Fantasy Football 2017 - Week 7 Keep/Trade/Cut, Pump the Brakes, Hype Check

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast - Episode Summary Title: Fantasy Football 2017 - Week 7 Keep/Trade/Cut, Pump the Brakes, Hype Check
Release Date: October 18, 2017
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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Introduction & Promotions

The hosts kick off the episode by promoting their giveaways and partnerships. Andy Holloway mentions championship rings available at fantasychamps.com using promo code "ballers" for a discount. They also highlight the FootClanGiveaway.com website, where listeners can enter to win prizes like jerseys and custom championship rings.

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Pump the Brakes Segment

In this segment, the hosts caution listeners about certain players who may not be reliable starts despite preseason hype.

1. Derek Henry (RB, Tennessee Titans)

   • Andy Holloway expresses skepticism about Henry's performance compared to DeMarco Murray, dismissing claims that Henry "ran circles around" Murray. He critiques Roto World's analysis and advises caution in starting Henry over Murray.

     • Quote: “If you're starting Henry over to Marco Murray because he, quote, ran circles around him, I think it's asinine.”
       — Andy Holloway [04:19]

   • Jason Moore concurs, highlighting Henry's inconsistent workload and performance.

     • Quote: “It is worthy of a pump. Sure. Pump them brakes. Sure.”
       — Jason Moore [06:47]

2. Jameis Winston (QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

   • Mike Wright raises concerns about Winston playing with an AC sprain, citing his accuracy issues and the heightened risk of injury.
     • Quote: “I am pumping the brakes on Jameis because in a one quarterback league, I am not playing him.”
       — Mike Wright [07:20]

3. Larry Fitzgerald (WR, Arizona Cardinals)

   • Jason Moore discusses Fitzgerald's significant disparity in performance between home and away games, suggesting his road performance is underwhelming.
     • Quote: “He's averaging a PPR, 25.6 points at home. Wow. 9.8 on the road.”
       — Jason Moore [09:24]

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News and Notes

The hosts provide updates on player statuses and team news.

1. Ezekiel Elliott (RB, Dallas Cowboys)

   • Elliott received a temporary restraining order (TRO) allowing him to play in Week 7. The TRO is valid for 14 days or until further legal action is taken.
     • Quote: “The headline is he's playing this week.”
       — Andy Holloway [11:27]

2. Cleveland Browns Updates

   • Discussions on running backs Robert Turbin and Marlon Mack, with insights into quarterback Deshaun Watson's role and team performance.
     • Quote: “Patrick Peterson is going out maybe he if it's a, you know, they got the bomb.”
       — Mike Wright [14:45]

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Hype Check Segment

Evaluating whether preseason expectations for certain players have materialized.

1. Julio Jones (WR, Atlanta Falcons)

   • Andy Holloway notes Jones' lack of touchdowns despite high expectations for red zone involvement.

     • Quote: “Through week six, he has scored exactly zero times.”
       — Andy Holloway [15:53]

   • Jason Moore argues that Jones' talent will eventually translate into touchdowns, advocating for continued targeting despite current underperformance.

     • Quote: “He's a guy I would absolutely target. Owners have to be down on him right now. And he's, his talent is otherworldly.”
       — Jason Moore [17:13]

2. Julius Thomas (TE, Miami Dolphins)

   • Andy Holloway criticizes the preseason hype around Thomas, highlighting his low ranking and lack of touchdowns.
     • Quote: “He's the 45th ranked tight end, zero touchdowns.”
       — Andy Holloway [18:45]

3. Washington Wide Receivers

   • The trio discusses the underperformance of Washington's WRs, emphasizing low rankings and lack of consistent targets.
     • Quote: “Jameson Crowder is, to me, a pretty easy cut.”
       — Jason Moore [35:36]

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Keep/Trade/Cut Decisions

The hosts provide advice on whether to keep, trade, or cut specific players from fantasy rosters.

1. Terrell Pryor (RB, Jets)

   • Jason Moore recommends trading Pryor if possible due to inconsistent performance.
     • Quote: “I would definitely be looking to trade Terrell Pryor.”
       — Jason Moore [35:03]

2. Jameson Crowder (WR, Washington Redskins)

   • Considered an easy cut due to low target volume and underperformance.
     • Quote: “Jameson Crowder is, to me, a pretty easy cut.”
       — Jason Moore [35:36]

3. CJ Anderson (RB, Cleveland Browns)

   • Suggested to keep, given his role and potential upside.
     • Quote: “That's crumpling up like a piece of paper.”
       — Mike Wright [36:36]
       (Note: Likely referring to CJ Anderson's performance rather than a direct quote)

4. Sammy Watkins (WR, Baltimore Ravens)

   • Jason Moore recommends keeping him due to his talent despite low target numbers.
     • Quote: “I'm without a doubt keeping him.”
       — Jason Moore [40:36]

5. Joe Mixon (RB, Cincinnati Bengals)

   • Generally advised to keep unless a lucrative trade offer is available.
     • Quote: “I am not going to have to start him week in, week out.”
       — Jason Moore [43:09]

6. Mike Gillislee vs. Isaiah Crowell (RBs, New England Patriots)

   • Recommended to cut Crowell and keep Gillislee.
     • Quote: “I would cut Crowell and I would probably keep Gillislee at this point.”
       — Mike Wright [44:54]

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Preview of Thursday Night Matchup: Chiefs vs. Raiders

The hosts analyze the upcoming game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders, focusing on defensive and offensive performances.

• Chiefs' Defense:

  • Strong overall defense but vulnerable to big plays.
    • Quote: “They are allowing those big plays to happen.”
      — Andy Holloway [48:17]

• Raiders' Offense:

  • Currently flat, lacking explosive plays despite possessing weapons like Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.
    • Quote: “It's a flat offense that just feels like a lot of work to go from the 20 to the other 20.”
      — Andy Holloway [48:47]

• Final Recommendation: Start the Chiefs' defense, anticipating turnovers despite allowing big plays.

  • Quote: “I think you fire up your Chiefs on the Raiders side of the ball.”
    — Jason Moore [48:17]

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Mailbag

Listeners submit questions which the hosts address with their expert advice.

1. Nathan (Texas) on Saints' Defense

   • Andy Holloway warns that the Saints’ defense might be a trap despite their recent performance.
     • Quote: “I think it's a trap.”
       — Andy Holloway [50:27]

2. Ajayi’s Trade Question

   • Ajayi asks about trading Adrian Peterson for Jay.
     • All hosts agree to make the trade.
     • Quote: “I would do that.”
       — Andy Holloway, Mike Wright, Jason Moore [53:15, 53:22]

3. Allen (New Jersey) on Scoring Errors

   • Allen inquires about handling scoring rule changes that retroactively affected Week 1 results.
     • Hosts advise against changing past results and recommend manual adjustments if necessary.
     • Quote: “You can't change it.”
       — Mike Wright [54:00]

4. Cody and Green Bay Receiver Situations

   • Discussion on adjusting receiver rankings and target assignments when a primary receiver is injured.
     • Jason Moore emphasizes evaluating based on talent and matchup.
       • Quote: “You have to take a case by case.”
         — Jason Moore [56:12]

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Conclusion

The hosts wrap up the episode by encouraging listeners to engage with their community through thefantasyfootballers.com and follow them on Twitter @TheFFBallers. They tease the excitement for Week 7, emphasizing the importance of strategic roster decisions to stay competitive.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• “If you're starting Henry over to Marco Murray because he, quote, ran circles around him, I think it's asinine.”
  — Andy Holloway [04:19]

• “I am pumping the brakes on Jameis because in a one quarterback league, I am not playing him.”
  — Mike Wright [07:20]

• “He's averaging a PPR, 25.6 points at home. Wow. 9.8 on the road.”
  — Jason Moore [09:24]

• “I'm without a doubt keeping him.”
  — Jason Moore [40:36]

• “I think you fire up your Chiefs on the Raiders side of the ball.”
  — Jason Moore [48:17]

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This detailed summary captures the essence of the Episode 2017 - Week 7 of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, providing valuable insights into player evaluations, strategic decisions for fantasy teams, and addressing listener queries with expert analysis.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot clan. I'm not going to take up much of your time. If you win your league, if you've won your league, if you have a league, you need a trophy, you need a championship ring. There's only one place to get them, and that's fantasychamps.com use the promo code ballers to save 10%.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from the Play Draft Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Andy Holloway]

Ah, we are back again. It's Wednesday, October 18th. The fantasy footballers Andy, Mike and Jason, once again right in your podcast app.

