his half a season 1.5 WAR.  Graves was part of a huge package that brought John Smiley and Jeff Branson to Cleveland.  While Smilies arm exploded after 6 starts and Branson was just a utility player for 2 years, both guys at least provided positive value during the playoff years and you can't exactly predict arm explosions.

Paul Bunyan, or err Russell Branyan gave the Tribe 5 years of awesome home runs and amazing

in-game breezes thanks to his absurdly high strikeout rate.  Truth be told, Branyan was one of the first "3 True Outcomes" players & helped usher in a new era in baseball where the strikeout wasn't massively frowned upon.  Big Buss hit 45 HRs & drove in 115 RBIs in parts of 5 seasons with the Indians, which wasn't too shabby for a bench during the playoff years.  For a 7th round pick he brought back morevalue then anyone (especially this team) could have expected, and even netted a positive return when we dealt him and his impending free agency to the Reds for 5 below average years of Ben Broussard, who was at least a major league player.

I have absolutely no memory of Matos, who the team released before he ever made he bigs.  He OPSed under .600 for two cellar dwellers (KC & SD) in '02 & '03 and then rightfully was never heard from again.  Both Aven and Perry had cups of coffee with the big league club in 1997.  Aven went 4 for 19 before the Marlins took him off waivers in the offseason, & Perry went 1 for 14 before hitting minorleague free agency.  Aven actually floated around under '02 when he came back to the Tribe, went 2 for 17 and disappeared forever, while Perry showed up in KC in '99 to go 1 for 12 then retire.  On a side note, there was a rumor in my family that Perry and his brother Herb were on my uncles mail route so he is forever ingrained in my mind as a poor MLB player who had to rent a house Parma.  Come to think if it, I wonder if he still lives there.

Anyways, the 1994 draft analysis is over.  While this draft is solid, there is nothing to suggest that this should be one of the best drafts in the past 20 years.  Well, it might be hard to read the rest of these, but this is it.  This is the peak.  Jaret Wright, Russell Branyan, 2 pieces of trade bait, 3 replacement level dudes, and 1 rented house in Parma is the peak of the past 20 years.  And it was 20 years ago.

Yeah, fuck.

Best Cleveland Shirts: Who Ya Got?

I'm a huge fan of Cleveland memorabilia. I have my jerseys, I have my mini helmets, my bobbleheads, my banners, my hats, you name it, I got it. And one thing I love to get into now since I have to pretend to act like a normal adult is Cleveland clothing. I can show a little hometown pride and still look like a normal guy since I'm no longer walking around OU wearing XXL Kevin Johnson jerseys down Court St. on a normal Tuesday afternoon. We're lucky here in Cleveland with more than a few outstanding places to find our Cleveland gear. In my mind two stand out above the rest.* These two are Fresh Brewed Tees and Cleveland Clothing Company. In my mind, they're the two powerhouses of lakefront love. I love them both. Own merchandise for both. So my question for anyone reading is, who ya got?


Location:

As far as I know Fresh Brewed Tees is only online, while Cle. Clothing Co. has a location right downtown.

Selection: 

Fresh Brewed Tees has a lot of Cleveland-themed shirts as well as a few "outsider" shirts such as a Megatron one, Tebow one, "330" one, etc. That's all good in my book. They also tend to focus primarily (though not entirely) on sports-related clothing. As a massive sports fan, again, this is good in my book. As far as Cle. Clothing Co. goes, the website doesn't do the place justice. The store has a wide variety of not only clothing but also things like bar ware and art. I love that.

I guess you could say that it's comparing apples to oranges. Fresh Brewed Tees has a clothing line tailored primarily to sports and do a great job of differentiating themselves from other local retailers. Cleveland Clothing Co., on the other hand can't necessarily go head-to-head with the clothing offered by Fresh Brewed Tees but the diverse products they offer make up for that difference tremendously.

