Fantasy Football Today – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Worryometer and Pumped-Up-O-Meter! Playoff Schedules, Jacob Gibbs League Winners, BUF-HOU (11/19 Fantasy Football Podcast)
Date: November 19, 2025
Hosts/Analysts: Adam Aizer, Dave Richard, Jamie Eisenberg, Chris Towers, Frank Stampfle, Jacob Gibbs

Overview

This episode brings the energy with the debut of the “Pumpdometer” (aka Pumped-Up-O-Meter) and the return of the “Worryometer.” The crew debates which players fantasy managers should be truly excited—or worried—about for the rest of the season, giving special attention to playoff schedules and potential league-winning sleepers. Analyst Jacob Gibbs joins the show to highlight advanced stats and discuss sneaky league-winning players. The show also features a detailed Thursday Night Football primer for Bills-Texans, and listener Q&A to round out a dynamic, high-spirited episode.

Main Themes and Segments

1. Pumped-Up-O-Meter & Worryometer: Getting Excited and Anxious for the Stretch Run

• Hosts trade favorite “get pumped up” songs as an icebreaker.
• First use of the “Pumpdometer” to rate excitement, paired with the classic Worryometer (02:02).
• Rest-of-season outlooks: Focus on how player value shifts with schedules and roles, as fantasy playoffs loom.

Quotes:

• “Get pumped up, baby. Welcome to Fantasy Football Today presented by BetMGM. Make it legendary.” – Dave Richard [02:02]
• “Who are you worried about? Who you pumped about?” – Adam Aizer [02:13]

2. Fantasy Playoff Schedules & Key News Updates (03:31–07:00)

Highlights:

• Schedules:

  • Travion Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson both have friendly running back matchups ahead.
  • Jonathan Taylor (Colts) faces a tougher stretch.
  • Tyler Warren (Steelers TE) gets four of the bottom-8 defenses against TEs.

• Injuries/Returns:

  • Aaron Rodgers and Jalen Warren may play this week.
  • Ken Walker is slated for more touches.
  • Dalton Kincaid, CJ Stroud, and Jalen Pitre all ruled out; Josh Jacobs and Jaden Reed could return.

Quote:

• “Travion Henderson’s next three games are against the three worst teams against running backs…so that’s cool for him.” – Dave Richard [02:36]

3. Pumped About: Rest-of-season Risers (07:00–08:57)

• Heath Cummings: Jameson Williams (Lions WR) – Top 15 WR this week, Top 20 ROS upside, especially strong with Laporta banged up and great dome schedule.
• Listener Input: The crew also reacts to players submitted by listeners.

Quote:

• “He’s a Top 15 wide receiver for me this week and probably a Top 20 rest of season. He might be better than that.” – Heath Cummings on Jameson Williams [07:19]

4. Worryometer: Concern Level for Notable Names (08:57–17:10)

Key Points:

• Chargers:

  • Running backs, particularly Amani Hampton: uncertainty regarding return, split with Najee, a tough schedule.
  • Quentin Johnston (hold), Keenan Allen (drop).
  • Rondae Gadsden (TE): Target share steadily declining, bad TE matchups incoming.

• Travion Henderson:

  • Exciting RB schedule, but major concern about workload split after Rhamondre Stevenson returns.
  • Passing-game role shrinks when Stevenson plays.

Quotes:

• “It’s hard to have a lot of confidence in the Chargers right now.” – Adam Aizer [10:58]
• “Trayvon’s got more juice to him obviously, but…we’re going to see Treon lose route rate, lose snap share, certainly lose goal line carries.” – Frank Stampfle [14:19]

5. Schedule Deep Dives & Fantasy Impact (19:20–22:58)

Teams Discussed:

• Saquon Barkley: Much better schedule rest of season, but line injuries & Tush Push sniping TDs.
• Detroit Lions: Indoors until Week 18—great for skill players.
• Arizona RBs (e.g., Trey Benson): Brutal upcoming matchups (Rams, Seahawks, Jaguars, Bucs).
• Ashton Genti, Brock Bowers, Trey McBride: Notable for tough or soft schedules.
• Chargers, Colts, and more are all analyzed for rest-of-season schedule context.

Quotes:

• “Does the schedule matter to you guys for Barkley? … Sure.” – Dave Richard [19:57]

6. Listener Mailbag: Pumped-Up & Worryometer, 0–10 Ratings

Player Ratings & Panel Consensus:

[25:52]

• Breece Hall (Worryometer):

  • Adam: 4–5
  • Chris: 5–6
  • Frank/Dave: Slight concern, but Hall still a start.

• De’Von Achane (Pumped-Up-O-Meter):

  • All Panelists: 10/10–12 billion—fully “pumped up”.

• David Montgomery (Worryometer):

  • Chris: 6–7
  • Adam: 5
  • Panel: Schedule not as great as it looked.

• Jaden Reed (Pumped-Up):

  • Adam: 2 (need to see it first)
  • Panel agrees: wait and see.

• Justin Jefferson vs. Tee Higgins ROS:

  • Panel leans “Higgins” given JJ McCarthy’s struggles as QB.

