Fantasy Football Today - 12/01 Fantasy Football Podcast: Start or Sit (NFC); Beat the Waiver Wire!

Episode Date: December 1, 2017

Recapping WAS-DAL (2:00) as we grow concerned about Washington's offensive line, and are we optimistic about Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant going forward? ... Experimenting with different Fantasy playoff formats (10:25), discussing the BAL RBs as Alex Collins looks good to go (17:00) and helping you Beat the Waiver Wire for Week 14 (20:20) ... MIN-ATL (23:00), LAR-ARI (33:45), CAR-NO (39:40), PHI-SEA (47:15), NYG-OAK (51:26), TB-GB (56:21), SF-CHI (1:01:24) and some DFS lineups ... Your emails at [e-mail] 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! Get your lineup set. It's time for Star Dwarfs 6. Let's go! Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and T. Hey, what's up everybody? It is Friday.

It is the last week of the regular season. Holy cow, Dave, I'm stinking everybody? It is Friday. It is the last week of the regular season. Holy cow, Dave, I was thinking last night after that Cowboys... Stop making fun of me. After that Cowboys-Redskins game, I was thinking, they have only four games left, rest of the season. Like, we are coming up to the end, sir. And I bet Washington can't wait for the season to end at this point, because it's going to get ugly there.

Yeah. Man, I hate it when things don't go as we plan. There are some positive takeaways from that game, but the biggest gripe I got is that Kirk Cousins struggled behind that offensive line. It fell apart during the game. We thought it would be healthy. And Jameson Crowder, hold on to the football. Dang it. Forget it. I mean, hold on to the football, dang it! Forget it.

This week, week 14, or 13 rather, may have been the beginning and the end of the bold guarantee segment, which we will talk about in a second. But the Redskins, they might be hiring some personnel next offseason.

And with ZipRecruiter.com, you can post your job to 100-plus job sites, including social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. Get the word out, all with a single click. You can try it for free if you need to hire. ZipRecruiter.com slash FFT. ZipRecruiter.com slash FFT. So we're going to start with the Redskins and Cowboys game. We are going to talk about the Ravens running backs, which we did not get to in yesterday's show.

We also didn't get to Giants Raiders, so that will be part of the NFC home games slate. Beat the waiver wire. Some interesting names for next week. Update you on the injuries. Oh, wow. I've got to pick a bonanza before – I think I know what I'm going to do. But before we get to the games. Let's talk about last night.

We had 38-14 Dallas. And, well, right tackle Morgan Moses for the Redskins. He hurt his leg early in the second quarter, so he missed a lot of the game. And that's when all the dominoes really began to fall. Samajit Pirine missed a chunk of time in the first half being evaluated for a concussion, but he came back and he had a few catches at the end, which was nice. Dak Prescott bruised his hand. He insists he's fine. He played okay. He had a few catches at the end, which was nice. Dak Prescott bruised his hand. He insists he's fine.

He played okay. He had a good game for fantasy. He had a good game for the Cowboys. He did not have a good game for fantasy. He scored 22 points. He did? Not according to what I saw. What did he have for you?

18. That sounds more right. I saw 22 this morning, and that just didn't feel right to me, Dave. He had 18. That sounds more right. I saw 22 this morning, and that just didn't feel right to me, Dave. No, he had 18. Listen, I think you would take 18 from Dak at this point. Because he only had 102. Yeah, he had 18 fantasy. He played half of his passes for 102 yards.

18's not terrible, but it wasn't a good game. Right, but we'll talk about that in a little bit. A very, very shiny silver lining. The line was healthy. So they had their starting offensive line intact, but they played without two linebackers. And that's your injury update for the Dallas Redskins game. Now the football update. Kirk Cousins scored 16 fantasy points.

He had a tipped interception late in the game. He had an interception that went off the hands of Jamison Crowder. He played a lot better than the numbers, Dave. But his next two matchups are the Chargers on the road. They're very good against quarterbacks. And then the Cardinals at home, which I don't think is that big of a deal because the Cardinals always stink when they go to the East Coast. What do you think about Kirk Cousins? I am very nervous for Kirk Cousins' fantasy future because my expectation is that the offensive line is going to get shuffled again here.

Moses' injury looked like it was pretty serious. Trent Williams is playing hurt. He's not nearly as effective. He's pretty effective, but not nearly as effective as you'd think. Niseki, who replaced Morgan Moses at right tackle after replacing Laval at left guard, ended up playing well less than 100%. He was a problem. They're on their third-string center.

At some point, it's all going to fall apart, and apart and we've seen cousins play behind a depleted offensive line before it's not pretty so if i've got kirk cousins and i've already started him i'll take my lumps with him this week hope i can make it into the next round or the first round of the fancy playoffs but i'm shopping for another quarterback if i don't have one already i'm going to hit the waiver wire. There's a ton of quarterbacks that are out there that you can go and pick up, stash on the bench, anyone from Josh McCown to Brett Hundley. Go and get them.

Have another option in case you really don't like Kirk Cousins. And by the way, you shouldn't like Kirk Cousins next week at the Chargers. And McCown, I don't know if you want him next week at Denver, but Hundley's at Cleveland. Tyrod Taylor faces the Colts, I don't know if you want him next week at Denver, but Hundley's at Cleveland. Tyrod Taylor faces the Colts, I believe. That's good for Tyrod. Yeah, so that's an option that you could go for. Just like this week, there are going to be a lot of low-end streamers out there.

Who does Cincinnati have? Oh, they have the Bears. I think it's not a bad matchup for Andy Dalton. You might want to go with him. So there are some options there for the Cousins owner. We don't want you to drop Cousins. We want you to get another guy. And it's just frustrating, Dave, because my bold guarantee was that Jamison Crowder would have a better game than Julio Jones. This was a proclamation that had very little upside.

But, you know, now I look like an idiot. But he had – look, I could actually deal with five for 67. That's not terrible. And given what the Vikings did earlier this year to Michael Thomas and Mike Evans and Antonio Brown and Jordy Nelson, five catches for 67 yards could be better than Julio Jones. But you factor in the fumble, that's four fantasy points. That's not going to be better than Julio Jones. And it was just – Ryan Grant was the guy.

Ryan Grant was the guy who had 76 yards and a touchdown. And Josh Doxon – Ryan Grant was the guy with nine targets. Yeah. So, like, I don't know. I mean, the matchup was good. That part was good. But Crowder just had a bad – the Redskins played like crap.

Let's just face it. They played horribly. And all your best-laid fantasy plans down the drain. If you sat Dez Bryant, about 20%, 24% of his owners sat Dez Bryant. He had a big game. Vernon Davis was horrible again. What were your other takeaways from this game? Well, let's start with Dak, who, like we talked about, had 18 fantasy points.

