IDPs and More Week 4 Thoughts

Looks like I might have a chance to get some IDP info to you all before I head out on vacation for a long weekend. I've also included a few additional start or sit sites in case you need some lineup advice this week.

• CBS Sports' Witness for the Defense: Week 4
• FFToday's IDP Notes: Week 4
• The Hive isn't up yet - scroll down the main page of FantasySharks.com to find the link
• FFToolbox's Week 4: IDP Starters - I challenge FFToolbox to find a few more IDPs that are a bit off the radar. Most of these guys are the usual studs and I like to get info on the less obvious picks, too.

Some start and sit sites that I haven't posted yet are listed below:

• NFL.com's Start 'em Sit 'em: Week 4 - Donald Driver is Fabiano's Start of the Week. Nice.
• Coachbox.com's Start/Bench Recommendations - includes IDPs; bonus!
• FanProphet's "The Gospel" Week 4 Running Backs
• FootballDocs.com's Week 4 Bench/Start

I'll be back online and ready to answer any questions for the MNF game this week. Good luck this weekend!

Week 4 Advice

Welcome to the first bye week of the season. I presume many of you are here for some bye week assistance and advice on who could be a nice plug-in from the waiver wire. I've posted some of the early waiver wire suggestions on both Monday and Tuesday of this week, but there are just so many out there - so read on for more waiver and start or sit sites:

• Mr. Fantasy's Week 4 Rankings for RBs (or click here for the QBs, WRs, TEs, Kickers, or Defenses)
• FFToolbox's Who To Start Week 4
• CBS Sports' Playing the Waiver Wire: Adding Insult to Injury
• FantasySharks.com's Start/Bench List Week 4
• A little video action from the NFL.com's Michael Fabiano in Week 4: Fantasy Roster Trends
  
• Junkyard Jake's Sleepers and Creepers for Week 4

I'll have more tomorrow but then am off to the east coast on Friday morning for a wedding this weekend. Not sure I'll be able to get my normal IDP post and last minute lineup decisions up for you guys but you can always check out my posts from previous weeks and find the Week 4 info on those sites. Now I am all for weddings and such - and am certainly excited to be going to this one - but just not during football season.

Updated Stats & Waiver Wire News

In looking for some information on current cheat sheets for a late drafter, I came across two sites that I thought were particularly interesting. But then again I really like the numbers side of fantasy football, so if you're more of a commentary person and not a stats person, maybe scroll down a bit to my links on waiver wire pickups for Week 4.

• SI's League Leaders thus far by position - can be divided up by NFC vs AFC. Who would've thought that LaMont Jordan and Jamal Lewis would be the #2 and #3 RBs? I know it's early yet, but still...
• AccuScore - when a human brain just isn't enough, turn to the computers of AccuScore. They've got forecasted player rankings that you can manipulate to view a specific week's projections or the season-long forecast. Their uber-high ranking of the Green Bay D/ST is making me rethink my San Diego D/ST draft choice...

Last night I was on the bus home from work with my husband when he casually mentioned something about Steven Jackson being out for an injury. I realized it had been hours since I'd last checked any NFL news or injury reports and this was news to me. I suggested that perhaps he had read about Darrell Jackson, not Steven Jackson, but he was fairly certain it was the Rams RB. I eyed his laptop wondering if I could power it up and get a wireless signal cruising through the streets of Boulder (if you know Boulder, you know this is actually highly probable) to claim Brian Leonard off the wire...but decided to chance it until we got home. In one league, I did get him, in another he was taken during the draft, and in a 3rd league someone else got to him first. In the 4th league, I have to wait until waivers go through on Wednesday morning. But I started wondering if 1) I'm completely insane, as demonstrated by my Brian Leonard laser-like focus and 2) if the St. Louis o-line is strong enough to even warrant a Leonard pick-up. So we shall see what happens. In the meantime, some waiver advice from the pros:

• The Sports Outlaw's Weekly Waiver Wire Week 4 - includes IDPs as well as the usual suspects.
  
• FFToolbox's Week 4: Pickups of the Week - the call for Griese is back on this week, my friends.
• Fanball's Christian Peterson's blog - read Week 3 Ramblings to be caught up on the fantasy happenings of Week 3. I'm amused by this guy and his sense of humor.
  

More waiver wire and start and sit suggestions to come later this week!

Fantasy Football en Espanol!

Hola FF fans. Are you wondering where you can find all the fantasy info you need en Espanol? Thought so. Latin Fantasy Football has it all - or so I think, considering it has been about 9 years since my last Spanish class...but it looks like there are weekly projections for games and fantasy players. Plus, a sweet sleeper section called "Fuera del Radar" and ¨Decepciones¨- you need to register to read the articles, but it's free and I personally love the idea of reading up on fantasy football in another language. Anyone know of other sites out there that talk fantasy football in non-English?

