It is no secret that fantasy football is one of the most popular pastimes for Elder students during the NFL season. We are now officially in the middle of the NFL and fantasy football season. By now in all of our leagues we all know what type of teams we have. The way I see it there are three types of teams in fantasy: The Top Dogs (two losses or less), the middle of the pack (three or four losses), and the laughing stocks of our leagues aka the bottom feeders (more than five losses).

“I love fantasy, I love my team, I’ve only lost once this year,” said Elder senior Tony Mazza.

Now I myself am a top dog. I have one loss this season and have won my league the past the two years, and a three peat doesn’t seem to unrealistic this year. If you’re not a top dog, don’t worry, there’s still a lot of football left to be played.

“My fantasy team is a joke, I don’t even know why I bother to set a line up anymore,” said Elder junior Sam Hauer.

If you are in the lower half of your league the first thing you should consider is making a trade. Depending on how bad your team is should determine on what position you should be trading for. If you are absolutely terrible go for a quarterback. Players like Romo, Stafford, and Dalton are overlooked players just because of their reputations. You could get all these guys relatively cheap and all of them are tearing it up in fantasy. All three are in the Top 10 in points scored in NFL.com leagues.

If you are in the opposite boat and are doing very well in your league, remember; do not let up. If you know already you are going to be in the playoffs, start planning in advance. Say Payton Manning is your quarterback; get a back-up on your bench as soon as possible to play in case Manning sits the last few weeks of the season.

One big trade can make or break a fantasy season. “Profit is sweet, even if it comes from deception,” said Sophocles, the ancient Greek playwright. Screwing over your friends is a part of fantasy football. It is expected and to some degree encouraged. It is rare to see a truly fair trade happen in a fantasy league. So be the screwer, never the screwee. If you yourself start believing the crap you’re spewing to your friend, he most definitely will.

Enjoy the rest of the fantasy season; it is one of the most fun times of the year. Do your research and allow yourself to set the best line up you possibly can. Never give up on your team and finish the season strong.