PANIC ROOM + Buy/Sell, Melvin Returns?

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary
Episode: PANIC ROOM + Buy/Sell, Melvin Returns?
Release Date: September 25, 2019

---

Introduction

In this episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright delve into critical fantasy football strategies and updates. Titled "PANIC ROOM + Buy/Sell, Melvin Returns?", the discussion centers around assessing player performances, making buy or sell decisions, and evaluating the potential return of Melvin Gordon to the Los Angeles Chargers.

---

Buy or Sell Segment

Devonta Freeman vs. Tennessee Titans [03:01 – 05:23]
The hosts analyze Devonta Freeman's performance in Week 4 against the Titans. Last week, Freeman accumulated 11 fantasy points on 62% snap counts. With Edo Smith's concussion, Freeman's snap count surged to over 90%.

• Mike Wright: "I would say I'm taking the under on Devonta Freeman."
• Jason Moore: "He was 16 for 88. He had four targets again in three receptions. However, on those three receptions, he only managed seven receiving yards."
• Andy Holloway: "I'll take the over because it's a low line. I think he can put that up."

Calvin Ridley’s Down Week [05:51 – 07:53]
The discussion shifts to Calvin Ridley, who had a subdued performance last week.

• Jason Moore: "I buy that he had a down week."
• Mike Wright: "He will be on the course of the season the clear number two wide receiver here. I think six targets is a reasonable outcome for him."

Greg Olson vs. Houston [06:28 – 08:45]
Greg Olson is evaluated against the Houston Texans.

• Jason Moore: "He is old man. Strengthen all over the place. He's been pretty solid at least the past two weeks."
• Andy Holloway: "I'm going to buy it."
• Mike Wright: "I will, I will say not this week, Greg."

James Winston vs. Rams [07:31 – 08:58]
James Winston's prospects against the Rams are scrutinized.

• Jason Moore: "I think you can do two [passing touchdowns]. Why not?"
• Mike Wright: "I think I'm going to sell. Even though this seems like, okay, the Rams are going to score, the Buccaneers are going to come back and have to throw a lot."

---

News and Notes

Melvin Gordon's Holdout [09:12 – 11:36]
Melvin Gordon's ongoing holdout and potential early return to the Chargers are discussed.

• Andy Holloway: "Per league sources, he may be returning to the team soon."
• Jason Moore: Highlights the unpredictability of holdouts based on past experiences.

Seahawks’ Vance McDonald Injury & Trade [16:37 – 17:54]
The Seahawks' shoulder sprain update on Vance McDonald and the subsequent trade for Nick Vanette are covered.

• Jason Moore: "Nick Vanette, he had his opportunity last year to establish himself as a pass-catching weapon. It did not work out."
• Mike Wright: "Great trade for the Seahawks."

Free Agent Tight Ends [17:54 – 19:00]
The availability of tight ends like Dawson Knox and Chris Herndon is mentioned, emphasizing their potential impact on fantasy rosters.

---

Panic Room Segment

The hosts introduce the "Panic Room" segment, where they assess various players' performances and determine their levels of panic (1-4).

Sony Michel [24:44 – 28:47]
Sony Michel ranks RB35 with concerning efficiency and limited snap counts.

• Jason Moore: "I am a three. I am getting a little freaked out."
• Andy Holloway: "Bottom 5 yards per carry on the season of qualified running back."

JuJu Smith-Schuster [28:49 – 32:04]
JuJu's performance is analyzed, highlighting his reduced target share.

• Mike Wright: "I'm a two on JuJu as well. I'm a little worried because of the change of quarterback."
• Jason Moore: "I'm at a two. I think he can still be a solid wide receiver too."

James Conner [34:26 – 37:53]
James Conner's inconsistent snap counts and usage are evaluated.

• Andy Holloway: "I think it's an instant retirement if you fall below."
• Jason Moore: "I'm at a two and going through the snap counts. Oh, that seems like a dire situation."

Devonta Adams [37:53 – 42:23]
Devonta Adams is assessed for his underwhelming performance despite high expectations.

• Mike Wright: "I'm at a two. I'm a little worried."
• Jason Moore: "I'm at a one. I don't blame people if they are a bit panicked."

Todd Gurley [42:23 – 45:19]
Todd Gurley's significant drop in performance places him at the highest level of panic.

• Jason Moore: "I'm absolutely a four."
• Mike Wright: "I'm a three with James Conner because he hasn't looked the same."

George Kittle [45:19 – 48:17]
George Kittle remains a solid performer with minimal panic.

• Andy Holloway: "I'm a one."
• Mike Wright: "I'm a one with you, Andy."

---

Thursday Night Preview

Eagles vs. Packers [50:11 – 60:05]
The hosts preview the Thursday Night matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers, focusing on key players:

• Aaron Rodgers: Discussed with concerns about his passing yards but optimism for a bounce-back game.

  • Jason Moore: "I'm going to wait. Let's see how Rudolph does in his second start."
  • Andy Holloway: "I'm a three for me too because it's one of the hardest things in fantasy football."

• Aaron Jones vs. Philly Defense: Evaluated for his touchdown dependence and efficiency against a strong defensive unit.

  • Mike Wright: "I am decently concerned on Connor."

• Alshon Jeffrey: Positioned as a tough start against Green Bay's defense.

  • Jason Moore: "I don't want to play him. If you're desperate, I'm okay making that move."

• Flex Play Options: Discussion on whether to start Marquez Valdez-Scantling or Alshon Jeffrey.

  • Mike Wright: "I think I would be MBS. MBS looks like a good matchup play."

---

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a light-hearted discussion and reminders about roster management. The hosts emphasize the importance of adjusting expectations based on player performances and team dynamics. They also preview upcoming episodes and encourage listeners to join their fantasy football community for additional insights and strategies.

---

Notable Quotes

• Jason Moore on Devonta Adams: "I think Devonte Adams will finish the season as a top five guy." [38:32]
• Andy Holloway on Sony Michel: "Bottom 5 yards per carry on the season of qualified running back." [28:37]
• Mike Wright on Todd Gurley: "The Rams running backs have the lowest market share of attempts of any team in the NFL." [43:57]
• Jason Moore on Aaron Rodgers: "I don't make too much of the inefficiencies here. There's a couple players that have been, you know, Sony carry on Aaron Jones." [53:54]

---

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions from the podcast episode, providing valuable information for fantasy football enthusiasts seeking to enhance their team strategies.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Clan. Before we start today's show, we just wanted to invite you to be a part of the greatest fantasy football community ever. Mike says the best. The best. It's like the greatest. JoinTheFoot.com our listener community, over 11,000 strong. You get an extra episode every week. You get access to premium stats, premium flex rankings. We've got our consistency charts. You get community access on the forums and a whole lot more. So check all that [e-mail] this is Melvin Gordon from the Los Angeles Chargers and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Foreign.

[Mike Wright]

To the Fantasy Footballers podcast, coming to you from pristineauction.com studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, welcome in. Welcome into the show. Wednesday, September 25, the fantasy footballers Podcast back with you. You know, they say that sometimes there's, you know, panic in the streets and today we've got like a panic room episode and we've got buy or sell. But there seems to be optimism in the streets as the show begins because of Melvin Gordon News.

[Jason Moore]

There is, but I can't, we can't move on. Before you comparing the phrase panic in the streets to a panic room, I think we have two very different situations going on here.

[Andy Holloway]

What is panic in the streets?

[Jason Moore]

That's when there is a mob running crazy.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, okay.

[Jason Moore]

And then the panic room is where I go.

[Andy Holloway]

You don't think there's a bunch of James Connor owners out in the streets right now running to and fro?

[Jason Moore]

So perhaps it should have been panic in the streets because the panic room is more like a safe place.

