Weekly fantasy check-ins aren't enough in August

(Editor’s note: Every Sunday through July, we’ll wrap up the week on PFF Fantasy with some topic one of our writers has been thinking about of late, and recap the features, columns, and podcasts you could find on the site that week.)

All offseason, I’ve been offering these “week in review” as part of our fantasy football coverage. It’s been a space for me to tell weird stories or posit new ideas, but for the most part it’s been a place for people to catch up. Some fantasy players pay attention to the game 24/7/365, but for a lot of people, spring and summer are a time to dial back the football and only check in occasionally, so a weekly wrap-up has plenty of benefit.

That’s over now, though.

In May, if you check in on the fantasy game once a week or so, you can keep up just fine. In August, if you check in once a week, you’re probably going to lose.

During training camps, during the preseason — crucially, during fantasy draft season — an end-of-week wrap-up might serve some people, but for the most part it’s not getting the job done. It’s why those of us who do fantasy rankings on the site have been told to increase the rate of updates to our rankings so they aren’t out-of-date. It’s why we didn’t put out just one version of the Fantasy Playbook and call it done, instead updating it multiple times over the preseason. And it’s why, starting Monday, the end-of-week recap of the fantasy offerings will be replaced by our fantasy football cheat sheet.

The cheat sheet debuts Monday, with everything the savvy fantasy owner needs to prepare for the season. And that piece will be updated every single day. When it comes out, bookmark it, save it, and be ready to be the most prepared fantasy played in your league this season.

• New to PFF? Or been a member all along but not sure if you’re getting maximum value? Scott Barrett offers up a huge “how to get the most out of your subscription” piece that is a definite must-read.
• Tyler Loechner’s annual fantasy football team power rankings breaks down the back half of the league’s teams in four parts (17-20, 21-24, 25-28, 29-32).
• The series by Pat Thorman and Dan Schneier reaches the South divisions, in both the AFC (32 Questions and Players to Watch) and NFC (32 Questions and Players to Watch).
• Scott Barrett’s Metrics that Matter finishes up its look at the difference between fantasy production and grades with looks at wide receiver and tight end, and then looks at cornerback-sensitivity among receivers.
• Draft talk! Tyler Buecher breaks the players down into tiers and then looks at potential sleepers and busts by tier. Dan Clasgens looks at some of the hot 2017 finishers and evaluates whether they can keep it going. Ross Miles theorizes some IDP options who are too risky. And Curtis Patrick offers up his full devy rankings.
• Daniel Kelley takes on sample size, first looking at some of the stat leaders with no minimum workload and then offering up full 16-game pace numbers for players who got hurt in 2017.
• The PFF Fantasy staff did an IDP mock, and Walton Spurlin offers up a summary.
• Michael Moore’s Dynasty Stock Watch looks at the long-term value of a handful of big names.
• Scott Spratt examines how shadow coverage affects fantasy performance.