Enjoy!

Monday Recap

Wow. I don't really know how to sum up my fantasy weekend except to say it was either feast or famine for me. I had Marc Bulger, Javon Walker, and Rudi Johnson together in one league - they totaled for less than 5 fantasy points. I sat on my couch in a bit of a stupor, unclear how this catastrophe could have happened (funny, I felt the same way while watching Northwestern get demolished by OSU). But in another league, McNabb, Donald Driver, and Adrian Peterson really gave me some pretty big numbers. I would also like to publicly announce that I convinced my husband to start Kevin Curtis yesterday. It was awesome. If you don't have your very own FF Librarian to sit next to you on game day, no problem - just keep checking back with the blog for daily updates on all things fantasy football. So to start the week off, below you will find some handy links to early waiver thoughts as well as some general Week 3 recaps.

• Bruno Boys' Work the Wire, the Waiver Wire: Week 4 - will Earnest Graham be taking over for Cadillac? Or Kenny Watson for Rudi Johnson? Don't bet on either one, but read on for details...
  
• SI's Fantasy File for Week 3 includes notes on the most consistent WRs, strong starter RBs, and injury updates.
• ProFantasySports.com's Box Score Bandit has a quick recap for each of yesterday's games.
• Fantasy Football Goat's Waiver Wire and Sleeper Watch Week 4 - while I still have Marques Colston left to play, I have lost pitifully to the Goat this week in our Blogger league. Thanks for not rubbing it in yet, FFGoat. In the meantime, read up on his waiver and sleeper suggestions, since he clearly knows what he's doing.
  

Final Decisions for Week 3

Now's the time to get your final decisions made for Week 3 - take a look at the articles listed below in case you have last minute questions about whether or not Westbrook, Cotchery, Plax, or any other numbers of players will defy their questionable status and start this week - and of course, play well to boot.

• Rotoworld's Last Minute Decisions Week 3 - note that the Philly paper and the Eagles' site both say Westbrook will be starting this week. Rest easy, my friends.
• Try the quality injury report for week 3 from NFL.com; or check out their Start 'em Sit 'em column. And remember, if you want more start and site sites, check out my previous posts for more links.
• SI will be posting their weekly Sunday Morning Med Check article tomorrow morning, so give it a look before finalizing your lineups. Or puruse their Injury Report (posted 9/20) or their Surprise Starters: Week 3 article for some thoughts on sleepers from this weekend's big matchups in case you still have some holes in your lineup.

Good luck this weekend!

Mr. Fantasy

I think I have a new favorite site for rankings/ratings - Mr. Fantasy. I'm including a link here to the RB ratings for Week 3, but you can access the others position ratings all on the left side of the site. They are insightful, clearly well thought out and not just in support of the flavor of the week or season - all in all, very well done. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a guy named Mr. Fantasy has provided such a great free resource; I'm just surprised I haven't found his site before. Mr. Fantasy is actually Dave Del Grande, a sports columnist with The Oakland Tribune who quite honestly has been playing fantasy sports since 1977, before I was even born. I'd like to think that that qualifies him as an expert.

So enjoy the ratings from Mr. Fantasy and hopefully they'll give you a little more to think about when making your start or sit decisions this weekend.

IDP Forecast: Week 3

First, a question for all of you. I'm considering starting Thomas Jones (vs Miami) over Frank Gore (vs Steelers) this week. I am fundamentally opposed to sitting Frank Gore but sometimes you've gotta listen to the tiny voice in your head that is reminding you of the awesome Pittsburgh run defense and the not-so-awesome Miami run defense. I mean according to the revered Football Outsiders, Miami ranks #27 in rush defense while the Steelers are #4. Uh, problems for Gore? Thoughts?

Next, if you feel you really need to get involved in another fantasy league, don't worry it's not too late. Check out the Blogger Fantasy Football Battle where you get to draft a new team every week (a bonus for those of you disheartened by your draft day choices). See the site for more details on how to get involved.

Now, onto IDPs:

1. CBS Sports' Witness for the Defense: Week 3 - a nice little feature that I like? Their "Best Sack Matchups" with Carolina vs. Atlanta leading the top 5 list.
   
2. FFToday's IDP Notes: Week 3 - yeah, I was one of those suckers that picked up Mario Williams thinking, this is his year. IDP Notes has a reminder for me that perhaps consistency should be shown before I start rearranging my lineup.
3. Fantasy Sharks' The Hive - I'm now inspired to find out of Ruud is available in my leagues...a man with two vowels side-by-side in his name, I like that.
4. FFToolbox's Week 3: IDP Starters - please Julius Peppers, get your sack action going against Harrington. And I also like to second their support of Napoleon Harris, a fellow Northwestern alum.
   

