Would you draft MJD over MEGATRON?

Recently on twitter Michael Fabiano was asking to see if anyone had any fantasy questions and he would pick the 10 best ones to answer.  Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football columnist who serves as the fantasy editor for NFL.com and NFL Network. 


     Michael Fabiano ‏ @Michael_Fabiano

Have a fantasy question? Send it to me on Twitter or Facebook, and the 10 best will be answered in Wednesday's... fb.me/1b1josbwU

   Patrick Fahey ‏ @DetFantasyFball

@Michael_Fabiano How High would you take Calvin Johnson this year? With his production last year, would you take him before a running back?

I sent him the above question on Twitter and Facebook.  I wanted to see what running backs he still valued over Calvin Johnson. I was fortunate enough for him to use my question and the answer I got was actually quite surprising.



   Michael Fabiano ‏ @Michael_Fabiano
 

Here is this week's Fantasy mailbag on NFL.com. Thanks for the questions all!: bit.ly/zGSmsw

FABIANO'S FANTASY MAILBAG

"How high would you draft Calvin Johnson this year? Would you draft him before a running back? -- Detroit Fantasy Football (via Facebook)

M.F.: Here are the running backs I would take ahead of Johnson -- Arian Foster, LeSean McCoy, Ray Rice and Maurice Jones-Drew. That's about it, at least right now. Ryan Mathews and Matt Forte could join that list at some point this offseason, but those runners come with some risk. Overall, Megatron will be the first wideout taken in most 2012 fantasy drafts (he was the No. 8 overall pick in my most recent mock draft). Coming off a career season that included 96 catches, 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns, Johnson's fantasy stock has never been higher. As long as Matthew Stafford can remain free of injuries once again, there's no reason to believe Megatron won't continue to post huge totals"


The top three running backs he listed I have no argument against, but what sparked a debate with me was he would actually rate Maurice Jones Drew over Calvin Johnson.  Not only that, he backed it up with his most recent mock draft which went like this:

Round 1

1. Arian Foster
2. LeSean McCoy
3. Ray Rice
4. Aaron Rodgers
5. Drew Brees
6. Tom Brady
7. Maurice Jones Drew
8. Calvin Johnson
9. Matthew Stafford
10. Cam Newton

 
Last year in a Yahoo Standard fractional scoring league (non PPR), Calvin Johnson and Maurice Jones Drew finished right next to each other, ranked 15 and 16 in scoring overall.

15.  Calvin Johnson           263.20
16. Maurice Jones Drew   262.00

In a Yahoo standard league you have to play three wide receivers and there is no flex position.  In fact, I had never heard of a flex position until ESPN leagues introduced it and started ranking flex plays.  I am also not familiar with NFL standard leagues, so maybe that is why MJD is valued higher.

I do know, however, that NFL.com did award Calvin Johnson  the 2012 fantasy player of the year, and I have already stated that you could make the case for Megatron being the #1 pick last year.

So the debate is on and the question is simple -- when faced with the choice between Maurice Jones Drew and Calvin Johnson,

WHO WOULD YOU TAKE AND WHY?

FINAL PLAYOFF SCENARIOS

These where the standings going into week 14  (the final week of the fantasy regular season) in the Comcast league

Yours truly, St. Patrick's Day, was on the outside looking in.

Top 4 teams make the playoffs.

1. Boats-N-Hoes       9 wins  4 loses   1408.20 points
2. Master Teacher     8 wins  5 loses   1462.90 points
3. Junk Yard Dog      8 wins  5 loses   1448.60 points
4. The Donation         8 wins  5 loses   1323.00 points
5. St. Patrick's Day    8 wins  5 loses   1261.30 points

     6.  Lionized                 7 wins   6 loses
     7.  TV Jimmy              7 wins   6 loses

     8.  Pack Attack           6 wins   7 loses

     9. Crazyer                   3 wins   10 loses

    10. Team Punishment   1 wins   12 loses


As you can see it was a very, VERY close race.  5 teams battling it out for 4 playoff spots.

