I have never played fantasy football and know just the very basics.... I do follow NFL football religiously and that pertains to the off season, the regular season, post season the draft, mock drafts free agents, pretty much everything...

Anyways, I have a friend who has a keeper league and a spot has become open in his league and he has offered that slot to me.. The fees are very minimal $20.00 or less to join... I really want to take advantage of his offer and take the plunge... I heard its a lot of fun.... Here are a few of my questions.

1. Is it important that I get the roster (now or in the near future) of the person that dropped out of the league so I can review it?

2. Wouldn't it make sense to get a copy of the rules?

3. I would appreciate any tips or advice anyone here can give me.

4. What should I be doing now and before the draft

5. I would need to know strategies to be successful

5. Would I purchase and FF publications

6. Are there any good sites out there that I could read and glean more info?

Any other advice, tips would be very helpful?

I'd say the most important thing is learn the rules and scoring system your league uses. The first few years you might want to purchase a magazine a month or so before the draft, but there is usually more updated content with some of the online resources. After a few years, if you feel you've got a handle on it, you really don't need the magazines anymore (I still buy them for bathroom reading )

It all really depends on how into it you want to be. I actually project out the stats for every player I think could possibly be valuable, then I use an excel spreadsheet and a formula that represents our league scoring setup to determine values for each player. We've been doing an auction draft for 3 years, and I've finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd by using this strategy. Most people, however, are not as big a loser as I am and just use magazine rankings, with their own personal adjustments of course.

If you are in a keeper league, you'll want to find out the details of how to keep a player (does it cost the same draft pick which was used to draft that player, or does that pick go up by a few rounds each year?). You'll definitely want to see the old roster you are taking over to determine what guys you want to keep. Once you know that, it is easier to map out a strategy for draft day. You also need to know if there is a limit to the number of players you can keep each season.

One piece of advice is that you want to look at point differentials for each positions. In most leagues, the #1 QB will outscore the #1 Rb by a fair amount, but the #1 RB is much more valuable because there is a greater dropoff among RB's than among QB's. Because of this, many people will wait on QB's until later in the draft unless a stud falls too far to pass up. Usually somewhere between 0-2 QB's will be taken in round 1. Brady was probably the only guy taken in the 1st round in most leagues last year. Since your's is a keeper league, that might change a bit (I have only done 1 keeper league, and it folded after 1 season, so I don't know as much about that).

One rule you really need to know is if you get points for receptions. Guys like Reggie Bush and Maurice Jones-Drew really go up in value if you do.

Personally, I think WR's tend to get overvalued on draft day, but that might be my league, and your league could be different.

The final and most important piece of advice is don't be afraid of doing something stupid. Taking chances is often the way to a championship (though I advocate playing is safe with your 1st few selections). Don't be afraid of making a trade if you think it helps your team. You learn what works by taking chances, and it makes the league much more fun if you are active. You will undoubtedly make mistakes, we all do. Don't worry about, and know that someone is probably going to rip on you for it.

That's all I've got for now. Vots is a pretty active fantasy football player, perhaps he has some more specific advise for you. I basically follow my projected numbers very closely so without those in front of me, I don't have any other specifics. Good luck, it's a lot of fun.

I appreciate the info DOL..........

Definitely get the rules, some FF leagues are different in the way they start positions. ie some will have 2 RB's, 3, WR's, and some will have 2 RB's, 2 WR's, and a flex RB/WR slot. I played in two friendly leagues this year and won both. I'd say the key to winning a FF league is to do your homework on both rookies and first year starters. It's important to find at least one diamond in the rough who others overlook.

