Fantasy Football Today - 11/30 Fantasy Football Podcast: Start or Sit (AFC); Jameis is Back
Episode Date: November 30, 2017Attention Kareem Hunt owners: we've got some stats for you to consider at the top of the show (1:50). Then we discuss the return of Jameis Winston (5:45) and how it will impact the rest of the TB pass...ing game ... All major injury news (11:30) including Jay Cutler's impact on MIA's WRs, an update on the Cowboys OL and defensive injuries to know about. Also what requires more skill: making the Fantasy playoffs or winning the league (19:00)? And we're debating Eli Manning's legacy (19:50) ... NE-BUF (24:20), PIT-CIN (32:50), HOU-TEN (39:00), DEN-MIA (44:15), IND-JAC (49:45), KC-NYJ (53:51), CLE-LAC (58:16), DET-BAL (1:02:30) ... Email us at fantasyfootball@cbsi.com 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
Transcript
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This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.
Here we go!
Email us at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com.
Here we go!
Get your lineup set. It's time for Start or Sit.
Let's go!
Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath.
Crunch time! Week 13 is here. Start or Sit.
We've got a bunch of AFC home games. Actually, we have nine AFC home games.
We will preview eight of them and leave the game that everybody's talking about, Raiders-Giants, for tomorrow.
Welcome. Time to get those lineups set.
Got the full gang here. Jamie, Heath, Dave, and I'm Adam. You know that.
We're going to talk Kareem Hunt, Alex Collins injury, a lot of injuries.
James Winston's back.
And good morning to you fellas.
How are we doing?
Great.
How are you?
Feeling good.
Feeling fine.
Are you and Heath allowed to talk to each other?
Heath and I are good friends. Heath and I are good friends.
Well, listen.
I said I liked you.
I didn't say we were friends.
We are friends, Heath.
Accept it.
Friends are Twitter friends sometimes.
Well, you've never sent a friend request on Facebook, so I can't accept it.
It's a historic show.
I'm very excited.
For the first time in the history, we have a 45-way tie for Tweet of the Day.
Oh, that's so – that's –
45-way tie for Tweet of the Day.
Some friend.
It'll take a long time to get through them all.
Yeah, I don't think we can read them all.
We could just read a couple.
No, I'm totally prepared to talk about the lunacy that is out there in the world.
But I also want to remind you that we have Ion Fantasy Football on Saturday night
where my friend Heath and my friend Dave are going to be hosting this Saturday
at 10 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Radio, Ion Fantasy Football.
Of course, Fantasy Football today is our live video show every day,
noon Eastern, Monday through Friday,
then at 11 a.m. Eastern on Sunday to get your lineup set.
All right, so I know a lot of people have Kareem Hunt questions.
I want to give you a couple of Kareem Hunt stats.
I've already mentioned this one.
Eight straight games without a touchdown,
four straight games with seven or fewer fantasy points
in standard scoring leagues.
We know that.
But the matchup against the Jets might be kind of tough.
In the Jets' last five games,
only one running back has double-digit fantasy points in standard.
That was Tevin Coleman.
Devontae Freeman didn't do it.
It was the other guy.
It was Coleman.
So is it actually a bad matchup for Kareem Hunt,
and should we run for the Hills?
I'm starting to get that feeling that we should run for the hills.
I've got him ranked as a number two running back.
I'm concerned about him getting a lot of work.
And I went back and I watched their game against Buffalo to try and get some answers.
Their offensive line is terrible.
They've got so many.
There was one play in the game where Eric Fisher was literally a turnstile.
Did a full 360, didn't touch the defender, and just looked awful.
And that's their starting left tackle.
That's their former first-round pick.
Hunt doesn't have a lot to work with.
Alex Smith isn't throwing to him as much.
There's not a lot to feel good about starting Kareem Hunt.
Anybody excited to start him this week?
I think excited is the wrong word
I do think that sometimes
When we're talking about solo running backs
Not putting up 10 fantasy points
Last week
The Panthers running backs
Christian McCaffrey had 9 fantasy points
Jonathan Stewart had 8 fantasy points
So the two of them had 17 fantasy points combined
Yeah
How many carries did they have combined?
22 Okay combined. How many carries did they have combined? 22.
When's the last time
Kareem's had 22 carries?
It's probably been a while.
I don't need 17.
He did, and he didn't do a ton with them.
His last three games are
11, 18, and 9,
I believe.
The Jets actually do
appear to have a pretty good run defense.
That game that you were talking about last week, Christian McCaffrey had I believe, yeah. in the corner. They were a sieve defensively against running backs. The Jets have turned the corner. It's tough. So I guess to wrap it up, Jamie, give me some running backs you'd start
over Kareem Hunt.
Well, if he's
healthy, Alex Collins.
Dion Lewis.
If he's the starter, Jamal Williams.
There's a lot of ifs.
A lot of ifs.
P. Ryan for sure.
P. Ryan for sure.
The guy I go back and forth with
And I may
I originally had it this way and I may revisit it
Is Kenyon Drake
I think they're
In somewhat similar situations
They're going to get a lot of work
Presumably
But Drake may have a better matchup
I'd start like McCaffrey and PPR
What about Joe Mixon?
No Not against Steelers No Morshawn's an interesting one He's right in that same range I'd start McCaffrey and PPR. What about Joe Mixon? No.
Not against Steelers?
No.
Marchand's an interesting one.
He's right in that same range.
I like Marchand this week.
I do too.
I mean, I usually rank him in the 30s, and I've got him 15th this week.
He's way up there for me.
I don't know if I'd start him over Hunt.
That's tough.
I would.
I think he's going to get a lot of work.
All right.
So we will preview that game.
And Kansas City's at the Jets this week.
That's our Kareem Hunt discussion.
I guess we should probably give some wide receivers too.
Would you start Kareem Hunt or Demarius Thomas?
Hunt.
Hunt.
I'll also say Hunt.
Kareem Hunt or Jamison Crowder?
Crowder.
Crowder.
Crowder.
Crowder.
Kareem Hunt or Funchess?
Funchess.
It's Funchess for sure right now, but it looks like Marcus Lattimore,
Marshawn Lattimore is going to come back for New Orleans,
and that would kind of hurt Funchess.
I'm going to start Funchess in PPR regardless.
Yeah, I'm going to start Funchess in any format.
But in standard, if Lattimore is back, I'd probably start Hunt.
Oh, how about Jameis Winston?
Coming back this week, he will play. He is
75% owned.
If this were like a normal week and he
hadn't been hurt, I wouldn't mind
starting him over Ben Roethlisberger this week.
But I don't, because that's the decision I actually
have to make. I don't think I can
do it. But what are you guys going to do with
Jameis Winston, who threw 38 or more passes in five straight games, excluding the two games he got injured
before he missed a bunch of time? So anyway, yeah, what do you think? He's got Green Bay
on the road. I think they stink. Jameis Winston, guys. Does he have any time at all to the row?
Without arguably his two best offensive linemen, he's coming off an injury.
No.
I'm not. I'm not excited about this.
I'm not starting him.
In a 2QB league, he's a maybe.
Yeah, I have to decide,
Adam, on the team that we share,
between Jameis and
Blaine Gabbard to start
this week. Which way are you leaning?
That's where I'm at. Still Jameis, but it's close.
Yeah, I think that's a legitimate question.
The one saving grace is the Packers have had one game since week three
with more than three sacks,
and only two with three sacks or more over that span.
So their pass rush hasn't exactly been great.
They might look great. Right.
So they might look great this week.
They might look great this week, but you're counting on bad defense to show up against bad offensive line.
And sometimes, you know, they kind of negate each other.
Clay Matthews looks like he's trending in the right direction for the Packers.
That will definitely help things for the Packers.
What about Cameron Brait?
Cameron Brait's 59% owned.
He has had one catch in four straight games. That has coincided with the Winston injury. But with Winston healthy, Brait had five straight games of 60 or more yards. He had four straight games at one point with a touchdown. He is facing the Packers who allow the fewest fantasy points to tight ends, but they have really faced mostly bad tight ends. Do you have any interest in picking up Cameron Bray and maybe starting him this week?
