Todd Voorhees puts LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles ahead of Adrian Peterson -- and runs off with the gold medal at the running back position.
If you’re going to win a contest like the Fantasy Index Open, you can’t just chase after what happened last year. You’ve got to get off the beaten path, spot some breakout players, take some chances – but not be too foolhardy. Todd Voorhees, a public affairs manager from Chula Vista, Calif., was all of these, working his way to the top of pile in the running back category.
Eric Gustitus, a title searcher from Exeter, Pa., was right there with him, taking 2nd place. And these guys were one-two regardless of scoring system. They were the best.
Most contestents went with Adrian Peterson as the No. 1 running back. Voorhees dropped him down to No. 3, going instead with LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles in the top two spots. In our incremental scoring system, that earned him a nice statistical advantage against the vast majority of competitors.
Five guys put Charles (the top scorer) up in the No. 1 spot overall, but the rest of their boards weren’t as good as Voorhees.
Voorhees also benefitted nicely from dropping Adrian Foster and Doug Martin down to 4th and 8th. Yes, he thought those guys would be top-10 backs, but almost everyone else was much higher on them (they were the 2nd and 3rd backs on the consensus board).
Voorhees realized before most others that Eddie Lacy would be a good producer. He had him up at 15th – 11 spots higher than the consensus. He also had Ryan Mathews 17th (10 spots higher than the crowd). He also had Matt Forte 5 spots higher than the average, which helped him.
Gustitus was right there with Voorhees in most respects. He had the chops to to rank LeVeon Bell 14th, which scored him points, and he had Forte up at 5th. But Gustitus had Peterson in the No. 1 spot, and his big error was ranking Doug Martin 2nd. Set the Martin picks aside, and Gustitus would have been the winner.
The 3rd and 4th place finishers at this position were also from the Keystone State. Tom Overberger is a guidance counselor from Bedminister, and Mike Balliet is a laborer from Milton.
The top 10 includes a fingerprint examiner (Michael O’Brien from Brighton, Colo.) and a professional wrestler finished in 12th (Michael Stanco from Clermont, Fla.).
The overall winner of this contest (who I hope to name tomorrow) will win 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).
RUNNING BACKS (Top 10 Percent) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Rk | Name | Hometown | Occupation | Points |
1 | Todd Voorhees | Chula Vista, Calif. | Public Affairs Manager | 72,885 |
2 | Eric Gustitus | Exeter, Pa. | Title Searcher | 72,236 |
3 | Tom Overberger | Bedminster, Pa. | Guidance Counselor | 71,944 |
4 | Mike Balliet | Milton, Pa. | Laborer | 71,357 |
5 | Derek Mathis | North Charleston, S.C. | Insurance Salesman | 71,197 |
6 | Keith McGrail | Tinley Park, Ill. | Teacher | 70,822 |
7 | Michael O'Brien | Brighton, Colo. | Fingerprint Examiner | 70,710 |
8 | Chris Blacksmith | Las Vegas, Nev. | Cab Driver | 70,628 |
9 | Chad Eisenhower | Reading, Pa. | Sales | 70,584 |
10 | Dana Duffield | Rochester, Minn. | Engineer | 70,580 |
11 | Scott Brady | Collegeville, Pa. | Contract Administrator | 70,292 |
12 | Michael Stanco | Clermont, Fla. | Wrestler | 70,273 |
13 | Jim Costello | Portland, Maine | Mail Processor | 70,259 |
14 | Juan Novo | Miami, Fla. | Sales | 70,043 |
15 | Bradley Wolfrum | Alpharetta, Ga. | Small Business Owner | 70,004 |
16 | Mike Nease | West Chicago, Ill. | Fantasy Football Writer | 69,875 |
17 | Ken Yuen | Arlington Heights, Ill. | Attorney | 69,821 |
18 | Brian Sauber | Denver, Colo. | Engineer | 69,804 |
19 | Mike Carlson | Sacramento, Calif. | Fantasy Football Pro | 69,800 |
20 | Miguel Tames | Miami, Fla. | Retail Manager | 69,752 |
And here are all the entries, in alphabetical order, with points scored at running back and place (out of 209 entries).
