Week 7 Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: QBs Not Worth the Risk

Admittedly, this is a pretty tough week for fantasy owners who own Tom Brady, Michael Vick and Ryan Fitzpatrick. The three of them have the week off, leaving plenty of owners scrambling for answers.

The good news is that there are answers out there. You're not going to find elite QBs out on the waiver wire, but you will find some who can at least hold down the fort until the guys with the big guns return to action.

Just make sure you don't trust one of the five guys listed below to hold down the fort for you. If you do, you'll be rolling the dice in a very big and very unnecessary way.

Charlie Whitehurst/Tarvaris Jackson, Seattle Seahawks

Only desperate people start a Seattle quarterback in this day and age. The trouble with Week 7 is that we don't know which one is going to start. Will it be Charlie Whitehurst or Tarvaris Jackson?

Good question. Jackson is dealing with a strained pectoral muscle, but The Seattle Times reported on Wednesday night that he hasn't yet been ruled out for Sunday's tilt against the Cleveland Browns.

My advice is that both quarterbacks are a bad play. Neither of them are very good, and the Browns have the league's fourth-best passing defense.

John Beck, Washington Redskins

On the bright side, there's no way John Beck can be any worse under center against the Carolina Panthers than Rex Grossman was against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.

But whether or not Beck has the ability to be that much better than Grossman remains to be seen. You can trust that he will be if you want to, but you you have to keep in mind that Washington's offense isn't very pass-heavy to begin with.

If Beck does well, great. You can pick him up for next week. He should be available.

Blaine Gabbert, Jacksonville Jaguars

None of us had high hopes for Gabbert before this season even started, and he hasn't done much in his four starts to raise those hopes at all.

Because of that, Gabbert is only worth owning in the deepest of deep leagues. In those leagues, he's only worth starting in an emergency.

But trust me, the last thing you want to do is start Gabbert against the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. Their defense is as beastly as it usually is, and I fear that they may do to Gabbert what they did to Mark Sanchez.

Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings

I've actually gone on record saying that I think Ponder will be better than expected in his very first NFL start, which will come against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

That being said, even I recognize that I went out on a limb to make that claim. I stand by it, but it's a bold one. So from a fantasy perspective, I think you're better off playing it safe by keeping Ponder on the bench. He has the potential to be a good QB someday, but he has a lot to lean in the meantime.

One way or another, the Packers are going to teach him plenty on Sunday.

Carson Palmer, Oakland Raiders

They gave up way, way too much to get him, but Carson Palmer is a good pickup for the Raiders. With Jason Campbell out, they were going to need a steady presence under center, and Palmer should at least be capable of being just that.

He could also be a steady fantasy producer at some point. But to expect Palmer to burst out and rack up points in his very first start on just a couple days of practice is the acme of foolishness.