Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - Week 12 Thanksgiving Episode Part 1, Starts, Sits, Matchups

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast 2015 - Week 12 Thanksgiving Episode Part 1: Detailed Summary

Release Date: November 25, 2015

The Fantasy Footballers hosted an engaging Thanksgiving-themed episode where Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright delved deep into Fantasy Football strategies, news, and insights to help listeners dominate their leagues during the holiday season. This comprehensive summary captures the essence of their discussions, highlighting key points, notable quotes, and essential advice for Fantasy Football enthusiasts.

---

Introduction and Thanksgiving Spirit

The episode kicked off with the hosts sharing lighthearted banter, setting a festive tone for the Thanksgiving special. Mike Wright humorously remarked on the show's length, stating, "We've got a long show today" (01:05).

Hosts' Gratitude

Embracing the Thanksgiving spirit, each host expressed what they were thankful for:

• Mike Wright: Highlighted his appreciation for Thomas Rawls, his recent league pickup. He shared, "I picked him up... and this coming to fruition is just like Christmas morning" (03:04).

• Jason Moore: Emphasized gratitude for their dedicated listeners, affectionately referred to as the "Foot Clan." He stated, "I am thankful for our listeners... intelligent, smart, funny, fun loving listeners" (03:47).

• Andy Holloway: Appreciated the reliability of online leagues, specifically ESPN's platform, mentioning, "I'm thankful for online leagues that actually function correctly" (04:50).

---

Trivia Challenge

To add an interactive element, Mike introduced a trivia segment where he posed challenging questions about NFL players:

1. Question 1: Identifying a player with consistent rushing yards but limited touchdowns. Answer: TJ Yeldon (07:31).

2. Question 2: Recognizing a wide receiver with steady PPR scores. Answer: Alan Hearn (09:09).

3. Question 3: Guessing a consistent fantasy quarterback. Answer: Jameis Winston (09:40).

Despite the difficulty, the hosts engaged enthusiastically, fostering a fun and competitive atmosphere.

---

News and Updates

The hosts covered significant NFL and Fantasy Football news impacting Week 12:

• Marshawn Lynch's Injury: Reports confirmed Lynch was undergoing sports hernia surgery, sidelining him for the season. Mike noted, "Marshawn Lynch... will be irrelevant for fantasy owners, most likely for the rest of the season" (03:28).

• Johnny Manziel's Demotion: Manziel was demoted to third-string quarterback following reports of partying and poor performance. Andy speculated, "He could have a legitimate problem... he doesn't care about football as much as his personal life" (15:31).

• Peyton Manning's Absence: Manning was announced to miss the next two weeks. The team discussed potential play strategies, citing Andy's analogy, "If Osweiler plays well, they might reconsider Manning's role" (13:23).

• Steadman Bailey's Shooting Incident: Bailey was shot in the head twice in Miami but remained in critical but stable condition. The hosts extended their thoughts, "Thoughts and prayers with his family" (18:55).

---

Sits of the Week

The hosts recommended several players to bench for optimal Fantasy Football performance:

• Quarterbacks:

  • Tyrod Taylor: Given Kansas City's strong defense against QBs. Mike advised, "Sit him down. Pick somebody else like Brian Hoyer" (22:22).

• Running Backs:

  • Jeremy Langford: With Matt Forte returning, Jason suggested, "I would sit Langford and look for other options" (24:24).
  • James Starks: Mike recommended benching Starks against a tough Chicago Bears defense, stating, "I don't want him in my lineup" (25:05).

• Wide Receivers:

  • Tavon Austin: Facing Cincinnati's solid defense, Andy agreed with Mike's advice to bench Austin, emphasizing his unsustainable opportunities (26:21).
  • Devonte Adams: Jason argued against starting Adams due to his underperformance and challenging matchup (26:40).

• Tight Ends:

  • Eric Ebron: Facing the Eagles' stout defense, Jason warned, "He should not be played and is going to score 0 fantasy points" (29:09).
  • Charles Clay: Andy noted Clay's decreased involvement, recommending benching him against a formidable defense (30:25).

---

Starts of the Week

Conversely, the hosts highlighted players poised for strong performances:

• Quarterbacks:

  • Blake Bortles: Mike championed Bortles against the struggling San Diego defense, predicting a standout performance (31:02).
  • Eli Manning: Andy favored Manning against Washington, appreciating his favorable matchup (31:43).
  • Ben Roethlisberger: Jason defended Roethlisberger despite a tough matchup, citing the Steelers' revamped defense and Packers' offensive dynamics (32:07).

• Running Backs:

  • Javorius Allen: Andy advocated for Allen against the Browns' weak run defense, anticipating significant rushing yards (33:20).
  • TJ Yeldon: Jason supported Yeldon against the San Diego Chargers, expecting high involvement in both rushing and receiving (34:47).
  • Thomas Rawls: Mike expressed strong confidence in Rawls' performance against Pittsburgh's defense (34:47).

• Wide Receivers:

  • Stevie Johnson: Mike recommended Johnson in PPR leagues against Jacksonville, highlighting his target volume (34:47).
  • DeSean Jackson: Jason endorsed Jackson in a high-scoring game against the Giants, anticipating big plays (35:35).
  • Travis Benjamin: Andy favored Benjamin against Baltimore, recalling his impressive stats from previous encounters (36:07).

• Tight Ends:

  • Rule 86: Andy advocated for Rule 86 facing the Giants' weak tight end defense, provided he's healthy (36:27).
  • Betty Crockett Gilmore: Jason humorously supported Gilmore, emphasizing his increased involvement due to team changes (37:09).
  • Delaney Walker: Mike highlighted Walker's consistent performance, especially against Oakland's defense (37:55).

---

Matchups and Fantasy Forecast

The hosts analyzed key matchups on Thanksgiving Day, providing strategic insights:

1. Philadelphia Eagles vs. Detroit Lions:

   • Eagles' Quarterback Situation:
     Pelegership uncertainty with Nick Foles potentially starting over Donovan McNabb due to a concussion (40:54).
   • Fantasy Advice:
     • Mike recommended starting Brent Selleck, Timber Hill's likely absence (42:13).
     • Jason favored Steele over other running back options, noting Lions' vulnerability against the run (43:02).

2. Carolina Panthers vs. Dallas Cowboys:

   • Quarterback Dynamics:
     Tony Romo's short rest could affect his performance against Carolina's robust defense (47:26).
   • Running Backs Showdown:
     Darren McFadden vs. Jonathan Stewart debate, with Jason leaning towards McFadden for his consistent involvement (48:07).
   • Wide Receivers:
     Mike advised starting Sammy Watkins given his increased target potential (55:05).

3. Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers:

   • Weather Impact:
     Cold and potentially rainy conditions could influence game dynamics.
   • Running Back Focus:
     Eddie Lacy was projected to excel against Chicago's defense, with Andy confidently recommending him (50:45).
   • Wide Receiver Considerations:
     Concern over Alshon Jeffery's availability, leading to a spotlight on Marquis Wilson as an alternative (52:33).

4. Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs:

   • Chiefs' Rushing Prowess:
     Kansas City, led by Spencer Ware, was highlighted for their high rushing touchdowns per game (53:08).
   • Defensive Matchups:
     Mike discussed balancing Chiefs' strong running game against Buffalo's solid defense against the run (53:45).
   • Fantasy Recommendations:
     Mike supported starting Spencer Ware, while Jason leaned towards Darren Sprols for deeper leagues (54:40).

---

Final Thoughts and Closing

As the episode neared its end, the hosts reflected on the ongoing strategies and upcoming games, emphasizing adaptability and informed decision-making in Fantasy Football. Their dynamic discussions, coupled with strategic recommendations, provided listeners with actionable insights to enhance their fantasy rosters during the bustling Thanksgiving week.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright: "I'm confident starting Stevie, but he's my start of the week at the wide receivers" (35:35).

