Fantasy Football 2017 - Week 8 Studs & Duds, Rising Stars, Dying in Flames

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fantasy Football 2017 - Week 8 Studs & Duds, Rising Stars, Dying in Flames

Podcast Information:

• Title: Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast
• Host/Author: Fantasy Football
• Episode: Fantasy Football 2017 - Week 8 Studs & Duds, Rising Stars, Dying in Flames
• Release Date: October 30, 2017

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Introduction

In the Week 8 episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright delve into the latest happenings in the fantasy football landscape. Skipping over advertisements and intros, the trio focuses on pivotal player performances, injury updates, standout players (“Stud Muffins”), emerging talents (“Rising Stars”), and underperformers (“Dying in Flames”).

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Weekly Recap & Injury News

Zach Miller's Severe Injury

• Andy Holloway opens the injury segment with heartbreaking news about Zach Miller, who suffered a severe knee injury with potential life-changing consequences. [09:23]

Jordan Reed's Hamstring Trouble

• Jason Moore comments on Jordan Reed's recurring hamstring issues, a common concern since 2015, expressing worry about Reed’s future contributions. [09:55]

Chris Hogan's Dental Injury

• Mike Wright reveals that Chris Hogan lost two front teeth during the game, necessitating prosthetics. [10:19]

Andrew Luck's Ongoing Struggles

• The hosts discuss Andrew Luck still being in pain and unlikely to play this season, highlighting his phantom pain post certain games. [11:12]

Ty Hilton and Other Trades

• Jason Moore predicts Eric Ebron might be the next player to be traded, with rumors swirling about Calvin Johnson's potential trade from Detroit. [13:14]

Ezekiel Elliott's Legal Battle

• Andy Holloway mentions Ezekiel Elliott's upcoming hearing which could impact his availability for the remainder of the fantasy season. [14:19]

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Stud Muffins (Top Performers)

DeSean Watson vs. Russell Wilson

• DeSean Watson delivered a stellar performance, finishing 19-for-30 for 402 yards and 4 touchdowns, setting a franchise record for single-season touchdown passes by a rookie quarterback.

  • Mike Wright: “Number one. You can't put him anywhere else but number one.” [06:00]
  • Jason Moore: Initially skeptical, Jason acknowledges Watson's transformation from doubt to admiration after witnessing Watson’s prowess. [08:18]

• Russell Wilson also shines with 26 completions on 41 attempts for 452 yards and 4 touchdowns.

  • Andy Holloway: Claims Wilson as a top performer due to his high passing volume and favorable schedule. [15:10]
  • Jason Moore: Highlights Wilson’s increasing passing attempts, projecting a pass-heavy Seahawks offense. [15:32]

Tom Brady's Underwhelming Performance

• Tom Brady continues to disappoint, recently ranked 11th, but Andy opts to stick with Watson over Brady for future rankings. [07:15]

Drew Brees' Performance Dip

• Drew Brees posted a sub-20 point game with 299 yards, lacking touchdowns and impacted by a less productive receiving corps.
  • Andy Holloway: Questions Brees' standing among elite quarterbacks but still considers him valuable. [41:10]
  • Jason Moore: Supports Brees’ reliability despite the recent dip, expecting him to remain a top-six quarterback. [43:15]

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Rising Stars

Juju Smith-Schuster

• Juju Smith-Schuster emerges as a promising talent, contributing significantly in Week 8 and showing potential to be a consistent starter.
  • Andy Holloway: Labels Schuster as a "trepidatious rising star," emphasizing his versatile involvement in the Steelers' offense. [34:22]
  • Jason Moore: Enthusiastically supports Schuster’s growth and reliability, citing his dynamic playmaking ability. [35:07]

Robbie Anderson

• Robbie Anderson proves himself as a reliable target for Josh McCown, becoming a staple in the Jets' offense.
  • Mike Wright: Recommends prioritizing Anderson as a steady and high-upside player. [37:32]
  • Jason Moore: Agrees with Anderson’s reliability and big-play potential. [38:33]

Juju Smith-Schuster’s Breakout

• Jason Moore recounts Schuster’s impressive game, highlighting his speed and ability to make significant plays, reinforcing his status as a rising star. [36:19]

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Dying in Flames (Underperformers)

Dak Prescott and Jameis Winston

• Both Dak Prescott and Jameis Winston struggled in Week 8, with minimal touchdowns and underwhelming performances.
  • Andy Holloway: Expresses disappointment, describing Prescott’s performance as a big letdown. [39:02]
  • Jason Moore: Attributes their struggles to adverse weather conditions but remains hopeful for future performances. [39:38]

Deshaun Jackson and Jarvis Landry

• Deshaun Jackson and Jarvis Landry failed to produce significant fantasy points due to poor matchups and offensive inefficiencies.
  • Andy Holloway: Criticizes Jackson’s performance and Landry's limited involvement. [50:49]
  • Mike Wright: Suggests moving Landry to the waiver wire for better opportunities. [51:27]

Jimmy Graham and Other Tight Ends

• Jimmy Graham underperformed with only 2 touchdowns on 5 targets, raising concerns about his consistency.
  • Andy Holloway: Questions Graham’s reliability despite a strong offensive setup. [31:09]
  • Jason Moore: Highlights the tight end landscape challenges, but still prefers reliable options. [31:46]

Stefan Diggs and Others

• Stefan Diggs had a subdued performance due to acclimation issues in London games but remains a valuable asset.
  • Andy Holloway: Notes Diggs’ slow start but maintains confidence in his future performances. [47:53]
  • Mike Wright: Agrees, attributing the dip to weather-related acclimation challenges. [48:11]

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Notable Player Discussions

Deshaun Watson's Ascendancy

• Andy Holloway and Jason Moore discuss Deshaun Watson’s meteoric rise, emphasizing his record-breaking performances and potential to dominate the rest of the fantasy season.
  • Andy Holloway: Commends Watson’s confidence and ability to thrive in challenging environments. [07:02]
  • Jason Moore: Shares his personal shift from skepticism to becoming Watson’s biggest supporter. [08:18]

Lamar Miller's Consistency

• Lamar Miller is highlighted for his consistent performance and securing the running back position for the season.
  • Jason Moore: Praises Miller's reliability and potential to stay RB1 for the rest of the season. [18:58]
  • Andy Holloway: Points out the stability Miller brings to his team’s backfield. [19:14]

DeAndre Hopkins vs. Will Fuller

• DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller are discussed as the top wide receivers, with both players showcasing exceptional performances.
  • Andy Holloway: Apologizes humorously to Fuller for his intense play style but emphasizes their fantasy value. [23:10]
  • Jason Moore: Highlights the necessity of starting both players due to their high efficiency and touchdown potential. [24:07]

Antonio Brown and Alshon Jeffery

• Antonio Brown remains a valued asset, while Alshon Jeffery shows promise with improved matchups.
  • Jason Moore: Advocates for maintaining Brown’s spot due to his consistent track record. [25:32]
  • Andy Holloway: Acknowledges Jeffery’s improved performance but remains cautious about his long-term reliability. [29:02]

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Final Thoughts

The hosts conclude the episode by reiterating the importance of adapting to player performances and injuries. They emphasize the potential of Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson as top quarterbacks, while advising caution with underperforming players like Dak Prescott, Jameis Winston, and Jimmy Graham. The Rising Stars segment highlights the value of emerging players like Juju Smith-Schuster and Robbie Anderson, encouraging listeners to monitor their progress closely.

