Bye Weeks: New York Giants (Eli Manning) and San Francisco (Colin Kaepernick)
Week 7 was one of those weeks that didn’t go our way, when it came to the QB2 streamers I recommended. Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater, and Charlie Whitehurst each finished outside of the QB1 tier.
Sure, Flacco (QB17) and Whitehurst (QB22) still managed to salvage their days with QB2 performances, but we want to strive for high end QB2 finishes at worst when it comes to this project. Bridgewater as Week 7’s fantasy QB28 didn’t even come close.
With Week 7 in the rearview mirror we have a fresh start so let’s take a look at some possible QB2 streaming options for Week 8…
Week 8 QB Circle of Trust
Carson Palmer vs. Philadelphia
In his three starts this year, Carson Palmer has thrown for 304 yards, 250 yards, and 253 yards, respectively. He has also thrown for two touchdowns in each of his three games, to only one total interception.
In Week 1 he was QB5 in fantasy, in Week 6 he was QB16 in fantasy, and in Week 7 he was QB13 in fantasy. Three very solid performances.
This week Palmer faces a Philadelphia Eagles defense that is giving up the fifth-most fantasy points/game to opposing quarterbacks this year. That includes Week 6, when Eli Manning threw only 151 yards, and was picked off twice, with zero passing touchdowns.
Prior to stopping Eli, the Eagles had allowed three straight fantasy signal callers to score 20+ fantasy points against them, while giving up an average of 340 passing yards. They also allowed 8 passing touchdowns to only two interceptions during that span.
This game currently sports the sixth highest projected points total for the week (48), with Arizona projected to score more points than Philadelphia at 25.25. There’s a chance we see a shoot out this week.
Ryan Tannehill @ Jacksonville
On thing you’ll notice about Ryan Tannehill, who was the fourth-highest scoring fantasy quarterback in Week 7, is how he has ran the ball more recently.
In his first three starts, Tannehill ran the ball 8 times for 18 yards. In his last three games, he has 14 rushing attempts for 132 rushing yards. That averages out to 44 rushing yards/game, or 4.4 fantasy points per game. Might not seem like a lot, but when your fantasy quarterback can tack on four extra fantasy points to his weekly total, it makes a big difference.
Instead of finishing as a mid-range QB2, you’re looking at a potential high-end QB2 or even low-end QB1. In the case of Tannehill, his last three games has seen him finish as the fantasy QB11, QB13, and QB4, respectively.
The Jaguars might not seem like an opposing defense. Yes, they gave up a combined 747 passing yards and 7 touchdowns to Andrew Luck and Philip Rivers in back-to-back weeks.
But since then, the highest fantasy output from an opposing quarterback was Ben Roethlisberger’s 12.72 in Week 5.
Charlie Whitehurst and Brian Hoyer were the other two quarterback they faced the past two weeks, so that might have something to do with it. And when it comes to rushing quarterbacks, Robert Griffin III’s 22 rushing yards, and Luck’s 15 are the most they have allowed this season
Kyle Orton @ New York Jets
Volume, volume, volume!
Since taking over as the starting quarterback in Buffalo, Kyle Orton has attempted 124 passes. That’s a clip of 41.3/game. His lowest passing yards output was 283 in Week 7, and he has thrown two touchdowns in each of his last two games.
Accounting for only the past three weeks, Orton has scored the 13th most fantasy points, and has thrown for the fourth most passing yards.
Next up for the C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson-less Buffalo Bills is a matchup vs. the New York Jets, who are allowing the second most fantasy points/game to opposing quarterbacks.
It’s been a rough stretch for the Jets, who are allowing an average of 257.3 passing yards/game, and have allowed the tenth most pass attempts this year, with 244 (34.9 attempts/game).
The Jets have also allowed at least two passing touchdowns in every game this year, with three straight games of giving up three passing touchdowns. That’s 18 touchdowns to only 1 interception in seven games.
And, as Justin Bailey of RotoViz points out, Orton has “been one of the more efficient QBs in weeks five through seven.”
Without its top two running backs, the Jets might put more emphasis on stopping Orton and Sammy Watkins, which is something to be wary of if starting Orton this week.
*Stats used in this article from Pro Football Focus, FantasyData, ESPN, TheFakeFootball, RotoViz, and Yahoo!
