It’s near impossible to build a completely balanced team that isn’t vulnerable at some point during the season - particularly if you stacked bye weeks throughout your roster. I have a squad that has Alvin Kamara Womens Eric Kush Jersey , Michael Thomas, and Drew Brees headlining and, needless to say, this is the week that I’ve penciled in a loss. Some of you, like fellow contributor Patti, may have stacked your teams with Bears players and suffered a similar situation in week 5. (Patti joked her roster looked like a boy band song from the 90’s - Bye Bye Bye). But how do we combat the bye week blues and is there a way to turn them into an advantage? One thing to do around this time is to try and steal a week - particularly if your team is around the .500 mark and you can’t afford to give away any games. This might be when you shop players who haven’t had their bye week for players that have http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/danny-trevathan-jersey , thus stealing a start. On the flip side of things, if you’re off to a fast start, try to poach players currently playing their bye for immediate help to teams that may be desperate for a win. If you’re not able to swing a trade, my advice would be to play a high variance player that’s either out on the wire or rotting on your bench. I don’t want a boring possession receiver who will likely get me 4 points - I want a guy who is either going to post a zero or a 70 yard TD. If you can spike a high variance score, you might be able to survive the worst of your woes. A great example was Christian Kirk last week - he caught a huge 75 yard score but was relatively quiet after that. Kirk may grow into being a consistent weapon, but right now he’s a high variability guy. Tarik Cohen is another good example from week 4 and maybe going forward. He’s my one Bear I drafted from the WCG Tourney and he fits this mold incredibly well. Having some roster flexibility is good. Being able to have a spot or two dedicated to the churn of the waiver wire can help cover bye weeks and grab players that may develop into starters before they have demand on Tuesday nights for waivers. Speaking of waivers - always check the transactions on Wednesday morning. Some owners may have flushed a player they have lost confidence in or made a move to cover a bye week http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/nick-kwiatkoski-jersey , pushing out talent to the pool. This secondary waivers market can be just as fruitful as the shiny new toys. I was able to grab Sammy Watkins from a owner with a quick drop trigger after a no-show in week 1. Finally, we talked about the Alvin Kamara / Mark Ingram situation last week. I said I wasn’t worried and while I’m still not worried - I’m not nearly as confident. I went back to my preseason rankings to remind myself of what my thinking was in the preseason. My level-headed self in August expected Kamara’s value to drop back once Ingram returned. It’s amazing what an incredible start will do to change your mind. I wouldn’t freak out and trade him but the crazy returns from September just aren’t going to continue as long as Ingram is the designated goal line back. Where’s everybody at this week? Hit up the comments below or @gridironborn on Twitter for free advice. When an offense like the Bears puts on a show and scores 48 points, there are going to be more than a few standout performers. Mitchell Trubisky is naturally the lead headliner as the quarterback. But it was thanks to the efforts of Tarik Cohen and Taylor Gabriel lighting up the Buccaneers this past Sunday that Trubisky was able to enjoy such a stellar day where he threw for six touchdowns. As the duo combined for over 280 offensive yards on 28 combined touches and three scores, both the electric Cohen and Gabriel were named to the Pro Football Focus Week 4 Team of the Week. Ironically, as a running back, it was through Cohen’s receiving ability where he picked up 121 yards on a very efficient 15 snaps as a receiver. If that’s production he can keep going Womens Allen Robinson Jersey , this Bears offense will only continue to rise. Meanwhile for Gabriel, in the midst of having his first career 100-yard receiving day, the 5-foot-8 wideout continually made plays downfield. Gabriel caught two passes deep for 63 yards as Tampa Bay had no answer for his output. If the Bears can this dynamic combination going consistently well, then there’s no telling how well Trubisky and company perform in the future. Not to be outdone or sound like a broken record in comparison to the Bears’ first great offense afternoon, but Khalil Mack also featured as Week 4’s highest-graded edge defender. Getting a strip sack in four consecutive weeks will do that. Ho-hum for the NFC Defensive Player of the Month, am I right?Robert is the Editor-in-chief of The Blitz Network (subscribe here!) http://www.chicagobearsteamonline.com/akiem-hicks-jersey , the managing editor of Windy City Gridiron, and writes for a host of other fine publications. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.
