5 Fantasy Quarterbacks to Avoid and 5 to Take

Over the next 10 or so days I will post about some fantasy football topics here and do some fantasy football podcasts. Today we will look at Quarterbacks to avoid and to take....

5 to Avoid:

1. Kurt Warner

Not saying you should avoid him altogether but he is a HUGE injury risk. If you take him you need to take a very good backup or take Matt Leinart late in your draft. He has an injured hip and has said that he won't be 100% healthy until after the season....if that doesn't raise red flags I don't know what will.

Also reports are he has looked slow in camp with his feet. That presents an enormous problem as well since he was never even remotely fast to begin with. I would definitely take quarterbacks like Rodgers, Rivers, and Schaub before I even consider touching Warner.

2. Tony Romo

He might have a great season but without Terrell Owens I am not touching him. I know he has put up numbers and has been good (except in defining moments) but the Cowboys scare me this season. Roy Williams is NOT TO and will never be TO. And after that you have Crayton, Austin, and Hurd....are you drafting any of them?? No I don't think you are.

Jason Witten is still there and the running backs will catch some balls but I would much rather take Matt Ryan or Matt Schaub before I take Romo.

3. Donovan McNabb

Some people want to say McNabb finally has the receivers to win.....really?? Where? Their top 3 receivers, Jackson, Curtis, and Maclin, are all short slot receivers. None of them are going to catch many touchdown passes. And McNabb is NOT going to run for many touchdowns anymore.

Personally I am a big McNabb and Eagles fan so saying don't pick McNabb is hard but they are going to have trouble scoring...especially through the air.

4. Matt Cassel

Does this really need an explanation? I mean you go from Moss, Welker, Faulk to Bowe and .......! The offensive line is bad and the running game is average at best. How Cassel is a top 10 fantasy quarterback is beyond me.

The ONLY reason he MIGHT be fantasy worthy is because the defense is bad and he might have to throw a lot to stay in games.

5. Kyle Orton

This probably seems obvious after his preseason performance but it goes deeper than that. First of all the best receiver on the team, Brandon Marshall, doesn't want to play and isn't playing right now. Second it is Kyle Orton! And third their schedule is actually very difficult against the pass. They play ONLY FOUR games against teams that ranked in the bottom half of pass defenses last season....those games are against the Chargers and Chiefs. That's it and the Chargers should be better this season.

But like Cassel I could see Orton as a fantasy option because he is going to have to throw the ball cause the Broncos defense is a joke.


5 to Take:

1. Peyton Manning

I heard someone on NFL.com say that Peyton would be a bust this season and I can't figure out how. I am not saying take him over Brees and you probably shouldn't take him ahead of Brady but after that he is the only quarterback I would consider in the first 4 rounds. Personally I might take him ahead of Brady.

He has a complete stable of HEALTHY wide receivers this season. A healthy (and decent) offensive line and a solid running game again this season. AND he was healthy this preseason. I know preseason games don't mean much but watching Peyton and Co. move the ball against Philly was a treat.

2. Matt Ryan

Another quarterback that some people are down on because of Michael Turner. But (as you will see in a couple days) I am down on Turner so I think Ryan will have to carry this team a little more this season. Add to that the addition of Tony Gonzalez AND a porous defense and you have a quarterback who should throw the ball plenty.

3. David Garrard

Here is a guy who finished in the top 10 in fantasy quarterbacks last season while throwing to the likes of Matt Jones. This year you get Torry Holt and Troy Williamson. Sure Williamson is a hit or miss (typically miss) but he has been looking good in camp and gives the team a deep threat. Just having him on the field will open up the underneath game for Holt and the tight ends.

Garrard will also run for a couple touchdowns during the season. If you don't get one of the top quarterbacks I would wait on a guy like Garrard (or the next 2 names).

4. Matt Hasselbeck

A year ago he was going in the top 5-6 in fantasy quarterbacks. Now he is out of the top 15 and pushing 20. Why? He along with all his receivers and lineman were hurt last season. Now he is healthy, the receivers are healthy, and they added TJ Houshmanzadeh (I spelled that without looking it up).

While the coaching staff is going to want to run the ball I don't think Julius Jones and (recently signed) Edgerrin James are going to carry this team. Matt and the receivers will have big seasons.

5. Trent Edwards

Maybe you don't risk him as your starter but if you take a quarterback like Jay Cutler this would be a great insurance policy. He gets a new weapon in Terrell Owens and a new offensive system that is going to keep defenses off track. The addition of TO will be huge for this offense. He will absolutely open up the running game and the other side of the field for Lee Evans.