I'm trying to stay away from both Tampa Bay tight ends
because I don't know
if the O.J. Howard thing was just a
Ryan Fitzpatrick thing
or if O.J. Howard just
passed Cameron Bray, which I think is possible.
It could also be...
Well, I forget that.
I wonder if they'll use both tight ends,
especially maybe Howard with the offensive line issues.
Because remember, Howard's a very good blocker, especially for a rookie.
All right, so the answer is no on Cameron Bray?
The only Tampa Bay player I'm really interested in is Mike Evans.
I would stay away from Deshaun Jackson.
I would stay away from Doug Martin if he plays or the backups.
And I think to Heath's point, the tight end situation just feels murky Even with Jameis back
If you were just stuck
And you've been forced to start Bray
Week in, week in, week in, week out
Week in, week in, week in, week out
Then I think you stick with him
This week
But it's just not encouraging
Why do I find that so funny Dave?
Why am I laughing so hard at that that
was very funny howard has out snapped bray over the last three games and he's been real close to
playing just as much as him if not more all season long but the last three weeks specifically we've
seen more power what i'd like to know is what their past routes have looked like because when
they even when they were real close to playing the same, Bray was running.
Howard was mostly blocking.
All right.
Howard's last three games, 14 routes, 18 routes, 28 routes last week for O.J. Howard.
And then for Cameron Bray, pass routes the last three weeks.
This is all from Pro Football Focus, by the way.
19, 29, and 22.
So kind of the same.
Yeah.
Kind of the same.
I'm kind of staying away.
I'm kind of agreeing with you.
Okay.
So Heath has a column about dynasty stashes that maybe we'll get a chance to talk about in a bit.
But we have to run through a lot of injuries and then talk about, you know,
it's kind of an interesting fantasy topic about making the playoffs versus winning your league.
And we do have a lot of games today, so I want to get to them fairly early.
But we have a big game coming up this weekend, Dave Richard.
We got the ACC Championship game.
Are you excited?
Yes.
Good.
Did you guys just lose your best receiver?
Yes.
And our best tight end.
And our tight end.
So it's going to be a slaughter.
But I'll tell you why it's not.
Thumbs in the cover is what you're saying?
What did you say?
Thumbs in the cover?
No, I'd probably take my answer.
A lot of points.
Devin?
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guarantee. MeUndies.com slash FFT. MeUndies.com slash FFT. Let's run through the news and notes.
Jameis Winston's going to start for
Tampa Bay, and Jay Cutler's going to start
for Miami. What is the impact here as they
face a beat-up Broncos team?
Do you even consider starting Cutler,
given what Denver's allowed the last four
weeks? At least 20 fantasy points to every
quarterback they've faced, including Andy
Dalton, including Derek Carr, who they typically shut down and it was derrick carr without cooper and
crabtree for much of the game it's kind of intriguing to look at cutler with the receivers
that he's gotten and say maybe give him a shot i will say that um with the negativity i showed
towards jamis winston um jay Cutler is behind him in my rankings.
Yeah, I have no faith in Jay Cutler.
The impact in this for me was I moved Kenny Stills way down.
He's more of a number four wide receiver.
And I moved Devontae Parker Floyd up into the number three. Whoa, whoa, whoa, bleep that, bleep that.
Up into the number three receiver range.
Right, and Devontae Parker, I mean, I feel like, well, you know what?
In a typical week, I feel like you could get maybe 70 yards for Parker.
That's not uncommon for him with Cutler.
But the Broncos, I know it's without Talib, but they give up points because they give up touchdowns.
They don't give up a lot of yards.
I don't know.
So would you start Dez or Parker this week?
Dez.
Parker.
I'll take Dez.
Okay.
We've got Alex Collins dealing with a calf issue right now.
So we're waiting to see on our start of the week.
And I think, you know, we are previewing that game a little bit later.
So we'll get to it.
Alex Collins with the calf issue.
Adrian Peterson. Yeah, if he doesn't practice today, it. Alex Collins with the calf issue. Adrian Peterson.
Yeah, if he doesn't practice today, there will be a new start.
Okay.
Adrian Peterson missed practice with a neck injury.
Matt Forte could be a game-time decision.
Aaron Jones returned to practice.
Do we think Aaron Jones is going to play?
No idea.
No, but if you're deciding between Jamal Williams and Jamal J. P. Ryan tonight, that's easy.
Yeah, P. Ryan.
What if you're deciding between Alfredal Williams and Jamal J.P. Ryan tonight, that's easy. Yeah, P. Ryan. What if you're deciding between Alfred Morris and Jamal Williams?
Williams.
I'd still take Williams.
Yep.
Okay.
Amir Abdullah mispracticed with a neck injury.
He's in jeopardy this week.
Not a good matchup anyway.
Christian McCaffrey mispracticed with a shoulder injury.
Doesn't seem too serious.
Doug Martin still in the concussion protocol.
And Seattle running back Mike Davis expected to play this week.
We don't like him this week.
To the wide receivers, Rashard Matthews mispracticed.
Do you think he plays?
Not as of now.
No.
Although he was talking about some special cleats that he's going to wear this week.
Right, I saw that, yeah.
So I would think if you're going to unveil special cleats,
you would be planning on wearing them on the field.
Thursday could be an interesting day.
If he practices on Thursday, I'd feel good about him playing.
All right, Juju Smith-Schuster has a chance to play this week.
If he does play, is he a start or a sit?
Juju Smith-Schuster.
He's a low-end number two.
That's where I'd put him.
That's where I have Martavis Bryant right now.
I think he's got a good matchup
playing in the slot against Cincinnati.
I'd use him as a number
two. Alright, Calvin
Benjamin's status is uncertain.
Zay Jones has had seven or more
targets in three straight games.
17 wide receivers have had
seven or more targets against the Patriots.
14 of them have scored seven
or more fantasy points
in standard scoring leagues.
So that wouldn't be too bad.
And Zay Jones is only like 14% owned.
He's got a good chance, based on history,
to score seven or more fantasy points against the Patriots.
Yeah, I like him this week.
Yeah, he's right in that Devontae Parker floor.
I would start him over Dez.
Wow, I wouldn't do that.
Amari Cooper mispracticed.
Would you start any Oakland-wide receivers over Josh Doxson or Des Bryant tonight?
Nope.
Okay.
And Sterling Shepard practiced in full, so it looks like he's good to go.
Would you start Sterling Shepard over Josh Doxson or Des Bryant?
Yes.
I'd consider it over Des.
Yeah, I'd start him over Des, not Doxson.
I'd start him over Doxson, too.
We like the matchup for Doxson against these rookie corners.
Jordan Reed is out tonight, right?
Yes.
Okay, Jordan Reed is out.
Offensive line injuries.
Redskins offensive line.
How are they looking?
They've got a lot of guys questionable, but they practiced at some point in the week.
So I don't know who the starting left tackle will be.
Not sure if Brandon Sheriff is going to play.
That's their best guard. Not sure if Brandon Sheriff is going to play. That's their best guard.
Not sure if Morgan Moses is going to play.
But over the course of the year, guys have been questionable for the Redskins have ended up playing.
So they should have three of their starters ready to go.
Okay.
Yay.
All right.
The Dallas offensive line looks healthy.
What does that do?
We didn't talk enough about, and this is my fault,
about the running backs, about Alfred Morris and Rod Smith.
But this line is looking,
it looks like all three of those guys might play tonight.
Their left tackle, right tackle, and their center.
Did Collins practice yesterday?
Yeah, I read this morning that he's trending
and that he's probably going to play.
So, yeah, I mean, like like are these guys good starts now?
I don't know if they are.
The matchup seems pretty favorable all things considered.
You look at what running backs have done against Washington.
A lot of those numbers are spiked by what the Saints running backs did to them.
I think that they'll end up splitting and they'll both eventually have single digits and fantasy
points. It's hard to pinpoint one or the other
having a very good game. I'll take
Alf as a low end slash borderline
number two. And Rod Smith is
more of a flex play. Depends on what side of the
game flow you expect to be on. If you think the Cowboys
will be in the game, then Morris should play well. If you think they're going to be
trailing, then Smith will be the guy. What about
Jamie Dak Prescott?
