Great Night Or LaDainian Tomlinson Vs. Adrian Peterson

Yesterday was a really long day for me that kicked off at eleven o'clock. First of all I had to go to Buffalo Wild Wings and purchased food for the fantasy football draft.

I got eighty wings and got the hottest ten sauces. It was a great pickup and everyone at the draft loved them!

Then the draft. We drew for position and after ten other teams had drawn their positions the number one and number two pill had not been taken yet. The other team that had not drawn was sitting next to me. Neither of us really wanted the number one pick, I really wanted the twelveth pick over all. I like taking two elite players back to back instead of one elite player and then waiting twenty three picks to take the other player.

Anyway it came down to him and me. I had the pill container with two pills in it. I drew my pill and didn't look at it, he drew his and shook his head, I knew he had two. I looked at mine and sure enough it was the first pick.

Now I had an agonizing decision. Do I go with LaDanian Tomlinson or Adrian Peterson? They are equally matched on paper but that wasn't good enough. I thought about a coin toss but again I should really put more thought into the number one pick.

After drawing positions we took a ten minute break. This would be the time I needed to deduce who I would take with the supposed best pick in the draft. The number two team asked me who I was going to take, I honestly replied "I don't know".

So LT has never really had a down season. His season totals average are immense and fantasy football gold. He has lead the NFL in rushing the previous few seasons, you can count on him to throw maybe two TDs as well. He is a receiving threat out of the backfield and has been the all around best fantasy football weapon the past four years.

Adrian Peterson had a phenominal break out rookie season. He was unstoppable and gashed defenses for massive amounts of yardage, including THE game! Eight games into his career he rushed for more yards in a game than any other RB. 296 yards and three TDs against one of the best defenses in the NFL last season, the San Diego Chargers. He also suffered a slight knee sprain a couple of games afterwards and basically didn't do much the rest of the season. He might be the heir apparant to LT's greatness.

LT has a downside though. Even though he is the safe pick, has a ton of history to back up his selection at number one AND has only missed one game in his career due to injury, he also has a TON of mileage and is rapidly approaching the stage in his career where even the most durable RBs break down. He gives steady numbers for your team though. You can easily predict 1,500 yards and 16 TDs.

AP has an unlimited upside but hasn't played an entire season since high school. He is a proven injury risk. If he stays healthy all season long being the full time feature back, behind the best offensive line in the NFL.....you can easily predict 2,000 yards and 18+ TDs. His upside is more but the injury risk is higher.

I mulled over every point I could think of, talked it over with one of my friends. He was happy he didn't have to make the choice and would have been happy with the number three pick.

Break was over now and the teams were starting to take their places. I knew it would be just a matter of a minute maybe two before I would have to come to a conclusion. The number two team looked at me and asked me who it was. I said tell me who you want and I'll write down who I'm drafting. He laughed trying not to give away anything.

I wrote down the name on my draft sheet and covered it up. I asked him who he wanted. He didn't tell me so I showed him who I wrote down and he erupted since that is the player he wanted. I went with the unlimited upside, AP the Phenom over LT the Lock. I didn't go with the safe pick gambling that AP will produce more than LT on the downside of his amazing career.

My entire draft went pretty well. I feel I have one of the best teams and will compete every week:
R1-P1 - Adrian Peterson
R2-P12 - Larry Fitzgerald
R3-P3 - Andre Johnson
R4-P10 - Torry Holt
R5-P1 - David Garrard
R6-P12 - Kevin Smith
R7-P3 - Michael Turner
R8-P10 - Phillip Rivers
R9-P5 - New York Giants
R10-P8 - Vincent Jackson
R11-P11 - Matt Stover
R12-P2 - Pittsburgh
R13-P5 - Jason Hansen

I have a great set of WRs and unlimited upside with my RBs. Kevin Smith might very well be THE AP this season. He has size and speed to tear up defenses. Turner gives a reliable veteran who will put up steady numbers in Atlanta as their main offensive option. Garrard should be steady and the Giants D should dominate fantasy numbers.

After the draft was over with I came home to relax a bit before attending a bday party at The Pub. The Charlie awards were going on at the theatre so I was getting text updates on how Misery was doing. It didn't win any award sadly. It was up for best play, best actor, and best actress.

Then after the Charlies were over with I left the bday party and went to another place for an after Charlie drink. I told my bday companions I would meet up with them at another place after I consoled and celebrated with my theatre friends.

I have to be honest, I really thought that Misery was easily the best play. Yes I'm biased but I also know that there was more technical stuff that went on with Misery than all of the other plays combined. The lead actress, Terri, had more lines in Misery than all of the other female leads combined. John had one of the most difficult acting jobs in recent theatre history.

We laughed and cried about how our play got ripped off. I felt pretty upset at the time but today I know that what we put together was a great play, one of the best. I know that all of the hard work was put out there onto the stage and that everyone who saw the play enjoyed it.

The party broke up and I headed over to the continuing bday party. I went up stairs of the new place and found my companions playing quarters. I hung out for about an hour and a half and had more of a great time, didn't drink and just sat and laughed. I was tired by now as it was nearly one thirty AM. I decided it was bed time and drove a handful of blocks home to bed capping a great day, a great draft, and a great evening!