Bench Tom Brady.
That probably goes without saying after he's bombed badly on the field the past two weeks, but still, it's a tough pill to swallow given that he was the fifth or sixth quarterback off the board with an NFL.com ADP in the early 50s.
Fantasy, at least generally, does a pretty good job of approximating a guy's real-life value. We can argue whether Demaryius Thomas or Calvin Johnson is a better real-life receiver, but we can agree both are at or very near the top of the food chain in fantasy. The numbers tell us that and so does the eyeball test.
But with Brady we have a different animal. This is no argument of semantics; this is case study numero uno on the difference between real life and fantasy football.
Because in real life, if salary were no issue, there are literally four teams in the NFL that wouldn't trade their current quarterback straight up for Brady. The Broncos, Saints, Packers and Colts. That's it. Mayyyyybe if you live in the Pacific northwest and swear by Russell Wilson, you can throw Seattle into the mix as well. But the bottom line is, in real life, Brady is arguably a top-two or three quarterback in the entire league. In fantasy you would likely move the Michigan man for just about ANY other fantasy-relevant quarterback. And why not. Brady is currently fantasy trash. #RealTalk
Two straight, week-crushing performances of about 10 points a pop and we're looking at a guy who cannot be trusted moving forward.
And oh, how the mighty have fallen. In 2012, Brady was the third-highest scoring quarterback. In 2013, he ranked 14th at the position and this year he currently sits at 28th behind such powerhouse fantasy plays as Geno Smith and Derek Carr. Even Eli Manning and his 186 turnovers have more fantasy points than Brady, who is just 0.04 points ahead of his former backup Matt Cassel. And he is ... um ... not elite.
At this point, I'm not even sure Brady is a good matchup play based off of not only his two-week sample size this year, but his statistical mediocrity last year (in fantasy).
In 2013 Brady only had two games where he put up 25 or more fantasy points but a whopping SEVEN games where he put up less than 15, with three of those being of the single-digit, week-killing variety.
If you want to chalk that up to the Rob Gronkowski injury and working with a group of new, young receivers I get that. But how about this year? Gronk is back, as is Julian Edelman, the young guys have gotten a year older and Shane Vereen, the pass-catching back that he is, is also helping in the pass game. On paper there's a lot to like.
In Week 1, Brady threw the ball 56 times. Read that again. Brady dropped back and slung the rock 56 times. He completed 29 of those for a very pedestrian 51 percent en route to 249 yards and one touchdown. You subtract his two lost fumbles and Brady ended up with 10 points. As my colleague Marcas Grant says: that is #ungood. You can't throw the ball 56 times and take home 10 points. Cannot win with him. Can't do it.
You could argue that in Week 2 versus Minnesota, Brady didn't have to do much with Matt Cassel giving away turnovers like a heavy-handed dad doling out Halloween candy, but it's not like Brady was lighting it up on New England's other non-shortened drives either.
And keep this in mind; it should have been Brady at his statistical finest. Because after uncharacteristically coughing up the rock twice in a tough loss to Miami, you would've assumed Brady would come out angry and motivated. Then you add in the fact that Minnesota gave up a league worst 22 points per game to opposing quarterbacks last year and it was all supposed to add up to a monster fantasy day for Brady.
Well, 9.96 points later, here we are writing about how you should move him, if at all possible, for Kirk Cousins or Colin Kaepernick or Jay Cutler of all people. You get the point. Brady's stock is at an all-time low. Sell if you can.
Other quarterback notes:
» One of my bold predictions this year was that Andrew Luck would be a top-two fantasy quarterback, bypassing all but Drew Brees. Yes, including Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning. Luck is currently the game's HIGHEST scoring quarterback. Hold onto him and enjoy.
» Believe in Jay Cutler ... at least while he's healthy. Yes, he's looked TERRIBLE for long stretches of games, but head coach Marc Trestman's system is fantasy gold and somehow Cutler has come out the other end looking great. But keep in mind, Cutler missed five games in 2013 and six games in 2011.
» Bright days could be ahead for Colin Kaepernick. Our own Akbar Gbajabiamila broke down his tape and said he likes what he sees. Kap is looking downfield more and going through his progressions. It hasn't translated quite yet, obviously, but stay patient. With his running ability and strong arm, points could come be coming in bundles soon.
» I'm going all-in on Washington signal caller Kirk Cousins. Good arm, proven collegiate competitor and the perfect guy for Jay Gruden's system. Cousins is already saying all the right things and recently compared himself to Andy Dalton, Gruden's last project whom he helped mold into a top-five fantasy quarterback. I like the offense surrounding Cousins with a balanced run game to go along with Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson and now the emergence of athletic tight end Niles Paul. You throw in the fact that Washington's defense is below average, meaning more shootouts, and that his division is soft defensively and there is a lot to like.
» Ben Roethlisberger was the 18th best quarterback in 2012, the 12th best in 2013 but after two games is just the 23rd best fantasy signal-caller in 2014. And spot starters beware. In eight of Big Ben's last 18 games he has scored LESS than 13 points.
» I'm utterly confused what to make of Tony Romo's start to the season. He's currently sitting there as the 27th highest-scoring quarterback after back-to-back top-10 fantasy season. The pundits say Dallas has a strong offensive line. We know he has weapons in Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams and Jason Witten. The defense is supposed to be terrible, meaning the team should be in line to throw more, especially in the second half. Scott Linehan is calling plays (one of 47 offensive coaches, it seems) and has a long track record of having an extremely pass-heavy tilt. Romo himself, despite the detractors, is by every metric a solid quarterback with skills. EVERYTHING tells you Romo should be good from a fantasy perspective and yet ... I'm still buying Romo but it's very possible his back issues are lingering. He might not start paying dividends until the second half of the season.
James Koh is an anchor/reporter for NFL Network and a proud Cal alum. Follow him on Twitter @JamesDKoh
