When a quarterback comes into the league most of the time odds are against him. For Donovan McNabb, as soon as he stepped on stage when he was drafted, he knew it was going to be a tough start to his career. The presents he delivered for Philadelphia though came quicker than anyone could imagine. He instantly stepped in and gave the Eagles a boost. For years the Eagles were in the playoffs and in the NFC Championship title game. They finally eclipsed that and reached the Super Bowl a few years ago, but now things are completely different. For all of those great years McNabb has put up, people seem to be still doubting him. When will it stop?

The media just can not let go of the one story that has been covered more times than the mentally disabled kid that rained three’s in a high school basketball game. It’s great to keep stirring up controversy when they were on the same team, but TO signed with Dallas numerous months ago. They do not care about each other and sure as heck are not interested in talking about each other anymore. We can’t wait for the moment either of them snaps during next season when asked a question on that at the wrong moment.

For Donovan McNabb though he has played without Terrell Owens the majority of his career. Do not forget, Owens, missed part of his first season with his ankle injury and then was suspended for the rest of the last season. Sure the times Owens was on the field he produced tremendously but he was not there every week. McNabb was the one there to take the snap every down and endured the treacherous times. So the fact that TO is no longer there is not as big an issue as people are making it out to be. It will likely get McNabb back to spreading the football out or even taking off with the ball, instead of having to worry about pleasing Terrell Owens head with touches.

The Eagles still have a solid defense and offensively they will be looking to find their niche. Brian Westbrook figures to be the main helper in developing that. He really has not been involved in the offense as much as he should be. Especially last season as the Eagles rarely ran the football and did not use screens as they have in the past. Westbrook is an explosive back with plenty of ability left and will help the Eagles revive their offense in someway.

Once that happens it will be back in McNabb’s hands to just play with no weight on his shoulders. McNabb has struggled before in his career, as everyone remembers the Rush Limbaugh comments. Then his problem was all mechanical more than mental, but now it is likely all mental. He needs to go out there and play with a free mind. The Eagles use to win plenty of low scoring games because McNabb controlled the tempo, and picked his spots for poison. That’s why they were consistently deep into the playoffs, and is what they’ll need to do to get back there.

The operation can only be a success if the team is ready to move on. If not, then likely the team is going to need a change over. That may end up having to let Andy Reid go, or just as simple as bringing in a new offensive coordinator. Whatever the issue is, this whole team and McNabb is in a crossroads period. There is no telling where the team is going, but this year will be a test mark for the good or bad. McNabb’s long term contract has no bearing of his stay in Philadelphia until 2014. If the team or himself wants out, it will happen.

Fantasy football participants may be worried about McNabb suddenly faltering completely. This is an eight year veteran not a five year. There is no doubt he is just as motivated to prove himself as TO is without him. He trains as hard as anybody in the off season every year in Arizona, to keep trying to get better. After Manning and Palmer you are not going to find any quarterback with the upside of McNabb. His receivers are not the best but they are a solid young group of receives. Reggie Brown showed some ability last year and the return of Todd Pinkston lifts the group as well. Greg Lewis and Jabar Gaffney are right behind them with just as much talent, and tight end LJ Smith will keep a prime role in the Eagles lineup.

McNabb will shake off any suspicions the first week of the season and this will just be another chapter avoided by McNabb of doubters.

Sit and watch is what quarterbacks secretly want as a rookie. When that turns into the same situation as a second year player anxiousness is arise. Philip Rivers drew the heat on the Chargers franchise to make a decision last year, and they countered by signing Brees to a one year deal. The deal was a move to lay over the franchises decision on which quarterback to move forward with. With Drew Brees’s shoulder injury as a major question, the Chargers decided they could not afford that with a talented Rivers awaiting. So unlike fellow drafted quarterback Eli Manning, Rivers will enter his third season basically as an untested rookie. Did Rivers learn a lot mentally from watching or will he need to take all his bumps and bruises this season?

The two best things for Rivers are the same two reasons Brees looked so calm as a Charger. LT and Antonio Gates play their positions at the top rank, and will surely keep their skill levels at a high rate. With LT on the field he makes it tremendously easy for the quarterback. Whether it is a simple ordinary handoff or LT’s dangerous abilities out of the backfield as a receiving back. The assurances of a reliable back will always be there.

A worry there could be that LT has taken a lot of burden on his shoulders, and started to wear down a bit last year because of it. If there is ever a year the Chargers will need to work him more early on in the season, it will be now. The Chargers do not want to risk the health of LT and may give an extra dosage to backup Michael Turner.