It's not what you want when you start a fantasy quarterback, but if you benched him this week, you have to feel good about his prospects moving forward, especially since his next two games are against the Giants and the Raiders. They're both on the road, but that offensive line looks good. Dak's thumb, I suspect it'll be okay. I don't think he'll be a 50% passer in those games, but I think you could feel a lot better about Dak moving forward, and I think you can feel a lot better about the Cowboys' run game.

They finally gave the ball to Alfred Morris. They didn't do it much in the three previous games. One game they kind of did. He was OK. But this was perfect for him. This was not some sort of a revenge thing. He had been running well. The Cowboys just fell behind in a bunch of games and they abandoned the run. They didn't have that happen to them on Thursday. And I don't think it's going to happen to them next week against the Giants either. Alfred Morris is going to be a pretty, pretty good running back. You should feel confident in starting him next week and the week after that. Yeah, and then Ezekiel Elliott will be back. The next two games, like Dave mentioned, are at the Giants and at Oakland. He had 27 carries, 127 yards, and a touchdown.

Morris was started in only 32% of leagues. Meanwhile, Rod Smith was started in 7% of leagues. He's owned in 36% of leagues. He had 10 carries for 27 yards and a touchdown, but he had four carries for 11 yards and a touchdown on Dallas' final possession of the game where they were just killing the clock. So not a huge game for him.

And then, yeah, what do you think about Dez? I mean, he had more than half of Dak Prescott's yards. He doesn't have to face Janoris Jenkins next week, who just completely owns him. Are you confident in Dez Bryant going forward? I'm okay with Dez. I feel like what we saw from him against Washington is going to be pretty close to his ceiling week in and week out. He's not dynamic anymore. He's just a big body that can post up in single coverage

and come down with that 50-50 ball. For him, it's probably more like a 55-45 ball because he's so good at getting in position, jumping up and getting it. I can't help but think that he's going to get started regardless, but you've got to have expectations of him as a number two receiver. Okay. All right, then. That would be your recap for Dallas and Washington.

Da-na-na-na-na-na. Okay. Alright then, that would be your recap for Dallas and Washington. Da-na-na-na-na-na! No. Haven't done that in a while. No, we haven't. I gotta tell you, I'm very excited for this weekend. I think the games are really interesting. Took me a long time to preview, you know, to do the notes because I think the Atlanta-Minnesota matchup is

really interesting. The Seahawks- Eagles might actually be an easier fantasy matchup just in terms of predicting things than we think, but it's still really interesting. I don't know, Carolina-New Orleans. I just feel like there are a lot of really intriguing matchups. Then you look at the other game, the AFC game we're going to preview, the Raiders-Giants, Dave.

The wide receivers in that game are fascinating to me. Everybody's going over Seth Roberts. He's like 35% owned. Nobody's picking up Cordero Patterson. Patterson did like 70 yards last week. We've got to talk about that. Yeah, I'm not saying you should, but if you're desperate, it's not the worst thing. I've got a really

cool stat about Derek Carr and how he's done against similar matchups this week. So that's all coming up. The mailbag show that we're going to record later today and air tomorrow should be pretty bonkers because we have a ton of emails. And what are we going to do? What are we going to revisit, Dave?

The Acer strategy. The friendship strategy. You guys remember that from back in July and August? We talked about drafting two receivers from the same team. Let's see how that's worked out so far this year. Okay. Yeah. Let's take a look.

We got Ion Fantasy Football Saturday night, our radio show. It'll be Dave and Heath. It's 10 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Radio. You can listen online, cbssportsradio.com. Fantasy Football today, live noon Eastern, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. Eastern on Sunday. That's on cbssports.com. It's a very cool show, very helpful. And we've got a lot of other podcasts, including Canel and Bell Off the Bench, a new podcast that we have, Danny Canel and Raja Bell Talking Sports. Really awesome show. Amazing reviews so far. Check it out in iTunes and Stitcher and TuneIn and Google Play, wherever.

And go to cbssports.com slash podcast for our other listings. Dave, here's our email of the day. It's Bryce in New Mexico. Fantasyfootball at cbsi.com. Dear some combo of Stanley, Kevin, Meredith, and Creed. It's The Office. It is The Office. I watched an episode of The Office last night.

It was very funny. Not watching football, huh? It was at like 7 o'clock, and then I watched football. Quick league settings question. My 10-team league is the only one I know of that does playoffs in two-week chunks. The final four weeks are set up as two rounds where each matchup spans two weeks instead of one. Is there a benefit to that, or is there a better reason to switch to the standard one-week matchups? Well, I think we use the standard one-week matchup

because we don't have a lot of time to determine a champion. You've got a short season, and after 13 weeks, or in this case, maybe it is two weeks for this one too. 14, 15, 16, 17, yeah, that's probably what Bryce is talking about. I've always been used to the one-week matchup, but I'm in a league where the championship is two weeks long. I feel like if you're in a two-week championship, the better team will win.

Now, do you do two-week championship with week 17? Yes. And how do you feel about that? Well, week 16 is a part of it too, so ultimately I think it's fine. In Perfect World, you wouldn't have to really sweat that type of stuff but i i think the best fantasy owners would have to be prepared for week 17 in case a couple of their players uh take a breather because their team has nothing to play for in the

postseason or in the regular i kind of like this though i kind of i mean we do it for baseball uh you know because it's a longer season but i like the two-week playoff if you can do it. And I think the 10-team league is exactly where to do it. In fact, I wouldn't really be opposed to starting the playoffs a week early, going weeks 13 and 14 and 15 and 16 for two rounds of playoffs, and avoiding 17. What do you think, 10-team league? Well, you're shorting everybody in the league one extra week.

You are. Fantasy goodness. Yeah. So make sure everybody in your league is okay with that before you do it. Maybe you invite everybody back to play in week 17 for a special prize. Ooh, that's fun. And then you get that week back. Yeah, there you go.

All right, hey, listen, I got to talk to you about SeatGeek. I went to a game the other night, and it was a SeatGeek game for me. I went to the Knicks Heat game, and my friend used Seat Geek game for me. I went to the Knicks Heat game, and my friend used Seat Geek. So he texted me, and he said, hey, check out these tickets. I said, you are an idiot. Use Seat Geek. It's cheaper. We found cheaper seats in almost the same exact location. And then I told him, use the promo code FFT. You're going to get $20 off your first purchase. So I've already used the promo code, but he hadn't. So he got great seats at a great price because SeatGeek goes out and searches multiple ticket sites and finds you the

best deals and shows you the best bargains. They grade every seat based on value. But also he used the promo code FFT. And that's what you need to do when you download the SeatGeek app or you go to SeatGeek.com. With that code, with FFT, you're getting $20 off. So now is the time to save some money, right? You want to go to games? You want to buy tickets for someone for the holidays or something like that? Use the SeatGeek app. Make it your go-to app for sports, concerts, comedy, theater.

