Last Place Wisdom: Week Two - And that's why you always draft your RBs handcuff
Week Two had more major injuries in one single week than I can ever remember in my years of playing fantasy football. Major stars and a number of serviceable starters are out for multiple weeks, and the fallout from this week could play a major part in determining the results of the league this year. Injuries can be tough to predict, so hopefully the end result is a lesson on making sure you have backups and handcuffs for your most valuable starters.
Jamaal Charles is the biggest name to go down, but luckily for Steve he already has Knile Davis to fill in for as long as he is out. It's not always possible to know who the backup is and it might not be a good use of a roster spot to keep a guy on your roster all year just in case, but in certain situations it can pay off big time.
I had an extremely tough loss this week, and more on that later. Despite my loss (my first since Week 13 last year (thanks John)), I'm still feeling ok. I had just about as bad of a week as I can reasonably expect; no TDs from my position players, less than stellar games from my QBs, and still managed to put up 100 points. Losses never feel good, especially after going so long without any, but I can move on.
What stood out for me this week is John and Shayne putting up two weeks in a row of huge performances, and Andrew disappointing for two weeks in a row. Andrew managed to win, but his early struggles have been a surprise to me. He should be ok, as he just needs to figure out how best to use his players I think. Sproles and West have been great so far, Andrew just needs to get them onto his team.
John and Shayne are going to be tough matchups each and every week this year, as long as they stay healthy. DeMarco Murray, as long as he stays healthy, is going to have a monster year, and combined with the Green Bay Offense and Calvin Johnson form a potent core. I don't like Ivory and Maclin to keep up their hot starts, but it might not matter.
John so far is the perfect example of how important a strong RB situation can be, having 3 of the top 6 to start the year. That has allowed him to ignore some injuries at QB and WR (Palmer and Jeffery). Unfortunately for John, Ingram will be out for about a month, which hurts him but is something he should be able to overcome.
Mr. Anti-Manager of the Week Award
I've found some inspiration from my favourite comic books and instead of business as usual, this week is the Mr. Anti-Manager of the Week Award. There is no other option than to present this award to myself for choosing to bench fantasy stud and my most consistent player, Brandon Marshall, over an injury concern. I listened to the reports saying a 75% chance for him not to play, and rather than wait and see, decided I would play Justin Hunter earlier in what I thought was a great matchup. My alternative would have been wait on Marshall and if he couldn't go, be stuck with Santonio Holmes or Dwayne Allen.
At the end of the day, Marshall scored 3 TDs and 22.80 points. Hunter scored 2.6; 20.20 less than Marshall. I lost by 18.1 points. Sometimes Fantasy Football can be frustrating, but I have no one to blame but myself. Let this be a lesson to you; unless you have a safe bet to score me points, or you know for sure that my star is out, always wait and see if they are able to play before benching them.
Injuries
Charles, Ingram, Mathews, AJ Green, Carson Palmer, Moreno, DeSean Jackson, Gerhardt, RG3 all were injured this week. Like I said, a bad week with some major names. Curtis is the big loser on the injury front so far, with 3 starting RBs out for a while. Grabbing Donald Brown will help him there, while Mike should probably grab Kirk Cousins. I ended up as a beneficiary of the injuries this week, as it moves Lamar Miller and Khiry Robinson up their respective depth charts.
Random Thoughts
I realize just how lucky I was to put together the roster I did last year. The best you can do is find QB/RB/WR/Flex/TE/D that you can trust each week to give you a chance to win. By the end of last year, I had no real lineup decisions because in every position (except for TE after Gronk went down) I had a guy I could trust. Finding that position everywhere is incredibly hard; so far only my QBs and WRs really qualify.
Last Week: Teams (and their players) I like for the year after 1 week: Pittsburgh, Miami, Atlanta, Tennessee, Minnesota, Detroit.
I just wanted to point out, that all of the teams (and players) I said I liked after Week One lost in Week Two. Of the teams I disliked, San Diego, St. Louis and New England all won. I may be the champ, but there's really no reason to trust what I have to say about football.
I still think Curtis has a chance for the playoffs, but all of the injuries he's facing is certainly not helping. Romo is not playing as well as I expected, although Wilson is playing better.
If I'm Mike, I look to trade a RB for a WR who can start consistently for him. I expected Torrey Smith to be the guy in Baltimore, but apparently it's Steve Smith Sr.. Colston and Jennings can't be trusted, while Joique Bell, McFadden and the Baltimore backs are sitting on his bench. Curtis or Stan might be good trade partners.
It's going to be pressure time pretty soon for the teams at the bottom of the league. In the real NFL, an 0-2 team is in big trouble. In TFLOEG, 0-2 is no big deal, but if you go 0-4 or 1-5 it's certainly time to worry.
