The 2009 10 Demandments

by: God (as told to his humble servant John Holler)

Editor's Note: Below you will find FIVE of the TEN Fantasy Demandments for 2009.  If you'd like to read all ten, please click HERE to order our 2009 Pre-Season Draft Guide.

“In the beginning, he that is God created fantasy football. He looked and said it was good.” Genesis 17:52

In the world of fantasy football, often what separates good teams from great teams is there attention to detail. Faith without works, the Big Man has been known to say, is dead. To get into the kingdom, one needs to commit to his Sunday teachings. As a result, the Lord has, for the 11th straight year, passed down his list of 10 Demandments for fantasy owners to follow. Strict adherence to these laws of the Game of Fantasy greatly enchances one’s chances of finding a spot in the pantheon of greatness and entrance into the kingdom. While mid-season confessions may result in penance of some form, it is understood that adherence to all the demandments is not automatic. However, faith is it's own reward. Amen.

The First Demandment

Thou Shalt Think Like the Pharoah – In many ways, fantasy owners need to think like a head coach. To win a league championship, the first thing that needs to be achieved is winning your division. While most leagues have playoffs that include non-division winners, the first goal is to win your division. As such, special attention needs to be paid to the other teams in your league. It typically doesn’t take more than three or four picks to have an insight as to who your top competition will be among the teams in your division. Keeping track of their rosters on draft day is almost as important as charting your own. If you get six rounds into the draft and one or two or your division rivals is short on wide receivers, you could have the double-benefit of adding another wideout to your stable while dwindling the talent pool for the teams you will compete against all year. If they have three key players with a bye in Week 6 and you can add a talented player with a gravy matchup that week (like whoever is playing Detroit or St. Louis), that could be enough to put that player over the top at that stage of the draft.

Thou Shalt Not Bow Down to the Field General – This is a demandment that doesn’t change much from year to year, but bears reminding. For years, Peyton Manning went in the first round of many if not most fantasy drafts. Last year, he was replaced by Tom Brady. Under no circumstances should that player be you. A quarterback can be ignored for four or five rounds and then an owner can do a QB double-shot and still end up with a solid tandem. I waited until the sixth round in both my leagues last year and ended up with Kurt Warner in both and paired him up with Donovan McNabb in one league and Philip Rivers in the other. The Lord was pleased. While owners who had Brady in 2007 likely propelled themselves to league championships, it should be kept in mind that he wasn’t the first quarterback taken that year and most owners who had him got him in the third round or later. If you commit to a QB in the first round, you are almost hamstrung to take the best available RB on the second round. By that time, there are likely a dozen or more RBs gone and you will miss out on the wide receiver run that will take place in the second and third rounds. It’s a recipe for disaster that you should avoid at all costs.

Thou Shalt Not Listen to False Prophets – It happens every year in fantasy drafts at different times. It is when a run on a position goes fast and furious. With running backs, there is invariably such a run in the first round. For wide receivers, it starts somewhere in the second round. For quarterbacks, it is in the third and fourth rounds. A second run on running backs begins after that, followed by tight ends (if mandatory) and a mid- to late-round dash on defenses. Knowing that these runs are coming can be valuable for the owner who is ahead of the curve. For example, if picking somewhere in the middle to back of the third round, knowing that QBs are going to be flying off the board in the long space between your picks as the draft snakes away from you, being on the front end of the position runs can be a killer. You take a QB on the turn in the fourth round, make a comment like you can’t believe he was still on the board and watch as the owners jump on QBs like lemmings running off the polar ice cap to their death. Being able to sense and predict when the runs will start serves the dual purpose of getting a player you want as well as having the 16 picks before you’re on the clock again include as many QBs as possible to keep talent at other positions on the board and waiting for you.

Thou Shalt Observe the Sabbath and Keep It Holy – It never ceases to amaze me that fantasy owners will consistently put themselves in a box by having too many of their top picks sharing a bye week. This is one of the simplest demandments and one that is the least understood. Regardless of your fantasy acumen, any owner needs as many wins as possible during the season, whether it’s to make the playoffs, win a division title or cripple another team. There is no excuse for being care unaware of bye weeks (this is part of the “Vengeful God” mode). It’s very simple to do and, depending on your draft position, could be used as a valuable tool in your draft arsenal. Say you pick ninth or 10th in a 12-team league. If you go the extra mile on draft day (what else do you have to do?), if you keep track of the players between your picks (two or three owners under this scenario) and keep track of their players and bye weeks as well. Say, for example, you’re looking for a quarterback in the later rounds to be your backup. Of the other three owners, two of them are already set at QB and the other has taken a QB that would share a bye week with the player highest on your list. You can rest assured that the player you want will make it back around to you without burning a pick on the odd-round of the serpentine draft and address another need while still getting the player you would have taken if not for the knowledge of the bye week for the one guy who could screw up your plan. It doesn’t take much effort, but could reap big dividends if the draft falls right.

Thou Shalt Look to the Heavens – One of the biggest regrets of fantasy owners who lose during the playoffs after running away with the regular season records and points scored is that too many of their key players have to play games in brutal December weather, whether it be the potential for snow in the north and northeast or severe thunderstorms and wind in Florida. While these aren’t necessarily pressing draft-day considerations as to whether or not to draft someone with weather in mind, it is something to consider on draft day. While it likely won’t get anyone to not select Adrian Peterson with the first pick, knowing that he plays Week 16 – the championship game for most fantasy leagues – at Soldier Field Dec. 28 at night, it could alter how some would view other Vikings if they were convinced they had a team to win a championship. In love with Maurice Jones-Drew? If you expect him to win a title for you know that in Week 16, he will be at New England. This is a demandment that remains fluid and ongoing as the season progress, but it something that should be monitored periodically to do the long-range planning you need to win a title. Armed with the ability to see who will have the most favorable matchups both against opponents and those that won’t be exposed to the elements when your entire season depends can be the types of managerial decisions that win championships. Fans of the Colts will like knowing they have two home games and a road game at Jacksonville during the fantasy playoffs or that fans of Carolina will have to be concerned about road trips to play the Patriots and the Giants in the heart of December.

While these Demandments don’t guarantee a championship will come your way, they do provide you with a foundation to build a good team on draft day and, with a few tweaks here and there, a team that will be the envy of your league. In the end, if you go up against a team in the playoffs in which all the cards fall in favor of your opponent, the work to get there will seemingly be for naught. But, if you follow these simple rules, the odds of you getting into the run for the championship will be greatly enhanced and more than likely will come true for you. Go forth, be fruitful and may the forces of the Wildcat be with you the rest of your days.

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