[Mike Wright]

I'm feeling. I'm feeling phlegmy today.

[Andy Holloway]

Flemmy.

[Mike Wright]

Flemmy.

[Andy Holloway]

That's.

[Mike Wright]

Prepare yourself for a lot of throat clearing.

[Andy Holloway]

Like a lot of. Like a. Yeah, a lot of that.

[Jason Moore]

I don't know how you did it, but you just passed it to me. And now the second you. You're like, prepare yourself for a lot of throat clearing. I've never needed to clear my throat any harder than. Than that.

[Andy Holloway]

Didn't you just have a smoothie?

[Mike Wright]

Certainly did.

[Andy Holloway]

I think the smoothie is the culprit.

[Mike Wright]

Detective Andy's on the case.

[Andy Holloway]

It's that or your waiver wire. Your pickups. I mean, yeah, they're a little snotty, a little awkward.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Okay, well, yellow, green.

[Andy Holloway]

We won't be focused on that today. Look, we have pumped the brakes on the show today and we're going to do something fun. We're going to have a hype check segment. We're going to look back at some of the hype from the offseason now that we're through six weeks of the NFL season and say, hey, what came true? And what was just that? A bunch of hype and trash. So we're going to evaluate some of the preseason hype with a hype check. We got keep trade cut. We've got Mailbag. It's gonna be a great one. Be sure to check out the website, thefantasyfootballers.com There's a weekly Snap Count article that just went up by Marcus Meaney. It's a great one that comes out every week. Ten things I learned in week six. And right now at FootClangiveaway.com we have a brand new giveaway. Ooh, everyone can enter. We're giving a sign.

[Mike Wright]

My phlegm is up for grabs, people.

[Andy Holloway]

Now you've got me really, like, self conscious. I'm just trying to notice the level of. Yeah, okay, well, FootClan giveaway.com assigned Devonte Adams jersey assigned Ty Hilton Jersey a an engraved custom championship ring and case.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, my.

[Andy Holloway]

All part of our giveaway. We love giving stuff to you, the listener.

[Mike Wright]

What's that URL again?

[Andy Holloway]

I'd be footclangiveaway.com FootClan. You're gonna go enter.

[Mike Wright]

I've entered.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Well, that's, yeah, that's cheating. But yeah, you can, you can enter over there. It's free to enter a bunch of different ways you can subscribe on YouTube. That is one way you can enter our contest. So you can go to YouTube.com the fantasy footballers. And we always appreciate your reviews on itunes. Wherever you're listening to the show, they help support this independent podcast that comes to you five days a week with Fantasy 6.

[Jason Moore]

If you're in the in the foot.

[Andy Holloway]

No, still five days, six shows.

[Jason Moore]

That's true.

[Andy Holloway]

But it is Wednesday, guys, which means we start off with our oh so favorite segment.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, oh, oh. O'Reilly, O'Reilly Auto Parts.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, we are pumping the brakes with O'Reilly Auto Parts this fine Wednesday. And I'm gonna kick it off with Derek Henry. Ooh, I'm pumping the brakes on Derek Henry. And I'm going to look, I love Roto World and the news and updates, but I'm going to put them on blast this morning because yesterday they came out with this news blurb on Derrick Henry and the fact that he, quote, ran circles around DeMarco Murray. That was the news story, right? He had 20 carries. Murray had 16 carries. And I thought it was asinine because other than the 72 yard jaunt at the end of the game when the Colts clearly weren't, they didn't care.

[Jason Moore]

As soon as they. Well, they care.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, they care.

[Jason Moore]

But as soon as they gave up the first down, yeah, the game was over. He runs it in and everybody stops.

[Mike Wright]

Basically trying to strip the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

So if you take that 72 away, which I feel justified in doing for the run circles around argument, Derek Henry ran for a lower yard per carry than DeMarco Murray did in a game that DeMarco Murray was hobbled last year. Every time Mike Gillislee ran a 45 yard touchdown in at the end of these games, we didn't say he was running circles around Lashawn McCoy. Okay. And the fact of the matter is, yesterday Jason talked about it on the show. I'm not saying Derek Henry's not talented. I'm not saying he might be in the rotation, but you're talking about a week removed from getting like, you know, 11 snaps to 49 snaps for DeMarco Murray. So if you're taking the stat line from this game and translating that into a start sit decision where you're starting Henry over to Marco Murray because he, quote, ran circles around him, I think it's asinine. So for me, I pumped the brakes on Derek Henry. I think we know what he is. He's a bruiser. He's going to make plays from time to time, but he's not the lead back in Tennessee and it's a great week.

[Mike Wright]

But what the coach came out malarkey said he liked the timeshare that they went with.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's a bunch of malarkey.

[Jason Moore]

Ooh, I see what you did.

[Andy Holloway]

He liked the timeshare. It's not the first time we've heard that about what we want to see from Henry and Murray. Right. This is not the first time we've heard we want this timeshare.

[Jason Moore]

I've been a, I've been a big Derek Henry supporter over the course of the last two years and I, when I was looking around for, you know, who I was going to pump the brakes on, completely independently, I decided who I was going to pump the brakes on. I went to our show Doc and Derek Henry was already taken because I do see there's going to be this world where it's like, oh, he's about to take over. He's about to become the guy. What he's playing the Browns and I think it's a trap type of game. The Browns run defense has been all right and I don't think that he's going to end up with more carries than DeMarco Murray. I think that's an issue based on him being a little bit hobbled.

[Andy Holloway]

He's a perfect candidate because the previous two weeks, six carries, then four carries, then he gets this 19 carry game against Indianapolis when Marcus Mariota could not get out of the pocket, could not run, and they were obviously destroying the Indianapolis run defense. But like Jason said, I mean, Cleveland's run defense, it's the 12th best in the league against running backs. Now you're talking about a split situation with Murray and Henry. I think he's worthy of.

[Jason Moore]

It's not that he's bad.

[Andy Holloway]

It's worthy of a pump. Sure. Pump them brakes. Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Just a little tap on the. Just give it a tap. Just tap.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know. The argument was presented with a full stomp, just so you know.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I'm sorry. Who you got stomping the brakes because of Roto World fair.

[Mike Wright]

I'm pumping the brakes on Jameis Winston because I think that he's going to play. I think he will play through his AC sprain. He already has accuracy issues. And when you have a quarterback with a shoulder problem, his throwing shoulder, it's.

[Andy Holloway]

Not going to be like a rookie of the year situation.

