Today, Brian Westbrook will have surgery on his ankle. There are already rumors out there that Westbrook will be out until the regular season. While the Philadelphia Eagles haven’t given specifics of when they expect Westbrook to return, it’s likely that they take things slowly with their starting running back.

In the fantasy football world, this is bad news for Westbrook owners. He has always been a fragile player and he’s now undergoing his second offseason surgery. It’s difficult to imagine that he’ll be able to play all 16 games given the amount of rehab he’ll need just to get on the field for Week 1 of the regular season.

That said, Westbrook is a very enticing fantasy football running back. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the biggest threats — both running the ball and receiving the ball out of the backfield.

Considering his injury woes, the best idea is to take Westbrook but be sure to handcuff his backup. Second round pick LeSean McCoy will likely be the backup and if he is, he’s a must own if you decide to roll the dice with Westbrook in the 2009 fantasy football season.

If you believe Cleveland Browns head coach Eric Mangini, Brady Quinn currently has a slight edge over Derek Anderson to become the starting quarterback for the 2009 fantasy football season. Obviously, whoever wins this competition will hold much more fantasy value, however both quarterbacks are arguably worthy of being drafted.

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)

Going into the 2009 fantasy football season, there are many quarterback controversies all around the NFL. One such quarterback controversy will take place in Tampa Bay where the Buccaneers don’t have a clear cut QB at this point.

Sources close to the situation believe that Luke McCown has a good chance of beginning the year as the starter. He has been with the Bucs for the last few years but he doesn’t have much NFL experience. His only on field experience came with the Cleveland Browns in 2004 and the Bucaneers in 2007 and 2008. In total, he has has completed 142 of 238 passes and has nine touchdowns to go with 10 interceptions.

McCown has decent size and has a stronger than average arm. If he holds onto the starting gig, he’ll be a decent fantasy football option. However, going into the season, he’d be best used as a third-string fantasy QB.

Another option in Tampa Bay is Byron Leftwich. After starting his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, he never really lived up to expectations. He struggled with injuries and lack of quality wide receiving options didn’t help.

Last year, Leftwich won a Super Bowl ring as Ben Roethlisberger’s backup. In his limited time, Leftwich was impressive. If he wins the Buccaneers jobs, he doesn’t have a high ceiling but he doesn’t have as risk as McCown due to his experience.

Last but not least is Josh Freeman. The Bucs picked him in the first round and he’ll eventually be the team’s starter at QB. The question is when his time will arrive. It might be this season but it also might take a few seasons for him to grow into the position.

Tony Gonzalez was traded to the Atlanta Falcons during the offseason. Recently, he has started to practice with the team during Atlanta’s minicamp. Considering that Gonzalez was arguably the best fantasy football tight end last season, this trade made a big impact in the fantasy world.

Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons - Fantasy Football 2009 (Image: Newscom)

Will Gonzalez be better off with the Falcons? Considering that he had 96 catches for 1,058 yards and ten touchdowns, it’s difficult to imagine him doing much more. But with the Falcons, Gonzalez very well might be able to top those numbers.

The best thing going for Gonzalez is Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan. Coming off of a fantastic rookie season, Ryan should continue to blossom in his second season. With running back Michael Turner helping to move the chains, Gonzalez could often find himself in position to pick up a touchdown.

On the other side of the coin, three things may hold Gonzalez back during 2009 fantasy football. First of all, he’s 33 years old and he could start slowing down. If he loses too much speed, he’ll be much easier to scheme against.

The second and third things that could hold down Gonzalez’s numbers are Roddy White and Michael Jenkins. With the Kansas City Chiefs, Gonzalez didn’t have a wide receiving duo that demanded targets. In Atlanta, he has White who is coming off of an 88-catch campaign and 50 additional catches by Jenkins. With all the weapons on offense, each part may suffer a little bit statistically.

All that said, Gonzalez remains a very good fantasy football prospect at the tight end position in 2009. If he’s the first tight end off the board in your 2009 fantasy draft, don’t be surprised.

Surprise, surprise. Brett Favre is reportedly thinking about coming out of retirement to join the Minnesota Vikings. Please stop me if you’ve heard this before.

Is Brett Favre considering putting on a Minnesota Vikings' helmet? (Image: Newscom)

Even though Favre’s retirement game is getting slightly annoying, if he joins the Vikings and starts for the team at quarterback, he will definitely have a 2009 fantasy football impact.

Even though Favre is 39 years old and far past his prime, he showed glimpses of great play last year with the New York Jets. Compared to the quarterbacks that are currently in Minnesota (Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels), Favre would be an upgrade.

Last year with the Jets, Favre finished the season with 3,472 yards and 22 touchdowns to go with 22 interceptions. However, if you look closer at the numbers, Favre played much better near the beginning of the season. His play suffered down the stretch run, partly due to an arm injury.

