Phrenchdude
Footballguy
It's easy to cut backups and fringe players but it's considerably more difficult to get rid of guys on which you spent a relatively high draft pick (say round 2 to 5). Obviously, I'm not alking about cuts due to injuries (ie Ryan Grant) or top-tier players for which you'll always find a trade for (someone will always offer you something for slumping MJD or Ray Rice, frankly you'd be a fool to drop them outright).
But when it comes to clearly underperforming second-tiered players like Johnathan Stewart, Dwayne Bowe, or starters on schwaggy teams like Jerome Harrison, Justin Forsett, CJ-Spiller, who fail to live up to their hype, when do you decide to cut them outright to make room for someone else on your bench?
This goes back to the opportunity vs skill debate. Take Jerome Harrison or Justin Foresett: they have the starting job and get their fair share of carries each game (opportunity) but they consistently under perform due to a bad OL or QB play or all of the above. Their "upside" is based on a better performing teammate that may give them a little more running room. It's easy to develop some "emotional" attachment to a player you've drafted and convince yourself that "by the time week 6 rolls around, once the team has digested the new offensive schemes and playbook, the OL will be more cohesive and the QB better protected", etc. You could end up holding onto dead weight for 13 weeks.
On the flip side, stashing a promising rookie (skill) from a solid team on your bench has a lot of upside too, pending the injury of the starting player of course (ie Javon Ringer, Rashad Jennings, Chris Ivory, Bernard Scott, etc). Gambling on youth and the relative unknown capability is much sexier than gambling on old or boring and failing players. Everyone wants to snag the next FWP of the WW and ride him to Fantasy Glory. Conversely, you could also end up holding onto a player that never sees more than a carry or 2 per game the entire season.
In either case it's something that may or may never happen, in each case you're taking a flyer on a possible but uncertain scenario. A gamble is a gamble, but when do you take the conscious decision to drop player you drafted and place your chips on an exciting prospect? How long do you give your initial investment before cutting your losses?
But when it comes to clearly underperforming second-tiered players like Johnathan Stewart, Dwayne Bowe, or starters on schwaggy teams like Jerome Harrison, Justin Forsett, CJ-Spiller, who fail to live up to their hype, when do you decide to cut them outright to make room for someone else on your bench?
This goes back to the opportunity vs skill debate. Take Jerome Harrison or Justin Foresett: they have the starting job and get their fair share of carries each game (opportunity) but they consistently under perform due to a bad OL or QB play or all of the above. Their "upside" is based on a better performing teammate that may give them a little more running room. It's easy to develop some "emotional" attachment to a player you've drafted and convince yourself that "by the time week 6 rolls around, once the team has digested the new offensive schemes and playbook, the OL will be more cohesive and the QB better protected", etc. You could end up holding onto dead weight for 13 weeks.
On the flip side, stashing a promising rookie (skill) from a solid team on your bench has a lot of upside too, pending the injury of the starting player of course (ie Javon Ringer, Rashad Jennings, Chris Ivory, Bernard Scott, etc). Gambling on youth and the relative unknown capability is much sexier than gambling on old or boring and failing players. Everyone wants to snag the next FWP of the WW and ride him to Fantasy Glory. Conversely, you could also end up holding onto a player that never sees more than a carry or 2 per game the entire season.
In either case it's something that may or may never happen, in each case you're taking a flyer on a possible but uncertain scenario. A gamble is a gamble, but when do you take the conscious decision to drop player you drafted and place your chips on an exciting prospect? How long do you give your initial investment before cutting your losses?
