QSN Preseason #QFL Power Rankings

We surveyed the QSN writing staff for their preseason rankings and solicited thoughts from anonymous QFL GMs on each team. FREDNEQ garnered the most #1 votes, but the league looks as balanced as ever heading into 2014. The writers varied quite widely on the playoff teams, but the opinion on the lower tier of the league seems clear (QBOLA, INQ, SOQ, QBC).

1. FREDNEQ (Avg. 1.7, Hi 1, Low 3): “Lacy and Marshall alone. He gets anything from Alfred, Griffin, Garcon he could be really good.” “After several years of languishing, the team looks good this year. This is primarily due to several 1st round draft picks (Lacy, Morris, RGIII) and three explosive WR’s (Garcon, Marshall, and VJax). On the bench Cooks looks more than capable. CAR defense should be solid as well. “Lacy will explode this year, but the commitment to RG3 will come back to bite him.” “Very good WR corps, but no depth there beyond the over-hyped Cooks.” “Tough to expect same production from Carolina and Dalton as last year.”

2. TenQ (Avg. 4.0, Hi 4, Low 4): “Took a bold approach to offseason, but that’s what has set him apart as an owner. Can he rebuild again?” “The starting line up has all the potential in the world, and many of these players are the darlings of John Hansen – shocker.” “ If every player produces in line with their preseason hype, this team could be awesome…out of nowhere. “ “Getting Luck was a shrewd move for the long-term, but I don’t trust the coaching staff and OL there this year.” “You can’t dislike the starting WRs, but the depth stinks there beyond the flier TEs.” “Murray is ultra-hyped in 2014, but that Dallas team might be a ticket on the Titanic this season. RB depth very weak until Hyde starts.”

3. QJ (Avg. 4.6, Hi 1, Low 7): “Perennial almost there team. Predict he wins the Loser bracket again.” “Every year there a level of excitement around this team. It always features a good QB (Foles), an awesome RB (Jamal) and a good TE (Gronk). Martin’s star has been shining brighter since the auction. Nelson seems like a great WR this year. Can Toby, Spiller, and Gronk deliver this year? The defenses look somewhat shaky.” “Got to admit, although annually stubborn about the wishbone plan which is so tough to pull off, this year I think he’s finally got something. The key is Nelson and he should go off with rest of the GB offense.”

4. QTANG (Avg. 4.6, Hi 2, Low 6): “Quiet contender behind Jones, Cobb and Peterson.” “ It looks like the team has two good defenses.” “RW looking much more viable now for fantasy, really gives him a nice 1-2 punch at QB there.” “Never a big depth team, and it looks worse than ever year at RB and WR. If AP or the WRs goes down, its all over.”

5. QU (Avg. 5.0, Hi 2, low 10): “Actually this appears to be a decent team (looks a lot like Ted’s starting team the past couple of years, but they all missed the playoffs). To deliver, he has to expect big things from Roddy and DeSean…could be dicey. Sanders, Dobson, and Moreno on the bench may be valuable. Highly questionable defenses though.” “Lynch trade doesn’t look so bad anymore, but I heard he didn’t even ask about CMike in that deal, and then doesn’t get Turbin. Odd way to manage for Lynch’s inevitable decline.” “QBs are pretty brutal, I’m not a big Romo guy off the injury and not sure why he didn’t try to improve there – it really could have moved him toward top of league.” “It’s tough to win consistently if your QBs and Defenses are erratic, no matter how great your “middle” is. I see that issue here in a big way.”

6. OQ (Avg. 5.7, Hi 2, Low 10): “Delinquent Commissioner all off-season but has made up for it since July.” “Really nice set of RBs here with upside, and two nice QBs.” “The key to a successful wishbone, is the legit #1 WR. Cruz and Allen, although nice players, are not that. But he has options here to really run whatever formation he wants week to week and I like that aspect of how the team is constructed.” “The team has some shiny names, but will it see production? Let’s be honest, Kap hasn’t really panned out. Ellington is more speculation than substance. Bell, well, he likes substances. Thomas is a one year wonder. And Cruz could be a has been already. Brady and Forte are higher priced guys but they may not produce proportionate to their costs. The defenses are a mess.”

