http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/3345 Recent articles about Matt Schaub en-us Tiered quarterback rankings for the 2008 fantasy football season. Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:17:23 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301855 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301855 Having not one, but two quality quarterbacks on your roster can help drive you to the playoffs and even a championship, so it's important you evaluate all the quarterbacks and not just concern yourself with the top 10 arms. Luckily, the Bruno Boys help do that for you and below have identified our favorite sleepers and undervalued players at the quarterback position. Two are league veterans poised for a big rebound after injury-riddled seasons last year, while the other two are young guns looking to take the next step. To read who they are, click the link... Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:17:20 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301038 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/301038 This is a simple tournament style vote off. What you do here is vote for the best QB of the pair that is up at that time. This is a tournament so vote for the top paring first the next match up will begin after 15 total votes, then move to the next pairing and so on till the list is complete and then we start round two which I will post with the new match ups. Lets be friendly and honest here is the match up. The ones in CAPS are the winners of that match up and round. When you see a pairing with a CAPS winner move down to where there are two QB's in lower case letters and that is the one we will be voting on at that time. When the next round comes out it will be posted the same as this one but with round 2, then 3, then 4 and so on till we have our two SUPER BOWL QB's. Only vote for the one in session. Let's keep it friendly, anyone who votes I will add hopefully you will follow the pattern. and tell your friends we are here and lets make this fun for everyone. So tell a friend or favorite. Now in session is: Jason Campbell vs. T.Jackson. J.Campbell vs. T.Jackson --- J. CAMPBELL advances T.Romo vs. M.Hasselback --- T.Brady vs. P.Manning E.Manning vs. P.Rivers D.McNabb vs. C.Palmer V.Young vs. D. Anderson B.Rothlesburger vs. Trent Edwards J.Garcia vs. A.Rodgers K. Warner vs. J. Kitna R. Grossman vs. D. Garrard J. Cutler vs. J. Delhomme D. Brees vs. M. Bulger J. Russell vs. M. Schuab Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:36:14 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300514 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/300514 The Texans start training for this year's season today.  The team's first practice is set to begin at 8:30 this morning.  The Texans reported to training camp yesterday.  Quarterback Matt Schaub says the energy level was high to start the season because of the team's record last year.  He added that the prospect of improving on last year's 8-and-8 season has the players eager to get started. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:53:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295355 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295355 The Texans start training for this year's season today.  The team's first practice is set to begin at 8:30 this morning.  The Texans reported to training camp yesterday.  Quarterback Matt Schaub says the energy level was high to start the season because of the team's record last year.  He added that the prospect of improving on last year's 8-and-8 season has the players eager to get started. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:53:04 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295355 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/295355 The top 10 of high risk and high reward players looks at players who have great potential this season but who have either had injury problems in the past or whose role could be reduced this year. Find out who made our list. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:50:34 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294779 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294779 So how do we beat the RBBC conundrum? Knowledge! I know, I sound like a bad public service announcement but in fantasy football, knowledge really is power. And there's just not enough info out there on all the various committees. I applaud the few sites out there that have attacked the RBBC analysis...though I can't say I really blame the experts out there for not wanting to talk about them. But now it's time we face committees head on and do our best to take a gamble and figure out which guys might pull to the front of the committee battles. Trust me, some of those guys might even be a top 10 back by the time the season is over. With that being said, let's take a look at 3 under-discussed teams and their backfield situation heading into 2008: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:40:00 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294709 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/294709 With training camp approaching, I figured what better time to take a look at the QBs around the league. We profiled the Big Dogs and Second Tier QBs, now it's time