2012 Keeper Analysis: Eastern Conference

As we all know, keepers don't mean a thing but it sure is fun to evaluate them now that they've been officially declared. Part one covered the Western Conference, now here's the East.

Lebowski Achievers
Mandalorian Warriors (15): Drew Brees (3) LeSean McCoy (3) Steven Jackson (2) Jordy Nelson (2) Brandon Marshall (2) Rob Gronkowski (3)
Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (13): Tony Romo (2) Arian Foster (3) Chris Johnson (3) Ben Tate (1) Dwayne Bowe (2) Vernon Davis (2)
WS Tartars (12): Matt Schaub (1) Maurice Jones-Drew (3) Roddy White (3) Steve Johnson (2) Torrey Smith (1) Brandon Pettigrew (2)
Detroit Players (11): DeMarco Murray (2) Ryan Williams (0) AJ Green (2) Steve Smith (3) Hakeem Nicks (2) Jason Witten (2)

The Mandalorian Warriors are going all in this year and they have three gold players at QB/RB/TE. And the rest of their team is extremely solid too, with Steven Jackson, Jordy Nelson, and Brandon Marshall aboard. In fact, Nelson could be rated a third star if he can repeat last season's performance. This is the keeper core to beware heading into 2012.

Of course, Dunder Mifflin Paper Company might have a say here as they have the incredible running back duo of Arian Foster and Chris Johnson. Tony Romo and Vernon Davis have the potential to finish top of the charts at their respective positions and if not-Michael Scott can find Dwayne Bowe some help, the Paper Company is going to be more than just the talk of Scranton.

Both the WS Tartars and Detroit Players have keepers with definite strengths and weaknesses. The Tartars are strong with Maurice Jones-Drew and Roddy White, and have underrated receivers in Steve Johnson and Brandon Pettigrew. However they have a decent sized hole at QB with Matt Schaub, unless he can recapture his form from a few years ago. We're not sure that's going to happen now with the Texans featuring a strong running game.

If there's one team that needs a QB bad, it's the Players. It's extra unfortunate as Steve Smith, AJ Green, Hakeem Nicks, and Jason Witten are quite the receiving corps. We're giving DeMarco Murray the benefit of the doubt this year -- based on his mid-season stretch -- but so far there's been no return on the high draft pick used on Ryan Williams.

7 Championship Drive
100 Acre Pooh Bears (15): Cam Newton (3) Ray Rice (3) Ryan Mathews (2) Dez Bryant (2) Antonio Brown (2) Jimmy Graham (3)
Italian Stallionz (12): Tom Brady (3) Jamaal Charles (2) Felix Jones (1) Percy Harvin (3) Kenny Britt (1) Tony Gonzalez (2)
Squirtle Squad (12): Michael Vick (2) Adrian Peterson (3) Brandon Lloyd (2) Miles Austin (1) Denarius Moore (1) Jermichael Finley (3)
Human Amoebas (11): Matthew Stafford (3) Ahmad Bradshaw (2) DeAngelo Williams (2) DeSean Jackson (2) Pierre Garcon (2) Jon Baldwin (0)

The Pooh Bears are coming for the (honey) belt! Of course, they would look a lot better if Ryan Mathews wasn't just injured -- downgrading him to two stars -- but there's plenty of talent otherwise. Cam Newton, Ray Rice, and Jimmy Graham are three star players. Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown could both get there. This is a scary team for the future, and the present.

Entering his sophomore year as owner, GM Porta of the Italian Stallionz should be in win now mode with Tom Brady leading his team. The problem is nobody knows if Jamaal Charles is fully ready and if/when Kenny Britt is going to stop being a knucklehead. Percy Harvin has emerged as a near franchise guy though, which is pretty huge.

We're giving a lot of credit to Adrian Peterson by giving him three stars without seeing him hit the field. However, we believe he'll be back in time to make a difference for Squirtle Squad. And we're not sure what to do with WRs Miles Austin and Brandon Lloyd. Austin has been less than spectacular recently and Lloyd is moving to a new situation where he won't receive nearly as many targets. We split the difference and effectively gave them both 1.5 stars. Michael Vick and Jermichael Finley have the talent to be the best at their positions but they're also both guaranteed to miss games with injuries

The Human Amoebas have Matthew Stafford and a bunch of solid but second tier position players in Ahmad Bradshaw, DeAngelo Williams, DeSean Jackson, and Pierre Garcon. A second franchise guy here could push them into contention. Wasn't it Ayn Rand who asked "Who is Jon Baldwin?" Okay maybe not. We literally had to look up who Jon Baldwin was. Without that zero, this keeper core could have been a few points higher.

Top Five Keeper Cores

1. Mandalorian Warriors (15): No holes, in it to win it.
2. 100 Acre Pooh Bears (15): Solid on paper but Newton, Brown, and Bryant all have to prove themselves again.
3. Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (13): Our sleeper pick for best team in the league.
4. Another Bad Creation (13): Great roster on paper, but injury concerns abound.
5. Rhythm Drive (12): Italian Stallionz and Squirtle Squad also had the same number of stars but we'll go with Rhythm Drive's keepers as they don't have injury issues anywhere.