Getting ready for your leagues draft......... (1 Viewer)

[TD32]

This year im gonna try to be a little more organized going into our league draft. How do you do it? Ive heard some people just walk into their draft, with just a random list of players. Do you make a list of the top 50 or so at each position, using your own rankings? Do you just print out the Footballguys rankings and use them? When do you do your rankings? Do you take everything in all offseason, and then make your rankings the day before the draft? Is it to early to do your rankings now, then adjust them as your draft gets closer? I just wanna hear how everyone prepares going into the draft.

 

[QUEZILLA]

VBD down?

 

[BusMan]

Draft Dominator pre-loaded on the laptop.

List of players to target at each pick.

List of possible triggers for trades.

 

[TD32]

Outside of buying a laptop, what do you recommend for someone without a labtop to bring to the draft?

 

[perry147]

Outside of buying a laptop, what do you recommend for someone without a labtop to bring to the draft?

Not sure what you are hunting for but here you go.Print out cheat sheets based on your own projections (or use FBG, ESPN, TSN, or anyone else) with top 200 FF players with their VBD value and always customize them to your scoring system and starting lineup.

Formulate basic draft strategy and players to target. Example if picking in the 4th spot knowing you want to draft Clinton Portis or Tiki Barber is easy, but later in the draft you need to know what would be a good time to draft Gates, or pull the trigger on Brady - The draft dominator can help you prepare for that. It is the owner who drafts better in the 4th round and lower that often decide who wins a league because that is often when you find value.

 

[Loan Sharks]

I buy beer.

Line up the strippers.

Make sure everyone is coming.

Collect entrance fees.

Get a magazine.

Take the draft board.

Get all the trophies updated with engraving.

I make a list of players I want.

 

[poopdawg]

Sorry for the slight hijack here, but this is the first year Im using DD. Any tricks or helpful hints for a first timer?

 

[skillz]

I prepare my own list of players ranked by position, and also tier them within their respective position on my sheet. I try to get a good idea of the players' ADPs prior to draft day so I have sense for where they might go. It helps to know which players I have ranked relatively high that may slide a bit later based on their ADP so I can got the most value for my pick.

I also have a plan of figuring out what positions I want to target in certain rounds, although it is not a rigid plan and I adapt based on how the draft is going that particular year.

So the key is to be prepared with your own player rankings, have an idea of where players may get drafted by the other owners, and then try to have a plan on when you want to take certain positions (i.e. RBs first two rounds, no QBs or TEs until round 6 or later) while remaining flexible. I do it with all pen and paper, no laptop needed.

 

[Team Legacy]

In addition to my personal rankings, S.O.S. sheets (only to break ties) and my QBBC sheets, I have a QUICK REMINDER list that helps me in the heat of the moment.

This has been crucial to my success over the years. It basically outlines the BASIC TRAPS to watch out for. I don't have it in front of me, but it goes something like this...

Stick to the plan.

WATCH the bye weeks!

Don't get caught on the end of runs.

BALANCE the risk factor. (Take a few steady, but boring producers.)

Watch drafting too many injured players from last year.

Stay calm and DOMINATE!

 

[Team Legacy]

Sorry for the slight hijack here, but this is the first year Im using DD. Any tricks or helpful hints for a first timer?

Turn off the BUZZER. Its annoying. Also, DON'T FORGET TO USE IT.

If you forget to click a player who's been drafted, you'll go on your happy way thinking everything is good. When you get to the turn and realize somethings not right, you'll be stressed out "undoing" those picks and trying to catch up.

Be careful and get some practice before going live.

 

[23psychos]

Sorry for the slight hijack here, but this is the first year Im using DD. Any tricks or helpful hints for a first timer?

Just remember that the DD picks are suggestions, not the voice of GOD. The DD IMHO is most usefully viewed as a tool to help you make sure that noone drops too far from where they should be picked.For example, if you have some general knowledge of the way other owners in the league tend to think, you can make more informed guesses about who is likely to fall before your next pick than the DD can ( in a serpentine format). Don't lose this advandtage by adhering blindly to the DD selections.

