Short-bench league strategy (1 Viewer)

[Gottabesweet]

Those who are in short bench leagues,  What sorts of things are you doing with the bye week's to begin soon?

Without getting into starting lineup constructions,  Are any of you trying to acquire Dolphins/Bucs players?

We have 4 bench spots in mine and was thinking about trying to acquire Winston.

I tend to try and pull 2 for 1 deals in an upgrade and then go grab a lesser but similar player in free agents that tend to be available.

For example:  I'm thinking about offering Rivers and Watkins for Winston.  (Owner owns Brady, and doesn't see Winston as a QB1) might take a free Watkins.  I'd then go pick up D-Jax to replace Watkins a slight hit at my WR4 spot but upgrade at starting QB.

 

[-OZ-]

Consolidate if possible, offer 2 for 1 deals even if the 2 are just slightly lesser than the 1 you receive.

Don't be afraid to punt a week if it helps you long term. Go ahead and take a zero (or close to) for week 9. So maybe you can upgrade by trading to help another team's bye.

 

[Gottabesweet]

Consolidate if possible, offer 2 for 1 deals even if the 2 are just slightly lesser than the 1 you receive.

Don't be afraid to punt a week if it helps you long term. Go ahead and take a zero (or close to) for week 9. So maybe you can upgrade by trading to help another team's bye.

Trying Rivers/Watkins for Winston - slight QB upgrade.

Then grabbing D-Jax off waivers to replace Watkins (similar) - Both cleared bye's which also is valuable while I wait on Luck.

 

[mquinnjr]

Out of the gate draft strategy was prioritization of elite starters at start 1 positions. Went Brady and Kelce rounds 2 & 5 with 1.2 pick. Strategy being maximize the bench for churn at start 2-3/flex skill positions, with no need to roster a backup QB/TE save injury.

 

[Gottabesweet]

Out of the gate draft strategy was prioritization of elite starters at start 1 positions. Went Brady and Kelce rounds 2 & 5 with 1.2 pick. Strategy being maximize the bench for churn at start 2-3/flex skill positions, with no need to roster a backup QB/TE save injury.

Good goal! - I tried with QB but wasn't able to land a big 3 guy.  I did end up with Ertz , so hoping he becomes a set it or forget it.

Also in leagues that waivers re-set each week based on standings... Don't claim anyone during heavy bye weeks, wait for a player to get dropped.

 

[Charlie Harper]

1. Draft stud QB/TE and/or don't carry back ups at QB/TE/PK/DEF.

2. Try for 2-1 trades.

3. During most of the week I don't carry a kicker. I'll pick one up SUN night or MON if I need the kicker's points. Otherwise, it has more value as a bench spot to stash a possible asset for trade.

4. Set your lineup/go through your line up through the playoffs. This allows you to plan/see a little better considering match ups. If there's a bench player you would never play or does not have starter potential after injuries then go fishing for one that does. For a short bench league there's always a 1 week starter available.

After coming from a larger bench leagues in the past it took me sometime to get used to short bench, but I love it now for re-draft. Makes rosters decisions more interesting each week.

 

[Gottabesweet]

1. Draft stud QB/TE and/or don't carry back ups at QB/TE/PK/DEF.

2. Try for 2-1 trades.

3. During most of the week I don't carry a kicker. I'll pick one up SUN night or MON if I need the kicker's points. Otherwise, it has more value as a bench spot to stash a possible asset for trade.

4. Set your lineup/go through your line up through the playoffs. This allows you to plan/see a little better considering match ups. If there's a bench player you would never play or does not have starter potential after injuries then go fishing for one that does. For a short bench league there's always a 1 week starter available.

After coming from a larger bench leagues in the past it took me sometime to get used to short bench, but I love it now for re-draft. Makes rosters decisions more interesting each week.

I agree it's a very big challenge that not many get.  I can't wait till the bye's get rolling to see what players get dropped and who makes a mistake.  I unfortunately am carrying two QB's Rivers and Luck. I have Henry as my lottery ticket.  Every week I'm deciding between 4 players for two lineup spots currently.  Once Ertz has his bye, I may even just eat the 0. (Weekly prize money withstanding) 

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

As others have mentioned, you have to focus on drafting and trading for studs in short-bench formats, since you won't have the luxury of rostering multiple QBs, TEs, RB2s etc.

But what that means is that come midseason, you have to reserve a couple of spots on your bench for your studs on their bye weeks (assuming you don't follow the OZ strategy of just punting a week, which TBH is probably a better option if you have multiple studs sharing one). So you're going to be left with very few if any bench spots for other backups.

My preferred strategy for those slots is 100% RBs - not fill-ins, but guys who can win your league for you in the right set of circumstances. I'd roster Henry before Lamar Miller, Carson before Gore, Alex Collins before Powell. You most likely don't need any WR or TE on your bench outside of bye weeks - there's very little practical difference between WR35 and WR55 or TE10 and TE20, and there will be plenty of guys in the latter range out on the wire.

Also, if league settings allowed it (many don't), when bye weeks start to hit hard I'd be perfectly fine rolling out a lineup without a K. The 7-8 points or whatever most Ks average per week translates to maybe a 5% swing in win probability, and I'm not dropping a Derrick Henry or D'Onta Foreman midseason in order to give myself a 5% better chance of winning a single weekly matchup.

