Week 13 QB Rankings: Start Sit ~ Rebound or Go Home
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Last week we accurately picked Brett Favre to go big against Chicago, but a number of other quarterbacks jumped off the stat sheet with huge performances. Perhaps the most impressive Week 12 giant was Vince Young, who has been an amazing resurrection in Tennessee.
For many teams, like Chicago, the season is now unofficially over. For others, like Tennessee, it’s only getting interesting. But there are still lots of questions for teams that are in the clear, Indianapolis, that are climbing into the race, like Tennessee, or are playing out the schedule, like Chicago.
This week’s games could provide a lot of drama for fantasy owners.
Most leagues have Weeks 14-16 designated for playoffs as well. This is the week that owners really need to evaluate their options, and the playoff schedule moving forward. Now is the time to effectively position your waiver claims to help in the playoffs as much as address potential help in Week 13. We’ll rank the QBs for Week 13, but be ready for a comprehensive playoff ranking coming this weekend.
Week 13 Rankings
1. Philip Rivers, SD @ CLE – by this point in the season, if you don’t start looking for matchups like this you’re losing. Rivers is putting up great numbers, and plays a terrible team. Look out below, Cleveland!
2. Carson Palmer, CIN vs DET – see everything I said about Rivers.
3. Drew Brees, NO @ WAS – just in case you didn’t see him OWN New England, Brees is an MVP front runner. Watch him put 300 and at least two touchdowns on the Skins.
4. Matt Schaub, HOU @ JAX - look up at everything I said about Palmer and Rivers.
5. Peyton Manning, IND vs TEN – it won’t be Brees-Brady, but this could be a fun, high-scoring match up in a divisional rivalry reborn. Manning could have a huge week against a banged up secondary.
6. Vince Young, TEN @ IND – he isn’t managing the game right now. Young’s running well, and throwing well, and he’s going to have to put points on the board to beat Peyton Manning. Yes, Chris Johnson will have a big game. But teams like the Colts (ie good ones) game plan to eliminate the other team’s best player; that means the Colts are going to force Young to beat them. He might, too.
7. Brett Favre, MIN @ ARI – again, great quarterback against a questionable secondary. This might end as Favre’s best season.
8. Aaron Rodgers, GB vs BAL – Denis Dixon looked pretty good against the Ravens last week. Rodgers is better in every aspect of the game than Dixon, who was starting for the first time. This might be a trap game for the Ravens, and the Packers are fighting for their playoff lives.
9. Joe Flacco, BAL @ GB – he put 289 yards on Pittsburgh last week. Yes, Pittsburgh doesn’t have a shut down corner like Charles Woodson, but Flacco’s been getting a lot of cheap yards by finding Ray Rice out of the backfield.
10. Jay Cutler, CHI vs STL – the rumor mill is buzzing in Chicago that Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo should/will be fired. The Bears come home after getting destroyed in Minnesota to an unhappy fan base with the perfect remedy: the Rams. Everything in logic says Cutler should be up near Palmer and Rivers, but it’s going to be around freezing in Chicago on Sunday and Cutler hasn’t played well even against losers like Cleveland. I wouldn’t drop Cutler until Monday (unless you can grab Young off waivers still).
On the fence! My jury’s still out on these guys this week:
CAR: Jake Delhomme is not good. Yes, he’s got Tampa this week, but he made high school mistakes last week. Delhomme’s history indicates he bounces back from awful performances well, but I’m not sure he’s got it any more.
PHI: Donovan McNabb won’t have DeSean Jackson or Brian Westbrook in Atlanta this week. My issue isn’t with McNabb as much as I wonder who he’ll throw the ball to for your points.
NYJ: Mark Sanchez is falling apart, but the Bills have given up some yards through the air this year. The weather won’t be a factor because they’re playing in Toronto’s dome, but how Sanchez approaches a division rival that picked him off five times earlier this year makes him intriguing to me.
DAL/NYG: the weather in New York might be miserable for a game that could, because of injuries to their runnings games, see a need for lots of throwing. I’m not sure how Tony Romo‘s back or Eli Manning‘s legs will hold up if it’s freezing in the Meadowlands.
Injuries! Check back later this weekend for updates on the following situations as they develop:
DEN: Kyle Orton‘s ankle might continue to be an issue for the Broncos. Check back closer to game time for info on their plans.
ATL: Matt Ryan‘s already been ruled out for the Falcons’ game against Philadelphia. Chris Redman wasn’t bad in relief, but Philly isn’t an easy win.
PIT: Big Ben has locker room drama to deal with on top of getting his head right after a concussion. He was a late scratch last week, and the Steelers have Oakland (Dixon might be good enough).
ARI: Kurt Warner had a headache last weekend and didn’t play, and Matt Leinart was mediocre (as always). Keep an eye out for who’s starting here, and whether or not Warner can make it a full game against Jared Allen and Company.
Bench! Leave these guys on your bench or, more appropriately, send them to the waiver wire:
MIA: Chad Henne gets the honor of playing New England after they got their doors blown off by Drew Brees. Good luck, kid.
