← Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry
Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry
Week 9 Start/Sit: Jared Goff, Rico Dowdle, Marvin Harrison Jr., Stefon Diggs
00:51:56
October 29: Matthew (@MatthewBerryTMR), Jay (@croucherJD), and Connor (@ConnorJRogers), analyze the impact of Isiah Pacheco’s injury on the Chiefs backfield before analyzes players to start or sit this week. Jared Goff, Travis Etienne, Marvin Harrison Jr., Quentin Johnston, and Mark Andrews are included in the players discussed, and the crew throws a new wrinkle into the mix along the way. Matthew also quizzes Jay and Connor on recent production for RBs and WRs in the latest edition of “Blind Date” before the show wraps up with their favorite futures bets.
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- [00:00]
Matthew Berry
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- [01:08]
Jay Croucher
Come scata. Boo. Boo. Connor, don't encourage him. I'm not gonna lie. I do morph into a different character when it's just a two man show.
- [01:14]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [01:15]
Jay Croucher
We have more time. Yes. I feel like I don't have to toss the other person kind of stick on the really bad jokes and bits.
- [01:21]
Matthew Berry
I feel like all the other shows you do, of which there are many, they are all two man jobs typically.
- [01:29]
Jay Croucher
Yeah, right. Yeah. This is the one where I have to kind of wrangle the zoo animals. This is my true babysitting job. But not today.
- [01:35]
Matthew Berry
Not today, not today, not today. Yeah, Screw Jay. Do we even need him back tomorrow?
- [01:40]
Jay Croucher
Let's be careful there because we might need him back at some point. A lot of people saying, my tribute to Jay's wearing a hoodie today. And to that I say, you are correct.
- [01:47]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [01:47]
Jay Croucher
This is my tribute to bear.
- [01:53]
Matthew Berry
Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Barry.
- [01:59]
Jay Croucher
Welcome to the Fantasy Football Happy Hour. Happy backup producer Pete Day. Connor Rogers, Jay Croucher, Matthew Berry's chair.
- [02:08]
Connor Rogers
This is his Halloween outfit. He's a ghost.
- [02:10]
Jay Croucher
You can't see him. He's actually sitting there.
- [02:12]
Matthew Berry
Screw Jay in the intro.
- [02:13]
Connor Rogers
Jay's here. Jay's here. Unbelievable.
- [02:16]
Jay Croucher
Right back to the two man show.
- [02:17]
Connor Rogers
I believe my punctuality was questioned yesterday.
- [02:21]
Jay Croucher
But here you are.
- [02:22]
Connor Rogers
Here I am.
- [02:23]
Jay Croucher
I even watched you on NBC. And Peacock last night on the NBA pregame show for my beloved Knicks.
- [02:28]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, I was also there.
- [02:29]
Jay Croucher
Right on time as well, right?
- [02:31]
Connor Rogers
In a suit. Yeah, in a suit.
- [02:32]
Jay Croucher
Right. And now you're a little bit more casual. It is a Wednesday. It is a backup producer Pete Day. I am here for my true babysitting job. We always do keep it open or close it out. We will continue that on Wednesday to answer your start sit questions. Blind Date will make its return. We have a new little feature, by the way, before we get to Blind Date that I think everybody's really going to like that has to do with our jersey wall. And as always, we will get you our futures bets our back to the futures. So let's jump right into it. The Roto World Player news right now. And we start with a little bit of injury news here. Jay Isaiah Pacheco week to week with an MCL sprain. We didn't know what this ultimately was when he walked out and he looked optimistic on the sideline after he was, you know, working with some different trainers. But now week to week, not day to day as we show the running back comparison and try to figure out what this backfield will be going forward.
- [03:24]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, I guess, I mean he's optimistic because he avoided the worst and he's going to come back. But in the meantime, just another, another installment in the nightmare of the Kansas City backfield. I think Kareem Hunt, who did he was a viable option at times last year, suspect that he's going to still be the goal line guy, the guy who gets the bulk of the work. But Prashad Smith becomes a little bit more interesting primarily as a pass catching back. But I think both of these guys should be rostered now. Just you just want shares of the Kansas City offense which looks like it's back to being, I won't say the best in the league because my Indianapolis Colts exist but one of the top two offenses in the NFL, the Kansas.
- [04:00]
Jay Croucher
City Chiefs, I think everybody will be keeping an eye on if this is a team that makes a move at the deadline because you kind of get an answer either way. If they make a move, it'll be easy. Easier to project what that player does if they don't make a move. Maybe they're a little bit more optimistic about Burchard Smith to be the change of pace to Kareem Hunt's plunging into the end zone act.
- [04:18]
Connor Rogers
What do you think about Rashad Smith's talent level and his ability to scale up?
- [04:22]
Jay Croucher
So this is someone that moved from wide receiver to running back in college did it at a really high level and this is the exact pathway that existed for Tyrone Tracy and he's kind of a similar player. So I would, I would like to see them give him a bigger look, honestly. But you never know how comfort comfortable they're going to be with a rookie.
- [04:41]
Connor Rogers
The great Matthew Berry.
- [04:42]
Matthew Berry
Yeah. Hey guys.
- [04:44]
Connor Rogers
Hello.
- [04:44]
Jay Croucher
Matthew Berry.
- [04:45]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [04:46]
Connor Rogers
What do you think about Kareem Hunt and Rashad Smith, Matthew?
- [04:49]
Matthew Berry
I think they're running backs for the Kansas City Chiefs. Yeah, no, I mean I think that I, I think this is what we sort of talked about before. I. My expectation here is that you think back to sort of when Pacheco was a rookie or a young player in the NFL where he was sort of the early down back and they used Jerick McKinnon very effectively in that offense kind of as a passing down back. Try to get some, you know, get some speed, get him into space. Now they have more speed at the wide receiver position than they did back then, but still like that sort of feels like I don't think Kareem Hunt, can he handle a large workload? Sure. I mean, you know, like what's you know, 20 carries at three yards a carry versus, versus 15. Like it's going to be inefficient regardless of what he does. He will get the goal line work, he will be the running back you want just because he's always got a chance to fall into the end zone. They'll use some of the early on stuff but I think you've seen Burchard Smith's usage continue to increase. We know there's an explosiveness there and then maybe a three man backfield becomes a two man backfield which becomes a little bit more interesting.
- [05:49]
Jay Croucher
All right, let's get into keep it open or close it out because I think we're hopefully going to get answers on this Chiefs backfield as the weeks go on once again. If they make a move, if they don't make a move. But let's get into our start sit dilemmas going into the week. As we look at your rankings, Matthew, and we have to talk about Jared Goff who only has two games this year with 18 plus points. He does come in as a top 20 play for you this week. So obviously super flex viable but the question is, is this someone you can continue to start in a one quarterback format anymore? A guy that's been so reliable. Lower ceiling but that high floor seems to be gone recently.
- [06:27]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, I mean, you know, part of the problem is that they are so good. We've seen this before sometimes. And so, you know, it's interesting. The projections have around 250 yards, 260 yards, two touchdowns. You're like, oh, that's a pretty good game. But then you think about some of the other, you know, the Matthew Staffords of the world, some of the other pocket passers and then just, you know, when I ran the projections, when I did the numbers like randomly, you know, he winds up as a low end QB2. So I am closing it out. I mean, it's worth noting that so far this season, only one team, the NFL is lower in pass rate.
- [06:59]
Connor Rogers
Yeah.
- [06:59]
Matthew Berry
Then the Detroit Lions because they run the ball so effectively. You mentioned they're, you know, they're over touchdown favorite at home. Probably not going to have to throw. Like he'll probably still get Amon Ra for one as well. But like literally he has one top 10 week on the season. He's finished higher than QB17 only twice this year. So love the player, love the offense. Probably the best team in the NFL, but I'm closing it out.
- [07:22]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, I think the thing with Goff Connor is that I don't think he's been as good this year. He's had really shaky games. Thought he played really poorly against the Bucks. Still a good quarterback. He's still the steward of what is, I think a top two team in the NFL. I'd probably have them again, no disrespect to my Colts, but I probably have them second behind the Chiefs right there with the packers and then Colts, Rams, Bills and so forth. But it just seems like they're so dominant running the ball and that Goff, he's still going to rack up touchdown passes because they're in scoring position so often. But the ceiling doesn't seem to be there this year.
