Fantasy Football

Describes motivation process for creativity with emphasis on intrinsic motivation by Corey K Katir

With the NFL regular season having ended, the fantasy football season is over. There were many great players who were deserving of the Fantasy Trackeras Year-End awards, particularly at quarterback, but Iam going to take this time to look at the best of the best at each position from the 2011-12 season.

Quarterback: Drew Brees

Just like the MVP race, Brees and Aaron Rodgers are neck-and-neck for the best fantasy QB award (with Tom Brady, Matt Stafford, Eli Manning and Cam Newton close behind). The wonderful thing about fantasy football is that weare not looking at intangibles or records, just statistics.

REUTERS Statistically, Brees was the best quarterback. Brees threw for 5,476 yards and had 47 combined TDs. Compare that to Rodgers, who threw for 4,643 yards and had 48 combined TDs (in 15 games), and itas clear who the superior fantasy QB was this year.

Runner Up: Aaron Rodgers

Running Back: Ray Rice

Rice finished second in rushing to Jacksonvilleas Maurice Jones-Drew (1,606) and behind Philadelphiaas LeSean McCoy in TDs (20) but Rice was the top fantasy back this season.

Getty Images Rice led all running backs with 2,068 combined yards, making him the only player at the position to top the 2,000-yard mark. Rice also had nine games where he surpassed 100 total yards and even had a game where he threw for a TD.

Runner Up: LeSean McCoy, Maurice Jones-Drew

Wide Receiver: Calvin Johnson

If this award were based on value, the best receiver this year would have been the Giantsa Victor Cruz. Unfortunately, Iam handing these awards out based on who the best player at the position was. No one was close to Calvin Johnson this year, plan and simple.

AP Johnson started the season on a historic pace, scoring nine TDs in his first five games. There was a bit of a lull from Weeks 10-14 (one TD), but Megatron was able to dominate when it mattered most, the fantasy playoffs. In Weeks 15-17, Johnson caught 24 passes for 560 yards and four TDs. He was as dominant an offensive player that there was in the league this year.

Runner Up: Victor Cruz, Wes Welker

Tight End: Rob Gronkowski

As sick as it sounds, Rob Gronkowski might be a first-round draft pick next year. Gronkowski was a touchdown machine this season, scoring an NFL-record 17 TDs (he added one rushing TD) at tight end.

AP If that wasnat enough Gronkowski also edged out New Orleansa Jimmy Graham for the NFL record for receiving yards by a TE with 1,327.

Gronkowskias record-setting production, along with seven multiscore games, set him apart from the field and solidified his status as the NFLas elite tight end.

Runner Up: Jimmy Graham

Defense/Special Teams: San Francisco 49ers

Even though the 49ers scored one defensive TD all season, San Francisco managed to lead all defenses in scoring (standard format leagues).

AP The 49ers had the NFLas top-ranked rushing defense, allowing 77.2 yards per game, and were borderline historic after allowing three rushing TDs all season (the first came in Week 16 against Seattleas Marshawn Lynch).

San Francisco also led the league in fumble recoveries (15) and total turnovers (38) and were second in the NFL in points allowed (227). Its 42 sacks were also tied for the fifth-highest total in the NFL.

Runner Up: Chicago

Biggest Surprise: Reggie Bush

I find it highly unlikely that anyone though Reggie Bush would be more than a placeholder for rookie RB Daniel Thomas this season, but if you drafted the former first-round pick, you were pleasantly surprised.

Getty Images Bush was mediocre early this season, but began to hit his stride in Week 8 after having his first 100-yard rushing game of the season. Bush finished the season with five 100+ yard games, including a 203-yard performance in Week 15 against the Bills.

Bush passed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career and had the highest YPC out of any running back who rushed for 1,000 or more yards. Bush silenced his doubters and will be a legitimate RB2 next season.

