Quarterback By Waiver Wire (QBBWW): Week 3

Sep 17, 2013

Game flow killed the fantasy star.

Terrelle Pryor, my self-proclaimed Quarterback By Waiver Wire golden child, was done in by game flow in his juicy Week 2 matchup against Jacksonville’s hapless, glued-together, Swiss-cheese defense.

The Raiders’ ravaged offensive line gashed the Jaguars front seven and opened up highway lanes through which Darren McFadden ran with abandon, leaving Pryor in the unfortunate – and highly unexpected role – of game manager. It wasn’t anything like Week 1, when Oakland was forced to keep pace with the Colts’ offense.

It’s not absurd to blame Chad Henne for Pryor’s quiet Week 2.

He became a handoff machine through much of Sunday’s second half. Even when he had a chance to throw, Pryor dinked and dunked and tried nothing downfield. These are the risks of the QBBWW system, and fantasy football in general. We cannot predict game flow – a factor that so often dictates fantasy production.

Our Quarterback By Waiver Wire (QBBWW) candidates still had a dandy Week 2, with Alex Smith and Jay Cutler showing once more than their new offenses will reap fantasy rewards.

Rivers, who suddenly looks like the elite fantasy quarterback of four and five years ago, has become a preeminent part of any QBBWW strategy. Grab him off the wire if you haven’t already. Rivers has more than a couple favorable matchups headed his way.

My recommended QBBWW options overall have averaged 18.2 fantasy points per game, or 36.4 over two weeks. That’s good for QB15, matching Drew Brees’ output and topping Cam Newton, Tony Romo, Tom Brady, and Russell Wilson, among others.

Week 2: Waiver Wire QBs vs. top QBs

Player	Fantasy points	Week 2 rank
Aaron Rodgers	34.9	QB1
Philip Rivers	29.9	QB3
Sam Bradford	26.6	QB4
Alex Smith	22.6	QB7
Matt Schaub	19.9	QB10
Jay Cutler	18.5	QB12
Drew Brees	10.9	QB20
Carson Palmer	11.7	QB22
Tom Brady	11.2	QB23
Russell Wilson	10.9	QB24
Terrelle Pryor	10	QB27

QBBWW Plays for Week 3

Carson Palmer (ARZ) at NO

Palmer, one of our premiere Week 2 QBBWW options, missed Larry Fitzgerald in the worst way against Detroit’s burnable defense. Fitzgerald, nursing a hamstring tweaked last week in practice, sat for much of the second half against the Lions. He appeared gimpy – at best – on his two catches for 33 yards.

Fitzgerald claims he’ll be fine for Week 3’s matchup in New Orleans – a charge he should take with a grain of salt. This game has had a big, fat QBBWW bull’s eye on it since NFL schedules were released, as Palmer gets his shot at the Saints’ suspect defense in what could very well be a high-scoring affair.

Remember: we want our QBBWW options up against high-flying opposing offenses. The bigger the deficit – and the more frantic the scoring pace – the better. I wouldn’t fret too much about the Saints’ secondary holding the Bucs’ passing game to 113 yards last week. Josh Freeman was horrendous, and had a 70-yard score called back on a penalty.

Palmer is averaging 288.5 passing yards and 40 pass attempts through two games. A healthier Fitzgerald gives Palmer real top-10 quarterback potential this week.