While the majority of you spend your Saturdays going out, getting together with friends, maybe watching some college football or generally having fun, I'm in front of my computer.
This isn't to say I'm some sort of geek. Okay, I probably am a geek, but when I say I'm on the computer I'm talking like 20 or 30 minutes, not all night long. I am married with children after all (not that that dismisses me from being a geek).
Saturdays are when I finalize my Fantasy lineups. But I'll also do something that you might not do when you set your lineups: I check the waiver wire at every position to see if I can make a last-minute improvement to my roster. Last week, it made the difference between winning and losing.
One of the leagues I don't normally talk about in Full Disclosure is a 12-team individual defensive player (IDP) league with 11 other experts in the industry. While I've made the playoffs in it in the past, I've never won it. I was 4-3 heading into my Week 8 matchup, which happened to have big bragging rights on the line -- I was playing my colleague here at CBSSports.com, Jamey Eisenberg. Must-win game if there ever was one.
Going through my weekly routine, I noticed that I had the Packers special teams (we use individual special teams) on my roster. They weren't doing anything special for me so I figured I could do better. When I look for a special teams unit, I want one with a fast returner obviously, but matchups against bad offenses that might result in several punt return opportunities is important. The Cowboys were out there, they were playing the Seahawks and I figured they'd force some punts. I made the switch.
Sure enough, Patrick Crayton returns a punt for a touchdown, earning me six extra Fantasy points in the IDP league. And wouldn't you know it? I won by three over Jamey and as a result hold the tiebreaker over him in case we tie for a playoff spot. And also because of the win, I'm just a game back of first place in my division. I would have lost had I not checked waivers on Saturday and made the change.
Sometimes it's the little things that can make the difference in Fantasy Football. Try it right now -- go on waivers and see who's out there, especially at kicker and DST. People drop good kickers all the time, usually because of bye weeks. Matt Stover, the Colts' current kicker, is owned in less than half of CBSSports.com leagues -- he's been better than many guys that people have been using all year. And DST sleepers are regularly on waivers -- for instance, this week the Seahawks host the Lions and the Falcons host the Redskins. Both defenses should be in line for good outings and might be more appealing than the unit you have starting right now.
And here's the best part to doing these maneuvers on a Saturday: The players you drop won't be available until next week if your league uses waivers. That means that so long as the guys you cut don't go off for a big game, you should be able to get them back the following week if you want them. It's almost the equivalent of when an NFL team cuts a player before their game, then signs them back two days later -- you're expanding your roster beyond the limits with minimal risk.
Not a bad way to spend a little bit of your precious weekend time, is it?
12-team keeper league
Here's another benefit to doing some roster-checking on Saturday: Last-minute trades. I had a heck of a week in my keeper league, trading Greg Jennings and Ben Roethlisberger for Tom Brady and Cadillac Williams and a future pick for Chad Ochocinco in a separate deal. My lineup was stocked except I had no quarterback for Week 8. Because of byes, Brady and Carson Palmer were chilling out. Marc Bulger was my waiver-wire pickup.
Now I don't know about you, but when I think about Bulger as a Fantasy starter I get ill. Bulger might have been a great Fantasy passer once upon a time, but he's in a bad situation in St. Louis now. Knowing full well that I might lose with Bulger at quarterback, I had to make a deal. And knowing full well that I would use Brady week in and week out for the rest of the season, Palmer was the obvious guy to trade.
Sure enough, on a Saturday night I found an owner in my league who gave me Brett Favre, his backup, for Palmer (who admittedly has decent keeper value in our league). The deal was done, and on Sunday Favre outscored Bulger by 24 points. When you don't feel right about a spot in your lineup, act on it and make a sensible trade like this one.
Since then Bulger's been booted off my roster as I've focused on studs in my starting spots and a lot of running backs with upside on my bench. It's a strange mix -- I'm totally stuck if Larry Fitzgerald or Chad Ochocinco are lost for the season -- but remember this: It's a keeper league. Stashing a running back that becomes a stud will pay off for years, which is why LeSean McCoy and Shonn Greene have been fixtures on my bench all season. I think Justin Forsett has a chance to show what he can do this season and possibly evolve into a candidate to split reps with the Seahawks in 2009.
14-team TCW league
Anyone else out there squeeze out a win thanks to Pierre Thomas' two touchdowns and 100 total yards in Week 8?
Thomas was my only hope as I was down 16 points because my opponent had taken a page out of my playbook and replaced his DST with the Bears DST off waivers. He got a team-high 33 Fantasy points out of them while the rest of his roster pitched in only fair numbers. He also sat Bernard Berrian for Hakeem Nicks, which at the time of our 1 p.m. games seemed like a reasonable decision.
