Fantasy Football Flex Rankings, Week 5
This week in fantasy football I witnessed a death. The death of Tom Brady. It occurred this past Monday night on ESPN. The Kansas City Chiefs played the part of coroner. The announcement came in the fourth quarter when New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick subbed in rookie QB Jimmy Garoppolo. It seemed the ESPN cameras could not stop following Brady as he sat on the sideline. Sitting there. Watching as his career was crashing to an end.
Brady completed 14 of his 23 passes for a docile 159 yards. He threw one touchdown to Branden LaFell who ran 44 yards for the score. He also threw two interceptions and was sacked three times. He doesn’t look right throwing the ball. He doesn’t seem at all comfortable in the pocket. He doesn’t seem comfortable with any of the team that has been placed around him.
I, like many others was banking on a comeback year for the three-time Super Bowl champion. His receivers were gaining more experience and his other teammates were learning more and more ‘the Patriot way.’ Brady does not appear to be a guy who can make the young players around him better. Those young players do not appear to be making it any easier on the aging quarterback.
A lot of experts (me included) have expressed how poor the Patriots offense has been put together around him. His receivers aren’t getting open nor are they running pristine routes. Four of his five offensive linemen look lost at the line of scrimmage. Before the game, ESPN analyst and former NFL QB Trent Dilfer referred to Rob Gronkowski as “an old man in a young man’s body.”
Brady is 37. That’s four years behind Brett Farve at his retirement. Since his first full season in 2001 his lowest Quarterback Rating (QBR) was 62.36 in 2006 when Brady was only 29. So far, through the first four weeks of this season he is holding a QBR of 46.46. He’s also on pace to be sacked 36 times which would be the third most in his career. Except for his marriage to Giselle and his Uggs commercial nothing is going right for the guy.
I know this is my flex rankings article. These rankings aren’t concerned with quarterbacks. I couldn’t hold off on this tirade another week. If you drafted Tom Brady there is a good chance your fantasy team is struggling because of it. I want to help. It’s what I’m here for. Even if you’re winning despite of Brady you need to make a change. You’ve been very lucky thus far. You could absolutely drop Brady from your team. I would totally understand that move. As you preside over the metaphorical coffin of this formerly great fantasy QB I have compiled a list of other QB’s still available in a majority of Yahoo! leagues.
Sep 28, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco (5) looks to pass against the Carolina Panthers at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens, 44% owned The Ravens are throwing the ball more. A lot of that has to do with Mr. Smith. Not Torrey Smith, but former Panther Steve Smith Sr. Since the running game is average at best coach Jon Harbaugh is asking Flacco to make more plays than he used to have to make. There is more opportunity for high scoring fantasy outputs from Flacco.
Sep 21, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith (11) smiles during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium. Chiefs won 34-15. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs, 43% owned If I needed to take a chance on somebody why not Smith. His season numbers are a little skewed thanks to three interceptions in week one against the Titans and a week two match up versus the Denver defense. He has scored over 20 points in each game since then. The Chiefs don’t ask him to do too much. He probably won’t give you Andrew Luck type numbers but he also won’t be worse than Brady. He does have bye week coming up in week 6 but then has some tasty match ups coming up after versus the Rams, Jets and Bills.
Sep 28, 2014; San Diego, CA, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles (5) throws the ball over San Diego Chargers outside linebacker Jarret Johnson (96) during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars, 17% owned He might be a rookie but he’s a rookie with a starting job and three decent enough receivers to throw to. Allen Hurns, Allen Robinson and Cecil Shorts are all receivers the Patriots wish they had. If they did Brady might be as baf as he looks. Bortles will have to throw considering how much the Jags will be playing from behind. Will he make mistakes? Yes, of course he will. He also may throw for over 300 yards a few times with multiple scores. Hey, it’s not as if the Jags have a good running game.
Sep 28, 2014; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) throws a pass against Miami Dolphins in the NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders, 5% owned or Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings, 18% owned If your choice is between both these QB’s I might see if I have room for both. Bridgewater has the dreaded ‘Q’ next to his name this week thanks to an ankle injury suffered in the second half on Sunday. Before he exited he had posted an impressive 317 yards passing but did not throw a TD. Assuming his injury isn’t serious he will have a chance at some decent fantasy numbers. Carr on the other hand has three more games under his belt. He hasn’t had the best stats in those games but you can see a progression. He showed he can follow a game plan successfully in the opening drive versus the Dolphins in week four. My hope is the coaching change in Oakland will yield a more ‘west-coast’ style offense. If you remove the Wildcat formation from his days in Miami, coach Tony Sparano ran a simple run first, throw short passes and keep your QB protected style of offense.
Believe me when I tell you that I understand these choices I lay before you are not the prettiest. You are going to have to take some chances. These are your best options. Hey, it could be worse. You could be the Jets.
Here are this weeks flex rankings. Miami and Oakland are the only teams on a bye this week.
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