Nobody needs to be told
starting Peyton Manning, Jamaal Charles, or Calvin Johnson is
a good idea. Duh, right? You can’t have studs at every position
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 Luck’s bye week? Let’s
talk. Looking for solutions at running back because AD 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 Brown and
went RB-QB-Gronk in your first three rounds? You get the idea.
Past results may not guarantee future success, but ignoring them
entirely can ruin your Sundays in a hurry (maybe even your Mondays
and Thursdays). Read on for a little history and, hopefully, a
little sage advice.
Note: Fantasy points
based on FF Today’s standard scoring system.
Bye Weeks: N/A
Minus their top running back, the Steelers
may be one dimensional. That dimension being Big Ben.
Grab a Helmet
Ben
Roethlisberger @ NE (Thursday): No team is catching more
points than Big Ben’s Steelers as we kick off the 2015 season, a
sure sign Vegas has overreacted to the Le’Veon Bell and Martavis
Bryant suspensions and Tom
Brady’s stunning avoidance of the selfsame punishment. Or rather,
they know we’ve overreacted. Last I checked, the Steelers still
sport the game’s most explosive wide receiver and one of the best
right arms in the business, Roethisberger’s. Without Bell, we can
expect that arm to be busy come Thursday night, especially if a
suddenly suspect Curtain can’t contain the prolific, though similarly
short-handed Pats offense. My prediction? Footballs will be flying,
points will be plentiful, and Big Ben et al. will figure out a way
to cover the number. Even if I’m wrong, he’ll be one of the best
options at QB in Week 1 and for the rest of the year.
Marcus
Mariota @ TB: Here’s something I won’t be wrong about:
The Buccaneers made a huge mistake by selecting Jameis
Winston over last year’s Heisman trophy winner, the versatile
Mariota, in April’s draft. Thanks to a delicious NFL scheduling
quirk, we’ll get to start measuring them against each other straight
out of the gate. Winston certainly has better weapons (Mike Evans,
Vincent Jackson), but the former Duck looked more comfortable in
the preseason and isn’t nearly as turnover-prone. I’m not sure what
that will mean for fantasy owners in the long run, but if you’re
tempted to start rolling the dice early, Mariota looks like a good
bet in Week 1 against a Lovie Smith defense that allowed opposing
QBs to complete almost 70% of their passes in 2014. He’s accurate,
takes care of the ball, and can really skedaddle when the pocket
breaks down. Start Marcus (and GO DUCKS!).
Sam
Bradford @ ATL (Monday): Talk about rolling the dice.
I’m down to competing in just three NFL fantasy leagues now and
I drafted the famously injury-prone Bradford in every one of them.
Guess you could say I’m all in on Chip Kelly’s Eagles offense for
2015? I’m certainly not the only pundit who’s bullish on Bradford
and I expect that bandwagon to grow after Philly visits Hotlanta
for the first of two Monday night games to close out Week 1. The
Eagles and Falcons were 31st and 32nd, respectively, in passing
yards yielded last season and progress year-over-year tends to be
incremental in this league. Besides, even if Bradford doesn’t ultimately
hold up, he’s healthy as a horse to kick things off and that Eagles
offensive line, one of the league’s best, should keep him plenty
clean. You didn’t grab Bradford so he’d ride pine. Put him to work.
Grab a Clipboard
Jay
Cutler v. GB: Stop me if you’ve heard this before:
The Bears have hired an(other) offensive wizard, Adam Gase, and
the chronically enigmatic Cutler will finally realize his enormous
potential in a system tailored to his talents. Pffft. Isn’t a
guy pretty much what he is at age 32? Can’t we just fast-forward
to the part where he starts getting routinely creamed, turning
the ball over right and left, bickering with his receivers, and
looking generally disinterested on the sidelines? You’ll have
to pardon me for waxing skeptical, but there are even more red
flags than usual surrounding Smokin’ Jay as we open the season.
His security blanket, Brandon Marshall, is gone. His best receiver,
Alshon Jeffery, is no lock to play (injured calf). His Week 1
opponent is Green Bay, a team he’s beaten exactly one time in
a decade (against 11 losses). You have many better options.
Derek
Carr v. CIN: I’m pretty excited about Carr’s sophomore
campaign and put my money where my mouth is (sort of) by grabbing
Amari Cooper, his new No.1, in our FFToday
Staff League. Unfortunately for me (and him), that relationship
may get off to a rocky start as the Bengals head to the East Bay
for a cross-divisional, cross-country tilt. Cincinnati’s roster
hasn’t changed much since last year, a testament to its overall
quality despite a fourth straight hasty playoff exit. The problem
in 2014 wasn’t talent so much as it was injuries. Lots of them.
Regardless, the Bengals held up remarkably well against opposing
passers (a 75.8 rating, third best overall) and, of course, still
made the playoffs. Oakland hasn’t done that since 2002, the second
longest playoff drought in the league (Buffalo’s at 15). It’ll
be 13 come December but Carr should prove useful eventually. Be
patient.
Teddy
Bridgewater @ SF (Monday): I wasn’t too high
on Bridgewater coming out of college (too skinny, average wing),
but he showed a lot of promise when thrust into the starting role
early last year and is now being touted, along with Carr, as a
breakout candidate. I think I’m mostly buying it, though
I’ll hold off on that full-fledged endorsement for a couple
weeks. He’s very accurate, doesn’t make a lot of poor
decisions, and, like the aforementioned Mariota, can make teams
pay for letting him escape the pocket. Nevertheless, the schedule’s
pretty scary for the Vikes in the early going, starting with a
Monday night meeting on the other side of the Bay. The Niners
are in transition, sure, but defense wasn’t the problem
(fifth overall last season) and continuity should be maintained
with Jim Tomsula at the helm. Reserve Bridgewater for now and
wait for better matchups.
