
Fantasy Football Podcast for September 6, 2016. The 2016 fantasy football season is upon us, and there's no better way to prepare and stay prepared for each and every week of the regular season than keeping yourself tuned in to The Fantasy Footballers po
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Andy Holloway
Hey, foot Clan. Before we get the show started today, we have got to tell you about the draft app. Now, we know you love playing fantasy football and so we know you will love playing draft. And here's the best part. You get to play with us. Now, this is different than salary cap daily Fantasy. This is draft. You actually draft head to head against one another. You do snake drafts. You can do them in about two minutes. Jason is addicted. He's addicted to this app.
Jason Moore
I love this app. Get this app.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, absolutely. So go. And here's the cool part about it. You go onto the app store, you search for draft, you download draft, you put in the code ballers. It's completely free. And you automatically get entered into a league with us and with the listeners of this show.
Jason Moore
And we're giving out prizes in week four. So get in now. You'll get all the points. It's free to join. Get in and play with us. I'm telling you guys, I've been waiting for this forever, for the season to start. Draft app is amazing. Yeah.
Andy Holloway
And make sure you remember the promo code baller so you get automatically put into a league with us and with the listeners of the show. So go grab the draft app today. You can also go to playdraft.com ballers if you want to check it out.
Jason Moore
Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers podcast coming to you from the fantasyjocks.com studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.
Andy Holloway
I can hear you guys today.
Mike Wright
Oh, because your ears are open.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I'm feeling just. I'm feeling a little bit better.
Mike Wright
That's good.
Jason Moore
We're happy to hear it.
Andy Holloway
I'm. I'm here mentally, I mean, like kind of. Welcome to the show, the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Andy Holloway, Jason Moore.
Jason Moore
Oh, I am so excited for football now that we had our league of record draft last night. And even though I've got, you know, several other drafts I've done, I've got teams established, ready to go for the year it this morning. Now it feels real. I'm checking the waiver wire with a different level of intensity. I am so stoked for this season and we are days away.
Andy Holloway
Mike the fantasy hitman is here as well.
Mike Wright
I am. I'm fresh off of winning last night's draft. I paraded around.
Andy Holloway
I was gonna say Mike spent a good portion of the draft with his team banner worn as a cape.
Mike Wright
Yes.
Andy Holloway
With a pair of sunglasses. We call him 3D because these glasses look like those old paper, the blue from the 50s glasses.
Mike Wright
Yeah. And for those who were wondering about my draft music selection this year. It was all night long by Lionel Richie, which I have successfully implanted into the brains of every member of the league.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, you played that a lot.
Mike Wright
I played it all night long, baby. Yes, you did.
Andy Holloway
So we got our league of record draft done yesterday.
Jason Moore
We should post our rosters on Twitter.
Mike Wright
I've already posted mine.
Jason Moore
I'm saying as a group, all three together.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. What, you want to take a vote?
Jason Moore
Sure.
Andy Holloway
You were very hesitant. We've got a good show. We have a good show today. We have a good quick question. We're gonna get to that in just a minute. I wanted to let you know we're gonna do big questions on the show today. Things that we want to have answered and we need to have answered for fantasy owners in the first part of this season. We also have some waiver wire names. Yes. Waiver wire. Waiver wire.
Mike Wright
Every once in a while, you know, you slip up at the end of the draft, you made a little mistake. You're like, I don't really want this guy. He's burning a hole in my bench.
Jason Moore
Or yeah, I mean, either you made a mistake or you grabbed a guy that you can now move to your IR and it opens a spot. Or you looked at Week 1 matchups and go, oh, whoops.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, we took a dive into the. Into the waiver bin and found some guys that are not owned, that maybe should be owned in your league. And so we'll let you know who those guys are so you can pick them up, stash them on your bench, maybe help you out. We're in the regular season or just about to be, and I want everybody to realize they need to keep it right here all season long. We have our in season schedule is awesome. We have studs and duds every Monday. We have waiver wire shows on Tuesday. We have for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, as we get ready for the new week. We've got your sits of the week, your starts of the week. We have your stream streaming quarterback options that we debut on the show each and every week. Last year, we gave a streaming quarterback. Each of us chose one every week.
Jason Moore
And off the waiver wire, off the.
Andy Holloway
Waiver wire, guys that are available in. What was it, 40%, 50% or more.
Mike Wright
50 to 60, 50 to 40. Right around there. I mean, right, right in the half.
Jason Moore
They were available in at least half of your.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, at least half of your leagues. We gave one all year long. If you had stuck with the show and listened, you would have ended up with the Six best quarterback in the league off the waiver wire. We've also got our matchup previews on Thursday and Friday. Breaking down the matchups, our DFS picks and plenty more unmentionables. Wait, secret segments? Oh, yeah, no, we got lots going on this week.
Mike Wright
There was underpants.
Andy Holloway
It might be. We've been known to talk about that from time to time. No, we have a lot going on this season, so keep it right here on the Fantasy Footballers podcast. We will be with you all year long helping. You know, Jason says it you don't.
Jason Moore
Win the championship at your draft. You want to know where you win a championship? It starts today. From this point forward, making the right starts, the right sits, the right waiver wires and the right trades. That's we're going to bring you all the way. Get those hashtag foot gland titles.
Andy Holloway
All right, quick question of the day From Twitter @DZ says, what is the best tiebreaker method for your league? Is it the most bench points? Is it highest scoring player? Is it the home advantage? Have you guys ever played in one of those leagues that gives bonus points to the home team?
Jason Moore
Actually, to the home team. Our league of record before it was kind of rebranded like nine years ago because technically three of us were in it like 13 years ago.
Mike Wright
It's called BM before Mike.
Jason Moore
We had.
Mike Wright
Not the other BM.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, stay away.
Jason Moore
It's a healthy. A healthy BM was before Mike. Anyways, we actually did have some of those type of things. We had the home and away. We had a home, a head coach.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, it sounds pretty terrible.
