FootClan Titles + Owl Hoots, Week 18 Waivers & Motivation - Fantasy Football Podcast for 12/31

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary Episode: FootClan Titles + Owl Hoots, Week 18 Waivers & Motivation Release Date: December 31, 2024

The latest episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast dives deep into the exhilarating conclusion of the Fantasy Football season, celebrating championship victories, dissecting Week 18 waiver strategies, and analyzing player motivations heading into the final stretch. Hosted by Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright, this episode is a treasure trove of insights for both seasoned managers and newcomers alike.

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1. Championship Highlights and FootClan Title Celebration

The episode kicks off with heartfelt congratulations to Al Borland for clinching the FootClan Title, marking a significant achievement in the league's history.

• Jason Moore [03:00]: "Congratulations, Al."
• Andy Holloway [08:09]: "This was year 18 in League of Record, which is shocking."

Mike Wright shares his emotional journey, recounting his narrow two-point loss in the championship game against Dan High T Campbell and the Lions' impressive comeback in the second half.

• Mike Wright [04:13]: "Debo, at least he had a fantastic game. He had a catch, he had a catch, guys."
• Jason Moore [04:35]: "Once Gibbs ran it in, it was like it was over."

The trio reflects on their championship memories, emphasizing the intense pressure and the bittersweet nature of losing a title battle by such a slim margin.

• Andy Holloway [05:00]: "What a brutal game we play."
• Jason Moore [05:00]: "You'll have the answer to the question we get asked..."

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2. Listener Interactions and Personal Touches

Emphasizing community, the hosts feature spontaneous congratulations from their families, adding a personal and relatable layer to the celebration.

• Andy Holloway's Wife [08:25]: "Hey, Andy's wife. I want to give my best, biggest congratulations to Al Borland for winning the league of record titles."
• Caleb (Andy's Son) [17:41]: "I just wanted to congratulate Al Borland on the amazing win and for beating my dad for the rightful victory."
• Alyssa (Andy’s Daughter) [33:49]: "Owl, you are the greatest fantasy football champ in the world."

These heartfelt messages underscore the tight-knit nature of the Fantasy Footballers community and the personal stakes involved.

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3. Week 18 Waivers: Key Player Recommendations

As the season wraps up, the hosts provide an in-depth analysis of waiver wire pickups crucial for Week 18's fantasy matchups.

Running Backs:

• Khalil Herbert (Cincinnati Bengals): Potential game-changer if Chase Brown remains healthy.

  • Andy Holloway [35:11]: "Khalil Herbert's irrelevant unless Chase Brown plays."

• Amir Abdullah: Showed great performance last week, making him a valuable addition.

  • Jason Moore [35:30]: "Amir Abdullah slid up the waiver list."

• Deontay Foreman: Despite an injury, his work ethic suggests increased usage.

  • Mike Wright [54:06]: "Deonta Foreman slides up the waiver list."

Wide Receivers:

• Marvin Mims (Denver Broncos): On an over 1,000-yard pace, he’s a solid pickup.

  • Jason Moore [36:35]: "Marvin Mims is very interesting with an over 1,000-yard pace."

• Alec Pierce (Green Bay): Consistent performer, especially if Flacco starts.

  • Andy Holloway [35:47]: "Alec Pierce is a reliable target."

• Pierce Strong (Cleveland Browns): Targets in a potentially high-scoring game.

  • Jason Moore [35:47]: "Pierce Strong has targets in a meaningful game."

Tight Ends:

• Sam Laporta: Emerged as a clutch player in the playoffs, making him a must-have.
  • Jason Moore [07:32]: "Laporta came through in the clutch."

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4. Player Motivations and Incentives in Final Playoffs

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around how player incentives and team motivations influence performance in Week 18.

• Andy Holloway [29:36]: "All of these people know it. After every year we're going to hear about it a week or two from now."

The hosts debate whether teams prioritize personal incentives or the team's success in these high-stakes games. They reference specific players like Josh Allen and Saquon Barkley, analyzing how their incentives might impact their gameplay.

• Jason Moore [24:35]: "Josh Allen has a consecutive game streak. He'll start and be out quickly in that game."
• Andy Holloway [38:02]: "If you are Saquon Barkley, I don’t know what to do. I know what he'll say because he's such a good guy, he's going to say Super Bowls."

This segment delves into the ethical considerations of fantasy football and the real-life implications of player decisions influenced by personal incentives.

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5. Mailbag: Keeper Decisions and Future Draft Strategies

Listeners’ questions about keeper leagues and future draft strategies are addressed, providing valuable insights for upcoming seasons.

• Jonathan [52:42]: "I'm thinking about my keepers. Jalen Hurts. Do I move on to Jaden Daniels?"

Andy Holloway advocates for retaining proven performance with Jalen Hurts, emphasizing the reliability and established track record.

• Andy Holloway [53:11]: "I would rather keep Hurts simply because we have enough years year after year after year where we know that Jalen Hurts is going to be good."

Conversely, Jason Moore considers the potential of Jaden Daniels, highlighting his impressive fantasy points per game.

• Jason Moore [53:11]: "Fantasy points per game this year, 25.1 to 23.4. There's always the opportunity for a rookie to get better."

The discussion underscores the balance between proven talent and the excitement of emerging players, a crucial consideration for keeper leagues.

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6. Future Outlook: Tight End Rankings and Rookie Prospects

Looking ahead, the hosts evaluate tight end prospects and the evolving landscape of the position for the next season.

• Brock Bowers vs. Sam Laporta:

  • Mike Wright [49:28]: "Brock Bowers is like a new Travis Kelsey, the focal point of the Raiders offense."
  • Andy Holloway [48:13]: "Bowers will go ahead of Brian Thomas next year."

• Jason Moore [48:58]: "We enter a new phase in the fantasy tight end universe. It's called Bowers or McBride."

The trio discusses the shift from older tight ends like Travis Kelsey to newer stars, predicting that Bowers and McBride will dominate fantasy drafts in the upcoming season.

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7. Key Takeaways and Final Thoughts

As the episode draws to a close, the hosts emphasize the importance of strategic waiver pickups and understanding player motivations to secure championship victories.

• Jason Moore [54:34]: "Week 18 stuff. Not as tough as getting through this show."
• Andy Holloway [55:04]: "Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Football Ballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on TwitterFFballers."

This final segment serves as a reminder of the continuous learning and adaptation required in fantasy football, encouraging listeners to stay engaged and proactive in their management strategies.

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Conclusion

This episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast masterfully intertwines championship reflections, strategic waiver analysis, and future planning, making it an indispensable resource for fantasy managers aiming to end their season on a high note and prepare for future success. With engaging discussions, expert insights, and a strong sense of community, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright provide listeners with the tools and knowledge necessary to dominate their leagues.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

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[Jason Moore]

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[Andy Holloway]

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

[Jason Moore]

Oh, welcome in.

[Mike Wright]

Was that an updated graphic?