I seriously love SeatGeek. In fact, at the Knicks game, I saw my cousin's husband there, and we were just talking at halftime And he said, where are your seats? I said, they're right over there I got these seats on SeatGeek You ever use SeatGeek? He said, of course So once people start using SeatGeek They are going to keep using SeatGeek It's just the best way to get tickets

Download the app Use the promo code FFT Promo code is FFT for 20 bucks Off your first SeatGeek purchase Maybe you want to buy some tickets for someone right now. It's a good holiday gift. FFT is the promo code. News and notes.

Adrian Peterson expected to play. We're going to preview that game a little bit later, but just real quick, how do you feel about Adrian Peterson against the Rams? I began the week liking Adrian Peterson, and then I saw the injury news and moved him down in my rankings. So I think he's the number three running back. All right. Juju Smith-Schuster practiced in full.

That's great. Who's a better flex, Peterson or Smith-Schuster? I'd rather PPR no-brainer. It's Schuster. And I think in standard leagues, it's Schuster as well. The best matchup for Pittsburgh, believe it or not, is going to be in the slot. They've got good corners in Cincinnati. Isn't it Smith?

Why do you keep saying Schuster? I feel like you're shortchanging him, half of his name. Smith hyphen Schuster? Yeah, thank you. That's exactly what I was going to say. Matt Forte was limited in practice. Safest thing is just to avoid the Jets running backs? I would.

And it has nothing to do with the matchup. It has everything to do with how they mix and match them. You start Forte as a number three running back because you've got no one better. We knew that Robert Woods was going to miss at least two games. It looks like he's going to miss three games. He's unlikely to play next week against the Eagles. Hugh Jackson said Josh Gordon will not be on a pitch count. Start or sit?

He's a sit. I really want to see it first, but it's almost the same thing as Forte. If you don't really have anybody better than Josh Gordon and you've been waiting this long, whether it's been a week or if you were crazy enough to pick him up a month ago, maybe you roll him out there. The one thing I've heard, I've got friends in Cleveland, the only thing I've heard is that conditioning could be an issue for him. Remember, the guy hasn't played in a football game, a regular season football game, since 2014.

It's been a while. That's a good point. So I would try and take a cautious approach. This is probably the toughest matchup he'll have for, goodness, maybe the rest of the season unless you count Week 17 at Pittsburgh. And even then, not sure you'd say that that's a horrible matchup. We got Ken Crawley for the Saints likely to play this week, one of their cornerbacks.

But Marshawn Lattimore did not practice, so they might have half of their starting cornerback duo. And it's going to be interesting to see how he will line up. Are they going to stick him on Devin Funches for the whole game, or are they going to play sides and keep Crowley just on half the field, and then the Panthers can move Funches around? That's one that's going to be interesting to see, but it's a positive for the Saints that he's coming back.

Wait until you hear the numbers for Cam Newton at New Orleans in his last three games there. DeMarco Murray dealing with an illness. Aaron Jones could be a game-time decision. That's annoying. Hopefully we'll know more during the mailbag show, but we'll preview that game and give you a cool stat that will make you fairly confident in Jamal Williams,

unless Aaron Jones plays. Do you expect the following players that are on the injury report? Jarvis Landry. Yes. Cameron Brate. Yes. Tyler Croft. Sure.

Jimmy Graham. Okay. Chris Hogan. No, brother. Rashard Matthews. Not as of now. Let's see if he practices on Friday. Amir Abdullah.

That's going to be an interesting one. I would imagine even if he plays, you're not going to want to use him. I mean, it's Amir Abdullah. That's going to be an interesting one. I would imagine even if he plays, you're not going to want to use him. I mean, it's Amir Abdullah. Come on. Yeah, and it's Baltimore. All right, so speaking of Baltimore, we didn't talk about their running backs yesterday because we didn't know about Alex Collins, and he was supposed to be the start of the week, and I assume he still is the start of the week because Collins practiced yesterday,

and he looks good to go. And he is in my FanDuel lineup, Dave, because you know that stat. Nine running backs have had 13 or more carries against Detroit. Seven of them have scored double-digit fantasy points. Last week McKinnon failed us, but Latavius Murray came through. So, I mean, he could have a huge – I love it. I love Alex Collins this week. Do you love Alex Collins this week?

I do too. I believe it's 11 rushing touchdowns overall allowed by the Lions in their last six. Nine to running backs. The other two were quarterbacks from the goal line. They are terrible at the goal line. And I'm expecting Alex Collins to score. And because he's been getting a lot of work, at least 13 carries for sure, I think he's going to end up finishing as a top 12 running back this week. I think he can get you, I don't know if he can get you more than what Alfred Morris got you, but I think he'll come pretty close to it.

All right, then. And what about Woodhead? He's 71% on. He's a lot more interesting. He's just not getting you a lot of yards. I mean, he hasn't even gotten to 50 yards yet. We haven't seen a game where the Ravens have had to lean on him because they're playing from behind,

and I don't know if this is going to be it either. I don't know if they have one all season, looking at their schedule. For the rest of the season, you think it's just going to be a cakewalk to the playoffs? No, I think it could be a lot of close games. Well, they're at Pittsburgh next week. Okay, that's the only one. Then at Cleveland and home against Indianapolis.

Right. I'm starting to get that feeling that Woodhead could be just a guy that takes up a spot on your bench. Yeah, I think I have to start him in one league in PPR. Well, that helps. At least it's PPR. Yeah, I'm obviously not considering it in standard. Woodhead or Peterson? PPR.

That's going to be close. I will probably shade a little bit toward Woodhead. Dave, let's shade a little bit towards Week 14. Oh, by the way, Jamie is something at school with his kid, I believe. Something awesome. So he's not in today, but he will be. How dare he put his family before us? I think that's what it is. Is that what it is?

What? I don't know where he is. Is that what it is? What? A kid. I don't know where he is. Do I look like his secretary? Does Jamie know where I am all the time? Everybody thinks that we're like always supposed to be together. Did I ever tell you the story about when I was on a cruise with my family and somebody recognized me? And the guy's first question to me is, where's Jamie?

When I. Like we're not those. We're not co-joined twins. We're individual people. Jamie, I don't know, a few months into it, this was like nine years ago or something, we were talking about his wedding, and I was like, oh, was Dave your best man? And he's like, no. Everybody asked me that. Anyway, Jamie will be in for FFT video and I think for the mailbag, actually. I was at Jamie's wedding. You were?

If you have any questions about it, you can ask me on the mailbag. Okay. Looking forward to it. I will tell all. Let's beat Jamie. Let's beat the waiver wire. Let's look ahead to week 14, Dave. So here are some names that I think are interesting if you need a wide receiver. I'm very interested in Marquise Goodwin.

He's, I think, got a quarterback upgrade. He should be the targets leader for the 49ers, and he's at Houston. Oh, beautiful. So I'm going to call Marquise Goodwin a sleeper next week. I'm with you. So you get him now. You see how he performs with Garoppolo

against Chicago. It could be pretty good. And then maybe use him if you need receiver help. I'm not getting him if I'm rocked at receiver. You know what I'm saying? If I've got superstars there's no reason to carry him. You're going to leave him for somebody else.

