Fantasy Football 2017 - Week 10 Studs & Duds, Rising Stars, King Goffrey

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary: Week 10 Analysis (Released November 13, 2017)

In this engaging and insightful episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright delve deep into the intricacies of Week 10 of the 2017 NFL season. Covering everything from standout performances and rising stars to disappointing outings and strategic player evaluations, this episode serves as an essential guide for fantasy football enthusiasts aiming to optimize their rosters. Below is a comprehensive summary of the key discussions, complete with notable quotes and timestamps for reference.

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1. Studs & Duds: Analyzing Week 10 Performances

The hosts begin by evaluating the high and low performers of Week 10, focusing primarily on running backs and wide receivers.

• King Godfrey's Stellar Performance

  Mike Wright highlights King Godfrey's exceptional game:

  "Nobody was more stud muffiny than King Godfrey himself. 25 for 37, 355 yards and three touchdowns."
  [13:54] Mike Wright

  The trio commends Godfrey for his impressive yardage and touchdown haul, positioning him as a key player to watch in future matchups.

• Joseph Mixon vs. C.J. Anderson

  A significant discussion revolves around the comparative performances of Joe Mixon and C.J. Anderson:

  "C.J. anderson, they're on. They have a strict one quarter plan. It's called the first quarter until they get behind."
  [02:13] Mike Wright

  Jason Moore echoes concerns about C.J. Anderson's limited usage despite his efficiency, emphasizing the frustration of relying on a player who isn't consistently involved throughout the game.

2. Rising Stars: Players to Watch

The conversation shifts to potential breakout players who could provide significant value in upcoming weeks.

• Marquise Goodwin's Emergence

  Mike Wright praises Marquise Goodwin's performance despite personal hardships:

  "Marquise Goodwin has wheels, my friend. [...] he's going to be a wide receiver two candidate every single week."
  [30:47] Mike Wright

  The hosts acknowledge Goodwin's speed and increased target volume, making him a reliable streaming option.

• Rex Burkhead's Versatility

  Jason Moore advocates for Rex Burkhead as a rising star:

  "Rex Burkhead is a guy where even in deep leagues, he's still on waivers. You could pick him up and he could end up being a startable asset."
  [36:05] Jason Moore

  Burkhead's dual-threat capabilities as a runner and receiver make him an attractive option for fantasy managers looking to bolster their backfield depth.

3. Quarterback Analysis: Drew Brees and Streaming Options

A significant portion of the episode examines Drew Brees' performance and the viability of streaming quarterbacks.

• Drew Brees' Struggles

  Mike Wright critiques Drew Brees' season performance:

  "Drew Brees thus far this year has not been this QB 1, 2, 5, 6, 3 that he was the last five years."
  [06:12] Mike Wright

  Despite his talent, Brees faces challenges due to the Saints' heavy reliance on the running game, limiting his fantasy upside.

• Streaming vs. Locking In

  The hosts debate the merits of streaming quarterbacks versus sticking with a reliable option like Brees:

  "Would you rather play the streaming quarterback game and go golf [...] or just lock and load in Drew Brees and be happy with your 17 to 20 points?"
  [06:54] Mike Wright

  Jason Moore expresses a preference for the known quantity of Brees over the unpredictability of streaming options, despite acknowledging that Brees isn't performing at his peak.

4. Wide Receiver Insights: Top Performers and Strategies

The discussion moves to wide receivers, highlighting consistent performers and strategizing for future weeks.

• Robert Woods, Adam Thielen, and Sterling Shepard

  The trio assesses the performances and futures of key WRs:

  "Robert woods, Thielen and Shepard [...] These are weekly, you know, top 25 type starts."
  [24:58] Mike Wright

  They conclude that these receivers are reliable targets with favorable matchups, making them indispensable for fantasy success.

• Golden Tate's Consistency

  Andy Holloway commends Golden Tate's steady production:

  "Golden Tate is dominating. [...] His stat line for a month straight has been absolutely fire."
  [28:14] Andy Holloway

  Tate's consistent yardage and target share position him as a dependable WR1 in fantasy leagues.

5. Tight Ends Performance and Outlook

Tight ends receive considerable attention, with evaluations of both boom and bust performances.

• Jimmy Graham and Jermaine Gresham

  The hosts discuss the dual touchdown performances of notable tight ends:

  "Jimmy Graham, two touchdowns this week. Jermaine Gresham."
  [28:57] Mike Wright

  Their reliability in scoring touchdowns makes them valuable assets for fantasy managers.

• Garrett Selleck's Unexpected Downgrade

  Mike Wright addresses Garrett Selleck's decline:

  "Garrett Selleck looked like he was athletic compared to the Giants."
  [29:13] Mike Wright

  Despite early promise, Selleck's recent performances have been underwhelming, warranting caution from fantasy owners.

6. Running Back Disappointments: Poopers of the Week

The conversation tackles the disappointing performances of certain running backs, often referred to humorously as "poopers."

• Adrian Peterson and Doug Martin

  Jason Moore expresses frustration over Doug Martin's underperformance:

  "He had 20 carries over there is what you dream of. [...] He had one rush for negative two yards."
  [41:26] Jason Moore

  Similarly, Adrian Peterson's lackluster output despite high usage rates concerns fantasy managers relying on these backs.

• Alfred Morris and Offensive Struggles

  The hosts lament the inefficiencies in certain offenses that limit running back performances:

  "Tyron Smith isn't there. [...] offenses that can't move the ball."
  [43:05] Mike Wright

  These systemic issues within teams negatively impact the fantasy value of their running backs.

7. Strategic Player Evaluations and Recommendations

In the latter part of the episode, the hosts provide strategic advice for fantasy managers looking to optimize their rosters.

• Marvin Jones and Antonio Brown Streaming

  Mike Wright and Jason Moore discuss the viability of streaming wide receivers based on recent performances and upcoming matchups:

  "Marvin Jones is a guy that you can start going forward. [...] you could pick him up and he could end up being a startable asset."
  [53:27] Jason Moore

  They recommend evaluating weekly performance trends and matchups to make informed streaming decisions.

• Rex Burkhead vs. James White

  The debate over whether to start Rex Burkhead or James White highlights the complexity of managing running back options:

  "Rex Burkhead is a guy [...] he could end up being a startable asset."
  [35:01] Jason Moore

  The hosts suggest that Burkhead's involvement in both rushing and receiving makes him a safer bet compared to the volatility of White's usage.

8. Closing Thoughts: Preparing for the Upcoming Games

As the episode concludes, the hosts briefly touch on upcoming matchups and the strategic considerations they entail.

• Dolphins vs. Panthers Preview

  Andy Holloway and Jason Moore express skepticism about the Dolphins' offensive output against the favored Panthers:

  "I don't think it's going to be good for the Dolphins."
  [58:34] Andy Holloway

  They also discuss potential breakout performances from players like Marquise Colston, depending on game-day dynamics.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Joe Mixon vs. C.J. Anderson:

  "CJ Anderson, they're on. They have a strict one quarter plan."
  [02:13] Mike Wright

• Marquise Goodwin's Resilience:

  "He revealed on Twitter that he and his wife had just lost her pregnancy ended and they had a miscarriage."
  [31:37] Mike Wright

• Drew Brees vs. Streaming Options:

  "Would you rather play the streaming quarterback game [...] or just lock and load in Drew Brees."
  [06:54] Mike Wright

• Marques Burkhead's Value:

  "Rex Burkhead can catch the ball like a wide receiver."
  [35:01] Jason Moore

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Conclusion

This episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast offers a thorough and nuanced analysis of Week 10’s performances, providing valuable insights into player performances, emerging stars, and strategic decisions crucial for fantasy football success. By dissecting both the highs and lows, the hosts equip listeners with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and gain an edge in their fantasy leagues.

