Fantasy Football Sleepers - Kicker Rankings in Fantasy Football 2009

Kickers are generally drafted in the last 2 rounds of Fantasy Football Drafts. Since most Fantasy Football leagues have 12 owners, your goal is to pick one of the top 12 scoring kickers in the league. There are 32 NFL teams, so you have a better than even chance to get a top 12 kicker, even in a blind draw. The difference between the best kicker and the 12th ranked kicker is only about 2 points per game. Everyone knows Gostkowski et al, but who are the true sleepers out there? Read on and pick up some extra points about sleeper kickers.

Sleeper #1

Rian Lindell of the Buffalo Bills finished the 2008 season as the 11th ranked fantasy producer at his position. However, that came in a year that saw one of his worst conversion rates ever, 79%. Because of this, he will fall in most owner's eyes. When one looks deeper into his stats, you see that he was forced to attempt as many kicks from 40+ yards last year as his previous 2 years combined! This means that with the coming of WR Terrell Owens to Buffalo opposite Lee Evans, more attempts from 25 to 35 yards are almost guaranteed, due to the fact that Buffalo has the 13th easiest schedule for WRs. I look for production in the 138 point range, a steal as your last draft pick.

Sleeper #2

Garrett Hartley was perfect as a rookie for the New Orleans Saints last year, while playing in only 8 games. In a standard scoring format, he scored 67 points, which extrapolates to 134 points in a complete season. Getting 8+ points from a kicker you may be able to pick up in the last round is a great value, and you know Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas are going to move the ball. Kicking in a dome doesn't hurt either, and I look for the second year kicker to see about 135 points this year.

Every year, one owner gets itchy and takes a Gostkowski or Akers with 3 or 4 rounds to go, and touches off a kicker run. DO NOT get caught up in this, pick your kicker last, and take one of the sleepers mentioned above to produce maximum value. Sure a steak dinner for $15 is nice, but if you can get a hamburger for a nickle, it sure as heck tastes better.

Fantasy Football Quandary - Are Targets a Vital Statistic?

It seems the trendy statistic in the NFL is the number of targets a player receives. Quite simply, it's the number of times the ball is thrown to a player. Obviously it's important that a player gets thrown to in order to put up numbers, but is it being over-hyped?

Here are the top 12 targeted WRs (Statistics as of 10/16/09):
Andre Johnson - 52
Nate Burleson - 49
Steve Smith (NYG) - 49
Randy Moss - 48
Reggie Wayne - 48
Chad Ochocinco - 46
T.J. Houshmandzadeh - 45
Steve Smith (CAR) - 43
Santonio Holmes - 41
Calvin Johnson - 41
Wes Welker - 41
Hines Ward - 40

Now here are the top 12 fantasy WRs (non-PPR leagues):
Steve Smith (NYG) - 72.1
Reggie Wayne - 69.9
Andre Johnson - 67.7
Brandon Marshall - 54.8
Chad Ochocinco - 53.0
Nate Burleson - 53.0
Mario Manningham - 52.2
Miles Austin - 51.1
Roddy White - 50.9
Larry Fitzgerald - 50.0
Vincent Jackson - 49.3
Hines Ward - 49.0

Notice that five of the top targeted WRs don't show up.

The next four highest scoring WRs are DeSean Jackson, Mike Sims-Walker, Santana Moss, and Percy Harvin, which makes them the 13th-16th ranked fantasy WRs.

Jackson, Sims-Walker, and Harvin don't rank among the top 30 targeted WRs. Santana Moss is 22nd.

Steve Smith (CAR), Wes Welker, Torry Holt, Anquan Boldin, Justin Gage, Eddie Royal, Mark Clayton, Mushin Muhammad, Bryant Johnson, Bernard Berrian, Louis Murphy, and Patrick Crayton are among the top 30 targeted WRs yet they aren't among the top 30 fantasy scoring WRs. That's a staggering 40%.

While it is a useful statistic, do not put too much stock in it. The most important statistic for a WR is TDs. It is no coincidence that the top ten scoring WRs all have 3 or 4 TDs so far. Obviously a close second is yardage. That's where the scoring comes from.

