I have always wondered and never seen this discussed, so I wanted to get opinions. What do you think are the characteristics of consistently good ff team managers? People who year after year dominate and either make the playoffs or win their league? Obviously knowing your scoring system, and taking time to study player development and news is important, but what else? Are they good with numbers? Intuitive? I don't know because I am not a dominating player, but am curious what people think makes for a dominating ff manager. Thoughts?
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What are the characteristics of a consistently good ff manager? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter glipp12
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butcher boy
Footballguy
Good FF Manager - Focuses on the draft instead of the strippers the commish hired for the draft that year.
TheDirtyWord
Footballguy
1) Communication - Have open lines with everyone. With the advent of e-mail/texting and all written forms of communication, it seems actually talking to other owners about their rosters and potential moves has become a lost art.
2) Twitter - 5 years ago, I used to be able to count on proactively checking NFL sites for player nuggets/depth charts/etc...and since I did this frequentl, was able to beat people to the punch for players upon situation changes. In 2008, I was able to pounce on Kurt Warner when it was announced he was going to get the starters gig over Leinart. The news was 30-40 minutes old when I checked. Now, I suspect he wouldn't last 5 mins on the waiver wire. Make sure you are plugged into news sources.
3) Complete & utter draft preparation - It sounds cliche, but a lot of drafters rely on mass produced cheat sheets that don't much deviate from conventional thinking. Since sites like this one can essentially take the work out of draft prep for you, knowing these market trends and working between them to identify where you want to pounce on value and even targeting certain players at specific spots will give you confidence once you reach the middle to late rounds when some folks either start to struggle to identify good buys or lose interest because they have their starting line-up set in their eyes.
4) Resisting the Week 1 urge - Can't tell you how many times I've seen people waste waiver claim priority over an out of nowhere opening day performance. Situation matters and once the waiver claim process starts in season, it's not as important to jump on last weeks star as it is to identify under the radar performers in favorable situations...sometimes this takes a little time so have pateince.
2) Twitter - 5 years ago, I used to be able to count on proactively checking NFL sites for player nuggets/depth charts/etc...and since I did this frequentl, was able to beat people to the punch for players upon situation changes. In 2008, I was able to pounce on Kurt Warner when it was announced he was going to get the starters gig over Leinart. The news was 30-40 minutes old when I checked. Now, I suspect he wouldn't last 5 mins on the waiver wire. Make sure you are plugged into news sources.
3) Complete & utter draft preparation - It sounds cliche, but a lot of drafters rely on mass produced cheat sheets that don't much deviate from conventional thinking. Since sites like this one can essentially take the work out of draft prep for you, knowing these market trends and working between them to identify where you want to pounce on value and even targeting certain players at specific spots will give you confidence once you reach the middle to late rounds when some folks either start to struggle to identify good buys or lose interest because they have their starting line-up set in their eyes.
4) Resisting the Week 1 urge - Can't tell you how many times I've seen people waste waiver claim priority over an out of nowhere opening day performance. Situation matters and once the waiver claim process starts in season, it's not as important to jump on last weeks star as it is to identify under the radar performers in favorable situations...sometimes this takes a little time so have pateince.
Ignoratio Elenchi
Footballguy
1) Not just knowing your scoring system, but truly understanding your scoring system (and starting lineup requirements, etc.) It's one thing to know that your league awards 0.5 PPR and has a RB/WR/TE flex position, it's another thing entirely to understand what that means for the relative values of players. This is partly quantitative, partly intuitive, but it's crucial. 2) Staying on top of news, etc. is important as well. My local league is about half skilled owners and half guys who don't really know what they're doing. The latter half, for example, had no idea who Arian Foster was when I drafted him in the 5th round last year. I know as well as anyone how much real life interferes with following every little development in the NFL, but if you're going to pony up a decent amount of scratch to play in a fantasy football league, you need to stay on top of that kind of stuff somehow if you're going to have any chance to win. This is important not just prior to the draft, but all season long as you proactively pick up free agents the week before they blow up, instead of reactively overpaying for guys after the fact.
