Fantasy Football, Your Either In or Out - It Ain't all Fun Baby! by Terry Clark - HTML preview

 

Next participate in a mock draft. Have your player’s ranking sheet available. You can initiate the mock draft within your particular league.  Also perform as many mock drafts as possible. This is an excellent way to prepare for the real deal.  Plus, many of the other participants of the mock draft will not have a player’s ranking list compiled.  They more than likely will make reference to the rankings that are provided on the website where the mock draft is located. 

 

The persons who are less prepared will also show up at the real Fantasy Football draft and select someone who has been injured for the last two weeks.  Keep in the back of your mind, the more mock drafts you involve yourself the better you will become at it.  You are at a distinct advantage if you have an accurate rankings sheet.  Also, the mock drafts will help you realize what rounds certain players are being selected.  In this way, you won’t be going in cold when the regular Fantasy Football draft comes around.

 

The recommendation is to wait it out until particular rounds of the draft to select players.  The waiting period must be pertinent to your observation(s) as to when players were chosen during prior mock drafts.

 

Lastly, a special tip is to keep an eye on the draft board.  Let’s say you have ranked a player as a third round selection:  however, you notice there are higher ranked athletes still available.  You remember from your mock draft, the third round player you wish to draft hasn’t been chosen until later rounds. You can, in this regard, adjust your strategy and go ahead and select the top-tier player whom you believe is not going to still be on the board for an extra round.  You can pick up the player you had intended on selecting this particular round during another round.  Once again, you’ve been able to make the decision based on what has historically occurred during the mock drafts.

 

 

#41. Various Types of Leagues

 

People interested in Fantasy Football are wise to review various league configurations before signing up.  This is essential because each league offers a different set of rules and circumstances.  It is important to find the league that best fits your preferences as far as points systems and general regulations.  Here is some more information regarding various types of leagues.

 

Probably the most popular leagues are the basic draft type leagues.  The standard league will generally conduct a snake style draft.  The starting lineup is chosen by each team’s manager week by week.  The starting lineup is determined by the amount of players allowed per position. There are two kinds of draft leagues.  There is the Total Points style league and the Head-to-Head league.  When you sign up for the Head-to-Head league each team within the league opposes a new team each week.  The team that earns the majority of points is naturally the winner.  Also teams with the best overall record by end of season participate in league playoffs.  The Total Points-style league does not keep track of losses or wins.   Rather the points are continually accrued.  The league standings are based in accord to the total points accumulated by each team.  The teams ending up with the greatest number of points engage in the playoffs.

 

The league that holds an auction rather than standard draft may be configured as a Head-to-Head league or Total Points-style league.  The auction draft league is comprised of team managers who have a pre-established level of cash in order that each may bid in order to fill up their rosters.

 

A Dynasty league is configured in such a way where players are kept on the same roster from season to season.  This occurs until which time the player is traded or dropped.  The Keeper style league is a combination of some of the attributes of the Dynasty league and the Standard Draft league.  Within the Keeper configuration, the draft is held prior to the NFL season.  Further, keeper teams are able to keep (as the name suggests) a certain number of their players from the preceding season.

 

The IDP league uses separate defense players and not units.  The team within the IDP league is slightly more difficult to establish due to the fact more analysis is necessary in fulfillment of the remaining positions.  The survivor league style is not concerned about draft style.  It generally uses almost any type of draft; however is more than likely going to hold a standard draft or auction event.  As the name suggests, the team that scored the lowest points for the week is taken out of the competition.

 

 

#42. What if You Make Mistakes?

 

Much of the advice out there regarding the Fantasy Football draft is all about preparation.  Prepare properly and you won't embarrass yourself; prepare well and you'll go into the draft with a great deal more confidence.  And even though you're in fantasy land with respect to the draft, it is still the ultimate challenge in establishing a team that will take you to your league's championship.  Although preparation is still important, a good many team managers being newbies to the game are going to make some blunders. You must still do your homework regardless of the outcome.  At least, if you blunder with respect to the draft, it isn't as if you didn't put your best foot forward.  So the advice here isn't so much how to avoid mistakes at the draft, it is about how to handle them.  So long as you've tried your best no one can really fault you for making a few errors, especially if you are a newbie to Fantasy Football.

