Fantasy football

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

I've been in a fantasy football pool with the same group of 12 guys for the past six years. We are entering our 7th season this fall. Before that, I was in another pools for a few years.

Now that NFL preseason is undeway, the guys in my league are getting antsy again. We love this game.

For me, this is the ultimate sports pool. Our league has a head-to-head format where teams draft players and play each other every week. About three years ago we decided to allow keepers, where owners can keep three players from last year's roster. Now we have an even bigger attachment to our teams.

It requires a lot of hands-on tinkering during the season. We allow trades, waiver moves, injured reserve.

I think what makes NFL pools so succesful, is the games are all geared to one part of the week. You can spend Tuesday through Saturday researching your team and other players, then sit back and enjoy on Sunday and Monday. The season lasts 17 weeks, so guys don't burn out halfway through a 7 month season.

I could never enjoy a regular hockey draft (points only) as much as I enjoy fantasy football.

[Pagal4321]

Share the passion?!
Wow I live for fantasy football. Going into....5 pools this year. Love this stuff. Can't explain exactley why. NEver trie da keeper league tho. That wil be intresting when I do start that up.

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

Pagal, I recommend trying the keeper idea if you are in a long-term league with the same owners. If there's a lot of turnover from year to year, then it may not be a good idea.

There are pros and cons with keepers. The guy in our league who had Ricky Williams on his roster just about sh** his pants when he learned ganja Ricky decided to retire prematurely.


There are also hundreds of websites and publications dedicated to fantasy football. The best websites I have found are footballguys.com and fanball. Both charge money, but the $20 or so is well worth it if you are serious about your pool.

[Sylvanfan]

So who should be the top rated fantasy guy this year? Should it be Priest Holmes or Ladamanian Tomlinsson? I've just started researching how most of these fantasy football leagues work every week, and how the point systems work. It's pretty complex, but if you do win your pool, you deserve the bragging rights.

[Pagal4321]

I'd have to go with Priest...just cuz his offensive line is so much better.

Hey Fuzzy...maybe you can answer this question for me.
In one pool I'm doing it seems fumbles nor interceptions are included in offensive points. So which players would then shoot up on a draft board if turnovers aren't a factor??

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

Originally posted by Pagal4321@Aug 13 2004, 11:22 AM
I'd have to go with Priest...just cuz his offensive line is so much better.

Hey Fuzzy...maybe you can answer this question for me.
In one pool I'm doing it seems fumbles nor interceptions are included in offensive points. So which players would then shoot up on a draft board if turnovers aren't a factor??
We don't penalize players for fumbles in our league. We dock 1 point for a QB interception.

Travis Henry used to be a big fumbler a couple of seasons ago. But unless you really penalize a player, turnovers shouldn't make a huge difference.

Some QB's throw more int's than others. Brett Favre throws a lot of picks, but his offensive upside more than makes up for that.

Beware of Priest Holmes this year. He has a sore hip, and there's a lot of talk about lightening his load. He'll still likely put up decent numbers, but I think Ladanian Tomlinson would be my first pick. And make sure you pick running backs first. They are at a premium.

[Sylvanfan]

I still think the the Chiefs will score 10 to 15 more touchdowns than the Chargers will this year, and that once the Chiefs get near the goal line Holmes is as good as anyone for getting into the End zone. If Tomlinson was with the Chiefs well.....it wouldn't even be a question. Are you sure you're info isn't like a year behind Fuzzy, those were the exact same things they said about Holmes last year, and sure he ran for less yards, but he scored 6 more touchdowns which more than made up the difference. I wouldn't look for him to duplicate last year because the Chiefs have a far more difficult schedule, but I still think you can mark him down for at least 18 TD's.

[Fuzzy McGillicuddy]

Originally posted by Sylvanfan@Aug 14 2004, 11:47 AM
I still think the the Chiefs will score 10 to 15 more touchdowns than the Chargers will this year, and that once the Chiefs get near the goal line Holmes is as good as anyone for getting into the End zone. If Tomlinson was with the Chiefs well.....it wouldn't even be a question. Are you sure you're info isn't like a year behind Fuzzy, those were the exact same things they said about Holmes last year, and sure he ran for less yards, but he scored 6 more touchdowns which more than made up the difference. I wouldn't look for him to duplicate last year because the Chiefs have a far more difficult schedule, but I still think you can mark him down for at least 18 TD's.
The way our fantasy league is structured to include keepers, I would consider Tomlinson right now over Holmes because of age. Unfortunately, neither of those backs is even available in our league because their are stud players that would be kept.

[Sylvanfan]

Well if I was going to join a league where you were going to be allowed to keep players, than I definitely would take Tomlinson over Holmes too based on the age factor. Mind you it would be hard to look past Clinton Portis too as I'm sure the Skins will turn around under Gibbs.