[Mike Wright]

I think people deal with their issues differently. Some people lock up and go to the panic room and say, I don't want to deal with this. Some people go nuts. There's no shy through their streets, you know, stealing TVs out of the windows. James Carter made me do this.

[Andy Holloway]

Some people deal with their panic through just bull face, theft, full theft, just.

[Mike Wright]

Riot in the streets.

[Andy Holloway]

Some people break the law to deal with their stress. Well, welcome in. We also have the Thursday night preview on today's episode of the show. I encourage you to check us out on Instagram, instagram.com fantasy footballers. We're on YouTube, we're on Twitter. We appreciate all the subscriptions reviews on Apple Podcasts. We're ad free on Stitcher Premium. And the community, as I said at the top of the show, jointhefoot.com and come be a part of this independent podcast supporting the show, getting a bunch of perks. It's really fun all right, before we talk about Melvin Gordon, it is Wednesday, the Wednesday episode of the show, which means.

[Mike Wright]

Buy or sell? Presented by Pristine Auction.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, we have a Week 4 NFC south edition of Buy or Sell. Devonta Freeman takes on Tennessee this week. Buy or sell, 10 plus fantasy points. Last week he had 11. So we did it. Devonta, sort of.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, look, the usage was way up. However, Edo Smith suffered a concussion in that game, and we saw Devonta Freeman snaps rise to over 90% when the previous week he had played on just 62%.

[Andy Holloway]

So is that a good or bad thing that he produced 11 fantasy points on 92% of snaps?

[Mike Wright]

That is a bad thing. I mean, you would assume that if Devonta Freeman. He was. He was efficient, right? He was over like five and a half.

[Jason Moore]

He was 16 for 88. He had four targets again in three receptions. However, on those three receptions, he only managed seven receiving yards.

[Mike Wright]

Now, that was a good defense against the. I think the Colts are a pretty good defense, but this week, Tennessee is also a very good defense. When Ido Smith got knocked out, it wasn't midway through. Edo Smith played less than 5% of the snapshot. So this became the Devonta Freeman show. I think if Edo Smith isn't out of the concussion protocol, you're going to have another backup step up into the role. And so I would say I'm taking the under on Devonta Freeman.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll take. I'll take the over because it's a low line. I mean, I'll take the 11 points. I think he can put that up. Atlanta, you know, we just looked at a chart that Kyle, our editor in chief, produced this morning. I don't know if you two gentlemen looked at you.

[Mike Wright]

Amazing.

[Andy Holloway]

It's the difference between 2018 and 2019 percentage of pass plays on an offense, and also shows the difference. For example, Minnesota minus 25%. That's the difference. Last year they passed 64% of the time. Through three games, they're passing 38% of the time. That is insane. However, Atlanta is actually up 5% through three games, 65% of the time last year, which is already a lot. They're at 70% this year throwing the ball. So you've said this before. Devonta Freeman needs to be involved in the passing game to have the right kind of value. He's not being used enough, and they're not running the ball very much.

[Jason Moore]

It's four targets a game is. It's nothing to sneeze at. We were hoping for more for Freeman, but the Offense is still high powered. Matt Ryan is averaging basically three passing touchdowns a game. The line at 11 points, it's, it's Freeman get a rushing touchdown finally. And it's certainly possible that the matchup is not great. But I will buy, I will buy that line because it's just that's 40 yards and a touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

Buy or sell. Calvin Ridley with the down week by.

[Jason Moore]

I buy that he had a down week.

[Andy Holloway]

Back to six plus targets. Do you think he gets back to six plus targets? Only one target Last week Jason enjoyed the Monday punday contribution of Ridley squat.

[Mike Wright]

Ridley squat. I do think he gets back.

[Jason Moore]

I will buy.

[Mike Wright]

He will be on the course of the season the clear number two wide receiver here. I think six targets is a reasonable outcome for him and yeah, I think he gets back on the horse.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to sell it. I'm going to sell it. Yeah. Yeah. Mike, you bought it.

[Jason Moore]

I did.

[Andy Holloway]

Greg olson against Houston, six catches and 60 yards. Are you buying or selling six and 60? If you look at the target numbers through three games at the tight end position, Greg Olson outpacing George Kittle. So six catches, six 60 yards.

[Jason Moore]

He is old man. Strengthen all over the place. He's been pretty solid at least the past two weeks, so. But the line is 6 for 60, which he has hit the past two weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to buy it, man. You'll keep it going. I think he's a wonderful, you know, option for Kyle Allen in the passing game.

[Mike Wright]

I am going to sell. I think that while Kyle Allen did great, it was against Arizona, who is notoriously bad against tight ends. So far on the season, every single week the tight end has crushed them and now they're going up against Houston, who's only given up 4.8 fantasy points per game in the first three weeks to the tight end position. So I will, I will say not this week, Greg.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's a really good line to set there. I'm going to sell. I think he'll be very close, but I'm going to sell James Winston at.

[Andy Holloway]

Least two passing touchdowns against the Rams. Weeks one and two. He only had one obviously. Last week he had three. All to the big tall guy, Mike Evans.

[Mike Wright]

So what a great nickname.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I used to say that all the time about Cardinals quarterbacks. Like if you just throw it to the big long haired guy.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, Larry Fitzgerald, you're going to do better with, you know, for yourself. But Winston figured it out, right. Threw the ball up to Mike Evans and it ended up in three passing touchdowns, do you think you'll get two this week? I'll buy two.

[Jason Moore]

I think you can do two. Why not?

[Mike Wright]

It's such a tough, it's such a tough thing because I don't know what to make of the Rams defense so far this year, but I, they seem really good. I don't know how much was Baker and the Browns and their offensive line being just really bad or how much was the Rams defense, but I think I'm going to sell. Even though this seems like, okay, the Rams are going to score, the Buccaneers are going to come back and have to throw a lot. They just haven't been beaten through the air so far.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, that was by yourself From Pristine Auction PristineAuction.com use the code BALLERS and you can get access to a five dollar discount on your first sports memorabilia purchase today. On the wall we've got Devonte Adams signed jersey up on the wall.

[Jason Moore]

I like it, Brooks. I like the, like the confidence push.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, the shot in the arm worked for Mike Evans last week.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, it did.

[Andy Holloway]

So maybe you're welcome, America. For Devonte Adams this week, let's get into the news.

[Mike Wright]

News and notes from around the league presented by sl.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, the morning started with Adam Schefter talking about Melvin Gordon's holdout and that it could soon be coming to an end. No final decisions had been made, but per league sources, he may be returning to the team soon. He had planned on October, it might be moving up. And then Ian Rapoport tweeted out that he basically retweeted another tweet saying that it could end as soon as Thursday.

[Jason Moore]

So this, why not today? This just keeps escalating rapidly because we.

[Andy Holloway]

All want control in our lives, Mike, and so we set arbitrary dates so that we control things. That's what Melvin's doing.

[Jason Moore]

Melvin's control has worked.

[Andy Holloway]

The good news, the good news, according to his Instagram, is that he has been working out on a treadmill with his helmet on. So he should be ready to go. Right?

[Jason Moore]

Hey, to his credit, now that we have this, like a real helmet here on our set, we all put it on. I've never taken a snap in my life. Holy crap. A helmet is super heavy. My weak, frail neck could. Could barely keep it up. Why?

[Andy Holloway]

We've always said we want them to run the 40 with a helmet on.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

And pads. But you know, like they do in.

