Fantasy News
Fantasy Index Magazine sat down with FFChamps’ Jon Millman to ask him his thoughts on 2010 sleepers, busts, his return to FFChamps and his greatest fantasy football moments.
What drew you back to Fantasy Football Champs after a two-year absence?
Ian (Millman) and I sold FFChamps to a company we thought was going to take it beyond what we ever could. We are fantasy guys at heart, not webmasters, so we really needed help. Unfortunately it didn’t work out, and after, a former subscriber, Andrew Miller - a brilliant internet businessman who had often offered me advice - approached me to see if I wanted to join a group that was looking to buy back FFChamps. He told me his vision of what our users would want, and how he was planning on making that happen; we couldn’t resist getting back on board. Now we can focus on what we love and what we’re good at – winning at fantasy football – and leave the business side up to our partners, who are better at it anyway.
What is your favorite fantasy football memory over the years?
I had a little hiatus from public fantasy football and narrowed it down to just two big leagues each of the last two years. In one league (the league I started with my college buddies) we have two equal trophies: one for the Super Bowl winner and the other for the “total points” champ, as we always felt who you played each week was a bit of luck. The team who scores the most points overall is really the best team isn’t it? So we have two trophies; each of the last two years I have won both of them. This year I’ll go for the trifecta.
Who is your top sleeper at any position for 2010, and why?
I’ll give you a few guys I’m targeting … Ryan Mathews is a guy I’ve been taking in the second round, but think he could put up first round numbers. Hakeem Nicks is another guy I think you can get later in your draft, as your No. 3 wide receiver, and can perform like a No. 2. Braylon Edwards is another wide receiver I like a lot this year; I’ve been drafting him as my No. 3 receiver and love him there. Lots more in the FFChamps “Big Sleeper List”, those are just a few quickies.
Who do you feel will be the most overrated player in fantasy drafts this August?
The guy I’m avoiding early this year is Larry Fitzgerald. He has an unmatched athleticism and skill set, however we just worry about Leinart, and think they will run a lot more with two quality running backs to lean on. He’s also likely to face constant double coverage, and likely a guy over top, as Boldin is not there to keep defenses honest. He’s going in the first round, but not to any of my teams.
What is your proudest fantasy football accomplishment?
There are so many things I’m proud of that we’ve done, from starting FFChamps.com back in 1999, to winning a bunch of leagues against the best in the business. The one thing that probably stands out though is our record in the $5,000 Champs Challenge. The Champs Challenge was something we came up with in our second or third year in the industry. We were desperately trying to get into the top expert leagues to prove that our strategies and the Fantasy Football Champs Performance Index (FFCPI) could continue to help us dominate, even at the highest level. Problem was, being new to the industry, no one knew who we were, and they weren’t about to let us into the higher profile leagues – so we decided to start our own league. We put up $5,000 of our cold hard cash and then challenged the top players in the business to play us for it. Everyone thought we were nuts, as there were no big game leagues at that time. We looked for a great sampling of experts: Fantasy Index was obviously represented, a few other magazines, some of the big sports media companies and of course all of the other top information sites at the time. In the first year, we lost in the Super Bowl. In the second, we finished in 3rd. And in the third year, we won it. So against the best of the best we made the playoffs and finished top three every year. No one else can say that.
Whatever happened to the Champs Challenge and will it be back?
Let’s just say we are kicking around the idea of bringing it back, but with some new twists so our readers can get more insight than ever into it – stay tuned.
Why should people join FFChamps?
We have information that’s second to none. Seriously. We competed in the Fantasy Index Experts Poll from 1999-2007 (against either 19 or 24 other experts each year). Over those nine years, our final scores were only beaten 36 times out of 172 attempts. That means 80% of the time we beat whoever we faced. We’ve won many, many expert leagues, and we give our users all of the exact same tools that we use to dominate our leagues. The FFCPI tells you who to start, the “My Teams” app makes it easier to keep track of all of your teams, and our rankings, both preseason in the Draft Kit and in-season with our Rest-of-the-Way Rankings, help you manage your roster. I built FFChamps with the thought of “What tools would I want for my own teams?”, and then we built them all and continue to improve them.
How is FFChamps different from competing sites?
That’s where Andrew and the rest of the staff come in. Ian (Millman) and I know how to put out killer fantasy football content, Andrew is bringing the whole package together by constantly looking to improve the user experience on our site so that people come for the fantasy football, but stay for everything else we do: video, community, social media, etc.
Have you managed any teams with memorable franchise names?
The name I always go with is “The Freaks”, named after Randy Moss because that man has won me a lot of trophies over the years.
What other interests do you have, besides fantasy football?
Golfing, definitely. I play in almost any weather. I just love the strategic aspect of it and the need to stay calm and focused, yet still step up at big moments. I have dreams of competing in some amateur tournaments. I am down to about a 3-handicap and trying to shave those last few strokes off. I love playing new courses, especially famous ones. Pebble Beach was a religious experience.
Do you have any thoughts on the potential NFL lockout for 2011?
I just am not buying the fact that we won’t have football. Maybe I’m being naive or ignorant, but both sides know they have a good thing going, and both will bend a little to come to a middle point. Unfortunately they likely won’t come to terms until the last minute, as most things like this often stretch out too long, but ultimately I believe there will be football.
Jon Millman is the co-founder and lead fantasy football analyst at Fantasy Football Champs. For more information on FFChamps' products and services, visit ffchamps.com: use code word "Magazine" to get 10% off of your subscription.
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Posted by SCOTT SACHS | Jul. 18 at 12:12 PM
Jon, although I disagree with your 3 sleepers, I, too, am cautiously optimistic that the greed factor will be over-shadowed by the common sense factor. Ryan Mathews is not a sleeper if he's getting drafted in the second round, Nicks is hurt and just got waived, plus Braylon Edwards unfortunately has to catch passes with his hands instead of with his ego and mouth. I do agree with you on Fitzgerald and would only take him if he fell pretty far down as a good value pick. Good luck this year and welcome back! Sincerely, The Coach, www.perfectseasonffb.com
Posted by SCOTT SACHS | Jul. 18 at 12:26 PM
Hey, foot in mouth strikes me again--not the first or last time. Even though I'm not a Hakeem Nicks fan, I'll begrudgingly agree with you if you can draft him late as it was his now former teammate, Domenik Hixon who is hurt and got waived. The Giants should rebound some this year, too. I will ask you why you and others like Ryan Mathews so much--is it because SD is so good on offense [with V. Jackson], has a relatively easy schedule and soft division, or is it because Mathews is truly special and you can just plug him in? Thanks, The Coach, www.perfectseasonffb.com