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Decisions, Decisions: What Can I Do?

by Mike Tulanko

Editor’s Note: The following article contains statistics around sexual assault and abuse. If you would like to skip past to the fantasy football advice, click here.

Please read the following. No matter how difficult, I urge you not to scroll past this. Just think for a second about the humans behind these stats.

  • On average, more than one in three women and one in four men in the U.S. will experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.
  • Almost half of all women and men in the U.S. have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner in their lifetime (48.4 percent and 48.8 percent, respectively).
  • Intimate partner violence alone affects more than 12 million people every year.
  • One in six women (16.2 percent) and one in 19 men (5.2 percent) in the US have been a victim of stalking at some point during their lifetime in which they felt fearful or believed that they (or someone close to them) would be harmed or killed.
  • The most common stalking tactic experienced by both female (78.8 percent) and male (75.9 percent) victims of stalking was repeated unwanted phone calls, voice, or text messages.
  • Over 70 percent of US workplaces don’t have a formal program or policy to address workplace violence.
  • Children witnessed violence in nearly one in four (22 percent) intimate partner violence cases filed in state courts.
  • One study found that children exposed to violence in the home were 15 times more likely to be physically and/or sexually assaulted than the national average.
  • 9.4 percent of high school students reported being hit, slapped, or physically hurt intentionally by their partner in the previous 12 months.
  • 52 percent of college women report knowing a friend who’s experienced violent and abusive dating behaviors including physical, sexual, digital, verbal, or other controlling abuse.
  • 58 percent of college students say they don’t know what to do to help someone who is a victim of dating abuse.

All stats sourced from the National Domestic Violence Hotline. If you have ever felt this way about your situation or the situation of someone you know, you can start with the resources below. 

  • 1.800.799.SAFE (7233)
  • TTY 1.800.787.3224
  • Text “Start” to 88788
  • Live chat at Thehotline.org

 

Statistically Human

While some of the statistics I shared with you are etched in my memory, I look at them around this time of year, every year. With tear-filled eyes, I will tell you one last stat that I’ve heard before:

Statistically, everyone knows someone who has had their life affected by domestic violence in one way or another. 

It’s a sobering reality. 

I need both hands to count the people in my life who I know fit into that reality. But one of them brought me to a tipping point in the summer of 2016.

The Giving League Origin

When my phone lit up with Kurt’s name on a hot summer day, I figured my best friend was calling to jabber with me about the latest NFL news or who he is targeting in the drafts he would have in August. His solemn and rattled voice told a different story.

He had just seen on one of our friends’ Facebook pages that Jane (I’m keeping the real name safe out of consideration for her family) was killed by her husband at a family cookout. We must have talked for what felt like ages while recounting events we had seen transpire either first or second-hand when it came to people we cared about in our lives and their run-ins with the scourge that is domestic violence. The thought of all of these examples crushes my heart into what feels like an inescapable heap.

At one point, we agreed that, in a sea of things that we could not change or undo, there had to be something we COULD do. Maybe we could turn something we both know something about into a small force for some good in the world. The lesson is that there is always something you CAN do.

We started The Giving League … 

… and we would love for you to join us this season!

Decisions, Decisions: What Can You Do With These Players?

The Advice

In fantasy sports, we deal with many stats about humans. It can be easy to not think of the humanity behind the stats, but that’s what I have always worked to have you do when reading these articles. Here are some players that may have you wondering, “What can I do?”

Tyler Lockett (WR, Seattle Seahawks)

Is he a Weekly Lock?

Tyler Lockett. Previous to last season, he was a must-start in your lineups for some time. If you look at his points per game last year in  Points Per Reception (PPR) leagues (16.59), you can see why he is seen as a value still by many.

But his value to you depends on your strategy. Are you looking for players who give you big boom weeks at WR, or are you looking for reliable points? I think the big weeks will still be there for Lockett. He had two big games last year and three more that landed him the WR1 range.

However, with the rise of teammate D.K. Metcalf, Lockett found himself outside the top 50 a whopping seven games! I don’t see this changing any time soon – making it hard to trust him in your lineups week in and week out. For dynasty, you have to hold for now and potentially offload for a solid price to a contender mid-late season if you find yourself out of the running or someone in WR injury hell.

Mike Evans (WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Is it all about M.E.?

Slightly lower than one point per game than our last subject (15.54), Mike Evans is a much more stable fantasy football bet on a weekly basis. Evans finished with only three weeks outside of the top 50 last year and the same amount of top-15 weeks (five) as Stefon Diggs, Keenan Allen, and Lockett.

Evans gave fantasy players a steady supply of double-digit weeks and looks to continue this workload trend – even with Chris Godwin on the field. At age 27, his dynasty value is starting to dip a little, but I think he still has two or three solid seasons in the tank. You gotta love the steady option and the value here. I like the acquire/hold play. As I think Bruce Arians is already working on his plan for when Tom Brady rides off into the sunset. I’m not worried about that noise.

Will Fuller (WR, Miami Dolphins)

Are you left feeling empty?

Will Fuller spent 2020 finally dancing around WR2 territory only to be tested for Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and found in violation of the NFL’s policy. Even the NFL knew it seemed fishy.

Now a Dolphin, Fuller finds himself on a team with a QB that hasn’t proven anything in the pros yet. He also faces competition from rookie Jaylen Waddle and six-year veteran DeVante Parker. If you bought the hype, I am sorry. A gamble on a player with Fuller’s injury history and on-field competition seems ill-fated at best. Don’t anchor to what you saw last season. Either don’t acquire or cash out for what you can!

Marvin Jones (WR, Jacksonville Jaguars)

Who are you Jonesing for?

Oh, Marvin Jones, how I have appreciated the value you have given us who were lucky enough to have you on our teams. At 30 years young, he was PPR WR18 last year with the “rough” Detroit Lions.

You can easily add Jones to your contender team as a throw-in on a trade deal or for an early-mid third-round pick if you haven’t drafted 2021 rookies yet. I say, “Why not?”

I know the narrative on seasoned receivers moving to new teams. Let me ask you this:  Does he have any less of a chance at nabbing sweet, sweet fantasy points in 2021 than anyone in the mid-third? The answer you are looking for is a resounding “no.” If he can average within a point or two of his 14.2 points per game average from last year, he is worth the low cost as a flex. 

One Thing You Can Do

This column features stats from Addison Hayes’s AMAZING SFB11 database. It is a treasure trove with more than 20 years worth of stats and is useful to any fantasy football player – whether you are in Scott Fish Bowl (SFB11) or not. He asks for only a dollar donation to Fantasy Cares for this unparalleled resource. I challenge you to donate even a little more. Like fantasy points, each dollar toward charity counts and can accumulate quickly.


Make a change for someone who needs one today.

@TheThirdMike

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