It really isn't as much as obsession with Fantasy Football as it is an obsession to win. If you are going to play Fantasy Football you might as well play it to win. An example of this is in one of my Prize leagues where I won our championship. My team did not have one player left on its roster that was on it on opening day. I made so many trades that I not only traded every player on my roster away, but I traded several players twice. You may think that is a little overboard but since I won the championship it is hard to argue with the results.

My first goal in the off-season is to always identify the sleepers and bargains at each position. Those are how leagues are won and lost. Below I have listed several players that I consider among my list of sleepers for 2003:

1. Ladell Betts RB WAS - Betts was a second round draft pick in 2002, who really did not get the opportunity for playing time until late last year. In fact, Betts was not only limited in his playing time in the first half of the season, he was not even on the active roster for several weeks. It looked like Steve Spurrier's promise of using Betts more to see what he could do was just coach speak. Betts finally did get some playing time when Stephen Davis got hurt and showed quite a bit. In weeks 16 and 17, Betts carried the ball 37 times for 214 rushing yards. Not too bad for a player who could not even get on the active roster for the longest while. With Stephen Davis all but gone, Washington will have an open competition at running back this preseason. I expect Betts to win the job since he is now a year older and a year more experienced. He just has much more upside than the Kenny Watson.
   
   
2. Ashlie Lelie WR DEN - This kid is loaded with talent. He has nice hands, great speed and beautiful body control when adjusting to the ball. I was asked recently who I would take between Deion Branch WR NE and Javon Walker WR GB. My response was Ashlie Lelie. I know he was not part of the question but I love Lelie that much for 2003. It is an added bonus that he will be starting in Denver's explosive West Coast offense. You are now thinking to yourself: 'Self, Did he just say Starting?' You heard me right. McCaffrey will not hold off Ashlie Lelie in 2003. He is too talented for Shanahan to keep on the bench. Lelie only had 35 catches for 525 yards in 2002, but what a 525 yards it was. He added to the Denver passing game what it had been lacking, Speed. That is something you cannot teach to a player. Keep an eye on this kid.
   
   
3. Joey Harrington QB DET - It may seem strange to see any Detroit Lion on this list, but I feel Harrington will be a great NFL quarterback before all is said and done. Harrington had an up and down rookie season. He started off very hot. He threw for 267 and 307 passing yards in two of his first three starts. He got into a slump at midseason because he seemed to be pressing too hard. The fact that his Wide Receivers couldn't seem to catch a cold did not help the young quarterback at all. Add into that a coaching staff that would have made Wayne Fontes look good and Harrington's slump was understandable. The Lions seem to finally be heading in the right direction. The hiring of Steve Mariucci will really help Harrington. This will give Harrington a coach who has worked with the likes of Brett Favre and Jeff Garcia. The Lions will also get more help for Harrington at wide receiver (This most likely will be Charles Rogers with the 2nd overall pick in the draft). Harrington should have a fine sophomore season after learning the ropes in 2002.
   
   
4. Anthony Thomas RB CHI - Let's look at this for second: 278 carries for 1183 rushing yards with a 4.3 yards per carry in only 10 starts in 2001. Fast Forward to 2002 and the statistics dip in every category: 214 carries for only 721 rushing yards with a 3.5 yards per carry average in 12 starts. The question is whether Thomas's rookie season was fluke or not. Since Thomas is on my list of bargains, you can probably guess which side I am taking. I am not sure how many of you actually saw Thomas play in 2002, but every time he would get the handoff there were two or three players to greet him in the backfield. That makes it tough to gain a lot of positive yards. The Chicago blocking on the offensive line was not as good as it was in 2001. Not only did Thomas have problems finding holes, the team as a whole was ranked 25th in sacks allowed. The fact that their starting fullback Daimon Shelton (he helped open up many of the holes for Thomas in 2001) was suspended for the first 4 weeks did not help matters. Defenses also started putting 8 men at the line of scrimmage to stop Thomas. The dual of Jim Miller/Chris Chandler did not scare anyone. The Bears will upgrade the Quarterback position this off-season as well as Thomas is going to work harder this off-season for the 2003 season. Expect to see more of the Thomas from 2001 than from 2002.
   
