Top Five Fantasy QBs

Never too early for Fantasy Football!

1.  Tom Brady – You can think about that injury all you want, but when you factor in that a 100% Tom Brady threw for 50 TDs and over 4,800 yards with just 8 INTs, then the hampered mobility version of Brady can afford 5 to 10 less TDs and maybe 600 or so less yards. Don’t forget his team’s receiving core has been bolstered by Joey Galloway.

2. Drew Brees – It’s not wins that count in this game… it’s numbers. During his three year tenure in New Orleans, and because of the lack of production in the Saints’ running game, Drew Brees has 4,400+, 4,400+, and 5,000+ yards, with 26, 28, and 34 TDs all respectively. What he loses in a potentially high INT rate (11, 18, and 17 also respectively), he makes up for by averaging 289.79 yards per game and by only having missed one start in the last five years (none in New Orleans).

3. Kurt Warner – After one full year as the Cardinals undisputed starter, he reverted to his accurate past at a 67.1% completion rate, amassed 4,583 passing yards (good for 286.44 a game), and a cool 30 TDs against an up and down 14 INTs. And like Brees, it’s not how many wins you get in this game… it’s the numbers. Now that Larry Fitzgerald has become the LeBron James of his position after his postseason play, Kurt Warner should be in for another big year. Some of you may be worrying about the potential loss of Anquan Boldin, but remember, his playing time was very limited in those playoffs, and Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston surely produced.

4. Peyton Manning – It may come as a surprise that Peyton Manning is number four on my list. He is still good for a smooth 3,800-4,100 yards this season and an ample high 20’s to low 30’s in TD numbers. However, he does not have anywhere near the yards per game potential as the previously mentioned QBs as his team’s defense is definitely above Brees’ and Warner’s, and better than Brady’s as well.

5. Philip Rivers – Philip Rivers showed in 2008 that he can be a big numbers guy. He finished up with 4,009 yards, and a career high 34 TDs. It would not be a stretch to question his potential consistency due to his 2006 and 2007 seasons. In those years he threw for 3,300+ and 3,100+ yards, with 22 and 15 TDs, all respectively. However, last season we started to see huge signs of wear and tear on LaDainian Tomlinson, which is probably a big reason why his numbers soared this past year as compared to those previous two. So in that respect, it would not be a stretch as well to see him having a great fantasy type season again this year.

Where Will Jay Cutler Go from Here?

Jay Cutler could be making many fans of some other lucky team smile sometime soon.

Yesterday it was reported that the Pro Bowl Quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Jay Cutler, had officially requested a trade. Today, we the people, began contemplating where he might end up if his request is honored. I’m sure there are many fans out there whose team could use a guy in Jay Cutler who played like the potential franchise-type quarterback that many analysts foresaw. The scoop is that new head coach Josh McDaniels, who was offensive coordinator for the Patriots, wanted to trade Cutler for Matt Cassel since he was familiar with his system already. This has since angered the young Cutler and he now wants to go… but where?!

To start off an easy process of elimination, every team in the AFC is out since teams don’t usually like to send star players away to in-conference franchises. And although Cassel was finally traded to another AFC team, like his former Patriots, in the Chiefs, that was more of an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” deal.

This was the widespread thought when that deal went down, because Scott Pioli, the former general manager of the Patriots moved onto Kansas City to try and resurrect that ball club.

So the AFC is out!

In the NFC East, Dallas has Tony Romo, NY has Eli Manning, and Philadelphia has Donovan McNabb. So far, Jason Campbell of the Washington Redskins still has a lot to prove, while Cutler seems way more promising than him thus far when both their careers are compared.

In the NFC North, the Packers have Aaron Rodgers, and the Vikings made moves to throw their young QB Tarvaris Jackson into a competition with newly acquired Sage Rosenfels from Houston. I don’t think that the Lions could attract an odor, so the Bears are definitely a hot spot. They’ve had no success with Rex Grossman, and minimal with Kyle Orton.

In the NFC South, the Saints boast Drew Brees, and the Falcons have a young star in rookie of the year Matt Ryan. The Panthers would have looked to have some great trade bait with the disgruntled Julius Peppers, but now it looks like he may be a Patriot soon. However, with Jake Delhomme being their current signal caller you still can’t count them out. Then there’s the Buccaneers who got rid of veteran Jeff Garcia.

After that, in the NFC West, the Seahawks have Matt Hasselbeck who is not past his better days yet, and Kurt Warner is obviously safe as the Cardinals QB. Cross those two teams out and you have the 49ers with the disappointing results of Alex Smith’s progress, and the St. Louis Rams, who should have started thinking about dropping Marc Bulger quite some time ago.

So there you have it. The top candidates to have Jay Cutler for President!