to look at the guys who you can plug and play when the matchups fit, use in deep leagues, make good backup QBs or second starter in 2 QB leagues, or guys to roll with if you waited until well into your draft to pick a QB. Serviceable QBs Matt Leinart/Kurt Warner - This one is tricky because Matt is the guy that will be given every chance to be the starter, but Warner (3417 yards, 27 TDs) was highly effective last year. With Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald as starters, either of these QBs are worth having. Problem is you may have to own both. Jake Delhomme - When you have a target like Steve Smith, you have potential. When you add D.J. Hackett and Muhsin Muhammad to mix, things get even more exciting. If his elbow holds up (and the rest of his body) he can easily make the leap to the Second Tier level (if not even the Big Dog level). Perhaps no QB has a wider spectrum between highs and lows. Vince Young - Entering his third season, VY has to start living up to the hype. He regressed last year, mainly because he didn't have any weapons to work with. Unfortunately, he still doesn't have the weapons to be a consistent fantasy starter, but I think he's a good enough football player that he'll show glimpses of greatness this year. Matt Schaub - There are things Schaub has going for him. It's his second year as a starter so everything shouldn't feel as new with him. He has one of the best targets to throw to in Andre Johnson (who will hopefully stay healthy this year). The reason he's not ranked higher, though, is because capable backup Sage Rosenfels is waiting in the wings. If he gets off to a slow start, the Texans won't hesitate to cook with Sage. Aaron Rodgers - This is mainly on potential than anything else. He's a starting QB (so long as Brett Favre doesn't butt his way in) of a team with great offensive weapons. He'll have to show he can handle the pressure of replacing a legend, which is a tall order. Additionally, he'll have to stay healthy. Jon Kitna - With Mike Martz bringing his pass-happy ways to San Francisco, Jon Kitna sees his value take a dip. He most likely won't be chucking the ball 40-50 times a game this year. If he doesn't get in as many attempts, all of the sudden he's just a mediocre fantasy QB. If the Lions' season goes sour, there's a good chance Drew Stanton can get a turn. I was high on Kitna last year, and this year I couldn't be more opposite. Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:24:27 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290674 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/290674 Yesterday I broke down my bottom third Fantasy Football quarterbacks for the upcoming season. Today I'll take a look at those QB's that have the potential in be in the Top 10 but just missed out. Before I do that, lets recap the QB's I ranked 21-30 and my predications: Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:23:43 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285566 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/285566 Looking back on the Houston Texans' season, it's hard to believe that this is a team that finished 8-8 overall. After all, free agent quarterback Matt Schaub missed the better part of six games, wide receiver Andre Johnson was out from week three to week 11 and free agent running back Ahman Green carried the ball 10 or more times in a game just four times. Instead, Sage Rosenfels threw 15 touchdowns to Schaub's nine, Ron Dayne led the team in rushing with 773 yards and six touchdowns on 194 carries and Kevin Walter led the team in receptions with 65. With their top three players at each position missing significant time, the Texans still managed to have a respectable season, at least by their standards. The benefit of those players being injured was it allowed other players to demonstrate their potential. Tight end Owen Daniels caught 63 passes for 768 yards and three touchdowns and running back Darius Walker had 264 yards and one touchdown on 58 carries. With some better offensive line play, and better luck when it comes to injuries, the Texans could become a pretty good offense. Make sure to read more of what Bruno Boys Fantasy Football staff writer Jesse Burkhart has to say about the Green Bay Packers and their fantasy football worthy players heading into the 2008 season by clicking the link... Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:13:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280184 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/280184 The last of our AFC division previews, the Colts are still the dominant force but the Jags figure to be in the playoff hunt again. We simulated every game and provide you with team analysis, projected scores and fantasy sleepers. Here's the Colts analysis, and click the link for game projections and the other teams. Indianapolis Colts (11-5) It may feel like it because they are always winning, but this is not the same team that the Colts keep running out there to win the division. Each season has some defections and each season the Colts find talent within their own limited player pool to step up and fill the void. 2008 is no different. This year, some of Peyton Manning's weapons from the past few seasons are gone or banged-up and a lot of the depth on