You just knew that Brady Quinn's #1 fan (mgrex30) had this game circled on his 2008 Notre Dame calendar since the NFL schedule came out. And when Cleveland Browns coach Romeo Crennel made the switch from Derek Anderson to Quinn a few weeks ago, that high pitched squeal you heard was mgrex30. I wouldn't be surprised if he wore his Quinn Notre Dame jersey everyday leading up to the game. I bet it smells... kinda like Charlie Weis' coaching ability kinda smells.

Sorry, but I think Weis is a boob. Just my opinion. ND is much too great a place to waste on Charlie Weis.

Sadly, mgrex30's dream of Brady Quinn running for his life from Dwight Freeney this Sunday was dashed to bits yesterday when Fox Sports Jay Glazer reported Quinn was placed on IR due to his broken index finger (tip to Marked Hoosier). Derek Anderson, the benched one, is now the QB again.

Prior to Quinn's injury, he was playing well. It was always my opinion that Cleveland made a mistake re-signing Anderson. They had drafted Quinn in the first round, and one does not draft first round QBs to have them sit. They either got it or they don't, and wasting valuable cap dollars on a QB like Anderson was not a smart move for Browns GM Phil "F*@k you" Savage. I think Cleveland fans realize this because they are not stupid. Don't get me wrong: Anderson can be a good QB, especially when his WRs catch the friggin ball, but having so much money invested in two QBs is not a recipe for success.

Anderson playing does not make this game any easier. He is more than capable at getting the ball to his playmakers, and he is playing to audition his skills for teams that could want him again this off-season.

We are all in a pretty good mood after yesterday's 33-27 win over the Texans.  The offense finally showed their true self, and we are back atop the wild card standings.  Tonight, a 5-4 Buffalo team will host the 3-6 Browns, in a game we should all be rooting for the team employing my 2nd favorite quarterback, Brady Quinn. 

We all know how obnoxious ESPN is, especially on MNF.  I, along with Brian G. over at Buffalo Rumblings, expect them to be especially so tonight, as Quinn will be the focal point of their broadcast.  I thought I'd come up with a game for all of you to play, based on what topics or names come up.  I'll categorize them from Multiple Times to Very Obscure, along with the requisite drinks of sweet nectar that go along with it.  Here goes:

Take one drink for each time they say the following, as they'll happen multiple times:

• Derek Anderson
• Notre Dame
• Charlie Weis
• "Hometown QB"
  

Take two drinks for each time they say the following, as they may happen multiple times, but at least once:

• 2007 Draft
  
• Lack of Arm Strength
• Showing Derek Anderson spinning a ball on the sidelines
• Quinn's record against Trent Edwards in college (3-0)
  

Take three drinks for each time they say the following, as these are starting to get obscure, but they (ESPN) will be obnoxious

• Tyrone Willingham
• A.J. Hawk
  
• Actual video of the 2007 draft, complete with his reaction when the Dolphins selected the Ginn Family.
• Tom Brady speaking to him on the phone while in college

Take four drinks for each time they say the following, as these have nothing to do with the game, but ESPN doesn't care:

• Jeff Samardzija
  
• Jimmy Clausen
  
• Notre Dame's bowl record over the past 15 years
  
• John McCain

Take an entire bottle of Irish Whiskey, and chug the whole thing:

• Show any of the pictures found in this collage (courtesy of Deadspin).  Especially the last one, as it is the most famous.  

I'm going to keep track of all of these things, and hope everything gets said at least once, other than the last thing, as I don't think my liver could take that much obnoxiousness.  Here's to enjoying the game a little more, and Lee Evans/Braylon Edwards combining for less than 9 fantasy points.  Go Browns!

Editor's Note:  Be sure to get your picks in for the Stampede Blue Prediction Contest.  You have until 1:00 ET Today.  Get your picks in sooner rather than later.

Welcome to Week 10 of your Fantasy Football Sleepers and Busts.  I'll review last week before going into this week's studs and duds. 

Due to the lateness of this, I'll put everything after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

It was only a mere 19 months ago that the Colts thumped the Bears in the Super Bowl, a year in which the Bears were clearly led by a top-flight defense.  They even won a few games, even when Rex Grossman tried his damnedest to lose it for the Bears.  Brian Urlacher was a feared MLB, and Tommie Harris was one of the best DT in the NFL. 

In 2006, the Bears finished 3rd in Points Allowed, and 5th in Yards/Game.  Obviously an elite defense, and that was without Harris and Mike Brown for the majority of the season.  Their Preseason Rankings, while mostly irrelevant, had them at 20th in Yards/Game and 10th in Points Allowed. These are middle of the road, but again, are mostly irrelevant, since there are lots of plays run by players who'll never see an NFL game that counts. 

In 2007, the Bears finished 16th in Points Allowed, and 28th in Yards Allowed.  Again, they had a few injuries (Brown, again, Vasher the big ones), but still no where close to being an elite unit.  They gave up 123 rush yards/game, which was 24th in the league.  As a point of reference, in the Preseason they finished 3rd in Yards Allowed, but 28th in Points Allowed.  That is a wide difference, but again, in the Preseason, take it with a grain of salt.

That brings us to the 2008 Preseason for the Bears.  They faced the Fearsome Foursome of QBs: Brodie Croyle, Charlie Frye, JT O'Sullivan, and Brady Quinn, and they finished 32nd in Yards Allowed, including 27th against the pass, and 31st against the run.  As a point of reference, the Colts finished 30th against the run, and they played backups and 3rd stringers for 3/4 of the Preseason.  The Bears finished 30th in Points Allowed.  These are not stats for an elite defense.

