Now that we are four weeks into the 2013 NFL season, it’s time to start looking ahead to the fantasy playoffs.
All of the preseason hype has played itself out, for the most part, and we are starting to get a clearer if not truer picture of what teams and players are really going to do this year.
In particular, I want to concentrate on team defenses. Going forward, I like to target players to acquire not only by their immediate impact but also by looking ahead to which defenses they will be facing during the fantasy playoffs.
Here is a list of the ten worst defenses so far this season:
1. Philadelphia Eagles
2. Washington Redskins
3. San Diego Chargers
4. Minnesota Vikings
5. Green Bay Packers
6. Buffalo Bills
7. Atlanta Falcons
8. Denver Broncos
9. St. Louis Rams
10. Jacksonville Jaguars
All but one of these teams should provide the type of anemic defenses you should be looking to take advantage of in the playoffs. The one exception is the Denver Broncos. They are close to getting All Pro corner Champ Bailey back from injury and are three weeks from getting one of the best linebackers in the league, Von Miller, reinstated from suspension.
Now that we know which defenses to hone in on, it’s time to focus on trading for players and acquiring free agents whose teams play these weak defenses during your league’s playoffs.
Free Agents: This part of the strategy is easy. Simply go to your league’s waiver wire and compare schedules. A few examples of these free agents include Jerome Simpson, Greg Jennings, Kenny Stills, and Robert Meachem. The Minnesota Vikings play the Philadelphia Eagles in week 15, which is looking like it will be a shootout considering both defenses are being victimized by the better offenses in the league. It also appears as if Matt Cassel is a more viable option at QB than Christian Ponder, so both Simpson and Jennings should be targeted free agents. Kenny Stills and Robert Meachem for the New Orleans Saints will be facing the porous St. Louis Rams D in week 15. You know that by this point in the season Drew Brees will be dialed in and New Orleans should be able to run the score up on St. Louis, especially if the Saints are vying for playoff position.
Trades: Trading for these late season bloomers will be a bit more difficult. Look for players on rosters who are seldom used due to roster depth or have not yet had that break out performance their owners were hoping to see by this point in the season. Try to convince these opposing owners that you are taking a liability off of their hands while not tipping off why you want these underperformers. If you are in a position to be planning for your playoffs, then you will have excess assets in which to deal. Even if it seems that at this point the trade favors the other owner, you know the real reason why you want to do the trade and your secret strategy should remain intact.
In closing, remember that the most active owners, as long as the moves are sound, are the owners who are quite often winners at the end of the year. Also, fantasy football should be fun and if you play fantasy then the extra work it takes to research players and schedules should also be considered fun. To most of us, this is the reason we play.
Keep on Scrambling and hit me up on Twitter with any strategy or lineup questions @MaahsScrambler.
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