For those of you who haven’t watched a sitcom, ever: Sadie Hawkins Day is the day when the girls ask the guys to the dance. It’s also known as opposite day or backwards day. How does this relate to fantasy football you may ask? When you start having crappy weeks doing the exact opposite of your instinct could be your only hope to turn it around.

I was chatting last Sunday with my buddy @Kev_brady (Follow him he’ll entertain you.) as I was having hands down the worst fantasy week I’ve ever had. Every single decision I made turned out to be the wrong one. I benched MSW (Mike Sims-Walker for the unindoctrinated.) for Andre Caldwell. I didn’t start Beanie Wells despite my entire ahead of the curve spiel. I sat the defense of my favorite team (49ers) to start the Bills D! Add to that just two awful games from Vincent Jackson and Marques Colston, I was doomed. So in between mocking me and questioning how I planned to make up the massive point deficits facing me Kev posed this idea: “Why don’t you just do the opposite of what you’re instinct is telling you?” He may have posed it a bit more um colorfully. Four letter words aside, the point was everything you’re doing is wrong. Nothing is going right. Do something different. Stop listening to yourself because you’re stupid, frankly.

When you’re on the way to an 0-3 week and all of your teams seem to be sputtering towards the finish line, I think you’ll try just about any thing to get off the snide. So that’s what I’m doing this week. This Sunday is Sadie Hawkins Day! Let me give you a run down:

I’m worried about starting Brandon Jacobs, ever. The plan? Start Brandon Jacobs.

I’m nervous that Beanie Wells can’t produce back to back solid games. Solution? Put him in the line up!

I’m compelled to start Braylon Edwards for whatever reason. Where’s Edwards? On the bench.

I’m scouring the waiver wire for a replacement for the Broncos D.  Who do I get to replace them? No one, we’re not changing horses mid stream.

Where is this going to get me? I won’t know until next Monday morning. But if you need some advice, take mine. Let the girl ask you to the dance this week. If you’re struggling, what’s it going to hurt? I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re not struggling though. If your team is going well, the bye weeks are all over and it’s time to dance with the one you came with. Don’t get cute this late in the season. However, if you’re finding yourself on the fringe of the playoff race you should make a big move. It’s time to go big or go home and I have no intentions of going home.

A couple of quick hits for you:

He may not have done much but MSW (or Sky-Walker whatever works) has to be considered an every day starter.

What a game Ricky Williams had huh? Who knew we’d ever see that from him. I imagine that’s the player Ditka thought he was getting. If you’re in a deep league take a flyer on Kory Sheets. You never know what kind of scheme Miami may cook up for him.

I picked up Josh Freeman in a keeper league. I recommend people do the same. It may not pay dividends this year but I think you could get a top 15 QB on the cheap for next year, or at the very least a decent bye week fill in.

If you have anyone on the Bills, I’d consider dropping them.

Thanks for reading, please follow me on Twitter @HackLaSalle. Feedback always appreciated.

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It’s week 11, and at this point you know if you have a shot at the playoffs or not. You have added and dropped, second guessed your self, cursed at Chris Johnson (I know I have), and maybe even traded a play or two. So what do you do now to keep the momentum going? Here is some friendly advice to the teams that are on top or looking to get into the playoffs.

Never “Set it and forget it”

Yeah that line worked for the “Ronco Rotisserie Cooker” (bad infomercial reference), but not for your fantasy football line up. These next few weeks are crucial; you cannot just coast and lock up the playoff spot we are all looking for. I have preached matchups all season and for the most part I have been right, play the guys with the best match ups, it is OK to bench the big names for the best matchups. Remember the real NFL teams are looking better than others, so they may sit someone for a game because he is “a little banged up” because they can win without him, especially an offensive linemen, which could effect the running game.

Last Minute Pickups

I know at this point of the season this is very tough to do, but, “another man’s trash, is another man’s treasure!” This is so true with add/drops at this point. Look at what the guys in your league are dropping, and if you can fit them in your lineup, do it. When you see someone add Lex Hilliard because he is Ricky Williams’s backup and they drop someone that had actually produced this year, add him to your bench, you never know when you will need an extra player, guys are getting injured left and right and the good teams are looking to the playoffs.

Kickers and Defenses can make a difference!

Yep, I said it. This is completely going against anything that I have ever said when talking about fantasy football, but this season it has been true. Let’s face it, points are points, whatever you can get is great. I usually draft a kicker with a big leg (extra points for distance) and a team that scores a lot of points, so basically I draft Neil Rackers every year. That has backfired on me as the Cardinals score more TD’s than they used to and I am getting 1 point instead of the 3 or 4 I used to. Look at the teams that have Red Zone issues, or the bad teams that are just happy to get on the board. Couple suggestions, Jason Hanson, Josh Brown, ect. As far as the Defenses go, matchups are huge, look at the bad teams and who they are playing, and if you can get their D, do it. I am actually playing the Detroit Defense against the lowly Browns. They cannot move the ball and the odds of a pick 6 are huge! Hopefully that helps you roll into the playoffs, if it doesn’t,

I feel your pain, been there, doing that! Look for another blog on how to be the spoiler!

Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/sportsguymike and email me questions, suggestions, and complaints, to sportsguymike@gmail.com

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With week 8 now in the books and some of the bye weeks have caught up to you and maybe you have lost some of your players due to injury, now it is time to assess your team and the damage.  I know I cannot keep giving the “bad matchup” excuse, but seriously, I play Brady in his 6 TD game, Philly when then scored TDs on defense and Chris Johnson when he has over 200 yards and a few scores.  A once promising comeback to my poor start has left me for dead.  But this isn’t about me, its about the GMs that are looking to me for fantasy football advice, so forget what you read above!

