what do plan for your waiver?

[kickureface]

lets say 12 teams. what are you doing with your waiver, or done already? of course, list what waiver you have.

i've always saved my waiver for the magic drop of a top tier player from a nervous owner. but i always get burned (as in having waiver 1). what do you guys do?

anyone with experience please shed light on when to use it!
i have a waiver 5, 6ish and i'm thinking i should have used it on manningham >;[

[Sex Panther]

Yeah, if guy like Manningham is still out - I'd try and snag him.

But,the real WW fun starts next week (week 4) - bye weeks, drops that shouldn't be made are inevitable for the next 6 or 7 weeks.

[kickureface]

examples please? i lack a lot experience in this waiver department.

[Fade2White12]

The two big $$ leagues I'm in are both on ESPN in which the waiver priority resets each week based on the inverse of the current standings, rather than on a rolling basis like Yahoo! has. Because of that, I'm not shy with my waivers. I'll use mine on anyone that I think can help my team.

[Sex Panther]

Here's a hypothetical example -

Week 4 rolls around - the start of bye week season - Arizona, Atlanta, Carolina, Philly are all on BYE, week off no gmae.

Looking at those 4 teams - there is a lot of fantasy firepower on those rosters...

Warner, Fitz, Boldin, Breaston, Wells, Hightower on 'Zona
Ryan, White, Gonzalez, Turner, Norwood, Jenkins on Atlanta
Delhomme, Smith, Muhammad, Williams, Stewart on Carolina
McNabb, Jackson, Celek, Curtis, Westbrook, McCoy, the Philly D on the Eagles.

On those 4 teams I count 13 legit fantasy starters - Warner, Fitz, Boldin, Ryan, White, Gonzo, Williams, McNabb, Jackson, Westbrook, the Philly D.

I count 4 that are quite possibly starting - Wells, Hightower, Stewart, Celek (depending on Westbrook's ankle, make that 5 w/ McCoy).

That's 17 players that need a fill in for week 4.

That also leaves 6 that people have rostered, but probably unused - Breaston, Norwood, Jenkins, Delhomme, Muhammad, Curtis - IMO all 6 of those guys are worth a roster spot in 12 team leagues, none have really done anything yet - but they all potentally can.

It is a given that once bye weeks start happening, guys who have under performed or are deemed expendable by certain owners will be dropped.

Depending on roster sizes & roster requirements in your league - it is inevitable that some manager out there is going to drop somebody that probably shouldn't be dropped to pick up a plug and play starter.

Here's an example...

Now if I have the Philly D, I'm only carrying 1 D. I'm not dropping the Philly D due to the BYE - but I have to drop somebody to pick up a D, probably somebody I don't want to drop, but I'm going to have to unless I want to forfeit production form the D slot. So, I go ove my roster, find a guy that I think I can most afford to lose & hope he doesn't get claimed.

Hopefully that makes sense.

[kickureface]

thanks, great post.

would you say its best to save the waiver until wk 4 in general assuming you dont have a late waiver?

[Sex Panther]

If you are assured of a decent waiver slot, and nothing jumps out at you on the WW now, no reason to spend it on something you aren't going to use IMO.

[Retet]

Personally, I hate waiver systems. I much prefer first come, first serve (with each team having limited bench slots, so that stashing is kept to a minimum). But I do play in a league with the most hated waivers system, and I totally ignore my number or the idea of "saving" my claim number. If I see a guy out there that I think will help, I put in a claim.

The thing with most waiver wire adds is that you don't really know how they'll do -- they're a hope and wish. Most don't pan out, a few do. And I want as many chances as possible to get a player that really matters.

So, I say don't wait. If you see a player that you want, just put in a claim. The only waiver claim that is "wasted" is the one that you "should have made" but didn't want to "waste" your "Number 1".

[jake_twothousandfive]

When I have a high waiver claim, I'm not afraid to use it early. In fact, I usually make a point use it when the first good looking opportunity arises.

Because when I have a low waiver claim, I'll use it whenever possible to try to land the minor upgrades. Sure if you're low on the list, you won't have a chance at a sudden breakout stud, but your chances at just about anyone else are still pretty good on a week-to-week basis. Because the guys with the top waiver claims will be waiting and hoping for those players to fall through waivers, while I'll be sitting at the bottom gobbling them up before they get to those teams.

I think I end up passing on too many small gains when I have a high waiver claim in hopes of landing one big addition (which doesn't always come around or always work out well).

[204BC]

If you are assured of a decent waiver slot, and nothing jumps out at you on the WW now, no reason to spend it on something you aren't going to use IMO.

I wouldn't spend my waiver priority on anyone that "I'm not going to use". With you 100% there.

But if there are "usable" players available it depends on your record, your upcoming matches and just how "usable" the available player is. If I'm 1-1 or 2-0 and I've got winnable matches over the next couple of weeks I stand pat unless there's a big name player out there. More often than not waiting can pay huge dividends down the stretch when all the teams in your league are battling for playoff positions and you've got the #1 WW priority. You can make that move late in the season and steal the right guy at the right moment and nobody can stop you.

On the other hand, if you're 0-2 and have to face the two top scoring teams in your league in the next 2-3 weeks, making a WW claim right now might not be a bad idea, especially if you've got some dimwit who just dropped Pierre Thomas on waivers (this happened in a league I was in last week, must have thought Bell won the job outright and panicked I guess). Save your waiver priority over the weeks until you see something like this happen and you're golden

In the end it all depends on your situation.