Welcome to the Big Leagues

            It’s that time of year again! Yes it is sweater weather, time for school, and apple picking time, but it’s also time for a little pigskin.

Along with football these days also comes fantasy football. Most have probably heard of fantasy football in some form or fashion, and many may even partake in a league, perhaps not even knowing what they’re doing. But what is this fantasy league exactly and how does it work? Why are people obsessed with fantasy football and why has it come to be known as more than a game, but also an obsession?

            In a nutshell, fantasy football is a virtual football league made up of real life players and their actual stats. If you pick the right players and they have good games your fantasy points go up. The better game that player has, the more points you get.

            There are several different types of fantasy football leagues, but for now I’m going to focus on the two most popular, total point and head-to-head.

            In a total point league, the fantasy team at the end of the regular season with the most fantasy points wins the league.  From week to week teams will earn points in different ways, I’ll explain that later on though. Wins and losses are meaningless in total points leagues.

            On the flip side, in a head-to-head league, at the end of the season it’s the fantasy teams with the best records that meet during the fantasy playoffs to determine the league champion. During the head-to-head league, two teams will meet up each week and the team who receives the most points that week wins the game for that particular week. The total number of points comes from the sum of all the player’s in the starting lineup who earned points.

            Fantasy football is based on a person’s ability to manage and recruit his or her team and scout other teams and players. It is about drafting the best of the best – BUT you can’t always pick the number one player in certain positions each and every week. For example, while you’re picking your team for the upcoming week and looking to fill the wide receiver spot, A.J. Green (Cincinnati Bengals) may have the best statistics, but if the Broncos are playing the Steelers that week , Green wouldn’t be a good pick to make. Why not you ask? His stats are superb and he’s a good player. The Steelers’ defense, under the direction of defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, traditionally has one of the, if not the best, defense in the league, particularly in the passing category. Instead, you would want to look for either a very good wide receiver playing a moderate pass defense team, or a halfway decent receiver playing a terrible pass defensive team.

            Points are earned when players from “your team” score touchdowns, field goals, gain yards, make sacks, interceptions, and more.

(http://www.nfl.com/fantasyfootball/help/whatis)

            The “general manager” (you) has the ability to draft, trade, add, or drop players from his or her roster throughout the season.

            Each fantasy football season starts out just the same as the real world football league, with a draft prior to the opening game. The players drafted will become apart of your team and will remain there unless they are traded or dropped. If that happens, in most leagues, another “owner” has the chance to pick up that free agent if the owner thinks the player would make a significant contribution to his or her team. Also, in most leagues a player can only be owned by one team.

            There are also two types of drafts. A traditional draft, often referred to as a “serpentine” or “snake” draft, is when owners go back and forth like a serpentine in their drafting of players. This meaning that whoever has the last pick in the first round would have the first pick in the second round. During an auction draft though, each owner must “purchase” his or her players using an imaginary budget in an auction format. The owners each have a fair chance of drafting whoever they please based on their budget and could end up with two or more of the best skilled positions (quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, cornerback, and safety) which is something that probably wouldn’t happen in a serpentine draft because the best players usually get picked first.  

            The fantasy leagues establish how many players each team is allowed to have as well as the maximum and minimum number of players at each position.

            The owners choose their lineup typically in the beginning of the week or else before a certain deadline (most often before the Thursday night game). Starters are determined by many things including as I mentioned before, the real-life team matchup, past performance, expected performance, and other strategies.

            The “starters” are the only players who have the ability to earn points for the fantasy team for that week. The most common fantasy team is made up of one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one placekicker, the choice of one running back/tight end/wide receiver, and one team’s entire defense.

            A typical scoring system is based on the following:

            Offense (quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends):

·      6 points per rushing, receiving, fumble return or kick/punt return touchdown

·      4 points per passing touchdown

·      1 point per 10 yards rushing or receiving

·      1 point per 25 yards passing

Bonus Points:

·      2 points per rushing or receiving touchdown of 40 yards or more

·      2 points per passing touchdown of 40 yards or more

Penalty Points:

·      -2 points per intercepted pass

·      -2 points per fumble lost

Kickers:

·      5 points per 50+ yard field goal made

·      4 points per 40-49 yard field goal made

·      3 points per field goal made, 39 yards or less

·      2 points per rushing, passing, or receiving 2 point conversion

·      1 point per PAT made

Kicker Penalty Points:

·      -2 points per *missed field goal (0-39 yards)

·      -1 point per *missed field goal (40-49 yards)

*missed includes field goal attempts that are blocked, deflected, etc.

            Defensive/Special Teams:

·      10 points for 0 points allowed

·      7 points for 2-6 points allowed

·      4 points for 7-13 points allowed

·      1 point for 14-17 points allowed

·      0 points for 18-21 points allowed

·      -1 points for 22-27 points allowed

·      -4 points for 28-34 points allowed

·      -7 points for 35-45 points allowed

·      -10 points for 46+ points allowed

·      3 points per defensive or special teams touchdown

·      2 points per interception

·      2 points per fumble recovery

·      2 points per blocked punt, PAT, or field goal

·      2 points per safety

·      1 point per sack

(http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/football/ffl/story?page=fflrulesstandardscoring)

            All in all, you simply need to know that points are based on a player’s real world game. The better a player is the more points you will gain.

            Fantasy football is the diehard fan’s dream come true. It’s the chance to finally own, manage, and control your own team (well virtually!).

            Virtual wins and losses from week to week depend on your ability to get full use out of all the players on your roster. More points could be awarded for choosing a backup, but is it worth the risk? Do you have what it takes to be the head coach, general manager, and owner? Welcome to the big leagues.

Xoxo,

~Francesca