Question - When And How Do You Begin To Prepare For Football Season?

[oldmanTED]

Started this thread to allow fellow members to offer some insight into their method of preparation for football season.

I'll offer my own methods to begin. I normally will begin preparation in mid June by picking up a quality college football preview magazine as well as use the internet to read each local newspaper sport sections to stay up too date with team adjustments and injuries. This year the season begins on August 28th with the Classic between USC and Virginia Tech. As for the NFL, I'll once again use the internet at a variety of sites to keep up with mini-camps, drafted player status, off season acquisitions, and team development prior to the start of preseason, which this year begins on August 9th with Denver playing Washington.

Please feel free to share your own thoughts and methods as to when you begin and what tools you use.

 

[Redneckman]

Phil Steele's college football magazine is a must for me.

 

[D2bets]

I spend more time handicapping the books than I do handicapping the teams.

 

[oldmanTED]

Redneckman:

I agree. Most detailed preview on the market. I'm sure everyone has their own favorite magazine, but for volume and detail of information, that one is excellent. Forget all the hype and concentrate on the detail and you'll have a nice foundation for the season.

 

[oldmanTED]

D2:

Good point. I do the same starting in late July prior to making any deposits.

 

[dimeplayersonly]

question for you handicapping dudes...

when hanicapping college foots, do any of you try to focus on say...one conference?? focusing on several teams during the season???

 

[superstar]

i bet baseball, that gives me the confidence i need to bet on football

 

[oldmanTED]

Dime:

I will normally focus on the power conferences more then the mid-majors and the smaller colleges. Primary reason is like in all sports, the better the athletes, the more true to form they perform over the course of the season. Once I have a handle on these conferences, I'll generally begin to find situations of strength versus weakness which can lead to some zeroing in on particular teams to ride until the line adjustments catch up with them.

 

[Vegasguy]

Well for us, we start the day after Super Bowl.

I know that sounds crazy to many of you, but this is the single most pivotal time in football.

Teams not in the playoffs are already shopping around to get the best players, making off-season decisions on coaching, player trades and other managerial staff. Its not uncommon for you to read the day after the season ends people who resigned or were fired. Things that affect a team as a whole...good or bad.

We pick up the pace the day after the draft, plus even more when they schedules are released.

Since we finished 2nd place in the Hilton last year, this research in the off-season was again an important part of our success. It is playing a major part for our 2004 entry as well.

Most guys wait for annuals (we produce one as well) but the real time to do the research is every day after the Super Bowl.

I will add this...as a member of the media, I do receive information (NOT INSIDE INFORMATION) that most players will never see due to their local papers not printing it. I will be happy to share any and all info we have to you if it hjelps us all be winners.

Thanks for reading

 

[drunkguy]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by dimeplayersonly:
question for you handicapping dudes...

when hanicapping college foots, do any of you try to focus on say...one conference?? focusing on several teams during the season???<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

As much as people think this is wrong, I really focus on the TOP 25 or so teams.

To me, it is all about getting line value and overlays, and the only way you are going to get that is to find teams that the "public" is overrating and go against them.

For smaller conferences, etc, unless you know EVERYTHING about that team, the lines are going to be tougher to beat

 

[SoundofSilence]

I take the initial Gold Sheet power ratings for the NFL and CFB teams and compare them to the final version from last year.

I then alter my own power ratings by the same increments that the Gold Sheet does.

I do this because I feel my ratings are sharper, but I certainly don't have the time, resources, or ability to update my last years power ratings to this year to account for new signees/recruits... I let the professionals give me a good value on that.

I then reset all of my injury values for QB's, RB's and star WR's because their value to the team has changed due to the team's makeup changing.

 

[~Falco~]

Round up some Hos and get a case of Colt 45 and I watch the Hall of Fame Game, if I win I treat myself to an Around the World with an asian Ho. If I lose there's gonna be some beacht slaps handed out.