Quarterbacks

Start 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Outperform Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype

Brett Favre vs. DEN
Brett the Jet enters Sunday’s showdown with the Broncos having posted 3 straight games with a QB rating of 103.7 or better, with 5 TDs and just 1 INT in that span. I don’t see a letdown here against Denver’s leaky D. He looks comfortable – he isn’t making as many risky throws - and Favre and the Jets are a confident bunch right now after 2 huge road wins. Expect the strong play to continue.

Chad Pennington @ STL
James Chadwick Pennington is in line for good totals this week at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis. Chad had a career-high 341 yards last week to go along with 3 TDs - and while you shouldn’t expect a repeat performance - Pennington certainly has the ability to throw for 250 yards and 2 scores. The Rams are one of 3 NFL teams (Lions, Broncos) to allow opposing signal-callers a triple-digit QBs rating.

Ben Roethlisberger @ NE
Ben has finally put together 2 consecutive games without a turnover after throwing 8 INTs in the previous 3. He has only tossed 1 TD since October 26th, but he is a good bet for multiple scores this week. Only the Cardinals (22) have given up more passing TDs than the Patriots (19). Roethlisberger has a decent track record against the Pats, with 5 TDs and 0 INT in 3 career regular season games.

Jeff Garcia vs. NO
Garcia can’t hold a candle to Drew Brees, but he should do an efficient job quarterbacking at home against the Saints on Sunday. He’ll keep the mistakes to a minimum and spread the ball around; he has a decent shot to post back-to-back multiple TD games for the first time this season. Garcia has completed 71.5 % of his passes in the 6 games since returning from his benching, and in 7 career games against New Orleans he’s thrown 15 TD passes and 6 INTs.

Jay Cutler @ NYJ
The Jets have been tough against the run and let’s face it – they are a better team than the Broncos. Despite Peyton Hillis scoring 3 TDs in his last 2 games, Cutler is going to have to be active if the Broncos want to stay in this game. I like his chances to bounce back from last week’s stinker. In his last 2 games away from Invesco Field, Cutler has thrown for 663 yards with 4 TD and 1 INT.

Bench 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Under Perform Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype

Jake Delhomme @ GB
The Packers aren’t nearly as bad as Drew Brees made them look on Monday Night...are they? Heck - even if they are - the mystique of Lambeau Field must be good for something. I’m just not buying into Jake Delhomme here. Sure, he threw for 295 yards last week but I can’t be so quick to forget the 95 yard effort against the Lions in Week 11. Delhomme has done nothing this year to make me think that he is in for a special game.

Derek Anderson vs. IND
Anderson reclaimed his starting job thanks to Brady “The Medicine Man” Quinn’s season-ending finger injury, but Pamela Anderson in her prime couldn’t resuscitate the beleaguered passing attack of the Browns. It is a stretch to think that Derek will do much damage at all this week against Colts, who have given up an NFL-low 4 passing TDs this season to go along with 10 INTs.

Tyler Thigpen @ OAK
In his last 5 games Thiggy has completed 59.6% of his passes for 1,185 yards with 11 TDs and 3 INTs. Not too shabby, but he’s in a much tougher spot this week at Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders may very well stink, but their passing defense has played well, allowing only allowed 1 aerial TD and 421 passing yards in their last 3 games. KC should feature a run-first approach since Oakland serves up nearly as many yards on the ground (160) per game as they do through the air (195).

Matt Cassel vs. PIT
Cassel has finally hit his stride, in his last 2 outings he became just the 5th QB in NFL history to post back-to-back 400+ yard games. That’s where the fun stops, because this week he lines up against the #1 defense of the Steelers. Pittsburgh is giving up an NFL-best 168.8 yards per game through the air. Peyton Manning is the only QB to throw for 200+ yards against them this season.

Eli Manning @ WAS
Eli found himself on the other side of the SCR last week and delivered 240 yards and 3 TDs. In a tough matchup he won’t kill fantasy owners with boneheaded interceptions anymore, but if you have a better option this week you should roll him out. The Redskins have held 10 of their 11 opponents under 218 passing YPG and in his career Eli has never thrown for more than 1 TD in a game against Washington.

Running Backs