This is the introductory article of a weekly column in which we’ll cover the experience of the fantasy game rather than lead up to or report on what happened; separating the experience of the game from the game itself. The story may be found in the games or players watched, the thoughts of a fantasy manager over the week, or the conversations had at a bar with complete strangers.
The only method to this madness is the consistency of the madness. If you have been in the game for awhile you know exactly what I’m talking about, but for those who haven’t they will need to adapt.
You may be in one, two, three or maybe even more leagues than that. I’m in three money leagues and one other free league, I consider my non-profit league. It’s an IDP League where we start eight defensive players. Something I’m new to, but do enjoy.
Instead of giving you my biography or MySpace profile summary, I’ll let you take a look at my teams.
One money league with friends from my hometown: PPR, 14-team, QB-RB-RB-WR-WR-TE-FLEX-K-D-Keeper
Mike It Rain (0-2):
- QB – Aaron Rodgers, Christian Ponder
- RB – Matt Forte, Trent Richardson, Michael Bush, Peyton Hillis, Mike Goodson, Jahvid Best, Montario Hardesty
- WR – Dwayne Bowe (newly acquired for Stevie Johnson), Lance Moore, Alshon Jeffery, Andrew Hawkins, Rueben Randle
- TE – Jason Witten, Dennis Pitta
- K – Lawrence Tynes
- D/ST – Bears and Redskins
This is the official Fantasy Couch league, also PPR, 12-team, QB-RB-RB-WR-WR-TE-FLEX-K-D-No keepers. Click here to watch the video of our live draft! The league featured here:
Mike It Rain (2-0):
- QB – Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman
- RB – Ray Rice, Darren Sproles, Jonathan Stewart, Beanie Wells, Rashad Jennings
- WR – A.J. Green, Vincent Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Denarius Moore, Aldrick Robinson
- TE – Coby Fleener, Scott Chandler
- K – Robbie Gould
- D/ST – Giants
The 10-team, IDP-PPR combo is the last of the major leagues and has almost too many positions. But the IDP is an added factor that should be checked out. Some similarities shared between my teams can be seen below:
She Wants the D (2-0):
- QB – Matt Ryan, Ryan Fitzpatrick
- RB – LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, Peyton Hillis, Doug Martin
- WR – A.J. Green, Percy Harvin, Torrey Smith, Alshon Jeffery, Reuben Randle
- TE – Jimmy Graham, Coby Fleener
- K – Robbie Gould
- … And an array of defensive players.
Unfortunately the league I’m 0-2 in is the one with my friends from High School and is also the league I run. The injury bug was rampant in the Mike It Rain training camp as Jason Witten and Matt Forte were both infected. Not the way you want to start the season but I’d rather miss guys early in the season than later.
Thursday Night’s are a gift; a bribe from the NFL for the replacement refs of 2012. But managers tend to bite on that Thursday game like I did last week, starting Jeffrey in my hometown league. Forte jumped on the gator cart that Witten has been driving but fortunately I hand-cuffed Michael Bush. Not a Bears fan, even though it may look like it, I am a San Francisco 49ers fan. Last week the Bears were my enemy, specifically Cutler, for his great baby-sitting job of the pigskin after Forte went down with the foot injury. Alshon Jeffery was open all night.
That poor Thursday set me up for the weekend which gave me promise for the upcoming weeks but would eventually give me my second loss of the season—and only my second loss of the season in my money leagues.
Football was on in the dorm room early and often, scanning through games as if it was Saturday cartoons when I was a younger, bouncing from game to game trying to get an idea of what my players are or aren’t doing. If it were any other Sunday in September, the scanning method would not be in effect if the 49ers were on television. But instead, San Francisco hosted the Detroit Lions under the lights and a few friends and I went to the 49ers bar a few blocks from where I live.
We made sure to get there early and find a spot to sit because the week before we were stuck standing. The only thing keeping me there last week was the score to the 49ers-Packers game.
I was introduced to the Donkey Punch, offered a $1,000 bet from a proud Cowboys fan and almost won a gift card that would have paid for our food, drinks and then some.
‘Joe Cowboy fan’ was all about making a bet that the 49ers wouldn’t win it all this year, but was unable to talk about the Cowboys chances of even a playoff win.
We played a couple games of flip cup in an attempt to win a $50 gift card that would pay for our food and drinks, but like Romo against the Seahawks, “Team Wet” as we would go by in the game, failed to show up when it mattered most.
Hearing people complain about Chris Johnson and Tom Brady while hearing others talk about how they “knew” Robert Griffin III and C.J Spiller would do big things this year, offering their predictions after the fact. Opinions are…well, you know.
Giants running back, David Wilson, was one rookie that grabbed a lot of attention before the season started and has struggled to score a point in two games this season, currently with just one point on the season.
Matt Bohannan, a writer with Fantasy Couch and Team Manager of Boss Tycoon in the Fantasy Couch PPR league, owns Wilson and doesn’t plan on dropping him anytime soon.
“Bradshaw is already hurt in week 2 and luckily for him it wasn’t a broken foot. I think (Andre) Brown could be solid but Wilson will get another shot this week to show something. If by week 8-10 he hasn’t done absolutely anything and Brown and Bradshaw continue to dominate touches, I’ll drop him,” said Bohannan.
There will always be guys who go undrafted and produce along with players who get drafted too high and hold a team down in the standings. Owners need to keep an eye on the top scorers around the league, while trying to get rid of the guys that didn’t deserve to get drafted in the first place.
Rueben Randle being the latter for me this year as he’s handed me two eggs. Another egg may be the reason for a drop. Seeing Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks produce for numbers we haven’t seen since Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne or Jerry Rice and John Taylor were running routes for their respective quarterbacks.
Picking up the right guys while making sure to not drop the wrong ones is something that could very well make a difference towards the end of the season when it matters most. Bengals receiver Andrew Hawkins is a guy I spent some auction money on and will be taking a chance on him as a flex this week. He’s been consistent, scoring in double figures both weeks opposite side of A.J. Green.
My waivers are in and rosters are set and the slow part of the week will continue until the NFL gives us our Week 3 gift of the New York Giants vs. Carolina.
Like recess was for us when we were young, football has become a means of great entertainment and has made months fly by.
Football, as much of a game as it is, has become an experience that millions of people enjoy and will continue to enjoy as long as the game exists.
Have any questions or want to share something that happened in your league? I’m interested in covering it. Hit me up on Twitter @ThisJustM or tweet FantasyCouch.com directly @FantasyCouch to share your opinion or ask us questions during the season.
