Fantasy Football Success: Three Basic Rules
You can search the Internet or the newsstands in June and July, and you'll find a wealth of information about fantasy football and fantasy football leagues. Most of it is statistics. Miles and miles of statistics. And most sites and magazines claim to offer more than all the others. What few offer, though, is sound advice on how to be successful every year. So, visit all the sites and magazines for your stats, but search no more for the secret to winning, because here it is.
I have played in extremely competitive fantasy football leagues for 15 years. I've missed the playoffs only twice, and I've been to three fantasy bowls. I won more games and scored more points than any other team in my league's history. Now, I'll give you my strategy, and it won't cost you a dime. Here is the three-step formula for winning in fantasy football year in and year out.
The first step is to draft for depth. It sounds easy enough, but many people in my league focus on getting their starters, and the rest of the draft is nothing more than throwing darts at names on a stat sheet. I've selected players beyond the seventh round (we have 14 rounds) who have led my team in scoring. I didn't even have them targeted as starters; I just saw the potential, through all of the research I'd done. For example, take special notice of second and third-year wide receivers. They often go overlooked, because their numbers are not spectacular. Receivers take a year or two, before they adjust to the NFL. Chad Johnson is a great example. Also, watch for rookies who may explode late in the season, once they've grasped a system. Lee Evans was a star after week nine this past season.
Step two is to manage your team every week, down to the most minor details. If you've drafted for depth, you'll have lineup decisions every week, because you'll have a team full of players scoring points. Check their histories against weekly opponents (a vastly overlooked strategy by novices). Some players simply flourish against particular teams, just as some teams tend to score differently against certain defenses. This can definitely affect your weekly lineup decisions.
The third step is to watch the waiver wire and make two key trades. No matter how well you've drafted, near the end of the season, you'll need to make changes. It's time to trade away your depth for stars. Also, watch for available players to pick up -- even if they may only help you for one week. I drafted both Domanick Davis and Chad Johnson last season. Later, I traded both, so I could acquire LaDanian Tomlinson. This simplified my weekly lineup decisions, while giving me a player who would score at least one TD every week.
If you stick to this simple formula, no matter what type of league you play in, you'll make the playoffs 85 to 90 percent of the time. That's not bad in any league.
Mark Barnes is the author of the new novel, The League, the first work of fiction, based on fantasy football. Learn more about this suspense thriller and Mark's other work at http://www.sportsnovels.com
Related Articles:
College Football Tickets and Football Game Ticket
College Football Tickets is a service which acts as an online marketplace for buyers and sellers of tickets for sports, concerts, theater and other live entertainment events at fair market value, even for events that happen to be sold out.
National Football League Rules - New Rules for the National Football League in 2005
The National Football League emphasizes new rules every year in order for the league to get better and better each year. The new rules for this year emphasize the safety of the players more than any other priority.
The New England Patriots Football Tickets For Understanding The Spectacle Of Modern Football
The New England Patriots began life in late 1959 when the busy Boston Executive, Billy Sullivan won the eight and last franchise of the American Football League. Ever since the fan following of this team has increased and so has the demand for New England Patriots football tickets. Naturally enough, he looked to the locals to suggest a name for the team and the name Boston Patriots emerged as the most popular. Soon thereafter the Par Patriot logo was developed and this has stayed the same ever since.
Finding Cheap Football Boots | Suitable Football Boots
Across the UK and throughout the world, association football is the single most popular sport. In fact, this sport boasts having an audience that is twice that of the Olympics. It's not surprising for passion to run high whenever so many people love the sport such as this. Thousands of youngsters all across the world everyday are starting their love affair with football. The first step for these young aspiring players is to find the right pair of football boots which will allow them to develop as footballers.
Xtreme Fantasy Football.com to Offer Free Fantasy Football Mock Drafts
Is it possible to participate in a free fantasy football mock draft without spending hours on line? It is now, with individual fantasy football mock drafts.
A Beginner's Guide to Fantasy Football: Length of Football Season and League Championship Prizes
Fantasy football is based on real football but it doesn't work in the same way. For one, only in fantasy football can you have the potential to get all the best players of the season all in one team with you as the owner. Second, fantasy football doesn't involve any actual play. Instead, it is based on the actual games. How the players perform in the actual games will determine how many points your dream team will earn. But do you actually win? And how long is the season for fantasy football anyway?The fantasy football seasonFantasy football generally follows the actual football season, so if you're playing, be ready for many weeks of excitement and nail-biting. A regular season in footb...
Clubline Football Launches Mitre Team Wear on New 'Everything Football' Website
West Midlands based Football Team Wear and Equipment Supplier, Clubline Football, has just launched a new and updated version of their 'Everything Football' website, which they believe will further enhance their growing reputation as one of the UK's leading online suppliers of all things football.
Football Fever at 888.com - 888Sport Giving Away Football Shirts and Tickets
Players can win their favorite team's shirts and tickets to football matches on the popular online sports betting site.
8 Tips For Your 2008 Fantasy Football Draft - Fantasy Football Draft Tips
The 2008 Fantasy Football Draft Season is upon us and DraftSharks.com has a few tips for you on your big day. Some of these pointers are specific to this season, while others are good rules to follow in any year.
MATCHhotels.com Launches To Help Football Fans Find Accommodation Near Football Stadiums
New website MATCHhotels.com helps football fans locate and book accommodation near football stadiums. The site displays the precise location of hotels, bed and breakfasts, guesthouses and apartments on maps centred on over 130 UK stadiums.