- [07:52]
Jay Croucher
And that right there is almost the problem with this offense that we talk about so much is that Amon Ra, you know exactly what you'll get from him. But you have the wild variance of Jameson Williams. Even Sam Laporta is pretty high variance. And it's kind of trickle to Goff because Matthew, they are so good and consistent running the ball. They are committed to running the ball with two different guys. And John Morton, I think that was the priority when he took over the offensive coordinator job from Ben Johnson. And maybe they don't have to have this advanced pass game or throw it around in the scripts that they're playing in.
- [08:21]
Matthew Berry
I agree, I agree. Look, I mean the hope here is coming out of the buy that maybe they're a little bit better. Right. You know, is that. That they're a little bit better. It is worth noting the Raiders have allowed eight touchdowns to running backs over their last five games. So like it's a good match up here.
- [08:39]
Connor Rogers
Right.
- [08:41]
Matthew Berry
As well. So I'm, I'm reluctantly keeping it open here. Jay.
- [08:45]
Connor Rogers
Yep. No, I mean, yeah, we'll say with Travis Etienne. I'm very interested in this Jags offense overall. Right. Where I mainly I'm interested in Travis Hunter who I think is one of the most fascinating players the rest of the season. But ETM just how the offense looks. I mean we forget this. This team beat the Chiefs on prime time and since then they. All right, you got basically poleaxed by Seattle, then absolutely poleaxed in London by the Rams. Trevor Lawrence has not looked good and he is so key for ETN's value and getting in scoring position. But ultimately they're three pushing towards three and a half point favorites, the Jags. So theoretically this should be a favorable matchup. You can't really ever trust Travis Etienne, but I think you can use him.
- [09:26]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, the, the hope here obviously is that they fixed a lot of things during, during the bye week. Right. Like and the workload is there. One game this year with fewer than 15 touches. I just. So look, his fantasy, he's not really involved in the passing game. The fantasy value has been, you know, kind of pushed up by some of these long runs. But again, given the matchup, you, given the buys, the, you know, the teams that are on by this week, the, the hope that he's been, they've improved the offense out of the buys. I'm at running back 17 this week. Like I said, I am reluctantly keeping it open. Right. I mean as you see it right there, he's been bad the last couple of weeks, but if there's a positive he's still getting double digit touches as part of this offense and a couple of tough matchups. I mean I know they got wax for the Rams. The Rams are a good defense, 100%.
- [10:11]
Jay Croucher
And also maybe you just hope subvert for some positive regression in the touchdown area. I mean it's just the fact that he hasn't scored makes such a difference in the average points per game. That's going to trend back at some point.
- [10:20]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, there's some interesting value propositions in this game. In my fantasy league with some buddies back home in Australia, I had a trade lined up for the guy Sean Carlos, who has Ken Walker on his team. And he wanted to trade Ashton Genti to me for Travis Etienne and Zach Charbonnet. And I was like, oh, I'll absolutely do that. I'll buy into the upside of Ash and Genti. We agreed to the trade, me and Sean. And then he knifed and he traded Ashton Gentian, Amon Ross St. Brown to another guy for Jonathan Taylor, which, to.
- [10:49]
Matthew Berry
Be fair, he got Jonathan Taylor instead of Zach Sharpener.
- [10:51]
Connor Rogers
But still, it was still a knifing.
- [10:53]
Matthew Berry
It was, it was a knifing. But here's the problem. As you know, Australia, Australia is filled with thieves.
- [10:59]
Connor Rogers
Yes, it is in the blood.
- [11:01]
Matthew Berry
It's literally. So you can't trust an Australian. This is your own fault. Yes, it's trusting on Australian.
- [11:06]
Jay Croucher
Yeah.
- [11:06]
Connor Rogers
Next time there will have to be something legally binding, apparently in this league. So there are no, no friends in the trade game.
- [11:12]
Jay Croucher
No, it was only a verbal agreement.
- [11:13]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, it was only a verbal.
- [11:14]
Jay Croucher
In Australia. That doesn't mean.
- [11:16]
Matthew Berry
But I will say this, and this drives me crazy and this is something I've ranted up before. I won't do it now. But what drives me crazy is that to me, that's a trade. Like the people, like, oh, well, we didn't put it through the system. That's just the paperwork. Like if you, if you and I negotiate a trade and I say done deal and you say done deal and we shake on it, whether it's virtually or like, you know, it's a done deal. Like, not. Don't try to, you know, make a legal loophole with the paperwork. You know what I mean? Like, a deal is a deal. You're. You're going to think I'm being crazy because it's a fake football trade, but I'm a big believer that your word should mean something, that I'm dead serious. Like, you know, there's a lot of, lot of criticisms you can make about me, all of which are true. But I will say this. When I tell you something, I mean it and I follow through on that. Like, I am, you know, barring like.
- [12:04]
Jay Croucher
A ridiculous injury or something like that, that can kill a trade.
- [12:07]
Matthew Berry
Well, sure, I mean, I'm sure. But on. Not even then, like here in that scenario, like, you guys have agreed to that trade and then three hours later it comes out that, oh, Ashton Genti gets injured at practice and he's, you know, done for the year or whatever. Right. Trade should still go through. You guys agreed to a trade.
- [12:25]
Connor Rogers
I like it.
- [12:26]
Matthew Berry
I mean, like, it is what it is. It's horrible luck, but it doesn't mean the trade should be undone. Like, at the time he was healthy, you guys both made a trade and just welcome to football. Like that's bad luck.
- [12:36]
Connor Rogers
No, I explained what Sean did to my 75 and 3 year old daughters and they were all horrified.
- [12:40]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, of course.
- [12:41]
Connor Rogers
It's a good, It's a good life lesson.
- [12:42]
Matthew Berry
It is a good life lesson.
- [12:43]
Connor Rogers
You can't trust anyone in this caper. Yeah, yeah. My three year old was like, oh, you planned for the Raiders changing their offensive game plan in the bye week. You had all these things.
- [12:52]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [12:53]
Connor Rogers
That you're looking forward to, dad. Now it's all taken away from you and you're stuck with Zach Charbonnet on your bench and the hope from Travis Etienne to break one.
- [13:00]
Matthew Berry
I hope you're happy, Sean. You made a three year old girl cry.
- [13:02]
Jay Croucher
Let me ask, did you find out about his new trade just on your league or did he text you and tell you about the new trade?
- [13:08]
Connor Rogers
No, I was just in the group chat I just went through without.
- [13:10]
Matthew Berry
That's, that's really bad. It's like the equivalent of like you have a date with a girl, she cancels saying like, I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling well. And you go out to the local pub and then they're there. She's like, I'm scrolling through the chat.
- [13:25]
Connor Rogers
And it's like, Jonathan Taylor got traded. Why did Jonathan Taylor. He got traded to Sean. What's going on here? Unbelievable. I can't believe it. It's in shambles.
- [13:33]
Jay Croucher
Yes, that is a tough scene. Another tough scene is now figuring out the Carolina backfield. Rico Daddle keeps passing the eye test, but just not enough opportunity with Chuba Hubbard back. Dave Canales spoke on Rico outperforming Cuba in recent games.
- [13:48]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, you know, it's a fair observation and you know, Cuba has meant a lot to this organization, certainly to the identity that we wanted to build our team on and wanted to give Chuba the opportunity to go out there and to continue to impact our team in a positive way. We cannot ignore the fact that Rico has been exceptional, you know, in a couple of games and then in the opportunities he's had over the last two weeks. You know, he's made some, some excellent plays. Love the tempo and violence that he's running with. And these are all things that we're talking about and working through this week as we look back, you know, on these, on these last four games and really taking a snapshot of what's been successful for us. You know, these are Conversations that we do definitely have to have.
- [14:27]
Jay Croucher
So that was Dave Canales being pretty open and honest about the situation.
- [14:31]
Matthew Berry
Dave Canales is open and honest about a lot of stuff that he probably shouldn't be. Right. Candidly, if you go through some of the history there, but specific to the running back, we appreciate it. Listen, like, as fantasy managers and analysts trying to figure out what this Carolina running back room looks like, we appreciate it.
- [14:46]
Jay Croucher
Yeah, I mean, well, we'll see because it's only been eight points per game in the two games since Chuba's been back. Jay. So they actually lean into Rico and is that a risk that fantasy managers can afford right now?