Runner Up: Victor Cruz, Marshawn Lynch

Biggest Disappointment: Tie a Peyton Hillis, Andre Johnson

It was difficult to decide which player was the bigger disappointment, Hillis or Johnson. Some will argue that Hillisa injury-prone season was to be expected following his appearance on the cover of Madden NFL a12 (another curse victim), but I will argue that because of the nature of the position, Johnsonas injury was more managable.

Getty/AP Johnson was projected to be the top-ranked WR according to Yahoo! Rankings entering 2011, but due to two hamstring injuries that limited him to seven games, Johnson caught 33 passes for 492 yards and two TDs.

Hillis, whose breakout season in 2010-11 made him a fantasy legend, bounced back late but was unable to recreate the 1,654 yard 13 TD performance from a season ago. Instead, in parts of 10 games, Hillis rushed for 587 yards and three TDs, adding 130 yards and zero TDs in the passing game.

Runner Up: Chris Johnson

Rookie of the Year: Cam Newton

I hate to toot my own horn, but I am going to. Out of five leagues, I either drafted Newton or picked him up right after the draft in three of them. Newton was absolutely unbelievable this season, throwing for 4,051 yards and 21 TDs. Newtonas real value came outside of the pocket though. The rookie QB rushed for 706 yards and 14 TDs.

REUTERS Newton will only get better with time and will benefit from a full training camp next season. He’s a surefire top-five QB heading into the 2012-13 season.

Runner Up: A.J. Green, Julio Jones

Week 16 represented the championship game in most fantasy football leagues, and if you were lucky enough to have made it that far (or won), congratulations are in order.

It was a big week for fantasy WRs, with 10 players topping the 100-yard mark. The leader of the pack was Giants WR Victor Cruz, who is enjoying one of the best seasons of any player in the NFL.

Joseph E. Amaturo Cruz led all other wideouts this week with 164 yards, including his 99-yard catch-and-run TD against the vaunted Jets defense. Cruz has been nothing short of spectacular in what is his first full season in the NFL, and is a leading candidate for the best waiver-wire pick up of the 2011-12 fantasy season.

Cruzas 1,358 yards are third in the NFL and his eight TDs are tied for the fourth among receivers (TEs not included). Seeing as it is never too early to look forward to next season, Cruz projects to be a top-five WR in non-PPR formats (76 receptions ranks him ninth in the league) and should continue his explosive play.

In related news, salsa lessons are all the rage in New York City this holiday season.

Home Cook-ina

Titans TE Jared Cook has been doing his best Rob Gronkowski impression over the past two weeks.

Cook, who entered 2011 with 38 receptions for 435 yards and a TD in his career, has caught 17 passes for 272 yards and a TD in Weeks 15 and 16.

AP Cook has led Tennessee in receiving over the past two weeks and figures to be a factor when the Titans look to solidify a playoff spot in Week 17 against the Texans.

Owned in 28 percent of Yahoo! Leagues, Cook is a very nice replacement for owners who lost either Redskins TE Fred Davis (suspension) or Giants TE Jake Ballard (knee) in the latter stages of the season.

Panthers Pride

Cam Newton is making every football-related headline in Carolina, but RB DeAngelo Williams is no slouch himself as of late.

Williams has been one of the most productive fantasy backs over the past five weeks, which has more than made up for an otherwise disappointing 2011-12 campaign.

AP Williams has scored six touchdowns in his past five games, including two multiscore efforts in Weeks 12 and 16.

For a player who is mired in a RBBC system, Williams has provided solid value as a high-end RB2 over that span, but his days of carrying the ball 20-30 times per game appear to be over.

Speedy Recovery

In one of the worst fantasy football related stories of the season, Vikings RB Adrian Peterson suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Sunday’s game against the Redskins. Peterson, a perennial first-round pick, has an eight-to-nine month recovery ahead of him and the Tracker would like to wish him a speedy recovery and hopes that he returns to the fantasy juggernaut he has been.

Post fantasy football writer Anthony Sulla-Heffinger took your questions today at 1:30 p.m.

