Fantasy-Football-First

Archive for the ‘Q & A’ Category

Each day I look at a report that tells me how many people visit the web site here at www.fantasy-football-first.com. Not only that but it tells me the location of the people that come to the site (Hello Beijing China) and more importantly, what brought them here. Most web site traffic comes through search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo. People type something into the search engine and then a list of sites come up and they click on one they think might have the information they are looking for. We do it every day. It’s frustrating though when we don’t get the specific answer we are looking for.

In this week’s edition of Questions and Answers, I am going to answer the questions that were typed into the search engines today that brought people to my web site. I want to make sure that you receive an answer to your specific question.

Let’s do some Q+A:

Search Words = Who do I draft first in fantasy football?

Answer: Because of the name of the web site, we get a lot of traffic based on this type of question. The answer is Chris Johnson without a doubt. All leagues, all formats.

Search Words = How many running backs should I have on my fantasy team?

Answer: This answer depends on the specifics of your league. My league carries a roster size of 21 players so I may end up with 6 running backs. I think you should have a minimum of 4. I would certainly take another running back on my roster over a backup kicker or defense.

Search Words = Vincent Jackson fantasy value

Answer: This is the toughest call of the draft. You have a very talented player in a very bad situation. He’s suspended for the first 3 games of the season. You also should not start a player in their first game back from a suspension as you want to see how he is used and fits into the system that has been operating without him. Factor in the Chargers Week 10 bye week and you have Vincent Jackson as a viable option for 5 of the first 10 weeks of the season. That alone would make him as a # 3 Wide Receiver in my opinion but his situation is more complicated. He’s also unhappy with his contract and threatening to hold out. There’s also trade rumors which may or may not be good for him from a fantasy standpoint. The bottom line is that we will not know how this all will play out this month when drafting our teams. That makes him a # 4 Wide Receiver in my opinion. I would steer clear and let someone else worry about all this but if he was still around late in the draft and I was looking for my 4th wide receiver, I might pull the trigger. If someone drafts him any earlier than that then they are taking a lot of risk and my drafting philosophy is all about minimizing risk.

Search Words = What fantasy football positions do you draft first?

Answer: I always have drafted a running back first. I know some people make cases that if you have a late pick in the first round to draft a top quarterback or even a wide receiver in the first round but my philosophy is that the running back position is the most important position on your team and you need to start building your team with the very best running back so there’s no better place to start that than in round one.

Search Words= What is the best fantasy football magazine?

Answer: Fantasy football magazines are so 2005 yet people will pay the $6.95 to walk into a draft holding one that just ends up cluttering the draft table. It’s 2010 and the internet was made for fantasy football information. Why pay money for a magazine that was written in April when you can get information that is up to date and current? I get all my fantasy football information from the web sites listed on the right of this page in the Links section. I formulate my own cheat sheets in excel and continuously update them prior to my draft. Save the 7 bucks on the magazines.

Search Words = 16 team fantasy football strategy

Answer: The bigger your league is the more valuable the running back position becomes. I would look to select a Running Back with my first 2 picks of the draft in a league that big.

Search Words = How to do a fantasy football draft with two people missing

Answer: Wow. I could not imagine being in such a casual league where not one, but two people were going to miss the draft. Online it’s easy by just putting on Auto-Pilot and let the computer handle it. A live draft with two people missing would not be fun for me so I would look to cut the league by two and tell those people they’re out. If that’s not an option I do think there needs to be a penalty and that would be their first pick should be a kicker or defense. After that, just give them the best available player based on an universal cheat sheet to keep the integrity of the league intact.

Search Words = funny fantasy football team name

Answer: Back in college our dorm kickball team was known as the “Peter North Stars” and we got a big kick out of it because North Stars are an actual team name and Peter North is an actual porn star name so hence the “Peter North Stars”. Keeping with that sophomoric sense of humor, my favorite team name that I have seen recently has been the “Steve Breaston Plants”.

Side note: I happened to stumble upon a few minutes of Maurice Jones-Drew’s fantasy football radio show on XM radio this past weekend. It was very entertaining. I am going to try to listen to the whole show and write a column on it soon. If you get a chance, check it out.

I like having CNBC on in the background during the day while I am working my real job trying to clean up the mortgage mess of the past 5 years.  If you watch it often enough you will notice that there are 3 sides to every financial argument.  There’s one guy that is always upbeat and optimistic, one that is acting like his plane is going down and the third  has no prediction and just wants to see how it all plays out.  It’s high class comedy to watch 3 financial experts talk about a single topic with three different opinions. 

