The impact of the CBA / Lockout for Fantasy Football in 2011

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Ever wonder what it would be like to put two of your favorite vacations together in one day? Whatever vacation you choose, you can be sure that it will be exciting, hectic, and chaotic at the same time. Well, with the NFLPA set to ratify the new collective bargaining agreement this week, the 2011 NFL season will be imposed on us in the same way, with free agency and camps open at the same time, while new deadlines come and go. record speed. This will not be a time for the faint of heart, as the pace of condensing several months of a typical NFL offseason into a couple of weeks will test our full ability to keep up with the latest information. So with that in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to discuss some of the anticipated effects this shortened offseason closure will have on fantasy football for 2011. Keep these thoughts in mind as the fantasy seasons begin to return. quickly to the fantasy football business:

1) Free Agency: There are many good players that will be available for Free Agency this year. We know some of them as DeAngelo Williams, but we may not be so sure about others under the new CBA rules. That will take some time to figure out over the next two days, however, with that said, I don’t anticipate much movement in Free Agency this season. Sometimes we forget that these players we love to cheer on or against are not machines, but normal human beings who often have families to take care of. When you think about it that way, it can be very difficult for many of these kids to figure out where they are going to play in the next week and then move their family to another part of the country, find a home, register the kids for school, etc. . This is a practical problem that can lead many free agents to find that the grass isn’t always greener on the other team’s grass. This is one of the main reasons I think you will see a lot of current free agents stick with their old teams, especially if they are returning to the same coaching staff and offensive / defensive scheme that they are used to and have been successful with in the past. Picking up and moving your family, meeting and getting acquainted with a whole new team and playbook, all in a short amount of time probably won’t end well, especially when you consider that many free agents in a typical season take a year to adjust. to all the change that comes with changing teams. Plus, most coveted free agents are used to being invited to dinner, but Danny Boy most likely won’t have enough time to fire up his private jet in DC to execute the numerous free agents he’s inevitably looking for. sign this year. That will be a blow to their egos and will make them seriously consider staying where they are rather than risking having to overcome all these hurdles in their first year on a new team. The bottom line is, don’t expect a huge amount of free-agent movement as everyone anticipates, and those signing with new teams should realize that this type of acquisition starts at a disadvantage in a normal offseason. Proceed with caution when looking to acquire one of these players for your team this year.

2) Age: Like Goldilocks, you want your fantasy players to be the right ones, not too old and not too young. When we consider that rookies have typically had around 4 months to dive into the team’s playbook by now, as well as to do a lot of replays in OTAs and Mini-Camps, these players will be at a huge disadvantage and they will play to catch up. Whole year. For positions that normally take a couple of years to learn the intricacies of the position, such as QB and WR, this will be a difficult year to get quality fantasy production from this group. I would avoid rookie quarterbacks at this point, even in dynasty leagues, until you have an idea of ​​how players like Ponder can do it if they are actually handed the job as rookies. As for the WRs, I think of players like Julio Jones, who comes in with a lot of fanfare and expectations given what the Falcons traded to move up and catch him. In the end, I think fantasy players will have unrealistic expectations for a guy like Jones this year and so they should pass a lot of these rookie players in favor of more seasoned veterans. However, when we talk about veterans, we must also be cautious, as it will not be uncommon for more veteran players to find themselves with hamstring, quad or calf strains while pushing their bodies on the field for the first time in several months. Think of the endurance players as the setting here. The player expects more money, he loses most of his practice time with the team, he exercises on his own thinking that he is in very good shape, the first week of practice back with the team, the player pulls a muscle. Revis went through this last season and often these injuries can linger throughout the season. So, when comparing players in your fantasy auctions this year, I would suggest giving those players a slight edge in years 2-5 playing in the NFL. These guys know what it takes to get through a full NFL season and offseason and they know what their coach expects of them when they are not on the team premises as well. Guys like McCoy, Stewart and Mendenhall come to mind from the running back position as drivers who should be in a healthy position and experienced enough to get in shape, ready to go out there and produce good numbers this year. At WR, players like Hakeem Nicks, Calvin Johnson and Mike Wallace are receivers who would give him an advantage if he were trying to differentiate them from another player of the same level in his position.

3) Defense vs. Offense – Usually in the first week of any training camp, defenses seem to start a little before an offense. This is in part because defenses for the most part are more reactionary to the game in front of them compared to the offense that always has to execute exactly what its assignment is. Defensive LBs, for example, will read the “keys” to how the offensive lineman in front of them blocks and then react by looking for the ball carrier and trying to make a play. Unfortunately, offense takes a bit longer because it relies so much more on executing a predetermined play than is predetermined. Therefore, from a fantasy perspective, I would keep my eyes open early in the season to trade or pick up players who should be good fantasy producers but may struggle early in the year due to a more difficult schedule or the fact of that their offense has not. reached with defenses still. I would keep an eye out for players like Ryan Mathews, Dez Bryant and Josh Freeman as players to look to if they have problems early in the season, particularly in ARK or other Keeper league formats.

4) Depth matters more than ever in 2011: Of course, we all want to select studs at every position on the list, but we realize that this is impossible in a truly competitive league. There will be guys you take a wheel with with late auctions or draft picks, as well as other players you hope to get one more year out of. Well, given the anticipated increase in players getting injured or coming into camp out of shape, it will be imperative that he have useful backup in his key fantasy positions more than ever this year. Don’t neglect a viable headline as quality backups in your three fancy core positions of QB, RB, and WR. If the choice arises between Marshawn Lynch, Seattle RB or Jonathon Baldwin, KC’s rookie WR, it would give Lynch the upper hand as he should provide more security and depth in the key RB position than Baldwin did during his rookie campaign. . Don’t neglect those third and fourth list positions this year and limit the rolling of the dice in draft / auction picks in the draft backend in favor of quality plug-in players for the 2011 season.

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