Last updated: 9/05/07

In the world of fantasy football, the phrase "running back platoon" or "running back by committee" usually sends managers running for the hills, with good reason. While NFL coaches love to use platoons (if they have two quality running backs), keeping their backs fresh and changing the pace for opposing defenses, it can become a nightmare for fantasy managers trying to decide who to start on a week to week basis.

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Well it looks like the quarterback competition in Oakland is finally winding down. Although at this point this battle should have very little fantasy implications, the winner might be a name to consider during the year when you run into injury problems or the bye week blues. McCown has proven himself to be a completely mediocre quarterback, averaging only 155 yards a game and throwing only 25 touchdowns in 35 games, while also throwing 29 interceptions. I wouldn't expect much different from him if he takes over as quarterback for the Raiders this season. However, Daunte Culpepper brings a lot more intrigue to the conversation.

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When the football gods shone down on the Cleveland Browns management during the 2007 NFL draft, allowing them to take potentially the best QB in the draft with the 22nd pick overall, I assume they believed they were taking the quarterback and face of the franchise for years to come. They had just finished their 4th terrible season in a row, finishing last in the division each time, and the drafting of Quinn was somewhat of a miracle. The funny part is, for some reason this year they believe they should put off the future because the guy that led them to a 4-12 season last year (Charlie Frye) has "earned it".

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Recently we held the second annual draft for the Phi Tau Keeper League, using the rules explained here. As this was the second year of the league, this was the first official "keeper" draft, where managers could decide which players they wanted to keep from the previous years roster, which definitely made the draft a bit interesting. The most obvious change this was going to make was looking at the keepers and realizing that top round picks such as Joseph Addai, Cedric Benson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Laurence Maroney, Deuce McAllister, Carson Palmer, Travis Henry, Marques Colston and Brandon Jacobs were already taken. Just the fact that so many running backs were being held as keepers was troubling to teams who didn't already have a starting RB being kept (luckily I wasn't one of them). Anyways, without wasting any more time, let's get to the draft analysis...

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A lot is said about a so called "sophomore slump" for NFL players, especially those in the skill positions. While this may be true for players like Carnell "Cadillac" Williams, Michael Clayton (coincidence they're both on Tampa Bay, a crappy team?) and Anquan Boldin, there are still some players who made a huge impact in the second season, even after having a good rookie campaign. Examples of this are Antonio Gates, LaDainian Tomlinson (coincidence they're both on San Diego, a good team?) and Clinton Portis. After a going through a few drafts, I felt the urge to point out a few second year players that you shouldn't worry about the "sophomore slump" affecting, while pointing out a few that probably will...

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So maybe you've been playing fantasy football for a few years and you've got a good group of guys who consistently manage the teams in your leagues. You may have tried to spice things up by adding a RB/WR flex position one year, or 2 QB's another year, but you still want something more. If you haven't considered it before, maybe now is the time you begin thinking about starting a "keeper" fantasy football league. In short, a keeper league is a league where between seasons, each manager decides to "keep" a certain amount of players (generally up to 3) from his previous team who will carry over to his next year's team. We held our first "real" keeper draft last night*, so I figured it might be useful to share our league's rules with you, so that if you're interested in starting a similar league you would have something to base it on...

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In case you were living under a rock for the past few days, we just wanted to let you know that Larry Johnson has finally signed his contract extension with the Chiefs, which will provide him with $43.2 million over the next 5 years, with $19 million guaranteed. So all you managers that drafted LJ can finally sleep soundly, and those considering taking him with the 2nd or 3rd pick, feel free to do so with no worries. The fact that he hasn't practiced at all this year and hasn't played in a preseason game shouldn't affect his game play at all and could actually help because he has now taken that many less hits up to this point.

Tonight was the third annual Mystic Fantasy Foozeball draft (formerly known as the Pizza Place League). While the league's manager list has changed drastically over the course of the years, the spirit of the league lives on through the teams of a few guys. Since the league began, the league settings were always a little different, such as having individual defensive players, multiple kickers, etc. As the commissioner of the league this year again, I decided to keep that idea and ended up having 2 QB's, 2 DEF's and 1 WR/RB. If you're in more than 2 or 3 leagues (4 in my case), it helps to have variation in the drafts to keep you on your toes, so that was another reason for the non-standard positions. Anyways, without any more rambling, here is my personal analysis of the draft...

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Apparently there are no quarterbacks left on free agency with ANY football experience. None. Zip. Nada. Well, that's the message I'm getting after reading about the Patriots decision to bring 43 year old Vinny Testaverde out of retirement. Maybe I'm being a little unfair, I mean he's only going to be the fourth-string QB on the team, but still... Vinny Testaverde?! He'll be "playing" in his 21st season in the NFL and has never won a championship, so maybe Patriot management feels bad for him and figures he'll have a decent chance at winning one this season. In case you were wondering, this has no fantasy impact unless your league awards bonus points for having senior citizens on your bench.

While looking at some other fantasy football websites, I ran across an interesting comment on an article by Chris Bahr who writes for SportingNews. While rating players for the Titans this season, he had this to say about David Givens:

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