Draft Primer

Draft 2009 is just 48 hours away. All precincts have reported in, and we will have perfect attendance this Wednesday evening. You will be getting a confirmation email for the draft, along with an 800 number for the callin..Stay tuned.

Given that this is just the second year of the NFFL, and given that we have two new teams, a bit of a refresher is probably in order. To bring the newbies up to speed, here follows a reintroduction of last years participants, as well as a slightly irreverent reminder of the lingua franca of the NFFL:

First the teams:

Federal Metal Dos: This is the team of your Commish - me. Expect a spirited effort, a quick response to your trade request, and a series of long-winded emails throughout the year. Dos was in the hunt for most of last year until a series of ill advised trades (mostly with Thalheimer) derailed the season.

Smelters: This squad is owned and operated by Peter Nagusky, the inspiration behind the NFFL and one of the esteemed owners of Federal Metal Company (typically referred to as "The Worlds Greatest Ingot Maker" in league posts). Smelters was the dominant squad in 2008; a wise draft and excellent trades led Smelters to a decisive Championship.

Ansam: Ansam Metals President Ben Zager runs this squad made up primarily of members of the New York Jets. Last year Ansam drafted Jet QB Brett Favre two weeks prior to the actual draft. The over/under on the round in which Ansam drafts Jets QB Mark "Dirty" Sanchez is #3. Any takers??

Thalheimer: East coast power Team Thalheimer is run by Rich Reiner. As one would expect from someone learning the scrap trade at the side of John Thalheimer, Reiner is ruthless in the trading room. As the lone league participant with the ability to listen to WFAN on the radio during his commute, Reiner will always be one to watch.

Carolina: The company is now called OmniSource Southeast, but Paul Seigel represents league participant Carolina Recycling Group - a full service scrap operation with multiple locations in the Southeast. Seigel's 2008 draft was nothing if not remarkable. Blessed with the #1 pick, he wisely selected LaDanian Tomlinson. As has been well documented, Tomlinson had a bum toe and was never as dominant as Carolina expected. This fact alone would have derailed most fantasy seasons. However, Seigel plucked DeAngelo Williams in Round 9 and rode his 278 fantasy points to the brink of the championship. That sort of foresight is repeatable, so expect a lot from Carolina.

PSC: Frank Savena represents PSC Metals, a regional scrap processor with yards stretching from Western PA to Chattanooga, TN. There are few football fans more knowledgeable or passionate, and few members of the NFFL had worse luck in 2009. He lost by fewer points each week than anybody. A few breaks here and there and PSC would have been in the hunt for the championship.

The Rail: Progress Rail - a division of Caterpillar is located in Albertville, AL. Their head of non ferrous recycling is Paul Hardison, late of PSC Metals, and the father of 8-month old Lucia. Hardison is the recipient of a lot of grief on league wide posts because he drafted Rod Bironas (Kicker with Tennessee) in the 5th Round last year. A lot of fantasy owners hold on to their fifth pick to fortify their backfield or pick a QB - so it was a little surprising when The Rail drafted the leagues 6th rated kicker. Its all in good fun, and the Rail gets the last laugh, as he beat the Commish by 54 points in week 13...

DMS: Dynamic Metal Services was introduced in the last post as Dynamic Metal Solutions, which drew the ire of Team owner Brian DuCovna. DMS replaces Commercial Alloys on the league roster, and in 7th place in the standings. A new company and twin girls are likely to dominate the thoughts of DuCovna.

Padnos: Matt Heitmeier represents Louis Padnos Iron and Metal, from Holland, MI. For all of his gifts as a scrap trader, Heitmeier is the team owner most likely to fail to set a full roster on game day. His 2008 draft included 2 Detroit Lions (neither named Calvin Johnson) and Ricky Williams in Round 8. He finished 2-15 so 2009 is bound to be better.

SIMS: Lew Ross and his son Justin manage one of two teams from the Sims Metal Management Empire. Recently promoted to the position of President of Midwest Operations for Metal Management, Lew is likely to hand more of the day-to-day operations of Team Sims to young Justin. In a similar role, Justin led Sims to the 3rd highest point total on the season. Their 9-8 record in 2009 was just bad luck....

SAR: The West Coast affiliate of Sims Metal Management, Sims Adams is represented by Bruce Keizler, their VP of Non Ferrous from Long Beach, CA. In addition to bringing much needed geographical balance to the NFFL, Keizler brings an ability to know if players living in the Western time zone are any good. Last year SAR finished 8th in scoring but yet made the playoffs on the back of a running attack led by Steve Slaton. In addition, SAR won the first annual Dienst Bowl over SIMS in week 2.

PKay: Larry Kay, President of PKay Metals in Los Angeles, represents this producer of solders, fluxes, and dross eliminators. In 2009, PKay will be more prominently represented by Spencer, a precocious 13 year old who lead the 2008 season with trade requests and smack. Spencer is in at least 2 other Fantasy Leagues, so he'll be best prepared for the league draft. Last year, Larry drafted Darren McFadden in the 1st round, which means he'll be riding shotgun with Spencer in Draft 2009....

I think that covers the participants....

In closing, I want to remind everyone of some of the week-in, week-out folderol:

The Don Cheadle Award:
Many of you are familiar with movie star Don Cheadle. If so, you know that whatever movie he's in, he's the best actor on the screen. Boggie Nights, Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen, and Crash to name a few. Despite his critical success, he is still not recognized as a commercial success like Clooney, Crowe, DiCaprio. Bottom line...he's under appreciated, just like the reserves on your fantasy squad. Each week, I will take time from my family and friends (Peter) to search for high performing players left inactive by various teams. The Don Cheadle Award will be given to the owner who leaves the best performance for the Bench. Progress Rail won this award a lot last year....its not an award you want to win. You'll get an autographed pendant at the season ending awards banquet if it becomes habit for you...

The Rod Bironas Award:
As mentioned earlier, this award is in tribute to our friends at Progress Rail. When Team Rail drafted Rob Bironas in Round 6 last year, he did not begin the run on kickers. That happened a few picks earlier when someone else drafted the New England kicker whose name I cannot spell. However, Bironas was the first injured kicker drafted in 2008, and he was drafted after 9 minutes of contemplation.

Therefore, each week I will look for the best performance from a player drafted after Titans kicker Rod Bironas. Last year there were some doozy's: the aforementioned Steve Slaton and DeAngelo WIlliams both put up huge stats and were drafted well after Bironas. So did Jake Cutler, Phil Rivers, Kurt Warner, and Matt Ryan - QB's The Rail could have used.....

Spencer:
I mentioned this young man in an earlier paragraph as he participates on Team PKay. Spencer is more than just a member of Team PKay, he's like a league mascot. He signs into the league message board, runs smack, calls Padnos owner Matt Heitmeier in the middle of the day to offer trades (usually involving injured players or players on waivers for one of Padnos' few stars) and generally makes this league a lot of fun. He's the primary reason why all league posts are rated PG, and he really should be studying right now.

Burmese Mountain Dog:
A large (very large) dog similar in build and disposition to a St Bernard and the preferred house pet in the Ross (Team Sims) Household. Why do I bring this up? Last year the draft was coaxed along by the rhythmic panting of, well, noone was really sure what the panting was from. Midway through the draft Lew introduced us to his dog, which in itself brought a sigh of relief.

Thats all from the NorthCoast. We'll talk on Wednesday.

Look for Draft Updates regarding callin, etc.

Carolina: You are on the clock.

As always, Your Commish