Do you finish the playoffs in your re-draft league(s) feeling dis-satisfied and wonder "what's next"? Do you frequently refer to your league's website (sometimes numerous times a day) over the off-season to look for any signs of life? Do you try and talk to your friends about fantasy football in February and they say "Dude, it's only February. I'm not even thinking about football."?

If any of this has happened to you before then www.DynastyRogues.com could be the fantasy site for you. In addition to delivering cutting edge and up-to-date dynasty related information, tips, and rankings, we also respect and appreciate the demand and popularity of traditional re-draft formats and will service this area of the hobby as well.

The staff at Dynasty Rogues are all dynasty addicts/enthusiasts so we take a lot of pride in our player analysis. One of the biggest pros of dynasty formats that we've experienced is that it's a year round endeavor. When the NFL season ends and the off-season begins, we get to work on our dynasty related analysis. We cater to true football addicts who engage in these types of leagues and who want inside information and analysis of the incoming rookie classes and implications of off-season activity.

In addition to player profiles and analysis for the NFL breed, we will also do the same for the college ranks so you can keep an eye on your potential dynasty gems for your up-coming dynasty drafts. As you can imagine, draft day and the weeks leading up to draft day including the NFL combine will be a busy time for us. We'll weigh in on our analysis and grades for NFL hopefuls as well as weigh those thoughts against the typical league talking heads to be able to deliver to our customers the sleeper picks and/or value picks in your drafts.

Mr. Customer: Ok, you have my interest, but what exactly is a dynasty league?

The general definition of a "dynasty league" can be vague but we'll define it as any league that allows you to keep 50%+ of your in-season roster (i.e.: if your in-season roster is 20 players then 10 or more keepers from year to year would define your league as a dynasty). In short, dynasty leagues allow you to retain the core foundation of your fantasy team from season to season.

Mr. Customer: What kinds of dynasty options are out there?

Well, you can play in salary cap leagues, auction leagues, or simple dynasty leagues that allow you to keep players indefinitely. For the novice dynasty player, we recommend keeping it simple therefore not engaging in a salary cap or auction format. Salary cap and auction formats are what they sound like. You likely have an "X" amount of cap money to spend on players as you deem appropriate. Along with salary caps typically come contracts as well. If you've got experienced dynasty league owners and like the liveliness of salary caps and contracts then this option could make some sense for your particular taste. The overwhelming concept of dynasty leagues is to 1) simulate the NFL more precisely than re-draft leagues and 2) stay active in fantasy football year round opposed to just August through December.

Mr. Customer: I'm in a league that keeps two players from year to year. Is this a dynasty league?

Not really. Per our definition above, we'd consider this a keeper league which could serve as a stepping stone to a fluid dynasty format. These leagues are similar to dynasty formats with the biggest difference being the number of keepers from year to year. As you can imagine, the less number of keepers from year to year means the more important each annual draft is which in turn means the more of a re-draft league it resembles. However, this is not to suggest that dynasty drafts are not important. Much like the NFL drafts, it allows existing teams to improve their play through the incoming rookie players. Keeper leagues tend to have some off-season activity but not as much as traditional dynasty leagues given that most teams have a small amount of keeper-worthy players from year to year.

Mr. Customer: How do I start up a dynasty league?

It's really no different than your normal re-draft leagues. You'll need owners, a host website to keep track of scoring and standings (at the minimum), establish league by-laws (scoring and starting format, keeper rules, etc.), etc.

Mr. Customer: I'm excited to get started! Is there anything else I should know?

Yes, a few things. First of all, given that dynasty leagues generally enjoy greater longevity compared to re-draft leagues, it's imperative to accumulate a collection of owners who are equally passionate about the format and who are in it for the long haul. Given the format, it's much more difficult to replace a franchise given you're asking a potential owner to assume a team as is which could be a complete mess and need a ton of work whereas re-draft leagues start over from scratch every season thus the impact of attrition is minimal.

Secondly, give due thought to your league structure and format. It's important to establish the league foundation such where struggling or non-playoff teams have ample opportunity to improve their success in the league. One major way to accomplish this is to have dynasty rookie drafts follow the "NFL style" (i.e.: non-serpentine) format. This allows struggling teams to pick early in every round with the idea that they'll grab the more coveted rookie players to help improve their team at a faster rate.

Lastly, if your existing re-draft or keeper league decides to switch to a dynasty format, we recommend starting over from scratch with this understanding. The concept and strategy of the draft is wildly different when considering a dynasty format vs. a re-draft format. Thus, starting over from scratch allows every franchise to operate from a level playing field with the dynasty angle in mind.

We at Dynasty Rogues hope that you've found this introduction and tutorial useful and informative. We look forward to supplying our customers with quality player analysis and rankings as we move through the off-season and into the next NFL regular season. Please keep an eye out for future newsletters as it pertains to the progress of our product and the additional features of our website.

Best wishes and happy scouting!

The DR staff