The 2025 Fantasy Football Awards: MVP, LVP, Biggest Leap, Hottest Take, Best Quote, and What Aged the Worst

Summary

The Ringer Fantasy Football Show: 2025 Fantasy Football Awards

Date: December 31, 2025
Hosts: Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly, Craig Horlbeck
Episode Theme: The trio looks back on the 2025 fantasy football season, giving out their annual "Fantasy Football Awards": discussing MVP, LVP, breakout players, coldest and hottest takes, best quotes, what aged well/worst, iconic moments, and everything that made this fantasy year memorable.

---

Overview

This episode is a fast-paced, hilarious, and comprehensive wrap-up of the 2025 fantasy football season. The hosts hand out tongue-in-cheek awards that sum up the highs, lows, and oddities of the year, while mixing in deep analysis, memorable stats, offbeat trivia, and their signature banter. Whether you won your league or finished last, this is a recap for everyone who loves fantasy football’s drama and unpredictability.

---

Major Segment Guide

| Segment/Event | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Entering the Awards Show, MVP Discussion | 04:27–24:09| | Least Valuable Player (LVP) Award | 24:15–33:01| | What Aged the Best | 33:23–42:13| | What Aged the Worst | 42:18–47:40| | Dion Waiters Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year | 50:35–54:25| | Biggest Leap (Most Improved Player) | 54:38–58:44| | "It's So Over" & "We're So Back" of the Year | 59:00–70:31| | Smarter Moves: Must-Draft Player for 2026 | 74:09–78:21| | Overacting Award: Fool’s Gold Performance | 78:42–86:07| | Quote of the Year/Announcer Moment of the Year | 86:10–101:26| | Name of the Year / Best Old-Timey Name | 101:34–107:49| | Most Obvious Mistake (Deadest Dove/Do Not Eat) | 108:14–109:07| | Rewatchable Play of the Year / Most Memorable Play | 109:07–110:35| | Worst Coach Moment of the Year | 110:55–111:53| | Unanswerable Question | 112:01–112:51| | Kyle Pitts Death Valley (Nadir) Award | 113:20–118:09| | Stat of the Year | 118:13–118:59| | Email of the Year / Life Lesson | 119:12–121:25| | Who Won/Lost the Year? | 121:29–126:12| | Hottest Take of the Year | 126:26–131:59|

---

Key Discussion Points & Notable Insights

Fantasy MVP: Who Defined 2025?

Christian McCaffrey vs. Puka Nacua (and the case for Trey McBride)

• Christian McCaffrey is crowned the 2025 Fantasy MVP: "You went out on a limb to take him and it fucking paid off. He played every game, and was the RB1 in both total and per-game points. He delivered when it counted most—no playoff dud." – Craig [14:38]
• Puka Nacua dominates the WR conversation: "Basically every other game he had double digit points. He was the foundation of your team." – Danny Kelly [05:32]
• Trey McBride receives special mention: "The only tight end you could have drafted and just set it and forget it. The gap between him and #2 is the same as #2 and #23." – Heifetz [16:20]
• Notable Play: The almost-legendary Puka catch on MNF. "That was a catch, spiritually a catch." – Danny Kelly [08:19]
• Sleeper MVP: Bijan Robinson, led most title-winning teams in Yahoo public leagues due to his championship week heroics. [20:36]

Least Valuable Player (LVP)

• Lamar Jackson clinches LVP: "He ruined your life this year. For the second half, you got nothing, nothing. He abandoned you in your time of need." – Kelly [28:01]
• Error-prone, hurt, and destroyed fantasy hopes down the stretch.
• Sympathy runners-up: Justin Jefferson (unsittable and underdelivered, killed you for two months) [29:21], Brian Thomas Jr. (massive sophomore disappointment).

What Aged the Best?

• The “Coaching Hype Cycle” paid off: Ben Johnson, Liam Coen, Mike Vrabel all lived up to the advanced buzz and made their teams (and players) fantasy gold. [33:28]
• Tight End tiers are real (McBride gap); Bears O-Line narrative; and the podcast’s own "Do Not Draft" episode proved eerily accurate ([40:59]).
• Epic prediction: "Mike Tomlin is going to say something like ‘we can’t eat soup with forks, we need spoons’ ... then they signed Adam Thielen, a 2018 Pro Bowler!" Superfan tweet [35:25] wins the category.

What Aged the Worst?

• The “Tush Push” – roundly rejected by midseason ("I don’t think anything turned on anything as much as the Tush Push, this season.") – Kelly [42:34]
• Jags trading two firsts for Travis Hunter (when Jacoby Myers was all they needed) [43:31]
• Colts trading future picks, then imploding [45:39]
• Cowboys/Chiefs/Anthony Richardson excitement – all fizzled badly.

Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year

• Michael Wilson, Cardinals WR: "For the final two months, you added a receiver better than anyone but Puka Nacua. He was tied with JSN—never happens." – Heifetz [51:13]
• Others: Trevor Lawrence (late/waiver QB hero), Parker Washington, Harold Fannin Jr. (TE), Rico Dowdle (hot hand RB).

Biggest Leap (Most Improved Player)

• Drake Maye, Patriots QB: From promising prospect to possible league MVP and 1-seed: "All we talked about was Drake Maye as a sleeper, and he shattered it." – Heifetz [54:38]
• JSN (Jaxon Smith-Njigba): Emerged as a Top 5 WR [55:57]
• Caleb Williams: Rebounded from “bust” rookie year to franchise hope.

It's So Over / We're So Back of the Year

• It’s So Over: Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Fields, Kyler Murray – "Stop the count." – Horlbeck [60:15]
  Tua is widely expected to lose his job; Fields was continually outperformed by backup-level QBs. Also: The end of this "Chiefs era" (the "Travis's version"/Taylor Swift era is over).
• We’re So Back: Christian McCaffrey, Patriots as a franchise, and shocker—Kyle Pitts ("He had the best fantasy game by a TE ever, back to No. 2 at the position.") [66:00]
• Ultimate 'Over and Back': Jalen Hurts: "No one has been over and back more than Jalen Hurts." – Heifetz [70:22]
• Most Back for the Bit: Pitts, for podcast lore

Smarter Moves: Must Own in 2026 Drafts

• JSN: "I fell in love with this man. The Seahawks’ game plan is JSN—it’s comforting." – Craig [74:09]
• Drake Maye: "I'm going to do everything I can to get as much Drake Maye as I can next year." – Kelly [74:56]
• Derrick Henry: "At some point you just stop worrying and learn to love the indestructible running back." – Heifetz [75:50]

Overacting Award: Fool’s Gold Player of 2025

• Jacoby Brissett, Cardinals QB: "He was the QB4 for half the season and he’s not that good. That’s it." – Craig [86:07]
• Joe Flacco: Another strong year as the perennial performance ‘mirage’ [81:49].

Quotes & Announcer Moments of the Year

Best Player/Coach Quotes

• "He's a hoe and I want that known." – Shelby Harris on Jauan Jennings [90:49]
• Mike Tomlin on Joe Flacco trade: "Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me." [87:10]
• Bryce Hall: "Teams shoot themselves in the foot and then we come back and shoot ourselves in the head." [89:05]
• Devin McCourty's fumble-pile advice: "Close your mouth, close your eyes, squeeze your butt cheeks." [91:43]

Announcer Moments

• Chris Collinsworth: "You know, my dad’s name was Abraham Lincoln." [100:05]
• Eric Collins: "DOWDLE! Look at this, still on his feet!" [96:18]
• Gus Johnson (on Mendoza): "Mendoza ... in trouble ... UNBELIEVABLE!" [96:57]

---

Additional Fun & Recurring Segments

Name of the Year/Best Old Timey Name [101:34]

• Cub Buck, Jug Earp, Buzz Nutter, Fish Brosmer.
• Shout-outs to historical NFL oddities, e.g. Dick Hammer and Psycho Hedrick—testament to the pod’s love of quirky football culture.

Most Obvious Mistake (Deadest Dove/Do Not Eat Award) [108:14]

• Craig: "I fell for the Steelers might not go 9-8."
• DK: "I thought Bryce Young might actually be good."
• Heifetz: "I fell for the Giants would not go 2-10."

Most Rewatchable Play (Best Play of 2025) [109:07]

• Clear winner: Jalen Hurts’ "double turnover" play – "That’s an all-timer, that will never happen again. When I’m 65, I’ll remember that play." – DK [109:33]

Worst Coach Moment of the Year [110:55]

• Zac Taylor challenging a DJ Moore catch—turning it into a TD: "You could have done nothing and been better off, pal." – DK [111:17]
• Honorable mention: Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss on the cusp of Playoff.

Death Valley Award (Nadir of Season/Career) [113:20]

• Hands-down winner: Bill Belichick ("Did more damage to his legacy this year than ever imagined.") – DK [115:01]
• Franchise nadirs: Colts (Oregon Trail death), Jets (no INTs), Giants (injuries and misery), Raiders (disaster with Pete Carroll/Chip Kelly).

Stat of the Year [118:13]

• Jets: 0 interceptions in entire season. "They broke the record for any stretch of games over multiple seasons." – Heifetz [118:13]

Email of the Year / Life Lesson [119:12]

• Legendary story: accidental multi-month relationship with stepfather’s ex-wife, pre-internet. "That should be a 90s Michael Douglas movie!" – Craig [120:05]

Winner & Loser of the Year [121:29–126:34]

• Winner: Drake Maye/Patriots ("If you have to pick one, it’s Maye. He’s conquered the internet.") [124:00]
• Loser: Unanimous – Bill Belichick ("Blew a 28–3 lead ... to his own reputation.") [125:07]

Hottest Take of the Year [126:26]

• Craig: "I could throw 28 yards in an NFL game!" [127:09]
• DK: "My dog is more athletic than Secretariat." [129:19]
• Heifetz: "Given 30–40 guys and 30–40 years, I could build Stonehenge." [130:46]
• Carlos: "I hate the moment of Zen on YouTube TV."

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• "You went out on a limb to take [McCaffrey] and it fucking paid off." – Craig [14:38]
• "He's a hoe and I want that known." – Shelby Harris [90:49]
• "Teams shoot themselves in the foot, and we come back and shoot ourselves in the head." – Breece Hall [89:05]
• "That was a catch — spiritually a catch." – Danny Kelly (on Puka Nacua) [08:19]
• "I think he is the least valuable player, especially relative to what he's done before and expectations for what he would do when he's on the field." – Danny Kelly (on Lamar) [28:01]
• "If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw, don't make a scene, shrug your shoulders and be on your way." – A.J. Brown (quoting the Bible) [120:32]
• "That’s an all-timer. That will never happen again. When I’m 65, I’ll remember that play." – DK (Jalen Hurts double turnover) [109:36]
• "Andrew Berry must be a lot smarter than me." – Mike Tomlin [87:10]
• "No, it's got to be Belichick. This is the punchline." – Heifetz [125:19]

---

The Spirit of the Episode

With contagious energy, countless asides, and genuine reflection, the hosts dissect how a bizarre fantasy season proved (again) that football is unpredictable and endlessly entertaining. The show’s tradition of poking fun at itself and the fantasy industrial complex shines through every category, from the seriousness of MVP votes to reminiscing about "Cub Buck" and "Buzz Nutter."

For Everyone: This summary captures all essential storylines, laughs, lessons, and awards, offering a definitive sense of “what mattered” in 2025 fantasy, and what not to forget heading into draft season next year.

---

Listen For:

• Player award debates and logic, counterpoints, and emotional rants.
• Recurring references to stats, injuries, and the unpredictability of fantasy football.
• Inside jokes, lore, and unusual but clever award categories.
• Intertwining cultural, sports, and meta-commentary (Taylor Swift, The Sopranos, etc.).
• The hosts’ friendly antagonism and wit — even when wrong, they make fantasy more fun.

---

End of season, end of era, or just another wild ride? As the hosts say: “We’ll do it all again next year — even if, deep down, we know we shouldn’t.”

---

Summary by The Ringer Fantasy Football Show Podcast Summarizer

Transcript

[Danny Kelly]

Foreign.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The 2025 Fantasy Football Awards are brought to you by the Rewatchables, the podcast that inspired this episode that we've done. I believe this is now the fifth year we're doing this. The Rewatchables is a show I produce, hosted by Bill Simmons. Covers movies. The most rewatchable movies, actually, right now. I don't know if you guys have listened to this yet, but on Monday night, Bill put up. We put up Bill's 50 most rewatchable movies of the 21st century. Did you guys see that?

[Danny Kelly]

I saw the Sicario clip.

[Danny Heifetz]

I saw the clip of Chris ryan freaking number 41.

[Danny Kelly]

I mean, Bill puts the car so funny.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, it's a great listen. Just like a really fun 90 minutes. I won't spoil what Bill's top five movies are, but go check that out. Every year I kind of put together the. I did this on the last episode. I thought it was fun. Last. Last year, I put together my favorite movies of the year in the Rewatch movies. We did 49 new movies. This year, I had not seen a large chunk of them. I'm curious which ones you guys have seen. So here are my favorite seven movies from this year on the rewatch was that I had not seen before. The sure Thing. Rob Reiner movie from 1985. Loved that movie. Working Girl from 1988 with Harrison Ford Shampoo. Great. We had Cameron Crowe on that Rewatchables. Rollerball Banged. We did that with Brian KOPPELMAN. It's from 1975. Before sunrise and Sunset, both those Richard Linklater movies. And then Blue Chips.

[Danny Kelly]

Blue Chips, Yeah. Fucking nice. I will say. I thought I was going to go shut out there. I was over the first six in terms of having watched them. Blue Chips is a classic, though, man.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, for seven. But I did always. I do intend to watch Before Sunset and After Sunset. The other ones I've never heard of.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Those movies are the best romance movies I've ever seen. Heifetz. I was texting your fiance about Lobby Seafrey, and if you think those movies or those songs are romantic and put you in a headspace, you should watch Before Sunrise and Sunset.

[Danny Heifetz]

Isn't it just Ethan Hawke walking around with someone until Prague for like six hours?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, it's unbelievable.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's great.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

So good.

[Danny Heifetz]

Lobby Seafrey was a good wreck.

[Danny Kelly]

Chips is so different than those other ones.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sure Thing's great. And then the most insane movie of the year is species from 1995.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

If you have 100 minutes to spare. Oh, yeah, Watch that film I bet you know. But okay. Anyway, thank you to the rewatchables and check out Bill's top 50 most rewatchable movies of the year of the century list. And yeah, we're going to get to our our fantasy football awards for 2025. But first we're going to take a quick break.

[Danny Heifetz]

This episode is brought to you by United Airlines. Flying just got easier with the United Airlines app. Get real time flight updates like a live countdown clock to boarding even if your screen's locked as well as play by play directions through the airport with a personalized map. And if you want to make a game time decision and go home early or stay longer, there are no fees to change your flight. Get the united [e-mail] app no fees to change your flight excludes basic economy applies to flights originating in the US Fare difference may apply this episode is presented by Chime Bank Smarter. This season, fantasy football is all about strategy. Well, here's a winning strategy for your money trade. Banking fees for fee free banking, 1.5% cash back getting paid when you say and a higher APY in your savings. That's a lineup that wins. Stop banking the old way. Bank smarter through Chime. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and the secured chime Visa credit card provided by the Bancorp Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members FDIC optional services and products may have fees or charges [e-mail] fees info which with a qualifying direct deposit earn 1.5% cash back on eligible secured Chime Visa credit card purchases. APY means annual percentage yield. Learn [e-mail].

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Welcome to the Ringer fantasy Football show. My name is Chris Craig Horoholbeck and I'm joined by Danny Kelly and Danny Heifetz. And today we are doing the 2025 fantasy football awards. We're going to jump right into it. It was a long, arduous fantasy season. I don't want to talk about what happened in the ringer fantasy football league, but let's just say I had my last, my last matcha latte this morning for a week.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. How's the mood? How are you feeling?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Well, right now I feel I'm buzzing. You're on edge.

[Danny Heifetz]

You're just get so much caffeine in today.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, yeah. I'm gonna overload for the week. All right. So yeah, we're gonna get to we have a bunch of fun categories. Some are inspired from Brewatchables. A lot of them we came up with on our own over the years. We're gonna recap the entire NFL and fantasy football season in one fell swoop. So we're gonna start off big. We're gonna do it like the Oscars. Like they start out with like Best supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, just to get people, you know, hooked. We're gonna go with the biggest one first. We're gonna start with the fantasy mvp.

[Danny Kelly]

Hmm.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

So I. I think we actually all might have different answers, so I. I'll start. DK, who. Who do you think is the fantasy MVP this year?

[Danny Kelly]

So I think it's actually Christian McCaffrey, but I want to first acknowledge Puka Nakua because, okay, he was absolutely electric. I feel. I feel like he got overshadowed somewhat by JSN throughout the whole season because JSN was on pace to set that record for a long time. He was doing incredible things. He kind of had come out of nowhere. But Puka ended up being the wide receiver one on the season in both total points and points per game. He averaged 19.3 points per game and a half PVR. Basically zero duds all year other than one game where he got hurt and left early. Basically every other game he had double digit points. He was just the foundation of your team. I think if you had him on your team, you're probably in the top three. All my teams with Puka did really well this year. He ended up with 119 in this. Not even. There's one game left, but in the fantasy season, 119 catches, almost 1700 yards, nine touchdowns, also added a rushing touchdown. He also did extraordinarily well in the early part of the playoffs. So he got 23 half half PBR points in the first round, propelled you to the semis. He had 41 points in the semifinals. And so obviously if you had Puka, you're probably in the finals. He did fine in the last game. Not like you probably had to have other guys carry you in your championship game. But I think overall, man, Puka was just rock solid start to finish. Stafford has an incredible connection with him, and he was just one of the most, if not the most valuable player in fantasy.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's a bummer that that catch from Monday night, oh my gosh, that would have been quite the cherry on top of a ridiculous season. I mean, my God, the Falcons beat the Rams in that game, but there was a crazy comeback that the Rams almost put together. Dude, that pass to Puka that he almost caught. Those are the. Either the stickiest gloves I've ever seen in my life or Puka might be really rising up the ranks in terms of just like the most ridiculous wide receivers I've ever seen.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't think I've ever seen a catch like that. No, it didn't look physically possible the way that the ball kind of suspended in the air.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I don't really.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't understand exactly how that happened.

[Danny Heifetz]

I couldn't believe how quickly Puka had possession of that ball. Like the fact that he didn't actually drop it, that A.J. terrell actually pulled his arm and actually ripped away. Like Puka had possession instantly. Like, I've never seen a ball travel as far. And then he basically hit. That was. I don't know. Honestly, it's too bad that that didn't count. I think the two. I don't want to step on best play of the year, but I think two of the best plays of the entire season were then, upon review, not actually counting that would have been right there with anything.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, they showed the. Speaking of that Puka catch, they showed the same angle like three or four times in a row. Everyone on the timeline was like, oh, that's a catch.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

You freaking caught that. This is your idea. How many camera angles are.

