Championship Studs & Duds + Lucky Breaks, Owl Wins! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 12/30

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary: Championship Studs & Duds + Lucky Breaks, Owl Wins!

Release Date: December 30, 2024

The latest episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast dives deep into the thrilling conclusion of the fantasy football season, celebrating the champions, analyzing standout performances, dissecting the disappointments, and exploring the unexpected twists that defined the championship weekend. Hosted by the expert trio—Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright—the episode offers a comprehensive breakdown ideal for both seasoned fantasy managers and newcomers eager to understand the intricacies of a high-stakes fantasy football championship.

---

1. Championship Highlights and Congratulations

The episode kicks off with hearty congratulations to Al Borland, the first-time champion of the league. Jason Moore enthusiastically states at [03:05] "Genuine actual congratulations to Al Borland," acknowledging the luck and strategic depth that contributed to Al's victory. Despite being up by 60 points with Jameer Gibbs still in play, Al remains humble, as Mike Wright adds at [04:55], "There's some cumulation of Gibbs and Laporta points that is going to happen."

Jason emphasizes the role of luck in the championship, highlighting Al's ability to avoid catastrophic injuries and maintain a robust roster. "You've got to have a little bit of depth," Jason notes at [04:20], praising key players like Bijan Robinson, Kyron Jacobs, Jefferson Sutton, and Trey McBride for their consistent performances throughout the season.

---

2. Player Performances: Studs Making a Difference

The hosts celebrate several fantasy studs who significantly impacted their teams:

• Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield: At [26:52], Jason Moore lists "Joe Burrow, Baker Mayfield" as top performers, with Baker notably setting career highs and becoming a cornerstone for his fantasy team.

• Bucky Irving and Trey McBride: Bucky Irving is lauded for his versatility and breakout performance, described by Jason at [34:37], "Bucky Irving, that's done deal. Bucky Irving is good enough to where he's got a career and I'm confident." Trey McBride continues to impress with his receptions and touchdowns, making him a reliable option for fantasy managers.

• Brock Bowers: The rookie tight end is highlighted for his record-breaking performances, including "most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history as a rookie" at [43:53], positioning him as a formidable asset in fantasy lineups.

---

3. Duds and Disappointments

Despite the successes, the episode doesn't shy away from discussing the duds that haunted many fantasy teams:

• Jordan Love and Packers Offense: Mike Wright criticizes the Packers' offensive ineptitude, leading to poor fantasy outcomes. "The offense looks so bad and so inept, and the play calling was driving me crazy," he remarks at [49:28].

• James Conner and Injury Woes: Jason Moore shares his frustration with James Conner's early exit and inconsistent performance, stating at [15:23], "James Connors never played a full season. We wish he never had." Andy echoes this sentiment, highlighting the compounded issues when key running backs like Montgomery are lost to injuries.

• Terry McLaurin and Josh Downs: Both players are pointed out as underperformers, with Andy mentioning at [55:22], "If you're benching McLaurin in that game, I don't think."

---

4. Fantasy Football Insights and Advice

The hosts provide strategic advice for fantasy managers navigating the final stretch:

• Managing Luck and Injuries: Jason underscores the unpredictability of fantasy football, "there is always an aspect of luck involved," at [03:34]. He advises managers to account for potential injuries and game-day factors when setting lineups.

• Start/Sit Decisions: The discussion at [05:15] about whether to start Debo versus leveraging Gibbs and Laporta points offers valuable insights into optimizing lineup decisions based on player performance forecasts and matchup potentials.

• Depth and Flexibility: Emphasizing the importance of a deep roster, Jason advises having backup options ready to pivot in case of last-minute changes or injuries, ensuring managers can adapt swiftly to unforeseen circumstances.

---

5. Notable Moments and Quotes

Throughout the episode, memorable quotes and humorous exchanges add flavor to the discussion:

• Jason's Humor on Injuries: At [10:37], Jason quips, "If you are deceased, you do not receive the title," adding levity to the serious topic of managing injured players.

• Andy and Mike's Banter: The playful rivalry between Andy and Mike is evident when Andy challenges Mike about his dynasty league standing at [13:07], leading to a humorous exchange about championship pride and league dynamics.

• Strategic Insights with a Twist: Jason's detailed analysis at [22:10]—"You got $100 million in the bank. You can pay $40 million to be a starting quarterback in the NFL for a career and still have $60 million,"—illustrates the depth of strategic thinking required in fantasy management.

---

6. League and Player News

The hosts keep listeners updated on relevant NFL news affecting fantasy outcomes:

• Injuries and Player Status: Key updates include Chuba Hubbard's calf injury and his placement on IR, as well as Chase Brown's unfortunate injury during a critical game, impacting team strategies and player availability ([18:14], [20:35]).

• Team Performances and Scenarios: The discussion around the Detroit Lions and their final game to clinch the top seed highlights the importance of team motivation and performance under pressure, with Dan Campbell's aggressive coaching style underlined at [06:23].

• Rookie and Emerging Players: Highlights on rookie performances, especially Brock Bowers, and emerging stars like Jaden Daniels, emphasize the evolving landscape of fantasy football and the opportunities for significant points from newer players.

---

7. Upcoming Previews and Events

As the episode wraps up, the hosts tease upcoming content and engage with their community:

• Week 18 Preview: Plans for discussing Monday Night Football recaps, playoff scenarios, and team motivations are outlined at [56:53], ensuring listeners are prepared for the final fantasy football activities.

• Footy Awards and Merchandise: The introduction of Foot Clan title T-shirts and special offers from shopballers.com and FantasyChamps.com provides listeners with opportunities to celebrate their victories and invest in league memorabilia ([10:37], [27:00]).

• Community Engagement: Encouraging listeners to join their fantasy football club community at jointhefoot.com and follow them on Twitter fosters a sense of community and continuous engagement beyond the podcast ([61:38]).

---

Conclusion

The "Championship Studs & Duds + Lucky Breaks, Owl Wins!" episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast offers a thorough and entertaining analysis of the fantasy football season's culmination. From celebrating champions like Al Borland to scrutinizing the underperformers and providing strategic advice, the hosts deliver valuable insights backed by thorough analysis and engaging conversations. Notable player performances, unforeseen injuries, and last-minute game-day decisions are all dissected to equip fantasy managers with the knowledge to navigate their final matchups successfully.

Whether you're rejoicing in your championship win, reflecting on what could have been, or preparing for the off-season, this episode serves as an indispensable resource, blending expert analysis with the camaraderie and humor that define the Fantasy Footballers Podcast.

Notable Quotes:

• Jason Moore at [03:05]: "Genuine actual congratulations to Al Borland."
• Mike Wright at [05:03]: "It's all Debo."
• Jason Moore at [22:10]: "You got $100 million in the bank. You can pay $40 million to be a starting quarterback in the NFL for a career and still have $60 million."
• Mike Wright at [47:32]: "The most wonderful time of the year for getting in on all the hoops, football and hockey action at DraftKings Sportsbook."

---

For more insights and updates, join the Fantasy Footballers community at jointhefoot.com and follow them on Twitter @theFantasyFootballers.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

This episode is brought to you by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. Buying gifts for the holidays is overwhelming. But even if you have to unwrap another ugly sweater on Christmas morning, you could still get yourself something you know you'll enjoy. Get yourself the gift of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. It's only $49 right now and you'll be able to catch the last few weeks of the NFL regular season as your favorite teams race to the playoffs. So forget the candles and socks. Gift yourself NFL Sunday Ticket for the rest of the NFL season for only $49. Sign up [e-mail] fantasy footballers device and content restrictions apply to multi view local and national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday Ticket for out of market games excludes digital only games. This episode is brought to you by the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Celebrate the unexpected at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the most unique luxury resort and casino in the heart of the Strip. Discover a one of a kind restaurant collection, a vibrant mix of bars and lounges and three distinct pool experiences. From panoramic views on your private terrace to countless ways to be entertained, find a scene that suits your every mood and experience elevated luxury. Nothing is off the table and temptations around every corner. Reserve your stay now atcosmopolitan Las Vegas dot com. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome in Monday, December 30, the fantasy footballers Podcast.

