Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

With the entire regular season in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to take a look back at 2009 and how the players lived up, or failed to live up, their expectations. That’s right, it’s time for our annual installment of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, and we’ll kick things off with a look at the quarterbacks. Some players, like Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts lived up to our high expectations. Others, such as Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears and Matt Cassel of the Kansas City Chiefs, did not live up to the hype.

With that said, it’s time to take a look at THE BAD quarterbacks from 2009. Remember, THE BAD quarterbacks are those that struggled to live up to their pre-season expectations, but weren’t so bad that you had to reach for the pepto every time you watched them.

THE BAD

1. Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals) — The Cincinnati Bengals won the AFC North and went to the playoffs this season, though it wasn’t because of quarterback Carson Palmer’s arm. Relying on good defense and a solid running game, Palmer looked nothing like what we’ve seen from him in the past, and he was especially far removed from the 2005 season, the last time the Bengals went to the playoffs. This season, Palmer threw for 3,094 yards with 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 60.5 percent of his passes. Though those stats aren’t terrible, it represented his second-lowest touchdown output since 2004, which was his first season as a starter. He also averaged a mere 6.6 yards per attempt, well below his career average of 7.1. In fact, his numbers across the board were all well below his single-season averages.

There isn’t much of an excuse for Palmer. The team played well in 2009, but he could have been better. There’s little doubt about his arm, but you have to wonder if the injuries have made him hesitate on throws or forced him to rush through his progressions when he’s in the pocket. Either way, it was a disappointing year for Palmer, and he’s got a lot work to do to prove to us that it was just a fluke.

2. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) — It is painful to put Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan on this list after how good he was last season, especially down the stretch. Yet, perhaps it is because he was so good as a rookie that we expected too much out of him this season. This season, Ryan threw for 2,916 yards with 22 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Similar to Palmer, Ryan’s stats weren’t all that bad this season but he’s on this list because we simply expected more out of him. His completion percentage fell from 61.1% as a rookie to 58.3% this year and his average yards per attempt went from 7.9 in 2008 to 6.5 in 2009. That’s bad.

In Ryan’s defense, he was dealing with some nagging injuries this season that easily could have kept him out for more than the two games he missed. He also saw running back Michael Turner and the rushing offense suffer greatly in comparison to how good it was last year, which in turn made it harder for Ryan to throw. We expect Ryan to bounce back next year, but the question is by just how much?

3. Matt Cassel (Kansas City Chiefs) — Admit it, you saw this one coming a mile away, didn’t you? Matt Cassel got the opportunity to become a franchise quarterback after the New England Patriots traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs last summer. And, we got to see what happens when you take a quarterback off a talented and well-coached team and put him on one that’s the opposite. This season for the Chiefs, Cassel threw for 2,924 yards with 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions while completing 55.0% of his passes. We don’t want to be too tough on Cassel considering the team he played for this season, but he was no where near the QB we saw under center for the Patriots in 2008.

Next season should be a better on for Cassel. After all, if it gets worse he won’t be under center for the Chiefs for that much longer. Though the Chiefs were one of the worst teams in 2009 they have a lot of young talent that should be much improved next season, including running back Jamaal Charles. What the Chiefs need to focus on is improving their receiving corps for Cassel, otherwise he’ll never reach his full potential in Kansas City.

4. Trent Edwards (Buffalo Bills) — This season was supposed to be the one in which Buffalo Bills’ quarterback Trent Edwards made that huge leap forward. Key word in that sentence? Supposed. Injuries limited Edwards to just eight games this season, and in those eight games, he threw for 1,169 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions while completing 60.1% of his passes. The problem with Edwards is that there’s times when he looks like he’s turned the corner, such as the first two weeks when he threw for 452 yards with four touchdowns and one interception, and other times when he looks downright terrible, such as, well, pretty much the rest of the games after week two.

The Bills are a mess offensively and an inconsistent Edwards is not helping matters. They need to find a true No. 1 receiver for Edwards, improve the offensive line and get better play from the running back spot. We would imagine that the 2010 season will be Edwards’ last chance to prove himself.

5. Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) — Detroit Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford makes the list of THE BAD quarterbacks instead of the THE UGLY only because he is a rookie and he did display some great potential this season. In 10 games this season, Stafford threw for 2,267 yards with 13 touchdowns and 20 interceptions while completing 53.3% of his passes. One impressive stat is that Stafford was sacked just 24 times. For a normal quarterback on a normal team that would be higher than normal, but consider that in 2008 the Lions’ quarterbacks were sacked 51 times and you see why we took notice.

Now that Stafford has got the rookie season behind him, he’ll need to start showing some true progress in 2010. He’s got decent weapons at the skilled positions, but the offensive line will need to improve for him to take advantage. Also, and this is most important, Stafford will need to learn the value of throwing the ball away or taking a sack, instead of trying to make a play every single time he drops back. It is still early, but it looks like the Lions may have found a keeper in Stafford.

6. Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) — What can we say about New York Jets’ quarterback Mark Sanchez? The guy was good when it counted the most, helping the Jets win five of their final six games to sneak into the playoffs. Then, as if that wasn’t enough for a rookie, he helped lead the Jets to upsets over the Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers en route to New York reaching the AFC Championship game. However, we should be quick to point out that much of the Jets success was more a result of Sanchez not losing games than they were of him winning games. In fact, one look at his stats and you’ll know why he’s one of THE BAD quarterbacks. This season, Sanchez threw for 2,444 yards with 12 touchdowns and 20 interceptions while completing 53.8% of his passes.

Sanchez looks like a good find for the Jets. He was cool under pressure and surprisingly good in the playoffs, for a rookie. What the Jets need to do now is work on opening up the playbook for Sanchez. A lot of the go-to passing plays this season came on short slant routes or designed rol louts. Sanchez will need to prove he can do it all before becoming a top fantasy football option.

7. Josh Freeman (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback Josh Freeman started the season third on the depth chart but quickly found himself atop Byron Leftwich and Josh Johnson. In nine starts this season, Freeman threw for 1,855 yards with 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions while completing 54.5%of his passes. Hurting his interception totals were a pair of games during weeks 13 and 14 in which Freeman threw a combined eight picks with no touchdowns. Similar to fellow rookies Stafford and Sanchez, Freeman was inconsistent but definitely showed some flashes of greatness, earning his spot on THE BAD list rather than THE UGLY.

A lot of things need to happen in Tampa Bay this off-season. The Buccaneers need improvements at just about every offensive position, though having Kellen Winslow at tight end could prove to be a blessing in disguise for this young quarterback. It will be interesting to see what direction the Buccaneers go in the off-season because their defense needs a lot of work as well. If they do focus on the defensive side of the ball, then Freeman could be in for a long sophomore campaign.

Missing the Cut (A look at those guys who were BAD, but just didn’t play long enough to make this list): Kerry Collins (Tennessee Titans), Shaun Hill (San Francisco 49ers) and Brady Quinn (Cleveland Browns)

2009 The Good:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF

2009 The Bad:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K  |  DEF

2009 The Ugly:  QB  |  RB  |  WR  |  TE  |  K |  DEF

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