[Andy Holloway]

That was a stupid updated graphic that Andy missed on the YouTube. It didn't say with the producers like usual.

[Jason Moore]

What did it say?

[Andy Holloway]

Said with the league of record champions and it had the picture of the champs.

[Jason Moore]

Well, there's.

[Mike Wright]

There's Al Borland. Al Borlan. The king. The king. Give him the applause, Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

The people love it. I'm so happy for you. The people love. He's got all the graphics ready. It's not fair. When you produce the show and you're the champ, you get to just do. Get it up with her.

[Jason Moore]

I did expect some festivities here as he's in his.

[Mike Wright]

Good work.

[Jason Moore]

He's in the crown. He's in the robe.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, man. So good.

[Jason Moore]

He's still ravaged with illness after, you know, less not sleeping and probably cardiovascular issues going on this week, but. Congratulations, Al.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you. I accept.

[Jason Moore]

This was year 18 in League of.

[Andy Holloway]

Record, which is shocking and that I don't. I feel like we shouldn't say that out loud. Feels like we're old as dirt. 18 years old.

[Mike Wright]

How old we are.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I know, but we're in our late.

[Jason Moore]

We're in our late 30s.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly. Gross.

[Jason Moore]

Our late 30s. Tuesday, December 31st. Congratulations to not just Al, but all the champions out there. Congratulations, but not Mike.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, no, I didn't win.

[Jason Moore]

I already gave you a 21 gun salute this morning because when you walked in when we dragged you in. Well, first we saw you weeping in your car out front.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, we had to go. We had to go to the vehicle.

[Jason Moore]

Pull you out of the vehicle and say, we have 12 straight hours.

[Mike Wright]

I need an IV. I'm very dehydrated.

[Jason Moore]

You're the one person that is dehydrated from tears. But last night, with three minutes left on the clock.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

Dan High T Campbell and his Lions offense.

[Andy Holloway]

This guy, he wasn't lying.

[Jason Moore]

He rolled out Jameer Gibbs, who went around the right end and ended three minutes left. Mike, season, he lost by so close. He lost by two points. He went into the second half up 32 points. His opponent had Debo Laporta and Gibbs, none of whom had scored in the first half. And all three in succession scored in the second half to just eviscerate Mike Soul.

[Mike Wright]

Debo, at least he had a fantastic game. He had a catch. He had a catch, guys.

[Jason Moore]

It was. Yeah, he had an end around run on a drive. He had not been out there the entire drive. Only, I think, because 100%. Because George Kittle came off the field injured after a big catch.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

And the personnel grouping had to change. But yes, Mike, for those of you out there that didn't win, you have a friend. You have Mike and I who both won last year, both were back in the title games and both lost our repeat opportunities.

[Mike Wright]

It was. That was a bad one. That one felt like it was.

[Jason Moore]

All I could think of was that you will forever have the answer.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I do.

[Jason Moore]

You'll have the answer to the question we get asked, which is, what is your worst championship game memory or worst playoff defeat or worst defeat. Any of those.

[Andy Holloway]

You had to watch the whole thing with stress and worry.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

And it took the entire thing to make sure.

[Jason Moore]

And you were bleeding out point by point. And you were right. I could feel it.

[Andy Holloway]

What a brutal game we play.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. But like, at the same time, had that not happened, that that victory was going to feel so, so, so good. And unfortunately, I mean, we're down to three minutes and the lines are having just an incredible drive of melting out the clock. And it was. They're going to do it like, they didn't have to score. They just needed to eat the clock up. But then San Francisco is so inept on their rushing defense that Jameer Gibbs ripped off the 30. I mean, every time Jameer Gibbs touched.

[Jason Moore]

The ball, has this been up here the whole time?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he threw that up early. The score of the league of records.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. All right.

[Mike Wright]

Every time Gibbs touched the ball last night was like Terror. He could go.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. And he almost did several times.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

There are a lot of people that were on the other side of the Gibbs situation last night that won titles. On the back of Jameer Gibbs, I have literally thousands of messages from Foot Clan title winners that just snuck by. I saw somebody that overcame starting Cooper cup three consecutive weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, wow.

[Jason Moore]

And won a championship with three weeks of Cooper. And, you know, Mike, you came in, you were like, man, what if I had CD Lamb? What if CD Lamb hadn't got benched in this final week?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that would have been cool, man.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, you talk about week 18.

[Mike Wright]

Or Ken Bone Walker.

[Jason Moore]

Or Ken Bone Walker.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that would have been cool, too.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, you lost both of them right before the championship.

[Jason Moore]

Ford mid game.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

This is just a full game. Jerome Ford. I would have won, but. And also, I mean. And like, a shout out to Sam Laporta, who. Like, if people stuck with Sam Laporta.

[Jason Moore]

That was an amazing. End of the season.

[Mike Wright]

He had a massive run there. The three playoff weeks, tight end one. I mean, 14.6, 12.3, 15.4. Like, Laporta came through in the clutch when he was. I mean, halfway through the season that he was like, every single week is, do I drop Sam Laporta? So I dropped Sam Laporta. And he really. I feel like you held on. You were rewarded.

[Andy Holloway]

If you had any player of relevance in this game, you were happy. Other than maybe Isaac Grindo. But even then, I feel like most people weren't relying on him since he was injured last week and it was the last game of the week. Most. I didn't see a lot of lineups that were like, oh, I need a big game from Grindo. But if you needed golf, if you needed Purdy Gibbs, almond raw Laporta, Jameson Williams, like, everybody came through.

[Mike Wright]

Garendo is still the. He's scored almost 12 points.

[Jason Moore]

The. I'm gonna have to stare at that the whole dang show.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I mean, the producer's got a lot of power.

[Jason Moore]

The last five weeks of the season, Laporta was the tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, no. Spontaneous. Congratulations. Yeah. Hey, this is Brie, Andy's wife. I want to give my best, biggest congratulations to Al Boylan for winning the league of record titles.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, it was a close call, but.

[Andy Holloway]

You came out victorious in the end, like a true champion. Congrats. Oh, baby. Absolutely wrecked it. Body. That was so sweet. Oh, that was so sweet of her. And after I beat her in the family league to take her championship, she still came through. Andy, I would ask how you're feeling, but your face is down on the table, very far from the microphone.

[Mike Wright]

Does that feel like Gibbs ran a 30 yard touchdown with three minutes left.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that was very sweet of her.

[Jason Moore]

There's really no. We didn't need to come to work today.

[Andy Holloway]

It's New Year's Eve.

[Jason Moore]

You know, I hope it hurts a little bit because I've been kind and gracious and you're still having to do this.

[Andy Holloway]

You have been a very kind loser.

[Jason Moore]

That was my wife congratulating you on our podcast. That's great.

[Andy Holloway]

That was awesome.

[Jason Moore]

Ex wife. But yeah, I mean that's.

[Mike Wright]

You can file.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, the papers are drawn up now. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Like this is just.

[Jason Moore]

Cause I think even in the Bible they do say, yeah, that's right. That is grounds for divorce.

