Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - Week 4 Fantasy Forecast, Starts of the Week, TNF Preview, News

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary: Week 4 Fantasy Forecast, Starts of the Week, TNF Preview, News
Release Date: October 1, 2015
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright delve into Week 4 of the 2015 NFL season. The trio provides a comprehensive fantasy forecast, discusses their starts of the week, previews Thursday Night Football (TNF) matchups, and offers the latest news and injury updates affecting fantasy lineups. Their analysis is both insightful and entertaining, ensuring listeners are well-equipped to dominate their fantasy leagues.

News and Updates

The hosts kick off with critical updates on player injuries and team news that could significantly impact fantasy decisions.

• Arian Foster's Status:
  Jason Moore (07:10): "He's practicing."
  Foster's limited practice indicates he might not play this week. However, Andy Holloway (08:00) remains optimistic about his potential return, citing positive trends and support from multiple Houston reporters.

• Victor Cruz's Injury:
  Andy Holloway (09:23): "Victor Cruz re-aggravated his calf and is now indefinitely out for New York, which bumps up Julian Edelman's status."

• Alshon Jeffery and Drew Brees:
  Both did not practice adequately, raising concerns about their availability. Mike Wright (14:22): Expressed skepticism about Drew Brees' readiness but expects him to play.

• Reggie Bush's Return:
  Mike Wright (15:04): Anticipates Bush taking over the third-down role, potentially impacting Carlos Hyde's usage.

• Justin Forsett and DeMarco Murray:
  Andy Holloway (10:01): Discusses Bruce Arians' optimistic reports on Forsett's touch count, though Jason Moore (10:25) expresses doubts about their reliability.

• Cam Newton's Role:
  Jason Moore (31:32): Highlights Newton's potential resurgence with increased rushing and touchdown opportunities.

Fantasy Forecast

The heart of the episode revolves around analyzing Week 4 matchups and providing recommendations for starting players across different positions.

Quarterbacks

• Philip Rivers vs. Cleveland:
  Andy Holloway (46:35): "Philip Rivers is my start of the week at quarterback. I predict 300+ yards and at least two touchdowns."
  Rivers faces a Cleveland defense coming off two losses, presenting a favorable matchup.

• Andy Dalton vs. Pittsburgh:
  Jason Moore (47:03): "I'm going with Andy Dalton. He's had back-to-back 300-yard games and is paired with Amari Cooper, a top-tier wide receiver."
  Dalton's improved performance and strong offensive support make him a viable start.

• Derek Carr vs. Chicago Bears:
  Mike Wright (47:32): "Derek Carr is a consistent performer with back-to-back 300-yard games. Combined with Amari Cooper, his value is high this week."

Running Backs

• Alfred Blue vs. Atlanta Falcons:
  Mike Wright (49:28): "Alfred Blue had 31 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown last week. Facing Atlanta's top-ranked run defense, it's a prime matchup to exploit."
  Blue is favored to capitalize on Houston's opportunity to control the running game.

• Carlos Williams vs. Houston Texans:
  Jason Moore (50:24): "Carlos Williams is a solid start this week, especially if Shady McCoy is out. Houston's run defense has been underwhelming."

• Matt Forte vs. Cleveland Browns:
  Andy Holloway (51:01): "Matt Forte is my start of the week. Facing a Cleveland defense that allows significant rushing yards, Forte is poised for a productive game."

Wide Receivers

• DeAndre Hopkins vs. Atlanta Falcons:
  Andy Holloway (43:52): "DeAndre Hopkins is my number one wide receiver this week. Facing the Falcons' struggling pass defense, he's a target monster ready to exploit vulnerabilities."

• Amari Cooper vs. Chicago Bears:
  Mike Wright (35:50): "Amari Cooper is top five for me this week. His chemistry with Derek Carr and Chicago's weak secondary make him a must-start."

• Leonard Hankerson vs. Baltimore Ravens:
  Jason Moore (44:57): "Leonard Hankerson is a valuable start against Baltimore's tight coverage. With the Ravens' defense under pressure, Hankerson can capitalize on opportunities."

• Alan Hearns vs. Indianapolis Colts:
  Mike Wright (53:20): "Alan Hearns has shown consistent yardage over the first three weeks. Facing a Colts defense with Allen Robinson guarding tight ends, Hearns is primed for a big game."

Tight Ends

• Charles Clay vs. Jacksonville Jaguars:
  Andy Holloway (54:33): "Charles Clay is my top tight end this week. With his target volume and favorable matchup, he’s a reliable start."

• Jason Witten vs. Oakland Raiders:
  Mike Wright (54:05): "Jason Witten is an ironman for me. Despite minor injuries, his target count remains high, making him a staple in my lineup."

Starts of the Week

The hosts reveal their personal starting recommendations, providing listeners with actionable insights.

• Quarterbacks:

  • Andy Holloway: Philip Rivers
    "Philip Rivers is predicting a strong performance against Cleveland."
  • Jason Moore: Andy Dalton
    "Andy Dalton is a streamable option with low ownership but high upside."
  • Mike Wright: Derek Carr
    "Derek Carr paired with Amari Cooper is a formidable quarterback-WR duo."

• Running Backs:

  • Andy Holloway: Matt Forte
    "Matt Forte has a favorable matchup and is set to perform well against Cleveland."
  • Jason Moore: Carlos Williams
    "Carlos Williams offers a solid return against the Falcons, especially if McCoy is sidelined."
  • Mike Wright: Alfred Blue
    "Alfred Blue's capacity to handle Houston's run-heavy game makes him a prime start."

• Wide Receivers:

  • Andy Holloway: DeAndre Hopkins
    "Hopkins is set to dominate against the Falcons' weak pass defense."
  • Jason Moore: Dante Moncrief
    "Moncrief benefits from Jacksonville's struggling secondary, making him a high-value start."
  • Mike Wright: Alan Hearns
    "Hearns is poised for a big game against the Colts, leveraging the Bears' defensive weaknesses."

• Tight Ends:

  • Andy Holloway: Charles Clay
    "Clay's target volume and matchup make him a must-start."
  • Jason Moore: Jason Witten
    "Witten's consistent target count against the Raiders ensures reliable points."
  • Mike Wright: Jason Witten
    "Witten remains a top-tier choice despite minor injuries."

Thursday Night Football Preview

The hosts preview the TNF matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers, focusing on fantasy implications.

• Joe Flacco vs. Pittsburgh Defense:
  Andy Holloway (19:19): "Joe Flacco ranks highly in our quarterback start list due to Pittsburgh's lenient passing defense this week."
  Flacco is expected to exploit Steelers' defensive vulnerabilities, making him a strong fantasy candidate.

• Le'Veon Bell vs. Steelers Defense:
  Andy Holloway (22:34): "Le'Veon Bell is an auto-start given the favorable matchup against a Steelers defense that's seventh against the run."
  Bell's consistent performance and volume make him a reliable start for fantasy managers.

Concluding Insights

Throughout the episode, the hosts emphasize the importance of leveraging favorable matchups, staying updated on player injuries, and making informed decisions based on defensive performances. Their collaborative analysis ensures fantasy managers are well-prepared to optimize their lineups for Week 4.

Notable Quotes:

• Jason Moore (04:15): "Ty Montgomery is a guy who has the potential to have a gigantic blow-up week."
• Andy Holloway (04:53): "Nelson Aguilar has a chance to come out of the way. He had such a good preseason."
• Mike Wright (20:49): "This could be the end of Antonio Brown's streak if he has a lower game."

Final Thoughts

Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright wrap up the episode by encouraging listeners to engage with their community through the website thefantasyfootballers.com and social media channels. They reiterate the importance of staying active on waiver wires and being ready to adjust lineups based on the latest news.

For fantasy enthusiasts seeking expert advice and in-depth analysis, this episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast delivers valuable insights to enhance your Week 4 performance.

Transcript

[Mike Wright]

Hey, Foot Clan. Do you want to be involved in the best fantasy football community on the Internet? Head over to JoinTheFoot.com, interact with other fans of the show and get exclusive content from the fantasy footballers.