 

[FBGPoker]

I write down a list of around 50 players i like and would draft. Then just draft off that.

I don't bother listing guys i don't want on my team. I'm in good leagues and if a guy is dropping he likely isn't "value" at any point so I don't even waste time putting them on my list.

 

[PACKER 7]

Well I used to get intense. I'd breakdown all the players, make my projections with information from various sources, have a list, be ready to dominate.... then my brother walks in last year half lit, with a paper he bought on the way in and totally dominated our league.

FF is 75% pure dumb luck. So quit sweating it so hard and just pick.

 

[Scorehoard]

I am in a 12 team 2 keeper league. Not everyone's league is the same as far as scoring and drafting patterns. Here is what I brought last year.

QB strength of schedule

RB strength of schedule

Kept a keen eye on bye weeks w/ my top picks

List of my own projected sleepers/ breakout players

Cheat Sheets condensed and averaged from various sites

2 or 3 decent FF Guides to check for consistancies in player outlooks and evaluation

But yes all in all its 80% luck based on sooooo many factors.... not just injuries to your player but even those around him.... lineman, WRs, etc. Weather is another of many but yeah its a crapshoot. Ohh and I was laughed at for bringing all that stuff. Personally i feel it helped. I went from 11th to 5th. Hope this helps!!

 

[perry147]

Well I used to get intense. I'd breakdown all the players, make my projections with information from various sources, have a list, be ready to dominate.... then my brother walks in last year half lit, with a paper he bought on the way in and totally dominated our league.

FF is 75% pure dumb luck. So quit sweating it so hard and just pick.

Disagree completely, then how come the same teams keep winning the league year after year?

 

[Mystery Achiever]

i have a one page excel sheet with rankings for each position and a couple of stats and bye weeks. i'm updating last yerar's now with current info. i won't do much in terms of adjusting ranings til the end of july, though.

 

[Jabroniking]

I use the VBD Excel spreadsheet as a basis for my preparation. I import projections from a few other well known sites in the business and average them out to help eliminate the highs and lows. I sometimes wonder if this is really neccessary, but human beings are doing the projections and human beings are opinionated....so I figure this way helps me bring the high and low "opinions" to an even kiel and gives me a steady projection of a player. From there....I customize the VBD Excel spreadsheet and tailor it to my leagues scoring system and generate a cheatsheet tailored to my league.

I typically won't put this sheet together until the season draws closer. Once the preseason games start, I update the sheet weekly and use it in some mock drafts. Early on in the off season I usually just gather info on FBG about player movement, coaching changes, injuries, etc.

Since my league is on CBS, I am able to import points per game stats on players to see how they average each week. I usually go back 3 years worth. From this, I feel I can get a read on the players who are the most consistent from week to week......see who gets out to a quick start...who tends to fade by mid-season and who turns it on the second half of the season.

I use ADP Reports from FBGT, ESPN, XS and Antsports and print them out. I study them to get an idea as to where players are being drafted. To me.....this is a great tool. Now, when you ask yourself......"Should I take Tom Brady in the 3rd?" , you'll have a better grasp of knowing that you should wait a few rounds.

Last but not least.....I mock draft as often as I can at sites like Antsports....or XS. This gives you the chance to shake off the rust, work out some bugs...or test a new draft theory. Say you were a stud RB purist. You always draft RB's in the first 2 rounds. What would your team look like if you took a stud WR in the second? In your money league, you would probably stick with "what you know" and just draft the RB and not deviate because you'd be afraid of screwing up your draft. This way you can test out different theories....multiple times and if you screw it up......who cares.....it's free.....and you learned a lesson of what not to do in your money league draft. It also gets you comfortable drafting again. We all have that guy in our league who makes the outlandish.....off the wall picks that throw people off right? By mock drafting before your money league your better prepared for dealing with all the curve balls the draft will throw your way because you've already been dealing with them.

 

[renesauz]

TD,

A pre-made cheatsheet is the way to go if you've never used any aids before. Trying to assimilate all of the other concepts in here will give you a migraine, and most likely cause so much confusion that by the time you're actually drafting, you'll have lost sight of the entire reason to play this game in the first place...FOR FUN!

