Interview Transcript - Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater

As time goes on, I'll be rolling more and more of these out. You can always find the audio on NFLDraftbible.com or in the archives for All-Access Football and usually (although not in this case) The Thundering Blurb Football Show - both on Blogtalkradio.com.

I did this interview just prior to Fresno State's Pro Day and actually broke the news in it that Brandstater would not be working out at his Pro Day, which then appeared on Rotoworld. Right place, right time.

So without further ado, here is the interview I ran on All Access football a couple of weeks ago with NFL Draft Prospect and former Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater.

Garda: Welcome to another edition of All Access Football Radio brought to you by NFLDraftbible.com, as well as the fabulous Fantasy Sports Channel and BlogTalkRadio.com. I am Andrew Garda, your host for the next 15 or so minutes, as we will get our interview on with another in a long line of top prospects. A guy who, coming into the Combine people were thinking ‘Intriguing prospect, maybe someone who could make some noise.’ Coming out of the Combine, everyone was saying ‘What the heck did we just see?’ Of course I am talking about Fresno State Bulldog quarterback Tom Brandstater. Tom, how are you doing tonight?

Tom Brandstater: I’m doing great. How are you guys doing?

Garda: Doing absolutely fantastic. Big night for you, getting ready for your Pro Day. So I want to thank you for coming on tonight because I know you probably have some butterflies going on to tomorrow. Absolutely going to be a huge day. Between the Combine and now, have you been hearing a lot from teams? Are there any workouts yet, any dialogue or do you think that’s going to come later on?

Tom Brandstater: Yeah, at this point it’s starting to become, teams are calling and getting ahold of my agent and trying to figure out different meets and stuff like that. So it’s going to be – I’ll be a busy guy for the next month or so before {the Draft} just trying to hit every appointment and trying to talk to all the people who are interested so, I’ll be busy. And it’s kind of fun, part of the process to get out to different places and see different people and ultimately going for the goal of being on an NFL team.

Garda: So moving backwards a little bit before we move too far forwards, you played both quarterback and defensive back in high school and you were a good enough defensive back to where named to the first team All-District by the Modesto Bee, at the position. In college however, it was all about the quarterback slot. Which is not to say that you were so good as a D-back that nobody was talking about your quarterback ability because you were directing what was primarily a rushing offense, but you still threw for 1,000 yards as a senior high school QB. So, clearly you had the talent to do both. What was the thing that made you say ‘hey, I’m focusing on quarterback from here on out’ when you were clearly successful at either position at all. What really did you see that said ‘that’s why I want to do quarterback?’ And what advantage do you have, having played that position, a position that usually gives quarterbacks some headaches.

Tom Brandstater: Right. I was more of a safety in high school. I don’t think I’m physically gifted enough at to play defense in college. So it wasn’t a question at all as I got to college. I did well in high school because I was able to know what was happening before it was going to start. So it wasn’t because I had sheer athletic ability, the ability to cover and stuff. So I was kinda in the right place at the right time playing defense. And then I was a natural quarterback with the ideal – with the prototypical body at least to play quarterback.

Garda: You like, flipped the script there, because most of the time quarterbacks were like ‘yeah I played a little D-back and now I know what’s in the safety or corner’s head because I was there for a little bit.’ And it sounds as if you were all like, in high school, ‘yeah I played a little D-back, and I knew what the quarterback was doing and that’s what made me effective.’ So that’s a pretty good use of the tools. You reversed it on them.

Tom Brandstater: Exactly! That was how I utilized my somewhat athletic body. I kinda knew what was going to happen. In high school it’s such a – it’s not so precise. If you have any idea what’s going on, you can usually be pretty good and I was lucky just to – the quarterbacks would just kind of throw it up and would find a way to come down with the ball. I think I had like eight interceptions my last year. So that’s why I did so well, had so many interceptions on defense.

Garda: So let’s get back to the Combine, We touched on it a couple of minutes ago. You had, I’ll just put it simply, a very good day. You showed more accuracy and straight-line speed than people really expected, you had a great 20 yard shuttle. You were the fifth best among QBs in that. You showed off your agility. Accurate passes, good velocity. After a day like that, how do you go back to the grindstone and in many respects act as if nothing really happened? Because you can’t afford to lose that momentum. I mean, because you came out red hot after the Combine.

Tom Brandstater: Yeah I did. I had a good day and you know I think – I wasn’t totally surprised. Other people were more surprised than I was. I think that’s how I usually threw the ball and I felt good about that. So, it was a solid day for me. I was real happy with the way I did everything and I think – it doesn’t prove anything. It’s definitely going to help me to get looked at. I have to do it on a more consistent basis every time and so it was just one more piece of the puzzle that had to be put together in order for me to turn some heads.

