Insult to Injury

With the end of the season in sight, I can see that the end won't be pretty.  I couldn't pull off the miraculous surge to make the post season, my team was injury plagued all year, and now I can't even win when the pressure is off.

There's a moral dilemma which seems to present itself around this time in the season.  Does an owner, whose team is dead in the water, need to continue to try to win games?

My league has an interesting feature that keeps lame duck owners interested.  The team with the most overall points accumulated throughout the season gets a piece of the prize money.  There is a problem with this however.  If you are in last place, like myself, chances are that you do not have anywhere near the most points among the teams.

So in all actuality it's kind of insulting.  You spend all season trying to put together the best team possible, only to fail over and over again.  Sure there were bouts where you thought you were on top of the world, but in the end you have to slump back to the reality that your team flat out sucks.  Now your expected to keep the charade going even after you have no business in winning a dime.

It's over... Everybody knows it, yet we continue to set our line-ups like the responsible fantasy managers that we are.  When it's all officially said and done, there's a good chance that I will still be in last place, which continues to add insult to injury.  I guess I can look forward to receiving my leagues toilet bowl shaped trophy for coming in last place.

Stick a Fork in It

It's over when it's over, ain't it baby ain't it.
rips you like a dagger, can it baby can it.
Wish we could do it over, damn it baby damn it.
We had it in the air, we just couldn't land it.
- Eric Church "Over When it's Over"

These lyrics may be about a failed relationship, but what better way to sum up where I'm at with my season.  Overall, the connection I have with my team is like a relationship. This year it was a rocky one, but it's a relationship.

I have to give my team attention.  Without attention a fantasy team will fail, just like a relationship.  A fantasy team needs loyalty.  An owner who doesn't show his team some loyalty will have a widely different roster each week, which most likely isn't a good thing.  A good owner has to spend time with his team.  I'm not saying you need to hangout with the professional players, as cool as that would be; but you need to spend time thinking about your roster each week.  Comparing match ups and keeping an eye on injuries, picking only the players that will give your team the best chance of winning.

Comparing a fantasy team to a human relationship isn't as big of a stretch as one might think.  Sure you'll have some ups and downs, but in the end it's the thought that counts.  My relationship was a failure, but there's always next year to start over and try again.  We may not have worked out too well, but just like any tough breakup, you'll be back for more sooner or later.

For the rest of the year, I will focus on not finishing in last place, regardless of the fact that I will not be making the playoffs.

Mathematical Madness

With two weeks left in the regular season, I think I may still have a chance at a playoff spot?  I'm really not sure anymore.  I'm at four wins and seven losses, and I'm in eleventh place, but I think I still have a chance.

Only the top six teams make the playoffs.  There are three teams with the same record as myself.  So, if they all lose I would move into ninth place (if I win).  Now if the teams in sixth, seventh, and eighth place lose this week and lose again in the final week of the regular season; and at the same time I win my next two match ups I'm in.  Did I lose you yet? I'm not even sure that this is making sense in my own head...

What I'm getting at is that I'm on my last leg.  A loss for me in the next two weeks would completely crush the last breathe that I'm still hanging on to.  With the way my year has been going, I wouldn't be surprised if I get completely blown out this week.

IF the stars align, I can make one of the biggest comebacks in the history of our league.  If they don't, I'll have one the most brutal seasons in my fantasy football career.  At least I can find comfort in the fact that I'm no longer in last place... for now.

Inner Peace

This is the first week in a very long time where I feel completely confident in my team.  My team went through a major overhaul prior to last week's match up, and that overhaul paid off.

One of the biggest helps to my fantasy roster last week was Riley Cooper.  If this guy is still available in your league, do yourself a favor and pick him up ASAP.  Cooper is showing excellent chemistry with QB Nick Foles.  Cooper has close to 400 yards and six touchdowns in the last seven games.  I jumped on Cooper right after his hat-trick touchdown game a few weeks ago and haven't been disappointed.  I finally have a receiver who is producing major yardage, and doing it while staying healthy (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!)

