Waiver Position Strategies...?

[RJason]

I've always been the guy in the league who adds and drops every week. Last year, I had 30+ moves. Our league rules used to be, drop a guy and he's on waivers for 3 days, all free agents were first come first serve. So, on sunday, as soon as Jamaal Charles posted 150 yds, he was gone in hours. This year, we have ALL FA's go on waivers Sunday through Tuesday. Which, makes more sense, and is more fair to those without endless hours of free time.

So, here's my question. As Draft POS #10, I have waiver priority of 2 (team 12 made a move). I "KNOW" someone is going to show up in the first four weeks. CJ could go down, Brady has to find a reliable #2, Orton has to find a reliable #1, SEA has a WR mess accumulating, JAC is up for grabs (although not many yds to go around for WRs), etc., etc...

So, my question is, "when to pounce". This waiver priority meaning something is new to me. Those of you who have experience with it. Does Week 1 mean much? should I wait until Week 3 to pounce? Remember, what I'm used to: you pounce every time a guy 'might' show signs, I'm not used to this priority meaning something.

So, say Rob Gronkowski has 180 yds and 2 tds in Week 1, do I "pounce" or wait for "Mike Thomas" to show three 70+ yd games in a row?

I know it's impossible to know, just curious from your experience with high waiver priority what level of "PATIENCE" you've been able to practice in previous years. Do you have a philosophy of ignore the "first two weeks", etc... that's really what I'm getting at.

Thanks, Robert Jason

[RJason]

Just for reference, last year...

Sidney Rice showed up in Week 6
Vernon Davis showed up in Week 3
DeSean Jackson showed up in Week 2
Jamaal Charles showed up in Week 10
Miles Austin showed up in Week 5

[Hippo45]

I think it depends on the situation. Did the guy perform well because of an injury to the starter? If this is the case, then when is the starter coming back?,etc.
Did he end up scoring a lot of points playing a crappy defense like the Lions? Or against a decent defense? It really depends on the situation.
If Gronowski were to get 180 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first week, then you should definitely use your waiver priority to get him.

[schmidty]

Last year I had my first experience with your waiver rules. And I was like you ... usually the first to pounce. You do have to think about using them a little more. Especially with #2. Hippo45 lays it out pretty well. Only hindsight tells you if a guy is a real breakout, or a 1-week wonder. All you can do is use the information to make your best guess. Personally, I used my waivers too freely too early. And as a guy that drafted Willie Parker, I was shut out when Mendy won the job But by the end of the season I worked my way up and got Jerome Harrison for the playoffs You can move up a lot in these league. Some guys will use their waivers for DEF matchups and kickers. Don't be that guy!

[RJason]

Thanks. Last year I was that guy changing DEF every week. This year, I took NO (top DEF last year in our league) in the 10th and hope that's good enough. To be honest, I like the new way MUCH better, it was kind of silly to add a guy at halftime because he had 70 yds, only to see him finish the game with 70 yds.

Thanks again for the help. I will practice patience, and hope the guy with the #1 priority doesn't get Miles Austin

Robert Jason