Jason Moore
Yeah.
Andy Holloway
So what is. What's the best tiebreaker? Okay, we end up. You're in decimal scoring, but you still end up tied. What is. What do you guys think the best tiebreaker is? Or is there really a best. Is it just Commissioner's Choice?
Jason Moore
I want it. I want the tiebreaker to Commissioner's Choice. Not like you get you win.
Andy Holloway
I mean, when they set the rules up, not every week, like my PayPal account is available.
Jason Moore
I think it's bench points. I mean having a deep roster, guys that, you know, it's put it this way, if you tied and you have a guy that went off on your bench and you go, oh man, if only you know that. If you tied in decimal scoring, that's what I would go to. Because it says you could have won in other circumstances more than the other.
Andy Holloway
Player if you make the tiebreaker bench points. Are you really thinking about your bench in that terms, though?
Jason Moore
No, not if you're in Decimal scoring because ties are very, very rare and.
Mike Wright
You should be in decimal scoring if you're not.
Andy Holloway
I agree with that. Make sure every play matters. You're not waiting for thresholds. This is 2016 after all.
Mike Wright
Yeah. If you get nine yards and you don't get the point because they didn't make it to 10, that's.
Jason Moore
I will say this for the advocates of full point, you know, non decimal point scoring, if you still are doing it with pen and paper from the newspaper and writing and formulating the stats, then I would agree. Okay, then don't do decimal scoring.
Andy Holloway
Do you think we'll ever see vintage leagues start to release?
Jason Moore
No.
Mike Wright
Retro.
Andy Holloway
Retro leagues. Okay, well, we're going to get into the news here, catch you up on everything that's going on in the fantasy football world. Make sure you follow us on Twitter to get up to date news all of the time. We're on Twitter ffballers if you want to follow. Mike. Where do they find you, Mike at FF Hitman. FF Hitman. Jason is at Jason ffl.
Jason Moore
Yes, sir.
Andy Holloway
You can follow me at. Andy Holloway can check out our community on jointhefoot.com of listeners of this show. Extra episodes, things like that show up on there. And check out the website, the fantasy footballers.com we do our mailbag episode from the questions we receive on the website. Let's go ahead and talk about the news.
Jason Moore
News and notes from around the league.
Andy Holloway
All right. We heard yesterday that Jordy Nelson has been a full go in practice from the coach, from the coach. I know he's had about two weeks full of pretty much going full bore. The coach thinks he will be going full bore week one against Jacksonville. Some ESPN reporters doubt that he can play a full slate of snaps. Does this matter to fantasy owners who are thinking about starting Jordy Nelson? Is there anything that would make them sit Jordy Nelson this week?
Mike Wright
Not me. Jordy Nelson's big play guy, so I'm putting him in. Maybe, maybe the packers reporter is correct and Jordy's not going to play the entire game. And I think all they're talking about with that is the conditioning of Jordan Nelson. Can he hold up For a full 4/4? 4, 4/4 of normal play and you know, maybe gets tired a little bit quicker, but I'm still going to play Jordy Nelson. I mean, this is similar to what we're hearing in Carolina about Kelvin Benjamin might not play an entire full thing of snaps where it was. Even the coach said we might limit him to 35 snaps. That's that's that number is terrifying if you're trying to throw out Kelvin Benjamin, who's not the type of guy like Jordy, where it just takes one play and he makes up your an entire week's worth of points. So if you're talking about those two guys, I'm playing Jordy. I'm scouring the news to hear if there's any more updates on Kelvin, but I could. I'm. I'm a little concerned to play Benjamin this. This opening week.
Andy Holloway
All right. Well, in news that Pete Carroll decided to deliver to fantasy owners himself, he has said he does not want to rush Thomas Rawls. Delightful. Does this make Christine Michael a flex play in week one?
Mike Wright
It does for me.
Jason Moore
It does not for me. I mean, if you're in a really deep league where, you know you're stretching for a flex player, then, sure, I think he's got it. But in that same exact report where they said they need to be careful with him because he's important to their team, Pete Carroll also said, we'd love it if we could give him a lot of work in that game and see how he responds. So you've got both. I would say it is an opportunity for Kristen Michael to have regular season come and say, hey, I'm going to prove that I am worth, you know, splitting carries. So that's a little concerning, but I would not personally flex Kristen Michael in, you know, a standard league where you're two, two and a flex.
Mike Wright
So are you full on RB1? RB2 in Thomas Rawls?
Jason Moore
Thomas Rawls, to me, will most certainly be an RB2 this week. Ooh.
Mike Wright
All right.
Andy Holloway
All right.
Jason Moore
And if anybody wants to water bet that he will, not that he'll finish outside of the R24. Yeah. Then I will take that happily. I'll do a backflip.
Mike Wright
I'll consider it.
Andy Holloway
All right, think about it. Coach Adam Gase came out and he revealed the fact that Devonte Parker said, you know what? I'll take your hamstring injury and I'll raise you a hamstring injury.
Mike Wright
More is better, right?
Andy Holloway
More is better. Well, you want to even it out, otherwise you'll injure the other leg. Devonte Parker is dealing with injuries to both of his hamstrings or has been dealing with them this summer. This was the conditioning. Mike, you got a lot of feedback about this Breakfast comment.
Mike Wright
No, that was Jason.
Jason Moore
That was Jace.
Mike Wright
Don't put that on me.
Jason Moore
I just.
Mike Wright
I firmly agree with him now, but it wasn't me.
Andy Holloway
Haven't you both said you don't eat breakfast.
Mike Wright
I'm not a professional athlete.
Jason Moore
Yeah. I clearly do not take care of my body. If I took care of my body, I would eat a healthy breakfast. I would exercise, I would work out. If I'm an NFL player and I'm a veteran, I know how to take care of my body. And part of that starts with eating a healthy breakfast. That's the point that I was making. It is a valid point. And even.
Andy Holloway
What's a healthy breakfast?
