Fantasy Owner Declares Open Competition For Starting Quarterback Job

SACRAMENTO--Fantasy owner Chris Syverson declared today that the starting quarterback job for his fantasy team, the Fighting Syversons, would be an open competition between the Bengals’ Carson Palmer and the Eagles’ Donovan McNabb. Syverson drafted both QB’s in his league’s fantasy draft over the weekend and will let them “fight it out” for the top spot.

“I’m just gonna throw these two guys into the mix and see who comes out on top,” said Syverson. “Carson is one of the most prolific passers in the game but Donovan brings that extra dimension with his legs. Both guys are getting an opportunity and we’ll see who steps up and seizes it.”

Syverson will start McNabb in week one and give Palmer the nod in week two.

“McNabb is going up against the Packers’ aging secondary in week one so he should have a real chance to shine,” said Syverson. “Carson will be going up against the Browns in week two, so he should put up some big numbers himself. Now, there have been some whispers that Palmer has the inside track here, but there's no truth to that. I’ve said all along that this is an open competition and anybody who says differently is just trying to stir up controversy.”

Syverson selected Palmer with his first pick and was “shocked” when McNabb was still available in a later round. Apparently, some members of the league were deterred by his surgically repaired ACL.

“Certainly some of the guys were concerned about Donovan’s health, but I talked to a lot of doctors about this type of injury and they assured me he should be ready to go,” said Syverson. “Plus, McNabb is a warrior, and he’s coming into the season with an enormous chip on his shoulder. He’s going to want to prove the doubters wrong. That’s one of the reason I selected him. I’ve always felt that in this job, you’re part owner and part psychologist.”

Ironically, Syverson had a chance to select Palmer during last season’s fantasy draft, but instead went with Steve McNair. Like McNabb this year, Palmer was coming off an injury and Syverson didn’t want to take a chance.

“Nobody could have predicted that Carson was going to come back from that leg injury and throw for so many yards,” he said. “I learned a valuable lesson from that: you should never count a guy out just because he was hurt the season before. The medical facilities and treatment they have these days is extremely advanced. That’s why I wasn’t afraid to take McNabb this year. He’s got a chance to lead the league in passing, especially if his receivers magically learn how to catch the ball between now and the beginning of the season.”

Syverson has considered alternating his quarterbacks depending on which teams they are facing each weak, but feels that vacillating between starters sends the wrong message.

“I think you have to pick a guy and stick with him,” he said. “Yea if one guy is on a bye week or goes down with injury, you’ve got to put your backup in, but aside from that, you name a starting quarterback and sink or swim with him. I wouldn’t feel right juggling the position every week depending on who was facing the weakest secondary or whatever. What kind of message is that sending?”

“Now I know what you’re thinking,” he added. “You’re thinking that the players don’t really know or care what message I'm sending because this is fantasy football and they’re not actually playing for me. Fair enough, but that’s no excuse for me to be a wishy washy leader.”

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