There was much internal debate over the order to review these teams, but after much thought and consideration, I decided to just pretend I was a sixth grade teacher and do it in alphabetical order. Good news, Zimmerman! Your report isn't due until next week. Also, thinking of all the work you got extra time on makes me hate you.
With that in mind, here are six roster overviews of the JMWL. If you're new, the idea of the league is to create a team of players that plays enough to have some impact in a game, but doesn't play well. In other words, we're striving for the mediocrity given to the Texans by Jonathan Wells in 2002.
On to the rosters!
Jordann - S.Rosenfels, Starting QB
Starting 7: QB Josh Freeman, RB Laurence Maroney, RB Ricky Williams, WR Justin Gage, WR Maurice Stovall, TE Marcedes Lewis, K Rian Lindell
Bench: David Carr, Matt Moore, Sage Rosenfels, Kevin Smith, Albert Young, Brian Hartline, Steve Johnson, Mike Thomas
The Freeman pick has some upside. Ultimately I passed on him because I thought he had enough decent showings to make me think he had actual ability. But I can see the pick working out because Tampa shouldn't have a good offense. Ricky Williams will make Jordann regret starting him, and I'd rather see him play Smith, who I owned in actual fantasy leagues last year. I know how bad he is. The quarterback depth is very solid, but there are some wasted roster spots here IMO, both on players who won't play and players who are too good.
Overall: B-
Josh A. - The Fighting Mongooses
Starting 7: QB Vince Young, RB Darren McFadden, RB Cadillac Williams, WR Chris Chambers, WR Eddie Royal, TE Chris Cooley, K David Buehler
Bench: Kyle Orton, Jerious Norwood, Steve Slaton, David Anderson, Braylon Edwards, Brian Finneran, Emmanuel Sanders, Todd Heap
I had no idea Brian Finneran was actually still playing football, so I think CBS has some roster issues to work out here. I really love the starting lineup, especially Young and the wideouts. Young will net extra points by rushing. I don't like McFadden, who I think is too explosive to be a good fit in this kind of league, or Cooley, who will probably be Donovan McNabb's go-to-target, but there is plenty of depth on the bench.
Grade: A-
Fuck It I'm Going Deep - killtacular
Starting 7: QB Matt Hasselbeck, RB Matt Forte, RB Clinton Portis, WR Anquan Boldin, WR Jerricho Cotchery, TE Brent Celek, K Robbie Gould
Bench: Trent Edwards, Charlie Whitehurst, Joseph Addai, Marion Barber, Michael Bush, Chester Taylor, Jabar Gaffney, Kevin Walter
This is an excellent team top-to-bottom. Good backups, solid gambles on a lot of different battles and older players. The only arguments I have are with Brent Celek and Matt Forte, who I think could both rebound IRL. He has the backups for Forte, but not for Celek.
Overall: A
Farnsworth Parabox - DisplacedTexan
Starting 7: QB Mark Sanchez, RB Justin Forsett, RB Fred Jackson, WR Nate Burleson, WR Santana Moss, TE Zach Miller, K Josh Scobee
Bench: Jason Campbell, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Justin Fargas, Jason Snelling, Leon Washington, Steve Breaston, Malcolm Floyd, Devery Henderson
This might be the best starting 7 in the league, top-to-bottom. Sanchez has looked abysmal in the preseason, there are plenty of reasons to think Moss is washed up, and the running backs should have good shares of bad offenses. The bench could use a little work, especially the WRs, who are probably too good for this league.
Grade: A
Schaub's Johnson - LoneSpot
Starting 7: QB Byron Leftwich, RB Julius Jones, RB LeSean McCoy, WR Antonio Bryant, WR Johnny Knox, TE John Carlson, K Nick Folk
Bench: Kevin Kolb, Ahmad Bradshaw, Jamaal Charles, Brandon Jacobs, Knowshon Moreno, Roscoe Parrish, Mike Sims-Walker, Joe Nedney
You can tell he didn't show up for the draft, can't you? Well, it's not a bad patch job, but LoneSpot will have to keep active on the waiver wire to have a chance in this league. I don't even think Antonio Bryant is going to make the Bengals this year. Leftwich, Jones, and Carlson are a good start towards mediocrity though.
Grade: C
The Fighting Cocks - Taco Joe
Starting 7 : QB Sam Bradford, RB Felix Jones, RB Rashard Mendenhall, WR Larry Fitzgerald, WR Calvin Johnson, TE Robert Agnone, K John Kasay
Bench: AJ Feeley, Steven Jackson, Pierre Thomas, Michael Turner, Marques Colston, Sidney Rice, Jason Witten, Matt Bryant
Uhh...this team needs some work. Good QB though.
Grade: D
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Next week we'll look at the other 6 teams, and I'll make some predictions.
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