• Jason Moore: "I am thankful for our listeners... smart, funny, fun loving listeners" (03:47).

• Andy Holloway: "If Osweiler plays well, they might reconsider Manning's role" (13:23).

---

This Thanksgiving episode of the Fantasy Footballers provided a wealth of information, combining humor with expert analysis. Whether you're looking to tweak your lineup, understand key player matchups, or simply enjoy some football-themed camaraderie, this episode delivered valuable content to bolster your Fantasy Football prowess.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Foreign.

[Jason Moore]

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

[Mike Wright]

Twas the night before Thanksgiving and all through the show. Welcome. Oh yeah, Jason was supposed to say something.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, you were the rhyme guy and you blew it.

[Jason Moore]

I got cut off by Mr. Hosty. Host.

[Mike Wright]

I'm sorry, I. I've never been called that before. I'm not certain I like it.

[Jason Moore]

Hostios.

[Mike Wright]

Mr. Hostio.

[Jason Moore]

It makes me hungry for delicious hostesses. Hostess cakes. That's everybody's thinking about. Not. Not the hostesses.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on.

[Mike Wright]

We've never had a worse to start.

[Jason Moore]

To a show and that's what I'm thankful for.

[Mike Wright]

Okie dokie. It's Wednesday, November 25th and this is the jumbo. The jumbo package. We've got a long show today.

[Andy Holloway]

Mega.

[Mike Wright]

And I by long I mean great.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And by great I mean we've got news and notes, we got sits of the week, we got starts of the week. We have fantasy forecast, we have the mailbag. We even got some trivia on the show today.

[Andy Holloway]

I feel like I need to do some extremely rigorous stretching and warm up calisthenics before this show.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I mean that'll help.

[Andy Holloway]

But I didn't because stretching is dumb. Randy Moss has taught me that stretching is overrated and you don't need it when you're a superstar at your. At your craft like me.

[Mike Wright]

You know what? I'm a superstar on my craft.

[Andy Holloway]

On Minecraft.

[Mike Wright]

No, no. We won our flag football game.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, congratulations.

[Mike Wright]

We're five and one.

[Jason Moore]

My son asked me the other day, he goes in your flag football league? He sounds a lot like the voice of public opinion and he says no, who's the best team? And I thought about it and I was like maybe. Maybe the Honey Badgers are the best team. I mean we've won a championship before, right? Only lost one game.

[Mike Wright]

Right?

[Jason Moore]

We're destroying people, shutting people out. And yes, I'm saying we. Even though I've only played one game.

[Mike Wright]

I was going to say you've shown up for one game. Yeah, but you played a mean right guard.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you. I'm on the.

[Mike Wright]

No, the other guy was really mean. You played.

[Andy Holloway]

You played against him among the non football injury list.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, you guys are a couple of.

[Andy Holloway]

Weasels moving to the show.

[Jason Moore]

Healthy scratch.

[Mike Wright]

What's something you're thankful for? What's something you're thankful for? This Thanksgiving season, it only makes sense to ask the question. I'm happy to answer it.

[Jason Moore]

I'll bet you're very happy to answer it.

[Mike Wright]

So many Options. Right. So friends, family, the show, you guys, you know, everything that's going on, plenty to be thankful for. I'm gonna go with Thomas Rawls.

[Andy Holloway]

I feel.

[Mike Wright]

Go with Thomas Rawls.

[Andy Holloway]

A new tattoo is being sketched up.

[Jason Moore]

For one Andy Holloway on I love sports hernias.

[Mike Wright]

It does. On the top it says Rawls forever. And the bottom it says sports hernias forever.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

You know, I picked him up two weeks ago in our league of record, the same league I lost Dion Lewis and Arian Foster in. And I picked him up instead of my brother in law who owns Marshawn lynch, who gave me a lecture of why he didn't need Thomas Rawls. And so this coming to fruition is just like Christmas morning.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. If you haven't heard the news.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I guess we'll start. We could start there.

[Jason Moore]

Well, just let him know. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, Marshawn lynch is reported. Ian Rapaport reports he's undergoing sports hernia surgery. Earliest he could possibly be back would be four weeks, which is very optimistic. So he will be irrelevant for fantasy owners, most likely for the rest of the season.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason, what are you thankful for?

[Jason Moore]

Like Andy said, a lot of different options. I'm going to go with the option that is probably just the, the most true. I am thankful for the Foot clan, the actual listeners of this show.

[Mike Wright]

I thought you'd say the most sappy.

[Jason Moore]

Well, you could argue that as well. But honestly, I am very thankful for our listeners. And I don't just mean the fact that, you know, that they, that they listen and they support us. I'm actually thankful for who they are. Like, I'm thankful that we have intelligent, smart, funny, fun loving listeners who actually get it.

[Mike Wright]

Tony Meatball.

[Jason Moore]

Well, yes, like, like Tony Meatball and the whole, the whole range of the Foot clan. I honestly think we have the best listeners not of just sports shows, but like, of any shows. I feel like it's just the three of us times, you know, 800,000 just listening. We're out there listening to ourselves.

[Andy Holloway]

There was some high quality water apps or water videos that came through last night. I don't know if you guys got a chance.

[Mike Wright]

I have not seen them yet.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. And I'm going with, with something that was so. It's recency bias.

[Mike Wright]

What are you thankful for?

[Andy Holloway]

Recency bias. So we gotta go with it.

[Mike Wright]

I haven't even.

[Andy Holloway]

I am thankful for online leagues that actually function correctly.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, explain yourself.

[Andy Holloway]

We get asked constantly, what, what online service do you prefer? And we, we prefer espn. We've played on all of them. At least I've played on all of them.

[Mike Wright]

Yahoo. NFL.com and we've.

[Andy Holloway]

We even tried moving our league over to other services. It didn't work out. So we came back to espn. It's the best fit for our league. And last night on the NFL Fantasy Fan, the fantasy service, I'm trying to set my waivers and I have zero bid because I have no fab left. So I have zero bids in on a bunch of guys. I can't prioritize them. So it's just randomly going to pick who is the first one in the, in the. Running through the list.

[Mike Wright]

You are not pleased?

[Andy Holloway]

I was infuriated because I. There's a bunch of guys that I wanted but there is a very specific order in which I wanted them that seems crazy. So I had to just delete a whole bunch of the guys and hope that one of them comes through that I want. It's. It's a ridiculous thing. So I'm thankful for when a system works.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. That way you don't get all frustrated. Yes. Alright. If you want to follow the show, you know how to do it. Go to the Website the fantasy footballers.com youm can follow us on Twitter heffballers. You can visit our fantasy football visit and join our fantasy football [e-mail] be a part of our official foot clan. We have some people joining every single day sharing their joy for Thomas Rawls all through the land. And yeah, it's an exciting place to be.

[Jason Moore]

I'm gonna subscribe on YouTube.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, no, you're right. And we also appreciate your reviews and support on the itunes app and wherever you're listening. All right. We did this last week. People really liked it. But now we got both of you here, we're going to do a little trivia. Our quick question of the day. I'm going to. I'm going to pretend to be three players. You guys have to identify who. Who I am.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. And I think. Well, let me, let me ask Mike here. When I ask these, do you guys want to take turns guessing or do you just want to be the first one that can say it?

[Andy Holloway]

First one is fun.

[Mike Wright]

All right. All right, we'll do that. I have rushed for 50 or more yards in every game I have played, except for two. However, I've only scored one rushing touchdown and I have never eclipsed 20 fantasy points in any formatted league. Who am I? And I can give you for 50 yards in every game.

[Jason Moore]

He's. He's played three games.

[Mike Wright]

No, not true.