[Danny Heifetz]

Well, I. You get all the angles, but only three times. So unfortunately, this one does count. I think this. I. This is one of those where that.

[Danny Kelly]

Was a catch, spiritually a catch.

[Danny Heifetz]

We should get five plays a year where we're like, but that was cool though. And we just get to keep.

[Danny Kelly]

It just felt like a catch. Then they showed the second angle and it clearly kind of came out of his hands again. It just suspended it. Air. It didn't like. It wasn't like he lost it. It sort of was just like he was readjusting it or something.

[Danny Heifetz]

But here's the thing with Puka and I think why if we go to next year and it's funny, I don't know. The MVP is. We can argue about it, but at each position it's so obvious. It's Drake May at quarterback because of where you took him. It's Christian McCaffrey at running back. It's Trey McBride at tight end and it's Puka at receiver. And you could argue Smith and jig, but I think the reason. Puka Nukua maybe I think you could make. Maybe he's the first receiver taken next year. When you watch the Rams play, Puka feels inevitable, especially with Devonte Adams out because the. That the fact. Two different games this year, one Puka had the most amazing play a catch ever with the game on the line, week 13, it was amazing. This Monday Night Football was. But also the amount of times that Puka Nikua gets a touchdown, it's called back for holding. And they're like, screw it, he gets a touchdown again on the same drive like there. I think he's the number one player you don't want to number certainly the number one receiver and replacing Jamar Chase as the guy you don't want going against you on Monday Night Football.

[Danny Kelly]

Yes.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

There's something about Puka that feels a little different. Like you know how like when you're playing pickup basketball or something, there's the guy kind of like Heifetz who is like, I'm going to make up for what I lack in talent with effort.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And Puka is like that. But he's also. It's like, it feels like he's high. Fitz would, I mean he would agree with that. That's like how he describes his game. He's in your shorts.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

I always said I'm Patrick Beverly and Glen Davis's body, that's my pickup.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. I feel like Puka tries harder than every other NFL player, you know what I mean? And he combines that with his ridiculous talent. Like that catch. I feel like he was like, I will sell my body to make any catch to win this game. And it just feels different than any other wide receiver.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't know.

[Danny Heifetz]

I can't explain.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, yeah, I totally agree with that. Craig, he's just out there. I don't know. Like, yeah, he is just actually a maniac. And that is kind of a double edged sword at times and it has been in the previous seasons because of the injury situation. Like he peels himself off. He. He missed, he only missed one game this, this year. So. Yeah, I mean I think it's going to be very interesting to see where he goes. He's. It's also going to be very interesting to see if Stafford is back. I think Stafford, after this year, regardless of what happens in the playoffs, he's got to come back. Right? Like, right.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No one's ever won an mvp. He's not going to win the mvp. But no one's ever won an MVP and retired.

[Danny Kelly]

Right? I don't think so.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I can't imagine that.

[Danny Heifetz]

I'd look at maybe Jim Brown, but I don't think so.

[Danny Kelly]

But yeah, so I think he has a chance to be, you know, one of the first picks overall.

[Danny Heifetz]

And Jim Brown, wow. I'm not gonna like that. I gotta. Incredible.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Did he do that?

[Danny Heifetz]

Nice Poll 1 MVP in 1965. That's the best poll I've ever had. Yes, is Jim Brown did it.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That's really impressive.

[Danny Kelly]

I also think Stafford was one of the best values. Just kind of lump these two guys together. Stafford was an afterthought in drafts. Like you probably. If you're in a 1 QB league, you definitely just picked him off off waivers. If you're in a 2Q 2QB league, he was down there. Like you could have got him, gotten him really, really late in the draft. And he ended up being the QE5. Basically up there with all the elite guys. 20 points per game, better than Hertz, better than Lamar. I mean, Stafford was freaking amazing this year too.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, we always kind of say that there's. There's usually one pocket pastor every year that that breaks through. It was like Baker the year before, Dak the year before that. And it's always impossible to find them. But I agree. I mean, Stafford was going lower than most of those quarterbacks that like Dak or even Baker were. I mean, Stafford was like the QB25. Nobody was thinking about him.

[Danny Kelly]

Bill took him in our draft.

[Danny Heifetz]

He took him and cut him. And then Mal got him and now won the goddamn league because Puka Mel won the league because Bill cut Stafford. And then Stafford, she combined Stafford with Puka and stacked them.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Bill also cut Trayvon Henderson.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes. And I got. Yes. And then he ended up at Mal's team too, because they traded him to her anyway. It's infuriating. But the psycho thing, Stafford's a psycho too, with pain. He plays through injuries and. And then I think they're running that Christian McCaffrey. I think he's kind of like that too. Like that's what all they have in common. McCaffrey, I don't think gets put in the same conversation of like, oh, he's a maniac. He doesn't leave the field. And I got to tell you, I. You could argue whether McCaffrey's the MVP because, well, he's a first rounder. Other guys were later.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

But I want to make the case for McCaffrey, please. I think he is my fantasy MVP in terms of risk, reward, expectations, outcome, the stress, what he delivered, all of that. It has to be Christian McCaffrey. He finished the year as the RB1 in both total points and points per game. This is now his third season as the overall RB1.

[Danny Kelly]

Has anyone ever done that? Probably Danian.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Jim Brown probably did it, dude. I feel like we all look back on the 20, 23 Niner season with McCaffrey and like that is kind of that, that sits above the rest. That was this kind of magical season. He scored one less point this year than that year.

[Danny Kelly]

And that's wild.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's I and it's. It's the single biggest fantasy exhale in recent memory. This man had bilateral Achilles tendonitis, whatever that basically didn't play in 2024. Came back, we got hurt. Draft him in the first round. And then. Yes, we forget the Thursday episode. Week one, the opening game we recorded after that opening game, Dallas, Philly. And that day there was a report that came out that McCaffrey missed practice with a fucking calf injury.

[Danny Heifetz]

I spent six months telling everyone, don't worry about the, don't worry about McCaffrey's health. It's stop words.

[Danny Kelly]

You think they did that just to troll everyone? He played like 90% of the snaps.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Maybe he had a cramp and they were very cautious. But I mean just adding that panic in. He's 29 years old and then he ends up after all that he's at 399 touches. His career highs 403. He's going to break that this year. His career high in touches.

[Danny Kelly]

He had almost 1,000 yards rushing and receiving.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He's going to play all 17 games. And like you mentioned earlier with Puka DK, he didn't screw you in the fantasy playoffs, which I think is a huge part of this.

[Danny Kelly]

I do too.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Like Jameer Gibbs who was great this year, killed you in the playoffs. McCaffrey was the RB4 in the fantasy playoffs. He averaged 23 fantasy points per game which was better than his season long average. So he got better in the final three weeks of the season. He had 29 in the fantasy championship. So although you had to draft him in the first round, I think like the stress and pain and fear of having him and then it paying off and, and him playing every game was the most gratifying feeling in fantasy.

[Danny Kelly]

Agree. You, you went out on a limb to take him and it fucking paid off.

[Danny Heifetz]

We said McAffrey would be the number one weight running back every week he played and he played every, every game.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Crazy.

[Danny Kelly]

The funny thing is like, did he look that good this year? Like he was. I mean he was. He did not look the same relative to normal McCaffrey. I think he was not the same guy, but the volume was incredible. He's obviously still a very good player.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I think he looks like if he was a 10 out of 10 on the talent freak scale, I think he's now a nine. To me he looks a little slower. He looks a little bigger. He does not look as shifty. He was way more involved in the passing game and that's what really brought him to this level. To me, when he was running the ball. I do not think he's in the category of like Jonathan Taylor, Jameer Gibbs at all.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think it's the same thing to me as like Saquon where it's Is Saquon a worse player than he was nine months ago or is the offensive line worse? I just think the Niners offensive line is just a worse product and the injuries on the O line, I don't think McCaffrey's worse. I think that he just wasn't able to get to the second level for an entire season. But yeah, there was to your absolutely. There's fewer big plays. I don't think he had a rush over 18, 20 yards until this week.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

But he just to me looks not quite the same. He's 29 years old. He's coming off a year of not really playing. I think he's fresh.

[Danny Kelly]

400 touches.

[Danny Heifetz]

I yeah, no, but I, I, you know what, I've gotten a lot of wrong but I have to tell you, I was a big sigh of relief that he got freaking played.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Well yeah, you were about. You were ready to you were ready to jump off a cliff that Thursday. You're like I'm this ruined my year already.

[Danny Heifetz]

Literally the moment like as soon as everyone's finished their drafts then they're like by the way, today he heard it like as literally he hasn't played. There's a two day window where nobody's played any games but everyone's done their drafts anyway.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Is he your fantasy MVP or you want to make the case?

[Danny Heifetz]

I think, I think yes for McCaffrey if you want to do the whole thing of if you actually ESPN sometimes publishes a list of like who actually led to the most championship teams. I think the only person I would say I think you can make an argument for Trey McBride because for one simple reason I mean this without exaggeration. The only tight end you could have drafted and then just played every week and never changed your lineup and you would have been great as Trey McBride like it just to tick down the other tight ends this year that you could have taken just in order that they were drafted. Brock Bowers kills you for two months. George Kittle was good but played like 10 games. Sam Laporter missed the final two months of the season. Travis Kelsey actually ended up as a top three tight end this year, even though he's going to retire because he's so washed. T.J. hawkinson was unplayable. God, I know. That's the thing. And so going total points, he played.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't think I realized that.

[Danny Heifetz]

But if I'm just going down in the list of the order these guys were drafted on average. TJ Hawkinson, unplayable. Mark Andrews, unplayable. Evan Angream, unrosterable. Tyler Warren was really good and then like pretty bad after week.

[Danny Kelly]

Felt off. Man. I don't think he didn't have double digit points since week 10. Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Did not have double digit points after week 10 months. David and Joku was unrosterable. Tucker Kraft was awesome, but he only played half a season. Colston Loveland killed you for the first three months. Dalton Kincaid had like two good games after week five. Jake Ferguson was awesome, but he cratered after CD Lamb came back. Like week eight on Jake Ferguson did nothing for you. Dallas Goddard was frankly the only other tight end you could have drafted and then played all year because he just played. And he ended up being a top six tight end out of sheer volume. But he was literally not a top 32 tight end in the month of November. And then Kyle Pitts, who through 12 weeks was the number three tight end in the league you probably didn't stick with long enough to necessarily get you the playoffs. So yeah, I just want to shout out Trey McBride because the gap between him and the number two tight end is the same as the gap between the number two tight end and like the 23 tight end.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Well, you know what's funny about that? I had that exact stat. You know who is the number two tight end on the season? Do you know total points, 2 or 22? 2. Do you know who's the number two tight end in fantasy football this year?

[Danny Heifetz]

I do, because I looked up two tight ends who outscored Kyle Pitts in a lie and there were not two tight ends.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Dk, it's Kyle Pitts.

[Danny Kelly]

He's the number two tight end.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That's correct.

[Danny Heifetz]

There were not two tight ends who outscored Kyle Pitts. Oh, my Lord. We have to retire this segment.

[Danny Kelly]

What?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes. I mean, look, it's still the stat. High fits, aligned. I have the exact thing here. So it's, it's, it's just to show you how dominant Trey McBride was. Kyle Pitts, the tight end two was closer to Kate Otten, the tight end 30 than he was to Trey McBride.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

And what that means tight end more than any other position. There's like tears of scoring where the truth is sometimes we rely too much as a shorthand. The number nine tight end, the number 14. But Scott Barrett at fantasy points does a great job pointing this out. It doesn't matter. Like it doesn't matter tight end 9 14. If the difference is 8 points a game and 7.2, it doesn't matter. Which is obvious. If you look at the scores of.

[Danny Kelly]

Your match, like you've already lost.

[Danny Heifetz]

You. You've already lost. It's like the differences between tight end 10 and tight end 20 is like one point a game. The difference between McBride's in his own tier. It's like how Kelsey used to be where he's getting 16, 17 points a game and then the next group is tight end two is getting like 12.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

And so it's. I think that's the argument for McBride is if you just took him, you're so much better off than anyone else did.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I think that's a good case. I think because of the lack of importance of tight end in general and just honestly, like, spiritually, narratively, it feels like what McCaffrey did this year was just more impressive. And, and, and, and that is the thing that when you talk to your friends about the fantasy season, I think McCaffrey is the first conversation you have in terms of somebody who delivered for you.

[Danny Heifetz]

He's what DK always says about Tom Brady. McCaffrey's the fantasy version where you. When you have him, he's like Alexander the Great. You feel like you can't die.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Because he's playing for you.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

You and he. I think he feels like he can't die either.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't think I can die. It's like Pooka, the, the other guy that I would throw out here. And there's a scientific case for this, I think is not scientific but statistical. I was interested is Bijan Robinson. I saw this yah from Yahoo. Actually in Yahoo leagues, the player most common on winning championship teams in their public leagues was Bajan Robinson. And part of that I think is obviously. So he was the running back 3. He averaged over 20 points per game and half PPR.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Probably won a lot of people their fantasy championship.

[Danny Kelly]

That's the thing is he went off as in the fantasy championships. I think he scored 37 points last night and he brought. He delivered championships to a lot of teams. Not necessarily like, you know, he wasn't up there in terms of total points with, with Christian McCaffrey. Blah, blah, blah. Like, he actually was behind Jonathan Taylor in points for game two, but man, he came through in the clutch for you when you really needed it. So he was the number one player overall in terms of. On most championship teams according to Yahoo.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. I would also like to shout out briefly we mentioned about how important fantasy playoffs are. There were two guys this year who, like, were historically good in the fantasy playoffs, and it was Trevor Lawrence and Brock Purdy. I saw this stat a couple different places. Trevor Lawrence and Brock Purdy had the two best fantasy playoff runs by a quarterback in the modern era. Wow. Trevor Lawrence had 98 points in three weeks and Brock Purdy had 94 points over three.

[Danny Heifetz]

You said both of them are one two.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Both of them are one two for.

[Danny Heifetz]

The most quarterback points in week 1617 or the 15, 1617 combined.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Correct. Is that not insane?

[Danny Kelly]

That's crazy. Brock Purdy helped me kick ass in my ninth place game.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Brock Purdy finished the season as the QB2 in points per game.

[Danny Kelly]

Points per game.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah. It's so funny because we all. We're going to talk about. We're gonna. I think this is all going to lead to so much apathy for us next season of. I. It just reminds me like I was in group text, obviously. It's like the group text kind of has one final pop off right when the league, the winner is announced. And I asked a couple different text this and everyone said the same thing. I said, in any leagues you're in, did the number one or number two seed win any of your leagues? And everyone's like, no. And I think Lawrence and Purdy is an example. Why? Where Purdy, like, people who were playing these guys at the end were not good in the middle of the season. And then suddenly you have like Trevor Lawrence and Ashton Genty or Trevor Lawrence and Derek Henry. And Trevor Lawrence and Derek Henry. Derek. Yeah. And you're like those two guys, you're like, well, that's like 80% of the work.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. We should keep note of that as the NFL playoffs are about to begin that the number one seed in fantasy didn't actually win the whole thing. Maybe we should keep that in mind. So are we just. Who are we deciding that? We think.

[Danny Kelly]

I think Christian McCaffrey. Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I mean, dude, he hurt his calf the Thursday of the beginning of the season.

[Danny Heifetz]

You know what's funny though?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And he had the same year as 2023. Dude.

[Danny Kelly]

He was the foundation of so many teams.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, but what's. What, what are we actually giving an award for because if you think about it, if we're going to outsource any award in the world to just a number, Bijan being on the most championship teams is, like, by definition, the most valuable player. And yet we didn't consider him, which to me just means you. I don't know if you guys have looked at the championship teams in your leagues. I'm in, like, 10 leagues. You just look at the teams. You're like, this fucking team. Like, if you'd gone back three weeks ago, I'm like, I wouldn't have picked. I would. You're like, hey, you can just have this team. I'd be like, nope, I don't want that. Like, if you just blindly looked at the leagues, the teams in your league, and you're like, guess which one you won the league? You'd be like, I don't know.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's. I just doesn't feel right. Like, Bijan. Bijan had weeks. Like, when you look at Bijan, like, he had a week of 4, 8. 8. McCaffrey was way more consistent than Bijan, and there's just way more risk involved. I think you have to factor that in. I don't know. To me, it feels like the story of the season is not Bijan Robinson. It's McCaffrey for fantasy.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, I think so. Or as pukas. I think it's by position. It's so easy. It's Stafford and Drake May. It's which we'll get to B. But Stafford and Puka McBride. Let's use McCaffrey. Fine.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

McCaffrey needs to be an official award. We're going to be mailing these guys.

[Danny Kelly]

Open up the envelope.

[Danny Heifetz]

Like the himies. Yeah, it's McCaffrey.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Okay. All right. That brings us to the LVP, the least valuable Player in fantasy football. So we figured that we would go through our 17 players from the Burn Book this year and look to see if one of those players should be crowned the Least Valuable Player or if we have anyone else that we think deserves it. So I can run through our 17 players here that we put in the Burn Book this season starting in Week one. Jaylen Waddle, Mark Andrews, Isaiah Pacheco, Calvin Ridley. Travion Henderson, Tony Pollard. Justin fields is week seven. Alvin Camaro was week eight. We went on to Bill Merritt, then D.J. moore, A.J. brown in week 11. Roma Dunze. Week 12. Justin Jefferson, Ashton Genty in week 14. Ameca Ebuka in week 15. That's a brutal one. Jackson Dart, week 16, after he scored zero points that week and to cap things off, Jameer Gibbs, who killed you in the fantasy playoffs? So is there somebody not on that list that you think deserves the lvp dk?

[Danny Kelly]

I think, weirdly enough, yeah. The. The least valuable guy in terms of where you drafted him, I think. And especially if you're not taking into, like, guys that got hurt, like Brad. Brian Thomas Jr. I mean, he did miss a few games, but Brian Thomas Jr. When he was in there, how the. Just wordless.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

We not have him in the burn book.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't understand that either.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

What did we do?

[Danny Kelly]

Because he was hurt for a while. Maybe that. Yeah, I don't know.

[Danny Heifetz]

We were gonna give him time, and then he got hurt, and so we never got to express our anger. And then by the time he came.

[Danny Kelly]

Back, I. I said this the other day when we were talking about Jalen Waddle. He came back into the game. I just didn't even notice. Like, Brian Thomas got back into the. The Jags roster and no one noticed. Like, he just was like the wide receiver, four on the team for the rest of the year. So he's a super weird case, I think, when it comes to, you know, like, I'm in dynasty, a lot of dynasty leagues. And when you talk about, like, what a rookie does he. Brian Thompson Jr. What he did as a rookie was incredible. I mean, he literally scored the fourth most fantasy points among wide receivers as a rookie. As a rookie, 2.5 yards per outrun. Everything about him was like, this guy is a rocket ship. Get him now before it's too late. He's only going up. Like, people were comparing him to neighbors. Who's better, you know, Malik Neighbors or Brian Thomas Jr. And then I actually don't know if he's any good. Like, I don't know if he's good. Do you guys know if he's good? If you had a gun to your head and you're like, I want him on my team, I'm like, okay. Like, I don't really know if he's any good anymore. Like, that's how so crazy of a fall it has been for him. I think he's like the fourth best receiver on the Jags now, and I barely noticed him this year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, I think it is probably Brian Thomas. For me, this season's. The next offseason is going to be so interesting. Like, the farther chart for Brian Thomas is just going to be an incredible conversation. Even, like, talking about guys like McCaffrey or Saquon going into next year is going to be bizarre. I Think DK is right? I think the answer is probably Brian Thomas because, like, he fucked you.

