Digging For Fantasy Gold

It's that time of year for Fantasy football owners. You either have a solid squad on a clear path to the playoffs or have noticeably more gray hairs each Monday morning. A team in need takes a flier indeed. But its not always the player who you should look at, but the team that surrounds him.

It happens every year in August, where owners converge to conduct a draft. They have done their research and feel confident on how to put together a championship team. But the draft never seems to follow through as it should, with questionable picks and names appearing that are simply mind-boggling.

It starts with many owners drafting simply off of name recognition, rather than examining the potential of the team that surrounds that player. Sure Larry Johnson is a big name RB, but the Chiefs offense scores less than you did in college. And on top of that, you would thinking Moses was running the ball the way they part each week.

An offense has to be solid all the way around for it to run smoothly, and several instances have proven this point this season. Exhibit A: without Palmer, Ocho Cinco and T.J. are warming fantasy benches all over the place. Exhibit B: Romo+broken finger= one horrific offensive display against the Rams. The Rams!! Marion Barber was able to salvage a decent game for owners with 100 yards and a TD, but 45 of those yards and the TD came in the first 5 minutes.

Calvin Johnson is doomed to fantasy purgatory for the rest of this season as well. Exit John Kitna, although he wasn't a stud, but he was a decent quarterback, and now Megatron has Orlovsky or Stanton to toss him the pigskin. He will be blanketed the rest of the season by safeties over the top and double coverages, as the Lions have no other threats to scare a D.

Basically, the point here is to draft based on the prediction of a team, not just the individual. The same goes for waiver wire pick-ups. Don't waste a high waiver spot for a mediocre player. Wait for the one. I'm sure everyone has heard Donnie Avery's name by now, and I picked him up 2 weeks ago because if Steven Jackson, Bulger and Torry Holt are healthy and playing well, Avery figures to be the last focal point of the D, allowing him to shine and audition for next season in these last 8-9 weeks.

Ryan Torain is another name to watch. After Andre Hall fumbled twice, he will likely join Selvin Young in the dog house. Shanny kept him on the active roster for this long, so he will be used and Shanahan loves tough running backs. Not to mention his legs will be fresh.

The same premise goes for trades. Now is the time to pull the trigger on trades to help in the playoff push. Roy Williams looked great, but he is low on the pecking order and might struggle to get his share. Get players who play on teams with good defenses, because more the more time the offense is one the field, the more yards and points they will rack up. Teams in playoff contention are also more likely to play their studs more and put in a greater effort as well, and if the Titans continue this type of play LenDale and C.J. might lose reps to a third stringer when fantasy playoff time rolls around to keep them healthy for the actual playoffs.

So remember, the player is only as good as the team that surrounds him, so more often than not, a #2 WR on a good team is worth more than a #1 on a team that looks like a few college teams could run over. Trade accordingly and get your moneys worth as your solid players on quality teams help you rack up wins. Here comes another champoinship.