Play Fantasy Football – Terms New Players Need to Understand

The guys and girls who play fantasy football to win know they have to have the basics under their belt before they can be successful all season long.

Bye Week – During the regular season, all NFL teams have a bye week. During a bye week, soccer players get a chance to rest and recuperate, since their team doesn’t have to play any games that week. Bye weeks are used in the real NFL to give a team and the team’s players a break to review plays and simply refresh players. Fantasy football bye weeks can make or break your chances of winning. Don’t pick players who have the same bye week because it may limit your play and point options. Make sure your roster has players on as many bye weeks as possible.

Cheat Sheet – You should arm yourself with a cheat sheet to have during your league draft. A cheat sheet is a list of players, usually ranked by position or importance, that you, as the owner, want to select. As players are selected, be sure to cross them off your cheat sheet so you can be ready with your next pick when it’s your turn. Before your draft, research the players you are interested in drafting and place them in the order you want to draft them, and use them as a guide during your draft.

Commissioner – The commissioner is the person in charge of the league. As a fantasy football player, he has to know who he is and understand the rules set by the commissioner. This person makes all the big decisions for the league and usually organizes the draft and any other events. They usually also set up their league’s website and keep track of all registrations, schedules, and statistics.

Handcuffing – Handcuffing is when you draft a star player like a running back or quarterback, and then in case he gets hurt and can’t play, you draft his backup as well. Handcuffing can be effective for running backs, as there are very few great running backs in the NFL, but it is not recommended for other positions.

Keeper League – In a normal fantasy football draft, all teams start empty and the owners select their team through a draft. Each year, the teams start from scratch and re-select. In a goalie league, the whole league drafts and the season goes on as normal. However, after the first season, the teams do not redraft, they also keep their roster for the next year.

Mock Draft – A Mock Draft is an estimate of where players will go before the draft takes place. This can be very useful for new fantasy football players. It will help you gauge who you will be able to pick with your first picks. However, fantasy football drafts are very unpredictable and a simulated draft is only an estimate of what could happen.

Team Position: Your team’s position in the draft is the sequence number you pick your players from. Some drafts follow a normal pattern of teams choosing from the #1 spot until all teams have selected, then starting over. Other drafts use a “snake-style” draft in which all teams will pick in order until all teams have made a selection, and then start again in the second round in reverse order. As a fantasy football player, your draft picks drop according to your team’s position. Position determines when you select your players.