Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - Sits of the Week, Nando Di Fino, Week 15 Mailbag

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary: Sits of the Week, Nando Defino, Week 15 Mailbag (December 16, 2015)

Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright
Guest: Nando Defino (Fantasy Sports Network)

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Introduction and Episode Overview

The Fantasy Footballers kick off the episode with their characteristic banter, setting a lively and engaging tone. Hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright welcome listeners back on December 15th, acknowledging the festive season's proximity and the nearing end of the 2015 fantasy football regular season.

Andy Holloway (00:31): "Ah, we're back again."

Jason Moore (00:35): "Guess."

Mike Wright (00:37): "Whoa."

They outline the episode's structure, which includes their Sits of the Week, a trivia segment, a special guest appearance by Nando Defino, and a Mailbag section where they answer listener questions.

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Sits of the Week and Trivia

The hosts dive into their Sits of the Week, highlighting players they are choosing to bench despite their potential. This segment emphasizes strategic decision-making crucial for fantasy playoffs.

Andy Holloway (03:28): "I use an SSD."

Mike Wright (03:18): "Your brain is a solid state."

Notable Playoff Sits Discussed:

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick (QB, New York Jets)
   Andy shares his exceptional season with Fitzpatrick, marveling at his performance despite not being the primary starter from the outset.

   Andy Holloway (03:33): "Impressive year for Ryan Fitzpatrick."

   Mike Wright (04:14): "Ryan, he's as good as two."

2. Doug Baldwin (WR, Seattle Seahawks)
   Baldwin is highlighted for his hot streak and reliable performance, likened to a "three-point shooter in basketball."

   Mike Wright (05:40): "He's like the three-point shooter in basketball when it's just going."

3. D'Angelo Williams (RB, Pittsburgh Steelers)
   Despite missing half the games, Williams is praised for his second-best career year, making him a valuable asset in fantasy playoffs.

   Andy Holloway (07:25): "Donny Avery. I traded for D Will right before he went on that massive tear."

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Special Guest: Nando Defino

The episode features Nando Defino from Fantasy Sports Network, providing expert insights into the playoff week’s critical decisions.

Key Discussions with Nando Defino:

1. Running Back Waiver Wire Targets
   Nando discusses the top waiver wire running backs, emphasizing Tim Hightower and Denard Robinson as priority pickups due to their consistent involvement and reliability.

   Nando Defino (11:20): "For me, it's Hightower. Just because we know he's going to get those carries."

2. Seattle Seahawks' Running Back Situation
   The competition between DeJuan Harris, Bryce Brown, and others is analyzed, with Nando expressing skepticism about Baldwin’s emergence due to internal competition.

   Nando Defino (12:25): "I like how he says we're not going to go with a two-back approach."

3. New England Patriots' QB Situation
   With injuries plaguing the Patriots, Nando advises leaning towards Brandon Bolden over James White, citing Bolden’s versatility in both rushing and receiving.

   Nando Defino (15:34): "He fits that Blunt role a little better than I think James White does."

4. Quarterback Streaming Strategies
   Debating between Ben Roethlisberger and other quarterbacks, Nando recommends sticking with the starter despite tough matchups, citing Roethlisberger’s playoff experience and potential to exploit defenses.

   Nando Defino (19:19): "I'm going with Ben Roethlisberger and I'm cutting the other quarterback."

5. Tight End Considerations
   Nando critiques Travis Kelce's recent performances against strong defenses, recommending alternatives like Antonio Gates based on matchups.

   Nando Defino (33:18): "I'm sitting Travis Kelce... I'm going with Gates."

Notable Quotes from Nando:

• On Tim Hightower (11:20): "If I had to do it today, it would be Hightower."
• On Brandon Bolden (09:12): "That's the best summary for their backfield that I've ever heard."
• On Ben Roethlisberger (19:19): "You save the matchup stuff for the daily games."

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News and Notes

Before the guest segment, the hosts briefly touch on league-wide news:

• Jordan Matthews not practicing.
• Joe Haden expected to fully recover for the Cleveland Browns.
• Andre Ellington out, benefiting David Johnson after an injury scare.

Mike Wright (08:00): "There's some good news from the Joe Hayden front."

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Mailbag: Listener Questions and Advice

In the Mailbag section, the hosts address listener-submitted questions about lineup decisions, offering personalized advice based on current player performances and matchups.

Example Questions Addressed:

1. Flex Decision: Devontae Freeman vs. David Johnson
   Both Andy and Mike recommend David Johnson for his reliable performance and advantageous matchup.

   Andy Holloway (37:13): "I’m going with David Johnson."

2. Wide Receiver and Tight End Choices
   The hosts debate various wide receivers and tight ends, weighing factors like recent performance, matchup difficulties, and player reliability.

   Jason Moore (31:19): "Fuck Dez Bryant... He's got one bad matchup..."

3. Quarterback Streaming: Eli Manning vs. AJ McCarron
   Andy and Jason favor AJ McCarron over Eli Manning based on quarterback performance and opponent strength.

   Jason Moore (42:22): "I'd go Tyler Ifert to me is a much better physical talent..."

Notable Listener Question Example:

Gel from Washington
Question: "I have Gurley and Lamar Miller locked in for next week, but I can't decide on who to flex. Should my flex be Devontae Freeman at the Jaguars or David Johnson against the Eagles?"

Team Recommendations:

• Mike Wright (37:35): "I'm going David Johnson."
• Andy Holloway (37:54): "I second that. I'm going with David Johnson."

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Final Thoughts and Closing

The episode wraps up with playful interactions among the hosts, emphasizing the camaraderie and dynamic energy that defines the Fantasy Footballers. They encourage listeners to engage with their community through the website and social media platforms.

Andy Holloway (49:00): "Thank you for listening to another edition of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast."

Mike Wright (50:03): "Goodbye."

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Key Takeaways

• Strategic Sitting: Emphasize benching high-potential players based on matchups and consistency.
• Waiver Wire Priorities: Focus on reliable running backs like Tim Hightower and Denard Robinson.
• Quarterback Decisions: Prefer starters with playoff experience over potential matchup-based streaming.
• Tight End Evaluation: Assess tight ends not just on talent but also on defensive matchups and recent performance.
• Engage with Experts: Leverage insights from seasoned analysts like Nando Defino for informed lineup decisions.

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Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright (05:40): "He's like the three-point shooter in basketball when it's just going."
• Nando Defino (19:19): "I'm going with Ben Roethlisberger and I'm cutting the other quarterback."
• Jason Moore (17:45): "That's the hot take that you wanted."

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For detailed player analyses, matchup insights, and more expert fantasy advice, tune into the Fantasy Footballers podcast and join their growing community at JoinTheFoot.com.

Transcript

[Mike Wright]

Hey, foot clan, do you want to be a part of this show? Do you enjoy the fantasy footballers? Then head over to JoinTheFoot.com join our growing fantasy football community, get exclusive content from the show and fantastic things. JoinTheFoot.com.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome to the fantasy footballers podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Andy Holloway]

Ah, we're back again.

[Jason Moore]

Guess.

[Mike Wright]

Whoa.

[Andy Holloway]

We're back. It's Wednesday. It's hump day.

[Mike Wright]

That was a rising locomotive.

[Andy Holloway]

Was it all right.

[Mike Wright]

Of energy. I enjoyed it very much.