Another concern has to be the Chargers wide receivers. Yes, Antonio Gates has been used primarily as the main receiving factor, but they will need someone other than Gates to emerge. Keenan McCardell has done a decent job as a Charger, but has to feel the age of his recently retired partner Jimmy Smith. It is odd to have a 36 year old receiver as your number one, especially with no one reliable behind McCardell on the depth chart. Eric Parker has been a Charger for years but has never emerged because he should not be a starting wide receiver.

As long as LT and Antonio Gates stay healthy then Rivers should be fine. Do not expect Rivers to have many huge passing days, but to have a solid season. Maybe an average of 210 to 220 yards a game and fifteen to the high teens in touchdowns. Marty Shottenheimer is going to do everything in his power to keep games close. The defense is strong especially at stopping the run, and that alone will keep them in games.

What the Chargers do not want to do, is let Philip Rivers lose games for them. That’s a department the Chargers never were too concerned with Drew Brees. He always kept his interceptions low, and that was vital in the Chargers success.

So from a fantasy standpoint, Rivers is not worth drafting at all. You may think about snatching him off the waiver wire in preseason, if the offense looks smooth with him out there. Rivers will be one of a few starting quarterbacks to get plenty of time in the preseason. Like most first time starters Rivers will be sluggish and that will lead to him shying away from the big play. Over time though he will be a nice fantasy quarterback as he has all the intangibles to be the cornerstone franchise quarterback for the Chargers.

Being treated improperly in professional sports is a commonality. The majority of athletes are cut or forced out due to the lower echelon of job security in the NFL. That is the part of sports that is expected and never looked into deeply. But when a former MVP and multiple Pro Bowler is handed his walking papers it does. Steve McNair’s case with the Tennessee Titans may have been the worst case a player has ever been treated. For what he did for the Titans since 1995 was remarkable, and suddenly they cut him off their list. Life as an athlete is tough, but Steve McNair is going to make life tough for coaches and crush the mentality of the Titans front office.

He may have went through some injury prone seasons and seem to be on the down side of his career, but McNair is no where done. Now a Baltimore Raven, he enters a situation that was in desperate need for a quarterback of his abilities. Do not be shocked to see a sudden revitalized Jamal Lewis, and oh a Ravens defense return to the extraordinary level that was gone last year.

In the NFC North there is only one team heading into the season without a question mark at quarterback. That team is the Baltimore Ravens. The Bengals and Steelers are hoping their young gun slingers are healthy. Even if they are the rust will be there from the slow process of non contact drills and the overlap of rest. The Cleveland Browns are looking dismal with no one but Charlie Frye to look forward with.

It is going to be a lot easier than people think, for the Ravens to be strong AFC contenders. Not the .500 type contender, but a great team. The defense now has Trevor Pryce and a huge defensive tackle in Haloti Ngata that will protect Ray Lewis. Offensively they brought in veteran tail back Mike Anderson, in case Jamal Lewis is stutter step 2005 Lewis.

The situation is so great for McNair that it is almost too good. Another subtle attraction is the fact that McNair has his favorite target at wide receiver. Yes, Derrick Mason the reception gobbling king that we all know will team up with McNair strongly this season. Weapons galore does not end. We all remember that Frank Wycheck was one of McNair’s favorite targets back in the day. Well now he has a healthy Todd Heap to hurl the ball too.

From a fantasy stand point no one is going to draft McNair in a deserving spot. Reason being that quarterbacks have been unsuccessful with the Ravens. The reason being that Chris Redman, Kyle Boller, and Anthony Wright should have never been out on the field. Do not be fooled by that. Steve McNair will put up decent numbers and open up the offense for the Ravens. He spreads the football around as well as any quarterback, which makes it extremely easy for the offensive coordinator to bust out gadget plays.

The other obvious reason no one will take McNair above the sixth round is because of his injury history. He has been banged up more than ever, but what you have to love about McNair is that he battled most of those injuries on the field. He hardly ever missed the time he should have to recover from his injuries.

If you see an opportunity in the draft where McNair is the best second option left at quarterback than draft him. Especially if you were unable to draft Manning, Brady, Delhomme, or a for sure number one quarterback. The Ravens may not open up the offense as much as fantasy owners would like, just because of their stellar defense. They will do enough though for McNair to finish around twenty touchdowns and near the 3,000 yard mark.

Name a quarterback you could count on more of as a second fantasy quarterback?

The ins and outs of the NFL can be glamorous but also short lived. One minute you could be comparable to Trent Dilfer, as a winning Super Bowl quarterback. A journeyman like Dilfer is past from team to team in his career, with little intentions by those teams of maintaining a future interest. The money is great in the NFL but the stresses of always looking over your shoulder are the obvious necessities of competition. With free agency playing a bigger role every year and the NFL Draft growing as an seven round talent feast; athletes that some would never think would be looking over their shoulders are.