Garda: Absolutely. Tom, really when it comes down to it, as time has gone on, the NFL has taken a lot more notice of small school players. A few years ago, people were saying – could Fresno State, could be Appalachian State – ‘sure they put up good numbers but they haven’t played USC, they haven’t the SEC’. That’s certainly changed over the last few years. And now in some respects it’s almost an advantage for some guys to come through a small school program. What are the advantages you’ve felt you had going to Fresno State over one of the huge universities which frankly, some people get lost in the programs a little bit. What do you feel is the best thing about going to Fresno State, and strengthened you the most? And at the same point, what do you feel some of the challenges have been coming out of a small school?

Tom Brandstater: Well I think that the good thing about Fresno State is we’ve had good coaches, we’ve had really good people involved with the program who have taught me a lot of things I need to know for the next level. So that’s definitely been a positive just having that knowledge part of it. A negative might just the fact that people are going to doubt the strength of schedule and… but that doesn’t really mean anything. We don’t have a team of 100 all-stars, you know, we have a couple of good players and enough players to field a starting defense and a starting offense. Our depth isn’t what the other teams are but that could be the only knock on our team. That and our schedule. So I don’t see it as a huge negative and I don’t think at the end of the day people don’t care where you came from, this is all about what you can do and what you can do to help a team win.

Garda: Absolutely and just to point out, I mean, in 2007 you had four very good passing games against the likes of , at the time #23 Texas A&M, at the time # 4 Oregon, at the time # 21 Boise State, and a Kansas State that I don’t think was ranked at the time but was still pretty stiff competition and you had a career high 300 yard passing game so I guess when it comes down to it, it’s all in the perception and as long as guys are looking at your tape, it doesn’t lie.

Tom Brandstater: Yeah, I mean that’s what I’m hoping for. It’s all about a couple guys up there in key positions in the NFL have to like you and not every guy is going to like you or think that you can fit with their system but when a couple of guys like you and a couple of guys are willing to go after you, that’s all it really takes. It really takes one but once you get a couple in there, it’s going to guarantee your odds and that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m just trying to do my thing and hoping my thing is what some of the people are looking for.

Garda: You yourself mentioned that you pretty much have the prototypical size, the build the guys are looking for in the NFL for a quarterback. But at the same point, you’re still mobile. You can move the bootleg, you can move in and out of the pocket, you don’t lose anything for being that size. What do you do to keep up that agility, to work on the speed that you need to kind of keep things going long enough for a wide receiver or even a running back – one of your other options, if the primary is covered, to get open?

Tom Brandstater: First I’m gifted that a lot of it comes natural. Some guys just can’t run to save their life and luckily I’ve been blessed to be able to run. And then it comes down to working hard in the weight room and doing different things, different agility drills that allow you to be able to move around. I think that that’s a big part of my game. I’m not a Michael Vick by any means, but I think when things break down I have some ability at least to make the play happen and try to extend the play and at least get the ball out of my hands so I don’t get sacked let one of the playmakers make a play.

Garda: You know, we were just talking about how the perception of small schools at one point was sort of a negative. And it has turned to where it’s a positive or at least on the level of any other school. It seems to like now to me, virtually everyone I talk to be it scout, quarterback, analyst or Joe on the street, seems like to me the new ‘small school’ label is now the spread offense. Let’s flip the script on that – what do you think are the strengths coming out of something that uses the spread offense and what’s your reaction to people who do bring it up as a negative going into the NFL?

Tom Brandstater: Well the positive of it is, you know, the stats are pretty mind-boggling. You can put up some pretty good numbers in the spread offense. But the negative is the fact that you’re not going to run that offense in the Pros and there’s a lot guys that are going to look down upon that so that’s really, to me, that doesn’t affect me. Some guys will talk about it, even though I wasn’t in that offense, it’s going to help some guys as my peers or hurt guys. That’s not really my decision, but I think it is what it is. And I believe I wasn’t in an offense like that but if I was it’d be a lot of fun, you put a lot of points on the board and try to make the most of the situation.

Garda: Well, despite not being in a spread offense, 2,600 plus yards for two seasons in a row and 15 plus touchdowns for two seasons in a row is not too shabby really when it comes down to it. That’s some pretty good production.

Tom Brandstater: Yeah, you know, we definitely did some good things on offense. There were games where we’d like to have done more, you know like any position isn’t going to be satisfied with what they did. But, yeah we did some good things and that was good. We had a lot of good players here at Fresno State and I enjoyed my time here and it’s been awesome and the next step in my dream is getting closer and it’s exciting to live it out a little bit.

Garda: So as we’re getting close to the end here, a couple more questions for you here Tom. First of all, tomorrow is your Pro Day. What is your biggest goal going into tomorrow’s workout? What is the one thing that you think more than anything else you need to go out there and just hit a home run on?

Tom Brandstater: Well, actually, my Pro Day is tomorrow but I’m not going to be able to do anything. Two weeks before [the Combine] I tore my lat muscle in my side…..underneath my arm. So I re-aggravated it at the Combine. I haven’t been able to do anything for the last … since the Combine. I’m not even going to be able to throw tomorrow at [Pro Day]. So my situation is a little bit different, and basically it’s going to turn into a meet and greet for me to talk to the scouts and then before the actual draft. But my Pro Day is not – I won’t be doing anything at the Pro Day.

