Week 11 Start Em Sit Em: Philip Rivers and More Big-Name QBs to Bench

No position in fantasy football is more valuable than quarterback. Now, injuries and byes have made the position relatively thin this week.

Still, I am looking at guys who are owned in all or nearly all of ESPN leagues, and not all of them are good plays. 

Only one of these guys is starting in over half of those leagues, but the other two are owned in many. Owners must resist the urge to start these guys.

Philip Rivers

Of all active quarterbacks, Rivers is by far the best one that must be benched. But right now, the guy is just not performing. 

In past seasons, Rivers has been a fantasy stud but this year, he's throwing too many interceptions and too few touchdowns.

Against a defense like the Bears on the road, I really don't like Rivers' chances of not having a few turnovers. He'd need to throw for about 400 yards to make up for it, and that's a very optimistic assumption.

Joe Flacco

Flacco's not starting in many leagues, but he's owned in a lot. Given the rash of injuries to the quarterback position this week, I am worried that people will rush to put guys like him in the lineup. Well, I am worried about everyone who's not a league rival of mine. I encourage such behavior from them.

I am anticipating a low-scoring clash on Sunday between the Bengals and Ravens. If you're not going to score a lot of touchdowns, then you need to throw for a lot of yards. I doubt that happens. 

This will be a low-scoring clash.

Ryan Fitzpatrick

Fantasy's darling of the early season has a star that's fading quite fast. Normally, I would advise owners to play a quarterback opposing Miami, but that's not quite the way the two are going.

Fitzpatrick is really sliding, while the Dolphins' defense is getting significantly better. It's amazing how things change over the span of a few weeks.

I have a similar fear with Fitzpatrick that I do with Flacco. He's not starting in many leagues, but with Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees on a bye, as well as guys like Matt Schaub and Michael Vick being out, owners have a tendency to overreact. 

Do whatever you need to do with your team, but that would be ill-advised.