In other news, Matt Ryan is going to be my starting quarterback again this week.  "Why do I care?" you may find yourself asking.  Well, Ryan is been going through a major rough patch with his two receivers and starting running back out.  Ryan will face the Swiss-cheese Tampa Bay defense this week, and also gets wide receiver Roddy White back in the line-up.  If Matt Ryan can't pull his head out of his ass this week, consider letting him ride the pine for a little while.  Give your back up a chance and see how it goes; however, don't jump the gun and start Ryan this week.  Part of my overhaul was picking up undefeated QB Alex Smith (don't you love the things people throw away on bye weeks?)

I finally have some healthy running backs.  Picking up Andre Brown of the Giants was one of my best moves of the season this far (clearly haven't had too many highlights this season).  Brown should continue to shoulder the load in the Giants running-back needy offense.  Injuries also played a key role for me in other pick ups at RB.  Rashad Jennings of the Oakland Raiders took over at running back for the injured Darren McFadden.  Jennings has been producing solid number and could help save my crippled season from slipping completely out of control.

I'm really confident with my roster this week.  At this point in the season I've managed to pull myself out of last place (but not by much) so I'm feeling a little cocky.  My team looks healthy and ready to produce better numbers than ever before.  I'm not sure how I ended up with this rag-tag group of players (the team I drafted is almost completely gone) at this point, but I'm a desperate man.  I've got nothing to lose, but maybe this is the fire under my ass that I've needed all along.  I'm still a long shot for a playoff birth, but anything is possible in a league where four teams are at 4-6 on the season!

Bad Blog

1. A blog should use strong examples.
2. A blog should relate to a broad audience.
3. A blog should be unique.
4. A blog should draw readers in with some kind of humor.
5. A blog should contain useful information.

Exactly what you don't want to see in a blog post, is exactly what I'm about to give you:

Matt Ryan threw 3 interceptions two weeks ago.  I benched him this week.
Joe Flacco replaced him as my QB for this week.
Bilal Powell received less carries during that week as well.  This resulted in disappointment and less fantasy points for owners.
The Giants had a bye.  With that said, none of their players were of any use that week.
The Giants played the Oakland Raiders this week.
The Jaguars are still the worst team in football.  This leaves most of their players completely useless in the fantasy domain.
Injuries continue to plague fantasy teams across the globe.  This can ruin playoff potential.

The Struggle

Having sure-fire fantasy options like Arian Foster and Matt Ryan on your team would probably make you feel confident in your team right?  Well here I am in week 10 at 3 wins and 6 losses with both of these "sure-fire" options on my bench.

The writing has been on the wall all year for Foster.  He didn't take a single snap all pre-season, yet every fantasy football manager was quick to jump on Foster.  Not only jump on him, but jump early.  Most drafts saw Foster go first round.  Most likely, many leagues saw him go with the first or second pick.  How disappointed must his fantasy owners be?  Well, as a fantasy owner of Arian Foster, let me answer that... Disgruntled.  I thought Arian Foster would put up big numbers this year.  I'm not saying he doesn't play well, but the guy ends up benched more times than not with some kind of injury.  He's killing his owners... and me!

Matt Ryan hasn't been a big help lately either.  With his top two wide receivers sidelined with injuries, Ryan hasn't been able to produce the all-star quality numbers we're used to seeing from him.  Last week the poor guy threw 3 interceptions and 1 touchdown....  AWFUL!!!  I had the worst fantasy performance of my career, partially do to that sub-par kind play!

Can anybody help me out?

You can say that this was a rebuilding week for me... I made six waiver wire moves.  Picked up Andre Brown, who has the unique opportunity to come back from an injury and almost walk into a starting role at running back for my beloved New York Giants.  Hopefully his newly healed leg stays strong... with the way my season has been going, I wouldn't be surprised if Brown goes down the first time he lays a finger on the ball.

Overall, I'm hurting.  My team can't stay healthy.  PERIOD.

