Ryan was the 3rd overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, and the first QB taken. Flacco was the 2nd QB taken in the draft, at number 22 overall. Both have loads of potential, but are coming, and going, into very different situations. Ryan came from a top ranked Boston College team that was ranked number 2 at one point. Flacco was the starting quarterback on a second division college program in Delaware. Ryan is going to arguably the worst team in the NFL, while Flacco is going into a decent looking franchise that could very well be a playoff contender with a couple of breaks that fall their way. With all this said, there are factors that go into this, into who will be the better of the two. There are so many arguments that go against why Ryan will, or why Flacco will emerge, as the best rookie QB. Here is who I think, you should draft, if either, and why. But first, let’s take a quick look at both players:

Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta           College: Boston College

Ryan has great leadership, accuracy, size, awareness, NFL IQ, mobility (remember, mobility for a QB does not mean VY, or Vick mobility, it means mobility within the pocket, Dan Marino, or Tom Brady like mobility), and he’s clutch. He’ll win close games for you. Ryan also has a lot of experience having played a lot in his years at B.C. He lead B.C. to their first ACC Championship game, won 4 Bowl Games, and racked up a lot of great numbers with almost no help what so ever.

Now, his weakness is said to be his decision making as he threw 19 INTs in his senior year. I really think that the 19 interceptions thing is way overblown. First, look at the talent he had around him; there was none. He had to take those chances, had to take those risks at times to give his team a chance to win. Ryan also threw the ball 50 times a game which will always, no matter who the QB is, translate into interceptions.

Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore          College: Delaware

Flacco is known for two things; arm strength, and size. The big QB from Delaware measures in at 6′7 235. He stands tall and strong in the pocket, and has great poise and leadership. He’s got good accuracy as well. He reminds you of a guy like Ben Roethlisberger, in that he has great size and leadership, and can throw the ball surprisingly well on the run. Flacco had high level production in college, and only threw 5 INTs in his senior season, but you have to remember who his competition was.

With the speed that Flacco has you would not think that he would be able to get outside of the pocket and pick up the first, but he has such great instincts, and knows exactly when and where he should run it, so he can. Flacco needs to work on his foot work, or otherwise known as his inside the pocket mobility.

Final Analysis

While both of these guys had high level production in college, and both have the skill set required to go into their respective franchises and make an impact right away, Ryan will make more of an impact right away then Flacco will. Flacco might have had high production, and might have everything you need to be a successful QB in this league, but again, you have to look at the school that he came from, and you cannot overlook that. Ryan came from a program that was once ranked 2nd in the entire nation, and played against top schools such as Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech (twice), and was 3-1 against those opponents. Flacco played for a second division school, playing against second division talent.

While Ryan might very well be going to arguably the worst team in the NFL, he definitely has the experience, and the “NFL rediness” to go in there right away. Ryan is also the clear cut starter in Atlanta, while in Flacco’s case, he might very well lose out to Kyle Boller. When you look at Ryan’s game, there is no flaw in his technique, mental toughness, etc. Flacco however, has a few things to work on, and could struggle in his rookie season. While in the future we might be discussing who the first QB taken should be, right now I would not take either of these guys unless you are in a big 16 team league and in need of a backup quarterback; in which case, Ryan would be the better option.

If you still can’t decide on who you should take, let me put something else out there. Flacco plays in the AFC, Ryan, in the NFC. Nuff’ said.

With Cedric Benson gone, the Bears now look to rookie RB Matt Forte and situational back Adrian Peterson to carry the work load. This apparently isn’t a problem in Chicago as coach Lovie Smith has all the faith in the world in Matt Forte. This was proven when the Bears announced that they will NOT be looking to add a veteran RB to their roster… great news for Matt Forte!!!

NFL.com - http://www.nfl.com/fantasy/story?id=09000d5d8088edad&template=with-video&confirm=true

Forte found immense success at Tulane, and the Bears coaching staff has absolutely gushed about his skills and abilities this offseason. Now comes word that the team doesn’t plan to add a veteran running back like Shaun Alexander or Kevin Jones, even after the recent release of Cedric Benson.

“We don’t have any plans to do that,” head coach Love Smith said. “From Matt to Adrian Peterson to Garrett Wolfe, to P.J. Pope, Matt Lawrence, we like all of our players and those are the ones that we’re going with.”

