Fantasy Football Week 12 Quarterback Rankings

Some very interesting news out of Denver yesterday, as Kyle Orton was placed on waivers. Orton started the first 5 games for Denver and threw for 979 yards, 8 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Since he was replaced with Tim Tebow, Denver has gone on to win 4 of 5. With the rash of injuries to the quarterback position, Orton should be picked up by somebody. Rumors are floating around that Chicago and Kansas City have put in claims for him. Washington and Miami are also said to be interested. If he goes to Chicago, he'll back up Caleb Hanie. If Hanie were to play poorly, Orton would no doubt get the call and he is familiar with many of the offensive skill position players they have. If he went to Kansas City or Washington, he would give those teams a better option at quarterback but wouldn't have the upside that he would with Chicago.

***UPDATE*** Kansas City claimed Orton off waivers today. He has said that if KC picked him up that he would not report but that remains to be seen. Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and Jon Baldwin should go back up in value when Orton becomes the starter.

A quarterback that has warmed up recently is Matt Moore for Miami. He has thrown for 3 touchdowns in 2 out of his last 3 games. Moore has been managing the game and not really leading the team. Over those three games, he has averaged 24 passing attempts. While over his 7 starts, Moore is averaging 188.4 yards a game. If you are really desperate for a quarterback or play in a 2 quarterback league, Moore is a good choice. Otherwise, you can do much better.

Michael Vick was not able to play in Week 11 and Vince Young was able to lead Philadelphia to victory and end a two game losing streak. Philadelphia does not need to rush Vick back, especially with the way that Young performed on Sunday night. It would not be a bad matchup for Vick or Young to face New England but either way Philadelphia needs to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. So far, there is a feeling that Vick might play but not much will be known until Thursday or Friday at the earliest.

Ranking of all 32 teams quarterbacks following the jump.

 Quarterbacks to start: Tony Romo (Dallas) - Romo has been on fire over the last three games. He has thrown for 8 touchdowns and has not thrown an interception. For the season, he is averaging 280 yards/game. I know the Miami defense has been playing really well but I feel the Dallas passing game complimented by DeMarco Murrayis going to steam roll them on Turkey Day. Romo will pass for 260 yards passing, 40 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns.

Matt Hasselbeck (Tennessee) - He was injured in the third quarter of the game against Atlanta. Right now, they're saying he is day to day and that if he's healthy, he will start. The Tampa defense that Tennessee will face is giving up 265.4 passing yards a game. If Hasselbeck plays, I think he'll throw for 270 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Quarterbacks to avoid: Tyler Palko (Kansas City) - Palko was not the answer for Kansas City on Monday night against New England. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw 3 interceptions. This week Pittsburgh comes to town and their defense is obviously so much stronger than New England's. I think Palko will pass for 80 yards and another 3 interceptions.

Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville) - With placing Gabbert here, it's not just a matter of him playing poorly but also not having many targets in the passing game that can support him. He threw 41 times against Cleveland but was only able to complete 22 of them. The possible winning touchdown was dropped by one of his receivers. I see Gabbert passing for 100 yards and 4 interceptions against Houston this week.