Yes. Need help at receiver. That's a guy. Don't forget to carry him. You're going to leave him for somebody else. Yes. If you need help with a receiver, that's a guy. Don't forget to play defense. I don't think Goodwin's the kind of guy to play defense with. But Josh Gordon, if he's still out there, he's got Green Bay next week. And Corey Coleman. I mean, the Packers are terrible against wide receivers, especially number ones, but including number twos.

They often give up a lot of fantasy points to number two receivers, which is why Deshaun Jackson's interesting this week. We'll talk about him. But Corey Coleman is another guy. If people drop Chris Hogan, are you interested in Chris Hogan? He could be back next week and he's 88% on. Sure. Yeah.

He would be a risky start in his first game back, though. Sure. I think it's the Dolphins Monday night. Cincinnati's DST could be great against Chicago at home, 58% owned. Packers DST at Cleveland. Let's see how Cleveland looks this week before we anoint them. That's one you can pick up now and wait and see, but you might end up cutting them on Tuesday if you lose confidence

in their ability to dominate. Also, if Tampa Bay has a good game against the Packers defense, you might not feel so good about starting them at Cleveland. has a good game against the Packers defense, you might not feel so good about starting them at Cleveland. Houston's DST against the Niners, 75%. Wait a minute, you just got done talking about Marquise Goodwin. I know, I know, but he could still have a good game. I would

put them in the same boat as Green Bay. And Denver's DST against the Jets. I would probably put them in the same boat as well. This is going to be a crowded boat. I hope you have a really good DST. It's not a great streaming DST week. No, but Cincinnati is at the top of the list.

Yes, that's a good one. Tyrod Taylor against the Colts. And like I said on Wednesday's show, there are going to be a lot of quarterbacks. I don't know that you really have to stash any. There should be some, like this week. There were like five guys that you could pick up, maybe even more. Try to get you 18 fantasy points if you need it. So Tyrod Taylor, I think, is probably the cream of that crop.

You ready for my banana? No, I'll do it when we get to the game. All right, let's get to the games then. Minnesota at Atlanta. I'm not going to use the B word here, but I will just say that Minnesota scored 24 or more points in four straight games. Atlanta scored 27 or more points in three straight games. We've got some 30-point games in there.

I mean, these offenses are humming right now, Dave. Is this a high-scoring game? I think it could be. I think it really could be the way that these offenses have been playing. The one question is whether or not the Falcons can keep rising to the occasion against the Spikings' defense. It's out of the game. You ready?

Sure. It's all about Devontae Freeman's carries. You know, you could talk about Julio Jones and the matchup against Xavier Rhodes. I'm glad you're bringing this up. Go ahead. I think Freeman's the tougher Falcon this week because when he's had, in five games games between nine and 12 carries, he's got one touchdown and no double-digit fantasy point games in standard.

In his other three games, Freeman's had 18 to 21 carries. It hasn't been like 14 or 15 or 16. It's either nine to 12 or 18 to 21 carries, and he's been a monster in those games. I don't know that he's going to get more than 12. I would bet against it, and he's facing arguably the toughest run defense in football. I agree with you. And look at the carries in the four games before he got hurt. It was against Miami.

There were three road games in there. One of them was Seattle. That was a tough one. Nine carries, 12 carries, 12 carries, 11 carries. Total touches, 11, 15, 13, 15. Total fantasy points, 7, 8, 6, 5. Those are all single digits. And if you make it PPR, it was 9, 11, 7, 9.

So only one game with double digits, and it was in PPR, not standard. Tevin Coleman, by comparison, had fewer touches, but he was better than Freeman in three of the four games in standard and two of the four in PPR. I think the biggest difference this year, Falcons running backs, especially Freeman, they're just not getting anything done in the passing game. Freeman has one game this year with more than 20 receiving yards. So if he doesn't score, he's not getting you the total yards like last year. And Coleman, I think he has five catches in his last seven games. Right.

He's not getting nearly as much work in the passing game. He was. Which leads me to believe, and they even talked about it. Dan Quinn even talked about it this week when he was talking about Devontae Freeman and his return that he would make a big impact in the passing game. That makes sense. Put him in that position immediately. Now what do you do on running downs? And I think you're going to continue to see a split like we saw before Freeman got

hurt. I would be surprised if he had 20 carries in this game, unless it's a matchup where Minnesota just turns the ball over a lot and Atlanta's ahead in the second half and they're just killing the clock. Yeah, I guess the question is, do you start either Freeman or Coleman against a team that allows the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs? I don't think you set high expectations for them. I've got Freeman currently at 23rd, and I've got Tevin Coleman at 21st. And I'm sticking with it. I think Tevin will be the better running back.

I think he'll get – I think he's earned a little bit more work. So what has he been getting with Freeman before Freeman's injury? About 10 touches per game. Maybe that bumps up to 12. Freeman can still have 12 touches, 13 touches. And that's if they're in a competitive game. If they're getting their brains beat in, because who knows what the Falcons' defense is going to be like. Oh, that's true.

Yeah, that's true. I know they're not going to have Trufant, and that's a big deal. Desmond Trufant is a huge factor in this game, both in how the Falcons are going to call their defense and what to expect offensively from Minnesota. So I'm not certain that either guy will be great. They're both number two running backs for me. I'm just a little bit more confident in Coleman.

And my guess is that they'll let him bang around near the goal line rather than Freeman. Start Crowell over these guys? I would. Start Josh Gordon over them? No. Okay. So more in this game, a lot more in this game. Let's go to the quarterbacks.

Which one do you like better, Keenum, who's 74% owned, or Matt Ryan, who has not had more than 22 fantasy points in a game all season? I'm going to go with Keenum. He's been very hot. We're looking for 20 fantasy points. He's given you 19 in each of his last four games, and in two of his last three, it's been over 30. We can go back to the matchup of Desmond Trufant versus Stephon Diggs.

If Trufant plays, I think that hurts Diggs. If Trufant's out, then you're probably – I don't know if they're going to have the other quarterback, I think it's Alford, travel with Diggs. And I think Diggs is going to end up having a huge week. So it's definitely something that would help Case Keenum, who's done a nice job spreading the ball around, using different receivers from week to week. And on top of it, I don't know how well Minnesota will be able to run the ball.

That's a tough one. So I think Keenum's going to have to do work. You can get a pretty good sense that it could be a struggle for the Falcons running backs. The Vikings running backs are more interesting. I think at this point it's pretty easy to get away from McKinnon, right? Even in PPR? I would take him in PPR ahead of murray why i would take him in standard

ahead of murray because i don't know if murray's going to score and i was only allowed five touchdowns for running back mckinney's not doing anything i mean murray's you know why mckinnon hasn't been doing anything because murray's been playing in games where the vikings have a huge lead or it's early on and they get i just think he's the primary ball carrier now okay it's early on and they get near the goal line? I just think he's the primary ball carrier now. He gets 15 carries every week, six straight games with 15 or more carries. I think the matchup dictates more McKinnon this week than Murray. Now, that's my opinion. That's just not the opinion of the Vikings.