7. FAHQ (Avg. 5.7, Hi 3, Low 7) “The team once again is built around Dez, Calvin and Stafford. Everyone else is average. So this team will go as the Detroit and Dallas offenses go.” “I’m proud him for rostering more than 16 players, he’s evolving.” “Still follows the 3 high priced players and then nobody else strategy. It worked one year.” “I’ll be surprised to see him in playoffs with those horrible RBs and zero at WR after Mega/Dez.” “Stafford and Denver D don’t jump off the page at you, but could be elite.”

8. ATCQ (Avg. 6.0, Hi 5, Low 8): – “Loaded with backups and prospects. Reminds me of those people on the hoarder shows. Insists San Diego D was worth keeping.” “The team is in a unique position – good this year, and built for future years. Of course Brees and Demaryius will produce. The key question marks is what will come from the rest of the starting line up from week to week. In name, it looks solid. But really they are unknown quantities – Bernard, Maclin, and Bell should be good. Can Colston be valuable? One of the Defenses must step up.” “Tore the team apart after barely missing playoffs 3 straight years. I heard this guy was modeling Josh’s team on a spreadsheet since April, he obsessed over Demariyus and getting moaaaar picks. The plan is clear, but will it work?” “Looks like a team that might start slow but those bench guys have look of the late season blow up players that surge a team to the title out of the blue.”

9. QBOLA (Avg. 8.67, Hi 8, low 10): “Obviously Manning is a stud, and the receivers should be solid. Can the receivers be spectacular? There’s a chance, but Fitz is supposedly on the decline, Harvin is coming off of injury, and Wallace has not been the same since he moved to Miami. The RB’s on this team are awful. But this is made up by two stalwart defenses.” “The WRs are the good on paper guys but will drive him nuts all year. Needs another 55 TDs from Peyton with those defenses. Can’t win with that slop at RB. It’s embarrassing”

10. INQ (Avg. 10.3, Hi 9, low 11): “Team seems to care more about fantasy baseball. That’s fine. We need the dues.” “Unfortunately (Fortunately) this team is an enigma, and is often making moves for the sake of making moves. The team has boom or bust written all over it. Foster and Gore comprise an older RB tandem. Are they still explosive? Jennings could be really good in NYG, but is a season-long solution. Wes Welker probably won’t be the same again based on the science.” “Yet another year where he needs to recover from serious auction mistakes, I mean transitioning DT then buying Welker before you nominate him?” “Rodgers might be this year’s Peyton, but rest of that team will be tough to win with.”

11. SOQ (Avg. 10.7, Hi 9, low 12): “Annually one of the best, smartest, shrewdest owners in the QFL. This year it’s as if someone just unplugged his brain. It’s been tough to watch almost.” “The team seemed to be fine before it imploded (or exploded) in the first week of free agency. Now, it is comprised of what seems like an infinite number of $1 players. Coach Sauri will have to be lucky and otherwise perfect to win this year.” “ WTF? Still waiting on that interview.”

12. QBC (Avg. 10.7, Hi 9, low 12): “Only QBC could take on Shady McCoy and still look horrible. QFL’s Siberia.” “I’m just glad they exist. In a league of sharp owners, we need one of these.” “I mean with Shady and Seattle they will win some games. But not a lot of games. Ok, very few games.” “This team is confusing. Only 10 weeks ago, they didn’t have a single keeper-worthy guy on their roster. They were gifted McCoy and wisely took him and built their team around him. But, what was the auction strategy? Amass a bunch of good players from a few years ago and see what pans out? “MJD, Andre Johnson, Witten and Deangelo are all on the steep decline, need a big surprise here.” “The bench doesn’t look strong although there is something to be said for the fact that everyone on the bench is currently playing in the NFL (something not necessarily associated with QBC). BTW, the team claims it has been a victim of the rookie draft. We point out that the past two years, the teams has chosen Tavon and Tre. They are just bad at drafting” “Did Ian grab the June 2008 ESPN fantasy mag from the bottom of his closet as he sprinted to the auction?”