Quarterback By Waiver Wire (QBBWW): Week 9

Oct 29, 2013

The memory is like an unrelenting waking nightmare, a night terror bleeding into the daytime, a momentary lapse of reason transformed into a hideous insect, burrowing into the brain every Sunday afternoon.

The nightmare comes in many forms. Fantasy owners relive that moment on draft day, when, in the latter half of the third round, they selected Tom Brady. In the first few picks of the fourth round, they selected Matt Ryan. In the fifth round, Colin Kaepernick.

Welcome to the Halloween edition of Quarterback By Waiver Wire (QBBWW), where we revel in the folly of investing a high pick on a signal caller when there are a creepy cavalcade of streaming quarterback options in 10 and 12-team leagues with average-sized benches.

Each of the elite signal callers listed above have proven their worth during portions of the 2013 season, but waiver wire options continue to outscore all but the top-flight quarterbacks on a weekly basis.

Philip Rivers has three fewer fantasy points than Cam Newton. Alex Smith is averaging two fewer points per game than Andrew Luck, the ninth quarterback off of draft boards two short months ago. Geno Smith, who went un-drafted in all but Jets-only leagues, has outscored Brady by 19 points.

It truly has been a horror movie come to life for many who burned a high pick on quarterbacks. Peyton Manning owners, meanwhile, laugh the maniacal laugh of masters of the Dark Arts. Fear them, for they know your soul.

Here’s a rundown of how waiver wire quarterbacks fared against the elites in Week 8:

Quarterback	Fantasy points	Week 8 ranking
Drew Brees	33.2	QB1
Andy Dalton	32	QB2
Peyton Manning	26.9	QB6
Jason Campbell	21.4	QB8
Terrelle Pryor	18.1	QB11
Russell Wilson	15.2	QB14
Carson Palmer	14.8	QB16
Matt Ryan	13.3	QB17
Tom Brady	8.1	QB22

Our Week 8 QBBWW candidates, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, and Terrelle Pryor, delivered uneven performances.

Pryor, without that 93-yard rushing score, would have been a fantasy disaster. Still, after eight week, our QBBWW selections are averaging 16.8 fantasy points per game, or QB13 numbers. Optimal QBBWW plays have scored 19.5 points per game, or QB4 numbers.

Let’s see who we should pluck from the depths of our local waiver wires this week.