Of course heading into fantasy football drafts, nothing is worse than drafting a bust of an athlete. Knowing the possibilities of an athlete being benched is one of the keys to not wasting a valuable pick. Do not be fooled and lose your senses in thinking that every pick in a fantasy football draft is not important. Every pick is and if you draft right, you will not have to worry about having to dig in on a trade or pray for landing a waiver wire phenom. With that in mind we have compiled a section solely on the premise of athletes heading into the 2006 season with their heads twisted and looking over their shoulders.

Quarterbacks
Joey Harrington vs. Jon Kitna
Let the snarling and growling begin. Jon Kitna has made the bold statements that he has the job and that there is no competition for the starting job. Having cockiness could be a good or bad sign for Kitna. The Lions do need a leader with tough tenacity but the Lions will not be scared to shuffle the situation. McCown is younger and has played fairly well in his stint duty starts for the Cardinals. There may not be enough for McCown to show in preseason to surpass Kitna, but he is almost a given to see action at some point during the season.

Joey Harrington vs. Daunte Culpepper
Determining the strength of Culpepper’s recovery from multiple surgeries and his progression of rehab will determine if this battle starts in Joey Harrington’s favor or not. If Harrington does start the season as the Dolphins starter it could be his for the majority of the year. That is of course only if he is winning. Often times if a quarterback shows that he has the team in the right direction than there is and will not be an immediate change. If Culpepper is forced to limited reps and a low amount of preseason action, than Harrington is the guy to lose the job. There is no way that Nick Saban would jeopardize a regular season preseason training environment for Culpepper to show his rust. He will make Culpepper show he can play with many weeks of practice.

Kelly Holcomb vs JP Losman and Craig Nall
The Bills may be regretting sending Drew Bledsoe’s bags packing with thoughts that JP Losman would be their starter for years. It turned out that he did not even last a whole season and now is a question to be the Bills backup quarterback. Things got so bad that there were rumors that the Bills were going to try to deal him. Overall, the Bills quarterback situation looks cloudy with a clear forecast not in the near future. True Buffalo weather. Holcomb can not be the starter all season, so eventually the Bills will need to decide on which youngster to try to utilize. For fantasy football owners anyone with one of these athletes on your team will be as desperate as can be. These three names should be thrown on a list of fantasy deserted island, with no hopes of thinking of rescuing them to your squads.

Brian Griese vs. Rex Grossman
You know your watching your shoulder when people are criticizing you for Kyle Orton. That was truly amazing to hear people call out the Bears for making the move to bring in Grossman for Orton. With Griese now lurking in the shadows the whispers are already stirring. The fact that Grossman has never been able to stay healthy is another reason to suspect that Griese will be on the field at some point. If that does happen it may not be such a bad situation for the Bears. Griese could thrive in the system of the Bears where a quarterback has the least pressure of any team.

Matt Leinart vs. Kurt Warner
Warner has seen this before when the Giants drafted Eli Manning. He did play well for the Giants and that was not even enough for him to stay away from being benched. This time around Warner will have to play like an MVP to avoid being sat in place of the future of the Cardinals. Of course Warner will also have to try to keep his body well, which has been plaguing him since his MVP days. The Cardinals have done a great job marketing and Leinart is atop the plan, so which week will he enter?

Jay Cutler vs Jake Plummer
If there ever has been a coach that pulls the trigger on a move with the quickness, it is Mike Shanahan. He does not care about a name, he cares about performance. Jake Plummer may have been raved about by Shanahan from the time he was signed, but Shanahan is unhappy with what Plummer has brought over the last few years. That’s obvious with the drafting of Cutler. So it will be up to Plummer to bump off the appearance of Cutler and continue to move the Broncos further into the playoffs. After all he did get them to the AFC championship game, but we all know that is not ever good enough.

Running Backs

Laurence Maroney vs. Corey Dillon
Backs that are drafted in the latter part of the first round have proven to be extremely valuable picks. Maroney hopes to keep that pattern going well, and the Patriots believe he is their back of the future. Corey Dillon is approaching the phase of a running back in which you do not know how much you can get out of him anymore. Dillon has been banged up far too much and the Patriots can ill afford to head into 2006 without insurances. Maroney will pose as a potential fantasy option if Dillon’s injury woes continue.