[Jason Moore]

I feel like I've got my guess, but I'm. I'm pretty positive he's eclipsed 20 fantasy points in a game, which would disqualify my guess.

[Mike Wright]

Well, you could always guess. And then my guess.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to go with Darren McFadden. Well, that.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that one. Care. I'm going to go with TJ Eldon.

[Mike Wright]

TJ Eldon. TJ Eldon is the answer to that question. 50 or more in every game except for two, but hasn't a clip. 20. All right, number two. Jason's up one to nothing in PPR leagues. I scored 10 or more fantasy points in every game except this past week. I'm also the only player to have a fellow wide receiver that ranks in the top 15 in terms of fantasy points. Who am I? All right, who am I?

[Jason Moore]

I've got scored.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, you go ahead.

[Jason Moore]

I've got my guess. I feel like it's got to either be the. I mean, you know, the two top fantasy teams. It has to be either Eric Decker or Michael Crabtree. Ppr. It said ppr. I'm going. I'm going. Crabtree.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm gonna go with Decker.

[Mike Wright]

It is neither. And you are both completely in the right vein. You are in the perfect vein. Except for you just didn't say this name.

[Jason Moore]

Amari Cooper.

[Mike Wright]

Nope. Nope.

[Jason Moore]

Brandon Marshall.

[Mike Wright]

What's the vein we're in? No, you're in the wide receiver two vein.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And that is the correct vein, so I wouldn't say a bunch of ones. Well, I want another chance at guessing.

[Andy Holloway]

No, just give us the answer.

[Mike Wright]

It's Alan Hearns. It's Alan Hearns.

[Andy Holloway]

Of course.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. So you guys, you picked the two kind of like wide receiver twos that have done well this year and not the third one that we always talk about. All right, so nobody gets a point. Jason, still ahead in standard leagues. I have never scored a single digit point week. Of 10 games I've played, I've eclipsed at least 18 fantasy points in half of them. And my ADP was number 22 for quarterbacks, so I am a quarterback. I've never scored in single digits.

[Andy Holloway]

Carson Palmer.

[Mike Wright]

I have a. No, no.

[Jason Moore]

Jay Cutler.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, hold on, hold on. So he was 22nd for.

[Jason Moore]

So he's only played of the 10 games I've played. That's why I went with Bortles. Cutler missed.

[Mike Wright]

No, this person didn't miss any games. Oh, really? Not Bortles.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, 22nd quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

He had a good week. He Had a real good week.

[Andy Holloway]

He had a good, real good week. No one had a good week.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, he did. Yes, they did.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on. I'm trying, I'm trying to think monster.

[Mike Wright]

Week, record setting week this past week.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, who was it? Oh, who? Oh, Jameis Winston.

[Mike Wright]

That is correct.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Jameis Winston. He is including. I'll throw this in there for you. Winston is now in most standard leagues. The quarterback number 12, which is a quarterback one. So he has eclipsed that over 18 in the past, in half of them.

[Andy Holloway]

And he was not in our streams of the week yesterday, but he was almost. He was in consideration as he has a decent matchup. Who's he playing?

[Mike Wright]

I think I, I'm signing him in a couple leagues to play this week, including in one. I'm going to play him over Andy Dalton.

[Jason Moore]

There are actually quite a few good streaming options this week, especially after the news that McCown is going to be the starter. I think he's a good streaming option. You got the. The two rookies are both good streaming options and Winston and Mariota. So.

[Mike Wright]

Yep. All right.

[Jason Moore]

Also, this is a great time while you talk about how great Jameis Winston was to point out that I had a Winston versus Mario to water bet before the year. So what's that?

[Mike Wright]

Those are. They have to be close. They have to be close.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, they are.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, those two guys are. That'll go down to the wire. All right, we're gonna go ahead and what are we gonna do? Let's move it on.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Mike Wright]

All right. The big news. The big news. And I kind of. When Adam Schefter does this, I'm kind of like, like Adam Schefter came out but tried to come out before everybody else. And he's like, yeah, March son's gonna miss a couple weeks and see how it feels. But now the report is that he's going to undergo sports hernia surgery on Wednesday morning. And Thomas rawls is in RB1.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep. Can't disagree.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, that's really the gist of that.

[Jason Moore]

So do you know, and this should be a really easy question to answer after what the lead in is. Do you know what team in the NFL leads the league in average yards run per game?

[Andy Holloway]

So as in which team runs them?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Most. Most average yards per game.

[Andy Holloway]

Seahawks.

[Jason Moore]

That is correct. Thomas Rawls, your only guy there.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And I was, I heard a number on the way in talking about how in the first half of the season the Seahawks had scored 12 touchdowns in the last two weeks they have scored seven.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. So getting it together a little bit.

[Andy Holloway]

Could be turning around up there in Seattle.

[Mike Wright]

Well, the big thing, if you look at Russell Wilson, he had, I believe, eight straight games. Seven straight games with one touchdown. And he had three this past week against San Francisco and including one to Rawls. So.

[Andy Holloway]

Always helps when you can play San Francisco.

[Mike Wright]

So just confirming Rawls should be that number one waiver claim. I mean, by now he probably was for you, hopefully. All right, Peyton Manning, it's been announced he will miss at least the next two weeks. I guess they want to set an expectation instead of a speculation out there.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he.

[Mike Wright]

Fantasy, fantasy spin and he's just.

[Andy Holloway]

If here's the deal though, what I'm interested in, let's say that Osweiler comes out, has a good game, beats the Patriots on Sunday Night Football. They are in a predicament in Denver. To me, I don't know if Andy agrees because Andy thinks that Peyton Manning should be back in if Osweiler plays well, especially this Sunday. And then over the next two weeks, I think you have to leave Osweiler because Manning was a hindrance to that offense with how much he was turning the ball.

[Jason Moore]

It reminds me a lot of when Colin Kaepernick took over for Alex Smith. They had a good team that was winning with Alex Smith. Alex Smith goes down, Kaepernick comes in, plays better than Smith played. And they said, I got to stick with who's going to be the best.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. So, yeah, it's going to come down to whether they actually believe a lot of Manning's problems were injury related or play related. You know what I mean? There's decision making problems, but there's also, you know, your brain tells you what your body can do and then if your body's not working.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So it's going to be a balance there. And I think, you know, it could be a short leash for Peyton too. That could be the situation when he comes back.

[Jason Moore]

Fantasy wise. I think what this says is that Brock Osweiler is a guy that if he comes out, does all right. He's a streaming candidate. That on the right matchup you should be able to.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, maybe. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

But yeah, we got to see it. And really, if you're a Demarius Thomas owner, Mike, if you're an Emmanuel Sanders owner, Jason, are you wanting Osweiler in there or is it tbd?

[Andy Holloway]

It's. That's to be determined because they, they still had. Or I guess not Sanders because he didn't play. But demarius Thomas had that nice Big touchdown. But that was about all he did. If you're a Owen Daniels or a Vernon Davis owner, you sure want Osweiler in there.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, so let's move it on Johnny Manziel. The. The one selling point for that Monday Night Football matchup between the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens is no longer starting.

[Jason Moore]

We gotta make some new commercials. Yeah, new commercials.

[Mike Wright]

Get the B roll on Matt Schaub. Get the B roll on Matt Shop. Is he gonna throw some picks? Watch him throw some pick sixes on Monday Night Football.

[Andy Holloway]

It's improved from Matt Schaub versus Johnny Football to Matt Schaub versus Josh McCown.

[Mike Wright]

Buck Allen might be the highlight in this video.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I sure hope so.

[Mike Wright]

Basically, Manziel demoted to third string. Mike Petton came out. There were videos and reports of him partying. And basically he came out and said this. And this is the gist of the whole thing. You broke the trust of the team. You broke the trust that was put into you. It doesn't matter what you did. You did something that was contrary to what we trusted you not to do as a leader of the team. And now he's not long for the. I don't think he's long for the Browns.

