A Brave New Fantasy World

Never before have I seen the fantasy football landscape change so much at a single position during the off-season.

Think back to last year's fantasy football draft, if you can do so without crying: the top 5 draft picks were L.T., A.P., okay enough with the initials....Tomlinson, Peterson, Steven Jackson, Brian Westbrook, and Joseph Addai. Other 1st round names include Brady, Lynch, and Owens (or T.O. to come back to the initials thing.)

I can only imagine Peterson and Westbrook being in the first round for sure next year. Tomlinson might be back, but not as the 1st pick. Brady gets an injury exception, but he won't be back unless he blows up in the pre-season. Lynch is running around brandishing guns while Owens may not even be back with the Cowboys.

And other off-season news adds further ink to next year's fantasy picture:

First of all, the Broncos fired the great fantasy Satan known as Mike Shanahan, though Broncos running back owners may also call him Keyser Soze. Without Shanahan and his interminable need to switch back and forth between runners like a manic depressive with ADD, there might be a chance in hell for the Broncos to actually stick with a back for more than three carries before running off to the local Denny's to find a replacement.

That news was shocking enough for fantasy players. Today we find out that another life-sucking situation as been removed from our fantasy lives. The great Jacksonville time-share has been sold as Fred Taylor will no longer be there to siphon away carries from Maurice Jones-Drew.

The move does two things: First, it moves Maurice Jones-Drew into the first round as a fantasy pick. Secondly, it will cut down on sales of Maalox and Rogaine as MJD owners stop getting ulcers and pulling out their hair as Fred Taylor runs up and down the field on any given Sunday.

It's a new fantasy world where rookie runners scoot past traditional studs on the draft board and teams are giving up their anti-fantasy ways. But don't worry, Bill Belichick is still around so you can listen to cryptic injury reports that make you shiver as you stare at the giant "questionable" tag in front of your running back.

Have peace my friends. Right up until the great fantasy Satan is hired again.