Radio Show / Podcast on Hiatus.

Due to scheduling conflicts, we have put a halt to the Fantasy Fat Cats show.

We will continue to blog about our thoughts, but until then, hold tight and win your Fantasy Football League!

Draft Order set in Our Big League!

Fat Cat Jason has been added to the owners of a league that drafts on Thursday, Sept 1.  Fat Cat Michael was already a member.

Michael got the #1 overall pick, Jason got the #6 pick in this 12-team NON-PPR league.

Wednesday’s radio show/podcast will be the last draft prep show of the year……we will advise Jason on a strategy from the #6 hole, including what he should do if the Top 5 RBs are gone, etc.

The last 2 weeks we talked about about early round strategy, we plan to delve into more mid-round and late round targets.   We will do a comparison segment on who you’d prefer.

Also, we will discuss the Arian Foster re-injury, Tom Brady getting knocked around by Lions, and what NFL teams do you want to avoid ALL PLAYERS in terms of Fantasy.
We will also unveil how our weekly format for the regular season will look.
Big show, and perhaps our last at the 10pm Wednesday time slot.   So check us out!

Rate this draft of Kev’s League

Episode XII is right here!

Originally recorded (8-17-11)Episode XII is here, and it’s a doozy.

We talk a little baseball, and then go through a mock draft. It’s exciting, it’s terrific, it’s the Fat Cats way.

You download link is here.  Enjoy!

Fantasy Fat Cats XI is here!

(Originally recorded 8/10/11) After a brief technical mishap hiatus, we’re back to getting episodes up. Here’s the latest one, from this past week, where we talk a little baseball before getting into the biggie:

FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT STRATEGY

While it’s a topic we’ll continue to beat into the ground until the season actually starts, you can get a primer for it, and we’ll obviously get into it more tonight, live, at 10pm CT on http://www.wesn.org.

Here’s your direct download link: RIGHT HERE

Don’t be Hatin’ on MJD!

If you are in a PPR league, the man is worth the #4 pick…..he plays hurt!

Don’t buy the hype!

Arian Foster has a pulled hammy.    Prior to the injury, all experts claimed him the consensus #1 overall pick.   Although he ranks #2 still on average draft lists, I have seen him go as low as #6.

Peyton Manning had bulging disc surgery months ago.    For multiple seasons he has been a Top 3 QB drafted and usually in the first round, occasionally in second.   This year, experts rank him #6 at QB behind Vick, Rodgers, Brady, Brees, and even Rivers.   That is late 3rd round projection.

Chris Johnson is holding out.   Last years consensus #1 overall, he finished the season 3rd in fantasy points at the RB position.   Despite QB controversy.   Injury to their #1 WR.   He finished where he did.   Like Foster, he has slipped behind Jamaal Charles and Ray Rice in some drafts.

So, what am I driving at?   The big networks (ESPN, CBS, NFL Network, Fox, etc) are trying to fill-up the demand for fantasy football information.  Hell, for football information.  So, they report each step in progress of these players.   They play “what if he is not available?” scenarios on the TV so they can fill programming, blog space, and article requirements.

The constant barrage of this information can mislead you.   The experts in your league (you know who they are, they are the ones that live and breathe the league….actually, it is probably you since you are reading this remote blog) will overreact and take Ray Rice or even LeSean McCoy before CJ or Foster.   That is crazy talk.

You ever get frustrated that you spend weeks analyzing fantasy articles and news, have a good draft, and then lose week 1 to the guy that bought a magazine an hour before coming to the draft?    Perhaps there is a reason.

The primary reason is luck.   Face it, the more informed you are, the better chance you have.   But, the magazine guy did not hear all the hype you did.   So he took Foster with his first pick like the magazine said.   Again, near the end of the 2nd round, Peyton Manning was on the board to this guy’s surprise.   So now he took Peyton.   In the 3rd round, on a quick swing back to him, he selects Peyton Hillis.   We all know he overdrafted Hillis, but 2010 was not that long ago, and what if Hillis is more like mid-2010 than late-2010?   All of a sudden, magazine guy’s roster is solid.    Sure, later on, he will draft Randy Moss in the 6th round, but the core is there.

Frustrated by a week #1 loss to magazine guy?   I sure would be.   Actually, I sure have been.

Don’t Buy The HYPE!

Come week #1, Foster, Peyton, and CJ will be in the lineup.  Book it.