[Andy Holloway]

Very few reasons. But calling in to a massive show to congratulate your opponent.

[Jason Moore]

Fantasy football adultery of some sort. Well, cool. I think I was saying something about Sam Laporta when I was destroyed publicly.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man.

[Jason Moore]

Congratulations, Al. Once again. That was my sixth. That was my sixth league of record championship game loss.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, man.

[Andy Holloway]

An impressive six losses, three wins.

[Jason Moore]

Which means in 18 years, 50% of the time I'm there.

[Andy Holloway]

And yet you are so you are like officially the best loser in the league. Like the number one.

[Jason Moore]

And the most wins too.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Speaking of best losers, Brian Ketron is my co manager and now co champion. He is. He's done a full rebrand from biggest loser to biggest winner.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, well, he was almost a big.

[Jason Moore]

I don't feel like this is my podcast anymore.

[Andy Holloway]

He was also the co manager of the losing team for the two championships.

[Jason Moore]

You know what?

[Andy Holloway]

He won one of them.

[Jason Moore]

I know.

[Andy Holloway]

Important one.

[Jason Moore]

I know that. Al Borland & Co. Shopballers.com we got the Foot Clan title shirts. They've been. They've been flowing the people. You got to swag out. You got to swag. You got to make life insufferable. You got to do what Al's doing right now. He didn't have the courage to do it yesterday. Up 60. But once, once Gibbs didn't score an all time record.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he had the plans for what we are experiencing now. And he couldn't possibly do all of this yesterday.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. All right. It all makes sense.

[Jason Moore]

So shopballers.com for title shirts, fantasychamps.com for trophies. Use the code free ring for a free ring. And that's why the code is free ring.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. You have to add the. One of the $60 rings to the cart, just add that and the trophy or belt that you want and then put the code free ring in and the ring price will disappear.

[Jason Moore]

Congratulations to our megalable official winner, the first member of the Listener league next year, Darrell Montgomery. And you know, thanks to everybody that participated in the Megalobol this year, the largest fantasy football tournament in the known universe. And I just want to say the record, I thought this would be interesting, Right. Because you know, you had a lot of really spectacular records. The record for the winner was 22 and 10. So got to the. Got to the playoffs. 240 points. A team with just perfection up and down. Burrow Irving, Kyron Neighbors, Higgins, LaPorta, McConkey, B. Rob and the Tampa defense who put up 17. So congratulations.

[Mike Wright]

They're. I mean they're. They're tied as the first person in next year's list.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

Because goes the Listener League winner.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Team name Boomin Newman.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Jarrett.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Username Jared Actor. Which we have not got to the bottom of. Is it Jared Actor?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not sure if he's an actor or if this is a dinosaur. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Is this a pterodactyl reference, but probably a dinosaur reference. Jared Actor. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

He had Burrow, Dobbins, Cook, Chase Bowers, Higgins, Super Stack. So congratulations. A lot of winners out there. Some hard luck losers like Mike and you know, a lot of people that are going to have a lot of fun with their titles and some that are going to want to quit the game. And I just say give it a couple weeks to calm down.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And then you have everybody who Mike.

[Jason Moore]

Is quitting the show.

[Mike Wright]

Give yourself a couple weeks or wake up to an alarm and come into work and talk about how awesome it was that everybody won a bunch of championships.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, man.

[Mike Wright]

One of those things you could choose to do.

[Jason Moore]

There weren't many words from Mike from that moment.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I shut it down.

[Jason Moore]

Once Gibbs ran it in, it was like it was over.

[Mike Wright]

Because once you get like there was.

[Jason Moore]

A fumble by Debo, which I was like. After the Gibbs touchdown guys, Mike's final words were dead. He said dead and disappeared.

[Mike Wright]

I of course finished watching the game just in case they did an end around with Debo and he fumbled it.

[Jason Moore]

Because it would have. You would have been.

[Mike Wright]

Minus. It would have been enough to.

[Jason Moore]

I know, I know.

[Mike Wright]

Of course I'm going to watch through.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. But yeah, I got a really bad feeling. There's more spontaneous congratulations coming.

[Andy Holloway]

I would be really disappointed if there weren't.

[Jason Moore]

I'd be shocked if There weren't.

[Mike Wright]

I don't think there is.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we'll talk news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league presented by USAA Insurance.

[Jason Moore]

All the drops. I don't know if you just saw that.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, did that one get changed?

[Jason Moore]

All the drops have been changed.

[Mike Wright]

Play it again.

[Andy Holloway]

Wait, wait.

[Mike Wright]

Wanna see it?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I didn't notice.

[Mike Wright]

Is it gonna work? Al, you gotta fire that one off back there.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Al has.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league presented by usa I don't think.

[Jason Moore]

Well, I don't know if our sponsors approved.

[Mike Wright]

When your co manager.

[Jason Moore]

Ugly guys on that drop, your co.

[Mike Wright]

Manager is the graphic guy, so.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that's a good point.

[Mike Wright]

It's a producer with the guy who does the graphics. That's a pretty good combo for some celebration.

[Jason Moore]

All right, I'm going to blitz the.

[Andy Holloway]

We have other segments on today's show.

[Jason Moore]

Unfortunately, we have waivers.

[Mike Wright]

I can't wait.

[Jason Moore]

Brock Purdy left with a elbow injury.

[Andy Holloway]

Dude.

[Jason Moore]

It's not great. Heading into contract time. No, like, he's had this issue twice now. Well, he had the ucl, right.

[Mike Wright]

I thought it was. I thought he had the Tommy John surgery.

[Jason Moore]

He had ucl and then I guess the UCL is okay, but it's a nerve issue.

[Mike Wright]

His face on the sideline, he was almost crying was like. Because I'm sure inside his brain he went. It happened again. Yeah, it happened again.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I'm trying to sign a contract to be the franchise quarterback for the 49ers, and it freaking happened again.

[Jason Moore]

And he's a good quarterback and deserves a contract.

[Mike Wright]

We really hope that he's okay.

[Jason Moore]

We. Let me see here. Chase Brown, Bengals offensive coordinator, hopeful he can play, but they've said they have trust in Khalil Herbert. It's a must win game against the Steelers. I don't know how the. Do we know how the timing works out?

[Andy Holloway]

The NFL usually adjusts the schedules on week 18 to make sure that they do.

[Mike Wright]

There is some weirdness, though, because the. I think they're. The. Are they a Saturday game? I know the Steelers play before the Ravens. Kyle. Is that. Is that correct? Because, like, there's some weirdness of.

[Jason Moore]

No. The Ravens and Browns play Saturday.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, is that. Oh, I had it. Flip flopped. Okay, so, like, yeah, they play early. The Steelers will know if they have a chance to win the division or not.

[Jason Moore]

Right? Right.

[Andy Holloway]

And they won't.

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

Because the Ravens are team point favorites.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. Right.

