The CFFL Story Chapter 3: The Timeline – The 2001 Draft

Going into the 2001 CFFL draft, the only ownership change was Carl taking over TNT and re-naming them Sons of Liberty. The biggest rule change was that we became a keeper league in 2001 and adopted the draft pick value rules for keepers. Even though I had first encountered the draft pick keeper rules back in 1995, in 2001 I was unable to grasp the rules’ effect on our league, particularly as it pertained to valuation of RBs.

Maulers had the #1 draft position after beating Mayhem in the 2000 Gator Bowl. Mayhem held the #2 pick. Carl walked into a 12-2 team (because of course he did) and had the #11 spot, and defending champs Schizophrenia held the #12 spot.

Round 1

1. Maulers – Fred Taylor, RB, JAX
2. Mayhem – Daunte Culpepper, QB, MIN

After keepers there were two obvious picks atop the draft that year, so Mayhem’s first round pick was easy – take the guy Maulers didn’t take. Maulers selected the top RB at #1 in Jacksonville’s Fred Taylor. At #2 Mayhem made the “obvious” pick with Culpepper, intentionally neglecting the RB spot.

Round 1

11. SOL – Stephen Davis, RB, WAS (keeper)
12. Schizo – Marshall Faulk, RB, STL (keeper)

Round 2

1. Schizo – Ricky Williams, RB, NO
2. SOL – Donovan McNabb, QB, PHI (keeper)

The remainder of the first round saw only two live picks – the rest were keepers. In round 2, Schizo led off by taking RB Ricky Williams to pair with keeper RB Marshall Faulk. After another SOL keeper (QB Donovan McNabb), the RB apocalypse started.

Round 2

3. Curve It Around – Terrell Davis, RB, DEN (keeper)
4. Snappers – James Stewart, RB, DET
5. Corsairs – Garrison Hearst, RB, SF

I started to sweat. Mayhem (formerly Wide Right) had finished 3-11 the year before, so I wasn’t keen to keep much of anyone. In fact, in our first year of keepers I only kept two “players”, but none of them were RBs.

Round 2

6. Guns – Warrick Dunn, RB, TB
7. Rocket – LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, SD
8. Shaking Fists – Curtis Martin, RB, NYJ (keeper)

Oh crap, I thought, this can’t be happening. RBs were flying off the board. My top RB in 2000 was Jerome Bettis, and I didn’t want him back. He wasn’t terrible in 2000 – 8 TDs and 83.8 yds/gm – but he certainly didn’t lead my team to many victories. Plus he was worth a 5th round pick and I felt that was too high a price. I had the #2 pick, and even if I took a QB early I figured I’d still have one, maybe two chances to draft someone better than Bettis.

Round 2

9. Little Feats – Michael Bennett, RB, MIN
10. Weasels – Mike Alstott, RB, TB

An unbelievable eight consecutive RBs went off the board before Mayhem’s pick in the 2nd. Between that run and the RB keepers, there were 23 RBs already off the board, and only one team that didn’t have any: Mayhem.

I had grossly miscalculated how the draft would go (thanks Captain Obvious) and now here I was at the bottom of the 2nd round with shit available. There was one name left at the top of the RB board, one of the few starters left. The name was right there, staring at me, practically daring me to take him. And I had no choice. Muttering “I don’t believe I’m doing this”, I made the pick.

Round 2

11. Mayhem – Jerome Bettis, RB, PIT

I had drafted in the 2nd round an RB that I could’ve kept for a 5th. It wasn’t the worst pick in CFFL history (see Chapter 4) but it was the worst pick in Mayhem franchise history, and I knew it the moment I made it, as did my fellow owners. I believe it was Maulers GM who said “Excellent draft strategy Commish” or words to that effect.

Round 2

12. Maulers – Emmitt Smith, RB, DAL (keeper)

Round 3

1. Maulers – Duce Staley, RB, PHI (keeper)

And yet, amidst my preparations for hara-kiri, a light emerged from the darkness. The next two picks were keepers by Maulers so Mayhem was up again to start the 3rd. The benefit to a huge RB run was that other positions were plentiful, and there was another name just staring at me. During the RB run Maulers GM said “There’s a guy I can’t believe is still on the board.” Knowing who he was referring to, I replied “He’s not getting past me.” And he didn’t.

Round 3

2. Mayhem – Torry Holt, WR, STL

And with that Mayhem had their #1 WR for the next two years.

Round 3

12. Schizo – Jimmy Smith, WR, JAX

Round 4

1. Schizo – Thomas Jones, RB, ARI

The turn at rounds 3-4 netted Schizo WR Jimmy Smith and RB Thomas Jones, which pretty much set them up for the year.

Round 5

1. Maulers – Brett Favre, QB, GB
2. Mayhem – Travis Henry, RB, BUF

After Maulers opened round 5 with Brett Favre, Mayhem made one of those picks that we all dream of, a rookie RB who would end up being a no-brainer keeper for three years. Mayhem’s draft was improving, but the end of round 6 saw the second-most embarrassing Mayhem decision of the draft.

Round 6

11. Mayhem – Ravens, DST, BAL (keeper)

Yes, I drafted a defense in the 6th round in 2000 and kept them for 2001. But in my defense (get it?) the Ravens D had dominated in 2000, nearly shutting out the Giants in the Super Bowl. I saw no reason why they would slack off, and I had nothing better on my roster, so I kept them. Shut up.

Round 7

3. Weasels – Dorsey Levens, RB, GB
4. Feats – Shaun Alexander, RB, SEA
5. Fists – Anthony Thomas, RB, CHI

7. Corsairs – Deuce McAllister, RB, NO
8. Snappers – Kevan Barlow, RB, SF

11. SOL – Antowain Smith, RB, NE

Round 7 saw another run of RBs, with six going in the span of nine picks. Of the six RBs taken, five would be kept for the next year.

Round 9

1. Maulers – Kevin Johnson, WR, CLE
2. Mayhem – Ron Dayne, RB, NYG

Maulers made a solid pick in the 9th. Mayhem did not, choosing instead to board the Ron Dayne Pain Train.

Round 13

2. Mayhem – Laveranues Coles, WR, NYJ

It might not seem like much but this was an excellent value pick who would be another key Mayhem component for years to come.

Rounds 13-14 were the last rounds of the draft and they were largely uneventful, until the final pick by Maulers. It was a doozy that rocked the whole room.

Round 14

12. Maulers – Jamal Lewis, RB, BAL

As a rookie in 2000, Lewis had powered the Ravens to a Super Bowl title. But he blew out his knee in training camp of 2001. The rest of us treated Lewis as if we were under the old non-keeper rules, i.e. we ignored him. But with the new keeper rules Mike became the first one of us to grasp the concept of stashing a player. When he picked Lewis, everyone in the room immediately said “Oh shit” as we realized that after 2001 Maulers would get to keep an RB1 with a 14 value on their roster for two years. After the 2001 draft we as a league would never let that happen again.

Epilogue

With their top heavy draft and Marshall Faulk keeper, Schizo finished 2001 as the #1 seed and won their second straight championship.

SOL would finish as the #2 seed and lost to Schizo in the championship game.

Mayhem returned to the playoffs as the #7 seed but lost to SOL in the first round. But their rollercoaster 2001 draft built a core that would open the proverbial championship window for the next two years. By devoting a roster spot to the injured Lewis, Maulers would miss the playoffs again in 2001, but with Lewis returning in 2002 Maulers was also primed for a title run. The stage was set for a two-year battle for CFFL supremacy.