It doesn't mean that Murray won't get 13, 14, 15 carries. But I don't know if he's going to do what you want him to do with it. He makes me nervous. But if you're nervous about him, I just don't know why he's going to do what you want him to do with it. He makes me nervous. But if you're nervous about him, I just don't know why you'd be not nervous about McKinnon. McKinnon has not been playing as well as Murray lately. He's not even catching that many passes lately. But I think he could in this game. I think the matchups – what have we said all along about the Falcons? I don't know that that is true anymore, though.

They're much better in that regard with defending, pass-catching running backs than they usually are. They have been, but it doesn't mean that the is true anymore, though. They're much better in that regard, defending pass-catching running backs. They have been, but it doesn't mean that the Vikings can't try it. And let me just really put a cap on all this and say that both of them are outside of my top 24. So you like the Falcons running backs better than the Vikings? I like both Falcons running backs better than both Vikings running backs. I like Duke Johnson and Isaiah Crowell, both Browns running backs, better than both Vikings running backs. It's very interesting to me because I feel like Murray has sort of earned start status, at least as a number two.

He makes me nervous. I understand. He's got the feel of a running back who might get you 50, 60 total yards. Okay. All right. I understand. So Dave wants to avoid them. Start Adam Thielen.

And then Diggs is interesting. Would you start Diggs over any running back in this game? I might start Diggs over every running back in this game. If we find out that Desmond Trufant is out, then I think Diggs has maybe the best matchup of any Vikings player. What if Trufant is in? Then I'd probably lower expectations considerably. I think he makes a difference.

You can score on Desmond Trufant, but I think that he makes it harder. And he's also like a big guy. He's going to hurt Diggs a little bit. Kyle Rudolph is basically 12th. He's right around 12th. So he is an okay start. The Falcons have allowed between 52 and 59 yards to a tight end in three straight games, Witten, Graham, and Howard. And that's a pretty good start. And that's what Rudolph has been

around the last two weeks. So hopefully he scores. But I think, what, six fantasy points could be realistic. Maybe 12 if he gets in the end zone for Rudolph. Yeah. And really, he's much safer in PPR. We've seen some great consistency from him there. All right. Matt Ryan or we know you like Keenum better. Matt Ryan or Josh McCown. McCown. Matt Ryan or Derek Carr. I've got Ryan ahead of Carr right now. Okay. I think with Matt Ryan, you're starting him and you're hoping that he falls somewhere between 17 and 21 fantasy points.

And we haven't seen it from him breaking through that 22-point barrier. I have a hard time believing he's going to do it against a healthy Vikings defense. Only one quarterback has done that against the Vikings. It was Cousins who had two rushing touchdowns. They are a great defense. Julio Jones, he's top six in both formats. He just had

250 yards. Two years ago, he faced the Vikings. He had five catches for 56 yards. And that followed three straight games with 137 or more yards before that game. Ryan has had trouble with Mike Zimmer defenses, at least the Minnesota versions of them. Multiple interceptions in two meetings against Zimmer. Yeah, all right. So, look, I get you're starting Julio Jones.

Just recognize that it could be a tough matchup. The silver lining is this. The Vikings have struggled against wide receivers in their last three games. Maurice Harris caught a touchdown. Crowder had a good game. Robert Woods at 81 yards. Then Marvin Jones had the monster game. Sid Austin Hooper.

And the Vikings' DST is good, not great this week. Eighth for Jamie, 11th for Dave. Heath doesn't like them. He has them 20th. Oh, Sanu. Starter Sid Sanu real quick, Dave. He's a flex. Heath doesn't like them. He has them 20th. Oh, Sanu. Start or sit Sanu real quick, Dave. He's a flex. Not a black,

but a flex. Definitely digs over him, but what about Freeman or Sanu? PPR, Sanu, standard, Freeman. Okay. I'm just marinating it in my head right now. Maybe Sanu. Nah, you know what?

I'm going to stick with it. Freeman over Sanu in standard. All right. All right, guys. So listen, it's really important to have the right people at your company. Okay? If you have any influence on that, if you're hiring at your company, please use ZipRecruiter. ZipRecruiter.com slash FFT. That's the way to try itruiter. ZipRecruiter.com slash FFT.

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time on that game. It was a very interesting game. The Rams at the Cardinals might be a little bit easier for fantasy owners, but I think Jared Goff is kind of interesting. The first guy that we should talk about is Peterson. I think we've already kind of covered him, but let's do it again real quick. The Rams allow 4.7 yards per carry to running backs. That's the stat of the game. And I've been trying to make the case that they have a good run defense and the stat's deceiving, and I just don't think I can do it anymore. Peterson did have three fantasy points in the first time he faced the Rams. Do you remember the circumstances around that?

Well, they lost 33-0. I tend to believe he's more of a matchup-based running back at this point. The stats bear it out that the Rams' run defense isn't great. But they've taken on some pretty decent running games this year. They got blasted by the Saints last week, mainly by Alvin. Yeah, they did well against Ingram. And I guess Minnesota isn't that good of a run offense, but maybe they are. But nonetheless, here they are giving up two touchdowns against Minnesota a

couple weeks ago. So, all right, fine. Maybe they're not so great. But I'm still, between the injury and what we know about Adrian Peterson, even with the big workload, I'm nervous about him getting any more than 80 total yards. And they could lose big again. I mean, the Rams are much better at home than they are on the road in terms of

defensively. But you don't want him to fall behind. Peterson feels so boom or bust to me. Do you feel that way, too? Yeah. Of course. So, Jared Goff, then. We'll go to the Rams first. Jared Goff,

start or sit? What do you think? Jared Goff. I like him. I think he's good enough to start. We've seen enough from him. You like him? I think he's good enough to start. We've seen enough from him. You know the deal when you play against Arizona. You think that Patrick Peterson shuts down the whole passing game. He only shuts down part of it.

And the other corners that they have, they give up numbers. Slot receivers do well against them. Number two receivers do well against them. Quarterbacks do pretty well against them. So I think Jared Goff can come through with another 20-point-plus game against Arizona. So you'd start him over Matt Ryan? Yes, I would. Okay. Todd Gurley,

we're starting. And then what about the wide receivers? Which wide receiver do you like better for the Rams? Cup. Because of the slot matchup. Can't start Sammy Watkins. We're going to assume that Patrick Peterson will cover him. That wipes him out. I think Cup is going to continue to get

lots of targets with Robert Woods not there. Josh Reynolds is a sneaky sleeper. I think he's probably a better DFS tournament play than anything else. He's going to keep getting playing time and he's going to benefit from easier coverage. Cooper Cup or Devante Freeman?