[Jason Moore]

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

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome to the show. It's my favorite show of the week. Thursday, October 1, 2015.

[Mike Wright]

October 1 is your favorite show.

[Andy Holloway]

October 1 is always. It's always every year. There's some impulse in me that just says, splurt the date out there. Just yell the date at the beginning of the show. It's my favorite show because we're previewing week four and we've got our starts of the week in today's show.

[Mike Wright]

My favorite show of the week is every day.

[Jason Moore]

Wow.

[Mike Wright]

Every day with you guys is like a holiday.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow. Thanks, Mike. We appreciate it. That's Mike the fantasy hitman. Right. I'm Andy Holloway and I am joined by Jason Moore as well.

[Jason Moore]

Howdy.

[Andy Holloway]

The Cowboy.

[Jason Moore]

The Cowboys here.

[Andy Holloway]

We've got a good show. Like I said, we have the fantasy forecast today. We're gonna talk through the Week 4 matchups. We're going to discuss our starts of the week. Got some news and notes. Gonna break down all the injury report. I was just complaining about my team this morning because I had it. I went on to ESPN and like my entire starting lineup has a queue next to it, which is delightful. As a fantasy honor, I just want all healthy guys, like I'm just gonna. That's how I'm gonna draft next year. I'm gonna look at guys who have played the most consecutive games and then do a draft board just based on that because it sucks to have injured guys.

[Mike Wright]

So you'll have like all quarterbacks.

[Andy Holloway]

I may or may not have started Chris Ivory last week.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, a lot of people did. If I had any shares of him, I would have played.

[Jason Moore]

I started him in one of our leagues as well.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it stunk.

[Mike Wright]

You know who else started?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm happy he didn't play because he's going to be healthy. Right? Right.

[Mike Wright]

The jets technically said he was a starter.

[Andy Holloway]

He ran out of the tunnel.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. Although on that note, on. Since we're on Chris Ivory and saying, well, now he's all rested up, I believe it's their bye week next week. Right. That scares me a little bit from a standpoint of like, let's share the load and not wear them out too much.

[Mike Wright]

Long trip on the airport.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you think wins that game in London?

[Jason Moore]

The Jets.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, me too.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I'll go.

[Andy Holloway]

I think Miami and I'm sorry, if you're a Miami owner or a Miami fan. If you're a Miami owner. I'm also sorry, but if you're a.

[Mike Wright]

Miami owner, you have a lot of cache.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, but you're about. I think they might have a midseason firing.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's time to. For the film to go.

[Jason Moore]

They should have a mid season firing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Well, if you want to connect with the show, go to the website, the fantasy footballers.com you'll find we just posted two new articles from one of our guest writers. We have the quarterback rankings rest of season by Daniel Sahar and we have an article on Travis Benjamin that just went up there. You can submit a question to the show. Click the submit a question button. You can also call us at 302-464-TFFB. Leave us a question for the show. You can find us on Twitter the ffballers. You can follow Mike ffhitman, follow Jasonasonffl and you can follow myself at andyhollaway. You can also visit us on jointhefoot.com like you heard in the intro. Our fantasy football community and we're everywhere else as well. YouTube, Instagram, Facebook.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, we are in. We are wazoo.

[Andy Holloway]

We're wazoo.

[Mike Wright]

We're not unlike the NSA everywhere.

[Andy Holloway]

Whether you want us to be or not.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, quick question for the day. I want you guys to give me a player this week that you think is going to surprise and I mean in a big way. Like you would never actually pick him to be your start of the week or rank him super high in your rankings, but this guy might end up number one.

[Mike Wright]

Number one.

[Jason Moore]

Whoa.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Well, I mean, not unlike Travis Benjamin. Right. Where Benjamin, you wouldn't have ranked him, but he obviously had a blow up game. Give me a blow up game.

[Jason Moore]

I got one for you. Ty Montgomery. Ty Montgomery is a guy I would never pick as my start of the week. I might not start him. I probably would not start him. But if you want a guy who has a potential to have a gigantic blow up week, Ty Montgomery I believe is the second most talented wide receiver on the team with the most talented quarterback. Devonte Adams is out. And so here's the, here's the chance. Ty Montgomery. Show us what you got, rookie.

[Andy Holloway]

Not bad. I got another rookie. Oh, I'm going with Nelson Aguilar.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, you like a thief in the night.

[Andy Holloway]

Were you going to do him too?

[Mike Wright]

No, I was not going to. I was referring to When I was trying to trade for him, I did.

[Andy Holloway]

Just trade for him. He was on the field for every single snap. He just got Darrell Reavis.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

So I think Aguilar has a chance to kind of come out of the way. He had such a good preseason and they haven't found it yet. But I'm going to go with Aguilar because PPR league, you never know.

[Jason Moore]

He is talented himself.

[Andy Holloway]

I'd probably be starting him as my wide receiver one based on my current roster's injury situation.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he's had to face some really tough DBs to open a an NFL career. The guy I'm going with, and I'm not saying a number one, but I'm talking a top half tight end. Dos Equis, Max Williams. We know that. That Davy Crockett, Davy Crockett Gilmore is not playing out this Thursday night. And last week, the two of them, Crockett and Max Williams, of course, Crockett went out with the injury. Combined for 10 targets. 10 targets. And that's what you want from your tight end. You want opportunity. The Steelers, they're. They're a bit skewed at the moment for tight end scoring because they got Gronkified week one where Gronk put up.

[Andy Holloway]

That huge game that really hurts.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

But it's this Mark Tressman system is very interesting as they are not targeting the running back as he has done every single year of his professional career and is very frustrating for Justin for set owners. However, he's still targeting the tight end. So I like Max Williams if you're pulling out of a hat or the waiver wire for your tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

Not bad. Not bad. Do you know who my number one wide receiver in PPR is?

[Jason Moore]

Should be Randall Copper.

[Andy Holloway]

Hint. Oh, Steve Smith.

[Mike Wright]

Steven.

[Andy Holloway]

Steve Smith.

[Mike Wright]

Senor.

[Andy Holloway]

I think they want every target on that team to go to Steve Smith.

[Jason Moore]

They don't think they have a choice. I know 2 comb paramin is still out, so.

[Andy Holloway]

Ouch. Yeah, he was ruled out. So let's get into the news, talk some injuries, see what's going on in fantasy world.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

It's been a long time since we talked Prashad Perryman's hair. Mercy or lack thereof. All right, Arian Foster. What is the. Give me the temperature.

[Jason Moore]

He's practicing.

[Mike Wright]

You Limited. Limited practice.

[Jason Moore]

And that. That to me is the big difference because what O'Brien has been saying. And granted, sometimes. Sometimes coaches have been known to lie.

[Mike Wright]

What?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but he has been saying that Arian's Going to go in when he practices in full.

[Andy Holloway]

No, he didn't say that.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he said that before.

[Andy Holloway]

No, John McClain said that. Houston Chronicle.

[Mike Wright]

John McClain from Die Hard.

[Jason Moore]

Die Hard?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he said he thought that.

[Mike Wright]

Die.

[Andy Holloway]

He said. No, it is. It's John McClain, right?

[Mike Wright]

I have no idea.

[Andy Holloway]

It's John McClain.

[Mike Wright]

John McClain is in Die Hard?

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's also the main beat reporter in Houston and he said that he thought Aaron wouldn't start until he practiced in full all week. O'Brien hasn't said that. All right, so you call you on that.

[Jason Moore]

All right. Oh, fair. Fair enough. You believe Arian is going to start this week?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, I believe that the. It's starting to trend upward for him. There have been other reporters in Houston that believe he's going to play. McLean's had the most negative view of it with that assertion.

[Jason Moore]

Who would you say is the most respected beat writer?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it's McClain. Okay, but I'm just telling you it's an opinion.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, No, I think he starts.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he starts.

[Jason Moore]

Do you start? Alford Blue, if he's ruled out.

