By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

After all the gossip talk and predictions of what people think is going to happen with Donovan in Washington and Kolb in Philly,  training camp will begin and performance will be the true measure. The fantasy world is already anticipating a spike to Kolb’s game and expect him to be a strong fantasy starter.

Why shouldn’t they? He was a big factor in his two starts last year when he threw for 300 yards and had the offense ticking like it hadn’t missed a beat. Two games is hardly a scope of predictable measure. Quarterbacks have their streaks all the time, and more often than not a quarterback can step in and excel. Especially with a solid skill set as Kolb does have, and experience gained from learning behind McNabb. Often though once that quarterback gets truly tested defensive coordinators gain quickly on a quarterbacks tendencies. They’ll know exactly what type of pressure to throw at Kolb and schemes too throw off his rhythm.

Flashback to what the true reason why McNabb wasn’t traded a year before. A November 23rd matchup in which McNabb was yanked and Kolb came in and played like an ex XFL caliber quarterback. Andy Reid’s statement of just giving Kolb some experience and his other stammering explanations were bogus. If Kolb would have performed well then and there he would of taken over the reigns.

The potent combo and fantasy fanatics that are expecting DeSean Jackson to thrive as he did last year may be in for a surprise. Sure Kolb’s two starts last year were great games for Jackson. Both games he exploded for big touchdowns and over 100 yards receiving. For anyone that remembers those games, Jackson’s big play touchdowns were not due to Kolb’s arm. The plays involved Jackson making a big play after the catch and using his speed to run away from the pack. Kolb doesn’t necessarily have a strong arm; not nearly the strength of Donovan McNabb’s.

That’s the factor that could turn DeSean Jackson from a week to week consistent big time fantasy factor back to unpredictable. If Kolb can’t show the strength to air it out, teams will compress their safeties and bump more off the snap on Jackson. Jackson has shown the ability to make catches wherever on the field but we all know he is a guy that is a burner. He had 10 plays for over 40 yards, an incredible statistic, especially considering he only caught 61 balls. That’s a bad sign for owners banking on Jackson trending around the numbers of last year.

We expect Jackson’s big play ability to be diminished with Kolb under center. Meaning Jackson likely will have a tough time catching six to eight touchdowns. Yardage should still be there as we know Andy Reid is going to call enough pass plays to numerically make up for Kolb’s three years as backup. Seriously though, do not make the mistake of reaching too high on grabbing Jackson. A legit number one fantasy receiver should be somebody that without question can guarantee you ten plus touchdowns. We don’t foresee that happening in 2010. Breaking down the numbers of last year and looking beyond the big plays of Jackson, he had seven games with three catches or less.

Unless Kolb is an All-Pro type like Aaron Rodgers waiting to shine, it’s going to be a long painful growing experience for Kolb, Jackson, and Andy Reid.

By Zack Cimini

Notjustagame23@gmail.com

An elite quarterback as himself in Donovan McNabb should have had his pull of position in any environment of trade talks. We were not looking at a quarterback beyond being a capable consistent threat back in the pocket. He is not 37 or 38 years old. He is only 33 and was worthy of another two to three seasons with the Eagles. Departing from their teams of the 2000’s began last season when the Eagles decided to part ways with Brian Dawkins. This off-season that continued with Brian Westbrook giving his exiting papers.

With the rumor mill of Donovan McNabb every off-season being traded it just seemed an inevitable story but nothing more to it every year. If it were ever to happen you would of expected it last year, especially when McNabb was benched against the Baltimore Ravens. For the umpteenth time McNabb ignored the doubters and naysayers and got the Eagles oh so close to the Super Bowl. Up top in the Eagles front office the pressure kept being added onto McNabb’s shoulders. 2009 although a solid statistical year for McNabb ended unsatisfactorily.

As they say, business is business, and McNabb might have his best shot yet to make a lasting impact on the NFL in the latter stages of his career. Heading to Washington would seem like a laughable situation for anyone, but Washington will back him with talent. That’s one thing Daniel Snyder has never shyed away from doing. He will group together with Mike Shanahan and evaluate where their weaknesses are. For years in Philadelphia, McNabb really never had that great receiver or solid offensive line. DeSean Jackson will be a formidable threat but his rapid development was based as a second round pick. A gem of a steal that fell to the Eagles laps. There truly was no urgency in ever getting McNabb a true talented receiver. Come on…..Reggie Brown, Kevin Curtis, Freddie Mitchell. The best he ever could get was Terrell Owens for a year of his antic adventures.

