I am mainly a basketball fan and first started playing fantasy basketball, but since then have gotten into pools of sports i like, but just not as much.
A friend has convinced me to join his Football fantasy pool and my one question is...What is the BEST advice you could give to someone who knows virtually nothing about football? LOL
You accomplish 2 things today with your help 1.) HELP ME WIN! 2.) MAKE ME A FAN! haha
skywalker14 wrote:I am mainly a basketball fan and first started playing fantasy basketball, but since then have gotten into pools of sports i like, but just not as much.
A friend has convinced me to join his Football fantasy pool and my one question is...What is the BEST advice you could give to someone who knows virtually nothing about football? LOL
You accomplish 2 things today with your help 1.) HELP ME WIN! 2.) MAKE ME A FAN! haha
Welcome to the Football side. Warning... it may become addictive.
Best piece of advice? Not just one but a few that are essential: Read EVERYTHING you can get your hands on about teams and players. Look at mock drafts to get a feel for what to expect on draft day. Post questions here or in another one of our forums.
You've already done the best first step and that's signing up here! Welcome
My greatest advise is trust yourself. Do your research and prepare for the draft, but just because the "experts" rank player X as best available, take who you think is best. There is nothing worse than taking a player because "you are supposed to" and watching him suck all year!
As far as making you a fan, you won't need any help there. The way you watch NFL games will change by about week 3 and you will be hooked.
murphysxm wrote:You've already done the best first step and that's signing up here! .
Agree with that!
Otherwise, I can't say enough about Mock Drafts. After you've gathered your research, got some cheat sheets highlighted up with "your pick wish list", then give it a trial run. A few times to see if you see patterns. You'll quickly find out where some of your plans might not pan out and you can adjust and re-Mock Draft to fine tune things. This way you're not suprised (as much, there's always suprises) durning the real deal.
Like they said, prepare yourself by reading up, and even with mock drafts. Here are a few things you will read/be told a few times:
1: Since you've said you're mainly a basketball fan, I'd advise you to keep it simple for your first draft. Spend the first handful of rounds drafting to fill out your starting lineup: QB/Rbs/Wrs/TE/Flex. Don't get cute with your picks. If you can only start 2 running backs/wide receivers, then get 2, and don't spend EARLY picks on guys who do no good for your team on your bench.
2: Running backs are going to be picked early. They are going to fly off the shelf. Knowing this is going to happen will keep you from worrying about it later. Running backs are thought of as FFL gold. This doesn't mean that you HAVE to take them with your first 2 picks, but many owners will want to have 2 reliable ones by the 4th round, if not sooner.
3: Avoid drafting tight ends NOT named Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham in the first 4 rounds. These guys can be taken any time after the 2nd begins, but their value is highest in leagues where you must start a TE. Other than these two, tight ends are pretty deep, and you can wait to get good production out of the top 10 TEs in the middle rounds.
4: Do not draft defenses or kickers until the last 2 rounds.
5: Running back is a position of scarcity. Get your starters, and then spend middle round picks and beyond picking RBs for depth. This is the one position that you can't say you drafted too many of.
6: Take what the draft board gives you. If the other owners are in the middle of a run on running backs, leaving you the choice of the 18th running back on your list, or the 4th wide receiver, then you smile and take the wide receiver. Just don't draft out of desperation.
6B: Don't go into your draft with a plan of what positions you will pick in which rounds. 1: rb, 2: rb, 3: wr.... etc. Live drafts are unpredictable, and people are going to make picks that you do not expect. If/when this happens, you take the best value.
7: Bye weeks don't matter. Don't let players who have the same bye weeks keep you from taking the best player on the board. I used to get all worked up about not taking players who had the same bye weeks, but I don't pay attention to them, anymore.
8: Your season doesn't end on draft day. Always be on the lookout for players who can improve your roster. Why don't I think bye weeks matter when drafting? Because by mid-season, your roster is going to be riddled with under-performers and injuries. When a player who you drafted in the later rounds isn't even seeing the field, and you can pick up a player who has had a strong week or two, then feel free to pull the trigger.
The first year is overwhelming because the amount of information there is. Football pools imho are much more stat heavy than NBA.
Some great tips above, here are some off the top of my head: 1. Be prepared. Printouts, spreadsheets, websites open, multiple browsers. 2. Print off depth charts. Better off, memorize them. FantasyPros has a great summarized one pager. 3. If the league has history, study previous drafts. 4. Do mock drafts to get a feel. Post your results here for opinions. 5.Try to avoid older players, especially RB's reaching 30. They have a short lifespan and if you don't follow, it can be hard to track. 6. Don't just rely on last years stats. One of my first years I remember drafting SF TE Eric Johnson way too high. 7.Turn off all distractions, tell your gf you are busy that day well in advance, turn off the phones and walk the dog first. 8. Don't always listen to people in your draft or you'll end up like Andrey in the TV show The League. 9. Watch The League, it's not the most accurate but it's hilarious and you'll have more fun!
skywalker14 wrote:I am mainly a basketball fan and first started playing fantasy basketball, but since then have gotten into pools of sports i like, but just not as much.
A friend has convinced me to join his Football fantasy pool and my one question is...What is the BEST advice you could give to someone who knows virtually nothing about football? LOL
You accomplish 2 things today with your help 1.) HELP ME WIN! 2.) MAKE ME A FAN! haha
BEST advice??? Just HAVE FUN . As a beginner, don't try to get bogged down too much with the details (Value-based drafting, Strength of schedule, etc.). Part of the fun of fantasy football is cheering for players on your fantasy team. On the other hand, if you hated the Patriots, can you really draft Tom Brady in the first round?
Cafe Home
Fantasy Baseball
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by skywalker14 » Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:49 am 
. As a beginner, don't try to get bogged down too much with the details (Value-based drafting, Strength of schedule, etc.). Part of the fun of fantasy football is cheering for players on your fantasy team. On the other hand, if you hated the Patriots, can you really draft Tom Brady in the first round? 
