Nearly all the top sports-related Web sites keep tabs on the major sports, offering the usual statistics. For football, that usually includes team data (yardage, scoring breakdowns, defensive records, etc.) and individual player data (passing and rushing yardage, tackles, fumbles, etc.).

But there are several speciality sites out there that cater to the fantasy crowd, offering statistics that the non-fantasy player never dreamed of worrying about. "Touchdowns allowed by position" isn't a frequent discussion point on Monday mornings, unless the banter is between fantasy team owners, who know that good play on the real gridiron doesn't always translate directly to fantasy team points.

One good site to find the latest fantasy-related statistics is Two Minute Warning (http://www.twominutewarning.com/). The site offers a wide-range of free information, as well as subscriber-only services for the fantasy owner willing to pay for data, such as sortable play-by-play ratings and statistics tailored to help people wagering on the games. The annual fee is $150.

Roland Beech, the site's founder, explains the motivation for starting the site: "My friends and I have always been pretty die-hard National Football League fans, and tend to be very interested in the stats behind the teams and players since we also play a lot of fantasy football, enter office pools, and wager on the games. We started wanting stats that weren't publicly available and becoming frustrated with the "official" ones that were (did you know that when the QB kneels down at the end of a half to run time off the clock it counts as a rushing play for -1 or -2 yards?).

"So, realizing the power of the Internet, we joined forces to watch the games closely each week ourselves and share the info at a common source," he writes via e-mail. "The side benefit has been that a lot of other folks (many of course in Las Vegas) found the site and contributed their ideas for new stats and new ways to use them, it's become a genuine community for sharing."

Let the games begin, but don't forget to check the latest injury lists, because there's nothing more embarrassing than activating a player who's sitting on the sidelines in street clothes.