Week 11 byes: Dallas Cowboys (Tony Romo), and St. Louis (Kellen Clemens)
Injuries to the quarterback position weren’t as devastating in Week 11, as they were in Week 10, when Aaron Rodgers went down with a fractured collarbone.
We did however see a season ending injury to Jake Locker, as well as a familiar name going down in Jay Cutler. Not to mention a quarterback cut down before his not-so-prime, in Seneca Wallace.
We try to preach patience as a virtue when playing fantasy football, and in 2-QB leagues, that sometimes involves holding onto a back-up quarterback, even when there seems to be no chance they’ll see the field.
In the case of Josh McCown, that was something we tried to recommend last week.
Cutler has been fantastic in his role as Marc Trestman’s on field signal caller, and he has averaged 17.2 standard fantasy points per game in his seven full/near full games.
When Cutler came back sooner than expected, many of his 2-QB league owners were eager to insert him back into their starting line-ups. We know how the story ended, with Cutler scoring 12 fantasy points, but having to leave the game with what was later diagnosed as a high-ankle sprain injury.
A suitable fill-in earlier in the year, McCown came in and once again proved more than adequate as Cutler’s replacement, and he gets a chance to show #TeamTrestman enthusiasts why Trestman’s style of offense is a welcome sight to the NFL.
If you held onto McCown, you get another chance at a QB1 streaming option, and if you dropped him, and a competing league mate picked him up, you will have learned the hard way the importance of patience in fantasy football.
Below you’ll find my Week 11 quarterback rankings for 2-QB leagues, followed by my weekly Stock Watch report. If you’re looking for alternative quarterback rankings in 2-QB leagues for the week, make sure you check out TwoQBs.com
Week 11 Fantasy Quarterback Rankings for 2-QB Leagues:
1. Russell Wilson VS. Minnesota Vikings
2. Nick Foles VS. Washington Redskins
3. Robert Griffin III @ Philadelphia Eagles
4. Drew Brees VS. San Francisco 49ers
5. Peyton Manning VS. Kansas City Chiefs
6. Cam Newton VS. New England Patriots
7. Matthew Stafford @ Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Josh McCown VS. Baltimore Ravens
9. Case Keenum VS. Oakland Raiders
10. Matt Ryan @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11. Philip Rivers @ Miami Dolphins
12. Mike Glennon VS. Atlanta Falcons
13. Andrew Luck @ Tennessee Titans
14. Tom Brady @ Carolina Panthers
15. Alex Smith @ Denver Broncos
16. Andy Dalton VS. Cleveland Browns
17. Ryan Fitzpatrick VS. Indianapolis Colts
18. Jason Campbell @ Cincinnati Bengals
19. Ben Roethlisberger VS. Detroit Lions
20. Ryan Tannehill VS. San Diego Chargers
21. Carson Palmer @ Jacksonville Jaguars
22. Colin Kaepernick @ New Orleans Saints
23. Terrelle Pryor @ Houston Texans
24. Christian Ponder @ Seattle Seahawks
25. Joe Flacco @ Chicago Bears
26. Eli Manning VS. Green Bay Packers
27. EJ Manuel VS New York Jets
28. Geno Smith @ Buffalo Bills
29. Scott Tolzien @ New York Giants
30. Chad Henne VS. Arizona Cardinals
Week 11 Quarterbacks on the Rise in 2-QB Leagues:
Josh McCown
Josh McCown and Jay Cutler featured prominently in the introduction to this week’s Stock Watch report article, and here we are again with McCown getting another crack at the starting quarterback gig for the Chicago Bears.
Numerous times we’ve gone over McCown, both as a player, and his fantasy production, and with Cutler’s recent high-ankle sprain deemed a week-to-week injury, we might get to see McCown make multiple starts in a row.
After Bears’ Head Coach Marc Trestman was questioned for leaving Cutler in the game longer than necessary, Trestman might play it safe with Cutler, and let him fully rest up, before inserting him back into the starting line-up. McCown’s play will more than likely be a huge deciding factor in the ultimate decision.
A match-up versus the Baltimore Ravens, has McCown’s stock on the rise, as he gets to face a pass defense that’s given up an average of 268 passing yards, and 2.5 passing touchdowns in its last two games to the world beating duo of Jason Campbell and Andy Dalton.
There’s also a chance for some #KonamiCodeLite fantasy points, as the Ravens have allowed an average of 22 rushing yards in its last four games.
A match-up versus the St. Louis Rams next week isn’t all that appealing, but if Cutler is still on the shelf, McCown might get a chance to feast on the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys’ atrocious pass defenses.
You can’t count on McCown long term, but as long as he’s starting in real life, he’s someone you’re going to want to keep starting in the fake football world.
Scott Tolzien
The #FreeScottTolzien movement started out as joke on Twitter, but a groin pull later to Seneca Wallace, and undrafted quarterback Scott Tolzien was forced into action.
It remains to be seen whether it’s Tolzien rest of the way out for the Packers, until the return of Aaron Rodgers, or former/newly signed Packer Matt Flynn gets to rekindle an old relationship.
For now, it’s Tolzien’s job to lose, and in relief of Wallace, Tolzien scored 13.1 standard fantasy points versus the Eagles on Sunday, which saw him finish the week as QB16. For a player nobody knew much of heading into Sunday, Tolzien acquitted himself quite well in his first ever regular season NFL game action.
You might have trouble pulling the trigger on starting Tolzien in your 2-QB league, but if you’re in desperate need of a spot starter, back-to-back match-ups versus the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings might make you re-consider your stance.