[Andy Holloway]

If Foster's ruled out, I think Blue is okay to start. Yeah, I don't think he's like. I don't think Alfred Blue is a home run. Because they could. Here's the problem with that real quick and I know we'll talk about a little bit later, but Atlanta could boat race the team and then you have a lot of Polk on the field. So I just, I'm just not confident. I mean, Blues had one good game out of three, so. All right. Andrew Luck has a 7.4 quarterback rating when targeting superstar Andre Johnson.

[Jason Moore]

Whoops.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a piece of news.

[Jason Moore]

That is probably why Andre Johnson was not on the field as much in the fourth quarter and they were pulling him, so.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, well, listen, Andre Johnson said it. It's going to take some time.

[Jason Moore]

He doesn't have much.

[Andy Holloway]

He needs the DeLorean. All right. Crockett Gilmore won't play on Thursday. We just spoke about that. So Max Williams will have an expanded role, but there'll be others involved.

[Mike Wright]

And it's a calf injury and calf is the new black, as we know, because the calf injuries are just. They are lingerers. They keep people out.

[Andy Holloway]

Speaking of calf injuries, I didn't see it on this list, but it should be mentioned Victor Cruz reaggravated the calf. He is now indefinitely out for New York, which bumps up. Ruben.

[Mike Wright]

It is. It is clearly on the list. It's just at the very bottom.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, you're right. My bad. All right. Bruce Arian says he expects Chris Johnson to still get 15 to 20 touches per game even with Ellington set to return in week four. This is not a good sign.

[Jason Moore]

Well, it's also nonsense because Bruce Arians every week says he's going to get his running back, whoever it is. I mean, this same report came out about David Johnson last week. Right. That he was going to get 10 to 15 touches. Yes. Is the answer to that that he expected?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't know if I trust you anymore.

[Jason Moore]

Well, fair enough. Nobody needs to. But. But it happened. My point is at the very best, at the very best, we cannot disagree that he is very hyperbolic when it comes to the amount of touches he's going to get his running back. So if I will say this, if Ellington doesn't play, and I think there's a good chance he doesn't, then I believe this report and I think Chris Johnson will be the man in Arizona.

[Mike Wright]

And a great start.

[Jason Moore]

You think so? I think it's a bad matchup.

[Mike Wright]

The St. Louis Rams are giving up yardage on the ground.

[Andy Holloway]

I just want you to know that David Johnson had 10 touches, so he was true to his word.

[Jason Moore]

Did David Johnson really have 10 touches?

[Andy Holloway]

7 carries, 3 catches? I just had to point that out for no good reason.

[Jason Moore]

He didn't even get in the game until like the middle of the fourth quarter.

[Andy Holloway]

I think Ellington will be limited if he's back. He's not a great start to me. Desean Jackson is still not practicing, so that's just an update for you. Shady McCoy and Sammy Watkins are not practicing today, Thursday, and they are both very likely to miss Sunday's game. I would say McCoy's at about for me is about 95% and then Watkins is about 90%. So I think they're both probably going to be out, which we'll speak about in our starts of the week. DeMarco Murray, limited practice. If you had to start a guy right now, would it be Matthews or Murray?

[Mike Wright]

Today it's Matthews. However, DeMarco Murray could be getting a bailout from Mother Nature of. I don't know if you guys are following the news of the hurricane going up and maybe having to postpone the game.

[Andy Holloway]

Postpone to win Monday?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Well, there's a couple.

[Andy Holloway]

One of the scariest fantasy football situations ever. When you hear about postponement, they're talking.

[Mike Wright]

About a couple options of Washington and Philadelphia actually have the same bye week. So there's talk of okay, well, maybe this is their bye week and they actually play in week eight. Or they simply move the game to a neutral location or they move the game to Monday or maybe even Tuesday. I mean, we don't know what's happening with that.

[Andy Holloway]

If they move the game, you don't get points for those guys this week. That is a buy week for them. So you got to have a.

[Jason Moore]

That is, make your plans accordingly.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. In the path of the hurricane and have either of the players on those teams, you better be ready to adjust because if they move it to the bye week, there's no way it would wreck, you know, if they move it to Monday or Tuesday, it'll count for this past week.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow. Okay, so MARSHawn lynch is 50, 50 to play. So I want to talk about this briefly. One, in the context of lynch and then two, in terms of the backup because I understand a lot of people spent fab dollars on Thomas Rawls this week, but do we really know that Rawls would be the guy?

[Jason Moore]

I think we saw that when lynch went out. I believe Rawls is the guy. You might mix in a little bit of Fred Jackson, but they didn't bring Fred Jackson in to be the backup. They brought him in to play the role he's been playing. And Rawls is the clear backup, which is, I believe, why they let Christine Michael go, turban go. So I would be confident with that. The issue here is it's Monday night football. So if you don't have both Marshawn lynch and Rawls on your team, if you've got both of those guys, then you're fine to wait it out and see. But if you picked up Rawls and you're hoping he starts you, you know you're going to be out of luck if all of a sudden Marshawn plays on Monday. So if you don't have both, look for a different option and play somebody else.

[Mike Wright]

I agree completely.

[Andy Holloway]

Devonte Adams is not practicing today. Or I'm sorry, I guess that was on Wednesday. I don't think he's going to practice today either. I read a tweet that he's in a futuristic looking walking boot, but he does keep denying the fact that he has a high ankle sprain. So we'll see what happens with Devonte Adams. I would say he's probably not playing this week. Tevin Coleman is not practicing, which means Devonte Freeman. Devonta Freeman. I got to get my Devontaes and my Devonta's.

[Mike Wright]

Is it really Devonta?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, Devonta oh yeah.

[Mike Wright]

The more you know.

[Andy Holloway]

No, Jason and I. Jason and I spent a long time looking at Devonta. Like Devonte Parker, Devonte Adams and Devonta Freeman all spelled their name differently.

[Mike Wright]

I know that it sounds different. I wasn't sure that it was pronounced different.

[Andy Holloway]

So do we like Freeman this week?

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

A lot.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Alshon and Cutler did not practice.

[Mike Wright]

No, they did practice.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yep. Yeah, they did. Alshon was limited and Cutler practiced and there's some people that are really doubting he could be ready for this week. Do you think he's going to play though?

[Mike Wright]

I think Cutler had a.

[Andy Holloway]

He had a case of the Seahawks. Case of the Seahawks. Yeah. I would have to man that game for a second there. As a Cardinal fan, I was just hoping.

[Mike Wright]

Not a second. It was halftime.

[Andy Holloway]

It was six to zero, nothing. All right. Eric Decker missed practice. Drew Brees practice in a limited fashion. Hopes to play. I would expect breeze on the field.

[Jason Moore]

Me too.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I think so.

[Andy Holloway]

Andrew Corliss, M.C.L.

[Mike Wright]

I.R. Designated to return.

[Andy Holloway]

So Richard Rodgers alert.

[Mike Wright]

No, no alert that he's the only tight end but he is still only going to get a couple targets.

[Andy Holloway]

What do you think about Reggie Bush coming back to full practice? He'll be taking over third down role. This has to impact Carlos Hyde for the three snaps.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Before Reggie Bush dies again.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Presuming health of Reggie Bush.

[Jason Moore]

Presuming health.

[Andy Holloway]

Is this the time would you go sell Carlos Hyde is my question. Because Hyde has had two mediocre weeks in a row. They're getting boat raced in a lot of games, which means they'll be behind, which is why we liked Reggie Bush in the beginning of the season.

[Jason Moore]

I've been picking up Bush in a couple of different leagues and stashing him for this exact reason. I wouldn't necessarily. I wouldn't necessarily sell on Carlos Hyde. In fact, I wouldn't sell on Carlos Hyde. I still believe he's going to be very good if I would go buy. Still on Carlos Hyde.

