Matt Doeden - Fantasy Football Math: Using STATS to Score Big in Your League

In the NFL, the best teams score a lot of points. Fantasy football is the same way.Think quickAtlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan just rifled a 60-yard touchdownpass to receiver Julio Jones. Thats good news for you. Theyre both on your fantasyteam. How many points did you just score?

Hold on. We cant answer that question just yet. Theres no single way to score pointsin fantasy football. Fantasy leagues use a wide range of scoring systems. Check outthis chart for a few basic scoring models.

Now we can do the math for that big play earlier. Using a balanced scoring system,figure out the players points.

Matt Ryan: 4 points (TD pass) + 1 point (Yardage) = 5 points
Julio Jones: 6 points (TD catch) + 3 points (Yardage) = 9 points

Ryan and Jones just scored a combined 14 points for your team. Now see if you cando the math using the other two systems. Find the answers at the bottom of the nextpage.

Answers: TD Heavy = 13 points; Yardage Heavy = 18 points

Quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers get most of the fantasy footballglory. Defenses and often get overlooked. But a good defense can makeall the difference for your team.

special teams units used to handle kickoffs, punts, and field goal attempts

Answer : 1 (Sack) + 2 (Fumble Recovery) + 6 (Defensive Touchdown) = 9 points

Most leagues feature scoring from both team defenses and special teams. So if youwant a defensive star like the Houston Texans J. J. Watt, youll have to draft theentire D. Heres how basic defensive scoring works for many leagues.

Lets say Houstons defense sacks Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck andforces a fumble. Watt scoops up the ball and dashes in for a touchdown. How manypoints did your team just score? Check to see if you got the right answer below.

FANTASY FACT

Many leagues also factor in points allowed by a team defense. For example, if yourD earns a , you may score 10 bonus points. But be careful. A bad defense couldcost you points if it gives up a big score to the opposing team.

shutout a game in which a defense holds the opposing team to zero points

Dont Forget the Kicker

Kickers are often the forgotten players on a fantasy team. However, a solid kickercan often be your teams highest-scoring player for a week.

Basic scoring systems typically award kickers 3 points for a field goal and 1 pointfor an extra point. Many leagues also offer bonus points for longer field goals.A kick of 40 or more yards may be worth 4 points. A boot of 50 yards or more maybe worth 5 points. Meanwhile, some leagues also subtract 1 point for each missedkick.

Imagine your league uses a scoring system like this for kickers. Youre watchingyour kicker line up for a 53-yard attempt. How many points are on the line? Checkyour answer below to see if youre right.

Answer: 5 points for a successful kick, but -1 point if he misses. Thats a 6-pointswing.

FANTASY POINT EXPLOSION (BALANCED SCORING)

Rob Bironas, K, Tennessee Titans

2007 Season, Week 7

8 Field Goals; 2 Extra Points

Balanced League Fantasy Points: 26

PPR Leagues

PPR leagues offer a fun scoring twist. PPR stands for point per . In PPR leagues each catch a player makes is worth a bonus point. Imagine your team is tiedwith your opponents team. Its the final seconds of the last game of the week. Yourplayers are done, but your opponent still has Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoyon the field. He catches a quick pass, but the defense buries him for a 5-yard loss.Awesomethat seals the win for you, right? Not so fast. In a PPR league McCoy justscored a point, even though he lost a few yards. You just lost your fantasy game.

reception a pass caught by a player

Fractional Scoring

Now try this. Say you have Kansas City Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, and hehas 80 yards on the day. You need just one more point from him to win your game.Charles gets the ball and gashes the defense for a 19-yard gain. Unfortunately thatbig run doesnt do you any good. In a balanced scoring system both 80 yards and 99yards are worth 4 points. But with , leagues ignore round numbers.In a balanced fractional league, each yard might be worth 0.05 points. Now usingthis scoring system, how many points did Charles earn on his 99 yards? Check youranswer at the bottom of the page.

fractional scoring a scoring system that awards a fraction of a point for each yardgained

Answer: 99 0.05 = 4.95 points

FANTASY FACT

Some leagues even use individual defensive players (IDP) instead of full team defenses.These players earn points for making tackles, defending passes, and sacking the opposingquarterback.

CHAPTER 2
BUILDING A CHAMPION

Draft day. These two words give fantasy fans the chills. Its the most importantday of the season. Fantasy players dream of glory as they try to draft the leaguesbest team. Time to build a champion!

The Snake Draft

The most common type of fantasy draft is the snake draft. The snake is done in .Team owners take turns picking players until their rosters are full. The draft orderflips each round. So if you have the first pick in Round 1, you wont pick againuntil the end of Round 2. But if you get the last pick in Round 1, you get to pickagain right away at the start of Round 2.

round a section of a sports draft during which each team picks one player

Say there are 13 top players youd like for your team. In a 10-team league, whichpicks would help you get two of them? Pick number one guarantees that you can grabthe best possible player. But the rest will probably be gone before you pick again.However, if you pick at number 8, you can pick again at number 13 in round 2. Soyoull want either pick 8, 9, or 10 to get two of your top 13 choices.