Top Five Fantasy QBs

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.

San Diego Chargers vs. Indianapolis Colts Playoff Primer

The night cap of day one on Wild-Card Weekend will have two teams on display that can light up the scoreboard. Whereas the Colts have reverted to a more proficient scoring style over the past few years with the peak-point maturity of Peyton Manning, the Chargers have remained a team that can put up points in bunches. This game should have all the makings of a contest that comes down to which team does the best with it’s last offensive drive, and a last chance hail-mary or “lateral push” doesn’t count.

 

Everyone knows that both teams have more-than capable and playoff-tested quarterbacks. Peyton Manning has practically carried his team whose run game which ranked 31^st in the league with a meager 79.6 yards per game, and was able to post his ninth 4,000 yard plus season with 4,002 yards, threw 27 touchdowns against a respectable twelve interceptions, while completing 66.8 percent of his passes. These numbers were good enough to earn him a 95.0 QB rating.

 

Philip Rivers, for San Diego, threw his way to his first ever 4,000 yard plus season with 4,009 yards. He also tied with New Orleans’ Drew Brees for the most touchdowns with 34, completed 65.3 percent of his passes with eleven interceptions. All this was good for a passer rating of 105.5 which was tops in the NFL. Much like Peyton Manning, he too had to overcome his teams dip in rushing stats as LaDainian Tomlinson went from 1,462, 1,815, and 1,474 yards in the past three years respectively to his lowest output ever in his storied eight year career at 1,110 yards with 3.8 yards per carry. In those previously mentioned seasons, he had 4.3, 5.2, and 4.7 yards per carry respectively. So this should be the beginning of the down-hill part of his career.

 

But even with that being said, the Chargers still gained 107.9 yards per game on the ground (20^th in the league, and eleven better than Indy’s 31^st) and even with his 2008 swoon, Tomlinson is still one of the most prolific rushers in the league. Furthermore, his production is still better than the Colt’s duo of Dominic Rhodes, 538ypg, 3.5ypc, and Joseph Addai, 544ypg, and also 3.5ypc. The two of them alone gained 1,082 yards. This isn’t good, as the Chargers second option, Darren Sproles, had 330ypg with 5.4ypc. If you combine his total with Tomlinson’s you’ll get 358 yards of extra ground over the two Indianapolis runners.

 

As far as defenses go, the Chargers were 27^th in the league versus the pass, giving up 247.4 yards per game. On the other hand, the Colts were very good with a 6^th rated passing defense giving up 188.1 yards per contest. As for the rushing defenses, the Chargers ranked 11^th and gave up a respectable 102.6 yards per game. With teams rarely giving every single carry to a feature back, 102.6 yards per game between two to three players isn’t terrible. The Colts, however, were 24^th, and they gave up 122.9 yards per outing. That kind of number suggests that their opponent’s feature back was typically able to get at least over 90 yards on his own. Seemingly, the Colts allowed seven of their opponent’s backs to gain over 90 yards to the Charger’s three.

 

Now for the X factors.

 

Both teams are entering the post-season on hot streaks; the Colts have won nine straight, and the Chargers have won four straight. You would think the Colts did their duty better with that kind of disparity, but let’s not forget a few “gimme” games they won this season; The first time they played Houston, when QB Sage Rosenfels fumbled the ball away twice in the waning moments of the game, the game against Pittsburgh when they were down 17-7 at one point and Ben Roethlisberger threw three terrible interceptions, and the game against Cleveland when they were down 6-3 in the fourth quarter and Robert Mathis returned a fumble by QB Ken Dorsey 37 yards for a 10-6 victory. Without those three wins, the Colts wouldn’t even be in the playoffs.

 

In the Charger’s four game streak, their only luck-job win was in Kansas City when they scored twelve points in the final 1:19 of the game to win 22-21. Other than that, they have soared in beating Oakland 34-7, Tampa Bay 41-24, and most recently, Denver 52-21.

 

With all of that being said, the Chargers having a passing game that is actually complimented by the run, the Colts having to rely on Peyton manning for most of the season, and a renewed vigor of the San Diego Chargers by their miracle playoff push after overcoming a 4-8 record, I just simply have to give the game to San Diego at home. There is a reason the Colts passing defense was 6th in the league, and that is because their opponents had field days against their 31^st ranked run defense. I am not saying the game won’t be close and that Peyton Manning isn’t great on the road just as he is at home, but the game can easily slip away from Indianapolis in the second half if they have to go score for score in this contest.

 

Chargers win.

Chargers Host Broncos in Deciding AFC West Showdown in Week 17 Sunday Night

It’s official. The word literally just came through about thirty seconds ago, and it will be the San Diego Chargers, who were widely thought to be finished with their season, having a chance to make a miraculous comeback and enter the playoffs by winning their division. What’s even more is the fact that they’d be doing it with an 8-8 record if they were to win.

 

This game showcases two of the big number producing quarterbacks in the league in Philip Rivers who has the league-high in TDs, 32, and Jay Cutler whose been shredding defenses for a good portion of the season. This game also features two teams who have been highly inconsistent, and where now, it is truly “put up or shut up” time.

 

Everybody whose anybody remembers what happened the first time these two teams met this season, when referee Ed Hochuli called a fumble by Jay Cutler as an incomplete pass that cost the Chargers the game in Denver. Now it’s either going to be the Chargers getting their revenge, or Jay Cutler proving that the Broncos were the better team all along… and I simply can’t wait to see what happens.