Starts of the Week, Wk 1 Matchups, Lev Bell Saga

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary: "Starts of the Week, Wk 1 Matchups, Lev Bell Saga" (September 6, 2018)

Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

---

Introduction

The Fantasy Footballers kick off their September 6, 2018 episode by diving straight into the excitement and uncertainties surrounding the start of the NFL season. Skipping the typical ads and intros, the hosts focus immediately on delivering insightful analysis and strategic advice for fantasy football enthusiasts.

---

Lev Bell Saga

Overview: The episode delves deep into the ongoing saga of Le'Veon Bell, the star running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. With his contract negotiations lingering, Bruce Tomlinson's comments suggest that the Steelers might apply for the two-week roster exemption, potentially delaying Bell's return until November.

Key Points:

• Current Status:

  • Andy Holloway: Highlights the widespread uncertainty: "Literally everybody. Not just like players of fantasy football. Le'Veon Bell's teammates, Le'Veon Bell's coaches. Nobody knows what is going to happen." ([02:34])
  • Mike Wright: Initially downplays the information, stating, "So we know nothing. We know absolutely nothing." However, he acknowledges the known facts once presented.

• Potential Outcomes:

  • Jason Moore: Discusses the implications for fantasy managers, questioning the rationale behind Bell holding out and the potential need to trade him: "What does it matter if you miss one week or two weeks?" ([04:40])

• Team Dynamics and Animosity:

  • Andy Holloway: Points out the growing tension: "There's animosity, there's bad blood. The arrow is pointing down on the whole situation." ([07:23])
  • Mike Wright: Emphasizes Bell's use of his bargaining power: "He is using the only recourse that he has in the bargaining agreement." ([05:19])

• Fantasy Implications:

  • Mike Wright: Advises managers to consider their comfort with uncertainty: "What can I live with as a fantasy football player?" ([08:11])
  • Andy Holloway: Suggests being cautious with Bell in fantasy lineups due to potential delays and team chemistry issues: "I'm a little bit more hands off." ([07:23])

Conclusion: The Lev Bell situation presents a significant dilemma for fantasy football managers. The hosts recommend assessing personal risk tolerance and considering alternative running backs if Bell's status remains uncertain early in the season.

---

News and Notes

Player Updates:

• Antonio Gates: Optimistic about playing in the season opener, but Virgil Green is currently listed as the starter. ([12:27]-[12:36])

• Josh Gordon: Managed under a pitch count due to hamstring issues, potentially limiting his Week 1 performance. ([12:36]-[13:19])

• Adrian Peterson: Expected to start for Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals. ([13:19]-[13:39])

• Rex Burkhead: Reporting that he will be "eased into the mix" for the Patriots, raising concerns about his Week 1 effectiveness. ([13:39]-[14:06])

• Rule 86 – Jalen Samuels: Introduced as a guideline stating that if Jalen Samuels is healthy and playing, fantasy managers should start him due to his high value at the tight end position. ([14:37]-[14:39])

• George Kittle: Expected to start for the 49ers but faces a tough matchup against Minnesota. Some hosts consider holding off on starting him immediately. ([15:02]-[15:17])

• Saints Waive Boston Scott: Narrowing their running back options to Alvin Kamara and Mike Gillislee, impacting fantasy decisions. ([19:51]-[20:20])

---

Fantasy Forecast: Week 1 Matchups

The hosts provide in-depth analyses of several key Week 1 NFL matchups, offering strategic advice for fantasy football managers.

1. Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens

• Analysis:

  • Jason Moore: Predicts Ravens as 7.5-point favorites over the Bills with an over/under of 40.5. Highlights Nathan Peterman's challenging matchup against Baltimore's defense. ([20:46]-[21:07])

• Fantasy Advice:

  • Mike Wright: Recommends starting Robbie Anderson over Kelvin Benjamin due to matchup considerations. ([21:07]-[22:50])
  • Andy Holloway: Questions the offensive output of the Bills against a strong Ravens defense but acknowledges Calvin Benjamin's volume: "He'll get the volume if I can find another player to start over him." ([22:30]-[22:50])

2. Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals

• Analysis:

  • Jason Moore: Colts are slight favorites by 1.5 points against the Bengals. Emphasizes the Colts' weak run defense, making Joe Mixon a valuable fantasy asset. ([25:02]-[26:15])

• Fantasy Advice:

  • Jason Moore: Strongly recommends Joe Mixon as a top RB choice: "There's a decent chance Joe Mixon’s the rushing leader after week one." ([57:37]-[58:24])
  • Andy Holloway: Chooses Andy Dalton as his QB start, anticipating a productive outing against the Colts. ([56:31]-[59:38])

3. Miami Dolphins vs. Tennessee Titans

• Analysis:

  • Jason Moore: Titans are 1.5-point favorites with a 45-point over/under. Discusses the Dolphins' revamped offense and challenges with their wide receivers. ([29:07]-[34:47])

• Fantasy Advice:

  • Mike Wright: Suggests starting Lamar Miller over Rex Burkhead due to the Titans' offensive line issues: "He's going to have at least 20 carries in this game and be a force for your fantasy team." ([43:56]-[46:21])
  • Andy Holloway: Advocates for Kenya Drake, emphasizing his role and matchup: "He is a solid running back. And I want to give you confidence because if there's...." ([60:00]-[61:30])

4. San Francisco 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings

• Analysis:

  • Jason Moore: Vikings are 6.5-point favorites. Discusses the 49ers' running backs Matt Breida and Alfred Morris, and the wide receiver matchup between Marquis Goodwin and Pierre Garcon. ([35:14]-[38:27])

• Fantasy Advice:

  • Jason Moore: Recommends Pierre Garcon over Marquis Goodwin for consistent receiving opportunities: "I would go with the big play versus the volume." ([37:12]-[38:41])
  • Andy Holloway: Prefers Garcon due to the Vikings' strong cornerback coverage limiting Goodwin's potential: "I would rather take the guy who doesn't have the lockdown Corner on him." ([38:27]-[38:41])

5. Houston Texans vs. New England Patriots

• Analysis:

  • Jason Moore: Patriots are 6.5-point favorites with a 51-point over/under. Predicts a closer game than the odds suggest, owing to the Patriots' evolving defense under Bill Belichick and the Texans' offensive struggles. ([41:30]-[46:21])

• Fantasy Advice:

  • Jason Moore: Recommends DeSean Watson, Lamar Miller, and DeAndre Hopkins, considering the Patriots' defensive adjustments and Houston's offensive line issues: "He doesn't spend his contract money... that's why this last contract where they bumped it all up." ([42:12]-[46:21])
  • Andy Holloway: Suggests starting Lamar Miller over Rex Burkhead for better Week 1 performance: "I would play Lamar Miller over Burkhead." ([44:05]-[46:21])

---

Starts of the Week

The hosts share their recommended starting players across various positions for Week 1, providing strategic picks based on matchups, player health, and potential performance.

Quarterbacks:

• Jason Moore: Drew Brees (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

  • Reasoning: Favorable home matchup and reliance on short passing game.
  • Quote: "This is a home run. Easy start of the week." ([53:53]-[54:37])

• Andy Holloway: Andy Dalton (Cincinnati Bengals)

  • Reasoning: Improved Bengals offense and favorable matchup against the Colts.
  • Quote: "Andy Dalton, you know, look, he's going to throw two touchdowns and if he rushes a touchdown." ([56:31]-[59:38])

• Mike Wright: Philip Rivers (Arizona Cardinals)

  • Reasoning: Strong matchup against the Chiefs' weak secondary and solid offensive support.
  • Quote: "Philip Rivers is a top 10 guy. Easy for me this week." ([57:01]-[57:29])

Running Backs:

• Jason Moore: Joe Mixon (Cincinnati Bengals)

  • Reasoning: High volume against an ineffective Colts run defense.
  • Quote: "Joe Mixon is going to receive more than 20 carries in this game and be a force for your fantasy team." ([57:37]-[58:24])

• Andy Holloway: Kenya Drake (Miami Dolphins)

  • Reasoning: Solid role and favorable matchup, providing reliable performance.
  • Quote: "He is a solid running back. And I want to give you confidence because if there's..." ([60:00]-[61:30])

• Mike Wright: Alex Collins (Baltimore Ravens)

  • Reasoning: Strong matchup and high usage against the Bills.
  • Quote: "The game script will be very positive for Alex Collins." ([61:44]-[62:23])

Wide Receivers:

• Jason Moore: Chris Hogan (New England Patriots)

  • Reasoning: Locked in as a primary target with a favorable matchup.
  • Quote: "He's a top 12 guy this week." ([62:38]-[62:58])

• Andy Holloway: Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals)

  • Reasoning: Home advantage and favorable matchup with Sam Bradford's presence.
  • Quote: "He's going to be a phenomenal start." ([62:59]-[64:05])

• Mike Wright: Golden Tate (Detroit Lions)

  • Reasoning: Benefiting from a weak Lions secondary and favorable pass routes.
  • Quote: "Golden Tate I believe is a great play this week." ([64:43]-[64:56])

Tight Ends:

• Jason Moore: David and Joku (Cleveland Browns)

  • Reasoning: Strong preseason performance and expected opportunities in a potentially high-scoring game.
  • Quote: "David and Joku is going to have a lot of opportunity." ([64:56]-[67:16])

• Andy Holloway: Tyler Ifert (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

  • Reasoning: Healthy and favorable matchup against the Colts, expected to be a primary target in the red zone.
  • Quote: "Tyler Ifert is a great player." ([67:14]-[67:27])

• Mike Wright: O.J. Howard (New England Patriots)

  • Reasoning: Preferred over Ebron due to better matchup and team strategy.
  • Quote: "I'll play O.J. Howard over Ebron." ([67:36]-[69:04])

Kickers:

• Jason Moore: Matt Prater (Detroit Lions)
  • Reasoning: Reliable kicker with a favorable home matchup.
  • Quote: "Take it easy week one and don't be a hater. Lock it in at home with the Lions. Matt Prater." ([69:04]-[69:37])

---

Conclusion

The hosts wrap up the episode by reiterating the importance of staying updated through their website and social media channels for ongoing fantasy football advice. They emphasize the value of their "starts of the week" segments and encourage listeners to engage with their tools and platforms for the best fantasy football strategies.

