Alright, so here we are, Week 4. Another round of staring at the screen, trying to figure out who’s gonna show up and who’s gonna lay an egg. It never really gets easier, does it? You just get, I dunno, more used to the pain I guess.
My Ritual, If You Can Call It That
First thing I did this morning, poured a big cup of coffee. Essential. Then I pulled up my lineups across a couple of leagues. Just looked at ’em. Let the dread wash over me. Kidding, mostly. But seriously, you gotta just absorb the situation first, see what fires you’re dealing with.
I had this one running back, let’s call him “Mr. Inconsistent.” One week he’s a world-beater, next week he’s invisible. And this week? He’s got what looks like a tough matchup on paper. But then you hear whispers, you know? “Oh, the defensive line coach for the other team stubbed his toe, they’re in disarray!” Silly stuff like that floats around. You try to ignore it, but it seeps in.
So then I started digging. Not just at the surface-level stuff, like “Team A gives up X points to running backs.” Nah, you gotta go deeper.
- How’s the offensive line playing for Mr. Inconsistent’s team? Are they getting any push?
- What’s the weather forecast? A mud bowl changes everything.
- What are the beat writers saying? Sometimes they drop little nuggets.
- Are there any key injuries on the other side of the ball that might open things up?
This stuff takes time, man. It’s not just a 5-minute decision. It’s like a part-time job you don’t get paid for, except in bragging rights or crushing defeats.
That One Time… Oh Boy
It reminds me, and I really try to block this out, of the 2019 championship. I was up by a decent margin. Had my lineup set. Solid. Then Sunday morning, I read this one article. Some “guru” I usually ignore was super high on this backup receiver because the starter was a game-time decision. My gut said, “Stick with your guy.” But the hype got to me. I made the swap. My original guy went off for two touchdowns. The backup? One catch, three yards. Lost by two points. Two points!
My wife, bless her heart, she doesn’t get it. She was like, “It’s just a game.” And I’m sitting there, just staring at the wall, contemplating all my life choices. My buddy, who I lost to, still sends me a screenshot of that box score every year around playoff time. The nerve of some people, right? That taught me a lesson, though. Or, it should have. Sometimes I still get suckered in by the noise.
Back to Week 4 – Making the Calls
So, after all that soul-searching and stat-diving for Week 4, I started making moves. I benched Mr. Inconsistent, actually. Went with a receiver I think has a sneaky good matchup against a rookie cornerback. Felt a bit risky, but sometimes you gotta roll the dice. For my quarterback, it was an easier call. He’s been solid, good protection, good matchup. No need to overthink that one, thankfully.
I also had a tight end dilemma. One guy’s touchdown-dependent, the other gets steady targets but never finds the endzone. What do you value more? The safe floor or the boom potential? I went with the boom potential this week. Feeling a bit frisky, I suppose. Maybe it’s the coffee.
Once I clicked “submit lineup” on all of them, I just had to walk away from the computer. If you keep staring at it, you’ll just second-guess yourself into oblivion. You make your bed, now you gotta lie in it, or, you know, watch your players lie down on the field.
So, that’s my process. A little bit of data, a lot of gut feeling, and a healthy dose of past trauma. We’ll see how it all shakes out on Sunday. Fingers crossed, eh? Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I need another coffee.
