Fantasy Football Librarian

My last day of work has arrived - crazy. And just three more days until our condo is emptied by movers. Can you tell I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all? I woke up this morning and cheered an obligatory, "last day of work!" to my husband but then it occurred to me that I have no future work days in sight since I have yet to find a library gig in New York. Weird thought. Anyway moving on to football... I'm sure I've gushed about him on here before but I really like Matt Schauf - one of my favorite fantasy writers. So basically any time he has something to say, I advise you listen. Today I've got two of his pass defense articles on Rapid Draft to link to - Watch out for these pass defenses and From Pittsburgh to K.C.: How each pass defense rates . While we're on the defense train, take a look at who Hatty Waiver Wire Guru thinks you should try and acquire - or move on from - now in IDP Buy low sell high . Rotoworld's Who will get goal-line carrie...

This is an oddly quiet day on the fantasy football front - I've been scoping out a bunch of my usual sites and I think most people might be on vacation, perhaps? Calm before the storm? So I should take this opportunity to warn you all that my posting status next week might be a bit dicey. I'll do my best but since we'll have movers here on Monday and will be on the road Tuesday through Saturday, the posts might be light (and it's possible I'll have no sanity left after spending day after day in a car with two unhappy, meowing cats). At least I can guarantee that once I arrive in NYC the posts here will be coming at you nonstop. My sole plans for the rest of August including being an insatiable blogger and a NYC tourist. Can't. wait. Take a look at Ultimate Fantasy Football Strategy's thoughts on Top 10 Undervalued Players . I'm an Owen Daniels fan - I think I had him in at least half of my 7 leagues last year and I imagine he might well fall to me again ...

What's happenin ' fantasy fans? I've got a fun day ahead: the culmination of a big work project I've been working on for months followed by a bit of a goodbye party for me at the library. I'm not big on being the center of attention (as is obvious by the deep red blush I inevitably take on) but I do love a party... Want to know which players Hatty Waiver Wire Guru digs? Scope out Players High on my List . CBSSports .com tackles the strength of schedule issue - I'm sure I've said this before but I can't stop thinking about how sorry I am to see my Broncos, who have a sweet schedule for the first 3 games of the season, with such a rough mid-season schedule. Man, it's brutal in the middle. I have little to say about the Favre Drama but will link you to FantasyPros 911 who have some thoughts on Favre in Brett Favre's Legacy: Is it in Danger? FFGeekBlog is back and better than ever - their new site has a bit of a twitterish feel to it and they...

I'm starting my first draft for the season in just a few hours (it's an e-mail style organized by KFFL .com) and I'll be drafting from the #1 overall spot. It's a PPR league so I'm debating the benefits of AP vs MJD . I'll keep you posted on my decision...but I'm leaning MJD right now. In the meantime, I only have 3.5 more work days left so I'm desperately trying to get projects wrapped up and touch base with folks before I head out. So this is bound to be a pretty quick post - my apologies! KFFL has updated all of their sleeper reports - QB , RB , WR , TE , even Kicker and Defense . Should a rookie QB be given a shot at starting? After relatively solid performances from Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco last year many of us might be overly enthusiastic about giving the rook a start...but the Fifth Down's Statistics Show There's No Harm in Starting a Rookie Quarterback might just back that feeling up. FFToolbox is one of many sites to highlight som...

T minus 7 until some burly dudes come to ferry off the majority of our possessions to New York City. While I'm sitting here thinking about just how many freaking mugs we somehow own and how one could possibly drink enough coffee to rationalize this level of mug acquisition (and inevitably, how to pack them all...), you all are probably thinking more along the fantasy football lines. Have no fear! My mind is always on football to some extent...so check out today's links: We've all heard the phrase Running Back By Committee ( RBBC ) but FFToolbox takes this committee idea to a different level - how should you draft to create fantasy pairs that might be nearly as effective as a top level player? They've taken a look at both Quarterback by Committee and Tight End by Committee . How much of a benefit will Cutler bring to Chicago? See the Fifth Down's How Many Wins is Cutler Worth? Hatty Waiver Wire Guru has a list of Underrated RBs You Need to Remember , including on...

