I've never done fantasy before, so this year I decided I wanted to jump on board. I'm a huge football fan and know the goods on all the players in the league, but I need advice on some of the more game-planning and managing aspects of the fantasy stage.

Question- How much do most owners tweek and use the waiver wire/trades during the season week by week? Or is this mostly done during TC and preseason? I'm just wondering how pernament my opening day roster will likely be and if now's the time to really get the right team in place.

Thanks!

It sounds like you just drafted. One mistake people often make if they draft early is that they feel they need to be doing something so they start trading and cutting guys before the first week. You should have some faith in your draft. Naturally if someone goes down or you see a clear cut better option then go for it. But avoid doing something just to do something.

Tweeking the team and using the waiver wire depends on the league rules. I have a league that charges $5 per transaction. A lot less movement in that league than others. But the more active owners are usually more successful. Rarely do you draft so perfect that you can't upgrade somewhere. During the season I constantly check the waiver wire and see how FAs are doing, follow injuries etc... Every year there are great players to be had on the waiver wire. Last year I got Slaton in week 2 or 3 off the wire. Many picked up Ryan Grant 2 years ago off the wire since he was an unknown.

Don't put too much stock in training camp and preseason performances. There are always backups that light it up in the 4th qtr of the preseason. There will be tons of fluff stories about guys that will make you think you need them.

The simple answer is NO, your team will be reasonably to significantly different at the end of the year depending on injuries and how you drafted.

First, a disclaimer that my league probably trades more than any league I have ever seen or been a part of. Two years ago, after the auction (I much prefer auctions to drafts), I have a 16 player roster. By the end of the season, the only player who remained on my team was John Carney. I finished in 2nd place. Don't trade or pick up free agents just for the sake of doing something, but don't be afraid to make a move if you think it helps your team. Too many fantasy owners suddenly overrated their players once on their team, primarily because they are afraid of making a bad trade that will haunt them later. IMO, not making a good trade should be just as haunting. Be confident in your projections, be aggressive in building a strong team, and be logical when analyzing potential moves.

I'm just going to reiterate what has already been said.

Don't make moves just to make moves.

But always scour the free agency list. Always keep up to date on what's happening with players around the league. And whoever you have on your roster, can be replaced. What I mean is, just because you have a "name" doesn't mean you blindly keep that guy starting or on your roster, always be looking to upgrade. Don't hold out to long on pulling the trigger either, because you'll miss out.

This isn't football, but the same principles apply.

Ryan Zimmerman had a great first few weeks, but has slumped tremendously since then. An inexperienced owner would keep him regardless because of what he did to start off the year. Myself? I don't wait around, if you're not producing, I replace you. I picked up Russell Branyan off the free agency list and he's been starting most of the year. And just this week, I cut Ryan Z. after I found a formidable guy to take his spot, Mark DeRosa who was cut 2 weeks ago (went on the DL).

This is my point. I don't care who you are, you're replaceable. I don't care if you're currently ranked #1 at your position, I always look to upgrade.

Also, when it comes to trading. Don't trade just to trade. What I mean is if you trade and you weaken yourself in any area, don't do it (I assume your in just a 1 season league). What's the point of gaining at one position but only to lost at another? If you've got somebody to come and take the position that's losing a player respectfully, then it might be a good trade. But if you lose out on a position only to gain on another, it's a wash.

Sounds like I should trust my draft and sit on my hands for a while. Good advice everybody, thanks. I did swap a receiver off waivers for my bench but don't anticipate doing much else until games are being played.

I noticed that it's a risk dropping a guy for another coming off waivers, because if the prospect gets swept up before it's your turn, then you potentially can lose both guys.

I decided I would do two leagues, and no more. I guess I don't want to do more than two because it's my first season, and, if I did half a dozen or so it would take the fun out of trying to get a team right.

I did draft already for one, and the other draft is later next month. This stuff is addicting already....

So...let's see your team so we can mock...er...critique it.


I think what OH Packers said about the fluff and hype is so important. Even FF veterans make this mistake. Someone in my leagues who's been playing FF for years will take Jordy Nelson in the 10th round based on his good showing at minicamps. (or would if the draft was today). I can almost gaurantee it.

Here she is. Standard ESPN, snake, 10 team, I drafted 7th.

