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The Shot Caller's Report - WRs/TEs
Your Weekly Guide To Fantasy Lineups
11/17/06
Positions: QBs | RBs | WRs/TEs

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Must Start: The Top 15

1. Steve Smith v. STL—He’s played two fewer games, but Smith is now creeping up on the league’s receiving yardage leaders (a fourth-best 780 yards through ten weeks). Anyone willing to bet he doesn’t end up on top? This despite the fact he was seen repeatedly hurling throughout last Monday night’s victory over the Bucs, a game in which he tallied 149 yards and another score. If they can’t keep him down when he’s ill, what are the league’s DBs gonna do when he’s feeling fit?

2. Marques Colston v. CIN—If Smith wants to lead the league in receiving yards again, he’s gonna hafta catch this guy, the seventh round phenom making minced meat out of the league’s best secondaries. He’s averaging (averaging!) over 150 yards his last three tilts and has also scored three times over that same span. Forget about him being a fluke. I’d start him over every other guy on this list, save for Smith.

3. Chad Johnson @ NO—That includes this guy, a wideout I clearly adore. You knew it. I knew it. He knew it. We all knew it. The blowup was coming. Only question was when and against whom. San Diego ended up being the unsuspecting victim of his 260 yard, two-score explosion but, amazingly enough, they survived to tell about it. Not sure the Saints will if they let him go off this weekend. Don’t miss this one, folks.

4. Terrell Owens v. IND—This one either. The Cowboys seem to have turned the corner with Romo at the helm and Owens has certainly been the beneficiary of the young gun’s coming-out party. He racked up 96 yards and a score in the win over Arizona and even found time to argue with passing game coordinator, Todd Haley, on the sidelines. All in a day’s work, right TO?

5. Marvin Harrison @ DAL—Marvin and cohort Reggie Wayne were MIA last Sunday as the Colts squeaked by the Bills at the RCA Dome. No way they can pull that stunt again and survive a trip to Big D. They won’t, for the record, which means Harrison should be good for 100+ yards and a score or two. Mark it down, folks.

6. Torry Holt @ CAR—Speaking of MIA, whatever happened to Mr. Consistency, Torry Holt? Since scoring seven touchdowns in his first six games, he’s been shut out in his last three, accounting for “only” 171 yards as the Rams have gone winless. I’m not the brightest bulb on the tree but I’m smart enough to know St. Louis has a better chance of winning when he’s scoring touchdowns. So start scoring them already, would ya’?

7. Donald Driver v. NE—Driver’s been targeted 97 times this season (good for third best amongst receivers) and 28 in his last two games alone, more than enough attention to get OUR attention. Even better, he’s turning said looks into points and even notched a career-high 191 yards in the Week 10 W over the Vikes. Repeat after me: you ALWAYS want Favre’s favorite target in your starting lineup.

8. Andre Johnson v. BUF—The only guys targeted more frequently than Mr. Driver? Torry Holt and this guy, the current league leader (103). Not surprising when you consider who else the Texans are trotting out at receiver. He’s cooled off a bit of late but should never be riding pine, even with David Carr still running the show in Houston. Give him the start against Buffalo’s middle-of-the-pack pass defense in Week 11.

9. Roy Williams @ ARZ—Mr. Feast or Famine finally found some middle ground last weekend, tallying five catches for 81 yards in the laydown at Ford Field. You could live with that but it’s more fun to watch him explode from time to time. He should this weekend against the Cardinals as the Lions get back on the winning side of the ledger…for once.

10. Anquan Boldin or Larry Fitzgerald v. DET—If they aren’t able to, Boldin and Fitz could be the reason why. The former’s numbers were certainly hurt by the latter’s return but, in the end, they’ll both be better off now that teams aren’t able to load up on either guy. Leinart is struggling, sure, but we’ve got a cure for that: the Dee-troit Lions, baby! Get ‘em in there.

11. Hines Ward @ CLE—The shift to Air Cowher has paid large dividends for the former Bulldog. He’s averaging over 116 yards/game over his last four and has also scored four times, though three of those came, fittingly, in a single outing at the Georgia Dome. I suspect the Steelers won’t need to air it out as often this Sunday but I’ve thought that before and look where that’s got me. Start Ward and expect 75-100 yards to go with yet another touch.

12. Javon Walker v. SD—Walker saw the football only twice in last week’s win over the Raiders, which would have been a travesty had they lost (and they almost did). Luckily, he maximized his touches, as usual, tallying 62 yards and a score as the Broncos skated away with a hard-fought W. If you saw CJ riddle the San Diego secondary last weekend, you know what Coach Shanny’s thinking. Wait a sec. No, you don’t. NOBODY does! Start Javon anyway.