Call me the Hit Man

This week marks the third consecutive week that my team has lost a player to injury.  Three weeks ago, I Reggie Wayne left my roster with a gaping hole after blowing out his knee.  Brandon Gibson of Miami was brought in to plug up that hole, only to blow out his knee around half time.  I scrambled to find another decent receiver... I figured I'd give the "semi-solid" Jeremy Kerley a chance to help me out... Well, this week Kerley left the Jets' game prior to halftime with what appears to be a fractured elbow...

What did I do to have to endure this injury spree?

Just call me the hit man.  Any receiver you want off the field... I'll take care of 'em.  All it takes is an opportunity to start on my roster.  One game and I guarantee he'll be done for the rest of the year.

I can't believe that three weeks in a row I have had three players go down with potentially season-ending injuries.  I'm nervous to start any wide receiver that I want to keep on my team for any length of time.  At this point there are barely any wide receivers available that are worth a pick up.  I'm going to hope that this plague doesn't stretch to my #1 receiver Jordy Nelson.  If it does... well let's just hope it doesn't because he's the only guy left on my fantasy roster that has been dependable every week.

Injuries have ravaged my roster all year (part of the reason that I'm in last place).  I'm barely holding on to a chance to make the playoffs.  Thank God that this league is so close (first place is 5-3 and last place is 3-5).

 I'm going to try to fill my WR void with Aaron Dobson from the New England Patriots.  I would like to take the chance right now to apologize to everyone involved in the Patriots' organization for whatever is about to happen to Dobson due to my recent acquisition.  (Can he stay healthy?)

The New York Jets?

Back at the draft, one Jets player was selected for a team.  He was selected late in the draft and wasn't even meant to be a starter. That player was Chris Ivory, a strong veteran who was expected to be the lead RB in the Jets' timeshare style run game.

If you would have told me that by week 7 of the season that I personally would have more Jets players on my team than any other roster, I would have told you that you were insane.

But guess what...
I have three.

Having 3 players from any team seems like a lot, let alone from the Jets. The players I picked up are sure fire fantasy options.  Bilal Powell was an early pick up for me this season once it was expected for him to remain the starter at running back.  This week, I picked up Jeremy Kerley.  Kerley has 319 receiving yards on 24 catches.  He's also added 2 touchdown so far this season.  Kerley may not seem like a great receiver, but after last weeks spectacular performance against New England the receiver looks like he's going to be targeted more by rookie quarterback Geno Smith.  The third Jet on my roster was also added this week.  I added kicker Nick Folk.  He's been a solid kicker so far this year (even with the Meadowlands being one of the hardest environments to kick in).  I'll probably get rid of Folk next week when Vinatieri is off of his bye week.  Still, having a solid back up kicker during a bye week is always a helpful piece of mind.  

The guys I picked up are not the only fantasy options from the Jets.  The Jets defense is playing well and could easily be a starting option.  Stephen Hill is a possible option at wide receiver.  He isn't much different than Kerley; having 317 yards on 19 catches with 1 touchdown of his own.  Even rookie QB Geno Smith is starting to gian some respect, putting up numbers solid enough to be stashed away on a roster, ready to play in the event of an injury or bye week.

Injury Ravaged

The amount of injuries that my team suffered this week is incomprehensible.  The biggest injury this week is Reggie Wayne.  The guy is a living legend in the NFL, and to think he may never play another snap is terrible news for football fans of every team.  Reggie was an extremely important asset to my team.  He was one of the guys who consistently put up big numbers.  His absence on my roster will be felt immensely, especially since I'm still struggling to get out of last place. I have to add though, before his unfortunate knee injury Wayne put up 10 points.  Had his injury not taken place, he probably would have scored another touchdown.  I'm looking at picking up Brandon Gibson to fill this role.  In a league that gives a point every time the player catches a ball,  Gibson has 29 catches this year.  That's 9 less than Wayne, but still a respectable amount of catches. Cathces= opportunity for touchdowns, and I like those odds.