[Danny Kelly]

He was like, the 15th overall pick.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. His ADP was 15. I have a spiritual answer that I would like to personally make the case for. And it's. It's Mr. Lamar Jackson who, yeah, was the QB20 on the season. 20, 20 total and points per game. It was 16, but it felt worse because it was like, just basically night and day, black and white. And he missed the four games of injury. It felt like way more after he came back from the injury. He was the QB27 behind Cam Ward. He was behind Geno Smith, J.J. mcCarthy, Kirk Cousins. Lamar, for the, basically second half of the season when you were depending on him, four of the eight games after the injury, he came back, he scored seven points or less. And then in week 16, if you somehow were lucky enough to make it to the second round of your fantasy playoffs, he scores four points and gets hurt. And I just think if you had Lamar, he ruin your life this year. He ruined it.

[Danny Kelly]

I told. I. Actually, this is the answer. This is the. This is the real answer here. I think he is the least valuable player, especially relative to what he's done before and expectations for what he would do when he's on the field. And I think the spirit of the burn book, the spirit of this. This award, is like, who pissed you off the most? I stopped thinking about Brian Thomas halfway through the year. Like, I just stopped thinking about him. Lamar Jackson fucked you at the worst time of year. He. You know, he abandoned you in your time of need. He was like, got hurt and then he missed. You know, he was just so worthless for literally, like, almost the entire second half of the season. I. Look, there's huge chunks of this Ravens offense that have pissed me off over the years. Mark Andrews, absolutely. Just like one of the most annoying players it always felt like you could depend on. At least Lamar is going to deliver in fantasy because he's so good, both as a passer and a runner. But, man, he. I'm perturbed at this team. I just like the Ravens right now. When I think about the Ravens, I'm just like, God, fuck them. They're so annoying, that whole team. Especially since Derrick Henry bounced me from the championships, like, in three. Three different leagues.

[Danny Heifetz]

He's never gonna get over that.

[Danny Kelly]

Never. Do you.

[Danny Heifetz]

Can I throw out one other name for least valuable player?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sure.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think you could make a really strong case for Justin Jefferson.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Oh.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Great call. He's probably worse than Brian Thomas, honestly.

[Danny Heifetz]

He'S not gonna stoke as much anger as Lamar because of a sympathy. Because people are like, yeah, imagine having said that, right? Here's the problem.

[Danny Kelly]

He.

[Danny Heifetz]

Justin Jefferson didn't get hurt. At least Brian Thomas had the dignity to be out for months. And Lamar was out for months. You replaced him. You probably never played him again. So you're angry at Lamar. However, if you actually go with the least valuable player, no one benched Justin Jefferson. And if you did, congratulations. But Justin Jefferson. Yeah, this is the final two months. Was not a top 60 wide receiver in fantasy football.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Dude. He scored single digit points between week 10 and week 15. Six straight games of single digit points, dude.

[Danny Heifetz]

He. Do you. I mean, this. This is not a joke. After week 10, Justin Jefferson had fewer fantasy points than Isaac Tesla, who caught.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Like how many passes? Six.

[Danny Heifetz]

Like six. Ryan Flournoy. Ryan Flournoy and the Cowboys was better than him. You would have been better off playing Isaac Tesla and Ryan Flournoy. Justin Jefferson was your first pick and you played him every week.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's a compelling case.

[Danny Kelly]

I actually think it's Justin Jefferson. Every time we bring up, somebody change my mind.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No, I think I agree with Heifetz.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think that he's the least valuable player. I however, here's why I kind of think it is Lamar in the sense that going into next year, people who had Lamar will be way less likely to have Lamar again. People with Justin Jefferson will be talked into Justin Jefferson if there's any competition with JJ McCarthy.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I think what this season has done, even though it might not necessarily be valid, is It's. It's put into question, like Lamar's career. Weirdly, I think people have a different opinion about Lamar now.

[Danny Kelly]

How is he going to age?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes, Justin Jefferson. I think people still agree he's a top three wide receiver talent wise. Lamar, it's like, should the Ravens blow it up?

[Danny Kelly]

There was a report, I think I by Mike Sando today. Maybe it was more just like rumors and talk that the Ravens could even move on from Lamar, which is that.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Baltimore sun report that Lamar is, you know, not kind of giving his all behind the scenes. He stays up late playing video games. He's not like super engaging in meetings, things like that.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

So I want to pencil.

[Danny Kelly]

There's at least enough smoke happening that I'm like, man, it'd be crazy if they did that.

[Danny Heifetz]

I want to pencil in Lamar Jackson as a. As a high fitness favorite buy low for next year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, I mean, sure. Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah. I just want to. No one brings Up.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He was probably doing all those things the last five years and was fucking awesome. He just got hurt this year.

[Danny Heifetz]

He got hurt and the Raven's interior.

[Danny Kelly]

Line sucked and he got sick again, which I'm fucking tired of. I'm sick and tired of him being sick and tired.

[Danny Heifetz]

He's had all the illnesses, so he can't get sick anymore. I think Lamar's the lvp.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I think Lamar is the lvp. Shouts out to me who had him in two of my three leagues. I also think it's worth mentioning just throwing out that. I mean, because I was looking at the quarterbacks who you drafted this year, and my point was going to be that, like, all these guys, like, somewhat delivered for you. Jaden Daniels just murdered you this year. Like, he was so hurt.

[Danny Kelly]

That's a great one.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Think about him.

[Danny Heifetz]

The guys, those guys hurt because when you take them, you're supposed to be excited about them. And the whole reason you take a quarterback high is, in part, let's be honest, it's because it's fun to have a great quarterback on your team. Like, if you took Josh Allen this year, you're thrilled every week to have Josh Allen. It's awesome. And then when you take a Lamar, Jaden Daniels and then they suck and are hurt, you're like, man, like, I don't even like fantasy football anymore.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. The only reason why it's probably not Jaden is because he got hurt in week two. So he missed week three and four and then was kind of in and out the rest of the season. You could have made other plans that. I mean, you could have added Trevor.

[Danny Kelly]

Lawrence in week three, even Mariota. Yeah, right.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

So I agree. I think it is Lamar Jackson is the lvp. Congratulations, Lamar. Please celebrate. Okay, the next category here that we are stealing from the rewatchables is what's aged the best on the season. Takes in narratives that have aged the best this year. Heifers, do you want to start?

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, sure. I mean, you want my big winner or you want to have a couple?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Give us some of your favorites.

[Danny Heifetz]

My favorites, I think, honestly the coaching hype cycle. I think we always look at hype coaches, but Ben Johnson was as hyped a coach candidate, I would say, since Josh McDaniels with the Broncos 15 years ago, delivered Liam Cohen with the Jaguars. We heard so much about him. Delivered Mike Vrabel, who I said was one of the best coaching candidates in years and delivered. And that hype cycle delivered in real life. And all those teams going to make the playoffs, win divisions and then fantasy too. Like Travis Etienne, DeAndre Swift. If you had believed in these guys and what they said they would do, then you basically would have done really well. Christian Watson's ACL recovery aged really well. Like the best one in 13 years, I would say, since Peterson. The Cowboys trading for George Pickens.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sure.

[Danny Heifetz]

Vic aged really well.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Well, I don't know. Did it because they're missing the playoffs.

[Danny Heifetz]

It was cool. It was cool.

[Danny Kelly]

He made them more fun.

[Danny Heifetz]

It got people talking, which is what Jerry's. Who cares about playoffs?

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

The. I would say that what aged well is the Giants trading up for Jackson Dart and the Saints taking Tyler Schuck. Oh, I think aged really well. I mean, you know, the Browns, the Steelers, the Cardinals, the Dolphins all didn't take those guys.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

And I think the Giants and Saints getting them worked out well, I would say we other things that age well. I think Ben Johnson turning down the Washington job two years ago, like that looks really bad. When Washington almost made the super bowl and now you're like, okay, that might have been smart. However, I think also I just think Joe Flacco H. Well, did you guys.

[Danny Kelly]

See the clip going around that somebody asked did Joe Flacco freeze? And there was like a video watching the screen that was so funny. He's just sitting there like he's got.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

One of the best quotes of the year that we'll get to later. Oh yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh yeah, yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Can I give you my number one? What age the best though? And I don't think it's no offense to what you guys have. I think it's not even close. What's aged the best? Okay, the number one thing that aged the best in this season is that random Steelers fan Seth Rohrabaugh tweeted after the Buffalo beat the Bills or Steelers? The Buffalo beat the Steelers 26 to.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

7 and for like a record 230 yards against them.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

With neither starting tackle, the Bills ran for the most yards in the Steelers Stadium in 50 years. And then Seth Rohrbaugh tweeted, Mike Tomlin is going to say something like we can't eat soup with forks. We need spoons. Then the Steelers will sign a 2018 Pro Bowler to the practice squad. And one day later they signed Adam Thieler, who was in fact a Pro bowler in 2018.

[Danny Kelly]

And Tomlin Tomlinson some weird like Maxim too. I don't remember exactly what it was like. Awkward.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He's got a lot of bangers. He one came out today that Brooke Pryor, who's a great Steelers reporter, tweeted out, this is what Tomlin said today. And I was like, God, dude, this guy's just.

[Danny Kelly]

Where does he find these?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

This is Mike Tomlin on not dwelling about frustration of not clinching the AFC north last week. This is what he said. My windshield is bigger than my rear view. Where's he get these?

[Danny Kelly]

He has, like a little calendar that just has pithy phrases.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Ratatouille under his hat. Who, like, comes up with little phrases for him?

[Danny Heifetz]

There's such a funny Venn diagram between things. Mike Tomlin says to justify losses in the NFL and captions on Instagrams by thirst traps by Instagram influencers and models. Like, they kind of have the same energy.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

When Mike Thomas should write the art that goes in Airbnbs that hangs on the wall.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, he would crush those. My windshield is bigger than my rear view.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's like, well, maybe the rear view should be a little bit bigger because you just lost the fucking Browns. Okay, Maybe just figure out why that happened.

[Danny Kelly]

Think about it at least.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, he just like ran over a deer on the road and he's like, well, my. My windshield is bigger than my rear view. It's like, okay, dk, what do you have for what's age the best?

[Danny Kelly]

I think hating on slash fading Sean Payton players ended up being pretty good. The J.K. dobbins RJ Harvey split was a nightmare for most of the season for you. You know, Cortland, Sutton. I don't think I had anything against Coral and Sutton. He was always going to be kind of the guy for them and he did fine. It's not like he won you your league, but he was a fine player. But, like, if you look at Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant, Marvin Mims, all played less than 60 of snaps. In fact, Bryant and Mims played less than 50 of snaps. It was the rotation they tried. They got went and got little Jordan Humphrey, which almost gave Heifets an aneurysm.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, my God.

[Danny Kelly]

So, yeah, I think that in general is. I'm just going to continue on that track. I mean, obviously Bo Nice did well this year in fantasy, but I'm out on almost all Broncos skill players when I absolutely, unless they absolutely cannot be the Travion Henderson small letter bullying aged well. I think his jersey is somewhat normal now. I haven't looked at it lately, but I think it's back to sort of normal. They did a bunch of features on this. People were all tweeting at us the other day because, like, they did, like, this whole featurette. I think the.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Did we cause that? Do you think we caused that?

[Danny Kelly]

I think we were part of it.

[Danny Heifetz]

Well, it's funny. They were like, look, there's two players on the Patriots who wear this. It's Stefan Diggs and Trevan Henderson. What they left out is. Yeah. Because they're really small. Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

The other thing that I think aged well is being a hate and ass hater about Scott Hansen. Craig, welcome, welcome. Welcome to the dark side, my friend. Or the light side, depending on how you look at it.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And we head to Las Vegas, where Jackson Dart is. Is darting his way to the number one pick. All right.

[Danny Kelly]

Feels good to be not on that island anymore. With Austin, it was just Austin and I and. But now we're getting some people. They're joining.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's a grassroots movement.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Here. Here's what I have for what's aged the best this year. The Jaden Daniels Washington commander's regression prediction.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, my God.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I mean, my goodness. Jaden Daniels hurt all year. The Commanders win four games. They have the seventh pick in the draft. It looks like.

[Danny Kelly]

Dude, I was looking. I was looking at some off season grades from the off season, and the Commanders were like, up there in terms of like, people thought that was like a great off season for them. My God.

[Danny Heifetz]

Well, you know what's funny? It was a great off season for them because they traded for left tackle. They drafted a tackle. They did the right things. They just relied on all these old guys they'd signed the previous off season, and they were all healthy last year, and then this year they all got hurt.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I also have the. The Saquon regression narrative. After all of his touches, all that stuff, kind of. Not that it was his fault, but.

[Danny Kelly]

Just Heifetz is like, I've been saying.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It for 10 damn years that aged well. I would say us questioning if Marvin Harrison Jr. Is actually good. Aged quite well. I also had the new coaching hires with High Fitz. I also have the. The narrative. Well, the Bears fixed their offensive line in the off season that actually aged pretty well.

[Danny Kelly]

Usually that's the biggest red herring, but.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Not this type team signs literally any offensive lineman. And everyone's like, well, fixed it. Well, the Bears fixed their offensive line.

[Danny Heifetz]

This is the new Adrian Peterson tore his ACL and then came back and had his best season ever. Now everyone's going to be like, hey, they signed the line. Remember when the Bears signed all those linemen and it's not going to work again for 10 years.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The only other Ones I had were the first picks. The first three picks of the 2024 NFL Draft. I guess I've been jaden, but Caleb and Drake may age very well. Jerry Jones trading away Micah Parsons before he tore his acl.

[Danny Kelly]

What did he know that aged really well.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

What did he know that aged really well. And then I want to. I want to toot our own horns. I was looking at our. Our predictions over the off season in the summer, in August. Dude, we had a. Dude, we did an episode in August. Our do not draft list. Hot damn. Let me read the guys that we recommended you not draft this year. Baker Mayfield, DK Metcalf, Caleb Johnson, Terry McLaren, Mark Andrews, Kenneth Walker, David Montgomery, Joe Mixon and Chris Olave who ended up being all right. But we literally went like 9 for.

[Danny Heifetz]

10 on that and we rectified it with. We had Chris Olave as it b located immediately. So that one.

[Danny Kelly]

I will say the. Yeah. You guys ever seen Super Troopers where he's like how's your aim this. How's your aim this morning? Fernie or whatever. He's. And he's like there's like a one in like the neck of the. The whatever. And he's like that little guy. Don't worry about that little guy. That's. That's Olave here. I will say in my defense that was me and it was more just about. It was about the concussion.

[Danny Heifetz]

Say that everyone would have assumed it was me.

[Danny Kelly]

It was about the concussions. I was worried about him playing well.

[Danny Heifetz]

No, our thing was a lot of he's not fun to watch. Which remains true because he gets hit.

[Danny Kelly]

But he was great. He was.

[Danny Heifetz]

I will say though this list, I. I think we're as good as anyone is admitting when we're wrong, which is a lot. I have to say though, I did pull this up and I'm looking at my notes right now from Caleb Johnson and I actually did write down I just don't think this guy's going to play.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Which will make it tough.

[Danny Kelly]

Arthur Smith, baby. Friggin Kenneth Gainwell. Gainwell. One of the more like valuable pickups late in the year. Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Caleb Johnson had 69 rushing yards this.

[Danny Heifetz]

Year and one fumble and I can't return.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Let's move. So wait, are. Do we. Do we want to give a winner want to do. It's got to be Seth Ross tweet, right?

[Danny Heifetz]

It's.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's the tweet.

[Danny Heifetz]

Literally the fact that he predicted the signing a 2018 Pro Bowler and unbelievable.

[Danny Kelly]

Can we get this guy to help Us with some of our Ringer 107 stuff.

[Danny Heifetz]

Dude, that guy. That guy's got to be it.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

We're not in first anymore. All right, let's move on to what's age, the worst. Dk, we'll start with you. What do you have for what's age?

[Danny Kelly]

What's age the worst? Us defending the Tush Push over the off season and saying, we. We want it. We want.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I'm saying, man up.

[Danny Kelly]

You're being a pussy if you vote against this.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, right.

[Danny Kelly]

That's great.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Why don't.

[Danny Kelly]

Poorly. I think that. I don't think anything. No one turned on anything as much as the Tush bush. This off or this season. It's boring to watch. It's annoying to watch. They can't. They can't officiate it correctly. It's going to get outlawed this year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Once we. Once the false start thing was exposed, I think that was the nail in the coffin that caused everybody to flip on the Tush push.

[Danny Heifetz]

That was the now the tuxedos seem up moment.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's like, all right, now they're actually cheating because they're just false starting on every play.

[Danny Kelly]

What else is age the worst? The Jags trading two firsts and change for a guy who's just okay at corner and wide receiver slash, AKA expensive Wandale Robinson. That sounded. That felt like a very, like, mean thing to say at the beginning of the year about Hunter. But now I'm like, one day had a thousand yards.

[Danny Heifetz]

Wanda Robinson the shortest receiver to ever have 1,000 yards.

[Danny Kelly]

One day Robinson might be kind of good.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I mean, now I'm like, the Jags traded up to get Travis Hunter when all they needed was to send a fourth round pick for Jacoby Myers.

[Danny Heifetz]

Seriously, I got to tell you, as the probably literal number two biggest Travis Hunter fan after Deion Sanders in America, I got to tell you, going into next year, it is absolutely insane to think that the Jaguars offense, when they have a three receivers on the field, have to pay Jacoby Myers. Like, he's. They paid him. He's going to start. They have to play Brian Thomas. And the fact that they would take Parker Washington off the field is ridiculous. Like, Travis Hunter is the fourth receiver on that team.

[Danny Kelly]

They're going. They're going to take Parker Washington off the field for Travis Hunter, and it might make them worse.

[Danny Heifetz]

It will. And it's like, just play him a cornerback and then, like, if someone gets hurt, then move him to receiver. Like that's the right move.

[Danny Kelly]

I mean, obviously it's great that the Jags are doing so well this year because the first rounder that they have to give up next year is not very high. So that's good. Let's see a couple other things that aged poorly. Worrying about Matt Stafford.

[Danny Heifetz]

Thank God the Falcons made the the playoffs too, because the big the Rams.

[Danny Kelly]

We'll get to that.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I feel like that's the only reason why they're still trying so hard right now.

[Danny Heifetz]

What they had to beat the Rams.

