After an agonizingly long offseason, countless hours of draft prep and an abundance of water-cooler smack talk, there is no worse feeling than opening your fantasy football season 0-1. Whether you lost to your boss, your nephew or your league’s version of Tommy Boy, it is a tremendous blow to your ego and leaves you second-guessing all the effort you put in to this point.
But as the Chiefs proved Sunday, it is better to be down early than down late. This is not the end. Not even close. Do yourself a favor and step away from the panic button.
It is difficult to imagine where that instinct to blow up your entire team after just one loss comes from, but we see it all the time in fantasy sports. Maybe it is the world’s need for instant gratification, but rest assured, patience and discipline are your two biggest allies here. That is not to say there aren’t a few situations to monitor, but an itchy waiver-wire trigger finger is not the answer.
Take the Falcons’ running back situation, for example. Devonta Freeman, a late first-round draft choice for many, put up a horrible game for his owners. Stumbling his way to just 40 all-purpose yards while “backup” Tevin Coleman racked up 117 on equal touches is enough to send most fantasy owners reeling.
You’re going to be inundated with talk of a split backfield, and the sharks in your league will follow the chum slick of panic to your team. If you didn’t handcuff Freeman to Coleman, prepare to fend off a parade of poor offers. If you did, the temptation to bench Freeman for Coleman will be overwhelming.
It is imperative to keep a level head. Yes, Coleman will eat into Freeman’s touches. That already was expected. But this was just one game, and neither head coach Dan Quinn nor offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan are giving up on Freeman. Stay the course and don’t do anything rash.
That also goes for a number of other situations. Adrian Peterson is not done after posting just 31 rushing yards. Sam Bradford will be under center soon and defenses won’t be able to stack the box as heavily. Drew Brees and Coby Fleener eventually will get on the same page. Brandon Marshall is still a high-end wideout, and Russell Wilson still has plenty of fight left in him. It’s just one week.
Though they say idle hands are the devil’s playthings, keep in mind that panic and impatience are much worse in the fantasy world. Trust the process and the work you’ve done. Rash decisions are not welcome here. This is simply one battle in a 17-week war.
Howard Bender is a senior writer at FantasyAlarm.com and the host of “Overtime” on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio each Sunday from 11 p.m.-1 a.m. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy. For more from Fantasy Alarm, listen weekdays on SiriusXM from 4-6 p.m.