Fantasy Football

I'm one of you. I maintain a reasonably normal veneer, going to work, watching movies, doing errands at my wife's behest. But deep down, in places I only talk about with others who share my affliction, I'm a total degenerate - not for booze or the ponies, but for fantasy sports. After years of acting as if fantasy sports didn't exist (I found only a few articles explicitly about fantasy football or baseball since 1990), The Sun is acknowledging that make-believe games are a major part of the way we enjoy real games.

There are very few slam-dunk picks in fantasy football. For years, owning LaDainian Tomlinson guaranteed you a spot in the playoffs. Peyton Manning has been an elite fantasy QB for more than a decade. And though he's now in the twilight of his career, Terrell Owens used to be good for 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns a season. At the tight end position, the debate in the fantasy world was always Tony Gonzalez v. Antonio Gates. Gonzalez may be the best tight end in NFL history, but his days of Pro Bowl productivity are long gone.

When Ray Rice punched out more than 2,000 total yards of offense last season, he was a prize catch on every fantasy draft board in the country. When he started out this season with four pedestrian games, the Ravens' third-year running back was getting grilled. On Sunday, he answered the critics. Big time. "It's funny," Rice said. "People take the fantasy football stuff serious. I try not to let anybody down. At the same time, I've faced some tough fronts this year. So today, fantasy owners that drafted me, I got you some points, now give me some slack.

As part of my continued therapy for fantasy baseball malaise, I'm letting my mind drift to other subjects - from top football picks to the fantasy fortunes of next month's NBA draft choices. I promise I'll return to meaty analysis of actual baseball players next week. Lack of interest in the NBA seems rather prevalent among the sports fans I know. I guess the prospect of another San Antonio-Detroit series doesn't exactly evoke memories of Lakers-Celtics from 1984. But it's hard not to grow a little excited thinking about the feats ahead for Greg Oden and Kevin Durant.

Dear Joe Flacco, It's been a bizarre week, hasn't it? You're one win away from playing in the Super Bowl, and I think I've read approximately 11 million articles -- written primarily by people living outside the Baltimore metro area -- that seem eager to inform me just how truly terrible you are at playing quarterback in the NFL. Seriously, if I hadn't actually watched you play football the past four years, if I'd been locked in someone's windowless...

1.  Joe Flacco might not be playing in the Super Bowl this year, but he'll get to one eventually. And he'll do it wearing a Ravens uniform. After watching him play four years of football, and seeing him both at his best, and at his worst, I feel totally comfortable saying that. He may not be the perfect quarterback, but he's your quarterback, Baltimore. I've been saying this for at least half the season, and it's worth bringing up one last time as we bring this year to a close.

Play of the week Steven Jackson, St. Louis vs. New Orleans -- With interim coach Joe Vitt at the controls and QB Marc Bulger questionable with a sore shoulder, the Rams will give Jackson plenty of touches. He's ready to carry the load. In Monday night's loss in Indianapolis, Jackson accounted for 127 total yards and ran for a score. He should easily surpass those numbers Sunday against a Saints defense that ranks 26th against the rush. Position analysis Quarterbacks Starting nod -- Mark Brunnell, Washington vs. San Francisco.