For those who missed the episode, this summary serves as a comprehensive guide to navigating the complexities of Week 10, ensuring your fantasy roster remains competitive as the season progresses.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Folkland. Today's show is brought to you by Fantasy Champs, the premium. The best place to get your fantasy football hardware. You gotta check out these rings. They are absolutely incredible. And the best thing is you take it up a notch. You get one of these fantastic cases and you customize it. You let people know that you are the best. You always gotta let people know you are the best with those fantasy championship rings. The best place to get them fantasychamps.com.

[Jason Moore]

And use that promo code. Ballers. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from the Play Draft studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Mike Wright]

Welcome into the Monday show. It's going to be a good one.

[Jason Moore]

The best.

[Mike Wright]

Andy, Mike and Jason back. The Fantasy Footballers back. And guys, I figured it out.

[Andy Holloway]

Life.

[Mike Wright]

I figured out the punishment I get for all of my C.J. anderson hate. Oh, I mean, obviously I'm right about it once again, but I figured out, I figured out what I get for that. And that is I get, I get to play Joe Mixon every week, who's just like a slightly spicier CJ Anderson. Just like a, just a twin spicier, but still they're the same situation.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, one of them, one of them's running like a beast.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Just limited carries. The other one is getting plenty of opportunity and just not true.

[Mike Wright]

Not true.

[Jason Moore]

You would rather have.

[Andy Holloway]

Not true.

[Mike Wright]

Not true at all. Not plenty of opportunity. Go look at Joe Mixon's carry counts. They're the same player. They're both getting eight, nine carries and Mixon's making his hay on getting the touchdown goal line carries. C.J. anderson, they're on. They have a strict one quarter plan. It's called the first quarter until they get behind. I looked at C.J. anderson, I was like, oh, man, he's got some nice yards per carry. He never had another carry the rest of the game. That's eight for Charles, six for Booker. I mean, if you were to watch.

[Jason Moore]

Any Denver Bronco game and you turn it off after, you know, in the right at the end of the first quarter, the number one running back, C.J. anderson is an absolute RB one. But their offense stinks so much and they get behind and they've decided that's not C.J. anderson. I'm going, I'm watching this game thinking, why don't you continue giving the ball to the guy who was getting you first downs? Like, I know you're behind, right? But you have to get first downs to catch up.

[Mike Wright]

I think one of the more deceptive pieces to the yard per carry equation. Like, I like yards per carry and like as an evaluator over a long period of time. But one of the more deceptive things is when you have a player come out and they give a 20, 30 yard pop on the first carry and you look after the game, you're like, why didn't they give him the ball all the time? I'm not necessarily talking about CJ. I know that was like his first carry is 20 yards. But you're like, oh, why didn't they give him the ball the whole game? Because you see that yard per carry when it's not indicative of like when they return to the rushing game. It might not have worked. So. But Joe Mixon, no, he, he lost me a week. This week I played him over DeMarco Murray.

[Andy Holloway]

I would have to, I would have to if I had that decision.

[Mike Wright]

Well, Jeremy Hill went to ir, to Marco. Murray banged up. Murray ended up mo. You know, that offense is finally looking like they can do something. Like, Mariota's healthy. Murray looked the healthiest. It'll be interesting to see second half, what happens with him. I almost made him my rising star since I've already traded for him and banked on him being that second half star. But it's nice to see him perform on my bench like that.

[Andy Holloway]

It's nice to see him actually look healthy. I mean, I, I pumped the brakes on him last week because he keeps getting nicked up and they do this ceremonious, oh, we've removed him from the injury report. And then you watch him playing, you're like, that guy's injured. I've seen him play. I've seen him at full strength. He doesn't look like that. And this past Sunday, one of the things who know Murray is crazy to.

[Mike Wright]

Predict right now, pass catching is what made him so safe and sure, like his baseline so high. So it was Nice to see 4 for 31 and a touchdown through the air. But yeah, we're going to get into all of the studs and duds on the show today, our rising stars and it'll be. We got a good quick question too. I want to break down Drew Brees a little bit. You can find us on twitter@the ff ballers. The website's the fantasy footballers.com. our community is jointhefoot.com we invite you to come over there, hang out with us, get an extra show every week, tons of giveaway perks, things like that. And check us out on YouTube as well. That way you can see you can See us this beautiful face. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Made for radio.

[Mike Wright]

Speaking of losing, Jason, did you realize you lost our Eric Ebron water bet from last week?

[Andy Holloway]

That's how you win and lose at the same time.

[Jason Moore]

That is so ridiculous. So, yes, I made Eric Ebron my start of the week, which you mocked me profusely, for which I was right on. And we decided to make a water bet as to whether or not he would have three receptions. Somehow, he had a great game for Eric Ebron without getting three. I qualified. You did qualify. Getting three receptions. Had a long touchdown. Because everyone scores a touchdown at the tight end position. If you are playing the Cleveland Browns or the New York Giants, it's just locked and loaded science.

[Mike Wright]

So you'll be getting wet, but with.

[Jason Moore]

A touchdown as a winner, I will be getting wet as a winner.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. All right. Quick question, guys. Drew Brees. This one comes in off of Twitter. What is Drew Brees the rest of the season? Now? Credit to Mike Rodak. He tweeted this out. The Saints ran the ball on 24 consecutive plays in the game against Buffalo.

[Andy Holloway]

That's impossible.

[Mike Wright]

That has not happened in any NFL game since 1989 when I was 5 years old.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, that's impossible to sustain any kind of offense. Running the ball 24 times in a row consecutively.

[Mike Wright]

Drew Brees thus far this year has not been this QB 1, 2, 5, 6, 3 that he was the last five years. It continued this week. He has the least amount of fantasy points through this point of the season. So week 10 that he's had since 2007, and it looks like the second most since 2005 or before. So this offense is having massive success on the ground. Alvin Camara over eight a carry yesterday. Mark Ingram, over six a carry.

[Andy Holloway]

He's unstoppable.

[Mike Wright]

And out of those six, I think five of the six yards of every carry was with four guys hanging off of him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, he is an absolute beast right now.

[Mike Wright]

So, Drew Brees, rest of season, would you rather. Let me put it this way. This is the real question to me. Would you rather play the streaming quarterback game and go golf and go some of these guys that have blown up off of the waiver wire or just lock and load in Drew Brees and be happy with your 17 to 20 points with potential Drew Brees upside hiding back behind what he's done this year?

[Jason Moore]

I would rather roll with Drew Brees, a known. I'd rather roll with the known. Because while Drew Brees is the quarterback 10. And you know, like, this week, I Think he was the quarterback 20 and he's had a couple of weeks. You know, I. Only a handful of his weeks so far have been, you know, a really good performance for fantasy.

[Mike Wright]

He's also qualify that one week three was only week with three touchdowns. Two of the last three weeks, zero touchdowns through the air.

[Jason Moore]

Right. Because they've just been, you know, rushing like rock stars and because rock stars rush a lot.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah.

[Jason Moore]

But the thing is, is is he's also relatively safe. Here goes Mick Jagger up the middle. Oh, Mick Jagger's dead. You know, he is safe. He's got a relatively safe floor.

[Andy Holloway]

For true Brees, he's a vampire.

[Mike Wright]

He looks like he's wearing a leather helmet already.

[Jason Moore]

You know, it was kind of like my argument I made for Michael Thomas this past week as he'll be a wide receiver one the rest of the way because the numbers are there, the touchdowns just weren't there. And I think that's how it is with Drew Brees. You're still going to bank on him. Would I say he's top five? No, but I would rather have that than take the upside of a weekly start where you go, okay, you know I'm going to roll CJ Beathard and you're happy because he blew up this week or you go, I'm going to roll. You know, Josh McCown or Tyrod Taylor who disappointed this week.

[Mike Wright]

I feel like the way that Sean Payton's. You know how they have those play charts that they hold up in front of their mouth and they're calling the plays into the quarterback. I feel like it just has Alvin Kamara run, Mark Ingram run, Breeze, throw it to Thomas, Alvin Kamar run.

