Matt Leinart out, Derek Anderson in?

Matt Leinart's out in Arizona. Derek Anderson's in.

At least that's the early indication from Cardinals camp, with reports surfacing that Leinart is on the trading block after failing to grab the starting QB job.

Leinart wasn't a very intriguing fantasy prospect this year thanks to some poor showings in preseason action and an ongoing clash with head coach Ken Whisenhunt. The former USC party guy has had multiple chances to prove he's the Cardinals' answer at QB but failed. Leinart's only fantasy appeal came from the fact he'd be throwing to All-Pro talent Larry Fitzgerald and a few other solid receivers in Arizona. But with Leinart on the trading block - and facing the possibility of being cut by Saturday - it's looking like he'll end up riding the pine somewhere else to start 2010.

That leads us to the Cardinals' next best option at QB, Anderson, a man last seen getting run out of town in Cleveland. Think about that for a second. CLEVELAND didn't want him! That's how bad Anderson was last year (3 TDs, 10 INTs, 42.1 QB rating) and in 2008 (9 TDs, 8 INTs, 66.5 rating). But it's easy to forget DA had an improbable Pro Bowl season in 2008 with the Browns, when he threw for more than 3,700 yards and 29 TDs with 19 INTs. He also helped WR Braylon Edwards join him on the AFC Pro Bowl squad and led Cleveland to a 10-6 record.

Alright, so he's no Bernie Kosar. Derek Anderson isn't even Ken Anderson. But maybe DA still has a few tricks up his sleeve and could come close to reproducing those '07 stats. Having Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, Early Doucet, Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells around him will help. Do I think you need to run out and add Anderson to your team? Not so fast. The situation in Arizona is still too volatile. But Anderson's somebody to keep tabs on and possibly consider at the first sign of trouble if you're in the market for a fantasy No. 2.

8/23 Bust of the Day: Larry Fitzgerald

WR LARRY FITZGERALD, Cardinals

I don't doubt Fitzgerald's talent. I'm not saying he won't be a No. 1 fantasy wideout this season. But to quote just about every character in the Star Wars movies, I have a bad feeling about this.

Maybe it's the fact Matt Leinart is taking over the reins as Cards QB from the prolific Kurt Warner. Maybe it's the sprained right knee Fitzgerald's already dealing with this preseason. Maybe it's the residue of the Madden Curse that never really struck him last year (but cost co-cover boy Troy Polamalu most of his season). You know what they say about karma ...

But seriously, there are plenty of reasons to worry about Fitzgerald this year. He's not going to have Anquan Boldin around anymore to put pressure on opposing secondaries. And you may remember Fitzgerald's last subpar season (946 yards, 6 TDs in 13 games in 2006) just happened to be the year Arizona was trying to break in Leinart as their starting QB. Now, Leinart is a better QB today then he was as a rookie (presumably) - but can he replace Warner's production? Will more targets come Fitzgerald's way with Boldin out of the picture, or will Arizona just lean more heavily on Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower in the running game?

That's an awful lot of question marks for a WR who I've seen go in the first round in some mock drafts. I still don't have a problem making Fitzgerald my No. 1 WR ... but I'm not sure I'd take him over Andre Johnson or Randy Moss, or even Calvin Johnson. I'm labeling him a bust because I don't think he's the shoe-in for 1,300 yards or double-digit TDs many are tabbing him to be.

Leave your fantasy prejudices behind

There’s no room for bias or prejudice in fantasy sports.

As much as I personally loathe the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, Terrell Owens and Brian Westbrook have been very, very good to my fantasy teams over the years. And as loyal as I am to the New York Giants as a third-generation fan, I realize Eli Manning isn’t always the wisest fantasy choice (although he’s been pretty good so far for the 8-1 G-Men).

Biases and prejudices in fantasy don’t just extend to your favorite football team and its rivals. Sometimes we hold onto unfair opinions about individual players and teams, even when they run contrary to the facts.

Case in point: Kurt Warner. The knock on him for years is that he’s old, injury prone, fumble prone, and his best years were a product of Mike Martz’s system in St. Louis. Maybe there’s some truth to that, and that’s why Warner was passed over on draft day for a multitude of other quarterbacks, including teammate Matt Leinart, who is younger and more party prone.





But if you’ve seen Warner’s Arizona Cardinals play this year or checked the stat sheet, you’d see they are fourth in the league in pass attempts a game (342) but 20th in sacks allowed (16), a formula that has allowed Warner to stay upright, utilize his talented receiving corps and put together an MVP-caliber performance.



Letting go of your preconceived notions and trusting Warner as your every-week starter would be a wise move. And while you’re at it, here are some other old prejudices that need to be erased:

g Any QB would look good throwing the ball to Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald.

