Several members of the NESN on-air staff — including John Chandler, Naoko Funayama, Kathryn Tappen, Heidi Watney and Cole Wright — are participating in a strictly-for-fun fantasy football league, the results of which will be highlighted in a weekly recap. Each week, each of the eight teams will start one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, a tight end, two flex players (WR/RB/TE), a kicker and a team defense. Team points will be compiled based on the players' real-life, on-field statistics.
The league — which also includes teams owned by SportsDesk contributor John Carchedi, NESN.com football guru Terrence Johnson and yours truly, the humble dot-com associate editor — is split up into two four-team divisions. The top three teams in each division will advance to the playoffs with the divisional winners each earning a first-round postseason bye.
One team owner, though, is already making room on his mantel for the championship trophy.
"Do we really have to wait until the end of the season to crown [my team] I MEAN BUSINESS as the league champion," asked a confident Wright, "or can we just get the formalities out of the way now?"
Chandler, however, was slightly more pragmatic about his hopes for the coming season.
"I expect [my team] More Cowbell to be strong in all three facets of the game — offense, defense and special teams," he said in typical Belichickean fashion.
"All I know is I'm playing [Heidi's team] Favre Forever on Sunday. I can only play the schedule one week at a time."
The preseason player draft was conducted this weekend, and the resulting rosters are listed below (with the overall pick number in parentheses).
"I wasn't online for the draft," Johnson told NESN.com, "but the [computer's] auto-pick and I were apparently on the same wavelength. I was delighted to get Larry Fitzgerald at the end of the first round. I'm ecstatic about my team.
"I might have to do something about Aaron Rodgers being my No. 1 quarterback," Johnson continued, "but with Fitzgerald, Greg Jennings and Eddie Royal on the bench, I love my receivers. I'll even make do with the Vikings defense."
NESN reporter Naoko Funayama was working on draft day, but she's still happy with the team that bears her name.
"My co-manager, NESN new media director Mike Hall, drafted for us while I was busy with the Bruins' rookie camp send-off. But in Mike I trust! We like what we have — even Brandon Marshall."
Naoko even offered up some draft analysis with the season just days away.
"At first glance, Heidi may have drawn the team to beat. I'm partial to [Adrian] Peterson after having had him and Tony Romo in several different leagues for the last few seasons, but we're good with [Michael] Turner, the latest, greatest, fantasy football running back king hopeful. Cole seems to have scored a strong core with [Peyton] Manning, TO [Terrell Owens] and a [Brian] Westbrook/[Brandon] Jacobs RB tandem, and Carchedi's got the [Tom] Brady–Matt Ryan QB bank.
"But of course," Naoko continued, "it's too early to predict anything, really. Injuries always mess with a team's season. I'm usually big on transactions, so expect some in the next few [days]."
SportsDesk host/reporter Kathryn Tappen weighed in with her draft breakdown as well.
"I believe Carchedi has the most well-rounded team and Heidi has the most talented receiver in the league in Randy Moss.
"But the bottom line is you've got to be able to perform each week in all three phases of the game. As the great Bill Belichick once said, 'There are some unknowns there that we're going to have to be prepared for, a lot of different scenarios.' I know The Tappenators are up for the challenge."
However it plays out, it should prove to be an entertaining NFL season.