3) As a corollary to what I mentioned in point 2, the only people who "year after year dominate" are those who play in leagues with less-skilled opponents. I have fairly consistently dominated that local league I mentioned, but that's less a testament to my abilities than it is to my leaguemates lack of skill and preparation. In another league I play in, everyone is serious about it and no one dominates that league (it's been around for 21 years and there's never been a "dynasty" where one or two owners have dominated for any length of time).
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
Information - Know what to get, know how to get it, know how to interpret it and know how to use it. To do all takes patience, organization, skill and above all, passion.
Doesn't mean you'll be champion, but you'll be in the hunt more often than not.
Doesn't mean you'll be champion, but you'll be in the hunt more often than not.
rizzler
Footballguy
Girth is the major indicator.
BuckeyeChaos
Footballguy
I'm not sure if this is meant as humor or serious opinion. Taken at face value I find it not very creative. I can't tell you how many owners I've heard say "it takes too much time". I deal with my real world responsibility of providing for my family. My outside interests have somewhat shrunken to mainly focus on my kid's outside interests (part of being a parent). However in between all of this I still find the time (it doesn't take that much) to check the news sources read the footballguys board and look at my dynasty team.being successfull in fantasy is not all that dissimilar from being successfull in real life1)know the rules (if you don't the know the rules or loopeholes you miss out on opportunity)2)follow the news (it doesn't take that long to check twitter, espn, footballguys, etc...)3)communicate with those around you (knowing the other owner's minds is key to making trades)4)treat others with respect (deal fairly, be a good person and others will want to help you. fail at this at your own peril)5)think about the future and plan accordingly6)have some contingency plans ready to go7)have fun!!
RobertBobson
Footballguy
You know, I think this is a really great point, that seems obvious, but is really important.I see so many owners that overrate or underrate players for all sorts of reasons.. character or lack there of, what school/conference they attended in college, what team they are on in the pros. Fans overrated their own players, underrated rivals players ( and some times flat out refuse to have members of rivals on their team). All of these things that effect your valuation have no relation to the objective quality of the player. If you're just playing fantasy to have fun then that's one thing.. but if you are trying to be competitive, you are giving yourself a huge handicap if you're a cowboys fan, and refuse to have players on NFC East teams, or are an SEC fan and take Tim Tebow in the 5th round of a start up.
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rizzler
Footballguy
I was hoping someone would quote it, or comment on it... Because quite honestly, above all else, it truly is the #1 key to being a consistent winner... In fantasy and reality
faulkfan
Footballguy
The dude who won our league last year made a roster move every other day and two of his early fliers (Hillis and Vick) paid off. Of course he is a notorious low baller and will have to continue to make rapid moves because no one will trade with him.
Personally I think it starts with a competitive spirit. If you know football, but don't really think about the league in terms of winning the game is over because you won't take the time to prepare or even do a little background research to decide about making a roster move. You also need patience balanced with a sense of urgency. The dude I mentioned earlier made a move every time someone scored a TD the first couple weeks, which certainly seems to qualify as urgency, but in the process they cut some solid players that others of us scooped up and used. Patience should lead you to investigate and research a little before making a trade or move, but urgency gives you the edge to actually push the button when you need to.
Finally, luck is a major factor, but good managers also look at trends and look two years ahead not two weeks. If the rules in the NFL are changing to protect WRs and QBs and get scoring up while at the same time there is an increase in RBBCs then maybe WRs are the players to pick up. Staying ahead of the other owners by tracking trends is important.
Personally I think it starts with a competitive spirit. If you know football, but don't really think about the league in terms of winning the game is over because you won't take the time to prepare or even do a little background research to decide about making a roster move. You also need patience balanced with a sense of urgency. The dude I mentioned earlier made a move every time someone scored a TD the first couple weeks, which certainly seems to qualify as urgency, but in the process they cut some solid players that others of us scooped up and used. Patience should lead you to investigate and research a little before making a trade or move, but urgency gives you the edge to actually push the button when you need to.
Finally, luck is a major factor, but good managers also look at trends and look two years ahead not two weeks. If the rules in the NFL are changing to protect WRs and QBs and get scoring up while at the same time there is an increase in RBBCs then maybe WRs are the players to pick up. Staying ahead of the other owners by tracking trends is important.
Defending Champs
Footballguy
Some of the points here are very good.
