What are Brady Quinn’s 2009 fantasy football projections? Compared to Anderson, he has to have the lower ceiling. The 24-year-old only has four games and 97 passing attempts to his credit in his NFL career. It’s rare for such an unpolished quarterback to have fantasy success without a few rocky starts along the way.

Anderson has the higher ceiling largely due to what he did in 2007. At times that year, he was a top five fantasy football quarterback. He finished the campaign with 3,787 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns. Although he struggled last year, history tells us Anderson is definitely capable.

Both quarterbacks are hurt by the Browns weak receiving corps. Braylon Edwards is coming off of a very disappointing season, while Donte Stallworth is unlikely to be much of a help this season due to legal troubles. Consider that running back Jamal Lewis will be a year older, and the Browns starting quarterback gig doesn’t look too bright in the fantasy football world — not matter if Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson is named the starter.

Brady Quinn 2009 Fantasy Football Preview (Image: Newscom)

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Coming into this offseason, the Bears were prepared to go with Cedric Benson as the team’s starter once again. But Benson got arrested twice, once in a boat and once in a car, and the Bears decided to release him. With Benson out of a job, the Bears now turn to a rookie.

While Chicago also has Adrian Peterson and Garrett Wolfe on the roster, Forte is considered the most likely to start. He’s a bruising back with deceptive speed. His powerful presence should make him a good fit in Chicago’s offense.

His fantasy football projections for 2008 are unclear. The Bears offense looks rather weak and he will likely have to share carries, at least to some degree. However, Forte looks like a player who could become a touchdown vulture and could produce enough on the ground to make him a fantasy football running back starter.

Will Matt Forte make Bears fans forget about Cedric Benson?

Photo: Newscom

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The Packers, who lost Brett Favre to retirement recently, will be going with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback. However, with Rodgers’ injury history, the Packers need plenty of depth. That’s where Culpepper would come into play.

In 2007, Culpepper was on the Oakland Raiders. He had a few decent games but overall was a disappointment. In 2006, Culpepper spent a disappointing season with the Miami Dolphins. However, as recently as 2004, Culpepper was a fantastic fantasy quarterback. In that year with the Minnesota Vikings, Culpepper had 39 touchdowns and 4,717 yards.

If Culpepper doesn’t sign with the Packers, there are a few other teams that may be interested. The Baltimore Ravens could be in the market for a veteran quarterback after Steve McNair retired.

No matter where Culpepper signs, expect him to get guaranteed money for only one season.

Just for fun… Culpepper to Moss:

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Franks struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness in 2007. The Packers let him go, largely due to the improved play of Donald Lee. Now Franks is in the mix to become the starting tight end for the Jets in 2008.

However, don’t count on it. Franks will likely be used in a backup role and while he could be good for three or four touchdowns in 2008, it is unlikely that he will get enough catches or enough yards to be a fantasy football option.

The only way you should pick him in your 2008 fantasy football draft is if Franks is named the starter. Even then, he should be nothing more than a very late round pick who is backing up a quality tight end.

Favre to Franks …

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Image details: Oakland Raiders v San Francisco 49ers served by picapp.com

In his four years in the NFL, Gabriel has eight touchdowns. He’s known as a speed receiver who can beat most defenders up the field, however his lack of good hands has hurt him since being drafted in 2003 in the fifth round out of Central Florida.

In addition to the loss of Henry, the Bengals also lost Tab Perry to the Miami Dolphins. Cincinnati is banking on Gabriel, Antonio Chatman and Glenn Holt to provide depth at wide receiver.

To add even further uncertainty to the Bengals’ receiving corps, star wideout Chad Johnson has complained openly about not being traded away from Cincinnati. Johnson has even threatened a holdout if he doesn’t get moved. If the Bengals lose Johnson, suddenly TJ Houshmandzadeh is the only sure thing at wide receiver for Cincinnati.

Doug Gabriel’s projections for the 2008 NFL season depend largely on his role. If he secures the third wide receiver job, expect him to finish 2008 with about 600 yards and four touchdowns.

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Although Utecht will now have to leave Manning’s side, he’s stepping into a good situation in Cincinnati. The Bengals have a high-powered offense that can really move the ball through the air. These days, the Bengals are probably going to be even more pass oriented than the Colts.

The Bengals could really use Utecht to open the field for their wide receivers. Cincinnati obviously thinks Utecht is the man for the job, as they gave him a three-year, $9M contract. Expect the 6-foot-6 Utecht to be the starting tight end for the Bengals in 2008.

If he wins the job, Utecht should have a productive season. Right now, he’s a major sleeper, especially considering I have him projected for 700 yards and five touchdowns for this upcoming season.

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Ending his disappointing four year run as a member of the Tennessee Titans, Troupe signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Troupe, a 6-foot-4 former second round pick by the Titans, should fit nicely into what the Bucs are going to try to do in 2008.

Troupe will battle with incumbent Alex Smith for the starting tight end job. Smith has had a solid yet unspectacular career with the Buccaneers. Both are of similar build and athleticism, so it should be interesting to see who wins the competition for the starting gig.

Whoever is named the starter should be a primetime red zone target in 2008. The Bucs like to look at their tight ends near the endzone, which should allow the starting tight end to pull in between four and seven touchdowns. If that is Troupe, he could finally live up to his potential.

If Troupe doesn’t start, he should still get a couple touchdowns in 2008, however he wouldn’t be a draftable option without a starting job.

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In fantasy football, Coles had a disappointing 2007 campaign. He battled various injuries and finished the season with 55 catches, 646 yards and six touchdowns in 12 games. While his per game production wasn’t bad, fantasy football owners were no doubt hoping for more.

However, 2008 should be a nice year for Coles. The Jets, as evident by their offseason moves, are in a win-now mode. They don’t care about rebuilding for the future – instead their main focus is putting a playoff team on the field this coming season. Coles should be a big part of that.

The biggest question mark surrounding Coles in 2008 is his quarterback. With Chad Pennington’s time at starter likely over, the job now will fall to Kellen Clemens. While Clemens had his moments over the last couple seasons, he’s still raw.

The good news for Coles is that Clemens should improve on his 2007 play. With that in mind, Coles should be good for 70 catches, 900 yards and eight touchdowns. Those numbers will likely make Coles a sleeper heading into 2008 fantasy football drafts.

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Although Mare struggled in 2007 with the New Orleans Saints, Mare is expected to be the Seahawks’ kicker in 2008. Brown had a successful career with the Seahawks and Mare will have big shoes to fill.

Due to Mare’s struggles last season, he’d be a dangerous draft pick in 2008. If he doesn’t get back on track, he’d be a wasted pick. However, Mare will be joining a very field goal friendly offense in Seattle. If Mare can hit for a high percentage, he could easily be in the league leaders for field goals in 2008.

Keep a wait and see approach on Mare for now. The Seahawks will likely bring in some competition and Mare has to first officially win the job before you think about drafting him.

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With Javon Walker gone to the Oakland Raiders, Brandon Stokley and Colbert will battle for the number two wide receiving job next to Brandon Marshall. If Colbert is named the starter, he could be in line for a very solid 2008 fantasy season.

Colbert is an interesting case because he played very well as a rookie but hasn’t done much since. As a rookie in 2004, Colbert had more than 750 receiving yards and five touchdown catches. In his last three seasons, Colbert has done little of anything. In the last three seasons combined, Colbert has 670 yards receiving and two touchdown catches.

Although he has been forgotten in the past couple few seasons, the Broncos showed that they value his potential. For that reason alone, I’ll project Colbert to have 500 yards and three touchdowns. Those projections will rise if he is a opening day starter at wide receiver.

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