[Jason Moore]

That's all you need.

[Mike Wright]

That's the rotation. I mean and Michael Thomas first game over 100 yards, still didn't score. He is a PPR Magnifico.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. Yeah, he's a stud. And the other thing for the Saints is that super bowl bound defense just absolutely shutting.

[Mike Wright]

Do you know anybody that would have picked them before the year to be.

[Andy Holloway]

The only crazy people would have done that?

[Mike Wright]

Brooks, do you remember anybody that did that? A couple people. Okay. Yeah, I remember a couple people looked really dumb two weeks into the year before they went on a seven game run.

[Andy Holloway]

This is how you do a victory lap halfway through the season.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, again every week take what you can, take what you can.

[Jason Moore]

Weekly rewind.

[Mike Wright]

Devonta Freeman, very inconvenient for fantasy owners. Decided to leave the game in the first quarter with. Decided with a concussion blown up. Yeah. Freeman, you Waited all week for him to get back from another injury and then he got concussed in the first quarter. Left you with nothing. Aaron Jones went down, sprained mcl. I look, I have. I got friends that are Packer fans. I got friends that have invested in Aaron Jones and it's one of those things where I look, he could return and become something relevant to this backfield, no doubt about it. But it's one of those things where he hadn't established himself enough. Where you really wonder how long he'll be out with the spraying mcl, how long it will be before he gets back into a rotation. And then time Montgomery left with a rib injury because Montgomery can't stay healthy. And now all of a sudden Jamal Williams is the lead back.

[Andy Holloway]

Say it's all on Jamal Williams. He's going to be hot. A hot waiver wire pickup this week. But if he comes in and has is just kind of mediocre as he's looked when given opportunity. For the most part, once he's given an extended look by the team, he was drafted in front of Aaron Jones. But we have seen that the packers go okay, you, you're playing better. That's what happened with Aaron Jones. He replaced and injured Montgomery and injured Jamal Williams and he played well enough that they gave him the job.

[Mike Wright]

If both of those players miss next week.

[Andy Holloway]

Monty and Jones.

[Mike Wright]

I'm bumping Randall Cobb up because Randall Cobb yesterday and in the past has received carries out of the backfield as kind of the. You know, he would be the passing down.

[Jason Moore]

He did it before time. Montgomery did it right before.

[Andy Holloway]

It was cool.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

For a wide receiver to play in the Packer backfield. Exactly. Brett Hundley, hamstring injury in week 10 over the Bears. Will Fuller, cracked ribs.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, that was a.

[Andy Holloway]

That hit was brutal. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

That's injury to insult and insult. Is Tom Savage, by the way. Jacoby Brissette, the insult. The insult is in the concussion protocol week to week. Could see a Scott Tolzine situation there which is high alert for the play next week. That's must start in D, I can tell you.

[Andy Holloway]

Awesome.

[Mike Wright]

Do you want to know?

[Jason Moore]

I would love to hear this information.

[Mike Wright]

Has just been released, hot off the presses. Yeah. The Colts, they play no. 1 next week.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, Jason, you're playing no.

[Jason Moore]

1 0.

[Andy Holloway]

You claimed them.

[Mike Wright]

I would still start the D against the Colts next week.

[Jason Moore]

Practice squad.

[Mike Wright]

Deshaun Kaiser, rib injury.

[Andy Holloway]

He came back in.

[Mike Wright]

Came back in and he had a look.

[Andy Holloway]

That was. That was the best. Deshaun Kaiser's Looked, I think all year. He still has his Kaiser moments but.

[Mike Wright]

I like the Eric Ebron scale. Like compared to earlier Kaiser, this was the best Kaiser.

[Jason Moore]

He is getting Corey Coleman back and.

[Andy Holloway]

Then as of right now he's the QB5 on the week. When Kaiser shows up, he gives you massive fantasy points.

[Mike Wright]

He is not afraid to throw the ball deep.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not afraid to run.

[Mike Wright]

Blaine Gabbard might start for Arizona this week. They take on Houston in Houston. What do we think about him as a streaming option against Houston?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm interested, very interested.

[Mike Wright]

Drew Stanton has a sprained knee. The Cardinals sign Matt Barkley which should show you that they are concerned about stance availability. Rob Kelly, ankle knee injury. Cannot get right.

[Andy Holloway]

No he can't.

[Mike Wright]

Jeremy Hill on ir. I mentioned it earlier. That means it's a Joe Mixon and Geo Geo Bernard backfield. Jordan Reed, Chris Hogan, Dion Sims. Mike Gillislee didn't play Gillislee a healthy scratch. Yeah, that's a far cry from week one.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it certainly is. But with the the passing of Mike Gillesley, someone else has arisen from the ashes.

[Jason Moore]

We'll talk about him in a little bit.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's talk about some other players that stood out in week 10.

[Jason Moore]

This week's fantasy stud muffins.

[Mike Wright]

Nobody was more stud muffiny than King Godfrey himself. 25 for 37, 355 yards and three touchdowns. Suddenly this is becoming what you get with Jared Goff in this offense.

[Andy Holloway]

I keep waiting in plus matchups.

[Mike Wright]

He's just looks good now. I went this past week, I watched every touchdown from Carson Wentz on the season and every touchdown from Jared Goff on the season. And the thing that stood out to me was that the weapons like Wentz stood out more as a passer and the weapons that the Rams have stood out to me as game changing weapons. I mean the amount of yard after catch touchdowns in the equation now that doesn't really mean that Goff isn't playing well. It just means he was less impressive in terms of how many of his passes went into the end zone compared to, you know, screen passes that Robert woods took to the house like he did against the Giants last week. But Goff in this game, this might have been the most impressive performance that I've seen from him. With woods and Watkins and Gurley out of the backfield. I'm just really impressed with this team in general. And now you have to take them seriously at 7 and 2 and they play Minnesota New Orleans the next two weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

The big question for Jared Goff is plus matchups, dominant, tough matchups for fantasy purposes.

[Jason Moore]

He really disappears, man. I don't know 100% that I agree with that. Remembering back to that Seattle game where it was, you know, he was his.

[Andy Holloway]

Game with zero touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

The game where the he threw the game winning pass, a perfectly placed ball. I'm talking went through his fans. I know. I'm just saying if that last pass, you know, which was a, I don't, you know, a 40 yard touchdown pass to win the game and give you, you know, an extra 10 points on your line were to be caught, we'd look at that Seattle game completely different. That's all I'm pointing out.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe, I mean because that would be his only touchdown of the game. So that still would be not a strong fantasy or fantasy output. The past two weeks, Giants, Houston, inferior defenses, seven touchdowns. The three weeks before that though, Seattle, Jacksonville, Arizona, two touchdowns in those three games combined.

[Mike Wright]

So he's not an auto start for you, Mike.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

He's a matchup play.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. This Minnesota game will be huge because they're generally a dominant defense. But we. Xavier Rhodes, he's banged up and we saw Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins in standard leagues is right now the number one quarterback on the week. Golf on the. On the back of two rushing touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

Golf is at home against San Francisco in championship week.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh my goodness.

[Mike Wright]

Keep that on your radar. If you stream Case Keenum, you were a fortunate fellow.

[Andy Holloway]

Very happy.

[Mike Wright]

I actually see a lot of similarities in the Minnesota and Los Angeles rosters. That's fair with the weapons that Keenum has at wideout. You know, Adam Thielen is great. He's always open and then when he's open, minus one play yesterday.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, very sure handed.

[Mike Wright]

Difficult catches. Sure handed. I think he excels when plays break down at finding himself. Much like Jordan Nelson used to do with Aaron Rodgers. When Keenum's out of the pocket, he's going deep somewhere and he normally comes up with it. Thielen's been great. Case Keenum at four touchdowns was a great streaming play. Has the Rams next week. Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford, Tom Brady and C.J. bethard.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Bethard.

