Midseason Fantasy Football Strategy: For Those in the Cellar

Okay, so your fantasy football strategy hasn't quite worked out to this point. Right now you’re the Kansas City Royals or Cleveland Cavaliers (post Lebron) of your respective fantasy football league. It happens. So you took Chris Johnson in the first round. Who could have faulted you for that? You took Peyton Manning in the second. What? Didn’t you hear all the reports? Never mind, there’s no point in beating yourself up. I’m sure your fellow league owners are doing plenty of that already.

For those of you who are new to fantasy football, I can tell you that the more you play, the better you will become. Don’t let your lack of immediate success discourage you. And those of you that are fantasy veterans, sometimes bad luck just has a lot to do with it. While many of your picks were busts this year, you might have just as many that exceed expectations next year. Before we get into your strategy for salvaging the season, if you are not one of the bottom teams in your league, check out one of the following fantasy football strategy articles that pertain to you:

Before I divulge my strategy, let me share a fantasy experience of my own. It was the second league I had been in. I was going to be busy the night of the draft, so I went through and pre-ranked my players for the auto-draft. I sorted out the first 75. As it turns out, the mistake I made was to compile my list under the category “Players to Exclude”. It was a bonehead mistake. My first overall pick ended up being a guy ranked 45 that I didn’t include in my list because I knew he would be a bust. I was pissed! My team was AWFUL. It was worse than Carl Lewis’s singing of the national anthem. However, through use of the strategies below, I was able completely retool my team and ultimately make the playoffs.

Your main goal is to find some way of making the playoffs. At this point, it may seem impossible. In fact, it may be impossible depending on how far back you are and if the top four teams keep winning at a high rate (If more than four teams make your playoffs, then you obviously have a much better shot). One thing is for sure, it is going to take a string of victories.

If the playoffs are out of reach, there are still good reasons to follow this fantasy football strategy and find some sort of respectability.

1. Nobody wants to finish last. People will best remember two things from the season: who finished first and who finished last. Come next year’s draft, you don’t want to be the latter for obvious reasons.

2. Remember those fellow owners from the first paragraph? The ones who were making fun of you and your team. Yeah, those guys. Well, you can get back at them. There are few things as fun as playing the role of spoiler. Revamp your team and make them eat a peace of humble pie. Nothing ticks someone off more than losing to one of the worst teams in the league.

And finally, the moves that can revive your team:

First you have to learn to let go. At this point, there are probably a lot of guys on your roster with recognizable names that are complete duds. Guys like Knowshon Moreno, DeAngelo Williams, and Austin Collie are of no help to you. If you own anyone who has been on Dancing with the Stars (Chad Ochocinco, Hines Ward, Jason Taylor – you drafted Jason Taylor?), it is time to part ways. These players are only taking up valuable spots on your roster that you must use on free agents pickups if you want to win.

The free agent pool is going to be your go to. Your starting lineup will look completely different from one week to the next. It is a hit-and-run style approach, but it can work effectively. On a week to week basis you want to add as many of the top pickups of the week. Start those with the most favorable matchups. I would advise being very familiar with the following sites:

They feature weekly columns on the best pickups of the week. They’ll give you the low-down on who to add to your roster.

Look to add a handful of players each week and keep who works. If you added five players after Week 7 and one of them was Demarco Murray, then you had one less player to find the following week. Using this approach on a consistent basis will help you gradually fill your roster with quality players over the course of a season. Keep the breakout players like Murray who show the ability to perform on a weekly basis, and dump the players who are short-term fixes.

Each season there are a few pickups that can completely change your team. Examples are Maurice Jones-Drew in 2006, Miles Austin in 2009, and Michael Vick in 2010. While your waiver priority might not always be the highest when it becomes evident to everyone they should add that player, you can use your foresight to give you an edge. A lot of this hinges on position changes. For instance, I picked up Tim Tebow the week before he was thrust into the game in the fourth quarter. The Broncos were 1-3 and Tebow is a first-round pick with a fan base that rivals that of Justin Bieber. There were also indications that Michael Vick would get his opportunity last year in Philly.

Another good question to ask about a player is: Does this guy have to be big in order for his team to win (or in some cases, function)? If so, there is a good chance they could be a long-term fantasy producer.

The scoring of kickers and defenses are a crapshoot and tend to be at the whims of both pure luck and who they happen to be playing. In your position there is no reason to stick with the same defense or kicker week in and week out. Each week, add the free agent kicker and defense with the highest projected points. And also, never have more than one kicker and one defense on your roster at a time.

If you happen to own a top defense or kicker, trade them immediately. A defense such as the Jets, 49ers, Ravens, etc. can be of value to a top team looking for a missing piece. I would suggest finding one of those teams and trading them for a position player who can help you.

Fantasy trading deadlines are fast approaching. The difficulty in making trades with a bad team is that you do not have a lot of assets to work with. If you own a star player or two and nothing else, you may want to consider making a 1 player for 2 players or a 1 for 3 style of trade. While free agency is still your main means of filling out your lineup, this is transaction that could also help you win now.

If you happen to own a top tier running back, look to trade them. Elite running backs that perform on a consistent basis are very difficult to come by. Hence, they have great value in trades. However, running backs are the most injury-prone and their playing time is also the most in flux of any fantasy position. This means that the most starter-worthy free agent finds tend to be running backs.

I would also encourage you to read my section on Schedule in my hub "For the Frontrunners". If you own any Packers, Patriots, or Saints, they are of much more value to the elite teams in your league than they are to you. The weeks that matter most to you are the ones prior to the playoffs (Weeks 15 & 16 in most standard leagues). Point this out to them, and use it to your advantage in completing trades.

If you are unable to rectify your team this season, begin preparation for next year. Late season performance can be a great indicator of success or failure for the following season. A couple examples this season are Jimmy Graham and Michael Vick.

Whatever you do, DON’T be that guy/gal who trades away their top players for nothing to help out a friend’s team. It’s classless and ruins leagues.

And finally, remember that fantasy sports are more about fun than they are about winning. Watch a few episodes or a whole season of the insanely funny fantasy football based television series The League on FX and I think you will agree.

I hope this artcle on fantasy football strategy has helped, and I wish the best of luck to you and your team the rest of the way.