Vernon Davis Ready To Step Up?

Michael Crabtree is injured this off season and will be placed on the PUP list. Targets will be increasing for Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis. Vernon Davis has the athleticism and talent to be a top tier tight end but has disappointed fantasy owners recently. Last year Davis struggled greatly with less and less targets and getting zero fantasy points on several occasions. When Colin Kaepernick got the starting job last year, Davis had fantasy performances of 14, 0, 1, 0, 1, 2, 0.

Those numbers are just awful and for a player as talented as Davis, it is hard to tell whether or not he will put up big numbers like he has in the past. In 2010 and 2011 Davis had over 90 targets each year. Last season he had 61 and significantly less receptions with only 40 for the 2012 season. His touchdowns have declined from his 2009 breakout season when he had 13 touchdowns. Last year he had only 5 touchdowns in 16 games played.

With the recent injuries to San Francisco's receiving core, Davis may see more targets. ESPN reports that Davis has recently taken snaps at wide receiver. This would mean Davis could possibly see more production from a fantasy standpoint. I would think Davis        will be available late in upcoming drafts and has the opportunity to show that he still can produce at a high level.



                                                                          

Newest Injury Updates

Injuries are just about the biggest news updates that come from training camps. There have been three significant injuries that will affect your upcoming draft. Wide receivers can be vulnerable to injuries during the season but during training camp injuries are usually serious. Training camp injuries usually deal with torn tendons, broken limbs and other serious injuries dealing with the legs or anything below the hips. With these injuries new opportunities rise

The first of three players I will be talking about is Jeremy Maclin. Maclin tore his ACL recently at training camp and will miss the entire 2013 season. He had the same injury to the same knee seven years ago. Maclin is a very talented receiver who was targeted the most of any Eagle receivers. The receiver to likely absorb Maclin's targets is Riley Cooper. Cooper is not as athletic as Maclin but will fit well into Chip Kelly's new system because of his size.

The second player that will be discussed is Dennis Pitta. Pitta recently fractured his hip and had surgery that will put him out for the remainder of the season. This injury was devastating for the Ravens because stud receiver Anquan Boldin left the team for San Fransisco this season. These two players were Joe Flacco's favorite targets last year. The question now is who will step up in Pitta's absence? The Ravens recently signed free agent Vincent Shancoe and have reported Ed Dickson will have to step up his receiving duties this season.




Last but not least, Percy Harvin has been reportedly diagnosed with a slight tear in his hip and may start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list, otherwise known as the PUP list. If a player is put on the PUP list they are unable to play for the first six weeks of the season. Harvin was just recently traded to the Seattle Seahawks and is an incredibly talented receiver. If he does play in the beginning of the season, he will be a dangerous receiver. Sydney Rice and Golden Tate will see more targets if Harvin is unable to be healthy enough for the start of the season.

Interviewing Super Bowl Host Committee Employee

If you haven't heard the Super Bowl will be hosted in New Jersey this year. The championship game will be played at the Meadowlands where the Jets and the Giants play their home games. I recently interviewed an employee of the Super Bowl Host Committee who would like to remain anonymous about fantasy football:

ME: Do you have a fantasy football team?
Super Bowl Host Employee: Yes, I love fantasy football. I have no team I really follow or root for, so I root for individual players

Me: How do you think fantasy football changes the way fans watch the NFL?
SBHE: I think fans have a deeper viewing experience when they have fantasy teams. Whether the fans are talking about the games or researching players, there is a deeper connection between the NFL and the fans.  The way fans watch the game is certainly evolving from the traditional way fans used to watch football. There are different ways to see what is happening around the league every Sunday instead of just watching the one on CBS or FOX.

 ME: What do you think about Redzone? Its a program that shows every scoring play from every game.
SBHE: I think Redzone is great. I know what it is, my friend had it last year so I went over to his house too watch. I think it is the ultimate viewing experience for fans. I think it might affect the ratings for the games on CBS or FOX but with Redzone you don't have to flip back and forth from channel to channel because there are no commercials.

ME: Who is a player or players that you would like to draft this upcoming season?
SBHE: I think Matt Ryan (pictured to the right) is going to have a huge year. I like his wide outs Roddy White and especially Julio Jones, watching him play is exciting. I think Stephen Jackson will have a great year if he stays healthy.                                
                                       
There you have it, yet another person who thinks fantasy football is a great way to get involved in the NFL. The person I interviewed was an avid fantasy football owner who was excited to get back into another great season in the NFL.

Promising Running Back Oppurtunities

In the NFL, teams without a solid running back will try to find a new fit at the start of every season. Sometimes through free agency teams find some but most of the time teams look within their organization. Two players that are not rookies who have an opportunity to start for their teams are Daryl Richardson/ Isiah Pead and Lamar Miller.

This is Lamar Miller of the Miami Dolphins. With the departure of Reggie Bush, Lamar can start for the Dolphins. There is no guarantee Lamar can produce at a high fantasy level every week, but it is important for fantasy owners to look for sleepers. Realistically, Lamar is going to be a solid flex starter who can be picked in later rounds.

