A brief history lesson is needed before I move on to the first installment of this feature…

My brother’s league — The Dirty Dozen — is probably the craziest fantasy football league around. We have a cop and an ex-felon who absolutely hate each other. We have two guys who are so crazy they’d probably get kicked off of Eminem’s tour bus. We have a bitter father-sons triangle-of-hatred rivalry. We have more shit talking on our message boards than Joey Porter’s pre-game ritual. We think one guy, The Mick, actually hires a bunch of keyboard-proficient chimps to draft for him. The Pig gets the first pick every year, and routinely misses the playoffs with studs like Larry Johnson and Shaun Alexander.

It’s a crazy league, but it’s also one of the most serious leagues around. I’ve constructed “big boards” for our drafts that Jerry Jones and Co. would envy, and a few people are talking about hiring assistants and statisticians for our upcoming draft. My brother even got himself a blingin’ championship ring for winning last season. Yes, we’ve gone that far.

The smack is the real highlight, though. My dad — whose been married six times now — probably takes more punishment than anyone. I dubbed his team the “Alimony Ponies” and the dubious nickname has all but stuck. I promise to quote the league’s primo banter often once the season kicks off.

By the way, I was our first ever champion, and I’ve only missed the playoffs once (via tiebreaker). I don’t just talk — I back it up.

Anyway, the focus of this installment is drafting against the general consensus, or popular picks.

For instance, some gurus and most fantasy footballers would probably scold you for picking Steven Jackson ahead of Larry Johnson. Even though I’m a die-hard Kansas City Chiefs fan who thinks L.J. will have a great year, I’m probably going to have to recommend Jackson by a hair. The Rams have an explosive offense and a sorry-ass defense. That combination guarantees a load of goalline touches for “Action” Jackson.

With Johnson, you have a ball-control offense with a rookie QB, and what looks like it could be the most-improved defense in the NFL. Now, while I believe L.J. is the best pure rusher in the league, I also believe that Jackson will see considerably more goalline opportunities in ‘07. Then add in the fact that Jax was the best receiving RB in football last season, and you can see why I project him to be the better fantasy back. The only x-factor in this debate is if L.J. doesn’t receive an extension and is playing for a contract. He runs with Jigga, so you know he wants to get that big payday. After all, L.J. doesn’t want to be the poorest least wealthy member of the Roc-A-Fella family.

So when you’re facing picking either picking Alexander or Frank Gore, don’t automatically assume that the former is the better selection.

Another example is waiting to take Cincinnati Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh a few rounds later than his teammate Chad Johnson. Like Jackson, Johnson was on my squad last year, and he frustrated the hell out of me. Fantasy owners and opponents alike expect monster games out of Johnson every week, and he just doesn’t seem to rise to the occasion much anymore. His numbers were very good last year, but they were also deceiving. A third of his stats were posted during an unstoppable three game tear. The rest of Ocho Cinco’s season was pretty forgettable.

The loss (if you can even call it that) of Chris Henry (I couldn’t resist) should benefit Housh as well. I’m seriously expecting No. 1 WR output from the guy in ‘07, despite what anyone else thinks. He had monster numbers last season despite missing the first few games. While having Ocho Cinco on your team might be more fun, having Housh on your team will be more beneficial.

The TE position is another position you should wait on, rather than splurging early on a household name. Yeah, it may be fun draft night when you can say, “FACE — I got Antonio Gates, the best TE in the league, byotches!” What’s not fun is when the guy who ends up spankin’ you in the playoffs gets similar production out of a player he picked towards the later end of the draft. David Martin could end up being that guy. So could Owen Daniels, or even Leonard Pope.

Even with the QB, sometimes it’s better to pass on the top guys in favor of signal callers you can scoop up later on. I love Laser Rocket Arm, and I think that Tom Brady will probably play well enough to knock up at least three of four more supermodels next season. Still, you’ll probably be better off waiting for a guy like Detroit Lions QB Jon Kitna, who could easily end up being this year’s Drew Brees.

You also always here about guys that switched teams — such as RBs Ahman Green and Willis McGahee, TE Randy McMichael and WR Randy Moss — but what about guys that have better personnel around them or new coaches? Former Auburn teammates, Cadillac Williams and Ronnie Brown, come to mind. Roy Williams could be even more unstoppable with the additions of Calvin Johnson and Tatum Bell.

Basically, if you keep making your typical picks, you probably will end up having one of your typical seasons — you know, one where you miss the playoffs.

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