Is the 2011 Fantasy Football Season Coming?

If you have been watching the news or reading your favorite football news sites on the internet, you may have heard that both the players and the owners have been meeting on a regular basis to discuss a deal that would end the lockout and get football started once again.

But there is also some talk that the negotiations, while frequent are still not going as well as everyone had hoped and that both parties could be a long ways away from coming to an agreement. Time is clearly ticking for the start of the season and some important milestones for playing games are coming up quickly so a deal has to be reached soon.

As I mentioned in a previous posting, you may want to wait until after a deal has been reached to attempt to draft your fantasy football team. With there being a lot of uncertainty as to free agency and how it will be conducted as well as what is happening to certain players during the offseason is waiting to draft your fantasy team good advice?

But of course, the biggest question right now is whether or not the NFL is going to get a deal done by the time they are supposed to start playing games and by the time you have your fantasy football draft.

Consider these triggers and milestones for the upcoming season.

The Chicago Bears and the St. Louis Rams were to start training camp a week earlier than the other teams in league to kick off the start of the NFL preseason. Their start date is supposed to be the 22nd of July. They are scheduled to play in the Hall of Fame game on the 7th of August and it doesn’t look that game is going to happen.

So what happens now? Does the NFL push the preseason out and keep those preseason games while starting the season a little later? Do they nix some or all of the preseason games and jump right into the season? Do they take a few games off the regular season in order to get properly ready for the regular season?

Anything is possible as the two sides continue to negotiate a deal. Fantasy football fans will be keeping a close eye on the negotiations as the sides get ever closer to a deal and the offseason can officially begin. Once that agreement is signed we will all know much more about how things are going to turn out with free agency and the regular season.

So what does this have to do with fantasy football? Free agency is still going to have to take place before the preseason so there are some changes that will be made by some of the players that will be eligible for free agency. If you have already had your fantasy draft you may want to take a look at what you have done and make some changes. If you haven’t had your fantasy draft then you should be in very good shape.

So never fear fantasy football fans. A deal is almost here and there will be a full season of football (and fantasy football to enjoy). It’s about time that the owners and the players realized that they cannot continue to stay stuck in neutral like they have been for the past few months. They have almost ruined a good thing and hopefully they will be able to bring the league back stronger and better than it was before.

Are you Ready when the Lockout Ends?

As I had mentioned in my last posting, publishers are starting to roll their fantasy football magazines out already this despite the fact that the NFL lockout goes on. The lockout is a big roadblock in the path to the start of the 2011 NFL season but if the players and the owners keep talking like they have been it’s possible that this lockout could be over in time for the season to start.

That would be a great thing.

There are some well known fantasy football sites, NFL.com being one of them, that are already signing people up for the new fantasy football season. Sure it’s exciting to start seeing that happen but there are a lot of people out there doubting that the season is actually going to start on time. So why sign up for fantasy football now? Why not wait until we know that the league is actually going to have a season this year?

If you are a serious fantasy football fan you may have seen the lockout as just a minor annoyance on the path towards one of your favorite things in the world. Perhaps you are already preparing for the upcoming fantasy football season without being sure that there will actually be a season.

Well there will be an NFL season and your time to prepare for your upcoming fantasy football season is now. You should start taking looks at players that you know aren’t going to be going anywhere and thinking about whether or not you want to draft them. You might also start looking at the teams that have new head coaches and try to figure out if and where you want to draft any of those players.

Remember, players from teams with new head coaches haven’t had a chance to learn the new system that they will be in so that will stunt their progress at least to start the season. You may want to be wary of those players and if you draft one of those guys you should realize that you may have to be ready to leave them on the bench until things straighten themselves out.

The rumor right now is that the league and it’s players are close to an agreement and that something could get done by the start of July. So if you are preparing for your 2011 fantasy draft then keep it up because eventually football will come and you just might be better off than your fantasy partners are.