- [14:57]
Connor Rogers
The issue is, is that they're like 14 point dogs almost in Green Bay this week. So, yeah, I think Rico Dowdle is the guy that you want in that backfield, but I mean, this is one of the more fraudulent four and four teams that we've ever seen. It's unbelievable that the team that showed up against the Bills on the weekend went into that game with a winning record through seven weeks of the NFL season. But you look at the comparison between the original, no, the secondary chubbler in Chuba Hubbard and the original uncle Rico in Rico Daddle. Since week seven, Chuba is seeing more of the snaps. Rico is the guy rushing the ball, and then Chuba is going to get the receiving work. Ultimately, it's like, all right, we've got this split backfield on a bad team. Like, what are we. What can we really do? If they have a favorable matchup like they had against the Dolphins, for instance, then you feel good about Rico. But ultimately this backfield is looking a lot worse than it might have a couple weeks ago.
- [15:50]
Matthew Berry
No question. But again, just him saying, we cannot ignore the fact that Rico has been exceptional. That's his way of saying, you know, we need to give the ball. Rico Dowdlemore. Tom Garrett on Twitter X has meant a lot to the organization as a kiss of death. Someone who has Rico. I love it. Yeah, I mean, I. Dave Counts is trying to win football games out here and you know, and so listen, is it, is it a tough matchup against Green Bay? Absolutely. Do we think Chuba Hubbard just goes completely away? No, we don't. You're obviously not starting Chuba Hubbard, but I am again, reluctantly keeping it up on Rico Dowdle. He's my running back, 22 this week. He's averaging almost six yards per carry this year. We've seen him in games where it's been negative, you know, like where they. They're still running the ball and he's involved as a pass catcher. Like they're not scared to dump off the ball to him. So I just, I get that the last two games have been bad, but assuming he plays more snaps, right. In the last couple of games it's been like sort of 55, 45, 60, 40 kind of, you know, Hubbard to Hubbard playing more snaps than Dowdle Dowdle being more effective. I think that switches this week based on Canales and the eye test and rational thought. We love the chubbler here, but I mean facts are facts.
- [16:59]
Jay Croucher
Desperations of the troubler.
- [17:00]
Connor Rogers
Love is a strong term. Really bad last week we're fond of the troubler. More of a fondness than overbearing love.
- [17:08]
Jay Croucher
Our next running back, Jordan Mason, he's got the Lions. He has not had a game with 75 plus scrimmage yards since week three. Right now, Matthew, is this a player that you could even think about starting?
- [17:20]
Matthew Berry
I'm closing it out. He's my running back. 36 that Vikings offensive line guys is injured. Thank God for the Cincinnati Bengals because if it wasn't for the Cincinnati Bengals, the Vikings might have the worst offensive line in football currently. Yes, it has been incredibly injured as well. So you think about Aaron Jones being back last week. Season lows in touches and snaps. He had only five touches played 34% of the snaps. Now that game of got that game got away from them quickly. Jones is more the pass catcher and the offensive line just wasn't getting anything done. But in fantasy point in qualified running backs and fantasy points for touch, Jordan Mason ranks 42nd this week, eight and a half point underdogs the Lions. If there's a, if there's a way to attack the Lions defense, I feel like the secondary is much weaker than that front seven which is pretty good against the run here. We also don't know what this offense looks like under JJ McCarthy. Like, can't be that much worse than Carson Wentz. But just, there's just, there's so many question marks there that like ideally you're looking elsewhere than starting Jordan Mason. I'm closing it out.
- [18:17]
Connor Rogers
Yep. Last week, Conor, I vowed on the show to be the one who gets to the bottom of the J.J. mcCarthy story. Unfortunately, I didn't. I don't have any.
- [18:25]
Jay Croucher
You're not Pablo Torre.
- [18:26]
Matthew Berry
Unfortunately you are no Pablo Torre.
- [18:28]
Connor Rogers
Unfortunately, Pablo Torre will remain the number one Asian insider reporting on sports stories. And yeah, I may not even crack the list at all. But I do think it is super interesting. Like what Is going to be. What is this offense going to look like with JJ McCarthy? Is he going to be. Is he going to be good? Is he the worst quarterback in the NFL?
- [18:46]
Jay Croucher
I mean, is he going to run coming off another injury? Because that's a big part of his game in fantasy for us, right?
- [18:52]
Connor Rogers
Yeah.
- [18:52]
Jay Croucher
And we don't know.
- [18:53]
Connor Rogers
So, yeah, I think that the most likely outcome is that this offense doesn't look very good and they're eight and a half point dogs in Detroit. So it doesn't bode well for game script. And McCarthy, when we last saw him, he did not look particularly good against the Falcons.
- [19:08]
Jay Croucher
How about a new wrinkle to keep it open or close it out to the wall asking do we keep Marvin Harrison Jr. Up or do we take him down?
- [19:18]
Matthew Berry
Yeah. So there you go. So we, you know, obviously have a bunch of fantasy superstars on the wall. There's Marvin Harrison Jr. His number 18. We appreciate that. By the way, this is all thanks to our friends at fanatics. They provide us with all these jerseys. So thank you so much. That's a pretty good row. You see Josh Allen, my guy 8 CD Lamb, AJ Brown, been up and down for him. Harrison Lad McConkey, slow start. McCaffrey, it's been tough with Brock Bowers there. There's a couple other questionable ones there as you, as you keep going down. But Cam Ward, Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, Mark Andrews, it's been a tough. So not everyone is wall worthy. So we should talk about whether or not all these guys should in fact stay on the wall. But let's talk here about Marvin Harrison Jr. Guys real quickly. And what I'll say is that I say he does stay on the wall. I'm keeping it open this week. You know, wide receiver, 24. For me, look, it's the matchup against the Cowboys, right? 17 fantasy points to a wide receiver. That's what the Cowboys have allowed in six of their past seven games. So if you're telling me an Arizona wide scoring 17 fantasy points in this game, I think it's a pretty good chance it's going to be Marvin Harrison Jr. No team in the NFL is allowed more touchdowns on deep passes than the Dallas Cowboys. And so Harrison, who over 40% of his targets this year have come on deep passes. So whether it's Jacoby Brissette or Kyler Murray, actually, I think I might be kind of rooting for Jacoby Brissette. But either way, I think Marvin Harrison, given the matchup and the volume and hopefully off the buy, they figured A few things out here. MHA is just too talented, Connor, for me to close that out. I think he's a high end wide receiver 3 low end wide receiver 2.
- [20:54]
Jay Croucher
This week and I think he's looked better this year just by the eye test, obviously the concussion and he had some early drops out of the gate this season. But since turning it around early in the season, he just looks physically better and it's just about opportunity in terms of does he get if Kyler Murray plays like are they ever in rhythm? So I mean this is, this matchup. How could you sit a number one wide receiver against the Dallas defense? You can't.
- [21:14]
Connor Rogers
No. They just made Bo Nix look like Tom Brady Franklin, Troy Franklin lighting him up. There's just, the defense just doesn't have any, any ceiling, any upside in Dallas and there's just been, there's no reason to think that Arizona won't put up points in that game.
- [21:27]
Jay Croucher
All right, our next one, Quinton Johnson. Guys, have you started Quinn Johnson last week? You, you got a goose egg. 30 total receiving yards in two games since returning. He's got the Titans. If we're looking for some consolation here, Jay, the problem is the Chargers just have so many options, especially with the Ronda Gadsden getting targets now.
- [21:43]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, QJ's got an Aronde Gadsden problem. He's got a lad McConkey problem who's really turned the corner the past month. He's also got a Tennessee Titans problem where the Titans aren't particularly good. The Colts didn't have to throw the ball basically at all in the second half. The charges on the road around double digit favorites. Line's been bouncing around nine and a half to ten. So probably not going to throw that much. If they do throw it, it's probably going to be to other people. So Quentin Johnson, who's I think the injury must be a real thing that's slowed him down or at least took him out of his rhythm and he's trying to get back to it. So for now I don't think you can start Quentin Johnston I agree with you.
- [22:17]
Matthew Berry
I'm closing it out. He's my wide receiver 34 on the week as we sit here on Wednesday. To your point about like not throwing to he's got a 9% target share over the last three games. You know, 9% compared with you think of the first four games of the season he had a 25% target share. So they're just not looking for him. And most importantly, they're not looking for him when they get in close. In three of the past four games, he hasn't even seen a red zone target or an end zone target, let alone catching a touchdown. And so to your point, Chargers heavy favorites here. Gads and McConkey coming on. Keenan Allen always has his role. Probably it's a big Kymani Vidal game as well. Cam Ward hasn't looked good. You can see the defense getting a cheap score potentially here. So I just don't imagine how, especially after last week, how you could start QJ until you see some production on the field.
