Nobody needs to be told
starting Aaron Rodgers, Arian Foster, or Calvin Johnson is a good
idea. Duh, right? You can’t have studs at every position,
though, unless you’re in the shallowest of leagues. This
is where the Shot Caller comes in. Need help deciding which bargain
basement QB to use and which to ignore on Rodgers’ bye week?
Let’s talk. Looking for solutions at running back because
Foster is a game-time decision? Look no further. Need to know
which of your unproven targets to start and which to sit since
you ignored Megatron and went RB-QB-Gronkowski in your first three
rounds? I’m your huckleberry. Past results may not guarantee
future success, but I believe ignoring them entirely can ruin
your Sundays in a hurry. Read on for a little history and, hopefully,
a little sage advice.
Bye Weeks: Pittsburgh, Indianapolis
Grab a Helmet
Fitzpatrick threw for 676 yds and 4 TDs
against New England in 2011.
Ryan
Fitzpatrick v. NE: It’s been a wacky three weeks of NFL action,
for sure, culminating in the Monday night circus at Qwest Field.
How wacky? Fitzpatrick, despite a very inauspicious start against
the Jets – 195 yards and three INTs, one of them a pick-six –
now has more touchdown passes than Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady
COMBINED! He’s also 2-1, meaning he has one more victory than
each of those studs and two more than Drew Brees. In the immortal
words of Vince Lombardi, “what the heck is going on around here?”
(RIP, Steve Sabol.) I told you I liked Fitzpatrick this season
so that’s not much of a surprise, but what’s with these other
guys? Don’t be afraid to start the Bills’ triggerman against his
more celebrated division mate and a Patriots D he lit up for 300+
yards twice in 2011.
Christian
Ponder @ DET: A reader took me to task last week for suggesting
a sit-down of Minnesota’s second-year signal caller against the
Niners. Turns out he was right to do so…but for the wrong reason.
Ponder, he contended, would never be considered for active duty
by any reasonable, non-desperate GM against the stout San Francisco
defense. We all know how that turned out (198 yds, two TD passes,
and a rushing TD) so maybe it’s time to reconsider his viability
as a starting option, even against the league’s better teams? The
Lions will probably be one before it’s all said and done but they
just gave up about 1,000 yards to Jake Locker and the Titans last
Sunday. I like Ponder’s chances to put up some moderately good totals
in Week 4. Don’t forget he’s also one of only three starting QBs
with a clean sheet in the INT department. The other two are Kevin
Kolb and Blaine Gabbert. Read those last two sentences again if
you need more proof it’s been an unusual start to 2012.
Josh
Freeman v. WAS: I’m not a Josh Freeman fan. Let’s just get that
out of the way. He’s erratic, mistake-prone, and a poor decision-maker
overall. He also fails to maximize his ability as a runner despite
obvious natural gifts (ideal size and above-average mobility). In
short, I wouldn’t draft him. That said, if I theoretically owned
him, I wouldn’t hesitate to plug him in against the Redskins in
Week 4. Washington may be abuzz about RGIII (and rightfully so),
but they should be seriously concerned about a leaky pass defense
that’s yielded 9.1 yards/attempt (31st in the league) and 10 touchdowns
(32nd) thus far. The last time Freeman faced a secondary this poor,
he torched the defending Super Bowl champs for 243 yards and a couple
scores in a Week 2 thriller. If you’re on the fence with some other
borderline options, give him a look this weekend.
Grab a Clipboard
Cam
Newton @ ATL: I know, I know. You didn’t draft Newton to sit
him down, early struggles notwithstanding. Still, isn’t it at
least worth considering on an ad hoc basis, provided you have
a reasonable alternative sitting on your bench? I told you in
the preseason I think he’ll end up outside the top 10 by season’s
end and, true to form, he’s perched precariously at #10 as we
speak, right in front of the aforementioned Ryan Fitzpatrick (FF
Today default scoring). The reason why is pretty simple: He isn’t
a good enough passer to compensate on days when he can’t get anything
going with his legs. That’s happened twice already (in Weeks 1
and 3) and I think it could very well happen again in Week 4 when
Newton squares off against the one division rival, Atlanta, he
doesn’t own. The Falcons lead the league in picks and have intercepted
the Panthers’ young star five times in his brief career. Just
think about it, OK?
Jake
Locker @ HOU: Like Newton, Tennessee’s young field general
is still a work in progress. In just three games, he’s shown he
can be very good (last week against Detroit), very average (Week
1 against New England), and very questionable (Week 2 against
San Diego). In other words, we really don’t know what he is yet
and probably won’t until at least the second half of this season.
That means he’s no better than a spot play when the matchup is
attractive or you’re covering for a stud QB on his bye week. This
particular matchup is far from attractive as the Texans are limiting
opposing QBs to a mere 50.5% completion percentage, trouble for
someone as inaccurate as Locker. Unless you’ve been riding Andrew
Luck or Ben Roethlisberger, our two spectators this weekend, there
isn’t a great reason to give him any run. Wait for a better opportunity.
Russell
Wilson @ STL: @ReignOfTroy gets credit for my favorite tweet
following Monday night’s farce: “Russell Wilson became the first
QB in history to throw a game-winning interception.” Sigh. Officially,
Wilson, the once golden child of Cheeseheads everywhere, engendered
their collective sorrow with the improbable six as time expired.
Unofficially, he (should have) tallied one less TD pass and one
more pick (probably two). I like his future as the leader of this
team but the Hawks are built to ride Marshawn Lynch and a suffocating
defense right now. That means Wilson’s probably going to be waiting
for that first career 200-yard game at least a couple more weeks.
Set him down against a Rams D quietly performing very well against
the pass (two TDs v. five INTs).
Running Backs 
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