I did have a few questions from some followers of the blog (I would love to get more, email me at sportsguymike@gmail.com!)

Q:  If I am looking to add and drop players, what should I look for?

A: If you have read my blog in the past, you know I am a numbers guy, I work in sales and I am surrounded by numbers and projections.  So when I look at players to add or drop I look at what they have done weekly and break that down.  Look at someone who I have coveted all season as a sleeper, Mike Wallace (WR, Pitt) he is stats and targets have steadily increased and he even has a few rushes in the last few games.  Not a bad pickup as the Broncos had a rough week and the Steelers are coming off a by.  You can also look at big play ability.  There are a few guys that have the ability to create big plays with low touches.  The Chargers receiving corps have plenty of those guys, I know Vincent Jackson isn’t available, but look at Malcom Floyd, now that Chambers has left, he get more targets and he averages 22.8 yards per catch.  That is 2 points every time he catches the ball, not a bad average.  Lastly, injuries, they happen every week, Cooley, was another one that hurt everyone, don’t just look at his back up, look at guys that are red zone targets, Chris Baker (NE), Matt Spaeth, and look at Bo Scaife, now the VY is back, his targets should be way up.

Q:  When I set my lineups, should I look for RB or WR with my flex, or unbalanced lineup?

A: I have always been the guy that soaks up the RBs and plays them all the time with my flex or unbalanced lineup.  One of my leagues, the line up calls for 1 RB, 1 WR, and 2 RB/WR flex options.  I always play 3 RBs and 1 WR.  This season, it is not necessarily the best way using this strategy.  With some many teams using more than 2, and even sometimes 3 RBs, this can be tricky.  Even this year, the usual suspects of number 1 WRs are not producing like they once were.  Who would have thought that Larry Fitzgerald has 7 more fantasy points than Donald Driver, and 16 points less than Vincent Jackson?  Unless you have Peterson, Turner, or Forte, you must look at the depth chart before you play all of the RBs at flex spot.  This is the year of the WR in my opinion and they are now becoming they way to win games.

Email me at sportsguymike@gmail.com with any questions or suggestions on fantasy articles.

Follow me on Twitter and ask me last minute questions on Sunday about your line up, http://twitter.com/sportsguymike

Good Luck in week 9, more to come from Sports Guy Mike!

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Like most of us that are addicted to Fantasy Football, we work with some of the guys in my league.  As a new blogger I really want to talk about the usuals, start/sit and sleepers, etc (I still do though).  My co-worker suggested that I write an article on how to make a late run.  We are both 2-4 (byes weeks, 9 team league) in the same league and even though we look great on paper, we have not caught good match ups.  These are a few things that you can do if you want to compete and make a run at the playoffs.

Waiver Wire

I have mentioned this before, but since there are so many bye weeks, you can pick up a gem to use the rest of the season.  Look at the add/drops and waiver wire, if you can afford to add a player on a bye to block someone else for picking them up, go for it.  At this point, the guys on the bench are not winning you games.  Teams that are doing well and need to add something for a bye week may end up dropping something valuable.  For example, I dropped Marshawn Lynch last week because I have RB depth, but needed a Defense.  He was scooped up right away, what I didn’t notice is that he has some favorable match ups moving forward.  I got my defense, but lost a starting RB.

Don’t Jump at the One Hit Wonders!

OK we all realize that Miles Austin is for real.  But for the most part, these guys that have unbelievable games in one week that are available is because they probably won’t do it again.  You have to look at the real numbers, how many people picked up Brandon Stokely after week 1?  He scored a TD, a crazy catch that bounced off Brandon Marshall’s pads.  Let your competitors jump on those guys and concentrate on the guys who have been there before.

Analyze The Match Ups and Reports

I know I have said go with your gut and do not analyze to much, when you are 2-5, 2-4, etc, the gut just isn’t working.  Take a look at each team and who they are playing, every crucial thing at this point can help.  What are the conditions going to be, windy, sunny, rainy, snowy, this all can make a difference, unless you are the Patriots (I lost that week because of Brady, still VERY bitter).  Look at each teams defense and see what type of yardage they let up, for example, the Titans are real good against the run, but horrible against the pass, a bunch of their DBs are hurt (just ask the Pats, why do I keep bringing it up?).

Look at the Injury Report

Your team may have a bad record, but the player that plays on the “real” team may not be bad.  If the player is a little banged up, keep an eye on the injury report that come out on Wed and look at the updates on practice through the week.  This could be crucial as a player that is questionable could change at game time.  Also if the team is rolling and they are deep at that position, they may sit the guy and that could impact your lineup last minute.  Last year with “Earth, Wind, and Fire” of the Giants last year, Jacobs was sat at the last minute and it hurt me in a crucial game, they sat him last minute because they had to good RBs behind him.

Try those things and see what happens.  I truely believe that these can help, and I have used these tips in my own league.  I once had 7 RBs on my roster, because if someone dropped a good player to cover a Kicker or Def, I simply picked them up and put them on my bench and now they are a crucial part of my line-up (someone dropped Ricky Williams and Frank Gore!).

Good Luck this week, more to come.  Please email any comments or suggestions to sportsguymike@gmail.com

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