Nope.
Okay.
Back to the offensive lines.
Houston's left tackle Chris Clark is on IR.
Colts center Ryan Kelly likely out this week.
Bears guard Josh Sitton mispracticed.
And Detroit had two, not only is Amir Abdullah banged up,
two starting offensive linemen, TJ Lang and Travis Swanson, on the interior of that line, mispracticed yesterday.
They probably are not going to run the ball well at Baltimore.
On defense, if there's one thing that I hate most about my job,
it is when I have to talk about tragedy and then spin it for fantasy.
But I guess it is important.
The Chargers DST is a popular ad this week.
They might be without their best cornerback, Casey Hayward,
whose brother passed away.
Does that get you off the Chargers? I'm sorry to do this, but does that get you off the Chargers DST at all?
No.
No.
They have three guys that are very good.
So his loss will be significant, and hopefully he's okay.
But it doesn't change my mind about Josh Gordon or Corey Colton.
Which is that we don't like them.
Denver's defensive line is beat up.
Derek Wolfe, Domenic Pecco are unlikely to play this week.
That's big news for Drake.
We'll preview that game.
And both Saints cornerbacks that missed last week's game,
Lattimore and Crawley, were limited in practice.
That's a great sign.
We'll preview that tomorrow.
Atlanta cornerbacks Brian Poole and Desmond Trufant missed practice.
Poole practiced.
He was limited. Oh, he did? Okay. He was theremond Trufant missed practice. Poole practiced. He was limited.
Oh, he did?
Okay.
He was there.
Trufant was not.
Okay.
So they have Minnesota, and that game is tomorrow.
So before we get into the games, real quick here, a couple of questions.
They're playing on Friday?
No, the preview of the game is tomorrow.
Oh.
I was like, man, I am not ready for this.
I was like, NFL on a Friday.
What are the high schools going to do?
You know what we got to sing, right?
You might want to sing it with me.
No.
Friday night's a great night for football.
Oh, you can at least do the saxophone, Dave.
Come on.
No.
Fine.
All right, a couple quick questions.
What's more of an accomplishment, making the fantasy playoffs or winning your league?
Winning the league.
Making the playoffs.
What's more of an accomplishment?
Is that a bad way to phrase it, to frame it?
Yes.
Because Dave and I are answering different questions.
I want to accomplish winning the league.
Phrase it better then.
What requires more skill?
Okay, there you go.
What requires more skill, winning the league or making the playoffs?
Making the playoffs.
I used to feel that way.
I'm not sure I feel that way anymore.
It also depends on how good your league is.
If you've got four teams that quit trying week six, then maybe making the playoffs isn't that big of an accomplishment.
Then winning the league isn't necessarily that big of an accomplishment either
if you've got a bunch of quitters.
I'd like to just move on and get to the next question.
Next question, please.
I thought Heath was going to get ridiculed
on Twitter for this, but nope.
Turns out almost everybody agreed with Heath.
Everybody responded anyway.
Agree or disagree,
Eli Manning has been a great NFL quarterback.
Define great. No.
You define great. Disagree.
He's going to go to the
Hall of Fame. I would
say every player that's in the Hall of Fame was a
great player. So you agree? Eli
Manning has been a great NFL quarterback.
He doesn't really
think that, though. Do you?
I think the
question comes down to has eli
manning had a great career he won two super bowls of course he has is he a great quarterback he's
not one of the all-time greats no no one's gonna mention him when they talk about marino brady
no unitis he's not a top 10 for most of his career He has been somewhere between
The 8th and 14th best quarterback
If he doesn't have the two Super Bowls
He's not going to the Hall of Fame
But the two Super Bowl runs
Were completely epic
What he did in those two
2008 and 2012 playoffs
2007-11 seasons
In those eight games
He was unbelievable
More importantly I should not have tried to take that away from you yesterday because fans elevating players on their own team above where they really were is what makes sports great.
And it's one of the reasons that we have jobs we do in sports.
All the jobs in sports exist is because of fans like you.
So I'm sorry for trying to smash your fandom.
I was really surprised that most people did not think Eli Manning – how did I phrase it again?
Eli Manning has been a great NFL quarterback.
I think it is so obvious that he has.
I just think you look at the totality of his career, and almost any team in the NFL over that time span would have loved to have had Eli Manning.
Of course.
And that is why he's been a great quarterback.
He's done it for more than a decade.
The longevity counts, and the two Super Bowl runs that he went on
really do elevate him past what his regular season numbers are.
But that's really the only thing that elevates him, though.
But that's a huge thing.
Of course, of course.
But I think in the context of is he one of the 50 best quarterbacks of all time?
Does he crack that list?
Probably.
Probably not.
I would have to say so.
50?
5-0?
Like he won two Super Bowls.
He might be in the 40s.
Like I said, he's twice as great as Joe Flacco.
No, he's much better than Joe Flacco.
He has the same career passer rating as Joe Flacco.
Really? Flacco made one great run, Eli
made two. Yeah, I mean, look, if Flacco
gets a second Super Bowl win
and plays, how many
years is this for Eli? He's got
four years behind Eli. So he plays four more years
and wins the Super Bowl. So his numbers
could end up being somewhat close.
They'd be very, very close. Yeah, Flacco
is really tanking much earlier in his career than Eli
because Eli was actually very, very good in 2014 and 2015.
He had two really good seasons.
His first two years with McAdoo as a coordinator were very good.
Yeah, they were two of his best seasons.
I think people forget that.
And I don't know, just pretty consistent guy. I think he's
he used to be overrated.
I think because he's been so bad the last
this year, really. He wasn't so bad
last year. I think because he's so bad right now,
he's now underrated. Are you aware that he's
seventh? He's currently tied for seventh
in all-time passing touchdowns.
And I think yards, too.
Yeah, but I mean, look, longevity plays a role here.
Yeah, of course. He's certainly... But I think that's part of what's going on.
Here's a fun stat just to finish off.
Eli Manning has been in the league since 2003.
There are two statistics in which he's number one in the league over that time frame.
It's a stupid stat, but yes, go ahead.
Starts.
Nope.
Drew Brees has six more.
Oh, really?
Yes.
Interceptions.
Interceptions.
And losses, I know.
And losses. I will say that
getting all Giants fanny here,
his awful, awful GM
for the last, I think, 11 years
has really ruined what could have been an amazing
career.
And when you start
210 games in a row, you're going to be
up there in losses and interceptions.
Brett Favre is the all-time leader in interceptions, right?
If not, he's up there.
So, you know, it happens.
And I just think that you've got to look at what he's been for so long.
That's a great career, and he's been a great player, in my opinion.
Are there NFL games this week that we could talk about?
I was surprised that people were so adamant against it.
Now, New England.
Oh, email of the day is from Brandon in Washington State.
Yippee-ki-yay, Devontae Parker.
New England at Buffalo.
Your stat of the game.
Last five quarterbacks against the Patriots.
You guys have Tyron Taylor pretty high.
Not all of us.
Last five quarterbacks against the Patriots.
Matt Ryan, 18 points.
Rivers, 12.
Osweiler, 12.
Carr, 15.
Matt Moore, 10.
Their defense has been really good.
It's six games in a row, not allowing more than 17 points in any of those games.
So Tyrod Taylor, start or sit.
I'll go to the low man, Dave, who has him 16th.
Why don't you read that list again?
Yeah, Matt Ryan, Phillip Rivers, Osweiler, Carr, and more.
Three better quarterbacks in that five than Tyrod Taylor.
At least two for sure, and then Carr is debatable.
We've talked about buying into this Patriots defense being better,
and it has been, and I think it's going to continue to be.
Tyrod Taylor does not have a great track record in his last three games against New England.
They've all been under 20 fantasy points.
I think Jamie said 17 fantasy points.
And the one thing that I went back and double-checked is how many of those games did he throw a lot, 35-plus pass attempts?
The answer is all three.
So I don't know if I'm buying into Tyrod Taylor coming through with a big game, chasing points.