[Andy Holloway]

Big breath, everybody.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome in.

[Andy Holloway]

There's a lot of celebrating going on right now. Yeah. There's a lot of crying going on right now.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And then there's where Mike is, which I'm sure a lot of you listening, you're there, which is you're sweating. You're just holding your breath for about 16 hours.

[Jason Moore]

I will lay it out for you. First of all, genuine actual congratulations to Al Borland.

[Mike Wright]

He will not accept it yet.

[Jason Moore]

He will not accept it. He's up by 60 points with Jameer Gibbs left. He has won the championship. The trophy's on his desk. But he will not accept it because he doesn't know how to feel right now. But I just think I just don't want to Jonathan Taylor this thing and drop the ball before I get into the end zone.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Okay.

[Jason Moore]

If you drop the ball before you get into the end zone, that will be really cool. I will not be repeating his champion, but I am happy that it's going to first time league of record champion with an extraordinary team who, you know, dodged. You know, when you talk about what it takes to win a championship, we heard from people all weekend long. There's a number of things that come into play this weekend. I think luck was a big part of it.

[Mike Wright]

Sometimes, always a factor.

[Jason Moore]

Sometimes you don't want to focus on the luck factor. But when weather and game day and weekend of injuries happen and you've got motivation factors for teams, you've got guys saying they're going to play through injuries. There is always an aspect of luck involved in fantasy football. Our job, our show, our purpose is to give you whatever percentage. Isn't luck the best possible advantage in that percentage? But, you know, this weekend we saw a lot of craziness going on. But I was thinking, you know, with your team, Al, and you know, top to bottom, very good roster. Knew that Trey McBride touchdown was coming. Knew it. Oh, yeah, knew it. But almost two of them. Doink.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

But also you avoided catastrophic injury. I mean, when you think about your roster top to bottom, whether, you know, you got Bijan and Kyron Jacobs, Jefferson Sutton and Jaden Daniels and Trey McBride, like those are guys that all stayed healthy for the most part this year. Jaden missed a game or something in between, but you've got to, you got to have a little bit of depth. And now Mike is going into Monday Night Football in our dynasty league. Looking man, looking for his own repeat situation is I believe he's up 47 points.

[Mike Wright]

47 points.

[Andy Holloway]

47.1.

[Mike Wright]

47.1. Thank you. Thank you. Facing, and I am up against Gibbs, Laporta and Debo. Tonight it's all Debo. It's half point.

[Jason Moore]

It's all Debo.

[Mike Wright]

I think I agree with that.

[Jason Moore]

There is some cumulation of Gibbs and Laporta points that is going to happen.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So to me, it's like I think Laporte and Gibbs are good for 30. That's what I think. They're good for it.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

But they can't both score in the same place.

[Mike Wright]

Does Debo cover the.

[Jason Moore]

Can Debo cover? Does Debo have a big game? Which there were a lot of people asking questions before championship weekend about Debo. I was on for like an hour answering start sits. Mike had Sunday live answering start sits. And, you know, a lot of people were saying, I need upside. This guy or Debo? I pick Debo a lot.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Not because he will do it, but because at least if you see the possible outcomes for the game tonight, Debo's got a shot at, you know, being the guy for a night.

[Mike Wright]

And what the, the complete unknown tonight is if you have not followed the, the trajectory of just the NFL. You've been just hyper focused on fantasy. The Detroit Lions tonight, the game is completely and totally meaningless. They. If they win, it's a. It's a morale boost. You keep your momentum. But if they lose, it doesn't like their seating doesn't change. Everything for the Lions is next week's. Are there the final game.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, the final game of seal.

[Mike Wright]

It's going to be amazing.

[Jason Moore]

A battle for the North.

[Mike Wright]

It's the. Yeah, it's the Lions Vikings. Winner gets the number one seed and a buy and a bye week.

[Andy Holloway]

Loser goes on the road to the.

[Mike Wright]

I think like. And so it's. What will the Lions do tonight? Look, Coach Campbell is very high t. Non stop nitro espressos. We're going to bite your kneecaps. All that stuff he has said. We're going in. We're everything. We're going to win this game on the west Coast. Now at halftime, what happens? I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

I think the scary thing or the nice thing, depending on what side you're on, right. Is that if the Lions do really, really well, right. They go out there and they put a beat down on the 49ers. They're not going to do it for as long they will take these players. And when they know that they've probably got the game in hand, I think they'll. I mean you can't risk Jameer Gibbs to an injury in a game that isn't going. You. Your goal here is Super Bowl. Now again, Dan Campbell's come out and said, we are going hard after this game. We're going to win this game. We're playing our guys. But I do think there comes a point near the fourth quarter where outcomes could make it. Make it a, you know, set these guys down.

[Jason Moore]

It's one thing that it's not like the 49ers are not a pushover victory. The game's in San Francisco. So it's. It's one of those things. It could stay competitive longer being the point. The other thing is, it's just weird because you are. You have a. Almost like a pre citra guy situation, right? Like you could if you're the Lions and it's all about next week. You could. You could sit all your starters, right. Like that would be the extreme on that side. You could sit them all so you can win a game. So you can sit them again. Right? Because you want the chance to have the bye week. It's tough. Like you said, Dan Campbell's a certain type of guy. You know, I doubt that they want to potentially lose this game, potentially lose next week, then have to go play on a two game losing streak too. So you can, you can unravel it any way that you want.

[Mike Wright]

I think the. To me, Gibbs is the biggest question mark because if like he, he could.

[Jason Moore]

Do enough and a half.

[Mike Wright]

Well, yeah, he could do enough and a half. But I'm saying, like if I'm the Detroit Lions, Jameer Gibbs is the guy that cannot lose. He cannot get hurt. Because if Gibbs goes down, your super bowl odds plummet where it's like even Amon Ross, a superstar wide receiver, I think that Gibbs is more important to the way that this offense functions.

[Andy Holloway]

It's the fact that you already lost Montgomery too.

[Mike Wright]

Like if you. Yeah, it compounds.

[Andy Holloway]

You can't lose both of your starting running backs when that's like the foundation and identity.

[Jason Moore]

The game is in Detroit next week for the division and it's going to be very, very fun. It will be also fun for you out there if you're not playing fantasy that week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Now we will be here for you because we are a year round show and unfortunately week 18 is part of the year, the calendar year. Now we joke about it, but we will be here. For those of you that have Week 18 title games, for those that don't know or are new to the show this season we shift to two main shows. A week after week 18, we still have our foot [e-mail] it's our community. We are here all off season. In fact, we started this show. Believe it or not, we basically started this show when the off season began because we knew that there were other people very thirsty and hungry for fantasy football talk in the off season. And it's a good time to reflect. We have a lot of fun and.

[Mike Wright]

Rookies free agency and it happens quick. It does.

[Andy Holloway]

Those footy awards.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah, the footies.

[Jason Moore]

You know what they say is stress lowers your immune system. Al, did you know that? I figured out. Did you know that when you. It's the cortisol, it suppresses your immune system. Are you.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll try not to talk too much. Okay.

[Jason Moore]

All right. By the way, if you are deceased, you do not receive the title.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

It posthumously returns to its former owner. I don't know if you knew that.

[Andy Holloway]

Don't die.

[Jason Moore]

I also try not to die. Hashtag don't die. If you have already won a title, congratulations. A couple of headlines for you today and tomorrow we have brand new Foot clan title T shirts. A couple different designs [e-mail] one is a more. I believe it was inspired by a one of the mid-90s Buffalo Bills title sweaters. Our designer, Andrew Schneider, got that taken care of. And then we have another design as well. Shopballers.com if you want Foot Clan title swag, you win. You want to. You want to pimp it out. I'm sure Al Borland will be wearing.

[Andy Holloway]

The hoodies, the mugs.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. He'll be spending money over there. And then if you need a trophy or a ring or a belt for your league, we do this every year. Partnering with FantasyChamps.com there is a very special free ring code exclusive to this show that you can use. It gives you a free championship ring if you buy a trophy or belt from the website. So if you go to fancychamps.com, put a trophy in your cart, add a ring of your choice, put in the code, free ring. You get the ring for free. And you can take lots of pictures with the ring and send them to your league mates. I mean, you got to swag it up.

[Andy Holloway]

If you won, you've got to make sure everyone knows.

[Jason Moore]

I got a picture yesterday on Twitter. It was from longtime fan of the show, Dustin. And he's got three Foot Clan rings on his fingers or three title rings.

[Andy Holloway]

Nice.

[Jason Moore]

He's smoking a cigar and he's got. He's got three and six years.

[Andy Holloway]

Let him know.

[Mike Wright]

Wow, that's quite a run.

[Jason Moore]

But he's doing it the right way, which is. Look, it's hard to let it go. I really wanted the repeat. I did, but.

[Andy Holloway]

And also can do bad news for the Foot Clan as well. You were. You were going after it in the listener league.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah. I got.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoops. You got laid over a lap.

[Jason Moore]

I got burrowed. Chase and Higgins.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So it is what it is, man. There's not going to be an extra spot open in the listener league. But I tried. I tried. I got there, and at this point, it was kind of our three major leagues. I got to semifinal title, title, and I'm gonna walk away with nothing. Which is how it goes sometimes.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you rather that, or would you rather be the champion of the family league like me?

[Jason Moore]

I think I'm happy. I think I'm content.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm gonna go to shop Ballers real quick. Swag out.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Yeah. You did defeat my wife.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep. After getting Mike's kid.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, after getting Mike's kid.

[Mike Wright]

Family, just.

[Jason Moore]

And it is the fine women.

[Mike Wright]

Jason, this is inappropriate.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you still Want that? You still want that shirt?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, you darn right I do.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

All right, well, it's Monday pun.

[Andy Holloway]

Go jail.

[Jason Moore]

It's Monday punday. We got your reactions from the weekend, and here you go. Starting with the good, why don't we let Mike start of the week, kick it off?

[Mike Wright]

Start of the week three again.

[Jason Moore]

I needed three. Chase for a shot. How about T winnings?

[Andy Holloway]

And Bo Namath?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, Bo Nicks has gotten it done.

[Mike Wright]

Or Trey McBow time.

[Jason Moore]

Or Hooray McBride.

[Andy Holloway]

Trey McWife.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. It's about time.

[Mike Wright]

He's your wife. Wee John Robinson.

[Jason Moore]

Jalen McMillions baby.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. You have elite neighbors indeed.

[Mike Wright]

Or there goes Joe Burrow. Oh, my gosh.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jason Moore]

He's really good at football. We did have some bad this week, and this wasn't the only bad. But, like, Jerome board.

[Andy Holloway]

That one hurt. Mike. Come on.

[Mike Wright]

Achan or Nay flowers or Terry McSnorin? Oh, brutal.

[Andy Holloway]

Jaden can't read.

[Mike Wright]

Aw, he's illiterate. James Conner. Oh, no.

[Jason Moore]

Or James con artist.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And Breeze. Hell. Oh, man.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. That's a simple one.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a life you're living.

[Jason Moore]

Con artist is right. I mean, I. It, you know, we said feels so bad. We said the joke. Not the joke, but we brought up the storyline. Like, James Connors never played a full season. We wish he never had. Like, we wish he didn't try to do that because his. He was so elite and then hurt, but still elite in that game. But this is the one that killed you. And I went down to the wire on the Connor McMillan start sit decision. I was Connor McMillan and Worthy. I end up going McMillan that night. It ends up being the right call and yet irrelevant.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, McMillan was great. James Conner, it was really tough because it was right off the bat, he had four carries, got a little banged up, and then wasn't allowed to return to the game. Stayed on the sideline with the helmet on. Every time they'd show him on the sideline, you're like, oh, he's. He's ready to come back in. But it was. It was kind of like a con artist type of situation where you got hoodwinked and you thought you were good start him, hopefully, you know, like. Like Andy did. You did pivot to someone else. But I know a lot of people that, you know, Connor was in, they were going to play him. He was so hot. You know, he's the running back 7. The running back 1, the running back 6. Very hard to just bench someone like that because they might Re aggravate an injury which unfortunately did happen.

[Jason Moore]

Yep, yep, yep. And there were lots of those situations this weekend that were tough and you know you can overcome it. I've seen the. I've seen the tweets.

[Andy Holloway]

You know what, you know who you can't overcome? Like I think the one player through the playoffs that you couldn't. You could only overcome so much which Andy you did in three leagues. You overcame Cooper Cup.

[Jason Moore]

He was devastating you.

[Andy Holloway]

You did it in the playoffs, but it was every single week in the playoffs just so.

[Jason Moore]

And it came to bizarre. It came to bear in the listener league title game obviously. And if you want to change the. I think you just watched the retirement ceremony.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean it's.

[Jason Moore]

I think you watched the final moments.

[Andy Holloway]

It's crazy. The last three weeks, the playoff weeks, 0 for 0, 3 for 24, 1 for 29 and that.

[Mike Wright]

But like there was a 5 for 92 right before that.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, his pace with a touchdown. His pace on the season before those three.

[Jason Moore]

Talk about the division winning LA Rams.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that's right. Your bold prediction. It took quite the path to get there.

[Mike Wright]

The insanity of the tiebreaker they had to go down to what strength of victory. And then depending on which teams won this week, it settled everything. The Rams won the division.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, they did. Enough teams did win. I didn't. I missed that.

[Mike Wright]

He's done like they're playing next week. And we all thought oh, this is going to be great. Another divisional match for the spot.

[Jason Moore]

But it's done wild. Yeah. But yeah. Cooper Cup. As Kyle said, a sputtering Oldsmobile on his final mile is the way it went down. 15, 16, 17. And by the way, Matthew Stafford had one passing touchdown over the final three games. Did you know that?

[Andy Holloway]

I did not know that.

[Jason Moore]

That'll hurt your Koopa Cup.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. They're winning games with 12 points. 19 and 13.

[Andy Holloway]

Puka was fine all three of those games.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, volume, man. He is just. He's automatic. All right. News.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league presented by USAA Insurance.

[Jason Moore]

Part of the crazy morning was beyond the weather and other news. Chuba Hubbard surprising goes on IR with the calf injury out of lineups despite during the week. Dave Canal saying he's going to play. So you lose Chuba Hubbard, you lose to a tongue of Iloa downgraded to out didn't play. They're actually the team. They're the next closest to the playoffs because it's Denver.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Here's the thing. Kansas City is going to bench their players. They're Playing Denver. By benching their players and playing Denver, they keep Cincinnati out of the playoffs.

[Andy Holloway]

Because smart.

[Jason Moore]

I would want Cincinnati out of the playoffs if I was Kansas City. Now Denver wins the rin. Denver loses and Miami wins. They're in. Denver loses, Miami loses, Bengals win, they're in. So the odds are extremely low for the Bengals to get into the playoffs to a could play, but was downgraded, was out for this game. You know, you looked at the situation. That was a lot of questions we got on Sunday morning, Mike. I'm sure you fielded them. It was H.N. johnny Smith and Tyree Kill. My advice that morning was basically, if you had multiples, I would hedge. I would not play all of them. I'd play whatever guy you're most convicted about. I thought HM would be okay. He was the dud. Johnny was good and Tyreek was good.

[Mike Wright]

You know, that's so wild.

[Jason Moore]

So that's a real kick in the.

[Mike Wright]

The one guy who felt like was, oh, he's the safe one.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. With the dinks and the dunks.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, we saw this, though, when Tua was gone with the head injury earlier from whatever it was like week three through seven. Those were his worst games. Those were Achan's worst games. Because when you could stack the box against a lighter back like him, it just doesn't work. He needs that room. And also the targets from Tua that have really been lifting him up, he is the one most hurt by this offense, I think.

[Jason Moore]

And then we also had other injuries. We had Chase Brown leave with a mild high ankle sprain. He's going to.

[Mike Wright]

His was. Now he went down right. Like in the game in that. No, no. Okay. The. Kyle, do you remember the play? Does anyone else remember the play? Like, no. He broke free. He could have scored a touchdown. And he looked like he was pulling up to end the game. Like of the. No, I'm supposed to go down here and then he ends up getting hurt on the tackle.

[Jason Moore]

On the one.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Yeah, it was. So the end of the Bengals game was.

[Jason Moore]

That was insane.

[Mike Wright]

Was absolutely outrageous because Chase Brown, like in. Chase Brown intentionally goes down there. He ends up getting hurt. It turns into a Joe Burrow or like quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

You were facing Chase Brown, right?

[Mike Wright]

No, no, no. I just. I had Burrow. I. Brooks has Chase Brown.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, that's right.

[Mike Wright]

But it's like those points should. Those points were done. The game was over. Chase Brown just runs this thing in and the game is over. But he goes down. They end up getting a quarterback sneak with Burrow and Then the madness of overtime.

[Jason Moore]

That's what I was thinking. You got the Burrow points out of.

[Mike Wright]

It, is what happened. Including a missed easy shot where they kicked on third down.

[Jason Moore]

You would be dead.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

If Chase Brown runs into the end zone, you lose two borough touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

Two.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, absolutely.

[Jason Moore]

Plus yards.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. And then it took a miracle Mims touchdown to send the game to overtime. It was. If you missed the end of that game, you missed a classic.

[Jason Moore]

I want Joe Burrow in the playoffs. I don't want Tyler Huntley and Tua in the playoffs. I guess Bo Nix in the playoffs is fine, but you know that they're.

[Mike Wright]

Going to lose, right?

[Jason Moore]

Joe Burrow could run the team to the title. That's. Could. That's what I'd like to see. Because that can happen. Deshaun Watson, there was a new, you know, restructured contract. He'll be back. They're going to bring in competition. That's okay.

[Mike Wright]

It's essentially an acceptance that we have to give Watson the 92 million that he's guaranteed. We're going to give it to him, and he'll probably be on the roster for the next two years.

[Jason Moore]

Genuine question for you. If you are, and I know this is not going to be the greatest thought experiment you've ever, you know, had. If you were to Sean Watson.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And you took that contract with that amount, would you. This restructure. I thought for a split second that maybe he would take just maybe he was given some money back. I know. I know that nobody, no agent, no person is going to advise that.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you saying would we have given money back?

[Jason Moore]

I'm saying, like, would you work it over, like, a longer period of time for less money or, like, is there anything that you would do to, like.

[Andy Holloway]

I would stretch it out over the course of several years for a lot more money. Give me an extension and we could push that. We could push that down the road, baby. Just add 10 more million if you're.

[Jason Moore]

Making, let's just call it $100 million and you could make 60 million. But you get to be the starter where you make 100 million and you're never starting again the rest of your life. Because that could be the situation for Deshaun Watson.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

He could never start again. You're going to take the hundred, I'm.

[Andy Holloway]

Going to take the 100.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Why do I walk into that?

[Mike Wright]

I don't think he's your life starting. I don't think he's starting regardless.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

I think he'll just get the money New question.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to word it differently.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. All right.

[Jason Moore]

You got $100 million in the bank. You can pay $40 million to be a starting quarterback in the NFL for a career and still have 60 million, which is the same question asked differently. But you could do it right now.

[Andy Holloway]

Can I? What happens to health? Can I guarantee that? I don't get. You can't guarantee exactly giving out your money.

[Jason Moore]

All right, I tried. Aaron Jones, quad contusion. They're supposed to have him back next week, but we'll see. James Connor, he exited early. Amir Abdullah left early. He was good.

[Mike Wright]

He was dominating.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Kendra Miller left early because of course he did. Kendra A. Miller. Goodbye.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Jerome Ford, ankle injury. Didn't return. Tajay Spears.

[Mike Wright]

No, he returned for a snap.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, did return. Sorry.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, well, kind of.

[Mike Wright]

That was it. No, he came in and he took one third down, snap and then never seen again.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Jerome poured one out for your team.

[Mike Wright]

It was brutal.

[Andy Holloway]

Taje.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Spears was playing good.

[Andy Holloway]

He was great. I mean, he was 20 for 95.

[Jason Moore]

Look great.

[Andy Holloway]

As of right now, he's the running back. 11 on the week. Unfortunately, he left with plenty of time left. So it's like you're not unhappy if you started Tajay Spears. It was a good start, but you're disappointed that you didn't get all of it because it looked awesome.

[Jason Moore]

Mike was facing Spears, though, so he was quite happy. That was today's news and I was presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com insurance We'll take a break. We'll hit the studs. This episode is brought to you by Abbott. Let's talk about a small thing that can make a big difference if you have diabetes. The Freestyle Libre 3 sensor. It's amazing how the sensor gives you real time glucose readings so that you can see the impact of every meal and activity to make better choices. The Freestyle Libre 3 sensor can help you live life with diabetes on your terms. This is progress. You can try it for free at freestylelibre.us. offer available for people who qualify. Visit MyFreestyle US to see all terms and conditions. Certain exclusions apply for prescription only. Safety info found @freestylelibre us.

[Andy Holloway]

This episode is brought to you by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. Buying gifts for the holidays is overwhelming. But even if you have to unwrap another ugly sweater on Christmas morning, you could still get yourself something you know you'll enjoy. Get yourself the gift of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. It's only $49 right now. And you'll be able to catch the last few weeks of the NFL regular season as your favorite teams race to the playoffs. So forget the candles and socks. Gift yourself NFL Sunday ticket for the rest of the NFL season for only $49. Sign up [e-mail] fantasy footballers device and content restrictions apply to multi view local and national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday Ticket for out of market games excludes digital only games.

[Jason Moore]

All right, it is. It's time to celebrate the good.

[Andy Holloway]

This week's fantasy stud muffins.

[Jason Moore]

Joe Burrow. Baker Mayfield.

[Andy Holloway]

Who?

[Jason Moore]

Joe Burrow. Baker. Laser Mayfield.

[Andy Holloway]

Laser.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. This was.

[Mike Wright]

That was weird.

[Jason Moore]

This was the second time in three years where I got bounced in the semis of our dynasty league and would have won the title. Yeah, because of Mike Evans. Baker. The what if game we talked about, when Baker throws for five and he's your quarterback, it does come into your mind.

[Andy Holloway]

That's. I don't know. If you saw Mike and I's championship champ team in dynamite, you would have won. Oh, we would have smoked both of the other people in the playoffs. Still.

[Mike Wright]

Was this.

[Jason Moore]

Was this semifinal bounces, baby.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Was this Tampa third place Tampa Bay allowing Baker to just really stick it to Carolina because they, like, they could have shut everyone down in like the third quarter.

[Jason Moore]

They. Yeah. I mean, there was one extra touchdown than I thought there would be.

[Mike Wright]

That felt personal.

[Jason Moore]

There was one extra touchdown. But one of the things I love about Tampa Bay is that they have made the identity Baker Mayfield, he just set career highs and everything. In fact, you can go find the picture of Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold running next to each other in Carolina. Like I. Baker Mayfield is a good quarterback. Sam Darnold is a good quarterback. Geno Smith is a good quarterback. In the NFL, the coaches, the surrounding cast, those are the things that make the difference. And, you know, I think it was Albert Breer that put it out there. Someone should give Zach Wilson a shot. And I think it's true. I think it's right. You know who was better for New York last year? Zach Wilson. And look at the dysfunction in New York. Look how broken that entire organization is. And he was better than Rogers in that dysfunction. Like, he might not be that bad. There's a reason some of these other coaches, it was Sean Payton, who knows a thing or two about football that put him on the roster.

[Mike Wright]

Sean Payton put Drew Luck on his. Or Zach Wilson wasn't Wilson.

[Jason Moore]

That's what I just said.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

That was literally the point of what.

[Mike Wright]

I'm saying right But I'm saying he got a shot. You came in and you were. You could have taken that job.

[Jason Moore]

Well, I mean, he drafted a quarterback at 13.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. But if you're good enough, you would have pushed the rookie out for half of the year.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, I don't know about that.

[Mike Wright]

That's. That's what I would.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean, he also arrived later in the off season. And my point is, I think that you're just seeing this resurgence of top tier picks that are becoming like, Sam Darnold's coming back to Minnesota. Yeah, that's happening. It's done. He's coming back. I mean, they'll franchise tag him or they'll sign him to a contract. You don't trade a quarterback that is leading you to games like this because you think and hope that the next guy up that's coming off an injury is going to be okay.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

What do you want more than to have a chance to be the number one seed? I mean. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Now, what Kyle heard in all that is that it's Trey Lane's time. Nope, nope.

[Andy Holloway]

Any minute. Any minute now. BAKER Mayfield has 42 touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. He's got 39 pass, 39 passing, three rushing touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

I guess that's returning to my main point, which was just that Liam Cohen and the offense, they're never afraid to put the ball into Baker Mayfield's hands around the goal line on traditional running downs. I just like how they play. They call place.

[Mike Wright]

And Mike Evans needs 86 yards for a thousand 85 to hit a thousand 86 to break it.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man, I will go right now and bet 85 and a half.

[Jason Moore]

They're in the playoff driver's seat now, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I think they still have to win.

[Jason Moore]

Right, but they control it now because the Falcons controlled it.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, they control. And they're going to try their very best to get Mike Evans to a thousand.

[Jason Moore]

Jaden Daniels finishing strong for Al Borland and for fantasy managers, he was on fire the last month. Lamar Jackson, Pat Mahomes. Sam Darnold continues to.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, yeah, but Mahomes, Mahomes on that list. Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I put a while. Christmas morning.

[Jason Moore]

Mahomes, Herbert. The most passing yards in history through five years just broke that record by Peyton Manning. Josh Allen got enough done this weekend. And Bo Nicks, Mike, start of the week, three touchdowns. Hubba hubba.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, you did skip one very important name.

[Mike Wright]

Pro Bowler.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, no, he's going to skip. I'm talking about a guy who outscored Jaden Daniels. Drew Locke. But not, not for the purpose of Drew Locke, but for the purpose of the apology for the Indianapolis Colts from the entire world and the organization. What in the world was that? I mean, the Monday punday submissions, I didn't use any of them, but I felt like Indianopolis. Yeah. I mean it was the Indianapolis Colts. Tastrophe.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean this is a team who was on the playoff hunt.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And they just gave up 40 plus points to the lowest scoring team in the league.

[Jason Moore]

I mean this was, you know, we heard a lot of feedback because the Colts were a high rate of defense this week in our rankings. You just heard what Jason said. Like nobody saw this coming. This was the worst scoring offense. Go ahead, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

Three games prior, Drew Locke as the starter was averaging 205 passing yards and 0.3 passing touchdowns. 0.3, 0.3, 0.3. That was his average in his three.

[Jason Moore]

It was an embarrassment for the organization of riches. I mean, just unbelievably gross. Jonathan Taylor, touchdowns. Got it done at running back. Henry Bijon last night. Bucky Irving, start of the week.

[Mike Wright]

Bucky Irving, he's that.

[Jason Moore]

He's that guy.

[Mike Wright]

He is.

[Jason Moore]

We've.

[Mike Wright]

Dude, he's so good.

[Jason Moore]

There is just. There are some players that you don't need. You just need to see a little bit to know. And Bucky Irving was that by about week seven. You knew it. And down the stretch. 7, 3, 1, 14, 16, 3 in his six starts. I mean that is.

[Mike Wright]

He is.

[Jason Moore]

And he will be in the future.

[Mike Wright]

He is this weird perfect combination of like for his size, he's really strong, but his size is.

[Andy Holloway]

Is just perfect of like people can't find him.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Like he can get small, he can get skinny and find creases that are smaller. Like Derek Henry can't fit through some of these things. Right. But Bucky Irving, number one, he can fit and number two, his acceleration and breaking speed of which he can go to 100 to 0. Back to 100 is kind of shady. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I've never seen an arm tackle anybody wrap him up with a single arm going out like he breaks every.

[Andy Holloway]

He's leading the league crazy. For a guy who's sub 200 pounds.

[Jason Moore]

You just don't see that he doesn't play small. He does not play small.

[Andy Holloway]

Not at all. He plays like they're big back and Rashad White plays small. You know, I'm usually against the breakout fourth round running back picks. So like last year, Damian Pierce, it was seemed like or you know, the season prior, it seemed like he was going to be their future at running back and it was like they're not invested. Tyrone Tracy has been really, really good but I'm not like sold that he's their future. Bucky Irving, that's done deal. Bucky Irving is good enough to where he's. He's got a career and I'm. And I'm confident.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's more on the Camaro was the third but he's more of the like passing the Camaro eye Test. Saquon another 167 on the ground. Although two picket tush pushes. Imagine Saquon season without a tush push. Can you comprehend what that would be.

[Andy Holloway]

Like be one of the best, if not the best season of all time.

[Jason Moore]

I mean 2005 yards on 345 attempts and you know he scored 13 times already.

[Andy Holloway]

So next next week needs 101 rushing yards to break the record. We'll have to see what they choose to do. Earlier this season, Saquon could broken his own career high. And he's like now give the other guys a chance. Which is two sided. One side says he cares more about.

[Jason Moore]

Like he's going to be out there and he's going to break it. And it's against the Giants. Yeah, he's going to break it against the Giants.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh my gosh.

[Jason Moore]

And then the building will catch on fire. Yes, it's against the Giants.

[Andy Holloway]

You let the guy go and then break the all time NFL record that has stood for what like 40 years.

[Jason Moore]

You let the guy go and you filmed it. Yeah, you filmed the whole catastrophe.

[Mike Wright]

Hold on. And then they released it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

You could have held on to that from the Giants. I'm like, I know we agreed to this but now we're shutting that down.

[Jason Moore]

It's Daniel's time. Yeah, it's Daniel's time now, guys.

[Mike Wright]

It was.

[Jason Moore]

I could do that job, man. We could do that job.

[Andy Holloway]

The general manager job. Yes.

[Jason Moore]

That job is more don't drive your car into a brick wall than it is anything else. Don't try to out think everybody else in the world. You're not that guy, man. You're not that guy. Amir Abdullah, 20 for 1, 15 on the ground. It was not Madison. I didn't see this coming. J.K. dobbins, comeback player of the year, I think 19 for 76 and a touchdown. He has been markedly better than every running back they have on the roster all year long. Which is saying something considering Harbaugh, Roman, they generally make things happen in the running game. Hasn't really worked with anybody but J.K. dobbins.

[Andy Holloway]

No. And it's nice to see that him coming back. He looked fresh and good. He's got the Raiders next week, so if you're in the week 18 championship, hopefully you got Dobbins.

[Jason Moore]

All right, T. Higgins, start of the week, number one wide receiver on the week. Pretty amazing. And with Sir Tan on chase.

[Mike Wright]

That was part of the start.

[Jason Moore]

It was part of it, yeah. And then, you know, a lot of people asked tons of neighbors questions this weekend. I think most of those I said I didn't want to be caught with neighbors on bench. But this was a monster week for neighbors. In the embarrassment. I didn't know the Colts were only going to send. I didn't realize that was going to be part of it. Is blow your playoff shot against the Giants, who are on the cusp of the number one pick. Devonte Smith. Oh. Who's number four? Jason?

[Andy Holloway]

Number four.

[Jason Moore]

Give me the hundred dollars right now. Take your wallet out and give me the money.

[Mike Wright]

You have a hundred dollars?

[Jason Moore]

He always has got money on him.

[Andy Holloway]

I do not. I've got 40.

[Mike Wright]

What are you, 74 years old?

[Jason Moore]

He normally has bills.

[Mike Wright]

He does.

[Andy Holloway]

I do. I usually got.

[Mike Wright]

You got a coin purse over there, too.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll pay you in the other room.

[Jason Moore]

Whoever knows when a blackjack game. That's 100% what it is.

[Andy Holloway]

100%. Because I don't know when we're going to sit at the tables.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, I know, but I ain't going.

[Andy Holloway]

To be found unprepared.

[Mike Wright]

You know those ATM fees, dude, outrageous.

[Andy Holloway]

They are outrageous at the casino.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, it's better to hold $2,000 cash on you at all times. No, the Marvin Mims just in case. Troy Franklin.

[Andy Holloway]

I see. Blackjack.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, man.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

You're going to owe me 100 bucks. You can save it till the end. If you get a Troy Franklin legacy game, like he needs about 60 points in the final week.

[Andy Holloway]

It could happen.

[Jason Moore]

But Marvin Mims, 26.2. Mike Evans, 25.7. There you go.

[Mike Wright]

Those dude. The Mike Evans second touchdown where Bucky has this humongous run on the field. It's called a touchdown. Then they go back like, oh, no, he stepped out at the one. And you're like, coach, do the right thing. Reward your bonita. And they were like, no, Baker, fade their fade route. It's. If you're Bucky, you're.

[Andy Holloway]

You're.

[Mike Wright]

You're a little bit mad about that.

[Jason Moore]

My. My old man would have got it done for me in the final of Dynasty because Evans, Evans. Two touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

And then I'm back, baby.

[Jason Moore]

Feeling five for one, 10 and two. When will you give him a young voice again?

[Andy Holloway]

Because he's in heaven. He's only getting older, Andy.

[Mike Wright]

I get older every day, but he's.

[Jason Moore]

He's like one of those guys that's biohacking. Because look at this performance.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Because he didn't have to play half the season.

[Jason Moore]

Well, that's part of the strategy.

[Mike Wright]

If this. If he had played the whole season, we. Adam Thielen would have been irrelevant.

[Jason Moore]

Lad McConkey, 8 for 94 and 2.

[Mike Wright]

Dude.

[Andy Holloway]

Lad McConkey, he's really good.

[Mike Wright]

Superstar.

[Jason Moore]

And every Colt not named. Josh downs. Alec Pierce, 6 for 122. Michael Pittman, 9 for 109. I was given the news that Tua was going to miss. If you remember, on our DraftKings show, I stacked. Yes, Tua with Malik Washington, Tyree Kill and Achan.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Well, our rule here is if a guy's getting bounced, you can only pivot that guy. Yep. So I pivot into Joe Flacco, end up winning the week, but Josh Downs wasn't a part of it. Jalen McMillan, who had no targets until the final minute of the first half, ends up with two touchdowns. Five for 51. He was freaking me out because I. I had recommended McMillan everywhere.

[Andy Holloway]

We had really pushed McMillan on the show.

[Mike Wright]

He was still. He was a five catch guy. Five for five, 50, but two touchdowns every time.

[Jason Moore]

Brian Thomas Jr. Again, seven for 91 and one. There's only three other wide receivers in history with 12:10. Moss, Beckham, Chase. He is that guy.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. It's wild.

[Jason Moore]

He's the wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

4:00Am he's the wide receiver. Four on the season.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow. And he's.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

There's a world where, like, Al made the wrong move. Like, Al traded Brian Thomas to get Kyro and he won a title. So it's never the wrong move. But from a keeper perspective, like, Brian Thomas is, like, he could enter the chase.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Territory like an early second, late first.

[Andy Holloway]

Funny to think, and I know that there's been injuries to, you know, Krisha Kirk and Evan Ingram, but also to Trevor Lawrence. Like, he's been better with Mac Jones than he was with Trevor Lawrence. But Trevor Lawrence is a better quarterback than Mac Jones. He should have a higher ceiling with the starting quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

You know what makes Brian Thomas great? He's never, ever been covered by a defender. If you watch him play.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

He's always wide open. He's just. And you can. The big place, the little stuff. The little stuff that becomes the big stuff.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. That's what I love about watching his film is that he does it everywhere on the field. It reminds me of, like, CD Lamb. You can go these deep shots. You can get a screen. The middle of the field is his domain, which is kind of crazy for a player who really only had one year of production at, you know, in college. Him and neighbors, man, apparently do whatever the LSU wide receiver training program is.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And even Lockjaw got it done this week. Speaking of lsu, did he score a touchdown? I don't know if it was a touchdown.

[Jason Moore]

You're talking about Terrace Marshall.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, Terrace Marshall.

[Mike Wright]

Terrace Marshall was 1 for 28.

[Andy Holloway]

Jay, did he get a touchdown? No, but you should watch that 20 yard reception, man. It was boss. It was boss. I was like, no, no, no, no.

[Mike Wright]

I blacked out. I don't remember Terry Marshall.

[Andy Holloway]

Hold on.

[Jason Moore]

I started combining Marshall and Mingo together. I was like, wait, are you talking Mingo?

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, no. Terrace Marshall. Go look at his. Who does he play for? Go look at his box.

[Mike Wright]

Raiders.

[Andy Holloway]

And tell me that's not one of his best games. All time. Okay. He got it done this game. I can check 28 yards. Honestly, when he caught that pass, I had no idea he was still in the NFL. I was like, no, he still play football.

[Mike Wright]

It was not one of his best games.

[Andy Holloway]

That's team 28 yards. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

It was clearly worthy in Akua as well. Trey McBride got in the end zone, number one on the week. Zach Ertz, two touchdowns. He's still good at football. He really is. His contested catches and important plays. He's been a key part of what makes Jaden great this year. And without him, I don't think you see that season.

[Mike Wright]

That's fine and well, but get out of the way next year. Mr. Ertz, it's me, Zachary.

[Andy Holloway]

I am the Senate.

[Jason Moore]

Why?

[Andy Holloway]

Trying to get the old people out of the Senate. I get it.

[Jason Moore]

Zachary has been great. Kelsey Conklin and Andrews rounding him out. We saw Gasicki with a great game. He was an emergency pivot that was brought up if you lost, you know, Ninjoku this week. Kyle Pitts, 4 for 44 and a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

A really good touchdown catch.

[Jason Moore]

There you go. Brock Bowers broke all the records.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he did.

[Jason Moore]

Most receiving yards by a tight end in NFL history. Rookie tight end. And most receptions by a rookie. Pukinakua held that record for a year.

[Andy Holloway]

And he's also nine receptions away from Breaking the all time record for tight ends. Not just, not just of a rookie, but like the best tight end season of all time.

[Mike Wright]

The earth's record, if you're the Giants. Because Brock Bowers, you know, right now he has the Rookie 4 reception. Neighbors is not that far behind him.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, how many, how many screens can you call up for neighbors, by the way, try to steal that away.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, Brock Bowers is at fifth right now in terms of all time tight end receptions in a year. Three of the top five seasons have happened since 2022. So like you talk about the haves and have nots in fantasy. If you've got Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, who's up over 100 receptions, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, over 101 thousand.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you have those kind of numbers. That's pretty hard to overcome in fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

Brock Bowers has four touchdowns on the season, which is gross. That's not.

[Mike Wright]

Trey McBride would be very happy.

[Andy Holloway]

Trey McBride has lost three total. So four total for Brock Bowers, who is the tight end? One. Brock, number one.

[Jason Moore]

McBride has a fumble recovery. That's one, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

A rushing.

[Jason Moore]

He does have a rushing.

[Andy Holloway]

He has a rushing Touchdown. A fumble recovery. Touchdown. And now finally caught a touchdown.

[Jason Moore]

He has double the rushing rushing touchdowns than receiving. But Brock Bowers, and that was barely. I mean. Yes. No, no, no. His last. His touchdown in that game. Yes, it's a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

I thought he wasn't getting in.

[Jason Moore]

It's a touchdown. But it's like Wink. It's like we. It's not.

[Mike Wright]

It's Bully ball.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. It's not route. It's not a route.

[Mike Wright]

No, but it's. I'm bigger and stronger than you.

[Jason Moore]

It's. I have to get this guy in the end zone.

[Mike Wright]

So Brock bowers is at 108. Neighbors is at 104.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow.

[Mike Wright]

So like.

[Andy Holloway]

So the record will be one of them, one of theirs at the end of this week.

[Jason Moore]

Potentially. Potentially. They got a lot of. They got a long way to go, huh? Oh, you're talking about the rookie record.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

That's already set. I'm sorry, I thought you were talking.

[Mike Wright]

It's gone. They already got it. It's a long way.

[Jason Moore]

You guys want to talk duds? We have to, huh?

[Mike Wright]

We have to highlight a couple of them. Terry McLaurin.

[Jason Moore]

Let's do it after the break here.

[Mike Wright]

This episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. Managing finances can feel complicated and time consuming. But it doesn't have to be. Rocket Money simplifies everything, making it so easy to see exactly what's happening with your finances, track your spending and give you full control of all of it right from your phone. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors that spending, and helps you lower your bills so you can grow your savings. See all your subscriptions in one place and know exactly where your money is going. For any you don't want anymore, Rocket Money can help you cancel them with a few taps. Look, Rocket Money will even try to negotiate lower bills for you, sometimes by up to 20%. They automatically scan your bills to find opportunities to save. Then you can ask them to negotiate for you. They will deal with the customer service. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of 500 million in canceled subscriptions. Stop wasting money on things you don't use. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions by going to RocketMoney.com Footballers that's RocketMoney.com Footballers RocketMoney.com Footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

It'S the most wonderful time of the year for getting in on all the hoops, football and hockey action at DraftKings Sportsbook. In the season of giving, we are being gifted. College football and basketball, pro football and basketball and pro hockey. 2. Almost 24 7. So many games every day. So many opportunities to place your first bet. Try betting on something simple like just picking a team to win. You've got Right now, it looks like The Vikings are minus 135 to get a W. Lines and odds are subject to change. And here's a gift for all new customers. Bet $5 to get $150 in bonus bets. If your bet wins, download the DraftKings sportsbook app and use Code Ballers. That's Code Ballers for new customers to get $150 in bonus bets if your bet wins when you bet just five bucks. Happy holidays from DraftKings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler in New York, call 877-78-Hopeny or text hopeny467-369 In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill casino and resort, Kansas 21. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario, bet must win to receive reward. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co/B ball hooped in his big boy pants.

[Jason Moore]

Well, the biggest pants you can put on are the championship pants and that means that the. If you can't get to the restroom, that's a pretty big mess.

[Mike Wright]

And there was two, two pretty big duds. Jordan Love and the packers offense, I know they, they ended up losing by two at the end of the game but they're. The offense looks so bad and so inept and the play calling was driving me crazy. And it's against Minnesota like fantasy wise Jordan Love before that, before the game starts. Jordan Love's a great player. I get it. Christian Watson's out but he still has Jaden Reed who was, I mean what he catch all pass one for six and Romeo Dobbs ended up being. He was an okay play but it's like this is a pass funnel. This is where we get it done against Minnesota. And to come up with 185 yards.

[Jason Moore]

And a touchdown is when Darnold threw for 377.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly. It's devastating.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Both Love and Stroud this year have taken some steps back I think in terms of obviously efficiency, some of the prolific numbers. Both of them came into the season as like potential darlings for people that wanted to draft them.

[Mike Wright]

It's the danger of the pocket passer of yes, you like for every like. And next year everyone's going to be all about Joe Burrow, which Joe Burrows in elite pocket passing quarterback. But Burrow is running so hot right now.

[Jason Moore]

It'll be Baker too.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, but like those guys, like there is. There's a chance that their touchdowns go down to 30, some low 30s, high 20s and Jordan Love jumps back up to 35 touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

It's.

[Jason Moore]

We've seen that roulette before.

[Mike Wright]

It's the, when you're in the draft. That's why it's so much about what is the market saying about these quarterbacks. The, the opportunity cost of, of going in on a pocket passer knowing it is a gamble of they just, sometimes they just don't come through.

[Jason Moore]

Just to give you.

[Andy Holloway]

Thankfully on Baker, he's. He's no longer a pocket passer. He has been running rushing yards this year.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I'm still going to call him. No, I know but like, I mean if you look at the history of Tom Brady as kind of an example, you know, quarterback three 34 touchdowns and these are all 16 game seasons. Quarterback, 1325 touchdowns, you know, quarterback, 236 touchdowns. Quarterback 1429 touchdowns. So you know, you do. You run the risk and when you do draft those guys, you're obviously kind of locking yourself into them for quite a while. So it's just it is a risk. You know, Aaron Rodgers was the worst anybody's ever seen a quarterback play. Like legitimately, statistically, it was one of the worst games in history.

[Mike Wright]

Garrett Wilson getting that touchdown from Tyrant at the end had to feel pretty, pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

He's the most sacked quarterback in history. And we've heard that like, you know, Garrett Wilson doesn't want to be back.

[Andy Holloway]

Of Rogers is back, which is, I mean that's, that's basically what was insinuated is he hasn't asked for a trade, but he might. We'll see what happens with Aaron Rodgers.

[Jason Moore]

It's like normally you'd be like, oh, if Rogers isn't back, I don't want to be there.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

It's the opposite. And at this point it's like Rogers and Adams are chasing their own glory. That's how it feels.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

It doesn't feel like they're really about this team's success. They're above the team is the way.

[Andy Holloway]

It feels or they think they are.

[Jason Moore]

Well, like for both players.

[Mike Wright]

For Adams though, it was like the season was basically lost by the time he got there.

[Jason Moore]

You ever seen Larry do that?

[Andy Holloway]

He was in a lot of lost seasons.

[Jason Moore]

A lot of lost seasons. It's never been about my touches and my. I just don't respect that kind of what you put out there. And for Garrett Wilson, a 24 year old superstar, to not want to play with you.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it says a lot.

[Jason Moore]

You know, you go out there and you go 12 for 18 for 112, two picks, late hit and look, I'm willing.

[Mike Wright]

That was funny.

[Jason Moore]

I'm willing to be the like partial apologist for Aaron. Like I think it's always more complicated than the media narrative because if you go. I brought this up last week. Like if you go and you LaFleur and McCarthy and you know, his, his high school, college coaches, most players too, most great teammate, great leader, hyper, intelligent quarterback. But you know, when you, when you struggle and you fail, there's an accountability that comes with the words you say. That's all.

[Andy Holloway]

And when the places you make and.

[Jason Moore]

The faces you make and when you play well, you will get credit. And when you play poorly but you talk a big game, you will get blame and for. And millions of dollars for the love.

[Mike Wright]

Of all that is good in this world. Can we get Garrett Wilson a quarterback just so we can see what happens?

[Andy Holloway]

You need Rogers to come back then because you want Garrett Wilson. Yes. You want, if you want Garrett Wilson to have success, I think you need to get him off The Jets.

[Jason Moore]

It was a sputtering end for Mixon, for Breece hall, for Rashad White, for Devon Hn.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

For Ramon Dre Stevenson. Stevenson, who had 0.3 fantasy points for me in my listener league title game.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, he did get two carries, which.

[Mike Wright]

Was the Stevenson one. Is really bizarre because it was all week. Oh, he might get benched. For Gibson, who's going to be the starter.

[Jason Moore]

Mayo does not know what he's doing. And then Mayo does not. He didn't know what he's doing.

[Mike Wright]

He didn't get benched at the beginning, but then Gibson was the primary running back.

[Jason Moore]

McLaurin, Jaden Reed. One catch for Jaden Reed.

[Andy Holloway]

These two guys were in a lot of championship lineups, especially McLaurin, because McLaurin helped get you there. So hopefully you were just able to overcome having McLaurin on your roster. He's been so great this year. You. You kind of. Because he's been so good, you just give him a pass. I forgive you.

[Jason Moore]

Forgiveness comes, like, in a couple months.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, you can be bitter and upset now and just say, well, I did what I was supposed to do. And like, that's all you can do in championship week is just put the best players out there and hope it works out. And any of us benching McLaurin in that game, I don't think.

[Mike Wright]

No, I would not have.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, the weather was a concern, but it didn't affect Jane Daniels putting up 40 points. Flowers and Bateman weren't needed. Cooper Cup. We talked about it. Josh Downs, zilch. Mooney.

[Mike Wright]

The Mooney one's disappointing, too.

[Jason Moore]

And then the trifecta in Chicago. You know, Chicago is one of those teams that the off season is going to be. It's going to be crazy. We'll see what they do to help Caleb out. And then the two Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. It was a disaster.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that whole game, that Chicago Seahawks game was just. It deleted a game out of the week.

[Jason Moore]

Dalton Kincaid did nothing. Neither did Tucker Kraft or Hunter Henry, who was goosed. This is Hunter Henry. He can always show up on a certain week and disappear on another one. But that was championship Sunday.

[Mike Wright]

It was all in all, I thought it was. At least it was a great weekend of football. Like, we've had several weeks throughout this season where we show up on Monday and we're like, well, some guy scored some points. It was a good week.

[Jason Moore]

What's the post mortem on the weather? Stress?

[Mike Wright]

The weather seems overblown. Well, it was.

[Jason Moore]

It didn't Turn out underblown because the wind didn't blow the way.

[Andy Holloway]

I get what you're saying.

[Jason Moore]

You know what I'm saying.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Give it a five.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

It was. I mean, it affected the Jacksonville game for sure. Like, if you were looking, I know Brian Thomas still had his humongous game, but, like, if the conditions were. It was. They were losing footing. I can't remember who it was, but.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, the Washington game, but, yeah, the Cincinnati game.

[Mike Wright]

That's the issue with the weather is sometimes you can have games where it's raining and they. These teams aren't fazed by it. And then there's times where the weather comes in and you're like, of course, I should have benched these guys because this is a mucky disaster.

[Andy Holloway]

I would say, overall, the actual miles per hour on wind and rainfall that happened in these games was not at the fear level of earlier in the week. Earlier in the week, it looked like these. Some of these games were going to be, you know, massive torrential, like that 49ers Bears game. Yeah. And that just didn't happen. You know, thankfully, that didn't happen. And we. We knew, you know, if you were on Twitter Sunday morning, you could see that some of the things had calmed down. Like, we had a lot of fears over the Bengals game being a really, really rainy, windy game. And then we knew that morning they got that it was pretty good weather.

[Jason Moore]

That game was funny because when they first. When the game was starting, that was a Saturday afternoon game. And when they go to the stadium on the cameras and you see the full state and you see in the distance, it looked like. It looked like it was a horrible thunderstorm just waiting to come in. Like, you could see how close it was to being a major problem. It was like the clouds from Stranger Things hiding in the background.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

But thankfully, we were all right.

[Jason Moore]

We were all right. Tomorrow we'll celebrate with you, commiserate with you yet again. Monday Night Football recap, playoff scenarios, team motivation for week 18.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not. I pre warned my wife. I never talk.

[Jason Moore]

I think you win.

[Mike Wright]

I never talk fantasy stress with my wife. But last night I was like, just letting you know tomorrow night is going to be a very emotionally taxing event for me.

[Andy Holloway]

No matter what, I think you win as well. 47.1.

[Jason Moore]

I think you'll know you're going to win by halftime.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I appreciate. I appreciate the hope. Dan Campbell, you can't win a Super bowl without Jameer Gibbs.

[Andy Holloway]

Rest him up.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just letting you know he certainly.

[Jason Moore]

Can'T win this game without him either.

[Andy Holloway]

You.

[Mike Wright]

It doesn't matter. It does not matter. You can't win a Super bowl without Jameer Gibbs.

[Jason Moore]

Well, look, half a game is fine. I have a funny feeling. A lot of our.

[Mike Wright]

I'm a giving man.

[Jason Moore]

A lot of our listeners might be on the other side of this one.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I was telling Mike.

[Mike Wright]

I have the microphone, and you will listen to everything that I have to say. Put him down. Well, not like. No, no, put it, like. Rest him. Rest him for a half. Don't put him down. Play.

[Andy Holloway]

Play the whole game and score fewer than 47.1 points so that the rest of the Foot Clan can get there. The way you don't want to lose is you don't want to. I was telling this to Mike. If you've got Jameer Gibbs and you need 20 points tonight, and he goes out and puts up 18 points the first half, and they don't play him.

[Jason Moore]

And Craig Reynolds is on the field, and you go, where is he?

[Andy Holloway]

You can't lose. You can't. You can't lose that way. That's too much.

[Mike Wright]

Not for me.

[Jason Moore]

If there was ever a coach that would completely go all out all four quarters, it would be Dan Campbell. And by the way, remember when Julian.

[Mike Wright]

Edelman tours ACL in a meaningless.

[Jason Moore]

You shut up now. It is New Year's Eve tomorrow, and then we will have no episode on Wednesday for New Year. And we'll be back with some week 18 torture. I mean, previews, starts of the week, matchups, more matchups. Wheel of Shame. I'm on a hot streak there, boys. I don't know if you notice.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah, no. On the Wheel of Shame, he's won a bunch.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, as a man who once lived in the bottom of the sewers of the Wheel of Shame, this is one thing I've won this year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, mercifully you've been high. I lost this week. Right. But I scored, like 150, so that's. I didn't feel bad about it, but you guys just.

[Jason Moore]

I didn't know I won till a few minutes ago. Once I put Flacco in the lineup, I figured it was over. All right. And then next week, just so you know, Footie Awards, the nominees, an ama. Lots going on, a lot of fun stuff. And A reminder again, shotballers.com for Title T shirts, if you want to celebrate, if you want to call your shot, you can buy them now. Wait before you. Wait till, like, Jeremy can buy his now.

[Mike Wright]

I'll buy it tomorrow.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Or tonight.

[Jason Moore]

Why don't you go to a doctor? How about you go to a doctor?

[Mike Wright]

I'll do that tomorrow.

[Jason Moore]

And then fantasychamps.com code free ring if you need a trophy. That'll do it. Guys. What a season.

[Andy Holloway]

What?

[Jason Moore]

One night left. One night left for the most. For most of you. And see what Jameer Gibbs can do.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football club community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter the Ffballers.