Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

- Written by Cory Steger
- Edited by Marc Caviglia
- Predictions are based on Staff Consensus

::WEEK 11 RANKINGS UPDATED AS OF NOVEMBER 20, 2010::

Finally we are done with the bye weeks and ready to head down the home stretch into the fantasy playoffs. Of course, there are a couple of teams that wish they still had a bye week because of dire quarterback situations. The Miami Dolphins decided to start Chad Pennington last week except he hurt his shoulder and is out for the rest of the season. Chad Henne came in and later hurt his knee, and his status for Thursday’s game with the Chicago Bears is in jeopardy. Enter third-string Tyler Thigpen. He is not the only third-string quarterback who could play this week, though, as the Carolina Panthers could turn to rookie Tony Pike. Pike, a 6th-round pick out of Cincinnati, could start because Jimmy Clausen suffered a concussion during last week’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Original Carolina starter Matt Moore is out for the season with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.

While the quarterback situations in Carolina and Miami are less the desirable right now, the fact that the bye weeks are over means that fantasy owners win. To see how all 32 starting quarterbacks fall this week, continue reading our Fantasy Football Week 11 Quarterback Rankings.

**RANKINGS BASED ON STANDARD SCORING - 1 POINT PER 25 PASSING YARDS, 1 POINT PER 10 YARDS RUSHING, 4 POINTS ALL PASSING TOUCHDOWNS, -2 POINTS ALL TURNOVERS**

1. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) vs. Denver

San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers continues to chug along despite the lack of a top-flight receiver. The good news is that tight end Antonio Gates may play this week, which would be a huge boost to Rivers. Of course even if Gates doesn’t return then Rivers will still have a big day. In his last four games against Denver, Rivers has thrown seven touchdowns and just one interception. The Broncos are giving up an average of around 16 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks, and they rank 30th in the league in points allowed per game. This is a defense that Rivers can, and will, exploit.
Point Projection: 22 points

2. Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles) vs. New York Giants

There is no stopping Vick right now. Everyone imagined he would put together a solid performance against the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football, however, Vick more than exceeded expectations. His 333 passing yards, 80 rushing yards and six total touchdown led to 49 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues and helped fantasy football owners across America pull out miracle wins in Week 10. In fact, his 49 fantasy points are the highest ever recorded in a standard scoring format at the quarterback position. This would appear to be a tough matchup for the Philadelphia Eagles and quarterback Vick. However, given the level he is play at, and how poorly the Giants played in last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys perhaps the New York defense has been exposed. If there’s one thing Vick excels at it’s taking advantage of whatever opportunity the defense presents him with, which should make it a good day for the southpaw.
Point Projection: 22 points

3. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) @ New England

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning didn’t have a touchdown in last week’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Holy crap, what should we do? Panic!? No, quite the opposite in fact. The last time Manning was held scoreless was a Week 6 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, and in his next game he eclipsed 300 passing yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Also consider that the New England Patriots are giving up almost 17 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks and the meeting of these two AFC rivals will be won by Manning. Well, at least from a statistical standpoint it will be.
Point Projection: 20 points

4. Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) vs. Seattle

Before the bye week rumors started to surface that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was dealing with multiple knee injuries that would require offseason surgery. He told Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer none of was true then went out and threw for 253 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in a Week 9 win over the Carolina Panthers. So Brees is fine and even if he’s not 100 percent right (and really, what player is?) his stats haven’t been affected. The Seattle Seahawks have given up four 20-point fantasy games to opposing quarterbacks this season, and coming off a bye we wouldn’t be surprised if Brees puts on a clinic against the Seahawks
Point Projection: 20 points

5. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) @ Minnesota

The one big problem with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers this season has been that he’s thrown too many interceptions that cut down the value of his 15 touchdown passes. Yet in the two games before last week’s bye Rodgers didn’t throw any picks to offset his three touchdowns. Let’s hope it continues that way and maybe we’ll start seeing more 20-plus point performances from him. Unfortunately don’t look for Rodgers to surpass 20 points this week. The Minnesota Vikings have allowed just one 20-point performance this year, and even though it looks like the players have given up on coach Brad Childress, they are playing for themselves right now. Still, Rodgers will produce like the QB1 you drafted him as.
Point Projection: 19 points

