Fantasy football is truly a humbling pastime. Just when you think you’ve mastered your draft and are set up to dominate your league, Bernard Pollard lands on Tom Brady’s leg and your chances are shot. And just after you go unbeaten during the regular season, fantasy playoffs come and a team that limped in with a .500 record knocks you off. You never know what will happen, but you can always make good, educated guesses.

It’s important to consider the context in which things occur and notice the bigger trends behind a player’s week-by-week performance.

Start with the Brady situation, where Matt Cassel started in his place and led the Patriots to a 19-10 win over their division rival New York Jets. How did the team’s passing game change? Who benefited? Did they run more? Keep your eyes on these big picture developments, and fewer things will come as surprises. Read more »

Any good fantasy owner looks at and analyzes his team on a week-by-week basis. What happens the week before can, and most often will, dramatically affect what happens the following week. So, on the eve of Week 2, don’t forget what happened last Sunday, and then apply that information to your lineups.

Injuries to Tom Brady and Marques Colston certainly will have an impact on their respective teams. Also, as we take a look ahead to Week 2, while we expect big things from Julius Jones and Jerricho Cotchery, we can’t say the same about Donovan McNabb.
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