Coaching Newbies: I just couldn’t get enough of Jim Zorn’s mismanagement of the game on Thursday night – I almost had to quit watching the damn thing. With four minutes left, Jim is huddling down 9. Interesting. Of all people, he has to know about his dink and dunk west coast offense – hurry up son! I like Jim and despite his shortcomings in Week 1 I think he will become a solid head guy for the Redskins. But doesn’t this show that there’s such thing as a rookie curve for coaches too? Its the first time Jim has ever been a head coach and he’s also calling plays – who does he think he is? Splinter Shannahan? Watch out for those rookie coaches, they’ll kill your fantasy guys too. Chris Cooley needed to get involved in this one – he’s a huge asset for the Redskins – yet he didn’t do anything. Talking about tight ends, do I drop Kevin Boss now that he didn’t catch a ball? Hmmm…
Premature E-drop-ulation: You don’t want to let go of a guy because of one bad week, but in the case of Kevin Boss, a guy that was probably a very late TE pickup for you, you might want to head in the direction of a Dustin Keller or possibly Greg Olsen. Either guy is likely to be available still and it doesn’t look like Boss is going to be as big a part of the Giants offense as Jeremy Shockey was. Plus, you don’t lose that much by dropping him. Contrary to this advice, I wouldn’t drop someone you were high on because of one lousy week. Dropping Eli Manning because he didn’t do much would be ridiculous. So don’t do it if one of your pre-season sleepers poo’s the bed in Week 1.
Do Hate: People often won’t pick a player because they hate him, or the team he plays for. TO is a prime example. I’ve drafted with Eagle fans that won’t touch the guy. Defenses are the best. Late you can often pick up the Cowboys, Vikings, or Jaguars because so many people either hate them or care less about them. Take advantage of that. There are lesser versions of these guys on waivers right now. Just because nobody likes Brandon Lloyd doesn’t mean he’s useless – same goes for Antonio Bryant. Remember – at one time in their NFL careers, both of these guys were promising fantasy receivers, and it’s not as if they’re too old to get back the magic. Dream big, Hate as much as you want. Just don’t let it effect your fantasy cash winnings. Its true though, nothing is worse than hating your fantasy team and losing at the same time. I don’t suggest you do that either.
Dallas Does Cleveland: I’m not saying much about this except – watch. The Cowboys are going to do what the Colts did to the Saints to start the ’07 season, and many a people are going to be seen ripping out their hair because they put all their chips in the Brown doo-doo. Nobody likes brown doo-doo. But when this does happen, feel free to take advantage of those hair-rippers. Unlike you, most fantasy fans erupt prematurely like the apple pie kid. Week 1 and 2 are times where calm people build season-long dynasties.
Don’t do that: While rooting for your favorite team to pull a huge upset, please don’t be the guy that says, “I want them to win this, but it’d be nice if Tony Romo would throw a couple more touchdowns before it’s over.” That’s just not okay. You are a football fan first – remember that. Be loyal and just take the fantasy game as it falls. Rooting for a 56-55 game is just plain hopeless.