Another season of fantasy football is wrapped up, leaving some champions and others wondering where they went wrong. Before the postseason kicks off there are dozens of nuggets we learned — or, in some cases, relearned — which may be useful in 2010. Hey, it’s never too early to start thinking about next season, is it?

1. Aaron Rodgers is an elite fantasy football quarterback with one of the best receiving corps in football. Donald Drivers had a terrific season at age 34 and Greg Jennings remains a game-changer. But one of the key notes concerning Rodgers is his ability to spread the ball around. Five players had more than 30 receptions, and five had at least four touchdown receptions. Rodgers himself finished with 4,434 yards, 30 touchdown passes, and just seven interceptions, not to mention he led all quarterbacks in rushing with 316 yards and five additional scores. The Packers offense will continue to roll as long as he’s around, especially with up-and-coming receivers like James Jones and the ultra-talented tight end Jermichael Finley.

2. The Colts know how to draft receivers who fit their offense. Peyton Manning had two receivers with 100 receptions — Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark — but the biggest surprises were Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon. Those two combined for 107 receptions, 1,441 yards, and 11 touchdowns, despite missing some games. It reinforced Manning’s status as the premier fantasy quarterback — he passed for 4,500 yards and 33 touchdowns — and reminded fans that Manning doesn’t need Marvin Harrison or Brandon Stokley to be successful: he makes his weapons dangerous.

3. Tony Romo is really good — even in December. Romo finished with 4,483 yards, 26 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions and turned Miles Austin into a fantasy juggernaut. Just as important, Romo caught fire when the temperature dipped: from December to January he averaged 310 passing yards per week and threw nine touchdowns and just two interceptions in five games. And end-of-season collapse be damned: the ‘Boys finished 5-2 in the final seven weeks, sweeping their final three games at New Orleans, at Washington, and as hosts to the Eagles to win the division.

4. Chris Johnson is flat out unstopable. He broke 2,000 yards rushing on 358 carries, adding an addition 50 receptions for 503 yards. He scored 16 times and carried the Titans offense on his shoulders as far as he could, despite defenses knowing he was Tennessee’s only real weapon. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean a playoff berth. However, if you had him on your fantasy roster, he probably got you more than a few wins: he broke 150 yards from scrimmage an incredible 10 times and rushed for 100+ yards 11 consecutive weeks to close the season. Something tells me he’ll be the first player off draft boards next season.

5. These New (York) Jets are bringing pride to the fans. Rex Ryan has coached his Jets to a playoff berth with only the fundamentals in mind: run the ball really well and shut down opposing offenses. It actually seems like this team is winning in spite of rookie Mark Sanchez, who tossed 20 interceptions and just 12 touchdowns. But Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene 1-2 kidney-punched defenses this season 439 times for 1,902 yards and 16 touchdowns. The rest of the offense rushed for an additional 854 yards and chipped in five more touchdowns. And the blitz-happy defense? It ranked first in points, yards, and passing yards.

6. Matt Schaub can sure throw a football when he’s healthy. Everyone knew he had potential, especially with Andre Johnson, arguably the league’s best wide receiver, at his disposal. But did anyone think he’d pass for more yards than Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady? Schaub nailed his targets for 4,770 yards to lead the league and tacked on 29 touchdown passes. Incidentally, he also led the league in passing attempts (583) and completions (396).

7. Philip Rivers’ 2008 season was no fluke. Rivers matched or bettered his numbers in nearly every major passing category, save touchdowns. He completed roughly the same percentage of his passes for more yards (4,254) and fewer interceptions (9). He even ran for a touchdown this season, the second of his career. As for those touchdowns, he might not have hit 34 again, but he did pass for a very respectable 28 and proved to fans and critics that he’s as good as anyone else in the league.

8. The Denver Broncos need a new face at quarterback, someone more like — dare I say? — Jay Cutler. Cutler has his flaws (he showed them this season when he threw 26 interceptions), but Denver needs a quarterback who can take chances and win games, not a game-manager. Kyle Orton played well enough when the defense was shut-down, but he couldn’t be counted on to lead the offense from behind. His failures were one of the critical reasons Denver dropped 8 of its final 10 to miss the postseason.

9. Vincent Jackson is quietly stellar. He has one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL tossing him the football (Philip Rivers), and he’s improved his numbers every season he’s been in the league. This season he caught 68 passes for 1,167 yards (that’s 17.2 yards per catch) and nine touchdowns. Imagine if he improves again next season — be sure you don’t pass on him in your draft.

