So this is my first Tuesdays in the Pocket, obviously, implying that we're going to be talking about Quarterbacks. I don't really know how I'm going to do this, but for starters, let's talk about the awesome passing performances this week
300+ Yards Passing
Tom Brady (517)
Cam Newton (422)
Drew Brees (419)
Chad Henne (416)
Tony Romo (342)
Mark Sanchez (335)
Philip Rivers (335)
Matt Ryan (319)
Jay Cutler (312)
Kevin Kolb (309)
Matthew Stafford (305)
Rex Grossman (305)
Kyle Orton (304)
3+ Touchdowns Passing
Ryan Fitzpatrick (4)
Tom Brady (4)
Matthew Stafford (3)
Joe Flacco (3)
Aaron Rodgers (3)
Drew Brees (3)
QBs who had the balls to run it in
Cam Newton
Chad Henne
Jason Campbell
Alex Smith
Eli Manning
In Fantasy Football, most Quarterbacks are gauged on two things, passing yards, and passing touchdowns. Anything else is considered a bonus. These are the top QB performances this week.
I will be doing Quarterback rankings after Week 4. I believe by then, I will have a sufficient amount of data to complete my analytical analysis and give you all rankings. In the meantime, I will provide thoughts on Quarterbacks for the coming week.
MUST START:
Tom Brady - absolutely lit up the Miami defense, while San Diego is a much better defense, Brady still has good numbers in his career against the Chargers
Matthew Stafford - was a beast this past weekend against the Buccaneers, now he takes on the lowly Kansas City Chiefs defense, expect a monster game
Aaron Rodgers - last year's Super Bowl QB started exactly where he left off, with another great game, he goes against the Panthers who got shredded last time he played them.
Drew Brees - he also had a great week, but while he's not going to Solider field, the Bears defense is still very good. Regardless, Brees thrives in the dome.
HIGH POTENTIAL:
Rex Grossman - threw for over 300 yards against the Giants, now he takes on an Arizona defense that gave Cam Newton over 400 yards
Jay Cutler - lit up the Falcons defense, now goes against the Saints defense who got picked apart by Aaron Rodgers
Joe Flacco - absolutely embarrassed the Steelers, now goes against Tennessee who's defense looks quite vulnerable
Tony Romo - managed to be able to throw against the Jets talented corners, had a dumb pick that cost his team the game, but will be looking to redeem himself against a team that let Tavaris Jackson throw on them
Philip Rivers - went for over 300 against Minnesota and will attempt to match Brady TD for TD, Henne threw for over 400 against this defense, why can't Rivers?
Matt Schaub - let the run game dominate the Colts, but will take on a Miami defense that just allowed a QB to throw for 500
Michael Vick - had a sub-par game, but will return to where his career started and will do his best to put on a show for the fans.
MIDDLING:
Ryan Fitzpatrick - threw for 4 TDs against the Chiefs, but will he be able to repeat against a solid Raiders secondary?
Josh Freeman - Had a decent game against the Lions, but can he prevail in the re-opening of the dome in Minnesota?
Colt McCoy - got beat by Andy Dalton, but will take on a Colts defense that got shredded by the Texans
Mark Sanchez - 3rd career 300 yard passing game, I'm still not convinced he is the one to lead the Jets, but the Jaguars don't have the best defense in the league
Ben Roethlisberger - had, by far, one of the worst games of his career. Look for him to try to bounce back against a weak Seattle team at home
Kevin Kolb - Threw for 300 against Carolina, questions as to whether he can repeat it in DC against the Redskins defense
Cam Newton - This was more of Arizona having a weak secondary than Newton being an elite passer, time to prove he can do it again against the stout defense of the Packers
Chad Henne - Surprisingly threw for 400 yards against New England, but was still the second-best passer on the field, question whether Houston will give him as many opportunities to throw
Andy Dalton/Bruce Gradkowski - questions whether Dalton will be able to play. Denver secondary wasn't tested much against Raiders, but the Raiders were able to run it down their throat
Kyle Orton - manged to throw for 300 yards despite receivers dropping passes and a slick ball. Chance to prove doubters wrong against Cincinnati
Matt Ryan - got wrecked by the Chicago defense and will now take on the Eagles defense who have a better secondary
Eli Manning - didn't have a good day against the Redskins, now will try to perform well against a defense that was able to contain Michael Vick
HIGH RISK:
Jason Campbell - team doesn't throw and he has limited opportunities to put up points
Donovan McNabb - looked awful against San Diego, doesn't get much better against Tampa Bay
Matt Hasselbeck - dumb luck is how Britt scored the first TD, won't be getting lucky against the Baltimore defense
Kerry Collins - looked awful against the Texans, could look a little less awful against the Browns
Alex Smith - barely contributed to the game, now he's going against Dallas, which could be good or bad.
Sam Bradford - injured finger, could affect throwing, plus, they're playing the Giants who look to have Tuck return
BENCH:
Matt Cassel - hasn't looked good in the pre-season and it's carried over to the regular season.
Luke McCown - takes on the Jets, nuff said
Tavaris Jackson - going against the Steelers, nuff said
You'll notice there's a lot of guys middling, a lot of QBs are going to get you around 15 to 20 points, that's how I see it, I could be wrong, but their match-ups don't stand out as of yet. I guess that's this week's edition of Tuesdays in the pocket, I'll see what I can do for next week