Jason Moore
A healthy breakfast is what would you consider that? Froot Loops. Give me some eggs and some oatmeal.
Andy Holloway
Eggs and oatmeal? Yeah, together.
Jason Moore
You mix them together.
Andy Holloway
Right.
Jason Moore
That sounds awful.
Andy Holloway
That sounds pretty rough, especially if they're over easy. All right, so devonte Parker, we've lost the story to the breakfast tail here. Injuries to both his hammies. We don't know when he's coming back. This is. Pay attention to Kenny Stills and Jarvis Landry.
Mike Wright
And Kenny Stills was back at practice on Monday.
Andy Holloway
He should be drafted.
Jason Moore
If devonte Parker had no hamstring injury whatsoever, I would expect these first few weeks of the season, Kenny Stills to have a better. A better week based on what we saw, based on the fact that he was already ahead of him on the depth chart in two wide receiver sets. Kenny Stills was the guy out there. You add this in and Kenny Stills, who is pretty much undrafted right now.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I mean, I'll agree with some of that. Devonte Parker is still listed as the starter even with these injuries, so he hasn't lost his spot on the depth chart. And so if you have drafted devonte Parker, you may need to wait to enjoy your draft pick. That's my perspective on it. Matt Jones says he, quote, feels awesome because I'm not overcompensating at all. I feel awesome. After returning to practice, he expects to play week one. I expect him to play week one. I'm not very concerned about Matt Jones. I think he is a RB2.
Mike Wright
Okay. Okay.
Andy Holloway
So that doesn't mean Robert Kelly shouldn't be owned.
Mike Wright
Ah, okay.
Jason Moore
But good.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. I mean, you. You need to. Andy Reid says Jamal Charles is a stretch to play week one. I think we're all but counting him out here in the studio. Spencer Ware has a good matchup for week one. Should be drafted, should be signed. He's one of those guys we'll talk about in the waiver wire.
Jason Moore
Yeah. More than likely, if you've got Jamal Charles, you're not playing him week one. I can't even imagine having the confidence to plug him into my roster.
Andy Holloway
Hey, what do you know? Justin Forsett is on the Baltimore Ravens. Signed a two year, $6 million contract. I think the kind of highlight of this contract is what he got every dollar back, right?
Jason Moore
He got every cent back that he was owed. And then I believe there was an additional hundred thousand dollars if he outperforms his 2015 stats as incentive. So what we were kind of saying yesterday, what I was tweeting the day, days prior to that, you're getting some. It was so funny, man. I posted, hey, if you're drafting late, go grab Justin for set. If he's still on your waivers, grab him. And about half the people were like, yeah, half the people are just like, you're an idiot. You're a fool. I'm not. I'm not getting involved there. And we have seen that literally last night in our draft after the news. And this is according to ownership percentages. This isn't abnormal. This is normal. You want to know who got drafted ahead of Justin for set? Terrence West, Kenneth Dixon and Buck Allen, also known as Justin for sets. Three backups. They all got drafted ahead of Just forcet. That, to me, is absolute.
Andy Holloway
One might describe them as his three co starters.
Jason Moore
One might. So if you have co starters, they're the coco.
Andy Holloway
All right, we're going to jump into some big questions for the upcoming season, and then we'll get into the waiver wire.
Mike Wright
You want answers?
Andy Holloway
I think I'm entitled. You want answers? I want the truth.
Jason Moore
You can't handle the truth.
Andy Holloway
Not everybody out there has. Has heard this. And maybe this is reason enough to get involved@jointhefoot.com but we had a request from a listener that. That the voice of public opinion would go ahead and basically, basically do a movie line, famous movie lines, as the voice of public opinion. Jason delivered the freedom speech from Braveheart in incredible form. The next highest requested was that speech from A Few Good Men.
Jason Moore
If only I knew that speech better, I would have done it.
Andy Holloway
We'll work on it. We'll work on it. I can teach you some things about acting, things like that. Big questions for week one. Maybe the first part of the season is a better way to put it. Basically, some situations we're going to keep our eyes on. We're going to talk about the questions here on the show. We're going to give you some of our takes. We don't have the full answers. We don't have the full truth because that has to be determined on the field. We're going to give you the direction we think it's headed. These are things basically for you to pay attention to, to be thinking about. And so the first big question that I have, I'll pose it to you guys. We can answer it. What will the Patriots running backs look like this season? What's the running back situation in New England? I feel like that could be the question of every single season. But we have James White, we have Dion Lewis on IR right now, and we have Legarett Blunt. We technically have DJ Foster on the roster. Oh, that rhymes.
Mike Wright
Well done.
Andy Holloway
So how does this shake out who start worthy? When will we know? And. And what should we be doing as fantasy owners to prepare for the Patriots running back situation? Because they're going to be a good offense. But we also have the variable of Tom Brady missing four games. You know, are there anybody. Is there anybody. You start week one. What is. What is the answer here? I'll just keep asking the question in different ways. No chance to answer.
Jason Moore
You know, Bill Belichick is a schemer. He's going to take a look at the team that he Rapscallion. He's going to take a look at the team he's playing on a weekly basis and come up with a game plan to beat them. If you look at how dominant. Dominant the jets defensive line was at the beginning of last year, nobody could run on them. And so they come into that game and they literally don't run. I mean, almost literally. I forget how many carries, but it was basically, they just abandoned that. I'll look that up as Mike talks, but that's what I expect to happen going forward this year is on a weekly basis, they're going to say, where's the weakness and where's the strength of my opponent? And they're going to exploit that. So it's going to be our job here, I think the three of us to try to determine, okay, this coming week looks like a Legare Blunt game or a James White game. For week one, I feel like the Cardinals have a very good run d and they always get beaten to the passing game. So I would rather start James White. What say you on the. On the season, though, Mike?
Mike Wright
Yeah, on the season, I like James White a lot and I've. I've got the numbers broken down here because we. There's just the assumption, you know, that Dion Lewis is. He looks better. Everything is better when it's Dion Lewis. But the.
