| Background | My league | |
| Fantasy Football 101 | Things to know | |
| Variations | Links |
I don't know the exact history of fantasy football. I just learned
about in 1995 or so through my brother Victor (hey!). He ran the
Square League and invited me into it. I'd like to say that my first
year was great. That would be a lie. I stank. I stank
the joint up BADLY. I drafted Gary Brown as a starter, traded Ed
McCaffrey, and eventually traded Jerome Bettis, when "The Bus" ran on all
tires. But that's the great thing about fantasy football: you
can stink the first year but the next year, you can excel. Now, I
run the SLUGA league in Athens, GA and have a blast. We only
have seven owners this year, but hey, we have fun... and that's what this
is all about!
I started a FF league in 1998 and is in its fourth
year. It started as a redraft, total points, performance league.
This year, we moved to a head-to-head system with overall point considerations
for wildcards. When the league is larger, the season is split into
two halves, with each half winner earning a playoff spot. This year
the top two owners after the whole season will move on to the playoffs
and then the highest overall score will move on to the playoffs.
The scoring is high but is fair. One FA pick per
week. No Injury Reserve (IR) allowance this year. Open trading
and no pay-ins for transactions. We play for fun, and I feel it's
a fair league that has a great bunch of guys each year. It's a smaller
league, but again we play for the fun of it. This league is a branch
off of the Square League run by my brother Victor. He began that
league in the early 90's.
Click to see the scoring
summary
Click to see other
rules
Click to see this
year's progress
Fantasy Football is a game in which you draft real NFL players in hopes that their cumulative efforts will be better than those other guys in your league.
That's the short of it.
In fantasy football, players performances in real games are converted into "fantasy points". Different leagues have different scoring systems, but the goal in any system is to have your starting players score more fantasy points than the other owners. Players are picked through a draft system much like the real NFL (without the negotiations or holdouts). Usually you will draft more players than you start. Each week before the NFL games begin you are required to submit a starting lineup in which you pick which players you think will perform the best compared to the other players on your team. These starters' fantasy points are added up, giving you a weekly total. Most leagues come to a head with a playoff system. Not all leagues have a playoffs system, though.
In most leagues each week, you have the option of dropping a player from your roster and picking up a different player already not on a team. This is Free Agency and can improve your team. Most leagues allow trading, some don't. Some leagues cost money, others don't. Some leagues make you pay to make a free agent move or trade transaction, (hopefully) most don't.
There are many different types of leagues. Each has their own scoring system and just different in nature. Here's a breakdown of basic variations you will find in fantasy football. This may not be all-inclusive but is what I've discovered so far.
Basic overall league formats: (note that some leagues
may use a combination of these basic formats)
Total points: Weekly scores are combined, and the
cumulative scores decided who wins/goes to playoffs. Downside: less
trash talk; you can suck for weeks on end and then excel enough to make
it into playoffs. Upside: an overall fair system.
Head-to-head: Weekly scores are compared to one
owner each week. A schedule is made before the season begins outlining
when owners face each other. The owners with the most wins week to
week win/advance to playoffs. Downside: you may score the most
overall and still lose. Upside: more like the NFL; better opportunity
to talk smack.
Power head-to-head: Head-to-head vs. everyone in
the league each week. Best record at the end of the season wins.
Downside: kind of ridiculous, why not use overall points? Upside:
when you win, your team looks really good.
Total points hybrid: You get a win for scoring
in the top half of your league for that week, a loss for scoring in the
bottom half that week, and a tie for tying for a middle spot or an equivalent
to this. Downside: you score a gazillon points in week 1, 2,
& 3 and lead in points at the end of the season, but not get in playoffs
because you "lost" the remaining weeks; possibly the silliest method.
Upside: better than straight up head-to-head and makes you be good
the full season; possibly the fairest method (but fair does not equal good).
Rotisserie (also called "roto"): The stats for
players are combined. Each owner is ranked by accumulated overall
totals for specific stats (e.g., TDs, receiving yards, interceptions, etc.)
from highest to lowest. The owner's rankings are added together.
The owner with the best overall combined ranking wins. Downside:
you could lead by 1000 yards in one stat but only lead the next guy by
one point. Upside: an interesting change of pace.
Player scoring variations:
Performance: An NFL player's performance stats
are converted to fantasy points. In this style, as indicated by its
name, your points are based on how a player performs overall. More
time commitment. More strategy.
TD-only: An NFL player's score is based on the
points he scores in real time only. Receptions, yardage, and carries
do not factor in to the scoring. Less time commitment/thinking.
League draft style:
Redraft: Each year, owners draft new players.
Good for transient people and players. Low commitment from year-to-year.
Keeper: Owners draft in first year, and the following
year are allowed to keep a certain, specified number of players from the
prior year before drafting. Involves year-to-year commitment to make
fun.
Dynasty: A more elaborate keeper league.
Playing in this league is not confined to the NFL season, but carries over
between seasons. A VERY "EXTREME" FORM OF FANTASY FOOTBALL.
For experienced and highly committed players ONLY.
Things to know about Fantasy Football
First and foremost, to win, you must dedicate time. Having fun
is one thing and it IS fun playing, but if you can't commit the time to
WIN, then you won't.
Second, know the game. If you don't understand football, you
won't get this game.
Third, learn this: "you will be wrong more than you will be right."
Lenny Pappano of Draftsharks.com stated this. It's a good thing to
remember. Know that you will not have the-best-of-the-best, but try
to choose the best of what's left. As in football, fantasy football
is a team effort.
Fourth, if it's your first year ever, you will lose. Very few
exceptions to this rule, but use your first year to learn the system and
then take charge the next year. Consider yourself an "expansion"
team.
Lastly, have fun!!!!
Fantasy Football Today -
Good site for fun reading, depth charts, and updates.
NFL.com -
The official website of the NFL. Their fantasy service powers
SLUGA. Their gamebooks are reliable and easy to read.
ESPN -
Good updates on the injury lists; box scores available. Not much
else in terms of fantasy stuff.
Sandbox -
Free fantasy sports games of all sorts.
Fanball -
Free fantasy football game. Good roto news service.
CBS Sportsline -
Free fantasy sports. They merged their fantasy service with NFL.com,
so the two are pretty much the same now.
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If you have any questions, comment, or would like to
be added to the links section, contact me at laddiator@collegeclub.com