Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Week 3 Matchups, Daily Dose, #FootClan Friday

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary
Episode: Week 3 Matchups, Daily Dose, #FootClan Friday
Release Date: September 23, 2016

---

Introduction

In the Week 3 episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright delve into an in-depth analysis of the latest fantasy football developments. Skipping the usual advertisements and promotions, the trio focuses on matchup previews, player performances, injury updates, and provides valuable insights to help listeners optimize their fantasy rosters for the week ahead.

---

News and Updates

LeGarrett Blunt's Performance and Ranking

The discussion kicks off with accolades for Mike Wright’s endorsement of LeGarrett Blunt. Jason Moore commends Mike, stating, "Not only did he nail LeGarrett Blunt so far, but Mike, you are currently the number nine ranked expert in the world" ([02:32]).

Mike elaborates on Blunt’s durability and workload:
"There's a certain category of player where there is no end. ... Lugarrett Blunt eventually broke through, got a long run, had the goal line carry." ([03:03])

Lamar Miller's Struggles and Volume Concerns

The hosts analyze Lamar Miller’s performance over the past three games, highlighting his limited carries and lack of big plays:
"He's just taking what's in front of him and maybe he's been told to do that. But I'm not impressed with the big play capabilities of Lamar Miller." ([04:17])

Andy agrees, noting, "I do expect more out of Miller going forward, but he's an every week start because he's going to touch the ball 20 to 25 times" ([05:37]).

Injury Updates and Team News

• Alshon Jeffrey: Jason warns fantasy owners to monitor Alshon Jeffrey’s status closely, especially for Sunday or Monday night games:
  "If you have Alshon Jeffrey, ... make sure he's set to go in your flex." ([12:14])

• Antonio Gates: Austin Archer Jenkins’ DUI charge raises concerns about his availability, prompting discussions about alternative tight ends:
  "Cameron Brait might be somebody you need to just ... streaming candidate at the tight end position." ([11:05])

• Sammy Watkins: Mike updates on Sammy Watkins' uncertain participation:
  "Sammy Watkins was not present for the start of practice on Friday." ([10:36])

The hosts emphasize the importance of staying updated with player statuses to make informed lineup decisions.

---

Matchup Previews and Fantasy Advice

Browns vs. Dolphins

Mike advocates for starting Ryan Tannehill over most quarterbacks due to the Dolphins’ weak run defense:
"I like what I saw. Three wide receiver sets. ... I'm taking Ryan Tannehill and I'm playing him over most guys." ([14:13])

Jason concurs, adding, "Ryan Tannehill, he's my start of the week" ([14:49]).

Redskins vs. Giants

Eli Manning receives praise for his improved accuracy and the Giants’ strong defense:
"His pass completion is up near 80% which is just ridiculous." ([17:00])

Jason advises leveraging the Giants' defense against Kirk Cousins, who has been turning the ball over:
"Matt Jones, their whole defenses look good. ... They throw the ball 75% of the time." ([18:40])

Rams vs. Buccaneers

Concerns about Todd Gurley’s performance against the Buccaneers’ robust run defense are discussed:
"If Gurley cannot show me something this week, I'm going to be freaked out." ([31:00])

The hosts express hesitation in buying Gurley, citing the difficult matchup and his recent performance.

Chargers vs. Colts

Melvin Gordon emerges as a key player against the Colts, who possess a soft defense:
"Melvin Gordon ... he's a dream matchup." ([36:20])

Mike emphasizes his potential for a top-five performance:
"If he gets involved in the passing game, he should have a lights out, top five type of production." ([37:06])

Steelers vs. Eagles

Big Ben (Ben Roethlisberger) is highlighted for his strong home performance, though caution is advised against overreliance:
"Big Ben has been on fire this year. ... The Philadelphia Eagles defense is so underrated right now." ([41:37])

Andy suggests considering the Eagles’ improving defense when starting Big Ben, especially on the road:
"Big Ben has averaged almost 30 fantasy points per game at home and 18 fantasy points per game on the road." ([42:34])

Bears vs. Cowboys

With Jay Cutler out, the focus shifts to Brian Hoyer and potential receiver shifts:
"Kevin White elevates to become the number one. ... Jeremy Langford might be a tough start." ([44:05])

Jason advises stashing Jeremy Langford in favor of Jordan Howard due to inefficiencies:
"I am looking to stash Howard. I'm avoiding pretty much every bear in this game whose name isn't Alshon Jeffrey if he plays." ([45:25])

Falcons vs. Saints

The hosts discuss Winchester Lamar Jackson, emphasizing Jacob Tamme’s target volume as a reliable option:
"Jacob Tamme, I mean he’s just getting targets. 16 targets. 120 plus yards has a touchdown." ([49:56])

Andy humorously theorizes that Kobe Fleener’s new haircut might boost his performance, showcasing the hosts' playful banter:
"We could have a reverse Sampson situation here for Kobe Fleener." ([47:48])

---

#FootClan Friday

The segment celebrates community engagement with the #FootClan Friday giveaway.
Mike announces the winner: "Mark Folds" ([09:14]). Congratulations are extended, and listeners are encouraged to participate weekly for a chance to win official FootClan merchandise from JoinTheFoot.com.

---

Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) Segment

Guest: Chris Meaney from Fantasy Sports Network

Chris Meaney joins the hosts to provide expert DFS advice for FanDuel contestants.

Quarterback Picks

• Cam Newton and Drew Brees:
  Chris recommends "paying up" for high-performing quarterbacks like Cam Newton and Drew Brees due to their favorable matchups and potential high scores:
  "I have no problem with people wanting to pay up for Cam and Drew Brees." ([51:19])

• Matt Ryan:
  Praised for his dream matchup against the Saints, Ryan is a recommended play despite being slightly cheaper:
  "He's the number one quarterback in fantasy right now. ... he has a dream matchup against the Saints." ([51:19])

Running Backs

• D'Angelo Williams:
  Advocated as a premier pick:
  "D'Angelo Williams is just awesome. This guy's wicked." ([53:04])

• Melvin Gordon:
  Highlighted for his increased involvement post-injuries and a favorable matchup:
  "Melvin Gordon finally caught some balls. ... he's a dream matchup." ([53:04])

Wide Receivers

• Antonio Brown:
  Endorsed as a top-tier WR despite challenges:
  "Antonio Brown will be targeted unless Leotis McKelvin is not playing again." ([54:37])

• Jameson Crowder and Philip Dorsett:
  Identified as sneaky yet valuable plays due to their target volumes and favorable matchups:
  "Jameson Crowder might be just a little sneaky play for some people." ([55:45])

Tight Ends and Defenses

• Trey Burton:
  Recommended as a sneaky TE option due to his involvement:
  "Trey Burton could be a sneaky play as well." ([56:55])

• Defenses:
  Chris advises "paying up" for strong defenses like Arizona, Seattle, Carolina, and Denver:
  "I think you should pay up just like last week." ([58:31])

---

Closing Remarks

As the episode wraps up, the hosts remind listeners to stay engaged with the latest rankings and updates to maximize their fantasy performance. They also promote their upcoming Periscope Q&A sessions and encourage participation in their vibrant community at jointhefoot.com.

Jason Moore shares, "I've been making notes and I've got a big pad of paper on ranking changes. So make sure you continue to check the rankings as the week goes on. They do Update." ([59:31])

The hosts bid farewell, emphasizing the importance of strategic planning and community support in achieving fantasy football success.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright on LeGarrett Blunt:
  "If it was 40, they don't care." ([03:32])

• Jason Moore on Lamar Miller:
  "He is currently top 10 in fantasy pros." ([02:50])

• Andy Holloway on Alshon Jeffrey:
  "If you have Alshon Jeffrey, ... make sure he's set to go in your flex." ([12:14])

• Chris Meaney on Melvin Gordon:
  "Melvin Gordon ... he's a dream matchup." ([53:04])

---

This comprehensive summary captures the essence of Week 3's Fantasy Footballers Podcast, offering listeners a structured overview of critical discussions, expert insights, and actionable advice to enhance their fantasy football strategies.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, foot clan. It is week three of the fantasy season, and that means it is week three for FanDuel. FanDuel is hosting one week fantasy football. Choose your contest, pick your team and win. Look, they got contests for beginners. They got big tournaments for more experienced players. They got leagues starting at just a buck. And setting a lineup is super easy. Cash prizes are paid out every single week. And this week, do not miss Fanduels Sunday million tournament paying out 2 million bucks in prizes this week. So get in that. Try FanDuel. Now get up to $50 in free entries. New users who deposit will get five free entries into NFL 5050 beginner contest valued at up to 50 bucks. You'll get one free entry a week for five weeks. The value of the free entries varies based on deposited amount. Go to FanDuel.com, click the Join now button and use our promo code, BALLERS. That's F A N--U-L.com promo code BALLERS. Void Wear Prohi.

