Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The Death of the $7.99 Fantasy Football Magazine


For some, the fantasy football season is right around the corner. For others, like myself, it never really ends. I started jotting notes for the 2010 season about halfway through the 2009 season. As the fantasy football monster continues to grow, managers are getting savvier, stakes are getting higher, and leagues are becoming more cutthroat. My goal with this entry is to provide a comprehensive collection of fantasy resources that you may not have previously considered. Think of it as your guide to cheaper, better information. Because if you're showing up to a draft in late August with a $7.99 fantasy magazine, you're not only donating your entry fee, you're donating your pride.

Fantasy football happens in real time. Values are changing right now. And now. And now. Herein lies the obvious problem with fantasy magazines. Sure, they have their place. They can be fine as a refresher on last season's stats and offseason roster moves. However, it's imperative you understand that your shiny new magazine will be outdated by the time you swipe the Visa. In fact, it was outdated on the shelf long before you even smudged it up. My buddies have chided me for years about my Brad Childress-esque color coded cheat sheet that I bring to my drafts. It's a custom report tacked to an old-school clipboard; the summation of months of researching my most trusted sources, participating in countless mock drafts, and weighing my own gut instincts. What it lacks in gloss, it makes up for in year-end payouts. Nothing on my final draft day printout comes from a magazine. My best advice to you: Don't let a magazine sabotage your draft and turn you into your league's favorite punch line. Fantasy football has evolved, and you need to keep pace.

If you're not tweeting, you're not trying. Say what you will about Twitter, but it's quickly become the premier source for up-to-the-second fantasy football information. It's here that you gain access to the "experts," and more importantly, the nerds. It's a place for informed debates and priceless links. Furthermore, it's by far your best bet for pre-game updates during the season. In my favorite Twitter moment of last season, I shamelessly asked Kurt Warner about his availability for the Week 13 Sunday night showdown with the Vikings, as he was listed as a "Game Time Decision" due to a concussion. To my surprise, he replied that he was playing, so I left him in my lineup (I'd added Leinart as an emergency play, of course). He proceeded to carve up the Purple for 285 and 3 TD's, and I was rewarded with a slim, playoff-clinching victory. Admittedly, Kurt Warner might have been the only honest, god-fearing man in the NFL. So get started with these guys, and cash in on more dependable information: http://tweepml.org/?t=40430.

Listen up. Podcasts are free and versatile. Listen at work. Listen in the yard. Listen in the car. There is no excuse not to get plugged in. There are two podcasts that are staples in my fantasy diet. I listen daily to ESPN's Fantasy Focus Football, where Matthew Berry and Nate Ravitz regularly fight like a married couple. Highlights of the show include the "Name Game" player vs. player debate, and Stephania Bell's top notch injury analysis. They're getting it warmed up already with a weekly show: http://tinyurl.com/6ehkh7. We're also very fortunate, in the MPLS/St. Paul area, to have the industry's best fantasy show in our own back yard. KFAN 1130's Fantasy Football Weekly airs Saturday mornings starting in late July, and is hosted by nationally regarded industry gurus Paul Charchian, John Tuvey, and Bo Mitchell. The show includes fantastic segments of caller questions and matchup breakdowns, as well as "Five Tough Questions," "Take a Chance on Me," "Lightning Round," and the "Todd Heap Memorial Injury Report." Nobody works harder to provide fact-based analysis and speculation than these guys. It's free money: http://tinyurl.com/yeby2qr.

Fake it 'til you make it. Mock drafts give you the insight into how the fantasy community is valuing players. They also prepare you for those unpredictable, sink-or-swim moments of your draft. With mocking, you'll become familiar with ADP's (Average Draft Positions). This could be the single most important piece of ammo for traditional drafts. It's the difference between reaching and value. If you haven't done a handful of mocks before your draft, you deserve the inevitable embarrassment that will ensue. ESPN's Mock Draft Lobby is great: http://tinyurl.com/d2jo7a. I also mix in mocks at www.mockdraftcentral.com and www.fantasyfootballcalculator.com.

Do the legwork. Get out and socialize with other members of the fantasy community. Don't be too proud to tag along to a pal's draft. Observe how certain players are perceived locally vs. nationally. Learn from others' mistakes. Find the smartest guy in the room (hint: he won't be thumbing through a magazine), and take note of his (or her) moves. Hit up the spread and snag a couple free beers. There's no hiding behind the computer; experiencing a live draft gets you dialed into reality, and more focused than ever. Another great opportunity for the MPLS/St. Paul crowd is the Fantasy Football Weekly crew's Fantasy Training Camp, held late summer at Treasure Island Casino in Red Wing. This is as "insider" as it gets. From slideshows of statistical gold, to an expert mock play-by-play, you will leave this event with a decided advantage over the rest of your league. And, like the rest of these new age fantasy tools, it's free.

Follow this advice, and you'll go from an ordinary fantasy participant to a feared power player in your league. Do you utilize other non-traditional resources? Feel free to share and discuss.

10 comments:

  1. I always listen to Matthew Berry and do the opposite of what he says.... it's good information.

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  2. great analysis jeremy, the anti-berry method is the best and most time tested fantasy football strategy out there.

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  3. Yeah, I think Ravitz is the brains of that operation. Berry borders on unlistenable when he beats his chest on the Tuesdays after he nails an obvious prediction. "Drew Brees is going to light up the Lions, you heard it here first, just sayin'." Regardless, it's generally a good debate between the two. As a daily podcast, it's usually better than Common Man reruns on KFAN.

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  4. I hate to admit that I listen to the Fantasy Focus podcast, but I do. I can't stand either of them and their drops make me cringe, but the info is good, and they do a good job of throwing out not-so-obvious names.

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  5. Agreed, Adam. Any time you can plug in the headphones at work and listen someone else do the dirty statistical work for you, it's a plus. Even if it sounds like nails on a chalkboard at times.

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  6. I'll probably be looking for your scraps you drop on the garage floor to give to Yap!

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  7. I've taken down my league 4 of the 7 years it has been in existence. I create my own customized cheatsheets, use strength of schedule analysis (although, it's not a perfect science of course), compare bye weeks for the players I target, and try to factor in coaching and/or offseason moves. I generally end up with the most paperwork at my auction, by I have only missed the playoffs one year---by a tiebreaker.

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  8. Yeah, strength of schedule analysis is definitely not something to bank on; I use it to break ties, but nothing more, since it is not nearly as predictable as it seams. I've actually heard, and tend to believe, that you are better off with ALL of your studs on bye the same week. You take a one-week lump, but you crush for the rest of the bye weeks because you're at full strength and everyone else is short handed.

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  9. Boser, have you finally ditched Yahoo and went over to ESPN yet for your league? Live online draft on ESPN is money. I used it for a league last year, 11 of 12 guys were at one location on laptops and one owner drafted off site. Went smooth and you can still send messages online to owners after horrible picks.

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  10. Nope, we're a bit prehistoric in the Bush League. We've been going with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" thing for 7 years now. Everyone's comfortable and familiar with Yahoo and a snake draft; we have a blast in that league every year. Personally, I'd like to get into some more auctions and I do like ESPN commissioner tool. I need to decide how many leagues I want to be in this year; I think two is the perfect number, but I always end up in way more.

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