[Danny Kelly]

They were like, oh God, playing all their starters age the worst. Worrying about Matt Stafford going into the silver Airstream parked outside the practice facility. Turns out he's fine.

[Danny Heifetz]

It made me feel better on Monday Night Football where they were like every now and then, the little pregame production meetings, they do have insight and they were like Matt Stafford admitted to me Trey Aikman was like. He was like if you told me I'd feel this good at this point in the season, he's like, I would never have believed you. I'm like, okay. That makes me feel better.

[Danny Kelly]

Thinking me myself thinking Pete Carroll would make the Raiders better has aged horrifically poorly. The hit piece on Caleb Williams claiming he had dyslexia that did not age well. Choosing this is kind of related to that. Choosing JJ McCarthy over Caleb Williams. After week one when Craig asked me who I'd rather have. I need to. I need to stick to my guns, Craig. Don't let me fucking waffle.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

All right, all right.

[Danny Kelly]

That's the Colts trading two future ones then promptly imploding worse than almost any team we've ever seen.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, Gardner went one and seven on two different teams.

[Danny Kelly]

Dude, brutal. This one's a small one. But that two week period when we thought the Cowboys were actually kind of good did not age well.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Those are all good high. Fitz, what do you have?

[Danny Heifetz]

I think those are all really good. I think that we have to. I mean Anthony Richardson excitement and this like any thoughts of Anthony Richardson doing anything in the NFL is aged very poorly. Ravens being super bowl favorites. Man, I top tier though, right? With that article about Caleb Williams being unworkable is I think the idea that Tom Brady's pre production meetings with teams was giving the Raiders an unfair advantage.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh yeah, that's a good one. I don't call back. I forgot about that.

[Danny Heifetz]

I don't think anything has aged worse than that. If you said that now, it would be the dumbest thing you could possibly say. If I had said if that idea.

[Danny Kelly]

Was just people be like actually let them do that. They need it. They need all the help they can get.

[Danny Heifetz]

However, I don't know if anything's actually aged worse other than that than. I mean, The Vikings taking JJ McCarthy over Bo Nicks is something we're going to have to start talking about. The third most touchdown passes through two seasons of any quarterback ever.

[Danny Kelly]

That's a good one. That's a really good one.

[Danny Heifetz]

And sorry, lastly here, J.J. mcCarthy's alter ego.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

9.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that one.

[Danny Heifetz]

You should have just kept that one in the holster. When nine comes out. When nine comes out.

[Danny Kelly]

Save that for like year four.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, you need to wait on the nickname. It can't come too quick. Those are all really good. I have a bunch of the ones you guys have. The Falcons trade the Jags trading up for. For Travis Hunter. The Tyler Dunn article taking Ashton Genti 6 overall in real life and in fantasy drafts.

[Danny Kelly]

Brutal.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Pretty brutal. And then I think UNC's opening drive against TCU to score a touchdown to go up 7 0. In that moment, what you would have predicted for the Bill Belichick Tar Heels after that did not age great.

[Danny Heifetz]

So do you think. Do you think is the real answer here what age? The worst is just Bill Belichick.

[Danny Kelly]

Bill Belichick's legacy. Bill Belichick's body, actually, he's probably going. He's probably actually doing well body wise right now.

[Danny Heifetz]

Well, he's doing great body wise.

[Danny Kelly]

For guys his age, he's doing fine.

[Danny Heifetz]

His body, his body's. It's the best it's been in years probably.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I think Belichick is on the short list for loserly year.

[Danny Kelly]

But we'll, we'll get to that.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I have. I think it's gotta be. I think there's a couple. I think DK taking JJ McCarthy over Caleb is a leading candidate.

[Danny Kelly]

I think that is like the classic example of recency bias.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I love making DK commit to shit like that after week one. I think the. The hit piece on Caleb being dyslexic and basically being unfixable.

[Danny Heifetz]

It was more than that. It was that Caleb Williams is a diva first nil generation. Like unworkable diva superstar. Like, and like he can't. His doesn't smell. He's. He'll never be a guy.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Is there a chance, though, that all that was like, kind of true, but Ben Johnson just sent him to boot camp and, and it fixed him.

[Danny Kelly]

I think there was shades of truth in all of that stuff. I don't know about the dyslexia thing obviously, but like in terms of how horribly everything went year one and how we can't just say it was all the coaching's like, fault. It was clearly partly on Caleb Williams himself too. I think all that is true. But also, yeah, it just did not age poor. Did not age well.

[Danny Heifetz]

The dyslexia thing isn't the point. Like, to be clear, it wasn't the. Even the coaches. And again, to be clear, it was like 30 anonymous coaches all talking about or, you know, guys who had been fired from the Bears because of Caleb and Ax the Grind. But it was a lot. It was an unusually large amount of people talking about the guy. And even that one, that wasn't about Caleb. That was about the GM allegedly not telling the coaches that Caleb had been diagnosed. The coaches didn't give a shit about if Caleb did or did not. They were like, if he did, just tell us so we'll fucking teach him differently. Which is actually. That's the only thing I think totally made sense. I think. And again, it's ridiculous to kind of like, put that stuff out there without confirming it. But I think the thing about that, that I'm like, embarrassed in retrospect is, yeah, I do think that, like, especially the way that Matt Abrafleuis and the Cowboys defense went this year. Like, yeah, they clearly had no idea what to do with Caleb. Like, they couldn't help him. And it's so obviously that, like, they did. They failed him. I think that's clear.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Do you think.

[Danny Kelly]

Yes.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It kind of aged well that in retrospect now that Ryan Poles was like, actively not showing his scouts tape of other players in the draft playing well because he wanted Caleb so bad. I'm kind of like, maybe Baldoer. I don't know.

[Danny Heifetz]

The Drake. Well, if the other points Drake made. No, it's probably a mistake. Probably should have had a couple conversation.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. The mvp. Yeah. Okay. I think that. I think all. Everything kind of around Caleb probably has eights. The worst. Okay, let's get to Dion. The Dion Waiters Award, Another rewatchables category that we're stealing for the purposes of this show. The Dion Waiters Award is the. The best waiver wire pickup of the season.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I think there is a consensus answer. I do want to ask. I think we think it's probably Michael Wilson, the Cardinals wide receiver who took over. Took over Arizona for the last half of the season. Right. Would we say that?

[Danny Heifetz]

I think Michael Wilson's the best waiver wire pickup in years. One of the best of all time.

[Danny Kelly]

Expound on that.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's simple. There have been better players because there's been running backs that go on campaigns, but what Michael Wilson did never happens. There are quarterbacks that Trevor Lawrence was awesome. To your point, if Trevor Lawrence was available in your league, you could argue it's Trevor Lawrence because as Craig said, he had the most points ever in the playoffs. So if Trevor Lawrence was cut and added in your league, sure, that's fine.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He was the only one I wanted to point out because I don't even know if he had to be cut. Then added he was the QB20 in drafts. He was probably not drafted.

[Danny Heifetz]

Maybe he wasn't and that's fair. I think the reason I would pick Michael Wilson is what happens with him never happens. There are quarterbacks that are good that you pick up all the time. There are running backs that someone gets hurt and someone has like an incredible season and that happens all the time with like not all the time, but every season or two there's a great running back. Tight ends happens. Michael Wilson. After week 11, the top receivers in all fantasy football was. Number one was Puka Nukua. After week 11, number two is Jackson, Smith and Jigba. And then one yard behind Jackson, Smith and Jigba, so tied for second place was Michael Wilson. For the final two months of the season, you added a receiver off waivers that was better than every receiver in fantasy football except for Puka Nukua. And honestly, he tied Jackson Smith at Jigba. He, he was 0.1 points behind in Jigba. So they had tied. You added Jackson, Smith and Jigba waivers. That is what you got with Michael Wilson. That's like never happened.

[Danny Kelly]

This is not the point of this show. But man, I can't wait to figure out what the fuck we're going to talk about Michael Wilson next year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I'm telling you dude, next year is going to be fucking the wild, Wild west.

[Danny Heifetz]

Where do you rank him? It was a perfect confluence of like the Cardinals were the most injured team in the NFL this year quietly. And then they had no running game and so they had to throw and they were losing everything because the defense sucks. So Jacoby Brissette so set the record, I think. Did he have the most completions in a four week stretch?

[Danny Kelly]

He had the most completions in a game ever.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

49.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, like 160 completions in a four week span. So there's the PPR of it, Michael. But Michael Wilson was getting 180 yards a pot. I think it has to be Michael Wilson.

[Danny Kelly]

I have a question. This is going to sound really, really obvious. But I don't know for sure if it's actually going to happen or not. Maybe this is just people just hang on hanging on to like pre draft stuff. But is Michael Wilson for sure going to be ranked ahead of Marvin Harrison next year?

[Danny Heifetz]

I think he has to be. But I don't know if how I would take him because the Cardinals offense is going to be weird. I don't know how you could watch the season and think of Marvin Harrison Jr. As anything other than like a cheeky buy low. But just also sorry just to expand the point here. Michael Wilson, that list you mentioned earlier for the MVP thing, this Yahoo list of the players most commonly found in championship winning teams. Number one speech on 27%. Number two is McAffrey 26%. Puka's third, 24. Michael Wilson is fifth and 23%.

[Danny Kelly]

I mean I think that solidifies him as the best pickup.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, he's. He is the deal on waiters. I would say honorable mentions are guys who had hot stretches. But it didn't sustain Rico Dowdle for a while. There was a. Was a sensation.

[Danny Kelly]

My boy Rico.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Woody Marks had a productive year. Kenneth Gainwell was really good despite not being drafted. I'm going to throw out guys like Kyle Manungai Jackson Dart wow was had six games scoring over 20 points this year. He was incredible for stretches. Harold Fannin Jr. Was the tight end five on the year.

[Danny Kelly]

He was kind of like a tight end savior at the end of the year there.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes, guys were getting hurt. I mean he was completely not drafted. Parker Washington was really good over stretches. And then this guy might not qualify because he was probably drafted. But there's a chance that Javante Williams was not drafted and was added immediately in week one and was fucking great.

[Danny Kelly]

Heifet's got him in the last round.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes. So he, he's close I think but I, I do. And then Trevor Lawrence like I said. But I, I do think it has to be Michael Wilson.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. Yeah. Agreed.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

What a bizarre year it's been. Okay, the next award here is the Biggest Leap award. The player that made the biggest leap from last year to this year. Who did you guys have? Who did you have?

[Danny Heifetz]

I think in real life and in fantasy it has to be Drake May. I mean Drake may might win the MVP this year. Drake may by get the number one seed in the afc. And Drake maybe was. Where did he finish among quarterbacks this season? 32 Top 2 Top 3. I mean for all the hyperbole all we talked about was Drake may like sleeper. Sleeper he was like, probably the number one most popular sleeper in all fantasy this year, and he shattered it. So I think it has to be.

[Danny Kelly]

That's got to be the right answer. Do you guys remember after week one and we were asking each other if Drake May was any good?

[Danny Heifetz]

They lost to the Raiders.

[Danny Kelly]

May had a horrific week one. He was missing everything. And, you know, talking to some of the Patriots beat, it was like the word was. He basically was really, really inconsistent in preseason, in training camp, they weren't really quite sure what to make of him. So the fact that he came back and had this MVP season, you know, I. I think that's the obvious answer. I think that is the correct answer. Drake May made an absolutely huge leap. The only other guy I would throw out there is jsn. I know that he had over a thousand yards last year, but I. It just felt like he did a quantum leap in terms of, like, what he was doing week in and week out. Like, the ways that he was working, winning what he was doing, not just from a statistical point of view, but just very, very impressive. Route runner, hands, catch and run, you know, combat catches. Everything that he was doing, I was just like, man, this guy is. He's made an absolute huge leap.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes. This is a very tricky category because I think there are a lot of qualified candidates. I think you're right. I mean, if you factor in real life, I guess, I mean, even on fantasy alone, but Drake Mace is probably going to win the mvp. Him going from what he was last year to winning the MVP and being maybe the 1 seed in the AFC is incredible.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

JSN, though, coming out of nowhere to be a top five receiver in the NFL is so close. And then I would also probably just toss in as the bronze medalist. I mean, Caleb Williams going from maybe one of the worst busts in a long time at the first overall pick to just like a guy that we think could, like, realistically win multiple Super.

[Danny Heifetz]

Bowls, I don't think that's even close because Caleb.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I agree, we. I don't think he is going to win the mvp.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, I. Just as bad as Caleb was last year, I think it was obvious, like, they fired the entire staff. Like, plenty of rookies have bad years. If Caleb had a bad second year, it'd be one thing.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

But you could make the case for Drake, though, too, right? There was. I mean, a lot of people were like, oh, if you actually watch Drake last year, he's really good. Like, don't worry. He is really good in that. And that was Correct. He didn't go from disaster to great. He went from, man, we, we think under the hood everything looks really good to we were correct.

[Danny Heifetz]

The difference to me is just Caleb's gonna win or Drake May probably ends up as the mvp. And Ben Johnson said in November that we're winning despite our passing game.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, no, I agree. But I, I, that's why I think he's a bronze medalist or maybe a little bit below that. But it's got to be Drake May. Congrats to, to Bill. Okay.

[Danny Kelly]

I, I, I, I gotta Patriots fans really deserve it.

[Danny Heifetz]

You know what's so over is the five year reprieve we had from just Patriots dominance.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, that was fun.

[Danny Kelly]

That was great.

[Danny Heifetz]

From 22,000 to off and it's over.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

If you could pick a team right now to just buy stock in for the next 10 years are the Patriots number one.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think they have to be. And I would say for this simple reason, things come and go. Mike Vrabel is the, I think the best coach in the NFL is not going anywhere. And Josh McDaniels, who is the coordinator and key to it, the Patriots have what the Chiefs had in that the Chiefs had this weird infrastructure where Andy reads the coach and play caller. So they're not going to lose the offense. Steve Spagnolo was still old that no one hired him to run the defense. The Patriots have that too because no one's going to hire Josh McDaniels to be the head coach. So they're going to keep him. And so that's why I think I would pick the Patriots. You have Rabel, Drake, May and Josh McDaniels. And they're not going to lose any of those guys.

[Danny Kelly]

I'm looking at their other teams. Craig, I don't know if you can make an argument for any other team right now. That's wild. There's so many question marks with a lot of these teams.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Let's say, what about this? What if I pose it this way? Who do you think if you had to bet who wins the most Super Bowls over the next next 10 years, is it still New England? No. Or you can take the Chiefs.

[Danny Heifetz]

I would take, I hate to say this, you said 20 years.

[Danny Kelly]

10.

[Danny Heifetz]

I actually would take the Patriots just because I believe so much in Mike Rabel and the coaching staff there and Drake May.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Dk, Would you take the Patriots to win more Super Bowls than Mahomes over the next 10 years?

[Danny Kelly]

Probably not.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I don't think I would either.

[Danny Kelly]

No.

[Danny Heifetz]

You're betting on the Chiefs. I Gotta, I gotta tell you guys, I'm.

[Danny Kelly]

Your lack of faith in the Chiefs is going to age very poorly, I think.

[Danny Heifetz]

Is it?

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

I mean, so, but here's the thing. Can I counter this? You're saying Mahomes is Michael Jordan because the idea that he's going to win three more, they're like, okay, like he's, he's, they, they're going to come back and he'll be healthy. Because I think the flip side is like how, sorry, how old is Andy Reid? Like, I'm just saying Andy Reid, 67. So if you don't think he's going to win next year with Mahomesko at the ACL and even 68, how much longer is this going to happen? I don't know.

[Danny Kelly]

10 more years. Kansas City was 12th in DVOA this year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I mean, I, I would say Patrick Mahomes is closer to being the Michael Jordan of football than he is to not. Right. I mean he's won.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, I don't, it's not like a weird thing to say.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Five Super Bowls and he's 30.

[Danny Kelly]

Tom Brady had like three separate versions of his career.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, I, I, I am not discounting Mahomes. I have questions. It's, it's still a team game.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Well, this, this is a nice segue into this next category which is something that we are bringing in for the first time. This is the it's so over of the year. So this is now that we're at the end of the season, which player fits the it's so over category the most. Here are some nominees I'll throw at you. Tua. Justin Fields.

[Danny Kelly]

I think you could stop the count.

[Danny Heifetz]

Holy cow.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

2. Justin Fields, Kyler Murray are my personal three candidates.

[Danny Heifetz]

So I'm going to step. We had something called stat of the year later in this or half assed Internet research and not my favorite, but I have to mention that for Justin Fields because as if it's not amazing enough to four different games, you didn't hit 55 passing yards through the first nine games of their seasons. Blake Horvath, the quarterback at Navy, had more passing yards than Justin Field.

[Danny Kelly]

Nine starts this season Classic. I think it's, I think it's Tua.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, I think it's two as well.

[Danny Heifetz]

It is so over.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't, I don't.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

So over.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't feel like, I think Kyler Murray, there's still probably someone that believes in him and try and make him a starter again. I don't think anyone's going to want to take on the TUA thing at this point.

[Danny Heifetz]

But the irony is. But then he's so back because he'll have to play for the Dolphins. Like are the Dolphins. I mean we talked about this. We don't have to go on all kids the cap stuff because.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah but we're not gonna. We're not gonna. He's not gonna be the long term starter.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh my God. I just figured out who is gonna play for don't tell me. Guess I just figured it out. A team that won't have better options.

[Danny Kelly]

Cardinals, Raiders.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Don't. No wait. Who's it going to be?

[Danny Kelly]

Jets.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No they're gonna cut them Jets.

[Danny Heifetz]

Dolphins are going to cut him and the jets won't have a better option because if the jets don't get Fernando Mendoza we'll see what quarterbacks come out. But if none of the other quarterbacks come out who's who the if they only have to pay him a million dollars who are they going to have better than tua?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The jets getting TUA is like Thanos putting on the final ring. But. But in the worst case SC scenario.

[Danny Kelly]

Of like and it all falls apart.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Potential to go as badly as anything's.

[Danny Heifetz]

Ever gone any of the Kyler Tua. It's the ultimate Jet. I will the only other person I'd say for so over is should we have the Chiefs to wrap up what we were just saying. I mean this is the Chief says we know them are so over. Like when you close your mind you think of the Chiefs. This era started to Taylor Swift it but like it's the first half of it's like the Tyree Kill Chiefs like fuck it Tyreek down there somewhere Kelsey. It's amazing. But then they still morphed into this like okay it's not as exciting anymore but the dink and dunk during the super bowl every year they're anytime Kelsey cuts catches the ball they cut to Taylor Swift and it's like this is something I'm. I hate to say it's as memorable and indelible an image of any team we've seen with our eyes so far. I think they're more way more memorable than any of these Patriots teams. Like this era of the Chiefs because Taylor Swift because of the star power because of Kelsey because of Mahomes like it's so over. Kelsey's going to retire. Taylor's just not going to be at these games anymore. The way we remember the Chiefs when Mahomes comes back it's going to be like Mahomes and Marquis Brown and Noah Gray. Like, it's not, it's not the same.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I agree that, that this era or this chapter, whatever you want to call it, of the Chiefs is over.

