I see this happen every year. Players start the season doing much worse, or much better than expected. Often, the players settle into what was expected of them, but sometimes, the unexpected play continues.

At what point do you start making moves in regards to this?

Do you start dropping or trading for players after week 1? Wait until week 2? Do you give them a little longer even?

I know some of this will depend on the track record and age of the player, but every year, I see desperation moves in the first week or two of the season, and just thought it would be a good topic to discuss.

This is an appropriate thread for me right now, since I'm 0-2 in two leagues and a bit desperate...

I really want to wait it out. Ok, when Brandon Jacobs went down, i of course rushed to the WW to pick up Ward. And if someone looks promising I will pick them up, assuming I have a backup on the bench who I took a flier on that doesn't seem to have panned out (i.e. a player who hasn't yet touched the ball, injured players, etc.)

I will exchange kickers, since by week 2-3 you get a feel for which teams are going to have opportunities (i picked up rackers in week 3 2 years ago and he won me a number of games down the stretch).

But generally I want to wait it out... that may burn me this year, but maybe it's already too late lol

It takes a lot for me to get out of the knee-jerk mindset. Fitzgerald really has not been producing for me in Arizona and it's beginning to worry me. I mean, it's not like I'm going to drop my #1 WR pick because of a few sour weeks, including a probable poor week 3 @ Baltimore, but I find myself panicking, and looking elsewhere for wideouts. Last year, I had Shaun Alexander on my team, and when he started missing games, I resisted that knee-jerk impulse and kept him. For the whole season. I mean, as my number one pick, that kinda makes sense for a week or two of "probable starts" that turned into a warm bench seat, but after 3 or 4 weeks, I think it should have turned into a "reality" for me.

In short, if that's possible anymore, I wouldn't drop/trade players like SJax or Brees yet, because I think their numbers will come around. Wait a few more weeks. You'll see.

(Side note: if you are in a league with me, disregard above. SJax is terrible, and Brees will get hurt next week. You should trade them to me; I'm willing to help you out.)

I think this would be a good thread to bump now that we are at the end of the season. With poor play from guys like Steve Smith, Rudi Johnson, Lee Evans, Reggie Bush and so on, perhaps now it would be interesting to see how you handled the situation.

Reggie Bush
Never bought into him. Great college player, average NFL running back. He has proven that he cannot handle a heavy load on a weekly basis, and his coach has even admitted it.
Don't get me wrong, he helps an offense with his receiving ability out of the backfield, but you need a running back to be able to line up and run between the tackles as well, and this is not a strong point for Reggie Bush. His thing was being able to break runs to the outside in college, and for some reason, everyone thought he would be able to carry that over to the NFL and make that part of his game successful against much faster NFL defenses. It simply hasn't worked out, and I don't think it ever will.

Lee Evans
Another guy I have never bought in to. He has some huge games, but they are often followed by 1 catch for 6 yards. How much of this is Evan and how much of it is the fact that the Bills have tried to force an incompetent quarterback to be their future franchise guy?

Rudi Johnson
This guy concerns me heading into 2008. Up until this year, Rudi had touched the ball 3 years in a row over 350 times. Last season, his yards per carry dropped to 3.8. This year, he has been hurt, been in the doghouse, and been on a team that has appeared basically dysfunctional. He will be 29 next year, and judging by what he is accomplishing right now, is probably a guy I will avoid.

Steve Smith
Smith gets a pass. Losing Delhomme resulted in Smith relying on 44 year old Testaverde, and at times David Carr.

Other guys:

Donovan McNabb - Where is he next season?
Terry Glenn - if he plays next season, how much value to you put on him?
Larry Johnson - who is taking him in the 1st round next season?

Who else?

Carnell Williams- We another season ending injury this year, is it even worth the risk of drafting him?

Adrian Peterson- Going to be taken within 3 picks in most redraft leagues next season, however, his health was an issue in college and has seemed to be an issue in the latter part of this season. Can we realistically expect the same numbers from this kid next year or are we all just kidding ourselves? (Of course, with that said, I would still have to take him 3rd or 4th, kid has too much upside.)

Rudi Johnson- Are we at the end of the road?

Chad Johnson- With trade rumors floating around and the constant reporting of termoil in the Bengals locker room, what happens if Ocho Cinco winds up with another team next season? What happens to his fantasy value if he winds up with a poor quarterback? We all saw what happened to Steve Smith this season without Delhomme, yet at the same time Andre Johnson was amongst the best recievers when David Carr was at Houston.

There are also a lot of QBs who now have me on the ropes:
Jason Campbell, and I really like this guy.
Tavaris Jackson, doing better late season.
Jeff Garcia, how much is left in the tank, and trying to run like Vince Young is no longer working for him.
Eli Manning, another guy with very little grey area, great one week, worse QB in the league the next.
Donovan McNabb, same issues as Mike.

I'm sure there are many more guys out there, but at the moment, my brain is fried.

Personally I'm concerned with Marvin Harrison in 08. I don't think there is that much left in the tank.

There is good reason to be concerned there.

If you listened to earlier reports on his injury, the talk was that the pain might be there permanently, and just something he has to deal with, not just for the rest of his career, but for the rest of his life.

If somebody tells me that, after being in the NFL this long, and having a Super Bowl ring, I likely call it quits at the end of the season to avoid doing any further damage.

You gotta know when to walk away.