Nobody needs to be told
starting Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, 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
Peterson 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-Jimmy Graham 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..
Note: Fantasy points
based on FF Today’s default scoring system.
Bye Weeks: Cleveland, Kansas City,
New England, N.Y. Jets
Grab a Helmet
Christian
Ponder v. WAS: Most of our regulars are back in action for
Week 10 and that means you may not need to get this creative at
the quarterback position. Did I say “our” regulars? I meant “your”
regulars. My regular (aka, the best QB in the business) spent
most of Monday night in sweatpants after getting body-slammed
to the Tundra turf on the Pack’s first drive. (Sigh.) Luckily,
I have semi-capable fill-ins already on the roster, but if I didn’t,
I wouldn’t hesitate to grab Ponder. He’s fallen out of favor in
Minneapolis, sure, and he probably doesn’t have much of a future
there. Nevertheless, he’s been serviceable since returning to
the starting lineup and is one of only four quarterbacks with
five or more starts to have topped 17 points in every game this
year. The others, by the way, are named Manning, Brees, and Stafford.
A plus matchup for Eli this week.
Eli
Manning v. OAK: No, not this Manning. Eli’s only managed to
top the 17-point mark three times so far and hasn’t done it once
since Week 5, a major contributing factor to the Giants’ overall
lousiness. He’ll be afforded a much longer leash than guys like
Ponder, of course, thanks to those two Super Bowl trophies, but
we can’t afford to be so loyal and patient when we have fantasy
championships to contend for. So why reward Manning with the nod
this Sunday when he hasn’t done squat for most of the last month?
You…uh…did see what the next guy did to the Oakland secondary last
weekend, didn’t you? Manning won’t top four bills and wing seven
touchdown passes, I wouldn’t think, but I’d bet a sixer of good
Oregon microbrew he throws for 250-300 yards and at least a couple
TD strikes. If he’s gathering splinters on your bench, plug him
back in.
Nick
Foles @ GB: Foles authored that record-tying explosion against
the Raiders (49.7 points) just two weeks after tallying a microscopic
6.5 against Dallas and suffering a late concussion that caused him
to miss the Week 8 disaster against Manning’s Giants. Guess that
extra week of convalescence proved beneficial, eh? The Eagles’ young
field general threw more touchdown passes than he did incompletions
on Sunday (!!!), a staggeringly productive and efficient performance
not even his most optimistic supporters could have predicted. Though
I count myself amongst that group, I’d have expected something more
along the lines of what I’m predicting for Eli this week. Foles
won’t duplicate those crazy Week 9 digits up in Wisconsin, but the
Pack is reeling and the continued absence of Clay Matthews means
they aren’t generating much of a pass rush. Foles has already proven
lethal when given time to chuck it, so don’t hesitate to use him
again.
Grab a Clipboard
Seneca
Wallace v. PHI: I spent most of Monday night’s horror flick
covering my face with my hands, peeking through fingers only occasionally
to confirm what I already knew: Seneca Wallace isn’t gonna cut
it as Aaron Rodgers’ stand-in. The long-time backup from Iowa
State hadn’t taken a regular season snap in two years and, worse
yet, hadn’t even taken a preseason snap for the Packers (he was
added to the roster just prior to Week 1). His general rustiness
and a lack of familiarity with Green Bay’s sophisticated passing
scheme were painfully evident against the Bears. Regardless, Wallace
will be back under center this Sunday unless Coach McCarthy opts
to go with undrafted free agent Scott Tolzien, a former Badger
recently promoted from the practice squad. Welcome to our nightmare,
fellow Packer backers. If you’ll excuse me, I’m now going to jump
off the nearest bridge.
Chad
Henne @ TEN: You like scary movies, you say? The Special Lady
Friend and I have been plowing through Season 1 of “The Walking
Dead” (highly recommended) and I gotta tell ya’: We’ve seen nothing
so far that’s nearly as horrifying as the 2013 version of the
Jacksonville Jaguars. Henne currently engineers this zombified
cast of characters and though his numbers haven’t been grotesque
the last couple outings (two 300-yard efforts in his last three
starts), that’s probably about to change. The NFL indefinitely
suspended the Jags’ best receiver, Justin Blackmon, in advance
of this weekend’s game and that leaves Henne dangerously short
of weapons against Tennessee’s underrated secondary. The Titans
have yielded just seven TD tosses the entire season – tied with
Carolina for the league lead – and have only allowed a multi-TD
effort one time (Matt Schaub in Week 2). If you need a replacement
for A-Rodge or Tom Terrific, look elsewhere.
Joe
Flacco v. CIN: Think Ozzie Newsome and the Ravens’ brass
want a refund on that $120 million contract Flacco inked this
past March? Yikes! It’s not so much that Flacco didn’t
deserve a raise (he absolutely did), but it seems short-sighted
to invest that kinda jack in a franchise QB and then protect said
investment with a line like Baltimore’s. Jacksonville’s
the worst team in the league by a fair margin, sure, but the Ravens
clearly possess the league’s worst front five. Ask Ray Rice
and Bernard Pierce if you don’t believe me. Flacco usually
gets his numbers when volume is high (read: when his team is getting
drilled), but the Bengals are holding opposing QBs in check this
season (19.0 points/game, eighth overall) and have historically
limited the streaky signal caller to sub-par outings (180 yards
per and only nine TD strikes in 10 career matchups). I think it’ll
be a close AFC North dogfight and you can probably do better than
Flacco.
Running Backs 
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