Team Rosters
Favre Forever (Heidi Watney)
1. (1) Adrian Peterson 2. (16) Andre Johnson 3. (17) Randy Moss 4. (32) Marques Colston 5. (33) Tony Romo 6. (48) Marshawn Lynch 7. (49) Antonio Bryant 8. (64) Chris Cooley 9. (65) New York 10. (80) Ryan Longwell 11. (81) Beanie Wells 12. (96) Willis McGahee 13. (97) DeSean Jackson 14. (112) Eli Manning 15. (113) Jeremy Shockey 16. (128) Carolina
Team Naoko (Naoko Funayama)
1. (2) Michael Turner 2. (15) Clinton Portis 3. (18) Steve Smith 4. (31) Kevin Smith 5. (34) Brandon Marshall 6. (47) Antonio Gates 7. (50) Jonathan Stewart 8. (63) Donovan McNabb 9. (66) Pittsburgh 10. (79) David Akers 11. (82) Hines Ward 12. (95) Jerricho Cotchery 13. (98) Le'Ron McClain 14. (111) Zach Miller 15. (114) Matt Hasselbeck 16. (127) San Diego
The Tappenators (Kathryn Tappen)
1. (3) Maurice Jones-Drew 2. (14) Chris Johnson 3. (19) Marion Barber 4. (30) Dwayne Bowe 5. (35) Kurt Warner 6. (46) Reggie Bush 7. (51) Roy Williams 8. (62) Greg Olsen 9. (67) Tennessee 10. (78) Kris Brown 11. (83) Willie Parker 12. (94) Carson Palmer 13. (99) Kevin Walter 14. (110) Darren Sproles 15. (115) Dallas 16. (126) Anthony Fasano
Gray Cutoff Hoodies (Adam Hirshfield)
1. (4) Matt Forte 2. (13) Drew Brees 3. (20) Calvin Johnson 4. (29) Ryan Grant 5. (36) Wes Welker 6. (45) Jason Witten 7. (52) Larry Johnson 8. (61) Anthony Gonzalez 9. (68) Derrick Ward 10. (77) Jay Cutler 11. (84) Santana Moss 12. (93) Julius Jones 13. (100) Chicago 14. (109) Lance Moore 15. (116) Ray Rice 16. (125) Jason Elam
Italian Ninjas (John Carchedi)
1. (5) DeAngelo Williams 2. (12) Steve Slaton 3. (21) Tom Brady 4. (28) Anquan Boldin 5. (37) T.J. Houshmandzadeh 6. (44) Vincent Jackson 7. (53) Darren McFadden 8. (60) Chad Ochocinco 9. (69) Knowshon Moreno 10. (76) Felix Jones 11. (85) Lee Evans 12. (92) Matt Ryan 13. (101) John Carlson 14. (108) Dustin Keller 15. (117) New York 16. (124) Nick Folk
I MEAN BUSINESS (Cole Wright)
1. (6) Brian Westbrook 2. (11) Brandon Jacobs 3. (22) Peyton Manning 4. (27) Roddy White 5. (38) Terrell Owens 6. (43) Joseph Addai 7. (54) Braylon Edwards 8. (59) Owen Daniels 9. (70) Philadelphia 10. (75) Rob Bironas 11. (86) Jamal Lewis 12. (91) Donnie Avery 13. (102) Torry Holt 14. (107) Ben Roethlisberger 15. (118) Visanthe Shiancoe 16. (123) New England
More Cowbell (John Chandler)
1. (7) LaDainian Tomlinson 2. (10) Frank Gore 3. (23) Reggie Wayne 4. (26) Ronnie Brown 5. (39) Philip Rivers 6. (42) Tony Gonzalez 7. (55) Santonio Holmes 8. (58) Baltimore 9. (71) Donald Brown 10. (74) Matt Schaub 11. (87) Mason Crosby 12. (90) Bernard Berrian 13. (103) Kellen Winslow 14. (106) Joshua Cribbs 15. (119) Domenik Hixon 16. (122) Chris Baker
The Crooked Lettas (Terrence Johnson)
1. (8) Larry Fitzgerald 2. (9) Steven Jackson 3. (24) Pierre Thomas 4. (25) Greg Jennings 5. (40) Aaron Rodgers 6. (41) Thomas Jones 7. (56) LenDale White 8. (57) Dallas Clark 9. (72) Minnesota 10. (73) Stephen Gostkowski 11. (88) Eddie Royal 12. (89) Cedric Benson 13. (104) Laveranues Coles 14. (105) Matt Cassel 15. (120) Miami 16. (121) Heath Miller
Week 1 Schedule
Favre Forever (Watney) vs. More Cowbell (Chandler)
Gray Cutoff Hoodies (Hirshfield) vs. Team Naoko (Funayama)
I MEAN BUSINESS (Wright) vs. The Tappenators (Tappen)
Italian Ninjas (Carchedi) vs. The Crooked Lettas (Johnson)
