FanHouse SteveYoung

Steve Young has been where Matthew Stafford is going, and he has some advice for the kid: Good luck.

"You have to be a really unique person, not player, but person," Young told FanHouse on Friday. "You can be a phenomenal player, but you have to have an iron stomach. It's not going to be easy for him."

Before Young earned his spot in the Hall of Fame with the 49ers, he struggled trying to be the savior for the woeful Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, Stafford, the No. 1 pick in last month's draft, finds himself in that spot with the Detroit Lions.

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

Heading into this year's draft, Josh Freeman was considered to have the highest upside of any quarterback entering the NFL in 2009, while also possessing the biggest downside. The Buccaneers, in need of a true franchise quarterback for the first time since ... well, they've never really had one, were not only willing to take the chance on Freeman, but they were also willing to move up two spots to get him.

Erin Andrews. Google her name and you'll get about 771,000 results, many of which are blogs that obsess over the ESPN sportscaster's every word. But meet her in person and you'll find a woman who may seem like you or I, stunning good looks aside. She loves sports, remembers old Nintendo games, and yes, does get her feelings hurt from time to time.

FanHouse recently had a chance to chat with the most popular female sports reporter at the NCAA Football 10 premiere party to find out what drives her, what gets under her skin, and whether she'd drop her career to be a backup dancer for Britney Spears. Our full interview with Andrews is below.

If you're Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, the last year hasn't been so bad. Think about it: You had 96 catches for 1,431 yards and 12 touchdowns during the regular season; you had three touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game, you had two more touchdowns in Super Bowl XLIII (so what if you wound up losing the game?), and you're named the MVP of the Pro Bowl. Not a bad year, right?

Well, things just got a little bit better for Larry on Friday, as it was announced that he was the cover guy for EA's Madden NFL 10 (along with Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu).

So what does Larry think about being on the cover? Why is he sure he's going to reverse the Madden Curse? What's the latest on Anquan Boldin's contract situation? And why does he think Matt Leinart is the next Steve Young? I asked Larry all of these questions and more during some time here in New York. Read the full interview after the jump.

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

The San Diego Chargers are a hot mess. Things are kind of working out for them right now -- Darren Sproles has been franchised and there should be some sort of resolution to LaDainian Tomlinson in the near future -- but there's still a good chance that A.J. Smith screws the proverbial pooch on handling his real franchise player.

No, not Philip Rivers -- although he's really, really good, turning in an MVP caliber quarterbacking season on a relatively shoddy Charger squad. Tomlinson.

The Falcons are trying to trade Michael Vick. Can't say I blame them. The club probably isn't expecting any legit offers -- and, in all likelihood, they'll end up releasing him -- but it doesn't hurt to ask. Vick, the 2001 first-overall pick, is currently in federal prison on a multiple puppy murder conviction, but could be a free man in time for the 2009 season.

But like the other 30 teams, not even the Lions are interested in Vick's services. And this is the same outfit that won exactly zero times last season. Part of the reason, certainly, is because Vick doesn't solve the team's current quarterback situation.

Sorting the Sunday Pile looks back at the NFL weekend that was. It's also an unofficial Mittens blog.

Ben Roethlisberger has started 82 games in his five-year career, winning close to 80 percent of them. Yet for most of the football-observing public not located in Western Pennsylvania, he's still nothing more than a game manager. A good quarterback who fell into a great situation and is just along for the ride.

That changed for good Sunday night.

The New England Patriots are going to have quite a decision to make this offseason regarding the future of their quarterback situation. Tom Brady's knee remains a gigantic unanswered question, while Matt Cassel, his replacement during the 2008 season, is an unrestricted free agent and no doubt has dollar signs dancing around in his dreams.

With Brady's status still uncertain, there's been talk of potentially franchising Cassel -- which would pay him in the neighborhood of $14 million in 2009 -- or, perhaps, even signing him to a long-term contract creating a Joe Montana-Steve Young tag-team duo. Or, they could just put faith in Brady's knee being ready for training camp and wave goodbye to Cassel. Either way, it's a tough call and I'm glad I don't have to make it.

Roy Williams, the former Lions first-round pick, was saved from the Debaclement in Detroit earlier this season when the team traded him to the Cowboys. Of course, Williams' brought the luck of the Lions with him because soon after he arrived Tony Romo broke his pinky.

We've since been subjected to three weeks of Brad Johnson AND Brooks Bollinger, two guys who make Jon Kitna and Dan Orlovsky look like Joe Montana and Steve Young. (Too much? How about Erik Kramer and Scott Mitchell?)

After a fast start, the Cowboys are now 5-4, last in the division and are long shots for the postseason. Romo returns next week, so there's that, but Williams is understandably exasperated after catching just three passes in three games and being used mostly as a third-down receiver.

Gay marriage is a pretty hot topic in our country. And in San Francisco there is a Proposition 8 up for vote right now that would ban gay marriage. And, according to the local CBS affiliate, "Yes on 8!" -- a campaign against gay marriage for those that are confused already -- is being led by the Mormon church.

So, in theory, it would stand to reason that Steve Young, a San Fran resident and a Mormon, would not be supporting gay marriage. That reason would be wrong.

On Friday, there were also three Halloween-themed signs in Young's yard that also urged people to reject the gay marriage ban.

In addition, records show Young's wife, Barbara, has donated approximately $50,000 to the "No On 8" campaign aimed at defeating Proposition 8.

Steve Young, answering a doorbell ring at his home late Friday afternoon, declined to comment about the signs in his yard.

No huge surprise there -- his wife actually mentioned in an email to CBS that she was the one who was strongly against Proposition 8 for personal reasons and Steve was simply supporting her. (She feels approximately the opposite way that Jeff Kent's checkbook expresses emotion.)

That's not to say he feels one way or the other about it, which is actually fantastic. He's a public figure paid to give his opinions about sports, and it kind of behooves him to stay quiet about the whole issue. However, it is kind of fantastic that he's willing to support his wife in a cause that may or may not go against his religious beliefs and one that certainly thrusts him into the public spotlight.

H:T: Larry Brown