Pre-Draft Preparation and Cheat-sheets

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Before Draft day, there is much preparation to be done. Here is a list of the things to examine. Most of them are related to your cheat-sheets. Your cheat-sheets should be the results of your hard work. It is also important to know your league.

1) Know your league rules and scoring
This may appear obvious but many of the owners do not fully grasp the rules and scoring of their league. They may not know that Tight Ends get a 5 point bonus if they have over 5 catches per game or that interceptions are minus 2 points. Owners need to know how to pick up players for injuries and if their league has injured list spots or does the league have a waiver wire. You need to know all of the rules and how they will affect your team and what kind of backups you need to draft.

2) Customize your cheat-sheets
I will update and re-post the article from last season about why you need to customize and how to customize your cheat-sheets. In a nutshell, you need cheat-sheets which are specialized to your league and your preferences. Stay tune and the article will be posted in the next couple of days.

3) Overall and Positions with your cheat-sheets
It is important that your cheat-sheets should have an overall rankings of the players especially at the beginning of the draft. Equally important is the rankings of each position on your cheat-sheets. This allows you to easily find the best wide receiver left on the board, according to your rankings. During the draft, you usually have less than a minute to pick your next selection so you need quick access to your lists.

4) Tier your cheat-sheets
Along with the customizing the rankings, you need to Tier your lists. Tiers work by grouping players together that are comparable. You want to Tier the position rankings. It is not as important to Tier the over all list but some people find it helpful. The advantage of using Tiers give you a visual on the level of that position players left and will assist you in deciding when to draft a player.

5) Other important information on your cheat-sheet
It may be important to include other informaiton on your lists. The off weeks for the player is very important because you do not want to draft your top three running backs with the same off week. There may be other important infomation to include depending on your needs and your league.

6) Fantasy Mock Draft
Nothing prepares you for an event like practice. Fantasy Mock Drafts are your practice before Draft Day. There are a ton of sights that have mock drafts set up such as ESPN.com and NFL.com. Most allow you to pick your draft position so if you know your draft position ahead of time then you can practice from that position numerous times.

Do not expect your draft to go just like the Fantasy Mock Drafts because it won’t but it should give you an idea of where players are going in the draft. Face to Face drafts are much less likely go like a mock draft than an online draft.

7) Understand the tendencies of your league Owners
If you are in a reoccurring league, you can examine the draft tendencies of the owners over the seasons. Most of us are creatures of habits. Most will use similar draft strategies from year to year.

8) Know your own tendencies
If you know the tendencies of your fellow league owners, some of them are likely to know your tendencies. It is important to be aware of your tendencies and if you are tipping your next pick. When possible during the draft, it is good to occasionally change up slightly to cause confusion to your opponents but don’t do something crazy just to do it, like drafting a kicker in the first round.

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Early Round Fantsy Football Draft Strategy

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There are different philosophy and theories when looking at Fantasy Football drafts. We will examine some of the of the early round strategies and discuss advantages and disadvantages of these philosophies.

1) Running back/Running back
This has been one of the major strategies in Fantasy Football for a long time. Because quality running backs are in short supply, you pick a top back with your first and second picks. Usually you follow it up with a WR or QB in the third and fourth round and then take a back up RB by the fifth round.

Advantages:
The running backs are the most consistent score players over the course of the season and from season to season. They can be the bread and butter of your team. Having two studs can lead you to the playoffs.

Disadvantages:
The league has changed from every team having one premiere running back on a team to the running back by committee style which dominates the NFL. There are a handful of top running backs that are studs and are premiere players but not enough to get two unless you are extremely lucky. The running backs you will now get in the second round are often at the same level as a running back you can pick up in the fifth round.


2) Wide Receiver/ Wide Receiver
This strategy is like the RB/RB strategy but instead of RB in the first two round, you take the top Wide Receivers on the board. Third through fifth rounds, you usually try to get your two starting RBs and your QB.

Top level Wide Outs are also at a rarity. Getting one of the studs should be a top priority. Getting two can also lead you to the promise land.

Advantages: Two top wide receivers can more than make up for mediocre running backs.

Disadvantages: Wide receivers are not consistent producers from year to year. The top WR one season can easily fall out the top 10 the next year. I have seen this strategy back fire most of the time.