That talk of Northwestern brings me to perhaps the most important topic of today - how Northwestern plans to dominate Ohio State this Saturday. I think everyone has a team nemesis and mine is Ohio State (no offense to you OSU fans, but you must understand, right?). There is really no game for me like the Northwestern/Ohio State game...especially when I think back to gems like the October 2, 2004 game when the Wildcats knocked off the #7 Buckeyes in OT. It appears to be on ESPN so for those of you with nothing else to do tomorrow or no real rooting interest, I encourage you to throw your support behind the scrappy Wildcats. Who doesn't love the perennial underdog?

More Week 3 Advice

We're just three days away from the Week 3 action. There of course have been more start and sit suggestions and waiver wire tidbits that have gone up over the past 2 days. For the first batch of suggestions, see my post from Tuesday.

• Fantasy Football Goat's Fantasy Football Start 'em Sit 'em for Week 3...oh the Goat. I play this fantasy football genius this week in our Blogger league and am unhappy to see he's told me to sit Maroney - Maroney is precisely the manimal with which I plan on beating him. So come on Maroney, prove your worth against Buffalo!
• PigskinAddiction's weekly Start/Bench
• DR U Fantasy GURU's 2007 NFL Start 'em or Bench 'em
• CBS Sports' Week 3 Start 'em and Sit 'em - read on to see why Hasselbeck is their start of the week
• Fantasy Sharks' Player Projections - Week 3 - this puppy includes not just stat projections but an ever so brief synopsis for those of us who are too busy to read more than a sentence or two.
• FFToolbox's Who to Start Week 3

Want some rankings? Try SportingNews' Week 3 Rankings...it's early yet but Vernon Davis seems to be veering far, far away from the sleeper I'd hoped he would be - and Sporting News confirms this. If that ranking doesn't do it for you, check out KFFL for RB, QB, WR and TE rankings - they have Clinton Portis ranked as the #3 RB this weekend.

How to pick your kick

A kicker strategy question that came across my chat last night...

1. I'm trying to figure out the best way to screen for a kicker in week 3. Do I go for kickers going up against good Defenses assuming more field goals and less touchdowns?

Ahh, yes the kicker question for those wise enough not to draft a kicker in Round 7 (yes, happened in one of my leagues), and now looking for some kicker advice. I think that first, I would look at the kicker's own team and make sure that they are a strong enough offense to hang onto the ball and move it down the field a bit. For example, the Saints offense just isn't getting it done yet, making Mare a way less attractive kicker than he was during the preseason. Once you've got the offense covered, I'm not sure I'd gun for a kicker playing against Chicago or Baltimore just because of their defense, since there's so much volatility and uncertainty. I mean, look at David Akers last week connecting on 4 field goals...would you have looked at the Redskins D and thought, "sweet, Akers is kicking field goals alllllll night long" - probably not. Here's a link to kicker projections for week 3 from FF Toolbox - and ProFantasySports has a surprisingly helpful kicker cheat sheet up now, too. Or try Bruno Boys' Week 3 Rankings for Kickers. Hope those help and if you want more kicker rankings or projections for the week, let me know.

Need Fantasy Advice?

This post will include some of the Wednesday start and sit suggestions as well as some waiver picks...but first, I wanted to give you all a heads up on a few different ways that you can get the fantasy football advice you need:

1. TJI (This Just In) is offering up a personalized analysis of your team and who exactly you should sit and start, add, drop or trade this week. As long as you get your questions in by Saturday at 11 am, TJI's got you covered.
   
2. Myfantasylineup.com lets you posted your questions and others from across the globe will answer - if you're wondering what sort of questions have been asked, click on the link to browse the questions from weeks 1 or 2. You do need to register with them to post or answer a question but it could be well worth it.
   
3. Your friendly FF Librarian. Look to the right and you should see my new online chat feature. If I could be online all day long to chat about football, I would be...but that shouldn't stop you from asking questions. So chat away or send me an e-mail using the Contact Me link below. I'm happy to give you my opinion or provide you with some expert resources.
   

Many of you have noted an interest in stat projections for the upcoming week. Try FFToolbox's Week 3 Cheat Sheet/Ranking by position with projected fantasy points. As a Maroney owner, it gives me a little bit of assurance to see 15+ fantasy points projected for him this week. Granted it's just one projection, but I'm grasping at straws here...

Lots of love for TJI in this post...for some advice on who to pick up this week, check out his Free Agent Frenzy: Wynn Some, Lose Some post. I like the way TJI points out who could be a nice choice for this week, next week, and further down the line.

And how about NFL.com's Michael Fabiano's Week 3: Fantasy waiver wire...note, this is a short video, not a column. This is making me think you're just not cool and 21st century if you don't have videos or podcasts. For more Fabiano, check out Now's the time to buy low and sell high for his thoughts on who might make for good trade material - and a more in-depth list of waiver wire picks than his video segment provides.

