Season in Review - QBs

Hey, I'll be taking a look at how the players finished vs. how I thought they'd do this year. I'll focus on the ones I got right! But you can see how the guys finished in all the information on the left side of the blog.

Let's start with quarterbacks. Injuries played a big role in determining the final rankings here.

When Tom Brady got hurt early, Drew Brees was my number one guy. And that's how he finished. He ran an offense with a lot of weapons, he's very accurate (like Joe Montana and Steve Young), and he was determined this year to show the league that he is The Man.

But I didn't see Phillip Rivers finishing number two, because of the injury concerns we all had about him. Matt Cassel was also a big surprise, of course, the way he filled in for Brady.

And who knew that Kurt Warner would step in for a struggling Matt Leinart and become an MVP candidate? I was worried all season about him getting hurt, but Kurt is a great pro, two-time MVP and Super Bowl Winner.

I did see Jay Cutler and Aaron Rodgers having very strong years, and they did. I thought Aaron would finish higher than Brett Favre, and he did. On the field, it was not Aaron's fault that the Packers forget how to play defense for much of the year.

It's fantastic to see all this young talent at the QB position in the NFL today. And the rivalry between Rivers and Cutler will be fun to watch for years.

Big Ben and Romo were both disappointments, for different reasons. I hope Ben can get completely healthy again some day, and it's going to be a long off-season for Romo and the Cowboys, with the way they just collapsed. I will think hard about where to place them next year, that's for sure.

Hey, I'm Back

Hi everyone, with Christmas coming up fast, I took a little break from the blog to take care of everyone on my shopping list. :-)

We're near the end of what I call Season Two ... the second half of the regular season. Fantasy players will have challenges now because a lot of players will be resting for the playoffs, which I call Season Three. Other players will be busting their tails to keep their jobs for next year, or to "audition" for maybe a job on a better team next year.

So the normal sit vs. start decisions get complicated. My advice is alwasy the same...look at who has been consistent and stick with them. You try too hard to pick that longshot guy and you will be disappointed most of the time.

If you have been a good general manager this year, then your fantasy results will take care of themselves. But if you have had a bad year, well you're not going to save your season with some miracle. Stay consistent, baby, that's what it's all about!

Merry Christmas

--RC 33

It Would Be Nice to Join the Elite HOF Team

I couldn't scream and jump up and down when I heard I had made HOF semi-finalist, because I was on a plane. I didn't want to get arrested or have to talk with a federal marshall!

But seriously, I was talking a little bit this week about all the things I did during my career with all those great players on the 49ers. I remember one of the highlights for me was making All-Pro as a fullback and blocking for my idol Walter Payton in the Pro Bowl. Later I made All-Pro as a running back. But you know, Coach Bill Walsh changed the game with his West Coast Offense. I was asked to do so many things in that offense, and I have nothing but great memories looking back on all that now.

Think About Pride and How It Affects Players

Fantasy players are fanatics about numbers. Me, too, and Spotfire helps me see whose numbers are the most consistent. But don't forget about pride. I don't care how much money you make, you don't want to be humiliated. You always want to perform your best for your fans, for your job security, and for the other players!

So I got into a long discussion about pride this week. Donovan McNabb is the best example. You saw what he did a week after being humiliated on national TV. Michael Turner is another one. He was second-string behind LT at San Diego. This year with Atlnata he wants to prove every week that he really is one of the best backs in the NFL.

This video has a little bit of that discussion. I also talk about Brett Favre and Frank Gore and how these guys work at the elite NFL level.

I'm Honored to Be Nominated for the HOF

Hi everyone, I took a little vacation time last week, and I hope you did, too. The Thanksgiving Holiday was great, but now I'm back to talk some more football!

You may have noticed right before the holiday that I was named one of 25 semi-finalists for induction into the Football Hall of Fame.

Here's a link to the story

It's a huge honor to be included among all these great players. And I wanted to say a big "thank-you" to all of you out there who have supported me in the past for induction into Canton. I won't lie, I would be incredibly honored to be included on the list of the NFL's all-time great players!