Every year, I join about four or five different fantasy football leagues. There’s always a few guys who say I take it a bit too seriously. But do I? I don’t think I do. I mean, I don’t let it cloud my judgement too much. If I have Brian Westbrook going against the Giants, I’m rooting for the Giants, but I don’t mind if Westbrook has an amazing game simply because losses don’t count in fantasy football. So, if Terrell Owens gets 11 receptions, 204 yards, and three touchdowns in a Cowboys loss, thats a win-win for me.

Sure, there are times in fantasy sports where you’ll feel conflicted. But there are ways around that. For instance, I try not to draft any National League pitchers so that I don’t have a huge problem if they face the Mets. Maybe I’ll take a chance on Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, or Ben Sheets, but for the most part, I go after the AL guys.

The same thing holds true in fantasy football. If you hate when Tom Brady rips apart your Jets, don’t draft him. Take Tony Romo instead. If it bothers you when LaDanian Tomlinson runs around your Raider defense, take Adrian Peterson.

So, I broke down this season into the top five at each position, with the exception of individual defenders and offensive linemen. That would just be silly.

Top 5 Fantasy Quarterbacks- Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Brett Farve.
Analysis- I would have included Derek Anderson but he has a mild concussion thanks to my staggering Giants defense. Also, I usually include Manning at 1 or 2, but I don’t know how his knee is going to hold up all season. Brady’s offense hasn’t changed since last season, meaning the Pats are returning with the most prolific offense in NFL history. Romo can put up big numbers, and since wins don’t matter… Romo’s your guy. Brees has two new targets with Shockey and Robert Meacham coming back from injury. I think he’ll have a big year. Favre is gonna be Favre, no matter what. At the very least, he’ll give you over 3,000 yards and 25+ touchdowns. Unless that Madden curse catches up to him. A few other guys to consider- Matt Leinart, Donovan McNabb, Phillip Rivers, and Matt Hasselbeck.

Top 5 Fantasy Runningbacks- LaDanian Tomlinson, Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, Steven Jackson, Maurice Jones-Drew.
Analysis- Drafting runningbacks is getting harder because of the changing trends in the NFL. If you draft one of these guys, you almost have to find another top-tier runningback immediately because almost everyone splits carries now. The only runningback that can definately get 400+ carries is LT and maybe Steven Jackson. Peterson can still put up big numbers despite sharing the backfield because of his yards per carry numbers. Frank Gore is coming off of a down year so he’ll try to turn it up. Maurice Jones-Drew is an interesting pickup because of his special teams numbers. A few others to consider- Larry Johnson, Darren McFadden, Brian Westbrook, and Michael Turner.

Top 5 Fantasy Wide Recievers- Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, Larry Fitzgerald, Braylon Edwards, Randy Moss
Analysis- This is usually the deepest position in fantasy football because there are 25-30 number 1 wideouts in the NFL so in a 10 man league, you can probably get 2 or 3 guys that can consistently get over six catches, over a hundred yards and maybe a touchdown per game. Then factor in all the number 2 and slot recievers, and some of the guys that play in West Coast offenses, and wideout can be the difference between winning and losing some weeks. I like Reggie Wayne even though Peyton Manning isnt at 100% because he’s still gonna get the ball. He’ll see less catches than last season because Marvin Harrison is back and Anthony Gonzales is getting better. Owens put up big numbers last year and should continue that trend. Larry Fitzgerald is playing happy because he got a new contract. He’s going to want to justify the deal. Braylon Edwards is still mad about missing the playoffs, despite winning 10 games last year. He’s motivated. Randy Moss is always going to put up big numbers. A few others to consider- Wes Welker, Plaxico Burress, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, and Santonio Holmes.

Top 5 Fantasy Tight Ends- Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Antonio Gates, Jeremy Shockey, Tony Gonzalez.
Analysis- In most leagues, everybody gets one. So pick smart. It helps to take a tight end that can block well because he’ll be less likely to be subbed out for an extra blocker. Witten seems to be Romo’s second favorite target so he’ll get opportunities. Dallas Clark played hurt for most of the season, and still had a good year. Antonio Gates should finally be at 100%, and Shockey is out to prove he’s still one of the best. Now, Tony Gonzalez was a bit of a stretch. His touchdown numbers are down from two seasons ago, but he still gets the yards. When Damon Huard plays, Gonzalez does pretty well. So the question really is… who’s the starting quarterback for the Chiefs? Damon Huard or Brodie Croyle? In the land of Herm, you never know. A few others to consider- Dustin Keller, Todd Heap, Kellen Winslow Jr.

Top 5 Fantasy Defenses- Chargers, Giants, Cowboys, Vikings, Ravens.
Analysis- As hyped as the Bears or Pats defense might be, especially after last season, their time is over. The Bears look pretty plain, and the Pats are pretty old on defense… not to mention they lost some key members of the secondary. These five defenses were not only in the top 10 last season, but they’ve gotten better since. The Chargers went out and drafted a few players to add to their secondary. The Giants may have lost Osi Umeniyiora for the season but defensive end is their deepest position. The Cowboys added Pacman… I mean Adam Jones. The Vikings traded for Jared Allen, and the Ravens added Fabian Washington. I like the Jets as a sleeper pick with all their new players.

Top 5 Fantasy Kickers- Neil Rackers, Rod Bironas, Mason Crosby, Matt Stover, Mike Nugent.
Analysis- I shouldn’t even be doing this one because you shouldn’t draft a kicker before the last three rounds. Outside of one Titans game where Rod Bironas had eight field goals, or when Neil Rackers had five, a kicker will never have a huge impact on your team. Never. A few other guys to think about- Robbie Gould, and Stephen Gostkowski.

