Graphic By Ruben DeLuna

Fantasy World

Quick tips to making the right moves with a fantasy football team

By: John Lowery

Posted: 8/9/04

Like those annoying Christmas commercials that start during Thanksgiving weekend, painfully reminding us that Santa's arrival is still a long month away, the NFL preseason kicks off tonight, reminding the passionate NFL enthusiast that real football is still 31 days away.

Watching a starter break his leg and with it the playoff hopes of his team, and third string players who will soon be on a plane back to NFL Europe is enough to demoralize any good football fan. Fortunately, however, something important and beneficial to the National Football League and its fans begins around the same time as the preseason: fantasy football drafts.

The draft is unquestionably the most important day in the life of a fantasy football team. Although owners are not limited to a losing season after a bad draft day, what they do on this day will greatly determine whether someone can boast championship to friends, or wet the bed every night with guilt for choosing Az-Zahir Hakim as the number one wide-out on a team. Chronic bed-wetter or not, no one wants to have to depend solely on the Texas A&M football team as their only shot at a championship.

That said, here are common mistakes the average person makes that inevitably cost him or her a winning season:

1) Letting Actual Allegiance Determine Fantasy Allegiance

A close friend who is an A&M student, inevitably drafts Robert Ferguson before the end of the third round every draft year simply because Ferguson was a former Aggie standout. Just as inevitably, his team, the "Ferocious Fergusons," tank every year. A similar scenario would involve a person picking David Carr, Domanick Davis and Andre Johnson because he or she absolutely loves the Houston Texans. A good fantasy owner always separates collegiate and professional team allegiance from fantasy allegiance; avoid choosing players on draft day simply because you love the team they play or played for.

2) Not Picking the Best Talent on the Board

Don't be one of those people who is hopelessly caught up in filling each starting position if better talent still exists in a position already drafted. If an owner drafted LaDainian Tomlinson in the first round and Priest Holmes is still available the second round, that owner shouldn't take Todd Heap just because there's a blank tight end spot on the roster.

Even if one ends up stockpiling a position, know that a trade for a player of equal ability in that position that is lacking is always a possibility.

3) Choosing a Kicker or Defense Before the Last Two Rounds

I don't care how good the Pittsburg Steelers defense was last year, or how many field goals Mike Vanderjagt kicked, do not choose a kicker or defense early in the draft. Once people fill all of their normal starting positions, they usually look to fill the defense and kicker positions; I can't overemphasize the foolishness of this. How many people picked Dallas last year in their drafts to carry them through the season? Or Atlanta the year before? Few did, and both would have been serviceable enough throughout the year. It's always easy to pick up a decent defense during the course of the season, and unless the league's scoring system heavily favors these positions, one should let them slide until the last two picks. Let the opponents waste picks on these unpredictable positions while you get first grabs on that sleeper who carries your team to a championship.

4) Not Knowing the Scoring System

If you're like me, you've never read an instruction manual in your entire life. That's forgivable, especially if you're unmarried and can spend three days putting together that Ninja Turtle cookie baking oven your mom got you for Christmas. Unfortunately, not knowing the details in fantasy football could paralyze a team before the league even gets started. If a league rewards rushing touchdowns more than passing touchdowns or gives points for receptions and completions, know how to adjust and who the best players are because of that scoring system.

5) Ignoring the Waiver Wire and Your Team

Again, this one may seem obvious, but countless losing teams are not vigilant in studying the waiver wire and subbing for players with bye weeks. Don't be the person who drafts a team and abandons it after three games because you're losing. Persistence and getting those players with high potential off the waiver wire are keys to succeeding.

Becoming that fantasy football playoff juggernaut is precisely what you're on your way to doing if you take heed to these five fantasy football rules to success. Good luck with your teams; you'll especially need it if you already drafted and used your first pick on Ricky Williams.