Word to the Winners: Fantasy Football Advice

Where Do We Go From Here? -- By Russ Bliss

Another fantasy football season is over and the NFL playoffs are winding down. It's just a matter of time that the NFL, like all fantasy football leagues, have crowned a champion for this season. It is usully this time of year when many fantasy football players suffer a let-down as they have to wait for another season to start. But astute fantasy football players know that there is work to be done in the off-season as well.

For instance, only a month after Super Bowl XL is over it will be the first round for NFL free agency. All players who are either not under contract, or are being overpaid in the opinion of their respective team's will begin looking for new homes. Fantasy football starters like Shaun Alexander, Edgerrin James, Reggie Wayne, Ahman Green, and a host of others will either be looking for new teams to call home next season, or will be re-signed by their current teams. Where they eventually end up has major implications on their value as fantasy football starters. Can Alexander or James thrive in offenses that don't have top tier offensive lines? Can Wayne be another team's #1 wide receiver or is he another example of a guy who flourishes as the #2 on a team with a dominant starting wide receiver opposite him (in his case, Marvin Harrison), but when placed in a position to be "the man", he falls short of expectations (ala Peerless Price)? If Green goes to a power running team, will he be able to withstand the pounding? In his prime, Green's game was a combination of slasher style running and catching the ball out of the backfield.

Many questions, and no answers coming til we get to the NFL free agent bonanza that begins in March.

But the smart fantasy football player isn't just paying attention to NFL free agency, he's also gearing up for the NFL Draft in April. Fantasy football players will be looking to see which players get drafted by which teams and what that means for the new fantasy football season. The NFL Draft is even more important for those who play in Dynasty Leagues or Keeper Leagues. Usually, in these types of leagues, you get to keep a player for a number of years if you draft him. Some players taken in the NFL Draft will yield immediate dividends as fantasy football starters, while others may take a couple of years before paying off. Fantasy football analysis of every player is key to knowing who to take in every different style of fantasy football leagues. Fantasy football players will anxiously await word on which team NFL rookies like Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, Vince Young, LenDale White, and many others will end up with. Will either of the rookie quarterbacks go to a team where they'll likely get a chance to compete for a starting job right away? Or will they step into a situation where they will hold a clipboard and learn from the sidelines? Will any of the rookie running backs go to a team where they are likely to instantly become the feature running back? Or will they end up in places where they will likely play on a rotational basis? These are important questions to fantasy football fanatics.

And just like with the NFL free agent period, the NFL Draft questions are many, and won't be answered until it happens.

When these things do happen, there's one thing you can count on: myself, and the staff at FantasyFootballStarters.com will be doing a complete NFL Draft analysis, NFL free agent analysis, and the subsequent fantasy football analysis of these players. We will let you know if there are any fantasy football impact rookies, or how a free agent will impact the fantasy football landscape if they land with another team.

For those who take it seriously, fantasy football is a year-round game. Just because we don't have a head to head matchup until next September doesn't mean we're not still playing...

Russ Bliss — fantasy football expert and radio host of "The Red Zone with Russ Bliss" on KDUS-AM — went head-to-head with the Line-Up Analyzer last year, and still wishes he had worn a helmet. Russ was so impressed with our predictive analysis engine, he joined the team at FantasyFootballStarters.com. Read more of Russ' article on our Word to the Winners homepage.

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