[Andy Holloway]

I would agree.

[Mike Wright]

And he'll get. I think he'll get another chance for sure. Someplace maybe. You know, you keep saying with Johnny Manziel, maybe he'll wake up this time. I. He does not care about football as much as he cares about his personal life.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, well, I don't want to get into that too much because he could have a legitimate problem. So either way, he got demoted. He partied his way into the third string. And what we don't know, actually is if this is just one week, a one week demotion and then they're going to reevaluate next week, or if this is a season long saying, whatever, we're going to play McCown. What I think is kind of leans towards, it might be just this one week is. And I know NFL teams want to win games, but Josh McCown, for how well he's played, is not the future of the Cleveland Browns. If anybody has a chance, throw Austin Davis in there. Well, he had a couple games last year where he was okay, if you want to check out, maybe. Do we have a quarterback of the future? You got to put Austin Davis out there. And because McCown is. He's likely done.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think that Manziel is done with the Browns. I think the Browns more accurately are done with Manziel. That's why they put him behind Austin Davis, you know, Manziel. Next year he'll get cut or traded and he'll go to Rex Ryan and the Bills and be a running quarterback there.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it's possible. So dynasty league owners with Justin Forset and that broken arm, Ravens coach John Harbaugh came out and said, justin Forset is a quote, big part of what we're doing moving forward. You don't need to put too much stock into that. We got a whole off season to figure that out. But as a dynasty owner, you're curious. Is he going to be, you know, is Buck Allen going to just take the lead dog role with Taliaferro next year? Sounds like four set. They want to bring him back at least vocally right now. Danny Amendola, we had the news yesterday or two days ago about the sprained knee. The report is that he's not going to miss an extended period of time. How do you feel, Mike?

[Andy Holloway]

That is fantastic news. As someone who bought heavily into Amendola around my leagues, it's also a sigh of relief for Tom Brady owners, in my opinion. I think without Amendola or Edelman that Tom Brady really takes a hit. We saw what the Bills were able to do against Gronkowski when, when there's really not the serviceable weapons around for Tom Brady. You just double him on the line or you force him to block. And Tom Brady really took a hit and he's got this matchup this week against Denver. I think that if Edelman or if Amadola is not playing that Tom Brady will struggle to put up those high level quarterback one numbers. I still have him as a, as a QB one this week, but very low end. So there's other guys who I want to play.

[Mike Wright]

Did you start Brian Hoyer over Tom Brady this week?

[Andy Holloway]

Man, that's a. The ceiling of Brian Hoyer is higher than Brady's this week. So I don't know if that means I will play him over Brady. But the ceiling, if you need ceiling, you would have to go with Hoyer.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

What a world. I know.

[Mike Wright]

What a world. All right. Tyrod Taylor's expected to play this week. Alshon Jeffrey was limited in Tuesday's practice. You need to monitor him moving forward. And really sad news that broke this morning. Steadman Bailey was shot in the head twice in Miami. Thoughts and prayers with his family. I know he's in the most recent reports. Critical but stable condition. Not expected to be life threatening.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So yeah, that's tough. Matt Forte confirmed he will play on Thursday against the Packers.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep. That's a very interesting situation to monitor as well because I can't imagine that Forte comes in off of this injury at his age. And then they say, okay, you're going to take 80% of the snaps again, especially with how well Langford played. You got to expect something like a 60, 40.

[Mike Wright]

Do you guys know Joseph Randall got arrested again?

[Jason Moore]

No, I saw that. Yeah, I saw that. In a casino, Right? Are you surprised the underwear burglar strikes again?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he was too drunk in a casino and they tried to escort him out and he went berserk on him and now he got arrested. So, man, at this point, it's. It's gone from, you know, humorous jokes about underwear burglar to dude probably has major life problems that needs need to be helped. So. All right, we.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh. So before we get to our sits of the week, along with the rest of the Megalodon Thanksgiving edition of the Fantasy Footballers, I love that we just want to take a second to thank the sponsor of today's show, which is FanDuel. Listen, Foot Clan. We want to turn that holiday spirit into a winning spirit with fanduel. And fanduel's new friend selector makes it easier than ever to play against your friends and your family this holiday season. You can make a private league and just take on the people you know and say, hey, I'm a better fanduel player than you.

[Jason Moore]

That's awesome.

[Andy Holloway]

And now you can prove it because FanDuel is the best place to play one week fantasy football. You play for real money. Building a team is easy. Just pick your players, stay under the salary cap. Entry fees start at just a buck. Anyone could play. And a reminder, basketball is also here. And they're playing basketball [e-mail] and take advantage of this week's Thursday only slate three games. You can play a Thanksgiving edition of FanDuel. And this is what we need the Foot Clan to do. We need you to go to FanDuel.com youm click on the microphone in the upper right hand corner. You use our promo code Ballers.

[Jason Moore]

Ballers.

[Andy Holloway]

Ballers. And this is what you're gonna get for new users. You're gonna get. You make a deposit and you get free entry into a 5050 money league. And that's you just finish in the top half of the standings and you get money in your account the next day. And the only way to get this exclusive offer is to go to FanDuel.com, click the microphone, use our promo code Ballers.

[Mike Wright]

All Right, let's move it on.

[Jason Moore]

Sense of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

I forgot that we had to.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, look, you got to go with what you got.

[Andy Holloway]

And I have to. I'm the audio person of the show and I have. I was out of town.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

And you. And they were in a crunch, the fellas. And Andy did a spectacular job.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Andy Holloway]

At hacking something.

[Mike Wright]

Good enough?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, good enough. And now all ready. I will fix that.

[Jason Moore]

We'll set that audio drop next week.

[Mike Wright]

We'll get it polished. There you go. Hey. All right, let's start it sits of the week. My quarterback sit of the week is none other than Tyrod T. Taylor. Let me read you the numbers that Kansas City has been giving up to Fantasy quarterbacks last four weeks. 9, 14, 6, 8. They be shutting people down.

[Andy Holloway]

Quarterback numbers.

[Mike Wright]

Those are the numbers that quarterbacks have been given up.

[Jason Moore]

Is that bad?

[Mike Wright]

That's not good. Those are not kicker numbers. Those are quarterback numbers. Tyred Taylor's also banged up. Hasn't been that great in fantasy the last few starts. So sit him down. Pick somebody else like Brian Hoyer.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, my. My quarterback set of the week this week is Matty Ice. Matt Ryan throwing ice. Yeah, he was Right now he is currently not even in the top 12 for fantasy quarterbacks. But his name and his main target in Julio, they. They make you want to play him and sometimes he's a good play. Right. Andy had him last week, the last week as a stream of the week and he was great or I believe start of the week. This week, however, he's going up against Minnesota and what we see from those Minnesota Vikings is, you know, generally speaking, low scoring games. We've seen that with Atlanta recently as well. So I just don't expect enough volume in this game to be a guy that's going to win you a week. I could see him having a down week. So I would, I would sit Matt Ryan for other options this week.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to throw this in there for you. Last week was the first week all year that he had three touchdowns. Do you know that?

[Jason Moore]

Yep.

[Mike Wright]

He has not had a three touchdown game except for last.

[Andy Holloway]

Matt Ryan has been very disappointing in my sit of the week. At the quarterback position is Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson. And last week against San Francisco was his first multi TD home game of the year. And now the Steelers are coming in and the Steelers have revamped their defense. They are no longer the laughing stock of the NFL at the defensive side of the ball. So I don't think Russell Wilson is going to give you the quarterback numbers that you need.

[Mike Wright]

Totally agree. Why don't you give us your running back?