[Jason Moore]

And they could win literally, with their hands tied behind their back against the Browns. Maybe Jalen Waddle will Come back. I don't know why they do that but they are right on the cusp so I guess they'll try. Status in question. Aaron Jones able to participate in the team's walkthrough.

[Mike Wright]

They need Aaron Jones.

[Jason Moore]

James Conner, tbd, took a shot to the same knee.

[Andy Holloway]

I think for, for him, what he's looking for is to start the game and then get out so that the game log says I played a full season.

[Jason Moore]

SUTTER Tillman on IR. He will not play. He hasn't played since week 12 with the concussion. There is an article on our site. We're going to go through some of the team motivation situations but there's a great article by Matthew Betts himself. Week 18 playoff motivation Player incentives on the fantasy footballers.com if you want to go through in detail. Otherwise.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, there we go. There we go.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, spontaneous. Congratulations.

[Mike Wright]

Hey guys, this is Caleb, Andy's son.

[Andy Holloway]

I just wanted to congratulate Al Borlan.

[Mike Wright]

On the amazing win and for beating.

[Andy Holloway]

My dad for the rightful victory. Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Win for you is a win for all of us.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yes. Oh. One of the best episodes of all time here on New Year's Eve. Oh, Andy has to be so happy that tonight at the stroke of midnight we turn to a new year because you are getting straight bodied.

[Jason Moore]

It's wild because I was like we were talking. Mike was super tilted going to the week for his repeat. I really wasn't. I was like, you know what, whatever happens, happens. I now really wish I had won. It would have been much.

[Andy Holloway]

You're raising a good kid there, Caleb. Thank you very much, buddy.

[Jason Moore]

You know the problem is I got more kids. I have too many family members. Brock Bowers needs nine receptions to break the single season all time record for tight end this week. Anthony Richardson, if he's healthy, he'll start in a meaningless game for the.

[Mike Wright]

It's not meaningless for Anthony Richardson.

[Jason Moore]

No, it isn't. Tajie Spear status up in the air. Tony Pollard bonuses on the line. But I don't know with. I don't know if I'll be out.

[Andy Holloway]

There with the injury to Spears. I mean if Pollard, he's 83 rushing yards away from 1100 to get a quarter of a million dollars. Two rushing touchdowns from another quarter of a million dollars. You know, I mean TBD if he plays but if he's active, I think they'll try to get him those.

[Jason Moore]

You know what I'm supposed to do right after work today?

[Andy Holloway]

You are supposed to get your son his driver's license.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. That's.

[Mike Wright]

I think plans have changed.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think he's going to be driving anytime soon.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoops.

[Jason Moore]

Whoopsies.

[Andy Holloway]

There's bad timing.

[Jason Moore]

Consequences for your actions.

[Mike Wright]

Free speech. You say what you want.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you know, I'm one of Those drive at 18 guys now.

[Mike Wright]

There you go.

[Jason Moore]

A couple of years.

[Mike Wright]

Did you say the part? Andy of the the Titans have said both Mason Rudolph and Will Levis will play for the Titans.

[Jason Moore]

When you got two quarterbacks, how many quarterbacks you got?

[Andy Holloway]

You got zero. But when you got Will Levis, you have zero.

[Jason Moore]

You also have zero. You have one.

[Andy Holloway]

Just no matter what. What do you Callahan brother, you know you've seen enough.

[Mike Wright]

You know you saw it week one. You're like, that's all I need to know. Because then it happened again in week two. Like, this is. This is not the answer.

[Jason Moore]

We'll take a break, collect ourselves, and be back in a second.

[Andy Holloway]

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[Mike Wright]

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[Andy Holloway]

The Titans have.

[Jason Moore]

I'm so tempted to shut the show down. Just hit the outro button right now.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, the problem is the Outro graphic. I don't think you're going to want to see it. There's no escaping. So the Titans right now are sitting with the number two pick, but that really is, for their purposes, kind of the number one. I mean, as it stands, the Patriots have the number one pick and they're not going to go with the quarterback after drafting. No. No way. They are fully behind Drake May. They could trade it.

[Jason Moore]

They could trade him. They could trade.

[Mike Wright]

Maybe they're not trading May.

[Andy Holloway]

No. May will be their quarterback next year.

[Mike Wright]

I don't think that's happening. But I mean, someone can trade up to get the number one pick.

[Jason Moore]

We'll see. We'll see. You're probably right.

[Mike Wright]

It would be insane.

[Jason Moore]

But you could.

[Mike Wright]

Insanity. Drake May looks like he has a future.

[Jason Moore]

All right, let's talk a little bit about the situations here going into week 18. Because if you are playing in a week 18 title game, first of all, I feel worse for you than I even do for Mike.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

But if you're there, let's talk about motivations. The Chiefs will start Carson Wentz going to rest a ton of their starters. They're playing a Broncos team that is now 10 point favorites who desperately need to win and will win this game at home.

[Mike Wright]

There was further reports too, love. Like Wentz might not even play the whole game.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. They're going to potentially go with McNee or something like that. I don't remember what his name is.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's McElbow.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. McGroin.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

Wait, there was a Matt McGloin.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

For the Raiders.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. That was a good time.

[Jason Moore]

All things come back to groinindex.com the Bills are the number two seed. Josh Allen has a consecutive game streak. He'll start and be out quickly in that game.

[Mike Wright]

The old Cal Ripken. Yeah, I mean, I started.

[Jason Moore]

I get it. Well, here's the. Here's the truth. The truth is that those consecutive game Streaks should be reflective of a player's durability. So in that respect, the fact that you were going to lose it because your team's resting a player, that's not fair.

[Mike Wright]

I would love if they don't even hand the ball off. Take a knee on his one. Just on his one snap. Just have Josh take a knee, lose a yard, and then run off the field. It would be electric.

[Andy Holloway]

I want him to throw an 80 yard touchdown. That's like, first play, just take a deep shot. You got one play.

[Mike Wright]

Take a knee or go for it. Yeah, that's fine.

[Andy Holloway]

No handoffs. No weak handoffs.

[Jason Moore]

Papa Josh just left the studio momentarily.

[Andy Holloway]

He went to get Jason a drink, but I saw the fear in your eyes.

[Jason Moore]

Go get Jason a drink. And I'm like, what the hell's happening? Am I about to get slimed?

[Mike Wright]

Here comes the bouquet.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I don't even know if he's really good.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm like, checking out the rafters above you right now.

[Jason Moore]

This is a real problem. But you know what? I would expect nothing less for your last day as executive producer of the show. The Texans are locked in to the number four seed, the Eagles. They clinched the NFC East. Already the number two seed, Saquon Barkley needs 101 rushing yards.

[Andy Holloway]

Schefter was saying he would be shocked if Barkley plays in this game. I mean, it's tbd. I think we'll have more information as we get closer to the week, but it's no guarantee. I was talking about this to Mike. It's like, if I was the head coach, I would not know what to do because I asked Barkley. Yeah, sure. Yeah, you ask Barkley and, you know, I guess it's up to him. So I guess the question is if I'm Saquon Barkley, I don't know what to do. I know what he'll say because he's such a good guy, he's going to say Super Bowls.

