Fantasy Look: Week 11 Preview
Patrick Daly
Friday April 8, 2005
Staying on Schedule
Back at the beginning of the season, one of the areas I emphasized was knowing the schedule. At this point of the season this includes knowing who has bye weeks remaining and how that lines up with your fantasy league schedule. Here are the teams with bye weeks remaining on their schedule:
Week 11 – New Orleans VooDoo
Week 12 – Arizona Rattlers
Week 13 – Las Vegas Gladiators
Week 14 – Georgia Force
Week 15 – Philadelphia Soul
Week 16 – Orlando Predators
Week 17 – Austin Wranglers
As you can see from the schedule above, if your playoffs occur during Weeks 15 and 16 you’ll find yourself scrambling for replacements if you’re relying on players like Soul QB Tony Graziani or Predators WR/LB Cory Fleming. Chances are many fantasy teams have reaped the reward of grabbing Georgia’s impressive duo of rookies OS Troy Bergeron and WR/LB Derek Lee, but the Week 14 bye might put a crimp in your team’s playoff push.
Once you’ve got that figured out, you’ll want to take a look at the AFL playoff races to see which teams are out of the race and which remain in the thick of it. With the way the races have shaped up so far, it doesn’t look like any one team will run away with their division, but there are a few teams that haven’t been mathematically eliminated, but their chances at the playoffs are saddling up to leave town. With nothing to lose, expect teams like the Columbus Destroyers and Grand Rapids Rampage to mix things up and give younger players a chance to play.
Dance with who brung you
Depending on how the season has gone so far, you may already be locked into a starter at a particular position, praying the he doesn’t get hurt, or you might be lucky enough to have to choose between a few guys that are about equal. That means you could have some tough choices to make, but don’t expect any sympathy from your opponents.
Entering the eleventh week, players are banged up and health becomes just a relative term. Those teams that were lucky enough to have the schedule maker smile upon them with a bye week later in the season get the chance to rest a bit during the week off, which can make a big difference.
All other things aside, if you’ve been successful so far it doesn’t make sense to start making changes for the sake of change. However, keep a close eye on the injury report and look for a drop off in performance for guys that have started well, as well as guys who’ve come into the spotlight over the past few weeks. It’s tough to make a change when you’re rolling along, but sometimes you have to take some risks.
For example, after a spectacular start, Force OS Troy Bergeron has cooled off a little, while WR/LB Derek Lee has put together a tremendous string of performances. The addition of OS Chris Jackson will make things a little more interesting in Georgia, which will probably affect Lee’s and Bergeron’s statistics and makes it important to keep a close eye on the situation if you have any of these three players.
In Philadelphia, WR/DB Marcus Knight has come on strong, which might impact both WR/LB Sean Scott, who’s having a great sophomore season, and OS Steve Smith. WR/DB Carl Bond has taken advantage of his opportunity in New Orleans with Jacques Rumph’s absence.
Any way you look at it, it’s often best to stick with the guys that have gotten you to this point in the season, but that doesn’t mean you should ever stop looking for a way to improve your squad.
Bargain Bin
This late in the season it gets tougher to find guys to fill in or make improvements to your team, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find some guys if you look hard enough. With Las Vegas Gladiators FB/LB Frank Carter on injured reserve, keep an eye on FB/LB Rodney Filer. If you’re looking for help at that spot, his size and strength make him a force on either side of the ball.
In Grand Rapids, it looks like WR/DB Anthony Hines has taken over the offensive specialist spot left vacant with Chris Jackson’s trade to Georgia. Hines grabbed 10 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown, which might just be the start of things to come.
In nearby Chicago, the loss of FB/LB Jamie McGourty for the remainder of the season means veteran FB/LB Bob McMillen will carry a bigger load. McMillen is well off his pace from last year when he tallied 22 rushing touchdowns, but those numbers were nearly impossible to repeat and he’s still one of the better options around.
Patrick Daly has been an Arena Football League enthusiast since he first stumbled across the late-night ESPN broadcasts and has followed the Arizona Rattlers since their inaugural season in 1992. He graduated from Arizona State University with an engineering degree and is currently a member of a web development team for Direct Alliance in Tempe. Patrick currently resides in the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona with his beautiful wife, son and a very large football helmet collection.
