Odd start among QB rankings

Who would have thought that three weeks into the season Robert Griffin III, Matt Ryan, and Ben Roethlisberger would be the top three fantasy quarterbacks? Maybe the replacement referees have something to do with this, too?

Currently Aaron Rodgers is the 21st-ranked fantasy QB, and Tom Brady 14th. Despite these shockingly low rankings, Rodgers and Brady owners can relax the rest of the season.

The Patriots had the Arizona Cardinals surprising defense in week 2, and the Baltimore Ravens last week. The rest of the road should be much easier, especially this week in Buffalo.

Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers had arguably the toughest schedule the first three weeks of the season. The 49ers, Bears, and Seahawks proved to be difficult matchups as expected and the result has been just three passing TD’s for Rodgers.

But for those of you who have suffered with Packers players on your rosters, your fortune is about to change. Starting this week in New Orleans, Packers players are about to go off.

For the rest of the fantasy season, the Packers have only two difficult matchups (Houston and Chicago). The rest of the schedule will provide you owners of Rodgers, Finley, Benson, Jennings, Nelson … to rack up some serious points.

If you don’t have any Packers players in your lineup, time to make a “Fantasy Move” for one. Packer’s player’s stock isn’t too high at the moment and you could pull off a trade that could make this your year.

As far as this week goes, some players that you want to think twice about starting are Philip Rivers, Steven Jackson, and Andre Brown.

Rivers has had an average start to the season and this week the Chargers travel to Kansas City where the Chiefs are coming off an upset over the Saints. This is a divisional matchup and Arrowhead Stadium will provide the Chiefs with a ton of motivation to make it a difficult week for Rivers and the Chargers.

Steven Jackson has the daunting task of lining up against the Seahawks defense and we all have seen what the Seattle defense, or as it has come to be known in the Pacific Northwest, the Sea-fense is capable of.

To make things worse, Jackson has some health concerns which will make it all that more difficult to put up big numbers.

Andre Brown had a monster game last Thursday and his name was one of the hottest names on the waiver wire this week. Brown’s name was also regularly mentioned this week at www.fantasymoves.com as he was one of the most traded players last week.

But for those of you who are making a push for him, be careful as it is highly likely that he’ll be sharing carries with Ahmad Bradshaw when he returns to the field.

The Giants travel to Philadelphia, and the Eagles defense will not be as easy to run around as the Panthers defense was last week. Also, the Eagles offense will ensure that Brown and the Giants offense have less time on the field than they did last week.

For those of you looking for some sleepers this week, look to the Patriots and Bills game in Buffalo for players who have the potential to have huge games.

Wes Welker is coming off his best game of the season and he should have another great game against the Bills soft pass defense. Steven Ridley owners can expect big production from Ridley as well. Although the rush defense in Buffalo has somewhat improved, the score of the game will provide Ridley with many opportunities to rack up points late in the contest.

Although the Patriots should have a convincing win, the Bills offense should make it interesting early on. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Stevie Johnson owners can expect for these two to hook up on some big plays.

With the Pittsburgh Steelers on their bye week, Roethlisberger owners should pick up Fitzpatick off the waiver wire if he is still available in your league. If he isn’t available, try and add Christian Ponder to your team for this week.

The Vikings are in Detroit and Adrian Peterson’s performance can only help to set up Ponder’s pass game against the Lions 20th-ranked pass defense.

If Ponder can have success against the 49ers defense, one can only wonder what he can achieve against the Lions. Percy Harvin is another good start this week, as he should receive many opportunities to rack up yards on the ground and in the air.

Sticking with the Steelers being on a bye week, there’s an owner in every league looking for a defense this week. With the Arizona Cardinals defense being one of the biggest surprises this year, it’s very probable that the Cardinals are still available.

Many of us probably thought the game against the Patriots in week 2 was just a perfectly played game by the Cardinals defense and that isn’t what they are capable of on a weekly basis. And then last week Michael Vick owners discovered that the Cardinals are for real.

The Miami Dolphins will be travelling to Arizona behind rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill. Brady and the Patriots managed to put up only 18 points, with one passing TD (in New England). Last week, Michael Vick threw for only 216 yards with no touchdowns and the explosive LeSean McCoy had only 70 rushing yards.

For those looking for a wide receiver this week, how about Golden Tate? If the replacement referee’s are still around, Tate has the potential to get credited for a few more touchdowns. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Good luck this week, and if you need any trade, waiver, or who to start, or sit, advice, send one of our trade mediators at Fantasy Moves an email at moves@fantasymoves.com.

Jessy Sanhu’s column on fantasy football runs each Thursday in the Sun. Follow him on Twitter @SandhuJessy

Tags: sports, football, nfl