jamarcus-russelldavid-carr-houston-texansWhile taking in the fourth quarter of the Giants rout of the hapless Raiders – for fantasy football purposes, only – the announcers noted that the game had devolved into a battle of No. 1 draft picks: David Carr (2002) and JaMarcus Russell (2007). Which one of those guys was the worst QB drafted No. 1 overall this decade? Or should San Francisco bust Alex Smith (2005) be in the discussion?

The Case Against Carr: Taken No. 1 2002, Carr never had a winning season in five years in Houston. In his defense, he never had a competent offensive line in Houston, and in three of those five years, he was the most-sacked QB in the league. The other two QBs who went in the first round (Joey Harrington, Patrick Ramsey) accomplished nothing. The best QB from that draft appears to be the 4th rounder, David Garrard. Carr’s rookie deal: 7-years, $46.75 million.

alex-smith-49ersThe Case Against Smith: Taken No. 1 in 2005, Smith ’s career has been a disaster. Record: 11-19. TD/INT: 19-31. He’s been injured the last two years and there’s no telling if he’ll ever see the field again in San Francisco. He’s still only 25, so there’s a chance he could latch on somewhere if his agent sells the problems as organizational (he’s had a bazillion different coaches), rather than Smith-related. The 2005 draft wasn’t terrible for QBs: Aaron Rodgers went 24th, Jason Campbell went 25th, Kyle Orton went in the 4th round, Derek Anderson (he did reach the Pro Bowl in 2007) was chosen in the 6th round, and Matt Cassel the 7th. Smith has shown no indication he’ll have a better career than any of those guys. Smith’s rookie deal: 6-years, $49.5 million.

The Case Against Russell: Taken No. 1 in 2007, Russell has been dreadful. He sat most of his rookie year, and then went 5-10 last year. Statistically, JaMarcus Russell is the worst starter in the league this year (by far), completing just 42 percent of his passes (one TD, four INTs, four fumbles lost). But the learning curve on quarterbacks is more than 20 games, so as horrendous as Russell has been, it probably is too early to render a judgment (even if he hasn’t even displayed flashes of mediocrity). None of the other QBs in the ‘07 draft have emerged as stars yet: Brady Quinn’s been below average, Kevin Kolb has looked promising twice in a reserve role, Trent Edwards has been an up-and-down starter, and 7th rounder Tyler Thigpen appears best suited to be a reserve. Here’s what hurts Russell most – besides the fact that the Raiders passed on Adrian Peterson, who went 7th to Minnesota – the LSU Tiger inked a 6-year, $68 million deal with $32 million guaranteed.

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Everybody Loves Brett Favre
Found this exchange during the Lions-Steelers game humorous. Dick Enberg and Dan Fouts (like ‘em both) were talking about the NFC North standings, and Green Bay Minnesota is unbeaten. Gushing over Favre followed. Old men love Favre.

Enberg: What is it about Brett Favre … when the bright lights are on, he is a neon performer!
Fouts: He’d be pretty good in the dark, too!
Enberg: (laughter) Blindfolded, he’d beat ya!
Fouts: Yeah. He’s 40 years old. Amazing.
Enberg: A stunning story that will be replayed in the history books forever.
Lions run for no gain.
Fouts: Getting back to Favre … people asked me in the preseason, ‘Will all this going back and forth, all this retiring, unretiring … will it affect his legacy?’ I said, ‘what, are you kidding? His legacy? He’s a Hall of Famer, 1st ballot.’ He’s got all the records, and he’s still playing top notch at 40-years-old with a first place team!
Enberg … [inaudible] was sort of like a kid on Monday night.

Nary a mention that last year, with the Jets, many folks said the exact same things about Favre when he threw six TD passes in week four to thump the Cardinals. Eager to hear the comments after Favre’s first Decemeber road game.

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ickey_shuffleCardiac Cincinnati: Four wins. All narrow results. Cap Rooney will have more on this guys later.

Lost on TD with :11 left left to beat Denver
Won when Green Bay drive stalled at the 10-yard-line with :00 left
Won on TD with :14 left to beat Pittsburgh
Won on FG in OT to beat Cleveland
Won on TD with :22 left to beat Baltimore

Most joyous NFL moment of the weekend: The Bengals presenting defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer with the game ball after the road win over the Ravens. Zimmer’s wife unexpectedly died last week. This photo says it all.

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oakland-raiders-blowWorst stat of the Day:
The Oakland Raiders are the first team since 1960 to go four straight games without 200 yards. Good chance this streak reaches six. A somewhat formidable defense goes out to Oakland Sunday; the week after, one of the league’s best defenses, the Jets, visit the Black Hole. The opposite of that Oakland stat – Peyton Manning has opened the season with five straight 300-yard passing games. He’s the third QB in NFL history to accomplish that.

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And finally, the always-fun task of projecting NFL draft picks six months before the draft. Why this week? Because nobody has ever made the playoffs after starting 0-5.

1 Rams – Has to be a QB. Bulger turns 33 in April; his stats have been declining severely sine 2007. Sam Bradford seems to be a lock. The only senior QB worth mentioning is Colt McCoy.
2 Buccaneers – Just drafted a QB. The big question on offense is whether or not to give big bucks to Antonio Bryant or grab an elite WR like Dez Bryant? Instead, we’d help the 3rd worst run defense in the league with either Nebraska DT Ndamukong Suh or Oklahoma DT Gerald McCoy. Alabama NT Terrence Cody has been quiet this season, but perhaps he dazzles at the combine.
tebow-eric-berry3 Chiefs - Go with a lineman to protect $60 million investment in Cassel? Or a play-making safety to help an awful defense? Tough not to like Tennessee safety Eric Berry.
4 Browns – There will be a clamoring for a QB (Locker?) because the offense is historically terrible. But it’s not like that QB will have any weapons, anyway. With a bevy of draft picks due to trades, go the safe route here: Offensive line. Oklahoma State’s Russell Okung seems to be the highest on everyone’s list. Sets Cleveland up with two tackles for the rest of the decade.
5 Raiders – The only question here is whether or not Al Davis can swallow his pride and admit they wasted $68 million ($32 guaranteed) on JaMarcus Russell. If it were us, we’d go with Jake Locker over Colt McCoy (don’t think Clausen comes out).