Top options like Aaron Rodgers have some tough matchups in week 1, which may drop them down the rankings slightly. This isn’t a suggestion that Rodgers should be benched in fantasy formats, just a realistic expectation of how we expect him to score for the first week of fantasy football 2012.
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One of the major factors taken into consideration is the defense the QB faces.
Favorable matchups against the bottom 10 teams in passing defense are labeled red
Unfavorable matchups against the top 10 passing defense teams are blue
Obviously, if they face a team that isn’t labeled, they were a middle of the road passing defense last season.
Top 30 QB’s for week 1 fantasy football 2012
| Rank | QB | Team | Points YTD | Status | Week 1 |
| 1 | Tom Brady | NE | at TEN | ||
| 2 | Cam Newton | CAR | at TB | ||
| 3 | Drew Brees | NO | vs WAS | ||
| 4 | Matthew Stafford | DET | vs STL | ||
| 5 | Aaron Rodgers | GB | vs SF | ||
| 6 | Eli Manning | NYG | vs DAL | ||
| 7 | Tony Romo | DAL | at NYG | ||
| 8 | Philip Rivers | SD | at OAK | ||
| 9 | Matt Ryan | ATL | at KC | ||
| 10 | Matt Schaub | HOU | vs MIA | ||
| 11 | Michael Vick | PHI | at CLE | ||
| 12 | Jay Cutler | CHI | vs IND | ||
| 13 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT | at DEN | ||
| 14 | Peyton Manning | DEN | vs PIT | ||
| 15 | Jake Locker | TEN | vs NE | ||
| 16 | Josh Freeman | TB | vs CAR | ||
| 17 | Robert Griffin III | WAS | at NO | ||
| 18 | Russell Wilson | SEA | at ARI | ||
| 19 | Andrew Luck | IND | at CHI | ||
| 20 | Carson Palmer | OAK | vs SD | ||
| 21 | Sam Bradford | STL | at DET | ||
| 22 | Alex Smith | SF | at GB | ||
| 23 | Matt Cassel | KC | vs ATL | ||
| 24 | Ryan Tannehill | MIA | at HOU | ||
| 25 | Andy Dalton | CIN | at BAL | ||
| 26 | Joe Flacco | BAL | vs CIN | ||
| 27 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | BUF | at NYJ | ||
| 28 | John Skelton | ARI | vs SEA | ||
| 29 | Mark Sanchez | NYJ | vs BUF | ||
| 30 | Christian Ponder | MIN | vs JAX |
Outside looking in – Brandon Weeden, Tim Tebow, Blaine Gabbert
Week 1 news and notes
Aaron Rodgers 2011-3 (Photo credit: elviskennedy)
- Aaron Rodgers should be his normal steady self, but with the 49ers controlling the clock and running the ball, Green Bay won’t have the ball as often, meaning Rodgers drops back in the ranks a few spots
- Tom Brady takes the #1 spot, in what could be a shootout with the Titans in week 1. Jake Locker also received a boost in the rankings to #15 as he gets to face the Patriots defense.
- Cam Newton takes the #2 spot as he gets to lead the Panthers offense against one of the NFL’s worst defenses from a year ago, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Expect Newton to run wild, and score at least 1 rushing TD in the first week.
- Even with an injured non-throwing hand, Matt Stafford and the Detroit Lions should have no trouble dealing with the Rams. Stafford should put up huge numbers in the first half, but with a large lead, we may see lower second half numbers as the Lions run out the clock.