It’s no different in fantasy football analysis except for one word. Expert.  I say there is no such thing as a fantasy football expert.

Yes, you can have an advanced knowledge of draft strategy and player projection that certainly can increase your chances of doing well.  Yes, you can do your homework by reading the magazines (although it’s usually outdated by the time you get it), the big corporate web sites, the medium fantasy football web sites and even the obscure blog like you are doing now.  That’s great and maybe entertaining but don’t fool yourself, it’s not “expert” analysis.  I just don’t think it exists in fantasy football. 

If you had a room of so called fantasy football experts and asked them about one player, chances are you will find some that are optimistic, pessimistic and undecided.  Just like those financial experts on CNBC. I like this time of year to research what web sites I am going to use during the season to help me with the decisions I need to make once the season starts.  My favorites and the ones I read almost daily are listed in the Links section on the right of the page.  I encourage you to bookmark a group of web sites that you are going to read this season.  Hopefully I am on your list.  Don’t just do what ESPN.com says or you’ll be sorry.  Read enough that you have time for so when faced with a decision either in your draft, waiver wire or line up, you will have become your own expert. 

Just because I’m not a fantasy football expert doesn’t mean I don’t  have opinions so if you have the questions, I’ll have an answer.  But better than that, I have Polls so you will get multiple opinions to help you make your own decision.

Let’s do the first Q & A column of the season.

Q.

A.

It’s certainly a good position to be in knowing that you will have a top 10 wide receiver locked up before the draft starts.  In my Wide Receiver Rankings at the top of the page I have Moss #5 and Marshall #8 so I favor Moss in this situation slightly.  According to the Fantasy Football Calculator, Moss has been the 2nd wide receiver selected in drafts so far while Marshall is the seventh.  Moss is in a contract year and probably in his last season with New England.  I think he is going to make a statement this season.  I know you must like Henne from reading your question but I am big on Tom Brady this year being fully recovered from the knee injury.  All signs are pointing to Brady-Moss having one more terrific season together.

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Q.

I have a love/hate relationship with “Mailbag” columns. I love them when they are entertaining and hit on a lot of topics ( I am talking to you Bill Simmons of espn.com ). I hate them when they aren’t ( I am talking to you nbcsports.com ). I did not think I would do a mailbag column when I started this website but people have written in with questions so I assume they want answers. To put my own little spin of originality on a not so original idea, this week I am going to put in some interactive polls to not only give you my opinion but to see what everyone else thinks as well.

So let’s get down and dirty with a little Q&A:

Q- Hello I was just wondering what your opinion on what a good draft order by position would be, Should you go QB , RB , RB / RB QB RB , I am trying to get a good draft I have not been happy the last two years with my drafts due to everybody going on trends that scare you into taking something you might not have wanted “example” all of a sudden 4 guys before you start taking WR’s. I play in a 10 person league just wondering if you could give me some pointers on how to attack this years draft. thank you.

A. -Good Question and I probably could write a whole column on this type of question.  First of all, it’s good to know that you are thinking of having a game plan going into your draft as many don’t.  Second, I don’t believe in any of those pre set theories telling you what position to draft in what round as a hard rule.   Here’s some quick advice:

You should be targeting running backs with your first 2 picks especially in a smaller 10 team league.  After that,  go for the best player available regardless of position.  Don’t be afraid to draft your 3rd running back before your 2nd wide receiver.  A strong bench is key.  You mentioned “trends” in your draft.  I like to start them especially with tight ends.  I like to grab my tight end ( pun somewhat intended )  as early as the 5th round if the top one hasn’t been selected.  Don’t be late on a trend, go grab another running back or your back up QB if everyone is on a wide receiver trend.  Good Luck.

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Q. - Hi,  I really like your site!  I run the fantasy football blog http://football.razzball.com/ 

 A. – I did check out your site.  Good Work and I better see a mention for us soon!

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Q.  First of all great site… good reading…I can only keep 2 players, 10 team league using standard yahoo scoring system.  my choices to keep are… gore, slaton, randy moss, calvin johnson….I think based on your strategy I would keep gore and slaton and then wide reciever.. but was kinda leaning toward
keeping a rb and wr. I would appreciate hearing your keepers of these 4  and reasoning if you could
find the time.. Thanks much.. steve.. 

A. -  I would keep both running backs Gore and Slaton.  All 4 of those players are high caliber so you can’t go wrong.  I know there are some that would look at your wide receivers and say you can’t throw those high ranking players back into the draft but I have to assume that most of the top running backs are going to be kept in your league based on the high quality of players you have to choose from and don’t want to leave you short handed at the most important position in fantasy football which is running back.