- [23:03]
Jay Croucher
Yep, our next wide receiver guys, Stefan Diggs against the tough Falcons passing defense. Of course with Diggs he's made the most of his opportunities. Matthew but only five or fewer targets in two of his past three games we've seen more k' Sean Booty for Drake, May and some other guys stepping up.
- [23:18]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, he has. I mean you've seen some of those other guys there, but there's still been some of it. Like if you look at over the last five games, he's basically almost got a 30% target share. He's had at least a 22% target share in every game but one over that span. So even though Booty May make the, you know, the kind of the highlight plays, we've seen Pop Douglas actually make a couple of interesting plays over the past couple of weeks. Diggs is still involved and so I'm just sort of a believer in the talent. I'm a believer in Drake maybe. I don't hate the matchup. Falcons have a pretty good secondary but feels like they got a little bit exposed last week. Diggs is a pro as well and so I'm at wide receiver 26, so I'm as a mid tier wide receiver 3. So I get the concerns that Connor brings up about some of the other pass catchers there in New England, but I'm keeping it open. I'm keeping it up with Diggsy.
- [24:02]
Jay Croucher
I think with the bye weeks. Jay it's hard to imagine someone being able to bench Stefan Diggs this week.
- [24:07]
Connor Rogers
Exactly. The irony is for a team that won four games last year, Diggs problem is the Patriots in too good. Like they just, they keep blowing teams out and they're not having to throw in the game where they really did need to throw against the Bills. Diggs was incredible and had almost 150 receiving yards. I still think that the talent is there yet that that pass called back against the Saints a couple weeks ago. His game log looks a lot better if he gets that one. And the 769 against the Titans shows that he's not trending too badly in the wrong direction. Gets in the end zone against the Browns for his first touchdown. But no, I'm keeping it open on Stefon Diggs against the Atlanta defense. That looks a lot less intimidating than it did a couple years ago. But I mean the fact that the Patriots are now inching towards six and a half point favorites over the Falcons, I think people maybe fully grasp, like the Patriots, the two teams. I think now no one can join me on the Colts. It's too late there because I was on the bandwagon early. So you can't join me on the Colts.
- [25:01]
Matthew Berry
You've closed down the bandwagon.
- [25:02]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, I've closed down the band.
- [25:03]
Jay Croucher
That's fair. We're taking no more.
- [25:04]
Connor Rogers
No more passengers. I am the Colts man. No one else can be the Colts man. If you wanted to get another team though, that could be the next Colts. Your two candidates, Patriots and Seahawks, who I think are both potential. They're both in like the 30 to 1 range to win the Super bowl, which again, three times longer than the Colts price now at this point. But I think those two teams, I would not be shocked if either of those teams made the super bowl, which is pretty stunning from where we were at the start of the season.
- [25:27]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, I totally buy that. I mean, I will say it's a little rich for you who jumps from team to team to team to shut down other. Other bandwagon jumpers. Like saying I'm the only one that can do it.
- [25:39]
Connor Rogers
I am the Coltamon.
- [25:42]
Matthew Berry
You've been. You were early ish on the cold span.
- [25:45]
Jay Croucher
Absolutely.
- [25:46]
Matthew Berry
That's.
- [25:46]
Jay Croucher
That is your Mona Lisa 1000%. I mean like amongst the Saints. Giants.
- [25:51]
Matthew Berry
I was just gonna say, like it's your third bandwagon this year.
- [25:54]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, the Giants were kind of thrust upon me. I don't. I don't subscribe to that nonsense. The Saints and Bengals. Saints and Bengals all agree were bad calls. Let me tell you, the Bengals, they were so close to winning the afc. We're just beating the jets last week. We'd be right on the path. But alas, merely a Colts man with a little side flings of the Patriots and the Seahawks.
- [26:14]
Matthew Berry
Fair enough.
- [26:15]
Jay Croucher
Fair enough. Jay. Back to the wall. And on a player that was once fantasy greatness in Mark Andrews. But no longer one game this season. Matthew with more than 34 receiving yards.
- [26:27]
Matthew Berry
Yeah. Only two games with more than 6.6 fantasy points. Right. He's. He's got an 80. I'm sorry. He's got a 68% route participation this year. That is 20th among tight ends. You see him right there on the wall. We love Mark Andrews. He's been a fantasy superstar for many, many years. He's a friend of the show, He's a friend of the podcast. Jay, you and I have interviewed him. We liked him a lot.
- [26:46]
Connor Rogers
He's very nice.
- [26:47]
Matthew Berry
Very nice man. Big guy. He was a. He's a, you know, he's a tight.
- [26:51]
Connor Rogers
Guy, which is surprising because he's a tight end in the NFL. So you wouldn't expect that. No, I was expecting more of a Brashad Smith type operator, but he's actually quite big and strong.
- [26:59]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, I mean, maybe it was just he was standing next to Conor, but he's a big D. Either way. Either way. Jay Croucher. So we love Mark Andrews. It gives us no pleasure whatsoever to say this, but I'm closing it out. He's my tight end, 16 this week. I'm closing it out. And what I would also say here, Connors, you see it there on my ranks, right? He's. He's behind Theo Johnson. Thinking of the, speaking of the, you know, of your Giants. Jay. Behind, you know, didn't even know Don.
- [27:28]
Jay Croucher
Kincaid was playing this year. Did not know.
- [27:31]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, exactly. Just a few spots ahead of Colston Loveland, who's done nothing this year. It's been a tough scene for Mark Andrews. You're desperately hoping Lamar Jackson comes back, which we expect, and that he finds Mark Andrews in the end zone. That's really all. He's a touchdown dependent tight end too. Like, it's just again, there's only two games this year where he's gotten you at least seven fantasy points. Like it's been a tough road to hoe for Mark Andrews. But again, what I would ask here for the. If I can ask the regulars a question.
- [27:59]
Connor Rogers
Go for it.
- [28:00]
Matthew Berry
If you don't mind.
- [28:01]
Jay Croucher
They want a Tyler Warren jersey in place.
- [28:03]
Matthew Berry
That's my question. What do we do? You think it's Tyler Warren?
- [28:05]
Jay Croucher
Well, that's what the chat wants. I just speak for the chat. You understand I run a democracy.
- [28:08]
Matthew Berry
You do.
- [28:09]
Connor Rogers
Conor is a mere vessel for the chat.
- [28:12]
Matthew Berry
But listen, like I said, all of our jerseys come to us courtesy and thanks to our friends at fanatics. And so I do think we need to replace Mark Andrews with a jersey. And so the question becomes from the regulars, who are they suggesting a lot.
- [28:30]
Jay Croucher
Of love for Tucker Kraft and Tyler Warren, which I think tight end for a Tight end is a good idea. Have some balance on the wall. But we do have a jersey that does need to come off the bench, and that is Chris Olave, because Chris Olave has been great this year. And as we said, this is a democracy. There are more options than just Mark Andrews.
- [28:49]
Matthew Berry
Okay.
- [28:49]
Jay Croucher
We have. The options are to replace, and the regulars get to decide this.
- [28:53]
Matthew Berry
Okay. Oh, wow. So Chris Olave is coming off the bench.
- [28:56]
Jay Croucher
Yes.
- [28:56]
Matthew Berry
And so the question is. The question is on Chris Olave. Mark Andrews, who's, by the way, a top 16 fantasy wide receiver this year in points per game, he's top five in the NFL and targets receptions. Chris Olave's had a great year. Merchant needs to be back on the wall. He's earned. So just Mark Andrews or whoever it is that goes away. Just. You know, there's a way to get back onto the wall. Just because you're being banished to a closet doesn't mean that you can't.
- [29:20]
Jay Croucher
The wall is a front runner. I want to make this very clear. Like, when the times are good, you're on the wall.
- [29:24]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [29:24]
Jay Croucher
But we'll rip you off the wall as soon as things go bad.
- [29:27]
Matthew Berry
We should do Connor, me and you. We should name the wall J.
- [29:30]
Jay Croucher
Right.
- [29:32]
Matthew Berry
Bandwagon Wall. It's like Jay. It's like. Oh, exactly. He was a Bengals guy. He was a Saints guy. Now he's a Colts fan.
- [29:38]
Jay Croucher
Very fitting. Tyler Warren could be a replacement, but.
- [29:40]
Matthew Berry
If the Colts lose two in a row, then he's all in on the Seahawks.
