Guidelines to Playoff Success

Don't be this guy

    Week 14 of the football season is officially upon us. What's this mean? It's officially playoff time in most, if not all, fantasy leagues. If you fought your way in, congratulations. But now that you're in, you have to be mindful of what you do with your starting lineup. You want to do everything you can to try to win, so that you don't end up like the guy in the picture on the right. This means following a few guidelines, some that I would even call cardinal rules. Rolling the dice may have worked for you at one point in the regular season, but do you really want to stake your post-season life on a gamble? Usually the safest bet is what works, and more often than not you can be successful as long as you follow these guidelines.



Start your studs
This is a no brainer, but you'd be surprised how many people forget this rule. Always start your studs. Generally, these are guys you drafted in the first few rounds of your draft. Whether it be a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, or tight end - you drafted them that high for a reason. Unless you've traded them away, or they've been injured, there's no reason to bench one of your studs - no matter what the match-up is. For example, Adrian Peterson owners might cringe at his match-up against Chicago this week, but don't get cute. This is a guy you don't sit. Ever. I learned this the hard way myself when he shredded Seattle, on my bench (luckily that was during the regular season, and not the playoffs). That's the one time I've ever benched a stud, and I'll never do it again. Even if one of your stud players is coming off of a bad game, like Drew Brees for example, you need to clear that from your mind. Chances are he won't have two bad games in a row. He's Drew Brees. Start. Your. Studs.



Start players you can trust
Trust is something you have to have in your roster each and every week, especially in the playoffs. If you have doubts about anyone on your roster on a given week, then chances are you shouldn't start them. Trust your gut. Trust the players who have gotten you to where you are. If you're unsure on the amount of touches a player will get, or unsure on the match-up (UNLESS its one of your studs), then your best bet is to leave said player on the bench. Good example this week: Reggie Bush. He isn't a stud, and he's got a terrible match-up this week against the 49ers defense. This is definitely a week when you should bench Bush, unless you have NO other option. Another guy I want to mention here is Larry Fitzgerald. Usually, this guy is a stud, meaning you should follow the 'start your studs' rule. However, this is a rare rare rare example of a stud that you just can't trust. The quarterback situation in Arizona has been so bad that there's literally no way of predicting whether Larry will have a 7 catch game or a 1 catch game. This kind of unpredictability is exactly what you should be avoiding now that its playoff time.



Beware the "questionable" and "game-time decision" tags
This is where fantasy football gets extremely frustrating.  There's nothing worse than starting a questionable player and having him get re-injured before he can score any fantasy points. Just ask Jordy Nelson owners how they feel. The only thing that might be worse than that is waiting for a player who is a game-time decision, and then finding out that they are going to sit out the game, leaving you stuck with a zero in that slot. This is why I say, especially in the playoffs, to AVOID starting players who are questionable or who are a game-time decision. If you want to be stubborn and wait for a game-time decision, make sure you have a back-up plan. Sure, sometimes questionable players have monster games. But there's also always the risk that they will have a bad game, or not even finish the game. That risk, to me, isn't worth the potential upside. You're better off playing it safe.



    That's that folks. Those guidelines might seem like common sense, but you'd be surprised how many people go against them...and then end up cursing themselves for it. Sometimes you can roll the dice and get away with it, but that usually doesn't work in the playoffs. You didn't roll the dice every week in the regular season, did you? I didn't think so. Remember, you want to go with what you can trust. With that said, hopefully you follow these guidelines, and hopefully they work for you. Good luck everyone!