Notable Quotes:

• Jason Moore: “He went from literally, I mean, you, you, everyone in the room here was, was with me when we were watching that game. I hated everything Deshaun Watson was doing. And by the end of that game, I'm number one super fan. I'm madly in love with Deshaun Watson.” [08:56]
• Andy Holloway: “Jimmy Graham grabbed two touchdown games. No, I love everything about everything about Russell Wilson.” [25:32]
• Jason Moore: “I am a full believer now and will treat him as he deserves to be treated. Deshaun and Deshaun. Mom, I apologize.” [33:03]

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Conclusion

The Week 8 episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast provides a comprehensive analysis of the week’s fantasy football action, highlighting top performers, emerging talents, and underperformers. With insightful commentary and engaging discussions, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright equip fantasy managers with the knowledge to navigate their rosters effectively for the remainder of the season.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements, intros, and outros to focus solely on the content-rich discussions of the episode.

Transcript

[Mike Wright]

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[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]

Welcome in one and all. Friends, family, acquaintances, foes. Yes. Oh, the foes.

[Mike Wright]

The enemies are welcome at this dinner table.

[Andy Holloway]

Many, many a foe out there in the fantasy football world. All of them defeated by my teams this week. I am on a hot streak, gentlemen. You certainly are if you touch me right now. Fantasy points just singe.

[Mike Wright]

Like.

[Jason Moore]

Like hitting a Mario block. It's just bling.

[Andy Holloway]

I have. I have defeated Jason on the back of Paul Richardson in our Dynasty league. I had a bipocalypse situation where I played Matt Beretta and Paul Richardson and then beat him.

[Jason Moore]

Those worked out real well.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah. I consider it manifold genius. Just incredible genius.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah. One of two of us agree.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm so hot right now that my beard fell off.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah. Normally I love when people go to YouTube.com the fantasy footballers don't subscribe. Turn on your notifications. I highly recommend that you avoid going to YouTube because. Andy, I'm doing a Billy Madison foolish.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm doing a Billy Madison thing. I'm trying to re enroll.

[Mike Wright]

No, you honestly look like a bottle of Elmer's glue right now.

[Jason Moore]

So pasty.

[Andy Holloway]

That is so. It's so.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, man. So you'll either get fantasy points or glue and give them a hug.

[Andy Holloway]

I feel the need because I don't disagree with you, which is a terrible reality. But I need to explain one the shaving. It's in part due to the costume I'll be wearing on the show tomorrow.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

And it originated as I had a mustache. Only a mustache for a Halloween dinner murder mystery party that my wife and I went to last Friday and I wanted to look very creepy and I wanted to keep the mustache until today, but was threatened with legal divorce. So I am instead pasty white. And that's unfortunate for everybody involved. I'M trying my hardest to grow it back. Yeah, I'm just like, push it out, man. Sitting in a room. All right, well, it's been a some more beef jerky. It's been a whole lot more. And maybe see the sun. It's been a heck of a weekend.

[Jason Moore]

Terrible weekend.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, depending all on perspective.

[Jason Moore]

Well, when I say terrible weekend for football purposes, I'm speaking of the. I think that the storm that came through on the east coast really had a huge effect on the games, especially if you look at the quarterbacks. The position as a whole was incredibly down for fantasy, fantasy points. So I'm just saying it. You know, I love when there's high flying games and quarterbacks are on fire and wide receivers and pass catching, running backs and everything's flowing. This just wasn't one of those weeks. And you know, some people like the defensive battles. That ain't me.

[Andy Holloway]

Not fantasy players generally. And if you weren't playing in the Pacific Northwest, if you weren't playing in that Seattle game and you were a quarterback, I mean, Andy Dalton in four point leagues is the next highest score if your name's not Sean Watson or Russell Wilson. So if that doesn't explain the situation that Jason just outlined and Andy Dalton was bad.

[Jason Moore]

Those two things are both facts.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Okay, well, we've got a great show. We've got the rewind today. We'll catch you up on all the injury news. We've got stud muffins. We have raising canes. Rising stars. We have pooped in the big boy pants. And we're gonna get into all of that right now, ahead of tomorrow's Halloween episode. There it is. I was waiting for your favorite sound effect of all time. All right, so quick question of the day. Look, Deshaun Watson.

[Mike Wright]

So before we get into this, we do have to tell the podcast listeners, the YouTubers, Jason did say he would he was going to die in those flames. Last week we had a Viking funeral. Yeah, for Jason.

[Jason Moore]

I'm a new man.

[Andy Holloway]

Pushed him out to see he's back.

[Mike Wright]

He's been cleansed by the flames. He is back. You should have seen this man. At halftime, he actually ripped his shirt off. Underneath was a desean Watson jersey. He had been planning this the whole time, unbeknownst to us.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, this was number one super fan. Now, this was a man on fire and flying into Clayton Ravine. This was.

[Mike Wright]

He wouldn't full Ricky Bobby. He's like, I'm on fire, I'm on fire. And he's just ripping his clothes off.

[Andy Holloway]

It was. Well, let's put it this way. The break. The brakes went out for Jason.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Yeah. My, oh, my.

[Andy Holloway]

We're talking about it right now. Deshaun Watson is 19 for 30 for 402 and 4. Where is he rest of season? What is the. What is the DeSean Watson ranking rest of season?

[Mike Wright]

Number one. You can't put him anywhere else but number one. When you go into Seattle and you devastate that defense, which. Yes. It's not the Seattle Seahawks defense that we're used to, but they've still been playing very, very well this year, with.

[Jason Moore]

The exception of one single. Well, now two games.

[Mike Wright]

The rest, they've been playing well. DeSean Watson, 400 over 50 rushing yards. I mean, 67. Something that has never been done. And he did it in Seattle. I have to look. I had reservations about him going up there.

[Jason Moore]

I believe the rookie quarterback touchdown record was Peyton Manning with 26. So we can bet that.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I thought it was.

[Jason Moore]

Sean Watson is at 19 touchdowns right now. He's got half a season. Oh, he's going to Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

Rest of season.

[Jason Moore]

Rest of season. Mike says you can't put him anywhere else but one. Watch me. I'm going to put him probably four or five. I can't put him ahead of Tom Brady.

[Mike Wright]

I can.

[Jason Moore]

Or Drew Brees.

[Mike Wright]

I can.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So. But he's there. He's definitely top five.

[Andy Holloway]

He's two for me. He's number two behind Brady. Russell Wilson's number one.

[Mike Wright]

Oh.