Final match ups of for week 14:

 #1 Boats-N-Hoes   vs.  #6 Lionized
#2 Master Teacher   vs.  #3 Junk Yard Dog
#4 The Donation       vs.  #9 Crazyer
#5  St. Patrick's Day vs.  #10 Team Punishment

Based on the Schedule  the number one seed Boats-N-Hoes  had actually clinched the first playoff spot (courtesy of Aaron Rodgers and Rob Gronkowski) having 9 wins and with one of the teams behind him GUARANTEED to lose. 

Thats right if you are reading the above playoff scenario correctly:

There are four teams left with 8 wins battling it out for the final three playoffs spots.

The #2 team Master Teacher is playing the #3 team Junkyard Dog. 

The TOP TWO point scorers in the ENTIRE league, one is guaranteed to lose, and one is in danger of not even MAKING the playoffs.

That is because The Donation and St. Patrick's Day are playing the bottom two teams in the entire league and it is simple.

If both teams win and finish with 9 wins, they are both in.

So, I find myself in the perfect position.  The PERFECT match up right?

I am playing the worse team in the league (record wise.)  The team that only has ONE win to date.

Team Punishment was having such a horrible season he didn't get his first (and only) win until WEEK 10 against the Pack Attack.

Now this is where you have to give this fantasy owner a lot, and I mean A LOT of credit. We have all  been in leagues before where people end up quitting.  Fantasy owners get so frustrated by a bad draft or a couple of bad loses and it leads them to stop updating their teams.  This ends up throwing off the competitive balance of the entire league and ruins the integrity of the fantasy games.  It also creates A LOT of headaches when money is still on the line.  Now think how frustrated you would be starting out the season on a NINE GAME LOSING STREAK?

Here is an actual post by this fantasy owner for Team Punishment:

BOBBY (Team Punishment)
Nov 8 10:53 am

No excuses, but I do have a few points to why this is my worst Fantasy team/record ever.

1. I have the league for high points scored against me.

2. I have suffered greatly due to injuries such as....Britt, Vick (reason for losing to Locke), McFadden, Gore (before my dumb trade).

3. Gave up on Gore before he got his shit together and traded him.

4. Mike Williams was a huge bust!

With that said, I am going to Destroy many playoff hopes moving forward. Its all about pride now.

A fantasy owner like this is the perfect person to have in your league,  Even though he has been out of the playoff race since the second month, he is still committed to playing spoiler and is still spending money on picking up free agents, even though he has NO CHANCE on winning any money back.

And as the Commissioner of the league, this is very much appreciated.

And as a fantasy owner whose team needs to win his final game of the season to get in,, I guess all of you have already predicted what happens next.

The Final score of that week 14 match up:

TEAM PUNISHMENT  111.02     SAINT PATRICK'S DAY  108.00

That was the second highest point total Team Punishment had all year, and it came at the perfect time to play spoiler.

Team Punishment single handily made sure that Saint Patrick's Day didn't make it into the playoffs.  He spent the money that week on free agent pick ups and acquired two players that aided in the victory:

Toby Gerhart:  16.90  points
Philadelphia D  21.00  points

So there you have it.  That is how my 3 year playoff streak came to an end in the two leagues that I am commissioner in.

It came in the form of a painful 3.02 point loss to the last place team in the league.

AND THE 2012 FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WAS....

Calvin Johnson named 2012 NFL fantasy player of the year

The Detroit Lions very own Calvin Johnson was named the NFL fantasy player of the year.  This award was based on fantasy points scored and the number of championship teams he was on.

Based on standard Yahoo fractional scoring leagues Calvin Johnson finished the year as the #1 overall WR as Jordy Nelson finished a distant second, and Wes Welker right behind him at third.

#1.  Calvin Johnson   263.20 points
#2   Jordy Nelson     216.30 points
#3   Wes Welker      213.90 points

Calvin was the #15 point scorer OVERALL.

To put that in perspective There where only two running backs ahead of him ( Ray Rice and LeSean McCoy) and the rest were Quarterbacks.  Calvin was easily named to the
ESPN 2011 Fantasy Football All-Pro Team.

The amazing stat I take from this is that Calvin Johnson's Average Draft Position in ESPN leagues was 18.6.  There was not one league I was in were Calvin made it out of the first round.

This award was announced on February 4th 2012.  I wrote this blog  that Calvin Johnson should of been the #1 overall pick this year on January 21, 2012.

VALIDATION.

That is the first word that comes to mind.

It was controversial, unpopular, and an unconventional way to do business when it came to picking a fantasy team.  Traditionally a running back always goes number one.  A quarterback is acceptable at times, but never has a wide receiver been talked about as a #1 pick.  Its rare that a wide receiver even goes in the first round.  That just ludicrous right? 

But never has a wide receiver like this had an impact on the game, and never has a wide receiver like this outscore running backs on a weekly basis.  People in my work league have said that they would give me the #1 pick next year if I take Calvin Johnson.

I told them I would pay them for it because this latest article confirms everything that I believed.

It also confirmed, once again, that I made the biggest fantasy mistake EVER this year not drafting Calvin Johnson.

Top 10 WORST Coaching Moves

Every year coaching moves make or break your fantasy season.  This is the true beauty of the game. We have all been there when a bad move is made.  Sometime these coaching moves are fun to laugh at, sometimes these moves are just down right awful, but every year that rare moment occurs when you get  that faulty, garbage like, egregious coaching move where you are left sitting in disbelief.  It makes you wonder if Matt Millen is running your fantasy team.  Newsflash here, when someone calls you Millen, those are fighting words. 

TOP TEN WORST COACHING MOVES OF THE 2011 FANTASY YEAR

We will start with a special mention:  In the Detroit Pigskin Dynasty league  where on October 8th (Week 4) the team "Coach D's Disciple" traded TE Rob Gronkowski for the injured WR Andre Johnson.  Initially when you hear this you automatically think "Seriously What!?!?"   Coach D's Disciple had nothing to lose here as he started out  3-1 and already had Jason Witten as his starting TE.  He ended up making the Superbowl anyways and besides this leads us to the #10 move

#10.  ROB GRONKOWSKI GOES UNDRAFTED

In the Detroit Pigskin Dynasty league Rob Gronkowski went UNDRAFTED and wasn't even picked up off the free agent waiver until Week #2.  EVERYBODY was asleep on the record setting TE.

#9.    DAVID AKERS DROPPED FOR ROBBIE GOULD

In the Comcast League in Week 7 "The Pack Attack" dropped kicker David Akers (for the bye week) in exchange for kicker Robbie Gould.   Kickers normally don't ruin your fantasy year, but David Akers is the exception, he might be the best fantasy kicker....EVER.  He was the #1 scorer this year upon kickers and it wasn't even CLOSE.  The next closest kicker (John Kasey NO) was outscored by the point total of 192.56 to 156.  There where weeks when Akers was out producing running backs and wide receivers scoring 15-20 points a game.  You would not think that is such an egregious error, but this isn't the last we have heard of Mr. Pack Attack.

 ( A Close Relative to Matt Millen ? )

#8.     THE MICHAEL VICK EXPERIMENT

Anybody that listen to Matthew Berry and drafted Michael Vick in the 1rst round.  Seriously, That is very Millen esque how he proclaimed Vick should be the #1 overall pick before the season.  Over the likes of known fantasy stud QBs such as Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Tom Brady.  In the Detroit Pigskin Dynasty league Vick went #8.  In the Comcast league Vick WENT #2 OVERALL.

#7.    A.J. GREEN GETS TRADED FOR BEN TATE

After week three “Saint Patrick’s Day” figured he was loaded at the WR position with Andre Johnson, Kenny Britt, and Vincent Jackson.  Ben Tate had been a top ten running back filling in for an injured Arian Foster.  With AJ Green on his bench he figured he could pull the trigger and trade with team “DaddyZeb.”    Then as we all know everything went drastically wrong.  Ben Tate went back to being a backup and AJ Green went on to be a Pro Bowl receiver and EASILY a top ten WR start.  “Saint Patrick’s Day” went on to be near the bottom of the league as “DaddyZeb” went on a win streak to propel himself into the playoffs.