[Danny Heifetz]

Travis's version.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I Did you watch The Taylor Swift eras tour 6 part documentary on Disney Plus?

[Danny Heifetz]

I watched the eras tour when they put on Disney plus like a year ago. I have not watched the 6 parter although I did see shout out Michael Jr who noted that the pianist for Taylor Swift's tour person who plays the piano is like someone named Michelle Depiano.

[Danny Kelly]

I was like, what nominative determinism.

[Danny Heifetz]

It was. Wait, I gotta look it up.

[Danny Kelly]

She was born in the piano.

[Danny Heifetz]

Her name is Karina de Piano.

[Danny Kelly]

She's from the piano.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

She's married to policy of piano.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah. Karina de Piano plays piano. Everyone's like, Taylor Swift business expert. She's looking at the resume.

[Danny Kelly]

She's like, I'll take. Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I watched half of it. It's, it's. I learned nothing about her. It's incredibly manicured and it's a decent.

[Danny Kelly]

Watch and it's decent. Thought you were gonna say it was garbage, but okay.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's like you're, you're entertained the entire time. But it's, it's so crafted by her.

[Danny Heifetz]

Someone described it to me as in the middle of it they realized, wow, we need to be filming this is how it was described to me.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. I feel like they were filming it the entire time. But Taylor Swift doesn't is ahead of all that stuff.

[Danny Heifetz]

But okay. Well, I don't know. I didn't see it.

[Danny Kelly]

I think it's two.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's fine. It's two. I think it's two. He is, he is the most over.

[Danny Kelly]

You know I was going over some of the old docs in preparation for the show and the. It's a TUA state solution when.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh my God.

[Danny Kelly]

About going to play in Jerusalem of all.

[Danny Heifetz]

I had that for quote of the year. I had that for quote of the year. That was a comment. Yeah. They're like, you could play anywhere. And he's like, I would love to play in Jerusalem. And there's a pause and someone just commented to a state solution.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Okay. This inevitably brings us to the. We're so back of the year. Christian McCaffrey.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes. Big time.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I mean Jesus.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sean Payton is back last year.

[Danny Kelly]

He was pretty back last year.

[Danny Heifetz]

Made the playoffs with a third of the team in dead cap.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The Patriots.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. Unfortunately, yes.

[Danny Heifetz]

I, I was that Shane Batty. A quote, contrary to reports of my demise are greatly exact. Yeah, the Patriots.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh. Reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated. That was Mark Twain. Who did you say it was?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Shane Battier.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's a famous. It's. It's. It's a. I don't know. It's a famous meme. Won the fight.

[Danny Kelly]

That's like saying you miss 100 of the shots you don't take.

[Danny Heifetz]

Michael Scott.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Michael Scott is Michael Scott. Wayne Grass.

[Danny Heifetz]

Well, yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Do you have any other nominees here?

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes.

[Danny Kelly]

Okay.

[Danny Heifetz]

I'd rather rename the award after this person. So back of the year is Kyle Pitts.

[Danny Kelly]

I mean, fuck, we are really back with Kyle Pitts. I'm 100% falling for the number two.

[Danny Heifetz]

Tight end in fantasy.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

But you just spent. You just spent five minutes talking about how every other tight end is irrelevant and tight end two might as well be tight end 20 doesn't fucking matter.

[Danny Heifetz]

He was the number one tight end in December.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, but what if he's on the Chiefs?

[Danny Heifetz]

Craig, he had more fantasy points in a game this year than Kelsey or Gronkowski or Tony Gonzalez ever did.

[Danny Kelly]

Wait, is he a free agent?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He had one. He had. He had one good game this entire season.

[Danny Heifetz]

Basically, it was. That's not true. He was the number one tight end from week 13 on. As soon as I started fucking complaining about him, he was incredible.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It. No, he was not incredible. Look at his stats. He had. Here's the last half of his season.

[Danny Kelly]

5.

[Danny Heifetz]

Don't look at the last half, look at the last five weeks. Because he's. He's. I think he's better than Trey McBride.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Here are the last five weeks. 11, 12, 40, 15, and 2. He was fucking fine. Except for 40.

[Danny Heifetz]

I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. You and DK had intrus. You kept saying, I think Kyle Pitts is good. And I was like, no, I'll. I saw him. I dropped one pass too many, and I'm like, I'm out. And then you guys are like, he's good. I'm hitting here, being like, yeah, he's the number two on the season. He's back. And you're like, no, I. Deacon, what do you think? I feel crazy.

[Danny Kelly]

I think he's back. I think he's so back.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I don't think he's so back. I think. I think he is not more back than bilateral achilles tendonitis. Christian McCaffrey, setting a touch record for his. A personal career high in touches being the RB1 of fantasy or the New England Patriots going from one of the worst teams the last five years to basically just being Tom Brady Patriots again. Again. I think those guys are way more back than Kyle Pitts having. Like how many yards did Kyle Pitts have, Craig?

[Danny Kelly]

But you're not thinking about it. You're not thinking about the show lore.

[Danny Heifetz]

I, I, I, I couldn't disagree more. Yeah, Craig, here's the thing.

[Danny Kelly]

I agree with Craig though. Like literally McCaffrey is way more.

[Danny Heifetz]

No, but he's more back. No, but like The Patriots I McCaffrey. All right, fine. The Patriots. I get McCaffrey. After all that, do you know where he was drafted this year? Like seventh. Do you know where Kyle Pitts was drafted this year? Like 140th.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He didn't even a career high in yards this year.

[Danny Heifetz]

He was like 12th round pick. All right, fine. It's this simple. Where is Kyle Pitts if he the Falcons franchise tag him. Where are you ranking Kyle Pitts among tight ends next year?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Like ninth? DK eighth or ninth.

[Danny Kelly]

Probably like, I don't know, fifth or something. Fourth.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Fourth, yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

McBride.

[Danny Heifetz]

McBride, Bowers, Kittle. And it's going to be pits. Man.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

If he did not have that one game, he would probably be.

[Danny Kelly]

He did though.

[Danny Heifetz]

But he did.

[Danny Kelly]

He had it.

[Danny Heifetz]

That's some shit that when I say it, you lose your mind. But if he didn't have the best game of tight ends ever had.

[Danny Kelly]

I'm sitting here right in the middle playing devil's advocate because I agree with Craig that he's not as back as these other guys. But he is back.

[Danny Heifetz]

Can I throw out another guy though? I actually think. Do you think she wins this award.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

For the bit of the show? He's back.

[Danny Kelly]

That's what I'm saying.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

We need to give the award out. It is obviously the Patriots.

[Danny Heifetz]

Can I for so back. Yes. Can I throw out one other candidate for we're so back. It's so over. Because the original pitch we had when we, when we did this award was it's about the combination of it's so over. We're so back. It's so over. We're so back. Like Trevian Henderson. It's so over. We're so back. The actual person who captured both of these this year is Jalen Hurts. Because Jalen hurts when Jalen Hurts won Super Bowl MVP and it was the most back anyone's been back. And then he Eagles fans were obnoxious and they were like, how dare you also mention that we have the most talented roster we've ever seen without Saying dare you. How dare you not say Jalen Hurts is a top eight quarterback. How dare you? And then we, like, got bullied and then Jalen. And then within 10 months later, Jalen Hurts is turning the ball over twice on one play. And Eagles fans are openly yelling for Tanner McKee at halftime in after like on Black Friday. Eagles fans are screaming for Tanner McKee in the stands 10 months after he won Super Bowl MVT for MVP for their fucking team. I would argue going back to Jalen Hurts in college between, like, him winning, being the first freshman to play for Dick Saban, being benched to a, replacing him coming back in beating Georgia, I would argue Jalen Hurts is the most. It's so over. We're so back player. In the history of fucking modern football, no one has been over and back more than Jalen Hurts.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I like this. I almost think this needs to. There needs to be the it's so over of the year, which is to the we're so back of the year, which we're still arguing.

[Danny Kelly]

Patriots.

[Danny Heifetz]

Patriots.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And then the it's so over and we're so back of the year. Is Jalen Hurts.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes.

[Danny Kelly]

Or the Steelers or the.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Or it's the fucking Steelers.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's Mike Tomlin. It's Mike Tomlin. Jalen Hurts fighting it out.

[Danny Kelly]

Literally. It was like a weekly thing. Craig is either completely in. Rogers is the God. He's making every throw to God. I fucking hate this team. They suck. Let's fire Tomlin.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And to be honest with you, like, every single one was not performative.

[Danny Kelly]

I know it was genuine.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I should say one more button on Kyle Pitts. This is just hilarious. So this is now Kyle Pitts is a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5th season in the NFL season. A rookie year, one touchdown. Next year, two. Year three, he had three. Year four, he had four. And this year, guess how many touchdowns he has.

[Danny Heifetz]

Five.

[Danny Kelly]

Five.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Unbelievable.

[Danny Heifetz]

I have a wild guess for next year.

[Danny Kelly]

He's gonna get franchised and he'll be back.

[Danny Heifetz]

He's going back there.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

You know what?

[Danny Kelly]

Her cousins is gonna be throwing in passes and he's gonna be a top five tight end.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Let's tag him, I imagine, right?

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, they'll tag him.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, they're gonna tag him now. This episode is brought to you by Ford Blue Cruise. It's not just where you're going, it's how you get there. And Ford Blue Cruise hands free. Highway driving technology helps make the journey more enjoyable. We took it for a test drive so we could experience the convenience for ourselves. So I tested the Ford Blue Cruise hands free highway driving technology last month and it was amazing. I was blown away. Like we're just on the highway and you can just hit a blinker and it just changes lanes and you can set how many car lengths ahead you want the truck to be in front of or behind the car, like how far you want it from the nearest car. It was amazing. I was, I didn't realize we were there. I felt like I was living the future. So it was absolutely mind blowing. With Ford Blue Cruise, you arrive at your destination ready to take on whatever comes your way. But don't just take our word for it. Experience the convenience for yourself. Ford Blue Cruise hands free highway driving for a hands on life available feature on BlueCruise equipped vehicles. Blue Cruise requires a connected services plan and modem activation. BlueCruise Driver Assist features can be activated in hands free blue zones and do not replace safe driving and drivers need to control the vehicle. See Ford.com BlueCruise for more details on available plans and hands free models. This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn ads. The best B2B marketing gets wasted on the wrong people. So when you want to reach the right professionals, use LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn has grown to a network of over 1 billion professionals, including 150 and 30 million decision makers. And that's where it stands apart from other ad buys. You can target your buyers by job title, industry, company role, seniority, skills, company revenue so you can stop wasting budget on the wrong audience. It's why LinkedIn Ads generates the highest B2B return on ad spend of all online ad networks. Seriously, all of them. Spend $250 in your first campaign on LinkedIn ads and get a free $250 credit for the next one. Just go to LinkedIn.com Ringer Fantasy that is LinkedIn.com Ringer Fantasy. Terms and conditions apply for a special segment of today's episode. Smarter Moves presented by Chime. Here to help you bank smarter this season. Chime's got smarter moves for your money and we've got smarter moves in your league. So boys, I wanted to do another award here presented by Chime and I wanted to ask you Smarter Moves for next season. Basically, who is the guy that next year you had such fun watching this player and having him on your team that you're like I have to have this guy next year. Even if I frankly have to like pay an irrational amount.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

For me it's, it's Jackson, Smith and Jigba who I Just, I know it's dk Seattle Seahawks, but I kind of just kind of randomly drafted him this year thinking, ah, screw it, I'll throw a dart at JSN and see if that works out. And my goodness, I fell in love with this man. There's something so comforting about a team whose entire game plan is just centered around getting this one player the ball. Like, the Seahawks can only operate If JSN has 10 catches in a game. And there's just something so comforting about that. It's like the opposite of you watch like Jameson Williams or something on the Lions, and it's like the Lions could put up 40 and Jameson Williams could have zero catches and it like, might work out. Game plan dependent. Like, JSN is the sun for Seattle. And I just love watching that every week. And he's. He's so. He's so great.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. The first guy that came to my mind also was jsn. If I'm going to do someone else, I do feel like this is a little bit like playing Whack a Mole because the Patriots are going to have so much harder schedule next year. But I just. I didn't have any Drake May this year, and I'm. I have so much FOMO from not being a part of that whole thing. Just watching him, like, run around, score rushing touchdowns, hit big plays. I just. I'm going to do everything I can to get as much Drake May as I can next year. It's probably going to go horribly, but, you know, that's. That's like what I did with Jaden Daniels this year and didn't go great. But I just absolutely love Drake May.

[Danny Heifetz]

I hate to say it about a patriot, but I think you're right. I think the guy for me and I just decided this and I'm being a prisoner of the moment. I don't care. It's Derrick Henry.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Hell yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

And let me tell you something. Everyone's going to talk about how he's 32 and the Ravens look bad last year and what's going to happen. I don't care. A classic high Fitz thing, actually.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I don't care.

[Danny Heifetz]

We should do actually the option. I don't care.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The Tommy Lee Jones. I don't care.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, my God. The fugitive is like, I didn't kill my wife. He's like, I don't care. That's actually great. We should do it. I don't care episode.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's. It's. We read stats to one another and then I just go, I don't care.

[Danny Heifetz]

He's going to be the oldest running back in NFL history.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I don't care.

[Danny Heifetz]

No, but I really, I. Derek Henry, I. You know what? At some point, just like, stop worrying and learn to love the indestructible running back who gets better as everyone else gets worse and healthier as everyone else gets injured. I want not to brag, but I won this dynasty league that I'm in with you guys and DK and your friends and shout out Nate, Tyson, Sean, you and all these people. And I won. And I won it. The margin is almost exactly just what Derrick Henry scored. I know.

[Danny Kelly]

I looked that up last night. Hi, Fitz. I. I got second in the league. So just watching Derrick Henry not only run roughshod over my winnings, I had to lose those winnings to Heifetz. It was a dark, dark moment for me. It was tough. And then I lost by 36. I think Derek Henry scored 41 or something like that.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

45. See, DK, that's why the key is to be nestled in mediocrity like myself.

[Danny Kelly]

You just don't care.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I'm the Atlanta Falcons. Yeah. I'm just playing a different sport than you guys.

[Danny Heifetz]

We didn't talk about this in the Sunday show. My favorite part of the Derek Henry packers game was actually not with the Derrick Henry running. It was the last carry, like 192 yards, and they. It was like third down and they just decided, you know what, instead of kneeling the ball that win the game, we're just going to give him one more play. And they called. Someone called the timeout and they cut the. The camera to the sideline and it's Lamar Jackson Who's out and DeAndre Hopkins. And they're just sitting there laughing and pointing and like the play calls in and they just are sitting there like, dude, he's gonna get it. And like you can read the lips and they're like, he's gonna get it. He's get like. And then they just do the toss and Derek, he runs for 40 yard touchdown. They cut back to New Copkins and Lamar. They're freaking out and I'm like, they're like incredible players. MVP's DeAndre Hopkins is like the most receiving yards. And they're just sitting there like they can't believe they get to watch Derrick Henry and be teammates with him. I want him on my team next year. I don't care.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I do love Derek Henry.

[Danny Kelly]

You know how there's like haptics on your phone when you can send like a. A text that does like a shake or like lasers and like, your phone, like, vibrates. That's what it feels like every time Derrick Henry runs. It feels like the world is shaking a little bit.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Like, it's like an Amber Alert, right?

[Danny Kelly]

It's like, God damn it. Every time he touched the football in that game, I was just like, oh.

[Danny Heifetz]

God, don't just fucking tackle him.

[Danny Kelly]

Why is it so hard? I mean, I know why it's hard, but, yeah. That was brutal.

[Danny Heifetz]

All right, that's it for this week's edition of Smarter Moves. But remember, if you want to make your smartest move yet, switch to Chime. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by the Bancor Bank NA or Stride Bank NA members FDIC. Learn [e-mail].

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Okay, the next category here is the Ruffalo Hannah Rubinek Partridge Overacting Award. For our purposes, that is who is Fool's gold? Who had the crazy over the top plays this year, but isn't actually good?

[Danny Heifetz]

Hold on, Craig. For the Rewatchables, when you get to this category, you play a montage. Can you just do your impressions?

[Danny Kelly]

I was actually going to ask.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes. They knew first. Wait, I want to ask you guys.

[Danny Kelly]

I'll.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I'll. I'll. Venmo. Either of you $10 right now if you can tell me which four movies these characters are in.

[Danny Heifetz]

Well, Spotlight's the first one, right?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Correct. Mark Ruffalo. They knew. And also some of these are tricky because Ruffalo is the name of the actor, but Hannah is the name of the character.

[Danny Heifetz]

Hannah's the heat. When he's like, give me all you got. Isn't it correct. Give me all you got. Which actually is insane.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Vincent Hanna, played by Al Pacino. You're two for two.

[Danny Heifetz]

I don't know the other ones.

[Danny Kelly]

Rubinek was that.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Rubinek is Saul Rubinek, which is a character in True Romance. And he goes, you stabbed me in the heart. I treated you like a son.

[Danny Kelly]

I didn't know that.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Stab me in heart.

[Danny Heifetz]

And then.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Do you know Partridge? You know what that is?

[Danny Kelly]

A bird.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's Linda Partridge from the movie Magnolia, played by Julianne Moore. She goes, don't you call me lady.

[Danny Heifetz]

I come in here to you.

[Danny Kelly]

Craig. Do you have any. Do you have any? As long as we're talking about this, do you have any other movie, like, very famous lines that you're just like, that was too much that you would add to this list?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

There's. I do remember. Have you seen the movie Cape Fear?

[Danny Kelly]

It's a Scorsese movie very long time ago.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

There's a Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange scene that is just out of control. That I would.

[Danny Heifetz]

That.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That would have been my fifth nomination.

[Danny Kelly]

You know what I. You know what I've always thought for some reason is. And I think it was in the Dark Knight. It was the one with Bane. Which version?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Rises.

[Danny Kelly]

Dark Knight Rises. And it was the guy who played Littlefinger. I don't remember the actor's name. And he's like in the plane and he's like yelling the whole scene. I was like, what is this guy's deal? Is this. Is he supposed to be a good actor? I thought he was a good actor. He's like, what? Like, I can't remember all these lines, but he was just like yelling the whole time. I was like, this acting is really weird.

[Danny Heifetz]

Christopher Nolan said that. I. At least at the time, he said that was like his favorite scene he's ever shot, which I think is so funny because he was so obsessed with the dynamics of how do you get a plane underneath the plane and shoot it, that it was like he didn't read the fucking dialogue. Which is the dumbest shit ever. The movie starts with, baby, like, why would you shoot a man and throw him off a plane? And I'm like, why would you shoot a man and throw him off the plane? Why does the movie start this way? That's the dumbest thing a person would ever do.

[Danny Kelly]

That whole scene is bizarre.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's ridiculous.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

You know the meme of, like, they expect one of us in the wreckage. Have you seen, like, the new meme about that with the Odyssey?

