Strategy question: When to start preparing for playoffs?

[sweettortilla]

I'm off to 3-0 in my 12 team league. Good start.

I want your opinion - when is it time to start looking for trades that will help in fantasy playoffs?

Our playoffs start week 14 and run for three weeks.

At what point do I know enough about the opposing teams schedules to start jockeying to make a move? My strategy is, in a nutshell:

1) Do well enough to make it safely into the playoffs.
2) Trade like a crazy man to get the best possible playoff matchups.

What say you? I'm interested in your thoughts on this strategy. I'm thinking at about week 8 I start looking at making serious trade efforts to optimize my team for the playoffs. My thinking is that it's late enough that we've seen where teams & players might shake out. And there are probably struggling team owners who are desperate to turn it around to even make the playoffs.

Let me know what you think. Thanks everyone!

[liono123]

You're getting ahead of yourself. Field the best possible lineup now and through the bye weeks. You don't want to ruin a good thing by sacrificing talent for an improved fantasy playoffs matchup.

I.E., you don't want to trade away Arian Foster for Ronnie Brown, just because Brown faces Buffalo and Detroit in weeks 15 and 16... or DO YOU?

Help with Mine? viewtopic.php?t=477538

[taw856]

Agreed. Even if you really could feel strongly that you're already highly likely to make the playoffs (and I think three games in is too soon to say that), it's also too early to predict great Wk. 15-16 matchups anyway. A lot can happen in the NFL between now and then: Different teams can get weaker/stronger, injuries can happen, etc. For now the goal should be just to build the strongest team you can so that you'll win more often than not and GET to the playoffs. Worry about the matchups when it's more like a month away at most and you know better where you stand.

Mine: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=477541