Another injury that came about this week was Jay Cutler.  Cutler was my back up QB, but he was a damn good one.  I wasn't afraid to play Cutler when my starting quarterback had a bye or an injury.  With Cutler being out a minimum of 4 weeks, I have no option but to cut the veteran QB.  As helpful as he was to my team, Cutler won't be giving me any points when he isn't on the field.

Arian Foster put a damper on my team's performance this week as well.  Foster left week 7's game with an injury.  Prior to leaving the game, Foster provided me with a measly single point.  My running backs have struggled all year, and with this injury my RB's combined for 4 total points this week... Yikes...  All I can hope for is that Foster is good to go for next week.

Needless to say, I lost this week's match-up.  I fall to 2-5 on the season and maintain my position at the bottom of the league.  At this point, the playoffs are still a possibility, but that possibility is fading quickly.  I need to turn this season around... and fast.

Rooting Against Your Players

Every fantasy owner is a fan of the sport.  With that said, every fantasy owner has their favorite teams.  Now, mangers of fantasy football teams want nothing more than to see two things during a given week.  They want to see their fantasy team dominate, and they want to see their favorite teams come out with a win.  Sounds simple enough right?

Well sometimes you can't always get what you want.  Sometimes you find yourself needing to either root against your starting fantasy roster, or rooting against your favorite team.  It only makes that decision harder when it's a major player on your roster going up against your favorite team. 

This internal struggle isn't even something that you can control.  You sit around watching the game hoping that by some statistical miracle you can get the best of both worlds.  You hope your fantasy QB throws for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns, but you hope to see that your starting teams QB throws for 350 yards and 3 scores.  You pray that your fantasy wide receiver catches a deep bomb for a touchdown pass and then is held scoreless by your favorite team for the rest of the game. 

The internal struggle comes down to a matter of morals.  You pay money to play fantasy football so of course you want your best chance of winning, but at the same time you've been rooting for your favorite team since you were a child.  The internal struggle keeps you torn all the way up until the game is over.  If your favorite team wins, then you don't feel that you sold out for the love of money.  However, if your fantasy player does great and your favorite team loses, you feel a sense of betrayal toward your team. 

This past week I personally had this dilemma.  My beloved New York Giants played against the Chicago Bears.  My normal quarterback was on a bye week, and Jay Cutler of the Bears was there to fill the vacant slot.  I found myself hoping for one of these statistical miracles that I mentioned above.  They've happen for me in the past.  Why would this game be any different?  Of course, in typical Giants' fashion, they fell to the Bears on Thursday night and Cutler posted some great stats, playing a crucial role in my fantasy victory this week.  Leaving me with a bittersweet taste in my mouth for the weekend.

Bye Weeks

In the world of fantasy football, bye weeks can be deadly.  This can be especially true if you have multiple players sitting out in a given week.  Star players who give teams their biggest point totals aren't immune to bye weeks, and sometimes your bad luck can all be based around timing. 

This past week I faced every fantasy owner's fear of having to play your back-up quarterback.  Lucky for me, my backup is Jay Cutler; a player who is considered a starter in many other leagues.  This occurrence was just luck.  Most fantasy owners starting back-up quarterbacks struggle, often ending in defeat for their teams.  I on the other hand, had a dominating performance and found myself with my second victory of the year.  I even got to take down the #1 team in the league!  Quite the feat for a guy still sitting in last place. 

This week could also prove to be a winner for me.  My adversary will see the downfall of having a starting QB on a bye week; forcing him to start Seattle Sea hawks quarterback Russell Wilson.  This may not seem like such a terrible option, however, his QB is normally Drew Brees.  Brees is an absolute all-star, and any week with him on the bench is going to hurt.   

When super-stars like Brees, or Arian Foster, or Peyton Manning have a week off, fantasy owners can feel like they have no chance.  Just take a deep breathe.  Every team faces the dreaded bye week, and every team moves through it.  You prepared for this way back during the draft!.. Or at least you should have.  Drafting 2 players, who play the same position (this applies to all positions), who have the same bye week is just poor research beforehand.  This late in the season you should still be able to pick up a starter in free agency.  It may not be a standout player, but you need him (at least for this week).   