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It says, they expect none of us in the horse.

[Danny Heifetz]

They expect none of us in the horse. It's so good. It's so good.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Okay, anyway, let's get to it. So like I said, this is for. For our purposes, this is the. The Fool's Gold Player of the year. The guy who had the over the top play, scored a lot of fantasy points, but we know they're not actually good. I think this has to go to Joe Flacco.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, yeah. It was fun while it lasted.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Has he won this like, three years in a row? Yes. Like, we have to just name. We have to add Flacco. It's the. It's the Ruffle Hannah Ruben Partridge Flako Award.

[Danny Kelly]

He's the Nicholas Cage of the NFL. Just being ridiculous characters in movies and doing it over and over and over.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's so funny because I think when people look back, the Bengals trading Joe The Browns trading Joe Flacco to the Bengals. And people look back and like, well, Joe Flacco, he ended up winning. Like we went one in five. So that didn't work, didn't matter. But you look at the games and you're like, Joe Flacco averaged 33 points a game in his first four games. Like, he came back, he played the packers. He'd been there three days and he'd go, well, the next three games. He scored 113 points in a three game span.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Mike Tomlin has every right to be pissed about this trade because there's a very real chance that if the Steelers lose to the Ravens this week and not make the playoffs, it's because Joe Flacco got traded to the Bengals and beat the Steelers in a 39, 38 shootout, that if it was Jake Browning, the Steelers would have probably won in this game this weekend, would have not mattered.

[Danny Heifetz]

So what you're saying is maybe Andrew Barry is smarter than, like, should have.

[Danny Kelly]

Beat him, beat the freaking Bengals, then.

[Danny Heifetz]

The Steelers losing to the Browns in week 17 and then not winning the division because they lost to the Bengals earlier would actually be incredible. But yeah, it's Flacco.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, I think the only other guy that you could include here is Jacoby Brissette, who, I mean, just from a fantasy point of view, love him. He did great. He made Trey McBride one of the most valuable pieces in fantasy. He made Michael Wilson one of the most valuable pickups in fantasy. He was amazing. And actually I started Jacoby Brissette after had injuries at quarterback in a bunch of different leagues. He kind of flamed out at the end there and really didn't give you what you were hoping in the playoffs. But I think from a fantasy point of view, he was awesome.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He was.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't think he's very good. Like, he's not actually that good of a quarterback, but he puts up numbers. They pass a ton. He was 1 in 10 as a starter this year though, dude.

[Danny Heifetz]

All time, garbage time stat. Season. Like one in 10, dude. Jacoby Brissette's 15th in passing yards this season. He played 11 games. Like, that's crazy.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I mean, it's Flacco because the highs are higher, but Jacoby Brissette, I believe not. His first nine games, his first eight games as a starter, he had between 19 and 24 fantasy points. Like, he was rock solid.

[Danny Kelly]

He was Craig from week six when he became the starter to week 15. So, like, basically not the playoffs. He was the QB4 in that Trey.

[Danny Heifetz]

McBride is the number one tight end because of. Maybe it's Brissette, but that's again, that stat of Trey McBride. The gap between him and number two, Kyle Pitts is bigger than the gap between Pitts and like number 30, whoever that was.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Kate Otten.

[Danny Heifetz]

Kate Otten. That's because of Brissette. Because Trey McBride had more touchdowns than a month with Brissette that he did in three years with Kyler. And then the other thing is Michael Wilson taught. It's like you picked Jackson Smith and Jake Webb off waivers in week 10. That's Jacoby Brissette Wild. And they won one game.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Maybe it's Brissette.

[Danny Heifetz]

Well, the other one is we have to talk about Phil Rivers, which they didn't win any games or anything and it wasn't great for fantasy, but I don't know what.

[Danny Kelly]

This sure was funny though.

[Danny Heifetz]

I don't know what award we're giving.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Phil Rivers, but it's the Make a Wish foundation award, I think Make a.

[Danny Heifetz]

Wish for old retired guys in midlife crises who just need health care. That's my unanswerable question of was just how much money would the out of pocket cost for Phil Rivers's 11 Kids Healthcare have been if he had like.

[Danny Kelly]

$12,000 a month, he gets it for another five years now. Is that what it is?

[Danny Heifetz]

Five year clock?

[Danny Kelly]

God, that's like worth a lot of money.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

So smart.

[Danny Heifetz]

That's what I'm. It's.

[Danny Kelly]

That's worth like a cool mill right there.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I love that he's not playing this week because like the Colts are out of playoff contention. There's just something funny about that, that he's like, I'm good. See you later.

[Danny Kelly]

Well, I'm gonna go coach.

[Danny Heifetz]

My football team now fades into like light.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It just disappeared into the. Into the cornfields. Like field of dreams.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, exactly.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

So wait, is it. Is it Flacco or is it Brissette? I kind of think it's Brissette.

[Danny Heifetz]

I don't know what this award means if it's to like overactor.

[Danny Kelly]

I think it's Brissette because he might end up being the starter for the. For the Cardinals next year if they move on from Kyler. And I don't think he like really helps them win. I mean, I do think he's probably makes him a little bit better.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That's not what it's about though. Like he was the QB4 for half of that fantasy football season and he's not that good. That's it.

[Danny Heifetz]

I.

[Danny Kelly]

There you go.

[Danny Heifetz]

Cut Jacoby Brissette in our Dynasty League because I was like, again, he was so. Jacobi was so bad a year ago in the Patriots that Bill. All Bill would talk about was how bad Brissette was in the Drake Bay came in and May was amazing. And I remember thinking that even if Kyler gets hurt, I don't think Brissette will be that good. And then Brissette came in and was, yeah, straight up a top five quarterback propelling a top three receiver and the number one tight end.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. And this is like a good example, and this is why I do this in almost all my leagues is.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No.

[Danny Kelly]

Matter who it is, almost no matter who it is, I always pick up the quarterbacks that are coming in to, like, take care to take over for injured guys. Just because something like this could happen.

[Danny Heifetz]

You never know.

[Danny Kelly]

Like, I, you actually never really know with these guys. Right.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Brissette and Michael Wilson can become the next Joe Burrow and Jimmy Chase.

[Danny Heifetz]

And I thought I was smart adding Mariota instead. Mariota instead of Brissette. And then here I am, like an idiot.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

All right, next category. Here is the quote of the year. We, we did just mention Ivich. You've compiled a lot of a lot of these, but Mike Tomlin talking about it. Andrew Barry must be a lot smarter than me about the Joe Flacco trade. Definitely is one of them. But do you want to read through a couple of these?

[Danny Heifetz]

Let me roll through these. So I, I, I, I had so much fun doing this, and I want to go through players and then coach. We can start with coaches, actually. But the coach quotes are so funny to me. So Tomlin having the. Yeah, Andrew Barry must be smarter than me because that does make a lot of sense.

[Danny Kelly]

I really do love the format format of that comment. He must be a lot smarter than me. It's just like such a backhanded thing.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Patronizing.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, we should do. We should rank people to get a beer with in the NFL. Tomlin quietly might be number one because of his ability to just, like, say shit like that and take a swig.

[Danny Kelly]

That reminds me of hyphas when we were, we were getting steaks in Indianapolis one year and Tomlin was eating at.

[Danny Heifetz]

The table next to us. We couldn't get into St. Elmo Ruth. Chris was next door and empty. And we went in and we sit down. We're next to all the Steelers coaches. And then it was that year that they.

[Danny Kelly]

Craig, you would love that shit.

[Danny Heifetz]

Craig, I'm so sad you weren't there because that was the year the NFL Network, the timer guy retired, who had done the timer on the broadcast for 20 years. He retired and there was a new guy.

[Danny Kelly]

Everyone was running four ones.

[Danny Heifetz]

We thought Chris Olave broke the 40 yard dash record. So Mike Tomlin's doing the hold me back. Like, what? And they couldn't. We're all sitting there, like, freaking out. I mean, not with Tomlin, but we were like next to him and they couldn't.

[Danny Kelly]

We were all doing the same. We were all the same.

[Danny Heifetz]

We're like, oh my God, we're at a 4:2. Anyway, yeah, fun guy. Okay. Other quotes here. The reporter asking Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon, coach, when did you learn you had to take the emotion out of coaching? And Jonathan Gannon, stone face says, 2007 when our quarterback went to jail. About Michael vick, okay? Mike McDaniel in training camp saying, it's, it's a. The reporter said, good morning. He said, no, it's a great morning. They're like, why? He's like, because we're another day closer to death.

[Danny Kelly]

It's real nihilism.

[Danny Heifetz]

The. The. Though I I were tickled by all the Mike McDaniel to his stuff. But the player stuff, I I have to shout out AJ Brown saying, if you have me in fantasy, get rid of me on a live stream. And then he went off number five receiver fantasy after he said that.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. Classic.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Unbelievable.

[Danny Heifetz]

Also related Breeze Hall, a personal favorite of mine after the jets blew another Lee said, that's the story of our season. Teams shoot themselves in the foot and then we come back and shoot ourselves in the head. Maybe the winner here is Isaiah likely saying, we ass as. Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yelling. Yelling that as he's like walking to.

[Danny Heifetz]

His car and fans after they lost, he's like, we asked as. You're like, what? He's like, we ass as.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He's like, oh, sorry, they didn't hear me. Hold on. We ass as.

[Danny Heifetz]

And then they were like, what?

[Danny Kelly]

Again?

[Danny Heifetz]

He's like, this is ass as. It's like, what is it? Back to the Future is yelling in the phone. He's like, get a load of this.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Where is my super suit? It's from Incredible.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes. As fuck. Joe Flacco saying, I used to see guys sitting at the bar by themselves eating, and I used to feel so bad for them. And now I realize that dude was in heaven.

[Danny Kelly]

God, I love that.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That's something you can only say if you're over 40 years old.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, that's like a rite of passage in life.

[Danny Heifetz]

The next two here I I got the sound drop because I thought they were so funny. Number one, the Browns defensive tackle Shelby Harris. After Juwan Jennings, the Niners receiver, was talking Malik Collins as Malik Collins was carted off for the Browns. And then Cam, I think, has this audio of Shelby Harris talking. He's a hoe, and I want that known. Like, I see why he got punched in the nuts. He says some things that you should not say to another man ever. But, like, I don't respect it because you say that. Then run behind your O line. That's some real soft. And I want that known. I see exactly why they punched you nuts. I'm surprised nobody punched him in the jaw yet.

[Danny Kelly]

He's a hoe.

[Danny Heifetz]

I want that known.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I want that known as great.

[Danny Kelly]

I want that known as a good. It's a good line.

[Danny Heifetz]

We should. We should. That might have to be a category next Sundays. Like, I want that known.

[Danny Kelly]

I want that known. He says some to another man that should never be said ever.

[Danny Heifetz]

I see why he got punched. Say about that specific thing. He a ho. I want that known. I see why he got punched in the nuts. It. You don't even need context. It's incredible.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, it's great.

[Danny Heifetz]

The other one, we've never talked about this, and I don't know if you guys have seen it, so I'm just going to play it. This is Devin McCourty on Mike Florio's podcast a month ago, and I think it was Thanksgiving. We never talked about this. Cam, will you please play this clip? This is about Devin McCourty's describing Mike Florio asked Devin McCourty, what's it like inside a scrum when everyone's going for the ball in a fumble?

[Danny Kelly]

Like, what.

[Danny Heifetz]

What do you have to do to recover? Fumble. This was Devin McCourty's answer. Here's the protocol. All right? Balls on the ground. You're jumping and you're diving on the ball. You're going to protect every ball.

[Danny Kelly]

Listen to this.

[Danny Heifetz]

You're going to jump on the ball, get on the football, get in the fetal. But once you get in the fetal, close your mouth, close your eyes, squeeze your butt cheeks. The fetal protects two balls. Your arms protect another one. And close the butt cheeks.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The bottom of those piles are rough, Florio. It is rough at the bottom.

[Danny Heifetz]

Bottom of the pile.

[Danny Kelly]

Once again, kind of glad I don't play professional football.

[Danny Heifetz]

You know what's so funny? We spent so much time talking about all this stuff and what matters or not. And then I saw some clip of, like, Patrick Sartan has a podcast now, and they're talking with Richard Sherman. They were like, so, what's the secret? Like, what helped you play better? And I'm thinking coverage, technique, scheme. And they're like, dude, I was wearing underwear, and I was going slow, so I just let it all hang out now. Started playing way better.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No underwear below the pants.

[Danny Heifetz]

They were saying they're just free ball it. And, like, to Ryan Arnold was talking about how he's like, rookie year. You just got all the equipment, and then eventually you get older. You're like, nah, I'm just gonna let it fucking hang, and then you run faster.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Interesting.

[Danny Heifetz]

Sometimes it's not that complicated.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Do you guys sleep in underwear or no?

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

As opposed to, like, naked?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, that's right.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. No, I put. I wear boxers.

[Danny Heifetz]

Do you sleep. Do you sleep naked?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No, I don't sleep naked.

[Danny Heifetz]

I wear.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I wear boxer briefs.

[Danny Kelly]

Your boxer briefs? To bed. That's too constricting for me.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Well, I buy ones that aren't that constricting.

[Danny Kelly]

Okay, that's fair. Well, I was just thinking about. This just reminds me of. There's, like, so much better technology now for. In terms of, like, sport clothes now. Like, Under Armour and all this stuff that you can wear, you know, like the tight. The whatever. It's compression stuff. And in my high school, like, I was wearing boxers under my basketball shorts.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Back in the day. People were wearing boxers and Converse on the basketball court.

[Danny Kelly]

Okay, I'm not that old, but yeah, dude, the videos of people playing basketball in, like, the 40s and 50s are so funny.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Like, the.

[Danny Kelly]

The basketball skills were horrific.

[Danny Heifetz]

Dude, the whole smush Parker would run circles around Oscar Robertson thing.

[Danny Kelly]

I mean, it's like, you know those scene from the Office where Stanley plays basketball? The way, like, that's how they all fucking dribbled Koozie.

[Danny Heifetz]

Because they were plumbers and electricians.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Dude, I can't get over the fact that Kareem Abdul Jabbar played well into his early 40s and continued to be good. Playing like Chuck Taylor's for 25 years. Yeah, that's why I did that for a week. I think I would go to the hospital.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, my God.

[Danny Kelly]

Imagine your feet just calloused. They were built diff. Back then.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

7Ft tall for 25 years, playing in Converse.

[Danny Kelly]

His feet were just, like, hard as rocks.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

All right, what are some of the quotes?

[Danny Heifetz]

I think that's. I think the winner has to be. He's a hoe, and I want that known.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, I like that.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think that has to be the quote of the year. He's a hoe. I want that known. I see we got punched.

[Danny Kelly]

So, yeah, he's a hoe. I want that known.

[Danny Heifetz]

We had to create a new one, which is also just best announcer moment of the year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sure.

[Danny Heifetz]

And.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, there's some good ones.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Craig, I'm gonna make you do some of these. But Tom Brady. There's so many. But I decided it was the one where he's like a little juice. Which.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. Do we have that queued up or you want me. Just do it.

[Danny Heifetz]

I want you to do it. It's funnier when you do it. Great.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. So I believe it was the Chargers playing the Commanders. And he goes, a little juice there for the commander's defense. They feel the juice. The Chargers do.

[Danny Kelly]

Yoda once again.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Jesse does.

[Danny Kelly]

Craig said that last time, too. It's so funny. They feel the juice, The Chargers do.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He. He does not know what the next word will be out of his mouth. He says they feel the juice and is like, I got no. How do I clean this up? And then has to go out.

[Danny Kelly]

He's speaking with semicolons.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Also calling Josh Allen Big booty. Big booty Quarterback Josh Allen.

[Danny Kelly]

Remember when he said piss missile? It was almost a good moment discovering.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That the word absolute was his verbal crutch.

[Danny Heifetz]

I really enjoyed it. Unlocked a lot for what we're doing here this year.

[Danny Kelly]

I can't believe he wore one glove. Did we get an explanation on that? Did he lose his other glove?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I doubt he lost.

[Danny Heifetz]

I honestly, it's probably. The mic's cold. I don't.

[Danny Kelly]

I don't know.

[Danny Heifetz]

Or he's a super villain.

[Danny Kelly]

The mic is cold. He's like, I don't like the feeling of cold metal on my skin.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It burns me.

[Danny Heifetz]

The last one, he's like, I'm very.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sensitive to impure metals.

[Danny Heifetz]

Anyway, the other announcer moments here, Dude, Eric Collins just screaming, Dowdle. Look at this. Still on his feet.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He speaks with so much more passion than anybody I've ever heard.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's. He's. I. I honestly want to meet him more than anybody else involved in professional football. I want to meet that guy.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I want him. He's great.

[Danny Heifetz]

Do we. Do we isolate Dowdle, You make that one more time. What did you.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sound like a cat screeching?

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, Screaming into the abyss. It's like, bing, bong. And with the guts of a cat burglar. Oh, my God. The guts of a cat burglar. Similarly, Gus Johnson announcing the Indiana touchdown.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sure.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, my God.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Mendoza in trouble.

[Danny Heifetz]

Unbelievable.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, good call. Good call.

[Danny Heifetz]

Unbelievable.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Gus is another one. We need to get those two in a room because they're. They're just fans like nuclear fission who have a microphone, you know, Mendoza under pressure.

[Danny Kelly]

And then he just goes the way he says. Mendoza is almost better than Shroud.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Mendoza. Yeah, Mendoza under pressure.

[Danny Kelly]

Dude.

[Danny Heifetz]

The way he does, it's like the last gasp of oxygen leaving his breath.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Oh, Mark Uber.

[Danny Heifetz]

Can we play that? I'm sorry. Can we do that one more time? I have to hear that one more time. Mendoza in trouble. Unbelievable.

[Danny Kelly]

Omar.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, Mary down.

[Danny Kelly]

Give him the heights for trophy.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Down. In trouble. So good.

[Danny Heifetz]

We look. Dick.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

There's moments where he sounds like the famous boxing announcer guy that's standing in this corner.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, Buffer. Bruce Buffer.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes. He sounds like him a little bit.

[Danny Heifetz]

Is Bruce Buffer eating beignets?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Wasn't there one super bowl where I was in a hotel gym next to Bruce Buffer on the treadmill?

[Danny Heifetz]

Maybe it's probably Michael Buffer.

[Danny Kelly]

There's Michael, his brother, who does the fight night stuff.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Underrated. Incredible. Incredible niche. They locked down there. Incredible work by them. Bruce is better than Michael. That's my.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The microphone hanging from the ceiling is.

[Danny Kelly]

Like, one of which ones?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Conventions, dude.

[Danny Heifetz]

We should do that for our show. We should hang the mics from the ceiling.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The mic from the ceiling is sick.

[Danny Kelly]

When you pull it. Yeah. That's kind of like the Italian Stallion.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Rocky B. I love that.

[Danny Kelly]

Wait, hyphens. Are you. Are you saying it's time is better? Let's get better than let's get ready to rumble?

