http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/sports/2009-fantasy-football-player-sleepers.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/2009-fantasy-football-player-sleepers.html Wed, 05 Aug 2009 23:05:19 -0500 fantasy football Mock Draft found on their home page. The Mock Draft was formulated using the generally accepted "standard" league configuration.

2009 Fantasy Football Sleepers

QB: Kyle Orton (DEN) - Orton was brought to Denver in the off-season trade for Jay Cutler. He is leaving an offense in Chicago that limited his passing attempts and had few receiving threats. In Denver, Coach Josh McDaniels will want to give Orton the opportunity to prove his controversial trade of Cutler was a smart move. With Brandon Marshall (maybe), Eddie Royal, Tony Sheffler, and others as his receiving options, Orton will put up fantastic numbers for the 16th QB off the board at the projected last pick of the 11th round.

RB: Derrick Ward (TB) - Ward skipped out of New York into a situation in Tampa where the QB position is up for grabs. This scenario almost always favors the running game. While Ward was second fiddle in New York to Brandon Jacobs, he still put up a quiet 1000 yards (5.6 ypc). There is talk of a platoon situation with Earnest Graham in Tampa, but that is what is driving his draft position down. Ward will be the feature back and will receive the majority of carries throughout the year. Picking up a 1A running back in a tandem as the 30th RB off the board in the projected mid-7th round is a steal.

WR: Josh Morgan (SF) - Morgan is the true definition of a Sleeper. Isaac Bruce receives the attention due to his surprising results from last year and Michael Crabtree gets the press due to his high-profile college career, draft position and current holdout. Crabtree will sign before the season starts as it is asinine to expect Top-5 rookie money as the 10th overall pick. However, his holdout, rookie status and lingering ankle injury will cost him playing time this year and Isaac Bruce will slow down as the Niners work some youth in at the WR position. This will be Morgan. He is projected to be available at the start of the 12th round - a very nice place for a receiver that you can start every week.

TE: Ben Celek (PHIL) - Tight End is a position that is very deep and turns out Sleepers year-in and year-out. With that in mind, you can let other managers spend high draft picks on Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten and Antonio Gates. Celek turned it on at the end of 2008, especially during the playoffs. The Eagles let long-time McNabb favorite, L.J. Smith, go since they have his replacement in Celek. With Philly's plethora of wispy receivers, McNabb needs someone to make the tough catches and hold onto the ball without leaving the field on a cart. Celek will fill that role nicely as a 16th round pick.

D: San Diego Chargers - The Chargers defense gave up 347 points last year but were missing Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips for most of last year. They are back and healthy this year. The Chargers also added Larry English in the middle of the defense. The schedule is very favorable (how can it not be when playing 6 games against AFC West teams?!) and the offense will be dominant once again, which is helpful in assisting the defense with additional sacks and interceptions. The Chargers are projected as the 18th defense off the board, which will occur in the 16th round.

K: Garrett Hartley (NO) - After the Saints came to their senses and dropped Martin Gramatica and replaced him with Hartley, Hartley promptly went 13-13 on FGs and 28-28 on extra points. While kickers rarely get much attention in the fantasy world, any kicker that is accurate, kicks in a dome over half the year (including a road game in Atlanta) and kicks for a team that puts a load of points on the board is worthy of drafting in the very last round of your draft as your only kicker.

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Bill Parsons is the owner of http://www.MaximumFantasySports.com and a rabid fantasy sports participant. He began creating his own football and baseball fantasy leagues at the ripe old age of seven; tracking stats and standings on paper. Bill decided to create a real-time fantasy football league website that includes all of the best features and some of which have never been attempted at any other website. Maximum Fantasy Sports offers Free pools and fairly priced Private Fantasy Football leagues as well as Public Leagues with cash payouts.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/how-to-choose-a-fantasy-football-league.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/how-to-choose-a-fantasy-football-league.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:14:20 -0500
Here are three things to think about when choosing a fantasy football league:

1. Ease of use. You need to choose a service that is easy to use. One that has a bad setup and a difficult back end will take all of the fun out of the process. This is not something that you want to deal with.

2. Tips and other information. Some fantasy football leagues have a lot of information available to members. This includes everything from real life roster moves to which players are hot to previews for the upcoming games.

3. Money. If you are playing fantasy football money may come into your mind in two ways. First off, how much do I have to pay to join the league? Secondly, how much can I win if I come out on top? While there are fantasy football leagues that do not charge, you are not going to win anything if you place at the top.

Are you in the midst of trying to choose to choose a fantasy football league to play in this year? If so, think about the three areas detailed above: ease of use, information available, and money/prizes.

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Maximum Fantasy Sports (MFS) is the most innovative and configurable website in the fantasy football industry. While other sites have been copying our offerings, no other site has mastered options such as In-game changes, Bye Week rollover or the variety of Flex positions, including usage of the Team QB. MFS also has the most robust Live Draft control. It is very easy to use, allows co-owners to participate in the draft simultaneously and allows multiple players to draft from the same computer without swapping logins. Additionally, Maximum Fantasy Sports has the only pre-ranking system that uses player position rankings established prior to the draft by the team owner in addition to the standard player ranking.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/why-play-fantasy-sports.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/why-play-fantasy-sports.html Sun, 26 Jul 2009 21:14:19 -0500
Here are three reasons that you should consider playing fantasy sports:

1. It is fun. No matter if you are playing fantasy football, basketball, baseball or another sport you are going to have a great time. There is nothing like getting involved with a sport that you love.

