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Football
Home » Fantasy Sports » Fantasy Sports: The Sports » FootballPosted by Your Guide on May 2, 2006 8:27 PM
Football is the most popular fantasy sport in the United States. The National Football League is the league from which these players are chosen. The NFL plays a 17 week schedule (each teams plays 16 games and gets one week off), followed by about five weeks of playoffs. Fantasy football leagues do not include the playoff weeks, because only 12 teams make the playoffs, while players from all 32 teams are chosen for the regular season.
The positions in fantasy football differ in each league. Generally the offensive positions a fantasy owner will have to choose from include these: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, flex (some combination of wide receiver, tight end and running back). When it comes to defensive positions, most leagues will allow the fantasy owner to select a team defense instead of individual players. For example, if you were to choose the New England Patriots defense, you would be awarded points every week based on their performance. Other leagues do allow players to choose actual defensive players, generally from these positions: defensive line, linebackers, cornerback and safeties. Kickers are also generally chosen.
Statistical categories in fantasy football also differ from league to league. Some of the more standard fantasy football statistics on offense include the following: passing touchdowns, passing yards, interceptions, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, fumbles, receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, and two point conversions. Standard defensive statistics are these: points allowed, interceptions, fumbles forced, fumbles recovered, defensive touchdowns, blocked kicks, and tackles. Kickers are scored based on the length of their field goals and whether they make the extra point attempts or not.
Fantasy football leagues generally play what is called a head-to-head format. This simply means that two teams in the league match up against one another each week, with the winner getting credit for a victory and the loser taking a defeat. Records are tracked and standings work just like they would in regular football. At the end of the season, some leagues have their own playoffs, pitting the top six or eight teams against one another in a bracketed tournament to determine the champion. So, like in real life, the best team during the regular season, may not end up being the league champion.
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