10. Brandon Marshall is going to make some quarterback very happy next season. Because his contract expires and his demand will be through the roof, Denver might not be able to retain him. And after head coach Josh McDaniels benched him week 17, one wonders whether the franchise wants to retain him. Character issues aside, Marshall is a brilliant receiver and a game-changer. He caught 100 passes for the third consecutive season and had his first double-digit touchdown year to boot. Expect more great things wherever he suits up next season, maybe even in Chicago, to reunite with Jay Cutler and bolster an otherwise below-average corps of receivers.

With every catch this season, the bidding price for Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall has gone up, up, and, after last week, way up. His record-setting 21-reception game might have pushed him into another contract tier: Larry Fitzgerald-type figures.

Fitz signed a 4-year, $40 million contract in 2008. No doubt Marhsall’s agent Kennard McGuire will be demanding at least that much to open negotiations.

Unlike Fitzgerald, however, Marshall carries with him some baggage. In addition to 319 career receptions, Marshall carries with him a reputation of selfishness and immaturity.

Prior to the 2009 regular season and following Jay Cutler’s successful demand to be traded, Marshall tried to take a page from his former teammate’s playbook by requesting his own get-out-of-town card.

Josh McDaniels reply: sorry, no deal.

In an another attempt to get his contract renegotiated, Marshall upped the ante with a filmed preseason practice that included him batting passes to the ground and punting footballs away from ball boys.

Josh McDaniels reaction: a suspension.

Since then fans have witnessed a different personality. Marshall has bought into McDaniels’ philosophy — six consecutive wins to open the season didn’t hurt — and has turned into a team player. He’s put his game where his mouth was, racking up 93 receptions in 14 games this season and putting together his 3rd consecutive 1,000-yard season. Seven more receptions in the final two weeks and he’ll also have three consecutive 100-catch seasons. He even told the media after his record-setting game that he’d “definitely trade in a couple of those (21) receptions for a win.”

Denver might want to keep that kind of production — and even his personality — around. After Marshall, no one on the Broncos roster has at least 40 receptions this season. Eddie Royal, who a year ago had 91 receptions for 980 yards and five touchdowns, has 37 catches for 345 yards and no touchdowns.

Marshall’s importance this season cannot be overstated. Prior to the 21-reception game he was averaging more than five receptions per game. He’s caught 10 of Kyle Orton’s 17 touchdown passes. No one on the roster has more yards from scrimmage than him. No one even comes close to his production.

Consider this: Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney, and Tony Scheffler — numbers 2, 3, and 4 on the team’s reception leaders list — have a combined 100 receptions this season.

Blame others’ lack of statistical prowess on the presence of a new starting quarterback or the absence of gunslinger Jay Cutler. Any way you slice it, Marshall has been paramount to Denver’s success on offense this season.

If he’s not there next season, will Denver be as good as this season? Can Kyle Orton rely on Jabar Gaffney and Eddie Royal on a weekly basis? These are questions the Broncos need to ask before deciding whether to juggle the books to make cap space for Marshall or let him go if he doesn’t justify his potential contract.

Let’s hope they make the right decision.

• While I have to wait until Super Bowl XLIV to accurately state that New England has held off Pittsburgh as the team of the decade, right now I can undoubtedly say that the Colts and the Ravens have had the decade’s best offenses and defenses, respectively.  But in their recent matchups, both the offense AND the defense of the Colts have overpowered the Ravens.  The teams have met each year since 2004 and Indy has gone 6-0 in those matchups.  The dominant defense in those contests has belonged to Indianapolis as they have allowed four offensive TDs to the Ravens while the Colts’ offense has scored 16 offensive touchdowns on the Ravens’ defense.

• Vince Young has won eight straight starts with the eight starts spread over three seasons.  Although unique, it’s not the first time a QB has won at least eight straight games with the starts spread over more than two seasons.  Trent Dilfer won 15 straight games (including playoffs) with two different teams earlier this decade.  He started the streak in November 2000 with the Ravens, was an undefeated part-time starter with the Seahawks the following year, and didn’t have the streak end until September 2002.

• Tom Brady has not quite been Tom Terrific away from Foxboro recently.  Brady is 0-4 in his last four starts played in American stadiums other than Gillette Stadium with losses to the Giants in the Super Bowl and losses to the Jets, Broncos, and Colts this year.  (The American part is used to distinguish the Tampa Bay game which was played in England and was more of a home game for the Patriots than the Bucs even though it was listed as a “home game” for Tampa Bay.)