[Mike Wright]

No, no. The bandry. There is no funky butt loving happening in this situation. This is. This is Jameis Winston and he could be knocked out of the game quite easily. So I am pumping the brakes on Jameis because in a one quarterback league, I am not playing him. I will, I will stream in this where it's. The streamers are pretty gross. I would rather play Tyrod Taylor than Jameis Winston because of the extra risk of his injury.

[Andy Holloway]

Andy Dalton against Pittsburgh.

[Mike Wright]

I would rather play Andy Dalton.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, there you go.

[Mike Wright]

Andy Dalton.

[Jason Moore]

Let me ask you this. Full game, let's say Jameis doesn't play. Are you.

[Mike Wright]

He's definitely.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you stream the brakes?

[Jason Moore]

No. Would you stream Fitzpatrick? I mean, would a healthy Fitzpatrick be better than an injured Jameis? That's kind of where I want. I'm gauging your temperature.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he looked. Because this is. Yeah, he looked all right. And it's like I said, it's. He already has accuracy problems and the risk of your quarterback, your quarterback, the, the big point scorer for your team being knocked out in the first quarter, I mean, that's devastating.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, don't do it. All right. I'm going to pump the brakes on a guy who I absolutely love, talked him up this offseason. Last offseason and near and dear to our hearts in Arizona. It pains me to do it, but Larry Fitzgerald, I'm going to pump the brakes on, and here's why.

[Andy Holloway]

Surprised?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, I can't wait to hear that.

[Jason Moore]

That's. I think that's why I'm pumping the brakes. People would be surprised. You're talking about a guy coming off of the new Adrian Peterson, Arizona Cardinals.

[Andy Holloway]

Offensive player of the week.

[Jason Moore]

Offensive player of the week, Larry. 10 receptions, 138 yards and a touchdown this last week. He's on fire. He's a Hall of Famer, so why would I pump the brakes? Larry Fitzgerald has very big home road splits over the last few years of his career. Last year he had over a five point difference in home road splits. And if you look at this here, three games at home, three games on the road.

[Andy Holloway]

Flemmy. A little Flemmy.

[Jason Moore]

Every game at home, a touchdown, no touchdowns yet on the Road. In fact, if you want to look at. I mean, it's too small a sample size, but I'm still throwing the stat out there because it's crazy. You're talking about right now. So far on the year, he's averaging a PPR, 25.6 points at home. Wow. 9.8 on the road. Well, he's going very far on the road all the way to London town. So, you know, this week. And then if you look at the matchup as well, the matchup this week against the Los Angeles Rams, they've been the sixth best against the wide receiver position as far as fantasy points given up. And the only, you know, I tried to look at, like, okay, what. What slot receivers have they faced that are good slot receivers? I mean, no one is Larry Fitzgerald, but Cole Beasley's a solid slot receiver. You know, when they, when they faced the LA Rams, he was 3 for 17 total in the game. And that was when. And that was actually a game where they gave up a lot in the passing game. So I, I'm not saying you can't start him or that you need to bench him, but I am saying he's much lower in my rankings, and I think you need to put his expectations nearer to where he's been on the road so far this year.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Larry Fitzgerald, Derek Henry, Jameis Winston are the pump the brakes this week with O'Reilly Auto Parts. Better parts, better prices every day. Let's get into the news.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

You can always follow us on Twitter ffballers. To stay up to date with what's going on in the fantasy football world and with the fantasy footballers, Ezekiel Elliott has been granted another temporary restraining order. He will be allowed to play Week 7, and the TRO is in place for, I believe, 14 days or until further legal action is taken. I believe this took place simply because the judge involved in the case is on vacation, and so he cannot rule.

[Mike Wright]

Classic.

[Andy Holloway]

And so look, the headline is he's playing this week.

[Mike Wright]

He'll be playing for two weeks. Because that.

[Andy Holloway]

That is not necessarily.

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Because it's until further legal action. So it's.

[Mike Wright]

Right. But I've heard that that court case is not for two weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, that's. That's very possible.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. To be determined. So far, I know this thing has gone up and down sideways, and there's no way to really predict what the courts are going to do, but so far, since this initial ruling, it has played out as our first expectation that he would actually play for the San Francisco 49ers game, and then the ruling will come after that. And that's still what I expect to happen.

[Andy Holloway]

That's all you need to do. Put him in your lineup. And if you are a McFadden or Morris Fab buyer, a waiver wire buyer. Are you hanging on to them?

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely, I'm 100% holding.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Robert, if you have both.

[Mike Wright]

And you needed to drop one.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

To make some moves, who would you be dropping?

[Andy Holloway]

That's basically the. Who do you think the handcuff is. Yeah, I'm still going to the Morris side.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I trust my eyeballs with what I saw from him. Preseason regular season.

[Jason Moore]

I still lean on the Morris side as well. You're. You're still on the.

[Mike Wright]

I still think that.

[Jason Moore]

And yeah, I don't blame you. I mean, I want to be on that side. I really know.

[Mike Wright]

Who knows?

[Andy Holloway]

Robert Turban missing the remainder of the year. This is an upgrade for Marlon Mack.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I was gonna say. You know what that means. It's Matt Jones time.

[Jason Moore]

No, don't do it.

[Andy Holloway]

Wasn't he released?

[Mike Wright]

He's on the Colts.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I know, but wasn't he released by the Colts?

[Mike Wright]

As far as I know, he's still there. All right. I bet that. But it was the more the joke of. Marlon Mack deserves carries. Marlon Mack deserves playing time.

[Andy Holloway]

He'll get him.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I agree.

[Andy Holloway]

Patrick Peterson's going to be good to go against the Rams. Deshaun Kaiser announced this morning as a starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. Probably going to be the starter the rest of the year. You don't do the dance anymore?

[Mike Wright]

Maybe.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, he. At this point, it's really weird because.

[Jason Moore]

I. I think their best quarterback right now, long term. I actually still like Kaiser quite a bit, but it's. I feel like it's Cody Kessler and he's not even involved in these conversations.

[Mike Wright]

He.

[Jason Moore]

He didn't. What I saw last year from him was like, yeah, better than expect. Better than expectations. You can win with.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. That is really all the news we need to mention. Smallwood. Wendell Smallwood expects to play in Week 7 against the Redskins. Bill signed DeAndre Thompson.

[Jason Moore]

One thing I will just add to. On. On a news blurb that we just glossed on. I'm not 100% positive that Patrick Peterson is going to be good to go. I've seen some reports from Arizona beat writers talking about how he's sitting out right now. They don't know how it's going to, you know, be in London. So mixed messages there. I mean, as far as him saying he's good to go, I'm sure he will say that.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, he traveled with the team. I think that's the big component there where, you know, if I, if I weren't playing in London, I'm not traveling.

[Mike Wright]

To be fair, they didn't have time to make a decision on that travel because usually a team doesn't travel until later on in the week while they had the London game. So that means they left a couple days ago.

[Jason Moore]

Right. And they. And, and they are sitting him in practice to rest up.

[Andy Holloway]

But the problem is, is it doesn't matter. I mean, you don't know which. You don't know which Rams wide receiver you'd feel comfortable starting regardless.

[Jason Moore]

Well, it's definitely a bump to Sammy Watkins if AP or if pp. PP is.

[Andy Holloway]

But you're not playing Watkins, are you?

[Mike Wright]

I am if Patrick Peterson is out.

[Andy Holloway]

Of course you are. You love Marty Cooper, so you love Sammy Watkins.

[Mike Wright]

I'll chime in here. If Patrick Peterson is out, I would be willing to flex Sammy Watkins.