[Andy Holloway]

Football, it makes so much sense and I would love to see the disparity, have Everybody run the 40 just like you normally do. Oh, have everybody run it in pads and see if the same people are on top. If they are all in the exact same order, you don't need to do this any more years.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, Just a one year trial. We'll see how it goes. Like Dalvin Cook, he would be like, oh, my God. Slow without pads, fast with pads by comparison to the people around him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So I do want to break down what this looks like for Austin Eckler if Melvin Gordon comes back, because maybe it's not, you know, even if it's this week, you know, Rapoport said he's not expected to play even if he showed up tomorrow, right?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

So the earliest he'd play would be like October 6th against the Broncos. So Echler should be the guy that you want to start this week. And we've said Justin Jackson could be a start as well, or at least a flex play. But when Gordon comes back, you know, this news is out there now. You don't get to go cash in on Echler anymore. And so what are the options for fantasy owners? I looked at Echler last year. He finished the year at 27 at the position. So outside of the RB2 range, he had one finish last year inside the top 10. It was week one.

[Jason Moore]

I'll say. The week one, he went ham.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. He was ninth that week. And then he had six other finishes last season as an RB1 or RB2, and they were fringe RB1s. They were like 10, 10 and then other RB2 finishes. So for me, when I look at what this looks like with Gordon coming back, I think Austin Eckler's value is probably RB2 until Gordon reestablishes over a couple of weeks, and then he's, you know, he's an RB3 for me with RB2 upside. What do you guys think?

[Jason Moore]

I completely agree with that assessment. He is. He's a weekly type of a flex play once. We're assuming that Melvin Gordon is handed that job pretty quickly, but with his skill set and the way that they use running backs on there, he can hit a big play on a. On a weekly, near weekly basis. So he becomes a flex play. And you're. You are correct, Andy. Like, let's say you have Austin Eckler right now because this is all still. We're in the land of rumors and whispers from the bushes. We don't know for sure that Melvin Gordon is coming back as soon as tomorrow. Maybe he doesn't even come back next week. I remember playing this game last year with Le'Veon Bell, where these very respected, verified sources of Schefter and Rapoport, they were tweeting how, okay, this, we've got inside sources. Le'Veon Bell's coming back this week. Oh, he didn't come back. Okay. My source now says it will not be later than this date. And of course, Levy and Bell didn't show up. So if you have Eckler right now, are you trying to scrape whatever little value is out there or are you just holding on for the ride?

[Mike Wright]

I don't think you could trade Eckler for much right now. I think you have to hold on for the ride. If you wanted to try to go out as Eckler owner and trade for Melvin Gordon, you could try, but probably with this news, you're not going to be able to get them for, you know, anything but top dollar.

[Andy Holloway]

Let me ask the other. The other side is to reverse that and go out, go to the Melvin Gordon owner and say, hey, will you pay me top dollar for Echler? Because then you have him and then he's your handcuff. But again, I'm not actively shopping him because I think I'm going to get a week or two of top tier value out of him. And there is a narrative here that I can, I can find where Echler has a little bit better value than he did last year. You know, you do not have Antonio Gates or Hunter Henry. You have a banged up Travis Benjamin. You have a low target volume Mike Williams right now and a high target volume Keenan Allen. So there may be a little bit more room for consistency in the passing game for Austin Eckler. And he's been the guy in camp and not been the guy holding out and being committed to the team. So there could be a little bit more lasting staying power to Echler than we even believe.

[Jason Moore]

So hypothetically though, if someone else has Austin Eckler and they were offered a trade of Miles Sanders and then either Will Fuller or John Ross, should that, just hypothetically, should that person accept that trade?

[Andy Holloway]

Absolutely not.

[Mike Wright]

So you could have John Ross and Miles Sanders, right, for Austin Eckler.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

I think it's interesting. Wow.

[Andy Holloway]

I do not. No. I think Austin Eckler, season long values, greater sign Miles Sanders right now. And you know you're going to be trading two for two. You got to drop somebody to do that trade. If you're the Eckler owner. I'm on the no side, Jason, you're on the interesting side.

[Mike Wright]

I'm on the somewhat. I mean, it's not like Austin Eckler, while he could be a flex play, when Melvin Gordon comes back, it's not like he's just an automatic every week. He's going to be fine. He had a lot of complete duds last year when he, you know, had 14.

[Andy Holloway]

He only had. He only had three duds. He only had three duds all season long. I looked that up this morning. He was injured a little bit, but he only had three games where he finished outside. Really? That RB2, RB3 range.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I think we've looked up maybe a little something. He obviously missed a couple games. Week three, he was RB41 later, 44, 59, 44. So you're right, it wasn't a ton of those, you know, four. And then it's just a matter of. Do you think being the RB35 or the RB28 on a week is, you know, getting it done? You know, it is. Not to say he can't pop something off.

[Andy Holloway]

You don't have a hard time deciding whether to start Miles Sanders right now or John Ross?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, certainly. Well, yeah, I mean, I think John Ross could be the real deal, but do you think Miles Sanders value goes up as the season goes along or goes down?

[Andy Holloway]

It's hard to say right now.

[Mike Wright]

Sure, definitely. But what I'm just saying your opinion as an analyst. Do you believe that Miles Sanders gets more involved as the season goes on or not?

[Andy Holloway]

It's my hope that he gets more.

[Mike Wright]

Involved because that's my only question is, as the season goes along, does Eckler's value drop and Sanders goes up?

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe.

[Mike Wright]

But what we do know is this.

[Andy Holloway]

Week, I don't want to start Miles Sanders or John Ross right now. I want to start Austin Eckler for the next few weeks. That's where. That's where I'm at. Let's move on. Vance McDonald, shoulder sprain. They say that he won't have an extended absence and then they said it by trading a fifth round pick for Nick Vanette.

[Jason Moore]

It was a five.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, the Seahawks, I thought I.

[Jason Moore]

Had seen a three being out there. I was like, that's insane. But so five.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. The Seahawks traded Vanette away, brought back Luke Wilson and.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, nice.

[Andy Holloway]

And this was, this is a shot in the arm for Will Disney more than anything else.

[Jason Moore]

I totally agree. Nick Vanette, he had his opportunity last year to establish himself as a pass catching weapon. It did not work out. And now it certainly seems like Vance McDonald will miss at least a few weeks.

[Mike Wright]

What a good trade. For the Seahawks, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, they traded Nick Vanette for Luke Wilson and a fifth. Like, if you, if you look at graphic fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

The fantasy attitude towards the trade.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly. Getting Luke Wilson back is like, what's the difference between, for the Seahawks, Luke Wilson and Nick Vanette? Is there any.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, we'll see. I mean, Wilson was cut this offseason, so maybe he's lost something. But he knows the system. Teams are comfortable with him. You know, bringing him in a reminder with waivers going through today. Check the. Drop it like it's hard. Make sure you see who people are dropping to pick up all these free agents, including guys like Wayne Goleman. And, you know, you do need to make plans to be without Vince McDonald for a little while.

[Jason Moore]

At least a week.

[Andy Holloway]

At least a week. So other free agent tight ends. There was a name, you know, that, that we didn't bring up to keep like an eye on. You know, we bring up Herndon at tight end.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, I know who you're talking about.

[Andy Holloway]

Talking about Hard Knocks. Is that who you thought I was talking about?

[Jason Moore]

No, no, I thought you were talking about. No. Yeah, Dawson Knox is interesting.

[Andy Holloway]

Dawson Knox had kind of a breakout game and he ran a ton of routes last week for Buffalo. Jason, you own him in Dynasty league.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. He's getting volume. He is getting involved. The other stash tight end who we also should have brought up, he's another suspended player. It's been Watson.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's.

[Jason Moore]

He will be back sooner than Chris Herndon.

[Andy Holloway]

One week, right? One week sooner.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, yes.

