Have patience and always start your best
Certain things in life are just givens. Some things more than others, but the short list includes:
• Flowers grow in the spring. Leaves change in the fall.
• The garbageman visits once a week. The postman always delivers.
• Your first trip to Las Vegas will be your best. And on that trip you will be hounded 4,587 times by street peddlers with pictures of scantily-clad women on little pamphlets.
• When you happen across "Stripes," "Vacation," "Dumb & Dumber" or "Animal House" movies on cable, we feel compelled to watch, all the while quoting lines verbatim ("Lighten up, Francis - The Moose says you're closed; I say you're open - Our pets' heads are fallin' off! - Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?")
You get the point.
After receiving quite a few e-mails and questions last week on starting lineup decisions, I think we need to be reminded of a given in the fantasy football world: We start our studs.
Period. End of discussion.
We start our studs.
Here are some questions from last week: Roddy White or Percy Harvin; Tony Romo or Joe Flacco; Chris Johnson or Mike Bell; Vincent Jackson or Justin Gage; Kurt Warner or Trent Edwards; Steve Slaton or LenDale White/Kevin Faulk.
Every fantasy owner had a reason that - in their mind - justified playing the second player over the first.
Here's the problem, in my estimation: We live in such a NOW, NOW, NOW, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately society that we have completely lost the ability to stay patient. We're a frenzied mess. We're IMing, tweeting, texting, blogging. No time to stop.
Look at some of those questions above. Flacco over Romo? That was asked because the Ravens' QB had 3 TD passes in the opener. Bell over Johnson? Sure, Johnson struggled against Pittsburgh and Bell excelled against Detroit, but Johnson is a superstar. God help the person if they actually started Bell last week.
Harvin over White? Sure, they both scored last week - and Harvin has scored twice - but if White doesn't blow away Harvin by year's end, I will be more shocked than when the Giants beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl two years ago.
Of those scenarios above, Flacco (190 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) did outscore Romo (127 yards, 1 pass, 1 rush TD, 3 INTs), but we're nowhere near able to play him first.
Patience, my friends. Let's all have a little patience.
It's OK to look at matchups and injury concerns, but we must remember that - for the most part - we should be worried about which second RB or third WR to start. We drafted our studs to be our studs.
Until they consistently show they're no longer up to the task, they belong in our lineups.
My teams
A bit better this week. My unit-league team is facing the three toughest teams to start the season and is, predictably, off to an 0-2 start after a 64-48 setback.
In my regular league (1-1), Marion Barber, Michael Turner and Kurt Warner led the way to a 114-103 victory. And in the DH experts league, I'm 2-0 after a 90-70 victory with Matt Schaub, Adrian Peterson and Barber my biggest point producers.
Good bets
• Cowboys RB Felix Jones vs. Carolina. Marion Barber (quad) is unlikely to play Monday night, giving Jones the chance to tear apart the Panthers' D, which is fourth-worst against the run.
• Rams WR Laurent Robinson vs. Green Bay. The little-talked-about Robinson has taken over as the No. 1 receiver in St. Louis and should pull in nice garbage-time yardage against the Packers.
• Bills RB Fred Jackson and QB Trent Edwards vs. New Orleans. Jackson has been awesome in Marshawn Lynch's absence, and he should have a solid game against an iffy Saints unit. Meanwhile, Edwards is an intriguing start in a game that will keep the scoreboard operator busy.
Bad bets
• Vikings WR Percy Harvin and QB Brett Favre vs. San Francisco. Mike Singletary has the Niners playing defense in old-school, Bears-like fashion. Harvin's two-game scoring streak will end, and Favre had better hope Adrian Peterson has it going or the 39-year-old QB is going to end looking like a bug on a windshield.
• Bengals RB Cedric Benson vs. Pittsburgh. It's tough to sit a back who piled up 141 yards last week, but the Steelers have bottled up Chris Johnson (57 yards) and Matt Forte (29 yards on 13 carries). Benson won't eclipse 70 yards.
• Read more of John's Good and Bad bets at fantasyfootball.dailyherald.com.
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