Fantasy Football Tip #221: Never give up on a team.

Fantasy Football Tip #221: Never give up on a team, even when it looks bleak, keep fighting on with lineup changes and add/drops to make your team have a chance.

I have a friend (yes one) who recently exclaimed that he no longer had to fight the "waiver wire worries" because he lost in the playoffs. He seemed almost relieved that his team no longer had to play. I can understand this feeling a little bit (we probably all can with all the injuries and suspensions that have hit us this year) since he had no starting RBs left heading into the playoffs. But it made me think about what others should or could do in the few weeks before the playoffs. I can honestly tell you that nothing beats the feeling of being almost mathematically eliminated but then somehow managing to make the playoffs. It is such a great high knowing that everyone dismissed you and then you showed them! But if you give up on your teams that look like they do not have a chance, you will NEVER experience that great feeling. The point of this tip is to always try and win every game, even if you are out of contention and cannot make the playoffs. Try your best! Set the best lineup you can. Give it your best shot and then no matter what, you can hold you head up high, proud in the knowledge that you did everything you could.


I am not suggesting you spend 14 hours a day searching for sleeper RBs and WRs in leagues where you are officially eliminated from the playoffs. That would be taking resources that could (and should) be used more productively in other leagues (where you are in or fighting for the playoffs). I am suggesting that you add players for "out for the season" players and bench players who are "out" or "questionable" for the game and replace them with players who can earn you points.

There is nothing worse than seeing your opponent who you need to lose to make the playoffs playing the last placed team who does not even bench his injured reserve (IR) players (these types of teams are called "dead money" teams because the owners have given up on them and their lost entry fee). You would never be able to come from 4 game behind to make the playoffs if most of the leagues losing teams did not put up a fight. Do not be like that.

And remember, in many leagues everyone starts the same in the playoffs at 0-0. So in these instances, as my father always said, "It does not matter how high you made it over the fence, just that you made it over the fence"

Note: some leagues do allow  the average of the regular season points scored as a starting point-I like this
Note:  Both the National Fantasy Football Championship NFFC) and FFPC (www.theFFPC.com) have a system in place for these "dead" teams.

Fantasy Football Guidebook (2nd Edition): Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428650


Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($10.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634


Fantasy Football Basics: The Ultimate "How to" Guide for Beginners available ($10.95) at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634

Fantasy Baseball for Beginners: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide ($10.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428693

Fantasy Soccer: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide for Fantasy Football/Fantasy Soccer ($14.95)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936635070

Fantasy Football Tip #220: Smart flex assignments could win a game for you

Fantasy Football Tip #220: Be smart about who you assign to the flex position, it could win you a game!


Many leagues today have a flex spot or position in addition to the standard 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR and 1 TE positions. So in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) you start 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 K and 1 DEF. In fact the FFPC (www.theFFPC.com) has two flex spots as they start 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE and 2 flex positions in addition to the lowly kicker and defense. In most formats the flex can be either a RB, WR or TE. In the FFPC the TE earns 1.5 points for catches and thus are more valuable as a potential flex player, so in those leagues you can expect to see more TEs drafted and used a flex player.

But my tip today is a simple one yet rarely employed by fantasy owners. I suggest you always attempt to make the flex player the player with the latest game. If you can make this happen it gives you great freedom to replace them with some else if needed. For example, you have two TEs one will be the TE, the other the flex player. Put the TE with the latest game at flex. Now if the starting TE gets hurt in warm-ups you can put the flex player in at TE and move another player from RB or WR into the flex position. Another example, you are planning on starting 4 WRs (3 as WRs and one as a flex), put the WR with the latest game (say Monday night) in the flex spot. That way if something happens to another WR before game time, you can replace that hurt WR with the flex player and move another player into the flex position. If you had filled the flex position with a WR who started in the early games (1 PM EST) or a Thursday game then that flex spot is over and done and should you need to rearrange due to injuries, etc you no longer have the flexibility to change positions since the flex spot is taken up by the early game player. 

