Short for "Organized Team Activities", this term has brought enthusiasm back to fantasy football fanatics everywhere as many teams are going through some sort of OTA right now.
But before we give into our enthusiasm for hearing about players putting on pads and reading about practice reports, it needs to be noted that there are things to pay attention to, and things to not pay attention to in regards to OTA's.
Many veteran players (especially either older vets or elite players) either do not take part or take part in a limited fashion in OTA's. Therefore, don't be concerned if you hear about a guy like Peyton Manning only throwing some footballs "on the side". Vets like Manning usually only do stuff like that. They'll be fine once training camp starts.
Don't fret when you see that a guy is limited because of an injury you knew nothing about. For example, Frank Gore is "limited" in the 49ers current OTA because of a shoulder injury. The injury didn't prevent from playing at the end of last season, but was something he played through. The team is just being cautious with him because they don't want a minor injury to become a recurring problem throughout the off-season because they pushed him too hard in OTA's. Gore should be fine and ready to compete for the starting job by training camp. This is common across the board for all teams as there's no reason to risk serious injury to players who are expected to be a big part of their team during the regular season.
Now, there are some injuries you do need to pay attention to. For example, all the reports on Chad Pennington say he's doing great in his recovery from the shoulder injury that prevented him from playing in the last 13 games for the Jets in 2005. But Pennington missed a significant portion of the season with this injury and has had injury problems in the past. Pennington isn't likely to be a fantasy football starter in any leagues this season, but as a backup with upside, you'll want to scrutinize his off-season recovery closely and what he's doing in these OTA's gives you an idea of whether he'll be fully recoevered and ready for training camp.
Another thing to avoid is getting caught up in all the hype of unknown players doing great things in these OTA's. 90% of the time, these players you've never heard of who are tearing it up and really impressing the coaching staff don't amount to squat in fantasy football leagues. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, these players disappear from the fantasy football landscape once the regular season begins.
With that said, these unknown players are worth taking note of and stashing them into a "sleeper" category for paying greater attention to once training camp begins and throughout the preseason. These are the types of guys you take late in your fantasy football drafts who turn out to be steals for your fantasy football teams. But know that most of them are more likely then not to have little value. By "screening" them and the situations they're in you can more readily identify which ones have the greater chance to be that surprise player who gives you much more than anyone else in your league thought you'd get.
Bottom line, the OTA's are helpful if you know what to look for. But unless a serious injury occurs during them, don't be pre-judging the regular starters. There's still a lot of time before things get really interesting for fantasy football fanatics.