[Mike Wright]

Good weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, we have great fantasy weeks. How are we at the point now for Denver? Are you not, you're not, are you not scared of that matchup?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, I think you no longer need to take that matchup as you cannot play a good quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

I'd still be trying to avoid it.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Middle of the pack to good. Like Kirk Cousins, that type of a player who's above average for fantasy purposes. I would no longer look at that as you can't play him in that matchup. And you have to keep in mind they lost their defensive coordinator, the son of Bum himself. And you know, that has an effect. And they lost a couple of pieces, too.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, they, they're missing TJ Ward. I mean, big time in that secondary. Mind you, the last two weeks when they were extremely outgunned, it was Brady and Wentz who have been two of the better quarterbacks.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Mike Wright]

So, yeah, it's a good point. And I think you picked out Cousins. That's like that perfect line for me where it's like I'd be like, all right, I might be willing to do that if I don't have a better option. But if I could stream. It's much like Philip Rivers this week against Jacksonville.

[Andy Holloway]

I didn't.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not going to play that.

[Jason Moore]

It's funny looking at the top five quarter quarterbacks so far this week, and we talk about, you know, streaming versus the Drew Brees, we're just read their names in standard scoring. Kirk Cousins, Jared Goff, C.J. beathard, Case Keenum and Deshaun Kaiser, just like everyone knew it would be.

[Mike Wright]

But. But Josh McCown looked like a great streaming option and for the most part let people down. So the other side of your Drew Brees argument of, hey, play that steady Eddie and Tyrod, Tyrod Taylor as well.

[Andy Holloway]

We knew that the Saints defenses, they've picked it up of late, but it seemed like he should be able to get it done at home, but he did not.

[Mike Wright]

All right, quick pause button here. We'll get into the running back studs. I do want to thank today's sponsor. You've heard of them, ZipRecruiter. Look, this is not a hard sell. Are you hiring? That is the question. Are you hiring and do you want the best candidates? Yep. If you're hiring, you probably want the best candidates and the best place to do that. It's ziprecruiter.com they're more streamlined, they're less time consuming. Even if you're busy, you can still be smart about the way that you hire. And with ZipRecruiter, you can post your job to over 100 of the web's leading job boards with a click. They put their smart matching technology to work. They actively notify qualified candidates about your job within a minute of posting so you receive the best possible matches. And that's how you do it. Smart. That's why ZipRecruiter is different. Unlike other hiring sites, they don't depend on the right candidates finding you. It finds them. That's why 80% of employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate in a day. That is how you get it done. So find out why ZipRecruiter right now has been used by businesses of all sizes and industries to find the most qualified candidates. Right now, our listeners get the opportunity to post jobs on ZipRecruiter for free. That's right, free. Just go to ZipRecruiter.comfootballers that's ZipRecruiter.comfootballeters one more time to try it for free. Go to ziprecruiter.com footballers and we also.

[Jason Moore]

Want to thank Omaha Steaks. I want to give a personal thank you to Omaha Steaks for making awesome steaks because they are delicious, as are the caramel apple tartlets.

[Mike Wright]

I think that a good tartlet. It's hard to tell.

[Jason Moore]

I think the Denver offense, that they're too caught up with barbecues and all, you know, all the. Omaha, Omaha.

[Mike Wright]

That's what they're yelling out. It's steak related.

[Jason Moore]

It's all steak related. Listen, the foot clan right now can get a deal through Omaha Steaks. That's unbelievable. We've all gotten it. It's 49 bucks. That's 75% off. And listen to everything. It comes with two filet mignons, two top sirloins, two boneless pork chops, four boneless chicken breasts, four kielbasa sausages, four burgers, four potatoes au gratin, four of those caramel apple tartlets that are no joke, one Omaha steak seasoning packet. And plus, you get four additional kielbasa sausages for free. So throw them in. Go to omahasteaks.com and you enter fantasy. You type fantasy in the search bar. It's a little different than the coupon code. So just go to the website search bar, hit fantasy and get that savings 75% off. And, you know, great holiday gift as well.

[Mike Wright]

All right, running back studs. You've got the two running backs in New Orleans that are unstoppable, super studly. But what do you make of Austin.

[Andy Holloway]

Eckler, the best running back in Los Angeles.

[Mike Wright]

Stop yourself. All right.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you, Andy.

[Mike Wright]

25.4 fantasy points. If you're Melvin Gordon. If you're the owner of Melvin Gordon, you're kind of perplexed at these touches being taken away. Five for 77 and two touchdowns through the air and two like 10 for 42 on the ground, his two touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

It was the exact same play.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, so much so that we thought we were watching a replay because, you know, we've got a TV wall. We're watching, you know, all the games at. And so, so often we see a play and we go, oh, no, that was earlier. I swear it was the earlier play because it was identical.

[Mike Wright]

Now, mind you, Melvin Gordon, the fifth ranked running back, he had eight fantasy points in this game. He didn't kill you. He's had three weeks, 33, 34, 24 in the last five weeks. Do you look at Ekeler as a must have handcuff?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, he is. For me, he's a must have handcuff.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. If I had Gordon, I would definitely want Eckler because I think what he's shown is that should Gordon go out, Echler's going to be able to be involved. He really looked like Danny Woodhead out there.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

You know, a throwback to the Charger pass catching awesomeness of the tiny guy that gets it done.

[Mike Wright]

Gurley, great performance despite no touchdowns. Isaiah Crowell, 16 for 90 and a touchdown. Hey, back on the radar, Mike. Yeah, yeah, he's been okay.

[Jason Moore]

Definitely. I mean, you have to.

[Andy Holloway]

Jacksonville, Cincinnati, Chargers. Those are his next three matchups. Good luck with that.

[Jason Moore]

Chargers are not a good run.

[Mike Wright]

Double digit.

[Andy Holloway]

Leonard Fournette disagrees.

[Mike Wright]

Last five weeks for Crowell in half point 9, 9, 10, 18, 17 touchdowns and two straight weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, the two big games is great and he's just. He's a running back.

[Mike Wright]

What if Kaiser was out? Would that change your. I mean, do you care?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. Dion Lewis, 14 for 55 and a touchdown. Also had the kick return. Touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Or is that. Is that one? Did he have two touchdowns?

[Andy Holloway]

He had two total touchdowns. The one with the special teams touchdown. I mean, he looks fantastic and so does Rex. Go ahead.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean, stop it.

[Andy Holloway]

I will not stop it.

[Jason Moore]

The nice thing about Dion, you're just.

[Mike Wright]

Happy about Burkhead because he scored. Otherwise he was. I mean, yeah, he's a little bit involved. I think he's a complete mirage. I know we're going to talk about him later, but he's a trap. I mean, a complete trap because it's going to bounce between White and Burkhead and Lewis and you know, whatever else they want to do.

[Jason Moore]

Perhaps we shall see.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, but maybe, maybe some temporary value without Hogan in there. I don't know. Robert woods, have yourself a game again. 8 for 171. Two touchdowns on 10 targets. I've always loved Mr. Robert woods ever since his Buffalo days. Woods and Thielen were both on the radar this offseason for us as breakout candidates. And Thielen, eight for 166 and. And a touchdown. I assume that puts Thielen back ahead in terms of the total yardage from the wide receiver position this year.

[Jason Moore]

It almost has to. I mean, he was so dominant this last game and he's been up near the top.

[Mike Wright]

So rest of season, Woods, Thielen and Sterling Shepard, where would you have them on your rest of season rankings? Because Sterling Shepard, career high, 142 yards on 11 receptions. Exactly what we thought would happen. They didn't have a wide receiver. I mean, they lost four of them. You get one of them back, he's going to get all the targets when you're talented.

[Jason Moore]

And yeah, I was going to say he's very good. So those three guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Give me the three names again.

[Mike Wright]

Thielen, woods and Shepard.