[Jason Moore]

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

[Mike Wright]

He got me again. Billy B. Billy B. Well, I, I, we need to clarify which got me. And I'm not talking about, I'm not talking about Bill O'Boring not Bill O. Boring, not Bill Vanilla.

[Jason Moore]

That's Billy Obi.

[Mike Wright]

I'm talking about Billy B.

[Jason Moore]

Bill Belichick.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not. Never again.

[Jason Moore]

You're never against.

[Mike Wright]

I'm never betting against him again. I mean, and you know what it is? I'm more impressed. I'm just as impressed with Josh McDaniels.

[Jason Moore]

Oh.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, just, you know, I was.

[Jason Moore]

Telling Mike off the air, I. So my wife watched Hard Knocks when it was the Houston Texans. So she comes in halfway through and she's like, oh, it's the Texans. Where's J.J. watt? You know, and so we start watching only J.J. watt, and there were like five plays in a row where they basically ran the ball. And every single time, they just ran away from J.J. watt, wherever he was. It was like, no, we're not going at you.

[Mike Wright]

Good coaching.

[Jason Moore]

Exactly. Yeah. It's like we don't have too much pride. We're not going to, we're not going to beat him, so we're just not going to go after him.

[Mike Wright]

Well, fantasy implications of last night's game abounded. Credit to Mike, who believed in and endorsed LeGarrett Blunt wholeheartedly.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, you know what? Shout out to Mike the fantasy hitman right not only did he nail legarrett Blunt so far, but Mike, you are currently the number nine ranked expert in the world.

[Andy Holloway]

I appreciate.

[Mike Wright]

Well, he's number one, you know, in our hearts, but number nine ranked, you're saying accuracy?

[Jason Moore]

Yes, accuracy. He is currently top 10 in fantasy pros.

[Andy Holloway]

I thank you. I appreciate that.

[Jason Moore]

We try to be accurate here as.

[Andy Holloway]

Well as, you know who I'm starting next week. LeGarrett blunt.

[Mike Wright]

What's great about a guy like Lugarrett Blunt, there's a certain category of player where there is no end. D'Angelo Williams is that now where it just. You do not care whatsoever about workload. Like they are just immune to any sort of carry limits or anything like that. Like Eric Blunt. If it was 40, they don't care. If it was, you know, 30, they don't care. And you know, same with D'Angelo Williams. Certain players they'll just give the rock to and you know, Blunt eventually broke through, got a long run, had the goal line carry.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what the grinders do. I mean, if you're watching through the first half like, oh, his yards were carry so low. He's wearing down the defense. It's only a matter of time.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Well coached game by Bill Belichick. You weren't happy if you had Julian Edelman, you would.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, I'm a Julian Edelman. I played him last night. I'm not Julian Edelman. I'm Julian Edelman, owner.

[Mike Wright]

No, you're Mike.

[Andy Holloway]

I played him and I knew that there was limited upside. What stunk though is watching the game, seeing how involved he was. He got a couple jet sweeps. He's catching the passage like he looked great. Oh, I'm gonna get. He trucked a couple people like, oh, yeah, okay, I'll get that 10 points. No, no, you know, seven.

[Mike Wright]

Julian Edelman and Lamar Miller are opposites. You want to know why?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

No matter what happened, I am amazed by no matter what happens to Julian Edelman at the end of a play, he never goes down. He just never goes down. I'm amazed by his balance or whatever it is.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Toughness. And on the other side, Lamar Miller loves the smell of grass. I mean, just enjoys the aroma of New England grass. Because before every impact. And look, Jason made a good point this morning when I was trying to give him like the unbiased take on Lamar Miller. And the reality is when you're going to get the ball 20, 25 times, like you need to pick your spots, right?

[Jason Moore]

Like you're surrounded by Three or four guys about to tackle you. I am fine with you diving for that extra yard on the ground.

[Mike Wright]

You know what it is?

[Jason Moore]

Not taking the damage.

[Mike Wright]

I got some information from him and his agent. He likes to go down like a foot or two before the first down so he gets another carry. He wants the carry count raise so he never tries to break through the defense and job security. Third game. I know the workloads there nothing wrong with Lamar Miller. I had him ranked very highly this week. Didn't score for the third straight game. Third straight game with under four carry. All I'm saying is the volume. He's not breaking big plays and I think part of that is because he's just taking what's in front of him and maybe he's been told to do that. But I'm not impressed with the big play capabilities of Lamar Miller. Whether it's in the passing game when he caught the ball and went down or in the running game where he took two yards and went down. Well, to be just my, just my.

[Andy Holloway]

Observations from the game, I had very similar observations. But to be fair, I was watching a lot of guys lose their footing last night. I agree with that, including Lamar Miller. So I'm not good. I'm going to give him a somewhat of a pass. I do expect more out of Miller going forward, but he's an every week start because he's going to touch the ball 20 to 25 times.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean let's, let's not forget. And the reality is their special teams were so bad that they took away a giant chunk of the opportunity for the Houston Texans. They got the ball every time, you know, inside the 25 and that was when they actually held onto the ball and didn't fumble their kickoffs. So the touchdown opportunities weren't there for Lamar Miller. At the end of the game. The guy had 107 yards plus four receptions. I had.

[Mike Wright]

What do you mean 107 yards plus he had 21 for 80, isn't that right?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. 27 passing yards. 107 total.

[Mike Wright]

You said 107 plus four receptions.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, he had 100. Okay. He had 107 total yards and he had four receptions. So if you're in a PPR, that's four more points or half point, you get two points. I'm happy with him.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, there you go. I will say this. I watched the first half live and then I had had some stuff going on so I taped the second half and when I went into the second half, a lot of times I just, I'm impatient, so I like watch it faster the third quarter. I like fast forwarded and it was New England's ball the entire time. And then all of a sudden there's like three minutes left in the third and I'm like, oh, here's a drive. Here's an opportunity for Will Fuller. Oh, it's over. I mean, it was just like you said, very limited opportunities. Will Fuller had another drop. He's had four on the season. He was targeted seven times. He does seem to be very involved in the offense. It just was one of those games. He had a, you know, he had a drop. They couldn't do much. They took away the receivers. Ryan Griffin had eight receptions and I'm never doubting Bill Belichick again.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, Brock Osweiler vs. Bill Belichick is an, is an overmatch.

[Mike Wright]

Well, and we'll leave, we'll leave the summary of last night game at this. Brock came out and, you know, they asked him some questions about the game and he said that's, that's not, not the way we wanted the game to go.

[Jason Moore]

Very, very astute. We did not want to get shut out.

[Mike Wright]

No. So. All right, here's what we got going on the show today. We have the second half of all of our matchup previews. We're going to give you some insight into the weekend. And we've got our, our DFS segment with Chris Meaney. Right. We got that going on today.

[Andy Holloway]

Correct.

[Mike Wright]

The Daily Dose. So if you have some questions about the aforementioned FanDuel, start some guys that he thinks are great plays in those tournaments, that type of situation, you're going to hear him on the show later today. You can follow us on Twitter, the ffballers, you can follow Mike at ffhipman, follow me at Andy Holloway, follow jasonasonffl. And if you do that, you'll see on Sunday morning, Mike jumps on for a Periscope, a live question and answer session where he is just bombarded like, you know, 8,000, 8,000 questions that he has to try to choose which one to answer.

[Andy Holloway]

The chaos is beautiful.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. So there you go. A lot of questions. You can tune in every. It's a staple for a lot of our listeners to check that out on Sunday morning. What else is going on?

[Jason Moore]

You know what today is?

[Andy Holloway]

What, what day is that, Jason?

[Jason Moore]

Today's Foot Clan Friday.

[Mike Wright]

Every Friday during the year, we give a Foot Clan T shirt away to a member of the official foot clan from jointhefoot.com do we have, do we Have a winner today, Mike.

