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 John Beck, the Report looks at those "stuck in the middle" guys and evaluates if they will help your team win.

This will be the final week of play for many fantasy teams while others have one more week of regular season match ups before the playoffs start. Hopefully your team has done enough to have already secured your spot in the post-season. If not, maybe this week is make or break for you. Some unfortunate teams have already had their hopes dashed and their owners are beginning to scout players for next year. Regardless of where you stand, owners always want to put their best team on the field, even if it is just for pride. So, put the beer down and get your line up set.

Quarterbacks

Must Start:

Carson Palmer @ PIT: I would think this to be an easy selection, but I have received a couple of emails asking if he is worth starting against the Pittsburgh Steelers this week. Um, yeah, Palmer and the rest of the Cincinnati offense have been inconsistent this season. Since the return of Chris Henry however, the Bengals have had much greater success in stretching the field and are beginning to look like the team we all thought would take the field in September. And the Steelers defense is good, but very beatable.

Kurt Warner v. CLE: Arizona’s cakewalk schedule continues this week versus Cleveland. Warner has thrown seven touchdowns and over 950 yards in his last three games. The Browns have never been much for playing defense and the Cardinals were embarrassed by a lousy San Francisco offense last week, meaning both teams will be scoring at will in a shoot out.

Jon Kitna @ MIN: The Vikings will be a gracious host to the Lions and allow them free reign to pass all over the field. Even when the Minnesota secondary is healthy is isn’t very good and they may be missing a couple starters this week. Depending on Mad Martz’ mood, Kitna could easily pass the ball 60 times and amass some monster numbers against a team that is great at stopping the run and horrible at defending the pass.

Matt Schaub @ TEN: The Titans are a tough match up, but the Houston aerial attack is pretty impressive if everyone is on the same page. The return of Ahman Green to the Texans’ backfield will make all the difference. Nah, I’m just kidding. Green will be back and no one will even notice as he takes a small handful of carries away from Ron Dayne before re-injuring his knee.

Going Out On a Limb:

Jason Campbell v. BUF: I wouldn’t want Campbell on a real football team due to his tendency to throw late-game interceptions. On a fantasy team, well, that is a different story as he has gone over 300 yards in two of his last three games and has six touchdowns over that same span. Facing a poor Buffalo defense, he should be able to continue on his little roll of success for at least another week.

Grab A Clipboard:

Eli Manning @ CHI: Which Eli will show up this week? Will it be the one who throws interceptions willy-nilly across the field or the seldom-seen, efficient quarterback who quietly gets the job done? Manning is in his fourth season and is still as inconsistent as any rookie. Imagine how good Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey could be with a real quarterback throwing them the ball.

Vince Young v. HOU: Young has been brutal this year for any owner silly enough to count on the young quarterback to be a starting option. Even in a good match up like this week’s versus the Texans, Young is a risky play. He hasn’t been using his legs to keep drives alive and his decision-making is not good enough to be a drop-back QB. With 13 interceptions to only five passing touchdowns, Young has yet to prove he deserves a roster spot, much less a start for your team.

Drew Brees v. TB: Brees has been on fire lately, looking like his old self. However, the Tampa Bay defense has very quietly been playing some great football, making this a tough match up. The Saints and Buccaneers usually play a tight defensive battle when they get together and I don’t see Brees being able to get much against the patented Tampa Bay Cover 2.

Jay Cutler @ OAK: The Raiders can’t stop the run, as evidenced by the embarrassing beating they took courtesy of rookie running back Kolby Smith last week. Cutler is getting better and growing as a quarterback, but why risk putting the ball in the air against a very good pass defense when any running back in the NFL can just run it up the middle?

Donovan McNabb/A.J. Feeley v. SEA: Even though Feeley almost engineered a win against the undefeated New England Patriots, he will have a rough game versus Seattle. With McNabb likely out for this game, Feeley will go into practice expecting to be the starter. The Seattle defense knows this and will be game-planning for Feeley rather than McNabb. Backup QBs often have great games coming in for an injured starter and then they struggle once the opposing defense has a week to prepare for the new quarterback.

Running Backs