Dear Mr. Fantasy... play us a tune.

Welcome to the opening salvo of Fantasy Football, official Field Gulls sponsored thread style. I'll be your host. Exits are located to the front and center, and the seatbelts work just like every other seatbelt. If you can't figure them out, I welcome you to join my fantasy league, and be sure to pay ahead of time, please and thank you.

My credentials? Well, I'm 37 years old single and live in a van down by the river. (I work on the road, actually living in nice hotels and furnished apartments regularly). I date who I want, when I want. My first tattoo came 2 months ago, because, well, why not?!? I play golf, go to casinos and strip clubs, and general consider any fun event a real possibility. Not a "yeah, I'll get back to you. But a, "I'm IN!"

Saturday night I went to the Hawks game, followed that up with a run to a casino that lasted past dawn. Sunday I drove from Renton to Spokane for the next 6 weeks of work, and today? I played golf. Shot an 84. I have golf sandal tan lines.

Two weeks from now, I'll be heading to Lompoc California for my keeper/dynasty league draft and 4 days of golfing. A couple weeks ago, I took a PTO day to head north to Bellingham and join a bunch of guys I never met before in real life (led by our own Jacson Bevens) and reclaimed my youth, one awesome activity at a time.

I AM your vision of single life.

In short, I have NO credentials. But what I DO have is time on my hands to spend WAY more time than I should thinking about fantasy football.

Let it be known, this is only the beginning. In the next couple weeks, and through the course of the season, we'll be talking the NFL and fantasy in general. We DO ask you to please keep fantasy dialogue to the Official FieldGulls Fantasy Threads only. Let me repeat this. PLEASE KEEP FANTASY DIALOGUE TO THE OFFICIAL FIELDGULLS FANTASY THREADS ONLY. What that means is that we don't want the banter or chatter clogging up the general threads or the FanPosts. Keep it here, for everyone's sanity, including your own. While a comment or two may come out in gameday threads or randomly, the goal is akin to the kids having a play room. Keep the toys in the playroom and out of the living room, and keep the fantasy talk in the fantasy threads and not all over our FieldGulls House.

This post is Seahawk specific, so let's talk Hawks after the jump!

Since I've got a mild sun/beer buzz going, am two large iced latte's in, and have been listening to Traffic's "Dear Mr. Fantasy" the last 35 minutes in preparation, I'm feeling pretty good. How are you?

Like I care. Kidding, kidding. I care. Sorta. Let's get on with it!

OFFENSE

"Dear Mr. Fantasy, play us a tune, Something to make us all happy."

Know what makes a lot of people happy? SKITTLES. Skittles make almost everyone happy, and especially Seahawk fans. And to be completely honest, Marshawn Lynch is THE ONLY offensive Seattle Seahawk that is a legitimate fantasy option and stud out of the gate, and even he is buyer beware. Most "experts" have him as anywhere between the 7th and 15th back, though I've seen him listed as high as 5th and as low as 20th.

Why the disparity? We have the issue of an inconsistent offensive team, a player who in his career could best be summarized as inconsistent, and then we have a lighting-in-a-bottle career year DURING a contract year. And then we have a possible suspension looming to boot? It's no wonder most experts have him closer to 9-15 than well in the top 10.

All of these things together lead me to give him a RB2A status. While you can roll him out as a RB1, you would be much better to utilize him as a top shelf 2nd RB, a 2nd starter behind an Arian Foster, Ray Rice, LeSean McCoy or Run DMC, if you can handle the stress of waiting to get your starting QB.

"Do anything, take us out of this gloom, Sing a song, play guitar, make it snappy."

And who is it that leads a team out of the gloom? While a great running back is a tour de force, it is always the QB who leads a team out of the gloom. And who is our QB, to lead us out of the darkness, and into the light?

I. Have. No. Idea.

I WISH it was Matt Flynn, I really do. For personal fantasy reasons. I took a flyer on him last year, drafting him and locking him into a 3 year contract on the cheap, hoping he would be a starter somewhere this year. My assumption is that my forward thinking gamble has led to him likely losing the starting role here, if not now, then soon. Still, he's a reasonable flyer, but one I would probably hold off on if my draft was the next two weeks. He's ranked by experts as high as 11th and as low as 25th. I'm putting the Seattle Seahawks starting QB at 15 in my QB rankings. I just don't know who that QB will be. Right now after what I saw Saturday, I suspect Russell Wilson will catch Flynn and perhaps even be our starter in Week 1.