[Andy Holloway]

So, yeah, that's an interesting one. There are some guys out there that are kind of floating around if you need help during bye weeks, which everybody other than George Kittle owner is about to face. News and notes is always brought to you by the sleeper app. Don't miss a single piece of impactful fantasy news. For instance, when Melvin Gordon walks in to camp with the helmet on, don't you want to know?

[Mike Wright]

I would like to know. I don't want to get. I don't want to make a dumb trade before I'm in the know.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, so get the app today.

[Jason Moore]

Are they like when, when he walks in, I can just imagine the GM in a really high backed chair slowly turning around. Well, well, well, Mr. Gordon.

[Andy Holloway]

That's why he has to keep the visor on so you can't see. Look him in the eye.

[Mike Wright]

He's never taken that helmet.

[Andy Holloway]

I would not take the helmet.

[Jason Moore]

I don't blame you.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, I need my money.

[Jason Moore]

We want to thank today's sponsor. You may have heard of them. Pepsi.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So delicious. Pepsi takes all NFL celebrations to the next level. Whether it's a hail Mary touchdown, a defensive stop on the goal line, a Super bowl win. When it's time to celebrate, it's time to crack open a Pepsi.

[Andy Holloway]

I remember a Pepsi level celebration in our flag league. Jason Moore scored a touchdown. He began flying around like an airplane.

[Mike Wright]

That was the airplane that's coming in.

[Andy Holloway]

For the landing in the end zone.

[Mike Wright]

I wove in and out of every player. I got some yellow laundry thrown my way from referees.

[Andy Holloway]

You got an excessive celebration, but that's kind of how I feel with the Pepsi.

[Jason Moore]

And nothing washes that down better than an ice cold why don't Pepsi.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you crack one open in front of the referee?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Why don't we have them right now? Like that's an excellent question. I mean, I could do this right into the microphone. Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, they didn't pay for us to drink them on the set.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I'll drink them right now.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, they don't need to. Pepsi's freaking delicious. Game day tastes better with Pepsi. You got all those snacks, you got that game day food. Nothing washes it down better then that blue can that Pepsi. And remember, Pepsi is the official sponsor of the NFL. And they remind you, always be celebrating Jason Moore style. Yep.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, foot clan, if you're out there, you're running a business. You know, as I know, hiring can be a slow process. And it's also super important. When I ran my broken bowl game studios, the success and failure of that company was based on hiring. And it's really tough. Here's a good example. Cafe Altura's coo Dylan Miskiewicz, he needed to hire a director of coffee for his organic company. He was having trouble finding a good qualified applicant. That's why he switched to ZipRecruiter. Look, ZipRecruiter doesn't depend on candidates finding you. It finds them for you. It's technology identifies people with the right experience and invites them to apply for your job. He was so impressed by how quickly he got a great candidate to apply, he has now his perfect role filled as the director of coffee.

[Jason Moore]

Got to direct the coffee, man.

[Mike Wright]

You got to four out of five employers who post on ZipRecruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Look, see why ZipRecruiter is effective for businesses of all sizes? Try ZipRecruiter for free at our web address. It's ZipRecruiter.com footballers. That's ZipRecruiter.com Footballers ZipRecruiter.com Footballer ZipRecruiter. The smartest way to hire.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's head into the panic room. We're heading into week four. It is a dangerous time for fantasy teams. I've got a league I'm 0 and 3 in. I'm fighting for that title. The ball has bounced the wrong direction and, you know, this is the time you got to know whether to move forward with players with confidence, whether to.

[Jason Moore]

Time to start looting.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. As Jason would say. And the truth is, is, you know, it doesn't do you any good as a fantasy football owner to dig in on preseason narratives and believe that they're going to come to fruition. If they're not, it's also not the time to freak out and panic on players. You know, devonte Adams could be. Could be in the panic room. Let's step inside. Very, very stressful place to be. Is this going on?

[Mike Wright]

The whole segment, the entire rest of the episode? We talk through that sound effect.

[Andy Holloway]

So we're gonna bring up some players. We put it out on Twitter. The most requested players. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, the YouTube community. We're gonna bring up some guys and I'm gonna ask you to find, gentlemen, what level of panic you're at. And I've established four levels of panic. Level one is you're not panicked. Okay. You can't even hear that sound. Level two, you're somewhat worried, right? Maybe your hands over the button. Level three, you're getting a little freaked out.

[Mike Wright]

Freaking out, man.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you're getting a little worried. You're scared. What do you do? And then level four, that's a full on, full on panic. Okay? All right, so let's start with. And these are all the most requested players that we've had. We've talked about some, a little more than others. But Sony Michelle, right now, Sony Michelle is the RB35 on the season, and I'm going to give you a few stats on both sides of the equation. Maybe that will panic you some, that might calm you down. Snap count wise in week one, 33%. Week two, 49%. Week three, 22%. He's only RB35 on the year because he scored, I think, three touchdowns, one avoided tackle on 45 rushing attempts. Last among qualifying running backs and yards after contact. And then he does have 10 attempts inside the 10 yard line, which is second most at the running back position. So they give him the ball down there and the Patriots are running the football 55% of the time. So where are you? What's your level of panic with Sony Michelle?

[Jason Moore]

I am at a. Of our system.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

I am number three.

[Andy Holloway]

I am getting a little freaked out.

[Jason Moore]

I am a bit freaked out. He actually has two rushing touchdowns, Andy, and that means that of his 20.8 points and a half point PPR scoring format, 12 of them are because of touchdowns. That is pretty lopsided. You need to see more the him not being elusive. Week two, he committed the largest sin that Bill Belichick knows about and that's he fumbled the ball. We know how Uncle Bill responds when his running backs fumble the ball. And here a stat that I heard on the way in. I was listening to good friend of the show JJ Zachary's podcast. How many snaps have the New England Patriots run while trailing?

[Andy Holloway]

Probably zero.

[Jason Moore]

Zero.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

They have not been trailing for a single snap through three weeks. And Sony Michelle is not getting the ball like you would think for that type of a game script.

[Andy Holloway]

So I'm actually a three as well. A little freaked out. I actually think what we're seeing in New England is a little bit like what we saw with Philip Lindsey and Royce Freeman last year where, yes, Sony Michelle has been inefficient. But right now the game planning when he's in there for snaps is really obvious. You're going to run the ball when he's in unlimited snaps, you're going to run it up the middle. So he's not being put in a position to do a lot the way Royce Freeman was and he's not offering them flexibility to use them like Burkhead. When Burkhead's in, you don't know what they're doing. They might be throwing the ball. They might be running the ball. He's had the opportunity to be a. He's been a more explosive. My excuse for Sony Michelle or my patience comes from what he did in the. In the playoffs.

[Jason Moore]

That was a long time ago.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, fantasy wise, sure, but it was four games ago. I mean, it was.

[Jason Moore]

But fantasy wise, that's a long time ago.

[Andy Holloway]

Not. Not to me. No. Okay. And so. And you've had also three blowouts and this is a first round draft pick. So those are the reasons why. I don't think. I think it's wrong to overreact to Sony Michelle and the snap counts because they're going to need him more in competitive ball games than I think you believe they will.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I am a two, so I am less concerned than you two gentlemen. I Believe that the fact that they have not needed him at all. I know you hope that he's the guy that's running the clock out, but when you're up by the level that the Patriots have been up in these games and you've got a first round pick who's important to your team with a knee issue that you know, why. Why stress him out when you don't need him? I'm not worried about his yards per carry, about how ineffective and inefficient he's been so far this year. Because he's a good back. He looked great in preseason. He's looked good last year. He looked. He didn't just all of a sudden forget how to play football. The one thing that scares me the most, which is in the early off season, why I was calling him a bust and neither of you brought it up as threes on your panic scale. He is not a part of the passing game at all. He doesn't have a target on the season. That panics me more than his lack of effectiveness as a running back so far.

