“Playoffs? Playoffs? You kiddin’ me? Playoffs? We’ll be lucky if we win a game. “

Those are the famous words of Jim Mora Sr., part of a rant that will live forever thanks to YouTube. If you’re a fantasy football player getting ready for Week 2 and someone brings up the playoffs, you’re likely to react the same way, right? After all, we can’t worry about the playoffs until we get there, right?

Wrong. To neglect the future is to sign your fantasy death warrant. Think of fantasy football as you would a Texas Hold ‘em tournament; you play to win the game, not to stay in the game. That means you take risks and make moves dedicated to placing first. You may place last as a result, but you can’t win without taking risks. The guy who just wants to hang in the game and not be embarrassed has a trophy case full of silver medals but never wins it all. The same goes for the fantasy football GM who only cares about his current record and doesn’t organize his roster for the playoffs.

 For example, the wimpy G.M. would be terrified to trade for Matt Cassel right now. Cassel’s hurt and he plays on a weak team, so why would the G.M. ever give up, say, Eli Manning in a Cassel deal? The true winner thinks ahead, however. He sees that Kansas City ends its regular season against Denver, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Denver. He sees that the Giants end their season against Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington, Carolina and Minnesota. Those are the fantasy playoff weeks, my friends. The true champ takes an Eli-for-Cassel deal as a “win” for the other guy and upgrades at another position, all the while secretly acquiring the quarterback who will score more points in down the stretch. Eli Manning and Terrell Owens for Matt Cassel and Randy Moss? There’s a plausible deal that can win you a fantasy title.

 Never forget about future schedules in fantasy football! I’ll leave you with another immortal coach quote, this one from Herman Edwards:

 “You play to win the game.”