Keep him or not?

With one more week till keepers are announced, most FADUCO teams are set with 3 keepers, but are not as sure about their fourth. Here is a matchup of these borderline players.

Andrew:
Willie Parker vs. Wes Welker
For Parker: Andrew needs running back depth. Parker plays for Pittsburgh's ground-centric offense.
For Welker: May as well go all-in on Pats offense with combo of Brady-Welker.
Against Parker: Can probably get a better RB with 1st round pick assuming he doesn't trade it away to Bill
Against Welker: Will get the receptions and yards, but not so sure about the TD department. Safer of the two picks.

What Vic Guru would do: You can be competitive with 3 WR offense nowadays, keep Welker and draft 1st tier WR (Jennings, Wayne, or White) in 1s round instead of reaching for 2nd tier RB.

Bill:
Drew Brees vs. Reggie Wayne
For Brees: A lot of people rank Brees as the #1 QB; you need an all-star QB to usually win FADUCO.
For Wayne: May not be able to get a Tier 1 WR with 8th pick; Wayne is a very safe pick.
Against Brees: Plays against Philly in week 3.
Against Wayne: May be able to "keep" Roddy White with 1st round pick.

What Vic Guru would do: Bill has the deepest pool of keepers to choose from, so maybe trade one of those players to a weak team like Andrew, Lily, or Katy for better draft position.


Donny:
Ryan Grant vs. Chad Ochocinco

For Grant: Running back with strong upside, track record in 2007.
For 8-5: No Housh-whatever to share receptions
Against Grant: Health issues, inconsistent production in 2008, GB has more RB depth now.
Against 8-5: Getting old, no Housh to avoid double-team coverage

What Vic Guru would do: Go safe and keep Grant, let Tam-Nam be someone else's problem.

Hai:
Marques Colston vs. Jay Cutler
For Colston: Stud WR, supposedly healthy. Big part of final game for Hai.
For Cutler: One of the best QBs under 30 in the league
Against Colston: NO has a lot of weapons, may not see as many TDs when Brees spreads the wealth
Against Cutler: Plays in Windy city now. Graveyard of QBs.

What Vic Guru would do: Stay loyal to Colston, he only helped bring you a championship and $$$$.

Katy:
Julius Jones vs. Felix Jones
For Julius: Probable starter for Seahawks, glory days of Shaun Alexander?
For Felix: Big home run hitter, will see more carries so Dallas can keep MB III healthy.
Against Julius: Past underachievement record, TJ Duckett will steal goaline carries.
Against Felix: Home run hitter who will strike out a bit, will be inconsistent.

What Vic Guru would do: Keep Felix and pray for MB III to get injured.

Kevin:
Keepers are set

What Vic Guru would do: Go and work on improving your baseball fantasy team.

Lily:
Lendale White vs. Antonio Gates
For Lendale: Got 15 TDs last year, FADUCO scoring favors TDs over yardage.
For Antonio Gates: If she keeps Gates, she can have a tier 1 player at 3 positions (QB, WR, TE).
Against Lendale: He's supposedly less fat now, so may not be as good in goaline duty
Against Gates: Injury risk, LDT may need more blocking help now that he's getting old.

What Vic Guru would do: Keep White, build RB depth with 1st pick. Expect to be able to draft a quality TE with 2nd round pick to replace Gates.

PJ:
Roy E. Williams vs. TO
For Williams: Now the undisputed #1 WR in Dallas, has offseason to gel with Romo.
For TO: Usually does well in 1st year with new team, teams can't double-cover him with Lee Evans on other side
Against Williams: Has to share receptions with Romo's BFF Witten, never got more than 8 TDs in a season.
Against TO: Drama Central! Also lost in 1st round of Network Superstars and had to get the benefit of network shenanigans to return to the show.

What Vic Guru would do: Keep Roy Williams and pray Jessica Simpson doesn't mistake him for a hoagie and eat him.

Tuna:
Marshawn Lynch vs. Matt Ryan
For Lynch: Quality RB when healthy or not suspended
For Ryan: Very high upside, one of the best young QBs in the game.
Against Lynch: Will miss first 3 games of season due to off-field activities
Against Ryan: Atlanta will still not air it out, especially with Michael Turner around.

What Vic Guru would do: Keep Lynch, most teams won't move on QBs till 2nd round or later


Victor:
Pierre Thomas vs. Greg Jennings
For Thomas: Now the #1 RB in NO, did very well last third of the season in 2008 and last game of 2007.
For Jennings: Tier 1 WR who was quite solid throughout the season last year.
Against Thomas: Unknown track record as the Man. May lose out scoring opportunities to Reggie Bush.
Against Jennings: Green Bay is windy and cold in December (FADUCO playoff time).

What Vic Guru would do: Go with the PT Cruiser, the man is a beast in December.

Comments

Anonymous said…
VG, nice article. Could you please supply me Lilly's email.
Bill
ldonge said…
what?! who said I was quitting? The purse hasn't asked me to pay up. We're in a credit crisis if you haven't noticed. I'll pay up when the stimulus bill and the loan guarantee program gets their act together.
Victor Donge said…
Bill, Lily's email is available on the Faduco website
Anonymous said…
Vic,

You have got this wrong its between TO and Bryant for me. Please update, I am always interested in your spreadsheets.
PJ
Anonymous said…
watch out lily...bill can charm asian women...
Anonymous said…
of course he can, he's white
kevin said…
low blow (but deserving) regarding the fantasy baseball comment. i hold you partly responsible, you usually would give us free advice (from time to time) but this year you left us hanging. kevin