Fantasy Football Today - 11/11 BONUS: Mailbag and Bryant McFadden Talks Matchups!

Episode Date: November 11, 2017

We answer your Start or Sit and trade questions to get you ready for Week 10. Then we're joined by former FSU, Steelers and Cardinals CB Bryant McFadden (25:44) as he discusses what to expect from the Steelers offense rest of season (31:20), how T.Y. Hilton could fare against his former squad this weekend (34:00), if the Broncos defense keeps Tom Brady in check (41:43) and much more. Bryant also gives us a great Bill Cowher story (38:16) and competes against Adam in "Cane, Seminole or Gator?" (45:43) To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. Here we go! Email us at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. Here we go! It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Let's go! Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Saturday Mailbag coming at you here.

We're actually recording on Friday afternoon, as you know, answering your questions at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. And Adam and Jamie are here. Here we go. Talking to the third person, Jamie. Save me from this horrible intro. Jamie does not like to listen to Adam talk about Adam. You are going to enjoy listening to Bryant McFadden,

a former Steelers and Cardinals cornerback Super Bowl winner. We're going to have him on, former Florida State Seminole. So we'll talk some trash. It'll be fun. We're going to ask him about some matchups, Dallas backfield, that kind of stuff. That'll be later, maybe with Jamie, maybe just me and BMAC. And we will have that for you. And I want to wish everybody a happy Veterans Day.

We cannot thank our veterans enough. You are the best. Thank you, thank you, for you. And I want to wish everybody a happy Veterans Day. We cannot thank our veterans enough. You are the best. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Absolutely. All right, quick news and notes. Matt Forte is out this week. When we previewed the game on Friday's show, we previewed it as if Matt Forte would be out this week.

But you really like Bilal Powell, right? Yeah, I think he's a borderline number one running back. It's hard to get away from the matchup. The Bucs have allowed seven touchdowns in their last four games to running backs, and he should get a lot of work. He's been averaging 4.7, 4.6 yards per carry in his last three games. The hope would be that the catches that Matt Forte has been giving you go to Powell, and then if you're stuck in a deeper league, look at Elijah McGuire.

He'll be the number two guy, and I don't think they're afraid to give him work. Let's just say hypothetically, totally hypothetical, not real. Let's just say one of your friends that you did a podcast with was trying to figure out the last spot in his FanDuel lineup, and he was deciding between Alfred Morris, Arlinds Darkwa, and Bilal Powell. Hypothetically, who would you recommend that person go with? FanDuel or Draking? FanDuel, half PPR. I'd still go Powell.

Oh, so it was going to be your answer anyway, right? Yeah. Okay, but glad we clarified. All right, good cheap options in daily this week. Julio Jones practiced Friday, so we expect him to play. And Chris Hogan did not practice, so we don't expect Chris Hogan to play, right? No. All right.

And then, you know, we talked on our Friday video show on Fantasy Football today about a guy, a beat-the-waver wire guy that we didn't mention on the Friday podcast, and that's Martavis Bryant, who has a really good schedule rest of season and has been really bad this year. But if he has a big game this week, he might be the most added player next week. 50% owned, Jamie. The question was from one of our listeners or viewers, would you rather own Martavis Bryant or Will Fuller?

So I'll pose that question to you. I mean, I think at this point you have to say Martavis Bryant because what are your expectations for Will Fuller? To go out there and be avoided by a bad quarterback in Tom Savage? Because that was the case in the first game against Indianapolis. And so Bryant coming into the year, the appeal was over the suspension, picking up where he left off a year and a half ago or a year ago, and being one of the primary targets for Ben Roethlisberger.

So, I mean, Smith-Schuster has clearly ascended to become the number two receiver, the number three option in the passing game behind Brown and Le'Veon Bell. But, I mean, Martavis Bryant is still going to have some good games ahead, and you want to get ahead of that if you can. So let's get some emails and tweets. Brian is 50% owned. But some start or sit questions. For Week 10, Julian from Florida. Start two 50% owned. Some start or sit questions. For week 10, Julian

from Florida. Start two in PPR. Stefan Diggs, Adam Thielen, Devante Parker. I'd probably split up the Vikings guys and go with Thielen and Parker. This is from Jay from a city outside of Seattle. Dear Sean, Kurt,

Marshawn, and Ricky. Seahawks running backs. It seems like most people have both Marvin Jones and Golden Tate. Dear Sean, Kurt, Marshawn, and Ricky. Seahawks running backs. Yeah. It seems like most people have both Marvin Jones and Golden Tate in their top ten this week. I have Antonio Brown plus the Lions guys plus Devin Funchess. I have to sit one. I think he's a little worried about starting both Lions. Would you start Funchess over either Lion?

I mean, you can. Just do you really want to sit Marvin Jones or Golden Tate, given the matchup against Cleveland? I'd play both. You should have played, like, if you had the same choice last week, you should have played both Lions. Definitely. All right, Nick from Chicago.

Should I bench Alf, Murray, or Darkwa? Murray. Wow. You know, you look at Morris' situation now, could have a big game. You look at Darkwa, could have a big game. You look at Murray,

could have a bad game. Yeah, yeah. Sure. Probably not going to have a big game. All right, George and Santa Cruz. Dear Butterfinger, take five. Charleston Chew and whatchamacallit.

I don't think I've had a Charleston Chew. Have you? I'm sure I have at some point. I don't even know what's in it. I'm going to have to investigate. Here's the question. I'm thinking of starting Josh McCown over Tom Brady this week. Am I nuts? Well, I mean, two weeks ago,

I'm going to guess that McCown was probably better. Yeah, I would say, yeah, I think so. And Brady, they've been in the same range, you know, for the most part of the last five weeks. And when you factor in that the Jets have not had their bye week and the Patriots have, they're relatively close in their standings for fantasy points. Is he nuts? I mean, I'd still play Brady. Yeah, they're relatively close in their standings for fantasy points. Is he nuts?

I mean, I'd still play Brady. Yeah. You're not nuts, though. All right. Here's the description of a Charleston Chew. Chewy, flavored nougat wrapped in a rich, chocolatey coating. That sounds pretty good to me. Yep.

