Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. In this edition: What does the future hold for Kirk Cousins? Putting together the ideal lineup for the postseason. NFL Europe passing records. And the all-time fantasy football wins leader.
Question 1
What's the likelihood of Kirk Cousins hitting free agency and leaving Washington? If he does leave a pass-happy offense like Washington’s, is his fantasy value likely to go down in most other offensive schemes?
Drew Paterson (Ferndale, WA)
I believe Cousins is an above-average quarterback. You take the other 31 starters around the league, and I think he’s better than most of them. He might even be a top-10 quarterback. But I think there’s some chance Washington will let him go, choosing to spend that money elsewhere. For all the yards and touchdown passes, they haven’t quite gotten over the hump in terms of winning game. They went 9-7 in his first year as a starter, losing at home in the playoffs (against Green Bay). And they’ve finished out of the postseason the last two years, going 8-7-1 and 7-9. As they mull things over, Washington might decide it would be better served going with a cheaper option at the position. Maybe they can get Andy Dalton or somebody along those lines. Some of Cousins’ success stems not from his ability but the system he’s running. They draw up good plays and chuck it around. Since Jay Gruden became the coach there, they’ve finished 8th, 12th, 3rd and 10th in passing yards. If Cousins goes somewhere else, he most certainly will be throwing for fewer yards.
Question 2
I found a league for the playoffs where you pick your own players: 2 QB, 3 RB, 4 WR, 1 TE, 1 PK, 1 flex. You can only pick one player from each team in the playoffs. My question is what kicker should I pick?
RICK BERENS (Fort Mill, SC)
I spent a little time on it. I came up with: Brady, Keenum, Gurley, Bell, Kamara, Fournette, Ertz, Tyreek Hill, Julio, Funchess, Rishard Matthews and Hauschka. I think that’s my strongest 12 (using my stat projections) but I’m not 100 percent certain. I have tried to exchange some pairs, but I can’t find an upgrade. Subbing in Kelce and Alshon Jeffery, for example, isn’t an upgrade over Ertz-Hill; that loses a point or two. Similarly, trading out Hauschka-Matthews for Succop-Benjamin seems to be a move in the wrong direction. Maybe there’s a three-way trade-out that I’m missing, but I believe that would be the strongest lineup (using my numbers).
Question 3
Love your trivia questions. I was looking for the guy in the WLAF/NFL Europe league who passed for more yards in a game than Norm Van Brocklin. He was a Carolina Panthers allocated player. That's about all I remember. If you haven't already, <b><a href=" http://www.growthofagame.com/2014/11/top-10-most-famous-nfl-europe-players/ " target=_new> check out this site.</a></b> James Harrison – Rhein Fire – wow! Might be a good one for you, if the Patriots and Steelers meet. Hope not. Go Chiefs.
JOHN MACHO (Elko New Mrkt, MN)
I’m sorry. I can’t help you. My recall on the NFL Europe and WLAF is pretty week. I never followed those leagues very closely. I poked around online a little bit, but it looks like most of the stats for those leagues have slipped into the ether.
Question 4
Can you create a blog for people to post awesome stories of wins and losses? I had Stafford! He was the 14th QB taken in my draft. I almost started Garoppolo; what a nightmare that would have been. I did bench Kareem Hunt; d'oh. If I had lost, my soul would have been tormented FOREVER. As is, my 250th career win, 32nd year. (over 200 losses, I do not keep track of those). Index has been through almost all of if. Thanks.
Glenn and Kim Storbeck (Olympia, WA)
Not easy winning 250 games in 32 years – that’s 7.8 wins per season. Congrats. Keep up the good work.