This was supposed to be a column about not giving up on your plan too early, and understanding that even if you lost, week 1 is just a step in your journey. Don't overreact with crazy changes. But then, just like a coach whose game plan goes out the window when a starter goes down, injuries changed everything.
Somewhere out there is an owner who drafted Doug Martin, Eddie Lacy, Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Reed. Maybe their backup QB was Shaun Hill, too. Let's take a moment and feel badly for them. You expect injuries throughout the season. You don't expect them before you finish your chicken wings on the first Sunday in September.
Some will be back sooner than others, but many teams took a hit early in the season. Some had time to deal with it. The Panthers and Broncos succeeded despite not having Cam Newton and Wes Welker available, but they already knew that going into Sunday. Others weren't so lucky: The Bears probably could have used Jeffery at the end of a tight game, and the Rams didn't put up much of a fight without their starter (who was the starter because their other starter got hurt and couldn't start). And could the Browns have upset the Steelers with Ben Tate and Jordan Cameron? Who knows?
So what will these teams do? In the NFL, it's "next man up" for the ones who can't play. The backup enters the lineup and they move forward. And in fantasy football, it should work the same way. You drafted more than nine rounds, right? You have backups. You put them in and expect them to produce.
You can do that because you have a big advantage over the NFL teams. Your backups are really NFL starters. They might not be the top picks in a fantasy draft, but they're already in the huddle for another club. That's better than a guy who's not considered good enough to start for their own team, but now has the job anyway. So stay optimistic. Why can't your guys perform for you going forward?
Look, I know it's not an ideal situation. But maybe you have a Knowshon Moreno or Mark Ingram on your bench, and maybe those week 1 performances weren't flukes. Maybe that Kelvin Benjamin pick that you made because Ian kept raving about him is ready to pay off. Or maybe you can play with the flex position and take advantage of depth you have at another position. Not everyone is out for the year, after all. You might only need to deal with it a week or two. if that's the case, you can handle that. Your bench can handle it.
Or maybe you could look on the waiver wire. Maybe. But please, be careful with that decision. I know every owner who suffered an injury Sunday took a peek at their free agents. You know, just in case. But odds are your best solution is already on your bench. On the waiver wire you don't know what you'll be getting and you don't know what you'll be throwing away to get them. You only have one game's worth of data, and that's too small.
Go ahead and peek at the waiver wire. Just don't commit to it. Consider the guys you selected and give them a shot first. It's too early to make wholesale changes after just one week.
Hey, maybe I got back to my original topic after all. I just had to get through a M.A.S.H. unit to get there. Here's hoping we look back on week 1 as an injury aberration. Good luck this week.
Did your team catch the injury bug? If so, what are you doing about it? Share your thoughts below.
