FanHouse MattHasselbeck

Retired NFL quarterback Trent Green is the first-ever guest columnist of MMQB, filling in while Peter King is on vacation. Green provided an interesting read on subjects relating to the league's personal conduct policy, concussions and the expanded season. And of course it wouldn't be a MMQB without a healthy dose of Favre thrown in for good measure.

What jumps out of Green's article is his prediction that 10 quarterbacks will have over 4,000 yards passing this season. He says six are a lock to do it (Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Phillip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers), and seven have the potential to do it (Jay Cutler, Matt Cassel, Carson Palmer, Matt Schaub, Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo, Matt Hasselbeck).

Let's put this prediction in context:

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.

---

---

Last summer, as Nate Davis prepared for his junior season at Ball St., some scouts thought he had the potential to be a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. He got off to a fast start but shaky showings against non-MAC teams -- including Tulsa in the GMAC Bowl -- raised questions about his productivity.

Then, at the NFL Combine, Davis measured only 6'1", struggled through the passing drills, and that was the beginning of a tumultuous few months. In March, only one team attended his pro day, and the news that he might suffer from a learning disability further lessened his draft value.

Mark Sanchez was the wild card heading into this year's draft. He had a limited number of starts at USC and no one knew where he would get drafted, but it still seemed likely that he could be a nice QB2 because his upside in the right system grew exponentially as the draft approached.

If Seattle pulled the trigger on Sanchez, though, his fantasy value would be sunk because Matt Hasselbeck isn't going anywhere right away. Then the Jets made a trade with the Browns and were suddenly in the five spot, causing high-fives and smiles all around in the Sanchez household in California.

UPDATE: Rex Ryan all up in my face, kid: Jets have made a play for Mark Sanchez by trading into the top five. PK calls it "paying a ransom."

Before the draft started, many folks across the realm of sports media predicted that Mark Sanchez could fall all the way down to the Redskins, mostly predicated on the Chiefs taking Tyson Jackson third overall. Or, at the very least, the 49ers. This was in stark contrast to the earlier notions (even leading up to the Rams' pick) that he could go as high as second.

But Sanchez might have wisely avoided New York for the lack-of-public-embarrassment-safety of California. Why? Because the Chiefs just picked Jackson.

Tarvaris Jackson can't even catch a break during the offseason when he's seven months away from the nearest interception. The Vikings sometimes-starting quarterback has struggled with consistency during his three-year career, which explains why he's had to share the gig with Gus Frerotte, and why the team recently traded for Sage Rosenfels.

But according to a reader email ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert posted on his blog, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who was seriously considering signing with the Vikings, decided against it after meeting T-Jack.

On Monday, the Seahawks signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh to a five-year, $40 million deal. Great news for Seattle -- Matt Hasselbeck will finally have a legit pass-catching threat (a seldom-healthy Deion Branch doesn't count) -- but the Bengals were suddenly down to Chad Ocho Cinco in the reliable wide receiver department. (Yikes.)

Apparently, the thought of starting the season with Chris Henry, Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell was enough to motivate historically cheap Bengals owner Mike Brown into action, presumably at the behest of head coach Marvin Lewis. Whatever the impetus, Cincy has a new-old Houshmandzadeh: Laveranues Coles. Via NFL.com's Adam Schefter, Coles signed a four-year, $28 million contract.

---

---

T.J. Houshmandzadeh finally made his free agency choice today, taking the Seattle Seahawks up on their offer to pay him $40 million ($15 million guaranteed) over five years.

From a football perspective, Housh's decision is huge: the Seahawks are immediately made better while the Bengals, well, hey, at least they're the Bengals. From a fantasy perspective though, this makes things extremely interesting.

The Seattle Seahawks have signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh, according to numerous sources and confirmed by ESPN's Michael Smith on SportsCenter a few moments ago.

Smith reports that while the Minnesota Vikings put the "full court press" on Houshmandzadeh, in the end he simply couldn't turn down what is apparently a five-year, $40 million ($15 guaranteed no less) contract from the Seahawks for the 31-year-old wide receiver.

In anticipation of Cardinals-Steelers, FanHouse takes a look back at some forgotten storylines from past Super Bowls.

Much was made about Ben Roethlisberger's first half touchdown and Darrell Jackson's offensive pass interference -- which negated a touchdown -- in the aftermath of the Steelers victory over the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. Those who follow the Zebra Report know that I refuse to ever claim the officials cost any team a game, however, there was one call in this game that cost the Seahawks a lot more than the above well-publicized calls.