Fantasy Football Coaching Tips
After you’ve built your fantasy football team through the draft, your job truly begins. Coaching your team means compiling a complete lineup each and every week and deciding which players to pick up and which to release and/or trade. Your weekly coaching decisions will make or break your fantasy season, so make smart decisions by using some helpful coaching tips:
Don’t panic. The fantasy season is long; think before you trade your studs or dump your sleeper picks.
Check your players’ bye weeks. You don’t want to get stuck having multiple stars out of action at the same time.
Replace injured players. Check all available player updates to make sure your starting lineup is active.
Assess your team’s strengths and weaknesses. Be aware of your team needs when acquiring players and considering trade offers. What positions are solid, and what positions do you need to improve?
Check the free agent pool and waiver wire often. You never know when an owner will drop a player who can help your squad.
Look to exploit favorable matchups and avoid bad ones. Every week, your players’ performances will be affected by the quality of their opposition, especially at TE, K, and DEF.
Football Glossary
ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference of college football teams.
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AFC
An acronym for the American Football Conference.
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AFL
An acronym for the American Football League.
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BCS
An acronym for the Bowl Championship Series.
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Big Ten
A college athletic conference whose eleven-member institutions are located mainly in the Midwestern United States.
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bye week
A week during which an NFL team doesn’t play; every NFL team has one week of the season off.
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center
The player who snaps the ball to the quarterback. A center handles the ball on every play.
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DEF
An acronym for Team Defense.
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fullback
A player who’s responsible for blocking for the running back and also for pass-blocking to protect the quarterback. Fullbacks, who are generally bigger than running backs, are short-yardage runners.
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kicker; placekicker
The member of the special team who is responsible for field goal and extra point attempts.
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NCAA
An acronym for the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
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NFC
An acronym for the National Football Conference.
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NFL
An acronym for the National Football League.
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Pac-10
The Pacific-10 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the western United States.
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Punt
A kick to the opponent without the use of a tee.
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quarterback
The leader of the team. The quarterback calls the plays in the huddle, yells the signals at the line of scrimmage, and then receives the ball from the center. Then he hands off the ball to a running back, throws it to a receiver, or runs with it.
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running back; tailback; halfback; wingback
A player who runs with the football.
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SEC
The Southeastern Conference of college football teams.
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snake draft
A draft in which each fantasy coach has one pick in each round. Each team makes its first-round pick based on a predetermined order.
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ST
An acronym for Special Teams.
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stud
A top-rated fantasy football starter.
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tight end
A player who serves as a receiver and also as a blocker. The tight end lines up beside the offensive tackle to the right or the left of the quarterback.
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waivers
A situation where a player is dropped from a team roster; the player goes on waivers for a limited time before becoming a free agent. All coaches then have a set amount of time (usually two days) to decide whether to add him to their teams.
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wide receiver
A player who uses his speed to elude defenders and catch the football. Teams use as many as two to four wide receivers on every play.
