I really don't factor in injuries unless a player has shown a history for missing games on a yearly basis. Given that Cadillac has only one year in the league, I cannot downgrade him. That said, I like Rudi here better because I, for one, do not buy that Palmer will be ready to go Week 1. Even if he is, you can bet the Bengals will lean heavily on the run game early in the season until Carson gets comfortable on his re-constructed knee. Not to say that Cadillac won't be a huge factor in Tampa's offense but to protect Palmer and re-establish themselves as the team to beat in the AFC north, I like Rudi to get the bulk of the work for Cincy early on and potentially, for much of the season.

Pretty soon, we will have those orange and black stripes up all over the place!

Yes and no.

First, both will be drafted in about the same area...so I agree there. Where I somewhat disagree is the statement you made on who is the best player. I for one would rather target a player who is consistant and plays through injury...i.e. best player, than a player who has not shown he can stay healthy, and gives you the occassional big hit. I have found, you don't have to have all the studs to win. Give me a team that gets consistant pts in all key areas..and I will beat those who draft the big hitters 8 out of 10 times.

Love the avatar!! Nice to see ya over here, i hope you stick around and see what the place has to offer, I think you'll like what you see.

While Phicinfan's stategy is paying off handsomely in our SO/Yahoo Baseball league...Not...It is a sound if not sexy approach in football. With Johnson you have a track record of consistent performance. Based on past performance, Johnson should go 5 or 6 spots ahead of Williams. Johnson protects the ball better, his per carry average is better, he scored more touchdowns 12-6. The offense he plays on is head and shoulders above Tampa's. On numbers alone this isn't a close call. Williams is younger but he already has been hurt enough to miss action in his first year. Aside from 2 games against Atlanta, after his return from injury, Williams' per carry average is 3.3. He started off the year in a big way. But against who? The 3 worst rushing defenses in the league. If this was set up to be an age vs. beauty deal you still have take the guy that has proven himself in the league. Williams doesn't seem to have enough upside to warrant passing on a proven work horse like Johnson, not in a redraft league. I went with Williams to start this off because I thought it was pretty one-sided and wanted the kick-off of this feature to have some steam. I was a little disappointed that MT went with a homer pick right out of the gate. Really don't think this was a close call at all, despite the close voting, which may have been swayed by some early campaigning for Williams. I think you could have put Johnson up against some stiffer competiton.
A better comparison could have been Johnson and Dunn or Johnson and Portis. Williams and Parker or Williams and Droughns could have been worthier match-ups. I hope you got the homer stuff out of your system and we can have some better match-ups.

Dave, do you always talk out of both sides of your mouth??? This match-up wasn't homer based, plenty of match-ups were considered for the kick off and this was chosen, and you know what it worked, so despite you being wishy washy though the whole thread, it was close and got some great conversations going......If all the close calls are as good as this one, this will be a great series. Maybe you should concentrate a little less of who I decide to put up in the match-ups and a little more on taking a firm stance one way or the other......

Rudi takes this one in a close battle, 12-10.

Feel free to comment and vote on this as the summer wears on, it will remain open, but for the sake of the match-up, Rudi takes it.

I would like to challenge the theory "You can't win your FFB league in the first round, but you can lose it!".

Last year in a zealots dynasty league these were my first 10 picks:
1.11 Deuce Mcallister (injured in wk 5)
2.02 Brian Westbrook (injured in wk 13)
3.05 Javon Walker (injured in wk 1)
4.08 Nate Burleson
5.10 Lee Evans
6.03 Julius Peppers
7.02 Matt Hasselbeck
8.11 Rodney Harrison (injured in wk 3)
9.11 Terrence Mcgee
10.01 Takeo Spikes (injured in wk 3)

So, out of my first 10 picks 4 went on IR early in the season (week 4 or earlier). Westbrook went on IR during the playoffs (thank god I had moats). Burleson was a HUGE bust. Evans had a very slow start to the season, and Peppers was playing hurt alot of the season.

Despite all this I was able to win the superbowl in this league. Now I did get lucky ALOT but my team still put up decent numbers. I also had alot of help from peppers and mcgee in the last few weeks of the playoffs. And I was very fortunate to have drafted Joey Galloway very late. My only RB that lasted the season for me was chris brown. You heard right, chris brown.

Anyways, I just dont totally agree that a league is won or lost in the 1st round. Its all about depth and shrewd trades. Frankly, I think the phrase should be "You can't lose your league from an injury, but you can win it by having quality depth!".

btw, I voted for rudi.

nice avatar miller. this is Ryan from Z48.

Hey Ryan, good to see ya stop by.

As far as my theory, that scenrio is, well extreme. You had extremely bad luck coupled with amazing mid to late round drafting that enabled to you to over come the first couple rounds.... However, consider if you would have had a solid yet not spectacular first round choice. The road to over come some of those other injuries would have been much easier. I would guess that if you gave 10 owners those first 4 picks last year, only won would have had the success you had. It's not impossible, just alot easier. I prefer to win my leagues with superior drafting in the middle and late rounds (like you did) and get realiable parts to set the foundation each week.

Rudi Johnson

Caddy was impressive at the outset of last season and then faltered due to injury. That ability (or inability) to stay healthy is a concern, but a secondary one IMO.
Main concern, especially if he has a nice preseason, is folks will remember how he started '05 and he'll climb up draft boards fast, overvaluing him a bit.

With Rudi, it will be just the opposite.
The new Cumar: always under-rated, rarely any monster games, but consistent production week to week and by season's end.
Has finished 8th the past 2 years since taking over the reigns at rb for Cincy full time and see no reason not to expect a top10 finish this year.
But b/c he's a 'boring' pick, he'll be a better value relative to Caddy.

This one is tough...

I like Caddys upside and potential since the Tampa offense does have young QB and WRs... (Stovall is a nice addition), but Rudi is more of a durable workhorse... Gruden may lean on Caddy more ... while Lewis may incorporate Perry more this season.

I think I would go with Caddy, although everything and everyone points to Rudi...

I like Rudi here because of the handcuff. In FF a starting RB that is not in a RBBC situation is tough to come by. Rudi is consistent and should he go down for a couple of weeks, Perry would get the majority of carries and produce decent numbers to get you through. If Carnell was to go down, Pittman is not a lock to get you servicable numbers and had disappointed last year in relief duty. I would rather have one of my 2 RB's locked up from week to week without taking a huge hit should my #1 go down.

That is an interesting slant on the argument, and one that is very valid. Many owners will shy away from a back with a strong cuff b/c they worry about him taking time and numbers away from the starter. However, you make a great argument that you can feel confident that if your back goes down, your season doesn't necessarily follow.