[Danny Heifetz]

I think it surpassed that. I think Bruce Buffer. Well, it's like a James Cook, Dalvin Cook situation. Like, you look up what they do.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's time. Can you do it?

[Danny Heifetz]

It's time.

[Danny Kelly]

I mean, it is pretty good. It is good, but let's get ready to rumble isn't Is.

[Danny Heifetz]

Let's get a rumble.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Let's get ready to rumble.

[Danny Kelly]

How many times I like, played basketball to, like, let's get ready to rumble.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's like a siren in the background.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, God, those guys. Honestly, pretty incredible.

[Danny Kelly]

It's great that the two brothers made their careers out of just, like, one catchphrase.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Sang one line. The dream. Super smart. All right, let's move on here.

[Danny Heifetz]

Wait. What's the winner? What's the winner for? Announcer moment.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Oh.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, I will. Can I just throw on a couple others here? Just to mention, we have to mention Chris Collinsworth saying, you know, my dad's name was Abraham Lincoln.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I gotta say, I Think that might win. Dude, that. That really made the round sounds.

[Danny Heifetz]

I.

[Danny Kelly]

That is so funny.

[Danny Heifetz]

My dad's name's Abraham Lincoln.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Isn't that how we discovered Buzz Nutter?

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah. Yes, it is how we discovered Buzz Nutter.

[Danny Kelly]

The sliding doors moment, Craig.

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, my God.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I think I want to give it to Chris Collinsworth, you know, and then.

[Danny Heifetz]

Because.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Because then Theresa went, what?

[Danny Heifetz]

What?

[Danny Kelly]

It was all of us.

[Danny Heifetz]

What? That was also so great because sometimes they set stuff like Tom Brady talking about milk, and they're like, hey, Tom, I heard you also milking the clock. You build cows, right?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And.

[Danny Heifetz]

And it's obvious. Tirico so clearly did not know that.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah. You know, my dad. How did that never come up before? They've been doing this for, like, 20 years. I say on the other side of the coin here, like, the Al Michaels just mailing it in thing is really funny to me. Like, I will never now. I will always remember him calling the Rashid Shahid return touchdown against the Rams. Rasheed Shahid fields the putt. He's like, at the 15, about to score. And he says, fields the punt.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Working his way down the sideline.

[Danny Kelly]

He's, like, about to score.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Crucial moment, comeback.

[Danny Heifetz]

I was just checking his best.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He.

[Danny Kelly]

It's like they had to use a, like, jumper cables midway through there just to get him going a little bit.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. Okay, next award. Here is the Cloyes box. Name of the year. This is a new award.

[Danny Kelly]

Ooh.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

We often go back and look at old NFL rosters. We love finding old, old timey names that don't exist anymore. I think we've landed on four names that we discovered this year that are under contention. I will list them off here, and then we can decide on who we believe is the. Is the name of 2025 that we discovered. We have Cub Buck.

[Danny Kelly]

The way that Craig says it.

[Danny Heifetz]

Cub Buck.

[Danny Kelly]

Cub Buck.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Cub Buck. The next nomin is Jug. These are real people.

[Danny Heifetz]

Like, why do you call Jug? And they're like, well, his head looks like a jug.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

You know how. You know how, like, at the Oscars, they have, like, the guy who won best actor last year. Read the nominee. I wish we could have had, like, Cloy's box. Read this year's nomination.

[Danny Heifetz]

I have, like, recreate it like they did with Al Davis.

[Danny Kelly]

We're not that far off from that. Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No, we're not. Next up, a rare modern entry. Fish Brosmer, the brother of Max Brosmer. Fish. We think there's. We don't have evidence to suggest that his legal name is Not Fish. Yeah. So we're gonna go with Fish Brosmer. And then rounding it out, as we just mentioned, Buzz Nutter.

[Danny Kelly]

I'm actually proud of us. None of us to this point have said Nutter. I barely know her.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Right. So the Cloys box name of the year award goes to who in your mind?

[Danny Kelly]

Buzz Nutter.

[Danny Heifetz]

But I gotta tell you, Buzz Nutter is funny, but I think Jug Earp. I think it's.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, my God. There's like a ling. There's something linguistic about cub Buck. With the cub buck, it's like the BB right next to each other. Come Buck. It's like a loop. For some reason. I see like Cubbuck. Like a W there or boobs.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

This is a true battle here at the top. I don't know who deserves it.

[Danny Kelly]

I'm changing my answer to Cubbuck.

[Danny Heifetz]

Maybe we put a poll on Spotify or we'll do a poll.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. Who deserves best name of the year? We put all four up. Really?

[Danny Kelly]

Nutter.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

But Buzz Nutter is crazy.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He was a center in the 50s.

[Danny Kelly]

So we'll put a. We'll do a vote on this, I think.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

And then what are some of the other ones? Just to like, remind people. So there was like Wizard White.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Wizard White. Clo.

[Danny Kelly]

Milt. Plum.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Mil.

[Danny Heifetz]

Feathers.

[Danny Kelly]

Be Feathers.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Right.

[Danny Kelly]

There's lots of. Lots of Dicks. We. We talked about Dick Bong, one of the great American fighter pilots.

[Danny Heifetz]

Sam Donald's great uncle. Yeah. Dick Bong was.

[Danny Kelly]

I forgot about that Dick Bong. Major.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Wait, Dick Bong is related to Sam Darnold?

[Danny Heifetz]

Oh, no, that's just a ma. Different Major Darnold. Uncle. Dick Bong.

[Danny Kelly]

Bong. It's.

[Danny Heifetz]

Sorry. Darnold's uncle's Dick Hammer. Dick Hammer.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Dick Hammer.

[Danny Heifetz]

Dick Hammer. Basketball player at USC. Competed in volleyball at the 64 Summer Olympics. Played captain Richard Dickhammer in the TV series Emergency.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And he was also a firefighter.

[Danny Heifetz]

And he was a Marlboro man.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, yeah. He was the marble man. Dick Hammer.

[Danny Heifetz]

Dick Hammer. And then also while we're here, we're going to do a Fanduel ad. We actually convinced Fanduel to let us do an ad where we get to just name old players. I don't know how we did this, but we. Fanduel was like, you want to do an ad? We're like, could we do one where we name old players? So Fanduel is now live in Missouri. And to celebrate, we're going to go back to the start. We're taking a look at the mighty 1960 Dallas Texans, aka the 1960 Kansas City Chiefs because of Missouri. So, yeah, shout out to FanDuel for letting us do an ad where get to name players. So I pulled up some of our favorite players in the 1960 Dallas Texans, aka Kansas City Chiefs, Bo Dickinson.

[Danny Kelly]

Okay.

[Danny Heifetz]

Jack Spikes.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Great name.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, yeah. Jack Spikes.

[Danny Heifetz]

Tony Romeo, which sounds like a guy in the Goodfellows montage. He's like, oh, yes. Tony Romeo.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, there's Jimmy two times. Tony Romeo.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes. Tony Romeo.

[Danny Kelly]

Jimmy Lover, not a fighter.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, it was Tony Romo. And now that's how he. Tony Romeo.

[Danny Heifetz]

Exactly. Smokey Stover.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Ooh, that's nice.

[Danny Heifetz]

A guy. There's a guy named Hatch.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Okay. Hatch is a good name. Hatch.

[Danny Heifetz]

Hatch is great.

[Danny Kelly]

Hatch.

[Danny Heifetz]

But I want to shout out one guy named Cheryl Hedrick, and I want to shout him out because I want to tell you a little bit into his Wikipedia. So shout out Cheryl Hedrick. I learned this looking up Smokey Stover. And so Cheryl Hedrick while working in the West Texas and New Mexico oil fields during the off season in 1960. Of course, I know he became one.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Of the first real man strength.

[Danny Heifetz]

I know we used to be a country. He became one of the first players to sign with the Dallas Texans, who became the Chiefs in 1960 as an undrafted free agent. In Hedrick's first year as a linebacker at the Texans, he set the standard for playing hurt despite feeling pain in his neck after a pregame collision. Hedrick played pregame collision. Maybe it was with a Mac truck.

[Danny Kelly]

They're just doing the Oklahoma drill for warmups.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

They're probably sprinting at one another from 100 yards apart.

[Danny Heifetz]

So he learned five days later that he had actually fractured his vertebrae in his neck before the game, and then he played the next game without missing any time, which earned him the nickname Psycho. So Hedrick was actually known as Psycho for the rest of his career after that. He called Psycho Hedrick.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And now that's Cam Scatterboo has taken on that nickname.

[Danny Kelly]

His. His legacy lives on.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, dude.

[Danny Heifetz]

Hank Strahm said that Hedrick played once. Broken neck, infected gums, and a fractured thumb. And that he broke his bone in his finger.

[Danny Kelly]

Teeth. He was on the injury report with teeth.

[Danny Heifetz]

Psycho Hedrick broke a bone in his finger. Sticking. The bone was sticking out, and he just put it back in. In his skin.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, it was like compound fracture.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes. And just get.

[Danny Kelly]

Lord.

[Danny Heifetz]

So, yeah, we used to be men.

[Danny Kelly]

I will say, in all the talk that we've done about funny names, the one. The one person that Keeps getting sent to me on Twitter and stuff. Dick Shiner.

[Danny Heifetz]

Dick Shiner. Dick Hammer. Major box Hammer.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

We can't overstate that. It's not just close box, but it's also boyce box and fern box. Yeah, that's the whole thing as a family. They win.

[Danny Heifetz]

Exactly. Champ Bailey, Boss Bailey and Michael. So Fern, Fern all timer.

[Danny Kelly]

The like watching Craig real like discover these names in real time. There's.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Do you. We have a single listener named Fern.

[Danny Heifetz]

If you're a name Fern and you can prove it, email us. Oh, we're gonna have so many questions.

[Danny Kelly]

If you can prove it.

[Danny Heifetz]

If you prove it. All right, remember, fanduel's now live in Missouri and they're celebrating with a ton of great promotions and rewards for everyone. So sign up today. Take advantage all week long. You don't want to miss out. And thank you to FanDuel for letting us do a FanDuel ad where we got to talk about close box.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

All right, next award here. This is the deadest dove do not eat award for the most glaringly obvious thing you still fell for. For me, it is that I fell for that the Steelers might not go nine and eight with Aaron Rodgers. I fell for that.

[Danny Kelly]

The oldest, oldest trick in the book. Craig.

[Danny Heifetz]

I fell for the Giants might not go 2 in 10 this season.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mine didn't really have anything to do with my team, but I thought Bryce Young might actually be good.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Turns out, no, he's not. He's not. Also, I drafted Jalen Waddle like an idiot.

[Danny Heifetz]

We fucking told you.

[Danny Kelly]

I know. You guys told me. I kind of did it. It was a little bit rebellious of me. I just wanted to prove you guys wrong.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

And you open the freezer, you saw the bag, it said Jaylen waddles 20, 25. You're like, let's do it.

[Danny Heifetz]

What's your return policy?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

All right, next up here, we had the most rewatchable play of 2025. I believe I have my answer. Which rewatchable play? I think. I think we just call this the best or most memorable season.

[Danny Kelly]

To me, it doesn't get any better than when Jalen hurts, turns the ball over twice in one play or worse, depending on what how you're looking at it. Wow, that's an all timer. That's never happened before.

[Danny Heifetz]

As far as I understand, it will never happen again. Yeah, it will never be broken.

[Danny Kelly]

Two turnovers in one game. I'll remember this when I'm old. When I'm like 65, I'll remember that play.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

If it happened to like Matt Stafford, big deal. The fact that it was Jalen hurts I think makes it even better.

[Danny Kelly]

He had like three turnovers to that point in the year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, we had five that day.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, five that day. Yeah. A good day though.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think it surpasses like the crazy Cardinals ending where Amari Dado drops the ball at the goal line and then Cambord throws a pick that the Cardinals then fumble into the end zone and the Titans score touchdown on a play the Cardinals intercepted them. That Max Brosmer's pick six. All that goes away. I think the Jalen Hurts play. That is the worst play. That is, that is the one I will remember the most.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes, I, I, I would. The, The Puka Week 13 Catch I is one of the best catches I've seen a very long time. But two turnovers in one play.

[Danny Heifetz]

I would argue the most memorable plays this year got erased by the Puka catch on Monday. Football would have been it. And the other one was frankly the Aman St. Brown lateral to Jared Goff where he caught a touchdown and would have scored the winning touchdown as time expired on a pitch to Goff. And then the rest were like Opi.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

But Amon Rock committed an egregious opi. So what can you do? You can't, you can't cheat. They're not going to let you. Okay.

[Danny Kelly]

By the way, they were playing the Steelers in that game.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Oh, right. Yeah. The next award here, the worst coach moment of 2025.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, I know what it is.

[Danny Heifetz]

Well, Brian Callahan saying he didn't know like two an elbows, not two feet and he was wrong for the catch rule is bad. Brian D going into the blue tent and yelling at them while Jackson Dart getting concussion tested was bad. I think Zach Taylor challenging a DJ Moore catch that turned it into a touchdown was bad.

[Danny Kelly]

That's it.

[Danny Heifetz]

That was pretty bad.

[Danny Kelly]

That's the best one that he tried.

[Danny Heifetz]

To get the ball back and they scored a touchdown.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I've never seen that.

[Danny Kelly]

That one's the best.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Incredible.

[Danny Kelly]

I just love that. It was, it was like the worst. Talk about your all time backfire I've ever seen.

[Danny Heifetz]

Aaron Glenn saying, I want this to be a team that fans are proud of. But again, I never said they were going to be proud of the jets right now.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

In fairness. Okay.

[Danny Kelly]

To be fair, you got me.

[Danny Heifetz]

However, I think it has to be worst coach mode of the year is Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss. I think that has to, I, I think that supersedes everything else. They're in the College Football Playoff hosting a home game. And he's just like, I'm gonna go.

[Danny Kelly]

Zach Taylor challenging a play and then having it turn into a touchdown is hilarious.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Wow. This is worse than I thought. Didn't even know you could do.

[Danny Kelly]

You could have done nothing and you would have been better off, pal.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Okay. The next award here is probably unanswerable questions from the season he. You said you had one you specifically wanted to pose.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah. So you know how the Steelers lost to the Browns last week? It didn't score a touchdown, even though if you had won that game, you would have just won the division.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Do you think the Steelers would have won if Rogers didn't spend so much time going through the Epstein files last week?

[Danny Kelly]

Wow.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

For doing his own research, you're saying.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes. I quite literally, like the people, like, tired is thinking that Aaron Rodgers spent too much time worrying about Miles Garrett breaking the sack record. And wired is actually Aaron Rodgers was just copy and pasting all the redacted stuff in the Epstein files and being like, do they want me to find this? Do you think they unredacted it on purpose? Why is it like this?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He's more focused on bigger issues than this silly game that we talk about.

[Danny Kelly]

Playing a kids game out here.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

He's trying to eat soup with forks.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That's right. He's. He's looking. He's got a bigger windshield than rearview. All right, next up here, next award. You know, in the rewatchables, there's an award called Apex Mountain, which is kind of who's at the top of their powers right now. Who's at the peak of their powers. We actually like the opposite. We like the Kyle Pitts Death Valley Award for who is having the nadir of their career, both professionally and personally right now. Although we may have to change it from Kyle Pitts. But I have a list for you guys. I can start, please.

[Danny Kelly]

This is. This is a spicy one. I like.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's an important category.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Patrick Mahomes, Aaron. Chiefs.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

By far, just by default. Kyler Murray.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Never had. He's literally. This is probably the hardest year of his entire life.

[Danny Kelly]

Never been benched.

[Danny Heifetz]

He didn't lose a game in high school.

[Danny Kelly]

Right.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Losing your offensive play caller and thinking you'll be fine.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Lions, Bucks, Eagles. Tough. Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, yeah, Good one.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

John Harbaugh.

[Danny Heifetz]

Probably.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Has it ever been worse for John Harbaugh?

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, well, he was almost fired 2015 a few years back. Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

2018. He was on the hot seats. Why they played Lamar in the first place. But no, this is. This is. This is pretty bad. If they lose to the Steelers, Faith.

[Danny Kelly]

Is at an all time low.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Is this Tua's Death Valley or was it the injury?

[Danny Kelly]

It was probably when he was very visibly concussed on the TV broadcast that one time. That was pretty.

[Danny Heifetz]

That was pretty brutal, the multiple times that happened. Yeah, yeah. Craig's like, doing the Seinfeld, like, scratching.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That's probably fair.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

What about Bill Belichick?

[Danny Kelly]

I think that's the one.

[Danny Heifetz]

Unquestioned. We. I mean, you might have to rename the award after him, dude.

[Danny Kelly]

Belichick has done more damage to his legacy this year. I can't. I can't.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

There's no comparison.

[Danny Heifetz]

What is more embarrassing, like, the Jordan Hudson stuff not only being true, but actually being way more true than any of us could have realized of how much he's running in his life and how much like, she has taken control of everything he's doing versus just absolutely getting boat raced in the. In the accident.

[Danny Kelly]

It's got to be Belichick, man.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Is it Apex Mountain for being whipped?

[Danny Heifetz]

Wow.

[Danny Kelly]

Wow. It's, like, hard though, Craig, because he's really old whipped. He's really old and she's young.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I mean, there's like, there are so many really, really old, like, senile rich people like Sumner Redstone, who are just basically getting tricked into, like, paying his multiple girlfriends money. But in terms of, like, coherent, lucid men, he might be the who.

[Danny Kelly]

Like, he's like, allowing her to, like, do make decisions about North Carolina football.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes.

[Danny Kelly]

That's tough.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I don't know who's more whipped. Email us if there's anybody who's been more than Bill belichick.

[Danny Heifetz]

Emails@ringerfantasyfootball gmail.com. that's pretty good.

[Danny Kelly]

Saving Silverman.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Great movie. Do you guys have any other nadirs?

[Danny Heifetz]

Sharon?

[Danny Kelly]

Pete Carroll.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yes. Surround more.

[Danny Kelly]

Sure. Yes.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

I was gonna say Pete Carroll, but he's been fired a few times. I don't know.

[Danny Heifetz]

No Patriots. Probably because this is sad for Pete, but, like, the Patriots getting fired. Pete Carol was like, no. 1 heels. Like, he's not never going to be anything.

[Danny Kelly]

Right?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. I mean, do you think the cheating scandal is worse for Pete Carolyn right now?

[Danny Heifetz]

Possibly usc? No, because, like, that was bad, but, like, they had been so good, man. Yeah, like, they were. It's also so quaint in retrospect. They gave Reggie Bush an escalator. Now it's like, damn, that was all you had to give Reggie Bush that's crazy. You got for half a million dollars, that's a contract of the year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

If you had to decide who is awarded the the Kyle Pitts Death Valley of just this season, who would you give a team? If you had to pick a team that wins the Death Valley award this season, I think there's four candidates. I think it's, it's the Jets.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, I think it's the jets who.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Have zero interceptions and Brady Cook has started multiple games, which doesn't feel right. Brady Cook feels like one of those guys where it's like a one week experiment.

