Although it is still summertime, and baseball is just now approaching the All-Star Break, football undoubtedly reigns supreme here in America. Last year's Super Bowl has the distinction of being the most watched Super Bowl, with approximately 167 million viewers tuning in to see Peyton Manning ride off into the sunset, albeit not at peak performance.
Many fantasy owners of Manning figured this game to be par for the course on the season for the future hall of famer. He suffered from a sore neck and stiff knees that left him a shell of his former, seemingly invincible self. Injuries are crucial when it comes to fantasy football. Monitoring a player’s health throughout the week will help gain an edge over your league. It is difficult to know just how healthy a player is, especially given the volatile nature of the game, but a general guideline is as follows:
Probable (P) -This indicates a player is most likely ready to play that week and will be at near optimal performance. Plan on him going that week.
Questionable (Q) -This indicates a player's status for the week is hanging in the balance. It is unknown whether that player will play, and how effective he will be also is uncertain. Monitor this player’s health throughout the week until kickoff to know if he will play, and how the team plans on using him.
Doubtful (D) -This indicates a player is most likely not suiting up that week and will be held out due to injury/illness. Plan on benching him and perusing the waiver wire, or playing one of your other players that week.
Out (O) -This is exactly what it sounds like. This player is out for that week and, depending on the severity of the injury, may be out for a couple weeks. An obvious seat on the bench for your team is the move here.
Injured Reserve (IR) -This is a death blow for fantasy football owners. Seeing this next to a star player's name on your roster may result in phone-tossing and unnecessary emotional breakdowns. In all seriousness, this player is designated here when he has sustained an injury that will hold him out for weeks or even months, and may require surgery to repair the damage. If it is a season-ending injury, especially to a star player, there is no use holding on to him. Drop him, and pray that you can find a replacement that will do half of what he could do.
This is just one tip to improve your fantasy football repertoire. There are many others that can help your team to virtual gridiron glory. Here are 10 more tips to help your team that I personally used to win my league last year.
10. Buy multiple fantasy magazines.
Buying two or three different magazines will not only give you more insight into what people think of players heading into the season but will also give you different opinions on players that you may be hesitant to draft.
9. Plan your draft strategy in advance.
This is crucial because most people try to wing it and get burned on draft day. This is a huge "no-no" in the fantasy community, and having a game plan heading into the draft will enable you to be more flexible in your picks, which leads me to tip number 8....
8. Be adaptable to any situation.
You had planned on taking Antonio Brown with your first pick and being the envy of your whole league. You are the next pick and then disaster strikes.
Your "buddy,” Steve from accounting, takes him one pick ahead of you and leaves you feeling sour and despaired. But, if you had planned ahead like I told you, you wouldn't feel so sad because there would be a plan B. And B stands for Beckham, as in Odell Beckham Jr.
7. Draft a running back or receiver first.
There a few things that make your choice easier for your first pick. If it is a PPR league (point per reception), then take a WR. Those extra few points add up at the end of the week. If it's a standard league, go ground and take a running back. Running backs usually are a huge staple of a team’s offense and will see better opportunities for TDs and yards. Players like LeVeon Bell and Jamaal Charles can catch passes as well and may be the exception to the rule for PPR leagues.
6. Be the first or last person to take a tight end.
This is a rule I made up, but it is gold when it comes to fantasy. The idea is simple: Either take Gronk and have a huge advantage over everyone at tight end, or wait until you are choosing between two tight ends that aren't as highly sought after. Everyone else except for the Gronk owner will be at a disadvantage at that spot, so why pay a premium for one, when you could be stacking up running backs and wideouts?
5. Draft a quarterback fairly late.
I usually wait until around the 7th or 8th round to take a QB, depending on the leagues rules and point scoring. Usually you can find good fantasy QBs like Eli Manning, who aren't impressive to many, but rack up plenty of garbage time points to get you a win. It's all about the value, baby!
4. Avoid stacking players.
Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr was a lethal combo for my team and enabled me to win my league last year, but in general stacking multiple players from the same team can be dangerous. You are basically banking on that team scoring a lot of points every week, and unless that offense is Pittsburgh or Green Bay, you will likely see a lot of, "boom-or-bust" production. If you take multiple players from the same team, try and get a RB and a WR and avoid the QB, that way you can play the match ups as you see fit.
3. Find the running backs, "handcuff."
This is important if you want to roster an injury-prone player like Jamaal Charles. While Charles is an elite RB when healthy, his concerns over his ankle and ACL make looking at his replacements worthwhile. Simply put, know the depth chart of the backs and if a back has a history of injuries, consider drafting the next man up.
2. Don't reach on a defense.
Defenses are random and vary from week to week. Even a low tier D/ST has the potential to put up big points, so it's not worth it to pay up for the big defenses like Carolina and Arizona
1. Have fun.
If you can't have a little fun when playing a game that revolves around you "managing" real players on a virtual team, then what's the point? I had a lot of fun with my league last year, from the constant jokes and ribbing, to the group messages, and the playoffs to cap a solid season. Have a solid strategy in place, but above all, have a blast!
