Football Nuggets

--Preseason football is a lose-lose situation. If your team does poorly, you've got anxiety about how bad it is. If you team does well, you've got the sadness of knowing it doesn't count and you don't know if the team will be able to duplicate that when it counts. I've spent many hours watching the Chiefs practice (PRACTICE! WE'RE TALKING PRACTICE!), but I still don't want to watch preseason football.

--My prediction for Fantasy Football Player of the Year: Clinton Portis. Alexander is following an all-time great season and can never measure up, Larry Johnson is somehow the consensus #1 even though he lost both starting tackles and his fullback, LT will be LT, but Portis is the guy with a high ceiling and a high floor. In his four seasons playing, his floor is 1300 yards and 7 TDs, but he's had 1500 yards and double-digit TDs in the 3 other seasons. Now he's got Al Saunders, the guy who helped Priest Holmes into the Fantasy Football Hall of Fame. At the beginning of next year, Clinton Portis will be the consensus #1 pick.

--The Pioneer Press has been saying good things about EJ Henderson's camp (I know, everybody praises everybody's camp, but they actually cite specific plays from practice, so it's not the typical slurp-job). Can a disappointing linebacker step up in his fourth season to be a Pro Bowl caliber player? Clearly he's got talent, but the buzz for three years has been his lack of off-the-field learning about on-the-field situations. He could be showing off his athletic ability in practice (PRACTICE! WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE), but then will show his befuddlement against other teams. But in his fourth year, you'd think experience would help him bring his talent to fuller potential. Once again the Viking linebacker corp seems full of young talented guys--who really haven't done much in the NFL.

--LenDale White continues to live as a sparkling gem of dignity, humility, and humanity. I've always heard that the best way for a rookie to endear himself to teammates was to spit at them. Lord knows every time I've been spit at, my thought has been, "Man, I sure don't like you for spitting on me...but goddamnit, I respect you."

--Here's the highlight of the day I watched the Kansas City Chief's practice. In a 7 on 7 drill, Trent Green threw a pass a bit high to Larry Johnson. The pass bounced off LJ's hands and into the hands of a linebacker. On the first day of training camp, in a 7 on 7 drill, rather than letting it go, LJ sticks with the ball and knocks it out of the defender's hands before he can get possession of the interception. The ball hit the ground, and then LJ threw his helmet to the ground in frustration. I think this is a pretty good sign of LJ's desire and intensity.

--My pick for the 2007 NFL Draft #1 pick has been, remains, and will remain, the Buffalo Bills.

--As Polonius says, "To thine own self be true." So I couldn't manage to finish our 2006 fantasy draft without Mewelde Moore, Troy Williamson, Jermaine Wiggins, and the Viking Defense on my roster. The debate continues: in fantasy football, do you act as a mercenary going strictly for the wins, or do you follow your heart and select the players you love, or the players on the team you love?