[Andy Holloway]

My running back? I'm going to sit Latavius Murray this week. It's been a rough couple of weeks. He is, he's averaging three yards of carry the last two games and Tennessee has been surprisingly tough against running back. So if I have a better option than Latavius, I'm going to throw him out there.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

For me, I'm going to. I'm going to sit. I'm going to sit Jeremy Langford this week because Matt Forte is back. You don't know how it's going to split up. I agree with you. I don't. I don't think that Matt Forte comes back in and gets 90% of the carries, but he said he was good to play last week and so he took this extra time for this Thursday night game to get a little bit healthier. And so while we have to remember Langford in the beginning of the year, he was already used a little bit as a touchdown vulture. So he was.

[Andy Holloway]

He.

[Jason Moore]

It wasn't a 90% split in the beginning of the year anyways. So I just think you're going to see Langford go back a little bit more to what you had. You probably have other options because you picked him up off the waiver. I wouldn't feel comfortable starting Langford with Matt Forte back.

[Mike Wright]

Jeremy Langford or Matt Jones?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man, I'm going to go with.

[Mike Wright]

Jones, Jeremy Langford or C.J. anderson.

[Jason Moore]

I think I actually have C.J. anderson decent this week. But no, I'm going to, I'm going to go Langford over Langford just for the touchdown. They're both backups.

[Mike Wright]

My running back sit of the week is James Starks. Against the Chicago Bears. The tide is turning once again towards Eddie Lacy who had a very big week. I think the packers realize and we all realize that James Starks is really, really good in the change of pace role and he really hasn't been good in that starting role. And I really don't want to start a change of pace back this week against Chicago. Limited snaps. I just don't want him in my lineup. So I'm sitting, sitting James Starks down. Very similar arguments to Jeremy Langford being sat down. So my wide receiver said of the week, Tavon Austin. Tavon Austin is still a. I believe he's 23 in our league in the wide receiver rankings, but he's had a terrible last couple of weeks. He's going up against Cincinnati and I don't like the matchup, I think it's time to sit him down until he shows you something else. They have a different quarterback in play now. Case Keenum should start if cleared. If cleared, he's going to start looking like he will. But Tavon Austin, I don't want to start him. I choose somebody else.

[Andy Holloway]

And Tavon is just. That's exactly kind of what we expected where the guy is getting just such a low opportunity that what he was doing was not sustainable. I mean, he kept proving us wrong where he had a great stretch of few weeks, but not sustainable. So I agree. I'm moving on.

[Jason Moore]

The guy that I'm going to sit is going to be Devonte Adams.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, wow.

[Jason Moore]

Devonte Adams to me is. You know, I went out on a limb and you called him out. I said that he stinks. The reason that he's definitely startable is because he's normally the number one target for Aaron Rodgers. Well, that's, that's just great. Even if you stink, you're going to have production. This last week, however, he did not. James Jones was the guy that was involved. He only had three for 36 this last week. And this week he is going up against Chicago Bears. The Chicago Bears you might not think of as a great defense, but for the last month, the last four games consecutively, including matchups against, you know, Philip Rivers, they have not given up 150total yards to wide receivers in a game. In fact, the last two weeks to all wide, receivers, to all combined wide receivers on a team, the last two weeks, they haven't even given up 100 total yards from all of those. Now I expect maybe those to be broken by Aaron Rodgers this week, but I just don't feel comfortable starting Devonte Adams when he can drop the few passes he's going to be getting in a game that against a good defense.

[Mike Wright]

Did get reported that Ty Montgomery is out this week yet again. All right, so Mike, I am going.

[Andy Holloway]

To sit my sit of the week at wide receiver is Ty Hilton.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

And this is because Tampa Bay over the last two weeks is only giving up 10 catches and 100 yards to the wide receiver core to all wide receivers. That's all they're giving up on average the last couple weeks. And Hilton last week 2 for 21 against Atlanta. We know the limitations of Hasselbeck. So in Hilton absolutely can take one of those short passes and busted open. But that's not the kind of play that I want to have to count on from my starting wide receiver.

[Mike Wright]

And I want to make sure that when we talk about sits of the week, we're not talking about the fact that Mike is going to sit Ty Hilton at all costs. Right. He's saying that this is my perspective on this guy this week. He's a starting wide receiver. Right. But Mike has him as opposed to up in that starting echelon range. He has him at 31 this week. He's got guys like Michael Crabtree, Golden Tate, Jarvis Landry, Amari Cooper, Alan Hearns. These are guys that he has ahead of him. We're saying if you've got a better option, the kind of you take a temperature of this game and Ty Hilton comes out not so good.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, these are guys. We could call this segment guys we don't like very much this week. But that just doesn't sound as good as six of the week.

[Mike Wright]

I totally agree.

[Andy Holloway]

It's all about branding.

[Mike Wright]

We're going to do tight ends.

[Jason Moore]

All right. Let me kick off the tight end. Okay. Yeah, I'm going to kick off the tight ends.

[Andy Holloway]

Do we have a good. I don't know even if we have.

[Jason Moore]

A drop for this Eric Ebron last week our Mike's. Well, he had the best matchup last week against Oakland. Eric Ebron started the year on fire. He is a talented guy, but he hasn't been able to catch the ball recently. In his last three combined games, his last three that he started and been healthy in, he has seven and a half total fantasy points in all three combined. So this week he, he's going up against the team that is second best against the tight end. The Philadelphia Eagles have given up the second fewest points to tight end which means he should not be played. And he is going to go off this week. He's going to score 700 fantasy points. Eric Ebron, the bane of our listeners existence. This last and your set of the week. And my set of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

My set of the week. Charles Clay, he has disappeared from the Buffalo offense. He was and he's. He's still the leading pass catcher on that team. But the last few weeks it's just, it's not happening for Clay. I'm not sure exactly what's going on.

[Mike Wright]

And he's gone ghost.

[Jason Moore]

He.

[Andy Holloway]

He has to take on the Kansas City Chiefs who are on fire as a defense.

[Jason Moore]

I picked Charles Clay as my sit of the week and when I went in the dock I saw you already had. So I definitely agree.

[Mike Wright]

I'm gonna go Jason Whitten, you just can't trust it right now. Going up against Carolina On Thanksgiving. Single digits the last four games. I don't see it changing against Carolina. That's the long and the short of it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Now let's get positive.

[Jason Moore]

Starts of the week.

[Mike Wright]

We've never done these back to back. I mean, this. You realize how much more of this episode there is.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I, you know, I felt like we were at the end and then I kept scrolling.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, no. We got all the matchups. All right, Quarterback, start of the week, or as I like to call it, my board of the week. I'm going with Blake Bortles, baby. He's at home against San Diego, and they've all been given up. Yeah, I really believe that they. I love the matchup. I love the momentum. Jacksonville hasn't won two games in a row in forever. They got two in a row. Right now. They're in Jacksonville. Bortles is very high on my rankings this. This week. So if you have him, I know you're a little bummed out over the last, you know, performance that you saw from him, but I have him at 8 this week, and I think he has the potential to be in that top five with a good week.

[Andy Holloway]

And I'm going with Eli Manning back to the Giants. He's coming off of the buy, and he just dropped 360 and two on the Patriots. He has a delightful matchup in Washington. So I really like Eli Manning. I believe he's as high as number three for me this week. So I love him. Love him. With many smooches this week, Yes, I.