The Giants’ defense might be improved from its early season catastrophe, but the last three quarterbacks they’ve faced were Josh Freeman, Matt Barkley, and a gimpy Terrelle Pryor. Before that trio the Giants had allowed six straight games of multi-touchdown pass games.
And the Vikings? Well, they have given up at least one passing touchdown in every game this season, with a 11:1 touchdown to interception ratio in their past five games, and they also allow 286 passing yards per game.
The match-ups are ripe for the picking for Tolzien and his pass catching crew led by Jordy Nelson.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
For as much optimism as there was surrounding the return of Jake Locker’s return, and his potential to be a rest of season QB2, at minimum, it sure ended in nothing but a cloud of disappointment.
After a sudden, and unexpected early return form the injured list, Locker continued where he left off with his QB1 tier flirting, putting up 21.94 standard fantasy points versus the San Francisco 49ers in 7. Not too many 2-QB owners were willing to take the risk of starting Locker that week, and didn’t get to reap his last startable fantasy performance in 2013.
After the Titans’ Week 8 bye, Locker needed a rushing touchdown to salvage his fantasy day versus the St. Louis Rams in Week 9. In Week 10 he had to leave the game early, and would later be put on the season-ending injured reserve list with a Lisfranc injury.
For 2-QB Locker owners, swapping Ryan Fitzpatrick in for Jake Locker might not seem like a winning scenario, but you might be surprised to find you might not miss a beat with Fitzpatrick in, and Locker out.
Subbing in for Locker in Week 10, Fitzpatrick finished his Sunday throwing for 264 passing yards, two touchdowns, and he also added a 13 yards rushing, and a rushing score. Add his sats up, and he scored 23.86 standard points, which were the fourth most fantasy points by a quarterback in Week 10.
Week 10’s QB1 performance wasn’t the first time Fitzpatrick hung out in the QB1 tier this year, as he was QB7 in Week 5. There has been much talk about fantasy quarterbacks propelling their value from running stats, and Fitzpatrick fits into that category. On the year, Fitzpatrick has 94 rushing yards, and has added two scores on the ground.
The schedule rest of the way for Fitzpatrick and the Titans is no cakewalk, but it does feature plus match-ups versus the Indianapolis Colts (twice), the Oakland Raiders, and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The thought of starting Ryan Fitzpatrick in the fantasy playoffs of your 2-QB league might sound crazy, but a Week 16 showdown versus the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars might change your mind. Only one quarterback has scored less than 14 standard fantasy points versus the Jaguars this year, and that was Terrelle Pryor in Week 2.
Week 11 Quarterbacks on the Slide in 2-QB Leagues:
Terrelle Pryor
Earlier in the week I outlined why we should be concerned about Terrelle Pryor’s fantasy forecast for the remainder of the season, and the reports out of Raiders camp have only gotten worse.
Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur tweeted out the following this week, which paints a not-so-pretty picture in regards to Pryor’s health:
“Pryor said he “didn’t tell anyone really” about his knee feeling sore last week & before game due to “competitive nature … lesson learned.”
There’s no indication Pryor will miss this week’s game. Yet. Back-up quarterback Matt McGloin has been getting some starter reps in practice, to prepare him in the event Pryor can’t go.
It already wasn’t looking good for Pryor the last few weeks, and the warning signs might be adding up, telling us the time to sell Pryor is now.
Eli Manning
The New York Giants’ offense was expected to be rejuvenated after a Week 9 bye, but the only offensive spark came from running back Andre Brown. The passing game however was a different story, as Eli Manning was barely a QB2, scoring a lowly 7.3 fantasy points, which saw him come in at QB24 for the week.
A 12-of-22 stat line, for 140 yards, one touchdown, and one interception tells the story about Eli’s game versus the Oakland Raiders in Week 10, and it was the second straight game in which he scored under ten fantasy points.
Take away a Week 1 performance versus the Dallas Cowboys, where he scored 28.8 fantasy points, and Eli is only averaging 10.71 fantasy points in his eight other games. Again, cherry pick the Cowboys’ game off the stat sheet, and Eli has a 7:13 touchdown to interception ratio on the season.
Eli has a relatively soft rest of season schedule, minus a match-up versus the Seahawks in Week 15, but can we trust him at this point to take advantage of it? If Eli’s your QB2 you might want to look into acquiring a different rest of season fantasy quarterback. Even Ryan Fitzpatrick would be an improvement at this point.
Colin Kaepernick/Cam Newton
Week 10’s battle of the young quarterbacks wound up being a dud for both Colin Kaepernick and Cam Newton.
Neither did much on the stat sheet, with Newton out-throwing Kaepernick 169 to 91 yards, and outrushing him 17 to 16 yards. They tied in the touchdown and interception columns, with zero touchdowns and one interception each. Even their pass completion percentages were equal, at fifty percent apiece.
It was the first bad fantasy outing for either quarterback in weeks, and can probably be chalked up to the defenses they were matched up against, but their respective rest of season schedules don’t provide too much hope.
Starting Week 13, Newton has a four game schedule versus the Buccaneers, Saints, Jets, and Saints. Kaepernick does get the Redskins in Week 12, but he goes up against the Saints this week, and then faces the Rams, Seahawks, and Buccaneers, from Weeks 13 to Week 15.
If 2-QB owners in your league value brand name players, you might be able to trade Newton or Kaepernick for a “lesser” quarterback and another piece that will help your teams down the playoff stretch run.
Of course they both have immense talents to overcome their rough patches, so don’t trade either one of them unless you feel you have to.
Stats used in this article from FantasyData.com, ESPN.com, and Yahoo! Fantasy Sports
