Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Playoff Primer, Pump the Brakes, News

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast - 2016 Playoff Primer, Pump the Brakes, News

Release Date: November 16, 2016
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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Introduction

In this pivotal episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, the expert trio—Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright—delve deep into the upcoming fantasy playoffs. Released on November 16, 2016, this episode serves as a comprehensive guide for fantasy football enthusiasts aiming to optimize their rosters for the critical playoff weeks. The hosts provide astute analysis, highlight key players to target or avoid, and offer strategic insights to help listeners secure their championship titles.

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Playoff Primer: Pump the Brakes

Eli Manning's Volatility

Andy Holloway [04:06]: "My candidate this week is a guy who is very hot and cold throughout most seasons, Eli Manning."
Andy expresses caution regarding Eli Manning's recent performance surge. Despite Manning throwing seven touchdowns in the last two weeks, Andy warns fantasy owners to temper their enthusiasm. He points out that Manning is facing Chicago, a team struggling offensively, which might not sustain his high touchdown rate. Andy advises, "Don't play him if you're expecting to capitalize on his recent surge."

The Baltimore Passing Game Concerns

Willie Sneed [05:33]: "All right, I'm going to. My pump the brakes is going to be a combination. It's going to be the Baltimore passing game in general, which really for fantasy owners focuses on Steve Smith senior and Mike Wallace."
Willie raises concerns about Baltimore's passing game, particularly Steve Smith Sr. and Mike Wallace. He highlights Joe Flacco's underwhelming performance and Baltimore's challenging playoff schedule for wide receivers, including tough matchups against top defenses. Willie advises fantasy managers to exercise caution when considering Baltimore's wide receivers for their playoff rosters.

Additional Quarterback Cautions

Willie Sneed [06:35]: "Russell Wilson, he takes on Green Bay, the Rams in Arizona. You know, I don't think many people are tempted to play Tannehill."
Willie extends his "Pump the Brakes" segment to include other quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Mike Tomlin's quarterbacks, emphasizing their difficult playoff schedules against formidable defenses. He underscores the importance of not overvaluing matchups but using them as a critical component of playoff strategy.

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News Highlights

Christian Michael Waived

Willie Sneed [08:08]: "Now, as much as I'd love to pretend Mike doesn't exist with the news that broke yesterday, big news. Christian Michael was waived."
The hosts discuss the surprising news of Christian Michael being waived, speculating on the reasons behind the move, such as offensive incompatibility. Willie suggests that Thomas Rawls might emerge as a key fantasy asset if he returns to form.

Tony Romo Supports Dak Prescott

Andy Holloway [12:28]: "I was so impressed by it. I think the young ones out there could follow the example, the humility."
Tony Romo publicly supporting Dak Prescott as the starting quarterback is a significant morale boost for Prescott and a confirmation for fantasy owners to trust Prescott's performance moving forward.

Jared Goff's First Start

Jared Goff Making His Debut [12:56]:
The anticipation surrounds Jared Goff's inaugural start, with the hosts debating his potential impact. While Andy is optimistic about signing the Dolphins' defense, Willie remains skeptical about Goff's ability to perform consistently.

Sammy Coates' Injury and Blair Walsh Cut

Sammy Coates' Double Broken Finger [13:48]:
The discussion turns to Sammy Coates' injury and the subsequent release of Blair Walsh by the Vikings. Both moves are scrutinized for their fantasy implications, highlighting the precarious nature of roster decisions during the playoffs.

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Playoff Matchups Analysis

Quarterbacks

Best Playoff Schedules

• Philip Rivers: Faces Carolina, Oakland, and Cleveland.
• Drew Brees: Encounters Tampa Bay twice and a favorable matchup against Montana.
• Matt Ryan & Dak Prescott: Both have strong schedules in weeks 14-16, making them reliable playoff quarterbacks.

Notable Quote:
Andy Holloway [16:43]: "Philip Rivers is the guy that I would prefer to have going into the playoffs."

Worst Playoff Schedules

• Aaron Rodgers: Matches against Seattle, Chicago, and Minnesota.
• Tom Brady: Faces Baltimore, Denver, and the Jets.
• Russell Wilson: Competes against Green Bay, the Rams, and Arizona.

Notable Quote:
Willie Sneed [17:00]: "Aaron Rodgers playing Seattle and then the divisional game at Chicago and then Minnesota. That's a tough, that's a tough run."

Running Backs

Best Playoff Schedules

• Jonathan Stewart: Faces San Diego, Washington, and Atlanta.
• Spencer Ware: Encounters Oakland, Tennessee, and Denver.
• Thomas Rawls & Procyce Rawls: If healthy, have advantageous matchups.

Notable Quote:
Andy Holloway [27:15]: "Jonathan Stewart going San Diego, Washington, Atlanta. I have really no fears in that."

Worst Playoff Schedules

• Robert Kelly: Faces Philly, Carolina, and Chicago—three top defenses.
• Ivory and Yelden: Confront Minnesota, Houston, and Tennessee with robust run defenses.

Notable Quote:
Willie Sneed [31:16]: "Thomas Rawls is going to win you your fantasy playoffs."

Wide Receivers

Best Playoff Schedules

• Tyrell Williams (San Diego): Plays Carolina, Oakland, and Cleveland.
• Brandon Marshall (Detroit): Faces San Francisco and Miami, which are favorable matchups.

Notable Quote:
Willie Sneed [34:34]: "Tyrell Williams, you should pick him up if you have time to grab him still, he should be on your team."

Worst Playoff Schedules

• DeAndre Hopkins (Indianapolis): Faces Jacksonville, Cincinnati, and Green Bay, all strong against wide receivers.
• Ramsey and Others: Similar challenges for other wide receivers facing top defenses.

Notable Quote:
Willie Sneed [40:48]: "DeAndre Hopkins is too talented... If Brock Osweiler blows his knee out this week, he's going to become a great fantasy option."

Tight Ends

Best Playoff Schedules

• Cameron Brait: Faces two New Orleans matchups and Dallas, which struggles against tight ends.
• Zach Miller: Encounters Detroit and Green Bay, both poor against tight ends.

Notable Quote:
Willie Sneed [46:21]: "Zach Miller, Cameron Brait. I agree. Those two, the Gates Henry thing, obviously, if you got one of them, you're probably playing them."

Worst Playoff Schedules

• Delaney Walker: Faces Denver and Kansas City, two of the best against tight ends.
• Russell Wilson: Additional challenges depending on team matchups.

Notable Quote:
Willie Sneed [50:00]: "Delaney Walker is the second ranked tight end, but his week 13 bye context makes him a risky choice."

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Thursday Night Game Preview

New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers

Willie Sneed [55:47]: "This is one of the biggest over/unders we've seen on the year. 52 points. Do you buy into that?"
The hosts preview the Thursday night divisional game between the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers. They discuss the implications of the Panthers potentially being eliminated from the playoffs with a loss and analyze the offensive capabilities of both teams.

Notable Insights:

• Andy Holloway [54:24]: "I would probably lean towards the under on this game, but I do expect there to be enough fantasy points."
• Willie Sneed [55:27]: Discusses starting Mark Ingram over Hightower, despite Carolina's strong run defense.

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Strategic Insights and Conclusions

Throughout the episode, the Fantasy Footballers emphasize the importance of considering playoff matchups when setting lineups. They caution against relying solely on player rankings or recent performances without factoring in the quality of upcoming defenses. The hosts advocate for a balanced approach, integrating player talent with favorable matchups to maximize playoff success.

Key Takeaways:

• Diversify Your Lineup: Avoid stacking too many players from the same team to mitigate the risk of facing tough defenses.
• Target Matchup-Friendly Players: Prioritize players facing weaker defenses during the playoff weeks.
• Stay Informed on Injuries and Team News: Player availability and team dynamics can significantly impact fantasy performances.
• Flexibility is Crucial: Be prepared to pivot your strategy based on the latest developments leading up to the playoffs.

