Tuesday Morning Hangovers

Hery, do you read your newspaper eating toast or a bagel? #weekthirteen

Rave of the Week

Despite earning the week off, I learned a valuable lesson this weekend on injury prone players. We’ve all done it before…taken the chance on an injury prone player. I did at the beginning of the year drafting Rob Gronkowski. I did a medical history check: Gronk has been injured this year, last year and the year before. However “when he’s healthy, though…” Yeah, yeah…I said the same thing…

The problem is that they’re always unhealthy; it’s just a matter of time. We all know Michael Vick is a fantasy monster, but we also know he won’t be around after week 11. #injured. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t have traded for Steven Jackson. Never mind what Eddie Lacy and Josh Gordon became, I wouldn’t do it because of what Steven Jackson didn’t do. 

In reality, you should never trade for an injured player because you never know if they’ll truly return to the game healthy. I’m not saying that a player cannot successfully return from an injury. Last year Justin disregarded Peterson’s outlook and benefited from it but the very same thing burned him this year with Foster. It’s a strategy, but I’m no longer using it. If you’re going to pick up an injured player, do like Francois, Dan or Steve, claim Shane Vereen, Percy Harvin or Andre Brown a week or so before they’re due back and if they don’t work out, you can simply drop them.

I know that most of this will fall on deaf ears because rarely do people learn from other’s mistakes unless it’s their own…we’re selfish like that in a twisted way. I’m sure Darren McFadden will be a steal in round five next year, but we all know the deal. Also if you place yourself at the mercy of your injury prone player, when they get injured, you have nothing left to build upon…like Chicago.

Rant of the Week

Gentlemen.

Allow me to address something that been a reoccurring issue this year (and honestly, past years, too). This is the eighth year of the Elite. For the majority of GMs, you've been here six or more years.

This means you've played this game long enough to know there will be errors, there will be mistakes and there will be misunderstandings. However the reactions do not match that of a veteran league.

I’d expect kicking and screaming from a first time league. I’d expect bickering and confusing from a group of first year GMs. However I would not expect that from a bunch of people who've been playing this game for years. Are we really going to be the children of Israel and forty years later still be the same people?

The simple issue of updating the league’s schedule and other minor occurrences throughout the year…they’re going to happen. In fact, I guarantee you something we've never caught before will suddenly pop out to us next year, too. However I don’t want us dealing next year’s issues like we've dealt with this year’s problems. If something seems not right, its 2013, Google it. If you feel strongly enough about something, simply put it to vote but we all know nothing is resolved by arguing.

I love this league and all the GM’s in it, but there’s no hobby I want voluntarily agree to deal with drama over-something-that-not-even-real for the rest of forever. (Hery has #hashtags, I have run-ons)  

I’m out like Darren McFadden in 2014, 2015, 2016…

CBK