"I will never go back." That sentiment has been shared with me many times over the past eight years as the commissioner of several fantasy football leagues. The statement is in reference to the league design which accounts for individual defensive player statistics counting toward a team total. It is a reaction born from a willingness to try something more akin to actual football and forged by experiencing the cauldron that is 17 weeks of NFL combat.

You have control and an even greater sense of ownership.

The adoption process (as I like to think of it each time I bring a new member into one of my leagues) is generally the same. There are numerous questions about how an individual player on defense can be accounted for. This is followed by a bit of trepidation. "Gee, I'm not sure. I'm used to picking a whole defense. It sounds complicated." In time, the tone is more along the lines of burgeoning glee as the questions becomes more focused. "OK wait. If I draft Brian Urlacher from Chicago and he gets 3 sacks, 5 solo tackles, and falls on a fumble, that means I get points for all those events? And if I also have say Julius Peppers at DL with Zach Thomas as another LB, and Charles Tillman patrolling the field as my DB then I'll have a pretty solid starting defensive core right?" Welcome to the fold.

That's the joy of playing with individual players on defense in a fantasy league --you have control and an even greater sense of ownership. There's that strong, compelling feeling of hey, I built this defense from the ground up. I didn't just pick the Pittsburgh defense. I hand-selected my own Orange Crush, my own Purple People Eaters, or my own Steel Curtain. (By the way where have all the cool defensive unit names gone? ::sigh::)

            What's more, playing in a league that recognizes the performances of individuals on defense helps to better emulate football. This is chief reason why I play fantasy football. I want to feel as if I am the team owner crafting a championship team; and, by picking my own defense, player by player, I'm doing that very thing.

            It's certainly a load of fun watching your running back break off the left tackle side for fifty yards before being brought to his knees. But, what's more pleasing is when the one to track him down is a 6 foot 4 inch, 258 lb. linebacker with 4.5 speed, whom you drafted. That's points all around.

            Moments such as that are only topped when a defensive lineman, whom everyone passed over in your draft because he was too old, knifes between the tackle and right guard, swipes at the arm of your opponent's quarterback, and then labors twenty yards to the end zone cradling the lose ball in his heavily-taped, ham-sized mitts. The BIG fella is winded but he's done his job you tallying a sack, fumble, recovered fumble, and touchdown.

That's what one can properly label as saaaaa-weet!

Trust me, and trust those who've come back year upon year to play in my leagues, the experience is such that once you've tried it, well, you "will never go back."