Week 3 Fantasy Football Player Rankings - Quarterbacks-  09/19/12

Quarterback Player Rankings – Week 3

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Quarterbacks                 (Updated:  Thursday, Sept. 20 - 4:16PM CT)

1.           Matthew Stafford (@ Ten) – You don’t REALLY think Stafford is only going to throw one TD a game for the rest of the season, do you? Listen, the Rams secondary is obviously a lot better than everyone anticipated, so Staff’s 355-yard, 1-TD game against them really wasn’t all that bad. Last week he went into San Francisco to face a 49ers squad that pretty much shut down Aaron Rodgers in Lambeau the game before. Expectations are high for the Lions QB, but the fact of the matter is that 350 yards and three TDs aren’t going to show up in the box score every week. It’s just not realistic. This week, however, I believe he puts up those numbers and maybe more as he goes up against Titans defense that’s given up 36 points a game thus far. Their pass D has been the main culprit allowing QBs to complete an astounding 74.6 percent of their passes. Look for Staff to have a major rebound this week after his slow start.

2.           Drew Brees (vs. KC) – Brees has thrown an insane 101 passes so far this season while averaging 332 yards and two TDs a game. On the other hand, he’s only completed 55 of them and thrown just as many interceptions as touchdowns. The Saints are off to a horrific start in 2012 being the only team in the entire NFC without a win while also losing at home to the Redskins in Week 1 after going 8-0 there in 2011. With the Chiefs pass defense allowing the second-most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season, I expect Brees to control this game from the start while the Saints ride his arm to a much needed victory.

3.           Cam Newton (vs. NYG - Thursday Night) - It would have been just his eighth-highest fantasy scoring output last season, but at least Cam looked back to normal last weekend against the Saints throwing for 253 yards and one TD while rushing in another. Granted, it WAS the Saints, who look like they may have one of the worst-five defenses in the game right now, but Newton and the Panthers still looked good. This week he’ll take on a Giants defense that hasn’t looked much better than the Saints thus far, but they could get CB Prince Amukamara back in their secondary which would give them at least a slight boost. Either way, Steve Smith and Brandon LaFell should both be open a ton so expect another nice fantasy week out of the big QB. The emergence of WR Brandon LaFell should cause some headaches for the Giants secondary and give Newton enough firepower to come up with big-time fantasy stats. 

4.           Robert Griffin III (vs. Cin) – Is this kid for real? His best receiver, Pierre Garcon, didn’t even dress for the Week 2 matchup against the Rams and Griffin STILL found a way to put up the most QB fantasy points for the week. I know nobody wants to make the comparison, but this sort of output (i.e. - leading the league in fantasy points after two weeks) has to remind owners of Cam Newton last year, right? Anyway, RGIII goes up against a Cincinnati pass defense this weekend that just allowed Brandon Weeden to throw for 322 yards and two TDs against them, so you have to like the rookie’s chances for fantasy success. Even more so if Pierre Garcon makes it back.

5.           Matt Ryan (@ SD) – Matt Ryan is doing exactly what I thought he’d be doing so far this season; carving up defenses with tremendous accuracy, increasing his TD percentage and putting up top-5 QB fantasy numbers. Not everybody has weapons like Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez to throw to, so obviously Ryan has a bit of an advantage, but Atlanta knew what they had and did the right thing this offseason by changing their offensive scheme to a new hurry-up, no huddle juggernaut. This week, Ryan will be looking at a Chargers pass D that is all sorts of banged up at the moment. Their numbers may look good on paper, but don’t believe everything you read. San Diego’s top CB, Quentin Jammer, is playing with a broken hand while their No. 3 CB, Shareece Wright, is out with an ankle injury. Julio, Roddy and Gonzo and going to eat them alive.

6.           Tony Romo (vs. TB) – After a real nice start to the fantasy season against the Giants, Romo had himself a bit of a stinker last weekend throwing for just 251 yards and one TD on 40 pass attempts against the Seahawks. Don’t worry though, folks, as the ‘Boys return for some home cookin’ this weekend in the form of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs looked like they may have changed their ways when they held Cam Newton down in Week 1, but their true identity showed when they allowed Eli Manning to throw for 510 yards and three TDs last Sunday. Romo LOVES playing at home as well throwing for two or more TDs in 25 of 32 home games since 2007.

