The purpose of the Shot Caller’s Report is to identify players who I expect to perform like quality fantasy starters for the given week and, on the flip side, to expose some of the more highly-regarded players who just may disappoint. Each week I will take into consideration not only the individuals mentioned, but also the state of their teams and their opponents, team schedules, historical performance, inclement weather (when applicable), and of course injuries. In my years of involvement with fantasy sports, I’ve found that playing probabilities often leads to success, but that does not necessarily mean that a journeyman RB cannot gain 100-plus rushing yards against the top-ranked rush defense or that Tom Brady is a lock for 350 yards and 3 TDs against the worst pass defense. Anything can happen.

With this dynamic, stat-driven article layered with insight and opinion, however, I aim to assist you in making the right roster decisions for your fantasy squad. Got a specific roster question or something interesting to say? Send me an email. I may not be able to get to all of your questions or comments, but I will do my best to respond accordingly.

Editor's Note: Nick Caron is filling in for Seth Harrington this week. Seth will be back for the Week 10 version of the SCR.

Quarterbacks

Bye Weeks: Carolina, Detroit, Jacksonville, Minnesota

Start 'Em

Eli Manning @ NE
You probably didn’t draft him to be your starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, but the Giants’ Eli Manning is quietly having the best fantasy season of his professional career. He’s on-pace for career-bests in yards and completion percentage and could easily set a career-best in touchdowns. But perhaps the most important thing that he has done this year is cut-down on his interceptions. This alone has made the younger Manning a significantly more trustworthy fantasy quarterback and certainly one who should be in your lineup this week against the Patriots’ 30th-ranked fantasy pass defense. Opposing quarterbacks are averaging over 40 pass attempts per game against New England, so look for Eli to sling the ball early and often. Temper your expectations a bit if receiver Hakeem Nicks doesn’t play, but Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham have proven to be more than serviceable targets for the Giants’ quarterback in 2011.

Matt Cassel vs. Mia
It looked as if the Kansas City Chiefs were on their way to one of the worst records in the NFL at the beginning of the season and a real shot in the “Andrew Luck Sweepstakes,” but quarterback Matt Cassel has rallied his troops and the team has now ripped off four straight wins. Cassel himself has been wildly inconsistent at times throughout the first half of the season, as he tossed four touchdowns against the Colts, only to bounce back the following week with an abysmal game against the Raiders in which he threw two interceptions and no touchdowns in a blowout win over their rivals from the West. Still, the truth is that this offense runs through his arm and rookie wide receiver Jon Baldwin had his a breakout NFL performance last week against the Chargers. Cassel isn’t an every-week starter by any means, but he’ll be going up against a Dolphins’ defense which has allowed an average of 282 yards and two touchdowns per game through the air. Start him with confidence if you’re in need of a one-week fill-in.

Tim Tebow @ Oak
To say that Tebow has been anything but abysmal as the Broncos’ quarterback would be an understatement. His inaccuracy has been well documented and his team’s blowout loss to the Lions in Week 8 showed that although he may have heart, he’s going to need a lot more than that to be a successful NFL quarterback. But in fantasy football, we don’t care how bad he looks. All we care about is that he gets his numbers. Tebow does just that, particularly on the ground where he has rushed for 122 yards in his two starts. That’s six extra fantasy points per game that most other quarterbacks don’t get. It might be ugly, but Tebow will get his fantasy points nearly every week; especially against terrible pass defenses like Oakland’s who have allowed multiple touchdowns in every game but two this season (one of which was a blowout loss where Kansas City didn’t need to pass).

Andy Dalton: Double-digit fantasy points in each of his past 4 games.

Andy Dalton @ Ten
If desperate times call for desperate measures, Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton may find himself a spot as your fantasy team’s starting quarterback in Week 9 as he heads to Tennessee. Cincinnati’s offense has been clicking fairly well in recent weeks against bad defenses and the Titans could be the next in line for a surprise performance from the rookie QB. Dalton has achieved double-digit fantasy points in each of his past four games while the Titans have allowed an average of 19-points to opposing quarterbacks in their past four games. Not only that, but two of the Titans’ games were against “superstar” quarterbacks like Curtis Painter and Colt McCoy. Don’t expect a monster game out of Dalton, but a solid multiple-touchdown game could be in order if Cincinnati can get back to moving the ball effectively on the ground.

Bench 'Em

Ryan Fitzpatrick vs. NYJ
One of this season’s early-breakout players was Buffalo Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Harvard-grad tossed a total of nine touchdown passes in the first three weeks of the season, while averaging 280 passing yards per game. Since that point, though, his numbers have taken a dramatic tumble back down to reality. Fitzpatrick has averaged less than 225 passing yards per game and thrown only 5 total touchdowns in his past four games while adding four interceptions. Now he faces a league-best New York Jets pass defense which has held opposing quarterbacks under 8 fantasy points on five separate occasions this year. We may see the resurgence of Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Bills offense at some point this season, but for now, it looks pretty safe to say that it’s going to have to come later and not this week against Darrelle Revis and the Jets.

Matt Ryan @ Ind
One of the more surprising fantasy struggles this year has come from Matt Ryan and the entire Atlanta Falcons passing game. After mortgaging their future to acquire a first round pick which they used to select wide receiver Julio Jones, the Falcons offense looked like it was ready to tear things up in 2011. That hasn’t happened. Aside from a Week 2 performance in which he threw four touchdowns, Matt Ryan has failed to reach double-digit touchdowns through the air in any other game. A matchup against the 29th-ranked Colts pass defense looks to be a cure for the offensive ineptitude that Ryan has shown, but a closer examination of the numbers shows that while Indianapolis has a terrible pass defense overall, the majority of their fantasy points allowed to opposing QB’s came in two games; one against Matt Cassel and one against Drew Brees. Other than those two games, the Colts pass defense has been relatively stingy and they have not allowed more than one passing touchdown in any of the other six games. Don’t look for a monster this week from the Falcons’ passing game.

Jay Cutler @ Phi
If the Chicago Bears have any chance of upsetting the Eagles this week in Philadelphia, it’s not going to be by the arm of quarterback Jay Cutler—it’s going to be by the legs of Matt Forte. Forte has been the catalyst for everything that Chicago has done on offense this season and although Cutler’s fantasy owners have been the beneficiaries due to screen passes, it’s hard to rely on that, particularly against a team like Philadelphia that has struggled mightily to stop the run. The Eagles had some early-season disasters against the 49ers, Giants and Falcons, but they have bounced back very well in recent weeks, including an excellent performance last week against Tony Romo and the typically high-powered Cowboys’ passing game. Cutler could still find the end zone a few times, but it seems likely that he’ll be in for a below-average game which should mean that he’s on your bench, at least for this week.

Philip Rivers vs. GB
It can be difficult to let go, but there comes a point with every player when you have to just put aside your man-crush on him and understand that it’s just not happening this year. Philip Rivers has not only past that point, he may be far enough past it that he’s to the point of no return. The San Diego quarterback has not thrown for multiple-touchdowns since Week 2 and his interceptions just continue to pile up. He has thrown for just 7 touchdowns to 11 interceptions this year and there’s really no excuse for it. It’s really not that he has been playing tough defenses, his receivers are all healthy now including tight end Antonio Gates, the running game has been doing fairly well. He’s just... Bad... And until he rights the wrong, he should be nowhere near your starting fantasy lineup unless you are in absolute desperation mode.

Running Backs