[Andy Holloway]

We're back again. We are the fantasy footballers and we are here. It's December 15th. Somehow Christmas is around the corner.

[Mike Wright]

Well, because it's December.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, no, I'm not. Not somehow Christmas. Like, it was more of a new line, a new sentence. Oh, like Christmas is around the corner. Thoughts or thoughts on Christmas? Pro Christmas.

[Jason Moore]

I am pro Christmas. I love Christmas.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Well, I mean, it is, you know, near the end of the fantasy football regular, you know, our 2015 season.

[Jason Moore]

I thought maybe that's not the favorite part about it.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. That part's not as good.

[Jason Moore]

The season my Christmas tree went up on November 1st.

[Andy Holloway]

I know, I know.

[Mike Wright]

You're.

[Andy Holloway]

You're a wild man.

[Mike Wright]

A true story.

[Andy Holloway]

Christmas man.

[Mike Wright]

I used to be ultimate, ultimate Scrooge and Grinch. I did not enjoy Christmas. I let the. At the bad aspects of just the busyness, congestion at all the stores. I let that commercialization, I let it bring me down.

[Andy Holloway]

But now you have kids.

[Mike Wright]

But have really since I had children. Now Christmas is just fantastic.

[Andy Holloway]

Magical.

[Mike Wright]

It is. It is truly magical. And it's also not a hundred freaking degrees outside. So that is. There's that.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, as Arizonans know how to enjoy not 100 degree the weather, that's for sure. So welcome to the show. We got a good one. We got our sits of the week on the show today. Gonna do a little trivia for the fantasy season. Gonna jump into the mailbag, answer questions, and we also have a special guest on the show today who is none other than Nando Defino of the fantasy sports network, one of our favorite people in the industry and has been for years. Gotta love the fantasy sports.

[Mike Wright]

The notorious Nando Defino.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, yes. So that will be exciting. And we'll talk to him. You can find us on Twitter at the ffballers. Check us out. As I said, Nando's from the fantasy sports network. You can also watch our show on the fantasy sports network. You can Watch it on YouTube. Subscribe to us on YouTube on iTunes and elsewhere where podcasts Are found, which is a lot of places. There are a lot of really good apps out there. So what else do we got going on, guys? Do you want to just get right into the trivia?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I believe I am prepared. I've. I'm trying to focus the brain now.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason took this last time.

[Mike Wright]

I got a cycle that.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, he did. That is correct.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

That is correct. I'm going to the memory banks, getting everything lubed up in my brain.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, well, you know, we'll stay back a couple.

[Jason Moore]

Slippery show.

[Mike Wright]

You need the file cabinets of the. Of the memory to be.

[Andy Holloway]

I use an ssd.

[Mike Wright]

Your brain is a solid state.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right. You can't tell that by now.

[Mike Wright]

All right, There are. I know. There's no moving part in your brain if that's what you're inferring.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, yes, that is what I'm inferring. All right. I am having the best season of my career. I've only scored in single digit fantasy points one time this year. I've already eclipsed my season high for touchdowns. But despite not being considered the starter from the first day of camp.

[Mike Wright]

Mmm.

[Andy Holloway]

I've only thrown for 300 plus yards one time. But I'm a quarterback one. So who am I? Ooh, I'm gonna give you limited time on this too.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I got it. I got it. I got it. I got mine.

[Mike Wright]

Not considered. You're a jerk. Not considered the starter.

[Jason Moore]

I thought I had it all the way up until that one.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I got it.

[Jason Moore]

Not considered the starter was the hard part. Ryan Fitzpatrick.

[Mike Wright]

Ryan Fitzpatrick. Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

That is correct.

[Mike Wright]

I got that.

[Andy Holloway]

That is correct. Ryan Fitzpatrick. Impressive year for Ryan Fitzpatrick.

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely.

[Andy Holloway]

Had a little bit of a lull where you heard rumblings in New York about, oh, would you consider a switch back to Geno? Blah, blah, blah. They had gone on a great start, got back to 500 and now they won three in a row on the arm of Ryan's Fitzpatrick. I think I said his name. Ryan's Fitzpatrick there.

[Mike Wright]

But Ryan, he's as good as two.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, all right. So you both got that one. Let's see if you get this one. I. I too am having the best season of my career. I had an average draft position of 55 for wide receivers in PPR leagues. I'm the only player in the top 18 in fantasy points without 65 plus catches and 100 targets. Yet I'm a wide receiver. One who has only eclipsed 100 yards twice.

[Mike Wright]

I think.

[Jason Moore]

I think I've got it too, but.

[Mike Wright]

I feel first this time we're going to stay in the flames with Doug Baldwin. Oh, that's a good.

[Jason Moore]

That's a good one. I think he's been over a hundred. Oh, so say twice. That's a great.

[Andy Holloway]

Give me another answer.

[Jason Moore]

I feel like this is my answer. Every other week is the Eric Decker, Allen Hearns wide receiver two guy. I'm going to go with Eric Decker.

[Andy Holloway]

It is Doug Baldwin. Oh yes, it is Doug Baldwin. He is having a heck of a year.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And I saw a stat of that we need to keep in mind with Doug Baldwin. Before the buy there was a three game stretch where he was averaging about four points.

[Andy Holloway]

I know.

[Mike Wright]

Per game.

[Andy Holloway]

I've seen Doug Baldwin play football before. I've seen it for years and there have been games where he flashed. He streaks and you start him and then you're disappointed. But it's different right now because I think Wilson's just so on fire. And the options, the passing game options have reduced the running game. I don't know. He's on fire. I'm starting him over lot of guys.

[Mike Wright]

He's like the three point shooter in basketball when it's just going. You give him the ball because it's going to go in the net every single time.

[Andy Holloway]

And he's a good player. He's never not been a good player. It's been. The offense is Marshawn Lynch. The offense is, you know, good for a game. Offer two games, no passing game. All right, let's see if you guys get this one. Mike got that one. This one's really tough. Unlike the last two players, I'm only having the second best year. Second best year of my career.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Third most rushing touchdowns. Despite not starting in about half of my team's games, I was able to eclipse 20 points in five of those games. The league's second highest scoring fantasy running back since easy week nine.

[Jason Moore]

Easy.

[Andy Holloway]

Too much information.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Too much info that I, I was.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, what's the name?

[Jason Moore]

Do you got it, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

No, actually I don't.

[Jason Moore]

Easy peasy. Well, think about. Well, one, a guy who hasn't played in half of the games and two, has had an incredible season before. Right. Because he's.

[Mike Wright]

This is the second best year I'm missing. The part that's eluding me is the missing half his games.

[Jason Moore]

D'Angelo William.

[Andy Holloway]

That is.

[Mike Wright]

That is All I could think of was Doug Martin and I couldn't get him out of my head.

[Andy Holloway]

What was impressive to me is that this is the second best year of his career. Post his Prime. Right. Like, he had that monster year that I remember picking him up. I don't even remember the name of the guy traded for him anymore. It was Donnie Avery.

[Jason Moore]

That's right.

[Andy Holloway]

Donny Avery. I traded for D Will at the right before he went on that massive tear. Took me to a final. But this is his second best year despite not playing in the full, you know, slate of games. So a great guy to have in the fantasy playoffs, that's for sure. So let's go ahead and get to a little bit of news and notes before we move on to what do we have next? What are we doing? Sits.