[Jason Moore]

I would order them. Thielen, Shepard, Woods. I know woods has been just unbelievably dominant.

[Mike Wright]

I would do it that way as well.

[Jason Moore]

But I still think that the volume is much more guaranteed for Shepherd. I would rather bank on that than what we've seen from woods, who is great. And as far as ranking, I mean, you've got to see all three of these guys as weekly, you know, top 25 type starts.

[Mike Wright]

Schedule toughens up a lot for Robert Woods. Minnesota, New Orleans, Arizona, Philadelphia, Seattle, 5 Consent and Tennessee. And Tennessee. So outside of that beautiful San Francisco Week 16 matchup, I think you're going to see a, you know, 17.

[Jason Moore]

I was going to. I was gonna.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, it is 17.

[Mike Wright]

17.

[Jason Moore]

It's correct.

[Mike Wright]

That means I'm wrong earlier.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

When we talked about the golf matchup means we're changing.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, changing it to wrong for we're playing week through week 17 just so I can play golf.

[Jason Moore]

Wrong for some because there are some people out there who are in leagues led by, we'll say, dumb commissioners because I want to be kind that have a Week 17 championship.

[Mike Wright]

That's very mean.

[Andy Holloway]

You always have a way with words, Jason.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you. You know, it's. I just remember last year and as a quick aside here, I remember last year in week 17 thinking, you know what? I'm not going to be nice about it anymore because it screwed so many people and it was such nonsense. The players that played and didn't play it. It was just week 17 was a garbage heap of nothing that made sense. And then your champion is almost assuredly the guy that should not have won going into that week based on just all of the good players and all of the bad players that were going in week 17. And I thought coming in to 2017 and beyond, I'm going to rail against week 17 championships until everyone has changed. So there you go.

[Mike Wright]

Most people, when you yell at them, they'll change right away. They'll change right away.

[Jason Moore]

This is fine.

[Mike Wright]

I'll stop there with my thoughts. A.J. green. Chester Rogers. Golden Tate. Brandon LaFell. Juju. Five for 97 and a touchdown.

[Jason Moore]

Good star is born.

[Mike Wright]

Good player. Emmanuel Sanders was unstoppable in the first half yesterday. Six for 137 on 11 targets. Demarius Thomas scored again. Is there anybody from that group that you want to give some fantasy advice to or about?

[Andy Holloway]

I just want to tip of the cap. Golden Tate is dominating. Dominating. The last four games, he has not been below 86 receiving yards. I mean, his stat line for a month straight has been absolutely fire. Incredible.

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely. Robbie Anderson, 4 for 85 and a touchdown. Continues to play a little bit of the garbage. But that's, you know, I don't take. I don't hold that against him because he basically did it on two consecutive drives. He was just like a tiptoe out of bounds on the drive before.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

Look, when push comes to shove, Josh McCown throws deep to Robbie Anderson and it's working out more often than it's not. Mark East Lee, 6 for 55 and a touchdown. I know we're going to talk about him. Let's not forget Larry Fitzgerald and what he did with Drew Stanton on Thursday night. Michael Thomas, we mentioned him. And Diggs. Welcome back. Four for 78 and a touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

It's good to have you back. Diggs.

[Mike Wright]

Tight ends. Jimmy Graham, two touchdowns this week. Jermaine Gresham. Those are the Thursday night guys. Garrett Selleck.

[Andy Holloway]

Garrett, look, you know, the advice was coming into this week was a tight end has scored against the Giants nine straight weeks and it was like, okay, it was. It was nine. So now it is at ten. And.

[Mike Wright]

And Garrett Selleck looked like he was athletic compared to the Giants.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

Defense, well, they run at about 25%.

[Andy Holloway]

They have given up.

[Mike Wright]

They really have. And you hate to say that because, you know, there are players on that defense that have it right. But one of them that has is Janoris Jenkins. I mean, back from the suspension, just had his rear end handed to him by Marquis Goodwin. Couldn't tackle Garrett Selleck on that play. That dude is dunzo. Yeah, as is Bob McAdoo. Soon. Yeah, I think they keep McAdoo in place because they want to secure the number one pick. That's the best way to do it. Austin Hooper got back in the end zone. Evan Ingram scored for a fourth straight week. Yeah, I love that. He's been one of the most reliable tight ends in fantasy this entire year, which is strange for a rookie, but he's great.

[Andy Holloway]

Also for next week, if you have Travis Kelsey, he will be playing the aforementioned New York.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, that's an automatic one per half.

[Andy Holloway]

Just bench the rest of your team and gloat at your one player Kelsey only your one player victory.

[Mike Wright]

Jordan Reed sat and Vernon Davis was great again serving for 76.

[Jason Moore]

If Jordan incredible. Yeah, Vernon Davis has been great even when Jordan Reed's been playing. When Jordan Reed is out, he's just too important to Kirk Cousins. 7 for 76 on 11 targets as a tight end that you know you could get off of waivers this past week, play him raising canes Rising Stars of the Week.

[Mike Wright]

It's a Marquise thing we got going on in the rising Stars this week. Mine is Marquise Goodwin, one of my favorite starts heading into the week because of the matchup. Marquis Goodwin has wheels, my friend. And you know, this performance became all the more impressive when he revealed on Twitter that he and his wife had just lost her pregnancy ended and they had a miscarriage. And he played in this game and he put up an incredible performance and hearts and thoughts and prayers go out to Marquise Goodwin in terms of fantasy production. Look, he, he's, he's the only show in town in San Francisco and that's a team that's trying to figure out what they're going to be doing next year. And Goodwin has impressed. So with no Pierre Garcon, I think Goodwin's a, he's a wide receiver two candidate every single week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I can agree with that. And he's getting. It was coming into the week he had the 12th most air yards in.

[Mike Wright]

And the strange red zone targets that even though he wasn't converting.

[Andy Holloway]

That's the thing. I mean you combine a guy with that kind of speed getting incredible amounts of air yards and then he becomes the top target in the offense. I mean that's, he's going to be sneaky good for the rest of the year.

[Mike Wright]

He only had the one.

[Andy Holloway]

I get it.

[Jason Moore]

But he's a great DFS play as well because there's, I don't think there's anybody in the league like the best, the best defenses, they're not as Fast as him. I mean you're talking Olympian speed. And so he can get behind you always. You always look and you go, man, that defense fell asleep. No, they didn't. They ran as fast as they could. Goodman gets behind him.

[Mike Wright]

Now.

[Jason Moore]

They don't have the best quarterback, I think in either of their quarterbacks to get him the ball, but they can get it done. And so it's, it's kind of that you, you know, you shoot for the moon play.

[Mike Wright]

And Garoppolo offers some possible upside. I don't think he's gonna be worse than Beathard. So if he's the number one target and Garoppolo's out there, they even hand, they hand good boon the ball on end arounds every once in a while too. So it's somebody to pay attention to.

[Andy Holloway]

It's just, it's interesting. Both Goodwin and Woods coming out of Buffalo, I mean in both of them are. While they were, you know, decent players, they were useless for fantasy purposes. Both of them escape the clutches of the Bills and as soon as you're.

[Jason Moore]

Loving it, you go to great stardom. Like what has happened with Sammy Watkins.

[Andy Holloway]

He's useful the past couple weeks.

[Jason Moore]

All right, so Marquis Goodwin, who do you have? Mike?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going with Marquis Lee. He's, I think he's still under the radar for a lot of people. And here's his past four games. 83 yards, 72 yards, 75 yards and a touchdown. 55 and a touchdown. I mean he's, he looks fantastic. I know he's, he and apparently is banged up. You know, he's missing practices and everything. But that's not stopping him from being an absolute wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Yeah, thank you, Jacksonville Jaguars. But three of the past four weeks over double digit targets. This is the guy that Blake Bortles is going to. When he has to throw. When, when Tom Coughlin and crew allow Blake Bortles to throw, he's hyper targeting.