PPR leagues add a point per reception, but I am vehemently opposed to PPR leagues. It overvalues possession receivers and short-changes deep threats. For the life of me I can not figure out why someone would agree that 3 catches for 15 yards should be more valuable than 1 30 yard catch. That's a different discussion for a different day.

The bottom line is use targets as a guide, but don't ignore the age old indicators of fantasy production.

Does it Make Sense to Sit Postup Fantasy Basketball Players Against Top Ranked Defenses?

This article will explore how important match ups are in fantasy basketball. We all know fantasy football is game that is very dependent on defensive match ups so we wanted to see if defensive match ups were also a factor in fantasy basketball. In particular we wanted to focus our analysis on the impact of superior interior defense on the low post offense. To do this we examined average post player performance versus the leagues premier interior defenses.

A quick survey of the league indicates that only Boston, LA, Denver and San Antonio have the type of interior defense that one might want to shy away from. Boston has the combination of Garnett, Sheed, and Kendrick Perkins which is probably the best the league has to offer. All three are just about 7 feet tall and Garnett is former defensive player of the year. The Lakers are also a team of above average size. Between Gasol, Byum, Odem and Artest the Lakers have one of the best interior defenses in the Western Conference.

Denver is the one Western Conference team that could challenge for that title with Nene, Birdman and Kenyon Martin combining like Megatron to have the Nuggets blocking shots into the upper decks. Finally, any discussion around interior defense cannot neglect the San Antionio Spurs who always bring it defensively. Duncan and McDysess are two old school defensive OGs who along with the excellent help-side defense of their teammates can really shut down the oppositions post game.

Lets dig right into some numbers. Table 1 shows the average point and rebound differential for NBA teams post players going against the four superior defensive teams used in our data set. In aggregate, post players can expect a dip in scoring (-3.07ppg) and rebounding (-0.71rpg) when going against the leagues top defenses. While these results are not large deviations from a given post players season average, the take away message is that you should not expect the monster game that will increase your season average when going against an elite defense.

A few more interesting things come out of this analysis. First, the impact of a superior post defense has a more profound effect on scoring than rebounding. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that while we have qualitatively identified 4 superior defensive teams it appears that Boston and Denver seem to be a tier above the San Antonio and LA defenses. In fact, if you remove SA and LA then the avg point and rebound differentials become -6 ppg and close to -1 rpg.

So the question remains, should you bench players based on defensive math ups. We will stick to the same recommendation that we made for football. Never bench your star players, but use defensive match ups as go/no-go decision metric for playing mid-tier players or inconsistent players.

So there you have it, defensive match ups do play a role in fantasy basketball, at least from the post players perspective. While the differentials are not drastic, they do support the fact your mid-tier players less likely to over perform against a superior defense. Luckily for you the NBA has largely become a guards game and there only a handful of defenses with sufficient personnel to create match up problems is the low post.

How Important is an Elite Quarterback to Your Fantasy Football Team

Just how important is it to have a top tier quarterback on your fantasy football team? We have heard time and time again that the running back position is the most important slot to fill on your fantasy football team. In recent years with the emergence of the running back by committee we have begun to see the argument that a top WR may be worthy of a pick over a running back. The common belief on quarterbacks is that it is a deep position where you can still get acceptable performance from the average starter. This article will challenge that thesis and explore the fantasy football quarterback position in depth.

The one statistic that trumps all in fantasy football is the league championship. That is what we all strive for and is the ultimate measure of success. Taking a close look at my league over the last five years yields interesting results (Table 1). Every championship team over the past five years had a top tier quarterback. In fact, in three of the five sample years the championship team has had the number one ranked quarterback at the end of the season. In all five seasons, there was a never a champion without a top three quarterback. While the overall sample size is small (one league, five years) we still think the results are significant. So not only do you need to get lucky and avoid injury to win a championship, but you will also need maximum performance from the quarterback position to have a shot at the title.

