Rumors swirling of Daunte Culpepper being traded or even the ridiculous suggestions of being released to relieve cap expenses are absurd. Sure the handful of games Culpepper played in last year were horrendous, but don’t forget the conditions of change he was facing. He lost a valuable offensive coordinator that is now the St. Louis Rams head coach in Scott Linehan, and lost his main go to guy in Randy Moss. Added to that the Vikings were trying to patch together a running back situation that was comparable to the Arizona Cardinals last season.

So before people go crazy in trying to write off Culpepper’s career, let’s give him Joey Harrington or Rob Johnson type time.

Quarterbacks have to face an unreal amount of adjustments and when they’re as major as Culpepper’s were: there should be a complete understanding of his early struggles last season. Teams no longer had to gear back for deep bombs to Randy Moss. Instead they played to the strong weaknesses that Culpepper has had exposed often in his short career.

He gets flustered rather quickly, and his pocket presence under pressure has yet to adapt the way it needs to. If you wanted to make a checklist of all the bad things going against Culpepper it would be full. The offensive line wasn’t intact and healthy, and the same points as aforementioned without Scott Linehan, Moss, and a suitable running back. What can a quarterback do?

Why not simply expect Nate Burelson or Marcus Robinson to step up as elite receivers? Gosh, if it were only that easy.

It didn’t help that when Brad Johnson stepped in, wins started to happen. A big part of that was the team coming together. The defense started to play a lot better, and that complemented perfectly with the conservative style of Brad Johnson. He is one of the best at getting a team enough points to win a game without being clumsy with the football.

Mewelde Moore and Michael Bennett late in the season also helped keep the pressure off of Brad Johnson’s arm. If you want to get picky, the Vikings schedule wasn’t exactly “difficult” either, and they somehow did manage to blow their playoff chances down the stretch.

So anyone thinking Johnson is a better fit than Culpepper is insane. He did his job well, and that job will remain a backup. It would have to take Culpepper coming out the start of the season, and playing two straight months of horrible football for us to change our opinions on that.

An athlete just doesn’t go from the prowess that Culpepper displayed in 2004, to being considered trade bait after a serious injury. He needs the right tools to be successful around his ability. If the Vikings want to keep the players in the organization more suited for Brad Johnson’s style, than go ahead and deal Culpepper.

He’d flourish on just about eight percent of the teams in the league right now. For fantasy football purposes, Culpepper shouldn’t be drafted less than the third round; if that.

If anyone watched Culpepper’s, Beyond The Glory, on Fox Sports; you’ll know that Culpepper’s determination to succeed isn’t going anywhere. He’ll be a wrecking force on the football field until he hangs it up. Last season’s Minnesota Vikings was in disarray before it even happened. It’s done and everyone should be ready to move on and shed serious light on who is their star.

The buzz is awry already on Vince Young. Mike Vick was supposed to be the only one able to do what he does on the field for a long time. There was talk of Vick being the best quarterback in the league after his stellar showings as a rookie and second year starter. In 2003, he became the man to take in fantasy football drafts, only to shock owners with a preseason injury that stopped his season. Since then, Vick’s fantasy value and overall talk as a quarterback has dropped. His legs can no longer get it done running, and when he does they aren’t for the long gainers like they used to be. More times than ever he pays the price for scrambling, because of all the extra spies to shut his legs down.

Vince Young made the right decision by forgoing his senior season. He left Texas as perhaps the greatest athlete to perform there. At least for now it seems that way.

The comparisons between Vince Young and Mike Vick are obvious. The game changes drastically though from the college to pro level. Can Vince Young make the phase change to the NFL as smooth as people are saying? It’s going to be a true tough test for Young, as Mike Vick has already made it more difficult for him.

Young quarterbacks love to use their legs, especially when they have the speed and size of a quarterback like Vince Young. He’ll have to try to stay away from being single minded or scared to throw the football. We saw it so often with Vick. He would only play the part as a throwing quarterback, by dropping back. There were plenty of times he would just take off without even giving his receivers chances. Lots of times he looked great, by turning third and fourth downs into serious gainers. That was then, and that experiment has since been wrapped under control tremendously.