Week 3: Start & Sit and Waiver Suggestions

It's Tuesday. The saddest day of the NFL week; football couldn't be farther away than it is right now. But don't worry, I've got you covered. There's all sorts of fantasy advice out there, so let's have it.

• Andre Johnson. Knee. Those three words combined have brought a shiver of horror to every AJ owner. You have my sympathy. Check out the Pancake Blocks blog for the latest update on AJ's knee - and why you, too, should run out and grab Owen Daniels from the waiver wire.
  
• KFFL's Free Agents to Target: Week 3 - man, as evidenced here, the RB options out there are just rough. I hope you all have decent RBs already...but a thought for those who don't: Kevin Jones. If he's available in your league and you're willing to hang onto him for a few weeks as he gets back into the game, think about picking him up. He has burned me before so many times that it's kind of humorous that I'm advising picking him up, but if you don't mind the risk, then go get him.
  
• Check out FFToday's MFL Power Waiver Wire - MFL stands for MyFantasyLeague.com but this listing is relevant for any fantasy player. Click on a player's name and you get details for every season they've played as well as a depth chart of their position. Cool stuff.
• FantasyTailgate.com's short and sweet list of Players of Interest
• FootballDocs' Pick Up/Drop Advice
• Fantasy Sharks' Week 3 Waiver Wire Pickups - includes a dynasty only listing as well.
  

Fantasy football - it's about more than just the individual

I read Dave Zirin's 9/16 commentary from the LA Times, The fantasy that's ruining football, and could not disagree more with some of the uninformed statements he made in the opinion piece. At one point, Zirin states, "Fantasy football worships at the altar of individual achievement, an unholy distortion of what football is all about" - this man clearly has never made a single fantasy football decision in his life. You don't decide to start a WR until you consider the health and skill of his QB; you don't draft a RB in the early rounds that has a porous offensive line; and you certainly take into account a team's matchup and what kind of defense you'll be facing before making your decision on QB for the week. The choices you face in who to start and who to sit each week revolve around the team as a unit; there's a reason I am loathe to starting someone from the ATL this year.

The second erroneous statement from Zirin came here: "There is no fantasy metric for an individual defender like Sanders." Wrong again. Heard of an IDP league? Leagues can either be comprised entirely of individual defenders or IDPs can be drafted as the defensive element of your fantasy team. Honestly, this is the one place where I think individual achievement is stressed more than playing as a team - an IDP can be the one bright spot on an otherwise ugly defense and yet you're rewarded handsomely for his fluke INT returned for a TD. Personally, my favorite kind of fantasy defense arrangement would be to have a team D/ST and then a handful of IDPs to achieve that team/individual balance.

Finally, Zirin suggests that "the numbers act as a moat between fantasy owner and the actuality of the game" and that fantasy leads to disengagement from the game and the players. Zirin, ever been to Yardbarker? And perhaps seen the blogs from a variety of professional athletes? I'd hardly call that disengagement.

I do agree with Zirin that fantasy football has changed the way that many of us view pro football. There are certainly more people watching the NFL every weekend now that they have a stake in the outcome via fantasy (and the NFL is eating it up)...but I disagree that it has taken away "true fans" from the sport. I am a bigger Broncos fan now than ever; my buddy Ethan is going to wear his Heath Miller jersey and pull for the Steelers even if he's got the opposing D that week; and the Fantasy Football Goat, who has played fantasy football for 17 years now, is certainly not going to stop his lifelong fandom of the Vikings just because of a one-week matchup.

So to Zirin I say, accept the fact that fantasy football is here; it may change the pro football world in small ways but ultimately will only strengthen the number of true football fans out there. Give it a try, Zirin, you won't go back.

Winding up for Week 3

Happy Monday, fantasy football fans - with just one more game to go tonight, I hope many of you are already staring down a win. First off, I'd like to thank Deion Branch for apparently hearing my cries of dismay last weekend and putting up much, much better numbers yesterday. I'll take 122 yards any day.

A few Broncos items to note - Jason Elam is awesome. I know I've mentioned this before but he has now won two games for the Broncos in back-to-back clutch kicking situations. Elam, you really are #1. And I think I was right to imagine big things for Brandon Stokley - honestly, the Broncos Brandons (the other one being Brandon Marshall) might be some of my favorite sleepers for the year...

Back to fantasy advice. Check out the always early Bruno Boys' Work the Wire, the Waiver Wire - Week 2 edition. I'm in need of a TE and am intrigued by their suggestion of Donald Lee - by the way, Bubba Franks is actually still around in GB?

Try getting caught up on the weekend with SI's Sunday's Best: Week 2 for a review of the studs, duds, and surprises out there.