• Ryan Fitzpatrick’s 98 yard TD pass to Terrell Owens was the first 98 yard pass completion since 1998.  It was only the third 98 yard TD pass since 1966 and during this 43 year span there have been eight 99 yard TD passes.

• With 103 rushing yards vs. the Patriots, Thomas Jones passed Jim Taylor and Terry Allen to move into 30th all time in rushing yards.  The 31-year-old Jones has averaged 4.6 yards per carry in his 30s as compared to 3.9 yards per carry in his 20s.  Of the 29 players with more career rushing yards than Jones, only four of them also had a better average in their 30s than their 20s (Tiki Barber, Warrick Dunn, Ricky Watters and the still active Fred Taylor).

• Speaking of old running backs; Ricky Williams is on pace for over 1,000 rushing yards despite starting just one game.  If Williams can maintain his current pace, then he will become only the 4th running back in the past 30 years to gain at least 1,000 yards at the age of 32 or older.  Both Walter Payton in 1986 and Emmitt Smith in 2001 eclipsed 1,000 yards at the age of 32 while John Riggins did it at 34 in 1983 and then did it again at 35 in 1984.

• The Kansas City Chiefs only have one rushing touchdown this year.  If they maintain their futility in scoring on the ground for the rest of the season, then they will tie the NFL record for fewest rushing touchdowns in a season.  The 1934 Brooklyn Tigers are the only team in NFL history to only score a single rushing touchdown in a season.

• If Chad Ochocinco can gain 360 more receiving yards by the end of the season, then he will become only the fifth player in NFL history to gain 10,000 receiving yards in that player’s first nine years in the league.  Ochocinco would join Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss, and Torry Holt who set the record with 11,864 receiving yards in his first nine years in the league.

• This current Broncos collapse is very similar to the one they had in 2006.  Three years ago the Broncos started off 5-1 thanks to their defense: they only allowed 7 points per game through those first six.  Then from the seventh game on their record was 4-6 and they allowed 26 points per game.  This season the Broncos again started off hot thanks to their defense: they only allowed 11 points per game through the first six.  Then comes game seven and since then Denver is giving up 29 points per game and gone 0-4.  That 2006 team didn’t make the playoffs and I don’t see this current Broncos squad making it either.

• The Raiders’ win against the Bengals was noteworthy for two reasons.  One, it was the game that Oakland had picked before the season even started to honor former player, Marquis Cooper, who died in a boating accident in March of this year.  The other reason that made it significant was the fact that the Raiders scored twice in the final minute for a win for only the second time in their franchise’s 50 year history.  The first time?  You may have heard of it described as the “Heidi Game”.

It’s time to check out another week of targets, to see which wide receivers their quarterbacks are trusting, and which ones they aren’t.

- Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys: Austin received 15 targets in the Cowboys’ overtime win in Kansas City, which was seven more than Patrick Crayton got, who was second on the team in that statistic. And considering what Miles did with those 15 looks – 10 catches, 250 yards, two touchdowns – he’s likely to get a lot more in the coming weeks, even when Roy Williams returns to full health. Miles’s ability to pick up yards after the catch is something that won’t go unnoticed by Dallas coaches.

- Josh Morgan, San Francisco 49ers: Though Vernon Davis continues to lead the 49ers in targets, and is in fact among the NFC leaders in that statistic, Morgan finally plenty of opportunities to make plays as well. He had nine targets on Sunday in the 49ers’ blowout loss to the Falcons, and wound up with four catches for 78 yards. It was the first time this season that Morgan had more than five targets, and hopefully, for his fantasy owners’ sake, a trend will start.

- Mohammed Massaquoi, Cleveland Browns: Braylon Edwards has departed for the Big Apple, well actually, the Garden State, but the point remains this – Massaquoi seems to be the best receiving option for Cleveland. Unfortunately, that means little when the quarterback play is so inept. Derek Anderson had as pathetic a stat line as you’ll ever see in the Browns’ win over the Bills on Sunday. He completed two passes in 17 attempts, for 23 yards. Six of those throws went to Massaquoi, who caught one of them for 16 yards. Okay, it was windy, but still, two completions? Massaquoi is obviously the No. 1 target for the Browns, but take that with a grain of salt.