Free “O”

Terrell Owens A Free Agent Once Again

Here we go again. The ink is not even dry yet on Manny Ramirez’s contract and this morning we learned that our favorite media darling, Terrell Owens, has been released by the Cowboys. I guess we are not really too shocked by this but I can tell you for sure Tony Romo is the saddest cowboy on the plain. But who cares about him? All I want to know is: Where is T.O. going now?

There are 31 other teams out there that surely would love to have his numbers injected into their offense but only a handful would find it worth it. As well an even smaller group have enough to lure him in. Further still even less would take the risk.

So who are they? Well, first you would have to weed out the pretenders. T.O. is not going anywhere a rebuilding is in progress. Certainly he is not going anywhere there is no QB with a resume. That leaves teams with coaches that have job security as well as stability. But Philly is out and Parcells disciples Coughlin and Sparano surely would not have him.

I do not think that Atlanta or Baltimore would risk the progress of their young starting QB’s by bringing Owens in to help. The Vikings could certainly use his services. However, they do not throw the ball in an offense built around Adrian Peterson nor do they have a QB to get Owens the ball.

The Jets? HAHA

How about the Redskins, Saints or Chargers? Hey why not right. The Redskins and Dan Snyder have proven they will spend money on anything. Owens would love the chance to remain in the division and now stick it to Philly and Dallas. Given the way he regularly torches the Giants that would mean six games worth of great potential from Owens. The Saints have the high powered offensive attack that would suit Owens wants as well as his need to be with a big time QB in Drew Brees. But is there room for him and his ego among all those other big names? Shockey Bush Colston etc. San Diego might be the best fit. He becomes the number one option for Phillip Rivers who is probably salivating as we speak. It would take pressure off Antonio Gates and his big toe. As well this would open up a running lane or two for Ladainian Tomlinson and allow him to be L.T. again.

Allow me to just throw this out there: X Y Z – Owens Welker Moss. Get your pop-corn ready!

Big Game Brewing in NFC South matchup between Saints and Panthers

Will Drew Brees stellar production continue this weekend in Carolina? He is currently averaging 332 yards per game through the air and is on pace to throw for over 5,300 yards. Even though that shouldn’t happen, it’s still pretty darn good for six weeks of play and he’ll definitely reach over 4,000.

Either way, this should be an exciting matchup as both teams are fighting to keep pace with 4-2 Tampa Bay in the NFC South who faces a real barn burner at home against the Seahawks this weekend.

Come Back Sunday

By Mark M

Today in the NFL, we saw four 4th quarter comebacks performances. This made for amazing football Sunday. The Redskins, Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills all surpassed their opposition in the final quarter of their respective games.

1. Redskins vs. Saints-

Going into the 4th quarter the skins trailed 15 – 24. They were trailing until Santana Moss beat whipped Tracy Porter for 67 Yards for the game winning late TD. Drew Brees had a chance to stage a comeback yet, he through a INT.

Final Score was 29-24, Redskins.

Santana Moss beats Tracy Porter for 67 yard TD strike

2. Colts Vs. Vikings-

Peyton Manning has not looked like himself over the first 2 weeks of the NFL season. However, in the closing quarter of the Game this week, he helped stage a comeback in the 4th quarter. Trailing at one point by 0 – 15 the colts come up with some miraculous plays, to pull out this one. One to defiantly check out would be A. Gonzalez/Reggie Wayne TD in the 2nd half. Peyton who was struggling the 1st half, stayed posed like the true pro that he is and delivered the “W” by getting Adam Vinatieri, in range for a late game winning field goal. I think you know can figure out what the outcome of that was. (Vinatieri is awesome)

Final Score was 15-18, Colts.

Clutch kicker,Adam Vinatieri, celebrates as hits a game winning FG in week 2.

3. Broncos vs Chargers-

The Chargers have given up two late game comebacks in the last two weeks. It seems that for them no lead is safe. The Broncos, had a great lead going into the 4th. Broncos lead 27-31 over the Bolts going into the 4th. The Chargers scored and placed the broncos up against the proverbial wall. The Broncos answered however, and decided to go for the game winning 2 pt conversion in the closing minutes of the game. Big Rookie Eddie Royal came up with the catch for the Broncos, propelling them to their 2nd win of the NFL season.

Eddie Royal was a rookie standout, once again, catching the game winning TD and 2pt conversion in the final minutes of the game.

Final Score: 39-38, Broncos.

4. Buffalo Vs. Jaguars-

With three OL out, the Jaguars knew they were going to have a tough day against Marcus Stroud and his new squad. The Bills were trailing going into the 4th quarter by 3 going into the 4th. The Bills, however came out with the Victory due to the outstanding play of QB Troy Edwards, who completed 20 of 25 passes for 239 yards and 1 TD.

Final Score was 20-16, Bills.

Trent Edwards showed great skill and veteran leadership in week 2 victory against the Jaguars