Bye Byes
October 26th, 2002
Remember this year's draft? How hard you tried to make sure that your team would be able to field a complete roster every week, in spite of the four-team bye weeks the league instituted this year? You probably passed on a few players you actually liked because their bye week didn't mesh with the rest of your roster. Well, times, they are a changin' - the bye weeks are almost over! With only 12 teams left to take a bye, and only 3 more bye weeks, now is the time to start tweaking your roster for the second half of the season (and the fantasy playoffs!) Below are some suggestions to help improve your team now that off-weeks are almost a thing of the past.
First of all, consider upgrading your #2 or #3 running back (or your #3 or #4 wide receiver) by packaging that player with some excess depth on your roster and seeking a trade for someone better. A lot of owners will go for a 2 for 1 deal (still stuck in the bye-week mentality that excess depth is good). Note, I did not say trade away all of your depth - you still need to be protected in case of injury. But you don't really need 4 or 5 running backs once #1 and #2 have passed their bye week - 3 players on the bench really do you no good once the byes are past. The reason I suggest targeting your secondary starters (rather than aiming to acquire, say, Priest Holmes) is that other owners are more likely to be willing to part with, say, Duce Staley (17th on the running back's scoring list this season) rather than Deuce McAllister (6th).
Second, if you are carrying some guy around because you needed him to fill in for Fred Taylor (bye week 3) - cut the bum and pick up someone who might actually help your team! You can probably replace two or even three of your bye-week substitutes with superior players off the waiver wire now that byes are almost over. Even if you never start the free agents, they improve your playoff chances in two ways. A).Your team is protected against injury with better back-ups. B).You prevent other teams in your league from acquiring top quality help by burying the decent free agents on your bench. Sometimes depriving the opposition of good players is as important as having good guys in your line-up!
Finally, realize that you will have more options at each position to choose from each week as the league returns to a full 16-game schedule each week. Set aside an extra few minutes before you send in your line-ups to carefully consider each player's matchups - especially important for your non-stud roster spots, like #2 running back and #3 wide receiver. You might net several points a week by making the right call(s) and inserting one of your bench-warmers when they play a lame defense and your "normal" starter plays Tampa Bay or Philadelphia.
Roster management is one key to claiming the league championship trophy! Don't wait until the trading deadline is past (or until all the decent free agents are on other owner's teams). Make your moves now, while there is still time to retool your line-up. You'll be glad you did.
Mark Wimer
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