Andy Holloway
Versus James White.
Mike Wright
Versus James White. But the passing numbers are actually strikingly similar. So on the year, Deon Lewis 50 targets, 36 receptions, 388 yards and two touchdowns. James White, 54 targets, 40 receptions, 410 yards and four touchdowns. So James White may be a little bit more effective. I will say there is a big, big separator of Deion Lewis in the rushing game. That's where it becomes different. That's where you open up maybe a little bit bigger of a gap for LeGarrett Blount to fit in to the game plan. And we've talked about legarre Blunt.
Andy Holloway
He doesn't fit into much.
Jason Moore
All right, real quick as I looked this up. How many? How many? And let's. Okay, this is the jets game, just to show you guys how crazy Bill Belichick gets. How many? Total team, every player, total rushing attempts. What's your guess?
Mike Wright
Three?
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I mean, based on what you're saying, Right. Like five.
Jason Moore
It was nine. And four of those were Tom Brady. So they weren't really runs. They were probably those.
Andy Holloway
They didn't run.
Jason Moore
Yeah, they didn't run. You had LeGarrett. Blunt got three carries. James White got two carries.
Andy Holloway
Well, and that, you know, other than Belichick, I mean, you have teams that run through the air, as Jason Wood so eloquently put it, and they chose to do that. So.
Mike Wright
But I like saying I like James White. I just, I think.
Andy Holloway
Would you start James White this week?
Mike Wright
I would, but that's maybe that's just the Arizona fan in me where I've seen the Arizona defense be torched by running backs that can catch the ball over and over. I don't know if they have improved their situation enough to be able to snuff that out completely. And I expect Garoppolo to be checking down to feed Gronk. So I just, I see a situation where James White is flex worthy.
Jason Moore
And what do you do if you're the Cardinals with Jimmy Garoppolo, you would think you want to blitz him, right? This rookie. Well, not rookie, but I think you.
Andy Holloway
Just want to put pressure on it.
Mike Wright
Sure.
Jason Moore
But when pressure comes, that's. That's where the screen game hurts. And I believe that the Cardinals led the league last year in percentage of blitz.
Mike Wright
Yes.
Andy Holloway
All right, so let's. Let's pause for a second. We're going to jump into the rest of the questions here, but I want to thank our sponsor today Draft and the draft app. If you go on to iOS Android, you just type draft in there, you can get it. You can go to playdraft.comballers to find this out. But let's talk about it for a second because this is the absolute best way to upgrade your week and the fun you have. I mean, we. We had our draft in league of record last night.
Mike Wright
I thought my draft was over.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, you came home. You came home and.
Jason Moore
Yeah, I did two drafts last night getting ready for this week. They take like two minutes. And we found draft about midway through last year and we were like, I can't wait to tell. I have been looking forward to this. This is genuinely. Let me put it this way. This is. This is a. Oh, that's a five. Assemble, Assemble. Because last year we did the playoff challenge, remember?
Andy Holloway
Yep.
Jason Moore
And we were like the third largest league. I think Rich Eisen was bigger than us. And ESPN's. I mean, of course ESPN would be. Or NFL. It was. NFL.com was larger, but we were like the third largest league. The Foot Clan. I want to be the largest league draft. That's my goal. So I need everybody out there. If you have a phone, get the draft app. It's really fun. And join our free league if you want.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, there's two leagues we got set up. We got a $10 entry league and a free league. And all you have to do is when you sign up, put in ballers and you'll automatically have the opportunity to enter either of those leagues. Play with us and with other people. And it's really cool. It's. It's snake drafts. You do them really fast and it's neat because it's different than the salary cap type of dfs. You get to do it really quick and you get a pick. You know, the strategy of drafting is there. It's not just everybody has the same player.
Jason Moore
You can't get them.
Andy Holloway
Exactly. And so there's that competition in there. It's just another. You know, we all love dfs, so it's one of those things that makes it more fun on the weekend and.
Jason Moore
You can win money. We're going to give you. Every week we're going to put out an article with some guys we would target. So you can go in there as well and have better strategy. It's half point ppr. A lot of people don't know that going in. Go in and dominate and you know.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, we're going to shout out the winners of those leagues.
Jason Moore
It's like we played MFL10s. I made a good chunk of change off MFL10s. I think I'm going to own on draft.
Andy Holloway
All right, so search draft in the App Store. Make sure you enter the promo code ballers. If you want to be in the leagues with us, you can also go to playdraft.comballers and that'll help you get connected with the draft app. We love that.
Jason Moore
Yeah, go win some money on draft. Also want to thank our sponsor, Indochino. Indochino. Look, I got my email that my suit was.
Mike Wright
I got my email.
Jason Moore
Yeah, my suit is on the way. This is a custom tailored, super nice suit. I don't know if you guys have ever gone to look at tailored suits before, but they are usually thousands of dollars. I mean, super expensive. At least you're talking 6, 7, 8, $900, sometimes thousands. And right now with Indochino they are giving their like their $800 suits for 389 bucks. If you use the promo code footballers. This is a custom made to measure specific to you type of suit. They show you how to measure. It's very, very easy and it's actually pretty fun because you feel kind of like a celebrity getting, wow, really special. Yeah, getting measured. So here's what you do any of our listeners go get any premium Indochino suit anyone on their website for just 389 bucks, which is a steal when you enter footballers at checkout. That's over 50% off the regular price on some of these made to measure premium suits. Shipping, it's free and your satisfaction is guaranteed or you get your money back. So that's Indochino.com, promo code footballers for any premium suit and free shipping. You will never have to worry about badly fitting suits again. So get ready to look like a million bucks.
