World League of Football draft review: The European Division 2015
Greetings fellow WLOFers and welcome to our 2015 series of draft reviews for the World League of Football 2015 draft. Today’s review will be of the European Division. Europe was the second best division last year putting two teams into the playoffs including the WLOF runner up. Our professional critic for today will be Brian Williams, recently of NBC news. Brian has had some free time on his hands, so he was delighted to come and help us with our series of WLOF Post draft reviews. Brian has been working on a rap for us so we will let him lead off with that. Brian, take it away....
Thank you Micah! Welcome, everyone to our review of the European division. This year's draft starts out with a degree of tradgedy and some new ownership. Uncharicteristically, there has been massive turnover in the European division for the first time in many years. The European division had been unchanged for 5 season when Doug Cottle moved into the Division and Jason "Psychic" Webber moved to the Pacific Rim. Before that, the division had been unchanged since 2006, when Jim Williams (love that name!) joined the World League of Football and had been a 9 year owner. Also, Tim Richards had been a stalwart in the division for 11 years joining in 2004. And Brent Washburn had been a 10 year owner in the division after sliding over from the America's division. Alas Brent is no longer with us, and Jim has sold his team. Jason Webber, who had made the European division his home for 12 years before changing divisions in 2010 has returned to roost in the European division. Also, new owner Tedd Lucht has purchased the Florence franchise from Jim Williams (still loving that name!) and has moved them to Dublin, Ireland. With the new ownership comes a new flavor as longtime rivalries are renewed (Germany and the Isotopes), and some are created (St. Mihiel and the Isotopes, Dublin with everybody). Let's take a look at this division in detail.
The first team we shall review is the 2014 European division Champion, Good German Beer, captained by Tim Richards. Tim has a long history in the European division and is a rather common team to find in the playoffs. 2014 was no exception for Good German Beer. Will Tim be able to guide Germany to another playoff run this 2015 season? Let's look at Tim's draft:
Round 1: RB C. J. Anderson +23.3
Round 2: RB Melvin Gordon +51.9
Round 3: WR Jordan Matthews -29.3
Round 4: WR Amari Cooper -18.0 (-0.6)
Round 5: QB Joe Flacco -13.0 (+86.0)
Round 6: RB Isaiah Crowell (+28.1)
Round 7: QB Jay Cutler -8.6 (+90.4)
Round 8: WR Malcom Floyd -6.6 (+10.8)
Round 9: WR Breshad Perriman (-11.4)
Round 10: QB Tyrod Taylor (+7.6)
Round 11: TE Charles Clay -41.1 (-1.1)
Round 12: Def JETS -5.5
Round 13: TE Mychal Rivera -36.7 (+3.3)
Round 14: WR Robert Woods -15.2
Round 15: K Dustin Hopkins -10.1 dropped, added K Phil Dawson -7.1
Tim followed a traditional draft strategy by going Running Back / Running Back in the draft. We 16 teams, this means you will have to sacrifice somewhere. The issue here is that Anderson (and all the Broncos) laid such an egg that you have to be a bit concerned there. Anderson is the only big name on this team, so if he is bad, "Houston, we have a problem." Wide Reciever is unspectacular but deep. QB is worrysome. The good news is there are 3 usable QB's, and Tyrod Taylor may have a bigger upside than originally thought. But Flacco and Cutler. Gosh. Playing either one means you are at a disadvantage going into every week. TE is a hot mess. Clay did get a TD this week, but Clay and Rivera are barely backups let alone starters. The JETS are a strong defense, but with no backup defense, we once again are at the mercy of high powered offenses (Patriots twice anyone?). This gives Good German Beer a raw starters score of -28.5 and a bench score of +30.93. The depth score is -3 due to lack of depth at RB, no backup defense (for shame Tim!) and piss poor Tight Ends.
The one true strength of this squad is the Running Backs. They are not deep, but two strong ones. The WR corps does not have a stand out star, but it is deep.
There are serious weaknesses here, starting at Tight End. Both Tight ends rate as below average...for backup Tight Ends. Yikes. QB is also as weak as it gets for a starter. No backup defense.
Best Pick: Melvin Gordon (Round 2). Young back, but one of the better number 2 RB's in the league. On an electric offense, he could be big.
Worst Pick: Joe Flacco (Round 5). Easy to kick a QB after a bad week 1, but Joe is the kind of QB you want on your real team to not make mistakes. Not on your Fantasy team to not make many points. Tannehill, Bradford, or even Carson Palmer all were available. And obviously Cutler.
