With byes and injuries, QBs are still available

Nate Jackson, a San Jose native, spent six seasons in the NFL. His books include “Slow Getting Up” and “Fantasy Man.”

Week 10: By now you know how bad your team is. For most fantasy leagues, there are only four games left in the regular season. Fantasy playoffs happen during Weeks 14, 15 and 16 of the NFL’s regular season, which is the only way to ensure that all 32

NFL teams will be playing — and all of the players will be active.

One of the tricky elements of fantasy football is managing the bye week. If several of your top players have byes on the same week — as mine do this week — your roster will be depleted when that week comes around, and you’ll be scrambling to pick up players to fill the void. This scrambling is true for everyone in your league except that one friend who has planned for it: choosing players with staggered byes, securing backups weeks in advance, researching the favorable matchups and completely forgetting to bathe or brush his teeth. Though he may win your league, he will lose in the dentist chair.

This week, the Ravens, Chiefs, Eagles and Raiders are on a bye. If your quarterback is Alex Smith, Derek Carr, Joe Flacco or Carson Wentz, then you need someone else. And if you don’t have a suitable backup on your bench, or you only carry one quarterback on your roster, as many do, you’ll need to hit the waiver wire. One man to consider: Eli. The Giants come to Levi’s Stadium this week.

Although Eli Manning and the Giants have struggled this season, and reports surfaced Tuesday that the Giants are looking to replace him, a trip to Santa Clara tends to revive struggling opponents. The venue has also given aging stars left for dead reason to declare, like Adrian Peterson last week: “Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

Whatever the outcome, I do hope that new 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo plays, even though he’s only been around for a week. In order for this to happen, coach Kyle Shanahan will have to simplify things for the rest of the offense because there is no way Jimmy can digest the playbook that fast.

First of all, it’s a threering binder. Second, if it is anything like his father’s playbook, it can be complicated. As someone who played for Mike Shanahan from 2003- 08, I can report that 90 percent of my daily stress revolved around memorizing all of my detailed assignments. The Shanahans are brilliant offensive minds.

But players don’t think like them. A record of 0-9 is not just a product of a new regime; it should be a call to adapt the strategy — a skill all successful coaches must learn.

Either way, Jimmy and Eli will present fans with an interesting contrast in playing styles and physical abilities. Both considered “franchise QBs,” Eli’s immobility and age-induced lethargy becomes more apparent when observing a young, fiery whippersnapper like Garoppolo, who is not devoured by a collapsing pocket but instead vacates the area and zips the ball downfield. To whom will he look? That’s yet to be determined. With Pierre Garcon done for the season, Marquise Goodwin is a decent bet.

Another quarterback shake-up is happening in Tampa Bay. Jameis Winston, who until recently was putting up big numbers, is out for the next few weeks doctoring an injured shoulder. His backup is a bearded regular on the QB scene: Harvard grad Ryan Fitzpatrick. He’s always good for a few hundred yards, a few touchdowns and a few former QBs on TV bashing him. This is where he thrives — as the afterthought.

But the Bucs’ No. 1 receiver, Mike Evans, will be out this week at home against the Jets, serving a one-game suspension after a “scuffle” with a New Orleans defender last Sunday. Players were getting “chippy,” they said. Chippy Scuffle: I love that band.

With Winston and Evans out, look for Fitzpatrick to unleash the chippy peashooter in the direction of veteran wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who already has 55 targets through eight games. How do you like them apples? TARGETS >> Another military term that in the fantasy football world means “the number of times a receiver is thrown to.” Knowing the target count gives you a great idea of both how the receiver factors into the coach’s game plan and how much confidence the quarterback has in the receiver — both can help predict fantasy production. Most of the high-target guys are already embedded in people’s starting lineups, but you can find a few of them floating around on the waiver wire.

Former 49ers tight end Vernon Davis is one of them. He typically serves as Jordan Reed’s backup in Washington. Reed is excellent but often injured, which has led to a lot of playing time for Davis. Last week, he got nine targets and caught six of them. That’s solid work. If Reed can’t go again this week, look to Old Vern to keep the chains moving.

Also high on targets last week was new Buffalo Bills receiver Deonte Thompson, a journeyman who was cut by the Bears last month. He caught seven of 10 passes thrown his way against the Jets last week. Apparently, he and quarterback Tyrod Taylor know each other well after playing together for three years in Baltimore, and in a high school all-star game as teenagers. You can’t teach chemistry.