[Mike Wright]

Yep. Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Are we going to bring Nando in?

[Mike Wright]

We'll go to Nando before the sits. How about that?

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's get to the news.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

Do we actually have any news?

[Mike Wright]

There's not a ton, but the standouts. The standouts. Jordan Matthews not practicing. And there's some good news from the Joe Hayden front that they. We do expect him to fully recovery and this.

[Andy Holloway]

But next year.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, next year. And this was a. This was a legitimate concern for the Cleveland Browns that Joe Hayden had been getting concussed so much that maybe Hayden's going to shut it down. He's been one of the best corners of this generation. His plays really deteriorated. But. So we're happy to hear this for Hayden that he'll make.

[Andy Holloway]

He was one of the three that all got paid right between Peterson, Hayden and Sherman. Now Andre Ellington is not practicing as well. This is good news for David Johnson. The injury for Johnson last week, for those that didn't hear, it was just a thigh bruise. That's why he was off for a little while and came back on. Everybody in the world thought the Cardinals were insane by Johnson was playing so well, and then they brought in stuff and Taylor for the goal line, who got stuffed, but it was an injury. Is there anything else we need to mention?

[Mike Wright]

I want to hit the breaking news button. Breaking news up in New England. Brandon Bolden is an option for the New England Patriots.

[Jason Moore]

Sorry. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

That's. That's the best summary for their backfield that I've ever heard. Guys are different. Different guys are options.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. With that, though, you not get mad.

[Andy Holloway]

At the John Fox aspect of that?

[Jason Moore]

Well, because we have respect for Bill.

[Andy Holloway]

That's correct. That is correct.

[Mike Wright]

That goes a long way.

[Jason Moore]

Blunt was on crutches, which is not a good sign.

[Andy Holloway]

That was the news yesterday.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So I think Brandon Bolden is going to be involved.

[Andy Holloway]

I do, too. I like Brandon Bolton as a. Going way back. A sneaky snart. Do you remember that, Mike? That's really old. That's an inside joke for me and you.

[Mike Wright]

That's a throwback, snarts. Really weak throwback.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Alright, so before we get into our sits in the mailbag, we do want to welcome in Nando Defino of the Fantasy Sports Network and ask him some questions about everything that's going on this week. Important week for fantasy owners. So let's go ahead and do that right now.

[Jason Moore]

You talking to me?

[Mike Wright]

The fantasy footballers are pleased to bring in special guest Nando Defino from the Fantasy Sports Network. We have. He's been in the biz for quite some time so it's. It's pretty awesome for us to get him on the show and get some hot takes for the weekend. What's going on, Nando?

[Nando Defino]

Not much, man. How are you guys doing?

[Mike Wright]

We are doing well. I was doing better last week when I was in our fantasy playoffs. I am now currently out, but I am surviving. So we want to help the, the listeners stay in their leagues and we want to talk about the running back situation. We had some injuries. We had Thomas Rawls go down. We know that he's out. Jonathan Stewart went down with a foot sprain. We have to believe that he's going to get rested. So there's just situations all over for these fantasy playoff teams that they need running backs. Now waivers may have run for some teams, but there's other teams that they haven't run yet. So we want to run through guys and Yelden, he's another guy who's, who's possibly out. So we got Denard Robinson, Tim Hightower. Let's start there at the top because I think those are kind of the unanimous top two guys. Which one of those are you targeting?

[Nando Defino]

For me it's Hightower. Just because we know he's going to get those carries. I don't think C.J. stiller is really a threat. The Denard Robinson situation, I like him a lot. I like him better than Hightower, but the situation is kind of. It's weirdly fluid. If I had to do it today, it would be Hightower. If I found out tomorrow that Yelden was going to be out for three weeks, it would be Robinson. Just because of the timing right now though, it's got to be the guy who's coming off a 28 carry game as opposed to the guy who might or might not play, depending on the injury status.

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely. So let's throw in then the Guys from Seattle, we got dejuan Harris. We do have a situation with Bryce Brown, who was recently signed, and head coach Pete Carroll has said they're going to fight it out for the starting position. What do you make of that? Of what's going on in Seattle?

[Nando Defino]

Yeah, I don't know if you guys are the same way, but I was stunned. Like for the last three weeks I've been dumping like my wide receivers and backup head ends, whatever, on my bench for handcuffs. And one of them was Fred Jackson. And I really thought Fred Jackson would just slide right in and it didn't happen. So I'm putting them, I'm putting them behind even like Fozzie Whitaker right now because it seems like they're just going to kind of cannibalize each other and it's going to be one of Those Ronnie Hillman, C.J. anderson mid season situations where no one runs away with it. I like, I like how he says we're not going to go with a two back approach. Like the Pete Carroll quote was kind of like we're going to have a competition to see who's a starter. But I don't know if that really kind of eliminates the, you know, 15 carry versus eight carry for each guy.

[Andy Holloway]

Kind of scenario I, I'm having. The only problem I have with ignoring the situation myself is I keep seeing that Cleveland matchup on the schedule and just realizing that somebody's probably going to do something there. But I'm having a hard time prioritizing those guys right now without seeing practice reports and seeing which guy's going to be that lead dog.

[Nando Defino]

If you look at it like, you know, so those two might split. But if you got someone like a Fozzie Whitaker, who, if Jonathan Stewart's in that walking boot and he's out for a week, maybe two, you know, Whitaker is going to get, let's say 80 to 85% of the work there. Whereas it could be Bryce Brown getting 55, you know, Fred Jackson getting 15, and then Dejuan Harris just kind of falling off if, you know, his yards per carry don't look great or he's not cutting well, he's not blocking the quarterback well. It just seems like, yeah, one could take off, it's conceivable, but it's tough.

[Andy Holloway]

And Russell Wilson might be the fill in, in some regard.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah. Now getting over to the Fozzie Whitaker side, we're of the belief here, you know, there's been some reports recently and they came from preseason and on that if Something were to happen to Jonathan Stewart, it would actually be the rookie Cameron Artist Payne as the guy that comes in. Do you think that Cameron Artist Payne is going to be able to take that? I mean, you're saying Fozzie is going to get 80, 80% of the 80, 85% of the workload there. Do you. Do you discount those reports on Cameron Artist, pain or not, think he's going to be involved?

[Nando Defino]

Yeah, my guess is that they're 13 and oh, they got a veteran who's. I'm assuming, because Cameron Artist Payne hasn't played nearly as much as Fozzie Whitaker, especially last week. I think it's going to be. You go with a veteran who can block for Cam Newton, who can fit that role. Cameron Artist Payne might be kind of like a Giants Andre Williams situation where he's. He's green. Like, maybe he's not good catching passes yet. Maybe he's not good blocking yet. And Fozzie Whitaker, if he only gives you 70% of what Jonathan Stewart was able to, it's better than Cameron Artist Payne, who could just be a disaster and isn't ready to kind of take up that mantle. I think if this Carolina team was, you know, 6 and 7 at this point, it'd be a different story. But right now I think it's. They're going to go with a veteran who kind of gets it in the role, do what he's got to do and kind of help them tread water until Jonathan Stewart comes back.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, and that makes a lot of sense. Now. One of the more trepidatious situations in fantasy at the running back position is the New England backfield pretty much any week. But if. If blunt, you know, they said he's on crutches today. If he's out, would you consider streaming Bolden in that position because. Or do you think more. More carries would go to White or how do you see that situation breaking down? Because obviously you have a top offense and some opportunities on the goal line there. 16 carries for Bolden last week.