We expect McNabb to have a seamless transition and thrive as a Redskin. His personable character will shine there, and you’ll see him flashing that patented smile as he gains his redemption. Injury prone or not, McNabb has found a way each year to get his team to the playoffs and make a push. It’ll be interesting to see what key components the Redskins add in this years draft. Money hunger is not an issue in Washington. The players on that team have been paid nicely. Getting their attention and drive to be committed as the true definition of team is the key. McNabb commands that with his presence and will surely revitalize the talent that went dormant under Jim Zorn.

In Philadelphia the brunt of the blame always fell on McNabb’s shoulders. Often times though the obvious criticism should of went directly at Andy Reid and his horrid play call selections. The team would literally force a ratio of passes than mixing it up with the running game. Sometimes it was downright stupefying. The chemistry was so unbalanced at times that the Eagles would go consistently in lulls that would allow teams to get back in games. Shanahan will not put McNabb in that type of situation.

Right now McNabb is probably bitter as can be. This extra season being in Washington instead of Philly will pay off in the long run. Draft McNabb in the same spots you normally would in your fantasy football drafts. He is going to remain a force and have better all around talent to work with. The highest of keys is an organization that is committed to him for the next several years.

By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame23@gmail.com

Cleveland is looking once again at huge changes of trying to dig themselves out from the graveyard of the league. They seem to be headed in the right direction be retooling from the key place in the front office. Making changes up there has been a consistent off-season move though from the Cleveland Browns that has translated into zero improvement as a team. Someone of Mike Holmgren’s caliber is not going to be taking his time to see what he has.

By now the entire league knows the Browns have little to no talent on the offensive side of the football. Just look at the carousel of the backfield as a prime example. The Browns have shuffled through numerous running backs in Jamal Lewis, Chris Jennings, and Jerome Harrison. At times part of the reason for this issue was due to injuries in the backfield. It seemed that Jennings had earned the nod for more carries and a larger share when he had a solid outing that led to the Browns upset win over the Steelers. Magician Mangini though had his own new plans and fooled all fantasy owners by giving the work load to seldom used Jerome Harrison. With only 1.9 percent of fantasy owners starting Harrison that has to be the worst official huge outburst fantasy output not utilized in leagues.

The worse area that the Browns have had horrible management of decisions is at quarterback. The Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn show has been a long drawn out three year horrific episode. During Quinn’s rookie year was the only real reasoning for either or to make a case for themselves. Quinn was a rookie and like most they’re expected to learn from the sideline. Anderson handled the pressure of having a highly praised rookie breathing down his neck like a poised veteran. He had a torrid 2007 season that made him the top out of everyone’s preseason radar steal of the year from the quarterback position. After a year like that you could only figure that Anderson was going to hold a starting role similar to the way Drew Brees did fighting off Philip Rivers, and Brett Favre holding back Aaron Rodgers.

Soon though we all saw that Anderson just had a career year and could not ever break out of his funk. Partly the blame went to the fact that Braylon Edwards developed bad habits with dropped balls, lack of effort, and inability to handle being a number one receiver. You’d think Cleveland would have tried to build better talent at the position of receiver for Edwards and their quarterbacks. That never happened and the Browns finally parted ways with Edwards this year.

On the other side of the quarterback picture was Brady Quinn. He got into a few games in 2008 but was given the job this year based on Anderson ineffectiveness once again. We all know he will miss the last two games with his foot injury but lets break down the ten games he did play in this year. Quinn showed zero pocket precence and played more like a backup quarterback trying not too lose a game. He has to find his niche with the Browns system and trust his physical skills and mental preparation to take some risks downfield. We know that he can take what the defense gives him and make that dump off throw. Any quarterback can do that, but if the Browns are going to ascend even with a few extra wins in 2010 they’re going to need Quinn to elevate his game dramatically.

Don’t be surprised if Mike Vick enters the Browns sweepstakes in the off-season. Cleveland needs someone to put the pressure on Quinn to be more of a force. Both Anderson and Quinn can argue they had zero talent this year to accomplish anything. The main weapon for them happened to be Joshua Cribbs who has only 20 catches but was who they used to run gadget plays to break up the routine throws of Quinn. Holmgren will come in and get his quarterback some play makers. It’ll be up to Quinn to shake his overall career sixty six quarterback rating. If not, the Quinn project in Cleveland will be over and over quickly.

Maybe when Quinn slipped in the 2007 draft there was a main reason for it. Why EAS has used him as a spokesman we have no idea. It must be recession low budget spending.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Looking around the NFL we’ve seen the tussle and round about back and forth changes with starting quarterbacks worse than the coaching carousel. In Cleveland, we’ve seen it with Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson, San Francisco with Alex Smith and Shaun Hill, Oakland, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Detroit, and the list goes on and on. You’d expect some teams to have an answer somewhere within their depth charts to position their team and be able to lead them.

With Jake Lockler making the announcement that he will return for his senior season that means that there will be less talent for teams to try and correct these awful issues. The quarterback situations in the NFL are at a point of desperate measures. There have been numerous games this season that showcases this point. The following statistics by these quarterbacks actually translated to a win for their respective teams somehow. Luckily at the top of the crop for quarterbacks there are perennial future hall of famers that are taking much attention for how poor the quarterbacking actually is right now. Even last years rookies that came on strong a year ago have struggled in 2009 in Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco.

Jamarcus Russell- 7-24 for 109 yards…translated to a week two victory 13-10 over the KC Chiefs
Ryan Fitzpatrick- 12-20 for 86 yards translated to a week fourteen victory 16-10 over the KC Chiefs
Derek Anderson- 2-17 for 23 yards translated to a week five 6-3 win over the Buffalo Bills
*Jake Delhomme- 9-17 for 65 yards translated to a week 6 28-21 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs
7-14 for 90 yards translated to a week 8 34-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals

This is just stupefying to see these type of performances continue with winning results. How are teams unable to counter such a terrible performance from the lead catalyst on the other side of the ball? Since teams won’t be able to correct these issues in the draft it means they’ll have to dive deep onto other teams rosters in hope of landing some sort of respectable 2010 season. Some teams have excuses as they’re in a transition phase and trying to develop their young quarterbacks. Most though just need to make that tough decision and move on to a future prospect.

We do know this…the way Mike Vick’s played the last few weeks has likely re-entered teams minds to think hard about getting him on their roster. Vick seems to be settling back into NFL game speed and that has translated into more of his involvement with the Eagles packaging him in on crucial plays. Philadelphia actually has the best talented depth chart at the quarterback position. Kevin Kolb played fantastic in two starts due to McNabb’s rib injury. Philadelphia will have to find a way to continue build for a Super Bowl run and Donovan McNabb isn’t going anywhere. Look for the Eagles to shop their primary backup quarterbacks.

Brett Favre’s proved aging at quarterback can be a good thing. Arizona’s Kurt Warner is two years younger (38) and not showing any signs of slowing down. The game he missed with post concussion symptoms showcased just how far along he is running this team than backup Matt Leinart. Once the off-season comes around the Cardinals will likely look for Warner to give them an answer on how many years he plans on playing. If he has multiple years left in the tank look for the Cardinals to shop Leinart and give him a chance to go through actual growing pains on the field.

A couple of other quarterbacks to keep an eye on happen to be quarterbacks that lost their jobs this season. Tarvaris Jackson is in a position where he will have too much pressure and no shot at ever fielding a game in a Minnesota Vikings uniform as a starter. The way Brett Favre has come out and won is exactly how Brad Childress pictured it. It isn’t Jackson that you see Favre going to asking what he is seeing from another set of quarterbacks eyes. It is Sage Rosenfels.

In San Francisco Shaun Hill inevitably was yanked due to his Delhomme like performances and inability to stretch the field. A year ago though he was doing a fine job and had this team clicking. Maybe the pressure of having a former number one pick breathing down his neck to take his job finally got too him. Nevertheless teams like proven winners that can get the job done, and Hill has shown that he can do just that. It appears that Alex Smith is doing enough now that this quarterback battle of three years may finally be over.

By Zack Cimini

Donovan McNabb and the word controversy have seemingly been linked together since he was booed on his draft day. After last years up and down run that ended with another conference championship loss, it seemed that McNabb’s days in Philadelphia would be numbered. Rumors quickly peaked again once the Eagles signed Michael Vick. Was he brought in to get back in rhythm and then eventually unseat McNabb?

While most starters likely would have exposed attitudes to the signing McNabb welcomed it. He has rooted for Vicks success during his struggles and now as a teammate. The other area where McNabb couldn’t shake his reputation was a knack for injury. He went down game one to a hard hit that broke a few of his ribs. After all of his preparation and hard work in the off-season this type of start to a year could have sidetracked him to a dismal season. Especially when Kevin Kolb the guy that Philadelphia tried to bring in after benching McNabb last year came in while McNabb was hurt and had some stellar statistical games.

Now the Eagles knew what they wanted to know last year that Kolb can be there guy. So McNabb came back in and has went 6-3 since his injury. His critics are quick to point out that McNabb has been erratic. Certain games he is precision sharp and others the offense can be stagnant and missing the spark from the quarterback position. Name a team besides New Orleans that’s offense hasn’t been in that same mode at times. That’s why a team plays a complete season. People are too enamored by the trends of teams getting close to undefeated seasons year in and year out. That’s just not realistic as teams are going to go through growing pains all season.

