What do you do when asked for advice?

[maddog60]

I would tell him a few keywords he should search so he can understand how to come up with his own rankings. Don't go into detail, but let him know he should look up the terms VBD and ADP. Also, pointing him to antsports for mock drafts and ADP information can't hurt either.

[King Colt]

I dealt with this a few years ago, only with 2-3 new guys coming in. I think, for the sake of your league and its competiveness, that you have to give him some basic help concerning the different draft strategies (Faulk strategy, 3 RB's in top 5, or whatever) and point him in the direction of some rankings.

I looked around for some basic FF advice and gave the new guys a list of links. I think it's important to provide some draft strategy, scoring info, and a few player rankings sources at least. I would also recommend sending him to fantasyfootball calculator or antsports for some mock drafts.

I don't think you have to hook him up here, though. That would be crazy!

[knapplc]

The franchise he bought into has these players, of which he can keep six:

Larry Johnson, KC
Steven Jackson, STL
Tony Gonzalez, KC
Willie Parker, PIT
TJ Houshmandzadeh, CIN
Drew Brees, NO
Donte Stallworth, NO
Buccaneers, Team Defense, TB
Reggie Brown, PHI
Sam Gado, GB
Joey Harrington, MIA
Kevin Jones, DET
Tyrone Calico, TEN
Chris Henry, CIN
Jimmy Smith, ret
Rian Lindell, BUF

I think he'll do pretty well - that's almost an idiot-proof group of keepers.

Did the previous owner of that team die? That's the only way I could see someone giving that up!

No - we have a rule that says you may keep six players from year to year, but only three players that you kept last year can be kept this year. He threw a hissy fit over this rule and quit the league. He'd been in the league since 1988 or 1989, too. Former Commissioner, etc.

We've had this rule for about the last five years. Why it set him off enough to quit over it now I don't know, but he quit all the same.

He's pretty busy now - he has a travelling job and two kids at home, so he doesn't have a ton of time for the league any more. I think that has a lot to do with it.

[xted30]

Knapp, just be honest with him and give him a place to start. Like others have said, point him in the direction of Yahoo's lists or a "decent" mag. As you have said, telling him about the cafe is a no no. To my knowledge, no one in my league visits the cafe (unless someone in my league is what I call a "lurker," someone who reads, but doesn't post), and I hope it stays that way. I agree with you that you've gotta have your own edge.

[UTLonghorns]

Give him some sites, like rotoworld and such and buy him one of those FF magazines.

[bklik]

I would point him to footballguys.com . I think they've got a great array of resources that would make learning the system easier. Their cheat-sheets are pretty accurate too (as opposed to Funson's Big Board).

[Kensat30]

Why not tell him about every site you use? INCLUDING THE CAFE. Are you that scared that a newbie is gonna kick your butt? Have some confidence in yourself and help a brotha out. Seriously, the more competition the better in fantasy football.. no one wants a stale league where half of the owners don't even have the drive, let alone the resources, to become a better fantasy owner.

If there is some high stakes involved (thousands) then maybe I could see leading him to sand instead of water, but I seriously doubt that is the case.

[biju]

I don't tell people about the cafe. I just wouldn't want the folks in my league using my questions and seeing who I'm targeting because of my posts.

I do think most everyone knows about Antsports.com and their ADP. I think if you give people:

1. General fantasy strategy (most sites have this)
2. ADP
3. VBD info (whether they use it or not it's up to them)
4. Basic cheat sheets

almost anyone can have a respectable draft. When people ask me for advice I usually give them my honest opinion but I don't really ever show my hand on what I'm planning on doing. Most of my close friends know I talk about 60% truth and 40% bs when talking about fantasy sports just to always throw them off of what I'm thinking.

[mutantseabass]

He's the Pastor of your Church, you will go to Hell if you dont tell him about the Cafe

[Irish_Assassin]

Be very careful with helping "newbies". I learned the hard way that sometimes this scenario can come back to haunt you. Last year I helped a new owner revamp his lineup midseason when he had the worst record in the league. (I was tied for the top record.) Long story short, the new owner was the last team to qualify for our playoffs and beat my team in the championship game thanks to Willie Parker's 80 yard run against Cleveland.