FanHouse JasonCampbell

To veteran NFL players, the preseason is a necessary evil, a four-game stretch in which they get paid peanuts (relatively speaking) and just hope they don't get hurt. But to young players trying to prove themselves, the preseason can represent a major opportunity. And Redskins backup quarterback Colt Brennan says he's going to make the most of that opportunity.

Send your NFL questions (along with your name and location) to NFLFanHouse@gmail.com. Each Thursday, we'll answer the best -- or, if nothing else, most entertaining -- in our NFL Mailbag.

Excluding Brett Favre, which remaining free agent can play the biggest role in 2009?

The easy answer (INCLUDING Brett Favre!!) is Plaxico Burress. He's a high-ceiling, high-impact wide receiver. You saw the way the Giants' offense missed him at the end of 2008, and we've seen a handful of teams express interest in him -- even though nobody knows if he's going to play in 2009. If he is allowed to play, he's your answer. But it looks increasingly likely that he'll be suspended for at least part of the season, if not all. So in the non-Burress division, I have three veterans who could make an interesting impact in the right situation:

At 6:30 this morning, Tony Romo, inexplicably at Tiger Woods' invitation, joined the world's best player in the AT&T National pro-am at Congressional Country Club, some 20 miles west of FedEx Field, home of the Washington Redskins.

On Tuesday, Tiger said that, "...It's just going to be a fun round," before adding, "...but also an interesting one. Granted, he's used to getting booed, and it is what it is. It comes with being, I guess team sport, away from home."

And University of Maryland basketball coach Gary Williams did his part to make sure that's exactly what happened.

In Mike Wise's Washington Post column from this morning, you'll find a story about Jim Zorn and Joe Gibbs hanging out and shooting the proverbial, uh, well, you know. In it, you'll find discussions ranging from charity work to Zorn's admiration about the legacy Gibbs left as a great coach for the Washington Redskins.

Invariably, the subject of the Redskins' polarizing quarterback came up. Gibbs was specifically asked about how Jason Campbell handled the situation this offseason where the Redskins tried to replace him, not once, but twice. Alas, Jay Cutler is in Chicago and Mark Sanchez is in New York. The Redskins are "stuck" with Campbell and his big arm.

The following excerpt, including Gibbs' quote after he was asked if Campbell was mistreated, grabbed my eye.

The best thing about the build up to the next NFL season is the exact same thing as the worst. If that makes sense. It's fun to dissect every aspect of everything, but it can also be maddening when you consider we're still just under three months until an actual, real NFL game is played. Regardless, things constantly change in terms of fantasy football draft value.

What I'll do in On Second Thought is take a look at the rankings we compiled as a staff and point out which players I believe we collectively ranked too high and vice versa. This isn't a slap in the face to my colleagues, as some of the rankings I didn't like were my fault (you'll see one here). Plus, we started working on them a month ago. Things change.

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FanHouse's crack squad of savvy fantasy football personnel put our five heads together and amassed consensus rankings for non-keeper, standard scoring leagues. We'll update as the season gets closer, but this is our "incredibly early yet still fun" version.

Was last season the year of the quarterback or what? You still had the old reliables like Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Donovan McNabb doing their thing, but a whole new crop of passers have elevated themselves. Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers and Jay Cutler led the way for the youth movement. You could have even waited toward the end of your draft and landed stud QBs in Matt Ryan and Tyler Thigpen (who would have been waiver-wire fodder). Team all that with Tom Brady's Week 1 injury, and we had a really interesting season. Let's see how they fall out presently for 2009.

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ASHBURN, Va. -- He is the man, the myth, the legend around these parts, the quarterback who will finally lead a hungry franchise back to the promised land. He is a fan favorite, a cult hero, a promise of a bright future.

And he has never taken a regular-season snap.

Colt Brennan finds himself in an intriguing situation as he enters his second season with the Washington Redskins. On the one hand, he'll once again be his team's third-string quarterback -- stuck behind oft-criticized Jason Campbell and 15-year veteran Todd Collins. On the other hand, a growing number of Redskins fans think he is the missing piece to their championship puzzle.

They want him in the lineup. Right now.

As the Redskins go through mini-camps this spring, the most important development will be how things progress with their starting quarterback, Jason Campbell. It's no secret the Redskins pursued other options during the offseason, only to come up short and end up "stuck" with the 27-year-old Auburn product.

After three seasons, and finally one full one, under his belt, it's time for Campbell to take the next step and become a franchise quarterback. Finally getting a second season in the same offensive system -- 2009 will be the first time -- is a great start for the 6-foot-5 signal-caller. He's also getting more comfortable in his leadership role.

Although it's tough for some fans and media (looks in mirror) to turn the page on the Redskins' "Anybody But Jason" offseason tour, the guy caught in the middle, Jason Campbell, has done just that. Unlike Jay Cutler, who bellyached his way out of Denver, Campbell (save one moment of weakness) has said all the right things. He's moved on -- even if we haven't -- and is looking toward the 2009 season.

Detractors like to point out that Campbell isn't consistent (or smart) enough to be an NFL starter, but they often leave out an important little fact: he's played in three different offenses in five seasons.

Who moved to the head of the NFL class during the draft? Find out with FanHouse's team-by-team 2009 Draft Grades.

When I anointed Brian Orakpo as the ideal pick for the Washington Redskins in the first round of the draft, I sort of assumed they'd do something about the offensive line later in the draft. You see, heading into the offseason, the Redskins really had one glaring issue: The sack ratio. They allowed 38 -- in a division full of pass-rushing fiends -- and only accrued 24 themselves. I'm aware that Greg Blache's defensive scheme doesn't chase the passer, but pressuring him with a front four means that's less time the coverage has to do their job. Orakpo helps take care of that with his outside push.