defense moved on, yet there are several great talents ready to step up. The Colts average 29.1 points per game (#3 in the NFL) and allow 20.5 points (#8) against a schedule featuring nine games against 2007 playoff teams. Absolute Record: 15-1 Most Significant Newcomer: Mike Pollak, OL - This is probably the most difficult team to pick of any in the league. The Colts build their teams from the draft up and typically develop a player for a couple years before they try to count on him. For 2008, this is amplified by the fact that the Colts had no first round draft choice and no glaring needs or major free agent acquisitions. From the nine players drafted, Pollak, a second-round pick out of Arizona State looks like the most valuable to the team right now. He may be asked to start at guard immediately and eventually replace Jeff Saturday at center. Biggest Strength: Peyton Manning - The answer here is probably the same as with New England. The "system" or the brain trust between Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy runs this team and keeps everything running smoothly. Most Exploitable Weakness: Running game - Joseph Addai is a great talent and a fantastic fantasy performer, but the Colts were a slightly below average running team last year and Addai cannot be the only guy. The team brought back Dominic Rhodes and drafted Mike Hart, but neither projects to improve the team rushing average. Possible Fantasy Sleeper: Anthony Gonzalez, WR - Last year's first round pick had a promising rookie season. With Marvin Harrison aging, hurting and potentially in legal trouble, Gonzalez will get plenty of opportunities in 2008. Even if Harrison plays well all year, Gonzalez is a rich man's Brandon Stokely. The simulated season has him at 53 catches for 885 yards and six touchdowns. Closest Game: New England (Week 9) - We mentioned in the New England Patriots preview that this should be another classic. As it stands, it is the Colts only projected loss. Interestingly, with such a tough schedule, they are only heavily favored against a couple of teams. This leads to a much lower expected record than absolute record. Fantasy Notables (fantasy rank at position in parentheses): Peyton Manning (2) 4,260 yards, 32 TDs, 12 INTs; Joseph Addai (5) 1,718 total yards, 16 TDs; Reggie Wayne (4) 81 receptions, 1,307 yards, 9 TDs; Anthony Gonzalez (29) 53 receptions, 885 yards, 6 TDs; Marvin Harrison (42) 54 receptions, 737 yards, 5 TDs: Dallas Clark (8) 39 receptions, 560 yards, 5 TDs; Adam Vinatieri (3) 51/51 XPs, 29/33 FGs Sat, 14 Jun 2008 10:30:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/277956 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/277956 This in depth analysis of the offensive line includes the projected starters for the upcoming season, statistics and injuries from the past season, an overview of players on the line and an outlook for the 2008 season. Sat, 17 May 2008 15:25:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268109 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/268109 Two running backs, Willie Parker and DeAngelo Williams, saw their fantasy stock drop on draft day. Meanwhile, Matt Schaub and Lee Evans watched their value rise. Fri, 09 May 2008 12:58:55 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265242 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/265242 It all underlies the obvious 4-12 record and constant bashing from the media, the Falcons 2007 season was actually the most productive season for the franchise since the 1998 campaign. Let me tell you why!!! Being an Atlanta sports fan isn't always easy, hell it's never easy but one thing is certain and that's the fact that the losing won't go on forever. The Falcons have taken drastic steps in rebuilding a franchise that hasn't sniffed the playoffs two years in a row in it's entire 40 year history. We all know what Mike Vick did by now so there's no need to harp on that, but his indictment and pleading guilty has started a huge trickle down effect throughout the entire organization from front office to 53 man roster and the Stalin-esque cleaning is still taking place to this day. We'll start with Coach Bobby Petrino; he had a whole playbook prepared with certain plays and sets to utilize Vick's rarest of abilities to their fullest potentials, but this never manifested. Instead the hand that Coach Petrino was dealt had only four fingers. The young inexperienced NFL head coach had to call an audible so to speak and attempted to tone down his extensive play book towards Joey Harrington. Going from the fastest quarterback in the history of the NFL with one of the strongest arms to one of the slowest with one of the weakest arms and has been a perennial disappointment since his arrival in the NFL, Coach Petrino never stood a chance. However, I'm not giving Petrino a free pass for the burden that Vick left the Falcons to bare. Before bolting from the team after week 13, it was obvious to me that Petrino was overwhelmed with the whole experience. His inability to manage the clock or locate talent left the Falcons hung out to dry. Quarterback Chris Redman whom Petrino coached at Louisville in his collegiate days was brought out of his other career of selling insurance to have a shot at landing the Falcons third string quarterback