COMMENTARY
Here’s some advice for your fantasy football team
By JASON WHITLOCK
The Kansas City Star
It’s that time of year again, the time when I can’t step out of my house, sit inside a sports bar or wait to board an airplane without some man or woman asking me about fantasy football.
I used to love fantasy football. Remember when I wrote a magazine devoted to fantasy drafts? I miss doing that. Those magazines were irreverent and fun and highly accurate.
Jeff George was always my No. 1 pick.
Hmm, come to think of it, I quit playing fantasy football around the time my favorite QB’s career took that ugly turn toward Oakland, Al Davis and oblivion.
The truth is the game just got too hard and complicated. Leagues started drafting defensive players and jazzing up and adding nuance to their scoring rules. A silly, entertaining diversion quickly became a year-round obsession.
In order to be competitive, you have to study the NFL as diligently as a real general manager.
I’m not knocking the game. It’s no different from golf. If you want to be good, you have to be committed. I stink at fantasy football for the same reason I stink at golf. Well, that’s not completely true. I stink at golf because of my handicap (stomach).
Seriously, as fantasy sports got more difficult, so did my life. I lost interest at the same time I started working in radio and television and raising my cousin Josh. It was just too much.
That’s why I’m always amazed when a husband/father of two/businessman asks me for advice about fantasy football. I wonder how he has the energy to play the game.
Who wants the responsibility of being The Artist Formerly Known as King Carl without the lifetime contract from the Hunt family?
It would take a lucrative 20-year contract to get me re-involved with executing a five-year Fantasy Bowl plan.
I’m sorry. I’m taking cheap shots. And I’m delaying the point of this column.
I woke up very early on Saturday morning to do some research on fantasy football so I could offer you my top-10 fantasy tips for the upcoming season. This is all the advice I have. I couldn’t imagine preparing for a full draft in this era.
Now, if you use these tips and win money in your league, e-mail me at the end of your season and I will send you an address where to send my cut of the money.
1. I’m convinced the football gods are going to smile on Donovan McNabb and keep him healthy for the first time in three seasons. Make McNabb the fourth quarterback on your draft board after Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Tony Romo. McNabb never throws a high number of interceptions. He can still run for a few touchdowns each season. I’m envisioning 3,800 passing yards, 28 TDs and 10 INTs.
2. Many experts are down on Larry Johnson (out of the top-10 backs). I’m not. Yes, Kansas City’s offense is going to be terrible. Kansas City’s QB situation is going to put immense pressure on the running game. At this writing, the Chiefs have played two preseason games, and so far I love Chan Gailey’s running game and LJ’s on-field attitude. Of course, Larry is moody. He could sink into the toilet without provocation. I don’t see it. Larry is a top-five fantasy back this season. (OK, the first half of KC’s exhibition against Miami is giving me second thoughts about this prediction. Wow.)
3. No way Detroit receiver Calvin Johnson is a bust. Yes, he had a mediocre rookie campaign (just four TDs) and Detroit’s terrible history with receivers is absolutely astonishing. But Calvin Johnson is too talented and too good of a kid to be a bust. He’s a superstar. If you’re looking for a steal once the top 10 receivers are off the board, pull the trigger on Calvin Johnson. He’s a 10-TD guy this season.
To reach Jason Whitlock, call 816-234-4869 or send e-mail to jwhitlock@kcstar.com. For previous columns, go to KansasCity.com