[Andy Holloway]

Alright. Before we get into the fantasy forecast, I Want to thank Stamps.com for supporting the show as a sponsor. You guys are a lot like us running a business. You don't have time to go to the post office. Time is valuable. And so with stamps.com you don't have to go to the post office anymore. With stamps.com you can buy and print official US postage right from your own computer and printer. Stamps.com will send you a digital scale and that digital scale will automatically calculate your exact postage amount. You don't have to Go buy a stamp that's a little bit more than what you need to send. It saves you money, any letter of package, any class of mail. You don't waste valuable time going to the post office. So listen, right now you can Sign up for Stamps.com and use our promo code footballers for this special offer. A four week free trial plus $110 bonus offer including postage and a digital scale. Don't wait. Go to stamps.com and before you do anything else, click on the microphone at the top of the homepage and type in footballers. That's stamps.com and enter footballers.

[Jason Moore]

And we'd also like to thank our awesome sponsor, SeatGeek. SeatGeek is the app to get your tickets. The NFL season is in mid swing right now and we've got some great games. You got the Giants, Bills, the Texans, Falcons. If you want to go to London, you got the Jets, Dolphins. But get your tickets on SeatGeek. SeatGeek is a great app. The app is free. Download it and you can get one click access to all the ticket needs. All of the tickets show up there with a deal score that will show you the best price on all of your tickets. And they take tickets from every place. Over 100 different sites that sell tickets. They all pool into Seatgeek so you know you're getting the best price. And for our listeners, SeatGeek will always give you $20 back after your first purchase. So to redeem our promo code and save the $20, here's what you do. You download the free SeatGeek app today. Enter promo code footballers in the app and then SeatGeek will send you $20 once you've made your first purchase with SeatGeek. Every ticket purchase on SeatGeek backed by a 100% guarantee.

[Andy Holloway]

Awesome. I love SeatGeek.

[Mike Wright]

Before we get into the fantasy forecast.

[Andy Holloway]

What was that? That was a very. I'm kind of scared.

[Mike Wright]

No, we are. We. We're back on Kristen Michael. Watch everybody.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, you right after you say go drop him.

[Mike Wright]

I said you can maybe drop him.

[Andy Holloway]

Why? Why are we on Kristen Michael?

[Mike Wright]

Kristen Michael officially got first team reps. This is the first time he's actually gotten reps with the first team. He's been on the training squad. I've followed the beat writers very closely and they said he's been great.

[Andy Holloway]

Are we selling Joseph Randall after a three game.

[Mike Wright]

Just, just hold on.

[Andy Holloway]

Just ask him.

[Mike Wright]

Just hold on. We as fantasy players, what we look at three touchdown game, huge production from Joseph Randall. What the Dallas Cowboys. Look at is second half they couldn't run the ball and they lost.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

That's what they care about. They don't care about our fantasy team. So Kristen Michael officially got reps and there are beat beat writers on Twitter saying it looks like we could be very close to Kristen Michael time. In fact this Sunday. Close. So he's. He's still on my bench by by a stroke of destiny. My fab. I got outbid so Michael did not get dropped.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh my Classic.

[Mike Wright]

So I We're in one more week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, hopefully.

[Mike Wright]

Hopefully one more week and then we could be done with this.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a good update. So let's get into the forecast.

[Jason Moore]

Fantasy forecast.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. We got a lot of good games this week including Thursday night's game coming up tonight.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Excited about this Joe off of it because of the versus Michael Vick Flacco Vic face off.

[Jason Moore]

I'm actually really excited about it because I think it's really important that we know what we get from the Steelers with Michael Vick. Michael Vick still has a big arm so he's going to he's going to be able to throw the long ball. Le'Veon Bell is going to be just the same. I believe he'll get all the dump offs and he's going to run no different. But it's going to be telling to see how they use them because they said that they're going to game plan differently. The Steelers are going to run a little bit different offense and tailor it to Michael Bick and we don't know exactly what that is when at this age.

[Andy Holloway]

So Jason and I have Joe Flacco very high on our weekly rankings. In fact, Jason has him at number five this week. I have him at number seven. Mike, you have him at just outside the QB1 range. So we all kind of like him to have a good week against the Pittsburgh defense.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I like him and I think what's interesting for me this week is this is Michael Vick on a very short week of practice. So this is not the exact Michael Vick experiment we're going to get right now. It's a great opportunity because the Ravens passing D has just been giving it up to everybody. But this is what I'll say if Antonio Brown has a bad game. Let's the streak is on the line tonight. The five for 50. This.

[Andy Holloway]

This could be the end because of the situation.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, this could be the end of the streak. If Antonio Brown has a lower game. I am buying immediately if some if there's a panicky owner, which they probably won't, but somewhere there's going to be an owner who panics because some people were already were.

[Andy Holloway]

It would be validation for that mindset.

[Mike Wright]

This is Michael Vick on very short practice next week. He has even more days to practice and get it together. So that's something to watch.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's great. Justin for set. I was going to say this is A. If C.J. anderson was on the line last week, which I actually don't think he was, I'm okay on CJ Anderson this week based on injuries, based on comments from the coaches. But Justin for set has a good matchup and he's been getting opportunities.

[Mike Wright]

They're ninth against the run. The Steelers are.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but for set, I mean, from my perspective, I think he's going to have the carry load and he's going to have it out of the backfield. He's had four a week. He's got to do more than 16 yards out of the backfield.

[Mike Wright]

What was the stat you were talking about last year? Justin forset every carry before he would get contact.

[Andy Holloway]

It was crazy.

[Mike Wright]

Was over three yards.

[Andy Holloway]

He had the. He was the number one in the league for yards before contact, it was over three yards. And this year it's only like one. So it's telling you that the offensive.

[Mike Wright]

Line is struggling, the offensive line is struggling, or the play calling is just not fitting with totally different offense now.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Trust me.

[Mike Wright]

And Eugene Monroe is he. Monroe, the left tackle was also out tonight.

[Andy Holloway]

So I do think it will be telling, though, because if Forset has another down game, there's. There's a point that we're going to come to where we have to say this is what he is this year under this offense. Yep. And so be watching for that. Le'Veon Bell is an auto start, obviously. Do you think he has a good game tonight?

[Jason Moore]

I think he has a great game.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I like him. I think even though it's. Michael Vick is different, the offensive line is not different. And Todd, Todd Haley, for all of his failures in Kansas City as a head coach, has proven to be a spectacular offensive coordinator.

[Andy Holloway]

We have him. Jason has left Bell number one. I have number two. Mike has a number two this week. All right, let's talk about the wide receivers. Steve Smith's the only starter I assume from Baltimore on the field.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Yes, that is correct.

[Mike Wright]

Unless you want to go crazy with Max Williams.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

And then what about Kmar Aiken? Should we. Should we mention him? Deep, deep league, any value there?

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, if Joe Flaccos because of the passing defense.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Yeah. Because Pittsburgh has been letting up a bunch of. You know, You've got an Owen 3 Baltimore team that desperately needs a win. If, if Pittsburgh's putting up points, somehow they're going to be fighting back and flying. So it's just.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's just going to get spread around, but better. What about Heath Miller with Michael Vick coming into the role? I mean, it's interesting.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, Michael Vick likes the tight end.

[Jason Moore]

I hate Heath Miller this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Really. What?

[Jason Moore]

Really I do. I don't like Heath Miller because once again, just like I said last year with. Or last week with Tyler Ifert, Baltimore defense is. They lock down that tight end and they give it up to the wide receivers. I see no reason now. Now with Michael Vick coming in, it does make sense. So I wouldn't be surprised if I.

[Andy Holloway]

Was almost going to water.

[Jason Moore]

Bet you if Heath Miller were to get, you know, four or five catches, I'm not going to be shocked. But I do think they're going to be for about five yards each. I don't see him having a good fantasy week at all. In fact, I think he's ranked for me, very low compared to the consensus. So I'm not. I'm not a big fan of Heath Miller this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, let's. Let's go ahead and talk about the London game. The jets technically at the Dolphins. But you're not at the Dolphins, Right.

[Mike Wright]

That sucks.

[Andy Holloway]

You lose a home game to go to London.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

A team that could really use a home game right now.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I don't know. They didn't play very well at home.

[Andy Holloway]

That's fair. This game. The Dolphins are dogs in this one. One and a half point underdogs.