The schemes to shut down Vince Young’s legs will be there. In fact, defensive coordinators will be drooling once they see Young’s on the slate. Preparation will be easy from the get go. Young’s main job over the summer and summer’s on, will have to be to excel on reading NFL defenses and have a solid accuracy. A job that Mike Vick has not done, and appears to be on the brink of a career busting or booming.

Young is an extreme talent, that boosted his stock overwhelmingly with one game. Who knows, what would have been the case if the Longhorns were blown out and Young had a horrible game against USC. He likely would have stayed for a redemption his senior season. Everything happens for a reason, and the team Young lands on will have a gem.

We just hope Young is prepared to not want to take off and think the same results will happen all the time, like his game winning fourth down run. People love to forget, that four to five plays earlier Young almost threw the game away with an interception. The ball was lobbed up horribly, and a couple of Trojans had a shot at it.

Big time college players can get away with that in college. In the NFL, no matter if you are a rookie or star veteran, that is picked.

Ending the season the way Eli Manning did, the script was all but wrote for the Giants demise in the wild card round. Heavy reliance on Tiki Barber is what the difference was in the Giants squeaking in the playoffs. The Panthers game plan was simple. Contain Tiki Barber and force Manning to beat them. After continuously trying to get Barber going in the first half, the plan shifted to Manning’s arm in the second half. Suddenly, a close game that was 10-0, and should have been 7-0, faded away quicker than Terrell Owens and Donovan McNabb’s relationship. Three horrible passes were gobbled by the Panthers, and that was it. Eli’s first playoff game was broken up like his batted down passes have been all season.

The ugly concluding chapter to Manning’s second season, shouldn’t be looked down upon. He improved tremendously from where he was last season, but it just goes to show the Ben Roethlisberger stories are improbable to happen. Youth equals trouble at any state in the playoffs.

As Manning headed to the locker room with his head sunk lower than his chest, we’re sure that he was burning with frustration. But ending his season this badly in the playoffs, will help him out more than losing by a field goal in the playoffs. Now he knows that he must work even harder on his skills. With his dad and Peyton around him for more intense off-season training, there will be even that extra fire burning inside of him. What’ll make it even stronger, is if he watches his brother run the table and win a Super Bowl ring.

Seeing success, especially from a sibling almost always creates jealously. That jealously doesn’t have to be an anger type of jealously, but on the level of idolizing your big brother or sister. With Eli Manning being six years younger than Peyton, he has seen the constant levels of where he needs to be. Achieving and following those footsteps has been almost on the same track record.

One thing Eli doesn’t want to do is suffer three postseason losses before he wins one. This Giants team isn’t far off from taking the reigns in the NFC, but what team isn’t? It’ll take extremely smart moves from the front office for them to become something other than another playoff team. Strong acquisitions need to be made for another wide receiver and key defensive areas.

Nothing hurts a young quarterbacks development more, than poor moves from the franchise. Being a New York team, the Giants will likely refrain from making dumb moves. This team will be built upon, and make strides by the year with Manning. If the Giants are knocked out in the divisional round next season, Manning has to look at it as another good year. Going from a bust rookie season to where he came this year, is an amazing accomplishment.

Arms were tested in preseason, but only a few quarterbacks have changed in positioning since the off-season. Let’s take a look, going into the regular season.

1. Peyton Manning
Preseason for Manning, is just entertainment. He threw his interceptions, but the offense still moved like the 49ers offense from ‘94. Don’t expect Manning to throw for as many touchdowns as he did last year. On the other hand, his yardage numbers have the better shot at being raised. I’ve seen some people snare Culpepper ahead of Manning in drafts, and that is straight down right stupid to me.

2. Daunte Culpepper
Any skeptics on how Culpepper was to deal without Randy Moss, should have looked back to last season. Moss missed chunks of the year, and still didn’t stop Culpepper from having a stellar season. No that the side show is gone in Moss, Culpepper can throw out the Randy-ratio. With Troy Williamson, Nate Burelson, and Marcus Robinson on the field, there are going to be some fantastic games from Mr. Culpepper. If anyone missed the beyond the glory on Culpepper, check your local tv guide for the next run of it. This guy is determined, and poised to be a Hall of Famer.