[Andy Holloway]

For rest of season.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

And I would put Watson at 2. And then you'd be looking at. Brady Breeze's fantasy season has been underwhelming. It continued again this week. I think he was 11th before this week and he was. Luckily for me, I sat him for desean Watson. A lot of people sat deshaun Watson this week for better matchups. And I understand it like, I don't think you beat yourself up too bad over that. I think you will because it's fantasy football, but I don't think you should because, you know, Tom, just to point.

[Mike Wright]

Out, Tom Brady, aside from weeks two and three, has been very underwhelming for what you're. You thought you were getting to.

[Andy Holloway]

Sean Watson is the first player ever with 400 yards passing and 50. He had 50 rushing yards in this game and three touchdowns. I mean, this. This was an incredible performance by Watson. He looks entirely confident, does not look intimidated. In the most intimidating place in the National Football League. He's been through the big game, played in the national title games. He's coming into his own here and everybody's paying off for him.

[Jason Moore]

He won me over in yesterday's game. I mean, I have been someone that's been down on Deshaun Watson from the college tape. Just skeptical. Yes, skeptical. I mean, you know, it's like, okay, he looks good, he's impressed me. But he had not yet won me over as, and I'm speaking here as a, not as an analyst. I watched that game and what he was able to do and I was like, I went from literally, I mean, you, you, everyone in the room here was, was with me when we were watching that game. I hated everything Deshaun Watson was doing. And by the end of that game, I'm number one super fan. I'm madly in love with Deshaun Watson.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you say he went from skeptical to spectacle?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, well, I sure would.

[Mike Wright]

He's got two first round wide receivers. I mean, this, he is, he is set up to succeed. He still makes some rookie mistakes, but for fantasy purposes, he's my top quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, we're going to get into the rewind.

[Jason Moore]

Weekly rewind.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to start this one off with thoughts and prayers for Zach Miller. News broke this morning that the dislocation, the, the knee issue that he suffered during the game is very severe. Vascular surgeons been brought in. Adam Schefter reported they're working to save his leg. This is not a career only threat. This is a, you know, life changing event. And so I'm going to leave that there and just say we're thinking and praying for Zach Miller. Jordan Reed left with a hamstring injury, did not return. Well, are you guys surprised about that?

[Jason Moore]

Nope, not surprised, but, but definitely worried. Hamstrings are something that is very common to re aggravate and he used to, you know, prior to 2015, that was a common issue.

[Mike Wright]

That was his big one, his big bugaboo. I mean, he had the concussion problem, but his hamstrings, when you came, I think it was his second year. You're like, oh, here we go. Let's get a Jordan Reed breakout. And then he was out for a number of games.

[Jason Moore]

It scares me going forward if you.

[Andy Holloway]

Pull it all the way back to preseason talk, this was the landscape for the tight end position. It was monster impact players with high injury risk. Tyler Eifert, Jordan Reed, Gronkowski and Gronkowski. Right. And now Gronkis is there and he's hacked. He's active and he's being a force. But Jordan Reed has been all but Useless, unless you got lucky enough to play him last week, which you probably didn't because you were sitting him down. Or Tyler Ifert gone for the year again. And so this was the risk. You signed up for it if you drafted Jordan Reed. At this point, any of us who did, we signed up for that risk. Now you look at Vernon Davis as a very streamable option if Jordan Reed misses time.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Chris Hogan suffered a shoulder injury on the final catch of the game. Immediately left shoulder. MRI today. Brooks, have you heard anything new about Chris Hogan? As of right now, no, nothing new.

[Mike Wright]

Also, I don't know. This was not really reported, but it was almost a throwaway line during the Patriots by the announcers, they mentioned that Chris Hogan's front teeth had been knocked out. It's like, what are you talking about? So I did a little look in practice. His two front teeth were knocked out.

[Jason Moore]

That's the Patriots.

[Andy Holloway]

The practice is hard.

[Mike Wright]

That's.

[Andy Holloway]

That's not. Yeah, that's hockey stuff right there.

[Mike Wright]

That's ridiculous. So he has two fake teeth.

[Andy Holloway]

There you go. Cole Beasley, concussion. Duke Johnson was evaluated for a head injury, reportedly already been cleared. This is big news. Jay Glazer reporting. Andrew Luck is still in pain and seeking further opinions as to why this is not good. If you remember, Jim Ursay before the season said, oh, Andrew Luck's going to be ready for the season. Now it seems very unlikely he will play at all. And I'm going to be honest with you, what do they call that, the kind of pain, even if it didn't exist? Well, the phantom pain. Phantom pain, yeah. If you were Andrew Luck and you watched that O line against Cincinnati and the week before, what kind of pain would you have? I'd have Fanta. I'd be hypothetically sacked. In my mind, it's like Jacoby and it would hurt.

[Mike Wright]

Jacoby's a voodoo doll.

[Jason Moore]

For every time Jacoby gets hit, which is a lot.

[Andy Holloway]

His shoulder hurts.

[Jason Moore]

It hurts. Andrew Luck. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And this is. And now you got rumors about Ty Hilton being them. Listening to offers. I doubt he gets traded.

[Jason Moore]

But with what we're seeing from the Texans, I realize they lost, but their team looks.

[Mike Wright]

The Colts.

[Jason Moore]

No, I'm saying as the Indianapolis team. I look at that division and I think the Houston Texans, who aren't even leading right now, it's three and four guys, but the team looks really devastating. Good defense, good offense. I mean, I don't blame them for losing in Seattle in a hard fought battle. I'm just thinking if I'm Indianapolis I just don't think I can make playoffs.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, no. Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston are much better teams.

[Jason Moore]

In the Colts, you shut Andrew Luck down and you wait, you get some, you know, offensive line help in the off season and you have a good 2018. Real quick, Hogan, he left the stadium in a sling and he's going to.

[Andy Holloway]

Have an MRI today.

[Jason Moore]

All right, Patriots on by this week.

[Andy Holloway]

The NFL trade deadline is set for 4pm Eastern on Tuesday. Okay. And so a lot of rumors ahead of their teal by Hilton rumor, rumors about Jimmy Graham that Pete Carroll shut down saying they're not trading Jimmy Graham. There have been, there's been talk about.

[Jason Moore]

Ebron, a lot of talk about Eric Ebron. He. I think if one guy, if I had to predict one guy to be traded right now, it would be Ebron.

[Andy Holloway]

Rumors about the rights of Calvin Johnson being traded.

[Mike Wright]

He's not coming back.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, if you're, if you're Detroit, you're entertaining those offers because it's free compensation for a player that, you know doesn't want to come back for you. Similar to when Marshawn came back. And then non injury news. Ezekiel Elliott, he's going to appear at a preliminary injunction hearing today that could decide whether he remains on the field for the rest of the season. AKA the rest of my fantasy season and listener league. Whether it survives or not. It comes down to that preliminary injunction hearing. You're going to find out. I mean, Zeke has been nothing short of a fantasy force right now.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it was a slow start for.

[Mike Wright]

Zeke, but he is, he is performing very well lately.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Despite the weather, we do have a few of these.