[Nando Defino]

Yeah, I think that kind of speaks to Bolden taking that role. And he can catch passes, too, whereas James White, I don't think he's your typical rusher. Bolden Bolton's a big ish kind of guy, like bigger than you would expect him to be.

[Andy Holloway]

He runs hard. Yeah, yeah.

[Nando Defino]

He fits that Blunt role a little better than I think James White does. And at this point, with the way things are going with the Patriots, if you trot White out there and he gets hurt, you've Kind of eliminated the pass catching back.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Nando Defino]

You know, Boulder can go in there and he can run and then if something goes awry, you know, maybe you bring in Christian Michael or bring in Jonas, you know, like pick someone off another team's practice squad. But if you lose James White right now, you've kind of, you already lost Lewis, you lose White, you've kind of lost that role. So I think he does have value there. They don't want to risk him running the ball hard.

[Mike Wright]

So let's move on to the quarterback position and we're going to talk the streamers and there's also the people who they've, they've lost Andy Dalton, he's gone. He cannot help their team anymore. So let's talk about potential replacements for, for the quarterback now. We got Alex Smith. A matchup against Baltimore. We saw Alex Smith do very Alex Smith like things. But there was it last week, but there was some nasty weather in that game. Are you still confident buying into a guy like Smith or would you rather go with a guy like Ryan Fitzpatrick who is red hot but he takes on Dallas, who's a bit of a tougher defense?

[Nando Defino]

I think I would go with Fitzpatrick. I tend to lean more talent than matchup because weird things can happen in games. Alex, you look at him and I know he's prone to like, you know, for a touchdown game or something. But 230 yard cap, if he's not hitting Macklin, I don't know who he's going to hit. Spencer Ware's out, so maybe that helps him a little bit because he'll throw more to Shirkandrick West, I would guess. But like, if you just want to go to like right to AJ McCarron. For me, if you look at like Blaine Gabbard had some pretty good games. Blake Bortles had some pretty good games. AJ McCarron isn't exactly, you know, not a first round pick, but he was a Heisman runner up. He's got some talent, he's got the right attitude. You know, he got to be ready coming in. I would actually take, I would put, I would put McCarran ahead of, of someone like Alex Smith.

[Mike Wright]

That's hot.

[Jason Moore]

I like hearing it.

[Nando Defino]

That's the hot take that you wanted.

[Jason Moore]

That's my stream of the week right there. You're smart man. So let. This is. Here's a question that I think a lot of playoff teams are really struggling with. They might have the, the alternative middle, middle of the tier guy options on their team like a Stafford or A Bortles or. Or someone that you know is not. I guess Borl's pretty high right now, but someone middle of the line. Not waiver fodder, but not someone you normally start. And then also on their roster, they've got Big Ben Roethlisberger going up against that Denver D. Do you just roll with Big Ben because he's Big Ben, or do you roll with that middle of the. The Fitzpatrick even. Would you rather play Fitzpatrick?

[Andy Holloway]

The talent versus matchup thing, he was just. Do you side that way with quarterbacks, too?

[Nando Defino]

Yeah, I would. I would play. Like, look, if this is the game where they break down the Denver defense, Pittsburgh has enough weapons to do it through the running game, through the passing game, whatever. I would even have that second quarterback on my roster. I would be filling up my entire bench with handcuff running backs just in case of some kind of weird injury, killing me for my championship game. Just looking ahead an extra week. So, yeah, I would roll with Roethlisberger. I know, look, you got to be afraid of the Denver defense, but I think on the flip side, the Denver defense has to be a little afraid of Ben Roethlisberger, and if he could exploit some holes and hit Martavis Bryant for a couple long passes, and Antonio Bryant, I'm sorry, Antonio Brown, like eight times, you know, 120 yards. It's doable. I mean, people have done things against Denver before. So I'm going with Ben Roethlisberger and I'm cutting the other quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

That's my opinion, too. I've had a hard time convincing these guys and obviously with the zero touchdown week for Ben last week, it was a little discouraging, but you had the game flow with McCarron and Dalton and all that stuff. So I'm with you on starting Big Ben, but Denver's pretty good.

[Nando Defino]

Yeah, that's. You can't deny that. It's just, you know, once in a while these things happen. Oh, remember that game in Week 15 where Denver gave up 400 passing yards?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, and a lot of it, too. It's like, I don't want to lose with Big Ben on my bench, having him perform well and having streamed Matt Stafford and said, oh, my goodness, you know, the guy that got me here. Now I'm going to roll out a matchup play and lose that way. Sometimes it's just how you can tolerate your losses.

[Nando Defino]

Exactly. You know, you save the matchup stuff for the daily games. You get Roethlisberger got you here in season long. You stick with Roethlisberger.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So thank you so much to Nando Defino. We know that he is a extremely busy man up at the fantasy school.

[Andy Holloway]

Got to keep up with Pat Mayo. That's got to be exhausting.

[Nando Defino]

Impossible.

[Andy Holloway]

Don't even.

[Nando Defino]

It's. I don't even try.

[Mike Wright]

So last question. Nando, are you going head to head with me and Pat in Fantasy Bachelor?

[Nando Defino]

Oh, yeah, man. I've been like the last two, and I've been terrible at it, but I like it. It's so much fun.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I was. I was horrific in the Bachelorette, so I'm looking to regain my street cred as a Fantasy Bachelor superstar. So I'll be dishing out those hot takes now.

[Andy Holloway]

You guys are all doing a podcast together too, right?

[Nando Defino]

I mean, I'm in a daily, daily podcast. It's easier than the Bachelorette. So this is. This is my bread and butter.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you to Nando. Hey, Nando. Where can our listeners find you on Twitter?

[Nando Defino]

Just Nando Defino. Try spelling that. Good luck.

[Jason Moore]

Have you thought about changing the handle?

[Nando Defino]

No. The fewer questions I have to answer on Sunday mornings.

[Andy Holloway]

Very strategic.

[Nando Defino]

You got to work for that.

[Mike Wright]

All right, thanks, Nado. Catch up with you next time.

[Nando Defino]

All right, guys, take it easy. Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

That was great to have Nando on the show. It's interesting that we have some different takes on. On our waiver guys. So it'll be great to see Nando versus the Ballers on Cameron Artist pain.

[Andy Holloway]

Honestly, it's not even to me on the Harris and Artist Pain situation. It is. It is. It's like the weather report a few days before it's appropriate to tell you whether it's going to rain or not, because we don't have. We can't see the cloud patterns that are coming from Peach Cobbler and from the Jonathan Stewart foot yet. You know, those are things that. It's hunches. Yeah, Hunches based on information, but it's hunches because we don't have.

[Jason Moore]

We haven't seen enough information comes out all the way up till game time. So we drop our Twitter handles a lot of the times in the beginning of the show or at the end of the show, but in the playoffs, this is a good time if you want to follow us for that. I mean, that's where sometimes we're done recording.

[Andy Holloway]

Happened with demarco Murray this past week.

[Jason Moore]

We're done recording. There's no other format, no other medium to be able to get it out. So we'll post it.

[Mike Wright]

We thought about door to door.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. We have mailers. Yeah. Hangers, Twitter.

