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6.
Forgetting to have fun.
Tim:
The entire point of playing fantasy
football is to make the NFL a
lot more interactive, to talk trash to your fellow fantasy coaches and
to have tons of fun. Sometimes people forget that fantasy football is
just that – a fantasy that we have to play football. It is a game. It
is for fun. Period. Don’t get so caught up in the swing of things that
you forget it isn’t a job. Whatever your league’s first place pays out
(if any) isn’t going to pay your bills, feed your kids, or much of
anything else. The money is to make sure you stay interested, nothing
more, nothing less.
I don’t want to sign up for a league and then feel like it’s a chore to
play. I want to have fun, pal around with those in the league and talk
a lot of trash. Win, lose or draw, I guarantee you; I’m having a good
time doing so. Don’t be the idiot on the bottom who seems to be living
to win the league.
Don’t
lose your friends in the league because you
can’t remember that it is fun. After all, you aren’t the one really out
there on the field, playing the game. All you can go on is stats,
contextual teammates, and your gut. Go at it with a light heart, you’ll
have a much better time, and as such, a much better league. It’s called
fantasy for a reason folks…
Dubz: Agreed – sometimes we get too caught up in the
motions and
forget to have fun. I am guilty of this – not going to lie.
I am a
competitor by nature and surely it bleeds into everything. The
funny
thing though – is I probably have done better in my early years having
fun and not thinking. Now I think way to deep and it takes the
out of
it (ok, not all the fun – but more than it needs to).
Lighten up this year – take the subtle approach, see if it helps you
any. |
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7. Being
scared to trade.
Tim: It’s one thing to be scared to skydive, or street
race at over 100mph, but it is another to be scared to trade in fantasy
football. Trading is one of the key elements of fantasy football. It’s
a major part of the one thing we as fantasy coaches have control over.
Our entire goal is to put together combinations of different players
that will score the highest amounts of points for our teams. We have
the opportunity to put together an all-star team. There are many
different strategies and ways to go about putting together the winning
team in a fantasy league, and don’t be fooled, you can do it with
different players – just because someone else has the best RB in the
league, doesn’t necessarily mean they have the best team. I could throw
together a QB/WR combo that would knock out 2 strong RB studs. Notice I
said “could.” It doesn’t always happen straight from the draft; that’s
where trading comes in.
As a big part of fantasy football, just like the real deal, you have to
be willing to make moves in order to advance your team as a whole.
Without trading, you rely solely on the draft position and ability at
the beginning of the season. I’ve not seen someone who doesn’t trade
ever, make it to the top in any league I’ve been in. I’m not saying it
won’t happen, of hasn’t – I’m just saying it isn’t likely. Keep your
options open and make sure you look at every angle of a trade – don’t
run and hide with your tail between your legs; I mean make sure you
utilize your people and trades to get the best team you can. Yes, you
must do some homework and ensure quality trades, especially outside of
the big named players – but it is one of the main stays of fantasy
football, and in my opinion is what makes fantasy football what it is,
and fun.
Dubz:
Me… scared? Never. I always entertain trades, so for me
this isn’t a problem – but I have seen people sit on their team like
they drafted the “perfect” team. You must spend some times
looking to better your team with trade – if not, your team will turn
stale like the docks of a port town.
It never hurts to try, is my motto when it comes to trading. If I
think something would help me, I try my hardest to make it happen.
8. Missing or
being late to your live draft.
Tim: This has got to be one of the biggest mistakes anyone
can make in fantasy football. If your league has a live draft – you
have GOT to attend at ALL COSTS! Do not be the guy that just takes
whatever “pre-ranking” the system has in place. You don’t want to draft
a Mike Vick in the first round. Yeah – that’s how bad it gets. A live
draft is way too dynamic to just throw caution to the wind and take
whatever comes. You have to have a plan in order to have a successful
draft, and therefore a successful team/season. A live draft league puts
A LOT of emphasis on how well you know your players/situations/teams –
you cannot expect to miss it just because you wanted “one more beer” at
the bar or whatever lame excuse you come up with. If you are going to
commit to playing in a league, then follow through with your commitment
and be at the live draft.