One thing I feel like the most successful manager in mine is fluidness. Is that a word? He constantly finds ways to make the moves when needed. Sometimes for a loss, but nonetheless he makes them and finds a way to make a bad season into a good one. He will never sit on a stale team. If his draft instincts were bad, he will be the first to admit it and correct the mistake.
I am a pretty successful owner, however I will admit he has been to the big show more times than myself!
One thing I feel like the most successful manager in mine is fluidness. Is that a word? He constantly finds ways to make the moves when needed. Sometimes for a loss, but nonetheless he makes them and finds a way to make a bad season into a good one. He will never sit on a stale team. If his draft instincts were bad, he will be the first to admit it and correct the mistake.
I am a pretty successful owner, however I will admit he has been to the big show more times than myself!
Most of what I believe to be the most important characteristics have been said by others but I belive the most important are in this order:
1. Understand your league scoring and settings. Too many owners do not pay enough attention to this. A good owner will weight his cheat sheet to take advantage of certain rules. Knowing that your league has PPR, 4 pt or 6 pt passing TDs, point per completion, 1 pt per 10 yds rush/rec or 50 yds rush/rec, can you start two RB's or 3 RB's can all impact your rankings.
2. Know your goal. Your goal should be to win. You do this by collecting the best players you can. Ignore all bias. Don't overpay for a hometown favorite or ignore a quality player cuz you don't like him. Equally as important recognize when you make a draft day mistake. Cut bait, try someone else and move on. I usually finish the season with several quality players on my roster that I did not draft. I cut the mistakes when I recognoze them.
3. Develop a draft plan and stick to it. Your draft is your most important day so don't screw it up by overthinking. Don't panic when 4 TEs are picked in the 3rd round and take the 5th TE. 4 TEs picked in the 3rd round mean a quality RB or WR just moved up your draft board. Take your highest rated player on your sheet in a snake draft or bid up to your budget for an auction. Don't let emotion get in the way.
4. Studs win championships. Having depth is great, but you can only field half of your roster.
1. Understand your league scoring and settings. Too many owners do not pay enough attention to this. A good owner will weight his cheat sheet to take advantage of certain rules. Knowing that your league has PPR, 4 pt or 6 pt passing TDs, point per completion, 1 pt per 10 yds rush/rec or 50 yds rush/rec, can you start two RB's or 3 RB's can all impact your rankings.
2. Know your goal. Your goal should be to win. You do this by collecting the best players you can. Ignore all bias. Don't overpay for a hometown favorite or ignore a quality player cuz you don't like him. Equally as important recognize when you make a draft day mistake. Cut bait, try someone else and move on. I usually finish the season with several quality players on my roster that I did not draft. I cut the mistakes when I recognoze them.
3. Develop a draft plan and stick to it. Your draft is your most important day so don't screw it up by overthinking. Don't panic when 4 TEs are picked in the 3rd round and take the 5th TE. 4 TEs picked in the 3rd round mean a quality RB or WR just moved up your draft board. Take your highest rated player on your sheet in a snake draft or bid up to your budget for an auction. Don't let emotion get in the way.
4. Studs win championships. Having depth is great, but you can only field half of your roster.
Ignoratio Elenchi
Footballguy
This is a good one. To that end, in a 2-for-1 trade, for example, you almost always want to be the person giving up the 2 and getting the 1. I've seen it many times where someone thinks they're getting great "value" by trading a RB1 for a lesser RB and a middle of the pack WR or something like that. Don't overvalue "depth" relative to your starting lineup, it's a recipe for losing.
sweetness34
Footballguy
Agreed on all the good points that have been made. To this one above - I also agree, but only to a point. If you play in a best-ball league...depth also matters. (Sorry, not trying to be a smart a**.)I guess the real lesson here is exactly what everyone has been saying...know/understand your league.
valhallan
Footballguy
/threadYou have to be willing to adapt. Don't write anyone off.
there's alot of good points mentioned. The only thing I'd add is the cujones to make a move and the intelligence or savvy not to. I think many seasons (for all of us) come down to one key move. From there it could be confidence building or trying to recover and crushing the team, but a root point where it all starts.
The ones that are good at FF yet play it safe; those guys usually make the playoffs and lose there. That one risk, that's usually the difference maker.
The ones that are good at FF yet play it safe; those guys usually make the playoffs and lose there. That one risk, that's usually the difference maker.
