SPORTS
14 Obiter Dicta
The Art of the Fantasy Running Back
-
k areem webster
A nother season. A nother triumph. A nother
disappointment.
Another head scratcher. Another “aha” moment.
Another season for which we cannot wait.
It is January, so that means that the NFL regular
season has wrapped up, meaning that the fantasy
football playoffs have concluded and you are either
a winner or a loser. How did you do? I won my fantasy league, thank you very much. I finished the
season on a nine-game winning streak, with a roster
that was assembled from the waiver wire, boasting
a team comprised of David Johnson, Javorius “Buck”
Allen, and Charcandrick West. Running back is the
single most fickle position in fantasy football, and
realizing that you require depth at the spot is crucial.
According to Yahoo, here were some of the top performers down the stretch:
Antonio Brown
Kirk Cousins
Cam Newton
Julio Jones
Russell Wilson
Doug Baldwin
Brandon Marshall
As you can see, none of these players are running
backs. The position has lost its value in the NFL and
is losing tremendous value in fantasy leagues. Every
year people draft running backs high in the first
round with selections such as Eddie Lacy, Jamaal
Charles, and Marshawn Lynch, but these players do not end up being the top finishers in fantasy football. The running back is an endangered
species, with players being signed off the street or
several players being used as a committee.
All over the country, fantasy
football was being affected by this running back
drought.
That was, until my fantasy football saviour, David Johnson, single-handedly won a fantasy football championship for me.
This rookie running back on Arizona was the hottest
running back over the last few weeks of the regular season, with the rare ability to catch and break
through the tackles as a formidable force of nature.
I am here to write to you to inform you
that the running back is still an integral component of fantasy football, but what matters is when
you draft or add them from the waiver wire. Stop
taking running backs with the first five picks in
the league. Stop that. I guarantee you that the
same running back that you are rushing to draft
is going to be supplanted by a running back whom
you have never heard of, or that the coach will
form a running back by committee, which basically means that you cannot feel comfortable using
one of the backs as they will each be given snaps
by the coach. The running-back-as-an-earlydraft strategy is dead. The new strategy involves
researching during the season for the running
back scrubs with the most potential.
Make sure that you do not adhere to
logic or reasoning. This is football. Anything
can happen on any given Sunday. A lot of times
I just went with my gut feeling and ended up
ê Photo: cardboardconnection.com
winning that week. It could have gone the
other way, but it worked out quite well for me.
It is imperative to have a bevy of wide
receivers – these guys are going to be getting the
bulk of points with catches and potential touchdowns. Do not worry about drafting a tight end
…the running back is
still an integral
component of
fantasy football…
early, nor do I suggest drafting a quarterback early.
These quarterbacks tend to disappoint too.
Fantasy football is ridiculous. It is inane,
silly, and nonsensical. There is no rhyme or reason
to why the games unfold the way they do and it is
likely the most unpredictable sport in the world.
Things just sort of just happen so do not sweat it; you
will have good days and bad days. You will outscore
your opponent when it makes absolutely no sense
whatsoever. You will kick yourself for not starting
Player X over Player Y. You may scream at the television when your running back is at the one-yard line
and the offensive coordinator decides to throw the
ball rather than punch it in. You may pull your hair
out when your wide receiver catches the ball and
runs away with it for about 60 yards to the end zone
– oh, wait, he stepped out of bounds at the one-yard
line. NOW, the coordinator decides to run the ball in,
except that it is not being handed off to your player.
It is time to realize that the running back and its
value has changed. Actually, the running back as
an art has not changed, but you have to adjust your
strategy to getting effective ones. Try this new draft
strategy; I guarantee that you will find to be rather
rewarding.
I am wishing you another successful fantasy
football season and cheers to 2016.
t hu m bs dow n
York University
mistakenly accepting
500 students.