But knowing you, you'll find something you don't like. What kind of flavors do they have? They have different flavors. They have vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. So what would be your go-to? Chocolate. I think I would go with the vanilla. But I would have all of them.

You're such a bad taste. What's wrong with that? It's vanilla. There's nothing wrong with it. All right, here is Rowan. Hey, Cliff Clavin and three guys who have never been in my kitchen. That's a famous Cheers reference.

Three guys who have never been in my kitchen? Yeah, it's like he's on Jeopardy or something like that, and he gets three guys that he's never heard of, and he says, who are three guys who have never been in my kitchen? It's something like that. I'm sure many people know what it is, and I sound like an idiot to them, which is nothing new. This is an interesting question.

Given Charles Clay's favorable upcoming schedule, should I drop Delaney Walker for Charles Clay? I believe the Titans have a favorable schedule coming up too, right? They may not have the same level of potential success. Let's take a look. And Walker's

been a little better lately. He doesn't get red zone targets. He hasn't scored this year other than a rushing touchdown. But his last two games, 63 yards and 71 yards, 12 total catches. Cincinnati this week at Pittsburgh, and then, yeah, it's pretty good after that. It really is.

Who'd you rather have? I'd rather have Delaney right now. I just don't know if Charles Clay is 100% healthy. Now, I say that with Walker battling an injury of his own, but at least he's been playing through it. Okay, here's Trevor. Clay's made me a little bit nervous. I know we're gung-ho about him, and I think we should be about adding him,

but I just wonder if starting him coming off the injury makes a ton of sense. No, totally. Totally with you. All right, so here is Trevor. He says, first of all, Adam, a football movie doesn't have to have football games in it. Are you going to say that Draft Day isn't a football movie? It has football in it. It has drafts in it.

It doesn't really have football in it. Well, there's stuff when... Yeah, no no it's got much more football than Jerry Maguire Much more Much more football stuff talk The whole freaking movie is about football And the rest of you Stop giving Adam a hard time about not picking a bonanza You fought for years to get him not to pick one

And now you're forcing him to do it Take one for years Nobody I don't know you guys Don't pick one don't pick one Dave was always the one that didn't want you to do it. Take one for years. Nobody. I don't know. You guys don't pick one. Don't pick one. Dave was always the one that didn't want you to do it. He secretly did. All right. The fantasy question is earlier in the week you said to start the Titans defense because Cincinnati gives up a lot of points to defenses.

But then you spent the rest of the week talking about how A.J. Green is going off. Can't have both happen. Well, I think you can. But he has Tennessee, Kansas City, they have a buy, Houston this week. So would you start the Titans or

the Bills, Bucks, Redskins, or Browns? Titans. Yeah, like A.J. Green could have a good game, but you want some sacks? You want some turnovers? They're not a high-scoring team, the Bengals, even when A.J. could have a good game. You want some sacks. You want some turnovers. They're not a high-scoring team, the Bengals, even when AJ Green is a good game.

Right. So it could happen. All right, this is Matt. Who's better rest of season, Nelson Aguilar or Ted Ginn? Ted Ginn. You know, I think we've probably seen the best of Aguilar. I still think Ted Ginn has the opportunity for some good to great games, especially as they start to get into the meat of their home schedule. Alright, Ted Ginn.

This is from Sean in Long Island, but currently in Palm Bay, Florida. Very nice. Hi, Sean. How goes it John Spartan, Ray Tango, Marion Corbretti, and Joseph Dredd? That's their Stallone characters. Yeah, now

I don't think I've seen three of those four. Tell me names again. John Spartan. Who is that? Demolition Man. Oh, I've seen Demolition Man. So I've seen two. Ray Tango.

Tango Cash. Yeah. Marion Corbetti. I think it's Corbetti. That's Cobra. I've never seen Cobra. Cobra's awesome. I think it's Corbetti. That's Cobra. I've never seen Cobra. Cobra's awesome.

And Judge Dredd. I am the law. How have I never seen Cobra? I feel like that's right up my alley. Cobra's awesome. All right, here's the question. Who do I start in PPR? Terrence Williams, Will Fuller, or Devante Booker? Man, probably Booker.

I might go to your waiver wire, though, see if Adam Humphries is available. Maybe Marquis Goodwin. Those are two guys that are owned in less than 30% of leagues. Okay. And then from Devin, Cam or Goff? Goff. Morris or Robbie Anderson in PPR? We did a video segment Without you today for CBS Local

Aww And we had to redo it because I said Jared Barf On purpose? No I started to say Garf Oh man Yeah CBS Local Good stuff What was the question?

Oh, Alfred Morris or Robbie Anderson, PPR? I'd probably go with Anderson Just because he's been playing well And PPR's format should favor him Okay, and I really appreciate all of the outreach on the Draft app Download the Draft app or go to PlayDraft.com And if you want a free entry into a draft You use our promo code

FF today. You can play for cold, hard cash, everybody. Drafts start at $1. There's a draft out there for everyone. $1. Big deal. You can play against me, Big Cane 2. I'm going to accept some entries. Today's Friday. I'm going to accept some entries throughout the day and hopefully play like seven or so listeners this week. You can play in bigger drafts, though, and I recommend it. You know, three people, ten people, whatever it is. Play in some bigger drafts. You have 30 seconds on the clock. You can schedule a time for a draft.

It's really convenient. It's really fun. I know everybody's going to like it. And, of course, you get that free entry into a paid draft with our promo code FFtoday. Join me on draft. Friend me. Big cane, too. Friend me, Big Cane 2. Challenge me.

Download the draft app. Go to PlayDraft.com and enter the promo code FFtoday. Again, that promo code is FFtoday. Back to the emails. Casey from a state north of Ohio. We'll go with Canada. Start two in PPR. DeMarco Murray, Crowell, Mixon, Alf.

Crowell, Mixon, Alf, Murray. Alf and Mixon. Over DeMarco. Yeah, look, I mean, DeMarco could play well, but he's going to share touches with Derrick Henry again. And Henry's out-touched him and out-produced him fantasy-wise in the last couple weeks. This is from Angela. Tate, Cooks, Laundrie, or Funchess?