Instinctive
Footballguy
I wanted to highlight this one. My main league is 16 players, 2RB, 2WR, 1W/R, 1 TE, 1 QB, 1 D, 1 K. The past 4 years I looked at my drafts, and I made the title game 3 of them, missed playoffs the other. Here's how many of the players I drafted that I had at the end still:Worst Year: 92008: 62009: 42010: 4Regular season record better each year (playoff success is much more luck than the whole regular season, I think we can all agree)Now, this might just say I suck at drafting, and at first glance I thought it was skewed because the past 2 years I have not drafted either a K or a D and no TE the year before...but then I realized that I would have dropped the K or D anyway to play matchups. Still though, that's 14 skill players drafted, and only 4 kept the two best years. Less than a one-third retention rate. Playing the WW well is obviously key, in my experience, as the teams with the most moves correlates highly to which teams make the playoffs over the past 5 years.Which brings me to another point which I believe is crucial: Making GOOD trades is key to winning, I believe. All 3 years that I have had playoff success, I have managed one deal from my depth a one position to drastically improve my starters at another. What's most interesting to me, though, is that each of those years, my opponent WAS THE TRADE PARTNER. We each managed to help the other guy's team as well as our own team at the same time. I see all the trade threads about "winning" deals and not making your best offer right away...the key to trading is to make the other guy better as well. And the key to winning, that I see, is trading. It's the best way to quickly get better.If you ask me, trading done right is basically collusion. You and another owner get together and say "Hey, if we make a deal from your 5 top WRs to my 5 top RBs, we can go from 3rd and 5th place to 1st and 2nd place." It's not even fair if two good owners make a good deal. In addition, the success of your trade partner will make it easier for you to trade in the future. People will say "Wow, they traded with each other and both went on to win big. Maybe I should try and trade with him."Trading is vastly underrated, IMO. Done right, it is the most valuable move any two (or three, as the case may be) teams can make - and crucial to continued and consistent success.
Instinctive
Footballguy
There's no "expires by" date on it.
Agent575
Footballguy
the only one I agreed with anyway. Most leagues are so shallow that average owners can have just as good of a chance as the best owners.
RobertBobson
Footballguy
Moxie helps. you can't buy it, you can't trade for it.
GregR
Footballguy
I think people read that and think it's because the team getting the 1 gets more value from the trade. I find that isn't the case. I'd even say that in my experience it's almost never the case. In order to get a single player who is an improvement, you generally have to improve your trade partner by nearly twice as much as you'll improve. I do agree you want to be the team receiving the 1, but that's only because the team getting the 1 is generally by far the better team before the trade. If you're not, you probably don't have the depth to trade 2 or more players that will improve the other team by enough.
I think people say this because they notice that the team who got the 1 player ends up contending while the other team ends up at best challenging for a playoff spot. That's mostly about the situation they were in before the trade though, and not because getting the 1 player implies you got a bigger improvement out of the trade.
Neil Beaufort Zod
Footballguy
A good fantasy football manager is someone people in the league respect, enjoy being around and agree that they make the league better and more fun.
That's really all it takes to be a good ff manager. If you have an Internet connection you can be competitive in fantasy football. Throw in preparation time and some luck and pretty much anyone can win in any given year, but just a base amount of attention and scouring the right sites will keep them competitive year after year. What makes someone "good" isn't how many titles they win or their overall win percentage or whatever. It's whether they hold up their end of the bargain as an owner (paying on time, participate, answer trade offers, stay active regardless of record) and as a person (don't act like a jerk when things don't go their way, be a pleasant person to hang around with, make watching football an enjoyable experience if you get together in person).
That's my definition of "good" anyway. I know folks who know a lot about football and would probably draft a competitive team, but they're unpleasant and people don't normally enjoy investing hours with them. That's not a good ff manager, no matter how many trophies they have.
That's really all it takes to be a good ff manager. If you have an Internet connection you can be competitive in fantasy football. Throw in preparation time and some luck and pretty much anyone can win in any given year, but just a base amount of attention and scouring the right sites will keep them competitive year after year. What makes someone "good" isn't how many titles they win or their overall win percentage or whatever. It's whether they hold up their end of the bargain as an owner (paying on time, participate, answer trade offers, stay active regardless of record) and as a person (don't act like a jerk when things don't go their way, be a pleasant person to hang around with, make watching football an enjoyable experience if you get together in person).
