Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - Week 16 Review, Studs and Duds, MNF Preview, Playoff News

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast - 2015 Week 16 Review Summary

Episode: Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - Week 16 Review, Studs and Duds, MNF Preview, Playoff News
Release Date: December 28, 2015
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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1. Week 16 Performance Review

As Week 16 of the NFL season wraps up, the Fantasy Footballers delve into the performances that significantly impacted fantasy leagues. The hosts commend players who delivered standout performances while scrutinizing those who underperformed when it mattered most.

Key Highlights:

• Andy Holloway's Emotional Rollercoaster:
  Andy shares a personal anecdote about his emotional investment in the week’s games, particularly highlighting Allen Robinson's unexpected 90-yard touchdown.

  "Alan Robinson got a 90-yard touchdown, which was worth 17 and a half points in our league." [02:03]

• Quarterback Struggles:
  The trio discusses the disappointing performances from top quarterbacks, naming Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, and Tom Brady as having their worst fantasy games of the season.

  "Big Ben, Tom Brady, and Cam Newton had their worst fantasy game." [06:22]

• Defensive Analysis:
  They analyze how defensive line issues, especially with the Seahawks and Packers, have hindered quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers.

  "Ignoring the offensive line in the draft or having issues on the offensive line, you know, it doesn't matter how good of a quarterback it gets you." [23:45]

2. Studs and Duds

The hosts categorize players based on their Week 16 performances, celebrating those who excelled ("Studs") and lamenting those who disappointed ("Duds").

Studs of the Week:

• Brandon Marshall:
  Achieved a career-high in touchdowns, making him a vital asset for fantasy owners.

  "Brandon Marshall, eight for 115. Two touchdowns. Sets a career high in touchdowns this year under Ryan Fitzpatrick's." [25:33]

• DeAndre Hopkins and Jordan Matthews:
  Both players consistently delivered, with Matthews being dubbed a "sanitation engineer superstar."

  "When the game is out of hand... Jordan Matthews led by your team captains." [26:57]

• Running Backs D'Angelo Williams & Tim Hightower:
  Both provided significant yardage and touchdowns, proving indispensable for their fantasy teams.

  "Tim Hightower was monstrous turning back the clock 27 for 122. Two touchdowns." [28:43]

Duds of the Week:

• Martavis Bryant:
  Despite high expectations, Bryant only recorded one catch, disappointing many fantasy owners.

  "Martavis Bryant gets one catch. Well, after 10 catches against Denver's... he made a terrible game." [45:19]

• Randall Cobb:
  His performance was lackluster, raising concerns about his reliability in future games.

  "I'd be covering Randall Cobb. He doesn't look the same to me." [48:17]

• Running Backs from Seattle:
  Players like Christine Michael and Shane Vereen failed to make meaningful contributions.

  "James Starks didn't do a thing against Arizona." [43:37]

3. Monday Night Football (MNF) Preview

Looking ahead to the critical Week 17 matchups, the Fantasy Footballers provide strategic insights to help listeners navigate what could be decisive games for fantasy championships.

Game Spotlight: Bengals vs. Broncos

• Backup Quarterbacks on Deck:
  Both teams are fielding backup quarterbacks, making it unpredictable.

  "You've got the two backup quarterbacks, the two great defenses." [52:43]

• Emphasis on Defense:
  The importance of strong defensive performances is underscored, especially with teams like Denver's defense being top scorers in fantasy leagues.

  "In standard leagues, the number one scoring option, fantasy option was the Arizona Cardinals defense." [34:51]

Strategic Recommendations:

• Flexibility in Lineups:
  The hosts advocate for a streaming strategy, allowing owners to adapt based on weekly performances rather than being locked into a drafted player.

  "Freedom in streaming, where you go, I'm just going to play the guy that I think has the best chance this week." [37:17]

• Avoiding Risky Players:
  Owners are advised to steer clear of players like A.J. Green if they're questionable for the MNF game.

  "If you're a Brady owner playing in week 17, you're very happy with that coin toss going the wrong way in overtime." [42:43]

4. Playoff News and Implications

With the playoffs on the horizon, the hosts discuss team standings, potential playoff scenarios, and waiver wire moves to strengthen championship-contending teams.

Key Points:

• Patriots and Panthers Losing:
  Both teams’ losses heighten the stakes for remaining games, especially for securing home-field advantage.

  "Both the Patriots and the Panthers both lost, making Week 17 extremely relevant to them." [10:56]

• Dynamic Standings:
  Shifts in team performances create uncertainty, urging owners to stay vigilant with their lineups.

  "There have been some very good breaks for those owners of players in those leagues." [05:44]

Injury Updates:

• Matt Hasselbeck Retirement:
  An unexpected injury forces adjustments, with backup quarterbacks like Charlie Whitehurst stepping in.

  "Matt Hasselbeck will somehow start that game because they're still in it." [12:26]

• Aaron Rodgers' Decline:
  Rodgers experiences a significant drop in performance, correlating with offensive line struggles.

  "Aaron Rodgers, the first four games of the season was something like 73% accuracy wise. Since then it's in the 50s." [48:37]

5. Notable Quotes

Throughout the episode, the hosts share memorable insights and humorous remarks that encapsulate the highs and lows of the fantasy football season.

• Andy Holloway on Emotional Investment:

  "My wife and I were already planning my wardrobe for today in all black with a black veil." [01:32]

• Marshall Faulk on League Investment:

  "If you have any doubt out there of the three of us being as invested in our leagues as you are in yours, let that be put to rest." [03:34]

• Jason Moore on Player Reliability:

  "Randall Cobb doesn't look the same to me. And you mix that with nobody over the top, that gives you any danger." [48:17]

• Humorous Banter on Kickers and Players:

  "Our rally cry against kickers, Blair Walsh... Better than most running back." [36:32]

6. Conclusion

As the Fantasy Footballers wrap up the episode, they emphasize the importance of staying engaged through the offseason, preparing for Week 17, and making strategic moves to secure fantasy championships. They encourage listeners to utilize their online resources, engage on social media, and leverage the podcast’s insights to navigate the final stretch of the fantasy football season successfully.

"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 the FFballers." [57:44]

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Note: This summary encapsulates the key discussions and highlights from the Fantasy Footballers' Week 16 episode, providing actionable insights and memorable moments for both seasoned and novice fantasy football enthusiasts.

Transcript

[Marshall Faulk]

This is hall of Fame and Marshall Falk, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Marshall Faulk]

Welcome back, everybody. Oh, my goodness. Christmas is over. Or has it just begun?

[Andy Holloway]

For some people, Christmas just got here.

[Marshall Faulk]

Like you.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I hope.

[Marshall Faulk]

We don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

I hope the. The. The present is under the tree and it looks really big, but I haven't opened it yet. It could be a gag gift.

[Marshall Faulk]

I had to start.

[Jason Moore]

Shook it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I haven't shaken it.

[Marshall Faulk]

I had to start the show as soon as possible this morning because I just didn't want to be musing about all the happenings of fantasy football, your potential championship in one of our leagues, and all of the emotions that have come along with that, and the bipolar medication we purchased for you at the local pharmacy. Need it. But it has been a crazy weekend. It is Monday, December 28th. We are the Fantasy Footballers and we're back again. Week 16 nearly in the books. But for some people, a lot of people, tonight's going to matter quite a bit. You've got the Bengals and the Broncos tonight. Man, what a weekend.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I. I'm glad that I'm able to be here today.

[Marshall Faulk]

I'm surprised.

[Andy Holloway]

I. This is not a joke. This is. This will sound like a, like. Oh, yeah, that's a silly, stupid thing to say, but it's not a joke. My wife and I were already planning my wardrobe for today in all black with a black veil.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, my God.