13. Reggie Wayne @ DAL—I’ve been writing this column for about four years now and still haven’t said anything remotely interesting about Mr. Wayne. Maybe I’m wasting all the creativity on his counterpart? It’s audience participation time once again, folks. Best Wayne blurb for Week 12 gets printed. I’m serious…and seriously lazy, it seems.

14. Donte Stallworth v. TEN—How’s THAT for a return to the fold? Stallworth shook off weeks of rust with a stellar six-catch, 139-yard day, highlighted by an 84-yard up-top special that resulted in Philly’s first touchdown. This week, he draws a 25th ranked Tennessee secondary that has already yielded 17 touchdown passes on the season. I’m betting he adds to that total this Sunday.

15. Darrell Jackson @ SF—Ever so quietly, Jackson has managed to put together one of his best seasons yet and is now on pace to surpass career highs in both yardage and touchdowns. The strange part is that he’s doing it without Matt Hasselbeck and with Deion Branch, the guy most thought would relegate him to second tier status. Hasn’t happened, folks, and I’m not so sure it will. Maybe he needed that second fiddle to finally shine, huh?

Grab a Helmet

T.J. Houshmandzadeh @ NO—T.J. was well on his way to another stellar outing when he was knocked cold on a vicious hit by Marlon McCree in the second half of last Sunday’s wild 49-41 score-a-thon. Only good part is that it happened in the second half ‘cuz he still managed to rack up 88 yards in limited duty, keeping his better-than-60-yard streak alive. Can any other receiver boast of such a streak? I’m asking. I don’t know.

Muhsin Muhammad @ NYJ—After two sorry outings in Weeks 5 and 6 (ten and two yards, respectively), Muhsin has picked up the pace a bit, averaging 76+ and a score over his last three contests. Like Grossman (and the rest of the Chicago offense, for that matter), he benefits from a lot of short fields. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon and especially this week, so keep starting him.

Plaxico Burress @ JAX—A bad day for Eli means a bad day for Plax and that’s exactly what happened last Sunday against the Bears. Don’t be too discouraged. Prior to that, he’d scored in two consecutive games. Moreover, the G-Men will be without Amani Toomer the rest of the year. That means Lil’ Bro should be looking his way a lot in the coming weeks. Lord knows he isn’t looking in Jeremy Shockey’s direction enough.

Kellen Winslow v. PIT—Speaking of tight ends (apparently, I don’t do this enough), raise your hand if you knew Winslow was leading the group in reception this season. He is, believe it or not, with 56 and has even strung together three solid efforts in a row. I’m no fan of the Cleveland offense but somebody’s gotta produce and he’s as good a candidate as anyone at the moment. Consider him a great TE option and even a decent flex option in leagues that allow more positional leeway.

Grab Some Wood

Randy Moss @ KC—Randy Moss should never EVER catch one ball in a football game, no matter what the circumstances are. That tells me he either doesn’t care or isn’t trying…or both. If you drafted him higher than the seventh or eighth round, the joke’s on you. Character does matter, people. Remember that come next August, especially if he’s still wearing the silver and black.

Jerricho Cotchery v. CHI—Cotch has been a pleasant surprise this season, averaging 59 yards a game for an offense that wasn’t expected to do much when the season began. Unfortunately, he runs into the big, bad Bears this Sunday in a game that should remind New York how far they hafta go to truly be considered “back.” Greener pastures lie ahead, Jest fans, so don’t get to down on your boys this weekend.

Reggie Williams v. NYG—I never miss a chance to needle Dawg fans so imagine how tickled I was last weekend when Reggie managed another one-catch day AND Washington became Stanford’s first victim AND Corey Dillon looked like the second coming of Refrigerator Perry. It’s tough living amongst the enemies but a heckuva lot easier when the enemies SUCK EGGS! Drop him and don’t look back.

Ashley Lelie @ BAL—I usually group these clowns together but I’ve decided to single Lelie out this week since he’s the only one who actually dropped a touchdown pass that likely would have spelled the difference in Atlanta’s inexcusable Week 10 loss to the Browns. Did anyone really think the change of uniforms would turn him into a viable weapon? Wait. Don’t answer that. Just check out what Javon Walker’s doing in his stead for the Broncos. ‘Nuf said? Thought so. Moving on…

Antwaan Randle El @ TB—I’ve decided he’s going to take up permanent residence on this list until further notice. After a mind-boggling goose egg in Week 9, the Redskins’ prized free agent “catch” turned the trick again in Week 10, snagging zero balls in the 27-3 defeat. On the bright side, he did run for 23 yards and even attempted a pass, albeit an incompletion. This guy’s agent deserves a raise.