3. Marc Bulger
Here is a guy that’s going to shoot up the charts this season. Bulger has astonished me in the past with some of his throws. That astonishment is going to start turning into an every weekend accomplishment. Bulger has matured quicker than any starting quarterback in the league over the last three seasons. In fact, no one comes close to his progression. Not only will Bulger have a career year this season, he’ll continue to crunch in dominant stats year in and year out.

4. Matt Hasselbeck
The Seahawks offense is quarterback friendly. Add, Hasselbeck’s talent to that, and put two to two together. Hasselbeck can only hope that his receivers can learn to catch the ball. If that would happen, Hasselbeck would have been a top five quarterback a long time ago.

5. Kerry Collins
Up a mountain, and backtracking, two or three times has been the process of Collins career. He has taken two teams deep in the playoffs in different stretches of his career (Carolina, NY Giants). Only to fade off the following yeas with his inconsistent play, and be forced to be let go. Collins served backup last season and then was named starter by default to Rich Gannon’s career ending injury. Collins had another one of those rough years, and the Raiders think they can change that. By bringing in Randy Moss and Lamont Jordan, it’s going to make the Raiders offense dynamic. The ground game wasn’t there last season, and Collins still had solid touchdown numbers. If he can stay away from mistakes, he’ll be a Pro bowler.

6. Donovan McNabb
There is a tough list of quarterback’s ahead of McNabb this season, and he could easily be fourth on this list. I just don’t expect the same type of numbers that he had with TO last year to occur this season. They also still don’t have legitamate threats to go along with Owens. McNabb is a proven winner though, and will work his magic.

7. Trent Green
Green is another quarterback that is apart of a spectacular offense. The reason their offense clicks so well is because of their offensive line. There probably isn’t another team, that has done what the Chiefs have offensively in the running and passing department over the last four seasons. That pattern won’t stop here, unless Green gets hit by the injury bug.

8. Jake Delhomme
Delhomme is the most underrated quarterback in the league. No one seems to want to have him as their fantasy football starter, and my question is why not? He stays away from mistakes, and knows how to get the best out of his receivers. Case in point, Steve Smith and ex-Panther Mushin Muhammed. He makes all the throws, and knows how to lead a team. He worked extremely hard to get to this point, as people still haven’t forgot when Mike Ditka was leaning on him in New Orleans.

9. Mike Vick
This should be the year Vick steps it up in the passing department. He has a couple of solid young receivers, and another year on his belt of experience. His arm strength has never been the question. All Vick has to do is learn where to deliver the football accurately on every throw, and he’ll be unstoppable. His rushing numbers will never go down (barring injury), so he is always worth the extra gamble than other quarterbacks.

10. Aaron Brooks
New Orleans is in total disarray, and will look toward their Saints to help bring some of the pain away. Even though they’ll likely have to play at a different stadium, the Saints should finally be able to play their talent level. Brooks erratic play needs to tone down, and his leadership skills need to boost a notch or two. Brooks has always been an iffy quarterback, but based on skills he is a top ten quarterback. Every year that is the case, but each year Brooks plays like an average inexperience quarterback.

11. Tom Brady
Brady is Brady. A quarterback that has won three Super Bowls deserves to be in the top ten. Mind you these are fantasy football rankings, not true quarterback rankings. If that were the case, he’d be an automatic number one. With the Belicheck style of controlling the football, Brady is always just going to be a safe fantasy football starter.

12. Brett Favre
With Favre this could be a tale of two seasons. I’d expect him to start off the season strong, but once the Packers start losing he’ll suffer. Reason being, is that Favre tries to do too much when his back is against the wall. He thinks he can carry the team with throws that don’t deserve even being thought about. The Packers are going to have a tough time because of their defense, and that means Favre is going to have to try to create. It’s going to be tough to see it happen, as Favre has been one of the best, if not the best over the last decade.