My team is at full strength this week.  No injuries. No bye weeks to worry about.  I feel pretty optimistic that I can take down my buddy's weakened roster.  A victory against him this week could put me right back in the hunt for a playoff birth.

Last week my league saw me pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year thus far.  This week they may see me crawl out of the league's basement, dirty and tattered, but with playoff hopes in hand. 

Beef with the Commish

This morning I woke up to an interesting post in my league's message boards.  The league commissioner wrote a lengthy post regarding a change in the rules for next season.  Commissioner Pete stated that next season there will be a limit on the amount of moves that a team can make.

This proposed cap would devastate a team who had a weak draft... Which is exactly what happened to my team this year...

Hey Commish, maybe you forgot (since your team is at the top of the league), free agency is a crucial part of the fantasy football experience.  Any factor limiting me from building the strongest team possible with the players available to me seems cruel to a struggling team!  I mean if your team is already having a rough time, making it harder to get off the ground is just salt on the wound.

Commissioner Pete thinks that this proposed cap would "give the draft more validity."  Now let's remember, the draft takes place before the season even starts.  How am I supposed to know that an unknown rookie like Giovani Bernard is going to take the starting position from a seasoned veteran like BenJarvus Green-Ellis in week four of the season? Some things just can't be foreseen.  And what about injuries?  Last time I checked, those can't be predicted either.  Drafting back-ups has never proved to be a profitable addition to a roster.

Now, you may be thinking  that it's a little early to be thinking about next season. However, when a decision like this is being considered, it needs to be shot down as soon as humanly possible.  This is especially true when you find yourself making more free agency moves than any other team on a consistent basis...

Quiet... too quiet...

This week has been uncharacteristically quiet for my fantasy squad.  No injuries.  No bye weeks for any of my players.  Not even any trash talk from my buddies (probably due to the fact that I finally pulled myself out of last place).  During the week, I'm usually sitting around adding players and dropping guys who aren't producing well, but this week there was very minimal amounts of that going on.

This can probably be attributed to my first win last week.  Everything went well for me. Every member of my starting roster put together a stellar performance that any fantasy owner would be proud of.  Last year was a downward spiral from the top of the leader board; maybe this year can be a graceful climb from the cellar. It's easy to get caught up in thoughts like that when your team produces such a bountiful week.

Even with last weeks success,  this week was overly quiet.  I can't help but to think that something terrible awaits me tomorrow or Monday night.  Worst case scenario would be losing one of my running backs, a position where my team has been already weak all year.  Losing my QB would also prove disastrous to my already wounded season.  I almost wish that something bad would have happened during this week's practices, just to get it out of their system, so that come Sunday I could have a healthy core roster.

I could just be paranoid.

Maybe this weeks games go off without a hitch.  Maybe I win another match up.  But then again, maybe I don't.  Maybe my season becomes unrevivable on a fluke injury or an unjustifiable hit.  The guys in the league will call me the minuet something like that happens (and let's get this straight, it won't be a call trying to cheer me up about my terrible luck; it will be a call rubbing in every season ending detail).

Anyway I look at this possible calm before the storm,  I'll just have to see how it plays out tomorrow and Monday.

Mid Week

Tuesdays,Wednesdays, and Fridays are pretty boring days in the fantasy football world.  The excitement of a Sunday and Monday full of football are over, and the one Thursday night game a week doesn't include enough players to really affect your team.  Sure these days are great opportunities to pick up some free agents to boost your roster, but this only provides a brief break from the midweek lull.

I often find myself setting my starting roster for the week on Tuesday.  Once again, it's only a brief break from the otherwise uneventful day.  Staring at my phone and scrolling through my roster a thousand times a day just to check player updates that rarely change is the only way to really pass the time.  No trash-talking with the guys.  No close match ups to keep you engaged.  No football.

