Headed into week 1, you might have a few questions about your team. Is it as good as you've convinced yourself it is? Will your rookies pan out? Are those shaky knees/legs/hamstrings going to hold up over the course of the year? What was more embarrassing: Miley Cyrus' stunt at the VMAs or Tim Tebow's stint with the Patriots?
That last one was a joke (it's Tebow, obviously). But the one question you should not have at this point in the year is: Who do you start?
If you're not sure who your week 1 starters are, something probably wrong at your draft or auction. It's great to have depth and a number of capable players with a lot of potential. But some of them should stand out far above the others, and those guys are your starters. If you're not sure who they are, there's definitely an issue with personnel (them) or management (you).
There are some cases where a known injury meant you might need an early-season replacement. But in that circumstance, you chose a replacement on draft day. That's your starter. Other times you might be going with a committee approach to a position, and plan to start different guys depending on the match up. But even then you should know who that guy is in week 1. For this week, at least, that's your starter.
But most times, the players aren't the problem. It's the owner. Those long spring and summer months has them ready to kick the season off strong, and they want to squeeze as many points as they can out of their team. Nobody waits half the year to start out 0-1, right? But that's exactly when owners over think their lineups, and it makes that 0-1 record much more likely.
Look, there are probably going to be weeks where Hakeem Nicks will out-produce Calvin Johnson. T.Y. Hilton probably will, too. But you'd never consider sitting Johnson for those guys, right? Well, in week 1, your starters are all Calvin Johnsons. They're the end result of your strategy and your decisions and they've done nothing to prove you wrong yet. Assuming you actually put some effort into your preparations, why wouldn't you want to see how smart you were?
Now, I'm not advocating letting your team sink because your "starter" isn't performing week after week and you've got good options on the bench. Smart owners are willing to part ways with superstars in order to stay competitive. But not in week 1. You're more likely to over think things and cost yourself points instead of just playing your best guys and seeing what happens. You can torture yourself all year once you have some stats to analyze, but this week should be easy. Win or lose, sit back and see what you really have on paper.
And if you have bench guys scoring crazy points while your starters disappoint, congratulations! You have a lot of potential depth and a whole season to put them to use. But don't talk yourself out of your strategy before the national anthem has been sung. Maybe it's actually going to work with the core guys you selected. At least wait 60 game minutes to find out.
I've seen owners fret right up until kickoff of week 1, and I've seen owners parked in front of the television with a beer in their hand and a plate of chips balanced on their lap. One is clicking furiously on a keyboard, and the other is relaxed and smiling. I don't remember which owner won or lost, but I know which one was having fun and which one was already in a panic.
Be the one having fun this week. You already know who to start. Just put them in and celebrate the return of professional football. Good luck in week 1.
Any dilemmas you consider legit in the first week? Share them below.