Viva Murillo!
Okay, maybe things haven’t gone according to plan. Maybe your first three draft picks got injured. Maybe you lost a critical game because your opponent’s kicker knocked in eight field-goals, or the soggy excuse for turf in Pittsburgh crushed your offensive hopes.. Maybe the only New England Patriot on your team is Laurence Maroney. Whatever happened, you might need to win out to make the playoffs. Or get some help. Or win out and get some help. In any case, there are only three weeks left and absolutely no room for error.
So what do you do? Well, you can’t do nothing. You can’t expect a team that never put consistent weeks together to all of a sudden going to win two in a row, while scoring enough points to swing some tie-breakers in your favor. To use a baseball analogy (which pains me to do), you can’t settle for singles. You need to swing for the fences. There aren’t many options left, but you still have a few weapons in your arsenal.
* Dig deep into your roster. You know those guys you never start because they’re too streaky? It’s time to put them in the line-up. Even if they’ve only had a few good games this year, I say throw them in and hope for the best. Maybe this will be one of those weeks. Who knows: Maybe James Jones wins the Packer-of-the-Week derby against the Cowboys. It could happen, right?
* Use the waiver wire. I know, there’s nothing good on the waiver wire. That doesn’t matter; you can’t wait around for “good” anymore. You just have to find someone with potential. In many leagues, Kolby Smith was picked up off the waiver wire last week and turned in a great performance. It might happen again, but that’s the kind of potential you need. After all, didn’t Daunte Culpepper have that one good game against the Dolphins? Anything’s possible.
* Change your defense. Unless you have one of the absolute best, just pick up someone else and give them a shot. The Browns are scoring defensive and special teams touchdowns, and the Rams are starting to look like a professional team again. Both could be available right now, or try someone else who might surprise you.
* Watch what other teams are doing. The guy sitting at 10-2 is going to make moves this week. They’re looking ahead to the playoffs, so they’ll be picking up skill players for weeks 15 and 16. But to do that, they have to ditch other players to make room on their roster. They can afford to get rid of their depth since their starters (and immediate backups) are so strong. That’s where you come in.
Sure, it’s not glamorous to think of your team sifting through another owner’s garbage, but this isn’t the time to worry about pride. You need wins, and their cast-offs might provide you with a starter. Your first waiver moves this week shouldn’t be your last. Wait and see who becomes available once the first adds and drops are processed.
* Play hunches. Hey, it’s your team. It’s never fun to lose, but it’s always more satisfying to go down your own path, no matter what happens. If you like a certain match-up, defy conventional wisdom and go for it. You really don’t have anything to lose but another game, and you’ve already lost a few of those, right?
* Have fun. Look, this might not work anyway. Just make your moves and enjoy the season while we have it. Besides, even if you lose your season isn’t over. More on that next time. Good luck this week.
Feel free to share your high-risk plays for week 13 below. You can also reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@gmail.com.
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