Notable Quote:
Andy Holloway [15:37]: "This is a piece of a puzzle. This is not the ultimatum."

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Conclusion

This episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast serves as an essential roadmap for fantasy managers approaching the most critical phase of the fantasy season—the playoffs. By dissecting player matchups across all key positions and providing actionable advice, Andy, Jason, and Mike equip listeners with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions and secure their championship victories. Whether navigating quarterback dilemmas, optimizing running back lineups, selecting the best wide receivers, or choosing tight ends with favorable schedules, this episode offers invaluable insights to dominate the fantasy playoffs.

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Stay Connected:
For more detailed analyses, top 10 lists, and ongoing fantasy football strategies, follow the Fantasy Footballers on Twitter @the_ffballers and join their fantasy community at JoinTheFoot.com.

Transcript

[Willie Sneed]

Hey, Foot Clan, before we get started, I want to give you a quick reminder about the Megalodon giveaway. Head over to footclangiveaway.com get in on some sweet autographed gear. Hey, this is Willie Sneed with the New Orleans Saints, and you're listening to.

[Andy Holloway]

The Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from the fantasyjocks.com studios with your host, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Willie Sneed]

Welcome into a verified Wednesday morning.

[Andy Holloway]

Full verified 100%.

[Willie Sneed]

Mike is not here. Jason and Andy are. We are the fantasy footballers and we're back again. And I'm telling you right now, this might be the most important episode you listen to. Until the next one. Well, no, for real, this is a very important episode. This is. Look, what we're doing on the show today is we are. We have pulled out the placemats and we're setting the table for the fantasy playoffs.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right. People have been asking for this. They've been saying, how do you feel about certain players for the playoffs scheduled upcoming? You know, who are you really wanting for that playoff stretch? Who are you avoiding? Things like that. And we'll give a nice taste. We'll put the salt and all the, all the seasonings out.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah. And you make the decision on what you want to eat. This show is all about giving you information how to play, not just a bunch of rankings. Right. We could come on here and say keep, trade, cut today, but the reality is you don't play. You don't look at fantasy players now and just say what they've done in the past and make an arbitrary decision. You have to factor in all of the matchups that are coming up, whether you're trying to fight to get into the playoffs or back in the playoff hunt or whether you are now hopefully firmly secure in the playoffs and, you know, setting your lineup, getting it ready for weeks 14, 15 and 16. And so we are going to break down positional teams that have great matchups at each position for the playoffs, teams that have bad matchups. We're getting into that today. We have Pump the Breaks. We have a bunch of good articles on the website that you can add into your brain, like our snap count observation article that's out there. And some fanduel information is on the website as well, which is TheFantasyFootballers.com now, look, before we get into pump the brakes, it's important that we take a quick look at an important issue going on in this country. Is Mike verified?

[Andy Holloway]

You know, Sometimes it's hard to check.

[Willie Sneed]

Right. Sometimes we don't broadcast live.

[Andy Holloway]

I have to look it up or, and I don't know where to find.

[Willie Sneed]

It, but one of our listeners does.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, my goodness. Who, whoever you are out there in the world who has, I mean, the Foot Clan always just, they top themselves. They're just constantly, they're, they're doing better than the last one. You can now go to is mike verified.com and find out Brad Coates. Oh, Brad Coates.

[Willie Sneed]

Brad Coates is the one that put that together. A lot of really good information on the website. If you go to is mike verified.com is mike verified.

[Andy Holloway]

Let me, let me look in.

[Willie Sneed]

Is he.

[Andy Holloway]

Nope. Don't trust the word he says.

[Willie Sneed]

Don't trust the word he says. That's. At this point. How can you.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't even know if it's him.

[Willie Sneed]

How can you. So. All right, that's good. I'm glad we took care of that. It's Wednesday, which means it's time for.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, oh, oh, O'Reilly. Oh, parts.

[Willie Sneed]

We two manned it.

[Andy Holloway]

We did. Almost. I almost forgot.

[Willie Sneed]

You did. Welcome to Pump the brakes with O'Reilly. We do this every Wednesday. Talk about some players you need to be aware of. Maybe they had a very good week. Maybe you're excited about them and we're saying, whoa, Nelly.

[Andy Holloway]

Pump, pump those breaks.

[Willie Sneed]

Pump those brakes. Jason, who's your Pump the Brakes candidate this week?

[Andy Holloway]

My candidate this week is a guy who is very hot and cold throughout most seasons, Eli Manning. And if you look at the last two weeks, he's been rather hot. Eli Manning is now at the point where people are going to say, I can trust them. I can play him. He's thrown seven touchdowns in two weeks. And I'm saying, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Willie Sneed]

You're worried about it.

[Andy Holloway]

Pump them breaks. Just pump them breaks.

[Willie Sneed]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Because this week he has what looks like a kind of juicy matchup. He's playing against Chicago. Chicago is a terrible albatross of a team right now, and they just lost Alshon, Jeffrey. They're in shambles. So New York, who is favored by 7 according to Vegas, that seems to me to be a recipe for for play. Eli Manning, or at least you can make that argument. The reality is this. The Giants are winning right now because of their defense. Chicago actually has a pretty good defense. It's their offense that is atrocious. This game should be a more low scoring game. And it's a game that Eli Manning could, you know, throw a couple picks here. So I don't expect, you know, him to continue the pace of three and a half touchdowns game over the last two. And if you're saying, hey, I'm going to pick him up and play him, I think you're going to be, you know, I think you're going to have the quarterback 15. And that doesn't usually win your week.

[Willie Sneed]

All right, I'm going to. My pump the brakes is going to be a combination. It's going to be the Baltimore passing game in general, which really for fantasy owners focuses on Steve Smith senior and Mike Wallace. I just, look, it's been an off year for Joe Flacco.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

And the illusion that is playing Cleveland does not write your ship for the entire year. You mix that with what I deem the worst schedule for fantasy wide receivers in the playoffs. Week 14 at New England, Week 15 Philly. Week 16 at Pittsburgh. If you go through 17, it's at Cincinnati. That's three out of four. But you know, of the top 10 defenses against passing fantasy points given up to wide receivers. And so to me, I, as much as I respect Steve Smith and enjoy the 95 yard touchdowns from Mike Wallace, I don't think you can count on it. I think you need to pump the brakes after this Cleveland extravaganza, which everybody has.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

You don't get to play Cleveland four times.

[Andy Holloway]

My, my pump the brakes was almost Ben Roethlisberger because if you think about it, he's going on the road and he's lost a lot of weapons. Look, Marcus Wheaton, he's got the shoulder injury.

[Willie Sneed]

I thought you said weapons.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, not Wheaton's. He's gone. Sammy Coates broke an extra finger because he just.

[Willie Sneed]

How do you do that?

[Andy Holloway]

Brittle hands. So he's gone. Darius Hayward Bay. Okay. Now he's, you know, possibly gonna miss. So you've got Big Ben going on the road and you've got missing weapons. I was going to say, hey, look, this is another possible Big Ben trap game. And then I realized, like, man, they play Cleveland, they play Cleveland. He's going to be just fine.

[Willie Sneed]

Eight and a half point favorites in Cleveland.

[Andy Holloway]

Joe Flacco to add to that was terrible last week and he was like a top five fantasy player.

[Willie Sneed]

All right, we're going to get into the news. Before we do that, you can keep up with everything going on with this show on twitter @the ffballers. Make sure you head over there and follow us. You can follow me at Andy Holloway, follow Jason at Jason ffl and followed the unverified swine at FF Hitman.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And so, yeah, that. That completes the pump the brakes.

[Willie Sneed]

That's right. That was pump the brakes with O'Reilly Auto Parts. Better parts, better prices every day.

[Andy Holloway]

I wanted to just, I wanted to say it with you.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah, I appreciate that. All right, we're going to go ahead and break down the news before we get into this important playoff segment.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league.

[Willie Sneed]

Now, as much as I'd love to pretend Mike doesn't exist with the news that broke yesterday, big news. Christian Michael was waived.