Notable Quotes:

• Jason Moore on Lev Bell: "We're all dads, all of us have children and we tell our children your decisions have consequences." ([04:48])

• Andy Holloway on Team Chemistry: "There's animosity, there's bad blood. The arrow is pointing down on the whole situation." ([07:23])

• Mike Wright on Fantasy Strategy: "What can I live with as a fantasy football player?" ([08:11])

• Jason Moore on Joe Mixon: "There's a decent chance Joe Mixon’s the rushing leader after week one." ([57:37])

• Andy Holloway on Larry Fitzgerald: "He's going to be a phenomenal start." ([62:59])

---

Overall Insights:

This episode provides a comprehensive analysis of critical Week 1 matchups and player statuses, with a strong emphasis on strategic fantasy football decisions. The in-depth discussion on Le'Veon Bell's uncertain status serves as a pivotal point, highlighting the complexities fantasy managers face when dealing with real-life NFL contract negotiations and team dynamics. The hosts offer actionable advice, supported by data and personal insights, ensuring that listeners are well-equipped to navigate the challenges of the fantasy football season kickoff.

---

For more detailed rankings and tools, visit thefantasyfootballers.com and join their fantasy football community.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Clan. Meet the Sonos Beam, the smart compact sound bar for your tv. The Beam lets you play everything you love. Music, radio, movies, tv, podcasts, football and even more with a rich sound that fills the room. Super simple to set up. And if you don't want to set it up, you don't want to bother with that, Sonos will do it for you. That's right. If you live in any major metropolitan area, up and running will have a Sonos expert deliver your system. Set it up absolutely free. Just order from sonos.com and select up and running at checkout if you qualify. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from Draft.com Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright. Ah, let's go.

[Jason Moore]

Did you know football's here?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't, I don't want to do this show. What I don't want to do. I feel like as soon as this show is over, football happens. So can we rap? That's how it works, right? Like if we in this show right now.

[Jason Moore]

I'll do a quickie.

[Andy Holloway]

The game is on.

[Jason Moore]

Just do a quick one.

[Andy Holloway]

Just need the game.

[Jason Moore]

A 10 minute preview of the day.

[Andy Holloway]

I feel like the Dave Chappelle, you know, gif of like, hey, man, you got any more of that football?

[Jason Moore]

Got any of that football? Welcome into the Fantasy Footballers. Thursday, September 6th. Football is here. Sorry, were you guys crying this morning? Weeping tears of joy.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man.

[Jason Moore]

Are you wearing your Josh Rosen jersey, Jason?

[Andy Holloway]

I am wearing my Josh Rosen jersey. Had to get it.

[Mike Wright]

Getting ready for week five.

[Jason Moore]

Maybe. We'll see.

[Andy Holloway]

Hope not.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, got a big game tonight, the debut game for 2018. We've got the Eagles and the Falcons. We previewed it on yesterday's podcast. And today we have fantasy forecast. We'll go through all of the. About half of the matchups today and the starts of the week are back. We've all got our starts of the week on the show today and Jason's boom boom kicker and obviously the headline news right now. I mean, I might as well just. I mean, we're going to need to ring the bell. This is the ominous, Sad Bell of Le'Veon Bell. Look, I thought we had escaped this last year. We dealt with Ezekiel Elliott and that was for what seems, seemed like. And everybody wants to know what's going.

[Andy Holloway]

To happen, but literally everybody. Not just like players of fantasy football. Le'Veon Bell's teammates levy on Bell's coaches. Nobody knows what is going to happen. We do have plenty of information as to what could happen, why certain things would happen and what is probable. Mike, what are some of the things we know?

[Mike Wright]

So we know nothing. We know absolutely nothing. Jason, what are you talking.

[Andy Holloway]

That's not true. Well, look.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, go ahead.

[Jason Moore]

We know some facts.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, we know some facts. The Steelers Depot reported that Tomlinson says the team has likely applied for the two week roster exemption for Bell. What that means is that when Le'Veon Bell comes back, they have to negotiate the first two weeks of his contract, which to me says that, I mean that that might be reason if you're la Bell to even hold out longer, as in now, if he can hold out up until week 10 and still get the full credit for this season, become a free agent and, you know, finished off the franchise tag. And that's, that's the biggest fear. The biggest fear is that you're not going to have Levy on Bell until November.

[Mike Wright]

And Levy on Bell's agents went on a radio program and basically said that his clients is going to make the choices for long term. He is. He is playing for next year's contract already. Once again, don't blame Bell for trying to get paid. But for fantasy football, we are in a very large predicament. Because if you're Le'Veon Bell and this is what you're doing, what does it matter if you miss one week or two weeks? You're storing your body up for next year. So why would you not just stay out the full 10? He believes he can make up the lost salary because he'll lose something a little over $800,000 per week of games that he skips. But why would you not just skip them all if you firmly believe you're going to get a big contract next year?

[Jason Moore]

Here's the thing is, you know, we're all dads, all of us have children and we tell our children your decisions have consequences.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, they do.

[Jason Moore]

And that applies to the Steelers and that applies to Le'Veon Bell. He is putting himself above his teammates. And you can, you can be on any end of the spectrum of how. Okay, that is right. This is his livelihood. The Steelers have put their financial well being above their team as well.

[Mike Wright]

That would be my rebuttal is that he is using the only recourse that he has in the bar from the bargaining agreement.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

And there is a leverage thing here. Right. You're working leverage out. And, and ultimately we don't know when Lev Bell's going to be back. And my Twitter timeline is littered with two things. Not necessarily asking when he's going to be back. It's trade offers and it's trades that have been done, including things like, look, every, every McKinnon owner out there is looking for a chance to fix their McKinnon situation. And some of that's been going after Lev Bell. Or I've seen, you know, Devonta Freeman straight up for Lev Bell right now. Let's get Freeman on the team. Let's not worry about Bell.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

There are other things that can happen. It's not simple. It's not as easy as Lev Bell comes back week three and he's the same guy. It's not that simple to me. What happens if James Conner goes out and dominates this week?

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

What happens if he dominates week two? What happens if James Conner is a backbone player three weeks into the season? Does Lev Bell walk back into that locker room in week four with this team that's been angry with him and an offensive line that's angry with him and James Conner doing everything he needs to do? Mike, you brought up yesterday. Fantasy wise, they've been the same productive team with or without Lev Bell. So do you start to value Lev Bell's return differently? Do you start to look at him like he comes back but he's only as valuable as Devonta Freeman for the first three or four weeks he's back? You know, James Conner is not a slouch. James Conner dealt with things in college. He overcome cancer.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he fought through cancer to get back.

[Jason Moore]

My point is he could have been a first round, second round pick. That's James Conner's ceiling as a player. Now he's not Lev Bell. He's not going to catch the ball like Lev Bell. But there are a wide range of outcomes here. And if you're the Steelers and James Conner's doing whatever he's doing and he's doing it well, maybe you shrug your shoulders and say, this is our guy next year. Anyway, Lev, do what you're going to do. If you come back, we'll use you. But there are a lot of negative outcomes here for Lev Bell owners.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, the arrow is pointing down on the whole situation. I don't remember any time in, I mean ever in the history of football where an active member of a team is getting just destroyed by teammates in the media. His offensive line has said everything from well, why don't you just stay out the whole year to you're making more money than me and we're the guys that make you work to James Connor is going to be a superstar and we don't need him. I mean, and then Lev Bell saw these things, his verified Instagram account, and commented one word which was, whoa. So there's animosity, there's bad blood. The arrow is pointing down on the whole situation. And until he shows up, you know, it's. I think I'm a little bit more hands off.

[Mike Wright]

So for fantasy purposes, here is the questions that I'm asking myself. What can I live with as a fantasy football player? You want to trade Levy on Bell for running back? You want to trade for Le'Veon Bell? What? It's just, what can you handle? Because we have. No one has any idea. No one has any idea if he's going to come back next week or in 10 weeks. So if you want to trade Le'Veon Bell right now for Devonta Freeman, can you handle that? If Bell comes back next week and he's Le'Veon Bell, can you stomach those results given the news and the information you have today? What type of insurance, how, like what premium, which level of insurance are you willing to pay for right now?

[Jason Moore]

Because there are big wins to be had here, too. Yes, yes, there are big wins and big losses. This is not. You're not betting red, black. You're betting one number here.

[Andy Holloway]

Zeke missed six games last year and he was the number nine running back. You know, people who had Zeke last year still won, you know, in fantasy. So it's. It's a gamble. And I think you're right, Mike. You have to just, you have to do a gut check and say, what are you okay with?

[Mike Wright]

The same thing can be said for James Conner. What is the actual value of James Conner? And I think opportunity wise. That's why I've been saying if he starts and Le'Veon Bell is out, I will be shocked if once my projections come out that James Conner is not a top 12 guy because one, I think he's good, but I think they will try to utilize him the best they can. Like, they use Le'Veon Bell, which is 20 plus touches a week.