That's my definition of "good" anyway. I know folks who know a lot about football and would probably draft a competitive team, but they're unpleasant and people don't normally enjoy investing hours with them. That's not a good ff manager, no matter how many trophies they have.
Couch Potato
Footballguy
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JuSt CuZ
Footballguy
Someone who is active and actually cares...you can say a bunch of things, but if you dont have those 2, no chance of a good owner. Strategy can go different ways, thats why I wont say trades, add/drops, or anything like that...Thats part of the strategy.
But if you sign up and never check in, or pretend it dont matter to you....get the heck out of my league, and if you dont, I'll show you the way. Joining a league and giving up or not caring shows disrespect...and that person deserves to be "shown" out of the league, IMO.
You'll be surprised how many chumps pretend they care, but never check in... I hate them.
This is a hobby, and passion of mine, and if you join any fantasy league, you better take it serious...If you dont take it serious, then you are a chump and hurting others in the league.
But if you sign up and never check in, or pretend it dont matter to you....get the heck out of my league, and if you dont, I'll show you the way. Joining a league and giving up or not caring shows disrespect...and that person deserves to be "shown" out of the league, IMO.
You'll be surprised how many chumps pretend they care, but never check in... I hate them.
This is a hobby, and passion of mine, and if you join any fantasy league, you better take it serious...If you dont take it serious, then you are a chump and hurting others in the league.
JuSt CuZ
Footballguy
You described a friend, a friend is different then a good fantasy owner. I'm not friends with everyone in the league, it makes it better as we compete more. The guys I hate the most are good fantasy owners. Fantasy and Friendship can go hand in hand, but not always.So you respecting someone makes them a better owner? please, not even close. Just means you like him more, just cuz you like him, dont make him a good owner.
I'll take a loud mouth smack talker who always sets lineup no matter what (like myself), over any nice guy who is a friend who is flaky and may not be as active.
Activity and passion is the only thing that matters. Unless your a sensitive person who gets their panties in a bunch cuz someone told you your team sucks. Wha Wha, then you would get kicked out of my league for crying. My league has a big headline saying...'You Must Smack talk in this league"...thats the fun of this. We should start calling most fantasy commishes the organinzers of the NFFFL "No Fun Fantasy Football League." I played in a lot of leagues where people cant handle smack, its seperate from life guys, talking about your crappy list of players that perform based bad off luck is not a shot as you as a person. But you and I cant help that people do not have the mental compacity to accept and understand that.
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GridironMenace
Footballguy
This is not true. Anyone can draft players in the first 3 rounds. Drafts are won or lost from the 8th round on.
I like the part about communication. Checking in every day on his fantasy web page and or checking emails or messages. A commisioner's nightmare dealing with owners who plan on playing but don't confirm, signin or pay dues. (In 1 10 team league I commish I've sent emails out 2 weeks ago and another a couple of days ago yet only 4 owners have signed up- Its the old "yea I plan on being in when I see them just haven't signed up yet". This shows how really interested they are in FF) Please guys if you really appreciate your commishes don't be that guy.
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BigGDan
Footballguy
Besides the obvious stuff - like being prepared, following news etc... - I think the biggest reason Im successful year after year is because I go against the grain by drafting players ahead of their ADP or drafting 'here' while others are drafting 'there'. I try to start runs on some positions because I'd rather have my #1 ranked TE than the 20th best WR who I'm probably not completely sold on. I have a list of specific players I want on my team and make sure I get those players. If that means I must draft a guy a round or 2 early, that's what I do. I look at the ADP and figure out before the draft what I need to do to make my targeted players a reality. I remember 3 or 4 years ago when I drafted Roddy White in the 3rd round - before he was a proven stud - I got laughed at and went on to win the league that year. You can't be worried about what others perceive in the values of players, only your opinion matters. Perenial winners follow their own rules and care not about anything else. It's about having supreme confidence in yourself during the draft. When I'm drafting I feel like it's just me and I don't get caught up in what anyone else is doing. I take the best player on the board at all times. I guess in the end, it's more of an innate personality trait. Winners are the exception and it's because they do things differently than the majority.