                                      VS









                                                                                             
Daryl Richardson                                                                                                         Isiah Pead


Daryl is listed as the protected starter going into training camp this summer.  St. Louis has said that it will be a battle for the starting role between Daryl and Isiah. Isiah is the return man and has explosive speed, while Daryl is more of a between the tackles runner with power and speed. It is too early to tell who will get the starting job. In most drafts, Daryl is lasting until the seventh round and Pead is staying until the ninth round. I would pick either of these two as safety picks but I am hesitant to pick these guys before the eighth round.
    

How-To Post: Efficient Way To Collect Money For the League

It is in my experience, that collecting money from everyone in the league can be a challenge. Some owners will procrastinate, some will try to avoid paying, it is important for the commissioner to collect. For college kids especially these things are expected to happen. In the leagues I am in, the owners live all over the country, so online collecting is the best way to handle any problems the owners might give a commissioner. The best website I have seen for this exact purpose is leaguesafe.com. Here is a step by step process for setting up a leaguesafe account:

1) Go to leaguesafe.com.
2) Click on "Get Started" and create an account, its safe and easy.
3) Create the league name and for what sport the fantasy league is in.
4) Set the league payments to credit and debit cards because that is what most people pay with.
5) Set whatever entry fee was decided upon.
6) To ensure people will pay on time, preferably before the draft set up a late fee. This works as extra incentive for owners to pay on time.
7) Collect every email and invite each owner, this is tedious and can be annoying but it is a direct line for people to pay so they do not have to find the website. Trust that people will find excuses not to pay.
8) Set the "Auto-Nag" setting on payment settings, the website will email every owner that has not paid.
9) Set collection to " Commissioner has total control". Personally, I like this the best it takes away all confusion and can dealt with at a later time.

Leaguesafe is a trusted website and is incredibly cheap to use. I think it costs 75 cents to pay and the winner has a check sent to them or direct deposit in a PayPal account. Even then the website only takes no more than $1.25 from an owners winnings.

A Genius Talking About His Guys

Matthew Berry is a very well known fantasy writer. He has a book coming out and is my favorite fantasy sports writer. Berry recently wrote about a mock draft he participated in and discussed what his approach into each round was and the reasons for his pick that round. The format for the league the mock draft was a 12 team league with a points per reception (PPR) format. Here is Berry's blog post.

This blog post was great for a pre draft approach that every owner should have. Anything can happen while drafting so practice is a great help to be prepared for the unexpected. Having an idea of what position to draft first and what to look for in the later rounds is crucial. Certain players have value in a PPR format while others lose value. Running backs who catch the ball as well as run the ball have increased value. Reggie Bush and Derron Sproles are very good PPR running backs.

One thing that you cannot be totally prepared for is what pick you will have in the first round. Another thing is if the guy you were hoping to pick has already been picked. In this situation, it is very important to have ranks for each position. Remember, expect the unexpected. Get your guys. Do not pick any Jets and all will be alright.

A Blast From The Past

Looking back on a past post of mine I talked about how watching football can be dramatically altered when an owner has a player in the game they are watching. In the blog post I showed how I added a paragraph where I discussed how owners root for certain situations to happen while watching a football game so one of their players can score points for their team. My paragraph is still on the Fantasy Football (American rules) page, but there are two additional paragraphs that have been added to the section where my paragraph is. The first paragraph talks about the increased ratings and viewership of football because of football:

The explosive popularity of fantasy sports, coupled with the availability of venues showcasing numerous live football games via satellite, has had significant effects on football viewing and rooting habits among participants. Fantasy sports players watch more game telecasts, buy more tickets and spend money at stadiums at a much higher rate than general sports fans. For example, 55 percent of fantasy sports players report watching more sports on television since they started playing fantasy sports. ^[15] Fantasy participants also are reported to attend 0.22 to 0.57 more NFL games in person per season.^[16] The NFL entered into a reported five-year, $600 million deal in 2006 with Sprint that was driven at least in part because of fantasy sports, allowing subscribers to draft and monitor their teams with their cellphones. ^[17] Many sports and football-related sports news shows discuss fantasy-related topics. Besides the fictional The League, multiple TV programs that focus on fantasy football news exist; examples include ESPN's Fantasy Football Now and CBS's Fantasy Football Today.

The numbers the editor writes are interesting. I know in my personal case that I watched 10 times more football my first fantasy season. I have purchased NFL Redzone, which showcases every scoring play on Sundays. I have been interested in going to games and watching EVERY game that is on television. This paragraph contradicts the other paragraph that was added:

Critics charge that because of the varying interests, some fantasy owners may instead support the players on their fantasy rosters in any one game rather than supporting a favorite team. Players are mixed on the impact of the effects of fantasy football on fans' habits and preferences. Retired NFL QB Jake Plummer told ESPN "I think it's ruined the game", and retired New York Giants RB Tiki Barber said about fantasy fans, "there's an incongruity in the wants."^[18] However, former Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley plays in four fantasy football leagues himself, ^[17] and former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Cato June benched New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady from his fantasy team to avoid a conflict of interest when the two teams played in November 2006. Fans frequently ask players on their fantasy rosters to score more often; Peyton Manning reported that only autograph requests exceeded fan requests for "more fantasy touchdowns" from him. Fans also often seek inside information on injuries and future stars from coaches.^[18]

I think players who think the game is ruined because of fantasy are wrong. I think it helps the NFL brand for fans and people who would not have been interested if it we were not for fantasy. It changes the reasons why some fans watch the game and especially how but I think fantasy football can only help the brand of the game.