- [29:42]
Connor Rogers
You wouldn't want to lose to Pittsburgh this week in Indianapolis. Don't test me.
- [29:46]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, exactly.
- [29:46]
Connor Rogers
Don't test me.
- [29:47]
Matthew Berry
So, JJ. We're calling J2.
- [29:49]
Jay Croucher
Yeah.
- [29:49]
Matthew Berry
You know the J Wall, Right? Anyway, so you have a chance to get onto the wall. The wall is a bunch of front runners, so. So we're putting Chris Olave back on the wall. So here's the question. Connor, go ahead and read. What are we.
- [30:01]
Jay Croucher
Which jersey spot should he take? Because it's not just Mark Andrews. The options are Andrews, C.J. stroud, who's coming off a much, much better week, might have saved himself Cam Ward, who. It's been a tough rookie season, but we know how bad things are in Tennessee. And who's that under him?
- [30:14]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, that's mine. That's my jersey.
- [30:16]
Jay Croucher
Barry is an option on the pole, number 29. Yes. So this is.
- [30:22]
Matthew Berry
Because my birthday is the 29th.
- [30:24]
Jay Croucher
Oh, nice.
- [30:24]
Matthew Berry
There we go. My birthday is the 29th. My wife and I were married on the 29th.
- [30:27]
Connor Rogers
Okay.
- [30:28]
Matthew Berry
We were married, born. I'm born on December 29th, and my wife and I were married on May 29th. If anyone out there would like to get us something nice, feel free.
- [30:39]
Jay Croucher
Stunner.
- [30:39]
Matthew Berry
Stunner. Missed a layup there, but that's why. So 29's a, you know, a meaningful number to me.
- [30:44]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, no, I like it. I have a daughter born on the 29th. Turkey. And I will say it is.
- [30:47]
Matthew Berry
That was the other reason why. Yeah.
- [30:49]
Connor Rogers
Because Ella's birthday.
- [30:50]
Matthew Berry
Ella's birthday. Right.
- [30:51]
Connor Rogers
Yeah. And also it is a democracy. Unless you choose wrong and we will relapse into dictatorship and we'll choose the correct answer.
- [30:58]
Jay Croucher
Right?
- [30:58]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [30:58]
Jay Croucher
So the poll is in the chat right now.
- [31:00]
Matthew Berry
Yeah. So go ahead, regulars, we'd love your vote. But it is sometimes, like, sometimes you see like, like the All Star Game. Like, you know, there's fan voting, but then there's also like a committee vote and it doesn't matter. Like, you know, they try to stuff the ballot box and then somebody else.
- [31:12]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, here's the thing.
- [31:13]
Jay Croucher
Just appeasing the audience.
- [31:14]
Connor Rogers
If you guys vote Andrew Wiggins to start the All Star Game again, we're overruling it.
- [31:17]
Jay Croucher
Yes. Yeah.
- [31:17]
Connor Rogers
And Steph Curry gets the notice.
- [31:19]
Matthew Berry
My favorite version of all that was. And I forget, I think it was in England, but they. Some organization, they were getting a ship. They were literally getting a ship. And so they said to their fans or whatever, their followers on social media, what should we name this ship? I think it's for a science museum or something like that. I forget this. And somebody suggested and it ended up winning by like a million votes or something like it was Boaty McBoatface, which is the greatest thing of all time.
- [31:47]
Jay Croucher
Did they go through with it?
- [31:48]
Matthew Berry
I did. I think they overruled it. But somebody, somebody producer Damon, do me a favor, do the research on that. Like Bodie McBoatface. What's. But I just remember that was the name. I forget if it actually ended up winning, but I know that one for quite a bit. But Bodie McBoat faces the greatest name of all time. Looking for a smarter way to watch the big game. Sling has launched a game changing way to stream live TV with passes instead of committing to a monthly plan you might not use. Passes gives instant access for just a day, a week or a weekend with a day pass. Nonstop college football is available for 24 hours for only 499. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC games simulcast on ESPN3 are included. And for just one more dollar, you can add SEC or ACC networks. Sling puts fans in charge with total flexibility and control. Watch what's wanted when it's wanted. Best of all, you don't need to remember to cancel when your access is up. You won't be charged again until you purchase another day pass. Passes are only available for orange subscription packages. Visit sling.com to learn more. It takes real skill to truly thrive at fantasy football. It's all about having the right lineup and adapting quickly on the fly. And your small business should be no different. That's why the Hartford offers insurance solutions designed to fit the unique playbook of your business. With over 200 years of experience and top rated digital tools, coverage is quick, smart and customizable. Get a quote today@theheartford.com small business and start protecting your business like a true MVP. What if you could consistently find whatever it is you're looking for right away? We're talking everything from parking spots to holiday gifts to jackets or jeans that fit perfectly. Imagine how much time you'd save. While you may never instantly find these things, if you're hiring, you can find qualified candidates right away time and time again with ZipRecruiter, and today you can try it for free at ZipRecruiter.com ffhh ZipRecruiter's powerful matching technology works fast to find top talent. With ZipRecruiter's advanced resume database, you can unlock top candidates contact info instantly. No wonder ZipRecruiter is the number one rated hiring site based on G2. Want to know right away how many qualified candidates are in your area? Look no further than ZipRecruiter. Four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. And right now you can try it for free@ziprecruiter.com FFHH Again, that's ziprecruiter.com FFHH ZipRecruiter the smartest way to hire all.
- [34:33]
Jay Croucher
Right, the results are in. Matthew survives on the wall, as does Cam Ward. I never thought CJ Stroud was coming off the wall after playing.
- [34:40]
Matthew Berry
No, definitely not. But Cam Ward, I mean Merrick Andrews has at least been a fantasy superstar. Cam Ward never has been. Candidly, 30% of the vote. Screw you guys. You know, that's a little bit too close for comfort. It was, to be honest with you.
- [34:54]
Connor Rogers
This one's out.
- [34:55]
Jay Croucher
Yeah, you could have overruled it.
- [34:56]
Matthew Berry
I would have overruled it. So it doesn' but it's just, it's the principle of the matter. You know, I would have liked to have had less of a vote than Cam Ward. That's not a great one, honestly.
- [35:06]
Jay Croucher
Who's done more for fantasy?
- [35:08]
Matthew Berry
Who's helped fantasy? Players in chat has spoken. Yes. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Animals. All of you. All of you, animals. All right. But anyway, sorry, Mark Andrews, we appreciate you. We love you again.
- [35:20]
Jay Croucher
Always make it back on the wall.
- [35:21]
Matthew Berry
You can always get back on the wall. Hopefully this motivates you and Lamar to get you back on the wall. But here comes Cam. Here comes Cam, our beloved stage manager here now. The pomp, the circumstance of this, how this. How this all happens.
- [35:36]
Connor Rogers
You guys should have seen Camp Free Show. He was practicing how to put his cards up.
- [35:41]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, look at this.
- [35:42]
Connor Rogers
Unbelievable.
- [35:43]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, it's unbelievable. Like, just the magic. But going behind the scenes to see how we've got, like, hangers, like, low rent says.
- [35:50]
Connor Rogers
It's like Daniel D. Lewis in Phantom Thread. The touch there.
- [35:53]
Jay Croucher
There you go.
- [35:54]
Matthew Berry
Thank you. Appreciate you. Welcome. Welcome to the Wall. Chris Olavi. Candidly, while we like Chris Olavi. Pan back out for a second there. Olavi being right there next to Aman Ross St. Brown, Jaden Daniels, my rider, Diamari in Hampton. You know, you do have. You do have Jonathan Taylor there, but, like, some of these, like, like, Chris Olavi should not be that close. And then you. You think about, like, CD Lamb. Right? Chris Olavi, by the way, does, in fact, drink for free. Congratulations on being on the wall, but I'm just. I'm just sitting here. We're gonna have to do a little bit more rearranging.
- [36:27]
Jay Croucher
Feels like Jonathan Taylor needs better real estate.
- [36:30]
Matthew Berry
That's 100% right.
- [36:31]
Jay Croucher
That's my personal gripe.
- [36:32]
Matthew Berry
I mean, Josh Allen and CD Lamb need better real estate than Chris Olave. Come on. And CJ Stroud, that's a little too. CJ Stroud should not be next to Jamar Chase.
- [36:40]
Connor Rogers
No. No, he shouldn't. Breece Hall. He might be on his way.
- [36:45]
Matthew Berry
We'll see where I go.
- [36:47]
Jay Croucher
The jersey might be different.
