Minnesota Vikings wideout Bernard Berrian is no stranger to the big play. Last season, his yards-per-catch average of 20.1 was second in the NFL. But that was last year with Gus Frerotte, who, despite his faults, has always had a good arm. This season, he’ll be catching the ball from either a quarterback named after a plant, or a quarterback who is less consistent than Jamie Lee Curtis when she forgets to eat her Activia yogurt.

For Berrian and his potential fantasy football owners, whoever wins the quarterback job could have a rather large impact on Berrian’s value. During the 2008 regular season, Tarvaris Jackson was under center for six contests. In those games, Berrian caught just 13 passes for 207 yards (15.9 average) and two touchdowns. With Frerotte at the controls, Berrian caught 35 passes for 757 yards (21.6 average) and five touchdowns. You see the dilemma.

Rosenfels, on the other hand, has been successful throwing deep, though to be fair, he did have Andre Johnson at his disposal. Nonetheless, he was still 15th in the AFC with eight “big plays” (passes of 25+ yards) last season, despite playing in just six games. On the other hand, Jackson was 20th in the NFC with just five pass plays of 25+ yards. This was the same amount of big plays as St. Louis’ Trent Green, despite the fact Green played in only three games, and it was four fewer than Detroit’s Daunte Culpepper.

What this potentially says about Berrian is his value is as-yet undetermined. If your draft comes towards the end of training camp, try and get a pulse on if Rosenfels or Jackson has the upper hand. If it seems like Jackson will get the call during Week One, it may be wise to downgrade Berrian just a few spots on the wide receiver list. However, if it looks like Rosenfels will be the man, Berrian should stay right where he is.

*THIS ARTICLE WRITTEN BY BRUNO BOY KYLE SMITH. FOR MORE FANTASY FOOTBALL INSIGHT AND ADVICE, CLICK THE LINK BELOW*

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Despite being a young team on the offensive side of the ball and not having a consistent quarterback, the Vikings offense showed promise in 2008 and will most likely continue to improve going into next season.

With one of the better run games in the league, not to mention a solid defense and having the luxury of being in a division that sports the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, this team is built to be competitive for the long haul.

KEY ADDITION

Sage Rosenfels (QB)—Despite having only 12 career starts in eight seasons, the Vikings brought it upon themselves to acquire quarterback Sage Rosenfels from the Houston Texans this off-season.

In trading for the quarterback, the team has made it clear that there will be a competition this offseason for the starting quarterback job between Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson.

Look for Rosenfels to get a fair shot at the starting gig, but in the long run, it should still be Jackson’s job to lose (that is of course if a guy by the name of Brett Favre doesn’t crash the party).

KEY DEPARTURE

Matt Birk (C)—Drafted in 1998, Matt Birk had been a staple to the Vikings offensive line at the center position ever since 2000. In fact, barring a little bit of injury mishaps in 2004/05, he had started every single game for the team.

His departure will be felt as his consistency and leadership is not something one can find everyday. It will be interesting to see how Birk’s departure will affect the Vikings rushing attack.

ROOKIE TO WATCH

Percy Harvin (WR)—While questions float around whether or not Percy Harvin has the maturity and character skills that it will take to become a top-flight wide receiver in the NFL, this former Florida Gator definitely has the skill set and ability to turn the Vikings offense into a locomotive.

His speed is going to force opposing defenses to pay attention to the passing game freeing up Adrian Peterson some in the backfield. Look for him to have a solid impact during his rookie season; however, that still may not translate into solid fantasy numbers.

BRUNO BOYS SPOTLIGHT

Tarvaris Jackson (QB)—Assuming Favre stays retired, Jackson, entering his fourth year in the league, will be given a shot at winning the quarterback position for the Vikings out of training camp.

While the Vikings have been hoping that Jackson would take the job and run with it, he has shown very little in the past few years to warrant much excitement. He does possess some electrifying skills, so if he can ever hone in on them, he could turn into the quarterback that they have lacked since the departure of Daunte Culpepper; however, that seems a bit away at this point.

Nevertheless, there is one thing to slightly get excited about. In his last four games last season, Jackson passed for eight touchdowns while only throwing one interception.

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Another week has gone by in the preparation of what is leading up to training camp in the NFL and of course the league did not disappoint when it came to head scratching news. Some of it borders on the funny side, whereas others just make you want to scream, “What were you thinking?” Let’s jump into this weeks’ topics as I bring it to you the only way I really know how: In Bruno Boys Ziza fashion.

-The Washington Redskins selected defensive man Jeremy Jarmon out of Kentucky in the third round of the NFL Supplemental Draft this past week. He was made eligible when he failed a banned substance test, leading to his dismissal from school. Leave it to the sports world to reward someone with good money for making a bad mistake.

-Talking about mistakes, I think the Minnesota Vikings are about to make a big one if they do bring in Brett Favre at quarterback. He has opted to semi-retire in each of the past two seasons and has been talking about retirement for many seasons beyond that. He was a great quarterback back in the day, and there is no doubt in my mind that he would be an upgrade for the 2009 season, but what happens when he wants to retire once again? Tarvaris Jackson will still have very little starting experience. I am all for upgrading your team if you think it will put you over the top to win the Super Bowl. Favre does not do that for the Vikings in my mind.

-Although Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall has asked for a trade, he has at least been wise about it and said that there is no way that he will hold out. That is a good thing. Beyond already being a bit banged up and needing extra time in camp, Marshall doesn’t want to go the way of Larry Johnson, Steven Jackson and fellow receiver, Javon Walker. All three have held out recently, and none have bounced back as they should. For once, something a little positive is coming out of Denver.

-This story hits a little close to home as I just lost a buddy in a firearm accident. The Steve McNair saga has taken another turn as it turns out that his mistress, Sahel Kazemi, purchased the pistol that took both of their lives from a convicted felon named Adrian Gilliam Jr. He has been charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

This is pretty unfortunate for Gilliam as he has kept his nose clean for the past seven years and has been a model citizen and parent during that time. He had sold the gun for $100 in an attempt to get the gun out of his home. Not only are two lives ruined because of Kazemi’s psycho ways, but Gilliam will most likely be used as an example in this case. The law must remember though, people kill, not guns. Gilliam had a major lapse in using his brain, but is it really enough to ruin his life as well as his families because of it? We will find out. There should obviously be some punishment, but because of his past convictions it will probably be pretty harsh.

-If you are taking the time to browse our site, do yourself a favor and hit our forums to let us know what you think of our new and improved site.

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