He hasn't done it before against New England.
And I don't think he's going to do it again this week. There's a lot of other quarterbacks that I think have a higher ceiling than Tyrod. That's my problem, is I
understand what we're saying about the Patriots' defense and maybe Tyrod's limited ceiling.
There are not a lot of other quarterbacks that I like this week. Okay, and I'll go back to mobile
quarterbacks against the Patriots. Every quarterback that's had at least three rushing attempts. The lowest one
is Matt Ryan, who is not a running quarterback.
18 or more fantasy points for all of them.
Yeah, 18
I think is pretty realistic.
I think that's a decent expectation, but how many
quarterbacks can we give that number to this week?
Here's my problem. You don't see it the same
way I do. No, no. I've got Derek Carr
at 11. He has
no receivers. I've got Brett Hundley at 12. I've got Josh McC No, no. I've got Derek Carr at 11. He has no receivers.
I've got Brett Hundley at 12.
I've got Josh McCown at 13.
I've got Matt Ryan against a good defense at 14.
Yeah, I mean, the ones I struggle with are Keenum and McCown because I think Keenum and McCown could be in that 18 to 20 range,
but I think Taylor will as well.
Okay.
I like their upside much better than Tyrod's.
And Matt Ryan's too, believe it or not.
I've seen Tyrod playing at home.
He's been very good at home. I've seen Tyrod playing at home. He's been very good at home.
I've seen him chasing points.
The last time he had to do that was against the Jets where he was not facing a defensive, at the time, very good caliber of the Saints.
Well, if we're being honest here, the last time he did it was against the Chargers, and he had 19 fantasy points in one half in that game.
Yeah, that helps.
I mean the chasing points thing definitely helps.
All right, so Tyrod Taylor.
And to be fair, I mean, look, if you want to extend the conversation,
they have not run the ball very well at all.
So this game could be all on Tyrod's shoulders.
That's not a good thing for the Bills.
The last point I would make is that Charles Clay is someone that the Patriots
have done a good job covering since he's been in Buffalo.
They've been good against tight ends this year.
And that's Tyrod's number one receiver.
Okay.
So we stick with the Bills.
LaShawn McCoy, any hesitation to start him this week?
Nope.
He's a better version of Kareem Hunt.
I hope so.
Hey, at least they use him.
Yeah.
Usually.
Okay.
How about the Buffalo wide receivers?
So we talked about Zay Jones a little bit.
Jamie said you like him this week, 14% on.
Yeah.
Again, the stat was Zay Jones, three straight games with seven or more targets.
Of course, it depends on Kelvin Benjamin being out.
And, yeah.
Of the 17 wide receivers who have seven or more targets. Of course, it depends on Kelvin Benjamin being out. Of the 17 wide receivers who have seven or more targets against
the Patriots, 14 have scored seven
or more fantasy points in standard.
That's pretty solid. That'll be around a number two wide
receiver as a floor. I would start
him over T.Y. Hilton. I would start him over
Nelson Aguilar. I would start
him over the Raiders replacement
receivers.
Again, I don't see a lot of upside with Jones, with Clay, with Taylor.
Yeah, I would start him over Des Bryant because I do see upside with him in this matchup.
All right, then how about Charles Clay, guys?
Heath, how comfortable are you with Charles Clay?
He's 10th for Jamie, 14th for Dave, 9th for Heath in both formats.
I feel pretty comfortable with him as a low-end starting tight end.
I think what you saw last week against the Chiefs is pretty close to his floor this week.
And that's somewhere in the six-point range in a standard league.
And unfortunately, that's a low-end, number one tight end in fantasy football now.
And again, talk about performance versus statistics.
If his game against the Chargers had gone the way it could have,
where he had two touchdowns essentially wiped off because he dropped one
and he had one taken away by penalty, the Chargers defend tight ends as well as anybody.
Yeah, and the Patriots have been great against tight ends in their last five games,
but that's because only one tight end, this is bizarre,
only one tight end in those five games has had more than two targets.
So Klay will probably get that. He hasn't been all that
targeted since coming back, but yeah, it's
just been weird. Nobody's been throwing at tight ends
against New England. So let's hope the Bills
do that. Would you start Charles
Clay or...
I think it'd also help Buffalo if Van
Noy is out. He's been very good for them recently.
Charles Clay or
Austin Safarian Jenkins. Clay. Clay. Safarian Jenkins. Yeah. He's been very good for them recently. Charles Clay or Austin Safarian Jenkins?
Clay.
Clay.
Safarian Jenkins.
Yeah, he's been terrible.
But he's almost Safarian Jenkins.
That's right.
He is almost Safarian Jenkins.
Okay, last one.
Charles Clay or Kyle Rudolph?
Clay.
Clay.
Rudolph.
Let's go to the Patriots.
We're starting Tom Brady.
The running backs.
Dave, your thoughts on the Patriots running backs this week?
I think you start them both. I think it's a good matchup
for them against Buffalo. They've been
playing well. And when I
say both, you know which two I'm talking
about. It's Deion Lewis, it's Rex Burkhead.
They're mixing and matching them
in the offense, and they're both doing good things.
I expect the Patriots
to have a lead in this game.
And I think you're going to see Lewis and Burkhead get a lot of work.
How many of them, of those two, would you start over Kareem Hunt?
In PPR, both.
Zero for me.
I would sandwich them between Hunt and non-PPR.
Lewis, Hunt, Burk.
Man, like, Heath, talk to me why you would start HuntPPR. Lewis, Hunt, Burke. Man, like,
Heath, talk to me why you would start Hunt over Deion Lewis, who's probably going to get 15
carries. It seems like what he's going to get. He's facing
a team that gives up, I believe, the most fantasy points
to running backs.
And he's good.
They were better last week, though.
If you want to talk about what recent performance
the Bills... Guess who they played?
They played Kareem Hunt.
15 carries for Deion Lewis is the ceiling.
You say he's probably going to get 15 carries.
I don't think he's had more than that once all year.
He's going to be in the 10 to 15 carry range.
Yeah, he's had 13 or more in four of his last five games.
He's had 10 or more in five of his last five.
Right.
Before that game last week against
kansas and this is why we loved kareem hunt last week in the three games before buffalo allowed
nine rushing touchdowns to running backs yeah including two to the jet i just do have a little
bit of concern that if rex burkhead has won over the goal line back job yeah i mean His three games before this, he had 60, 55, and 44
yards.
He's a little more touchdown
He puts up five or six fantasy
points. That's fairly realistic.
He doesn't score. He doesn't really catch passes
either, so it's a valid point.
How about Danny Amendola
or Zay Jones? Who's a better wide receiver
this week? Zay Jones.
Yeah, I'll go Zay. Me too.
Okay. And the Patriots DST.
Heath and Jamie, not
big fans. Dave's got them fourth.
They are 82%
owned. That makes perfect sense.
What did we just say about Tyrod and Clay?
Yeah. Tyrod doesn't turn them all over.
Yeah, it's
so weird. Buffalo allows the six most fantasy
points to DSTs.
Part of that, of course, is the five interceptions.
A lot of it.
No, I looked on a game-by-game basis.
They still are giving up points.
They don't have that good of an offense.
Yeah, all right.
So there you go.
It's a difference of opinion.
It's just a matter of the game script.
Dave sees it differently than Jamie and Heath.
Actually, I think we see the game script the same.
It's just the results of it being different.
Fair enough.
Moving on to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.
Stat of the game.
Let's talk about Joe Mixon.
The 66 rushing yards for Jamal Williams last week, week 12, were the most by a running
back against the Steelers in six weeks.
Now, they don't get a lot of carries necessarily,
but they score points and teams are trailing and whatnot.
But I think Mixon might be the guy that people have the most questions about,
along with Roethlisberger this week.
So we just talked about the Patriots running backs.
How would you compare Joe Mixon to them?
He's behind Lewis for sure.
He's behind both Patriots guys for me.
For me too.
I've got Mixon a spot ahead of Burkhead in non-PPR.
Okay.
And I like what I saw from the Bengals' offensive line last week.
