Buy/Sell + Snap Count Trends, "Cool Andy" Revealed

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary
Episode: Buy/Sell + Snap Count Trends, "Cool Andy" Revealed
Release Date: October 2, 2019

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1. Introduction and Personal Updates

The episode kicks off with the hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright, promoting their community, Foot Clan, and discussing the latest updates within their team dynamics.

• Mike Wright's New Look:
  At [00:17], Mike Wright reveals a significant personal change—he has removed his signature beard, transitioning to what Jason humorously dubs "Cool Andy." This change surprises his family, leading to emotional reactions, particularly from his youngest child, who remarks, "It's like daddy died and now I have to live with a new dad" ([03:28]).

• Host Banter:
  The trio engages in lighthearted banter about Mike's new appearance, with Jason emphasizing the stark difference by highlighting Mike's former large beard ([02:10]-[04:08]). They also tease each other about past grooming choices, adding a personable and humorous touch to the show.

2. Buy/Sell Segment

A core feature of the podcast, the "Buy/Sell" segment focuses on evaluating specific fantasy players' performances and potential future outcomes.

a. Golden Tate vs. New England Patriots ([05:40]-[07:11])

• Golden Tate:
  • Sell Recommendation: Both Jason and Mike decide to sell Golden Tate's favorable line of 50 receiving yards against the Patriots.
  • Reasoning: Jason predicts low-value targets due to the strong Patriots defense and suggests Tate will remain close to the line of scrimmage ([05:59]-[06:21]).
  • Mike's Concern: He expresses uncertainty about Tate's target distribution with Sterling Shepard's emergence ([06:45]-[07:06]).

b. Chris Thompson vs. New England Patriots ([07:11]-[08:08])

• Chris Thompson:
  • Buy Recommendation: Andy and Mike choose to buy Thompson at a 50-yard line against the Patriots.
  • Sell Recommendation: Jason opts to sell, anticipating New England's defensive strategy will limit Thompson's explosive plays ([07:15]-[07:30]).
  • Insights: Jason highlights the Patriots' tendency to control the game flow, potentially restricting Thompson's opportunities ([07:30]-[07:53]).

c. Amari Cooper vs. Green Bay Packers ([08:08]-[10:19])

• Amari Cooper:
  • Sell Recommendation: Both Jason and Mike decide to sell Cooper's chance at a top-10 finish against a formidable Packers defense.
  • Rationale: Jason points out Cooper's inconsistent weekly performance and the Packers' robust defense, especially with Tyrone Smith out ([08:58]-[09:23]).
  • Mike's Analysis: He acknowledges Cooper's home advantage but remains skeptical about achieving a top-10 finish ([09:50]-[10:19]).

d. Zach Ertz vs. New York Jets ([10:19]-[12:12])

• Zach Ertz:
  • Buy Recommendation: Jason and Andy decide to buy Ertz for scoring his first touchdown of the season.
  • Sell Recommendation: Mike opts to sell, citing uncertainty about Desean Jackson's availability and Ertz's fluctuating performance ([10:50]-[12:12]).

e. Dak Prescott vs. Green Bay Packers ([12:12]-[13:58])

• Dak Prescott:
  • Sale Decision: Jason and Mike choose to sell Prescott's opportunity for a top-10 quarterback finish.
  • Justification: Concerns about the Packers' defense and the absence of Tyrone Smith affecting Prescott's performance ([12:44]-[13:58]).

3. News and Notes

This segment covers the latest NFL news, focusing on player injuries, team strategies, and other relevant updates affecting fantasy football decisions.

• Player Injuries and Updates ([13:58]-[17:02]):

  • John Ross:

    • Injury: Ross is expected to miss multiple games due to a shoulder injury, impacting his fantasy value and trade potential ([13:58]-[14:45]).
    • Dynasty Implications: Andy highlights Ross's long-term potential despite current setbacks, emphasizing his value in dynasty leagues ([14:25]-[14:36]).

  • James Conner (Steelers):

    • Status: Being evaluated with a knee injury, Conner's availability remains uncertain ([14:45]-[15:46]).
    • Fantasy Impact: His potential return could boost performance, making him a must-start if healthy ([15:19]-[15:46]).

  • Sean Chandler and Tyrell Williams (Eagles):

    • Injuries: Sean Chandler remains sidelined, while Tyrell Williams's involvement is under observation ([16:09]-[17:58]).
    • Performance Notes: Williams has shown consistent performance but remains a subject of monitoring for his health and usage.

• Coach and Player Strategies ([17:58]-[19:23]):

  • Gardner Minshew:

    • Performance: Despite his high completion percentage, Minshew faces concerns due to emerging injuries and question marks around his role ([17:58]-[19:23]).

  • Emmanuel Sanders Rumors ([28:31]-[29:13]):

    • Trade Speculation: Andy discusses rumors about the 49ers' interest in acquiring Emmanuel Sanders amid the Broncos' rebuild efforts.
    • Potential Impact: Acquiring Sanders could shift the wide receiver dynamics in San Francisco, potentially benefiting players like Cortland Sutton.

4. Snap Count Trends

A deep dive into snap count data provides insights into player usage trends, aiding fantasy managers in making informed decisions.

a. 49ers Running Back Committee ([22:19]-[25:59])

• Committee Challenges:

  • Players: Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, and the injured Tevin Coleman.
  • Usage Trends: The 49ers, under Kyle Shanahan, exhibit a high degree of running back involvement, complicating valuation ([22:19]-[25:59]).

• Fantasy Recommendations:

  • Buying Tevin Coleman:

    • Pros: Long-term potential and role in goal-line scenarios.
    • Cons: Current injury status limits immediate use.

  • Trading Options:

    • Mike suggests: Trading Mostert for a startable player, potentially pairing with another asset for better value ([28:12]-[29:13]).

b. Denver Broncos Running Backs ([29:13]-[33:40])

• Players: Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman.

• Usage Analysis:

  • Inconsistency: Snap counts show no clear trend, making it challenging to predict performance.
  • Fantasy Implications: Both backs have double-digit touches but lack upward or downward trends ([29:13]-[33:40]).

• Trade Considerations:

  • Jason's Stance: Prefers holding onto Lindsay despite his low production due to his talent ([33:13]-[34:01]).
  • Mike's Insight: Suggests trading Lindsay for Ronald Jones with considerations for packaging with another player ([32:02]-[34:01]).

c. Oakland Raiders Running Backs ([34:30]-[36:56])

• Players: Josh Jacobs, Jalen Richard, and DeAndre Washington.

• Usage Trends: Jacobs showed dominance in Week 1 but faced reduced snap counts due to illness and offensive inefficiency in subsequent weeks ([34:30]-[36:56]).

• Fantasy Strategy:

  • Buying Jacobs:

    • Pros: Proven in a run-heavy scheme.
    • Cons: Upcoming matchup against Chicago may limit his usage ([34:30]-[36:56]).

  • Mike's Recommendation: Confident in Jacobs' upward trend despite occasional usage dips ([35:29]-[36:56]).

d. New England Patriots Running Backs ([37:28]-[43:22])

• Players: James White, Sony Michel, Rex Burkitt, David Montgomery, and Tariq Cohen.
• Usage Dynamics:
  • Three-Way Split: The Patriots employ a committee approach, making it difficult to predict individual performance.
  • Fantasy Impact:
    • Mike vs. Jason:
      • Mike prefers: David Montgomery for his consistent snap count and reliable performance.
      • Jason favors: Jordan Howard for his touchdown upside and efficiency in goal-line situations ([37:28]-[43:22]).

e. Jacksonville Wide Receivers ([44:05]-[49:23])

• Players: DJ Chark, Dede Westbrook.

• Usage and Performance:

  • DJ Chark: Emerging as a valuable fantasy asset with consistent snap counts and increasing targets.
  • Comparison: Preferred over established receivers like Sterling Shepard and Jarvis Landry due to growth potential ([45:06]-[49:23]).

• Fantasy Takeaway:

  • Mike's Stance: Strongly supports purchasing Chark over other receivers, anticipating continued growth and involvement.
  • Jason's Insight: Encourages investing in emerging players like Chark to capitalize on breakout potential ([44:05]-[49:23]).

