Nobody needs to be told starting
Russell Wilson, Todd Gurley, or Antonio Brown 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 Wilson’s bye week? Let’s
talk. Looking for solutions at running back because Gurley 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-RB-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: Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Minnesota
Can Andy Dalton survive A.J. Green's absence?
The Saints are giving up the 3rd most FPts to QBs.
Grab a Helmet
Andy
Dalton v. NO: Cincy survived a furious Fitzmagic rally
two weeks back to salvage a promising 2018 season and now controls
its own destiny in the muddled AFC middle. Getting through to the
playoffs won’t be easy, however, as the Bengals draw a white-hot
Saints team and still have trips to Baltimore, Los Angeles (Chargers),
and Pittsburgh looming. Making matters worse, Dalton will be without
his favorite target, A.J. Green, for the expected shootout with
New Orleans this weekend. The good news? New Orleans still plans
to bring its 29th ranked pass defense to the Queen City. Others
will certainly need to step up for Dalton (Tyler Boyd, John Ross,
and Joe Mixon as a dual threat), but he’s survived Green’s absence
before and, with two weeks to prepare for a shaky defense in an
obvious letdown spot, he should again. Start the Red Rifle. Philip
Rivers @ OAK: In case you haven’t heard, scoring is up
in the NFL this year. Like, way up. Look no further than ol’ reliable,
Phil Rivers, for proof. The Chargers’ franchise is averaging 23.5
points per game thus far, on pace for (get this) his best season
ever! And yet, he’s ranked only 13th overall at the position through
nine weeks. This is a guy, mind you, who’s been a top 10 performer
in all but one of his last ten campaigns, Did I mention he’s also
scoring all these points on greatly reduced volume (projected fewest
pass attempts since 2009)? The Bolts’ hyper-efficient field general,
coupled with a dynamic rushing attack, spells major trouble for
a Raiders defense surrendering 6.76 yards/play, the worst mark through
eight games of any team since the AFL-NFL merger. Start Rivers and
hope it doesn’t get too out of hand too early.
Russell
Wilson @ LAR: Like Rivers, Wilson has suffered a sharp
reduction in passing attempts this season, but it hasn’t affected
his productivity as much as you might think. He’s tallied multiple
TD tosses in every game but one and has four 3+TD outings already,
only one less than he had all of last year. In fact, the Chief Football
Officer is averaging more points per attempt (.78) than he did in
2017 (.74), his best as a pro. Of course, we only care about aggregates
and Wilson’s declining usage and paltry rushing numbers are definitely
dragging down his bottom line. It was encouraging, at least, to
see him rush for a season-high 41 last Sunday. I’m even more encouraged
by his upcoming matchup. The high-flying Rams have been exposed
on defense two games running and the first matchup between these
two teams ended up in the 30s. Start Russ.
Grab a Clipboard
Derek
Carr v. LAC: Carr is only two weeks removed from a
highly useful 30.2-point performance against the Colts, but it
seems like two years. In a game pitting one-win Bay Area rivals
last Thursday night in Santa Clara, Oakland’s embattled QB looked
like a deer-in-the-headlights rook while Nick Mullens, an actual
rookie/undrafted FA, looked like the seasoned vet. The defenses
had a lot to do with that, certainly—San Francisco’s was salty
and Oakland’s was sour—but it’s become painfully obvious that
stripping an already struggling QB of his best weapon and then
propping him up behind a decimated, makeshift offensive line with
no ground support is a recipe for disaster. Coach Chucky is clearly
maneuvering for a successful launch in Las Vegas and it looks
like his troops know it and are starting to quit on him. Steer
well clear of this wreck v. a surging Chargers outfit.
Dak
Prescott @ PHI: Derek Carr’s loss, Amari Cooper, was
supposed to be Dak Prescott’s gain and things looked to be going
pretty well when the two connected on an early 4-yard TD strike
last Monday night, Coop’s first score as a Cowboy. They didn’t
get better from there on out, unfortunately, despite the Titans’
insistence on making things easier for a struggling Dallas offense
with two short-field fumbles. Prescott finished the night with
243 yards and two TDs, respectable digits, but fumbled himself
and also threw a brutal end-zone pick that seemed to turn the
tide in Tennessee’s favor for good. If he thought the pressure
to turn things around was building before this primetime debacle,
just wait. Philadelphia is a tough place to flip the script, especially
on a short week and against a well-rested Eagles squad starting
to hit its stride. Sit Dak down on Sunday night.
Nick
Mullens v. NYG (Mon): I’ll admit I didn’t even know
who Nick Mullens was before his name started popping up on pregame
reports last Thursday as a likely replacement for the injured
C.J. Beathard. Every football fan does now after his scintillating
262-yard, 3-TD outing against the Niners’ cross-bay rivals,
the most successful QB debut in almost 50 years. Kyle Shanahan
will stick with Mullens this coming Monday night and though the
matchup sounds juicy—another one-win opponent at home—the
Giants’ defense won’t be nearly as unprepared as Oakland’s
was. The G-Men have had 10 days now to dissect the young slinger’s
first game and have actually held up pretty well against an onslaught
of A-listers the past month and a half (Watson, Brees, Newton,
Wentz, and Ryan). There’s usually a reason QBs go undrafted
in a QB-scarce league. Gonna need to see him do it again first.