   
5. David Terrell WR CHI - This is Terrell's make or break year. He has the talent to succeed on this level, but needs to work harder when it comes to preparation. The Bears are set at their number one wide receiver spot with Marty Booker but they were disappointed in Dez White in 2002. If Terrell works hard this off-season and shows enough in the minicamps and preseason he could very well be lining up at the wide receiver spot opposite Booker on opening day. Running a 4.4 (forty yard dash) at 6-3 gives Terrell a nice combination of size and speed that can give a cornerback fits. Terrell has showed flashes in his first two years of what he can do; now he just needs to take it to the next level. I fully expect Terrell to work hard this off-season and have his breakout year in 2003.

Most of the sleepers or bargains are easier to determine after Free Agency gets going in the NFL, but this is a good start. You can never get started too early when it comes to Fantasy Football preparation.

A Penny for your Thoughts

• I have heard several people from certain websites comparing the running ability of Marshall Quarterback Byron Leftwich to a Daunte Culpepper or a Steve Young. Are you serious? Have these people even seen Leftwich play? Leftwich no more has the mobility of a Culpepper than William Green has the speed of a Clinton Portis. That is my number one pet peeve. If you do not know something, don't open your mouth. Anyone who thinks Leftwich has good running skills has never seen him play. I would compare him more to a Dan Marino than a Culpepper. Great Arm, but just mobile enough to move around in the pocket.

• Peerless Price wants to leave the Bills for two reasons. Number One, he wants to get paid like an Eric Moulds. Number Two, He wants to be the number one wide receiver in an offense. I even heard that Price was a little annoyed that Moulds made the Pro bowl and he did not. I am not sure if that is true, but Peerless better get back to reality when it comes to one thing. He is thrived in the Buffalo offense BECAUSE of Eric Moulds, not in spite of him. Moulds is one the top five wide receivers in the NFL. Price would be better off staying with the Bills. The team is on the rise with an explosive offense. If he goes to a team like Atlanta, he will find it much tougher to get open against those double teams that Moulds had been drawing for him in 2002.

• Brian Griese is no Brett Favre, but I am not sure there is a better replacement for him in Denver at this time. Kordell Stewart? If they had scale down the Pittsburgh offense for him in 2001, how do you think he will do in the complex West Coast offense? Jake Plummer? I really think the Snake is going to always be one of those quarterbacks that tease you. Not worth taking the salary cap hit of Griese for Plummer. Shaun King? Yeah right! Draft a QB? Maybe, but you will need to wait a while for him to develop so you might as well hang onto Griese for another year. I think if anything the move to cut Brian Griese is more because of the off the field problems than anything else.

• I hope the Cowboys have a better plan than letting Emmitt Smith walk and starting Troy Hambrick. Hambrick has not impressed me at all. I am not an Emmitt Smith fan at all, but at this point Smith is a better running back than Hambrick. Yes, Hambrick has good size and speed, but he seems to lack the vision that an Emmitt Smith possesses. The Cowboys did not have Hambrick on the bench in 2002 out of loyalty to Smith, but because Hambrick never showed he should be the starter. Every time the Cowboys wanted to see what Hambrick could do, he either didn't show up that day or fumbled his opportunity away. So if the Cowboys do let Smith go, they better have another running back in their sights.

• On a side note, I am extremely disappointed in the situation in the NHL these days. I am a big sports fan and love watching hockey. I was born and raised in Buffalo, New York so it pains me to see what is happening financially with several NHL teams including my own Sabres. It is a pity that such a great sport is in such financial trouble. I really hope the players realize the sport is not the NFL or NBA and needs lower their salaries if they want the league to survive.