Since the flex position can be either a RB, WR or TE it is best to keep that position available until the last possible moment, hence the put in a player with the later game. Big picture-you want to keep all your options open as long as possible and that is what making the flex player the later play does.

The best tip is to fill the flex with the latest playing player for the greatest flexibility. Who knows it just may win you a game one day.

Fantasy Football Guidebook (2nd Edition): Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428650


Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($10.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634


Fantasy Football Basics: The Ultimate "How to" Guide for Beginners available ($10.95) at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634

Fantasy Baseball for Beginners: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide ($10.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428693

Fantasy Soccer: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide for Fantasy Football/Fantasy Soccer ($14.95)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936635070

Fantasy Football Tip #219: Your free agent system should determine your roster for FF playoffs

Fantasy Football Tip #219: Your free agent system should determine your roster for FF playoffs

What I mean by this is your ability to add new players (or lack thereof) will be the deciding factor on what allocation of positions you have for the playoff run. If, for example, there are NO adds, drops or trades allowed after the playoffs begin (a common system in many of the money leagues), then you need to be more conservative in which positions you carry into the playoffs. In this case, always have an extra QB, TE and K on your roster. Yes kicker . Why because in Nov and Dec weather and kicking outdoors becomes more of a factor. There is nothing worse than watching your playoff team lose by 5 points simply because your one and only kicker is hurt or playing in a snowstorm. Same goes for QB and TE. Both can be affected by game time weather and injuries. Look at all the Rothelisberger, Bradford and Hasselbeck owners who are sweating it out this week if they are there only QBs.

I am not advocating dropping a starting RB for these potential #2 QB, TE or K. Instead try and make room for them by dropping the WR#7 or RB#6 on your team that has yet to see your starting lineup since bye week 7. In other words be realistic, do not drop a player you could easily see starting the following week if needed. Instead look to slim down the fat at plentiful positions and stock up on a rainy day/insurance extra QB or K.

On the other hand, if your league allows adds or drops (trades are tougher in the playoffs because who wants to give you any help then), in the playoff it will be a matter of how the system works. If it is first come, first serve right up until the kickoff time of each game then you can ignore the above advice and DO NOT carry an extra QB, TE or K. Why not? Because you can add one from free agency if absolutely needed at the last second. Do not drop a potential RB or WR for the extra kicker in this case. If you find yourself without a kicker or one with a bad match up in a snow storm, simply add the best available before game time.

 One last note of caution, be careful with not carrying an extra QB in leagues where QBs are more valuable (6 pts for passing TDs) or where rosters are so deep that most teams carry extras (or that have so many teams that few QBs are on the waiver wire). In these cases, you may not be able to find a starting QB. In these instances it is best to have a QB#2 going into the playoffs.

Notice also I do not advocate having an extra DEF for the playoffs. Team defenses do not become injured so the worst case scenario is bad weather and often that helps defensive scoring in fantasy leagues.

Fantasy Football Guidebook (2nd Edition): Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428650


Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($10.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634


Fantasy Football Basics: The Ultimate "How to" Guide for Beginners available ($10.95) at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634

Fantasy Baseball for Beginners: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide ($10.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428693

Fantasy Soccer: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide for Fantasy Football/Fantasy Soccer ($14.95)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936635070

Fantasy Football Tip #212 Fantasy Football NFL Playoff Contests

I know the moment has passed for those NFL Playoff FF Contests that lock in a roster for the entire playoffs, but if you are in a league that lets you change your roster from week to week, here is a quick tip.

It is obvious but in these playoff leagues you want to have the most players advance and have players who will score the most points. In most leagues with traditional scoring (4 pts per pass TD, 6 for rush/rec TDs, 1 pt per 20 pass yds and 1 per 10 rush/rec), QBs score more on average than other positions. So you want to have the QB that will score the most and advance to the Super Bowl. That should be priority one. Pick the QB that you think will make it all the way to the SB first. If he does make it, you should be in the driver seat.

Of course, in leagues that allow roster changes every week, you need to focus on who will score the most in the week ahead.