While I disagree with the fellow above who said that FF was 75% luck (If so why would he bother to be in here?), but there's enough luck involved that you don't have to jump straight into the hard-core anylitical stuff.

Every year, I entice 3 or 4 new people into playing the game. If necessary, I'll provide them with my own cheatsheets based on FBG projections, with some mods to fit our scoring system, and a few more tweaks to fit where I disagree with the "experts opinions". And every year, at least one of these new guys makes it into the playoffs with only five minutes reviewing the info I GAVE THEM!

The bottom line is this: You can print the cheatsheets straight off of FBG.com, and do fine. THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR!

Drafting is more art then science, no matter what anybody else in here might tell you. VBD drafting and the like are meaningless if you're in a league of guppies...so the most critical advice I could give you is to stay flexible. Be ready for the unexpected.

 

[streamkeeper]

I just have a brief comment on how I use DD. I don't mess with the projections at all. I get the scoring right and keep ADP up to date. I want to know market value of player so I can determin player tiers within the draft. I look for the value players late in the draft. All this does not go w/o mentioning that I do have opinions about a few players, but I bring those in my head.

I also have the schedule with byes accessibly. I prefer the spreadsheet from FBGs for this.

 

[supermark_28]

i start working on next years draft after the Superbowl.

and it doesnt hurt to lurk on these message boards all year...

 

[Chaka]

Last but not least.....I mock draft as often as I can at sites like Antsports....or XS. This gives you the chance to shake off the rust, work out some bugs...or test a new draft theory. Say you were a stud RB purist. You always draft RB's in the first 2 rounds. What would your team look like if you took a stud WR in the second? In your money league, you would probably stick with "what you know" and just draft the RB and not deviate because you'd be afraid of screwing up your draft. This way you can test out different theories....multiple times and if you screw it up......who cares.....it's free.....and you learned a lesson of what not to do in your money league draft. It also gets you comfortable drafting again. We all have that guy in our league who makes the outlandish.....off the wall picks that throw people off right? By mock drafting before your money league your better prepared for dealing with all the curve balls the draft will throw your way because you've already been dealing with them.

Unfortunately EVERYONE you are drafting again is doing the same thing so these mocks seldom reflect how your real draft will actually proceed.

 

[TD32]

Thanks guys. Lots of good info so far! Question.......ive been reading about the draft dominator. Is it worth buying if you wont have a laptob at the draft? Can you go in, put your league scoring system in, and it gives you rankings? Can you adjust them? Any info on it would be great. It sounds like what I might need to get more organized. Thanks!

 

[Garrett]

Beer.

 

[lloyd christmas]

Thanks guys. Lots of good info so far! Question.......ive been reading about the draft dominator. Is it worth buying if you wont have a laptob at the draft? Can you go in, put your league scoring system in, and it gives you rankings? Can you adjust them? Any info on it would be great. It sounds like what I might need to get more organized. Thanks!

The VBD Excel App is what you are looking for I believe. Puit in your league's scoring, tweak the projections, and out comes a list. I really liked the DD the two times I have used it when I couldnt make it to draft day, but the VBD Excel stuff works too.I usually sort the sheets by value for each position, then color in the rows by tiers. Then at the draft its easy for me to see if a group of similar players are about to run out.

One thing I learned from another site was how to keep track of the drafters immediately ahead/behind you, and what positions they have taken. This works best if you are two or three spots from the turn. It allows you to wait on certain positions while stealing picks from those ahead of you. Its like getting two picks for one. It doesn't happen often, but its great when it does.

Edited to add the DD and VBD apps are in free modes on the site now. You can take a look at them, even try a mock draft. IMO the DD's strength is recalculateing on the fly, as draft conditions change. If you wont have a computer, Im not sure if you'll get any advantage from it.

