Cutler, Cassel safe bets for Week 7

Are you ready? The Bye weeks get “real” starting this week, particularly at the quarterback position. You’re taking Tom Brady, Michael Vick, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Eli Manning off of the top.

You also may have been impacted by some of the quarterback shuffling that went on in Washington and Minnesota if you participate in a deeper league. I will miss yelling “Sexy Rexy” on the Sunday morning radio show.

I digress.

Of course, everyone raised an eyebrow when Mike Brown acquiesced and traded Carson Palmer to the Raiders. It didn’t matter whether your fantasy quarterback was rock-solid. You still evaluated his potential once Jay Glazer popped up with the news.

(Did you get him?)

This week, the NFL takes its annual trip to London with the Bears and Buccaneers. Have you figured out the identity of either team?

We have San Diego coming out of the Bye week and potentially healthier than we’ve seen them in 2011. Philip Rivers owners are staring at a date with Darrelle Revis and the Jets.

The Lions have a huge game against the Falcons after losing to the 49ers in Week 6. Put aside the handshake nonsense for a bit. Detroit has a serious issue in its backfield. Jahvid Best sustained a concussion against the 49ers and a trade that would have brought Ronnie Brown into the mix was nixed because of Jerome Harrison failing a physical. Will they be able to run the ball (Keiland Williams and Maurice Morris) when it counts in November and December? Forget running. The team just lost a huge component in the passing game as well.

Matt Ryan is one of the hardest players to place this week. It’s “Identity” week for Atlanta.

Oh, and there’s the arrival of Tim Tebow. We’ll get into his place in the world momentarily.

Let’s get into the games of Week 7 and lock it in.

Exclude: Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, Tony Romo

HUGE Bye Week: Philadelphia, New England, Buffalo, New York Giants, Cincinnati and San Francisco

Click here for Harmon’s Week 7 QBs

Click here for Harmon’s Week 7 RBs

Click here for Harmon’s Week 7 WRs

Click here for Harmon’s Week 7 TEs

Week 7 Heroes

Jay Cutler, CHI at TB (London): The Chicago offensive line did a fantastic job against the strong Minnesota defensive line following five games of misery for Cutler. As a result, Cutler passed for 267 yards with two touchdowns and one turnover (one sack) Tampa Bay doesn’t represent nearly the same threat at the line of scrimmage. The Buccaneers are tied for 22nd in the NFL with 10 sacks and surrender 276 yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game. Look for Cutler to try and get deep threat Devin Hester involved early.

Tim Tebow, DEN at MIA: Statistically, there couldn’t be a better place for Tebow to make his first start of the 2011 season. The pass defense stats are skewed because of Tom Brady’s Week 1 obliteration of this unit (517 yards and four touchdowns). The other four opposing quarterbacks have averaged 225 passing yards and 1.2 passing touchdowns per game.

The Dolphins have failed to surmount a persistent pass rush all season. That’s good news for Tebow as he acclimates to the roll. Of course, Tebow’s improvisation skills are what set him apart from other quarterbacks. Take the scrambles and goal-line dominance.

As a closing note, we know that the Dolphins are in complete disarray, and I feel for players being inundated with the questions about Andrew Luck. For this week’s tilt, I have wonder if the “Gator Day” festivities don’t inspire the defense on some level.

Matt Cassel, KC at OAK: Things started to pick up for Cassel in the second half of the Week 5 game against the Chargers. Likewise, he started slowly in Week 5 before unloading for four touchdowns against the Colts.

I’m expecting another strong effort from Cassel and the offense on the road in Oakland. Steve Breaston assumed a much larger role in the passing game prior to the Bye week. Jackie Battle emerged as a viable runner between the tackles in Week 5. Dwayne Bowe goes up and gets whatever is thrown to him. This is an Oakland team that gives up points at a good pace (25 per game).

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT at ARI: It’s funny that everyone is going to think about Roethlisberger against the Cardinals in the Super Bowl as this week unfolds. I say that it’s funny because this is, for all intents and purposes, the Cardinals’ Super Bowl for 2011. Arizona lost four straight games prior to the Week 6 Bye, including a blowout road loss to the Vikings when Adrian Peterson ran wild.

Roethlisberger posted a solid, albeit unspectacular, game against the Jaguars in Week 6 following that lights-out, five-touchdown effort against the Titans. The Cardinals are tied for 16th in total defense at 24.2 points allowed per game.

Josh Freeman, TB vs. CHI: If the Bears put Julius Peppers on the injury list again, then I will be concerned for Freeman in Week 7. Seriously, Peppers put on his best pressure of the season despite carrying the “Doubtful” tag into game day.

Freeman delivered as expected in Week 6 with 303 yards and two touchdowns against the Saints. He’s a solid play in London against the suspect Chicago secondary. Yes, they solved the Vikings overall, but you still saw Berrian and Harvin with opportunities downfield.

Chicago faced some of the game’s elite passers early this season to account for the weak defensive output (275.5 yards and 1.5 touchdowns allowed per game). Perhaps they’re turning the corner defensively. They’ll need to shut down the Buccaneers before I’ll believe it.

