Nobody needs to be told starting Aaron Rodgers, Jamaal Charles,
or Calvin Johnson is a good idea. Duh, right? You can’t
have studs at every position 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 Luck’s bye week? Let’s talk. Looking for solutions
at running back because AD 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 Brown and went RB-QB-Gronk in your first
three rounds? You get the idea. Past results may not guarantee
future success, but ignoring them entirely can ruin your Sundays
in a hurry (maybe even your Mondays and Thursdays). Read on for
a little history and, hopefully, a little sage advice.
Note: Fantasy points
based on FF Today’s standard scoring system.
Bye Weeks: N/A
Blake Bortles is fantasy's No. 4 QB and
sporting a better than 2:1 TD-to-INT ratio with four games
to go.
Grab a Helmet Ryan
Fitzpatrick v. TEN: I’ve frequently proclaimed Fitzpatrick
a useful fantasy option, as long-time readers know, so this recent
stretch of well-above-average performances feels like sweet vindication.
Since Week 9, the hirsute Harvard product and well-traveled triggerman
has tallied 125.9 points, good for sixth overall at the position
and just a handful behind two of the game’s true luminaries, Aaron
Rodgers and Tom
Brady. In fact, he’s now on pace to set a career high in touchdown
passes and even has a shot at breaking Vinny Testaverde’s single-season
Jets record (29). That probably doesn’t say much for Jets quarterbacks
in general, but 30 TD tosses in a season is still way north of “useful.”
Could Fitz make me look bad by stinking up the joint this Sunday?
He sure could. I just think it’s more likely he’ll exploit a Tennesee
secondary that’s surrendered EIGHT TD passes the last two weekends.
Blake
Bortles v. IND: Bortles inflicted most of that damage
with a five-TD effort down in Nashville last Sunday. Alas, those
five TDs (and 322 passing yards) weren’t enough to overcome Marcus
Mariota’s breakout performance and the Jags dropped a wild one,
42-39, ensuring an eighth straight season at or below .500. The
silver lining is that they seem to have found a quarterback, which
is more than I can say for myself. I had the option of keeping two
of my three rookies at the end of last season in our high stakes
two-QB league. Those three rookies? Odell Beckham, Jr., Mike Evans,
and Bortles. You already know who I picked and, by now, should definitely
know I picked wrong. If you were prescient enough to see what the
future held for Bortles, the fourth best flinger of 2015, don’t
start doubting yourself now. Bortles is must start material.
Jameis
Winston v. NO: I won’t wait until 2016 to admit I may
have been wrong about this rookie signal caller. After a disastrous
start to his professional career against the aforementioned Titans,
Famous Jameis has slowly but surely turned into a reliable field
general for the once-beleaguered Bucs. He’s been so steady of late,
in fact, that he has Tampa right in the playoff mix heading into
the final four games of the season. Who would have thought possible
that after a 1-3 start that featured seven Winston interceptions?
He’s tallied as many rushing touchdowns as he has picks since then
(four) and is inching ever closer to QB1 status as the season winds
down. I still think Mariota’s the better long-term prospect, but
I’m intrigued by the big guy’s unusual blend of big right arm and
sneaky, Fitzpatrick-esque rushing ability. Even more intriguing
is his Week 14 matchup.
Grab a Clipboard
Teddy
Bridgewater @ ARZ (Thu): Tampa’s playoff chances may
improve considerably before they even stop on the field if Teddy
Bridgewater et al. don’t rebound from a 38-7 Week 13 drubbing
and steal one in the desert Thursday night. Minnesota has been
surprisingly successful in Mike Zimmer’s second season at the
helm, but that 8-4 record is fairly deceiving. The Vikes have
beaten exactly one team with a winning record (KC) and have been
smoked the last two times they’ve stepped up in class, against
Green Bay and then Seattle. Arizona’s better than both those teams
and will be playing at home. Moreover, the Cards’ talented secondary
is statistically better than the vaunted Legion of Boom, a group
that just held Bridgewater to 6.1 points, his second worst outing
of the year. Poor performing QB v. great defense on the road after
just three days off? You must do better.
Philip
Rivers @ KC: You can probably count on several fingers
the number of quarterbacks capable of performing well (and winning)
without their top targets. Tom Brady is obviously one of them
and Aaron Rodgers has historically been another, though even he’s
struggled minus Jordy Nelson this year. I honestly thought Rivers
was in that select class of receiver-agnostic QBs, as well, but
his recent numbers suggest otherwise. Since losing Keenan Allen
in Week 8, San Diego’s franchise man has suffered three of his
worst outings, bottoming out in Week 11 against Kansas City (9.7
points). The reeling Bolts get the Chiefs again this Sunday and
this time it’ll be at Arrowhead, a historically inhospitable venue
for opposing squads, especially division rivals. It’s a lost season
for the Bolts and Rivers’ receiving corps has been further decimated
by injuries, so if you’ve survived his recent swoon, don’t press
your luck.
Matt
Schaub v. SEA: Barely half the league’s teams have
started the same quarterback all season (18), a number that seems
certain to decline with four weeks of action left to play. That
means many of us have had to resort to plans B or C (or, in my
case, Z) at the position. Surprisingly, Schaub hasn’t been
the worst of these fill-ins, averaging 20 points in his two starts
for the Ravens. This despite the fact he’s now on the verge
of equaling his NFL record of pick-sixes in four consecutive games.
He’s the only guy in NFL history to do it once and now,
preposterously, he has a chance to do it twice! I say “preposterously”
because…who would even give him a chance to pull such a
dubious double? The Ravens clearly didn’t have better options
(Jimmy Clausen), but you probably do. At least, I hope you do.