Still not sold on Warner, huh? Having Boldin and Fitzgerald certainly helps, but he’s also made third receiver Steve Breaston (seven catches, 121 yards last week) a legit fantasy pickup and fourth receiver Jerheme Urban (18 catches, two TDs in his past six games) a deep sleeper. So there.

g The Atlanta Falcons stink.

That was the consensus entering this season, and it scared most of us away from anyone wearing black and red other than tailback Michael Turner. But while Turner’s been a stud, Matt Ryan and Roddy White have blossomed into one of the league’s deadliest pass-catch combos in Ryan’s rookie season. All three of those guys are must-starts at this point, particularly against the woeful Denver Broncos defense this week. Even backup running back Jerious Norwood (105 total yards, TD last week) is capable of busting a big play or two.

g The Kansas City Chiefs stink.

OK, maybe this one’s true. But that doesn’t mean quarterback Tyler Thigpen isn’t worth your time. Thigpen, who started the year as KC’s third quarterback, is coming off a three-TD performance against the San Diego Chargers and now faces a New Orleans Saints defense that’s susceptible to the pass. Thigpen has spread the ball around the Tony Gonzalez, Dwayne Bowe and Mark Bradley, plus he’ll have the services of Larry Johnson this week to help take the pressure off through the running game.

WEEK 5 - Sunday Recap

-The Rams' Jeff Wilkins continues his bid as fantasy's top kicker, booting three straight in Sunday's win over Green Bay. He's got competition from Chicago's Robbie Gould, who's hit a remarkable 17 straight to begin the season.

-Larry Johnson put together another big day (36 rushing yards, 106 receiving yards and a TD), but there was a scare when he was pulled down by the facemask at the end of a 78-yard run. Word is he suffered a neck strain and eventually looked OK, but keep an eye on him.

-Matt Leinart showed what he can do in his first pro start, hitting two early TD passes before making some rookie mistakes. Again, don't even think about starting him next week against Chicago, but he could be worth plugging in Weeks 7 and 8 (Oakland, Green Bay).

-Good to see Reggie Bush get his first pro touchdown. Too bad it was on a punt return - unless you've got the Saints defense, that is.

-Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald went down with what appears to be a serious hamstring injury. You'd be adviced to grab teammate Bryant Johnson, who led Arizona with 82 receiving yards Sunday.

-The Redskins' offense really came up lame against what had been a questionable Giants defense. Mark Brunell barely managed 100 passing yards, which meant Santana Moss' three-TD game of a week ago became a distant memory. The G-Men held Clinton Portis (a.k.a. Dolemite Jenkins) to just 78 yards on the ground, and the Skins managed only a field goal. They'll have better days - like Week 6 against Tennessee, perhaps.

-Michael Robinson got the goal-line carries for San Francisco as expected, but he couldn't hit paydirt three straight times. Starter Frank Gore had a career-high 134 yards on the ground against Oakland and didn't fumble for the first time this season. It's unclear if M-Rob blew his chance, so I can't recommend putting him in your lineup next week against San Diego, but he's worth hanging on to if you can spare the roster spot.

-Andrew Walter hit Randy Moss for a TD for the second straight game, but Walter ended up getting pulled for Marques Tuiasosopo in Oakland's loss to San Fran. Moss also dropped a Walter pass in the end zone and was seen laughing on the sidelines a few plays later. LaMont Jordan managed only 71 yards on the ground, dropped a lateral and didn't even attempt to recover it as the Niners' Melvin Oliver ran it in for a score. If these guys don't even care, why should you? Look elsewhere.

-Bruce Gradkowski wasn't half bad against the Saints (two TDs, no INTs) in his starting debut, and he actually made the Bucs offense produce. Gradkowski might be an OK spot starter from here on out, and Jon Gruden is enamored with him, but we don't have much of a sample size to go on. I'd be more excited about Joey Galloway, Cadillac Williams and even talented TE Alex Smith finally showing some signs of life under Gradkowski's guidance.

-The Chargers finally took the shackles off Philip Rivers (two TDs), who looked pretty good against a supposedly tough Steelers defense. Unfortunately, LaDainian Tomlinson didn't have one of his patented monster games (70 total yards). Don't drop him, though.

-The early front-runner for Fantasy MVP: Donovan McNabb. He's been a touchdown machine this year (one rushing, two passing in Week 5) and surprisingly getting it done with guys like Reggie Brown and Hank Baskett catching passes ... with most of the so-called "stud" RBs not being so studly this season and the QB ranks constantly in flux, McNabb is separating himself from the pack.

