A Beginner Owner's Short Guide to the Fantasy Football Season

If you're new to fantasy football, you're probably wondering how long a season lasts.  You might also be wondering what happens within the season and what you, as the team manager or owner, should do to play this game successfully.  Here are a few things you need to know about a fantasy football season and the kind of excitement you and your fantasy league can look forward to:

The fantasy football season is usually as long as the NFL season and also as intense. That means you'll have weeks and weeks of nail biting action to enjoy. One regular football season lasts 17 weeks, with each team playing only 16 weeks. That's how long you can expect to play as a team owner, although preparation in the weeks during the pre-season is also key. 

You will be playing against at least one other team owner each week, depending on your game schedule.  As each week passes, you rack up points depending on how well (or badly) your players perform. If they earn you enough points, you can even compete in the playoffs, which gives you a good chance of taking a shot at your league's championship.

Playing within a fantasy football season
Every week, each team owner will submit a list of his starters, called the starting lineup.  If there are any changes in the lineup, they have to be implemented before the player involved starts a game.

Making these weekly changes is important if you want to maximize player performance.  If you don't, you will retain your previous week's lineup and could lose plenty of points. 

Fantasy football isn't a game for lazy people.  In one fantasy football season, expect to be making plenty of changes in your roster.  You will also have to be on the lookout for anything that will affect your team's points.  Injuries, trades and violations will matter, especially if one or several of your players is involved.

Watch out for the bye week
The week where an NFL team takes a break is called the bye week.  Within the fantasy football season, the bye week can significantly impact your standing in your league.  A player who belongs to your team and then has a bye week won't earn you any points.  If you don't watch out for this transition, you could waste the opportunity of using an active player instead.

Don't wait for the start of the season to begin making your decisions about which players to pick. The best fantasy football players know that the pre-season is an important period for team owners to decide on their strategy.