I was in New York for the FSTA event from June 22-24. An amazing time to catch up with old friends, circulate with folks in the industry and an opportunity to see the new thoughts/plans/ideas that will catapult our industry into the future. In addition to the event was the first fantasy football expert’s league of 2015. I had the 3rd selection in the 14 team draft, and per always, my team is awesome. I hate that word, but it’s accurate. Well, at least my team isn’t horrible. I hope. The rules and setup before my team is discussed.

FORMAT

The FSTA Fantasy Football League (FSTA) will consist of 14 teams/managers. The FSTA regular season will begin with Week 1 NFL games (including the Thursday game) and continue through Week 16 games. There will be one division.  Each team will play every team once in head-to-head competition. The playoffs start with week 14 and the championship game will be week 16.

Starting lineups will consist of: 1 Quarterback , 2 Running Backs , 3 Wide Receivers , 1 Tight End, 1 Flex Player (RB, WR or TE) , 1 Kicker , 1 Team Defense/Specials Team, (6 reserves)

SCORING

PASSING:

  1. 1 point every 25 yards Passing (.1 point every 2.5 yards Passing)
  2. 4 points for every passing touchdown
  3. 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
  4. minus 1 point for every interception and fumble lost

RUSHING:

  1. 1 point every 10 yards Rushing (.1 point every 1 yard Rushing)
  2. 6 points for every rushing TD
  3. 2 points for every 2-Point conversion
  4. minus 1 point for every lost fumble

RECEIVING:

  1. 1 point every 10 yards Receiving (.1 point every 1 yard Receiving)
  2. 6 points for every receiving TD
  3. 1 point for every reception for RB’s, WRs & Tight Ends,
  4. 2 points for every 2-Point conversion (rushing or receiving)
  5. minus 1 point for every lost fumble

KICKING:

  1. point for every extra point
  2. 3 points for every field goal from 1-39 yards
  3. 4 points for every field goal from 40-49 yards
  4. 5 points for every field goal from 50-59 yards
  5. 6 points for every field goal of 60 or more

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS:

  1. point for every sack
  2. 2 points for every interception or opponents' fumble recovery
  3. 6 points for every touchdown (interception return, defensive fumble return, punt or kickoff return, blocked field goal return, blocked punt return). All special teams and defensive points are awarded to the team responsible, not the individual player.
  4. 2 points for every safety
  5. 6 points for a shutout by the entire team
  6. 3 points for allowing 2-10 points by the entire team

RAY FLOWERS ROSTER

Picking out of the #3 slot (rounds in parenthesis)

QB: Drew Brees (5), Andy Dalton (12)

RB: Jamaal Charles (1), Giovani Bernard (4), LeGarrette Blount (6), David Cobb (8), Matt Jones (10), Khiry Robinson (16)

WR: Emmanuel Sanders (2), Brandin Cooks (3), Rueben Randle (7), Pierre Garcon (9)

TE: Dwayne Allen (11), Ladarius Green (14)

K: Steven Hauschka (15)

DEF: Houston Texans (13)

Click on this link for the DRAFT RESULTS. 

Charles was the selection. Could have gone Rob Gronkowski or Odell Beckham Jr. if I wanted to try and make a name for myself, but it was always going to be about a runner. Lacy stable but lacking another gear. Bell tremendous, but with suspension and slight concerns about his knee I went with Charles.

Sanders was my second choice. I would have taken Alshon Jeffery if not for the NFFC group taking him the pick before my selection. Could have gone Mike Evans for the red zone advantage he has over Sanders, but the Broncos wideout still has Peyton Manning throwing the ball.

Cooks may not take over in the red zone to replace Jimmy Graham, but I bet he takes over plenty of the looks. Cooks was on a 16 game rookie pace of 85 receptions and 880 yards. It’s fair to think that with health 100 and 1,100 are possible.

Bernard was the choice cause I couldn’t go four rounds with one runner. Just couldn’t. Was tempted by T.J. Yeldon whom I hoped would fall back to me in round 5. Didn’t happen. Yeldon has the workload, Bernard has the talent and offense.

Brees in the 5th was about as early as I go with a quarterback in any draft. I simply didn’t like any of the options at RB/WR over the group, and didn’t think it was time to go with a tight end yet. Scroll down to see my thoughts on taking Brees in the audio clip.

Blount has 10 rushing scores in 21 games during the regular season with the Patriots… and he’s only carried the ball 213 times in those 21 games. With Steven Ridley gone Blount is the goaline back for the Pats.

Randle simply needs to clean up the mistakes to take the next step. As a third year wideout he caught 71 balls for 938 yards and it’s possible that he could have a large role this season if Victor Cruz (knee) can’t get all the way back. The passing game of the Giants could improve upon last year’s solid effort.

Cobb was the choice as much for his skills as for those that Bishop Sankey lacks. Sankey put nothing good on film last year, looked like he couldn’t break tackles, was indecisive and far from effective on third downs.

Garcon went from 113 receptions in 2013 to 105 targets in 2014. The Redskins realize that was a mistake. I’d be very surprised if he didn’t push for 80/1,000 this season.

Jones has been the darling of the Redskins’ camp. He’s looking more and more like the 3rd down back in the ‘Skins offense filling the role left open by the loss of Roy Helu. If Alfred Morris were to stumble or end up lame…

Allen scores. Period. In just 50 targets last season he hauled in eight touchdowns. With health, double-digit scores are possible in what could be the best passing attack in football.

Dalton is boring which almost led to the selection of Jose Flacco or Marcus Mariota. My real target was Carson Palmer who came off the board three picks before my selection.

Texans have the best defender in the game by about 6.7 miles in J.J. Watt. If Jadeveon Clowney and Brian Cushing are healthy this could be an elite unit.

Green was probably a wasted pick but two things drove it. (1) I’m not sure how many 3-wideout sets the Colts plan to run this season which could limit Allen. (2) If Antonio Gates were to get hurt Green could explode. Could be my first casualty when I need to hit the waiver-wire.

Hauschka hit all 20 kicks under 40 yards last season and he scored 134 points, tied for 4th in the league.

Robinson was the best back available. He runs violently and could, notice I’m using a “c,” be a weekly play if Mark Ingram were to go down with injury. You could do a hell of a lot worse than Robinson in the 16th round.

DRAFT REVIEW AUDIO

A review of the first round of the FSTA draft.

Is it risky to draft Peyton Manning or Drew Brees? 

GROWING FANTASY INDUSTRY

FINALLY… from the FSTA twitter account.

FANTASY SPORTS PARTICIPATION HITS NEW MILESTONE, REACHING NEARLY 57 MILLION PLAYERS.

FSTA Research: 7.4 million more people playing fantasy football, 4.7 million more playing fantasy baseball than 2013.

Research: Fantasy players are educated and are employed full time. Average age is 37, 54% of fantasy players are under 35.

FSTA Research: 61% watch more live TV and 60% read more articles because they play fantasy sports. Jason Allsopp: "That's a huge number.”

FSTA Research: DFS spending has jumped 158% since 2012, to $257 per player. Traditional league, materials spend also on the rise.