But, having your draft on September 6 instead of August 20, will ensure everything is settled.  But if you have that August 20 draft (any August draft actually), you can take advantage.   Watch CJ slip to you #5, get Manning in the 3rd round.    Suddenly, you are geared up for a great season.

Again, Don’t Buy The Hype!

Even if, for some odd reason, one of these guys (or others like them), don’t get their situations settled and miss a few weeks, your team will still be solid because you do research.   You are more likely to hit gold late in the draft.   These guys missing a week or three won’t kill you, it will hurt, but not kill you.   In the long run, you are more likely to be successful, than fail by ignoring the hype.

Fantasy Thoughts – 8/15

What do you at the #6 or #7 pick?

The first 5 guys are sure safe bets (Foster, Peterson, CJohnson, Rice, and Charles).    So this is what is left…..

Aaron Rodgers / Michael Vick  – both are solid Fantasy QBs (I did not think that of Vick in Atlanta), but I believe both are injury risk.   Everyone knows that Vick’s style leads to him being vulnerable to injury.   Rodgers missed playing time last year with a concussion.  Those things never get better, just happen more and more.   Steve Young called it quits.   Austin Collie should have.   I have no problem taking Vick or Rodgers with 11 or 12 pick, but 6 or 7 could leave me with Hillis, Bradshaw, and Forte as my best RB options come 2nd round.  No Thank you.

Andre Johnson / Roddy White – You can argue who is better amongst these 2, but they are safe to be in the Top 10 WRs come the end of the year.   If I were to go with either of these guys at #6 or #7 spot, I have to grab that RB in the second round.   Statistics show that Top WR score less than Top RB and Top QB in overall fantasy points.   I’ve always said by selecting a WR in the first round, you better KNOW a quality RB is going to come back to you.   As I said above, there is a real chance Hillis, Bradshaw, and Forte may be the best of the remaining RBs in a 12-team league.   I’d love those guys as my #2 RB, but not by #1.   Therefore, I cannot go with AJ or White.

So…that leaves me with RB

LeSean McCoy – I was never really big on Brian Westbrook in Philly.  The experts say that McCoy is becoming what Westbrook was.   In the end, I think is the guy I will select #6 or #7 more often than not.   But in the first round of the draft, you want to select a player that is going to meet expectation.   I fear McCoy has a greater chance to fall short of expectations than to meet.    I’d wager big money on him not finishing in the Top 6 of RBs come season end.

Maurice Jones-Drew – The draft books say this is the obvious choice.  He is on a bum knee.   He is getting worn down with the bulk of carries the last 3 seasons.   The Jags suck.  And frankly, he is a Cutler-hater, so I became an MJD hater.   He does have some potential to reach the Top 5 RB, but injury history makes me lean towards first round bust in 2011.  I see him as an early 2nd rounder.

Rashard Mendenhall – Not a first round pick at all in my opinion.  The former Illini is decent, but does not have breakout potential at all.
Michael Turner – He is a workhorse.  Plays on a great team.  But seems to fall apart down the stretch of  a season.   I like him, but just cant take him until the 9-12 pick area.

Frank Gore – Coming off a broken hip, people are not confident in his ability to return to his old form.  Average draft position shows him going in the early 2nd round.   So, I cannot take him at #6 or #7, but I sure hope he slips back to me.   If I could guarantee that, I would take the QB or WR in a heartbeat.

Long story, short (I know…too late for that)…….I am going with McCoy at #6 or #7.   But I am going to try like hell to move down or up in the draft before the actual draft day.
Another note….I don’t like Ray Rice as much as other people, but cannot let him get past #5.   He is what he is.   He will not exceed what 2010 was…..Charles, Foster, Peterson, and Johnson can all exceed (or meet 2010).

Check out CornBall: Diamond Chatter w/ Tom and Jack

If you’re listening to the show RIGHT NOW (which you should be doing at http://www.wesn.org, or on 88.1 FM in Bloomington), you’re hearing Tom chat with Jay and Kev.

Check Tom’s show out here: http://cornbeltbaseball.com/

It’s good stuff, and we highly recommend you listen early and often.

Fantasy Fat Cats Episode VII

While Episode VI got lost in the ether (that is, Windows 7 decided to make it as if Episode VI never happened), Episode VII is here for your perusal.

It was the offweek of baseball, and amidst a small bit of All-Star talk, the boys got deep into the fantasy contest (which we’ll wrap up on July 27th), old timey fantasy stats, and whether or not to draft with your heart.

Your direct download link is here, or you can now find us in the iTunes store under ‘Fantasy Fat Cats’

Enjoy