RUNNING BACKS (alphabetical) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Name | Hometown | Points | Rk |
Aaron Sucov | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 69,507 | 27 |
Adam Holtz | Rochester, Minn. | 63,050 | 194 |
Adam Locke | Lynnwood, Wash. | 67,383 | 104 |
Adam Renzoni | Buffalo, N.Y. | 67,249 | 111 |
Adam Sheets | Santa Rosa, Calif. | 69,234 | 38 |
Adam Thygeson | Portland, Ore. | 67,938 | 81 |
Alan Kaster | Green Bay, Wis. | 66,707 | 138 |
Alessandro Miglio | San Pablo, Calif. | 69,410 | 31 |
Andy Gough | Dallas, Texas | 69,173 | 41 |
Andy Richardson | Port Chester, N.Y. | 68,369 | 65 |
Austin Lee | San Francisco, Calif. | 69,670 | 21 |
Bill Mason | Huntersville, N.C. | 62,512 | 197 |
Bill Rehor | Culver City, Calif. | 66,967 | 124 |
Bob Adelman | St. Louis, Mo. | 65,036 | 184 |
Bob Buchner | Coral Springs, Fla. | 59,974 | 207 |
Bob Stone | Odenton, Md. | 65,964 | 167 |
Bob Tecca | Buffalo, Minn. | 67,109 | 115 |
Brack Varnon | Houston, Texas | 66,785 | 134 |
Brad Freeman | Geneva, Ill. | 64,689 | 186 |
Brad Henderson | Louisville, Ky. | 66,925 | 125 |
Bradley Wolfrum | Alpharetta, Ga. | 70,004 | 15 |
Brant Hollenbeck | Lansing, Mich. | 65,660 | 174 |
Brent Miles | Pasco, Wash. | 67,099 | 117 |
Brett Sanborn | Rochester Hills, Mich. | 68,043 | 76 |
Brian Carlson | Lexington, Ky. | 63,238 | 193 |
Brian George | Billings, Mont. | 66,756 | 136 |
Brian Laskiewicz | Randolph, N.J. | 66,385 | 150 |
Brian Sauber | Denver, Colo. | 69,804 | 18 |
Brian Staines | Mars, Pa. | 68,899 | 49 |
Bryan Sweet | Cookeville, Tenn. | 69,546 | 26 |
Chad Eisenhower | Reading, Pa. | 70,584 | 9 |
Chris Blacksmith | Las Vegas, Nev. | 70,628 | 8 |
Chris Durham | Yuma, Ariz. | 67,561 | 94 |
Chris Lingen | Rochester, Minn. | 67,017 | 121 |
Chris Whitney | San Jose, Calif. | 62,512 | 198 |
Chris Winder | Pleasant Hill, Calif. | 68,326 | 67 |
Clifford Quinn | Annapolis, Md. | 67,295 | 106 |
Cory Bonini | San Diego, Calif. | 68,198 | 72 |
Craig Robinson | Combined Locks, Wis. | 67,938 | 82 |
Curt Goldgrabe | Boise, Idaho | 69,484 | 28 |
Dan Frye | Houston, Texas | 65,301 | 180 |
Dan Schneier | West Orange, N.J. | 68,273 | 70 |
Dana Duffield | Rochester, Minn. | 70,580 | 10 |
Daniel Bowman | Liberty, Mo. | 64,024 | 189 |
Darrell Duke | Spring, Texas | 66,680 | 139 |
Dave Bernhard | Madison, Wis. | 67,920 | 84 |
Dave Cohen | Brooklyn, N.Y. | 66,471 | 147 |
Dave Iampieri | Forest Hill, Md. | 65,185 | 181 |
Dave Read | Cranberry, Pa. | 68,491 | 62 |
David Aikenhead | Lancaster, Calif. | 66,518 | 143 |
David DiGregorio | Norristown, Pa. | 69,034 | 45 |
