Almost every week it seems like there’s at least one team with a new quarterback taking meaningful snaps, either due to injury or ineffectiveness. Week 8 saw Kellen Clemens and Jason Campbell start for their respective teams, with Matt Barkley and Matt Simms making relief appearances as well.
Owners who started Geno Smith and Michael Vick in 2-QB leagues couldn’t have been happy with the final results, because it’s not like they had the option to switch out their quarterback half-way through a game, like NFL head coaches do.
All you can do is make the best starting line-up decision for your team, and hope it all works out. There’s not much else we can do behind our computer screen or fantasy app.
After surveying the Week 8 results, and looking ahead to Week 9, there are some quarterbacks and quarterback situations worth looking into, to see if we can find any value for our 2-QB lineups via the waiver wire.
Josh McCown
The new starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears, at least for the next three games, and maybe more, is Josh McCown. With the Bears being on a bye Week 8, he might have slipped through the cracks in some 2-QB leagues, but if he didn’t you have to pick him up.
A relativity soft upcoming schedule (Green Bay, Detroit, Baltimore), playing with offensive playmakers like Matt Forte, Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffrey, and Martellus Bennet, and being coached by a quarterback guru are compelling enough reasons to feel comfortable starting McCown in your 2-QB league.
If for whatever reason Jay Cutler remains sidelined longer, the schedule gets even easier after the Ravens matchup, with back-to-back games versus the Vikings and Cowboys. McCown might viewed as only a stop-gap QB2 streamer for now, but he has the potential to be an every week starter in 2-QB leagues.
Austin Davis
Kellen Clemens showed us on Monday Night versus the Seahawks what type of quarterback he is, going 15-of-31, for 158 passing yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. Clemens led the Rams on three field goal drives and nine points, as that was all the points the team scored. That’s Clemens ceiling.
There weren’t too many positives to take away from Clemens’ Monday Night performance, and Rotoworld said he “sees ghosts in the pocket”, and he will “hurt the Rams more than he’s going to help them down the stretch.” You don’t want that out of your starting quarterback, making Austin Davis is a name to watch.
If you want to learn more about Davis, you can read this XN Sports profile of him. In the meantime, pick Davis up as a speculative add, especially if you’re a current Clemens owner, or former Bradford owner, as it would not be a surprise if the Rams turned to Davis at some point.
Jason Campbell
The Brandon Weeden era in Cleveland is officially dead.
There was resistance by the Browns to turn to Jason Campbell, but after watching Weeden play, they couldn’t sit back and watch any more. Campbell came in and not only surprised the Browns coaching staff and management, but also fantasy owners, too, with his performance versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
Campbell went 22-of-37, for 293 passing yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions versus the Chiefs on Sunday. The passing yards were five yards shy of tying Tony Romo’s for the most the Chiefs gave up all year, and the two touchdowns were the only multi passing touchdown game against the Chiefs this year.
In terms of fantasy football, Campbell wound up scoring the second most fantasy points against the Chiefs, and it’s a promising sign of things to come. It also helps having Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron to throw to, and Campbell was able to get them both involved … to a degree.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for Campbell and the Browns going forward, but most didn’t give him give a shot of doing much versus the Chiefs to begin with, leading the way to some optimism that he can at least be counted on as a spot QB2 streaming starter. Or you can pick up Campbell, and attempt to trade him to a desperate 2-QB owner in your league, who views Campbell’s big game as a sign of things to come.
Brock Osweiler
Don’t read much into this suggestion, as it’s still only Week 9, and Peyton Manning has shown no signs of slowing down. We’ve seen in years past teams put the brakes on at the end of games, giving way to back-ups getting reps/resting starters, or teams benching starters in the last game of the season. Matt Flynn’s six touchdown game with the Packers is a prime example.
It was reported Manning has sprains in both his ankles, with one being a high ankle sprain, but he still put up 354 passing yards of offense, and threw four touchdowns. His passes may not have as much zip as years past, and they may be a bit wobbly, but they’re still on target.
Brock Osweiler is more a name to keep in the back of your mind, as you’re looking ahead, especially if you’re a Peyton Manning owner. With the Broncos not being undefeated there’s one less reason to keep Manning going all year long, and the extra rest might help heal his body for a long playoff run.
The opposite side of the coin with that argument is the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs, who lead the AFC West, which could force the Broncos to be competitive all four quarters in every game.
Don’t go rushing to pick Osweiler up, but make sure you keep tabs on the Broncos’ season.
Nick Foles/Matt Barkley
The Michael Vick saga took another twist, after Vick had to leave Sunday’s game after re-aggravating his hamstring injury. Vick has already been ruled out for Week 9, and Nick Foles has passed his concussion protocols.
There’s no way to predict what Chip Kelly will do, but after Matt Barkley started his NFL career with four turnovers in his first four possessions, it would be a shock if Barkley started this week, over a healthy Foles.
The memory of Foles’ disappointing and inaccurate Week 7 showing is still fresh in the minds of 2-QB owners, but Foles now has another shot to take the reigns of the Eagles quarterback job, and if he was dropped in your league, now would be the time to pick him up.
Case Keenum
We’ve already discussed who Case Keenum is, but the most important aspect of Keenum, is that he’s the Houston Texans’ starting quarterback. For now. But that ‘for now’ designation might go away, if Keenum is able to make something happen for the Texans’ offense.
Keenum impressed during his NFL starting debut versus the Chiefs in Week 7, and it was enough for Gary Kubiak to name Keenum the team’s Week 9 starter. With the Texans on a bye Week 8, and the uncertainty revolving around Matt Schaub, Keenum might still be on the waiver wire in your 2-QB league.
An upcoming schedule of games versus the Colts, Cardinals, Raiders, Patriots, and Jaguars twice provides Keenum with a chance to show why he should remain the team’s starter rest of the season. Pick him up now, if he’s available, and just go with the flow.
Matt Simms
Week 8 was a week to forget for Geno Smith, as have most even numbered weeks have been. There were some good signs, such as his 66.7 percent completion rate. And while Geno was able to muster up some offense, it was for the other team, throwing two pick-sixes.
It was so bad that Geno was pulled for Matt Simms, who also didn’t do a lot. There shouldn’t be any worry that Geno will lose his job to Simms, but it doesn’t hurt to be aware of who Simms is, just in case it gets worse for Geno.
Kirk Cousins
The injury many kept expecting to happen to Robert Griffin III happened Sunday, after RG3 left the game with a left knee injury. It’s worth noting it wasn’t an injury to the knee he hurt last season, but RG3 was still yanked from the game.
All indications are that RG3 will be fine, and ready to go Week 9, but it did remind us to remember the name Kirk Cousins just in case RG3 were to go down again, but for an extended period of time. If you own RG3, and have an available bench spot, stashing Cousins might not be the worst idea.
Stats used in this article from FantasyData.com
