Aug 27, 2008 - 4:34 PM
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They are the matinee idols of the NFL. They are the faces of professional football. They are the leaders in the huddle. They are the ones who make their receivers and tight ends better.
And they, along with running backs, are the guys most responsible for leading fantasy football owners to championships and prizes.
Some fantasy leagues make their owners start one quarterback per week. Some leagues go with two QBs. Either way, you need one great one and one solid one on your roster.
You need a quarterback that can pile up 3,500-4,000 yards and toss 20-plus TD passes. You need a QB that does not ruin your weekly point total with costly interceptions. And if your signal caller can run like Michael Vick and stay out of trouble, unlike Michael Vick, all the better.
Here are the top 40 quarterbacks in fantasy football heading into the 2008 season, beginning with the dude men love to hate and women would love to date.
1. Tom Brady, Patriots: Brady was never a No. 1 fantasy quarterback until New England decided to surround him with all-world receivers and entirely abandon the running game. Randy Moss and Wes Welker are still around, and I do not think signing Lamont Jordan suddenly turns the Pats into a run-first team.
2. Drew Brees, Saints: Stick Jeremy Shockey into an offense where Brees already can throw deep passes to Marques Colston and screen passes to Reggie Bush and you have the makings of a 4,500-yard, 35-TD season.
3. Peyton Manning, Colts: You have to wonder how Manning will bounce back from his first major injury, and also what Marvin Harrison will be able to contribute over a full season. But Manning is Manning, and fantasy owners know that is normally money in the bank.
4. Tony Romo, Cowboys: As long as Jessica Simpson stays away from his games, Romo should account for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns. An older Terrell Owens and the inconsistent Patrick Crayton might drop some of his passes, though.
5. Carson Palmer, Bengals: His receivers are really banged-up and/or mental cases, but Palmer's arm is one of the strongest, and his long bombs are among the prettiest in the league.
6. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: Pittsburgh transformed its offense last year to be more about Roethlisberger and less about three-yard runs up the middle. This helped him throw for a career-high 32 touchdowns in 2007.
7. Brett Favre, Jets: The preseason has proven that Favre is still sharp and has not been tackled by Father Time just yet. There is no reason Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles cannot be as good for Favre as Greg Jennings and Donald Driver were.
8. Marc Bulger, Rams: It would be nice if Bulger could get through a season with a healthy offensive line. Orlando Pace and Co. are normally on the injured reserve by Week Four.
9. Eli Manning, Giants: The Super Bowl was no fluke. This Manning is getting more and more like his older brother every game.
10. Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks: Deion Branch is hurt. Bobby Engram is hurt. D.J. Hackett is gone. Shaun Alexander was released. Besides Nate Burleson, who exactly is Hasselbeck going to throw to?
11. Derek Anderson, Browns: The biggest risk-reward in the top 15, Anderson could either start out great and post another 30-TD season or start out sluggishly and be replaced by Brady Quinn by midseason.
12. Jake Delhomme, Panthers: The first two games will be tough without Steve Smith on the field, but Delhomme should have another solid season with old friend Muhsin Muhammad back and a revamped running game taking pressure off of him.
13. Matt Schaub, Texans: Houston has to find a way to keep Schaub and Andre Johnson on the field together for an entire season, because the duo has a John Stamos-Bob Saget kind of chemistry.
14. Jay Cutler, Broncos: Diabetes will not hold Cutler down. Only Brandon Marshall's off-the-field troubles and an unproven running game can.
15. Donovan McNabb, Eagles: All these years, all those injuries and still McNabb is somebody fantasy owners can rely on to be a No. 2 fantasy quarterback.
16. David Garrard, Jaguars: How's Byron Leftwich doing these days? Well, he is not doing as well as Garrard and his 18-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio from last season.
17. Philip Rivers, Chargers: His favorite target, Antonio Gates, is coming back from major toe surgery, and Rivers himself is battling back from a torn ACL. Palmer and McNabb looked rusty when they returned from torn ACLs if you remember, so Rivers may slump for the first couple months.
18. Aaron Rodgers, Packers: OK, kid! Prove the critics, the media and the fans wrong! Rodgers has looked solid in the preseason so far.
19. Jason Campbell, Redskins: Until Campbell improves his accuracy and his consistency, he cannot be rated among the above-average fantasy quarterbacks.
20. Jon Kitna, Lions: When offensive genius Mike Martz leaves an organization, the fantasy value of the quarterbacks he leaves behind normally goes down. Ask Bulger owners.
21. Vince Young, Titans: He is the best rushing quarterback in fantasy football. Too bad most of his throws are dying quails.
22. Matt Leinart, Cardinals: For some reason, he cannot grasp Arizona's offense. He might sprain his neck looking over his shoulder all the time at Kurt Warner.
23. JaMarcus Russell, Raiders: Oakland has surrounded its franchise player with Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas in the backfield and Javon Walker and Drew Carter at receiver, so the phenom has some weapons.
24. J.T. O' Sullivan, 49ers: San Francisco could be throwing 40 times per game with the new pass-happy offense it has installed, so look for O' Sullivan to have a Kitna-type year.
25. Jeff Garcia, Buccaneers: He is bald, his wife is beautiful and his fantasy value is average at best.
26. Tarvaris Jackson, Vikings: Jackson is mobile and can throw a nice spiral from time to time, yet if you breathe on him he tears cartilage or breaks bones.
27. Chad Pennington, Dolphins: You will be hard-pressed to find a quarterback with a better completion percentage this year. You will also have a tough time finding a QB with less arm strength.
28. Matt Ryan, Falcons: I was really looking forward to another season of Joey Harrington. Guess I will have to live. Ryan will have his good games and his lousy games during his virgin voyage.
29. Trent Edwards, Bills: Edwards is better than J.P. Losman, but is that something to be pumped up about? Enjoy a lot of 175-yard games, one-TD outings.
30. Kyle Boller, Ravens: Just keeping the starting seat warm for rookie Joe Flacco.
31. Brodie Croyle, Chiefs: Brittle, mistake-prone and has not shown much when he has started in the past.
32. Kyle Orton, Bears: He was one the worst quarterbacks I have ever seen two years ago, so either he has improved or Chicago considers him the lesser of two evils (Rex Grossman being the other evil).
33. Kurt Warner, Cardinals: Warner can still throw lasers when he is not being rushed, and Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald can certainly catch them.
34. Rex Grossman, Bears: The "Wild Thing" of fantasy football still throws crazy passes like he has the eyesight of Stevie Wonder.
35. Chris Redman, Falcons: Proved he can handle starting duties in 2007 when he finished the season throwing for 1,070 yards and 10 touchdowns in Atlanta's final five games. So if Ryan falters, he can step in.
36. J.P. Losman, Bills: Nothing to get excited about here, though he could end up starting again.
37. Joe Flacco, Ravens: Boller and Troy Smith have no chance of holding this kid down.
38. Sage Rosenfels, Texans: One of the more underrated backups in the NFL, and has shown he can get the rock to Andre Johnson almost as well as Schaub can.
39. Kellen Clemens, Jets: Clemens received a big vote of confidence when the Jets went out of their way to acquire Favre, huh? Well, maybe this is year Favre finally gets injured.
40. Alex Smith, 49ers: The former first pick overall has a better chance of ending up as the third-string quarterback than the first-string quarterback by season's end.
Next week: Ranking the running backs.
For more information on Craig and his columns, visit publishedauthors.net/craigrondinone and suite101.com.