[Danny Kelly]

The jets are like the, the living embodiment of. It can always be worse.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

You have, you have the Raiders who brought in Pete Carroll and Chip Kelly and Geno Smith and they drafted Ashton Genti in the first round. Tom Brady and they're going to have the first pick in the draft and it's an unmitigated disaster. You have the Giants who had Malik Willis tear his acl, Cam Scatterboo, a major success, break his foot out for the year. Jackson Dart can't stay healthy. They fire their coach midway through the season and they can't even get first pick. Or the Indianapolis Colts who were started 81 and then didn't make the playoffs and their quarterback broke his leg.

[Danny Heifetz]

So as a Giants fan, I can confirm it's not the Giants because the Giants are excited about Jackson Dart and I would so much I'd take the Giants over the jets right now. 101 times out of 100, I feel bad for the Jets. I think jets and Raiders fans are kind of dead inside. And I think the Colts getting that.

[Danny Kelly]

What is dead may never die.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, exactly. The Colts getting the flicker of I think we're going to win the super bowl and then literally finishing 1 and 7, Jones blows his Achilles. Yeah, you don't have picks. I think, I think, I think it's kind of the Colts even more, even more than like the Ravens at the Chiefs.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, the jets, the jets have just been doing it for so long. It's like what's another year?

[Danny Heifetz]

I have to say though, I think the jets, no interception thing, I think that's the stat of the year.

[Danny Kelly]

So sad.

[Danny Heifetz]

The jets so like they broke the record for any stretch of games over multiple seasons. But the record to start a season without interception, the longest any team had ever gone before without picks was the Giants a couple years ago. It's 11 games in a row to start a year. The jets have none. They're on the verge of a 17 game season without an interception and they hired a cornerback as their head coach.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Quarterbacks against the Jets, 34 touchdowns, zero interceptions.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's like the best season of all time.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Do we think? So the next category we had here was stat of the year. Do you think that's it? The zero interceptions for the Jets? Certainly the most memorable. I think yes.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think it has to be. The jets had no picks last year. Like, if they finish, that surpasses Jamar Chase's stat line of four catches and three tackles.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, that's good.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The Todd Brown, the Jake Browning special. Yeah, it's probably the jets having zero interceptions in an entire season. Okay, next up here we have the email of the year High Fitz.

[Danny Heifetz]

I would like to give my personal favorite. I think the email of the year is from. Name is redacted. But the guy who emailed in the story and I'm going to tell it again for the first time, if you guys remember. Don't worry. But basically he was out. It's like the late 90s. He's out at a club and he meets this girl. He takes her back. He's like 23. And she's like older. She's like 35. And they hook up and they. He's like, this is like the best sex of my life. And they start hooking up for four or five months and they have a great time. And then she's over. It's like Saturday, Sunday morning, and she picks up a Christmas card. She's like, how do you know these people? She's like. And he's like, those are my step siblings. She's like, how do you have this photo? Like, there's steps in these. She's like. And she says, these are my children.

[Danny Kelly]

Oh, my Lord.

[Danny Heifetz]

And it turns out pre Internet, he had been hooking up with his stepfather's first wife for months.

[Danny Kelly]

And then he never heard from her again.

[Danny Heifetz]

And that he never. She walked out and they never talked to her again.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

How is that not like a 90s movie with Michael Douglas? I feel like that should have been made.

[Danny Heifetz]

We should do good. We should make that.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Thank you.

[Danny Kelly]

Do we own the rights?

[Danny Heifetz]

Technically, we. I'll get in touch. We should. That. That would be an incredible beginning to a Christmas movie. Yeah. And then Christmas together.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

A few more here. Every rewatchables right before who won the movie, they usually do the Coach Finstock life lesson of the year. Do we have. Do we have a lesson of this year?

[Danny Heifetz]

You know, to quote, I forget if it was Shane Battier or A.J. brown. Who said this? You know, but if you're not welcomed, not listen to. Quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way to A.J. brown and the Bible.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

But yes, A.J. brown, the Bible.

[Danny Heifetz]

The Bible. Dash A.J. brown.

[Danny Kelly]

Mark in his letter to the Corinthians.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Do you guys know the quote? So do you know who Coach Finstock is?

[Danny Kelly]

No.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He's the coach from the movie Teen Wolf with Michael J. Fox. Here's the coach. Here's his quote. This is what he says in the movie. His three rules to a successful life. Get at least 12 hours of sleep. 12? Yep. Don't play cards with someone whose first name is a city. And avoid women with dagger tattoos.

[Danny Kelly]

Fair.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Iconic.

[Danny Kelly]

It's just. Yeah, the sage wisdom.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Don't play cards with somebody whose first name is a city is so good.

[Danny Heifetz]

Tallahassee. Stover. Like, I'm good.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Some guy named Dallas walks in. Nope, I'm out. All right, drum roll, please. We're gonna get to who won the year. So we started the. The episode with the fantasy MVP. This is different. This is more holistic. NFL generally. Who won the year? The 2025 NFL season high. Fitz, who do you have?

[Danny Heifetz]

I think the winner of the year has to be the. Just the new guard. It's just Ben Johnson, Caleb, William. It is.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No, it is.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's like it's.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I don't allow that.

[Danny Heifetz]

It's. I know, but it's. It's. It's. Caleb. Fine.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

You're going to name eight people.

[Danny Heifetz]

No, it's. It's. It's specifically. It's new coaches with these quarterbacks. It's Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. It's Trevor Lawrence with Liam Cohen and it's Mike Vrabel with Drake May. They've completely overtake. Like, it's. It's been a total shift away from the Mahomes, Josh Allen, like Lamar Jackson era. And they've just been kind of overthrown by like. Like Drake May, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Johnson, Caleb Williams.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, I think that the story of the year, you could say it's the. The coaching. The new coaching class or whatever. Because you could add in Kellen Moore, who's done good things for.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I mean, did he even. Did you mention Sean Payton and Bo Nicks? They're gonna be the one seed.

[Danny Heifetz]

No, that. And that's the thing you'll throw. Whether you want to throw in Sean Payton with that. But yeah, if you include that. I mean, second year coaches like Bo Nicks and Sean Payton overthrew Patrick Mahomes. In the AFC West. And it's like Drake May overtook Josh Allen in the AFC East. I know it's one season, but it's also. Josh Allen's gonna be 30 next year. Mahomes, ACL, 30. Lamar quietly gonna be like 30.

[Danny Kelly]

Mike McDonald.

[Danny Heifetz]

Mike McDonald for the Seahawks. Like a lot of these guys, like the second and first year head coaches, I just think there is a sea change.

[Danny Kelly]

The new guard, I kind of like. I think that's. I think there's something here.

[Danny Heifetz]

I know it's a little stupid and kitschy, but I'm like, we're in between eras right now.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I agree with DK that that is the story of the season. Unfortunately, the name of the category is who won the year. So you're right. If. Let's add another category called the story of the year, the story of the season, the narrative of the season, that is the new guard. Unquestionably.

[Danny Heifetz]

Fine. Then the winner. Then the winner is Shohei Ohtani. Because for two weeks we talked about baseball in this show, which has never happened before.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Carlos, the Oscars. And they're like. And the best actor goes to all five of them. What a year.

[Danny Heifetz]

Fine. I pick Otani.

[Danny Kelly]

Okay, well, you're not gonna like my answer.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Craig, who is it?

[Danny Kelly]

Generational prospects we gave up on.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

You guys don't know how to follow rules. Generational. So Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence. Who else? Kyle Pitts.

[Danny Kelly]

That's about it.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Okay. I think it's Drake May.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Probably he won the year.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

If you have to pick one person, I agree with hyphens that it, like, generally it is like this new era that this new wave that has like stormed into the NFL while the old guard is kind of waning. But I think if you. If you have to pick one person inside of that new wave, I would say it's either Drake May or Ben Johnson.

[Danny Heifetz]

Dude, I know it's Drake May because you know how you know it's Drake? Maybe he's conquered the Internet. It's. Aw, shucks. It's not even a high school sweetheart. His wife's his middle school sweetheart. And if you look at like Brittany Mahomes comments on anything she posts, it's like just hatred, vitriol, toxic Internet. Drake May's wife somehow is the only person in sports where everyone. All the comments and her bake miss and her cookies are just like, I love your husband. I'll do anything. Can I have your cookie recipes? Just. People fucking love her. They love Drake May I. It's not going to last it's not even toxic on the Internet.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Liz, my wife, has. Has discovered Drake May's wife and now follows her and consumes her content.

[Danny Heifetz]

That's how I know she's won the. That's how I know Drake May won the year.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, that's fair.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

All right. More importantly, who lost the year? This can be player or team.

[Danny Kelly]

I think the Colts dying on the Oregon Trail. The wagon. The Colts wagon.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's.

[Danny Kelly]

If you died fording the river.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I agree. It's either the Colts or if you want to expand out, it's Belichick.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think it has to be Belichick.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, it's Belichick. Belichick.

[Danny Heifetz]

You know why the Colts we feel bad for Bellich's. A punchline. Like, Bellich literally is just the best coach in the NFL since Paul Brown, like, at least. And now it's like. It's like we're going to need 10 years to rehab. That.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, it's tough.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The.

[Danny Kelly]

The Belichick thing went from greatest coach of all time. The NFL is so stupid for not hiring this guy to everyone being like, oh, okay, I kind of get it.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Bill Belichick blew a 28 to 3 lead of his career.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yes. That's exactly what happened.

[Danny Kelly]

God damn it, Craig.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He was so close on the ball.

[Danny Kelly]

Just needed one first down.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. Oh, no.

[Danny Kelly]

He's still. He's still got. He's still got a good. Like, he'll still go down as the greatest coach of all time. But, man, it's been rough.

[Danny Heifetz]

But. But. There's a but, man. Like, that's.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

That's the part of it now that wraps things up. We did have one bonus category of the Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award of the Year. Went back and compiled the what he thought were. Is it the best takes, the funniest takes.

[Danny Heifetz]

I have kept track of these for the entire season, and I wrote down what I thought was the craziest thing each of us said on the show this year.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Like, so this is like 10. These are 10 out of 10 on the crazy scale.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think this is the single craziest thing each individual person said this year. Like, if you said it to a group of people that don't know you, like, you meet new people at a party, and you said this people would be like, what the is wrong with this guy? Like, he's an idiot. All right, so the nominees for Hottest Take.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I don't like that it ended on, you're an idiot. I was kind of. I was before that. I was like, oh, okay.

[Danny Heifetz]

You're right. No, sorry, sorry. Not crazy.

[Danny Kelly]

Good take, Good take.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, great take.

[Danny Kelly]

You're a takesman.

[Danny Heifetz]

Hot take, hot takes, Crate. Yeah. The hottest takes anyone said this year Craig's saying I could throw for 28 yards in an NFL game.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I believe that.

[Danny Kelly]

It's like Craig saying he could go two for five for. In first three point range or whatever for five. Three.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think Craig going three for five in an NBA game. Three for five, whatever percentage you want to put on that, I think it is a thousand times more likely than Craig throwing for 28 yards at an end.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No way.

[Danny Heifetz]

There's another fucking chance.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

No way.

[Danny Heifetz]

The thing they don't tell you about a screen behind the line of scrimmage is you still have to throw it like 20 yards.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He. Fitz, have you forgotten? We talked about this all season. I can underhand shuffle, pass the ball to a tight end, and he can get me 15 yards in one play. Do that three times.

[Danny Heifetz]

You know what? I'm going to let DK. I'll let DK silence speak volumes.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

My whole point about the three for.

[Danny Kelly]

Five, I love the three for five number. The fact that you came up with that is the.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The whole point.

[Danny Kelly]

Chef's kiss.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The whole point of 3 for 5 and 28 yards is that. Is that the entire game plan is to. Is to get me to accomplish that goal. Like Steve Kerr would be coaching me so that I. I am open to hit three out of five corner threes. And Ben Johnson is scheming me to get like his life depends on me getting 28 yards.

[Danny Heifetz]

There's no way you'll do one touch pass. It'll get 13 and you'll lose 7 yards. Yards immediately. Like you're going to lose yardage. Then I. They're going to play up on you. There's no way.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I know. Then I just go back shoulder down the sideline.

[Danny Heifetz]

But all right, yeah, it's a good point. Yeah. Go one on one like Lake Willis. You wait. You know that thing of the. What's that? Random guy who's like, I could strike out Timothy Chalamet. He'd have no chance. I'm starting 98 miles upper deck, right?

[Danny Kelly]

Dude, that's so great. Here it is. I would strike Timothy Shalom out on three pitches. Slider outside. He feels like he's drowning. Curveball in the dirt. Of course he's chasing it. Lady bird sucked. Kill yourself and bang. 97 inside corner. You're out. You were always out. You've been out since the day you were born. Okay. All right, your feels like he's drowning.

[Danny Heifetz]

Drowning. The next.

[Danny Kelly]

Of course he's chasing it.

[Danny Heifetz]

All right, next nominee for craziest things someone said on the show this year. DK said, my dog is more athletic than Secretariat.

[Danny Kelly]

I stand by it. My dog George, who's moderately athletic.

[Danny Heifetz]

My dog is more athletic than Secretariat.

[Danny Kelly]

Look, man, everyone's definition of athletic is a little different.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

The most impressive and famous thoroughbred horse of all time.

[Danny Kelly]

Secretariat.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It.

[Danny Heifetz]

Carlos saying, I couldn't pick. I have both. I hate Carlos saying, I hate the moment of Zen on YouTube TV.

[Danny Kelly]

That is an all timer, which I hate the moment of Zen.

[Danny Heifetz]

He's like, I'm mad about it. Rather see more commercials is what he said. Carlos. I have to say though, I. He's saying on the top of the Guinness factory, I'm like getting beers and it's like, do you want anything? He's like, yeah. Do you think they have Moscow mules?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

This is in Dublin.

[Danny Heifetz]

Dublin, in the Guinness factory. It's in the museum to Guinness. And I just looked at him. It was the first rude thing I've ever said to him. He was like, do you think they have mosquitoes? I was like, no, they did. I wish did. They had them.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, well, every time we do a baseball segment, we finish the show and we're talking about the episode. He goes, I just hate baseball. Can we delete that?

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, let's cut it. Talk about a Tony.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

He's like, yeah, the best world Series of all time. He's like, I didn't like that.

[Danny Heifetz]

My. Obviously there were a lot of moments for me, but the one I picked as the most craziest thing I said this year, I said I could build Stonehenge if I had 30 to 40 guys in 30 to 40 years.

[Danny Kelly]

30 to 40 guys. I've got my 30 or 40 guys and 30 to 40 years.

[Danny Heifetz]

Feral hogs. Yeah. 30, 40 guys. 30, 40 years. I'll. I'll build Stonehenge.

[Danny Kelly]

I love. These arguments are so ridiculous.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I think it's you saying you watch Sopranos out of Order.

[Danny Heifetz]

I. I had that one. That's an honorable mention. Do you think that's better than Stonehenge? Me saying I watched Sopranos out of Order. I also had my sock rant down here, but I don't think he's watching.

[Danny Kelly]

It like, it's Seinfeld.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah, he's just tuning in like it's the fucking news. Yeah, I saw, I saw Sopranos. It was all right.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, I saw that episode. That was a good one.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

I didn't love that episode. I didn't know what was going on. That's like Bill on Sal on the pot of salads. Like he watched the entire season five of Stranger Things with his kids and he had never seen an episode before and he's like, this show sucked. I have no idea what's going on.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, no. Oh, that's great.

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah. Well, the sixth episode ever watched was probably Pine Barrens. I'm like, so where is this interior?

[Craig Horoholbeck]

What is this?

[Danny Kelly]

Who are these guys?

[Danny Heifetz]

Yeah, we just must like the outdoors. Oh, my God.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Okay, so does that conclude it? I think that concludes.

[Danny Heifetz]

I think that's it.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Alrighty. What a year. It's been a successful first season of the ringer fantasy football league. I would say I got last. You guys got what, third and fourth.

[Danny Kelly]

Mal one.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Mal one got second. Yeah. The first place in last place team both went six and eight. That should tell you how.

[Danny Heifetz]

And the second place team, that says a lot about first and second with six and eight. That is the last.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Last.

[Danny Heifetz]

And then DK9, third and fourth went like 11 wins a piece.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah. Thank you to everybody who was with us along the way this fantasy season. Thank you to all of our producers. Thank you to Carlos and Kai and Cam and Austin and Ryan and everybody who contributed along the way. Thank you to Christian McCaffrey, our fantasy MVP. Thank you to JSN, who I fell in love with this year, Drake May. Thank you to Drake Magus. Thank you. Who else? We thank you.

[Danny Heifetz]

Thank you to everyone who emailed us. [e-mail]. yeah, we appreciate everyone in our Spotify rap. Thank you for that. Everyone follows on Instagram, Ringer Fantasy Football and everyone in the Discord, which the episode. The invite to the discord's in the link. So thank you to everyone there too.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Thank you to Cub Buck, Jug Earp, Buzz Nutter and Fish Brosmer for contributing this this season. And most of all, thank you, Lauren Lord.

[Danny Kelly]

Thank you, Guy Lombardo. I searched out long sign the. The new year song. You know, I don't know how I say that. Right. Anyway, he was the first guy that came up. I'm sure it's a lot of people.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Have said, wait, his name's Guy Lombardo?

[Danny Kelly]

What? That's what I searched it on.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Should we add him to the best name of the year list?

[Danny Heifetz]

It's like, it's like moonlight.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

It's like, wait, Guy Lombardo won best name. Cool. What's the name of that song? Do we know?

[Danny Kelly]

Out long out Lang Sign. I think it's. I'm probably not saying that correctly, but it's the. It's a New Year song as you know it.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Yeah.

[Danny Kelly]

Happy New Year, guys.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

Its title means Old Long since.

[Danny Heifetz]

Tom Brady talks.

[Danny Kelly]

Yeah, Old Lawn since Just words coming out.

[Craig Horoholbeck]

All right, goodbye, everybody.

[Danny Heifetz]

Must be 21 + in present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 + in present in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling Problem Call 1-800-Gambler or visit rg-help.com or call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny in New York. Monster Energy Everybody knows White Monster Zero Ultra. That's the OG. It kicked off this whole zero sugar energy drink thing, but Ultra is a whole lineup now. You've got Strawberry Dreams, Blue Hawaiian Sunrise, and Vice Guava, and they all bring the Monster Energy punch. So if you've been living in the White can branch out. Ultra's got a flavor for every vibe, and every single one is Zero Sugar. Tap the Banner to learn more.

[Danny Kelly]

The Uniswap Wallet makes crypto easier and safer to own and use. Discover new tokens, research confidently, swap instantly, and manage it all securely in one place. The Uniswap trading protocol has powered over $3 trillion in volume, and it's trusted by millions worldwide. Buy your first crypto assets in a few taps and experience the freedom of decentralized finance with Uniswap. Tap the banner to get started.