As the regular season approaches, there are a few things that I would recommend doing before submitting a line-up in every week.  Call this a checklist, a reminder, whatever, but these steps will help insure that you have a solid playing line-up in, as well as the best chance of competing against your respective opponent.

First, make sure that you take a look at the “Bye Weeks” for each of your players.  It’s very hard to score points with a player that is sitting at home that week.  The ridicule that will follow that week from your fellow leaguers is hard to put up with as well.

Second, now that you know who actually has games and who doesn’t, a glance at an injury report (they’re available through our website) is necessary.  The only thing comparable to putting a lineup in with a bunch of players with the week off is putting a lineup in with a running back that blew out his knee the previous week.   Once again, to win you need to put points on the board, and an injury can put a slight glitch into that formula.

Next, take a look at your possible starters and whom they are playing against in the respective week.  Take an example of two running backs of equal ability and similar possible point scoring.  The back who is playing against the Ravens in Baltimore probably will not gain as many points as a back who is playing against Cincinnati at home that week.  If you cannot decide from looking at a schedule, take a look at some in-depth stats such as “Defense Rank Against the Run”, “Yards Per Carry on Turf”, etc.  These will help you make the best possible decision regarding starters.

Finally, make sure you actually submit a lineup.  I have been in situations where fantasy players wouldn’t submit a lineup for weeks at a time.  Not only does this bring the caliber of your respective league down, but also it most certainly lowers your chances of winning.  It brings all of the negative possibilities that I discussed above into play.

Good luck in your respective seasons and remember that most of fantasy football is player management within your lineup.