2005 Expert Poll and League Results

At Fantasy Football Experts, we take pride in our track record vs. quality competition in expert and high-stakes leagues.  Since 2001, we have participated in 15 such leagues, earning seven championships and 13 top-three finishes.  In 2005, we finished third or better in a total of five leagues, including one championship.  We also finished among the top ten in two preseason expert polls.  Read on for the complete details on our 2005 season and a historical breakdown of our results between 1999-2005.     

EXPERT AND HIGH-STAKES LEAGUES 

FFEx representatives participated in a total of five expert/high-stakes leagues in 2005.  The results were fantastic.   

In the high-stakes Fantasy VIPs leagues, Brad Haines and I won our individual league and finished in the top 25 nationally.  That particular team was loaded with talent, including Ladainian Tomlinson, Rudi Johnson, Hines Ward, and Chris Chambers.  Fellow FFEx staff member Jason Lauren and I finished second in another VIP league, made the playoffs as a wildcard, and finished seventh nationally.  That squad featured the Manning brothers at QB, Shaun Alexander at RB, Chad Johnson and Santana Moss at WR.  Also, the grand prize winner of the 2005 FFEx Fantasy Team Giveaway Contest, Kyle Driscoll, finished 6th nationally in Fantasy VIPs.  Kyle’s squad featured the likes of Alexander, Chad Johnson, Tiki Barber, and Terry Glenn.  Overall, the three teams combined to win more than $5,000. 

In the 2005 FSRU.com Expert League, Brad and I nearly won back-to-back championships, but we fell just short, losing in the championship game to Bob Grabowski of CoachBox.com.  With the exception of Clinton Portis and Antonio Gates, we didn’t have many studs on our FSRU team, but we managed to get the most out of our lineup nearly every week by playing the matchups.   

FFEX also earned third-place finishes in the 2005 Sports Illustrated Expert League and the ‘05 Gridiron Grumblings Shootout.   

In the Shootout, an expert league that includes defensive players, the FFEx squad was led by DE Michael Strahan, LB Andra Davis and S Gibril Wilson – three big point producers in 2005 – and Barber, Gates, and Thomas Jones on the offensive side of the ball.   

Our team in the SI.com league was dominant during the regular season, averaging nearly 140 points per week.  Our roster included Portis, Santana Moss, Ward, Plaxico Burress, Tony Gonzalez, the Chicago defense, and Jay Feely.  The team finished the regular season with the best record and 120 total points more than the next best team.  However, most of our key players laid an egg for the first week of the playoffs, dropping us to the consolation game for third place.   

PRESEASON EXPERT POLLS 

Steve Siniski of FSRU.com proved that defenses do matter in fantasy football on his way to winning the 2005 FFEx Expert Poll.  By being the only person to rank the Bears, the Buccaneers and the Panthers in the top six, Steve significantly outdistanced the competition in the team defense category.  He also led the way at wide receiver by ranking Steve Smith and Anquan Boldin fairly high while avoiding busts like Darrell Jackson, Michael Clayton, and Nate Burleson.   

Brian Schneider of FantasyOnlineSports.com and Greg Kellogg of GridironGrumblings.com finished second and third, respectively, in the 2005 FFEx Expert Poll.  I finished a respectable fifth, while Brad finished a distant 12th, after being the runner-up in 2004.  Click here to see the complete standings for 2005 and the winners from past seasons. 

I also represented FFEx in two preseason events hosted by the Fantasy Football Index (in May).  The results were mixed.  I finished a very respectable 8th (out of 25) in the Index’s Expert Poll but 11th (out of 12) in their Mock Auction.  Ironically, my first purchase in the auction was the leading point producer of 2005, Alexander, but a horrible situation at wide receiver proved to be my undoing. 

FFEx Expert Poll Final Standings

Past FFEx Expert Poll Champs

FFEX’S HISTORY IN EXPERT LEAGUES AND POLLS