Week 12: QB2s Take Over - 8 comments

The byes are over, fantasy owners are scrambling for quarterbacks and there are three great games on schedule for Thursday. Welcome to the stretch run of the 2011 season.

We as a nation struggled through one of the tougher byes last week, with the Texans, Steelers and Saints all taking off in Week 11. Most of the players on those teams are back, including Andre Johnson, who hasn’t played since Week 4. Unfortunately for him (and for his owners), he’ll return to a Matt Schaub-less world, as the fantasy QB1 has been placed on the IR and replaced by draft bust Matt Leinart.

The USC product isn’t the only QB2 pressed into action this week — Chicago’s Caleb Hanie, Kansas City’s Tyler Palko and Philadelphia’s Vince Young are expected to join him, as Jay Cutler, Matt Cassel and Michael Vick all continue to deal with injuries of varying severity. There’s also a chance we could see backups John Skelton, Jake Locker and even QB5 or QB6 (I lost count) Dan Orlovsky in action. Hooray, playoff races!

That’s the bad news — the great news is that Thanksgiving this year brings not only a feast to the dinner table, but a feast to any football fan’s eyes. We get a showdown between the Packers and the Lions up first in a game that may be the Pack’s biggest stumbling block to a perfect season. Then, the surging Dolphins (winners of three in a row) face the now-in-first Cowboys. Finally, the football buffet is finished with a bro-battle between Harbaughs as the division leading Ravens and 49ers square off. With that in mind, we’re bringing you early rankings this week. Enjoy.

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	at DET	100
2	Cam Newton	CAR	at IND	94
3	Matthew Stafford	DET	vs. GB	89
4	Tom Brady	NE	at PHI	84
5	Tony Romo	DAL	vs. MIA	83
6	Matt Ryan	ATL	vs. MIN	83
7	Drew Brees	NO	vs. NYG	82
8	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	at KC	82
9	Eli Manning	NYG	at NO	82
10	Philip Rivers	SD	vs. DEN	79
11	Tim Tebow	DEN	at SD	71
12	Vince Young	PHI	vs. NE	64
13	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	vs. BUF	61
14	Josh Freeman	TB	at TEN	58
15	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	vs. TB	57
16	Carson Palmer	OAK	vs. CHI	53
17	Joe Flacco	BAL	vs. SF	49
18	Sam Bradford	STL	vs. ARI	47
19	Rex Grossman	WAS	at SEA	44
20	Tarvaris Jackson	SEA	vs. WAS	43
21	Kevin Kolb	ARI	at STL	42
22	Andy Dalton	CIN	vs. CLE	41
23	Christian Ponder	MIN	at ATL	40
24	Caleb Hanie	CHI	at OAK	40
25	Matt Moore	MIA	at DAL	39
26	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	at NYJ	38
27	Curtis Painter	IND	vs. CAR	38
28	Alex Smith	SF	at BAL	37
29	Colt McCoy	CLE	at CIN	37
30	Matt Leinart	HOU	at JAC	35
31	Blaine Gabbert	JAC	vs. HOU	26
32	Jake Locker	TEN	vs. TB	25
33	Tyler Palko	KC	vs. PIT	24
34	John Skelton	ARI	at STL	22
35	Dan Orlovsky	IND	vs. CAR	22

