Posts tagged PeytonManning at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

The Fantasy FanHouse team will occasionally debate pre-draft topics for your perusement, amusement and...something else that rhymes with those two words. Today's topic: If you could choose where you'd be drafting in a ten team league, which pick would you choose and why?

Matthew Greber: Alright, so let's start off at the point that was so ably teased by Snyder in the last Roundtable -- if you could choose what draft pick you had, which one would you take?

If folks don't mind, I'm going to suggest that we assume it's a 10-team league which seem to be the most prevalent.

We actually have had this rule in my main league for awhile -- or, we did. Folks with the #1 "pick" could then choose what draft pick they actually got. In practice, it pretty much went that the #1 guy would take the first pick, and so on down the ladder with very little variety. So, we scrapped it. But I'm thinking that if we still had it in place, that wouldn't be the same this year. At least it wouldn't be so for me.

Cause if I have my choice, sure -- I'll take LaDanian Tomlinson with the first pick. But if someone else snags the #1 slot, I'd prefer #10 to anything else. I'll take two of Ryan Grant, Frank Gore, Clinton Portis, Marshawn Lynch there and be just as happy as I would be with LDT and whoever is left at #20 and #21.

Fantasy FanHouse: What say you?

Will Brinson: I want, in order: 1,2,3 and then 10,9,8; essentially I want top three or a bottom pick. I think deciding which of Jackson/Gore/Westbrook is too risky a proposition if I'm being handed the choice of where to start, especially considering it waters down your second round pick.

Hence, I either want top three (LT, Addai, Peterson) or I want to end up in the bottom. The end of the first round is especially attractive this year, because I think QBs and WRs will get taken in the first and second rounds more than normal (certainly Brady, Peyton and Moss will be gone by pick 10 or 12 and I've seen some places where Wes Welker -- WELKAH!!! -- went in the second round).

Because of that, I think that the end of round one affords you the ability to pick up two quality running backs -- Lynch and Grant are two I certainly have my eye on -- and still land a reasonably highly ranked WR at the end of the third round.

MG: I'd love to hear an argument for the middle of the round -- it's generally a nice place to be because you wait the least amount of time between picks. But yeah, unless I'm in a league where I specifically want to draft Peyton, Brady or Moss, I'm with you wanting the bookend picks. Grant and Lynch at the end, especially since it seems that Lynch isn't going to miss anytime despite being behind the wheel for a DUI hit and run, are really nice RBs to snare at the turn.

Welker going that early is awesome. Somehow I think that league is based in Bahstin. Off the top of my head I can name ten WR I'd want before him, but that's probably another roundtable topic.

The Fantasy FanHouse team will occasionally debate pre-draft topics for your perusement and amusement. Any excuse for a Roundtable really. Today's topic: picks 3-6 in the first round.

Matt Snyder: Right behind the obvious top two picks is another tier of elite running backs. There shouldn't be much debate that the next four players off the board are Joseph Addai, Brian Westbrook, Steven Jackson, and Frank Gore -- unless someone wants to waste their top six pick on Tom Brady or Randy Moss, in which case you happily let them. The debate, though, is in what order they should be taken.

So, Fantasy FanHouse ... what order and why?

Hear that? It's the pitter-patter of fantasy football season approaching. Fantasy FanHouse is here to get you ready by previewing every team from a fantasy perspective.

Meet The ...
Fantasy machine. The Rams had their run, and the Patriots were stellar last year, but there has been no offense as consistently absurd in fantasy football as the Colts for the past decade. As long as Peyton Manning is healthy -- which is always -- you could plug anyone into a prominent role and accrue stats. Case in point, Kenton Keith was a good player in the CFL; not great. Last year in limited duty for the Colts he amassed 522 yards with a 4.4 yards-per-carry average (including 28 carries, 121 yards, 2 TD in week 5). I'm convinced that I could put up five fantasy points if I suited up for the blue and white ... but that's the thing. They don't have dudes with reconstructed knees who don't work out. They have studs. Lots of them.

The Breakout
It's awfully tough to find one, considering the whole team is already established. Well, except for one man. Marvin Harrison is on the downside of his glorious career, and is still a little banged up. Peyton likes to use two outside weapons. Enter Anthony Gonzalez. He's ready to build upon a quasi-productive rookie campaign. Even if Harrison plays, Manning utilizes his third wideout quite well. Remember Brandon Stokley's 2004?

The Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon must've known the poopstorm this would cause, but I give him credit for running with it anyway. He goes about the task of ranking the quarterbacks and has the audacity to put Tony Romo fifth behind Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, and Drew Brees.

Predictably, some Cowboys fans thought Romo was ranked way too low (oddly, nobody thought he was ranked too high), and proceeded to tell us as much. While I have no problems with MacMahon's list, the most intriguing piece of news comes courtesy of commenter Gigante who points to this link and asks, "And this is supposed to make me feel good?"

"You're Phil Mickelson before he won his first major." - Cowboys coach Wade Wilson to quarterback Tony Romo, who has yet to win a playoff game.

First, when I saw "Wade", I just figured it was Phillips and he had confused "Phil Mickelson" with "Brett Favre when he was in Atlanta." It's definitely plausible.

