fantasy football

[ticklehound]

to all the fantasy ballas out there.

I don't know about you, but I think fantasy football prostitutes the game, and has prevented me from being the usual fan I used to be. When I found myself rooting for the horrible Redskins against my Saints - that was it for me.


I've been in a league for 3 years now, and I used to enjoy it. This year, I am kicking ass (5-1). I was just about to announce my 'retirement' last week, but then I lost my last game, so now I can't say it now, for fear of being smothered in smack.

Any real football fans know what I'm talking about?

Hound

 

[HeBeGeeBee]

I know what you mean. I used to look forward to Sundays for the sole purpose of watching the Packers. Now, after being in a fantasy league for a couple years, I find myself paying more attention to everything that's going on in the other games and the Packers, while still important, have almost become secondary. Like you, I'm 5-1 in my league...coincidentally, that's also the Packers' record...(and the Saints, for that matter). I'm sensing a theme here... 😀

 

[Alex Warfield]

I'm a huge football fan, but have never tried fantasy football. Doesn't really seem like my thing, although I would've kicked ass with Priest Holmes last year!

 

[ticklehound]

Yea, cheesehead, but the Saints beat down your Pack (lol). No, seriously, I love the Pack too. I like the Saints, but not as much as during years past (I've got issues with personnel).

This year, our league decided to play for money, after I won the league 2 years ago. Hope I win it all, so I can go out on top. Isn't it freaky how huge fantasy football became? Hell, I'm announcing my retirement from it here, effective end of the season.

FYI, I have Priest, and he's the stud among studs.

Perfect example this weekend why fantasy football SUCKS! :

My QB McNabb vs my D Buccaneers - you see?

Anyone else care to comment?

 

[HeBeGeeBee]

Perfect example this weekend why fantasy football SUCKS! :

My QB McNabb vs my D Buccaneers - you see?

Again, I feel your pain. This week my top QB (Bledsoe) goes against my top defense (Miami). I'm thinking of starting Pennington against the Viqueens and Carolina's D against Atlanta. But Vick's back and I'm not too comfortable with that...

 

[Dave2112]

I have to agree that fantasy football really waters the game down. But it all depends on what you get into football for. If you're one of those 'stats' people, fantasy football is a great pastime. But I'd rather just sit back and enjoy the game than worry about the impact my team's win will have on my standings.

For that sort of stuff, I got Madden 2003 for my PC and am now in the 5th year of franchise mode.

Also, it's nice to know that I'm not the only Saints fan around. In a year where it doesn't pay to be a Vikes or Seahawks fan (although they did play a great game against San Fran), at least one of my teams is doing well.

 

[Scooby112211]

Dave, I got it for x-box

Scoob's Panthers Year 1 (Difficutly: Professional): i think we were 12-4; got to the superbowl but lost to the steelers on the very last play (typical of this years last 3 games, eh?). It helps to have a quarterback and a fullback with stats boosted up to 99. Plus it also helps to start said quarterback as your defensive tackle as well, and your fullback as free safety and kick and punt returner (i eventually made him kick kickoffs too). Cheap? Well, in a word, yes. In 11 words, Gimme a break, pal, we're the Panthers for crying out loud!

Took me a coupla times to get the offseason done right, as I ran out of money damn quickly and didn't have enough players to start year 2 the first 2 or 3 times I tried to get through the offseason. Finally got it right by only signing a good running back and tight end, and picked up some cheap free agents after that.

Year 2 (Difficulty: Professional): 14-2, the panthers win the superbowl! Had to play pittsburgh again I think (or was it the patriots? Don't remember...hell it was only last week too). Still started my create-a-players at like 8 different positions, and you can always count on a qb sneak for an easy 30 yards or so. Superbowl trophies are shiny 😀

Had a good offseason, signed a create-a-player kicker, now I don't have to use my fullback for kickoffs (hehe)

Year 3 (Difficulty: All-Pro): Decided to bump up the difficulty level. Only played 3 games of pre-season ball so far, and it is a lot harder! My running game kicks ass still (I can't stress the importance of a good fullback these days), but my guy must have thrown 4 pics so far, with a pretty low completion percentage. Weinke is throwing better than my guy...too bad he is slower than an amputee on stilts (think about it)

In terms of fantasy football, I played last year and gave up mid-season. I am a Panthers fan first and foremost, individual stats don't matter to me as much as how my team does 😀

I just can't wait till Fifa 2003 comes out, I played last year's game so much I literally wore the disc out.

