Fantasy Football Now!

Wherever and however you are viewing this today thank you for making this part of your day. Fantasy Football is HERE! And we are talking drafting that needed quarterback number two. I wanted to analyze two guys with similar stats, but with different potential for your fantasy team. And how do you play fantasy football? Just ask coach Herm Edwards “Hello!? You play to win the game.” So let’s roll!

        Flacco vs. Dalton

When it comes to quarterback’s in fantasy football there are a few strategies to when exactly you should draft one.  In any draft when your pick comes up you have to ask three questions. One who is the best player available? Does he fit my draft strategy? Is he better than my targeted player? Be sure that whatever strategy you make stick to it on draft day, but be flexible. Here is the scenario you have decided to follow a draft strategy of taking three running backs in the first four rounds of the draft. Next you would select a wide receiver before a QB unless someone named Brees, Brady, or Rodgers dropped in your lap in round three. Just to be clear the plan is to select running backs in the first and second round.  Let’s fast forward to the 11th round, note with this plan you would draft two quarterbacks and play the best match up, time for  QB2. On the board you see Andy Dalton of the Bengals and Joe Flacco of the Ravens. To most the untrained this would seem easy. Flacco is in the playoffs, he has that great defense, he has a great running back in Ray Rice, and he has a deep threat in Tory Smith. To the trained eye Dalton vs. Flacco warrants a closer comparison. We need to analyze the situation for each player on their respective team.  First cancel out the defenses because the Bengals have also been solid. Next take a look at the running back position, the Bengals have a committee approach which means the offense relies more on Dalton then with Flacco who shares the load with star Ray Rice. When you look to the wide outs ask who is better A.J. Green or Tory Smith. I give the advantage to Green mostly due to his size (6ft 4” Green/6ft 1” Smith) both players have speed, however Smith was prone to dropping the ball last season. Lastly, so no one thinks I forgot, making the playoffs year to year can be bad for fantasy owners. The Bengals historically have to fight their way in which means Dalton plays week 16 and 17. While Flacco may rest for the playoffs leaving the guy who drafted him high in dry during the fantasy playoffs. 

Lastly look at the numbers of the two quarterbacks.  Dalton 3,398 yards, 20TD/13INT, rushing 37ATT/152yrds 1TD, and a 58% completion percentage as a rookie. Flacco 3,610 yards 20TD/12INT, rushing 39ATT/88yrds 1TD, and a 57% completion percentage in his 5^th year. My point is this Dalton in year one is as good as Flacco in year five. While Flacco has been consistent over the years in Fantasy it’s about making the best choice to win the championship. In that case you roll with the upside which is more in favor of Andy Dalton.

Others may disagree taking a young QB over a veteran like Flacco, but not me. Dalton will only get better while I see Flacco staying the same year to year. While he won’t kill your team, Flacco isn’t going to win you the week either. I see Dalton as the superior quarterback out of the two and a guy with more potential going in to the 2012 NFL season. Thank you for making this part of your day. If you have questions or comments please feel free to email me at chrisgrayarea@gmail.com and if that isn’t enough you can follow on twitter @IntoTheGray.

-Gray Out! 

Kings will Rise.

Mike Richards is far from Philly but closer to a Cup.

Wherever and however you are reading this today, thank you for making this part of your day.  The Los Angeles Kings move on in five games over the Phoenix Coyotes, I had them in four, no surprise here. My Nashville Predators really blew the series vs. the Coyotes. The predators would have at least taken the series to six making the Kings chances better to win the Cup. 

I never personally like when a team has too many days off. Hockey, Baseball, and Basketball are sports where the team does better playing more often. The players get into a routine, which keeps them from getting distracted by added time off. While benefits from the time off, like healing injuries and rest, can be good. For teams in the playoffs I prefer momentum. The Kings have rolled with little resistance this post season only losing two games (12wins/14games).  Over in the Eastern conference you have a series between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers that looks to go to six games at a minimum. A long series can benefit either of these teams in the Stanley Cup finals. A team pulling off a win in game seven often comes into game one of the next series with a lot of swagger. My vote for the Finals match up would be a Kings vs. Rangers series. Either way this L.A. team is special. I have compared them to the NFL’s New York Giants. The Giants went on a tremendous playoff run, much like the Kings are now, to claim their second title in five years. Both the Giants and the Kings won on the road. 

Kings of the Road- L.A. has won 8 of 8 road playoff games

This team can play in any area and come out with the W. No matter who the opponent is from the East I have made my pick. The Los Angles Kings will be the next Stanley Cup Champions.

For more updates from me you can follow me on twitter @chrisgrayarea. Or if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or complaints feel free to email me at chrisgrayarea@gmail.com

NFL Drafting vs College Recruiting

Les Miles one of the nations best recruiters

Wherever and however you are reading this today, thank you for making the Gray Area Matters Part of your day. I want to talk today about the difference between college recruiting and drafting players for the NFL. What surprises me most about college recruitment is the credit (or lack thereof) given to the coaches.  With the NFL draft, roughly 95% or more players come from the 120 FBS (division one) teams. Out of those, the NFL scouts and teams pick 7 players, and they end up with around 250 players total selected by the end. Most teams are concerned with players from round one to five actually becoming starters. But, in college, it’s a whole other story! You have 24 scholarships, and you are expected to make sure they all are legitimate players who will start at some point. A team can get away with a few players who stay on as back-ups, but for the most part, you sign a player to the school because a coach believes he will be a starter.  

Belichick is known relies more on veteran
free agents than on drafted players. 

My point is that college recruiting is much, much harder than selecting players for the draft. There are thousands of high schools across the country, and a potential college football player can come from just about anywhere. Not to mention, you are competing with those aforementioned other 119 teams just in the FBS! Add on top of that dealing with teenagers who struggle with decisions as we all did.  Also, a staggering number of commits never reach full potential because of lack of effort or of talent. Face it, sometimes players are only good in high school, much like some players are only good in college.

The difference in my mind is that in college if you have a poor recruiting year you can set your team back an entire season. In the NFL, it is very difficult for any team to completely miss in the draft. The information the NFL receives is much more accurate and reliable than what the college world is working with. The margin for error in the NFL may appear to be smaller but a team only adds seven players to its 53 man roster. While in college you add 24 players for a 72 man roster.  That means each year a college team adds and loses about a third of its roster year to year. 

Tommy Tubberville one of the best at getting the best
out of his players. 

The bottom line is that putting together a great recruiting class takes an all-around commitment from every one on a coaching staff. With many high school players trying to make it the next level, it takes tremendous effort to find the right ones for a team. I tip my hat to the coaches for that are able to do it year to year and build a solid program.  While the NFL may be the top level of the coaching world to some people, the best coaches in football just might be at the college level.  As always thank you for making this blog part of your day if you want to hear more from me you can always follow me on twitter @chrisgrayarea and don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the latest updates!