13. Steve McNair
The dark horse of quarterbacks has to be McNair. He says he is fully recovered for the first time in years. If that’s true than McNair will claw his way up the rankings every week. Stating something to somebody’s liking, and actually proving it is another thing. McNair has been a body bag over the years, and the hits are adding up. The Titans moved on with Eddie George, and Fisher and McNair may be next.

14. Jake Plummer
Can he slither his way finally as a quarterback? Plummer has done okay with the Broncos, but his interceptions need to stop. The Broncos need that to stop, for them to hang in the AFC. The best thing Plummer has going for him is two outstanding receivers. Rod Smith is probably the best aged veteran wide receiver that can actually still play in the league. On the other side, Plummer and Ashely Lelie have become a top five connection in the league. They just seem to always be on the same page.

15. Brian Griese
It looks like Griese may have finally found a home. He had one of the best years of any quarterback last season for the amount of games that he started. He really came on strong, due in large part to Michael Clayton. Repeating that type of success is hard to imagine, considering the Buccaneers don’t usually have a prolific offense. He is a solid backup to draft, and like Brady a safe starter if you want to go that route.

Best of the Rest

16. Drew Brees
17. Chad Pennington
18. Carson Palmer
19 Joey Harrington
20. David Carr
21. Ben Roethlisberger
22. Byron Leftwich
23. Eli Manning
24. JP Losman
25. Kurt Warner
26. Drew Bledsoe
27. Patrick Ramsey
28. Kyle Orton
29. Kyle Boller
30. Trent Dilfer
31. Gus Frerotte
32. Tim Rattay (for two weeks)

JP Losman’s development into as a starter in the NFL is going to be a long process. Many can argue that the Bills could have done this last year, especially if they planned on canning Drew Bledsoe like they did. Losman can only wish that he had gained the experience of rookie mistakes that Eli Manning was able to last season. Losman may not be classified as a rookie, but his play will be reminiscent with highlights comparable to Alex Smith every week.

The Bills did defeat the Colts 17-10 in their first preseason game, but it had little to do with the offense. A special teams blocked punt for a touchdown, and defensive support were the major helping hand in this one. In fact, Losman was never settled on his feet, and appeared to bounce in the pocket like a pinball. He even took off a couple of times to try to get rid of some of his nervousness.

If you’re in Losman’s position, you had to of expected this, and the key is to move on. There are three more meaningless games to try to play with a clear mind. Mistake free ball is key in the regular season, but now is the time to test what you’re seeing on the field. Maybe a throw or lane he sees turns into an interception in the preseason. Those types of mistakes will help Losman correct his senses out on the field, and benefit in the long run of the regular season.

Indianapolis has never been known for having a strong defense. With more than half of their starters out on defense, that really makes the inaugural debut of Losman look even worse. Confidence can only grow with time and good performances. The Bills will keep Losman’s game plan simple and direct, so that confidence can grow. Even Ben Roethlisberger didn’t throw the ball deep or even attempt too many passes. The Steelers let their ground game win, and Roethlisberger just made key conversions when needed.

On the bright side, just take a look at what happened with Drew Bledsoe and Dallas against the Arizona Cardinals. Bledsoe displayed his same flaws that have kept him from reaching elite heights. He held onto the ball way too long and that led to two sacks and a fumble. Losman may make his fair share of mistakes this season, but they’ll cut down. Unfortunately that can’t be said at all in Drew Bledsoe’s case.

Now or Never
By Zack Cimini

For a starting quarterback in the NFL, your days come and go. The script is laid out for success, but playing that part is harder than reading that playbook continuously. A quarterback needs to be able to direct their own script, or someone else will take their place. A coach can only teach and hold your hand for so long, before the babying process of nurturing turns into another call to the office for release.

Ever so often, though, a quarterback will come along that gets chances over and over again like a repeat offender. For whatever reason that glimmer of potential still hangs around their name, even though the quarterback has been plagued with the inability to enter the next stage.