Garda: My bad. Sorry about that.

Tom Brandstater: Yeah that’s relatively new information yeah, so I mean, I got the doctor after the Combine and we found out I tore my lat while I was at the Combine. In a way it’s good, because I threw so well at the Combine, but I did it all with a torn lat, so hopefully there’s more to come and even better things for me out there.

Garda: All right, so when you are able to work out, where have you been working out and what were you focusing the most on when you’re able to throw the ball?

Tom Brandstater: Well I’ve been training in Southern California with my agent and a whole bunch of – we got about five quarterbacks. We got Curtis Painter, Pat White, Mark Sanchez and Nate Brown. We’ve been out there doing everything. I think the little things are what makes good quarterbacks great, so I’m trying to work on little things and making sure that I’m a complete quarterback. Whether it’s moving the pocket, accurate throws and just doing all the things that you have to do. I think footwork is my biggest emphasis, because I want to make sure that – anyone who knows anything about quarterbacks know that footwork is the most important thing and your arm and the ball will follow what good feet do. So that’s been my emphasis since I’ve been training.

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My take on Brandstater: This wasn't the sort of thing that would hurt him, though it's more about the depth (or lack thereof) in the class than the injury, missed Pro Day or anything else. Most of these quarterbacks are projects. Any team could very well go any direction and - if they are willing to be patient - could very well end up with the next Matt Cassel three or four years from now.

Brandstater is a guy who is a decent quarterback and has the basic tools to suceed, though in my opinion I'm not sure he is starter material. But since he's a project, with the right system and coach, he has as much of a shot as most of this class of quarterbacks.

Tuesday NFL Draft News and Notes

Another day, another grip of news.

Like I said yesterday, you never know where the news will break or in what way. I can attest to that since I suddenly found myself breaking the story that Fresno State QB Tom Brandstater would not be working out at all his Pro Day (Wednesday, March 10th) due to a torn Lat muscle which was hurt prior to the NFL Scouting Combine and aggravated in Indianapolis.

"Two weeks before (the Combine) I tore my lat muscle in my side ...underneath my arm," Brandstater told me during the interview on All Access Football. "So, I re-aggravated it at the Combine. I haven’t been able to do anything for the last … since the Combine. I’m not even going to be able to throw…"

Brandstater did say he would be at the event tomorrow and use his time to meet the teams and the scouts present.

What does this mean for a guy like Brandstater, who came off the Scouting Combine red hot? Many analysts have him ranked as anywhere from the fifth to the tenth quarterback. Does he take a huge hit?

Frankly, no. Listen, this is an average group at best. Get past Stafford and his awesome work in a room full of scouts, or Sanchez and his work ethic and lack of film and Freeman and his huge tractor trailer full of upside and you have a host of guys who might, maybe someday be good quarterbacks.

I love Pat White out of West Virginia, but as impressive as he looked at the Combine, he still has some question marks in terms of holding up for a whole season plus he's the new 'face of the wildcat' as far as the talking heads on TV are concerned.

Nate Davis, Rhett Bomar, Stephen McGee - all guys with great upside but nobody who you'll plug in with confidence on purpose.

So to my mind, no, Brandstater is not terribly hurt by this. He wasn't going on day one anyway. Maybe he slips from round 4 or 5 to 5 or six. But he's not a guy who was 'ready to start' anyway.

Moving on to other news (and putting and end to the back patting).....

Nice, though brief, piece on Path to the Draft about Cal-Poly wide receiver Ramses Barden. Another guy I interviewed prior to the Combine, Barden suffered through an injury at the Senior Bowl and had a good, though not great scouting Combine. I was happy to see him still getting press from guys like Mayock and Davis. Barden needs to use his size more effectively if he's going to succeed at the NFL level.

Otherwise he stands to look a lot like James Hardy, part deux. Well, Hardy, minus the Owens signing.

I feel like I have seen the term 'bad surface' a ton during the first few weeks of Pro Days. The latest is in a column on NFL.com by the ageless Gil Brandt about Montana's Colt Anderson. The young safety prospect ran indoors on a rubber track, managing a 4.22 in the 20-yard shuttle. He went outside for the three-cone and ran a 6.88, which isn't too bad either.

I just wrote the other day about a Pro Day where shuttles and 40s were run in a wood-floor gym. A rubber floor is a step up, but how much? What's going on with these schools? I'm not saying they should throw a hundred thousand at facilities just on the basis that ten guys will work out for scouts.

But I'm seeing a lot of questionable surfaces and wonder if I'm going to be typing 'John Doe tore his ACL when his toe caught on the edge of a wood slat.'

Wrapping up Anderson though, he was a guy hovering around the seventh round or rookie free agent signing area in projections. It sounds like he might have locked that up, but it's early and you never know who could really wow scouts over the next 40 plus days.

I know this has been talked about by me and others but how big a day is tomorrow for Alabama tackle Andre Smith? He already cost himself millions with the antics at the Scouting Combine.