Notable Quotes:

• “Devon HN, pumped up o meter: 10, 12 billion!” – Dave Richard [26:02]
• “Who would you rather have rest of season, Justin Jefferson or T. Higgins? … Higgins.” – Chris Towers & Adam Aizer [28:34]

7. Thursday Night Football Primer (Bills @ Texans) – [43:39–54:58]

Buffalo Notes

• Josh Allen:

  • Tough defense, but still “Superman.” Start him, but lower ceiling (top-6 QB).
  • Quote: “He’s amazing himself. We literally, Jamie just literally referred to him as Superman…He’s probably going to be responsible for every touchdown the Bills have.” – Frank Stampfle [45:36]

• James Cook:

  • Start, but Texans run D has limited several RBs below 12 PPR points this season.

• Khalil Shakir:

  • Flex-worthy, especially with a depleted WR corps.

Houston Notes

• Woody Marks (RB):

  • High upside as RB2/flex vs. Bills run D, though inefficient. “Leap of faith” play.
  • “You have to be optimistic. I mean, you know, the third string running back for Tampa Bay if you want to, whatever category you want to put them in, just went for a monster day against them.” – Adam Aizer [48:16]

• Nico Collins:

  • Official “top-12” WR by consensus.

• Jaden Higgins:

  • Deep stash; matchup vs. Buffalo offers intrigue for bench depth in deeper leagues.

• Dalton Schultz:

  • Sit if possible vs. Bills’ elite tight end defense. Start only if no alternatives.

• DST Decisions:

  • Texans and Bills both low-end startable options; slightly prefer Houston.

8. Jacob Gibbs’ Advanced Stat Deep Dives & League Winners – [58:12–71:47]

Featured Players (“League Winners”):

• Jameson Williams (Lions WR)

  • Drastic horizontal route usage increase under Dan Campbell; targets and explosive plays rising, especially without Sam LaPorta.
  • “Jamo has a 45% horizontally breaking route rate over the two starts with Dan Campbell…49% more likely to draw a target.” – Jacob Gibbs [59:51]

• Chris Rodriguez (Commanders RB)

  • Top-5 in yards after contact per rush; high success rate, solid stash with some favorable late-szn matchups.

• Kareem Hunt (Chiefs RB)

  • Elite “rush success rate” and excels in short yardage; ultra-TD-dependent, but valuable if injuries strike.

• Stefon Diggs (Patriots WR)

  • Outstanding advanced stats; top 5 in first downs per route run and yards per route run. If routes increase post-bye, could explode for fantasy managers in playoffs.

• Chris Olave & Juwan Johnson (Saints)

  • Saints’ schedule is #1 for WRs rest of season, with volume funneling to Olave/Johnson. Both could post top-10 positional numbers down the stretch.

Quotes:

• “First downs have been more predictive of future fantasy scoring than previous season fantasy points per game…Stefon Diggs has been really, really good on a per route basis.” – Jacob Gibbs [66:04]
• “If you have to put [Kareem Hunt] in because you have injuries, then you’ve got a decent chance you’ll get a touchdown.” – Jacob Gibbs [65:24]

9. Other Noteworthy Topics and Memorable Moments

• Fantasy playoff defense stashes: Jaguars and Buccaneers DST are sneakily valuable for upcoming matchups. [56:41]
• Scott Fish Bowl Playoffs: All panelists—by the skin of their teeth—make it in; Chris Towers wins a literal “last man in” spot by 0.16 points. [42:02]
• Running “get pumped up” song jokes throughout, including Jacob’s Kansas City Chiefs “Red Kingdom” pick. [72:10]
• Ongoing “pumped” vs. “pumped up” banter and jokes. [16:37, 41:45]

10. Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |-------------------------------------------|------------| | Main Theme Open, Pumpdometer Introduced | 02:02 | | Playoff Schedule News/Notes | 03:31 | | Players Panel Pumped About | 07:00 | | Chargers Worries, Schedule Deep Dive | 08:57 | | Travion Henderson, RB Splits | 12:16 | | Schedule Rundown, Barkley & More | 19:20 | | Listener Mailbag: Worryometer, Pumped Up | 25:52 | | Thursday Night Football Primer | 43:39 | | Jacob Gibbs League Winner Deep Dives | 58:12 | | Jacob’s Top Advanced Stats & Analysis | 65:07 | | End/Outtro | 73:39 |

Conclusion

This episode arms fantasy managers with deeply contextualized advice for late-season dominance, balancing data-driven optimism (Jameson Williams, Chase Brown, Chris Olave) with healthy concern (Chargers offense, Justin Jefferson, David Montgomery). The discussion blends sharp analysis, good-natured humor, and actionable insight—supported by stats from Jacob Gibbs and lived experience from the veteran FFT team.

Did You Miss?

• Top late-season league winners (Gibbs): Jameson Williams, Chris Olave, Chris Rodriguez, Kareem Hunt, Stefon Diggs.
• Injury/schedule status: Travion Henderson splits, Breece Hall volume fluctuation, cautious optimism for Bills/Texans Thursday Night showdown.
• Memorable banter: The crew’s “get pumped up” song picks, and Chris’s razor-thin Scott Fishbowl playoff clinch.