Preliminary Fantasy Football Strategies

I know what you're thinking: 'Why are we talking about fantasy football when we don't know if there will be a season yet?!' Calm Down fellow football fanatics. These "secret" meetings that the mainstream media somehow knows about are a good sign of things to come. I predict that shortly after the July 4th holiday, the NFL and NFLPA will announce the new collective bargaining agreement and all will be well. With all that said, here are my preliminary strategies going into next season.

1. Do not draft any rookies early: Resist the temptation from the hype machines that will be pumping out positive stories on Julio Jones in Atlanta, Mark Ingram in New Orleans, and A.J. Green in Cincinnati.

2. ...or second year players either: Not that Ryan Matthews in San Diego or Jahvid Best in Detroit were attractive options anyway, but Sam Bradford sure as hell will be. Not only are these players hurt by the lack of OTA's, but in Bradford's case, Josh McDaniels is his new coordinator, and that offense is not a simple one. I expect there to be a severe regression in St. Louis, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

3. Running Backs will make a comeback: What happens when offenses are forced to simplify? They run the football. Look for the recently pass happy NFL to focus a little more on running backs. Especially now that there are more two running back systems, guys like Adrian Peterson and Chris Johnson are few and far between.

4. ...Tight Ends, too: With simplified offenses, safety valves become very important, and tight ends often serve that purpose. Marcedes Lewis broke out last year, but this year look for guys Tony Moeaki and Kevin Boss (this year I'm super serial) to break out.

5. Never Draft IDP early: This is a little obvious but it needs to be stated. Every year in every draft, someone drafts Patrick WIllis in the 10th round or earlier. Unless you play in a league that is heavy on Defensive points, it is not worth it.

6. ...but don't ignore IDP completely: Be especially vigilant on the waiver wire for IDP. Without fail, there is someone that comes out of the woodwork and scores a massive amount of points.

7. Bye Weeks are important: Be very wary of drafting a plethora of people on the same bye week. That is virtually conceding one week of the season, and few can afford to do that.

There you have it. A touchdown and an extra point of Fantasy Football strategy. Stay tuned for baseball reports.