Nobody needs to be told starting Aaron Rodgers, 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
Washington just gave up a boatload of pionts
to Cam and Eli has six games over 20 FPts this season.
Grab a Helmet Matthew
Stafford v. PHI (Thu): Stafford isn’t the must-start
signal caller he once was, but it’s safe to say he’s got this short
Thanksgiving week prep thing down cold. Though he struggled in his
first several Turkey Day contests, usually against Green Bay, Detroit’s
rifleman has averaged almost 360 yards and two scores since 2011,
a cool 26-ish fantasy points per game. Only Tom Brady, Cam Newton,
Drew Brees, and Carson Palmer are averaging more than that this
season, the type of company Detroit’s rifleman used to regularly
keep. I understand if the small sample size and the Lions’ overall
caliber of play worries you, but…have you seen the Eagles play lately?
The Philly secondary was embarrassed by rookie Jameis Winston last
Sunday, surrendering five TD passes, tied for the most ever by a
rookie. The last noob to throw five in a game? You’re looking at
him. Start Stafford.
Eli
Manning @ WAS: The Chip Kelly experiment now looks like
an impending train wreck in Philadelphia and Dallas’ season was
derailed many weeks ago. That means New York and Washington will
be playing for the division lead come Sunday. If Eli et al. don’t
prevail as short road favorites, there won’t be a single NFC East
team above .500 heading into Week 13. Luckily for the G-Men and
anyone who can’t stand sub-.500 teams in the playoffs (raising my
hand), Kid Bro rarely loses to this particular NFC East foe. He’s
14-6 all-time against Washington and has averaged almost 28 fantasy
points per game against Jay Gruden. He’s also 7-3 coming off bye
weeks and sports a sterling 138.9 QB rating in those games. Ever
so quietly, Peyton’s brother is putting together one of his best
statistical seasons. And this is a guy who’s already bagged two
Lombardi trophies.
Josh
McCown v. BAL (Mon): I told you last week quarterbacks
hate me. I found out why. They’re afraid of me. If you end up on
the Shot Caller’s roster, there’s a really good chance you’re going
to get hurt, probably sooner rather than later. McCown’s one of
THIRTEEN QBs I’ve employed in 2015 and I’m only in three leagues.
Think about that for a second. I traded for Big Ben and he was instantly
injured. I traded for Flacco (to cover for Big Ben) and he shredded
his knee. About the only thing that’s gone right for me at the position
this season is Johnny Manziel and I haven’t even owned him. If he
were only as dense as he seems, Johnny Football would probably be
taking the snaps come Monday night. Turns out he’s denser. Go with
the underrated McCown against Baltimore’s leaky secondary (29th
against opposing QBs).
Grab a Clipboard
Jay
Cutler v. GB (Thu): My luck with quarterbacks is so
awful my league mates have started calling me the QB Killer. I’d
criticize their lack of creativity except they also came up with
the concept of fantasy relegation, something I’ve managed to avoid
despite utter devastation under center. What’s fantasy relegation,
you ask? It’s exactly what it sounds like: Whoever finishes last
in our league will sit out the entire 2016 season, replaced by
our newly recruited 13th league member. Next year, we’ll jettison
the worst owner again and bring back this year’s relegated owner.
Too hardcore? Maybe so, but it’s made for great drama and even
greater fun. I can tell you this: If Cutler v. Green Bay was the
only thing standing between me and fantasy exile, I’d be very,
very worried. He’s 1-11 overall against the Pack and has averaged
just 17.5 pts/game. Good God, no.
Tyrod
Taylor @ KC: Through the first five weeks of 2015,
Kansas City’s defenders looked like they deserved relegation to
the Kansas City bench. After losing to the aforementioned Cutler
in Week 5, the Chiefs were 1-4 and surrendering more than 26 points/game
to opposing QBs. Had they maintained that atrocious pace, they
could easily have challenged for worst fantasy pass defense of
all time. Fortunately for them, two things changed: 1) the Saints
came marching in; and 2) they suddenly got much, much better against
opposing passers. Since yielding 22.1 points to Cutler, Andy Reid’s
D hasn’t given up more than 16 points in a single contest despite
facing Matt Stafford, Peyton Manning, and, most recently, Philip
Rivers. Accordingly, they’ve jumped all the way up to eighth overall
against the position. That’s not good news for Tyrod Taylor coming
off short rest and with precious few weapons at his disposal.
Matt
Schaub @ CLE (Mon): Before you light up the comments
section and tell me it isn’t necessary to recommend sitting
down a guy like Schaub, consider that others might not be blessed
with the same type of talent you have on hand or, like myself,
have a knack for “disappearing” quarterbacks. In really
deep leagues or two-QB leagues or, especially, really deep two-QB
leagues, he could absolutely be worth consideration. You know,
except for the fact the last time he held a regular gig, he lost
it by setting an NFL record for most consecutive games with a
pick-six. There’s a reason Schaub’s been toiling in
NFL obscurity for the last couple years, and heading into Week
12 isn’t the time to gamble he’s somehow corrected
this glaring defect at age 34. I’d start every other NFL
QB this weekend instead of Schaub, including his still-concussed
ex-understudy, Case Keenum.