Nonetheless, Thomas' work against the Falcons snuck me past "The Blackshirts" and into the thick of a playoff race. However, like every other Adrian Peterson owner, I have a problem with my lineup this week.
Peterson is off, and I don't have the horses to replace him. For those who don't already know, this is a 14-team league with minimal roster space, so having good backups is important because not everyone will have them. Count me as one of those people.
As you'd expect, I use Peterson and the Vikings DST week in and week out. I can't use both, so I had to pick up another DST (the Seahawks) off waivers while fishing for running backs. Believe it or not, Willie Parker and Maurice Morris will start with Pierre Thomas in my lineup this week. I don't exactly like my chances.
I'm also embattled over my third receiver spot. Johnny Knox hasn't been playing very well lately, which was sort of expected as defenses begin to figure out how to slow him down. Do I roll him out there one more time against the Cardinals, who have struggled against the pass, or do I cut him for someone off waivers like Jacksonville receiver Mike Thomas (who's getting involved in the Jags' offense) vs. the Chiefs or Seahawks receiver Deion Branch against the Lions? I could also cut Willie Parker or Maurice Morris for one of them and start four receivers. All three are kind of in the same boat, but with receptions counting in this league, I'm looking for someone who will reel in the most passes; all three have about the same chance to score, which frankly isn't much.
I might just have to suck up a loss this week. Or get lucky and pull out a win.
14-team podcast dynasty league
My inbox was full of nasty e-mails after I wrote about my teams two weeks back. "You stink!" half of them read after I talked about how poorly I was doing in my dynasty league. Let's face it -- I might be a Fantasy writer but it doesn't mean I dominate all my leagues. Besides, aren't you more interested in seeing how I react and respond to issues with my Fantasy teams? You don't want a whole column about how great of a Fantasy manager I am, do you?
So here I am at 3-5, almost in the basement of a 14-team league with podcast listeners. I have playmakers -- Matt Schaub, Cedric Benson, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson, but the rest of the team is struggling. Admittedly, some of these guys on the roster are here for long-term value (Chad Henne the shining example), and no one is trading studs for future stars.
It's a tough league, and I'm in a tough spot. I did upgrade my kicker, taking my own advice and signing up Olindo Mare to boot against the Lions over the disappointing Neil Rackers. I also was fortunate enough to have Jamaal Charles on the roster, so hopefully he'll pitch in some stats. I'll also benefit from a healthy return by Calvin Johnson if he can get his knee right.
It's going to be tough to squeeze into the playoffs in this league, but it's still possible -- only one team has six wins, the rest have three, four or five. A winning streak can go a long way. Finding the guys to help me out on that streak is a different story.
I will have to seriously consider trading off Moss and/or Benson for some potential keepers if I lose in Week 9. That would be heartbreaking, but that's the nature of the beast in leagues that count year-round.
12-team CBSSports.com league
Here's a league where I have a losing record (3-5) and feel good about my chances.
Two weeks ago I made a big trade that landed Aaron Rodgers on my roster. I made another move (Brent Celek and Justin Fargas for Tony Gonzalez) to solidify my tight end spot and give me some breathing room on my bench. I am feeling good about my team in this league, especially since like in the podcast league only one team (Jamey Eisenberg's) has six wins. Seven teams have four or fewer wins. I can make a run at this.
Getting Rodgers has and will go a long way, but I can't stress enough how fortunate I've been to pick up players off waivers and ride them. Miles Austin and Sidney Rice both have played big roles in my turnaround, and the simple act of claiming hot prospects off waivers has charged up my team.
To that extent, I have a big problem with who to start between Steve Slaton and Ryan Moats. Moats showed off his wheels last week, scoring three times and totaling over 150 yards, but it came against the Bills. This week he takes on the Colts, who haven't been stiff against the run, but the bigger problem is that he'll share carries with Slaton. Worse yet, we don't know exactly how the breakdown will shake out, and I'm not sure the Texans coaching staff has a rock-solid plan on how to use these guys. The one thing I can figure out is that if the Texans are passing, Slaton will be in. I expect the Texans to throw more than run against the Colts because Indy will put up a lot of points. So I have Slaton in my lineup, but I am listening to everything head coach Gary Kubiak says this week.
I'll need all the help I can get -- I play Jamey in this league in Week 9. Time to take down the leader in the clubhouse!
Want to know the best part of our Full Disclosure column? You have the chance to give our Fantasy writers some advice! Drop Dave a line at dmfantasyfootball@cbs.com and share your thoughts on his rosters. Put Attn: Full Disclosure in the subject line, and don't forget to include your name, hometown and state.