- Eddie Royal, Denver Broncos: It was shocking, really. That’s the best way to describe the start Royal had to this season – a start that included a high of 20 receiving yards in a game through the first four weeks. Royal finally got going in the Broncos’ overtime win against the Patriots on Sunday, catching 10 passes for 90 yards after being targeted a whopping 15 times. Hey, if Kyle Orton is going to look for him that often, then Royal will retain at least some of his preseason fantasy value. So don’t drop him just yet. But if, in a few weeks, we see that this game was an aberration, then it’s time to cut your losses.

Other Week 5 target numbers of interest: Wes Welker, 15; Anquan Boldin, 12; Roddy White, Chad Ochocinco, Muhsin Muhammad, 10; Austin Collie, Keenan Burton, 9; Dennis Northcutt, 8; Larry Fitzgerald, 6; Randy Moss, 4; DeSean Jackson, 3; Derrick Mason, 1.

Baltimore Ravens (2-0) at San Diego Chargers (1-1): Ravens, 31-26

Notes on Baltimore:

Defense? Who needs defense? The Baltimore Ravens defense has been one of the league’s most porous against the pass through the first two weeks of the regular season. Granted their run defense still ranks first in the NFL (some things never change), but would you have believed me if I told you before the season that the team would allow 580 passing yards after two games? Doubtful.

This is a Ravens team we’re not accustomed to seeing. Instead of a stout defense and run-heavy offense we’ve been treated to the league’s second highest scoring offense and a Joe Flacco on pace to throw 40 touchdowns this season. Before I get carried away, let me point out that the Ravens are running the ball enough rank 4th in yards and 1st in touchdowns. That hasn’t changed.

But would you have guessed a shootout against the Chargers? I wouldn’t have.

Notes on San Diego:

Philip Rivers has put up some impressive numbers in his first two outings, but he’s not putting up the numbers we saw last season. He passed for 436 yards against the Ravens this weekend, but he also threw two interceptions. He already has three this season; that’s as many touchdowns as he’s thrown, too.

But while Rivers has thrown a few passes to opponents, he’s also thrown a boatload to Darren Sproles. The 5th year running back leads the team with 12 receptions for 167 yards and a touchdown; he hasn’t been at all effective running the ball against two solid run defenses - Baltimore and Oakland - averaging just 2.6 yards per carry, but he does have a score. In all, he’s put up some impressive numbers through two games: 216 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns.

Rivers’ second favorite target, Vincent Jackson, hasn’t been a slouch either. He has 11 receptions for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns; he’s split his receptions rather evenly and he’s caught a touchdown in each of his two starts. Expect him to be one of the top receivers in the NFL at the end of the season.

Cleveland Browns (0-2) at Denver Broncos (2-0): Broncos, 27-6

Notes on Cleveland:

Getting lit up two weeks in a row probably isn’t how head coach Eric Mangini envisioned his team beginning the regular season. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happened. This week the Broncos - remember, this is a team that scored 12 points on Cincinnati a week ago thanks to a miracle - dropped 27 on Cleveland this week.

The team’s greatest weakness on offense is its running game. Though they’ve played two solid run offenses - Minnesota and Denver - it’s still a bit disappointing to see Jamal Lewis with just 25 carries for 95 yards. Come to think of it, it’s disappointing to see the team relying so heavily on Brady Quinn to carry the offense. He’s thrown just 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions so far, and it’s not too surprisingly considering his inexperience and the fact he’s been sacked 9 times already.

If anyone will emerge from this offense as a viable fantasy option - given the players who have had game time so far - I think the two safe bets are Braylon Edwards and Robert Royal. Don’t expect Edwards to put up fantastic numbers, but he does lead the team in receptions with 7; if a player touches the ball enough, he will gain yards and score touchdowns. As for Royal, Brady’s going to love him all season in the red zone; he already has 1 touchdown reception, and more are on the way.

Notes on Denver:

After watching Kyle Orton in the preseason there’s one thing I would have guessed: he’d throw at least one interception by now. Fortunately for Broncos’ fans, not only has Orton not thrown an interception, but his 2 touchdowns and 506 passing yards have helped lead the Broncos to a 2-0 record. He passed for 263 yards and 1 touchdown in this one, despite completing just 51.4 percent of his pass attempts.

Josh McDaniels has focused on playing small-ball for the most part this season, and that’s led to Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter getting plenty of touches; 47, so far. Buckhalter has been the more effective of the two, averaging 7.2 yards per carry and scoring a rushing touchdown. He’s also added 3 receptions for 41 yards, pushing his yards from scrimmage to 163. Not bad for a by-committee back.

