Fantasy Football Week 11 Quarterback Rankings

And here we are facing the final bye week of the 2011 season. As is the case at other positions, the injuries just keep coming. I think there is some obvious truth to the thinking that there are more injuries following a lockout or strike. The biggest injury news at the quarterback position is Matt Schaub. The latest news that we have is that he's getting a second opinion on his foot injury but it's probably a formality. It looks like he will be placed on the IR sometime following their Week 11 bye. Matt Leinart will be the new starter for Houston and while he has a bunch of talent supporting him, I think fantasy-wise he's just an emergency fill-in. Leinart hasn't thrown a regular season touchdown since 2008.

A quarterback that has seen his share of injuries is Alex Smith. Smith has surprisingly stayed healthy through San Fran's first 9 games this year and put up decent numbers. He is averaging just under 190 passing yards/game and about 1 touchdown/game. Also, he has only thrown 3 interceptions this season. So, if you're looking to the waiver wire for a quarterback, Alex Smith isn't too much of a risk but he also doesn't bring much reward.

Another injury to keep a note of is Ben Roethlisberger's broken thumb. He broke it in Sunday's win over Cincinnati but did not appear to be limited in any way. Pittsburgh is on their bye week, so we should know more next week. Big Ben has been solid as of late, throwing for 325 passing yards/game and 7 touchdowns in his lasy4 games.

Full rankings of quarterbacks are after the jump.

Quarterbacks to start: Philip Rivers (San Diego) - Yes, RIvers has a tough matchup with Chicago this week but I think he'll perform quite well. He is averaging 304.8 passing yards/game, which is 4th in the NFL. I expect him to pass for 320 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception.

Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) - Sanchez continues to have an up and down season. I think that this week will be one of those up weeks. New York is facing Denver and I like Sanchez's chances. I think he'll pass for 240 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo) - Buffalo and Fitzpatrick really took one on the chin in Dallas but they should bounce back against Miami. As a starter, Fitzpatrick has never lost to Miami. He will probably finish with 230 passing yards and 2 touchdowns.

Quarterback to avoid: Blaine Gabbert (Jacksonville) - The Jags continue to play it very safe with Gabbert. Against Indy, they went very run heavy and that resulted in Gabbert finishing with 118 yards and 1 touchdown. I think he'll have just 90 yards and 2 interceptions against Cleveland in Week 11.