Professional handicapper from Florida is the winner at tight ends -- even though he didn't rank Jimmy Graham No. 1.
If you’re going to win at a position in the Fantasy Index Open, it would seem, you can’t have any big mistakes. But Henry Karsen of Lecanto, Fla., is evidence that’s not the case. He was one of the few who didn’t rank Jimmy Graham as the top player at this position. He also ranked Jared Cook 3rd. But Karsen was still able to outscore over 200 other competitors.
Karsen has a handicapping background. He’s placed in multiple higher-stakes forecasting contests with horses. The 2nd place finisher also has a background in the fantasy industry – Mike Clay is one of the lead writers for Pro Football Focus.
Dean Tuffie, an accountant from Aliquippa, Pa., took 3rd at this position, and he can argue for a share of the time. Using our outdated 20-1 scoring format, he would have been the top finisher.
As a refresher, this contest is different than a typical fantasy league. There’s no drafting, rosters or lineups. You’re getting scored on every player. The higher you rank them, the more they count towards your points total.
Jimmy Graham was the highest scoring tight end, with 156.8 points. If you ranked him No. 1, that would have been worth 4,704 points (156.8 x 30). If you ranked him 2nd, that would be worth 4,547.2 (156.8 x 29). Rank him 3rd and he’s worth 4,390.4 (156.8 x 28). And so on.
In the old scoring format (the one Tuffie would have won), the multiplier numbers descend from 20 to 1. We’re using 30-11 now to make the picks in the teens more relevant (that 20th pick is now worth about as third as much as the guy you’re ranking No. 1 overall).
Anyway, Karsen is the winner at this one, even after placing Rob Gronkowski and Cook too high at the top of his board.
Fewer than 10 percent of the entries put Jordan Cameron in their top 10. Karsen was one of those guys, which really helped. (The highest guy on Jordan Cameron was Jason Collington of Tulsa, who had him way up at 3rd – Collington, recall, won the defensive category last week).
Karsen’s other big picks were ranking Delanie Walker 15th and putting Brent Celek 12th. Walker showed up on the ballots of only 16 other entries, but he finished the season as a top-10 tight end, scoring 64.6 points. So using this complicated scoring matrix, the Walker selection was worth almost 1,037 points.
Karsen also helped his cause by choosing not to rank Fred Davis and Dustin Keller. Davis was a non-factor for Washington, while Keller got hurt in the preseason and didn’t even play.
We’re working our way through the six categories in this competition – QB, RB, WR, TE, K and DEF. The overall winner of the competition – the best of the 209 entries – wins a monstrously huge trophy from the team at Affordable Trophies. They’ve partnered with us on this competition.
The top 2 finishers (the winner and the runner-up) win berths in the Fantasy Experts Poll in the magazine (which runs just the same way but is limited to 20 participants). And I’ll get some revised overall standings posted on the site later today. Right now, we’re at the halfway point, with three of six positions scored.
At this position, there were 208 entries with 20 tight ends listed. All but three of the contestants scored more than 23,000 points but fewer than 28,000. Karsen nudged over 28,000 at the top. Two full entries fell short of the 23,000 mark.
You remember the name Michael Murillo? He writes a column for the website, and he won our Fantasy Index Super League last month. That’s the one where you submit a lineup for each of the 17 weeks of the regular season. He got hammered at this position, finishing in 205th out of the 208 properly filled out entries.
Looking at Murillo’s forecast, his biggest errors were leaving Greg Olsen and Jared Cook out of his top 20. Both of those guys were top-10 tight ends. Including Martellus Bennett, Jordan Cameron and Delanie Walker, he didn’t include half of the top-10 tight ends. Murillo had Ed Dickson as his No. 9 tight end, and he did very little (picks were due, recall, after the Dennis Pitta injury but before the Ravens signed Dallas Clark). Murillo had Kyle Rudolph 7th and Owen Daniels 9th, and those guys both got hurt. He had Jermaine Gresham 5th, and he didn’t do much.
