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| Testing the Russ Bliss Draft Strategy |
| This is my first year using Fantasy Football Starters as an online resource for both the fantasy football league I participate in. In the past my strategy has been to draft a balanced team, not focusing on a particular position, but attempting to get top players at each offensive position. While that doesn’t guarantee you a championship season, it should give you a shot to have a good season. This time around I decided to use the Russ Bliss Draft Strategy as seen on the Fantasy Football Starters forum. it was interesting to see how the team came together after some early round runs on players (RB & QB). You can read below how all 18 rounds went. The 2010-2011 NFL season marks my 27th year participating and managing a fantasy league, which was started in 1983 with 5 friends. This is the first year I have decided to use Fantasy Football Starters as my online resource to assist me with the draft and weekly player decisions. I have used other services in the past, but so far I have been impressed with the interaction with other owners in the fantasy football community, something the other services didn’t provide. As in years past my draft strategy is to build a balanced team. I don’t like to put too much emphasis on a single position, unless you happen to have a player you just cannot pass up. It was interesting to compare my draft strategy with that of Russ Bliss at Fantasy Football Starters. While it was not too surprising to see many similarities in, there were a few rounds that made me stop and think before making a selection. Our league has 12 teams, with 18 players per team. We have no restrictions on the number of players at each position you need to draft. Starting lineups allowed: 1-2 K 1-2 QB 2-5 RB 1-5 WR 1-5 TE There is quite a bit of flexibility with the starting 10 players. I was drafting in the #2 spot of snake draft, which means 16 players before my next pick. Too much time to wait and watch. Round 1: Russ says to draft a RB if you have a top 5 pick. Adrian Peterson was selected 1.2 to start my draft. Round 2: Russ says to take a WR if you got a RB in Round 1 Roddy White at 2.19 was still available and now my #1 WR. Round 3: Russ says, “If you took 1 RB and 1 WR in rounds 1 and 2, take one of top 3 QB’s. If none are available, take a RB.” After a run on QBs (7 selected in Round 2, making 8 QBs overall) I went for my next RB and that was Shonn Greene (3.32). Checkpoint: Not a bad start, 2RB, 1WR. I usually like to have 1 QB, 1RB, 1 WR after three rounds, but the Round 2 run on QB put any chance of that to rest. Round 4: Russ says, “If you have 2 RB’s and 1 WR take one of QB’s ranked 1-7.” This was a mistake on my part selecting Jay Cutler at 4.49 as he was not a top 7 QB (I had seen him as high as 8). It was a cause for concern as I considered my options prior to the selection and felt if I did not get a QB now, I would have been in a worse position with a lower tiered QB. Round 5: Russ says, “If you have 1 QB, 2 RB’s, and 1 WR, take a WR ranked 1-16. If none are available, take a RB.” Ochocinco was probably another stretch and I know for a fact not a top 16 WR. I felt he was better than the other names left, which were all tier 2 WRs or lower Round 6: Russ says, “If you have 1 QB, 2 RB’s, and 2 WR’s, take a RB no matter what.” I felt good with Matt Forte (6.59) to give me 3 starting RBs. Checkpoint: I was still on par with Russ after 6 rounds with 1 QB, 3RB and 2 WR. Round 7: Russ says, “If any of the top 6 TE’s are still available, take a TE. If they are gone, take a WR.” I usually take a TE in the 5th round, but held off and was rewarded nicely with Vernon Davis (Gates, Clark and Finley had already been drafted). Round 8: Russ says, “If you took a TE in round 7, take a WR.” At 8.79, Mike Sims-Walker was still on the board and became my 3rd WR. He is the starter in Jacksonville, so I was pleased with his pick up. Round 9: Russ says, “Draft depth at RB and WR or grab your backup QB.” You can never have enough RB and Felix Jones of Dallas was still on the board. Of course Dallas is prone to have a RBBC, Jones is probably the strongest of the three RB available. I did have a fleeting thought to select LT, but decided against it. Round 10: Russ says, “Draft depth at RB and WR or grab your backup QB.” With a WR taken in Round 9 I decided to take my back up QB, Alex Smith of SF. Maybe he can be considered the “best of the worst” that were still available. Matt Cassel was the other QB I was considering before making my selection. Round 11: Russ says, “Draft depth at RB and WR or grab your backup QB.” I had intended on taking a WR for depth in this round, but I was surprised to see Tim Hightower still available. I wasted no time in adding him to my bench to give me 5 RB after 11 rounds. Checkpoint: My roster looked like 2 QB, 5 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, I was a one WR off based on this draft checkpoint because of my selection in Round 11. I still left I was on track for a good draft with 5 round remaining and was not worried about adding depth at WR. Round 12: Russ says, “…continue filling out your bench RB’s and WR’s.” (Our league does not play a defense) Lee Evans (12.119) of Buffalo was still around in Round 12, so I felt he was a starter and main target in Buffalo, who will usually be trailing and needing to throw. Round 13: Russ says, “…continue filling out your bench with either handcuff RB, sleeper RB/WR or backup TE if one of the top 18 TE’s is still available.” With the run on kickers in the 12 round I decided to bump my kicker up a round and select Gostkowski from NE. I am of the rational to play two top tier kickers. Round 14: Russ says, “Consider one of the top 5 kickers if available or fill out more depth with handcuff RB, or sleeper RB/WR or second TE.” Jerricho Cotchery was selected to help cover bye weeks and as a possibly 3rd WR if I needed to go with that option. Round 15: Russ says, “If you didn’t take your K in rd 14, take one here. Most every team will be taking their Kicker in the last round anyway so you should still be able to get a good sleeper RB/WR, second TE, or handcuff RB.” I know this is an unpopular strategy but in our league I usually start 2 kickers, as they can end up being top 10 scorers at the end of the year. Since I did not have a good #2 starting QB I picked up Tynes to be by second (and starting) kicker. Round 16: Russ says, “Handcuff RB, sleeper RB/WR, second TE, or handcuff QB.” Kevin Walter was added at WR, a #2 starter in Houston with Schaub and Johnson, he should have a strong year if he ends up staying healthy. Round 17 and 18: Russ didn’t say anything because he had only planned for a 16 round draft. Round 17: I took Mewelde Moore of Pittsburgh, which was more less a wasted selection because he backs up Mendehall. Very little value here unless Mendenhall gets injured. Round 18: I am also of the belief to carry 2 TE, one for the bye week. Todd Heap fits the bye and should have a strong year in Baltimore with Flacco and now Boldin in town. My Russ Bliss team consists of: QB: J Cutler, A Smith RB: A Peterson, M Forte, S Greene, T Hightower, F Jones, M Moore WR: R White, C Ochocinco, M Sims-Walker, L Evans, J Cotchery, M Walter TE: V Davis, T Heap K: S Gostkowski, L Tynes Not sure if I would consider this a championship team with the quality I have at QB, which worries me. Maybe Martz will turn Cutler into a superstar this season with a West Coast style offense. I also feel a bit weak at WR with Ochocinco as my #2. He is saying all the right things leading up to Week 1, hopefully he has a good season. We will see just how good of a team I drafted starting this weekend. |
| W6ONV on Thursday 09 September 2010 - 19:44:08 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| Waiver Why-er? |
| In previous years I have used a number of different online sources to supplement my fantasy football preparation. Some better than others and many with varying opinions and strategies on approach a draft and weekly lineups. I won’t say it was all bad information because many of my decisions were made up prior to reading their breaking reports. This year, on a whim I stumbled across a site called, Fantasy Football Starters. I believe I was look for fantasy football (soccer) insight when I click on this site and was taken in by what they offered. It was not long after that I spent the $24.95 fee and subscribed for my first season. One thing I have noticed immediately has been the interaction between their “experts” and the users of the web site. I guess with 27 years of fantasy football experience I could call myself an expert too, but I am not the one operating the web site. I still think the interaction is the twist I have been missing in past years when using a fantasy site to supplement my league and team. I won’t say this year will be any different as we are just under a week away from the start of the 2010-2011 NFL season. I have received some interesting remarks and comments on the two teams I manage. The first and most important is the the TFL, the league I manage, while the other is an office league. Both leagues have 10 teams and