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Arian Foster	HOU	at JAC	95
2	Matt Forte	CHI	at OAK	92
3	LeSean McCoy	PHI	vs. NE	88
4	Darren Sproles	NO	vs. NYG	83
5	Steven Jackson	STL	vs. ARI	82
6	Ray Rice	BAL	vs. SF	81
7	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	at KC	80
8	Michael Bush	OAK	vs. CHI	76
9	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	vs. WAS	75
10	Chris Johnson	TEN	vs. TB	75
11	DeMarco Murray	DAL	vs. MIA	74
12	Frank Gore	SF	at BAL	73
13	Michael Turner	ATL	vs. MIN	71
14	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	vs. HOU	70
15	Reggie Bush	MIA	at DAL	70
16	Kevin Smith	DET	vs. GB	70
17	Beanie Wells	ARI	at STL	70
18	LeGarrette Blount	TB	at TEN	69
19	Willis McGahee	DEN	at SD	68
20	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	at NO	65
21	Cedric Benson	CIN	vs. CLE	65
22	Ryan Mathews	SD	vs. DEN	63
23	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	at IND	61
24	Shonn Greene	NYJ	vs. BUF	59
25	Joseph Addai	IND	vs. CAR	56
26	Mike Tolbert	SD	vs. DEN	55
27	Mark Ingram	NO	vs. NYG	55
28	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	at PHI	53
29	Ben Tate	HOU	at JAC	50
30	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	at IND	49
31	Marion Barber	CHI	at OAK	48
32	C.J. Spiller	BUF	at NYJ	47
33	Montario Hardesty	CLE	at CIN	47
34	James Starks	GB	at DET	45
35	Toby Gerhart	MIN	at ATL	43
36	Pierre Thomas	NO	vs. NYG	43
37	Roy Helu	WAS	at SEA	42
38	Jackie Battle	KC	vs. PIT	42
39	Javon Ringer	TEN	vs. TB	39
40	Lance Ball	DEN	at SD	36
41	Donald Brown	IND	vs. CAR	36
42	Johnny White	BUF	at NYJ	35
43	Chris Ogbonnaya	CLE	at CIN	35
44	Dexter McCluster	KC	vs. PIT	34
45	Bernard Scott	CIN	vs. CLE	33
46	Joe McKnight	NYJ	vs. BUF	31
47	Ryan Torain	WAS	at SEA	30
48	Daniel Thomas	MIA	at DAL	30
49	Ryan Grant	GB	at DET	29
50	Kendall Hunter	SF	at BAL	29
51	Danny Woodhead	NE	at PHI	29
52	Kregg Lumpkin	TB	at TEN	29
53	Isaac Redman	PIT	at KC	28
54	Delone Carter	IND	vs. CAR	28
55	Maurice Morris	DET	vs. GB	26
56	D.J. Ware	NYG	at NO	25
57	Marcel Reece	OAK	vs. CHI	24
58	Justin Forsett	SEA	vs. WAS	23
59	Felix Jones	DAL	vs. MIA	22
60	Evan Royster	WAS	at SEA	22

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. GB	100
2	Steve Smith	CAR	at IND	92
3	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	at STL	89
4	Wes Welker	NE	at PHI	88
5	Marques Colston	NO	vs. NYG	87
6	Jordy Nelson	GB	at DET	85
7	Vincent Jackson	SD	vs. DEN	85
8	Andre Johnson	HOU	at JAC	84
9	Mike Wallace	PIT	at KC	80
10	Brandon Lloyd	STL	vs. ARI	80
11	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	at NO	75
12	DeSean Jackson	PHI	vs. NE	75
13	Nate Washington	TEN	vs. TB	75
14	Anquan Boldin	BAL	vs. SF	74
15	Dez Bryant	DAL	vs. MIA	73
16	Roddy White	ATL	vs. MIN	73
17	Percy Harvin	MIN	at ATL	71
18	Greg Jennings	GB	at DET	69
19	Laurent Robinson	DAL	vs. MIA	69
20	Victor Cruz	NYG	at NO	67
21	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	vs. BUF	67
22	Brandon Marshall	MIA	at DAL	66
23	Torrey Smith	BAL	vs. SF	66
24	A.J. Green	CIN	vs. CLE	65
25	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	vs. BUF	63
26	Michael Crabtree	SF	at BAL	61
27	Early Doucet	ARI	at STL	61
28	Antonio Brown	PIT	at KC	60
29	Nate Burleson	DET	vs. GB	59
30	Damian Williams	TEN	vs. TB	59
31	Santana Moss	WAS	at SEA	57
32	Harry Douglas	ATL	vs. MIN	57
33	Mike Williams	TB	at TEN	55
34	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	vs. NE	55
35	Dwayne Bowe	KC	vs. PIT	53
36	Vincent Brown	SD	vs. DEN	53
37	Julio Jones	ATL	vs. MIN	53
38	Deion Branch	NE	at PHI	52
39	Mario Manningham	NYG	at NO	51
40	Riley Cooper	PHI	vs. NE	51
41	Steve Johnson	BUF	at NYJ	49
42	Sidney Rice	SEA	vs. WAS	48
43	Legedu Naanee	CAR	at IND	48
44	Earl Bennett	CHI	at OAK	47
45	Austin Pettis	STL	vs. ARI	44
46	Lance Moore	NO	vs. NYG	43
47	Michael Jenkins	MIN	at ATL	43
48	Jason Avant	PHI	vs. NE	43
49	Greg Little	CLE	at CIN	42
50	Eric Decker	DEN	at SD	42
51	Denarius Moore	OAK	vs. CHI	42
52	Jerome Simpson	CIN	vs. CLE	41
53	Pierre Garcon	IND	vs. CAR	41
54	Jabar Gaffney	WAS	at SEA	41
55	Titus Young	DET	vs. GB	39
56	Steve Smith	PHI	vs. NE	39
57	Josh Cribbs	CLE	at CIN	38
58	David Nelson	BUF	at NYJ	37
59	Steve Breaston	KC	vs. PIT	37
60	Reggie Wayne	IND	vs. CAR	37
61	Andre Roberts	ARI	at STL	37
62	Doug Baldwin	SEA	vs. WAS	36
63	Jacoby Jones	HOU	at JAC	36
64	Emmanuel Sanders	PIT	at KC	36
65	Brandon Gibson	STL	vs. ARI	36
66	Jason Hill	JAC	vs. HOU	35
67	Roy Williams	CHI	at OAK	35
68	Davone Bess	MIA	at DAL	34
69	Chaz Schilens	OAK	vs. CHI	34
70	Lee Evans	BAL	vs. SF	34
71	Arrelious Benn	TB	at TEN	31
72	Robert Meachem	NO	vs. NYG	31
73	Johnny Knox	CHI	at OAK	31
74	Eddie Royal	DEN	at SD	30
75	Randall Cobb	GB	at DET	29
76	Braylon Edwards	SF	at BAL	29
77	Donte Stallworth	WAS	at SEA	29
78	Kevin Walter	HOU	at JAC	28
79	Preston Parker	TB	at TEN	27
80	Devin Hester	CHI	at OAK	27
81	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	at SD	26
82	Andre Caldwell	CIN	vs. CLE	25
83	James Jones	GB	at DET	25
84	Mike Williams	SEA	vs. WAS	24
85	Hines Ward	PIT	at KC	24
86	Dezmon Briscoe	TB	at TEN	23
87	Mike Thomas	JAC	vs. HOU	19
88	Mohamed Massaquoi	CLE	at CIN	18
89	Jonathan Baldwin	KC	vs. PIT	17
90	Chad Ochocinco	NE	at PHI	16