2. You can compete with friends. Remember, playing fantasy sports is not something you have to do on your own. Do you have a friend or group of people who you can play with? If so, you should urge them to join you. It is fun to play fantasy sports on your own, but with others it gets even better.

3. You can win a lot of money. If you get involved with a paid fantasy sports service you can win a lot if you are lucky enough to come out on top when the season ends. This is not the only reason to play, but one that you want to consider.

These reasons should be enough to show you why it is time to get involved with fantasy sports.

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Maximum Fantasy Sports (MFS) is the most innovative and configurable website in the fantasy football industry. While other sites have been copying our offerings, no other site has mastered options such as In-game changes, Bye Week rollover or the variety of Flex positions, including usage of the Team QB. MFS also has the most robust Live Draft control. It is very easy to use, allows co-owners to participate in the draft simultaneously and allows multiple players to draft from the same computer without swapping logins. Additionally, Maximum Fantasy Sports has the only pre-ranking system that uses player position rankings established prior to the draft by the team owner in addition to the standard player ranking.

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/fantasy-football-preseason-checklist.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/fantasy-football-preseason-checklist.html Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:32:18 -0500 Fantasy Football season.  Sure, you could take the easy way out and let your autodraft engine pick your team for you and hope that you will be competitive.  However, very few leagues are won this way.  You need to gain the advantage at draft time by picking the sleepers ahead of the other managers and being positioned to pick the waiver wire clean at the appropriate times during the season.  So, here is a basic checklist to start with. 

1. Determine what fantasy sports website you want to play on.  Even if you are not the Commissioner, you want to investigate the variety of sites available and determine who has the best features and appears to be the easiest to use.  Do not be afraid to use a site that you have not seen on national television.  Investments in innovation will help you play in a more enjoyable league.

2. Start building the pool of players that will one day make up your player rankings.  Many sites have players ranked at draft time, but everyone in your league will have access to that information.  You want your list of players ranked by your expectation of how they will perform this season.  If you do your homework before the draft, you should be in position to take home the crown at the end of the season.  If it looks iffy, bribe a few other managers to dump players your way.

3. Now, that player pool is not as easy to pour as a cold beer.  Start by going over the free agent movement since the Super Bowl ended.  There is a lot of time between now and your league's draft for NFL teams to build their depth chart.  You want to flag potential position battles for the number 1 and number 2 slots in your money positions.  No reason to worry about who the number 1 running back is in New York, but you may be concerned about who will win the number 2 slot.  You want to focus on news involving these players.

4. Of course, you better factor rookies into the mix.  Not many make an impact so drafting the correct players will save draft picks for more useful players or backups to your studs.  So, grab the draft results from April.  Everyone knows that Chris "Beanie" Wells will be a rookie to draft, but what about Donald Brown?  You want to be the team that drafts him first.  Of course, he'll be known by draft time, so go through all picks and try to imagine where they will factor into the depth chart, even if they will not be the obvious number 2 back. For example, get to know LeSean McCoy. Wow, I could just hear a resounding "Who?!". With Brian Westbrook a perennial injury risk, McCoy could be the feature back on a very good team in no time.

5. Start digesting news and injury reports, making sure to focus on the teams where you see the best position battles and greatest opportunity for upside.  If you keep a comprehensive diary of these happenings, you can trust this more than random articles found before the draft….except mine, of course. Also, my mock draft will be on the heels of this article.

6. Don't rely on your research to be the only source of influence on your initial player pool.  Pick up a few trade magazines.  We suggest picking up a copy of Fantasy Football Cheatsheets or Fantasy Football Diehards.  Add some of their sleepers and rookies to your pool that you have omitted and you will have a good collection of players to track news on this summer and help you set your player rankings before your draft.  Once again, you can ignore the news about Michael Turner, Larry Fitzgerald. and the like, that is, unless they have poor habits like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute, swimming with sharks with an open wound, or constantly complaining about how unfair their contract is.

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Bill Parsons is the owner of http://www.MaximumFantasySports.com and a rabid fantasy sports participant. He began creating his own football and baseball fantasy leagues at the ripe old age of seven; tracking stats and standings on paper. Bill decided to create a real-time fantasy football league website that includes all of the best features and some of which have never been attempted at any other website. Maximum Fantasy Sports offers Free pools and fairly priced Private Fantasy Football leagues as well as Public Leagues with cash payouts.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/how-to-play-fantasy-football-confidence-pools-better.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/how-to-play-fantasy-football-confidence-pools-better.html Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:32:35 -0500 fantasy football for a while and you've been asked to play in your first Confidence Pool. Or perhaps you're new to fantasy sport games entirely. In either case, a Confidence Pool is actually a pretty interesting way to bet on games. We say "bet" because you're picking a team to win each of each week's games, though you are not actually placing a wager.