[Andy Holloway]

We do have a winner. I need to get us a fantastic drop.

[Mike Wright]

You really do. A foot clan Friday drop.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I'll make a note.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, please, please jot that down. Today's winner of the foot Clan Friday from jointhefoot.com Mark folds.

[Mike Wright]

Mark folds.

[Andy Holloway]

Congratulations. We will be getting a T shirt out to you very short.

[Jason Moore]

That's a big thank you to everybody that supports over at Join the foot. So all of the foot clan over there, thank you. We'll be giving out a shirt every Friday to one of you. Hopefully you get it next week.

[Mike Wright]

There you go. Let's move on.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's say we kind of glossed over Billy B. Also getting us with Rob Gronkowski.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Going goose egg.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I mean, if the brisket could have thrown him, like if he threw to the outside shoulder on that first instead of the fifth row, instead of the fifth row on that goal line attempt, he would have at least had a touchdown. I mean, it was really going to be easy for Rob Gronkowski. But yeah, I mean, tough situation.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Yep.

[Mike Wright]

We had a guy in our league.

[Jason Moore]

That, yeah, I'm playing him.

[Mike Wright]

That had Antonio Gates, who's very questionable this week, and Gronkowski, you know, due to work or whatever, whatever horrible excuse. He forgot to put Gronkowski into the lineup and say that now he was, you know, stupid like a fox. I mean, he ends up with zero on his bench from Gronkowski now.

[Jason Moore]

At least he had legare blunt.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he did have blunt. So. All right. Fancy football. Stupid. All right. Doug Baldwin said barring any setbacks, he'll be playing in Sunday's game. In hindsight, I wish I had played him over Will Fuller in our league of record. Tyler Lockett upgraded to full. He'll be playing Thomas Rawls remains sideline on Thursday. And this is the Seahawks news hour.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, this is. And this could be the look woke truthers. This is our opportunity every week.

[Mike Wright]

There's a reason for you to get.

[Andy Holloway]

Excited and this is why Kristen Michael is the best, because there's always the chance.

[Jason Moore]

But if Thomas Rawls actually sits, if he's out of the game and doesn't play, then Kristen Michael should go ham because he'll he'll be at home against the 49ers.

[Mike Wright]

If I have 11, I have him at 11 this week.

[Jason Moore]

If Rawls plays, I think they're going to eat into each other. We're going to see what we've seen the last two weeks, which is Meh.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Chris Ivory upgraded a full in Thursday's practice. Is he worth a start or are you just kind of waiting to see what you got?

[Jason Moore]

If you're desperate, I think he's actually going to produce. But I can tell you for sure I'm not playing him.

[Mike Wright]

Chris Ivory or Matt? Matt Aziata.

[Jason Moore]

I probably go Asiata. Wait a week on Ivory.

[Mike Wright]

Chris Ivory or Dwayne Washington?

[Jason Moore]

Go Ivory.

[Andy Holloway]

I go Ivory there.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. Delaney Walker returned to a limited practice on Thursday on track to play. Antonio Gates was not practicing on Thursday. So you need to monitor these. We can obviously give you the updates here on the Friday show, but there are going to be reports on Friday practices, they're going to be reports on Saturday. And Mike will catch you up on Sunday morning on Twitter. We'll keep posting things, but really important news.

[Jason Moore]

Speaking of, you know, the days of the week. Alshon Jeffrey missed practice again on Thursday. Missed entirely. And the reason, yeah, here's what's really important. If you have Alshon Jeffrey, as I do in he's one of my most owned players. He plays Sunday night. And that stinks big time. Because what that means is you might be in a situation where you have to go to your lineup and you have to choose someone on your roster right now to drop in order to pick up a wide receiver or running game.

[Mike Wright]

Sunday or Monday night.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that plays Sunday night or Monday night. You know, you've got guys like Jacob Tammy. If you what, what you need to do is move guys like Alshon Jeffrey out of the wide receiver spot. Make sure he's set to go in your flex. That way you have more opportunity should Sunday night roll around and he's ruled out of the game. You can put in other positions, but definitely monitor that. We saw last year when he missed practice. A lot of times he just, you know, they say it's a game time decision. He didn't get on the field.

[Mike Wright]

Alright. Bucks tight end Austin Safari Jenkins was arrested on a DUI charge. This may be the end of the road for ASJ guy. Such an idiot he is because he's super talented, but he's super stupid, you know, and so the DUI charge. Look, Cameron Brait might be somebody you need to just. If he's got it all to himself in the future here he's a streaming candidate at the tight end position. And then Sammy Watkins was not present for the start of practice on Friday. You know, if he misses the game, you know, good luck scoring Buffalo. I mean, I just don't know what they're going to do against the Arizona defense. I mean, they'll be at home at least and maybe, maybe he can throw it deep to Marquis Goodwin again.

[Andy Holloway]

We're gonna hope Goodwin can burn somebody so that.

[Mike Wright]

That's all the news I want to get into. We have tons more to cover. We obviously have the forecast and the daily dose. So anything else you guys want to add on the news?

[Andy Holloway]

Let's get into the game.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's do it.

[Jason Moore]

Fantasy forecast.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's jump into the Browns heading to Miami to take on the Dolphins who are almost 10 point favorites in this one. We have a 42 point over under. I'm a very. Mike did a periscope yesterday. A lot of people had questions about Tannehill. Like Tannehill Stafford or Tannehill Ryan? Look, I'm a pretty big Tannehill fan this week. I like what I saw. Three wide receiver sets. You heard me talk about Devonte Parker as a maybe a surprise flex guy as we started the week yesterday. So look, I'm going to buy into the at home against Cleveland equation here and I'm taking Ryan Tannehill and I'm playing him over most guys and you can go check out the rankings. But do you guys think I'm crazy?

[Jason Moore]

I don't think you're crazy, especially with Arian Foster being out. I mean, obviously Ryan Tannehill, he's my start of the week. The one worry that I have is, you know, kind of like we saw yesterday when one offense is extremely inept and I don't think that the Cleveland Browns are going to be able to get it done with their, you know, with Cody Kessler in at quarterback when you're up, you know, you run the ball. So maybe this is an opportunity for Jay Ajayi.

[Mike Wright]

That's exactly what I was going to ask you because you said when you're up, you run the ball.

[Jason Moore]

That makes sense. And so I mean, but what is.

[Mike Wright]

The outlook for him and would you play a Jay over an Aussiata I asking for a friend.

[Jason Moore]

I think I would. I think the opportunity when I when I look at who has the larger upside. Right. I don't believe in a Jay, but should Ajayi be the guy in this game against Cleveland in a game they should be winning at home? His upside is, you know, multiple touchdown, you know, legarrett blunt type of game where if he gets the carries. I love Kenyon Drake. To be honest, I'm avoiding most players in this game other than Jarvis Landry and Ryan Tannehill, I know you also like devonte Parker, right?

[Mike Wright]

I do. I do like devonte Parker. I'm definitely avoiding everybody on the Brown side other than Isaiah Crowell. I don't feel great about Barnage, but if you need to stream a tight end, you could do worse in my opinion. The Dolphins right Now are the 31st ranked run defense. I think they're going to lean on Crowell by necessity. Look, you saw last night a perfect example of an inept offense with no passing game that could still produce fantasy numbers for a running back, albeit not huge numbers but good numbers like Lamar Miller put up. So I think Crowell is good for a couple receptions, probably 20 carries. So I think you have to roll him out there and he's been, he's been really, really good. He's averaged what, 6.8 yards per carry on the year because of that huge run.

[Andy Holloway]

A 75 yard run will do that for two weeks.

[Mike Wright]

Number four fantasy running back through two games and the Dolphins have not been good against the run.

[Andy Holloway]

True.

[Mike Wright]

So let's move on. Redskins, Giants talk about this game. Look, Cousins, Manning. I feel like this is another game that really could be a high scoring affair. The Giants defense has been better than we expected and Kirk Cousins has been worse than we expected.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I would worsen than you guys expected.

