Jekyll and Hyde

As the 2006 draft winds down, let's look at two of our excellent teams. One, the Fobsters, are new to the league and are starting over "from scratch." Inexperienced GM Jim Wu had the first pick and he made some, um, interesting picks. Our current champion, Eric Liao, shows that even with the last pick in the draft, he's able to flesh out his roster and position himself for another contending run. Let's take a look.

The Fobsters
Proving that taking over a franchise can be an extreme makeover, the Fobsters have supplemented their not too bad keeper core with some highly questionable selections. Originally, the Fobsters version of the Fab Five didn't look so bad. Steady Matt Hasselbeck, explosive Carnell Williams, still churning Tiki Barber, loqacious Chad Johnson and still useful RB, Deuce McAllister.

Based on pre-season rankings, that's two top 10 RBs, a top 5 QB, and a top 3 WR. Not bad right? A few more pieces here and there and the Fobsters are ready for a last to first Cinderella season right? Not so fast.

Heading into the draft, GM Wu needed to shore up a weak WR corps. How'd he do? Ignoring his WR needs until the third round, he took in successive order: Keenan McCardell, Greg Jennings, Mark Clayton, and Ben Watson. Anyone intrigue you? Keenan could turn out to be a solid #2 but he's on the wrong side of 35 (give or take a few years). While the Packers do need another WR opposite Donald Driver, will Greg Jennings be the answer? Better yet, would anyone else have selected Jennings at all in this draft? In Round 4 no less? Doubtful. The draft it not just about who you get, but when you get them. Value counts.

Clayton and Watson are long shots. Clayton has some talent but if Derrick Mason is only a so-so fantasy starter (even with McNair on his side again), will Clayton be much better? And to take TE Ben Watson while fellow TEs like Tony Gonzalez and Todd Heap (even Vernon Davis) are on the board is just a huge mistake. Our league doesn't have a TE requirement, and Watson only has so much upside in the socialist Patriots offense.

The Fobster's other pick before this glut of mediocre WRs? QB Drew Bledsoe. Whoops. Did we mention that they already had a steady hand in teh backfield with Matt Hasselbeck? Why take a backup QB when other needs are so glaring? Maybe GM Wu was used to a two-QB league, who knows.

Despite all these missteps however, the Fobsters are still poised to kick ass because of one ace in their sleeve: Reggie Bush. With the first pick locked up, the Fobsters quickly selected Bush and thereby cemented their future as an elite team. With young and in their prime talents like Hasselbeck, Cadillac, Chad Johnson and Reggie Bush, the Fobsters may not need much more. It would have pleased their newly rededicated fans to see some savvy moves from their front office but that was not the case. Instead, they're gonna struggle with those two receiver positions all year in their run to the top. Still, chants of "F-O-B, F-O-B" rang out throughout Madison Square Garden as GM Wu left the stage after an uneven draft. "F-O-B" indeed.

Since this ended up being so long, we'll continue with the Fat Jubas in Part 2...