Fantasy Football For Beginners

Fantasy football is basically a fantasy league of 10 to 12 teams where the owners draft and play actual players from the NFL. Scoring touchdowns and gaining 100+ yards rushing and receiving are the most common ways these fantasy players score for your team but every league is different and rewards and penalizes (fumbles, interceptions, etc.) each position differently. While it may not sound that fun to a beginnner, and I'll admit I don't think fantasy football is great for a casual football fan, however, if you love NFL football, you'll love fantasy football.

Not only will you be watching your favorite team on Sundays, you will also be watching your team as well if possible. Many fantasy football websites have live scoring so literally as one of your players scores he will also score for your fantasy team. You'll also find yourself rooting against your opponents players which can be tricky. One game last season I was up against an opponent with Tony Romo but I had his tight end Jason Witten and running back Marion Barber on my team, so I was literally rooting for and against the Cowboys at the same time. If Romo threw a pass to my guy it was all good. A touchdown to TO, not so good.

Another thing you will grow to love (especially as you get better at fantasy football and winning games) is the rivalry that grows between siblings, coworkers, in laws, and friends. Every year my brother and I have a game in which the loser must wear a crazy hat to the next year's draft (only the first few rounds). It definitely adds some spice to the win when you take out a vaunted rival.

If you are new to the fantasy football world it can be a bit overwhelming your first season. Most of the other owners will usually be pretty serious owners and pretty intent on making sure to take advantage of your inexperience. I remember how nervous I was in my first fantasy football draft. The other owners all knew each other quite well and I barely knew any of them. Overall they were all cool people but they were definitely intent on destroying me on the fantasy field.

I've put together a small list of mistakes I made my first few years on fantasy football. I can't guarantee if you follow my advice you'll have a great year, but hopefully it'll help you on draft day and make things more comfortable for you. Once you feel comfortable in your league then its nothing but fun.

1. Try to keep emotion out of your picks - As hard as it may be its best to try and keep all emotions out of your draft. I've seen some crazy picks over the years due to the love of a certain player or a certain team. Burning a quality pick on a player you love but who is pretty mediocre on the fantasy football field is a quick way to end up as the bye week for your opposing teams and landing in last place.

2. Study your league's scoring rules - I'm a member of 8 fantasy scoring leagues and amazingly not one scoring system is the same, and many are very different than the others. The only real constants are touchdowns scored being worth the most points and usually a 100 yd game (or 300 yd for QB's) is worth some big points. After that its usually all over the place. Some leagues penalize your defense for too many yards given up, some leagues give one point per reception making receivers more of a threat. Study hard and try to match your leagues scoring rules to your player ranking list.

Also know your lineup structure well. The flex position can be a killer if you're not sure about it. A flex position is where you may start an extra starter if he qualifies at certain positions. For instance, a normal starting lineup will be 1 QB, 2 RB's, 3 WR's, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF. Usually a flex will be an extra RB, WR, or TE. If your league has a flex make sure you are deep at those positions as once those bye weeks hit and a few teams get bitten by the injury bug, you might be surprised who you are forced to start.

3. Free Agency Is Very Important - My first few seasons I always figured I had a good draft, that should be enough. Many times my teams would do well but run out of gas as the year progressed. I kick myself now as normally I would ignore free agency which is an excellent way to not only fill in holes for bye weeks and injury, but also a way to pluck some stars that come out of nowhere. Last season alone I had some QB problems and was one of the first to snag Derek Anderson. Anderson wasn't even a starter on his team last year to start the season and now he is ranked as high as #5 on a few ranking sheets I've seen (#7 on mine). Ryan Grant is another free agent who greatly helped my teams last year. He was one of the best fantasy backs to have the second half of the season. If you ignore free agency you will be at a disadvantage as the season progresses.

4. Remember Your Mistakes- Depending on your perspective it can seem like ages from when your fantasy season ends and draft time begins. At the end of your draft make some notes, some advice to yourself for next season. Every league is different and every owner is different. Sometimes I change my drafting strategy based off wacky picks made by other owners. Try to watch the draft board fill up and make it work for you. At the end of your fantasy season jot down some notes about your league. Its one thing to know your scoring rules, its another to see them in action in a season. Make it so that next season you'll be the vet taking advantage of any new owner's inexperience in your league.

5. If you are a huge NFL fan and can afford it get DirecTV's Sunday Ticket - While DirecTV's customer service is some of the worst I have ever experienced, their programming is some of the best. I've been with them 3+ years now and can tell you if you have the extra money and love watching all NFL football, then it is worth the $300+ to buy the Sunday Ticket. Basically you can watch every single game (in high def for $75 more) and my favorite, you get the red zone channel. The red zone channel means you never watch another commercial, punt, replay review that never ends, etc. The RZC skips from game to game, from touchdown to touchdown, and also shows you important highlights like fumbles and interceptions, basically the most exciting plays. If you don't see if live (i.e. 2 touchdowns at the same time) you'll see the replay or even a split screen. Its very fast paced and not for those who hate channel surfing, but if you are like me, its the perfect way to watch the games on Sunday.

On a side note DirecTV has the worst customer service in the world so make sure if you are getting new service expect issues and don't get stressed. E-mail correspondance is the only way I communicate with them so I have a record of what happened. If they screw up badly, talk to a manager, they should take some money off your bill.

6. Always Have Fun (don't take things too seriously) - Many times you can have a great draft and a great starting lineup only to see things blow up for you in mid-season. As a beginner you will be more prone to having a weaker team as the othes in your league know the scoring rules and other things you can only pick up through experience. One team I had last year had Marc Bulger, Rudi Johnson, Andre Johnson, and a host of other players performing very badly or getting injured. Many times your team will lose due to something totally out of your control. When a team blows up like this just keep putting out the best lineup you can and don't take the fantasy games too seriously.

There is one exception, if your team makes the playoffs this rule does not apply. There is nothing sweeter than winning your league and being able to brag about it throughout the remainder of the NFL playoffs, at the Super Bowl party, and of course all off season long and even during the next season's draft as you heckle your siblings and in laws incessantly. But in all seriousness, fantasy football is meant to be fun and should always be even if you have a struggling team. Usually a struggling team is rewarded with a nice draft slot so you can always look forward to next season. I think the key is to always try to have fun win or lose.