 

[Jabroniking]

Last but not least.....I mock draft as often as I can at sites like Antsports....or XS. This gives you the chance to shake off the rust, work out some bugs...or test a new draft theory. Say you were a stud RB purist. You always draft RB's in the first 2 rounds. What would your team look like if you took a stud WR in the second? In your money league, you would probably stick with "what you know" and just draft the RB and not deviate because you'd be afraid of screwing up your draft. This way you can test out different theories....multiple times and if you screw it up......who cares.....it's free.....and you learned a lesson of what not to do in your money league draft. It also gets you comfortable drafting again. We all have that guy in our league who makes the outlandish.....off the wall picks that throw people off right? By mock drafting before your money league your better prepared for dealing with all the curve balls the draft will throw your way because you've already been dealing with them.

Unfortunately EVERYONE you are drafting again is doing the same thing so these mocks seldom reflect how your real draft will actually proceed.

I understand that no two drafts are really alike and I really didn't mean that by doing them you will be able to know how your real draft will proceed.My point was that by doing mock drafts before hand will prepare you for your real draft. You can try new strategies as well as draft from all different positions in the draft if you do enough of them and see how things go from different draft positions. But mostly I think they help you prepare for different scenarios that the draft will bring. Will you follow the urge to join the run on TE's because you're afraid they'll all be taken.....or will you grab another position that might give you better value instead of following the run? These are all things the experienced FF player already knows and does....but to a new or lesser experienced FF player...they may not have learned yet. I think mock drafting can be a valuable tool for any FF player of any experience level.

 

[Chaz]

I'll make up my own list of players by position. I am sure to have a column of ADP for each player. I also have a column listing owners who may be targeting any given player, based on past draft/auction info. From there, I have a separate page of commandments to remind myself as I get involved and drinking and such. Stuff like, "look for player X in round 8" or "Don't even think of a D until round 13." Sounds silly, but it helps to avoid getting caught in a run or making spur of the moment selections.

 

[tytyty]

I buy beer.

Line up the strippers.

Make sure everyone is coming.

Collect entrance fees.

Get a magazine.

Take the draft board.

Get all the trophies updated with engraving.

I make a list of players I want.

I want in your league!

 

[mightyeskimo]

I buy a composition book at a local drugstore every year. I do my own rankings and bring a case of beer!

 

[NoFBinLA]

Last but not least.....I mock draft as often as I can at sites like Antsports....or XS. This gives you the chance to shake off the rust, work out some bugs...or test a new draft theory. Say you were a stud RB purist. You always draft RB's in the first 2 rounds. What would your team look like if you took a stud WR in the second? In your money league, you would probably stick with "what you know" and just draft the RB and not deviate because you'd be afraid of screwing up your draft. This way you can test out different theories....multiple times and if you screw it up......who cares.....it's free.....and you learned a lesson of what not to do in your money league draft. It also gets you comfortable drafting again. We all have that guy in our league who makes the outlandish.....off the wall picks that throw people off right? By mock drafting before your money league your better prepared for dealing with all the curve balls the draft will throw your way because you've already been dealing with them.

Unfortunately EVERYONE you are drafting again is doing the same thing so these mocks seldom reflect how your real draft will actually proceed.

They are unless they let the CPU do the drafting, something I have seen alot of on Antsports so far.At that point, it's not really worth the effort as it's not a very good inication of what happens in a draft.

Myself, I load up DD on my laptop to help track, make sure the settings for scoring and position are set on it and have a few players I'd LIKE to have that I earmark for consideration at certain points.

But I'm always very flexible - too many odd thigns happen to not be able to take advantage of them b/c I am stuck on a single track.

 

[Frank Black]

Well I used to get intense. I'd breakdown all the players, make my projections with information from various sources, have a list, be ready to dominate.... then my brother walks in last year half lit, with a paper he bought on the way in and totally dominated our league.

FF is 75% pure dumb luck. So quit sweating it so hard and just pick.

FF is at least 60% luck. I only give 40% to skill because bad skill can get you a losing season. So skill has something to do with it. On the other end, good skill in drafting doesn't necessarily get you the wins you need. WW are the wild card depending on your league rules. This comes down to a lot of luck as well.

