59.) Don’t Constantly Add/Drop
I can’t stress this one enough. Chances are the team from draft day is the one that will have the best potential especially early on. That is why those players got drafted and others didn’t. Of course players that fell through the cracks and get injured will impact that, but the players you selected from the beginning were selected for a reason. Don’t give up on them because of a bad week one. I’ve been in leagues where people will constantly add/drop. It drives me crazy. That’s why I’ve made rules limiting waiver transactions so players don’t constantly go to waivers and their draft matters more in selecting the right players. There is no point in picking up a player just to drop them six hours later. Then other teams have to wait a day for them to clear waivers and any claims put on them. The more and more you tinker with waivers, the more you are selecting from the pool of players that people don’t want and putting someone who was valued on a roster subject to being an addition and asset to someone else’s team.
60.) Plan Ahead
Make sure to plan ahead especially with byes. If I have a position where I only have one player on my team at, I may look ahead rather than wait. If there is someone on waivers who has a great matchup that week I might pick them up two weeks ahead of time instead of waiting until the week of and taking a chance that everyone else isn’t thinking the same thing as me. It is a great opportunity to get somebody for value ahead of the curve especially if they have a tough matchup that week and that is what is scaring someone off from taking them that week. A couple years ago, I planned to pick up the Chiefs defense but saw they played the Packers. I assumed they would have a bad week and I would sneak them out the next week. Well they got to Aaron Rodgers good and put up huge numbers. Instead, someone higher on the waiver wire got them and the Chiefs were the top defense that year. Had I made the move early I would have won the league instead of finishing second. Planning ahead makes for a more seamless transition with your team and keeps you one step ahead of your opponents.
61.) Don’t Give Up From A Bad Start
People tend to give up in fantasy way too early. A 0-3 start might be enough for someone to say they donated their money and stop setting their lineup. My rule is if you don’t set your lineups and continue to try until the playoffs then I might not ask you back next year because it isn’t fair to everyone else in the league. Chances are your team can still turn it around especially if your waivers are set to the worst team to have first pick each week. While your record might not look great, you can add talent week after week for a second half run and have full steam going into the playoffs. A decent amount of times the team I find most dangerous in the playoffs is a team that just barely made it but has been on a hot streak right before they begin. While a bad start is disheartening don’t let it be a death blow. Fight for your team and bragging rights. Nobody likes finishing last and there are some leagues that punish the last place finisher.
62.) Ride or Trade The Hot Hand
Those who drafted Devonta Freeman last year were in luck. After exploding with back to back 35+ point games in weeks three and four the decision become difficult. When a player gets hot like that riding them in the starting lineup is a good idea until they cool off and come back to Earth. If you don’t believe their success will be long lived and is just a temporary run, now is a good time to trade them while their trade value is the highest. It’s a tough decision of which one to go with because there is no way of really knowing which way it will go but either ride them out and put your faith behind them or trade them and cash out for a more reliable option down the stretch.
High School
Men for Others – Remembering Nick Restifo
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