The game is pretty simple. In a standard Confidence Pool, you're asked to pick the winners of each NFL contest for the week (yep, all 16 games; less during bye weeks). Then you weight each pick with a number of confidence points between 1 and 16 (where higher is better). You can't re-use a number, and you must use all numbers. When the team you picked to win actually wins, you get the points you assigned to that game.

Scoring and Payouts
So how do scoring and payouts work? Many pools will collect an entry fee. That fee is collected from all participants and dispersed in the form of weekly and/or season prizes. The weekly winner is the person whose coin flips yielded the most points from correct picks (as close to 136 points as possible). Those rankings are tabulated throughout the season to determine standings within your league. You can win one week to win money, and you can also win the aggregate scoring for the season.

This kind of award structure means that even rookie confidence poolboys can compete with experts. Even a novice who uses the "animal strategy" can pick the best during any given week. (The "animal strategy" is whereby you pick the winner as if it were a cage battle in the wilderness. For example, in a game pitting the Chicago Bears versus the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bears win every time. Of course, this strategy has a few pitfalls: see "Detroit Lions" or on the other end, "Arizona Cardinals.")

Variable League Settings
A good fantasy sports site will allow pool commissioners to pick from a wide variety of customizable settings. We'll address a few of the most common league options below. You will want to weigh the options and the cost amongst a few of the providers. There are some good websites out there that offer Free Confidence Pools. You just have to do a search for them.

Confidence Pools usually allow each team owner to discard a certain number of bad week's worth of picks per season (say, your lowest 2 weeks out of the 16 weeks). These are often referred to as "Drop Weeks." This feature allows you to forget about the week when you were heading out of town and didn't read up, and it helps to brighten your spirits after an unusually bad week.

Another common option is to not rank weekly straight-up winners, but rather rank winners against the spread. This tougher option requires that if the Broncos - Raiders spread is 6 points (in favor of the Broncos in this case), you'd have to pick whether the Broncos will win by 6 or more, or win by less than 6. You'd then assign confidence points to that pick as you would a normal pool.

Finally, does your pool allow "autopicks" to be used when the owner does not make picks for the week? Autopicks allow the computer to use your default decision-making system, such as to pick all favorites, ranked in descending order by the point spread. If your pool closes the opportunity to make picks at the start of the first game and you are busy sleeping off your Saturday night's drinks, at least you are playing that week.

Winning
If you've read this far, you deserve some advice on how to win your Confidence Pool. Beyond the obvious (which is to make sure to assign points according to your confidence), every confidence league player should be aware of the major factors that affect winning in the NFL: injuries, weather, home-field advantage, team matchups, and coaching matchups. Studying all of this information for every game can be tedious for the non-NFL-aholic, but there are many websites and experts that will offer predictions for each game. It's worth checking with these websites if you don't have time to do the research yourself.
Best of luck!

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Rob Eaman is a sports journalist for http://www.MaximumFantasySports.com and a devout fantasy sports participant. Rob found Maximum Fantasy Sports while searching for a unique, real-time fantasy football website that offers settings that he used in his offline fantasy football leagues. Only Maximum Fantasy Sports met that need and much more. Maximum Fantasy Sports offers Free pools and fairly priced Private Fantasy Football leagues as well as Public Leagues with cash payouts.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/how-to-play-survivor-pools.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/how-to-play-survivor-pools.html Sat, 16 May 2009 10:23:29 -0500 fantasy footballl? Well, why not make things a bit more interesting this year? Why not play in a Survivor Pool? Mix in a bit of knowledge with pure luck to see if you can stay undefeated the longest and become the last player standing to tower over all whom you have vanquished.

The Survivor Pool concept is a pretty simple one; survive in the pool the longest in order to win. This is achieved, in most pools, by correctly picking the winner of a game every week. There is a variation that is the complete opposite; picking a losing team each week.

Survivor Pools are most commonly used with the NFL since there are fewer teams than in the NCAA and the teams are followed more widely. However, a Survivor Pool can easily be modified to work in union with other occasions, such as college bowl seasons. In the case of NFL Survivor Pools, you are asked to pick one team per week who you think will win the game. If that team does win, you move onto next week. If that team loses, so do you and you are out. The game continues until one player is left in the pool. That person is then pronounced the winner and will merrily collect their prize.

You basically have two choices to play in a Survivor Pool; you can either start your own pool, such as at your office, and get co-workers to join or you could choose to join a pool that is already in existence. If you set up your own pool, you decide the rules. If you join an existing pool, then you have to follow the rules set out by the person who set up that particular pool. All rules should be clearly defined and documented in advance of the first game. These rules are also known as the pool configuration. What settings are commonly available for configuration of a Survivor Pool?

Many sites host Survivor Pools, though few will host your pools for free. Common settings of all sites include; the maximum players allowed in the pool, the tiebreaker rules to be followed in event the season end with more than one player still active, if Rebirths are allowed and, if so, how many Rebirths are allowed per team and if there is a Cutoff week. Rebirths allow a team who is out to buy their way back into the pool. Other settings include allowing autopicks and the total number of weeks autopicks are allowed, whether the players need to pick winning teams or losing teams and what the charges are for the league (Entrance fee, Rebirth fee).

Survivor Pools are also called Last Man Standing Pools, Eliminator Pools, Knockout Pools and Suicide Pools. These aren't the only fantasy football pools involving NFL teams. You can also participate in Point Spread or Pick 'em Pools, Confidence Pools and Super Bowl Squares Pools. Descriptions of these pools can be found in different articles.