The greater problem from a fantasy standpoint is that unless you play in a 2QB league, neither are at this point a worthy start. They're only a hair better than Alex Smith, which is a solid fantasy "meh." Nor, if he should gain ground and beat them out, would Tarvaris Jackson rate any better. Our QB's are a year or two away from fantasy relevance. But that's okay, because I like the music they're playing, and Saturday night against a real NFL defense, they looked pretty snappy.

"You are the one who can make us all laugh, but doing that you break out in tears."

Terrell "He's-my-quarterback-Tears" Owens, welcome to Seattle. This might surprise you, but two years ago at a youthful 36, a pre-injury TO with Carson Palmer throwing to him was a top 15 fantasy WR. While I would not rank him that high in Seattle, if he makes the team he is a legitimate WR2/3, but at a massive fantasy bargain discount. Before we signed him, he was not showing up in the top 50 WR's.

"Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you had, We wouldn't have known you all these years."

Anyone else feel like we don't really know Sidney Rice? He's a stranger in Seattle. We know the hair, the number, the red jersey at training camp.... but do we really know him?!? And the greater question, will we ever?!?

While TO was completely off the charts due to injury, age and the appearance of forced retirement, as Seahawk fans you know Sidney Rice's issues have simply been of health. Know this-- there is no higher ceiling late round draft pick at WR. Sidney Rice is a top 10 WR talent, and he's appearing at best in the low 20's or high 30's on most draft lists, and often even later, behind such luminaries as Torrey Smith, Greg Little, Lance Moore, and Darrius Heyward-Bey AND Denarius Moore. Yes. Two Oakland WR's showing up ahead of him.

While I would not recommend you risk reaching too soon for him, if you already have two WR's who can start and can afford a gamble pick, GAMBLE. His upside is worth it, and it is high ceiling sleeper picks that win fantasy drafts.

[Guitar Solo]

(And a great guitar solo it is.)

Other worthwhile (LATE) Seattle "sleeper" picks would include Doug Baldwin if you really want a "safe" bye week starter at WR. He's not going to give you boom-or-bust potential nor many TD's, but if you'd rather take a 5 point week and not get shut out, he's a better gamble than any of the WR's I listed above in the Sidney Rice commentary.

Kellen Winslow is also worth mentioning, though I don't see him coming anywhere near his TampaBay totals. Between his bone-on-bone knee, the appearance of losing a step, and our questions in the passing game/quarterback situation, I just don't see it. He's in the vicinity of the low teens, upper 20's, and is more a waiver wire player to watch if he does look to be on the rebound and able to have a resurgent year.

DEFENSE

Kam Chancellor is a fantasy superstar with 75 tackles (the top DB had 85). Defensive fantasy football is generally dependent on big plays, particularly everywhere outside the Lineback position. While Kam can (and will) get big plays, he is a legitimate fantasy starter based on tackle totals alone.

For the record, all our starting DB's are play-worthy in leagues that start a full compliment on the defensive side of the ball. Earl Thomas had 69 tackles, and the two giant cornerbacks are both worthy starters at their position based on a combination of big plays and tackles.

KJ Wright and Bobby Wagner are great low tier upside pickups at LB, though neither should be counted on as a LB1 or even LB2 just yet. They're both more likely to be LB3's or LB4's who can start in a pinch.

Bruce Irvin is a bet on the come-line. Given his first round pedigree, he will likely go too early in most full drafts, but the upside is double digit sacks, which makes him a great bench hide or midseason pickup. Chris Clemons was the 14th DE/DT last year, and barring injury will likely finish in that same range, making him a viable and solid DE2. Jason Jones may be worth taking in the later rounds if your league starts DT's as a specific position. While he doesn't get many tackles, his sack boom-or-bust potential is intriguing.

Well, that pretty much sums up the Seahawks from a fantasy perspective. In my large keeper league, I expect I will end up with 2-5 Hawks, but I will simply not reach on any of them, and I strongly suggest you do the same. My biggest piece of fantasy advice is this-- While it's nice to watch your fantasy team win with your players from your favorite team, it's much more fun to just watch the Seahawks and not give a damn about fantasy during our games.

Have a great year in fantasy, and may all our Seahawk Sleepers be starting for someone's fantasy team by the end of the year. If that happens even if it isn't your fantasy team or mine, we'll all be watching playoff football in the Clink once again.