[Jason Moore]

He shouldn't play.

[Andy Holloway]

He shouldn't. He really shouldn't.

[Jason Moore]

He won't want to, and the team won't want him to. Because if you get hurt in this game, you. You're done. You're toast, the season's over.

[Mike Wright]

Super Bowl, super bowl goes away.

[Jason Moore]

It's also too much.

[Mike Wright]

It's 101. If it was like 50.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. 35 yards, 45 yards.

[Mike Wright]

I can see him going for it, but, you know, but they're locked in.

[Andy Holloway]

Which, ironically, it could be 30, 40 yards. If earlier in the season. Remember when he was going for his career high and the coach and you know, he asked, he was just beating.

[Mike Wright]

The crap out of him.

[Andy Holloway]

He was just, I mean it was so easy. And he's like, hey, you want to get your career high? He's like, no, let the other guys get some work. Which you know, that's fine and dandy. You didn't know you were going to be on track for breaking the all time record. But if in that game he just kept going, he could basically almost be there right now.

[Jason Moore]

Atlanta really needs to win because Tampa needs to lose. Tampa needs to window clinch Detroit. They're locked in. They're playing Minnesota for the number one seed next week. Everybody will be playing on both sides. That's the biggest over under we've seen in quite a while. I think it's 57. Washington's locked in. There'll be the six or seven seed, Green Bay, same situation. The Rams are locked in. They will be the three or four seed and yeah, so Atlanta, Tampa, big games from both of those, big games for both of those teams in the afc. Baltimore's locked in. They need to win to clinch the three seed in the division. They have to play the Browns. They will play their starters for a while, but I imagine that game, if it gets out of hand, they'll bench them in the second half.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, would seem so.

[Jason Moore]

And Pittsburgh's battling same situation to try to win the North. But they'll know, I mean they'll know.

[Andy Holloway]

Whether the Ravens call it right now, like Pittsburgh has nothing to play for because they're, by the time their game happens, the Ravens will have won. You know what I mean? Like obviously if the Ravens lose to the, to the Browns, whatever will change, but it's.

[Mike Wright]

We'll. Yeah, I don't know how Tomlin will handle it.

[Jason Moore]

Chargers are locked into the playoffs, battling for their wild card spot. Denver, Cincinnati, Miami, all battling for playoffs. Right. So those are the big teams with the big opportunities. Broncos, they're winning and they, if they win, they're in. Cortland Sutton has 82 receiving yards that he needs for an additional 500 grand.

[Andy Holloway]

He'll get it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean he should be able to get it done. Although they, that game could get out of hand if they score defensively.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but I mean that's one of those things where again we brought this up a couple of weeks ago. All the players, all the teammates, all the coaches know these guys, incentives, they're going to go into this game and say, you know, if he ends up.

[Jason Moore]

I don't agree. I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean it's not an opinion. It's literally not an opinion. All of these people know it. After every year we're going to hear about it a week or two from now. I tried to get this guy the ball.

[Jason Moore]

I don't agree.

[Andy Holloway]

How can you not agree with coaches who have in the past come out and said we were trying to get this player because he has an incentive.

[Jason Moore]

Because that happens only in games that are of non confidence consequential situations. It doesn't happen in games where it's if you lose this game, you don't make the playoffs. They're not worried about a player's incentives for Denver trying to make the playoffs.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but that was need to win the game. That wasn't what I was saying. I mean in this game it is of consequence. Right? Like this is a. You lose and you probably don't make the playoffs. You win and you get in.

[Jason Moore]

That's what I'm saying.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So it's a game of consequence. No, no, no.

[Jason Moore]

I'm saying they don't pay attention to incentives in games like this because they need to win the ball game. So it's not about the individual players incentives in these games.

[Mike Wright]

They will focus on the ball.

[Jason Moore]

It's about if they do it with three yards for Coral and Sutton, they won't care. That's what I'm saying.

[Andy Holloway]

I agree. But my point is, let's say through the game, you're in the fourth quarter and he's got 60 yards. You know what I mean? It will at that point you'll have a player to called up for him. That doesn't mean he's going to get it. They knew it with Trey McBride for weeks and you saw it every time they got around the goal line. It's like the play is for McBride. Didn't mean he got a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

But they certainly try to do those things.

[Mike Wright]

You see the John who's Smith one. So it's Johnny Smith can earn an additional 400 grand if the team is top 20 points scored or net yards. And he plays 59% of the snaps to get there, he would have to play 100% of the snaps this week. So we'll see.

[Jason Moore]

And they're playing for a playoff spot too.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, but it's like if they take.

[Andy Holloway]

Him off the field one time, he loses that he'll be out on the.

[Mike Wright]

Field just like laying down. Barely, barely. Just going up and down.

[Andy Holloway]

12 man, 12 man again. I'm not leaving the 12 man again. They're moving back.

[Mike Wright]

John, you get up.

[Andy Holloway]

John, you. I'm not getting off the field.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, I.

[Andy Holloway]

Starts playing, you got 400 grand. He plays defensive snaps. They. They bring him in at the end of like, be safety because he's.

[Jason Moore]

You could do that. They got a lot on the line, too. They're the next up if Denver loses somehow.

[Andy Holloway]

Are they above the. The. The threshold for the team scoring, though?

[Mike Wright]

I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

Because obviously if they're not scored in 8 yards.

[Mike Wright]

Seems like it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. They've been good on offense. Yeah. We have the full article. All the player incentives, all the motivations up on the website. Like I said, the fantasy footballers.com. matthew Betts put that up there. That was today's news and notes presented by USA Insurance. Learn more at USA.com insurance stock waivers briefly.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome to the waiver wire. Oh, man, these graphics are getting better and better. If you. If you're not on. You know, today is a day for YouTube. Go over to YouTube.com fantasy footballers and just enjoy. Enjoy the drops.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you know what? You. You should be doing this, and it'll be good for your resume.

[Mike Wright]

Like, did Brian just stay up 48 straight hours?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, they had this prepped, no question. No, because we.

[Jason Moore]

No, you did.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, the idea was prepped, but we also had a versions of everything with Mike in them in case he won. Oh, that's.

[Jason Moore]

So in case you lost.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, you know what? Sometimes you don't have to tell everybody everything. You can just be like, I was.

[Andy Holloway]

Telling you that to make you feel good. We wanted you in there with us. Wait, wait, wait. You were trying to make me feel good by reminding him?

[Mike Wright]

You need to evaluate of what you think would make people feel better.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, my bad.

[Mike Wright]

Because telling me I would have been in the graphic had Jameer Gibbs not run a 30 yard touchdown with three minutes left.

[Andy Holloway]

It's like telling someone if your mom was still alive, she'd love this moment. My bad.

[Mike Wright]

I told you that to make you feel better.