[Mike Wright]

They're expensive, the door hangers.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, and there's, you know, quite a few doors to knock on.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And I would say DeMarco Murray, fourth string running back this morning. Fourth string, fourth string play. Darren Sproles.

[Mike Wright]

What kind of a. What door knocking sound effect is that?

[Andy Holloway]

I knock with a wooden spoon. I bring my wooden spoon around.

[Mike Wright]

Whoo.

[Andy Holloway]

Saved that, didn't I?

[Mike Wright]

I have. I have fantasy information. And if you have a stew that needs stirring, then I'm your man.

[Andy Holloway]

Multi purpose. All right, let's get into the sits.

[Jason Moore]

Sets of the week.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I do the screaming until you fix that drop.

[Mike Wright]

Here's a little hint for the foot clan. I could have fixed that last night, but I got trapped in Azeroth.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoa, whoa.

[Mike Wright]

It's a little. Little. If you know what we're talking about.

[Andy Holloway]

My goodness.

[Mike Wright]

Then you know what we're talking about.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah. That gives him confidence. All right, Jason, who do you got as your sit of the week at the quarterback position?

[Jason Moore]

My sit of the week this week is going to be Mr. Ryan T. Tannehill. Tannehill has what looks to be a decent matchup. San Diego could be high scoring. I am not saying that Ryan Tannehill can't have a good game. I'm saying that I cannot.

[Andy Holloway]

You're saying he won't?

[Jason Moore]

I'm saying I cannot trust whether or not he will. And there's no situation where I would choose to start Ryan Tannehill going into this week. You have.

[Andy Holloway]

Sounds like the story I told myself in my head about four weeks ago.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And that's what you've seen. You've seen a week where he throws for 350 and three touchdowns against the Jets, a great D. And then the next week, 86 yards for one touchdown against Baltimore, a bad. A bad passing. Do you have no rhyme or reason for what goes on with the play calling in Miami? And I am avoiding Ryan Tannehill this week.

[Mike Wright]

Sit him.

[Jason Moore]

This is the playoffs.

[Andy Holloway]

AJ McCarron or Ryan Tannehill.

[Jason Moore]

I would feel more confident starting AJ McHaran than Ryan Tannehill.

[Mike Wright]

That's a hot take. Actually, I know who's calling the plays in Miami. It's Ryan Tannehill. Ryan Tannehill is the. Is the new play caller. Oh, that's why Lamar Miller carries the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

What's incredible is the entire offense, you know, the head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, all switched play calling. Still suspect everyone hates Lamar Miller. Yeah, I don't. What's he doing? I don't know. Marcus Mariota is my sit of the week. Yes, he's had some big time games over the last five or six weeks. But listen, the paths are shutting down. Quarterbacks, fantasy quarterbacks. Mike mentioned it yesterday. I said that I was a little bit afraid because when you, when you play a defense that is against somebody who's had like a 40, 50 point week, it gives you a little bit of hesitation. That being said, we saw Mariota last week. The weapons, he doesn't have them right now. In the passing game, he only produced fantasy wise because he caught a touchdown pass.

[Mike Wright]

He turned into the passing right.

[Andy Holloway]

He passed. It's a pass to himself by calling that play. But 20 or less points for fantasy quarterbacks against the Patriots the last four games and that's the number I want to key in on. And the reason why I would start somebody other than Marcus Mariota and my.

[Mike Wright]

Sit of the week, we, we put our brains together and we thought we got to be bold. Who are we going to sit down? And we're sitting down Russell Wilson because honorary, honorary sit of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

I exempt myself from that.

[Mike Wright]

So we, we're sitting him down for you Foot clan.

[Jason Moore]

So that you can play.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but seriously, play him. He's been. Yeah, that was, he's been really good.

[Mike Wright]

That's a joke.

[Jason Moore]

If you, if this is the first time you're listening to the show and you don't.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that makes no sense.

[Jason Moore]

You don't know why we're sitting Russell Wilson. We're sitting him so that you can start him.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, I know it doesn't make much sense. Just play him and you'll find out why.

[Andy Holloway]

But totally a big set.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

We almost missed that.

[Mike Wright]

So my actual sit of the week, Eli Manning, I know he's coming off a fire type game. Carolina Panthers coming into town, one of the best passing defenses in the league. I hope that the play callers for the Giants are smart enough to say, Odell Beckham, you play in the slot. You know, 25, 30% of the time. We're going to keep doing that so that Josh Norman is not covering you. Unlike in Atlanta. The buffoonery. I will, I will go there. The buffoonery of not playing Julio in the slot at all. So I'm not saying Odell Beckham's gonna have a bad game. I just don't trust Eli Manning in this situation.

[Andy Holloway]

That's very fair. That's very fair. So running back wise, who are you sitting down? Mike?

[Mike Wright]

I'm sitting down Buck Allen, he takes on the Chiefs and he was on the ground last week against Seattle, 8 for 14. That's a feat. That is, that is a feat for Buck Allen. I know he still got the, the five catches. So he has PPR value 42ft.

[Andy Holloway]

42 total, total feet gained.

[Mike Wright]

But the Chiefs are great. We need to get an update on Justin Houston, which we say every week because he's a defensive changing player. But even without Justin Houston, the Chiefs are on fire. The Chiefs are gunning for the playoffs. They're in the playoffs right now. They control their own destiny. They keep winning. They stay in the playoffs. I don't like Buck Allen and throw on top of that Jimmy Clausen as your quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, and that's what hurt Buck Allen too. Not having, you know, Shabbat showed he could dump it off to Claussen eight times in that, in the game prior, 12 times. By the way, Justin Houston's replacement. Three sacks, three sacks last week. So they're getting it done. My running backs hit of the week. I'm going to go with, you know.

[Mike Wright]

I hadn't seen it until now.

[Andy Holloway]

Run dmc.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I was looking at Jason's, I.

[Andy Holloway]

Was looking at, oh, no, run DMC. I'm sitting down. Derrick McFadden, the Jets D is stout against the run. You saw Turbin get some work last week. I just don't think that Eric McFadden is going to get enough going on the ground. Yes, he's probably. If he's better than other options you have, you have to roll him out there because it's playoff time. But there are a lot of guys we talked about on the waiver show yesterday that I would, you know, depending on how things shake out, would I play Denard Robinson? Overrun DMC I probably would this week with the matchup. So I'm going to sit down McFadden comparatively to some of those other options.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I probably would have taken him as mine if I didn't already have other options from Dallas. We're not, I mean, one of the things that happened towards the end of the year is teams start playing for different reasons. The jets are playing for the playoffs. They're in it. But if they went out and the, the Steelers went out, they're out. So they have to be winning these games. Their season, their playoffs are on the line and Dallas is kind of wilted and their shot, their last chance was over. So that matchup's not one I like, but at running back. For me, my set of the week is going to be Ronnie Hillman.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Ronnie Hillman got his opportunity last week and he did very, very little with it this week. You've got C.J. anderson is, has been the more, more of the pass catching back and you've got the matchup against the Steelers who also need to win to get in and so you, you've got the number two run defense fantasy wise you've got C.J. anderson probably getting back a higher scoring affair game which is bad for the running. So I just don't like anything with Ronnie Hillman.

[Mike Wright]

Give me that, give me his running numbers from last week.