DOL gave some very good advice, i have a few strategies that i use as well. i think a lot of it is gut feelings. like when you and i talked earlier rman you know players really well so you have to think who will break out. i personnally like looking at offensive lines and seeing if the team uses a 2 back system instead of the stud RB system. i was planning on grabbing thomas jones because of the rebuilt offensive line of the jets but he was picked by the guy ahead of me in the 3rd round. this year i drafted chris johnson late and i had poor luck with other RBs so i ended up grabbing lendale white also which was very risky having my 2 main RBs from the same team but it worked out very well for me this time. having both john stewart and deangelo williams would have been phenomenal this year as well.

i dont buy the magazines so i dont know anything about them but i read a lot of profootballtalk.com's "latest news and rumors" and the injury reports to see who will go or not. yahoo sports has some surprisingly decent advice, information and projections. i also look up a lot of statistics for players and defenses on databasefootball.com.

i read an article before this past fantasy season about how the strategy of getting two stud RBs isnt worth it and to do a more QB focused draft so i tried it. i picked up tony romo and jay cutler (and picked up warner in the 2nd to last round) and a reggie wayne in the 1st 3 rounds. i got a few ok RBs to start with chris johnson to keep me afloat but i always like having a WR from the same team as one of my QBs so when boldin got hurt i traded my decent RBs for him right away and it turned out great for me.

i also stay away from rookie QBs or first year starters no matter what unless they are still there in very late rounds. its too risky for me to get them high. i even stayed away from derek anderson this year even though it was goign to be his 2nd year starting and i will probably stay away from matt ryan next year.

I do remember seeing Thomas Jones on the roster I will be pciking up field of corn.

1. Is it important that I get the roster (now or in the near future) of the person that dropped out of the league so I can review it?

April or May is usually about the time I start working player projections. I feel it's needless to do so any sooner because of free agency & draft, since there's so much player movement.

2. Wouldn't it make sense to get a copy of the rules?

Of course, because there's many different scoring types, draft rules, etc. so you need to make sure you understand them all.

3. I would appreciate any tips or advice anyone here can give me.

Just like Dictator of Logic posted, get a full list of all the players and start projecting what their stats will be (how much time you want to put in it is up to you), then according to your league's scoring system, rank them accordingly.

Also, you may want to post what type of draft your league uses including roster requirements and scoring, then we could possibly help you form a draft strategy.

4. What should I be doing now and before the draft

Right now? Nothing (besides maybe learning the basics). Like I mentioned, wait until about May (also depends how serious you're going to take the rankings...May-August sometimes doesn't feel like enough time ) and also in that time frame start developing a draft strategy and participating in mock drafts.

On a little note here, I had Thomas Jones ranked in my top 10 RB's last year after coming to the conclusion he was still a great RB, and his line being revamped and the addition of Favre would cause him to jump off the page. After participating in tons of mock drafts, I realized I would probably be able to nab him in the 3rd round, therefore using a 2nd round pick on a top WR. It worked out great on my teams, including one league where I was the league's top scorer and even put up a 200 pt game on CBS rules.

5. I would need to know strategies to be successful

I would gladly help you with some strategies, but like I said above, post your league draft/roster/scoring rules.

5. Would I purchase and FF publications

As a rookie, I would suggest maybe picking up a magazine to just get a general idea of what it's all about. I think the better fantasy players will form their own opinion and analysis of players.

In 2007, I got my uncle into fantasy football who's in his '50s and my plan was to make him a worthy challenger by the next football season. He signed up in CBS fantasy football gold league and we took it easy. Told him to draft 2 RBs in the first 2 rounds, and then just fill out your roster as you see fit using CBS' rankings. He went 1-13. In 2008, I stepped it up a notch, giving him my copy of the rankings and training him real hard on strategies and how you need to pay attention to trends, and the importance of each position. He went 7-6-1 (and almost made the playoffs, he was in my division in which I had the best team and 2nd place had the 2nd best team).

My point from the story is to take it VERY easy your first year. Don't expect to win, just learn the game and have a fun time. Then take everybody to the house in your 2nd year.

6. Are there any good sites out there that I could read and glean more info?

Fantasy Sports University

Thanks Vots!! "I" will be in touch...............