Hasselbeck, Matt: Value Notes

SSOG 1/15/08: The good? 7th, 9th, 5th, 10th, 4th, 13th. Those are his fantasy finishes in his 6 seasons as a starter (pro-rating his numbers to 16 games). That's remarkable consistency. The bad? There wasn't a single difference-making season in there. Not one. In 4 of the 6 seasons, he's been one of the bottom-half fantasy starters. I don't know how much longer Holmgren will still be in town, I think his receiving corps has declined from years past, I think he's not going to be getting much help from his running game going forward, and his offensive line is also on its way down. In my opinion, that's a lot of risk for someone with so little upside. I'd take Cutler, Garrard, Schaub, and Bulger for him. Hass is pretty much the world's perfect QB2 in a dynasty setting, so a QB10-12 ranking seems just about right.

EBF 1/15/08: I'm a little torn on Hasselbeck and Bulger. I think they could both slip down the rankings in the coming years, but it's tough to argue against proven veterans. Yea, it's probably true that neither one of these guys will single-handedly elevate your team, but they've been pretty good in recent seasons. I think both guys belong in the 6-12 range. The values are pretty fluid in that range and there doesn't seem to be a great difference between those players.

awesomeness 1/15/08: nice post, of which i agree with a lot, but i disagree with both Hasselbeck and Favre. Favre is gonna give you top 10 QB numbers with upside of top 5 numbers, the only trouble is knowing how long he is gonna go for. So he is a great QB1, but it would be nice to have an above average QB2 for when Favre retires.

Hasselbeck doesnt ever seem to be drafted that high, or have that high of a value considering how consistent hes been. When people draft Hasselbeck, i dont think they are or should be expecting difference-making numbers, and that is why it is possible for him to be picked up later in the draft. If you are one of those people who likes to not pick up a QB until a later round, Hasselbeck seems to be the perfect guy.

Sons of the Tundra 1/17/08: I agree with your premise here: not a ton of upside. However, I think we're in an era right now where you have a half-dozen reliable impact QBs (Brady, Manning, Roethlisberger, Palmer, Brees, Romo) and then a few guys who are reliable without being seen as tremendous difference-makers (Hasselbeck, Favre and most years Bulger, McNabb). It seems that with the young QBs (Rivers, Eli, VY, Leinart) being so unreliable to the point where you don't want to start them, there aren't too many young guys sitting out there with enough upside to even approach what Hasselbeck already is right now. If you don't have one of the top 6 guys, then you better get somebody who is reliable weekly or you're in a deep competitive hole. That's one of the reasons I've been higher on guys like Favre and Hasselbeck this year than I would any other year. I wouldn't have ranked them that high in every year's QB landscape, but I think this is the state of the quarterbacks at the moment.

I did move Cutler ahead of him since the season is now over, and I've turned the page to next season. I'll have to go back to the drawing board on Garrard vs. Hasselbeck now that the Seahawks' season is done.