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Rob Gronkowski	NE	at PHI	100
2	Jimmy Graham	NO	vs. NYG	81
3	Jason Witten	DAL	vs. MIA	77
4	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	vs. MIN	72
5	Antonio Gates	SD	vs. DEN	70
6	Fred Davis	WAS	at SEA	69
7	Kellen Winslow	TB	at TEN	67
8	Brent Celek	PHI	vs. NE	66
9	Heath Miller	PIT	at KC	66
10	Jermichael Finley	GB	at DET	65
11	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	vs. GB	63
12	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	vs. CLE	62
13	Owen Daniels	HOU	at JAC	62
14	Aaron Hernandez	NE	at PHI	55
15	Ed Dickson	BAL	vs. SF	55
16	Jake Ballard	NYG	at NO	53
17	Kevin Boss	OAK	vs. CHI	52
18	Tony Scheffler	DET	vs. GB	51
19	Dustin Keller	NYJ	vs. BUF	48
20	Anthony Fasano	MIA	at DAL	47
21	Greg Olsen	CAR	at IND	45
22	Scott Chandler	BUF	at NYJ	44
23	Vernon Davis	SF	at BAL	41
24	Jacob Tamme	IND	vs. CAR	40
25	Jared Cook	TEN	vs. TB	39
26	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	at ATL	36
27	Zach Miller	SEA	vs. WAS	33
28	Dennis Pitta	BAL	vs. SF	31
29	Lance Kendricks	STL	vs. ARI	31
30	Jeremy Shockey	CAR	at IND	29
31	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	vs. HOU	27
32	Todd Heap	ARI	at STL	25
33	Delanie Walker	SF	at BAL	25
34	Kyle Rudolph	MIN	at ATL	24
35	Ben Watson	CLE	at CIN	23