But Wade Wilson? Was he trying to motivate Romo? I mean, it would've been less insulting to say, "If Dr. Frankenstein found a way to combine the worst qualities of Drew Bledsoe, Vinny Testaverde and Quincy Carter, it would be you."

That Romo even made it into MacMahon's top 5 is a testament to his perseverance. In retrospect, maybe Roger Goodell's suspension wasn't harsh enough.

Fifteen years ago, the name Peyton was unusual -- birth certificate data indicates that it wasn't even one of the 500 most popular boys' names in America.

But then a freshman named Peyton Manning enrolled at the University of Tennessee, and things started to change. By 1997 -- Manning's senior football season -- Peyton had become the 51st most popular boys' name in the state of Tennessee. And it didn't stop there.

Today, Titans quarterback Vince Young apologized to children who may have seen shirtless pictures of him in a bar, including one where he appears to drink liquor straight from the bottle. Even so, he doesn't believe he did anything wrong:

"I apologize to some of the kids if they did see it because I am trying to be a role model for them. But at the same time, I was just trying to have fun with (friends). That is the life of a quarterback, somebody of my status. I guess somebody was trying to make some money and sold the picture to the web site. But at the same time that is the life I chose to live. But it is not going to stop me from having fun. I just have to watch myself. They always want to try and get some negative pub on me. It wasn't really nothing bad. ... Everybody deserves to have a good time every once in a while during the offseason."

And when he says "every once in a while," I'm guessing his definition is different than most people's. Below the gallery is a selection of six Vince Young birthday party links (and pictures) from just last weekend hosted by a promotion group called "inDmix":

In another clear sign that the league wants the Colts and Peyton Manning to win multiple championships, NFL owners awarded Indianapolis the 2012 Super Bowl. I might be embellishing a bit, especially since Manning will be 35 when the big show comes to Naptown (although no doubt still playing, and playing well), and the Colts lost out to the Cowboys for the right to host the game last season.

With less competition and a shiny new stadium, Indianapolis was selected over Houston and Arizona, two cities that have hosted Super Bowls in the past four years. And while owner Jim Irsay is understandably thrilled about the news, the city of Indianapolis is the big winner:

Mayor Greg Ballard said the experiences of past host cities suggests that Indianapolis can expect 100,000 visitors and an infusion of about $120 million into the local economy.

"This was truly a community bid. It began with a process of involving anyone interested in being a part of it, and ended with our 8th grade ambassadors flying all over the country to hand-deliver our final bid package."

Added bonus: Indy in February. It'll be just like Detroit but without access to the Canadian strip clubs.

Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star has a nice story in today's paper about a classy gesture that Colts quarterback Peyton Manning makes every year: He writes letters to NFL players who have retired, congratulating them on their careers.

Among the recent letters Manning has written were to former Jets running back Curtis Martin, former Chiefs offensive lineman Will Shields, former Titans tight end Frank Wycheck and former Ravens quarterback Steve McNair. But he hasn't written a letter to former Packers quarterback Brett Favre, because Manning isn't convinced about the former part:

"Like everybody else, I guess we'll see what happens this fall,'' Manning said with a smile. "In a lot of ways I kind of hope (he returns). Brett's a guy that's been such an influence on me and all young quarterbacks.

" . . . I guess part of it is kind of hope, maybe, that he finds his way back in the NFL this year.''

I don't see it happening. But it sounds as though Manning, like a lot of Favre fans, isn't quite ready to let go.

The Colts begin their three-day minicamp today, and it will mark the triumphant return of shoulda-been Super Bowl MVP Dominic Rhodes. Actually, Rhodes was recently dumped by the Raiders after one disappointing season, but regardless, he should pick up where he left off in 2006: serving as a nice change-of-pace to the workhorse back, in this case Joseph Addai.

Indianapolis will also go about replacing guard Jake Scott, a potentially big loss since the offense is predicated on Peyton Manning feeling comfortable in the pocket.

But perhaps the biggest issue heading into 2008 is the status of potential Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison. He's been busy this offseason, although how busy is still up in the air at this point. Harrison was questioned by Philadelphia police about an April 29 shooting, although he denies any involvement and the police don't consider him a suspect at this point.

As far as head coach Tony Dungy knows, Harrison will be at practice today, even though it sounds like he hasn't talked to his Pro Bowl wideout. Even before the legal run-in, Harrison had struggled with injuries last season, and at 35, there's reason to think he's finally slowing down.

And while it sounds ludicrous to say, the Colts should be able to manage in his absence; they did it in 2007 with Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and rookie Anthony Gonzalez. Now only difference is that Gonzalez has more experience and is fully recovered from a hand injury.

A great piece of Random YouTube Magic: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning gets furious at his offensive line on the sideline during an October 2005 game against the Rams:

(Via PFT) The argument took place during the third quarter of a game in which the Rams took a 17-0 lead, only to have the Colts storm back and win, 45-28. It appears that Manning was angry because he was calling passing plays but center Jeff Saturday was calling run protections. Eventually left tackle Tarik Glenn got into it as well. The transcript of the argument is after the jump.