[Andy Holloway]

Worse than I expected certainly. I don't know, I mean for. It could be, it could turn into one of those. I'm kind of buying into the Giants, their defense. I think that their defense is a fine play this week with the way that Cousins has been turning the ball over. I like Eli Manning a lot in this game though with, with, with the passing weapons that Eli now has. We know he's just destroying as far as accuracy. He's. He's pass completion is up near 80% which is just ridiculous. I know it's only two weeks but that's ridiculous and they can't run the ball. So I with. With Jennings banged up with the hand. Shane Vereen is not a typical running back. He's an okay play because he'll catch some passes and get a couple carries. But I think this is the Eli Manning show where we're going to see. You know, I'm good playing all three wide receivers at certain levels for the Giants.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, the one thing I will say about this is, you know, when it comes to Kirk Cousins on the road sometimes that's over exaggerated that he's great at home and bad on the road. It doesn't work necessarily like that. He's a little bit worse on the road. But what I do like about it for fantasy is he throws more interceptions on the road. He also throws more touchdowns. Right. Out of necessity. So it kind of leads to higher scoring opportunities because obviously if you're turning the ball over, putting points on the clock, you like to say, you know, now the real question for me is, is the New York Giants rushing defense real? You know, they've looked good, right? And so Matt Jones, their whole defenses look good. They really have. They really have.

[Mike Wright]

And they're at home. Look, nobody throws more than the Redskins. That's why Cousins can stink and still be okay. Right? Like stink.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

But be a fantasy okay player because they throw the ball 75% of the time.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Matt Jones, I would prefer not to play him this week against the Giants. Like Jason said, the Giants are currently the fourth best running defense.

[Mike Wright]

I think this is the get right breakout game for Beckham and, and for fantasy owners to breathe easy. I am not excited about Rashad Jennings because they've already said that that injury is going to linger, you know, with a lingering injury that they're willing to publicly state is that way the workload is going to be more distributed. In my opinion. I don't think the opportunity. Look, goal line is going to be Jennings. I think so maybe if they do that.

[Andy Holloway]

But how about what are your guys take on Jordan Reed? I know that there's some, some players out there who are kind of. They're starting to panic on Reed.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not panicking on Reed. The targets have been there. He's clearly still the number one read for Kirk Cousins. He's talented. I mean, he hasn't gotten in the end zone. If he had touchdowns, everybody's opinion of him would be completely different. I think Jordan Reed, who am I playing over? Jordan Reed, Right?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. No, it's a good question because people wanted, you know, they wanted what Mike predicted, which was the best player that's ever played in the history of the world.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. And it's coming.

[Mike Wright]

Look, very few tight ends offer the upside potential of Jordan Reed. And so that's, that's where you're, you're buying into him still.

[Andy Holloway]

And also desean Jackson has.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, very good point.

[Andy Holloway]

He has been not practicing in the. Jay Gruden has said Friday will be a key in determining if desean Jackson is actually going to play.

[Mike Wright]

So opportunities for Josh Dockson as a stream past possible.

[Andy Holloway]

I would like Crowder. Crowder.

[Mike Wright]

Crowders. Crowd.

[Andy Holloway]

It's pronounced Crowdhead. He's, he's Getting a ton of snaps. He's getting targets. He's getting goal line targets, red zone targets.

[Jason Moore]

And he's talented.

[Andy Holloway]

He's sneaky.

[Mike Wright]

Sneaky.

[Jason Moore]

He's a sneaky snart.

[Mike Wright]

We're going to take a quick, a quick break to thank our sponsor of today's show, ZipRecruiter. Now, it is a nice thing when you do an ad like, you know, we had ZipRecruiter on a couple of months ago and I had people reach out to me on Twitter and say, look, I just got a job on ZipRecruiter thanks to listening to the show. And if you are a business owner, this is where ZipRecruiter really shines. I mean, if you're hiring and you want to post your job to the very best candidates, like some of these listeners that have found their, their, their jobs on ZipRecruiter. Look, you can't post it in just one place. You need to post it on all the best job sites. And if you go to ZipRecruiter, that's what they do. 100 plus job sites, you get to post them across all of them, including social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. And you can find them in any city or industry, completely nationwide. And you just post one time and you get to watch your qualified candidates roll into ZipRecruiter's easy to use interface. It really is the best. And there is no more of this juggling emails or calls into the office. You know, you can screen your candidates really easily. You can rate them and hire the right person really, really fast. So find out today why ZipRecruiter has been used by over 1 million businesses. And right now our listeners can post jobs on ZipRecruiter for free by going to ZipRecruiter.com SportsFan that's ZipRecruiter.com Sportsfan one more time. To try it for free, go to ziprecruiter.com sportsfan do it right now.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And we also want to thank SeatGeek. SeatGeek has been a longtime sponsor of the fantasy footballers. And their sponsor we like because they're awesome. If you're going to any game or.

[Mike Wright]

Any ticket event, always better to be awesome.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, any ticket event, whether it's a concert or a football game or a comedian, you've got to use SeatGeek to get your tickets. Look, just like ZipRecruiter, they're going to take hundreds of different places, pool it all into one spot so you know you're getting a Great price on the tickets and they make it really easy for you. In every section they've got a color coordinated grid. A personally used. All three of us have used SeatGeek for pretty much every ticket we ever get. And it's so easy to find your seats to pick exactly where you want to be in the stadium. You're getting a great rate and it's easy to do. So here's what you do. They're going to give you $20 off or $20 back in your pocket after you make your first purchase. So Download the free SeatGeek app, go to the Settings tab, click Add promo code. Enter the promo code footballers and SeatGeek will send you $20 after you've made your first ticket purchase. So Download the free SeatGeek app, enter promo code Footballers today.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, this is not worth the breaking news button, but Joe Hayden is not practicing with a groin. We were just talking about the Miami game. It just gets worse for Cleveland because.

[Mike Wright]

Better for my Tannehill.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it certainly does.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think Joe Hayden's been Joe Hayden in a long time.

[Mike Wright]

Didn't he have two picks last week?

[Andy Holloway]

But he's, he's still good.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's well for. From the Brown's perspective, he's the best.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh man, the Browns.

[Mike Wright]

Poor Brown.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, you got the Cavs.

[Mike Wright]

The Raiders travel to Tennessee to take on the titans over under 47 in this game. I'm pretty high on Mariota this week. I have him very, very high in the rankings as a top 10 guy. A streaming candidate perhaps because the Raiders.

[Andy Holloway]

Are the worst past defense in the league right now.

[Mike Wright]

That'd be one of the reasons. I mean they have given up over 500 yards of offense in back to back weeks. Their games have been defined by, you know, shootout.

[Andy Holloway]

And one of those quarterbacks was Matt Ryan.

[D]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

So if you think Matt Ryan stinks, then you need to buy into Mariota against the Raiders.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. So a lot of fantasy owners are concerned about Latavius Murray. You mix in the fact that the Titans are, you know, right now a very good run defense. What are your concerns with the volume? Because that's what it is. It's not efficiency with Murray. It's been volume issues. You've had Jalen Richard get carries, you've had DeAndre Washington get carries. I don't think that's going to stop. I mean they invested a pick into Washington and he's been good. So what in the world do you do here?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm still playing Murray. I'm Keeping the faith that he's an every week starter right now. I know that he got. He had some pretty solid volume in the passing game as well.

[Mike Wright]

Two picks for Joe Hayden last week, by the way.

[Jason Moore]

I apologize.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you should.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, he's great. He's like what? He has that same contract that Peterson and Sherman have. I mean, they all got it around the same time.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So he's great.

[Jason Moore]

Well, he was, he was amazing. He's taken a step down. He had a great.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, well, he's got a lot of head problems.

[Mike Wright]

He had a concussion problem. Yeah, he was not as good with the concussion. You're right.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's true.

[Mike Wright]

Proceed.

[Andy Holloway]

But Latavius Murray last week, six receptions for 44 yards. So if as long as Murray continues to be involved in the passing game and I don't see a reason why they completely eliminate him from that, then he's still going to be. He's still solid play. I think that there will be some, some points scored in, in this game, which. That's a ridiculous statement. I mean, I feel like there will be a higher amount of points scored, so more scoring opportunities for Murray. So he's a good play.

[Mike Wright]

Let's say you're choosing between a couple of guys with a lot of preseason hype they haven't quite delivered on. So Latavius Murray or do you play Devonta Freeman?

[Jason Moore]

I play Latavius Murray by a hair.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll go Murray. Okay, wait, let me, let me check my rank. What's funny is I have a good game for Freeman.