Mike Anderson vs. Jamal Lewis
Stutter stepping Jamal Lewis will need to get back to moving his legs forward or else Mike Anderson will show him how. Anderson is a straight forward plowing runner and the Ravens will not shy away from using him. Therefore the number of carries will not be shocking to see escalate more and more into Anderson’s arms. Especially if Lewis struggles as he did last year, albeit, the Ravens offense did not help.

Cleveland’s backfield
Just when the Browns thought they had their sure guy, Reuben Droughns goes ahead and gets himself into trouble as well off the field. It seems no one really wants to have the starting job in Cleveland. Not looming too far off from Droughns are Lee Suggs and William Green. It will be entertaining to watch who gets on Romeo Crennel’s good side. In all likelihood the Browns will use a running back by committee. As all are fairly talented backs.

Cedric Benson vs. Thomas Jones
Somehow Thomas Jones was able to stave off Cedric Benson from taking over last season, until Benson was out of the picture with a season ending injury. How Jones did it was by playing well and being the Bears offense every week. Can he repeat that success? We think so, as he seems to have found a niche with the Bears and has improved all around as a back. Yet, the Bears did not use a high first round pick on Benson for nothing. So the eventual problem will soon translate to Benson getting more carries. How that will affect Jones remains to be seen.

Maurice Drew vs. Fred Taylor
Fred Taylor has staved off competition since the James Stewart days. With that in mind, is the time nearing where he will finally succumb? He has yet to lose any of his explosiveness and is still one of the better complete running backs in the NFL. Injuries may have helped Taylor by making his role less heavy than most feature backs. Drew is expected to push Taylor but do no expect anything significant to happen for at least this season.

Wide Receivers

Keary Colbert vs. Keyshawn Johnson
Colbert sure downed fantasy owners last season and the Panthers. It was the Steve Smith and nobody else show if you were a Carolina Panther wideout last season. Recent reports have came out on why that happened. Colbert was playing through an ankle injury all season long even though it was never reported as a weekly factor. If Colbert can come in healthy there is no reason to see why he can not push Keyshawn Johnson. The Panthers would like to have the duo they envisioned last season, and Johnson is not necessarily a serious threat these days.

Chad Jackson vs. Reche Caldwell
Most rookie wide receivers struggle but Chad Jackson may have extra motivation to succeed. After being predicted as a first round pick he slipped all the way into the second round to the New England Patriots. Not bad in terms of where he landed, but a horrible shot to his confidence heading into the NFL. The only way he can change that is to go out and prove to Tom Brady that he wants to be the go to guy. With the Patriots losing David Givens and bringing in Reche Caldwell they are in dire need for someone to step up opposite Deion Branch.

Jabar Gafney vs. Reggie Brown
It is amazing that the Eagles are fine with their existing wide receivers. From top to bottom the group looks like a no name list of AFL or NFL Europe players. Poor Donovan McNabb but he will have to throw to someone. Gafney had some okay games with the Houston Texans that paved the way in the Eagles taking a chance on him. Frankly, if he can not grab a hold of the Eagles second receiver job than the Eagles may need to think about signing or trading for a wideout.

David Boston vs. Michael Clayton
Being in Jon Gruden’s doghouse is never a good thing but Michael Clayton is. With the recent signing of David Boston and Chris Simms raving about him, things do not look too well for Clayton. What does, is the fact that David Boston has been a ghost in the NFL since he left Arizona in 2001. Boston still is a beast but may have suffered too many injuries to get back to being a starting wide receiver.

Reggie Williams vs. Ernest Wilford
Williams may have the obvious talent edge over Wilford but where he lacks is in the department of favoritism. Byron Leftwich loved Jimmy Smith but was always looking for Wilford secondly. Matt Jones has all but ensured himself a starting job so the battle between Williams and Wilford could be a sleeper choice in fantasy leagues.

It was obvious the Detroit Lions wanted to part ways with Joey Harrington. They repeatedly gave Harrington chances to succeed, and even brought in three supposed young standout wide receivers. They even want as far as trying to supplant Harrington by expecting Jeff Garcia to win the job over, and that did not pan out either. All of us knew that something was wrong when the Lions benched Harrington on Thanksgiving Day for Garcia, who was playing and played much worse than Harrington the entire season.

A chance to turn around Harrington’s career seems dim. At least he is in a new environment where he steps in for the immediate future as the Dolphins starting quarterback. Of course that door to start will only last as long as it takes Daunte Culpepper to recover from his serious knee injuries.

