Fantasy Football 2011: Week 8 Quarterback Rankings

Well, it seems what many thought might happen at one time or another this season, may have happened. Matthew Stafford injured his ankle in last week's loss to Atlanta. The speculation started soon after the game and has continued up to the writing of this. What we know right now is that he won't be fully recovered by game time on Sunday and that if he does play, he will be hindered somewhat by the ankle. I think he'll play but we'll all wait and see.

Kerry Collins was put on IR on Tuesday. That means Curtis Painter will start at quarterback for the foreseeable future until Peyton Manning comes back (chances are slim) or he gets injured. Painter has played okay but is only worth starting in fantasy football out of desperation. Dan Orlovsky is Painter's backup and would make a bad situation even worse if he had to start.

Another team in a rough situation is Miami. Matt Moore received bruised ribs during the game against Denver last week. He is slated to play against the Giants this week. That could turn really ugly for him and the team. Moore has been hit 25 times in the last two games and might get knocked out of this one, depending on how many times New York gets to him. Miami signed J.P. Losman to be his backup. Yikes!!

Full rankings of quarterbacks for Week 8 follow the jump. 

Quarterbacks to start: Joe Flacco (Baltimore) - Probably you are thinking, "Did he watch the game Monday night?" I did and I was really disappointed in the way Flacco played. I feel that Harbaugh is not going to allow them to play like that again. They get Arizona at home and I think Flacco will pass for at least 250 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Philip Rivers (San Diego) - He has been struggling this year. In their first game against KC, he threw for only 266 yards, 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. I think that Rivers will bounce back this week and throw for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. His receivers are at their healthiest so far and San Diego should put a good game plan together for Monday night.

Tim Tebow (Denver) - It was a pretty rough start for Tebow and it almost looked like it was going to be a disaster. He really pulled one out of the fire in the last five minutes of the game. This week Denver goes home and Detroit comes to visit. This may look like a bad game to start Tebow but with McGahee hurt, Tebow will carry more of the load. I think Denver will look to play more to Tebow's strength's also.

Quarterbacks to avoid: Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville) - Yes, he won his first start on Monday but it was more the result of the running game, the Jaguar defense and the refs. Jacksonville travels to Houston and the Texans defense has been holding teams down this year. Gabbert will be asked to manage the game once again.