Doctor's Destroyers

With the seventh pick in the first round of the 1997 FANEX draft, the Doctor's Destroyers select RB Terry Allen of the Washington Redskins.

The Destroyers did not want to wait until the 2nd round to take a tier one back, and after one or two more backs in the NFL, the drop-off begins to dive quickly. Terry Allen has proven that you can come all the way back from two reconstructive knee surgeries. He plays on a team that is starting to turn the corner and make some strides in the competitive NFC eastern division.

The Destroyers don't expect Allen to once again break the twenty - touchdown barrier like he did in 96, but won't be surprised if he hits in the 12-17 range. The Destroyers also like the fact that up-n-comer Gus Frerotte is still a few years away from seriously cutting into the running game in Washington.

Allen's 96 stats for those who may be interested: 1353 yards rushing, 21 TDs, third in the NFC in rushing behind Sanders and Watters. The Destroyers welcome Allen into the fold and look to round two to shore him up with a running mate of the tier two variety, or a tier one receiver or quarterback if one falls into our laps.

With the second round pick, the Doctor's Destroyers chose Oakland's premier pass-catcher, Mr. Tim Brown. The Raiders have made it clear that they are returning to the big-time passing game, and Brown has been strong and consistent for several years. With the addition of the 27.5 million dollar arm of Jeff George, I am confident that Brown will improve on his 96 numbers (90 receptions for 1104 yards and nine touchdowns) Both last year and this year, the Raiders have no other legit targets at wide receiver - and yet Brown beats the double teaming and continues to produce. Brown will once again have no trouble making it into the top five of the AFC at year's end.

The Destroyers see Mitchell as a highly undervalued stock right now and simply could not pass him by in round three. Although Mitchell's numbers last year were less than stellar (17 TDs and 17 INTs) he appears poised for a bounce back type season. Several factors played favorably to this end:

1) His wife and he reconciled after they split during the 96 season pending divorce.

2) He re-signed with the Lions for a bazillion dollar contract.

3) New coach in Detroit - Mitchell publicly chastised Ol' Fred Flintstone (Wayne Fontes) as much as possible.

4) Barry Sanders has to be respected, which will allow Mitchell to exploit Moore/Morton/Milburn.

Mitchell was less than 100 yards shy of the 3000 yard barrier last season...he should easily hit that mark and beyond in 96 and throw 22-26 TDs this year as a Destroyer.

Next round we are looking at another undervalued rb or a high level TE if one is still on the board. There are also tons of receivers left to grab at this point.

Robert Brooks has been selected in the fourth round by The Doctor's Destroyers...some owners were "gun-shy" of selecting a player this high in the FanEx draft who was coming off a very nasty, serious injury.

The Destroyer's owner and GM, living in Wisconsin, had the benefit of following Brooks' re-hab each and every day since it happened. He is ready to go, and pick up where he left off in 96. Brooks will be a starter each and every week for The Destroyers, and he will make everyone ask "What knee injury last year?" He will easily bust 1000 yards and ten TDs with Favre at the helm and Freeman allowing him to beat single and double coverage in the black n' blue division of the NFC.

Freeman will cut into his numbers, but Brooks will still have more catches, receiving yards, and scores. Bank on it. In round five the Destroyers will continue to make the risky "boom or bust" pick - The Destroyers are out to win the league in 97, not put up decent win/loss numbers...ANYONE can do that.

With their fifth round selection, the Destroyers happily chose second year receiver Marvelous Marvin Harrison. As some of you are aware, this FanEx league requires that owners start three receivers every week (no you cannot start two tight ends instead). The remaining backs are all at about the same level at this point, but there are a few gems that we wanted first at receiver and tight end. Therefore, when Harrison was still on the board, we snatched him right up.

He is the main man on a team which now has a much healthier Jim Harbaugh and Marshall Faulk. The running game will be more respected, opening up the passing game in Indy. Harrison is one of the faster receivers in the NFL, and every grab has the potential for the Destroyers official endzone dance. He had a very strong rookie campaign (top 15 in the AFC with 64 receptions for 836 yards and 8 touchdowns).

