Advice for the Home Stretch
By XFL Fantasy Doctor of FantasyRef.com
(30 March 2001) --Here
we are, two weeks left in the XFL season. If you are in a Sandbox
league, which many of you are, you have two games left to either
hold on to
your top spot or to gain on the leader. If you are not in Sandbox,
this is your playoff season. So, as your season boils down to
the last couple of match-ups, your anxiety is reaching a fevered
pitch. You're checking your roster every other hour, setting
and re-setting your lineup. Having been there, and done that,
let me pass along some advice.
#1 Dance with the date who brung ya
I have no idea where this saying originated, and it is a grammatical
nightmare equal to He Hate Me. But it makes sense this time
of year. If you made the playoffs, or are in a race for the
top spot in your league, then you have a good team. And, more
than likely, a very good team at that. But as the pressure increases,
everyone goes in search of the next Ricky Brady (71 yards, 3
TD's, and 1 XP last week after doing zippo since Week One).
Sure, if you happen to find that player then you'll be sure
to pick up a victory. But that is one huge "if." And
when they don't pan out the way you
hope, you're left with basically nothing.I agree that you might
want to think twice about starting Quincy Jackson or even Stepfret
Williams this week, but only if you have a solid replacement.
Please don't sit Step because you see Brian Shay is going up
against the pitiful Birmingham D. Stick with your studs, no
matter how tempting Frank Leatherwood or Beau Morgan look after
last week's performances.
#2 Play it safe
I'll admit that rule #2 sounds a lot like a rephrased version of rule #1, but I assure you, they are different. When I say play it safe, I am referring to the injury factor. If you are not 100% certain that a player will see significant action, then do not play them. For example, John Avery owners across the country (myself included) let out a wail yesterday when the injury report was released. After his great performances the past few weeks, we were all looking forward to see him light up the Hitmen. Alas, that job will now go to LeShon Johnson. And until I hear directly from Coach Meyer that Avery is 110% certain to get all the carries this week, he'll have a comfy spot on my bench. Ditto for Wally Richardson, who I also own. It may pain you to sit a star like Avery this late in the season, but the last thing you want is to lose by two points while Avery hangs a big goose egg for you. Trust me!
#3 Let's make a deal!
Of course, this rule does not apply to Sandbox owners, as the trading deadline passed Thursday morning, but if your league still allows trades, now is the time to make a move. Two reasons: 1) You don't really need your backups anymore. Sure it was comforting in Week Two to have three starting QB's, but now you need points. And 2) you know who are your biggest challengers. I have heard many people who believe you should horde as many starters as possible just so other teams won't have them. While that may be a good strategy in the first half of the season, it just doesn't make sense with two weeks left (plus, it doesn't make you many friends). By now, you know who could catch you or who you're chasing, and you know who you they have played these last two weeks (if you're not in a playoff league), so it just makes sense to deal a solid backup to a team at the bottom of the rankings. On a side note, this is why I'm a big fan of keeper leagues. In a keeper league, teams who are out of contention can make an impact by dealing a current stud for a future stud. For example, if you're in last place, why not deal a Jim Druckenmiller for a Brent Moss or a Kelvin Anderson or even Craig Whelihan. Sure, Druck is a stud right now, but he could be in the NFL by next year, whereas Moss and Whelihan and Anderson could be starters in XFL next season. Of course, the keeper league works much better with the NFL or MLB where their futures are more certain.
Nice segway...
Speaking of futures, there are a number of rumors floating around
that the 2002 season of the XFL is in jeopardy. Apparently NBC's
Dick Ebersol was quoted as saying that if the XFL does not turn
it's ratings around, then NBC will pull out. Then Ebersol stated
he was mis-quoted, and on and on the saga goes. In my opinion,
the XFL is not that bad of a product. Don't get me wrong, it
was very bad on Week One. But it has gotten much better. Unfortunately,
no sports programming, with the possible exception of the NFL,
can deliver the kind of ratings a prime time slot demands. Add
that to the fact NBC chose Saturday night, where their target
audience is either out on a date or at a bar trying to find
a date, and you have the recipe for disaster.But if you look
deeper into the ratings, you'll see that it is not all bad.
The XFL is still hanging in there with the NBA, and it seems
to be edging out the NHL. Of course it is getting killed by
the NCAA Tournament, but the XFL held its own during college
basketball's regular season. In fact, in Los Angeles, the Xtreme
game out-performed the Stanford-UCLA game by almost 50%. Not
too shabby.And the attendance is still there. Sure Birmingham
and Chicago are having their problems, but cities like San
Francisco, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles are still drawing well
above expectations. And in Chicago, their first home game drew
15,000 in a driving rain storm, which equaled the attendance
for the Bulls and Blackhawks that same evening.
The XFL still has hope. But, they need to make a few changes. First, get the games off Saturday nights. Keep football on weekend afternoons where it belongs. Second, expand by four teams. This will give the league more national exposure. Third, sign your players to longer deals. Currently, all players are signed under a two-year contract. But if the XFL learned anything this season, they learned how important cohesiveness is in football. Dick Butkus has already stated that they will increase the length of mini-camps and the training camp. Lastly, give us fantasy players a break! Let some news leak out every once in a while!
Before I go, I just wanted to address the NBC situation. Vince McMahon appears to be fairly upset about how NBC and Ebersol have handled the league thus far. Basil DeVito, vice-president of the XFL and McMahon's favorite mouthpiece, has stated the league will go on with or without NBC. You see, when McMahon signed his WWF to a contract with Viacom, which owns CBS, UPN, and TNN, a clause was included to ensure the XFL would have some place to broadcast its games. So if NBC pulls out, UPN and TNN will take over. On another note, McMahon has conquered one enemy in Ted Turner by buying out his WCW. Now, McMahon may have another in his sights. After his little tiff about Saturday Night Live being delayed by the XFL, Lorne Michaels found himself on McMahon's bad list. Now, rumors are circulating that McMahon will put his new WCW on Saturday nights, probably on TNN. His goal is to take a chunk out of SNL's ratings, much like McMahon did to Monday Night Football. With a huge WCW vs. WWF storyline on the horizon, McMahon could quite possibly succeed again.
Have
a fantasy football dilemma, sent it to me at
xflfantasydr@fantasyref.com