Sherdrick Bonner is one the league's all time-greats. He has been a consistently solid performer for 14 seasons. He has a career QB rating of 115.8, has 829 TDs and only 119 picks, he's thrown for 41,000 yards and has won more games than any other QB in history. And this year he'll have arguably the league's best receiver (Damian Harrell) to aim at.
So this is a no-brainer, right?
Ok, one might stop to wonder if he is a little long in the tooth (he'll turn 40 in October); but the evidence suggests that he's more than up to the task. In 2007 Sherdrick threw for over 4000 yards for the first time in his career and added 83 TDs, a mark he's only bettered once. So he seems to be improving with age, if anything.
Beyond Harrell, the Rush's receiving group looks just a little light, although the acquisition of the highly promising Travis LaTendresse (his rookie season saw 15 TDs and almost a thousand yards in only seven games, playing for Las Vegas) should at least prevent Harrell from being triple-teamed. Sherdrick will also be excited to have Ryan Dennard on his team - Ryan caught 16 passes for 181 yards and 7 TDs when he played against Bonner in Arizona in March; the kind of performance that would stick in the mind.
So not a whole lot of strength in depth in the receiving position but think about who Bonner was lighting it up with last season: rookie Trandon Harvey, Jeremiah Pope and Randy Gatewood (who missed 12 games in 2007). I'd say his new Rush teammates have at least as much potential, and with Bonner under center the promising youngsters will flourish and the already masterful will be looking at hall-of-fame seasons.
One final factor to consider is Dan Alexander. Dan, quite literally, re-wrote the book on the FB position in 2007, and so he may deprive Sherdrick of some TDs that other QBs (those not blessed with Herculean FBs) would get. On the flip side, when the Rush are in the red-zone the opposing D is going to have give single coverage everywhere because of the number of threats that Chicago brings - and Bonner has the experience and arm to make them pay dearly.
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Chicago Rush QB Sherdrick Bonner spent the last 14 seasons with the Arizona Rattlers and had a great career while he was there. Bonner decided to change scenery in 2008 and join what looks like an explosive offense in Chicago. Bonner will have the most dangerous WR in the AFL in Damien Harrell, and also the most dangerous RB in the AFL in Dan Alexander.
So Bonner is a lock for finishing as a top 5 QB, right? Not so fast.
To start off with, Bonner is 39 years old, and at some point his body has to start slowing down. He has been taking hits in the AFL now for 14 years and his body will not recover from getting hit as quickly as he has in the past. Why is getting hit a concern? Well, the Rush offensive line is not exactly one of the best, which could create problems.
I also feel that people don't think the Rush will run the ball. Are you kidding me? Did you not see Dan Alexander run through, around, and over defenders last year for 41 TDs? The running game is going to help Bonner, but fantasy-wise I see the running game also taking value AWAY from him. When the Rush is inside the ten-yard line, you can bank on Alexander touching the ball a couple of times. If he can take advantage of his opportunities and plow through people like he did last year, he will steal some TD passes away from Bonner.
Another reason to be concerned about Bonner this year is the WRs that he has to throw to. Bonner has new WRs that he must develop some chemistry with, which may take some time. This is a new offense that Bonner will be running, not the same offense he spent the last 14 years with in Arizona. How long will it take to develop chemistry with Damien Harrell, Travis LaTendresse, and Ryan Dennard? Only time will tell at this point. I have Bonner ranked within the top 10 this year, and I do think he will have a great year. Just realize he does come with some risk.
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