I'll go Cup. Cooper Cup or Adrian Peterson? Cup. Cooper Cup or Devante Freeman? I'll go Cup. Cooper Cup or Adrian Peterson? Cup. Cooper Cup or Sammy Watkins or Muhammad Sanu? Sanu. I don't want to... I'm nervous to trust Sammy who already isn't getting a ton of

targets to begin with. Now he's lining up against Patrick Peterson. That's not a good matchup for him. No interest in Blaine Gabbert, huh? Am I desperate for a quarterback? If I'm considering guys like Trevor Simeon or Jimmy Garoppolo, then I have to consider Blaine Gabbert because he's been playing better than what the narrative has been on him. He hasn't been a check down Charlie. So Larry Fitzgerald, does he bounce back?

He only had three catches for 29 yards in the first meeting. The Rams could be without Kayvon Webster. That's a problem, but what about Roby Coleman? I'm not sure. That's their slot corner, and if he plays, that'll hurt Larry Fitzgerald a little bit. He's been pretty good for them, but if he's out, Larry Fitzgerald should have a nice game. Nice bounce back game. Is Nikkel Roby Coleman their Nikkel cornerback?

Yeah. That's very cool. I like that. So look, Fitzgerald was playing really well. He had 70 or more yards in three straight games before last week when he struggled predictably against Jacksonville. Would you start Fitzgerald or Cup?

Give me Cup. But over Watkins. Yes. Fitzgerald over Watkins. It's a Ram-Fitzgerald sandwich. Burkhead or Fitzgerald? I think I would trust Rex. Okay.

Ricky Seals-Jones or Kyle Rudolph? I think it's really going to come down. I feel like it should come down to what type of a league that you're in. I think it's a real close call on Standard between the two of them. PPR, it's a no-brainer. I'm going to go Rudolph. But Standard, you could make the case for Seals Jones. The one thing that gets me about him is that we've seen him play for two weeks now.

The Rams have to know about him. They've got to know about him they've got to know who he is and what he's capable of doing so they've got to cover him when he's on the field and he might play more that's awesome but I just have a hard time believing that this guy's going to go from out of nowhere like literally no one knew who he was except for the diehard high school scouting community and maybe some Texas A&M fans obviously knew who he was. Yes. And now he's going to become a consistent tight end superstar for fantasy?

Now look, these stories happen, but they're rare. And I don't know if Seals Jones with Blaine Gabbert under center is going to keep the story going this way. You have Evan Ingram one spot ahead of Ricky Seals Jones. Yep. I have Seals Jones 13th, but I've got Kyle Rudolph 11th. I can't be the only one who sings

Kiss by a Rose on the grave every time I think about Ricky Seals Jones, right? You might be. I don't want to hear it. Okay, no problem. Rams DST. Why do you have them only 10th? They're top four for Heath and Jamie.

Because I think Arizona can put up some points. All right. Rams are the number four DST this season. They have had two bad games in a row at Minnesota and home against New Orleans. Tougher matchups. You can definitely start the Rams, no matter which analyst you follow. Start the Rams. DST.

Carolina is at New Orleans. Been kissed by a stat of the game number one. Jamie mentioned a few days ago that Cam has great history at New Orleans, and he was not kidding. I didn't even go back any further. But Cam Newton's last three games at the Saints, 41 fantasy points, 45 fantasy points, 30 fantasy points. Oh, man.

If I weren't worried about the thumb, gosh, I'd be so excited for Cam. I would have put him in my daily lineup, but I'd have a little bit of reservation, but you have him as a must-start, right? Of course. He's run for a touchdown in two of his last three. He's got that rushing mojo back

after the way that the season started. I think Carolina realized that they've got to let him be him. They can't change him around. And so the offense reverted back to being Cam-centric. You're going to be scared off by what you saw last week against the Jets. He completed 39.3% of his passes, six yards per attempt, pretty uncharacteristic of him. Now, he does have some low yard per attempt games i'm not so sure this is going to be one of them because he's going to have to

throw downfield attack that secondary especially if vladimir does not play the easier the matchup gets the more that i like cam and the fact that last week jared golf wasn't harassed by the saints pass rush both cornerbacks were out last week and made it an easy game for Goff. With one of the cornerbacks back, I still like Cam if both of them play. Even with the pass rush not as good as it's been, I get a little nervous about Cam Newton despite the history in the series. Remember, he's put up these great numbers against New Orleans when their defense was crap-ola.

And now, it's pretty good. It's fine, but it's pretty good. It's fine, but it's so overrated. They had such an easy schedule. All right, so Cam is top six. I don't think the secondary is overrated. Well, without Lattimore. Without Lattimore, it's not good. Yes, it's different without Lattimore.

He's been a huge player. But when you've got two really good cornerbacks, defensive coordinators have the confidence to dial up more pressure. Cam does not do well under pressure. Sorry, Dave. The running backs for... By the way, I am starting Phillip Rivers over him in daily, and you guys

have Rivers ranked ahead of Cam, but not that many cornerbacks. Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Stewart. Do you trust McCaffrey even in standard scoring leagues? I think he's okay. I don't have a problem going with McCaffrey. I Stewart, do you trust McCaffrey even in standard scoring leagues? I think he's okay. I don't have a problem going with McCaffrey. I originally had him ranked really high this week because I think just the nature of his game,

the fact that he'll catch passes, attack the sides and the edges of that New Orleans defense, that sounds like a way for Carolina to go about doing business on Sunday. And if they're playing from behind, he's going to be on the field and being just as involved, if not more involved, in that type of circumstance. So what about Jonathan Stewart? I have a hard time believing that he'll score a touchdown and get you 30 or 40 yards on top of it, despite the carries that he's been getting. Would you start Devontae Booker over Jonathan Stewart? In a heartbeat. Would you start Christian McCaffrey over any of the running backs in the Falcons-Vikings game?

I would start him over all of the running backs in the Falcons-Vikings game. I should say all instead of any. That is what I mean when I – what's wrong with me? Devin Funches. Where do I begin? Yeah. Devin Funches, top 14 in both formats. You're starting him. That could change. You've got to keep an eye on that as we head into Sunday. Okay. Starters

could go down, not up. Greg Olson. Not ranked right now. Let's see if he practices on Friday and gets in the game. We don't know how serious that foot injury is Alright, are you going to trust him if he plays? Low end starter Like that's a guy you would consider Up against Rudolph, Evan Engram Ricky Seals Jones Don't sing I hate that song

That song, there's a bit of personal history That I have with that song That makes me dislike that song We'd love to hear it The Saints have allowed six touchdowns to tight ends Often not the guy you'd expect I have with that song that makes me dislike that song. Okay, well, we'd love to hear it. All right, we won't hear it. The Saints have allowed six touchdowns to tight ends, often not the guy you'd expect, like Fels instead of Ebron, Stocker instead of Brait, O'Leary instead of Clay,

Jeremy Sprinkle instead of Vernon Davis. It's very strange, but they do struggle against tight ends. Drew Brees or Cam Newton, Dave? I believe I have Cam a spot higher than Breeze right now. You do. You do. Okay, so Drew Breeze is still a guy. That's what St. Secondary looks like.