And so the question is, was that because they figured out a better way to block for Mixon?
Or were they playing the Browns' defense without one of their best run defenders in Emmanuel Ogba being out for the game?
Yeah, it could be that.
Mixon did have a good game, but do you think he can get you the eight fantasy points that
he often does, Joe Mixon?
Yeah.
I mean, look, he's still worth starting if he's been in your lineup most weeks.
All right.
But that could be kind of close to the ceiling.
Okay.
Let's stick with the Bengals.
We talked about Andy Dalton yesterday.
I made the case that the Steelers have given up
in their last three games
61, 60, 75, 42,
55, 54, and 39
yard completions. They've been a mess.
And Brett Hundley just scored 27
fantasy points.
But you don't have any... Like, Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton?
Winston.
I would go Winston.
Winston.
That's close.
It is close.
Okay.
They've owned Dalton.
Yeah.
They've beaten the Steelers in four straight.
Yep.
They've beaten the Bengals in four straight, rather.
And, in fact, they've beaten them – I'm looking at it right now.
Seven of the last eight have gone Pittsburgh's way.
And in those games, Dalton has multiple touchdowns in four and 20-plus fantasy points in one.
One game.
Okay.
We're starting A.J. Green.
How about Tyler Croft, 66% owned?
Nope.
I wouldn't.
No.
Yeah. 66% owned. Nope. I wouldn't. No. Yeah, he's caught a touchdown in, I think, two of his last three,
but a combined 30 yards in those three games,
and the Steelers allow the third fewest fantasy points to tight ends.
So we go to the Steelers.
All right.
Will Ben Roethlisberger get 20 fantasy points in this game?
You guys have him in the top eight.
I think he will.
I don't know if he's got a 25 to 30-point game in him,
but I think he's a safe 20.
I have him in like seven leagues,
and I'm only benching him for Rivers in one.
I agree with that.
Rivers is the only guy that I can see,
and it comes back.
I have concerns about Roethlisberger,
but it comes back to what I said about Tyrod.
I just can't move the guys behind him ahead of him. The one guy that I struggle
with with him is Goff, because I
think Goff will play well also.
But we've seen him, you know, at
times, struggle.
Well, Roethlisberger's thrown 45
passes in two straight games. I hope
they continue to go no huddle,
continue to spread the ball out, spread the ball around
and reduce... I think they will.
They haven't done that on the road.
No, but I feel like they've been so good doing that that they have to keep it up.
And if they try not to on the road, then they're going to be out of sync.
Last question here.
No, two more questions.
One, should you avoid Antonio Brown in Daly?
He did catch a touchdown against the Bengals, but he doesn't really usually –
like he's not Antonio Brown against the Bengals.
That's a Monday night game, right?
It's true.
So that will not be on any of the –
It won't be on the main slate, so you'd really have to be in a specific type of daily game to use him.
And then how about a number two Pittsburgh receiver?
Whether it's – if Smith-Schuster's out, it'd be it's if Smith-Schuster's out, it'd be Brian.
If Smith-Schuster's in, it'd be him.
Would you start one of those guys?
I'd consider Smith-Schuster as a low-end number two receiver.
I'm staying away from Brian if Smith-Schuster's out, though.
A hundred percent.
I don't think the target volume will be there.
Oh, if he's out, you said?
If Smith-Schuster's out.
I'm still somewhere in that.
Yeah, I think it's easy, more of a low-end number three guy if he's the starter,
and he's hands-off if Schuster plays.
Would you start Juju Smith-Schuster or Rex Burkhead?
Burkhead.
Probably Burkhead.
I agree.
In PPR, would you start Juju Smith-Schuster or Joe Mixon?
Smith-Schuster.
JJSS.
I'm in a spot. It's the league we're all in rolling i need to win to keep p prisco out of the playoffs
and so my flex spot will come down to one of and it's very frustrating because there you can make
a case for all of them uh i have i i um went back to adam's favorite friendship strategy so i picked
up martavis bryant because i have smSchuster. So I have one of those two.
I have Danny Woodhead, Josh Gordon, or Sterling Shepard.
So I would lean Shepard if Smith-Schuster's out.
I'll play Smith-Schuster if he's in.
But that's my flex choice in that league.
It's PPR.
I like it.
I like it.
You're going to be fine, Jim.
You've got good options there.
Now, Pittsburgh DSD is top five, by the way. Yeah, and we have to lose in that league, by the way. I like it. You're going to be fine, Jim. You've got good options there. Now, Pittsburgh DST is top five, by the way.
Yeah, and you have to lose in that league, by the way.
I'll do my best.
That probably won't be too hard.
I'll set you on up for you.
If you're looking for gifts, by the way, for football fans for the holiday season.
Gifts or jiffs?
Gifts.
Gifts with a T there.
You can get all the latest team gear and accessories from the CBS Sports Shop.
Very cool stuff.
We have a special code for our listeners to save 15% – this is awesome – 15% off any order of $75 or more.
In fact, I still have to get Dave's kid a bar mitzvah gift.
So I'm going to go to cbssports.com slash gift, G-I-F-T, cbssports.com slash gift and start shopping.
And I'm going to use that promo code CBSFantasy.
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Get some cool sports gear.
All right, Houston is at Tennessee.
Stat of the game.
Adam, I like it.
You're starting out.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, your quarterback right now, so keep that as it is.
Don't change that.
Oh, man.
Team sucks.
Stat of the game number one.
I'm going to pick up and drop every quarterback right now.
Javoris Allen and Frank Gore are the only two running backs with double-digit fantasy points in standard against Tennessee in their last seven games.
Only two in their last seven.
One of them was Buck Allen that was receiving.
Side of the game number two, how about the other side of the coin here?
Only four running backs all season have scored more than seven fantasy points
against Houston in standard scoring leagues.
But one of them was Javoris Allen last week.
Oh, then I think I screwed that up.
Then I think it's five running backs.
Well, Al Tz also had it.
The real takeaway here is that Javorius Allen is awesome.
Yeah.
Got to start him ahead of Todd Gurley and who else?
Le'Veon Bell.
The point is the running backs in this game, in this Houston-Tennessee game, have difficult matchups.
So who would you start?
Who's your favorite running back in this game?
Miller.
Favorite is kind of – when you think about favorites, you think about exciting things,
things you're pumped about.
My favorite, that type of it.
Right.
I'm not that excited about any of the running backs in this game.
It's Lamar Miller by default.
I'm pretty excited about the fact that Lamar Miller's got, what, 44 touches over his last two games?
Yeah, I want to say something about Miller because I'm not a huge fan.
I mean, he's averaging 3.7 yards per carry.
But he has, in his last five games, he's had three big games, 11 or more fantasy points.
And two of them were against Seattle and Arizona.
And while Tennessee is very good against running backs, Seattle and Arizona have actually been better.
They give up fewer fantasy points.
He had a monster game against them earlier this
year. He did. 24 fantasy points.
Yeah, two touchdowns in the game, which I
would admit is pretty rare for Lamar Miller.
It was with Watson, right?
Yeah, it was with Deshaun Watson.
Yeah, so that's a big part of it.
So would you start Miller or
Deion Lewis?
Lewis.
Miller.
Dave? I'll break the tie and say Lewis. Lewis. Miller. Dave.
I'll break the tie and say Lewis.
Okay.
How much fun will this division be next year when Eli goes to the Jaguars
and Deshaun Watson's back and hopefully Marcus Mariota's right
and Andrew Luck is healthy?
That would be great.
I don't know why they'd go get Eli.
They already have Bortles.
Oh, that don't even go.
Oh, do not.
Do not, do not, Do not. Do not.
Do not.
And because Tom Coughlin, the coach, likes his quarterback.
That's a fair point.
That's a fair point.
The Coughlin connection.
Right.
The Coughlin connection.
Okay.
So anyway, that's Lamar Miller.
Which Tennessee running back, if you had to start one, would you start?
So I've been anti-Demarco Murray pretty much all season.
I'm just going to keep being anti-Demarco Murray and go with Derrick Henry.
I'll take Henry and standard Murray and Piper.
I'm going to stick with Murray.
