Within the first 24 hours of the fantasy football news page going live, it has already exceeded expectations.  With one page to view several players’  Twitter updates, it’s easy and fun to see what they’re up to.

Matt Forte (@chitownforte22)

Chicago running back, Matt Forte, kicked off the fun by giving away an autographed picture to a Twitter user that answered his “trivia” question:

QUESTION- How many times can you take 5 from 25? get it right and be 22nd and the prize is yours

The answer?

The answer is ONCE because once u take 5 from 25 it’s now 20!

Here’s the prize the brilliant winner received:

Chad Ocho Cinco (@OGOchoCinco)

Chad Ocho Cinco had a very busy day.  First, he got kicked out of the Apple Store.  Then he was chilling on his yacht with Champ Bailey between filming breaks.  I’m not exactly sure what he’s filming though.

Later, Chad asked:

Question? Can I put the defensive coordinators names instead of the players this year on the check list or is that rude?

Steven Jackson (@sj39)

With public figures, you still have to use proper etiquette, even online.  SJax reminded his Twitter followers to mind their manners:

Attention: if I tweet about music don’t tweet me back about the season .. Thx u

Drew Brees (@drewbrees)

Quarterbacks don’t seem to be quite as active on Twitter as some running backs and wide receivers.  However, Drew Brees did share this picture of himself visiting troops in Guantanamo last month.

See for yourself!

All this action is happening on Twitter, but you don’t need to have a Twitter account or some fancy application to view it all.  Just go to the news page here on Fantasy Football Calculator. The updates from Twitter and Fantasy Football Chatter will keep you up to date with everything fantasy football related (and non-fantasy football related as well).

The Hazean recently wrote about 5 rookies ready to start, which lists the players most likely to be starters at Week 1 this year.  The next question is, when exactly do you take them in your draft?

Looking at the 12-team average draft position rankings of some promising rookies, it looks like they haven’t moved much since the dust settled after the NFL draft in April.

Running Backs

Knowshon Moreno is leading all rookies this year.  Right now he’s the leading candidate to win the starting job in Denver.  As a late fourth-round pick, he could be a steal if he lives up to his potential.

Chris Wells is a slightly bigger risk with Hightower poaching TDs, but he’s a solid RB3 that you can snag in the early 6th round.

Wide Receivers

Michael Crabtree and Percy Harvin each have question marks by their names.  With injuries and unknown quarterbacks throwing to them, there are a lot of risks here.  Throw in the usual uncertainty involved with rookie wide receivers, and it’s no wonder they’re being drafted in rounds 7 and 9, respectively.

Rookies in 2009?

Last year saw an explosion of rookies with fantasy relevance.  Was that a fluke or a new trend?  If you’re feeling lucky, you might be able to snag one that carries you to a championship.

Just launched!  A new way to keep up with fantasy football news.

On the news page, you can see two things:

Fantasy Football Chatter List

The left side shows a list of the top news items directly from Fantasy Football Chatter.  Click through on the item to go to the full discussion.

NFL Players on Twitter

A brand new feature is a Twitter stream on the right of the page.  There are a lot of NFL players with active Twitter accounts, but this list only includes ones with significant fantasy value.  Sure, they don’t always talk about football, but it’s fun to see what your first round draft pick is doing right now.

Start Reading!

So check it out here!  I’m sure they’ll start tweeting more about their practices once the season gets underway soon.

Here’s a summary of some recent blog posts here on the Fantasy Football Calculator Blog, just in case you missed some.

Things will move fast once training camp starts later this week.  Stay on the ball by refreshing yourself with these articles:

ADP Updates and Player Analysis:

QB Showdown: Rivers or Warner?

Which Packer Do You Want?

Westbrook Drops, But Not Far

Wide Receivers Still Workhorses of the NFL

Pierre Thomas beats Reggie Bush

Romo’s Value Still Declining

Fitzgerald Leads Elite WRs

Site Updates and Other Cool Stuff:

Draft Sound Alerts and Improved Dashboard

5 Ways to use Twitter for Fantasy Football

Fantasy Football Headlines On iGoogle

New Site: Fantasy Football Chatter

Ready, Go!

There, now you’re up to speed and ready to draft smart this year.

The freezing problem has been fixed.  Users with Internet Explorer should no longer have the occasional draft freeze.

Thanks for giving your comments in the feedback box in the draft rooms.  Your input was very helpful in diagnosing and fixing the problem.

If you encounter problems with the draft, please leave feedback in the draft room (it all gets read) or use the contact page for help.

There have been several reports of the mock drafts freezing up on people in the middle of the draft.  This issue is being looked at and there should be a fix for it soon.  The problem seems to affect only Internet Explorer (all versions).

Sorry for the inconvenience.  This will be fixed as soon as possible.

Two very different players.

Two wildly different paths to success.

And they have the same average draft position.

Philip Rivers vs. Kurt Warner

What goes through your head when you debate whether to draft Philip Rivers or Kurt Warner?  Although Warner used to be ahead of Rivers, they are now both going at the end of the fourth round in 12 team mock drafts at 4.11.  Below are their ADP trends.

Philip Rivers

Last year, Rivers took a huge step forward.  He threw for 4009/39/11 as compared to his 3152/21/15 in 2007.  As an early 1st round pick in 2005, the expectations have always been high for Rivers.  He is also reliable, starting in all 16 games for each of the past three years.

Kurt Warner

Warner had a comeback season last year, throwing for 4583/30/14.  It was also the first time he started 16 games in a season since 2001 with the Rams.  He’s a scrappy player who fought his way into the league and back into a starting role with the Cardinals.  Even though he gets to throw to the most dangerous receiver in the NFL, his durability is a major concern to fantasy owners.

Conclusion

Both have upside, but only Philip Rivers has consistency on his side.  Neither player is a bad pick for late in the fourth round though.  Your tolerance for risk may be the biggest factor in who you decide for your team.

There are new improvements that make the site easier and more fun to use.  The first is an option to turn on an audible sound when it’s your turn to draft.  The second is a redesign of the user dashboard.

Draft Sound Alert

Based on user requests, in the mock draft room you can now turn on an option to play a soft “ding” to alert you when the draft starts and when it’s your turn to pick.  It’s a nice gentle reminder to get back to the draft if you’re busy doing something else.

Redesigned Dashboard

Registered users will immediately recognize that their personal dashboards have been rejuvenated.  You can now more easily access your favorite fantasy football applications from one “Ultimate Dashboard.”



It’s the Ultimate Fantasy Football Dashboard because it helps you attack many aspects of fantasy football from one page: Mock Drafts, Simulating Drafts, Tracking Drafts, and Lineup Analysis and Monitoring.

The interface has been improved to a tabbed view and cleaned up significantly.  It also shows how many mock drafts you’ve done so far so that you can brag to your friends about it.  It has the same functionality where you can filter mock drafts by team size and sort them by projected fantasy points.

Be Prepared

As always this time of year, the name of the game is preparation.  Try different strategies, see where players are falling, and of course, have fun.  These recent changes should help you accomplish all of these objectives.

If you have a free account you can upgrade to get access to the premium applicaitons.  If you’re new you can sign up directly for a premium membership to start using the most useful fantasy football applications available.