use the waiver wire, but are both scored a bit differently. Thankfully that is not a problem with this software. One thing I have noticed are the number of owners on the forums commenting about making trades or going to the waiver wire before the season has started. Let me ask you this. Are you not confident in the team you drafted? Do you really feel there are better players remaining on the wire that will give you a decided advantage over a player on the current roster? My philosophy is tied to being old school. When we started our league in 1983-1984 we did not have a waiver wire. We had to back up all our players with a reserve. This was also before the NFL introduced the bye week for each team in 1990. The TFL started using the waiver wire in 2005 and while it is new to the league it is not a new concept. One thing the waiver wire does is deflect a bit of the weight of the draft and direct it to the wire, which left unchecked or mismanaged can become an out of control beast. I say that because owners suddenly start hitting the waiver wire stockpiling hot talent. That is not how the wire should be used, but I am sure many use it that way in other leagues. We require a $10 transaction fee and must drop a player when you add a player from the wire. This prevents an owner from adding more players and holding them hostage as trade bait. During a draft I don’t take the waiver wire into consideration. I rank and draft players taking into consideration who will be on a bye what week. Sometimes it works to my advantage, other times not. I have always gone into a draft looking for balance. For me that balance is: * 2 K * 2 QB * 6 RB * 6 WR * 2 TE This equation was successful for me during the 2009-2010 season when I not only won our total points championship, but also our H2H competition. I only hit the waiver wire twice, both during bye weeks in order to fill in an empty slot due to my mismanagement. So as was mentioned in Fantasy Football Advice for Week 1 by Russ over at Fantasy Football Starters, "Fantasy Football Advice for Week 1 by Russ over at Fantasy Football Starters, “Remember, a fantasy season is a marathon, not a sprint. Just like winning the first 2 weeks doesn’t guarantee you a playoff spot, losing the first 2 weeks doesn’t mean you can’t win the championship.“ |
| W6ONV on Sunday 05 September 2010 - 00:31:50 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| K6B - NCCC 40th Birthday |
| Outside of the NAQP the past month or so I have not put much time into it. The next event forthcoming is when I will be operating from home as K6B, as the Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) marks 40 years of excellence in amateur radio contesting. I have only been a part of the club since 2008, when I took an interest in contest. To help celebrate club members will be operating using a “/40″ behind their call sign or a special 1×1 call sign, as I decided to get. The recommended exchange will be to give RS(T) and California county. Work 40 California stations and you have earned some wallpaper. Work all 58 counties in California and qualify for the WACC (Worked All California Counties), sponsored by the NCCC. The event begins 0000 UTC September 18 and lasts until 2359 UTC October 1, 2010. For more information check out all the details at the NCCC. |
| W6ONV on Thursday 02 September 2010 - 16:32:10 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| TFL: 27 Years of Fantasy Football |
| Much like winter, spring, summer and fall, fantasy football has a season. On Sunday evening we entered our 27th year playing fantasy football. Die hard roto geeks find it hard to believe there was fantasy football back in the 1980s. I was fortunate enough to have 5 good friends, all of whom had a father participating in my father’s fantasy league, so the boys started their own. Little did we think after 27 years we would still be playing. During the 1983-1984 season we had 6 owners who participated in the first TFL or Toumi Football League. While we did use our Apple computer, all the pre-draft preparation and scoring were done by hand, spending countless hours going through what limited resources we had. My father created a neat program with Filemaker (I believe) that allowed us to input each team. It would then spit out a weekly worksheet and roster sheets that we, as the commissioner would use to manage the league. Since the inception of the TFL we have made necessary changes to the league. The number of owners have increased from 6 to 8, finally to 10 owners just a few years ago. Our scoring system, consider archaic by today standards did not