Quarterback By Waiver Wire (QBBWW): Week 12

Nov 19, 2013

I walked into the house Sunday afternoon, weary from a four-hour car ride from southern Virginia, flipped on the TV and turned to the RedZone Channel. The image that greeted me was as horrifying as it was perplexing.

There stood Matt Schaub behind center.

I thought the QBBWW Curse had struck my beloved Case Keenum, the Texans’ signal caller highlighted in last week’s column. I thought, like so many waiver wire wonders before him, mentioning Keenum in this space had wrought horrific injury. Alas, Schaub’s insertion into the lineup was the result not of injury, but of panic and idiocy.

Head coach Gary Kubiak benched Keenum, who threw for 170 yards and a score in the first half of Week 11’s tilt against Oakland, because he felt Schaub could operate more effectively in a hurry-up approach. He didn’t, of course, and we missed out on at least 10 fantasy points from Keenum.

Keenum’s inexplicable, unexplainable benching didn’t put much of a damper on an otherwise bang-up day for QBBWW adherents, as our other waiver wire choices – Ben Roethlisberger and Nick Foles – were Week 11’s No. 1 and No. 7 fantasy quarterbacks, respectively.

Foles missed out on not one, but two passing scores against the abundantly generous Washington secondary, and Roethlisberger was the beneficiary of game flow that fantasy footballers dream of every night. Thank Calvin Johnson for Roethlisberger’s 31-point outburst.

The best QBBWW week so far boosted my year-long numbers, despite Keenum’s benching. QBBWW selections are now averaging 17.2 fantasy points per game, or QB7 numbers. Optimal QBBWW plays, through 11 weeks, are averaging 21.5 points, or QB2 numbers.

Case Keenum (HOU) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

I’m going to bang my head against this wall once more. Kubiak quickly recommitted to Keenum after Sunday’s benching, just in time for an incredibly juicy matchup against a Jaguars’ defense allowing 21.2 adjusted fantasy points per contest to opposing quarterbacks. Only Atlanta is worse.

While Jacksonville’s front seven has performed admirably of late, shutting down opposing runners, the secondary has allowed more than 20 fantasy points to signal callers in three straight games. Keenum, just as he did last week, has one of fantasy’s highest floors in Week 12.