[Andy Holloway]

Bottom 5 yards per carry on the season of qualified running back. So there's 75 included. Bottom five. Joe Mixon 2.8, Adrian Peterson 2.8, Kerry on Johnson 2.6, Sony Michelle 2.4 and Damian Williams 1.5 on 22 carries. So it's not the only stat that matters. And especially in New England, it really is not the only stat that matters because most of the narrative around Sonny Michelle was this is a guy that could score 18 times.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Because of the offense. So we'll see what happens. Mike, you're at a three. I'm at a three. I'm not liking what I'm seeing snap count wise. And Jason's at it too. We good to move on?

[Jason Moore]

Yes, sir.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's move on to JuJu Smith Schuster. JuJu wide receiver, 25 on the season. That is not what fantasy owners wanted or expected.

[Jason Moore]

Nope.

[Andy Holloway]

Pittsburgh ranks 31st in the league in time of possession. That's five minutes less per game than 2018. This is a product of, you know, when they had Big Ben, the offense wasn't quite in sync and then now they don't have Big Ben. He's got a 21% target share, which is 31st among wide receivers on a passing attack that is 16th in pass attempts. Last year they led the NFL in past attempts. And so obviously you have the very strong variable now of Mason Rudolph through the remainder of the year. He is fourth highest in yards after the catch 76 yard, you know, touchdown has a little bit to do with that. So where are you guys panic wise with juju?

[Mike Wright]

I am a two on juju as well. I'm a juju.

[Andy Holloway]

That's pretty bad.

[Mike Wright]

I am, I am a little worried because of the change of quarterback. You have to be, you can't just say well he's so talented that it doesn't matter who's throwing on the ball. No, I mean we've seen that with hall of Fame. If they, if they don't have a good quarterback, they're not going to be great. That being said, so far now, half of the season was with Big Ben and half has been with Mason Rudolph and he's been okay, yes, it took a breakaway touchdown but he also had a breakaway touchdown. That's good. He's on pace for 1300 yards and I don't expect Mason Rudolph as the season goes on to get worse. I think he gets more comfortable. The team understands him better. They work things out. I think they're a good organization. I think juju's very talented. He still had, you know, at least seven targets in every game. But I'm worried because his upside is gone.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, I gotta be a downgrade on the end of season expectations 100%.

[Mike Wright]

I mean my bold prediction at the Phoenix Live show when we were being spicy was that juju would be the number one. And that was a large chunk of that was on the basis that look, Big Ben has supported a number one many a time. Mason Rudolph is not doing that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And I think it would be the same way. We would talk about even a player that's been, you know, as consistent as Michael Thomas over a long period of time. Michael Thomas, the ceiling gets downgraded and it's because you can't hand the ball to a quarterback and expect them to bring you back with his arm. I mean if they are down in a game they're still going to have to balance run pass to take the pressure off of Mason Rudolph. He's not going to be able to string together, you know, a drive with six, seven receptions on it. It's just not in the cards right now for Mason Rudolph because you cannot put that level of dependency on him. So I'm a three. I'm in the getting freaked out because I probably drafted you just miss Schuster. If I did to be which I didn't to begin with just out of luck because I wasn't as high on him and he just went so high. Not because I didn't think it was gonna be a good receiver just because I didn't think he was gonna be a great receiver. So I'm not having to deal with it. But he doesn't represent something to your fantasy team that he did before.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, expectations must be altered. I'm at a two. I think he can still be a solid wide receiver, too.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what he feels like.

[Jason Moore]

That's what it was. Mason Rudolph's first game, he looked real bad. He was able to get a little bit together towards the end through the two touchdowns, one to Juju and one to Deontay. But like, that was against the 49ers. And yes, we're still early on in the season, but as of right now, the 49ers look like that team that out of seemingly out of nowhere completely turned things around. So let. I'm going to wait. Let's see. Let's see how Rudolph does in his second start. Much easier matchup.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So we just. We just saw Wayne Gallman go for 77 out of 100 fab in our league of record.

[Mike Wright]

And you said, Andy, how much did you bid?

[Andy Holloway]

I bid $65 because I need. I would never have bid that if I wasn't. I needed a win this week. That's all it is.

[Jason Moore]

I got you.

[Andy Holloway]

I was a. You know, I have really tough matchups for like, David Opportunity, I think plays Minnesota this week and I'm like, well, would I rather play Garmin? You know, with the passing game work with the consistency. And so I'm literally. I was like, hey, if I can buy a couple wins, it's worth the price. I was the second highest bid. The rest were in the 30s, 40s borrows. Mike, you spent 32, but he ended up going for 77.

[Mike Wright]

When you made your 60 plus dollar bid, you had to believe.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I thought I was yours. I figured I'd get laughed at. Yeah. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

You didn't even get them.

[Jason Moore]

Who's laughing now?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, there you go.

[Mike Wright]

I am at whoever bid 70.

[Andy Holloway]

But that really. That's how subjective some of the fab spinning is. You know, if I was a 3 and 0 team in that league, I wouldn't have bid on him at all. It's just a matter of do I want to get back in on the season with a buy and my wins now matter more than the wins later.

[Mike Wright]

I totally 100% get that. I mean, I didn't bid for Gallman in a lot of leagues, but in the listener league, where I needed to start, I bid pretty high on him. So that's one of the things that, you know, when we talk waivers, it's yeah, listener league.

[Andy Holloway]

I think I did like 30 something. Assuming I did not get him then.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I know I did not because I did not bid 30 something.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, James Conner, he's RB30 on the season. We need to know the panic level for James Conner. 59th in pro football focuses elusive rating. That's behind Jordan Howard and just squeezing by Caleb. But it's ahead.

[Jason Moore]

It's still ahead of Caleb Blush.

[Andy Holloway]

It is still ahead of Caleb Blanche.

[Mike Wright]

Which everybody is right.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's an instant retirement. If you fall below.

[Jason Moore]

It's like. That's like the. The Mendoza Line, right? Is that the reference?

[Andy Holloway]

I hate having to hate Kalen Balanche. He's an ex Arizona State University guy and, you know, much like Josh Rosen, not in a great position to succeed on this team.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

But has looked atrocious. So snap counts for James Conner, 46%, 54%. Week three was 68%. Last year he was an 81% snap count guy. So he's actually not been out there. Big Ben or Mason Rudolph. Regardless, he's not been out there as much as he was in the previous week, previous season. We just heard about the offense and its struggles. He's seeing 79% of the rush attempts, which is great. Which is great. I'm actually at a two on James Conner. I'm on the worried side. I wasn't. I wasn't really high on him to begin the season. So for me, it's not a change of expectation in terms of I think before the season is an RB2. Right now, I think he's still an RB2. So I'm not that worried.

[Jason Moore]

I'm at a 2 and going through the snap counts. Oh, that seems like a dire situation. But 79% of the running back rush attempts, 81% of the running back targets. Like if there's work going to a running back, James Conner is still getting it. And that includes James Conner. Went out of a game with for part of it with a knee injury. So I'm at it too. It's the same thing as juju. The star hall of Fame quarterback went down. You got to adjust your expectations.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike actually got Wayne Gallman in the listener league.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, did I?

[Andy Holloway]

Spent $42.

[Mike Wright]

Well, there you go.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

I was like 21 or something.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, 40 is about the real. I think that's the real range. 40 to 45. Totally cool with it. There were some rumors this morning about Jay Ajayi Availability.

[Mike Wright]

Did I get jj? I bid on him there.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you really?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I figure, hey, if I can get him for two bucks and he becomes.

[Jason Moore]

A starter, if I can get Jai.