New York Giants (2-0) at Dallas Cowboys (1-1): Giants, 33-31

Notes on New York:

The Giants have won their first two games of the season by a combined margin of 8 points. But a win is a win, no matter the margin of victory, so the Giants are currently sitting at 2-0 in their division after knocking off the Cowboys in the first of a three game road series. It was as back-and-forth as any game this season, the type of fantasy game all fantasy players relish.

Eli Manning passed for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns, sending 20 of his 25 completions to Mario Manningham and Steve Smith. In other words, no Plaxico, no problem. Manningham and Smith also combined for 284 of his passing yards and both his passing touchdowns. The Cowboys couldn’t contain either player, something defenses will struggle to do all season. Manningham and Smith currently have 29 receptions for 422 yards and 3 touchdowns. These guys are going to be as good as any receiving duo in the NFL this season.

Notes on Dallas:

Let’s start with the good; then we’ll get to Tony Romo. Marion Barber and Felix Jones rushed for 210 yards in the game, scoring 2 touchdowns and averaging a combined 8.4 yards per carry. The Giants held Clinton Portis to 62 yards last week. Dallas did not, in other words, face a terrible run defense. Props to Barber and Jones who now have 234 and 118 yards from scrimmage, respectively.

Indianapolis Colts (2-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-2): Colts, 27-23

Notes on Indianapolis:

How does Peyton Manning do it? The reigning NFL MVP needed less than 15 minutes to beat the Miami Dolphins on the road. Literally. The Dolphins controlled the ball for over 45 minutes in this game. Manning and the Colts needed 23 pass attempts and 11 runs to put up 27 points to beat the Dolphins, who ran more than twice as many (83) plays.

Manning was deadly with his throws, completing 14 passes for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dallas Clark lit it up as his go-to guy, catching 7 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. Consider those numbers for a moment: Manning averaged more than 21 yards per completion and Clark averaged 26.1 yards per reception. Unbelievable.

Manning might not have Drew Brees’ numbers, but watch out NFL: Manning doesn’t need half a season to hit his stride this year.

Notes on Miami:

This was a tough loss for Miami whose offense did almost everything right on offense this game. They converted on over 70 percent of their third-down attempts and controlled the ball for three quarters of the game. Unfortunately, they also scored just two touchdowns - both by Ronnie Brown, the star of Miami’s offense.

Chad Pennington averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt in the game and he threw an interception in the endzone to end the game. Despite Miami’s best efforts, which included just one punt and a score or near score on every drive, the Dolphins fell short this week.

That said, Ted Ginn had a great week, hauling in 11 passes for 108 yards. This isn’t a passing offense, though, so don’t be surprised if he breaks 100 receiving yards just once or twice more this season, if that.

Denver Broncos (1-0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-1): Denver, 12-7

Notes on Denver: The Denver Broncos caught a miraculous break at the end of week one as a pass intended for Brandon Marshall was tipped by Leon Hall and caught by Brandon Stokley who took it to the house, 87 yards down the field.

Prior to that pass, Kyle Orton had just 155 passing yards and Denver had zero touchdowns. The Broncos attempted a west coast, short pass offense throughout the game resulting in Orton’s paltry 5.7 yards per attempt (again, prior to that big completion) and limited scoring. Stokley hadn’t caught a pass in the game and, surprisingly, Eddie Royal was held to just 2 receptions for 18 yards.

Another surpise: Tony Scheffler was outdone by Daniel Graham. Though Scheffler did pick up 29 yards on his sole reception, Graham was on the receiving end of 3 completions for 40 yards.

As the running game was concerned, Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno both carried 8 times, Buckhalter getting the most mileage out of his attempts with 46 yards. Moreno finished with a disappointing 19 yards, including an 8 yard run. (Without that run he averaged around 1.6 yards per carry.)

Denver Stud: Brandon Stokley – 1 reception for 87 yards and 1 touchdown

Denver Dud: Eddie Royal – 2 receptions for 18 yards

Notes on Cincinnati: Though the Broncos struggled on offense, the Bengals weren’t any better. In fact, they were worse when you consider Carson Palmer’s two interceptions and zero touchdowns. Palmer was pressured and sacked three times; he finished with 247 yards passing, 89 of which went to Chad Ochocinco.

The Bengals did have a semi-successful running attack, though; Cedric Benson rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. His rushing average was boosted quite a bit by a 20-yard carry in the fourth quarter. Recalculating without that carry, his average was just 2.8 yards per carry, nearly a full yard less than when including it. All-in-all, he picked up 108 yards from scrimmage – a very good week.

