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Nate Davis has had a rough few months. After an impressive junior season at Ball State -- one in which some folks had him pegged as a possible first-round pick -- the MAC quarterback has experienced a series of setbacks that will cost him millions of dollars, and perhaps the opportunity to play professional football.

ESPN.com's Jeffri Chadiha wrote earlier this month that Davis "... seemed destined to follow Ben Roethlisberger, Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich as the next great Mid-American Conference quarterback to enter the NFL," although now he's more likely to be lumped in with Bruce Gradkowski, Charlie Frye -- or worse -- Omar Jacobs.

Since the days of Brian Sipe and Bernie Kosar, Cleveland Browns fans have seemingly had a love-hate relationship with their starting quarterbacks ... and by "love-hate," I obviously mean they love to hate them. After suffering an Aaron Rodgers-like slide on draft day, 2007, Brady Quinn was supposed to change all of that and become the franchise quarterback Dawg Pounders have longed for since, well, Otto Graham.

On Tuesday, new head coach Eric Mangini made the announcement that Quinn will be competing for the starting job in 2009 with five-year veteran Derek Anderson.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

Mike Holmgren has long been one of the primary identities of the Seattle Seahawks. He took them to the Super Bowl and made them a perennial winner of the NFC West. Then last year happened. As Holmgren's retirement tour rolled along, more and more injuries piled up, Seneca Wallace had to start at quarterback for a few games, and the Seahawks stumbled to a 4-12 record.

With Jeff Garcia out of the picture in Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers' quarterback position is a bit of a question mark. If the season opened right now, the team's starting quarterback would likely be Luke McCown, whom the team recently signed to a two-year contract extension. They also have veteran Brian Griese and 2008 draft pick Josh Johnson on the roster.

According to some of the local scribes in Tampa Bay, there's some chatter around the NFL combine that Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson could be a target in a potential trade.

The offseason got underway Thursday, and the Patriots wasted little time in franchising Matt Cassel. What they plan to do with him remains a mystery, but there are plenty of teams in need of quarterback help.

In fact, if you believe National Football Post's Michael Lombardi, nearly a third of NFL franchises could stand an upgrade at the position. The Lions and Vikings top the list, obviously, but Lombardi also thinks the Redskins could be in the market for a new quarterback, if not this offseason, then in a year's time.

The Seattle Seahawks have not had a lot going for them lately -- but hey, they won this week! And, of course, they're in the putrid NFC West, so really, anything can happen.

Of course, for something to actually work out well for them, they're probably going to need Matt Hasselbeck to be healthy. Problem: He's not. And he won't be able to play this week either.

Hasselbeck told KIRO Radio on Tuesday that he does not need surgery.

The quarterback says he failed tests in Los Angeles and was unable to walk on his heels. He says there's no pain in his back or right leg, just a "dead leg" feeling. He plans to keep working on strength and conditioning and take another round of tests soon.

But, hey, in good news, Seneca Wallace is still hanging around! Yay. No more Charlie Frye. Woo.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

Here's Week 7 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Steven Jackson, RB St. Louis (25 carries, 160 yards, 3 TDs) -- The problems in Dallas are apparent, and they deal a lot more with a porous defense than with a questionable trade deal and an injured starting quarterback. Jackson is basically the St. Louis offense, accounting for more than half of the Rams' offense in his breakout performance of 2008. His day was highlighted by a 56-yard dash through diving Dallas defenders and was the crème brûlée on an already exquisite feast. Left for dead two weeks ago, the Rams have reeled off two straight against tough NFC East opponents and are in the only division they might have a shot at winning, thanks in large part to Jackson's incredible performance.

We have all been waiting years for this. And now that Matt Hasselbeck has gotten his pesky back out of the way, Seneca Wallace can finally start at quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks.

Okay, not really. Well, yes really. (That's right. I have successfully confused myself.) Anywho, the point is that Seneca is healthy enough to start for the Seahawks, Hasselbeck is already ruled out and Charlie Frye is still Charlie Frye. So Wallace gets the nod.

Seneca Wallace will start at quarterback, coach Mike Holmgren said, as long as nothing happens with regard to Wallace's injury before Sunday's game at Tampa Bay.

"He looked OK," Holmgren said. "But more importantly, probably, is that he feels OK. It's going to be his ball game I believe unless something happens in the next two games days. And I've got confidence in him."

Yeah, as you can see, everyone is really enthused. As they should be -- Wallace isn't exactly Hasselbeck in his health and/or prime, but he's definitely not Charlie Frye. And that, immediately, is a tremendous plus for the Seahawks.

I've personally always thought that Seattle should have used Seneca at wideout, even if it didn't work out well when they finally did, but this is his best role. At least considering that he'll give the 'Hawks a better chance to win than Frye. And yes, the Mike Holmgren Farewell Tour just keeps getting more exciting and enjoyable for the old feller.

There's a buzz growing around this year's trade deadline. After the busiest offseason of trade activity ever, there were still a lot of long-lingering rumors that have been growing on the vine through six weeks of the season. Now, with the trade deadline upon us, there seems to be a genuine feeling (or is it just hope?) that this deadline will be unlike the many dormant ones that have come before. Well, it's not going to happen. As far as movement is concerned, this deadline will be less Phil being taken out at a gas station and more Tony enjoying Journey over onion rings.

Regardless, here's a look at which players have the most trade-deadline buzz:

Tony Gonzalez: The new Jason Taylor (active Hall-of-Famer seeks new team with legitimate championship hopes) wants to be a veteran leader on a Lombardi team instead of a veteran leader teaching kids how to play pro football. The Chiefs claim that they're willing to oblige for the right price, but is the right price really the third-rounder they're reportedly asking for? I take it the answer is no, since the Giants, the team most heavily in pursuit of Gonzo, are offering a sixth-rounder. This seems like the perfect opportunity to employ conditional picks to protect both sides, but Carl Peterson has never been a GM really willing to play ball, and at this point I think the "willingness" to do what's right for Gonzalez is conjecture.

Did you know that Matt Hasselbeck, once upon a time, backed up Brett Favre? It's true -- he drafted by Green Bay and learned under the Great One and Mike Holmgren for two years before heading to Seattle with his coach.

So there was something oddly bizarre about not seeing the 'Beck sit this one out, while his would-be successor for holding Favre's clipboard -- Aaron Rodgers -- fought through several injuries for the second straight week to attempt and lead the Packers to victory. Which, as you can see from the title, he did.

And it was one of those MUST WIN-wins (a phrase that needs to die, and quickly, unless we're speaking of elimination games), and Rodgers did what he needed to, "rushing" for a touchdown and throwing for two more. Both were Favre-like, in that they were, individually, a long bomb to Greg Jennings and a one yarder to John Kuhn. (Who? Exactly.)

Meanwhile, Charles Lester Frye wasn't much like anyone worthwhile, completing 12 passes for 83 yards, even though it included two touchdowns. Koren Robinson was his leading receiver with 23 yards and Keary Colbert pulled in a five yard catch in the end zone, his only of the day. So, yeah, you could say everything's coming up Seattle these days.