NFL Advanced Matchups: Week 17
No matter how much work we devote to our pre-Week 17 preparation we will still see unexpected, impact performances leaking from the woodwork. Between teams with playoff bids secured resting their starters and others on the outside looking in resting their star players with sights on next season, priceless playing time opportunities will be available for the taking. Looking to previous seasons, here is a list of receivers fitting within these criteria:
As you can see for yourself, some players were able to capitalize with DFS difference-making performances. The Week 17 revolving door at RB is also one packed with historical precedence. If you had a crystal ball in your corner pointing you toward exposure to some of these unexpected FPs, your pockets would’ve been lined with green paper. For the rest of us without mystical powers, we must trust in the analytical process to guide our way.
We currently live within a rapidly advancing age of information. It started with computers, then smartphones, and now social media has merged the two. Prior to these technological advancements rewriting the script, you either saw player injuries occur in standard definition realtime, or were left crossing your fingers for player updates on SportsCenter that never came. Nowadays, it’s not an issue of finding the updates, it’s all about trusting the actual validity of the news. It was only a matter of time before coaches and players began taking advantage of the NFL enforcement of injury reporting. Head coaches, i.e., Bill Belichick, lists what seems like half of his roster with a questionable-status, and players, i.e., Josh Jacobs, have resorted to purposefully reporting false information to their personal social media accounts.