Andy Holloway
All right, well, I do want to thank our sponsors. It's. It's nice to have the support of the sponsors. We are an independent podcast. This is all we do. We don't have network backing. The sponsors help support the show. So we really appreciate you guys. You know, we're selective in the ones we pick, so we appreciate you supporting them and supporting us. So next big question, guys. What will David Johnson's workload look like this season? That has been an offseason question extraordinaire because some people want to take the leap with David Johnson. They want to put him on the top of the mountain, so to speak. Others hesitant. Chris Johnson, he did really good last year in the Cardinals offense and what will they do with David Johnson? And so that's one of the big questions this year that we'll be looking for, especially in the early part of the season. What will David Johnson's Workload actually be. Mike, look into your crystal ball.
Mike Wright
Oh, for me, look, you know, you know how I feel about my man, my man David Johnson, he's my number one running back. I've been, I've been seeing what they've been doing in preseason and when the starters were out there, it was David Johnson. He is just, he is such an integral part now of what their offense can do. We've already seen the huge passing game that Bruce Arians has instated here with Carson Palmer and now, now defenses actually have to respect that. And the run of David Johnson and the pass catching ability. That's to me the best part about David Johnson is you can't game script him out. You, you cannot because he's such a great pass catcher. This isn't a situation where it's a two down banger like there for me, the concerns about Thomas Rawls, what if they get way behind? We talked, we're going to talk about that question of what does that look like. But for me, David Johnson, everything I've seen from the Cardinals is they say he's going to be in as long as he is. The conditioning is there. David Johnson is going to play and score a bunch, a bunch of fantasy points.
Jason Moore
Yeah, I've been more and more confident lately. You know me, I'm Mr. You've been the most reluctant. Yeah. And I've said that I expect good things for him. But I've been risk adverse in those first two rounds because the fact that we have a small sample size and we don't know, but everything out of the coaches mouths, everything that we've talked to David Johnson personally, you know, and when we were talking to him, things sounded good. Everything we've seen in preseason, in training camp, it really does seem like, look, this is David Johnson's job. Chris Johnson will get involved. Andre Ellington will come in for a spell or two. But Chris Johnson, there's no chance, barring injury, that David Johnson doesn't get a workload large enough to be a fantasy star.
Andy Holloway
All right, next question for you guys. How will the Miami receiving game shake out? Now let me set the table here. We know that Adam Gase is in Miami now. Another, another fresh start for Ryan Tannehill, so to speak. Another opportunity for him. You have Jarvis Landry. Now Jarvis Landry dominated the receiving game last year. 110 receptions over 1100 yards. He only scored four touchdowns. But he's that PPR machine that we know he is. Oh, I think we all expect him to continue. The next closest receiver Was Lamar Miller last year with 47 receptions from the running back.
Jason Moore
He's a running back.
Andy Holloway
Right, Right. He's the running back. That is the question that is there going to be. I think it begs a couple of questions here. One is if there is. Okay, let's give, let's hand it Kenny Stills. We just handed the second wide receiver to Kenny Stills. Does that matter? I mean Rashad Matthews had 43 receptions.
Mike Wright
Last year in 11 games. In 11 games. In 11 games, Rashad Matthews had the 43 for over 660 yards and four touchdowns. He was, he was averaging over 15 yards a catch. And we. Kenny Stills has shown throughout his career, that's what he was in New Orleans. He was a guy who could go deep. When he was with Drew Brees, Kenny Stills was in fact the most efficient receiver.
Andy Holloway
Okay, but Rashad Matthews numbers, that's three, almost four catches a game. Is that enough to be fantasy relevant? That's the question. Is Kenny still can have all of the former mike hype, but is it enough? I mean, four catches a game.
Mike Wright
I think that it's enough for where Kenny Stills is going in the draft. You're talking about a guy extremely late that, that could turn into a weekly wide receiver. Three, maybe even a flex. We've seen the targets there over the preseason. If you watched any of the Miami games, what was, what's the actual breakdown? Jarvis Landry had 13 targets. Kenny Stills had 11 targets.
Andy Holloway
No, he looked good in the preseason. It's just, I'm curious how it'll shake out.
Mike Wright
That's fair. I'm buying into Kenny Stills as one of, as a late round target, as a waiver wire target. Right now you have a very, very low risk for a guy that I can provide you a nice, nice baseline. We've seen Adam Gase before and this offense, it's going to be different because he has Jarvis Landry, but Adam Gase offenses like to target the guy on the outside and that we've seen it with Demaryius Thomas, we've seen it when he was in Chicago. Like these targets just happen to find their way and Kenny Stills, Kenny Stills is going to play that role in the offense. As of right now, maybe Devontae Parker has enough later to overtake him. But for right now it's Kenny Stills and you're going to get deep shots, you're going to get touchdowns. So he is in the perfect scenario to fit with his talent.
Andy Holloway
For me, I definitely think he's a perfect steal right now. If people have drafted him or if he's sitting on waiver wires.
Jason Moore
Yeah, I was going to say I agree with both of you. I think that Kenny Stills might be.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, but who do you agree with most?
Jason Moore
His upside is probably not high enough to be truly super fantasy relevant. But for where he's going in the draft, he gives you a guy that's a plug and play. You're not going to get a zero out of him. If you need to throw him in your flex because he's involved enough, especially with Devonte Parker out. But really how I expect the Miami Dolphins offense to shake out through its receivers is the Jarvis Landry show. Again, I don't see. I mean if you look at the first two years for Jarvis Landry in the league, I mean he's on incredible pace and because he works out of the slot so much, people don't want him. And I say that's silly. He's, I think. How old is Jarvis Landry? He's super young, right?
Andy Holloway
He's the same draft class as Odell Beckham Jr.
Jason Moore
Yes, he's 23 years old. He's a 23 year old young man and he has two years in the league where he's already been a fantasy option that is, you know, a high end wide receiver too. So in my book I think Jarvis Landry is safe and a good value right now.
Andy Holloway
All right, let's talk about Baltimore. Will we have actual fantasy relevant players in Baltimore? That's one of the big questions for this season. You have Mike Wallace that has arrived. Dennis Pitta might be healthy. You have Steve Smith returning from a devastating tear to the Achilles.