evolve as quickly. The rudimentary scoring rewarded 3 points for a TD pass and 6 points for a TD. In terms of yardage, 100 yards receiving or rushing or 250 yards passing scored 7 points. Kickers received 1 point for a PAT, 3 points for a field goal 45 yards and under and 7 points for any field goal over 45 yards. We still have 4 of the original 6 owners, who are now known as “The Wise Men” rarely are changes made to the league with consulting them first. We often think we missed out on the dot com boom by not going live with our prognostication during the 1990s. We finally move to an Internet based software to manage our league in 2000 using My Fantasy League. It was a cut above what doing all the work by hand and allowed me to spend more time providing takes and making predictions on the upcoming year. IN 2004 we made the switch to CBS Sportsline. Another oddity about our league was paying out the top three places based on total points, not a head to head competition that is prevalent in many leagues today. In 2003 we added H2H as a “side bet” and paid the winner. Since then total points still reigns supreme, pays the biggest winning, but there is excitement in the H2H competition that allows owners another chance to win some scratch. In 2004 we loaded up draft central and flew into “Sin City,” Las Vegas, Nevada where we would hole up at The Palms for a weekend. The weekend would consist of owners flying in on Friday afternoon, gambling and hanging out poolside drinking beer until everyone arrived. Friday night would be dinner at The N9Nes Steakhouse where we would “pull the ace.” This would decided our draft order for the upcoming season. The owner pulling the ace could slot himself anywhere. On Saturday we would stumble out of bed, grab some breakfast to cure the Friday night binge. We would gather our belongings and head poolside to a cabana, where would set up draft central and spend the next 4 hours drafting and drinking and drinking. Did I mention we drank? Saturday night would be another dinner and other “extracurricular” activities that included gambling. While I have yet to stay a full weekend, all the owners would fly out of Vegas on Sunday. It has been a great way for me to remain in contact with many of my childhood friends even though we are separated by hundreds of miles. The yearly Vegas trip is a time for us to get together, reminisce about years gone by and catch up on what we are now doing. Not sure how much longer we will continue on with many now family men, some single. It has been one hell of a ride and always look forward to the start of fantasy football. |
| W6ONV on Tuesday 31 August 2010 - 21:06:56 | Read/Post Comment: 0 |
| Needed: Rohn H50 |
| With the upcoming contesting “season” on the horizon I need to get serious and make a decision as to how and where I am going to mount my hex beam I purchased and built from DX Engineering last year. Currently it is mounted over the garage on a non-push up 15′ mast. Unfortunately 15′ does not cut it when it comes to contesting or DX. I continue to give my best but the height is true setback. I have been considering moving the hex beam to the other side of the backyard and mount it on a Rohn H50 push up mast. The position I am thinking of would hide the antenna better when looking at the front of the house and would also be behind a large eucalyptus tree when driving towards our house from the west. If driving in from the other direction, the antenna should be high enough for increased performance, but low enough to get lost in the houses, rooftops and trees. The remaining problems would be getting the hex on top of the mast without having to try and walk it up a ladder from the roof of the garage to the second story roof. Not an example of safe installation procedures in my book. The other option would be to pull the hex up using rope. The second problem would be turning the hex. Right now I am still using the armstrong method, where I will run outside and manually move the antenna to the direction I need it. I do have a Hy-Gain Ham M that is being given to my by my father, N6SV. Unfortunately the rotator is STILL in SoCal. Doesn’t do me much good. So the Rohn H50 I am looking at is from from 3 Star Incorporated and retails for $119.95, unfortunately the shipping is $134 to $169 depending on if it is shipped to a commercial location or my house. Wow! This is the current stumbling block, not sure what I am going to do, but a decision needs to made relatively soon. |
| W6ONV on Friday 27 August 2010 - 17:40:34 | Read/Post Comment: 1 |
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