[Andy Holloway]

After Cam Newton's performance, I was gonna come in just completely in mo, you know, sackcloth and ash.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, my goodness.

[Andy Holloway]

And. But then.

[Marshall Faulk]

But then Allen Robinson happened.

[Andy Holloway]

Tim Hightower and Alan Robinson were my only hope left. And I thought it was over. And. And Alan Robinson was doing nothing. Nothing at all. And then he got a 90 yard touchdown, which was worth 17 and a half points in our league. And there might may or may not be a video of me doing high kicks in my underwear in my living room.

[Marshall Faulk]

So this has not been made public because you don't want to be.

[Jason Moore]

Someday he may run for political office. Right.

[Andy Holloway]

Gotta. Gotta keep that one under. Under wraps.

[Marshall Faulk]

But, yeah, I don't know what was worse yesterday, some of the performances by top quarterbacks or dealing with Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, after Cam. I mean, that was when I was ready to mourn.

[Marshall Faulk]

We would be. We have this. You guys know what it is? Slack. We talk about the games, you know, if we're not watching them together, we're always talking about the games live and getting ready for the show and talking about things that are going on. And Mike and I would be there and we'd be like, okay, you know, touchdown for this guy in this game. You know, we always telling each other what's going on if we're not watching. And every time that Jason normally would have contributed something of worth for the show, it was just like, Cam Newton's the worst. I hate Cam Newton. I hate life. Save me. And I mean, I get it. And if you have any doubt out there of the three of us being as invested in our leagues as you are in yours, let that be put to rest. Because we are. And he was. And thank goodness, I think that he's going to win.

[Andy Holloway]

We got here. Here's the. Here's the story. Foot Clan. We need the Mojo out there.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, no.

[Andy Holloway]

Emanuel Sanders cannot score 32 points tonight. That he may not. He may score 30.

[Marshall Faulk]

That is a matter of opinion.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, sure. I hope for everyone who needs Emanuel Sanders, you need less than 32 points so I can root for you to.

[Marshall Faulk]

Get a good solid. I honestly want to see the veil at this point. I'm rooting for Emmanuel Sanders, 33. I want to see the veil. I want to see him come in. And you probably drop about 40, 50 pounds over the next week of. Of crying and sadness. So. All right, what do we got today? We've got our fantasy rewind. We're going to go over some of the big performances, big shout out and congratulations to all the Foot Clan members who essentially locked and locked up their leagues. We got a billion tweets and a bunch of messages on the website. And hey, it's. It's pretty rewarding to see you guys succeed in that way and especially to see you do it with the likes of, you know, Blake Bortles at the helm with Hightower and Jordan Reed and Cameron Artist Payne.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

Kirk Cousins.

[Jason Moore]

That's piecing it together.

[Marshall Faulk]

You know, you have to do that. And in the modern NFL, too, this season with the injuries that we saw, I mean, I know I take responsibility for most of them.

[Jason Moore]

You have at least 50%, but at.

[Marshall Faulk]

The same time, you just have to be. You know, Jason said it all year long, but he started it at the beginning. During draft season. He said, you don't win your league at the draft. So many of our listeners have written us their roster from the draft here.

[Andy Holloway]

I got one, Andy.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, you do?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. This is a good example of you don't win championships at your draft. This guy just won a championship with Denard Robinson. Cameron Artist Payne and Tim Hightower because he drafted Jamal Charles and Des Bryant and Peyton Manning and Arian Foster and Andre Ellington and Steve Smith senior. And he won his championship.

[Marshall Faulk]

And he won his championship. It's a perfect illustration of what we're talking about. And that's why we're also a year round podcast we'll be recording in January, February and beyond. Because you don't win your championship at the draft, but you'll get ready for your draft. You win, you'll set the foundation for your season.

[Andy Holloway]

Guys like David Johnson and Cameron Artist Payne, two perfect examples. We were talking about them about a month from now. Like, like in a couple of weeks. That's when we start.

[Jason Moore]

A month from now. A year ago?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, a month from now. A year ago. That's when we started talking about 13 4th dimensionally, Marty. So keep, keep listening through the year. We'll try to entertain you through all the sad times of no real football going on.

[Marshall Faulk]

And there were undoubtedly some sad times for people out there because I'm going to just bring this up. It's not a quick question, it's a quick comment and you guys can react to it. Listen to this. These quarterbacks had their worst game of the season in week 16.

[Jason Moore]

What?

[Marshall Faulk]

Big Ben, Tom Brady and Cam Newton, their worst fantasy game. These three had their second worst. Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tyrod Taylor.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that's a lot.

[Marshall Faulk]

Not everybody had Kirk Cousins, okay? A lot of people had these guys and myself included. I had a couple questions. Cousins or Brady? I wasn't going to sit Brady down in my title game for Kirk Cousins. I might have sat. I definitely would have sat in Eli Manning or a Tyrod Taylor down for Kirk Cousins. But now Brady, right? Not Newton.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, and I understand, coming off a.

[Marshall Faulk]

55 point game from Newton, do I sit him down? And that's the, that's the sad part of Fancy Foot.

[Andy Holloway]

And we love every listener. Whether or not you won your foot clan title, it doesn't matter. I mean, I was right with all the losers this week yesterday and I still.

[Marshall Faulk]

No one identifies with the losers more than you. Traditionally, historically speaking, me and the me.

[Andy Holloway]

And are we calling our listeners losers right now?

[Marshall Faulk]

Well, you did. You said you love all the losers.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, lovable losers.

[Marshall Faulk]

Well, it's good because I need to take one last shot at you before you secure the championship tonight.

[Andy Holloway]

That trophy's gonna be right.

[Marshall Faulk]

However, there were a lot listeners who, who made adjustments and said, hey, I survived Tom Brady today. I survived Big Ben today. I survived Cam Newton, which you haven't had to do all year long. So, hey, if you want to get a hold of the show, stay with us all offseason. Go on Twitter. We are at the ffballers. You can follow Mike directly at FF Hitman. You can follow Jason at jasonffl. And you can follow me at Andy Holloway. You can visit our website, the fantasy footballers.com. that's where people submit questions. You see our rankings, you see all of our offseason content, our video content, and you can watch that content on YouTube, on our YouTube channel. Subscribe on there. Some of the best video content gets put out between January and August because that's stuff that is going to be a lot of top lists. Guys that we really like in the offseason. Rookies topless.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I heard.

[Marshall Faulk]

Top lists, top L, I s. Watch.

[Andy Holloway]

The video we got.

[Jason Moore]

Our show was changing very much.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I got to start working out.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Because it was. It was right off of the video. It was like, watch the. You can't just listen. You want. You want to go to the video. Watch the video. Because it's breakfast.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right. I could have chose different words to illustrate top lists, but I'm going to leave the mystery out there because that's good.

[Andy Holloway]

We'll do a topless. Topless.

[Marshall Faulk]

Good advertising. Topless. Topless.

[Jason Moore]

You ready for some Pale rolls? It's not a bakery, it's the footballers topless.

[Andy Holloway]

That's good stuff right there. And now I am hungry and I would like some icing.

[Marshall Faulk]

Know my team name for the. For my listener league next year is the Pale Rolls. Oh, man, that was. That was troubling. Okay, well, we got a show. We're gonna do more. We're gonna do more Fantasy Talk today if we can overcome that. I think I've covered everything we need to cover in the beginning of the show, so let's go ahead and move on quickly.

[Andy Holloway]

Weekly rewind.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, man. Well, here we are.

