August 21st, 2005

Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun, Napoleon (no Mike, not Dynamite), Justin Sedlecky, Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great all have one thing in common. They are all leaders of some of history’s most famous conquests. Throughout history, many of these names have struck fear into the hearts of grown men. However, one name from that list might stand out.

In his first season in the AQ Fantasy Football League, Justin Sedlecky was far from a conqueror. Hearing the name Conquest, conjures up images of a 5-12 record and a spot at the bottom of the league standings. That’s hardly anything to fear, and some of you may even think that he will once again bring no competition to the league. I beg to differ. After being on the wrong end of his blade twice last season, I have experienced firsthand the damage that this leader can do. It has been proven that throughout history, some of the greatest conquests have started with defeat. Whether or not this leader will be remembered as “great” depends on how he comes back from his earlier failures.

This year, his second season as a member of the AQ League, Sedlecky had to put his faith in auto picking to assemble his legions. After the dust had settled and his men had made their marks, Sedlecky was left with ranks worthy of being part of his 2005 conquest.

Leading his men on the field this year will be the consistent KC fantasy QB Trent Green, coming off a season with 27 TDs and nearly 4600 yards. Although the KC WR corps looks thin, there are currently 12 men fighting for the teams WR positions. Green should have some solid targets when these battles are finished. Along with his wide outs, Green will have Priest Holmes back and healthy to help take pressure off the the passing game. And don’t forget about perennial pro bowl TE Tony Gonzalez. Look for Trent Green to have another solid year with only a slight drop in production.

Conquest rounds out their starting QB, WR, and RB trio with Hines Ward and LaDainian Tomlinson. Ward is the go to guy in Pittsburg, and now that Big Ben has a year of experience under his belt, they may be looking to let him throw a little more. Ward had a sub par year in ’04 catching balls from their rookie phenom managing 1000 yards receiving and 4 TDs along with one rushing score. I look for Hines to rebound in ’05 with a 1200 yard 8 TD season.

The third head of this monster is that of LaDainian Tomlinson. Tomlinson was a great RB to have in ‘04 (I should know). Tomlinson was good for 1 TD a game and always had solid yardage. With nearly 1800 combined yards and 18 total TDs, he proved himself to be one of the premier backs of fantasy football. This draft pick alone should trigger fear into opponents' minds, and with the aforementioned QB and WR this Conquest should be much more competitive.

Conquest is also showcasing someone who could be an elite TE this year in fantasy football, Dallas Clark. Playing for the Colts is never a bad thing when your job is to catch the ball. Clark will have NFL TD record holder Peyton Manning throwing him the ball this season. With the loss of Marcus Pollard in the off season, Clark should get a greater number of passes thrown his way. At a position that tends to be sink or swim, it looks as though Sedlecky will be doing laps all season long.

One area that may cause problems for Sedlecky is his depth. We all know that during a 17 week campaign anything can and will happen. Men fall for various reasons and you need to have others who are willing to fill their ranks and contribute without hesitation. With a trio of question marks at flex positions and only 2 starters on his bench Conquest has not done much to help his cause.

The most solid player in the flex position is Tiki Barber. Coming off a career year with 2100 yards and 15 TDs he seems to be a great option. However, his numbers seemed to drop when their current starting QB came in midway through last season. If things continue as they were, I would look for Barber to come back down to earth with 1600 total yards and 12 TDs, still a solid season. After Barber it’s anyone’s guess.

With Eric Moulds, a 32 year old WR, being thrown to by a 2nd year QB who missed his rookie season with an injury, things don’t look good. Just 2 seasons removed from a 1300 yard 10 TD campaign in ’02, Moulds will be looking to improve. Last season he hauled in 88 balls, a solid number, but for only 1000 yards and 5 TDs. Age considered look for Moulds to come away with 1100 yards and 6 TDs as new talent emerges, i.e. Willis McGahee and Lee Evans.

This leaves rookie Cedric Benson for the final flex position. Benson will be battling Thomas Jones for the starting nod at the Bears HB position, and this could go either way. The Bears are definitely being built for defense; however with the acquisition of free agent Muhsin Muhammad in the off-season along with some talented young WRs, they may be able to open up their running game a little bit. Benson will make it through his rookie season with 900 yards and 6 TDs while splitting carries with Thomas Jones.

On the bench is where we can see the lack of Conquest's depth. QB Aaron Brooks is the sole backup for the QB spot and a good one at that. He has plenty of talent around him in NO and produces good numbers every year. Eddie Kennison, veteran Chiefs WR, and the Bengal’s #2 WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh look to be his best bets off the pine so far. Both men were near 1000 yards receiving in ’04 with Eddie catching 8 TDs to T.J.s 4. Kennison should have similar numbers in ’05 and T.J. will see more opportunities. Aside from these two WRs, Conquest also employed the services of Arizona RB Marcel Shipp. Every publication I have read has put J.J. Arrington at the #1 RB spot for Arizona, so Shipp looks to be nothing more than a backup this season. Rounding out the offensive bench will be backup TE Jermaine Wiggins. With the departure of Randy Moss from Minnesota look for the ball to get spread around a little more. This means Wiggins’ ’04 numbers of 700 yards and 4 TDs will go up.

At kicker, Conquest seems to be all set. He is carrying two solid kickers in Shayne Graham and Ryan Longwell. Both of these men had 120+ fantasy points last season and are in situations where repeating those numbers is highly likely.

Conquest’s defense also looks a bit suspect if he has any plans on being a threat this season. With the exception of stud defensive lineman Julius Peppers, Conquest has three players with a combined ’04 total of 72.5 fantasy points. Two CBs in Allen Rossum and rookie Fabian Washington along with DT Dan Klecko are far from a solid defense. There is still plenty of time to get these men ready for battle. For the sake of “Justin the Great” I hope there are some smart transactions in his future.

All things considered I look for Conquest to make some strides this season. Look for him to finish in the middle of the pack (6th) this season, gaining some valuable experience so that he can challenge for rule over the AQ League in 2006.

Adam LaBarre
President of Fantasy Football Operations