[Jason Moore]

Home dogs.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's talk about Fitzpatrick and Tannehill. Who do you like more in this game? And then. And then who would you start? Would you start either of them? Because I probably would not right now.

[Jason Moore]

I would not start either one of them. The jets passing defense is fantastic. You're not going to want to go up against that with Ryan Tannehill, and you never know. You really don't know in these London games which team is truly prepared for it. And sometimes you get what happens on that Thursday night game where there's kind of a blowout and you just can't predict which direction it goes. So I tend to steer clear, especially in a game like this where the jets defense is pretty good against the run, fantastic against the pass. Miami's offense has been Terrible. And, you know, there's just not much to love here from a fantasy perspective.

[Andy Holloway]

There have been a lot of people who, you know, Tannehill is the guy that was drafted to be a starter for a lot of people. So they want to know, do. Do they play Tannehill or do they play Colin Kaepernick?

[Mike Wright]

No, not Colin Kaepernick.

[Andy Holloway]

Do they play Derek Carr?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Over Tannehill. They play Blake Bortles over Tannehill.

[Mike Wright]

I don't mind it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, I mean, the indie DBs outside of Vonta Davis are just destroyed. So. Yeah, play.

[Andy Holloway]

Guys, put the Miami Dolphins wide receivers in order of fantasy production this week. We're talking Landry, Parker, Matthews.

[Mike Wright]

I think it's about the same for me. Still. It's going to be Landry Matthews. Parker. Parker's role is growing. I think Matthews will diminish over time, but for now, he's still the number two.

[Andy Holloway]

Any reason to believe that Marshall doesn't continue his target assault and good production?

[Jason Moore]

No, he's. He's one of the guys that I. He's probably the guy I would be the most confident starting. I would rather start Marshall over Landry this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, Jason, you're the lowest on Jordan Cameron. Is there any reason why you're down on him this week? There is.

[Jason Moore]

There's. There's two. I know it's really early in the season, but there's two defenses that I see in the league right now that I don't want to go up against with the tight end. It's Baltimore, it's the Jets. So that's. That's the reason. I don't like the matchup at all.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. That's very fair. You had a reason, and it was a good one. All right. The Giants are facing the bet. The Bills. The Bills are five and a half.

[Jason Moore]

Point favorites in a surprisingly high scoring Vegas odds number as far as this week actually has a lot lower scoring matchups than the normal week. So it's not that they're seeing a super high offensive output in Vegas, but higher than most of the other games in the. In the league, which matters.

[Andy Holloway]

I have Carlos Williams as my number three running back this week.

[Mike Wright]

I do not blame you at all.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Okay. I wasn't sure if you know where you were going with that. It was gonna be like. You are a crazy person.

[Mike Wright]

No, Carlos Williams looks the part, and.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason has a number four. I hadn't seen your rankings because yours came online, like, late last night, a little bit after ours, but you and I Have a very similar thoughts on him. I also don't blame you, Mike, for having him a little bit lower because we haven't, you know, seen him start. But the matchup's good. The threat of Taylor running and the fact that Williams has been so productive, I think you just roll Carlos out there. Right.

[Jason Moore]

The reason that LaShawn McCoy was drafted so high was because this is a running team that's got no fear of giving their Star Running back 20, 25, 30 carries if the game will allow it. And if Shady is gone, they're going to give it to someone that has looked more talented on the field than Shady.

[Andy Holloway]

Anyways, now, I did have a. I had a question yesterday come through our inbox and it was basically a dynasty. It was a dynasty league. But he was asking, is there any way Carlos Williams takes the job this year? And I want people to know that that's impossible. No, outside of injury, it's absolutely impossible. They traded the farm and they gave a new contract to LaShawn McCoy. And honestly, McCoy, it's not like McCoy hasn't looked good when he's been healthy. It's just been very limited amounts of health.

[Jason Moore]

And also Rex Ryan is a loyalist to a fault sometimes. You know, if he's made this promise to Shady to get him the ball, then that's his guy. And.

[Andy Holloway]

And they're winning too. They're winning games. So Eli. Eli Manning or Tyrod Taylor today in this game, I would go. You got to go Taylor.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, absolutely.

[Andy Holloway]

It's just. And honestly, it's less about. It's just the matchup. The defense for the Bills is so much better than the defense for the Giants.

[Mike Wright]

Are you playing any Giants running backs?

[Jason Moore]

The only running back that's no Vereen. You might be able to flex Vereen, but I would prefer to not have a Giants running back on my roster.

[Andy Holloway]

Where do we have. I'm scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. Yeah, I'm the highest on Rashad Jennings and I have him at 32.

[Mike Wright]

And speaking to the tight ends real quick, which we did some research on the. On Larry and his last name and now I can't remember.

[Andy Holloway]

Donnell, Donnell.

[Mike Wright]

Donnell. We had a hybrid of our two mispronunciations to be done now.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think most people say Donnell, but it's donell and we found him saying his own name so we got.

[Mike Wright]

We got that cleared up.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, now we're only mispronouncing about eight to 10 other names on a regular basis.

[Jason Moore]

The Jaguars, the.

[Mike Wright]

And Charles Clay this week. Aguilar, the Aggie Charles Clay, I love him this week the Giants are. If people we know the Raiders are giving it up to tight ends. So are the Giants.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So I love Charles Clay.

[Andy Holloway]

Charles Clay. We'll talk about him shortly. But he is very, very high on my tight end list. You'll see that on our rankings page, the website. So let's talk about the Panthers going to the Bucs. Very low over under on this game, a 40 point. You know, as you might expect, you know, the kind of game plan for the Panthers has been, you know, ground and pound ball control. Beat them up with your defense now. Their defense has been good. I really like them in this game. However, did you guys see Luke Kuechley the news this morning?

[Jason Moore]

I did not.

[Mike Wright]

I did not.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not practicing. He is going to see another neurologist.

[Mike Wright]

That sucks.

[Andy Holloway]

And then he just had a review yesterday or today that obviously didn't go well. So that's really unfortunate for them. They're fourth against the run, 15th against the pass. Very good defense, but a bummer to lose your kind of stalwart in the, in the back. So. And they traded for Jared Allen this week too.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And so is there.

[Andy Holloway]

So let's talk about Cam Newton. Okay, let's talk about him for a second because people, rest of season, where do you put Cam Newton?

[Jason Moore]

Pretty high. I think he's running the ball the way that I had hoped when we had that kind of fantasy face off. He's getting back to running the ball, he's getting back to scoring touchdowns and I think he's going to continue that the rest of the year, especially with the loss of Kelvin Benjamin. So I like him. I would definitely put him in standard, you know, four point throwing quarterback leagues. I think, I think he'd be my number three.

[Andy Holloway]

Cam Newton or Tyrod Taylor this week. I can tell you what your rankings say.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to go Tyrod Taylor this week, but I like both of them a lot.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, well then I won't tell you what your rankings.

[Jason Moore]

What am I ranking?

[Andy Holloway]

Actually Jason, you have Tyrod at three and Cam at six. So you're on point. Mike, you have Cam at three.

[Mike Wright]

Do I?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, and I have Cam at two. So I'm on the Cam side this week.

[Mike Wright]

I like Cam a lot this week and if we're talking rest of season, he's still in that 5 to 9 range for me where because he's just, he's going to have games at least historically he's had weeks where like this where he has this run, he's had two 30 plus point games in a row. He'll probably have another great one this week and then he'll just have these clunkers that kill you.

[Jason Moore]

It is true.

[Andy Holloway]

Greg Olson's an auto start. Obviously had a huge week last week. I had been trying to trade for him, trying to send Eifert for him in different leagues.

[Mike Wright]

And this is why we talk about targets.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Mike Wright]

If the targets are there, the production will be there.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. No, that's a great point. You have to pay attention to that because it will return to the mean, so to speak. If you have enough targets. I would not be surprised if Carolina keeps winning games that they bring in another wide receiver option. So just pay attention. Free agent wide receivers out there just be looking for that. I think Devin Funches his role will increase, but this shows it gives Cam Newton a lot of fantasy credit because he has no real weapons outside of Olson and he's still producing at a great clip. So.

