Falcons fantasy football duds

12/08/2005

By Adam Van Brimmer
Morris News Service

FLOWERY BRANCH — As the Falcons’ postseason hopes fade, the jokes begin.

Among the early cracks: The only playoffs the Falcons will play in this year involve fantasy football leagues.
Then again, maybe not.

Approximately 13 to 15 million Americans play fantasy football, according to industry estimates. Most begin their annual playoffs in the next two weeks.

Few of their rosters will include Falcons’ players.
Atlanta is to fantasy owners what hospitals are to nosocomephobes: they fear going there.

The Falcons rank with players from the 49ers, Ravens and Browns among the least popular among fantasy owners.
And they all hear about it.

“Fantasy players are always complaining, ‘They always take you out in the red zone,’” Atlanta tailback Warrick Dunn said. “Like the coach should leave me in on the goal line just so they can win some make-believe game.

“I think a lot of people don’t think I’m worth playing.”
Dunn needn’t feel alone. Atlanta’s locker room is full of players deemed untouchable by armchair GMs.

A quick search of fantasy football Internet Web sites shows the Dirty Birds are dirty words to fantasy players.

Few sites include a Falcon within their top-30 list of overall players. For example, askthecommish.com ranks Dunn as the best fantasy Falcon at 37th-best player overall. That’s respectable until one checks the position-by-position breakdowns. Dunn is askthecommish.com’s 23rd-best running back.

He may be among the NFL’s top five rushers, but teammate T.J. Duckett gets the Falcons’ goal-line carries. Dunn has four touchdowns in 12 games and low number of receptions, too few for him to be a star in the FFLs.

ESPN’s fantasy football Web site includes analysis on each player. Call up Dunn, and ESPN’s analysts — known as “Hector and Victor” — write Dunn is a “good bet to top century mark but Duckett steals touchdowns.”
Quarterback Michael Vick is similarly shunned. The game’s most popular player is a fantasy no-no. He ranks 23rd among NFL quarterbacks in passing yards and 21st in passing touchdowns. And he’s inconsistent at a position that demands regular fantasy point production.

As for Atlanta’s receivers, they rank somewhere between pass-catching fullbacks and tackle-eligibles among fantasy players.

Tight end Alge Crumpler is considered Atlanta’s only must-play — and many leagues give participants the option to play a third wide receiver instead of a tight end.

Crumpler’s popularity among fantasy footballers troubles him. Like many players at low-profile positions — linemen, fullbacks, etc. — he’s not easily recognizable in public.

But fantasy gurus know him and make him long for anonymity.
“Everywhere I go, strangers come up and say, ‘I need you to score a touchdown today Alge,’” Crumpler said. “Your team can win by 40, but if you don’t score a touchdown, people are pissed. My neighbors, everybody.

“Fantasy football is a breed of selfishness.”