Obviously, Cassell is a borderline starter and potentially a big risk on a pretty bad team. On the other hand, Todd Haley comes on board and KC looks to be a pass heavy team who will have to play catch up during games anyway.

I actually didn't draft a QB until the eighth round because most of the owners were running auto draft and it left me with no time to think and I got flustered, never having done a draft before. Next thing I knew the draft was half over and I didn't have a signal caller. Oh well, you live and learn.

I realize I don't need two TEs but I can always drop Keller at some point. Overall this probably isn't a real strong roster but that's ok, kinda just a dry run for me anyway. Ok, thanks and critique away!


QB- Matt Cassell, Matt Hasselbeck

WR- Larry Fitzgerald, DeSean Jackson, Eddie Royal, Donald Driver, Mark Clayton

RB- Brandon Jacobs, Thomas Jones, Kevin Smith, Willie Parker, Jerious Norwood

TE- Tony Gonzalez, Dustin Keller

D/ST- Baltimore

K- Mason Crosby

Being a 10 teamer, I'd find it hard to find to see this team getting to the playoffs easily. This looks like a team that might barely get a wild card spot (not to much optimism there).

QB- Matt Cassell, Matt Hasselbeck

I'm not a huge fan of Cassell. It's going to take some preseason snaps from him to convince me he'll get it done in KC. And if Cassell flops, Hasselbeck is one of the streakiest players in fantasy and doesn't have the team he once had.

WR- Larry Fitzgerald, DeSean Jackson, Eddie Royal, Donald Driver, Mark Clayton

Obviously Fitzgerald is a #1 WR. Jackson should be more of a noise maker this year. I don't think he'll make that step into #1 WR category, but will be a very high #2 WR. Royal has promise. The thing that hurts him is that Orton will probably be his QB now. Orton isn't even close to being as accurate as Cutler and it could be musical chairs in Denver this year. Especially since the Broncos are shaping up to be the leagues worst team. Driver is good and should put up similar numbers, but he's streaky (majority of the time solid) and is a #3 WR because of that. And Clayton is just a bust. He's just somebody that gets drafted for his name.

Good solid pair of receivers, but your 3rd starter worries me a lot. Especially in a 10 teamer.

RB- Brandon Jacobs, Thomas Jones, Kevin Smith, Willie Parker, Jerious Norwood

Of all your positions, this is the one that worries me the most. Jacobs is as solid as you can get, no worries there.

But it's your other 4. 3 of them are looking like they're going to be part of "a group". Smith, the poor man's Marshall Faulk will lose some carries and he's not that great to begin with. Mendenhall looked good last year and will definitely be on Parer's heels. Parker could be a sleeper or could be a guy that gets 1/2 of the carries. And Norwood is just a low end #3 RB as long as Turner is the starter. I like Jones and I LOVED him last year and nabbed him in all of my leagues, but another year in the books for an aging runner with a young buck behind him.

Being in a 10 teamer, I'd expect 2 top 15 runners on your team and I only see 1 definite one. Jones might. Parker might. Smith might. See my point? I'm surprised you weren't able to land a guy like Frank Gore instead of a guy as Jones as your #2.

TE- Tony Gonzalez, Dustin Keller

Very good TE tandem, enough said.

D/ST- Baltimore

Should be a top 10.

K- Mason Crosby

Has range and should see lots of XP's, will be a good point scorer.

Overall, a lot of "what ifs" on your team. Could be a bonafide contender but most likely will be a team scraping by to be a wild card. RB's really worry me and so does your #3 WR.

If you were in a 12 team league, you're competing for the top spot among your opponents.

Last year was my first year and I did pretty solid considering my first round pick was............Tom Brady


I ended up making quite a few moves during the season. My QB position was a carousel for the most part -- including such big time names like Matt Schaub (also injured most the time) Trent Edwards, Tyler Thigpen (surprisingly good fantasy player) and a few others.

My WR's though is where I did some nice tweaking. Picked up Eddie Royal and Lance Moore after week 1 and rode them, DeSean Jackson and Megatron to a pretty good record.

Basically, I was always looking for ways to improve my team and add consistent performers to it. And obviously, matchups are a huge thing. My kicker and defense changed on a weekly basis to reflect match up problems for opposing teams.