 

[Jabroniking]

Last but not least.....I mock draft as often as I can at sites like Antsports....or XS. This gives you the chance to shake off the rust, work out some bugs...or test a new draft theory. Say you were a stud RB purist. You always draft RB's in the first 2 rounds. What would your team look like if you took a stud WR in the second? In your money league, you would probably stick with "what you know" and just draft the RB and not deviate because you'd be afraid of screwing up your draft. This way you can test out different theories....multiple times and if you screw it up......who cares.....it's free.....and you learned a lesson of what not to do in your money league draft. It also gets you comfortable drafting again. We all have that guy in our league who makes the outlandish.....off the wall picks that throw people off right? By mock drafting before your money league your better prepared for dealing with all the curve balls the draft will throw your way because you've already been dealing with them.

Unfortunately EVERYONE you are drafting again is doing the same thing so these mocks seldom reflect how your real draft will actually proceed.

They are unless they let the CPU do the drafting, something I have seen alot of on Antsports so far.At that point, it's not really worth the effort as it's not a very good inication of what happens in a draft.

Myself, I load up DD on my laptop to help track, make sure the settings for scoring and position are set on it and have a few players I'd LIKE to have that I earmark for consideration at certain points.

But I'm always very flexible - too many odd thigns happen to not be able to take advantage of them b/c I am stuck on a single track.

Try doing mock drafts over at XS (xpertsports.com). They have drafts all day and night with 1m timers and there are far fewer "computer selections." Anyone who times out over there is usually replaced with a drafter quickly. The one minute timer is nice because then the drafts are "live" and you don't have to wait 12 hours for someone to make their pick plus they go rather quickly so you can do a few a day if you wanted to.

 

[perry147]

Built bonfire.

Get live chicken.

Strip naked

Cut its throat.

Scream loudly.

Shake chicken over your head while speaking the book of revelation backwards.

Tie the chicken to a stake.

Get a live coyote.

let him eat the chicken.

While this is happening dance around with

a yellow candle in one hand and a bottle of rum

in the other.

defecate on a picture of the Virgin Mary.

All of this must be done at midnight for

maximum effect.

Sit down and finish off the rest of the rum

and wait for the sun to rise.

Next day, when sober, take our credit card and subscribe to FBG.

Print out cheatsheets.

Done

PS : And do not worry about the red eyes staring at you through the window on draft night.

 

[On The Rocks]

Sorry for the slight hijack here, but this is the first year Im using DD. Any tricks or helpful hints for a first timer?

Just remember that the DD picks are suggestions, not the voice of GOD. The DD IMHO is most usefully viewed as a tool to help you make sure that noone drops too far from where they should be picked.For example, if you have some general knowledge of the way other owners in the league tend to think, you can make more informed guesses about who is likely to fall before your next pick than the DD can ( in a serpentine format). Don't lose this advandtage by adhering blindly to the DD selections.

 

[AbidingDude]

preparing for the draft for me started a long time ago.

1. lurk here and pick up all of the valuable information including insight on players you don't see play very often as well as some of the games strategies and theories

2. go over that league's drafts from previous years - you can get a great deal of knowledge about how specific owners draft as well as where positional runs tend to start and stop. And one of the things that I have found is that one of my leagues tends to draft fairly close to the ADP regardless of the fact that we have a different scoring system then the drafts that most of that data came from. I am able to use that to my advantage when using DD with our specific scoring system.

3. do your own projections or at least look tweak the projections of situations that you feel very confident about.

4. mock draft - I did several mock drafts very quickly with DD in order to see how different scenarios would play out. And then I also do a few mock drafts online to get a feel for the drafting, and my own preferences/biases.

5. Know your league - I was in a league that for the past few years has been mostly drafting off of a single top 200 list that they printed from somewhere. So I got a copy of it during the draft so I could see exactly how the draft would go.

6. Be sure to at least monitor the news blogger in the days leading up to your draft. Last year I saw the news that FWP was going to be the opening day starter the night before the draft. He was officially the SOD the next day when i got him in the 13th round.

I am sure I am forgetting some good tips...

 

[CravenM]

Draft Dominator pre-loaded on the laptop.

List of players to target at each pick.

List of possible triggers for trades.