[Jason Moore]

Very confused.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, I'm sorry. I. I moved on like it was no big deal. All right, so the big news is not news yet, but, I mean, there are teams that are. Are potentially going to sit guys down. We have a lot of people we're congratulating owners, but there are several owners. I don't know what the percentage is, but a lot of leagues play into week 17. We know that. And so we're still here. That's why we're here five days a week this week to talk about week 17. Five shows.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, is there five shows?

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah. Whoo.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Marshall Faulk]

I think there is. Am I wrong?

[Jason Moore]

Well, I believe New Year's Day, there will not be a live show.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh. Because we're doing a longer one on the day before. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah. I apologize. Four shows. But we're getting you ready for week 17 nonetheless. Absolutely. And you have your title game in Week 17. So the big story there is and why so many leagues don't play to week 17 is because teams sit their guys. Now, there have been some very good breaks for those owners of players in those leagues, one being the fact that the Patriots and the Panthers both lost, making Week 17 extremely relevant to them because they have to win their games to secure home field throughout the playoffs. Otherwise, the Cardinals, or I guess the Bengals Broncos could take that spot away.

[Jason Moore]

If the Bengals lose tonight, will the Patriots secure the one seed?

[Marshall Faulk]

No. Because the Broncos are still in the mix.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. It's actually a great week. We, we can't stand week 17 playoffs from a. From a league format because you end up with these great guys who, who disappoint or play out half a game.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And that's, that's, that's never fun, but this is actually a better year for it. There's not that many great teams that have locked. You want to know who can sit their starters? The Washington Redskins. Yeah, you're good. You can sit your guys down for health. I don't imagine that they would do. That's true, though.

[Marshall Faulk]

They can. The packers and Minnesota Vikings game for next Sunday has actually been flexed to Sunday Night Football and is for the division title. So that game is now extremely relevant for fantasy owners because those players should be out there playing. I know that the Vikings, the first thing you heard from them after this big win this week was we haven't beat the Packers. You know, you ask us if we're having a good year, we haven't beat the packers, we haven't won the division.

[Andy Holloway]

I think. I think the situation that will most likely happen is that the winner of that game is going to the next week host that game again. Yeah. So, I mean, you're talking about an incredibly important Saturday night football game.

[Marshall Faulk]

Exactly. So we will listen to the reports, listen to the coaches, relay that information to you so you're prepared for your fantasy championship game if you're playing in week 17. A little bit of news on the injury front. Matt Hasselbeck forcefully retired by the opponent.

[Jason Moore]

I tried to warn him.

[Marshall Faulk]

I listened to that part of the show. And you. You pleaded for the human, just the human being of Matt Hasselbake. To be given a break.

[Jason Moore]

He seems like a good guy, you know.

[Marshall Faulk]

You know, he's playing next. My news is this, that Charlie Whitehurst will likely start, but, you know, Matt Hasselbeck will somehow start that game because they're still in it.

[Andy Holloway]

Not like this.

[Jason Moore]

And there was a point of the game where Charlie Whitehurst got knocked out. So you're talking about three quarterbacks who got knocked out.

[Marshall Faulk]

I got. I got a phone call for.

[Jason Moore]

The phone call for. To see if you're ready.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, phone call from Indianapolis.

[Jason Moore]

But here, my point was, when you're drafting Philip Dorsett in the first round, maybe, just maybe there's a problem with your offensive line in Indianapolis where all of your quarterbacks are dying.

[Marshall Faulk]

Just saying that's an issue.

[Jason Moore]

General manager.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, they don't have, like, a really important quarterback to protect?

[Marshall Faulk]

Well, no, they have about four that they can't protect. All right. Matt Forte was seen stretching out on the sidelines by trainers, didn't come back into the game. We don't know if he's significantly injured or not, but we'll see what happens next week. It could mean bigger things for Langford in terms of carry totals and more.

[Jason Moore]

Important, more touchdowns for Kadeem Carey.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, I mean, he's just let the hate mail begin for Kadim. Let's just be honest. It needs to be filtered straight to John Fox. But if you're a Map Forte owner, that was trouble for you. And then Ted Ginny had a very disappointing game. He went off the field, grabbed his leg briefly. He did come back into the game, but he didn't make an impact. We don't know how much that impacted his performance on the field yesterday, but obviously that team struggled mightily in what was Cam Newton's worst performance of the season. And they lost. And now they are fighting for that home field throughout the playoffs with the Arizona Cardinals. Depending on what happens next week, I believe Carolina plays Tampa.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Marshall Faulk]

And the Cardinals play the Seahawks.

[Jason Moore]

And Carolina is at home, I believe.

[Marshall Faulk]

Okay. And the Cardinals are at home as well.

[Jason Moore]

And they. And they will both be. Both games are in the afternoon. They have moved Carolina the afternoon for the situation of both teams have to play without knowing if the other team has already won. Smart loss.

[Marshall Faulk]

Very smart.

[Jason Moore]

So before we get to our fantasy stud muffins of the week, we want to thank our sponsor of the day, Poker stars dot net. We've been talking about them all December because we like to play a little bit of poker and there's no better place to do it than pokerstars.net it is easy to get started. You just go to the website, click an install button, boom, boom, register, you're ready to go. You can play, it's free. Play for free as long as you want. You start with a thousand chips. You can reload for free a couple times an hour. Look, it's the biggest game in [e-mail] they're the largest poker site in the world. Hundreds of regular tournament each day. Here's some other things about poker stars, about how big are they? Over 10,000 players online at any time. That's a lot of people playing. You're going to get right into some matches. Over 2 million hands played per hour. Over 140 billion hands played to date. Number four here. It's easy to play while you're traveling. We're all traveling through the holiday season. Well, we're not. We're right here giving you fantasy news. But we know that you're on the road and you can play on your computer, your iPhone, your iPad, your Android device. PokerStars.net gets it done for you. You can set up a club for you and your friends. You want to, you want to keep the crew together, the fantasy crew together. Make a PokerStars club play each other. So thank you to pokerstars.net for keeping us on the air.

[Andy Holloway]

This week's fantasy stud muffins.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right, so as we reflect on the guys that had big time performances that genuinely won people fantas leagues this week, I want to put them into a little bit of a year long context for our listeners as well because this is kind of the culmination of either a surprising year for a lot of guys or a surprising week. So we'll talk about them a little bit. But the big, the big names, cousins and bortles. I mean if there was ever a time when it was okay to kiss your cousins, hey, it would be this weekend because man, 31 for 365, four touchdowns and possibly the most memorable negative four yards of the season. What I'm titling knee gate.

[Andy Holloway]

I've never seen anything like it. It was delightful.

[Marshall Faulk]

You were on delay and we were just, we couldn't type in big enough. Capital letters are just.

[Jason Moore]

I needed a font increase.

[Marshall Faulk]

I did, I did. I needed some comic sans 42 to now.

[Andy Holloway]

If you didn't, if I had to.

[Marshall Faulk]

Be shameful, you had to be shameful.

[Andy Holloway]

If you didn't see the play and don't know what we're talking about. Let me just ask you a question, listener if the half is almost here and time is going to expire, but you're on like the two yard line with no timeouts, with no timeouts, should you, should you a throw out, throw a quick slant, should you be. Kick the field goal? Should you see, take the ball, spike the ball or D, take a knee victory formation and just stick it to him because he went with D and, and he took a knee and they went into the half with zero points.

[Marshall Faulk]

The best part was the, well, the two, two parts that stuck out to me beyond just the lunacy of the play because something happened in his mind. But was the play was supposed to be a fade to Pierre Garcon and then if he catches it, it's a touchdown. If not, they got a second to kick a field goal. And the second he took the knee, Pierre Garcon just started marching off the field with his hands on his hips. He knew exactly what had happened. Jay Gruden was completely confused. Obviously didn't mean much to your fantasy day or I mean it could have been because they could have scored again.

