Offensive Line

2008 Passing

2008 Rushing

#

Name

Team

Pos

Age

Exp

Pass Blocking

Yds

TD

INT

Yds

TD

FPTS

Reward

Risk

Tier 1

1

Tom Brady

NEP

QB

31

9

Same

4300

34

12

100

1

355

High

Medium

10 QBs have had a season of over 350 fantasy pts with passing stats alone and none managed to do it in two consecutive seasons. The average decrease in points is 22% and is 25% for QBs with similar TD/Comp ratios.

2

Drew Brees

NOS

QB

29

8

Slightly Worse

4300

30

15

50

0

325

Medium

Low

He would have been 2nd best QB if it weren't for his first 4 horrible games, the loss of Faine will hurt slightly in pass protection but the return of Meachem and addition of Shockey will help a lot

3

Peyton Manning

IND

QB

32

11

Same

4200

30

12

25

2

333

Medium

Medium

Has been very consistent but the knee injury is a slight concern and most importantly the injury to Jeff Saturday is a big concern. Saturday is in charge of making all the adjustments on the Colts offensive line and had missed only two games in eight seasons.

4

Tony Romo

DAL

QB

28

5

Same

4200

30

18

100

1

328

Medium

Medium

Some may argue that he has not proven enough yet but he's been consistantly good in his 28 NFL starts. He lacks a #2 WR and Owens is getting old but he should be solid again this year.

Tier 2

5

Jay Cutler

DEN

QB

25

3

Slightly Better

3700

22

15

200

1

284

High

Medium

Of the 17 2nd or 3rd year QBs that had 200 to 300 fantasy pts in their 1st yr as full-time starter; 3 decreased by 10+ %, 6 increased by 10+ %. He did not know he was playing with diabetes last year so should improve.

6

David Garrard

JAC

QB

30

7

Slightly Better

3500

24

10

250

1

292

Medium

Medium

8 of the 13 QBs who had a breakout season between 27 and 31 yrs old and remained starter the following year continued to improve. His line is better and has good depth but Garrard has to show he can play 16 games.

7

Donovan McNabb

PHI

QB

32

10

Slightly Better

4100

24

10

200

1

317

Low

High

He is a top 5 QB when healthy but has not played all 16 games since 2003. DeSean Jackson and a healthy L.J. Smith should both help but make sure you get a very good backup if you draft McNabb.

8

Derek Anderson

CLE

QB

25

4

Same

3900

27

20

75

2

303

Medium

High

Of the 12 QBs who had a big breakout season in their first 4 NFL seasons, only 2 had a drop in performance by more than 10%, 3 improved by more than 10%; Stallworth should help. Remember Romo last year.

9

Carson Palmer

CIN

QB

29

6

Same

3900

24

17

30

0

277

High

Medium

His stats have been slowly decreasing, LT Jones and WR Johnson both asked for a trade. His pass attempts were higher last year because of the poor running game.

10

Brett Favre

NYJ

QB

39

18

Better

3600

24

18

25

0

261

High

Low

We don't want to get too excited just yet about this offense but when you add three Pro Bowlers to an aleady decent offense it is never a bad thing.

11

Matt Schaub

HOU

QB

27

5

Same

3900

21

18

100

0

271

High

Medium

Schaub battled injuries all season but his stats for the 8 full games he played would project to 4,200 yards, 18 TDs and 14 INTs over 16 games. The running game will be better, expect big things but he is an injury risk.

12

Ben Roethlisberger

PIT

QB

26

5

Same

3600

26

14

125

2

295

Medium

High

He has shown consistent improvement but has never played 16 games in a season and could lose some TDs to Mendenhall in the red zone.

Tier 3

13

Aaron Rodgers

GBP

QB

25

4

Same

3700

24

19

150

1

283

High

High

Rodgers has struggled in pre-season which is not a huge surprise considering all the controvery. However, our initial concern that he has to learn to get rid of the ball quicker with a line that lacks strength is proving true.

14

Kurt Warner

ARI

QB

37

11

Same

4200

28

22

25

0

303

Low

High

Arizona was 5th in passing yards and 4th in passing TDs last year and Warner was named the starter. Great sleeper for the first few weeks of the season but Leinart could get his job back later because he is the future.