FANTASY INDEX OPEN, TIGHT ENDS (Top 20 finishers) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Hometown | Occupation | Points |
Henry Karsen | Lecanto , Fla. | Professional Handicapper | 28,184 |
Mike Clay | Fleetwood, Pa. | Fantasy Football Writer | 27,745 |
Dean Tuffie | Aliquippa, Pa. | Accountant | 27,639 |
Brant Hollenbeck | Lansing, Mich. | Sales | 27,573 |
Shiaw Chi | San Jose, Calif. | Attorney | 27,564 |
Brad Freeman | Geneva, Ill. | Attorney | 27,514 |
Kirk Kennedy | Pink Hill, N.C. | Teacher | 27,512 |
Richard Jackson | Berkeley, Calif. | Attorney | 27,460 |
Kevin Cuozzo | Boston, Mass. | Payroll | 27,446 |
Aaron Sucov | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | Student | 27,438 |
Rick Calabro | Staten Island, N.Y. | Financial Advisor | 27,409 |
Curt Goldgrabe | Boise, Idaho | Executive Director | 27,319 |
Steve Moyer | Alameda, Calif. | Investment Realtor | 27,282 |
Dan Schneier | West Orange, N.J. | Consultant | 27,253 |
Chad Eisenhower | Reading, Pa. | Sales | 27,123 |
Michael McAninch | Naperville, Ill. | Network Engineer | 27,087 |
Darrell Duke | Spring, Texas | Sales Manager | 27,029 |
Jason Howe | Oakland, Calif. | Regional Manager | 27,023 |
Doug Pawlak | Knoxville, Tenn. | Engineer | 27,019 |
Adam Thygeson | Portland, Ore. | Teacher | 26,977 |
FANTASY INDEX OPEN, TIGHT ENDS (Alphabetical) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Hometown | Rank | Points |
Aaron Sucov | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 10 | 27,438 |
Adam Holtz | Rochester, Minn. | 118 | 25,784 |
Adam Locke | Lynnwood, Wash. | 137 | 25,580 |
Adam Renzoni | Buffalo, N.Y. | 72 | 26,329 |
Adam Sheets | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 63 | 26,397 |
Adam Thygeson | Portland, Ore. | 20 | 26,977 |
Alan Kaster | Green Bay, Wis. | 153 | 25,306 |
Alessandro Miglio | San Pablo, Calif. | 36 | 26,745 |
Andy Gough | Dallas, Texas | 167 | 24,964 |
Andy Richardson | Port Chester, N.Y. | 135 | 25,614 |
Austin Lee | San Francisco, Calif. | 37 | 26,712 |
Bill Mason | Huntersville, N.C. | 207 | 22,053 |
Bill Rehor | Culver City, Calif. | 132 | 25,669 |
Bob Adelman | St. Louis, Mo. | 134 | 25,615 |
Bob Buchner | Coral Springs, Fla. | 191 | 24,275 |
Bob Stone | Odenton, Md. | 114 | 25,807 |
Bob Tecca | Buffalo, Minn. | 181 | 24,649 |
Brack Varnon | Houston, Texas | 68 | 26,349 |
Brad Freeman | Geneva, Ill. | 6 | 27,514 |
Brad Henderson | Louisville, Ky. | 48 | 26,565 |
Bradley Wolfrum | Alpharetta, Ga. | 35 | 26,751 |
Brant Hollenbeck | Lansing, Mich. | 4 | 27,573 |
Brent Miles | Pasco, Wash. | 81 | 26,227 |
Brett Sanborn | Rochester Hills, Mich. | 74 | 26,318 |
Brian Carlson | Lexington, Ky. | 161 | 25,083 |
Brian George | Billings, Mont. | 168 | 24,934 |
Brian Laskiewicz | Randolph, N.J. | 112 | 25,840 |
Brian Sauber | Denver, Colo. | 51 | 26,543 |
Brian Staines | Mars, Pa. | 171 | 24,854 |
Bryan Sweet | Cookeville, Tenn. | 158 | 25,151 |
