Viva Murillo!
We put so much emphasis on week 1, it should almost be the fantasy championship week. We focus on every detail, scrutinize every performance, and extrapolate what we've seen over the next 15 weeks. And in doing so, we risk ruining our fantasy season.
It's easy to say not to put too much stock into week 1; it's even easy to write a column about it. But when you roll out Jake Delhomme and your opponent starts Drew Brees, it's a different story. When you start Andre Johnson, Steve Smith and Anthony Gonzalez, you might expect their combined total to out-produce Laurent Robinson. If you were depending on Steven Jackson or Matt Forte to help your PPR totals with some swing passes, you might wonder why you didn't start Tim Hightower.
That's natural, of course. And it's also natural to start those guys again next week because "it's only one game." That part is easy. You know what's hard? Doing it again after they disappoint you in week 2. That's when your patience wears thin and you look to the waiver wire or inferior bench players to jump-start your season. In my opinion, that's where many owners get into trouble.
If we agree that some players start slow ... that doesn't necessarily end after week 1. It might take more than a game for them to get going. But if 95 percent of owners are patient after a tough opening weekend, I'd say at least half of them bail after a second poor outing.
Now, I'm not suggesting you sink your fantasy season over some draft-day duds. At some point you have to let it go and move on to something else. But while you console yourself over a first-week disappointments, don't put all your eggs on week 2, either. And if you had a great week 1 based on some unexpected performances, don't pat yourself on the back just yet. If you need Tim Hightower to catch a dozen passes for you to win, you might go 1-13 this year. Your weaknesses are still weaknesses, even if they bailed you out on Sunday. "It's just one week" works both ways.
It's a shame when owners spend weeks (months, really) formulating a strategy and developing a gameplan..only to abandon it after 60 (or 120) minutes of football. You have to give your plan a chance to work and justify your off-season preparations. I mean, imagine cutting DeAngelo Williams last year because he started out slow.
I don't have to imagine it; I did it in one league. Even while he was helping me win in other leagues, I kept thinking about the one where I let him go. Please learn from my mistake and let your patience help you overcome a slow start. Be on the lookout for players who can help your team, but remember that their strong resume is as short as your starter's disappointing one. Balance is the key, but I think patience is the real virtue at this point in the season. Good luck this week.
You can reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@gmail.com.
- Comments [0]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
