Fantasy Football 2013: Quarterbacks With Friendly Remaining Schedules

It’s never, ever too early to start looking ahead. Don’t look now, but we are suddenly one day away from the start of Week 11. That’s insane. A handful of fantasy signal callers are disappointing, and others are hurt. Aaron Rodgers obviously comes to mind, but Jay Cutler is also banged up. Also, Peyton Manning has a bummed anklel, and while he will be fine, he could very well rest towards the end of the season, leaving fantasy owners without the MVP candidate in their lineups. So, with that being said, who are some guys that can provide you with strong fantasy outings down the stretch, based on their matchups? Colin Kaepernick

Kaepernick has been a bit disappointing for fantasy owners thus far. He certainly hasn’t been the Kaepernick of last season, that’s for sure. The athletic quarterback is currently averaging 16.6 fantasy points per game, which is okay, but not what you were hoping for out of a guy who can run the way he can. A few things have gone against the Nevada product this year. For starters, he isn’t running as much, and the read-option isn’t featured in the playbook nearly as much. That is obviously a hit to his value, but the main concern has been the lack of depth at the receiving position. The 49ers did get Mario Manningham back last week, but he isn’t the ideal target. Veteran Anquan Boldin has shown flashes, but he lacks the explosiveness to get off the line. Still, Kaepernick makes for an ideal buy-low candidate because of two things. The schedule is ideal, as he gets the lowly Falcons secondary in most leagues’ fantasy championship. However, don’t forget that Michael Crabtree is targeting a Week 13 return. That’s monumental to Kaepernick’s success, as the two were inseparable last season. According to ESPN Stats & Information, last season, Kaepernick completed 68.5 percent of his passesto Crabtree, tossing eight scores and zero interceptions. Without him? 58.4 percent, one touchdown and four picks. Buy Kaepernick low, if possible. Case Keenum

I can’t get enough of Case. He’s talented, he’s fun to watch and has terrific players to throw the football to. What’s not to like? In his first three starts, Keenum has tossed seven touchdowns, zero interceptions, over 800 yards and is completing 56 percent of his passes. Keep in mind that he has faced three very strong defenses (KC, IND, ARI). He is taking deep shots, averaging 11.4 yards per target, according to Pro Football Focus. With Arian Foster sidelined for the rest of the year, Houston should continue to throw the ball quite a bit. It’s a lost season, so I think the Texans will want to see what they have in Keenum, who is playing for a starting job next season, as well as rookie wideout DeAndre Hopkins. Two matchups against the lowly Jaguars should be fun, and a games against New England and Denver should feature a ton of late-game passing volume. The Keenum Kool-Aid tastes wonderful, folks. Nick Foles

With 10 touchdowns and an average of 44.28 fantasy points per game over his last two games, Foles is the hottest signal caller in fantasy. It’s hard not to expect regression, as during that same span, he is only averaging 23 pass attempts per game. Foles is making the most of his opportunity, connecting on a handful of very big plays in the passing game. He won’t be throwing three-plus scores in each game, but his favorable schedule could very well have him penciled in as a top-12 signal caller the rest of the way. It could all start this week against a Washington secondary that is surrendering 2.1 passing touchdowns per game, the second-most in football. Then, in the first week of your fantasy playoffs, he gets the Vikings poor secondary that is is leading the league in that regard, allowing 2.3 scores through the air per game. Oh, and if your fantasy championship takes place in Week 17, feel free to ride with Foles against a Dallas defense that just recently allowed over 600 yards of total offense. Adam Pfeifer is a featured fantasy sports columnist for Rant Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @aPfeiferRS.