[Mike Wright]

I have Murray and Freeman back to back. I have Murray had. You have Murray and Freeman back to back. Murray ahead.

[Andy Holloway]

And I have Murray slightly ahead of Freeman.

[Mike Wright]

Would you play Shady McCoy or Latavius Murray? Because McCoy has Arizona. Murray has Tennessee both on the road.

[Andy Holloway]

I have Murray ahead.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Slightly Okie dokie. On the other side, Taje Sharp is playing the number one. I'm excited about him this week. You have Cooper and Crabtree. Both of those guys are going to be on the field.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Mike Wright]

Gonna play them both. Clive Walford, streaming candidate.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. That's interesting. I like to see that it's. The progression is trending up for Walford, getting more involved in the passing game. He was a guy that I liked last year, just not, not to play last year, but moving forward. And it looked like the Raiders did to get started to get him more involved at the end of the year and now they're doing the same. If we can, if we can get consistency out of Walford. Which, I mean, goes without saying, but he becomes a locked and loaded low end, tight end. One for me.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, He's a talented guy.

[Mike Wright]

Six like the Ebron. Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a very good comp.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. 49ers take on the Seahawks in Seattle, where everybody loves to play. And the Seahawks are favored by nine and a half points. Look, the story here is. Can I feel like we're saying this phrase a lot. There are a number of players that we think, hey, this is their week to get right.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, it's only the third week, so.

[Mike Wright]

Well, sure. But hey, man, now's the time early in this. A lot of our teams need help.

[Jason Moore]

Early in this week. You know, the question of what Russell Wilson are we going to get Russell. Russell Wilson, I believed was going to be determined based on the health of the two wide receivers. I mean, he has two main targets that he's throwing to. Both of them look like they. They could have problems getting in the game this week. And both have had good news through the week. They're both expected to start. They've been at practice. So I think with Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett ready to go. I'm fine with Russell Wilson. He says his ankle's been getting better every. Every week since the original hardship.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

It's nice that Baldwin and Lockett are both practicing in full.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's fantastic. I still have my concerns for Wilson to give you, Russ, what you expect from us. I think he's a fine play. He's okay. I'm not going to grab garbage off of the wire to play over him, but I have my concerns.

[Mike Wright]

Last night or. Sorry. Last week, the 49ers gave up 353 yards in the air to Cam Newton and another 176 on the ground. So this is why we say Michael could be a great play if Rawls is out. I still think he's a good play this week with Rawls recovering. Because, look, if Rawls plays but he, you know, he's missed practice, they're gonna limit his exposure, in my opinion. And they've been complimenting Mr. The Woke One.

[Andy Holloway]

I have. I have one thing I want to say for this game. This is a personal message. Tori Smith, please continue to stay alive.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Bring. Bring me life. Tori Smith with these touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

Carlos Hyde or T.J. eldon.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that's.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to go Carlos Hyde. I still think he's actually a talented player. Oh, not that I don't think Carlos.

[Mike Wright]

Hyde or Jay Ajayi Hyde. Hyde against Seattle in Seattle. No you could be right.

[Andy Holloway]

That's gross.

[Mike Wright]

At least you know the workload.

[Jason Moore]

That one's really, really tough. I think I would go.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll go hide.

[Jason Moore]

I think I would go hide.

[Mike Wright]

Carlos Hyde or Matt Asiata. Asiata.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yes, yes. That's the best Asiata for all of.

[Mike Wright]

For all of the Silicon Valley.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. If you haven't seen Silicon Valley, you have no idea what we're saying and it sounds really stupid like half the things we say. I want to say this about Carlos Hyde. I think Carlos Hyde is, is going to be a guy who in a couple of weeks is a good by low candidate because I like what I see from the, from the offensive scheme and how they're using him. But he has just had the most brutal mat. He starts with la, then Carolina, then Seattle. He goes to Dallas next week, which is no rose colored game.

[Mike Wright]

Arizona, Arizona Walk in the park might.

[Jason Moore]

Have been a good Arizona after that.

[Mike Wright]

But later the game, later in the year.

[Jason Moore]

Later in the year he's got a good stretch. So I think Carlos Hyde in a couple weeks will be a good buy. Low candidate.

[Andy Holloway]

That was a combination. That's two cliches crashing together and exploding and failing.

[Mike Wright]

Jason is a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant man. You want to know why? He has created an environment in which he can say anything ever, always in any form or order, and it's of no consequence. It is just.

[Jason Moore]

It's a beautiful thing.

[Mike Wright]

It is a beautiful thing. Rams, Buccaneers, Rams traveling to Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay are five and a half point favorites at home.

[Jason Moore]

There have been a few complaints that this week we really didn't talk about Todd Gurley and everybody who has Todd Gurley is like, what do I do? You've seen a lot of people trading him super cheap. You've seen a lot of people trading for him super cheap.

[Mike Wright]

I would be in the second category. I wouldn't be trying hard to be. I know Mike is not.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't. I am almost paralyzed with fear on Gurley where I wouldn't sell him, but I also would not buy him. I think this, this week is a big test going against the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers have a solid running defense. They're currently eighth, so it's eight and they're favored heavily, which, you know, that's, that's good for home running backs and bad for the away running backs. So if Gurley cannot show me something this week, I'm going to be freaked out. I have, I buried Gurley last, last week in the rankings because I had no confidence. I have some in him.

[D]

This.

[Andy Holloway]

I actually, I have him as a two this week, but I'm still nervous about it. I mean, like you have even, even Tavon Austin, who is not my favorite player, but at least last year he was doing positive things for the team. He's getting nothing done.

[Mike Wright]

The only person looked a lot better last week.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure, but the only person who's actually doing anything for this team is Kenny Britt.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I was gonna say he's had a good start on the other side of the ball. I mean, Evans leading the league in targets 25 targets through two games. You have Charles Sims taking over for Doug Martin. I think Dequiz Rogers sees his time in this game as well. Not that he start worthy, but he's just going to be the guy that, that carries some of the extra load. So Sims doesn't have to be out there all game. And then Jameis Winston, one good, one bad. I think he's due for another mediocre game. That's what I. Yeah, the matchup isn't great. I mean, the Rams defense showed up last week. They beat Seattle, albeit they were, you.

[Andy Holloway]

Know, Russell, that's a really, really banged up offense they beat.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I. Look, I think Charles Sims can be played because he's going to be involved in the passing game. I'm not enthusiastic about his opportunity to get between the carries and be efficient with his carries. What are your thoughts, final thoughts on this? You know, with Martin out, I think.

[Andy Holloway]

That Sims is an okay play if you, if you have him. I do. I have Sims in a lot of places. I am throwing him likely into my flex. I'm not pulling out my starting running backs for him this week though.

[Mike Wright]

All right. The Chargers travel to Indianapolis and take on the Colts who are favored by three. Really great game by the Chargers, defense and offense. Last week you saw Travis Benjamin willing and able to step up in the Keenan Allen injury aftermath. Tyrell Williams starting at wide receiver there. But let me ask you this. What is the latest on Antonio Gates and what will be the situation at the tight end position if he goes out?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I just, I'm not feeling very confident that Antonio Gates is actually going to play when you are missing practice this late in the week.

[Mike Wright]

And they signed a guy off the practice squad, a tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, so the Chargers are clear, clearly preparing for Antonio Gates to miss. That puts Hunter Henry into the spotlight. A pretty highly touted, highly drafted rookie, I think. Let's say you're, you're waiting through the bar fee tight ends. You could do worse than Hunter Henry. Against the Colts, who are just bad, really bad defense. You have the over under at over 51 points. So it's projected to be that high scoring game. I don't know if I would jump in on him. I think there's better options.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, there are better options, but there's.

[Andy Holloway]

Far worse ones as well.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, Hunter Henry could end up doing something because of need in a high scoring game, but so far on the year he's had one catch. I don't think that you can trust a rookie tight end when there are other good options on the waiver that I would rather, you know, that I.

[Andy Holloway]

Would rather see Tammy or Pitta.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Or even Dwayne Allen I think is available in about halford of leagues.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Walford too.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to take all of those guys over Hunter Henry and that's not to say he couldn't go out and have a. Have a great play. This is a really exciting game for fantasy. I do. I'm starting to worry a little bit. Like I love Philip Rivers this week. I think he's going to be fine. But if you have a situation where Travis Benjamin is, you know, on lockdown by Vonta Davis, Antonio Gates is gone, Danny Woodhead is no longer there, you've got a situation where you go, well, who's going to get it done? Who is it going to be? And is that going to be Tyrell Williams? Is that. Could it be Dexter McCluster getting more involved than we think?