 

Here is another reality check. You probably didn't totally mess up. It's reasonable to assume you attained some players you wanted, messed a few other selections, and maybe didn't do as well as you had hoped.  Now is the time to realize - you have twelve to fourteen glorious weeks to correct the foul ups. It’s true - you have time to correct any errors you believe you made in your Fantasy Football draft day selection.

 

The first course of action is to look at everything from an objective standpoint.  If you did your homework as far as preparation, slow down and concentrate. Be realistic and look at what you did right; and then think about what you did wrong. For example if you have too many of certain positions check your league's board.  Determine what the other team managers need. You’ll see that not all of them came up with a perfect lineup either so just march up to the other team owner and offer help with respect to team rosters. Secondly, analyze your bye weeks. Your bye weeks should be spread out evenly for each position. 

 

Lastly review the schedule for your NFL players during your Fantasy Football league's playoffs. For example, certain teams may have a difficult schedule for quarterbacks during the ending weeks of the season. Secondly, certain team positions may be fortunate to have a relatively easy schedule during weeks fourteen through seventeen as well as during playoffs.  This means a player in the latter scenario may start looking better and better to you as the football season progresses.

 

Just to play it safe, you might want to “chill” and not make any moves with respect to your Fantasy Football team for about two to three weeks after the Fantasy draft.  That said, you don't want to take too long to make a move either.  However, if you are in doubt what to do it is best not to make a rush judgment until you have thought everything through thoroughly.  One thing you should do as a Fantasy Football newbie is to reward yourself for preparing and making it through your first Fantasy Football Draft. Regardless of the blunders, it is still a game about managing, and you have time to learn from those mistakes.

 

 

#43. What is a Cheat Sheet?

 

The Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet by definition is basically a system that ranks the players.  It may just show player rankings or it may contain some additional information about each individual player.  The only way the cheat sheet is going to be the least bit useful to you is if you are certain the persons who have compiled it are knowledgeable.

 

One thing you’ll need to watch out for is how often the websites you visit with respect to player statistics update their information.  Some sites will update their stats on a weekly basis and others will update their statistics monthly.  If they are updating monthly there may be persons listed who have been injured or sitting on the bench that are ranked where they may have been a couple weeks prior.  If you are using rankings that are a month old, you might not do so well when it comes to your fantasy draft.    If you are going to rely on the Fantasy Football cheat sheet, it is highly advised that you attain your information from a cheat sheet that is updated frequently.

 

Also, it is wise to make certain you have confidence in the person who puts together the information. You want someone compiling your cheat sheet who has been the primary player or member in his or her league(s).  This type of individual will have a good handle on what is going on.

 

Don’t rely on cheat sheets where it is just part of someone’s job description to prepare it. Find a cheat sheet where the individual is very interested in being a winner and has been a winner playing Fantasy Football.  The part of the strategy where you don’t want to lose your edge is when you go to draft your players.  If you rely on the wrong cheat sheet you are going to have a lineup that is less than solid. This may make all the difference whether you win coveted first place or come in second.

 

In summary, a cheat sheet is basically a player ranking sheet.  It is okay to read projections; however, the best way to proceed is to attain up-to-date rankings and base your draft choices on solid facts.  Analyze a cheat sheet with reliable information; stay apprised of the games and what is going on with the players, and you have a good shot of coming in number one.

 

 

#44. When to Select your Running Backs and Wide Receivers

 

People who have had their heads buried in the Fantasy Football periodicals year-after-year have read a multitude of articles about taking the opposite approach when drafting their two wide receivers during the initial and second rounds.  Here are some tips about the regular Fantasy Football scoring system and when it is best to pick your running backs and wide receivers.