[Jason Moore]

Last week he got the ball 12 times.

[Mike Wright]

How many yards?

[Jason Moore]

20.

[Mike Wright]

He had an 11 yard run.

[Jason Moore]

So he, that means 10 yards or 10 carries for nine carries for nine yards math.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, so who's your wide receiver sit.

[Mike Wright]

I'll take it my sit of the week. Brandon LeFou. He's averaging only 30 yards the last three weeks. People keep believing it's going to happen. I had been one of those me too believers until the last few weeks because he was, he was very good.

[Andy Holloway]

Heavily targeted.

[Mike Wright]

He was heavily targeted. He was not dropping balls. I believe he had about six drops on the entire year. He has surpassed that in his limited work this year.

[Jason Moore]

I just, he didn't play the first half of the year.

[Mike Wright]

That's what I mean. I just, I just don't think it's going to happen for LaFell. Something, something strange is going on. Tom Brady still is taking shots to him. So a big play absolutely could happen.

[Andy Holloway]

But would I start yet?

[Mike Wright]

Would I? Yeah, would I start? No, I would not start Brandon LaFell.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, I'm going to go with Jordan Matthews, a guy I just plain can't trust. You know he's had some garbage time touchdowns that have saved his fantasy days. Bad week last week. The Cardinals secondary is very good. This is a Sunday night game. The Cardinals are seventh against wide receivers. So I just don't like it for Jordan Matthews. It's a trust issue with him. It's not necessarily that he can't do it. It's that I just don't know if he will and I feel like where he slots in on my team at this point, he's not somebody I want to trust comparatively. I'd rather put some other guys out there.

[Mike Wright]

Who do you, who do you, who do you trust? Well, I'll tell you who, you don't get that reference.

[Jason Moore]

I'll tell you who you don't trust with my wide receiver sit of the week. Des Bryant. I mean he's Got the name you love and you want it, but he's got one, a bad matchup. Two, here's. Here's the stat you need to know the most.

[Mike Wright]

A bad quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

Well, yeah, he's got a bad matchup and a terrible quarterback. That's not a good combination. But he has. He. He has what you want, which. He just got 10 receptions. The only part that you don't want is that it took him four games. Four games to get those 10 receptions.

[Mike Wright]

I thought I had missed something.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you didn't miss anything. You. DEZ Bryant missed something or someone missed DEZ Bryant on a lot of throws. So you just can't be confident in starting him. His name. You've got to forget his name, you know?

[Andy Holloway]

So why don't you just go on to your tight end since we're staying on the same team.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. And likewise, speaking of the terrible quarterback, Jason Whitten, why is he still started in almost 40% of leagues? There are other options. Jason Whitten is not a guy in the fantasy playoffs you want. Now. He got five receptions last week. He got five receptions the week before. Those are numbers where, you know, you care about targets, you care about receptions. They're using him. That seems good, but he hasn't had a touchdown since Week 1. His yards with the new quarterback over the last four weeks, 27 yards, 36, 46, and 40. There's no touchdowns, no yards. He might get catches.

[Andy Holloway]

No upside.

[Jason Moore]

No upside.

[Andy Holloway]

That's basically what you're saying.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Go with Richard Rogers, who can explode.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, I'm going to sit down. Kyle Rudolph. I don't buy into any momentum with him. He got involved in that screen game against the Cardinals. He's had a couple good games in weeks past, but the Bears are solid against the tight end. Very solid. One of the. They're in the top 10 against tight ends. And I just. I'm eliminating Kyle Rudolph because what he is is he's not an auto start for anybody, but I'm eliminating from my consideration of a guy. I want to stream out there.

[Mike Wright]

All right. My take is a little hot, so you might want to put on your oven gloves. Whoa. I'm sitting down. Travis Kelsey. I've.

[Andy Holloway]

I've had it.

[Mike Wright]

I have had it. My man, Travis Kelsey. If you've been with the show all year, you know my affection for the man known as Zeus, Travis Kelce. But here's the problem. Baltimore, their defense, they're still very good against guarding the tight end. And two weeks ago, Travis Kelsey, in one of the most delicious, succulent, juicy matchups for tight ends against Oakland. He got three targets. He got five targets last week. They're just not getting him the ball in this. In the last two weeks, the situations were prime for Travis Kelce to be involved, and it's just not happening. So I'm sitting him down and they're winning games.

[Andy Holloway]

So would you. Let me ask you this, then. Would you consider. We're almost at the end of the season. I'm sure we will have shows in which we do this in a more complete fashion, but is he on your list of disappointments?

[Mike Wright]

Yes, he. Well, he's on my list of disappointing just because of where I thought he could finish. I mean, he's still.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, you and. I guess we made a water bet about a top.

[Mike Wright]

I thought he would be a top three guy. And he just. He's still number six or seven in your scope, depending on your scoring format, because he was beginning yards. He just wasn't getting those big plays and wasn't getting touchdowns. But now he's just getting eliminated from the offense altogether. Sure, he could come out and have. If he has a big game this week, it would build that confidence back up, but I know that a lot of people, along with myself, they have to look at this decision every week. Travis Kelce or Jordan Reed? Jordan Reed.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I was going to ask you is what other guys have they decided? And what about Kelsey this week? Or Antonio Gates?

[Mike Wright]

Ooh, what's the matchup for the Chargers?

[Andy Holloway]

Gates has the Dolphins.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going with Gates.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

And Gary Barnage is a guy that Zeus owners picked up and. Yeah, you roll Barnage.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a really good example. All right, let's go ahead. And what are we doing here now?

[Mike Wright]

The mailbag.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, there's the button.

[Jason Moore]

Mailbag.

[Mike Wright]

Mailbag.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. If you ever want to know what I'm doing, if I say a sentence like, what are we doing here now? That's because I'm looking for the button. I normally have those set up so perfectly. I misplaced it. You know where it was. What was on top of that button?

[Mike Wright]

What? Oh, the garbage. The garbage fan has not come out for a while.

[Andy Holloway]

That's true.

[Mike Wright]

We got to get that more involved. Well, that's one of my favorites.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, Ronnie Hillman's production last week.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I guess that's not really garbage time back. That's come back time. By the way, I do disagree with you, Jason. I don't think that the. I don't think there's any chance the Denver Broncos Pittsburgh game is a high scoring game? No, I think it's going to be.

[Jason Moore]

A whooping by the standards, by the standards of Denver games. It will be a high scoring game because all Denver games are low scoring. Their defense is amazing. But that's the situation where you can run the ball by their standards. There's going to be more points put up against them. That's what I'm seeing.

[Andy Holloway]

31, 13, that's my guess.

[Mike Wright]

It easily could have been a high scoring game last week. Osweiler had over 300 yards and they just, they had to settle for field goals. So you convert a couple of those.

[Andy Holloway]

Field goals and there's points can be 56 to 50. That's what's going to happen. All right. We're answering some questions here on the show today. It's our mailbag section. If you have a question for us, you can go to the website the fantasy footballers.com. click the submit a question button. It is easy if you've got a big Week 15 playoff matchup question, you need a helping hand. That is where you go. We have been answering questions. I don't remember what the number was. I think we've taken in about 20,000 18 to 20,000 questions this year and we're here to deliver them. You can get questions answered real quick. If you need them, go to the website thefantasyfootballarts.com click on the submit a question button and we will answer those for you. You can also call us on our voicemail line. 302464 TFFB. Leave us a voicemail question. Let's go ahead and answer this one from gel.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I was waiting for you to pronounce gel.

