GiantsRule
Footballguy
Here's something I don't understand. The Fantasy Football Index is arguably the most popular fantasy magazine out there. Like all other fantasy mags, hardcore fantasy football owners (and stuck-up elitists) rip on it for being outdated with awful advice, ridiculous predictions, and cheat sheets that are obsolete before they hit the newsstands.
To an extent, they're right. You have to look no further than their Sleepers/Busts column where they reach so far to try and fit one in each cat, they actually used Peyton Manning as the sleeper because they couldn't think of something else. And their decision to list Tatum Bell on the cover last year (and name him the #4 back overall) will live forever in "what were they thinking" infamy.
But have any of you that ripped apart the mag ever bothered to read the magazine? I'm not talking about the projections or the mock drafts or the expert polls. I mean the actually analysis of each team and every key player? Not only is this quality information, it's stuff that even the most hardcore fantasy fan couldn't tell you, at least w/o some serious research.
Some random examples from this issue:
"Jake Delhomme averages 228 passing yards per game over the last two years (about 10 yards more than the league average)...he's thrown 53 TDs in the last two years, No. 3 in the league behind Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Delhome has been very good in the red zone during that time span, throwing 37 TDs vs. only 1 interception."
"Only five teams ran for few yards than the Vikings last year, and only five have scored fewer rushing touchdowns the last two years."
"In Gruden's first three seasons in Tampa Bay, the Bucs had the most pass-heavy offenses in the league, scoring 74 touchdowns through the air and only 20 rushing - the No. 1 ratio in the league. But the Bucs scored on 13 TD runs last year versus only 17 TD passes, snapping a league-high string of six straight years for Gruden in which his offenses finished with at least 23 TD passes."
"Cleveland ranked next-to-last in short-yardage rushing last year, and (Reuben) Droughns went 0-for-4 on carries from the 1- or 2-yard line. Cleveland finished with a league-low 4 TD runs last year..."
"In 36 starts the last three years, (Domanick Davis) has averaged 84 yards rushing and 32 receiving, with 28 TDs. Only four backs have averaged more touchdowns in the same span, and only six have averaged more yards."
That's five examples I pulled by just flipping the pages and I haven't seen any of the "experts" and "know-it-alls" on fantasy message boards sharing information like this. And I'm as guilty as anybody! I always point and laugh at the guy toting copies of FF Index to live drafts. But once I actually bothered to read the content, I found information I didn't see online and would have taken forever if I compiled it myself.
I guess I'm trying to understand why there is such a disdain and disrespect for the amount of work the editors put together to compile stats you can't find in a typical cheat sheet and that many fantasy columnists and even pay services overlook. And I didn't even touch upon the most valuable service they offer: They print the individual stats of every key player from every regular season game so you can see how they performed against certain opponents and ignore inflated player totals that were padded by Week 17 stats.
So what's the reason? Is it the in thing to bust on FF Index (or similar publications)? Do those that make fun of it worry that it will effect their "rep" in the fantasy football community? If you ignore the predictions and depth charts, isn't it possible that we underestimate its value as a legitimate fantasy football resource and more than just good toilet reading?
I hope this will turn into a serious discussion and not a flame war.
To an extent, they're right. You have to look no further than their Sleepers/Busts column where they reach so far to try and fit one in each cat, they actually used Peyton Manning as the sleeper because they couldn't think of something else. And their decision to list Tatum Bell on the cover last year (and name him the #4 back overall) will live forever in "what were they thinking" infamy.
But have any of you that ripped apart the mag ever bothered to read the magazine? I'm not talking about the projections or the mock drafts or the expert polls. I mean the actually analysis of each team and every key player? Not only is this quality information, it's stuff that even the most hardcore fantasy fan couldn't tell you, at least w/o some serious research.
Some random examples from this issue:
"Jake Delhomme averages 228 passing yards per game over the last two years (about 10 yards more than the league average)...he's thrown 53 TDs in the last two years, No. 3 in the league behind Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Delhome has been very good in the red zone during that time span, throwing 37 TDs vs. only 1 interception."
"Only five teams ran for few yards than the Vikings last year, and only five have scored fewer rushing touchdowns the last two years."
"In Gruden's first three seasons in Tampa Bay, the Bucs had the most pass-heavy offenses in the league, scoring 74 touchdowns through the air and only 20 rushing - the No. 1 ratio in the league. But the Bucs scored on 13 TD runs last year versus only 17 TD passes, snapping a league-high string of six straight years for Gruden in which his offenses finished with at least 23 TD passes."
"Cleveland ranked next-to-last in short-yardage rushing last year, and (Reuben) Droughns went 0-for-4 on carries from the 1- or 2-yard line. Cleveland finished with a league-low 4 TD runs last year..."
"In 36 starts the last three years, (Domanick Davis) has averaged 84 yards rushing and 32 receiving, with 28 TDs. Only four backs have averaged more touchdowns in the same span, and only six have averaged more yards."
That's five examples I pulled by just flipping the pages and I haven't seen any of the "experts" and "know-it-alls" on fantasy message boards sharing information like this. And I'm as guilty as anybody! I always point and laugh at the guy toting copies of FF Index to live drafts. But once I actually bothered to read the content, I found information I didn't see online and would have taken forever if I compiled it myself.
I guess I'm trying to understand why there is such a disdain and disrespect for the amount of work the editors put together to compile stats you can't find in a typical cheat sheet and that many fantasy columnists and even pay services overlook. And I didn't even touch upon the most valuable service they offer: They print the individual stats of every key player from every regular season game so you can see how they performed against certain opponents and ignore inflated player totals that were padded by Week 17 stats.
So what's the reason? Is it the in thing to bust on FF Index (or similar publications)? Do those that make fun of it worry that it will effect their "rep" in the fantasy football community? If you ignore the predictions and depth charts, isn't it possible that we underestimate its value as a legitimate fantasy football resource and more than just good toilet reading?
I hope this will turn into a serious discussion and not a flame war.