But like others have said, don't make moves just to make them and, "tinker." Have a reason to do something, and look long-term. If you're ditching a player for another, make sure that the guy you're ditching doesn't have awesome match ups for like 4 straight games down the stretch at the end of the season. That's when you're going to need him most.

This is the price I'm now having to pay for taking Fitz at #7 overall.

I could have had LT or Gore. I wasn't sure LT has enough value to take that high, considering his injuries, age, and the money they gave Sproles, although I know most people would have taken him there. Fitz just seemed better value than either of those running backs.

After taking Jacobs at 13, the only other running backs left were Smith, Jones, Ronnie Brown and Ryan Grant. I ended up getting two out of the four with my third and fourth picks. Looking back, I think I might feel better with Brown and Grant.

I ended up taking Parker with my sixth pick, after taking Gonzo with my fifth. There are a lot of things I would have done differently there with both of those picks.

As far as Cassell, I already went into why I unfortunately ended up with him in a previous post.

I'm happy knowing how much I've already learned from the mistakes I made in my first draft. I do appreciate the pointers because it motivated me to go back through the transaction log and study each pick I made and what I would have done better. Should make my second draft that much more exciting and easier to carry out.

Yeah, it looks a tad shaky for a 10 teamer. I'd be curious to see how the draft played out. It looks like you may have reached a little bit.

You do have some sleeper potential there though, and the draft is only half the battle. Working the waiver wire and making good lineup decisions is just as important. So it could still end well for you.

It looks like you probably went Fitzgerald in the 1st and Jacobs in the 2nd. Those are probably good picks, assuming you drafted 5th or later.

Your QBs are a little questionable. I do think Hasslebeck has a chance to have a nice rebound season. He's probably being a bit underrated in terms of where he's drafted. They had a rediculous amount of injuries to WRs last year. They've added Houshmanzadeh this year, so that should help. Cassell could be good also, but I suspect he was a product of a great system in NE and got to throw to some excellent WRs. Both are guys I'd rather have as backups, but both could be starter potential.

At RB you've got one good starter in Jacobs, and then you've got 3 #3 RBs. Parker is a guy who's being undervalued. A lot of folks like Kevin Smith a lot. I think Thomas Jones is nearly the end. If one or two of those guys can step up, you might be ok. I'd probably cut Norwood if there's a handcuff out there (a backup to one of your starters, like Ahmad Bradshaw (Jacobs) or Leon Washington (Thomas Jones)).

WR is more of the same. You've got the one stud, and then some guys who are better as #3s. Jackson and Royal both have tons of potential (I like Orton more than Vots does), but are guys better drafted as #3s or high end backups. Driver is ideal as a 3rd or 4th WR. You just need a good #2, which one of these guys could become if you're lucky.

TE-no problem there. Gonzo should be good. Keller could probably be dropped. TE is fairly deep this year, so I probably would have waited.

Kicker and D look good, too. You probably drafted your defense a little higher than I would have. I like to stockpile depth at RB and WR before I go looking at D and K. Kicker should almost always be your last pick.


I think to be competitive early you're going to need to hit on a couple guys like Parker, D. Jackson, Royal, and Kevin Smith. And have at least of one those QBs exceed expectations. Look to replace Norwood, Keller, and Clayton.

Good luck!

Nothing wrong with the Fitzgerald pick. I feel that RBs are a little deeper than WRs this year, and you can certainly get away with not going RB-RB in a 10 team league.

The 3rd and 4th was where you got into trouble. Both Jones and Smith were too early there. Brown or Grant would have been better, IMO, and I'd probably have only taken one and then a WR in the 4th. Parker in the 6th is decent value and a good RB3, and shows how deep that position is this year.

Gonzo in the 5th is probably about right for him, but I'm a fan of waiting on TE this year.

There are websites that do mock drafts like antsports.com or fantasyfootballcalculator.com. Next year run a few mock drafts to get an idea of how your draft might go and where players are falling. Don't be afraid to go off the board a little bit if there's a player you really like, but doing some mocks will keep you from taking a guy like Thomas Jones who you could have gotten the next time around. Or even just looking at the ADP (Average Draft Position) data can be a great help.

Good stuff everyone. I have no doubt that FF preparation is going to become a staple of my quest to make the post-mini camp, pre-TC doldrums a little more interesting. Anything to drowned out the Favre/TO/Vick/Burress overload....