Chad Eisenhower | Reading, Pa. | 15 | 27,123 |
Chris Blacksmith | Las Vegas, Nev. | 60 | 26,421 |
Chris Durham | Yuma, Ariz. | 106 | 25,948 |
Chris Lingen | Rochester, Minn. | 34 | 26,753 |
Chris Whitney | San Jose, Calif. | 28 | 26,880 |
Chris Winder | Pleasant Hill, Calif. | 163 | 25,045 |
Clifford Quinn | Annapolis, Md. | 126 | 25,710 |
Cory Bonini | San Diego, Calif. | 50 | 26,557 |
Craig Robinson | Combined Locks, Wis. | 76 | 26,290 |
Curt Goldgrabe | Boise, Idaho | 12 | 27,319 |
Dan Frye | Houston, Texas | 90 | 26,144 |
Dan Schneier | West Orange, N.J. | 14 | 27,253 |
Dana Duffield | Rochester, Minn. | 40 | 26,630 |
Daniel Bowman | Liberty, Mo. | 22 | 26,975 |
Darrell Duke | Spring, Texas | 17 | 27,029 |
Dave Bernhard | Madison, Wis. | 157 | 25,235 |
Dave Cohen | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 30 | 26,865 |
Dave Iampieri | Forest Hill, Md. | 193 | 24,143 |
Dave Read | Cranberry, Pa. | 164 | 25,023 |
David Aikenhead | Lancaster, Calif. | 185 | 24,583 |
David DiGregorio | Norristown, Pa. | 104 | 25,970 |
David J Thornton | Denver, Colo. | 31 | 26,812 |
Dean Tuffie | Aliquippa, Pa. | 3 | 27,639 |
Dennis Thomas | Watsonville, Calif. | 173 | 24,810 |
Derek Mathis | North Charleston, S.C. | 52 | 26,535 |
Dish Adams | Los Angeles, Calif. | 39 | 26,655 |
Don Pavelka | Plainview, Minn. | 206 | 23,242 |
Doug Pawlak | Knoxville, Tenn. | 19 | 27,019 |
Ed O'Hair | Katy, Texas | 93 | 26,115 |
Ed Weiss | Parsippany, N.J. | 151 | 25,393 |
Eddie Tietchen | Sicklerville, N.J. | 117 | 25,787 |
Edward Winklosky | Oakland, Calif. | 121 | 25,744 |
Eric Buchholz | Destin, Fla. | 190 | 24,289 |
Eric Gustitus | Exeter, Pa. | 170 | 24,899 |
Eric Hotz | Fremont, Ohio | 26 | 26,896 |
Eric Scolnick | Redmond, Wash. | 152 | 25,344 |
Eric Stancliff | Mount Airy, Md. | 58 | 26,455 |
Gary Allen | Charleston, S.C. | 33 | 26,757 |
Gary Stehly | Hilliard, Ohio | 154 | 25,272 |
Geoff Maleman | Redondo Beach, Calif. | 95 | 26,099 |
Gilberto Baca | Fresno, Calif. | 150 | 25,401 |
Greg Heminway | Sacramento, Calif. | 41 | 26,626 |
Hank DaBruzzi | Oakdale, Minn. | 108 | 25,933 |
Harriett Hunt | Atlanta, Ga. | 156 | 25,240 |
Henry Goers | Bartlett, Ill. | 184 | 24,583 |
Henry Karsen | Lecanto , Fla. | 1 | 28,184 |
Ian Allan | Seattle, Wash. | 186 | 24,426 |
Isaac McNally | Billings, Mont. | 203 | 23,615 |
Jake Boegel | Minneapolis, Minn. | 192 | 24,236 |
James Sutter | San Carlos, Calif. | 47 | 26,571 |
James Wimmers | Lincolnton, N.C. | 119 | 25,779 |
Jamie Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | 141 | 25,500 |
Jason Collington | Tulsa, Okla. | 79 | 26,265 |
Jason Howe | Oakland, Calif. | 18 | 27,023 |
Jason Pilon | Columbia Heights, Minn. | 183 | 24,584 |
Jason Spann | St. Louis, Mo. | 78 | 26,268 |
Jeff Fell | Sarnia, Ont. | 38 | 26,710 |
Jeff Fossett | Newburgh, Ind. | 169 | 24,921 |
Jeff Richey | Flower Mound, Texas | 24 | 26,940 |
Jeff Slawson | Buffalo, N.Y. | 195 | 24,125 |
Jeffery Lebeouf | Crowley, La. | 73 | 26,328 |