[Andy Holloway]

He's gone.

[Willie Sneed]

It's full circle here again for Christian Michael. Nothing to do with an off a field issue is what they claim. What I've heard. Well, there's a couple angles here. First of all, we're going to take you live to. We called. Let's handle this first. We called Mike. Mike is at Disneyland with his family and the grandparents.

[Andy Holloway]

How do you not after, you know, all of Mike's love for Chris and Michael, how do you not get Mike to weigh in? People, people wanted to know.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike's opinion on Chris and Michael.

[Willie Sneed]

He loved Chris and Michael. So we called him, we recorded the conversation, and here's what we got. He wasn't happy.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Willie Sneed]

He was disappointed.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

I go so far as upset.

[Andy Holloway]

You could say he was in a glass case of emotion.

[Willie Sneed]

So Mike wasn't happy. Here's my take on this one. First thing, it says pro size and Rawls, they're completely comfortable moving forward with them. Clearly this is on paper now.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, Rawls is absolutely healthy and ready to go or you don't cut Kristen Michael.

[Willie Sneed]

The second thing I've heard about this is that Chris and Michael somehow couldn't pick up or understand or get the offense in the way that they wanted to be able to run the offense and have confidence in him in that role. To me now, I've been saying this for weeks. I don't know if you believe me, Jason, but I think Thomas Rawls is going to win. People playoff fantasy championships, Foot clan titles will be the result of Thomas Rawls. Now, do you. The big question for fantasy owners now with this news is Rawls are pro size this week because this is his first week back. Raw's first week back, mind you, he basically, you know, he came back briefly at the beginning of the year and really, you know, didn't even get into the swing of things before he got hurt.

[Andy Holloway]

Again this, this week I would be more competent playing pro size. I think really it was.

[Willie Sneed]

I think that's the general thought.

[Andy Holloway]

I think Pro size was what he showed last week. It has as much to do with them being able to let Kristen Michael go as. As Rawls health. Because they say, well, we don't even need him without Rawls.

[Willie Sneed]

17 for 66.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So. And they've got Alex Collins behind them.

[Willie Sneed]

Alex Collins, you said? Yeah, I thought you said Alex Rawls.

[Andy Holloway]

Nope.

[Willie Sneed]

His brother, Alex Collins.

[Andy Holloway]

And you know the one caveat I will put, especially on today's show, Today we're going to be talking about the playoff matchups. The one reason I would hesitate to say that Rawls is going to win you your fantasy playoffs. You know, he's got the Green Bay rushing defense, LA Rams and Arizona. Those are just three matchups I'm not looking forward to from the running back position.

[Willie Sneed]

Well. And sure, I think that's fair. And for clarity, I did not say he will. I said he's one of those guys that could. Because if you didn't have a fantasy running back, we talk about all these depth plays and guys, you can sign the Robert Kelly's of the world. We have to remember Thomas Rawls was the best fantasy running back in football. Number one over the last half of the season last year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

So when you get that back and you weren't expecting to get it back, that's a difference maker.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep. All right.

[Willie Sneed]

Tony Romo held an emotional press conference yesterday. He supported Dak Prescott as the starting quarterback. Honestly, I felt terrible for him.

[Andy Holloway]

I.

[Willie Sneed]

And he read right off of a piece of paper, he couldn't handle it.

[Andy Holloway]

I was so impressed, man. I mean, it takes a lot to be a true legitimate superstar and humble yourself and back up what you've been saying your whole career, which is I need to do what's best for the team, not just what's best for the team and me. And I was impressed by it. I think the young ones out there could follow the example, the humility, the reality. He's living in reality as opposed to in his own little celebrity bubble. I was just throwing.

[Willie Sneed]

What's the fantasy implications?

[Andy Holloway]

Fantasy implications are that Dak Prescott is definitely the starter for sure. We already knew that. And I have been saying, you know, he was almost my rising star of the week because I trust him for fantasy. I think he is productive from a statistical, you know, pad. The box score capability.

[Willie Sneed]

All right. Jared Goff is going to make his first start this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Really?

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah. Aren't you excited?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man, I'm. Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

I would sign the Dolphins defense immediately.

[Andy Holloway]

That's. That's the biggest piece of this The Dolphins are probably going to be my number one ranked. The Jared Goff. There's a reason he hasn't been able to get on the field yet. I will be.

[Willie Sneed]

It took a case Keenan to get him on.

[Andy Holloway]

Thoroughly enjoying watching the game, I guess. As you know, we live in Arizona, so this is great news.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah. I mean, I don't like Goff. I never have. I wonder what he'll be able to do.

[Andy Holloway]

Like, as a person?

[Willie Sneed]

Well, no, as a player.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Willie Sneed]

As a player, I just have never bought in. I think we saw in the preseason what he has. We'll see, though. He's probably better than Keenum, but probably not this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

All right. Mike Tomlins said Sammy Coates is dealing with the double broken finger situation after the last two gooses. I would cut him.

[Andy Holloway]

Absolutely. I don't think you can trust Sammy Coates. You can't start him right now. And now that you know he's got the additional broken finger, what do you. What do you hold now?

[Willie Sneed]

Hope for nothing. And Blair Walsh. You burst onto the scene, you burn bright, and now you're gone. Blair Walsh was cut. Released by the Vikings after missing an extra point.

[Andy Holloway]

The life of a kicker. I.

[Willie Sneed]

It's a rough world, man.

[Andy Holloway]

I tweeted out, you know, that, you know, I. He definitely needed to be cut. I'm happy he's gone, but there's always a part of me that feels bad for kickers that just, hey, you don't perform. You are gone, like, way quicker than most other positions. And then all the Minnesota people tweeted and said, no. No remorse. No. No hard feeling out.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah, there were some. If you remember, the playoffs last year wasn't. Wasn't pretty. And the one thing I'll say is you had Mason Crosby struggle for like two years in Green Bay, and they stuck through with him, and now he's great again. So I wouldn't. I wouldn't doubt seeing a big league Blair Walsh end up back in the league. But not on Minnesota. So we're moving on. We're talking playoffs.

[Andy Holloway]

Playoffs?

[Willie Sneed]

You kidding me? Playoffs. Are you ready?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm ready.

[Willie Sneed]

What position do we start with?

[Andy Holloway]

I think you start at the top with the quarterbacks.

[Willie Sneed]

All right, so what we did is we took a look at basically ranked all the teams according to fantasy points per game given up to the quarterbacks, laid out their playoff schedules. And so we wanted to give you kind of what we see as the best playoff schedules for quarterbacks, the worst playoff schedules for quarterbacks. This will affect the way you Trade the way you sign guys and the caveat here is that this is a piece of a puzzle. This is not the ultimatum. This doesn't mean that because Tyrod Taylor has a good playoff schedule that you go out and you play him over Tom Brady. We're not saying that.

[Andy Holloway]

Who has a bad playoff schedule?

[Willie Sneed]

Who has a bad playoff schedule?

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly right. We are most certainly not saying that. But it is important. If you look at last year, you know, the Kirk Cousins playoff schedule was great. That was. He was made because he had great matchups and we knew, hey, this is a juicy matchup. You should start him. You did start him. You won your championship. That's what we're looking for this year are those kind of guys that kind of have the combination of talent and matchup. I'm a little bit scared of giving the bad playoff schedule matchups because too often people then overvalue that. And so this is kind of our caveat of saying don't over value matchups. Just have that be the piece of the.

[Willie Sneed]

And if you were going to overvalue, I'd rather you overvalue on the better QB schedule side and stream those guys than I would you overreact. I mean, look at Drew Brees took on Denver, right? That's a bad playoff matchup. Took him on this last week, scored 30 points.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, look, our three worst. I mean, since we're talking quarterbacks, let's just get into it, right? The three worst matchups.

[Willie Sneed]

On paper.

[Andy Holloway]

On paper, four quarterbacks are three great quarterbacks.

