My Fantasy Football Team

Over the years, fantasy football has grown into a national obsession.

I haven't been immune. In fact, in recent years, I have been signing up for online leagues which will assign you to a league and usually conduct their drafts automatically. You don't have to be online for the draft. All you have to do is list players in your order of preference.

Sometimes you get the players you want. Sometimes you don't.

The other day, I finished my preference list and indicated that I was ready to proceed. The next day, I received an e–mail telling me the draft was complete.

I eagerly looked to see who was on my team (I have named my team the "Pigskins," by the way) — and I must say I'm pretty happy with the squad I got:

• At quarterback, I have Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and Cincinnati's Carson Palmer. I've been a Packer fan since I was a child and, despite my initial misgivings, I was rather pleased with Rodgers' performance last year as he took over following the departure of Brett Favre. He'll be my starter at the beginning of the season. If Palmer, who was injured through most of last season, turns out to be a better choice, I will elevate him to starter.


• At wide receiver, I have Carolina's Steve Smith, New England's Wes Welker, St. Louis' Donnie Avery, San Diego's Chris Chambers and Miami's Ted Ginn Jr.
  
  Smith might miss most of the preseason because of a strained shoulder, but he seems likely to be able to play in the regular season opener. He is ranked among the top 25 players in the NFL so I expect to play him a lot. Avery is also dealing with an injury, a stress fracture in his left foot. The expectation is that he will be ready to play when the season begins, but I will need to keep an eye on him. It hasn't been unusual for such an injury to take longer to heal than expected.


• At running back, I have Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, who is widely regarded as the top player in the NFL going into the 2009 season; Green Bay's Ryan Grant, and Arizona's Chris Wells. Grant is 18th among the running backs, according to NFL.com, and Wells is ranked 29th.


• At tight end, I got Houston's Owen Daniels (NFL.com ranks him eighth at that position) and Green Bay's Donald Lee (24th). In my experience, tight ends don't generate that many fantasy points so I feel pretty good about the ones I have.


• My placekicker is New England's Stephen Gostkowski. NFL.com rates him second only to Tennessee's Rob Bironas. Kickers seldom produce a lot of points in fantasy leagues, and NFL.com has no kickers in its Top 100. Kickers tend to produce more points if they kick a lot of field goals, and Gostkowski averaged more than two field goals per game last year.


• At defense, I have the New York Jets and the Green Bay Packers. NFL.com ranks the Jets fifth among the league's defenses and Green Bay is 13th. But the Packers made moves in the offseason to improve the defense, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Packers crack the Top 10 before the season is over. Heading into the season, though, both of my defenses are in the top half of the NFL.

Bottom line is that I only have one player in NFL.com's Top 20 (Peterson), but he ranks Number 1 on the list. Smith is 22nd overall. Welker is 32nd, Rodgers is 34th and Grant is 35th, so I have five players in the top 50.

Wells is ranked 55th, Palmer is 70th and Avery is 100th.

So, out of 13 individual players, more than half are ranked in NFL.com's Top 100.

Anyway, I think I'm set now. Let the games begin.