Tough Week

It's usually about this time in an NFL season where I start to have some sort of idea as to the direction of teams and then can plan out my picks accordingly from there. However, 2011 has provided me little to nothing to go off of.

In saying that, there are some trends one could lean on each week to avoid trouble:

• Green Bay - Can't see them getting blown out at all this year. They may not cover the spread each week, but they will not kill you either.
• Baltimore = Big - so far this year, Baltimore has scored three hugs weeks of positive Craction points. Their one rough week was at Tennessee. One big points, choose the Baltimore game each week, just make sure you're on the right side!
• West is Confusing - In both the AFC and NFC West divisions, almost all 8 teams are unpredictable from week to week. From Kansas City's dismal first four weeks to San Farn's unbelievable comeback against Philly last week, there's just no figuring out the West. Except going opposite Denver should produce pretty good numbers each week.

Good Luck!

We're Listening!!!

I wanted to personally thank all of you who have reached out to us in the past few weeks to offer feedback on the new site. To give you the best user experience it's critical we hear from you to understand what you like and what you don't.

I'm excited to tell you that we are in the final stages of our View Picks functionality. This added feature will allow you to view your opponents picks after the games they pick have started. For example, if John had selected three, 1pm EST games and two, 4:05pm EST games, when you click on John's profile at 2:00pm EST, you'll be able to see his three, 1pm games but not his remaining two until 4:05pm EST. We built the system this way to still give you the user the opportunity to switch your picks right up until game time.

In addition, we are also adding your picks to your profile screen so when you login and see all you leagues, you'll also get an immediate snapshot of your picks and how they are doing each week. Green is good (positive points) and red is bad (negative points.)

The next roll-out will also include some site navigation changes to help make moving from page to page easier. Hope you enjoy!

Upcoming additions in the next few weeks:

• Pro Membership (Live Scoring - Discounts at Participating Sponsors)
• New Home Page
• Re-Worked League Profile and Personal Profile Pages

Want a Playoff? Let Realignment Happen...

Sad to say as we are watching years of history get washed down the drain. With the departure of Pitt and Syracuse to the ACC, the Big East will never be the same and may in the end, cease to exist. Hard to imagine early March without the traditional powers like UCONN, Georgetown, Syracuse and Pitt battling it out for the Big East titles at Madison Square Garden. The Saturday night before the selection show was always one of my favorites as it blended tournament basketball with the bright lights of New York City. I always dreamed I would take my kids to the tournament one day there, sadly, it appears that will not happen.

Football is America's sport though and they are king. Football shapes direction... because money shapes direction and football's revenues most likely fund 95% of athletics at any given university sans a few like Duke, UCONN, etc. Here's the silver lining to all college football fans wanting a play-off...this is the first step to a chain of events that will eventually lead to a play-off. Trust me on this...all the pieces are coming together.

I'm not going to bore you with a long diatribe of the eventual outcome but here is a condensed version of events that will happen in the next 1-10 years:

• Conferences will be finalized within the year b/c BCS Contract is up for renewal next year.
• The Big 4 Conferences then (ACC, Big 10, Pac-12, and SEC) will have all the power and will not ok a BCS bid to a school coming from the old Big-12, Big East, Conf. USA or Mtn West, b/c there will be no draw and ultimately they will lose money on the game like almost all other bowls do
• WHICH WILL LEAD TO A NATURAL DISCUSSION OF Bowls and how much money is lost by each school each year. Since the loyalty of conferences sending schools to certain bowls (i.e. Big-12 to Alamo, Cotton, etc.) is gone based on conference realignment and coupled with the lost revenue, bowl games will cease to exist as we know them
• WHICH WILL LEAD TO A NATURAL DISCUSSION OF determining a national champion
• WHICH WILL LEAD TO a playoff discussion, which must include the following considerations (4 super conferences and 2-3 less relevant conferences who will want their shot)
• WHICH WILL LEAD TO A 16-Team playoff with each Super 4 Conference Champion getting an Automatic berth, and each minor conference getting a berth. That would be 6-7 teams meaning only 1-2 at large berths would be available form the Super-4 for a 8-team play-off which is why it will be a 16 team playoff. They want more of their schools in, which means more money. The play-off will be starting in Mid December and be played around the country at famous stadiums that used to hold important bowl games with the conclusion right around New Year and the the Public Relations Promotion of linking the past and present as now important college football will be played again on New Year's day.

Vick Out? How Long?

You play Craction, so who cares. The Craction line will be adjusted to make up for him playing or not playing and either way, you have right up until game time to make the selection or not. Unfortunately for the traditional fantasy football player, their lives may now be screwed for the next week, month, or maybe longer (if Vick does have a concussion.)

Now, along with anyone who had Peyton Manning on their "roster," fantasy football commissioners will have to somehow make a trade, pick up a new QB, or hope that he comes back quickly and that they only lose one or two weeks in their league. Either way, there's a good chance that by December, their fantasy football season will be over and with that, their interest in the NFL or College Sports has wained significantly.