[Andy Holloway]

Into a nice Giants timeshare, ooh, baby.

[Jason Moore]

It will be. It will be pretty wild to me if Ajayi comes in and actually gets to work.

[Andy Holloway]

He's like not ready to play football yet. That's the funny part about it is he's not sitting there going, twiddling his thumbs like, I'm ready to rumble. He's like working back into being able to play.

[Mike Wright]

They said he could be ready this.

[Andy Holloway]

Week for a time. J. New York.

[Mike Wright]

We'll see.

[Andy Holloway]

I assume you got him. Let's put it that way. So, Jason, where are you at with James Conner?

[Mike Wright]

I'm a three with James Conner because he hasn't looked the same. The offense obviously hasn't looked the same. And the biggest reason is because the game scripts aren't going to be what we hope they were. You know, you wanted him to be on this great Steelers offense that's in a winning position and running the clock out and being utilized. Okay. So he gets 79% of the running back rush attempts. That's fantastic. But if the team rushing attempts are 75% of what you thought they were going to be because they're down, I'm more scared. So I am, I am decently concerned on Connor.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think, I think the floor for Connor on a week to week basis has changed.

[Jason Moore]

It's much more now.

[Andy Holloway]

It's really bad now.

[Mike Wright]

As opposed to he was always safe with good upside. Now he's a risky play with good upside.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. That whole team, that whole team is in trouble. Devonte Adams. Let's talk about Devonte Adams, the wide receiver. 48 on the season through three weeks.

[Mike Wright]

Gross.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, that's almost a quarter of the fantasy season. So I think there's reason. There's a reason he's in the panic room. Okay. And some stats for him. Only two red zone targets. All right. Two red zone targets on the year. That's the same as Hunter Renfro.

[Mike Wright]

What a great stat.

[Andy Holloway]

I know, I love that. But. But a lot of what Devonte Adams, you guys said it on the show yesterday. What his mate, you know, he's made his. His consistency has been built around touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not been built around yardage.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And then, however, through three weeks on Pro Football Focus, he's graded out as the 11th best wide receiver so far. Aaron Rodgers has a great pass rating. When targeting him, it's clear that he's his favorite receiver. I'll let you guys go after I do, because you're. You're. You share the same rating. I'm a two. I'm a little worried.

[Jason Moore]

I don't blame you for that.

[Andy Holloway]

And the worry is, you know, not that he will rebound. Right. To score some touchdowns. For Aaron Rodgers, it's the expectation. He was drafted by a lot of people to be number one. Number one at the position. The variable. There's a variable there. It's Matt LaFleur. And the offense. There's a. They're three and oh. And they're three and O with a Devonte Adams at wide receiver 48 for fantasy. So do I think he's a wide receiver 48? That's outlandish. He's not that. But do I think he's the one? No, I don't. This offense doesn't have the same level of dependency on the passing game that it's had in years past, and you can see that in the evidence. They're three and oh. But Green Bay is sitting here with an 11% decrease in pass attempts year over year. There were 67% of the time last year, 56% of the time this year. If you take that out and a little bit of the inconsistency in terms of the target share, I think you have to adjust expectations. So I'm at 2 again. That's not a massive amount of worry.

[Mike Wright]

That's. That's totally fine. Now. I might have misheard, so please correct me if I'm wrong. I am still struggling with this lifelong sickness, but I believe Andy said he's going to let us go first.

[Andy Holloway]

No. And then immediately I said, I'll let you guys go, since you have the same. I meant, like, you guys can go. I was like, since you have the exact same number.

[Mike Wright]

Gotcha. It's really funny to me. I thought he's like, I'm gonna let you go, but listen, full Kanye West.

[Jason Moore]

I'm gonna let you finish.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. But first, so I'm not panicked on him now. You're right, Andy, in the sense that they're passing the ball less and the ceiling to be the number one, that looks like a very low probability bet. But I'm not worried about devonte Adams because I do believe touchdowns are coming. Last week was a horrific matchup for him with Chris Harris Jr. I. You know, Aaron Rodgers came out and said, I want to get the ball to devonte Adams more, and he's the one that controls that. I think devonte Adams is still, you know, he's a great buy low candidate to me because if the owner believes what you believe, Andy, that like his upside is really capped now, if they're not throwing the ball and you could sell him a little bit cheaper, I think you're going to. Even if you're not getting the number one, you're getting a super talented wide receiver who's going to be a consistent, great fantasy producer. And I always want those on my team.

[Andy Holloway]

Rogers did say before the season he wants to give devonte Adams more targets than he had last year. And through three games executing on the hope hasn't happened. So I, I don't read a lot into him saying he definitely needs more now.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

But if he said it right before the season and didn't do it through.

[Mike Wright]

Three games, yeah, I mean off season hype is one thing, but literally referring to what just happened and correcting mistakes, I think that's a little bit more actionable than just off season. You know, responding to a question 4.

[Andy Holloway]

Targets is silly and won't happen a lot.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, I'm at a 1. I don't blame people if they are a bit panicked. I still think that devonte Adams will finish the season as a top five guy. I think it starts this week against the Eagle secondary with a Hondo and a touchdown and the worries go away. Much like with Mike Evans last week. I think you're by low. Your by low window is about to slam shut.

[Andy Holloway]

Todd Gurley in the panic room. Todd Gurley is the RB25 on the season.

[Mike Wright]

You can hit that button, say I'm.

[Jason Moore]

Grim grabbing me a 75 inch television while you're looting. I am looting the streets. I'm grabbing guitars, grabbing everything that doesn't belong to me because I am freaked out, man. Freaking out.

[Andy Holloway]

Six red zone rush attempts through three weeks. Eighteen red zone attempts in 2018, including 10 red zone rushing attempts in Week 2 against the Cardinals alone. So this year, Jason brought it up earlier this week when we were kind of reflecting in the weekly rewind on Todd Gurley. He has four catches for eight yards in three games.

[Jason Moore]

That's why I'm freaking out 100%.

[Andy Holloway]

Brad Evans says he's basically a better version of Sony Michelle right now.

[Mike Wright]

Two years ago, 87 targets 64 receptions. Last year 81 targets 59 receptors. This is a 60 reception player. That's who Todd. That's how he destroyed NFL teams. His pace through three games is 32 targets, 21 receptions. That would be What Marlon Mack does that were like, well, this guy doesn't catch the ball. I don't expect it to stay this bad. As far as the passing work, I think that I've been talking to some of my Rams fan friends. You know, that they're die hard. They watch every game. And that's the one thing I keep bringing up is like, where is the screen game for the Rams in general? They dominate that, you know, with, with.

[Jason Moore]

The screen they have the past two years. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And they're just not even running the play. I can't imagine that just for some reason continues. And they're like, yeah, we took that out. We don't. We don't like what we were doing when we were killing teams with a screen game, but it's super concerning. And the day of Todd Gurley being a beast for fantasy, that's just kaput.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not like the injury concerns are gone, right? Yeah, they're not any different than they were before the season when, you know, the concerns and the risk and the worry. Now they're three and, oh, they're three, zero with this offense. They have, you know, Cooper cup another year in the league. You know, the screen game, you know, I don't know how that changed with Cooper cup in and out of the lineup and the dependency on it, but there's a lot of risk here. I'm a four. Mike, you're a four.

[Jason Moore]

I'm absolutely a four. The Rams running backs have the lowest market share of attempts of any team in the NFL. And Todd Gurley, that's like Jason, that's where he was killing people. It makes no sense. We're only three games in, so. Smaller sample, however, three games in and Todd Gurley sitting here with eight receiving yards, like, that's that. You got a panic. You knew that. You knew that the touchdowns and attempts were going to go down, but the receiving work is a shock.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, George Kittle. People want to talk about George Kittle because you haven't had that, that big game yet. Tied in 13 on the year, obviously drafted to be a top three guy at the position. I'm a one.

