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: N/A
Grab a Helmet
Rivers has thrown 29 touchdowns and only
9 interceptions.
Philip
Rivers @ DEN: In a battle that pitted the Chargers’ current
franchise QB vs. the franchise QB that famously spurned San Diego,
Rivers got the best of Eli Manning last Sunday, outscoring the Giants’
struggling signal caller by a healthy 7.5 fantasy points in the
Bolts’ blowout win. That moved Rivers into a tie with Cam Newton
for fifth overall at the QB position (23.4 points/game). Surprising,
huh? This might surprise you even more: Rivers is now on pace for
a career high in fantasy points. Not hampering that effort will
be a potentially prolific (and entertaining, for a change) Thursday
night matchup with the Broncos. Denver’s D was bending an awful
lot prior to last week’s shutdown of Ryan Fitzpatrick (oops) and
I suspect Rivers will bend it plenty on Thursday even if his squad
ends up on the business end of a Broncos beatdown…which they will.
Jay
Cutler or Josh
McCown @ CLE: How does the old saying go? If you have
two starting quarterbacks, you have no starting quarterbacks? I
don’t think that tired saw applies in the case of Chicago’s QB controversy,
but not because the Bears possess two legendary quarterbacks. Rather,
Marc Trestman is the envy of most NFL coaches these days because
he possesses two super-sized and super-talented receivers who would
make almost ANY triggerman look good. It doesn’t really matter who
lines up under center in the Windy City, in other words, so long
as he’s throwing to the devastating combo of Brandon Marshall and
Alshon Jeffery. Those two have combined to average almost 14 receptions
and 212 yards per game the last three weeks and each would command
permanent double coverage if opponents could afford to put that
many DBs on the field. Roll with whomever Chicago does this Sunday
(Cutler if he’s healthy).
Nick
Foles @ MIN: I wasn’t watching games first thing Sunday morning,
but when I saw the halftime score of the Philly-Detroit tilt, I
started to worry. 8-0? How could Foles and Co. come up bubkas against
an occasionally salty but fairly generous Lions defense? And why
8? It all made sense once I started watching and, perhaps coincidentally,
the Eagles’ offense started clicking at about the same time. They
didn’t let up until they’d buried Jim Schwartz’s charges in six
inches of Lincoln Financial Field powder. Foles salvaged what could
have been a gruesome statistical day by throwing for one second-half
score and running for another. He should find the sledding much
easier this Sunday in the climate-controlled comfort of Minneapolis’
Metrodome. What’s even more comforting for Foles’ owners, I imagine,
is the matchup with Minnesota’s defense. The Vikes are yielding
a whopping 26.0 pts/game to opposing QBs, second only to Dallas.
In Foles you should trust.
Grab a Clipboard
Eli
Manning v. SEA: If you’ve been waiting all season for Manning
to wake up, it’s too late. He’s already cost you a playoff berth,
most likely, and if he hasn’t, he’s about to cost you a championship.
Despite facing San Diego’s below-average secondary last weekend
in a game he should have been plenty motivated to win, the two-time
Super Bowl MVP managed only 259 passing yards and a score (plus
two picks) for a measly 17 fantasy points. Predictably, the G-Men
got boat raced 37-14 and probably can’t wait for a disastrous
2013 campaign to end. This just in: There are a lot better teams
to face when playing out the string than a ticked-off Seahawks
squad that just got nipped in a divisional grudge match. Seattle
is yielding 15.7 points/game to opposing QBs, tops in the league,
and should ensure Manning’s season is his worst since 2008 this
Sunday.
Matt
McGloin v. KC: Just two weeks ago, I had this to say about
the scrappy feel-good story from Scranton, PA: “McGloin is a great
story, but I highly doubt we’ll be talking about him much come
2014.” As if on cue, the Raiders went back to Terrelle Pryor for
a series last Sunday and indicated they’ll use him again this
weekend, a tandem approach that’s exceedingly rare at the college
level and virtually unheard of in the NFL. Here’s what it means:
“We don’t really know what we have at QB so we’re going to give
both guys a chance and see what happens.” Pryor was the starter
back in October and here’s what happened then: 18 for 34, 216
yards, a score, three picks, and 60 yards rushing. There’s really
no reason to suspect McGloin can top that as he’s not a threat
to run and the Chiefs are giving up only 17.2 points/game (fourth
best in the league). That spells trouble for a troubled Raiders
offense.
Mike
Glennon v. SF: I expressed some serious doubts about Glennon
earlier this season, as well, recommending sit-downs on more than
one occasion even as he stubbornly accumulated useful fantasy
stats in his first couple starts as Josh Freeman’s replacement.
That usefulness has greatly diminished this past month or so and
the former NC State star is averaging only 14.2 points over his
last five starts. If you’re scoring at home, that ranks
him 33rd overall in a 32-team league and puts him directly behind
retreads like Matt Flynn and Chad Henne. Ouch. Squaring off against
a San Fran defense, BTW, that just put the clamps on one of the
league’s hottest field generals, is no way to get better.
If Glennon helped you sneak into the playoffs, he probably killed
you in Week 14. If you managed to survive even that 12.5-point
performance, don’t give him another chance to derail your
title hopes in Week 15.
Running Backs 
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