"You play to win the game!"
Ever since Herm Edwards uttered those six words in a press conference just shy of 16 years ago, they have been used as a mantra in sports -- and the fantasy game is no exception. There's really no reason to be a manager in a fantasy football league if you're not trying to win week in and week out.
However, there's a much older saying, from way back in the 1500s, to which one should also pay heed: "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater."
Look, I'm all for fielding your best team each and every week and constantly doing your best to stay up to date on your league's waiver wire and NFL injury reports to make sure your roster remains as good as it can possibly be. That said, there are some weeks -- especially in today's NFL, where multiple teams are on a bye on any given Sunday -- when you look at your options and you simply have to throw up your hands.
Case in point, headed into last week's action in the dynasty league in which I have played since 1993, I was already hurting, thanks to injuries to Leonard Fournette and Cooper Kupp. Now, add to the equation the forced one-week vacations of Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jimmy Graham. Suddenly, my lineup -- which had won three of its past four games -- was looking pretty sad.
Even going up against a 1-5 team, it was hard to feel good about a starting lineup that was forced to include the quintet of Christian Kirk, Zay Jones, Dede Westbrook, Peyton Barber and Nyheim Hines. So, when it came time to make my waiver claims last week, I decided to stand pat, even going so far as to decline to pick up a tight end to replace Graham in my lineup.
That's right -- I actively chose to take the goose egg in my TE spot, rather than roll the dice and potentially have landed Michael Roberts or Dallas Goedert, both of whom may well have led my squad to victory. The jury is still technically out on that, with Monday's action still to come (go, Aldrick Rosas!), but it would still have been quite unlikely.
Not only that, but I could just as easily -- and quite frankly, more probably -- taken a shot at Charles Clay or David Grinnage, neither of whom did anything much to speak of in Week 7, but at what cost? This coming Sunday, at least half of my Week 7 starters will return to my bench, a place where they currently sit due to their potential future value. There isn't one of them who I would have preferred to send packing last week in exchange for that incredibly minuscule chance of winning this week.
So, yes. Herm was absolutely right. You do play to win the game -- but never at the cost of winning your league championship.
Stacking byes on draft day, knowing full well that there is going to be that one week during the season that your chances of a victory will be practically zero is actually a savvy veteran move that sacrifices one game in exchange for potentially being able (injuries aside) to start your No. 1 lineup in every other game during the bye-week stretch of the season.
In other words, if you're otherwise happy with your roster and see that you'll be without Matt Ryan, Ezekiel Elliott, Dion Lewis and Keenan Allen for this week's action, and your only tight end or kicker is either looking doubtful to suit up due to injury or perhaps is also on a bye, relax. Don't make a move simply out of some perceived "obligation" to make every move you can to win each and every game.
Remember, every title is likely to have one L.