[Andy Holloway]

Sammy watkins, the last three weeks has like, you know, I. 20 yards.

[Mike Wright]

I get it, I get it.

[Andy Holloway]

But he is 2 points,012 catches for 28 yards in three weeks time. I'm not touching him against Arizona. I don't care if Patrick Peterson's in or out.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

That's my official position.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, he was ill and then it was Seattle and Jacksonville. I think if Patrick Peterson's out, I'll flex him, but. Well, if Patrick Peterson's out, we'll get a water bet on it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Yeah, that'll be an easy one. All right. It's time for the hype check. We're going to take a look at some of the off season hype and how has it come to fruition? This idea came to mind yesterday when I noticed that Julio Jones still had zero touchdowns on the season. If you're a Julio owner. Have we not talked about this enough?

[Mike Wright]

Probably not.

[Andy Holloway]

I think we've masked some of the Julio lack of performance by the injury, but this has not been. I mean, he's the 34th ranked wide receiver. Through week six, he has scored exactly zero times. And in the off season, we heard Steve Sarkeesian wants to utilize Julio Jones in the red zone more often.

[Jason Moore]

I think he has one red zone target off the top of my head.

[Andy Holloway]

So that is pure and utter hype. It has not come to fruition. And we talked in the offseason about the fact that sometimes there's these guys that just, I mean, Amari Cooper's one. You just don't get the red zone targets.

[Mike Wright]

Jason, you are correct. He has one target inside the red zone.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, would you agree that targets will be necessary for the touchdowns that we're hoping for?

[Jason Moore]

Well, of course, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Julio is. When Julio gets his touchdowns is generally outside of the red zone. But the savory treat in front of you that was dangled in front of us all offseason was the idea that Julio Jones could get more red zone targets because he's never been a high touchdown scoring guy. Well, like a regular one of the touchdown and then red zone targets. Bumps that way up. But one red zone target.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. One of the issues we should have by we. It's the universal, you know, everyone should have seen coming is this is not the first year in the off season that they've talked about getting Julio Jones more involved in the red zone. You know, fool me once.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, we would have ignored it if it wasn't a new offensive coordinator.

[Jason Moore]

Right, right.

[Andy Holloway]

We didn't ignore it because we said, oh, maybe this is someone smart.

[Jason Moore]

All that being said. All that being said, I would absolutely, absolutely be targeting Julio Jones right now. You know, he's, you know, you say the 34th ranked, but he's had a bye week. So that's. That's in total point scoring. He's had, you know, two games over 90 yards a game, over 100 yards. Last week he was still 6 for 72. I think. Julio, I mean, if you talk about the fact that he has zero touchdowns on the year, how many do you think he finished with finishes with on the year? You know, five, three or four. Three or four? Well, guess what? They're all coming rest of the season. So he's a guy I would absolutely target. Owners have to be down on him right now. And he's. His talent is otherworldly.

[Andy Holloway]

Dan Quinn did say he's very unhappy with the workload that Julio Jones is getting right now in the offense, and it's translated to lower performance for Matt Ryan. I mean, Matt Ryan has not been a prolific fantasy quarterback, much like Jason thought he would be. That's. That's a lie. Jason's been dead on with their. Their offense not being what it was last year. All right, let's go from Julio to Julius. Julius Thomas had an offseason hypothon going on. In fact, let's just go to Miami and.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, there we go.

[Andy Holloway]

The first thing was, you know, Julius Thomas is going to be a thing Right. They can see 10 touchdowns in his future. Well, 45th ranked tight end, zero touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

To be fair, they meant his career. The rest of his career.

[Jason Moore]

He'll probably.

[Andy Holloway]

Payton took care of that, Peyton took care of that. But yeah, that's been hype. But when you look at the rest of this offense from Jai to Devonte, Parker, Stills, Landry, it hasn't come to fruition.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I will give them not a full pass, I will give them a bathroom pass which means they need to return quickly. But this was all this offseason hype.

[Jason Moore]

This was.

[Mike Wright]

Ryan Tannehill was going to be their court, their starting quarterback. They were prepared for something. And then a very unfortunate injury right before the season starts leads to smoke and Jay Cuddy unretiring and kind of besmirching. That's a smoke tire.

[Andy Holloway]

They're taking a smoke break.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, pretty much.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's talk about the Washington wide receivers in the off season. We heard, look, Jamison Crowder, he's going to play in all the two wide receiver sets. He had a very good year last year. Seven touchdowns I believe and you know, looked like he was primed for a third year breakout. Josh Dockson, you're going to play this the Z receiver role where Pierre Garcon was. I took a look at the ranks through six weeks. Here's what you got for Washington. Whiteouts, prior's the 58th ranked whiteout. Crowders, the 98th ranked whiteout. Dachshunds, the 86 ranked whiteout. That's called bench. Bench, bench.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Prior in Jameson CROWDER the last three weeks is averaging about 71% of the snaps. So that's, that's not the snap total you were hoping for. You're not getting the targets that you were hoping for. And the touchdown regression for Crowder was, it was pretty easy to see it coming. But you still had hope because of this. Oh, he's going to play on the field all the time.

[Andy Holloway]

He thought 100 plus reception capability.

[Jason Moore]

Here's, here's what ended up happening in truth, from the hype to okay, you have desean Jackson, you have Pierre Garcon, they leave town and so you think, okay, if Crowder and Pryor go into those roles, maybe they can somehow even be better. But what actually happened is when his number one and number two wide receiver targets left town, he said, I'm going to use all my weapons. And he's spread.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to use Chris Thompson, I'm.

[Jason Moore]

Going to use Chris Thompson, I'm going to use Ryan Grant, I'm going to use Vernon Davis, I'm going to use every weapon possible. And so these pieces that you wanted to just have them flow right in to the DeSean Jackson spot and to the Pierre Garcon spot. That has not happened and I don't expect it to happen the rest of the year. I think your last great hope for a wide receiver in this offense is actually Josh Dachshund because you hope that it's that first round talent that eventually wins out since it's not a target share that you can rely on from anyone here. Opportunity? No. So you've got to go with the talent argument here.

[Andy Holloway]

I think rest of season really impressive how Kirk Cousins has taken three wide receivers with those fantasy rankings and through six weeks is the number six quarterback in points per game, number 11. Even with a bye week. I'm impressed with Cousins. I'm obviously not impressed with any of the pass catchers there from a fantasy perspective.

[Mike Wright]

So you expect it to turn around though?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I don't either.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I don't. I expect I'm with Jason. This is why I said on the waiver show if I was a winning team in fantasy right now and I wanted to fill a flyer spot, I'd be looking for somebody like Josh Dachshund to, you know, take that shot on, see what happens the next two weeks. Does he catch another couple touchdowns? Does he surprise you? Otherwise, I mean, I don't know, the best odds would be prior after. Other than that, we have a few.

[Mike Wright]

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[Andy Holloway]

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[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

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[Mike Wright]

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[Jason Moore]

Yeah. We also want to thank proflowers, a great sponsor of the show. Listen, gentlemen, I don't know if you know this. I love my wife. She is a wonderful, wonderful woman. And there is nothing better than surprising the person that you love for no reason. You know, it's like it's expected if it's a birthday. It's expected if it's Valentine's day. But I like just having the flowers show up to say, look, I love you. Right now with fall in swing, all the pumpkin spice you can handle on every corner, they have fall bouquets that are gorgeous right now. And the best part is, you know, because you're listening to this show, you get a little bit more bloom for your buck, if you know what I mean. All bouquets over 29 bucks, you're going to get 20% off. You go to proflowers.com, choose the perfect bouquet. You pick the exact date and time that it will arrive. To get 20% off all bouquets, $29 or more, go to proflowers.com use the promo code ballers at checkout. That's proflowers.com and code ballers. Don't wait to make someone's day.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Hey, we're moving on. We're moving on. Let's look at Todd Gurley. A different case of preseason hype. Look, you know, there were reports about Sean McVay raving about Todd Gurley as a pass catcher. Wanted to get him more opportunities. There. There was doubt, there was hype, but there was doubt. Todd Gurley, how's that worked out?

