The top 3 picks in your football draft

Written by TiVo on July 06, 2005

I promised I’d be back with more from my June 23 fantasy football draft, and here’s an issue that should affect everyone:

Who should the top three picks be?

Off the top of the head, Peyton Manning should go 1 or 2 in just about all scoring systems. Conventional wisdom says select the best running back first overall, and one could definitely do worse than snagging LaDainian Tomlinson instead of Manning.

If those are the consensus top two, who looks good at three?

Since I picked third in June, I had to ponder this thought. The glut of stud running backs looks the same on the surface, but when you examine the numbers, it’s hard not to like Shaun Alexander.

Despite his desire for a long-term contract and the impasse negotiations appear to be at with the Seahawks, Alexander is the most dependable rotisserie player this side of Manning, and possibly a better pick than Tomlinson.

Alexander has not missed a game in his 5-year career, and in four seasons as starter, his rushing TD count has been 14, 16, 14, 16. He’s added 2, 2, 2, and 4 receiving touchdowns.

And last season he was a yard short of the league rushing lead, with 1,696.

Tomlinson rushed for 1,335 yards and 17 TDs last season and added 441 receiving yards. LT gets props for his ball-catching prowess, but backs like Brian Westbrook (703), Domanick Davis (588) and Tiki Barber (578) had more yards through the air last year. Keep that in mind in yardage-heavy leagues.

Tomlinson's been as consistent as Alexander in four years as a starter, and it's really up to your gut feeling. Don't fall for the receiving yards trick though. Alexander had 170 last season, perhaps because the handing off thing was working so well. He's had a 460-receiving-yard year.

If you think Priest Holmes will remain healthy all season, he’s worthy of top-3 discussion. The 27 TDs from 2003 look tempting, the eight games he missed last year don't. Taking Ahman Green or Jamal Lewis or Edgerrin James that high may raise an eyebrow or two, but it’s not insane.

Some places are taking small sample sizes from Willis McGahee and Kevin Jones’ careers and projecting big numbers. They are first-round possibilities for sure, but if people ahead of you are are passing on Alexander for those guys, let ‘em.

Then there’s Daunte Culpepper, a QB who has not only lost not only his top receiving threat in Randy Moss, but also offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, now with the Dolphins. I’d still put him as the No. 2 QB, but I wouldn’t rush to pick him, as quality QBs, especially in 10- and 12-team drafts, can be found in the fifth and sixth rounds.

Wary of Priest's health, I like Manning, Alexander and Tomlinson as the top 3.

Below or on our message board, I’d like to hear some feedback on who you think the top 3 fantasy football players are heading into 2005.

The search for the world’s second-best Roto site
Well since it’s obvious you’re convinced on No. 1 (we agree, by the way), it never hurts to find a site to surf once you’ve read every last word on this site and our message boards. That’s where I’ll step in with a weekly department in my offering. The idea is to pick a roto site I’ve never been to before at random, and tell you if it’s any good. (We should make a ton of friends this way).

This week’s victim, er, lucky selectee is www.nflfreaks.com.

My first thought is I hope their target audience doesn’t need bifocals. Damn that’s some small type.

It looks easy to navigate, and the player updates on the front are current. But let’s see if all the self-jocking on the front page is worth it.

You know what? It keeps crashing my browser, ie or Firefox.

That solves it. nflfreaks.com sucks.

And the search goes on …

Alternate slogan/Rotogods T-shirt of the week
Hey, no one’s suggesting we get rid of “Print us out and read it on the crapper.” But in the interest of diversity, let’s explore some other phrases that taken alone and out of context, might make for good reading:

Yeah, my side of the family fucking loves pot!

I’d attribute that to the Rotogod who said it on the message board, and the other Rotogod who suggested it was his post of the year … but I’m not sure either wants to be associated with familial love of the sticky green.

Crate digs of the week
Just some old school hip-hop singles worth revisiting (or visiting for the first time if you were lame in the late 80s):
Going way back - Just Ice
Wild Wild West - Kool Moe Dee
Spellbound - K-Solo
I’m Housin and Funky Piano - EPMD
Greatest Man Alive - Three Times Dope

Sample flip of the week
Hoe Cakes (alternate version): MF Doom f/Paul Barman
Whatever the real name of “Down on the corner, out in the street” was … this use of it will make you laugh.

Lightning round
A few final thoughts:

Berate, belittle or big-up TiVo at Tivo@rotogods.com. Or find him lurking the message boards 24-7. Hip-hop and funk fans can also peep TiVo’s musical musings occasionally on allthangsfunky.blogspot.com

-- Written by TiVo on July 06, 2005