From PortlandSports.com, a partner of Oregon Sports News
Sometimes I wonder what it takes to be considered a fantasy football “Expert.”
Do you have to be receiving a paycheck to dole out your opinions? Do you have to be a former player or coach? Or is it simply having the courage to call yourself an expert and to publicly voice your fantasy opinions and advice to whoever will listen?
I don’t walk around the streets of Portland wearing a sandwich board that reads: “FANTASY GURU” in giant red letters. And considering my mediocre performances throughout the years, I am a far cry from “Expert.”
That being said, I have had some success and I rarely finish the year at the bottom of the league standings. It has been my experience that a whole lot of luck goes into making a championship run and doing your due diligence throughout the season only helps to improve your margin for error.
So let me tell you about some of my biggest mistakes I have made thus far in the season.
1. Drafted Rob Gronkowski in second round of my total points league.
2. Drafted Danny Amendola as my first WR in the same league.
3. Drafted Miles Austin too early, believing off season “anti-injury” training hype.
4. Drafted Doug Martin with first pick in one leagues and traded for him in another.
5. Kept Ray Rice in my Keeper league.
These missteps could have totally derailed my season in the three leagues I am competing; however, I have made adjustments to my rosters using research, watching as much football as I can, and by making trades. It also helps that I have Peyton Manning at QB on two of my teams.
By keeping my composure, I am in first and second place in my head-to-head leagues and am still in the hunt for the playoffs in my total points league. Although I am in desperate need for Gronkowski to come back ASAP!
One example of trying to correct the inevitable miscues of a fantasy season includes trading Ray Rice for Desean Jackson after four straight weeks of severe under-performances. I misjudged Rice’s overuse in the past and also did not foresee the positive influence Chip Kelly’s offense would have on Desean Jackson’s game. Not only has Rice’s average yards per carry gone down every year, but the Ravens’ offense just has not been the same since crowning Joe Flacco the #1 piece of the offensive unit. Ever since Flacco’s huge playoff and Super Bowl performances last year, it seems that the Baltimore Ravens have made a conscience effort to go away from Rice in favor of a more pass happy attack.
Another mistake I am currently in the process of amending is my overvaluation of Doug Martin. Not so much the player himself, but the team that he plays for. Since the beginning of the year the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released their starting QB and promoted a rookie, Mike Glennon, to starter. Even before this move was made, Freeman’s piss-poor performances each week urged defenses to stack the box in anticipation of the run. This made every yard Martin had gained thus far even more difficult to obtain. Now, defenses are pinning their ears back and teeing off on Martin, who last week put up a valiant yet inadequate performance on the ground. In an attempt to right this wrong, I traded Martin for Justin Blackmon and DeAngelo Williams this week, a move which has paid off so far.
Although I have made some glaring blunders this year, I also have my share of positive moves, including the drafting of Jordan Cameron, TE for the Browns, in two of my leagues. Each week, Cameron proves that he is on his way to becoming the next Gronk, hopefully without the injuries.
I would also like to pat myself for drafting Giovanni Bernard solely off of his performance on HBO’s “Hard Knocks”. It also didn’t hurt that he is the brother of former OSU great Yvenson Bernard. “Gio” has been blossoming into an every down back on the verge of replacing the plodding BenJarvus Green-Ellis on Cincinnati’s depth chart. He is especially proving to be a valuable check down in the passing game for Dalton when defenses double up their coverage on A.J. Green.
The purpose of this week’s column has been to give hope to us all who are trying to navigate the ever-changing landscape that is the NFL. That even if Julio Jones goes down for the rest of the season, there is someone out there just waiting to prove to you, their owner, that they can step up and fill that void. It’s just a matter of playing the match ups and doing the research.
Hopefully this helps, Keep on Scrambling and remember to hit me up on Twitter @MaahsScrambler.
Read more by Brian Maahs at PortlandSports.com
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