I think I significantly underestimated how easy it would be to wrap up work projects before I quit and head to NYC. I've got one more week of work at my library in Colorado and keep coming up with more things that I ought to do before I leave... Let's get right to today's links: The Broncos fan in me was very eager to read the Fifth Down's Cutler's Interceptions: The Context Matters . I love a good stats review of my players. For more player analysis from the Fifth Down, see what KC Joyner has to say in A Closer Look at Addai's Productivity . Next year's NFL Draft is slated to start on Thursday night and spread across three days - I don't mind this idea at all but mostly I'm just thinking about the fact that I might actually be able to attend live and in person now that I'll be a NYC dweller. Those of you who are participating in deep leagues (like the 16-team FFLibrarian League) might be interested in Rotoworld's Deeeep Sleeper: Justin...

I have driven the same car since I was in high school - a sweet 1993 Corolla. Everything in it is manual and the only real sense that the car isn't ancient is the new radio I had to install after the car was broken into for a 3rd time (thanks DC area car radio thieves). There are some serious memories from that car and despite its age it only has a mere 105K miles on it. That's what happens when you basically never drive a car more than 10 miles a day, right? So this week we're selling the car to a friend who has a 16-year-old daughter...feels like everything is coming perfectly full circle there and I can't believe how nostalgic I'm feeling about it. It is after all only a car. Fortunately I have fantasy football links to think about, leaving me less time to mourn the sale of my old buddy... CBSSports . com's 2009 Draft Prep: 10 Burning Questions has the CBS fantasy staff answer all sorts of questions, many of which I've heard from you all. What I think I...

Greetings from a gray and rainy Colorado. We live a few blocks away from a mini golf place (yup, I can sense how jealous you all are) so last night as part of my husband's birthday celebrations we played 18 holes with a bunch of friends. Unfortunately, a massive summer storm including hail came rolling in while we were on hole 8 or so. This stopped those of us who prefer to remain unhailed upon (while holding a metal putter in the lightning of course), but my husband and 5 other guys were undeterred and it quickly evolved into all-weather, all-terrain putt putt. Rarely have I seen a bunch of 30-somethings so completely gleeful in the rain - it was amusing. Anyway, the clouds remain today but I'm kind of digging the mellow weather. I'm also digging today's fantasy football links, which are as follows: The Hazean provides a nice library of links in 27 resources to help fantasy football owners win this year . If any of these links are new for you, I definitely recommend ...

Today is one of my favorite days - my husband's birthday. I fear that sounds exceedingly cheesy but it's true. I happen to be a birthday person; I adore birthdays, love celebrating them, love hyping them up, love everything about them. So of course the birthday of my favorite person is inevitably a grand day for me. Being that my husband (a Knoxville, TN native) is a major Peyton Manning fan, it amused me to see the Fifth Down's Why Peyton Manning isn't more revered headline today. Trust me, there's lots of Peyton reverence going on in our household. Sean Payton is today's MMQB voice and his comment about the Hall of Fame Game on August 9 th got me thinking...will our tv (and the rest of our furniture) arrive in time for the HoF Game (I know, I might be the only person out there that actually enjoys watching the HoF Game...)? We are some of the lucky few (note the great sarcasm there) that have a 4-17 day delivery window for our possessions to make the j...

I'm starting to see lots of articles on what to look for at training camp, who to keep an eye on, which rooks might just impress at camp, etc. Pay attention - remember, this is the time of year when we learned just who Chris Johnson was in '08. There's someone out there who will hit the fantasy scene absolutely en fuego and you don't want to miss the hype. Trust me. Football Outsiders' Black and Blue Report: Training Camp 2009 - FO will be twittering injury news this season also but read on for a full update on a whole bunch of key fantasy folks. CBSSports .com addresses Training camp questions for each team - take a look for one or two quick sentences on the heart of each team's 2009 dilemmas. Fantasy Football Mastermind has their 2009 Eye in the Sky NFL Scouting Reports cranking. I love reading local viewpoints; I find they provide significant value. Mac Bros Fantasy Football Forecast debates which QB should be top dog in Tom Brady or Drew Brees ? Agree...

Need to be quick with my post today - I'll be back tomorrow with a lengthier, linkier (did I just make up a new word? sweeeeeet ) post! Late Round Targets from FFToolbox - I'm totally on the same page with these guys on Kevin Walter. Seeing as we're moving and setting up a new tv package in the next few weeks, I'm quite interested in reading this note on DirectTV selling Sunday Ticket for iPhones . Can I really envision myself watching a game on my iPhone though at that exorbitant price? If you're in a PPR league, take note of FantasySharks . com's guidance on receivers that are PPR-friendly and those that are not in You down with PPR? Yeah, you know me! The rise and fall of dynasty QBs is noted in Rotoworld's Pancake Blocks blog. Oh o-lines. I love, love, love them. And Ultimate Fantasy Football Strategy has finally wrapped up their individual team review and put together their annual 2009 Offensive Line Rankings and Analysis article.

