| If you’re looking for super
in-depth analysis of how you should conduct your upcoming fantasy football draft, this
ain’t the place for you. If you are playing fantasy football for the first time, or
are relatively new to the experience, or if you just want to get back to basics, then by
all means, read on. Last season was my first experience with fantasy football, a game
that I had never really held in high esteem and openly questioned why we gave it so much
coverage. After all, it was just a numbers game, not something that really happens and can
result in the kind of joy that real football brings to the table. I thought it a
distraction at best, one that I really didn’t want to get involved in.
But I was pestered about playing in our office league for days on end.
"You have to play," Jeff said. "We need an extra team."
"You’ll enjoy it," Andy said. "You get to do a lot of trash
talking."
"You will play because I’m requiring you to," Ron said, and considering
that Ron is the boss, I was officially entered in the league.
Being a newbie to the whole fantasy football experience, I didn’t have a lot of
strategy heading into the draft. I was lucky enough to have the first pick in the draft,
and I was torn by my desire to select either Minnesota’s Daunte Culpepper or St.
Louis’ Marshall Faulk. Faulk has shaky knees, but he can be counted on for big
numbers nearly every game. I wrestled with the question for a while before settling on
Faulk, and I later made a deal to land Culpepper as well.
The move paid off big time, and with only some minor adjustments to my roster —
and a little luck in the emergence of Priest Holmes as a major ground gainer — I not
only won my division, but I took home the league championship as well. There’s
nothing like winning the title to get you hungry to play again.
Oh, and I happened to enjoy every single second of the NFL season all the more because
every game was more important to me. I hate losing, and losing to a co-worker who is going
to let you know about it the next time you see him is no kind of fun. The trash talking
all season was exquisite, I did more than my share of woofing, and in the end, I reigned
supreme over everyone in the office.
And now I’m excited for this season, and considering how well it worked last year,
I’m hoping to pull off the same strategy that I used last year.
Get as many St. Louis Rams as is humanly possible.
It became a running joke in the office, but I figured it was smart to hitch my wagon to
the most prolific offense around. Faulk, Az-Zahir Hakim, Ernie Conwell, Jeff Wilkins and
the Rams defense dotted my roster, and I traded Torry Holt as part of the package to get
my grubby hands on Culpepper. The sound of Todd Rundgren’s "Bang on the Drum All
Day" became the theme song for victory. See, the Rams play that song every time they
score a touchdown at home, and they wore that tape out last year. Even now when I hear
that song I get an extra hop in my step.
And getting Wilkins was key because every time the Rams scored, or even got close,
Wilkins was going to get me some points. It was almost too easy.
Did I put all my eggs in one basket? Kind of. If the Rams got shut down, I would be in
trouble, but I had Holmes, Culpepper and Qadry Ismail to back me up. It was a calculated
risk at best, and I struggled some when Faulk went down with the inevitable knee problem
for a couple of weeks during the middle of the season. But in the end, Faulk was healthy,
the Rams were clicking, and I was busy winning everything in site.
My advice as a one-time defending champion is to throw out all the analysis that you
may have picked up so far and just follow the St. Louis plan. Get as many Rams on your
team as is humanly possible. You have a shot at Conwell? Get him. You have the inside
track on Isaac Bruce? Nab him. Terrence Wilkins still available? Make it so.
The Rams are going to put up pretty big numbers every week, and they are going to win
the majority of their games. You will do the same if you follow their lead. Bruce might
not individually put up the same kind of numbers as Terrell Owens or Marvin Harrison, but
when coupled with his Rams brethren, he will be a very dangerous player. That is the
beauty of following all the Rams. You don’t have to depend on any one player.
Of course the Rams could go in the toilet and you will be in big trouble, but I never
said it was a foolproof plan. But it is a different way to attack the fantasy draft, one
that could shake things up enough to put your team over the top. The key is to have
another solid running back from another team as a support and making sure that your
backups are consistent, if unspectacular, players.
Maybe the Rams Plan will earn you a league title. Maybe you’ll struggle if the
Rams stumble. Either way, you know that you will have some company in your joy or woes
here at Pro Football Weekly, because I’m riding the Rams train until it breaks down. |
