With superstars underperforming,
no-names overperforming, and everyone else being a best guess,
this fantasy football season has been a wild ride so far. With
five weeks in the books and teams and players showing their true
identity, perhaps this week’s installment of the Shot Caller’s
report can provide some clarity, or at least offer an improvement
over a coin flip!
Note: Fantasy points
based on FF Today’s standard scoring system.
Bye Weeks: Philadelphia, Tampa
Bay
Despite a run-heavy approach, Romo has
found enough opportunites to rank in the fantasy top ten.
Grab a Helmet
Tony
Romo v. NYG: All off-season we heard how Dallas was going
to be a running team, yet they had one of the league’s pass happiest
offensive coordinators, er, passing game coordinators in Scott Linehan.
After a 5-1 start that has the offense looking like an Emmitt Smith
led attack from the 90’s, Tony Romo has quietly put up solid numbers
with a run-heavy game plan. He’s extending plays in the pocket,
and is pushing the ball downfield and into tight windows, proving
he is recovered from his back woes. He’s 4th in the league in QB
rating, tied for 8th in touchdown passes, and is killing defenses
with the play action. This week he hosts a Giants team that is on
the verge of meltdown, and although he hasn’t been great against
the Giants recently, this is a whole new offensive symphony, one
which Romo is playing brilliantly. Get him in your lineups as mid-tier
QB1.
Drew
Brees @ DET: I was sifting through my league’s quarterback
rankings and for the first time I can remember, I had to scroll
down the page to find Drew Brees. In most standard leagues he’s
probably barely in the top 20 at his position. Change in scheme,
shuffling of the offensive line, or distractions of fatherhood,
whatever the problem, Brees simply hasn’t gotten it done this year.
After a bye week he hits the road to take on one of the league’s
best defenses in the Detroit Lions. Sean Peyton is too good an offensive
coach to sit idly by and watch this season go down in flames, so
I predict some new wrinkles from the Saints this week, as they look
for ways to torch a Detroit secondary that gave up a 300-yard game
to Kyle Orton. You’ve been patient this long with Drew, keep him
locked in as a QB1.
Alex
Smith @ SD: EJ Manuel, Blake Bortles, Geno Smith, and
Derek Carr have been the last four quarterbacks to crash and burn
against the Chargers. These QBs have fueled the Chargers rating
of giving up the 4th fewest passing yards per game (209). While
Alex Smith hasn’t the set the world on fire this year either, he
represents the most polished passer the Chargers have faced since
Week 2. With a bye week to prepare, Andy Reid will have a balanced
attack prepared for this divisional game. San Diego could be without
one of their top corners as well. Look for Smith to hit on a flurry
of short and intermediate passes and run one in. Smith is a cheap
quarterback pickup that could be a decent bye week option with upside.
Grab a Headset
Andy
Dalton @ IND: Two hits and a gigantic miss in these
spots last week, so let’s try and start off with a tough pick,
Dalton on the road vs. Indy. Dalton was solid last week, throwing
a season high 44 times. But as I said in my team previews in August,
Dalton is at his best when he throws less. In the last eight games
he’s thrown more than 40 times, he has an 11-12 touchdown to interception
ratio, and his team is 2-5-1. Look for the Bengals to go to a
run based attack with A.J. Green possibly on the shelf again,
and facing a better than average Colts pass defense. In their
Week 2 win vs. Atlanta the Bengals only threw the ball 24 times,
and kept the ball out of Matt Ryan’s hands with ball control,
smash mouth football. Expect more of the same against Andrew Luck,
which means QB2 numbers for Dalton.
Tom
Brady v. NYJ (THU): Just when it seemed like everyone
was ready to throw dirt on Tom Brady and the Pats, they’ve reeled
off two impressive victories, and the offense has been vintage
Pats. Coming off his first 4 TD game since Week 9 of 2013, Brady
looks to have the Patriots rolling again. But with mounting injuries
along the line, and now in the backfield, Brady has to face a
desperate Jets squad on a short week. Rex Ryan’s defense harassed
Manning for much of the game last week, and Ryan knows how to
make life miserable for Brady. Despite the resurgence, this is
a tough spot for Brady owners. If you have better options, sit
Tom Terrific on your bench.
Austin
Davis v. SEA: Savvy veteran quarterbacks who are highly
accurate with short crossing routes and deep outs, and can improvise
in the pocket under pressure can have success against the Seahawks.
Unfortunately for Davis, he possesses none of those qualities.
A popular streamer of late, Davis plays like the gunslingers of
the 90’s, and this is simply a recipe for disaster against
the Seahawks. Their disciplined zone scheme and rush packages
should harass Davis into several mistakes. To make matters worse,
Seattle is coming off a tough home loss to Dallas and will smell
blood in the water if Davis makes an early mistake. Look elsewhere
for a streaming QB option this week.
Running Backs 
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