One of the downsides of Mark being across the sea, is that for the most part, for half of the year our relationship revolves around fantasy football. And right now I hate Mark. No, that's not quite right. I have intense jealousy, masking as hatred for Mark as a fantasy football owner. It's just that right now I can't think about Mark without thinking about fantasy, and that he traded for Chris Johnson.
This is one of those trades that every owner would love to make. Trade depth for studs; take multiple players that aren't much different than what's on the waiver wire, and get back game changers in exchange.
I tried to do a version of that trade this year. Except instead of trading depth for studs, I tried to do a buy low, sell high. I was trying to unload Braylon (or anyone) to get Matt Forte. I figured he would end up a top 8 rb and maybe I could get him since he was underperforming.
The funny thing is that Forte finished as the 13th best rb, but it didn't feel like it. In fact, let's go to the chart. Here are the top 25 backs, Stewart and Charles are tied at 25.
(click to read chart)So people talk about top 10 running backs, or top 20, or whatever. But now that the season's over, it's easier to see these guys in groups:
(points through 14 weeks)
Tier 1:
Chris Johnson 311 pts
Tier 2:
MJD, Rice, Peterson 242-239
Tier 3:
Jones, Jackson, R. Williams, Addai, Gore, D. Williams 200-187
So there are the top 10 backs. As you can see, they are not interchangeable.
Tier 4: 9 guys from 174.5-139
Tier 5: 7 guys from 131-121
But basically we can focus on the first three tiers. These are the big RB playmakers, averaging double digits every week. In a 10-team league, you need at least one. But really, it's having one of the guys in Tier 1 or Tier 2 that makes you a playoff team.
This all comes back to Mark. He had the #1 pick and it panned out, so he was handed a Tier 2 guy on a silver platter. But then he traded for Chris Johnson and got him. Without giving up a stud in return. I can't believe it. I wasn't able to trade for Forte (a Tier 4 guy) and rightfully so. And Mark gets the guy with his own tier.
But I can't get mad at Mark, per se. I just can't believe it. By the way, the whole money part of everything seems so ancillary. Who gives a crap about the $10. This is tearing me and Mark apart. (sigh)
I'm going to do a similar tiered look at QB and receiver to see what can be learned.
I think we should go to counseling.
ReplyDeleteThe thing with the chris johnson trade was that he was good before i got him, but then he really took off. I gave up the #1 receiver (at the time), who I picked up off the waiver wire only because you took Mario Manningham before it was my turn and Joseph Addai, a running back I didn't trust but turned out to have a good year. However, I thought Swag would counter the trade and ask for Kevin Smith, who at the time was playing better. Obviously, I would have done the deal anyway and been even more loaded if that had happened.