Perhaps the most important thing to take away: Benson did get over 20 carries in the debut. Oh, and Palmer is off to another horrendous start against a defense that doesn’t figure to be great this season.

Cincinnati Stud: Cedric Benson – 20 carries for 76 yards and 1 touchdown; 4 receptions for 32 yards

Cincinnati Dud: Laveranues Coles – 1 reception for 11 yards; 3 drops (leads NFL)

New York Jets (1-0) at Houston Texans (0-1): New York, 24-7

Notes on New York: Mark Sanchez’s debut was a relative success; he got his first win, but he also completed just 58 percent of his pass attempts and threw his first (and only) NFL interception. As could have been guessed before the game, one of his favorite targets was tight end Dustin Keller who caught 4 for 94 yards. Jericho Cotchery led the team in receptions with 6 for 90 yards, while the only other wide receiver to catch a ball, Chansai Stuckey, finished with 4 receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown.

But the real source of firepower on offense was the running game. Thomas Jones was outstanding and is off to another great start this season after he rushed 20 times for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Jones’ change-of-pace and the “hands” of the group, Leon Washington, carried 15 times for 60 yards and added 24 receiving yards on 4 catches. The two combined for 191 yards from scrimmage and should be an integral part of the offense in every game this season. Rex Ryan wants to run the ball a lot this season to keep Sanchez’s reps relatively low and the offense balanced; this was a great start to that end.

New York Stud: Thomas Jones – 20 carries for 107 yards and 2 touchdowns

New York Dud: David Clowney – N/A

Notes on Houston: Where exactly was the aerial attack we expected from Houston? In fact, where were the points? Houston’s offense was shut out as Rex Ryan’s blitz packages took the Texans by surprise. Matt Schaub was barely able to complete half his pass attempts (18-of-33) while throwing one to the defense. Andre Johnson and Omar Daniels led the team in receptions with four each, but in a twist Daniels led in yards – 44-35.

Meanwhile, the team’s running game was far from impressive. Steve Slaton carried just 9 times to rack up 17 yards while Chris Brown took his 3 carries 15 yards. All told, the offense rushed for 38 yards. Slaton’s saving grace was his contribution as a receiver where he added 35 yards on 3 receptions.

Houston Stud: N/A

Houston Dud: Steve Slaton – 9 carries for 17 yards; 3 receptions for 35 yards

Eddie Royal is turning into a big fantasy prospect this season, drawing comparisons to New England’s Wes Welker, and with Brandon Marshall creating a stir, his stock continues to rise.

The question that must first be answered, however, is whether his numbers can remain steady in the face of Denver’s quarterback conundrum.

Kyle Orton and Chris Simms are both mediocre quarterbacks on paper. Furthermore, they’re both jotted down on the team’s list of injuries. Orton dislocated his finger Sunday night and was forced to leave the game; Simms has been MIA for some time now and doesn’t figure to be ready before the season starts.

Both these issues are exacerbated because what these players have displayed this preseason is anything but heartening. Simms played in the first two games and looks like the superior quarterback against second team defenses, while Orton has looked awful at points during preseason.

Orton opened up against San Francisco with three turnovers on three drives, and a week later against Seattle he tried lofting a wobbly left-handed pass into the endzone; not surprisingly, he was intercepted. Against the Broncos Sunday night he looked a bit uncomfortable in the pocket and was consistently throwing passes behind his receivers. He struggled to hit anyone in stride and it no doubt cost the Broncos yardage after the catch. Overall his numbers were the best they’ve been this preseason, but he didn’t move the chains enough and the offense finished with three first half points.

Getting back to the receiver in question, Eddie Royal has remained mostly immune to these struggles during the season. He has 13 receptions for 134 yards this preseason and is clearly a possession receiver. Unfortunately, Royal has no touchdown receptions yet, no doubt because the Broncos have thrown just three during the preseason.

Royal’s numbers are also being inflated a bit because Brandon Marshall is suspended. When he returns, the reception distribution will shift, and Royal might not get as many receptions.

Assuming he does get 100 by the end of this season, however, that translates to about 1,000 receiving yards; one can only hope he’ll get a few touchdowns to complement those yards.