Depending on the amount of people taking part in the pool that you are in and the entrance fee, you could win hundreds of dollars! It is not all about the money, though that is clearly the best prize. It is also about getting involved and enjoying being more than just a spectator in the NFL, so get yourself signed up!


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Bill Parsons is the owner of Maximum Fantasy Sports and a rabid fantasy football participant. He began creating his own football and baseball fantasy leagues at the ripe old age of seven; tracking stats and standings on paper. Bill decided to create a real-time
fantasy football league website that includes all of the best features and some of which have never been attempted at any other website.


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/2009-nfl-draft-impact-on-fantasy-football-nfc.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/2009-nfl-draft-impact-on-fantasy-football-nfc.html Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:31:47 -0500 fantasy football leagues. While we may have thoughts on the absurdity of the contracts signed by high draft picks, it has no effect on our fantasy football team's payroll. Players may have been drafted higher or lower than projected, but that has no impact on where they will be drafted in our leagues. What matters most to us is if the player will play and if it will be this year or in upcoming years. Let's take a quick spin through the NFC and look at each team's new additions that could factor into our fantasy football drafts.

Arizona - The Cards happily grabbed RB Chris "Beanie" Wells with the first pick in the second round. He will play immediately as Edgerrin James was released and Tim Hightower appears to be best suited as a goal-line back. Beanie should be drafted in one-season in rounds 4-5 in standard 12-team leagues and rounds 3-4 in Keeper leagues.

Atlanta - Eight picks, all on defense. So, obviously, the Falcons D is the only position that improved. They have some solid additions to support their corners as well as help John Abraham, especially DT Peria Jerry, S William Moore and DE Lawrence Sidbury. This will propel them into the top half of draftable defenses.

Carolina - DE Everette Brown and S Sherrod Martin will help the defense a bit, though not near as much as keeping Julius Peppers will. Their defense should remain in the same draft position.

Chicago - The Bears did pretty well considering they only drafted on Day 2. WR Juaquin Iglesias is a nice addition to a weak receiving core and could be a productive late round pick on draft day. DT Jarron Gilbert will help the Bears D out a bit, though not altering their draft position.

Dallas - The Cowboys traded their way into a lot of worthless picks. Even though the Cowboys had no draftable backup QB last year, I do not believe that QB Stephen McGee is in that category this year. If you draft QB Tony Romo, your backup should be a starting QB on another team.

Detroit - QB Matthew Stafford is giddy knowing that he will be given the reigns to a winless team, so the bar for success in worm-high. It also brings a rare smile to his face when he envisions WR Calvin Johnson in his huddle. However, he is still a rookie QB on a winless team, so don't pick him as your number 1 QB. He should be drafted higher in Keeper leagues. TE Brandon Pettigrew is a must-draft TE in later rounds.

Green Bay - Green Bay's D was productive in the TD category last season, but was a bit of a sieve. Adding DT B.J. Raji and LB Clay Matthews enhances this position a few rounds.

Minnesota - The Vikings grabbed WR Percy Harvin to add a new dimension to their offense. The kid can flat-out play, if he adjusts to life in the Twin Cities. I would definitely recommend picking him up in early double-digit rounds.

New Orleans - The Saints' D was startable at certain times last season coming off the waiver wire. That will change a bit this year with the additions of CB Malcolm Jenkins and S Chip Vaughn. I feel good recommending drafting them in the last round.

New York Giants - The G-Men addressed their biggest need right away by drafting WR Hakeem Nicks. He should be drafted in early double digit rounds. I would recommend a late round handcuff of RB Andre Brown if you draft Brandon Jacobs. RB Derrick Ward is now on Tampa so Brown will be taking over for him.

Philadelphia - Philly will have the most rookies drafted this year. They landed WR Jeremy Maclin, TE Cornelius Ingram and RB LeSean McCoy. Maclin may be a DeSean Jackson clone in playmaking ability, which is good if he waits until he crosses the goal line to celebrate his scores. Ingram will be a favorite target of McNabb when he needs a tough catch across the middle and McCoy is a must-draft handcuff to Westbrook.

Seattle - LB Aaron Curry will definitely help Seattle on defense, but makes no difference in fantasyland. WR Deon Butler was drafted to replace Bobby Engram, but I see no reason to draft him unless you are in a really deep league.

San Francisco - The Niners get a gift in picking up WR Michael Crabtree with the 10th pick. He is the class of the receiving group and will be a flat-out receiving stud in the NFL. I don't think you'll get him if you wait until the middle rounds of your draft. You especially want to grab him early in your Keeper Leagues. In addition to Crabtree, the Niners picked up RB Glen Coffey who should be your handcuff to Frank Gore.

St. Louis - The Rams picked up T Jason Smith to replace Orlando Pace and will show immediate dividends in the passing and running game as Pace is vastly overrated and almost stationary nowadays. That being said, Marc Bulger is a late draft pick and Steven Jackson is still a first round pick. As much as I love LB James Laurinaitis, he doesn't make the Rams D draftable in any format.

