Fantasy sports are certainly a phenomenon. Such a simple, basic idea has turned the leisurely sports watcher into a diehard sports lover. I truly think the obsession with fantasy football is that it gives all the thrill of getting to run a franchise, similar to a general manager. Another reason is, if your favorite football franchise is performing ineptly this season, it doesn’t affect you as greatly due to the fact that your fantasy sports franchise might be performing at high levels. At Simplastics, our league is definitely competitive. The trophy we hand, which is really only good for showing off, is stackable plastic bins. This plastic bin is engraved with the pictures of every year’s winner, going all the way back to 2004, and rests on a wire shelving system in the front of our office. As you continue to read on, you can understand why I believe fantasy football will continue to grow to a multi-billion dollar business.
Fantasy football is just what it appears as, a fantasy. In real life, few of us could coach a pro football club. In the electronic fantasy world, we are all wanna be Bill Belichicks. In reality, managers break down film to try and gain a competitive advantage on their competitor, or really go out and warm up. In fantasy football, we study twitter for an advantage over our competitors.
Fantasy Football sites, such as Espn are the ultimate source for fantasy football. These websites give up to the minute information on players and teams. If an athlete is nicked up during a game or scrimmage, ESPN are everywhere to advise what happened, how severe it is and whether or not one should try and pick up their back up. These sites don’t only provide news, but also predictions and opinions. Every week, every fantasy website is updated with their lists of educated estimations by positions, lists of who you should start and who you should bench and all types of essential information. This info is certainly important if you are trying to perform at a high level.
The ultimate explanation for why fantasy football has taken off, in my eyes, is due to the fact that it gives us a break from our favorite, local team. As most people know, the Dolphins are not a fun club to watch or even cheer for. The last decade of Dolphin football has been a disgrace for us fans. We have not signed a decent quarterback since #13 quit, and the front office is a mess. Those guys couldn’t make a great draft selection if they had the first 5 choices. Because of this, fantasy sports have become a massive part of my world. Another critical reasoning is that women can play. As of now, there haven’t been any women head coaches in pro football. However, in fantasy land, many teams are run by women.
I am a massive sports fan. However, if the only option for one to get into football is to cheer for the Dolphins, I’d probably just pick a different sport. In today’s world, I have other options. I can select my own franchise, with players I enjoy rooting for and watching, and don’t have to think about how bad my favorite franchise is.
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Most important, know your scoinrg system within your league. Example, a QB is less valuable in a league that credits him with 3 points per TD and 1 point per 50 yards thrown as opposed to a league that credits him with 6 points per TD and 1 point per 25 yards thrown. Don’t assume that the stats from a prior year are going to carry over to the next season. Older running backs that saw a lot of work in the prior year have a tendency to slow down or get injured. Major personnel moves on the offensive line may affect offensive players, particularly RBs and QBs. The loss of two to three key defensive players will affect a defense.Factor in injuries from the prior season. Especially for running backs. Major injuries may cause a decline for at least the first half, if not the entire season for a player. A guy like Ronnie Brown is someone that I’m very cautious about this year.Pass on rookie WRs and QBs. They very rarely do well, and in the case of QBs usually don’t even start. Rookie RBs can do well, but look at the teams that drafted them to see if they’re going to end up in the dreaded RBBC (running back by committee).Factor in player movement. A good example was Edge James going from Indy to Arizona. His yards per carry, receiving yards, and touchdowns have dropped in 2006 and 2007 as opposed to his last three years 2003-2005 with the Colts. His value is definitely down in a Cardinals uniform.Most people use a formula for drafting like RB RB QB or RB RB WR, etc. I don’t. Based on expected points per game, I factor in prior seasons, personnel moves, and whether I think that player can repeat; I’ll draft the best player available. I typically draft a RB in the first round, but if the seven RB’s on my short list are gone, I’d take Brady if he’s still there or Moss. I’m more likely to take two RBs and two WRs in the first four rounds. I’ve typically waited to draft a QB until round 5. I will skip drafting a QB in round 5 or even beyond if I can’t find one that I think is a value pick for that round. Every season, you can typically find a guy like Derek Anderson on the FA list for last year. I drafted Tony Romo in Round 8 last year. Guys like Tom Brady were FA pick ups in 2001, Kurt Warner in 1999, Matt Hasselbeck in 2002. Derek Anderson, Jay Cutler, Kurt Warner, and Jon Kitna were all FA pick ups in my league last year. Its good to have a plan like RB RB WR, or RB WR RB; but don’t take a player based solely on position if you know he’s not a good value at that spot and have reason to believe you can pick that same player or a comparable one in a later round.Defenses are pretty similar to QBs, in that you can usually wait and draft a good one in the later rounds or pick up a good one off the FA list. Its true that there are usually 2-3 DEF that stand out above the rest, but there were easily more than 12 teams that logged over 75 combined sacks, fumble recoveries, and interceptions. You can also rotate your defense to whoever is playing a weak offense that week. I played with a guy last year that employed the strategy of adding and dropping defenses to start whoever was playing either SF, Buffalo, Atlanta, St Louis, Miami, or the Jets last season. At least one of those teams opponents was available on the FA list every week.I draft a kicker with the last pick in the draft. With your last pick, it makes it easy to drop the guy for someone else without hesitating. I drafted Nick Folk in the last round who ended up finishing fourth among kickers. Other top ten guys like Bironas and Phil Dawson were on the FA list over the course of the season.The other position I place a lower priority on is TE. After Gonzalez, Winslow, and Gates; the rest in the top 12 are fairly close in points per game. I picked Donald Lee of the FA list last year. He finished 9th in yards, and tied for 6th in TDs among tight ends.
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