[Andy Holloway]

I enjoyed watching Cousins right after the knee go stand up and go, oh, what am I, what am I doing?

[Jason Moore]

And then try to spike the ball, tries to run.

[Andy Holloway]

He's like, I don't know what I'm doing. His body was like trying to spike, trying to run, trying to hide all at the same time.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, you can't hide.

[Jason Moore]

One of one of my favorite tweets of the weekend was somebody message. They said thank goodness for the, the Colts play that fake punt play. Otherwise that would have been the worst play of the year for Cousins. You're like, oh man, thank you for reminding me of the Colts Fig that.

[Marshall Faulk]

Was something special as well. And I thought, see, I forgot about.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, let's move every, every blocker out of the way. Snap the ball, we'll get him somehow.

[Marshall Faulk]

These places happen and they're, they're magnificent and we should find a way to reward them.

[Jason Moore]

Nationals is amazing.

[Marshall Faulk]

It almost. We thought it happened yesterday with the coin flip with Matthew Slater.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh.

[Marshall Faulk]

In New England. Now it came out that basically Belichick let him off the hook saying, hey, I wanted, I wanted a kick. But yeah, liar. No, it's Belichick.

[Jason Moore]

So he had, he just did it a couple weeks ago to the Broncos.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah. So anyways, Blake Bortles showing that he is indeed a fantasy force. 27 for 368 and four touchdowns. Big time game from him. He's going to be entering in. He's already a top five fantasy Quarterback. And with the performances of some of the guys ahead of him, he may move up even more. Drew Brees had a really great performance where there were questions about his injury all week long. He came out through for over 400 yards and three touchdowns. Brandon Cooks helped him.

[Jason Moore]

And the. The same injury that Peyton Manning has missed several weeks with.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yes. Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Am I right?

[Marshall Faulk]

You are correct. Yeah. He's got better doctors. I guess I will say this in the, in the long term dynasty context for Drew Brees. It is my belief that Drew Brees and Sean Payton will both be there next year. I have said this for a while. I know differing opinions on the show. Jason thinks that Sean Payton will be gone. I know there have been discussions about San Diego now with Sean Payton. Jason's conjecture has always been Indianapolis. Those things are very possible. I believe that they will both be back. I believe Brees will take a pay cut. And that team, you know, I think you saw yesterday, Brees still can play the. Play the game of football at a very high level. Well.

[Jason Moore]

And there was yesterday. There was reports coming out of the breeze will be forced to take a discount if he wants to stay in New Orleans. He's going to have to take a pay cut, which we've seen with Brady.

[Marshall Faulk]

We'Ve seen with Manning, but we'll see.

[Jason Moore]

If he's willing to do that.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. So Ryan Fitzpatrick against New England.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

Three more touchdowns. Those wide receivers, they do it every single game. Two touchdowns for Marshall, one for Decker. And no one else ever catches any. No, but it's great. It's actually a really great thing to bank on when you're an owner of Decker or Marshall because in the red zone, all the plays are drawn up for those guys. I mean, you have very few touchdowns scored by anybody else unless it's, you know, a dump off to Bilal Powell, who, by the way, had a pretty good game again. Matthew Stafford, Mike, start of the week.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

Had a very good game.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he did. He was 29 for 301 yards, two touchdowns. He gets to play the Bears next week.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah. That doesn't. That's not so bad.

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Marshall Faulk]

And Jason started the week Brandon Wheaton.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

Okay, maybe not.

[Jason Moore]

But no one started the week.

[Marshall Faulk]

No one started the week. Yeah. Apparently his mom actually started Matt Stafford in her league. So.

[Jason Moore]

Brandon Wheaton.

[Marshall Faulk]

Man, isn't this funny? Brandon Whedon and Ryan Mallet got to start some games for different teams yesterday. Ryan Mallet looked like he was happy to have a job.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And he got it done.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah. He did.

[Jason Moore]

That was a shocking game. The Ravens versus the Steelers. If you watched any of that.

[Andy Holloway]

Two of the Steelers losses.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, that is one thing I wanted to say I was going to talk about before we started the show. And I said, let's just wait and start the show. Divisional matchups, you need to throw everything out the window. St. Louis went to Seattle and dominated. Dominated the Seattle Seahawks. Not the Seattle Seahawks from week one or week three or week five. The Seattle Seahawks that were extremely efficient in the pocket with Russell Wilson and throwing the ball downfield and blowing people out of the water, got blown out of the water. And it showed that Seattle has some weaknesses on that offensive line, that if a team can exploit them at the pass rush, that team cannot do what it's done over the past few weeks. And we know the matchups that they had over the past few weeks were different than the St. Louis Rams. Right. They were weaker. Let's put it that way.

[Jason Moore]

The that's my point was going to be the offensive line. We saw them earlier in the year when they were losing games was because of the offensive line. If you remember that primetime game against the Lions where Russell Wilson was running for his life every single play and he. In and in that game, they happened to just manage one scramble for a touchdown or for a deep pass that turned into a touchdown. That's what happened this week. The Rams, their defensive line was just eating them alive. So that is a. That is a concern for the Seahawks moving forward.

[Marshall Faulk]

And it goes to show too, with. With Aaron Rodgers having the second worst game of the year, their offensive line is the same type of issues and they. They suffered more injuries this week. We know better than anybody as Arizona Cardinal fans from years past that ignoring the offensive line in the draft or having issues on the offensive line, you know, it doesn't matter how good of a quarterback it gets you. You know Russell Wilson. Would you say Russell Wilson is above average in terms of evasiveness and in the pocket?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Marshall Faulk]

It still doesn't matter. You know, these are professional athletes, professional defensive linemen and linebackers that can run pretty fast if they're in practice if you don't block them.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Russell, do a three on one drill. See if you can get away from these three NFL defensive backs. He's going to lose.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah. Yeah. So wide receivers.

[Andy Holloway]

Julio, Julio Jones.

[Marshall Faulk]

Hey, always start your studs.

[Jason Moore]

He came through.

[Marshall Faulk]

Unless their names are Brady and Big Ben. And it is a dangerous dance. But Julio was humongous, literally on that play. I mean, Matt Ryan, I have. I Not been saying this all year. Throw the ball deep to the giant man who catches the ball. It drives me crazy. And they just threw it up to him. He had Luke Keakley on him and he had Kurt Coleman on him. It didn't matter. You just jumped high, pointed it, and then he ran it into the end zone. And that counts as seven points or six points.

[Jason Moore]

It was like Luke Keakley was wearing a football hat.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, right. And he just took the hat off.

[Jason Moore]

We took his party hats. Thank you.

[Marshall Faulk]

That's a pretty good way to describe it. Nine for 178 and a touchdown. Brandon Marshall, eight for 115. Two touchdowns. Sets a career high in touchdowns this year under Ryan Fitzpatrick's. Or I mean, with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Beardliness, Alan Hearns and Alan Robinson.

[Jason Moore]

Monster games.

[Marshall Faulk]

Combo maker.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that 90 yard touchdown.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yes. See, I'll remember it forever. This is exactly what I mean.

[Andy Holloway]

You.

[Marshall Faulk]

You're a little focused.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm a little focused, but I'm.

[Marshall Faulk]

All these names very. And you remember one?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, no, no, no, no. During the game, I remembered two. Allen Hearns and Denard Robinson, whom I hated every time that they touched the ball because they had half of the right name. Go on.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, because one Allen and once a Robinson.

[Andy Holloway]

Doug Baldwin.