5. Thursday Night Football Preview

The hosts conclude with a preview of the upcoming Thursday Night Football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks.

• Game Analysis ([49:26]-[61:59]):

  • Teams:

    • Rams: Jared Goff's inconsistent performance, struggling offense, and Todd Gurley's utilization issues.
    • Seahawks: Russell Wilson's efficient passing but underwhelming rushing performance.

  • Fantasy Implications:

    • Over/Under Considerations:
      • Both teams previously exceeded the Vegas over on their matches, but current dynamics suggest potential undervaluation.
      • Jason's Dilemma: Contemplating whether to start Jared Goff or Andy Dalton, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding Goff's performance ([51:03]-[62:04]).

  • Player Focus:

    • Russell Wilson: High completion percentage but facing a strong Cardinals defense.
    • Todd Gurley vs. Chris Carson: Debate over which running back to start based on recent performances and defensive matchups ([53:31]-[56:28]).

• Key Advice:

  • Lineup Flexibility:
    • Andy advises: Remove Thursday Night Football players from flex positions to maintain lineup flexibility in case of late injury news.
    • Mike and Jason Agree: Emphasize the importance of positional flexibility to adapt to game-day updates ([59:58]-[62:43]).

6. Mailbag and Listener Questions

In the latter part of the episode, the hosts address listener questions and provide additional insights based on the community's inquiries, though specifics are limited in the transcript.

Notable Quotes

• Mike Wright on Beard Removal:
  "When I cut the beard off, it is very, very flush to the face. My chin looks different than I remember." ([03:07]-[03:17])

• Jason Moore on Amari Cooper:
  "Amari Cooper is the wide receiver seven on the year. But that doesn't mean he gives you a top ten performance every week." ([09:23]-[10:02])

• Andy Holloway on Snap Counts:
  "What do you want with Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman? Which combination of running backs do you want?" ([31:46]-[34:01])

• Mike Wright on DJ Chark:
  "I'm buying him. He was a second-round pick. He's crazy fast. We have seen the trend of speed killing in the NFL just over and over and over." ([45:28]-[46:16])

• Jason Moore on Jared Goff vs. Andy Dalton:
  "I have Jared Goff, and I am contemplating whether I'm starting him or Andy Dalton." ([51:36]-[56:28])

Conclusion

This episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast offers comprehensive insights into player evaluations through the Buy/Sell segment, updates on player health and team strategies, and an in-depth analysis of snap count trends affecting fantasy decisions. The hosts blend expert analysis with personal anecdotes, providing listeners with both valuable information and an engaging listening experience. Whether you're adjusting your lineup or contemplating a trade, the insights shared in this episode are poised to aid fantasy managers in navigating the complexities of their leagues.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Clan, want to invite you over to JoinTheFoot.com our fantasy football community. We're always making it better, stronger. That's the theme song for it.

[Mike Wright]

Thanks, Kanye.

[Andy Holloway]

You can go to join the Foot. You can support the podcast. We're fully independent. You get. You get a bonus podcast, you get an extra episode. We're even recording that one today. You unlock premium resources. You get access to Foot Clan leagues in the off season. You get access to the forums, the megalobol, the meglable game day alerts. We're going to be adding a Discord server. Yeah, that's right, a Discord server announced right here, right now. And a whole lot more. You can head over to JoinTheFoot.com and learn how.

[Jason Moore]

And Foot Clan want to remind everybody about Pristine Auction. Pristine Auction is the most amazing website out there. If you're looking for any kind of special gifts, things to make your office awesome. Pristine Auction has signed memorabilia from all sorts of sports stars. They're always authenticated. And because it's an auction, you bid on whatever you want at whatever price you want. And you don't pay anything unless you just steal it away at a price you love. So check it out. Hundreds of daily auctions. Pristineauction.com welcome to the Fantasy Footballers podcast, coming to you from pristineauction.com Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jason Moore]

Hey.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome into the podcast, the Fantasy Footballers Back. Andy, Mike, Jason. Tons of storylines in the world of fantasy football. None bigger. No, none bigger than what's taking place across the table from me today.

[Jason Moore]

We have a new member of the Fantasy Footballers. I have never seen this man before.

[Andy Holloway]

No, me neither.

[Mike Wright]

I still have the same terrible voice, though. Now I believe you call sounds like you.

[Andy Holloway]

You know his name.

[Jason Moore]

It doesn't.

[Andy Holloway]

And it's called He's Cool Andy.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Yeah. So we were joking. Now he looks so. If you're not watching on YouTube, you.

[Mike Wright]

Have no idea what's happening.

[Jason Moore]

Fix your Life. Watch on YouTube.com the fantasy footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

@ least subscribe.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Mike Wright]

Pad the numbers.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but the thing is, is Mike usually has this large beard.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

And now he doesn't.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's true.

[Andy Holloway]

Yesterday, no fanfare. This just happened.

[Jason Moore]

I have the largest beard. You.

[Mike Wright]

Congratulations.

[Jason Moore]

Stealing your brand, bro.

[Mike Wright]

But yeah, I mean, the. The decision yesterday. Well, I mean, I thought about it on off, but it was like I'm doing it, so I cut the beard off. It is very, very flush to the face. My chin looks different than I remember.

[Andy Holloway]

It's been A little while.

[Mike Wright]

My face is a little rounder than I remember. And the. The. So this was a complete surprise to my entire family.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, my God.

[Mike Wright]

When I got home, they were all at. The kids had tumbling, so I gave it. The old snippety snip.

[Jason Moore]

Came.

[Mike Wright]

Came down the stairs.

[Andy Holloway]

The wife didn't know?

[Mike Wright]

No. She had no idea.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, my gosh.

[Mike Wright]

And the. The youngest of my family immediately burst into tears and like a legit real. Like real, real sad crying. He's never seen me without a giant beard in his entire life. And he said to my wife, he said, it's like daddy died and now I have to live with a new dad. Oh, my goodness. And he proceeded to weep for about 15 to 20 minutes because he was so terrified.

[Andy Holloway]

Daddy died, and now I have to live with a new dad. Wow.

[Mike Wright]

It went really well.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow. Is he. Is he making progress this morning with it?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we were.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not like you're clean shaven. That would have just been.

[Mike Wright]

We worked it. Oh, goodness.

[Jason Moore]

That would have been out of the house.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

I did the clean shaven one time and I got the same reaction from the kids. It was unacceptable. There was tears. People have begged me, holding onto my shirt. Do not do that again.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Last Halloween, when I went as Jeff Fisher and had to shave down to a mustache and then proceeded to shave that, my wife said I look like a human thumb and that I am no longer allowed to ever shave my face again.

[Andy Holloway]

Human. A human thumb?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, like a walk. If you drew eyes and a nose and a mouth on the front of your thumb, then you look at it. And when your wife says it has no chin.

[Andy Holloway]

When your wife says it, you know it's true, right, that you look like a thumb.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, because she hates me.

[Andy Holloway]

You have the biggest beard in the studio. Well, it's. It's a whole new mic. He's wearing a leather jacket. He's clearly the cool version of me.

[Mike Wright]

It's the middle of my life. I'm freaking out, man.

[Jason Moore]

My wife.

[Andy Holloway]

My wife's first reaction was, is he going through a midlife crisis?

[Mike Wright]

My wife asked me, did you or.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you not buy a Mazda Miata last night?

[Mike Wright]

Already had one, bro.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, well, welcome in. We've got a Wednesday segment for you. Mazda Miata.

[Jason Moore]

Buy or Sell, presented by Pristine Auct.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, it's a whole new day here in the office.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Buy or Sell, presented by Pristine. Auction week five. We've got an NFC east edition of Buy or Sell. Let's start with this one making his debut on the 2019 season. Golden Tate, by yourself, 50 receiving yards against Minnesota.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to sell because I think he's going to operate close to the line of scrimmage and be worked in and this is a bad matchup. This is a really good line. Right, because you expect him to get enough work. But I think that the targets he's going to going to receive are going to be very low value targets. So I'm going to say I'm going to take the under.