[Jason Moore]

This week's fantasy stud muffins.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Russell Wilson, 26 to 41, 452 and 4. The reason that I have Russell Wilson one spot ahead of Deshaun Watson for rest of season comes down to the simple fact that the Seattle Seahawks, regardless of the player they place in their backfield, cannot run the ball in any way, shape or form. No, Wilson has a very healthy and effective Tyler Lockett right now. Paul Richardson looks great. Yeah, he had three touchdowns, one taken away due to penalty. And then Doug Baldwin is just there getting 10 targets and Jimmy Graham and.

[Jason Moore]

Jimmy Graham grabbed two touchdown games. No, I love everything about everything about Russell Wilson. I would also place Russell Wilson ahead of desean Watson. Pat Thorman, a great follow on Twitter, tweeted this out his career passing attempts for Russell Wilson in 2012, rookie year 393. Then it went up to 407, then up to 452, then up to 483, then up to 546. And this year he's on pace for 590 passing attempts. This is turning into a passing team. Wow. Because you can't run the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And his schedule, it's not that intimidating. It's Washington, Arizona, Atlanta, San Francisco, Philly. I mean, is that right? Washington next week. Can you vet that? Brooks. But I like obviously both of those players, they were the far and ahead winners. If you had them on your roster and your opponent didn't have the other one, you probably won this week. Josh McCown rewarded those streaming him. We said all week Josh McCown was a great streaming option. Best third down quarterback in football. Josh McCown, 2633.

[Mike Wright]

He is playing really what this. The jets have the magic. If you're an old quarterback, go to the jets, play for one year, maybe sneak out a little bonus contract.

[Andy Holloway]

I want to say something about the jets. In Buffalo. In Buffalo and the Jets. To me, the fact that they were able to ship out so many pieces and have success speaks to coaching. To me, I think they deserve a lot of credit. Todd Bowles and his staff, McDermott, his staff. It comes down to coaching perception is not reality. The off season perception of these teams and the reality of these teams. Josh McCown's getting it done with a trade for Jermaine Kearse and Robbie Anderson and Austin Severian Jenkins. The Bills are getting it done with as close to nothing at the wide receiver position as anybody has ever had. Charles Clay injured and you're just handing the ball to Shady McCoy every play. Impressive defense. I just want to give those teams credit because we, you know, you can bash them and have fun with the fact they've traded away all the great players, but when they succeed, I want to give them a little credit. Somebody I don't really need to give credit for. But he had a good game because he's the chocolate grasshopper. Andy Dalton. Yeah, 17 for 29.

[Mike Wright]

He was nutritious this weekend.

[Andy Holloway]

He was nutritious and hard to watch.

[Mike Wright]

Hard to chew.

[Andy Holloway]

That's hard to chew, isn't it?

[Jason Moore]

The problem is Andy Dalton is not the chocolate grasshopper. Andy Dalton is. Or cricket. Andy Dalton is just the cricket. The chocolate was the Indianapolis Colts, remember? So now you're past the Indianapolis Colts.

[Andy Holloway]

Now you're just eating crickets.

[Jason Moore]

Now you're just eating crickets.

[Andy Holloway]

Why did it change from a grasshopper to a cricket?

[Mike Wright]

I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

It's always been a grasshopper.

[Jason Moore]

He's a grasshopper.

[Andy Holloway]

He might have moved to cricket, but.

[Mike Wright]

Speaking of crickets, I can't recall which sports team it is, but there's a franchise down in Atlanta and they are offering at the stadium cricket tacos. Enjoy.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, because I couldn't throw up with the hot dogs already. All right. Case Keenum had a nice game. It started real slow. They didn't look good in that first quarter, but got it done against Cleveland.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. They were down at halftime.

[Mike Wright]

It's London. Weird things happen.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. LaShawn McCoy. Monster game, Bo. He put the bow on his performance with a long run at the end. Ezekiel Elliott, we talked about it. It's not like you have questions about playing him unless he's suspended. Lamar Miller caught a touchdown pass, ran for one great game once again against Seattle.

[Jason Moore]

Lamar Miller, before this week, people didn't realize that from weeks two to six they were on buy in seven and week one was Tom Savage. In that time, Lamar Miller was the RB10. He is. He is an RB1 and will be the rest of season because you have to watch out for DeSean Watson and the offense moves.

[Mike Wright]

He still has the stench of last year surrounding him. He cannot shower that off. Despite being amazing. That stench.

[Andy Holloway]

The reason it carried on and the question marks were there are now being remedied because Deontay Foreman, who is healthy, had like a snap in this game.

[Jason Moore]

One snap.

[Andy Holloway]

So now you have a really unsettled position behind him with Alfred Blue and Foreman securing Lamar Miller for the rest of season right now. Derek McKinnon, we told you, please take Jerick McKinnon over Latavius Murray rest of season. Don't you know, I pumped the brakes on Latavius Murray last week because of this reason. And I saw trades for Latavius Murray that made my eyes pop out of my head. Last week, McKinnon was 14 for 50 with a touchdown on the ground, 6 for 72 on 10 targets through the air.

[Jason Moore]

That's pretty good.

[Andy Holloway]

And all you had to do was watch. It wasn't like Latavius Murray was. No, he's just not flexible enough to make the offense move. Whenever McKinnon was in the game, the offense moved. Whenever Murray was in the game, the offense didn't move.

[Jason Moore]

I've criticized McKinnon, you know, in past years and early this season for not being that great at the position. But he has looked electric. His feet have been quick. He's been finding the right holes. You can trust McKinnon going forward. Unless he's injured, he's going to be fine because he is the pass catching back and he's involved on the ground.

[Andy Holloway]

It's like giving James White 14 carries a game.

[Jason Moore]

Right?

[Andy Holloway]

That's what it basically is for Jerick McKinnon. Three out of four games since the injury to Dalvin Cook, he's been over 20 fantasy points. And so Melvin Gordon, Jason, you want to gloat for a minute?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, Mike, I enjoyed staring at you while he ran really far for a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

Yep, you won the debate this week.

[Andy Holloway]

14 for 132 and 1. We're going to move on to the wide receiver Stud Muffins. Before you do that, look, I want to take a second thank today's sponsor. It's Filter Easy. Okay. And it's right in the name there. The average person changes their air filters in their home one to two times a year. The minimum times you need to change them are at least four times a year. Why do you think that happens? That happens because you don't want to think about changing your air filter. With filterezy, they just show up at your house. They help filter out those airborne allergies. We spend so much time in our homes, most of the time watching Netflix. You got to have that pure air coming through Filter Easy. It just shows up at your door. And here's what you don't know. Maybe you don't want to go out and pay for it. What saves you money on your energy bill to have a clean air filter in there, 5 to 15% on your air conditioning bill. You can get them from filtereasy. They show up right at your house. I've done this. They just, I walk in, there they are, I put them in, I'm done. I don't think about it until they show up again. So you can get started. [e-mail] they're offering all the fantasy footballer listeners their first delivery of a standard 1 inch air filter for free with free shipping. Never forget to change your air filter again or how to say it. And visit filtereasy.com fantasy Enter the promo code Fantasy on the homepage.

