October 31st Weekly Release Notes

Happy Halloween all.  This weeks release notes involve many critical bug fixes and a few tweaks to Player Alerts.  This marks the first week that Player Alerts have been live.  The accuracy has been tweaked throughout the week, but overall I am quite pleased.  So, onto the full release notes:

  • NHL scoring data was screwed up and has been fixed.
  • I’ve created a way to better handle scoring data screwups from now on. Should make my life easier.
  • NHL depth charts have been tweaked
  • Major bug to syncing fantasy leagues has been fixed
  • Depth chart accuracy check has been put into place for ALL sports, and should work smoothly for the coming months
  • ESPN NHL transactions have been fixed.  Previously no data was being collected.  All leagues should be working 100% now.
  • Vaclav Prospal scoring data has been added, thanks Henry.
  • Player Alerts email cooldown period reduced to 12, down from 24.  This means that you can be alerted of a new player alert 12hrs after the previous one.  24 hours seemed to be too long because an injury report could be announced within that timeframe and you’d miss it.
  • Player Alerts are now sent from “FantasySP” instead of my name. As my wife pointed out, people might have no idea who I am.  However, replying to the Player Alert still comes to me.

PPR Help- Kevin Faulk

After missing a year of action due to a torn right ACL, thirty-five year old Kevin Faulk is fantasy relevant again.

Analysis: Most experts have already wrote Kevin Faulk’s career off but not here. Faulk caught five balls and tallied six carries Sunday against the Steelers. In deeper leagues, backs with five plus reception ability are extremely rare on the wire and seeing how Faulk is universally available… he’s worth consideration. Take into account that from 2006-2009 Faulk’s reception totals were 43, 47, 58, 37. Faulk may not have big play ability but he will haul in his fair share of balls and he’s only fumbled one time in the past five years.

Faulk actually had one more carry Sunday than BenJarvus Green-Ellis who has averaged nineteen carries over the last three weeks. Danny Woodhead is a non-factor this year which can only boost Faulk’s value. Faulk isn’t going to rack up tons of yards or score touchdowns in bunches but in deeper PPR leagues he is a reliable source of receptions. Considering only two backs(Rice, Sproles) caught more balls than Faulk heading into the Sunday night game, it’s time to check out Kevin Faulk.

Burmistrov Is Heating Up

Winnipeg forward Alex Burmistrov has tallied seven points in eight games this year.

Analysis: Although the Jets are just 2-5-1 with a negative ten goal differential, Burmistrov is plus four on the year. After a somewhat disappointing rookie campaign as an eighteen/nineteen year old the former first round pick has delivered this year. His shot totals and power play points may be a little on the lighter side of things but his point production, plus/minus and ice time is here to stay.

Burmistrov is still available in eighty percent of fantasy leagues nationwide and he’s going fast. He’s always going to hurt you in penalty minutes but putting that aside, Burmistov is developing into a point-per-game player. He’s still far from a point-per-game guy but you can see his potential is extremely high. Whether he’s playing on the wing or at center he is an offensive force and his play this year has quieted the critics. He’s not just a deep league add but he still can be inconsistent at times and patience is a key when owning the Russian.

October 24th Weekly Release Notes

Things are pretty exciting around FantasySP right about now.  There have been major releases lately, including Fantasy Transactions and now Player Alerts.  Please do read those blog posts announcing each feature in its full detail.  Player Alerts took up most of my time this week as the feature is very involved and something that is continuing to be fine-tuned.

In a nutshell, Player Alerts send an email to anyone who is tracking a player who just had major news announced that you NEED to know about.  It is powered by our Fantasy Spotlight feature and is very accurate at deciding when a player is currently trending.  The email that gets sent out has been designed specifically for this feature and I absolutely love its simplicity and readability.  Please email me feedback about the feature and if it has been helpful thus far.  In fact, I might even email some of you guys and get your opinions.

Another somewhat significant change this week are on a single player story page.  I removed the in-line advertisements and replaced them with 3 more relevant stories about that story and player.  Most people arrive on FantasySP through these pages, and I wanted to make sure they get more news on their first pageview.

Last Call On Fred Davis

Washington tight end Fred Davis has caught twelve balls for 175 receiving yards over his last two games and you can expect even more from the former USC Trojan in the coming weeks.

Analysis: Going into the season the Skins were counting on Chris Cooley and Santana Moss to be the go-to-guys in the passing game and with extended injuries to both it has become apparent that Fred Davis is now the man in Washington. At least for the next month Fred Davis is a mid tier TE1 in all fantasy football formats. He’s available in twenty percent of ESPN leagues and seventeen percent of CBS leagues and this is your last call on Davis. He’s amassed nineteen targets over the last two weeks and he has four eighty plus yard games in his six contests this year. Fred Davis is a free agent at the end of the year and wherever he winds up he’s going to put up solid numbers and make tons of bank.

Only Jimmy Graham has racked up more yards over the last two weeks and with the recent injury to Santana Moss, the Skins will rely heavily upon the soon to be free agent.