2003 Most-Improved Fantasy Quarterbacks

Brett Favre is the model of consistency.  He never misses a game and he threw 30 plus touchdowns in 2003 for the 7^th time in his career. 

Favre led the league in touchdown passes with 32 and he almost led the Packers to the NFC Championship game before he threw the worst pass I’ve ever seen. 

Brett’s numbers were not much different than last year but in what was a down year for quarterbacks he finished as the 3^rd rated fantasy quarterback. 

Many people jumped for Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb or last year’s MVP Rich Gannon instead of taking Mr. Consistency and boy did they regret that decision.

It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago that Hasselbeck was being booed at home because the fans wanted Trent Dilfer as their starting quarterback.  Hasselbeck finished the 2002 season strong and he carried that momentum into the 2003 season.

Matt had four 300-yard passing games including an impressive five touchdown performance against the Ravens in Baltimore.  What amazes me about Hasselbeck’s stats was that even though his receivers dropped so many passes he still put up good numbers. 

Hasselbeck was the understudy of Brett Favre and it appears that he is on his way to posting serious numbers like his mentor.

Kitna was an enigma on draft day for many because he played well towards the end of the 2002 season but the Bengals drafted Carson Palmer with the number one pick in the draft.  Many believed that once the Bengals started losing, Palmer would take over the starting gig so there was enormous pressure on Kitna heading into the 2003 season. 

A funny thing happened in Cincinnatti.  The Bengals were competing each and every week and they started to win football games.  Kitna played so well that the Bengals missed the playoffs by only one game.

Kitna was an MVP candidate who took every snap at quarterback and he was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year.  After that fantastic season Kitna has been sent to the bench because the rookie with the big arm and the big contract needs to get on the field.

Joey Harrington and the Lions started the season off with a bang with their 42-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals in week 1.  Harrington threw four touchdowns in that game including two to rookie Charles Rogers.  Rogers was Harrington’s favorite target but a week 5 injury shelved Rogers for the season. 

Harrington still played pretty well the rest of the year even though he had no one to throw the ball to.  With two seasons under his belt and the return of a healthy Charlie Rogers it should be an even better year for Joey Harrington and the Lions.

Tampa Bay did not play like the Super Bowl champs and you can partially blame that on Brad Johnson and his interception totals. 

In 2002 Brad Johnson was plus 16 in the touchdown to interception ratio.  This year he was only plus 5 in that category and he was in a three way tie for the 2^nd most interceptions in the league.  However, if your league did not penalize for interceptions then Brad was a very pleasant surprise.

Johnson had the second most passing yards in his 12 year career and he threw for 26 touchdowns even though Keyshawn was dismissed from the team in the second half of the season.

The St. Louis Rams' coach Mike Martz told everyone that Kurt Warner was his man going into the 2003 season and they even rewarded the two-time league MVP with a $6 million dollar roster bonus. 

After a dismal performance in week one partially due to a concussion, Warner was sent to the bench and Bulger finished the season as the Rams' starter.  If you were smart and drafted Kurt Warner in your fantasy draft you would have drafted Bulger to back him up and you would have been glad you did.  

Bulger threw 22 touchdowns for 3,845 yards which was third best in in the league for passing yards.  He also had four rushing touchdowns which tied him with Steve McNair and Daunte Culpepper for 2nd place in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback. 

Another important note, Bulger was a very steady fantasy quarterback. He passed for a touchdown in 14 out of 15 games this season.

If you called Quincy Carter’s name on draft day you were probably laughed at and ridiculed by the rest of your league. 

Heading into the preseason many believed that Chad Hutchinson would be named the starter but he wound up in coach Bill Parcells' doghouse.  Carter was named the starter and led the Cowboys to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth.  

I’m not a fan of Carter because he is very erratic, but given the Cowboys lack of a running game he played well as a full-time starter for the first time in his career.  If he does remain the Cowboys quarterback a reliable running back and a big possession receiver (Keyshawn Johnson) would help him out considerably.

Jake Delhomme came off of the bench in week 1 and threw three touchdown passes.  The last one was with 16 seconds to play and lead the Panthers to a victory over the Jaguars in a game that they were trailing by 17 points. 

That momentum stayed with him and the Panthers all season as Carolina eventually went on to win the NFC Championship and lose a hard fought battle in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots. 

In 2003 Delhomme threw 19 touchdown passes which was 19 more then he did in 2002, and he has two solid receivers to work with in Steve Smith and Mushin Muhammed.  He also has two great running backs in Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster so the sky is the limit for Delhomme in 2004.