Issue #211: Bob And Weave

By Derrick Ernst

September 18, 2025

Here We Go Again

My father and I made back in one piece from Bristol, TN! I won’t take up too much real estate except for saying that my first NASCAR race was something I’ll never forget. It was very much one of the coolest sporting events I’ve ever experienced. Despite knowing only a handful of drivers, no words can describe the shear level of noise 40 cars with 800+ horsepower make when enclosed in a coliseum. You can’t think, let alone talk loud enough for the person next to you to hear what you’re saying. I think my ears are still ringing. If you haven’t dipped your toes in NASCAR but have always wanted to experience a race like that for yourself, don’t question it anymore, go. Now not all races are made alike. The more spaced out a track is, the less you feel it in your bones. Part of what makes Bristol great is how intimate it is. I’ll forever be partial to the smaller racetracks, but I tell you what, I’d 100% go to another track if given the opportunity. Just go — you’ll thank me later.

In NASCAR there’s a lot of bobbin’ and weavin’ amongst all the cars, especially around the turns. Think of it as a means of order. A battle along the straightaway results in a boxing match at the turn with an ultimate winner who bobs and weaves their way ahead. That’s kinda what takes places over the course of a fantasy football season too. What are you bobbin’ and weavin’ from? Glad you asked:

• Your opponent’s lineup ever week

• Injuries to players on your roster

• Waiver priority/auction results

• Schematic changes to teams in which players on your roster play for

I’m sure there are more, but you get the point. The thing about these are that you can list off good and bad things with each. Again, bobbin’ and weavin’. The one I really wanted to highlight is injuries and just like the past few seasons, when one QB gets injured, it’s a sign that many more will too:

Source: Instagram (yahoosports)

Before getting to my recommendations, I wanted to highlight something I breezed by on Sunday. The concept that your fantasy roster can look ugly from notoriety and name recognition standpoints and still perform well is a tricky one to convince yourself of. It’s normal to feel the need to put forth a team that is full of people whose name jumps off the page. As we’ll discuss with some of these backups at QB, sometimes the best options are players that are overlooked and are seen as futile. This is your ego getting the best of you. Get over it!

Another layer to this is one we’ve touched on before: wins on a football field don’t necessarily mean wins in fantasy, and vice versa. Yes, I’m a proponent of wanting more players on winning teams by season’s end, but in the interim, a team’s success for one week could mean the player you have rostered from them isn’t a part of their game plan, but could be the next. This is also a reason I put so much weight into targets and attempts. The more of each a player gets, the less variability their production should be on a week-to-week basis. My thoughts on the backups:

• Jake Browning, CIN: He’s deserves to be picked up in most leagues. A knock is that CIN has a killer stretch of games coming.

• Marcus Mariota, WSH: He played well in his two games last season. McLaurin was his preferred target in both.

• Carson Wentz, MIN: There’s a good chance he outplays JJ and if he does, MIN has a real problem on their hands.

• Tyrod Taylor, NYJ: Fields isn’t worth starting and either is Taylor.

• Mac Jones, SF: 280 yds and 3 TDs makes you think he’s deserving of a starting job elsewhere. Or it could just mean SF’s playbook is that responsive.