This is a reprint of a blog that first appeared on Multiply back on
August 14th, 2011. Some of
the references, especially early on may be lost on the readers, such as the
early jibberish about the Iowa Straw Poll, but stick with the entry and you
will see why it is being reprinted here, at this point in time. That of course being that the NFL season is
about to kickoff, and while most people have done their fantasy football
drafts, not everybody has (I still have one tonight) and sometimes every little
piece of advice helps.
As for the mention early on about blogging every day, that is in reference
to a project I tried to do last year that I called Multiply 365, where I wanted
to blog at least once a day, every day, for a year straight. I came up short on that (I was in the 300s
when I stopped) and it is still an idea that I have in the back of my mind to
possibly attempt again, haven’t really decided one way or the other yet.
Anyway, before my intro becomes a blog entry unto itself, the reprint
of “Multiply 365 Day 225 – Fantasy Football Primer”
So here I sit on a Sunday
with nothing to do. Okay, maybe that is a bit of an overstatement, there is
plenty I could and probably should be doing, I am just opting not to. Instead I
am laying on my bed debating if I want to eat (I noshed on a couple of chili
dogs with spicy brown mustard for breakfast) or if there is something else that
maybe would be a more attractive option at this point.
Then it occurred to me that,
well I am putzing around on the laptop, I do have ample beverage and nicotine
at my disposal and I am supposed to be blogging every day, and last I checked
today was in fact a day.
Oh, but what to talk about?
There are so many things. I could dawdle on about the Iowa Straw Poll, but
really what would be the point? Outside of filling a few hours for talking
heads, the straw poll has almost no relevance. Sure it may chase a contender or
two from the field, but if those people were relying on this as a gauge as to
their future electability then they weren't realistic players in the field in
the first place. Instead, what you have is fringe voters (people with nothing
to do on a Friday night but sit around and cast meaningless votes in a poll
that elects no one to nothing) come out and tell you who they want to be the
Republican nominee. The Iowa Straw poll combines the meaninglessness of an
episode of Seinfeld with the geekiness of a Dungeons and Dragon convention but
for the politically motivated. I will assume for the sake of the blog that all
readers have successfully made their saving throws vs. boredom and will not
travel further down this path.
But that still doesn't
address the issue of just what I should blog about then, only what I shouldn't.
Of course there is something coming up on the calendar later on this evening
(in about 5 and a half hours and counting) that I could probably delve into,
that is my first fantasy football draft of the season. I will not go into
specific player ratings and what not, again I believe you made that saving
throw and does anyone here really want me to be breaking down the projections
on the third wide receiver of the Cincinnati Bengals? Unless you are in an
extremely deep draft, those types of numbers are better left to the stats geeks
out there.
That being said, I can offer
up a couple of pieces of advice for those that are once again going to spend
time over the next 5 months adjusting rosters and making lineups to be
submitted to their league in hopes that they may win a mythical fantasy league
crown or two. To those people who are veterans of fantasy football some of what
I am about to type is going to seem like little more than common sense, to
those that aren't interested I assume you have already moved on to more
interesting things, like internet porn. But for the one or two of you that
remain maybe, just maybe I will write something that might make an iota of
sense, we shall see. And after that longish introduction I proudly present;
The 2011 Fantasy Football
Primer (from the fine people at Ronco, makes of Chia Pet and now the Chia
Obama as well)
1. The
most important thing anyone who is about to play in a fantasy football league
can do, before looking at rosters or taking part in any mocks drafts, reading
and FF blogs or magazines is simply, know the rules of your league. I don't
know how many times it happens, but someone will opt to enter a league, pay the
entrance fee (if there is one) and not even be bothered so much as to take a
slightest look at how the league is laid out. They have no idea what they
signed up for beyond, and it can be a season killer even before the first
selection is made. Is the league rotisserie scoring or head to head? How are
points awarded? Are their team defenses or IDPs (individual defensive players)
being drafted? Is it a PPR (points per reception) league? Do we have IR spots?
