To Bench or Not to Bench

Nothing is better than winning in Fantasy Football. Everything is better than losing in Fantasy Football. Struggling in your league? You're not the only one.

By Gabriella Rusk

The classic question: Who do I play in my fantasy league? The sad truth is no matter how much time we spend combing the waiver wire, thumbing through analysts’ projections, or attempting a ‘Hail-Mary’ in the form of Google searches – there is no answer to this question.

So why do we exert all this effort and research to set the perfect lineup if there isn’t a magical formula to ensure our victory? Why do we break out in a sweat during those five minutes before kick off when we still don’t know who to play? Or why do we procrastinate all of our homework just to figure out the ideal roster? Why?

Because we love fantasy football.

As much as we hate to admit it, we live for those kick-yourself-in-the-face mistakes, like playing Mark Sanchez who threw 103 passing yards with no touchdowns. Besides, none of us could have anticipated Calvin Johnson’s pitiful Week 4 with five catches for just 54 yards. Don’t worry, we won’t even mention the dreadful blunder of starting Tony Romo.

(AP Photo/Sharon Ellman)

Still, we also live for those bursting moments of divine inspiration, where our fantasy instincts were on point and everything seemed right in the world. Perhaps, a flash of golden knowledge caused you to foresee Dolphins’ wide receiver Brian Hartline catching 12 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown. Maybe you had glimpsed into the future and started Patriots’ running back Brandon Bolden who rushed for 137 yards. Maybe you were the fantasy wizard this week.

Or maybe not. Maybe you were just like the rest of us who weren’t as lucky, nor blessed by the fantasy gods. The rest of us hang our heads and shrug our shoulders in gloomy defeat, trying to tell ourselves that it’s just a game.

Fortunately, there is a silver lining for Week 5 that can make our decisions on who to start much more easier: Bye week. Whatever you do, don’t play a Dallas Cowboy, Detroit Lion, Oakland Raider, or a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. Unless of course, a bye week is too much for your 0-4 team to handle and you just want to forfeit already.

Bottom line is nobody likes being that guy (or girl) who made a crucial mistake when setting his (or her) lineup. We’ve all been there and we know we will all be there again this fantasy season.

So, when asking yourself who to start this week? That question can only be answered after the game.