Are you starting any other Texans other than DeAndre Hopkins?
The answer is no, right?
Correct. Hopkins, okay.
Yeah, no.
Okay.
Start or sit Marcus Mariota against the team that allows the third most fantasy points to quarterbacks.
If I saw better play from Mariota over the last couple of weeks, this would be a no-brainer.
But he's been so disappointing.
It's tough to really buy into him as a guy that's going to turn it around this week.
The matchup's great, no doubt.
But he just hasn't played well.
Too many interceptions, too many misthrown passes.
It's looking like a lost year for him.
I'm going to hedge just a little bit.
I would start Mariota over Matthew Stafford.
Wow, really?
I would start him over Dak tonight.
I would start him over Jameis. I would start him over Dak tonight. I would start him over Jameis. I would start him
over Andy Dalton. I'm really struggling with three quarterbacks. Matt Ryan against Minnesota.
Terrible, terrible matchup. Alex Smith against the Jets and Mariota against Houston.
Those are the three. It's the 14 through 16 range. All right. But you're starting McCown over him.
I would.
What about Gabbert or Mariota?
Mariota pretty easily.
I still sound Mariota.
Okay, guys.
We talked about the running backs.
So the wide receivers.
What's your take on the Tennessee wide receivers?
I hope Rashard Matthews plays.
That would help Mariota, don't you think?
Oh, yeah, for sure.
I think part of the problem with him last week
was that he didn't have Rashard Matthews, so
it was pretty much the Delaney Walker show
because Decker's not doing much
and Corey Davis really is disappointed.
Corey Davis has been a disappointment. He has had
a disappointing season.
Yeah, I know. It would help because Mariota
had three okay games in a row,
around 18 fantasy points against three of the toughest
matchups before last week when he was a total dud.
So, yes, getting Matthews back would help.
Matthews is 78% owned.
Would you start Matthews or Smith-Schuster if he plays?
If Matthews plays, Matthews.
Yeah, I'm behind that.
Yeah.
All right, let's go to Denver and Miami.
By the way, you're starting Delaney Walker and Tennessee's DST.
Jamie's got him at 12th.
Heath has him 7th.
Dave has him 20th.
So a little bit of a difference of opinion there.
Houston.
I can't wait until Tom Savage gets benched after what Bill O'Brien said.
Yeah.
All right.
Denver's at Miami here.
And stat of the game.
Seven running backs have scored double-digit fantasy points in standard scoring leagues
against the Dolphins in their last five games.
We know they're horrible against running backs.
Can we get something from Booker Anderson this week?
Yeah, I'm okay with Booker as the number two running back.
Yep.
I'm starting Booker over Elf.
I would too.
I don't have as much confidence as you guys do.
They've been so messy with these running backs.
They had Oakland last week.
Yep.
And these running backs failed us.
And they kept using C.J. Anderson
after they said, Booker deserves more
work. Well, Booker did get more work. Technically
he did. Yes. Three more
touches. Did any running
back even get ten touches last week for Denver?
No.
They were trailing. Pretty big
actually.
And Oakland dominated time of possession,
right? I don't feel like they ran very many plays last week.
Yeah.
And they might trail.
I mean, I think the Dolphins are going to win.
All right, Denver wide receivers.
Demarius Thomas, zero touchdowns in seven games with Trevor Simeon.
Emmanuel Sanders had two touchdowns in five games.
We've got to get away from Emmanuel Sanders, right?
You should.
I think he's risky.
He's a risky...
You said get away.
If you start three wide receivers,
I think you're probably starting Emmanuel Sanders.
Really?
He has just done nothing.
He had three...
If you start three receivers,
it's hard to get away from him.
But it's...
Probably go Zay Jones
over him. I don't know if I would
do that. I'm going Sanders over.
You'd go Sanders over Dez, right?
I would go Sanders over Dez.
Does it help them that Vance Joseph coached
the Dolphins defense last year
and he's coming back to play them this year?
It might. I always like that
angle. I think it would help them
if Vance Joseph wasn't their coach.
Or maybe if he were their quarterback.
Demarius Thomas, though, people are going to be starting him,
but should they be starting him?
I mean, this is a guy who basically went like a full season without a touchdown
before Brock Osweiler came back.
Should we start Demarius Thomas?
Would you start Landry or Thomas in this game?
Landry.
You think Landry's going to get Chris Harris, though?
He'll see a lot of Chris Harris.
I don't think it matters.
But I don't think Chris Harris has been Chris Harris.
I would start Demarius in a standard league, Landry in a PPR.
I've got Thomas one spot higher.
And I take it back.
I think Sanders, he's risky, but he might be worth it.
When you think about the receivers that have played well against Miami,
it's been guys who have speed, who can make a play after the catch.
And that's kind of what Sanders is.
Plus, Simeon seems to like him better.
More touchdowns to him this year.
Would you start Kenyon Drake or Demarius Thomas?
Drake.
Drake.
I might go Thomas. I think I'd go Thomas. I'd go Thomas. Drake and Drake. I might go Thomas.
I think I'd go Thomas.
I'd go Thomas.
Drake and Standard.
I think Thomas and DBR.
Yeah, I'd take Drake in both.
I think he's going to catch a bunch of passes.
Drake.
I mean, like, Drake is really interesting because if Domitav Peko doesn't play.
Or Wolf.
Right, but Peko's the guy they brought over as a free agent.
They had a terrible run defense last year.
He has been a huge difference maker for them.
And now Damian Williams is out.
Quick side note, Damian Williams and Kenyon Drake have had the exact amount of catches,
same amount of catches over their last four games,
and even the same amount of catches in each game.
It's been very weird.
Six, one, two, and three.
But, yeah, so like Kenyon Drake or Alfred Morris.
Drake.
Right, Drake?
Drake.
Drake over Alf.
Kenyon Drake or Dion Lewis.
Lewis.
Lewis.
What just happened there, Lewis?
You all right there?
You have a bean boozle?
I did have a Bean Boozle.
I'll say...
I think I might go Drake.
Here's my biggest problem with Drake.
Go ahead.
Is that this Dolphins team is 30th in rush attempts per game.
They get away from the run faster than anybody.
So, A, is he truly the only guy back there,
or is there somebody that we're not thinking of that ends up taking some work away from Ken Andrews?
When you say somebody that you're not thinking of,
they don't have anybody else.
Is Norris Perry going to be the guy, or is he still concussed?
They're talking about signing Jeremy Lankford off the street.
It sounds like you have trust issues with Ken Andrews.
I have trust issues with the Dolphins' run game.
He'll probably get it.
Which hasn't been that good all year.
But again, just based on production, he's gotten, what, nine or more
fancy points in two of the three starts since the Jays
have been gone? I feel like all the signs are there.
It's hard
to get away from any running back that's going to have
15 or more touches.
He's going to have that. I think he's in great shape.
I mean, he's a top 15 guy. I think he's going to be successful.
If Pecco plays, is Pecco
a huge factor here?
Pecco is a huge factor, but that would drop him for me from 15 to 20.
And it's eight or more fantasy points in three of four games since the Ajayi trade for Kenyon Drake.
All right.
The Dolphins wide receivers, are they starts?
You're starting Landry.
Yep.
And Parker's number three.
All right.
Julius Thomas, revenge game.
What do you think?
I'd rather use Ricky Seals-Jones.
I would too, but if you're stuck at tight end, I think he's not bad.
Like, I would start him over Tyler Croft this week.
I think that is it.
Oh, Denver DST.
Denver DST or Eagles-Seahawks DSTs.
Denver. Denver.
I mean, you're still counting on Jay Cutler to vomit all over himself.
Yes, yes you are.
Well said.
Indianapolis and Jacksonville is our next game here.
Sit all Colts?
Severed oil?
Yes.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
Frank Gore's a flex.
Barely.
His numbers on the road have been terrible.
Jacksonville's run defense has been great.
He struggled against them at home, which is usually where he plays well.
He's a black.
Okay, we move over to the Colts here.
No, to the Jaguars, pardon me.
Blake Bortles, 69% on, 18 fantasy points in the first meeting.
