Looking at the player vs. the whole team (1 Viewer)

[justmike73]

Everyone keeps throwing up numbers from last year and what not. Sure, but last year was last year and this year was a major shift NFL wide. I look forward as a fan because the field mis wide open. There were major changes and trades etc. There are key guys that can be bad ### running backs this year. But in the big picture they are only as good as the o-line and passing game. It is a mixed bag. For a guy to relly bust out at RB you have to have a good down field threat that starts with the o-line to protect to QB and ends with strong WRs. That makes the D stay honest and second guess loading up the d-line. Safties stay back etc.

Also to max the passing game you have to have a team that can cause a threat on the run. Once again that starts with the o-line. Defiantly a good week side o-line. See Sean Alexander last year for example. He was the best fanstasy RB and arguably had the best weakside o-line in the league.

Not only that, but if you want your players to produce on offence, they need to be on a team with a top 15 defense. Your offense can't put up numbers when the other team has the ball.

It all feeds in. You need to look at the entire team and their schedule. The WR that may look hot can be a dud real fast if they are playing a team that can stop the run. It's old school football. A good running game opens up the for the pass as defenders creep up to cover the run. It goes the other way as well. One RB on a team known for passing can have a break out season. RBs love to see those safties step back for the double team on the WR.

Mostly what it comes down to is not buying into the top 100 hype you see in in polls. The winners are the ones that study each team and find the sleepers. That comes from looking at each team schedule, and trickles down to every postion from RB to kicker. I won a few games simply by selecting a kicker because I guessed they would be kicking field goals more than scoring TD's bases on their opponet.

 

[tomarken]

Everyone keeps throwing up numbers from last year and what not. Sure, but last year was last year and this year was a major shift NFL wide. I look forward as a fan because the field mis wide open. There were major changes and trades etc. There are key guys that can be bad ### running backs this year. But in the big picture they are only as good as the o-line and passing game. It is a mixed bag. For a guy to relly bust out at RB you have to have a good down field threat that starts with the o-line to protect to QB and ends with strong WRs. That makes the D stay honest and second guess loading up the d-line. Safties stay back etc. Also to max the passing game you have to have a team that can cause a threat on the run. Once again that starts with the o-line. Defiantly a good week side o-line. See Sean Alexander last year for example. He was the best fanstasy RB and arguably had the best weakside o-line in the league. Not only that, but if you want your players to produce on offence, they need to be on a team with a top 15 defense. Your offense can't put up numbers when the other team has the ball.It all feeds in. You need to look at the entire team and their schedule. The WR that may look hot can be a dud real fast if they are playing a team that can stop the run. It's old school football. A good running game opens up the for the pass as defenders creep up to cover the run. It goes the other way as well. One RB on a team known for passing can have a break out season. RBs love to see those safties step back for the double team on the WR.Mostly what it comes down to is not buying into the top 100 hype you see in in polls. The winners are the ones that study each team and find the sleepers. That comes from looking at each team schedule, and trickles down to every postion from RB to kicker. I won a few games simply by selecting a kicker because I guessed they would be kicking field goals more than scoring TD's bases on their opponet.

I don't think this is a mistake at all, if that was your question. This is exactly why I avoided Willis McGahee in every single league last year, for example. So many people seemed so disappointed that he barely scored at all. I don't see why anyone who considered the entire team situation he was in should have been surprised, it seemed obvious that this would happen (and will happen again this year). A lot of times if you look at the whole team it can help you see through the hype for individual players - they can only perform as well as their supporting cast lets them.

 

[shadow2k]

There will always be exceptions.

Arizona was 32nd in rushing attempts and yards, but had two top ten receivers.

Chicago was 31st in both completions and passing yards, but put T.Jones in the top ten RB's.

Teams with crappy D's often have some pretty great FF players. Hell, look at the Colts (outside of last year). Look at KC. StL of old. Min when Moss was there. Some of the best FF players are on teams with crappy D's, because they end up in shootouts. Then teams with the top D's tend to favor controlling the clock, and simply waste time. They run down the time clock on every play, don't throw much, and won't take as many risks to score.

SOS isn't one of my favorites either. D's are very volatile from year to year, outside of the traditionally strong teams like TB, Balt, etc... Looking at the first half of the season and using it to decide between to similarly ranked guys when you can't make up your mind...good thing. Taking a lower ranked guy because you see he plays a team that's supposedly weak when your FF playoffs are...not so good. I really wouldn't put too much stock into this, but it can be a useful tool on a limited basis. Just don't overuse it.

I'd focus on grading out the O-line for both pass and run blocking more than any of these other things.