Laundrie? Yeah, autocorrect. Tate, Cooks, Laundrie, or Funchess? Laundrie and Funchess, yeah. Standard or PPR? Doesn't say. I'll go Tate and Cooks. Actually,, or who? Funchess. Funchess, yeah. Standard or PPR? Doesn't say. I'll go Tate and Cooks. Actually, I think she may only need one.

Tate would be number one for you? Oh, yeah. I love Tate this week. You're not going to start? Love Tate this week. You're going to start Cooks over Landry? Standard, yes. PPR, close.

You know Jade Arendarst? Mm-hmm. Friend of the program. Co-worker in Fort Lauderdale. Good friend of mine. Yep. He tweeted, Two nightsale, good friend of mine. Yep. He tweeted, two nights ago I had a dream. I was hanging out with Miley Cyrus at some MTV party.

Last night I had a dream Adam Azer, myself, and Michael Douglas were in Vegas playing Blackjack and then going to a Cirque du Soleil show. How do you call it? Cirque du Soleil? Cirque du Soleil. What is it you call it? Cirque du Soleil? What is it? You need to get out of your apartment. I've seen Cirque du Soleil.

They're terrible. What? Oh, my God. It's the worst. No, it's not the worst. It's very talented stuff. It's really impressive. It's just not for me.

It's not for me. Art. Dumb. Basically. Basically. It's got to have you and Pete Frisco. It's Cirque du Sole. It's just not for me. Art. Dumb. Basically. You and Pete Frisco. But Blackjack. It's Cirque du Soleil. What did I say?

Cirque du Soleil. You said it funny. I said Soleil. You said it weird. I don't think I did. Anyway, I would love to play Blackjack with Michael Douglas. That is really weird. This is from Ryan.

Ryan is – by the way, he said in the dream he saw Michael Douglas, and Michael Douglas said to him, hey, let me introduce you to one of my friends, and it was me. That's just weird. Ryan wants to know if it's time to drop Jordan Reed. Depends. I mean, look, if you picked up a capable backup tight end, like let's say you had Reed and Brait, and you needed to add somebody to help your team. Well, Reed's practicing this week, so what if he's back next week?

Are you really going to Brait better rest of season? Yeah. Yeah? Okay. Boy, it might be a lost year for Jordan Reid. This is from Sal. Pick one in PPR. Jordy, Ty Montgomery, or Theo Riddick?

Theo Riddick. Over Jordy? You trusting Jordy? I don't trust Riddick? Theo Riddick. Over Jordy? You trusting Jordy? I don't trust Riddick. I don't trust any of them. No, I don't either. I think I'd go Jordy, but okay. Riddick's bold.

Buck from Fresno. Dear Mikey, Mouth, Chunk, and Brand. I don't remember a brand. It's always Dad. Oh, come on, man. Which one's Brand? Mikey's brother. Oh, okay.

Who are some players that might not be doing well this year but are good breakout candidates for 2018 in a keeper league? That's a good question. I think you look at some of the guys dealing with poor quarterback play. T.Y. Hilton, for one, should bounce back. Dante Moncrief is not a bad wild card. It depends where he's playing, though. He's going to be a free agent.

My guess is he'd go somewhere else. I haven't dropped Joe Williams in my Dynasty League. Yeah, I'm sorry for you. I'm sorry for you. Martavius Bryant? Still Josh Doxson. Still the young wide receivers. Sure.

John Ross. John Ross could certainly be one of those guys. Mike. John Ross. John Ross could certainly be one of those guys. Mike Williams for sure. Yep. Keenan Allen. OJ Howard. Yeah. I mean, you're just taking all the young guys.

Okay, yeah. So just underperformers? Rob Kelly. Yeah, okay. There you go. Yeah, yeah, okay. There you go. Jay Ajayi, maybe have a better year next year. Jay Ajayi. And this is from Lizzie. I have three quarterbacks.

Who should I drop? Matt Ryan, Josh McCown, or Tyrod Taylor? I'm going to drop a Josh McCown of the group. And this is from Leslie. I dropped McCown in one league. It might be a league we're together to pick up Rod Smith. Okay. I will not be picking him up. From Leslie, start

Tyrod Taylor, Mariota, McCown, or Goff? Goff. The other thing about McCown, they have their bye next week. So if you're not going to play him this week. Leslie would have to drop either Tyrod or Mariota to pick up Goff. So would you just roll with Tyrod or Mariota to pick up Goff.

So would you just roll with Tyrod or Mariota, or would you drop someone and start Goff? I'd drop Mariota and start Goff. Jay from Wyoming, Cam or Tyrod this week? It's close. I'd probably go Cam. This is from Keith. Hey, Craig, Smokey, Debo, and Big Worm.

That's Friday, right? I have no idea, but you're crushing me today. Crushing me. Good for you. You needed a win in pop culture. Pick one for standard. Joe Mixon, Devante Booker, or Doug Martin? Joe Mixon.

Okay. And then he also says, have you ever had a lion candy bar? No. I'm going to look up what's in a lion candy bar. Let's see. I'll do that in a second. Come back to that. This is from David in Minnesota.

He says, hey, AJ. What's that? Hey. Oh, yeah. Hey, I'm done with the intros. Two quarterback league. He's got Fitzpatrick and Beathard this week. I think I just ate a barf bean boozle.

Alex Smith is my only viable option going forward as Simeon got benched and Palmer's done. So there's nothing on waivers. I have a few potential trades. Should I do these? Remember, he's got Alex Smith, Fitzpatrick, and Bethard. DeAndre Hopkins for Cam. No. Ingram for Breeze.

No. Derek Henry and Juju Smith-Schuster for Jameis Winston. No. So ride it out with Fitzpatrick. He might have one quarterback. Why? He's got Alex Smith. It's a two-quarterback league. Okay.

So he's got Smith and then Fitzpatrick, who could lose his job in two weeks. Or Fitzpatrick could be the starter for Tampa Bay the rest of the season. And he may not be good. Well, you're not trading. Look, I guess the one would be Ingram for Breeze. Yeah. But I hate that. Well, yeah.

He's got Melvin Gordon and McCoy. I should have mentioned that That certainly helps I think it's interesting I've had a really bad year in our two quarterback league But you're doing well, right? Yeah And you have good quarterbacks?

