This is the seventh in a sixteen part series reviewing the current PAFFL teams and what one owner feels the next steps for each franchise will (should?) be over the next 2 weeks up to and including the 20th anniversary of the PAFFL Draft.
Seventh Team: RON JEREMY FAN CLUB!
One of the more creatively named PAFFL teams, the Ron Jeremy Fan Club (RJFC) has arguably been the best team, year in, year out, in the "other" AFC division. The RJFC owner is one of the most active managers, constantly involved in trade talks and free agent pick-ups. Unfortunately, not all of these trades have worked out, some of them backfiring big time. One recent trade with the Palo Alto Short Bus in April 2006.
In this trade, the Ron Jeremy Fan Club traded away Drew Brees at $12 and the #6 rookie pick for Tatum Bell and Michael Jenkins. Brees continued to be a top QB in the league and the #6 rookie pick turned into Chad Johnson (via trade with Salem Beavercats). Tatum had a slightly less impressive season while Jenkins scored 6 TDs.
Currently, the RJFC has spent approximately $230 and has some holes to fill.
At QB, the RJFC only has one starting QB under contract - Tony Romo at $55 (2009). They do have Clemens at the semi-expensive price of $37. Cutting Clemens would be a good idea as he's not worth half that amount right now. They had Delhomme, making a solid 1-2 punch but decided to ship Delhomme to Team Kitty (along with L. Coles) for Cedric Benson. I suspect that RJFC will make a play for a 1-year QB (like Favre / Brady / Green) at the draft. It should be interesting.
At RB, Brian Westbrook remains RJFC's long-time team member, currently under contract at $55. This is Westbrook's last season and I'm somewhat surprised RJFC hasn't offered Westbrook in contract talks with other PAFFL teams. Why not trade Westbrook to LFP for the Seattle QB's rights and the 3 pick? With Benson, RJFC has a solid #2 RB that could be the #1 RB for many teams. Michael Bennett might prove valuable if LJ gets traded; Mike Anderson might get some carries in Baltimore. RJFC also has Tatum's rights, but with Kevin Jones out for the first few games (or longer), Tatum might cost upwards of $80-90 at the auction. Still, that's a very solid 1,2,3 punch at the RB position. They also have the rights to Chris Brown, who could come at a cheap price at the auction. Everyone seems to hate Chris Brown; I should know... I tried to trade him nonstop for 16 months to no avail.
At WR,RJFC has the topper rights to Donald Driver, Darrell Jackson, Michael, Jenkins, and Brandon Lloyd. They do not have any cheap, solid WRs under contract. This speaks volumes to RJFC's inability to cultivate cheap talent. They lucked into Romo who has been their only homegrown talent to speak of in recent years. I'm sure RJFC will chime in if this is not the case. The lack of quality WRs could post a problem for RJFC, although they have the cash to go after some top quality WRs at the auction.
Overall, I like RJFC's squad. Quality RBs win games in the paffl during the regular season. My worry is that RJFC doesn't acquire another QB at the auction and then Romo loses his grasp on the starting QB position in Dallas. I wouldn't be surprised if both of these scenarios happen. Still, knowing that the RJFC is one of the more active owners in the PAFFL, I think this is their season to dominate..
Final Record: 9-4, winning the division, making the playoffs
RJ has a nice stable of backs (Westbrook, Benson & Bell or Brown) but picking up that 2nd QB and getting a couple starting WR's will be expensive. If Romo continues to improve (and I think he will, especially with all the talent around him - TO, T. Glenn, J. Whitten, J. Jones & M. Barber), I agree RJ is the favorite to win the South division.
Posted by: Beavercat | July 15, 2007 at 09:44 PM
Thanks Salem....let's go McNabb!
Posted by: RonJeremy | July 17, 2007 at 10:45 AM
At least he is trying to trade Westbrook now to rebuild a bit. RJFC, do you want to buy a topper from me?
Posted by: Jibaholic | July 17, 2007 at 10:50 PM