In what sick, twisted universe are fantasy studs like Marshawn Lynch, Peyton Manning, Giovanni Bernard and Andre Ellington all not playing in the same week?
Oh right, the bye weeks have started.
Bye weeks are an integral part of the NFL. It gives players time to rest and recuperate in the midst of the long grind that is the NFL season.
However, while they help the real football players, they’re nothing but a headache for fantasy owners.
In my draft manifesto, I said there are two schools of thought on the bye week when it comes to drafting: stack up on bye weeks, or diversify them.
My go-to strategy is to diversify. I don’t like the idea of selling out one win to be successful every other week. To me, that one win could be the difference between making the playoffs and going home.
However, despite my usual attitude, I realized after drafting that not one but two of my teams were in dire straits because I overlooked players’ bye weeks.
In those two leagues, I only had one player that was playing last week who didn’t make the starting lineup. Every other case saw the players I took a late-round flier on finding their way into counting for my team.
I went 1-1 in those games. In one league, Philip Rivers’ outstanding day made up for the fact I had to grab Jacksonville wide-out Allen Robinson (who?) on Sunday to replace Michael Floyd from Arizona.
In the other, I was forced to play Carlos Hyde, Derek Carr and Doug Martin, who was coming off an injury. Martin did OK (40 rushing yards, 16 receiving yards and a touchdown). Hyde did not (26 rushing yards). Carr didn’t even make it through the game, going down in the third quarter with a high ankle sprain and a sprained MCL. Once again, my kicker outscored my entire team. I can’t stand it when my kicker outscores my entire team.
My last undefeated team also went down this week. Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones combined for a sickening 8 total receptions for 94 yards, zero touchdowns and 14 fantasy points. They matched up against Reggie Wayne and Jordy Nelson, who combined for 17 receptions, 227 yards, three touchdowns, and a helluva lot more than 14 fantasy points. My team never had a chance.
However, this week wasn’t all bad. Two of my teams won because my opponents were facing the same bye-week problems I was.
I ended up 4-2 on the week, and am in playoff position in half of my leagues.
As we pass the quarter-pole of the season, a lot can still happen and despite fast or slow starts, there will be many shakeups throughout every league before the final few weeks of the season are here.
Who do you have to put in to cover a bye week? Need advice on who to start/sit next week? Questions about who to pick up from waivers? Email me at 14tange14@gmail.com!
Nick’s Waiver Wire Picks of the Week:
1) Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end
Kelce has emerged as one of the top receiving options in a run-first Kansas City offense. He has yet to record fewer than 35 yards in a game, and has found the end zone in back-to-back contests. In addition, in the Monday Night Football contest against New England, Kelce hauled in eight passes, making him a potential PPR league player. He’s only owned in 37 percent of leagues, so if you need a tight end, he could be your guy.
2) Larry Donnell, New York Giants’ tight end
If Kelce is unavailable, another guy I’m targeting on the waiver wire is Larry Donnell. Donnell exploded for three touchdowns last week in the Giants’ 45-14 punishing of the Washington Redskins. Eli Manning threw four touchdowns, all to tight ends. But last week wasn’t Donnell’s only decent game. He averages just over six catches a game for an average of just under 60 yards. In a PPR format, that’s an average of 12 points per game before you factor touchdowns into the mix. He’s available in around 73 percent of leagues, but won’t be around for long after last week’s performance.
3) Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings quarterback
Bridgewater has the potential to be the best rookie quarterback this year. In two weeks, he has only five fewer fantasy points than Tom Brady has all season. And I’m betting you didn’t draft Bridgewater in the first 10 rounds like you likely did Brady. Bridgewater looked solid against the Falcons before suffering an ankle injury. He might miss this week (since they play Thursday night against the Packers), but after that he should be a viable fantasy starter with Matt Cassel on injured reserve the rest of the season. He’s available in 90 percent of leagues, so you should be able to scoop him up, no problem.