[Marshall Faulk]

I don't know if I want you to win or lose tonight.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Doug Baldwin had a. Had a good game.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right, you guys know what touchdown number that is for Doug Baldwin, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Remind me.

[Marshall Faulk]

I want to see 70.

[Jason Moore]

14.

[Marshall Faulk]

14.

[Jason Moore]

14. Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

14 touchdowns for Doug Baldwin. 8 for 118 and a touchdown. Jordan Matthews had another. Hold on, hold on. This man.

[Jason Moore]

I tweeted out about Jordan Matthews.

[Marshall Faulk]

Waste management is a new nickname.

[Jason Moore]

I said sanitation engineer superstar. That guy gets it done.

[Marshall Faulk]

It's incredible.

[Jason Moore]

When the game is out of hand.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yes. When the game is done, he gets it done. DeAndre Hopkins.

[Jason Moore]

It's the game after the game.

[Marshall Faulk]

Jordan Matthews, the game after the game. Led by your team captains, Jordan Matthews.

[Jason Moore]

Danny Woodhead and Austin Safari and Jacob.

[Marshall Faulk]

And Austin Safari with one second left. Told you it was great. All right, DeAndre Hopkins, Brandon Cooks, Dontrell Inman, Pierre Garcon, other guys that got it done. Cooks was my start of the week.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he.

[Marshall Faulk]

Not that I took much insight to start that guy, the way he's been playing.

[Jason Moore]

Brandon Cooks has been balling out.

[Marshall Faulk]

Did you happen to see his catch amongst, like five defenders?

[Andy Holloway]

The one where Drew Brees threw it right over the guy's hand and then.

[Marshall Faulk]

Under three other hands.

[Andy Holloway]

It was like you had to choreograph that and. And film it.

[Marshall Faulk]

What was it?

[Andy Holloway]

Movie.

[Marshall Faulk]

Where they've been. Where they been. The bullet one. Yeah, yeah, that's what happened.

[Jason Moore]

I was gonna go with the. Like a lit. Like a Mission Impossible laser web.

[Marshall Faulk]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And then just found the right trajectory, right path, right through for Brandon Cooks.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right. So anybody else you want to talk? I was nice to see Hopkins come through for fantasy owners in when Brandon.

[Jason Moore]

Whedon throwing the ball, of course, it's.

[Marshall Faulk]

Always kind of a given. Yeah. Garcon also, he made his mark in that game for sure. Garcon to me, is a lot like an Ankwan Bolden. Now where, you know, it looks like his speed isn't there anymore. I don't see separation on the underneath routes from Garcon the way he used to, but he's just a solid, dependable wide receiver. And a good compliment to Jordan Reed and DeSean Jackson as the Redskins begin their super bowl run.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And Dontrell Inman, if you're gonna rely on that from Dontrell Inman, you should not after watching him play, he's just. Man, that guy drops a lot of passes.

[Marshall Faulk]

Running backs that came through this week, none more important than D'Angelo Williams and Tim Hightower. These guys were money. D'Angelo in part because Big Ben wasn't and because of some for, you know, fortuitous down on the one situation there where Williams had two touchdowns, he came through in a big way. He also caught six passes for 53 yards. Tim Hightower was monstrous turning back the clock 27 for 122. Two touchdowns, three for 47 through the air.

[Jason Moore]

And C.J. we tweeted out, so hopefully you were following us. C.J. spiller, when the news was. Was pouring out. Spiller's going to be inactive.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

And we're not sure what that means for his future in New Orleans. It can't feel good.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, he's got to be gone.

[Jason Moore]

When Shavar's cadet comes in and plays very well, including a 40 plus yard touchdown catch from Breeze and you're like, well, C.J. spiller, is he just not that good or just can't stay healthy?

[Marshall Faulk]

Square peg, round hole situation there for Spiller in New Orleans. There's no way he's back. They said he was banged up all year. I think to justify the healthy scratch. The healthy scratch, all right.

[Jason Moore]

The unhealthy.

[Marshall Faulk]

So who else? I mean, big surprise this week for everybody was the performance of Frank Gore in Fantasy Football with two touchdowns, 15 for 85. And you also had big games from Latavius Murray. David Johnson had a very big game in total yards. Got another touchdown. Buck Allen had a very good game. Any of these guys that you want to.

[Jason Moore]

You want to talk about for next week? I think Buck Allen is interesting. What I don't know what his matchup is but you gotta, you gotta believe he has worked himself back into the good graces of Coach Harbaugh for Baltimore. So I can you. Do you guys have trust in him moving Forward to Week 17 after coming out?

[Andy Holloway]

You know he.

[Marshall Faulk]

It really depends on the Bengals situation for sitting guys next week. You know after what happens tonight, if they're still in it then I don't love Beck Allen.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I agree. I was just going to bring up the Bengals. That's their matchup in week 17. I don't really like that matchup for his skill set.

[Jason Moore]

That's fair.

[Marshall Faulk]

Latavius Murray had a big game.

[Jason Moore]

He did. He had a great matchup against the Chargers. The worst running defense. Not the worst. The worst or the second worst. I can't remember who's statistically worse than were the first.

[Andy Holloway]

I think the Browns are the worst.

[Jason Moore]

So he grew a good match.

[Marshall Faulk]

He did what Lamar Miller could not do against the San Diego Chargers and.

[Andy Holloway]

Lamar Miller received carries.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, Lamar received nine of them and got 12 yards in that game. So let's not let him off the hook.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, that's fair.

[Marshall Faulk]

But Latavius Murray had a big game. Charles Sims making his contributions as normal. He's been a very reliable, you know, ballal pal James White type of guy this whole entire year.

[Jason Moore]

Helps when Doug Martin fumbles twice.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, that's true. Anybody else? Jason did mention Lamar Miller had a pretty good week on a very really bad team. Is going to have a lot of change in this offseason.

[Jason Moore]

Jerick McKinnon now it was granted it was. The game was very out of hand so who knows how hard the Giants defense was actually playing. But that's two good games in a row for McKinnon. That's this is more speaking to dynasty. Long term dynasty or a keeper league for the people who have been holding on to McKinnon. Just hoping because McKinnon's his athletic measurables are just top of the chart. The guy is an athletic freak.

[Marshall Faulk]

He reminds me a lot of Christine Michael not not necessarily in play style but in what's happened to him. Measurables off the chart. These big end of game runs. Michael had a bunch of those in years gone by where he'd come in for Three or four runs and bust off a big. Joey Randall did it too, you know, in Dallas where he'd come in and break up a D. But yeah, McKinnon has a lot of upside and potential and it's nice to have him behind Adrian Peterson right now. And it's definitely a dynasty consideration. Hey, both of the best tight ends this week. War number 86.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh man. Rule 86.

[Marshall Faulk]

Got it done. And we meet Jordan Reed, but also Zach Ertz.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Zach Ertz finally flashing some of that upside.

[Marshall Faulk]

Finally 13 for 122. Even had a couple drops. Didn't get it in the end zone. But Jordan Reed was 9 for 129 and 2 at one point in this game, I believe a listener tweeted out that he was on pace for about 380 yards and eight touchdowns. Not bad for Ertz.

[Jason Moore]

That's also including a completely botched throw by Bradford where Ertz had scrambled past a broken defense and would have scored.

[Andy Holloway]

That would have been like a 50 yard touchdown.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but Jordan Reed monster, just a monstrous. His arrow is pointing way up long term for next year. Now if you. Now, let's talk immediate. I would not be surprised at all if Jordan Reed sits out. Week 17 when you're talking about wrestling, I think that Washington is going to full rest a lot of people. They have some linemen who are banged up I think will be rested. If you rest linemen, you rest Kirk Cousins. You don't put him out there behind backups. And I. So if you are a Washington skill player, owner like D Jacks, I mean these guys are have been banged up so you need to prepare for them not to play this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Rule 86 is that if Jordan Reed is healthy, you play him because the reason that rule exists is because he's so often not healthy. He's had a pretty healthy year this year. But that's a really good point. I mean, if I'm, if I'm the coach, Reed is important to your playoff chances. I would rest him as well.