The Destroyers have given Harrison the much anticipated and fought for WR3 position to round out the receiving starters of Brown/Brooks/Harrison. In round six we are looking at TE, kicker, and runningback.

With their sixth round pick, the Doctor's Destroyers selected Minnesota speedster Robert Smith to round out their backfield. Smith has had an NFL track record which is akin to a formula one race car - either he is finishing first in a blaze of mach 1 speed or he is in the body shop having work done on him so he can't even race this week. Hopefully this will be the year that Robert Smith plays for more than eight games before going down to injury. The Destroyers saw Smith as another in a series of "boom or bust" picks. Even with his injury last year (missing about half the season) he ended up in the top ten in the NFC in rushing. The Destroyers team physicians have given him 100 percent clearance for this season, and he has been lifting with the linemen during the offseason to prevent an injury-plagued 1997.

Smith will score often and get lots of yards in the 10,000 lake state - if he could just finish ONE NFL season out of the infirmary! Smith stated that he will be a pro bowler and play in all 16 regular NFL games for the Destroyers. He said this is the year he proves everybody wrong who doubts he can take a beating week in and week out.

With the 7th round pick of Eric Metcalf of the Chargers, the Doctor's Destroyers solidified an already solid receiving corps of Tim Brown/Robert Brooks/Marvin Harrison and Metcalf. Eric will have the benefit of lining up in the slot, as a flanker, as a wide out, and also as a runningback. He also will return kicks for additional scoring opportunities. Metcalf's departure from Atlanta will give him a legit chance to cut into Tony Martin's receiving totals and scores as well. He really came on in the final six or seven games of 96, averaging a TD per game. The Destroyers are excited to have the home run threat of Metcalf on their squad, and he will hope to bust the starting line-up early in the season. At the very least, he is an excellent 7th round pick who can start from day one should an injury occur or a bye week come up.

With the seventh pick in the ninth round, the Destroyers nabbed a perennial top-ten tight end in Niners' Brent Jones. We are very pleased he fell to us in this round. As you may be aware, we traded away our 8th round pick as part of a deal with the Petros. We were looking at Jones then, and to still have him available in the ninth round while gaining two more picks in later rounds was fantastic.

He also is once again the only choice at TE since FA Ted Popson has left via free agency to the Chiefs to fight it out with rookie Tony Gonzalez. Yes, Jones was dinged up last year, but he and Young are both healthy, unlike JJ Stokes and Terell Owens - and you can't throw the ball to Rice on EVERY down (well actually you could!)...anyway, getting a legit starting TE for an aerial attack like the Niners in round nine made our draft. He will easily end up in the top ten once again and we predict 50-60 catches and 5-7 TDs for Mr Jones. He will be our primary weapon at TE from day one, only being supplanted during the bye week.

We have three picks in round ten due to the earlier trade. We will be going after a certain couple of kickers, one WR in particular, and one particular QB.

Due to some earlier wheeling and dealing the Doctor's Destroyers had the luxury of two back to back picks at the 10.06 and 10.07 spots. We still coveted a top ten kicker and another receiver in this league where you absolutely must start three every single week.

We were stunned to find super stud Jason Elam (former Univ Of Hawaii Rainbow) still on the board this late into the draft. He was a sure thing on a team which only got even stronger on D this off-season. Thus, the Broncos will likely have the football on their opponents side of the 50 yard line for most of the games they will play. The only reason Elam didn't score more points last year is that Denver simply made too many TDs and very rarely did Elam have to even try a field goal. He will continue to score consistently again in 97.

With the second pick in this round we chose our candidate for bounce back player of 97, Horace Copeland of the Bucs. With Reidel Anthony looking very good in mini-camp, and the slew of studs now surrounding Trent Dilfer, Copeland should pick up right where he left off in 96 before his season ending surgery. He will be the number one guy on an up n coming team of the Buccaneers. I predict Copeland will eventually supplant one of my higher round picks at WR...his numbers will simply command a starting spot.