So buy those fantasy football guides, read as much as you can about the upcoming fantasy football season and be prepared. The fantasy football season will happen and if you aren’t ready you won’t be winning much next season.

How the NFL Lockout affects Fantasy Football

I was surprised to see a copy of a popular Fantasy Football magazine in my mailbox the other day. I had to double check to make sure that it was a 2011 edition and sure enough it was. I wondered how anyone could put something like that out with the NFL lockout in place. After all, there has been no free agency and if there is how would they know where players went?

Then I thought about good of a marketing idea this was. With nothing going on in football right now putting out a magazine like that will certainly attract fan’s attention by giving them something to read and think about while the lockout goes on. I believe that people will buy this left and right even if there might be several changes that render the publication basically inefficient when it’s time for fantasy football to begin.
Anyone who is a die hard fantasy football fan and loves to watch every move that’s made by NFL teams in the offseason must be upset at what has been happening between the NFL and its players. Ever since the matter went to court it’s appeared as if nothing is going to get resolved quickly it may go on much longer.

If you usually start preparing for your fantasy draft at this time of the year there is nothing holding you back from doing your research on the players that are already in position on their teams. To be safe, take a look at guys that don’t have any risk of being a free agent because it’s still possible that the league could have some kind of free agency period when things are settled.

If that does happen you have no idea where those free agents are going to go so don’t spend a lot of time researching them. We don’t know where they are going to go right now or if there will even be free agency.

Another thing to keep in mind is those players that have new head coaches coming into the season. The lockout has prevented those coaches and players from getting together to discuss the new systems that they plan to implement. This spells trouble for those teams. If you have your eye on a player that is on a team undergoing a coaching change you should be wary of that player because things aren’t going to be the same for them this year.

And their development in the new system will be seriously hampered thanks to the lockout.

Finally, the other thing to consider is how rusty players are going to be when things finally get solved and they get back to work. You should keep a close eye on which groups of players are working out together because even though the workouts are informal and perhaps not that well put together those players will be better off when the season starts.

Don’t get frustrated that there isn’t anything going on with football right now and that the season or at least a part of it may be in jeopardy. Both sides will realize the mistakes that they have made and get back to football soon.

It’s inevitable.

Fantasy Football Insider: Who could the Top Kickers be in 2011?

Kickers really don’t matter right? In fantasy football that’s not entirely the case. Just like in the actual game on the field game, kickers can mean the difference between winning and losing. And sometimes teams that can’t generate much offense may only have their kicker to score points for them and that means a lot of points for that one single player.

You can’t be without a kicker on your roster and it’s not only important that you have one but that you should try to have a good one. No one kicker is the same and some are better at some things while others are better at other things.

So what should you look for in a good fantasy kicker? First, you need to find someone who is consistent. There are 32 starting kickers in the NFL and each one has different consistency when compared to the others. Some are virtually automatic while others struggle to kick field goals in any situation.

You must also be wary of the health of the kickers that are available in your fantasy draft. Kickers get hurt just as often as some of the regular players out there (running backs, quarterbacks etc.) and you have to investigate their injury history to make sure that they won’t leave you in a bind during the season.

Finally, when you are looking at kickers you have to look at the kind of offense that kicker’s team has. If they have an offense similar to that of the Indianapolis Colts, the kicker may not have a lot of opportunities to kick field goals and thus bring you a lot of points. But, if the kicker is part of a team with an offense like the Kansas City Chiefs there may be plenty of opportunities to kick field goals.

So which of the 32 NFL kickers may end up being the top five kickers heading into the 2011 season? Let’s find out as we take a look at five of the best kickers in the NFL and see if they might be someone that you will want on your fantasy team.

1. Nate Kaeding-San Diego Chargers-You can count on the Chargers to put up a lot of points during any NFL season and Kaeding has been there to help them add to their point’s totals for a while now. There are times when Kaeding’s accuracy has been questioned (most of that came in his earlier years) but being a part of a high scoring offense has helped cement him as one of the top fantasy kickers in all of fantasy football.

