The Do's and Dont's of Fantasy Football

The "Do's" and "Dont's" of 

Fantasy Football

Welcome to Mr. Know it All's Draft Day and Season Tutorial. This is a post about what you should do, and what you shouldn't do in the days leading up to, on, and after your Fantasy Football draft day. Now, draft day is a very ceremonious time in a Fantasy Football league. It's the one day where all of your most cherished (or despised) fantasy football friends and foes get together in one room for one purpose, Fantasy Football. Draft Day is my most fun day of the Fantasy Football year. It's the one day where you can say to your buddies "I'm smarter than you, and I'm about to prove it,"  and not look like more of an ass than you usually do. That's why I think it's important to go over some tips and tricks to win your Fantasy Football Draft Day and hopefully, your league. 

We're one day away from the first game of the first week of Preseason football (not counting the Hall of Fame game). So if you've already drafted, you've already broken my number one rule of Fantasy Football draft day:

Rule #1: Don't, under any circumstances, draft before the preseason starts. - In fact, I wouldn't advise drafting until at least a week before Regular Season starts. Anything sooner than that and you're taking a massively unnecessary risk. The preseason is important to lots of people, especially Fantasy Football owners. Although the games are boring, and the players you came to watch don't play after the first quarter, there is a ton to learn from these games. First, you get a really good look at what the Depth Chart is going to look like come Week 1. Nobody wants to draft the guy that was "supposed" to start, just to find out that some guy from Training Camp and Preseason outplayed him and won the spot. It also shows you which guys are creeping up to stealing playing time away from your starting players. So wouldn't you much rather have this info before you draft? Second, players get hurt, it happens. Don't let it happen to one of your players in the preseason. If the guy you planned on drafting first suddenly tears or breaks something in the preseason, you don't have to feel the heartbreak. But if you already drafted him, you'll be crying yourself to sleep that night. Don't get mad at me, I just saved you from a night full of a gallon of ice cream and Lifetime movies to numb the pain. 

Rule #2: Don't draft your favorite player just because he's your favorite player. - My favorite player is Wes Welker. And just like you, I wanted my favorite player on my fantasy team. So last year, I traded DeMarco Murray for him. It wouldn't have been as bad if he hadn't right after gotten another concussion and missed the last three games of the year. Lesson learned. Unless your player is a first round talent, don't reach too far. This isn't saying that if your favorite player is still on the board at an appropriate time to draft that you shouldn't, because you should, that's the fun part of Fantasy. And it's totally a win-win if he's scoring a bunch of points.

Rule #3: Don't draft too many guys from the same team.  - Unless you have Peyton Manning, Knowshon Moreno, and Eric Decker from last year, this usually doesn't work out so well. The winner of my LoR last year won with those guys, we all thought he was a fool for starting all three. Boy we ate our words. Anyway, this rule is pretty self-explanatory. We all have a favorite team(s), go out and grab one or two guys from it if it's worth it, but don't try to fill your roster with them. Because more often than not, if one of the guys is having a really good game, it's usually at the expense of another player on the team. Don't be afraid to diversify.

Rule #4: Do your research - I start preparing for draft day well in advance, because I know that I'm going to need to know a lot of stuff about a lot of guys, especially going into the later rounds. So you have to read up on these guys as much as you can. Do they drop the ball a lot? Do they take a few plays off? Do they have a tendency to break their arm in a car wreck reaching for a sliding box of pizza? (You know who you are.) Don't be afraid to read up on guys that you didn't think were even draftable, you'd be surprised at what kind of value you can find with these guys that nobody else did. You could find last year's Keenan Allen. My general rule of thumb when reading about a guy is that I need to be able to identify him in a few categories. First, after reading a little about him, would I still draft him? Second, if I would draft him, what round would I be comfortable taking him? Third, do I get excited about drafting this player? (I play a lot with emotion, so if I don't get excited about my starting players, I try to get others.) and Fourth, would I be able to swap this guy into an essential role due to an injury or a bye week? There's really no need to waste your already limited roster space, so might as well put him to use. If you answered yes to most of these questions, that is a guy you should definitely target in your draft. You'll find that the more research you do, the more comfortable you will be on draft day. You wont panic when your first, second, or third prospect is taken because you'll know that number four is still just as much of a value. It's also very important to know your league's scoring well. If a certain position dominates in points in your league, target them early and often. Same goes with the opposite, avoid positions that don't score as well as others. Just don't forget, it's better to fill a roster spot with anybody than to not fill it.

Rule #5: Have fun! - I know it sounds really corny, but don't forget why you play. Because it's fun. It's so easy to get wrapped up in getting upset over a loss, or getting mad because a player didn't play up to his projections. But it's not the end of the world, and unless you're in the playoffs, it's not the end of the season either. Pick yourself up and move on to the next matchup, make some roster changes and move some stuff around if needed and move on. This rule doesn't just apply to the draft, it should apply to your season, and your general personality as well. Life sucks, don't forget to have some fun.

Rule #6: Dont quit. - If you've ever lost a few games in a row you know how frustrating it can be, but it's important that you not quit. It's not fair to yourself, and it's not fair to the guys that you're playing with. Just tough it out. Bad seasons happen, just learn from the time that you have left that year. If you made some bad trades, remember not to do that next year. If you drafted with the wrong strategy, make some adjustments and come back strong next year. Just don't quit. Don't trade your players to your friends in an effort to curve the league. Along with this rule I should mention that it is usually unwise to judge the strength of your roster based on the first half of the season. So if your team isn't doing as well as you thought they would, don't start trading and dropping your stars too soon. Wait it out and see if they shake the bad juju's.

Rule #7: Don't be afraid to make trades. - According to ESPN magazine, "In 2012, the four teams with the fewest number of roster changes from draft day to end of the season finished 10th, 8th, 9th, and 6th. In 2013, the four teams with the fewest roster changes finished 10th, 9th, 8th, and 7th." So it's important to consistently be looking for ways to better your team by trading and taking advantage of free agency. One quick tip I've found about successful trading is to never be too specific about what you're looking for from another player, that puts them in a situation to over sell you. If you wanted Trent Richardson really badly (silly you) and he was the RB2 on somebodies team, instead of saying "I want Trent Richardson," say something like "I'm looking for a RB2, what do you have to offer." If he offers up Trent and it's a good deal, great. If he offers you something worse than that, don't be afraid to walk away. When Trent starts doing less than that guy expected, guess who will be his first phone call. Then the ball is in your court. 

When all is said and done and you've drafted, and you're well into your season, don't be shy, refer back to this blog where I will post updates and players who are over-performing and under-performing. Use my advise and you'll have a definite edge on draft day and through the regular season.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you everything I know, or I would compromise my own success in my leagues. That comes from a really good piece of advice I read once that says:

 "There are two rules to success:

 1. Don't tell somebody everything you know. 

2.                                                               "

Good luck, hope you're not playing me.

-Mr. Know It All