Dear Yardmark,
In my last letter I warned you not to get too excited this early in the season and doom your team with unnecessary player swaps. To be clear, when I say “swap”, I mean dropping a player and picking one up on the wavier wire or as a free agent, as opposed to trading with another player.
Spinning Wheels
Team owners start getting excited about new hot players they see touted in fantasy chat rooms, blogs, and on television. While these are good sources to get your info, they tend to over hype players. If you buy into this “get the hot player of the week” strategy, you will end up spinning your wheels down the road of mediocrity.
In a few weeks, look for two to three week trends to pick up really worthwhile players (I’ll explain this down the road). In the meantime, let the other teams spin their wheels. They’ll pick up some good players here and there, but it will become part of their weekly routine and they’ll end of with a team of so-so players. Every hot pick of the week doesn’t always pan out.
When you should swap early in the season
Sometimes it is beneficial to grab a player you need for the week. For example, a kicker or a defense which is playing against a poor offense. Also, when there is a major injury to a QB or RB, it is sometimes a good idea to pick up their backup if they are going to be out for a while (like Mike Vick and Brandon Jackson) this year.
It’s a long season. Let it shake out a little before making major moves.
Regards,
Your Uncle Gridiron
The Gridiron Letters 