The Shot Caller's Report strives to identify players that are borderline fantasy plays and clarify whether they should be started or benched. Rather than telling you to start Peyton Manning and bench Tarvaris Jackson, the Report looks at those "stuck in the middle" guys and evaluates if they will help your team win.

It is Super Bowl time, at least for fantasy owners. Games played this week are the culmination of months of preparation, analysis, horse trading, and hard work. Luck certainly plays a role; how much is a matter of diverse and occasionally loudly-stated opinion. The two teams playing for the league title are quick to defend the skill it took to assemble their team of superstars while the rest of the owners share stories of injury, close losses, underperforming draft picks, and Brian Westbrook taking a knee at the 1-yard line. We aren’t going to settle the luck argument in this article, but I wanted to wish everyone still playing this week a hearty, “Good luck!” Let’s see if we can throw in some of that analysis stuff and give chance a helping hand…

Quarterbacks

Must Start:

Donovan McNabb @ NO: He has only scored twice since Week Ten, killing owners who drafted him to be their starter. All the talk of Kevin Kolb getting some playing time is just talk as McNabb will play this week and have one of his best games of the season. Considering his season, this won’t be hard. Traveling down to the Big Easy will help Donovan pad his season stats, making them look bad rather than horrendous.

Ben Roethlisberger @ STL: Even though Big Ben passed for less than 150 yards last week and connected on fewer than half of his attempts, he still managed three touchdowns. Now he leaves snowy Pittsburgh for the warm confines of the Edward Jones Dome. For whatever reason, the coaching staff is trying its best to keep Willy Parker from scoring. His owners aren’t happy about it, but Roethlisberger has 31 scores on the season because of it.

Matt Hasselbeck v. BAL: He has scored in all but one game this season and has managed multiple touchdowns in nine of his 14 contests. Last week’s performance in Carolina was a bit disappointing, but something about Baltimore makes this match up inviting. Oh, yeah, they don’t have a secondary and the team has completely quit on their coach, losing to previously winless Miami last week.

Kurt Warner v. ATL : Speaking of teams that suck, Atlanta is the next defense that will be unable to stop the Arizona passing attack. Warner has quietly posted at least two touchdowns in each of his last six games while playing with a lot of injured teammates and backups. He does have 13 turnovers during that period as well, but it is unlikely the Falcons will be able to put any pressure on him and questionable whether they will even try.

Going Out On a Limb:

Brodie Croyle @ DET : Croyle isn’t a very good quarterback, but what do you expect in Week 16? If he were any good, someone would have already nabbed him. Skill plays a minor role in beating up the reeling Detroit defense. After giving up 51 points to the inconsistent San Diego Chargers, the Lions are obviously in the holiday mood and will be handing out easy touchdowns all day.

Grab A Clipboard:

Eli Manning @ BUF: Regardless of what brand of watch he is wearing, Manning is anything but ‘unstoppable’. The Bills aren’t exactly a stout defense, but the weather in western New York during the month of December seldom is beneficial to a passing game. And, over his last seven games, Manning has seven scores (one in each game) and eleven turnovers while being unable to throw for over 300 yards in any of them.

Philip Rivers v. DEN: Although they locked up their division last week, the Bolts are still playing for seeding. More specifically, they are trying to keep the #3 spot so they don’t have to face the Patriots any sooner than necessary. Rivers has a gimpy knee, may not play the full game, and has to face the #6 pass defense in the league. None of that really excites me going into my Super Bowl.

David Garrard v. OAK : I started the season off not really believing in Garrard. I knew he existed and all, but I’ve never felt comfortable with him as my QB. Before his injury, Garrard was doing pretty much what I expected, with six scores in six games and pretty meager yardage totals. Since his return, those numbers have gone up, and in a big way. While his primary job is to hand the ball off 40 times a game, he is making throws too. Oakland is tough though, having allowed only eleven passing touchdowns all year. Find a better option.

Todd Collins @ MIN: For all those ‘experts’ who say anyone can pass on Minnesota, I give you the stat line of Kyle Orton in last week’s match up with the Vikings: 184 yards, no TDs, 1 INT. Orton isn’t exactly a great quarterback, but neither is Collins. And, while the Minnesota pass defense gives up more yardage than anyone else, they don’t let teams score as much as you may think.

Vince Young v. NYJ: Young occasionally flashes some upside, having posted a 300 yard game this season as well as a handful of two touchdown outings. He also had five games with no scores and nine where he was held to under 200 yards passing, including five with less than 125 yards. His most recent stinker came just two weeks ago so experience isn’t transforming him very quickly. His may show off a lot of highlight reel moves, but he is way too inconsistent for me, even against the Jets.

Running Backs