[Mike Wright]

Marquis Lee, I should add. Alan Hearns is on crutches, so. Alan Hearns. Oh yeah, he may be missing some time.

[Jason Moore]

Tip of the cap.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, if you didn't see the Alan Hearns play, it's at the end of the game, the, the team is scrambling to try and tie. I believe it was tie the game. Alan Hearns takes a nasty hit and just knowing that if you lay down, they're going to get a 10 second runoff because they, that's the rules. If you have to stop the time for an injured player, he crawls off the field. I mean, this was. That was an incredible so team player play by Alan Hearns. It was incredible.

[Mike Wright]

You're going Marquis Lee. I went Marquis Goodwin. Jason, I've got an option for you.

[Jason Moore]

And it's Marquis Burkhead.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I thought I was going to let you choose Marquis Colston.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I do like. Hey, shout out to Marquise Colston.

[Andy Holloway]

What's he up to?

[Mike Wright]

Hey, old buddy.

[Jason Moore]

I think he's been, you know, reincarnated by Michael Thomas, but no Marquis. Good. Marquis Burkhead, running back for the marquees.

[Mike Wright]

I like A.J. no, not Marquis.

[Jason Moore]

Marquees. Right, Marquees. Burkett running back. Yeah. Rex Burkhead, running back for the New England Patriots, is my rising star. Andy, you think he's more of a mirage? And listen, any. Any Patriots running back can be a mirage. I truly believe that. Including Deion Lewis, even including James White. Just looking how things go. But you have a running back who is on waivers right now, who was injured. They came in. Right, right. We got to remember how the season has gone. Week one, everyone was freaking out because Rex Burke had got the first carry of the season for the Patriots. And then Gillis Lee ended up with the triple touchdown game. The touchdown the next game, and it looked like, okay, well, that battle has been won. It's Mike Gillisle. But Mike Gillislee has disappointed from that point on. Rex Burkhead was injured for the, you know, the major chunk of the season, and when Burkhead has gotten back, he's gotten more and more and more involved, and he is a. He's what Bill Belichick likes, a multiple threat running back. He can catch the ball like a wide receiver, like Gillisle can catch the ball, but he doesn't run routes and doesn't have the hands that Rex Burkhead has. You know, he can pretty much be a wide receiver. Gillis Lee doesn't help on special teams the way that Burkhead does. And we saw that with Burkhead blocking a punt. Two weeks ago, Rex Burkhead led the Patriots in receptions. He's involved in the game. And now this week, a healthy scratch from Mike Gillisle says to me that they think James White, Dion Lewis, and Rex Burkhead are the trio that can do it all. They can be involved in every facet of the game and in passing, in rushing. And if you look at the last two weeks, I mean, James White's kind of been this sure thing. James White over the last two weeks has had three rushing attempts and eight receptions, whereas Rex Burkhead has had 14 rushing attempts and 10 receptions. He's been more involved in both the rushing and the receiving game. I think Rex Burkhead is a guy where even in deep leagues, he's still on waivers. You could pick him up and he could end up being a startable asset. That's my case. What say you, Andy?

[Mike Wright]

You know, sure.

[Jason Moore]

Like I wasn't listening.

[Mike Wright]

No, I was listening. It's a compelling argument that we've made for four different running backs on this roster this year. I don't disagree with the fact that he could have a good week anytime. I don't. I wish that I could push a button and we'd never talk about the backfield for the entirety of the year. I know we need to. I know it's great to say, hey, grab a guy. I want to find any other option under the sun to bank on. Even with James White, I feel like it's disrespectful to James White that he's never made it into the Rising Stars because I know Deion Lewis has been there. I know Rex Burkhead's been there. I know Mike Gillislee's been there, and here's James White just catching touchdowns every other week. So, look, you could be absolutely right. It's a compelling case to compare James White's numbers to Rex Burkhead's numbers over the last two weeks. I still think that at any moment it could be a different guy. And that's the. That's the game that you play with the Patriots running backs. And let me put it this way. Would you be willing to start James White on a week to week basis?

[Jason Moore]

Usually I would. Not if I'm at a full PPR as a flex, sure.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Burkhead right now, I would be willing to start him.

[Mike Wright]

Dion Lewis, definitely. Okay. So I. It's just one of those things where I do agree that maybe the value is a little higher on Burkhead, maybe a little more predictable with Chris Hogan off the field, Amadola banged up. I'm still. I'm not banking on it for my fantasy playoffs.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, and I get it. Just the last thing I'll throw out in Jason's favor. Rex Burkhead played over 51% of the snaps. And while that seems like a small number from what you want from a running back. James White, 15%, Dion Lewis, 30%. I mean, this Rex Burkhead is just. He's trending up.

[Mike Wright]

So how do you account then, from a philosophical standpoint? Because all those statistics all the statistics were 100% like that for Mike Gillispie. Right. All the percentage of snaps and all of these things where he was valuable. How other than just looking at trends in the last couple of games, how do you account for the unpredictability of the backfield for a team like that? Because you don't get to see the kinds of drop offs that you got with Gillisle or other players. That's the reason, like James White, right. He went to 15% last week, previous weeks, 50 plus percent, 60 plus percent of snaps. If you just look at those numbers, the 60, 70% and you don't consider the history of this team, then you're surprised by the James White play this week with 15%.

[Jason Moore]

Right. I think that's the reason where I, where I brought up the multiple threat, the fact that he can play special teams.

[Mike Wright]

But that doesn't count for fantasy.

[Jason Moore]

No, no, no, but it counts. What I'm saying is for the Patriots, from Bill Belichick, from. I want this guy active. I want him in my lineup, I want him involved. They always have used guys like that. Danny Amendola and you know Brandon Bolan.

[Mike Wright]

Is using special teams. That doesn't guarantee you snaps on the offense of that week's game plan.

[Jason Moore]

No, but considering that Rex, that Mike Gillesley wasn't active, it guarantees that you're in the game. And my point is, I think we could see a trend here where Gillislee is left behind and the three headed beasts take over. And I think if there's any team out there that has enough fantasy points to be scored by pass catching running backs, it's Saints. To support a three headed monster, it would be the Patriots.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Marquis Lee, Marquis Goodwin and Rex Marquis Burkhead were our Raising Canes rising stars of the week. Remember that Game day tastes better. Better with Raising Canes tailgates full of fresh 24 hour marinated hand battered chicken fingers and fresh brewed sweet tea. Visit raising canes.com to find your nearest location. I think I just decided that's where I'm eating lunch today. We'll have to tweet that out. Let's move on. Let's talk about some of these disappointments. We have to. They make us do it.

[Jason Moore]

Pooped in his big boy pants.

[Mike Wright]

Executive decision, by the way, who are they? They? The peoples. The peoples. They want us to, you know, mourn with those who mourn and look, that's why I'm making the executive decision to talk about the running back poopers first. Oh, because Lashan Shady, my friend, you've cost me two consecutive weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Two straight weeks where I would have won if you could have just given me something special. Now, this game started. First drive of the game. He had four and a half fantasy points, which basically surpassed last week. And I'm going. Here we go. We're back, baby. 8 for 49, 3 for 11. Through the air, I felt like they never had the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, just 24 consecutive rushing plays by the Saints at some point. I mean, that. That would explain it, that they just, they did not have the time. Adrian Peterson, 21 for 29. Okay, here's a good. Here's a good question for you, Jason. Doug Martin. What are you possibly doing with Doug Martin the past few weeks? I mean, he's getting carries.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean, he had 20.

[Andy Holloway]

20 for 51.

[Jason Moore]

20 carries over there is what you dream of. I mean, you're, you know, fantasy. You're looking for volume. And in a matchup that was a winnable matchup to get 20 carries and only come out of there with 51.

[Mike Wright]

Yards, Adrian Peterson should be so lucky.