Jeremy Schwartz | Edison, N.J. | 142 | 25,495 |
Jim Costello | Portland, Maine | 200 | 23,746 |
Jim DiLorenzo | Grayslake, Ill. | 29 | 26,867 |
Jim Kangas | Viroqua, Wis. | 178 | 24,696 |
Jim Nienaber | Georgetown, Ohio | 160 | 25,124 |
Joe Vlcek | Virginia Beach, Va. | 198 | 23,901 |
John D. Smith | Mount Laurel, N.J. | 101 | 26,032 |
John Duggins | Greenville, S.C. | 110 | 25,906 |
John Isett | Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. | 166 | 24,967 |
John Marino | Binghamton, N.Y. | 27 | 26,896 |
John Moore | Sea Isle City, N.J. | 129 | 25,672 |
John O'Kane | Flemington, N.J. | 113 | 25,831 |
John Richmond | Peoria, Ariz. | 125 | 25,717 |
John Roberts | Honolulu, Hawaii | 174 | 24,762 |
John Ruppe | Fort Myers, Fla. | 196 | 24,107 |
Jon Elliott Hansen | Reno, Nev. | 139 | 25,556 |
Jonathan Mora | Miami, Fla. | 77 | 26,271 |
Joseph Michelangelo | Oceanside, N.Y. | 75 | 26,305 |
Juan Novo | Miami, Fla. | 53 | 26,534 |
Justin Morris | Midland, Ont. | 149 | 25,411 |
Keenan Raverty | North St Paul, Minn. | 91 | 26,137 |
Keith Mason | Sumter, S.C. | 97 | 26,097 |
Keith McGrail | Tinley Park, Ill. | 92 | 26,118 |
Ken Yuen | Arlington Heights, Ill. | 105 | 25,968 |
Kent Bailey | Puyallup, Wash. | 123 | 25,725 |
Kevin Cuozzo | Boston, Mass. | 9 | 27,446 |
Kevin Hall | Allen, Texas | 162 | 25,053 |
Kevin Smith | Philadelphia, Pa. | 43 | 26,589 |
Kevin Weakland | Tracy, Calif. | 143 | 25,487 |
Kirk Kennedy | Pink Hill, N.C. | 7 | 27,512 |
Lou Sanicola | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 61 | 26,421 |
Louis Dale Gander | Sun Prairie, Wis. | 85 | 26,179 |
Manny De Jesus | Gilbert, Ariz. | 130 | 25,670 |
Marc Price | Kelowna, B.C. | 44 | 26,589 |
Mark Burns | Runnemede, N.J. | 98 | 26,065 |
Mark Faber | Columbus, Ohio | 56 | 26,488 |
Mark Kundrotas | Atco, N.J. | 89 | 26,149 |
Mark Stoecker | Mansfield, Texas | 42 | 26,602 |
Matt Becker | Reading, Pa. | 109 | 25,910 |
Matt Hayes | Winder, Ga. | 25 | 26,922 |
Matt Kons | Milwaukee, Wis. | 147 | 25,421 |
Michael Cabaza | Cherry Hill, N.J. | 133 | 25,633 |
Michael Crow | Orion, Ill. | 46 | 26,581 |
Michael Kolton | Green Bay, Wis. | 124 | 25,723 |
Michael Livengood | Ward, Ark. | 100 | 26,046 |
Michael McAninch | Naperville, Ill. | 16 | 27,087 |
Michael McCleary | Roseville, Calif. | 102 | 26,015 |
Michael McIlraith | Los Angeles, Calif. | 179 | 24,668 |
Michael Murillo | Tampa, Fla. | 205 | 23,354 |
Michael O'Brien | Brighton, Colo. | 140 | 25,527 |
Michael Phillips | West Hartford, Conn. | 176 | 24,712 |
Michael Sarmento | San Jose, Calif. | 84 | 26,196 |
Michael Stanco | Clermont, Fla. | 136 | 25,587 |
Miguel Tames | Miami, Fla. | 131 | 25,669 |
Mike Balliet | Milton, Pa. | 23 | 26,949 |
Mike Carlson | Sacramento, Calif. | 59 | 26,445 |
Mike Clay | Fleetwood, Pa. | 2 | 27,745 |
Mike Craig | Kokomo, Ind. | 94 | 26,100 |
Mike Green | Des Moines, Iowa | 67 | 26,354 |
Mike McIlraith | Fort Worth, Texas | 69 | 26,348 |