Great quarterbacks I know you took Wentz as a third guy Who were your top two? Wilson and Mariota So, you know, taking that third guy clearly helped you Heath is on the other end of the spectrum Which he tends to do with this league And he's had a lot of success

He has, but he had Deshaun Watson. And Alex Smith. Yes. I guess that helps. Yeah. So he's got garbage quarterbacks this week. I think I'm playing him. No, I'm not playing Scott. Alright, we'll just do a few more here.

We've got a bunch of tweets. You can follow us on Twitter, by the way, at Jamie Eisenberg, J-A-M-E-Y, and I am at Adam Azer, A-I-Z-E-R, and we are going to have Bryant McFadden joining us soon. If Bryant McFadden wanted to go to a game, he would use SeatGeek. You all should use SeatGeek. This makes buying tickets to sports and concerts and comedy and theater so much simpler, so much more efficient.

It's going to save you time. It's going to save you money. We all want more time, and we all want more money. SeatGeek is going to help. It's going to save you time. It's going to save you money. We all want more time and we all want more money. SeatGeek is going to help. We're going to help as well. $20 off your first SeatGeek purchase with our promo code FFT. I still get tweets all the time. Hey, what's that ticket app you're always promoting?

It's SeatGeek. Please download it right now. Obviously, it's a free app to download. And the promo code is FFT. So you search for an event and it goes to multiple websites for you, and it pulls in a bunch of results, and it gives you a bunch of dots. So you've got a seating chart, and on the seating chart, you've got green dots and yellow dots and red dots.

Obviously, you want to click on the green dots. The greener the dot, the bigger the dot, the better the value. And those are the tickets you want to focus on. Very cool feature. Very easy to use. So every ticket guaranteed on SeatGeek. You can shop for tickets on SeatGeek with confidence. I use it every time I need tickets. And you should too. Download SeatGeek. And to get $20 off your first purchase, the promo code is FFT. That's FFT on SeatGeek. Finishing up with some tweets From Zach Pick three Or sit one Two

Sit two Demarius Jordy Cooks Woods Shepard Demarius and Jordy So wait

You're starting Woods Over Demarius Oh I'm sorry Yeah Woods and Jordy right Woods and Jordy Okay From Bill

Jackson Or Sanders Deshawn I guess Woods and Jordy. Okay. From Bill, Jackson or Sanders? Deshaun. I guess. Nobody ever calls him Jackson. That was so strange. Yeah. I'm excited about Deshaun Jackson.

I'm surprised Dave does not share the optimism I think that you have as well. Yeah. I'm probably in between you guys. But, yeah. I'm just nervous about Fitzpatrick. By the way, are you sure about Brandon Cooks? Are you sure he's a good start this week? No.

I'm not sure Demarius is either. Well, it would be Robert Woods you'd be starting over him or Jordy Nelson. No, I wouldn't start Robert Woods over Cooks. Robert Woods feels very much like chasing points. In standard, yeah. In PPR, he feels pretty safe to me. But he's been like 5 for 70 in a good game. But he's done that like four weeks in a row.

More like 60. It's not great. Don't you think you could find 11 fancy points from somewhere? Yeah, I just don't know if it's Brandon Cooks. Especially in PPR, he doesn't catch a lot of balls. Look, I'm going to start Cooks. This is what Woods has been.

5 for 66, 5 for 70, 5 for 59, 4 for 70, and 2 touchdowns. And that includes a 33-yard touchdown. I'm sorry, 52-yard touchdown. Yeah. All right. So start Cooks over Woods. Danny Jones. Can I start Michael Thomas, Mark Ingram, and Alvin Kamara all at the same time?

I could start Diggs, Shepard, Duke Johnson, Alfred Morris, or Rod Smith over them. I mean, maybe you want to put Shepard in there? Over Thomas or Kamara? That's the thing. Who are you going to bench? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man.

I hope the Saints don't lay an egg this week. From Fong Nguyen, sit one in PPR. Duke, Bilal Powell, Elijah McGuire, or Theo Riddick? Just sit one of those? Yeah. I mean, I'm sitting Elijah McGuire. From JD, pick one in PPR. Adams, Benjamin, Woods, Corey Davis. Woods.

Over Calvin? Yeah. From King, trade Alfred Morris, Corey Davis. Woods. Over Calvin? Yeah. From King, trade Alfred Morris, get DeAndre Hopkins. Love it. This is from David. Better stash, Devante Booker or Rod Smith? Rod Smith. Kelsey has a grade to trade.

Give Chris Hogan, get T.Y. Hilton. See? Kelsey has a grade to trade. Chris Hogan. Give Chris Hogan. Get T.Y. Hilton. C. Both got one hurt, one back. You B? All right. So it's even. Sean from Chicago says grade to trade. T.Y. Hilton for Lamar Miller.

Give Hilton. Get Miller. Standard. B. Okay. We like it Hank wants you to pick two Juju, Parker, Cup

First two And Juice wants you to know if you should So not Cup Would you drop Matt Forte to pick up Danny Woodhead In PPR I would From the standpoint of A. How healthy is Matt Forte going to be moving forward?

B, they have their bye next week, so you can't use him now for two weeks. I had an interesting trade offer. I'm curious your thoughts on this. Remember the league I told you earlier this week where I left the trade open and somebody accepted it? Yes, yes. That same owner sent me a trade offer of Orleans Darkwa and Bilal Powell. Now, this is before the Forte injury for Carlos Hyde. One more time.

Orleans Darkwa and Bilal Powell for Carlos Hyde. Now, here's the caveat. Both Hyde and Powell have their bye weeks next week. Is it worth taking what the upside could be? I'm 4-5 in this league. My receivers are awesome. Tight ends, awesome. Quarterback, I lost to Sean Watson,

but I have a combo of the great Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers. There's no way I'm giving up Hyde for them. I'd rather have Hyde. You? I guess the reason why I also wouldn't do it is because my running backs are bad. I had to start Thomas Rawls last night. On Thursday. I can't even get Rawls out of my lineup.