[Mike Wright]

And you know, Jonathan Stewart did not practice the past couple days. He is. He's got a bruise on his shin and so this is just something to watch. We think that he's going to play and the matchup is delicious.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I'm definitely starting Stewart if he's in the lineup. This is the third straight week he didn't practice or was limited in practice.

[Jason Moore]

If he's out, do you start?

[Andy Holloway]

No, no.

[Jason Moore]

You don't start anyone. And if you had to, who would it be?

[Andy Holloway]

Whitaker?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it would be. I think it would be Fozzie for me.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Now.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, they, you know, I think Artist Pain was actually active for the first time last week and I think he had one carry or something like that. So he doesn't seem like he's going to be handed the Thomas Rawls opportunity right away. All right, let's talk about the Raiders at the Bears. The Raiders are 2 and 1 and they are facing the Bears at in Chicago and the Bears are a three point underdog.

[Jason Moore]

So the Bears, I believe, are. Oh, and four, what, in three weeks?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah. They've tacked an extra loss on there.

[Mike Wright]

What a world we live in.

[Andy Holloway]

I love it. I love seeing it. I love Derek Carr. I like seeing him succeed. I like Amari Cooper. I like the. I like the coach. Their head coach.

[Mike Wright]

Their head coach. His name is escaping you right now.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, it is. Former Rio, Jacksonville. Yeah. Jack Del Rio. I just would like to see them succeed a little bit.

[Mike Wright]

I agree with you. I like when the teams that are in the bottom finally rise to the top. And the Raiders offense, man, has looked very capable the past few weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Derek Carr, 2, 300.

[Mike Wright]

Over 300 yards the past two weeks. But let's let us not forget week one. He had 60 yards, right? That wasn't last year.

[Andy Holloway]

I hurt.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I. But just saying.

[Andy Holloway]

No, you don't get to just say when a guy went out for three quarters of the game, okay.

[Mike Wright]

He got hurt and he also got hurt. I don't remember if it was last week or the week before, but he's. He's one who is showing a propensity to get hurt.

[Jason Moore]

However. However, he changed up, you know, after. After getting hurt in week one, he changed up and was a little bit smarter the last two games when it came to just protecting his body, running out of bounds, doing things like that. So I think that's something you have to do at that position. Can you believe. Do you know, Mike, what our consensus ranking is on Amari Cooper, or do you.

[Mike Wright]

Andy Amari's got to be top five.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I have him very high. I haven't met.

[Jason Moore]

He is our top five number three this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Cooper has come on strong very quickly.

[Jason Moore]

Great matchup against the Bears.

[Andy Holloway]

What do we think about Alshon Jeffrey this week? If he plays.

[Jason Moore]

If I'll. Sean Jeffrey plays.

[Andy Holloway]

Does it matter to you at all who's the quarterback in terms of where you rank him?

[Jason Moore]

100%. Yes. Jimmy Claussen.

[Andy Holloway]

He will get all the targets no matter which quarterback it is. I know they might be less accurate.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

You have to be able to catch the targets for them to actually matter. I. Here's. Here's my thought. One, I think that both Cutler and Alshon get on the field this week. If that's the case, then Alshon has a decent matchup. I don't think it's scary.

[Andy Holloway]

And I would put him Al Jeffrey or James Jones?

[Mike Wright]

James Jones.

[Andy Holloway]

Al Shawn or Dante Moncrief.

[Jason Moore]

Dante Moncrief.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, man, that's tough.

[Andy Holloway]

Alshon Jeffrey or Emmanuel Sanders?

[Jason Moore]

Emmanuel Sanders.

[Mike Wright]

Alshon.

[Andy Holloway]

Alshon Jeffrey or Jordan Matthews?

[Mike Wright]

Alan's tough.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Yeah. I think Alshon is going to soak up targets.

[Jason Moore]

I agree.

[Mike Wright]

As long as Cutler is there as the quarterback, Alshon Jeffrey will be. Should be a top 10 guy.

[Andy Holloway]

So we like. We like Derek Carr as a spot start this week. We like Amari Cooper. What do we think of. Is there anybody else you know? Would you start Crabtree? Would you start Bennett? Yeah, I think you're starting Bennett.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

You're starting.

[Andy Holloway]

You have to start.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. You have to start Bennett, you have to start the tight end against the Raiders. This is a new rule instituted this year. If you have a tight end against the Raiders. Gary Barnage has solidified this rule for me, at least until further notice. If you have a tight end against the Raiders, you get 30 points.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, we got to get through a couple more games and then we'll get to our starts of the week. So stay tuned for that. The Chiefs are going into Cincinnati and facing the Bengals. The Chiefs just lost to Green Bay on Monday night. Short week going into Cincinnati. A Cincinnati team that is playing very, very well.

[Jason Moore]

They look awesome.

[Andy Holloway]

The weapons are there for Dalton and honestly, if you just look at the tape, this is going to sound crazy. Andy Dalton's playing better than Andrew Luck this year.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's not great.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, it sounds crazy. Just fantasy. Not just fantasy. I mean just like as a quarterback, he's playing better.

[Jason Moore]

Well, think about this. And we talked about this, I think way in the off season, but last year Andy Dalton had an injured A.J. green had no. Marvin Jones had no. Tyler Iford. He had all of his weapons depleted. And he didn't have.

[Andy Holloway]

Gio was hurt too, wasn't he? Right.

[Jason Moore]

Geo missed some games. Another great pass catching target. Now he gets all of those guys back. And I think there's been an unfair rap on Andy Dalton. So we'll talk about that.

[Andy Holloway]

Geno Atkins on the defensive side is back, which makes a huge difference. Difference to the game flow and the fact that they're not coming back from a thousand points down. I mean, Andy Dalton having to go out and sling it 35 times is not going to end well generally.

[Mike Wright]

So that's the. Begs the question then, would you start Andy Dalton over Andrew Luck this week?

[Andy Holloway]

No, I don't have the. I don't have the guts.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

This week Andrew Luck was a great matchup.

[Andy Holloway]

That just has to do with your kind of the way you play fantasy. I mean, if you're, if you're the kind of guy who's like, you need to punish Andrew Luck for his performances for you and you're. You're happy putting him on your bench, you can do that. I'm not that kind of guy though. So let's talk about AJ. Green exploded at your chance to buy low on him is gone. We're starting Green. What about Marvin Jones as a flex start?

[Mike Wright]

I like it. I can dig it. The Chiefs defense, the secondary at least has been highly suspect. And I think that Marvin can bust loose. I'm talking not a Great game. But you know, 50, 60 yards.

[Andy Holloway]

Is Charles the only guy you want to start on Kansas City heading into Cincinnati against that defense?

[Mike Wright]

No, Zeus. Oh, Zeus is. Zeus is an every week start for me.

[Andy Holloway]

And what do we think about Tyler Ifer chance to bounce back?

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely. He dropped a touchdown because of semantics of the new catch rule. If he. If that rule is slightly different or if it's the same rule as it was, you know, five years ago, then Ifert would have had a great game.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I like almost all the Bengals. What about Jeremy Hill?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, man.

[Jason Moore]

Jeremy Hill going up against Hill or Bernard.

[Andy Holloway]

Who would you start between them?

[Mike Wright]

I'm still the first question. I'm still going to start Jeremy Hill because I'm a glutton for punishment. He's still technically the starter on the team.

[Andy Holloway]

I want to see where we have him. You can keep talking about that. I want to see our comparison where we have the two guys and the.

[Mike Wright]

I mean the Chiefs, they have a strong.

[Andy Holloway]

We have Geo ahead.

[Mike Wright]

They have a strong running game. But we saw Eddie, an injured Eddie Lacy handle them pretty well. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with Aaron Rodgers, but it's. I'm still. If you have Hill, I don't know if you have a better option from or if you maybe you grabbed Dion Lewis who's on a bye week. So he's not helping you this week. But I can't think of a lower tiered option that you grabbed with Hill. Who can be.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you play Devontae Freeman over Jeremy Hill?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, there's.