Mike Nease | West Chicago, Ill. | 57 | 26,464 |
Mike Todd | Otis, Ore. | 187 | 24,415 |
Mike Wells | Good Thunder, Minn. | 197 | 24,068 |
Mitch Wurst | Cincinnati, Ohio | 80 | 26,254 |
Moishe Steigmann | Milwaukee, Wis. | 188 | 24,379 |
Nathan Kline | Topton, Pa. | 202 | 23,696 |
Nathan Priest | Waynesboro, Pa. | 107 | 25,933 |
Nathan Roberts | Piketon, Ohio | 120 | 25,748 |
Paul Hazen | Granada Hills, Calif. | 144 | 25,449 |
Paul Kuchar | Schaumburg, Ill. | 62 | 26,408 |
Peter Steinke | Redmond, Wash. | 21 | 26,976 |
Rey Diaz | Miami, Fla. | 172 | 24,831 |
Rich Hodges | Tacoma, Wash. | 177 | 24,709 |
Richard Brisacher | Los Angeles, Calif. | 175 | 24,723 |
Richard Jackson | Berkeley, Calif. | 8 | 27,460 |
Richard Loppnow | Ephrata, Wash. | 45 | 26,583 |
Richard Meadors | Seymour, Ind. | 111 | 25,884 |
Rick Calabro | Staten Island, N.Y. | 11 | 27,409 |
Rob Dammers | Ringwood, N.J. | 204 | 23,516 |
Rob Reiber | Randolph, N.J. | 64 | 26,390 |
Robert Cowart | Dallas, Texas | 82 | 26,214 |
Rocky Petrella | Philadelphia, Pa. | 116 | 25,795 |
Ronald John Robuck | Tempe, Ariz. | 208 | 21,770 |
Russell Ditnes | Jamison, Pa. | 165 | 25,014 |
Rustin Paul | New York, N.Y. | 70 | 26,335 |
Rusty Stephens | Dallas, Texas | 127 | 25,683 |
S. Lind | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 146 | 25,435 |
Sam Hendricks | Lynchburg, Va. | 96 | 26,098 |
Scott Anderson | Lakewood, Colo. | 201 | 23,698 |
Scott Brady | Collegeville, Pa. | 86 | 26,176 |
Scott Kopischke | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 145 | 25,447 |
Scott Liles | Russellville, Ark. | 55 | 26,498 |
Scott Martin | La Crescenta, Calif. | 148 | 25,415 |
Scott Sachs | Huron, Ohio | 88 | 26,152 |
Sebastian Falsone | Philadelphia, Pa. | 138 | 25,576 |
Shane Scott | Toronto, Ont. | 32 | 26,784 |
Shiaw Chi | San Jose, Calif. | 5 | 27,564 |
Stephen Coleman | Aurora, Ill. | 99 | 26,050 |
Stephen Fisse | Mandeville (New Orleans), La. | 155 | 25,262 |
Stephen McKenzie | Red Wing, Minn. | 49 | 26,565 |
Steve Hoyt | Buffalo Grove, Ill. | 65 | 26,384 |
Steve Moyer | Alameda, Calif. | 13 | 27,282 |
Steve Tortora | Wallingford, Conn. | 180 | 24,649 |
Thomas Oliver | Nashville, Tenn. | 83 | 26,202 |
Tim Lloyd | Newton , N.J. | 66 | 26,376 |
Tim Wandling | Rohnert Park , Calif. | 87 | 26,154 |
Todd Voorhees | Chula Vista, Calif. | 122 | 25,726 |
Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | 71 | 26,333 |
Tom Overberger | Bedminster, Pa. | 115 | 25,800 |
Tommy Libretti | New York, N.Y. | 209 | 17,804 |
Tony Zeller | Dundalk, Md. | 128 | 25,680 |
Travis Billman | Dacula, Ga. | 194 | 24,129 |
Travis Gray | Wellington, Fla. | 182 | 24,627 |
Treavor Phipps | Salem, Ind. | 189 | 24,348 |
Troy Tretola | Port Saint Lucie, Fla. | 199 | 23,836 |
Ty Tietjen | Brandon, S.D. | 103 | 25,998 |
Victor Kitzes | Maple Valley, Wash. | 54 | 26,521 |
Zach Leavitt | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | 159 | 25,127 |
--Ian Allan