2. Mason Crosby-Green Bay Packers- The Packers have a high scoring offense so their kicker stays pretty busy game in and game out. Crosby has been as accurate as they come and he gets a lot of opportunities to score points. Keep an eye on him as you work through the later rounds of your fantasy draft.

3. Garrett Hartley-New Orleans Saints-The Saints are another one of those teams that tend to score a lot of points and their kicker has helped keep them scoring on a regular basis. Hartley has struggled with his field goals at times last season but gets many more opportunities to kick than some other kickers in the league making him a valuable commodity in any fantasy format.

4. Stephen Gostkowski-New England Patriots-We all know just how well the Patriots score points and with that, Gostkowski has come on to be one of the best fantasy kickers in the NFL. He’s been one of the top kickers selected in fantasy football drafts (according to last year’s statistics) and will surely be one of the top ones selected again this season.

5. Rob Bironas-Tennessee Titans-Fantasy owners who have had the opportunity of owning Bironas in their leagues have found out that he is one of the most productive kickers in the history of fantasy football. Bironas should get several opportunities to kick field goals next season with a change coming at the quarterback position so the Titans are going to want to score whenever they can. This could mean that Bironas is going to get used a lot making him one of the most valuable fantasy kickers of the 2011 season.

Fantasy Football Insider: Which Defenses could be the Top Fantasy Defenses of 2011?

With the NFL lockout still looming large over everything there hasn’t been much aside from the draft to give teams a shot at trying to improve themselves for next season. Along with that, it will be difficult for teams to restock and reload making it much more difficult to predict which teams might be better next season.

NFL defenses, like kickers, are kind of a forgotten part of a good fantasy football team. A good defense can score just as much or more than a quarterback or running back can at times and pretty soon defenses will become one of the most sought after positions in fantasy drafts. Some people have even drafted defenses as high as number one in a few fantasy drafts.

But are defenses worthy of such a high pick? Probably not but they do have some value and could deserve some middle round consideration.

So what teams are going have the best defenses next season? Is it even possible to tell with the lockout going on?

Let’s make an attempt to try to figure out which defenses could be at the top of the fantasy football rankings for 2011.

In no particular order, here are five NFL defenses that you should look at drafting in your fantasy draft later on this summer.

Pittsburgh Steelers-The Steelers always seem to have very good defenses and you can expect them to have another good one next year as well. With the same group of guys returning, including such stars as safety Troy Polamalu and linebacker James Harrison this unit will be one the most sought after in fantasy football this year.

Chicago Bears-The Bears will be bringing back many of the same guys from last season and have even made an upgrade on their defensive line (by drafting Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea) so things are looking up for the Bears. They will definitely be one of the top defenses selected late this summer.

San Diego Chargers-The Chargers may not have had the best record in the NFL last year and they even failed to make the playoffs but what a lot of people don’t know is that they had the best defense statistically last season. The Chargers shouldn’t take a step back in that category this season as there shouldn’t be too many changes (in fact they made some upgrades during the draft to help make some improvements) and their defense will be one of the hottest defenses in fantasy football drafts this summer.

Green Bay Packers-The Packers had one of the best defenses in the NFL last season and with some of their top players coming back from injury this year their defense should be even better in 2011. This unit is filled with talent at each position and has the capability of putting up a lot of points in every game.

There will be a lot fantasy owners trying to pick up Green Bay’s defense early on in fantasy drafts.

New York Jets-The Jets have gone out and changed some things on defense for the 2011 season and it promises to be another good year for the Jets. Head coach Rex Ryan is going to make sure that his defense remains one of the top defenses in the NFL so if you need a solid defense for your fantasy football team you might want to take a look at the Jets “D”.

Fantasy Football Insider: Who could be the Top Fantasy Wide Receivers in 2011?