[Mike Wright]

That's a good one.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Can I have you guys rank these three guys that I know I see a lot of questions on for this week. These three guys, Jeremy Hill, Justin for set and Lamar Miller. So you got Lamar Miller against the jets in London. Justin for set. We just talked about Pittsburgh.

[Andy Holloway]

Give me four set then Hill, then Mailer.

[Mike Wright]

I would go Hill for set.

[Jason Moore]

Miller and I go same as Andy for set. Hill, Miller.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's talk about the Texans heading into Atlanta. Atlanta is almost a seven point favorite. This is a high 47 point over under. You've got the potential for Arian Foster to return in this game. And this is my.

[Mike Wright]

Oh no.

[Jason Moore]

Andy's almost upset of the week. I love hearing your almost upset of the week because every time it just punches me right in the. In the.

[Andy Holloway]

Listen, the Falcons defense is not that good. They are a bottom half defense. They gave up a ton of yards on the ground to Joseph Randall.

[Mike Wright]

A ton of.

[Andy Holloway]

I understand I understand, but they give up four touchdowns to running backs last week, and they're not great through the air. If the Texans get Arian Foster back and their defense plays more up to par to what we expect it to be, which, honestly, in fantasy, it's been underwhelming. I saw a lot of leagues where Houston was dropped this week, and I don't blame you because they haven't. They haven't scored and they're not. They're not getting turnovers. But I'm telling you right now, this is. This is my upset pick of the week because Houston has the type of defense and they've been kind of in every game that they've been in. And so I think they can stop the run in devonte Freeman, and that will force Atlanta to find another pass catcher than just Julio Jones. Maybe they can win the entire game just on the back of Julio Jones, who, by the way, in an article today said he can do a lot better than. He's doing good. By the way, he's on Pace for 2,300 yards and 21 touchdowns. Oh, and 181 receptions is his current pace, which would break. Do you know what the record is? You guys know that it's got a.150,143. Do you know who did it?

[Jason Moore]

Jrs?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I'll go with Rice.

[Andy Holloway]

No. Marvin Harrison.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. 143. So he's on pace to smash that record, which, you know, I'm sure he'll get hurt before then, so.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. That being said, all of that almost upset of the week mess. Who do we. Are we starting Foster?

[Mike Wright]

If he's active is the first 100%. We are starting Foster if he is act.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think they're gonna just throw him out there for 10 or 15 carries.

[Mike Wright]

I don't. I agree with that. I think he's either all in or all out.

[Jason Moore]

I agree. That's what they've done with him in the past almost every time. And there's been plenty of times where he's come back off of an injury and every, you know, he. He rocks it. Game one.

[Andy Holloway]

My number one wide receiver on the week is in this game, and his name is not Julio Jones.

[Mike Wright]

DeAndre Hopkins.

[Andy Holloway]

He's my number one this week.

[Jason Moore]

I thought your number one.

[Mike Wright]

You just said Steve Smith.

[Andy Holloway]

Steve Smith's my number one in PPR. Number two in standard. Hopkins is my number one in standard.

[Jason Moore]

Gotcha.

[Andy Holloway]

So Julio's three in both of those, by the way. But Deandre Hopkins.

[Mike Wright]

I love Hopkins.

[Andy Holloway]

Target monster. Good defense to play against. Falcons are 24th against the pass. If you have Hopkins, you're starting him and you're dancing. That's my street. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So Hankerson.

[Andy Holloway]

Over Roddy.

[Jason Moore]

Hankerson over Roddy.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, absolutely.

[Mike Wright]

You have to.

[Jason Moore]

At this point, would you flex Hankerson? Is that a consideration for you?

[Mike Wright]

He's. He's among that. That crop of guys we always talk about. That's just that weird, nebulous.

[Andy Holloway]

Let me ask you this kind of.

[Mike Wright]

Gross guys, but sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Three strikes when you bowl is called a turkey. Turkey. What is it when Roddy Weiss gets three gooses in a row?

[Jason Moore]

Retirement. That's called.

[Mike Wright]

Oh.

[Andy Holloway]

I think him and Andre Johnson might have to go out.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, man.

[Andy Holloway]

Hang out.

[Jason Moore]

I don't flex.

[Andy Holloway]

Go bowling.

[Jason Moore]

I don't flex the wide receiver, too. For Atlanta right now, until I figure that out, we knew, you know, Kyle Shanahan targets one guy. You know, he's always great for that wide receiver one, but his wide receiver twos haven't ever been.

[Andy Holloway]

By the time you're ready to play Hankerson, Devin Hester will be back. So get ready.

[Mike Wright]

Get ready for that. I think Devin Hester is what's cleared.

[Andy Holloway]

Was he?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that was.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

So definitely agree with Jason then on that.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know. I. I like if. As long as Roddy's going to keep doing this, I like Leonard Hankerson moving forward.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, if Foster is declared out before the game, who do you start? Alpha Blue over. And Alpha Blue is the guy, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Alfred. I think Alpha Blue is the guy with. With the volume, at least that he got last week. I think he had 31 carries or something. Just crazy.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're wondering about where I have these guys on my rankings, I put Blue and Foster directly next to each other because I don't know the situation yet. So they're both ranked kind of low. If we get more information, I'll update my Foster ranking and I'm sure we will all do.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's all over the place because for me, I ranked Blue as in he's playing and I have Foster pretty much out. I put zeros.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, actually, Foster, you don't have. I believe I don't have Foster.

[Jason Moore]

I gave. I gave him one. One carry for one yard so that he's there, but not really. And to answer Mike's question, I've got Alfred Blue. If he is the guy, I've got him over Bernard, Lamar, Miller, C.J. spiller and Dunbar.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's get into our Starts of the week.

[Jason Moore]

Starts of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, My start of the week at the quarterback position. Pains me to say because I'm facing him. Oh, it is a glory.

[Mike Wright]

I feel like you're just trying to jinx.

[Andy Holloway]

You know it would. It has crossed my mind. It's Philip Rivers at home against Cleveland. Bounce back. Game coming off, I believe, what, two losses in a row?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

So I have him at 300 plus yards, two touchdowns at least.

[Mike Wright]

So I love hearing that.

[Andy Holloway]

Philip is my start of the week at quarterback. Let's go ahead and go over to Jason Moore.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going with the Red Rocket. Andy Dalton. We talked about these guys yesterday. Not only do I think he's a streamable guy, because somehow only 39% ownership for the number three.

[Mike Wright]

Wait, is that like today?

[Jason Moore]

I haven't checked it today, but that was yesterday after waivers.

[Andy Holloway]

You know what that is? That is ginger discrimination.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, it is ginger discrimination. But I've got him. We talked about him enough yesterday and today I believe he puts up great numbers with all of his new weapons.

[Mike Wright]

Although I'm looking up this ownership because I got to see what this is at. Owned. Okay. He's now he's owned in 67.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

So Pastor, waiver wire. Yeah, that's at least while the bye weeks are here. People are grabbing a quarterback for those situations too.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. For my, my start of the week, I need you to hit a button for me.

[Andy Holloway]

Send in the car. Send in the car.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, send in the car. This was Andy's stream of the week and he will be my name. Derek Carr.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, just making sure.

[Mike Wright]

I thought you were going Breaking Bad on me.

[Andy Holloway]

I didn't know if you were going Brandon Car, the DB or his brother.

[Mike Wright]

Jumping out of retirement real quick. Yeah, but Derek Carr. We talked about back to back 300 yard games. Two touchdowns in each of those. And Mari Cooper has just, he lived up to his hype of one of those guys who actually did where we say, they said he's the most league ready wide receiver in a long time and he's showing it. He's just, he's been fantastic. Watch him on tape. He just, he looks great. Michael Crabtree is, I guess healthy and seems to be a capable wide receiver. And just everything in Oakland is working right now and they get a great matchup against the Bears.

[Jason Moore]

I love the notes. It says Chicago has gone full ostrich.

