Fantasy Football 2010: Top 24 Quarterbacks

1)Drew Brees - Why not? Brees is a model of consistency and directs one of the most prolific offenses in the NFL. The guy averages 4575 passing yards and 31 TD's in four years with the Saints. How much more can you reasonably expect from anyone else?

2)Peyton Manning - Are you sensing a theme here? Consistently great. Loaded offense. Sounds familiar doesn't it? In my mind, Peyton is 1B to Drew's 1A. They are the surest bets on the board at QB and there's a reason they opposed one another in last season's Super Bowl.

3)Aaron Rodgers - The NFL's version of A-Rod is everyone else's number one fantasy QB. With good reason too. The kid has skills and weapons and helms a team on the rise. I just can't see his ceiling being as high as my top two guys, hence Rodgers lands at number three for me.

4)Tom Brady - Brady is as competitive as any player, not just QB, in the entire NFL. He knows how disappointing last season was. He also knows that the window for another Patriots Super Bowl run is closing quickly. Expect him to demand one more huge season from Randy Moss and utilize his talented new TE's a lot in the red zone.

5)Matt Schaub - I've always liked Schaub. But I'll always be skeptical about his ability to stay healthy too. He finally had the season in '09 that so many people had been expecting from him since he joined the Texans. In order for Schaub to have a strong follow-up in 2010, he'll need Owen Daniels to get healthy and a receiver(Jacoby Jones, perhaps?) to step his game up.

6)Tony Romo - Romo has been anything but consistent since taking over at quarterback for the Cowboys. Lack of reps with future star Dez Bryant and the current lack of a dependable WR2 option, I'm looking at you Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton, have Romo slipping. If somebody doesn't do something soon(more reps for Kevin Ogletree?) to improve Dallas' aerial attack, this could become a full blown slide.

7)Philip Rivers - Rivers, to me, is a much better NFL quarterback than he is a fantasy QB. For example, his QB rating in 2009 was third in the league while ranking in the lower half of starting fantasy QB's. Don't fall too in love with this guy. With star WR Vincent Jackson holding out into the season, who knows if Malcolm Floyd can ascend to the heights of an NFL number one receiver. Look for Rivers to find Antonio Gates in the red zone more often this year and Legedu Naanee to possibly take off as a fantasy player.

8)Jay Cutler - First of all, if your league penalizes for interceptions you may disregard this ranking. However, the overwhelming majority of my leagues these days are not negative points leagues and, based on that scoring, Cutler's "disastrous" 2009 season still ranked him among the Top 12 QB's. He clearly developed a rapport with Devin Aromashodu last year and now has Mike Martz' aerial show coming to the Windy City. Johnny Knox is ready to explode a la DeSean Jackson in '09. Consider this a pure upside play.

9)Kevin Kolb - I'm buying on Kolb in 2010. He and his weapons in Philly are all in the same age range and these kids are going to get every chance to grow up and grow old together. The Eagles nucleus is flat-out scary and Kolb gets to direct them. As good as some of the other young QB's around the league have looked, none have the fantasy upside of Kolb. I'm not willing to compare him to A-Rod, but the situation is similar and his mobility is very underrated.

10)Joe Flacco - Nobody was happier than Flacco to welcome Anquan Boldin to Baltimore, right? "Joe Cool" has made an impressive impact on the NFL despite never having a true number one wideout at his disposal. Boldin brings that to the Ravens and should provide the impetus for Flacco to become a regular starting fantasy QB in 2010 and beyond. He'll probably never be a top 5 guy, but he should be dependable.

11)Brett Favre - Brett's back. Bad wheel and all. He's still a fantasy starter, but nowhere near his final ranking from 2009. My heart says Favre has another run in him. My head, however, thinks the future HOFer is finally going to miss some games this season before he hangs 'em up. Missing Sid Rice for at least eight weeks is going to hurt almost as bad as that ankle.

12)Eli Manning - The younger Manning bro put together his first start-to-finish campaign last season and I expect him to improve along with the development of future fantasy star WR Hakeem Nicks. Steve Smith is Eli's go-to guy and should contribute at least 90 more receptions while Ahmad Bradshaw's increased playing time will provide more options in the short passing game. An improved defense and heavier emphasis on the run could cost Eli opportunities, though.