Tampa Bay - Good luck with QB Josh Freeman. If he only played as well as he talks. He has the size for an NFL QB (6' 6"), but I don't even recommend drafting him in a Keeper League.

Washington - The Skins further enhanced their defensive front by drafting DE Brian Orakpo. In addition to line help, they also grabbed two LBs and CB Kevin Barnes. This greatly enhances the attraction of the Washington D and moves them into the top 8-10 defenses to draft.

--
Bill Parsons is the owner of Maximum Fantasy Sports and a rabid fantasy sports participant. He began creating his own football and baseball fantasy leagues at the ripe old age of seven; tracking stats and standings on paper. Bill decided to create a real-time fantasy football league website that includes all of the best features and some of which have never been attempted at any other website. Join Maximum Fantasy Sports today. Membership is Free!

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/2009-nfl-draft-impact-on-fantasy-football-afc.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/2009-nfl-draft-impact-on-fantasy-football-afc.html Tue, 28 Apr 2009 23:26:33 -0500 fantasy football leagues. While we may have thoughts on the absurdity of the contracts signed by high draft picks, it has no effect on our fantasy football team's payroll. Players may have been drafted higher or lower than projected, but that has no impact on where they will be drafted in our leagues. What matters most to us is if the player will play and if it will be this year or in upcoming years. Let's take a quick spin through the AFC and look at each team's new additions that could factor into our fantasy football drafts.

Baltimore - Baltimore's best pick was on the offensive line with G Michael Oher. I cannot see this changing the draft position of any of the Ravens' three-headed backfield. DE Paul Kruger was a nice addition to an aging defense.

Buffalo - Buffalo added players across the board, except for the offensive skill positions (Terrell Owens was added via free agency). DE Aaron Maybin will be a stud on defense, bumping the defense up a few positions. They did add TE Shawn Nelson who could have a sneaky year catching passes underneath. Hopefully, Owens won't catch him conspiring with QB Trent Edwards on individual plays.

Cincinnati - The Bengals had a great overall draft, but their improvements on the offensive line OT Andre Smith and defense with LB Rey Maualuga and DE Michael Johnson does little to make their defense draftable or increase the draftability of any offensive players. I do love TE Chase Coffman and will take my chances on him with a late round pick.

Cleveland - Rookie wide receivers rarely do much in the NFL, but the Browns added two that I would recommend taking as a late round pick; Brian Robiskie and Mohamed Massaquoi.

Denver - The Broncos addressed their biggest weakness; their defense. However, their defense should only be rostered when facing Kansas City and Oakland. RB Knowshon Moreno is worth drafting, but I would not draft him too high as Denver signed 4 free agent RBs so I don't see Moreno as their primary back.

Houston - The Texans added a few starters on defense to help out Mario Williams. The jury is out on whether or not it makes the position draftable or not cuz they were the 27th-ranked fantasy defense in 2008.

Indianapolis - DT Fili Moala helps the defense immediately, but the player to focus on is RB Donald Brown. Brown quietly lead the NCAA in rushing yards in 2008 and will step in right away for the Colts. Joseph Addai is still the number 1 running back, but has proven to be injury-prone, so Brown will get reps right away to minimize Addai's touches. He should be selected in middle rounds and a few rounds higher in Keeper Leagues.

Jacksonville - The Jags grabbed a pair of offensive tackles to help restore their running game. This should keep Maurice Jones-Drew as a second round pick. WR Mike Thomas is worth a late-round flier.

Kansas City - The Chiefs signed a few good players on defense in DT Alex Magee and LB Tyson Jackson, but they will not make their defense worth drafting.

Miami - You will read a lot about how well QB Patrick White will fit into the Fins' Wildcat offense, but how many touches can you realistically expect? They grabbed 6' 5" WR Patrick Thomas outta USC to help their passing game, but if their offense does not make Ted Ginn Jr an every week starter, Thomas has no chance.

New England - Much like Dallas, New England worked multiple trades to fill multiple holes, but none of them will help us in the fantasy world. No offensive players to note and their D will not change draft perception with the new additions.

New York Jets - The Jets were the most daring team during the draft and landed two draftable players out of their three picks in QB Mark Sanchez and RB Shonn Green. Many people questioned the Green pick, but I love this kid. He is as tough and powerful as they get. Thomas Jones is in his early 30s and threatening to hold out if he doesn't get more cash and Leon Washington may become too expensive, so Green is not a bench warmer. Sanchez had a short starting career at USC, but excelled in a pro style offense and seems polished and ready to tackle the New York media. I would recommend Sanchez as a mid-round pick and can see taking Green as a double digit round pick. Bump Sanchez up considerably in Keeper leagues and bump Green up a few rounds in Keeper leagues as well.

Oakland - Oakland would receive much more ridicule for its draft choices if Detroit wasn't in the league. However, in fantasy football, who cares if Oakland drafted a guy a round too early and bypassed a much better receiver to do it. WR Darius Heyward-Bey is a burner and can put up some serious numbers if JaMarcus Russell can get him the ball. A good mid-round pick.

Pittsburgh - The Steelers didn't really do much to change fantasy football except add another solid DT to its defense in Evander Hood. They should still be the first or second defense drafted.