[Jason Moore]

So to follow up the quick question, then, where is James Conner in your week one rankings? Because we know Lev Bell's not going to be out there this specific week. I have my thoughts on Connor, and I think he's ranked a little bit lower in my rankings than your guys. Maybe.

[Andy Holloway]

I have him.

[Jason Moore]

I have him at 16.

[Andy Holloway]

I have him at 16 as well.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, well, I. Look, the Browns were actually seventh against the run last year. I think he's going to have a good week. I Don't think it's going to be a top 12 week. So I guess you're in the same boat.

[Andy Holloway]

100% same boat. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So I'm still adjusting things. As of right now I'm looking at it. He ended up at 15.

[Andy Holloway]

He.

[Mike Wright]

So he's slightly behind Rex Burkhead. But Andy, you were talking about you're worried about him. In the news on Rex Burkhead is was once again trending poorly today. So he's by the end of the week by we get to, by the time we get to Sunday morning, I'm telling you, James Conner is probably just going to squeak right, right in there in that 12, 13 range for me.

[Jason Moore]

Finally you start him over Shady against Baltimore.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, I would.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, final question and I was Lev Bell saga. Sorry.

[Mike Wright]

Right. As of right now, I will start James Conner over Shady McCoy. Jordan Howard over Dalvin Cook. Sure. That's where I'm at.

[Andy Holloway]

But the final question for fantasy owners is Jalen Samuels worth picking up to see what happens, how they use him if all of a sudden it's a two back situation and the passing work that Lev Bell is so valuable for goes to Jalen Samuels. I haven't heard his name really brought up that much.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he could be worth a speculative ad but I really, I really think they'll use Connor the exact same way. Which means that the backup running back.

[Andy Holloway]

Every time we've seen Pittsburgh has no value with another back. They use them the exact complete workhorse whether it's Fitzgerald Toussaint or D'Angelo Williams. They just say you're the guy. So I agree with you there. But if you are in a, in a deeper league, a 14 team league, you know you could dynasty for sure.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, 100% dynasty. But if you're in a 14 teamer, maybe six bench, he could be worth a speculative ad just to see.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. All right. Well we've got so much to get through on today's show but that is the headline news and look, when we know something tangible, when we get more information, you're going to know. That's why we do a show every single day as we try to keep you not just the show but on Twitter too.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, say follow us on Twitter. I am fhitman. Follow jasonffl. Andy is ndyhallaway and of course the show account is Heff Ballers.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. Let's get into the news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league.

[Jason Moore]

All right. Antonio Gates is optimistic he'll play in the season opener. Are you taking any chances With Gates. No, I know. Virgil Green is listed as the starter right now.

[Mike Wright]

Antonio Gates is just a and add and hold. You can't play him this week.

[Jason Moore]

Hugh Jackson said Josh Gordon is on a pitch count in week one. They don't want to get him injured. He says he's 100% after his hamstring issues in camp, but does that change where you rank him?

[Andy Holloway]

It doesn't change it that much for me, to be honest, because I've never seen him as a volume guy. He's a guy that if he plays 60, 65% of the snaps, you know, and they target him on those routes specifically, you know, you see that with some of these valuable players, where to keep them healthy, they only put him in, you know, when they're going to use him. So less decoy plays and more, hey, we need him, put him in. So I think he's going to be okay. He'll be down a little bit compared to a normal week, but not much.

[Jason Moore]

All right. Adrian Peterson will start Week 1 against the Cardinals.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

No. No. Surprise.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. All right.

[Mike Wright]

Still. Still might be.

[Jason Moore]

You've been calling that from the beginning.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it's.

[Mike Wright]

After you use him like that in the. In the dress rehearsal, you. It's clear who you want to have as your starter. It's still going to be a very tough matchup for him.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he has some success week one.

[Jason Moore]

Let's go with Rex Burkhead News. He's not listed on the injury report, but there was news this morning that he will be, quote, eased into the mix. That's from ESPN's Mike Rice. That's my concern. That's why he was my pump the brakes yesterday.

[Mike Wright]

The Patriots are going to go reverse of everything that they have always done. It used to be everyone was limited or questionable. Everyone in practice. Now it's. Everyone is healthy, but they may not be.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, the writing, it was just on the wall for me in week one. I think he's going to be a very, very valuable player all year long. But I don't know why they risk him in week one when they have other options. But we'll see. I can, you know, still be wrong there. They may. They may use him enough or he may score and it won't matter. All right. Some injury news. Rashad Penny, Doug Baldwin, Delaney, Walker, they all seem to be healthy and ready to play, including Jordan Reed as well.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. Jordan Reed, please.

[Andy Holloway]

So Rule 86.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

In effect, in which, if you're new.

[Mike Wright]

To the show, Rule 86 of Fantasy Football states that if Jordan Reed is healthy and playing, you play him because he's that good of a player. He is a transcendent talent at the tight end position when it comes to fantasy football. So if you got him, if you drafted him, you're playing him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

All right, let's talk about George Kittle. He's not on the injury report.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he should be out there week one. It's not a great matchup against Minnesota.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

So you might want to wait a week or two and see how it, see how it fares. But good, good that he's healthy. He'll be the starter.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not sure if you can wait because unless you're going to roster two tight ends because a lot of George Kittle was a heavily drafted player. I mean, he was going right in that 10 to 12 range. So if you drafted George Kittle, Jason, are you just going to eat it and play him and find out what happens, or are you going to roster?

[Andy Holloway]

If I'm drafting a tight end like George Kittle, who to me is not a week in, week out starter, but a good streaming candidate, then I made a mistake in drafting him because of his Week 1 matchup and I would drop him and pick him up for possibly some of the people that we have on our starts of the week and play him and then pick him up. And, you know, once you're past the first seven or eight tight ends this year, the way that I see it is you're in streaming and I'm playing matchups week in, week out, every week.

[Jason Moore]

And we will have our starts of the week at the tight end position today, so help you identify some of those streaming options tomorrow. By the way, we will update you on all injuries before the weekend before the Sunday games in and out on the show tomorrow. And a reminder, Sunday, the NFL slate, the full slate. Mike will be on all of the streaming universes, stream all the things, periscope, Facebook, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, it doesn't matter. His morning, his Sunday morning livestream will be everywhere. I recommend you go to YouTube, you subscribe and you click the bell and then you'll just get a little notification on your phone.

[Andy Holloway]

You click the what the.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, you want me to hit it?

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

I don't know if I want him to hit this bell.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's a little ominous.

[Jason Moore]

I don't want that notification on Sunday morning like, Mike's coming. You got to wear all black.

[Mike Wright]

I highly recommend you go wherever your screen has the highest resolution to see.

[Jason Moore]

More and more of you. Are you going to keep wearing those black shirts to make it look like you're getting a haircut on the live stream.

[Mike Wright]

No. Well, I don't know, maybe you were wearing those. It was a good look.

[Jason Moore]

He was wearing those really, really tight t shirts where they're right around your neck. It looked like those.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to take it up a notch this year. Yeah, I'm just going to get my hair cut while I'm doing the live streams.

[Jason Moore]

Well, it's efficiency at this look. We work. That's how hard we work for you here at the fantasy footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

We got to. We have to get our haircuts during livestream az.

[Mike Wright]

I need a traveling barber.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, just brush your teeth during the live stream. Take care of all your hygie gene during the live stream. All right, we're going to get into the fantasy forecast and before we do that, I want to thank seatgeek football's back. Seatgeek is the smartest, easiest way to get tickets to every game all season long. Look, they search multiple ticket sites. They grade every ticket based on value. They make it so easy. Yes, it's visually easy. It's functionally easy. Every purchase is guaranteed. There's no drama with sea geek. That's what I like. And you can get tickets to concerts and comedy theater too. We're going to what, Jim Gaff again in December. Get some tickets to see some comedy. Whether it's last minute or well advanced your plan, Go find the seatgeek app. Grab it. We love it. We've used it for years. Plus, you get $20 off your first SeatGeek purchase. Download the seatgeek app and enter the promo code Footballers today. That is the promo code. Footballers for $20 off your first SeatGeek purchase. SeatGeek life is an event. And guess what? They have the tickets.

[Mike Wright]

We want to thank quip for sponsoring today's show. Ladies and gentlemen, the truth is most of us are brushing our teeth wrong. Not long enough. You're forgetting to change the brush on time. And quip makes it easy, easy as possible to rectify that situation. Because quip is an electric toothbrush, it costs a fraction of the bulkier brushes, packs the right amount of vibrations to clean your teeth. It's got a built in timer and guiding pulses help you clean for the full dentist recommended two minutes. It's cheap. They got a subscription program so you're getting a new brush head every three months for just five bucks including free shipping worldwide. I love my quip. I love my quip so much. You know What I did, I got the wife a quip.

[Jason Moore]

You quipped the wife.

[Mike Wright]

I equipped the wife with a quip and said you gotta get your. You gotta brush those teeth.

[Andy Holloway]

Correct.

[Mike Wright]

And quip is the best way to do it. And right now, quip starts at just $25. If you go to getquip.comfootballers right now, you'll get your first refill pack free with a quip electric toothbrush. That's your first refill pack free at getquip.com footballers spelled G-E T Q U I P.com/footballers. And before you hit the button, we the last piece of news that I actually think is important. The Saints waived rookie running back Boston Scott. That means the only running backs on that roster heading into Sunday's game. Let's count them. Alvin Camara, Mike Gillislee.

[Andy Holloway]

That's it.

[Mike Wright]

Those are the only running backs on that team. Mike Gillesley will not be a start of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

He. But there I get.

[Mike Wright]

We'll talk about that.

[Jason Moore]

No, it's a matchup. They're taking the New England Patriot wide receiver approach.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Where they just let go of anybody that, you know, they. That wasn't relevant. I believe they grabbed some offensive line in place of Boston Scott and just.