CLE, DET, OAK, STL: You can’t play Jimmy Clausen, Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford this week, so don’t sweat anyone on any of these rosters *(except maybe Calvin Johnson).
Check out all our Rankings, in our usual start sit fashion.
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Good call with Donovan McNabb but other than that wtf are you talking about?
Kyle Orton's ankle issue was a mute point 10 days ago, he is fine.
The Bill's have yielded only 9 passing touchdowns this year with 21 ints. Plus the team is on fire and you're recommending Mark Sanchez as "On the fence"?? Mark Sanchez???
Jake Delhomme broke his index finger and they're talking about putting him on IR.
You seriously need to rethink your list and pay more attention to the news before you start ranking QBs to us.
If you read the article, FC, I rank a Top 10 for this week, then a few guys I'm on the fence about, some injuries of note, and teams/players I would avoid.
In a 12-team league, someone has to start the 12th-14th best QB each week. Given the issues with Matt Ryan being out, Big Ben and Kurt Warner still coming back from concussions, and other quarterback struggles, there are guys that might be available on waivers that might be a good last minute pick up if Warner or Big Ben or Delhomme don't play. Sanchez, in my opinion, is a guy that's worthy of a look in that scenario.
With regard to Buffalo's defense, what quarterbacks have they played this year to light them up? They had Brady and Brees on the schedule early, and then what? Cleveland? the 6-3 loss? Miami and Chad Henne? Delhomme? C'mon man! The Bills have played a mediocre schedule and played well enough to cost Dick Jauron his job. They have allowed 31 ppg in the four games they've played against legit QBs (Brady, Brees, Schaub & V. Young), and have seen their team stats padded by playing icons like Brady Quinn and Byron Leftwich.
Oh, and what about 1-2 since the bye and allowing 73 pts in three games qualifies the Bills as "on fire"?
I will, however, admit that the Bills owned Sanchez in their first meeting, intercepting him five times. But that played a role in me being on the fence about Sanchez. If he's a competitor, he'll want to play better after being embarrased last time the division rivals played.
But all of this foundation shouldn't even be needed. I didn't say "Drop Peyton for Sanchez." I said I was on the fence about starting him, meaning I was ranking him somewhere between 11 and 30. Why are we whining about Sanchez? If I had ranked all 32 QBs, and put Sanchez at 16 or 18, would you have felt the need to ask "wtf"? I doubt it.
With regard to Orton, I question his mobility. He's not a runner to start with, and the ankle will be sore when it's 30 degrees in KC this week. I wouldn't play Orton because I'm not sure Denver's going to need to throw the ball much against the Chiefs, but his ankle being sprained recently is something to watch on a questionable turf in cold weather.
Actually, weather won't decide anything for Sanchez or any of the Jets or Bills. Game is being played in Toronto, roof is going to be closed.
good catch! I'll update accordingly
Jake Delhomme I'm not even going to argue with you about. Yes, his finger's hurt. But when this piece was written, on Wednesday, he wasn't on the IR. If he goes on the IR, we'll update the news/notes. But he's playing Tampa this weekend. Go back and read what I have to say about him. I say he doesn't have it any more and I don't know what to believe from him, but he has historically bounced back from miserable games with strong performances.
You need to seriously consider what is written in the article before you blast the author over some guys I'm "on the fence" about. If I had been bold enough to say "sit Drew Brees, he sucks" then I would accept your criticism. But you're getting your panties into a bunch over Kyle Orton and Mark Sanchez and Jake Delhomme? Really? As they say on Monday Countdown, C'mon man!
Nice Piece Tab.. it's always hard to go out on limbs! Good picks, we will have to check back Monday and see how it paned out.
Here's an interesting question – I have Brees and Palmer as my QBs. Clearly, Palmer's been on the bench all year…. But I think it might actually be a better matchup to sit Brees vs. WAS and start Palmer vs. Detroit…
My league shows these stats:
Washington gives up an average of 13 FPs to QBs. The give an average of 15 to those with offenses I personally ranked as "good" or better.
Detroit gives up an average of 25 FPs to QBs…and an average of 27 to offenses I ranked "good" or better.
Further, looking at the WAS numbers, they've been able to keep even good/great QBs in check…see these scores:
E. Manning – 13
McNabb – 12
Ryan – 10
Orton – 19 (the most all season)
Romo – 12
Thoughts on this?
It's an interesting choice, and I envy your drafting! There are a couple things to consider…
Both games are outdoors, so weather could play a role. For that, I would check back here on Sunday morning for an update (or, even better, subscribe to the Dominator Service and we'll tell you what's up!).
The other consideration is that Washington's defense has done well against other top quarterbacks this year, but they had a more healthy compliment of running backs in most of those games. Brees has more healthy running backs at the top of his depth chart, so Palmer might be asked to throw more to put the Lions away before Larry Johnson & Co. run the clock out. I would say both QBs should be over 20 pts, so either way you'll be good.
Well that's the 2nd and last time I follow advice to start Palmer