are mags a must?

[flock of seagulls]

after reading the post about the guy who got the first ffl mag out this year, i started thinking. are these magazines something we should go out and waste our hard earned cash on?

i know every year we have a few guys show up with 7 or 8 or these magazines with a total cost of anwhere from $50 to $80. when the league only cost $50 to get in this doesn't appear to be very logical economically. and how many years have you believed the hype?? for example, last year bledsoe was supposed to be the man. im sure he killed alot of fantasy teams other than mine. and dont even get me started on greg hill or chris warren back in the day.(sorry still got a bad taste in my mouth)

now i know these publications get everyone in the mood. but other than that i feel that most are just propaganda.

i took a little different approach this year. instead of relying totally on Lindy's or The Fantasy Football Power Index, i went through and made my own little magazine. with 10 plus years of fantasy experience, i believe that my opinions are just as good as the so called "experts". sure im gonna over hype a few guys, but im also gonna get a few sleepers right. with all the cheat sheets and websites available its almost impossible not to learn a few things.

what approach do you guys take? and any comments youd like to throw in are welcome.

[Dreadpaul]

I have not found the mags to be very helpful at all. What's available on-line is quite good. Much of it is free and it's significantly easier to create your draft cheatsheet by cutting and pasting things from on-line than it is to hand type data from a magazine onto your cheatsheet.

[VHawk15]

Yeah, check the link that I posted in the other thread. Here are the top 10 RB rankings from a magazine I bought last year:

1) LT
2) Ricky
3) Deuce
4) Priest
5) Alexander
6) Faulk
7) Portis
8) Garner
9) Taylor
10) Tiki

In the same magazine, here were the top 15 WR rankings:

1) Harrison
2) T.O.
3) Moss
4) Moulds
5) Coles
6) Holt
7) Price
8) K-Rob
9) Ward
10) Plaxico
11) Toomer
13) Driver
14) Boston
15) Rice

And in another magazine, here were the top 10 QB rankings:

1) Gannon
2) Vick
3) Manning
4) McNabb
5) Culpepper
6) Pennington
7) Warner
8) Brooks
9) Bledsoe
10) Favre

So I'll let you look at these "expert" rankings and let you decide if you want to spend your money of this.

[mig28]

The bottom line on this issue is simple. If you've got a good set of stats, and understand a player's situation with regard to age, injury history, supporting cast, and coaching philosophy, your opinion is BETTER than that of a so-called expert. Why? Because it is much easier to feel confident about your draft day choices when you are relying on YOUR OWN conclusions, as opposed to someone else's subjectivity.

Think of it this way...fantasy football is really about prognostication; we're all trying to predict the future.

How can there be an "expert" in such an endeavor?

[Canacuna]

Why pay $7.00 or $8.00 on an out-dated magazine by "experts" when you can get basically the same thing online for free? I bought one of them my first year of fantasy sports and thought it was pretty cool. They're alright now - if only for something to read when you're laying in the sun or in the bathroom doing your thing.

I tend to look at the online "expert" opinions as a frame of reference for players I have borderline opinions on, but otherwise - I tend to make my own. It's worked well in the past.

[SinCity]

Why pay $7.00 or $8.00 on an out-dated magazine by "experts" when you can get basically the same thing online for free? I bought one of them my first year of fantasy sports and thought it was pretty cool. They're alright now - if only for something to read when you're laying in the sun or in the bathroom doing your thing.

I tend to look at the online "expert" opinions as a frame of reference for players I have borderline opinions on, but otherwise - I tend to make my own. It's worked well in the past.

Right on man...sweet avatar btw.
A mag can be outdated by the time you draft alot of the times. I know alot of the info will be right on, but coping and printing off stuff from online can give you a nice edge come draft day. Alot of the pages are updated every few days.... injuries cuts ect. The mags information about rosters can be a month or more old.

[Buckychudd]

The bottom line on this issue is simple. If you've got a good set of stats, and understand a player's situation with regard to age, injury history, supporting cast, and coaching philosophy, your opinion is BETTER than that of a so-called expert. Why? Because it is much easier to feel confident about your draft day choices when you are relying on YOUR OWN conclusions, as opposed to someone else's subjectivity.

Think of it this way...fantasy football is really about prognostication; we're all trying to predict the future.

How can there be an "expert" in such an endeavor?

I agree, but I still like to pick at least one up so I have something to peruse while I sit on the throne.

Fact is, it's good to gather as much information as possible. I wouldn't waste a whole bunch of money on them, but they're as good (or as bad) as what you would see on an expert site.

Take it all with a grain of salt and do your own predicting.

[CC]

Yea, they aren't really necessary and the cheat sheets are usually fairly bad. However, the articles and interviews are always interesting and I bought Fantasy Guru last year and got more than my money's worth out of it despite not using the cheat sheets. It had 5 paragraphs on the top 25 at each position and 1 paragraph on the next 25, well worth my $8.

[jaymz742]

There just another research tool. I usally get a couple. I'll read the thing fifty times. On the can, my lunch break, when nothings on the tube, or the wife is puttin' the kids to bed. So for me its entertainment and research at the same time.

[moochman]

For me the mags are just something else to read while I try to wait for the season to get started. 113 days seems like an eternity. Mags are usually out dated by the time draft day comes.