Fantasy Felony: Rescuing Your Team From Total Nightmare

Fantasy Felony helps you hijack your fellow team owners.

Look at Matt Forte over there. He looks so forlorn, doesn't he? Like he's carrying a rotting cantaloupe instead of a football.

Forte is just one of many reasons your team might be 2-5, or even 1-6 (yikes territory). Or maybe you don't have underperforming players at all, and have just been hit by bad luck and bitten hard by the injury bug. Regardless of the scenario, time is running out for all you cellar-dwellers. This is the week you need to make trades in an attempt to save your season. And even if it's beyond the point of saving, at least you can say you tried. Time to blow this squad up and go for broke.

I know you're still scanning that waiver wire, looking for the next great hope, but he sure as hell didn't come along this week. Shonn Greene and Jamaal Charles are not going to do the trick alone. You have to make some gutsy maneuvers, ones that may even make you a little queasy. But what else do you have to lose? Here's the recovery plan.

Dump the Depth

Ask yourself this question (if you have him): How often have I started Ahmad Bradshaw? If the answer is only "one or two times," then what is the point? For teams that are serious about making a playoff run, yes it makes sense to have great depth to back up your studs. But when all you have is a collection of "once in a whiles" and "these matchups suck," then you need to package them together for something bigger and better. Pierre Thomas, Marion Barber, the list goes on and on.

Look for a team in your league that only has one great starting running back, then a bunch of ragtag rushers after him. It works even better if that team's owner is in bye-week trouble (six teams on bye, again!?). If that one great running back is Steven Jackson -- perfect, he gets to play Detroit this week. There's no point in keeping players who can help you down the road. If you don't win this week, there might not be a next week.

As a case study -- in one league, prior to Week 7, I traded Fred Jackson and Cadillac Williams for Laurence Maroney, who came through against the Bucs. I filled the empty spot with Green Bay wideout James Jones. Then I cobbled together a receiving core of Jones, Lee Evans and Austin Collie. Not dazzling at all, right? Well, that trio netted 28 points. Never underrate the power of a strong matchup.

Drop Your Guard

So many people try to flat-out rob each other in deals. There are really ridiculous trade offers floating out there. Heck, even the title of this piece reflects that. I'm in a $400-entry fee league and there are barely any trades because when so much money is on the line, everyone is always trying to ace each other. But sometimes you have to give up more than you get, especially when you're part of a trade-averse league.

Don't be afraid to be taken advantage of. If it means sacrificing better overall players in exchange for players that will help you win now, then I say go for it. Kevin Smith, Matt Forte, LaDainian Tomlinson and Marshawn Lynch (one of my favorite trade targets) are a few buy-low running backs who have favorable matchups this week, also known as your "must-win" week. If you're looking deeper, Beanie Wells and Justin Fargas are two lower-end options going up against defenses ranked in the bottom 10. Need receiving help? Target the ones facing weak secondaries, like Mike Sims-Walker, Lee Evans, Steve Smith (Carolina) and Devin Hester. Some of the Week 8 sleepers on the cheap include Donnie Avery and Kenny Britt. For more strong upcoming schedules, check out SI.com's "The Road Ahead."

Again, in desperate times, it's OK to let your fellow owner feel like he got the better end of the deal, as long as you acquire the players to help you win over the next few weeks.

Opposite Thinking

This is where you might need a bottle of Pepto sitting nearby, because it's time to trade for the disappointing stars everyone else is ripping -- guys like Tomlinson, Forte, Jason Witten, and even T.O. Why? We live in the "educated" era of fantasy sports. Many years ago, you had to subscribe to Baseball Weekly or some publication just to get an edge. Or you'd even call into some 900-number hotline (sorry about those charges, mom). Now, sound advice is everywhere on the Internet. Even the notes provided by the good folks at Rotowire give owners key hints right next to the player's name in Fleaflicker.

The main advantage when every expert is telling you to avoid a certain player -- a dirt-cheap price. I remember everyone saying "David Ortiz is done" during the fantasy baseball season after he only managed one home run in his first two months. I traded Denard Span for him. Oh, how the mighty had seemingly fallen. Ortiz went on to smash 27 homers over the rest of the season. Granted, the law of averages works much better in a game like baseball, but if the opportunity to succeed is still there, you can never totally count someone out.

So you might as well give opposite thinking a shot. Heck, the method worked out pretty well last season when Sean Lalley advised it here and here.

Best of luck to you in your turnaround attempt. And as always, feel free to drop questions in the comments below.