Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Yes, the regular fantasy season has come to a conclusion for 2017 - but we're certainly not resting on our laurels with all of the exciting playoff football still ahead of us! Although postseason fantasy leagues can be set up in a variety of ways, my personal favorite is going with a single draft that accumulates points throughout the playoffs. In this case, the optimal strategy is to determine which teams you think will play the most games and draft accordingly.

I've had success in the past picking no more than 4 teams and trying to only collect players from those squads. Looking at the available teams this year, I would shy away from the Chiefs and Titans (since the winner will end up against the Patriots), and I don't think that the Bills, Falcons, Panthers, or Eagles will win their first games. That leaves us with the below teams:

AFC

New England (1)

Pittsburgh (2)

Jacksonville (3) Wild Card

NFC

Minnesota (2)

Los Angeles (3) Wild Card

New Orleans (4) Wild Card

So my suggestion is to choose 3 or 4 of these teams that you think have the best chance of making it to the Super Bowl (or, at the very least, of playing multiple games in the playoffs) and try to draft players from those teams exclusively. Stacking up players from a team that makes it to the Super Bowl is usually your ticket to some postseason fantasy winnings. It's possible that all of the wild card teams could lose in the 2nd round, but keep in mind that if you do end up picking players from a wild card team (New Orleans, for example), they will have the advantage of playing an additional game over the higher ranked teams with a bye in the first round.

You may rank the top playoff teams differently, but I would urge you to adopt a similar philosophy to the above in how to build your postseason fantasy team - you have to take a chance in order to land on top! Best of luck and we'll see you all next year for more fantasy insights, strategies, rankings, and podcasts.

Time, it does indeed fly by!

Once we get past this set of games, we will be past the third quarter of the season. We are getting into crunch time. Plus we still have some teams on a bye which means every game in the Confidence Pool counts.

So let’s keep the momentum moving!

Week 12 – HERE WE GO!!!!!!!!!

(HOME TEAM IN ALL CAPS)

14 – CLEVELAND over Miami – It’s been a disappointing season off of Lake Erie, but at least they get a home game against the Dolphins.

13 – NEW ORLEANS over Carolina – I saw a show talking about how important this game was for the Panthers…as if they hadn’t already been written out of this season.

12 – BUFFALO over Denver – The battle of the Allens in Orchard Park shouldn’t be a close one.

11 – Oakland over NEW YORK JETS – With a trip to KC next week, people have called this a trap game for the Raiders. Not likely! My BOLD PREDICTION for this week is that THE RAIDERS WILL OVERTAKE THE CHIEFS AND WIN THE AFC WEST!

10 – NEW ENGLAND over Dallas – Home games against “good” teams are still easy pickings for the Patriots.

9 – TENNESSEE over Jacksonville – The Titans are slowly creeping up as a playoff contender.

8 – HOUSTON over Indianapolis – The week kicks off with a game that could go a long way in deciding the AFC South. Lucky for the Texans this game is in Houston.

7 – Baltimore over LOS ANGELES RAMS – These aren’t your Rams of 2018 – which means they can’t hang with the Ravens of 2019.

6 – ATLANTA over Tampa Bay – I’ve decided to pick the Falcons to win again…which means that they will probably fall short.

5 – Green Bay over SAN FRANCISCO – The 9ers are good, but I think they will get a bit of a rude awakening the way the Packers have been playing.

4 – Detroit over WASHINGTON – It is me or does it feel like the Lions are the best 3 win team in recent memory?

3 – CHICAGO over New York Giants – If the Giants end up winning this one, I wouldn’t be surprised.

2 – PHILADELPHIA – Seattle – Thoughts of a home loss to the Patriots should still be fresh in the minds of the Eagles.

1 – CINCINNATI over Pittsburgh – After an impressive showing in Oakland last wee, I have a hunch that the Bengals will finally get that first win at home this week.