which qb to start? Brunell, McNair, or Couch?

[guest]

Which QB would you guys start?

Mark Brunell vs. Ravens
Steve McNair vs. Eagles
Tim Couch vs. Chiefs (if Couch plays)

[cwebb]

Couch won't play, and McNair over Brunell is quite an easy choice, McNair has the stuff to post impressive numbers which Brunell has never done...

[trentvaughn]

As cwebb said, Couch is out.

Brunell has looked terrible in pre-season. He was throwing to Darnay Scott and Bobby Shaw. With Jimmy Smith back, he'll be a whole new QB. They play the Colts, who last year had a terrible defense. You know Tony Dungy is going to change that. When is the question.

McNair, on the other hand, faces one of the best (if not THE best) secondary in football. Troy Vincent is hurt, and that's a small notch off of their excellence. Derrick Mason is going to have a great year, and I'm excited McNair has someone good to throw to.

I've got to give the slight edge to McNair. Although Brunell has a great receiver, his line is shakey at best. He might not have the time to throw to Smith. Watch D. Mase get some good fantasy numbers this week, even against Philly. And you know who is throwing him the ball.

Trentvaughn

[DraftDodger]

You have Brunell on your team; this is one of the best chances he's going to get all season to exploit a defense (sure, it's probably going to be better this year, but expect big mistakes as the players try to adapt to the new system).

The chances are good that if Brunell has an off night and McNair has a good night, they will still end up with similar numbers, but Brunell has alot of upside for this game. You can throw pre-season out the window now. Everyone thinks Jimmy Smith is going to produce big numbers ... well ... someone will be throwing him the ball, right?

This is what amaze me about football advice; it's not consistent. You have everyone screaming that Favre is da bomb and then saying that his receivers aren't going to do anything. That's not possible.

Brunell and McNair had nearly identical QB ratings last year; it was really McNair's rushing that moved him much ahead of Brunell. If you think Brunell sucks as a QB, then by comparison, so does McNair. Don't let everyone else's two-bit opinions sway you on who to play and who to bench. For this coming weekend, Brunell is the obvious choice. He faces a much easier secondary, is in better health, and has a top tier running back to keep the pressure off the passing game (which allows for better passing/fewer interceptions). None of these players are Gods. I bet everyone would tell you to start Garcia & Owens over Brunell & Smith ... but it's looking like anything B&S do is going to better than Garcia/Owens this week. Play the match-ups as much as the people.

Don't get me wrong, either. I'm not saying trade McNair and put Brunell on a pedestal. I happen to have both QBs on one of my teams, and I started Brunell this week and will start McNair next week (despite rumblings about how good Washington's defense is going to be this year).

Take everyone's advice with a grain of salt, even mine. But the numbers don't usually lie. Strong offense vs weak defense is what we look for. This year, it doesn't get much better than Brunell/Smith vs the Colts in Week 1. The only thing I like better this week is E. Smith vs Texans (ouch guys, try not to give him the rushing title this week okay?).

[Destroyrs]

I agree with the first two replys. Start Mcnair. I have him, but he is my back-up to Culpepper. Couch is doubtful for the game.

I do agree with Draftdodger about playing matchups, but I rank Brunell and McNair equals in this game, because McNair's rushing makes up for the difference in passing. The opportunity for rushing TD's made the difference to me.

[terpfan]

Id play mcnair as well.