I don't really see a reason why you can't get 18 fantasy points from Blake Bortles
if that's just what you want from a quarterback.
What do you guys think?
If he can rush for two touchdowns, I love it.
Why?
He's been getting you 18 fantasy points like every week basically except for the Cleveland game.
Well, one of those weeks was by rushing for two touchdowns.
Okay, so three of his last – if we take away the Cleveland game,
which was no condition to be throwing, three of his last four games,
and we're taking away the two rushing touchdown game, three of his last four games. And we're taking away the two rushing touchdown
game. Three of his last four games.
So we're taking away all of his
anomalies and weird games. What's
left? No, I'm saying
18 fantasy. We can just take away everybody's good performances.
He has thrown his first
11 games of the year. How many times
has he thrown more than one touchdown pass this year?
So once? Once.
All year.
And it was against the toughest matchup they've played. How many times has he thrown more than one touchdown pass this year so once once all year and it was against toughest matchup how many times he thrown more than one touchdown pass in america this year
okay i'm just saying upside with him there's more downside than there is upside but i kind
of like marquise lee i like marquise a lot yeah uh if he's gonna throw a touchdown it better go
to mark yes marquise he doesn't have to score If he's going to throw a touchdown, it better go to Marquise Lee.
Marquise Lee doesn't have to score a touchdown to still be a borderline number two.
And here's the other reality is that there are so many other quarterbacks that you can feel good about starting.
Okay, fair enough.
Even Tyrod Taylor is a better starter.
I'll stop wasting time on Bortles.
Would you start Marquise Lee or Demarius Thomas?
Demarius.
Demarius.
Marquise Lee.
All right, listen.
I really don't feel as good about starting Leonard Fournette as I used to.
I feel like you have to start him, but he's clearly playing hurt.
And the Colts have a pretty good run defense.
They haven't allowed more than 11 fantasy points in standard in four straight games.
The 11 fantasy points were Le'Veon Bell, 31 touches, 3.1 yards per carry.
And Fournette's three yards per carry in his last three games since coming back from the injury.
Is Leonard Fournette a must start?
Yes.
I think he is as long as he's practicing enough this week.
He's two games removed from a 28-carry game.
What more do you need?
Yeah, that sounds good enough for me.
Probably won't even be on the injury report.
All right.
So what happened last week?
Why did he only play?
He's not healthy. He's not going to be? Why did he only play? He's not healthy. They got behind.
He's not healthy.
He's not going to be a big part of the game.
He's not healthy.
If he's practicing it full, he's healthy.
No, he's not healthy.
His ankle's bad.
Maybe, but two weeks ago, he had 28 carries for over 100 yards.
Yeah, he had 28 carries.
He had less than four.
He had like three-something yards per carry against Cleveland.
Tom Brady has an Achilles problem.
You benching him?
No, but Tom Brady's been playing really well.
Leonard Fournette hasn't.
He's two games removed from a 100-yard game.
On 28 carries against the Browns.
Yeah, but he's still delivered.
We crap all over all the time.
You don't think he can come up with 20 carries against Indy?
I hope so.
And of course, I'm starting him.
Both Yeldon and Ivory had monster games.
Yeah.
And last week, Titans running backs had 18 fantasy points against them.
It was just between two running backs.
Yeah, but DeMarco Murray had 12 carries for nine yards.
But Henry had a very good game.
The last two running backs against them, though, have both gone over 12.
And he's not sharing.
At least we don't expect him to share with TJ Yeldon on a 50-50 basis.
Again, I'll stop arguing. I'm starting Leonard Fournette. I just think it's interesting. And don't expect him to share with TJ Yeldon on a 50-50 basis. Again, I'll stop arguing.
I'm starting Leonard Fournette.
I just think it's interesting.
And don't start Mercedes Lewis, even though Tennessee's been a little rough against tight
ends lately.
I think if you're really worried about Fournette, then you should be in the market to pick up
TJ Yeldon.
I have TJ Yeldon in my one Fournette league, and I have Chris Ivory.
Oh, so now we know why you're talking down about Leonard.
Yeah, that's why.
You're on the TJ Yeldon train.
Choo-choo.
I used to be.
Everybody used to be.
Kansas City's at the Jets.
I don't think we have to talk anymore about Kareem Hunt,
so let's go to Tyreek Hill.
Here's your stat of the game.
The Jets have allowed 70 or more yards to at least one wide receiver
in seven straight games.
That is a really good floor.
If there's going to be a receiver that does it, it's going to be Tyreek Hill.
But can we agree that the touchdown against Dallas was fluky for Hill?
Of course.
Okay.
If you get rid of that, he would have seven out of eight games with seven or fewer fantasy points in standard scoring leagues.
A lot of really bad games in there.
So start or sit, Tyreek Hill.
I've lowered
expectations.
That's where I've got him, too.
You're probably starting him.
It's the same story whether you have high expectations
or no expectations. You know what his potential
is. It's a lot like Diggs.
Burkhead or
Tyreek?
I'm going to go Tyreek.
Burkhead.
How about Kenyon Drake or Tyreek. I'm going to go Tyreek. How about Kenyon Drake or Tyreek Hill?
I'll go Drake.
I think you have to go Drake.
Clearly Robbie Anderson over Tyreek Hill?
Yes.
Okay.
I'm a little worried I have Robbie ranked too high.
He's in my top ten.
Robbie the Raker.
All he does is rake in stats.
Kareem Hunt or Tyreek Hill?
Hunt. Hunt? Hunt.
Hunt.
Hunt.
Okay, Alex Smith, start or sit?
Alex Smith or Josh McCown?
McCown.
McCown.
All right.
What's the time stamp on that?
I want to hear him say McCown over somebody.
McCown over Alex Smith.
And it's Alex Smith, no less, from Kansas City.
I'll give you a whole list
of quarterbacks that I'll start Josh McCown over.
The trepidation in Tyreek Hill
is because of Alex Smith.
Can you imagine if Tyreek Hill had a better quarterback?
You don't have to imagine for too much longer.
I'll start him over Matt Ryan, Alex
Smith, Marcus Mariota, Case Keenum,
Matthew Stafford, Dak Prescott.
Josh McCown over all those guys.
Okay.
Emmanuel Sanders or Tyreek Hill?
Tyreek Hill.
I think I have Hill like one spot ahead of Sanders.
You can't ignore how bad the Jets have been against number one wide receivers.
It does help.
But Josh McCown is right around 12th for everybody.
He had a great game last week.
He had a terrible game the week before.
But for the most part, like the last seven games, McCown's been pretty consistent.
Lots of touchdowns.
All right, so what are we thinking about the Jets running backs this week?
I'm not.
I think it doesn't matter who's healthy for them.
They are going to split carries, and they're not going to be very efficient.
And that has played into Josh McCown being a good fantasy quarterback for the last seven weeks.
Would you guys start Robbie Anderson or Jarvis Landry?
Anderson.
Robbie!
Even in PPR, I'd take Robbie.
Okay, we love Robbie Anderson.
Do we have any love for Jermaine Curse, who's 60% owned?
He's number three.
There's a way that I feel he's a low-end number three for me.
I think Kansas City, on obvious passing plays, are going to double-team Robbie Anderson,
and that could open things up for Safarian Jenkins and for Curse,
and that could also happen in the red zone.
You'd have to be pretty thin at wide receiver to go with Curse.
That's the only thing.
But it might get you seven fantasy points.
Would you start curse or a Cleveland wide receiver?
Curse.
That's a good question.
I'll take the upside with Cleveland.
I will go curse.
Okay, that's our next game.
We'll get to that in just a second.
Austin's Farrion Jenkins, 78% owned, less than 30 yards in four of his last five games.
But, you know, as I said, I think on Tuesday or Wednesday,
if he did catch all these touchdowns that he's had overturned,
he'd probably be a must start.
So start or sit, Austin Safarian Jenkins?
Sit.
I would use him on the basis of what you just said
and the fact that I think he can score.
You have a guy that has a propensity for dropping touchdowns against a team that's allowed
one touchdown to a tight end all season.
I don't think that this is going to be the week the Chiefs give.