[Andy Holloway]

Gel. I think that's the right way. Gel. In Washington. I have Gurley and Lamar Miller locked in for next week, but I can't decide on who to flex. Should my flex be Devontae Freeman at the Jaguars or David Johnson against the Eagles? Thanks for all the great advice this season. I couldn't have finished my First Fantasy Season 11 and 2 if it wasn't for the fantasy football.

[Mike Wright]

Fantastic.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, very nice.

[Jason Moore]

Great question.

[Mike Wright]

And to me the Jaguars are actually a decent run defense. Atlanta is burning. Atlanta is burning to the ground. David Johnson is on the best offense in football in a great matchup. I'm going David Johnson.

[Andy Holloway]

I second that. I'm going to go with David Johnson.

[Jason Moore]

We've got a unanimous incredible that we.

[Andy Holloway]

Are saying that right now. Yeah. All right. E in San Francisco Please pick a running back and a flex. Javorius.

[Mike Wright]

Nope.

[Andy Holloway]

Versus the Chiefs, Hightower versus the Lions. Maybe Ryan Matthews against the Cardinals, Kamar Aiken against the Chiefs, or Antonio Gates against the Dolphins.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to.

[Andy Holloway]

It's very.

[Jason Moore]

Hightower's in high towers in for me, too.

[Andy Holloway]

The question then is we have Matthews against a very stout run d. He's in a platoon. You got Javorius against the Chiefs, and you got Aiken against the Chiefs. So for me, Hightower is in automatically. I'm having a hard time with the flex.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going with Gates.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

It's a full point ppr. The Dolphins are not a good pass defense, and Philip Rivers has to throw the ball to somebody.

[Jason Moore]

I agree. I would go Gates here, but I wouldn't love it.

[Andy Holloway]

Gates are aching. I flip a coin on it.

[Jason Moore]

Full point ppr. Kamarikin can be fine. He went up against the, you know, the Seattle Seahawks this last week and.

[Andy Holloway]

Got what, like five or 90?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And that was if you watch the catches. Those are Bon Jovi living on a prayer. Just Jimmy Kloss.

[Andy Holloway]

Jumbo, please.

[Mike Wright]

Kamara can. Please.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, he came down.

[Mike Wright]

He did. So you're right. It could be. But I would go.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. Josh in Harrisburg. What's up?

[Mike Wright]

Hey, Josh.

[Jason Moore]

Hi.

[Andy Holloway]

He needs some help. Sean Drone against the Bengals, Bilal Powell against the Cowboys, or Buck Allen against the Chiefs? He needs upside, and he's in a full ppr.

[Jason Moore]

Full point. Ooh. Ooh, man.

[Andy Holloway]

So if you need upside in a full ppr, which guy are you really taking here? Is it Buck Allen? Because the workloads there.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Jason Moore]

Could be.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, you got two high workload guys in there, and I know he was. Man. For me, it's. It's the Sean drawn or Bilal Powell. For me, I'm trying to work out.

[Jason Moore]

Who I'd rather between Bilal Powell and Buck Allen.

[Mike Wright]

For me.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't. I don't.

[Mike Wright]

So then go below Powell.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's what I. I'm gonna take Buck Allen and I'm gonna tell you why. Because two weeks ago, he scored 30 fantasy points. And so, yes, none of these guys excite me with their matchups at all. But if you're talking about an upside, like, I probably. I think all three of these guys are scoring 10 or less. So I'm gonna take the guy who did it two weeks ago, and that's the only reason why now, two weeks.

[Jason Moore]

Ago also had 21. But I agree with your logic, and I am fine going with Buck Allen here.

[Mike Wright]

I Would not.

[Andy Holloway]

You would just sit them all. Yeah. Who would you take then?

[Mike Wright]

Are you.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you going to go, Joan?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

So we just know Josh.

[Mike Wright]

But two, you went to with Buck Allen, so you can go with that.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, okay. All right. Ralph, in the semifinal, you did not read that correct. Okay.

[Mike Wright]

How do you read it, Ralph, in semifinal?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I didn't realize.

[Mike Wright]

It's in capital letters with exclamation points.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, that's the job.

[Mike Wright]

We use these things for a reason. So we can communicate tone of voice in the written language.

[Andy Holloway]

3. That's what three exclamation points is?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

You back away from the mic and it's more of an if.

[Mike Wright]

If I went my full voice into.

[Jason Moore]

This precious microphone, our listeners ears would explode.

[Mike Wright]

Everything would. Everything would explode.

[Jason Moore]

Melting brains.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. All right.

[Mike Wright]

It'd be Chernobyl.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, help.

[Mike Wright]

It'll be terrible for everyone. So I don't do it. You're welcome, America.

[Andy Holloway]

I feel like fantasy. Chernobyl Haven last week to my team. I'm going in. I'm going to be starting. Who's the bottom of the. Chris Polk is going to be my real key this week. We starting some trash. All right. But I'm glad I'm in. All right. DEZ Bryant. He needs a flex half point. He needs a flex half point. BBR. DEs against the Jets. Geo against the 49ers. John Brown against the Eagles. I'm going John Brown.

[Jason Moore]

John Brown all the way.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

The Eagles have given up a lot of touchdowns. Carson Palmer's been on fire. This is the type of game that John Brown can get something.

[Mike Wright]

It's a start your Cardinals weekend again. And John Brown has major upside.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to tell you. Tell you what I think Jeremy Hill's in my start of the week consideration, by the way. Oh, Robert in New York.

[Mike Wright]

From the cellar to the penthouse.

[Andy Holloway]

It happens. It's fantasy football. I learned it from the book Eddie Lacy Adventures.

[Mike Wright]

It's a choose your own where you got to flip to page 65.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I could take this joke for 10 minutes after you set that up, but I'm just going to move on. That's one of the things we got to do here. Robert in New York. Man, I remember those books now. Now I'm thinking back.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

Robert in New York. With Dalton out, should I start Tyler Ifert, assuming he plays, or Richard Rogers against Oakland this week? That's a tough decision.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think it's all that tough if Tyler Ifert plays. I realize there's a change at quarterback. So you never know how it's going to. How it's going to, you know, pan out. But Tyler Ifert to me is a much better physical talent, player, weapon than Richard Rodgers is. So I would go Tyler.

[Andy Holloway]

I agree. And Rogers crashed down to earth last week even though he scored a touchdown. One catch, two yards, one touchdown. Exactly what we saw from him all year long. That one game was more anomalous.

[Mike Wright]

If there's any Hail Mary's going on in the Green Bay game, I'll go Richard Rogers, but I can't predict those.

[Andy Holloway]

So I'm going to go Hail Mary leagues.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I think we said we'd start Cordell Stewart, Doug Flutie. Those guys would be in there Hail Mary leagues. All right. Ben in Seattle first. Thanks for your awesome advice. Because of it, I've made the playoffs and got past the first round. Awesome.

[Jason Moore]

Nice.

[Andy Holloway]

Way to go, Ben. Anyway, after Travis Kelsey crapped the bed against some good matchups, I can't trust him. Well, you just talked about this, right? And you're set. Would you start Zach Miller, Ben Watson, or Jacob Tammy over him?