Besides, the Vikings were the team Favre originally wanted to go to after leaving Green Bay. He’d have to be re-energized and focused on making the Packers regret their decision.

As far fantasy football value, Favre on the Vikings would make a solid backup quarterback option with a relatively high ceiling. Additionally, if Favre joins Minnesota, the stocks for all the receiving options will immediately rise.

Bobby Jackson, who had been starting for the Sacramento Kings at point guard, suffered a broken cheekbone in a recent game and will have to undergo surgery. Following the procedure, the Kings will know whether or not Jackson will be able to play again this season.

Since the February, Jackson had emerged as a fantasy relevant. He had been getting good minutes and producing decent numbers across the board.

With Jackson sidelined, expect Beno Udrih to get most of the minutes at point guard. Udrih has started most of the games for the Kings this year at point guard but missed time recently due to an ankle strain.

In the first game without Jackson, the Kings opted to start Francisco Garcia at point guard. If that alignment continues, Garcia’s value will increase tremendously.

As for Jackson, he’s certainly a player you can waive at this point. With Sacramento having nothing to play for, Jackson will likely not be a major factor again this season.

Source: Newscom

Stephen Jackson of the Golden State Warriors picked up his 16th technical foul of the season to earn a one-game suspension from the NBA. Jackson’s suspension will keep him out of Tuesday’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Recently, Stephen Jackson has been a very good fantasy basketball player. Over his last five games, Jackson is averaging more than 23 points, more than nine assists and nearly six rebounds. Additionally, he’s shooting well from both the field and from the free throw line.

If you have Jackson on your team, obviously you should sit him for Tuesday’s game if you have the chance. While the Warriors have a lot of players who can replace his production, the leading candidates include Monta Ellis and Corey Maggette. If you want to role the dice, you could pick up Kelenna Azubuike or Anthony Randolph and hope for a big game with Jackson out.

Although Don Nelson has indicated that he may rest some of his veteran players down the stretch, Jackson remains a must start in virtually every format. He turns the ball over and he can be streaky from the perimeter, however he’s too explosive and too productive to sit.

Source: Newscom

Shawn Marion, the forward the Toronto Raptors acquired in the swap with the Miami Heat that included Jermaine O’Neal, had a monster dunk on top of Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers. As you can see in the video below, Marion illustrated some vintage hops in his fastbreak slam.

Since getting to Toronto, Marion’s number remain poor. Coming into the season, he was a top flight fantasy player. This year? Not so much.

While his points are up a little bit, his rebounds are down, his shooting percentages are down and he hasn’t hit a three-pointer while with the Raptors. That last aspect is especially surprising considering that his outside shot was at one point in time a strength.

The fact that Granger was even on the court was good news for fantasy owners. Granger had missed his last 11 games due to injury. If he can regain his form from earlier in the season, he will once again be one of the better fantasy small forwards in the NBA.

Here’s the video of Shawn Marion’s dunk over Danny Granger:

Jason Richardson was going up for the 360 degree dunk. However, when he was about to complete the dunk, LeBron James came out of nowhere to block Richardson’s shot. You can see video of LeBron’s block at the end of this entry.

Overall, it turns out that the trade of Richardson to the Phoenix Suns hasn’t gone as well as planned. While he’s scoring well, his defense is suspect and his numbers are down across the board from last season. The only bright spot is that Richardson is shooting a career-high field goal percentage.

LeBron has been even more of a fantasy basketball stud lately than usual. After having three straight triple doubles, LeBron had 51 points and nine assists on Friday night. If LeBron is on your fantasy team, you have to love the production he’s giving you right now.

Here is the video of Jason Richardson getting blocked by LeBron James:

5. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
Although Bosh had a stretch of the season in which he struggled, he’s back to playing great basketball. The acquisition of Shawn Marion has opened up his game a little bit and he’s able to concentrate more on scoring the basketball.

4. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron has been shooting the ball extremely well from the outside, shooting better than 41% on three-pointers in the month of March. If he can add good outside shooting to his repertoire, he’ll become even more impossible to defend.

3. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
His three-pointers aren’t dropping at their normal rate (30% in March) but Nowitzki is still a scoring machine. He’s had a few recent games in which he’s looked as good as ever. If he can remain hot, he could be the best fantasy bigman down the stretch.

2. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
As the Lakers make their push for homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, Bryant is starting to pick up more of the load. Scoring more than 30 points per game in the month, he’s peaking at the perfect time for Kobe fantasy owners.

1. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
There’s simply no player as hot as Wade is right now. His numbers since the All-Star break have been ridiculous. For the month of March, he’s averaging more than 37 points per game.