2012 Week 1 Advice Time (and What to Do About Kevin Ogletree)

Hey there GHL faithful.

Some of you are aware of the majesty that is Advice Time. Others might be new here, so let's talk about it, shall we?

You have questions. Lineup, Waiver Wire, Trades, Who to Start, Who to Sit, Pick'em, Survival, etc. I've got answers. Post your questions and hear back directly from me. (Take that Yahoo and ESPN)

I will do everything in my power to have your questions answered by Sunday.  

Take Note: Due to circumstances beyond my control, I will not be able to answer any questions that are posted on Sundays. IF you do have one, Tweet it to me @godhateslosers and I'll do my best to get to it.

Ask early. Ask often. Ask away!

Now... onto that tricky Kevin Ogletree conundrum. Read more to see where I stand...

2012 Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings

Brand new season. Brand new ranking. And a brand new format!

Teamed up with FantasyPros this year and will be doing my rankings with their help. Also, using FantasyPros, I am now going to be ranked weekly and overall against other fantasy experts from across the internet.

Just explaining the new look. Hope you all like it. Feel free to ask any lineup questions that you have.

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Darlings

Every year we form our fantasy football teams. We study rankings and draft to the best of our abilities. But there is that one guy that we get that we just aren't sure about.

Some of us may have had the misfortune of an inopportune Internet glitch, making for a questionable “auto-pick.” Some of us may have seen the three people that we were going to choose between go consecutively right before us, leaving us rushed and unsure and spontaneous. Some of us just could have been a little dumb and gotten a 3^rd string running back without thinking or an injured player.

Whatever the case, it seems like every year, after the teams have been picked, you look at it and think it could be just a touch better.

If that is the case, then I have made this post just for you. If you currently own a player that you're not to high on, read through the following list of fantasy football waiver wire darlings. The guys that didn't get drafted, but are in line to be great sleepers with the potential to turn up a great season.

Trust me, nobody else will be checking these guys out until the end of week 1. So the free agency pool is your playground. So, here is the list of 2012 best fantasy football waiver wire pickups.

GHL Fantasy Football Draft Results

Why hello there.

Had three big drafts this weekend, three different styles of fantasy football. I am pretty stoked about how they all turned out. I think I'm in line for a decent year of fantasy football.

On Saturday, I stupidly had two scheduled for the same time. One league has a unique scoring system and outline, including IDP (individual defensive players). The other was a 10-team auction. So for about two hour I juggled between two different player ranking sheets, fumbled through a couple notebooks and was constantly looking back and forth on NFL and ESPN.com. A pretty brilliant way to spend an evening.

Sunday night was another draft. Pretty standard league. .5 points per reception. .2 points per completion.

So this is your time to critique me. Let me know what you like, what you don't like. How you think everything will pan out. Don't hesitate to ask any questions about your own lineup, or questions that you may have for upcoming drafts.

(Next week I will be starting my regular season writeups. So far, I haven't put much thought into the weekly rankings for Week 1. I assure you, they will come. And there will be another Advice Time post, so kindly hold your questions til then.)

Advice Time: Fantasy Football Draft Edition

Fantasy Football Draft Weekend is upon us. Thousands of drafts are taking place today and tomorrow. I have two today, and one Sunday night. Definitely ready to get things started and excited about this upcoming fantasy season.

Hope that everyone has made their lists, done some mocks and are as excited as I am about the upcoming fantasy football season.

God Hates Losers was born to be a Q&A website. Delivering to you what all of the major fantasy sites can't deliver. One-on-one answers to all of your fantasy football questions.

So, for those of you new here, each week we like to throw out an Advice Time post. If you have any question about your draft order, lineup, strategy or really anything at all... this is the time and the place to throw them at me.

So have at it! And good luck to all this weekend!

Don't forget to follow GHL on Twitter @godhateslosers. I'll do my damnedest to answer all your questions in 140 characters or less all day, everyday from here til the Super Bowl.

Fantasy Football Stars that I Just Won't Draft

I make a couple lists every year before my fantasy football draft. One, of course, is my position rankings. The other, my list of late round sleepers to consider. And finally, this list: My list of big name NFL players that I just don’t want to own.

Whether it be iffy injuries, position battles or just a gut feeling, every year there are certain players that stand out from the rest. They will be drafted, and they will be drafted high… They just won’t be drafted by me.

So read on, and let me know if you agree. Do you have any players that you flat out don't want on your team? Tell me why. Let's get some conversations gone. I'm not doing this for my health, you know.

Figuring Out Your Fantasy Football Draft Order

Fantasy Football Draft Strategy – Where to Pick Each Position

The question that I seem to get asked the most about the fantasy football draft is the most complex one to answer:

“In what order should I draft?”

“When do I get my running backs, when do I get my receivers?”

“Help me with my fantasy football draft order!”

It’s not an easy answer. There are many schools of thought, and each year it seems to be getting more and more difficult. Two years ago, I’d have slapped you for taking a tight end any higher than the fifth round. And now we have these two guys, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, who are both making solid cases for being picked up in the early second.

So, I guess my first and easiest response to this question would have to be “Pre-Plan.” Make your list, try a couple of mock drafts (available on any fantasy football site, ESPN’s are generally very good), star your sleepers and any players that you really want.

(This is pretty in-depth… for a “Long Story, Short” version, scroll to the bottom)

Personally, I have completed this step. I know my “must-haves”, I’ve run my mocks, I’ve made my list. And this is what I’ve come up with. Here is a position-by-position breakdown of my perfect draft order strategy.

2012 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

At this point, you all know that you can click on the list to the right and see a detailed list of all my player rankings. And you can click on the link above to get to the ever-popular Fantasy Football Team Names.

But, here is a condensed version for you. A printer-friendly version. The top players at each position, updated based on the preseason games. 

More updates will come throughout the preseason, and of course, weekly once the season starts. 

For a more detailed description of why each player is ranked where they are ranked, and for a longer list at each position, click on the individual position lists to the right. 

Enjoy!

The Ten Worst Fantasy Football Draft Mistakes

Week 1 of the preseason is finished, which means that we are likely just a few weeks away from your fantasy football draft. About time for you to start looking at draft boards, running a couple mock drafts, coming up with your team names, of course.

But with all the time and energy placed on creating your rankings and figuring out your players, you might overlook digging a bit further into your fantasy football draft strategy. Because, really, what is the point of doing all the research if you don’t know how to use it.

Take a look at the top 10 fantasy football draft mistakes that you need to avoid this year to take the first step in winning your fantasy league.

2012 Fantasy Football Strategy: Shift of Bye Week Perspective

I would like you to think about this for one second. Which scenario would you rather have:

1)  Have your fantasy football team operate at 100% for 10 games, but only 80% for six games.

2)   Or have your fantasy team operate at 100% for 15 games, but only 50% for one week.

Personally, I’ll take option number two.

However, when you really look at your fantasy football schedule, you are constantly ending up with option number one. The reason is player bye weeks.

Bye weeks this season last from Week 4 to Week 11. Four NFL teams have bye week each week except for Week 4 (only two teams) and Week 7 (six teams). So, throughout these weeks, your team is not performing on the highest level because one or more of your starters are on their bye week.

But, there is a strategy to achieve option number two. A sort of loophole that only some nerdy fantasy sports blog writer could point out. What if… rather than drafting your players to have alternating bye weeks, you instead intentionally drafted so that all of your starters shared the exact same bye week.

Doing this would enable you to play at complete full strength for 16 of the 17 weeks. Compare that to the 9-12 weeks that every other fantasy team in your league is at 100% full strength. Sounds pretty nice, yes?