[Mike Wright]

Say we'll get into their matchup. But that's an important piece of news to me.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

Fantasy forecast. Good to be back.

[Jason Moore]

Feeling good, Jason.

[Mike Wright]

Feeling good to be back.

[Jason Moore]

Real football. The Bills travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Ravens are 7 1/2 point favorites. 40.5 is the over under Nathan Peterman gets the start in Buffalo. Let's start with Buffalo. Is there any make it your almost up to you. Is there anybody?

[Mike Wright]

Are you kidding?

[Andy Holloway]

No, no.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not making this anomalous steps. Not a loom lunatic. I mean I am a lunatic, but.

[Mike Wright]

I would have levitated and my soul would have left my body if you were calling for this.

[Jason Moore]

No, I think the line is too small.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, good.

[Jason Moore]

I think Baltimore is going to win the game by 10 points. So more Nathan Peterman, Sean McCoy, Calvin Benjamin, Charles Clay. The Buffalo Bills offense. Look, I'm. I'm okay playing Shady McCoy on the volume.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

He's going to be the release valve for Nathan Peterman. He's going to be the every down guy out of the backfield. I'm okay starting Kelvin Benjamin as a wide receiver three from a volume perspective as well. That's it. I mean it's. It's running back two wide receiver three for me.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Kelvin, I'm A. I'm pretty worried about Kelvin. I realize that the volume will be there and they are going to move the ball. I mean, I, you know, I question who's going to score more, the Bills offense or the Ravens defense? Which ones puts more points on the board. But Kelvin is a guy where, man, these. These first three weeks is so rough and he'll get the volume if I can find another player to start over. Him, I would prefer to. I've got him on a couple of rosters because his value was good in the draft, but he's a. He's going to be a weight on my bench type of guy.

[Jason Moore]

He's a stash. You would say yes. So going into week one, then, just to make the decision easier for somebody, would you play Robbie Anderson at Detroit or Kelvin Benjamin at Baltimore?

[Andy Holloway]

Robbie Anderson.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. All right.

[Mike Wright]

Fair enough. Do you have any more? Would you? Because the answer is yes.

[Jason Moore]

Tricked you as in no. Calvin?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Interesting. Sometimes I just don't want to over. No, no.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm just.

[Jason Moore]

It takes time for a defense to come around, too. Baltimore's defense is going to be good, but facetious. Yeah. All right. Baltimore side of the ball. Now. I. I heard this morning that Mike Florio has the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl.

[Andy Holloway]

I heard the same thing. And I actually, I don't think it's as hot. Take as they were nine to seven.

[Mike Wright]

They were almost in the playoffs last year.

[Jason Moore]

It's still like. I mean, the bills were 9 and 7, so it doesn't.

[Mike Wright]

With a massive negative point differential and.

[Jason Moore]

They were in the playoffs. I'm just saying that's not enough for me to not be surprised at that pick. I.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's. Here's why it's not shocking to me is because their defense is great. We all know that. But I believe that their offense has gotten significantly better. They know who their starting running back is now. They have Kenneth Dixon.

[Mike Wright]

They know who their wide receivers are.

[Andy Holloway]

And their wide receivers are tremendously better this season than last season. They're not great this season, but they're. That's how bad it was last season for the Ravens. So. Yeah, I mean. And I think they're in a. I think they're in a situation where they'll be in the playoffs and with that defense, they could make some noise.

[Jason Moore]

You play Joe Flacco?

[Mike Wright]

I don't want to. I was going to.

[Jason Moore]

I would not touch Joe Flacco myself.

[Mike Wright]

Because I love Alex Collins so very, very much. This week we're going to talk about him a little bit later in the show, Michael Crabtree. See, like, Michael Crabtree is in like that same tier of wide receiver three for me, but I would much rather play him than Kelvin Benjamin at this point. Would you play Crabtree over Kelvin?

[Jason Moore]

No, no, I would play Kelvin Benjamin over Crabtree. I'm not. You know, the way I see the wide receiver corps in Baltimore is not a really Cleanly divine defined 1, 2, 3 situation. I think it's going to be John Brown more involved. I think it's just going to be everybody involved. I think it's going to be a. Whoever's open and whoever's hot. I just don't see it being clearly defined. So I would still take Benjamin myself, Alex Collins, Mike, we're going to talk about him later.

[Mike Wright]

We are.

[Jason Moore]

You're very, very, very, very bullish. All right. Anything else you want to talk about in this matchup?

[Mike Wright]

Just. I'm not going to play him. It, of course, but monitor Nick Boyle. He's listed right now as the starter, the tight end starter for Baltimore. And Joe Flacco has loved himself some tight ends in the past, so he just. He'll be someone to watch and see how he's used.

[Andy Holloway]

Boyle's upside is less than Dennis Pitta's upside, though. He could get targeted a lot and nobody really wants to play.

[Mike Wright]

You'd rather have Boyles, as you say?

[Jason Moore]

I would be. I'm kind of hoping Boyle emerges for the sake of the show.

[Andy Holloway]

A lot of good nicknames we could.

[Jason Moore]

Come up with covered in Boyle's Susan.

[Andy Holloway]

Susan Boyle joke. Susan Boyle reference only on the footballers.

[Mike Wright]

Oh.

[Jason Moore]

Keep it here all year long. The Bengals, they take on the Colts in Indianapolis.

[Mike Wright]

Hold on.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, the Colts are favored. Yes, by three.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

They've got Andrew Luck. They are at home.

[Jason Moore]

Cool.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think it is crazy for the Colts to be favored in this game.

[Mike Wright]

No, I don't think it's crazy. I think it's ludicrous.

[Jason Moore]

So what's your line? What's your line on this?

[Mike Wright]

I would say Bengals favored by maybe one and a half. That's the line I said.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. So from a fantasy perspective, there are a lot of players I like in this game because I don't like the Indianapolis defense. So I think we're going to talk about a number of them later. I know Jason and myself both have Bengals in our starts of the week. Dalton, Mixon, Green, Eiford. Where's John Ross this week? People want it, you know, deeper leagues. Are you confident enough starting the number two wide receiver in Cincinnati?

[Mike Wright]

This week, maybe as a flex if you want to hit that nitro button.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I was going to say you're.

[Mike Wright]

Hoping for a 50 yard touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

If you have a, if you have a two flex situation. That's where John Ross gets in because he's more of a glory play. I think he could have a. But you know, he still has never shown it in real live action. So you're taking more calling your shot. But this game in general, this is like the game that I keep coming to. When I look at the slate of games this week, it's a 48 and a half point over under, which means Vegas thinks, hey, they're going to score a lot of points. I'm taking the over on that because you've got. The Bengals are an okay defense, but Andrew Luck's going to be able to move the ball on them at home. This is in a dome, no weather considerations and the Colts defense, it's bad. So I think there's going to be a lot of points, a lot of fantasy relevance. The real question, because I'm starting up just about everybody, I don't know what to do with Jordan Wilkins. How do you guys feel about where you slot in the, we assume starting running back for the Colts in week one?

[Jason Moore]

Well, how do you compare to like a guy like Chris Carson? Let's say you're deciding between you grab Jordan Wilkins late in your draft, you grab Carson before it and you're trying to pick a flex play there.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

You go with Jordan Wilkins or do you go with Chris Carson?

[Mike Wright]

The Bengals, I'm looking at it right now. They gave up the fourth most points to the running back position on a per game basis last year. So I would play Wilkins over Chris Carson over Chris Carson. I just, I don't really want a piece of Chris Carson going against the Denver Broncos defense on the road. I expect that to be a very negative game script. Not that it won't be for Wilkins, but if Jason's expecting all those points, that means that Indianapolis is at least keeping up. So Wilkins will still be involved in.

[Jason Moore]

So Andrew Luck makes his return to action here in week one. You assume that this will still be a high volume passing offense, Right. You know, starting Jordan Wilkins does not mean depending on Jordan Wilkins and Andrew Luck is going to pass the ball. So how confident are you in in his start here at home? It seems like a pretty decent situation for him to get back out there. Are you starting Andrew Luck this week and who are you starting him over?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, if you drafted Andrew Luck, you You start him. I mean you, you took him as your only quarterback and this is a home match up against a somewhat winnable defense.

[Jason Moore]

We all have him at nine this.

[Andy Holloway]

Week, a high scoring game. So I mean, I don't expect him to end the week as, you know, a top three quarterback, but he is. You drafted him, you're rolling out. You can have far worse matchups than this.

[Jason Moore]

Ty Hilton started.

[Andy Holloway]

Ty Hilton is a great play.

[Jason Moore]

Anybody else to talk about there on either offense?

[Andy Holloway]

The only question would be are you willing to take a week one start shot on either Jack Doyle or Eric Ebron? I am not.

[Jason Moore]

No, I'm not either. And I like Ebron more than Doyle in the long term. But not a week one chance. I mean I. There's a lot of decisions to be made there where you can go with a guy. You can go with Eifert and Kittle and Ricky Seals, Jones and Jared Cook. Look, there's a ton of players to pick from and we know Ebron and Doyle are sharing some time. So that's probably where I. Don't touch that. The Titans take on the Dolphins. This one. The road team is favored. The Titans are one and a half point favorites in Miami. There's a 45 point over under. There's a lot of unknown on both sides of the ball in this game.

[Mike Wright]

There is.

[Jason Moore]

We have a completely reworked wide receiving core in Miami. Devonte Parker's missing the game. No more Jarvis Landry, brand new tight end and Mike Gasicki. So let's start with Miami here. It came out this morning that Frank Gore is not on the injury report. Is that correct?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I think that's what I had read.