I watched a good portion of their game against the Browns, and in the first half, at a minimum Urlacher and Lance Briggs played, so it wasn't like they didn't play their starters.  And the Browns were running at will against them.  Quinn didn't need to throw the ball, as Jason Wright was shredding their defense on the ground.  Now the Browns have a very good O-Line, but their skill position starters did not play at all in the game.  And they put up 10 points in the 1st quarter against the Bears 1st Team Defense.

I was reading an article in the Chicago Sun-Times, and Brad Biggs is asking the same question I am:

The Bears would have you believe there's a switch somewhere that they'll get around to flipping this week. You know -- the one that turns on their defense now that the regular season has arrived.

He then mentions who their Week 1 opponent is, and what has happened since they last time they faced #18:

The last time the Bears took on Manning and the Colts in prime time, things didn't turn out so good, and it's fair to say the defense has been in a bit of a tailspin ever since.

On the Bears current depth chart, they have 8 starters on defense that played in the Super Bowl.  That isn't a big turnover at all, especially in today's NFL.  And they all played in the Preseason.  And they were the worst in the NFL. 

I think we are going to see a heavy dose of Joseph Addai, Dominic Rhodes, and Mike Hart on Sunday night.  Not only will we need to get Peyton into a rhythm, but we should be able to run all over the Bears defense.

I gave some stats a couple days ago, and got some really good responses.  It seems like the idea of picking a franchise quarterback, based on his college performance, is not as cut and dry as some may think.  For the most part, everyone was in agreement that Quarterback D was the best choice.  Here is the table again, with the quarterback's name included this time:

So everyone wants Matt Leinart, eh?  He, no doubt, had a great college career, going 37-2 as a starter at USC.  I painfully sat through two of those wins, one as a senior, and the "Bush Push" game.  However, the jury is still out on Leinart as a pro.  If I had to make a decision right now, I'd say he was not a franchise quarterback in the NFL.  He has made some really dumb decisions outside of football, which means he'll probably make some really dumb decisions on the football field.  He doesn't seem to have the work ethic needed to succeed in the NFL, but only time will tell.

As PB noted in the comments in the original article, Vince Young also had his rushing numbers from college, that really helped his stats.  I'd have to say he was drafted in the Top 3 because of his ability to run the ball, as his passing stats are below the others.  He also made a great point about Matt Ryan:

Anyway, Matt Ryan’s got a LOT of pressure on him.

I think Ryan is the worst of the bunch, yet he'll have the most money of any of them up front.  Personally, his high number of interceptions will be very problematic.  He made a lot of plays at the end of games, which made the highlights, but also made a lot of dumb decisions, like all the interceptions.  It seems fishy when the best thing about him is "his intangibles are off the charts."  It is screaming "his measurable stats aren't good, but he is the best quarterback, so we need something to be good about him.  Immeasurable 'Intangibles'". 

Peyton also did quite well for himself in his 4 years at Tennessee.  He seems like a pretty good franchise quarterback.

Earlier this week, Matt Ryan signed a 6 year, $72 Million deal, with $34.7 Million guaranteed.  This, in my opinion, is utterly absurd.  I could go on and on about how ridiculous this is, but I'll point you in the direction of The Daily Norseman, SBNation's Vikings blog.  Gonzo has a great article expressing my exact feelings about the entire situation much better than I ever could have.  Here's the main idea:

There is NO reason for NFL teams to pay the amounts they're paying now to guys that haven't even attended an NFL Training Camp yet, never mind played in an NFL game.  The NBA does it, and it's one of the few things that they actually do better than the NFL.  The NBA doesn't have contract holdouts, they don't have to give potentially franchise-killing contracts to rookies. . .heck, even LeBron James had to earn his big payday. . .and teams know what they're getting into before they make their selections.

Make sure to check out the rest of his article. He makes some other great points.

Here's an exercise for you:  I've put together the college stats for 6 quarterbacks drafted in the first round the past 3 seasons, minus Joe Flacco, as his stats are skewed by playing in Div 1-AA.  The QBs are:

• Jay Cutler
• Matt Leinart
• Vince Young
• Brady Quinn
• JaMarcus Russell
• Matt Ryan

I've also included a 7th mystery quarterback, who was drafted some years ago.  I've used the NFL's version of QB Rating, rather than the college Rating system.

Tomorrow or Saturday, I'll post who each quarterback is, along with Stampede Blue's consensus choice of franchise quarterback.

Also, Tony Dungy will be joining Mike and Mike live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 7:45 tomorrow (Friday) morning.  You can hear it on ESPN Radio, and watch it on ESPN2.

I was visiting a friend this weekend on a college campus, and we decided on a nice little diner right on the edge of campus.  We walk in, completely oblivious to our surroundings.  We sat down, and I'm looking 2 tables down, and I think I recognize the guy sitting, looking back at us:  A.J. Hawk of the Green Bay Packers.  I'm trying not to stare, but I'm really thinking that it is him.  I look at the girl next to him, and it's his wife, Laura.  Who knew we'd randomly run into a Top 5 draft pick at a little diner?

You are probably wondering why I knew his wife's name is Laura.  In fact, I know it is Laura, because of her famous brother, and fellow Notre Dame graduate, Brady Quinn.  You may remember the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, where Brent Musberger had to have mentioned about 800 times how AJ Hawk was dating Brady Quinn's sister, and she wore the half and half jersey to the game (She, unfortunately, did not have that on today).

 There was another guy, with his back to us, sitting at the table with them, but he didn't look nearly as big as Hawk.  I kept asking myself how I walked into this restaurant, most likely staring at him, but not recognizing the most famous player at ND while I was at school.  Sure enough, when they got up to leave, there was the former Irish QB.  The guy is huge.  I didn't want to be "that guy," so I didn't introduce myself.  It's still cool to unexpectedly see a couple guys making multi-millions about 20 feet away.