[Willie Sneed]

Aaron Rodgers.

[Andy Holloway]

Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson.

[Willie Sneed]

So Rogers has Seattle, Chicago, Minnesota and Brady has Baltimore, Denver, the Jets. It really, Brady's schedule really doesn't. Even though on paper he ranks that way, it doesn't scare me nearly as much as Aaron Rodgers does.

[Andy Holloway]

I completely agree.

[Willie Sneed]

Aaron Rodgers playing Seattle and then the divisional game at Chicago and then Minnesota. That's a tough, that's a tough run.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Tom Brady, you know, look, a lot of people, myself included, found better options than playing Drew Brees against Denver this last week. And Drew Brees was absolutely fine. And that's not the norm. But Drew Brees is not the norm and Tom Brady is not the norm. So his schedule here obviously week 16 against the Jets. That's great. Tom Brady can carve up the jets week secondary. Baltimore is really just highly ranked for that first week because they're a low scoring team and I, I'm not really scared off of Tom Brady.

[Willie Sneed]

Now here's what I'm going to ask you, though. Drew Brees is the second best schedule for a fantasy quarterback. For the playoffs, Rivers has three plus matchups facing Carolina, Oakland and Cleveland. I think people are going to win championships with Philip Rivers this year. And we said it a couple weeks ago.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, we've been on Philip for a while. He is the guy that I would prefer to have going into the playoffs.

[Willie Sneed]

But Brees has Tampa twice. Tampa Bay, yes. And if I were an Aaron Rodgers owner and I was securing the playoffs, there's no question in my mind I would be trying to trade Aaron Rodgers in a deal for Drew Brees.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, for sure. I mean, if you want to put. If I was to have to make a bet to say, okay, Fantasy Playoffs, Week 14, 15, 16 between Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, I would give odds.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah. So other fantasy quarterbacks with plus matchups for weeks 14, 15 and 16. We talked about Rivers and Brees. Jameis Winston has New Orleans twice and Dallas in the middle. It's a good run for Winston. You've been riding him probably for a few weeks now because the second half schedule was so much better. Matt Ryan, Dak Prescott, those two guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Both have good overall.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah. 15 and 16 are better for both of them.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And they. And they have a hard week one.

[Willie Sneed]

Both on the road.

[Andy Holloway]

Both on the road, both against decently good defenses in the LA Rams. That's who Matt Ryan's playing in Week one. And then Dak Prescott will be playing against the Giants, whose secondary is much improved. Pass rush looks pretty good. I would trust. I think I would trust either one of those guys in those games. I wouldn't necessarily sit them, but there are better options.

[Willie Sneed]

You're just talking about week 14.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, just week 14. Week 15 and 16 for Matt Ryan and Dak Prescott are as green as it gets.

[Willie Sneed]

Colin Kaepernick, Tyrod Taylor and Derek Carr are the last three that I want to mention in the best quarterback schedules for week 14 through 16. I've told you, Kaepernick is one of those guys that I. He was my rising star because of his playoff schedule. The jets in Atlanta for weeks 14 and 15. Tyrod Taylor, I mean, I really like his schedule and the way he's been playing Pittsburgh and Cleveland for week 14 and 15. Another great streaming option. And then, you know, Derek Carr, Kansas City, San Diego and Indianapolis, I'm okay with it. I think, you know, I think you could probably do better than Derek Carr, but he's managed to. Those are a couple tough divisional games. I don't mind it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And the last name that I would throw out there for fantasy relevance in the playoffs. I always think the most important week is the is week one of the playoffs.

[Willie Sneed]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

If you know you're going to get in the playoffs, focus on that first week because you don't get to the second if you don't win the first. And Andy Dalton, while he doesn't have a great matchup throughout the playoffs, he plays Cleveland that first week. So if you know, if you've got.

[Willie Sneed]

Like your Matt Ryan owner.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly. Matt Ryan, Dak Prescott, you got those two guys who've got that hard week one and the great week two and three in the playoffs, then grab pair Andy Dalton with Matt Ryan or Dak Prescott. And I love your entire fantasy playoffs.

[Willie Sneed]

All right, before we finish up on the quarterbacks and talk about a few of these bad matchups, maybe guys you just want to stay away from and not be tempted to play, I do want to thank today's sponsor of the show. Good friends over at Harry's. Thank you for sponsoring this podcast. We love Harry's. What I love is how comfortable the shave is and the fact that unlike other brands, Harry's, you know, they come out with new models. I actually just got the latest Harry's razor model. They come out with all these new features. They make them better, they improve them, but they don't raise the prices. The prices stay exactly the same with Harry's. Now they have a trimmer blade. Now they have a lubricating strip on there. They have these are five blade razors that have a softer flex hinge. But the price hasn't gone up. They're still just two bucks a blade compared to four bucks that you'd pay for the other guys at the drugstore. That's why we like Harry's. That's why we've been talking about them for a long time. Don't forget when we first talked about them, we reminded you they have their own factory in Germany where they make these blades. So that's why they can make them high quality and at a low cost. So Harry's is so confident in the quality of these blades, guys, that they will send you a free trial set. Comes with a razor, a five blade cartridge and shaving gel. You don't have to pay anything but shipping. So if you want to try them out, you, you want to give them a shot. Special offer for the fans of this show. Enter the code. Footballers at checkout get a post shave bomb for free on top of all of that. So go to Harry's.com right now and enter the code footballers at checkout to claim your free trial set and post shave bomb. That's Harry's.com code footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. We also definitely want to make sure everyone always knows about Pristine Auction. The best. The only place to get authentic sign.

[Willie Sneed]

What'S going on over there today.

[Andy Holloway]

Incredible merchandise. You know, here's what's going on. We've been seeing tweet after tweet pictures of people getting stuff from Pristine Auction, thanking us for showing them Pristine Auction saying they can't believe what they got showing us pictures of their living rooms. And it's like I made the comment a week or two ago about the fact that it's like it's the new art, right? Like, you know, maybe in the olden days, you'd go through and you'd see these extravagant pictures and paintings before things were verified, right? And now it's like you walk into these living rooms or you walk into your awesome man cave or whatever it is, and you just have these show pieces. And then I was looking around on Pristine Auction. You know what I found out? They actually have legitimate signed art as well. Like I was signed Salvador Dali. They've got everything over there. So whatever you think, if you're like, I need to up my living room, my showpiece, go to Pristine Auction. P R I S T I n e auction.com. make a free account, bid on stuff that's free. Tweet us when you win it and make sure you let them know that the fantasy footballer sent you.

[Willie Sneed]

All right? Some other bad schedules for the playoffs. Russell Wilson, he takes on Green Bay, the Rams in Arizona. You know, I don't think many people are tempted to play Tannehill. He has a tough one. The other ones just stay away from Blake Bortles. Overall, you probably already are. But he's got Minnesota and Houston. All right, what do you think of Andrew Luck? That's because Andrew Luck right now, he's had his first two playoff matchups are against teams that are not giving it up to fantasy quarterbacks. Now, Andrew Luck has shown a capacity to usurp those rankings when he faces them. But he does play Houston and then he plays Minnesota in those first two weeks before he takes on that juicy, maybe championship winning Oakland matchup in week 16. But what do you do with Andrew Luck? What. What would your mindset be if you have Andrew Luck on your team? You probably just start him, don't you?

[Andy Holloway]

If I have Andrew Luck on my team by the time that the playoffs roll around, I am probably going to start him. There are, there are. Certainly he won't be my number one ranked quarterback. So, you know, if you happen to have him and Philip Rivers, then I'd start Phillip Rivers over some of those matchups because you've got the combination of a really good quarterback, good offense with the matchup. If I've got him now and I have the ability to make a move very similar to what you were saying with Aaron Rodgers, I would start at the top and start looking at like, you know, can I get a Drew Brees for Andrew Luck plus, you know, a throwaway something or maybe just straight across, you know, if the other person buys into the name of Andrew Luck.