Neil Beaufort Zod
Footballguy
I couldn't disagree more. You don't play fantasy football by yourself. You play in a group setting. If you're not pleasant to deal with, if you annoy people or if you fail to make the league better or more fun...you'll be replaced. As awesome as they think they are at the game...they're not good enough to keep their spot in the league.Some people can handle "smack" but simply aren't impressed by it. If you're a smack-talker but a good guy and people enjoy being around you, you're an asset to the league. If you don't talk smack but you're an active participant and people enjoy your input, you're an asset to the league. If nobody thinks you add anything to the league you're not doing your job as a ff manager, and you'll eventually be looking or a new league where nobody knows you (yet) .'JuSt CuZ said:
If you're a recreational tennis player, you'll never get to play if nobody wants to play with you because you're unpleasant, don't pick up after yourself, have a bad attitude when you lose, etc. Regardless of how well you hit the ball, there's more to it when playing tennis.
Fantasy football is not like golf, which you can play alone and be miserable by yourself if you're a lame human being. It's more interactive than that.
Couch Potato
Footballguy
I think it's like any other progression of gaining expertise in something. First you learn the 'what' and then you learn the 'how.' Most stop there and become OK but not extremely good. When you take the next step of understanding the 'why,' you have a chance to be very good at something.
My point was aimed more at auction formats and I probably should have mentioned that. The owner with the studs almost always makes the playoffs, not the teams with the best depth. I agree with you in a snake draft format.
Ramblin Wreck
Footballguy
I think you're both correct. Studs do matter but so does finding talent in the middle and late rounds. You can't win your league in the first three rounds but you sure can lose it, IMO. There are plenty of top 35 players on an ADP list that shouldn't be drafted when they are, IMO. If you don't screw up the first few rounds then you win it by choosing breakout players in the middle rounds.
Instinctive
Footballguy
UNDERSTAND YOUR SCORING SYSTEM
For instance, in a 16 team league where you are required to have 2 QBs, but can have no more than 2, and they both score from week 1 all the way through the Super Bowl...taking the top QBs early is not reaching lol. It's a necessity.
For instance, in a 16 team league where you are required to have 2 QBs, but can have no more than 2, and they both score from week 1 all the way through the Super Bowl...taking the top QBs early is not reaching lol. It's a necessity.
iNeedCoffee
Footballguy
There are couple of things I've done consistently over the years. I've been playing competitively for 6 years now and never had a record below 7-7 and won a couple of championships.
One characteristic for being dominant or very competitive every year is to be up somewhat obsess or very up to date on every team and position situation. It only takes a couple of minutes a day to go online to do this. So in case an injury occurs with a running back or quarterback, you can be prepared to add or drop players. This will help you become a better in-season manager.
Another thing is during the draft, be patient and let things come to you. I drafted at least 2 players that were mid-round picks that blew up every year. These guys fell on my laps during drafts since others were panicking and reaching for players.
One last thing is to trust your intuition. Sometimes a player you have is inconsistent and you want to bench him or trade him away but you feel he's that good and he can do better, keep playing him.
One characteristic for being dominant or very competitive every year is to be up somewhat obsess or very up to date on every team and position situation. It only takes a couple of minutes a day to go online to do this. So in case an injury occurs with a running back or quarterback, you can be prepared to add or drop players. This will help you become a better in-season manager.
Another thing is during the draft, be patient and let things come to you. I drafted at least 2 players that were mid-round picks that blew up every year. These guys fell on my laps during drafts since others were panicking and reaching for players.
One last thing is to trust your intuition. Sometimes a player you have is inconsistent and you want to bench him or trade him away but you feel he's that good and he can do better, keep playing him.
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Touchdown Syndrome
Footballguy
Being aware of the most current information (Twitter is a huge help).
Watching a good amount of football so that you can improve on judging talent.
Once you trust your ability to differentiate a stud from a dud, trust your eyes and instinct and take any other outside information with a grain of salt.
Having an open, friendly, trustworthy relationship with as many managers in your league as you can (hopefully all of them). Having the persuasiveness of Johnnie Cochran doesn't hurt either.
