Every year it seems that more and more people are joing fantasy football leagues. From wives who like to competition to newer fans just not getting on the trend or the friend you convince to join to fill out your 12 team league there are more and more people playing who have little or no clue what they are doing with fantasy. I want to give you my tips to doing well in fantasy
- Know your league.
Make sure you know what type of league you’re in. there are tons of different types of leagues, from keeper leagues, head to head, rotisserie. And even more types of scoring. Make sure you know all the little quirks of your league. For example are passing TD’s worth 4 or 6 points? Are there points per reception? A points per reception league can really change where players get drafted. It puts extra focus on WR and TE and RB who catch a lot of passes out of the backfield. Other common scoring quirks are extra points for long field goals. Negative points for interceptions and fumbles, points for 300+ passing games or 100+ yards rushing games. In my family league we only get 3 add drops per week. Make sure you know all the quirks of your league
- Know the other owners in your league
I’m in a league with all my family members. Now like me most of my family is Buffalo Bills fans or eagles fans so most of those players get drafted early. If you’re in a league with people you know you can always get some info before the draft. Talk to the other owners. Here’s a key tip. Most owners will not mention the players they think are their key sleepers. They will keep that a secret. Any player an owner mentions are probably players they won’t take. They are doing what you should be doing. Trying to over hype players who you think won’t do well and trying to hide the players you want. Now everyone wants Aaron Rodgers but not many people were talking about Arian Foster before he broke out. That may have been because not many people knew he was and maybe the ones that did knew to keep him a secret. Feel other owners out. If they have a favorite team there’s a good chance they will want those players and may not want players on rival teams.
- Rank your players
Every website will have their own ranking of players. I highly recommend that you take the time to at least look over the rankings and make adjustments as you see necessary. If there are players you don’t like for whatever reason then make sure you mark that down. There may also be players you really like. Also looking at the rankings will help you get comfortable with who’s who. There is nothing worse than getting to the late rounds and have no clue who you should take and you ended up taking a player who has retired.
- Work the waiver wire
Too often a player will come out in the first 2 weeks and put up huge numbers and I will let him slip y because I think my draft picks will pan out in the end. It’s a huge risk to pick up players. But if you get the next Arian foster you look like a genius. They may just take you to the championship. Don’t get tied to players for any reason. A lot of times owners get attached to players they drafted or players from their home tams or players who have done well for them before. Take a risk and pick up someone, you can always drop them if it doesn’t pan out. Also keep an eye on injuries. If someone goes down with a major injury then there back up may be ready to take over and put up numbers. A few years ago Jerome Bettis went down and I told my dad to pick up his back up Rashard Mendenhall. That turned out well for him
- Know a coaches and teams system
There is nothing worse than drafting a running back from a pass happy team. A lot of coach’s change teams every year so make sure your up to date on the coaches and what they like to do. And that’s not just the head coach. Often an offensive coordinator can have a big impact on a team’s pass/run ratio.
- Don’t miss the draft
There is nothing worse than missing the draft. You start off the season with no real control over your team. The draft never goes the way you expected it to. Someone always takes a kicker in the 7th round and leave a great WR for you in the 8th round. Not to mention there will be other guys who miss the draft and are on auto pick and will leave plenty of good picks for you in later rounds.
- Have fun
Fantasy football is at the end of the day a game. A very fun game that has enhanced people viewing of football, brought people together and formed new friendships. Don’t let fantasy ruin your life. It should be fun. It should give you and your friends something to talk about. Yes it’s frustrating when your QB only gets you 4 points and you needed 5 to win that week but let it be fun.
