Every year fantasy managers get gypped by drafting what have become known as “Fantasy Busts.” Unfortunately many times these costly picks eventually lead managers to a near basement finish in their fantasy league. So lets change the scenery in 2008, and let your fellow managers draft this seasons Fantasy Busts. Here are my best bets to become Fantasy Busts in 2008.

TOP 5 FANTASY BUSTS

Clinton Portis - RB - Washington Redskins
To say Clinton Portis won’t be a quality fantasy running back in 2008 may be a bit harsh, however expecting something close to his 2007 numbers of 1,200 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns is highly unlikely. Given the fact that the Redskins will have a healthy Jason Campbell under center this season, coupled with an emerging tight end in Chris Cooley and deep threat Santana Moss, I do not anticipate Portis carrying the load for the Redskins in 2008. Thus a stat line somewhere in the range of 950 yards and 7 touchdowns is more realistic for Portis in 2008.

Brett Favre - QB - New York Jets
Ok while the Brett Favre hype is dominating the New York football landscape, fantasy football managers must move forward with the upcoming season. And this means leaving Favre on the “should be retired” list in fantasy football. To say it lightly, even though many now feel the Jets are somehow a playoff and maybe even Super Bowl contender, I fully expect Favre and the Jets offensive to struggle this season. In fact if I didn’t know better, I would say 2008 is shaping up to be a repeat of the 2005 season for Favre. In other words, what was then a very young Packers team trying to pull all the pieces together, now appears to be where the Jets are headed in 2008. With this in mind, I expect Favre to be his “Classic Favre” self, and play outside of the offense. Much like he did in 2005, Favre will force balls into small spaces, and a plethora of interceptions are sure to follow. So if you want a quarterback that will help your fantasy team in 2008, stay away from Favre.

LenDale White - RB - Tennessee Titans
He may have been great in college, but White has been anything but special in the NFL. His 1,100 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns may have looked nice to fantasy owners in 2007, but in reality I believe these numbers were more of a cover for how bad Vince Young played, than how good LenDale White really is. Oh and if the Titans were truly convinced White could be their running back of the future, then why draft two running backs in back to back years with first day picks? Can we say …. Chris Johnson! I’m betting LenDale won’t rack up more than 600 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Ben Roethlisberger - QB - Pittsburgh Steelers
Now I’m not saying Big Ben isn’t a great fantasy pick at quarterback, but if you think he is going to put up another 30 plus touchdown campaign in 2008, you may want to rethink your logic. A healthy, or at least mostly healthy Willie Parker, combined with rookie running back Rashard Mendenhall, should result in a significant drop in touchdowns for Roethlisberger this season. A line of around 3,000 passing yards and 23-25 touchdowns is more likely than last years binge of nearly 3,200 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions.

Brandon Marshall - WR - Denver Broncos
It’s almost as if Marshall’s career has gone from up-and-coming superstar, to off-field jailbait in a matter of 8 months! With a 3 game suspension to begin the 2008 season already under his belt, Marshall better improve his off-field troubles or his football career will be over before it ever really starts. Right now Marshall is a very high reward, high risk pick. Just make sure you have better options at wide receiver before you start to rely on Marshall carrying your team.

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Alright for those of you doing a PPR league, here is a little sample draft that I once again did on Yahoo! A key difference in this draft is that points are also rewarded for completions, which does increase the value of certain QB’s who enjoy a pass happy offense. Here is the scoring system:

Completions (0.8)
Passing Yards (20 yards per point; 15 points at 300 yards)
Passing Touchdowns (4)
Interceptions (-1)
Sacks (-0.5)
Rushing Attempts (0.5)
Rushing Yards (10 yards per point; 15 points at 200 yards)
Rushing Touchdowns (6)
Receptions (1)
Reception Yards (10 yards per point; 12 points at 150 yards)
Reception Touchdowns (6)
Return Touchdowns (6)
2-Point Conversions (2)
Fumbles Lost (-2)
Offensive Fumble Return TD (6)
Field Goals 20-29 Yards (3)
Field Goals 30-39 Yards (4)
Field Goals 40-49 Yards (5)
Field Goals 50+ Yards (6)
Field Goals Missed 0-19 Yards (-1)
Point After Attempt Made (1)
Point After Attempt Missed (-1)
Sack (1)
Interception (2)
Fumble Recovery (2)
Touchdown (6)
Safety (2)
Block Kick (2)
Return Yards (20 yards per point)
Kickoff and Punt Return Touchdowns (6)
Points Allowed 0 points (10)
Points Allowed 1-6 points (7)
Points Allowed 7-13 points (4)
Points Allowed 14-20 points (1)
Points Allowed 21-27 points (0)
Points Allowed 28-34 points (-1)
Points Allowed 35+ points (-4)

A pretty typical scoring system minus the points per completion and reception. These two additional stats can really change the way people draft, you’ll see that throughout this article. Lastly, before we get into the actual draft, here is the starting rosters:

QB, WR, WR, RB, RB, TE, W/R, K, DEF, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN

Again, a standard starting lineup and bench. Six bench players should be more than enough to add depth to this team, so let’s get this draft started!!!

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I did a fantasy draft earlier today with a 16 team league… and quite a unique roster. Here is the starting roster layout:

QB, QB, WR, WR, WR, WR, RB, RB, RB, TE, TE, K, DEF

As you can see the roster size for the starters alone is huge! Throw in the fact that there are 16 teams in the league, and you got yourself in a situation which is going to need some very smart drafting. This will be a great example for all fantasy players as it shows a bit on how to draft in a bigger league. So without further ado… let’s get it started!

Notes: I’m only going to cover 15 of the 25 rounds of the draft. After awhile players get extremely slim and it’s just not worth covering. Also, I had the 2nd pick in the draft so I picked 2nd and 15th throughout.

Round 1

1. Adrian Peterson
2. Ladainian Tomlinson
3. Steven Jackson
4. Brian Westbrook
5. Joseph Addai
6. Tom Brady
7. Randy Moss
8. Frank Gore
9. Peyton Manning
10. Tony Romo
11. Terrell Owens
12. Marion Barber
13. Clinton Portis
14. Marshawn Lynch
15. Derek Anderson
16. Larry Johnson

My Pick
I’m extremely happy as the 1st team is a bit out of the loop here and chooses Adrian Peterson over LT. Seeing Tomlinson fall into my lap at #2 made me giddy inside… a great way to start off the roster!

Questionable Choices
Terrell Owens over Marion Barber, Clinton Portis and Marshawn Lynch is a huge reach… especially in a league where WR’s are a bit weak scoring wise. Also Derek Anderson over Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, and Ben Roethlisberger is just stupid.

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