Miami knows that Culpepper’s return could be an upgrade or a downgrade away from being pushed back into late October or plans for a week one return. Regardless of Culpepper’s health concerns, Harrington will be the one that takes the snaps and gets the starters reps all off-season. By Miami trading away a meaningless fifth round pick, it is a trade off of little risk for Miami. Putting Harrington in a less stressful environment with a stronger team camaraderie and nucleus is only going to boost his confidence. Nick Saban has had a tremendous effect on almost any player he has been around and Harrington should be another.

While at Detroit there were just too many torturous events for a quarterback to blossom. Every year there was either a coaching change or a new system to learn. On top of that Harrington was thrust right in to starting quarterback duties as a rookie in 2002. People think automatically that a quarterback can be like a Ben Roethlisberger, but the learning curve is essential for most quarterbacks. Harrington did not have that and it showed each year as he kept looking like a rookie.

That led to week to week inconsistency from Harrington. One week he could be an extremely patient quarterback that had the big play or two to give the Lions the win. The next he could be a flustered quarterback, and when that happened it would overlap into the upcoming weeks. It just seemed that too much emphasis was on what Harrington had to do with the football, instead of building the offense around him. Whether that be by establishing the run, or even helping Harrington with short dump offs or quick outs to the receiver. The Lions just threw Harrington into the fire every week and let him burn.

Having the tools to play quarterback has always been there for Harrington. He has a great arm and solid enough arm strength and accuracy to deliver a football wherever he wants. Dissecting Harrington’s miscues are as obvious as watching a Jake Plummer or Brett Favre. At times he just has horrible football IQ and awareness on the football field. Poor throws in tremendous coverage have plagued him from launching his career into a positive direction. Maybe he needs to get his eyes reexamined because sometimes he just looks like a blind quarterback throwing into a sea of players.

Nick Saban and the Miami Dolphins will know how to turn Harrington around and steer him in the direction the Lions should have done several years ago. Harrington’s future is still bright as he is only entering his sixth season in the NFL. Bravo to Miami for sacrificing a draft pick to acquire Harrington even though he would have been available in four weeks; as he was all but guaranteed to be cut by the Lions before June 15th.

Picturing a successful campaign from Harrington’s view would be by signifying a change in his dangerous throws that are unneeded. All that would require is the growth from a shuffling worried young rookie type quarterback, to a veteran that has learned from his past and can stand in the pocket for that extra second or two and deliver his throws.

If Harrington can play within Nick Saban’s system he will not have to be a huge quarterback play maker. Jay Fiedler never had to do it and neither did Gus Frerotte last season. Miami is the perfect fit for Harrington and a smart move by Miami’s front office for a cheap expense.

Will there be a quarterback controversy this season or next off-season in Miami?

Party on the beach till the break of dawn…welcome to Miami. Daunte Culpepper won’t have to worry about bye week opportunities to have a blast down south. Worrying about Culpepper’s behavior off the football field though is the least of Miami’s worries.

Miami wanted Drew Brees but didn’t want to lose out on him and not have a viable quarterback left to seek. Aaron Brooks is an okay quarterback, but Nick Saban wanted a guy that can come right in and keep the Dolphins momentum building. Nothing is more frustrating than a quarterback holding a quality team down. Will Culpepper be able to stay away from doing that?

It’s good to look at his stellar Pro Bowl MVP type season two years ago, but stray away from that a bit. Besides that season, Culpepper has been a prototype Aaron Brooks. A quarterback with an accurate arm, but accurate enough to land in defenders arms on several occasions. He is also more prone to fumbling the football.

The severity of Culpepper’s knee injuries is also another eye popping concern. His tears were significant, and will probably bother him for the rest of his career. Adjusting to more a pocket quarterback though may not be a problem for Culpepper. He has a cannon for an arm, and is big enough to sustain hits in the pocket. Maybe having less mobility will keep his pocket awareness more open. Often times his fumbles aren’t for crunching hits, but because he is half asleep and unknowing that defenders are barreling down on him.

There are more plusses than negatives in the move for Culpepper. He is with a team that wants nothing but to boost his confidence. They’ve made some key signings to the offensive line, and have a plethora of young amazing talent budding in particular Chris Chambers and Ronnie Brown. With Miami’s weak schedule next season, and the draft around the corner things should only look better.

The organization feels that they’ve done nothing since Dan Marino left, even though Jay Fiedler did an admirable job. With ease, Culpepper should be able to elevate his play above what Fiedler did in five years. Either that or he’ll be ran out much quicker than Fiedler’s stint.

A year away from the game can do damage mentally to an athlete. Culpepper watched Brad Johnson lead the team to contention, and had to listen to the media berate him even more. That’s in the past, and he’ll show that he isn’t a fish left out to dry. He’ll have the Dolphins swimming deep into the playoffs in a short time.