Table 1.
Yr Player Overall Rank
2008 Aaron Rodger #2
2007 Drew Brees #1
2006 Drew Brees #1
2005 Matt Hasselback #3
2004 Brett Favre #1

Next we took a look at the top 25 quarterbacks from 2008 to see if we could determine a cut off between the various grades of quarterback. The goal here is to answer the question: "Do you really need to go out and draft the #1 ranked quarterback, or are their other players who can be had later in the draft with an equal chance of finishing the season in the top 3? Looking at the top 25 quarterbacks from 2008 we can separate the distribution into 5 cohorts (Table 2). There is a clear difference in performance across the cohorts. What this tells us is that ranking quarterbacks based on tier is a valid methodology. Furthermore, selecting a quarterback from the first cohort (top 5 qb) should help to ensure that you finish the year with a top 3 quarterback and a shot at your league title. Another thing the distribution really emphasizes is large difference between the top and average quarterbacks.

Table 2.
Cohort Avg Points Ranking
1 266 1-5
2 223 6-10
3 191 11-15
4 173 16-20
5 145 21-25

Lastly, we wanted to take a look at the variability in week-to-week performance across the top 25 quarterbacks. We have already established that the top tier quarterbacks put up more points over the length of the season, but just how consistent is this performance? If the top qbs are getting their numbers in a handful of games that should not really contribute as much to consistent fantasy winning. Table 3 breaks the top 25 quarterbacks up into 5 cohorts. Analyzing the standard deviation in weekly fantasy points across the 5 buckets indicates there is no difference in variability from the top cohort and bottom cohort of quarterbacks. What that means is the best quarterbacks in the league are just as likely to have a bad game as the mid-tier/lower-tier quarterback options. However, since the top tier qb's output is consistently higher they will produce more points throughout the season. In other words, a bad game from a top qb is a lot better than a bad game from a bottom tier qb.

Table 3.
Cohort STDEV
1 30
2 24
3 34
4 32
5 38

So what have we learned? It appears that you need a top tier quarterback to win your league. The top quarterbacks put up more points and are no more erratic in the distribution of their scoring than an average quarterback. Drafting a quarterback projected to finish in the top 4 is a safe bet to ensure your quarterback is a top ranked player at the end of the season and you have a chance to win your fantasy football championship!

2009 Fantasy Football Busts

The following players are unlikely to earn their ADP (average draft value).

QUARTERBACKS

Ryan, Matt ATL

He's been going in the sixth round of many drafts, and that's too early. He absolutely has the talent, but the Falcons like to run so much, there should be many games where Ryan fails to top 200 yards and one score.

Cutler, Jay CHI

He's not in Denver anymore. His best receivers are his tight end and running back now. The Bears will still try to rely on their running game and defense. Cutler shouldn't be drafted before many of the quarterbacks he's being drafted before.

RUNNING BACKS

Tomlinson, LaDainian SD

Yes, he could very well bounce back for one great comeback year. He's aging, and he proved last year that injuries can derail him now. I just can't take that kind of chance in the middle of my first round.

Westbrook, Brian PHI

The Eagles drafted LeSean McCoy this past summer for insurance. When Westbrook gets hurt this year, the Eagles will rest him and barely skip a beat.

Smith, Kevin DET

He's a great, great back, but you don't burn a second round pick on a Lions running back when they'll be playing from behind constantly. He could make up for it in PPR leagues, but still, I wouldn't take him until Round 4.

Thomas, Pierre NO

People are writing him off because of his injury and the crowded backfield, but he has the potential to provide great value if you can snag him in the fifth round.

Addai, Joseph IND

He won't hold off the rookie Donald Brown enough to earn his ADP.

Jones, Thomas NYJ

They'll use Leon Washington more anyway, but Jones overachieved last year, and this year opponents will stack the box if/when the rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez can't stretch the field for Jones.

Lewis, Jamal CLE

He's toast, pure and simple. The Browns will turn to a combination of Jerome Harrison and James Davis before long.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Owens, Terrell BUF

If things go south in Buffalo, Owens could get pretty worthless pretty fast. Really, how well can a guy with his personality take being blown out often?

Edwards, Braylon CLE

Quinn's arm isn't strong enough to take advantage of Edwards. He'll be a terribly inconsistent fantasy wide receiver.

Williams, Roy DAL

He could pan out, but I wouldn't waste a fourth round pick on him to find out if he will or not. Jason Witten should overshadow him in fantasy football.

