PHILADELPHIA — When Buddy Ryan was the Eagles' coach, he very rarely referred to his players by name.

If linebacker Seth Joyner would make a stellar play, Ryan might say "that ol' No. 59 knocked the stuffing out of the quarterback."

Or if Heath Sherman would roll into the end zone, Ryan would utter "that little running back sure is a handful."

So when Ryan was asked to name some of the studs on his fantasy football team, the 72-year-old former coach reverted to his old form.

"Well, I got the running back from San Diego, I got the running back from Baltimore. ..."

Ryan is retired now, raising horses in Kentucky and skippering a successful fantasy football team although "I got lucky and only won by three last week."

Ryan is a member of the 12-team Central Kentucky Football League run by Will Rodes, the vice president of Wilson Equipment, a distributor of commercial machinery based in Lexington. His team is Buddy's 46ers, named after the vaunted "46" defense scheme he devised as a coach.

Ryan has been playing fantasy for a number of years. This being Buddy Ryan, though, how he became attracted to it is somewhat unconventional.

"I met a guy that owns a bulldozing outfit down here and he gave me the operation of a bulldozer to play in their league," said Ryan, referring to Rodes' brother and business partner Charlie. "I enjoy it. It's fun turning in your team every week."

A league rule that needed to be waived was the one that required owners to have Internet access. The league is run through CBS SportsLine, but Ryan has yet to jump on the information superhighway.

"He's a very active owner," Rodes said. "I thought he might do it for one or two years, but here we are going on eight years. He calls in his roster and stops down to the office to get updates on his team."

In addition to the running back in San Diego and the running back in Baltimore, Ryan owns the Ravens defense, where his son Rex is the coordinator, and the Raiders defense, where son Rob is the coordinator.

Ryan has never won the CKFL championship, but this year sits atop the standings tied at 7-2. He still doesn't like kickers and has five Ravens on his roster.

Stuff to consider

• Mike Holmgren's promise to run the ball more often to protect backup quarterback Seneca Wallace means Seattle running back Maurice Morris becomes a strong starting possibility, especially this week against the Rams and their 28th-ranked run defense.

• Bills running back Anthony Thomas is worth owning as long as Willis McGahee is on the shelf. Buffalo is at Indy (32nd against the run) and at Houston (25th) the next two weeks, which is how long McGahee is expected out.

• Cleveland is at Atlanta this week. Each team has played four home games and four road games. Cleveland has allowed 171 points total, 107 on the road (26.8 avg.). Atlanta has scored 167 points total, 101 at home (25.3). Don't sweat Michael Vick's subpar game last week. Play him against the visiting Browns.

• In four road games, Arizona wide receiver Anquan Boldin has 18 catches for 210 yards and zero touchdowns. In four home games, he has 30 catches for 398 yards and three scores.

• Here's a name for deep leagues: Rashied Davis. He's the guy in line to take the place of injured Bears wide receiver Bernard Berrian (ribs).

• For anyone still alive in a suicide pool, it's worth pointing out that New England, which was bounced by Indy last week and hosts the Jets on Sunday, hasn't lost back-to-back games since Dec. 16-22 of the 2002 season. That's outrageous.

• Play Indy running back Joseph Addai. Buffalo, the Colts' opponent on Sunday, has allowed 100-yard rushers in three of the last four after not allowing triple digits in their first four.