The NFL is starting to become much more of a passing league which means that both quarterbacks and wide receivers are starting to become somewhat of a commodity. You were sure to have had good success in your league last year if you had guys like Brandon Lloyd and Dwayne Bowe on your team. You might have also benefited from the productive seasons that Roddy White and Greg Jennings had.

You can expect those four receivers, along with a host of others, to have good seasons in the NFL this year. Sprinkle in some of the rookie wide receiver talent coming into the league this year and it could be a great year for wide receivers.

Of course there are some things to take into consideration when you are drafting a wide receiver. First, you have to know how the quarterback situation is with the team. You can bet that fantasy football owners will take receivers from the Indianapolis Colts first before they look at grabbing receivers from the Minnesota Vikings.

Another thing you have to look at is how much the team passes the ball. It’s true, the NFL is becoming much more of a passing league but there are some teams that struggle when it comes to passing the ball. The Bears are a good example of that. They have great talent at the quarterback position but they have problems going down the field and connecting with receivers thus considerable reducing their numbers.

Finally, you have to look at the injury history of the player. There are some receivers that are very tempting to take but eventually miss time at some point in the season because of an injury. Some receivers are pretty “consistent” when it comes to injuries suffered and those are guys that you will want to stay away from.

So, in eager anticipation of the 2011 season the following is a look at five wide receiver prospects that can be considered some of the top guys heading into the 2011 season. There are also three rookie profiled here and these guys might be able to make an impact on their teams next season and might draw some interest in fantasy drafts.

1. Reggie Wayne-Indianapolis Colts-Wayne has been quarterback Peyton Manning’s favorite target and despite the fact he’s getting older he’s been very effective for the Colts. Fantasy football owners will be looking for Wayne early in the draft and he should be productive next season.

2. Calvin Johnson-Detroit Lions-As long as quarterback Matthew Stafford can stay healthy long enough to help Johnson succeed he could be one of the premier recivers in the NFL. This guy is hard to cover, able to get up and catch high passes and has the potential to be very productive.

3. DeSean Jackson-Philadelphia Eagles-If this guy can stay healthy all season then he could have his best year yet and with Michael Vick now a full time starter (with the possibility of no worries about Kevin Kolb breathing down his neck) he could end up relying on Jackson’s big play ability. This could make Jackson one of the most productive wide receivers next season.

4. Andre Johnson-Houston Texans-There are some people out there that feel that Johnson could be the best player in the NFL and he has meant a lot to the Texans since he arrived in Houston a few seasons ago. If he can throw together a consistent season (and his quarterback can stay healthy and consistent) he could be a top fantasy producer in 2011.

5. Greg Jennings-Green Bay Packers-The Packers have one of the best passing offenses in the NFL and it’s likely that he will have another great fantasy football season. His quarterback, Aaron Rodger, is one of the best in the NFL and Jennings has become one of his favorite targets. He will be one of top targets in fantasy drafts this season.

Here are three rookies that might get some looks in the 2011 fantasy drafts:

1. Julio Jones-Atlanta Falcons-The Falcons gave away the house in order to get Jones, a player that they feel is the final piece in the puzzle to get them to the Super Bowl. Jones will start right away in Atlanta and should have a great season in his first year with the team.

2. Jonathan Baldwin-Kansas City Chiefs-There were few people that thought that taking Baldwin in the first round was a huge mistake but the Chiefs needed someone else to catch the ball aside from Dwayne Bowe so they did what they had to do. It’s possible that Baldwin could come into NFL with a chip on his shoulder and prove his doubters wrong in a big way. Fantasy owners will certainly hope so.

3. Titus Young-Detroit Lions-Yes, he’s on the same team as Calvin Johnson is but Young could be the beneficiary of double coverage on Johnson so therefore he might see a lot of passes thrown his way. As long as Stafford stays healthy then Titus (and Johnson) should have success in the 2011 season.