[Jason Moore]

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[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's start with the wide receiver. Oh, stud muffins. And I have to issue an apology. I don't even know how I'm why I'm having to do this, but apparently Will Fuller is going to score 60 touchdowns. So. Will, Will, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you're going to average two touchdowns a game. I didn't realize that you're not interested in catching passes that don't score points. That the only passes you want to catch are in the painted area. And I know I disappointed you were when you caught that ball in the three yard line.

[Jason Moore]

You wish you didn't catch it.

[Andy Holloway]

You wish you didn't catch it. You smack that ball down. So Will Fuller, I guess I'm in the flames with you. Seven touchdowns on like 11 catches this year.

[Mike Wright]

The whole Texans offense, man.

[Andy Holloway]

The number one and number two wide receivers this week are DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller.

[Mike Wright]

It's unbelievable.

[Jason Moore]

That is, that is truly unbelievable. You, you have to continue starting them. The one thing that you realize is okay, maybe the targets aren't there, but this is an offense that's moving the ball and putting points up. And there is a clear cut wide receiver one and a wide receiver two. No, one was not starting devonte Adams. You know, when Aaron Rodgers, because Aaron Rodgers throws a bunch of touchdowns. If you've got a guy throwing as many touchdowns as Watson has been throwing, you start the wide receiver one and you start the wide receiver two. If there's clarity and there is, I mean it's crystal clear, it's Will Fuller. So stay in the flames. Join me.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, those flames. You're happy to be in.

[Jason Moore]

I'm happy. You know, I had the Viking funeral. Now I'm back as a Targaryen. I just love the flame I'm standing right in the middle and it feels nice.

[Andy Holloway]

No nude scenes for you, please.

[Jason Moore]

Well, I mean, look, clothes are not fire resistance, so I apologize.

[Andy Holloway]

We will find something. Let's not ignore DeAndre Hopkins.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

He has scored now in four consecutive games. Has six touchdowns in the same span that. That Fuller has seven. So 13 touchdowns from these two guys in four weeks with DeSean Watson in a straight fire. Hopkins is going to be the number one wide receiver in fantasy football after this week. Eight for 224 and a touchdown. Absolutely humongous game going forward. DeAndre Hopkins, is there anybody you want a height of season?

[Mike Wright]

I was just going to say rest of season. You want Hopkins or you want Brown?

[Jason Moore]

I'll still take Antonio Brown as well.

[Andy Holloway]

I.

[Jason Moore]

There's a little hesitation there. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Because I get it.

[Jason Moore]

But it's just a matter of track record. It's just a matter of, you know.

[Andy Holloway]

It is. It still is.

[Jason Moore]

They're both great. I want both. I'm not saying one is going to disappoint, but if you've got, you know, we're five years running of Antonio Brown being the most consistent, heavily targeted with this quarterback. I think you got to. You got to stay with Antonio.

[Andy Holloway]

Antonio's friend, Juju Smith Schuster. Seven for 193 and a touchdown. Paul Richardson, Robbie Anderson and Adam Thielen all had big weeks. Adam Thielen, I saw this from. Boy, I can't remember who posted it. I don't know if it was fantasy adhd. I don't know if it was. It might have been.

[Jason Moore]

If you're talking about the total reception yardage. Yeah, that was Scott Barrett.

[Andy Holloway]

Scott Barrett, okay. He said sometimes the simplest stats are the most dank.

[Mike Wright]

That sounds like Scott Barrett.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, if the word dank is in there.

[Andy Holloway]

Adam Thielen's leading the NFL in receiving.

[Jason Moore]

Second.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, is he now second to Hopkins?

[Jason Moore]

I believe he's second in yardage, which is.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. He was at that point. He was number one. So Thielen, consistent, solid, looked great once again. Actually had a drop in this game, might have been the first one of the season.

[Mike Wright]

And had a huge catch that got called back on a, I believe, a hold.

[Andy Holloway]

We're going to talk about Robbie Anderson shortly. We're going to talk about juju Smith Schuster shortly. Hint, hint. It's in the Rising Stars segment of the show. Jameson Crowder, he came back around.

[Mike Wright]

He did.

[Andy Holloway]

He's the best bet at wide receiver right now after this performance. No, in Washington. Well, it can't be prior. He didn't catch a pass. Can't be Dockson. He caught one for one for one.

[Jason Moore]

Which is, hey, if you're going to catch one for one, make it a one, make it count, make it a touchdown. The issue here, and maybe James McCreder does step into a little bit of reliability with the absence of Jordan Reed reads out, but it is. I mean, it's been a problem because there's just been too many options. One week it was Terrell Prior. One week it was Dachshund. One week it now was Crowder.

[Mike Wright]

No one's getting 13 targets though, which is what crowded.

[Andy Holloway]

And you saw me, he's the best bet. Crowder.

[Mike Wright]

When Crowder broke out last year, it was the games when Jordan Reed wasn't there to take those slot touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

Do we need to adjust our opinion of Marvin Jones after 6 for 128 against Pittsburgh? Marvin Jones, I believe is in the top three in terms of total routes, run time on the field. He's been effective, he's been efficient. I don't think he scored the last two weeks, but he still had double digit fantasy points. 11 targets. Has Green Bay, Cleveland the next two weeks. Marvin Jones is very startable right now.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely.

[Andy Holloway]

You got it.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. In Green Bay. It's going to be, it should be a good matchup for Marvin Jones. I mean, it's, he's been. Until the past two weeks though, he's been really, really mediocre. But maybe it's, it's coming around. Maybe he's doing an opposite of what he did last year where he just, he came out of the gates with those two or three incredible games and then he was just not usable. So maybe he's ramping up. Maybe, I don't know. We need an NBA jam. He's on fire. If he can crush.

[Jason Moore]

Well, yeah, he's eating up right now for sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Alshon Jeffrey.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, there he is. That's what. So we were saying before the week, Alshon Jeffrey was a great play because his cornerback matchup coming into this week had been unbelievably difficult. And then this was an easy matchup. You saw him exploit that going forward.

[Andy Holloway]

Still, some question, really.

[Mike Wright]

Just one big.

[Andy Holloway]

There's really a lot of question marks with that because he was two for 62 on eight targets. He caught two of eight targets.

[Mike Wright]

You got a little raspberry in there.

[Andy Holloway]

And only one of those catches was of relevance. So it's great to see him get in the end zone, but I'm not sure what I saw.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, neither am I. And Then he gets Denver. No, thanks.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, not. Not against Denver. And then a bye week after the buy. He's got a pretty. Pretty good schedule, I would say every game from then on out, minus one game in Seattle. Juicy.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I'm baby faced today, but let's talk about baby hands. Oh, Jack Doyle got some prosthetics put on for 121 and 1. The amount of baby hand Jack Doyle tweets, pictures. The talk of him finding a one size fits all glove to wear. It worked. 12 for 121 and 1 on 14 targets. Look, Jack Doyle right now, and we've been saying it. You got to start him. And he's Jacoby Brissette's best friend. He's the offensive line's best friend in the sense that, look, when Brissette's in trouble, there's one place he can go. And O'Doyle rules, right?