[Jason Moore]

But he. Or maybe he is on the injury report for Achilles injuries but practiced in full. I think that's the actual report that gives me more confidence in Kenyan Drake. Week one. Yeah, I mean in heavy utilization for Kenyan Drake.

[Mike Wright]

What about the. Or the.

[Andy Holloway]

Or the. Or the co starters? We don't know who's going to be the starter, but we'll talk about Drake here in a little bit. I have 100% full confidence in Drake.

[Mike Wright]

I have. My sources are reporting it's an eenie meeny miny, moe situation. Miami.

[Andy Holloway]

Those are some young sources.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's got a whole.

[Andy Holloway]

He's asking his children, whole team.

[Mike Wright]

It's actually the brain, the brainchild of the Miami Dolphins.

[Jason Moore]

The eeny, meeny, miny, most. Yeah, that's where it originated.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

It's the people making the decisions.

[Jason Moore]

Did you get any feedback on Your very intelligent insults yesterday for Adam Gayes.

[Mike Wright]

I did not mince words about my feelings about this or decision. And the feedback was very positive.

[Jason Moore]

Very positive.

[Mike Wright]

Very positive.

[Jason Moore]

Marcus Mariota, Derek Henry, Dion Lewis, Corey Davis, Delaney Walker. The Tennessee Titans offense, it's. It didn't look great in the preseason, but it is a revamped offense. It is finding itself. How confident are you in Corey Davis as a flex play or a wide receiver to play in Week 1 against Miami and that secondary?

[Andy Holloway]

This whole team is just a team that I want to have. All of them just be a flex play. You know, I like. I like Deion Lewis, I like Derek Henry, I like Corey Davis, but I don't love any of them. This is basically. I look at this matchup as the Indianapolis Bengals matchup light. You know, this is where neither team has as good an offense.

[Mike Wright]

The Dolphins were pretty good against wide.

[Andy Holloway]

Receivers last year defensively. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they've got a lot of change in that defense from last year. So it's hard to. It's hard to project them to be.

[Mike Wright]

Great against Derek Henry is very interesting with the Titans. Offensive line is supposed to be good and Amic and Sue is gone from Miami. So I think that Henry is. Henry's the most interesting player on the Titans this week.

[Jason Moore]

Corey Davis or Josh Gordon? We talked about Gordon earlier. That's a decision you have to make for a lot of people.

[Mike Wright]

I think I'll go Corey Davis.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we all have Davis right on the fringe. Wide receiver two, wide receiver three, Range.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And I do have him above Gordon. Emmanuel Sanders or Corey Davis?

[Mike Wright]

Those are Sanders.

[Andy Holloway]

Sanders. The problem for me is I won't even be surprised if Rashad Matthews comes out and has more points than Corey Davis in this game. You just Crabtree or Davis?

[Mike Wright]

Davis.

[Andy Holloway]

That's where I would go.

[Mike Wright]

Davis where? And Jason, what are your thoughts on the Miami wide receivers? Devonte Parker is out with his finger injury. So is it Kenny Still's time? Is it Danny Amendola time?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think it's Kenny Still's time. You got Malcolm Brown added to the Tennessee Titans, but we, you know, we haven't seen him at least in the last game. Am I right? Yeah, super bowl time. I like Kenny Stills a lot. I think he will be the primary target. And I said this before yesterday, Danny Amendola, if you're in a full PPR league, he's a guy that's on waivers right now. And I will be surprised. I will literally be surprised if he doesn't put up 10 fantasy points. In a PPR league as his floor.

[Jason Moore]

One of the more difficult things about week one is we don't have defensive analytics and statistics from this season and there's a lot of turnover on these rosters. We can go a little bit based on last year. Sometimes things stay consistent year over year. You know, example of that is last year we talked so much about the Giants and how many points they gave up to the tight end position. We get to see if that continues this year. And heading into week two, we'll have some, you know, there'll be some proof in the pudding, so to speak, in Joku for some of these teams. And Joker puts proof in.

[Mike Wright]

He did earlier against the Giants. Insane.

[Jason Moore]

Got it.

[Mike Wright]

Tight end position against the Giants. They were very susceptible this season.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

In the preseason.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

All right. I don't read too much into the preseason defenses, though, do you, Mike?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

If a team was terrible at something last year and they're still terrible at it in the preseason, I'm going to read into it.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, the 49ers take on the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings are six and a half point home favorites in this one. You know, Jason, you sat down. Jimmy Garoppolo, I believe he pumped the brakes. Yes, a handsome pump.

[Andy Holloway]

A handsome pump.

[Jason Moore]

We've talked at length about Matt Breida and Alfred Morris. The name that has not been brought up almost at all in any circle is Kyle Juszczyk, the fullback. Slash passing, capable fullback. If you're starting a running back. Let's. Let's get the answer now since we're doing the matchup. Matt Breida, Alfred Morris, if you have to pick one, is it. Is it scoring system dependent or is it one guy across all for me.

[Andy Holloway]

In week one, I'm still starting Matt Breida in all scoring systems.

[Mike Wright]

It is an unpleasant situation at best.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, you face Minnesota in week one, so.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

What are you going to learn?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's a great point, Andy, is the fact that we'll probably overreact to whatever we think we learned. But going up against Minnesota in week one, that's a matchup where you kind of. Hopefully you can bench these guys if you've got someone else on your roster. These guys were waiver wire pickups. So as long as they're not replacing your Jerick McKinnon, you have a good chance of being able to bench them. But I wouldn't overreact to what we see in Minnesota. This is Burrito coming back from having missed some time and yeah, he's fully back at practice, but we're not sure. They're going up against a great defense and a great offense.

[Jason Moore]

And I don't think people can overreact because they've had to pay for these guys. So I think it's baked into the. Fortunately, I think because you had to go spin fab on them, you can't hype. You can't overreact and drop them. You're going to have to wait.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah, you have to wait. Just the worst thing that can happen is Kyle Juszczyk comes out and gets six targets and Breida gets two. That's worst case scenario for this situation.

[Jason Moore]

That could happen.

[Mike Wright]

100% could happen.

[Jason Moore]

And then all of a sudden if you take away the passing down value of Matt Breida, the potential passing down value of Matt Breida, you're in trouble. You're toast. Is there, there's not an outcome that you're going to like.

[Andy Holloway]

Is there a 49er you want to start? I do not want to start Marquis Goodwin, but do you guys.

[Jason Moore]

I still wouldn't find starting Marquis Goodwood.

[Mike Wright]

But Xavier Rhodes, cornerback for the Vikings is a beast. I would expect him to be looking good.

[Jason Moore]

The nice thing about Goodwin is he's averaging 16.6 yards per reception. That's a number where even if you don't get volume, there's a big play there to be had. They're going to pass the football. That's better than I think everybody but like D. Jackson, Josh Gordon since 2013. So he @ least doesn't require a volume play. So I would go with the big play versus the volume. Anything else on the. On that side?

[Mike Wright]

No. We've already talked Kittle and Garcon is. Is the same. I would reluctantly play him, but I.

[Andy Holloway]

Feel like I would rather. I feel like I would rather play Garcon than Goodwin due to this matchup.

[Jason Moore]

Sure. You would rather play Garcon than Goodwin.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, because I think Xavier Rhodes is going to lock down Goodwin.

[Jason Moore]

Interesting. So the actual opposite take of me.

[Andy Holloway]

The actual opposite, 100%.

[Jason Moore]

You go with the volume. Like I'm just making. I was just making. You kind of said it in a way that was funny because it's the 100% opposite opinion.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, it's not a disagreement with your analysis though, because I think you're right that it's only going to take one or two big plays from Goodwin to be able to succeed. But I would rather, I would rather take the guy who doesn't have the lockdown Corner on him.

[Jason Moore]

Do you want a waterbed? Let's do it. Fantasy points. Marquis Goodwin versus Pierre Garcon.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's go. Waterbed.

[Jason Moore]

Feels good to get the first in season waterbed out of the way and.

[Mike Wright]

It'S a sensational one at that.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, who you rooting for in this one?

[Mike Wright]

I'm hoping very much that they both score zero points and you have to just water each other.

[Andy Holloway]

If they both score zero, ideal deal. You get to water both of them.

[Jason Moore]

Let's talk about the more exciting fantasy side of the football here. Minnesota, the debut of Kirk Cousins. Dalvin Cook back on the field. Let's get a temperature check on Dalvin Cook. How confident are you to start him this week? I have similar feelings to Dalvin Cook as I do to Rex Burkhead.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

It's week one. Why push it at home? Murray's been great. I don't see why Dalvin Cook needs a workload.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I agree with that take. I like Dalvin Cook season long. But week one you got to have at least. If you do not have hesitance playing Dalvin Cook this week, you haven't paid attention to the preseason then I have.

[Andy Holloway]

Not paid attention to the preseason. Jason has them in the top 10. 101 degree fever because Dalvin Cook has been rested this preseason. Because they already know, of course they're going to rest him this preseason. This is real football. This is week one home opener. This is a heavy favorite at home against a weak defense. If you're not going to fire up your Dalvin Cook guns, a blazing shirt rip. Enough. You a crazy person.

[Mike Wright]

You just gave. You gave really good reasons to not play him in that argument.

[Andy Holloway]

What are you talking about? He's the home favorite.

[Mike Wright]

You're against the week. You're against a weaker team and you're a heavy favorite.

[Jason Moore]

The problem is he's a second round pick.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, but that's usually great for running backs.

[Mike Wright]

Of course. But I'm with Andy of the side of. Okay, you're a heavy favorite against a weaker team. Let's. Let's ease him in.