7.           Aaron Rodgers (@ Sea - Monday Night) – Rodgers is another one of those top-tier QBs that hasn’t quite looked right yet, but you know will. An average of 261 yards and 1.5 TDs a game isn’t what fantasy owners bargained for when they drafted him in the first round, and I’m not so sure he’ll make up for it just yet either. The Seattle Seahawks boast a pretty tough pass D allowing the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs so far this season after being just one of five teams to have more INTs than TDs allowed in 2011. Rodgers is usually beyond statistics such as these, but with Greg Jennings still not quite 100 percent and the game being both away from home and on Monday night (Rodgers has performed below his averages in both circumstances), you shouldn’t expect a return to fantasy greatness just yet.

8.           Joe Flacco (vs. NE - Sunday Night) – Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense have improved with their switch to an up-tempo style, but the Eagles were up to the task last weekend and showed that it’s all still a work in progress. Flacco wasn’t horrible in throwing for 232 yards and a TD and the Eagles certainly have a defense to be reckoned with this season, so don’t start jumping off the wagon with Joe Cool just yet. This Sunday night, Baltimore will host a Patriots team with a defense that’s getting better but still a work in progress. Last season they gave up the most fantasy points to QBs and though they’ve worked their way out of the cellar this season, they’re still pretty average. Interestingly, they’ve also allowed Flacco to toss up two TDs in every single full game he’s played against them, so in a potential shoot-out, you might want to jump back on the wagon for this one.

9.           Eli Manning (@ Car - Thursday Night) - There was no doubt Eli would put up better numbers against the Buccaneers in Week 2 than he did versus the Cowboys, but I’m not so sure anyone would have called that 510-yard, 3-TD outburst. However, he wouldn’t have needed to go berserk like that had he not thrown three first half INTs and put the Giants in a 24-13 hole. This week he’ll face off against a stubborn Panthers defense that allowed just one TD to Drew Brees last Sunday while picking off two, but I don’t believe they’ll be able to go back-to-back weeks holding down Cruz, Barden and Randle after what they did to Marques Colston and Lance Moore. With TE Martellus Bennett also coming into his own and starting RB Ahmad Bradshaw listed as OUT, look for Manning to toss it up 35-40 times en route to a low-end QB1/high-end QB2-type fantasy day. By the way, Eli had 35 or more passing attempts 10 times last season averaging 332.5 yards, 1.9 TDs and 1.3 INTs in those games.

10.       Michael Vick (@ Ari) – Vick has led the Eagles to two 1-point victories this season and though they’re 2-0, it hasn’t been pretty. With another offensive lineman going down for the season now as well (center Jason Kelse), things may turn a bit ugly for Vick as he’s already thrown SIX interceptions in two games. On the bright side, Vick has two 300-yard games and four TDs (3 pass, 1 rush) so far so he’s at least giving his fantasy owners something to smile about. He’ll have a tough time against the Cardinals this Sunday as they just held Brady to a pretty sub-par game and are sixth in QB fantasy points allowed, but he’s finding ways to put up the stats owners need. Besides, he DID just scorch a Ravens defense for 371 yards, even with Jeremy Maclin hobbled…which it looks like he will be again in Week 3.

Quarterbacks 11-25

11.       Ben Roethlisberger (@ Oak)

12.       Philip Rivers (vs. Atl)

13.       Andrew Luck (vs. Jax)

14.       Andy Dalton (@ Was)

15.       Tom Brady (@ Bal - Sunday Night)

16.       Jake Locker (vs. Det)

17.       Matt Cassel (@ NO)

18.       Peyton Manning (vs. Hou)

19.       Jay Cutler (vs. StL)

20.       Alex Smith (@ Min)

21.       Ryan Fitzpatrick (@ Cle)

22.       Matt Schaub (@ Den)

23.       Mark Sanchez (@ Mia)

24.       Brandon Weeden (vs. Buf)

25.       Christian Ponder (vs. SF)

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- 09/19/12