[Mike Wright]

People want us to talk about Dexter McCluster and it's fair.

[Jason Moore]

He's. He, he's one of those guys, I think, you know, I couldn't have the confidence to start him, but I'll bet he's decently high in my rankings because I expect he will get involved this week. He'll have enough usage. But I want to see it before I trust him in my lineup. I should have other options that I trust more than him. And you also have Joey Bosa, who's going to be missing this game, is expected to miss this game. So the defense is on both sides of the ball. Shouldn't be great.

[Mike Wright]

Melvin Gordon. Everybody wants to buy into the superstardom potential of Melvin Gordon. Now last week Indianapolis played a very good offensive line and a good running back in C.J. anderson, and they held him mostly in check. Yes, he scored, but he was 3.7 a carry. It was 20 for 74. I was impressed with their defensive front line. They have a very big front line. I don't know if this is the walk in the park owners of Melvin Gordon think it is.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't know. I'm not concerned about it being overly easy. I what I want or what I'm going to see though is Melvin Gordon highly used. Believe it was 24 carries last week and over. Oh, he had over 100 yards on the ground, if I'm not mistaken. Yes.

[Jason Moore]

24 for 102.

[Andy Holloway]

So I love it. He was very involved last year in the passing game when, when Philip or Philadelphia, when the Chargers made that commitment to Melvin Gordon halfway through the year we saw it where they kind of felt the season was over so they wanted to get Gordon going. We saw him be great in the passing game. So you combine his rushing attempts and with the passing game, I mean you're talking about a potential full three down running back here against a bad defense.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. To answer my previous question of who's going to be the guy to step up, the reason I have Melvin Gordon as my start of the week is because if he gets involved in the passing game, he should have a lights out, top five type of production. We don't know that yet that he will be in that role, but I mean he has the opportunity in a very big way.

[Mike Wright]

All right. And the last guy we have to mention in this game is Philip Dorsett who'll be taking over for Dante Moncrief. I think Dorsett, you know, you're in an offense with Andrew Luck. You have the opportunity across from Hilton to make some plays. And so I think, I think Dorsett is flex worthy this week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, absolutely. With Ty Hilton taking on Jason Verrett, who has become a very quiet, quietly become one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Shutting down Macklin, shutting down Allen Robinson and now he gets Hilton. Dorsett could be forced into a larger role than even maybe the Colts want right now.

[Jason Moore]

And Frank Gore is a good start here.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's not bad.

[Mike Wright]

Let's talk. We need to move on. Let's talk to the Jets. Let's talk to them, get them on the phone. Let's talk about the jets and the Chiefs. Chiefs are favored at home. Fitzpatrick, Alex Smith, you've got Matt Forte, one of the top fantasy running backs in the league right now. And then you have the ensemble on the other side where we don't know if. Do we have final word on Jamal Charles right now?

[Andy Holloway]

I will check.

[Mike Wright]

Please check on him. Spencer Ware going up against a tough defensive front if Charles is gone. But as Mike checks on that, let's talk about the wide receivers here. Brandon Marshall's questionable right now. Eric Decker should be in there. Quincy and Noon Raw is practicing in full. What do you do with the jets wide receiver corps?

[Jason Moore]

You know, you start them. I mean, you're not going to sit Marshall or Decker. I don't love this matchup. I know that the Chiefs have been beat so far in the year in their secondary, but there's just such a high chance of touchdowns for Marshall if he's healthy or Decker if he's in there. I will say this though. Ryan Fitzpatrick on the road is not the same as Ryan Fitzpatrick at home. He usually throws almost a touchdown. Less so I have. If you look at my rankings, I'm not excited about either of those guys. It's hard to sit them.

[Andy Holloway]

There's no new update on Charles yet. I expect him to miss.

[Mike Wright]

Now Spencer Ware because of his involvement in the passing game, he's leading the league in terms of yards from scrimmage per touch. Almost 10 times 10 yards is the average that he's producing per touch. So I think he is a not an extremely high upside play, but I think a pretty safe one if Charles is out.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I like him as a running back too. This week I'm not going to go crazy for wear, but he's a guy that if he's, if he's on your roster, he's near a must start.

[Mike Wright]

Now in terms of the passing game for Alex Smith, Jeremy Macklin and Travis Kelsey, the Jets have been vulnerable in the passing game. We still saw that last week they were beat on some big plays. Reavis island hasn't been, you know, what it was in the past. So I think Jeremy Macklin's fine. I start him every week as a two and feel fine with the production I'm going to get out of Jeremy Macklin. It's always going to be five or six catches and a chance at a touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I'm not overly concerned actually with Revis. I saw, I've seen him beat by a couple big plays, but other than the big plays he's been pretty solid of being a the defender that we expect.

[Mike Wright]

Just abnormal though for him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it is. It is a little abnormal. I mean he's a little older. Maybe these big plays will sneak by him every once in a while. Matt Forte up against the Chiefs 30th ranked running defense. Fantasy owners have to just be delighted with this matchup. In the news that Bowles has come out and said, I'm not monitoring Forte's carry count yet, so you know that he's just going to keep getting fed the ball. Similar to LeGarrett blunt, except Matt Forte is spectacular in the passing game as well.

[Mike Wright]

Just got an update on Sammy Watkins. The likelihood of him playing is low is what I'm hearing. So if you had to take a shot in the dark on another receiver for Buffalo, who would it be?

[Jason Moore]

Robert Woods. I think when Sammy Watkins. I love Michael Keaton.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on. And he's the worst.

[Mike Wright]

I mouthed it to him first. Yeah, I just assumed it was the moment was missed.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we missed it. All right. Yeah. When. When Robert woods. When Sammy Watkins doesn't play. I think Robert woods is a. Is a good enough start. But the problem is if Sammy isn't in the game, you probably won't have Patrick Peterson shadow anyone. But I just think that, you know, they're not going to be able to do much. They've got to go over the top to get fantasy relevance. I don't think they're going to be able to dunk and dunk. Turn that hat backwards.

[Mike Wright]

The Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. Eagles are three and a half point underdogs at home. What do we think we need to discuss fantasy wise in this game?

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to throw some shade out here. Big Ben has been on fire this year. He's throwing for, you know, 350 plus yards and three touchdowns in his first two games. I think this is a trap game for Big Ben. For me, I think the Philadelphia Eagles defense is so underrated right now. What they've shown the first two weeks is that they are good. When they were with Chip Kelly, they were exhausted. They were. I mean, you, you can't be a good defense in the Chip Kelly system. I think they had the pieces. Now they get a coach who has put together a solid defense and you have Big Ben who. Let me ask you this. When I say which quarterbacks are you weary of starting on the road versus a home, who comes to mind?

[Andy Holloway]

Drew Brees.

[Jason Moore]

Drew Brees. Big Ben. His splits since 2014 home and away are four points greater than the splits of Drew Brees. Drew.

[Mike Wright]

In other words, he is worse on the road than Drew Brees is even.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. What? At home? At home. Since 2014, he's had 15 games at home, 15 games on the road. Big Ben has averaged almost 30 fantasy points per game at home and 18 fantasy points per game on the road. Oh. So I'm just throwing this out there where you've got two really good options this week. I think I need to move Big Ben just Slightly down. And it's hard to say that when a guy's on fire like Big Ben has been.

[Mike Wright]

Big Ben has been.

[Jason Moore]

Big Ben has been.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. What about the other side of the ball with Carson Wentz and that offense and Ryan Matthews, who, you know, a lot of people freaked out about last week? I'm not freaked out about last week, but, you know, obviously the Steelers, well coached, team solid on the defensive side.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Take away the weapons.

[Andy Holloway]

The running defense is ranked pretty highly. I'm still going to start Ryan Matthews. I'm okay with it. And I think Jordan Matthews has earned his way into a. You got to play him every single week. I know he dropped a touchdown, yet he drops some passes every once in a while. Mike Evans drops passes. Amari Cooper drops passes. This is just part of the game.

[Jason Moore]

But.

