Fantasy Football Time!

Two weeks into the season and I wonder… “How many Bivings Report enthusiasts play fantasy football (please, keep your fantasies to yourselves)?” Its popularity has grown to astronomical proportions nation-wide, to the point that even the Wall Street Journal is writing about it. The WSJ reports that, though no hard figure exists, millions play fantasy football and their spenditure numbers in the hundreds of millions. I’ve been playing for about six years myself. We even have a Bivings league of our own going (in which yours truly is currently third out of 10 teams very early on).

Our platform of choice is Yahoo!. NFL.com and ESPN.com are their main competitors. Heck, even Facebook has a fantasy football platform of its own now. The only advantage NFL.com has over Yahoo! is that live scoring is provided free of charge.

I personally find Yahoo! to be the most comfortable to use overall. It’s easy to navigate, takes fewer clicks to get actions done, and seems to have more accurate player rankings than the other guys. Though they aren’t the only ones that do this, Yahoo!’s weekly “start ‘em, sit ‘em” videos are useful as well.

I’m sure you’ve all been in a situation where you weren’t sure if you should risk starting your nicked-up, stud running back or wide receiver over some healthy “hey you” you picked up off waivers. You know, when the guy is listed as “questionable” and all the news outlets tell you he’s “50/50,” “day-to-day,” “a game time decision.” Well this is where Yahoo! scores big points, with Fantasy Football Live - a weekly webcast with the latest advice and breaking roster inactives, as they come in, that takes you right up to the early kickoffs. It’s helped me with a dozen or so start/sit decisions over the past few seasons.

By now we have a pretty good idea of who this year’s up-and-comers are, in addition to the old reliables. So here’s a little advice on five early season pick-ups that could comprise the last spot or two on your roster, from a guy you probably weren’t seeking it from (how do those “fantasy gurus” get their gigs anyhow?).

J.T. O’Sullivan, QB – Obviously not the second coming of Joe Montana for the 49’ers, but he’s a solid pick-up flying under the radar in Mike Martz’s pass-happy offense. Think of him as the next John Kitna, who tossed the rock under Martz in Detroit the past few seasons.

Robert Meachem, WR – This former first-round draft pick was one of my late round, sleeper picks this year. And with Drew Brees’ top target Marques Colston now out for some time with a thumb injury look for more balls to be headed his way. Meachem caught a touchdown with his first-ever NFL reception against the Redskins this past Sunday.

James Hardy, WR – I usually tend to shy away from rookie wide receivers, and for good reason. Not this one though. Hardy was a touchdown fiend at Indiana scoring 16 of them in 2007. The Buffalo Bills will be looking to use that 6’7”, 220-pound frame in the red zone as well. Hardy already has his first NFL TD, scoring in Buffalo’s victory over Jacksonville last Sunday.

Pierre Thomas, RB – With injury-prone Deuce McCallister only seeing spot duty, Aarron Stecker out injured, and Reggie Bush continuing to prove he can’t run the ball between the tackles, Thomas is a player to look at if you’re thin at running back. He won’t be a game-breaker yardage-wise, but he will see his share of goalline carries. He’s already found the end zone twice this year.

Kevin Curtis, WR – “But he’s injured!?” I know he is, and so do the owners that released him. Even if you don’t pick him up now, keep a close eye on this guy’s health. He was the leading receiver in a dynamic offense last year and still their wideout of choice. So you could have yourself a free-agency steal and a good late-season boost if you snatch him up before your league-mates do.