My picks for this week are:

QB
Aaron Rodgers GB
Tom Brady NE

RB
Matt Forte, CHI
Ray Rice, BAL (PPR leagues definitely, yardage only he drops)
Michael Turner, ATL
(although there are really not that many good RB choices-instead most face tough defenses)

WR
Roddy White, ATL
Greg Jennings, GB
Santonio Holmes, NYJ
Wes Welker, NE (PPR leagues)

TE
Tony Gonzalez, ATL
Rob Gronkowski, NE

K
Robbie Gould, CHI
Shayne Graham, NE

DEF
CHI
PIT





Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($10.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Basics: The Ultimate "How to" Guide for Beginners available ($10.95) at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634

Fantasy Football Guidebook (2nd Edition): Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428650

Fantasy Baseball for Beginners: The Ultimate "How-to" Guide ($10.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428693

Fantasy Football Interview at FantasyIndex.com

Great interview at http://www.fantasyindex.com/
I discuss fantasy football (including Tiers, QB/WR combos and 3RR).
At the end of the article they quote exerpts from Fantasy Football Tips.

Tomorrow check back here for Defensive/ST Rankings for Fantasy Football 2010


Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($10.95 on sale 10% off for $9.85) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Basics: The Ultimate "How to" Guide for Beginners available ($10.95, now just $9.85 10% off) at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428634

Fantasy Football Guidebook (2nd Edition): Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428650

Fantasy Football Almanac 2010: Your Essential Fantasy Football Reference Guide.Order at amazon.com ($10.95 but now 20% off at $8.76) (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982428618)

Fantasy Baseball for Beginners ($10.95 Pre Order at 32% off for $7.38 only at BN http://tinyurl.com/32ogh9t)

Fantasy Football Tips is the #1 selling Fantasy Football book at Amazon.com

Fantasy Football Tips is currently the #1 selling Fantasy Football book at Amazon.com. It is ranked 2nd in the Fantasy Sports category and has an overall ranking of #11,000. Over 150 copies of Fantasy Football Tips were sold in the last 2 weeks!

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Still not convinced? Check out the reveiws at Amazon.com through the links below:



Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Fantasy Football Tips #210: Plan ahead especially with QBs and concussions

This is probably one of those Duhhhhhhhh comments but with the leagues concern (and rightly so) about concussions; it appears that 1 game out to recover may be the minimum time off.

I had a bad feeling that Ben Rothlisberger and Kurt Warner both might miss Week 12 and they did! Even though both professed health and all tests good-neither played.

So what can we learn from this little exercise. Have a back up. Plan and think ahead. If you suspect that your QB may not play for any reason-have an alternate to start.

This week I had Big Ben and Matt Stafford as my QBs in the Main Event of the Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC, http://www.theffpc.com/). I planned to start Ben R. but as I mentioned earlier, I had a sinking feeling that Ben might not play. Well with Stafford unlikely to play (hmmmm or so I and the rest of the world thought) I decided to drop Stafford and add another QB who would get me the most points in week 12 should Ben somehow not play.

I had several choices: Jake Delhomme, Matt Cassel, Kyle Orton or Jason Campbell.
Delhomme just plain sucks, so he was out. Orton was my next choice, but since he played Thursday night he would not do me any good as a b/u since he would play days before Big Ben.
That left Cassell or Campbell.

I added Jason Campbell through the Waiver Wire and voila'....20+ points from 2 passing TDs and a rushing TD.


Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95) www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Fantasy Football Draft Tip #207 from Fantasy Football Tips

Tip # 207 Do not forget PPR.
Having PPR scoring really affects the 3rd-5th rounds. You must have a decent middle WR from these rounds or else your WRs will be too far behind to make a run at the championship. DO NOT GO RB-RB-RB_RB as your start in a PPR league that only starts 2 RBs and 1 Flex. As this means your WR with the 5th pick will be too far behind to give you team any help.

You need to target WRs in the middle rounds (3-5) to balance your team.