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Q.  -   listen mate ,

if the saints are 28th in defense this year i will tell all my friends to subscribe to whatever you throw out there – you’ve gotta be out of your minds to think that needs haven’t been addressed well enough to put them EASILY in the ‘teens…if i’m right you can BET that i’ll dog the !@#$ out of this site…

A. – Wow.  Out of all the things I have written about over they last 3 months, the one that gave me my first angry email was how low I ranked the New Orleans defense.  I am all flustered.  Just to make sure I wasn’t so far out in left field on my ranking of the juggernaut that is the New Orleans defense,  I consulted some other websites that you may have heard of like espn.com , cbssports.com, espn the magazine, and rototimes.com and not only did all of them have  N.O. no higher than 20 , most had them right around where I have them.  You seem to be all fired up for New Orleans and I admire that passion and I would love to have you in one of my leagues as long as you promise to take the New Orleans D.

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Well that wraps up another Q&A.  If you have a  question or comment for a future column, you can contact us on the CONTACT page.

JC

As a long time fantasy football website reader, I always viewed the “mailbag” columns as kind of a sell out. Bill Simmons of Espn.com does it the best and all others fail in comparison. I view the mailbag column as the equivalent of ending your 20 minute presentation at the 5 minute mark and opening it up to questions hoping the audience will kill the rest of the time. I can see fantasy football writers sitting at their laptops trying to figure out what to write in June and saying “well I can always do another mailbag column”. Click on any of the websites in the Links section and you will see a bunch of “mailbag” columns which frustrates  me because there are no original ideas.

Then something happened.

I started my own fantasy football website, Internet radio show and Twitter account and quickly realized that people have legitimate questions and send them in. I was amazed. I thought sending in questions were confined to Dear Abby and Loveline but fantasy football seems to be in that same spectrum of people seeking out opinion.

With an apology  to Bill Simmons, I have officially sold out and will now open this week’s Mailbag for a little Q & A.

What do you think of drafting wide receivers with your first 2 picks while everyone else is drating running backs ? – A. Nonimus in Boston

That’s an interesting question and I have been surprised to read  some draft strategists have been in support of this theory if you have a late pick in the 1st round.  I know it’s frustrating  to have that late first round pick and see all the rb’s coming off the board and think that it may be best to grab the top wide receiver but I think that’s a poor move.  I have always said that you draft the best running back in the 1st round no matter what.  In the 2nd round you grab the best available player.  Not drafting a running back in the first 2 rounds leaves you too weak in the most important position in fantasy football.  There are too many quality wide receivers and not enough productive running backs.   To not draft a running back early you are making your team weaker and your opponent’s stronger in the running back department.  Draft a running back early and often is the strategy that I have seen win leagues.

What do you think Michael Crabtree will do this year? – Bob in San Fran

Ah, rookie wide receivers.  So tough to predict.  I usually shy away from rookie wide receivers as that position is the deepest in fantasy football but I did trade for and have success last year from Desean Jackson and Eddie Royal.  Most websites have Crabtree ranked in the 35-45 range with 800 yards and 5 td’s.  I think he is going to do a bit better than that due to getting the playing time and a favorable schedule and currently have him ranked 27 on my cheat sheet listed above and think he is good for about 850 yards and 8 td’s.  He is a good 3rd wide receiver at this point.

What do you think of Larry Johnson this year?  – Bill in Kansas City

Johnson has been all over the place in early mock drafts and preseason player rankings.  On the major websites I have seen him ranked as high as 21 and as low as 33 with projections ranging from 750 to 1,050 yards.  I am a bit higher on Johnson and currently have him ranked 19th on my RB Cheat Sheet.   1,000 yards and 7 td’s should be where his stats are.  I think K.C. will run the ball to take pressure off Matt Cassell who also likes to dump the ball to his running backs. 

I am in a 10 team league with the 5th pick.  It’s a Point Per Reception league.  Who should I be targeting with my first few picks?  – Matt in New Jersey

Although I don’t play in any PPR leagues I wouldn’t get too caught up in that and draft normally.  I might move someone like Maurice Jones-Drew up a notch and someone like Wes Welker who has many receptions but few touchdowns.  Nevertheless, you should be targeting the best available running back with the #5 pick and and then the best available rb/wr with your next few picks.  Save your quarterback for the middle rounds and load up on rb’s and wr’s.  Good Luck.

That’s it for the Q & A.   You can email us  or twitter us with any questions or comments and you will get a personal response. 

JC

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