4th-and-1 Debate: Fantasy Football Recovery Strategy

Time for another 4th-and-1 roundtable debate.

Paul Greco of www.fantasypros911.com came up with this week’s topic. Click here to see the full article.

This Week’s Topic

Going into Week Five, some teams have struggled out of the gate. For those teams that are 2-2 or 1-3, what “expert” strategies would you suggest to help teams try to get back into the chase?

My Response

It depends on what type of struggling team you are. Are you scoring points yourself? 

Perhaps you happened to draw Drew Brees when he erupted for six TDs in Week One, Chris Johnson, Frank Gore, or Andre Johnson when they exploded in Week Two, or maybe you faced MoJo in Week Three when he went for three TDs, and San Fran's D last week for good measure.

If you have been snakebitten by top scorers, but are holding your own in points, I would say don’t do anything drastic. Work the waiver wire like you normally would. Don’t make any desperate moves.Either the matchups will have a way of evening things out or it’s just not your year.

However, if you are struggling to score points yourself, that’s when you need to take action.

Take a look at your team and don’t be afraid to cut any dead weight. If your guy is still struggling through four weeks, perhaps it’s time to cut bait.

Be aggressive. If you have Chris Johnson and a bunch of nobodies, perhaps it’s time to see what you can get for him.

If you can get a mid-level RB like Joseph Addai and a rock solid WR, it will probably help you in the long run. You get an adequate RB and a major upgrade at a key position. I know it’s tough because if you’re not scoring points, you likely don’t have many sell high guys.

Another thing you can do is be aggressive with your defenses and kickers. If you don’t have an elite D, you’ll have to play the matchup game.

Don’t simply plan week to week though. Everyone does that. Look two weeks out. That way, when everyone is scrambling to make great pickups this week, you’re a step ahead of the game.

With kickers, look to see which teams are allowing the most kicker points.  It’s not necessarily the worst teams, because often they allow more PATs than anything.

You want to find a bent-but-don’t-break D that gives up yards, but gets tough in the red zone. That way, you are likely to get multiple FG opportunities.

It’s not impossible to climb out of the hole. You just have to work a little harder and get some luck on your side.

Panelists

Junkyard Jake of www.junkyardjake.com
Ryan Lester of www.lesterslegends.com
Paul Greco of www.fantasypros911.com
Bryce McRae of www.kffl.com
Kurt Turner of www.top-fantasy-football.com
Eric Stashin of www.rotoprofessor.com
Lee of www.footballjabber.com
Smitty of www.fantasyfootballxtreme.com