[Willie Sneed]

A little bit more buys into the.

[Andy Holloway]

Beard, buys into the good luck. But I think you're right. I'm going to go ahead and start him if I've got him, more than likely. But you need to realize that the playoff schedule, when you start out with Houston and Minnesota, it's going to be you've got a good, you're going to.

[Willie Sneed]

Probably cap your upside at a minimum. Even if Luck gives you a good performance, don't you want to start a guy that has because the potential to go 30, 40 boys and win you a week?

[Andy Holloway]

He has the potential, right, to keep up with anyone. You got a great defense, he's going to keep up with them. The problem with Minnesota and Houston specifically is that they've got bad offenses, right? So there's no way this turns into a 30 to 30 type of game because Houston and Minnesota don't have the capability to score those points unless their defense is scoring them.

[Willie Sneed]

All right, let's turn over to the running back position, a position that is heavily impacted by these matchups. Obviously. Case in point, two weeks ago, Mark Ingram had the pleasure of going up against the San Francisco run defense. Puts up 15 for 158 and a touchdown. 34 fantasy points in our league. Follow it up a week, it's Denver 11 for 50. It's even a good yard per carry, but no touchdown. Not a lot of scoring given up and he only scores eight fantasy points. And so we want to outline a few of the plus matchups, especially almost all these guys we're going to mention for the better RB schedules are guys that have a great week 14. And that's the nice thing because if you go and get these players, not only are they the best for weeks 14, 15, 16, but they all aren't going to hurt you in week one just about now there are some obvious guys that you're not necessarily going to.

[Andy Holloway]

There's. We don't need to.

[Willie Sneed]

You're not going to bench them. Those are the Gordons of the world.

[Andy Holloway]

LaShawn McCoy.

[Willie Sneed]

Sure, McCoy has a great schedule, but. But here's some to pay attention to. The backfield. We've talked a lot about Cleveland today and how wonderful it is to play against them. The backfield in Cincinnati has the third best playoff schedule for running backs. They faced Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and then Houston.

[Andy Holloway]

Houston's not that great, but when you start off with Cleveland, Houston's in the.

[Willie Sneed]

Middle of the pack against the Run.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

So Hale and Bernard, both of those guys, both of them can probably be acquired cheap, too. So if you're talking about some running back insurance on your team, those guys have a great matchup in week 14. Who sticks out to you as the big guys? You got Jonathan Stewart has the second best against the Run, San Diego, Washington, Atlanta. You have the forte Powell combination again. Powell's a guy you could probably go snag on the cheap.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, definitely the guy that I have really liked his playoff schedule for a while. It's possible you could still acquire him as well, but he's more expensive because he's got a big name as Todd Gurley. Todd Gurley. Look, in that second playoff week, he's going to go up against Seattle. In Seattle. That's terrible. So that might hurt you too much. Maybe it's not worth the investment, but you sandwich those. You sandwich that game with Atlanta at home and San Francisco at home. You're telling me Todd Gurley, it doesn't.

[Willie Sneed]

Get much better than that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, that's what you're looking for.

[Willie Sneed]

And the potential for golf to. To change the offense. Maybe not. He's a. He doesn't set the world on fire, but he changes. It opens up.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe you have to have a defender back for a deep shot, you know, and you can't just have everybody up against the box.

[Willie Sneed]

Other box, up against it, up against it. Just up right up against the box.

[Andy Holloway]

We've talked. It's very, very similar to Todd Gurley. We've talked about it for a while. Which is Doug Martin. Now, Doug Martin, in the middle of the fantasy playoffs, has. Has Dallas. In Dallas. That's not a great matchup, but he's sandwiched with two games against New Orleans, which is as good as it gets. So who would you like in that, in that second week of the playoffs that, you know, would pair nicely. The hard thing here with quarterbacks, you can pair them right. You can Go out and find waiver pickups. You can carry two.

[Willie Sneed]

That's why I like Hill and Bernard, because they get to take on Pittsburgh's run defense, which has been terrible. Pittsburgh right now is giving up the third most points to fantasy running backs in 22.8 points per game. Hill and Bernard, you can get one of those guys. If you need to protect yourself against that tough matchup, you can roll out a Hill or Bernard against Pittsburgh in weeks 15 divisional game. A very porous defense for Pittsburgh on the ground. That's one of the teams I'd consider.

[Andy Holloway]

I think my two favorite schedules overall are probably Jonathan Stewart's going San Diego, Washington, Atlanta. I've got really no fears in that. And I'll also throw out Spencer Ware because while Tennessee in the second week is. They've been okay at their running D, they don't scare me quite as much, especially for a guy who catches the ball like Spencer Ware does. So Oakland, Tennessee and Denver is actually a plus matchup on the ground. Spencer Ware and Jonathan Stewart are those guys I think you can acquire or if you have, you can have some confidence in them going, going forward.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah. Yep, I agree. Another note here. Ingram and Hightower both have the. They have the Tampa Bay sandwich, but Arizona is right in the middle of that. And if you have a backfield that is sharing carries. You saw this last week against Denver, it wasn't a good mix. Arizona is number one when it comes to the least amount of points given up against fantasy running backs. So you need to keep that in mind. They're giving up 11 points per game. Just over 11. Compare that to San Francisco who's given up 28. That is a wide disparity. So on the other end of the spectrum you have some matchups, some players, some guys that do not have good looking schedules. The one that jumps out to me, it's a triple red across the board. It's the Rob Kelly experiment. Okay. He has to go to Philly, then Carolina, then Chicago. Three really, really good run defenses right now. Philly and Chicago is the third against run, Carolina fourth and Philly is looking at number six. So I don't think you can lean on Kelly in the playoffs at all.

[Andy Holloway]

No, it's going to be difficult to run against that run of matchups and succeed throughout the playoffs when you're playing other great fantasy teams. What's interesting to me is there's a lot of question mark guys, a lot of waiver type of guys right now that people are picking up. They're interested in and all of them, I feel like, have pretty bad fantasy playoff schedules. So you bring up Rob Kelly, right? A lot of people, the two guys that people are picking up right now, James Starks and Thomas Rawls. Those guys, James Starks, you know, we. Seattle, Chicago, in Chicago and Minnesota. That's a really bad schedule for a running back. And then, you know, I mentioned it just a few minutes ago, with Rawls and Procyce at Green Bay, then the LA Rams and Arizona, you know, it's. If Rawls comes back, if Rawls comes back to his form last year, he was matchup proof. He just. He can run on anybody. But we haven't seen him come back. We saw him try early in the season and he didn't look the same.

[Willie Sneed]

I think the point you're making though, is that among the worst situations for running backs, there are a ton of the running back rotation situations, whether it is the pro size, Rawls, the Kelly Thompson, the Jennings, Perkins. They have three red matchups. Dallas, Detroit, Philly, Ivory and Yelden. Not that you want to start either of them, but now I'm telling you, don't. Please don't. Minnesota, Houston, Tennessee.

[Andy Holloway]

A lot of people are like, well, what do I do with Ivory? Do I hold on to him because he's had a good game since the offensive quarter?

[Willie Sneed]

Put him in a small boat, push him out to sea.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And then, and then take that. Take that arrow. Arrow. Put it on fire.

[Willie Sneed]

Come on.

[Andy Holloway]

And then you launch it.

[Willie Sneed]

Come on.

[Andy Holloway]

You're probably going to miss.

[Willie Sneed]

You know, you'll get a fine if you do the arrow.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to. I'm going to get a fine.

[Willie Sneed]

Brandon Cooks can't do that.

[Andy Holloway]

You got the same thing with Chicago, with Howard and Langford. You know, Howard's injury, he Detroit. Their running defense has actually been okay because their past defense is so bad.

[Willie Sneed]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

The usually running backs don't put up many fantasy points.

