By: Colton Linnertz
Making adjustments is the key to winning a fantasy football
championship. Whether you are 0-3 or 3-0, you need to start adjusting to the
2012 season. Every season is different and your preseason strategy may not
apply anymore. Even if your team is 3-0, you still need to stay on top of
things and do some tweaking. Evaluate your roster, find your weaknesses and
address them. Make moves, work the waiver wire, buy low, sell high or just
simply add depth. Here are some tips & strategies for making those
adjustments:
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Making a 2 for 1 trade is a great move if there
is a quality player available to add off the waiver wire. It could possibly be
an overall upgrade.
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Take a look at the bench players on the other
teams in your league, these players are most likely either undervalued or that
owner has a surplus at a certain position.
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Maybe you ended up with a team loaded at the WR
position and you can use one of them to upgrade another position.
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Don’t let injuries get you down. Having several
injuries on your team can actually make you a better fantasy football player,
forcing you to pay attention and scout players a bit more closely.
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Play the matchup game with your defense. This
can gain you just a few points each week just by adding the best matchup off
the waiver wire.
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Look to trade away guys that have name value,
but are not performing. They will get you more in a trade than a lesser known
player with the same production.
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Maximize your total points: Having 3 or 4 players
from one team limits the potential of your fantasy team. Say you have Brady,
Gronk & Lloyd. What happens if Ridley runs in 4 TDs? You’re going to have a
hard time winning that week. Spread your talent out as much as possible. This
will make your team more consistent and help you avoid low scoring weeks.
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If you have the bench space, take a risk on a
high upside guy off the waiver wire, like a Bryce Brown or a Phillip Tanner.
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Later in the season, rookies and backups tend to
see more playing time as some teams fall out of contention.
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When setting your lineup each week, only use the
weekly rankings as a guide. They are always biased towards the previous week.
Buy Low: Target these players in a trade
QB – Cam Newton: The Ultimate buy low candidate. Carolina’s
defense is just awful, so they will be throwing to catch up most of the time.
Cam has an offense loaded with weapons as well. The schedule gets much easier
in the second half for the Panthers.
WR – Hakeem Nicks:
His foot injury may have his owner
worried. He had his surgically repaired foot stepped on and it was sore, but I
believe the Giants were being cautions, realizing they didn’t need him to beat
Carolina. He will only get stronger as the season goes on.
WR – Jordy Nelson: Three sub-par games so you might be able to
steal him away. GB should be foaming at the mouth the rest of the season after
that debacle in Seattle.
RB – LeSean McCoy: This one will be harder to pull off, but if
his owner is frustrated with his 1st rd pick, now is the time to
strike.
Sell: Bail on these
players before it’s too late:
QB – Jay Cutler: You just can’t trust him enough to plug him
into your fantasy lineup. The Chicago offensive line is in shambles. Defenses
are taking Marshall away and leaving him nowhere to go with the ball. Cutler is
droppable in a 12-team league.
QB – Philip Rivers: If you go back and look at his stats, he has
been declining for 2 years and off to an awful start in 2012. Vincent Jackson
is gone, Gates is getting older and Rivers will only be a matchup play or a
backup the rest of the year.
QB – Michael Vick: Struggling and his health issues are a huge
headache. Trade him away while he still has some value. He will have a big game
here and there, but he is not consistent enough to rely on.
RB – Ahmad Bradshaw: Will the emergence of Andre Brown, 1st
rd pick David Wilson lurking and Bradshaw’s health issues, I doubt he will be
consistent the rest of the way.
Fantasy
Gold: Add them, keep them or trade for these
players before their owners know what they have:
TE – Jimmy
Graham: Obviously he isn’t a secret,
but he gives your team a huge advantage.
He is the best TE in fantasy and no defense can shut him down. If he scored
2 TDs a week from this point on, I wouldn’t be shocked. If you can acquire him
in a trade, do it. Gates owners should package him with another player and make
an offer.
QB – Ben
Roethlisberger: The Steelers essentially
have two #1 WRs, a quality #3 and a TE in Health Miller that Ben trusts. The
defense is no longer great, combine that with the fact this team can’t run the
ball to save its life and it leads to huge games from Ben, like Week 3.
RB – Mikel Leshoure: I’m all in on this guy. There was all kinds
of hype coming out of the draft about Leshoure, but then he was injured and
missed all of 2011. With defenses focusing on some guy named Calvin Johnson,
Mikel should be running wild all season.
QB – Andrew Luck: This is much like Roethlisberger’s situation,
only with a defense that is much worse. Reggie Wayne, Donnie Avery & T.Y.
Hilton will give Luck all the weapons he needs to be starter in a 12-team
league. Luck has a very sneaky running ability that will only add to his
fantasy value.
Top Adds
for Week 4:
QB – Shaun Hill: We have seen him produces in this offense
before and if Stafford misses time he is a great start.
RB – Ronnie Hillman: McGahee has a rib injury, but no word if he
will miss time. If you need a RB to fill in and start in Week 4, then go with
Lance Ball, but if you are looking for long term upside, Hillman is your man.
Explosive, powerful and the ability to become a workhorse back. Once Denver
trusts him in pass protection his playing time will increase.
WR – T.Y. Hilton: This guy is a playmaker. Indy is trying to
get him more touches and for good reason. The Colts are on a BYE this week, but
keep an eye on him or add him now if you have room.
TE – Health Miller: 4 TDs already and Roethlisberger looks for
him in the red zone. Steelers also have a Week 4 BYE.
D – Arizona: The 2nd best defense in fantasy
right now and they have great matchups coming.
D – Seattle: We saw them destroy both Dallas and Green Bay,
they will be a consistent play each week.
WR – Andrew Hawkins: Simply the fastest man I have ever seen on
the football field. The Bengals have increased his snaps each week and realize
he needs more touches.
If you pay close attention, make quality moves and follow
the NFL news, I guarantee you will have a terrific shot at making the playoffs
in your league.
Follow me on Twitter for more fantasy football information.
@BlacknBlueFB
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