So I'm new to the forums. But I've got two drafts in the next few days. Normally I just do a decent amount of research online, print out top lists, sleeper lists, etc. This year though, I got really intrigued and I'm contemplating purchasing some software (http://www.fantistics.com). Not sure if it's worth it as it is a pretty penny to spend. Anyone use it? Thoughts on how you prepare? I'm thinking of doing top lists then high-lighting players I like and then researching them a bit more.
Best thing is to read as much as ya can every day in the various forums here and also ask questions. Be sure and check out the rankings here as well, put together by several of our members (and there's a couple different lists there). Don't have too many cheatsheets, it just gets confusing and unwieldly - I list my sleepers along with the rest of the players and just make some notes beside them if necessary - also I find it much easier to rank the positions seperately rather thn try to compile them altogether (so my cheatsheet starts with all the RB's ranked, followed by the WR's, followed by QB's. etc).
I've never used any software, so can't comment on it other than the fact that I've found almost everything needed to be successful right here at the Cafe!
And welcome to the Cafe!
Fantasy Football: "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity"
Also keep in mind the date on which the chart was compiled / posted. There are constantly injuries and players moving around on teams that would influence their ranking.
*edit* - Also, take a close look at the scoring for your league. Mine for example rewards less points for yards than *default* leagues. It's usually 10 rushing/receiving yards = 1 point, but in mine you need 20 yards for 1 point. This makes goal line carriers such as Marion Barber much more valuable in my league, but that might not be reflected in the cheat sheets.
Personally, I don't think the software is worth it. You are really on paying for projections and simple arithmetic functions, and who says the SW's player projections is any better than others. Plus, paying $40 for SW on top of an entrance fee of e.g., $30 means paying $70 to try to net $200, which makes no sense. Injuries and only 16 games make FFB much more of a crapshoot than say FBB, where stats typically average out over well over a hundred games.
My favorite strategy is the old manual calculation method to come up with my own draft list: after reading the news on players for the year, I try to compile a list of player value with respect to the league's scoring rules irregardless of player position. I believe some call it the X-Factor or X-Rating or whatever. But a simple version is:
Determine from stats you trust what the yearly fantasy point total is for each player. For example, if Tom Brady projects to throw 4400 yards, 30 TD, 10 INT, in a 6 pt per TD, 25 yds passing per pt, and -2 pts per interception league, then calculate 4400/25 + 30*6 - 10*2 as Brady's yearly fantasy points projection.
Once you get the stats for each of the players, determine how many of a position is to start in your league. For example, twelve QB's may start. Thus, determine from your list the 12th best QB. Then subtract that 12th QB's projected pts from every QB's projected pts. For RB's, if the league starts 24 each week, then determine the 24th RB projected pts and subtract from the rest. Once you determine the difference for each position, you can compare the final numbers irrespective of position. Thus, you could compare LT to Brady after subtracting the 24th RB from LT's points and the 12th QB from Brady's points.
This gives you a master list.
This may sound like alot of work, but it is VERY easy. E.g., CBS Sportsline and other sites output their player projections to an Excel spreadsheet. Then you can use a quick formula in Excel to calculate values. Takes me less than thirty minutes to do this calculation part.
Now if you are playing in a performance league, then obviously this will not help as much.
DavidD458 wrote:So I'm new to the forums. But I've got two drafts in the next few days. Normally I just do a decent amount of research online, print out top lists, sleeper lists, etc. This year though, I got really intrigued and I'm contemplating purchasing some software (http://www.fantistics.com). Not sure if it's worth it as it is a pretty penny to spend. Anyone use it? Thoughts on how you prepare? I'm thinking of doing top lists then high-lighting players I like and then researching them a bit more.
Thanks guys.
The only software I would recommend is the draft dominator app from footballguys, I actually used it to select my teams this year....as I was very intrigued what the outcome would be....it lined me up with some very good teams...it didn't bother me because I'm extremely knowledgeable and I could win with just about any team drafted for me...but I actually have the best teams in my leagues. Good luck!
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by DavidD458 » Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:27 pm 
