Quarterbacks - Full Season

By this analysis, Kurt Warner, Jake Plummer and Brett Favre are poised to best benefit from a lighter schedule. Kordell Stewart, Kelly Holcomb, Matt Hasselbeck and Chris Redman also are more favorably situated than other quarterbacks, though for some like Redman that may not be enough.

Tom Brady faces a schedule with none of the 12 "good" defenses for allowing points. Considering his receivers are already average at best will likely yield a Tom Brady like the one that ended last season, not the one that started 2002 out with a bang. Jay Fiedler will be primarily handing off anyway but Chad Pennington, Drew Bledsoe, Peyton Manning and Kerry Collins get a tougher road this season and yet all four turned in good seasons last year. A good quarterback can overcome a tough schedule, Pennington and Bledsoe will have to do it with a big receiver from last year missing (Lavernues Coles and Peerless Price).

Quarterbacks - First Six Weeks

Those critical first six games appear lighter for Plummer, Favre and Steve McNair while Warner has only one bye week going against him. Unfortunately, the season starts harder for Donovan McNabb but he was a fantasy gold mine last season until injured. Brady again gets tested facing almost entirely tough fantasy defenses.

After the first two weeks, Jeff Blake hits a very tough four game stretch while Kerry Collins will find it much more difficult to match the hot hand he had at the start of last season. Chad Pennington will have a challenge to match fantasy points from last season by facing tough defenses his first five weeks while also trying to gain chemistry with Curtis Conway.

Quarterbacks - Weeks 14, 15 and 16

Take the playoff weeks with a grain of salt since that is months away and defenses will be improving (or not) by then. It appears that Carolina and Arizona will be hitting a nice stretch when you might need them most though their quarterbacks could change by week 14. Harrington has a decent passing schedule and Mariucci is working on getting the offense clicking.

Of the biggest name quarterbacks, only Garcia gets the good fantasy playoff stretch but ends it with a game in Philly which could kill you in a superbowl. Brunell could be a nice quarterback to stick on your roster just in case you need to play matchups during your playoffs, as long as Byron Leftwich does not make an unwelcomed appearance. Brad Johnson is another quarterback that has a very nice playoff schedule and it is actually all three favorable games since Houston barely missed the cut for "good".

Drew Bledsoe has a less than kind playoff run and will do it with less veteran receivers this season. Kelly Holcomb will not only hit a tough stretch, but will do it in possible bad weather for the final two weeks.