It’s the championship game in most fantasy football leagues, and Sulla-Heffinger spent an hour dishing out the best advice to help you win the big game. Some of the questions tackled today were whether Titans RB Chris Johnson and Bills WR Stevie Johnson would battle through injury to play and if Giants WR Hakeem Nicks is still a starter despite taking a trip to Revis Island.

Find out the answers to those questions and more in our chat recap.

Post fantasy football writer Anthony Sulla-Heffinger took your questions today.

Some of the questons he fielded this week were whether Broncos RB Willis McGahee is a good start against New England, if Chiefs QB Kyle Orton will be able to be effective against Green Bay’s defense and what to make of the Cowboys’ receiving corps.

Find out the answers to those and more in our chat recap.

Post fantasy football writer Anthony Sulla-Heffinger will be took your questions today at 1:30 p.m.

With playoff time upon us, Sulla-Heffinger dished out advice that is sure to help guide you to a Super Bowl title. Some of the questions asked today were whether Vikings RB Adrian Peterson be a factor this week after missing the past two games with an ankle sprain? Is Lions RB Maurice Morris a good start this week and if Panthers WR Steve Smith can snap out of his recent funk?

Find out the answers to those questions and more today!

Post fantasy football writer Anthony Sulla-Heffinger took your questions today at 1:30 p.m.

Will Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw be a factor if he returns this week against Green Bay? Will Raiders RB Darren McFadden return to his MVP form when he gets over his injury? Is it time to trade WR Vincent Jackson?

Find out the answers to those questions with our chat recap.

Post fantasy football writer Anthony Sulla-Heffinger took your questions today at 1:30 p.m.

Some of the questions Sulla-Heffinger answered today were if Giants RB Brandon Jacobs was a solid start this week against the Saints and if Texans WR Andre Johnson is a better start than WR Marques Colston

Find out the answers to those questions and more in our chat recap.

Post fantasy football writer Anthony Sulla-Heffinger took your questions Friday.

Some of the subjects covered in this week’s chat were how to replace injured QBs Matt Schaub, Matt Cassel and Michael Vick; whether Titans WR Nate Washington was worth starting this week; and if RB Frank Gore will play against Arizona on Sunday.

Find out the answers and a full chat recap below.

Post fantasy football writer Anthony Sulla-Heffinger took your questions earlier today.

Some of the questions this week surrounded the future value of Arizona RB Beanie Wells for the rest of the season and if Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez is a better start than Giants TE Jake Ballard or 49ers TE Vernon Davis. Sulla-Heffinger also advised readers to start Carolina QB Cam Newton over Saints QB Drew Brees as well as predicting a nice week for Jets QB Mark Sanchez.

If you missed this week’s chat or just want to recap the advice dished out read the chat recap below.

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When the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, it will officially mark the beginning of Week 16 of the NFL season. Or, to most of the approximately 30 million people who play fantasy football, championship week. Buoyed by the … Read more

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Ask just about any young boy what he wants to be when he grows up and the answer will likely involve being an elite athlete – usually football or baseball – or an astronaut. My youngest son deviates slightly from these typical career ambitions as his dream is to be a professional skateboarder that moonlights as [...]

I am not going on a diet – and I have no interest in going to the gym, even if Google makes it incredibly easy to eat healthy on campus, and gym membership is free with equipment abundant. It’s just not me. But despite this clear disinterest in my making any kind of physical life change, I have been wearing a Fitbit the last week, obsessively counting my steps, climbing the stairs and tracking how many miles I make on foot. I’ve even been wearing the lightweight tracker at night to see how long and how well I sleep – working to optimize that as well.

So why would I resort to such silliness? It’s the stinkin’ badges – helped along by casual competition with friends, and now, despite my best attempts to not make any actual alterations to how I behave, I am sure I am doing things that are actually better for me, in the same way that Foursquare recommendations have pushed me to new venues and trying new things, based on badges and recommendations from friends.