[Mike Wright]

I would.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow, that is rough. I would play Ben. Well, I'd play Ben Watson first.

[Mike Wright]

And then Ben Watson is at home against the Lions, a team that they could have just. They could simply pack it in and show up, collect a paycheck, try not.

[Andy Holloway]

To get hurt Monday night.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, prime time.

[Andy Holloway]

Prime time.

[Mike Wright]

Drew Brees in primetime is fantastic for fantasy football, so that's where I would go.

[Jason Moore]

I agree.

[Andy Holloway]

And I'd put Zach Miller second personally.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, probably.

[Jason Moore]

I'm fine with that. I don't love the matchup against the Vikings, but I like it better than against the Ravens for Travis Kelsey.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Tommy in Seattle. Okay. I'm not sure what to do at wide receiver. I am number one heading into a matchup against an up and coming team in my league. If you had to start two, who would you choose between? I'm guessing that's Randall Cobb.

[Mike Wright]

Is it?

[Andy Holloway]

That's Randall Cobb against the Raiders.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Travis Benjamin against the Seahawks, Des against the Jets, Aiken against the Chiefs, and Devonte Parker against Chargers.

[Nando Defino]

Oof.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll tell you right now, I'm putting Cobb in. Based on the new play calling eight catches last week. I think that I'm going to play Devonte Parker for upside at that point because of the snaps.

[Mike Wright]

I agree.

[Jason Moore]

Wow. I'm going to play Aiken and here's why. Over. Over Parker, obviously Cobb is in. He's the number one team heading into a matchup. It seems like he is the number one team. He said I am number one heading into a matchup.

[Andy Holloway]

I thought you meant Aiken. I'm sorry.

[Mike Wright]

The Ravens are number one. Haven't you checked the stage?

[Jason Moore]

So if he's favored, I think Aiken, you know, he's going to at least get targets and.

[Andy Holloway]

No, that's a good point. So that's a good point because Parker showed you he can give you two if they're play calling.

[Mike Wright]

Ryan Tannehill, throw the ball to Parker.

[Jason Moore]

If you do need upside Parker, please. Parker would be the way to go.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, John and Toledo, which two wide receivers should I start this week? Well, okay, the first name is Odell Beckham Jr. He's in, but he's against the Panthers, so there's hesitation. People are not sure. Calvin Johnson against the Saints. Everybody says the Saints stink. And Doug Baldwin against the Browns. Oh, man, this is actually tougher. But I'm not. I'm not sitting ODB.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going Odell Beckham Jr. Dougie Baldwin and Doug Baldwin.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow.

[Mike Wright]

We are going to start Doug Baldwin.

[Andy Holloway]

You heard it here first. Doug Baldwin over Calvin in a juicy.

[Mike Wright]

Man, Calvin's finished. Wow.

[Andy Holloway]

That is. I am having a hard time with that. I really am because I have no problem doing that. I actually think Calvin's gonna have a good game and not just because of the matchup because I think they'll try to force feed him a little.

[Mike Wright]

Could be. What's funny about the. The Calvin Johnson question here, I got to pull it up. But I was playing a game with the guys because we were trying to figure out our sits of the week and it was, you know, how bold do you go with with the sit.

[Andy Holloway]

Of the week at playoff time?

[Mike Wright]

And so I gave him some statistics of this. I'm a player a. This is what I've done the last two weeks. Four catches for 60 yards with only one touchdown. And that's Calvin Johnson over the last two weeks. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. That's not good. Like you said, they look like a team that kind of maybe moved on last week. That could be wrong. It could have been the matchup. You know, you've got two teams that are not going to make the playoffs fighting against each other on Monday night. I think prime time for Calvin. That could bode well for him. But man, we just started Doug Baldwin and I don't know how you don't. The guy's got eight touchdowns in three.

[Mike Wright]

Games against the Browns at home.

[Andy Holloway]

Peter in D.C. he needs to start two. Okay. Devonte Freeman against Jacksonville, Alshon Jeffrey against Minnesota, Mike Evans against St. Louis, Michael Floyd against Philadelphia. And he says thanks for getting him to week 15 in the playoffs.

[Mike Wright]

Excellent, Peter. It's a low value PPR point two. So that's not really in play here.

[Andy Holloway]

Catches for me, this one's not very hard. I'm playing Devonta Freeman and I'm playing Alison Jeffrey.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's exactly. I was wondering if you were going to go Evans, but I think he's much less reliable than Jeffrey, so I'm definitely going Freeman and Jeffrey here.

[Mike Wright]

I would go Jeffrey and Evans.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Jeffrey was number one for me on that list. So it's really. I'm not going to sit Freeman down, though.

[Mike Wright]

I'm willing to sit him down because it's not a heavy ppr. It's actually very difficult for me to sit Michael Floyd versus Philadelphia. Like I said, four games, four of his last five games over 100 yards. And Larry Fitzgerald, it looks like he's slowing down with the possession and this is a perfect matchup where Carson's going to go deep.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, Larry has one. The Cardinals are the top offense with touchdowns every week, and he's only got one. Larry does over like eight weeks. Yeah, they're going somewhere else. Somebody's catching a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

When the matchup is, they need to play underneath. That's when Larry excels and he gets his eight to 10 catches that week. If you can go over the top, John Brown and Michael Floyd are worth playing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. All right. Mike in Larry. By the way, Larry's the number three in the league in receptions this year behind Julio and then Antonio Brown. Mike in Gainesville, Florida. I need to play two running backs. Have the big salad. Sean Drone.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Matt Forte, Latavius Murray and Tim Hightower.

[Mike Wright]

This is half point ppr. Matt Forte is in for sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. That is a done deal. Vikings are a little beat up for taste. Been playing very well for me.

[Jason Moore]

It's between Latavius Murray and Hightower.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. And I'm actually playing Hightower. Those that games in Green Bay. I'm playing Hightower.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I can. I can. I can dig it. Hightower and Forte.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. Let's do it.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Tim Hightower. Are you playing Tim Hightower this week against me, Jason?

[Jason Moore]

I might be. We will post a picture that'd be very interesting of our somewhat set lineups today.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I mean, the game's Monday night is what I mean, so you've got the potential to have. You know, you're probably going to be down by 4050 points. Can Hightower bring you back on Monday Night Football? I can't wait to see how it plays out.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, so we'll see.

[Andy Holloway]

We're in the semis now.

[Jason Moore]

You know what, Andy, let me just say this to you.

[Andy Holloway]

In our league of record, our league.

[Jason Moore]

Of pride, one of us is going to the championship game and I wish you the best. And if you win, I will be rooting for you for a championship. May the best team win this week.

[Mike Wright]

What is going on?

[Andy Holloway]

Being playing some kind of fantasy karmic game with.

[Mike Wright]

Find the angle here. The look on his face says I am not genuine. I'm going to.

[Andy Holloway]

No, the look at his face says.

[Jason Moore]

He'S kind of trying to be as genuine.

[Mike Wright]

I see through it. I see through the mask. As you try and take a refreshing sip to hide your. Your evil intentions.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, I have no.

[Andy Holloway]

We'll find out what happens Thursday. We got starts of the week. Come right back here. The Fantasy Footballers Podcast. We'll talk to you then.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for listening to another edition of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Don't forget to visit us on the web at www.thefantasyfootballers.com and follow us on Twitter at theffballers.