Fantasy football: the aftermath

Last time on “A Cup of Joe”:
Joe enters his third year of “Trouble,” a 12-team fantasy football league. This year, the commissioner decides to allow keepers as long as they were drafted past the eighth round last year.

Joe decides to keep undrafted WR Reggie Brown (PHI), RB Brandon Jacobs (NYG) and QB Vince Young (TEN), thus losing his 12th to 14th picks. And he has the No. 2 pick in the draft.

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Round 1, 2nd pick: RB Steven Jackson (STL) – (No. 2 overall according to fanball.com's 2006 stats, No. 2 RB)
2006: 1,528 rushing yds, 13 rushing TDs, 806 receiving yds, 3 TDs, 28.36 points per game (3rd overall, 2nd RB)

This was a no-brain pick on my part. If I couldn't get Tomlinson, Jackson was my only other option. With our league's slightly higher points per reception, Jackson should get ridiculous points this year. He also mentioned that he had a lofty goal: 2,500 yards of total offense.

Round 2, 23rd pick: QB Carson Palmer (CIN) – (No. 10, No. 5 QB)
2006: 4,036 yards passing, 28 TDs, 22.84 ppg (12th, 6th QB)

I was going to take a super top-tier wide receiver with my second pick, but with my top three choices – Reggie Wayne, Steve Smith and Chad Johnson – gone from the board, I went with my second QB choice, behind Peyton. Palmer has Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh as targets and getting 4,000-plus yards and 30-plus TDs should be a given this season. Plus QB points are slightly increased this year.

Round 3, 26th pick: WR Larry Fitzgerald (ARI) – (No. 103, No. 25 WR)
2006: 941 receiving yds, 6 TDs, 14.53 ppg

Fitz suffered through injuries last year, but he's big (6-4/220) and has immense talent. Add QB Matt Leinart, who will pass the ball around enough to keep him, RB Edgerrin James and WR Anquan Boldin happy. I'm expecting a solid 1,000-plus yards, 10-plus TDs for him this year.

Round 4, 47th pick: RB Adrian Peterson (MIN)
2006: N/A

I know he's sharing time with Chester Taylor for Minnesota, but he will make some huge runs. It was a fair gamble to take him here, but I think he's going to take over the full-time starting slot fairly early into the season. He should end up with 1,000-plus yards on the ground and six TDs.

Round 5, 50th pick: TE Vernon Davis (SF) – (No. 286, No. 26 TE)
2006: 265 receiving yds, 3 TDs, 5.99 ppg

At the end of the fourth round, tight ends were going fast. The top TEs – Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez and Alge Crumpler – were gone. Davis showed flashes of brilliance before he broke his leg last year. He's big (6-3, 253) and fast (4.40 40). In retrospect, I probably chose him higher than I should have, but he was the top TE on my list behind Gates.

Round 6, 71st pick: WR Darrell Jackson (SF) – (No. 73, No. 13 WR)
2006: 956 receiving yds, 10 TDs, 17.13 ppg (4th WR)

I was not expecting Jackson to be available this late into the draft. Last year he averaged the fourth highest ppg for a WR with Seattle. If Alex Smith can live up to his potential and get him the ball, Jackson should be in for another quality season. I'm expect 1,000-plus yards and 8 TDs.

Round 7, 74th pick: Minnesota Vikings defense – (No. 25, No. 4 DEF)
2006: 17.76 ppg (4th DEF)

With Chicago gone in the third round, and San Diego, Pittsburgh, Miami, Baltimore and Denver gone soon after, I went for the best of the rest. Minnesota's no slouch, though: Best rushing defense last year at 61.6 yards per game and they forced 36 turnovers.

Round 8, 95th pick: WR Greg Jennings (GB) – (No. 175, No. 50 WR)
2006: 632 receiving yds, 3 TDs, 8.86 ppg

With three receivers on my team already, I went for a solid backup. Jennings will be the No. 2 receiver in Green Bay behind Donald Driver. With a year under his belt, he should get higher numbers. Many fantasy sites predict that he could approach 1,000 yards receiving this year.

Round 9, 98th pick: TE Randy McMichael (StL) – (No. 170, No. 11 TE)
2006: 640 receiving yds, 3 TDs, 7.89 ppg

A backup tight end, this early? At this point, I felt my team was fairly solid. Plus I needed someone who could slip into the TE role if Davis doesn't live up to my expectations. In St. Louis, McMichael should get a lot more looks than he did in Miami.