Check out PAFFL.com's listing of Hot Free Agent/Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 3. Or Fantasy Football Goat's Fantasy Football Waiver Wire and Sleepers Watch Week 2 - the Goat likes to include some less common picks, so give it a look (and this list will be updated after tonight's game if necessary).

All for now - there will be loads of sit and start sites coming up later this week as well as rankings, projections, whatever else you might want. Enjoy the game tonight!

Get your fantasy lineup set - now!

Raise your hand if you care about the Northwestern vs Duke game. Right, I'm only seeing my own hand and that of some sad sap at Duke who is dying to see their losing streak broken. Not gonna happen, jerks (I say with a lot of hesitation and hope). What I find fascinating is that my reaction to Northwestern's game is quite different than the way I approach the NFL/fantasy football. I don't care at all what the lines are for the NU QB or RB - all I want is a notch in the win column for Northwestern. But with the NFL, while I certainly want the Broncos to win, having a big fantasy week is so appealing. But you all understand that feeling, I know.

Anyway, enough Northwestern football. For now. Back to fantasy football. I will be getting up at 5:15 AM tomorrow to cheer my husband on in a half marathon (he's training for the Chicago Marathon, which is in a few weeks) so I'd like to post some last minute fantasy info tonight since I don't know if I'll be back before kickoff tomorrow morning. If the below links don't suffice, then don't forget to check out my earlier post about Start & Sit sites if you want more advice.

• Rotoworld's Last Minute Decisions - injury updates and matchups to keep an eye on for Week 2.
• SI's Surprise Starters: Week 2 - let's hope he's right about Marcus Pollard since I picked him up in my apparent TE roulette role in one league.
• Fantasy Football Cafe's Who to Start & Sit - a nice feature about this is the addition of the risk and reward quotients on a 0 to 10 scale; gives a little something extra to help us make our decisions.
• NFL.com's Start 'em Sit 'em - Jason Elam, one of my favorite players ever (yes, I realize he's a kicker and yes, I still have his jersey) is listed as a kicker to start. So listen up and get Elam on your fantasy lineup.

Now it's time for me to get back to the Northwestern game a la internet radio since the Big Ten Network refuses to be part of Comcast's Sports Tier. Best of luck this weekend to everyone.

IDP Forecast: Week 2

First and foremost, it has been one year as of today since Fantasy Football Librarian went live - happy birthday or anniversary or whatever to the site and thanks to all of you for stopping by; it has been a great year!

What's up IDP lovers? Here's your Week 2 coverage of all things IDP.

We'll start things off with my favorite IDP weekly article, The Hive. Thanks to the good people at Fantasy Sharks, or really just Gary Chamberlain, we can all rest easy knowing that we have all the IDP info we need. But if you'd like a second opinion on anything, try some of the sites listed below:

1. CBS Sports' Witness for the Defense: Week 2 includes this phenomenal quote from beastly Freddy Keiaho: "If I have to play 15 more games with one arm, that's how it will have to be," Keiaho told The Sports Xchange. "I'll just have to learn how to tackle with one arm." I can't believe I let even my own husband pick this guy up before I could get to him in our IDP league.
   
2. FFToday's IDP Notes: Week 2
3. IDPBlitz.com's IDP Studs and Duds
4. Check out PFS for their Week 2 cheat sheets for DBs, DLs, and LBs
   

FF Questions This Week

Since this live chat I'm doing (see the chat box on the right side) isn't foolproof and I might be offline when some of you have questions, I thought I'd post some of the questions that came across while I was gone and get my responses out there. Hope the info isn't coming too late for any of you!

Also, I am working on an IDP post for this afternoon so keep your eyes open for that. And I'll keep updating the Start/Sit and Waiver post that I put up earlier this week.

Questions that have come up this week:

1. When do you bite the bullet and git rid of Terry Glenn? I have Wes Welker and Amani Toomer available as Free Agents?
My response: Honestly, I have already dropped Glenn from my keeper league. Might be premature but if Crayton performs well in his absence, who knows how much action Glenn will see once he's healthy enough to come back. I doubt he'll be rushed back in and at 33, he's not exactly an NFL spring chicken. Not to mention the fact he just had his 2nd knee surgery in 6 weeks. Welker was certainly getting a lot of looks from Brady in Week 1 and I think they'll have a nice little chemistry going. Toomer looked pretty great in Week 1, I thought, so I'd be most excited about him...but that all depends on Eli's status. If Eli is well, I say pick up Toomer in place of Glenn.

2. Derrick Ward or Brandon Jackson?
Okay, I've seen this question 3 times now in the past 36 hours so I'm becoming an expert at answering it. I think all this comes down to is the GB defense vs the Giants defense. I would much rather run against the Giants D, so I say go with Brandon Jackson. Both are relatively untested runners, both could be kind of big question marks. But I say go with BJax and see what happens.