[Marshall Faulk]

And we'd be remiss if we didn't mention a few more names at tight end. Vance McDonald, Travis Kelsey and Delaney Walker still got it done. Horrible game for Tennessee. We mentioned that he might take a bump down. It did seem like he wasn't being targeted early. Kind of got it done. With the quantity of catches and ppr, he probably didn't do much for you in standard, but Kelsey. Yeah, he flashed again, scored a touchdown.

[Jason Moore]

I was yang for Vance McDonald.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, were you? Were you?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Travis Kelsey that was nice for him to finally.

[Marshall Faulk]

And the Cardinals.

[Jason Moore]

Thanks, Kelsey.

[Marshall Faulk]

The Cardinals defense, Jason pointed it out.

[Andy Holloway]

In standard leagues, the number one scoring option, fantasy option was the Arizona Cardinals defense, I believe, credited with nine sacks, couple fumble recovery.

[Marshall Faulk]

One of the things we like to bring up here, and you know, as NFL fans out there, you remember, you know who Dwight Freeney is, and I believe you know he's on the Cardinals now. He was signed to a veteran contract, much like John Abraham was signed last year to the Cardinals. They kind of signed these over the hill, quote unquote, pass rushers. But one of the interesting things about Dwight Freeney is that his contract is incentive laden and he gets paid per sack. Yeah, that's it.

[Andy Holloway]

You go out what you. Hey, you want to. You want $100,000? Well, just go tackle that guy behind the line of scrimmage.

[Marshall Faulk]

And he had three yesterday. And I believe he's. His contract is at 200,000, 200,000 now per sack. And so it's just every time he does it, I picture him going to the sideline and get a check. No, big old. A big old. One of those giant sweepstakes checks. They walk over and he files it away and then he goes back out on the field and gets another 200k. I mean, that's just a nice way to incentivize.

[Andy Holloway]

It's like the mouse that comes and gets a cheese and then he goes and does his thing. He gets his cheese, right? That's Dwight Preemie.

[Jason Moore]

So.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right, let's move on.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoa. You guys pooped in his big boy pants.

[Jason Moore]

Our rally cry against kickers, Blair Walsh. Blair Walsh probably won some weeks by himself because he was a beast.

[Andy Holloway]

Better than most running back.

[Jason Moore]

I'm saying if you get nerf kickers, if you get bonus points for 50 yard field goals, then Blair Wall scored you a boatload. A scientific boatload points.

[Marshall Faulk]

You done with the kicker talk?

[Jason Moore]

We just need to be brought up, man.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

You got to give it where it's due. If you're going to talk about defense, you got to talk about the kickers.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, it makes sense to transition from kickers into poof. All right, quarterbacks, We've talked about it already.

[Andy Holloway]

Cam Newton.

[Marshall Faulk]

Cam Newton. Big Ben and Tom Brady had their worst games of the season. And sometimes. We saw this last year from Andrew Luck. He had his worst games of the season in the fantasy playoffs. You can't. You literally can. You can't not start them right.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that well. And that's. That's where sometimes I'm not sure that it's better necessarily to stream than to have this student, but that is one of the nice things about taking the streaming strategy is you don't ever get locked in on that. This guy's got a, you know, either a bad matchup or there's this guy with a juicy matchup, and I just can't play him over the guy I invested heavily in at the draft. You know, that. That's, That's a freedom point.

[Marshall Faulk]

It's such a good point.

[Andy Holloway]

Freedom in streaming, where you go, I'm just going to play the guy that I think has the best chance this week. And you start Kirk Cousins and you're happy because you did it.

[Marshall Faulk]

You make a great point. You get locked into those other guys. I mean, I loved having Tom Brady as my quarterback for half the year. This year I loved it. It was great to lock and load him. But if I was streaming a guy and I didn't have Brady on my roster, I might ended up in better shape during my championship.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Brady didn't win anybody a championship. He might have helped him get there. But you had to overcome Brady on your roster this week to win that championship.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah. So I don't, you know, it's not. Probably. Maybe it's worth talking about these guys for next week a little bit. Sure. You know, Big Ben has alternated these monstrous games where you're saying to yourself, boy, if this team got in the playoffs, they're going to win a Super Bowl. And then, you know, he's got the Browns next week.

[Jason Moore]

That's. That's a bonus.

[Marshall Faulk]

So. And they. They have to win. Right. Because they need to win in order to get into the playoffs. Right now they're on the outside. And if the jets take care of their business.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, if the jets beat the Bills next week, then the jets, it's over.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, it's over.

[Jason Moore]

And I wish I could remember who was.

[Marshall Faulk]

Isn't that ironic, though, because Rex Ryan now has to go up against his old team.

[Andy Holloway]

I didn't realize.

[Marshall Faulk]

Keep them from the playoffs or the win. Wow, that's good tv.

[Jason Moore]

I had heard people talking about they wish that game was the Flex game instead of the NFC north, but I wish I could remember who was tweeting this out because I would give them the credit, but they were talking about. Ben Roethlisberger on the road is not the same fantasy quarterback that he is at home. It has been quite some time before he has. Since he has thrown more than two touchdowns on the road. I'm Trying to recall how long it's been. I know for sure this year he didn't do it. But it's an interesting stat when you look at Big Ben on the road, not putting up those monster. You get used to these monster games from Rosberger, like four touchdowns, five touchdowns. Not when he's on the road. So that may be a trend that we need to take into account next year. When you think about Roethlisberger as a high draft pick.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, yeah. And it is. Again, it's a divisional matchup, and we've seen, you know, Cleveland, they didn't beat Kansas City, but they stayed competitive in that game. Mind you, Kansas City shelled up and ran like nine plays in the second half or something. Ridiculous.

[Andy Holloway]

So looking at that, I mean, when you actually pull up his season game log, it is astounding because at Baltimore, zero touchdowns. Home against Denver, three touchdowns. On the road against Cincinnati, zero. Home against Indy, four on the road. Seattle, one at home, three. I mean, it goes pretty much all year, but now, this, next week, he's on the road, but he's not against Denver and Cincinnati and Seattle. He's against Cleveland. What do you.

[Marshall Faulk]

I'd be rolling him out.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So I'm looking back to last year, and he did at. Towards the end of the year at the Bengals, he had three touchdowns. So it's. It's more a stat of this year. But I would still have confidence starting him against the Browns because the Browns defenses. And it's just been so bad when we bring.

[Marshall Faulk]

They're like the Ravens D. When we bring up the. The Ben Roethlisberger story.

[Jason Moore]

I see what you did.

[Marshall Faulk]

We have made a horrible mistake by not. Well, hold on. Let me see here.

[Andy Holloway]

What?

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, we're getting.

[Jason Moore]

I never make horrible mistakes.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right, he's in there. Never mind. Never mind. Okay, we'll move on. I thought we forgot somebod, but he's in there. Big Ben, bad game. Aaron Rodgers next week, a division on the line and an offensive line that is a sieve right now. And wide receivers. Let me just say this. I know it's not been said before. Devonte Adams stinks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he stinks.

[Marshall Faulk]

I mean.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, Adams.