[Jason Moore]

They also remember her anyway.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. Ran over like that.

[Jason Moore]

They paid for a big cake, too. They threw it out, but they paid for a huge cake for you.

[Andy Holloway]

It would have been great.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I feel way better.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Andy Holloway]

So the waivers.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yes. Spontaneous. Congratulations.

[Jason Moore]

This is Alyssa, Andy's favorite daughter.

[Mike Wright]

But I'm not here to talk about my dad.

[Jason Moore]

Owl, you are the greatest fantasy football.

[Mike Wright]

Champ in the world.

[Andy Holloway]

Congrats on your victory over my dad. Aw, thanks, sweetie. Oh, man, I don't.

[Mike Wright]

There's one more to go I don't.

[Andy Holloway]

Think we've ever had more kids.

[Jason Moore]

I am dead. I'm dead. Stop.

[Andy Holloway]

He's already dead. I mean, the show moments of the year. We're at the very end of the year, and I don't know how this doesn't get towards the footies. This.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, he's just.

[Jason Moore]

It's.

[Mike Wright]

You know how, like, the. The Oscar people, they just. They put their movie out in December, like, all the Chalamet talk for his. What, the Bob Yellow movie, whatever it's called, and they're like, oh, he's gonna win best actor. Yeah. We just kind of sneak it in at the end because that's when everyone is not really paying attention. But you are.

[Jason Moore]

You guys want to talk waivers, go ahead.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. We can start at the running back position again because this is week 18. There's a bunch up in the air, and you're in a championship matchup. There's not a ton of names. I would say that the number one name right now, Khalil Herbert, the backup running back for the Cincinnati Bengals. Now, again, this is up to Chase Brown's health.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

Chase Brown is healthy and he's going to play. Cincinnati needs to win this game. Then Khalil Herbert's irrelevant. Amir Abdullah is the other name. He was so great last week. They decided that he should be the guy at the end of the year instead of Alexander Madison. You know, you could have done this the whole season. Amir Abdullah.

[Jason Moore]

Was there a couple other combos. Michael Carter, Trey Benson. If Connor sits, even if he doesn't, Carter might be okay. Pierce Strong. Deontay Foreman. Foreman had much more of the groundwork. He'll have the goal line work. Pierce strong. The targets in Cleveland in a meaningless game.

[Andy Holloway]

And Raheem Blackshear.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Have you any wool?

[Andy Holloway]

No. He is completely shaved clean. However, Chuba is on ir.

[Jason Moore]

This season's over, guys.

[Andy Holloway]

This is one of those where if you have to make a decision now, he might be the name to pick up on waiver day because you know he's going to be getting work and then. Yeah, wait later in the week for Khalil Herbert. Amir Abdullah got injured as well. I haven't seen anything on that either. But those. Those would be the running backs of. Of note.

[Jason Moore]

Wide receivers. Alec Pierce. If Flacco starts. If Flacco doesn't start, I wouldn't start. Pierce Dobbs, 7 for 58 last week for Green Bay. Marvin Mims. Hubba hubba. Jason gave me his $100.

[Andy Holloway]

I sure did.

[Jason Moore]

And 8 for 103 last week.

[Andy Holloway]

Marvin Mims is very interesting. You know, if you look at the last.

[Jason Moore]

It's been a top six receiver two or four weeks. The last four weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, if you actually look at the last six games, he's on a. I don't know if you even are aware of this, some big plays in there, but he's on an over thousand yard pace for a full season over the last six. So he's been more involved. And this is again a must win for the Broncos.

[Mike Wright]

The snapshot Mims is.

[Jason Moore]

It's a little hard to tell. It's a little janky.

[Mike Wright]

But the snaps the last two weeks are at 47% where he's been a mid-20s type of a player. So has he solidified that spot? I don't think we know for sure. It's sketchy.

[Jason Moore]

Malik Washington last week, five more targets. If Waddle doesn't play and the Dolphins need to win, it's the, it's the jets game.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And I mean, we're still waiting on who. Who is the quarterback you're waiting on Jalen Waddle. The last news I saw on Waddle was actually more positive that he might play. And the news on TUA is seemingly negative.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, they are going to split first team reps, but they're going to give more first team reps to Tyler Huntley this week. So I think the expectation is that TUA is not able to go with that hip injury and they can win this game. You know, they can win this game without tua. So if you're going to make the playoffs, it would be better to have a, you know, healthy hip for sure.

[Jason Moore]

It'd be a big punch to the 8 chance if you, if you get Huntley back in there. I don't know why I motioned that Chiga Concord tight end last week. Seven more targets. Just. I tweeted it. He just missed a 32 yard touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

He didn't miss it. I don't think that's fair to Chig.

[Jason Moore]

Because when you're like, Rudolph missed it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, there you go.

[Jason Moore]

So he didn't look super fast though.

[Andy Holloway]

He had his guy totally beat.

[Jason Moore]

You got to give him a shot to make that catch.

[Mike Wright]

But the grass was destroyed.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, it was raining.

[Mike Wright]

Players were slipping all over the place.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you.

[Mike Wright]

Is your okonkwo belief and faith still strong? If you're like, they're gonna be rotating guys.

[Jason Moore]

Not. It's not amazing. I'd rather play Zach Ertz if he was out there. 6 or 72 and 2 last week although again. But you know, what's the consequential situation there For Washington. For Washington. Disley back out on the field. They need to win. Firemuth Pittsburgh. They. He was 7 for 60. That's an option.

[Andy Holloway]

The matchup is great. Again, both, both Disney and Friarmouth this week have very, very good opposing defenses at the tight end position. And by that I mean they are poor.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

Give up a lot of fantasy points.

[Jason Moore]

Defensively, there are a lot of options. Again, all the waivers for week 18 on the website we've been sorting through them. The fantasy footballers.com the waiver rankings. Defensively you've got the Dolphins must win. Facing the hapless jets offense. Dolphins defense has been pretty good lately. What they gave up three points last week. They were a big score the week before Broncos against Kansas City's backups. The Buccaneers must win against nobody. I mean the Raiders put up 12 fantasy points against New Orleans last week. The Falcons against Carolina. Falcons must win. And then you could go with Houston against some will Levis, some will love.

[Andy Holloway]

Us in that game and some starters for the Texans that was announced that they're going to play their starters maybe at the end of the game they get benched but a half against some Banana Rama is enough for a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

Do you prefer Broncos, Buccaneers or Dolphins? Their roster percentage is pretty close.

[Jason Moore]

I'd prefer the.

[Andy Holloway]

I prefer the Dolphins.

[Jason Moore]

I'd prefer the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers I think are who I'd go with but I mean, dude, I mean all three of those are just neck and neck.

[Andy Holloway]

They're good.

[Jason Moore]

None of them will. None of them should Colts you this week. I wouldn't necessarily hit this button this week but I feel like I've got to.

[Andy Holloway]

Full stream ahead.

[Mike Wright]

Jay, we're still on the train.

