People often muse that "I'm sorry" are the two hardest words in the English language to say. For me, they've always been very easy. Mainly it's because in my house I utter them all the time. Usually to my wife. And usually after I've forgotten something important. And now that the fantasy season is in the books, let me throw myself on your mercy. Some things, I'm taking all the blame for. Some I'm not taking any. But I'm still sorry. Hopefully that helps.
I'm sorry I said to draft C.J. Spiller in the first round. If it's any consolation, I took him in three leagues. And I won none of them. He officially goes on my "never again" list, right under "Tequila shots after 2 am" and "Miles Austin"...
I'm sorry Dez Bryant can't be more of a consistent fantasy wide receiver. I'm done with the "22 points one week followed by four the next" roller coaster ride. He won't be on my team next season when he's catching passes in Dallas from Jay Cutler. Hah!...
I'm sorry to my wife's friend's husband Derrick that I recommended starting Josh Freeman against the Giants in his one start this season. I haven't seen Derrick since that week, which I don't think is a coincidence. I don't think I can ever come back from that one...
I'm sorry Sam Bradford got hurt. He was on his way to his breakout fantasy season but now he's a medical risk who may no longer be the future of the franchise in St. Louis. He could have been like Andy Dalton this season...
I'm sorry Jared Cook had a big Week 1 in fantasy. Because if you had him you said to yourself "Why do I need to pick up Julius Thomas? I have Jared Cook, who's going to be awesome!" The world of fantasy football is littered with the corpses of owners who were in that predicament...
I'm sorry to all the players I interviewed on NFL Fantasy LIVE this year, because all of them went out and had a horrible fantasy game directly following it. We joked about "The Curse of Smith" but it happened all year long. I specifically want to apologize to Packers fans for the James Jones interview. When I spoke to him, he told me he thought Randall Cobb would have a big game that week. Not only did Jones have a bad fantasy game, but Cobb got hurt and missed two months. There was just one week that the curse didn't happen. I talked to Matt Forte before his game against Dallas in Week 14. I had a big lead in our NFL Experts League playoffs and Matt "Money" Smith was playing him. I figured I had the game in the bag, except Forte had his best fantasy game of the season and I got knocked out of the playoffs. So I guess the curse still happened, but it only happened to me. So I took one for the team right there...
I'm sorry I said to draft Daryl Richardson in the fifth round. But hey, I told you not to draft Isaiah Pead, so we're even on that one...
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I seriously feel I need to say I'm sorry for C.J. Spiller again...
I'm sorry if you kept playing Tom Brady Weeks 5-8. But I'm more sorry if you traded him after Week 8. He's back to being a fantasy stud for 2014...
I'm sorry if you played any member of the Giants at any point this season...
I'm sorry Calvin Johnson takes at least one game every season during the fantasy playoffs to single-handedly torpedo your team. This year it was a double-dip: Weeks 14 and 16. Last year it was Week 17. In 2011 it was Weeks 13 and 14. In 2010 it was Weeks 15 and 17; 2009 it was Week 15; 2008 it was Week 15. Say these words with reverence amidst memories of lost championships...
I'm sorry Matt Ryan officially changed his name to "Matt Ryan Picked Again" this season. I honestly thought he was talented enough to overcome the loss of Julio Jones and the less-than-100 percent Roddy White...
I'm sorry Torrey Smith hates fantasy. Stay off of Twitter if you can't take people telling you they don't like you. It's always going to happen...
But mostly I'm sorry I benched Andrew Luck against the Bengals in Week 14. Especially because I would have made it to the championship in my league of record. I'm also sorry I recommended benching him to you, but for this one I feel worse for myself because my best friend and fantasy partner will lord it over me for the rest of my life. "Yes, I did set your house on fire and steal your car, but remember how it was your idea to bench Luck?" And we still won't be even.
Jason Smith writes fantasy and other pith for NFL.com. You can see him as the host of NFL Fantasy Live that airs Sunday through Friday on NFL Network at 5pmET/2pmPT and also at 1amET/10pmPT during the season. Listen to him on the NFL Fantasy Live podcast available at NFL.com and on iTunes. Reach out to him on Google plus or on Twitter @howaboutafresca. He only asks you never bring up when the Jets play poorly.
