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Week 5 Start or Sit QB Rankings: Big Ben, Big Points

October 8, 2009 by Kurt Turner

So as we turn the page on week 4 in the NFL, we are starting to get a good idea on which QBs are good for fantasy. More importantly, we are starting to see which defenses are great match ups for opposing QBs. Sometimes if a borderline top 12 QB is up against a great matchup, he can start in place of a stud like Manning or Brees. Let's take a look at which defenses have been letting teams pass on them at will:

Team Pts/G TotPts Comp Att Pct Att/G Yds Avg Yds/G TD Int 1st 20+ 40+ Sck Rate
Detroit Lions 33.5 134 95 131 72.5 32.8 961 7.7 240.2 12 2 55 9 2 7 118.8
Tennessee Titans 27 108 102 149 68.5 37.2 1,129 8.1 282.2 10 3 58 15 3 9 107.1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26.8 107 65 107 60.7 26.8 887 8.6 221.8 9 4 44 11 6 6 101.1
St. Louis Rams 27 108 75 119 63.0 29.8 898 7.9 224.5 7 2 48 13 3 7 100.2
Arizona Cardinals 22.7 68 65 109 59.6 36.3 841 8.0 280.3 7 2 38 10 3 8 98.8
Jacksonville Jaguars 21.5 86 110 153 71.9 38.2 1,129 7.5 282.2 7 4 60 11 1 3 97.7
Dallas Cowboys 19.5 78 92 142 64.8 35.5 1,025 7.5 256.2 6 2 46 13 3 6 95.7
Carolina Panthers 29 87 60 89 67.4 29.7 539 6.5 179.7 5 2 31 7 0 4 94.6
Seattle Seahawks 20.5 82 88 131 67.2 32.8 879 7.1 219.8 5 2 45 45 1 9 94.2
Pittsburgh Steelers 19.5 78 90 146 61.6 36.5 873 6.3 218.2 7 1 54 57 1 8 92.8
Kansas City Chiefs 28 112 77 139 55.4 34.8 1,002 7.4 250.5 8 2 51 12 4 5 92.5

So as we take a look at all these fantasy friendly defenses on this spreadsheet, we will see two discrepancies. First, Pittsburgh is on this list. While Pittsburgh hasn't been the best defense, they've been pretty good. The only reason they have been in the bottom 10 for opposing QBs is because Troy Palamalu has been out. He has been practicing and looks to come back, so ignore them on this list. That is why I included the 11th ranked Kansas City Chiefs.

The second discrepancy we see on this list is the Carolina Panthers. They are indeed one of the worst passing defenses in the league but if you look at the raw numbers it doesn't appear that way. The reason for this is they have only played three games. While they have only played three games, they are allowing 67 percent of passes to be completed against them. They are 29th in the league in completion percentage allowed, which tells me QBs are getting time to make great passes against them. Unlike the Steelers, Carolina will continue to be one of the worst teams in the league defending the pass as the season goes on.

Some other interesting things to look at on this list include the Lions and Jacksonville defenses. They are allowing more than 70 percent of the passes against them to be completed! When I see those numbers, I salivate at the idea of starting the QB going against those defenses.

Alright, now that we have taken a look at fantasy friendly defenses, let's look at the rankings for QBs headed into week 5:

We call him "Big Ben" when he plays football, but Ben Roethlisberger doesn't look so big compared to WWE wrestlers.

Week 4 Byes: Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers

QB Rankings:

Ranking Quarterback Name Match up Notes
1 Peyton Manning @TEN There's too many good things to say about Indy's offense, so I'll just say START HIM!
2 Ben Roethlisberger @DET Even with a newly found running game, Roethlisberger will tear up Detroit for two or three TDs.
3 Tony Romo @KC KC couldn't get a sack at White Castle, let alone against the Dallas O-Line
4 Donovan McNabb TAM If he can come back right from his injury he's going to have a field day against the Tampa secondary.
5 Kurt Warner HOU The Texans defense as a whole just doesn't look sharp, 5 sacks in 4 games.
6 Matt Schaub @ARI If this game wasn't a shootout through the air, I'd be completely surprised.
7 Brett Favre @STL You might think AP would run it all day against StL, but they might rest him later in the game and let Favre air it out.
8 Jason Campbell @CAR Jason Campbell has quietly been one of the better fantasy QBs this year, even with his interceptions.
9 David Garrard @SEA Look at what Manning did to them last week. Garrard has his legs to add to his fantasy value.
10 Kyle Orton NE You can't complain about a guy who doesn't turn it over and has Brandon Marshall as a weapon.
11 Tom Brady @DEN It's going to be really tough for Brady to play against that defense that is second in the league with 15 sacks.
12 Joe Flacco CIN Cincinnati's defense is for real but Baltimore's running game will create opportunities for Flacco and company.
13 Matt Ryan @SF San Francisco's defense is for real, which could pose problems for the Falcons and their passing offense which has been lacking this season.
14 Carson Palmer @BAL Baltimore's passing defense is strong so expect Palmer to throw a few picks
15 Shaun Hill ATL Don't expect Crabtree to do much, if he even appears at all. However you can expect 200 yards and 1 TD at least.
16 Matt Cassel DAL I really should rank Cassel higher because he's been decent this year, but I just don't trust that KC O-Line.
17 Trent Edwards CLE Their offense needs to drop the no-huddle, because they look like utter crap so far.
18 Mark Sanchez @MIA Sanchez is mentally tough, so I don't expect his grand collapse last weekend to effect him much this week.

Remember, if you want some added assistance with your start/sit decisions, don't be afraid to drop a line in our Start/Sit advice here at Top Fantasy Football. We'd be happy to help!

Also, it's not too late to sign up for the Dominator Service here at Top Fantasy Football. With the Dominator Service, you can get:
# Real time injury reports for any players in the NFL
# Game time weather updates
# Player stats projections
# Wavier Wire alerts sent to your email inbox before anyone has a chance to get those prized Waiver Wire gems.

Category - Fantasy Football News and Analysis - Week 5 Start or Sit QB Rankings: Big Ben, Big Points

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About Kurt Turner

Kurt's fantasy advice is featured on USA Today Sports, Bleacher Reports, SiriusXM and Fox Sports. He is the owner of FantasyKnuckleheads.com and has been butchering topics here for over 15 years. Follow him on Twitter

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