Jason Moore
Rashad Perryman back on the field.
Andy Holloway
Oh yeah. Kamar Akin still involved. Went very high in our league of record draft yesterday.
Jason Moore
I love Kamar Aiken, but that was way too high.
Andy Holloway
So let's talk about last year, the rushing statistics. Last year nobody had more than 151 attempts on the ground which he would have if he.
Mike Wright
If Aaron Donald wasn't such a savage man and broke it Justin for sets arm.
Andy Holloway
Yes, that is true. 151 attempts last year by four set at 4.2 a carry. Yet Javorius Allen got in there for 137. Terence west had some carries last year and then on the receiving side, Kamar Akin led the way with 75 receptions. We know what happened to that wide receiver core last year. It was demolished and again Buck Allen was third there. So he offers some receiving and passing game value. But let's answer the question that we'll be watching for Here in your own mind, what fantasy relevant players will exist in Baltimore?
Jason Moore
Fantasy relevant players to me I think you're going to have Justin Forsett and Kenneth Dixon as the two running backs who on the season will be fantasy relevant. I think Justin Forcett, I've said it before, I think he is going to take the job that was already his that he did well the last two seasons when he was healthy. As the long term play though Kenneth Dixon looked amazing in preseason was talked up. He looked great in college as well. When he gets healthy and gets involved, I expect then there to be kind of a shift more towards the future. Those are the two running backs I want at wide receiver. The only guy I want is is Aiken. And then I would take a very, very late flyer on Steve Smith because look, I don't think at 37 years old he's going to come back from a double torn Achilles, double ruptured Achilles. I don't expect it to happen. But the risk versus reward there is like, you know, when you're taking a Steve Smith versus guys whose upside is nothing, I would rather do that because you know, two weeks into the season he's either going to be on my IR on the waiver or startable. That's what I look for.
Andy Holloway
All right. All right. So that'll be one of the things we're watching closely. The fantasy relevance of a Baltimore team that should pass the ball a lot should I think have a pretty good offense. We just don't know where the ball is going to distribute and so we need to pay attention there. Will the packers offense rebound with Jordy Nelson back in the fold or will they look like last year? And just so you know and understand the difference between the 2014 and 2015 Packers, Eddie Lacy in 2014, 246 carries, 1100 yards and nine touchdowns. Had another four through the Air Monster season. Eddie Lacey last year 187 for 758 and three horribly disappointing even look at this number last year. Eddie Lacey Last year 1.6 yards per carry in the red zone in 2015. Dead last in the league in that statistic. So bad year last year. But if you, if you can forget last year and look back two years, Jordy Nelson had almost 100 catches, 1500 plus yards and 13 touchdowns. I don't know if we expect that from him, but is he enough to get them back on track or no? And that's the question we're asking. That's the question we'll be watching for because it makes such A difference to Aaron Rodgers, Eddie Lacy, Randall Cobb. I mean this whole offense is either a fantasy force or it's a fantasy disappointment.
Mike Wright
Yeah, I think Jordy Nelson does. I think he makes that big of an impact that it can turn things around for the Packers. Another question I'm going to throw out. Who is the wide receiver three?
Jason Moore
Devonte Adams.
Mike Wright
Sure. As of right now, everything we feel like is devonte Adams. But is there. Can Abraderas surpass him? He's had a pretty solid preseason. Is Montgomery going to recover and be able. Maybe he can step in and be that third guy. We know that Jeff Janis has the broken hand so it's. It's unlikely to be him at this point. It were at least towards the beginning of the season. But do you. That's one of the things that I am watching. Is Adams still playing that role of being the Limburger? The Limburger for the Green Bay Packers? Because he will be the stinkiest of the Chiefs, which he has been in his career. So will Jared Abrader Darius overtake him and be a free guy on the waiver?
Andy Holloway
I wonder how many more eye rolls I could give devonte Adams like if I was Rogers and how much.
Mike Wright
How many More Can Mike McCarthy give him?
Andy Holloway
That's what I mean. I would want to make a change because Rogers does so much for that offense. He needs reliable wide receivers. I think devonte Adams very nice cheese related thing comparison.
Jason Moore
Look, I will say this. If Jordy rebounds and the packers are what they were two years ago and three years ago, then I think devonte Adams actually has a decent season because in those seasons the wide receiver three was good. And you have to keep in mind Devonta Adams went from being like this third wide receiver caliber player to getting. He was truly the number one wide receiver. He had the number one, you know, defense on him. He could not handle that. He is not good enough for that. But he is good enough to play a productive wide receiver three role. And clearly Mike McCarthy and the packers, much to the chagrin of all fantasy owners, they're sticking with him. We've seen that in preseason. We've seen it in everything that's been said. He's got the opportunity. So my point is, look, if the packers do rebound, then devonte Adams is going to be fine. If they don't rebound, then whoever the three is is irrelevant.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, no, that's a fair point. We're going to shift gears now. We're going to jump into some waiver pickups.
Jason Moore
Let me in, coach.
Andy Holloway
All Right. So who should people be picking up off of the waiver wire right now post draft? Maybe you haven't drafted, maybe you're still drafting today or tomorrow. But you want some names to pay attention to when the draft is over. Maybe guys that have some upside but are still sitting out there. We talked about Kenny Stills who by the way is available in 80% of leagues right now.
Jason Moore
It's a good pickup.
Andy Holloway
So if you want to take a flyer on a wide receiver too, that could. Look, there's two angles here, right? There's the angle of, okay, I want to pick up a guy that I think could be long term viable in fantasy. There's also the angle of I want to pick up some guys that are going to flash for the first two or three weeks so I can get some trade value for them. You know, people love to mix it up early in the season and if you can get a guy that comes out and drops a couple big games, you can get some trade value. You could package two for ones.
Jason Moore
Yeah.
Andy Holloway
So what are some other names that are out there? I guess we brought up Matt Jones earlier too. So what's Robert Kelly's availability Right now?
