So who's your backup?

       On the list of things one cares about when preparing for their fantasy season,  who will be your backup quarterback barely registers on the Richter scale. Drafters typically care about grabbing another beer more than grabbing a qb to sit on the bench. But with leagues becoming ever more competitive and intense, this small part of your team shouldn't be taken so lightly.  Every fantasy owner will need to play a backup qb at least one game a year during their starters bye. Why not do a little homework and grab the right guy?  How many of us have seen a player notice come bye week time that their backup qb has the same bye week as their starter. How many times have we seen the starters bye week come and your bench Q has to play one of the best defenses in the league that week? How many times has it happened to you?  Well, rest easy my friend,  UFO has you covered. 

  

          Some decisions are made for you in this life.  Owners of Sam Bradford and Tom Brady have little choice but to waste a bench spot on a Sanchez or Garapollo, but most choices are not so simple.  Obvious situations aside, choosing your understudy will mostly come down to schedule.  Finding the guy that has the sweetest matchup while your starter is on his bye is paramount. Bonus points if you can identify a guy that has a soft playoff schedule should your starter go down late or runs into a tough matchup come playoff time. Luckily for you we have broken it down by(e) week and done all the work for your lazy ass.
          The following is a week by week breakdown of which starter is on a bye and who should be available to draft in the last rounds of the draft to ride your bench. Assuming you are in a 12 or 14 man league, the bottom 15ish qbs (based on current fantasy pros ADP) will be who we are focusing on today as they will be the only ones available to hold your proverbial clipboard. If you are in a 10 man league exit out of this page and reevaluate your life.

Week 4: Marcus Mariota(21), Brady(10)/Garapollo

          As we discussed above, Brady owners will likely need to have Jimmy G on standby no matter what. I can't imagine you having a great year if you dedicate 3 roster spots to quarterbacks so Brady owners just pick up a streaming Qb for the week and then drop. Mariota is already in "backup quarterback" territory. Unless you are one of those NCAA fanatics who drafts these types of qbs early, and every league has one, he is already your backup. 

Best week 4 qbs: Jay Cutler (23), Sam Bradford (17)

Cutler is dynamite in week four. He's currently the 23rd qb off the board and plays the lowly Raiders at home. Bradford is affordable at 17th and plays the Skins who are just not that good. 

Week 5: Cam Newton(7), Ryan Tannehill(13), Teddy Bridgewater(15), Geno Smith*(UDFA)

Cam and Tannehill are truly the only ones in starter territory, but I'd bet Teddy cracks that top 14 by draft time. This year is very muddled in the middle of the drafts. 

Best week 5 qbs: Joe Flacco (16), Sam Bradford(17), Jameis Winston(19), Nick Foles(24)

Nick Foles is your target here as he plays Green Bay in what will likely be a high scoring affair. The Rams will likely struggle to keep up with Rodger's n Company's high powered offense and this means pass pass pass for the Rams. Flacco vs Cleveland at home, Bradford vs the Saints and Winston vs Jacksonville are also good, albeit slightly more expensive options than Foles.

Week 6: Tony Romo(8), Derek Carr(22), Nick Foles(24), Jameis Winston(19)

Another week where the quarterbacks on byes are likely already to be your backups anyway, but for you Romo owners this week is yours to pay attention to. 

Best week 6 Qbs: 

Jay Cutler(23), Mallet/Hoyer(UDFA), Sam Bradford(17), Geno Smith(UDFA)

One of the rare occasions where I would ever recommend the likes of Smith or whoever wins the job in Houston. For their price you could draft them dead last or not at all. Playing against Jacksonville and Washington, respectively, you could even not draft a backup at all and simply drop a kicker or another useless player and just grab one for the week. Again we see Bradford with a decent matchup against the Football Giants of New York. Cutler against the Lions is also a decent bet. 

Week 7: Jay Cutler(23), Andy Dalton(27), Peyton Manning(3), Aaron Rodgers(2)

Best qbs week 7: Matt Cassel(28), Jameis Winston(19), Nick Foles(24)

This is not a great week if your starter is on a bye. The matchups are not great for the later round qbs but there is still some hope. Foles rears his goofy head again vs the Browns while Winston plays the Skins. Cassel, or whoever the fuck is slinging the rock by then gets to play Jacksonville. My only gripe with the Bills qb against Jax is it is in London and we've seen some bad football overseas. 

Week 8: Matt Cassel(28), Blake Bortles(29), Sam Bradford(17), Robert Griffin(26)

A likely breather for most players as none of these quarterbacks are really in top 12-14 territory. With the exception of Bradford, none of these players will ever creep into that area of any draft. If you have the unfortunate situation of needing a qb this week,you are likely going to suck this year, but here are a few to choose from anyway. 

If you absolutely have to: Geno Smith(UDFA), Jay Cutler(23), Jameis Winston(19)

Cutler is at home against the Vikes, Tampa Bay gets Atlanta and Geno Smith gets the Raiders. None particularly jump off the page so go with Cutler at draft time or don't draft a Q at all and stream either Geno or Jameis

Week 9: Carson Palmer(25), Joe Flacco(16), Matt Stafford(12), Mallet/Hoyer(UDFA), Alex Smith(20), Russel Wilson(4)

It's not the best week for owners of Stafford and Wilson as the options out there are not fantastic. For owners of the formerly mentioned, check out these week 9 options. 

Best qbs for week 9: Geno Smith(UDFA), Jay Cutler(23), Nick Foles(24)

Smith lining up with Jacksonville is really the only bad matchup on paper. Cutler landing San Diego and Foles vs Minnesota are your consolation prizes. 

Week 10: Matt Ryan(9), Andrew Luck(1), Philip Rivers(14), Colin Kaepernick(18)

The Bye Weeks are coming to an end and as such there are more options out there for the picking. Luck and Ryan owners have a few options to choose from. 

Best options for week 10: Nick Foles(24), Jay Cutler(23), Joe Flacco(16)

Foles and Cutler square off in what will likely be a decent matchup for either quarterback but the winner here is Joe Flacco. Joe Cool draws Jacksonville and will probably wipe the floor with them. The only big fear here is the Ravens would just run the ball once getting a lead. 

Week 11: Josh Mccown, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger 

Its a pretty meh week for owners of Brees and Big Ben but there's always some option to choose from. Being as though its the last week for byes I wanted to come up with something witty here, but then decided to just go with the list. 

Best options for week 12: Marcus Mariota(21), Blake Bortles(29), Jay Cutler(23)

Bortles and Mariota will be squaring off in what will likely be an awful game with two terrible teams long out of contention. If either quarterback shows signs of putting together a decent offense over the course of the year grab them for the week and pray if they are your only option. Once again Cutler is our winner here as he draws Denver . Chicago's D will likely not slow down Denver worth a damn and Cutler will be in full blown garbage time mode by halftime. Bonus points if Chicago is anywhere near contention at this point in the year. 

          Well there you have it guys, a week by week breakdown of who is on a bye and who you should target as your backup Q. I'm sure you noticed the same thing I noticed as I was typing up this article; Cutler and Bradford have some sweet matchups practically every week. For those of you who do not grab a top tier QB and decide to dance with lesser options, one could certainly do worse than grabbing Smokin Jay or Bradford, or both. Pair either one with a good but not great QB and you might be able to find yourself a good season in there somewhere.