Monday, January 12, 2015

The Trials and Trevails of Fantasy Football


Commentary by 
Daniel O’Malley
Staff Writer
I was furious.
I turned off the T.V and left the room, afraid that I was going to throw the remote at the T.V. I was so angry because Peyton Manning played a mediocre game for my fantasy football team for the third consecutive week.
Fantasy Football might be the most frustrating game alive. You can lose because one player underachieves or one bad player has a flukey great game. Sometimes I don’t know why I play Fantasy Football. But at the same time, I love it, as it helps me become more knowledgeable about football and provides an incredible rush when you win.
Students at Woodlynde have their own Fantasy Football league. Twelve players are involved, eight from Woodlynde. The league was started last year by senior Nick Spino. Seniors Joe Cureton and Dan DeLuca are now in charge of the league, which also includes seniors Ben Kotler, Mason Stamps, and Nick Scaramuzza, along with junior Seth Lapensohn.
Fantasy Football is where a group of people form their own virtual football league. The league is usually online, but it can be done offline.
You get points from Fantasy Football based on the statistics your players acquire during the game. Many people think Fantasy Football makes the NFL more exciting.
As Mathematics teacher Mr. Tischler said, “It makes every game exciting, not just your team.” Mr. Tischler says this because you can watch the games your fantasy players is are and root for them to do well.
One difficult thing for some people is that you have to pay money to join a Fantasy Football league. This can cost up to $100, plus getting players after the draft can cost money. In most leagues, the money you pay goes to the winner of the league for that year. However, there are free leagues, where you can join just for fun.
The quarterback is the most important position in fantasy football. He will typically get you the most points, as he will throw for many yards and multiple touchdowns, but this depends on the league.
The top four fantasy football quarterbacks are Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees.
A touchdown for any fantasy player is worth six points. A quarterback usually gets a point for every 25 yards he throws a ball. For example, if a quarterback throws for 300 yards, he would earn your team 15 points. If a quarterback throws an interception, your team loses three points, which means you should avoid players like Eli Manning.
Running backs and wide receivers are very valuable positions. Junior Seth Lapensohn thinks that running backs are the most valuable position in Fantasy Football. Wide receivers and running backs get you one point for every ten yards for which they run or receive. Pick a running back whose NFL team has a good offensive line. If your running back has an awful offensive line, this will make a usually great player like Frank Gore useless.
The best running backs are Marshawn Lynch, DeMarco Murray, Le’Veon Bell and LeSean McCoy. The problem is that there are not many good running backs, so you should consider taking a running back in the first round of the draft.
Pick wide receivers who play on a team that has a good quarterback, because that means they will get a lot of yards and touchdowns. Calvin Johnson, Demaryius Thomas, Jordy Nelson, T.Y. Hilton, Dez Bryant and Antonio Brown are excellent choices for wide receivers.
A tight end is the next most valuable position. Tight ends are not as valuable as wide receivers because they usually get significantly less yardage. Julius Thomas and Rob Gronkowski are the best tight ends.
If any of your offensive players fumble, this costs your team three points.
A kicker is fairly valuable. A field goal made by a kicker is worth three points. An extra point is worth one point for a kicker. Generally, you should pick a kicker for a team that scores a lot of points and has good accuracy.
Choose defensive players and kickers in later rounds, as they give less points, but you still need them because a lot of times they can make the difference between winning and losing.
The maximum amount of running backs with which you can start a game is usually two. The maximum amount of wide receivers you can start is four. The maximum amount of tight ends you can start is two, but these usually depend on league settings. I suggest starting with one tight end, three wide receivers, and two running backs.  
It is also good to get backup players for your players’ bye week, as every player has at least one week where they will not play or if one of your players gets injured. You can draft backup players in the later rounds or get them off waivers. A waiver is where you can get players for your team who were not drafted. Mr. T said to search the waiver wire whenever you lose. However, you need to check your league's rules because some leagues don’t have the waiver wire.
There is a certain degree of luck in Fantasy Football. Sometimes bad players have great games and good players have awful games. One common mistake in fantasy football is when participants are too reactionary, and reflexively respond to what just happened instead of thinking about the long term. Seth Lapensohn and Mr. Tischler both said that Fantasy Football can be “very frustrating”.
Seth commented, “Believe in your roster: it’s a season-long commitment”. Don’t cut Peyton Manning just because he has one bad game.
Mr. Tischler told me a story that I’m sure every fantasy player can relate to: his team was up by 45 points heading into Monday Night Football, and he was firmly in the belief that he had won the game. Unfortunately, his opponent had Julio Jones, giving his opponent 47 points.
Mr. T had scored the second most points for the week. Unfortunately for him, his opponent scored the most points for the week. This cost Mr. T a playoff spot. Luckily, Mr. T is in the championship in his other league.
I have had a similar experience: I was up by one point two weeks ago, thinking I had won. Unfortunately, Peyton Manning fumbled and cost me three points. He only threw for thirty more yards, and scored a whopping zero touchdowns for the rest of the game. I lost by one point. This almost cost me a playoff spot.
Mr. Tischler also gave some great advice. “Study for the draft. It is the most important day of the season.” I completely agree with him.  
Nick Spino summed up the good things about Fantasy Football best.
“I like Fantasy Football because it’s a great way for me to put my knowledge of the players and of the NFL to use. I like being able to throw a few bucks around and play in a league with my friends. We all enjoy the friendly rivalries when we play each other each week.”
He also summed up the worst. “One thing that stinks about Fantasy Football is inconsistency. One week your team may be electrifying and dominate. The next week however, your team may not score as many points. A bad week or two can really hurt your team in the long run”.  

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