FanHouse Philip Rivers

It's been a tough stretch of games for owners of elite quarterbacks, starting with a Week 5 that saw Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler on the sideline and going through last week's off-week for Tom Brady, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger. Rest easy, because the rigorous fantasy games featuring backup QBs are over.

This week, only Brett Favre gets a seat on the bench in terms of QBs you'd want to use in normal-sized leagues. Next week, you just have to make it without Matt Schaub. For owners of the seven QBs in the previous paragraph, it's smooth sailing unless an injury strikes.

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Sorry, owners of Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer -- you'll have to look elsewhere, and Matt Cassel ain't gonna help. A number of quarterback controversies and injuries are also making like difficult looking for a spot-starter, and the bottom half of this week's set of rankings are pretty ugly.

For some, this might be the right time to execute a trade to bring a quality signal-caller into the fold. There should be teams in your league with two quality QBs, and if you can trade a Palmer or Cassel along with another piece for one of those two QBs, it's going to help you now and in the long run.

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There were plenty of QB outings to love last week, with first and foremost being Tom Brady (No. 2 in Week 6) and his amazing first half against the awful Titans secondary. Matt Schaub (No. 3) threw four TDs and nearly had a 400-yard game as well. Aaron Rodgers (No. 1) wasn't quite as good, but 350-plus yards and two TDs is nothing to scoff at.

But then again, that was last week, and you're more concerned about the upcoming week. So who do we like to captain the ship this week? Most people should love Brady again, but I'm taking a bit of a different route with him, as I'll explain after the rankings.

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Here's how it works. We throw some intriguing matchups at the FanHouse staff and ask whether each player will be over or under a certain point total. The result? Fantasy Football Over/Under. Makes sense, right?

So, you've got arguably the biggest game of your season upcoming. And you're losing sleep at night debating who to start and who to sit. Your buddy tells you one thing and some guy in your office tells you another. Can't decide if you should roll with Tom Brady or keep playing the hot hand in Joe Flacco? Ah, the frustration. Cheer up buckaroo, we're here to help you with these last-minute dilemmas that we all face. Let us be your compass as we debate.

SAN DIEGO -- It's Week 3 in the NFL, and already the anger is spewing across San Diego over the Chargers' inglorious 1-1 start. Whether it is frustration over coach Norv Turner's play calling, uneasiness over the team's myriad injuries or overall disappointment with a franchise expected to dominate a weak AFC West, there is one player who is holding it all together.

The glue is no longer running back LaDainian Tomlinson's team -- the one-time NFL Most Valuable Player is sidelined a second consecutive week because of a sprained ankle.

Now, the burden of leading this locker room, this franchise, has fallen to quarterback Philip Rivers.

San Diego came into the 2009 season as one of the heavy favorites to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Those expectations relied heavily on the ability of the Chargers' running-back tandem of LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles to dominate.

But two games into the season, Tomlinson's already dealing with injury, and San Diego is 30th in the league in yards rushing at 60.5 per game.

The situation doesn't appear to be on the verge of getting better, either -- Wednesday, the Chargers announced that starting center Nick Hardwick, a first-teamer on the San Diego offensive line since 2004, will be out for up to eight weeks after left ankle surgery.

SAN DIEGO -- Ray Lewis waited 59 1/2 minutes Sunday to make a spectacular play he had created in his mind's eye, a scene crafted through hours of film study dissecting the Chargers' prolific offense. But the play was no fluke: That same game film all but promised the Ravens linebacker that San Diego would give the ball to spark-plug running back Darren Sproles in a short-yardage situation.

And with the ballgame on the line.

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Top Faller: Greg Jennings had 80 catches for 1,292 yards last season. His worst game in terms of catches was two. His worst game in terms of yardage was 22. In 2009, he caught six balls for 106 yards in his one game before Sunday. Obviously, at home against the Bengals seemed to bode well for the fourth year wideout. The result was a goose-egg of a game from a player who is a WR1 on fantasy rosters in every single league out there. Keep in mind, angry owners, this isn't going to happen again this year. The Packers play the Rams next week, so there's no reason to get down on him now. He'll
be fine.

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Quarterback is a tricky position -- you can draft a stud early and end up with a fantasy monster like Drew Brees. Or you can draft a stud early and end up with your season done in Week 1, like folks who pulled the trigger on Tom Brady last season.

Most people, however, prefer to wait a little while into a draft before drafting a signal-caller though. And this year, two guys who will be getting a TON of mid-round love are Philip Rivers and Donovan McNabb. With that in mind, myself and R.J. White went toe-to-toe over the course of several e-mails (although with the way I like to write -- read: loquacious -- I'm sure R.J. felt like it was a week's worth) to determine who's the better pick this year.

So, in the words of Wilco, let's get this party started. (With some mid-tempo rock!)

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The top of the 2004 NFL Draft included three quarterbacks who have already had impressive careers. All three are now locked up in long-term by the teams that picked them up on draft day.

The last of the three was Chargers starter Philip Rivers. His deal was set to expire after the season, and the Chargers had the "franchise player" tag to dangle over him as they tried to get a new deal done before he hit free agency.