[Mike Wright]

It's going to be very interesting because Sterling Shepard has been playing very well for this team, but he's been playing very well getting yards out of the slot. And that's where Golden Tate really thrives. Are we going to see a situation where they're just arguing on the field like, hey, hey, Sterling. That's where I'm supposed to be. And they just keep swapping places like game of musical chairs?

[Andy Holloway]

I'll buy it on. I'll buy it on the fact that Golden Tate was signed this past offseason to a four year, $37 million deal for a reason. He gets to make his debut. You want to protect Daniel Jones, you don't have Saquon Barkley. I think. I think we'll see more than 50 yards from golden tape.

[Mike Wright]

50 is not a huge number.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I.

[Mike Wright]

But I'm.

[Andy Holloway]

Man, you're a sell.

[Mike Wright]

I just don't know who's going where.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

So I will sell for that.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Chris Thompson, 50 yards receiving against New England.

[Mike Wright]

50.

[Andy Holloway]

50 yards.

[Mike Wright]

Kind of a line is this.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm buying Thompson. Yeah, I'm buying that as well.

[Mike Wright]

He has failed to hit 50 receiving yards once this season and that's because it was 48.

[Jason Moore]

I am going to sell.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh.

[Jason Moore]

And the reason I'm going to sell is because it is the New England Patriots. I think that they're going to keep things in front of them and so you'll get some dump offs from Chris Thompson. But the difference is they're not going to be playing some crazy prevent where he runs for 20 or 30 yards like he did in several of these games where, you know, he got over the 50 yard mark. It's. It's a good line. Obviously, he's done it three out of four times. He's certainly capable and it's just a matter of what New England decides to take away. But I think that they don't want Chris Thompson to run wild in the open and they'll be prepared, Brooks, because we're competitive here.

[Andy Holloway]

And because I need to know, you should give us standings on this week to week. I'd like to know how our buyer sells went from the week proceeding and who.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Who was right, who was wrong. That's a great idea. So now you have more job responsibilities. You will not be paid more, you'll be paid the same. Sounds great. All right. Amari Cooper. Amari Cooper, does he have a top 10 wide receiver finish in him against Green Bay this week? Amari Cooper, a top 10 finish against Green Bay. It was a disappointing yet still better than juju Smith Schuster week for Amari Cooper last week and Green Bay's. They, they gave up a significant amount of points against Philadelphia but not a lot of yardage through the air for Carson Wentz. I a top 10 finish.

[Jason Moore]

Definitely going to sell Tyrone.

[Mike Wright]

Definitely.

[Jason Moore]

Definitely. Tyrone Smith, left tackle is out of the game. The few games we've seen without him. Dak Prescott is not the same when he does not have that protection. The Green Bay packers defense has been great. Amari Cooper had a very good week one and was 14th not top 10. So I'm going to say he doesn't hit top 10. I think this line is just a little too high for me to be confident.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, top 10 is. It's a tough place to get in there. And like you were saying, Jay, he had over 100 yards and a touchdown and if he wasn't top 10 with that line, it can be pretty tough to get in there. He is at home, which really helps Amari Cooper. Both home games have been very good. The road games he has failed to surpass 50 receiving yards. The, the injury to Smith though is a massive concern. So I will sell a top 10.

[Andy Holloway]

I think I'll join you guys if 19.6 fantasy points in week one wasn't good enough for top 10. That's a, you know, he's, he's the wide receiver seven on the year. But that doesn't mean he gives you a top ten performance every week.

[Mike Wright]

So I'll take a better game.

[Andy Holloway]

You also don't have, you know, you don't have help. If I'm the Green Bay secondary, their defense, I'm focusing on Amari Cooper and letting the Randall Cobb, Devin Smith of the world and you know, Jason Whitten who led the team in receiving last week, beat you, not Amari Cooper. I'll sell it as a top 10 finish.

[Jason Moore]

This is one of those like you're taking the field like right now. Amari Cooper is my number seven ranked wide receiver on the week you go, well you're saying he's top 10 but in reality there's a bunch of people that you'll never guess that have big blow up games every single week hop into that top 10. So I'm taking the field here to say he has an okay to good game but there's too many people.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Zach Ertz, does he get his first touchdown of the year against the New York jets this week? Zach Ertz buy or sell? First touchdown of the season.

[Jason Moore]

I'll go first again. I'm going to buy for the first time today. Zach Ertz has had eight touchdowns the last two seasons. That includes two seasons ago when he was only on the. I think he was around 110 targets two seasons ago. He's a guy that, you know, he's about an eight touchdown a year type of player. And we're going into week five. He doesn't have his first touchdown. Dallas Goddard caught one. He's a great weapon near the goal line and I think he comes out on top.

[Mike Wright]

It seems like desean Jackson is not going to play. Have you guys read anything?

[Andy Holloway]

Not been positive. There's not really a lot known about how he's progressing or how long it's going to be but it's definitely trending in the wrong direction.

[Mike Wright]

So probability wise he's, he's still got, it's a much better chance with DJ X off the field but I'm going to, I'm going to sell. Well, I mean this is just, this is just kind of fluky stuff.

[Andy Holloway]

It is. Well even, even bringing up the eight touchdown line, that would be a touchdown. Every other game that'd be a 50, 50 and so you flip a coin here. I'm going to, I'm going to sell it. I think he'll keep his goosing trend going. Dak Prescott a top 10 quarterback against Green Bay. So this is the other side of the Amari question, only we skipped, we skipped one number to talk about Zach Ertz for a second. Zach dak Prescott top 10 Green Bay buy or sell.

[Jason Moore]

You know, ironically three out of the four weeks he has been top 10. Even though Amari Cooper three out of the four weeks has not been top 10. I think it's a little bit easier for him. He's got the rushing baseline. That being said, I believe Green Bay is a good defense. Tyron Smith not being there at left tackle is going to hurt Michael Gallup trending towards not playing still. So I'm going to sell.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I have him ranked currently right on that fringe where it would be easy for him to get knocked out by the outliers. So I'm going to sell as well.

[Andy Holloway]

Last week Carson Wentz in Green bay finished at 10 on the dot and.

[Mike Wright]

He was gifted a lot of things to finish at number 10.

[Jason Moore]

Carson Wentz has not finished outside the top 10 a single week so far this year.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to buy Dak at the back end of the top 10. So that was by yourself from Pristine Auction. You heard it at the top. Check them out for autograph sports memorabilia. Your favorite player, your favorite team, all sorts of stuff. Great for gifts, great surprise gifts. Autographed authentic memorabilia. Use the registration code Ballers. A couple reminders for you. Head to the website thefantasyfootballers.com for weekly in season articles. We have a number of new articles up there, a Target Report article, a Dynasty Report article. So definitely check that out and then go to footclangiveaway.com if you want to enter to win a signed Saquon Barkley jersey that we're giving away. I believe the deadline's going to be the end of October, so you have some time to [e-mail] let's go ahead and get into the news.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league presented by Sleeper.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, as expected, John Ross, the shoulder injury. He is going to miss multiple games. Expected he's expected to miss multiple games.

[Mike Wright]

The verbiage has still been expected. I have not seen it upgraded to a confirmed he's missing multiple games.

[Jason Moore]

My understanding of the shoulder injury is that he broke the glass that is his body. Boo Boo.

[Andy Holloway]

Just a pretty quick turn for a man who traded Mark Andrews for him in the Dynasty League.

[Jason Moore]

Well look so Dynasty League. He's got a long future. He'll play half of his games going forward.

[Andy Holloway]

So you'd buy a glass player.

[Mike Wright]

He's a glass dynasty.

[Andy Holloway]

So like in a long term situation.

[Jason Moore]

In fairness, when we made that trade, that was not this season. While either one of these guys broke out, that was last year when they were both hopeful players.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure, sure. Steelers head coach Mike Tollen says James Conner is still being evaluated. He'll be limited this week. That will dictate his availability against the Baltimore Ravens. Hopefully. And I guess I saw a lot of people on Twitter already do this. I think it was helpful yesterday to give people the target of Kerryon Johnson in the bye week for Tre as a trade target for sell high type of players. I saw a lot of people take advantage of that. Connor could be limited in the game. If he plays, he could also miss the game. And that would turn Jalen Samuels into an absolute must. Must start.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And so we will let you know what's going on with Connor. I think this is the second time this season that we've dealt with kind of him being banged up.

