By Lance Tominaga.
It’s only Week 1, and already I want to fire myself as the Owner/General Manager of my Fantasy Football league team, “The Black Hole.” Usually, it takes me a few weeks to build up my own suckitude at managing a Fantasy Football lineup, but this year it seems I’m already in midseason form.
To be fair, I still have a decent chance to win this week’s matchup. I just need Denver’s Melvin Gordon to get 10 points tomorrow against Tennessee. But, really, it shouldn’t have even come to this. I should already have the W locked up. If only I didn’t leave an extra 33 points on my bench…
Mistake No. 1: All week long, I had Kyler Murray as my starting QB. But late Saturday night, I began to have doubts. Murray was going up against the top-ranked defense in the league in the San Francisco 49ers, and they were playing in ‘Frisco. “This might end up a disaster,” I thought. So I benched Murray and replaced him with the Raiders’ Derek Carr, who was facing a newly built Carolina defense. The Panthers’ D turned out to be as bad as expected – so bad, in fact, that Carr didn’t have to throw the ball that much. He finished the game with 15.56 fantasy points. Murray, meanwhile, had a great outing with his new best friend, DeAndre Hopkins, and had 28.3 points. That’s a 13-point difference right there.
Mistake No. 2: I admit that I have a weakness for star players. I drafted Odell Beckham Jr. because, well, he’s OBJ. Never mind the fact that he’s on a lousy team with an even more lousy QB. He’s OBJ, so I’m starting him on my fantasy team. Today, against Baltimore, he put up a paltry 5.2 fantasy points. Meanwhile, Carolina receiver Robby Anderson had himself a game against my Raiders and finished with 25.5 points. I left him on my bench for a guy who almost has more initials than fantasy points. Yes, that’s a 20-point difference.
Hey, I know. It happens. It’s all part of the fun – and frustration – of playing Fantasy Football.
Still, to mess up on Week 1? That G.M. is already on the hot seat.
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