Round 10, 119th pick: RB Kevin Jones (DET) – (No. 66, No. 21 RB)
2006: 689 rushing yds, 6 TDs, 520 receiving yds, 2 TDs, 19.16 ppg

Even with the addition of Tatum Bell, Jones should get a fair share of time running the ball. Plus with Detroit's fondness of throwing the ball, Jones could get quite a few catches.

Round 11, 122nd pick: WR Amani Toomer (NYG) – (No. 250, No. 77 WR)
2006: 360 receiving yds, 3 TDs, 9.76 ppg

I wasn't sold on this pick, but my other options for a fifth receiver weren't so good. Toomer went down with a season-ending injury last year, but had a couple of big games in between. I had him a couple years ago. It's a love-hate relationship with him.

Round 12, 143rd pick: [KEEPER] WR Reggie Brown (PHI) – (No. 100, No. 24 WR)
2006: 836 receiving yds, 8 TDs, 11.90 ppg

With Donte' Stallworth out of the picture, Brown becomes the Eagles' No. 1 option. And with McNabb's affinity to throwing the ball, Brown should get plenty of looks. I'm expecting him to have a breakout season with 1,100-plus yds and 10-plus TDs.

Round 13, 146th pick: [KEEPER] RB Brandon Jacobs (NYG) – (No. 157, No. 40 RB)
2006: 423 rushing yds, 9 TDs, 149 receiving yds, 9.10 ppg

Tiki Barber's retirement meant that Jacobs would move into the role as No. 1 RB. Jacobs is likely to start despite the team's addition of Reuben Droughns. Jacobs should have 1,000-plus yards and 10-plus TDs in his new role.

Round 14, 167th pick: [KEEPER] QB Vince Young (TEN) – (No. 25, No. 13 QB)
2006: 2,199 passing yds, 12 TDs, 553 rushing yds, 7 TDs, 18.99 ppg

As long as the Madden curse doesn't get him – knock on wood – Young should post up solid numbers this season. If he can get me 2,500 passing yds and 20 TDs, I'll be happy. It's his rushing yards I'm salivating over.

Round 15, 170th pick: QB Brady Quinn (CLE)
2006: N/A

Even if he's not a starter this year, he's bound to be one next year. I took this pick in order to keep him for next year. Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow should provide plenty of throwing opportunities.

Round 16, 191st pick: K Martin Grammatica (DAL)
2006: Who cares?

This wasn't my choice. I wasn't going to choose a kicker anyway.

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Best bargain: Darrell Jackson in the sixth round
I was not expecting him to be available that far down.

Worst pick-up: Randy McMichael in the ninth round
I should have picked up Green Bay RB Vernand Morency there. He was still available and I'm sure McMichael would have been there in the 10th.

Should've waited: Vernon Davis in the fifth round
This was a panic pick. I think he would've stayed on the board until the sixth round. I could have picked up a better defense here.

Should've grabbed when I could: Ten Ginn Jr. in the 15th round
No one would've picked up Quinn, but I thought no one was going to grab Ginn Jr. But with the pick before mine, he was selected.

Evaluation

QB: Palmer (2nd), Young (14th) and Quinn (15th): I learned from my mistake last year when I had Matt Hasselbach and Jake Plummer as my QBs. Palmer should be gold and Young should give me solid flex points this year.

RB: Jackson (1st), Peterson (4th), Jones (10th) and Jacobs (13th): Jackson will get me tons of points. Jacobs will be a solid No. 2 back and Peterson should emerge as an offensive rookie of the year candidate. Who knows, Jones could have a big season.

WR: Fitzgerald (3rd), Jackson (6th), Jennings (8th), Toomer (11th) and Brown (12th): Fitzgerald had 1,409 yds in 2005 and if he's healthy, he should approach that this year. Jackson is capable of 1,200-plus yards if he remains healthy. Brown is a solid No. 2 WR and has improved every season. Jennings will give me a good backup/flex option. Toomer could be good.

TE: Davis (5th) and McMichael (9th): This could be my weakest position or one of my strongest. It depends on how Davis performs. He has the potential to be a 1,000-plus, 10 TD TE. If not, McMichael will provide solid numbers.

DEF: Minnesota (7th): Defensive Coordinator Mike Tomlin left in the offseason, but many of the team's key players remain. I need to pick up a backup for their bye week, but I'll get there when it comes.

K: Grammatica (16th): I randomly chose him. I think I'm going to pick up Green Bay's Mason Crosby just because I need a Colorado connection on the team.

Online Escape: Brilliant answer

I don't know how Mario Lopez kept a straight face.