#6.    TEAM ZUGGY  84.80   THE FLINT TROPICS  84.16

This is the classic fantasy football blunder that makes you want to rip your hair out, and frankly ruins the rest of your week.  The could of, would of, should of, of fantasy football.

Quick background of the Detroit Pigskin Dynasty league, it was so close this year that a 7 win team made the playoffs.  In this PIVITOL Week 11 match up Team Zuggy was sitting at 5-5 and The Flint Tropics where sitting at 4-6.  There were four games left in the season and as it was stated, the playoff race was WIDE OPEN.    The Flint Tropics had the difficult decision of who to start in the #3 WR position.  The team already had Larry Fitzgerald and Hakeem Nicks going.   For the last spot he had to choose between Torrey Smith (who scored 22.50 points), Nate Burelson (who scored 12.30 points) and his eventual choice Earl Bennett who scored a painful 7.50 points.  Now you have already guessed it by now,  The Flint Tropics were never able to recover from this loss, Team Zuggy?  Well that team went on to win the Superbowl.

#5.    VICTOR CRUZ DROPPED FOR STEVAN RIDLEY

This happened during Week 5 of the Comcast league.  “Team Punishment” was the guilty party.

I had to look up that Stevan Ridley was a backup running back for the New England Patriots.

Victor Cruz went on to be the #4 fantasy scoring WR OVERALL.

Perfect example of this manager channeling his inner Millen.

 ( The Curious Case of Marshawn Lynch )

#4.  MARSHAWN LYNCH TRADED FOR MARK INGRAM

This massive blunder occurred in the Detroit Pigskin Dynasty league, During week six, Saint Patrick’s Day was up to his old tricks again as he traded away Marshawn Lynch.  It was Seattle’s bye week and he was in desperate need for a running back.  After this trade Lynch went on to finish the fantasy season scoring 10 touchdowns in the final ten games.  Mark Ingram went on to get lost in the shuffle in the New Orleans offense and ended the season on Injured Reserve.  The person on the other side of that trade?  Eventually Superbowl winner Team Zuggy. 

#3  MARSHAWN LYNCH DROPPED............FOR A KICKER!?

I have already stated the second half phenomenon that was Marshawn Lynch.  Remember when our friend “The Pack Attack” dropped David Akers earlier? 

  WELL TALK ABOUT A DRASTIC DOMINO EFFECT.  

 For Marshawn Lynch’s bye week, Pack Attack dropped him for Carolinas kicker, Olindo Mare.

There is nothing really else to explain here.

#2  JORDY NELSON WAS TRADED FOR........CEDRIC BENSON

This happened in the Comcast league, TV Jimmy traded the #2 WR Overall (by fantasy scoring) during week three all while Cedric Benson was facing a three game suspension

If you’re wondering, team “Master Teacher” pulled this move off.  We will get a hold of him to comment on this blog to tell his side of the story on how he managed to get this amazing deal done.

I’m seriously at a loss of words for you guys, this move is unexplainable, well I guess you can explain it, this is a clear definition of a Millen move.  And now you’re wondering what could be possibly worse than this 

?????????????

#1 TEAM ZUGGY  81.64     THE ONE POINT BANDIT  78.64

The final score alone already tells you that a simple coaching move could of got the win for The One Point Bandit.  Also, I am starting to realize a lot of breaks happened for Team Zuggy to win the Superbowl this year.   This epic showdown occurred during week 9 in the Detroit Pigskin Dynasty.  Both teams were sitting at 4-4 and The One Point Bandit was desperate for a quarterback due to injures.   

He had his choice of:  Andy Dalton

Or Carson Palmer…….

Or Mark Sanchez……

Or Tim Tebow………

Or Matt Hasselbeck…….

Or Alex Smith………

Or Jay Cutler……

ALL OF THESE QUARTERBACKS would have gotten The One Point Bandit the victory.  Now I hopefully have built the suspense enough so that you are all wondering what quarterback could he possible of picked up???

 (WHO IS THIS GUY !?!)

Yes this guy, Seriously, Tarvaris Jackson. He scored 3.14 points.

He was truly playing some MillenBall