San Diego - The Chargers added DE Larry English, but will probably move him to LB, especially if Merriman is slowed from his knee surgery and Shaun Phillips can't stay out of trouble. No impact on fantasy in the least.

Tennessee - WR Kenny Britt was their best pick, but he will be a third option in a run first, second and third offense. They replaced Albert Haynesworth with DT Sen'Derrick Marks (no misspelling on the name). He is a slight step back, but won't change the location in the draft for the Tennessee D.

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Bill Parsons is the owner of Maximum Fantasy Sports and a rabid fantasy sports participant. He began creating his own football and baseball fantasy leagues at the ripe old age of seven; tracking stats and standings on paper. Bill decided to create a real-time fantasy football league website that includes all of the best features and some of which have never been attempted at any other website. Join Maximum Fantasy Sports today. Membership is Free!

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/chicago-bears-personnel-decisions.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/chicago-bears-personnel-decisions.html Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600 fantasy football participant and would enjoy it more if I wasn’t also a Chicago Bears fan. Bears fans get to see Bears’ castoffs playing well for other teams. For awhile, Chicagoans thought this “gift” was only bestowed upon Cubs fans.

This year is particularly painful since the Bears currently have huge deficiencies in the passing game; namely, their wide receivers. Sadly, this did not have to be. Former Bears’ wide receivers are finding their way onto fantasy teams across the country due to their exceptional play. The Chicago owners, with the guidance of Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo, have recently discarded Bernard Berrian, Justin Gage and Mark Bradley. The reasons for their departures made me wonder why they were drafted in the first place. Is the Bears Scouting Department that bad? The recent cuts of 1st rounder Cedric Benson (well, the releasing made sense, but the drafting never did (see Thomas Jones) ), 2nd rounder Mark Bradley, 3rd rounder Dan Bazuin, and 3rd rounder Michael Okwo, makes me wonder why these “talent evaluators” have jobs to begin with. Heck, a guy can buy a Sporting News Draft magazine and hit on more picks than the Bears have in recent years. With the recent play of Berrian, Gage and Bradley, it proves that maybe the Bears spotted the talent in these players, but where and why did they lose faith? Was the Bears front office too trigger-happy or cost-conscious? Kyle Orton has done a great job with the likes of Marty Booker, Rashied Davis and the tight ends, but what if he had these more talented, reliable targets to throw to?

Let’s take a look at the measurables and recent play of the three aforementioned receivers:

Justin Gage – Gage is 6’5”, has good hands, above-average speed and strength, is a decent blocker, runs clean routes, and makes all the high catches that Kerry Collins launches. He would have been the perfect complement for Rex Grossman with all of his overthrows, if he were still slinging it. But, the Bears decided to cut Gage last year because they had a plethora of “great receivers”, like Mike Hass and Brandon Rideau. What stands out most to me is that they never really gave Gage a chance. He was a much better receiver than David Terrell and they kept putting that spud on the field week after week. After being released, Gage was picked up by that pass-happy juggernaut known as the Tennessee Titans. Gage persevered as a decoy while Vince Young did his best chicken-with-his-head-cut-off routine. With a real QB and teams focusing on the Titans’ running game, it was Gage who became the main playmaker once he became healthy and has helped make the Titans a true threat to go undefeated. His 2 TDs and 147 receiving yards in Week 11 rewarded Fantasy Football owners who maintained faith in him. I feel that Gage’s numbers will continue to soar throughout the standard fantasy football playoff weeks. In contrast, the Bears line up these skyscrapers; 5’9 inches of no-hands Devin Hester, 5’9 inches of former Arena League corner Rashied Davis, and 5’11 inches of a slow, big-handed Marty Booker. I just want Lovie and Jerry to tell me with a straight face that the Bears couldn’t have used a big target with great hands like Justin Gage on Sunday against the Packers.

Mark Bradley – Bradley is 6’2”, has great speed and is an athletic freak. I know all about his history with injuries, but tell me another receiver in the past few years in college football, not named Michael Crabtree, that has the kind of talent that Mark Bradley possesses? The lowly Kansas City Chiefs are so grateful to the Bears brain trust, and I use that term loosely, that they are thinking of renaming Arrowhead Stadium to Narrowmind Stadium in honor of Lovie and Jerry. What in God’s creation forced these fools to discard Bradley this year when he was finally healthy? They never even let him play a down this year. Was the Devin Hester experiment going that well? Was Rashied Davis striking fear in the hearts of opposing defenses? Was Marty Booker outrunning the average linebacker, let alone a defensive back? It took Bradley a mere two weeks to start making contributions to the KC offense. The man threw a TD to KC’s third string QB, showing off his versatility. He followed that up with a 100+ yard game and a TD. Last week, Bradley had 3 catches for 54 yards, but his play opened up the way for Dwayne Bowe to catch 2 TDs. Again, this is the Kansas City Chiefs with Tyler Thigpen as QB. Imagine if Kyle Orton had a Bradley to work with?