Another misstep and he'll be the free-fall we all talk about come the Monday after the Draft.

Finally, if you want to know about great small school prospects, you need to find out what Josh Buchanan is writing. Currently stringing for DraftDaddy.com, Josh is the man when it comes to smaller school prospects.

Mr. Buchanan is reporting that Liberty running back Rashad Jennings, probably the hottest small school guy to come out of the Scouting Combine (neck and neck with Johnny Knox from Abilene Christian), has been racking up frequent flier miles. He hit Denver Monday, the Eagles Tuesday, will hit the Pats Wednesday and the Jets on Friday.

He fits a few of those teams. Denver is collecting running backs like I am moving violations, Philadelphia needs to back oft-banged up Westbrook, the Hoodie (that would be Bill Belichick) needs to wash the taste of Laurence Maroney out of his mouth and Fred Taylor can only do so much. The Jets aren't as likely but how many years does Thomas Jones have? Besides, like everyone else, the Jets know you can't have too many running backs in your pocket.

Jennings has done a ton to up his profile. I'm watching some tape of him now and he's an interesting guy.

He may just be the next 'small school surprise'.

Top Fantasy QBs of Week 13

Tony Romo 331/3/1 - 14 rush yds - I said I thought when all was said and done, Romo might be the top guy come Monday morning and he was. He continues to look very good and is peaking right as we hit fantasy playoffs. Couldn't ask for more.

Donovan McNabb 264/4/ - 24 rush yds - McNabb certainly bounced back with a vengeance against a Cards team that really does not travel East well. McNabb should be back on track now, though I will worry about him going forward regardless.

Aaron Rodgers 298/3/1 - 2pt conv, 26 rush yds - Rodgers may be no Brett Favre, but he's played pretty well for most of the season. A little more help from the Oline and a little less locking onto Jennings could help. The Pack is almost done though and that will be how his first year is remembered. Still, a guy who is almost a lock for your startign QB gig.

Jay Cutler 357/2/1 - Just about tore apart the Jets secondary. The oline held for him and he seemed to have all day to not throw towards Jets corner Darrelle Revis. The rest of the Jets secondary was very vulnerable and Cutler - who can be up and down - had a sky-high day in Jersey.

Joe Flacco 280/2 - 15 rush yds - While not as consistent or solid as his rookie comrade Matt Ryan, Flacco has begun to come into his own and is starting to make the passing game relevant again in Baltimore. He has really progressed well this season and while I had my doubts, he has opened my eyes. Could be solid for several years to come as well as great for certain matchups in the Fantasy playoffs.

Kurt Warner - 235/3/3 - Another high yardage game but Warner was pressured a lot by the blitzing Eagles (something I was worried might happen) and turned the ball over three times. He also couldn't overcome a slow start and an early deficit.

Eli Manning 305/1/1, 7yds rushing - No Plax, no problem. Other WRs stepped up and The li had a pretty fair game. Manning has been a little hot and cold, sure, but has been playing well, if not spectacular this year.

Drew Brees 296/2/3 - First time in a long time Brees missed the 300 mark or looked remotely human. A tough outing all round for Brees, who still managed to throw a ton and get two TDs, despite some INTs. Should be fine for the fantasy playoffs.

Matt Ryan 207/2 - An odd place for Ryan, being relegated to 'the other rookie' status for one week. I thought he would take advantage of the streaky Chargers secondary more, but he didn't have to. I was concerned that might be the case, but Ryan will give you better games when the matchup is favorable, Turner or no.

Gus Frerotte 210/1/1 - 1 rush TD - Not really all that impressive although hitting Berrian on that 99 yard pass play was nice. Frerotte is not a guy I am ever really impressed with and you have to wonder what is in store next year. For this year, I don't love him - he is unreliable, prone to bad games and often forgets he has Berrian to throw to.

WRs and Rbs a little later.

QB Rankings for Week 13

Every once in a while I get an email asking me why my rankings don't include the guys who played on Thursday. And my usual answer is that I just figured by since I don't have those rankings by Thursday, while tell you where I would have started them when you can't use that info? I figured it would be frustrating to read and it's why I do the Thursday breakdowns.

If it's something you guys want though, email me and let me know at thunderingBlurb@gmail.com.

For what it's worth I had Romo as my top QB, Warner as a top 5, Culpepper way back near the end, Collins about 22 and McNabb sitting at lucky 13. Like Westbrook, how well McNabb played surprised me.

So there ya go.

