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QB Sage Rosenfels, Minnesota Vikings

HT: 6-4, WT: 216, Born: 3-6-1978, College: Iowa State, Drafted: Round 4

2009 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of September 7th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: K Faulk (209), P Hillis (210), Sage Rosenfels (211), D Henderson (212), B Engram (213)
Position: J Russell (203-QB30), M Stafford (206-QB31), Sage Rosenfels (211 - QB32), M Vick (218-QB33), D Culpepper (243-QB34)
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PPR Average draft position

Current as of September 7th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: M Sims-Walker (256), Sage Rosenfels (258), T Duckett (259), M Bell (260)
Position: M Vick (239-QB33), D Culpepper (255-QB34), Sage Rosenfels (258 - QB35), D Anderson (261-QB36), M Leinart (279-QB37)
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Best Case

Sage Rosenfels has valuable playing experience in both Miami and Houston. Although Brett Favre's return dampens Rosenfels likely production, it's entirely possible Favre's torn rotator cuff could derail him comeback and Rosenfels would be in line to start. If Percy Harvin hits quickly, the Vikings have a better-than-average receiving corps. Ronsenfels has an impressive 5.3% TD rate and that could mean a 20-TD season if he plays all 16 games.

Worst Case

Rosenfels is a gunslinger in all the wrong ways. While he's accurate, he throws a ton of interceptions and fumbles plenty. His 5.2% INT rate is woeful and his 11 fumbles in limited playing time (12 starts, 32 appearances) is worrisome. With Brett Favre signed, obviously there's a good chance Rosenfels doesn't see the field in 2009.

Outlook

Sage Rosenfels was easily outplaying Tarvaris Jackson for the Vikings starting job, and could've been an interesting deep sleeper as a result. But with Brett Favre signed, Rosenfels now becomes one of a long list of credible backup QBs to keep in mind as an injury replacement or waiver wire add.

Relevant Articles

Why he is a good deep sleeper pick

Jeff Tefertiller - Rosenfels is now the front-runner to start for the Vikings after Brett Favre announced that he was going to remain retired. Rosenfels has the gunslinger mentality which is great for fantasy owners. He had some monster games in Houston while filling in for an injured Matt Schaub. The journeyman signal caller had an amazing 8.2 yards per pass attempt average in 2008. Minnesota has a good offensive line to protect its passer and to open running lanes for Adrian Peterson. Plus, Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, and Percy Harvin anchor an underrated receiving corps. Rosenfels could be a Top 10 fantasy passer this season.

Mark Wimer - The latest news is that Brett Favre will stay retired (for now, anyway). I think that Rosenfels has the most upside as a passer of any QB in the Minnesota stable, and that he'll prevail to become the starter. He should be a solid fantasy second fantasy QB with an occasional first string game.

Latest News

Vikings | Week 10 Inactives (Sun Nov 15, 12:01 PM) - The Minnesota Vikings have declared RB Albert Young, CB Antoine Winfield, LB Erin Henderson, WR Jaymar Johnson, DL Jayme Mitchell, C Jon Cooper, DL Letroy Guion, QB Sage Rosenfels inactive for Week 10.

Our View: Bernard Berrian is active after being limited this week with a hamstring injury.
link to story   

2009 Schedule

2008 Game Summaries

Week 5 - For the first 55 minutes of the game Sage Rosenfels was the star of the Texans. He showed good accuracy and touch on his passes, and was able to spread the ball around to eight different receivers. He started hot, completing eight of his first ten passes, in leading the team to 17 first half points and an eventual 17 point lead eight minutes into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately it will be his decision making in the last five minutes of the game that most fans will remember. The disastrous stretch started when took off on a quarterback keeper and decided to fight for extra yardage instead of playing it safe with a ten point lead. He ended up fumbling the ball, and the Colts returned the fumble for a score. He appeared to be rattled because on the next possession he threw a bad pass behind the intended receiver on a screen play and then fumbled the ball away on the next snap by failing to protect the ball while scrambling. His second fumble led to the winning score two plays later.

Week 9 - Sage Rosenfels moved the team pretty well in the second half. The QB change was made due to an injury to Matt Schaub and not due to his play. The Texans did move much better in the second half. It might have been due to halftime adjustments, but Dick Enberg with CBS said "They are responding to Sage Rosenfels' arm." Rosenfels was able to get the team up and down the field and did bring the Texans back into the game. His throws were on target and he wasn't afraid of the tough coverage on Andre Johnson. However, he seemed to hit a road block in Viking territory. On one third down he forced a ball into the endzone when the team was in field goal range. That interception cost the team three points. In one half he was able to throw two touchdowns and pass for over two hundred yards. It just wasn't enough to beat the Vikings. Adrian Peterson took over in the fourth quarter and kept the Texan offense watching the game.

Week 10 - Rosenfels took over the potentially explosive Houston offense from the injured Matt Schaub and he showed both why he is considered one of the better backup QBs in the game and why he's a backup to begin with. While Rosenfels was able to spread the ball to his talented receivers and rack up passing yards, he also demonstrated an alarming tendency to place the ball in the Ravens' hands as well. Rosenfels' single TD of the day (which came on a 60 yard play to WR Kevin Walter) was more than offset by four bad interceptions. The first came late in the first quarter as Houston had a first and goal at the Baltimore one yard line. While Rosenfels saw an open TE Owen Daniels in the back of the end zone, he didn't see the Ravens' Haloti Ngata between them. On his second interception Rosenfels threw the ball directly at Ravens LB Ray Lewis. There was no Texan receiver nearby, and the pick was a direct result of the pressure Rosenfels was facing from the Ravens' pass rush. Rosenfels' third pick also went to Lewis, and again it appeared as if Rosenfels intended to toss the ball to him. Finally, Rosenfels delivered the ball to Baltimore's Samari Rolle in the flat on the very next drive. All in all, a very uneven day for the man who will be the Texans' starting QB for the next few weeks.

Week 11 - Rosenfels was not asked to do much through the air as the Texans kept the ball on the ground to try and limit the number of opportunities the Colts had to score. He was on target with the majority of his passes and was able to connect with his receivers as he did not face a lot of pressure from the Colt front four. Late in the game, with the Texans behind by ten points, he was forced to abandon the running game and move the offense through the air. He proved that he was more than up to the task by only throwing two incomplete passes the entire half, one of which was the result of him being hit just before he released the ball. The second incompletion will be the one that people remember because it occurred on the final play of the game. The pass was his only bad throw of the game, but it resulted in the game's only turnover as he threw the ball way short of its intended target and it was picked off on the Colt 35 yard line.

Week 12 - Rosenfels was unimpressive overall, throwing two interceptions. He started off the game hot with a great throw to Kevin Walter but really did not get anything going after that. He was often throwing behind his receivers forcing them to significantly adjust to the pass and allowing the defense to catch up to them.

Week 13 - Rosenfels got off to a good start on the team's opening series as he led the Houston offense on a six play 69 yard drive that he capped with a 31 yard touchdown throw to WR Andre Johnson. The Houston signal caller spent the remainder of the contest managing the game for the Texans as he had only 12 more completions that went for a total of 157 yards. Rosenfels' first quarter interception gave Jacksonville the ball at the Houston 44 yard line.