What is the league's policy on trades between teams? Is this a keeper league
(teams get to keep players from previous seasons) or does everyone start from
square one? Answers to these and many other questions that you should be asking
yourself can be found within the league's rules. In many instances how those
questions are answered will directly affect your strategy moving forward. So
take the necessary 5 to 10 minutes and read the rules, you'll be glad you did.
2. Whenever
possible, draft live. In the case of most online drafts (and some in person
drafts), you will be granted the option of auto drafting, that is, someone
whether it be a computer program or another person, will draft in your stead.
This process is notoriously unreliable for a number of reasons. First is it
relies on your to pre-rank all of the players in the NFL (or have someone do
that for you as well) and then just takes the highest ranked player based on
your team's need, regardless of how the draft is playing out. But each draft is
its own unique animal, and sometimes it is better to draft a player based on
how the draft is going (such as a run on quarterbacks) than it is to have some
person or computer say, well Joe Kicker was the next available player on your
pre draft rankings, so Joe Kicker is the selection.
3. Early
round picks should always be for players that you should be playing every week,
barring injury or bye week. If not, then why exactly did you take them that
high anyway? No one needs to have Tom Brady and Peyton Manning both on their
roster, because that just means one of those guys will not be playing for you
every week. Early on you should be getting guys that will be putting points for
you on the board each and every week, not guys who will give you two or three
weeks or production through a 16 week season and riding the bench the rest of
the time.
4. Kickers
and team defenses don't matter. At some point too soon in the draft, some one
will take a run at getting a name kicker or a team defense (provided your
league doesn't use IDPs, see rule one) much sooner than is necessary. By and
large weeks are not won or lost out of those positions and the arbitrariness of
how those units perform on a season to season basis (remember we are talking
fantasy points here, not reality) are such that there will be plenty of quality
out there much later. Anyone want to name the defense that was number #1 in
most fantasy leagues scoring systems last year? Anyone? How about the San Diego
Chargers, who went 9-7 and missed the playoffs. What about kickers? 5 of the
top 10 kickers last year were on teams that missed the playoffs. Sure, you
could make a run at someone like Adam Vinatieri early because he kicks for a
good offensive team in Indianapolis. But you know the difference between him
and Dan Carpenter of the Miami Dolphins, who went largely undrafted in most
leagues last year? .9 points a game. Now tell me again why having a kicker is
so important that I should be wasting an early pick on them.
5. Starters
when possible, handcuffs when necessary. If the early picks in your draft are
for guys that should be starting every week and the late picks are for defenses
and kickers to fill out your roster then that leaves the middle round picks.
With those you want one of two things, either guys that are going to play every
week, or guys that are going to protect you from injury should one of your
early round picks gets hurt. A handcuff for those not familiar with the FF
vernacular, is a guy who is the backup to a well known player, like an Adrian
Peterson or a Maurice Jones Drew. While no one wishes for guys on their team to
get hurt, it is not stupid to get players just in case. The worst thing that
can happen is to see a first round running back laying on the ground with a
torn ACL and knowing that you don't even have his backup to plug in for a week
or two until you find something better. So if you have a MJD, go ahead and
spend a later pick on Rashard Jennings if he is available, if just to cover
your own ass .
6. And
lastly (since I don't want to give away all my trade secrets, I have three
leagues I am trying to win this year after all) when making a trade offer to
another team, make the trade value for value. Nobody is going to trade away Tom
Brady for Alex Smith, so don't even bother trying. Offers like that just make
you look like a buffoon . Certainly in a trade offer you would eventually like
to come out on top, and you wouldn't be making the offer unless your team has a
specific need so look at his roster and see what you have that may be palatable
to him. Maybe you have an extra wide receiver that you aren't playing and he is
short at that position, but to spend your free time bombarding other team
owners with messages and emails about ridiculous trade proposals will just end
up pissing a lot of people off and probably end up in you being uninvited the
following season. Be smart, but be (relatively) fair also.
Okay, that should just about
wrap things up here. I am sure I could think of more things, but many would be
league specific and I just wanted to bang out a few general outline points
here. Now if you will excuse me, I believe I have a draft to attend.
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