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.

This week marks the midpoint of the fantasy season and everyone has a pretty good idea of where they stand in their leagues. There are those bottom dwelling teams with only a couple wins, or less, throwing in their tear-stained towel. Meanwhile, the smack talking league leaders with five, six, or maybe even an undefeated seven marks in the win column are polishing their rosters with a sharp eye towards maximizing the odds of success. Then there is everyone else stuck somewhere in that middle zone, anxiously holding onto their three or four hard fought wins and wondering what they need to do in order to make a legitimate playoff run. Don’t worry. Your players are the ones we will be talking about as you agonize over bench/start decisions.

Quarterbacks

Must Start:

Derek Anderson @ STL: Mr. Anderson will soon be a “no-duh” start. After weeks of recommending him, everyone else is starting to believe he might be the real deal. I still don’t know if he is the long-term solution in Cleveland and, if he is, whether the team will recognize it. History has shown that the Brownies have never counted player management among their strengths. Come to think of it, the only strength I can think of in Cleveland is consistency; they have consistency stunk.

Drew Brees @ SF: It took a few weeks for the Saints to work the kinks out and they don’t really care if they completely torpedoed your fantasy team’s playoff hopes. Brees has four touchdowns and only a single interception over the last two games and is looking at least a little like the dominant quarterback he was for all of last year. Facing a middling San Francisco defense, Brees should continue rewarding owners who stuck with him.

Brian Griese v. DET: Remember the Chicago aerial attack under Rex Grossman? No? That’s right – there wasn’t one. The problem now is the Bears ineffective running game, but that is good news for Griese owners. He has now started four games and has thrown eight touchdowns and gone over 300 yards twice. His six turnovers aren’t great; however, unless your name is Brady or Manning the occasionally turnover is acceptable.

Donovan McNabb @ MIN: My magic eight ball said that the Eagles offense was a lock this week. I haven’t figured out a more accurate method for projecting McNabb’s fortunes. Mr. Inconsistency gets to play Minnesota, a team that is dead last in passing defense. Even on a bad day McNabb should be able to get a couple cheap scores on these pushovers.

Going Out On a Limb:

Chad Pennington v. BUF: Can I go any further out on a limb than projecting an excellent performance from a guy who may be benched at any moment in favor of Kellen Clemons? Seriously though, Pennington really has been playing well, with nine passing touchdowns. Heck, he even ran one in during Week 3’s tilt against the Dolphins. Sure, he can’t throw anything over 20 yards…or out patterns…But he is really good at anything under ten yards! Against a horrible Bills secondary, not much is really required of a quarterback.

Grab A Clipboard:

Jay Cutler v. GB: Last week was the first time this season Cutler threw more than one touchdown pass. It was also the first time he threw more touchdowns than interceptions all year. Either Cutler is better than we thought or the Pittsburgh defense isn’t quite as good. I’m thinking the second option is more accurate. With Javon Walker not coming back anytime soon, I can’t see Cutler as being anything more than a desperate bye week fill in.

Matt Schaub/Sage Rosenfels v. SD: Schaub’s status is currently up in the air. However, a quick review of his recent performance should keep him far from your lineup whether he starts or not. His last touchdown was in Week 4 and he has four turnovers since then plus an injury-shortened game last week that crushed owners silly enough to start him. Before he left that game, he posted a Ron Dayne-ish 2.6 yards per attempt. And Rosenfels first name is Sage. By law, players with a first name of Sage can never be started in your fantasy football league.

Marc Bulger v. CLE: Bulger gets a sweet match up against a woeful Cleveland defense. Want to know what is uglier than a Cleveland secondary? The answer is, of course, the St. Louis offense. Check out these stats: 225 yards, zero touchdowns, three interceptions, two lost fumbles, and seven sacks. Those are Bulger’s from last week. The Cleveland defense has to be excited as they finally get to play an offense they match up well against. The Rams are playing for their coach’s job and I don’t think they like him that much.

Alex Smith v. NO: Smith is another guy coming back from injury. Since he’s been out for a couple weeks, I thought I’d remind everyone of his stats through the three games he played. Let’s see, one TD in three games. That’s not very good…Passing yards of 209, 126, and 126. One hundred and twenty six passing yards? Twice?!?! So much for Smith’s status as a high upside sleeper before the season began. When 209 yards is your “upside” you don’t deserve the moniker of “sleeper”.

Jason Campbell @ NE: I’ve recommended Campbell in the past when the match up was right. The only question this week is if Campbell can top his 95 yard, one interception game from last week. If there was ever a defense capable of preventing him from reaching that coveted 100 yard mark, the Patriots are it. If things go according to the New England game plan, junk time may start sometime in the second quarter. Sadly, Campbell seems to struggle when on the wrong side of a blow out as he tries to throw long balls against prevent defenses.

Running Backs