Final Word: 

I love Fresh Brewed Tees shirts. Love them. Always creative, witty, and really relatable to be honest.

The same can be said for Cleveland Clothing Co. I walk into the place and look at the clothes and products they lay out and love being a Clevelander.

Again, the difference in the product line is tough. Fresh Brewed Tees offers (mostly) sports-related clothing, while Cle. Clothing Co. has clothing that has to do with the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland landmarks, etc. Neither of these are bad things, they just make for a bit of a different experience as well as a different way to rep your Cleveland pride.

There's no way to choose one of these places over the other if I'm being honest with myself. If you're from Cleveland, a Cleveland fan, or a person that just got into town looking to check out some true Cleveland pride that really is rampant in northeast Ohio, check these guys out. It's a no lose situation. Now, if you'll excuse me I have two stores to go shopping at right now.

In case you missed the hyperlinks I posted for each of these guys at the beginning of this blog, check Fresh Brewed Tees out HERE and Cleveland Clothing Co. out HERE.

*No, I didn't include Homage. They have a lot of Ohio State stuff, but I'm not an Ohio State fan, and relative two these other two, the Cleveland selection is lacking. But it's still a great site I recommend checking out if you've never been there.

Editor's Note: Fresh Brewed Tees does have their own t-shirt truck which makes regular appearances at local bars and events from my understanding.

Is this the best homemade fantasy football team icon ever?

Winslow-Benard Trikes & Bikes

Ranking the 2013 Browns Excitement and Expectations by Position

So let me try to explain my thinking behind this post. As I read about the past few days of training camp, I got to thinking that overall this Browns team isn't expected to do a whole lot, but individually, many Browns are expected to breakout (think Richardson, Gordon, Cameron, Haden, Mingo, Ward). It seems kind of contradictory, right? How can so many people expect such big things from so many players, but not expect big things from the team as a whole?

So I decided to play a little game with it. Since '99, what players at each position had the highest expectations going into a season? How many of the current Browns fall into this category? Maybe it'll help open some eyes to how big of a step so many Browns are expected to take this year. At the very least it'll be fun to remember back to when we Browns fans were justified in having high expectations for certain players...Without further adu:

Quarterback

Pre-2008 Derek Anderson

This is an easy one. In 2007 Derek Anderson had, by far, the best season of any Browns quarterback since they returned in 1999. With all of his returning weapons (in addition to a newly-arrived and pre-vehicular homicide Donte Stallworth) and another year of Rob Chudzinski's offense, Derek Anderson and the 2008 Browns had massive expectations. Remember when the crowd started chanting "Super Bowl!" at the opening of training camp? The outcome? Well, let's not go there.

Honorable Mention: Pre-2011 Colt McCoy (Note: A surprisingly respectable rookie performance unfairly raised expectations on McCoy in his first season as a starter)

Running Back

Pre-2013 Trent Richardson

I almost went with pre-2008 Jamal Lewis here. He had over 1,300 yards, for an average of 4.4 yards

per carry in 2007. Coming off a season like that, there had to be high expectations, right? But his age was a major factor. Who really expected a Jamal Lewis with that much wear and tear to throw up those numbers again?

Enter Trent Richardson. It seems like it's almost being taken for granted here in Cleveland that Trent will be an animal with the rock in Norv Turner's offense. He's coming off almost a 1,000 yard rookie campaign with 11 rushing touchdowns, all while running with broken ribs and not having a full offseason to recover from knee surgery after his Alabama playing days. With Richardson at 100% (if he's as healthy as he says he is) people naturally expect him to dominate. Let's hope that's the case.

Honorable mention: Pre-2011 Peyton Hillis (Note: I've almost forgotten about Peyton Hillis at this point. Is it me or does he seem like FOREVER ago?)