Bryant, Antonio TB

He is okay to nab in the seventh or eighth rounds, but he's being drafted before that based on last year's numbers. Byron Leftwich is an awful quarterback, and the Bucs will try and run the ball as much as possible.

TIGHT ENDS

Gonzalez, Tony ATL

Okay, so he won't be a bust in the true sense of the word, but people expecting him to duplicate last year's numbers would be mistaken. Michael Turner and Roddy White will see to it that his numbers decline in 2009.

Winslow, Kellen TB

He can't stay healthy. His quarterback is byron Leftwich. He's on a team with a serious run-first attitude. Need any more reasons?

KICKERS

Gostkowski, Stephen NE

He's just simply being drafted too early. You don't take kickers in the tenth round. You wait.

Gould, Robble CHI

New Bears quarterback Jay Cutler will see to it that Gould has very inconsistent opportunities from game to game with his turnovers and poor decisions.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

Steelers, Pittsburgh

They're just simply being drafted too early. You don't take a defense in the eighth round. You wait.

Jets, New York

Great talent, but there's a chance that their rookie quarterback will struggle. If so, they'll end up tired being on the field too long.

How to Pick a Fantasy Football Team

When learning how to pick a fantasy football team you need to pay extra attention to what has gone on for the specific team in the offseason. Here are some questions to ask yourself about the team you are going to choose:

What offseason trades have happened to benefit the team?

Did your team have a good NFL draft?

Who is injured on your fantasy football team?

These 3 questions are vital in determining and choosing your next NFL fantasy football team. If you pick a team where they had no injuries and great offseason acquisitions you can expect to see your fantasy football rankings shoot through the roof. You can get the latest sporting news fantasy football updates right to your phone even, so there is no excuse not to be up-to-date when making your NFL fantasy football predictions. There are many players stocks rising and many players stocks falling dramatically. Sometimes you can catch a players stock falling almost near the bottom, draft them, and earn a huge return on a draft pick that low. These are your money maker picks right here and make up the difference between a winning fantasy football player and a losing fantasy football player. Knowing all your fantasy football player ratings will help you greatly on draft day. You can surprise all your friends by becoming the greatest fantasy football player to ever play the game if you do your homework and play your cards right. There are some steals out there on no name players ready to shine this year in the NFL. Your fantasy football draft has never been so better when you find standout players for cheap.

If you want to make some money this year on the NFL season, placing an NFL football bet will be your best bet by far. Take it from me; I have been making a stable income betting on sports for years! Last year I made a total of $120,000 betting on ALL sports last year. Out of that 120K I made last year, around 80k of it was JUST on FOOTBALL bets. The type of football bet depends on the NFL lines and who is playing who. The majority of the times if you can find a steal where the lines are great for a home team, take them.

A football bet tip you will always remember is to find a sports handicapper that spends 8+ hours a day researching each and every pick to give you guaranteed winners. You can find a professional handicapper for cheap, 50 dollars a month or less. Not only will you ONLY pay 50 dollars a month or less, if you do not profit for the month you are FULLY refunded. There are definitely companies out there that offer services like this, you just have to do your research and find one. Once you find one you will be able to quit your day job, buy a new house, a new car, and live a comfortable life just like I have been doing for years. I wish you the best of luck!

Competition - How Do Players Compete in Fantasy Football?

Fantasy football can take a lot of time away from the office, work, or even household chores. But fantasy football can be a lot of fun. Using virtual representations of football players in the real world, anyone who loves the game can be an owner, manager, and all-out trainer and know-it-all in the virtual arena. All that an owner needs is a draft, a competition, and some time on his or her hands.

Fantasy football is exactly that: playing virtual football games with other teams online. You need only a starter lineup of players at the start of your playing season, and you pit these players against other players as the season goes on. These players are real, at least in the real-world sense: the stats of real players off the field carry over into the virtual arena, and these stats serve as game points. Whoever wins at the end of the fantasy football season wins because his or her players had a good deal of real game play offline.

Simple, isn't it? It gets much harder to understand, actually, and it can be fun to play around with when you're into fantasy football. First, you need to assemble a team; then, you need to know how to score.

