Week 8 Fantasy Player Rankings: The Most In-Depth Rankings in the Industry

Week 8 QB Player Rankings

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Rankings for RBs, WRs, and TEs

1. Peyton Manning (vs Hou)

This one’s one of the biggest no-brainers of the year.  In his last three games against the Texans, Peyton Manning has averaged 331.7 yards and 2.33 TDs, while in the matchup earlier this season, he threw for a whopping 433 yards, three TDs and no INTs. 

If you happen to be playing against Peyton this week, you might want to think about making a couple of side-bets to cover your losses.  In fact, if NFL Betting is your thing, it couldn’t hurt to go check out the site immediately.  The Colts are looking for some serious payback this weekend…

2. Philip Rivers (vs Ten)

Rivers has now thrown for the third most yards over the first seven games of the season ever… and it doesn’t seem to matter who his receivers are.  No Vincent Jackson?  No Malcolm Floyd?  No Legedu Naanee?  A gimpy Antonio Gates?  Who cares?! 

Racking up 336 yards and a TD against the Patriots last week might not seem like a big thing considering how bad their Pass D is, but Tennessee’s really isn’t all that much better.

3. Drew Brees (vs Pit)

I’m not going to tell you that the Saints are going to beat the Steelers, but if they are, it will happen on the arm of Cool Brees.  Pittsburgh owns the best Rush D in the game by far, but their Pass D can be beaten as they rank 24th right now with 236 yards allowed/game. 

Strangely enough, as bad as he and the Saints have seemed, Brees right now is actually ahead of his pace last year in terms of yards (2,029 to 2,006) and ahead of his pace in terms of TDs compared to 2008 (14 to 12).

4. Tom Brady (vs Min)

Brady is riding a 22-game winning streak at home, which is three off the 25-game streak set by Brett Favre from 1995-98.  Over the past couple of seasons, Brady has become more of a home-game slinger than in the past, and if he wants to continue his streak, that’s exactly what he’ll have to do against the Vikings.  If Rodgers could do it at home last week, why not Brady?

5. Ben Roethlisberger (@ NO)

Big Ben has started off his 2010 season on fire, and it won’t slow down against the Saints.  Yes, New Orleans may be third in the league in passing yards allowed/game (180), but consider who they’ve gone against:  A cold Brett Favre without Sidney Rice, Alex Smith, Matt Ryan, Jimmy Clausen, Max Hall, Josh Freeman and Colt McCoy. 

That’s THREE rookies folks, so if you think their Pass D is really that good, Big Ben is about to show you differently.

6. Kyle Orton (@ SF)

This isn’t really an away game for the Broncos, just so you know, as the game will be played overseas in England.  That said, Orton has had a bit of a tough time lately.  Going up against Baltimore, the NY Jets, and a fifth-ranked Oakland Pass D three weeks in a row will do that to you. 

However, San Fran isn’t nearly that special, as they rank 15th in passing yards allowed/game and are 21st in passing TDs allowed/game.  Considering that the ‘Niners Rush D is still pretty darn good, I expect Orton to be passing all game long yet again this week in London and put up some pretty good numbers.

7. Matt Schaub (@ Ind)

The Texans didn’t have to pass the ball against the Colts the first time around, but they will in this one.  They’ll try the same approach during the first quarter, maybe quarter and a half, but as soon as Manning gets a 10-14 point lead, Schaub will have to start whipping the pigskin around.  Rolling up 300 yards and three TDs is a long shot, but if Manning goes off, then Schaub will have to match him.

8. Ryan Fitzpatrick (@ KC)

I just puked in my mouth a little bit seeing Ryan Fitzpatrick in my top 10 QBs this week, but my goodness, there’s really nothing I can do about it.  The guy is simply on a roll that supersedes whatever piece of crap he was up until this point. 

All of the sudden, the Bills have become a passing team, and a pretty good one at that.  Lee Evans is a great talent, while Steve Johnson has the size to beat most corners in the league.  Throw on top that the Chiefs Pass D is 25th in the league in yards allowed/game, and Fitz could be munching at the Kibbles ‘N Bits by the end of this game.

9. Carson Palmer (vs Mia)

I still think Palmer sucks, but it’s time to at least admit that the receiving corps of Owens, Ochocinco, Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham will save him his job.  Well, maybe not save him his job, as the Bengals are still only 2-4 after last week’s loss (in which Palmer put up 412 yards and three TDs), but he’s safe for the rest of the season. 

Miami allows a QB Rating of 90.2 this year, so Palmer should have himself a nice day at home this weekend.

10. Brett Favre (@ NE)

 This is obviously a ranking based on whether Favre plays or not this week.  I’ll be updating this piece accordingly, but go ahead and check out all the news at either http://www.pyromaniac.com/ or http://www.ffpharmacy.com/ to find out for yourself if you so please. 

The Patriots have an atrocious Pass D, so if Favre plays, he’ll do just fine… especially with a Randy Moss looking for a little payback this week against his former team.

11. Aaron Rodgers (@ NYJ)

I know, the Jets haven’t been nearly as good with their pass D this year as they have been in the past, but something tells me a 100 percent healthy Darrelle Revis shadowing Greg Jennings and an Antonio Cromartie cancelling out Donald Driver will make a big difference in the Packers game. 

I can’t feasibly tell you to sit Rodgers this week, but don’t be surprised to see a mere 175 yards and one TD in the stat column when all is said and done the New Meadowlands Stadium this Sunday.

12. Jon Kitna (vs Jax)

No, he’s not Tony Romo and is a lot closer to being his father than his brother, but he can still get the job done.  Having one of the best receiving corps in the league will certainly help, as will the fact that the Jags are 27th in passing yards/allowed and last in passing TDs allowed.  If Romo was your guy, go ahead and slot Kitna right in there with him out.

13. Matthew Stafford (vs Was)

Stafford is finally back from his injury, and right in time to face the 31st ranked pass D in the league.  Calvin Johnson should be healed by now while the WR corps should all have had a good couple of weeks getting in tune with young Matty. 

It may not be a 300-yard game, but the Lions have scored with the best of ‘em this year, so a couple of TDs shouldn’t be out of the question.

14. Donovan McNabb (@ Det) – McNabb sure is taking his sweet time in looking to nab that first 2-TD passing game this year, but the wait should be over this week.  Detroit can score, yet their defense still sucks.  If McNasty wants to show the fantasy world he’s still worth a shot on any given Sunday, this is the week he’ll do it.

15. Chad Henne (@ Cin) – The Bengals have proven they can be beat both on the ground AND through the air, and while the Dolphins have one of the best RB tandems in the league, they still pass the ball like crazy.  In fact, Henne has thrown the ball over 39 times/game while putting up an average of 289 yards and 1.75 TDs over the last 4 games.  It's a good bet he sticks right around those numbers this week against a relatively soft Cinci D.

16. Mark Sanchez (vs GB) – Sanchez and the Jets have had a week to prepare for this game, and I have no doubt they’ll be ready.  The Pack has a ton of injuries, likely making it easier for the Jets to simply run the ball down their throat, but don’t be so sure.  Rex Ryan and Sanchez would love to get Santonio Holmes more involved in the offense for a good stretch run into the playoffs, and coming off a Bye is as good a time as any.  This ain’t the Dirty Sanchez of old folks; he can actually pass the ball this year.

Week 8 rankings for RBs, WRs, and TEs

Teams with QBs on a bye this week are Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, NY Giants, Philadelphia