On Monday, August 30, 2010, RotoCommunity.com participated in a fantasy football league with other industry experts, called the Triple Crown Football Standard League. League rules include PPR scoring with 10 starters and 6 reserves (Q-R-R-W-W-W-R/W-T-K-D). Here's how the draft went down round-by-round, with analysis following each round. CLICK HERE to visit the league site. The overall Triple Crown idea is 9 separate leagues, 3 each in baseball, football, and hoops, with 9 league champions, but with the same sites competing in each, we have an overall champion in each sport and overall across the three sports. 

MY TEAM

• QB - J Flacco, M Cassel
• RB - R Mendenhall, P Thomas, K Moreno, L Washington, S Slaton
• WR - R Moss, D Bowe, T Owens, M Massaquoi, M Thomas
• TE - K Winslow, O Daniels
• K - N Kaeding
• DST - Steelers

ANALYSIS

Round 1 - Randy Moss - WR - NE - Was really hoping that Gore slipped down. Then my focus shifted to top-tier WR. With Johnson gone, I decided to go with Moss due to this being his FA year and having a healthy Brady to throw to him.

Round 2 - Rashard Mendenhall - RB - PIT - Was either looking to pick him or DeAngelo Williams. Mendenhall was my first choice since he'll be more of the outright #1 in Pittsburgh, compared to a DeAngelo Williams, who's shares carries with Jonathan Stewart. Rushed for a 1,108 yards at an impressive 4.6 yards per rush in his first full season.

Round 3 - Pierre Thomas - RB - NO - He was my top choice in this round. With Mike Bell gone and Reggie Bush not the standard RB-type, Thomas should keep emerging as a solid all-around back. Targeting around 900 rushing yards, 45 catches and 450 receiving yards.

Round 4 - Dwayne Bowe - WR - KC - Missed a few games last season with a leg injury after beginning his career with two solid seasons. KC should have a solid running attack with Jamal Charles, Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster. Having a quality veteran WR in Chambers on the other side helps.

Round 5 - Knowshon Moreno - RB - DEN - Had a decent rookie season, rushing for nearly 1,000 yards in a crowded backfield. Has been hampered in training camp by a hamstring injury, but returned to practice this week. I look for the offense to be more run-oriented with the loss of top-tier WR Brandon Marshall.

Round 6 - Terrell Owens - WR - CIN - I'm getting my popcorn ready. He's shown on his last three stops that he behaves and puts up big numbers in his first season with them. With the Bengals having an All-Pro on the other side and them drafting a promising threat in the middle, TE Jermaine Gresham, I look for T.O. to continue that trend.

Round 7 - Joe Flacco - QB - BAL - With the emergence of Ray Rice and Willis McGahee, who though is getting older, still found the endzone for 12 rushing TDs last season, Baltimore should remain a run-first team. However, the addition of Pro Bowl WR Anquan Boldin should help bump Flacco over the 4,000-yard mark.

Round 8 - Kellen Winslow - TE - TB - When healthy, he's shown to be one of the best and most athletic threats at his position. With young QBs, their safety net is the TE. That should especially be the case with Freeman who has a young WR core.

Round 9 - Owen Daniels - TE - HOU - I was deciding between him and Vinsanthe Shiancoe. I decided to go with Daniels because he's more proven, knowing I'll get around 60-70 receptions, compared to someone who benefited from an out-of-this-world season from Favre, who I don't expect a similar season from in '10.

Round 10 - Leon Washington - RB - SEA - Looks like it'll be more of a RB-by-committee in Seattle. I focused here more on PPR, as Washington had progressed each season in receptions until a knee injury shortened his '09 campaign.

Round 11 - Steve Slaton - RB - HOU - With the WR position deeper, decided to stick at RB with the same thought process as my previous pick. Had a fantastic all-around rookie season, but a nerve injury and a fumbling problem derailed his sophomore season. Looks like Arian Foster is going to be the top back in the Texans backfield. Slaton will still get a decent amount of touches and be a nice complimentary back, especially in the receptions category. After 50 receptions in '08, had 44 in 11 games last season.

Round 12 - Mohamed Massaquoi - WR - CLE - Decided to go back to WR, especially after a few were taken in front of me. Had a nice under-the-radar rookie season. I expect the Browns to give some more opportunities to their star Joshua Cribbs at WR, but with the team now having a more established passing QB in Delhomme, I expect a solid sophomore season from MM.

Round 13 - Mike Thomas - WR - JAC - Along with Massaquoi, I think he's a nice sleeper WR. Mike Sims-Walker is the #1 WR but not by much. And with a not so deep Jaguars WR group and a good rookie season, I see Thomas improving from 48 catches in '09 to 60-75 this season. He's also one of the top candidates to be the team's majority kick/punt returner.

Round 14 - Pittsburgh Defense - Even without DE Aaron Smith and All-Pro S Troy Polamalu for a majority of the '09 season, they still managed to finish in the top 5 in Yards Allowed Per Game. With them back and arguably the league's best and most athletic LB core, along with a favorable schedule, I look for the Steelers D to return to the level we've been used to seeing over the years.

Round 15 - Matt Cassel - QB - KC - More than likely, I'm using Rivers for 16 of the 17 weeks, so this was primarily to cover Rivers bye week. Looking at Rivers bye week (10) and QB matchups for that week, the best one available was Cassel, who will be facing a Broncos team without a strong pass rushing attack, especially since their top pass rusher, Elvis Dumervil, could miss the entire season. He should have a field day in his short and mid-range pass attempts, and as long as he avoids Mr. Bailey, can find some success down the field.

Round 16 - Nate Kaeding - K - SD - Has developed into one of the best K during the regular season. Has been automatic from short range in the last two years, making all 46 attempts from 0-39 yards the last two seasons. Had his best season with long FGs last season, converting on 9 of 12 from 40+ yards.  

DRAFT LOG

ALSO

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