It is the end of the fantasy season for many people.  Most fantasy leagues simply start over and there is little bearing from one season to the next.  For those in keeper leagues the off season is a strenuous, constant struggle of who to keep from your own roster and who to let go.  Lets ponder some possible candidates and take an early look at the keepers. 

QB

Tom Brady:     Unless he gets injured in the playoffs he is a no-brainer.  He is good for over 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns each season.  I also believe the Patriots will get him some young wide receivers in this draft which will only add to his effectiveness.  

Peyton Manning:        I doubt anyone will keep him with the up coming uncertainty.  I acknowledge his potential for elite numbers but he was already slowly dropping in fantasy drafts before the extent of his injury was known.

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2012 Fantasy Article: Keeper League Targets Quarterback - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Stevan Ridley and the Patriots are smashing opponents through their first two games

Aside from a fumble on a fourth and short play, rookie running back Stevan Ridley shined once again for the New England Patriots. He showed he has big play ability on the ground, through the air, and he picked up a number of first downs for the Patriots on Thursday night in Foxboro.

In the Patriots’ 31-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ridley rushed the ball 14 times for 84 yards with a couple of big bursts, as well as three receptions for 27 yards. This is a guy who has proven over the last two games that he can ball, as he ran for 67 yards and two touchdowns in the Patriots’ first pre-season game, as well as catching seven passes for 47 yards and another score.

Ridley didn’t hit paydirt in this game, but he is showing the Patriots that he deserves a spot high up in this rotation. They have a lot of backs competing for playing time with BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Shane Vereen, and Danny Woodhead in addition to Ridley.

Ryan Mallett, the Patriots’ third round pick at quarterback out of Arkansas threw his first NFL interception on what appeared to be a serious mis-communication. The pass was picked off by Elbert Mack, a fourth year player out of Troy for the Bucs who had three interceptions two years ago for the Bucs.

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Patriots-Buccaneers Pre-Season Review: Stevan Ridley With Another Solid Performance - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

NFL Rumor Mill–New England Patriots and Malcom Floyd Destined to be Together? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?

Every year quarterbacks are ranked. Sometimes they are ranked in lists like you will see below, but other times they are ranked in echelons in the minds of fans, players, and football executives. Some quarterbacks are ranked “elite”. The “elite” group is comprised of the very best. They are true winners and leaders of their respective teams. The next group are the “very good” quarterbacks. They are the ones that are just below the “elite” group. Close to elite, but not quite there. They have great skills and have the respect of their teammates as well as other players around the league. Below the “very good” group are the “good/solid” quarterbacks. They have skills necessary to win, but there are usually questions that are keeping them from ascending the list. Each year there are players who perform well and analysts talk about whether they are “elite” quarterbacks. This off season, that man was Super Bowl winning QB Aaron Rodgers. After Rodgers won the Super Bowl, analysts were asking whether he was an “elite” quarterback. Many think he is while some think he will be very soon. It’s all up to personal interpretation With that said, here is my interpretation as to who are the Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks.

10. Matt Schaub
Schaub is an underrated quarterback because he plays for the Texans who have yet to find playoff success, but if his defense ever improved, he has the skills to take the Texans to the Super Bowl. He’s thrown for 4,000+ yards and 24+ touchdowns the last 2 years. Since becoming a starter for the Texans, he’s never dipped below 63% completion percentage. He’s also had a 90+ QB rating since becoming a starter. Schaub is a quarterback to keep your eye on. He’s already very good and with the Texans defense on the rise, he is bound to start entering the “elite” talk sooner rather then later.

9. Matt Ryan
After suffering through the Mike Vick fiasco, Atlanta moved firmly into the Matt Ryan era and has not looked back. Ryan is a young quarterback who is quickly approaching “elite” status as the Falcons continue to move towards the top of the NFC. Last year, Ryan had his best year throwing 3,705 yards, 28 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions leading the Falcons to a 13-3 record and a 1st round bye. His team lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, but Ryan is still a quarterback on the rise and a Super Bowl appearance would likely vault him to “elite” status like Rodgers.

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Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Tom Brady is a Stud but the quarterbacks in the rest of the division? Not so much. picture source: midwestsportsfans.com

While we sit around and wait for the lockout to end, I thought I’d go through and rank the divisions by each position to see what division might stand above the rest. The most important position, as we all know is the quarterback position, so let’s start there. I’ll rank from worst to best. I intended this to be a fluff article that would just kill time while we wait for some football action, but I really started to think about it and boy I think I could re-arrange this entire thing again and still not be satisfied. This is kind of tough to do so take my rankings with a grain of salt and let me know what your rankings are in the comment section.

#8  N.F.C. West

There is one team in the N.F.C. West with a franchise quarterback unless Hasselback comes back. Sam Bradford looks like the real deal, but the rest of the division is littered with question marks.

#7  A.F.C. East

This was the toughest one for me here to decide between the 7, 6, and 5 spot. Tom Brady is excellent arguably the best player in the entire league which I could let skew the rankings up a ton, but the rest of the division is not very good. Mark Sanchez is trending up, but needs to be more consistent. The other two teams: The Dolphins and the Bills have major needs at quarterback. Again, I originally had the A.F.C. East all the way up to #5 because of Tom Brady, but reflecting on that more I knocked them down. Tough call for me. Jets fans will think the ranking should be higher, but I want to see more from Sanchez. I like his clutch ability, though.

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Ranking the Divisons: Quarterback - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Could Plaxico Burress be back in a Giants uniform? (supermediablog.com)

As most of you may know by know, Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to weapon charges. After a long two years, Plaxico Burress will be getting out of prison on Monday. Now what does this mean for his football career once he gets out? Well he has already said to former head coach Bill Cowher that he would play again and that he is keeping in football shape while his tenure in prison. Will he draw interest from a team? I think he will for the reason of what happened to Michael Vick, where he was in prison a year for dog fighting then he turned out to be an even better Michael Vick last season. Being that, let’s take a look at five teams who may be interested in Plaxico Burress.

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5 possible destinations for Plaxico Burress once he gets out of prison - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

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Ryan Mallett gets drafted to the Patriots? HUH? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

‘The Brady 6′ Highlights Draft Uncertainty - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Stanzi, the fearless leader of an Iowa program that made a bowl game every year he was the starter, and every bowl they made it to, Stanzi and the Hawkeyes were able to pull off a victory. Twice in dominating fashion, and in 2010, Stanzi’s offensive unit needed a little help from the defense to get the W.

Still in his time at Iowa, Stanzi didn’t do much else other than win ball games. Iowa was always in the thick of things, and some of the greatest games in Iowa football history were played with Stanzi leading the offensive huddle. A true leader and student of the game, Stanzi is one of the most underrated quarterback prospects out there, and may have at one point this past season been the best overall quarterback in all of college football.

Throughout his career, he’s drawn comparisons to Tom Brady, and some of those are warranted, but he definitely has a long way to go to achieve that status. “America’s QB” will be one of the better mid-round finds in this year’s draft, and will surprise a lot of people with what he can do.

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2011 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Iowa Quarterback Ricky Stanzi - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

The Jets entered the game amid much hype and praise as they held their head high with a 9-2 record which tied them for first in the AFC East with the Patriots. They also had the satisfaction of knowing they previously beat the Patriots this year and if they played the same way they would do it again. On top of previous success over the Patriots the Jets have been one of the NFL’s hottest teams and they had the national media telling them so. But once kick off started the players couldn’t hear the chatter of the media, only the screaming of 52 Patriots running at them in full gear.

To read more of Jesse Zamarripa visit his blog http://sportsbyjesse.com/ and follow him on facebook or twitter

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