FANTASY: Early Edition Week Nine

Today’s article will deal with the importance of the watching the injury report and an update on the injury front. So without further ado:

Ambulance Chasers “If you had a bad draft or having trouble making that blockbuster trade do not get discouraged, the next Kurt Warner is out there trust me. Someone big will get injured before the end of the season. It is inevitable. Keep your eyes open and enjoy.” This was a quote of mine in last weeks Early Edition. I was not aware that I was clairvoyant until the Sunday games were finished. It doesn’t take psychic powers; it’s a fact that big name players will get injured every year. They are passing, running, and catching the ball the majority of the time.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that Kurt Warner will be out for the next couple of weeks (he is a little more optimistic). Eddie George is hurting, so are Cade McNown and Elvis Grbac. These are perfect examples of why it is important to have high potential backups at each position. Anticipating injured player can create a number of situations:

1. The most obvious is that you will need to find a quality replacement on draft day or throughout the season for your team. Use your late round draft choices on quality backups. The guy in your league that picked up Trent Green in the 12th round is sitting pretty right now. Just like the guy that grabbed Mike Anderson as soon as Olandis Gary and Terrell Davis pulled up hurt. Some of these so-called backups can become the stars of the league, just like MVP Kurt Warner did a year ago.

2. The second and most important reason is that they are incredible trade bait during the season. You can get quality players that you need from the team that has just lost their star player to injury. I suggest watching the teams in your division drafting and picking backups not only for your team, but for their teams as well. This way if their star players get hurt and you have the backup, you can bury them in the standings.

The point is that you should never count on your team being injury-free the entire season, and even if they are you can use backups to defeat the other teams in your league. Every man on your team should have a purpose in helping you win the league championship.


Injury Report Kurt Warner Elvis Grbac Marshall Faulk Eddie George Terrell Owens