Is there anything this guy WON'T write about? Not really. I am now covering Fantasy Football for Score Atlanta and scoreatl.com. This is the first blog which you can now find on www.scoreatl.com. Look for tips each week. And should you trust me? Well I do finish in the money in EVERY league I play in. Even in leagues that don't play for money, I still make money in those! Booyah.
If you are a red-blooded male, living in America (and honestly, what male isn’t red-blooded) or a one of the many females that really gets into football for 12 months a year, odds are you have at least one fantasy football team. I am not going to pretend to be a fantasy football guru like so many people claim to be on the internet or on sports talk radio, but I have finished in the money in various leagues for the last six years and have even been kicked out of several leagues for speaking a little smack on the group message boards while dominating. (And to be honest, is talking on the message boards half the fun? Not only are you taking your friends’ money, but you are telling them about it at the same time.)
Therefore, this year I will be throwing out some tips that have helped me become a fairly decent fantasy football general manager. As we head into the season odds are your draft is quickly approaching so here are some things to remember as you sit down for your draft.
Rookies are always scary and you should probably stay away from them this year. A rookie wide receiver rarely makes the impact Randy Moss did when he scored 10 million touchdowns back in 1998 (OK, 17, but he also averaged 19 yards per catch). A rookie wide receiver will struggle to learn how to beat coverages and soon will realize that he isn’t running free like he was in college. This year AJ Green and Julio Jones were both taken in the top six picks but a lack of rookie training camps will prevent them from having the impact each likely will have next year. As for rookie quarterbacks, even Peyton Manning struggled numbers-wise as a rookie and you should stay away from them, even if they played for your favorite college team. Remember, fantasy football is all about numbers, not wins and losses.
Players in new situations will likely start slow and finish fast. I’d take Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson in a heartbeat this year, but I might keep him on my bench for the first few weeks. Why? It will probably take a little time for Johnson and Tom Brady to work up a chemistry in New England. Will Johnson be better with Brady than he was the last two years with Carson Palmer? Yes, because Brady is a much better QB. Just be patient.
Also draft the back-up running back of your starting running back. They call this handcuffing your backs because the way the NFL is these days, you KNOW your back will probably wear down at some point this season and require a backup. Chris Johnson was a prime example last year. He was likely your league’s No. 1 overall pick, but if you were smart, you’d have taken Javon Ringer too later in the draft (or picked him up as a free agent) because when Johnson struggled and lulled midway through the year, the Titans went with Ringer and you would have cashed in.
These are just a few tips as you go into your draft.
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