 

The time to draft your team’s best players is during the first and second rounds of the Fantasy Football draft.  Also, it is possible to receive some luck and draft a good player within the third and fourth rounds of the draft.  However, realistically, it is going to be near impossible for you to attain a top performer after your draft’s fourth round.  Naturally there is always the odd exception, but don’t count on them.

 

The concept here is to keep in mind during the initial and second round of your Fantasy Football draft is when you need your best players.  The players you select during the first two rounds must allow your team to stand out from the other packs.  In other words, your goal is to draft the players who outperform the other players with respect to scoring and with the highest (possible) percentage. 

 

For example, the weekly average for the NFL’s top running back is generally around twenty points whereas the tenth position guy receives an average of twelve points.  Eight points is going to make a great deal of difference when it comes to accumulating points for your Fantasy Football team.  The same can be said about the wide receiver position; If the average score for the best wide receiver is fifteen and the tenth best receives twelve, you receive three points weekly by having the better player.

 

Also keep in mind when preparing for Fantasy Football drafts; it is more difficult to project what wide receivers will do as far as performance and points than running backs. It is best in this regard to draft wide receivers outside of the first three rounds of your draft. 

 

It may be possible to draft some good running backs after the third round regardless if their performances are easier to predict than the wide receivers.  However, many good running back performers are available during the first round.  The easier it is to predict levels of performance, the more confident you’ll become in drafting certain players within the first round.

 

In standard English, if you need to choose between the running back and wide receiver(s) during your first round draft selections:  stick with the reliable running back.  He isn’t nearly as available during the third and fourth rounds.  Also you’ll be able to (always) find some wide receivers  that are relative good performers during the later rounds.  Such will not be the case with the more exceptional running backs. 

 

 

#45. Why Advice can be Helpful

 

People who play Fantasy Football develop a preoccupation with the sport.  Many participants testify once they start engaging in the game, it is difficult to break away.  Many spouses of Fantasy players will agree that this is true.  Once the significant other is tuned into his or her Fantasy world of Football there is no use in bringing him or her back down to earth—for the time being.  What keeps fans of Fantasy land so loyal?  In one word; fun!  It is essentially one of the most enjoyable pastimes going.

 

The advice here is if you want to truly make the sport an enjoyable experience, you’ll want to put all your efforts in engaging in Fantasy Football.  You’ll find in the long run it will be well worth it.  You may wish to start with free Fantasy Football sites; and then as you gain knowledge and experience graduate to sites where entry fees are charged and you can win cash prizes.  The reason Fantasy Football is so popular is due to the fact it allows you to put together a Fantasy team comprised of different players from various NFL franchises.  This is truly a great deal of fun since you can assemble persons whose skills you find correspond well with your league’s scoring system; and many from your favorite NFL teams.

 

One good piece of advice with respect to Fantasy Football is to check the bye week.  This is the week on the NFL calendar wherein teams take a rest from the sport. Since you are drafting from various NFL teams, you don’t want several of your premium players scheduled for the same bye week—this can devastate your points for that week.  It is also significant that your starting lineup players do not have the same bye week as your backups.  Can you imagine what a fiasco this would cause? The primary reason you have backups is to cover the bye week. It doesn’t make much sense to select a backup who has the same bye week as the person being covered in your starting lineup.  Just check the schedule before proceeding with this decision.

 

Once you’ve decided you are in you will need to select a league where you may participate or set up your own league.  However, it isn’t preferable you begin a league when you are new or just starting out.  There is just far too much information to absorb.

 

When Fantasy Leagues are formulated, generally the persons who end up as team managers within the league know each other.  Other individuals find it more comfortable to join a league on the Internet where they don’t know the other participants.  Regardless, you’ll find competitive spirit regardless of which way you choose to go as to league participation. 

 

There is a great deal of information regarding the sport on the Internet in the way of helpful advice.  This is one sport where a little advice can go a long way; and where advice that is useful never receives a cold shoulder.

 

 

Resources

 

Fantasy Football - Unleash Greatness (recommended):

Go to: http://tinyurl.com/n66t3e3

 

 

Good Luck!

 

Thank You,

Terry Clark

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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