[Jason Moore]

Right, Exactly. So, you know, look, you're holding on to Doug Martin and hoping he can get it together. I think you keep starting him because 20 carries, I mean, if you get 20 carries, it's rare that you're going to have 51 yards or fewer.

[Andy Holloway]

And so not, not for Martin, because that's the second time this year that he's done that.

[Mike Wright]

Martin, Peterson, McCoy, all suffering the same fate. Right now. Offenses that can't move the ball. Right. Like, what makes Ingram and Camara so amazing is every time you refresh your phone, they're in the red zone. I mean, you're not stacking the box.

[Jason Moore]

Against Mark Ingram and Alvin Camara and saying, we're going to make Drew Brees beat us.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I mean, you're talking about. It's Drew.

[Andy Holloway]

What a boom.

[Mike Wright]

Drew Stanton, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tyrod Taylor, they're not moving the ball. And so if you can't move the ball down the field, this was a complete fantasy mess in the jets game. Just a disaster from both sides of the. Of the ball, and you suffer because of it. So Derek McKinnon, 10 for 32, 2 for 15. This is going to happen from time to time.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Mike Wright]

The way the game goes, you certainly in a game where they scored that many points, you expected more from Jerick McKinnon. But Case Keenum had four touchdown passes. That was a little bit anomalous from what we expect from him. And then the One goal line carry. Now he, he split goal line carries. It just happened that Latavius Murray got in on the second of his. McKinnon was stopped at the two and they threw the ball to Diggs on the next play. I still like McKinnon rest of season, but he's going to have the ability to disappoint you from time to time. Talked about Gordon a little bit, Talked about, talked about C.J. anderson a little bit. Stay away from the Denver backfield. I don't care what my cohorts here tell you. There's three guys in a bad offense. Just stay away for now. I don't care if you hold them. You can. Listen, you can hold them. That's fine. Tyrod Taylor, Drew Brees, Dak Prescott let you down at the quarterback position. Dak Prescott was running for his life, guys.

[Jason Moore]

Listen. The pooped in his big boy pants section has to be Chaz Green. If you don't know who Chaz Green is, who cares?

[Mike Wright]

You won't know about him anymore after this.

[Jason Moore]

He was the left tackle replacement for the Dallas Cowboys and it. What happened to Dak Prescott was not fair. He had to play with four offensive linemen and a big hole on the left. You have a new Atlanta Falcons record of six sacks from one person and there was another sack from a different person from that spot. I mean, it was like I was playing left tackle for the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, Dak Prescott sucked, but I think if you want, if you didn't watch the game, I want to ease your fears a little bit in the sense that if they're, you know, if. Tyron, what's the Smith. Thank you. Tyron Smith comes back.

[Andy Holloway]

I didn't know where you were going.

[Jason Moore]

You're going to be totally fine with Dak Prescott. You don't overreact on this.

[Mike Wright]

This is bad game. Literally being called the Chaz Green game in the, in the history books for the Dallas Cowboys fans. Troy Aikman at one point in this game said, that's about as bad as I've seen anyone get beaten a football game in all my years of watching football. Chaz Green put the loss on his own shoulders. So give him credit for that. But look, Adrian Claiborne, six sacks in a game. This is a guy who has 22 and a half for his career. Okay? That's his entire career. He basically single handedly destroyed the offense. This was a scary look into no left tackle and no Ezekiel. It was both of those things because Zeke, to his credit, he offers a little bit of that chip protection out of the backfield that they didn't get out of Alfred Morris and the other backs in this game. It was just basically there was a point where Dak Prescott is looking like the most tired man on the face of the earth.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he was on the side looking real sweaty, real gassed. I don't, I don't know what the Cowboys are doing.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, but you have to temper expectations without Zeke. See if you have no left tackle. I mean if this is. But they play Philadelphia this week. Philadelphia knows how to get to the quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

But if Tyron Smith is back, I'm honestly, yeah, I'm with Jason that it's. This is, this is completely a left tackle related situation to me. This is not a Zeke problem and.

[Jason Moore]

Maybe a little bit of coaching because.

[Mike Wright]

A little bit of a des problem.

[Jason Moore]

To get some help over there.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Well, I don't know what the Cowboys are doing. How do you not just every single play say, okay, well we have to put a blocking tight end over there.

[Mike Wright]

This is what we have to do. From what I understand, in the third quarter somebody told him that Tyrone Smith isn't there. They found that out. All right.

[Andy Holloway]

Before you get, before you move on to the wide receivers, I think people would be pretty upset if you did not highlight how bad Leonard Fournette was.17 for 33.

[Mike Wright]

And is this just the 28 days off? Is that what you got out of this game?

[Andy Holloway]

I hope so.

[Mike Wright]

He wasn't on the field for the pass heavy portions of the game, which is concerning. You hope your number one superback is on the field and he just wasn't. It was yelled and it was ivory.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that was the most upsetting thing to me. I feel like the. When the game was still in a place where they could run the ball, they were not acting like the situation was there.

[Andy Holloway]

But to be fair for if you're just going with this, the season of his snap percentage last week, this past week when he was bad, he was at 53.6%. I mean 59, 50, 50, 59, 60. He had the game against Pittsburgh. He was in for 72% of snaps. But. But this kind of that 50 to 60 range, that's where he lives.

[Mike Wright]

Well, and 17 carries, you're not disappointed in 17 carries. He just didn't have a touchdown and didn't perform. But he gets Cleveland next week, guys.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Cleveland's been a decent defense against, against the running backs. But the nice thing is game script, though. Exactly. That's what I was going to bring.

[Andy Holloway]

And Jordan Howard was personally very disappointing for me. Not in the league where I was playing against him. And I was terrified because I thought Howard was going to have a monster game.

[Jason Moore]

But apparently I'll throw my personal one out. I mean, Powell. Yeah, I thought he was going to be a monster this week without Forte.

[Mike Wright]

And He, yeah, Elijah McGuire out snapped him 36 to 33.

[Jason Moore]

That entire game, that Tampa Bay New York jets game, we all were hoping for some kind of, you know, fantasy glory to be had there and there was nothing.

[Mike Wright]

What do you do with Alfred Morris?

[Andy Holloway]

I was just going to say we need to ask the resident Alfred Morris man crusher over here, Mr. Jason Moore. What are you doing with Alf?

[Jason Moore]

I'm holding him. I'm fine with. Alf was still 4.8 a carry. Not only was he 4.8 a carry, but he was the clear leader in carries. If you have Darren McFadden, drop him. Okay. There's no point. He had one rush for negative two yards. Rod Smith was more involved. He had three carries as the backup and four receptions. But Alf still led the way with 11 carries on the ground for 53 yards. And then the game was out of, you know, the game script was we have to throw the ball, we can't run, our left tackle is a problem. And that whole game blew up for the Cowboys. So I from what I saw, I say, well, it's definitely Alstroph.

[Mike Wright]

Very difficult matchup this week against Philadelphia. Yes, that Philadelphia off the by two weeks to prepare comes to Dallas Tyrone Smith, even if he's back, you wonder is he hundred percent. What does that mean? I'd be tempering all of my Dallas expectations this week. Everyone from my me personally, everyone from from Dak to DEZ to Alfred Morris. And this is one of the reasons why, you know, we told you don't, don't look at the McFadden Alfred Morris situation as this auto win for you. If you manage to snag these guys on your team, there's just no way for even if you guess right for the way that this offense works with Zeke, it's just not going to be repeated in my opinion with with Alfred Morris. So you spent the whole off season or I mean the whole season waiting to start him and then you got let down.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Wide receivers, Antonio Brown, I do have.

[Andy Holloway]

To make a shout out real quick to Pro Football Reference. Fantastic website. Yes, absolutely fantastic. We frequent them daily to get after work.

[Mike Wright]

We head over there just for drinks.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're looking for Any kind of football data. Check it out. Pro Football Reference. They have Antonio Brown with three receptions on zero targets.

[Jason Moore]

Incredible. He's that good.