[Marshall Faulk]

I'm sorry to have to say it in that way and just reverberate what Jason has been saying since before everyone knew it, but, man, the guy doesn't make plays. He doesn't make plays. And. And there's no separation for those wide receivers. It's kind of a weird thing because they're sitting here about to win the division, go to the playoffs. And I don't even know what the team is. I really don't. I don't know who they are. All right, so who else do we need to talk about here? Brady next week still relevant to him.

[Jason Moore]

Who are they playing?

[Marshall Faulk]

The Patriots take on the Dolphins next week in Miami.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a division game.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And certainly you have to take into account. But Tom Brady. And we could have an Edelman sighting. We could have an Amadola sighting where.

[Marshall Faulk]

Things should be better for Tom Brady next week.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's.

[Marshall Faulk]

This was a very important game for the Jets. The jets took care of business in this one and they have a very, very good defense. This is not the Miami Dolphins.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. If you're a. If you're a Brady owner playing in week 17, you're very happy with that coin toss going the wrong way in overtime.

[Jason Moore]

Well, there was. There was also some conspiracy theorists on the Twitter as they are. They tend to be there.

[Marshall Faulk]

What, that the ref just said you're kicking?

[Jason Moore]

No, that Bill Belichick wants the Steelers not in the playoffs.

[Marshall Faulk]

Oh, my goodness.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I mean, I can't. That's delightful.

[Jason Moore]

Here's the thing. Like, you can't be like, no, no way. But it's Bill Belichick. This guy is very, very smart.

[Marshall Faulk]

Wow. Well.

[Jason Moore]

They'Re around. I'm not buying.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right. That's funny though. It's a funny storyline. All right, running backs that did not perform for you this week. Well, that would be everybody from Seattle, including Christine Michael, Bryce Brown and nothing from them. Six for six for Michael, seven for nine for Brown. James Starks didn't do a thing against Arizona.

[Andy Holloway]

That's not true. He fumbled.

[Marshall Faulk]

I'm sorry. Antonio Andrews also fumbled. Fumbled. And Shane Vereen didn't do anything. Nothing to speak of really there. I mean, do we, do we see long term value in any of these guys? I know I don't.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. But if you're. Yeah. So like let's say you're in the week 17. You're scrambling for the running backs and you're looking at the Seattle, the, the backfield. You can't trust them. They're with the. With the offensive line woes reshowing once again. They have to go on the road against Arizona. That's.

[Marshall Faulk]

I'm avoiding a game more relevant to Arizona probably than Seattle.

[Jason Moore]

I am avoiding it.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, a guy that I think also, you know, this, this type of week is where the pooped in the big boys pants aren't just the guys that put up nothing, but the guys that didn't do it in championship week, you know, Doug Martin, who looked like he was going to have such a great, juicy matchup, you know, got 49 yards and he got a touchdown, but fumbled twice, didn't perform the way that you needed him to.

[Marshall Faulk]

Not forte. 50 yards, no touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep, exactly. I mean, those. Those are guys where we got a lot of listeners that I'm sure are angry. Angry at their running backs who underperformed and stunk it up in the time that they needed it the most.

[Marshall Faulk]

Chris Ivory didn't do anything.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

Not that we didn't say that on the show, but, you know, another bad game for Ivory. Yeah. Not championship performances from those guys. Yeah, that's the way. The way to say it. So wide receiver, to me, the biggest name by far, bar none. Biggest disappointment of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

Good.

[Jason Moore]

Good friend of the show.

[Marshall Faulk]

Martavis Bryant. Absolutely terrible. You look on paper, Baltimore against Martevis Bryant. I'll be the first to admit it. I had Antonio Brown and Martavius Bryant at the very top of my wide receiver list this week. Those were guys that I thought you could count on without question. You know, Big Ben, I think, you know, a bunch of listeners mentioned the same thing on Twitter. This is a team that dominated Denver in the passing game. So now you're going to face a team in Baltimore. Your season's on the line. And Martavis Bryant gets one catch. Well, after 10 catches against Denver's. Why I didn't know how to explain this one. I don't.

[Jason Moore]

There was. There was zero signs of a bad game coming for Brian. In fact, all signs would point to him having a monster game.

[Marshall Faulk]

Double digits in five of six.

[Jason Moore]

And then you're going up against the Raven secondary, the NFL, where crazy things happen every week. And Ryan Malletz outperforms Big Ben. Crazy things.

[Andy Holloway]

Crazy things.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Ted Ginn Jr. Is another guy who. He was my start of the week because he got 14 targets last week. Has been on fire with Cam going up against Atlanta, who they just blew out a couple of weeks ago. Shut out. Right. Was like 38 to nothing.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

And then Carolina, I think you know, who pooped in their big boy pants. The Carolina Panthers.

[Marshall Faulk]

Olsen owners weren't happy. Newton owners weren't happy. Gin owners. Cap owners.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Carolina Panthers fans.

[Marshall Faulk]

Their defense. Defense owner.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I had their defense. I had Olson and I had Cam. I lived the I hate Carolina this week trifecta.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah, that's. That's true. And then, you know, state of the week Amari Cooper, terrible, terrible performance. Running on one leg maybe.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he clearly looked hobbled.

[Andy Holloway]

And Randall Cobb and hopefully Emmanuel Sanders just going to give a little pre pooped Randall Cobb.

[Jason Moore]

Let's. Let's talk Randall Cobb longer term.

[Marshall Faulk]

Happy to do so.

[Jason Moore]

Is there concern or is this.

[Marshall Faulk]

No. Okay. I. That's more of a joke because it's.

[Jason Moore]

A matter of Jordy Nelson comes back and hopefully he returns to form. He's. Nelson's a bit of an older receiver coming off of an ACL surgery which we know guys can come back from that now, but if Nelson can come back and into form, is everything a okay up in Green Bay?

[Marshall Faulk]

It's gonna go a long way to helping that situation.

[Jason Moore]

That was a triple rhyme. I just want you to know, is.

[Marshall Faulk]

It gonna be okay in Green Bay? It's gonna go a long way, yes. Well, you are correct. Dr. Seuss level mind is exploding, you know. Well, right now I wouldn't start Randall Cobb on a boat. I wouldn't start him in a moat.

[Jason Moore]

He looks like he's playing in a moat.

[Marshall Faulk]

Three for 15. I mean, I've said it before, he doesn't look the same to me. And you mix that with nobody over the top, that gives you any danger. No running game that's been consistent all year long. When I saw Randall comp pile up numbers is when you see Aaron Rodgers pile up numbers in terms of first down, first down, you know, that was the biggest number that jumped out to me. I don't remember the exact number. But last year their efficiency on third down conversion was league best. And this year they're not doing it. You know, Aaron Rodgers, the first four games of the season was something like 73% accuracy wise. Since then it's in the 50s. You know, this is, this is a different offense. They can change play callers all they want, but if he's on his back or if his receivers can't get any separation, you can't throw it to Randall Cobb. I'd be covering Randall Cobb.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

That's what I'd be doing. I'd be covering him and let. Let Devonte Adams and Abraderis and all those guys drop the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. The hope is that Jordy Nelson makes it better for Randall Cobb. But when we're talking about keeper leagues and you got to choose do I keep this guy versus others? You don't keep Randall Cobb because what you're doing when you hold him is you're saying there's a chance that something could fall his way and then he could Be good again.

[Marshall Faulk]

Right?

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, that's like you're. You've got like this triangle.

[Marshall Faulk]

Let me ask you this, though. For a decent player, you know, similar situation. Cobb's obviously younger, but not super young. If you had to keep Larry Fitzgerald or Rain O'Cobb.

[Andy Holloway]

Ooh, that's a great question.

