Fantasy Football Guides
Fantasy Football Guide Reviews & Suggestions
It’s good to have some manner of fantasy football guide, especially if you’ve only recently started playing. Of course, that doesn’t mean experienced fantasy owners can’t also benefit from a little help from time to time.
But what is a fantasy football guide?
Is it a publication which tells you the best NFL players to draft, or is it more along the lines of a how-to guide for the fantasy football novice?
Then again, maybe it’s a beady-eyed fellow from South America who’ll lead you into the fantasy football jungles and eventually betray you like in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In truth, it can be any of the above, although the last example is far less likely. For the purposes of this article, we’ll be taking a look at a variety of fantasy football guides, and I’ll offer a description and a little commentary for each. The next time you need some fantasy football help, you might want to consider one of the following.
Rotoworld Fantasy Football Draft Guide - Rotoworld offers some impressive fantasy football content. In fact, it was named the 2008 Fantasy Content Site of the Year by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Their draft guide is available for only $14.99, and just look at all the features it offers: over 550 player profiles and projections, customizable cheatsheets, stat projections, mock draft analysis, and much more.
KFFL Free Fantasy Draft Guide - You’ve gotta love the guys over at the KFFL, as they offer a comprehensive draft guide for absolutely no cost. While their specialty is providing up-to-the-minute NFL news and reports, their draft guide content is filled with all sorts of fantasy football wisdom. Just take a look at all the stuff you receive: player rankings and cheat sheets (available for multiple scoring systems and various online leagues such as Yahoo! and ESPN), fantasy injury news, fantasy football advice, fantasy football strategy, player analysis (including sleepers and undervalued players), busts and overvalued players, team analysis, rookie analysis, IDP analysis, and even a feature where two writers debate over who’s better from a pair of selected players.
Fantasy Football The Next Level: How to Build a Championship Team Every Season - Written by David Dorey, the co-founder and co-owner of The Huddle, this 320-page fantasy football book can be purchased through Amazon. In its pages, you’ll find the following handy information: learn the true value of each fantasy football position, learn to ignore players overvalued due to last year’s success, and learn to use your league’s scoring system to your advantage. There’s lots more of course, and Dorey’s record of success in various fantasy football expert leagues makes this fantasy football guide a must-have.
Fantasy Football for Dummies - This one can be purchased on Amazon for the bargain price of only $11.55. At that price, is there any reason not to get it? Packed with 288 pages of fantasy football goodness, it’s especially recommended for those of you who’ve never played before. You’ll learn the basics of fantasy football and how it works, how to assemble a competitive team in your draft, how to build in-season management skills, how to avoid common rookie mistakes, and so much more. I would especially suggest you give this book a try if you’re planning on playing fantasy football for the first time. Many rookies make stupid blunders because they don’t know any better, and there’s at least a chance that reading Fantasy Football for Dummies could spare you some of that first-year embarrassment. Besides, what have you got to lose besides 11 bucks?
Fantasy Football Guidebook - Another book available from Amazon, The Fantasy Football Guidebook is available for $17.95. Written by Sam Hendricks, it’s a robust 400 pages of fantasy football tips and advice. Sam uses a unique tiering system to rank his players, and he also offers explanations of the various types of leagues and scoring systems. The book also includes advice on drafting your team, managing your team, and how to avoid the pitfalls faced by many new players. There’s also plenty of humor throughout, so it’s a nice change from some of the more dry texts on the subject.
RealTime Fantasy Sports Draft Guide - Another free draft guide, the guys over at RealTime Fantasy Sports have you covered on the following topics: feature articles, rookies, sleepers, injuries, positional battles, average draft position, busts, team rankings, IDP rankings, keeper league rankings, training camp news, depth charts, mock drafts, player rankings, and more. At the risk of sounding cheap, it’s always nice to find this sort of information without paying for it. I would suggest comparing a few of the free guides, however, just to see how far off their predictions are. While this type of information is useful, don’t be a slave to it. In the end, it’s your fantasy football team, so try to do some thinking for yourself.
Fantasy Football Guide from the Black Web Portal - This guide was written by Lloyd Vance--who also happens to be an award-winning scribe who’s connected with the Pro Football Writers of America--and it’s filled with all kinds of handy fantasy football information. For example, make sure you pick a league commissioner that you can trust, otherwise you may find that the league prize money has already been spent by the end of the season. Bye weeks are discussed, as well as “handcuffs,” trades, the waiver wire, the proper attitude, and the importance of deciding on rules prior to the draft. Part Two of the article offers advice such as: don’t drink at your draft, don’t get caught in a positional run, and don’t hold up the draft while you look through a fantasy magazine. If you’re looking for a quick guide to the do’s and don’ts of fantasy football, this article will tell you what your need to know in a simple and straightforward fashion.
Your Local Newspaper - If you live in a major city, you might also consider checking the weekend edition for some kind of fantasy football guide. USA Today has a great section devoted to the subject, and I know for a fact that the Dallas Morning News (my local paper) also offers one. You can either pick up the physical version of the paper, or you may be able to find it for free on the paper’s online edition.