[Jason Moore]

Love him as well. My start of the week sounds obvious at first glance. It is Big Ben Roethlisberger, but I know that there are a lot of questions coming in as to whether or not you start him. He's going up against the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. That sounds terrible. And when you look at the stats on the year and you go, wow, the Seahawks, they're the fourth best against the quarterback. So they are what we thought they are, except they're not really, because when you look deeper at the numbers, you see that they played Chicago without Jay Cutler. They played San Francisco in, you know, with the. Blaine Gabbard knew back. They played Dallas without Tony Romo. They have a bunch of games where, yeah, they shut down garbage quarterbacks, but Carson Palmer goes to. Goes to Seattle, puts up 363 yards and three touchdowns. And the offense of the Arizona Cardinals are very similar to the offense with a healthy offense in the. In Pittsburgh. You know, where Bruce Arians is from. So I think Big Ben has A fine game. I have no problem starting him. I think he's like my. My fifth or sixth quarterback this week. So don't be afraid of the Seahawks. He's got enough weapons there to get it done.

[Mike Wright]

All right, running backs. Mike, why don't you kick it, Kick.

[Andy Holloway]

It off my running back start of the week. Ja.

[Jason Moore]

Ja Javarius.

[Mike Wright]

I love it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Oh, Jason's dabbing. We googled what dabbing was. Don't worry. Foot Clan.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we took care of that.

[Andy Holloway]

We looked it up. Had to do some research. I've never felt older in my life. I had to say, google what. What is dabbing?

[Mike Wright]

Well, and the answer we got was, great, because dabbing is dabbing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

It's a hot new dance, apparently, that the kids are doing these a lot.

[Mike Wright]

Like a sneeze, but it's a dance because I can sneeze with the best of them.

[Andy Holloway]

My start is Javorius Allen. He's coming. There's no one else really that to take carries. And he's playing the Browns, one of the worst running defenses in the league. I expect lots of, lots of rushing yards and a lot of dump offs from Matt Schaub. So I love Allen this week.

[Jason Moore]

My running back start of the week. You say that the Browns are one of the worst in the league and they are. You want to know the only team that's worse than them? The San Diego Chargers. They have no running game. You saw that last week when Charkandrick west started tearing them up, went down, and then his backup came in and tore them up. So I'm going with the guy who we just said today has not scored 20 fantasy points in a single game, which is TJ Yelden. I love the start. I think they're going to be able to run on San Diego because of course they are. And TJ Yelden is super involved, gets the carries, gets involved in the passing game. Love them.

[Mike Wright]

All right, I'm going to go with Thomas Rawls now. Everybody who has him is probably starting him. But look, when you look at the numbers, Pittsburgh is number one against fantasy running backs. But I believe Thomas Rawls. The workload we Talked about Seattle. 147 yards a game average. Pittsburgh gave up a lot of yards and fantasy points to Frank Gore a couple of weeks ago. And Thomas Rawls ran like a maniac last week. So I am very confident starting him in one of my two running back spots. My wide receiver start of the week is actually Stevie Johnson. Stevie Johnson faces Jacksonville. He's really their one viable Passing option right now. Seven catches in back to back weeks. He hasn't done a ton with them. Been very good in ppr. So in PPR leagues I'm really confident starting Stevie, but he's my start of the week at the wide receivers.

[Jason Moore]

My start of the week is a bit of a gamble, but I mean, that's what he is. Every single week that you play him, it's desean Jackson. Desean Jackson is back. He is finally healthy. He's a big boom or bust candidate. But if you're going to boom, you're going to boom against the New York Giants secondary. So this is a game that Vegas says has one of the. It's got the second highest line for total points scored. If you're Kirk Cousins, you're looking to get, you know, DeSean Jackson free over the top. So I think this is a game you can play him and he could, you know very well catch one of those 60 yard touchdown bombs this game.

[Andy Holloway]

And I'm going with Travis Benjamin Because Josh McCown is back. Josh McCown is going to drop bombs that the, the last time McCown faced Baltimore was that huge game, the 400 yards plus yards. And in that game, Travis Benjamin put up 6 for 83. So I like Benjamin this week.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, let's go to the tight end position.

[Andy Holloway]

At the tight end position I am starting. Rule 86. Everybody. Rule 86. Because he faces the Giants and this is only if he's healthy because we know the MCL is a big part of his game as well as Antonio Gates. He's expected to play. And the Giants are horrific against the tight end. So I think that Jordan Reed from Washington can have a huge game and I'll leave it at that. What?

[Mike Wright]

There was a listener who wrote in this morning and said we are the MCL to their fantasy football game.

[Jason Moore]

Very nice. All right, I am going with my special man, the butter man himself, Betty Crockett Gilmore.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, my God.

[Jason Moore]

Betty Crockett Gilmore is my new favorite player just because I love butter so much and he reminds me of it.

[Mike Wright]

Betty Crockett.

[Andy Holloway]

Crockett Gilmore still.

[Mike Wright]

Oh my goodness.

[Jason Moore]

Here's the deal. He's about the only option left over there with Jay Cutler going down. Normally backup quarterbacks, you've seen him come in and use the tight end more. Steve Smith is gone, a good pass catching option and Justin for set is gone. And Crockett Gilmore has been more and more involved. Last week he had over 100 yards and this week he's going up in Cleveland against a Team that is, you know, able to give up plenty of yards. So I think Crockett Gilmore is both a safe play and he is a good option to get a touchdown this week. And that's what I look for in a tight end.

[Mike Wright]

And that's really exactly what I was going to say, which is that you want to have a nice floor for your tight end position. There aren't a lot of guys, any people like Travis Kelsey. Travis Kelsey hasn't had a lot of boom games, but he gives you a nice floor and the guy that I like for that. And my start of the week at the tight end position, start of the year, pretty much third time I've done it. But his ownership percentage doesn't reflect, you know, you got to start him. Delaney Walker. Delaney Walker against Oakland. Okay. And it's not just because this Oakland matchup, right, like they did, that they give you up a ton to tight ends the first four weeks. They haven't been as bad since then, but Delaney Walker has six or more catches in five of six games. That's exactly what you want. Potential for a touchdown. Marcus Mariota is my stream of the week from yesterday. So Delaney Walker, you can roll him back out there if you enjoyed him last week. So those are our sits of the week, our starts of the week, and it's time to talk games.

[Jason Moore]

Fantasy forecast.

[Mike Wright]

Do you think this episode's ending? You're wrong.

[Andy Holloway]

We need to work.

[Mike Wright]

Never ending.

[Andy Holloway]

We need to work a nap. Break in here. I was into this one just in the. If we could just pause for about 10 minutes so I could take a power nap and get ready. Fantasy 4.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just glad you showed up today.

[Andy Holloway]

I almost.

[Mike Wright]

I had to text you on the way here to the studio, and I was like, three question marks. You know what that means? Where are you?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Then you walked in and your hair was all rock star.

[Andy Holloway]

It's rockstar hair.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know. Yeah, I don't know what it is. It reminded me. It's that or homeless.

[Andy Holloway]

That's hair envy.

[Mike Wright]

All right, there you go. Let's start it off. It's Thanksgiving day games, which I adore. Right. Every Thanksgiving, I have to navigate the television because my family, some people. A few people watch football. Most people don't. And so I have to kind of like navigate how to get the TV on in the background. And then, you know, if the meal time is anywhere in the vicinity, I have to. It's a very difficult situation.

[Jason Moore]

The great thing about Thanksgiving football is that a lot of families don't have to do that. Is that, that's the one day where it's like, oh, that's just tradition. You put the games on.

[Mike Wright]

I'm working on it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So see, I'm going to my parents house. If it was at my house, it would be my rules. And we wouldn't even eat.

[Jason Moore]

There you go.

[Mike Wright]

No, we would eat.

[Jason Moore]

Well, as you, as you come together with family around football, let's be honest, tell them about the fancy footballers. Your family needs the help, trust me.

[Mike Wright]

Eagles, they take on the Lions. The Lions always play on Thanksgiving. This is an interesting game. The Lions are favored or, I'm sorry, the Eagles are favored by a point. So fantasy wise, what are we looking at in this matchup?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, first off, we got to figure out who the quarterback for the Eagles is. The news came out that Bradford was cleared, but we don't know if he's going to start.