Still a guy you want to start. He's got 26 fantasy points in his first meeting against them on only 29 attempts. All right, here are the four quarterbacks who have 30 or fewer pass attempts against the Panthers, which is basically what you've been getting from Breeze. Tyrod Taylor scored 10. Drew Breeze scored 26 fantasy points. Carson Wentz scored 26 fantasy points. And then Trubisky scored four fantasy points on seven pass attempts.

So Breeze and Wentz, two good quarterbacks, did score 26 fantasy points on 29 or 30 pass attempts. Also, he might throw more because this could be a very high-scoring game. So everybody's going to start Breeze. But, I mean, look, they are frustrated. You could definitely start Rivers over him. You could start Cam Newton over him. And, unfortunately, we would have told you to start Cousins over him. Roethlisberger or Breeze?

I'm sorry? Roethlisberger or Breeze? I've got Breeze a spot ahead of Roethlisberger, but they're both top 10. Here, I'll give you the bottom top ten as it is right now, early morning Friday on December the 1st. Cam, Breeze, Roethlisberger, Goff, Keenum. And we've got the New Orleans running backs. Very interesting.

Again, Kenyon Drake, the only running back with double-digit fantasy points and standard scoring leads against the Panthers. Great run defense. And that includes the Saints running back with double-digit fantasy points and standard scoring leads against the Panthers. Great run defense. That includes the Saints running backs, by the way, although they did have Adrian Peterson with nine carries the first time they faced Carolina. Are they automatic starts, Kamara and Ingram? Yes. You're going to start them no matter what I spill out of my mouth in the next 15 seconds.

But I will say that I do believe the Panthers' run defense is good. If I had to pick between the two, I'm taking Kamara. I love the workload they've been getting. Certainly the production, the efficiency is through the roof. And the better way to attack this Panthers' defense, which I'm sure the Saints will see, is by throwing the ball and not running right into the teeth of that defense. And I think Kamara's better at that than Ingram. They're both good at catching the ball, but Kamara's better. Start Michael Thomas. Starter said Ted Ginn. I like Ted Ginn this week.

You saw what he did last time against Carolina. 44 yards and a touchdown. That was on two catches. That was on three targets. Ted Ginn has 17 targets in his last two games. He's caught 13 of them. He's been playing a tiny bit more in the slot, and I think that that's making a big difference for his production

and certainly for his targets. And so I like Ted Ginn this week. I think he can come through with another good game. Would you start Ted Ginn or Christian McCaffrey? I've got McCaffrey higher. Ted Ginn or Kenyon Drake? I don't know how to feel about Drake. I think at a PPR, Ginn is who I would go with.

In a standard, I'll probably say that it's safer to go with Drake. But I think they're pretty close. It's really Dometop Heco is the guy you have to look for when you evaluate Drake this week. Honestly, I don't even know if the matchup matters. We're talking about the Dolphins just don't run the football. They're ranked 30th in the league in rush attempts. Yeah, he's still going to catch passes too. Maybe.

Okay, next game is Philadelphia at Seattle. I want to play a quick trivia with you at this game, okay? Okay. What is the name of the bread that you eat at Indian restaurants? None. Fill in the blank. You're asking me a food question? Yeah.

Fill another food question. Fill in the blank. Pepperoni Pete. Pepperoni Pete. Prisco? No. Pepperoni Pete. Is that his nickname now?

No, food. It's a food, Dave. Don't think too hard. Cheese, Pete, blank. Pepperoni, Pete. What his nickname now? No, food. It's a food, Dave. Don't think too hard. Cheese, Pete, blank. Pepperoni, Pete. What's your favorite type of Pete? Za. What's my favorite type of Pete?

Za. Pete Za I'm going for. And little blank Peep. Fill in the blank. I know what you're trying to do. I had it all figured out. I can't believe you went with Indian bread for the nan. Well, what else was I going to do?

What's another name for an au pair? That would be nanny. It's not bananas. It's bonanza. Well, then you cut off the knee. Philadelphia at Seattle is going to be a lot of points here. What do you call an au pair without legs? A nan because there's no knee.

That's good. I like that. All right, so I'm going bonanza. I think Carson Wentz has a good match. I don't even – he's top four. You can't. He's top four. I'm not intimidated by this defense, this past defense without Cam Chancellor.

Russell Wilson, on the other hand, Philadelphia, very good against quarterbacks. But, yeah, I mean their secondary has just gotten a lot better. Kirk Cousins scored 29 fantasy points against them recently. I don't know. Is Wilson a safe start? He's in the exact same boat as Carson Wentz. It's a tough matchup, but you know what they're capable of doing. It helps Russell Wilson that he's playing at home.

I think if you've got him, you're starting him. You could consider benching him for Phillip Rivers. It might be he and Wentz might be the only two guys that I would take a long look at. And I think I would do it. I think I would sit Wilson for those guys. It was very hard to get a fill-in-the-blank for Zod, by the way. Any running backs in this game? Who should Superman kneel to?

Zod, yes. But you keep putting extra letters in there. Now we have Banani Zod. I just don't want – you can have a Banani Zod. Fine. That's what it would be. Any running backs in this game? I'll give you a sleeper. You might have heard of him.

LeGarrette Blunt. Yeah, the fact is – I think if there's a running back who scores a touchdown, it could be a goal line job, and that's what LeGarrette Blunt does for Philadelphia, and Seattle's allowed a few rushing touchdowns lately. Just a few, not a lot. Yes. I mean, you had the with the Rob Kelly game, he had two goal line touchdowns. Yeah, but you need a touchdown because the running the run defenses are so good in this game. He would also be the guy that's killing the clock at the end of the game for Philly.

And listen, Seattle, when I said they've allowed a rushing touchdown lately, they've allowed five in their last five games. None last week against San Fran, but one to Atlanta. That was Tevin Coleman. I believe it was short yardage. Arizona had one. That was Andre Ellington, a short yardage touchdown late in garbage time. The two to Rob Kelly that you talked about.

The Texans had one. It was Lamar Miller. You need the goal line touchdown. You need it. Listen, I'm not advocating starting LeGarrette Blount. It's just one of those desperation-type running backs. I found him on the waiver wire in a couple of my leagues. I picked him up.

Would you start Nelson Aguilar over all of the running backs in this game? I would. Yeah. Would you start Nelson Aguilar over all of the running backs in this game? I would. Do you like Nelson Aguilar? I kind of do. Don't hate the matchup for him. He'll play in the slot. He'll see a lot of Justin Coleman. Coleman's been okay. But we've seen Aguilar make big plays. And I think

it's going to be a little harder for Zach Ertz to be involved. So maybe Aguilar's the guy that Wentz looks to over the middle. The tight ends are both starts. You have to. Baldwin and Jeffrey are good or great starts? They're good. You just have to do it.