Starting the Year Right

The roster of your team is made up of quite a good number of players. For each team that you have, you have a pre-determined number total, including a number of players that you can put in each position (or your starter players for each of your game). It is entirely up to you when you want to set some players free, when you want to bench others, and who you want on the field with whom. You are given a deadline each week to determine who you want to be your starters.

Who you place on your starting lineup depends on your play strategies. You need to know who your quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers, and defensive players are. Some fantasy football sites even have variations on the conventional lineups, and instead have punters, more defensive players, and the like. Again, the kinds of players you put on your team rests entirely on your good judgment.

You Score, You Win!

Every player you have wins you points depending on scores in weekly games. Touchdowns, for instance, can count for five points, while yards gained will count for two points. Players can also earn points for a variety of work, like passing and receiving yards. However, as you earn points, points can also be taken away from you for turnovers or missed kicks.

You can also get bonuses for extraordinary feats of athleticism, like a throw that goes over three hundred yards, or a field goal that makes it thanks to an exceptional kicker. In some leagues, only yards are counted and touchdowns don't come into play. On the other hand, other leagues score only touchdowns and field goals. The variations depend on the site that you visit.

There are also different ways that you can play against opponents. You can be arranged in leagues, depending on your record in the previous season. Within each league are the playoffs, where you are pitted against a different league member every week. Some fantasy football sites, however, don't do league divisions beforehand, and instead pit players against each other in a sort of round-robin. Still other fantasy football sites divide players into major groups, then take all winners through eliminations, then to quarter-finals, to semis, and then to the finals.

Because everything happens online, you see nothing of your rival owners, and the only things that you know about are stats and final scores. This has led to criticism of fantasy football as pushing fans to cheer for players rather than for teams; as well as pushing fans to do more online football than appreciate the real game. Whatever the real score, fantasy football is still going strong.

If you are interested in playing fantasy football, hop to any of the many fantasy football sites online. Read the rules and regulations, since competition mechanics can vary from site to site. Keep a schedule on hand, since playoffs will happen at different times for different sites. With your knowledge and love of the game, you can enjoy fantasy football!

How Getting the TFF Weekly Password Emailed to Me Every Week Has Made My Fantasy Football Easy

For all you fans of Telegraph fantasy Football, getting hold of the TFF weekly password is crucial and thats why I now get mine sent for free via email every week.

Long long ago when I first started playing the game, the only way you could get hold of the weekly password was to go out and buy the newspaper.  However that didn't matter to me because I was so certain that I would pick the perfect team that I wouldn't need to be making transfers. 

How wrong I was and have been every year since.  Even if you picked a team full of the highest points scorers from the previous year you would still end up having to change your team.  Why? Well teams change, players lose form, get injured or suspended.  And so even if you get through the first few weeks, it won't be long before you need to make changes.

Then, one of two things happens, you remember to make the transfers and have to get hold of the TFF weekly password or you completely forget to make the transfers until its too late and half of your team aren't playing.

That's where I've found the free password service so handy.  I get the password emailed to me every week so I always have the password.  However, better than that, because I get sent an email I never actually forget to make my transfers anymore.

Of course, I've not gone on to win the Telegraph Championship.  We always think we could do better than the top managers in the world but in reality that isn't the case.  However, getting the TFF weekly password sent to me every week certainly makes this fantasy managers life a hell of a lot easier.

5 Useful, Innovative Online Tools For Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football leagues have grown exponentially since their inception, and the 2009 season is looking like a killer. With competition heating up, the real fantasy football players will need to seize every advantage they can to make it to the finals. Here's a short list of the fantasy football sites I'll be logging onto this season for insider tips, management assistance and predicting competitors' strategies.

FanHandle.com

What separates this website from the rest of the fantasy football prediction tools is that all the content and stats are generated by you. Personally, I've lost too much money buying into predictions from websites that do not work. Who knows how they're compiling their information, and who knows how many thousands of other fantasy football players are reviewing that same information. With FanHandle, I can gauge my team before the games and adjust the line-up accordingly to get that win.