I'm sitting him
for Jared Cook,
Hunter Henry, Vernon Davis, Charles Clay.
I'm starting him over
Ricky Seals-Jones, Evan Ingram,
guys like that. I'm with you on every
single one of those names except Clay.
It's just how I feel about Buffalo this week.
Okay, just, you know, if you start Austin Savarian Jenkins and he does catch a touchdown,
just wait until they actually kick the extra point before you celebrate.
Just a lot at stake.
Cleveland is at the Chargers.
And stat of the game, Marquise Lee with 11 fantasy points on 11 targets
is the only wide receiver with more
than six fantasy points in standard scoring leagues against the Chargers in their last five
games. That includes Denver, New England, Des Bryant, the Bills. So this is a team that's really
good against wide receivers. What does that mean for Josh Gordon and Corey Coleman this week? It means you can't feel confident starting either one of them,
but they are high ceiling, low floor type of fantasy options for you
in a game that you know Cleveland's going to be throwing a lot in.
They'll be throwing a lot to Duke Johnson.
Right.
Jamie, we're going to talk about Crowell in a second,
but Duke Johnson has four or six catches in five straight games.
How do you feel about him this week?
I think he's a must-start in PPR, and he's a great flex in standard leagues.
Okay, and why? I know you have some interesting stats.
Oh, it's just, I mean, they're in the top ten.
I'm sorry, they're number one in receptions to running backs,
and they've given up, I think.
Fourth most receiving yards per game.
They've given up.
They've allowed eight running backs to catch at least four passes in a game this season.
Let me give you another pretty obvious nugget here.
Josh Gordon's back, and Corey Coleman's there,
and it's going to be harder for defenses to crowd the box against run games
with those two on the field.
Not this team.
If everybody's healthy, those cornerbacks will play them one-on-one,
and they will win.
So you think they'll move their safeties up even in –
I think their safeties will – I think they'll play their normal defense
because they're going to – Deshaun Kizer's going to have no time
with Ingerman Bosa breathing down his neck,
and it's going to be a lot of short area passes to those guys.
And we've seen a lot of that from Kizer.
He's leaned on Duke Johnson.
I think you're on the right
track with Duke. I think he could get in for
six or more catches this week.
And I think they work underneath because
you've got the wide receivers pulling coverage
downfield. Okay, so we're
avoiding the Cleveland wide receivers. Duke Johnson's
a decent flex and standard. He's very
good in PPR. How about Isaiah
Crowell, guys? How do we feel about Crowell?
Not great.
I don't like the game script.
You never do, but he still
managed to get, is it, 15 or more
carries in three of his last four, and he's
averaged over five yards per
carry in three of his last four.
You think this is just a straight
up blowout? Yeah.
I would lean that way, but I lean that way almost every
time with Cleveland. But I think if they have a chance, it's Hayward not playing.
It's getting off to a good start early.
You could run on the Chargers.
I mean, we've seen that.
They've been better since Denzel Perryman's been healthy, so that's something to keep in mind.
But he's going to have to get off to a good start in the first quarter.
If that happens, then he'll be okay.
But I think you just know what he is at this point.
If he doesn't score, you're talking about eight fantasy points.
And he just hasn't really been involved in the passing game for the majority of the season.
I've seen the Chargers have allowed a rushing touchdown each of their last three games,
and they've allowed well over four yards per carry in each of those last three games.
Not sure they're that much better with Perryman back on the field.
I want to just get through this game because it's easy.
Phillip Rivers is a must-start.
He's a top-four quarterback.
You're starting him over almost everybody this week.
Start him over Russell Wilson?
Yes.
Yep.
Boy, what about Carson Wentz?
Yes.
I'd go Wentz.
Why?
Because I don't think – I think he's awesome.
And Rivers isn't?
Yeah.
Rivers has been really good.
Wentz is much better than Rivers.
Come on.
He is, but not this week.
I think the defense in Seattle isn't as good as they normally are.
It has been much better in fantasy than Rivers.
In every measure, fantasy or NFL caliber, Carson Wentz is much better than Phillip Rivers.
Carson Wentz is a superstar.
Every week of the NFL season except for last week and this week, Phillip Rivers will
be better. Okay, but, you know,
Melvin Gordon, you're starting.
Keenan Allen, you're starting. Are you starting
any other Chargers? And Hunter Henry is number seven.
So start him. He's 78% on.
Are you starting any other Chargers wide receivers?
If you're desperate, you can take a shot
on Travis Benjamin. Revenge
game. It's actually not a good matchup.
Cleveland has not allowed more than seven fantasy points
to a second wide receiver all season.
We saw that with Marvin Jones like three weeks
ago. Alright, our last game is
Detroit and Baltimore, guys.
We're running a little long, so we'll try to
go a little quicker. Here's the stat of the game.
Baltimore has held four
of the last five
quarterbacks that have
faced the Ravens have scored five or fewer points.
I know they haven't been that good, but it was Keenum, Matt Moore, Brett Hundley, and Tom Savage.
I mean, five or fewer points.
The other one was Mariota, who scored 18 fantasy points.
Start or sit, Matthew Stafford?
Sit.
I'm going to sit him.
He's on the fence for me.
I think I have him 12th at quarterback.
I would put him
behind Keenum, behind
McCown, behind Goff,
but ahead of Matt Ryan,
Derek Carr, Tyrod.
Okay.
I think he's okay. I think he'll throw
enough that he can get you between
18 and 22.
Can we just say avoid the Detroit running backs?
Yep.
How about Marvin Jones?
So, look, I think that the Ravens have taken advantage of one of the best schedules.
They've faced terrible offenses all year.
Their last three games, Rashard Matthews, 13 points, and Eric Decker scored eight.
Devontae Adams, DeAndre Hopkins, two straight games with 125 yards for those guys. So how do you feel about Marvin Jones? How do you feel about Golden Tate?
Now they have done a good job against slot receivers, but how do you feel about those
two guys this week? They're low in number twos for me. I like Jones as a top 12 receiver.
Yeah, I don't like him that much, but I think Jones is the one you have to buy into because, look, he's done well against
tough matchups. They have given up
a big place in number one receivers
over the last two weeks in terms of
the Ravens, and Stafford's looking
for him. The one concern I have with Jones is
why I'm not as excited about
him is Stafford not being 100%.
So with Detroit
probably going to, with Stafford
probably going to be under duress,
I mean the Ravens' pass rush has turned it on the last couple weeks.
I think it's going to be tough for him to have a big game like we've seen.
So it's hard to bench Marvin Jones,
but you have to just look at your lineup and see what makes the most sense for you.
You've got to look at the offensive line too for Detroit.
If Swanson and Lang both do not play, it hurts that interior,
and you know the Ravens will attack it.
And they've got some big guys up front.
Crash that pocket.
I am sitting Marvin Jones for the following players.
Alshon Jeffery, Michael Thomas, and Jamison Crowder.
That's easy.
I'm sitting him for Funchess, Hopkins, and Cooks.
That's easy too.
You've got to have great Hopkins.
I've got him ahead of all those guys.
What about Golden Tate, though?
You have him ahead of Hopkins?
No, not Hopkins.
Or Thomas.
So not all those guys.
Not all of them.
Maybe a couple.
Let's finish up with Golden Tate.
We'll talk about the Ravens running backs tomorrow.
Golden Tate, start or sit?
I think you're probably starting with number two.
Yep.
Better than PBR than Stanton.
Yep.
Okay.
Don't fall for what he did last week.
That's not going to happen again.
Four catches for seven yards is not going to happen again.
Would you start Danny Woodhead or Golden Tate?
Tate.
Tate.
Tate.
Latavius Murray or Golden Tate?
Tate.
Tate.
Murray makes me nervous.
Me too.
Okay.
All right.
We're out of here.
We'll talk to you tomorrow with the NFC home games.
We will talk about Alex Collins and the Baltimore running backs.
And, yeah, let's party.
Have fun.
Enjoy the game tonight.
Good luck.
Let's get it going.
See you later.
Bye. Not George Le'Veon It's alright I've got Le'Veon Bell