The fall semester of classes comes to an end this week, and with it comes the end of the regular season of many fantasy football leagues.
And as many students buckle down and focus on their grade point averages, fantasy owners still in contention have to keep on top of their games and make the final push for their fantasy championship and bragging rights for the next few months.
Now is not the time to blow a season of careful strategizing because of a missed roster move.
So if you have some time to spare amid studying for finals, check out the injury reports for the players you are planning to start.
Starting someone who does not even play is an absolute killer.
At this point in the season, you are beginning to go against owners who have proven themselves at the top of your league, and it will be tough to beat them without some output at each position.
With only a few games remaining, matchups are as important as ever – both the weekly fantasy matchups and the weekly matchups of the players on the field.
While Ben Roethlisberger has come up huge as one of this year’s best fantasy quarterbacks, Pittsburgh is set to face two tough defenses, New England and Jacksonville, during the next two weeks.
At the same time, Pittsburgh’s defense might prove to be less fruitful than its quarterback against New England – the league’s top-scoring offense – this week.
Grabbing a player who might average fewer fantasy points but has more favorable matchups might be more beneficial than holding onto the higher-producing players on the verge of going against stingy defenses.
For instance, this past week I picked up Jets running back Thomas Jones because I noticed the Jets were playing against Miami and Cleveland in the final two weeks of my regular season – two games I desperately needed to win to make the playoffs.
Jones proved to be a wise addition as he scored his first touchdown of the season en route to a 15-point output that helped my team outscore almost everyone in my league.
I’ve been trying to plan ahead for weeks and maneuver my players around to have the most favorable matchups possible come playoff time. And while the trade deadline is long past in most leagues, there should still be some possible impact players on the free agent market.
If going with a player who is going to get a decent point total will still likely have your team coming up short, it might be time to go with what my roommate calls a “dark horse” – a player who might ordinarily go under the radar, but who has the potential for an occasional explosion.
As far as people who are currently free agents in my own eight-team league, some quality pickups include Washington wide receiver Santana Moss, or running backs such as Kansas City’s Kolby Smith, Cincinnati’s Rudi Johnson, Jacksonville’s Fred Taylor or Tennessee’s Chris Brown.
Smith is taking control of an injury-laden running back spot for the Chiefs, who face Denver, Tennessee and Detroit the next three weeks.
Johnson is also retaking his role as the Bengals’ leading rusher as they set to face St. Louis, San Francisco and Cleveland.
Moss will meanwhile face the Bears, Giants and Vikings.
Taylor and Brown are more questionable picks as they face combinations of Carolina/Pittsburgh and San Diego/Kansas City, respectively.
And while both sets of games may seem only moderately favorable, Taylor and Brown face Oakland and the Jets, respectively, in week 16.
This is all speculation of course, and there’s no telling what “dark horses” may come out of nowhere to prove themselves as fantasy heroes.
—-Contact Jerit Roser [email protected]