[Willie Sneed]

Green Bay, let's remember when we say their defense has been okay. This is 100% in the context of what they've given up to running back fantasy. It doesn't mean that they are a great defense. It means that they don't generally give it up to running backs. In Detroit's case is because they give it all up to the wide receivers. People don't have to run. So let's move on to the wide receiver position. And let's talk about. You know, sometimes these are the most interesting because you can really. Okay, you probably got a one right. You're in the playoffs, you probably have a wide receiver, one you love. You might have a two you love, but you don't know who to flex and you don't know what player you can roll out there. And matchups make a big difference. You know, you don't want your fantasy wide receivers going up against Denver and Minnesota or Houston. Those guys are giving up 13, 15, and 16 points, respectively, to fantasy wide receivers. And so let's talk about some of the best schedules. This is the best case of setting the table for you as a fantasy owner and letting you decide which matchups you like the most, because you start at the top. The best situation for any set of wide receivers looks to me like San Diego. And I still don't know which guy I'd want. It looks like. I mean, Tyrell Williams, you should pick him up if you have time to grab him still, he should be on your team. But they have Carolina, Oakland and Cleveland.

[Andy Holloway]

All three great schedules for wide receivers.

[Willie Sneed]

And we already told you we love Philip Rivers.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it makes sense. If Travis Benjamin stays out, stays injured, he's getting more counsel on his injury. If he is gone, then Tyrell Williams is going to be, I think, heavily owned in championship rosters. Unbelievably, he's still available in like 20% of leagues. And that just shows that.

[Willie Sneed]

After this morning.

[Andy Holloway]

I haven't checked it.

[Willie Sneed]

This morning, you're saying with the. Oh, that was yesterday.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And so. But what it does show you is that his value is not perceived to be very high. So if your trade deadline has not passed, then you can probably acquire him as almost a throw in on another. On another team.

[Willie Sneed]

He's still 30% available on ESPN.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. This morning. So that's. That's nuts. If he's out there, definitely pick him up.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah. He's had a number of good weeks. Four out of the last six weeks. 20, 17, 15, 23.

[Andy Holloway]

You all right there?

[Willie Sneed]

I think I'm okay. All right, so it's not a surprise Julio Jones has a really good matchup. You're not benching Julio Jones under any circumstance, but maybe, Maybe it means in a deeper league. You take a flyer on Taylor Gabriel, who has San Francisco Carolina in week 15, 16. Carolina has a very good fantasy schedule. So maybe if you're worried about Kelvin Benjamin, you can kind of let that be the tiebreaker on whether he can be rolled out there for you with confidence, you know, the first couple weeks here. I want to know this because one of the better schedules, Jason, is for Brandon Marshall against San Francisco Miami in the first Two weeks. But I mean, what do you even do right now with them?

[Andy Holloway]

I think you.

[Willie Sneed]

Is that just like fool's gold, seeing that schedule?

[Andy Holloway]

You hold a vigil for Ryan Fitzpatrick and you hope that he gets his life in order and that things that.

[Willie Sneed]

He can come back and start and.

[Andy Holloway]

That he can be the starter and that he can be okay. Because you're not getting anything done with Bryce Petty in there.

[Willie Sneed]

You don't want Christian Hackenberg.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. I mean, give, give them to me. What, what. What's the worst you can do?

[Willie Sneed]

Very good. Playoff matchups for Des Bryant and the Cowboys wide receivers. For the Detroit wide receivers, the various sleep Marvin Jones and the suddenly awake golden Tate. I've been asked this question a bunch of times. I'm going to pose it to you right now. Jason. Rest of season, Tate or Marvin? Joe, they have Chicago, New York and Dallas in the fantasy playoffs with those specific teams.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to go with Tate because I still think that Marvin Jones is considered by other teams as the one that you need to lock down. I think they're putting their best defender.

[Willie Sneed]

He's not being able to.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not been able to beat.

[Willie Sneed]

Overcome it.

[Andy Holloway]

Right, Exactly. And when I look at those teams, you know, you've got to come a couple really good, you know, like New York, they've, they've got their, their new acquisition. Jennings has been great and so I think he's going to be able to lock Jones down and Tate might have a little bit more room to run.

[Willie Sneed]

My answer has kind of been Tate and half point and full point leagues. Thinking about Jones and standard leagues, you.

[Andy Holloway]

Know, I'll be really honest, I don't especially want either of them. I don't want to rely on either guy because the chance of me being able to rely for three consecutive weeks on either one of those guys is such a crap shoot that I would rather go to other options personally.

[Willie Sneed]

So you brought up earlier if Travis Benjamin doesn't come back, how much you like Tyrell Williams? Well, if desean Jackson can't get back on the field, how high do you move up Jameson Crowder With a playoff schedule of Philly, Carolina and Chicago, two thirds of those are the worst against fantasy wide receivers without Djax on the field. Do you bump up everybody there? Do you bump up Crowder and Garcon and Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't bump up everybody. But Crowder is the guy to me that is a locked and loaded he. You know who he is reminding me of? Michael Crabtree. He's a guy that you just don't think is spectacular. You don't see him as this. He's going down and getting 60 yard bombs. He's not this prototypical wide receiver. One, he's not the Lamborghini, but he is so consistent with points that if you put him as your wide receiver too, you are happy every single week. He gets enough targets, enough receptions, enough red zone looks, enough touchdowns to where it's like, oh, yeah, I'm so glad I've got him and I don't have this up and down terribleness of like a Marvin Jones or Golden Tate where, hey, I'm so happy. They helped me win this week also they helped me lose the next week. That doesn't get it done in the playoffs. In the playoffs, you have to win every single week or you're done.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah, I completely agree. And another great lineup, New Orleans. We've talked about that Tampa Bay sandwich they have. So that means you have to lean on either a Brandon Cooks or Willie Snead or a Michael Thomas. To me, it's Thomas. I would say one of my potential pump the brakes was Willie Snead because he put in the two touchdowns this week. But, but I still, all my money's on Thomas for that. Those two Tampa matchups and to be honest with you, I think Thomas, you know, Patrick Peterson is going to be on Brandon Cooks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

In fact, today news just broke that Patrick Peterson will be shadowing the entire game. Stefan Diggs this week.

[Andy Holloway]

That was what the, what my expectation was already.

[Willie Sneed]

And so if he's shadowing Cooks, I think Thomas for Tampa, Arizona, Tampa, it doesn't get a lot better than that. And Snead, Snead too, could have some good games right there. So let's flip it over to the worst schedules. Maybe we'll call this the final nail in the Hopkins coffin here. Okay. Houston has the second worst, maybe the worst schedule in the playoffs for fantasy wide receivers. Vonte Davis in Indianapolis. Hopkins has to go match up there. He has to match up with Ramsey in Jacksonville and then he has to go to Cincinnati or play Cincinnati. Those are three of the teams that give up the least of fantasy wide receivers, you know, so DeAndre Hopkins, what do you, can you, can you release him?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Willie Sneed]

Can you release DeAndre Hopkins?

[Andy Holloway]

No. No.

[Willie Sneed]

What if your trade deadline's over?

[Andy Holloway]

If your trade deadline is over? I am not releasing DeAndre Hopkins because his talent is extraordinarily elite.

[Willie Sneed]

How many points is that talent worth lately or all year?

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, sorry, if you are in A league that has zero bench spots, then I agree you can go ahead and cut him. But if I have to have people filling up bench spots, I am happy to have that be DeAndre Hopkins.

[Willie Sneed]

Don't you want your opponent to take him and play him against you?

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. But my point is playing a bench role, what do you want more than if they can.

[Willie Sneed]

What are you going to bench roll?

[Andy Holloway]

You don't get no, but playing points.

[Willie Sneed]

Playing a bench roll doesn't even make any sense.

[Andy Holloway]

No. What? Yes, it does.

[Willie Sneed]

Playing a bench roll.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. Here's what I mean by playing a bench roll from a fancy fantasy football perspective.

[Willie Sneed]

What, somebody you can emergency throw in and not feel bad about?