Quarterbacks

1. Drew Brees, Saints at Buccaneers
2. Peyton Manning, Colts at Browns
3. Philip Rivers, Chargers vs. Falcons
4. Jay Cutler, Broncos at Jets
5. Eli Manning, Giants at Redskins
6. Matt Ryan, Falcons at Chargers
7. Brett Favre, Jets vs. Broncos
8. Sage Rosenfels, Texans vs. Jaguars
   
9. Chad Pennington, Dolphins at Rams
10. Aaron Rodgers, Packers vs. Panthers
11. Matt Cassel, Patriots vs. Steelers
12. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers at Patriots
13. Jason Campbell, Redskins vs. Giants
14. Tyler Thigpen, Chiefs at Raiders
15. Kyle Orton, Bears at Vikings
16. Jake Delhomme, Panthers at Packers
17. Gus Frerotte, Vikings vs. Bears
18. Trent Edwards, Bills vs. 49ers
19. Shaun Hill, 49ers at Bills
20. Joe Flacco, Ravens at Bengals
21. Jeff Garcia, Buccaneers vs. Saints
22. David Garrard, Jaguars at Texans
23. Matt Hasselbeck, Seahawks at Cowboys
24. JaMarcus Russell, Raiders vs. Chiefs
25. Derek Anderson, Browns vs. Colts
26. Trent Green, Rams vs. Dolphins
27. Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bengals vs. Ravens
28. Marc Bulger, Rams vs. Dolphins

Top Fantasy QBs of Week 11

Matt Cassel - 400 yds, 3TDs, 1 2pt conversion, 62 rushing - As has been the case in the first two Thursday night games, on of the QBs had a top Fantasy performance. Cassel started off rough but the Jets inexplicably played a very loose coverage scheme in the second half and stopped getting pressure so Cassel exploded in the secodn half. Showed great poise down the home stretch on several drives and may find himself some money on the free agency market this offseason.

Peyton Manning 320/2 - Manning seens to be rounding into form and looked very sharp against a shaky Houston secondary. He found Reggie Wayne often and hit both Marvin Harrison and Joseph Addai for touchdowns. Should have another good game against a not so stout and occasionally streaky Chargers secondary. He will be tested by Antonio Cormartie but between the questions in the secondary and the lack of pressure up front, Manning looks to keep rolling.

Shaun Hill 213/12/1 rush td - Don't expect him to repeat this against the Cowboys this week, but Hill looked good against a reeling Rams team that is more focused on imploding than stopping opposing QBs. Hill will stay the starter and as long as Gore continues his outstanding play, he will have some time to throw the ball. But Hill is a guy who will at best be an emergency fill in for your QB squad.

Kurt Warner 395/1, 1 Int, 1 fumble - Warner showed a little of what many of us sure before preseason that he would not last long at this job, turning over the ball twice against a defense that has been far from stout with only 4 INts coming into the game, although they can bring pressure and that may be what the Giants will do (not might do, will do). Warner threw for his 4th straight 300+ yards game and as I mentioned on the Thundering News Stampede, has the third longest streak in NFL history. Telle you what the Cards do, huh? Might have a hard time continuing it this week.

Kerry Collins 230/3, 1 Int - Shut down the run, as the Bears and now Jacksonville have tried and you'd better hope your secondary is up to the task of stopping Collins and who ever thought we'd write that? Game manager? The Jets have the secondary to maybe shut Collins down, but Collins has made that less an automatic. Collins has been playing better than teams seem to have been ready for and while he is not a consistent #1, he plays well enough for emergency service.

BEST OF THE REST
Tyler Thigpen - 235/2, 1 Int, 45 yards rushing - Continues to play very well in the Spread offense. Will the Spread go the way of the Wildcat?

Brett Favre - 258/2 - Good Brett showed up and put together some great drives when it counts vs the Pats.

Donovan McNabb - 339/1, 3 Ints, 1 fumble - Off game for McNabb turnoverwise and the fact that he didn't know there was only one OT and it was sudden death.

Aaron Rodgers - 227/2, 1 Int - Rodgers continues to play well , if not totally Favre-like. Has dipped in production the last few weeks but still a good play.

Daunte Culpepper - 207/1, 1 rush TD, 2 Int, 1 fumble - Culpepper discoverd if you throw to Calvin Johnson, he scores TDs. Go Figure. Start of abeautiful friendship? I hope so.

Top Fantasy QBs of Week 10

Jay Cutler - 447/3 TDs, 29 Rushing Yards - Cutler started the football weekend off with a bang and held the top spot despite other strong performances. The run game is a train wreck so Cutler will have to throw alot, even to the backs. It may be tough but he'll have the opportunity for big games.

Drew Brees - 422/2 TDs, 10 Rushing Yards - Once again, Brees comes through for fantasy owners. Out of 9 games played, he has thrown over 300 yards 7 of them. In five of them he had two or more TDs, and four of thse were 3 TD games. And he just got Colston back. And Bush will be back soon. I think the Saints like to throw.

Kurt Warner - 328/3 TDs - QBing for another team that loves the long ball, Warner has thrown over 300 for 3 straight games, and has had multi TD games ever week but one. Part of it is a questionable secondary, but part of it is also the fantastic WR core of Fitz, Boldin and Breaston. Old Man River keeps on flowing.