[Mike Wright]

It was his knee, I believe, the first time.

[Andy Holloway]

There's a lot. A lot of issues there. And coming off of the nice game, if I could unload that big name, I would. Eagles wide receiver to Sean Jackson, as we said, remain sidelined. We'll keep you up to date over the course of the week. It's not been suggested that he's playing this week. Sam Darnold will practice today.

[Jason Moore]

That's good. That's good news. It still does not mean he's going to play this week. They can practice with him and not hit him. It's a matter of the spleen.

[Andy Holloway]

It always is. It always is. Tyrell Williams did not practice today. Monitor that. Williams has been actually one of the more interesting, consistent performers at the wide receiver position.

[Mike Wright]

It's catching touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. But it's happening with, you know, often. So we'll see what happens. He's the wide receiver 14 on the year right now, but we'll keep you up to date with that. Gardner Minshew has emerged on the injury report with a knee problem. We'll see if he's limited. And then Vernon Davis was placed in the concussion protocol and is probably highly irrelevant for your fantasy team this week against New England with possibly Dwayne Haskins.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, goodness.

[Andy Holloway]

Who may actually be the first player in NFL history to take the snap from a seated position on the ground.

[Jason Moore]

Or just one knee? Like, one knee on the ground. And this is. He's giving himself up right?

[Mike Wright]

Immediately. Gruden. Look, man, we talked about this on. We know you're up against it. You can't do this to Dwayne. Don't play him also, can we. It's not fair.

[Jason Moore]

Can we go back a few seconds to talk about the verbiage of Gardner Minshew emerging onto the depth chart? Like, this is usually a really good. Like, Gardner Minshew has emerged. Victoria. Oh, no. Has emerged with a knee problem.

[Andy Holloway]

Like, I thought the language was very suspect as well. Jason. Yeah, I didn't write it, but if I did, your Ron Burgundy, it's just very. It made me have a mental picture of him climbing kind of out of.

[Jason Moore]

I want to start doing this. I want to be much more positive. You know what I mean, we talk about, like, oh, no, this confusing MRI came back positive, which means it's negative, but, like, it sounds better.

[Andy Holloway]

So I think what you meant is that you want to be way more confusing for people.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. We'll see what happens with Minshew. Minchu is in the top five in completion percentage right now.

[Mike Wright]

Minshew is playing very well, and for fantasy purposes, he's been very safe.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Drop it like it's hot. Reminder. That's where you is normally. Where.

[Jason Moore]

Drop it like it hot.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're paying attention, you would have been there. Drop it like it's hot. What does that mean, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

That means you. The waivers just ran. So you. You run to your waiver wire and see if someone made a foolish mistake and dropped a player that they should not have.

[Jason Moore]

They usually do.

[Mike Wright]

They usually do.

[Andy Holloway]

You are right in our league, which the waivers just ran. Jared Goff hit the waiver wire.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. It's fair.

[Jason Moore]

He's in Seattle.

[Andy Holloway]

Josh Allen, with the concussion in the bi week, hit the waiver wire. I'm sure Mike doesn't want these things.

[Mike Wright]

Announced, but I in fact, dropped Josh Allen, so I already knew that was going to happen.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Are you going to pick him up?

[Andy Holloway]

Drop it like crap.

[Mike Wright]

Somebody dropped Josh Allen.

[Jason Moore]

Drop it like it's hot.

[Andy Holloway]

Worked News and notes is always brought to you by the sleeper app. Don't miss a single piece of impactful fantasy news throughout the season. Download the free app today. Why don't we thank today's sponsors for their unbridled support of this podcast?

[Mike Wright]

We will do that. Hey, Foot Clan, Are you an Amazon prime member?

[Jason Moore]

Probably, yes, I am.

[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

Drumroll, please. Because we want to thank today's excellent sponsor I am talking about none other than Postmates. If you've listened to the Spitballers podcast ever, you've heard me talk about Postmates. What a central piece of my life Postmates is. Look, it's your personal food, grocery, whatever you can think of. Delivery service all year round, 24. 7. No more trips to the store, no more having to say, oh, I'm hungry, we don't have anything to eat. Boom. I got something to eat at my door, delivered wherever I want. And look, they're like, they're the biggest on demand network in the entire known Universe. More than 25,000 partner merchants. And if we could be a partner merchant, if we had anything to deliver, I would sign up and make it 25,001. But here's the coolest part. For a limited time, Postmates is giving our listeners $100 of free delivery credit for your first seven days. To start your free deliveries, download the app right now and use the Code Footballers. That's code footballers for $100 of free delivery credit in your first seven days when you download the Postbates app, Get anything you need, anytime you need it. Download Postbates and save with Code Footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's a funny story about Amazon prime that these guys like to troll me on. We don't live very far from one another.

[Jason Moore]

Well, not Amazon prime, but Prime Now.

[Andy Holloway]

Prime Now. We're all prime members and I've been for years. And before I moved into this house, like, prime now is also a regular part of my life and our homes.

[Jason Moore]

Are very close, like.

[Andy Holloway]

Like across the street.

[Jason Moore]

They are so close, you could actually make it with a drone flight.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you're exactly right, Jason. Thank you. That's 100% right. However, I'm in a different zip code despite being directly across the street. And my zip code is basically the bottom of a massive stretch of land north. And so prime now doesn't come to me.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think your zip code is the Grand Canyon.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Yeah. So these guys have frequently had certain pizza shops and prime now all delivered to them, but they won't deliver across the street. And then I'm in the boonies across the street. That's right. All right, today we have some Snap Count data we're going to look at. Got some mailbag. We have a Thursday night preview. Kick it off.

[Jason Moore]

Make it snappy.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Snap Count Watch. There's an article on the website. Week four, Snap Count observations. You can read. You can check it out. The fantasy footballers.com put that out every week. Yeah, but you're four weeks in. This is a good time to take a little look, ski, take a gander at some of the interesting situations around the NFL and what's happening at important positions in terms of trends at, you know, among, you know, in the NFL. There's very few players anymore that are the Ezekiel Elliott. Right. You have a lot of situations where people are sharing time, committee backfields. What do you do with Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber? What do you do with, you know, Matt Breida and Raheem Moser? So let's look at the 49ers to start out with and how things have broken down because the 49ers, they're off coming off the by. They have Cleveland, the Rams, Washington coming up. They have the most fantasy points per game scored from the running back position. They've had the most opportunities per game at the running back position, the third most rushing yards. They're averaging 170 rushing yards per game.

[Jason Moore]

Now, real quick, the third most rushing yards. That's amazing. Keep in mind they've only played three games, everyone else has played four, and they're still the third most rushing yards.

[Andy Holloway]

It's ridiculous. And this is Kyle Shanahan and what he's able to do. Now, you don't ideally want to talk about four different names when you're talking about a backfield.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Committee backs, yada, yada. You might share some time talking about Matt Breida, Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson and now Tevin Coleman potentially coming back. That is difficult. And so when you look at what's taken place so far, obviously Tevin Coleman in Week 1, he was banged up in Week 1. Matt Burrida had 44% of the snaps, Mostert had 29%. Coleman had 26% but went out with an injury. So you look at the two weeks after, Breida was at 29%, whereas Mostert was at 47% in week two. And then Breida was at 41% in week three against Pittsburgh, Mostert was at 30%. Now, Jeff Wilson still tied for second in red zone rushing attempts and he's only played in two of the four games. So we know there is.

[Mike Wright]

Dude's got four rushing touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. There's a propensity for Shanahan to go to the running back in the red zone. Now, we don't know if that's going to be Tevin Coleman when he comes back.

