RADIO
Oh Buccaneers, you give us no respite from the quarterback shenanigans. When Tampa Bay's quarterbacks are good, they're really good. When they're bad, they're really bad. This week we're looking at the Tampa Bay situation among other quarterbacks to add for the upcoming week in fantasy football.
Six teams are on bye this week, but only three of them have good quarterbacks. Owners of Andy Dalton, Andrew Luck, and Carson Wentz will need to look elsewhere for Week 9. The Giants, Jaguars, and Cardinals are also on bye, but hopefully, no one in a standard league is relying on those quarterbacks. Ben Roethlisberger is also on the road against a tough Baltimore defense, and his owners may want to consider a streamer in place of Big Ben.
In standard one-quarterback leagues, the waiver wire is usually pretty rich with talent at the position, unless the league is full of owners that like to hold backup quarterbacks. In two-quarterback leagues, nearly every starter is rostered and the waiver wire tends to be quite barren for quality arms. That’s why a few quarterbacks owned in 15% of leagues or less have been included, so even owners in deep leagues have someone to consider. Ownership is based on Yahoo leagues and is current as of October 28.
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Week 9 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks
Alex Smith – WAS vs. Atlanta Falcons – 43% Owned
Smith had another underwhelming game in Week 8, going 20-for-32 passing for 178 yards and one touchdown. He looks to have morphed back into pre-2017 Alex Smith, where he would rarely throw the ball downfield and relied on checkdowns. A date with Atlanta could change that, as the Falcons have allowed the second most passing yards per game and the third most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Smith let us down earlier in the season in a good matchup against New Orleans, scoring just 14.7 points in standard leagues, however, outside of that New Orleans game, Smith has faced a tough schedule for quarterbacks.
New Orleans was a great matchup as they have allowed the second most points per games to opposing quarterbacks, but the next best matchup was against Carolina, who have allowed the 14th most points to quarterbacks. Out of all the quarterbacks owned in fewer than 50% of leagues, Smith has the best track record and is the least likely to have a disaster game. For those reasons, he deserves another chance. After this game against Atlanta Smith gets the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, giving him straight two matchups against horrible defenses.
Joe Flacco – BAL vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – 37% Owned
Joe Flacco had a poor game in Week 8, going 22-for-39 passing for 192 yards along with one touchdown and two interceptions. His fortunes could change in Week 9 as Flacco takes on a bitter rival at home, the Pittsburgh Steelers. Flacco’s best game of the season came against Pittsburgh when he scored 22.22 points in standard scoring back in Week 4. Pittsburgh has been atrocious against quarterbacks this season, allowing 23.9 points per game, fourth-most in the league. That 20-23 point range is a good target for Flacco, and he should have no trouble hitting it against such a bad defense.
Flacco’s upcoming schedule following this game is pretty good as well. After Pittsburgh, he gets a bye and then takes on Cincinnati, Oakland, Atlanta, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, and the Los Angeles Chargers between Weeks 11-16. Flacco isn’t a high ceiling quarterback, but one couldn’t ask for much better matchups. In two-quarterback leagues, Flacco is a good buy-low target since his schedule is so good down the stretch and his stock is low after a bad performance in Week 8.
Derek Carr – OAK @ San Francisco 49ers – 26% Owned
Carr bounced back in a big way this week, going 21-for-28 passing for 244 yards and three touchdowns against Indianapolis last week. Carr gets a quick turnaround in Week 9 on Thursday Night Football and also takes on the San Francisco 49ers, a team that is allowing the eighth most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. That number is even worse when you consider that San Francisco has already faced Josh Rosen twice this season. And they gave up 20.28 points to Rosen on Sunday. Rosen’s previous high was 12.5 points. San Francisco is just a bad team and without Marshawn Lynch, the Raiders may be forced to throw more often than normal in this game. Carr is in a great spot on Thursday Night and available in nearly three-quarters of all Yahoo leagues.
After this week the matchups are hit-or-miss for Carr. He takes on the Chargers, Cardinals, and Ravens between Week 10-12. The Chargers are slightly above average for quarterbacks, while the Cardinals and Ravens are two of the three best defenses against quarterbacks in the league. Arizona is third and Baltimore is second. After that trio of matchups, things get good. Carr takes on Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati between Weeks 13-15. Those are all bottom-six defenses against opposing quarterbacks. In standard leagues, Carr can be added for this week, potentially used against the Chargers depending on the situation, then dropped, then re-added for that three-game stretch.
Deeper League and Two-QB League Options
Ryan Fitzpatrick – TB @ Carolina Panthers – 5% Owned
The Buccaneers benched Jameis Winston after Winston threw four interceptions in a 37-34 loss to Cincinnati during Week 8. Fitzpatrick then came in and made up an 18 point deficit to tie the game, only for Cincinnati to kick and a game-winning field goal as time expired. Fitzpatrick went 11-for-15 passing for 194 yards and two touchdowns, good for a near-perfect 154.9 passer rating. It would seem likely that Tampa Bay turns to Fitzpatrick for their Week 9 date with Carolina, as head coach Dirk Koetter is desperate at this point in the season.
Despite Tampa Bay looking like a below-average team, this looks like a great situation for quarterbacks from a fantasy perspective. The Buccaneers’ defense is so bad that it benefits the passing offense. Tampa Bay will be playing in shootouts, playing from behind, and forced to throw in most of their games. There are also some great weapons at the skill positions for the quarterback. Mike Evans is a superstar, DeSean Jackson is a veteran deep threat, and O.J. Howard and Chris Godwin are emerging young talents. It’s rare that a quarterback so low-owned will have such a great opportunity. Carolina is the eighth-ranked pass defense, making this a poor matchup, but Fitzpatrick is still the preferred add in deep leagues.
Brock Osweiler – MIA vs. New York Jets – 4% Owned
Ryan Tannehill will most likely miss this game, meaning Brock Osweiler will draw his fourth consecutive start. Osweiler has been featured in this article for three straight weeks, and while he went full Osweiler on Thursday Night Football against Houston he draws a much better matchup this week. Going into this week the Jets had allowed the eleventh most passing yards in the NFL and they are allowing 294 passing yards per game since Week 4. Those games didn’t come against an elite group of quarterbacks either, as the Jets were shredded for 388 yards by Blake Bortles in Week 4 and 377 yards by Case Keenum in Week 5. It’s the kind of matchup where a subpar quarterback can succeed.
Something working against Osweiler, besides himself, are the injuries in Miami’s receiving corps. Albert Wilson is on injured reserve and Kenny Stills could miss this game. Devante Parker had a nice return to the lineup in Week 8, and Danny Amendola is a reliable slot target, but Miami’s receiving corps is barren. Osweiler showed a nice connection with DeVante Parker in Week 8 and with Danny Amendola in Week 7, but without Stills and Wilson Miami only has three healthy wide receivers on the roster. Even with the receiving woes, this is a good matchup, and those in deep leagues that cannot get Fitzpatrick could add Osweiler as a consolation prize. Osweiler had decent games against Chicago and Detroit prior to his stinker against Houston.
More Waiver Wire Analysis
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