Right. The two guys this week. All right, Jamie, I'm going to let you go. I'm going to bring on Brian McFadden. And Dave Richards is going to hop on to talk Brian McFadden as well. Jamie, thank you for your time, my friend. Bye. And now we are pleased to be

joined by our special guest. Dave Richards here, whatever. We don't care about Dave Richards. Great. We've got Brian McFadden here, former cornerback for the Florida State Seminoles, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and briefly the Arizona Cardinals. A two-time Super Bowl winner, a three-time Super Bowl participant. Three more than me and Dave.

Dave, how cool is this, having BMAC on, huh? Well, technically, I am a Super Bowl crowd participant. participant three more than me and dave uh dave how cool is this having uh having b mac on huh well technically i am a super bowl crowd participant i was once a member of the crowd at a super bowl so i got you there adam yeah i've never been to one brian welcome to fantasy football today it's great to have you on how are you i'm great thank you for having me on i'm a big time fantasy guy so this should be fun. Yes, you are. Actually, you have three fantasy teams. Did you play during your career or when did this start? No, fantasy football playing while I was playing, I never thought about participating.

And when I retired, you know, I wanted to still be involved in the game and competing. You know, that's the thing about fantasy that i love competing and you and i watch football regardless anyway but now having fantasy implications be a part of my watching uh it makes the game more interesting the only thing that i don't like about fantasy football though you know i'm a diehard guy it takes rivalries out of the ball game because if i'm a p Steeler like I currently am, I love Pittsburgh to death. Me personally, I'm not drafting any Baltimore Raven

because I can't root for a Raven. Really? That's awesome. I mean, that makes sense. It's tough, man. You take your love out of the game, and you're a hate for other teams based on fantasy implications. I don't like that.

Yeah, but, like, I mean, you know, we all have our – Dave's not really a big fan anymore. He's just a fantasy analyst. I'm a Giants fan. I can't pass up on all the NFC East teams. Listen, how dare you be a Giants fan, and if you had an opportunity to draft Ezekiel Elliott, I hope you would pass. I mean, I don't have any Ezekiel Elliott, I hope you would pass. I mean, I don't have any Ezekiel Elliott, but how can I pass? I can't pass up on one of the best players in fantasy if he's available to me. It's about love. Love and your appreciation for the Giants should take top

priority. Right, Dave? No, I disagree. What? Because when I play fantasy football, I'm not playing with my heart. I'm playing with my brain. And I don't care, I'm not playing with my heart. I'm playing with my brain, and I don't care. I will cross over my loyalties, and I am trying to kick Adam's butt in our league. I'm trying to kick Jamie's butt in our leagues. I want to beat everybody. So if that means I've got to get Ezekiel Elliott on my team if I don't like the Cowboys, then I'm going to get him on my team because I want to win.

I'm at the point in my life where I don't root for any pro team anymore. But I root for my fantasy teams very much every single week. And beating my buddies, beating my family, that's what it's all about for me when it comes to fantasy. That's nice. There is no better feeling than beating my brother-in-law in fantasy football. I could win one game all year, but if I'm beating my brother-in-law, my season's made. Well, Brian, I've got to ask you this because, like, all right, you're lucky, right? You're a Steelers fan.

The rest of the AFC North, they never have good offenses. So you don't have to pass up. But do you extend this to the Patriots? I know the Steelers and the Patriots don't really like each other. Do you draft any Pats? Well, I don't have the amount of dislike that I have for the teams currently in the AFC North. It's not on the same level

as disliking the Pats. So, granted, I may draft a Patriot, but when you look at the Cincinnati Bengals with drafting a guy like A.J. Green, I have to pass. Any Baltimore Raven, well Offensive-wise right now, I don't think you would select a Baltimore Raven because they have been a bit inconsistent.

And you know what? I could deal with their defense. I would pick up Baltimore defense. And the thing is, if I'm playing against my Steelers, I'm not starting Baltimore's defense. That's the thing. Okay. All right. Yeah. You're lucky. You don't have to make the toughest. Okay. He's not taking any Browns, anybody. We know that. What Brown would I take?

If I had to take one, who would that be? Everybody's going crazy for Josh Gordon. They're expecting him to come back and be a superhero for the Browns when he does get back on the field. For those people that are waiting for Josh Gordon to come back, clearly they're in dire need of production. And they may be dead last in their standings right now. That's the case. Well, I think a lot of the teams that are picking up Josh Gordon, and I don't want Josh Gordon on any of my fantasy teams right now. If it's a week, maybe two weeks before we know for sure he's coming back, then I'll gladly tell people, pick him up, go ahead and do it. But some people think they're staying ahead of the curve by picking him up now

when he's not going to be available for the next four weeks. And the last time he came back from the suspension was all the way back in 2014, and he wasn't that great then. And you know how this Browns offense is now. I can't buy into it, and I certainly can't advocate for anybody waiting five weeks for Josh Gordon to come back onto their fantasy to being in their active lineup. I agree. That's definitely a big risk. But if you don't have any quality wide receivers, you have nothing to lose. So you need to go out and try to make something happen.

All right. So I want to ask you about the Steelers. We'll start with them and Ben Roethlisberger. It's a different team right now. They're not throwing as much. They run the ball a lot. You know, Roethlisberger, it's not surprising if he throws about 30 passes a game. So I'm hoping for a big second half from him. And then we could also talk about Martavis Bryant, Juju Smith-Schuster. Bryant only 50% owned. Jamie and I talked about him earlier on today's show. But what's your take on the Steelers offense and the passing game in particular? Do you think they start airing it out a little bit more or what we see is what we get from them? Well, you got to understand something about Pittsburgh and the same could be said for the 31 other NFL franchises they can care less about fantasy football they're trying to win

ball games and with that being said right now I think offensively they're at their best when Le'Veon Bell is the vocal point when he's getting his touches, which makes sense. But second half wise, I believe Big Ben is a starter based on the matchup. In one of my leagues, I have Big Ben, I have Alex Smith. So clearly I have to start Big Ben because Alex Smith, he's on a bye. But I have no issue starting Big Ben against the Indianapolis Colts, even though they're on the road. I believe this will be a opportunity for big ben to easily get at least 18 points which is pretty good which is pretty good in any standard uh fantasy league you get 18 points from your quarterback you're you should be comfortable i think he will be able to