I've got my thinking cap on, FFLibrarian readers. This is good news for you all - I'm brainstorming ways of bringing more content to you all, particularly in a variety of new formats. I've already talked to Sports Data Hub about incorporating some of their awesome graphics into my blog on a weekly basis but I'm also thinking about doing the following this fall: a weekly podcast, entering the twitter world to provide Sunday morning start/sit news, and possibly writing up a weekly newsletter with extra content and analysis for a small fee for an elite group of FFLibrarian fans. Don't worry, this would all be in addition to the features I already provide such as the copious linking, the consensus start/sit, the preseason aggregation of expert rankings , the creation of tiers using cluster analysis . I've got tricks up my sleeve along the same quantitative analysis vein, too, so stay tuned... RotoExperts ' Fantasy Football Draft Kit requires a login (free!) ...

Who is Joe Flacco going to throw to now?? This morning on the bus on my way into work I did a double take when I read the headline announcing Derrick Mason's retirement . Really? I mean, truly? Mason might not be a spring chicken but the dude still has skills - I like the idea of going out while you're still on top, but the Ravens are looking at quite the sparse WR crew. Does this mean the Ravens will work with what they've got (Mark Clayton and Demetrius Williams) or will they bring in some fresh meat? I don't think I've linked to this article on Key injuries to watch from Stephania Bell's blog yet, which is surprising since I've found myself rereading it several times. If you're not a frequenter of Stephania's ESPN blog you're going to want to change that. Her insight on injuries is unparalleled and we all know how valuable that can be. I like Rotoworld's "Prospects" list . I bought into the Laurent Robinson hype last summe...

As I've mentioned here several times over the past few months, my husband accepted a post-doc position at NYU so in a few short weeks we are moving to New York City. We'll be relying upon a moving company to get the majority of our possessions back east, but we will be the ones packing everything up...which meant we needed boxes. And a lot of them (there are only so many book boxes I can pilfer from the library). So we turned to the fine people at UHaul and their extremely vast array of boxes and over the weekend we acquired a massive quantity of boxes (thanks, free shipping!). I had this image of receiving one well-packed, lightweight box full of other boxes of varying sizes. Oh so naive. We hauled in 6 or 7 different boxes filled with boxes; I had no idea a box could be so heavy. Granted one is a "packing system" for our tv and there are some of those wardrobe type boxes for the closet, but truly, I was blissfully unaware of the world of moving boxes. You'd th...

Happy Friday! I'm looking forward to a weekend full of some of my favorite Boulder trails - and a little bit of packing of our condo mixed in. But before the weekend begins, here are a few football links to keep us all informed and entertained. One of the FootballOutsiders .com masterminds brings his 2009 forecasting to the Fifth Down in 2009 Predictions: Look Out For Rams and Chargers . For more insight from the FO guys, don't forget about the FO Almanac available now. I haven't bought it yet but I think today might be the day to pull the trigger. It's just too good of a resource not to buy it - in fact, I even listed their Pro Football Prospectus (predecessor to the Almanac) as one of my favorite books on Facebook . Yes, seriously. Ultimate Fantasy Football Strategy keeps the o-line analysis coming with the Bengals and Browns . Evan Silva from Rotoworld was touting Yeremiah Bell's awesomeness last season and was dead-on about that - no surprise to see he...

I have 13 days left in my office until we take off and make the big move from Boulder to New York City. This isn't the first job that I've left but perhaps the first job that really means something to me - the first where I feel personally invested in the work I've done, the changes I've implemented, the projects I've initiated, which is making it really tough to wrap things up. Plus anyone who has been to Boulder knows what an amazing town it is - it won't be easy to say goodbye. I feel myself trending toward some sappy essay on the awesomeness of my job and friends so I'll just cut myself off - let's get to football instead! Lots of dynasty (and redraft) rankings to come on Football Jabber - this link will take you to the RBs , and this one to the QBs , but remember to check back for more. Several of you have asked me about my thoughts or experience with different league hosting sites - I've played with CBS, Yahoo, MyFantasyLeague , and Fleaflicker...

