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The stuff dreams are made of

By ROGER MILLS

© St. Petersburg Times, published September 1, 2000

THE WAR ROOM -- Every year the magazines come out, ad nauseum, telling me how to go about drafting my fantasy football team.

Every one has a list of top 10 hints. The Do's and Don'ts. The things I should know about picking a team, things that absolutely no one else will think of.

They are all fairly helpful.

Never draft with your heart. Make sure you have a top level running back. Don't worry about kickers and defenses until the later rounds. Consider that there are scores of receivers. Get a backup who is not in the same division as your starter. Yada, yada, yada.

Well, this year, I don't have that problem. This year, by the grace of league rules primarily made up by me, I get the first eight picks in the draft.

Yes folks, finally, I have found a way to secure an unbeatable fantasy team. By a series of trades, fire sales and the occasional greasing of a league official's pocket, Team Mills has secured the top eight spots in the draft, which just so happens to be enough to fill out a starting lineup of one quarterback, two running backs, three receivers, a kicker and a defense/special teams unit.

Annoyed at my arrogant ability to manipulate the draft order and circumvent the salary cap? Call me Daniel Synder, I don't care.

Either way, Team Mills looks like this.

No. 1: Edgerrin James.

Although I have picks 2-8, I'm still going to treat this as a special case worth spending a bit extra on. James was responsible for 17 touchdowns last season, and that should be higher this year. Sure, Marshall Faulk, Eddie George, Fred Taylor and Terrell Davis are worth looking at, but James is the man.

No. 2: Ron Dayne.

In the most dramatic shock wave to hit fantasy football since the arrival of Randy Moss, I'm going with the Great Dayne over a litany of more reasonable backs. I just have a feeling about this guy. He's big, tough and will get the ball too many times to not get into the end zone.

No. 3: Kurt Warner.

There's good reason to doubt that Warner will have the same kind of season, but if he has 10 less touchdowns he'll still be among the leaders. Honestly, Peyton Manning is the top quarterback in the draft but Team Mills already has James, so off weeks would be a little too hard to stomach.

No. 4: Randy Moss.

Still the main man of receiving, although there are questions about Daunte Culpepper's ability to get him the ball. One thing Culpepper will learn quickly is that he can generally throw the ball in Moss' direction and have a high completion percentage.

No. 5: Plaxico Burress.

The way I'm looking at it, Pittsburgh is going to figure out real quickly that throwing to a 6-foot-6, 225 pounder with great hands and attitude is a simple game plan. Burress has shown glimpses of greatness in the preseason.

No. 6: Rickey Dudley.

Wesley Walls and Tony Gonzalez are probably ranked higher on everybody else's draft board, but Dudley has improved every season. He should have a breakout season. Plus, considering that I'm an old Oakland Raiders apologist, it is my duty to draft at least one person wearing the Silver and Black.

No. 7: Mike Vanderjagt.

I really wanted to take Sebastian Janikowski simply because I'm ready to buy into the hype. But Vanderjagt scored 145 points last season and should be around there again. Remember, he is kicking in a dome.

No. 8: Bucs.

Last season, the Bucs finally started to find their way into the end zone, and a defense that good is bound to keep them winning. It's hard to believe that with three All-Pros on offense, Tampa Bay can't score at least four times. You also have to figure that some time this century, the Bucs will return a kickoff all the way.

So, there it is folks. My fantasy team. If you want a piece of this, bring it on.

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