He is predicted to go over 1000 yards and hit the endzone at least 8 times by year's end. We were ecstatic over these last three picks of Brent Jones/Copeland/Elam.

With their third pick in the highly productive tenth round, the Doctor's Destroyers built up some needed depth at RB by selecting Eagle speedster Charlie Garner. No, he won't be an every week starter, but he will cover us on bye weeks and (gasp!) any injuries to our stable of backs already in the fold. Although he only gets about 8-10 touches per game, he is dynamite in cleats and a threat for a score every week as well. Hopefully the one or two weeks he'll get the call we'll be fortuitous enough to catch him in the endzone that week. Also, with the Watters situation not exactly chummy with HC Ray Rhodes, Garner may gain some added play this season.

Trent Dilfer is the latest addition to the Destroyers' roster. He will spell Scott Mitchell on occasion and has his sights set as this year's Vinny Testaverde pick of the Destroyers in 96. While we don't expect Dilfer to throw 30 plus TDs like Vinny T did for us last year, we are expecting about 15-20 off the bench. He has an excellent supporting cast around him on offense, and Copeland already is a Destroyer for a natural pitch n' catch combo. He will open quite a few eyes in FanEx and beyond in 97. When the Lions are on a bye or facing an especially difficult NFL opponent, we are confident that Dilfer will step up and use his few starts to showcase his growing talents.

With the 11.07 selection, the Destroyers once again opted for depth at the running back position by selecting RB Edgar Bennett of the World Champion Packers. He will join Charlie Garner on the bench to start the season but he says he has no intentions of remaining there. He hopes to beat out Robert Smith or Terry Allen outright, which should be no small task when both players are 100 percent healthy. He gives 110 percent when called upon, and that is the heart of the Destroyers' franchise. He will definitely start a few games on bye weeks at least. Since Levens has become the TD producer in GB his stock has dropped, and unlike rookies he is still a sure thing to hit paydirt in the 5-7 TD range by year's end.

Chris Jacke, newly acquired kicker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is the latest addition to the Doctor's Destroyers roster. He will be a change of pace installment into the line-up, and serve primarily as a back-up to Bronco kicker Jason Elam.

Of course, this in no way means that Jacke is washed up or is a scrub in fantasy circles. The scouting and coaching staff believes that the Packers will regret putting their hopes and dreams of a second trip to the Super Bowl in the hands of a rookie (and letting Jacke go).

Jacke has a strong leg and will be out to remind the Packer brass of the mistake they made when they let him loose. The Steelers offense will have some bright spots this season, but not many TDs with Slash and Co playing full time for the first season. Thus, many red zone opportunities will fall short of paydirt and Jacke will put up the quick three to the joy of The Doctor's Destroyers' owner/head coach.

Rookie phenom David LaFleur is the 15th player selected by the Doctor's Destroyers. LaFleur will start the season as the back-up to starting TE Brent Jones of the 49er's. LaFleur will be one of two bookends in Dallas for Aikman to throw to, now that Novacek has officially retired from the NFL. He is a huge target, and has a decent shot to become a premier pass catcher in the NFL, and we are pleased to snatch him up this late in the FANEX draft.

He will spell Jones during bye weeks, and has already stated that he is NOT going to end the season as the back-up to anybody. Keep an eye on LaFleur during the upcoming pre-season games, where he is sure to see a lot of action.

The 16th player selected by the Doctor's Destroyers is Bucs kicker Michael Husted. Many of my fellow fanexers were wondering why I was taking a third kicker when I already had Elam and Jacke. I believe that the Bucs offense will be much improved this year (as I had already drafted Copeland and Dilfer earlier in the fanex draft). Although the Bucs are improving, they will stall and shoot themselves in the foot inside the twenty sometimes as well. Plus with a very strong young defense, they will have a few close games where they will just play D and kick field goals to win 12-10 or 13-9.

Plus, now I have three options to choose from and don't have to just start Elam or Jacke, I can go with the hot foot. Finally, having three strong kickers will help me possibly work a trade for another back down the road.