[Jason Moore]

So far so good.

[Mike Wright]

Definitely, definitely. Early season was fantastic. Specifically speaking to the target department, he's gotten it done on the ground as one of the, I guess as the resident Todd Gurley doubter on this show, he has certainly spat in my face and made me look the fool. The question, though, if we're going to talk specifically about the targets now, two weeks ago against Seattle, four targets, that's, that's fine. But one target against Jacksonville, Lance Dunbar is eligible to come off the puppet. Now we're talking just two weeks because before that, I mean, he's getting six, seven, eight targets a week. But Andy, you're the Todd girl guy. Do you have any concerns with just a two week kind of trend down and they're using other guys in the running back position to catch passes Lance Dunbar, who was brought in to catch passes, can be back now. Any doubts or concern for you?

[Andy Holloway]

No, because he's been great when he caught the ball. So, Sean McVay. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt, of understanding what's great about Todd Gurley and his utilization. So I'm not going to let the ebb and flow of the season dissuade what we saw from Gurley last season moving into this year at the. At the reception, in the reception department. And you know how I feel about Lance Dunbar.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah. No, I totally get it. But just saying.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

The last two weeks combined, 11 receiving yards. Total. Yeah, total.

[Jason Moore]

He was averaging five receptions a week through the first four games, and then he's had three receptions since then. And the problem is that in those situations, in those passing situations, we've seen other backs in the game.

[Andy Holloway]

So I'm curious, you have concern?

[Jason Moore]

I have a little bit more concern, but my concern is almost, you know, a matchup type. These last two weeks, I've gone up against really good defense defenses. Seattle and Jacksonville before that in the easier. So I'm curious, you know, this week, Arizona, in theory, an above average defense. So I'm curious if we're going to see this kind of split where, when you're playing these really good passing defenses that they utilize, you know, a passing expert, quote unquote, versus using Todd Gurley in those roles and use him more when they feel like there's a very easily beatable passing defense. It's too early to tell with. With a new. New head coach, new coordinator.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's talk about Hugh Jackson. Hugh Jackson came out. He said he beat himself up. Guys.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, man.

[Andy Holloway]

For not running Isaiah crawell more in 2016. The Browns running backs coach Kirby Wilson said he's only scratched the surface. He's not even in his prime. But what did we end up with, guys?

[Mike Wright]

Splat.

[Andy Holloway]

Splat.

[Jason Moore]

We ended up with a little bit of crow. Oh, to eat, if you know what I'm saying.

[Andy Holloway]

You know what's funny is expectation says so much about how we evaluate these players, obviously. And the hype was real with Isaiah Crowell, was it not? I mean, certainly when you look at Crowell and you look at James White, who do you think has had the more successful season?

[Mike Wright]

Off the top of my head, I would say James White.

[Andy Holloway]

Your impulse says James White. And the reality is they're ranked about the same, I think, 34th and 36th throughout the year. And Isaiah. And that's not good. I mean, Isaiah Carell you hoped could be a top 12, 15 guy, much at least a top 24 guy. And he's sitting there at 36 through week six. So he's been a disaster. And that's come from. Do you think it's come from poor performance? Do you think it's come from poor opportunity or is it some combination?

[Mike Wright]

It's definitely a combination of it. But I mean the way that Hugh Jackson has handled this team with all even going back to last year, just highly questionable decisions this year, again with the quarterback. I mean, I know Kaiser was rough those first few weeks, but you made the decision at the beginning of the year that said, okay, we're a rebuilding team. We're going to go with our second round draft pick into Sean Kizer. You, in my opinion, you have to ride that up, ride that out. You can't do this flip flopping. Put Kevin Hogan. Oh, he's terrible. Okay, now we're going to try Kaiser again. It's just these things don't work for a rebuilding football team and a coach that can't follow through with his word or decisions. It's not good. I mean, Hugh Jackson is not, not long for the coaching position of the Cleveland Browns.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think the Cleveland Browns might stick with him. I think they should stick with him for the long term. But what we've actually seen, if you look at the, the stats last year through the first six games when Crowell was impressing and people were getting better value than they expected out of him, he had 74 rushing attempts through those first six games. How many rushing attempts do you think that Isaiah Crowell has so far through the first six games in 2017?

[Andy Holloway]

Why don't you tell us?

[Jason Moore]

74. It was all big plays last year. And so it's one of those things where, yes, the hype train didn't follow through in the sense that they're not giving him two more carries a game, but he is getting the same workload he had last year. He's. Crowell is the one not getting, not getting it done. I mean last year through the first six games, 5.6 yards per carry. This year through the first six games, 4.1 yards of carry. And it really, it's pretty much the same as just those big plays.

[Andy Holloway]

We expected this line in the preseason. Yeah, the line to be the, you know, this all powerful offensive line in Cleveland and it's just been, it's just been a mess. I mean this is a team that's going to struggle to win a game again. All right. Is there anybody else? I mean, look, the big talk in the offseason, Carlos Hyde, he.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he was a big one.

[Andy Holloway]

He's going to have to compete for the starting job. Greg Rosenthal talked about the fact that he could be a surprise cut. Santa Rosa press talked nonsense. Slowest and most indecisive running back Tim Hightower took the first rep at practice.

[Mike Wright]

It's nonsense.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean looking back, you. And we actually said this at the time, especially you, Mike. He is clearly their best player. Like when you look at the running back, because I've watched football, our issue with, you know, our issue with Hyde has been injury. But you look, he's really good and everyone behind him was at best the best behind him was just question mark of unknown. And so you got hope, but you have nothing other than that. And so I think you need to stick to your guns in the future when you see a player who has proven it, who is very good with question marks behind him and not overemphasize hope.

[Andy Holloway]

One worth mentioning is Marshawn Lynch. They talked about him being held potentially under 200 carries.

[Jason Moore]

That's happening.

[Andy Holloway]

I did the math. If you take these first six games, you average it out over a season, he's on pace for 186 carries. So that's coming to fruition so far. Also, I mean if you listen to us talk about Doug Martin, my guy for the year, Doug Martin, there was so much hype about. Okay. The Bucs GM says there's no assurances that Doug Martin takes the job back. ESPN reporter talks about Jacquiz Rogers could unseat Doug Martin. Brooks, you put this in quotes. Was that my quote? Yeah, that's from the original show, Doc. I said Tampa Bay bull crap. Yeah, about. About the hype about someone taking over for Doug Martin.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah, all that hype that was.

[Andy Holloway]

Happening that week, you weren't having it. Yeah. Well, look, if you invested in Doug Martin, you're going, you have and you will be rewarded for that investment. He's been a 16 point guy the first two weeks. He's clearly the better running back.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no arguments here.

[Andy Holloway]

Anybody else that you want to mention? I mean, Javoris Allen, they talked about him having a nice camp, but injuries have put that brought that to the forefront. He's been been good. Yet talk about Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls fighting for those early down carries. They're the 85th and 96th ranked running backs through six weeks. Any other players you want to talk about or should we get into let's get into that.