And here's a tip to get you further on FanHandle.com. Finding the lowest margin of error for Points-Per-Touch and the lowest margin of error for Touches does not necessarily generate the lowest margin of error for Points. To get the most points, try moving the sliders away from the top. I've squeezed out some extra yardage from a half of a dozen players that way.

RapidDraft.com

Drafting my team has always been one of my favorite aspects of fantasy football games, but this site takes the cake for letting me pick my draft number. I've spent hours thinking up strategies for the draft only to get the #2 spot, and consequently, three or four players that I wanted. Personally, my favorite draft number is the #12 spot, but to each his own.

Another feature of Rapid Draft that I appreciate is the mock draft. Every website has different controls when it comes to drafts, and when it's your turn at the podium, nothing is worse then fumbling through the keystrokes and mouse-clicks and watching that clock tick down to zero. With a mock draft, you get the opportunity to learn how to use the Rapid Remote quickly and easily. The interface is pretty user-friendly, but there are still features of it that are worth exploring off-the-clock (like Q Players and the Draft Board).

LeagueSafe.com

It's not a strategy website, but it's certainly helpful when it comes to paying for your leagues. League Safe functions similar to Paypal, but it's designed specifically for fantasy football sites. Hence, no more calls or emails from commissioners asking for a check when you know that you already paid for your membership. And unlike Paypal, the site is free to use and doesn't take a percentage off the top.

BrunoBoys.net

This site has a lot of great podcasts and articles from fantasy sports experts. Mike Whooley, Marc Caviglia, and Kyle Smith know what's going on in online football, and they've made more than a few predictions in the past that have panned out. I listen to these guys on my way home from work, and depending on what they say, I have changed my roster, re-entered a draft, or even benched a player in my lineup before kickoff.

TheFantasyConsultant.com

I discovered this website after seeing one of their videos on YouTube. The fee to access to their software is reasonable ($24.99 for the season), and the player profiles include a lot of details that you can't find anywhere else. I tend to use the website more as a general guideline than a black-and-white playbook. Regardless, it's a keeper for the educational tools alone.

Of course there are a wide variety of fantasy football tools available these days, everyone has a list of favorites. The most important thing to remember is to find free tools that are reliable and paid tools that are worth the investment. Figure out what tools and strategies work for you and use them to dominate your league.

Making a Running Back by Committee Work For Your Fantasy Football Team

This article will explore the newest twist for fantasy football owners - the running back by committee (RBBC). In the past, most NFL teams have had one feature back who received approximately 30 carries a game. The thinking was that a runner needed that many carries to establish a rhythm and run effectively. Today's game has changed. The RBBC situation is now so common almost all teams utilize it. The thinking is that the RBBC allows backs to stay fresh. In addition, the RBBC is often implemented with a bruising power back and a quick scat back runner; a combination intended to keep the opposing defense off balance by switching up running styles.

What does this mean for fantasy football? In past years, fantasy football was completely dominated by the running back position. A good RB was a lock to touch the ball multiple times a game as well as to score more TDs than every other position. With the RBBC, that is no longer true. So what is one to do? Is it best to draft the entire committee or spread your RBs around in hopes that you draft two high performers? Lets explore the options:

The Home Run Strategy - Draft the Best RBs Regardless of RBBC Scenario

PROS : If you do not have to deal with injuries great, you have an excellent shot to win your league. You will have the most valuable player in the RBBC from different teams.

CONS: While you may have come into the season with the best RB on two different teams, if one goes down to injury you can quickly find yourself in a tough situation.

The Anti-Wall Street Risk Adverse Strategy

PROS: Here you try to draft an entire team's committee. If one of the players gets hurt you instantly have a feature back.

CONS: If there is not an injury you are stuck with part time production from two players for the season.

The Ace Rothstein Strategy - The Educated Bettor

PROS: This strategy says you draft players who are second in the committee, but play alongside another player with a history of injury. Ideally you would be to try to get one feature back and pair him with a number of #2's who have a realistic chance to step in at some point in the season.

CONS: The risk here is that the #2, never becomes a #1.

Like investing, the strategy you choose to employ should be based on your level of comfort with risk. We recommend the Ace Rothstein theory, as the #2 that becomes a #1 is often the breakout story of the year come playoff time.

