Fantasy Football

So this year I decided to enter one of Yahoo!'s free public football leagues on a whim. I did some research, but not nearly as much as usual. Submitted my player ranking after just a couple hours of reading Sports Illustrated's preview, and ESPN's player rankings. Didn't buy any fantasy football magazines.

I really like my auto-draft team that resulted.

Let's look at my starting lineup, from fewest 2011 points to highest.

QB Peyton Manning. The best quarterback of his generation is on my team. A risk, coming off a year's sabbatical to recover from neck injury. But if he's healthy... it's Peyton Manning, who's made a living transforming no-name receivers into household names. (Oh, and my backup is Philip Rivers, who would have the 2nd-most points on my team from 2011.)

TE Jason Witten. A top-three tight end who had a down year last year. Primed for a rebound, with the same QB who's teamed up with him in past years.

WR Dwayne Bowe. Grabbed 1,000 yards receiving in a tumultuous injury-filled year for his team. Still in his prime, and a big-play threat.

WR Julio Jones. A physical marvel with a year of experience under his belt - a year in which he had 8 touchdowns and big-play ability.

WR Roddy White. Star teammate of Jones, as durable as they come, an All-Pro who works his tail off... which is another reason to believe that Jones has a mentor to elevate his play.

RB Darren Sproles. The all-everything scatback for the powerful New Orleans offensive juggernaut.

RB Ray Rice. My #1 pick, who can run, catch, and break tackles... and found the end zone like crazy in 2011.

Any one of these players is capable of a points explosion, and they all play on playoff-caliber teams with optimistic prospects and mostly stable offenses.

My kicker is Mason Crosby, the exclamation point on Green Bay's high-octane offense.

Defense is either Houston or Buffalo.

Let the season begin!