How strong is your FBG bias? (1 Viewer)

[The Riv]

I was talking with my brother over the weekend, and we got to discussing FF resource bias/preference and I thought I'd post here to see what others' experiences are. I can say with comfortable confidence that I rely on FBG exclusively. I listen to The Audible podcasts. I read the articles. I explore the data. I engage FBG staff on #Twitter and via email. I find FBG to be highly reasoned, devoid of ego, user-friendly, reliable, nuanced, fun, and for a subscription service, ridiculously reasonable. Perhaps I'm limiting myself in some ways, but I was pulled me in a few years ago, and I simply can't go back, or be enticed to go beyond. I like it here juuuuust fine.

What % of your FF activities are FBG-related?

 

[McGarnicle]

My team would make the average FBG ejaculate. It's pretty much 100% based on advice from the podcasts, weekly articles and this forum.

 

[Dizzy]

I love the weekly articles (Roundtable, Value/Overvalue Plays, Believe It Or Not, etc.) mainly because I love this hobby and enjoy reading about it. But when it comes to pre-draft rankings and weekly projections... I find that the FBG predictions (overall) stack up about as well as my predictions and other guys in my leagues... HIGHLY UNPREDICTABLE (at best). And wouldn't want it any other way!

Good tie-break option though for those times you're on the fence between players... but it still feels like a crap shoot most of the time.

 

[cstu]

The info and analysis available here is untouchable compared to other sites I've visited. As far the rankings go, I prefer to understand the thought process (i.e. matchup descriptions) behind them rather than the actual numbers.

The only thing I watch out for is that FGB tends to latch on to what they think will be the breakout players and it becomes group think around here.

 

[Warrior]

5%

I use FBG for the fun contests, that's about it. The actual advice is similar to what I can find around the rest of the innerwebs for free.

 

[Avery]

My team would make the average FBG ejaculate. It's pretty much 100% based on advice from the podcasts, weekly articles and this forum.

I don't know why but that just cracked me up.

 

[Hu-Tang Clan]

I don't have a membership here and have just started using the forum this year as a test run for whether I want to join or not. I currently do pay for a membership on another board and have for over a decade and am contemplating a switch. To be honest though I'm not sure it's worth it to pay for any sites since there is so much info out there now and if you've been playing this long enough you know how to use the free stuff and benefit from it. There really isn't anything I'm currently getting that is giving me much of an advantage then if I just used the free info.

I will say though now that there are probably at least 6 owners in my local leagues that all belong to the same other site that it was nice being at the draft with a different sheet and info than them.

 

[mr roboto]

I'm a member. I hardly ever use the paid resources except for dynasty rankings. The SP however is a huge benefit for me. Especially in dynasty.

 

[Pigskin Fanatic]

Many members here, myself included, join the site for their contest and to support the guys in what they do more so than for content that will put you over the top. After all, fantasy football is many% luck. $ well spent imo and the new MyFBG page is awesome. Sharkpool is indeed the best resource by a wide margin on the interweb, albeit it has its up and down moments. I'm sure no more than other public space.

 

[Tchula]

I pay for it. It is the only source of info I use aside from the FBG staff on social media. Like other people say, the contests alone make it worth the price. Heck The Audible is worth paying to use this site. My girlfriend who is a D1 college athletic trainer even likes listening to Dr. Brammel and reading his articles. My only complaint is how many people in FFPC use this site. Makes drafting there a real nail biter, because no one seems to fall to a good value.

 

[Tau837]

Draft Dominator and MyFBG alone are worth the price of membership. I don't know if there are competitors out there with similar offerings, as I've been exclusively using FBG for at least the past 12+ years.

I also like supporting the business that provides the Shark Pool and FFA forums, which are by far the best I've found on the internet.

 

[FF Wiseguy]

I mainly use the site for strategy articles and film analysis. Buy/Sell, Roundtable, and Pushing the Pocket are my weekly must reads.

I use the FBG rankings as a tie-breaker for my mid to lower player start/sit decisions. And I like to look at the top 200 to see guys that I can target in trades.

I listen to every On the Couch that I can, and listen to maybe 65% of the Audibles. I love FBG's detailed analysis, but by Thursday, I've taken so much in that I'm a little too fatigued to listen to the whole thing.

I browse the Shark Pool daily during work. Like JWB, it is the best forum I've found on the internet.

