2004 Expert Poll and League Results

2004 FFEx Expert Poll Results

For the third consecutive season, Fantasy Football Experts hosted a preseason expert poll.  In all, 13 experts ranked 10 quarterbacks, 15 running backs, 15 wide receivers, 10 tight ends, 10 kickers, and 10 team defenses from best to worst for an overall-performance scoring system.  To calculate an overall score for each player, the experts’ selections were weighted.  The weight equaled the total number of players the expert was asked to rank at that respective position, minus the player’s rank, plus one.  For example, if an expert ranked Peyton Manning as the No. 1 QB, the weight of that selection would be 10 (10 players ranked at QB, minus 1 for Manning’s ranking, plus 1).  Each expert’s score was equal to each ranked player’s fantasy points for the season multiplied by the weight that was assigned to that player by the expert.  For example, Manning racked up 417.7 fantasy points last season, and any expert who ranked Manning No. 1 (weight = 10) earned 4,177 points from the Colts QB.   

The 2004 FFEx Expert Poll champion was Carl Weatherford of CoachBox.com with a total of 83,025 points.  FFEx’s Brad Haines, who finished with 81,990 points, was the runner-up.  Overall, the experts’ scores last season were significantly lower than 2003, which was no doubt due to the high number of injuries in 2004 and a few shocking developments, such as Ricky Williams’ sudden retirement.  Our past champs, Greg Kellogg (2002) of Fantasy Asylum and Mike Krueger of FF Today (2003) did not fare very well, finishing ninth and twelfth, respectively.  Of course, I did not earn any bragging rights with my 11^th-place finish. 

Like Krueger in 2003, Weatherford won last year’s contest largely due to the strength of his picks at quarterback.  He led the pack at that spot, ranking both Trent Green and Brett Favre higher, and Steve McNair lower, than most of the other experts.  Though he did not hit any homeruns with sleeper picks, Weatherford also fared very well at running back, wide receiver, tight end, and kicker, finishing in the top four at all of those spots.  Some of his best picks were Green (No. 5 QB), Shaun Alexander (No. 4 RB), and Joe Horn (No. 5 WR). 

Marc Lawrence of Playbook.com led the way at running back.  He was the only expert to rank both Rudi Johnson and Brian Westbrook among the top 15 RBs, and he also avoided duds like Travis Henry, Stephen Davis, and Michael Bennett. 

Terry Cannon of Youth Fantasy Football posted the most points at wide receiver.  He did not make any bold picks, but he had enough foresight to avoid ranking players such as Steve Smith and Anquan Boldin very high and to steer clear of busts like Koren Robinson and Peerless Price. 

Last year’s champ, Krueger, showed his guile by not only being one of the few experts to rank Antonio Gates in the top 10 at tight end but also for putting him as high as No. 3.  Krueger easily ran away from the competition at the TE spot by making this move. 

Brian Schneider of Fantasy Online Sports racked up the most points at kicker.  He also did not make any bold picks, but he smartly avoided disappointments such as Joe Nedney, Aaron Elling, and Paul Edinger.   

And finally, in a classic example of too little, too late, I earned the most points for team defenses.  I did this mainly due to my high ranking of the Buffalo Bills.  I was only one of three experts to put them in the top 10 and had them high at No. 4.  The Bills went on to post the most points at the position, racking up 257 in our overall-performance system. 

Click here to see all of the experts’ selections.

2004 EXPERT POLL FINAL TALLY 

PAST FFEx EXPERT POLL CHAMPS

2004 Expert League Results 

Representatives of Fantasy Football Experts participated in three expert leagues in 2004, competing against fellow writers/analysts from other respected fantasy football sites.   

For the fourth straight season, we (FFEx) came away with at least one championship trophy, winning the 2004 FSIC Football League, a 10-person overall-performance league that is hosted by Fantasy Sports R Us. 

The FFEx team in the FSIC league was managed by Brad Haines and myself.  Our roster was quite formidable, featuring the likes of QB Trent Green, RB Shaun Alexander, WR Chad Johnson, TE Alge Curmpler, K Shayne Graham, and the Buffalo defense/special teams.  However, due to slow starts from some of our running backs other than Alexander (Stephen Davis, Julius Jones, and Kevan Barlow) and some unlucky breaks (we were second in the league for points against), Brad and I had to scramble to make the playoffs.  We bolstered our backfield by adding the likes of Reuben Droughns, Nick Goings, and Larry Johnson at different points in time, and our squad went on a tear to close the season, culminating with a 130-123 Super Bowl win over Fantasy Football Edge (managed by Tommy Stephens).  We also took the overall scoring title with 2,550 points. 

I solely managed the FFEx squads in the other two expert leagues – 2004 Gridiron Grumblings Shootout and 2004 SI.com Expert League.   

I have always fared well in the Gridiron Grumblings Shootout, an overall-performance league that favors scoring and includes defensive players, winning the championship in 2002 and finishing fourth or higher for four straight years.   

Last season was no different, as I steadily climbed the standings (it’s a total points race) after a slow start.  The strength of my team began on defense, with S Ed Reed and LB Keith Bulluck posting huge numbers all season.  I also did very well at tight end and kicker with Tony Gonzalez and Graham, respectively.  I received steady production from the likes of QBs Tom Brady and Jake Delhomme, RB Ahman Green, and WR Torry Holt.  Unfortunately, the squad lacked a quality No. 2 running back and a No. 2 receiver.  I had to settle for a third-place finish with 1,335 points, trailing both the winner, Mike Krueger of FF Today (1,384), and the runner-up, Carl Weatherford of Coach Box (1,369), by less than 50 points.   

I failed to defend my 2003 title in the Sports Illustrated Expert League, a 12-team, standard overall-performance league.  It was a nightmarish season for my SI squad.  The team was beset by injuries from the start, and it became a challenge just to find enough healthy bodies to fill out the starting lineup.   

The problems actually began in the preseason, when RB Correll Buckhalter went down for the year and WR Keenan McCardell never reported to Tampa Bay.  That was a sign of the things to come, as I had to either bench or cut a number of players, including RBs Chris Brown and Quentin Griffin, TE Todd Heap, and WRs Randy Moss, Deion Branch, and Peter Warrick.  Even so, I made a run at the playoffs, falling one win short of a division title. 

FFEx’s History in Expert Polls and Leagues