2009 Fantasy Football Quarterback Rankings

Tier One

1-1(1) - Drew Brees– It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Brees is an Elite # 1 Quarterback in the NFL. He fell 15 yards short of breaking Dan Marino’s yards record ending the season with an astounding 5,069 yards. He also tossed 34 TDs against 17 INTs. It wouldn’t be fair to expect another 5,000 yard season, but another 35 TDs is not out of the question in the pass happy bayou. And if Marques Colston can stay healthy the whole year, Brees will be able to top the QB ranks through 2009.

1-2(2) - Peyton Manning – Manning is probably the safest pick in all of Fantasy Football. Unless injured, which never happens he hasn’t missed a game yet, Manning will deliver # 1 numbers. The loss of Marvin Harrison will have no ill effects on Peyton’s passing game. He still managed over 4,000 yards and 37 TDs without him. He got off to a rough start with the bursa sac heard around the world, but with a full, healthy offseason, expect Peyton to be back to his old tricks.

1-3(3) - Tom Brady – Brady rounds out what would be considered the “tier 1” Quarterbacks. The mere fact the Patriots were willing to trade Matt Cassel is reason enough for us to believe Tom will be playing at a high level once again in 2009.

Tier Two

2-1(4) - Phillip Rivers – Rivers tied Brew Brees for the NFL lead in touchdown passes with 34. He only threw 11 picks against Drew’s 17, and threw for over 4,000 yards. He has a solid receiving corp in Vincent Jackson and Chris Chambers, and of course Antonio Gates. Don’t forget, a simple screen to Darren Sproles can easily lead to an 80 yard TD pass. Rivers will, without a doubt, be a #1 fantasy QB in 2009.

2-2(5) - Tony Romo – Can Romo get it done without TO. Absolutely, and maybe even better. Roy Williams is a very talented WR and will fill TO’s vacancy well. The problem lies in the # 2 WR spot. Miles Austin or Patrick Crayton will need to step up to keep extra defenders off Jason Witten. The 3 headed RB corp of Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice will only help open up the field for Tony. Romo has a bit of a turnover problem but maybe without TO breakin’ his balls every play, he won’t force the ball around the field.

2-3(6) - Kurt Warner – Warner rules. ‘Nuff said! No seriously though he does. So does his 3 WRs Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston. Warner will sling the rock all over the field. Warner threw for over 4,500 yards, 30 TDs and 14 INTs in 2008, and shows no signs of slowing down.

2-4(7) – Aaron Rodgers – Rodgers has an absolute stud as his top WR in Greg Jennings. He also has a very average rushing game. This means many pass attempts for Aaron in 2009. He posted some solid numbers last season, 4,000 yards, 28 TDs, and 13 INTs. He also played in all 16 games, even a few with a busted wing.

2-5(8) – Donovan McNabb – McNabb finally has legit offensive weapons. Desean Jackson is in his second year, they drafted Jeremy Maclin. Even though Westbrook may not play at all in the pre-season, old reliable will be good to go. Throw in some new tackles, and a guy named Vick, and this offense can be one of the league’s best. And Donovan will be guiding it. Expect much better numbers than what he finished with last season. 3660 yards, 21 TDs, and 10 picks

Tier Three

3-1(9) - Matt Schaub – He has the best WR in football in Andre Johnson, Steve Slaton, and Owen Daniels. Those are some sweet weapons he’s got. If only he didn’t get beat up and miss games. If he can stay healthy he can post 4,500 yards and 30 TDs. That’s a big IF. Regardless, go get him and be pleasantly surprised, but be sure to grab a good back up.

3-2(10) - Ben Roethlisberger – Big Ben got beat up HARD in 2008. If the offensive line can get its act together, Ben could bounce back big time in 2009. He never gets the yards being in a run-first team, but he can get around 30 TDs.

3-3(11) - Matt Ryan – Matty Ice had a very solid rookie season. Roddy White definitely helps his cause. So does Michael Turner. Ryan threw just under 3,500 yards and 16 TDs in 2008. With a season under his belt, look for both of those numbers to improve. He does have a tough schedule though. Atlanta also brought in a decent TE in Tony Gonzalez, you may have heard of him.

3-4(12) – Matt Cassel – After Tom Brady got hurt in week 1, Cassel came in and got off to a slow start. As the season went on he turned into a top 10 fantasy QB. He went on an absolute tear beginning in the week 11 overtime loss to my Jets. Since week 6 he had 5 three TD days. Cassel’s numbers will not be off the charts like the end of 2008, based purely on the level of talent from the Patriots to the Chiefs. But, he will still give you solid numbers.

3-5(13) – Jay Cutler – Cutler being a whiny brat may have helped him out a bit to get out of Denver. But it in no way helps his fantasy value. In fantasy land he takes a huge hit. The Bears run first with Matt Forte, and have no legit WR’s. Does that mean he is a bad QB? No, in fact he is one of the better QBs in the NFL. But the lack of talent that surrounds him will be to much for him to overcome.

3-6(14) – Carson Palmer – It is hard to get a read on Palmer this year. He can be a late round gem, or simply a late round QB. He is coming off his 2nd season ending injury in 4 years, and lost T.J. Houshmadzadeh to Seattle. The Bengals brought Laveranues Coles in to help lesen the blow, but he is no TJ. Carson says he’s 100 percent ready to go this year, but his injury history still lingers in my mind. When healthy the guy puts up a consistent 250 yards and usually a couple of TDs. Grab him late, but buyer beware.

Tier Four

4-1(15) – Matt Hasselbeck – The addition of “Who’s Your Mama” will surely help out WR corp that was injury-plagued in 2008. Technically, if everybody stays healthy, Matt can have a pretty sick set of WRs. Which means he can have a pretty sick fantasy year. Don’t count on him every week. But he can be considered a luxury second QB, and good trade bait when other owners QBs get hurt.

4-2(16) – David Garrard – Popping into his 8th year in Jacksonville, everything is breaking his way to have his best season yet. Even though Torry Holt is past his prime, he is still a tremendous WR. The Jags added some O-line help in the draft, and MJD is the new starter. This will help Garrard’s numbers with Drew catching the ball out of the backfield and breaking some big plays.

4-3(17) – Joe Flacco – The Ravens are sporting a prety decent WR corp, but Baltimore’s rush first offense, and smothering defense is what wins games for them. Not Flacco’s arm. His numbers will boost in his second year, but the Ravens game plan limits his ceiling.

4-4(18) - Eli Manning – Eli isn’t a bad QB. He just doesn’t get the opportunities to throw the ball much. The Giants rush the ball down everyon’e throat every week. New York drafting Hakeem Nicks will help the cause, but not enough to make Brother Manning an every week fantasy starter.

4-5(19) – Trent Edwards – All of a sudden Edwards has a potential one-two knock out punch with Terrell Owens now lining up alongside Lee Evans. He will also get to enjoy 2 pass catching RBs which gives him plenty of weapons. Those weapons will steer him towards 3000 yards, but a little light on the TDs. Maybe about 16 or 17. The Bills tend to rush the ball when in the red zone.

4-6(20) - Kyle Orton – The other half of the Jay Cutler trade lands himself in Denver. And he will have plenty of toys to play with, and plenty of time to play with them if Denver’s defense is as brutal as it was in 2008. Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal are huge upgrades and Josh McDaniels system favors QB’s in the short to mid-range passing attack. Orton won’t put up numbers worthy of writing home to mom about, but once in a while he may make his way into a few starting lineups.