[Jason Moore]

I believe it will be. We don't know. You're 100% correct. Shanahan could do whatever, but I My belief, based on what we've heard from trusted writers out of San Francisco, what we've seen with Jeff Wilson, who was not even active on the roster prior to Tevin Coleman going down. I believe Tevin Coleman is going to be that goal line back which the role, according to my name is Jeff seems very valuable. I tried to make some trades for Tevin Coleman this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, the Tevin Coleman play makes a lot of sense because even if he isn't handed that role or he splits that role, we know his involvement in the offense is going to be vastly different than that of Jeff Wilson Jr. For me, it's.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, you're delving into rational coaching once again, which is a very tumultuous place to be. But the fact that that role, the goal line role, was given to Jeff Wilson, who was not even active for the team week one, like they said, okay, this is your job. Well, you have these two running backs who were already there in Burrito and Mostert and you chose not to give them that role. I mean, that to me speaks that Tevin Coleman would be the one to get it back. Unless they're go full wacky and play for running backs.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And if you want to look at it from a different perspective, I would simply say that you want to. You know, Matt Breed has had issues with injuries and there's certainly a certain amount of touches and workload they want to give him. Without Tevin Coleman. They knew that Breida Mostert were going to carry the load. Breeda mostly between the tackles. So there could be the narrative that, look, now you can spread it around and we don't know for sure, but I like the bet on Tevin Coleman. The 49ers do run two running back sets 36% of the time. The league average is 9%. So they have a couple guys out there frequently they give their running backs more touches than just about anybody in football. Now, as of right now, you, who do you have confidence starting this week? This week Cleveland has been pretty good against the running back. They're ranked 10th in the league. I was looking at them when I was looking at some start of the week options at quarterback this week, saying, hey, what's going to happen in San Francisco? But you're coming off the bye week. Jason, what were you going to say this week?

[Jason Moore]

I think I am 100% fine starting Mostert and Breeda.

[Mike Wright]

Those are the two that I'm assuming that Coleman is. Is this Coleman's inactive?

[Jason Moore]

I am saying I'm fine starting them either way. Because I truly believe that either way they will be involved. It's rare to want to be okay with three backs on a team. And by rare, I mean this is the only situation that exists like it. But if you, over the last several weeks started any one of the three backs, including Jeff Wilson, you've been fine. You've been really well. Kyle Shanahan's system, it works for running backs.

[Andy Holloway]

You've been very well.

[Mike Wright]

Quite well.

[Andy Holloway]

Quite well indeed.

[Mike Wright]

So. And just a reminder, Tevin Coleman, he had that the high ankle sprain was given an evaluation of four to six weeks. So if he's back now, that's him doing healing quite well.

[Andy Holloway]

So how do you treat these players, though, when it comes to trade value? I don't think Coleman plays this week, so I don't even know. Regardless of whether he plays or not, though, how do you view it might be easy for people to want to run and trade Matt Breida or Mostert? Mostert, especially on the basis that, look, his time is running out. Is that a mistake to trade Mostert?

[Mike Wright]

No. If you can trade him for a start of a player, I would do that. He, like Mostert's out there available on people's waiver wires as well.

[Andy Holloway]

It should be interesting with. I think Coleman's going to miss a little bit more time. But do you guys hear the. You guys hear the rumors, the Emmanuel Sanders rumors?

[Mike Wright]

No. Do tell.

[Andy Holloway]

There's been some rumors about San Francisco's interest in acquiring Emmanuel Sanders. And with the Broncos being at.04 now, Emmanuel Sanders and Chris Harris Jr. Both potentially on the trade block as they look to rebuild the team.

[Mike Wright]

So interesting.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, there's an interest there from Shanahan. Shanahan like Sanders. I don't know what that would mean for Sanders. I imagine it's worse. That's the way I kind of envisioned it.

[Mike Wright]

Sanders is just great. So I think he'll be. I think it will be okay. The Shanahan system can put up some pretty prolific passing numbers as well if they have the weapons and my dynasty shares of Dejeun. Hamilton Smile @ the thought of this happening.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know how much you buy into the rumors. I mean, this was speculation based on some people around the team, but it would make Cortland Sutton a very attractive trade target because he's already. Him and Sanders are both pretty much neck and neck on the season. And if. If it's Sutton and Hamilton now, we had that chance last year with no Emmanuel Sanders. It didn't come to fruition. But Sutton's look like a better player this year.

[Mike Wright]

Rookies.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

What better goes if rookie's gonna rook?

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, you always. You always say that, not me.

[Jason Moore]

If Tevin Coleman is out this week, which right now, it's a little early to tell, but it does seem like he's not ready to come back yet. If he's out, obviously, you could start breeding Mostert. What about Jeff Wilson?

[Andy Holloway]

No, I'm not going to do it.

[Jason Moore]

Not going to roll the dice.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not. I'm not. All right. What are things looking like in Denver at the running back position? You've got Lindsay and Freeman. It's been kind of a rough ride. You had a very strong week three for Philip Lindsey. He had 25 touches in week three, 56% of the snaps. But then week four, you know, Royce Freeman, 62% of the snapshot, Philip Lindsay, 45%, 10 touches to each guy.

[Jason Moore]

This is. If you look at the snap counts and you look at the trends, you realize there are no trends. There's not a trending up player or a trending down player. It's 50, 51 week it's 53, 47 Phil Lindsay. The next week it's 52, 48 Royce Freeman. The next week it's 56, 49 Philip Lindsay. The next week it's 45, 62 Royce Freeman. It's just. It's a 50, 50 split. And so. And you can't even make the argument of, well, I want Philip Lindsay because he's the goal line guy. He is. Well, I want Royce Freeman because he's the passing down guy. He is. They're more involved in those two roles. It's just a 50, 50 split of a bad offense. That makes it very difficult, makes it stupid, man. You're speaking fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

You're speaking from a very visceral Royce Freeman ownership perspective.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

I am also a man who flexed Royce Freeman last week.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, I did.

[Andy Holloway]

So you would love to see clarity in production, and I don't think you're going to see either.

[Jason Moore]

No. Not until the only clarity that's going to come here is injury. Nobody is winning this job outright. They're both playing very well. I believe that. You know, the eyeball test, they. They're doing their job. I don't see why the coach would change what he's doing. But if an injury happened to either, then you've got value here.

[Andy Holloway]

If you look at it on the course of the season, you've pretty much been happy playing them once each over the course of four weeks.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

And you know, Lindsey had the monstrous game against Green Bay, but you drafted him to be something. And then, you know, finishing 31st, 30th and 42nd, that's not exactly the upside you need to help your team. Makes for a really tough situation. Are there trade options?

[Jason Moore]

Would you.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you look to move Philip Lindsay on the heels of last year's big. You know, you had the big game in Green Bay last year.

[Mike Wright]

He was. I don't think you can get anything from last year. Like we're. We're four weeks in that last year's equity is gone.

[Jason Moore]

You might be able to get something for Philip Lindsay this year. Well, here's a horrible running back, 15 on the season. Two weeks ago he was the running back three had a big blow up performance. And if I could, if I could get something valuable, I would.

[Andy Holloway]

So here's a real question that nobody thought could be a question. Would you trade Philip Lindsey for Ronald Jones? Because Ronald Jones has finished in the top 22 straight weeks. I've heard from multiple people out of Tampa Bay. We didn't have an official report on this, but multiple people contacted me around the team to let me know that in week two, the anomalous week two of Ronald Jones's disappearing act, that he and they were vehement. He came off the field with the toe injury. That's why he did not play in the rest of that game, which I believe there were some rumors right away in that game. Nobody came out and publicly stated anything. But if you take that game out, if he was hurt and that's why he didn't see the field because it wasn't like he saw the field and wasn't productive. 26th, 19th, 17th for Ronald Jones.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, Ronald Jones is absolutely trending way up. If you could trade Philip Lindsay for Jones, I would hope to get like a package. Like try and sneak an extra player.

[Andy Holloway]

From maybe an upgrade at wide receiver as well. Like you, you send a wide out and you get a better wide out back.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I would try and do that. Like formulated in a type of a package. But if it just has to be a one for one trade, I mean.

