Celtics/Magic at 2:30 PM ET on ABC.
Cavs/Lakers at 5 PM ET on ABC.
Chargers/Titans at 7 PM ET on the NFL Network. (Sorry, Time Warner subscribers.)
Category: NFL (Page 541 of 1282)
In case you missed any of our Decade Debate series, here’s a link to each individual post (i.e. we put a lot of work into these, so you better take a look!)
10 Biggest Betrayals
Saddest Franchises
10 Biggest Upsets
8 Greatest Comebacks
6 Greatest Rivalries
5 Biggest Quarterback Busts
10 Worst NFL Head Coaching Hires
10 Worst NFL Free Agent Signings
Greatest Fantasy Football Players
15 Best College Football Players
10 Best Second Round NBA Picks
10 Best Late-First Round NBA Picks
10 Biggest NBA Draft Blunders
10 Pivotal MLB Trades
A: After two years, according to Football Outsiders’ Aaron Schatz.
Schatz wrote a column in the Nov. 30 issue of ESPN The Magazine — I know it’s a little dated, but cut me some slack, I’ve been buried beneath Bill Simmons’ 700-page opus — where he outlined how long teams should take to evaluate a young QB. (Note: I’d provide a link, but I can’t find this story anywhere on the net. Sorry.)
These two examples raise a critical question: When is it time to give up on your young QB?
The quick answer is: after two years (unless, of course, the guy has spent that time on the bench). If a QB falters badly in those first two seasons, you can pretty much write off his chances of ever amounting to anything. It may sound harsh, but chew on these names: Kyle Boller, Quincy Carter, Tim Couch, Charlie Frye, Rex Grossman, Joey Harrington, Danny Kanell, Mike McMahon, Akili Smith, Alex Smith, Danny Wuerffel, Spergon Wynn. Not exactly a parade of Hall of Famers, huh? Well, you can put Russell in that group, too.
Of all of those players, only Alex Smith has shown any signs of resurrecting his career.
Schatz and Football Outsiders use their “replacement player” concept (“basically how many yards a player gains compared with what a replacement-level player, that is, a typical second-stringer, would get in the same situation, against the same opponent”) to determine whether or not a QB is struggling.
Schatz addresses Brady Quinn…
The Lions will place quarterback Matthew Stafford on injured reserve, effectively ending his rookie season. In similar news, the Panthers will place Jake Delhomme on injured reserve, ending his season.
Stafford showed promise in his rookie year and demonstrated toughness as a rookie. He’ll finish his first year with 13 touchdowns and 20 interceptions, which are common numbers for rookie quarterbacks. If Detroit could ever build him on offensive line, then he could do some damage as a pro quarterback.
As for Delhomme, one has to think that Carolina would cut ties with him in the offseason. The problem is that he’s set to make $13 million in guaranteed money, so he’ll probably be back to challenge Matt Moore (who has made strides in the past couple weeks) for the starting job next season.
Delhomme turned the ball over 27 times in 12 games this season, making the Panthers look incredibly foolish for extending his contract in the offseason.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
It’s championship week in most fantasy football leagues, so it’s not a good time to get cute. There’s a saying — dance with the guy that brought you. In other words, don’t bench a stud unless you have to.
On the subject of the Colts…
At this point, only Indianapolis appears to be ready to rest its players, so I’d expect Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark and Pierre Garcon to play a half of football. Moreover, the Jets are a pretty bad matchup, so it’s (relatively) safe to bench those Colts. It’s unfortunate that fantasy owners are forced to bench these players in such a crucial week, but this is a great argument for a fantasy league to end its playoffs in Week 15.
The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.
Philip Rivers (TEN) and Tom Brady (JAX) are good fantasy QBs with good matchups, so start ’em..Matt Schaub has a very nice matchup against a Dolphins defense that is 23rd in the league against the pass…In a pinch? Alex Smith has the Lions this week. Detroit has given up an average of 268 yards and 2.1 TD through the air this season…David Garrard has a pretty good matchup with a Patriots defense that has really struggled to stop the pass of late.
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