The Shot Caller's Report strives to identify players that are borderline fantasy plays and clarify whether they should be started or benched. Rather than telling you to start Peyton Manning and bench John Beck, the Report looks at those "stuck in the middle" guys and evaluates if they will help your team win.

Ah, the fantasy playoffs…Most leagues are entering these final pivotal games this week or next. One loss and a team is gone, cast aside until next August. Personnel decisions can either earn you a win and a chance to fight on another week or cost that same opportunity, leaving you with only the “could have” and “should have” demons to fight all off-season.

Some teams are entering the dark and dreary Losers Bracket, trying to avoid being in the annual Toilet Bowl game where the two teams that suck the worst are pitted against each other for all the others to laugh at. If your league does not take the opportunity to pour scorn on those teams who, through either lack of skill or poor luck, are hiding in the league basement, go ahead and do it next year. If nothing else, it makes all the teams that ended with a .500 record feel much better.

Quarterbacks

Must Start:

Marc Bulger @ CIN: Don’t worry – he will start this weekend. With Gus Frerotte out due to a partially torn labrum, the St. Louis backup quarterback is slated to be Brock Berlin. I think Torry Holt would push Bulger onto the field in a wheelchair before trying to catch wobbly ducks from Berlin. In the last three games Bulger finished (granted those were a few weeks back now) he threw four touchdowns and only a single interception. Besides, he is playing the Bungles. I would start John Beck against….nah, just kidding.

Drew Brees @ ATL: Despite his Eli Manning-like penchant for scattering interceptions willy-nilly all over the field, Brees does have at least two touchdowns in seven of his last eight games. With no running game to speak of, the Saints will beat the Falcons through the air in this must-win game. That is must-win for the Saints because, as we all knew when Michael Vick’s dog fighting enterprise came to light, Atlanta wasn’t going to win much this year.

Jeff Garcia @ HOU: While the last two weeks have been marred by injury, Garcia has thrown a touchdown pass in every other game since Week Five. This is especially impressive, as he has only thrown to the other team in Week Eight against Jacksonville. Facing a poor Houston secondary, pencil him in for two touchdowns and no turnovers.

Ben Roethlisberger @ NE: The Patriots defense has shown some cracks over the last couple of games, giving hope to owners concerned about whether to start or bench their star quarterback. New England will put some points up, forcing Pittsburgh to do the same. Willie Parker, although he is getting lots of yardage, is not running across the stripe with any regularity, so scoring will be on Big Ben’s shoulders. Ironically, Roethlisberger has as many rushing touchdowns this year as Parker.

Going Out On a Limb:

Tarvaris Jackson @ SF: After posting three touchdowns over his first eleven injury-plagued weeks, Jackson has another three TDs in his last two weeks. Minnesota can certainly run the ball while Jackson and rookie Sidney Rice are building a little chemistry in the passing game. Since I have repeatedly beaten down Mr. Jackson, telling owners to drop his rotting corpse as quickly as possible on more than one occasion, chances are he is available if you are desperate at quarterback.

Grab A Clipboard:

Kurt Warner @ SEA: The Seattle defense, although decent, isn’t what scares me this week and Warner has certainly shown the world he still has enough skill to play in the NFL. Luckily for fans, he is not good enough that we have to deal with shots of his highly unattractive, loud-mouthed wife anymore. The problem this week is that Warner may be throwing to Bryant Johnson and Jerheme Urban. Warner’s fantasy value depends almost entirely on the health of Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald, both of who may not play this week.

Josh McCown @ GB: This shouldn’t even be crossing anyone’s mind. However, reviewing quarterback rankings earlier today showed Josh McCown being considered for starting duty by some experts. Maybe they got the Raiders quarterback confused with his brother. Who knows? Sure, McCown had a good game last week, but with Green Bay up next and JaMarcus Russell lacing up his shoes, ready to enter the game at Coach Kiffin’s smallest whim, forget about it. Please.

Philip Rivers @ TEN: If anyone ever wondered what Eli Manning would look like if he wasn’t asked to do as much, just watch Rivers. He is inconsistency on a smaller scale. Against a tough Tennessee defense, he isn’t worth the risk. In his twelve games, he has been held to less than 200 yards passing seven times, including a confidence-destroying 104 yards in Week 10 versus the Colts.

Kellen Clemens v. CLE: What a waste of a sweet match up. Everyone scores against Cleveland, right? Unfortunately, Clemens’ best game of the season was 260 yards and a single touchdown, telling us what his nonexistent upside is. And that was when the Jets had receivers. Jerricho Cotchery isn’t going to play this week and Laveranues Coles is looking less and less likely with his gimpy ankle.

Rex Grossman @ WAS: Grossman is playing better after sitting a few weeks on the bench and watching someone else lose games for his team. He has played in seven games this season, but hasn’t managed to break 300 yards passing or score more than a single touchdown in a game. Having a 6.4 yards per attempt average means the coaches are playing it safe and you need to attempt somewhere around 50 passes to hit 300 yards.

Running Backs