role. Although excelling during the pre-season, Redman never got his shot until week 13 of the regular season; 2 games before Petrino left. Redman thrived in his starting role and ended the season with a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio. To me there was no reason that Redman shouldn't have had his shot earlier, with Harrington constantly being flustered and anxious in the pocket and lacking confidence it surely would not have hurt. In retrospect it would have been the correct move and there's no doubt in my mind that the Falcons would have at least 1-2 more wins. As an NFL player, coach, owner or fan you never want to hope your team loses but sometimes it just turns out for the best (I'll get to this in a bit). The only correct moves that Bobby Petrino made were bringing in Redman and signing promising offensive tackle Renardo Foster from Louisville (what a homer). I think he'll develop into an excellent third tackle in the league. The lack of communication from Coach Petrino left the players constantly confused and if a player had concerns then they had to go through multiple members of the organization just to reach the head coach. According to running back Warrick Dunn, Petrino called plays that they never even practiced and left the team befuddled in the huddle. I don't know how they expected anything to work well if the team and the coach aren't even on the same page! With that being said, then General Manager Rich McKay signed fullback Ovie Mughelli to a 6 year 18 million dollar contract with a 5 million dollar signing bonus. Mughelli barely even played and was not even used as a short yardage back like he probably should have been. I won't call it a bad signing just yet, but he has big shoes to fill with the vacation of fan favorite Justin Griffith and personally I will gladly give him another year to see if he can prove his worth in a real offense with an actual coach. To me 2007 was a great year for the Falcons, not for the players or fans but for the long term health of the franchise. You might be calling me a moron and saying how much of an idiot I am but let me speak my piece. Bobby Petrino was obviously an incompetent coach and clearly he would never have reached a championship level of success in the NFL, but if Michael Vick was still around then he would still be masking the inabilities of the coaching staffs and front offices regardless of who they are. It's similar to what Vick did with former Head Coach Jim Mora Jr. He leads the team to a middle of the road finish of about 8-8 or 9-7 and then gives everybody a whole new year of false hope and repeats the same finish. If Vick were still in command then Petrino might still be the coach and Rich McKay might still be calling the shots. Another fortunate thing happened for the long term of the Falcons with Petrino quitting during the season. It gave Arthur Blank the heads up that a new GM was needed to pick the new coach and he began his search almost a month sooner to get a jump on the competition. A new era of Falcons football was born on January 13th 2008. After an extensive search for a general manager, Owner and CEO Arthur Blank hired Thomas Dimitroff who was the Patriots director of college scouting. Picking the ripest looking apple from the ripest tree in the NFL, Blank might have just made the right move to bring a winner back to this city. Dimitroff is a new age thinker and brings many of the methods and strategies learned from Scott Pioli and Bill Bellichick in New England to the Falcons front office. First and foremost he believes in building the team through the draft and supplementing the remaining pieces in free agency. Having a long background in college scouting, I have complete trust in Mr. Dimitroff's judge of talent. The front office is not going to be a monarchy, Dimitroff has stated that he takes the opinions of the scouts and coaches very seriously. His communication with new coach Mike Smith has reportedly been top notch and I am very confident that they will put all of the new pieces in the right places to succeed and function as a cohesive unit. They believe in building the system around the players and not the players around the system. Warrick Dunn and Alge Crumper did not fit the system so they were cut. It's a tough thing to do but Dimitroff did his job. Another goal of his is to closely review the history of any player or draft pick. He looks for hard nosed and intelligent players that buy into the team concept. DeAngelo Hall was victim number one and the new GM certainly showed his swagger by quickly shipping him to Oakland (haha Oakland, a nice subtle way of saying FU to Hall). I wonder what he complains about first, Asomugha having his number 21? I'll give it a few months to a year for his whining to come to fruition. If you've gotten this far you'll remember about 25 years ago or 25 paragraphs ago when I stated that the 2007 season was actually good for the Falcons, let me expand on that. After the 2006 season the Falcons let Patrick Kerney go and he notched 14+ sacks on the season. You might ask how this is good news, but when it combines with probable first round bust Jamaal Anderson's 0 sacks then it nets a pretty damn appetizing 3rd round compensation pick. The pick is chosen by high ranking NFL officials