QBs, RBs, WRs- what do they mean and what is most valuable?

Let's go over what the positions are on your roster.

When you take over a Fantasy Football team- you will see a slot for:

QB (Quarterback)
RB (Running Back)
WR (Wide Reciever)
TE (Tight End)
K (Kicker)
DEF (Defense- this is sometimes listed as TM for Team Defense)

You might even see what we call "Flex Spots". These are roster positions where you can choose what kind of player to run. They often look like this:

RB/WR
WR/TE
RB/WR/TE

We'll get into Independent Defensive Positions in another post...




QB- This guy handles the ball pretty much every play. He's either passing it or handing it off OR simply running with it.

RB- Next to the QB- The RB is getting the most touches. Not only does he get handed the ball regularly- but many good RBs are used as receivers as well. This is VERY valuable if your league gives points for every catch made.

WR- The QB will targeting these guys (hopefully, for the long ball into the end zone)- The best of them can not only catch the ball but get a bunch of yards once they do.

TE- These are guys that block defensive players to help protect the QB- THEN roll out for a pass. The best of them are targeted by their QB almost as much as a WR.

K- Kickers kick the ball through the field goal- MOST are only asked to make extra points but there are a few who are damn good at kicking field goals from 40 and 50 yards out...this is worth some decent pointage in most leagues.

DEF (TM)- Defenses play defense. They stop all the above from doing what they do. Depending on how your league points defensive actions- a DEF may be vital to your line up.

HOWEVER DEFs (and Kickers to some degree) are interchangeable- so some people simply grab whatever DEF (or Kicker) is available that week.
Will that be your strategy?
Idunno.
I'm not in your league but this brings me to a VITAL point in your Fantasy Football training:

Rule no. 1:
YOU MUST KNOW HOW YOUR LEAGUE SCORES POINTS.

That doesn't mean you have to have it memorized but if you are in a league that awards QBs 6 points for every TD (touchdown)- then you should know that.
Most leagues give a QB 4 points per TD pass- so if you're getting 6 points per TD pass then you want to make sure you have a good QB.
If your league awards a point for every catch- that makes RBs who are targeted often for passes extra valuable.

Okay- now you're all messed up.
You're like- "Now I gotta STUDY!? I got no time for this!"

Don't sweat.

The point is this-

You want to fill your roster with the best of each position and you want to fill the best positions first- but you might be wondering "which position is MOST valuable", "How do I tell what is more important to get first?".

Here is what you do:

If your league is online-
The players are usually listed (under the "Players" tab/menu) by who's scored the most points in the previous season (or the current season to date) according to YOUR LEAGUE RULES.

Make sure you select "ALL Players " so you aren't excluding any one that is already on a team.

Now, look at the positions of those players.
Do you see a lot of RBs? Are there some QBs mixed in there? Or even some WRs?

If so- you have a nicely balanced League.

If you see a lot of RBs (which is most leagues) then your league focuses on running yards and rushing TDs more than anything else.

Hint: RBs get an advantage because they get the ball the most and therefore have the most opportunity to score Fantasy Points.
Sure- the QB gets the ball every play BUT he doesn't earn points for handing the ball off-(and they do that a lot) whereas the RB DOES get points for running the ball (and even just ATTEMPTING to run the ball in some league...know your rules!).

If you see a lot of any other position- you'll want to focus on THEM.

Now we are getting into some real Fantasy Football strategy as the point is to get the most point every week.

If you can load your team with the best of the best in the position that gathers the most points in your league...well, you are that much closer to the playoffs.

But how do you know who is the best of the best?

There are several lists available to tell you which RBs are the best RBs and which WRs are the best WRs but what you really need to know is:

Rule no. 2:
WHO IS THE STARTER!?

When you go to pick up a RB, QB, WR or whatever- you want to make sure you get the guy that is going to be used the most. The "Starter" at that position on their team.

For example: look at The Cincinnati Bengals.

They just signed Terell Owens (T.O.) to the WR position- but their Starter WR position belongs to Chad Ochocinco.
So Chad would be more valuable than T. O. (though, you will have those who argue this point).