- [36:48]
Matthew Berry
You can see it if you look way down in the corner there. There's Jalen Hur. Not stupid like Jalen Hurts needs to be higher up.
- [36:53]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, we should swap out Hertz for Stroud.
- [36:55]
Jay Croucher
Well, AJ Brown moved his jersey down there.
- [36:57]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, that's. That's what it is. And we should put a little book in front of it. Yeah.
- [37:01]
Connor Rogers
It's funny, I didn't see A.J. brown in here last night at 8:30pm yes.
- [37:04]
Jay Croucher
And that's why his jersey's in prime real estate. And Jalen Hurts is all the Way down there.
- [37:08]
Matthew Berry
Sneaky AJ Trey McBride and Devon H.N. way in the back there next to. We gotta, we gotta look at this. We're open to suggestions on what the order should be in the chat and.
- [37:18]
Jay Croucher
What jerseys we need. So keep those rolling in the chat.
- [37:21]
Matthew Berry
It is time once again for Blind Date. Boys, you guys crushed this segment, much to my chagrin. I always think that I've come up with me and the producers have come up with good ones to fool you guys, but we have not done that so far. If you're new to the segment, of course, as you know, bars are somewhere where people go to experience blind dates. And once again, Jay and Connor are going to do that. So I'd like to talk to you at first about a running back here who's had kind of two different parts of the season right here as we. Let's pull up the graphic here. So here you go. So obviously first five weeks the season, somebody was touching the ball a lot. You know, 76% design rush share as well, a utilization score of 74. But just so he was getting a lot of work, but just not particularly very good. Over 16 touches a game, averaging single digit fantasy points per game. But the last three weeks been pretty good. All right, so he's averaging over 15 and a half fantasy points per game, 74 rushing yards per game. But weirdly, he's got less of a designed rush here. 57% on the designed rush rate over the last three weeks.
- [38:24]
Connor Rogers
So Chase Brown, I was going to say Chase Brown's looking at the leading.
- [38:27]
Matthew Berry
Rushes in the league. Very smart. That's exactly right. So this is over the last three weeks since Joe Flacco has comeback player of the year. Joe Flacco has become the starting quarterback here. And to your point, while it's weird, the production has been better because the offense is better and he's been getting some touchdowns. He's not being used nearly as much because they. Because they passed so much and because they like Samaji P. Ran in that role.
- [38:48]
Jay Croucher
Yeah, it was very evident even when Chase Brown was breaking off some big runs that they weren't getting away from P. Ryan. Especially when they get across the 50. They kind of like P. Ryan's bruiser mentality. So it's good that Brown's been productive, but I don't think the usage is going to change at all. I think they're going to keep playing P. Ryan, not, not half the snaps, but close to it.
- [39:05]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, I would agree with that. But I still think Chase Brown, again, assuming by the way, assuming Joe Flacco continues to play, we have some Roto world player news here. Did you guys talk about that at the top of the show? But Joe Flacco, his status for this Sunday's game is jeopardy. He's dealing with a shoulder AC joint.
- [39:25]
Jay Croucher
Issue which he did almost miss the last drive. He ran to the locker room. Jake Browning was going to play that drive and I don't know what.
- [39:32]
Matthew Berry
Trying to see what the. We'll record that.
- [39:34]
Jay Croucher
That's very concerning. Very concerning.
- [39:37]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, I saw a tweet about that coming in, so I want to give proper credit to whoever that is.
- [39:43]
Jay Croucher
Oh, it was fun. Bengals. It lasted for three weeks.
- [39:47]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [39:49]
Connor Rogers
The AFC was almost theirs.
- [39:51]
Matthew Berry
Almost theirs. Almost theirs. I'm trying to see if. Does Pro Football Talk have it? Oh, yes, here he goes. Pro Football Talk. Joe Flacco's Status for Sunday vs Bears in question with shoulder injury. So there you go. That's profo. Will talk in many other sources as well. But so I think that assuming Joe Flacco starts, which is no clear assumption, I think Chase Brown again remains kind of a, you know, a low end RB2. But again, the offense is better. They're using him more, they're in scoring position more and they prefer him in scoring position. He's just not involved in the passing game as much recently. All right, here's another running back here. So this is for the entire year. Here's a guy that's like, you know, top 20 in rushing yards. He's obviously a pass catcher, right? He's averaging over 32 receiving yards per game. Guy can't score. His utilization score is 74, kind of mid tier RB2 and he's low end RB2 at 13.6 fantasy points per game. Any idea who this running back is?
- [40:46]
Connor Rogers
So a ton of usage, no touchdowns. Is it Ken Walker?
- [40:51]
Matthew Berry
It is not Ken Walker. That's a good guess.
- [40:53]
Jay Croucher
Jalen Warren.
- [40:55]
Matthew Berry
Look at you. Two for two. It is in fact, Jalen Warren. The receiving yards per game should have been a key there. Jay as well. But yeah, again, I think this goes to show how good Jalen Warren has been. Like, so he's 18th in the NFL in fantasy points per game. Of course he missed a couple games with the injury, but 18th in the NFL and he's only scored like basically one touchdown.
- [41:14]
Jay Croucher
He never scored. So that was the giveaway to me.
- [41:16]
Matthew Berry
So you figure, right, you figure positive touchdown regression is coming to Jalen Warren. Right? As well.
- [41:22]
Jay Croucher
But awesome. Yes, you watched it. You watched Jalen Warren play and you're like, this guy missed, creates more missed tackles than most backs in the league, especially in the past game.
- [41:30]
Matthew Berry
Yes. Now they're home to your Colts, Jay. Then they're at the Chargers, home to Cincinnati, at Chicago. The Colts are going to be tough, but the three after that, all those teams you can run on. Despite what we saw the Chargers do last week, I think that was more a function of the Vikings offensive line than it was that the Chargers suddenly are really good against the run. Alright, let's look at one more running back here. This is a running back again since week six, as you see it right there. So just a couple of games, last three weeks. This is somebody who is, you know, top 10 in the NFL in touches per game, rushing yards per game, utilization score, not really involved in the passing game, merely just 28th in receptions per game. But, you know, top 10 fantasy running back over the last three weeks, Kyron Williams. It is not Kyron Williams.
- [42:19]
Jay Croucher
Would this be Javante Williams?
- [42:23]
Matthew Berry
It is not Javante Williams. It is in fact, Kamani Vidal.
- [42:27]
Jay Croucher
Wow.
- [42:28]
Matthew Berry
Kamani Vidal. And before we discuss Kamani Vidal, Coach Jim Harbaugh was at. Coach Jim Harbaugh was asked recently to assess the rookies and how they're playing. Watch this clip.
- [42:42]
Connor Rogers
Ronda Gadson, of course, has been great. Trey Harris, RJ Mickens, you know, really coming on strong. And Kymani Vidal playing like a number.
- [43:01]
Matthew Berry
One running back, not just on our.
- [43:03]
Connor Rogers
Team in the NFL. He's been playing like a number one running back in the entire league. And then some more opportunities possibly to come this week.
- [43:15]
Matthew Berry
So what's interesting there, Connor, is Kamande Vidal's not a rookie.
- [43:19]
Jay Croucher
No, I know. That's why when you said he asked, he was asked about the rookies, I was like, does anyone know?
- [43:24]
Matthew Berry
But clearly that's what he was asked though. And that's, you can see like he talks about it for Rhonda Gadsden. And the other hilarious part about that clip is he goes, you know, Ronda Gadson's coming on Trey Harris, R.J. mick. He just literally says Trey Harris's name. He says nothing about Trey Harris.
- [43:39]
Jay Croucher
He just like stared off into the.
- [43:41]
Matthew Berry
Right, just trying to think through who are rookies on my team. And then he, and so he does say, like, Kamani Vidal is playing very well, playing like a number one running back in the NFL. More opportunities coming for him this week. All of which is exciting except for the fact that it's hilariously like not a rookie. Now maybe you think Amari Hampton obviously is a rookie and he's hurt and Vidal is filling in for it. So maybe that's where the brain synapse went there as well. But yeah, I mean, look, he's been. The point is, is over the last three weeks since Amarian Hampton went down, he's just gotten running RB1 usage like almost 20 touches per game. I know we had the one game where he didn't really have a bunch of fantasy points, but Miami, you know, a couple of weeks ago and then this last week against the Vikings, he's been great. And the expectation here in a game against Tennessee that we talked about earlier with QJ where they're, you know, almost double digit favorites but all should be in for a heavy workload.