Colt McCoy, CLE vs. SEA: McCoy has produced three multi-touchdown games in five starts and has yet to be shut out this season. He’s a consistent 200-yard passer (four games between 210 and 215 passing yards) and revealed a new top option in Week 6 when Greg Little stepped into a more prominent role. The Seahawks generate little pressure (eight sacks), so McCoy represents a sneaky plug-in option for this home tilt.

Joe Flacco, BAL at JAC: I want to believe, and there are still moments and throws where Flacco looks ready to break through (his two three-touchdown games and numerous near-misses with Torrey Smith). Despite his inconsistent start to the 2011 season and an alarming completion percentage, I’ll endorse him as a Bye week plug-in against the Jaguars (210 yards and 1.5 touchdowns allowed per game).

Flacco was more confident and efficient against the Texans, though owners are only concerned with the bottom line. He scored only a rushing touchdown and hasn’t thrown a touchdown pass in since Week 4. The Baltimore defense will afford him ample short fields, and I look for Flacco to cash in on the opportunities.

Week 7 Ninja Alerts

Curtis Painter, IND at NO: I jumped aboard the Painter bandwagon as a “Ninja” option in Weeks 4 and 5 and he delivered back-to-back two-touchdown performances. Let’s go for the hat trick in Week 7 against the Saints.

There’s no question that Drew Brees and the prolific New Orleans offense will put up points at home. Painter will have the opportunity to put up fantasy points in comeback mode. The Saints have allowed 256 passing yards and two passing touchdowns per game. You have to love his connection with Pierre Garcon.

Hang a star on the Week 6 output of Dallas Clark. He was returned to the waiver wire in many leagues prior to last week’s game against the Bengals. Owners may be looking to reverse course in a hurry.

Carson Palmer, OAK vs. KC: If you made the waiver pickup, then you weren’t entirely satisfied with your quarterback options. There’s been no official word as of yet, but Palmer is expected to start against the Chiefs. Despite the short turnaround between his arrival in Oakland to kickoff, Palmer represents an interesting play this week. Kansas City allowed 249.6 passing yards and 2.4 passing touchdowns per game prior to the Week 6 Bye.

It’s a gamble, to be sure, but he falls into a top-notch running game with multiple deep threats at his disposal.

A.J. Feeley, STL at DAL: There’s an outside chance that Sam Bradford suits up on Sunday, though he remained in a walking boot as of this writing. If not, Feeley’s an intriguing roll of the proverbial dice against the Dallas secondary that allows 238 passing yards and 1.5 passing touchdowns per game. The arrival of deep threat Brandon Lloyd certainly changes the complexion of the passing attack and should take some pressure off of Sam Bradford.

The biggest question facing Feeley or Bradford, if he appears, is whether the St. Louis offensive line will be able to hold off Rob Ryan’s sack-happy squad. The Rams have surrendered a league-high 22 sacks. The Cowboys have amassed 16 sacks in five games.

Week 7 Flop Alerts

Cam Newton, CAR vs. WAS: I know. You just cursed me out for including his name. Newton finally had his first sub-par fantasy effort of the year in Week 6 against the Falcons. He passed for 235 yards with three interceptions, though he did avoid the shutout with 50 rushing yards and his sixth rushing touchdown (tied for second in all of the NFL).

This is a difficult matchup against the Redskins. Whatever we may think of Mike Shanahan’s handling of his quarterback situation and the running game, the Redskins’ aggressive defense (17 sacks) has played well. Washington ranks eighth in pass defense at 215.4 yards and 0.8 touchdowns allowed per game. Yes, the slate included games against the Cardinals and Rams, but this unit has done its job in three divisional games.

Matt Schaub, HOU at TEN: When last we saw the Titans, Ben Roethlisberger was torching the defense in his five-touchdown breakout game. I’m not expecting a repeat effort occurrence against this Houston passing attack. Schaub has completed only 51% of his passing attempts in two games without Andre Johnson against the Raiders and Ravens. He posted a strong fantasy performance in Week 5 in a less than stellar outing and then, as predicted, struggled against the Ravens.

He’s getting little support in the run game with Johnson out, and this Tennessee line is no pushover (105 yards per game and just one rushing touchdown allowed all season). It’s possible that you see another long strike to Jacoby Jones, but this is a tough spot in Tennessee coming off of the Bye.

Mark Sanchez, NYJ vs. SD: Sanchez has drawn fire from everyone under the sun because of the Jets’ early inconsistency. Note that he doesn’t play on the offensive line or run the ball.

The Chargers rank second in pass defense at 179.6 yards and 1.4 touchdowns allowed per game. Of course, Tom Brady is the only quarterback of note on the list of opponents. You’ve got Donovan McNabb, the then-sputtering Chiefs under Matt Cassel, Chad Henne/Matt Moore of Miami and the near-collapse against Tim Tebow.

Sanchez has been solid in the fantasy realm. He’s produced multiple touchdowns in five of six starts (four multi-TD passing games and one with a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown). Sanchez’s yardage output is another story. He topped 300 yards in two of the Jets’ first three games, but passed for 201 yards or fewer in his other four starts. He’s no better than a mid-QB2 this week against San Diego off its Bye.