[Andy Holloway]

No, someone who can emerge as a legitimate, important fantasy option while he's on my bench. You know, I grabbed the Alfred Morris and he's playing a role for me as a potential, you know, blow up guy, DeAndre Hopkins, if he gets his groove together with Brock Osweiler. Or they just say, hey, stop being stupid, just constantly throw to Hopkins. Hopkins is too talented.

[Willie Sneed]

I understand that and I'm mostly just, I'm mostly just arguing with you for fun. But at some point, right. This is not Alan Robinson who's perked up. This is the 35th ranked wide receiver right now. This is a guy who's had, despite the catches, he scored three touchdowns on the year. He's been single digits in five weeks and his last three weeks have been bad.

[Andy Holloway]

I completely agree. He would have been, in fact, we talked before the show. He would have been my pump the breaks.

[Willie Sneed]

I would not drop him.

[Andy Holloway]

He would have been my pump the brakes if he, you know, was had any speed to him at all. But he doesn't. Everyone's breaks are already pumped on him. I will say this though. He's got three red matchups in Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Cincinnati. But those three teams specifically do not strike me as like they haven't given up fantasy points to wide receivers much this year. But I don't see anything in their defenses or in their, or in their offenses from a, from a game flow standpoint that say at the end of the season those three will, will definitely stick as, you know, red matchups.

[Willie Sneed]

Well, that makes sense that you would say that because you are saying that Hopkins is not going to stick as a horrible fantasy player like he's been. So you believe in the hope. You're a hopeful man. Today I'm a hopeful. I think Hopkins could get people to the playoffs with Oakland, San Diego, Green Bay.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. I'm not sure he's Going to let me argue this? What if Brock Osweiler blows his knee out this week?

[Willie Sneed]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Honestly, I think Hopkins then becomes a great fantasy option.

[Willie Sneed]

Didn't I just say you were a man of hope?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't want to hope for that.

[Willie Sneed]

But how in the world are you going to hang that wallpaper if his knee goes out? How do you do that?

[Andy Holloway]

He's got to have a healthy knee brace.

[Willie Sneed]

All right, you heard me. Pump the brakes on Jordy Nelson. I kind of regret it earlier in the year, but I still stand by the fact this playoff schedule is brilliant. It's Seattle in Minnesota with Chicago in the middle, which I love, but it's in Chicago. But I mean, week 14 against Seattle. There is a 100% cap on wide receivers against that Seattle offense.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And it's probably going to. The cap is going to be brought down the hardest on Jordy.

[Willie Sneed]

Very bad. Week 14. So that first playoff week, Hilton has a tough matchup. Houston, we know how they've been against fancy wide receivers. You have Alan Robinson with Minnesota in Houston those first two weeks. We already said stay away from Bortles. I'm not really worried about Stefan Diggs despite the matchup looking bad. So I'm not going to put him on full alert here just because man the target numbers. What do we say? He broke his own target record three consecutive weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Can he make it a fourth?

[Willie Sneed]

What other head. Is there anybody else who want to talk about on the bad side of things?

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, I think the two. The two teams that stick out to me as guys I want to avoid would be Indianapolis and Jacksonville, the Hilton, the Moncrief, the Allen Robinson, and probably no one else there because both of them play Houston and Minnesota just in opposite orders. And those. I don't. I don't see a huge upside for any player in all four of those games.

[Willie Sneed]

So we're going to move to tight ends. One of the interesting things about tight ends is that I find these trends to be some of the most consistent trends to take place. You know, you had a couple years ago, Arizona was the worst against fantasy tight ends. Everybody that came in put up numbers. If you want to know the disparity. Okay. The fantasy points per game average given up to tight ends, Arizona and Baltimore, two and three points is what they average given up. You go to the other end of the spectrum. Cleveland and Detroit are giving up almost 12 points a game to the tight end position. So there's a very wide gap there. Obviously it matters a little bit about what tight ends you're playing, but we're trying, you know, the barfy tight ends as we call them, you're making a decision maybe more than any other position than quarterback on matchup and which guy you can stream this week. And so this is, I think tight ends, maybe they get pushed aside a little bit. This might be the most important thing we talk about today because if you can out outscore your opponent's tight end by a significant margin, you can make up for a lot of problems elsewhere. The best tight end schedules week 14 to 16. Jason, what's the headliner for you?

[Andy Holloway]

The headliner for me would probably be Cameron Brait. He has the second best matchup, but he is all alone. The best matchup right now belongs, unsurprisingly, not surprisingly, to Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry. But because they're sharing, you know, you don't always know who's going to get it. Cameron Brait, to me, he's got the double New Orleans matchup. But Dallas in the middle is actually. Dallas has struggled against the tight end per game. So I think Cameron Bray, his playoff matchup looks as good as anyone's. His talent on the field has impressed me and I mean right now he's on a streak of three games in a row with a touchdown. He's available still in the majority of leagues. He's a guy that I would hold on to.

[Willie Sneed]

The one I like a lot is Zach Miller. With Alison Jeffrey leaving for four games, Zach Miller gets to walk into the playoffs against Detroit and Green Bay. Detroit is the worst in the league against fantasy tight ends. You mix that with what I think will be a higher target total for Zach Miller. I love him in week 14 and then he gets to come back against Green Bay, who have been very bad. Almost 10 points a game given up to tight ends in week 15. So Zach Miller, Cameron Braid. I agree. Those two, the Gates Henry thing, obviously, if you got one of them, I mean, you're probably playing them.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I would much prefer to have Gates over Henry.

[Willie Sneed]

I think so. Interesting though. I mean, it's just. I don't know how it's going to evolve long term after the next three weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Dynasty. Hunter Henry is going to be a star.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah, well, but I.

[Andy Holloway]

But if you look at the targets over even the last few weeks and the receptions.

[Willie Sneed]

Hunter Henry, but he was hurt. I mean that. I think that's a little bit deceiving. You said that on the show yesterday. And Hunter Henry was, was hurt. I mean, and again his big production came when Gates was hurt. And so I don't think we have enough of a track record to see what he's going to be like. He came back in, scored after his injury.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. So you could say he was hurt. Okay. But in the Denver game, in Atlanta, before the Denver game, he had one reception.

[Willie Sneed]

Right. But the previous four before that was 5, 4, 3 and 6.

[Andy Holloway]

When you had him alone, not when Gates was there.

[Willie Sneed]

And I just don't think it was enough of a track record.

[Andy Holloway]

I think when Gates.

[Willie Sneed]

But this is why we like Brayton Miller.

[Andy Holloway]

It is certainly Gates. Yeah. And that's why I went bright over these guys. But I do like Antonio Gates quite a bit. Some other guys, I think, oh, I.

[Willie Sneed]

Got Will Ty will tie. Will tie. He has Dallas and Detroit in weeks 14 and 15.

[Andy Holloway]

Great matchups and he is heavily targeted. He is the tight end right now in New York, Larry Donnell has been pushed back to the side as he should have been because Will Ty is actually pretty darn good. They use. They haven't too much this year, but I mean in the Ben McAdoo system they have used the tight end on the red zone and they've been a very big touchdown threat against Dallas, against Detroit, I think will tie is going to be a great.

[Willie Sneed]

Do you think if Cruz comes back though, and this is Shepherd, Cruz, Beckham, that Ty is going to be capped out or do you just.

[Andy Holloway]

No, because I still think you've got the red zone opportunities, I mean, capped. Sure. I don't think he's going to go out and put up 20 points, but I think he's going to be around that 10 point number that you're kind of hoping for from a tight end.

[Willie Sneed]

Travis Kelsey, Kyle Rudolph, both have good playoff schedules. They're in the top 10 here. Let's flip to the other side. Look at some of the bad tight end schedules. Now look, New England, they don't have a good schedule against tight. It doesn't matter. I mean, Rob Gronkowski, if he's on the field, he doesn't qualify as a standard tight end. So Baltimore, Denver, New York. I don't care about Gronkowski.