-Brian Westbrook is driving owners batty this year. We knew he was an injury risk entering the season, but this inflammation business in his knee is really getting old. It seems like it's going to be a constant problem this season, which means a lot of the dreaded "game-time decision" tags attached to his name for the foreseeable future. There are even rumors he could need surgery at the end of the year - or sooner. The guy could easily be a top-10 back if he were a little more reliable, but you might want to have a backup plan in place if you don't already.

-Speaking of injured RBs, Ahman Green was a late scratch for the second straight week with sore hammies. And if you started backup Vernand Morency in a pinch, you got burned when Morency fumbled twice in the first quarter against St. Louis. Third-stringer Noah Herron of Northwestern capitalized, gaining 106 yards and a TD.

-Daunte Culpepper was a surprise scratch as the Dolphins went with Joey Harrington at QB. Joey Ballgame didn't fare much better (no TDs, two INTs), and the stocks of Ronnie Brown (a TD but only 39 rushing yards) and Chris Chambers (47 total yards) continue to plummet. Cut Culpepper if you haven't already, and steer clear of Harrington.

-The Bears looked damn impressive on both sides of the ball in destroying the Bills. Too bad Thomas Jones was the workhorse again (22 carries, 109 yards) but Cedric Benson got two cheap TDs from the 1-yard line. You've gotta think about starting Rex Grossman and/or Bernard Berrian in matchups against Arizona, San Francisco and Miami in three of the next four weeks.

-The Jaguars' offense absolutely went off on the Jets, with Byron Leftwich (two TDs), Fred Taylor (111 yards, TD), Maurice Jones-Drew (two TDs) and Reggie Williams (TD) all getting in on the action. You'll want your Jags skill players in the lineup with two games against Houston and one against Tennessee coming up over the next four weeks.

-The only small positive for the J-E-T-S was rookie Leon Washington, who ran for 101 yards on 23 carries and further mucked up New York's RB situation. Kevin Barlow, previously the main guy, managed -1 yard on four carries. Who knows what next week will bring, but it's become clear Derrick Blaylock (zero carries) and Cedric Houston (shoulder injury) are out of the mix.

-The Titans' Chris Brown was healthy but inactive in Week 5, which means you can safely dump him (if you haven't already) in all but the deepest of leagues. Travis Henry busted out a 123-yard game against the Colts, while rookie LenDale White had eight carries for 48 yards.

-As for the Colts' RB platoon of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai: Rhodes got the edge in touches (25 to 15) and total yards (110 to 77) this week. Obviously both are productive, but neither are consistent options, especially against a tough stretch of opponents (Washington, Denver, New England, Dallas, Philly) after a Week 6 bye.

-DeAngelo Williams lost out on a big day when he suffered a sprained ankle on his first carry of the game against Cleveland. DeShaun Foster owners everywhere rejoiced ... but then realized Carolina faces Baltimore next week.

-Rough game for Lions skill players: Roy Williams left with a shoulder stinger after making just one catch, Kevin Jones left with a concussion after 10 carries for eight yards, and Jon Kitna had three INTs and a costly fumble that was returned for a Minnesota touchdown. And if you thought Mike Williams might finally have an opportunity to do something, he dropped the only pass thrown to him and was promptly benched. I wouldn't touch any of these guys next week, even if they're healthy, against a Buffalo defense that just got embarrassed by the Bears.

The Matt Leinart Era? Already?

So remember what I said about the Cardinals not replacing Kurt Warner with Matt Leinart at QB just yet? Well, according to this ESPN report, Leinart will start Sunday at Atlanta. It hadn't been confirmed as of Monday night.

I can't say I blame Dennis Green for possibly wanting to bench Warner after his disastrous turnovers .... sometimes Warner treats the football like a hot potato. But is Leinart really ready to play? He does have the luxury of Edgerrin James, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald around him, which automatically makes him intriguing from a fantasy perspective. But keep in mind he's a rookie QB ... if you're in a really deep leauge that allows three QBs, he's worth taking a flyer on, but otherwise I can't recommend him right now over veterans like Chad Pennington or Byron Leftwich or even David Carr who might be available as free agents.

And if you own Kurt Warner, well, I wouldn't dump him outright just now if you have another solid QB and weren't counting on the old guy. Even if Leinart does indeed take over the starting job, it's very early in the season, and there's no guarantee he'll play well enough to keep it. The Cards had designs on a playoff berth this season, so I don't think they're conceding the entire year just yet, and if Leinart gets that deer-in-the-headlights look in his first start, Warner will be back in the mix. Keep in mind a lot of people, myself included, had Warner down as a top-10 fantasy QB this year based on those offensive weapons around him. Maybe we goofed, but we'll just have to wait and see.