Outlook: While Smith had a career-year in 2011 with highs in passing completions (273), attempts (445), completion percentage (61.3%), passing yards (3,144), rushing yards (179) and rushing touchdowns (two), it is doubtful his on field success did much for his fantasy owners as he threw for just 17 touchdowns. The success of the former 1st overall selection in the 2005 draft after six lackluster seasons made for a fine story as the 49ers took the Giants to overtime before losing in the NFC Championship Game and Smith enjoyed two solid performances in his first playoff action. Against the Saints, Smith led the 49ers to a miraculous comeback, throwing for 299 yards and three touchdowns while also scoring a touchdown on the ground. As is the case with many solid individual playoff performances, fantasy owners are going to place too much emphasis on one game in projecting Smith’s fantasy value in 2012. Is that realistic? Not a chance. With the addition of a pair of veteran wide receivers Randy Moss and Mario Manningham as well as A.J. Jenkins and LaMichael James in the draft, Smith has more weapons to work with further amplifying his perceived fantasy value. However, the 49ers success in 2011 was based on outstanding defensive play, solid special teams and a conservative offense approach and there seems to be little reason why head coach Jim Harbaugh would change that formula, especially given the weak competition the team will face in the NFC West. That limits Smith’s upside and makes him a somewhat intriguing low end QB2 for 2012. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Every so often a team is lucky enough to land itself a franchise quarterback. And if you are the Indianapolis Colts, you hit the jackpot and end up having two consecutive eras with franchise QBs. At least, that’s the plan. The Andrew Luck era starts in 2012 and the Stanford product possesses the athleticism, intelligence and intangibles to start for the Colts from Day 1 of training camp. But that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans for your fantasy squad given the lack of talent the Colts possess on offense. While Luck makes for an outstanding dynasty league prospect, his prospects for 2012 leave something to be desired. Not only is Indianapolis attempting to rebuild its aging, leaky offensive line, the team also lacks a proven starting running back, has a pair of rookies atop its tight end depth chart and has a group of wide receivers led by 12-year veteran Reggie Wayne but with little else behind him. For Luck to emerge as a starting fantasy quarterback, he will need his supporting cast to improve greatly upon what is expected in 2012 and that’s not likely to happen. He is a low end QB2 at best. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: The Chiefs offensive production went south when Cassel was lost for the season in Week 10 due to a broken hand but Kansas City was hardly an offensive powerhouse with Cassel in the lineup. Even with the team’s most dynamic offensive player Jamaal Charles lost for the season in Week 2, former head coach Todd Haley still leaned heavily on the run game with Cassel failing to top 200 passing yards in five of his nine starts and also failing to top 300 passing yards once. With Haley gone and new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll running the show, the team’s production in the passing game isn’t likely to see a huge increase. Daboll’s preference is to run the ball heavily and utilize plenty of short passes. While that may play to Cassel’s strengths (although that is half-hearted praise given his completion percentage of 57.2% as a Chief), it isn’t going to turn him into a useful option as your fantasy quarterback. Cassel rates as a lower tier QB2 in 12-team leagues. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: After a pair of seasons leading the Jets to the AFC Championship game, Sanchez put together a career year in 2012 with career highs in passing yards with 3,474, passing touchdowns with 26 and rushing touchdowns with 6. All the more impressive is that Sanchez produced despite having his lead receiver (Santonio Holmes) sulk his way through the season and having an aging Plaxico Burress on the other side with no proven third receiver on the roster and tight end Dustin Keller go through another late season swoon. The reward for Sanchez? A chance to compete with former Bronco Tim Tebow to retain his starting job. Not helping matters is that Holmes returns as the team’s lead receiver and Burress has been replaced by raw rookie Stephen Hill. The current plan is for the Jets to rotate Tebow in for a number of plays each game, basically torpedoing any fantasy value Sanchez had. Unless the rotation plan changes, don’t add Sanchez to your roster. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Sometimes the scouting reports on college players hit the nail on the head – that was certainly the case with Gabbert. The book on him coming out of college was he had the necessary athleticism to succeed but he struggled under pressure. Thrust into a starting role before he was ready, due to the release of David Garrard and Luke McCown’s ineptitude, Gabbert frequently misread plays, forced passes into coverage and threw off his back foot often when he wasn’t pressured. The Jaguars will give him every opportunity to be their starter in 2012 but they signed Chad Henne as insurance in case Gabbert continues to struggle. With Laurent Robinson, rookie 1st round pick Justin Blackmon and Mike Thomas as his lead wide receivers and Marcedes Lewis at tight end, Gabbert doesn’t possess great options in the passing game. He is waiver wire material in redraft leagues and a middling dynasty prospect. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: The Colt McCoy era, if you can call it that, has seemingly come to a quick end in Cleveland with Weeden, the 22nd player taken in the draft, expected to take over in the starting lineup in 2012. That’s nice but the bottom line is that Weeden won’t enjoy much more success than McCoy unless the team receives improved performances from its running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and offensive linemen. McCoy suffered at least partly because he lacked a true number one wide receiver, a role the Browns hope that second-year player Greg Little can grow into. Running back Trent Richardson, the highest rated player at his position in this year’s draft, should help the ground game. While Weeden is a solid dynasty league prospect given his age, maturity and strong arm, he is not worth owning in re-draft leagues. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: For the second consecutive year, the Cardinals turned to Skelton to lead their offense after watching a veteran struggle to lead the team. In 2010, it was Derek Anderson, with Skelton winning two of his four starts but failing to top 200 passing yards in any game. Last season, Kevin Kolb struggled with injuries and inconsistency and Skelton finished the season with a 6-2 record while throwing for 1,913 yards with 11 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. He led the team to a number of fourth quarter comeback wins but struggled early in games and with his accuracy, completing just 54.9% of his passes. While Skelton threw for more yards per game in 2011, he was a risk taker resulting in a high interception total. In 2012, he will battle Kevin Kolb for the team’s starting position but Kolb has the upper hand in that battle due to his superior accuracy and the commitment the team has made to him. Even if Skelton wins the job, his fantasy prospects aren’t great ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: After a successful season in Denver that culminated in the Broncos winning the AFC West division crown and taking out a strong Steelers team in the first round of the playoffs, the Tebow show heads to the Big Apple for the 2012 season. Jettisoned to the Jets after the Broncos landed Peyton Manning, Tebow will enter the season as the backup to Mark Sanchez but will be rotated in for a number of plays each game. His exact role is yet to be determined but rest assured that it will include plenty of red zone touches, an area of the field he excelled in during the 2011 season. Tebow rates as a low-end fantasy backup if (when?) he unseats Sanchez. ~ Dave Stringer