[Mike Wright]

I'm a one with you, Andy.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike has a two. I'm a two right now. He's third in yards after the catch. He was number one in that in 2018, so he's still doing that. Tied for second among tight ends with five red zone targets. He had a couple of touchdowns called back, ones he actually caught, unlike the kind of T.J. hawkinson ones you drop. Right category 25% target share in 2018 or sorry, 26% last year, 25% this year.

[Mike Wright]

If you had two of his touchdowns that were called back on, you know, holdings, that didn't really affect the play. Nobody's worried in the slightest about kittle. He had 10 targets week one, eight targets last week. He is a really great option at tight end. He's the clear target leader for the team. Even though some of these other wide receivers are stepping up, George Kittle's the number one for that team. I'm not worried in the slightest.

[Andy Holloway]

The one concern I have and it has to do with the success of the defense. Yeah, last year this was a team that passed the ball 57% of the time. This year they're 43%. That is the second largest change in the league outside of Minnesota.

[Jason Moore]

They have the highest run to pass ratio in neutral game scripts of any team in the NFL. Like their, their path to glory is running the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

And so last year they were a terrible defense and had backup quarterbacks in. So when I look at that number about, okay, his target share in the offense is the same. It's not, I mean, total targets and stuff like that changed because if you have the same percentage of targets but the targets total go down, that is the only concern that I have. But we also knew going into the season that look, you're not going to break the NFL's receiving yardage record on every play. And he does have the ability to do what Ingram did last week, you know, to break an 86 yard touchdown run. And not many players can do that. His yards after the catch is, you know, Gronkian from days of old. So I'm a one.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, you're a two and I'm a two the same way you are with Devonte. Adams is just what he was drafted to be. Can he still reach close to that level? I mean, and last year, I know it's, it even pains me a little bit to bring it up and point out though George Kittle's dominance was not with Jimmy Garoppolo. Like just there was a better connection with guys like Nick Mullins. It's possible at this point Kittle will still be a high level tight end, but is he going to be a top three guy?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I mean I go back to those touchdowns that were called back. It was, it was still Jimmy Garoppolo this season that was throwing the ball to Kittle and getting in the end zone. They just, you know, got the call back.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's get into the Thursday night preview.

[Mike Wright]

Thursday night breakdown.

[Andy Holloway]

Stepping out of the panic room.

[Mike Wright]

Feels.

[Andy Holloway]

Good because you guys watched that movie long ago, right?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Jody Foster.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it got a lot of. Got a lot of publicity because it was like shot in one spot for the whole movie and. In the panic room or something. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

The budget had to been low, right?

[Mike Wright]

I mean, Jodie Foster was making bank. We don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

That's true. That's true. Did it make you want your own, like your own panic room at your house? Are you a fearful man, Jason? Do you want to go hide in a secret, you know, closet?

[Mike Wright]

No. If I were to. If I were to pay up on some sort of protective something, it would definitely be a tunnel system under my. I want to. I want to own a house like. Like three houses away from mine and have an underground tunnel connecting them so I can just get in and out.

[Andy Holloway]

You got to own all the property in between that house and.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, no, no. I just go deep.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, really? You can just.

[Mike Wright]

They won't know. It's. I don't know the legality, but they won't know that I've built.

[Andy Holloway]

They'll stay out on rainy days under their house.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, okay, that is a good point. How will they know?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, they won't.

[Andy Holloway]

They'll know when the. When the gas line breaks and the whole neighborhood explodes.

[Mike Wright]

Deeper. Go deeper.

[Andy Holloway]

The answer to all these problems is just go deeper.

[Mike Wright]

Not too deep to the core.

[Jason Moore]

The core of the earth is your concern.

[Mike Wright]

That's the biggest. That's the number one.

[Andy Holloway]

There is some room between the gas lines and the core of the.

[Mike Wright]

That's where I live.

[Jason Moore]

That's me and the mole people Thursday night.

[Andy Holloway]

Thursday night, The Eagles at 1 and 2, take on the packers in Green Bay.

[Jason Moore]

Hooray.

[Andy Holloway]

Packers are four and a half point favorites.

[Jason Moore]

I'm just so happy to talk about this. Unlike last Thursday, this will be a fun game.

[Mike Wright]

This should be awesome. I mean, you got Carson Wentz against Aaron Rodgers. This is going to be good. And Carson Wentz should have Alshon Jeffrey back. I think that makes a big difference when he's missing Alshad Jeffrey and desean Jackson. You could tell the struggles the Eagles were having on offense.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, this isn't quite panic room, but maybe he belongs there. 23rd in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers is 23rd in air yards. That is between the now injured Cameron Newton and Eli Manning.

[Jason Moore]

The now benched Eli Manning.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, and that's also boosted by that Hail Mary to Jimmy Graham in week one. So is this a different Aaron Rodgers. What's your Apply the same panic level scale to Aaron Rodgers.

[Jason Moore]

Oh my panic level with Aaron Rodgers. I'd put it at a three.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he's a three for me too because it's one of the hardest things in fantasy football for any owner that's played in fantasy for five or six years and knows what Aaron Rodgers used to be. To change that mindset to be willing to. You know, I know Al Borland has Aaron Rodgers in our league of records. I don't and he's a Packer fan. I don't know if he'll ever like rotate to another quarterback. I know he's shaking his head no. Regardless of the outcome in his heart.

[Jason Moore]

He wants to and he has the.

[Andy Holloway]

QB6 on the year and foot.

[Mike Wright]

Clint, we recommend that you don't Sorry.

[Andy Holloway]

On the week. On the week.

[Jason Moore]

Rogers is not the six. Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah we I like Rogers this week against the Eagles. So he's the QB6 by our rankings consensus rankings this week. Eagles defense giving up the third most passing yards per game in 2018. You know they give up the fifth most. I'm sorry that was. Yeah. Last year. And then this year their fifth. Fifth worst. So they're not able to stop the passing game and this should bode well at home for Aaron Rodgers.

[Jason Moore]

I agree. I that's why I said that this is the bounce back game for me. For Ver Devonte Adams the I'm probably okay starting MVS if we're looking at the wide receiver position as well. He had the 10 targets. I'm not expecting that. If there's a fliparoo between Devonte Adams 10 or Marquez 10 and Devontae's four, that won't shock me at all. But this Eagle secondary is beatable. I loved Kenny Galladay last week. It didn't work out because it turned into Marvin Jones. Someone for the packers team is going to succeed and I truly believe it'll.

[Andy Holloway]

Be Adams at the running back position. Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard on the Philly side. Aaron Jones, Jamal Williams on the Green Bay side. Last week Jamal Williams actually out snapped Aaron Jones because of course. Well yeah, because of course we have Aaron Jones as the RB15 on the week. He's actually not been very efficient effective. Some of the things we've seen from Aaron Jones in years past. He's 31st out of 32 qualified running backs and yards after contact. That's a problem. 40 routes run just 44 receiving yards, 3.8 per carry. He was that guy in the Jamal Charles category previously right so that comes with a little bit, probably more of a commitment to giving him the ball and a change in some of the way that this team is. You know, they've been ahead, they've been winning games. When you run the ball a lot of times when you're ahead, you lose some of that efficiency because the defense knows what is coming. But what do you make of this week for Aaron Jones going up against this Philly defense?

