This is the first in a series of posts that will become my Rookie Training Camp.  One of my main goals when I created Starting Fantasy Lineup was to teach new players to be more competitive and to help them make their decisions for the right reasons.  For simplicity’s sake I will only discuss the most common league formats and scoring systems.

How the League Works.

Your team will consist of (in the majority of leagues) Quarter Backs (QB), Running Backs (RB), Wide Receivers (WR), Tight Ends (TE), Kickers (K), and Defensive and Special Teams (D/ST). Note: you chose a combined defense and special teams unit, not individual players. Each week you can only “start” a limited number of players at each position, you will need to see the league commissioner for the specific details of your league. Generally speaking, many leagues have fantasy owners start 1 QB 2 RB 3 WR 1 TE 1 K and 1 D/ST.  Also, it’s common in many leagues to have what is known as a flex position.  A flex spot can be filled by multiple positions for example, RB/WR/TE.  Some leagues only allow RB/WR for the flex spot and others only WR/TE (again, the exact criteria will need to be obtained from your league’s commissioner).

Your fantasy league will likely run very much like the NFL in terms of “team” match-ups.  You will have an opponent each week and you will face them head-to-head to determine the winner.  When you set your starting lineup each week you will be picking the players who can potentially earn points toward your weekly total.  The amount of points a player gains you is based off of their statistics for that week.  The following is a breakdown of a Standard Scoring System:

Offensive Players:
6 pts per rushing or receiving TD
6 pts for player returning kick/punt for TD
6 pts for player returning or recovering a fumble for TD
4 pts per passing TD
2 pts per rushing or receiving 2 pt conversion
2 pts per passing 2 pt conversion
1 pt  per 10 yards rushing or receiving
1 pt  per 25 yards passing

-2 pts per intercepted pass
-2 pts per fumble lost

Kickers (K)
5 pts per 50+ yard FG made
4 pts per 40-49 yard FG made
3 pts per FG made, 39 yards or less
2 pts per rushing, passing, or receiving 2 pt conversion
1 pt  per Extra Point made

Defensive/Special Teams (D)

10	pts for 0 points allowed
7	pts for 2-6 points allowed
4	pts for 7-13 points allowed
1	pt  for 14-17 points allowed
0	pts for 18-21 points allowed
-1	pts for 22-27 points allowed
-4	pts for 28-34 points allowed
-7	pts for 35-45 points allowed
-10	pts for 46+ points allowed

3 pts per defensive or special teams TD
2 pts per interception
2 pts per fumble recovery 2 pts per blocked punt, PAT, or FG

2 pts per safety
1 pt per sack

After the NFL’s stats are final for each week (Tuesday mornings) a winner is declared.  At the end of the regular season the teams with the top records enter the playoffs, the number of teams that go through is determined at the beginning of the season by the commissioner of your league.

Are you worried yet?  Well you shouldn’t be.  Calm down, you don’t need to remember all this quite yet.  However, it is good to be aware of exactly how the points are calculated.

That’s the basics for how a fantasy league operates and in my next section we will discuss The Draft!

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This is an interesting time to do some scouting very early for next year’s fantasy football team and now is the best time to start taking notes on players that made the Playoffs.

Among the biggest stand-out teams in this year’s playoffs are the New York Jets.  The player everyone will want to know about is Mark Sanchez, and I don’t see any way that Sanchez is a viable fantasy option outside of very deep formats.  The forecast that I see for him is similar to that of Joe Flacco.  His performance this season was streaky, but he made plays when it mattered most and he will continue to do so.  I think the Jets are likely to repeat a playoff berth and possibly even win the division.  With that said the player I see making the biggest impact on fantasy rosters next season is Shonn Greene.  The way Ryan and the Jets used him at the end of the season led me to believe that Thomas Jones was worn out.  I would expect Greene to take the majority of the work starting early next year so that Jones is able to contribute the entire season.  I envision Jones getting most the short yardage work and splitting goal-line carries with Greene, who will take up the primary rushing role.  Braylon Edwards will likely remain a Jet going into next season but when you think about drafting him think about the pass that bounced off his face mask in the the open field against Buffalo, because no matter who throws the ball Edwards has a problem with drops.

Another team that I felt stood out was the Baltimore Ravens.  With how young Flacco is it would be hard for them to be playing instead of Manning and the Colts, but all this post-season time he is seeing early in his career will help him to develop into a premiere QB in the league.  He may not yet be a starting Fantasy Football QB but that is not much his fault… If the Ravens can get some deeper talent at WR he will end up top 10 at his position next season.  Ray Rice never slowed down, all season.  He gained respect among Fantasy owners every time he touched the football this season and the Playoffs was no different.  He is a threat in both dimensions of the offense and will mature with the rest of that offensive unit.  I also respect the Ravens because of their Defense, which at times struggled and faced injuries to big play-makers but they kept Flacco and their offense in almost every game and they will lead the Ravens back to the Playoffs again next year.

The biggest disappointment this post season was the Cincinnati Bungals.  They swept their division by playing smart and disciplined in all three phases and with a punishing run game.  These are the most important elements to playoff football, but they still broke down at the end and took an early exit against the Jets.  I saw great things come from the Bengals all season and after the unfortunate passing of their teammate, they never quite seemed the same.  Not that this is why, but it definitely crushed the momentum they had built for themselves and following that incident Cedric Benson was ROBBED of Comeback Player of the Year and they were snubbed by the Pro Bowl.  All these distractions broke the focus of the team down and cost them a chance to make a deep run into the playoffs.  Next season they are hopefully able to retain focus deep into the year and Palmer has one last shot to win a Super Bowl because after that they may need a new QB.

Hard to call losing with such a profound effort a disappointment but I expected the Packers to go deep this year, not out in the first round.  It made for a fitting end to Warner’s career who is too often forgotten as one of the most incredible football players of our time, but I view it like the Packers do, a loss, and a big one.  Rodgers has yet to step up and really fill the shoes of Favre, and lasting long enough to beat him (or even face him) in the Playoffs would have done just that.  Next year will be another phenomenal fantasy campaign for Rodgers and a fair few Packers, but that is little consolation if they are one and done in the post season again next season.

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