Updated Quarterback Rankings

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)

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