NFL.com’s Michael Fabiano currently has Forte ranked ahead of fellow rookie RB Jonathan Stewart on the RB rankings. Although I don’t completely agree with this because I think Stewart is going to be a beast, I do agree that Forte deserves a look see in most drafts this summer and this fall. Currently Forte is ranked 41st on the PZ Fantasy Football ranks, but in the next update he will surely be moved up quite a few spots. So be sure to add him to your sleeper list and take a chance on him when the pickin’s are slim. He could be that RB depth that everyone is always longing for, and with the faith the coaches are showing in him, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

“If the situation was better, of course I’d want to be here,” Baker said, “but the way things are right now, I really don’t have the desire to be out here right now at this moment.”

It’s obvious that New York Jets TE Chris Baker is not happy with his contract situation, and the Jets aren’t budging for good reason. They chose TE Dustin Keller in the first round of this years draft, and I think if Baker wants out, he’s gonna get his wish. Baker had a career high 41 receptions for 409 yards last year, but only managed to reach the endzone 3 times, something a TE is supposed to especially good at doing. Apparently he wants a new contract to reflect his recent increase in stats, which in my opinion wasn’t all that great and doesn’t really warrant any compensation. To me Baker is making a complete ass out of himself and will only lower his value as a TE in the NFL. If he does get traded, I’m predicting he goes to a team to play backup at best.

While Baker is here whining about a new contract, the new rookie TE Dustin Keller is working hard to get ready for the regular season. This kid was good enough to warrant a 1st round pick for a TE, something rare in today’s drafts. Many draft sites have Keller ranked well into the 20’s in their TE rankings, but don’t be fooled, keep an eye on the situation and be sure to snag Keller for your lineup. Even if he doesn’t start off strong, I think this kid is gonna have a solid year and finally offer the TE presence the Jets have been missing for a long long time. So add him to your sleeper list, and be ready to snag him when the gettin is slim.

Each and every year we see the same exact question across the fantasy football sites… which rookies will make the biggest impact? First off, let’s analyze the rookies from last season and see how they did… here I’m going to go by About.com’s James Alder and his predictions on the top 10 rookies for 2007. Keep in mind these predictions were made before the season began. Also, I’m only gonna cover the top 3 predicted in 2007 and then we’ll cover the top 5 in 2008.

1. RB - Marshawn Lynch - Buffalo Bills
   Marshawn Lynch was predicted to be the top fantasy impact in 2007 as most analysts claimed he was the Bills only ground weapon. Turns out the Bills didn’t have much of a passing attack either and they went to Lynch a lot more than planned. Lynch had a pretty solid rookie season fantasy wise, living up to expectations, but not quite living up to the best option. His 1,115 yards and 7 td’s was quite impressive, even by fantasy standards, and he is well worth a first or second round pick this year. Lynch was expected to make an impact as a rookie, and he did, so we’ll label him as a hit here.
2. RB - Adrian Peterson - Minnesota Vikings
   Well Peterson was predicted to have the second most potential out of any rookie last year… how wrong was that. Peterson came in and tore up the league, much like the one they call Ladainian Tomlinson in his rookie year. Adrian lead the league in rushing for a short time, but suffered an injury towards the end of the year. He wasn’t the most consistent fantasy back, but he was a rookie. He’s predicted to be the 1st or 2nd overall pick in most drafts this year. His 1,341 yards and 12 TD’s definitely is a hit by any standards.
3. WR - Calvin Johnson - Detroit Lions
   Johnson didn’t see the field for some time, but once he did… well, let’s just say we didn’t see what we expected. Johnson was probably the most highly anticipated rookie last season as he was said to be the best available player in the draft. However when he did get on the field he struggled. He was dropping balls, finding it hard to get open, and worst of all, he was an extremely unreliable fantasy player!! Ok, so maybe that’s not horrible for him, but it is for us. For those of us looking to snag a high powered rookie and get some awesome value for a young player, it was torture. I fell into the Calvin Johnson trap last year and I was disappointed. He started to turn it on a bit towards the end of the year and ended the season with 48 receptions for 756 yards and 4 td’s. Not a horrible rookie year, it does show potential, but let’s hope he improves this coming season!

Ok so there was last year’s predictions… not too far off, but let’s see what we can do this year. Here is PZ Fantasy Football’s top 5 rookies who will make an impact on your fantasy season.

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