Score: -16.04
Projected Finish: 3rd Place European division Not a playoff team Projected record: 5 - 8
The next team we are going to look at in depth is the St. Mihiel Tough Ombres. St. Mihiel finished in a tie for the division but lost the division championship on a tiebreaker. They still qualified for the playoffs and made the deepest run for a Doug Cottle owned franchise cullminating in thier first World League of Football Superbowl appearence in WLOF Superbowl XVII. This season appears to be an uphill challenge for the Tough Ombres as they lost their second draft pick, Jordy Nelson, in the preseason. They will have to hang very tough to make a dent in this season. It should be noted that despite all predictions, the Tough Ombres won their first week matchup and are tied for the division lead. Let's break down their draft:
Round 1: RB Lesean McCoy -6.7
Round 2: WR Jordy Nelson (N/A) dropped [Ouch], picked up Allen Hurns (-19.6)
Round 3: QB Phillip Rivers -8.5
Round 4: WR Martavis Bryant -8.6 (+8.8)
Round 5: Def SEAHAWKS +43.5
Round 6: RB Alfred Blue -25.5
Round 7: WR Terrence Williams -53.3
Round 8: WR Victor Cruz -5.2 (+12.2)
Round 9: TE Antonio Gates -33.9 (+6.1)
Round 10: WR Marvin Jones (-13.0)
Round 11: TE Vernon Davis -32.9 (+7.1)
Round 12: K Cody Parkey +4.1
Round 13: RB Ray Rice (N/A)
Round 14: RB Darren Sproles (-16.1)
Round 15: QB Johnny Manziel (-58.8)
Wow. OK, losing Nelson early had a ripple effect on the St. Mihiel draft starting in round 5. No only is Nelson gone, but Martavis Bryant and Antonio Gates have 4 game suspensions to start the season, so their top two WR and top TE are out. Oh, did I mention Victor Cruz is not healthy yet? Throw in the possible quick recovery of Arian Foster and the Ray Rice hail mary and this team has some serious gaps. The current bright spot is the play of Phillip Rivers. If he can sustain a top 5 QB kind of year, there is hope. Lesean McCoy also has to outplay his ranking. Getting Terrence Williams given the Dez Bryant injury may be the only thing keeping the WR group afloat. There is no depth here. When Bryant and Gates come back, there will be a bit more. If Rice gets picked up, that would be huge. But Blue will soon be a backup, and there is little hope at that point. The raw starter score is a -86.6 (so many negative numbers!) and a bench score of -14.43. The depth score is -5 simply due to huge RB issues, no backup defense, no real backup QB, and so so so many missing pieces.
Want a tought gig? Try finding the strength of this team. It is going to lay at the feet of Rivers and McCoy. They have to throw back the clock 3 years and reemerge as the stars they once were. Defense is strong, but, once again, no backup. Of course there is no roster spot for a backup. Kicker is good?
The number of weakness here is striking. WR is in trouble, with Cruz out at the start of the season and Bryant suspended. Williams, Marvin Jones, and Allen Hurns are it for now. RB was punted to try and find a stongpoint leading to the Seahawks pick in round 5. Now Blue is the RB2 and he may lose his job in 2 weeks or so. Darren Sproles is all that is left. QB has no backup. Johnny Manziel is not a usable option. So many holes.
Best Pick: Terrence Williams (Round 7) and Darren Sproles (Round 14). Williams was the most important pick. Getting your #1 WR at round 7 is not easy, but Williams simply fell too far for this draft and Doug benefited when he needed it most. Sproles is an even greater find after the Ray Rice stab. Somehow he may have found his #2RB in round 14.
Worst Pick: SEAHAWKS (Round 5). Not that the SEAHAWKS are in any way a bad pick. It is more the ripple effect of this pick. What, oh what, would have happened if Doug took Carlos Hyde at this pick or even Chris Ivory, and taken the SEAHAWKS in round 6? Different world we would be living in.
Score: -96.81
Projected Finish: 4th Place European Division Not a Playoff team Projected record: 3 - 10
Next up for our discerning criticism is a new team to the league. The Dublin Dark Knights make their World League of Football debut this week. Captained by new owner Tedd Lucht, Dublin is the new home base for the old Florence Fire Fighter franchise that was previously owned by Jim Williams (gosh, still loving that name!). Tedd has assembled a very balanced team with the possible exception of Running Back. He is also very Green Bay Packer centric with his squad. Let us look at his draft for 2015:
Round 1: QB Aaron Rodgers +20.8
Round 2: WR Randall Cobb +15.1
Round 3: RB Latavius Murray -39.1
Round 4: TE Greg Olsen +21.3
Round 5: WR Jarvis Landry -1.2
Round 6: RB Giovani Bernard +3.3
Round 7: Def TEXANS +12.5
Round 8: RB Charles Sims (-4.5)
Round 9: WR Percy Harvin (+8.4)
Round 10: Def BILLS +11.5
Round 11: WR Michael Crabtree (-27.4)
Round 12: RB Roy Helu (-10.7)
Round 13: QB Kirk Cousins (-39.5)
Round 14: K Sebastian Janikowski -21.5
Round 15: WR Reggie Wayne (N/A) dropped, added Ruben Randle (-16.7)
The Dark Knights started with a strong draft right out of the gates. Two Packers is not something most Americans can get behind as that is a lot of, well, gayness. But it does make for a stong Fantasy Team. The draft took a turn for the worst with Olsen. Olsen, in and of himself is a good Tight End. Unless you used him for week 1 and then he was a horrible Tight End. But taking him instead of a usable 2nd Running Back put the Dark Knights in a talent gap and they reached for Bernard and Sims instead of a good WR or backup QB. 2 early defensive picks solidified that position, but also led to the bench issues this team will have. A good waiver wire pickup may be needed at some point. The raw starter score is +11.2 (positive numbers! Yeah!) and the bench score is -6.03 (so much for positive numbers). Depth score is a -3 as there is no back up TE, no good backup QB, and a very weak RB corps.