[Mike Wright]

I don't know how it's possible, ladies and gentlemen, but. So last week or what? Yeah, I think it was last week. I got cooped on in over half of my leagues. I'm not exaggerating this. And then I got my baby hands revenge this week when over half of my leagues had Jack Doyle going against. I don't know how these matchups are lining up against a conspiracy. Against the hitman.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe you better watch your mouth.

[Mike Wright]

Ooh, never.

[Andy Holloway]

You better watch that tongue, Mike, that silver tongue.

[Jason Moore]

What I would say is that maybe.

[Mike Wright]

You silver tongue, I gave you gold.

[Jason Moore]

Maybe you should, baby hair. Maybe you should look at your Week 9 matchups and see who's playing against you in a lot of leagues. Make him your start of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

That's forward.

[Mike Wright]

That's what I'm doing.

[Andy Holloway]

Forward thinking. Jimmy Graham is the best, worst player in the NFL. Four for 39 and two touchdowns on five targets. I don't know what it is. I have some. I have a problem with Jimmy Graham. But when you got Russell Wilson finding you, it works.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, the tight end landscape is not great. And Jimmy Graham is a great player. But you're right, he has looked very poor on the field. I mean, he's dropping wide open, easy layup type receptions.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, I thought maybe you meant indigent. Like, he looked very homely and like.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

No, his uniform was broken down and very poor. Very poor on the show.

[Mike Wright]

Very hobo.

[Jason Moore]

He hopped on a train car for his ride home.

[Mike Wright]

You know, he rode the rails.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, he's too soft for that.

[Jason Moore]

I'm up to the big city. I think right now. You you have to be able to trust him. He's on too good of an offense in a bad tight end field where I would rather have Jimmy Graham than you know, everybody but about four other players.

[Andy Holloway]

Jimmy Graham is their goal line rushing offense which doesn't exist. That's a very winner on the 1234 yard line. Jimmy Graham is on the field apparently team still playing one on one and he ends up in the end zone. Gronkowski played well. Austin Hooper had a touchdown this week. Kyle Rudolph had a nice week, 6 for 27 but he had a touchdown which was great. And then Zach Ertz got in the end zone despite limited targets.

[Jason Moore]

Zach Ertz so good. That's it. That's all you need.

[Andy Holloway]

Four words.

[Jason Moore]

It's so good. Zach Ertz.

[Mike Wright]

Zachary's so good.

[Jason Moore]

Raising Canes Rising Stars of the Week I will kick off the rising stars because we talk, because we talk so much about them. Look, I popped, I pumped the brakes on Deshaun Watson last week.

[Mike Wright]

You're a wild card.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, I was a cut the brakes wild card. I was wrong.

[Andy Holloway]

Just be happy I'm here.

[Jason Moore]

He has proven me. He is truly my like when I think about the lay the land, he is the rising star to me. I am a full believer now and will treat him as he deserves to be treated. Deshaun and Deshaun. Mom, I apologize.

[Andy Holloway]

You're also going to be all wet because I bet you that Deshaun Watson would outperform Drew Brees. And y'all called me crazy pants on.

[Mike Wright]

The show because to be fair, you were crazy pants. But you were, you were the right kind of crazy.

[Andy Holloway]

You could have given Drew Brees eight quarters, he wouldn't have passed to Sean Watson in this week. All right, I'm going, I'm going with Is it Hot? I thought that came from Brooks. I couldn't tell. You're throwing your voice. Juju Smith Schuster is my Raising canes Rising star of the week star is born. He was one of my bold predictions that I actually got right and I'm not going to pretend like I got a lot of them right. But I said he'd be an occasionally start worthy revelation for that team. Everybody's eyes were on Martavis Bryant, but juju Smith Schuster, he's just a really good player. He's solid. He takes pressure off of Antonio Brown and in a game in which Martavis Bryant was inactive, the opportunity was there for Schuster. So this is, this is a trepidatious rising star for me.

[Mike Wright]

I had some questions.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, and that's fair. And I going to try to cover hopefully your questions ahead of time, which is, look, Martavis is going to come back. We know that the only way Martavis is going to be of any asset to this team is if they give him opportunity. And so does Juju Smith Schuster deserve to be picked up 100%. His start is going to be determined based on matchup and the way that the following weeks happen. You're not getting a 97 yard longest touchdown of all time in Steelers history every week. But he was involved all over the field including that beautifully drawn up shovel pass to get the first down to in the game. What do you guys think of Juju? Do you think he belongs here?

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I think he does belong here. But here's like you, it's, it's trepidatious because until this point, and I'm throwing out Game 1 when he had, I mean no targets or Anything but weeks two through seven, he was averaging four targets, three receptions for 38 yards.

[Andy Holloway]

But again, that's the rookie, that's the rookie thing. I say you can't apply that globally.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, I completely agree. I am. I mean when I was watching that game, what I realized is there's a reason, there's more than just Martavis Bryant's actions as to why Martavis Bryant got benched. And a part of that was what they are seeing in juju Smith Schuster. He has been, he's been very good. I mean when you watch, he hasn't been necessarily getting the targets or used the way that he was this last game. But once he, once it happened, he showed what he's showed all year, which is he is very, very good. He's only 20 years old. And think about the track record here of the Pittsburgh Steelers being able to draft wide receivers, okay? From Emmanuel Sanders to Mike Wallace to Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, now JuJu Smith Schuster.

[Mike Wright]

Did you say Sanders?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, sorry.

[Jason Moore]

And so look, I think juju Smith Schuster is. I said it over, you know, you talking but I think a star is born. I really buy into juju Smith Schuster. I think he is great and I love the dude. He is so fun. Did you hear what he said? About his 97 yard touchdown? No, about how he. Because you remember he was running. If you didn't see the play. He's running. He's clearly faster than everybody. It annoys me. If he just kept running, he would have outran them. But he keeps looking over his shoulder. Almost got caught. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Say Joe Mixon did that and got Caught.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, well, so juju said to be honest, the reason I kept looking back is because my speed on Madden is 82, 83 so I thought they were going to catch me. I love Juju Smith Schuster so much.

[Andy Holloway]

Can we get a jersey right now?

[Jason Moore]

Hey, foot clan, stay away from Juju Smith Schuster jerseys on pristine auction for 24 hours.

[Andy Holloway]

That is. We need to buy one that is spectacular. The reason I kept looking back is My speed's only 82.83 and earlier in.

[Mike Wright]

The week he had said it's something about he's like everyone loving me now but they won't start me in fantasy on Sunday. But yeah, so we'll see.

[Jason Moore]

I'm a.

