Issue #218: Feelings
By Derrick Ernst
October 12, 2025
Tell Me How You…
Feel. I have no doubt we’re all feeling something different about the fantasy season. It has been a weird one and I don’t know why? For starters, it blows my mind that we’re already in week six. It doesn’t help either that most days of the week have something meaningful taking place that has some impact on fantasy. When that’s the case, I feel like all days meld together as if they were one.
I also feel like I’m a bit overwhelmed with fantasy content. Wait, what? Let me explain. I don’t know if this is a result of who I follow or what my social’s algorithms think I’d like to follow, but I feel like this year more than ever I’m incredibly sick of seeing/hearing the same old jargon from every personality in the fantasy football space. It’s always:
This player is better/worse than that player
This stat is more/less significant than that stat
This matchup is the best/worst of the week than that matchup, etc., etc., etc.
You know what they never talk about? How the feelings of fantasy managers play into things. You know, fantasy has to do more about feelings than you think. You can talk up as many stats as you’d like, but if the fantasy manager isn’t feeling it, then it doesn’t do much good. The more I play fantasy, the more I realize it’s a psychological endeavor and the more I shape TDF to fit that mold. Fantasy can feel like a drag when things aren’t going your way and you’re getting the same old stuff shoved down your throat that you’re used to. That’s what I don’t want TDF to become and when I ask, “How are you?” I mean it and I’m here to help in unconventional ways that separate you from everyone else in your league.
Mindset
Source: The Digital Leader - Substack
Herm isn’t wrong, but what if you looked at it differently? How about, playing not to lose? Sometimes the only thing that’s needed is a mindset change. And that change doesn’t need to be significant. “Playing to win the game” and “playing not to lose” are the same thing but how you perceive and scheme for either is different.
I say all the time that if you’re in the top half of your league in scoring each week you’ll be in prime position to win your matchup. If you don’t, the scheduling gods weren’t on your side, but you can (hopefully) feel good that you’re putting up points with the best of them. How you get to be in the top half of your league can come in many different forms. Playing to win in my opinion means you’re taking risks, they’re paying off, and you’re riding that high. Playing not to lose means you’re avoiding the aggressive decisions and skating by. Somewhere in-between makes the most sense, which is the harder play rather than favoring one of the aforementioned. Why? Because you need to play both sides of the coin and know how to take the good of each and blend them together into something that is effective and worthy of a winning strategy.
I’d say I strive for TDF to be a blend of both, but sometimes it’s only natural to find yourself leaning into one side or the other. When you do, you:
Must have the wherewithal to recognize you’re doing so and
Have the desire to course correct
Without either, you can find yourself going down a path you didn’t even realize you were going down. Before you know it, it may already be too late to change course. If this is sounding like a position you might be in, WAKE UP! Yes, it’s week six, but the season isn’t over yet. Make the second half yours.
By the way, why is it that every all-time NFL quote came from those who coached in the late 90’s/early 00’s? You have Herm, Dennis Green, Jim Mora, Mike Gundy. Those “countdown” shows from back in the day were a great way to kill time. That one about the best rants of all-time very well may have been my introduction into memorizing quotes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said Herm’s quote in my life. Probably in the four digits. Don’t even get me started on movie quotes. I know more of those than I can count. Enjoy your Sunday!
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