Fantasy Football: Here's how you play!

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This is just a quick rundown of how you play. It's for beginners. If you're in a league and know how to play, go read something else. This is strictly the rules for a league I'm in that I enjoy the most. There are a billion ways to structure a league, and I'm going to run down only one of them.

I'll post my draft techniques soon, including players that I'm looking at this year.

Keep reading for the basics.

1. Pick up to 12 people to be in your league. You need an even number, 8 or 10 is ideal.

2. Elect a league commissioner.  This person will set up the league with whatever site you choose. Yahoo, ESPN and NFL.com all have great sites.

3. Hold a Draft before the first game on 9/4.
To hold a Draft you should:
a. See who goes first. The site will make it random, or if you choose, you can pick numbers, draw straws, whatever. We use playing cards to determine who picks when.
b. Person #1 selects a player, any player, followed by #2, etc. Note: No two people can select the same player. When everyone has picked one player, begin round two. Most sites use a ‘serpentine’ method, so that the player who got the first pick in the first round will get the last pick in the second round. So the first two rounds would look like this: 1,2,3,4,5,6-6,5,4,3,2,1. Repeat for 15 to 20 rounds.  We use 16 rounds so that every starting player will have a backup on your bench.

The object of the draft is to fill out your roster. You're going to pick based on player ability and position. This part of fantasy football is critical. You're going to 'make' a team consisting of position players.

Your starting team each week:
1 Quarterback
2 Running backs
2 Wide receivers
1 Tight end
1 Kicker
1 Defense (for example, you pick the entire Dolphin defense) um, DON'T pick the Dolphin defense...

You'll also have several backups for each position.

You are awarded points based on how well, or poorly, your individual players do. Somebody catches a touchdown pass, that's 6 points. A kicker hits a 50-yard field goal, that's 7 points, etc. and all the math is taken care of by the sites, so all you have to do is watch the games.

Your team is going to face off against other teams in the league, head to head. The person with the most points, i.e. the most productive players, wins. Each week, there will be winners and losers. If you're good enough, you'll make the playoffs and kick your best friend's ass. Then you can make fun of him/her for an entire year. This is actually why we play the game.

Again, this is a very quick rundown of the basics of just one league. The best part of FF is that you can customize your league however you'd like. There really are no universal rules.

So grab some friends, choose someone that is comfortable setting up a draft, and get to it. Once you do the draft, the only thing you really have to do is make sure your players don’t have a day off or get hurt.

Comments

[J.D.]

Great advice. Fantasy football is very fun and addicting. When you are drafting, you want to select running backs in the first few rounds as they are your top point players. Hold off on drafting kickers, and reserve defenses, etc. towards the end of the 12 rounds. Good luck! You can play for FREE on www.sportsline.com

[Jimmy Flowers]

Thanks, J.D. I'm going to go into some more detail this week, including who I like, and when I'll draft them. Please keep commenting! And if you disagree with my ideas, let me know! (The more we know, the more we win!)

[A Gaylord]

I've always wondered how these things worked and why my straight brother would go nuts doing them.

What I'm hoping you'll cover is some key picks.

[Jimmy Flowers]

Thanks A.G.
I'm going to post my top picks and some sleepers in the next couple of days. And yes, it's totally addictive once you get into it.

[Betting System]

I really appreciate your blog.well done.

[Manchester United]

Great advice. Fantasy football is very fun and addicting.I really appreciate now.