My Team is (X Wins)-(X Losses) - What should I be doing?

The season is winding down, most leagues have 3-4 matchups left before the playoffs. Its time to do whatever you can to make the playoffs, and then if you are feeling good about the playoffs, you need to secure the best possible starting lineup that you can get in order to maximize your chance to win.

Let's start from the bottom up:

If your team is a lost cause...

DO NOT be the guy that gives up and doesn't try, or even worse, trades/drops his best players for nothing. Even if its a casual league, if people are competitive, this absolutely ruins it and can have major playoff implications. You wouldn't like it if you suffered because your closest opponent got to pick up Jimmy Graham for nothing, so don't do it. If your league cares, they shouldn't invite you back. Best advice - put in your best lineup and compete every week. Maybe you can crush a friend's playoff hopes in the last week. That's pretty fun on its own!

If you are fairly unlikely to make the playoffs:

Even the best advice might not save you, but its worth a shot to try. Maybe you need to go 3-0 against some tough teams to make it. And even then you might need a couple losses from other guys. Its still possible though! What you need to do is give yourself the best possible chance to win every week, doing almost whatever it takes. Don't go too overboard. But if you are in this scenario and you have...Ray Rice, Trent Richardson, or even Steven Jackson on your bench hoping they will break out, and you are pretty depleted at wide receiver? Drop one for a flier on a guy with a great matchup and some explosive potential. You need something only just short of a miracle, don't be afraid to take it. At the same time, don't outright drop a guy like Andrew Luck because you don't like his Thursday Night matchup this week. Thats too far. But maybe on a hail mary, you start Alex Smith against Denver instead? Just be willing to cut the guys you've been waiting on for a rebound. Its time to stop waiting and start taking action.

If you are on the outside looking in, but close:

So there are 6 playoff spots, and you're in 7th overall right now. You don't want to sacrifice the long run, but you might want to make a few moves to help you out in the short-term too. First off, if you have injured guys, or guys coming off injury (always a gamble), trade them for a more sure thing. I'm referring to guys like Percy Harvin, Shane Vereen, and even Aaron Rodgers. With Rodgers you can probably convince another team that he is their key to victory in the playoffs, and hey, "look at my team, I can't afford to keep him, I need someone that can help me now." If its a league where there is a decent amount of communication, some team with a good number of wins will realize its a good point. Trade Rodgers for a WR or RB that you can immediately plug in to improve your team. Outside of that, if you've built a good team over the course of the season, there is not much you can do besides do your best to win every week.

If you are in a playoff spot but far from guaranteed:

This is the trickiest situation in my opinion. You have to play a little defense and be a little aggressive at the same time. Do you make a play for Aaron Rodgers? No, probably not. But this is a team that can give up its 4th or 5th RB/WR for the upside in a guy like Roddy White or Marques Colston, or buy Harvin at current value in hopes of a big boost. You don't want to make too many changes to this team, it did after all put you in playoff spot. But I definitely recommend adding a flier or two, or making a two for one trade for an upgrade at one position. Because you still need to win in the regular season, don't throw away your depth. At the same time depth isn't the most important thing either.

If you are in prime position to make the playoffs:

Well first off, congratulations! You are in the best possible spot to be in. You have a good team, you managed to avoid most of the injuries, and maybe its not a lock to make the playoffs, but a lot of things would have to go wrong for you to miss out of the playoffs. Your motto here should be "Good for Great". You want to deal your good players for great players, bringing yourself the most action packed lineup possible. Great players that are a must start even against tough teams. You want people to look at your team and say its "Matchup proof" For example, I traded Darren Sproles, Antonio Gates, and Kansas City defense for Rob Gronkowski. Gronk is of course one of only two truly elite, near unstoppable tight ends. You can argue that KC is elite, and that has been true so far. Denver might change that and I'm getting out while they are still hot. Thats just one example.

Middle tier players that make a great starting point in a 2 for 1 package for an elite player:
Zac Stacy
Chris Johnson
Gio Bernard
Le'Veon Bell
Keenan Allen
Alshon Jeffery
Denarius Moore
Larry Fitzgerald
Tony Romo
Russell Wilson

Thats a nice list of players to give you an idea. This player would be the main player you trade away (in the darn good, but still not great category) and then package them with a lesser but still good player and receiver a player like Forte, Charles, McCoy, Stafford, Garcon, Andre Johnson, etc. This gives you the extra oomph in your lineup that gives you a better chance to win no matter what the situation is. Then you can sit back and watch the destruction that ensues. Of course it doesn't always work, but at least you'll know you did what you could.

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Well, that wraps it up, I think I covered pretty much every situation. In case you are curious, I have 1 team that is in great position for the playoffs, another that is on the cusp of being certain for the playoffs and still uncertain. Another team just outside, but its a really good team. And then a 16-teamer that basically needs a miracle. To be fair it was the worst draft I've ever had (Spiller & D. Wilson were my top RBs), so the fact that I'm not last is a personal success. Thanks for reading and as always, I hope it helps you a bit!