It was only fitting that last night's top QB was Christian McCaffrey. Whether or not he was dealing with a lingering shoulder ailment that didn't show up in Week 15's injury report, Cam Newton hit rock bottom with a bad performance for the ages. And whether or not inevitable physical decline is catching up with him, Drew Brees was a bust for a third straight week. I was clearly wrong to push Cam so hard these past few games, and I was right to warn folks about Brees the past few weeks.
But neither is hurtful or helpful at this stage. Either you advanced in the playoffs or you didn't. Either you can feel content with your lineup decisions, or you can't.
I've said this before, and it's always worth repeating: regret is the worst fantasy emotion. I deal with it every season when I don't win the championship. Should have drafted differently. Shouldn't have made that Week 5 trade. Should have spent more FAAB on that RB handcuff when the starter went down. And so on.
I advanced this weekend in the Premier League over beloved rival Aaron Weaver despite getting several lineup decisions wrong. If I'd lost by a point, that last-minute move to start T.Y. Hilton (13.5 points) over Jordy Nelon (14.8) would have haunted me. Or if I'd lost by less than 10, my agonizing decision to start the Texans DST (4) over the Redskins DST (14) would have proven costly. Or when weighing Tevin Coleman, Aaron Jones, and Marcus Murphy 30 minutes before kickoff, my choice of volume (Murphy - 3.5 points) over talent and matchup (Coleman - 20.5 points) meant I probably deserved to lose.
The reality is, everyone makes bad decisions. But it's the ones we make with the seasons on the line that stick with us, that seem to matter most. I benched James Conner Week 1 because at that point my three other RBs (starter Jamaal Williams, RB3+ Tevin Coleman, and Todd Gurley) looked like safer bets. I lost by less than five points. Starting Conner over any of these three would have won it for me. Had I missed a first-round bye in the playoffs -- or missed the playoffs entirely -- by one game, that would have been the reason.
Except there were so many other reasons I might not have advanced. Like losing in Week 3 by 1.7 points, all because Sunday morning I dropped Josh Lambo (7 points) for Caleb Sturgis (5). Or Week 5 when Aaron -- my opponent that week -- dropped Robby Anderson (27.3 points), and instead of adding and starting him (seriously considered it), I chased points and grabbed and started Taywan Taylor (4 points) in a matchup I lost by less than 13 points.
Or we could go all the way back to the draft . . . to outcomes we couldn't control. I drafted #1 and selected Gurley. Aaron picked ninth and brilliantly snagged Saquon Barkley. Heading into Week 15, these were the #1 and #2 fantasy scoring RBs, respectively. But Gurley outscored Barkley by 24.8 points. Had Aaron drafted first and I'd drafted ninth . . . well, who knows how that would have impacted the draft, our roster moves, etc. But the point is, if Aaron had Gurley and I had Barkley, all else being equal, he'd be in the finals right now, and I'd be regretting one decision or another, or all of them.
Regret is based on outcome. That's it. We win, and who cares, because we won. We lose, and there's gotta be a reason for it. It can't just be that one of our players underperformed, or that one of our opponent's players unexpectedly dominated.
The reality is, I started a near-elite Texans D for a reason. I started a healthy, starting Marcus Murphy over a split-time Tevin Coleman and a brutal-matchup'd Aaron Jones for a reason. I started T.Y. over Jordy for a reason. If I can live with those reasons 30 minutes before kickoff, then I've got to be able to live with them after the final whistle, win or lose.
But neither is hurtful or helpful at this stage. Either you advanced in the playoffs or you didn't. Either you can feel content with your lineup decisions, or you can't.
I've said this before, and it's always worth repeating: regret is the worst fantasy emotion. I deal with it every season when I don't win the championship. Should have drafted differently. Shouldn't have made that Week 5 trade. Should have spent more FAAB on that RB handcuff when the starter went down. And so on.
I advanced this weekend in the Premier League over beloved rival Aaron Weaver despite getting several lineup decisions wrong. If I'd lost by a point, that last-minute move to start T.Y. Hilton (13.5 points) over Jordy Nelon (14.8) would have haunted me. Or if I'd lost by less than 10, my agonizing decision to start the Texans DST (4) over the Redskins DST (14) would have proven costly. Or when weighing Tevin Coleman, Aaron Jones, and Marcus Murphy 30 minutes before kickoff, my choice of volume (Murphy - 3.5 points) over talent and matchup (Coleman - 20.5 points) meant I probably deserved to lose.
The reality is, everyone makes bad decisions. But it's the ones we make with the seasons on the line that stick with us, that seem to matter most. I benched James Conner Week 1 because at that point my three other RBs (starter Jamaal Williams, RB3+ Tevin Coleman, and Todd Gurley) looked like safer bets. I lost by less than five points. Starting Conner over any of these three would have won it for me. Had I missed a first-round bye in the playoffs -- or missed the playoffs entirely -- by one game, that would have been the reason.
Except there were so many other reasons I might not have advanced. Like losing in Week 3 by 1.7 points, all because Sunday morning I dropped Josh Lambo (7 points) for Caleb Sturgis (5). Or Week 5 when Aaron -- my opponent that week -- dropped Robby Anderson (27.3 points), and instead of adding and starting him (seriously considered it), I chased points and grabbed and started Taywan Taylor (4 points) in a matchup I lost by less than 13 points.
Or we could go all the way back to the draft . . . to outcomes we couldn't control. I drafted #1 and selected Gurley. Aaron picked ninth and brilliantly snagged Saquon Barkley. Heading into Week 15, these were the #1 and #2 fantasy scoring RBs, respectively. But Gurley outscored Barkley by 24.8 points. Had Aaron drafted first and I'd drafted ninth . . . well, who knows how that would have impacted the draft, our roster moves, etc. But the point is, if Aaron had Gurley and I had Barkley, all else being equal, he'd be in the finals right now, and I'd be regretting one decision or another, or all of them.
Regret is based on outcome. That's it. We win, and who cares, because we won. We lose, and there's gotta be a reason for it. It can't just be that one of our players underperformed, or that one of our opponent's players unexpectedly dominated.
The reality is, I started a near-elite Texans D for a reason. I started a healthy, starting Marcus Murphy over a split-time Tevin Coleman and a brutal-matchup'd Aaron Jones for a reason. I started T.Y. over Jordy for a reason. If I can live with those reasons 30 minutes before kickoff, then I've got to be able to live with them after the final whistle, win or lose.