[Mike Wright]

So he has more than a concussion.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. And so we got to figure out what's going on up there. There's a John Fox situation brewing in Philadelphia. I don't appreciate this. Chip Kelly. Let's get it together.

[Jason Moore]

I don't.

[Andy Holloway]

We need to know.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, if you're talking about streaming one of those two quarterbacks, we do need to know. I don't think it makes a big difference. When I was stating my players out and considering who's starting, I don't think I really change anyone. There's nobody that I think goes definitely up or definitely down with the change between Bradford and. Is there anybody that you guys see where it's going to make a big effect on anyone?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, if I'm playing, let's say I'm desperate for a defense and the Lions have been great recently. It does make a little bit of a difference. If it's Sanchez, I'm confident there's going to be some interceptions. If it's Bradford, there probably will be.

[Jason Moore]

But I would be confident.

[Andy Holloway]

But I was just saying that if it's Sanchez, you know that there's going to be at least one or two picks coming. And so let's break down these positions.

[Mike Wright]

I do have one thing I want to mention right off the bat.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

And he is somebody that could have very easily be a start or sit or, I'm sorry, a start or stream of the week, and that is Brent Selleck. Brent Selleck is likely to be the only tight end of this game because Zachary's in the concussion protocol. The concussion protocol is supposed to last five days.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

So the odds of him playing on Thanksgiving are. Zach Ertz are very, very low. And Britt Zellick had a good game a couple weeks ago. So Brent Selleck is somebody who, if you're at the bottom of the barrel, if you're staring down another Ebron start, I'd rather start Brent Selleck.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. No, I like that start a lot. From the tight end, I mean. Yeah, you've got Ebron on one side and Selleck on the other, and that's good. From the running backs. This is a crazy polar game when it comes to running back situations between these two teams. You have. You have the Lions allow the most in the league by a wide margin of two plus rushing touchdowns in a game. And on the other side, the Eagles have allowed no rushing touchdowns in 80% of their games. So I don't expect them to give.

[Mike Wright]

Up a rushing touchdown in this one either. To Joyce Bell and company.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's.

[Mike Wright]

According to some metrics that we were looking at yesterday. Joy Bell has had what would be defined as a bust game every single game of the entire season.

[Andy Holloway]

That's so weird.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, right.

[Andy Holloway]

And Ryan Matthews, speaking of concussion protocol, Ryan Matthews is still in the protocol. I do not expect him to play, which is another huge opportunity for DeMarco Murray. Now, Murray play calling, game flow. Not sure what happened, but he did not seize the opportunity last week, and Sprouls was able to rally him.

[Mike Wright]

That's what I was going to ask you, Darren Sprols, do you start him, Jason?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think. Well, I mean, it depends on your. It depends on your.

[Mike Wright]

Darren Sprolls, Duke Johnson.

[Jason Moore]

I kind of like Duke this week. Yeah, Duke, because McCown's back with McCown and against Baltimore. But I would absolutely be willing to start Darren Sprols. You saw last week, he was involved, had almost 40 yards through the air, 20 on the ground, and he got a touchdown. You look at the fact that the Lions give up touchdowns to the running back position. That being said, these Lions are playing really good. So he would be, you know, a deeper flex option for me.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, so would you start. Just to throw some names out there, would you start Rashad Jennings or Darren Sprouls?

[Jason Moore]

Jennings coming off a. By the starter.

[Mike Wright]

Charles Sims or Darren Sprols?

[Andy Holloway]

Ooh, man. Probably Sims, but that's pretty close.

[Jason Moore]

I think I would go Sprolls there. I like Sims more as a player I want on my team.

[Mike Wright]

All right, last one. Carlos Williams or Darren Sprols?

[Jason Moore]

Darren Sprouls.

[Andy Holloway]

Sprouls. Okay. And a guy who could have easily been a Sit of the week, if everyone wasn't already sitting him is Jordan Matthews, who's been highly disappointing, terrible. And I'm not, I'm not sure what's going to happen as far as the coverage, but Darius Slayer up in Detroit, complete shot has been a monster the last three games.

[Mike Wright]

Down corner.

[Andy Holloway]

I believe he's allowed about 17 yards.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I was gonna say one catch.

[Andy Holloway]

Or something in the last three, three weeks. So if he is on Matthews or whoever Darius Slay is on, there's going to be trouble for that wide receiver.

[Mike Wright]

It's also another reason I like select this week. So we're starting Calvin Johnson. I think Golden Tate. Golden Tate is somebody that we kind of like. I don't know what's going on in Philadelphia, to be honest, with the defense and everything. That was such a weird game last week. But any other thoughts on this game before the last thought?

[Andy Holloway]

Are you still confident? Because I'm asking for a friend. Not for me, not the guy who owns the Eagles defense. Are you still confident starting them as a defensive unit coming off of that horrific loss to Tampa Bay?

[Jason Moore]

I am confident even after that horrific loss. I believe they're the fourth highest scoring defense in the league. The, the Lions aren't exactly an offense. They've been doing great on defense, but they're an offense that can do a pick six, you know, every other game. So I'm not, I'm not off of the Eagles. I would start them in this game.

[Mike Wright]

I generally when I see that type of thing happen, I wait a week to start the defense because I want to see what the trend looks like. You know, you have defenses that are trending really positive now. Kansas City, Houston, you got defenses that are going the other direction. You know, the jets haven't been that good, that type of thing. So let's move on here to the other Thanksgiving Day game. We have three of them. This is the Panthers going to Dallas to take on the Cowboys in the game. I'm looking forward to the most because I want to see Cam Newton and Tony Romo and this battle on Thanksgiving Day. The undefeated team Cam Newton, since I believe week five. Five is the number one quarterback in fantasy football. We looked this up yesterday. That is. Yeah, that is a start every week. Guy, you never set him down baseline very high for Cam Newton. And you know, the truth is, is they're a team that runs the ball a ton. You know, Jonathan Stewart's got, I believe, six straight weeks of 20 plus carries. 53% of their plays are running plays because Cam Newton is taking the read.

[Jason Moore]

Option and Tolbert gets involved too. They run all the time.

[Mike Wright]

Doesn't Tolbert seem like the perfect Thanksgiving Day running back?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, he sure does. He is thankful for.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he's thankful for a job. Mike Tolbert, Jonathan Stewart, Darren McFadden. We had this discussion earlier in the week. We kind of like McFadden a little bit more rest of season than Jonathan Stewart. What about this game specifically?

[Andy Holloway]

Oof, man. Darren McFadden is just his. His floor is so great. I mean the, the offense, it. I expect the Cowboys offense to be. To continue rolling. I know Carolina has a great defense, but with Romo back and this is actually a. As a counterpoint. Let me get your opinion on this. Tony Romo hasn't played football in weeks, right? He comes in, he plays Sunday, so he's getting hit. You know, you've got to deal with that NFL soreness. He's on a very short rest and has had no time really to acclimate to the game. Do you think that can affect Tony Romo's performance at all?

[Jason Moore]

I do. I think it can affect play calling. Now, I'm not saying you bench Roma, but one, it's a bad matchup. Right. You've got him going up against a great defense in a short week. So I think it can affect them, but I'm not going to go crazy on that. To answer Andy's question, I like Darren McFadden better in this game. Both defenses are good. It's not like the Panthers have a good defense. And Jonathan Stewart's going to be run all going to be able to run all over the Cowboys. Both running backs are going to come up against tough defenses. I think that Darren McFadden, he doesn't get split, you know. You know, Stewart does give up. He seeds more carries to Tolbert and Cam than DMC does to Turban.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's a tough argument for me because Stewart's number two in the league in carries.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, to me it's the catches, the catches. That's Darren McFadden.

