NFL Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 7: Quarterbacks

Just so we are clear. I’m a Stafford guy. Love him. But he does have a way of taking a great matchup and not really exploiting it. It’s like when your friend builds up a show on Netflix and you go to watch it and it’s fine, but your friend spent so much time building it up, it could never live up to those expectations. That can be Stafford at times. I mean, I’m happy he got my guy D'Andre Swift into the end zone twice in Duval. But the score for Adrian Peterson was a little unnecessary. There is no way, however, I can bench him against the Falcons. Or not make him my top stream if he’s available on the wire this week. The Falcons have allowed the most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season (even when they picked off Kirk Cousins three times). They have allowed five of six quarterbacks to get at least 20 fantasy points. The one week they didn’t was when Nick Foles replaced Mitchell Trubisky (and the two quarterbacks combined for over 28 fantasy points).

Welcome back to my life, Justin. I mean, you are kind of the reason I had to start Cousins last week. But it’s cool. You don’t make the schedule, so what are you going to do? Herbert is currently the QB8 with an average of 21.83 fantasy points per game. Which is great for a guy who had like no time to prepare for his very first start and has crushed it ever since. I mean, I wish he didn’t take time off while he was on a hot streak. You never want to take off on a hot streak. Like when you’re having the run of your life in Mario Kart and then none of your friends want to play anymore. The matchup is good this week. The Jaguars have allowed 24-plus fantasy points to quarterbacks in three of the last five games. Stafford could have been the fourth, but again, he wanted to let his running backs have some fun. Justin, don’t feel like you have to do that with Justin Jackson or Joshua Kelley. 

Again, I could take the coward’s way out and just not talk about Tannehill because this is going to be a tough call this week. It's one question I’m sure to get a lot. Because you have a red-hot quarterback who has been one of the very best fantasy quarterbacks for a calendar year. And one of the toughest defenses in the league. I’m starting Tannehill in this one. The Steelers aren’t quite as imposing as it would seem, as they have allowed four quarterbacks to top 17 fantasy points. Which isn’t a great game, but it’s serviceable. Tannehill isn’t just a serviceable quarterback, though. He’s the current QB6 with seven touchdowns in his last two games. The Titans just keep surviving each week, but they are putting up points. So it would be foolish to sit him. Now, if you picked up Tanny last week because Russell Wilson was on a bye, fine. You’re not sitting Russ. But realistically, you’re starting Tannehill.

My guy Joey had it rough against the Ravens two weeks ago, and I put the Bengals on notice to do right by this kid. And they did. Loved his game against the Colts. Another tough matchup. But Burrow bounced back in a big way. Well, he had over 300 yards and threw a pick. And he has thrown for more than 300 yards in four of his last five games. And that game against the Ravens looks like a one-game blip on the radar and you should be able to trust him moving forward. Love the matchup this week. The Browns have allowed the fourth-most passing yards to quarterbacks this season (289.5). Let’s just make sure we can get Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins and A.J. Green into the end zone.

I hope you’ve followed the blueprint we have for Teddy over the past couple of weeks. We had him as a start against the Falcons and that worked. We benched him against the Bears and avoided disaster (well, unless you started Aaron Rodgers, what up?). But there is no chance we are going to bench this guy in a REVENGE GAME against the Saints. New Orleans has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season and the second-most touchdown passes to quarterbacks this year (15), which is a lot when you consider they have already had their bye week. The Saints could return from their bye week with some juice, considering they’ve had some injuries. But I have enough faith in Teddy B to give him a chance if you need a QB stream. Because honestly, I had Ryan Fitzpatrick in a bunch of spots and I’m scrambling (which I should have been prepared for because it was his bye week).

And like we sat Bridgewater last week against the Bears, we have to sit Goff. The Bears have allowed the fewest points to quarterbacks this year and fewest touchdown passes (four). Besides, Goff’s season is like Nick Cage’s IMDB page. Where you see some true genius and masterpieces like The Rock and Con Air (my two favorite Cage movies, sue me). But then there’s Ghost Rider. Though he’s probably going to get too much heat for the loss at San Francisco, but let’s be honest. Cooper Kupp dropped at least one touchdown pass. And missed another that should have either been a touchdown or led to a score. So it wasn’t like he was ghost riding your lineup last week. What, I can’t do callbacks? But let’s just say I’m avoiding Goff this week for the matchup.

Brees is still a very capable quarterback. So don’t get upset. But he’s at the stage of his career where he’s making a cameo instead of trying to carry the whole picture. Like when we see Will Ferrell in Wedding Crashers. He’s great in that short burst. But Alvin Kamara is the real star of this show. Brees has scored fewer than 16 fantasy points in three of five games this season. The Panthers have allowed on average 13.89 fantasy points to quarterbacks this season. That’s the fourth-fewest in the league.

Roethlisberger isn’t even a cameo in the Steelers offense right now. He’s more like one of those guys who don’t even remember being in the movie. Like when you watch Can’t Hardly Wait and recognize Jason Segel (Marshall from How I Met your Mother) as some burnout in the backyard. The Steelers are undefeated this season, which is great. But Roethlisberger is currently the QB19 in fantasy. He scored less than 11 points against the Browns on Sunday (his worst output of the season). And he’s had fewer than 240 passing yards in three of four games. The Titans have allowed fewer than 20 fantasy points to a quarterback in three of their five games. And there is a chance these two teams get wild and put up a ton of points. I just expect this to be lower scoring for these two, and I’m going to look at other options.

Am I still doing this movie thing? You know that I am. Let’s go. Drew Lock is, I don’t know that guy who you think can be the next big thing. Like David Mazouz, who was great as Bruce Wayne in Gotham (he also played Robert California’s son in The Office). And you like the promise for the future. We just can’t make any proclamations yet. The Broncos did beat the Patriots this past week. Which was amazing for them. Lock scored 5.13 fantasy points. That’s not as amazing. He has one touchdown and two picks on the season. And I know it must suck to see Justin Herbert out there crushing it for the Chargers, but don’t give up on Lock. Well, give up on starting him in this game. The Chiefs have been really tough on quarterbacks this season.

I give Teddy B the go ahead in his REVENGE GAME against the Saints. But no love for Jimmy G? One of the most polarizing quarterbacks in the league. Kind of like the NFL’s version of Keanu Reeves. There are those who think he’s the greatest (like me). And there are those who will never give him the benefit of the doubt. No matter how great the new Bill & Ted is. Here’s my thing with G. He’s a lot better than you (and I’m talking to you San Francisco fans) are giving him credit for. He’s just not a reliable fantasy option. He’s had less than 15 points in two of his last three games. I just told you what the Patriots did to poor Lock last week. You’d be advised to just say whoa, and leave Jimmy G on your bench. Hell, the waiver wire.