Bernard Berrian – Poor Bernard is only 6’1” and is one of the fastest and richest wide receivers in the league. His hands, which were once questionable, have really improved. Perhaps, it’s because he wants to show that he is worth the big bucks the Vikings heaped upon him. He wanted to remain a Bear, but the checks were reserved for the Bears’ porous defense. Before we look upon his negative traits, let’s focus on Bernard’s positive ones. First, Bernard keeps defenses honest with his deep threat speed. This forces teams to play a safety deep to key on him when he blows by their corner. Second, Bernard is making some clutch receptions for Gus Frerotte. I would have liked to seen what Orton would have done with a deep threat like Bernard. It is Bernard’s playmaking ability that is forcing teams not to stack the line waiting for Adrian Peterson anymore. Because of Peterson’s and Berrian’s success, the Vikings are fighting for a playoff spot with Gus Frerotte at the helm. From a Fantasy perspective, Bernard is one of the best receivers in the league as he consistently scores TDs and is usually good for 7+ receptions and 80-100 receiving yards a game. It appears that Bernard’s lack of bulk and questionable hands are a thing of the past. Berrian has really bulked up and is making Lynn Swann-esque receptions. The Bears brain trust (there’s that misused word again) didn’t think that having an fast, reliable, every-down receiver was necessary. They thought that it was more prudent to spend money on a great returner, who just happens to be a below-par receiver. I am not against the Hester signing, but use him as a kick returner exclusively. It just pains me not to have Berrian, as there was enough money available to secure him in Chicago.

The moral of this story is that our Bears receivers are doing great. The drawback is that they are not doing it for the Bears. I ask you to look at your league’s rosters and see how many current Bears’ receivers are on them. That little fact should speak volumes of the great job that Kyle Orton is doing (I can’t believe that I just wrote that!) and what a terrible, pathetic, putrid job that Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo are doing. After last week’s performance, the Bears can look a little north for the appropriate slogan; Wait Until Next Year.


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Branko Pantovic is a freelance writer for MaximumFantasySports.com and an active fantasy sports participant. He played soccer professionally and has been participating in football and baseball fantasy leagues for the past 12 years. Branko writes solely for Maximum Fantasy Sports because he believes that it is the best real-time fantasy football league website. It includes all of the best features that he has used over the years, plus some that have never been attempted at any other website. Join Maximum Fantasy Sports today by visiting www.maximumfantasysports.com and registering as an MFS member. Membership is free!

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/sports/mixing-sports-and-politics.html http://www.articletrader.com/sports/mixing-sports-and-politics.html Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0600 fantasy sports, interrupted with tangents regarding women that we have slept with or want to sleep with. Once the male body is one-third water, one-third testosterone and one-third alcohol, politics occasionally pokes its polarizing head into the mix. For some reason, this is where the more heated debates take place. I attribute it to the booze, but maybe it is just the volatility of introducing politics into an evening filled with talk of women and sports. Now, politics in today’s world does blend nicely with corruption and women. Sports do seem to also go nicely with corruption and women. So, it has to be the mixture of sports and politics that causes a bad reaction. Guys can argue about the merits of Kyle Orton over Rex Grossman for an hour and comfortably agree to disagree while passing a blunt back and forth. However, these same two guys could argue about the merits of Obama’s Energy Plan vs. McCain’s and agree on blunt instruments to square off with.

MFS did not endorse one candidate over another; mainly due to the fact that neither candidate seems worthy. As politics interjected itself into NFL pregame TV shows and even at halftime of the Monday Night Football game this past weekend, Mike Ditka stated it correctly when he said “Sometimes, the scrutiny that these politicians get is ridiculous. I think there are a lot of good people who stay out of it.”. Exactly. This country has many more well-qualified people to run it, but the constant press that our President must face has pared the potential Leaders down to those who can play nicely with the press. Think of all the advisors today’s Leaders must have to keep them informed while the President spends so much time dealing with the press. These advisors help him make decisions. Candidates who want to be in touch with the world enough to make their own decisions opt out of running since they don’t want to spin their wheels playing the media game. Ditka in 2012. Come on, Coach! MFS is behind you! This is one man you can count one to tell it like it really is and roll up his sleeves and get the job done. This would be a welcome blend of sports and politics….and it almost happened 4 years ago. What would have today’s election looked like had we had an Illinois Senator named Mike Ditka instead of Barack Obama in 2004?

You may not agree with our assessment that we have no worthy President candidate to choose from today, but we didn’t feel that there was a worthy NCAA National Champion last year and, while many agreed with us, some did not. A clear cut winner is impossible and there was nothing to be done about it. Our electoral system mimics the BCS quite a bit. The candidates who have a chance to make the final matchup often look the best on TV, get pared against weaker competition in the qualifying meets leading up to the election of the final two and perform often well in head-to-head confrontations. Almost always, the final candidates have not performed perfectly and when the remaining pool of potential candidates are reviewed in the end, arguments can be made that we didn’t have the best two candidates to choose from. The final pairing in last year’s BCS came down to Ohio State and LSU and many thought Georgia and USC were better candidates. One the rare occasion that we have two perfect candidates, there is at least one other than ends up on the outside looking in (see Auburn in 2004).

OK, as if this column weren’t long-winded enough, we still have to focus on Fantasy Football. This week will be a very active one on the waiver wire. We are faced with the final week of Byes, many injuries and a few benchings. I don’t have time to present the merits of using MFS’ In-game change option, at least for the last half of your season, but you will want to know how it works for next year. There were many game-time decisions that benched starters and a good handful of this past week’s injuries occurred early in their games.