Scoob

 

[Dave2112]

Scoob, you are 100% correct about the importance of a good fullback. I'm in my fifth year of "coaching" the Seattle Seahawks, and I've made my FB (Heath Evans) my franchise player. If you've got a guy who can consistantly gain five yards, you really keep the defense on its toes. Having two backs that can catch just makes it that much more efficient.

Since we're comparing, I went 10-6 first year (Pro level), and lost a wild-card game. Went 15-1 the second year and won the Super Bowl over Miami. 13-3 in the third and lost the NFC Championship to Philly. The last two seasons I kicked up to Madden Level and went 11-5 and got to the Divisional round and lost to New Orleans, and now I'm 2-2 on my fifth season, with a rookie QB. Yeah, the salary cap is a bitch, especially with the new Madden game utilizing cap penalties for releasing players still under contract. Off-season is a blast once you get the hang of it. I had to let Shawn Springs go, due to an $8 million salary, but I got the 1st pick in the draft from Detroit for him. Last season I was really strapped, so I traded Dilfer to Arizona for their second pick, Walter Jones to Carolina for the first pick and my original first-round pick and a third (plus a few non-essential players) for the third. So at least I got some decent rookies with the first three picks in the draft.

I like the way that you can fiddle with the AI to tailor the difficulty levels a bit. Another great thing about the PC version is that you can import players from the NCAA game for a chance to grab some of this year's good college players.

 

[Scooby112211]

Yeah, you can do that for X-box too, I have NCAA as well, but I have only played it a coupla times. Too wrapped up in Madden, I guess. Plus I don't like how they only have numbers, not names. Understandable because of liscensing, but still...just not the same. The graphics aren't as good, and the gameplay is different, but the play by play rox. If only Lee Corso would shut the hell up...

As far as exploiting a defense in Madden, halfback toss always works well if you put the full back in motion and line him up as a second tight end. That way he's already halfway to where he needs to make a block,and depending on how the defense is lined up, you can break 10-30 yards pretty easily. If only our teams rocked as much in real life...*sigh*

BTW, interesting statistic I read last night on panthers.com that made me want to cry: In the last 3 games the panthers have had the lead going into the last 5 minutes of the 4th quarter. Yeah...we lost all of them. this week we play atlanta in atlanta. Does anyone know if Vick is sposed to start?

 

[Dave2112]

I think Vick is listed as probable, but I could be wrong.

The bad thing about Madden now is that there's no such thing as a true "money play" anymore. Actually that's a good thing if you like competitiveness. I use the halfback toss thing quite a bit, but only if I can fool the D into spreading it out. After a while, the AI kicks in and I've had Shaun Alexander double-teamed until I open it up a bit.

I'm kind of a chess-player when it comes to stratgies. A lot of (real) coaches like to pound down a defense with the run and then open up the air game in the second half. With my current roster, I find myself utilizing the passing game a lot, and then running the ball against a D prepared for the pass. Not only do you get more yardage (theoretically), but you can play better clock management once you're ahead. I like to pass out of the Big sets and run from the 3-Wide sets just to screw with the D's mind a bit. Passing out of the Big sets works well with my current team, as I've got two backs with good hands and I've also got two pretty decent tight ends. Plus, you always have to have at least one guy keyed on the run when you're faced with a 2TE set, so someone is usually open, if you have the time to find them. After trading Walter Jones and having the left side of my O-line built around two rookies, I find myself having to dump it off quicker, but at least the game allows for player progression, and both guys are getting better.