[Mike Wright]

Keep trade, cut.

[Jason Moore]

Keep trade, cut.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, let's talk about a couple of the. What? Are you going to say something, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

Nope. I'm just jamming to the music.

[Andy Holloway]

You're just putting some fingers out there.

[Mike Wright]

That's right.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Trell Pryor, Jameson Crowder. Keep trade, cut.

[Jason Moore]

Trade if you can. I mean, I, you know, hopefully you traded Pryor after his touchdown game last time. I think we encourage that. After his 3 for 70 and a touchdown game against Kansas City, I would definitely be looking to trade Terrell Pryor. I don't think he turns it around and has any kind of season where you can rely on him. Will he have, you know, three or four more good games where he's a valuable asset? Sure. But I don't want to have to start him week in, week out. And if I can find someone who does believe and I can grab someone, take. Take a Terrell Pryor and someone else and turn them into a Jarvis Landry type where I can rely on him, I'd much rather go that direction.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I'm not. I don't think you're going to be able to trade it. Maybe if you package and you can get a guy like Jarvis Landry. I'm not. I'm also not cutting him. I'm going to. Hang on.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you cut Crowder? I've seen him on waiver wires in two of my three leagues. He's out there.

[Mike Wright]

Did, man. I'm going with the idea of if Jameson Crowder was out there, would I pick him up? And the answer is, I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you put a game Crowder or Aguilar?

[Jason Moore]

I would pick up Aguilar.

[Andy Holloway]

I'd pick up Aguilar, too.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Jameson Crowder is, to me, a pretty easy cut. I don't think he is, you know, getting it done in the target department. And I believe based on his talent, that that's what he needs. He needs to be a predominant target.

[Andy Holloway]

I would keep Pryor. I would cut Crowder.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

For a better option.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

Keep trade, cut C.J. anderson. What do you guys think about C.J. anderson rest of season? I mean, that's where this decision comes into play.

[Mike Wright]

You got to keep him.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, you've had last Devontae Booker, Jamal Charles.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And I understand the three way timeshare that it looks like, but still, three of five games, 20 or more carries last week was rough, but that was. I mean, I feel like that Giants game, that's one that the Denver Broncos just have to Just. Just wrap it up. Shoot that into the dumpster and move on. That's.

[Jason Moore]

What do you do to it?

[Mike Wright]

That's crumpling up like a piece of paper.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you definitely crap it up. You put crumple and wrap.

[Jason Moore]

Did I really? Oh yeah, you crap it up.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I stand by.

[Andy Holloway]

Which is what they did on the field.

[Mike Wright]

I stand by it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, they sure did, Andy. You crumple it up, they crap it.

[Mike Wright]

Up and you move on. And CJ Anderson is still a fine running back too, in my opinion.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I don't think cut was really an option there. The question was more do you want to trade him away or do you.

[Mike Wright]

Not with. Not with running backs being what they are.

[Andy Holloway]

What do you do with Jerick McKinnon? Obviously he's not. He's not a cut. But is he a keeper? Is he a trade?

[Mike Wright]

He's. He's a keep. For me understanding that he is still in a timeshare. Latavius Murray is still getting a bunch of carries and a bunch of touches and Jerick McKinnon is have being he's had explosive plays. So don't expect running back one numbers every single week. But he is still a keep starter.

[Jason Moore]

As the anti McKinnon one of the three of us. I am 100% not trading Jerick McKinnon. Oh, I'm keeping him. What he's got 16 carries in back to back games over five receptions back to back games. So if he doesn't have the big explosive play. Okay. He's not going to be, you know, the top five running back like you, like you've seen him these last couple weeks. But he's still going to be good, he's still going to be safe and there's very few people in the National Football League that are getting that kind of volume. I think that the Minnesota offense is pretty good with you know they have enough weapons with Thielen and with when Diggs gets back healthy and rudolph. I'm keeping McKinnon. I think you picked up a steal off the waiver wire and it will. He will help you win your league.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to give you a couple tough ones. Tariq Cohen, Andre Ellington, keep, trade cut.

[Mike Wright]

I'll let Jason answer this one.

[Jason Moore]

Sure. I'm definitely keeping Andre Ellington for now. Last week the Cardinals were game script 31 nothing. They did not need Ellington whatsoever. If they are down, if it's a matchup where you expect them to need to rally back, I think Ellington will still be involved. So he's just a Hold for me for now. Tariq Cohen, on the other hand, we said trade him last week and, you know, get value because his name was still there. Then he came out and got 14 carries, which is fantastic, except he only turned 14 carries into 32 yards. Didn't do much, and would have had a pretty awful fantasy day if it wasn't for the fact that he threw a touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

I think people need perspective on the 14 carries. Do you know how many carries Jordan Howard had in that game?

[Mike Wright]

30 something.

[Andy Holloway]

If I'm 36. Yes, 36 carries. So from a proportion standpoint, for previous weeks, like, where, you know, the previous week Howard had 19, and I believe Cohen had a handful. I think that's what you saw. You saw a similar. Yeah, he had six, so six to 19. But it's 14 to 36 back to.

[Jason Moore]

Back weeks, where the valuable place for Tariq Cohen, which is in the receiving game, where you get him in open space back to back weeks with one reception. That's the ball of those weeks with Trubisky. I'm still trading him. I'm so happy he threw that gimmicky touchdown so that his value looks good. I'm looking to trade him.

[Mike Wright]

I would trade him if I could. Unfortunately.

[Andy Holloway]

Keep. Trade. Cut. Jordan Reed.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, come on. You got to keep him.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely.

[Mike Wright]

He's getting healthier.

[Jason Moore]

He.

[Mike Wright]

If you watched him play last week, he's making some linebackers look foolish again. It's. And it's the time bomb, the Jordan Reed time bomb. But you got. You got to run around the city like Batman. Right now, you see, you have the bomb. Sometimes there's no place to get rid of a bomb. And you just got to play him.

[Andy Holloway]

And you just got to let him blow up.

[Mike Wright]

Yep. You just got to hold that. And then you look like a cartoon eventually because you're just there's covered in suit. But. But you deal with it, man.

[Jason Moore]

I love you, Mike.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. I'm afraid to bring him up. Keep. Trade Cat. Sammy Watkins.

[Jason Moore]

I'm without a doubt keeping him. I still believe the talent is there. I don't believe the targets are there. And when this guy and Sammy, when you look at the matchup.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you say this guy in Amari. Is that what you said he is.

[Jason Moore]

He's had two weeks where you're facing two of the best past defenses in the league. No one expected good weeks out of either of those weeks from him.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, if that's your argument. If Patrick Peterson's healthy, he gets Patrick Peterson. He's on a bi. Week, then he gets Jenkins, then he gets the Houston Texans, then he gets Xavier Rhodes.

[Jason Moore]

This is not a pretty bad stretch.

[Andy Holloway]

I could not disagree more.

[Jason Moore]

Because you're saying cut him this.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I'm saying trade the name. And this has.

[Mike Wright]

I'm trading him to Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, if they gave him targets. Yeah, I am too. By the way, Jason traded for him, so that's why we're getting.

[Mike Wright]

There is a Jason in every league who's like, oh, Sammy Watkins.

[Andy Holloway]

This is a philosophical decision by the team to reduce his. He's not going to be there next year. That this. The targets aren't there. You cannot, in my opinion, you cannot keep and hope a guy who's given you literally two receptions over three weeks. I'd rather have Terrell Pryor in my lineup rest of season than Sammy Watkins by a lot.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, guys, you remember that 6 for 102 game with two touchdowns?