Unhealthy quarterbacks are hindering Denver’s offense and creating a stir with the fans, especially after the Denver faithful watched Jay Cutler enter Invesco to give the Bears a 17-3 halftime lead. He looked solid and unshakable; the same can’t be said of Orton or Simms. The Broncos need more offense and that will need to start at the quarterback position; a lack of offense will lead to a lack of points, and as fantasy players are concerned, Royal needs endzone receptions; there is no avoiding it. Whoever lines up at quarterback is going to feed him the football, but if the offense can’t get down the field he can’t score.

By now everyone knows Brandon Marshall’s name. The young and prolific wide receiver has gained substantial attention the past two seasons for good reasons: he’s big, athletic, and his numbers have been through the roof.

Lately, however, other antics have earned him scorn.

The most recent incident occurred during Wednesday’s practice when Marshall refused to show Josh McDaniels the least bit of respect. Marshall was caught on tape walking through drills while the rest of the team jogged, punting a ball away from a ball boy standing just feet away, and swatting down passes with both hands during receiver drills.

Denver’s wide receiver tried to explain that his actions weren’t his way of trying to get traded; they were just the result of a build up of emotions.

“I think everybody knows there’s a lot of stuff built up there, and me handling it that way wasn’t good,” Marshall told ESPN.

Marshall of course wants to be traded, and he’s doing what he thinks is best for himself. Unfortunately, his selfish acts aren’t drawing him any sympathy from either the media or his teammates. All it’s brought him so far is a preseason suspension, the ultimate slap on the wrist. It’s Josh McDaniels’ way of saying, “If you don’t straighten up soon you’ll really get it!”

The worst part of the situation is it isn’t getting him anywhere. He wants to be traded, but the Broncos are tired of giving in to upset Pro Bowlers. There’s no reason for Denver to trade him; the greatest punishment they can hand down is suspension after suspension, hanging on to his mere $2.2 million contract this season and let it expire afterwards. Let him test his free market value now that childish behavior is his calling card.

His only accomplishment this offseason is causing more detriment to his image, and in no way will that help him. He is neither remorseful nor apologetic, explaining the situation as one “blown out of proportion.”

“Some of it is blown out of proportion,” Marshall said in an interview broadcast on ESPN Thursday night. “It was an error in judgement. There was some frustration, but some of it was blown out of proportion.”

Video can be spliced together in such a way as to not show the whole picture, but explain to us, Brandon, what part of you punting a ball away from a ball boy was blown out of proportion? What part of walking while the rest of the team ran was blown out of proportion? How is video evidence of you swatting away a pass with both hands blowing the situation out of proportion?

Marshall has always been the subject of some criticism. Last season Jay Cutler was ridiculed by some for calling Marshall out after he injured himself while wrestling, evidently slipping on a McDonalds bag. It doesn’t seem fair to attack Cutler now, though. Marshall’s lack of maturity runs deep, his actions painting him as poor man’s T.O.

B.M. Maybe that’s how we should refer to him.

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P.S. If you want more reason to be a Marshall-hater, check out this article by Sports Data Hub’s own Kyle Smith. Then check out this article by the Football Scientist, KC Joyner. He describes Marshall as “overrated.” It’s a very interesting read.

Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall would have fit in nicely in the former Soviet Union with those enormous flags all over him. For fantasy football owners, selecting Marshall as your No. 1 wideout and using a high pick on him is a gamble not worth taking at this point. Let some other owner in your league suffer the potential consequences.

True, Marshall, at 6-foot-4 and more than 220 pounds, is a physical specimen with great talent. It’s also true that he’s produced 206 catches for 2,590 yards and 13 touchdowns over the last two seasons. But his actions are starting to seriously interfere with his potential. His off-the-field antics are well known, with a handful of arrests, but those were unrelated to football. His latest act is not.

Already upset that he hadn’t gotten a new contract or a trade as he requested, Marshall missed the team’s first preseason game because of a trial on a battery charge for which he was acquitted, but was soon angered after learning the Broncos told his teammates to celebrate that fact.

Then last week, Marshall didn’t play in the team’s second preseason game. Why, you ask? He didn’t know the playbook, which makes it kind of difficult to, you know, run the plays. The drama doesn’t end there, unfortunately. On Thursday, Marshall was held out of practice for his childish maneuvers during Wednesday’s practice. He punted a ball after a drill instead of simply handing it to a ball boy, decided to leisurely stroll while the rest of the team was running while warming up, and generally just acted immature.