really exploit quality matchups of in the steal of favor in the red zone but yes it's going to be lay beyond bill but i think big ben should he should be set up nicely to have a big fantasy output this weekend is there a reason why rothlisberger is usually so much better at home than on the road or is it just a total fluky stat well he's he's he's comfortable and that could be said about a lot of the starting quarterbacks in the league. He's comfortable, and right now his volume of attempts, they're not extremely high like they used to be. And we all felt this would be an offense that would air it out against the best. But clearly when Le'Veon got back he got back in the lineup it was more so

run the ball first and foremost so I think it's more of a comfort level playing at Heinz Field but we saw Big Ben last game against the Detroit Lions a playoff caliber team on the road he had pretty good fantasy numbers his fantasy numbers were not bad now granted a lot of the fantasy production came on one play to Juju, but that still should give fantasy owners that own Big Ben, that should give them a reason to be excited about what the second half will provide for them because they have a favorable schedule outside of the Pats. You know, you still have to play Baltimore. You still have to play Cincinnati. You still have to play Cleveland once again. They have an easy schedule going out for the remainder of 2017. They play Houston in Week 16, and that defense is falling apart. And I would argue that the Patriots' defense, they're getting better, but I think that's still a good matchup for Ben, particularly since he's at home.

Something that I struggle with all the time, Brian, as a fantasy analyst, is talent versus the matchup. And it so happens this week that ty hilton's got a difficult matchup he's at home against the pittsburgh steelers i'm curious what you would do with ty hilton in your leagues knowing knowing what kind of a season he's had where he's been very great or he's been really really terrible and now here's a tough matchup for him at home where the sealers have been great against the past pretty much all season long but they did allow 100 yards to marvin jones in their last game and ty hilton has proven and the colts know it that when they get him involved he ends up helping them get a victory would you

use ty hilton in fantasy this week you know what it depends on who else i have at the wide receiver position if i'm extremely thin i have no other choice. But the thing about T.Y., that's a good comparison for his talent and matchup. He's a talented player, but I think you need to start T.Y. based on the matchup because guess what? Look who's throwing him the football. Do we really believe Jacoby Brissett can really exploit opportunities in the passing game? I'm not quite ready to say that. I wasn't surprised to see T.Y. have a lot of success against Houston because Houston have struggled. They have so many injuries on all

three levels of that defense, the first level, second level, and third level. That defense is a defense that you should be excited to see going against some of your offensive players because they have struggled. But Pittsburgh has been an ideal team, especially when they're playing against a team that could be without their franchise quarterback. We know Andrew Luck, he's not participating. So I would be extremely cautious in starting T.Y. They know that T.Y. is the top priority in the passing game. So if you stop T.Y., you're going to have a lot of success against the Indianapolis Colts. And we just saw T.Y. just pretty much beat the Houston Texans by himself. And because of that, the coach won. Pittsburgh, they're looking at the bigger picture. It's about seeding. And they're trying to find a

way to take out your best player. And with Jacoby Brissett as a starting quarterback, I really would not start T.Y. But if I have no other choice if i'm extremely thin hopefully you know they can get down and what fantasy owner don't love garbage fantasy points that's true yeah oh yeah that's true but now just to follow up on that you've been in that room uh when you prepare for an opponent and i'm sure you've gone up against great receivers with bad quarterbacks in the past. Yep. Is it real simple as double teaming him or just putting a safety over on top of whatever cornerback he ends up going up against? And that's kind of just the simple deterrent to tell that opposing quarterback, OK, you

can throw to this guy, but if you do, it's going to be a tight window and there's guys all over him. You better go somewhere else with it. That could be something maybe that the Steelers are planning for this game against them oh no question especially during situational football when you look at third down opportunities when you look at red zone opportunities you know when I played in Pittsburgh whenever we had an eye when we had a a outstanding wide receiver or running back situational football that's what we really want to X him out of the game plan. So I can easily see on third down opportunities.

Let's find out what 13 is and make sure we have two set, two set of eyes on him. And the same can be said in the red zone, but it all depends on what happens with the quarterback. Because if Jacoby is struggling, you know, the offensive line, they haven't done a pretty good job in protecting him and i believe this is the opportunity for pittsburgh to continue to harass jacoby so it's just not about ty because ty could get open but will he will his quarterback be able to get him the football um and like you said earlier ty is either he's on and he's off he's not in but he hasn't been in between that's the scary part that you need to consider if you own ty in your fantasy

leagues he's a hit or miss guy yeah and can you afford to have a miss this week especially now when you're getting close to playoff time standards are extremely important in fantasy and fantasy leagues across the country can you afford to have a guy give you three or four points or can you afford to be in a situation if he gives you three or four points you still locate as far as your other positions offensively yeah i have to ask you i know i'm going to kind of detour from the fantasy discussion but i've always been curious like can you tell us kind of the differences or similarities between Bill Cower and Mike Tomlin as you experience both? Well, okay.

The similarities are basically they're defensive-minded coaches, right? Extremely knowledgeable. They know the game like the back of their hand. They know how to get you motivated. They know how to, you know, have you prepared for the task at hand. I think the differences between Coach Cower and Mike T, Mike T has a little more swag. You know, he feels himself a little bit. He has a little more swag.

He's a little more urban, if I can say that. Cower is more gritty. You know, he's a little more urban, if I can say that. Cowher's more gritty. You know, he's a gritty guy. He's the type of coach, when he was on the sideline, if he knew the camera was on him, he was going to give you the long chin and he was going to give you the gritty face. You know, I remember I got cursed out big time from Bill Cowher one time. It was my rookie year, I think it was. We were like in that final stretch of our playoff run.

We played Chicago. It was a snowy game in Heinz Field. year i think it was we were like in that final stretch of our playoff run we played chicago it was a snowy game in hinesfield i was the third corner so of course i was playing a lot you know in sub packages defensive fronts and schemes and things of that nature and i remember uh thomas jones was the running back for chicago and troy missed an opportunity to have a tackle for loss on thomas jones he's in he He ended up running for like 13, 14 yards. Converted the first down. Eventually, they punted the football. We came out the football field.