QB Sage Rosenfels (HOU) – If the Texans can just keep Rosenfels from playing Superman, he does a good job of putting up good stats when he plays. It is nice to have the receiving corps and pass-catching backs that he has at his disposal. He is pre-dispositioned to guilt, so maybe that will inspire his play a bit to make up for that debacle in the waning minutes of the Indianapolis game.

QB Joe Flacco (BAL) – I guarantee that some teams had Kyle Orton and Matt Schaub and are a bit desperate for the playoff stretch run. Flacco is available in roughly 36% of leagues. 5 TDs, no INTs and double-digit fantasy points in each of the past 3 weeks should make you feel comfortable starting him this week against Houston.

QB Brady Quinn (CLE) – Flacco has a tough stretch of games following the Houston game. Rosenfels’ stint as starter is of unknown duration for now. So, if you need someone for a long haul, you could pick up Quinn. He is facing a very weak Bronco defense and has games coming up against Buffalo, Houston and Indy. Cleveland will give him a tryout for the remainder of the season in hopes of either salvaging their season or having enough game-time experience to make an informed decision on which QB to keep for next year.

RB Jamaal Charles (KC) – As soon as you think you have the starter nailed, another injury creeps in. Word was that Charles had a sprained ankle last week and Kolby Smith would be the number 1 back. I guess Charles is a fast-healer when presented with the opportunity to be the only running back as soon as Smith went out with a season-ending knee injury. Charles will be the sole RB this week at San Diego with Larry Johnson suspended. What happens with LJ for the rest of the season is a mystery, but the Chiefs have no games left against intimidating run defenses so Charles seems like a safe bet.

RB Selvin Young and Ryan Torain (DEN) – Every sports site seems to be touting Torain as the next Terrell Davis based on a preseason comment that Mike Shanahan made. Facts of the matter are that Denver’s running back picture got a little clearer with Michael Pittman and Andre Hall hitting the IR for the rest of the season. Another fact is that Denver’s running game has been in disarray all season and their offense is definitely geared to the passing game. So, if you need a RB, I would opt for Jamaal Charles first. Selvin Young may not be ready to go at Cleveland on Thursday night, forcing Torain into the game. However, he is a rookie, has had little practice time this year and is coming off a nasty elbow injury. So, Young could be The Man instead of Torain for the remainder of the year when healthy. Young did put up a combined 950 rushing and receiving yards last year, with the bulk coming in the last 9 games that he played.

RB Ray Rice (BAL) – I have no idea what is happening with the Raven running game either. The beginning of the season featured Le’Ron McClain. Then, Willis McGahee received the bulk of the carries. Out of the blue, Ray Rice is their primary ball carrier. 21 carries for 154 yards and 3 catches for 22 yards last Sunday shows that he can handle the load. But, what will the game plan look like this weekend at Houston? Will he get the 20 carries again or will they go to McGahee now that he has had a week to rest?

RB Kevin Faulk and Benjarvus Green-Ellis (NE) – They each got double-digit carries last week, but Green-Ellis found the end zone and Faulk factored more heavily into the passing game. With a home game against the Bills this weekend, each running back has merit. In leagues that award heavier for TDs, Green-Ellis is your man. For leagues that award points for receptions, Faulk is your man.

WR Greg Camarillo (MIA) – I mentioned him a few weeks back, but he did little to make me look good and hit the waiver wire in many leagues after Ted Ginn Jr. had his monster game against Buffalo. He has led the Dolphins in receptions almost every game and had a huge game against Denver last week (11/111/1). Miami is home to Seattle this week, so all Miami playmakers should be starting in fantasy this week. Additionally, the Dolphins’ remaining schedule is pretty soft.


Other candidates not worth picking up:
• Stay away from Detroit QBs. No idea if Drew Stanton or Daunte Culpepper will be starting due to Dan Orslovsky’s thumb injury. Neither a rookie QB making his first start nor a washed up QB is worth a transaction fee.
• Rex Grossman. He did lead the team back against Detroit, but the credit goes to the defense and Matt Forte. 9/19 for 58 yards and an INT is on par with what to expect from Bad Rex against the Titans and Packers.
• Peyton Hillis. He has no carries since week 1 for a reason. Denver has no clue what to do in their running game. I cannot see him having anything close to the career game he had last Sunday, even if Young and Torain are limited on Thursday.
• Rams running backs. Steven Jackson cost many teams last weekend. It was reported that he was starting. He huddled for the first play and then called his own number to the bench cuz he wasn’t comfortable running a cutback play. He stayed on the bench throughout the games, sans a restroom break and a few straight-ahead runs late in the game, but did not endear himself to the coaching staff or team with his lack of contribution. Worse yet is that Antonio Pittman hurt his hammy last weekend. With no threat of running, the Jets D could be a very nice play against a sitting duck QB.


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Bill Parsons is the owner of MaximumFantasySports.com and
a rabid fantasy sports participant. No on-line fantasy football company could mirror the creativity that came from running leagues manually, so Bill decided to create a real-time fantasy football league website that includes all of the best features that he has used over the years, some of which have never been attempted at any other website. Join Maximum Fantasy Sports today by visiting www.maximumfantasysports.com and registering as an MFS member. Membership is free!


Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>