I'd say FBG accounts for 60% of my fantasy intake. ESPN accounting for 35% and 5% misc. sites. No other site offers the level of detail and quality of FBG, but sometimes I just need a quick read, as I'm usually reading during work and can't focus 100% on the content.

 

[McGarnicle]

My team would make the average FBG ejaculate. It's pretty much 100% based on advice from the podcasts, weekly articles and this forum.

I don't know why but that just cracked me up.

Let me know when you have some alone time and I'll PM you my roster.

 

[Ted Mullins]

FBG is definitely my go to - also really like the Rotoworld guys on twitter, although they seem to be more over top about promoting "their guys" and bashing the guys they don't like - that is apparent in their writeups too.

It can be helpful to have some idea of the consensus of other sources too for trade values, etc - have an idea of the marketplace perceptions.

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

The info and analysis available here is untouchable compared to other sites I've visited. As far the rankings go, I prefer to understand the thought process (i.e. matchup descriptions) behind them rather than the actual numbers.The only thing I watch out for is that FGB tends to latch on to what they think will be the breakout players and it becomes group think around here.

I agree, I look at the rankings and try to figure out why they feel that way and I may agree or disagree it close situations. There are a lot of tight calls at flex or Wr3 situations in a given week so those are the ones I look at most and try and figure out.

I think Ds and kickers are pretty much a toss up. Any given week a kicker can have a big week, if you have a good one you just play him and hope the game falls into a field goal heavy type game.

Love the daily emails, the podcasts are great but haven't had the time to listen to many this year. The Fbg site is all I get my info from as well as enjoy posting and reading in this forum although I used to do that much more as well.

 

[The Dude]

about 95% FBG - not for the subscriber content - for the boards. So there is no bias to FBG - just to a vast forum

 

[FUBAR]

Roughly...

50% forums

30% subscriber content

20% google searches (mostly for local perspectives of players) and a couple other sites

 

[chasyone]

I have been a member here for 8 yrs and have have won a couple of titles and made a lot of titles games. I have only missed the playoffs in the league I run once in those 8 yrs. I know it's luck but I give the guys on here all the credit. I think there is no doubt it's worth the $. Last year I followed their how to draft in a 10 team league and followed it to a tee and I finished 2nd in the league. I have never been on another site but I find it hard to believe there is anybody better.

 

[chasyone]

I have been a member here for 8 yrs and have have won a couple of titles and made a lot of titles games. I have only missed the playoffs in the league I run once in those 8 yrs. I know it's luck but I give the guys on here all the credit. I think there is no doubt it's worth the $. Last year I followed their how to draft in a 10 team league and followed it to a tee and I finished 2nd in the league. I have never been on another site but I find it hard to believe there is anybody better.

 

[just_want_2_win]

Just one of many sources I use. I really like the Shark Pool and this year have enjoyed the benefit of signing up for FanDuel and getting access to the paid content. Of the PC, what I find myself using most is the 10-second myfbg tool, the strategy articles, the top 200 rankings, and the weekly projections.

I also use fftoday (mainly for excellent stats and "all out blitz" articles), rotoworld for news and some analysis and to a much lesser extent, KFFL, fantasy sharks, talented mr. roto's love/hate, and fftoolbox.

I try to rely on watching the games/highlights and reading non-fantasy football NFL coverage as well.

I find using all these sources gives me some different facts and viewpoints.

 

[Topes]

A few years back, I started to have much less time for the site.

The podcasts stepped in really well.

I've learned to navigate the opinions on the podcasts pretty well over time. I can spot a FBG groupthink circle jerk pretty good by now, and know when to avoid. I mainly listen for the observations on games I don't have the time to watch, which is helpful.

Following FBGs groupthink has steered me right and wrong over the years, but i use it as confirmation bias mostly, a reinforcer. There's been plenty of advice I've ignored, good and bad.

Way, way back in the day, Joe and co were steering folks toward Jeff Garcia. I ignored, to my detriment. But I bought on Jermaine Fazande and Mark Ingram.

FGBs helped steer me toward Portis and Travis henry as rookies, I ignored the hype on Graham.

I buy a mag or two each summer. I listen to other podcasts here and there, but just find them to be mostly drivel.

I get maybe 75% of my fantasy information from FBGs. I parse it as I choose. My mistakes are my own.

 

[jurb26]

I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I looked at staff rankings. I just enjoy the discussion in threads.

