Oct 08 2008
When Your Division Is Tough: Strategy Session
Currently, I am in two football leagues which employ the use of divisions (12 teams, separated by 3 divisions of 4 teams each). Both leagues allow for 4 teams to make the postseason (3 division winners, plus a wildcard). I’ve noticed in the past day or so, that in both of these leagues, my division in each is doing considerably better than the other divisions. There are both pluses and minuses that go along with it, so I’ll go over those in this column, along with things that you should probably look out for in order to deal with playing in the fantasy football equivalent of the NFC East:
1) Being pretty good may not be good enough
In my keeper league, I am currently tied for 1st (and ahead on tiebreaker points) with 2 other teams at a 3-2 record, and the fourth team is 2-3. A loss next week could conceivably land me in last place! It’s even worse in my other 12-team league, where I’m currently in last with a 3-2 record (one 4-1 team and two other 3-2 teams with more points than me). Therefore, it’s imperative in these leagues that I keep an eye on matchups, injuries, and making sure I play only active players. One small slip-up could cost me a playoff spot.
2) Aim for finishing top 2 in your division
If your division is super strong, it’s more than likely the wildcard will be represented from your division. And since the regular season champion will probably be from your division one way or the other, all you need to do is finish 2nd to grab not only a playoff spot, but ensure a #1 vs. #4 matchup in the semifinals of the playoffs against the division winner. Remember, there’s no such thing as homefield advantage in fantasy football (unless your league handicaps for that)!
3) Divisional games are more important than non-divisional games
The same holds true in real life: a win against a divisional opponent not only earns a win for yourself, but deals a loss to one of your closest competitors. Most times, leagues are set up so that you face your divisional opponents twice each (once each during the first three weeks of the regular season, and again once each during the final three weeks of the regular season). Therefore, you might try to make a deal in Week 9 or 10 with some team outside of your division that might help them pass their bye weeks a little bit easier while making your team slightly less strong, but make your own team stronger for Weeks 12-14, when you really need your lineup to be as powerful as possible to win those divisional matchups. I did something similar a couple of years ago, sacrificing one of the late bye weeks to pick up Larry Johnson in a trade, and in the process sending two starters to another team who needed to fill LJ and another player’s bye. While it hurt me for a week, it made me far stronger down the stretch run, and I swept the second set of divisional games to win the division by a game.
4) Remember that your ultimate goal for the first 13-14 weeks is to make the postseason
Forget the championship before you get into the playoffs. Your primary goal should be to give your team A SHOT to win it all. We all know that anything can happen once you get into the playoffs (i.e. fluky things that can help or kill a team). But you’re just trying to give your team that opportunity, and then whatever happens after that is all luck of the draw. But when your division is monstrous, take special care to build a team that will be ready to play its best during the divisional games. It’s how you will be able to survive even the toughest divisions in fantasy football.