Aaron Brooks and Jake Plummer have surpassed any impatience threshold a team could handle. Yet, coaches will not give up on them, because they do have the skills to be great quarterbacks. There comes a time when you have to move on and clean house, now matter how tough it is.

Controlling their mistakes is the only thing from keeping these two quarterbacks from entering the top echelon of quarterbacks. Year in and year out both can be written down as secured backups, but not worth the risk as a starter because of their prior showcases.

It’s truly a now or never situation for both Brooks and Plummer. They’ve somehow hung around as NFL starters without any debate of being benched or serious talk of it. You’d have to be a fool to not say it’s almost time to take their starting label away.

2005, will mark the end or the change for the better for Brooks and Plummer. It’s entering the late stages of their fights. Will they deliver a knockout blow, or succumb to late stage tiresome mistakes?

Jake Plummer made an early legend of himself by delivering some incredible games with the Arizona Cardinals. He was known as the comeback kid when Dan Marino and John Elway were still playing. He had that unusual knack of thriving in the fourth quarter, but what the media kept away was his mistakes that got the Cardinals in that situation earlier on in the game. The excuses from Plummer and everyone in the league were that the talent surrounding Plummer was the reason for his erratic play.

Mike Shannahan was one of his biggest and firmest believers. So there you had it, a perfect blend that was seeded. Instead nothing has changed, as Plummer just can’t grasp the idea of letting things unfold properly. He plays like he can deliver Brett Favre like magic, but he hasn’t done enough in his career to get that type of thinking in his head. He needs to start playing like an every day quarterback that’s job is on the line, instead of like a hall of fame quarterback that can be an extreme risk taker.

The qualities of Plummer definitely outweigh his weaknesses. Still, if Denver is ever going to reach beyond the wild card, he needs to mature with his decision making. That’s all it will take. He has a solid arm, and is one of the best at making something out of nothing.

Truthfully, it just doesn’t seem like he’ll ever grow out of being number one in errors. Glance at his career, and his touchdown to interceptions every year are almost parallel or weighing more in the interception category. It’s sad and pathetic, and the worst thing is that he is entering his ninth season. This is a veteran that’s play has been exact to what Joey Harrington has done. The exception is that Harrington is 27 not 31.

Someone needs to do some serious research, because on paper Plummer might be the worst starting quarterback to retain a job for a decade. It’s insane and bewildering to figure out how Plummer has managed to stay a starting quarterback this long.

Look at his career thus far.
1997: 15 touchdowns and 15 interceptions
1998: 17 touchdowns and 20 interceptions
1999: 9 touchdowns and 24 interceptions
2000: 13 touchdowns and 21 interceptions
2001: 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions
2002: 18 touchdowns and 20 interceptions
2003: 15 touchdowns and 7 interceptions
2004: 27 touchdowns and 20 interceptions

Ouch!!! What in the world was going on in 1999? I know the Y2K scare was big, but my goodness. To mind you, not once did Plummer ever have to sit on the bench besides due to injury in his career.

He has some serious reshaping to do or there is no doubt he has to be the worst quarterback statistically to complete over ten years starting in the NFL.

Circling around success is the only thing that can be said about Aaron Brooks career. He does the unthinkable in a good and bad way, and has never been more than an average quarterback. Therefore his team has never been more than average. They’ve been either 7-9, 8-8, or 9-7 in all his years as full time starter.

Playoffs have been within reach but he has never taken them on his own. The year 2000 doesn’t count, because Jeff Blake started for the majority of the season.

Besides 2003’s campaign, Brooks’s touchdown to interception ratio has also been comparable to Jake Plummer’s. He has one of the most talented receiver in Joe Horn and running back in Deuce McAllister. Rarely has that equated to a stretch of more than two games of Brooks utilizing his surroundings.

Both Plummer and Brooks are out of excuses. Talent has been around both of them for sometime. This will be the year that separates them from becoming NFL castoffs or new hopes.

It’d be an embarrassment for both to be cut by their respective teams, and then only offered backup jobs. The pressure has been off of them until this off-season.

It’s now or never, Jake Plummer and Aaron Brooks.