FanHouse Brucegradkowski

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.

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.

Despite what MIchael Vick told a judge in bankruptcy court last week, there's no way he plays another "10 to 12 years" in the NFL. In fact, there's a chance he never plays again if commissioner Roger Goodell chooses not to reinstate him.

That decision won't come till summer, but if Vick, who is nearing the end of a 23-month prison sentence in connection with dog-fighting, is allowed to return to the league, he'll almost certainly have suitors. And the Oakland Tribune's Jerry McDonald thinks that, under the right circumstances, he could be a good fit for the Raiders.

The Kellen Winslow era in Cleveland lasted five injury-plagued seasons. When healthy, he was one of the league's best tight ends, but between the motorcycle, the staph infections and the actual football-related nicks and bruises, those moments were fleeting.

Winslow played in just 44 of a possible 80 games from 2004-2008 and that, along with his prickly relationship with management, landed him in Tampa Bay. As the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Terry Pluto writes, "[Eric] Mangini and [George] Kokinis correctly believe the Browns have had too many sideshows in the past few seasons, Winslow being at the center of some of the major distractions..."

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 17 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Michael Bush, RB Oakland (27 carries, 177 yards, 2 TDs) -- This is the other running back in Oakland, and boy did he have a pretty nice coming out party. In his first game with more than 16 carries, Bush rolled a Tampa Bay defense in search of a playoff spot and carried the Raiders to their second consecutive win. Sure, the team went 5-11, but the last two games were something to build on, and Michael looked like a capable backfield option.

Mike Tomlin said that no matter what Sunday's game meant, he was going to play his guys. With just under two minutes to go in the first half of Sunday's game, that looked like the worst decision of Tomlin's young coaching career.

When Ben Roethlisberger was slammed to the ground like your three wood after you shank a shot into the woods, the Steelers rosy playoff hopes all of a sudden looked very dim. Byron Leftwich may be one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league, but he's still someone who has thrown less than 100 passes in the past two years.

The good news is that Roethlisberger seems OK after suffering a concussion and apparently some momentary numbness. After the game, Mike Tomlin said that the Steelers expect him to play in two weeks in the Steelers' first playoff game. Tomlin and the Steelers may have dodged a disaster.

The bad news is that the injury is another concussion for Roethlisberger. He suffered two concussions in 2006 (one when he took the header into a car and another against the Falcons). The last time he suffered a concussion in a game, he returned one week later to play his worst game as a pro--throwing four interceptions in a loss to the Raiders.

Romeo Crennel continues his march to unemployment, in all likelihood, three days from now. But in the meantime, he's going through the motions, preparing the Browns for their final game of 2008.

Unfortunately (historically, anyway) Cleveland faces Pittsburgh, a team Crennel has yet to beat in seven previous tries. Given that the wheels have fallen off the Browns season and the Steelers are gearing up for a playoff run, there's not much reason to think Cleveland has a chance Sunday. And this worries Crennel. Well, as much as a meaningless game that precedes the inevitable firing can worry somebody.

"I haven't been able to beat Pittsburgh and that's discouraging to everybody, myself included," Crennel said this week. "It seems like we play them close one game and get killed the next game. That's one of my fears going down this time, [that] we played them a close game this year."

So Crennel is predicting a beatdown, basically. For what it's worth, Vegas opened with Cleveland getting 10 points, but that was before Bruce Gradkowski was announced as the starting quarterback. He'll be the fourth Browns QB to start a game this year, which on most other teams, works out to approximately an 11th- or 12th-teamer. Adjust your lines accordingly.

Romeo Crennel will be a free man in six days. And if yesterday's emotionless post-game presser is any indication, he's already accepted his fate. For the sake of professionalism, however, Crennel will feign interest as the Browns prepare for the Steelers in a meaningless Week 17 affair.

Cleveland, 4-11 and fresh off getting shutout courtesy of the mighty Bengals, will face a Pittsburgh team that has already wrapped up a first-round bye. And while the Steelers will probably play backups for most of the afternoon, the Browns have nothing to lose by playing their starters. The ones left standing, anyway.

Tight end Kellen Winslow has missed three games with a high ankle sprain and the quarterback position has been FUBAR for some time. Derek Anderson was benched for Brady Quinn, who promptly broke a bone in his hand and landed on injured reserve. Anderson then blew up his knee, and now third-teamer Ken Dorsey looks iffy for the Sunday finale. Which means more Bruce Gradkowski for everybody!

So, let's imagine for a second that you're the front office of the Kansas City Chiefs. You just fluffed your fans earlier in the week with the notion of bringing recently retired Daunte Culpepper in at a position that desperately needs some excitement. That plan falls apart and your fans are disgruntled and obviously upset, so what is the next best thing to Culpepper? Quinn Freakin' Gray!!!!

(Kansas City Seismologists accidentally mistake the cheers and clapping for an earthquake, quickly call the National Weather Service.)

Yep, you read that correctly, according to NFL.com's Adam Schefter, the Chiefs are expected to sign a contract with Quinn Gray, the former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback who spent some time last summer with the Colts.

Gray, who made the roster over former Buccaneers quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, played in eight games for the Jags last season, tossing 10 touchdowns to his five interceptions with a 55 percent completion rating.

Tyler Thigpen is expected to start this Sunday when the Chiefs face off against the Jets.

If there was ever a situation to describe the Kansas City Chiefs of late, it is today's talk of the team looking at Daunte Culpepper. Talks, possible workouts and now nothing, as the Kansas City Star's blog Red Zone is reporting that the talks have settled and nothing more should happen between camps.

Culpepper would be an obvious upgrade to the quarterbacking core they're stuck with now, but of course the buck stopped right around hopeful and here is what Kansas City has to look forward to.

If the Chiefs don't sign a passer this week, they'll enter the Jets game with banged-up veteran Damon Huard, second-year quarterback Tyler Thigpen and Ingle Martin, who coach Herm Edwards said Sunday wasn't ready to lead the Chiefs offense.

Unless Culpepper was the person to snuff this idea out, why wouldn't they give him a shot? His career quarterback rating of 89.9 would have the three-time Pro Bowler ranked 15th in the league this year, a position that would exponentially improve the Chiefs situation.

Now they're going after former Tampa Bay quarterback Bruce Gadkowski, who in 11 games starting in 2006 had nine interceptions and six lost fumbles. The thought behind this is mind-boggling. You're bringing in a below average quarterback when you already have three below average or inexperienced quarterbacks on your roster?

I guess the Chiefs front office expects a lot more injuries before the season ends. If that is the case, bravo.