in a complicated process and one step is the comparison for those positions the previous year (Kerney v Anderson). The Falcons lost a key free agent (Kerney) and his replacement did very little (Anderson). Combine the Falcons original 7 picks with the compensatory selection, two second rounders for Hall and Schaub and a 7th rounder for Allen Rossum and you've got 11 picks to build the team. As I said before, losing is a terrible thing but that number 3 overall selection sure looks good now doesn't it? Aren't we all glad that Petrino was such a crappy coach and terrible person? I almost forgot to mention, what if Vick was accused of those charges 5 weeks sooner? It seemed almost too bad to be true that just as the Falcons traded their prized backup, Vick was called out by the government. However didn't this end beautifully? The Falcons get two draft picks for a player that probably won't even amount to more than a spot starter and career backup. According to Bodog, a popular gambling site, the Falcons have the worst odds of winning the Super Bowl (125 to 1). While I agree that they won't win it, there are teams in much worse situations. The Falcons have a young, strong and promising foundation to work with. Here's where I think the roster stands QBs: Obviously we need to use Oakland's second rounder here and pick somebody up. Henne might be nice, but I'd trust the Falcons scouts. Redman will be a good fill in option for this year and has shown willingness to mentor the rookie that will come in. RB: Turner and Norwood is an excellent combo of thunder and lightning. Funny thing is that Turner is both thunder and lightning in one. These two backs have two of the highest yards per carry averages in the NFL the past two years. WR: Roddy White, 1200+ yards and he's a legit #1. Laurent Robinson has shown that he can play in the league, just needs a little bit more time. Michael Jenkins sucks and a new third receiver with size would be nice (James Hardy) FB: Mughelli- We'll See OL: Clabo is an underrated player and can definitely start in the league (we'll see what position) and Justin Blalock who was just a second rounder last year will only get better at guard. McClure and Forney who are better suited for the zone blocking scheme are cap casualties depending on the draft. Todd Weiner needs to show that he can still play following his knee surgery at age 33. TE: Releasing Alge Crumpler was difficult but Ben Hartsock is the blocking tight end needed in the offense. Hopefully Martrez Millner's hands sure up. DT: With the release of Rod Coleman, it leaves nothing certain. Odds are Jonathan Babineaux will win the job as the under tackle but the nose tackle position is still at large. Kindal Moorehead, Rashad Moore and Simon Fraser were good depth signing by Dimitroff, something that the team has lacked for a few years now. DE: John Abraham. Shall we move on to the other side? Jamaal Anderson didn't record any sacks last year and is edging towards becoming a bust but I will give him time to get stronger and to play the position longer than the one season that he did in college after coming up as a wide receiver. Mario Williams only had 4.5 his rookie season so there is still hope! LB: Michael Boley has pro bowl written all over him on the strong side and up and coming second year player Stephen Nicholas showed enough last year to warrant the job on the weak side. Keith Brooking is a team player but it's hurting him in this case, he is not cut out to be a middle linebacker and doesn't force the issue. He tends to be a pile jumper. Hopefully his offseason knee surgery helped him and that he's not showing signs of slowing down soon. CB: Second year players Chris Houston and David Irons have all the talent in the world, can they harness it??? New addition Von Hutchins should help them along. S: Lawyer Milloy is trust as always, how much longer can he go? Newcomer Erik Coleman thrived in the Jets cover 2 a few years ago before falling out of favor with the new regime. He'll make an excellent FS for years to come. K/P: Koenen does an excellent job each year as long as he's held to kickoffs and punting! The signing of Jason Elam brings the Brookwood High School standout back to Atlanta. I like the move because it's one less spot to worry about in the draft and no more relying on Morten Andersen to cover up the mistakes of Rich McKay. Hopefully he has enough left in the tank to play out his four year contract. So there you have it, my first blog. Hopefully there will be many more to come, let me know what you think! Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:15:51 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/230616 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/230616 Speculation has been rampant since the Houston Texans signed Quinn Gray, that back-up QB Sage Rosenfels would soon be traded. There have been trade rumors all off-season regarding Sage, including the Texans turning down a 3rd round draft pick from the Minnesota Vikings. If you talk to Texans' coach Gary Kubiak about trade possibilities he'd want to make you believe differently. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:20:25 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/218138 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/218138