From first grade to sixth grade, me and my friends--including Premier Leaguer / FF4W reader Justin Koplin--were part of a Friday after-school sports program. Some days we'd play softball, other days football, and so on. Sometimes we played hockey on pavement using sticks and a small ball. And sometimes a couple kids from other schools would join us. One was an exceptional athlete. The other was even better--better than all of us at every sport.
One Friday we were picking teams, and I was one of the captains. The #1 athlete hadn't shown up, and no one knew if he was coming. But I picked him, because high upside was more important than just grabbing one of my friends.
When it came back to me, I picked the other great athlete who didn't go to school with us, even though he wasn't there yet either. The coaches told me, "No, you can't do that," because I needed to field an actual team, and having two no-shows in the early going wasn't gonna cut it. So I settled for one of my friends.
Long story short, my team sucked. The Amazing One never showed. I'd played the lottery and lost.
So what's the lesson? Don't stop playing the lottery. My teams are often middling at best in the early going, and then they improve as the season progresses. Why? Because I stash a bunch of lottery tickets. If they're all busts all season, I'll lose. But my track record on reaching the postseason suggests this approach nearly always works. Invariably, one or more lottery tickets pay off.
My tickets this year include Tony Pollard, Ryquell Armstead, Jordan Wilkins, Darrell Henderson, and Gio Bernard. If one or two of their starters go down, I'll have a couple RB2+'s ready to go. Many of you have lottery tickets, too. Hold onto them, even during the approaching bye weeks. Play for upside, not for mediocrity.
Because unlike on that cold Friday afternoon, there's more than one Amazing One.
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Last night the Redskins were on the verge of an incredible comeback, but were unable to convert on 2nd and 2 deep inside Chicago territory. If they'd kicked a couple extra points instead of going for two earlier in the second half, they could have kicked a field goal on that failed drive and still had a shot. The moral: if you go for two, it better be important, and you better be good at it.
David Montgomery salvaged a middling day on the final drive to run out the clock, Mitch Trubisky lightly chewed up a sub-par defense, Terry McLaurin continued his push for rookie-of-the-year, Case Keenum rebounded after a horrendous opening half, Adrian Peterson continue to plod his way through what has to be his final NFL season, and the opposite-of-reliable Terry Gabriel sucked all the air out of Chicago's receiving corps.
Note to everyone: Don't use a waiver pick on Gabriel (even if he's able to play Sunday), remain patient with Montgomery, and don't be surprised if Washington pushed AP aside sooner rather than later (Wendell Smallwood, anyone?).
One Friday we were picking teams, and I was one of the captains. The #1 athlete hadn't shown up, and no one knew if he was coming. But I picked him, because high upside was more important than just grabbing one of my friends.
When it came back to me, I picked the other great athlete who didn't go to school with us, even though he wasn't there yet either. The coaches told me, "No, you can't do that," because I needed to field an actual team, and having two no-shows in the early going wasn't gonna cut it. So I settled for one of my friends.
Long story short, my team sucked. The Amazing One never showed. I'd played the lottery and lost.
So what's the lesson? Don't stop playing the lottery. My teams are often middling at best in the early going, and then they improve as the season progresses. Why? Because I stash a bunch of lottery tickets. If they're all busts all season, I'll lose. But my track record on reaching the postseason suggests this approach nearly always works. Invariably, one or more lottery tickets pay off.
My tickets this year include Tony Pollard, Ryquell Armstead, Jordan Wilkins, Darrell Henderson, and Gio Bernard. If one or two of their starters go down, I'll have a couple RB2+'s ready to go. Many of you have lottery tickets, too. Hold onto them, even during the approaching bye weeks. Play for upside, not for mediocrity.
Because unlike on that cold Friday afternoon, there's more than one Amazing One.
---
Last night the Redskins were on the verge of an incredible comeback, but were unable to convert on 2nd and 2 deep inside Chicago territory. If they'd kicked a couple extra points instead of going for two earlier in the second half, they could have kicked a field goal on that failed drive and still had a shot. The moral: if you go for two, it better be important, and you better be good at it.
David Montgomery salvaged a middling day on the final drive to run out the clock, Mitch Trubisky lightly chewed up a sub-par defense, Terry McLaurin continued his push for rookie-of-the-year, Case Keenum rebounded after a horrendous opening half, Adrian Peterson continue to plod his way through what has to be his final NFL season, and the opposite-of-reliable Terry Gabriel sucked all the air out of Chicago's receiving corps.
Note to everyone: Don't use a waiver pick on Gabriel (even if he's able to play Sunday), remain patient with Montgomery, and don't be surprised if Washington pushed AP aside sooner rather than later (Wendell Smallwood, anyone?).