 

[snellman]

Still probably 80% bias to here, but I have strayed the last couple years especially in the offseason to another site because most of my leagues are dynasty and I still feel FBGs are lacking on the dynasty side of it.

 

[lyon812]

I've always felt you should cultivate multiple opinions. Right now I'd say FBG, ProFootballFocus, Rotoworld (more articles than update blurbs), various Twitter follows, and Rotoviz are constant visits during the year, primarily for usage patterns or analysis of players I don't get the chance to watch. Each site has its own virtues and flaws, but I find them the most reliably useful/insightful/accurate.

Keeping your options open also helps you identify other owners' traits. There are a few in my leagues that are clearly FBG owners and always boarding every FBG train in existence. That can be leveraged advantageously if you keep track.

 

[Adam Harstad]

I don't have a membership here and have just started using the forum this year as a test run for whether I want to join or not. I currently do pay for a membership on another board and have for over a decade and am contemplating a switch. To be honest though I'm not sure it's worth it to pay for any sites since there is so much info out there now and if you've been playing this long enough you know how to use the free stuff and benefit from it. There really isn't anything I'm currently getting that is giving me much of an advantage then if I just used the free info.

I will say though now that there are probably at least 6 owners in my local leagues that all belong to the same other site that it was nice being at the draft with a different sheet and info than them.

This may sound odd coming from someone who generates content for FBGs, but I really believe that you don't buy a subscription for the content, you buy it for the tools. The content is just a really nice freebie thrown in on top.

Lots of other sites give excellent analysis. Much of that analysis is available for free. Guys like Mike Clay, Evan Silva, and Josh Moore are superstars in the field, and none of them work for FBGs. Bryan Fontaine and the DLF guys are all huge resources for dynasty leaguers. There are a ton of smart guys under the FBGs umbrella, and I'm honored to count myself among them, but I don't think anyone around here would ever suggest that there aren't an equal or greater number of really smart guys who don't fall under the FBGs umbrella, too.

In my mind, what sets FBGs apart are all of the "extras", the stuff that goes beyond analysis and predictions. The Draft Dominator was revolutionary when it first came out, and as far as I'm concerned, it's still the best drafting program on the market. The new iPad app (which, it should be noted, is a separate standalone purchase independent from a FBGs subscription) is also a really powerful, intuitive drafting tool. The Data Dominator and Historical Data Dominator are pretty much the best / most powerful / most comprehensive statistical databases a layperson is going to have access to, outside of the PFR play finder (which is more limited in usefulness, but much broader in scope). Now that they've set up myFBG to sync automatically with all your leagues, that's the real money feature, though. No matter how many leagues you're in, you can link them all up to FBGs, and every week it will update with the most recent projections to tell you who the best free agents are IN EACH SPECIFIC LEAGUE. It will calculate and recommend who you should start and sit based on your specific scoring system. I find this year that, by using myFBG as the beginning point of my weekly process, I'm probably saving a good hour a week per league. With 6 leagues this year, that's six hours a week. Over 16 weeks, that's nearly 100 hours that I'm saving thanks to myFBGs. I don't know how everyone else values their time, but if I can spend $30 on a product that saves me 100 hours, I consider that an absolute steal. Adding all of the other stuff on top is just gravy. Delicious, delicious gravy.

 

[Adam Harstad]

The info and analysis available here is untouchable compared to other sites I've visited. As far the rankings go, I prefer to understand the thought process (i.e. matchup descriptions) behind them rather than the actual numbers.The only thing I watch out for is that FGB tends to latch on to what they think will be the breakout players and it becomes group think around here.

I agree, I look at the rankings and try to figure out why they feel that way and I may agree or disagree it close situations. There are a lot of tight calls at flex or Wr3 situations in a given week so those are the ones I look at most and try and figure out.

I think Ds and kickers are pretty much a toss up. Any given week a kicker can have a big week, if you have a good one you just play him and hope the game falls into a field goal heavy type game.

Love the daily emails, the podcasts are great but haven't had the time to listen to many this year. The Fbg site is all I get my info from as well as enjoy posting and reading in this forum although I used to do that much more as well.

Mike Herman is the Michael Jordan of fantasy placekicker analysis. Nobody has ever devoted the amount of effort or research into the position, and I'm pretty sure no one ever will. He's probably further out ahead of the field in his chosen area than any other fantasy expert in any other area. A lot of times, I use FBG's analysis as a jumping-off point for my own work, or as a final sanity check on my own projections. When it comes to kickers, though, I just save myself some time and do what Herman tells me to.