Mike Wright
Robert Kelly is available, hold the phone here. In 96% of ESPN leagues, Robert Kelly is sitting on your waiver wire for free. And for me, when I'm looking to fill this last burner spot on my bench trying to find a running back that maybe think the scenario shakes up a bit and somehow that guy ends up as a starting running back. I'm talking Robert Kelly and James White. James White who is available in 60% of ESPN leagues. Look, the news on Matt Jones, sure, he, he says he's feeling awesome. That's fantastic. He has a shoulder injury. We're talking about a very similar shoulder injury that Randall Cobb dealt with all of last season. And Randall Cobb was a massive disappointment. And he's not a guy that on every single time he's being handed the ball is going to get smashed right into that shoulder. I'm not sure that Matt Jones can hold up injury wise. I'm not sure that Matt Jones is good enough.
Andy Holloway
Matt Jones will just have to juke people so he doesn't have to hit them. You know what I mean?
Jason Moore
Sure.
Mike Wright
Or just lay down. He could, he can go Peyton Manning and just lay down. But so to me, Robert Kelly, look, this is, I think he is the perfect burner spot where going into week one. And you talk about a guy who's, who has slowly had that build up through training camp that's Robert Kelly. I mean, you had a chatter that was very, very minimal. And it just, just increased over time to this, to now there is a full on buzz and we've seen he's. He's performed quite well.
Jason Moore
Well, there was also. There was also early. There was the buzz that they're definitely, you know, they'll probably bring in a veteran.
Mike Wright
Yeah.
Jason Moore
And they didn't partially because Robert Kelly.
Andy Holloway
You pick up Robert Kelly. If Jones goes out week one, you've got a starter. If Jones performs week one, you got a guy you can drop and go get somebody else.
Mike Wright
Absolutely.
Jason Moore
And a very similar guy to that, to that exact situation is Sean Drone. If you've got Carlos Hyde. Carlos Hyde currently is still in the concussion protocol and we are, you know, getting days away from week one. If Carlos Hyde doesn't play, then the big salad, I think can be that guy who can step in. If Carlos Hyde is there, then you can cut him. I don't think you need to hold on to Sean Drone if Carlos Hyde is in there. But if I'm looking at running backs, I've talked about him already. But the number one guy I'm looking at because he is available in 50% of leagues, which is. It just makes no sense to me. But that's Justin 4 set. You have a guy that these first few weeks is these. He's the starter. I mean, you can't go out to the waiver wire and find the starter running back for any team out there right now except Justin for.
Andy Holloway
Unless Spencer Ware sitting out there.
Jason Moore
Well, sure, Spencer Ware, I mean, but that's. That's due to injury ahead of him. He's another great waiver wire pickup this week.
Andy Holloway
All right. Some other guys to pay attention to. If you have an IR slot, we've told you you can grab a couple guys, throw them on your IR spot and then go pick up two more players. You can stash Dion Lewis, you can stash Kenneth Dixon, somebody that we think has a second half value. Both of those guys may have a second half value. We talked about James White. Spencer Ware will likely start and be the.
Mike Wright
If Spencer. If Charles is in fact out and Spencer Ware is starting on Sunday, which none.
Andy Holloway
I would say it looks like that's the case.
Mike Wright
Yeah, it looks like I'm saying none of that's a guarantee yet. It certainly looks like that. And Spencer Ware is available in 40% of ESPN leagues. I have not done my week one rankings yet. I fully expect when I stat things out, Spencer Ware is. Maybe he's on the edge. Or maybe he's fully running back one territory.
Andy Holloway
I agree.
Mike Wright
He's on your way. Not everyone. 40% of waiver wires a week one running back one potential.
Jason Moore
You know, the other question I get a lot right now on Twitter is about quarterbacks. I get a lot of people who drafted a quarterback late, but they didn't look at the Week 1 matchup and now they go, oh, shoot, you know, the guy I got has a terrible Week 1 matchup. Who? And now, you know, they. They always feel like the waiver wire is empty. Who do I go get? So here are some guys, I think, with decent Week 1 matchups that are available on, you know, about half of the leagues out there. Jameis Winston, I can't stand his Week 2 through 4 matchups, but his Week 1 against Atlanta, I think is just fine. Tyrod Taylor, playing against Baltimore, Baltimore's defense was terrible last year. He's. He's out there.
Andy Holloway
Andy, your guy, Matthew Stafford.
Jason Moore
Matthew Stafford, he has the Colts Week one now. I'm surprised because Stafford was actually owned in, I think, near 70% of leagues.
Andy Holloway
So let's say I would like to take responsibility for that.
Jason Moore
Yeah, I'm sure you made a difference if you're going.
Andy Holloway
He's everybody's favorite late round. I think he went in our second to last round yesterday.
Jason Moore
If everybody took two quarterbacks and you're like, man, those guys are already taken and you need to go deeper. You know, guys that you don't love, but you can still start. I would throw out two names. One would be Alex Smith.
Andy Holloway
Absolutely.
Jason Moore
He's just fine. He's going to get yards on the ground.
Andy Holloway
That's his actual name. Just fine.
Mike Wright
Just fine, Alex. Just fine.
Jason Moore
And he's got a good week one matchup. And I would also throw out. This guy's available almost everywhere, but if you had to take a shot in the dark, Brock Osweiler, I think, has a plus matchup. And there's a world where it comes out and it's like, oh, look, Will Fuller and Braxton Miller and DeAndre Hopkins and even Lamar Miller through the, through the passing game provide Brock into a value. So if you really are desperate, I'm giving a half seal of approval.
Andy Holloway
Wow. All right, all right, half. Well, we're going to be covering the upcoming matchups at length later this week, so you want to keep it right here. Hopefully we got you up to speed on some of the waiver possible pickups and some of those big questions and all the news. You guys have anything else to add? Before we close out here.
Mike Wright
I don't think I do. I hope everyone crushed their draft.