[Andy Holloway]

Is this a steady water situation where you try to move on the player that's turning the right direction and the running game obviously in Tampa is working.

[Jason Moore]

I would, I would personally still take Lindsay. We've seen the talent work, but I totally understand the argument. It looks like the volume is going to be more sure for Ronald Jones over Lindsey. But I'm Going to take the talent.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. All right, let's move on to what. What is going on in Oakland? Is this a product? Week one, we saw Josh Jacobs absolutely dominate. It was an impressive debut. 74% of the snaps at the running back position. You know, week two, week three, week four, it's not been the same for Josh Jacobs. Fantasy owners don't know what to do. They've got a Chicago matchup coming up and then a bi week. What do you do with Josh Jacobs right now?

[Jason Moore]

Well, it's really, really weird because so week one, he was a workhorse. 74% of snaps. The next closest was 16% from Jalen Richard. Then we talked about the illness that happened to Josh Jacobs. Got really sick, was not used less than 50% of the snap counts in week two, even fewer in week three. While the other two guys there. Jalen. Jalen Richard. Oh, my goodness. Jalen Richard was 31 and 49% snapshare. So last week I was pretty confident in Josh Jacobs getting back together now that he's passed the illness. And he was 54% of the snaps compared to 28 and 19% from a Shard and DeAndre Washington. But the weird thing was this is a game Oakland was winning. This is the perfect game script for the running back, and they didn't use him as much as we would hope.

[Mike Wright]

Well, yeah, his snaps were low. His usage was perfectly fine, though. 17 carries, almost 80 rushing yards, two receptions. The receiving game is where things are really lacking and it's the Raiders just overall, we're not seeing that type of production that we were hoping for for any of these running backs in the passing game. So Jacobs, he was only there for 54% but he was on the field. He was getting used. Jacobs is a full hold for me or even a buy. I would, I would not be trying to sell off Josh Jacobs. I think that things are trending up.

[Andy Holloway]

For him and I would, I would actually wait a week for the. And I mean, that's two different ways of Chicago. You got the Chicago matchup that saw Dalvin Cook get stifled for the majority of that game. I don't think Jacobs is going to be on the field as much if they're playing from behind in this one. I think you wait for his bye week when nobody wants him and then you buy him on the buy.

[Mike Wright]

Mike, I don't mind that. The, the. The one problem with. With that is I got the matchup is terrible against Chicago. And there are arguments that can be made about Chicago's quarterback. Are they did they make a lateral move moving from Trubisky to Daniel or did it get worse? Just saying that there is a situation where Jacobs just stumbles his way to a couple touchdowns. The yard per carry is not great, but he ends up with an okay fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

I will say this. I watched the film on him this week. He looked great to me in that work. He wasn't as productive as week one, but he did have the highest snap count since week one. And to me he looked like the best running back by far, the one we know him to be. So maybe it is a buy opportunity for Jacobs, but you got to be a team that can withstand a Chicago week and a by week in any sort of trade. So that would be what I'm looking at. All right, let's take a look at the New England backfield. Now. You might have to hold your eyes open.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to have to hold my food down.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not good. So this last week against Buffalo, James White was on the field 52% of the time. Sony Michelle, 45% Rex Burkett, 18%. In the previous weeks, I mean, week three, Burkhead was 74% of the time. Now James White was out of that game. So that kind of disturbs the balance. If you look at week one and two, you might see a little bit more of what this team's actually looking.

[Jason Moore]

To do, which is gross.

[Andy Holloway]

Week two against Miami, 49% Michelle, 31% White, 24% Burkhead. That's about how I see the backfield.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I agree. I mean, you could argue that week one, 33% Sony 47% James White 46% Rex Burkhead. I mean, you're going to be between week one and week two, which is basically a very three way split backfield. Now they have the fifth most rushing attempts as a team and the second most running back receptions. Thank you, James White. So the volume is there, but you're splitting this three ways, you know, because you expect the Patriots to score a lot of points. They've got the easiest schedule in the known universe. I would say that you can start all three of them, but you have to like close your eyes when you click Submit lineup.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, would you rather have David Montgomery or Sonny Michelle rest of season?

[Mike Wright]

Wow. As you think about that, I think it's David Montgomery.

[Andy Holloway]

David Montgomery. The last four weeks has an actual trend in snap count. 38%, 44%, 67%, 69%, 24 touches this past week against Minnesota. Now, it was tough sledding Against Minnesota, because it's Minnesota. But, but Mike Davis has seen four touches over the last three weeks total. He has been worked out of that rotation. They came out against Minnesota. They used Tariq Cohen extensively in the beginning of that game. Seemed like the scripted portion, right? Tariq Cohen's real big on the scripted portion.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Each and every week. But over the back half of that game, it was a lot of David Montgomery.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Montgomery's opportunity is going up. Sony Michelle, at the end of the year, he will be a very interesting player to. When we run our truth series all of January, we break down the truth of these fantasy players, how they actually got there, because all of us fall victim to looking at end of season statistics, end of season rankings. And Sony Michelle, I believe by the end he'll, he'll look just fine and.

[Jason Moore]

He'Ll be, he'll have a thousand yards, a Ted touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

He'll look like running back 18 or something. And you got to be reminded, how did he actually get there? And I would prefer David Montgomery's path where I know that the work is going to happen on a week basis, instead of Sony Michelle, where I'm just crossing my fingers hoping that the touchdown comes.

[Andy Holloway]

Should Tariq Cohen be owned 39% of snaps, 7 touches, 8 touches, 6 touches, 6 touches, 7 touches on a bench.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, but much like the way that Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman should be on people's benches, because if a, if the situation breaks in a, in the right way for a player, like if someone's going to miss time, if David Montgomery misses time, then Tariq Cohen's touches are going to go way up.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. But I will say this. I had Tariq Coed. I've dropped him already, moved on, needed to make some roster moves. I totally get. He's worthy to be on a bench if you've got that luxury. But the difference between him and Philip Lindsay or Roy streaming, if you look at their touches, both of those guys have had double digit touches every single week, all the way up to 25 touches, 19 touches. Whereas you're getting six touches a game. And yes, Tariq Cohen is getting his. In the passing game. He's a more electric per touch player, but it's hard to bank on a guy getting a few touches a game without a quality, competent quarterback that's moving the ball. And with a defense that says that's just fine.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, what about the Eagles backfield situation in weeks one and two, Miles Sanders was at 48%, 43% of the SNAP percentage in weeks three and four, 34%, 35%.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Fumbling will do that.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And you've seen Jordan Howard obviously really effective against Green Bay. 53% of the snaps, 18 touches scored 3 times total touchdown wise. We haven't seen Darren Sprouls really touching the ball. He's out there frequently but he wasn't in week four. And so I think we can be a little bit encouraged if the trend is towards these two guys. But who do you want rest of season? And how do you see Miles Sanders situation playing out? Because he's the more explosive player but he seems to be the less trusted player.

[Mike Wright]

Well, Howard Howard's good. Like Howard is an excellent grinder at the running back position and that sometimes that's what your team needs. Like last week it worked out perfectly for Howard had a few people hit, hit the T. The, the Twitter mention saying you guys didn't really talk about Jordan Howard as a pickup. What should I do? And I was like, yeah, you can pick him up but I feel like if you're picking Howard up to play him, you are just chasing those points of last week. He, he has overproduced immensely in the touchdown category. Padded by that multi touchdown game he just had against Green Bay. He's in okay play every week. Between him and Miles Sanders though, that's where the conversation gets much more difficult because I want to stash Miles Sanders for the unknown upside if he actually starts getting the work. But on a weekly play, Jordan Howard probably is the better play, the better eagle because he's getting the goal line carries.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you've got a rookie who's talented but troublesome, has cost them some, you know, drives with fumbling. And then you have Jordan Howard who has been keeping drives alive, scoring touchdowns, being efficient, being a quality vet. And this is good. If no matter how great either one of these players play, I think we can, I think we could be confident that Doug Peterson is going to use a committee that none of these guys, if Miles Sanders was just the most amazing talent, he's still going to be in a committee. And if that's the case, I want Jordan Howard who's the clear when they get in the red zone, they bring him in, they move the chains, they score touchdowns. I want the touchdown upside in fantasy. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I lean the Miles Sanders direction out, touching Howard three or four weeks and like Mike said, I mean you take it for what you will. Jordan Howard, I think he scored four times on the year.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

J.J. zachary Sin came out and he was talking about, you know, there's there's metrics that number fire presents that show the average touchdowns to the opportunity and you know Howard should be in the like one one and a half touchdown range and he's got four on the season so he's overproduced in that part of it.