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Mason Crosby	GB	at DET	74
2	David Akers	SF	at BAL	72
3	John Kasay	NO	vs. NYG	71
4	Nick Novak	SD	vs. DEN	70
5	Matt Bryant	ATL	vs. MIN	68
6	Dan Bailey	DAL	vs. MIA	66
7	Shaun Suisham	PIT	at KC	65
8	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	vs. CHI	64
9	Robbie Gould	CHI	at OAK	60
10	Jason Hanson	DET	vs. GB	59
11	Steven Hauschka	SEA	vs. WAS	59
12	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	at PHI	54
13	Connor Barth	TB	at TEN	54
14	Mike Nugent	CIN	vs. CLE	54
15	Olindo Mare	CAR	at IND	52
16	Billy Cundiff	BAL	vs. SF	50
17	Neil Rackers	HOU	at JAC	49
18	Josh Scobee	JAC	vs. HOU	49
19	Phil Dawson	CLE	at CIN	48
20	Dave Rayner	BUF	at NYJ	48
21	Rob Bironas	TEN	vs. TB	47
22	Shayne Graham	MIA	at DAL	45
23	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	at NO	42
24	Graham Gano	WAS	at SEA	42
25	Nick Folk	NYJ	vs. BUF	41
26	Alex Henery	PHI	vs. NE	38
27	Josh Brown	STL	vs. ARI	37
28	Ryan Longwell	MIN	at ATL	35
29	Matt Prater	DEN	at SD	34
30	Adam Vinatieri	IND	vs. CAR	29
31	Jay Feely	ARI	at STL	27
32	Ryan Succop	KC	vs. PIT	25

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opponent	Score
1	Chicago Bears	CHI	at OAK	71
2	St. Louis Rams	STL	vs. ARI	69
3	Denver Broncos	DEN	at SD	68
4	San Francisco 49ers	SF	at BAL	66
5	Green Bay Packers	GB	at DET	65
6	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	at STL	64
7	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	at KC	61
8	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	vs. WAS	61
9	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	vs. MIA	59
10	New England Patriots	NE	at PHI	54
11	Washington Redskins	WAS	at SEA	53
12	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	vs. CLE	53
13	Miami Dolphins	MIA	at DAL	53
14	New York Jets	NYJ	vs. BUF	53
15	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	vs. PIT	52
16	Houston Texans	HOU	at JAC	52
17	Buffalo Bills	BUF	at NYJ	51
18	Oakland Raiders	OAK	vs. CHI	51
19	Carolina Panthers	CAR	at IND	48
20	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	vs. HOU	46
21	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	vs. NE	46
22	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	vs. SF	45
23	San Diego Chargers	SD	vs. DEN	44
24	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	vs. MIN	43
25	Detroit Lions	DET	vs. GB	39
26	New Orleans Saints	NO	vs. NYG	38
27	New York Giants	NYG	at NO	38
28	Tennessee Titans	TEN	vs. TB	37
29	Indianapolis Colts	IND	vs. CAR	35
30	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	at ATL	27
31	Cleveland Browns	CLE	at CIN	22
32	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	at TEN	17

R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.

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8 Responses to “Week 12: QB2s Take Over”

joejlitz says:

November 23, 2011 at 10:57 pm

OK. So if Addai is out, is Donald Brown at 25 or higher? CAR defense stinks against the run.
Reply
texansfan2000 says:

November 24, 2011 at 12:01 am

Houston Defense is rated 16th?? The #1 total defense versus the #32 total offense and they only rank 16? Even without Schaub houston running game is gonna control the clock, not to mention Houston is coming off a bye. wow.
Reply
Drift Monkey says:

November 24, 2011 at 1:32 am

Agreed, Texans D @ 16 is way off
Reply
daullaz says:

November 24, 2011 at 11:57 am

@joejlitz: I’d say that’s probably right.
Reply
daullaz says:

November 24, 2011 at 12:02 pm

@texansfan2000: Fantasy points aren’t scored by controlling the clock, per se. The Jaguars are just an average matchup for fantasy defenses, and the Texans scored just six points when these two teams met a few weeks back. What place did that tie them for that week? 16th.
Reply
Youngsir620 says:

November 24, 2011 at 12:10 pm

Which WR should I start in place of Stevie Johnson since he will be on Revis Island..

Harry Douglas, Vincent Brown, Damian Williams, or Riley Cooper.
Reply
texansfan2000 says:

November 24, 2011 at 4:07 pm

@daullaz: In NFL.com standard scoring leagues Texans D scored 13 pts vs Jags in Week 8 … 1 sack 2 int 14 pts allowed and only 174 total yards… which equalled to 13 pts. The jags are 32 in total offense and 31st in scoring.
Reply
Youngsir620 says:

November 24, 2011 at 9:00 pm

Also Lance Moore is available and so is Pierre garcon
Reply