[Jason Moore]

Let's think about what we're actually talking about here though.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

If you drafted him, you're playing it.

[Mike Wright]

Of course.

[Jason Moore]

So you know we're talking about upside. Jason sees the upside as a top 10 guy this week. I see him more as an RB2.

[Mike Wright]

I see him more as an rb2 this week as well.

[Jason Moore]

Stefan Diggs, Adam Thielen.

[Mike Wright]

Great.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I like this matchup for Minnesota. We'll talk about it in a Little bit.

[Mike Wright]

Stefan Diggs and Adam Thielen are going to be fantastic to talk about in the matchups every week because you just go, yep.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I mean you're Stefan Diggs, Adam Thielen.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we're going to, we're going to go through two more matchups on today's show and then get into the starts of the week. And let's talk about the Texans and the Patriots. The Patriots are six and a half point home favorites to open the season. I'm not. I feel like that game's going to be closer. I really do. The Texans take on the Patriots. The Sean Watson's back. Lamar Miller, Hopkins and company travel to New England. Yes, it's on the road. Yes, it's going to be tough. But you start the season and it generally the way I look at this is the Patriots in recent years, their defense has taken a little bit of time to acclimate to gel and Matt Patricia is not a part of it anymore.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

So I don't think that Houston's going to have I think that's why Vegas has this as a 51 point over under. I don't think Houston is going to have a hard time moving the ball against New England and I don't necessarily think New England is going to have the hardest time moving the ball against New England. Houston, I think this game is going to be closer. I think it's going to come down to the wire. I feel confident starting to Sean Watson, Lamar Miller, DeAndre Hopkins. The questions for me come down to whether you'd rather flex a guy like Will Fuller or give him some time.

[Mike Wright]

Will Fuller has just been dealing with injury and I am not going to flex him this this week. The reason Vegas loves Houston. Last year, DeSean Watson put up over 300 yards and two scores against the Patriots. He did throw two picks against them. And this, that was also perhaps just feeding into your your narrative, Andy, of the slow start for New England. That's when the New England Patriots were bad and that's when everyone had it burned into their brain that the Patriots are bad defense last year and then by the end of the season they were one of the best D's in the NFL. I, I'm not going to argue with the point spread on this one. It's Bill Belichick gets a chance to redeem himself after Watson. Even though the Texans lost the game last year, Watson made them look the fool.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And I think that Belichick no more Malcolm Butler.

[Jason Moore]

He's in Tennessee now.

[Mike Wright]

I Think they still have the playmakers on the Patriots defensive side of the ball. I'm actually more concerned with Lamar Miller. I think running on the Pats is going to be tough this year and this week. Houston's offensive line is atrocious. Will Miller get the passing work to.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean definitely to sustain his value. I think he will. By de facto he is going to be a three down back. I'm okay playing Lamar Miller.

[Jason Moore]

Would you rather, Jason, would you play him over Burkhead in this game?

[Andy Holloway]

I would play Lamar Miller over Burkhead.

[Jason Moore]

You play James White over.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I would play Lamar Miller. It would go Lamar Miller, Rex Burkhead, James White is how I view it. If now I don't get one of them fancy almost upsets of the week. But when I look at this matchup, this would be my almost upset.

[Jason Moore]

I thought about it.

[Andy Holloway]

Which of course should be no surprise with my hot take of the beginning of the end for the Patriots. But you've got a Rex Burkhead being eased in. You don't know if Sony Michelle is going to be there. You know, they've got some.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not worried about the ground game. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean it's hard.

[Mike Wright]

It's hard to run on Houston.

[Andy Holloway]

It's going to be the quick.

[Mike Wright]

The Patriots are going to throw.

[Andy Holloway]

It's going to be a quick short passing game for the Patriots. You have to.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to.

[Andy Holloway]

Because the defensive line with Jadavian Clowney and Merciless. Wat Merciless and Watt, you're going to have to get the ball out super quick. You took Julian Adelman.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, Chris Hogan has never been that super quick out type of guy.

[Jason Moore]

Well, yeah, they don't have. I mean, it's James White. Sure. I'm just saying. I'm just adding to the point. It's going to have to be the passing game. I agree with you. I'm going to bring this up. Mike, I know you've been against Jason and his take about the beginning of the end for the Patriots because it's ludicrous and it is. However, he may take a victory lap early this season because if they lose this game.

[Mike Wright]

They won't.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, well, sure, they don't lose. But listen, listen. If they lose this game, they travel to Jacksonville next week. Then they travel to Detroit with Matt Patricia knowing the ins and outs of that team. It's one of those games. The former defensive coordinators, the head coach and they're on the road.

[Andy Holloway]

There's a world.

[Jason Moore]

They start owing three but you think the Patriots take care of business here?

[Mike Wright]

100%.

[Jason Moore]

All right, well, that's. Look, it's still the right bet here. There are six and a half point favorites at home.

[Andy Holloway]

You're going to play Deshaun Watson, he's. The points are going to be flying here, of course.

[Jason Moore]

Brady Burkhead and company. We've talked a lot about the running backs already. Wide receiver wise, the confidence has to be in Chris Hogan above all else. But ultimately it's going to be what Hogan, Gronkowski and White seeing the majority of the pass catching work.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, this is, this is a Gronk special. I mean, he, he's just, he is so incredibly important for, for this game. They're going to have to get the ball out and be creative against that defensive line. Gronk, I mean, we don't really need to talk about it. He's the number one tight end. Yeah. You drafted him. You play him.

[Mike Wright]

I was just going to say, like DeAndre Hopkins, for all the people out there, why did you talk about Hopkins? Because you don't need to.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. We're here trying to help you make a decision, not tell you the obvious. By the way, did you know Rob Gronkowski has never spent a dime of his contract money? Did you know that?

[Mike Wright]

What?

[Jason Moore]

He's never spent $1 from his salary. Just sponsor money, all endorsement money. That's it. And he seems like he's. He's one of those guys that is really concerned with the incentives in his contract. So that's why this last contract where they bumped it all up like he wants to hit those incentives because he spends that money. He doesn't spend his contract money.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I see.

[Jason Moore]

And so he has every dime that he's ever made from his contract, plus investment, which by the way, I looked up, that's $54 million.

[Andy Holloway]

So these just needs one more.

[Mike Wright]

The size of his off season parties are related to his Gronk smashing.

[Jason Moore]

That is correct. Yes, that is correct. Gronk get that big party. That's right.

[Mike Wright]

Invite me.

[Jason Moore]

You want to go to a Gronk party?

[Mike Wright]

Not really.

[Jason Moore]

You couldn't survive.

[Mike Wright]

That's not really my seat.

[Jason Moore]

I can see. I'm like, do you really want to smash a bunch of cans on your forehead, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

Would that your scene, you know, the, the gif of Grandpa Simpson walking, walking into the bar and just does the full loop. That would be me.

[Jason Moore]

You want the invite and then you want to come up with an excuse why you can't go.

[Andy Holloway]

You want to get in the door.

[Jason Moore]

You want to be like I was invited to a grunt.

[Andy Holloway]

Take it. Take a selfie, picture that you were there.

[Mike Wright]

That'd be great.

[Jason Moore]

All right. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers go to New Orleans to start the year. Congratulations. The Saints are nine and a half point favorites. The over unders 49 and a half.

[Mike Wright]

Also. We're going to repeat that.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

The over under is almost 50 points.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

And the Saints are essentially 10 point favorites.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. That means Vegas is saying the Saints are going to score a lot.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yes. Gilly, Gilly, Gilly gumdrops.

[Jason Moore]

I will. I will admit that Mike Gillislee is looking more and more attractive as a flyer. I don't know what that means, though. Like, you just drafted. You pick up Gillisley off the waiver wire. Who are you playing him over?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm.

[Jason Moore]

Are you playing Mike Gillis over Rex Burkhead?

[Andy Holloway]

No, I said this on a show last week, but I have him in my lineup right now. Over. Carry on Johnson.

[Jason Moore]

What league is that?

[Andy Holloway]

That's our listener league.

[Mike Wright]

So that's a 14 teamer.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, that's a bigger. It's a deeper, bigger league.

[Jason Moore]

Well, and Kerryon's a full set right now.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, right, agreed.

[Andy Holloway]

But that's my point. He's a guy that you play, but.

[Jason Moore]

Peyton Barber, in this game, you're playing Peyton Barber 100%.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm playing Peyton Barber over Gillisle.

[Jason Moore]

Blau Powell or Gillislee?

[Andy Holloway]

Blau Powell.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Blah blow.

[Jason Moore]

I think Powell, Jordan Wilkins or Gillisle. I'm playing Wilkins.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm playing Wilkins.

[Jason Moore]

I'm taking the guarantee starter no matter where they are. Over Gillislee. The only chance of me being a Gillislee player is if I'm in a 14 to 16 team league and I lost somebody or I don't want. I mean, I'd be rather rolling out, you know. Would you rather play John Brown or Mike Gillis? Let's go.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's a list of running backs that I would play Gillislee over. Carry on Johnson, Tariq Cohen, Chris Thompson, Ty Montgomery, Matt Breida and Alfred Morris.

[Jason Moore]

I would play Thompson over Gillislee for sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you've been. You've been very high on Thompson and.

[Mike Wright]

But that's a lot of people who were at least recently you drafted those guys. And Gilly is undrafted.

[Jason Moore]

We don't need to talk about Michael Thomas and Mike Evans in this game. The mics are fine.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Unlike this show.

[Mike Wright]

We're always fine. We're always beautiful people.

[Jason Moore]

Both of these mics more likely to be invited to a gronk party than you slightly.

