Nobody needs to be told starting Aaron Rodgers, David Johnson,
or Antonio Brown 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 Johnson 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
Don't be afraid to jump back on the Jay
Cutler bandwagon. The Saints defense awaits in Week 4.
Grab a Helmet
Deshaun
Watson v. TEN or DeShone
Kizer v. CIN: If not for some late-game heroics orchestrated
by NFL maestros Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, I’m guessing 99% of
survivor pools across the land would have ended in Week 3. You need
look no further than these two rooks for proof of how crazy a week
it was. The former, in just his second career start, almost bested
the Patriots’ great in Foxboro, posting 27.2 points (11th at the
position). The latter, despite completing fewer than 50% of his
throws and tossing three picks against the downtrodden Colts, actually
ended up with the 5th best QB bottom line (30.5). It ain’t always
pretty and probably won’t be in the near term (especially for Kizer),
but both men bring exciting playmaking ability to their respective
squads and have no serious competition backing them up. Pick your
favorite Deshaun/DeShone and go with him.
Eli
Manning @ TB: The G-Men scrambled back to their feet
last weekend, but the mandatory eight count on their season continues
after a heartbreaking 27-24 defeat. Now 0-3 with two divisional
losses, the playoffs seem like a pipe dream. However, they still
possess one of the best defenses in the league and an arsenal of
passing game weapons (OBJ, Sterling Shephard, Brandon Marshall,
and Evan Engram). If Eli can stay off his heinie, who knows? The
running game is averaging fewer than 50 yards a game (the 16-game
record is 66 and change, BTW), so there’s no help there. It’s all
on Mr. Two-time Super Bowl Champ and he gets a dream matchup this
weekend against a Bucs squad that has yielded 659 passing yards
in two games. Tampa’s respective tormentors? Mike Glennon and Case
Keenum. Yikes. This is Eli’s best matchup of the season, most likely.
Start him.
Jay
Cutler v. NO (London): The Duke of Disinterest was up
to his old tricks last Sunday, failing to show up against the hapless
Jets and exhibiting all the bad habits that have made him one of
the more maddening triggermen in the game this last decade-plus.
Through three quarters, he managed precisely 75 yards passing against
arguably the worst team in the league and only a late touchdown
toss to DeVante Parker (read: last play of the game late) partially
salvaged an otherwise abysmal day. Know what, though? DOOOON’T CAAAARE!
The Saints are on tap and if there’s a tonic for what ails opposing
QBs, it’s definitely the New Orleans defense. I expect a better
effort in front of the London crowd this coming Sunday and Cutler
has the targets (Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, and former Saint
Kenny Stills) to do damage. Swallow hard and start him.
Grab a Clipboard
Jared
Goff @ DAL: I buried Goff before he’d even taken a
professional snap last August, suggesting in a preseason column
he might be the worst No.1 pick since JaMarcus Russell. OK, so
maybe that was a bit harsh. Still, are we really ready to proclaim
him an NFL star in the making, someone we should allow running
our fantasy offenses on a week-in, week-out basis, after three
2017 games? I remain skeptical. He was excellent against the bottom-feeding
Niners last Thursday, sure, but merely efficient against the short-handed
Colts in Week 1 and ordinary in a Week 2 loss to Washington. That’s
kind of a mixed bag in my book. If he handles the Cowboys on the
road this Sunday, potentially without Sammy Watkins, I’ll be happy
to eat that great big helping of crow. I think the Rams and Goff
get exposed as not quite ready for primetime.
Blake
Bortles @ NYJ: Bortles was masterful in Jacksonville’s
Wembley Stadium massacre of the Ravens last Sunday, throwing for
244 yards and four scores on just 31 attempts, the kind of efficiency
he’s rarely exhibited as a pro. Has he finally turned a corner
in this, his fourth NFL season? Have you forgotten his unsightly
performance just one week prior in his true home opener against
Tennessee? Bortles is capable of these kinds of outings, granted,
but the Jags can’t (and won’t) count on them, instead relying
on a rejuvenated running game and a salty defense. He’s already
thrown fewer than 35 passes in all three games this year, or one
less time than he did in 16 games last year. That makes him big
play and touchdown-dependent and he has neither the chops nor
the appropriate cohorts to explode like that regularly. He posts
modest totals against the Jets.
Derek
Carr @ DEN: Need another reminder of how ludicrous
Week 3 was? Bortles scored a full 20 more fantasy points than
Oakland’s franchise man, or more than either of them average
per game. You know you’ve had a bad night when Blake Bortles
outscores you by more than your average game total. Carr is too
good and has too many great targets to go into a prolonged tailspin,
but he has a very good chance of underperforming for at least
one more week. In five career games against the Broncos’
suffocating secondary, he’s averaged a paltry 14.1 fantasy
points, or only about 4 more than he totaled in that debacle last
Sunday night. Math can certainly be depressing sometimes, can’t
it? Carr will have many better days ahead but the full brunt of
this soon-to-be two-game swoon can only be avoided if you sit
him down in Week 4.