Online Escape: Peer influence

'Dungeons and Dragons' for football fanatics

My level nine Tom Brady will destroy your level seven Jaguars defense.

Alright, so it's not exactly quite like “DnD,” but fantasy football is a game for football geeks.

Just my kind of game.

Here at the Sentinel, we've already completed our draft. With only four people playing, our teams are incredibly stacked. (My biggest problem is deciding who starts in the two running back positions with Steven Jackson, Shaun Alexander, Laurence Maroney, Ronnie Brown and Brandon Jacobs on the roster).

The league I'm concerned about is the 12-man one, which I'm playing my third season in. We run a 2qb, 2rb, 3wr, 1 flex, 1te, 1k, 1def system – though it might change to a 1qb, 2 flex league with the latest additions. This year we decided on turning it into a keeper league with each team allowed up to three players to carry over into this season – just as long as they were drafted after the eighth round or they were an undrafted free agency pickup. In return, we lose a draft pick three rounds higher than they were drafted at (someone who was picked up in the 11th round last year takes the 8th round slot this year).

Luckily, I picked up several key players last year due to late season injuries. My three keepers are undrafted New York Giants RB Jacobs, who takes over Tiki Barber's starting slot this year; undrafted Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young – and yeah, I know about the Madden curse – who has the physical tools to have a breakout season; and Philadelphia Eagles WR Reggie Brown, who should be Donovan McNabb's No. 1 target this year.

And all I gave up for them were my 12th through 14th picks.

The hardest person to pass on was Dallas RB Marion Barber. Fourteen touchdowns on the ground and two in the air last year gave me crazy points. Now, I know some of you are saying that I'm crazy on taking Brown or Young instead of Barber, but I have a few good reasons for this:

1)Our league weights receptions slightly higher

2)Brown becomes McNabb's No. 1 target with the departure of Donte' Stallworth

3)Young could have Vick-esque numbers this year

4)I have the No. 2 pick in the draft

Now assuming LaDainian Tomlinson is chosen first (he'd obviously be my pick if he drops to No. 2), this means I have St. Louis' RB Jackson for my pick. Jackson could potentially pick up 1,000-plus yards rushing and receiving. Last year he picked up more than 2,300 yards of total offense and that number should go up this year. Kansas City's RB Larry Johnson would be a safe pick too, but with the loss of LT Will Shields, it's going to be more difficult for him to duplicate the same numbers.

Plus, I hate the Chiefs.

That gives me two high-end running backs, a solid wide receiver and a quarterback who has the potential to explode this year.

We do a serpentine-style draft, so my second pick won't be until No. 23. There are so many options, but I'm leaning toward a top-tier wide receiver such as St. Louis WR Torry Holt, Arizona WR Larry Fitzgerald or Indy WR Reggie Wayne. And then I'd pick up another quarterback, perhaps New Orlean's Drew Brees or New England's Tom Brady.

Maybe I'll even go after Michael Vick.

...

Probably not.

I'll post an update of my draft results Monday.

More than meets the eye

"Where are you from?”

For many, it's an easy question with an easy answer. For me, it's a question with no right answer.

Usually I tell people Aurora because it's the city I currently live in, or Denver because it's where I was born. But I would get the same response after I say this.

“Oh,” the person would say. “So, where are you really from?”

The answer they are looking for is Vietnam, the country which my parents were born. Then I'm usually bombarded with random Asian facts or a list of Vietnamese people that this person knows.

As if I cared about these facts or knew all 15,000-plus Vietnamese Americans that live in Colorado.

This is the “perpetual foreigner” stereotype – the notion that those of Asian descent are unassimilated and inherently foreign.

When I was in preschool, I remember sitting in a circle with my peers when one of them told me that I wasn't American.

I became defensive and told him I was American because I was born in Denver, but he told me that it didn't matter. I left school in tears that day. My mom asked me what was wrong, but I never did tell her.

Flash forward 18 years and many, many more encounters later. It's no longer blatant attacks of, “Go back to your own country,” but rather it's a number of passive comments and actions that have been embedded into my daily life.

Just this past week, I was covering an event when an organizer came up to me with a press packet.

“I'm sorry, but we only have them in English,” he said, referring to the packets.

Perplexed, I looked at him and replied, “I work for an English-language publication.”

I suppose it shouldn't surprise me anymore, but every time I get in this situation, I'm still caught offguard. How does one respond to this? I used to try educating people, but when I only have 10 seconds, it's difficult to convey my message.

I've heard the argument that this is “just an honest mistake” or that “it's not a big deal.” But for me, it's a problem. And a problem that's not addressed will never be fixed.