 

[Bdog]

I pretty much just read the forum. Compared to other forums I participate in:

5% FBG

95% FFT

 

[ebsteelers]

off topic: but is there a basketball guys?

i always find the information here excellent and would say i use this info about 70-75% of the time but was wondering if there is such thing as basketball guys, or a recommendation towards basketball insight as I would like to venture into hoops for fantasy.

 

[lyon812]

I don't have a membership here and have just started using the forum this year as a test run for whether I want to join or not. I currently do pay for a membership on another board and have for over a decade and am contemplating a switch. To be honest though I'm not sure it's worth it to pay for any sites since there is so much info out there now and if you've been playing this long enough you know how to use the free stuff and benefit from it. There really isn't anything I'm currently getting that is giving me much of an advantage then if I just used the free info.

I will say though now that there are probably at least 6 owners in my local leagues that all belong to the same other site that it was nice being at the draft with a different sheet and info than them.

This may sound odd coming from someone who generates content for FBGs, but I really believe that you don't buy a subscription for the content, you buy it for the tools. The content is just a really nice freebie thrown in on top.

Lots of other sites give excellent analysis. Much of that analysis is available for free. Guys like Mike Clay, Evan Silva, and Josh Moore are superstars in the field, and none of them work for FBGs. Bryan Fontaine and the DLF guys are all huge resources for dynasty leaguers. There are a ton of smart guys under the FBGs umbrella, and I'm honored to count myself among them, but I don't think anyone around here would ever suggest that there aren't an equal or greater number of really smart guys who don't fall under the FBGs umbrella, too.

In my mind, what sets FBGs apart are all of the "extras", the stuff that goes beyond analysis and predictions. The Draft Dominator was revolutionary when it first came out, and as far as I'm concerned, it's still the best drafting program on the market. The new iPad app (which, it should be noted, is a separate standalone purchase independent from a FBGs subscription) is also a really powerful, intuitive drafting tool. The Data Dominator and Historical Data Dominator are pretty much the best / most powerful / most comprehensive statistical databases a layperson is going to have access to, outside of the PFR play finder (which is more limited in usefulness, but much broader in scope). Now that they've set up myFBG to sync automatically with all your leagues, that's the real money feature, though. No matter how many leagues you're in, you can link them all up to FBGs, and every week it will update with the most recent projections to tell you who the best free agents are IN EACH SPECIFIC LEAGUE. It will calculate and recommend who you should start and sit based on your specific scoring system. I find this year that, by using myFBG as the beginning point of my weekly process, I'm probably saving a good hour a week per league. With 6 leagues this year, that's six hours a week. Over 16 weeks, that's nearly 100 hours that I'm saving thanks to myFBGs. I don't know how everyone else values their time, but if I can spend $30 on a product that saves me 100 hours, I consider that an absolute steal. Adding all of the other stuff on top is just gravy. Delicious, delicious gravy.

This is good information, and because of it I went to check the feature out. It's pretty impressive. However, it's immediately evident that there needs to be a way to clone a profile. Entering identical scoring information for 8 leagues is suboptimal. You can avoid this by linking/unlinking constantly, but that's even more annoying.

 

[rickyg]

I do most of my own critical thinking and analysis based on the info that is out there on every team/player/coaching staff. I dont know how much I use fbg as a % of resources, but if say its a big resource for me when it comes to stats (I love the stat dominator), and I like reading their articles to ether confirm my analysis or to see if they can point out something I haven't thought about when it comes to a specific player or situation. The shark pool however is the most valuable resource for me. That is where the runner meets the road for me. I put a lot of my ideas about players that I think are poised to break out on here and I love the back and forth that ensues with different opinions and analysis.

I also really enjoy helping other players.

Another thing I find valuable are all of the podcasts. Especially early in the season where you are searching for that waiver wire phenom that can put your team over the top.

As far as rankings you don't need a subscription to anywhere for that. Fantasy pros gives you a composite rankings of all the experts for free.

I don't put too much stock into rankings anyway. They are so hit or miss on a week to week basis. I pretty much always go with my gut.

Another big restores for me is the fantasy sports channel on Sirius xm. Dr roto, zagura, the guru. It's good to hear all of those guys too BC they have different analysis and it helps me out together a complete picture of how the fantasy football world as a whole views players and matchups etc.