Hitting the Panic Button (and when to)

After 2 weeks you should know where your squad stands. Whether you are 2-0, 0-2, or coasting with a 1-1 record. Chances are if you started out with an 0-2 record, you are thinking about blowing your team up. However, there are steps you should take before doing so. You need to take a good hard look at the reason you are winless. Below are 3 reasons why you could be "O-fer" and the actions you may need to take to rectify it so you can make your push to the playoffs.

I've got a good team, but I'm just getting stomped.
This problem is spotted by seeing that your team is scoring well. It's good enough that you would beat more than half the teams on that given Sunday, except the one you played. Many on-line services have a 'power ranking' feature that tells you how powerful your team is if you played everyone in a week. If you are in the top of this listing, and are still winless, you might not want to make many changes to your core lineup. Especially with the bye weeks starting in week 4. The lower you are in this standing the more moves you may want make. Perhaps you can trade that big name, under-performing RB for a lower tier one, or a better performing WR. Trades matter on how creative you can be, and how gullible your trade partner is.

I've got a big name team that should do well, they are just performing like crap!
There are many high ranked draft picks from the pre-season that are total under-performing their draft position. Players from San Diego (excepting Antonio Gates) have struggled mightily early this season. Is that because SD sucks, or because they have played really good defenses? Also, New Orleans has been VERY disappointing this season. They had the most explosive offense in the pre-season, and now they look worse than the Vikings on offense. Your job, if you are 0-2, is to figure out where your players are on this scale? Once you figure out where you are, you need to then figure out if those players will improve, or continue to suck. If you think they will improve, then you need to toughen up and weather the storm. If you think they will continue to suck, then find some gullible tool in your league talk your guys up and unload them for better merchandise. This situation lends itself more to being patient than hitting the panic button. Week 3 should be a good show of where certain players are at, either overrated or underrated.

I drafted overrated hacks that aren't doing jack squat!
If this is your situation, then you need to find your panic button, hit it hard, hit it repeatedly. When you start 0-2 because your team isn't scoring, or injured or worse, it is time to move on. You should overhaul your roster as much as you possibly can. Perhaps hang on to a few guys that are actually performing and trade or cut the rest. Every year serviceable players emerge from nowhere that you may be able to pick up off the waiver wire. (See: Ward, Derrick, and Wynn, DeShawn.) Perhaps you can trade your hacks for different hacks with more upside.

The one thing you don't want to do, is give up completely. Even if your team sucks you need to stick it out and try and learn a thing or two, and keep fielding a "competitive" team. Update your lineup weekly, and not start injured or suspended players. If you are going to get beat, you should let it happen straight up, and not give the teams you play an unfair advantage in your league. Players HATE it when other players bail on the league halfway through the season. Don't be that guy. You owe it to your league, and your fellow players to stick it out and try and improve your team as much as possible.

Strange things happen in the game of Fantasy Football. For example 2 years ago or so I had a team I hated. It started 3-4 and was buried in my division. The WRs I drafted high were crap. The RBs were okay, but couldn't put up enough points to cover the Wide Outs slacking. After a couple trades and waiver pickups, the team came around and finished 10-4. I made the playoffs and took 3rd place in the league. It's just an example of how things can turn around if you don't give up.


Starting 0-2 isn't a death sentence in Fantasy Football. It does make things more difficult on your quest to win the championship, though. However, identifying your team's problems and establishing a plan to fix them will go a long way in turning your team around. The only problem that can't be fixed is apathy in your team. As long as you are trying, things will get better. If nothing else, it gives you a reason to develop some nifty grudges against players. I will never draft Nate Burleson again, simply because he cost me too much with high draft picks two years in a row.