[Andy Holloway]

We were on the train with that was a pretty good ride streaming quarterbacks.

[Mike Wright]

I'm sure they covered our tickets.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Bryce Young against Atlanta.

[Mike Wright]

I like him.

[Jason Moore]

Let's do it. Mike pointed out yesterday that recently Bryce Young has had much better numbers than C.J. stroud.

[Mike Wright]

Since the return from the benching he has been a much better fantasy quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

How wild would it be? And I don't expect this to happen. But like let's say you look back five years from now and Bryce Young is the equivalent clearly better pick than C.J. stroud. That'll be an important lesson learned.

[Jason Moore]

It was a 0% chance last year. It's at least a 10% chance now. Don't underestimate the return of Adam Thielen's and the factor that that was in Bryce Young success over the back half of the year. Adam Thielen has been available, performing constantly, scoring even with Leggette hurt and other players hurt.

[Andy Holloway]

He Thielen said he is planning to play into his 50s.

[Jason Moore]

So so a couple more years.

[Andy Holloway]

Couple more years. He's got two more seasons.

[Jason Moore]

You're going Flacco a rich yeah, I.

[Andy Holloway]

Think the the matchup against Jacksonville, you know, Joe Flacco, Anthony Richardson, whoever is going to be there should have enough fantasy points to throw into your lineup. I mean motivation matters to a big degree, but really it's just a matter of the all these games are going to get played. So if you know who's going to be playing and in this game you will. You'll know whether Anthony Richardson is healthy or whether it's Joe Flacco. You're going to have enough points scored.

[Mike Wright]

Here and I'm going with Russ against Cincinnati. The you got to pay. You got to be locked into the news of what Mike Tomlin is saying is going to happen because we laid it out. They will know if they need to win the game or not to try and get the division. But the matchup is there. It's the second highest total of the week right now and it's dude, Cincinnati. I mean this is the team we want to play against.

[Jason Moore]

Yep, yep. There's your streamers this week. Week 18. We'll take a break, we'll do some mailbag and we'll shut this thing down. This episode is brought to you by Bleacher Report.

[Mike Wright]

How do you follow sports from college.

[Andy Holloway]

Football to the NBA?

[Jason Moore]

Bleacher Report brings you the latest news.

[Mike Wright]

Live scores and epic highlights from your favorite leagues, teams and athletes all in one app.

[Jason Moore]

Dive into exclusive shows hosted by your favorite athletes and original Bleacher Report series with breaking news, rumors and predictions all season long. Download Bleacher Report to personalize your coverage. This episode is brought to you by.

[Mike Wright]

Dutch Bros. Get stoked for all the holly jolly vibes this season at Dutch.

[Andy Holloway]

Bros. Stay cozy with returning winter faves.

[Jason Moore]

Hazelnut truffle mocha and candy cane mocha. Plus the new Winter Shimmer Rebel energy.

[Mike Wright]

Drink blends up sweet cream and blue.

[Andy Holloway]

Razz flavor with soft top and shimmer.

[Mike Wright]

Sprinks to keep those spirits energized all winter long. Download the Dutch Bros app to find your nearest shop. Order ahead and start earning rewards.

[Jason Moore]

You know the only thing better than Mike being dragged in here is having to muster the energy for this.

[Andy Holloway]

Mailbag maple bag.

[Mike Wright]

How did you not make Jeremy do It. He's the champ.

[Andy Holloway]

I do what I want. And it's not that.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, it was interesting.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, man, the britches are getting big.

[Jason Moore]

The britches. The britches.

[Andy Holloway]

You can do whatever you want on your final day of work.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Yeah. Al, that's producer Borland for those that want to send their congratulations. I know. I think everyone in the world was rooting for you, so. And you know, they have the saying, act like you've been there before. He hasn't. He doesn't know how to act. He doesn't know.

[Andy Holloway]

Am I doing it right?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, unfortunately.

[Mike Wright]

You're doing it.

[Jason Moore]

You're doing it really well. Mailbag.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I got one more kid.

[Andy Holloway]

Spontaneous. Congratulations.

[Jason Moore]

I knew this was coming.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, Al, this is Nathan, Andy's son and league of record co owner. I may have lost the championship to you, but to be honest, a better man won. You may not be my dad, but you're my hero.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Why would he do that?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man.

[Jason Moore]

He's the one that should have rejected the. The fame.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you so much, Nate.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jason Moore]

You and your co manager.

[Andy Holloway]

He's such gracious losers. Your co manager that just lost the championship.

[Mike Wright]

Wow.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, is he still the co manager in 2025? That's. That's an update we're going to need to get a hold of the Holloway.

[Mike Wright]

Blood is thicker than water. I mean, that is. That changed rapidly.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

They sold you down the river.

[Jason Moore]

I thought this show was.

[Andy Holloway]

They got water in them veins.

[Jason Moore]

I thought this show was going to be about Mike's failures.

[Andy Holloway]

What failures? All I see is a champ sparkling over on the. In the alleyway.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I've already.

[Jason Moore]

Unless I have a kid I don't know about, it should be over with.

[Andy Holloway]

You've got to be thankful that at the. You know, at a certain age, our parents probably can't figure out how to, like, record something. Get that. Because that would have taken it over the top.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, my God. You did not write that for him.

[Andy Holloway]

I did not write it.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, you did.

[Andy Holloway]

I promise you I did not. That.

[Jason Moore]

That's my wife.

[Andy Holloway]

That. You raised them right. You really did.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not sure about that. Tim writes in from Instagram for our mailbag here. Because we're doing a mailbag in your league of record. Is there anything else you guys compete for than a trophy? Well, this is a good example.

[Mike Wright]

This is what you compete for so that you can do this.

[Andy Holloway]

There is no money on the line in the league of record 18.

[Jason Moore]

People are always shocked about that.

[Mike Wright]

It is actually very detrimental to your wallet.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, gosh. I spent thousands of dollars to your check.

[Jason Moore]

He saved me thousands of dollars.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. When. When I championship and had to, you know, hire a Marilyn Monroe and buy.

[Mike Wright]

Banners and we're getting written up by the. By the complex.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Saying that we're not allowed to put banners up.

[Andy Holloway]

Don't tell me what I can't do. I'm the champ, lady. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

You win negative money.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

But I had already looked into like. But it's marching bands.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

If I could rent a few cheerleaders to cheer every pick.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I don't know the civilian capability of getting a flyover, but I mean, I'm not.

[Jason Moore]

Luke Air Force Base is close.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I mean a flyover. Make it bring everyone outside.

[Andy Holloway]

Everybody come out. Check this out.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, man. No. We play for pride. We play for pride. Okay, this question is that all day, all day, all day. Besides trophies and other championship swag, how do you. Do you fellas have a tradition or ritual that you. When you take home a fantasy title? We do. We, we got in our office, we got shelves with the rings, the fantasy championship rings. I've got a banner that I hang up for draft day. Mike has one, Jason has one.

