Fantasy Football Forum: The Semi’s

I see you rolled your way into the semi’s. Dios mio, man.

Unfortunately, the Peanut Punchers did not. Once again, I am knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in the WCG league - this time to a late Monday Night Football comeback on the TD from Chris Carson to lose by 2 points. A couple of bad starts contributed to my demise as I went with Courtland Sutton over Tyler Boyd and started Jeff Wilson Jr. over the Kansas City backs. But you can’t think like that - you set your lineup with whatever information is at your disposal and you let the chips fall where they may.

I’ve got two teams left in the hunt for a championship. One of the important pieces of playoff fantasy football came into sharp focus for one of those teams last night. I had planned to start Melvin Gordon and Spencer Ware, but injuries to both players forced me to go to the bench. Unfortunately, I only protected Gordon with Justin Jackson and did not find a spot on the virtual bench for Damien Williams. While Jackson salvaged his night with a 4th quarter TD (and a better throw from Rivers would’ve given him a 2nd), Williams was the big winner in the random running back sweepstakes. Hopefully you benefited from his big night. Additionally, if you had the gall to start Mike Williams for the Chargers, you took all of Keenan Allen’s points and profited. Well done.

The playoffs can be extra stressful if you let it get to you. My advice to you for the next week and half would be as follows:

• If you haven’t already, handcuff your running backs with their backups unless you’ve got a good running back in reserve. Damien Williams showed us why.
• Grab your defense for week 16 if it’s not on your roster already.
• In fact, if there’s a good defense out there - grab it anyway to play keep-away from your opponent.
• Set your lineup with what YOU think is the right combination of players. Don’t rely on everyone else’s opinion because in the end, you have to own it.
• But if you need help, we’re here to offer free advice - but remember, you get what you pay for.
• Finally, once you set your lineup, walk away. Don’t follow the scores in real time. Either watch some real football games or go do something else with your day. Stressing about the playoffs isn’t worth it.

Good luck!

If you do want any advice or want to complain about getting Williams’ed by Damien and Mike, hit up the comments or find me on Twitter @gridironborn