Draft primer

One hour to go until the fantasy football draft, then the annoying of my pick by pick coverage begins.  Until then I am running a D&D campaign over at Facebook and writing this here particular entry.  The D&D thing goes okay.  I am on a second generation character now, the game resets after you reach level 11, but you get to take one item you found and pass it on to your next character.  I opted for a Holy Avenger sword (+2 CHA, +6 ATT, +4 vs. undead) of all of the items I acquired. 

Anyway about the draft.  I am defending league champion, having went 10-4 during the regular season last year, then winning three playoff games to become champ, so this year I am the man to beat.  The league has been in existence for probably 15 or so years now, starting originally at my local dive bar as a financial thing, but as everyone moved away it became harder and harder to maintain that status.  With players now living in places from eastern Pennsylvania to Alaska it was just easier to let Yahoo run it and for us to play more for fun (and smack talking) than anything else.

Since I am a veteran of this by now, it is time for me to pass along a little wisdom to future fantasy football players that come by this page.  I could give you a list pof players that you should target, but there are numerous websites and magazines that cover that terrain, rather I think the best piece of advice I can offer anyone wishing to play fanatsy football, whether it be for fun or for money is simply, know your leagues rules.  All leagues are set up a little different, and those differences can mean big things in a fantasy league.  For example, some leagues with offer pass catchers a point per reception (PPR in the fantasy vernacular).  This changes the value of some running backs, making them more or less valuable, and changes the value of some receivers, as guys like Wes Welker and TJ Houshmanzadeh become more valuable in such a format, as opposed to one that just rewards yards and touchdowns.  Likewise, some leagues view passing touchdowns to be easier to obtain than rushing and receiving touchdowns, often rewarding fewer points for such an accomplishment.  That results in guys like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady being worth less on draft day than in leagues where TDs all have equal value.  An example, a couple of years ago Tom Brady threw some crazy number of TD passes, like 50 or so.  In some leagues that would be worth 300 points (50 TDs x 6 points per), whereas in leagues where passing TDs are worth half, that number gets cut to 150, a sigfnificant difference and one anyone drafting in a league should take into consideration.

There, I have passed along a little advice, now if you don't mind I am off to get settled in for what hopes to be another successful fantasy football season for yours truly.