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Stupid Mistakes
Posted 10-14-2007 at 03:37 PM by dannywest
Sure, on occasion I can dish out good advice. Just earlier this week, via a PM, I suggested that one particular Outlaw play Adrian Peterson over Lendale White and here we are, still time left in the fourth quarter and AP has 175 yards and two touchdowns; White on the other hand has a mere 64 yards and only one touchdown. Then this morning I recieved a phone call from a buddy of mine asking whether or not he should throw Kevin Curtis or Mark Clayton into his starting lineup. I told my friend to take a chance and go with Curtis. At the moment, Curtis has 5 receptions for 121 yards and a TD while Clayton only has 3 receptions for 23 yards.
And yet, time and time again I make stupid mistakes in my own lineups. Now I am not pretending to be a fantasy football guru here, nor do I even claim to have tremendous success in this beloved game of ours; however I would like to think that I know what I am doing and, due mostly to this site and an incredible attention to detail, come more prepared to my leagues than most (not all of course, but most). But here I am, sitting on what can only be described as a mediocre start to my 2007 fantasy campaign and trying to figure out why I can give others advice that you could take to the bank while I continue to sabatoge my own teams.
Weeks four and five brought me consecutive 2-4 records. That's six different leagues with only four wins in the last two weeks. My combined record for all leagues going into week six is a dismal 12 wins, 18 losses. Hardly worth bragging about. In all six leagues, my highest position is 5th out of 14 teams and my worst position is 11th out of a total 12 teams. In two leagues I am 1-4; another two leagues I am 2-3; and in the final leagues I sit above .500 at 3-2.
In one of the leagues in which I can brag about only a solitary win I am actually feeling quite confident in this week. Earlier in the week, needing a replacement for Kitna and Roethlisberger, who both have byes, I picked up Derek Anderson who, in this particular league's scoring system, as been able to net me 46 points and helped me establish an early 107-33 lead.
However, in the other league in which I hold a 1-4 record I made the treacherous mistake of starting an inactive Brandon Jackson. Why? Because I panicked. I saw that Jamal Lewis was not playing and slid him out of my lineup to replace him with the only other RB on my team who is not on a bye week: Brandon Jackson. Sure, I had enough time to hit the waiver wire and pick up a RB who would have seen playing time today, but I didn't. Now at the moment, the Jackson blunder looks as though it may not be the nail in the coffin as it looks as if the team that I am playing will run right through me regardless but that is hardly the point.
The further you get into your fantasy season the more important each win becomes. Bottom line, you don't want the ten point loss you suffer to come because you played a person who was on a bye week. Pay attention to the little things, the defensive matchups, the lingering minor injuries that may slow a guy down, that backup player who is simply unstoppable thus stealing the number one guys carries. These things matter. Truth is, upon hearing that Rudi Johnson was active for today's game, some of you may have through him in your lineup. But how many points did he get you? Did that cost you a victory?
It's the little things that make fantasy football teams great. Sure, you may have Marvin Harrison out on a bye week but you plugged in Bernard Berrian because you know the success that the Bears have had throwing against the Vikings in recent years. You may have lost Delhomme and Leinart, in the same league no less, but you made the most of a bad situation and picked up Warner, or Anderson, or Griese, or even Culpepper.
This isn't a game of luck, this is a game of knowledge. Play smart and the wins will come easy, but hey what do I know? I'm a guy who at the moment has a 2007 record of 12-18.
And yet, time and time again I make stupid mistakes in my own lineups. Now I am not pretending to be a fantasy football guru here, nor do I even claim to have tremendous success in this beloved game of ours; however I would like to think that I know what I am doing and, due mostly to this site and an incredible attention to detail, come more prepared to my leagues than most (not all of course, but most). But here I am, sitting on what can only be described as a mediocre start to my 2007 fantasy campaign and trying to figure out why I can give others advice that you could take to the bank while I continue to sabatoge my own teams.
Weeks four and five brought me consecutive 2-4 records. That's six different leagues with only four wins in the last two weeks. My combined record for all leagues going into week six is a dismal 12 wins, 18 losses. Hardly worth bragging about. In all six leagues, my highest position is 5th out of 14 teams and my worst position is 11th out of a total 12 teams. In two leagues I am 1-4; another two leagues I am 2-3; and in the final leagues I sit above .500 at 3-2.
In one of the leagues in which I can brag about only a solitary win I am actually feeling quite confident in this week. Earlier in the week, needing a replacement for Kitna and Roethlisberger, who both have byes, I picked up Derek Anderson who, in this particular league's scoring system, as been able to net me 46 points and helped me establish an early 107-33 lead.
However, in the other league in which I hold a 1-4 record I made the treacherous mistake of starting an inactive Brandon Jackson. Why? Because I panicked. I saw that Jamal Lewis was not playing and slid him out of my lineup to replace him with the only other RB on my team who is not on a bye week: Brandon Jackson. Sure, I had enough time to hit the waiver wire and pick up a RB who would have seen playing time today, but I didn't. Now at the moment, the Jackson blunder looks as though it may not be the nail in the coffin as it looks as if the team that I am playing will run right through me regardless but that is hardly the point.
The further you get into your fantasy season the more important each win becomes. Bottom line, you don't want the ten point loss you suffer to come because you played a person who was on a bye week. Pay attention to the little things, the defensive matchups, the lingering minor injuries that may slow a guy down, that backup player who is simply unstoppable thus stealing the number one guys carries. These things matter. Truth is, upon hearing that Rudi Johnson was active for today's game, some of you may have through him in your lineup. But how many points did he get you? Did that cost you a victory?
It's the little things that make fantasy football teams great. Sure, you may have Marvin Harrison out on a bye week but you plugged in Bernard Berrian because you know the success that the Bears have had throwing against the Vikings in recent years. You may have lost Delhomme and Leinart, in the same league no less, but you made the most of a bad situation and picked up Warner, or Anderson, or Griese, or even Culpepper.
This isn't a game of luck, this is a game of knowledge. Play smart and the wins will come easy, but hey what do I know? I'm a guy who at the moment has a 2007 record of 12-18.
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