Tyler Thigpen - 266/3 TDs, 26 Rushing Yards - Never did I think i would type this dude's name on this list but he has really turned his game around as have the Chiefs. He has made Bowe and Gonzalez almost reliablem has three straight games with good stats and hasn't turned the ball over since week 3. Granted, he wasn't always starting and we're still not sure if what we're seeign is real but he has started to show us a little something and is worthy of matchup consideration. Yup, never thought I would write THAT either.

Philip Rivers - 316/2 TDs, 2 INTs - Rivers has been a bit streaky this year - some really good games and some... well, not so much. The 2 turnovers hurt a bit in some leagues but overall he had a good performance. Vincetn Jackson has really come on, Gates is alive again and others have stepped up, including LT. Rivers will have some shaky games, but is generally solid week to week.

Peyton Manning - 240/3 TDs -Not the best of Manning's days but pretty solid nonetheless. Manning continues to perform beneath expectations and while I believe he still can turn it around, I also cannot pinpoint exactly what the problem is, as it appears to be something different each week. At least he has stopped turning the ball over.

The Best of the Rest:

Donovan McNabb - 194/3 TDs, 35 Rushing Yards - McNabb had a bad game yardage wise, but the 3 TDs help salvage it. He should be doing more though.

Matt Cassel 234/1 Rushing TDs, 22 Rushing Yards - Two words: Game. Manager. All he is, maybe all he ever will be. Tough matchup vs the Jets this week.

Kerry Collins - 289/2 - See Cassel, Matt. Also, for Collins, this is Montana-esque. But Chicago stopped the run and said beat us in the air - and he did. Kudos.

Honorable mention to Brady Quinn who just shipped Derek anderson outta town. If he can duplicate it again thisseason.

Back with WRs and RBs at some point today.

Top Fantasy QBs for Week 9

Donavan McNabb 345yds, 2Tds, 1INT - McNabb had a solid game, and is certainly benefiting from having most of his tools back. Even a pick didn't mar an otherwise good game and he will continue to be a good start going forward.

Kurt Warner 342yds, 2TDs - As I expected, it was a shootout - unfortunately for the Rams, only one side had bullets. Warner continues to play very well and Leinart is almost not worth having on your bench save for injury protection.

Jay Cutler 307yds, 2TDs, 3INTs - The three picks make him a questionable addition to the list but cracking 300 yds and adding a pair of TDs offsets that in most leagues. And he did it with Brandon Marshall completely shut down by the Miami secondary. Eddie Royal also had a good game. Cutler will continue to have to throw because the Bronc's defense is not very good.

Jeff Garcia 339yds, 1TD, 1 2pt conv, 1INT - Nearly 400 yards through the air is a bit of a surprise considering the KC run D, but the Bucs did it both ways and as a result Garcia had an outstanding day. Again, even with the pick, his overall production (and 2 pt conversion) more than offsets it.

Peyton Manning 254yds, 2TDs,1 2pt conv - Manning continues his up and down days but looked good for the most part. I still say he finished a top 10 QB given his schedule, but honestly that's not where you thought he would be when you drafted him early. Still if the rest of the offense can continue to recover, Manning will give you more solid games than not.

The others -
Gus Frerotte 182/3/1 - The yards sucked, but 3 TDs were a boon - and he's keeping the D off AP. Good news for Peterson value in the home stretch.

Aaron Rodgers 314/1/1INT & fumble 1 int - McCarthy might be down on Rodgers red zone choices, but he continues to play well, over 300 again this week.

Dan Orlovsky 292/2/2INT - Orlovsky will now be out with a thumb injury but he was able to leave on a pretty decent note and was just starting to find Calvin Johnson more.

Joe Flacco 248/2TD - Whether you love or hate Flacco, he's starting to appear to 'get it' and had an up game this week. It was against Cleveland though.

Ryan Fitzpatrick 162/2/1 52 rush yards - Check out Mr. Harvard getting it done a bit on the ground. Is Cinci waking up? Mayeb a little. I wonder if this is more of a statement about JAX than the Bengals though.

Back with the other two positions after voting.

Top QBs for Week 6

Hey folks - as late as this is, I will be a tad brief (yes it is possible). The list of the top five at each position with my thoughts in a sentance.

Traveling on Sunday worked well in theory but it put me behind for the college stuff I normally do on Sundays, which made today long..... blah. blah, blah......

Drew Brees - 320 yards, 3 TDs - I had Brees as my second ranked QB this week (we'll ignore my first ranked guy) and he didn't dissappoint against the woeful Raiders. The Panthers should be a good matchup for him as well - especially if colston comes back.


Phillip Rivers - 306 yards, 3 TDs - While I thought Rivers would be a good start this week, I think I underestimated how much the Pats are struggling. Can he repeat it against the Bills? It won't be easy. He's a little streaky and I expect more and more LT as the season progresses.

Tony Romo - 321 yards, 3 TDs, 1 fumble - Well, we won't this name for four weeks, huh? In a losing cause, Romor played well, though he had his usual miscue and nearly had a second i nthe end zone that was ruled an incomplete pass. Romo is a good qb, but what makes him pull these menatal burps I don't know. Regardless he' s got a broken pinkie and will not be back for a month.