Week Three Preview
The Keith-glorious Bastards vs What are the Chances -Curtis' chance at turning his season around doesn't get any easier going up against me this week. Of course, watch my overcockiness turn into another loss for me. Curtis needs to throw in Ellington, Wayne and Allen to cover up for his injuries. I have to decide if I want to keep Floyd in my lineup after a disappointing week, which will depend heavily on if he has Drew Stanton throwing the ball to him or not.
RW Throws a Sexy Deep Ball vs The Fear Boners - This is my game of the week; Andrew wanting to show that last year wasn't a fluke, John wanting to show that the first 2 weeks of this year aren't a fluke. Andrew has 2 tough QB matchups, but his Eagles could run all over Washington this week. John doesn't have a lot of decisions to make this week, he just needs to hope his players keep on their current roll.
oh that's nasty vs BISP - Dawson has some big holes in his lineup in Green and Gerhardt can't play, while Kaepernick faces a tough Arizona D and Witten looks to have lost a step. His team is really being carried by Ryan, Leveon Bell and Dez Bryant right now. This is as good a chance as any for Mike to get a win, as his next 3 opponents are John, Shayne and Steve. As I predicted, it appears he might be starting 2 TEs (Gronk and Gates), which might not be a bad move given how bad his WRs have been so far.
NINERS vs NFL Owner - Tom Brady plays Oakland this week. If there's any chance of Brady being a fantasy star again, this is the week he needs to show it. Stan gets Peterson back and is finally starting Edelman, but his week might come down to what Manning and Ball can do in Seattle. Shayne is rolling with the same lineup that's worked for him all year. Stan was my pick for top contender this year, so if he starts 1-2 it will be a big surprise.
Aaron-PRIMETIME-Clapperton vs Sideliners -Aaron finally get to play Brees in the Superdome, which might help, since Brees has been disappointing so far. Bradshaw against Jacksonville is a good start for Aaron, as is Vereen in Oakland. Despite how poorly his team has looked so far, Aaron might be a secret genius for keeping Wallace; I hated the move at the time but Wallace has looked good this year. I think Steve has a major under the radar team; not that I was expecting it to be bad at the start of the year, but that it's possible it's really good only not as flashy as Shayne, Stan or Andrew. He has to hope Kniles Davis continues to look good while Charles is out, as RB is the one place that might be cause for some worry.
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| This lesson doesn't even require anyone to lose an arm. |
Jamaal Charles is the biggest name to go down, but luckily for Steve he already has Knile Davis to fill in for as long as he is out. It's not always possible to know who the backup is and it might not be a good use of a roster spot to keep a guy on your roster all year just in case, but in certain situations it can pay off big time.
I had an extremely tough loss this week, and more on that later. Despite my loss (my first since Week 13 last year (thanks John)), I'm still feeling ok. I had just about as bad of a week as I can reasonably expect; no TDs from my position players, less than stellar games from my QBs, and still managed to put up 100 points. Losses never feel good, especially after going so long without any, but I can move on.
What stood out for me this week is John and Shayne putting up two weeks in a row of huge performances, and Andrew disappointing for two weeks in a row. Andrew managed to win, but his early struggles have been a surprise to me. He should be ok, as he just needs to figure out how best to use his players I think. Sproles and West have been great so far, Andrew just needs to get them onto his team.
John and Shayne are going to be tough matchups each and every week this year, as long as they stay healthy. DeMarco Murray, as long as he stays healthy, is going to have a monster year, and combined with the Green Bay Offense and Calvin Johnson form a potent core. I don't like Ivory and Maclin to keep up their hot starts, but it might not matter.
John so far is the perfect example of how important a strong RB situation can be, having 3 of the top 6 to start the year. That has allowed him to ignore some injuries at QB and WR (Palmer and Jeffery). Unfortunately for John, Ingram will be out for about a month, which hurts him but is something he should be able to overcome.
Mr. Anti-Manager of the Week Award
I've found some inspiration from my favourite comic books and instead of business as usual, this week is the Mr. Anti-Manager of the Week Award. There is no other option than to present this award to myself for choosing to bench fantasy stud and my most consistent player, Brandon Marshall, over an injury concern. I listened to the reports saying a 75% chance for him not to play, and rather than wait and see, decided I would play Justin Hunter earlier in what I thought was a great matchup. My alternative would have been wait on Marshall and if he couldn't go, be stuck with Santonio Holmes or Dwayne Allen.