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Outlook: Hasselbeck was quietly efficient in his first year in Tennessee, remaining healthy for an entire season for the first time in four years and having his most productive year since the 2007 campaign. By season’s end, he had accumulated 3,571 passing yards to go along with 18 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, good enough to finish the season as the 18th ranked fantasy quarterback. While that was reasonably impressive and he exceeded expectations, a closer look reveals that Hasselbeck’s play began to decline starting in Week 5. He threw for 1,152 yards, eight touchdowns and three picks in the first four weeks but just 2,419 yards, ten touchdowns and 11 interceptions over the final 12 weeks of the year. In 2012, Hasselbeck will need to hold off 2011 first-round pick Jake Locker, who was impressive in limited playing time as a rookie, in order to retain his hold on the starting quarterback job. In essence, drafting Hassselbeck as your fantasy backup is a major risk given the uncertainty as to whether he will beat out Locker and retain it for the entire season. Couple that with his lack of upside and it seems clear that Hasselbeck is waiver wire material in 2012, despite the potential explosiveness of the Titans offense. ~ Dave Stringer

Comment: Hassebleck has lost the starting QB job to Jake Locker. ~ Mike Krueger

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Outlook: Desperate for help at the quarterback position and unable to acquire a solid veteran free agent to bolster the position, the Dolphins used the 8th pick in the 2012 draft to acquire Tannehill. The Texas A&M product is a converted wide receiver and scouting reports indicate he is a raw prospect who will require extensive seasoning before becoming a solid NFL starting quarterback. Unfortunately for Miami fans, Tannehill may not be afforded the luxury of time given the state of the Dolphins quarterback depth chart. Veteran retreads Matt Moore and David Garrard are Miami’s other options and neither is considered a viable long-term option at the position. That means Tannehill will likely join the starting lineup sooner than he should and the Dolphins passing attack will take its lumps with him under center. Considering the team’s lack of talent at the wide receiver position where the current starters (Brian Hartline and Davone Bess) wouldn’t start for nearly any other team in the league, Tannehill will have little help once he joins the starting lineup. Avoid owning Tannehill in 2012 but consider him a mid-tier prospect in dynasty leagues. ~ Dave Stringer

Comment: Tannehill has won the QB job but you can find better upside options as your QB2. ~ Mike Krueger

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Outlook: After suffering through their first season without Kurt Warner in 2010, the Cardinals chose to beef up the quarterback position by acquiring Kevin Kolb from Philadelphia in return for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and a 2nd round pick. That trade proved to be a disaster, with the Cardinals signing Kolb to a $63 million contract ($21 million in guarantees) and then watching him flop badly as the team’s starter. The Cardinals flirted with the idea of attempting to sign Peyton Manning but instead chose to pay Kolb a $7 million roster bonus and retain him as their starting quarterback in 2012. He will battle John Skelton for the starting position in training camp. While the Cardinals would prefer that Kolb win that competition, Skelton was the more impressive player in 2011, leading the Cardinals to a 6-2 record which overshadows Kolb’s less than stellar 2-6 mark. Losing offseason and training camp time hindered Kolb’s ability to pick up the Cardinals offensive scheme and he struggled with turnovers, coughing up eight interceptions and three fumbles in half a season. Look for Kolb to open the season under center for the Cardinals and for him to emerge as a lower tier QB2 provided he can get comfortable with Arizona’s offensive scheme and reduce his turnovers. ~ Dave Stringer

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