By Michael Kelley ’14 and Mick Kowaleski ’14

Grantland’s Chuck Klosterman recently wrote a piece titled “The Chris Johnson Problem,” which claimed that fantasy football is destroying our perceptions of NFL athletes. The Mike’d UP crew give their own opinions on this theory.

Kowaleski: Of course this is true. I’m a prime example. Anybody within a football field’s length of me this past Sunday/Monday heard me screaming obscenities, curses, and profanity (I think I might have even cast a hex) at Tony Romo, Julio Jones, and many others. I completely objectify players who don’t play for the Dolphins. I don’t care about anything other than what they’re giving me fantasy-wise. For many players like me (and they are the majority), fantasy football is a love-hate relationship. Honestly, Romo’s five-pick debacle on Monday cost me a win against one of my best buds, and that naturally has put me in a sour mood for the rest of the week.

I don’t care about these athletes as people unless they give me a reason to. And the only way to do that is by giving me points.

Kelley: This topic is absolutely fascinating. Our relationship with the players we draft is emotionally unstable, unhinged. We dehumanize them.

When a certain player has a breakout performance, you claim all the credit. Your “investment” has made you look like a genius among your peers. But God forbid a player messes up…he is immediately exiled from your heart and his legacy forever ruined in your mind.

Chris Johnson is a prime example, as Klosterman found. In 2009, he had one of the greatest fantasy seasons ever with over 2,000 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. But ever since his holdout, he’s been deadweight in the fantasy leagues. No fantasy owner cares about the past, only the present. Johnson is a mere commodity. “You will care more about yourself than about the thing that you own,” Klosterman said.

Even though our relationship (including yours, Mick) with fantasy players destroys our perception of them as NFL athletes, it makes for an entertaining Sunday of football and a possible pay day at season’s end.

This past week of college football saw an offensive explosion by the Big 12, particularly West Virginia’s Geno Smith, who threw for 656 yards and eight touchdowns in a 70-63 win over Baylor.

Kowaleski: My jaw literally dropped when I saw Smith’s stat line. A lot of people have called these “Madden numbers,” but Madden has progressed to the point where a Cover 3 defense will usually work against duck-and-chuck Hail Mary’s. No, these are “NFL Street”-style numbers, statistics produced against teams who consider defense as an afterthought.

The funny thing is that Smith’s ridiculous stats (he threw more touchdowns [eight] than incompletions [six]) were almost matched by Baylor’s Nick Florence, whose 581 yards for five touchdowns would have been nationally celebrated if not for Smith.

The teams combined for 1,507 total yards, and as impressive as the stats are, I think they’re inflated by the extremely poor defenses. There were no defensive adjustments made, as evidenced by the fact that five of Smith’s eight touchdowns were 39 yards or longer. There comes a point in time when you start putting five defensive players back to cover the deep ball, right?

I want to see West Virginia play a defensive-focused team like, say…Alabama.

Kelley: For those who enjoy the occasional shootout, it was an early Christmas gift. What a showing by both teams: 133 combined points! Absolutely insane. It was by far the most entertaining game of the week. But enjoy these offensive shootouts while you can, because this type of performance won’t happen very often, especially in the big time bowl games. This is a complete embarrassment for both defensive squads, surely one they would never hope to repeat.

So you’re right…again (this might be a first for Mike’d UP). If WVU did play Alabama or LSU, teams with defensive powerhouses, this offensive output would never occur. Maybe they do have a national championship caliber passing offense, but they surely don’t have the other facets of the game necessary to win a national championship or majorBCS bowl game. This type of play will just not work against top notch opponents.

As of now, it appears Geno Smith will win the Heisman, and for good reason, as he has 20 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. But a defense that gives up 63 to Baylor is going to land WVU in some place other than the national championship game.