Again...don't make Edwards your starter but I would consider taking either Garrard or Hasselbeck as my starter with Edwards as my backup. It could pay off in the long run.


In the coming days we will look at RB and WR in the same format. I will also give you a couple draft results posts that explain my reasoning.

Check out the podcasts that will be coming soon. I will dissect each position even further there.

Is It Too Soon For Fantasy Football Talk?

NAH!!

Just this past weekend I really started getting back into fantasy football mode. I read some information on ESPN's website and started working on the two leagues where I serve as commissioner.

And I have something to say.....

I really like Auction Drafts!



I had never done one before. I knew about them but always just did snake drafts. Honestly I didn't know enough about the strategy or idea behind the auction draft style to do one.

Well I still don't know enough about the strategy but I enjoyed not having to rely on draft position to get certain players. I only did a mock draft but you can be sure that I will be doing at least 2-3 auction drafts in free leagues this year and potentially becoming commissioner of a league next season.

I think the best way to do an auction draft is to get 3-5 really good players and find enough talented and cheap guys to fill in the rest of your roster. I probably stretched for a player or two in my mock draft but I thought I did okay.

Last season I was in 20 different fantasy football leagues. Most of them free leagues on ESPN but there were 2 play for money leagues that I took (at some points) a little too seriously.

Last year I vowed that I would not do 20 leagues again this year....and so far (I repeat...so far) I have not done any (other than my 2 pay leagues).

But that is going to change and it is going to change in a big way. I need to do research....trust me its research. Now that I have found auction style drafts and want to start an auction style league next year I have to know the best strategy. So I am going to do that.

I will build some teams through the auction drafts that fit multiple styles and strategies. And once I figure out which way works best I will use that for the years to come.

So is it too early to talk fantasy football?

Well.....personally I think the question is....

Is it EVER to early to talk fantasy football?

Start Em/Sit Em for Week 3

Are you wondering who you should play or not play this week?

Then you came to the right place.

Take my advice and you should win your league!

START EM:

QB:
Jay Cutler - going up against New Orleans means he should have another huge day.
Drew Brees - going up against Denver means he will be playing from behind all day and will be throwing the ball all over.
Matt Hasselbeck - going up against St. Louis is going to give him a chance to get back on track

RB:
Brandon Jacobs - Cincinnati can't stop the run so Jacobs should have a big day.
Falcons RBs - Kansas City is TERRIBLE against the run, Turner and Norwood may be worth starting.
Julius Jones - St. Louis isn't good at stopping the run and Jones had a big day last week when he got most of the carries....he will have another good day today.

WR:
Wes Welker - Miami has the worst pass defense in the league and Cassel seems to like throwing to Wes.
Torry Holt - Seattle hasn't been able to stop anyone yet so capitalize on a good matchup for Holt.
Anthony Gonzalez - The Jags pass defense isn't strong and Peyton has always loved a good fast slot receiver.

Sleepers:
QB - Matt Cassel - Like I said, Miami is BAD against the pass and Cassel didn't look terrible last week.
RB - Selvin Young - He should break a couple of long runs against a poor Saints defense.
WR - Bryant Johnson - Solid game last week and now he goes up against the Lions high school quality defense.


SIT EM:

QB:
Carson Palmer - The Giants play good pass defense and the Bengals O hasn't performed well yet this year. Sit him if you have a decent backup until he proves they are able to move the ball.
David Garrard - If he is your starter he should already be on the bench but the combination of a bad run defense and decent pass defense of the Colts mean sit him for this week for sure.

RB:
Willie Parker - The Eagles run defense is one of the best in the NFL and with the Eagles O moving and scoring like they have, Big Ben will have to pass to stay in it.
Earnest Graham - The Bears run D is good and the Bucs pass offense isn't enough to scare the Bears secondary. Expect a lot of 8 guys close to the line.

WR:
Roy Williams - 49ers secondary has only allowed 1 touchdown through 2 games and Williams isn't even the best option on the team anymore.
Chad Johnson - You shouldn't be playing him anyway considering his shoulder but against the Giants D he isn't going to do anything.


Advice to live by!

Episode 1

Click here to listen to episode 1 of Jumping Offsides. (or click in the sidebar)

In this episode we cover:

A little golf, although not really....you have to listen to understand;

College football, we looked at big games and big teams;

Pro football, we preview and pick the big games;

Fantasy football, we give you sleepers that could help you win your games this week;

and

Baseball, we talked about the division races and Ned Yost getting fired.

Check it out!!