13)Carson Palmer

14)Matt Ryan

15)Matthew Stafford

16)Vince Young

17)Chad Henne

18)Donovan McNabb

19)Ben Roethlisberger

20)Alex Smith

21)Matt Cassel

22)Derek Anderson

23)Jason Campbell

24)Matt Hasselbeck

Hey A.J. Smith...

Drew Brees has a message for you and he wanted me to relay it. He said,"SUCK IT!" I had a chance to talk to Drew mano a mano for a sec after last night's Super Bowl XLIV thumping of Peyton Manning's Colts, and he held up the Lombardi Trophy and gave me that quote. He also wanted to know "when was the last time YOU got invited to Disney Land, A.J.?" But he's not bitter. Brees is way too busy not choking in the playoffs and winning the Super Bowl MVP trophy to be bitter. So, uh, good call Mr. Smith.

Or should I call you Dr. Frankenstein? Because you created one helluva NFL monster back in early 2006 when you decided to just let Drew walk his way to Bourbon Street. You were so smug about it too. It really is a problem for you dude. Granted, Brees was injured at that time and you had a promising young QB in Phil Rivers, but you were the G.M. of a seemingly Super Bowl ready San Diego Chargers team and you decided to start from square one at the most important position on the football field. Meanwhile, the discarded monster proceeded to go on a Marino-esque tear for the next four seasons and put an exclamation point on it with a Super Bowl win...something that always eluded Danny Boy and your Bolts. Coincidence? Luck? I think not.

Drew Brees came to post-Katrina New Orleans in a swirl of questions. How is the shoulder? Who will you throw to? Where will the team play? Will New Orleans ever recover? He immediately made himself a huge part of the "Big Easy" and immersed himself in helping his fellow citizens and the city move forward. His banishment from San Diego's laid back atmosphere had been a blessing in disguise. Brees had a fire burning inside him unlike any he had possessed before. He, along with many other cast-off Saints, vowed to put it all together and give the city of NOLA something they could be proud of. Right off the bat he found a go-to guy in Marques Colston and threw for over 4,400 yards and 26 TD's. Leading the former "Aints" to the NFC Championship game at Chicago where the Bears were victorious but the Saints had gotten a taste of what they wanted and Brees knew he wanted more.

The next two seasons were no less prolific statistically, with Brees putting up around 9,500 passing yards and 62 TD's. Ridiculous doesn't even begin to explain it. While the Saints may have struggled, primarily on defense, to a 15-17 combined record in 2007 and 2008, many fantasy football titles were won on the right arm of #9. I know I owe at least one of my trophies to him, so thanks Drew. You were the man even when your team was all over the place inconsistent.

Enter 2009, and yours truly makes the case for why Drew Brees may have been the safest first round draft pick in your fantasy draft. Another 4,388 yds. and 34 TD's later, New Orleans is sitting at the precipice of the playoffs as the NFC #1 seed at 13-3 and Brees has the all-time NFL record for QB completion % at 70.2. No matter. It's playoff time now. Up first? Future Hall of Famer Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals. THUMP! Adios Kurt. I wish you the best in retirement. Next? A nail biter, but another playoff victory over a future Hall of Fame QB named Brett Favre. The "Human Interception" may have given the Saints their chance, but it was Drew Brees who led his team down the field and straight into the Super Bowl. Finally? Another future HOF'er in "Peyton Perfect" and his video game cast of wide receivers. The money was all on Indianapolis, but the money was wrong. The Saints and their MVP quarterback had pulled the upset and given a truly historic city another one for the record books. Three games, three wins over Hall of Famers at QB, and one world championship.

All courtesy of you A.J. The city of New Orleans, coach Sean Payton, millions of fans in the "Who Dat? Nation" and Drew Brees himself all thank you from the bottoms of the respective hearts. I know that you would never admit it was a mistake to let Brees walk but, then again, you're so stubborn that you still won't admit that drafting WR Craig "Buster" Davis in the first round ahead of guys like Sidney Rice, Steve Smith, and Mike Sims-Walker was a colossal mistake in 2007. The word obstinate comes to mind. Also the word doomed. Because the Chargers are doomed as long as Norville Turner is your man at the head coach position. But you won't realize it until it's too late and Norv's ineptitude has cost you your job.

And get used to the feeling A.J. Because it's coming again in 2010 when you release LaDainian Tomlinson. He'll wind up signing with Bill Belichick, Tom Brady, Randy Moss et al in New England and help carry them farther than your Chargers. Maybe even all the way to the Super Bowl too. Meanwhile, you'll at least have Norv and Rivers. Good luck with that.