And then we have fantasy football

[ChiTwn]

your RB being hungover, your WR’s coach benching him for two plays for not blocking and causing the other WR on the team to catch a TD,and for whatever reason putting up a 0 TD, 3 INT stinker against a pass defense in the bottom third of the league.

Who are these 3 players? I couldn't think of them off hand.

[BigBlueNation]

Luck vs Skill, HAH!!!

This week, I started RRice, MJD, and Trent, got 14.9 points TOTAL from these 3. I sat CJSpiller, he had 16.2 points alone.

Call it skill, luck, stupidity, whatever you want.

IMO, the skill in fantasy football is the drafting and the proper use of the FAAB money. From there on, it's 99.99% luck.

[Money]

My Ultimate League Lineup and bench
Lineup
Flacco (last minute change) 12.05
R. Rice 10.4
MJD 0.6
A. Brown 17.9
V. Jackson 34.6
P. Harvin 14.7
A. Morriss 14.0

Total 104.25

Bench
Weeden 25.6
Cobb 30.8
R. Jennings 23.2
S. Howlings 24.9

Total 104.50

The top 4 on my bench outscored my top 7 in my lineup. This would've been a pretty good slow draft lineup. Can't say I like this game at all today. Cobb and Weeden are the only two that I could've (should've) really started.

I don't have any opinion on the luck factor, I simply know that I suck at start / sit decisions.

[BillyWaz]

Of course there is a lot of luck, but why do we shell so much money out for this?

I'm guessing it is the "thrill", but I also believe that more time than not my draft, FAAB decisions, and start/sits will determine the ultimate fate of my team.

I guess you could say I have been "lucky" enough to make money almost every single year at this hobby, and I know there are many others as well who can say that. I like to think there is more skill than people give it credit for, but "shit happens" for whatever reason, and sometimes things don't break the way "they are supposed to".

My good friend Diesel's tagline says it best.....

"Fantasy sports are all about LUCK. Except when I win."

[Jersey Dawg]

Skill is still a huge part and shows up mainly in the FAAB. It seems almost ever time I want to spend $500 on a player I see Cocktails got him the week before for $1. It also seems I waived that same player two weeks earlier (examples like Felix Jones and Rashad Jennings come to mind).

I tend to do well most years in spite of myself. Sometimes I get lucky.

Pete

[JETS SB]

I think the point that fantasy football is more random than fantasy baseball, is only because the baseball season is much longer, and you can lose a player or two and still win your league. The fantasy football season is so short and much less forgiving... a few injuries and a few bad lineup decisions, and you are pretty much done. On the other hand, the draft is MUCH more important in fantasy football. I left myself short on RBs in the classic and I am all but finished. I knew it at the draft and when Benson went down and I didn't have Green as his backup, I was chasing RB's on the waiver wire and so it goes.

Luck is a part of all fantasy sports... escpaing big injuries mostly and week to week lineup decisions. But, managing your FAAB and having a good draft is all about skill. I knew I had a good primetime draft and I am in the running. I knew I had a mediocre classic draft and I probably will not be in the money. I started 0-2 in the Super with Chris Johnson and Matt Forte as my first 2 picks, along with AJ Green, Peyton Manning, and Mike Wallace, I stil thought I did a good job at the draft and hopefully it would payoff and I have rebounded nicely. You cannot predict year to year, how well a player is going to perform, but all of the players being mentioned on this thread, having up and down weeks, will all even out in the end. Hartline will be mediocre at best, despite the big week, Julio Jones will be an upper tier receiver, and Chris Johnson will end up as a top RB. If you decided to bench a guy like Johnson, with his talent and no injury, that's all on you.. there is no luck involved there.

[Glenneration X]

Skill is still a huge part and shows up mainly in the FAAB. It seems almost ever time I want to spend $500 on a player I see Cocktails got him the week before for $1. It also seems I waived that same player two weeks earlier (examples like Felix Jones and Rashad Jennings come to mind).

I tend to do well most years in spite of myself. Sometimes I get lucky.

Pete

I feel your pain Pete. Last week I dropped Rashad Jennings on any team I had him rostered. The week prior it was Felix Jones. One week earlier, Alex Green and William Powell were excised from some teams where I thought I needed an extra roster spot. Josh Gordon the week before on a couple teams. I could keep going all the way back to week one, but this ride down memory lane is nostalgia I don't need. Somehow though the likes of Bryce Brown, Lamar Miller, and TJ Graham still all have spots on rosters of mine.

If anyone needs to know who the breakout player for next week is, just shoot me an E-mail and I'll let you know who I'll be mass dropping this week.

[particra]

Sometimes you just have to admit that you suck at this.

Last week I presume I needed some 8th WR or something so I cut Jonathan Dwyer on my Classic since he was like 5th in line for carries and i had MJD, Trent Richardson, Alfred Morris, and J. Stewart. Sweet.

[The Franchise]

This is an interesting thread. I have had several conversations with Fantasy players in the last week and for the most part it seemed like we were all feeling the same way. We shell out thousands of dollars every year to play Fantasy Football. Why spend so much money at a game? Because we feel like it's a game of skill with some luck involved, so we like our chances at making a profit at a game we enjoy. I know that's the reason I spend my money. I think it's becoming more random and I don't feel like I have the advantage over "The Average Joe" like I used to. The best comparison I can think of is being a poker player at a table with other great, good and bad poker players. You feel like you could beat that great player if things break right, you should beat that good player sometimes and you should beat that bad player all the time.............. This year I feel like I'm next to the 80 year old lady with the cigarette playing the slots..............

[mattjb]

This is an interesting thread. I have had several conversations with Fantasy players in the last week and for the most part it seemed like we were all feeling the same way. We shell out thousands of dollars every year to play Fantasy Football. Why spend so much money at a game? Because we feel like it's a game of skill with some luck involved, so we like our chances at making a profit at a game we enjoy. I know that's the reason I spend my money. I think it's becoming more random and I don't feel like I have the advantage over "The Average Joe" like I used to. The best comparison I can think of is being a poker player at a table with other great, good and bad poker players. You feel like you could beat that great player if things break right, you should beat that good player sometimes and you should beat that bad player all the time.............. This year I feel like I'm next to the 80 year old lady with the cigarette playing the slots..............

Perhaps you should stop telling everyone who to pick