[Andy Holloway]

There are some years in specific spots where like I got a Mike Evans jersey because when you know he scored 47, 30,000 points in week 17 and single handedly won the championship, if there's a player like that, you might go out and get their jersey.

[Jason Moore]

Mike had a RG3.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Like mural. Really? Yeah. But there you go. Bobby McArthur. Where do Brian Thomas and Brock Bowers go in next year's redraft leagues? To me they are both.

[Andy Holloway]

Bowers will be one, two, turn. He'll be right at the end of the first round.

[Jason Moore]

And I think Thomas is right there too.

[Mike Wright]

I do.

[Jason Moore]

I think they're right next to each other.

[Mike Wright]

Some leagues people will reach at the end of the first, otherwise it'll be mid second at the latest.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not positive which of those two goes before each other.

[Mike Wright]

They're both.

[Andy Holloway]

Bowers will go ahead of Brian Thomas next year.

[Jason Moore]

We enter a new phase in the fantasy tight end universe. It's called Bowers or McBride. That's the phase. That's the new era. Is not Andrews and Kelsey. It's not Gronk and kelsey. It's Bowers McBride.

[Andy Holloway]

And somehow Kittle will continue to be disrespected and dropped to be like the fifth tight end.

[Mike Wright]

And I'm sure you're right.

[Jason Moore]

That will happen. CMC will come back and IUK will come back and he will be all the reasons. It might be a good reason.

[Andy Holloway]

Like the.

[Mike Wright]

I'm sure there's going to be plenty of discourse of well, like is Bowers going to Laporta? And it's. To me the answer is absolutely not of like Laporta. It was a really low scoring tight end, tight end year last season and it was not done on volume. It was done on touchdowns. Like where laporte is coming through in the playoffs because he's. Because he's scoring a bunch of touchdowns. Where Brock Bowers is like he is a new Travis Kelsey. Where he's the focal point of the Raiders offense for the foreseeable future.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not just the touchdowns. It's the ability to do other things.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Like if you look at Laporta, it's like well, okay, they don't need them. Like if Laporta. If laporta had a season ending injury, not one point would be different in the Lions outcome. It's sad to say that that's not trying to say Laporta is not a good player. He's a very, very good player. But they just have a nut. They have another. Too many other options. Amon Rock could step up. The running game is great. The other receivers. Now all of a sudden Tim Patrick becomes a thing.

[Jason Moore]

Brock Bowers has Alan Robinson.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he did. He's catching passes.

[Andy Holloway]

Brock Bowers has no competition. I mean none. It's like Kobe Myers, they might have.

[Jason Moore]

More after the draft, but even if they do Bowers, they have a rookie quarterback too. That'll be something that you'll have to factor in. Bowers, they will have a new quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

Bowers has 1150 yards with a game left. And Laporta last year finished the season 17 games with.

[Jason Moore]

You're telling me there's no world where you take McBride next year with Bowers?

[Andy Holloway]

No, no.

[Jason Moore]

I am quarterback over. Is McBride a first round pick? Then he.

[Mike Wright]

He could be close. Like this wasn't an argument.

[Jason Moore]

No, I.

[Mike Wright]

This was the. He's not going to Laporta.

[Jason Moore]

I think some of the re. You know, I get that. Yeah. And it's funny. Laporta and Andrews were very similar this year where the starts of the seasons and the ends were very different. I completely agree with the fact that he's not going to Laporte. He's a. He's a PPR guy. But I do wonder because Bowers and McBride are together. The times that we saw Gronk And Kelsey go in the first round as high as five or six was because they were kind of, they were alone.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And so I think that puts Bowers and McBride more in the mid second round range.

[Andy Holloway]

You might be right.

[Jason Moore]

I think that's what will. Because if I were going into the draft genuinely I would just take the cheaper one. Sure. Well, I mean they will be like McBride and Bowers. What's the, what's the reception difference between them? I mean 108 versus 100 or something like that.

[Andy Holloway]

Despite the touchdowns not coming for McBride, you would think that there will be more touchdown opportunities with Kyler quarterback than a rookie quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

McBride has 104 receptions, Bowers is at 108. McBride and, and also McBride is one game fewer. So like McBride's at 15 games.

[Jason Moore]

If you take the midpoint of the season, McBride's pace is 143 receptions. Bowers pace is 123. So both of them have even been stronger in the second half of the year. And McBride will score in the future. If you want to look at that positive regression narrative.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, we talk about touchdowns not being a sticky stat. We'll talk about it this offseason. The fact that, oh, McBride doesn't have touchdowns, that means nothing for the future. Best example here is James Cook. You know, it's like oh well he doesn't, you know, he's a good back. He just doesn't ever get touchdowns. And now he's about to possibly break O.J. o.J. Simpson's record for most rushing touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

And like the, the beginning of Travis Kelsey's career. 5, 5, 4. Then, then it went up and you had a run where he's hitting double digit touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

Last one here. Jonathan wants to know. I'm thinking about my keepers. Jalen Hurts. Do I move on to Jaden Daniels? He has both on the roster. I had to ask this one. It's like a great question to set the table for an off season of shows where these type of questions will be popping up. I don't, I would rather have Jaden Daniels going forward.

[Andy Holloway]

I do not doubt at all that Jaden Daniels goes ahead of Jalen Hertz next year. I would rather keep Hertz simply because we have enough years year after year after year where we know that Jalen Hurts is going to be good. We know what his weapons are, his offensive line, the system. Like if you go, well, how does it fail next year? Okay, if the tush push gets outlawed this offseason, I would be willing to change it. But for the most Part we know he's going to be great. There is the potential that next year things get figured out or things get worse in the sophomore season for Jaden Daniels. So it's just a safety thing because both players are awesome. I lean the hurts side.

[Jason Moore]

I would lean Daniels by a hair. Fantasy points per game this year, 25.1 to 23.4. There's always the opportunity for a rookie to get better.

[Mike Wright]

We do have a piece of news that actually is important for waivers. Brown's running back Pierre Strong is in the concussion protocol.

[Jason Moore]

Deonta Foreman slides up the waiver list.

[Mike Wright]

Foreman is. I mean, he's in a really, really bad situation, but it's the running backs are right now a flowchart of injuries where this is why we know that Foreman's going to get the ball a lot. Can he do anything against the Ravens? I don't know.

[Jason Moore]

There you go. All right. Week 18 is tough, guys. Week 18 stuff. Not as tough as getting through this show.

[Mike Wright]

It's been great, but we did it.

[Jason Moore]

I think you redeemed Mike's spirits.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I'm cheered up. I'm good. I'm on to 2025.

[Jason Moore]

Do I have permission to close this out or do you have any, like, relatives of mine that you have summoned up? My parents aren't here to walk in.

[Andy Holloway]

And I did text your daddy.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. Probably thought you were spam. Probably blocked you. Goodbye, everybody. Congratulations, Al. New Year's tomorrow, no show. We'll be back Thursday.

[Andy Holloway]

Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Football Ballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on TwitterFFballers.