Sunday's Best

Welcome to a preseason edition of Sunday's Best. Sure, it's hard to get really excited about much of what you see during the exhibition season, but as Falcons and Jets fans can tell you, it can still mean a whole lot. So instead of a pure stats recap from this weekend's play, here are some relevant news, notes and observations:

 ?  So much for Chad Pennington being a sleeper quarterback this year, or at least a solid No. 2 guy on many squads. Pennington's broken and dislocated left wrist will keep him out at least 12 weeks and possibly the whole season. It's time to cross him off your draft lists or cut him from your team, although keeper league owners will probably want to stash him on the bench for 2004.

Vinny Testaverde moves back into the starting job, where he was inconsistent last year before giving way to Pennington. Still, Testaverde is a proven veteran, although how he clicks with Curtis Conway and Santana Moss remains to be seen. Both of their fantasy values should take a slight dip now. However, past numbers show he has a nice rapport with Wayne Chrebet as well as tight end Anthony Becht. Don't rush to take Testaverde if you haven't drafted yet, although he would make for a decent backup for your fantasy team.

 ?  In other quarterback news, Quincy Carter won the starting job in Dallas. Unfortunately, this doesn't pack the same punch as Kelly Holcomb winning the Cleveland job. However, if you're in desperate need of a third quarterback (or a second one in very deep leagues), Carter is there for you. The Cowboys offense doesn't inspire much interest among fantasy owners, even with a couple of potentially decent receivers in Joey Galloway and Antonio Bryant

 ?  On a more positive note, Jeff Garcia played for the first time this preseason after dealing with back problems and looked relatively sharp in his cameo appearance. His draft stock could jump back up because of this.

 ?  On the other hand, Garcia lost one of his targets in tight end Eric Johnson for 10-12 weeks and maybe the season with a broken collarbone and concussion. There goes a possible sleeper at the tight end position.

 ?  Duce Staley ended his holdout and practiced with the team on Sunday. While he looks to be a critical part of the Eagles running back rotation, Staley's lack of practice time could have him rusty early on, and with Correll Buckhalter and Brian Westbrook around, there isn't a huge rush to get him into the starting lineup. Staley will still get some numbers, but he's probably no better than a third running back on most squads because the uncertainty of playing time.

 ?  Staying with the Eagles, they were racked by injuries during Friday's game at the new Lincoln Financial Field, but fantasy owners probably were most concerned with James Thrash, who suffered a concussion and a sprained neck in a very scary play. He could miss the first couple weeks of the season, and probably continues to fall down the draft charts as he's being overtaken by Todd Pinkston as Donovan McNabb's go-to receiver.

 ?  Usually you should take preseason stats with a grain of salt, but many had to pay attention to the way many of the Bills and Rams starters performed Saturday night. Marshall Faulk was back to his old tricks again, scoring a rushing and receiving TD to go with 113 total yards in just one half. Kurt Warner was a very sharp 13-of-15 for 125 yards, further cementing his place as a top fantasy QB.

On the other side, Drew Bledsoe threw for 231 yards and two scores after doing very little else in the preseason, while Eric Moulds burned St. Louis for 115 yards on nine catches with a score. Granted, the Rams defense was racked with injuries, but the numbers are very encouraging for Bledsoe or Moulds owners.