- [44:29]
Connor Rogers
Yep, absolutely. They've getting Joe old back just fixes so many issues. Like Justin Herbert now he's still going to be under siege. Still no great offensive line, but now he has a chance to actually live and it can be a much more functional offense.
- [44:42]
Matthew Berry
All right, let's. Oh, Valiant Vincent here.
- [44:46]
Jay Croucher
Valiant Vincent in the chat asking or saying Harbaugh looks like an accountant who accidentally got hired as a head coach and he's too deep to pack out now.
- [44:54]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, it's like a movie.
- [44:57]
Connor Rogers
Accidental Coach.
- [44:58]
Jay Croucher
Yes, there it is. Great title. Who's directing?
- [45:00]
Matthew Berry
What is it? The what? The Accidental Coach. That's a great one. And by the way, I'll tell you, that kind of movie, that's not like a real movie, that's like a made.
- [45:07]
Jay Croucher
For tv, very tight release.
- [45:10]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [45:11]
Jay Croucher
It's like it appears in theaters. Yeah. Streaming.
- [45:14]
Matthew Berry
That's like.
- [45:15]
Jay Croucher
I'm not gonna say where it's streaming, but it's streaming.
- [45:18]
Matthew Berry
Exactly. I don't want to insult anyone.
- [45:20]
Connor Rogers
It has. It follows American Pie 8.
- [45:23]
Jay Croucher
Yes. Right.
- [45:24]
Matthew Berry
But it just feels like, you know, one of those, you know, like.
- [45:27]
Jay Croucher
Or a Crocodile Dundee.
- [45:28]
Matthew Berry
Crocodile Dundee, yeah, 300%. You know, there's a. Remember there was a Whoopi Goldberg movie called Eddie. She somehow won a coach. She became the coach of the Knicks. Great script.
- [45:43]
Jay Croucher
It just didn't land.
- [45:44]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, I'm surprised Connor is a member of the New York media that. Because there were certainly cameos by other members of the New York media.
- [45:50]
Jay Croucher
Yeah, they didn't invite me for that one. If you go back and watch, I'm gonna be an Eddie too.
- [45:54]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, fair enough. Todd Zeal's in that movie.
- [45:56]
Jay Croucher
Go List. He's the lead.
- [45:57]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, go. Listen.
- [45:58]
Jay Croucher
Shocking. Todd seals the lead. I'm the second.
- [46:00]
Connor Rogers
The co star Todd Seal beats Michael Jordan one on one.
- [46:04]
Matthew Berry
Let's let's go to a wide receiver now here for our blind date here. This is somebody that's significant in terms of, you know, for the season. Right. You know, this guy's top 10 in target, share and receiving yards per game, top 20 in utilization score. Obviously this is all close to the line of scrimmage stuff because it's average up. The target is 50th in the NFL. But any idea who. And by the way, just a mid tier wide receiver. Three at 25th and fantasy points per game. Any ideas on who this wide receiver is? Again, this is somebody who gets a target, you know, gets a lot of targets, gets a lot of yards, but just hasn't turned into. Hasn't turned into just time fantasy production. It is not Justin Jefferson.
- [46:49]
Connor Rogers
I don't know. I'm drawing dead on this one.
- [46:52]
Matthew Berry
Zay Flowers is your answer right here. Look, the thing on Zay Flowers is again, like he's gotten a little bit unlucky. And you've obviously had, you know, Lamar has missed a few games, but I think the underlying numbers on Zay Flowers are much better than you might think. Again, a 30% target share for the Ravens. Right. He's got almost 70 receiving yards per game. Touchdowns haven't been there and that's never been a big part of his game. But there's potentially a buy low opportunity on Zay Flowers with Lamar coming back. The overall numbers don't look great, but we think he's more talented than maybe what the production shows so far.
- [47:25]
Jay Croucher
Yeah, because we've seen it before. Right. And just the connection he has with Lamar. When the play breaks down, Lamar runs around for eight seconds and Zay can kind of create. So good. Better times ahead for Zay Flowers.
- [47:36]
Matthew Berry
All right, one more. One more wide receiver here as we finish off blind date. So somebody that just doesn't have a huge target share. You know, four receptions per game, you know, utilization isn't great. Right. 26, which is fine, but nothing amazing. Averaging 67 receiving yards per game. And this is over the last three games. By the way, BK should say it is not Alec Pierce. It is not. By the way, the graphics is 2025 season, but this is over. These ranks are actually over the last three games, just to be clear.
- [48:11]
Jay Croucher
Oh, well, that's why they got it wrong. Yeah.
- [48:13]
Connor Rogers
And I refuse to give a substitute answer now that we have the correct information.
- [48:16]
Jay Croucher
The chat and this would have been my second guess says K. Shan Booty.
- [48:20]
Matthew Berry
That's also a great guess. It is none of those. It is T. Higgins actually it is T. Higgins. It's sort of interesting, obviously, because again, Flacco has been so good for the production, but it's been weird that it's so Jamar Chase centric versus. I mean, again, not that T. Higgins is as good as Jamar Chase, but, like, Tee Higgins is pretty good, and they paid him a lot of money.
- [48:43]
Jay Croucher
Four catches a game.
- [48:44]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [48:44]
Connor Rogers
Was it like 19 targets to four last week or something? Insane.
- [48:48]
Jay Croucher
He had the one deep catch, and that was it.
- [48:49]
Connor Rogers
He had a touchdown.
- [48:50]
Jay Croucher
Yeah.
- [48:50]
Connor Rogers
Also, the fact that Jamar chase only got 91 receiving yards on 19 targets isn't a great sign for that offense.
- [48:56]
Jay Croucher
And you know what his prop was?
- [48:57]
Connor Rogers
It was 89.
- [48:58]
Jay Croucher
89 and a half.
- [49:00]
Matthew Berry
There you go. There you go. So that concludes blind date.
- [49:05]
Jay Croucher
Nicely done for week.
- [49:07]
Matthew Berry
What are we in nine? Yeah, now that we believe it.
- [49:09]
Jay Croucher
That's right. Hope you enjoyed it. It's officially spooky season at the happy hour, and we want to see your costumes. Post your fits using the hashtag ffhhalloween and we'll post them on Friday. There's one nominee over here.
- [49:24]
Matthew Berry
Look at this. This guy. This made me laugh hard. This is Holly Mark 323.
- [49:28]
Jay Croucher
It's the J costume.
- [49:30]
Matthew Berry
Right.
- [49:31]
Jay Croucher
Counterfeit WNBA jersey. A can of Fosters.
- [49:34]
Matthew Berry
Right.
- [49:34]
Jay Croucher
And the optional accessories. Losing Futures tickets.
- [49:37]
Matthew Berry
Yeah. Which is. That's. That's the key thing. Losing future tickets. I feel like that Fosters might have been AI.
- [49:44]
Connor Rogers
There's a lot going on in this photo. It's quite kind of scary when you think about it.
- [49:47]
Jay Croucher
Yeah, I zoomed in, and I wish.
- [49:49]
Connor Rogers
I didn't, but it's a great.
- [49:51]
Matthew Berry
It's fantastic.
- [49:52]
Connor Rogers
Yeah. But great creativity.
- [49:54]
Matthew Berry
Very creative. Clearly, Mark H. Is a. Is a regular. Gets all the inside jokes, so. Appreciate you, Mark H. We might see you on the power rankings this Friday. Everyone else, we'd love to see your fantasy football happy hour inspired costumes. Use the hashtag ffhhalloween. If you could hear love, what would it sound? Son, can we talk about your drinking? Yeah, Dad, I think we should. Helping those closest to you think about their excessive drinking. Maybe that's what love sounds like. More@rethinkthedrink.com an OHA initiative. Hey, friends, this is Audie Cornish, host.
- [50:51]
Connor Rogers
Of CNN this Morning and the Assignment.
- [50:54]
Matthew Berry
And guess what?
- [50:55]
Connor Rogers
Every story you care about, every angle.
- [50:57]
Jay Croucher
You want unpacked, is now streaming on cnn.
- [51:00]
Connor Rogers
That means you can catch my show.
- [51:02]
Jay Croucher
Or other CNN programming whenever you want on your favorite device.
- [51:06]
Matthew Berry
And a subscription also gets you access.
- [51:09]
Jay Croucher
To exclusive video series and unlimited articles, so subscribe to CNN@CNN.com subscription. You're not just working on assignments. You're building your future with Creative Cloud Pro.
