Updated 4:20 p.m. ET Aug. 4, 2004

With training camps under way, fans are beginning to think about football again. In my world, this is a good thing for many reasons. First and foremost, I love the sport. In addition, I happily make a living reporting on the NFL, and what’s good for the league is usually good for PFW.

It’s always fun at this time of year to speculate and look ahead, and I’m sure you’ll be inundated with your fill of expert predictions before too long. However, I recently discovered an interesting way to get a handle on this summer’s most scrutinized positional battle — quarterback — for six teams.

The people at WagerOnSports.com, an online sports-betting Web site, have posted odds on which quarterbacks will start the first game of the 2004 NFL regular season for each team — Miami, Oakland, Pittsburgh and San Diego in the AFC and the New York Giants and Washington in the NFC.

Here’s my take on the odds offered by WagerOnSports:

Miami
Jay Fiedler 1-6
A.J. Feeley 6-5
Sage Rosenfels 30-1
Clint Stoerner 100-1
Any other 20-1

By making Fiedler the favorite, the oddsmakers clearly expect head coach Dave Wannstedt to follow a more conservative game plan now that Ricky Williams has retired. Factor in a new offensive line and a new offensive coordinator and I agree that Fiedler will be the starter, at least initially. Remember, Miami spent a second-round draft pick (in 2005) for Feeley and obviously want him to emerge as the starter eventually. But for now, it sure looks like Fiedler’s the man.

Oakland
Rich Gannon 1-12
Kerry Collins 9-5
Marques Tuiasosopo 30-1
Tee Martin 100-1
Brett Engemann 100-1
Any other 30-1

This will be a fascinating battle between two proven veterans. However, Gannon is 39 years old and coming off surgery on his throwing shoulder. Collins is younger with the stronger arm, but he hasn’t always responded well to competition. As a result, this is a toss-up. Both are learning new head coach Norv Turner’s system, so there’s not much of an advantage there. I still expect Collins to emerge as the starter, so I disagree with the oddsmakers on this one.

Pittsburgh
Tommy Maddox 1-10
Ben Roethlisberger 7-5
Charlie Batch 40-1
Brian St. Pierre 100-1
Any other 25-1

There’s no question that Maddox will be the starter for the first week, and likely much of the season since Roethlisberger isn’t ready to be an NFL quarterback yet. However, the intriguing bet for Week One starter here is Batch, for the following reason: If Maddox were to get hurt in preseason, I don’t think the Steelers will want to rush Roethlisberger into the lineup. As a result, they would likely turn to Batch as the starter until Maddox returned. That makes Batch (at 40-1) a potentially great value bet.

San Diego
Drew Brees 1-6
Philip Rivers 2-1
Doug Flutie 3-1
Cleo Lemon 100-1
Any other 25-1

As evidenced by the relatively close odds between Brees, Rivers and Flutie, the oddsmakers have no clue who will emerge during training camp as the starter. There are rumors out of San Diego that Brees could be on his way out. If that’s the case, and Rivers does a decent job during the exhibition season, I won’t be surprised if Rivers, who’s more ready to play right away than Roethlisberger and maybe even Manning, starts from the get-go.

New York Giants
Kurt Warner 1-12
Eli Manning 2-1
Jesse Palmer 8-1
Ryan Van Dyke 100-1
Any other 30-1

Warner has yet to show that he’ll ever get back to the MVP level he was at just a couple of years ago, and I don’t trust the throwing hand that’s been broken multiple times. Plus, he has looked shaky in the pocket the last couple of times he played, and his confidence looks shot. All of that adds up in my book to Manning being the starter from Week One on. Palmer’s odds seem way too low. He’s not the solid veteran starter head coach Tom Coughlin would seem to turn to if Warner doesn’t work out. Peyton Manning started all 16 games as a rookie, so I won’t be surprised if Eli does too.

Washington
Mark Brunell 1-6
Patrick Ramsey 6-5
Tim Hasselbeck 20-1
Gibran Hamdan 100-1
Any other 25-1

I know that Ramsey was upset when Brunell was brought in via free agency and, he has worked hard this offseason to prove to head coach Joe Gibbs that he should remain the starter. But Gibbs is partial to veteran signalcallers like Brunell, and Brunell hardly played last year, which should keep him fresh and ready to go for the start of the season. It won’t be a surprise if Ramsey starts at some point this season, but Gibbs has built this team for a title run in the next two years and he’s looking at Brunell as his guy in the short term.