In my long-time keeper league, I've been able to make the playoffs 10 out of 11 years. I believe it's because I've been able, for the most part, to place appropriate value on players. Employing the classic sell-high, buy-low strategy when I can.
Watching a good amount of football so that you can improve on judging talent.
Once you trust your ability to differentiate a stud from a dud, trust your eyes and instinct and take any other outside information with a grain of salt.
Having an open, friendly, trustworthy relationship with as many managers in your league as you can (hopefully all of them). Having the persuasiveness of Johnnie Cochran doesn't hurt either.
In my long-time keeper league, I've been able to make the playoffs 10 out of 11 years. I believe it's because I've been able, for the most part, to place appropriate value on players. Employing the classic sell-high, buy-low strategy when I can.
scrumptrulescent
Footballguy
I like long walks on the beach, sunsets, puppies, and curling up with a good book on a rainy evening.
Dislikes: Mean people.
Dislikes: Mean people.
bengalbuck
Footballguy
Great post. I agree with all 3 of these. That last one bears mentioning as there is enough luck involved that if you are playing in a super competitive league you can't dominate every year. To add a couple related things, I think a big key is understanding the scoring system/starting requirements and figuring out where you can really gain an advantage and where you can pick up guys later without killing yourself at the position. For example, something seemingly small like start 2 WR vs. start 3 WR makes a huge difference in draft strategy.
As another little aside, someone above mentioned twitter as a way to stay on top of news to make quick waiver claims, etc. While I agree with that, I have found that the search function on twitter has been the most useful function that I use in my dynasty leagues. For example, I was trying to decide whether to cut Jerrel Jernigan or Dion Lewis from my dynasty team this week...you can just type each guy's name into the search and all kinds of recent tweets come up. I don't even have to know who the Giants beat writer is to find his tweet from 2 days ago where he said Jernigan has really struggled and doesn't look good. It's an amazing tool for doing last minute waiver/draft research and to keep up with the news on guys you own.
bengalbuck
Footballguy
I think you are both correct. One of the things I've noticed as a difference between really good owners and not so good owners is the type of guy they target later in the draft. The guys who are taking the Kevin Walters of the world, guys that may be useful in a bye week but have very little upside, are the ones who may keep their teams from completely sucking, but miss out on those potential studs late. I always want to be thinking, "is there a realistic way this guy could be great this year?" For example, I may project Kevin Walter or Hines Ward or someone like that to score 140 points this season (ppr) while I only project 120 from Denarius Moore. However, you have to think of it in terms of, which of these guys has the highest % chance of being a 200+ point guy this year....Anyway, I agree that drafts are won later on. But I also agree that depth in terms of solid guys is a bit overrated and the "homerun" type guys are the ones who win leagues. I think you need to swing for the fences on almost every late round pick...
Underachievers
Footballguy
Insures the rest of the league consists of terrible managers. 
mjr
Footballguy
Two things top the list for me: 1) Knowing where the NFL is trending forwards, and 2) Knowing how to spot the players who naturally fit that trend and can make the best of it before they become evidant to the other managers in your league. Most (if not all) fantasy football publications just dont do this kind of legwork for you.
When RBBCs started becoming more and more common a few years ago, many managers refused to accept the fact that the day of the 350+ carry, featured back is pretty much becoming extinct. Those were the managers who missed the boat on emerging backs like MJD who could do a lot more with less carries. Over the last couple of years, an even newer trend has started to emerge in the NFL: speed. Guys like J. Charles, Mike Wallace and even Chris Johnson were all available in the later rounds of their respective rookie drafts because few managers thought to target smaller, faster, shiftier players (any many still don't).
What's the next trend in the NFL? If you figure that out, you'll be years ahead of the other managers in your league.
When RBBCs started becoming more and more common a few years ago, many managers refused to accept the fact that the day of the 350+ carry, featured back is pretty much becoming extinct. Those were the managers who missed the boat on emerging backs like MJD who could do a lot more with less carries. Over the last couple of years, an even newer trend has started to emerge in the NFL: speed. Guys like J. Charles, Mike Wallace and even Chris Johnson were all available in the later rounds of their respective rookie drafts because few managers thought to target smaller, faster, shiftier players (any many still don't).
What's the next trend in the NFL? If you figure that out, you'll be years ahead of the other managers in your league.
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