John Hansen Interview

"I'd like to welcome John Hansen, Owner and Publisher of FantasyGuru.com. Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions for us John."

When you are stuck with a low draft position (ie: 8-10), with the makeup of so many leagues now requiring running backs to be taken early, what strategies would you use to draft a successful team? Should a quarterback be even within your first four rounds?

I haven't drafted a QB in Round One in many years because there are always quality ones later in the draft; look at Drew Brees this past year. I may not be locked into a RB in the first, but I'm going to take a RB or a WR 95% of the time.

Tight ends are becoming more and more useful in the NFL as well
as fantasy football. For those of us not lucky enough to land Gonzales or Gates, how should you approch drafting a TE? Are there signs that you can find in previous years to tell you who to grab or is it just a matter of checking the free agent wire each week for the next best thing?

My philosophy is simple regarding TEs: I never pay a steep price for one and focus on the values. A few years ago I killed in the $5000 challenge league by taking Gates in like the 10th round. This past year I wasn't so lucky - but I still won the league again with L.J. Smith, who was solid in a PPR league.

When you have a person in your draft who drafts all the players from one particular team, thus altering your late round strategies, is there a specific way to combat this, as these teams seem to do reasonably well?

I only pay attention to others to see what positions they may or may not
need. For example, if everyone has a QB but me I'll hold off a few rounds. Otherwise, I don't' really follow or care what others are doing.

In leagues with a playoff, should you put less draft consideration on players who will be on more successful teams, as you risk them not playing in weeks 16 and 17 or do you not consider that when drafting?

I don't consider it because there's no way of predicting what will happen those last two weeks. I also won't be in a league that Week 17 as a playoff week. Avoiding players on good teams kind of defeats me basic strategy of drafting good players. Good players usually make their teams good.

Is there a player or players in this years draft who you believe will come into the league and be an instant impact type of guy?

If the Raiders draft QB Demarcus Russell he could have a Vince Young-like impact on that team, provided the team still has Randy Moss and Jerry Porter. With those two starting, and with Doug Gabriel and Ronald Curry on the team, Russell could have one of the best rookie season's (statistically) we've seen from a QB in quite some time. This isn't Kerry Collins or Aaron Brooks; Russell is an unquestioned stud and beast.

Who is your pick for the Super Bowl, and why?

The Colts will win the game. They've fought in the tougher AFC all year with a much tougher schedule, so they are much more battle-tested. They'll take away the deep ball to WR Bernard Berrian and the Bears will have to sustain offense the whole game. I don't think they will be able to well enough to out-score Manning and the Colts.

"From all of us at Helmet2Helmet.net, Thank you for your time, and we
wish you continued success in the future."

About John Hansen

 

 

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.helmet2helmet.net