Matt Schaub - 379 yards, 1 pass TD, 1 rush TD, 2 INTs - Maybe he should be higher on the list based on yardage alone, but those INTs must have hurt. With Rosenfels coming in and imploding last week, then Schaub leading his team on a drive to beat the Dolphins this week, I think he's got the job locked up. Aside from the INTs I thought he looked good in the parts I saw on the plane. I've always liked Schaub. Unfortunatley like many of you, I didn't start him this week in the one league I have him in. He is very startable this coming week against Detroit.

Peyton Manning - 271 yards, 3 TDs - Is he back? I think he is and he did this against what was at the time the top defense in the league. He found various receivers including Marvin Harrison twice. He kept the chains moving, looked accurate and poised and had time to throw against a D that we expected to give him some trouble. And this is why I told the folks on ESPN 1230 that while The Manning: Eli was playing better so far, The Manning: Peyton would reclaim his crown.

Near misses: Aaron Rodgers (208, 2 TDs, 1 rush TD, 1 fumble), Matt Ryan (301, 1 TD, 1 rush TD), Donavan McNabb (278, 2Tds, 1 INT), Kurt Warner (236, 2TDs but 1 fumble and 1 INT)
Back with RBs shortly.....

Top Fantasy QBs of Week 5

I breaking these up this week to cover more guys as I figure each of the positions needs it's own list.

A couple of the guys I had the most concerns about top today's list as both Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger had outstanding days throwing the ball. Both looked like they had good arm strength and velocity - though at times they both looked like they were in a bunchy of pain. I marked Orton as having a great matchup and he took advantage of it while Kurt Warner looked much better against Buffalo than the Jets. Romo was Romo and while I thought his numbers could have been even better, you can't be unhappy with them this week.

1. Aaron Rodgers - 313 yards, 3 TDs, 4 rushing yards, 1 INT
2. Ben Roethlisberger - 309 yards, 3 TDs, 2 rushing yards, 1INT
3. Kyle Orton - 334 yards , 2 TDs, 10 rushing yards
4. Tony Romo- 176 yards, 3 TDs, 7 rushing yards, 1INT, 1 fumble
5. Kurt Warner - 250 yards, 2 TDs, 10 rushing yards

Eli & Peyton Manning, JT O'Sullivan, Matt Ryan and Jake Delhomme also made their fantasy owners very happy Sunday. WRs comign soon.

Tarvarais Jackson out - GusFrerotte IN

In a move that is a surprise but not really, Brad Childress has opted to end the Jackson experiment (for now) and named Frerotte the starter for the foreseeable future or what is better known as 'until he goes down with an injury'. Frerotte has a strong arm, cannot move worth a damn outside of the pocket and is prone to awful decisions.

All that said, he will allow the Vikes to open the playbook more and it's a bump up for the receivers (most notably Bernard Berrian, though my mancrush Sidney Rice might take a few weeks to be 100% after straining his PCL). Now if they can hold onto the ball, that would be something.

Frerotte is a start only as a bye week filler and maybe in a 2 QB league. The real question I have is - if he goes down (dare I say WHEN?) and if Jackson continues to struggle in relief - when do we see John David Booty?

And would that be a good thing?

FavreWatch 2008

I feel like I need to be standing in a downpour with no umbrella, no hat and no jacket discussing flooding - which is a reference only my fellow SoCal folks might get.

With Packers camp a day away, the Packers are allegedly trying to finish the Favre saga (or part 1, as you and I both know this story will never completely go away).

ProFootballTalk is reporting that Jay Glazer at FoxSports is saying that the Tampa Bay Bucs have been given permission to talk to his Favreness to work out a trade. This comes on the heels of an earlier ESPN report that my beloved Jets were given permission to talk to him.

It seems like the Packers are trying their best to work this out prior to tomorrow and it comes down to this - does Brett want to play or play for the Packers? If he wants to play and (aside from contending) doesn't care where, we'll see a trade I think sometime in the next week or so. If he wants to remain a Packer though - and he might - all he needs to do is show up in camp and play like he did in 2007.

Of course, that's a mess for the Pack, no doubt, but that's kinda where it stands. If Favre really is the complete prima donna he has appeared to be at many moments in this ridiculous mess, then he could go to camp, sulk and try to make them release him or make a stupid trade to somewhere like the Vikes. I'm hoping that isn't the case and the last few weeks are merely a bunch of bad moves by someone who has let his passion run away with him.

As for the Bucs vs the Jets -

Favre would certainly pick up the Tampa offense a little quicker, though the West Coast the Jets run wouldn't be a stretch. HC Mangini says he's happy with the QBs on their roster yada yada but 1) that's coachspeak and is worth less than the current value of the US Dollar and 2) he's on the hotseat, the Jets spent LOADs of cash to win now so 3) they would LOVE to have Favre. As much as it would screw with the Clemens/Pennington Debate - I think they would care. They can sort that out next year in a way I think the packers don't feel they can.