[Mike Wright]

How dare you. I've supported him all off season.

[Jason Moore]

Cool, though. You're super cool, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

Getting in.

[Jason Moore]

So Evans, Thomas, don't worry about it. If you have to pick between the or starters of Chris Godwin and DeSean Jackson against the New Orleans Saints, look, if anything, they're going to be down, they're going to be throwing the football. Godwin ended last season on fire. The last two games of the year, he flashed. He had a game over 100 yards. DeSean Jackson, though, still there. Who do you roll the dice with in those two?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm picking Chris Godwin here and I think he is an actual flex option this week. He's the better player. I realize DeSean Jackson has a great role, a great service for his team. He's fast, stretched field and you might need to throw deep to try to catch up.

[Mike Wright]

And he gets a stretch from the slot now.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. Which is very interesting. I'm not anti desean Jackson here, but I think Chris Godwin has the makings of a great player. And they're going to need to throw the ball the second half. There's going to be like one rushing. That's it from Tampa Bay.

[Jason Moore]

Because if that's true though, then your Peyton Barber confidence has to go out the window too, because Jacquiz, I think they're confident with him on third down.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Jacquiz is the third down back, so. But when you get down around the goal line.

[Jason Moore]

So are you fading Barber? Not maybe relative to Gillisley, but fading him relevant to everything else?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, a little bit. I mean, I'm not sitting here saying Peyton Barber's a great start, but he will be the starter. He'll get enough volume, enough carries throughout the game. And if they get down around the goal line, I think that's the guy they're clearly going to be using.

[Jason Moore]

Peyton Barber in the flex or Corey Davis?

[Mike Wright]

Corey Davis.

[Andy Holloway]

Peyton Barber.

[Jason Moore]

Jarvis landry.

[Andy Holloway]

Jarvis Jarvis.

[Jason Moore]

Juju.

[Mike Wright]

Juju.

[Andy Holloway]

Juju.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. All right. O.J. howard, Cameron Bray, you making any taking a shot here? I mean, everybody wants to be a Jordan Howard fan, but he may not let us be.

[Andy Holloway]

O.J.

[Mike Wright]

Howard.

[Jason Moore]

What did I say?

[Mike Wright]

Jordan Howard.

[Jason Moore]

Well, I'm a Jordan Howard fan too, but yeah, let's go with O.J. here. Until Jordan Howard plays tight end for the Buccaneers, we'll go with OJ And.

[Andy Holloway]

I will not pick him as a tight end. Not his specialty, that Jordan Howard. Jordan Howard catching that ball, he could probably block. Oh, yeah, he's a great blocking tight end.

[Jason Moore]

But are you, either of you taking a chance on a tight end there?

[Mike Wright]

I'll play O.J. howard. Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Over Ebron.

[Mike Wright]

Over Eron. Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. On the other side, we haven't talked very much about Benjamin Watson, tight end for the Saints. Now, outside of Michael Thomas, there's not a lot of volume guarantee in that Saints pass catching offense outside of obviously Camara as well. But is Benjamin Watson being undervalued, under looked at? Is there any. We have an eye looking his way this week.

[Mike Wright]

He's definitely being under talked about. I don't know a better way to say that I'm not going to play him. I'm not rostering him right now. But you are right. I got one eye open. I'm doing a little Peekski at Ben Watson because the last time he was in New Orleans, granted a very different situation when Ben Watson broke out at the what he was like 45 years old when he did that for the Saints a few years ago. They were depleted of pass catchers and it had to go through Watson.

[Jason Moore]

I feel like Ben Watson and Frank Gore are both sharing the same blood Infinity Stone. They're both, they're both ageless, it seems. All right, without further ado, we'll get the rest of the matchups to you tomorrow. It's time for our picks.

[Andy Holloway]

Starts of the week.

[Jason Moore]

I guess I'll start with my start of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

At the quarterback position since it's piggybacking on that last game. And it is Drew Brees. Drew Brees. And he's a start of the week this week because Jason and I have shared our concerns about him being a top five guy over the course of the season. But I am not concerned in Week one and I am not concerned as much in these weeks where Mark Ingram isn't available and this team will rely and lean on Drew Brees. The short passing game with Alvin Camara and Michael Thomas. And look, Tampa Bay is a great matchup for Drew Brees. They're at home. I think this is a home run. Easy start of the week. Roll them out there. Get him going.

[Mike Wright]

Love it.

[Jason Moore]

Drew starts on fire.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I'm going back to the game that I want a lot of pieces in the Bengals and the Indianapolis Colts. And I am saying as a start of the week. Hold on, hold on. But Andy Dalton will be a very productive fantasy player in week one. Now everyone remembers, or hopefully you don't, for, you know, your own mental stability. The week one performance of Andy Dalton last year it was atrocious. I mean, I've tried to delete it from my memory. I think it was like a negative game. It was just the worst thing ever put out there. But this is a different team and a different team they're going against. You have John Ross instead of Brandon Lefell on the outside. You have a slightly upgraded offensive line. You have a different offensive coordinator, you have a different starting running back. And the offense, while it struggled at times of preseason, it also showed flashes of what made me excited. And I think that this is a game where there will be points flying.

[Jason Moore]

I feel like you've made a tremendous mistake in this assessment. Not, not that you're wrong, but if I were you, I would have been talking completely about the matchup and not about the Bengals offense.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I'm. The thing I'm trying to convince people of, like their hesitation. I think when you're listening, is going to be the Bengals. It's going to be the Bengals off. It's like the Colts defense is bad. Their secondary is worse than bad. It is an easy peasy matchup for Andy Dalton to just find John Ross wide open like he did in the preseason. 50 yards down the field. Same with A.J. green. And my other start of the week that we'll talk about in a second down near the red zone is locked and loaded. It's a great matchup. So I think Andy Dalton, you know, look, he's going to throw two touchdowns and if he rushes a touchdown, and.

[Jason Moore]

I won't be surprised, you'd play him over Jimmy G. You said it yesterday.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, sir.

[Jason Moore]

Start of the week, Andy Dalton. All right, Andy Dalton, my quarterback, just so you could hear it, my quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

Start of the week, Philip Rivers gets to take on the Kansas City Chiefs, who their secondary is a disaster. The Chicago Bears played their backups against the Chiefs in the preseason and they were dominating them. And Philip Rivers is a fantastic quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

He's.

[Mike Wright]

He's got the pieces around him, Superstar wide receiver, and maybe the emergence of Mike Williams over on the chief side. Eric Barry still recovering. This is, this is a perfect situation of great talent, great offense versus a very poor matchup, as in a great matchup because they're going up against a poor secondary. So Philip Rivers is a top 10 guy. Easy for me this week.

[Jason Moore]

All right, let's go to the running back position. I'm going with Joe Mixon, top 10 running back this week, guaranteed. Book it.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow.

[Jason Moore]

Done.

[Mike Wright]

Wow.

[Jason Moore]

It's over. We talked about the Colts. The defensive front of the Colts is Atrocious this game is set up for a Joe Mixon volume attack. I think there's opportunity for them to have a lead. There's opportunity for them to lean on him. I will go out on a limb and say he's going to receive more than 20 carries in this game and be a force for your fantasy team, which is good news for me because I am taking on Jason in our league of record, and I. I have Joe Mixon. You need it, and I need him.

[Mike Wright]

If he gets 20 carries against this Colts defense, then he will be very productive.

[Jason Moore]

I would say there's a. There's a decent chance Joe Mixon's the rushing leader after week one.

[Andy Holloway]

So.

[Jason Moore]

In the NFL.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Last year against the Colts, who were a bad rush defense, he put up the worst line imaginable against the Colts on the ground. And I went back and I watched that game because I was super high on Joe Mix, and I wanted to make him one of my. My guys. So I was going back and re. Watching all the film, and I was like, why was he so bad in this game? And there were a lot of penalties, a lot of offensive line issues, but he torched the Colts in the passing game. I mean, he made them look a fool. So while I don't necessarily agree with the rushing leader, I think he's a great play this week, and I hope. I hope it's through the air so it helps my Andy Dalton pick.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. My running back.

[Jason Moore]

Get your Bengals this week. That's what we're saying.

[Andy Holloway]

That is what we're saying.

[Jason Moore]

That's fantasy, though. You don't have to. These things do not have to compute.

[Andy Holloway]

This is why. This is why we say you don't win.

[Mike Wright]

Don't listen to this man.

[Andy Holloway]

You don't win your championship at the draft.

[Jason Moore]

I need it to. Well, what I'm saying is the fantasy side and the reality of where you think the team's heading, they don't have to. They don't have to align. Look, if you played San Francisco, you started your running back against San Francisco last year because it computed.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. I might have used the wrong language.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. You were freaking me out over there.

[Andy Holloway]

What you.

[Mike Wright]

I think you were trying to say is that fantasy football is different than real football.

[Jason Moore]

I think that's what I was trying to say.

[Mike Wright]

Nailed it.

[Jason Moore]

Perfect.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. So my running back was actually my number two selection. Sadly, Mike stole my number one, who I like even better than this guy. But I want to put my confidence in a player who is. Get this.

[Mike Wright]

He's an or.

[Andy Holloway]

Great. Okay. Kenya Drake.

[Jason Moore]

Are you declaring it?

[Andy Holloway]

I am declaring that Kenya Drake is a great player. He's a great running back.

[Jason Moore]

Kenyan great.

[Andy Holloway]

Kenya. Oh, I like it. Kenya Great. Kenya Great is my start of the week, and I am not.

[Mike Wright]

I don't like it.

[Andy Holloway]

I am not worried.

[Mike Wright]

We need a ruling from the judge immediately so we can shut these down.