Yesterday’s Fitbit activity shows average walking, and lots of climbing.

The Fitbit itself is not entirely new – having debuted in late 2008, and so far, I’ve been uninterested. I recognize that my mostly sedentary activity of holding down a desk, and chasing after my kids being my main form of exercise would not be particularly interesting. Even now, while I managed 10,000+ steps and 50 flights of stairs yesterday, I still managed to scarf down a great bacon and cheddar sandwich for lunch, so weight loss is not the target.

After scads of occasional tweets and other status updates from acquaintances updating me on the minutiae of their daily fitness activity, it took a simple email of a friend’s weekly dashboard last week to recognize this was a device I needed. In minutes, I’d not only purchased the $99 Fitbit Ultra tracker, but also pre-ordered the Wifi-capable Aria scale for another $129. It was the stats, and the idea of competition, that made me knew I had to get it.

A day’s activity, showing spikes of walking across campus and at home.

Like a true geek, I’m understandably curious about the Fitbit’s accuracy. Does it count 5 steps as a flight of stairs? What about 10? What about small steps, big steps? Do I get credit for manually shaking the tracker or running in place? But despite my moments of tinkering, I’ve found the tracker’s daily reports to be especially accurate. I can spot when I walked to and from my car, to and from lunch, and even when I went from building to building for meetings. I can see when I chased my kids around the backyard, and by looking at the sleep tracker, get a good idea for when they started yowling in the morning, begging to get up.

A night’s sleep – 95% efficient, I am told, despite Diet Coke addiction.

Gaining one’s first badges, such as 5,000 or 10,000 steps, or 10 flights of stairs traversed, is pretty straight forward. But I wanted more. When I got home and put the kids to bed, I was at a mere 14 flights of stairs, so I literally, alone in a quiet house, went up and down my 15 stairs at home 11 times, to get to 25 flights. It must have been quite the sight. That got me a 25 flights badge, and later, when I interrupted each chore with 5 more flights, I finally made it to 50 flights of stairs, which earned me a new badge, not to mention a little bit of sweat and some tightness in my calves, which said the exercise might actually have been working. Tricked again!

A badge for 50 flights is one thing. What about 100 flights?

Had it not been for the allure of the 50 floors badge, there’s no question I wouldn’t have been hiking up and down in my house in some solitary unfulfilling challenge. Had it not been for the intrigue of comparing my daily steps accumulated against my friends, and seeing if I could walk more steps than the previous day, or sleep more efficiently one night versus the previous night, I wouldn’t be thinking about it at all. Once the scale arrives and threatens to send my weight to my own internal profile, I wonder if it too is going to impact how I eat, measure and commit to something that resembles good behavior.

As for the Fitbit itself, I can’t complain at all. It’s very light, inconspicuous, and the software is practically invisible. Just connect to the computer, hit sync, and it’s good to go. I’m now addicted to these stats, like any blogger chasing page views, or your favorite fantasy football fan whose future hangs on every rushing yard. The badges are driving the behavior. So if you have a Fitbit and want to challenge my stats, invite me by email. Let’s do this.

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If there were ever any doubt that social media had come of age, the upcoming World Cup in South Africa is banishing those doubts once and for all. All of the official World Cup sponsors (and a host of nonofficial ones as well) have been busy working on their killer apps and fine-tuning their viral connect-the-world features. Most are also looking to push the boundaries of Facebookas design and functionality to connect with the global social-media audience.

So, how are they faring? In theory, applying social-media marketing to the World Cup should be like tapping in from five yards out while the goalie has his shirt pulled over his head. After all, we know that social-media audiences crave both information and entertainment online. Yet social media is a fickle medium, and thereas just as much chance that some of these massive campaigns will score its own goal.

Here, then, is the Social Media Influence guide to the World Cup official sponsorsa social media campaigns and how we think each might fare if there were a trophy for social-media success.

McDonaldas

For more Social Media Influence analysis, subscribe to the newsletter.

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