Taking Advantage Of Your Opponent’s Bye Week Players

Whether you are in a head-to-head league or in a cumulative scoring league, the NFL bye weeks offer interesting dilemmas for fantasy owners. For the owner who has to go a week without their best player, the problem is obvious. But for the owner who is facing the team having to go without their stud, the issue is a little cloudier.

How can you take proper advantage of an opponent missing a guy who usually carries the week? This week that very question is on the minds of many, as Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson, Thomas Jones, Brett Favre, and JaMarcus Russell (just kidding) all are riding the pine in Week 9.

If you have your own horses, the answer is obvious. You hope your first-stringers can outscore the other guy’s second-stringers. If your team is like mine though--full of guys like Matt Stafford, Reggie Bush, Santana Moss, and Glen Coffee--you might need to get a little creative in your efforts to get the weekly win.

Case in point, last week, I was going against a team that has dominated my league all season. He was without Tom Brady, the Steelers defense, and Chad Ochocinco. He was forced to start Matt Hasselbeck and the Jaguars defense. I am right on the edge of playoff contention so I figured I had to take some risks to go for the win against a vulnerable opponent. I have Deion Branch way down the line on my bench, but I figured since he had to start Matt Hasselbeck, I would try and hedge some of those points by starting one of Hasselbeck’s receivers. Also, since Jacksonville was playing Tennessee, I was able to essentially go all-in against that defense. Chris Johnson is by far my best player, but I also picked up Vince Young the day after the owner publicly called for him to start. By playing both Johnson and Young, I could basically pick up points at his defense’s expense. This is a very risky bet, because if the Jaguars were able to shut down the Titans, I would be screwed.

As it turned out Chris Johnson blew up, Vince Young performed admirably, and Deion Branch caught one of Hasselbeck’s two touchdowns. I won by 13 points. As luck would have it, I determined that the lineup I used was the only one that could have beaten my opponent. (OK, so Chris Johnson was a no-brainer regardless and almost single-handedly won the week for me, but you get the point.)

If you find yourself against a team missing out on their best player or players, don’t be afraid to take some calculated gambles. The wins you are able to steal in these situations are the difference between making the playoffs and watching other teams dance for the big money at the end.