Good luck, fantasy experts, and may my teams lose so yours don’t have to.
Oh right, the bye weeks have started.
Bye weeks are an integral part of the NFL. It gives players time to rest and recuperate in the midst of the long grind that is the NFL season.
However, while they help the real football players, they’re nothing but a headache for fantasy owners.
In my draft manifesto, I said there are two schools of thought on the bye week when it comes to drafting: stack up on bye weeks, or diversify them.
My go-to strategy is to diversify. I don’t like the idea of selling out one win to be successful every other week. To me, that one win could be the difference between making the playoffs and going home.
However, despite my usual attitude, I realized after drafting that not one but two of my teams were in dire straits because I overlooked players’ bye weeks.
In those two leagues, I only had one player that was playing last week who didn’t make the starting lineup. Every other case saw the players I took a late-round flier on finding their way into counting for my team.
I went 1-1 in those games. In one league, Philip Rivers’ outstanding day made up for the fact I had to grab Jacksonville wide-out Allen Robinson (who?) on Sunday to replace Michael Floyd from Arizona.
In the other, I was forced to play Carlos Hyde, Derek Carr and Doug Martin, who was coming off an injury. Martin did OK (40 rushing yards, 16 receiving yards and a touchdown). Hyde did not (26 rushing yards). Carr didn’t even make it through the game, going down in the third quarter with a high ankle sprain and a sprained MCL. Once again, my kicker outscored my entire team. I can’t stand it when my kicker outscores my entire team.
My last undefeated team also went down this week. Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones combined for a sickening 8 total receptions for 94 yards, zero touchdowns and 14 fantasy points. They matched up against Reggie Wayne and Jordy Nelson, who combined for 17 receptions, 227 yards, three touchdowns, and a helluva lot more than 14 fantasy points. My team never had a chance.
However, this week wasn’t all bad. Two of my teams won because my opponents were facing the same bye-week problems I was.
I ended up 4-2 on the week, and am in playoff position in half of my leagues.
As we pass the quarter-pole of the season, a lot can still happen and despite fast or slow starts, there will be many shakeups throughout every league before the final few weeks of the season are here.
Who do you have to put in to cover a bye week? Need advice on who to start/sit next week? Questions about who to pick up from waivers? Email me at 14tange14@gmail.com!
Nick’s Waiver Wire Picks of the Week:
1) Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end
Kelce has emerged as one of the top receiving options in a run-first Kansas City offense. He has yet to record fewer than 35 yards in a game, and has found the end zone in back-to-back contests. In addition, in the Monday Night Football contest against New England, Kelce hauled in eight passes, making him a potential PPR league player. He’s only owned in 37 percent of leagues, so if you need a tight end, he could be your guy.
2) Larry Donnell, New York Giants’ tight end
If Kelce is unavailable, another guy I’m targeting on the waiver wire is Larry Donnell. Donnell exploded for three touchdowns last week in the Giants’ 45-14 punishing of the Washington Redskins. Eli Manning threw four touchdowns, all to tight ends. But last week wasn’t Donnell’s only decent game. He averages just over six catches a game for an average of just under 60 yards. In a PPR format, that’s an average of 12 points per game before you factor touchdowns into the mix. He’s available in around 73 percent of leagues, but won’t be around for long after last week’s performance.
3) Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings quarterback
Bridgewater has the potential to be the best rookie quarterback this year. In two weeks, he has only five fewer fantasy points than Tom Brady has all season. And I’m betting you didn’t draft Bridgewater in the first 10 rounds like you likely did Brady. Bridgewater looked solid against the Falcons before suffering an ankle injury. He might miss this week (since they play Thursday night against the Packers), but after that he should be a viable fantasy starter with Matt Cassel on injured reserve the rest of the season. He’s available in 90 percent of leagues, so you should be able to scoop him up, no problem.
Good luck, fantasy experts, and may my teams lose so yours don’t have to.