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Yeah. If you have to ask, you haven't used Draft Dominator during a draft yet. All the static info you could want like your projections, ADP, NFL depth charts, etc, are there. Plus all the non-static info that you'd have to spend extra time on to have with paper... like being able to see in a glance how many players at each position have been taken by other teams between your current and next picks to get an idea what position they might go after. It's also easier to type in a name and have it jump to the player than it is to read down a list looking for Hank Baskett.
People can still do math with paper and pen, but the calculator is helpful. People can walk, but bikes and cars are faster. People can write letters, but email is a step up. People can remember their wedding, or they can take a picture. You can go find a payphone, or just use your cell. Etc. Don't fear technology. A computer is just a big calculator that can store pages and pages of info that you can access at a click instead of shuffling through sheets of paper. Talk about only having so much time, I'd rather click through 4 different pages of info (ADP, ranking, stas etc) than have to shuffle through in less than 2 or 3 minutes.If you use the DD offered here then you will find a laptop almost indispensible. Even if you don't use the VBD system it's still a great tracking program that presents you with a multitude of ways to see who's left, who's best and what's available at every position to help make your choice.
yeah i looked at last year and again last week and i like alot but they are a few thing it wont tweak enough for me but as far as the general refernce its great. i also like to color code things and i guess im just biased toward the worksheets i put together,but its an awesome program.
I've been using DD as my only draft tool for four years now (3 leagues) and can't imagine drafting without it. Being able to quickly look at how many players other teams have drafted is a HUGE benefit. For example, last night I was drafting at #11. At the 3-4 turn, with a glance, I knew the guy on the turn needed an RB. There were two WRs and an RB I wanted. I took the RB instead because taking a WR would have meant that RB wouldn't be there for my next pick. This forced my opponent to take a lesser RB and one of the two WRs I needed. Having that information at a glance is power. Additionally, you can click on a team to see who is on that roster--and predict when backups will be taken because of status of the starters. Searching for a player to see who has him on the roster is beneficial. Then, the top players at each position (and overall) according to your scoring system is a click away. Bye weeks right next to the players name.As if the benefits above aren't enough, I like to go back a few times during the season to see where the real steals and busts were. All the info is logged.I also have a spreadsheet with draft comments that I've been populating since last season ended. This could be in DD, but the s/s is much easier to move around on my thumb drive and allows me to update with data whereever I am.So, with my laptop, I have DD, my draft comments, and access to breaking news or comments on players here to help make up your mind.All this without ever printing a single piece of paper!!
I won't be using a laptop tomorrow.I use DD to prepare, though.If you're prepared and have done enough mock drafts, IMHO, there is no computer faster than the human brain.Same thing as chess. The best programs will never beat the best players at the highest levels.Think ahead, be prepared, then react.See you at 2:00 PM!
This is ridiculous. The DD does not do your thinking for you. It's like being able to take a test and use your books while everyone else can't. And there are plenty of computers faster than the human brain. Do you still use a slide rule?
Yes, I've commited to memory all of the strengths and weaknesses of all 200+ players likely to be drafted in my league. I'm THAT guy.
Fire bad! Beer good! *grunt*I kid.
Uuummmmmmmmmmmmmmm ... remember 1997? Does the name Deep Blue ring a bell? No? ... maybe Garry Kasparov? If not you may wanna read up a bit. It may change your mind about the laptop as well.http://researchweb.watson.ibm.com/deepblue/
Also, the human element using DD and a laptop isn't gone. Prior to draft day you enter your leagues scoring system, lineup rules and your projections. On draft day, DD will give you suggested picks, it won't draft for you. It's a helpful tool, nothing more. Follow it 100% at your own peril.
Thanks! Great feature.Now if I can only get the schedule entered in time for the 10 am draft tomorrow...
Terrible post. In addition to being flat out wrong about the chess deal you're implying that you have to shut off your brain while using the DD.It's more like the greatest chess mind having a computer at his side to run any analysis he wants and even then it doesn't fully represent the benefit of DD.
So you don't need a wireless connection to use DD?
