Greetings, OregonSportsNews.com readers and welcome to the first installment of Fantasy Scrambler for 2016. My name is Brian Maahs and I live in Beaverton. I have been playing fantasy football for over 20 years. I am currently involved in three different leagues, each with distinct rules and players. In this week’s edition, I wanted to introduce myself to new readers as well as welcome back readers of the original incarnation of this column. Also, to you new “Scramblers”, hopefully I can enlighten you to my qualifications for writing this column as well as explaining my strategies and experiences I have gathered in my fantasy career. Furthermore, each week will be highlighted by ratings and opinions of Northwest players who have fantasy relevance.
Let me start by telling you about the leagues I am in. This year will mark the 23rd year playing in the PPR league in which I co-founded in Seattle. Being a co-commissioner and original founder has allowed me to make this league different and fresh every year. This includes a variety of rules and bylaws which I can safely say make it one of the most unique and interesting leagues out there. As well as being a PPR scoring system, it is also the only total-points league I participate in. Although I consistently compete for, and often make the playoffs, I have only won my own league once which is a testament to how competitive this league has been over the years.
Next is the standard league I have been playing in for approximately 7 years. I have won this league once and routinely make the playoffs in the head-to-head format, finishing fourth a year ago.
The third league is a “Keeper” league, which involves a different set of strategies when it comes to drafting players because you can keep a certain number of players from season to season. This league also includes a number of mini games which keeps players engaged from start to finish no matter how poorly your team might be performing. This will be the third year playing in this head-to-head league and I have finished second and fourth consecutively.
The reason I want you to know about the leagues I am in is to give you an idea of the variety of rules and strategies that I have experienced. This, along with my knowledge and passion for the NFL, are what inspire me and gives me credence to write these articles.
Now, let me give you just a brief outline of some of my strategies that allow me to be at or near the top of each of my leagues annually. (More in depth and thorough strategies will be the theme in future articles).
First off, draft strategies can be considered the most important part of any fantasy player’s repertoire. Each league’s rules dictate which strategies to employ. In my experience, the more preparation one does leading up to the draft equates to better player information and makes for more confidence come draft day. For me, this includes listening to fantasy podcasts and reading multiple publications. I have found that varying the information in which I ingest, leads to more balanced data.
Once you have immersed yourself in as many facts and figures your “fantasy” brain can handle, draft day is when you display what you have learned. It is very important to remember the rules of your league while drafting the players who you believe will guide you to glory.
During the season, it is vital that you stay engrossed in the happenings of the NFL in the days leading up to Sunday. There’s nothing worse than playing a player that is out with injury or is facing a tough match up. This is also the case when it comes to making trades during the season. The more informed fantasy owners are usually the ones making the playoffs putting their teams in the championship hunt.
In closing, I must remind each of you the reason why we play fantasy football. To have fun! Too many players lose sight of this which potentially makes the fantasy experience worse for everyone in the league. In the weeks to come, it is my goal to give the best unbiased fantasy information I can. Stay tuned and “KEEP ON SCRAMBLIN’”.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