McNabb has also missed Brian Westbrook for a good part of the season which has led to him having to rely on rookie running back Lesean McCoy. McCoy is going to be a great back some day but doesn’t bring all the dimensions a Brian Westbrook does. Westbrook as we all know has been an elite running back in the NFL for quite some time but he does so much as far as being a threat out of the backfield. McNabb has had to go elsewhere and has found the NFL’s newest deep threat for years to come in DeSean Jackson. The big play threat Eagles have also brought along rookie wide receiver Jeremy Maclin nicely. He has had some great games and has been really coming along as of late.

For McNabbs critics that will never go away their favorite time of year is right around the corner. Unlike Peyton Manning who goes through most regular seasons like a scrimmage but folds early in the playoffs, McNabb usually has his best performances and leads his team deep in the playoffs. This year should be no different. The Eagles have been banged up all season but have found ways to win. They’re starting to get healthy just at the right time. McNabb will be displaying that typical smile of his once playoff time comes.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

What is going on with the NFL talent pool at quarterback? Either we’re at an all time low for talent or there is a lot of rustiness needed to be worn off by a group of quarterbacks. It surely isn’t the defenses as three weeks in we’ve seen most of the defenses have their share of issues. Usually in the realm of fantasy football you can get away with waiting for a quarterback and being able to make up for the move with your other positions. These quarterbacks we’ve added on our week three horrible quarterback list have completely fallen off from any fantasy relevance. Be sure to drop these players and even if you have to wait for a proper player do it. You’ll have a faster reaction to pounce on an available free agent or solidify a trade, instead of dealing with a stinker of performance.

Heck, you could go with Jake Delhomme or Jason Campbell over these guys below and have a career day compared to what they’ll give you. Stay tuned for our Part II of this series. There is going to have to be some quarterbacks to insert, and we’ll even analyze the area of trading for a quarterback.
Brady Quinn/Derek Anderson- Eric Mangini’s hot potato philosophy Is getting old quick for both of these guys. The old staff did the same thing a million times and its just getting old. Quinn has been atrocious but you have to stick with your guns similar to what the Raiders have been doing with Jamarcus Russell. In actuality if Derek Anderson would have stepped up it would have looked like a solid move and no one would question it. Instead Anderson came in and threw three picks. It’s going to be a long, long year in Cleveland.

Chad Pennington- Even before his injury Pennington was dinking and dumping too much. Hopefully he is ok, but the reason Miami is losing these close games is because of their game management tactics. Pennington needs to stretch the field a bit more and that will translate to an even better ground game, that thus far has been dominant in the league.

Marc Bulger- Bulger needs to ask for a new setting whether it be via trade or taking a release. He has been beaten and battered the last four years and might end his career if he doesn’t get restarted elsewhere. With Kyle Boller in they actually looked like they had some life. St. Louis might make the tough move for a guy that has played his heart out for the Rams, and bench Bulger.

Byron Leftwich- You’d really hope for a resurrection for Leftwich but it just isn’t going to happen. The issues Jacksonville saw for years that he was able to get away with as a starter has caught up with him. Accuracy issues persist, consistency to move the football, and his footwork in the pocket have all just been a disaster.

Mat Cassel- This is exactly why you let an athlete earn a contract, not the agent. Cassel’s agent got his asking price for Cassel after only one season as starter. Now already Todd Haley has sparked controversy and stated he’d bring in Brodie Croyle. For Cassel’s benefit he has been trying to come back a bit early from an injury. The team though looks headed for disaster all around, and Cassel will take the most blame of anyone.

Jamarcus Russell- You have to wonder why Jeff Garcia chose to leave the Raiders to sign with a Philly team where he’d be the fourth quarterback. In all likelihood he would have been inserted by now due to Russel’s horrible play. It’s a miracle the Raiders have been able to win a game due to Russel’s pathetic play. They can not allow Russell to keep performing the way he is and still go with him. Sure he was a number one pick, but the rating as a bust has to be settled in. It’s time for the Raiders to go in another direction.

Trent Edwards- He teased us with a fantastic opening week Monday Night football game against the Patriots. The game against the Buccaneers doesn’t count in our books as the Bucs have the worst past defense in the league. A team like the Saints is notorious for giving up chunks of yards and big plays. That meant Edwards would have to connect on a few big plays to keep his team in the game. He couldn’t deliver and missed several deep wide open targets including two that have been replayed numerous times already. Edwards is the only quarterback you can take a wait and see approach just because of the talent around him. We’ve seen this before though with JP Losman. A good game here and there, but he was who he was.