Having fully explored the RBBC situation there are still a few old school running backs who dominate carries and do not need to worry about having carries or even worse goal carries stolen.

non RBBC RBs

All-Day AP

Turner the Burner

MJD

Matt Forte

S.Jackson

C.Portis

K.Smith

R.Grant

The other 24 NFL teams use some form of the RBBC. To summarize, following the Ace Rothstein theory we would target one of the eight backs listed above, then go after a WR and QB and finally look to pair your RB with a number of second string RBBC backs who run alongside an injury risk.

The Fun of Fantasy Football

Fifteen to eighteen million people play fantasy football every year—and the numbers are growing rapidly.

In fantasy football, you “draft” or auction an imaginary team composed of real-life football players (this can include NFL professionals or college players). They then score points based on their actual performance in real games.

Your fantasy tournament progresses in much the same way as the real football games. You go head-to-head, competing against another opponent each week.

If your team scores the most points by the end of the season, and has the best win-loss record, you win.

Fantasy football was invented by Danny Dulac, one of the organizers of the Raiders. He thought of it during a road trip to the east coast, and by the time he got back, he had fleshed out many of the rules and was “ready for kick off”. Today, there are thousands of websites, magazines and software that are dedicated to fantasy sports.

This is how it works. You have a fantasy league with 8 to 12 teams, with players drafted at the start of the season. Depending on the league you join, you start with a clean slate every season or have a permanent partial roster (these players can’t be included in the annual draft). Some leagues will have you keep the entire team and just draft rookies. At any time during the season owners can change their team by firing some players (that’s life) and hiring free agents who were not drafted. You can also trade with other teams.

The scores are based on how the players do in their weekly NFL games. For example, a player gets 1 point for making 25 passing yards, 10 rushing yards, or 10 receiving yards. He gets a whopping 6 points for a touchdown (unless it’s a passing touchdown, where he just gets 4). Errors can also affect your score. For example, every interception that is thrown subtracts two points. This also applies to fumbles.

Defensive scores are a little harder to compute, so some leagues opt to compute the scores primarily on yards. (They say it is more realistic and mimics the way an actual game works.) Defensive statistics such as sacks and fumble recoveries are then subtracted. To get the number of touchdowns, the total score is divided by a particular number (sometimes 80 or 100). Then any field goals made by placekickers are added to that score.

It’s a very exciting game and adds a new dimension to the already popular game of football.

Who Would Want To Be A Fantasy Football Manager?

Fantasy football is a game where you the user acts as the General Manager of a football team. This can be any type of football but the most popular in the UK is Premier League FF, and in the USA, NFL FF.

The game is very easy to play and the variety of systems and sites provide everything you need to get started. It is a 100% social experience with the internet being the main reason why it is so popular today.

For those of you who are looking for any opportunity to stretch out the fantasy season as long as possible, take a look at NFL Fantasy Football which is thriving as an NFL fan obsession. The game creates new and powerful networking dynamics by bringing employees from every level of the organization chart together and different departments for five months during the NFL season. I love football and College Football is where my heart lies, but the NFL knows that to keep guys like myself truly interested every week that they need to embrace the game and they've certainly done that. Before the NFL season starts, managers/coaches draft their own team, consisting of NFL players. You can also take a visual tour of NFL stadiums and see fans at their wildest before, during and after games. To score points, the players from your team need to score on the NFL field. Team managers have at their finger tips much of the information that most fantasy sites leave out such as NFL player information, NFL schedules, NFL injury reports and NFL depth charts. Choose your roster of NFL stars and watch every week as they try to tackle, throw, and run your team to victory.

Although fantasy football is huge these days and everyone seems to play it, there are some that don't know what it is all about. Free Fantasy Football is best played online, without downloading any software, and with all the stats at your fingertips. a rapidly growing site to play the game for free. Sports Fantasy Football is live and features play for free for your league, your way - control scoring, rosters and more. Basic Commissioner controls, live online drafts, league communication Tools, and both public and custom leagues are available. An exciting time is ahead if you look into a fantasy league season and the game is about having fun and humiliating your friends and colleagues at the same time, especially trying to get one over on your boss!

Peter Whelan is a freelance football writer