To quote the first line of the Charles Dickens classic “A Tale of Two Cities,” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This well known verse can be seen in many lights, but for my purpose today, it’s perfect for describing the 2013 fantasy football season as a whole.
Though not officially over with many people — myself included — still playing for championships, the majority of the fastest season in all of sports has flown by and like every year, some things just stood out more than others. Below are just a few things that stood out to me about the fantasy season that was.
Big Name Injuries: Every year brings about its own fair share of injuries but it seemed like this year especially, big names were the victims of some serious downtime. Normal fantasy studs like Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, New England’s Rob Gronkowski, and Atlanta’s Julio Jones were just the tip of an iceberg of players who were roster worthy and missed significant time. While planning for injuries is part of the game, there’s no amount of duct tape that could fix the holes left by all the missing players this season.
Disappointing Players: Missing time to injury is one thing but being a player who just flat out disappointed is another thing entirely. If you were owners of Houston’s Matt Schaub, Washington’s Robert Griffin III, Baltimore’s Ray Rice or basically anyone on the New York Giants roster, then you know the frustration I’m talking about. On a week to week basis, the agonizing decision on whether to start these guys (and others like them) loomed heavy on the heart and minds of fantasy owners because maybe, just maybe, “this would be the week they return to form.” Only they didn’t, and your team suffered for it.
Studs Who Were Studs: Amidst all the injury and underachieving, there were those players out there who everyone thought were going to rock who actually rocked. Guys like Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles, Denver’s Peyton Manning, Detroit’s Calvin Johnson and New Orleans’ Jimmy Graham head the pack of fantasy studs who played up to their draft position, if not above. In a year as uncertain as this one, if you had these guys then it’s a safe bet your year wasn’t all bad.
Backup Quarterbacks Were HUGE This Year: Again, playing to the previous lines of injury and-or disappointing players, the one position where there were major points to be found was at the backup quarterback position. Washington’s Kirk Cousins stepped in last week and was huge for me as a flex play, making him the latest second stringer to get a start and produce. Others in this mold include Philadelphia’s Nick Foles, Chicago’s Josh McCown and Tampa Bay’s Mike Glennon.
Final Thoughts: I don’t know if it’s because of the craziness of this season but I have found myself seriously reconsidering my draft strategies heading into 2014 (which I won’t bore you with…right now). Realizing that, I have to say that such thoughts are not only good but necessary for anyone who is serious about fantasy football.
It’s very easy to get locked into antiquated draft styles and with how drastically the league has changed over just the past couple of years, such thoughts can seriously hamper any title runs. So my advice to you is this — write down your thoughts and take a long look at the ending point totals of every position. Do all of this while the season is fresh and it’ll go a long way to getting you in the right place come 2014.
Happy Holidays and remember, there’s always next year!
James LeBeau is an avid fantasy sports participant and a sports contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on twitter @LoboISbroke or “like” CraveOnline Sports on Facebook.
