Hop Aboard the NFL Quarterback Carousel

One week in the books of the 2007 NFL season and the quarterback carousel is already in full operation mode. As many as five teams will have a different signal caller starting in Week 2 than who started in the first game of the year. The overriding theme for all but one of these clubs is an injury to the starter as just one game, which further magnifies the battle of attrition that is the NFL. Here a look at who’s in and who’s out behind center in Week 2.

NY Giants
Week 1 Starter: Eli Manning
Probable Week 2 Starter: Jared Lorenzen
Scratch That: Manning to start vs. Packers
Rule number #19 – Never listen to ESPN. If you believed their constant report on Manning’s injured shoulder you would have thought Eli’s arm was about to fall off and his season was over. Well, news out of New York this morning is that Manning will start Big Blue’s home opener against Green Bay. Don’t expect Chris Mortensen to be in attendance.

NY Jets
Week 1 Starter: Chad Pennington
Probable Week 2 Starter: Kellen Clemens
Sounds like all the classless J-E-T-S fans will get their wish and see Kellen Clemens under center come Sunday. Mr. Clemens will try to follow such legendary names as Smith, Feeley, and Harrington in the storied lineage of Oregon quarterbacks in the NFL. Be careful what you wish for.

Cleveland Browns
Week 1 Starter: Charlie Frye
Expected Week 2 Starter: Derek Anderson
Projected Week 5 Starter: Brady Quinn
Started season opener, traded before the second game - Charlie Frye never stood a chance. The Browns traded their former starting quarterback to Seattle for a sixth round draft pick. After beating backup Derek Anderson in the preseason for the job, Frye couldn't even make it out of the first half Sunday against the Steelers and couldn't even make it to the second game with the Browns. Now Anderson gets to keep the seat warm for Mr. Brady Quinn. With Cleveland going nowhere again the question is, what are the Browns waiting for?

Oakland Raiders
Week 1 Starter: Josh McCown
Probable Week 2 Starter: Daunte Culpepper
Projected Not to See the Field this Season: JaMarcus Russell
McCown put up solid numbers though for the Raider any positive yardage at all offensively would be giant step forward compared to last season.

Baltimore Ravens
Week 1 Starter: Steve McNair
Possible Week 2 Starter: Kyle Boller
Ole Air McNair had a nightmare of a game against the Bengals last Monday night and topped it off with a groin injury. Boller stepped in and nearly led Baltimore to victory. McNair’s status for this Sunday in up in the air, but while coach Brian Billick may feel more comfortable with McNair, it’s clear the veteran doesn’t have much left in the tank and Boller may be the better option at this point.

Causalities Aplenty After Week 1 in NFL

The first weekend of the NFL season acted as a reminder of just how violent and dangerous the game of football can be. At this point, 6 players are confirmed to out for the rest of the season and that number is likely to increase later in the week. That number does not include the horrific life-threatening spinal cord injury suffered by Bills tight end Kevin Everett while making a special teams tackle on the second half kickoff against the Broncos. Bleeding Sports sends our thoughts and best wishes to Kevin Everett and his family. The play is a haunting reminder of just how brutal and unfair life and a simply game can be. While these athletes sometimes seem larger than life us fans who cheer them on, Everett's injury is a haunting reminder that these gridiron warriors are still human and that the game of football can be tragically unforgiving.

The brutality of the game was magnified after just one week of action in the NFL. Here is a rundown of players who suffered injuries during the NFL's kickoff weekend:

(Players who suffered season-ending injuries in italics)

AFC

LB Ray Lewis, Baltimore - Triceps
QB Steve McNair, Baltimore - Groin
KR B.J. Sams, Baltimore – Knee
OT Jonathan Ogden - Toe

TE Daniel Wilcox, Baltimore – Ankle
DS Ko Simpson, Buffalo - Ankle
CB Jason Webster, Buffalo - Forearm
DS Coy Wire, Buffalo – Knee
PK Shayne Graham, Cincinnati – Hip
DS Jason Simmons, Houston - Knee
PK Josh Scobee, Jacksonville – Knee
OG Chris Naeole, Jacksonville – Knee
WR Eddie Kennison, Kansas City – Hamstring
DS Yeremiah Bell, Miami – Achilles
QB Chad Pennington, NY Jets - Ankle