[Mike Wright]

That was pretty cool. Pretty cool, huh?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Joe Mitchell.

[Jason Moore]

I get it. It's tough and to be fair, so that everybody listening understands because I don't want people thinking you need to go out and trade for him or something. Our league is a keeper situation where I had a. Basically a wide receiver slot.

[Mike Wright]

That's the qualified.

[Jason Moore]

No, it's not. Yeah. I mean it. Oh, you do?

[Andy Holloway]

With Sammy Walker.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean, I think it's valuable to understand. You traded for him to keep. Right.

[Andy Holloway]

Because of wherever he lands next.

[Jason Moore]

Exactly. I wasn't for current value, which is very little.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Joe Mixon. Keep, trade, cut, keep.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to keep him unless I can spin a narrative to someone in my league right now. It says the Bengals are coming off of their bye week. Joe Mixon's touches have been increasing. He's getting more involved. If I can spin that like you could have a running back one the rest of the year. If I can trick somebody into believing that, then I would move him.

[Andy Holloway]

And this is going to sound like my own Sammy Watkins story. I think Joe Mixon the next three weeks is going to surprise the heck out of people, good or bad, in a very good way. This week he has Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's been bottom of the barrel in terms of fantasy points given up to running backs. Nobody on. On Cincinnati has had more than five and a half touches averaged per week, where Mixon's averaging, I believe, 18 touches a week. Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Jacksonville. Jacksonville cannot defend the running game either. I think he's a interesting case because I went out yesterday and I'll be honest, Jason, and maybe I'm dumb, but I was Going to trade. I was going to try to trade you Joe Mixon for Mark Ingram and.

[Mike Wright]

I'd rather have Mark Ingram as a.

[Jason Moore]

As would I.

[Andy Holloway]

No. And I think that's probably the right call for this season. Now, again, our league is a keeper league. So that was factoring into my thought process was like, over time, who do I want to have? But I think Joe Mixon is. He's got a slate of four games here that might be really, really nice.

[Mike Wright]

See, now if I had Joe Mixon, I. I would trade him to Andy.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Because you just brought that point up. Right. You would make the argument.

[Mike Wright]

I would spin the narrative through the buy. And it's not that I want to get rid of Joe Mixon, because I do. The numbers are there. Like the touches are going up. The team is starting to rely more on mixing and the. The idea that they're coming out of their bye week and perhaps they're really going to go to mixing. That could be true. So I'm not, I'm not. It's not a must. Trade away.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you rather.

[Mike Wright]

I'm perfectly fine keeping him.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you rather have Hyde?

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Doug Martin, obviously.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Keep, trade, cut at this point. What do you do with Mike Gilsley, Isaiah Crowell? Two more hard ones before we get into the mailbag.

[Mike Wright]

I would cut Crowell and I would probably keep Gillisle at this point because if he was on a waiver wire, I would pick him up and stash him. Not necessarily play him, but I would pick him up.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. If Isaiah Crowell were on the waivers, I would probably pick him up in this running back landscape. So I think both of these guys are holds and don't play. But if I had to pick one of those two guys that I would rather have, I think I'm surprised to think it might be Isaiah Crowell because with Crowell, he's still getting over double digit carries.

[Mike Wright]

So is Mike Gillislee. Every single week, so is Mike Gillislee.

[Jason Moore]

But Isaiah Crowell doesn't have someone encroaching on him that says the needle is pointing a direction, like the way that Dion Lewis has been playing. Deion Lewis came in before the fumble. Deion Lewis got the first snap. Deion Lewis has been in at the goal line and Deon Lewis is great, like as a talent. So if he ends up taking more and more and more of that role, the future worries me a little bit more. For Gillislee, there's no one really to take Isaiah Crowell's role. Johnson is just A pass catching back.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Carl's been just under 10 points the past two weeks. He's been in the swamp just kind of like doggy paddling in the swamp all year long. And Gillis, he's just walking into it and he's starting to his head, starting to go under like the direction.

[Mike Wright]

But he's, he's still wearing his fancy clothes from New England. This is not a problem. I can handle this.

[Andy Holloway]

Shouldn't fumble. Should not fumble. Let's preview the Thursday night matchup. The Chiefs have a chance to send their division rivals, the Oakland Raiders to 2 and 5.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Andy Holloway]

If they win this game now it's in Oakland. The Raiders are three point underdogs because they do not have things together right now. I think it's interesting right now with Kansas City in this matchup where you have. We already lost Chris Conley for the year. Now we're talking about them being without Albert Wilson. Albert Wilson for this game.

[Mike Wright]

Or maybe Char West.

[Andy Holloway]

Char west as well. So you have Smith, you got Hunt, you got Hill, you got Kelsey. Tyree Kill will play in this game. Do we temper any offensive expectations due to, you know, the way that the defense can focus on a guy like Tyree killer Travis Kelsey or because it's the raiders who are 21st against the run, 20th against the pass. Do we just light them up? I mean just, just start.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

This is a, this is a must start situation. Do you guys foresee now this is completely projecting because if, if Char west is out, will Kareem Hunt play three downs or will Akeem Hunt spell him?

[Andy Holloway]

Running backs are spelled.

[Jason Moore]

Exactly. He was the workhorse. They were still bringing in guys.

[Mike Wright]

But I'm not talking about spell.

[Jason Moore]

I think Kareem Hunt will be a true three down back. Other than when he gets spelled, it will be Akeem Hunt.

[Mike Wright]

That's what I meant because they do, they pull Hunt out basically every third down.

[Andy Holloway]

Spelling is very important when you compare Kareem and Akeem Hunt.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, don't trade for Akeem Hunt.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that'd be bad.

[Jason Moore]

I agree with Mike. I think that the Oakland Raiders, while they can try to focus in on the three big weapons of Tyree Kill, Travis Kelsey and it's like paper, rock, scissors, man.

[Mike Wright]

You always have a one's always going to win.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And the thing is, is the Oakland Raiders don't have the pieces to take all of those out of the game. So I think you fire up your Chiefs on the Raiders side of the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what do you do with them, right? Now Derek Carr is averaging 9.7 yards per completion. There is no downfield opportunities for this offense right now. They just feel, they feel flat, right? You've got a running game that seems not explosive with Marshawn lynch, right? Like it might be efficient, but it's only efficient in the context of, hey, we're going to spread the ball around, we're going to be efficient in the passing game. It just feels like a flat offense that just it. Like it's a lot of work to go from the 20 to the other 20 for them right now.

[Mike Wright]

Well, what's interesting for the Chiefs defense, they're only allowing a completion rate of 53 and a half percent, which is fantastic, but they're allowing 14 and a half yards per completion. So they are allowing those big plays to happen. I mean, and that's really all you're getting done is big plays are happening against the Chiefs. So do you have hope? Do you have hope for Mari Cooper?

[Jason Moore]

Jason, I always have hope, but I'm going to, you know, if I have better options.

[Mike Wright]

Are you going to play Amari Cooper?

[Jason Moore]

He's, he's a low end flex for me in this game. He's, he's much, much lower. I'm firing up Crabtree a lot of bye weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

I'd be okay with him as a start for sure.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, my pump the brakes was going to be Derek Carr, but, but I thought it was too obvious. But if it isn't obvious, you've got a guy who has a, you know, career average of 22 points a game right now and 13 points a game against Kansas City over the last four trips both home and away. I think you, you know, you, you're going to have a murky situation here. The running game has not been good enough. The offensive line has not been good enough. The only true reliable option here is Crabtree.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it's. I think we kind of threw it away. But Michael Crabtree is a, he's a must start. Every.