If in the FFPC where you start 2 RBs and 2 Flex Positions, then maybe starting the draft with 4 RBs could payoff. But ultimately you will need to come up with 2 starting WRs every week from your late foray into the WR ranks.






















Sam Hendricks, Author:





Fantasy Football Tips: 201 Ways to Win through Player Rankings, Cheat Sheets and Better Drafting ($9.95, www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669)





Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203





Fantasy Football Almanac 2009: The Essential Fantasy Football Reference Guide ($12.95, http://www.amazon.com/1602643989)

Fantasy Football Tip # 204 Do not waste time chatting, especially in online drafts. Stay focused!

In a recent draft, I started to feel a little cocky and started up a side conversation via the message box. The draft was going excessively slow and I decided to start some lively banter. You know, good-natured trash talking. Afterwards I realized I had broken one of my cardinal tips of drafting. Do not waste time chatting. Instead, stay focused and do something, anything, productive.

In addition, this tip is not in my latest book, Fantasy Football Tips.
Fantasy Football Tips ($9.95, www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669) has 201 Tips, so I will be adding additional ones like this one here at my blog on occasion.

Why not chat, because you lose an advantage. If you use the time to check what the other owners are doing, perhaps you can negate their handcuff strategy with your next pick. Alternatively, maybe you notice an error with your own picks and can correct it early versus waiting for free agency. No, every minute of the draft is precious. You cannot afford to be idle with chitchat; instead stay focused on the draft and how it unfolding around you. Save the smack talk for after the draft when you love you team and your opponent has two QBs on the same bye week.

This is especially true for online drafts. There is no one to distract you except your own surroundings. Do not be decoyed into a conversation during the draft and divert your attention from some other cross check. In a live draft, the occasional comment is OK just do not get into protracted debates about whether the beer has a “great taste” or is “less filling”(I am dating myself here) and miss something critical to your championship run.

Sam Hendricks, author
Fantasy Football Tips ($9.95) http://www.amazon.com/0982428669

Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

Fantasy Football Tip # 203 Do not Help Your Opponents!

Fantasy Football Tip # 203 Do not Help Your Opponents!

I drafted in a Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC, http://www.theffpc.com/) draft on Monday 10 Aug. It is an Action 77 Draft Masters league which is a “draft and forget” or “best ball” format.

At some point, an owner drafted Matt Stover at kicker. On the online chat box I posted “Ouch isn’t Stover dead or something” trying to be cute, knowing that Stover was a free agent.

The reality is that Baltimore released Stover simply because they did not think he had the leg strength anymore. Despite being one of the NFLs most accurate kickers (when was the last time he missed a XP?), his true makeable (is this a word?) FG distance was shrinking. Therefore, they did not resign him and instead opted to let Steve Hauschka and Graham Gono fight for the position. Maybe they were also tired of having two kickers, Stover and the other kicker for kickoffs (again due to leg strength). But I digress.

Back to the tip.

I should not have said anything.
Why tell my opponent that he may have a chink in his armor in a kicker that he thinks is starting but is not? If I had kept my big mouth shut, he may have drafted only two kickers (unlikely but you never know-check back on Saturday for Draft Master tips), one of which may have been out of work. In this “dream” scenario, his other kicker gets hurt in week one and now he has no kicker points for the rest of the season. Since it is draft and forget, there are no free agent pickups!

Therefore, DO NOT HELP YOUR OPPONENTS during the draft. Even an innocent dig may prove to be a vital help to an otherwise content owner. And it is even more important in a Draft Masters league where no free agent pickups are allowed. In a DM league it is all about the draft baby!

Player Note: Stover may end up coming back to Baltimore or be picked up by another team with a kicker issue, but I am not going to draft him.

Fantasy Football Tips ($9.95, www.amazon.com/dp/0982428669) has 201 Tips so I will be adding additional ones like this one here at my blog on occassion.

Sam Hendricks, author
Fantasy Football Guidebook: Your Comprehensive Guide to Playing Fantasy Football ($19.95 on sale for $17.95) http://www.amazon.com/1602640203

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