NFC

OC Al Johnson, Arizona - Knee
DS Mike Brown, Chicago - Knee/ACL
DT Dustin Dvoracek, Chicago - Knee/ACL
DT Jason Ferguson, Dallas - Elbow
RB T.J. Duckett, Detroit – Ankle
CB Al Harris, Green Bay – Elbow
FB Tony Richardson, Minnesota – Forearm
RB Chester Taylor, Minnesota – Oblique
CB Kevin Dockery, NY Giants - Ankle
RB Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants - Knee/MCL
QB Eli Manning, NY Giants – Shoulder
DE Osi Umenyiora, NY Giants – Knee
CB Lito Sheppard, Philadelphia – Knee
WR D.J. Hackett, Seattle – Ankle
CB Brian Kelly, Seattle – Groin
OT Orlando Pace, St. Louis – Shoulder
LB Pisa Tinoisamoa, St. Louis – Ankle
DS Vernon Fox, Washington – Groin
DS Pierson Prioleau, Washington – Hamstring

Fantasy Football Frenzy

In preparation for the start of the 2007 NFL regular season I've put together a list of players that may fly under the radar during your fantasy draft, but have the potential to put up big numbers this season. See if you can grab any of these sleepers in the later rounds.

The Sleeper Team

QB - Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay

When in the right situation Garcia has shown the ability to put up great numbers. San Francisco and Philadelphia were the right situations for him. Cleveland and Detroit - not so much. Playing in Jon Gruden's west coast scheme down in Tampa is the right situation for Garcia and his stats will show it come end of the year.

RB - Brandon Jacobs, NY Giants

Would seem like an obvious with Tiki Barber retired and with the Giants having a huge void at running back. However, it seems that Jacobs is still being undervalued because his sheer size is almost being viewed by some as a detriment. What people fail to realize because of his size is that Jacobs possesses great speed and is a solid pass catcher. Expect him to get the bulk of the carries and be in there on third down rather than share time with Rueben Droughns.

RB - Brandon Jackson, Green Bay

Something tells me that Vernand Morency is not the answer at running back for the Packers. If that proves to be the case Jackson is the man in Green Bay. The rookie possesses the explosiveness the Packers are looking for to replace Ahman Green and should turn into the workhorse in the Pack's backfield for years to come.

WR - Maurice Stovall, Tampa Bay

At some point Joey Galloway is going to slow down, right? Stovall is slated to start opposite Galloway for the Bucs and Jeff Garcia will likely find the speedy 6-5 Stovall an appealing target. Stovall possesses excellent leaping ability to go along with his height, which will come in handy on those jump ball fade passes tossed in the end zone.

WR - Vincent Jackson, San Diego

As the Bleeding Sports GM exclaimed "somebody needs to catch the ball." Sounds like Vincent Jackson is that somebody on the Chargers receiving core who will step up to take some pressure off of Philip Rivers and give him an option other than Gates and Tomlinson in the passing game.

TE - Eric Johnson, New Orleans

When healthy Johnson can rack up catches and yards. Just a few years back he was leading all NFL tight ends in receptions before an injury forced him to miss the rest of the season. While overshadowed in San Francisco due to the addition of Vernon Davis, Johnson should be a nice complement on the Saints high-powered offense giving Drew Brees another weapon in the middle of the field.

K - Neil Rackers, Arizona

Rackers had a monster 2005 season only to come back down to earth in 2006. Expect him to bounce back and perform somewhere in between '05 and '06 this season with the improving Cardinals offense giving him more opportunities to succeed.

Defense - Houston Texans

This may be going out on a limb, but the Oakland defense is too obvious of a choice since they finished in the top 5 in total defense last season. The Texans feature some intriguing players on the defensive side of the ball. 2006 Defensive Rookie of the Year, DeMeco Ryans, is a tackling machine, Dunta Robinson is a shutdown type cornerback, the addition of Michael Boulware should help bolster the safety position and then there is that other guy the Texans drafted in the first round last year, defensive end Mario Williams, who should become more of a force as a pass rusher in year 2.