Tampa Bay would be good as well, and not just for the aforementioned ability for Favre to get the offense quick. While the recievers aren't as good (aside from Galloway - I'll put Coles/Cotchery against any Bucs combo) Gruden works magic with older QBs. He could be very successful there if the Oline holds together (you could say that last part abotu the Jets as well). He could mentor Josh Johnson as I think he's a few years away from playing, although we've seen how that worked out in Green Bay.

I think either of these would be a very good fit and I think if Brett wants to play - and wants to gracefully exit the mess he has created most of - he should work things out with one of those teams.

And soon.

Join us again later for BRETTWATCH!
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Comments, queries, confusion may be posted below or sent to ThunderingBlurb@gmail.com.

THE SKY IS FALLING and other Manning News

Hey from overcast and chilly - but beautiful - Alaska! To the left, feel free to gaze at the lovely Alaskan Mountain range off the coast of Homer where I went deep sea fishing for Halibut yesterday - caught two in fact. My nephew caught one bigger than he was - he's about 4ft tall so maybe that isn't as impressive as it sounds. But it outweighed him too. Gorgeous scenery though, huh?

We were out on the boat when I actually heard QB news that wasn't about Brett Favre.

After I picked myself up off the floor from that, I stopped to analyze what is now the biggest off-season story of the moment - Peyton Manning's surgery on his knee to remove an infected bursa sac. I think that's what started Marvin Harrison's knee woes last year, and if that's the case I can see the panic. (Especially for the owner in one auction league of mine who just bought Manning for $120. YIPES)

However, my Fantasy Football thought is this - there is every indication he'll be ready for week one. I wouldn't panic. Further, I would not waste my time drafting Jim Sorgi. Far better to make sure your #2 QB is a safe and secure choice - someone like Garrard or Rivers, who can stand up over the course of a season. It's not that Sorgi is useless - it's more that we can't count on him to put up Manning numbers if Manning goes down. And I would rather grab a solid long shot 3rd QB (take a flier on JaMarcus Russell for example) than reach to get Sorgi because I am feeling worried about Manning.

If you grab Manning, just be sure to grab a solid #2. If you can get Sorgi, great, but I wouldn't pull him early.

The fact is, Manning will probably play. You want to cover yourself, sure, but I'm not torching the town in a panic right now, and neither should you.

If anything, this may drop him in drafts, which could make it the only time he's been a value in a long time.

I may be back with more news this week - assuming Halibut fishing doesn't call again before the wedding I'm here for.

Josh Johnson - future star or one more Qb for Gruden to break?

Like many of the Draftguys, I've got some severe man-love for former University of San Diego and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer QB Josh Johnson. It's not hard to see why - the man only threw 15 INTs his whole college career while amassing 113 TDs and 9,699 yards with a QB rating of 68%. Heck, last year alone, he tossed 43 TDs and only 1 INT.


Sure, he played against lesser competition. But even the best QBs against so-so competition will have SOMETHING go wrong. A receiver goes the wrong way. You don't see a blitz. Someone gets lucky in the secondary. Heck, you just mess up.


That didn't happen to Johnson last year. And not only did he only have it all go to hell ONCE, but he completed 2/3rds of his passes. Of the 301 passes he threw, 206 were caught. I don't care if it's Pee Wee, that's impressive.


And he's fast. So if you look at him:
Good Arm + Accurate Arm + Mobile and Fast feet = Solid Potential.

Now he's in Tampa Bay and people are falling all over themselves. Jon Gruden, they say, will mold him and unlock his potential.

Can I ask you something? When was the last time Gruden molded a young QB successfully? He and Simms don't get along. Gradkowski? No longer there. Sure, Gruden has a football QB camp, but it's a different thing to be someone's boss than camp counselor.

Look at his record - who has Gruden succeeded with? With the Raiders, he drove Rich Gannon to career highs (only for him to fold against Gruden in the Super Bowl. And who was the QB of that Super Bowl? A Youngster? No, just journeyman Brad Johnson.) He struggled with Simms (even before the damage to Simms' spleen put him on the bench) and finally found passing success again with who? Jeff Garcia.


I see a trend here.

I am in no way saying Chucky can't coach a young QB. In fact, I have heard more than one thing that says he can. BUT - and this is huge - young QBs can have fragile egos. They can take criticism more personally than intended and frankly, on occasion fold. I mean, these guys - many of them - were BMOCs all through college. Them doing something incorrectly? WHAT?


Johnson strikes me as a smart dude and a strong character guy. We all know Chucky Gruden can be..... abrasive I guess. I think these two could very well get along - Johnson ignoring some of the barbs and tone, Gruden focusing on improving a very strong player.


But only time will tell. I'm very interested to read up on this coupling over the next year or so. Garcia won't be around forever. Simms is on his way out. Brian Griese is a billion years old. Gradkowski is gone baby gone.

The future of the Bucs QB position is in Josh Johnson's able hands.


Now if only he and Gruden can get along well enough to unlock the potential.