[Mike Wright]

They have. They're just burying their head in the sand. We need to sell players. I guess it might just.

[Andy Holloway]

We're not going to give you any injury updates. Oh, I don't. I don't want to be lose by less.

[Mike Wright]

And they're selling the team. There's these rumors of. I'm sure this is just media speculation, not based on anything but like actually verbally people are talking about are they going to trade Matt Forte and Jay Cutler and it's like what. What is going on in Chicago?

[Andy Holloway]

I was going to say, I think with Carr and Cooper, you have a budding Cutler Marshall situation there. You got a gun, you got a gunslinger, you got a target monster that's always open. All right, so the running back. Let's go and go with Mike. You can give us your running back start of the week.

[Mike Wright]

So my. This is a hybrid because it's. It's Alfred Blue for me or Aaron Foster if he plays. Atlanta is giving up massive points to the running backs. Seven touchdowns that leads the league. And Alfred blue last week, 31 for 139 yards and a touchdown. And I think the Texans know the only way everybody knows. I mean, it's just so. I guess it's just being. Stating the obvious. The only way you're going to beat Atlanta, do not let them have the ball. And if that would include giving Alfred Blue a healthy dose of carries and I like him. I don't think the Atlanta running game is that strong. I know they shut down Dallas in the second half, but I like Blue in this game.

[Jason Moore]

My. My start of the week is Carlos Williams. We talked about how he is our number three and four for Andy and I running back now. That's of course if Shady's out. Sometimes people don't feel confident playing backups. Feel confident playing Carlos Williams.

[Andy Holloway]

Carlos with A K. If McCoy was somehow active, are you still starting Williams Flex? Flex.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah, maybe Flex. But I probably would not start him if he's active. In fact, I've got another if in case Shady plays, then my start of the week would be Devonta Freeman, who. Tevin Coleman's not back yet.

[Andy Holloway]

You would. That's your start of the week against Houston.

[Jason Moore]

Houston hasn't been that good against the run, which is. Which is shocking because they should be with that line.

[Mike Wright]

But good point to save characters. When I type it out, I've been calling him. Calling Carlos Williams. K Willie, K, Willie. Jump on the bandwagon.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not sure he would love that.

[Mike Wright]

K, Willie.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, my goodness. It's been a while since you've debuted. It could have been worse. Matt Forte is my start of the week. He's my number One this week is, which is why I'm putting him on that list. I also really like Melvin Gordon this week. He's my number eight overall running back this week. I think at home, coming back against Cleveland, he's looked the part. They've just been down. I think they'll be up in this game. It'll be Gordon time. Get ready for some. I'm buying Gordon and Lee.

[Jason Moore]

I love the Gordon pick. I mean, I had him as my start of the week last week, and it didn't pan out. And I went back and I watch and he's running great. And then that pick six in near, I believe, the end of the third quarter. They didn't even play him in the fourth because the game was out of reach.

[Mike Wright]

This is kind of a random aside, so I apologize because we were talking about Philip Rivers. Look at Philip Rivers schedule coming up. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Green Bay is iffy because he's in Green Bay, so that's one. But Oakland, Baltimore, Chicago, then a bye week. Philip Rivers schedule is lining up to be fantastic. And Mr. Gates comes back next week. I just needed to mention.

[Andy Holloway]

Very important to mention, and if you can grab him and you're tight and needy, go do it. All right. So my wide receiver, I'm hanging with Mr. Cooper. Yeah, little Mark Curry reference there.

[Jason Moore]

Love that show.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, me too.

[Mike Wright]

Give it up. Give it up.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Amari Cooper is my start of the week.

[Jason Moore]

We've.

[Andy Holloway]

We've talked it all out. I. You know, he's super high in our rankings. He's facing Chicago. That's all there is to it. Jason.

[Jason Moore]

My wide receiver start of the week is Dante Moncrief. I talked last week about how Jacksonville's defense, their secondary is just destroyed right now. And so I like Dante Moncrief a lot.

[Andy Holloway]

I can't get the song out of my head now.

[Mike Wright]

You got to give it up for the brother.

[Andy Holloway]

We got to get Mark Curry on the show. What is he doing right now? Is he still trying out for the Warriors?

[Mike Wright]

It was.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what he.

[Mike Wright]

In the show.

[Andy Holloway]

He was always trying. He's trying out for the Golden State Warriors.

[Jason Moore]

That's right.

[Mike Wright]

Because he was a basketball coach.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on, give me that. Hanging with Mr. Cooper. Love on Twitter. It's got to be somebody who.

[Mike Wright]

Mr. Cooper.

[Jason Moore]

All right, Mike, your wide receiver start of the week is one of my favorite picks here.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, Check this out. Wide receiver start of the week, Alan Hearns, who.

[Jason Moore]

When I saw that, at first I was like, what? And then I. And then I looked into it. And I think it's a brilliant pick.

[Mike Wright]

Alan Hearns of the Jacksonville Hogwas is taking on the Indianapolis Colts. This is what Alan Hearns has done in these first three weeks. 60 yards, 68 and 70. He's had. He's had fantasy weeks. And the Indianapolis Colts are coming in. We have Vonte Davis, who is one of the best DBs in the league, and who do we think that he will be matched up against?

[Jason Moore]

Allen Robinson.

[Mike Wright]

Allen Robinson, the number one targets, and that is going to free up the speedster, Alan Hearns. I like him a lot this week.

[Jason Moore]

Their other DBs are.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's the other point.

[Jason Moore]

Playing a practice squad, guys.

[Andy Holloway]

And we like Bortles a little bit this week, too. So tight end Mike, who are you going with?

[Mike Wright]

I'm going with the ironman. Jason Whitten went from crutches to playing in a game with his two sprained ankles. The guy, you cannot keep him off the field.

[Andy Holloway]

Monster.

[Mike Wright]

And his targets? Nine targets. Eight targets. Eight targets. Brandon Whedon is averse to throwing the ball to wide receivers, apparently. I don't think that continues, but Jason Witten will still get a healthy dose of targets.

[Jason Moore]

Pretty sure Greg Olson, with some targets, did something decent against New Orleans.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, my tight end is Charles Clay.

[Mike Wright]

Ah, you dog.

[Jason Moore]

You dog.

[Andy Holloway]

I. I say that only because Jason had his in the doc before I did, but we. But Charles Clay is my number one in my rankings. I have to mention him.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Who's yours, Jason?

[Jason Moore]

Mine is also. Mine is a mixture between Charles Clay and Jason Whitten. We basically got those two starts of the week. Love both those guys. If you need a guy off waivers, Charles Clay, if you have Jason Whitten, start him with confidence.

[Andy Holloway]

And if you had to make me pick somebody else because you claim Charles Clay first, I would go with Jordan Reed this week.

[Jason Moore]

There you go.

[Andy Holloway]

What is. Yeah, there it is.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I really can't stop watching.

[Jason Moore]

We gotta go play some basketball.

[Mike Wright]

I am 8 years old again. That was TGIF, right? Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Raven Simone's dancing on my screen right now. All right, well, that closes out this extra, extra long edition of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Be sure to check out our website, the fantasy footballers.com if you have a question. An urgent trade question. Waiver. Start. Sit. You just need some advice? Click the Submit a question button. If you have an urgent request, you can let us know on there and we will answer you.

[Mike Wright]

And go to jointhefoot.com we have an awesome community building up. It is fantastic. And there's exclusive content from us. There's gonna be an extra mailbag show today. Today. And on top of that, we have these awesome goals. We are very near a goal that is going to force the three of us to spend eight straight hours on Twitter.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Questions?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Anything you want to ask. Anything at all.

[Mike Wright]

Anything goes?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, sure. Anything goes. We pick the questions from your fantasy questions to our Social Security numbers. I mean, any.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not scared. I got Lifelock. Good luck.

[Andy Holloway]

Dear Lifelock, please call us for a sponsorship opportunity.

[Mike Wright]

So that's the end of the show. Thank you, Foot Clan. Do you guys have anything to say before I say goodbye?

[Jason Moore]

I'm thinking art.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you. 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.