Wide Receiver

Pre-2008 Braylon Edwards

He did it in 2007--his breakout third year so many people called for came to fruition. What reason did anyone have to think he'd come crashing down to earth in 2008 and be traded for a bunch of below-average New York Jets less than 24 months later? After almost a 1,300 yard, 16 touchdown season, Braylon was supposed to stay among the elite receivers in the NFL, living up to his #3 overall pick status. Unfortunately, that never happened. Actually, not unfortunately, I never liked Braylon.

Honorable Mention: Pre-2013 Josh Gordon (Note: Suspension aside, many people expect Gordon to thrive in Norv Turner's and Chud's big-play, downfield offense)

Tight End

Pre-2007 Kellen Winslow Jr.

People forget that Kellen Winslow Jr. threw up 89 receptions, tying the team record with Ozzie Newsome, in 2006. It was also his first full season as a starter after breaking his leg on that onside kick his rookie year and dumping his crotch rocket in a parking lot his second year. I'd say 89 receptions in your first full year set a pretty good bar for 2007, and he didn't disappoint, posting 82 receptions for 1,100 yards and 5 TDs in 2007.

Honorable Mention: Pre-2008 Kellen Winslow Jr. (Note: After years like his in 2007, you just tend to expect similar production)

Offensive Line (Unit)

Pre-2013 Offensive Line (Joe Thomas, John Greco, Alex Mack, Shawn Lavauo, Mitchell Schwartz)

This unit has some big expectations coming into this year. Joe Thomas has a hall of fame worthy track record thus far in his career. Alex Mack is finally starting to get a little bit of national recognition he's deserved for a while. John Greco just got rewarded with a big contract this week and has even been singled out by Pro Football Focus as the Browns' "Secret Superstar." Mitchell Schwartz more than held his own as a rookie last year and it's not too big of a reach to expect him to continue to develop, especially under the tutelage of Thomas. Lavauo remains a weak spot, but with so many solid pieces around him, this unit is arguably the best since the team returned in 1999.

Honorable Mention: Pre-2007 Offensive Line (Joe Thomas, Eric Steinbach, Hank Fraley, Seth McKinney, Kevin Shaffer) (Note: With the arrivals of Thomas and Steinbach, this group had big expectations and lived up to them pretty well)

Defensive Lineman

Pre-2002 Courtney Brown

I was young when Courtney Brown came up to Cleveland, but after looking at some of his college tape this guy was an animal. As was the case with many Browns draft picks, Brown showed us just enough to get our hopes up in his rookie year, with 4.5 sacks, and backed it up with 4.5 sacks in only 5 games in 2001. But in 2002 the injuries mounted and Brown was never able to live up to the potential he flashed in his early days, specifically in 2001.

Honorable Mention: Pre-2002 Gerard Warren (Note: High hopes after 5.5 sacks as a rookie interior lineman compared by many to Warren Sapp.)

Linebacker

Pre-2007 Kamerion Wimbley

Kam Wimbley's 11 sacks as a rookie led to huge expectations for his sophomore campaign.
Unfortunately, he was never able to develop a second pass rush move aside from the dip-the-shoulder-to-the-point-that-I'm-almost-parallel-to-the-ground move.

Honorable Mention: Pre-2013 Paul Kruger (Note: Coming off a breakout season with Baltimore and a fat contract from Cleveland, Kruger's being counted on to at least mirror his production with the Ravens this year)

Defensive Back

Pre-2012 Joe Haden

A more than solid rookie season in 2010 and a nice development year in 2011 put Joe Haden on the fast track for a breakout year in 2012. With the positive test for Adderall, however, that was put on hold. Haden would be on this list for 2013, but he played so well when he returned in 2012 that he doesn't have massive expectations from last year to this year, fans just expect him to play like Joe, which is to say lockdown wideouts.

Honorable Mention: Pre-2013 Leon McFadden (Note: Ever remember expecting so much about a 3rd round pick from a non-BCS conference school? A lot of people are expecting McFadden to hop into the starting lineup and solidify the #2 CB spot. I hope he does it, but it's still a tall task)