3. I need to start 3 WRs from the following: Marques Colston, Darrell Jackson, Ronald Curry, Vincent Jackson.
Okay, my bias for Denver is going to show here. Sure, Curry had a good week last week but can he really compete against Bly and Champ Bailey? Don't think so. Go with Colston and the Jacksons. All three of them had pretty poor performances this week but I think they'll rebound this week. The iffiest one being Vincent Jackson against the NE D. But I'd rather have Rivers throwing to my WR than McCown (or will it be Culpepper??).

Chat with the FF Librarian

For those of you who are regulars, you might notice something new on the right side of the blog - a live chat feature. It's powered by meebo and works so that anyone, anywhere can anonymously type in a question about fantasy football and get an answer from me about where to find that information.

So how does it work exactly? Say you want to know which start/sit sites I recommend the most or are looking for information on which IDPs to start this week - no problem. Type your question into the chat screen and if I'm online, I'll answer right away. If I'm offline though, I suggest sending your question to me using the Contact Me link below. If you do send me a chat while I'm offline, I'll still get your question but just won't be able to respond if you're no longer online. The technology still has a little ways to go, but I thought this was an excellent start to trying to provide fantasy football fans with yet another way to get their fantasy resources.

I will have definite hours set every week and will post them above the chat screen; but I'm likely to be around at other times, too, so definitely keep your eyes open...and chat away!

Chat FAQ:
How does this work?
meebo is an instant messenger product that works with lots of other chat software (AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber) so that we can chat about fantasy football in real time. You don't need to install anything, you don't even need to identify yourself. If you would like to use your other chat software to reach me, please feel free. Just contact me using my screen-name: fflibrarian.

Can I only ask questions when FF Librarian is online?
Sort of - we can only live chat when I'm online (the chat box will say ff librarian is online). But I welcome questions anytime using the Contact Me link right below the chat window.

What can I ask?
Anything related to fantasy football. If I can't answer your question immediately, I'll direct you to some of the many great football resources.

Will you protect my privacy?
Absolutely. If you choose to use your Yahoo!, MSN, or AIM software, contact my screen-name: fflibrarian. I purge all contacts and do not divulge any email addresses, screen-names or other information to any third party.

Start/Sit and Pickups for Week 2

It's Tuesday morning and there are already some start/sit and waiver wire sites cranking out predictions. I'll be updating this post as the week goes on, some check back for even more start/sit and pickup links.

New start/sit links:

• Pigskin Addiction's Weekly Studs and Duds - Week 2
• The Hazean's Wavier Wire Wednesday: Week 2
• FantasyMojo's Week 2 Overachievers - a list of "off the radar" guys who you might be able to squeeze into your lineup for some solid points this week.
  
• SportingNews.com's Week 2 Rankings - the full rankings lists are not free, but the top ascending and descending players in each position are noted.
• FanProphet's The Gospel Week 2 QBs (keep an eye open on his site for RBs and WRs later this week)
• KFFL's Week 2 Fantasy Rankings: RB (is that Shaun Alexander I see ranked at the top?), QB (for once Peyton is not #1), and WR (2 Colts in the top 3 rankings)
  
• Ah, Jay Cutler - read Fantasy Sharks Start/Bench List - Week 2 to find out why you should be starting him this week.
• FantasyTailgate.com's Starters and Slackers - note that you want to look to the left column for Week 2 info.
  
• If you want something a little different, try posting your lineup question to My Fantasy Lineup - let others vote on your decision to help guide you to the right choice.
  

Early birds:

• The Hazean accurately predicted my Benson demise this past weekend, so how could he be wrong this week? Check out their early Week 2 start/sit suggestions for some advice.
• FFToolbox's Pickups of the Week - 3 whole pages of waiver suggestions. I like that.
• FantasyFootballGoat is in my head. He has two of my waiver wire pick-ups, Marcus Pollard and Antwaan Randle El, on his Fantasy Football Waiver Wire and Sleepers Watch Week 1 article. Note that the Goat also links to the Bruno Boys Waiver Wire article and adds that he'll be updating his own waiver picks to reflect any changes from the MNF games. I'm probably a little biased but I have to say I like the diversity in the Goat's picks - if you read waiver wire advice columns then you're probably sick of reading about Derrick Ward and Michael Pittman, so job well done, Goat.
  
• FFToday's 20/20 Hindsight - Week 1...check out the section at the bottom called Nagging Feelings - Week 2 for some thoughts about potential pickups and developments from Week 1 performances.
• FootballDocs' Pick-up/Drop Advice - lots of the usual suspects on there but it's nice to have a long list like this with plenty of food for thought.
• CBS Sports' Playing The Waiver Wire: Remember This Titan?
  