Nobody said anything to Troy. We go right back out on the football field. It was a crack replace. In the crack replace football terminology, that's basically when a wide receiver cracks down on the safety and they force the corner to make the tackle. A lot of offenses do that today still because they feel like that's a favorable matchup in their favor as far as they're running back against a corner or safety. So they crack replace our safety. I had to come up to make a tackle on Thomas Jones.

He ran directly through my arm. I got a helmet full of snow. He converted the first down down they didn't score on that drive well eventually we put in the football i came to the sideline and look who i have waiting on me on the sideline bill cowell what are you doing that was your tackle that was your play you messed up the play you gave up you didn't wrap your arms what are you doing you gotta get tough so i'm literally like bc i just saw in my mind this is what i'm thinking i just saw troy missed a tackle for loss nobody said anything but i come to the sideline i missed the tackle

now you cursing me out i got snow coming in my face and you're spitting in my face and the camera's on me i say it sucks to be a rookie right so that's the type of coaching he gets in your face and you guys probably have seen that multiple times watching television games of pittsburgh when he coached and you see him just getting so animated on the sideline that was a good impression man that was did you like do you did you used to do your bill cowher impression in the locker room because that was pretty good i mean i got it quite a bit so i was it was easy for me to kind of be able to know it like the back of my hand because early on, especially my rookie year, I got it a whole lot.

You know, I played with a lot of vets. I played with a bunch of future Hall of Famers, so they didn't get a lot of that. So, of course, the young guy would be the one that would get all of it. That was awesome. That was a great story. We're taking up a lot of your time. This is great stuff, so let me ask you a few more questions here. Broncos, great story. We're taking up a lot of your time. This is great stuff.

So let me ask you a few more questions here. Broncos, Patriots. What do you think? I mean, the Broncos defense got embarrassed last week. First of all, they played three straight road games. They had a short week going Monday night, then across the country to Philadelphia to play on Sunday. I want to know how much travel matters. We do talk about it a lot as fantasy analysts.

Maybe get some insight. How much does that matter? And do you think that's an excuse for the Broncos defense? And do they bounce back and limit the Patriots this week? Yeah, travel really don't matter. Anytime we travel out to the West Coast, we will keep our normal travel routine and we will fly out Saturday midday. So it's not a big issue. I think Denver, they were not ready. Carson Wentz and Doug Peterson, they had a quality game plan against the Broncos, and clearly they were more well-prepared. Now, transition to this week.

That's the scary part because Denver, we know they're a talented defense, especially when you look at the personnel, and they played horrible. So now you better believe their antennas are up so they're going to really put forth the effort not only to have a better defensive ball game but they need to win this game extremely bad so with that being said we don't know i don't think chris hogan may be in the lineup and if he is we know he will not be 100% healthy. I'm not saying that Tom Brady will be neutralized or he will not be effective because he will get his points. But I think it will be extremely difficult for Tom Brady. And he already struggles in Denver for whatever reason.

So I don't know if Tom Brady is that ideal quarterback this week. Normally he is. And he's a guy you don't care anything about matchups. You start Tom Brady regardless yeah but I think you need to be mindful and expect some issues for this New England Patriots offense against a defense that was horrible a week ago gave up over 50 points to a second year quarterback you better believe they're trying to right their wrongs this week I can't wait for that game I think they're going to show up um yeah Dave Dave, you have a question here for Bryant?

I know you play in three fantasy leagues, and I'm curious how you're doing in them, and if you have any tough lineup decisions in those leagues, and if so, what way are you going with them? I'm doing okay in two of my leagues. One of my leagues, I have a tie, So we know what we say about ties. It's like kissing your sister and I'm below 500. So that's extremely, extremely difficult to see a tie and I'm below 500. My other two leagues, I'm doing extremely well. I'm pretty much, you know, I'm second place and I'm fifth place in another league. And any difficult lineup decisions that I have this week, no, everything is pretty much out in the clear. You know what? I have Tevin Coleman and Devontae Freeman in one league. And Devontae hasn't really been giving me the production that I thought he would. And Tevin Coleman has really flourished in a timely manner, not with a lot of opportunities.

But I'm riding with Devontae regardless. This is a must win for them, in my opinion, against the Dallas Cowboys, a defense that could be subpar at times, especially on the road. So I like that matchup. My quarterbacks are pretty much even keel. Like I said, I have Big Ben because Alex Smith is out. I have Russell in my other two leagues, and he gave me 19 points. The big decision that I had a week ago, I mean, this upcoming week, was starting Jimmy Grimm or Gronkowski. So what I did was I decided to go Jimmy Grimm in my flex and start Gronkowski against the Broncos. And it worked out nicely so far because Jimmy came up big time.

He didn't blow you away with his receiving yards or his catches, but those two touchdowns in the red zone have been huge. And he has really been lighting up lately, especially in the red zone with his opportunities. So Jimmy Graham has been a guy that has really helped my fantasy ball club out a lot, and I have him in two of my leagues. Yeah, me too. Actually, I think I have three.

I got a question for you, Brian. Where did Jimmy Graham go to college you remember uh that college is not relevant right now i can care less okay well excuse me that college is very relevant jimmy graham actually i went to college at the same time as i did at um and dave went about eight years earlier so you're you're with you're on with a couple of hurricanes right now. I know you didn't know that. So that's what we're doing. That's what we're doing right now. Yeah, we're surprised.

Well, not just that. Actually, Jamie was supposed to be on. Jamie is actually a Florida Gator. So I thought we would have one from each school, and we could play a game called Canes, Knolls, Gators. But Dave has volunteered to come on and help us out with the game. Is that right, Dave? So what I've done, I've found some famous celebrities.

They either went to Miami, Florida State, or Florida. So they're either a Cane, a Seminole, or a Gator. You two have to guess which one is which. We'll see how many points. So I'll give an easy one, and, Brian, you can have this one because I know Adam's going to know it. Dwayne Johnson. Oh, come on. Say it right.

But no, I'm giving you a free point yeah that's a that's gonna be you give a point that's not that's ridiculous he gets a point for that he answered it correctly all right uh bob vila bob vila florida am i guessing too you each get a guess should we write them down and then reveal them later or something no just tell me what you think you would i don't know who bob vila is. Florida State. Listen to you. It's Florida. Brian gets a point for that.