This rule is VERY important when it comes to RBs over any other position because:

1. A true starter is going to see the ball a lot more than those who doesn't start (they might not get the ball at ALL).

2. It's hard to tell who the starting RB is on a lot of teams because they share RB responsibilities among 2 or more players. This is called Running Back By Committee (RBBC).

3. You'll want to know who is going to be handed the ball when the team is at the 1-5 yard line and wants to make a quick run into the end zone for 6 points!


So here is What you need to do:

Go to a book store or newsstand and buy a Fantasy Football magazine. It doesn't matter which one you get- as long as it's for this season.

For the record: I don't like these magazines because they are usually expensive and the information in them is dated by the time they hit the press BUT to a new comer they are a MUST.

In it, you will see players listed by importance in their position as well as overall. You will get familiar to who is good at what AND how good they are over others in their positions.

You will also get a sense of how each team operates. Do they like the run over the pass? Chad Ochocinco is the starter but T.O. will see more targets because he gets along with Carson Palmer more...
Not that that is true but you get the gist.

Buy one mag and get cozy with it.

Next time we talk about The Draft!

Dude. I don't even know how Football is played!...

Okay.
Don't sweat it because we're gonna learn ya. No need to get into Nickle Defenses and Hook Routes or anything like that-
We're gonna break it down to the basics. That's all you need to know to be a good Fantasy Football Manager.
Here we go!

The base of Football is this:

The Offense has four plays (or "Downs") to move the ball ten yards (which are marked by poles at the sideline and is usually that yellow line on your television screen).

Once they get past that yardline they earn another four plays to move the ball another 10 yards from where the ball was last marked down.
The Defense tries to stop them, of course.

They continue this "march" until they get into the "end zone". When they get here it is called a "Touchdown" and the offense is awarded 6 points.

Immediately after the Touchdown, the offense is allowed to go for an extra point by kicking the ball through the goal posts from the 20 yardline (usual) OR they can try to carry the ball into the end zone for two points.

And THAT is what is going on in Football.
Yeah, there are penalties and interceptions and things that make things more complicated but all you need to really understand is the movement of the ball and how players score.

Now.
Let's see it in action a little bit...

The game starts with one team receiving the ball:



Alright.
This is just a Madden version but it's the only play online I could find where the kick wasn't returned for a touch down.

So. The ball is marked down where the runner is tackled (or goes out of bounds) and the "First Down" yard line is marked 10 yards from that point.

Now the Offense has four "Downs" (plays) to get to that First Down yard line.

There are two types of plays-
A Run: Where the team runs the ball.
And A Pass: Where the team throws the ball.

You will find that there are teams that favor one or the other but usually the situation a team is in will dictate what type of play they use.

If you have a short distance left to get a First Down- often teams will hand the ball to their Running Back (RB) to get it over the line.

Here are the Dallas Cowboys in a 3rd (down) and 1 (yard to the First Down) situation.



Note how the field is digitally marked to show you that it's 3rd down and a yellow line illuminates the First Down marker.

Dallas would now get a fresh set of Downs at the 35 yard line after this play.

Now here is a play by the Cowboys where they decide to throw the ball at 2nd and 10 yards to go.



Typically, successful Passing plays get you more yardage- so they are often used when a team needs to make up a lot of distance to get that First Down.

Now this all happens until you get a result like this:



Awwwwwww YEAH!

Do you get it?
Good.


Now-
When a team is facing 4th down and doesn't think they are going to get the First Down- they may opt to kick the ball (Punt) to the other team- (so that they aren't close to the goal line when they take over the ball) or to go for a field goal (if they think their kicker can make it from where they are) for 3 points.


So, you are probably asking how all of this translates to Fantasy Football.
Well, briefly-
Romo- who threw the ball to Witten, might earn a fraction of a point for completing a pass.
Witten would earn a point for catching that pass.
If Witten had made a Touchdown on that pass he would have earned 6 points and Romo 4 points (depending on your league rules).

In the last run, Felix Jones would have earned 6 points for the touchdown and 1 point for every 10 yards he ran (so 6.6 points for that one play- 12.6 in total).

If you owned those players, you would get those points.

More on that in the next post...

Now to close it out- here is an NFL retelling of the best Drive Ever: