Fantasy Football 2017 - Starts of the Week, Week 5 Matchups, Bounce Backs

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary
Episode: Fantasy Football 2017 - Starts of the Week, Week 5 Matchups, Bounce Backs
Release Date: October 5, 2017

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Introduction

In this high-energy episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright dive deep into Week 5 of the NFL season. The trio provides strategic insights on player starts, analyzes key matchups, and discusses potential bounce-back candidates for the latter half of the fantasy football season. Listeners are treated to a blend of expert analysis, strong opinions, and actionable advice designed to enhance their fantasy football prowess.

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Monster Second Half: Who to Give Up On

The conversation kicks off with a discussion on players who might be overlooked but have the potential to significantly improve in the second half of the season. Referencing 2016 examples, the hosts highlight how players like Devonte Adams and Amari Cooper transformed their rankings and became fantasy gold.

• Andy Holloway emphasizes, "Amari Cooper is an uber talented wide receiver who I believe plays for a high-powered offense." [04:11]

• Jason Moore adds, "Isaiah Crowell... really has the talent and opportunity to turn it around for a monster second half." [05:14]

Key Takeaways:

• Amari Cooper: Despite current underperformance, his talent and team situation make him a prime candidate for a second-half surge.
• Isaiah Crowell: With a favorable matchup and potential increased opportunities, Crowell is recommended as a sleeper pick.

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Week 5 Matchups Analysis

1. Bills vs Bengals

The Bengals are slight favorites, but the Bills' strong defense raises questions.

• Starts Recommendation:

  • Flex: Joe Mixon is recommended if he continues to receive substantial touches despite a tough matchup. "Mixon is absolutely a flex-worthy RB3 guy that you can play." [10:00]
  • Tight Ends: Avoid starting Tyler Croft due to the Bills' stingy defense against the position. Instead, consider Charles Clay despite the difficult matchup. "It's not a great matchup for Charles Clay, but the Bills offense can't work without him." [12:24]

• Predictions:

  • Andy Holloway and Jason Moore lean towards the Bengals, while Mike Wright backs the Bills. "I’m going to take the Bengals." [12:52] vs "I’m going to take the Bills." [12:55]

2. Jets vs Browns

A low-scoring game should favor certain running backs and receivers.

• Player Highlights:

  • Isaiah Crowell is a bold start due to the Jets’ weak run defense. "I'm going to take Isaiah Crowell... he has potential to have a good second half." [05:14]
  • Mike Gillislee: With a high volume of carries in key yardage areas, Gillislee remains a strong RB pick. "Mike Gillislee is a touchdown guy." [07:28]

• Receiver Picks:

  • Bradley Shepard and Kelvin Benjamin are recommended over others due to favorable matchups and involvement in the offense. "Tyler Croft is not something I look to stream." [12:24]

3. Panthers vs Lions

Focus on running backs and the impact of Cam Newton.

• Dealer's Insight:

  • Christian McCaffrey is discussed with concerns about his role despite high target volume. "Christian McCaffrey might be the most talented player in the world, but they are not giving him..." [17:42]

• Running Backs:

  • Frank Gore is selected for his favorable matchup against the Lions' weak run defense. "Frank Gore... favored at home against a bad run defense." [44:18]

4. Colts vs 49ers

A strategic battle where both defenses could influence fantasy outcomes.

• Quarterbacks:

  • Brian Hoyer vs Eli Manning: "Brian Hoyer could throw a 350-yard game, multi-TD display." [25:34] vs "Eli Manning is a great start with Odell Beckham back." [41:25]

• Wide Receivers:

  • Randall Cobb is favored due to his involvement and matchup advantages. "Randall Cobb... he's utilized near the goal line. I love it as a high-powered offense." [47:15]

5. Chargers vs Giants

A mismatch between two struggling teams could lead to high fantasy points.

• Running Backs:

  • Melvin Gordon is expected to excel against Detroit’s porous run defense. "Melvin Gordon is at 18.5% for 10+ yards, which is great." [35:00]

• Wide Receivers:

  • Evan Ingram is a standout due to his high target volume and matchup against a weak Giants’ secondary. "Evan Ingram... a mismatch for secondaries. That's fantastic." [36:31]

6. Cardinals vs Eagles

Focus on Carson Palmer’s performance against a stingy defense.

• Kicker Picks:
  • Dan Bailey is selected due to a favorable over/under and home advantage. "Dan Bailey... he's a great kicker, favored at home." [48:10]

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Starts of the Week

Quarterbacks

• Jason Moore: Philip Rivers is favored due to his recent high-yardage games. "Philip Rivers... coming right off of a 340+ yard game." [43:03]

• Mike Wright: Jameis Winston is his top pick, given the Patriots' weak pass defense. "I'm firing up Jameis Winston with absolute full confidence." [43:41]

• Andy Holloway: Eli Manning is the preferred start against the Chargers, bolstered by recent strong performances. "I love Eli Manning this week." [41:25]

Running Backs

• Mike Wright: Mike Gillislee remains his top pick, citing consistent opportunities and touchdown potential. "Mike Gillislee is a touchdown guy." [07:28]

• Jason Moore: Isaiah Crowell is selected for his favorable matchup, despite being an under-the-radar choice. "I'm going to take Isaiah Crowell when I can start him." [44:14]

• Andy Holloway: Frank Gore is favored against the Lions’ weak run defense. "Frank Gore... favored at home against a bad run defense." [44:55]

Wide Receivers

• Jason Moore: Devonte Parker is chosen for his matchup against a permissive defense. "Devonte Parker... a great week to start him." [46:41]

• Mike Wright: Jaron Brown is recommended due to the Eagles' lenient coverage. "Jaron Brown... solid start this week." [46:45]

• Andy Holloway: Randall Cobb is preferred for his consistent involvement and favorable game conditions. "Randall Cobb... he’s utilized near the goal line." [47:15]

Tight Ends

• Mike Wright: Hunter Henry is the starter against a weak Giants’ defense. "Hunter Henry... this is the time for the goose egg." [48:05]

• Jason Moore: Devonte Parker remains a strong option due to volume and matchup. "Devonte Parker... great week to start him." [46:41]

• Andy Holloway: Austin Sparrion Jenkins is selected for his increasing involvement and matchup advantages. "Austin Sparrion Jenkins... leading them in targets." [49:25]

Kickers

• Andy Holloway: Dan Bailey is his choice, benefiting from a favorable game and high scoring potential. "Dan Bailey... he's a great kicker, favored at home." [50:47]

• Jason Moore: Dan Bailey is also recommended despite some humorous banter about performance. "My boom boom kicker of the week this week, Dan Bailey." [50:26]

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Bounce Backs: Players to Watch

The hosts identify players who have slipped in rankings but possess the potential for a significant uptick in performance. Amari Cooper and Isaiah Crowell are highlighted as key candidates to watch as the season progresses.

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Mailbag: Listener Questions Answered

Question 1: "Would you trade Devontae Freeman or Doug Martin for Joe Mixon?"

• Response:
  • Andy Holloway: "I still believe in Doug Martin... adding the opportunity and depth at a really important position." [51:37]
  • Mike Wright: "I will take a top five known running back asset instead of these mystical beans." [52:02]
  • Jason Moore: "If your team is not cruising, you need a week. Devontae Freeman is on the buy." [52:24]

Question 2: "Is it okay to start Sammy Watkins and Gurley the same week they play Seattle?"

• Response:
  • Andy Holloway: "Would try to avoid it in that specific matchup situation." [53:10]
  • Mike Wright: "I would try to avoid playing Sammy Watkins as well." [53:21]

Question 3: "Thoughts on Amendola vs John Brown for the rest of the season?"

• Response:
  • Andy Holloway and Mike Wright favor Danny Amendola over John Brown due to health and consistency concerns. "I'd much rather have Danny Amendola." [53:49]

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Kicker Segment: Boom Boom Daniel Bailey

In a light-hearted exchange, Andy Holloway and Jason Moore discuss their kicker picks, settling on Dan Bailey as the Kicker of the Week. Despite some ribbing about performance, Bailey stands out due to his favorable matchup and consistency. "Dan Bailey is a great kicker, favored at home." [50:50]

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Final Predictions and Recommendations

As the episode wraps up, the hosts recap their top picks across all positions, ensuring that fantasy managers are well-equipped to make informed decisions for Week 5. The emphasis remains on leveraging favorable matchups, player consistency, and potential for high-yardage or touchdown opportunities.

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Conclusion

This episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast is a treasure trove of strategic insights and practical advice for fantasy football enthusiasts. Whether you're looking to optimize your lineup for Week 5, identify sleeper picks, or navigate challenging trades, Andy, Jason, and Mike provide the expertise needed to elevate your fantasy game. Don't miss their thorough analysis and engaging discussions to stay ahead in your league.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Amari Cooper is an uber talented wide receiver..." – Andy Holloway [04:11]
• "Isaiah Crowell... really has the talent and opportunity..." – Jason Moore [05:14]
• "I'm firing up Jameis Winston with absolute full confidence." – Mike Wright [43:41]
• "Devonte Parker... a great week to start him." – Jason Moore [46:41]

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Stay Connected:

• Join the Community: jointhefoot.com
• Twitter: Follow @TheFFballers
• Play with Us: draft.comballers

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This summary provides a comprehensive overview of the episode, encapsulating all key discussions, insights, and recommendations to aid fantasy football managers in making informed decisions.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Clan. Before we get started, want to make sure everyone is aware of our dfs pass. @dfspass.com it is the fantasy Footballers Ultimate DFS pass. If you play FanDuel or DraftKings, you get expert advice weekly great pick articles for cash, games for big tournament plays. Everything you need, including some really special unique stats in there. Go to dfspass.com foreign to the fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from the Play Draft Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

Ah, we are back again.

[Mike Wright]

Little musical.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I am.

[Mike Wright]

We are back again.

[Jason Moore]

I am just happy to have a voice. Oh, I thought it was going to be highly questionable today.

[Mike Wright]

Oh man, I could have hosted.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't.

[Jason Moore]

You got your time coming up.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't allow baseball talk on this podcast because that's nonsense. It's not even a real game.

[Jason Moore]

How dare you.

[Andy Holloway]

But I got to be honest. I mean, as much as I love disparaging baseball.

[Jason Moore]

You do love disparaging baseball.

[Andy Holloway]

It's pretty much a hobby of mine. I watched that whole game last night, that wild card in a wild card game. That was awesome.

[Mike Wright]

Because playoff baseball is amazing. The problem with baseball is it's a thousand season. Yes, exactly.

[Andy Holloway]

I won. Who cares? Yeah, well, 10 game losing. Who cares?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we can come back from a 10 game losing streak.

[Jason Moore]

Look, football is a quick flight to Hawaii. Baseball is a slow cross country drive. No, you get to see all the sights, the highs, the lows.

[Mike Wright]

Baseball is walking through the Mojave Desert where you like. I'm going to die, I think. Oh, that's, that's pretty over there. I like that mountain now. Just nothingness. And I'm going to die again.

[Jason Moore]

And we reached the oasis of the playoffs.

[Mike Wright]

Eventually you get to a theme park. You're like sweet.

[Jason Moore]

I like the analogy. I was at the game with my six year old boy and my parents and my sister and we all lost our minds repeatedly and had a great time and it was, it was a lot of fun. So as the people in the studio who do not follow baseball say go baseball. It was a very fun day. This show is not about baseball. This is about football. And we are, we're jam packed today. We've got the Week 5 matchups on the show today. Great. Quick question, starts of the week and I'm excited. Let's get right into it. You can follow us on Twitter the FFballers by the way, and get all the latest news and information from the fantasy footballers and the podcast. All right, here we go. This one this quick question actually came in off of Twitter. He said, who could people be giving up on already that has the best chance to turn things around for a monster second half? And before you guys answer, I want to give you some examples from 2016. Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Last year through four weeks, this is the rank of some players that had a monster second half. Devonte Adams was the 72nd ranked wide receiver. He ended up the wide receiver. 8. Golden Tate was the 93rd ranked wide receiver, ended up 19. Adam Thielen went 78 to 28. Tyreek Hill went from 73 to 22. Rashard Matthews went from 73 to 18. Julian Edelman went from 53 to 17. Dez Bryant went from 62 to 32 in that time span. And then you had guys like Jordan Howard and Jay Ajayi who went from 32 and 52 to 10 and 11. Who. And so you had some monster changes that took place. Even Zach Ertz, 44 to 6 by seasons in. So there will be players that fit this category of someone's given up on them. Maybe you buy them low, maybe you're buying them off the waiver wire, but what do you do? Who are your picks for a monster second half?

[Andy Holloway]

Look, I'm going to go with the guy that has disappointed everybody for I would say the last solid year. That's Amari Cooper. Amari Cooper.

[Jason Moore]

Thought you were going to say Brooks for a second.

[Andy Holloway]

Why?

[Jason Moore]

I'm sorry.

[Andy Holloway]

Brooks for no reason.

[Jason Moore]

I'm just kidding.

[Andy Holloway]

Back that bus up and drive on over. Yeah. Look, Amari Cooper is an uber talented wide receiver who I believe plays for a high powered offense. We just haven't seen that offense last few games. Granted, the last one we expected that against Denver, he's going to finish the year in the top 25 wide receivers because he'll have monster big blow up games. Right now he's. He's the wide receiver. 71. That means his big blow up games, they're coming the second half and I don't expect them now. I just traded for Amari Cooper.

[Mike Wright]

Are you playing him?

[Andy Holloway]

Missile? Oh, I will say this. Unfortunately.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

My advice to reluctantly. Yes. I've got like four buys on my bench right now. So I'm forced to play him this week, you know, without Derek Carr. I am not. If you can sit Amari Cooper, despite me saying I think he's a second half of the year player. I still would.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to. I'm going to go with an unpopular pick.

[Mike Wright]

I still are.

[Jason Moore]

I still believe. You know, Isaiah Crowell I'm going to go with Isaiah Crowell. I think this week specifically, spoiler alert. He's my start of the week this week. It's a great matchup and the matchup is great and it cannot get much worse for Isaiah Cruell and he is still a starting running back in the NFL, one that I believe in the talent of. And I think that you're going to see improvement in his opportunity. And I'm going to tell you one of the reasons why I think the defense in Cleveland is going to see some improvement and I think that makes the games more competitive. And with the ascent, you know, the growth of Deshaun Kaiser, I think you're going to have more opportunities for Corel. And, and so look, it's the bottom of the barrel right now and I want his name out there because you can get him for cheap to free probably on the waiver wire in some leagues because people just he wasn't as high of draft capital as like a DeMarco Murray where people are holding on to him. There's a chance he's dropped in some leagues. So I think Isaiah Cruell actually has potential to have a good second half. So I'm going to throw his name out there. I know, Mike, you disagree and that's yeah, very reasonable.

[Mike Wright]

I'm very concerned about him, especially with the ascension of Duke Johnson who he was in strong.

[Andy Holloway]

The Cleveland Browns number one.

[Mike Wright]

Number one wide receiver. Yes, he was in strong contention for my running back start of the week. The guy I'm going to go with is Mike Gillislee because I know that the, the roller coaster is in full effect. You had the first two weeks which were fantastic and now with two dud games, people are, they're furious, they're panicking. What do you do with Mike Gillisle? Well, here's some numbers. Mike Gillisle still has 54% of the carries for the New England Patriots. He has six carries inside the five, which four of them have converted into touchdowns. No one else in that range of carries has that conversion. I mean he's, he's a touchdown guy. I believe long term in the Patriots that they will get the defense figured out. I don't think this is going to be a take advantage of the Patriots secondary situation all season long tonight.

[Andy Holloway]

Absolutely.

[Mike Wright]

I fully believe in it. But moving forward, I think that they will get things turned around and Mike Gillisley will be the benefactor of it. Whenever they're in the five, Mike, not whenever because they've been doing a couple tricks but the majority of the time inside the five, it's going to Gillisle and he's converted so much that eventually I believe that Billichek will just say we just go. Just pound it in. This is what we got to do.

[Jason Moore]

All right, I like it. The week three rank. Sorry, the week five rankings.

[Mike Wright]

It's already week five, Andy.

[Jason Moore]

The week five rankings are up. See, Brooks, this is what I'm talking about.

[Mike Wright]

Wait, he let you down? Did he give you week three?

[Jason Moore]

It said week three in there. He's giving me the look.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man.

[Mike Wright]

I'm trying to back you up.

[Jason Moore]

He changed it. But luckily we have revision history, Brooks. And that'll be part of your review later. Oh, we love you self fulfilling insults on this show. All right, week five rankings are up on the website, the fantasy footballers.com. make sure you subscribe over on itunes wherever you're listening. We appreciate your support and we're going to get right into the matchups.

[Andy Holloway]

Fantasy forecast.

[Jason Moore]

By the way, I am very excited for tonight's NFL matchup. It's going to be some good football. Don't let us down, Rob.

[Andy Holloway]

Think they can't. There's just not enough defensive players out there to let us down here.

[Mike Wright]

Thursdays are weird. Thursdays are weird.

[Jason Moore]

We got a great one last Thursday.

[Andy Holloway]

Between two terrible teams, though.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, fair enough.

[Andy Holloway]

Although maybe not maybe, maybe the Rams are.

[Jason Moore]

Sorry, that was those two. That was two Thursdays ago. Yeah, I'm talking about the Rams 49er game.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

Rob Gronkowski, questionable. Expected to play. So that's good. You know, might be limited a little bit.

[Andy Holloway]

You still play him. I mean, he's Gronk. Limited is better than 90% of the tight ends out there.

[Jason Moore]

Without question. All right, the Bills take on the Bengals. The Bengals are three point favorites at home. Only a 39 point over under in this game. I still think that there's a little bit we need to learn about the Buffalo defense that's been so good thus far through the season. You saw some cracks last week, but what do you expect to see? Let's start on the Cincinnati side. I know that Andy Dalton is not a popular stream because of the matchup, but what are the running backs? Do Mixon, Bernard, do you have any confidence starting any of them? Even as a flex?

[Andy Holloway]

As a flex, my confidence would still be in Joe Mixon because I'm following the. He hasn't popped yet. He hasn't shown it. I'm not saying he's an automatic must start guy, but if he's Going to continue to get 20 touches. I don't love the matchup, but eventually you're going to break something off. You're going to get an opportunity to score. Even with the utilization he's had so far this year, you would expect that he would have had a, had a touchdown by now. So I think Mixon is absolutely a flex worthy, you know, RB3 guy that you can play.

[Jason Moore]

So just for context, last week Buffalo gave up 135 yards on the ground on 27 carries and a touchdown. So they have been beat on the ground thus far this year. Not that I'm expecting Mixon to do more against him than they did against Cleveland, but last couple weeks given up a touchdown on the ground to Denver as Well. You're starting A.J. green? Are you starting Tyler Croft? If I. Ford is out.

[Mike Wright]

I was going to bring him up and no, right now, yeah, neither am I. The Buffalo bills are allowing 4.6 fantasy points per game to the tight end. So that's, that's not a stream where I'm looking for. Granted, Tyler Croft is going to be similar to Tyler Ifert when healthy. It's the touchdowns so he could get, you know, seven points, but that's factoring in he has scored. So I'm going to pivot away from Croft this weekend.

[Jason Moore]

On the other side, Tyrod Taylor, LaShawn McCoy, you starting either of those options? I mean, McCoy, you are, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

But what about Tyrod?

[Andy Holloway]

Tyrod Taylor is one of those guys where if you're looking for a streaming candidate because he runs so much, I think he's always got a safe baseline to be. I'm always willing to scrape, you know, the bottom of the waiver wire and go, hey, Tyrod's out there, I'll start him if I want something safe. I think his ceiling is a little capped with the matchup. Tyrod Taylor's usually better at home than on the road. He's on the road against a really good defense. So, you know, I expect him to have 16 points because of his baseline rushing. That that'll be serviceable, but not one of his big blow up games.

[Jason Moore]

Can't start a Bills wide receiver. The Bills throw the wide receiver position the least in the entire NFL. I think it's about five receptions total per game across the entire wide receiver core. Well, you can't touch him.

[Andy Holloway]

Charles Clay is, I was going to.

[Mike Wright]

Say Charles Clay is. He's like an elite tight end now for fantasy purposes. And yet the Bengals, they're even stingier than the Bills when giving up points to the tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

But at this point, yeah, it's not a great matchup.

[Mike Wright]

You got to play him, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Absolutely. It's not a great matchup for Charles Clay. I don't love it. But you have to play him because they. I mean, he's necessary. But the Bills offense can't work without Charles Cliff.

[Mike Wright]

Mr. Necessary.

[Andy Holloway]

That's exactly what he is.

[Jason Moore]

Predictions on the game. Who wins. I'm taking the Bengals.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to take the Bills.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going Bengals.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. The jets take on the Cleveland Browns. They're giving tickets away. All right, Cleveland. Well, I guess I should give respect where respect.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, you should.

[Jason Moore]

The 2 and 2 jets, they're tied with the Pats. The Browns are 1.5 favorites at home in this game. 39 point over.

[Mike Wright]

Under you, Cleveland. Good for you.

[Jason Moore]

Miles Garrett going to make his debut for the Cleveland Browns this week. Part of why I think their defense will obviously improve over the later part of the year. Not that that will translate to wins, but. All right, let's start on that side of the ball. Deshaun Kaiser, Isaiah Cruell, we've talked about it. Mike, you like Duke Johnson this week. Are you playing roulette with any of the wide receiver options at all in Cleveland?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, no.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I would say I would be willing to start Duke Johnson. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I love that these last two teams, Charles Clay and Duke Johnson, are the best receiving options.

[Andy Holloway]

It's really true.

[Jason Moore]

It is. It is. The Desean Kaiser's only completed 51% of passes right now. This matchup is. I mean, this is as much as you could hope for for Kaiser at home against the Jets. The jets defense is 29th against the run. They've been okay against the pass.

[Andy Holloway]

The one thing I'll say in support of your Isaiah Crowell pick is the fact that this is a game that they should be in. You know, even, even if they're losing, they, you know, I don't think they're going to be boat raced by the jets, which gives the opportunity for carries. That's been, you know, the problem with Isaiah Crowell is, you know, he got 17 carries week one. You go, okay, he didn't perform with it, but he's getting the touches well. Last week he only got seven and that's going to be a problem in those games where, you know, they're not really in the game. Hugh. Jack Jackman has come out and Hugh Jackson has come out and said, you know, he still believes it's a joke.

[Mike Wright]

On the show, but it's you still can't get it right.

[Andy Holloway]

I can't ever say it right.

[Jason Moore]

It's really Wolverine in your mind.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, he came out and he said he loves Isaiah Crowell, so I think there is some support there.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he said that a lot.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I did. To work against my pick. I believe that the Saints came out and said Peterson's about to break out today. So that was the running back. If you have to stream, would you stream account?

[Mike Wright]

I was gonna say Kaiser or McCow.

[Jason Moore]

I'd stream account.

[Andy Holloway]

I would too.

[Mike Wright]

But we need to show some respect for the second most accurate quarterback in the league.

[Jason Moore]

70% of his passes completely.

[Mike Wright]

Good for you McCown.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean I had my streaming option as as Hoyer. Much riskier I think than McCown. McCown is. I think he's an okay streamer this week.

[Mike Wright]

Brown secondary is beatable. They're 23rd against the pass compared to the jets who are seventh. So I would go McCown if I'm streaming one of these options.

[Jason Moore]

Matt Forte did not practice today. Lal Pal Elijah McGuire are both potential options.

[Mike Wright]

RB2 and will be talked about later.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Blau pow is a definite start here.

[Mike Wright]

I said he will be talked about later.

[Jason Moore]

Fair enough.

[Andy Holloway]

And when it comes to McGuire, I'm much more hesitant. He doesn't get the same amount of touches but I mean we did see.

[Mike Wright]

The Blah Powell zombie infection. You don't believe it.

[Andy Holloway]

It's Gio Bernard last week was able to catch, you know, a pass and take it to the house. One of those big plays so Elijah McGuire could have the opportunity to do that.

[Jason Moore]

Eight carries last week from McGuire. Very interesting. Austin, Severian, Jenkins. Oh, he's a start this week.

[Mike Wright]

Great play this week.

[Jason Moore]

I believe the Browns are at the basement in terms of points given up to the tight end position. Right around 31 in the league.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

The only team worse against the tight end so far for fantasy is the Giants.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

When close second is the Cleveland Browns.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. All right. The Panthers take on the Lions in Detroit. The Lions are two and a half point favorites, a 43 and a half point over under. Not going to get into it but you've got just the assortment of madness always surrounding Cam Newton. Not talking to the media last week and then the comments. The comments he made yesterday are frustrating. Frustrating. Yeah. Immature, ignorant. Other things of that nature. So not happy to see those things keep. You know he's got a problem with this, this media piece. But Newton last week, the monster week. Jason pumped the brakes on him, takes on The Lions Lions defense right now is playing well because they're causing turnovers. They did it last week against Minnesota. In Minnesota they come back home. I expect them to be able to hold up against this Cleveland, the Carolina offense in this game. What do you tell the Christian McCaffrey owner right now as they make start sit decisions, trade decisions? What, what should their expectation be? Because you saw a little bit of the floor of McCaffrey's potential last week.

[Mike Wright]

So you remind them that he's been targeted 29 times. That's second for running backs.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean that's what you tell them. Here's the reality. We said this in the off season, the fact that Christian McCaffrey might be the most talented player in the world, but they are not giving him.

[Mike Wright]

He's a compliment.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. They're not just getting rid of Jonathan Stewart. He is really their number two running back and playing that third down scat back pass catching role in addition. So if you're in a PPR league, he's got a very, very safe floor. But you're going to, this is what you've seen out of him is what you're going to get in our league of record, you know, he's 10.7 points, 16.7 points. That's you're going to have a guy that's probably going to average around 11 points but be fairly consistent at it.

[Jason Moore]

It's unfortunate that. Well, first of all, would you play McCaffrey or Duke Johnson if you had to start one this week?

[Mike Wright]

I think I'd play duke.

[Andy Holloway]

I'd go McCaffrey.

[Mike Wright]

Still, the thing about McCaffrey that I think is frustrating is simply his expectations as a top 10 pick in the NFL draft. When you, when a team does that, you think, okay, well this person, especially if it's a running back, you need to give them 15 plus touches every single week and give them a very featured role. So it's weird to have spent that pick and him just kind of be a compliment piece, especially at the running back positions.

[Andy Holloway]

Have done it before.

[Jason Moore]

We've talked about the rookie running backs and like Hunt.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

All the big plays from Hunt. You saw big plays from Cohen, you've seen big plays from Dalvin Cook. But then you've also had the kind of the inverse where I mean you read those numbers, they're not very different than Mixon's numbers. I mean Mixon, McCaffrey, P. Ryan, they've never made a big play this year. I mean that's basically the gist they are. You're waiting for them to break one off.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

To go kick.

[Mike Wright]

McCaffrey had one play where it was almost a. I mean, it was a huge yardage play, but he didn't score on it.

[Jason Moore]

Kelvin Benjamin or Funches, who do you start?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm still.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I'm going to still go Kelvin or.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, I'm still going to go Kelvin.

[Jason Moore]

I would, too. Amir Abdullah. Big week last week against Minnesota. I like Abdullah this week. I mean, if you've been starting, keep starting him. Golden Tate disappointed me last week, but he's still the wide receiver to start in Detroit, is he not?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, certainly I would. I would agree. Amir Abdullah. I mean, the guy's getting work. We had two of his past three games. He has over 85 yards on the ground.

[Jason Moore]

He's essentially made theoretic problem. So if you own Theo Riddick, somebody said that he hit the waiver wire on Twitter. Right. How much fab do I spend on Theo Riddick? I'm not. I'm not excited about Theo Riddick with Abdullah active. So I would have told him a couple bucks at the most. And I. I don't know, there might be better options.

[Mike Wright]

You have Theo Riddick down here, who has 21 targets on the year, has less than Mark Ingram. That's less than Gurley, than James White. I mean, Theo Riddick, this is his specialty.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

You're supposed to be in the top three in targets, yet you find yourself just the middle of the pack.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's at best. I mean, most people right now would still have a hard time saying, okay, let me have Duke Johnson and get rid of Theo Riddick. But Duke Johnson's more involved than Theo.

[Mike Wright]

I'd make that shift.

[Jason Moore]

We are going to hop into the 49ers and Colts matchup. Before you do that, we want to thank today's sponsor, Bomb Fell. All right. For most guys, maybe all guys, shopping can be a total pain. The pits, it's not good. And Bomb Fell is an easy way for men to get better, close. That's the plan. Plain and simple fact. It is an online personal styling service that helps men find the right clothes for them. Simple, straightforward. All you have to do is complete a questionnaire and a dedicated personal stylist hand picks your clothes for you, which is great. Once you view the selections, you have 48 hours to make changes or even cancel altogether. You're in total control. This is all about ease. This is all about convenience. And you only pay for the clothes you keep, so they send them out. You basically can get Clothes every month, every two months, every three months, because they're on your side. They don't make money if they don't find you something you actually want to keep. Because if you don't want it, you send it back. And so I've tried this out. It's great. I've got great clothes. I've sent back stuff I don't want. I've kept the stuff I love best of all. We've negotiated with Bombfell to get our listeners a special offer of $25 off your first purchase when you go to bombfell.com footballers. That's Bombfell spelled B O M B f e l l.com footballers. Bomb fell open and close.

[Mike Wright]

We want to thank Pristine Auction for sponsoring the show. The best sports memorabilia place in human existence. You got to log on to this website, Falkland.

[Jason Moore]

Quite the claim.

[Mike Wright]

Go on, go check it out. Yeah. You will find out that this is true. Speaking of Christian McCaffrey, they got a Christian McCaffrey jersey signed by Christian McCaffrey.

[Jason Moore]

Well, that's good.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, just sing.

[Jason Moore]

It's signed by Bob Hope.

[Mike Wright]

It could have been signed by someone else, but Christian McCaffrey put his signature on. Here, you can go grab that. Every single day they have new inventory. It's.

[Andy Holloway]

It's.

[Mike Wright]

It's Christmas morning, really, when you jump under Christie nausea. There's new exciting things every day. I mean, an Antonio Brown signed jersey. Get that on the wall. We've got Jay Ajayi rocking on the wall in the studio right now. So head over to Pristine Auction. That's P R I S T I n e auction.com. you make a completely free account. You let them know that the fantasy footballers sent you. And when you bid on things, if you don't win, you don't pay. It's as simple as that.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I would hate to not win and then pay.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just. There's bidding sites out there. No, I'm too big.

[Andy Holloway]

That's ridiculous.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we're going to move on to this next matchup. I'm going to throw something out there right now. A little bit of breaking news. Kenny Britt, he's been repeatedly condemned by Hugh Jackson. He did not practice today. It's Thursday. Knee, groin injury, maybe. He was punched in the groin by Hugh Jackson after his preferred. I'm going to throw Ricardo Lewis out as a deep sleeper this week. I think you can play Ricardo Lewis in.

[Mike Wright]

He's getting this. He's already been getting the snaps. He's just not getting.

[Jason Moore]

He had a good Game last week, Ricardo Lewis had I believe seven, eight targets, six catches last week. I think you have an opportunity in a juicy matchup where last week. Yeah, he had five for 64.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

And if Kenny Britt's off the field. Yeah, I just want to throw him out there. He's one of those deep, sneaky, your opponent thinks you're stupid and then maybe it works out for you type of place.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

The 49ers take on the Colts. Boy, you have some interesting matchups this week, don't you?

[Mike Wright]

This is a.

[Jason Moore]

The bottom of the barrel is playing one another in several games. You know, the Browns and the jets and now the 49ers, Colts, Colts are one and a half point favorites at home, 44 and a half point over under. I thought about making Brian Hoyer my start of the week this week. Mike, you brought up a point in the office yesterday that Brian Hoyer and I believe one other quarterback are the only ones to have faced top 15 passing D's in all four weeks. Dak Prescott.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And so Hoyer has had, he's shown signs of life at times. Now I know, Jason, you don't like the fact that he's probably not going to have Marquis Goodwin in this one, right?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't because of the fact that you, you have one good defender across the field. You know, if you look, if you look at the Colts secondary, you've got Vontae Davis, he's great. And then just exploitable options galore. So you, you just need two weapons. You know, if you're the Niners and right now they've got one Pierre Garcon. Pierre Garcon will probably be like a hide. Well, sure, you know, some dump offs from the backfield there that's, that's somewhat, you know, helpful if he gets two or three receptions. But you know who's going to step up? Could it be George Kittle?

[Jason Moore]

Robinson?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean you've got to have somebody step up. But this is a matchup where Hoyer. Look, if the, if the offenses come out and sputter and they're terrible and it's a low scoring, boring game, you're not going to get much value out of it obviously. But this is the type of game where if the defenses can't stop each other, just like we saw with San Francisco and the Los Angeles Rams a few weeks ago, we have plenty of history of Brian Hoyer throwing 350 yard games, multi touchdowns. That's why I made him my stream of the week because while he's risky. I mean, he could be pulled in this game if he sucks. His upside, you know, is that top six type quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

You know who they could use right now? Bruce Ellington. Seriously, they could really use him. Yeah, that would be nice. All right, Carlos Hyde, you're starting him.

[Mike Wright]

Yep, absolutely.

[Jason Moore]

The Colts side of the ball. It's nice. I mean, Frank Gore, it's a great matchup for Frank Gore, the 49ers.

[Mike Wright]

And he gets his center back.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he gets center back and he's. He's done fine. What do you do with Ty Hilton in this matchup?

[Andy Holloway]

Ty Hilton is. Yep.

[Jason Moore]

Colts are 29th against the pass.

[Andy Holloway]

And I also think. I also think that Moncrief is a flex worthy start. Jack Doyle right now still in the concussion protocol. If he doesn't play, I think that's going to lift up Moncrief at home and we can even throw out Jacoby beef brisket.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I love it as a streamer.

[Andy Holloway]

Absolutely.

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, you've seen absolutely one game where he's faced subpar defense. Now he's at home with a bad defense. He could rush in another touchdown throw.

[Mike Wright]

For a. Hilton has one of the best wide receiver cornerback matchups of the week. So I like him. I think he's a solid wide receiver to start.

[Jason Moore]

Because we aren't getting into the Packer game on today's show, I do want to update people with regards to Ty Montgomery and Devonte Adams.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jason Moore]

Montgomery.

[Mike Wright]

Jamal Williams.

[Jason Moore]

Montgomery practiced again today. He's wearing a protective vest for his ribs. Mike, you said Jamal Williams. He says he's going to be good to go.

[Mike Wright]

He was a full practice, so you have to expect he's good to go.

[Jason Moore]

And Adams? Devonte Adams is still in the concussion protocol, but we'll be doing more on the field today. We don't know whether he's going to be in the lineup or not.

[Mike Wright]

Do you think he plays at this point?

[Jason Moore]

If I had to guess, it's a yes.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Because all he has to do is clear, right? I mean, that's what we're looking at there. I don't think there's anything physically lingering outside of clearing the protocol.

[Andy Holloway]

Man, I just, I hope he's not cleared for his sake.

[Mike Wright]

You think he needs a week?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, you see it all the time when you get, you know, those kind of knockout concussions in mma, guys are suspended for, you know, a couple months just for safety reasons.

[Jason Moore]

The thing is, is that the reality of concussions is that you can have plays that look that way where guys aren't concussed and then you can have plays that are completely benign.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And then they have.

[Jason Moore]

And somehow those benign ones are three week concussions. So I don't, you know, I don't know it. When you look at it, you want to tell them yo. Just.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Hopefully we could just trust the doctors. Take a scene. They'll do what's right.

[Jason Moore]

Take a break. Titans, Dolphins.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's the.

[Jason Moore]

There is no line because we don't know what Mariota is going to do in this game.

[Andy Holloway]

The injury of the week is Marcus Mariota because he affects everything here. If Mariota is fine and playing. You know, I really love this matchup. I love Mariota. I like Rashad Matthews.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I like the running game. I like Delaney Walker. I mean I, I'm really hopeful that he's going to be there. It's not just because I have him, you know, in our league of record and no other option right now. But if I had to guess, I have to guess that he's going to miss. I mean they're, they're going right now in practice and having him and the backup practices, starters and then they sign who? They sign Whedon.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

And that is always. You just follow. Okay. Not what's being said, but what's being done. And the backup right now is getting first team reps and they signed another quarterback as depth. It. Those things point to Mariota not being able to play.

[Jason Moore]

It is a tough situation. I think that you have to downgrade everybody if Mario is off the field. The biggest. You know, we talk about the Patriots defense as a surprise. That the Titans defense is a surprise to me as well. I mean they're, they're terrible right now. They've allowed 30 points a game, second worst in the league. 11 touchdown passes. That's most in the NFL given up. They. Yeah, I know, I know. Look, Jay Cuddy smoking smoke. I'm not playing Jay Cuddy.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not either.

[Jason Moore]

He's told me not to. Now the thing is, is Jarvis Landry and Devonte Parker become very, very interesting when you have a quarterback like Jay Cutler and an offense that unlike Buffalo, who averages five receptions, you know, Cutler only throws to the wide receivers. He's only got, you know, Landry, Parker, Stills. We're going to talk about Devonte Parker later in the show. Let's put it that way. Jay Ajayi. There are mixed opinions about Jay Ajayi. Do you light him up in this game?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I mean the Titans defense is terrible.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

You have to play him if you have him. But, I mean, I'm. I have my expectations, doing concerns. And because this is a great matchup, if JJ has falters again in this matchup, then I think people will be smashing that red alert button.

[Andy Holloway]

If you don't have concerns, then you're wearing blinders. There's definitely concerns. However, my expectation is that it will get fixed. I mean, we saw this through a couple weeks last year. The Dolphins were an absolute dumpster fire. And Gase finally said, you know what? This is on me. I got to change things up. He took a look at how he was coaching, said, we need to get Jay more touches. I see a similar thing about to happen here. And so my expectation for Jay Ajayi is a top 12 week.

[Jason Moore]

Are you more concerned this year about Ajayi or demarco Murray?

[Andy Holloway]

Ooh, I think I'm more concerned with demarco Murray only because of the backup situation. Just because there is really no other option in Miami, I guess. Throw the ball. Throw the ball. Throw the ball.

[Mike Wright]

Damian Williams.

[Andy Holloway]

Damian Williams is one of the worst running backs that's ever lasted this long in the NFL. And. But over on the other side, you've got Derek Henry, who's getting more and more involved. So, you know, concerns with both, but I expect both to have. They were, you know, in consideration for the quick question of the day.

[Jason Moore]

If you want a little bit of the reasoning why Jay Cutler has been terrible this year, look at two numbers. He's in the top five in deep pass percentage, and his average yards per completion is the second lowest in the NFL. So that means every time he's trying to extend the ball down the field, he is not completing those downfield passes. He's smoking Jay Cuddy, flinging it around and only completing the short passes, not the long one. So I feel like he needs to reign that in a little bit. If they want to turn it around in Miami and give those pass catchers a chance to be fantasy.

[Mike Wright]

You know what Jay Cutler would tell you if you said that to him?

[Jason Moore]

Nothing. I don't care. All right. The Chargers take on the Giants. Giants and Chargers winless. So this continues the theme of bad teams playing one another at least through these four weeks. Bad teams.

[Andy Holloway]

Someone's got to win.

[Jason Moore]

The Giants.

[Mike Wright]

Stunning analysis.

[Jason Moore]

We could get a tie out of this one. Three and a half point favorites are the Giants, 44 and a half point over, under. This is one of those games that I really think could get exciting. I mean, the Chargers run defense has Been bad. The Giants run defense has been bad. The Giants past defense has given up big plays and they have a ton of weapons that I think will be able to at home capitalize against the Chargers. So this is one of those games where I think you can start both quarterbacks when you're looking at the running backs. They said this morning Wayne Gallman, if he gets hot, if he, if things go well, they're going to ride him in this game.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I would expect Goldman to be the starter.

[Jason Moore]

So Balman would be the one. You know, if you, if you're on a bye, you got a bye week play.

[Mike Wright]

Did not have the courage nor the insanity to make Wayne Gallman my start of the week because the chargers are the 31st defense against the run in terms of giving up rushing yards. I thought about it though. I had a fleeting moment where that the matchup is so good for Wayne Gallman. Then I said, no, let's pass on that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I really do like the Giants in this game. Obviously favored at home, but this is an entire cross country trip. Yes. For the Los Angeles Chargers and I think that's going to be difficult. I mean they've already got a bad run, you know, a bad run defense. They're going across the country. If Gallman can wear them down, I think he is, you know, one of those guys that you could take that glory play, be like, I beat you with Gallman. I called my shot. I love Eli Manning. We'll talk about him in a minute. I really like, I do worry more about the Chargers side with Justin.

[Mike Wright]

As do I. So the Giants run defense is porous right now. If Melvin Gordon has another bad game, do you have, are you going to have that jai concern or is it just. I'm just going to shrug it off.

[Andy Holloway]

Melvin Gordon hasn't been bad. He's been good. He didn't get enough touches last game because he was dealing with a knee injury. So I have no concerns over Melvin Gordon right now.

[Jason Moore]

When you look at Melvin Gordon this year, when you look at 10 plus rushing yards versus attempt, what percentage of their plays went for 10 plus yards other than Kareem Hunt, who by the way is at 22% of his rushing attempts at 10 plus yards.

[Mike Wright]

He's nasty.

[Jason Moore]

Melvin Gordon's at 18.5%. So the logic to me, it stands to reason that he will take advantage of more carries. He breaks tackles and he has 10 rushing attempts over 10 plus yards this year. So if they give him the rock, especially in this matchup, I think you're going to see a very good game from Melvin Gordon.

[Mike Wright]

What he has. That's crazy to me.

[Jason Moore]

What is that.

[Mike Wright]

Hearing that stat.

[Jason Moore]

10 of his 54 carries have been for 10 or more yards.

[Mike Wright]

So then the rest. The rest of them are for like 0 yards because he's at. He's at 3.1 on the year.

[Andy Holloway]

Just always been one of those, you know, break a big play and you go, I don't want to rely on that. But he does it often enough. Where. Sure. That's where the. Can't argue with the numbers going to come from.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, if you. The other top five, if you're curious. Jordan Howard is third with nine of his 63. LeGarrett blunt six of his 42 over 10 yards. And then Carlos Hyde nine of his 65 carries over 10 yards. By the way, Cream Hunt is 15 of 68.

[Mike Wright]

Kareem Hunt is.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's very good. Marco Murray is at the basement. Lamar Murray at the. I'm sorry. Lamar Miller at the basement. Chris Johnson. Time Montgomery.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

Evan Ingram, can you start him in this game?

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely. Targeted 30 times this season. That's the second most for tight ends.

[Jason Moore]

Love it.

[Mike Wright]

Evan Ingram. It's. It's shocking to see a rookie tight end having this kind of an impact on an offense, but here we are. They. He should have been drafted as a pass catcher. You had this whole off season nonsense where they. The team was insistent that Evan Ingram was going to be a prototypical tight end. Blocking, he can't fly. If you studied any tape of Evan Ingram in college, it was, it was just, it was a bit comical. Like if you threw the Benny Hill theme song in over Evan Ingram blocking highlights, you go, yeah, this makes sense. So the fact that they're just saying, screw that crap. Evan Ingram, you're a mismatch for secondaries. That's fantastic.

[Jason Moore]

Shepard or Marshall, if you had to start one.

[Mike Wright]

Shepard.

[Andy Holloway]

Shepard as well.

[Jason Moore]

Cardinals take on the Eagles. Eagles are almost a touchdown favorite at home in this game. 45 point over under. Mike, you said yesterday. What Carson Palmer is on pace to set a record for passing attempts.

[Andy Holloway]

I said that? Yes, he is. Jason may have said that he is on pace to break the NFL record for most passing attempts they've got.

[Mike Wright]

That's not good.

[Andy Holloway]

No, that is not good. There's a reason he's taken so many sacks.

[Jason Moore]

There's a reason he's 51% completion percentage, too.

[Andy Holloway]

There's a reason we love the Philadelphia defense this week. They're going to get sacks. There's just no, no bones about it. Alex Boone is theoretically hopeful for this week, so that'll improve their offensive.

[Mike Wright]

Theoretically hopeful?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I mean, I'm just saying I don't believe his injury. I don't where it puts him is. The word out of Cardinals camp is that he is, you know, on pace to start week five. And I am saying hogwash. His. His injury.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, so you're calling this a Mike Upati situation?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I don't 100% not gonna play.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, that's where it was theoretically hopeful. But I don't buy two layers.

[Jason Moore]

Two layers of maybe in order to get him on the field. Maybe it's Mayblast, Chris Johnson, Kerwin Williams or Andre Ellington.

[Mike Wright]

Ellington. I'm not playing Chris Johnson.

[Jason Moore]

Larry.

[Mike Wright]

This is one of those situations where I don't care about Chris Johnson's running back touches. I don't care if he's getting more than 10 carries a game.

[Jason Moore]

The Eagles are 30th against the past this year. Palmer is averaging 45 pass attempts per game. Fantasy points should be scored out of the wide receiver core of Arizona. Larry. J.J. nelson. John Brown.

[Mike Wright]

Brown. We're going to talk about Jaron a little bit later.

[Andy Holloway]

Are we really?

[Jason Moore]

Very nice.

[Andy Holloway]

I was going to ask how you would you. A lot of times I get the question and people want to know, like how do you right now, this week, what would you rank the Jaron Brown, John Brown, J.J. nelson trifecta. How do you order that for, you know, starts?

[Mike Wright]

I would. Fitz would still be my number one.

[Andy Holloway]

No, just the other three.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, then it's clearly Jaron.

[Andy Holloway]

Right? Jaron. And then do you go J.J. john.

[Jason Moore]

Or John J.J. john, J.J. as long as he's active, it's a lot of Js and that's just this week, I think John Brown's. If he's. If he continues to be active, he's going to usurp Jaron Brown in my fantasy rankings. Carson Wentz. He's startable in this matchup against the Cardinals, who are currently the 12th ranked past D, 10th ranked run D. I.

[Mike Wright]

Mean, it's a stingy defense, but he.

[Jason Moore]

Might not have Alan Jeffrey to his disposal very often because of Patrick Peterson.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. So do you pivot away? Do you play. You think like Aguilar?

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And you don't play Tory Smith either. It's Zach Ertz and or Bus in that passing offense. Maybe you see more passing targets for Wendell Smallwood in this game because of Patrick Peterson being out there. And I'm not super excited About Eagles.

[Andy Holloway]

Options in this game, I'm not either. I believe, you know, LeGarrett blunt is actually a decent play this week. But the passing options, when you look at Carson Wentz, if he doesn't have, you know, Alshon easily open because of Patrick Peterson and you've got the fifth ranked team against tight ends here going for, you know, to bottle up Zach Ertz. If those weapons are gone, then I really don't love Carson Wentz this week.

[Jason Moore]

Nelson Aguilar has only been targeted 18 times on the year, so he's averaging near the top at fantasy points per target. But you got to, I mean, it's limited. You, you're playing with fire the same way you'd be playing with Tony Smith. You're hoping for one pass for 80 yards in a touchdown. But Zach Ertz, you definitely start him. And look, that's, that's it for these matchups that we're breaking down today. We're going to get into the starts.

[Andy Holloway]

Starts of the week.

[Jason Moore]

All right. We're going to get into the rest of the matchups on tomorrow's episode. So make sure you don't miss, miss that. Let's start here with the quarterback position. Jason, who do you have as your start of the week?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I talked about it. With the Los Angeles Chargers flying across the country, Eli Manning at home. Eli Manning has played pretty darn good, especially since he's got Odell Beckham back. I mean, as the Giants go is as Odell Beckham goes, if he is, you know, fully healthy and ready for.

[Mike Wright]

This game, which he will not be fully healthy, but he will play as.

[Andy Holloway]

Healthy as he was, you know, the last two weeks at least. When, when he was missing week one, you saw an albatross for Eli Manning. He sucked. When he played a couple of snaps in week two, it was like, okay, he got a little better. Then he's, he's there for the Philly game. He throws 366 yards, three touchdowns. Last week at Tampa Bay, that was a great performance by Eli Manning. 288 yards and two touchdowns. Now he's at home with Odell Beckham. You've got a beatable matchup for Evan Ingram. You have Sterling Shepard and Brandon Marshall looking like they're coming into form. And you might have a running game with Wayne Gallman against a team that can be thrown on, scored on. So I love Eli Manning this week.

[Jason Moore]

I'll jump in now because I've got his opposition in this game. And I know you guys weren't, you guys Were not bullish. I like that's bold. I like Philip Rivers. The Giants are giving up a ton to fantasy quarterbacks this year and Rivers is coming right off of a 340 plus yard game. We know that he has the ability to put the yards up. And I think this game, this battle of the winless, I think it ends up being a shootout. I think I like what I saw from Rivers last week. He has the weapons and look, I don't think the Chargers are going to be able to do enough to stop to stop the Giants in this matchup. Meaning that Rivers will have to be coming back in this game. So if he can control the turnovers, I think both of the quarterbacks in that matchup are a good start.

[Mike Wright]

And my quarterback star of the week is because I called dibs on him last softball in the middle of the week. And that's Jameis Winston. Because look, Falkland, there's only one team allowing more than 24 points a game to the quarterback per week. There's only one team allowing more than 25 points per week. In fact, there's only one team that's allowing more than 26 points per week to the quarterback position and that is the New England Patriots. I'm firing up Jameis Winston with absolute full confidence. A top five performance from Winston this week is not out of the realm of possibilities.

[Jason Moore]

Love it. All right, let's move on to the running back position. Mike, why don't you kick it off? Who's your start of the week?

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to stay in these flames with Blau Plow here in his best Powell.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Mike Wright]

From the New York jets, blah blah. The last two years games without Forte active, Blomp Howell averages double double the Fantasy points over 20 points a game in a PPR scoring system. Gets a nice matchup against the Cleveland Browns. So I'm playing him with full confidence.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. I'm going to go with Isaiah Crowell. I talked about it earlier. I know it's bold. I know I'm putting myself out there. But the matchup is incredible. This is the one week where he can get it going. The jets, look, they've given up 120 plus yards on the ground to the running back position. In three or four weeks they give up an extra five fantasy points to running backs compared to the mean. And this game could be competitive a lot longer than any of the Browns games have been thus far. So I'm going to take Isaiah Cruel when I can start him. And that is this week. I want to Give fantasy owners the ability to have a little bit of confidence in starting Isaiah Cruel.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, for me, this week it's going to be Frank Gore.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I tried to get Frank Gore.

[Andy Holloway]

Frank Gore. Look, he's at home. He's favored the last game that was at home. You know, usually right now, Frank Gore is a guy that you try to bench. You know, with the Andrew Luckless Colts, if it's a difficult matchup like last week in Seattle, you didn't necessarily want to play him. He was, you know, he was all right. You got 12 for 46, caught three receptions, caught three targets as well. But if you look two weeks ago when they were at home in a, in a favorable matchup against Cleveland, he got 25 carries and now they're at home against an even worse run defense for fantasy purposes against San Francisco. So I'm not saying, hey, he's going to be a top five guy, but these are the weeks where you go, I need to plug him in because he's going to get 20 plus carries, that opportunity at a touchdown. And you know, if Marlon Mack is out, I do think this is a team in the San Francisco 49ers that can be beat by the past, allowing.

[Mike Wright]

The six running back, six most fantasy points to running backs. Ryan Kelly is back the center.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Which is a huge upgrade to that run game.

[Jason Moore]

Wide receiver start of the week. I'm going with Devonte Parker again. Look, the Tennessee repeat for Devonte Parker. It is. The Tennessee defenses have given up two touchdowns, one touchdown, two touchdowns, three touchdowns to fantasy wide receivers. The Cutler throws two to no. 1 more than the wide receiver position. I believe 27 targets a game to wide receivers is his average thus far. And look, this is the time to finally be able to exploit a defense that gives up 10 plus more fantasy points on average to fantasy wide receivers. So Devonte Parker, I think he gets in the end zone this week. I think, I think it's a great week to start him.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to throw out Jaron Brown. We. I alluded to it earlier.

[Jason Moore]

That's a bold call.

[Mike Wright]

And the reason is the Philly DBs are giving up points. Philadelphia is allowing the third most fantasy points to wide receivers. Match that with Arizona's giving up some points to their wide receivers. I think that there could be a lot of points that end up being scored in this game. And Jaron Brown, the past two weeks, 93/% of snapshot. They're going to have to get the ball out quickly like we talked about with the pass Rush and I think that favors Jaron Brown. So I think that he has a very solid start this week.

[Andy Holloway]

For me, I'm going with Randall Cobb. There's a lot of question marks in Green Bay right now. I mean, everything is looking well. I still don't believe Ty Montgomery is going to play. And if Ty Montgomery doesn't play, Randall Cobb I think is a necessary outlet for short passes. We've seen Cobb utilized in that way. Whether or not Devonte Adams plays to me, I'm starting Randall Cobb. This is a game that has a 52 and a half point over under in Vegas. Should be a lot of points scored. I'm not afraid of Dallas's secondary and Randall Cobb has just been too involved. He's utilized near the goal line. I love it as a high power offense. You got to start him.

[Jason Moore]

I love it. All right, Mike, who's your. Oh, my goodness. Who's your tight end start of the week?

[Mike Wright]

Andy's laughing.

[Andy Holloway]

What?

[Mike Wright]

Because.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yes.

[Mike Wright]

My tight end start of the week out of here is Hunter Henry.

[Andy Holloway]

He's dead to you.

[Mike Wright]

The matchup. And if you could see my notes right now.

[Jason Moore]

I love your notes.

[Mike Wright]

My note is the emoji with the.

[Jason Moore]

Sideways, like the resistance.

[Mike Wright]

But I gotta got to lean into this matchup. The Giants are allowing the most points to tight ends, the most fancy points to tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

I picked them up and I'm starting them in one of my leagues already.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, you wrote the goose is loose.

[Mike Wright]

The goose is loose because this is the time for the goose egg.

[Jason Moore]

Can we call him the Goose?

[Mike Wright]

Did we? Absolutely.

[Jason Moore]

That has to be Hunter Henry's nickname. The Goose himself.

[Mike Wright]

I am fine with calling him Goose and the Henry Truthers, if you stayed the course. This is where you plug them in.

[Jason Moore]

Unbelievable.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man.

[Jason Moore]

Well, I've got the other side of that matchup. Evan Ingram. We talked about him. This game's poised to be a shootout. Last week, the Giants d gave up 5 for 81 to Zach Ertz. Ingram should be able to stretch the field the way Zach Ertz does. And I think, like Mike said, the targets are enough reason to start Evan Ingram this week. I like him a lot.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. For me, it's Austin Sparrion Jenkins, a guy you could still find on many waivers, which I scooped him up in the middle of the week.

[Mike Wright]

Let's be honest, in my money league.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. If you've been listening here, you probably have Austin sparing Jenkins. If he's owned, it's probably you that's picked him up. But this week you know Cleveland and the New York Giants, those two teams have just not been able to remotely stop tight ends at all. And it's a good matchup. Austin Safari and Jenkins pretty much leading them in targets since he's gotten back from his suspension.

[Jason Moore]

They let go will tie.

[Andy Holloway]

The combination of the matchup and the need and the talent, everything points to me starting fair and Jenkins along with that is how few tight ends you can feel confident starting.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, absolutely. I like it. All right, now for the most important segment of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason Moore's ironclad locked and loaded, 100% guaranteed boom boom kicker of the week.

[Jason Moore]

Now, Jason, you're gonna need to step up your game. I know that you watch six to eight hours of film on kickers each week, but you got to step it up.

[Andy Holloway]

Why are you saying that, Andy?

[Jason Moore]

Because I, Dan Bailey, didn't do it for me last week.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, well, guess what. My boom boom kicker of the week this week, Dan Bailey.

[Mike Wright]

That's not what the notes say.

[Andy Holloway]

No, it's an audible.

[Jason Moore]

You want to know why it's an audible? Because you just signed him in our league of record.

[Andy Holloway]

You're darn right I did. I signed him because I dropped him. I'm starting him. He's at home. He's a great kicker. A great over under. He's favored at home.

[Jason Moore]

That's not what the notes say, Bailey.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, book it, mailbag. Mailbag.

[Jason Moore]

All right, I did want a chance to just jump into the mailbag, answer some listener questions always. Like helping the foot clan. You can call our voicemail hotline, 302-464-TFFB. If you have a question, you can also submit a question on the website thefantasyfootballers.com let's go ahead and take a second and answer a voicemail.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, guys, absolutely love the show.

[Andy Holloway]

Just wondering if you would trade Devontae Freeman or Doug Martin and Joe Mixon.

[Mike Wright]

Thanks, guys.

[Jason Moore]

All right, so Devonta Freeman's on the buy this week and then you've got Doug Martin coming back off the suspension.

[Andy Holloway]

Heck yeah, I would.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, that's a no for me. I will take a top five known running back asset instead of this. These mystical beans that could grow into a giant vine that I can climb to a castle. And I'll take the top five running back.

[Andy Holloway]

I still believe in Doug Martin, who's been a top five running back who is also past his his buy. You're stealing a week here. When you get rid of a player on his buy for a player who's passed his buy. And then you add the opportunity and depth at a really important position. That's difficult to have that with the upside of Joe Mixon. I get your argument. Look, sometimes studs, they're worth more than five other players because of what they could do in one position.

[Jason Moore]

I'm actually going to hedge a little bit here. If your team is cruising, I don't do this deal. If it's not, you need a week. The buy is here. I make the. I make the move.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. If you're trying to manufacture, you have to win this weekend, then maybe I.

[Jason Moore]

Will say Freeman's touches, like his efficiency scoring wise. I think it's going to come down a little bit in the second half. I mean, he's.

[Mike Wright]

I feel like that's the comment made about Devontae Freeman for the past three years.

[Jason Moore]

Fair enough. Next question. Hey, what's up, guys? This is Matt from Seattle, Washington. Just wondering if it's okay this Sammy Watkins and Gurley the same week they play Seattle this week. So I'm just curious. Thanks. Love the show. Bye. I would try to avoid it in that specific matchup situation.

[Mike Wright]

I would try to avoid playing Sammy Watkins as well. Gurley, at this point, you gotta. You gotta see what he can do against Seattle. But there's no way I'm playing Watkins.

[Jason Moore]

This question comes in from Kenneth in Bonjour, Canada.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, bonjour.

[Jason Moore]

Bonjour.

[Andy Holloway]

Bonjour.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, guys, what are your thoughts on Amendola or John Brown rest of season?

[Mike Wright]

Danny Amendola is great, but how many games will you get out of him? Who knows?

[Jason Moore]

He also said he loves the show and his kids now love it too. And it's become a daily ritual.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, what's up, children from Bonds, Georgia, Canada.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, both. Both these guys are good when healthy and not super healthy.

[Mike Wright]

Who would you rather have?

[Andy Holloway]

I'd much rather have Danny Amendola.

[Mike Wright]

As would I.

[Jason Moore]

Have you been out to Bonjour, Canada? Have you seen the sights?

[Mike Wright]

I flew over it.

[Jason Moore]

Did you? You flew over it?

[Andy Holloway]

I think yelled out the window. Bonjour.

[Mike Wright]

Here's the trick, though. It's a trick question. Because we were in Canada, that means we flew over Bonjour, Canada. Because it's just the entire country.

[Jason Moore]

That's right. Yeah. Any foreign land is Bonjour land.

[Mike Wright]

They all do. They all speak French, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

That is it for today's episode of the show. Come back tomorrow for a ton of great matchup. We'll get through the rest of the matchups and have a lot more on the show tomorrow. Including our in and out segment where we'll let you know about injuries and things of that nature. Check out jointhefoot.com for our fantasy football community and don't forget to come play with us over on draft. You can go to draft.comballers that's easy. Come play with us.

[Mike Wright]

It's easy.

[Jason Moore]

Draft.comballers thanks for listening. Talk to you tomorrow.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Andy Holloway]

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.