3) Best Quarter Back
This strategy picks the best QB available in the first round. This has been a pretty popular strategy over the last few years. It has been a balancing strategy in leagues where RB/RB dominated as the main strategy.

Advantages:
Pick up a stud QB to lead you team. Some leagues are very QB heavy and you need a top QB. If a QB has a super season like Brady had a few years ago, he can single handed win your league for you.

Disadvantages:
Quality Quarter Backs have become much more available. The NFL has become a pass happy league. There is at least 8 quality quarter backs. You can pick up a quality QB in the 3 round and after.


4) Top Tight End
This strategy often occurs in leagues which give special bonuses to Tight Ends. I appreciate leagues that do give extra bonuses for TE because often Tight Ends are less valuable to a team than their 4th WR. This strategy suggests drafting one of the top 5 (if not very top TE) in by the fourth round.

Advantages:
There are only a few truly stud Tight Ends out there.

Disadvantages:
Even in leagues which give extra bonuses to Tight Ends, the difference in a fourth round TE and 8 round Tight End are only a few points a game. Those points can be made up with picking up quality QB, WRs, and RBs. Tight End touchdowns vary extremely from season to season and if rarely see double digits.


5) Best Player on the Board
This strategy sounds easy and logical. You take the best player available to you in the first few rounds for your league rules. You do not worry about the shortage at a position or runs on positions.

Advantages:
Getting the best player available is a smart way to draft. It is the best way for an NFL team to develop and grow from the draft and will add the highest impact players to your team.

Disadvantages:
This method discounts the needs you have to fill out a starting roster with the best possible team over all. If the best player on the board according to your rankings are wide receivers for the first 4 rounds, then you have four great WR but no top QBs or RB and in most leagues you can only start 2-3 WRs.


6) Best Player With Balanced Approach
This is my favorite strategy. It calls for a balanced approach in the draft. Get the best player available when possible but you need to appropriately fill out your roster. If you hit the end of the third round with out a quarter back and their has been a run on QBs and only one left that you would consider a top level guy, then you should draft him even if you have him ranked far less than a WR or RB which is still left.

Advantages:
You are still looking for the best players available for your team. It allows you to make flexible changes as the draft goes on.

Disadvantages:
Some owners can not handle flexibility. They need a solid list to pick from or they may go off the deep end. This strategy can also lead to a team pulling the trigger on a player way too early because they think he will be gone before their next selection.


The Counselor is OUT:

Time to think Fantasy Football

The Counselor is IN:

The Baseball All Star game is currently going on. The All Star game is not just the traditional half way point for MLB, but it is time to pull out the fantasy football mindset and get to work. Many FF drafts will be occurring in less than a month. It is time to start making lists of players and examining strategies. The moment is upon us. If we do not start now, we might be the guy who is printing off the canned list from the 4 Letter network (not that their list is bad but it is not specific to your league or your needs).

The Fantasy Sports Counselor will be coming out of the fog and start posting regularly again. You can expect articles on how to prepare, strategies, and our list of players and values.

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Strasburg lives up to hype and delights

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I am not a fan of the Washington Nationals. I do not own Stephen Strasburg in any fantasy leagues (but after tonight I wish I did). I have no vested interest in Strasburg or his success. I admit the hype of the kid caught my attention. I tuned in to watch his first game in the Majors.

I know about his huge success in the minors but that is just the minors. I honestly thought he should have made the team at the end of Spring Training. I believed that he could be a decent starter for Washington.

I expected Strasburg to have a decent first game. I believed if he would give 3 earned runs over 6 innings and maybe strike out a handful, then it would be a successful first game. I never imaged that Strasburg would strike out 14 over 7 innings. He did give up a two run homer but then went on to strike out 7 in a row.

It is difficult to talk about a rookie pitcher being the real deal after one start against the Pirates. But this kid looks to be it a perennial Cy Young candidate. You never know if an injury or mental challenges may steal away his vitality. At least for this night, Stephen Strasburg lived up to his outrageous hype.


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360 Degree Inside look at Texas Stadium Implosion

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This is an amazing look at the implosion of Texas Stadium from the inside. You can move the image in full 360 degrees during the implosion and while paused. Check it out. It is mind blowing.





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