And on a totally different note, enjoy this amusing interview with Maurice Jones-Drew from Yahoo Sports.

El Yeah

Since I really screwed the pooch in 2 of my 4 leagues (my performance in our football blogger league was downright embarrassing), I was off to troll the waiver wires this morning. For the blogger league, everyone there is um, well, really good. So the waiver wire isn't exactly full of gems...just a lot uncertainties. But I pulled the trigger on Antwaan Randle El this morning. I know some of you are thinking, she's a fool for picking him up after one stellar performance. But I don't think that's the end of Randle El by a long shot. First, this guy has talent - I clearly remember his days as a QB at Indiana (just about the only great weapon Indiana has had in awhile). I'd like to point out that while he was the star QB there he also played varsity baseball and basketball - in fact, he gave up playing with the Cubs to play football at Indiana back in 1997. Talent, talent, talent. Don't believe me? See what the Washington Post has to say about his performance this weekend. And even if you don't care to include the crazy Hail Mary pass at the end of the game, Randle El's numbers were still quite solid.

Second, the Redskins as a whole are showing some promise for the season. The running game got off to a sweet start between Portis and Betts and that's just what Jason Campbell needs. Plus Campbell is showing some good progress and he clearly has some chemistry with Randle El. Granted, I'm a DC native but I see good things for the Skins this season. And at least in my world, good things for the Skins means good things for Randle El.

Third, Randle El could pull an LT on you and throw for a TD. Not saying it's going to happen often but you never know. And I love the possibility there. El yeah (I should fess up to borrowing the "el yeah" from Randle El's official website).

So here's hoping Randle El has an awesome season. More waiver wire info to come soon.

Monday Wrap-up

I have one question - where was Deion Branch? Seriously, where was he? Was he somehow trapped in the locker room all night, unable to make it to the field? Was he even targeted at all? The game wasn't on in Colorado so I'm left wondering how he put up a big fat goose egg. Not that I was expecting an all-star night from him, but something - SOMETHING. Fortunately Tony Romo's massive performance bailed me out in that league (this game was crucial - I'm playing my nemesis). However, there are gaping holes in some of my other leagues and I'm sweating the Monday night games this week.

Another thought - I'm developing some fanlove (intense - almost frightening - interest in a football player for their fantasy promise and/or production) for Brandon Stokley. Is that only because I'm already a Broncos fan, or is that legit? Confirmation that Stokley is going to be a fantasy beast or any other thoughts are welcome.

Now let's turn to the experts to get their opinions on this first weekend of NFL action:

• Rotoworld's Football Daily Dose - either read this every week on Rotoworld or elect to have it e-mailed your way on Monday morning; it's a nice summary of all things football from the weekend and who you should and shouldn't be worried about from a fantasy stance.
• I'll be posting more links to waiver wires on Wednesday, but Bruno Boys already have some of the waiver juice ready for you Work The Wire, The Waiver Wire - Week 1
  
• SI's Sunday Best - Week 1 lays out the fantasy studs, duds and surprises of each game; I'm kind of liking their FanNation site and don't remember it from last year - new addition for 2007?
  
• ProFantasySports.com's Box Score Bandit also provides a quick fantasy overview game-by-game
  

Last Minute Lineups

Good morning and welcome to the first Sunday of fantasy NFL action. Couldn't be more excited. A cold front came through Colorado this morning and it's gray and cold here. Perfect for football, no?

So for those of you who have some last minute choices to make here, never fear. I've got you covered with start/sit sites from an earlier post but here are a few additional articles:

• Rotoworld/Evan Silva's Last Minute Decisions - this is good stuff for the Sunday morning fantasy slacker (or the fantasy guru who just can't get enough). Game-time decisions are analyzed and matchups that you should exploit or avoid are spelled out. What more could you want?
• SI's Sunday Morning Med Check
• FanProphet's The Gospel series for advice on players that are "dead on, overvauled, and way over their heads in trouble" this week.

IDP Forecast

Now I'll be honest here...I'm feeling a bit of a letdown. I was so excited about last night and the start of the season that I neglected to remember I have to wait 2 more days until there is any further NFL action. All I can say is thankfully we have college football.

I will also add that I am playing one of my two fantasy football nemeses in one of my leagues this week (yes, that's you, Will) and he has Drew Brees. While I never really want someone to have an awful, horrid night like Brees had last night, it was a glorious fantasy experience to consistently see his numbers subtract back down to 0. [photo: Sam Riche, The Indianapolis Star]

Anyway, back to fantasy info - that is why you're here. I'm focusing on IDP info in today's post although I will also try and add more links to my Week 1 Start/Sit post, so keep an eye on that if you're interested in more lineup advice.