I have a bit different take on this team. PLUS, you're in a 10 teamer. There will be waiver options.


QB- Matt Cassell, Matt Hasselbeck
You drafted Cassell as your starter but look for Hass to be a candidate for comeback player of the year. The team mailed it in last season because their coach was retiring and injuries. He's healthy this year and he is developing a good relationship with Housh. I'd expect in the area of 25 TDs. Cassell is a wildcard. I would expect FAR LESS success for him this year.

WR- Larry Fitzgerald, DeSean Jackson, Eddie Royal, Donald Driver, Mark Clayton
You have the second best WR in football so you're fine at WR 1. You could be playing musical chairs between Jackson Royal and Driver. The problem with musical chairs is guessing wrong each week. Hopefully one emerges for you.

RB- Brandon Jacobs, Thomas Jones, Kevin Smith, Willie Parker, Jerious Norwood
[b][/b] Jacobs is a touchdown machine and is always underrated because he tends to break down. I'm down on Jones this year due to skipping minicamp and losing goalline carries to Shonn Greene. Kevin Smith will likely be your #2 on this team. I'm finding quite a few sources that I really trust that believe Kevin will be a top 15 back this year. I like the flyer on Norwood. Turner led the league in carries last year. History dictates that he will not come close to that production this year and is likely to miss time due to injury.

TE- Tony Gonzalez, Dustin Keller
Can't argue with these guys at all. Don't expect the same results from Gonzo though.
D/ST- Baltimore
Again should be top 10 at worst.
K- Mason Crosby
[/quote]
Been a top scoring fantasy kicker for the past two years.

In all I think you made a couple of mistakes but that is my opinion. It looks like you took Thomas Jones in the 3rd round. I just don't like him here and I think you probably had better options. I also don't like Cassell as a starter but you got a backup who will outplay his draft position so you're alright. You need Kevin Smith to start the year like he finished and you need one of your WRs to emerge as a reliable option. All 3 guys I mentioned will have similar output causing you headaches week in and week out about who to start.

WR- Larry Fitzgerald, DeSean Jackson, Eddie Royal, Donald Driver, Mark Clayton
You have the second best WR in football so you're fine at WR 1. You could be playing musical chairs between Jackson Royal and Driver. The problem with musical chairs is guessing wrong each week. Hopefully one emerges for you.

________________

And that's why you DON'T play musical chairs. One of the small keys to winning championships is to keep your lineup steady. Do your best not to swap out players week in and week out.

No matter how much you research, it's still a toss-up who to start. You pick in your mind who the best player is and stick him out there, good and bad. If he's stinking it up, pull him out and plug in someone more consistent. But don't put the guy you pulled out right back in after he has a good week. Stay clear of that "strategy". It's really not a strategy because it's just luck.

It's harder to do this in football then say baseball, since the season is so much shorter. But that's why you don't draft (or try not to) streaky players in fantasy football. Then you won't have to worry about this.

BUT, Eddie Royal isn't streaky and he should be slotted in as your starter all season long unless he has a bye, injury or just straight falls off the planet. If he has a bad week or two, don't worry. It happens to the best of them. If you take him out because Driver had 150 yards last week, that decision usually ends up doing more harm then good.

I was doing fine sitting on my hands but I couldn't resist. Ray Rice was just sitting there on the unsigned list, so I dropped Norwood. Rice is the #1 in Baltimore now and looks to get more goal line carries. Also added Ted Ginn Jr. and droped Mark Clayton. Just figured Ginn has more upside and Clayton probably won't do anything spectacular with Mason back.

Still carrying a risk at qb but I'm just going to go ahead and hope for the best with the two I got.

QB- Matt Cassell, Matt Hasselbeck

WR- Larry Fitzgerald, DeSean Jackson, Eddie Royal, Donald Driver, Ted Ginn Jr (signed waivers). (Mark Clayton cut)

RB- Brandon Jacobs, Thomas Jones, Ray Rice (signed/waivers), Kevin Smith, Willie Parker. (Jerious Norwood cut)

TE- Tony Gonzalez, Dustin Keller

D/ST- Baltimore

K- Mason Crosby

The Rice pickup is a nice upgrade. You should be plenty deep at RB now.

Thanks. I was suprised to find him on the wire.