Throwing the Switch

Those of you interested in the People's Pitstop have a couple of hours left to vote on which NASCAR drivers should start for us during Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Kansas Motor Speedway. But now, it's time to discuss one of the many facets of fantasy football that can make you do this.

The best time to be a fantasy football player may be the last few days before the season kicks off. Your team is undefeated, all your players lead the league in points and the NFL is still unpredictable enough to make you think this will be the year. The year you win that coveted trophy, and the the year your team gets to play the big game in the House That Texas Taxpayers Built.

Then the games kick off, and sooner or later, you have to make a choice. Do you maintain faith in the lineup that caught your eye in August, or do you adjust to new realities?

First, let's address the easiest question. You cut your kicker at the first sign of trouble. You don't wait until his team brings in a 46-year-old to try out for the job.

Injuries are also easy -- sometimes. Actually, they range from "injured reserve" easy to "game-time decision" hard. Teams also can make your decision easy by benching your player or giving him his walking papers.

The hard part comes when the player performs poorly but doesn't get sent to the bench. Do you hope that this is the week a player like Brett Favre to play his way out of a slump? Do you assume Rashard Mendenhall will bounce back once his quarterback comes back from his suspension for being stupid? Do you ignore the high draft pick you spent on Larry Fitzgerald and turn to a waiver wire star like Lance Moore?

The truth is that there is no one answer to any of these questions. If there were, there would be far fewer people with opinions touting themselves as "experts," and fantasy football would be far less fun if it were predictable. All you can do is make the decision that you feel is best for you and your team. If your decision turns out to be wrong, at least you can say you followed your heart/gut/instincts. This may make you less likely to want to do this.

The only team that doesn't have this option: the People's Pigskin. We have to do what you, the Internet, tell us to do. So tell us what to do.

We'll be back with the results of the NASCAR polls.