Fantasy football: Bye week edition
Written by Hannah Ulm, Oct 24, 2011, 0 Comments
Bye weeks are a tricky thing. If you don’t plan for them, you’re probably screwed. If you notice your opponents who don’t plan for them, you have the opportunity to take advantage of their foolishness. You’ll know which category you’re in soon.
I’m a mixture of both. Originally I had it all figured out. Then I forgot to consider my bye week players as I made trades and dropped some of my draftees.
Now I’m facing a week without my three best players and without backups that make me feel comfortable. I’m hoping to avoid my second loss of the season, and luckily my opponent’s team isn’t looking too hot either (sorry, dad). I am also using this week as a motivator to be prepared for the upcoming bye weeks. Never again will I allow my team to weaken enough that a far worse opponent might possibly beat me (again, sorry dad).
If you find yourself in a sticky bye week situation, try to craftily find your best options. I needed to pick up two guys to fill in for my star players. Of course I evaluated who was available, who the week seven matchups were and my overall preference for the players. I landed on San Diego WR Malcolm Floyd and Miami WR Davone Bess. Here’s why:
Floyd: I like Malcolm Floyd. Yes, he backs up Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates, but Philip Rivers sends some looks his way too. He’s overlooked by the opposing defenses due to the star talent around him and I’m hoping his under-the-radar nature will pay off this week when the Chargers face the top-rated Jets D.
Bess: Again, not the player defenses usually focus on in Miami. But Brandon Marshall, Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas are all nursing injuries. When he gets the opportunity, Bess can be a playmaker. Yes, Miami sucks. But someone on the team will put up some fantasy points and I think Davone’s the Bess option (ha, pun intended).
Basically I’m crossing my fingers and hoping these backup players have breakout weeks while Wes Welker, LeSean McCoy and Fred Jackson are sipping margaritas by some luxurious pool. That is what players do on their bye weeks right? By the time you read this you’ll know whether my strategy worked, so I’ll go ahead and anticipate all the congratulatory comments.
