Just wondering on some pointers for the better reference guides out there/tips for what to do to really strike it rich in a draft situation. I'm a seasoned veteran of NHL hockey pools, having won 3 regular season pools at work in the past 5 years, so I know that sport pretty well, but there are so many stats in football, and with so few games played, you've gotta pretty much bank on good games all the time or you'll get screwed (at least that's the feedback some of my friends who do these on a regular basis have told me).
Welcome to the Cafe. Good place to learn about the game. That is the first piece of advice. Read, read, read. Already some great threads about strategy and gameplay.
1) Start out in a standard league. This means avoid IDP (individual defensive players) strange scoring etc... Look for soemthing along the lines of starting requirements of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 D/ST and 5-8 bench spots. Standard scoring is 1 point for every 10 yards of rushing or receiving and 1 point for every 25 passing yards. All td's scored at 6 points per.
2) Play with friends or at least active members. Makes for a much more enjoyable season.
3) Start on Yahoo or Fleaflicker (both free) unless someone wants to pop for a MFL league. These are the best 3 sites for FF.
4) Fantasy football is similar to any other fantasy game. Certain positions have more value (although it is argued) but most seasoned players will value positions like this. RB, WR, QB, TE, D/ST, K. Since there are only 32 "starting" RB's they are at a premium and thus go in the first 2 rounds.
5) Don't be too rigid when drafting. You can have an idea on how you want to build your team but you have to allow for being able to pick the best player available.
You have found the best place to start, by signing up here Like Bungle mention, read, read, read. There is a great search feature here, look through the threads listed here in this forum, most have asked similar questions and there are some great responses. Then keep an eye on the Leftovers and Player Updates forums. There is a lot of useful info there about players and situations. If you don't find something, you can always just post it(I suggest you search first ), someone will point you in the right direct on where to find it or they can directly answer it themselves.
Awesome, welcome to the club. I just gotta warn you though...fantasy football is pretty addictive.
Feel free to ask questions as most of the members here are pretty insightful/friendly. There will usually be a compiled rankings for each position so that should be a helpful reference for your draft.
I'd also recommend ESPN. Free live scoring. And what's the point of fantasy football if you cant watch those points (hopefully) accumlate on Sunday?
When it comes to drafting, most people go with the standard RB 1st round followed by WR/RB 2nd round. However, this standard is slowly deteriorating due to the rise of some very elite QB (Brees this year) and WR (Fitzgerald). The standard, however, is still to get a RB in the 1st round. The reason is that the elite RB producing over 200 points (standard scoring) a year and they're consitent. One of the things you'll find about fantasy football is that its a lot harder to predict than hockey (which I play as well). You're elite top 5 WR can bust out for 3 catches for 17 yards one week and 8 catches for 97 yards and 2 TDs the next. If enough of your players have bad games in the same week it can lead to a loss. On the other hand, your opponent (nearly all football leagues are H2H) can have a couple WW scrubs bust out for ridiculous games causing you to lose.
Also, don't get too attached to names. Adam Vinatieri may be a popular name in real football but you should never spend more than your last pick on a kicker. Defenses are very unpredictable so don't spend too high of a draftpick on them.
Ok that's just a couple of things off the top of my head.
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by Demon_Dave » Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:40 pm 
Like Bungle mention, read, read, read. There is a great search feature here, look through the threads listed here in this forum, most have asked similar questions and there are some great responses. Then keep an eye on the Leftovers and Player Updates forums. There is a lot of useful info there about players and situations. If you don't find something, you can always just post it(I suggest you search first 
), someone will point you in the right direct on where to find it or they can directly answer it themselves.