[Andy Holloway]

Look at Gronk's history against Baltimore. I'm going to look that up after the show and I'll tweet that out. The only reason I say that is just because Baltimore has been historically good, not good. They've been the best team for years now against the tight end they almost never give it up. So there's enough matchups between Gronk and them. I want to look back and See, because that week 14, not, not like you're going to not play Gronk, but it's just interesting. Interesting. Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

All right. Delaney Walker, though, let's talk about this. He's been so good. He has Denver and Kansas City, two of the best teams against fantasy tight ends. Kansas City's only given up 4, 4.33 fantasy points a game. Denver 4.66 a game. So Delaney Walker, you go into the playoffs and you have Denver and Kansas City. I just don't know. You hear those names on paper. I don't think there's going to be a lot of points scored in this game. I don't think you're going to get the Tennessee 47 point performance. You got this last week that made Delaney Walker valuable right now. He's the second ranked tight end though. So let's.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, let's put this into realistic.

[Willie Sneed]

And he's got that week 13 buy context. So you're not even playing in week 13. I think you move him right now. If you can move him, I'd move him.

[Andy Holloway]

If you can move him and then pick up a Cameron Brait off of waivers. If Cameron Braid's out there and you can get something for Delaney Walker, pick up Cameron Brait, which I think sounds.

[Willie Sneed]

Terrifying for fantasy owners, but I agree with you.

[Andy Holloway]

You're probably going to improve your team by moving him and then maybe improve your team in the playoffs at the.

[Willie Sneed]

Position because you'll get to play him against Indianapolis this week. So if you're fighting for the playoffs, that's a great matchup. But then you got Chicago in a buy and then the two tough matchups. So Delaney Walker to me seems like somebody who you could cash in off of this humongous week he had against Green bay with the 47 points, 90% reception rate this past week. So that might be one of the biggest tight end moves you can make right now.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And the only other guy of note that I think sticks out a little bit would be Jimmy Graham. Jimmy Graham's got a great week one and I've said it before, week one.

[Willie Sneed]

Is, that's what Delaney Walker just went up against Green Bay.

[Andy Holloway]

And yeah, Green Bay is who he plays in Week 1 of the playoffs. That's great. But the next two weeks against LA Rams and the Arizona Cardinals are not that good. LA is only averaging 5.2 fantasy points a game given up to the tight end and Arizona only two. I still think, I think I'm fine with Jimmy Graham in both of those matchups. Despite the hard he's just been so integral to their offense now.

[Willie Sneed]

But it's good to know. I mean, Arizona just has not given it up. I think it has a lot to do with, you know, just the speed they have in the linebacking core. Let's, let's transition now. Hopefully that helped you get ready. Again, we're setting the table. You pick what you want to eat. We're going to tweet out all of the different top 10 lists for each of these positions in the bottom 10 list. So you have that information. You can find that on Twitter @ the FF Ballers. Let's go ahead and preview the Thursday night game before we close out the show. New Orleans is taking on the Panthers. This is a huge divisional game to me. If the Panthers lose this game, you can officially declare them done for the playoffs. New Orleans heartbreaking loss. Probably should be 5 and 4, but, you know, I guess you got to make an extra point. So this is one of the biggest over unders we've seen on the year. 52 points. Do you buy into that, Jason, on Thursday night? And is there, is there somebody you like especially more than anybody else tonight?

[Andy Holloway]

You know, I buy in a little bit less. What we saw is earlier in the year, Cam Newton, Drew Brees. That game was electric. The shock at the time that the New Orleans Saints beat the Panthers in this divisional game, the highest. I mean, that the scoring was back and forth. Cam Newton was, you know, great at 322 yards, two touchdowns. Drew Brees was amazing. But now, now Drew Brees goes on the road. And we've said it many times, Drew Brees at home versus Drew Brees on the road.

[Willie Sneed]

I mean, you could still beat Carolina's. Carolina's defense since the buy has been improved for.

[Andy Holloway]

For sure. They definitely have. So I think you're going to see a little less scoring than you did the first time around. I would probably lean towards the under on this game, but I do expect there to be enough fantasy points. I love Johnson.

[Willie Sneed]

Let's put you on the spot with Ingram and Hightower.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. What do you want to know?

[Willie Sneed]

Who would you take to the prom?

[Andy Holloway]

If I had to ask for a date, I would ask Mark Ingram.

[Willie Sneed]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

I think Ingram is still going to be the starter. I, you know, he's the more talented of the two. But it is certainly a split and honestly, I don't really want.

[Willie Sneed]

Can you start both though, on Thursday?

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, I don't think you can start both. I would prefer to start neither. Carolina's passing defense has Been awful.

[Willie Sneed]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

But their running defense has been pretty darn good.

[Willie Sneed]

Fourth best in the league. They just gave up. They haven't given up a touchdown on the ground since week four.

[Andy Holloway]

So now you've got Mark Ingram in a split with Hightower going up against the fourth best.

[Willie Sneed]

Okay, okay, I'm going to ask you this now.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Willie Sneed]

So you made your point about Hightower and Ingram. Do you start Thomas Rawls over Mark Ingram? No, you don't. Okay, now he has Philly so it's. They're a tough run. D2, do you start CJ Pro size over Mark Ingram?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, I would start CJ Pro size over marking.

[Willie Sneed]

I assume in half and full.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Willie Sneed]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe even in.

[Willie Sneed]

Would you start? Let's say you're flexing Ingram or Hightower or you have to choose Charl Pryor against Pittsburgh.

[Andy Holloway]

Terrell Pryor.

[Willie Sneed]

Devonte Adams against Washington.

[Andy Holloway]

Devonte Adams.

[Willie Sneed]

All right, you've helped me decide my lineup this time. Thank you very much.

[Andy Holloway]

Asking for a friend, but I love Jonathan Stewart in this game. I still like Cam, I still like Breeze. I like the passing weapons for New Orleans.

[Willie Sneed]

Do we give up on Fleen or Hill as Fleen or particularly. I mean he had the 24 point game four weeks ago. He's been single digits for four straight weeks. Would you rather barf with a different tight end? I don't even know what that phrase means but I'm trying to bring it all together here.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think I would probably look elsewhere. Here's the thing, I mean we've said this time and time again is that Fleener, like a lot of, like a lot of tight ends is going to have bad games, a lot. But when he explodes it's going to be bigger. I mean keep in mind his 8 for 97 two touchdown or one of his big blow up games. That was against the Panthers. The Panthers are not good against the tight end. So this is, this is a game where we could see Fleener emerge again and I, I hate to tell people to start him right. But I still would. I mean I just think I always try to give the advice that I would give myself and if I'm making the decision between a bunch of bad tight ends and make no mistake, Fleeners been bad this year.

[Willie Sneed]

He is, he's been bad to the tune of the 13th ranked tight end just because of his two big games.

[Andy Holloway]

When he gives you a big game right, they're monstrous.

[Willie Sneed]

All right, that does it for today's show. Thanks for tuning in. Hopefully you got that fantasy playoff energy flowing. We're excited for our listeners to bring in some Foot Clan titles. We're doing our best to help you out. And so to that end, we invite you to head over to JoinTheFoot.com and join our fantasy community, where you will get an extra episode of this show every single, every single week, including tomorrow, when Jason and myself will be hosting the Foot Cast over [e-mail] that is 100% listener supporter questions on that show.

[Andy Holloway]

And this just in. Andy Holloway has agreed.

[Willie Sneed]

Oh, no.

[Andy Holloway]

The footcast to do the mailbag drop again.

[Willie Sneed]

Oh, my God.

[Andy Holloway]

And now that I've said it on the main show, he will do it. You know, graduations to all the book.

[Willie Sneed]

I can still edit this out of the show. I guess we'll take it out. I've got the power. Mike's not here.

[Andy Holloway]

I know you won't. I know you won't.

[Willie Sneed]

Yeah, that's because we're verified. I can't do that. We'll see you tomorrow, everybody. Don't forget to check out fantasyjocks.

[Andy Holloway]

Com to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot. Com and follow us on twitter @the ffballers.