The strength of this team lies in the QB and the starting Wide Recievers. TE is not backed up but is solid (except for week 1.) Two very solid Defenses will allow for a solid choice in playing matchups each week. That flexability may win the Dark Knights the division.
The weakness the Dark Knights have that stands out is at Running Back. Murray is talented. He is also an Oakland Raider. Bernard's numbers here I dissagree with. He is not a usable starter. He is bye week material only. Sims is even worse. Helu is the handcuff. RB 2 will be a blind spot all season. Depth and bench are a trainwreck as no decent backup QB and only Percy Harvin as a usable WR is painful. Where is the 2nd TE?
Best Pick: Jarvis Landry (Round 5). It was shit or get off the pot time with two picks on TE and QB and no #2 RB or WR. One had to be taken here and Landry is a good one!
Worst Pick: Giovani Bernard (Round 6). With the previous mention of Olsen (at least Olsen should be a top 5 TE) the Bernard pick was a wasted pick. Needed a #2 RB and did not hit one here. Tre Mason, Blount, Spiller, or if you were a risk taker, Arian Foster, all available.
Score: +5.19
Projected Finish: 1st place Winner European division Playoff team Projected record: 8 - 5
Finally, we come to the new owner who is the old owner. Of course, I am referring to the "Psychic" one, Jason Webber and his Chernobyl Isotopes. Jason is back in the division he made famous. Why he made the European division famous and what is it famous for I have no idea. But he did it. Jason whisked his Isotope franchise out of Pyongyang and to the sunny shores of Chernobyl. Or is that the hellish nuclear wasteland of Chernobyl? I don't have to visit there so I don't really care. Let us look at the draft board for the Isotopes:
Round 1: QB Russell Wilson +20.6
Round 2: WR Odell Beckham +41.3
Round 3: TE Travis Kelce +13.3
Round 4: RB Todd Gurley -59.9 (+10.7)
Round 5: RB Rashad Jennings -49.7 (+20.9)
Round 6: WR Allen Robinson -10.7 (+7.2)
Round 7: WR Marques Colston -8.3 (+9.6)
Round 8: QB Carson Palmer (+52.8)
Round 9: RB Duke Johnson (-32.5)
Round 10: WR Stevie Johnson (-33.6)
Round 11: TE Tyler Eifert (-0.7)
Round 12: Def EAGLES -15.5
Round 13: WR Branson Coleman (-15.8)
Round 14: Def BROWNS -36.9
Round 15: K Randy Bullock -19.2
The Isotopes had a strong start to there draft picking up three nice additions to the team. But no RB's for the first 3 rounds means you better nail the next couple of picks. Mission failure. Todd Gurley is a ballsey pick. But how do you pick Gurley, a rookie RB coming off ACL surgery and not healthy for the start of the season, with no promised time table and not take the RB who was a solid starter for the Rams and would be the starter until Gurley was fully integrated into the role? Seems like a must handcuff situation to assure you have a starting RB. But for two rounds, the Isotopes passed and lost out on Tre Mason. As much as Jason hated the draft bot pick of Rashad Jennings, he is the only usable RB on this team. You can thank the bot at any time Jason. Duke Johnson is a nice RB4 with the chance to see some touches later in the season for the Browns. I SAID TOUCHES FOR THE BROWNS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY THAT IS NOT REALLY A USABLE BACKUP!?!?! Carson Palmer does seem to be a bright spot that may pay dividends down the road for the Isotopes. Too bad the kicker sucks. The starting score for the Isotopes is -8.0. The bench score is a -1.78 as a usable RB2 may be an issue. Depth is a -1 as most things are covered except the RB position.
The strength of the Isotopes sits with the starting QB, WR1, and TE. Three studs to build around.
The weakness that the Isotopes will encounter is the obvious issues at RB. If Gurley gets healthy and wins the starting job this team improves greatly. If not, unfortunateness may occur in the back woods of Chernobyl with Jason and Russian officials directed by Putin. And the Kicker still sucks.
Best Pick: Travis Kelce (Round 3). I feel that Kelce is the real deal and will be a huge matchup issue in the division.
Worst Pick: Allen Robinson (Round 6). Robinson is a very talented reciever with upside. On the Jaguars. He could have waited. Tre Mason could not.
Score: -10.78
Projected Finish: 2nd place European division Playoff bubble Projected record: 6 - 7
Well folks, that is all for tonight. I have to go on a mission to shoot down some Mexican drug lords with seal team 6. I am sure I will come under heavy fire, but I will tell you a story I will recant later, and you will forgive me because I have a steady delivery and glorious hair. Until then, good night.
Thank you Brian for you input on the European division and please tune in for the final preview of the America's division coming soon. Everyone, good luck for week 2!
Micah
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