Nobody needs to be told starting Aaron Rodgers, Arian Foster, 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 Foster 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-Gronkowski 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.

Bye Weeks: N/A

Grab a Helmet

Mr Personality should have a bounce back game against STL.

Give up? Player A is none other than Matt Ryan, the guy everyone’s been gushing about lately and clearly a top 10 QB. Player B? Gotcha. That’s also Matty Ice, in his second season with Atlanta. Look, I’m not saying Dalton is on the same career trajectory as Atlanta’s star signal caller. He is off to a great start, however, and could provide great value by season’s end. Get him in there against a Redskins’ crew missing crucial defenders (namely, Brian Orakpo) this Sunday.

Matt Cassel @ NO: If Dalton’s name doesn’t move the needle much, Cassel’s doesn’t move it at all. I’m not sure there’s a quarterback in the league, actually, who receives less attention (of the good or bad variety). Cassel’s probably used to it, of course, since he spent his entire collegiate career playing bridesmaid to USC’s successive Heisman quarterbacks, Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. Still, the guy probably deserves a little more love since he’s, you know, the sixth-ranked QB through the first two weeks (FFToday default scoring system). Don’t believe me? Go take a look yourself. You’ll find him sandwiched between Eli Manning and Cam Newton. Cassel probably can’t sustain that pace (nor do the Chiefs want him to, most likely) but a leaky defense is giving him plenty of opportunities to throw the rock, and throwing the rock against the Saints has been a pretty lucrative venture lately.

Grab a Clipboard

Christian Ponder vs. SF: Like each of the two guys mentioned above, Ponder’s name is rarely on the lips of fantasy GMs. The difference is…it’s usually for good reason. Don’t misunderstand me: After a rough rookie season, Ponder has made some obvious strides in his sophomore year. His passer rating through two games is a crisp 110.6, good for sixth in the entire league, and he hasn’t thrown a pick yet. Still, he’s only thrown a pair of touchdowns, has lost a fumble in each contest, and has also faced two of the league’s more questionable defenses. No such luck this weekend, as the NFC’s current best, San Francisco, visits the Twin Cities. I suspect we’re in for a slugfest, as Ponder’s backfield mate, Adrian Peterson, squares off against a rejuvenated Frank Gore.

Carson Palmer vs. PIT: I’ve already gone on record as saying I think Palmer will surprise this season and ultimately end up in the ranks of the Top 10 by the end of the year. What I didn’t say is that he’d always be a must-start option. He certainly isn’t this week against a Curtain defense that could get back its superstars, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison, in time for Sunday’s tilt. Even without those two studs last weekend, the Steelers put the kibosh on Mark Sanchez’s early momentum by hounding the other former Trojan into a 10-for-27, 138-yard performance. Palmer should be better, but probably not by much. He’s struggled to produce much yardage in 12 career starts against Pittsburgh (just 200.2 per game) and doesn’t have an in-his-prime Chad Johnson or T.J. Houshmandzadeh at his disposal. I’m sitting him this week in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick or the aforementioned Matt Cassel.

Kevin Kolb vs. PHI: Kolb engineered easily the most stunning upset of this young 2012 season, leading his upstart Cardinals over the big, bad Patriots in Foxboro and killing probably 80 percent of survivor pool participants in the process. OK, so “engineered” is a bit of a stretch. Nonetheless, he was rather efficient in the win and didn’t make the killer mistakes to which he’s become so susceptible. Heck, he even tallied a rare rushing touchdown (just the second of his career). This week, he draws the team that once considered him its future field general, the Philadelphia Eagles. That would sound a lot more impressive if he hadn’t just been beaten out for the Arizona starting gig by John Skelton. Expect Philly’s intense pressure to unnerve the shaky Kolb in a game that will most likely remind us why he was considered irrelevant just a few weeks ago.

Running Backs