[Andy Holloway]

But he was. He was still. He was still good. And that touchdown would have put him over the top to be a great play last week. The Steelers are currently the 31st passing defense in the league, so they are vulnerable through. Through the air. I think that Jordan Matthews can get it done.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, let's move on now to the Bears and the Cowboys.

[Andy Holloway]

Sorry, Burton. Trey Burton is a. If you're in that bar. Feet tight end. Trey Burton might be sneaky.

[Jason Moore]

And we didn't say D'Angelo Williams because he's a must start, an auto start. But some of the transactions I've seen with D will lead me to believe people still don't think he's an auto start. If you got D, Will, he's in your lineup.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Let's move on now to the Bears and Cowboys. The Sunday night game and what everybody wants to see. Dak Prescott against Brian Hoyer.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So Jay Cutler is going to be out of this game. What are the implications for Hoyer taking over when it comes to a guy like Jeffrey who we don't even know if Jeffrey's going to play in this game. And if Jeffrey doesn't play, what does it mean for Kevin White?

[Andy Holloway]

That's a very interesting question. You have. You have my theory that could possibly be at play here. You have the backup quarterback and you don't have the number one guy. So Kevin White elevates to become the number one. I don't know. You could see that Brian Hoyer, Kevin White connection. I'm not going to predict that one. I think that White would be. Would become an okay play against the Cowboys. It really gives me great concern, though, for Jeremy Langford, who has shown his inefficiencies when, if you are a forward thinking fantasy player. I would put Jordan Howard on my bench 100%. I would stash him.

[Jason Moore]

This is the week that you're going to start seeing Jordan Howard a little bit more involved. And it's just such a terrible, you know, obviously, you know, things can change. But as of right now, it looks to be a terrible situational game for Jeremy Langford because the Bears were ravaged by injury last week. So they were already a team that was definitely in the bottom half of expectations for the league. And then they lost so many of their key defensive players last week. So you've got a game where the Bears are probably going to be down and now you've seen Jordan Howard get more involved. You saw Jeremy Langford fumble. You know, I'm scared of starting Langford. I am looking to stash Howard. I'm avoiding pretty much every bear in this game whose name isn't Alshon Jeffrey if he plays. But I love what I'm seeing from the Dallas side. I like Des. I like Ezekiel Elliott. The Chicago Bears defense doesn't scare me.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you like heart ring nominee Cole Beasley?

[Jason Moore]

I don't like him as much and I mean, I think he's okay if you're in a ppr. He's going to be. He's going to be fine. I guess I just feel like Cole Beasley is more necessary and difficult matchups.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Where you got to get the ball out.

[Andy Holloway]

Interesting. Interesting.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I'm curious to see how the Bears defense travels this week against Dak Prescott, how they scheme him and what their passing D does against DEs. I have DEs rated fairly high this week. I think this is going to be. Look, Dak. Dak hasn't thrown any touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

No, he is not.

[Mike Wright]

So I'd like to see him do that for the sake of, you know, fantasy points. All right. Monday night game. Falcons take on the saints 53 and a half point over under.

[Andy Holloway]

Here it is. I'm taking the over. The fact that this game is the crescendo point of the week for fantasy purposes and it gets to be Monday night is so glorious. I am so excited.

[Mike Wright]

What if you're a Willie Sneed owner? You feel the same way.

[Andy Holloway]

New we need some updates. We know that he missed practice yesterday with the toe. I haven't heard anything that says he's going to miss the game yet, but is certainly a situation that you have to pay attention.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And you have to be prepared for that.

[Mike Wright]

Michael Thomas might be your insurance policy.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. If he's available on waivers. I would definitely grab Michael Thomas.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're the Snead.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. If you're the Snead owner.

[Mike Wright]

Now, let's say he's already been semi productive. And so if you took Sneed out of the equation, I think you'd see some. I think you see some Fleener.

[Andy Holloway]

I was going to say, do we have. I don't know if you saw this on Twitter. Andy Jason and I were talking at length about. This is before the show.

[Mike Wright]

I have no doubt we have.

[Andy Holloway]

We could have a reverse Sampson situation here for Kobe Fleener. Kobe Fleener has cut the hair and donated it.

[Mike Wright]

Oh. This past week.

[Jason Moore]

Got rid of all of his luscious locks.

[Mike Wright]

So you think, look, the. The Saints have averaged 20 receptions a game for their wideouts, and Kobe Fleener hasn't gotten any of that attention. You think this changes now?

[Andy Holloway]

The hair is gone.

[Jason Moore]

The hair was getting in the way.

[Andy Holloway]

It's just. It's just a ridiculous theory that I'm.

[Mike Wright]

So this is the kind of analysis you get here on the show.

[Jason Moore]

All right, so.

[Mike Wright]

And it makes sense that Mike would be hair related because he's got the beard now. Do you. Have you ever thought that if you shaved your beard, you might have like, better insight on fantasy matchups?

[Andy Holloway]

It's. No, that's not.

[Mike Wright]

I guess being number nine overall, the.

[Andy Holloway]

Beard gives me power.

[Jason Moore]

If you are the Willy Sneed owner. Okay. And let's say Michael Thomas isn't available or you got a great bench. You don't have anybody that's dropped.

[Mike Wright]

You have a great bench.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. If you have a. I'm allowed to say whatever I want. I know.

[Mike Wright]

Sign Mohammed Sanu.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. If Mohammed Sanu is out there. But my point is, if you have someone else. Like, Willie Sneed was my start of the week, and it's starting to scare me now because he might not play. That's a very bad start of the week.

[Mike Wright]

It's one of the worst.

[Jason Moore]

One of the worst. But you might need to. If you have someone else, if you've got a Crabtree that, you know, if Willie Sneed's in your flex and you're. And you would prefer to start Willie Snead, but you've got Crabtree. I would probably put Crabtree in, no problem. Leave the. Leave the huge upside of Willie Snead on the bench because he's also a huge downside.

[Mike Wright]

He's not A.J. green. He's not Julio Jones. He's not Odell Beckham Jr. He's had two very good weeks to start the season. But he doesn't go into that. You have to wait till the last minute to start him category. Just play a guy like Crabtree, play a guy like Doug Baldwin. Play somebody else that you have in my opinion. I agree with Jason completely on that one.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's my final hot take for this game. If, if you're waiting, if you're waiting and you for that flex position and you could pick up either Mohammed Sanu or Jacob Tammy. I'm going to pick up and play Jacob Tammy.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Over Sanu.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Reminder, Michael, be on Periscope on Sunday morning. You can tune in there for some last minute help and answers. You can also go to the website, the fantasy footballers.com. we have a submit a question button in the corner and you can send questions in for our for live on the show. And also we have some other ways that you can get questions answered on there. And obviously you can interact with our community of over 2200 [e-mail] these are passionate people that aren't in your league. So you don't have to worry.

[Jason Moore]

Or are they?

[Mike Wright]

Or are they? So right now we're gonna switch over, switch gears to some DFS and talk to Chris Meaney of the Fantasy Sports Network.

[Jason Moore]

The Daily Doze.

[Andy Holloway]

The fantasy footballers are pleased as punch once again, Chris Meaney from the Fantasy Sports Network. He's going to jump in with us. Talk about some hot, hot fanduel plays for this week. And how are you doing, my friend?

[D]

Doing great, man. Better now to be talking to you. Hopefully we win some people some cash out there.

[Andy Holloway]

It's always better when you get to talk to me. That's what I've heard.

[D]

Yeah. You're not wrong. You're not wrong.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, well, you know the drill. Let's start at the quarterback position. What are you doing this week at quarterback? Are you paying up? Are you going cheapskate? You got some good plays. What's your strategy this week?

