Fantasy Football Week 6 Rankings: QB

The obvious big news in the quarterback rankings is the return of Ben Roethlisberger. Shrewd owners drafted him in August as a second quarterback late in the draft waiting for Week 6 to capitalize, and that time is now.

What's the fuss about? Roethlisberger threw for over 4,300 yards while tossing 26 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions in 2009? He also added two more TDs on the ground, a rushing total he enjoys most seasons. He completed two-thirds of his passes last year. Oh, and that's not the good news.

In training camp and the preseason, Roethlisberger looked like a man that was ready to take advantage of a second lease. His already high level of talent appears that it will actually take another step forward in 2010. In fact, upon rejoining the team for practices during the Steelers' off-week in Week 5, the Pittsburgh QB dazzled teammates and coaches with his accuracy and readiness. There will be no grace period for Big Ben -- he's back.

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His first test will be a very beatable Browns team with a third-string QB at the helm. Sure, this may limit his upside as the Steelers could run the ball for almost the entire half. But Roethlisberger has been waiting for this game since August, and he's likely to take full advantage of his opportunity to prove to the world that he's back and better than ever. Unless you enjoy Peyton Manning or Philip Rivers under center, I'd consider Big Ben the start. He comes in fifth in this week's rankings.

1. Peyton Manning, IND at WAS
2. Philip Rivers, SD at STL
3. Tony Romo, DAL at MIN
4. Kyle Orton, DEN vs. NYJ
5. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT vs. CLE
6. Tom Brady, NE vs. BAL
7. Drew Brees, NO at TB
8. Matt Schaub, HOU vs. KC
9. Donovan McNabb, WAS vs. IND
10. Eli Manning, NYG vs. DET
11. Joe Flacco, BAL at NE
12. Aaron Rodgers, GB vs. MIA
13. Mark Sanchez, NYJ at DEN
14. Matt Ryan, ATL at PHI
15. Jay Cutler, CHI vs. SEA
16. Josh Freeman, TB vs. NO
17. Matt Cassel, KC at HOU
18. Kevin Kolb, PHI vs. ATL
19. Vince Young, TEN at JAC
20. Jason Campbell, OAK at SF
21. David Garrard, JAC vs. TEN
22. Chad Henne, MIA at GB
23. Matt Hasselbeck, SEA at CHI
24. Sam Bradford, STL vs. SD
25. Shaun Hill, DET at NYG
26. Brett Favre, MIN vs. DAL
27. Alex Smith, SF vs. OAK
28. David Carr, SF vs. OAK
29. Tarvaris Jackson, MIN vs. DAL
30. Caleb Hanie, CHI vs. SEA
31. Michael Vick, PHI vs. ATL
32. Matt Flynn, GB vs. MIA
33. Colt McCoy, CLE at PIT

• With Kyle Orton setting an historic pace, I'm ready to anoint him an every week starter, regardless of the opponent. As we discussed on Wednesday, he's a guy that can stay hot the entire season. Normally a matchup against the Jets would give a fantasy owner pause, but we're past worrying about Orton's matchups. Darrelle Revis has built an airport on his island to deal with the sudden influx of visitors, and even if Revis and Cromartie can lock down a couple of Bronco receivers, Orton can hit the others.

• Matt Schaub hasn't been playing well lately, falling well short of the performances of other elite quarterbacks. With stud WR Andre Johnson looking healthy into Week 6, non-Schaub owners are close to losing their last chance to buy low. Throw out his performance in Week 5 against the Giants, as the New York defense is playing on a whole other level right now. Owen Daniels looks like he's starting to come on for Schaub as well, and pass defenses cringe to think about the Texans at full strength. Unless you're rocking two elite QBs -- and I include Orton and Roethlisberger in that group -- keep Schaub in your lineup.

• Jay Cutler appears to be ready to play in Week 6 after missing Week 5, and the Bears absolutely need him back. While they cruised to an easy win on Sunday against the Panthers, fill-in quarterback Todd Collins likely played himself not only out of a job in Chicago, but out of a job in the entire NFL. The Bears can't afford to be one-dimensional against a Seattle defense that's playing well. Cutler will need to either get better play from the offensive line or to get rid of the ball much quicker to run an effective offense. Look for signs of this in Week 6 before you consider starting him moving forward.

• Elbow tendinitis is severely affecting Brett Favre's ability to play effectively for 60 minutes, and although he provided brief flashes of what he can do in his new-look offense by throwing three TDs on Monday night, he also looked every bit a 40-and-over NFL quarterback while trying to bring the Vikings back for a win. He's a guy in desperate need of a bye week; unfortunately, Minnesota already had their week off two weeks ago. Could the Iron Man of football take a week or two off to heal? If he doesn't play better in Week 6, I could see it happening. Keep him reserved.

• Colt McCoy is slated to start the first game of his career in Week 6, but he'll have the tough task of taking on one of the league's best defenses, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cleveland will try to keep the game in the hands of banged up running back Peyton Hillis, and it's quite possible that McCoy throws the ball 15 times or less, even if the Browns get behind early. With the clear possibility of multiple interceptions on the horizon, even those in two-QB leagues want to steer clear of the former Longhorn. I'd play backups like Caleb Hanie, David Carr and Tarvaris Jackson that may see time replacing injured/ineffective starters over the rookie.