[Mike Wright]

We'll see on. On a guy who jumps up to 10 targets but he looks pretty solid. My rising star of the week. I'm going Robbie Anderson, who is, I mean he is even despite his big game, he will not be that, that sexy name on your waiver wire like juju will be this weekend. Except 76 yards or a touchdown. The passage three weeks we talked about Josh McCown and he's playing great football and part of that has to do with Robbie Anderson who has become a very reliable target for him. Not only is reliable, he's the big play guy. I know that curse. You know, he's, he's steady catching some touchdowns and everything. But Robbie Anderson is a big part of this offense. We saw Robbie Anderson last year emerge in the second half of the season as the go to target. It's buddies. I get it, he's on the Jets. It feels kind of gross. But you should pick him up and you should play him as a three with huge upside every week.

[Jason Moore]

I agree.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Robbie Anderson, JuJu Smith Schuster to Sean Watson. The Raising Canes Rising stars of the week. Remember that game day tastes better with raising Canes. Tailgates full of fresh 24 hour marinated hand battered chicken fingers and fresh brewed sweet. Visit raisingcanes.com to find your nearest location. All right, let's talk about the not so great players of Week 8.

[Jason Moore]

Hooped in his big boy pants.

[Andy Holloway]

What I Learned in Week 8 is that Dak Prescott apparently can underwhelm you. We didn't think it was possible, but Dak Prescott, Jameis Winston both had rough games. Dak Prescott was 14 for 22 for 143. No touchdowns, barely any rushing yardage. And say what you will, you can, you know, you can kind of attribute that to the running success. But if you can, then you have to, you know you have to say that it's possible for that to happen again. I mean, yes and no.

[Jason Moore]

So let me just interject real quick. I realize they've got a great running game and it could happen, but this game was a torrential downpour. The winds were over 15 miles an hour. The game was soaked. It was not good throwing conditions. You've got a guy in Dak Prescott who's gone from 34 pass attempts a game to 22 in this game. This was a.

[Mike Wright]

He managed the game.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. He was just a game manager. He wasn't asked to do much. I believe that if the weather was fine there, you would have seen, you know what. What Vegas was expecting to be a high scoring game where he's more near his average. I write this one off. I agree that any game you know, you can have.

[Andy Holloway]

It's probably not worth talking about. You're not going to bench Dak Prescott, right? James Winston, Mike, you. You were in on him this week.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, he's. Well, I was in on the yardage is what I was. If you're referring to that from last week's shows is that he has been getting it done through the air. Not necessarily great for fantasy, but this.

[Andy Holloway]

Was two picks, one fumble, no touchdowns. 210 and third week. Well, I guess he was injured then. But he had six fantasy points.

[Mike Wright]

It was a really bad performance when. When Jameis poops the big boy pants. It is.

[Andy Holloway]

It's a big one.

[Mike Wright]

It's a. It's a smelly one.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And that's what happened.

[Andy Holloway]

Drew Brees I think is worth mentioning here because he was at home.

[Jason Moore]

Really?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I do.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Zero touchdowns for Drew Brees. I told you he's. I don't know if he's worth mentioning in the elite of the elite. He was brought up earlier in that context. This week at home against Chicago. Good defense. He had no touchdowns. He had 299 yards.

[Mike Wright]

But yeah say 23 for 28 for 300 yards is the touchdowns just weren't.

[Andy Holloway]

But he was 11th in the. In the league before this week. Now he put up a sub 20 point performance. I just think that there have been a lot like he has. No, he has one game of more than two touchdowns the entire year. Okay. He's coming off a Green Bay game that looked like a great matchup. He only had one touchdown. I'm just wondering if his weapons losing Brandon Cook seems to have had an effect on the big play which has had an effect on Drew Brees being a top five guy. Do you have the consistency charts up by chance, Jay?

[Jason Moore]

I don't have them up. No. I was looking up. I wanted to see, because he had had that bye week in there. I wanted to see what the difference is between, you know, him being the number 11 before this week, on a per game basis, he was the number eight. So it still kind of feeds into your point. He has not been one of those top three three type of performers so far. I, you know, I'm still in on Drew Brees. Nothing I've watched on film makes me think that he's any less dominant than he's been the last six or seven years. The one thing that would, you know, that you could see that would make a difference for him being not in that top three is what you brought up, Andy. The weapons. He has not really had Willie Snead this season. Michael Thomas has been dealing with an injury and hasn't looked especially special. Kobe Fleener has disappeared, you know, so someone is going to need to step up more than Brandon Coleman for him to regain the top three. But I am, I'm still super happy with Drew Brees. I would start him every week. I think he will finish the year as a top six quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, running backs, we talked about J. Ajayi already.

[Mike Wright]

We just need to highlight the point that JJ had a 21 yard run and he finished for 13. 13 and 23 rushing yards.

[Jason Moore]

Dude, JJ could. Adam Gase is the type. 12 for 2, 12 for 2. If Jai comes out next game and gets five carries, count me as someone that's. That will not be surprised.

[Andy Holloway]

Adam Gase has done a lot of blaming.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And I think a lot of that blaming is directed toward Jay Ajai who's missed pretty much every practice this year.

[Andy Holloway]

So I They're the worst offense in the league. Adam Gase takes a lot of pride in his offense, but he didn't take a lot of responsibility. I find that to be not coach worthy. Yeah, not great. I mean, I think you need to take responsibility as a coach along with your players, not just point fingers. Devonta Freeman, he's banged up.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. He had to exit the game for a bit here in 12 for 41, one for 20. And once again, if you watch this game, New York. Jason talked about the weather in the Washington game. The New York weather was horrifically bad. Matt Ryan fumbled four. Four snaps. That's how bad the. The rain was coming down. So this is a. Honestly, to me this is just a throwaway. Throw it away. Don't worry about Freeman and then Mike.

[Jason Moore]

That first and goal from the one. Oh, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And then. Then what? Sarkeesians at it again with. With Devonta Freeman, one of the best goal line backs in the league. First and goal on the one and they run a play action. It worked to Austin Hooper, but not like a.

[Jason Moore]

Where it's.

[Mike Wright]

He's just wide open. It was Matt Ryan happened to buy some time in Austin, then Austin Hooper was open.

[Jason Moore]

You got to play action sometimes to that guy. Bite him in, bite the defense in. I don't blame him there. And they scored a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

But like I said, it wasn't a clean play. It was a. He just. It happened to work out okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Latavius Murray, we talked about him. Carlos Hyde, you know, it's going back and forth on Carlos Hyde right now. 12 for 25. Matt Burrito had the touchdown. The offense is not very good. You're feeling that with Pierre Garcon. You're feeling that with other pieces there. Confidence level on Carlos Hyde. Has it gone down because of this performance?

[Mike Wright]

It was another one of those games where he was below 70% of the snaps. So I. He's still running back too, with upside.

[Andy Holloway]

Amir Abdullah not getting it done. Saw him get pulled down by one arm, you know, with one arm yesterday. That seems to have been the problem. There's not a lot of like he's got the top speed, but he needs that like, like old school CJ Spiller. You need that lane for him to accelerate. Very. I mean, we didn't expect a lot against Pittsburgh, but 11 for 27.

