FanHouse KearyColbert

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.

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

I'm going to do my best to avoid use of the phrase "Well, things can't get any worse," or anything like that. Really, I am. But it's worth pointing out that this is a true statement. Things are looking up for the Detroit Lions because they absolutely can't get any worse.

With two first-round picks and a ton of available cap space, a well-managed organization could make a significant dent in one year.

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.

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time

The 1's

Kansas City at Atlanta: It's a game featuring a team with a rookie quarterback taking on a team with no quarterback. Falcons signal-caller Matt Ryan had a dreadful week two, missing on his first nine passes, while the Chiefs are still playing musical chairs with Damon Huard and Tyler Thigpen. Larry Johnson isn't impressed by any of it.

Oakland at Buffalo: The Buffalo Bills haven't started a season 3-0 since 1992, and that's exactly what they'll do if they can defeat an Oakland team that has spent this week worrying about who its coach will be, as opposed to the task at hand in Buffalo. If the Bills get that 3-0 start, there's a strong chance Raiders' head coach Lane Kiffin will be searching for a new job on Monday morning. Seeing as how they're likely without Justin Fargas, Darren McFadden is fighting some turf toe and Javon Walker can't make it through practice, there's a good chance that happens.

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

More Rankings: OVER/UNDER | Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Tight Ends | DSTs | Kickers

While you can't expect 18 catches per week, there was certainly something telling about the number of times Jay Cutler fed Brandon Marshall last week. Now check out what Santana Moss did to the Saints secondary last week and lick your chops if you are fortunate enough to own Marshall.

- Expect Jake Delhomme to heavily lean upon Steve Smith, and big things will ensue.

- Randy Moss had a horrible week last week, which is completely due to Matt Cassel being QB. It will take a few weeks for the two to develop a solid chemistry, though this week against the pathetic Dolphins is a perfect opportunity.

- I don't expect anything out of the Bengals passing attack. Start either WR at your own risk.

- I put the Seahawks two new wideouts as the last two numbers simply because they have to throw to someone on the outside, and the Rams are awful in coverage. If you are looking for a desperation plug-in, you may as well try one of them.

1. Brandon Marshall, Broncos, vs. NO
2. Reggie Wayne, Colts, vs. JAX
3. Terrell Owens, Cowboys, @ GB
4. Plaxico Burress, Giants, vs. CIN
5. Calvin Johnson, Lions, @ SF

Road Chalk and Alaskan Pipelines is Will Brinson's weekly NFL gambling column at FanHouse. Because everyone loves a loser.

I don't expect to be perfect every week. In fact, I rarely expect to be good. But Ed Hochuli ... you are killing me, sir. Anyway. We've chatted enough about that little debacle enough already, haven't we?

Besides, it's more fun to talk about things that are positive in nature ... like me being 3-0 this week on the STONE COLD TUNGSTEN PIPERS (shown with asterisks). That's right, Brandon Lang (*cough*0-3*cough*), bring it.

Overall, however, not as well, only going 8-7. But hey, we're slowly climbing back up the ladder of mediocrity, checking in with a season record of: 14-17. Woo.

Kansas City Chiefs @ Atlanta Falcons (-6)
I feel like the "Loser Bowl" starts us off every week, for whatever reason. Might wanna work on that, BoDog. The beauty of this FAIL-fest, is that the freaking Falcons are going to be 2-1 once it's all said and done. Additionally, we should be just about finished writing up the eulogy for Larry Johnson's fantasy career by the time the 4:15 games kick off.

Falcons -7

The Panthers got rid of Keary Colbert (okay, fine not really, but you know ...) after three horribly mediocre years. He was promising as a rookie, catching 47 passes for 754 yards but never topped 350 again. And just to be clear, the Panthers let him go -- I want you to know that such a transaction says very little about his future.

Of course, you wouldn't have known that based on the three year, $7.2 million deal that the Denver Broncos foolishly handed him this offseason. But then you might be deceived by the news that Jay Glazer dropped today.

Seattle has swapped a late-round draft pick for Broncos wide receiver Keary Colbert, FOXSports.com has learned.

Or perhaps you would know it. After all, for a team to be at the point that they need to acquire Colbert midseason, well, things are not going well.

On the other hand, this is kind of like finding out you were your girlfriend's eighth choice of guys to take home from the bar, so it's not like Colbert is loving life either.

But the Seahawks weren't done! No, sir! They also inked former 'Hawk Koren Robinson. So, they're not stacked, but they're certainly better off than they were yesterday. I think.

Fantasy Spin: Despite that awkward "Yeah, you were all we could get" type of thing going on here, Colbert and Robinson are actually interesting adds because the Seahawks like to pass. I like Robinson better for upside, but as mentioned, Colbert did catch almost 50 passes his rookie year and he is literally all the Seahawks have at wideout right now. This does not say anything good about Courtney Taylor either.

When there's a big storm approaching, one of the staples of news coverage is going to the local supermarket to show people grabbing whatever supplies they can to ride out the weather. That's sort of what the Broncos are doing in the wake of Brandon Marshall's arm injury. They signed former Chief Samie Parker on Monday and, as reported earlier this week, are expected to finalize a deal with ex-49er Darrell Jackson today.

Marshall is expected to be healthy for the start of camp but, with Parker, Jackson, Keary Colbert and Brandon Stokley, now Denver's got some cover in case he isn't ready for the opening bell. Even if Marshall is ready, they still need another starter. The Broncos approach appears to be one that favors the quantity of choices over quality.

Stokley, pencilled in as the starter, would be a better fit in his familiar third receiver role. Jackson had some great seasons with the Seahawks but his one year in San Francisco was a disaster and there's been very little interest in him around the league. Colbert never built on a solid rookie year with Carolina and Parker is nothing more than a depth player.

When those storms end and the damage is less than the worst case scenario, people are left with a surplus of unwanted condensed milk in the pantry. The Broncos seem like they are in the same situation. It's good to be prepared but better to be well-stocked in advance.