Fantasy football: Week 2 QB matchup rankings
I’ve got no way to predict what’s going to happen on Sunday.
Even the best prognosticators didn’t think Tim Hightower would have 12 catches, or that Willie Parker would have 13 carries for 19 yards (that’s among the most pitiful performances I have ever seen).
Some prognosticators – Super Ninja jzak, for example – do seem like they’ve made a deal with the devil to see into the future. How do they do it? Beats me.
But what I do know is that when it comes to picking your lineup, looking at past performances can pay dividends. Last week, I told readers that Ben Roethlisberger was going to have a good game. I was off on the projections, but the fact is he had a great game.
But, and it’s a pretty big one, matchup evaluation also pegged Parker for a strong game.
So take these rankings with a grain of whatever food additive you choose and understand that they’re based on matchups and not final rankings. I provided commentary where I felt it was warranted.
Week 2 Quarterback matchup rankings
- Kurt Warner @ Jacksonville
- Peyton Manning @ Miami
- Tom Brady @ NY Jets
- Drew Brees @ Philadelphia – Philly D is strong this year, made the Panthers – Jake Delhomme in particular – look worse than they are.
- Matt Schaub @ Tennessee – Titans were torched by Big Ben last week.
- Tony Romo vs. NY Giants
- Aaron Rodgers vs. Cincinnatti
- David Garrard vs. Arizona – Shootout in the FLA?
- Philip Rivers vs. Baltimore – Ravens will shut down the run, can Rivers make them pay?
- Matt Ryan vs. Carolina – Did you see what the Eagles did to Carolina last week?
- Kyle Orton vs. Cleveland – If Orton’s going to do anything in 2009, it’ll come against a team like the Browns. Still, an example of the matchups vs. real rankings discussion above.
- Ben Roethlisberger at Chicago
- Matt Hasselbeck at San Francisco
- Shaun Hill vs. Seattle
- Joe Flacco at San Diego
- Brodie Croyle vs. Oakland – The honest to goodness matchup has Croyle 13th. I couldn’t bring myself to type a list that had Croyle in the top 13 of anything.
- Bryon Leftwich at Buffalo
- Mark Sanchez vs. New England
- Chad Pennington vs. Indianapolis
- Eli Manning at Dallas
- Jason Campbell vs. St. Louis
- Kevin Kolb vs. New Orleans – You should know to stay away from Kolb until he shows he can do anything at the NFL level.
- Brett Favre at Detroit
- Kerry Collins vs. Houston
What do you guys think? Are any of you starting Kyle Orton against the Browns or Brodie Croyle against Oakland? Let us know in the comments.
Like your Matt Schaub vs. Tennessee pick at No. 5. People are terrified of the Texans in general after just one week against a much-improved Jets defense, but Schaub has too many weapons not to succeed.
Surprised not to see Trent Edwards. Tampa Bay’s defense isn’t what it used to be and Edwards fared well against New England last week despite both his main receivers (Owens and Evans) struggling.
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Like I said, this is based on matchups and not necessarily rankings.
Frankly, I’d rather have Owen Daniels as a TE than Schaub as a QB this week. Daniels is primed for a big week against the Jets. (Edit–If he was playing the Jets, which he’s not. My goof, but Schaub is looking awesome early).
On your Edwards question: Tampa Bay gave up the sixth-least points to a quarterback throughout all of 2008.
I’m considering last week’s Buccaneers performance a belch until we get a few more quarters under our belt.
Even if the Buccaneers are that bad, Edwards is no Romo, TO will be no Roy Williams in 2009 and comparing Lee Evans to Patrick Crayton is an insult to the Cowboys receiver.
In the preseason I said Romo and the Cowboys were going to struggle without TO, now I believe they’ll be significantly better.