David J Thornton | Denver, Colo. | 53,255 | 208 |
Dean Tuffie | Aliquippa, Pa. | 68,361 | 66 |
Dennis Thomas | Watsonville, Calif. | 66,794 | 133 |
Derek Mathis | North Charleston, S.C. | 71,197 | 5 |
Dish Adams | Los Angeles, Calif. | 66,765 | 135 |
Don Pavelka | Plainview, Minn. | 61,643 | 203 |
Doug Pawlak | Knoxville, Tenn. | 68,408 | 64 |
Ed O'Hair | Katy, Texas | 66,614 | 140 |
Ed Weiss | Parsippany, N.J. | 68,915 | 48 |
Eddie Tietchen | Sicklerville, N.J. | 65,581 | 177 |
Edward Winklosky | Oakland, Calif. | 67,103 | 116 |
Eric Buchholz | Destin, Fla. | 68,567 | 56 |
Eric Gustitus | Exeter, Pa. | 72,236 | 2 |
Eric Hotz | Fremont, Ohio | 67,909 | 85 |
Eric Scolnick | Redmond, Wash. | 65,912 | 169 |
Eric Stancliff | Mount Airy, Md. | 66,431 | 148 |
Gary Allen | Charleston, S.C. | 61,502 | 204 |
Gary Stehly | Hilliard, Ohio | 68,565 | 57 |
Geoff Maleman | Redondo Beach, Calif. | 66,342 | 153 |
Gilberto Baca | Fresno, Calif. | 69,153 | 42 |
Greg Heminway | Sacramento, Calif. | 69,401 | 34 |
Hank DaBruzzi | Oakdale, Minn. | 63,388 | 192 |
Harriett Hunt | Atlanta, Ga. | 62,051 | 201 |
Henry Goers | Bartlett, Ill. | 68,973 | 46 |
Henry Karsen | Lecanto , Fla. | 62,217 | 199 |
Ian Allan | Seattle, Wash. | 67,426 | 102 |
Isaac McNally | Billings, Mont. | 69,408 | 33 |
Jake Boegel | Minneapolis, Minn. | 61,870 | 202 |
James Sutter | San Carlos, Calif. | 67,433 | 101 |
James Wimmers | Lincolnton, N.C. | 69,668 | 22 |
Jamie Alberts | Sturgeon Bay, Wis. | 66,079 | 160 |
Jason Collington | Tulsa, Okla. | 63,810 | 190 |
Jason Howe | Oakland, Calif. | 62,200 | 200 |
Jason Pilon | Columbia Heights, Minn. | 69,424 | 29 |
Jason Spann | St. Louis, Mo. | 68,755 | 53 |
Jeff Fell | Sarnia, Ont. | 65,782 | 170 |
Jeff Fossett | Newburgh, Ind. | 65,970 | 166 |
Jeff Richey | Flower Mound, Texas | 69,368 | 35 |
Jeff Slawson | Buffalo, N.Y. | 67,286 | 107 |
Jeffery Lebeouf | Crowley, La. | 68,519 | 61 |
Jeremy Schwartz | Edison, N.J. | 67,483 | 97 |
Jim Costello | Portland, Maine | 70,259 | 13 |
Jim DiLorenzo | Grayslake, Ill. | 67,561 | 95 |
Jim Kangas | Viroqua, Wis. | 67,455 | 99 |
Jim Nienaber | Georgetown, Ohio | 66,007 | 164 |
Joe Vlcek | Virginia Beach, Va. | 64,378 | 187 |
John D. Smith | Mount Laurel, N.J. | 68,754 | 54 |
John Duggins | Greenville, S.C. | 66,135 | 159 |
John Isett | Indian Rocks Beach, Fla. | 67,683 | 92 |
John Marino | Binghamton, N.Y. | 66,320 | 155 |
John Moore | Sea Isle City, N.J. | 67,180 | 112 |
John O'Kane | Flemington, N.J. | 67,777 | 88 |
John Richmond | Peoria, Ariz. | 66,402 | 149 |