[Marshall Faulk]

Who would you keep? Because both have a Pro bowl quarterback. Supposed to be a prolific offense.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but one of them is younger and one is. One's coming into their golden years.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, in addition, both slot receivers. But in addition to that, you have two young guys for the Cardinals and John Brown and Michael Floyd who have shared, you know, their injuries this year. And presuming health for next year, that puts Larry into where he's been lately versus where he was at the beginning of the year. For that reason, I think lately. Lately, I think I would keep Cobb, but I would much, you know, hopefully.

[Jason Moore]

You know, that's an interesting question.

[Andy Holloway]

I'd go Mike Evans. He's my answer.

[Marshall Faulk]

Do you guys remember how long Heinz Ward played by chance?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, like 25 years.

[Marshall Faulk]

Well, I want to see because Bruce Arians was Heinz Ward's offensive coordinator. Heinz Ward was a very valuable slot receiver for many, many years in the NFL. Could block the way Larry can block now. Larry's 32. I'm just curious to see, you know, what his career arc is.

[Andy Holloway]

Played a long time.

[Marshall Faulk]

But yes, Larry's last half of the year has been just paled in comparison to his first half of the year because of the health of Michael Floyd and John Brown and that offense and David Johnson now. So. All right, where are we? Tight ends, tight ends. Fantasy face off.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. You. You were absolutely correct with Richard Rodgers. One catch for two yards. Something I did not account for was nine sacks from Aaron Rodgers. That was what I did not.

[Marshall Faulk]

Third straight week with one catch.

[Jason Moore]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I. I think I judged the fantasy face off. Well, gave it to Andy and Richard Rogers. Stunk.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah. Stunk by association.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. When the entire team is that bad, then Richard Rodgers is not going to be good.

[Marshall Faulk]

Ben Watson let people down because it was a shootout and the guy had one catch. So they're going to replay the game, Give him another shot at performing for your. No, no, I'm getting word that they're not going to do that. All right. Jason Whitten closes the year with one catch.

[Andy Holloway]

Good.

[Marshall Faulk]

We've said closes the year or what?

[Andy Holloway]

No, we're just saying, you know, we've said for a long time that, that Whitten is the type of player that Is owned and started in way too many leagues. And hopefully, you know, if you were listening to this show, he wasn't playing for you. I think one of the guys that hurt people is actually Antonio Gates, who I think was a great start this last week against Oakland and he didn't get it done at all. Two catches for 11 yards. There are plenty of championship teams that said. Oh, Gates, juicy matchup. He had three weeks of six catches in a row. Why would he not be used again against one of the worst teams against tight end roll out Gates. But it went Ladarious Green's way that game. Wrong tight end, same game. So no Gates. Love.

[Marshall Faulk]

All right, we need to spend some time on the Monday night game because this has fantasy implications, championship implications for a lot of owners. You have a lot of names in this game, from Jeremy Hill to Gio Bernard, AJ Green situation. Marvin Jones and then on the other side of the ball, Emmanuel Sanders, demarius Thomas. The running backs for Denver. What is the, what is the big storyline for you guys? How do you see this game shaping up tonight? Because you have McCarran, you've got Osweiler taking on one another on Monday Night Football.

[Andy Holloway]

I hope that the storyline sticks to what I said early in the week because you have what you just said. You've got the two backup quarterbacks, the two great defenses. What we saw the Bengals do last week was they got away from the playbook where they're just passing it the majority of the time and still having a decent running game. And last week they focused on the run. Both backs got the ball a ton. AJ McCarran only threw it, I think around 21 times and I'm hoping we see more of that. A real slow, drag it down defensive, low scoring battle just because of Emmanuel Sanders. But I said that before this week.

[Jason Moore]

No, I agree. It's when you're looking on, on paper and just at the different matchups throughout the game, you. You can't feel confident really in anybody. If I my highest confidence level would be the Denver receivers of demarius and Sanders.

[Marshall Faulk]

Likewise.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but other than that, I mean, A.J. green, A.J. green is, is an elite wide receiver, so he could get it done, but he's got this back problem that knocked him out last week. There was word that maybe he wouldn't even play this game. What's you're looking at news. What's the latest on Green?

[Andy Holloway]

There's nothing new on track to play. Yeah, exactly. There was that, that, you know, thing saying he was on track to play AJ Green is a guy that I think a lot of championship teams have already gone away from. They sat him because he was a late game. You didn't know his health. He was in a bad matchup to boot with a bad back. I don't expect good things from AJ Green and hopefully you started someone else and it worked out well.

[Marshall Faulk]

And if you didn't make that decision to start somebody else, you're probably locked into A.J. green now.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

And so you're going to ride him regardless of what we tell you this morning. Maybe you have a backup plan.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And no backup plan in this game is going to be better than AJ Green.

[Marshall Faulk]

I guess that would be something to tell people. If you have an open waivers and you need some backup plans for a guy like A.J. green, then you need to think about who you need to think about. I mean Marvin Jones is probably owned. And so then you start thinking about Sanu or the other side of the ball. You start thinking of Vernon Davis and Owen Daniels a Latimer. Those are the pass catchers that you can consider in this type of a game.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. But it will be interesting for the Bengals just to see how does AJ McCarron do against an elite level defense like Denver. So at least it'll be interesting to watch. It could be a.

[Marshall Faulk]

Do we remember the over zeros game? Because that's how I was going to say he got to be low.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it was 40 and a half.

[Marshall Faulk]

But I'll see the score in the Jets. I'm sorry. In the Bills game. That's what I think this game might end up like the bills. Was it 16, nine or something like that?

[Jason Moore]

Very low score.

[Andy Holloway]

I sure hope so.

[Marshall Faulk]

Okay, we're back on Jason's team. We asked you to bear with us as we find a new.

[Andy Holloway]

It's gone lower. It's 30.

[Marshall Faulk]

New host to the show while Jason goes off and does whatever he's going to do with this championship trophy and the.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, cuz it. It's very possible that Jason's physical body just evaporates in a spontaneous combustion. He just becomes a being of light and floats around.

[Marshall Faulk]

I thought you'd say he'd just be absorbed. He'd be in the trophy.

[Jason Moore]

He might do the.

[Marshall Faulk]

Carry him around with us.

[Andy Holloway]

Put the trophy on my seat.

[Jason Moore]

I picture him just floating around because he has left the plane of physical existence.

[Marshall Faulk]

Yeah. Well, it's a lot of medical bills upcoming either way.

[Jason Moore]

Is your heart healthy? Yeah.

[Marshall Faulk]

Now just let me. Let me just figure one thing out. If you secure your title tonight. Yes, what foods will you be eating over the next 24 celebration? 24 hours?

[Andy Holloway]

That's a great question. I'm definitely having some pumpkin pie. I mean, there's gonna be.

[Marshall Faulk]

Wait, do you have that available to you right now?

[Andy Holloway]

It is at my home.

[Marshall Faulk]

Okay. I thought, yeah, you'd make one.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, from Christmas.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Got a little bit of pumpkin pie. I also have pumpkin pin rolls, which are delicious. Those are the best Oreo double stuffs. We've got plenty of them.

[Jason Moore]

Pumpkin Oreos.

[Andy Holloway]

Pumpkin Oreos.

[Marshall Faulk]

Where are you taking us to lunch.

[Andy Holloway]

To celebrate Kentucky Fried Chicken, bro. No, we're going all out. We're going high class. We're going raising cane. Yeah, get that raisin. Cane's love. We love raising canes here.

[Marshall Faulk]

Actually, we're going there in a minute, so. All right, that does it for today's show. We will be back tomorrow. We'll talk some waivers for your Week 17 championship teams. We'll reflect more on the season. We'll probably talk more food and we'll medicate.

[Andy Holloway]

Go to Marius Thomas. 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 the FFballers.