Week 12 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Mediocre QBs You Can Trust

There are awesome quarterbacks, there are bad quarterbacks and then there are the quarterbacks that occupy the area in between.

These are the quarterbacks who can be tough to judge, which can be a problem if you're trying to figure out which quarterback to start in a given week.

Maybe I can help. There are a handful of mediocre quarterbacks that I don't think you should risk starting in Week 12, but there are four in particular that I think are safe plays.

In alphabetical order, here they are.

Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams

Sam Bradford has had to put up with a lot of criticism this year, but it's not his fault that he's having a disappointing season. His offensive line has some holes in it, and he still doesn't have a marquee receiver to throw to.

These are things the Rams will have to address at a later date, but I actually think Bradford is going to be okay on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. Their pass defense ranks 27th in the NFL, and they don't have much of a pass rush. 

We're still waiting on Bradford's first multi-touchdown game, and I think there's a good chance we're going to see it on Sunday.

Matt Hasselbeck, Tennessee Titans

Matt Hasselbeck has a wounded elbow, but the word from the Titans is that he's looking pretty good for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I assume he's going to be able to start.

I also assume Hasselbeck will be able to play well. The Buccaneers struggle in pass defense, and it doesn't help that they also have pass rush problems. Hasselbeck hasn't been much of a fantasy goldmine ever since Kenny Britt went down, but he should be able to put up solid numbers in this game.

Oh, in case you're wondering, Hasselbeck won't get any help from Chris Johnson, but he should be used to that by now.

Christian Ponder, Minnesota Vikings

A lot of people are going to be wary of playing Christian Ponder this weekend because of the fact he's not going to have Adrian Peterson to help him out.

That worries me too, but only to an extent. The glass-half-full way of looking at things is that Peterson's absence will create more throws for Ponder, which could translate to more yards and a touchdown or two.

It should help that the Vikings are facing the Atlanta Falcons and their subpar pass defense. You may have to live with an interception or two, but I think Ponder still has scoring potential.

Mark Sanchez, New York Jets

Ah, Mark Sanchez. Is there a better punching bag in the NFL?

Probably not, but Sanchez should be the one having the last laugh against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The last time he faced them, he posted a QB rating of 92.9 and completed 71.4 percent of his passes.

This time around, Sanchez and the Jets will be at home, and the Jets' offense should see plenty of action now that Buffalo's own offense is without Fred Jackson. I'm not anticipating "wow" numbers from Sanchez, but he should have one of his better games.