Don't Trust Coaches or Reporters
by Lootmeister of RotoPicks.com
If your thought process has gone as deep as to listen to coach interviews you're probably a plus weekly fantasy football player. To win at this game, you have to pull out all the stops. Be an absolute info sponge as one tiny nugget of information can make the difference between winning and losing, especially vs. formidable opponents. In this article, I'm going to confirm any thoughts you may have had about trusting coaches during interviews. Please make note that this does NOT include trusting coach interviews during the preseason as sometimes those are played out to a "T".
I've never taken too much heed to coach interviews. After you've heard a few hundred of them it's really all the same old jibberish. We need to do this, we need to do that, this guy is coming back off injury, that guy needs to give a better effort etc. We've all heard it 100x.
What's brutal though, is when there are injuries involved and you're looking to figure out which running back is going to get the most carries in the team's matchup this week. Usually, it's cut and dry as most teams have a clear-cut number 2 guy or at least a running back by committee situation setup where you have somewhat of an idea what's going to happen.
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So, with that being said, one week in November of 2012, Raiders RB's Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson were sidelined with ankle injuries. Backup Taiwan Jones was an electrifying runner who appeared to be next in line to get a good amount of action and his Draftstreet salary was at 3k or so if memory serves me correct. The only other options for the Raiders were Marcel Reese who is more of a fullback and journeyman ball carrier Jeremy Stewart.
The stars were aligned. This was the week that I was going to clean house. Jones, who really does possess excellent quickness was going to have a field day vs. a Ravens defense that was banged up and giving up a ton of yardage to opponents.
I did my homework, the coach said he was going to get a shot (Thanks Dennis Allen!), media guys were using the word "bell cow" when referring to how many carries he ws going to get and even QB Carson Palmer said he was going to get a good amount of touches and that he was excited to see what Jones could do.
So in a moment of glory, I quickly entered as many salary cap leagues as my bankroll would allow. I broke every rule of money management and bankroll management known to man, laying out over 10K in "investments." After all, a sure win was coming my way with my new weapon that was going to net me 20 FP all for the bargain price of 3k.
Oakland vs. Baltimore wasn't my first choice to watch that Sunday, November 11th of 2012, but I fired up the NFL ticket and was anxious to witness this genious move... That never transpired.
Jones rushed twice for 6 yards and caught one ball for 7 yards. I think he scored a grand total of 1.8 points. Speaking of 1.8, I think that's about how much I had left in my DS account after the weekend as well.
The moral of the story is don't always believe everything you hear, even if it's from the horses mouth. ALWAYS diversify and NEVER play your whole bankroll based on one player, much less one week.
Good luck with your leagues! - Loot
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