Here are some fantasy football rules I came up with.

1- Never, ever, ever draft a rookie quarterback unless his name is either Dan Marino or Peyton Manning. Even then, he better not be picked early.

2- Don’t take any reciever too high. Wideouts are a dime a dozen. If you try take Randy Moss high in the first, you’ll miss out on a lot more.

3- Winning the Super Bowl is great, but it doesn’t make anyone a fantasy stud. Eli Manning is not yet the fantasy producer that his brother is.

4- If you draft Brian Griese and call it your “sleeper special”, kill yourself. You know who you are.

5- If you take a kicker before the final three rounds, just stop playing.

I’d come up with a few more, but I should probably go to sleep soon. As always, here are few things brewing in my crazy mind.

- I said it before but I’m not concerned with Osi going down. Justin Tuck had 10 sacks last year, Mathias Kiwanuka can still play defensive end, and we have a ton of backups.

- With all the injuries in preseason,(Osi, Jason Taylor, Shawn Merriman, etc) I wonder who’s going to pull a Hank Steinbrenner and speak out agianst these somewhat meaningless games?

- Its hard to believe the impact that one person can have on an entire sport, but Gene Upshaw really did transcend the NFL. He seems like one of those people that would have been influential in an era, but he was specifically designed to be around when he was.

- I don’t think that K-Rod is worthy of the Cy Young. He’s really good, and he’ll probably break the saves record, but to this day he’s only pitched 54 innings while Cliff Lee has pitched 177… all while posting a 2.43 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. K-Rod’s ERA and WHIP are both higher and he’s only given up four less homers than Lee.

- While losing John Maine might hurt, I really think this Mets team is going to find ways to win. The big thing around the trade deadline was that the Mets don’t have enough in the farm system to make a big trade. But if you look at it, without the farm system, the Mets wouldn’t be where they are. And mind you, there’s still Fernando Martinez, Jonathan Niese, Brandon Knight, Mike Carp, and Eddie Kunz in the minors.

- You see what happens when people take basketball seriously instead of throwing together of team of guys that have no chemistry? They win gold medals.

- Darius Miles just got signed by the Celtics. That should be fun.

Any questions or comments? Email me at s_talouis@yahoo.com

Its no secret that I’m a Giants fan. And by no means am I switching from Big Blue to Gang Green. However, I’ve never hated the Jets and now that Brett Favre is a Jet, I have to be honest… I’m rooting for them more than usual. The Jets have already begun to have one of their best offseasons in recent memory and one of the best in the league. Acquiring Alan Faneca, Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, and all their draft picks looks good for them. (Except for trading back into the first round to take another tight end, of course.)

Now they’ve pulled off a trade for a first ballot Hall of Famer. A first ballot Hall of Famer at arguably the most important position in football. Are they the favorite in the AFC. Of course not. I don’t even think they’re the favorite in the AFC East. The Patriots still have the best offense in football, and as good as Vernon Gholston might look in practice, we’ve yet to see what he can do in an actual game. I think the Jets have a great chance to secure one of the wildcard spots, but its only preseason… lets not get ahead of ourselves. There are a few things about this trade that I see as red flags.

1) Brett Favre is older than his new head coach, his offensive coordinator, and his quarterbacks coach. Favre has done it all, and then some. What’s it going to be like when Brian Schottenheimer calls a play, Brett checks off, and tries to gamble… and in turn throws an interception to lose the game. That sounds familiar. That sounds a lot like the NFC Championship game. I’m not saying Favre isn’t good. I’m saying he’s been known to make a bad decision or two.

2) Brett Favre isn’t going to have as good of recieving corps in New York. Laveranues Coles and Jericho Cotchery are good, but they’re not known for making big plays like Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Maybe with a new quarterback, things will change. One thing is for sure, they’ll actually have a reason to run farther than 15 yards past the line of scrimmage.

3) Favre has never played in a West Coast offense. Every step of the way, it’s always some sort of spread formation. Three wide, two back sets, double tight end sets… thats what he’s used to. Are Jets fans expecting Favre to come in the day of the Jets’ first preseason game and master the offense? Unless they tailor the offense to Favre and his abilities, its going to take some time. The question is, how much time?

Moving forward, what do the Jets do with Chad Pennington? They can trade him to the Vikings. They already have a game manager throwing to sub-par recievers. Now the Vikings can bring in a game manager that’s taken a team to the AFC Championship and had a league high passer rating for an entire season. The Jets could trade him to Chicago. His arm isn’t as strong as Rex Grossman’s, but do you think Bears fans care? They just want to be relevant again.

Furthermore, will this trade ruin the future of either of these two franchises. Like it or not, they’re forever linked. The Jets wanted Favre in 1991 and because they didn’t have a first round pick that year, they missed out on a franchise quarterback. Now, seventeen years later, they got their man. The better he plays for the Jets, the higher the compensation for the Packers. Who knows? Maybe the pick from the Jets becomes yet the next great Packer. As for the Jets, will this offseason be the first of many that turns them into the football version of the Mets in the 90s? Free spending, trading away young talent and picks for washed up, big name stars?

And finally, what does this do to Favre? Is his image tarnished? I think not. If you poll 100 people and ask them what team Joe Montana played for, how many will say the Chiefs? Or if you ask them what team Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, or Emmitt Smith played for, how many will say the Chargers, the Browns, or the Cardinals? My guess is very few. Because when it comes down to it, its not how you start or how you finish. Its the career as a whole and Brett Favre will always be a Packer.