Fantasy Football

I think with August just a couple of days away it's finally time to dive headfirst into fantasy football. I've been doing some research, bought a magazine, listened to Simmons' podcast and feel it's time to throw my two cents into the action.

First of all fantasy football is almost too perfectly set up. The draft doesn't take too long, you only have to set your line-up once a week and you don't have to be a stathead to win. It's pretty easy to see why it is at least ten times bigger than fantasy baseball or basketball. With that said even though I much prefer watching football to baseball, fantasy baseball is the tops. If you're a die hard like me who doesn't mind checking my team everyday then fantasy baseball is the chess to fantasy football's checkers.

So here's a couple of wrinkles to try to make fantasy football a little more exciting.

1) Try an auction draft. Seriously who has had a bad time at an auction? This will allow the ability to get any player you want and not be at the mercy of your draft slot. Plus it guarantees to extend you draft by an hour and draft day is one of the best days of the year.

2) Have a two QB league. Everyone knows running backs dominate fantasy football largely because you have to start at least two of them. So to make it more like real football where the emphasis is on quarterbacks why not start two of them? That way someone is practically forced to start someone like J.P. Losman and can you really put an entertainment value on that?

3) Have at least a twelve team league. If you have any less than twelve teams than everyone's team is two good and kills most of the strategy of drafting.

Anyway here's a couple of strategies that I've come up with for this years draft.

1) There seems to be lots of solid RB so the normal strategy of two running backs in the first two rounds seems unnecessary. I'm seriously considering a RB, WR, QB for the first three rounds or something to that effect.

2) The number three and four draft slots scare me to death. If you're sitting at number three you've got to pray that Stephen Jackson is still there. Larry Johnson just has taken too much of a pounding and Shaun Alexander is getting any younger but I just can't see myself pulling the trigger on Gore, Addai or Manning at that point in the draft.

3) I think too many people try to wait on QB's. Seriously whens the last guy that won a league with Jake Delhomme? You'll put yourself in a much better chance to win with a top five guy not to mention save yourself multiple nervous breakdowns watching the Jeff Garcia's of the world have another terrible game.

With all that said here's some guys I'm targeting and guys I'm avoiding

Targets
QB: Carson Palmer or Marc Bulger
RB: Edgerrin James, Travis Henry
WR: Donald Driver, Chris Chambers, Braylon Edwards
TE: Kellen Winslow, Vernon Davis

Avoid
QB: Vince Young
RB: Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander, Rudi Johnson
WR: T. J. Houshmandzadeh, Donte Stallworth
TE: Tony Gonzalez