So hear I am blogging about fantasy football.  Just trying to kill the dullness that is Wednesday.  Tomorrow nights' game between the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns should be a good game.  With that said, neither team has many fantasy standouts (especially with CJ Spiller banged up).  Maybe Jordan Cameron would peak your interest if you're in the market for a tight end.  Like I have said in the past, sometimes you need to look past the team they play for in order to find the "Diamond in the Rough" type players.  Any football is better than no football at all, but this mid week slow down really puts a damper on the excitement that is fantasy football.

First Victory

This week, my miserable 0 win 3 loss streak came to a screeching halt.  Not only did I win my match-up, but I had the second highest point total out of all the teams this week (this is a big deal for a team whose been terrible in the first 3 games). I came in 10 points behind the team that had Adrian Peterson and Demaryius Thomas, two guys who are unstoppable forces in the NFL this year.  Needless to say, I feel pretty confident about the changes I've made so far this season.

This week I beat my buddy Mike.  This detail wouldn't matter, except for the fact that Mike is notorious for being defeated by the cellar dweller's of the league.  See, last season there was a guy named Bruce in our league.  Bruce had a terrible draft and an even worse season.  He won two games all year, however, both wins were against the same team... Mike's team.  Mike ended up missing the playoffs last year by one game, meaning that if he had just beaten Bruce once, like the rest of us had done, he would've made the playoffs.

Instead of looking at this win as a shift in my bad luck, I should take it as an omen of what has the possibility to come.  There's a chance that I could be the "Bruce" of this season.

Beating Mike has so far not been a difficult thing to do... if you're in last place.  I think I need to continue to make moves in order to continue my climb out of the league's basement.  For instance, I NEED a decent tight-end (I can't afford to climb out of the basement with a tight end only producing 2 points a game).  I'm looking to pick up Delainie Walker, the starter in Tennessee.  This week my QB Matt Ryan threw for over 400 yards and 2 TD's, my RB Arian Foster decided to show up and be a force to recon with for the 1st time so far this season.  My WR Reggie Wayne also went for 100 yards and a touchdown.  If my guys come together like this every week, I would be at the top of the league in no time.  However, I know this is unlikely to happen again.  With that being said, I would like to thank my good friend Mike for allowing yet another last place team to springboard their season off of his defeat.

Monumental Trade Day

Today is a monumental day in my fantasy football league!

For the first time in 3 years, a trade was executed.  I was the monumental leader of this movement.  Now, for most fantasy footballers, this probably doesn't seem like a big deal.  For the people in my league, this is a reason to take note.  See this is a feat that has not been accomplished in the prior three seasons. This is not because of any kind of difficulty, but because it is the slowest process in which you can add a player to your roster.  First, you have to find some semi-decent player on your roster that you want to get rid of.  Then, you need to present them in such a way that you can convince your buddy that they need to give you one of their players, that you find useful, in exchange.  So really, being a good salesman is part of the act.  Then you have to wait it out a couple of days to make sure that no one else in the league wants to oppose the trade.  Usually nobody does, but what do I  know; this is the first time in 3 years that this has occurred!

Now you see why this is a rare event.

It's so much easier to add and drop players, quickly bringing them onto your team, with no outside factors weighing in on the decision.  By the way, this week I added Bilal Powell of the Jets.  Before you pass a guy like that up, you have to consider his 226 rushing yards and 66 receiving yards in 3 weeks.  Sometimes you need to look past the team they play for to expose a great "diamond in the rough" type player (unless it's the Jaguars... Stay far away from that offensive disaster).

Because the league hasn't seen a trade in 3 years, I'm looking forward to having this achievement follow me around.  I can hear next year's draft already, "With the 5th overall pick in the 2014 fantasy football draft, Tyler, the only man to execute a trade in this league's storied 3 seasons, selects..."  So for all of you  who think this isn't a big deal, you're probably right.  However, in this small group of friends, I have provided them with enough material to keep them amused for weeks to come.  Sometimes it's not all about the move, but rather how your buddies can turn it into the biggest deal possible and have it be your legacy.