• CBS Sportsline's Witness for the Defense: Week 1 looks at some potentially stellar IDP performers for this first week.
• FFToday's IDP Notes for Week 1 - this includes both a "quick hits" section if you just want to read a brief summary of IDPs across the league AND a more in-depth look at each team and its IPD news
• FantasySharks.com's The Hive...oh, The Hive. I honestly think it's one of my favorite weekly columns. So give it a look and take in the IDP wisdom it provides.
  
• ProFantasySports.com's Week 1 DB Cheat Sheet - there are in fact quite a few IDP nuggets on PFS, so take a look around.
  

Drumroll please...

When the alarm went off this morning, my husband said "happy NFL kickoff day" to me - he of course knew that I had an extra little kick in my step and would have fast-forwarded time to tonight's kickoff if at all possible. So here it is my friends, in all its glory....the start of the 2007 NFL season!

• For some lineup advice for week 1, look no further than Gregg Rosenthal's Goal Line Stand, a weekly series where he ranks players for that week only. The rankings also include some notes and helpful things to consider when making start/sit decisions.

• The Bruno Boys has your Start 'em Sit 'em forecasts in podcast style. How hip.

• Check out Peter King's 10 Fantasy Things for week 1, including controversial suggestions like sitting both the Baltimore D and LJ. Interesting stuff there.

• Concerned about injuries? No problemo, go to NFL.com's Fantasy Injury Report for the week 1 scoop.

• FFToolbox has your Week 1 sleepers covered...though does MJD really qualify as a sleeper these days?? Suspect but intriguing info nonetheless.

Enjoy one of the greatest days of the year - it's NFL go-time, baby!

Week 1 Start/Sit Advice

Welcome to Week 1 of the 2007 NFL season. Let's jump right in and check out some of the start/sit sites that are already up and churning out some prognostications:

• The Hazean is giving me a crisis of faith over Cedric Benson...check out their Start & Sit: Week 1 advice.
• Football Docs Bench/Start
  
• Ask The Commish Sit or Start - will be updated on Thursday
• FFToolbox's Who to Start
  
• Bruno Boys do things a little differently - they offer up projections for the week for QB, RB, and WR (and these projections go deep!) but they let you use your own noggin to determine who is start-worthy. I like that.

A few more late additions:

• Coach Box's Wheelock's Start/Bench Recommendations
• One of my favorites, which a reader reminded me of is NFL Freaks - see their extensive Start-Bench list.
• Fantasy Sharks Start/Bench List
  
• DR U Fantasy Football Start 'em Bench 'em (just the Thursday night game)
  

Next week (and even later this weekend) there are sure to be more start/sit sites available - as well as the start of waiver wire advice (in fact, for some early waiver wire juice, see Waiver Wire Wednesday from The Hazean). I simply can't wait for tomorrow night to arrive.

[Cedric Benson photo: askthecommish.com]

Laboring Over Fantasy Football

I had my 4th draft this past weekend - it's my last draft for my 4 leagues, but I am drafting for my brother-in-law this Wednesday night. Then, sadly I'll be done with drafting until 2008. But I am itching to get going with some games this season! This latest draft was on Sunday morning and of the 10 team owners, only 4 of us were there to draft live. I think that says a lot about scheduling your league's draft for Labor Day weekend....perhaps not the best call. But it went well for me and I actually really enjoyed having just 10 teams in the league.

Many of you have responded to my poll about the information you're looking for on FF Librarian, and I appreciate that. I'll be changing the poll soon to get a feel for the info you want during the season but in the meantime, I'll try to crank out some more cheatsheets and rankings for those of you who aren't done drafting (or just tweaking your lineups).

• ProFantasyFootball.com's Cheatsheets and Rankings - includes both overall and positional rankings as well as some handy worksheets for draft time. Note that there are also IDP rankings, but it's just a top 30 of all IDP positions combined.
• For just position rankings, check out the FFLPros.com's 2007 Performance League Rankings. Or take a look at Fantasy Football Jungle's positional rankings, averaged by 7 "experts" at their site.
• If you specifically need IDP rankings, check out my previous post, or take a look at FantasyTailgate.com's LB, DB, and DL rankings (last updated on 8/16/07).

Awhile back I posted my spreadsheet with some average ranking positions - looks like some others out there have had the same thought, including these guys at Fantasy Sports Central who have a way more recent average ranking than mine (mine was based on rankings at the end of July). So check out Fantasy Sports Central's Average Cheat Sheets, divided up by position. Also, as I've mentioned before, Fantasy Football Summary has used this same idea and Scott over at FF Summary has set up both positional and overall - it's updated as of 9/1.

One final note, I've used or checked out many of the fantasy resources listed on TheFootballBlogger.com's post about 50+ fantasy resources and found the list to be extremely helpful. Plus it brought some new sites to my attention - always something I'm on the prowl for in my spare time. I've added TheFootballBlogger as a link to the right for quick access to other FF resource sites.