Andy Holloway
Yes, absolutely. And if you're still drafting today and tomorrow, good luck. Good luck. So make sure you check out jointhefoot.com or fantasy football Community. Find us on twitter @the ffballers. And if you need a trophy for your league or a championship ring, check out fantasyjocks.combelts, our studio sponsor. Yeah, Championship belt. Use the code Footballers when you check out there. Take care. Bye. Bye.
Jason Moore
Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot. Com and follow us on twitter @the ffballers.
Fantasy Footballers Podcast 2016 - Big Questions, Waiver Pickups, News
Release Date: September 6, 2016
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright
In this episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright dive deep into the critical aspects of the upcoming fantasy football season. They cover essential big questions every fantasy owner should consider, provide strategic waiver wire pickups, and update listeners on the latest news affecting fantasy rosters.
Andy Holloway poses a pivotal question: "What will the Patriots running backs look like this season? What's the running back situation in New England?" [17:42]
With James White as a key player, Dion Lewis dealing with injuries, and emerging talents like LeGarrett Blount and DJ Foster, the trio analyzes how the Patriots might balance their rushing and passing game. Mike Wright emphasizes the adaptability of Bill Belichick, stating, "He’s going to take a look at the team he’s playing each week and exploit their weaknesses." [19:03] This strategic approach suggests that fantasy owners should stay flexible, potentially favoring James White when facing defenses susceptible to passing games.
The discussion shifts to David Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals. Andy Holloway asks, "What will David Johnson's workload look like this season?" [25:21] Both Mike Wright and Jason Moore express confidence in Johnson's role, highlighting his integral part in the Cardinals' offense. They predict a substantial workload for Johnson, positioning him as a top fantasy option, while cautiously monitoring backup options like Chris Johnson and Andre Ellington.
Andy Holloway raises another key question: "How will the Miami receiving game shake out?" [26:10] With Adam Gase at the helm and talents like Jarvis Landry and Kenny Stills, the hosts evaluate the potential dynamics:
Jason Moore asserts, "Jarvis Landry is safe and a good value right now." [31:11]
The hosts examine the Ravens' potential fantasy impact, questioning whether new additions like Mike Wallace, Dennis Pitta, and the injured Steve Smith can provide substantial value. Jason Moore highlights Justin Forsett and Kenneth Dixon as primary running back options, while Kamar Aiken is noted for his receiving capabilities. However, concerns about injuries and inconsistent performances temper expectations.
Andy Holloway summarizes, "The Ravens should pass the ball a lot and have a pretty good offense, but we need to pay attention to where the ball is distributed." [33:33]
A critical analysis focuses on the Green Bay Packers' offense, particularly the return of Jordy Nelson. Andy Holloway questions, "Will we have actual fantasy relevant players in Baltimore?" [32:32] The conversation touches on past performance disparities, with Eddie Lacy's decline from 2014 to 2015 contrasted against Jordy Nelson's potential impact.
Mike Wright confidently states, "I think Jordy Nelson makes that big of an impact that it can turn things around for the Packers." [36:01] The trio debates whether Devonte Adams can maintain a productive role or if another receiver will emerge, ultimately leaning towards Adams remaining a reliable option if the Packers' offense rebounds.
The hosts provide strategic recommendations for players available on the waiver wire, essential for optimizing rosters and capitalizing on early-season opportunities.
Mike Wright highlights Robert Kelly as a prime target: "Robert Kelly is the perfect burner spot going into week one." [39:18] With minimal chatter previously, Kelly has emerged as a valuable asset, especially if injuries impact starting backups.
Andy Holloway and Mike Wright advocate for Kenny Stills as a versatile wide receiver option. Jason Moore agrees, noting his reliability: "Kenny Stills is going to play that role in the offense." [30:59] Stills offers depth and potential for deep plays, making him a solid flex or late-round pick.
Sean Drone is suggested as a complement to Carlos Hyde, providing backup options if Hyde remains sidelined. Spencer Ware is also recommended, with Mike Wright seeing him as a potential starting running back in about 40% of ESPN leagues: "He's on your way." [42:54]
For teams needing quarterback options, the hosts recommend:
Jason Moore elaborates, "If you really are desperate, I’m giving a half seal of approval." [44:16]
Concerns arise about Jordy Nelson's ability to play the full slate against Jacksonville. Despite the Packers' coach affirming his readiness, ESPN reporters express skepticism. Mike Wright remains optimistic, emphasizing Nelson's big-play potential: "I’m putting him in." [09:19]
Pete Carroll's decision not to rush Thomas Rawls' return raises questions about Christine Michael's viability as a flex option. Jason Moore remains cautious, advising against using Michael in standard leagues unless stretching for a flex: "I would not personally flex Christine Michael in a standard league." [10:40]
Devonte Parker is dealing with injuries to both hamstrings, raising concerns about his availability and performance. Jason Moore jokes about his condition, but the hosts stress the importance of monitoring his recovery and role in the offense: "Devonte Parker has injuries to both of his hammies." [11:52]
Justin Forsett signs a two-year, $6 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens. The hosts discuss his role and the mixed reactions from the fantasy community. Jason Moore observes, "Half the people are just like, you’re an idiot. You’re a fool." [14:47] Nonetheless, Forsett is seen as a starter with potential to contribute positively.
Matt Jones reports feeling "awesome" after recovering from a shoulder injury, but concerns remain about his durability and effectiveness compared to players like Randall Cobb: "I'm not sure that Matt Jones can hold up injury-wise." [11:52]
The Fantasy Footballers Podcast episode provides comprehensive insights into the upcoming fantasy football season, addressing critical questions, suggesting valuable waiver wire pickups, and updating listeners on essential news. The hosts emphasize strategic flexibility, careful monitoring of player statuses, and proactive management of rosters to secure championship success.
Notable Quotes:
This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essential discussions, insights, and strategies presented by the Fantasy Footballers in this pivotal episode, equipping fantasy managers with the knowledge needed to navigate the start of the season successfully.