Out on a Wire

The waiver wire is one of the most frustrating aspects in fantasy football.  Seeing that little "W" next to an available all-star puts even the most confident fantasy owners on edge.  I'll explain it like this, every week team owners add and drop players in ways that they think are useful.  When a player is dropped from a team, he is then up for grabs for any other team in the league, however, the team with the worst record (which is currently myself) gets preference.  If you're in last place, congratulations on your newest team acquisition.  If you're at the top of the leader board, good luck... Every other team gets a chance to scoop up that player before you do. So enjoy the bottom while you're there (I am!), because although you're losing, you're getting the first crack at all the available players.

Overall, a fantasy football league with the guys from my work is a great way to promote some competition in the otherwise mundane routine.  But the waiver wire can create some animosity.  The waiver wire can plunge an otherwise unstoppable team into mediocrity with no warning (leaving you completely vulnerable to any and all heckling).  Last year I started the season off with 6 straight wins, and I walked around that office like I was a football guru who had all the answers.  Fast forward to the following week, and my top player breaks his leg.  With no other super-star RB's available that late in the season (being at the top meant I was ostracized from coming anywhere near picking up anybody who could save my season), I spiraled into a losing streak that barely even landed me in the playoffs.  It's not like the guys at work would let something like that go, and every time I showed up for work I was presented with some comment about my money being a nice contribution to the winner's bank account.

So don't worry if your team starts off a little slower than the rest of the teams.  Take this time to enjoy the fruits of the waiver wire and make the changes that can help pull your roster out of the gutter.  A slow climb to the top gives you a lot more ammo for trash talking, than a downward spiral from the top of the league.

Draft Day

Draft Day

I know it's a little late to talk about fantasy football drafts since we're already 2 weeks into the start of the NFL season.  With that being said, I feel that the draft is such an important part of the fantasy season that no fantasy football blog would be complete without at least posting one article about it.  

Over the course of my fantasy career I've experienced both the live drafts and online drafts.  I'm here to tell you that the online draft cannot even hold a candle to its live counterpart.  Live drafts are completely unpredictable (especially after a couple hours of free beer).  There's something about picking your spot in the draft order based on your name getting pulled out of a hat, that makes the game more personal.  Just a group of friends (or co-workers, or family members, or strangers, or maybe a combination of all of them) coming together to kick off the start of the season.  The heckling is one of the best aspects of the live draft that you just don't get in the online version.  One of the biggest signs of a good pick is having one of your best friends call you every derogatory name under the sun because you drafted their favorite QB before they got the chance.  

Now let's get to the actual picks.

Every fantasy football manager has their own strategy for drafting players. Of course, the top RB's go first (Peterson, Foster, Spiller, etc.), followed by the top QB's (Peyton, Brady, Brees), but after that it's strategy.  Personally, I like to draft solid veteran players.  Guys who over the years have proven their fantasy worth time and time again.  For instance, this year I scooped up Reggie Wayne earlier than most people would have (4th round).  Everybody threw their two cents my way, saying he was old, washed up, and not going to produce good stats... good thing I didn't listen to any of it.  Two weeks in and Mr. Wayne is the #1 receiver in Indianapolis, a team that threw the ball more than anybody else last season.

This year's live draft was utterly surprising.  A ton of players who are sure fire fantasy studs didn't even get drafted.  I can see that leading to owners making drastic changes to their original roster selections.  I personally already snatched up Julian Edelman, the #1 receiver on the Patriots' depleted roster (you can't go wrong with Tom Brady throwing to your guys).  In order to pick up this undrafted gem of a receiver, all you need to do is drop some excess from your roster ( I let go of an extra defense... why I drafted 2 defenses in the first place is a mystery to me).  

I couldn't miss an opportunity to post about this years draft.  Check out some of my future posts to see some of the upcoming fantasy stars that can help your roster.