At the end of the day, Marshall scored 3 TDs and 22.80 points. Hunter scored 2.6; 20.20 less than Marshall. I lost by 18.1 points. Sometimes Fantasy Football can be frustrating, but I have no one to blame but myself. Let this be a lesson to you; unless you have a safe bet to score me points, or you know for sure that my star is out, always wait and see if they are able to play before benching them.
 |
| Thanks for the lesson, J. Walter Weatherman, I mean Brandon Marshall |
Injuries
Charles, Ingram, Mathews, AJ Green, Carson Palmer, Moreno, DeSean Jackson, Gerhardt, RG3 all were injured this week. Like I said, a bad week with some major names. Curtis is the big loser on the injury front so far, with 3 starting RBs out for a while. Grabbing Donald Brown will help him there, while Mike should probably grab Kirk Cousins. I ended up as a beneficiary of the injuries this week, as it moves Lamar Miller and Khiry Robinson up their respective depth charts.
Random Thoughts
I realize just how lucky I was to put together the roster I did last year. The best you can do is find QB/RB/WR/Flex/TE/D that you can trust each week to give you a chance to win. By the end of last year, I had no real lineup decisions because in every position (except for TE after Gronk went down) I had a guy I could trust. Finding that position everywhere is incredibly hard; so far only my QBs and WRs really qualify.
Last Week: Teams (and their players) I like for the year after 1 week: Pittsburgh, Miami, Atlanta, Tennessee, Minnesota, Detroit.
I just wanted to point out, that all of the teams (and players) I said I liked after Week One lost in Week Two. Of the teams I disliked, San Diego, St. Louis and New England all won. I may be the champ, but there's really no reason to trust what I have to say about football.
I still think Curtis has a chance for the playoffs, but all of the injuries he's facing is certainly not helping. Romo is not playing as well as I expected, although Wilson is playing better.
If I'm Mike, I look to trade a RB for a WR who can start consistently for him. I expected Torrey Smith to be the guy in Baltimore, but apparently it's Steve Smith Sr.. Colston and Jennings can't be trusted, while Joique Bell, McFadden and the Baltimore backs are sitting on his bench. Curtis or Stan might be good trade partners.
It's going to be pressure time pretty soon for the teams at the bottom of the league. In the real NFL, an 0-2 team is in big trouble. In TFLOEG, 0-2 is no big deal, but if you go 0-4 or 1-5 it's certainly time to worry.
Week Three Preview
The Keith-glorious Bastards vs What are the Chances -Curtis' chance at turning his season around doesn't get any easier going up against me this week. Of course, watch my overcockiness turn into another loss for me. Curtis needs to throw in Ellington, Wayne and Allen to cover up for his injuries. I have to decide if I want to keep Floyd in my lineup after a disappointing week, which will depend heavily on if he has Drew Stanton throwing the ball to him or not.
RW Throws a Sexy Deep Ball vs The Fear Boners - This is my game of the week; Andrew wanting to show that last year wasn't a fluke, John wanting to show that the first 2 weeks of this year aren't a fluke. Andrew has 2 tough QB matchups, but his Eagles could run all over Washington this week. John doesn't have a lot of decisions to make this week, he just needs to hope his players keep on their current roll.
oh that's nasty vs BISP - Dawson has some big holes in his lineup in Green and Gerhardt can't play, while Kaepernick faces a tough Arizona D and Witten looks to have lost a step. His team is really being carried by Ryan, Leveon Bell and Dez Bryant right now. This is as good a chance as any for Mike to get a win, as his next 3 opponents are John, Shayne and Steve. As I predicted, it appears he might be starting 2 TEs (Gronk and Gates), which might not be a bad move given how bad his WRs have been so far.
NINERS vs NFL Owner - Tom Brady plays Oakland this week. If there's any chance of Brady being a fantasy star again, this is the week he needs to show it. Stan gets Peterson back and is finally starting Edelman, but his week might come down to what Manning and Ball can do in Seattle. Shayne is rolling with the same lineup that's worked for him all year. Stan was my pick for top contender this year, so if he starts 1-2 it will be a big surprise.
Aaron-PRIMETIME-Clapperton vs Sideliners -Aaron finally get to play Brees in the Superdome, which might help, since Brees has been disappointing so far. Bradshaw against Jacksonville is a good start for Aaron, as is Vereen in Oakland. Despite how poorly his team has looked so far, Aaron might be a secret genius for keeping Wallace; I hated the move at the time but Wallace has looked good this year. I think Steve has a major under the radar team; not that I was expecting it to be bad at the start of the year, but that it's possible it's really good only not as flashy as Shayne, Stan or Andrew. He has to hope Kniles Davis continues to look good while Charles is out, as RB is the one place that might be cause for some worry.
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