Tips for a title

Welcome to the dog days of summer. The days were it’s too hot to do anything outside, yet with school starting next month, it’s impractical to be inside for a long period of time. I have spent most of my dog days taking care of a dog, which has been interesting. The Cubs have spent these days fighting through humid temperatures, which has led to some struggles. And Barry Bonds, a female dog himself, has broke baseball’s greatest record.

But the most exciting thing going on during these early August dates has nothing to do with going for a walks with a K-9, strained quads, or un-fairly earned records. No, the center of attention for many people these days is getting ready for maybe the most important even of the next five months. Yeah, it’s Fantasy Football Draft time. Why, you ask, is this so important? Because a good fantasy draft can lead to seventeen weeks of excitement and winning and an entire off-season of bragging rights. So here are some tips to making your Fantasy draft a good one. No, I’m not going to tell you which players to draft. I’m going to let you know some strategies to make sure you’re team is more like the ’85 Bears than the ’05 Texans.

1---Get depth at running back
You will find this tip in every Fantasy magazine. Yet it is so important that it needs to be repeated here. If you don’t draft at least one running back in the first two rounds of your draft, you will not win your league. If you don’t have at least three of the 32 starting running backs in the NFL, you will not win your league. Backs are just that important. Look at the stats. Of the projected top ten Fantasy scorers in the NFL this year, only three aren’t running backs. (Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Carson Palmer). Picking the next Maurice Jones-Drew could elevate your team from a middle-of-the-road squad to a title contender.

2---Look for the breakout player
This may look like the most obvious tip in the book, but it’s much easier said than done. Taking proven vets, such as quarterbacks Brett Favre and Donovan McNaab, running backs Edgerin James and Fred Taylor and wideouts Randy Moss and Joey Galloway, is effortless thing to do. You think to yourself, ‘I could risk it on a rookie or something, but I already know what I’m going to get from this vet.’ But that’s a huge Fantasy mistake. Look for the players who are under the radar this year, but will be drafted in the first five rounds next year. Guy’s like Atlanta running back Jerious Norwood, Cleveland wide receiver Braylon Edwards and Buffalo’s rookie back, Marshawn Lynch. Picking a breakout player in the late rounds of the draft can be as much of a difference maker as your first round choice.

3---Check bye weeks
Again, this looks like something that only a dumb rookie Fantasy player would do, but that’s not necessarily the case. A lot of players are so excited to get Larry Johnson in round one and Willis Mcgahee in the second that they don’t realize that come week eight, right in the middle of the year, both the Chiefs and the Ravens have a bye week. What’s going to happen now? Search the waiver wire for a quality back? That seems unlikely to work that late in the year. Play your third and fourth string backs? Good luck with that. The point is, know when the players you are going to draft are sitting out so that you can be prepared.

4---Know the system
Good thing Fantasy owners don’t have to come up with a game plan every week like the 32 NFL coaches do for their teams. That would be a complete disaster. But an important key to winning a Fantasy title is understanding those 32 different NFL game plans. For example, most NFL fans would agree that Marvin Harrison is a much better player than Travis Henry is. Marvelous Marvin’s career has produced over 1,000 catches, more than 13,000 yards and an amazing 122 touchdowns, including ten or more in the past eight seasons. Henry on the other hand is on his third team in seven seasons, has never had over 43 receptions in one year and only once played all 16 games. Yet at a Fantasy draft, it would be idiotic to take Harrison before Henry. Harrison plays in a stacked offense that has countless weapons, including another top wideout in Reggie Wayne, so his output won’t be so great from week to week. Henry on the other hand plays in an offense that churns out thousand yard rushers like Kanye West does classic albums while having a first-time starter at quarterback. If both players stay healthy, the odds favor Travis Henry to have a better year. But you would never know it if you didn’t understand the offense’s they each played in.

5---Always take a kicker last
If you are in a standard twelve person Fantasy league, then you will undoubtedly need to draft a kicker. And even those these guys will be starters for you, there is no reason to draft them at any time other than after you have filled every other spot on the squad, including backups. Know what the difference was between the best (Robbie Gould of your NFC Champion Bears) and twelfth ranked (Adam Vinateri of the Colts) kicker last season? 33 points, or less than two Fantasy points a week. Have patience, take your reserves, and then take a kicker. It will be worth it.


Good luck come draft time.