Fantasy Football Basics

Some of you will have already read this if you played last year, some of you will have played last year but not read this and some of you are totally new to this so if you’re new welcome and if you’ve read it before its worth sticking with it as I’ve made a few amendments.

Right so this is my take on fantasy football (For the purposes of this post we’ll call it this rather then NFL). Im gonna try and break down the draft, scoring, how the league works, what to look for in players, positions, offence and defence.

The Draft

Unlike the UKs fantasy football, The American system works using a snaking draft sytem. What this means is that no 2 teams will have the same players. To do this each team takes it in turns  to pick players (kinda like football at school). The snaking aspect of this means that the first round runs team 1-12, then round 2 runs 12-1. Each team will have a limited amount of time to pick a player and this will run till everyone has picked their team.

How the League Works

Right so unlike UK fantasy football, its not just based on earning points, its about earning wins. So each team will play another team in our league every week at the end of week 14 the top 4 teams  with the most wins enter the play offs, followed by the top 2 teams in week 16. Who wins each game is based on who scores the most points between the 2 teams. That team gets a win.

Scoring

Right hold onto your helmets its looks complex but its really not too bad, i’ll explain any rules that might be tough to understand.

Offence

Passing (Quarterback):

1 point for every 25 yards gained through the air

4 points for every passing touchdown

-2 points for every interception thrown: When the Qb throws it to the other team.

Rushing (running):

1 point for every 10 yards

6 points for every rushing touchdown (everytime its run into the endzone)

Receiving (balls caught):

1 point for every 10 yards

6 points for every receiving touchdown (ball caught in the endzone)

Kick and Punt returns

6 points for every touch down from kick off or punt

Offensive Misc

6 points for Fumble recovered for a TD (Ball dropped by offense and recovered by them then taken into the endzone)

2 points for 2 point conversion ( at the end of each play, a team can either opt to try and kick the ball through the posts for 1 point or use the offense to try and run the ball into the endzone for 2. This is called a 2 point conversion)

Kicking

1 point for point after touchdown made (see above)

3 points for field goals upto 49 yards (if the offense chooses they can attempt a field goal instead of a touch down to score points, this only gets them 3 points rather then 6 however)

5 points for a field goal over 50 yards

Defense

1 point for a sack (when the defense downs the quarterback whilst he is holding the ball)

2 points for an interception (where the defense take the ball in the air)

2 points for a fumble recovery (where the defense knock the ball loose from a running player and recover it).

2 points for a safety (Quarterback sacked in their own endzone)

6 points for a touchdown (everytime your defense recovers the ball from the offense and take it into the endzone for a TD

10 points for a shutout (when the offense doesn’t score at all)

7 points for 1-6 points allowed

4 points for 7-13 points allowed

1 point for 14-20 points allowed

0 points for 21-27 points allowed

-1 points for 28-34 points allowed

-4 points for  35+ points allowed

A lot of numbers that look daunting but its really about picking players that score points.

Positions and What to look for in Players

In the league much like UK fantasy football you have set positions to choose for, under each position i’ll provide a brief description and what to look for. On the NFL website it breaks down each player in order of projected points, ie what they think each player will earn each year. Which is a pretty good way of looking at who to pick. Just pick the players that score a lot of points and have a good projected score.

Quarter Back QB

The player every cheerleader wants to date in teen dramas and heres why. The QB is the brains of the team. EVERY offensive play runs through him. He looks at each play hes been handed and decides whether to change it up. In fantasy football terms hes the one that is responsible for your passing points. Look at reliability and how many interceptions thrown as well as Touchdowns.

My top 10: Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Tom Brady (Patriots), Drew Brees (Saints), Matt Stafford ( Lions), Cam Newton (Panthers), Philip Rivers (Chargers), Michael Vick (Eagles), Jay Cutler (Bears), Joe Flacco (Ravens), Peyton Manning (Broncos).

Running backs RB x2

Alot of the time this player will get you most of your points. So consider taking a RB first. Eventually you’ll need 2. His job is to be given the ball by the QB and attempt to run as far as possible.

WARNING: good running backs are hard to find

My top 10: Arian Foster (Texans), Ray Rice (Ravens), Maurice Jones-Drew (Jaguars), LeSean McCoy (Eagles), Chris Johnson (Titans), Matt Forte (Bears), Ryan Mathews (Chargers), Trent Richardson (Browns), Michael Turner (Falcons), Darren McFadden (Raiders), Jamaal Charles (Chiefs)

Wide Receivers WR x 2

These guys run into open ground to be thrown the ball by the QB, You’ll need 2 of these too. Score an awful lot of points too, worth picking up one of these elites if you can.

Wideout is super deep this year. WR’s for everyone.

My top 10: Calvin Johnson…duh (Lions), Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals), Roddy White (Falcons), Julio Jones (Falcons), AJ Green (Bengals), Marshall (Bears), Percy Harvin (Vikings), Mike Wallace (Steelers), Dwayne Boe (Chiefs), Steve Smith (Panthers)

Extra WR, TE or RB

You get to choose 1 extra WR TE or RB

This has changed from last year.

Tight End

Big receivers that line up on the O-line, can block and receive.

My top 10: Jimmy Graham (Saints), Rob Gronkowski (Patriots), Aaron Hernandez (Patriots), Vernon Davis (49ers), Antonio Gates (Chargers), Tony Gonzalez (Falcons), Jermichael Finley (Packers), Jason Witten (Cowboys), Fred Davis (Redskins), Greg Olsen (Panthers)

Kicker

Earns points by kick offs and point afters.

Defense:

Instead of picking one player here you just pick a whole teams defense.

My top 10: 49ers, Bears, Giants, Steelers, Patriots, Cowboys, Texans, Packers, Bills, Eagles

Bench

Here you pick 7 players that you sub in during the season. If a player is playing bad then you simply can swap them over. Also these players get subbed in during bye weeks (weeks when a first team player isn’t playing). It is however your responsibility to sub these players in so keep an eye out for these weeks. So pick your player accordingly to fill in during bye weeks.

Once the draft is completed I’ll fill in the rest of the details, like trades and waivers.

Also if any of you get confused, you can contact me at any time.

Phone no: 07921147548

Twitter: @mcgloogly

Email: pointblanksound@hotmail.com

Finally i’ll be doing a few of these so anything you need answered let me know.