Maybe Marshall is trying to force a trade, but that type of behavior doesn’t seem like the best way to do it. It’s kind of like when a kid is angry at his mom for making him clean his room, so he holds his breath until his face turns red and nearly passes out. It doesn’t do any good. Nor will this type of act help him get a new contract. Why would Denver want to pay tens of millions to a guy who can’t stop getting arrested and is apparently as mature as a seven-year-old?

Fantasy owners should be asking themselves the same thing (only about drafting him early, not the paying him millions part). This is a guy who at any point this season could be taken off the field, not to mention the fact that he’s running in a brand-new offense with Kyle Orton under center. There are just too many talented receivers available who are far less likely to fly off the handle.

UPDATE: Marshall has been suspended for the remainder of the preseason by head coach Josh McDaniels for his conduct. As if you needed even more reasons to pass on him in your drafts.

Quarterbacks (Teams: Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, and New York Jets)

All signs are pointing to Kyle Orton being the Denver Broncos week one starter at quarterback. Said Josh McDaniels a little over a week ago, “There are a lot of things that go into playing quarterback. Certainly [Orton] made a lot of mistakes tonight. But I haven’t lost faith in him and neither have our players.” Aside from that “I’ve got his back” quote, the latest on Chris Simms isn’t good. Phil’s son has a high ankle sprain and will reportedly be out 2-4 weeks, long enough to miss the entire preseason. Even if McDaniels was considering Simms as a plan B, the job appears to be Orton’s by default at this point.

Speaking of McDaniels and the Broncos, Denver’s head coach had this to say about facing the Chicago Cutlers Bears: “This game is another step in our process of getting ready for the regular season. If you try to make too much of the game or the opponent in the preseason, I think you are kind of missing the point. The point is it is an opportunity for us to go out there and improve, and that is what we are going to treat it as.”

Meanwhile, Jay Cutler had this to say about the Denver Broncos, Josh McDaniels, and Kyle Orton, per Arnie Stapleton of the Washington Post: “Cutler says in the brief time he spent with McDaniels he could tell the Bill Belichick disciple was an offensive mastermind. Cutler adds that the Broncos are in good hands with McDaniels and quarterback Kyle Orton.” Those words are somewhat kinder than his description of Broncos fans earlier this year: “In Denver we didn’t have many fans at all … Chicago’s like a six and Denver’s like a nine.”

But if you want to hear about a team other than Chicago or Denver, here’s a big bit of news from New York: Mark Sanchez is officially the week one starter. “I feel that the best move for our franchise and our team is to go with Mark as our quarterback,” said Rex Ryan. Ryan went on to say that he thinks “Mark gives us the best opportunity to win.” Sanchez is 6-of-12 for 131 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception in two preseason games.

Running Backs (Teams: Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders)

Buffalo Bills head coach Dick Jauron delivered some good news today concerning Fred Jackson, who we feared yesterday could have a more serious injury: “It was a wrist. It was pretty sore but we’re really happy with the outcome. It’s a sprained wrist. It was just too sore to practice today. I don’t know about tomorrow so we’ll see. But it was good news actually.” It’s certainly good news for fantasy players and Bills fans since Jackson won’t miss week one of the regular season, a game he is expected to start.

Gregg Rosenthal delivered this tip for fantasy players: get Darren McFadden. Per Rosenthal, McFadden is poised to be a “beast” for fantasy owners this year and is described as “a rich man’s Reggie Bush.” Take note, fantasy players.

Wide Receivers (Teams: Washington Redskins and Denver Broncos)

Second year wide receiver Devin Thomas of the Washington Redskins is watching his potential role as a starter crumble. According to a report from Jason Reid of the Washington Post, Thomas may be leapfrogged by second-round draft pick Malcolm Kelly for the starting spot and – this one is just speculation — seventh rounder Marco Mitchell. Both players have proven themselves to be playmakers in the Redskins offense while Thomas has disappointed. As last year’s first round draft pick he still holds some sway, especially over Mitchell, but he needs to pick up his game if he doesn’t want to be supplanted on the roster. Stay tuned to this story.

Brandon Marshall, who’d like to be wearing a different jersey at this point, was fully involved in Tuesday’s practice with the Denver Broncos. Whether he plays this weekend against Chicago is still unclear. Said Josh McDaniels, “We’ll find out as we go through the week. When the players are ready to play, they’ll play.” The bigger question at this point is whether Marshall will open the season number one on the depth chart. Eddie Royal has wowed the coaches and drawn a lot of comparisons to New England’s Wes Welker. Don’t be surprised if Royal passes the disgruntled receiver on the depth chart before the regular season debut.