...or is this just Fantasy (football)?

Happy week 1 of fantasy football everybody. It's a joyous time of the year where we get to sit around, watch football, then brag about how our team crushed everyone...or make excuses for why this week went so poorly and we'll turn it around soon.

But it's not all fun and games, and one of the things that sucks most about fantasy is also one of the worst parts about the real NFL: injuries.

Sure, sure, in real life it's about a man's health and livelihood, but in the realm of fantasy, owners are plagued by who to start, not knowing who's going to play or how much someone's going to play even if they get on the field.

I have the great fortune to be in this quandary already at the beginning of the season, not knowing whether to go with players who will play but may be limited (Trent Richardson, Jamaal Charles) or capable backups who could get the lion's share of playing time today or just as easily take a backseat (Toby Gerhart, Rashad Jennings).

I could tweak lineups forever, but whenever I start feeling a little stressed, I think about my two favorite fantasy anecdotes. (Here and here)

The first is a story about Matt Hasselbeck from a few years ago when he was still with the Seahawks. I'll let Matthew Berry take it away.

It should shock no one that Matt went QB-heavy with his team, drafting not only himself but also his former real-life Packers teammate, Brett Favre. 

Like many people I meet, it's Matt's first-year playing fantasy. But he showed the objectivity of a wily veteran when, in Week 5, he decided to bench himself for the ol' gunslinger. It made sense. Favre was coming off a red-hot dismantling of Green Bay on "Monday Night Football," had seven scores in his past three games and was facing the Rams, among the worst pass defenses in the league. 

I'll save you the trouble of looking it up. Brett threw for 232 yards, only one score (plus a pick) and finished with 11 fantasy points in ESPN standard scoring. Sixteen different quarterbacks finished with more points than Brett that week, including such names as Josh Johnson, Chad Henne and Daunte Culpepper (against the Steelers!).

And sitting on Matt Hasselbeck's bench was, well, Matt Hasselbeck, who threw for four scores against the Jaguars and finished with 27 fantasy points. More than Tom Brady,Peyton Manning or any other quarterback that week. 

Think about that. He knew the game plan, he had as much control over an NFL game as any fantasy player could ever have, he wound up as the highest-scoring player at his position in the league … 

… AND HE WAS SITTING ON HIS OWN BENCH

The second story is somewhat similar, coming from Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley.

“The game [Roy] Helu started, San Francisco, I walked up to [Ryan] Torain in the locker room and said Dude you’re starting on my fantasy team this week and I’m hoping for a big week, I’m playing my wife,”Cooley said on the Junkies Friday morning. 

“And he’s like,Oh, cool man, yeah, I’ll see what I can do,” Cooley continued. “I went out to the field, and Helu starts. I’m in the LOCKER ROOM and I don’t know who’s starting. So it’s kind of a mix-up, and I’m not exactly sure what we’re doing or who’s going in.” 

Moral of the story? Don't worry so much about it because EVEN THE PLAYERS don't always know what's going on. All we can do is do our best and hope the Shivas of fantasy football look upon us favorably.  Hopefully I can actually take my own advice.