QFL Uno Post-Cut Season Preview

T-minus 13 days before the QFL auction.   In an offseason that mirrored the NFL – dormant for many months, and then a fury of activity most recently, the QFL is gearing up.Cuts are in, and final preparations are being made for the Washington DC 2011 Auction.

Bing – Josh, in his inaugural year, made all the expected moves, keeping Rodgers, Blount, Wallace, and Turner.  The mild surprise is that Turner is a transition.  Bing took a chance on Dixon and Tate, at no real cost as they were QFLE guys.  Notably, CJ Spiller was cut, probably because of salary.  Look for Bing to add a low priced RB for the potential wishbone, or a WR3 for a standard set.  With 29 bucks to spend, this team has enough room to operate at the auction despite having the among the least cap space in the QFL.

FRNQ – The league’s biggest “cheater” has brought just about everyone back for a big run. McFadden’s rise (once the laughing stock) should give him 2 solid RBs.  Interestingly, this team decided to handcuff Mendenhall with Redman rather than McFadden with Bush.  The team should plug holes through the Rookie Draft. Of course, the team is going to have to defend Vincent Jackson at the auction.

OQ – after some offseason activity, OQ is bringing a bunch of L3’s to the table in hopes of challenging for the league title.  The big big change is Chris Johnson, who replaces Calvin.  The biggest surprise is dropping Gore after several years.  Although the team intended to keep him, at the last minute–given CJ’s holdout, Foster’s injury, and Philly D’s rise (albeit expensive salary)–the team decided to drop Gore. With the trade of Calvin, the team is hoping Mike Williams does not have a sophomore slump.

HepQ – With the most cap space, HepQ hoped to bring back a solid core and build key components through the auction. There were surprises, however.  Andre Johnson is gone. Yes, the #1 receiver was a cap casulty.  Also gone: Cedric Benson and Joseph Addai.  The former was probably not expected to be cut, especially since the team kept LaFell.

Quince – Here’s another team with lots of cap room.  The team is hoping that Felix Jones finally realizes his potential. A couple of Eagles-related QB’s form a nice tandem.  Malcolm Floyd for $7? Perhaps Ted didn’t realize that Vincent Jackson was back.  It looks like Moss is finally done, so there was no reason to keep the potential 2011 sleeper.  Desean will have to be defended at the auction.  As a Philly homer, look for Ted to pull out all stops to keep him, thereby diminishing his cap space.

TenQ – the defending champ is bringing back most of its team with a big change – Calvin replaces Chris. I for one am not too surprised by the cuts, except for Jonathan Stewart. I guess management thought his raise was too rich. Remember that this team has a lot of first round picks, so stealing a franchise player –Brady/Rivers- is not out of the realm of possibility.

BQP – For a team perennially out of cap space, it must be refreshing to have 40 or so bucks to spend.  Of course that means that long team teammate, MJD has finally been released.  Perhaps the team is caught up in the Tebow hype? The only mild–very mild- surprise is the release of oft injurd high potential Sanders, who was hotly contested during a free agency period last year.

Qtang – Here’s comes Qtang for another run.  If the 1996 Roto World Magazine is right, picking up Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith can be a huge pick ups at the auction.  The team transitioned Forte, which was a surprise.  But the biggest surprise: Keeping 7 instead of 8.  Seriously? That’s a bush league QBC-esque move.  Take a page out of Fahq’s book and keep a kicker.  Perhaps try to trade? Despite this oversight, the team has a solid nucleus

QU -   There are countless number of complaints by other owners that Hans was less than responsive to their trade requests.  This tem waited until the last minute to submit its keepers. In the end, the team made many key decisions.  Rivers is franchised.  Jets and Flacco are transitioned.  The team cut Beanie and Fitz, but kept Ocho? We’ll see how this plays out. With a little over 20 bucks to spend, I am not sure the team will bring everyone on its rosters back. Trade Dwyer to McD and be done with it already.

SOQ – has this team ever had an exciting auction? It seems like every year they are cash strapped. This year, the team is ready to make a splash though.  Steven Jax is finally gone. Knowshon got a huge raise. Is brandon marshall the deal he thought he was getting 2 years ago (the Steal of the Auction 2009)? Brady will be a top franchise player…watch out for TenQ making a run.

QBC – You would lying if you weren’t anxiously awaiting this team’s moves. It’s always a crapshoot. This year, when it appeared that QBC could not make a wrong move, they….wait for it, wait for it…didn’t do anything out of the ordinary. Of course the team didn’t keep Steve Breaston now that he has a big NFL contract, after keeping him for a couple of years while he was an absolute nobody with the Cards.  Now, don’t get me wrong, we’re still excited to see how much the team is willing to pay Ahmad Bradshaw, considering there is Giants homerism on the part of at least one owner.  I also expect them to be desean players. Let’s see how this pans out. This just in, for 2011, the team is actively seeking to use the QFLE. Novel.

Fahq – one of the biggest offseason shakers is this team.  As has been pointed out, this team’s new BFF is its division rival Bing.  Nonetheless, the team is counting heavily on Stafford, as long time team member, Cutler, is gone.  Picking up Charles and Roddy last year has changed this team from pretender to contender.  After several years of mismanagement, it appears that Shane is finally paying attention. There is a wide spread belief that Jerry has been made a silent partner, indicating to the league that the dual ownership trend of years past is finally trending away.

Side Notes:
As everyone knows, the QFL observed a team deparature for the first time in 8 years.  Welcome Bing. Speculation is rampant about the next to go.  If a team was to leave, the odds are as follows (no time table is predicted, but the next departure could be as soon as 2013):  QBC  4:1, FRNQ 5:1 (shocking as the founder), QTang 15:1; and QU 20:1 (all other teams are above 100:1)

For the first time ever it is believed, all 12 teams kept at least one Defense [Editor’s note: Not true. Rishi obviously hasnt bought the KeeperCommish reports]. This is a huge lesson to the colonies. Defenses are critical. (keep in mind not as critical as the bears for $20+ in QFL3’s first year). Yet, i is not unusual to have defenses in the 10-12 range. Jets D could go for 15 in the QFL this year.

Finally, this post was written very quickly (excuse the typos and grammar), as sunday plans are full with a toddler.