[Mike Wright]

Oof. Expected more than that though.

[Andy Holloway]

Wendell Smallwood, what happened there?

[Mike Wright]

He just didn't play.

[Jason Moore]

He didn't get the work. This was a Legarette Blunt game where.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, it was a Corey Clement game too, Tim, for 54.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Clement has been running ahead of Wendell Smallwood. That's something where I've been curious if it's injury. The fact that Wendell Smallwood practiced this last week and was active says that he's just behind Clement right now.

[Andy Holloway]

What in the world do fantasy owners do with Ty Hilton? 2 for 15 this week on Seven Targets.

[Jason Moore]

Trade them. If you can get value on the.

[Andy Holloway]

Name Ty Hilton, though, I don't think that name is there anymore. It's been enough weeks where like if somebody came and offered me anything for Ty Hilton two weeks ago, I'm not doing it yet. Last week I got offered Jordan, you know, in a dynasty league. Jordy Nelson and Ty Hilton for, you know, A.J. green. It wasn't even a thought.

[Jason Moore]

No, of course not.

[Mike Wright]

Yep. You Just, I guess you just bench him and hope that the offense can turn it around. There's not really much you can do because I wouldn't cut Ty Hilton. Would you cut him, Jay?

[Jason Moore]

I wouldn't cut him, no. That's why I'm saying I would look to trade because the name is usually big enough where if you package them with someone else, it can push another owner over the top saying, ooh, I'm getting this guy who's okay and I get Ty Hilton. If he comes to form, my team's going to be great and I don't have to deal with having to start him in what looks to be good matchups or not start him in what appears to be bad and luck into the game that he's actually involved.

[Andy Holloway]

Stefan Diggs didn't do much for fantasy owners against Cleveland and his return to the lineup. Now he has a bye week. Are you worried about Stefan Diggs or do you think that this was just kind of acclimation?

[Mike Wright]

I think it was just acclimation. London games are weird. We've talked, I talked about that. Stefan Diggs had a sensational cat. Well, it wasn't a catch, but a very, very near catch. I mean, get another week to heal up on that groin, get to come back against Washington, then the Rams. I'm still in on Diggs.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I am as well.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Not trying to rock the ball, but I got to ask the question, I mean, does Bryant. I know we talked a little bit about the weather. We knew it would be a rough Josh Norman.

[Mike Wright]

It should be a rough game. Despite his success last year.

[Andy Holloway]

The question that I really have is rest of season, does Bryant now has played half a season. After this game, he's going to be outside the top 20 in fantasy wide receivers. Do you really consider Dez Bryant a wide receiver? One for your fantasy team. His championship week matchup is Seattle. He's got the giants in week 14. Traditionally they've been a little bit difficult on him. What is DEZ Bryant the rest of season? He's had four touchdowns across the first eight games. It's not the end of the world there. No hundred yard games. Where should our confidence level be with Des Bryant?

[Jason Moore]

I genuinely believe that Des Bryant rest of season. If you just take from next week on through the rest, he's a top 12 wide receiver. That's how, that's how I see him, how I would treat him. He's got a good enough quarterback, a good enough offense, good enough targets, good enough talent. I think everything, you know, I Still believe wholeheartedly in destiny. I would love to have him on my roster. I'm not afraid of him. What I said about Dak earlier with this game specifically is then obviously still true of DEZ Bryant. I mean, I realize that, you know, he's only a wide receiver, too, right now on the year, but we also talked about, you know, the difficulty of those first 10 weeks for his cornerback matchup before the season. Some things haven't worked out. And look, because he's always been an efficiency guy, a touchdown guy, versus a total receptions type of player, you're going to have down weeks in there. And so he's obviously not a top five guy, but I would say he's top 12.

[Mike Wright]

Chiefs, Falcons, Eagles, his next three matchups. I have no problems with any of those matchups.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Brandon Cooks down week five for 26 on eight targets. Amari Cooper returned no five for 48 on 10 targets. Unfortunately, that offense didn't do much up in Buffalo. Devin Funches didn't really show up this week. Pierre Garcon. I hate seeing Pierre Garcon stifled.

[Mike Wright]

Say, are you out on Pierre Garcon?

[Andy Holloway]

He's a flex consideration. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So down to three?

[Andy Holloway]

Unfortunately, yeah. Nelson Aguilar. No touchdown this week.

[Mike Wright]

Nope.

[Andy Holloway]

That means no fantasy value this week. Deshaun Jackson, he felt the Jameis Winston implosion. Three for 37. Jarvis Landry. We talked about the Thursday night game, but that was a mess because of Matt Moore, Willie Snead, nothing goosey.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Willie Snead played four snips, so he was not involved at all. You know, I don't know if this is injury or trying to get other players more involved or they just don't see him as part of the future. You just got to keep waiting and watching. But while you wait and watch, he shouldn't be on your bench. He's not worth rostering.

[Mike Wright]

Put him on the waiver wire.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. I mean, you should have put him on the waiver wire two weeks ago.

[Andy Holloway]

When you think about the Drew Brees thing we talked about earlier, I mean, he lost Willie Snead and Brandon Cooks from the offense. So I think that that's what you're feeling. And you also picked up kind of, you know, Alvin Camara has played a role, but it hasn't been enough to give.

[Mike Wright]

But they've always had that role, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. Hunter Henry Hunter, 2 for 11. Jordan Reed. We got me again. A.S.J. only 5 for 28 this week. Jason Whitten did not play well despite Washington struggle. Washington struggles against the tight end. Anything to comment on there? I mean, Hunter Henry, I think we expected more. He's got the buy next week. Are you willing to drop him for another player next week?

[Mike Wright]

No, I would not drop.

[Andy Holloway]

So you'd roster two tight ends just for prep for the rest of the season?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, unfortunately I would because if someone dropped Henry this week, I would pick them up.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I'm inclined to agree there.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, the Broncos take on the Chiefs. A reminder tonight, finishing up Week eight, and we'll get our rankings up for week nine on Wednesday. So stay tuned there. Make sure you tune into YouTube.YouTube.com the fantasy footballers tomorrow.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, you know, all baby face jokes.

[Andy Holloway]

Not today.

[Jason Moore]

You probably do want to go today. Subscribe and turn on the notifications so.

[Andy Holloway]

That tomorrow when it hits, just put your sunglasses on.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, there you go. Just put your sunglasses on, turn your monitor brightness down and you can go to YouTube.

[Mike Wright]

And don't forget to check out World of Warships. You can download the game for free [e-mail] to begin your naval adventure, make sure you use the code Football17. That's all caps Football17. When you download it, you're going to get a bunch of bonus content in game currency, some cool ships. It really helps you to start your World of WarShips adventure again. CommandWarShips.com code football17 and yeah, we'll be.

[Andy Holloway]

Back tomorrow with another show as always and thanks for tuning in. You can follow us on TwitterFFballers and be sure to check out great friend of the show studio sponsor, it's Draft. By the way, tonight I need Demaryus Thomas to beat you. Jason Draft.com Ballers to play with us from DFS every 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.