6. Tom Brady (New England Patriots) vs. Indianapolis

So, uh, is Tom Brady back? The New England Patriots quarterback has now thrown seven touchdowns with no interceptions in the team’s last four games, and he only has four interceptions all season. His stats appear to be on line with those from last year, except for his interceptions, which have dropped considerably. Brady is learning to play well with the new players the team has, such as receivers Deion Branch and Brandon Tate, hybrid Danny Woodhead and tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. The offensive style has shifted from what it was in years past, yet Brady continues to put up great numbers. This week’s game against the Indianapolis Colts should be no different. For his career Brady has averaged 254.6 passing yards per game and totaled 17 touchdowns against 10 picks against the Colts.
Point Projection: 18 points

7. Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos) @ San Diego

He hasn’t been the most consistent quarterback this season but Kyle Orton of the Denver Broncos is at least taking care of the football. He’s only thrown five interceptions and lost one fumble. Orton had mixed results playing against the San Diego Chargers last year, however, he is playing better football in 2010 and it showed show in Week 11. Though the Chargers are third in passing yards allowed, they are giving up an average of 21.9 points game. There will be some opportunities for Orton and the Broncos, let’s just hope they didn’t waste all of their offense in last week’s blowout win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
Point Projection: 17 points

8. Eli Manning (New York Giants) @ Philadelphia

When things go wrong for New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, they go very wrong. Manning has thrown an interception in six games this year, and in five of those he threw two or more picks. One of those games was last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys where Manning threw two touchdowns and two interceptions. Though his 378 yards made up for the interceptions, that was because the Giants were playing from behind all day. We would expect a similar output fantasy-wise this week, but perhaps with less yards against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Point Projection: 17 points

9. Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) vs. Houston

New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez is very happy that Santonio Holmes is on the team. Holmes had a 52-yard reception that set up the game-winning field in the team’s overtime win over the Detroit Lions two weeks ago, and last week Holmes caught a 37-yard touchdown pass with less than a minute left in overtime to defeat the Cleveland Browns. his 23 fantasy points marked the second straight week in which Sanchez has rewarded his owners with 20-plus points. Sanchez has a favorable matchup against the Houston Texans this week, who are giving up around 20 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. It may not be that much for Sanchez as an early lead will likely lead to a heavy running game from the Jets.
Point Projection: 17 points

10. Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) @ Carolina

Though it came in a losing effort last week Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco continued his recent streak of good play, throwing for 215 yards with three touchdowns and one interception against the Atlanta Falcons. Expect that good play to continue this week against the Carolina Panthers. For the last three weeks the Panthers have given up two touchdown passes in each game and have only intercepted one pass during that time. The Panthers don’t give up many passing yards but are giving up 23.9 points per game.
Point Projection: 17 points

11. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) vs. Oakland

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 387 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in last week’s loss to the New England Patriots. Those stats are great, yet a large part of the reason he put up those stats was because the Patriots took an early lead and at the Steelers abandoned the running game. Don’t expect the same thing to happen this week against the Oakland Raiders. The Steelers haven’t lost consecutive games this season and should come out firing on all cylinders. That’s good for Pittsburgh but it means that Roethlisberger won’t be attempting 49 passes like he did last week.
Point Projection: 16 points

12. Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) @ St. Louis

With 10 touchdowns and just two interceptions in his last five games, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is really picking up steam right now. Plus Ryan has the added bonus of wide receiver Roddy White, who looks like his knee injury isn’t bothering him at all. They’ve had extra time to rest and gameplan for this week’s game against the St. Louis Rams because they played on the previous Thursday. However, don’t expect a huge performance like we saw from Ryan in Week 10. The Rams have given up just four passing touchdowns and have forced four interceptions in their last four games. Still, Ryan is playing at an elite level and after last week it would be tough to bench him, regardless of the matchup.
Point Projection: 16 points