The draft will make or break your whole season – there are not enough
trades in a season that will rescue your team if you get dealt all the
BS leftovers from a pre ranking system. Not only that, but your fellow
coaches will appreciate that you took the time to be there and do your
thing. Seriously, if you want any hope of being in the paying positions
at the end of the season make sure and start your season out right – DO
NOT MISS YOUR LIVE DRAFT!
Dubz:
I always hate to watch, as a team gets drafted in absence of the
coach. It never turns out good – unless they did some killer
pre-draft rankings. Seldom is that the case though. However
if you are one of the other coaches… it usually means your picks are
going to get better due to someone not being able to draft. So if
you’re in my league, go ahead sleep in that draft day… I will reap the
benefits.
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9.
Trading for the sake of trading.
Dubz: A big no-no in the game of fantasy football.
Your buddy
talks to you via email or in person (whatever you preference) and talks
to you about the lack of trading this year. You agree, and you
two
spark up a conversation of a monster trade to get the league jazzed up
about trading. You both have studs and second tier players to put
in
the deal - maybe even a 3 x 3 trade. After cussing and discussing
your
trade and coming to an agreement - you’re set to drop one of the
biggest trades in your leagues recent history. As you click the
accept
button you hesitate. Deep down you know you are doing this trade
for
the wrong reason - but its so big and could make a bit impact for the
league and set off a trading frenzy... **click**
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You see the problem here yet? Yeah, great trade... such an
eye-catcher. Head-turner. Did you really get what you
wanted out of
the trade? Did you upgrade your situations, or just trade
wallets?
Trading never should be just for the sake of trading. You’re not
going
to set off a frenzy... your going make people go - wow, what was that
all about? Make sure your making moves that will upgrade
positions,
use talent from the draft & waiver wire acquisitions and be sure
your heart is in it for the right reason.
Tim : I’m all for shaking up the league, but I totally agree, a big
blockbuster doesn’t do the trick. I’ve tried it. All you get stuck with
is a team you didn’t really want and a growing knot in your belly
because you KNOW you shouldn’t have given up those guys. Do your
homework, put together a great team – use the trading aspect of fantasy
football for what it is made.
10. Neglecting
your starting roster for a week.
Tim: We all get busy and have lives outside of our fantasy
football coaching careers; BUT, don’t forget about your commitment to
your team and league(s). This is the fastest way to screw you out of
the top 3. One week of not checking the injury reports or news in the
NFL will put your team to the bottom of the ranks of your league faster
than a Mike Vick indictment. Remember, just because you don’t see ‘em
on TV, the players are still practicing and all that, and can still get
hurt. CHECK THE INJURY REPORTS DAILY! Just because you are on vacation,
make sure your starting line up is still starting – you don’t want to
spend all this time researching and working out your team strategy only
to throw it away in week 12 because you are on vacation.
Not only will it screw up your team, it also takes a lot away from the
league. Every year we have people that seem to drop out of the league
simply because they aren’t in the top half of the class. This sucks for
everyone else in the league – it puts a damper on the league as a
whole, and drags it down because of inactivity. It isn’t fair to those
around you just because you are careless and inactive. Don’t be a sore
loser – if you stop checking in on your team at any time in the season,
in my opinion, you should be banned for life from Fantasy Football. I
don’t like playing with quitters, and I’m sure you don’t either – so
don’t be one.
Dubz: Tim
hits it on the head
again – don’t think that you’ll be ok without watching your
roster.
Can’t trust fate to take care of your team, fate tends to hang with
screwed and losing… a real bunch of losers. Make sure you take
care of
your team or your team will take care of you.
James (Dubz)
Cross and Tim Tipton are contributing writers from FantasyFootballBlog.net
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