Fantasy Football Tips
Pre-season Drafting
- Study the NFL Depth charts, our Player Projections,
and check out how the players performed the previous year under our Scoring system, to help
you rank them.
Take a chance on a Rookie running back somewhere in the draft.
Reports / Newsletter
- Be sure to read the Weekly Newsletter for insights, comments,
etc. from the Commissioner. Be sure to see the many Reports available to you
online, such as Ranking players, scouting Free agents, etc.
Free Agents
- Be sure to use the customizable Free Agent Ranking Reports
provided for you online at all times. Remember, a good free agent that is hurt and has missed
a few weeks will not be near the top of the rankings, so keep an eye on them.
* Try to get your NFL players' backups on your team if you have room. For
example, in the 2005 season, if you had Duante Culpepper, you should have tried to get Brad Johnson on your team.
If Duante went down for a while, you would still have a starter.
Line-ups
- ALWAYS list your Reserve (backup) players. If you only list 2 RB Starters and no backups,
and one of your starters doesn't play, you get ZERO points for that spot.
I have seen many games lost over the years because an owner doesn't list backups !
Rosters
- NEVER have an open spot on your Roster for more than 2 weeks. ANY player
is better than no player, especially with Bye weeks, and injuries taking it's toll
on your roster.
* Keep the Bye weeks in mind. For example, in 2000, if your two
defenses were the Bills and Panthers, you would have been in trouble, because they were off the
same week !
* Quarterbacks : Dual talented QB's are a premium. When Randall Cunningham
and Steve Young were at their best, no-one could touch them for Fantasy Football
scoring. Their rushing totals each week were incredible. Players like D Culpepper,
R Gannon, M Vick, S McNair, etc. all are good Fantasy Football QB's. If Your QB can't
run, he better have a good arm AND the Receivers. Manning, Favre, Bledsoe, Brunnell
all have the guns AND the good players to catch their passes.
* Running Backs : Look for RB's on teams that like to ground it out.
Bucs, Broncos, Steelers, Bears, etc. I don't usually like fullbacks,
unless they are the go-to guy most of the time at the goal line. (Mike Alstott is an exception)
* Receivers : Watch out for WR's on running teams. Look at the teams that
like to, or have to throw a lot. Raiders, Patriots, KC, etc.
* Kickers : Look for traditionally high scoring teams, Rams, Vikings, Broncos,
etc. Teams that know how to move the ball downfield. These teams always keep
their kickers busy. Another way to find a good kicker is to look at the teams that
have problems in the "red zone". The Dolphins are an example. Look at what Olindo Mare
has done recently ...
* Defenses : Good overall NFL teams always have a good defense. Sometimes
a bad team has a good defense too, like the Saints and Eagles in the 1990's.
(lately, these 2 teams have been good on both sides of the ball) Look for teams
that get a lot of sacks.
Trades
- Everyone has their own philosophy on trades, here is mine:
I have played in other leagues since 1983, and my strategy has always been
to trade 2-3 decent players for 1 great player. The way I see it, I can
always replace the decent players with Free agents, but I usually can't
get a great player in the Free agent pool.
Also, if someone contacts ME with a trade, I figure I have the advantage,
because they want something from me. Don't always accept a first offer,
always ask for a better player than what they are offering.
* Be careful over-valuing players. For example, everyone knows I'm a huge
Dolphin fan. But I wouldn't trade good, young players like Corey Dillon,
etc., for Chris Chambers.
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