[Jason Moore]

He's shaking his head.

[Mike Wright]

Nah, we don't even need the gavel.

[Jason Moore]

You know, if Mike's not into it, like, Mike's never been against anything, so, you know, if Mike's not into it, it's not going to work.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's the truth, guys. After week one, when he explodes, everyone's going to be calling him Kenyan Great.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

So it's up to him. Kenyon, this is up to you. If you want to be Kenyon great, go out there and show that you are because he is Kenyan great.

[Jason Moore]

Is a. Oh, no.

[Andy Holloway]

Is a solid running back. And I want to give you confidence because if there's. If you're worried because the depth chart comes out and you're like, this B hole is saying he's not even the starter. Talking about Adam Gase.

[Mike Wright]

No, I know, but the fact that you went the censored. I've never heard someone say the B hole.

[Jason Moore]

I've never heard that either.

[Mike Wright]

I think that sounds way worse.

[Jason Moore]

It does.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, good.

[Jason Moore]

It sounds worse.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, good.

[Jason Moore]

Adam Gase, double double censored.

[Andy Holloway]

Get your act together. But this is. This is a game where, you know.

[Jason Moore]

Again, can I get a ruling on the. On b. On B hole, please?

[Mike Wright]

You're at home, I think.

[Jason Moore]

Judge, double thumbs up.

[Mike Wright]

Look, that's. That's where the. That's how they get in the hive.

[Andy Holloway]

He's talented enough to play against Tennessee at home, week one.

[Jason Moore]

It's a good situation.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. And he's going to play. You know, he's going to get more work for total touches than Frank Gordon.

[Jason Moore]

He'll be a sight to behold. Mike, your running back start of the week.

[Mike Wright]

My running back start of the week? The one that Jason wanted. It's the fleet footed Alex Collins running back.

[Jason Moore]

What did you just call it?

[Mike Wright]

The fleet footed.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

Running back for the Baltimore Ravens gets to take on Buffalo. They allowed the most points to the running back position last year for Fantasy. Their secondary is actually okay. There's no. But there's no reason to throw against Buffalo. Huge favorites, Baltimore. The game script will be very positive for Alex Collins. So I love him. He was a value in drafts, and it's Time to start him with full confidence.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we're moving on to the wide receiver position. Chris Hogan. Yeah, he's as safe as they come this week. I really. I really feel like he is. He's. He's a top 12 guy this week. And is that. Oh, keep going song from.

[Mike Wright]

That's Hollywood Hulk Hogan music. Okay, well.

[Jason Moore]

Well, there's no way to keep going with that in my ear. It's very difficult because Hogan is locked and loaded as the wider. Be professional this week. Julian Edelman's out and Hogan will be peppered with opportunity. So I love him. Start him.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, spice him up.

[Andy Holloway]

I like that pick as well. My wide receiver. Start of the week, I am coming home and I'm taking a guy who I think is. He's shown over the last two years that he's got a massive home road split, and I'm going to take advantage because I was lower on him in the off season and you guys gave me so much grief. Week one, I'm taking Larry Fitzgerald at home against Washington. I think he's going to be a phenomenal start.

[Mike Wright]

This is a good pick, Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

This is a great pick.

[Andy Holloway]

He's got Sam Bradford at least right now. He's got him right now. Homer. Homer to the guy that was down on Larry Fitzgerald through the off season. Look, I will bench Larry throughout this season in a bad matchup on the road, but at home in a good matchup, I expect the Cardinals to succeed. He's got Sam Bradford healthy for week one. Just look at Sam Bradford, Week one last year. Look if he's healthy. He's a great quarterback. I'm firing him up with full confidence.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, he's got a great cornerback matchup as well. Larry's going to be fantastic this week.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, you have an interesting start of the week for week one.

[Mike Wright]

So my wide receiver start is I'm going with Golden Tate from the Detroit Lions. We've got him in the slot. Of course, we know about that. But because he's in the slot, that means he gets to go against Buster Screen. Who I was looking on the quantedge.com and they said Buster Screen gave up a passer rating of 95.7. And 2 of the heavy routes that Golden Tate is utilized in the bubble screen and the dig routes where Tate excels, those are. Were particularly bad against this cornerback they run through the air in Detroit. We'll see if that changes this season. But until the. Until I'm shown that they don't, I believe that they Will and Golden Tate I believe is a great play this week.

[Jason Moore]

All right. I'm going to go with David and Joku tight end for the Cleveland Browns as my start of the week. I love what I saw from David and Joku in the preseason, not just against the Giants, but altogether. And he is going to dominate snaps at the tight end position. He is the one of the top athletes at the position and I think with Josh Gordon re acclimating to the offense on a pitch count and the way that this game could go, which I think could, it could be a higher scoring affair, David and Joke is going to have a lot of opportunity to be a go to receiver outside of Jarvis Landry for Tyrod Taylor. So I like David and Joku this week.

[Mike Wright]

If you saw him in the crop top, he gave you six good reasons.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I like it with them abdominals.

[Jason Moore]

No, we get it.

[Mike Wright]

I was talking about his shredded abs. Yeah, okay.

[Andy Holloway]

I didn't. I didn't understand.

[Jason Moore]

We still get it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah. I alluded to it earlier. Andy Dalton is going to be throwing a touchdown to Tyler Ifert this week. He's my start of the week. I had him pretty low on my season long rankings because I don't believe that Tyler Eifert will be healthy for 16 games. And so at by the end of the year he won't be that high, but he is fully healthy. He's talking about how for the first time in a long time he doesn't. He's not thinking about it. He's not worried. He's not favoring anything. He's doing well and he believes that all of his injuries were flukes. He's got that matchup against Indianapolis.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, sure they are. Tyler, he's got the matchup against Indianapolis who last season was the 24th best, meaning not good against the tight end. So this is just a good matchup. I mean, look, Tyler, it's a good.

[Jason Moore]

Matchup, but you said let's take Miami, Dalton and let's double down with a guy who barely plays football.

[Andy Holloway]

I guess we're going to.

[Mike Wright]

When he plays football, he gets his touchdown.

[Jason Moore]

Does he anymore?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

I can't. It's just a misty memory. I don't even.

[Andy Holloway]

Here's the thing. Tyler Croft was a tight end one last year. Andy Dalton in a bad season for Andy Dalton.

[Jason Moore]

Tyler Croft will be on the field.

[Andy Holloway]

This game, but not around the end zone. The end zone is Tyler Ifert.

[Jason Moore]

You're taking your shot on it.

[Andy Holloway]

I am.

[Mike Wright]

I feel like the team says he's healthy. And when the team actually thinks that Tyler Ifert is healthy, you have to play him.

[Jason Moore]

Really.

[Andy Holloway]

He's a great player.

[Jason Moore]

I just. No, I agree with that. But I imagine your first game back after a really long absence, not the game I'd want to play him.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, it is for me. Because you know he's going to get hurt.

[Andy Holloway]

Right?

[Mike Wright]

So let him. You got to use him while he's healthy.

[Andy Holloway]

Fire up Bradford. Week one.

[Mike Wright]

My tight end started the week. Speaking of Sam Bradford, you went with fits. I'm going Ricky Seals Jones tight end for the Arizona Cardinals. Washington last year tied for giving up the six month six most points to the tight end position. Sam Bradford is a week one warrior in 2015. In 2016 you saw his tight ends get over 100 targets on the season. And in Arizona there is no established second pass catcher yet. I talked about Seals Jones in the Bold prediction show. He had four straight games of over 18 yards of reception. That is insanity. Insanity for a rookie tight end.

[Jason Moore]

Former wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

No established kind of rotation with Kirk and Williams and J.J. mac.

[Mike Wright]

So I'm excited for Ricky Seals Jones. Let's see if he can break out and steal that starting spot for while. Jermaine Gresham.

[Jason Moore]

I've had to make decisions on Ricky Seals Jones in our league of record looking at guys like O.J. howard, Jared Cook, Austin's Variant Jenkins, Eric Ebron. And I've stuck with Ricky Seals Jones because I believe the matchup's nice and I believe Bradford will lean on him and they're going to use him. Look, he's a pass catching tight end. That's, that's the fact about rsj.

[Andy Holloway]

So Andy, would you start RSJ this week or in Joku?

[Jason Moore]

I would start in Joku.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I wish I had in Joku to start over rsj. I do. But I do think that there's an opportunity there. So. All right, those were the starts of the week. You can check out the website the fantasy footballers.com for our start sit tool for all of our rankings. Without further ado, the most important segment.

[Mike Wright]

Of the day.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason Moore's ironclad, locked and loaded, 100% guaranteed. Boom, boom. Kicker of the week. Look, take it easy week one and don't be a hater. Lock it in at home with the Lions. Matt Prater.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you, Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

You're welcome.

[Jason Moore]

It's good to, good to have that back.

[Mike Wright]

Good to be back.

[Andy Holloway]

It's good to be back. It's good to have football going. And hey, if you want to listen to that boom boom kicker again and have it sound even better, grab a Sonos Beam, the smart compact sound bar for your tv. You can play everything you want, including the awesome boom boom Kicker of the Week drops every week, all with a rich sound. Extra boom fills the extra boom boom look, and if you don't want to set it up, Sonos will do it for you. If you're in any major metropolitan area up and running, we'll have a Sonos expert deliver and set it up for free. All you do, just order from sonos.com and select up and running at checkout if you qualify.

[Jason Moore]

All right, guys, we'll be back tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in, subscribing, listening. We appreciate you.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, if you're going to play some draft this weekend, draft.comballers Good luck in.

[Jason Moore]

The game tonight and we'll talk to you in the morning.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

Bye.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter the FFballers.