2011 Pre-Season Draft Guide Introduction

by: Michael Nazarek

 

Welcome to the 15th annual Fantasy Football Mastermind Pre-Season Draft Guide! Well, what more can be said than… FINALLY, FOOTBALL IS BACK! We will have an NFL season and a draft guide! Due to the lockout and the delayed start of the NFL year, the first cut of this guide has less meat in it. Why? Free agency is in full swing and major player moves and trades are being made as we speak. It would be foolish to write many of the normal fantasy analysis pieces we do this time of the year right now. That being said, all normal articles as well as plenty of new ones will be added shortly (at the appropriate time). This first cut represents only the start of a very experienced and rich in fantasy football information content living document. There are nearly 200 pages herein, and it will grow to be perhaps triple in size (last year's final cut was more than 600 pages). With this cut you'll find 9 fantasy articles with at least another 10+ on the way. With the NFL running at blazing speed, it’s important to "keep up", so the first few weeks of this league year will be spent doing that. We ask subscribers to be patient with regard to release of our premium features. I anticipate that by mid-August, the site will be running on all cylinders in a timely manner once again, especially after free agency has died down.

Articles that I will be writing in the coming weeks include updating my fantasy article on the (modified) STUD RB Theory, the annual FFMastermind Draft Plan, as well as penning my COOL and NOT COOL lists of players for 2011 (and a review of last year’s lists). You might not agree with me on all my choices, but they are certainly important food for thought. I also will offer my opinion of the best and worst off-season player moves and trades (from late July and early August) along with my comprehensive fantasy sleeper and creeper features (within two weeks). I'll also be personally handling all the News & Notes Updates (debuting in a few weeks) in the guide along with the Premium Quick Bits News & Views (debuting in a few weeks) posted directly online. After consulting with our staff, I've developed all fantasy player projections within this guide (save IDP). They are offered after DAYS of intense analysis regarding the current state of the NFL and all 32 teams researched individually. Anytime there is a major development with regard to flucuations in player values, there will be an update, even if that takes place in between our normal schedule of updates. FFMastermind.com remains dedicated towards being the most up-to-date fantasy football information service this summer, and we'll prove that to you in this guide over the long haul.

Senior fantasy writer John Holler has penned 4 of the initial 9 articles herein, as well as helped me extensively with the player profiles within the guide. You'll notice that there have already been notes added to some of the player profiles for players whom have been traded or signed with a fresh team. Those types of updates will continue through August. Holler has also retaken charge of our Rookie content within this guide and our web site. In addition to his initial preview, he will offer at least TWO rookie updates over the coming weeks as rookie gain their footholds within their respective teams in the NFL.

Exclusive Staff Writer Tony Ambrosini returns to contribute to this guide in his 5th season with us. Tony covers the following topics… Third-Year Breakout WRs, Strategies for Quarterback-Weighted Leagues, Return Specialists, Strength of Schedule for 2011 (coming soon), and the 2011 Masters Trading Edge feature (coming soon). Tony will also pen a few additional articles later this summer.

Indianapolis Colts correspondent and staff writer Chris Rito takes another in-depth look at RBBC (Running Back by Committee – coming soon). The majority of the teams in the league have issues at the tailback position, and Chris will touch on all 32 teams this summer. Chris also wrote the Tayloring Drafting Strategies (for different scoring systems) and Trading Tricks articles in this document. Chris will also pen our top back-up QB player rankings feature for your viewing pleasure later this summer.

Exclusive Staff Writer Eddie Rex is expected to return to contribute his take on the lighter side of fantasy football’s most controversial topics. Eddie is always informative in an off-beat sort of way…

Keeper Korner columnist Brent Lathrop offers his Dynasty League cheatsheet and player analysis as well as an upcoming look at certain players in his Keeper Korner Spotlights (to be released later this summer). Brent will also pen another Dynasty League Drafting Strategy article for the guide.

Exclusive staff writer (and Kansas City Chiefs correspondent) John Cooney returns in our guide in August with articles on Fantasy Handcuffs, Pass-Catching RBs, Fantasy Specialty Rankings and Offensive Lines Analysis.

Our famous Masters List Customizable Cheatsheets MS Excel App. returns in 2011. We have released versions for both normal performance scoring leagues and those with PPR (Point-Per-Reception). It contains all FFMastermind.com player projections (incuding team defense and IDP projections). Input your scoring rules, click the re-order button, and BOOM… Custom Fantasy Cheatsheets! Every time there is a player rankings update, we'll update the projections within the Masters List.

Don’t want to download anything to customize your rankings? That’s where our Mastermind Championship Projections (MCP) Board comes into play. This board returns in 2011 and is fully customizable and contains detailed projections and comments for more than 430 NFL players! You can print the board with or without comments and it is already customized for most of the popular scoring systems played online including Yahoo Sports!, ESPN, and CBS Sportsline! This board will be updated countless times when important news breaks throughout the summer.

We have plenty more surprises in store for the rest of the summer, all will be released in good time. This is a marathon (albeit with a crazy start due to the lockout), not a sprint, and we want to give subscribers plenty of time to read all herein as we get rolling with training camps opening.

I heartily thank each and every writer who contributed to this guide. It's the heart and soul of FFMastermind.com, and they should all be proud. As a reminder, this year’s primary premium mock draft will be posted on our FFMastermind.com Forums in mid-August for easy viewing convenience. We'll also post links to other staff-involved mock drafts and real expert leagues drafts FFMastermind.com is participating as they occur this summer.

As you read this guide, please keep in mind it is a "living" document. That means it will constantly be changing through the first week or two in September. Player rankings will change (a lot). Sleepers may become creepers, and vice versa. If you purchased one of the few fantasy magazines, you can put those away right now. They are out-of-date and have content BEFORE the end of the lockout and free agency. We have worked long and hard to try to give you the most comprehensive, current, and accurate fantasy football guide on the market. If you have a question, please don’t hesitate to ask me (miken@ffmastermind.com). I will do my best to answer it in a prompt manner. What we present to you in this living and growing guide is our in-depth analysis of the current situation with regard to fantasy potential of current NFL players. Experience and intuition are what guides us, pure and simple. Enjoy.

Sincerely,
- Michael Nazarek
CEO/President of Fantasy Football Mastermind Inc.