[Mike Wright]

You guys want to make a bet, Stewart versus McFadden? Because I take Stewart in this game.

[Jason Moore]

That's a fun one to me. On Thanksgiving, you got McFadden so waterbed.

[Mike Wright]

Now we got something else to pay attention to on Thanksgiving. So Stuart vs McFadden. To answer your Romo question that you were posing, I'm not worried about it. I agree that it could be a problem. But he also gets the benefit of now being acclimated to a game, you know, like I wanted to wait for Romo to have a game back before I felt confident in him. Now that he's got a second game at home, I'm okay with it. You're starting Des Bryant. What about Devin Funches? Would you flex Devon Funches this week?

[Andy Holloway]

If you are. If you're desperate, maybe as a wide receiver, three or flex. But that's. That's the. The highest consideration I can give him.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, that's very fair. Very fair. I'm trying to see exactly where we have him ranked at the best. One of us has him at 30 this week, 46 on the worst. He's our 40th by consensus. So he's outside that top three. So deeper leagues, leagues where you got three wide receivers and a flex, maybe those are leagues you're thinking about. Devin Funches. So Whitten was a sit of the week for me. Do you guys agree with that take? Are you okay with Whitten?

[Andy Holloway]

I would prefer to sit him. Tight end is that tricky position. I don't know if you have a better option off of the waiver wire, but I agree that you need to temper your expectations. The Panthers are a tremendous defense against the tight end.

[Mike Wright]

All right, Anything else you want to talk about in this matchup?

[Andy Holloway]

Nope.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, let's move it on. Bears taking on the Packers. Packers, heavily favored Bears have been in a lot of games lately, either winning them or a tight one this past weekend. Couldn't get the two point conversion this game. It's going to be cold. There might be a little bit of rain. What are we seeing here?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm calling it right now. This is the game that Eddie Lacy starts rolling. The Chicago Bears. Eddie Lacy has feasted on them in the past. I think it continues especially when you have a factor of the weather, which I'm not going to buy completely into it, but it's colder and I like Lacy, who just had 100 yards on a good defense, good running defense gets to come into a division game. The packers are desperate to stay in the race for a bye week into the playoffs. I think that Lacy is going to run free like a man possessed by the need for turkey. I love Eddie Lacy this week.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I got a little hungry when you said he was going to get on a roll.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we, we actually all three of us have Eddie Lacy this week as an RB1. You do have him the highest mic at 8, but Andy and I have him at 10 and 11. So I completely agree with the take. I think Eddie Lacy in a game that's going to have probably some light rain. You hand the ball off and I like it.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. So, I mean, I. Let me put perspective into that Lacy start because I don't feel great having to start Eddie Lacey after one good game. But I got Eddie Lacey ahead of Mark Ingram this week and Mark Ingram's taking on the Texans and the Texans defense in Houston. But I like Lacey. Like Mike just brought up.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep. The. In the Langford Forte situation. We've already kind of discussed that. If you have to start one, I'm going to start Forte. And so let's move to the wide receivers of Alshon. Jeffrey, is this guy going to play?

[Mike Wright]

Nope.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I think he will.

[Mike Wright]

You do? That's a tough one. We'll not be able to give you another piece of news because this game's tomorrow.

[Andy Holloway]

So if he doesn't play, is it the. Are we on Marquis Wilson alert again?

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. If he doesn't play, it doesn't look like Royal is going to play. And then they've got to throw it to someone. And Marquis Wilson is a great option. We've seen him have fine games in every game that those two guys are out. So this is a higher scoring Vegas game. So even if the packers are winning by a lot, you've got to have Jay Cutler throwing the ball. He's got to throw to somebody. So I do like him, but I expect Alshon to play. That's just based on. I think the reason they sat him this last week against the Broncos was because the short week coming up give him a little extra rest.

[Mike Wright]

All right, The Bills go to Kansas City to take on the red hot Chiefs and that Chiefs.

[Andy Holloway]

The red hot. I thought you were going to make a Red hot Chili Peppers joke.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, no, it wasn't Red hot Cheefy Peppers. No, I wasn't going to go there because it would have sounded like that.

[Jason Moore]

Yep.

[Mike Wright]

All right, the Bills taking on the Chiefs. Let me give you this stat nugget. All right? Chief Chiefs average the most rushing touchdowns per game of any team in football. Char west, if he doesn't play Spencer Ware, do you roll him out there? Because you got the. You got the both sides of this, right. The Chiefs average the most rushing touchdowns, but the Bills have played very good on defense. The Bills are right now 10th against the run. So where's the balance?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, well, the balance, I guess is it's a wide gap of what you could do. I believe that Ware will have a fine game against the Bills if Char west doesn't play because of what you said. The Chiefs have been more and more dedicated to the run because their defense has been playing better and they've been a better team playing that way. As opposed to the beginning of the year where they were really trying to force the issue to Jeremy Macklin, who was almost my set of the week. They were trying to force a passing game that wasn't what the team was built for. Even after losing Jamal Charles, they. They really went run game. I have Spencer ware as my 14th running back this week. What I've got him statted as the RB1 for Kansas City with Char Kendrick west out. And I think I gave him a touchdown. And so that when. If you get a touchdown, you had a good week almost always. So if he gets the volume and gets a touchdown, which the Bills give up, then I'm fine starting him.

[Andy Holloway]

There's no Niall Davis concern.

[Jason Moore]

Correct.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

I don't have any. Do you. Do you think I. I should have Nile Davis concern? Andy. Not really the way that the Chiefs have treated Nile Davis this year of demoting him before he needed to be.

[Mike Wright]

Here's when you would have had Nile Davis concerned if Spencer Ware came in and relieved Char west and didn't do anything.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

But he came in, he ran 11 for 96 and two touchdowns. I think he gets on the running.

[Andy Holloway]

Defense in the league.

[Mike Wright]

Correct. I'm not going to overemphasize the matchup. You have two balances there. You're still in Kansas City. You've got a team that I'm okay with where I would put him in that two, the RB2 category this week.

[Andy Holloway]

So yeah, I'm better with him as a two.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And so. And that. You know what. What else happens here is you have a team with Buffalo who struggled a little bit on offense, going against the best defense in the league right now in the. In the trends at home at Arrowhead and so short fields are in the cards potentially for Kansas City. They might not have to do a whole lot through the air. I don't think weather is going to be an issue in this game. We talked about Clay as a sit of the week. Kelsey, you're starting. Obviously Sammy Watkins would be the guy I want to talk about.

[Andy Holloway]

I say, are you starting? Anybody from the Bills not named LaShawn McCoy? Anyone from the Bills?

[Mike Wright]

I would. I would consider a flex play of Sammy Watkins based on the feedback this week of the fact that they want to get him more involved. They need to force the ball to him a little bit more. He is the kind of guy that's going to beat the coverage. It's just a matter of targets. So I'd, you know, I'd play Watkins over funches.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I can.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I would agree with that completely. But given how. How Tyrod Taylor looked at the end of that game coming off of a short week, I just don't trust him to be able to really air it out to Watkins against a good defense. So I'm not. I would rather sit Watkins, but yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Philip Rivers couldn't do it last week.

[Andy Holloway]

If Taylor looks like he did at the end of the game last week, he's going to get knocked out of the game.

[Mike Wright]

There's.

[Andy Holloway]

There's no way he could finish a full game. And you're going to get some delicious EJ Manual turnovers. Start your Chiefs. Everybody, apple turnovers.

[Jason Moore]

Excuse me. I've got.

[Mike Wright]

You said delicious turnovers. What do you expect me to do? Assume you're talking about the NFL?

[Jason Moore]

That's silly, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

That is ridiculous.

[Jason Moore]

Shame on you.

[Mike Wright]

We're in the middle of an hour long episode. So far, I'm a hungry person.