John Roberts | Honolulu, Hawaii | 67,418 | 103 |
John Ruppe | Fort Myers, Fla. | 65,100 | 183 |
Jon Elliott Hansen | Reno, Nev. | 67,468 | 98 |
Jonathan Mora | Miami, Fla. | 69,270 | 36 |
Joseph Michelangelo | Oceanside, N.Y. | 69,184 | 40 |
Juan Novo | Miami, Fla. | 70,043 | 14 |
Justin Morris | Midland, Ont. | 65,586 | 176 |
Keenan Raverty | North St Paul, Minn. | 66,136 | 158 |
Keith Mason | Sumter, S.C. | 66,500 | 145 |
Keith McGrail | Tinley Park, Ill. | 70,822 | 6 |
Ken Yuen | Arlington Heights, Ill. | 69,821 | 17 |
Kent Bailey | Puyallup, Wash. | 68,557 | 58 |
Kevin Cuozzo | Boston, Mass. | 64,937 | 185 |
Kevin Hall | Allen, Texas | 68,176 | 75 |
Kevin Smith | Philadelphia, Pa. | 66,057 | 163 |
Kevin Weakland | Tracy, Calif. | 66,509 | 144 |
Kirk Kennedy | Pink Hill, N.C. | 67,769 | 90 |
Lou Sanicola | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 67,254 | 110 |
Louis Dale Gander | Sun Prairie, Wis. | 67,305 | 105 |
Manny De Jesus | Gilbert, Ariz. | 65,666 | 173 |
Marc Price | Kelowna, B.C. | 69,062 | 44 |
Mark Burns | Runnemede, N.J. | 67,867 | 86 |
Mark Faber | Columbus, Ohio | 68,176 | 74 |
Mark Kundrotas | Atco, N.J. | 66,334 | 154 |
Mark Stoecker | Mansfield, Texas | 69,601 | 24 |
Matt Becker | Reading, Pa. | 68,838 | 50 |
Matt Hayes | Winder, Ga. | 68,757 | 52 |
Matt Kons | Milwaukee, Wis. | 67,022 | 120 |
Michael Cabaza | Cherry Hill, N.J. | 66,811 | 131 |
Michael Crow | Orion, Ill. | 66,205 | 156 |
Michael Kolton | Green Bay, Wis. | 66,997 | 122 |
Michael Livengood | Ward, Ark. | 69,627 | 23 |
Michael McAninch | Naperville, Ill. | 67,169 | 114 |
Michael McCleary | Roseville, Calif. | 69,574 | 25 |
Michael McIlraith | Los Angeles, Calif. | 66,896 | 128 |
Michael Murillo | Tampa, Fla. | 65,605 | 175 |
Michael O'Brien | Brighton, Colo. | 70,710 | 7 |
Michael Phillips | West Hartford, Conn. | 66,972 | 123 |
Michael Sarmento | San Jose, Calif. | 67,933 | 83 |
Michael Stanco | Clermont, Fla. | 70,273 | 12 |
Miguel Tames | Miami, Fla. | 69,752 | 20 |
Mike Balliet | Milton, Pa. | 71,357 | 4 |
Mike Carlson | Sacramento, Calif. | 69,800 | 19 |
Mike Clay | Fleetwood, Pa. | 67,077 | 118 |
Mike Craig | Kokomo, Ind. | 69,409 | 32 |
Mike Green | Des Moines, Iowa | 66,075 | 161 |
Mike McIlraith | Fort Worth, Texas | 67,449 | 100 |
Mike Nease | West Chicago, Ill. | 69,875 | 16 |
Mike Todd | Otis, Ore. | 65,989 | 165 |
Mike Wells | Good Thunder, Minn. | 64,332 | 188 |
Mitch Wurst | Cincinnati, Ohio | 67,620 | 93 |
Moishe Steigmann | Milwaukee, Wis. | 69,213 | 39 |
Nathan Kline | Topton, Pa. | 62,737 | 196 |