[Mike Wright]

The, the, the Eagles were gifted a lot of things in that game against Green Bay. They were for positive offensive things that happen.

[Andy Holloway]

But I think at the end of the day, I mean Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard or Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, I mean which combination of running backs do you want?

[Jason Moore]

I would rather have the Eagles because I expect the Eagles offense, especially when Deshaun Jackson gets back, to be a much more prolific, higher scoring team.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, one wide receiver snap count breakdown before we get into some mailbag, maybe get into the we will get into the Thursday night preview but you guys want to look at this Jacksonville wide receiver core?

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you believe in DJ Chark moving forward?

[Mike Wright]

I do.

[Andy Holloway]

70. He's been around the mid-70s snap counts. Dede saw his snap percentage drop in Week 4 against Denver, but target wise it seems like Westbrook and Shark are the only two that you're really interested in. And you buy Shark season long.

[Mike Wright]

I'm buying him. He was a second round pick. He was, he was the forgotten second round pick because he's in Jacksonville where you you didn't love the passing volume. Projecting them into this season was it was difficult to give a rosy outlook to anyone but Dede Westbrook because of what the team has been in the past where you get infected by Blake Bortles and his ineffective passing attempts, the fact that they want to be a team led by Leonard Fournette. So it was hard to really buy into DJ Chark taking that next step. But to me he has been. He's that second round pick. He's crazy fast. We have seen the trend of speed killing in the NFL just over and over and over.

[Andy Holloway]

Touchdown call back.

[Mike Wright]

He yes, he would have had a touchdown every single week had it not been for one of the penalty. That could have been the flag could have been left in the pocket on this particular play. I'm in. DJ Chark.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's put that to the test because I got some interesting names and I'm reading through these and saying who would I rather have DJ Shark or Marvin Jones? Marvin Jones has had one of four weeks where you've really been happy about it. Sterling Shepherd, Jarvis Landry. Where do you put Shark in that group? Shepard is going to have Golden Tate coming, got the rookie I would rather.

[Mike Wright]

Have Chark over Shepard.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, I was. And that was the one I was really curious about for you, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

I.

[Jason Moore]

Is that because of Golden Tate? Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. The return of Golden Tate, like Shepard was. It was nice getting those. Those freebie weeks in there. But let's see. I mean, you can say even the same thing for Evan Ingram. I still think Anger will be the number one guy on the team, but what happens? Like, does he take the dip in targets? Man, I think I would take Chark overall, three over all of those guys.

[Andy Holloway]

He does seem to be emerging. Not on the injury report.

[Jason Moore]

I would take him over Jarvis Landry. Landry had the monster huge week this week, but prior to that, he hadn't been in the top 40 at the position. He's, you know, hard to trust.

[Mike Wright]

So, like the upcoming schedule for DJ Chark against Carolina. Don't love it for DJ Chark. I'm still willing to play him, but then he gets New Orleans at home and then he gets the Bengals. I mean, you have two plus matchups as based on fantasy points allowed right now coming up for dj.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Adam Thielen.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, gosh. Wait, are you.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm more trolling on that one.

[Jason Moore]

I was like, that's not a real question.

[Andy Holloway]

No, but the reason the name is there is because Adam Thielen is worse on the season than every name that I mentioned ahead of you. So whether it's Sterling Shepherd, Marvin Jones, Jarvis Landry, or DJ Chark, honestly, this poor Adam Thielen is down there in the.

[Mike Wright]

This part of the category is. It becomes incredibly difficult to make that decision. Yes. Like, you're talking about where DJ Chark is emerging as a fantasy player. And by next year, you could look back and say, well, of course DJ Chark is a. He's a great fantasy pick. We're going to draft him in the. In the fourth or fifth round. Meanwhile, these players that have. They still are holding on to their name value, and that's what you're. You're grasping onto. That's your teddy bear keeping you warm at night. Meanwhile, you. You got to stay water and realize that players emerge in fantasy every single year and you look stupid until you don't by buying into the player who's breaking out.

[Andy Holloway]

I. Yeah, that's absolutely right. And there are certain players that you are kind of. You're handcuffed and you have to stick with the Hopkins.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah, I'm not talking about those guys.

[Andy Holloway]

But when you get into that middle tier and you're starting to be frustrated week in and week out. It's very hard. It's hard to pivot, but it's hard to stay. It's hard to keep throwing a player out there over and over again like a player.

[Mike Wright]

So for. For Thielen, I get it. I'm staying with Thielen. But go to his counterpart, Stefan Diggs. You want Stefan Diggs for the rest of the year? You want DJ Chark?

[Jason Moore]

I don't want that question. That's what I don't want.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly.

[Andy Holloway]

I didn't want it either.

[Jason Moore]

Thursday night breakdown.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, the 31 Rams take on the 3 and 1 Seahawks. The game's up in century length. The Seahawks are one and a half point favorites at home, 49 point over under last year. Both of the Rams Seahawks games went way over their Vegas line. And the 49 points. That's a nice line to begin with. We saw Jared Goff throw the ball 68 times last week. We saw a very efficient performance from Russell Wilson, but they didn't need him very much in Arizona on the year. Wilson has been great so far, so good. On the fantasy production for Russell Wilson, he ranks 10th in passing yards per game, which is up from his career average. He's got a career best 72.9% completion percentage. And then you've had Jared Goff be extremely. I think. I think the consensus that I've heard from national media and from my eyeballs is that this isn't quite the same team that we saw last year. I mean, it's just they're not throwing the, you know, Gurley's not Gurley, Goff's not golf. Woods up until last week hasn't been Woods. They're winning games and they were right on the precipice of winning against Tampa, obviously. But them losing that game at home against Tampa shows you that they're not quite what they were last season.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I was going to say last year, both of these games hit the over because the Seahawks can do whatever it takes to win if they're down, if they need to score a lot, they can. They have Russell Wilson now what they want to do. But the Rams last year were scoring on anybody and everybody the last two years. That's not the Rams we've seen so far this season. Would I. I don't know that I would take the over here. In fact, I'm a little worried about Jared Goff. He. He has not been great. We've talked a lot about the home road splits. Now he's on the road in one.

[Mike Wright]

Of the worst places to play.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. The 12th man is real there in Seattle. So this is one of those, like, I'll be honest, and this is gross. I apologize to both of you first and the Foot Clan for even speaking this out loud, but I have Jared Goff, and I am contemplating whether I'm starting him or Andy Dalton.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Live in the stream. Bathe in its refreshing waters.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So I have not come to a decision, but I need to obviously. Wait.

[Mike Wright]

What league is this?

[Jason Moore]

That's a league, you know.

[Andy Holloway]

It's a league, you know, and love Jason. I could.

[Mike Wright]

I could take the 30 seconds and go research it, but just.

[Andy Holloway]

I know it's not League of Records.

[Jason Moore]

I believe this is the listener league.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, so hold. Is Jacoby out there?

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, okay.

[Andy Holloway]

You. Yesterday, you blew my mind talking about Andy Dalton on the show as your streamer of the week. Today, you're blowing my mind. Today you're blowing my mind. With the Dalton over golf, I will still Trust in McVeigh, Goff Cup, Woods, Cooks, Gurley over Dalton. Odentate, Tyler Boyd, Tyler Eiford.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. No, I completely agree. And the fact that John Ross. But this is your team hurts big time. I mean, this was a decision that I had. I had picked up Dalton last week for this. Now, Dalton had a horrific Monday Night Football. Golf through the ball more so it probably will be golf, but that's the world we're living in here.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, these two teams defensively, what are you expecting them to do with Gurley and Chris Carson? Carson last week, you know, he's averaging 20.5 opportunities per game. He got charted with 21 broken or missed tackles in the game.

