Roster football : How To Play Fantasy Football

One of the many cool things about fantasy football, unlike its cousins Fantasy NBA and Fantasy MLB, to play does not require you (the manager) to check on your team daily. Since games are only held on Sunday and Monday, with the occasional Thursday contest, someone who has never managed a fantasy team can ease into Fantasy football without falling way behind.
Now that games are managed on sites like Yahoo!, ESPN dotcom and CBS Sports, it is very easy to sign up for free fantasy football, provided that you have a valid e-mail address. Of course there are money contests where managers pay to play for a cash prize or a big screen TV of some sort, but this is not recommended for the beginner or casual player as the managers in these leagues are extremely competitive.
After you have registered a team you will usually enter a draft where you pick the players who will comprise your squad. Some research and study will help you here, especially after the first and second rounds where the picks should be obvious. The 2007-08 NFL season has LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers as the consensus number one pick. His speed and strength and prodigious touchdown-scoring abilities are second-to none at the running back position. Running backs are the most valuable players in this game, which is why this position tends to get filled quickest in drafts, followed by quarterbacks, of whom this year Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts is tops. Don't worry if you cannot get either Manning or LT in the draft, there are plenty of other high-talent players who will score a lot for you.
Most leagues tally points for touchdowns scored, yards gained, passes completed, kicks made and so on for the offensive side. You will select a team to play defense and score points for you, depending on its ability to create turnovers and generally shut down their opponents' offense. Other, more comprehensive, leagues will include things such as defensive players (linemen and defensive backs) as well as other statistical categories like kick return yardage and passes deflected. But make sure you have players on your weekly roster who are actually scheduled to play! Some teams have a week off, called a "bye week" and if you have players from that team on your roster that week, you will receive zero points for them!
You will notice once the season begins also that some players will get injured; this is a big part of football which obviously is a high-impact, contact sport. It is your responsibility to check the waiver wire (players available for pickup) to replace those injured players. If the injury is not too severe you can bench that player until he heals up. Trades are also a big part of the game, as you will find other managers offering you one or more of their players for one or more of their own. These usually benefit one team more then the other, so be cautious in these dealings!
Finally, fantasy football depends a lot of luck. One week you may have a windfall of points coming from your best players, followed by a week of drought because a lot of them had bad games (consider trades to drop the dead weight if they continue to underperform). It helps to read the tips that your game site provides on each player along with watching games and ESPN highlights to see how they perform from wekk to week.
Have fun with your team! It is great to have multiple friends in a league, together, as you can fire off smack and have some pretty funny team names. You will find that you will understand some about football from managing your own fantasy squad!

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