How to Win Your One & Done Playoff Contest

by John Gustafson, [e-mail]

Did you get off to a bad start last week in your One & Done contest? Did you come out guns-a-blazin, but not sure what do to? If you came out cooler than cool (ice cold!) or hotter than Fresno on an afternoon in July, then this article is for you. Let’s keep this simple. There are 2 things, yes that’s right, just 2 things you’ll need to do if you hope to take down your O&D contest.

Step 1: Plan out the rest of the playoffs

Now I have the Saints, Cowboys, Ravens, and Jets losing this week. If you disagree, that’s fine! I went 0-4 last week, so wtf do I know? But it is important to plan out who you think is going to win the rest of the way. Once you’ve done that you will want to pick the best players from the losing teams each week. So in my 2 O&D contests my teams will look like this for this week…

Team 1- QB- Brees, RB1- Felix, RB2- Pierre T, WR1- Colston, WR2- Wayne, TE- Keller, Coach- Caldwell, Flex- S. Greene

Team 2- QB- Brees, RB1- Felix, RB2- Pierre T, WR1- Colston, WR2- Wayne, WR3- Harvin, TE- Keller, K- Hartley, D- Jets, Flex- S. Greene

You’ll see that all of my players are from the teams I have losing with the exception of Wayne and Harvin. If you’re wondering why I’m going with Harvin & Wayne, I’ll get to that in a second.

Step 2- Know your resources

Now that 1 week is in the books, it makes it a little easier to plan out the rest of your lineups. The most effective way to do this is knowing your resources. Once you know which guys you have this week, then you can do a mock lineup for week 3, then a final mock lineup for the Super Bowl. I understand that the odds of you getting all the games right here on out is slim, but as that little kid from Angels in the Outfield would say, “hey it could happen” and if it does, you’ll be money baby! In the conference championships, I have Minnesota and Indianapolis losing, so my lineup will be full of their players. Here’s what my mock lineup for week 3 looks like…

Team 1- QB- Manning, RB1- AP, RB2- Addai, WR1- S. Rice, WR2- Collie or Garcon, TE- Clark, Flex- Boldin, Doucet, or Malcolm Floyd, Coach- Whisenhunt

Team 2- QB- Manning, RB1- AP, RB2- Addai, WR1- S. Rice, WR2- Collie or Garcon, WR3- Boldin, Doucet, or Floyd, TE- Clark, K- Rackers, D- Cards, Flex- Collie, Garcon, Boldin, Doucet, or Floyd,

At this point in week 3, I can start to narrow down the players I want to use. So even though I have the Cards and Chargers going to the Super Bowl, I can still use some of their players here because I will still have enough solid players left from their 2 teams the following week for the Super Bowl. Which is why I could use Harvin and Wayne this week (week 2) because I’m aware of who I have left and where I plan to use them. Using Harving & Wayne this week could really pay off for a few reasons. Let’s say I’m wrong about who wins, well then I got to use both guys this week. Also, what if the Colts win, but the Jets beat the Chargers? Well then I’ll be glad I used Wayne this week and not next week when he draws Revis. It can get a little confusing but there is definitely a method to the madness. If any of this gets too confusing, email me and we can talk it out some more. If you’re still with me, then let’s move ahead to the Super Bowl.

If all goes as planned then I will have gotten games out of studs from the losing teams and have set myself up for the kill with a team full of relevent players in the Super Bowl. Here’s what my Super Bowl lineups would look like…

Team 1- QB- Rivers, RB1- LT, RB2- Beanie, WR1- Jackson, WR2- Boldin/Doucet/Floyd, TE- Gates, Coach- Tuner, Flex- Hightower

Team 2- QB- Rivers, RB1- LT, RB2- Beanie, WR1- Jackson, WR2- Boldin/Doucet/Floyd, WR3- Boldin/Doucet/Floyd/Nanee/Urban TE- Gates, K- Kaeding, D- Chargers, Flex- Hightower

I’m sure I’ll have to do another re-evaluation next week, but if I do, I’ll still be ok. I left myself options on the Saints, Jets, Ravens, and Cowboys so that if I have to do damage control next week or even longer, than I’ll be in a position to do that. But hey, let’s cross that bridge when we get there!