[Jason Moore]

Cardinals will do that to you.

[Andy Holloway]

That's an unprecedented amount. And we were there. We saw Chris Carson consistently gain an extra yard. 2, 5, 11. And he looked great. But Rashad Penny is supposed to be active and available in this game.

[Mike Wright]

This is going to be extremely interesting. If I have Chris Carson, I am playing him with full confidence. However, like this storybook that's playing out for Chris Carson is going to be fascinating because he was losing work, losing, potentially losing his job to Rashad Penny because of the fumbling, Penny misses the game to Chris Carson's favor and Carson delivers against a bad defense. So it was that enough for Pete Carroll to call to fall back and pull things back on, trying to force Rashad Penny out there a bit more?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you'd see more of week one and two and the Rams are giving up 23 and a half fancy points per game to the running Back position, which is 25th in the league. So you have to start Carson 100%.

[Mike Wright]

I'm playing it, but I'm saying what to watch for is what do those snap counts for Penny actually look like? Because there was. There was a lot of pro size in the red zone and on the goal line garbage.

[Jason Moore]

He got a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Was that his only touch of the game?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, no, no, no. He was unfortunately getting the ball.

[Mike Wright]

He got three touches.

[Jason Moore]

Three. See, was not his only touch.

[Andy Holloway]

Such conviction.

[Jason Moore]

I was right. I remember him out there.

[Andy Holloway]

You, you, you're the rightest. Carson. We're playing him. Gurley, we're playing him. Through four weeks, the Rams have the fewest running back receptions in the league despite Gurley seven receptions this past week. And I don't think those seven receptions were a product of the normal game plan as much as being down 45 to 40 at one point in the game.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

And playing catch up frequently. They were down three scores in that game. So that's a problem for Gurley's long term value. Carson or Gurley, rest of season.

[Mike Wright]

You're a terrible person.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, man, that's why they pay us the middle bucks. Come on.

[Jason Moore]

I think at this point you got to go, Chris Carson, there's still that hope and that dream. I mean, if you watch the press conference with Gurley after the game, he's pissed. He is not happy with his utilization. Yeah, he's.

[Andy Holloway]

So why'd you choose Carson then?

[Jason Moore]

I went with Carson because no matter what we dream, that's going to change. It does not seem like Todd Gurley is going to be the centerpiece of the offense. We can want it all. We do. Todd Gurley is pouting about it and he's still not being the centerpiece of the offense. I hope as a girly owner in our dynasty league that he starts getting the ball 25 times a game. But I just don't see why would that happen like it would have happened already.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, it could happen because they don't look very good and they just lost. Putting the ball in Jared Goff's hand 68 times did not result in a victory.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, they needed more, right? 68 wasn't enough, right? McVeigh, go up.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Let's start 75.

[Andy Holloway]

It is interesting. Rushing yards per game. Obviously we. The narrative has been the Seahawks. That's how you win the football game for Seattle. But that's not been the case this year. I mean, Russell Wilson's yards per game has been much higher than his career average. And the rushing yards per game for Seattle is in the bottom half through four weeks. So part of what made Carson extremely attractive is the thought that despite 55, 60% of snaps, this is a team that runs more than everybody in football by a wide, wide margin. I think they'd love to get back to doing that. It hasn't part of fruition yet.

[Mike Wright]

Part of the narrative was that their defense was going to be able to figure it out, and thus far they have not.

[Andy Holloway]

But they didn't figure it out last year, right? I mean, they didn't figure it out last year and they still ran the ball.

[Mike Wright]

They were, they were better than they are this year.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, well, Arizona helped them.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

From a season long statistical standpoint, Tyler Lockett, you're playing Cup Woods Cooks, you're playing.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

DK Metcalf, are you interested in him as a flex play?

[Jason Moore]

Not really, but it does make sense. He's being utilized around the goal line. His red zone usage is exactly what you hope for, but it hasn't been yielding the fantasy points. And so I would have a real hard time actually putting him in the lineup. You could say the process is right, but if he's not getting it done, he's not getting it done.

[Mike Wright]

The hard part is going back to the well. After a great match of four for DK Metcalf, he had four targets, but he had one reception for six yards. If you look at his actual usage, it's hey, hey, dk, run another nine route. So much like the earlier years of Tyler Lockett before he turned into the most efficient man in the world, like that's what it was. Okay, lock it, run deep. Sometimes you'll, sometimes you'll connect with Russell and that's what it's going to be for Metcalf. So he's, he's an okay nitro boost for your flex position, but you are, you are definitely gambling. But over 60 yards, three straight weeks to open the season before the dud.

[Andy Holloway]

Last week, he also has been targeted in the end zone the same amount of times that I believe Will Disley has been. Disley has like four touchdowns on the year DK Metcalf has won. So whether that's Metcalf's fault, not coming down with it, whether it's the way the ball bounced, which is often the case, you could see that balance out. It seems like they're turning to those two players. They're much bigger than Tyler Lockett and they represent a red zone weapon. He's an interesting guy to keep your eyes On, I think I leaned charcoal over Metcalf rest of season, but I sure like Metcalf being connected with Russell Wilson as opposed to what we will see, which is, you know, Gardner Minshew hand the ball off to Nick Foles at some point in time and still figure out whether it's the Foles Westbrook connection or the Foles chart connection or what that will be at the tight end position. Disley, he's a weekly play now. He's been great. Yeah, he does have that outperforming touchdown total number to his name and the statistical advantage of facing an Arizona Cardinals defense. But last week, 7 for 57 and a touchdown. Clearly Russell Wilson's looking to him. Would you rather have Will Disley or O.J. howard rest of season?

[Jason Moore]

Disney?

[Andy Holloway]

There was no hesitation.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. O.J. howard is one of the people I'm most worried about in the league. The buccaneers put up 700 points last week and O.J. howard was not needed to do that. Whereas Disley week in, week out. It's not just the Cardinals. You know, he had five receptions, six receptions, seven receptions the last three weeks. Clearly eight receptions is coming.

[Mike Wright]

I mean it's to a lesser extent the, the tight end on the other side of the field, Gerald Everett, it, it's a very similar story where he.

[Andy Holloway]

Was a second targets last week.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Which is doubled his targets on the season because golf threw the ball 68 times. Everett was a second round pick. He was Sean McVeigh's first pick ever. And because the Rams did not have a first round pick and absolute, athletic, measurable destroyer.

[Jason Moore]

Mount Everest.

[Mike Wright]

Mount Everest.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Everett, or Everest, whatever you want to call him. But it's just, it's not, it's not happening because the scheme, Sean McVeigh's scheme does not need to utilize the tight end. And Coach Arians, his scheme does not utilize the tight end. And that's what we're seeing.

[Andy Holloway]

It will be interesting. Here's a fun fact from the game. Russell Wilson has never thrown for over 200 yards against a McVeigh led Rams team. And we know that the Rams have some pretty solid corners.

[Mike Wright]

I will. I'm taking that this is the week.

[Andy Holloway]

That he breaks that he breaks it. Okay. A reminder to take your Thursday Night football players out of the flex position. Put them in a positional spot on your team. In case you get updated injury news, you need to flex in a different position. It's just a quick reminder we give each and every week on the Wednesday show to remind you to give yourself a little flexibility in your life. Something I don't have. I can't. I can't come close to touching my toes.

[Mike Wright]

Who needs to do that?

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I'm saying. Based on my flexibility.

[Jason Moore]

So I just. That was an incredible stat, the not throwing 200 yards against McVeigh. So I went and I looked. I just wanted to vet it both last year and the year before. 198.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Both times. He's right there.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. That used to set your goals higher, Russell.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

It's got to go higher than 200. Hey, we want to thank the studio sponsor, Pristine Auction for sponsoring this podcast. Evan Ingram signed jersey yesterday. $58.97. Check them [e-mail] Use the code BALLERS Tomorrow starts of the week. We'll talk about some matchups. We'll get you updated with injuries, get you ready for week five.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter @the ffballers.