Quarterback By Waiver Wire (QBBWW): Week 8

Oct 22, 2013

This Quarterback By Waiver Wire space, while valuable through most of this season, has proven the kiss of death for a few signal callers I relied on as QBBWW staples.

Brian Hoyer, who was bound to become a legitimate fantasy starter in the Browns’ vertical offense, tore his ACL the week he was included in this column. Sam Bradford, a frequent presence in the QBBWW discussion, is also done for the year with an ACL tear.

Jay Cutler, my QBBWW golden child, will miss at least a month with a fairly severe groin injury suffered against Washington last week – a week, of course, in which he was recommended in this space.

I’m going into hiding if Alex Smith goes down. I’ll send my QBBWW columns to 4for4 via carrier pigeon from my new home in the woods, where I’ll live in solitude forevermore.

Nick Foles flopped in Week 7, likely costing you a few bucks in daily fantasy, at best. The decision to start Foles as a top-10 quarterback was sound though, and I think, more than anything, we learned that the Dallas secondary isn’t the whipping boy we thought it was.

The Cowboys, decimated by the likes of Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers, have been solid against QBBWW candidates like Foles and Bradford, so we should take note.

My QBBWW options, through seven weeks, are averaging 16.6 fantasy points per game, or QB14 numbers. Optimal QBBWW plays are scoring 20 points a game, or QB4 numbers.

Here’s a look at how Week 7 waiver wire options fared against elite quarterbacks taken in the first few rounds of fantasy drafts.

Waiver Wire QBs vs. Elite QBs

Player	Fantasy points	Week 7 rank
Andrew Luck	30	1
Andy Dalton	27.5	2
Peyton Manning	25.3	5
Jake Locker	21.9	7
Matt Ryan	21.8	8
Geno Smith	20.5	10
Alex Smith	16	13
Tony Romo	12.9	24
Eli Manning	12.5	25
Tom Brady	7.1	28