- [51:23]
Matthew Berry
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Jay Croucher
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Matthew Berry
Powerful tools to turn school projects into.
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Jay Croucher
A standout career ready portfolio.
- [51:37]
Matthew Berry
And right now, students save over 55% on Creative Cloud Pro. Visit adobe.com students to learn more and start creating your future today.
- [51:48]
Jay Croucher
DraftKings Sportsbook is an official sports betting partner of the NFL and new customers can bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if your bet wins. Download the app and use promo code ffhh when you sign up. DraftKings sportsbook.
- [52:01]
Matthew Berry
The Crown is it the crown is mine or the crown is yours?
- [52:04]
Jay Croucher
The crown is mine.
- [52:05]
Matthew Berry
The crown is yours.
- [52:06]
Jay Croucher
Back to the futures. Jay, what do you got for us this week?
- [52:09]
Connor Rogers
Okay, well we've got a bit of time in this segment so let's go through the defensive rookie of the year Oz Abdul Carter is the favorite of plus 150. He has it's half a sack in eight games.
- [52:20]
Matthew Berry
I don't get why I feel like he's the favorite because of his name value. Like he has not had the impact that a lot of other defensive rookies have had this year. Yeah, he's been fine. He's got like pressures.
- [52:31]
Jay Croucher
Ezraku is coming. Jay, I'm with you Donovan.
- [52:34]
Connor Rogers
Ezraku who? Yes. The Cowboys defense isn't great. Ezraku only has the one sack but but his numbers, his underlying stats the past five weeks as he's got more run have been fantastic. His pff pass rush grade neck and neck with Abdul Carter. He is generating pressures as well. His pass rush win rate, everything. It's very good as a raku. So if you can tie your own shoes and count to six you shouldn't be 25 to one in this market like Jahad Campbell has been benched for Nakoby Dean Nick Eminwari. What are we doing?
- [53:05]
Matthew Berry
Like who are Will, Josh was kind of nice here.
- [53:08]
Jay Croucher
Swissinger has a high ankle.
- [53:09]
Connor Rogers
Yeah.
- [53:09]
Jay Croucher
He's gonna miss four to six weeks.
- [53:10]
Connor Rogers
Yeah. So like it's a weird board. Ezra Rocku and Will Johnson would be my long shots in this.
- [53:14]
Jay Croucher
I like it. I like a lot.
- [53:16]
Matthew Berry
Will Johnson's just had a really nice year I think. Yeah.
- [53:18]
Jay Croucher
Second round pick that fell only because of injury and yeah, I like that a lot. Matthew, what do you got?
- [53:23]
Matthew Berry
You know what I Agree with Jay. I am jumping on the bandwagon of the Seattle Seahawks. Welcome the Seahawks plus 220 to win the NFC West. Look, the Rams are obviously a very good team, but like they're like two injuries away from being done. Right? I mean, they just, they don't have a ton of depth. Like, it's really, it's, it's Puka, it's Stafford and it's, it's Devonta, Adams and Kyron. So I guess they got four guys in that offense and one of them's already hurt. And so you can see a scenario where they go, the Seahawks defense is great. They get out of the bye early. They've got Mike commanders this Sunday night on NBC. I think they win that game easily. So this is a good team. It's a really good defense. Darn Arnold's playing at a high level. We're seeing Jackson, Smith and Jigba become a superstar in this league before our very eyes. Give me the Seahawks to win the NFC west at plus 220.
- [54:08]
Connor Rogers
Yeah, I like that. My numbers have Seattle plus 200 fair to win the division. So I agree with the bet. A little surprised that the Seahawks are minus three in Washington. Like, that's a lot of points for the Seahawks. Like the commander, Jane Davis is expected to play.
- [54:20]
Matthew Berry
Yeah.
- [54:20]
Jay Croucher
Travel. Cross country travel.
- [54:21]
Matthew Berry
Yeah. I have desperate. I have to assume desperate commander's team too as well. But I have to believe that they just think, I mean, the commander's defense, not good to begin with and then it's gotten really banged up over the last couple of weeks. So I think they just feel like Seattle off the by. They're probably fresh. Maybe they can do that.
- [54:36]
Connor Rogers
But still, it's like Jayden Daniels at home. It's a three point dog against. I know Sam Donald's been amazing this year, but I was surprised. I thought that would be closer to pick.
- [54:44]
Matthew Berry
Yeah. Which is fair, regretfully.
- [54:46]
Jay Croucher
Guys, I'm going to jump into the comeback player of the year market.
- [54:48]
Matthew Berry
Let us down.
- [54:50]
Connor Rogers
Come in the water.
- [54:51]
Jay Croucher
Is Hutchinson plus 450.
- [54:53]
Matthew Berry
That's a nice one. Yeah.
- [54:54]
Jay Croucher
Dax been awesome. McCaffrey's been awesome. They're the front runners for this award right now. But Hutchinson, there's such a gap. They're in the plus one hundreds. Hutchinson's plus 450. He's got 48 pressures and six sacks already and he's. The Lions are a great team. So if you want to give a great player who just got a massive extension today, by the way, on a great team this award plus 450 seems very long. Jay. I would think closer to plus 300.
- [55:16]
Connor Rogers
I think that Hutch, CMC and Dak all have a similar probability of winning the award because the Cowboys are now very unlikely to make the playoffs. Christian McCaffrey looks like that Falcons game was a bit of an outlier in terms of his efficiency. The Niners schedule is easy, So I think McCaffrey may end up winning. But I think Hutcher I agree he should be shorter than plus.
- [55:33]
Matthew Berry
It's always the argument you make that like these are awards that aren't necessarily statistically based. Like they're based voters are making these awards. It's not like something who do you like? You know, it's not a few who's going to lead the NFL in receiving yards which is black and white.
- [55:46]
Connor Rogers
Right.
- [55:47]
Matthew Berry
This is just so there's somewhat of emotion that goes into this. So you have to sort of think through it. And it's kind of like why Brian Daboll run one coach of the year even though Kyle Shanahan and honestly Pete Carroll that week, that year in Seattle both you know, far exceeded their preseason win total. More than day ball but day ball New York Giants first year they were a mess before like it was emotional thing and he's he's part of the New York media. So. So to your point about Hutchinson, like I think that the voters are going to want to reward the Detroit Lions for their season somehow in this where else can they like where right. Golf's not winning offensive player of the year mvp. Right. I don't think I'm on raw as maybe Gibbs gets there but I think it's hard when you think about what John Taylor's doing.
- [56:26]
Connor Rogers
Other guys is Hutchinson for defensive player of the year. By the way, I just want this on record and we will never refer to it back after it crashes and burns this week. J.J. mcCarthy shouldn't be 100 to 1 for that award if the Vikings are 10 to 1 to make the playoffs. I'm just saying there's a chance outlier.
- [56:40]
Matthew Berry
It's closing time. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here for Jay and Connor. We'll be back tomorrow. Peace out.
- [56:52]
Jay Croucher
Hey Fidelity. What's it cost to invest with the Fidelity app?
- [56:57]
Connor Rogers
Start with as little as $1 with.
- [56:59]
Matthew Berry
No account fees or trade commissions on U.S. stocks and ETFs. Hmm.
- [57:04]
Jay Croucher
That's music to my ears.
- [57:06]
Matthew Berry
I can only talk Investing involves risk, including risk of loss. Zero account fees apply to retail brokerage accounts only sell order assessment fee not included. A limited number of ETFs are subject.
- [57:15]
Jay Croucher
To a transaction based service fee of $100.
- [57:16]
Matthew Berry
See full list fidelity.com commissions Fidelity Brokerage.
- [57:19]
Jay Croucher
Services LLC Member NYSE SIPC He's Kenny.
- [57:26]
Matthew Berry
Maine, the funny guy from ESPN.
- [57:28]
Connor Rogers
Formerly he's Cooper Manning, the more intelligent and handsome of the Manning brothers. And he's Brian Baumgartner. But to me, he'll always be Kevin from the office.
- [57:39]
Matthew Berry
Yeah, you and everybody else together. We're the hosts of the new Comedy Garden Golf podcast.
- [57:44]
Connor Rogers
We need a fourth from Smartless Media and SiriusXM. It's like a cold beer after a round. You hear the strangest and most bizarre golf stories from our friends, athletes, celebrities and comedians. It's all about how much we love golf and how much we hate golf. New episodes are out every week. Listen now and subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Could just be anywhere, just on a couch. Doesn't matter.