AK Fantasy Football League is Ready to Go!!

[[AK]Swae]

Ahh! Thanks for the reminder, I still need to ante up. I was having trouble with paypal last time I tried, so I'll straighten it out this weekend.

[[AK]Beaker]

I'll figure this out too!

My plan was to use Claysbank to pay now I guess I'll use Clays Paypal!

[[AK]Hylander]

Reminder that tomorrow is the Draft - a couple people still have not made contact, registered, or paid. I think Devil Dog and Stitch are the two who haven't registered yet.

[[AK]Devil_Dog]

Right now we decided to hold at 12 teams so we are full. However, if someone drops out and/or doesn't pay their $25 franchise fee - the situation may change.

Things are a lot more busy then I thought they would be if Bacardii wants my place then it is his, if he hasn't registered by the end of today I will pay and jump in... I will keep checking to see...

[[AK]Hylander]

Looks like we are going to run with just 10 teams, which is fine! See you tonight!

[[AK]Swae]

Still having trouble retrieving my paypal password, but I promise I'm good for the cash. If I can't get mine working, I'll have Kidd send the $25 from his paypal.

So the draft is at 7:45 central, correct? Any tips for a newbie?

[[AK]Beaker]

Swae,

That's what I did I had Claysbank pay for my habit! Or rather Clay's paypal, it just mysteriously got done!

Now I need to set my draft this evening and figure out how to do that!

[[AK]Swae]

Yeah, I'm a little unsure how the draft works. I have a list of 20 players that I want in what I think is a good breakdown of positions. I have them in order of what I think is most important --> least important. So how exactly does it work? When it's my turn, do I just say who I want assuming he hasn't already been taken? Am I locked into the order I have them ranked now?

And just out of curiosity, some of the guys I have on my list are pretty low ranked in the pre-draft rankings - like in the 4 digit zone. Is there a general rule of thumb about this, like don't draft anyone ranked below 500?

[[AK]The Beast]

I'd be skeptical of players ranked in the 4-digit numbers. What happens is that the draft order is chosen randomly-- #1-10. We'll be in a little "chat room" with a list of players and some buttons and tabs. When it's your turn, you choose the player you want, and he's on your team (and unavailable to everyone else). For the second round, the draft order is reversed (so that #10 picks first and #1 picks last), then again in round 3, round 4, round 5...etc. So #10 picks two players in a row to end round 1/start round 2.

It's a good idea to rank the top 10-20 players at every single position. There are a lot of rounds in the draft so chances are good you won't get even half of your top 20 total players.

Part of the fun of the game is finding those "sleepers"--underrated guys who no one has ever heard of that have outstanding years. But you probably want to make sure that the guys you draft, especially early on, are going to have significant amounts of playing time in the games. It won't do you any good to take somebody's second-string quarterback, for instance--chances are good that he won't get into any games, and so won't get you any points.

It used to be that the first round or two was almost exclusively running backs, back when each team used to use one "featured" main guy. A lot of teams have 2 or even 3 who split carries, which means it's no longer "crazy" to take a QB or WR in the first round, especially late. ("Featured" RBs are still pretty valuable, because they can supplement the points they get from rushing yards and TDs with receiving points as well.)

[[AK]Swae]

Thanks Beast!

Looks like I have some work to do when I get home, since I only ranked 2-4 players in each position. Of course, I'm kind of doing a gimmick team, so my choices are limited (not gimmick as in not taking it seriously, just having fun with it).

See y'all tonight in vent!

[[AK]Hylander]

Thanks Beast!

Looks like I have some work to do when I get home, since I only ranked 2-4 players in each position. Of course, I'm kind of doing a gimmick team, so my choices are limited (not gimmick as in not taking it seriously, just having fun with it).

See y'all tonight in vent!

Swae - No problem. Myself, Beast, and Bribo have already come up with a plan for public AK flogging for those that don't pay. Trust me, after describing it to Camel he paid the next day!!

The draft is 8:45EST tonight and about 30 minutes ahead of time, about 8:15EST - the system will randomly set the order for the draft. I do not pick the order of the draft. Also, even if you don't have "your" ranking - you can always get a rough idea because Yahoo has the default rankings in place. My suggestion is to pick Shaun Alexander as your first choice.

On a serious note - please remember that kick returners stats do count so Devin Hester and such players could be a hot commodity.

[[AK]The Beast]

Myself, Beast, and Bribo have already come up with a plan for public AK flogging for those that don't pay. Trust me, after describing it to Camel he paid the next day!!

Ah yes. Good ol' Operation Cactus.

[[AK]Ozzred]

Another thing to keep track of as the draft progresses is Bye weeks. If it just so happens that your QB and backup QB have the same bye weeks, you can be between a rock and a hard place.

As far as research goes -- I am definitely the least prepared as I've ever been for an FF draft. So it'll be something of an experiment to see if I fair better with less prep..

Oh ya - I also have this odd curse of my 4 of my first 5 picks seeing the "Out" status throughout the year. Soooo... I do take bribes for not drafting your favorite teams studs. :P

My suggestion is to pick Shaun Alexander as your first choice.

BTW - Could someone email Vent info? Talk to ya'll soon!

[[AK]Ozzred]

Any tips for a newbie?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/injuries

[[AK]The Beast]

Good advice indeed.

Which Ventrilo are we going to use--Squidly's or Camel's?