[Mike Wright]

I mean, it's nice to see he's got three touchdowns over the last two weeks, but you've got to be a little worried that he's becoming touchdown dependent. He only had one reception for one yard last week, only 10 carries. The Eagles defense is so far through the first three weeks. They are the, they've given up the fifth fewest points to the running back position. I love that he's at home in, you know, a game they're expected to win. Those things are positive for Aaron Jones. I don't make too much of the inefficiencies here. There's a couple players that have been, you know, Sony carry on Aaron Jones. They have been inefficient, but I think it's a small sample size and specifics of which carries they're getting. When you're getting goal line carries, sure, you max out at a yard and that's, you know, that's a great run. And so, you know, it's one of those things where you're starting Aaron Jones because you drafted him to start him. He's been the goal line guy. They're in a winnable matchup, but I don't expect a huge, I don't see a top 12 guy this year.

[Andy Holloway]

It could be a bad game. I mean, if Philadelphia gets out a little bit ahead of this one and you got the split snaps, you know, Phillies, like you said, they've been really good against the run.

[Mike Wright]

But he's the only running back here that I want to start on either side of the ball.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

I don't want to start Jamal Williams. I don't want to start Miles Sanders or Jordan Howard.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you willing to trust Miles Sanders over David Montgomery this week?

[Jason Moore]

Sanders, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

David Montgomery, yeah, I think had double digit fantasy points this past week and takes on Minnesota at home. But that game's got a 38 point over under. This game has a 45 and a half point over under Miles Sanders being used in the passing game a little bit.

[Jason Moore]

He had, he had two really big plays last week.

[Andy Holloway]

I would rather, you know, we've seen that a little bit from him. I think I lean the Sanders direction too. But both guys, if you can find more consistent options and wait and see a little bit, I mean, that's where I'm at with both players.

[Jason Moore]

So back to Aaron Jones real quick. The concerning thing for me is you had LaFleur come out. We wanted to cram it in his cram hole, but he didn't. And he talked about, well, I got to even these carries up because week two, Aaron Jones was sensational. He had the full workload and that, that was too good for lafleur. Lafleur did not like what he saw.

[Mike Wright]

Well, the good news is he couldn't balance it because Jamal Williams got the ankle injury, remember?

[Jason Moore]

Right. So. And now Jamal Williams was back and he evened things up for sure. If Aaron Jones comes out this week and has a big game, is that, do you feel like that's going to run your confidence up for Aaron Jones or are you going to try and sell high? Because this is looking like a. This is an rbbc.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. This isn't going to change. This is, this is going to be one of those things where Aaron Jones can have big weeks, but it's going to be a split with Jamal Williams. LaFleur does not want a one back system. He said that. He's shown that. So, yeah, if Aaron Jones has a monster week where people believe he's going to be a top five back and I could sell him for that, I probably would.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, we've talked all about Devonte Adams. Let's hit the wide receivers in this game. Alshon Jeffrey should be back out there expected to play. He's a tough start in this game. I mean, Green Bay is absolutely dominating. Fantasy wise. There's, you know, stopping wide receivers, quarterbacks and tight ends to the tune of, you know, basically giving up nothing to any of those positions through the year. I mean, 19 fantasy points to the wide receiver position, third best in the league. And that, that's across all the whiteouts they're facing. So, you know, Alshon coming off the injury Thursday night on the road against the great defense, he's a bench for me.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I don't want to play him. If you're desperate, I'm okay making that move. Like, if you've been, you know, your, your, your bench is like Will Fuller, like these, these tertiary guys that you've just, you've had to, you had to play last week because Alshon Jeffrey was out. I would pivot back to Alshon, but I, I'm like Andy, I Don't.

[Andy Holloway]

What about MVS in this game? Would you play Marquez, Valdez, Scantling or Alshon?

[Jason Moore]

I would. I would play Alshon.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll be MBS on that one.

[Mike Wright]

I think I would be mbs. MBS looks like a good matchup play. You brought up the fact that the Eagles secondary is beatable. Last week you love Kenny Golladay. It just ended up going to the other guy. This week you love Devonte Adams. I do too. I think this should be the big breakout but it could very well go to the other guy and the other guy is mvs. I think we've seen through three weeks that Marquez Valdez Scantling is the wide receiver too that you want that if you got. If you're going to start that that's.

[Andy Holloway]

The guy that he is tied for target lead with Devonte Adams.

[Mike Wright]

And I do think the Green Bay packers to look at the other side and Al Shawn. I think the Green Bay packers defense looks. They have really shown that they are not the defense that is terrible of the last few years. But we also need to be realistic. They've played against Mitchell Trubisky and Joe Flacco for 2/3 of the beginning of the year. So we can't swing the pendulum too far and just say that, you know, Carson wins. Can't beat this defense either. I don't think Alshon is a must sit. I think if you've got him and you need to play him, you could still be okay there.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Nelson Aguilar, any interest with Alshon coming back at all in this matchup?

[Jason Moore]

DJax is not expected to play so I'm still okay with the flex play of Aguilar.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not excited but I'm with you, Jimmy Graham, if your league gives bonus points for starting a corpse.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, come on.

[Andy Holloway]

That wasn't for me. That was from Kyle.

[Jason Moore]

Kyle, that's so mean.

[Mike Wright]

It was mean but man, I liked it. So I guess I'm mean.

[Andy Holloway]

Zach Ertz. You're going to play Zach Ertz?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And right now don't need to talk about Dallas Goddard. He had one target that he dropped last week so it would have been.

[Mike Wright]

A good one though right in the.

[Andy Holloway]

End zone would have been a touchdown. A reminder.

[Mike Wright]

That was a. That was a drop. Drop. Drops. Wide open. Wide open. Yeah, I believe you said Andy, when you watch that play, it looked like Mike catching the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I liked how. What yesterday was it on the show, Mike, where you. You made fun of me for hurting myself in some weird fashion and you made fun of Jason. And Jason said he heard himself reaching for a shirt. It did pop into my mind yesterday. Should have brought it up that, you know, my noodle arm threw you a like an out route and it about blew your thumb up. When you were flag football.

[Jason Moore]

It was a fly, it was a nine route and I tried to catch it over my shoulder and it was not good and I broke my thumb.

[Mike Wright]

It was a nine route that I think was like at the point of reception, if we can call it that was like 13 yards away.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I just, it reminded me of Dallas Goddard because both of you threw your hands up as though you were trying to like attack the football. There wasn't any soft hands. This was not Mighty Ducks, you know, soft hands. This was like I'm going to punch you with my thumb and you paid the price.

[Jason Moore]

Look, the football, he scored a point on that one. He got me.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, reminder. Take your Thursday night players out of the flex. Put them in a position on your regular roster so you have flexibility to deal with injuries, to deal with change in circumstance. One of the reason we tell you to do that is if you have a dud or a great game, it might change what you play in the flex position. So just remember to do that. That's our little Wednesday reminder and we want to thank today's studio sponsor, Everyday's studio sponsor, Pristine Auction. We want to thank him for supporting the show. A Michael Thomas signed jersey Yesterday sold for $63. Signed Becket Coa pristineauction.com use the code BALLERS. That is it for today's episode of the podcast. We'll be back with you tomorrow. We'll hit the Week 4 matchups. Thursday, Friday, we'll get starts of the week. Boom boom kicker and a whole lot more.

[Jason Moore]

See you next time. Goodbye.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the fantasy footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on twitterballers.

[Jason Moore]

Remember that support for today's show comes from the oh so delicious Pepsi taking NFL celebrations to the next level with the the hail Mary touchdown, the defense like your team gets a safety. Your team scores three fantastic touchdowns like Mike Evans style. You got to celebrate with a Pepsi.

[Andy Holloway]

It's the crisp, cold deliciousness. I mean, I've been a Pepsi guy my whole life.

[Jason Moore]

Get the imitators out my face. Get me that Pepsi. Pepsi. The official sponsor of the NFL reminding you always be celebrating.