15

Eli Manning

NYG

QB

27

5

Same

3500

25

19

50

0

261

Medium

Low

He has been consistent for three straight years, Giants are bringing everyone back and should have more depth at WR with a healthy Steve Smith.

16

Vince Young

TEN

QB

25

3

Same

3000

14

15

450

4

260

Medium

Low

Quarterbacks who started most games in their first two seasons tend to improve in their third season by about 10%. The addition of Crumpler will be a big help for Young but the line will have to stay healthy.

17

Jason Campbell

WAS

QB

27

4

Slightly Worse

3400

18

18

250

1

255

High

Medium

There are few QBs who had their first season as a full-time starter in their 3rd year in the NFL. The line is improved in run blocking but it is very old. New system with Zorn could be huge for him, lots of new weapons.

18

Marc Bulger

STL

QB

31

7

Better

3800

21

14

50

0

265

High

High

The average improvement for QBs who had a big decrease in performance like Bulger is 11% in the next season. The line will be better than last year but Bulger has played 16 games only once in 6 seasons.

19

Matt Hasselbeck

SEA

QB

33

10

Same

3600

25

15

100

0

275

Medium

High

He attempted 50 passes more than his previous high in 2003 because of the absence of the running game. Has barely practiced in the past few weeks because his back is tightening up, this is a concern for the 33 year old.

Tier 4

20

Jeff Garcia

TBB

QB

38

10

Slightly Better

3600

18

9

150

1

264

Medium

High

He was very impressive last season and Tampa Bay will have a much improved line this season. He is 38 years old however so is susceptible to injuries but could surprise if he stays healthy.

21

Tarvaris Jackson

MIN

QB

25

3

Same

3200

17

17

400

2

263

Medium

High

He should improve in his 3rd NFL season and Berrian will help him but his job is not the most secure. His last 7 games would project to 270 fantasy points over a 16 games season.

22

Philip Rivers

SDC

QB

27

5

Same

3100

23

14

40

0

237

Medium

Low

Most QBs his age stay about the same in terms of performance, only Brett Favre had a big breakout season in his 3rd year as starter. WRs are still weak, Rivers did not improve much even after Chambers arrived.

23

Jake Delhomme

CAR

QB

33

10

Worse

3200

22

15

50

1

244

Medium

Medium

He should be healthy and will have a lot of weapons but the line is quite weak in pass protection and he will see a lot of pressure.

24

Jon Kitna

DET

QB

36

12

Same

3600

18

16

75

0

244

Medium

Medium

Mike Martz is no longer the offensive coordinator but Kitna still has some very good WRs. As long as he remains starter he is a good pick but he has gotten sacked a lot and is getting older.

25

Chad Pennington

MIA

QB

27

2

Same

3600

15

15

100

1

241

Medium

Medium

Pennington will start for the Dolphins and he is better than people give him credit for but his WRs are very weak.

Tier 5

26

Brodie Croyle

KCC

QB

25

3

Slightly Better

3200

18

17

50

0

220

Medium

Low

The offensive line is improved in pass protection and the Chiefs attempted 562 passes last season. He struggled but he's the unquestionned starter according to Herm Edwards. 5 full games: 858 yards, 5 TD and 4 INT.

27

Trent Edwards

BUF

QB

25

2

Same

3100

17

16

150

0

222

High

Medium

The 11 QBs who had between 100 and 200 fantasy pts per game in their 1st year (Edwards had 162) and over 400 pass attempts in their 2nd year improved by 35% on average. Line has little depth, WR Hardy will help.

28

Chris Redman

ATL

QB

31

9

Better

3200

18

15

50

0

222

High

High

Should be the starter in Atlanta but Ryan may take over if he struggles. Redman was very impressive in 4 of his 5 starts last year, offensive line is better but it is still weak; loss of Crumpler will hurt

29

JaMarcus Russell

OAK

QB

23

2

Same

3000

16

17

100

1

213

Medium

Medium

There are 17 QBs who became full-time starter in their 2nd season (over 350 pass attempts). They averaged 202 pts with passing stats alone, but only Culpepper in 2000 had more than 250.

30

Kyle Orton

CHI

QB

26

4

Slightly Better

3200

16

16

50

0

213

Medium

High

Orton has been named the starter for week 1, you still shouldn't draft him though.