Fantasy Football!

So another year of fantasy football is here!  It has changed over the years a bit, there are still a few things that can help you in this years leagues. 
1. Stop planning for their bye weeks.
Although you may be the best planner ever this is not a hard thing to get caught up in.  I understand there may be a couple of teams that have bye weeks at the same time that have really good running backs.  The thing is you need to get the best available players and manage when they play.  It is not a good idea to pass on Philip Rivers just because he may have the same bye week as Drew Brees.  Do Your best to establish viable options at key point scoring positions.
2. Establish depth at key positions.
Now it is not advisable to draft 4 straight running backs in the current NFL Fantasy League formats.  In the early days of fantasy football the league was a run first league that made running backs the asset to have.  Now there are several teams that will have successful years running the football, but considering last year that Matt Schaub didn't make the playoffs with the Houston Texans and had the 6th best passing season in NFL history in terms of yards.  Yeah, I'm saying quarter backs are key here.  You can't just draft four rounds of running backs and then pick up the scraps.
3. You CANNOT build a perfect team.
Stop trying to live in fantasy world here.  I know a team with Peyton Manning, Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Andre Johnson, Neil Rackers, Pittsburgh's Defense, Antonio Gates, and throw a couple other number one wide outs and running backs would be great, but there is one catch.  It is not going to happen unless you are the only one playing in the league.  I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you will have to settle a little.  It is possible to get Rackers, Peterson, Andre Johnson, Gates and maybe a quarterback like Schaub, Rivers or Romo.  That is still a very good team that you can manage a few good players together in and a good defense.  In that scenario you are still very hard to beat.  Remember this is a competition not a hey everybody watch John here win it all by week 10.

Good luck this year in your fantasy endeavors and please enjoy as much football as possible.

Head on a Swivel!

You may have never heard this, but I heard the phrase many times in my sporting days. "Get your head on a swivel." Keep a look out for what might be coming. It is important to understand this concept in football. If you play linebacker it is especially important, because you are the second level of the defense. You have the ability to react to the play before a blocker gets to you. Now, if the offensive lineman is doing his job and has studied properly he is going to know where you will react and go to and how to get in your way. It really won't take much more than that if everything else is taken care of. Just getting between you and the ball carrier, even if he doesn't block you all that well, adds a couple of yards to the play anyway. So keep your head on a swivel! If you are able to not only get to the spot you need to be, but also get there without being blocked then you are in a much better position to make the tackle for little or no gain. After all down and distance always favors the defense. Now this lesson is particularly important to everyone involved because eventually you will have a life to live and know there are specific things that you must do. The trick is maintaining an awareness of everything going on around you and seeing things that are coming to be able to adjust and still make your mark.
Tricky thing this head on a swivel idea. It is easy to get so focused on avoiding the block that you miss the play entirely. Don't forget that making the tackle is your first priority not avoiding being hit. Stay focused and you will get there, and don't forget to have a look out for what else may be coming. In other words, keep your head on a swivel.

Block that Guy! Get him out of my backfield!

You've heard it just like I have.
Jones! What's that guy doing in my backfield?
You know we can't win many games with a defensive tackle always causing problems.
So how do we remedy the problem?
Here's a quick tip on successful blocking habits. Pick a target first. No, not just a person.
It won't do you any good to just be a "head hunter". The point is imagine a target on their chest and aim for that. Don't get caught up looking them in the eyes. Don't think you will be able to see their eyes to tell where they are going. Get your face mask and your hands to their chest as quickly as possible, because all the moves a defensive player has are lead in direction by his chest. Also if you are a running back as well the linebacker coming at you is going a hundred miles an hour and you have to stop him. Explode into him, get your hands to his chest and get your head just under his chin. Once you are able to do this, he will go in the direction his head takes him. Use these tactics and strategies to blocking and you will be successful more times than not.
Consistency is the key in the long term and only practice will continue to make you consistent.
Now get out there put it to good use.

Traditional Weight Training vs. Emerging Training Methods

There has been a lot of hype coming out with all the new types of workouts hitting the market. All of these programs offer something different and want to appeal to a certain crowd of people but is it right for what you want to accomplish? Well let's take a look at them and see what they can do for you. Let's start with traditional weight training. With proper instruction and balance to a traditional weight training regiment along with speed training you will definitely be able to see increases in strength, size and explosiveness. The advantages of doing a traditional weight training method includes the number of different exercises possibly allow for the workout to be customized slightly to motions you are more comfortable with while still targeting the desired muscle group, although the training time to see the results may be prolonged slightly the results are more consistent, and depending on what results you are specifically looking for there are a number of exceptional sources for information online that an help you obtain your desired results best of all they are typically free to access online. Now the emerging training methods, such as P90X or the insanity workouts, use body weight exercises to increase strength, flexibility and endurance. Most of the exercises are designed to sculpt and tone muscles though a series of exercises that take advantage of high repetitions with little to no added weight. The advantages to these training methods include typically quicker results, improved flexibility, and they are designed to be full body workouts, so no muscle group gets left out. The emerging training methods typically are a specialized program that unless you spend the money and buy the materials to help you learn new ways to use the workout for better results. Now for most athletes especially those in competitive team sports typically traditional weight training is the best choice because the vast amount of information to help you change the workouts ever so slightly to make sure you are getting the desired results. Also it does allow for better control over which phase in the training cycle you are in so the trained athlete can be peaking at the optimum time for his/her sport of choice.