How to Play Fantasy Football
Fantasy football lets you try your skills as a fantasy coach. After you join a league, you scout for and draft players, compete against other fantasy coaches, and use all your skills to make it to the playoffs.
Here's a snapshot of what happens in a fantasy football season:
You join a league.
You can join a public league, where anyone can sign up for a spot, or a private league, where you need an invitation to play. Some people play just for fun and some play for money (in some cases, serious coin). League selection is an important factor, so don't take it lightly.
You prepare for your league draft by scouting players.
Before choosing your fantasy team, you need to research all the available players so you can pre-rank them according to your personal preference.
You build your fantasy team via the draft.
The draft is the most fun and exciting day of the fantasy season. During the draft, each fantasy coach selects one NFL player at a time until the rosters are complete.
Your team competes against another team every week.
During the NFL season, the real teams face each other and so do the fantasy teams in your league. The players' real-time stats are converted into fantasy points by your league provider, and the fantasy team that scores the most points wins the game for the week.
You make moves to improve your team.
As a fantasy coach, you're in total control. You can drop players you think aren't good enough and replace them with free agents. If one of your starters gets hurt, you can bench him and start a healthy player instead. You may even make a trade offer to another coach.
Your team (hopefully) makes the playoffs and wins your league.
Only the strong survive, and at the end of the fantasy season, the top teams square off in a tournament to decide the league champion. The last team standing may win a trophy, a cash prize, or just honor; but make no mistake, there will be only one winner.
Football Glossary
ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference of college football teams.
Football Glossary
AFC
An acronym for the American Football Conference.
Football Glossary
AFL
An acronym for the American Football League.
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BCS
An acronym for the Bowl Championship Series.
Football Glossary
Big Ten
A college athletic conference whose eleven-member institutions are located mainly in the Midwestern United States.
Football Glossary
bye week
A week during which an NFL team doesn’t play; every NFL team has one week of the season off.
Football Glossary
center
The player who snaps the ball to the quarterback. A center handles the ball on every play.
Football Glossary
DEF
An acronym for Team Defense.
Football Glossary
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.
Football Glossary
kicker; placekicker
The member of the special team who is responsible for field goal and extra point attempts.
Football Glossary
NCAA
An acronym for the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Football Glossary
NFC
An acronym for the National Football Conference.
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NFL
An acronym for the National Football League.
Football Glossary
Pac-10
The Pacific-10 Conference is a college athletic conference that operates in the western United States.
Football Glossary
Punt
A kick to the opponent without the use of a tee.
Football Glossary
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.
Football Glossary
running back; tailback; halfback; wingback
A player who runs with the football.
Football Glossary
SEC
The Southeastern Conference of college football teams.
Football Glossary
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.
Football Glossary
ST
An acronym for Special Teams.
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stud
A top-rated fantasy football starter.
Football Glossary
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.
Football Glossary
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.
Football Glossary
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.
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