Three New Starting QBs: Collins, Cassel, Griese - Waiver Wire Considerations?
There are only 2 weeks in the NFL books this year, but already the QB carousel has started to spin for various teams in the NFL. Fantasy favorite Tom Brady is out for the season due to ACL and MCL injuries; Vince Young sprained his MCL and hit a crisis of confidence in his career; Jeff Garcia was benched after losing week 1.
Of course, we could also look at the Kansas City mess, but for right now the best advice to fantasy owners is to ignore K.C. QBs - they are the fantasy equivalent of “toxic, sub-prime assets” right now.
Anyway, if you had/have Brady, Young or Garcia on your team, you are probably trying to decide who to add to your roster to replace (or supplement) these players.
Matt Cassel has stepped in for Brady in New England; Kerry Collins appears to have taken over for Vince Young (at least for the foreseeable future); and Brian Griese has been named the Buccaneer’s starter on at least an interim basis (and perhaps for the entire season).
Of the three players, Cassel is clearly the best fantasy option as he has the most talent surrounding him up in New England. He’s probably already been scooped off the waiver wire, but if he’s still sitting around in your league, Cassel would be the guy to grab during bidding this week.
If you are reduced to debating between Collins and Griese, there are several angles to consider:
- Griese probably has a tad more “job security” than Collins, as Jeff Garcia appears to be deep in the coaches’ doghouse down in Tampa. The Titans are going with Collins for now while Young sorts out his off-field issues, but unlike Garcia (who was a year-to-year solution for Tampa since his arrival in town), Young is still (hopefully) the future at QB in Tennessee. Of the two new starters, Griese is more likely to stay under center for this year.
- Tennessee’s starters at WR are Justin Gage and Justin McCareins - not exactly world-beaters - and TE Alge Crumpler has been merely mediocre in the first two games this year. Tampa’s stable of WRs is ancient (Ike Hilliard, Joey Galloway, Antonio Bryant), but they have a lot of savvy and are more talented than Tennessee’s so-so lineup.
- Tennessee’s line has allowed 2 sacks so far this year, while the Buccaneers have coughed up 4 to date. Both teams have similar ball-control philosophies on offense, with solid RB stables lining up behind both Griese and Collins - neither guy is going to be asked to win games solely with his arm.
- Tampa plays at Chicago, vs. Green Bay, at Denver and vs. Carolina over the next 4 weeks. Tennessee is hosting Houston and Minnesota weeks 3 and 4, with a trip to Baltimore in week 5 and then a bye in week 6. Neither schedule is exceptionally appealing from a fantasy perspective (Chicago, Green Bay and Carolina are all playing fairly well on defense right now; Tennessee faces Houston next week, but then figures to be in low-scoring contests with Minnesota and Baltimore before their bye).
If you decide to stand pat and await developments for another week or two, more QB changes could be in the offing - Tarvaris Jackson is looking shaky as the starter in Minnesota (in particular) as of week 3. As we saw with New England during week 1, any given starter is only 1 snap away from being sidelined, so who knows what the future may hold?
Good luck, and have fun managing your roster!
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