There is nothing like getting a head start on ranking your players. As any true fanatic knows “There ain’t no off-season” in fantasy football.

With that thought in mind the Fantasy Sports Group has started our preseason podcasts to help anyone involved in an early season draft prepare. That said, it should be noted that everyone’s rankings are going to change as new information comes in.

This should not be news to anyone but if you are new to the hobby, the reason experienced fantasy fanatics stay away from the magazines is because their rankings are set in April or May and you can’t get updated information (though many magazines do offer updated rankings on their websites now). So be aware that the lists you are going to see today will change over time.

But not to worry, being the evil genius I am, I am freezing these lists with a special super secret cold ray (in other words I am copying them down to my laptop) so I can look back on them next January and laugh my ass off at Cliff and JC. Being the keeper of the keys I am absolutely certain that my list will align perfectly with the final season rankings (at least after I edit it before posting the final results of our folly).

So what’s a guy to do — I guess it is time to point you to Cliff’s list and to JC’s list and then give you mine (with a solid reminder that what you are reading here is not likely to be what you remember it to be in January of 2009).

Top Five
1. IND QB Peyton Manning - You can’t beat his consistency. Manning has finished in the top four fantasy quarterbacks in each of the past four years and has nabbed the top spot twice.

2. NEP QB Tom Brady - Yes, I am well aware that Brady threw for 4,800 yards and 50 TDs last season. I am also well aware of what happened to the last two quarterbacks that topped 45 TD passes in a year. Dan Marino threw for 5,084 yards and 48 TDs in 1984. In 1985 his numbers dropped to 5,137 yards and 30 TDs. In 2004, Peyton Manning threw for 4,557 yards and 49 TDs. He dropped off to 3,747 yards and 28 TDs the following year. Expect a similar drop from Brady in 2008 — which still puts him well ahead of the game.

3. NOS QB Drew Brees - You have to love a guy that is a viable starting QB under Marty Schottenheimer. Brees did that his last season in San Diego and has followed that up with three consecutive top six finishes.

4. DAL QB Tony Romo - Romo has had a very good start to his career. And he has shown the ability to put bad things behind him (remember the botched hold two years ago). That ability to forget, combined with having Terrell Owens as a receiver, boosts him to the top five this year. And lest we forget he did finish second overall in 2007. But I really don’t expect another 51-point opening week this year.

5. CAR QB Jake Delhomme - My compatriots think I am nuts to have Delhomme so high. Maybe I am but so what. If he crashes and burns I just edit this little gem away. If he comes close to this prediction I howl to the moon about how prescient I am! And he was ranked third in the league after two games last year. He was fifth after the third week even though he didn’t finish the game due to injury. This Bayou Bomber has mad skills and I have the power of the pen to protect me!

Notes: For the most part my Bozo friends and I agree. Both of those clones have Brady at number one and we all have different number fives. But if you read further, you will see the wheat separate from the chaff.

The Next Five
6. PIT QB Ben Roethlisberger - This dude is a man among giants. Seriously, I was a doubter last year but even with a declining Hines Ward, Big Ben improved his fantasy standing for the fourth straight year.

7. CLE QB Derek Anderson - How do you not like this kid. Nothing is expected of him. His team drafts a quarterback in the first round and all he does is go out and perform like a freaking Hall of Famer. He has great young receivers and got a boost in speed with the addition of Paul Hubbard in this year’s draft. With Jamal Lewis winding down his career, passing will be a necessity for the Browns.

8. CIN QB Carson Palmer - Let us not forget this is the very same quarterback that topped the rankings just three short years ago. He has two legitimate #1 receivers and Ocho Cinco ain’t going nowhere. Plus, NFL players do NOT miss game checks. This guy has been top 10 three years in a row — no reason he won’t make it four.

9. JAX QB David Garrard - I know it is hard to say Jacksonville improved their receivers when we are talking about the additions of Jerry Porter and Troy Williamson, but they really did. And Garrard is the starter without question this season. He makes very few mistakes and should have a breakout year.

10. STL QB Marc Bulger - I could wax poetic about how good a quarterback Bulger is. I could remind everyone that Torry Holt is a heck of a receiver. There are a lot of reasons to expect Bulger to crash the top 10 but the one sure-fire, can’t miss explanation is simple. Bulger is in an Odd/Even fantasy cycle. He has good even years and horrid odd years. Last time I checked, 2008 was an even number. I could be wrong but I really do think this is an even year.

The Rest of This Mess
11. PHI QB Donovan McNabb - Let’s face it, McNabb still needs receivers and sooner or later Andy Reid is gonna stick in Kevin Kolb.

12. ARZ QB Matt Leinart - The Cardinals owner is paying Jacuzzi-Boy too much green to continue sitting behind the local grocery store bagger. Even if the bagger is the better thrower.

13. DET QB Jon Kitna - Great receivers force me to overlook this turnover machine’s bad points.

14. NYG QB Eli Manning - “Eli Manning, now that you have won a Super Bowl what are you going to do?” And Manning said, “Go back to being a fantasy nightmare - high one week, invisible the next.”

15. GBP QB Aaron Rodgers - If Rodgers can’t succeed with these receivers, and this running back in this offense — well, crap, I don’t know what you would do with him — I’d say send him to Siberia but playing in Green Bay that might be an improvement.

16. SDC QB Phillip Rivers - A caretaker, next best thing to an undertaker. If he didn’t have Antonio Gates and LaDainian Tomlinson, he’d have no value at all.

17. TEN QB Vince Young - The truth is I don’t know if this guy is a good quarterback or an athlete playing one on TV. But that’s just because he has high school talent at receiver.

18. BUF QB Trent Edwards - Edwards has some skill at receiver so if he doesn’t finish at least this high don’t expect him to lead the team in 2009.

19. SEA QB Matt Hasselbeck See the note above. See — isn’t that nice of me? I just gave you an excuse to go back up and drool at the picture of Matt’s wife.

20. DEN QB Jay Cutler He starts the off-season by calling his only wide receiver immature. To the media. Yeah, it’s gonna be that kind of year in Denver.

21. WAS QB Jason Campbell - Well he did get two of the best receivers in the draft and neither one of them is a smurf like his current receivers.

22. HOU QB Matt Schaub - If I thought his body could take the NFL, I would rank him higher. But it didn’t look like it could last year. But then neither could mine so what’s my point - oh yeah, I had to rank somebody at 22.

23. MIN QB Tavaris Jackson - You gotta know I want this guy to lose his job. Not because I don’t like him or because he is a black quarterback. Just because I really, really want to be able to say Booty on the podcast each week.

24. KCC QB Brodie Croyle - Chan Gailey ought to improve the Chiefs offense and a rising tide lifts all anchors — or something like that.

25. SFF QB Alex Smith - In my secret heart of hearts I truly believe this guy is going to be top 15 and maybe even top 10. But I didn’t want anyone to know about my man-love for all things Martz so I hid Smith down here.

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Tags: Drew Brees, Jake Delhomme, NFL, Peyton Manning, QB, Quarterback, Tom Brady, Tony Romo