The other night (at approximately 3 am) our A/C made new, loud, unfortunate dripping noises that a youthful air conditioner really shouldn't make...and then refused to turn back on. Yesterday, however, it made a comeback. Not exactly sure what kind of crazy black magic my husband performed to get it working again but it's happily cooling away sans noises. Considering the weather forecast for the foreseeable future has us in the mid-90s here in Boulder, I'm quite pleased about this turn of events. I kind of see our A/C like a running back who maybe had a minor injury and thus took a serious decline in the fantasy rankings for the 2009 season...and yet, there's a good chance that RB will be good as new like our ol ' trusty A/C. Along these lines I can't help but wonder about Denver's Peyton Hillis . I realize there's a mountain of dudes in the backfield in Denver right now, but the guy was running pretty well and could certainly catch (7 receptions for 11...

Greetings! A quick update on the FFL league: all of spots have been taken in the monster FFLibrarian League and I'll be e-mailing out the last couple of invites in the next hour or so. Many of you who are playing have asked about rules and the draft set up - I'll be e-mailing all of the franchises with more details in the next few days so just stay tuned. So let's get to today's links... Get your paws on Bruno Boys' 2009 Draft Webazine and check out their new and improved site. One thing there that might catch your eye? A contest to win a $200 Southwest gift card for a trip to Vegas. Who doesn't love a good contest? Football Outsiders continues with their Wisdom of the Crowds: Projecting RBs , Part III - their final feature on RBs . This one includes Derrick Ward, Ryan Grant, and Joseph Addai among others. Dr. U Fantasy Football Guru keeps churning out player profiles - see some of the latest liek Matt Ryan and Michael Crabtree . Rotoworld has updated ...

You all continue to impress me with your appetite for fantasy football - there are now 80 of us in the FFLibrarian League and the e-mail requests to join the monster league keep coming. I have to cap it at 96 teams so if you'd like to play, I recommend e-mailing me sooner rather than later. I was reading Athlon / Grogan Sports' 8 Training Camps You Must Visit Before You Die article and was desperately wishing that some team out there might be camping it up in the middle of Nebraska, as my husband and I will be spending some quality time in Nebraska in a few weeks, hopefully flying across I-80 as we head to NYC. I have yet to visit Nebraska - it's one of the handful of states I haven't been to yet though the reports from my fellow I-80 travelers aren't exactly glowing. If it's anything like driving through Kansas (sorry, Kansas folks), then it will be a rather boring leg of the trip, but perhaps better than battling through Chicagoland traffic. Any I-80 exp...

Greetings on the 4 th of July. Always a fun time of year. This is "get ready to move to NYC" time of the year for us right now and yesterday that meant a trip to the vet to get our cats microchipped . All 17 of them. Kidding, kidding, we only have 2 cats (but admit it, for a second you believed I might be that crazy library lady with 17 cats didn't you?). According to the vet, our cats were some of the most mellow, well-behaved cats she'd ever microchipped before (yes, that pleases me) but I was the not-so-mellow one. This is a precursor to our car trip east when I'll be spending the whole time wondering just how traumatized our pets are. Should be fun, right? My husband is a saint. Anyway, I hope you all have fun plans in the works for the 4 th . Here are a few links to add some football to your holiday. FantasySharks have a whole bunch of good material right now - first, if you're interested in which old guy to try and capitalize on this season, read Meet...

You guys are impressive - in the 24 hours since I posted the info about this season's FFLibrarian league I've signed up 45 of you. Amazing - thank you for the interest! Right now I have the league set at 48 but we can get much bigger. For those of you who are wondering how this will work, it will be divided into multiple conferences which will each have their own draft and weekly head-to-head competitions . Should be great fun so if you're interested and haven't signed up yet, e-mail me and I'll send an invitation your way. Those who have been reading this blog for awhile know that I get a great kick out of Matthe Berry's sense of humor...so I'm quite pleased to see his Love/Hate: 2009 edition column up - and check out the love for Michael Turner! For you die hard Browns fans Fifth Down has the following offering: 2009 Forecast: Browns should be much better . I just submitted my 4 th round pick in a PPR league - see the results so far here . At this p...

Oh yeah, you read that post title correctly: the FFLibrarian League has arrived. I have already sent out an invitation with the league details to a handful of people that e-mailed me about joining in on the league fun, but there's still plenty of room. So if you are interested, e-mail me and I'll send you an invitation. I set it up for a live draft but am wondering if you guys have thoughts on this - would you all prefer a live draft (at the end of August) or an e-mail draft (could take a few weeks so we would need to start in early August)? Whatever the majority prefers will be our draft method. In the meantime, my mock draft slowly rolls on and I really appreciate all the comments I've heard from you guys so far on the mock. I've got some great options lined up for my next pick - which way do you think I'll go: RB or WR ? Nearly an identical group of experts mock drafted in May - take a look at those results here if you're really interested in this mock d...