I got a point. You got a point for that. Okay, what about Richard Simmons? Florida State. Richard Simmons. No, can I change it? Adam, you want to change it? Go ahead.

I'm just, no idea, but I'm going to guess Miami. Okay, Brian, Richard Simmons. Richard Simmons. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know who Richard Simmons is. He didn't go to Tallahassee, so he had to go, I want to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know who Richard Simmons is. He didn't go to Tallahassee, so he had to go to, I want to say Gainesville, Florida. You are both wrong. He did go to Tallahassee, according to the internet.

Okay. Scott Stapp, the lead singer of Creed. Oh, I know that. I think I know that. I'm going to guess UF. I think that's Miami. You're both wrong again. What?

I mean, Florida State is outstanding university. I'm trying to figure out. You got to know your alma mater here. How can it not be? You got to know your alums. All right, Sylvester Stallone. Miami. Yeah, Miami.

Miami is correct. You both get points for that one. How about Ron McGill? This is a famous wildlife expert. Oh, I heard that name before. Ron McGill, he is a famous wildlife expert. Oh, I heard that name before. Ron McGill. He went to Florida. Adam?

I mean, he's got to be out in the boonies if he's like a wildlife guy. So, yeah, it's got to be Florida. Florida is correct. You both get points for that. Adam is piggybacking on my answers. I think we can say it. Okay, so, Adam, you've got to get this one first. Okay, I'll go first.

Burt Reynolds. Florida State. Oh, that's easy. Yeah, I'll go first. You've got to track this. Burt Reynolds. Florida State. Oh, that's easy. Yeah, that was, yeah. You've got to go with Florida State. Tony La Russa. Ooh. Hold on, that's Adam first again.

I'll take, I think Florida State. Brian? No, Florida. Florida State. Florida State, that's what I'm talking about. Actor Ray Liotta. Ray Liotta, Dave? Ray Liotta. All right, Brian, you can go first Actor Ray Liotta. Ray Liotta, Dave? Ray Liotta.

All right, Brian, you can go first. Ray Liotta. Miami. Miami. Yeah, he feels like a Miami guy to me. Dave? Dave, did we lose him? And The Rock going to Miami, and we've got Burt Reynolds, Scott Stabb, and Richard Simmons.

I mean, Florida State clearly hands down, and when you look at celebrities, I mean, every answer was almost Florida State. What are you guys talking about right now? What do you mean? I'll give you one more. All right. Faye Dunaway. Actress Faye Dunaway.

She's an old-time actress. Like, actresses didn't go to Florida, so it's either Miami or Florida State. I'll take Miami for the win. I go Florida. She went to Florida and Florida State. Oh, wow. She went to both of those schools. All right.

Adam didn't say – Adam said Miami, right? Yeah, so he got that one wrong, and you guys were tied going into that one. So, Brian, you get the half point. You have won this edition of Kane Gator Seminole. Congratulations. Wait, this is a – you know what? A Kane losing in this game today is a sign of what will happen tomorrow night. Yeah, this is airing Saturday.

Now you're taking Notre Dame? So tonight, yes. I'm taking Notre Dame, Seth. I think I have to agree with you, unfortunately, but we'll see. It's exciting. You know what? Miami, Florida State, we need those games to be good. I think you can agree with that.

We need those to be classics, right? They're so fun. Only classic I'm concerned about if we're winning. And that was not a classic weeks ago in Tallahassee. That was not a classic at all. Which team did you hate more, by the way, Miami or Florida? Florida, I guess, because I almost went to Miami. So I really strongly considered going to Miami.

I didn't even take a visit to Florida when I came out of high school. So I think the Gators I hate more. The thing about Miami, the fans are so annoying. That's the issue. That's the issue. And the issue and I grew up in South Florida but this down these what last seven eight years they just talked so much trash and we whooped them and everybody else beat them and everybody kept saying oh we're back we're back we're back we're back we're back I mean just pump your brakes humble yourself down show that you can

be consistent like you're currently doing before you jump off the radar and just say you're the best team in the country. That's the issue I have with Miami fans. Before I agree with you on that, name a fan base in any sport, pro or college, that's humble. You know what? I think I will go with the Pittsburgh Steelers fan base. I think we're very, very humble. You've been good for the last 20 years or whatever.

We're very humble, waving those gold towels everywhere they go. I mean, that's just – And here we go, and they go to visitors' ballparks. It's just that they're a terrible towel. You know, our fans travel consistently across the country, so they just like to leave their mark when they come to a stadium. That's all. That's all.

I mean, you guys are trying to do these turnover chain shirts. You love the turnover chain. Don't even tell me you don't. You would have loved to have gotten the turnover chain after picking off somebody. You know what? I would love to get my chain and don't have to give it back. If I can keep it. Yeah, yeah.

Hey, Dave, I have a feeling we're going to be hearing a lot more Brian McFadden in the coming months and years and whatnot, huh? I hope so. And, Brian, you might not have a turnover chain, but you do have two Super Bowl rings. Listen, I think it's only wise for you guys to incorporate a nice Seminole to be a part of your shows because I'm unbiased. You know, you guys can be a bit biased sometimes. You know how you Cane fans are, right? Yeah, I guess so.

I mean, the only reason I drafted Jimmy Graham was because he went to Miami. Brian, thank you very much for coming on, man. That was awesome stuff. Appreciate it. It was a pleasure, man. Thank you for having me. Hopefully we can do it again. And that's it for Fantasy Football today.

Dave, thanks for dropping by. Yes, sir. We will talk to everybody on Sunday night, recapping all the action. See you then. When I wake up in the morning, CBS gives out a warning about a Jai's bank of offensive line. Injury to Brandon Cooks, and before I even look, my opponent grabs his back up off the waiver wire. It's all right, I've got Le'Veon Bell.

If a lose does it flex, I know I'm in a mess. Well, I better do my homework tonight Reading Jamie Sauter's sick, they say chart is legit Heath and Adam shared a team, it was a dumpster fire It's alright I've got Le'Veon It's alright Not George Le'Veon It's alright

I've got Le'Veon Bell