I want to tell a story that originally was told by my fellow analyst, Tim Hasselbeck.
Tim was in a league with, among other folks, his brother, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. It should shock no one that Matt went QB-heavy with his team, drafting not only himself but also his former real-life Packers teammate, Brett Favre.
As with many people I meet, last year was Matt's first year playing fantasy. But he showed the objectivity of a wily veteran when, in Week 5, he decided to bench himself for the ol' gunslinger. It made sense. Favre was coming off a red-hot dismantling of Green Bay on "Monday Night Football," had seven touchdowns in his past three games and was facing the Rams, among the worst pass defenses in the league.
I'll save you the trouble of looking it up. Brett threw for 232 yards, only one TD (plus a pick) and finished with 11 fantasy points in ESPN standard scoring. Sixteen quarterbacks finished with more points than Brett that week, including such stalwarts as Josh Johnson and Daunte Culpepper (against the Steelers!).
And sitting on Matt Hasselbeck's bench was, well, Matt Hasselbeck, who threw for four touchdowns against the Jaguars and finished with 27 fantasy points. More than Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning or any other quarterback that week.
Think about that. He knew the game plan, had as much control over an NFL game as any fantasy player could ever have, wound up as the highest-scoring player at his position in the league …
… and he was sitting on his own bench.
Probably the only thing worse than that is if he was starting for the fantasy team against him that day. Sadface.
If a QB benches himself, it's a sign of him putting on the game face.
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