MICHAEL VICK!

So, my first year playing fantasy football has been an exciting experience. At times it's been wonderful, at times it's been challenging, and then there was last night. To fully appreciate this story, you have to go back to the beginning.

When I drafted my team (dubbed Bronco Glory in honor of my favorite team) I was really sick, had never played before, and was a little too enamored of players and teams I like. But, somehow, I've muddled through.

About four weeks into the season, I was offered a trade — Greg Jennings, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, for Michael Vick, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, straight up. I also had Eddie Royal, Brandon Lloyd, Andre Johnson, and Miles Austin at receiver, with only Donovan McNabb and Jay Cutler to carry my quarterback slots, so I accepted.

The first week I had Vick, I left him on the bench. He posted 32 points and I lost by about six points while McNabb and Cutler combined to kill me. Next week, I benched McNabb and put Vick in for his game against the Redskins... it didn't go as planned. Vick got hurt four minutes into the game, and my team was sunk.

During the time he was injured, Jennings had a couple break-out games, Andre Johnson battled injuries, Jay Cutler and McNabb were horrendous, and Tony Romo got injured, limiting Miles Austin's effectiveness... In short, the trade looked like a bust.

Then, last week, Vick returned and helped my team get a big win. I started to think maybe it wasn't so bad. Then this week came.

Battling the second place team in my division, I knew it would be a tough week. I made all the best gambles I could and put my best possible team out there. After the Sunday day games, I had a 12-point lead. My opponent had two players left to play — the Sunday night quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady — while I had one — the Monday night quarterback Michael Vick.

All I could hope was that New England and Pittsburgh played a low-scoring game and that Vick played well, then maybe I could hold on for a victory. That hope faded on Sunday night. After a slow start, Big Ben and Brady started lighting it up. They combined for 58 points that night, putting my in a 46-point hole with one player left to play. In other words, I was sunk.

So I sat back and hoped to enjoy Monday Night Football. And enjoy it I did. On the first play, Vick rolled out and hit an 88-yard touchdown strike. I couldn't help but add up the fantasy math, seven points for me. I was happy, but knew that would do little more than make the loss respectable.

By the end of the first quarter, Vick had 19 points and I was getting legitimately excited. You see, Vick is one of the few quarterbacks capable of putting up the kind of numbers needed to overcome a big deficit.

In fantasy scoring (ESPN standard scoring), quarterbacks get one point for every 25 yards thrown, four points for a passing touchdown, and lose two points for an interception. But, when they run, quarterbacks earn points like anyone else. That means a point for every 10 yards and six points for a touchdown.

So Vick not only needed an exceptional passing night, he needed to run away from the Redskins. And that's exactly what he did. Vick threw for 333 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. That's 29 points, a great night for a quarterback. Then he ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns, that's 20 points. So, combined, he gave me 49 points and the greatest fantasy football win of all time! That 168-165 win moved my record to 7-3. If only the real-life Broncos could boast a record in that neighborhood...

Needless to say, I'm glad I made the trade.