The irony is that part of the year is supposed to be exciting. teams vying for the play-offs, late season runs, and unpredictable collapses.

I've got a solution for you...play Craction. We give you 17 weeks of action, guaranteed. You're never eliminated as big weeks can happen at any time and comebacks are out there. Picture yourself on January 1st after a nice night out celebrating the New Year's holding onto one more bottle of bubbly, ready to toast yourself when you win your Craction league. This scenario may or may not come to fruition but I can assure you this...you'll still be playing Craction on January 1st, when 99% of Fantasy Football players will not be playing their game.

Week 2 - First Look

I love the first weekend of NFL football. Every pundit across the country has had a chance to weigh in on their Super Bowl picks, division winners, and teams to watch this year. Then after week one when everything gets thrown out, they immediately start jumping on the band wagon of another team only to have to jump ship in two more weeks.

My best suggestion for succeeding in Craction is to go one week at a time and take very little stock in what a team has done in previous weeks, rather focus on the big picture, which at times, may include researching back a few years.

For example, this week you see five games featuring teams having to cross 2 time zones to play, which includes four west coast teams travelling east. Based on a quick look at years past, stats show that west coast teams traditionally struggle covering the lines in games that they have to travel east for, especially ones that start at 1pm EST. Here are the teams on the east coast hosting west coast teams:

• Pittsburgh - 14.5 Seattle
• Buffalo -3.5 Oakland
• Washington -4 Arizona
• New England - 6 San Diego

It's not fool-proof though...there's a good chance that all four home teams listed above will not cover but grouping all four together should give you a good Week 2 base score.

Wait...one last thing to note to round out your five picks of the week. I mentioned before about five games with an east vs. west theme, which means there is one east coast team flying west...kind of a mis-leading statement as the team I am referencing is an NFC East team (Dallas) but they are located as you know in the middle of the country. In saying that, I love them this week laying 3 on the road...

Craction Players Stay Glued to TV, 80% of Fantasy Players Don't Care!

Forget the lock-out! Forget Peyton Manning's injury! Forget Part-Time Jobs like Fantasy Football! What mattered last night as Drew Brees drove his team down the field were so many different scenarios that could unfold that one could only sit and enjoy the excitement.

From a win-loss perspective this game was huge for both teams with Super Bowl hopes. With the win, the Packers take slight edge and tie-breaker for home field advantage in the play-offs if it comes down to it in December/January!

From a Craction perspective, look at how many scenarios could have played out over the last minute of the game and potential overtime:

1. Saints don't score (which happened) game finishes as a Packers +4, Saints -4

2. Saints score TD, miss 2-pt conversion so it would be Saints +2, Packers -2

Saints score and game goes into overtime with these scenarios and Craction point relevance:

3. Packers kick field goal to win, so Saints +1, Packers -1

4. Packers score TD, so Packers +2, Saints -2

5. Packers get safety, so Saints +2, Packers -2

6. Saints kick field goal, so Saints +7, Packers -7

7. Saints score TD, so Saints +10, Packers -10

8. Saints get safety, so Saints +6, Packers -6

Summing it up...8 different scoring scenarios could have played out in the final minute of last night's game. Craction bills itself as a game that makes every point of every game matter, keeping you glued to your seats. You may not have been a Packer or Saint fan last night, but if you were playing Craction, and you picked that game, you were watching intently as your weekly and overall position was being impacted.

Fantasy players were researching stats and trying to trade Peyton Manning because his season (and their fantasy football season) is probably over already missing all of the drama unfolding before their eyes. And we get to do it all over again on Sunday!

And so it begins...

Welcome to Craction, the game that gives you back your life but still allows you to enjoy the excitement and thrills of competing against your family and friends. As the NFL Season is about to kick off tonight featuring the Green Bay Packers playing host to the New Orleans Saints, so does our 2011 Craction NFL Regular Season Competition.

For returning players, you'll see we have designed a new site in attempts to enhance your experience based on the feedback we received from users last year. We are still modifying and adding things throughout the year so keep an eye out each week and let us know what you like or don't like in the site. You can always email us at info@craction.com. It's important we hear from you so we can give everyone the best experience possible while playing our game.

As the founder of this game, I have obviously played Craction all 10 years of its existence. I have had both good, bad and ugly Week 1's. While doing radio segments across the country I have been asked numerous times about Week 1 strategy. Remember it's a marathon not a sprint. You can't win your overall league championship in week 1 but you can definitely lose it. Stay conservative for the first week. Select five teams that have been traditionally good in years past. They should keep you in positive points or worst-case near zero for week 1.

Make sure you enter the Grand Prize League for Craction. You have to enter picks specifically for that league each and every week. Each user gets one entry, not multiple like last year based on how many leagues you were in. Choose wisely as the winner and guest will join us for the Craction Champions Weekend in Vegas come March!

Good Luck in 2011 and please tell your family and friends. They can join at any time and can win prizes in local leagues throughout the country.

Again...we appreciate your support and look forward to growing this game together.