Fantasy Football 2012 Week 7 Rankings: Top 25 Quarterbacks

There are some obvious top options for the upcoming week, but what happens after the top five or six? 

How do we view quarterbacks who are struggling, like Cam Newton or Matthew Stafford?  What about Andy Dalton, who is quickly entrenching himself as one of the better options in the league? 

Let’s take a look at how everything falls for the upcoming week:

1. Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – at Tampa Bay
2. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – at St. Louis
3. Tom Brady – New England Patriots – vs. New York Jets
4. Eli Manning – New York Giants – vs. Washington
5. Robert Griffin III – Washington Redskins – at New York Giants
6. Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – at Cincinnati
7. Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Cleveland
8. Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Pittsburgh
9. Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys – at Carolina
10. Jay Cutler – Chicago Bears – vs. Detroit
11. Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers – vs. Dallas
12. Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions – at Chicago
13. Ryan Fitzpatrick – Buffalo Bills – vs. Tennessee
14. Josh Freeman – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – vs. New Orleans
15. Joe Flacco – Baltimore Ravens – at Houston
16. Christian Ponder – Minnesota Vikings – vs. Arizona
17. Mark Sanchez – New York Jets – at New England
18. Carson Palmer – Oakland Raiders – vs. Jacksonville
19. Matt Hasselbeck – Tennessee Titans – at Buffalo
20. Sam Bradford – St. Louis Rams – vs. Green Bay
21. Matt Schaub – Houston Texans – vs. Baltimore
22. John Skelton – Arizona Cardinals – at Minnesota
23. Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks – at San Francisco
24. Brandon Weeden – Cleveland Browns – at Indianapolis
25. Alex Smith – San Francisco 49ers – vs. Seattle

Thoughts:

• Robert Griffin III showed that the concussion he suffered in Week 5 is nothing to be concerned about.  Keep in mind, however, that a lot of his value comes via his legs, not throwing the football (1,343 yards, five TD passes).  While RG3 is going to get his, the Giants do have a lot of experience against mobile quarterbacks, including Michael Vick and Cam Newton.  Obviously, he has evolved into a must-use option, but keep in mind that if a team can keep him out of the end zone (six rushing TD) his value isn’t quite going to be there.
• Three teams have allowed 15 TD already this season: the Redskins, Browns and Patriots.  Eli Manning is always considered one of the better options, but with this matchup against Washington, how can we not love him?
• Last season Tom Brady torched the Jets for 650 yards, four TD and one INT, and that was with Darrelle Revis playing.  Does anyone really think the Jets can stop him this season?
• While the Pittsburgh Steelers have allowed 200.8 passing yards per game, they have allowed nine TD with two INT.  In other words, Andy Dalton (and his 12 TD vs. nine INT) is not an option that you want to avoid.  While the matchup makes him more of a low-end QB1, he still has the value as one.
• Matthew Stafford came alive a bit in Week 6, throwing for 311 yards (his second consecutive 300+ yard game), one TD and one INT.  However, with a tough matchup and five INT in two games against the Bears in ’11, he is a low-end option.  Sooner or later we have to think he is going to get fully on track, and he’s shown signs, but for now we need to continue being a little bit conservative.
• The Houston passing defense got annihilated by Aaron Rodgers and company in Week 6, but Joe Flacco is not Aaron Rodgers.  While Flacco has played well overall this season, over the past two weeks he has thrown for just 421 yards, one TD and one INT.  In this day and age, that’s a great week for some players.  The matchup and the recent play are going to keep Flacco as more of a QB2.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 7 rankings:

• Top 25 Tight Ends