Nathan Priest | Waynesboro, Pa. | 69,092 | 43 |
Nathan Roberts | Piketon, Ohio | 65,518 | 178 |
Paul Hazen | Granada Hills, Calif. | 67,952 | 79 |
Paul Kuchar | Schaumburg, Ill. | 68,557 | 59 |
Peter Steinke | Redmond, Wash. | 66,803 | 132 |
Rey Diaz | Miami, Fla. | 68,018 | 77 |
Rich Hodges | Tacoma, Wash. | 66,383 | 151 |
Richard Brisacher | Los Angeles, Calif. | 65,162 | 182 |
Richard Jackson | Berkeley, Calif. | 66,382 | 152 |
Richard Loppnow | Ephrata, Wash. | 69,419 | 30 |
Richard Meadors | Seymour, Ind. | 65,919 | 168 |
Rick Calabro | Staten Island, N.Y. | 66,065 | 162 |
Rob Dammers | Ringwood, N.J. | 62,994 | 195 |
Rob Reiber | Randolph, N.J. | 67,707 | 91 |
Robert Cowart | Dallas, Texas | 66,904 | 127 |
Rocky Petrella | Philadelphia, Pa. | 65,768 | 171 |
Ronald John Robuck | Tempe, Ariz. | 60,158 | 206 |
Russell Ditnes | Jamison, Pa. | 60,743 | 205 |
Rustin Paul | New York, N.Y. | 68,535 | 60 |
Rusty Stephens | Dallas, Texas | 68,227 | 71 |
S. Lind | Monmouth Junction, N.J. | 67,504 | 96 |
Sam Hendricks | Lynchburg, Va. | 68,790 | 51 |
Scott Anderson | Lakewood, Colo. | 66,872 | 129 |
Scott Brady | Collegeville, Pa. | 70,292 | 11 |
Scott Kopischke | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | 68,920 | 47 |
Scott Liles | Russellville, Ark. | 68,325 | 68 |
Scott Martin | La Crescenta, Calif. | 63,753 | 191 |
Scott Sachs | Huron, Ohio | 67,982 | 78 |
Sebastian Falsone | Philadelphia, Pa. | 66,818 | 130 |
Shane Scott | Toronto, Ont. | 68,696 | 55 |
Shiaw Chi | San Jose, Calif. | 66,913 | 126 |
Stephen Coleman | Aurora, Ill. | 68,194 | 73 |
Stephen Fisse | Mandeville (New Orleans), La. | 67,776 | 89 |
Stephen McKenzie | Red Wing, Minn. | 66,751 | 137 |
Steve Hoyt | Buffalo Grove, Ill. | 66,603 | 141 |
Steve Moyer | Alameda, Calif. | 67,172 | 113 |
Steve Tortora | Wallingford, Conn. | 69,237 | 37 |
Thomas Oliver | Nashville, Tenn. | 66,495 | 146 |
Tim Lloyd | Newton , N.J. | 65,710 | 172 |
Tim Wandling | Rohnert Park , Calif. | 67,283 | 108 |
Todd Voorhees | Chula Vista, Calif. | 72,885 | 1 |
Tom Deskovitz | South Lyon, Mich. | 67,855 | 87 |
Tom Overberger | Bedminster, Pa. | 71,944 | 3 |
Tommy Libretti | New York, N.Y. | 38,370 | 209 |
Tony Zeller | Dundalk, Md. | 67,945 | 80 |
Travis Billman | Dacula, Ga. | 67,270 | 109 |
Travis Gray | Wellington, Fla. | 66,528 | 142 |
Treavor Phipps | Salem, Ind. | 65,456 | 179 |
Troy Tretola | Port Saint Lucie, Fla. | 66,166 | 157 |
Ty Tietjen | Brandon, S.D. | 67,061 | 119 |
Victor Kitzes | Maple Valley, Wash. | 68,489 | 63 |
Zach Leavitt | Highlands Ranch, Colo. | 68,293 | 69 |
-- Ian Allan