[Andy Holloway]

Absolutely a must start. All right, let's talk some mailbag.

[Jason Moore]

Mailbag.

[Mike Wright]

Mailbag.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Kia Little macho man Nathan in Texas with the Saints defense performing exceptionally well against the Lions, are they an acceptable start? Oh, against the Rogers acceptable. Less acceptable?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I'm far more than acceptable.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's a trap.

[Jason Moore]

I do not a trap.

[Andy Holloway]

I just. Look, I've looked at this this morning we had waivers go through and the Saints have been amazing. Right? They double digit points previous two weeks before last week's explosion. This game is In Lambo Mike McCarthy's a smart dude. I'm not saying they're a bad start. Don't get me wrong. I think they're a good start. I think that your expectations. I think there. Look, there are certain times when do we believe that they're a top 10 defense in the actual NFL, the Saints? Because I don't. I don't believe that's the case. I think they've been opportunistic. They've scored a lot of points off of turnovers. But you look at them and look Cameron Jordan, playmaker, dominant defensive player of the week. You don't have a lot of playmakers outside of him.

[Jason Moore]

Here's.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's a little bit of a trap. Like, there are seven or eight defenses this week I'd rather play.

[Jason Moore]

Here's what I would. Here's what I would say. You've got Hunley, who came in through some interceptions against a team who, while opportunistic, I realized obviously they scored three touchdowns. The defense, special team, scored three touchdowns last week. Take those out. Just get rid of them. Because you can never bank on a touchdown, especially not from a defense. What you look for in the defense is you look for the opportunistic. You know, are they causing turnovers and are they getting to the quarterback and causing sacks? Well, over the last three games, and one of these was against Cam Newton, you know, who's a mobile quarterback. I mean, you look at like, you know, Jacoby Brissette, hard to sack because he can scramble, get away from some of those. Same. Same with Cam. But you've got, over the last three games, seven interceptions, and you have, let me see here, last week, five sacks. The two weeks before, four sacks. I think you're going to have sacks, I think you're going to have interceptions. Those are opportunities to score touchdowns. But regardless of those, that's why I like the Saints. I tried to pick them up off waivers.

[Andy Holloway]

To answer the question, more than an acceptable start. And I realize my opinion is completely contrarian to the overarching opinion on the matchup this week. I. But I. I'm just telling you what I did. Like, I had five different defenses on Fab. I had the Saints as my number one. And for whatever reason, I just felt like taking the money out of them and going with somebody else. I could. Could be wrong.

[Jason Moore]

Nice thing is they. They play Chicago the following week, so you can probably bank over at least two.

[Mike Wright]

Certainly.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. By the way, if you have a question, you go to the website, the fancy footballers, dot com. You can also dial our voicemail hotline, 302-464-TFFB and ask. Ask us a question on there. Would you trade Adrian Peterson for Jay? Ajayi asks Kevin in Michigan.

[Mike Wright]

Yep, I would. In a half point ppr. Yeah. Yeah, I would.

[Jason Moore]

I would.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I would do that. I would do that. The 3 and 2 Miami Dolphins, they might be able to get things going.

[Jason Moore]

Here that win this last week could really, truly be a true turnaround game catalyst for them. And if you look, I mean, they're.

[Andy Holloway]

A good defense this week to play as well.

[Jason Moore]

Ajayi, you know, in only five games right now, he already has three games over, 25 carries. Yeah, that's insane.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, here's a question from Allen in New Jersey. In our league, we Normally play with four points for a 40 to 49 yard field goal, but this year it was accidentally put at three points. This past week, the commissioner changed the scoring back.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, no, no, no.

[Andy Holloway]

The regular. And it ended up changing who won a week one matchup. And now we have half the league very upset. What is the right thing to do?

[Mike Wright]

You can't.

[Andy Holloway]

What?

[Mike Wright]

No, you can't revisionist history change things in the middle of the season.

[Jason Moore]

Now, if the league wanted that and voted, I have to assume they did not. Well, here, I mean, unanimously.

[Andy Holloway]

They actually did not.

[Jason Moore]

Unanimously. I'm saying that if this is a situation where it was like, oh, it was brought to the attention of the league and, you know, seven of the players wanted it and he changed it, but you're one of the guys that didn't and you're upset. Then what?

[Mike Wright]

It changed a win loss?

[Jason Moore]

No, no, no. Well, but I'm saying, I imagine the points were changed before the week. Like.

[Mike Wright]

No, he said it went back to week one.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

A week one matchup has now been changed.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, no, no. Thank you.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, man.

[Jason Moore]

You can't go back that way. No, I thought it was just this week was, you know, it would have been a different outcome. You can't. You can't change scores in the.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, he said a week one. He basically, they realized. They realized the mistake in week six and then just changed it retroactively for all previous games.

[Mike Wright]

Too late. You can't. Yeah, I mean, change it.

[Andy Holloway]

I basically, you need to make a manual adjustment on week one to fix that week if you want to move forward with the four point. Everybody understands it from this point on.

[Mike Wright]

Sure. I'm fine with that.

[Jason Moore]

Would you try better to be three points?

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's go here. Cody, in Green Bay or just remove kickers, Right?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Cody and Green Bay. When an injury happens to a number one receiver like Golden Tate, do you guys have hesitation with someone like Marvin Jones, who will now be going up against number one cornerbacks?

[Mike Wright]

He's been going. In other words, do.

[Andy Holloway]

Do receivers below them get a bump up? So let's talk philosophically, because that situation is bad because Golden Tate's the quote number one, but he's a slot receiver. But let's talk about a situation where, okay, Devon Jordy Nelson goes down, so Devonte Adams becomes the number one on the outside.

[Mike Wright]

Well, Devonte Adams was treated as the number one despite Jordy Nelson playing last week.

[Jason Moore]

Sure. But he's saying hypothetically.

[Andy Holloway]

No, this is not. Answer the question.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just blowing up your thing that Rhodes covered Devonte Adams.

[Jason Moore]

When a number one. When a number one wide receiver goes down, there's pluses and minuses for the other guys. Right. You have more targets that will go their way because you have the predominant target leader, assuming that, you know, if they're their number one, they always are, and those targets have to go elsewhere. So you get a bump up. But now the coverage is a little bit more difficult for those guys, so you've got to look at the talent of the second and the third wide receiver. Are they actually talented or are they just a benefactor of easy coverage? So you got to take a case by case. Good example we have right now. I think Sterling Shepard is actually talented. You know, last year he was my number one wide receiver as a rookie coming into the league. I think he is legit talented. So if he gets a little bit more defense but ends up with, you know, four or five more targets a week, he gets a bump up. So you just got to take it case by case.

[Mike Wright]

Also for Detroit, I'm. I'm just hoping things get more smooth. That's what I'm going for.

[Jason Moore]

You're hoping for the Kenny G. Oh, yeah. Back on the field.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, that is it for today's episode. We'll catch you tomorrow. Smooth show, week seven. Ooh, here we come.

[Mike Wright]

Week seven is so smooth. It's really not, though. It's a very pointy number. We're going double soundtrack here.

[Andy Holloway]

Goodbye, everybody.

[Mike Wright]

There are no rules. This sounds like vomit in my ears right now. Please make it stop.

[Andy Holloway]

Goodbye, everybody. Have a good week.

[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 FF Ballers.