FANTASY FOOTBALL 101

DO YOU HEAR IT CALLING YOU?

It's that time of year again.
What am I talking about?
Fantasy football of course.
It's drraft is second only to the NFL's draft.

Could you ever imagine 10 years ago the incredible interest and expansion of fantasy football? It has become a billion dollar industry.

IN the upcoming weeks we will discuss several topics about fantasy football. Topics will range from the basic format of how it's played (perspective for the novice) to the so-called expert's strategies. We will compile top rankings from each position (QB, RB, WR, TE, K and D). We will also list a top-100 overall.

We will employ strategy for drafting players & line-up sumbmissions.
We will show you common mistakes and misnomers.
We will show you how to arrange cheat sheets.
We will give you the basic tools needed to develop the winning edge necessary by each owner not only to play, but to excel at a high level against admirable competition.
We will discuss sleeper's, no-brainers and last but not least those whom you should stay far way from.

I often get asked by novice enthusiast, how does it work? They want to play, but have no earthly idea the format or structure of how the game of fantasy football is played.

So to begin I say, let's go over the basics.

1A - each league has their own format and their own set of rules governing their league.

1B - each league usually has either 8, 10, or 12 teams in the leauge.

1C - each league has it's own commissioner to establish rules and structure.

1D - most leagues use computer web sites for their league operations.

1E - depending on the league's web site, trades, transactions (pickups/drops/insured reserve moves are all part of the options available for each owner).

We will use an example league so as to illustrate to the novice just how fantasy football can be played.

The league will have a league name titled to it.

This example leagule has 10 owners/GMs.

The league is divided into 2 divisions (East & West) - 5 teams in each.

A schedule is made automatically to show each owner who they will play each week throught the season.

Players fill the rosters by having a league draft.

Order of the draft can be as easy as a draw or some returning leagues start with the worst team in the previous season selecting first and the first team selecting last and then snake (flip-flop each round). Some draw for each round.

Team rosters consist of 15 players:
3 QB (quarterbacks)
4 RB (running backs)
4 WR (side receivers)
2 K (kickers)
2 D (defensive teams)

Starting lineups require seven players:

1 QB (example: Peyton Manning)

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any combination of 4 players as follows:

3 RB (example: Ahman Green, Kevin Jones, Tiki Barber)
1 WR/TE (example: Terrell Owens/Tony Gonzalez)

"OR"

3 WR and 1 RB

"OR"

2 RB and 2 WR

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1 K (example: Jason Hanson)

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1 D (example: Baltimore Ravens)

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Note: All leagues will be different is some aspect or another, but the basic priciples are still the same.

The league in question plays head-to-head. Meaning, that each team/owner will play another team/owner for win and loss configuration.

How do you determine wins and losses? It's the points. These points are tabulated by a scoring system adopted by each league. The points are obtained by the players performance.

Example: LaDainian Tomlinson rushes for 163 yards, scores 3 TDs while receiving for 49 yards.

General scoring base would give at least:
16 points for 160 yards rushing (1 point for every 10 yards rushing)
12 points for 2 TD's (6 points each) and 4 points for 48 yards receiving (1 point for every 10 yards receiving)
TOTAL = 32 PTS

When scores are tallied up for all 7 starters, the total against their opponents total determines who wins or loses.

After 14 games are played the regular season ends and the playoff begin.

4 teams make the playoffs, 2 division winners and the teams with the best records remaining. The teams in the playoffs are given rankins or seeded to determine who plays who.

The winners of each semifinal play for the fantasy football championship.

The winners name is placed on a trophy for the ultimate bragging rights.

Soon to come: How to prepare for the draft!

Sincerly,
Ronnie Keesee