Maybe I should have re-worded my post.Computers do not think. They operate based on programs written by humans.Plenty of you guys feel you need it to do your best at the draft. Fine, but I don't.
No you don't need a wireless connection to run DD. All of the information is stored on your hard drive. The only information that wouldn't be available during the draft without an internet connection is the FBG "Web Player Pages" link which takes you to the player's page on the FBG site.
Last year I was laughed at when I walked into the room with a laptop as well. As a first year owner in the league, people were wondering what the heck was going on. Well, I was the one laughing when I dominated the league.This year.... 1/3 of the owners came to the draft with laptops. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
No kidding. And plenty of pointdexter jokes would probably follow for a long time after that.
Mostly to show how dweebed out you are on FF, or in general. If haven't figured out how much you do/don't want players by then, you should've prepared better. Just take a coin to flip. A lot easier to carry around and won't break if you drop it.
Same here. I don't begrudge anyone that uses a computer, but if I have to rely upon one rather than think on my feet as the draft progresses, I haven't done my homework properly.
You guys have obviously never used the DD. It's not like you show up with it and it magically drafts a team for you while you pop Funions and guzzle Old Milwaukee. It's a number cruncher that helps you compare and contrast players, your opponents teams, and your draft strategy. You still have to pick your player and manage your draft strategy. It's no different than having cheatsheets and printouts, only they're in color and easier to access. Or do you just show up without anything but your mind? You have all the stats and rankings committed to memory and have no need of any reference material. Do you do your taxes without a calculator? No cell phone for you? If you have a big presentation at work do you still use an overhead projector and wipeaway markers? Cell phone too high tech ? Even if you don't use the DD, a laptop (not even connected to the internet) can hold pages of info that you can click to rather than shuffle 30 pieces of paper. Rankings, ADPs, news info. And connected to the internet you can learn valuable info like when you have the 4th pick and Portis goes down with a shoulder injury. Add in the DD (which has tons of space for player notes) and you're the most prepared guy in the room. Unless you're a Mentat and have stats for 300 players at instant access in your noodle. As for time, it takes about .7 seconds to click on a player's name to assign him to a team. A lot less time than it takes to write in a player's name as someone else picks him. It helps track which players go where, keeps you from "losing track" of a player, and gives you MORE time to make your decision because all the info is at your fingertips.
This ends up being an issue for some folks because they have no idea what their schedule is while drafting. The complimentary player feature doesn't depend on it.That said, it's probably a good idea to let your commissioner know ahead of time that you would like your schedule. Even it you won't have it until your draft order is set it only takes a minute to enter it into the DD.Thanks! Great feature.Now if I can only get the schedule entered in time for the 10 am draft tomorrow...
After my first draft three weeks ago (where I drafted from a cheatsheet only), I loaded each team into the DD to see the rankings after the fact. Since that time, projections have changed to make my team the strongest in the league. My point: You need your brain to stay ahead of the curve regardless of what tool you use. Most leagues start 8-10 players a week and have 10-12 teams, that's only a 120 or so players. Not too hard to know who the best ones are out of that group. As long as you draft the best picks each round, computer or not, you'll do well.Can you give a lousy FFer the DD and improve his team? Probably. But what if you are in a league and everyone uses DD? The best players will still come out on top. This isn't brain surgery. Whoever picks the best players (that stay healthy) will do well. But don't fool yourself into thinking DD makes that much of a difference if you are in a competitive league.
Took mine to my draft last year -- a few guys gave me a hard time, so I said "When I win it all this year, how many guys will have laptops NEXT year?""So I won it and a couple guys had laptops this year. The bad part for them - they only had excel spreadsheets and not DD.
You bet. Runs great in Virtual PC (I do this), or if you have a new Intel Duo Core Mac it will run fine in Windows.
I mentioned in this or another thread that with proper preparation (read: lots of mocks) I could probably replicate the use of DD with just the VBD cheatsheets. So I don't think you're necessarily missing out with your system. But...What I lose by doing that is:=time spent preparing=ability to easily find complimentary players (bye week fill-ins by SOS)=ability to easily take into account SOS and weekly weights (ie regular, divisional, and playoffs schedule)Probably a couple of other things I'm missing right now