[D]

I have no problem with people wanting to pay up for Cam and Drew Brees. Like I get it. Like, Drew Brees is back at home now as long as you're playing in a contest with the Monday night game and I think you should because of course on FanDuel you can just do early Sundays, early and late, but you can find contests with that Monday night game and there's going to be some points scored in that Atlanta New Orleans game. So I have no problem with people wanting to pay off Drew Brees and the flip side of that Matt Ryan's a little bit cheaper. You save yourself 500 bucks. We're talking about the number one quarterback in fantasy right now. He's got the most fantasy points. He's got a dream matchup against the Saints, so I like that a lot. Big Ben in Philadelphia. Battle of Pennsylvania. This is really the Eagles first test. I would say defensively, Ben Roethlisberger is a nice player. $8,400. Carson Palmer not getting any love in my opinion, in terms of pricing on FanDuel and other sites that you look at him, he's $8200 against Buffalo. I saw what the jets were able to do against that Bill secondary. I know that Bill secondary is better than what we saw on Thursday. I think it is. But Carson Palmer just has so many weapons. Everyone counted him out last week. He wasn't talked about. He threw three touches against Tampa Bay, so he's got five already on the year. So I'm definitely into that. You can save some money on Philip Rivers against the Colts. $8,000. Even when he got up in that game and they were up big against Jacksonville, he still aired out the ball a lot. 24 passes, so I have no problem with that. And then I guess Joe Flacco too, at $7,600 against Jacksonville so far they're allowing the fifth most fantasy points to quarterbacks. And Flacco has over 550 yards in two games. Pair him up with his buddy Mike Wallace.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, me and Joe Flacco are BFFs here on. I'm living the stream big time with him for this week and I think the next couple weeks as well. So running back, running back position. What are you looking at doing this week?

[D]

I think you should pay up. I mean, D'Angelo Williams is just. He's just awesome. This guy's wicked, you know, there's nothing else to say about that. He's got a good match against the Eagles. I'd pay up for him. $8,800 for sure. It's going to strap you a bit, but he certainly seems like he's worth it elsewhere. I mean, DeMarco Murray has been pretty impressive. Two games so far. He's had 14 targets, 12 catches. So he's been involved in just every aspect of that game offensively, 90 plus receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns. So I like Murray a lot. Melvin Gordon seems like he's just going to have a really good opportunity this year if he can just continue it. Continue what he's been doing so far. With Danny Woodhead out, Keenan Allen out It seems like they're actually going to give him an opportunity. 24 carries. He finally had his first 100 yard game on the ground. He's got three scores and two games. So I'm into Melvin Gordon, plus his just a dream matchup. The Colts defense is just so soft and so weak. And what was interesting I saw is with no Woodhead, I know he left early in that game, but Melvin Gordon finally caught some balls. He didn't have any targets, any catches in game one. He only had three targets, but he reeled them all in. So I like that a lot. And back to this Atlanta New Orleans game. A lot of people are not in on Mark Ingram because he's struggled so far this season. I don't know if I trust him in a cash, but if you're playing in a big tournament with a lot of people, I have no problem rolling out mark Ingram at $6,900.

[Andy Holloway]

Love it. Yeah, we kind of have the mantra of start all Chargers this week. The matchup is, is just too good. So, yeah, I mean, look, I'm all in charges this week. Wide receiver, wide receivers, who are you looking at going with this week?

[D]

Again? You see at the top, you look Antonio Brown. It's real nice. I can't blame anyone for not playing the best wideout in the game. And what I talked about with you guys last week, and it didn't work out as well as I wanted it to because Elshon Jeffrey wasn't targeted as much. But Antonio Brown will be targeted unless Leotis McKelvin is not playing again. Again. Seventh round, rookie cornerback gonna try to shadow Antonio Brown. It's not good news, but like you said, with all these Chargers, I mean, Travis Benjamin, $6,900 against the Colts, Tyrell Williams, they're gonna be able to put up points. Calvin Benjamin, just play the Benjamins and hopefully you can win the Benjamin and you'll be good to go. I mean, last week they were both fantastic. And Kelvin again, I mean, this guy's just a beast. He just scores touchdowns and Cam Newton loves him and he's not afraid to target him. So I like that play a lot. And there's just a lot of wide receivers that are just fairly cheap, in my opinion, that are, that shouldn't be. I mean, Fitzgerald, again, he's. He's cheap. I like this matchup. He's $7,600. You're not really breaking the bank with him. Jordan Matthews is $6,900. Marvin Jones is $6,900. These guys have been getting targeted just like crazy in the first two weeks of the season. Mike Wallace again, I touched on him.

[Jason Moore]

A little bit with Flacco.

[D]

Three touchdowns already. More reports that these guys are just BFFs. And I like to see that and certainly you do as well if you have Flacco in there. Kenny Britt is a cheap little play at $5,400. He's got 16 targets over 160 yards. And Jameson Crowder, maybe this might be a sneaky play for some people, but he's second on the team in snaps among wide receivers. He's the most targeted guy in that offense among wide receivers. 18 already plays in the slot. Cole Beasley ate up the defense in that first game against the Giants in the slot. Saints wide receivers were very productive as well in the slot. So I think that Jameson Crowder might be just a little sneaky play for some people. And also Philip Dorset could get some play as well. If that Colts defense is as bad as it is and we think it is, they may have to try to play some catch up with no mockery. Maybe doorsted is that guy.

[Andy Holloway]

Love it. We were talking of Crowder a little bit earlier on this week and just he's, he's sneaking up. I think he's going to sneak up a lot of people throughout this season. All right, we got a, we got a wade through the mud here a little bit, my friend. We got to sift through the barf that is the tight ends. They continue to not impress me. But what are they doing for you?

[D]

I know, I agree with you, man. They did neither. Nobody impresses me at all. I mean, we could go to Delaney Walker. The struggles last season that Oakley Oakland has with tight ends, I mean that's where, that's why that Gary Barnage thing kind of came out is because the first two games they allowed four touchdowns to tight end. So maybe there's still something there with Delaney Walker. That's to me, the high price guys. I mean even Jordan Reed has really not impressed me. Greg Olson's pretty good. He's been dominant, but that was a really good matchup for him last week. I'm looking down again, I'm looking at this Monday night game and I mean I never thought I would say play Jacob Tammy, but this guy has the most targets among any Falcons player. I mean that's including Julio Jones who, yes, he's banged up, but he should be fine. But Jacob Tammy, I mean he's just getting targets. 16 targets. 120 plus yards has a touchdown. Again, we're talking about the Saints defense just not being great. So I would trust Tammy, I would trust Pitta. Pitta. The exact same 16 targets. He's BFFs with Flacco as well. So is Wallace. But I like those two guys. And if we're gonna dig a little deep as maybe just somebody in a tournament play that's not going to get a whole lot of love and probably won't be owned a lot. I like what I saw from Trey Burton for the Eagles. Doesn't look like Zach Ertz is going to play. Trey Burton in that game had seven targets, five receptions, had a touchdown in the red zone. He was heavily involved in that game. He was on the field a lot. And a lot of people think it's Brent Selleck who's going to get some play. He's a blocking tight end and that's the way that they want to have it in Philadelphia. Doug Peterson's already been very vocal about how productive Selleck is on the field blocking. I think Trey Burton could be a sneaky play as well.

[Andy Holloway]

Love it. All right, real quick, let's get a couple defenses that you like this week.

[D]

Yeah, sure. I think you should pay up just like last week. I mean, if you paid up for Arizona, you were loving it. Pay up for these. Arizona, Seattle, Carolina. I like even Denver. Those defense, Denver was unbelievable against Locke. I mean, it should still be the same way against Cincinnati, but Miami seems like that could be a good defense as well. $4,600 against Cleveland. Now we're already looking at the third quarterback already. Coleman broke his hand. So you should pay up for D. Just get it done and just move on.

[Andy Holloway]

Love it. This is Chris Meaney from the Fantasy Sports Network coming on every single week giving us those great FanDuel plays. Appreciate it, my friend. Be well.

[D]

Hey, you too, man. Thanks for having me.

[Mike Wright]

All right, thanks again to Chris Meaney for joining us, giving us some insight on FanDuel for this weekend. Hopefully you have some success over there. And remember, you can sign up fanduel.com ballers and get involved with our leagues, things like that. So it's been a fun week. We hope you have a great week. 3. Do you guys have any closing thoughts, any closing, you know, insights, secret predictions, anything you've been holding back from the Foot clan?

[Jason Moore]

The only thing I would say is I've been making notes and I've got a big pad of paper on ranking changes. So make sure you continue to check the rankings as the week goes on. They do Update.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, good point.

[Andy Holloway]

And if you are a winner like us, you need to go to fantasyjocks.com and get your trophies, your championship belts.

[Mike Wright]

Get ready.

[Andy Holloway]

Use the promo code, Footballers. You save a little bit of that.

[Jason Moore]

Keesh. I believe you mean like me. Oh. Woo.

[Mike Wright]

See you later.

[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.