Who to start is the one question that plagues many fantasy owners on a weekly basis. Picking the wrong guy can cost you a fantasy victory and potentially, your season. There are various fantasy experts to ask, fantasy rankings to analyze, tools to purchase, and tv shows to watch. So what’s the best way to figure out who to start?
As you might imagine, I get many emails asking for fantasy advice and it’s impossible for me to respond to everyone. Each time I am asked who to start I tend to give the same response: Do your research.
I am not a huge fan of fantasy experts (eek, that sounds bad). What I meant to say is that fantasy experts can be wrong too. Do not focus on fantasy point predictions each week. After all, who knew A.J. Green would be the leading wide receiver this season with Andy Dalton as a solid fantasy quarterback? Do your research means to read up on as much news as possible about your players and the team. If your go-to starting running back or quarterback is in a slump, then perhaps it’s time to pull the trigger and start your backup. Tough start/sit decisions are what makes fantasy football fun. When Matthew Stafford has a tough match-up, you better have a contingency plan.
There may be those of you who base your start/sit decision on expert rankings, or aggregated rankings, or fantasy tools with start/sit advice. On the surface those may sound pretty appealing. However, does learning that Chris Johnson has an average rank of 5.1 or that Matt Forte has an average rank of 4.6 help you? Do you really want to base your start decision on a fantasy tool instead of your own gut instinct? I think these options are good for first year players, but seasoned veterans should know better.
The best way to decide who to start is to do your research. There is a reason why FantasySP collects and organizes news the way it does. The reason is because that is the key to success. Reading a fantasy update at ESPN.com or CBS is just one summarized opinion. I suggest going a step further. Read up on the news from beat reporters like Susan Slusser, and make sure to read Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback. These articles have nuggets that you just can’t find anywhere else. FantasySP helps get you to where you need to go.
Sometimes, even when you do your research and pick the right guy for all the right reasons the other guy has a great week for all the wrong reasons. You know what I call that? Fantasy football. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