[Andy Holloway]

I've never seen that happen. Zero targets.

[Jason Moore]

Your shout out was a shame out.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, really.

[Jason Moore]

But they're still great.

[Andy Holloway]

This is very funny to pull up his profile and see zero targets, three.

[Mike Wright]

Receptions, three receptions for 47 yards on. Actually looks like seven targets.

[Andy Holloway]

People are.

[Jason Moore]

People are frustrated.

[Andy Holloway]

On Twitter. I've seen some frustration with Antonio Brown.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, well, you look at Indianapolis and the matchup and the circumstances and the situation, and yes, they pulled the game out, but hasn't scored in a couple of weeks. Only three touchdowns on the season. I think it's Big Ben Roethlisberger now. Look, he's the second ranked.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, yeah, I was gonna say go get him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's had some massive gains, but just. Yeah, that's what I'm bringing up. People are disappointed. The yardage the past three weeks is not what you're hoping for from Antonio Brown. 65, 70, 47 receiving yards.

[Mike Wright]

How many touchdowns. How many times this year has Big. Big Ben thrown for more than three touchdowns? Three or more touchdowns in a game? Yeah, three or one.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going with none.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Zero. No games this entire year with three touchdowns. That's not normal. Big Ben. Big Ben ends up where he ends up on the fantasy rankings at the end of the year most of the time because he has three or four of these games where, I mean, he. What did he have? Consecutive six, five touchdown games a couple years ago. Couple years ago. But even. Even then, you get a four or a three. He's had games with zero. He's had one, two, three, four games with just one touchdown. He's not well, playing well.

[Jason Moore]

The schedule coming up, if you look at it, Tennessee, Green Bay, those are good matchups. Couple of difficult ones with Cincinnati and Baltimore, and then in the. In the playoffs for your semifinals and your championship matchups, you've got the New England Patriots, who have been great to pass on, and the Houston Texans, who, you know, King Godfrey just tore him apart. So I think go get Antonio Brown. If you've got the Antonio Brown owner being disappointed, feeling like the wheels are falling off, go over there with a, you know, strong offer.

[Mike Wright]

Marvin Jones. Classic Marvin Jones, 1 for 22 against Cleveland.

[Andy Holloway]

You buy in, right?

[Jason Moore]

When you think he's reliable, he says, gotcha.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on, Marvin.

[Mike Wright]

Does it change your moving forward opinion of Marvin Jones? I mean, last week he was like, you got to start him. Is he still there? Is this yeah. You hurt? Are you painful? Painfully hurt.

[Jason Moore]

I definitely think that Marvin Jones is a guy that you can start going forward. That being said, Chicago, Minnesota, Baltimore, not the best matchups coming up. And we also need to, you know, probably go back, look at the film, see what an impact Kenny Golladay had on.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man, the smoothness.

[Jason Moore]

Because Kenny Golladay was finally back and it coincided with Marvin Jones. I don't want to say that that's the reason at all because I have not personally watched and seen that, but I want to go back and watch for that and see if that had an impact on Marvin Jones.

[Andy Holloway]

Stafford was also very bad for the. Essentially the entire first half of that game, and that certainly played a part.

[Mike Wright]

Des Bryant, disappointing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Especially he came out, he was getting heavily targeted right away, and all of his damage was done in the first half, and then it was nothing for Des.

[Mike Wright]

Ty Hilton.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Back to the back and forth of Ty Hilton is extremely fun for fantasy owners. Certainly Mohammed Sanu, disappointing weeks.

[Jason Moore]

I was just going to say Ty Hilton's. You know, if you. If you look at him with Brissette, he has only had good games in the most juicy of matchups. If it's a difficult matchup. Whoa.

[Mike Wright]

Breaking news came out just a couple minutes ago, but it's very unlikely that Devonta Freeman plays next week. Very unlikely to play. Second concussion of the year. This is per Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen. Is that correct, Brooks? Chris Mortensen, yeah. He already had a tough matchup against Seattle, so I think because of the matchup, I probably am less enthusiastic about, like, you know, spot starting to Ron Ward in some deep league because Seattle is tough. So it is Tevin Coleman's backfield for a week, most likely. You can monitor that. We'll let you know what's going on. Let's move on to tight ends. I know we're running towards the end of the show. Jack Doyle, disappointing game. Baby hands let him down. Welcome to the tight ends. I mean, Hunter Henry, almost so close.

[Jason Moore]

That's the wrong button.

[Mike Wright]

That's definitely the wrong button. That's what happens when you feel good. I was going for the goose. I probably shouldn't put those two directly next to each other.

[Andy Holloway]

He almost had an incredible, incredible game. Just. Just short at one for seven.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, just short. Cameron Brait only like 80 more yards.

[Andy Holloway]

And a score and he would add a fantastic game.

[Mike Wright]

Can you lean on Cameron Brait, like, I mean, the beginning of this year? You could, but no. Jameis Winston. Winston looks to Him, I feel like the reliability of braid is out the window.

[Andy Holloway]

I wouldn't. I'm not going that far.

[Mike Wright]

Couple bad weeks in a row.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Two weeks in a row where he's got one catch for 10 or fewer yards. That is.

[Mike Wright]

I'd be avoiding pass catchers. Good pass catchers over there.

[Andy Holloway]

Not named Mike Evans.

[Mike Wright]

Not named Mike Evans. I mean, this week, D. Jacks had an okay game with the absence of Evans, but that team right now, while their defense kind of bounced back and showed a little something. Six for 80, two for Desean Jackson. Yeah. You know, Charles Clay did not come back with a vengeance. Two for 13. Tyler Croft only one for four. So it was a week where hopefully if you were a Tyler Croft streamer, you played Charles Clay. Or if you were a Cameron Brait player, you played Hunter Henry.

[Jason Moore]

Again, you played against.

[Mike Wright]

You played against them. Sorry. Yeah. I mean, so you had a couple of maybe washout poopers. Yeah, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Just wash it out.

[Mike Wright]

The poopers. Washed out.

[Jason Moore]

Well, no, it's just like if you pooped your pants and now you've got dirty pants, you're going to feel a lot better if the guy next to you.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Also has poopy pants.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're in a room with poop pals.

[Mike Wright]

Poop pal.

[Jason Moore]

If peeing your pants just makes you cool. They consider me Miles Davis.

[Mike Wright]

Well, that was actually the funny thing. Like, I streamed Josh McCown in two leagues. The two leagues I streamed Josh McCown in.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, please tell me you were against Fitzpatrick.

[Mike Wright]

No one. I was against Dak Prescott. They scored exactly the same amount of points. The other league I was against Drew Brees and they scored exactly the same amount of points. So I got lucky in that situation where Josh McCown had the last second touchdown to Robbie Anderson and then my opponents did not. You know, they didn't start C.J. bathurst. Oh, or Jared Goff.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

All right, so Monday night game tonight, the Dolphins, the Panthers. Look, there's an important game for the Panthers trying to keep pace with the Saints. Damian Williams is supposed to play in this game. Jay Cutler, Kenyan Drake, Landry Parker. Do you expect the Dolphins to be able to keep pace with the Panthers? Panthers are nine point favorites. Final thoughts about this game before we close out the show.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think it's going to be good for the Dolphins.

[Jason Moore]

I'm really excited to see. I agree with you. I expect it not to be a very productive offensive output for Miami, but I'm really excited to watch it and see if with this new backfield focused on pass catching from the running back position. If that can kind of open things up for Cutler, I think there's a chance it could.

[Mike Wright]

I'd be looking to see if any players named Marquise perform well in this game.

[Jason Moore]

Watch out for Marquise. Drake. Okay, Very fast. I really like him.

[Mike Wright]

You like him out of the backfield?

[Jason Moore]

I like them coming out of college.

[Mike Wright]

Draft.Com Ballers come play with us DFS every week.

[Andy Holloway]

Goodbye.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

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