The Quality Game Score helps you dominate your Fantasy league by identifying the most consistent Fantasy players in your league. Another tool within the Quality Game Score arsenal is the Quality Matchup; it identifies which players should earn a Quality Game in any specific week.

A Quality Matchup is any game where a Fantasy player is playing either at home, or away versus a bad defense. Therefore, every player during a full 16 game season should have eight Quality Matchups at a minimum. Some will have more based on their scheduled opponent. History has proven that on average, players will earn a Quality Game in approximately 70 percent of their Quality Matchups. This concept is extremely helpful when making lineup decisions during the season.

This week, we will take a look at the quarterbacks and see how they performed during their Quality Matchups. Quality Games Earned (QGE) and Quality Matchups Played (QMP) define their appropriate columns, which lead to their Quality Matchup Success Rate (QMSR).

Player Name QGE QMP QMSR Ben Roethlisberger 6 8 75% John Skelton 4 4 100% Mark Sanchez 8 11 73% Tim Tebow 6 9 67% Josh Freeman 7 11 64% Joe Flacco 4 8 50% Matt Schaub 5 7 71% Ryan Fitzpatrick 6 10 60% Matt Ryan 11 13 85% Cam Newton 10 12 83% Matthew Stafford 10 12 83% Drew Brees 11 11 100% Tom Brady 10 10 100% Michael Vick 7 10 70% Philip Rivers 7 11 64% Alex Smith 3 9 33% Aaron Rodgers 10 10 100% Carson Palmer 3 5 60% Andy Dalton 3 8 38% Rex Grossman 5 11 45% Jay Cutler 4 9 44% Matt Hasselbeck 4 11 36% Eli Manning 6 10 60% Tony Romo 7 11 64% 157 231 68%

You will note the quarterbacks were pretty much where you’d expect them. You may be surprised to see John Skelton up there but the numbers don’t lie. He earned four Quality Games in the four Quality Matchups that he played in.

Most Fantasy owners would expect the top quarterbacks to “beat up” on the weaker defenses on the road and perform better at home. If you would like to see more detailed analysis of the quarterbacks in those game scenarios, check out the Off-Season Package here at RotoExperts.

Some of the surprises really came from the quarterbacks near the bottom of this list who are below the 70 percent QMSR. Players like Tony Romo, Philip Rivers and Eli Manning show that they don’t always succeed in a Quality Matchup, and this should be noted when playing them in those situations. They’re still fairly consistent quarterbacks but they don’t necessarily earn Quality Games when playing in weaker game scenarios. Eli Manning earned 11 Quality Games in 2011, but he only earned six of those in his ten Quality Matchups. This means that he earned his other five in the six non-Quality Matchups. I personally think this proves he’s a more consistent player in all game scenarios, not just the easier games.

However, some players do earn most of their Quality Games when playing in a Quality Matchup. The chart below is expanded from the above chart to represent which players’ QMSR greatly exceeded their normal QSR. This excess is called Quality Matchup Value Added (QMVA). This highlights the players who may rely on weaker schedules to improve their consistency. Fantasy owners need to be aware of these players as you enter 2012. These players could see a decline in the Fantasy consistency and value.

Player Name QGE QMP QMSR QSR QMVA Ben Roethlisberger 6 8 75% 47% 28% John Skelton 4 4 100% 75% 25% Mark Sanchez 8 11 73% 50% 23% Tim Tebow 6 9 67% 46% 21% Josh Freeman 7 11 64% 47% 17% Joe Flacco 4 8 50% 38% 12% Matt Schaub 5 7 71% 60% 11% Ryan Fitzpatrick 6 10 60% 50% 10% Matt Ryan 11 13 85% 75% 10% Cam Newton 10 12 83% 75% 8% Matthew Stafford 10 12 83% 75% 8% Drew Brees 11 11 100% 94% 6% Tom Brady 10 10 100% 94% 6% Michael Vick 7 10 70% 69% 1% Philip Rivers 7 11 64% 63% 1% Alex Smith 3 9 33% 33% 0% Aaron Rodgers 10 10 100% 100% 0% Carson Palmer 3 5 60% 60% 0% Andy Dalton 3 8 38% 38% -1% Rex Grossman 5 11 45% 46% -1% Jay Cutler 4 9 44% 50% -6% Matt Hasselbeck 4 11 36% 44% -8% Eli Manning 6 10 60% 69% -9% Tony Romo 7 11 64% 73% -9%

What jumps out are the marginal quarterbacks that greatly benefitted from their Quality Matchups. Ben Roethlisberger and Mark Sanchez have very high QMVA’s at 28 percentage points and 23 percentage points, respectively. However, Tim Tebow’s QMVA of 21 percentage points shows his consistency and Fantasy value may be more overrated than we expected.

Some other positive QMVA’s to pay attention to are Matt Ryan, Cam Newton and Matthew Stafford. Matt Ryan had 13 Quality Matchups in 2011. Therefore, he was one for three in the other three games. The 2012 schedule shows that Matt Ryan will only have 11 Quality Matchups. This could hurt his consistency and his Fantasy value and may force me to downgrade him in 2012. Cam Newton has the same issue. Newton played in 12 Quality Matchups in 2011, but will only play 10 in 2012. Matthew Stafford has it even worse going from 12 Quality Matchups in 2011 down to nine in 2012. All three of these quarterbacks are very good Fantasy quarterbacks but they may be in for a slight decline in 2012.

Quality Matchups don’t guarantee a Quality Game but they are an excellent source for them. Keep this in mind as you pick your quarterbacks this coming season on your way to dominating your league.

If you have any questions about the Quality Game Scores, you can email me at blung@rotoexperts.com. You can also follow me on Twitter.