Bye weeks leave fantasy players scrambling for options in week 8

October 30, 2:40 AMBoston Fantasy Sports ExaminerMark Fuery

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Tom Brady won't be around to carry fantasy teams this week.
(AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

The New England Patriots, along with their fantasy stud quarterback Tom Brady, have a much deserved bye this week. The team could certainly use the rest after the long trip to London, followed by the ensuing thrashing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the bye does leave Brady’s fantasy owners in search of someone to fill in for their top fantasy threat.

Brady isn’t the only stud quarterback who will be off this weekend. Ben Roethlisberger and Carson Palmer will also be unavailable, potentially leaving three fantasy teams per league looking for a quarterback for this week. Jason Campbell, Matt Cassel and newly appointed Bucs starter Josh Freeman are also off this week, but they shouldn’t be starting for anyone’s team in the first place.

If you are one of the owners lucky enough to have Brady, Roethlisberger or Palmer, or if you are just looking for a boost at the quarterback position, here are a few worth looking at for week 8.

Jay Cutler, CHI, vs. CLE: Cutler is coming off a stinker against the Bengals in which he threw three interceptions, nearly nullifying his 251 yards and one touchdown in most formats.

This week Cutler will look to return to form when he faces the Browns, who are giving up 244.3 yards-per-game through the air. Look for Cutler and his speedy receivers to have a huge day on Sunday as the Bears get back on track after the embarrassing loss.

Tony Romo, DAL, vs. SEA: Don’t look now, but the often criticized Dallas quarterback is having a Pro Bowl season. He is averaging a career high 275.3 yards-per-game and is fresh off of one of the best days of his career when he shredded the Falcons secondary for 311 and three touchdowns.

Seattle’s pass defense is average at best, and Miles Austin is starting to emerge as a true number one receiver. Combine those two and you have what looks to be a great day for Romo and the Cowboys. He is in position to be one of the top quarterbacks of the week, especially with three of the league’s best on a bye this week.

David Garrard, JAX, @ TEN: It is no secret that Tennessee’s pass defense is atrocious. They are by-far the worst in the NFL, giving up a staggering 310.7 yards-per-game. They are about as bad as the defenses in Madden 10 on pro difficulty.

So with that said, it is easy to like anyone facing the Titans right now. It is even easier to like someone who is having a career year, at least from a fantasy standpoint, like Garrard. He is throwing for more yards than he ever has before, and now he has a top-level receiver in Mike Sims-Walker and one of the best pass-catching backs in the NFL in Maurice Jones-Drew.

Look for the Jags to give the Titans an onslaught of initials as MJD and MSW go to work on this horrendous defense. The only ones who will benefit from this more than Garrard will be his owners.

Getting desperate:

If you made the mistake of drafting two QBs with the same bye week, are in a deep two-quarterback league, or took a stinker like Jake Delhomme for a backup, here are a couple you can take a shot with and possibly avoid disaster.

Alex Smith, SF, @ IND: Smith looked fantastic last week when he stepped in for Shaun Hill. Don’t be fooled, this wasn’t one of those games where he looked great on the stat sheet but iffy on the field. He was making all of his throws, showed a strong arm, and was putting the ball right where he had to.

On the other side, he is facing a tough match-up this week when the Niners travel to Indy. It is a risky play, but he has Vernon Davis to throw to, and he has developed a nice chemistry with Michael Crabtree.

Even if you don’t start him this week, pick him up in deeper leagues. He might still show everyone why he was the number one pick a few years ago.

Chad Henne, MIA, @ NYJ: Last time these two teams met Henne threw for 241 and two scores in an impressive showing on Monday Night Football. He could be in position to repeat that performance if the Dolphins can run the Wildcat like they did in their first meeting and give him opportunities to show off his huge arm.

Henne is a pretty good quarterback, and is definitely a better fantasy option than Chad Pennington was before his injury. Look for him to continue to progress and have another solid outing.

Derek Anderson, CLE, @ CHI: Ok, this is reallydesperate. Anderson hasn’t looked good at all since taking over for Brady Quinn a few weeks back. However, the Bears pass defense hasn’t exactly been sharp in recent weeks either.

Say what you want about his terrible play so far, but there is no denying that Anderson has one of the strongest arms around. He could hit a few long ones on this defense and possibly toss a couple of scores. It probably won’t be pretty, but he could end up somewhere near 200 yards with a couple of scores.

If you are in a position where you have to look this far down the rankings, anything better than negative points should be considered a good performance. He is a better bet than Delhomme, Jamarcus Russell and a few others for those of you in deep leagues.

Don’t do it!

Here are a few quarterbacks you don’t want in your lineup this week.

Normal/Shallow leagues:
Matt Ryan, ATL, @ NO: Ryan hasn’t been great the last two weeks, even though he has had some decent match-ups. This week it gets even tougher when he faces the impressive New Orleans Saints defense. The Saints are tied for the league lead with 13 interceptions, while giving up a league’s best five touchdown passes on the season.

In deeper leagues Ryan is probably playable (certainly over some of the desperation picks above), but in a standard league you should be able to find a better option.

Deeper leagues:

Jake Delhomme, CAR, @ ARI: 13 interceptions, enough said!

Vince Young, TEN, vs. JAX: He is finally getting his chance to show what he can do (again), and has a good match-up against the second worst pass defense in the league.

But don’t forget, the last time Young was under center he looked completely inept as a passer. Since 2007 he has 10 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He really hasn’t done anything to show that he can be a quarterback at the NFL level, especially when he has to stay in the pocket and throw.

For more fantasy football advice, check out the Beantown Fantasy Show.