 

[shadrap]

It sometimes pays to take a zero for TE & Def.  Kicker is a tough one because your basically conceding 6-10 pts.  Also kickers are pretty ordinary & easy to replace. IMO

 

[Gottabesweet]

It sometimes pays to take a zero for TE & Def.  Kicker is a tough one because your basically conceding 6-10 pts.  Also kickers are pretty ordinary & easy to replace. IMO

Wish we were alllowed.  We get penalized for an "illegal" lineup. Takes years for my long time leaguemates to vote change. 

 

[shadrap]

Wish we were alllowed.  We get penalized for an "illegal" lineup. Takes years for my long time leaguemates to vote change. 

I'm saying I start Def. & TE when THEY have a buy.  I'm still fielding a full team.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Wish we were alllowed.  We get penalized for an "illegal" lineup. Takes years for my long time leaguemates to vote change. 

CBS, right? The "illegal lineups score zero" setting must be the default because it's enabled in every CBS league I play, in every sport. There is literally nothing more frustrating in fantasy than being tied or one game back for a playoff spot with one week to go, and the team you're competing against gets a completely free W because his last-place opponent DGAF and left too many people on his bench, or didn't move his DST back into the lineup, or whatever.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

It sometimes pays to take a zero for TE & Def.  Kicker is a tough one because your basically conceding 6-10 pts.  Also kickers are pretty ordinary & easy to replace. IMO

In a PPR league I'd never take a voluntary zero at TE. Not only do mid-range TEs average about the same as PKs in that format, but it's the most TD-dependent position so there's always the potential for that 6 or 12 points worth of free upside. And most of my leagues award DST points for both PA and yards allowed, so with the right matchup you can earn 15-20 points from the position.

In standard scoring you're right, though, punting TE rather than PK is probably the way to go.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

I agree it's a very big challenge that not many get.  I can't wait till the bye's get rolling to see what players get dropped and who makes a mistake.  I unfortunately am carrying two QB's Rivers and Luck. I have Henry as my lottery ticket.  Every week I'm deciding between 4 players for two lineup spots currently.  Once Ertz has his bye, I may even just eat the 0. (Weekly prize money withstanding) 

It's too late for this season, obviously, but another trick I find helpful in short-bench leagues is at the draft. When deciding between players in the same tier at start-1 positions (QB, TE, PK, DST), break ties at the draft in favor of the guy with the latest and/or least common bye week. The dudes who drafted Mariota at QB7 or Bennett at TE8 don't realize it yet, but they're heading for a bad spot - their Week 8 bye will probably be shared by a few other of their starters, so they'll wind up either cutting them loose (free QB/TE upgrade for someone else!), or cutting someone like a Foreman or Corey Davis loose in order to burn a bench spot on them (free possible league-winner for someone else!)

I say "latest" because while it's nice to not have this dilemma at all, it's even better if your guy has one of the last bye weeks because everyone else has to make these agonizing decisions before you make yours. Fleener and Doyle were both popular 'wait on TE' options, but Fleener's week 5 bye puts you totally at the mercy of the FA pool which that early on isn't likely to contain any every-week starters. Whereas if you chose Doyle (bye week 11), you'll get an almost guaranteed upgrade at TE sometime before that from someone like the Bennett or Walker owner.

 

[Gottabesweet]

It's too late for this season, obviously, but another trick I find helpful in short-bench leagues is at the draft. When deciding between players in the same tier at start-1 positions (QB, TE, PK, DST), break ties at the draft in favor of the guy with the latest and/or least common bye week. The dudes who drafted Mariota at QB7 or Bennett at TE8 don't realize it yet, but they're heading for a bad spot - their Week 8 bye will probably be shared by a few other of their starters, so they'll wind up either cutting them loose (free QB/TE upgrade for someone else!), or cutting someone like a Foreman or Corey Davis loose in order to burn a bench spot on them (free possible league-winner for someone else!)

I say "latest" because while it's nice to not have this dilemma at all, it's even better if your guy has one of the last bye weeks because everyone else has to make these agonizing decisions before you make yours. Fleener and Doyle were both popular 'wait on TE' options, but Fleener's week 5 bye puts you totally at the mercy of the FA pool which that early on isn't likely to contain any every-week starters. Whereas if you chose Doyle (bye week 11), you'll get an almost guaranteed upgrade at TE sometime before that from someone like the Bennett or Walker owner.

I regret not taking Winston a round before I planned on taking my QB. 

Also taking OBJ over Evans at 1.6. 

Ill have some week 8 problems for sure. 

 

[Phantom Knight]

When deciding between players in the same tier at start-1 positions (QB, TE, PK, DST), break ties at the draft in favor of the guy with the latest and/or least common bye week.

+1 on this.  I always look for a K or Def (or if I miss the rush, lower scoring TE) with a late bye with the intent of picking up a K/DEF/TE that has passed his/its bye before the bye week arrives for my own.  It almost always provides an opportunity to roster a decent player without having to suffer the bye week blues at that (those) position(s).