Quotes from Quarterbacks

Trying something new today. The other night I sent the following Facebook message to a buddy who's a diehard Detriot Lions fan:

"'I'm not an elite quarterback and I never will be.' - Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions"

The fake quote got a bunch of laughs and about a dozen likes, and I got thinking: Wouldn't that work for a fantasy column gimmick?

Let's roll it out and see how this goes.

Quotes from Quarterbacks: February 27, 2012

"Everyone's really excited about me heading to Kansas City and uniting with Andy Reid. That guy is a genius when it comes to coaching up QBs, but I think people need to realize that I was a total bum until Jim Harbaugh put me in a cushy situation with a ball-control offense and an elite defense. At the end of the day, I'm still just the poor man's Joe Flacco, minus the rifle arm." - Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs

Alex brings up some good points here. He certainly never impressed anyone prior to the Harbaugh era in San Fran, and even then, Crazy Al was never fantasy-starter material. Never the type of guy to march the team back from a deficit. So even though Andy Reid has a gift for bringing out the best in QBs (McNabb and Garcia instantly come to mind), Alex Smith should not be high on your draft boards come August. Is he worth a look as a backup? Yeah, kinda. A lot depends on the future of Dwayne Bowe and the rest of the receiving corps in KC. Steve Breston is gonzo, so if you can live with the idea of you fantasy QB leaning on Jonathan Baldwin, hey, reach for Crazy Al in the 10th or 11th round.

"I just won a Super Bowl and an SB MVP to go along with it, but even I wouldn't draft myself above the 8th round in fantasy. Not when I'm costing the team loads of money, my center just retired, and my best WR is threatening to retire if he doesn't get a good deal." - Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Joe has a lot of upcoming changes on his mind. Obviously, the biggest issue here is his upcoming contract and how much it'll cost the Ravens, who also need to resign Anquan Boldin if they want that passing game to look anything like it did during their playoff run. What Joe didn't mention is that aside from his skull-shattering playoff run that included a 11:0 TD-to-INT ratio, he's been hot and cold throughout his whole career. In 2012 alone, he had six games with single-digit FPs. That's not the type of QB I'd want to spend a 5th round pick on (you watch, people will be reaching in the 5th for Joe Flacco, come August).

"I had the lowest completion percentage of any QB last year, and now my team's new OC is shifting to a more run-oriented system. Not only that, he's shortening up my passing routes, and to be honest, I'm starting to think my rookie year performance was a fluke." - Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

Andrew is onto something. Tebow may bear all the groundball jokes, but there's no denying that Luck sucks at completing passes. His 54.1% completion percentage was the 2nd worst among starting QBs last season (ahead of only my boy, Chad Henne). And yes, they did just get a new OC in Pep Hamilton, who has promised more of a West Coast offense with a heavier emphasis on the running game. So gone will be the days on Luck chucking downfield all the time. Luck obviously still has plenty of passing options, but if you're banking on him having a repeat of his rookie year, stop. Also one more thing: Luck had a grand total of 5 rushing TDs last season. That's 30 fantasy points. Think he'll get five again? Me neither.