The Block Strategy - The best preparation for your fantasy football auction
If you want to be totally prepared and confident at your auction, you're going to want a more sophisticated cheat sheet than you would for a draft. The Block Strategy is an overall strategy that will prepare you for your auction. Here is how it works. We'll use a list of the top 50 receivers from 2004 to demonstrate.
| Randy Moss Marvin Harrison Torry Holt Chad Johnson Terrell Owens Hines Ward Steve Smith Derrick Mason Darrell Jackson Joe Horn Santana Moss Chris Chambers Koren Robinson Jimmy Smith Andre Johnson Charles Rogers Laveranues Cole |
Rod Smith Eric Moulds Isaac Bruce Peerless Price Javon Walker Larry Fitzgerald Plaxico Burress Jerry Porter Amani toomer Justin McCareins Keyshawn Johnson Donte Stollworth Keenan McCardell Peter Warrick Marty Booker Donald Driver Ashley Lelie |
Reggie Wayne Rod Gardner Marcus Robinson Roy Williams Joey Galloway David Givens Deion Branch Mushin Muhammad Eddie Kennison Ike Hilliard Jerry Rice Andre Davis Tai Streets Troy Brown Kevin Johnson Brandon Loyd |
When you're drafting, this kind of cheat sheet is fine. You know when you’ll be picking, you have plenty of time to think about which player you want. You also know that a certain number of receivers will be taken, making your job easier. But in an auction, EVERY SINGLE ONE of those wide receivers is available to you! And auctions go FAST, so you don't have time to decide whether you really want that player on your team. So you better know which 4-6 receivers you want going in to the auction, otherwise you may find yourself stuck with players you don’t want. The first part of the Block Strategy is to break your receivers into tiers. If you've never done this, then read up on the tier strategy first.
| Randy Moss Marvin Harrison Torry Holt Chad Johnson Terrell Owens Hines Ward Steve Smith Derrick Mason Darrell Jackson Joe Horn Santana Moss Chris Chambers Koren Robinson Jimmy Smith Andre Johnson Charles Rogers Laveranues Cole |
Rod Smith Eric Moulds Isaac Bruce Peerless Price Javon Walker Larry Fitzgerald Plaxico Burress Jerry Porter Amani toomer Justin McCareins Keyshawn Johnson Donte Stollworth Keenan McCardell Peter Warrick Marty Booker Donald Driver Ashley Lelie |
Reggie Wayne Rod Gardner Marcus Robinson Roy Williams Joey Galloway David Givens Deion Branch Mushin Muhammad Eddie Kennison Ike Hilliard Jerry Rice Andre Davis Tai Streets Troy Brown Kevin Johnson Brandon Loyd |
Now your receivers are broken down into tiers. The next part is where you get ready for your auction. Every year there are players that you really like or don’t like WITHIN their given tiers, right? So now it's time to divide all the players WITHIN EACH TIER into three parts - Want on my Team, Players I'll Settle for, Will not be on my Team. Your reasons for wanting or not wanting a player are entirely up to you. Here’s how our final cheat sheet looks.
| Want on my team | Players I'll settle for | Will not be on my team |
| Randy Moss Marvin Harrison |
||
| Chad Johnson | Torry Holt | Terrell Owens |
| Hines Ward Steve Smith Derrick Mason Darrell Jackson |
||
| Eric Moulds Andre Johnson |
Rod Smith Charles Rogers Laveranues Coles |
Santana Moss Chris Chambers Koren Robinson Jimmy Smith |
| Plaxico Burress Javon Walker |
Peter Warrick Jerry Porter Isaac Bruce Donald Drive |
Peerless Price Larry Fitzgerald Amani toomer Justin McCareins Keyshawn Johnson Donte Stollworth Keenan McCardell Marty Booker Ashley Lelie |
| Brandon Loyd Troy Brown Marcus Robinson Andre Davis |
Reggie Wayne Roy Williams Joey Galloway David Givens Deion Branch Mushin Muhammad Eddie Kennison Jerry Rice Troy Brown Kevin Johnson |
Rod Gardner Ike Hilliard Tai Streets |
Take a quick look at the top three blocks. You can quickly see that I’d love to have Moss, Harrison, and Chad Johnson on my team. I’ll settle for Holt, Ward, Steve Smith, Mason, and Darrell Jackson. Terrell Owens and Joe Horn will not be on my team. Now, does this mean that I wouldn’t take Owens on my team over Derrick Mason? Of course not! But this is NOT a draft. I have to make decisions on the players I want WITHIN their talent group – or tier. And that means within the same price range.
Now that you have your auction cheat sheet made, a little advice on how to use it. It’s really very easy now that you’ve done all the work. When a player is up for bid from your 'Will not be on my Team' block, simply stay out of the bidding. This way you’re guaranteed not to get stuck with him. Or you can get into the bidding early if you’re confident he’ll go for much higher, then drop out right away.
When a player is up for bid from your 'Players I’ll Settle' for block, you can go either way. If nobody is bidding and he’s going for cheap, jump in the bidding. You may get him for cheap, or you may get him for a fair price. But at least it’s not a player you really don’t want. And when a player is called out from your 'Want on my Team block', well then it’s up to you to decide how bad you want him and what you’ll pay. But again, even if you over pay a little - which is always going to happen at some point – it’s for a player you really want
So that's it! It may seem like a lot of work, but it's really not. You should already be putting your players into tiers on your cheat sheets. And while your're doing this, you're already making decisions on the players you like and don't like. So it should only take you another hour or two to divide those players into your likes and dislikes. In early August, we'll have Block sheets available for you to print out and fill in for your auction. Back to the auction strategy page.