You know what their potential is. Sit the Seahawks DST, but the Eagles DST is 10th for Jamie, 6th for Dave, and 8th for Heath. They can get some turnovers, and I think they'll get after Russell Wilson, too. We've got the Giants at the Raiders here, and the stat of the game. This is kind of an interesting one, so follow along. There are nine NFL teams who have allowed 20 or more touchdown passes, and the Giants are one of them. Not counting the game in which he left with an

injury, Derek Carr has faced four of the nine teams that have allowed 20 or more passing touchdowns. And in those four games, he has scored 20 or more fantasy points three times. The other game, he scored 16 fantasy points at Miami when he threw for 300 yards. So basically, Carr has not had that good of a season, but he's had good games when he's faced these teams that give up a lot of touchdowns. The Giants give up a lot of touchdowns. Even without Crabtree and Cooper, we're assuming Cooper doesn't play here. Start or sit Derek Carr? I think he's a borderline starter.

He's not in my top 12, but I like the matchup a ton. We're talking about Giants defense without their best corner. Their pass rush is still going to be okay, but I just don't know if that – I don't know if the offense is going to put the defense in a lot of favorable positions in this game. I know they won't. The turnovers are going to be a problem,

and it will set up Derek Carr with some good short yardage opportunities. But I also think this is a Marshawn Lynch week. And we saw 26 carries from him last week. They were put in a spot where they had to do something on offense without Crabtree and Cooper for the entire second half. They were without Crabtree for pretty much the entire game. And you saw them give Marshawn Lynch the ball. And they realized, oh, man, he can still do it. He's not bad.

He didn't have a great rushing average, but he gave them some semblance of a rushing presence and he caught the football. He was making catches for them. So I think they kind of re-center the offense a little bit more around Lynch this week. And I think the matchup dictates that too. I hope so. There have only been two running backs this year that have scored double digits against the Giants in standard with 14 or fewer

carries. So the Giants have given up fantasy points to the running backs, but a lot of them get, you know, 18, 20 carries. We've only seen that twice this year from Lynch. One was last week. I hope they go back to him. Do you like Lynch better than Darkwa? Much better than Darkwa. I don't like Darkwa. I don't want to use him. I think this is a game of the Giants' trail. We haven't seen him get a lot of use in those types of matchups. And he had 19 snaps last week. Wayne Gallman started to get more playing time. And look, man, if they're moving toward the future, that's what they're pitching it as.

That's why they're starting Geno Smith. I don't know why they think Geno Smith might be their future. If they're doing it at quarterback, they might do it at running back too. Lynch or Freeman? Lynch. Lynch is inching closer and closer to might do it at running back too. Lynch or Freeman? Lynch. Lynch is inching closer and closer to being a top 12 running back for me. Lynch or Sterling Shepard? Lynch.

Sterling Shepard or a Raiders wide receiver? Shepard. Yeah, I mean, look, the Raiders have a bad defense. Don't have to go through all the numbers. They have a bad defense. Do you trust Sterling Shepard this week? I do. I think he's the most trustworthy Giants player.

That being said, he's still outside my top 24 at receiver. Would you start Sanu or Shepard? Sanu. Really? Really? Against the Vikings? Yeah. Would you start Zay Jones or Shepard? Shepard. Would you start Shepard or Ginn?

I would go Ginn over Shepard. I'll take it back. I'll start Shepard over Sanu? I would go Ginn over Shepard, and I'll take it back. I'll start Shepard over Sanu. All right, so Ginn, Shepard. But they're ranked fairly close together. Evan Ingram, he's borderline top 12. He's one spot ahead of Ricky Seals-Jones. He's behind Doyle and Kyle Rudolph.

So he's okay. I mean, these are two teams that struggle against tight ends, especially the Giants. Jared Cook, he's in my FanDuel lineup. You've got to start him. He's going to get so many targets. He had, I think, something like 20% of all targets last week, which might have been a season high for him. He didn't do a ton with it.

He did nothing with it, but he had a touchdown overturned. Yeah, well, I'm kind of glad it was overturned. Now they can go back to him this week. Yeah, and it's just obviously no Cooper, no Crabtree. So which Raiders wide receiver do you like better? I'm going to take the upside play of Cordero Patterson ahead of the safe, kind of reliable slot guy of Seth Roberts. They're pretty interesting, though.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out who the best one would be, and I don't have a lot of confidence in any of them. The one thing I'll say is that Patterson has been a decent part of that offense all year. The numbers don't bear it out because they've got Crabtree and Cooper, and those guys dominate targets. So does Jared Cook. But Patterson plays a lot, and they find ways to get him the ball, even when everybody's healthy. They're going to have to lean on him a little

bit more than usual this game because they're out of wide receivers, and he hasn't been a total nightmare for them like he was for Minnesota. Would you start Devontae Parker or Cordero Patterson? I'd start Parker over Patterson. All right, let's go to Tampa Bay at Green Bay. Another interesting game. Here's your stat of the game. Amazingly, this is incredible. A running back has had 15 or more carries against the Packers in 10 straight games. And if Jacquez Rogers gets 15 or more carries,

he's almost certainly going to score double-digit fantasy points. He's done it almost every time. I think it's probably like 7 of 8 or 6 of 7, where he's had 15 or more carries over the last two seasons and scored double-digit fantasy points. Is Jacquez Rogers a good sleeper this week? Look, I'm probably the wrong guy to talk to about this because every time I write off Jacquez Rogers, he comes through with a pretty decent game. And I know that this matchup seems favorable for him, but I'm very nervous about what this Tampa Bay offense is going to look like. Their offensive line is missing their two best players.

Marpit, center, gone. Dotson, right tackle, gone. Jameis Winston's coming back from a shoulder injury. Who knows how close to 100% he is, if he's close to 100%. So you just want to avoid Jacquez? I kind of want to avoid everybody in Tampa Bay. I can't do it with Mike Evans, and I think Deshaun Jackson's more of a number three receiver than anything else. I don't want to start Jameis Winston.

I think they're going to be playing from behind. I have a hard time believing Jacquez Rogers is going to get 15 carries and do what he does when he gets 15 carries, especially since he was taken off the goal line twice last week. I think we might be overrating Green Bay a little bit. I think they're a pretty bad team. They had a good game last week against Pittsburgh. They had one of the toughest matchups last week,

and it's not like their defense played great. They hung in there against them. But I think that they can rise to the occasion against Tampa Bay because I really don't believe Tampa Bay's offense is good. All right, but two weeks ago they lost 23-0 to Baltimore. So, I mean, and that's the thing. Like throwing your fantasy season to – you basically summed up how you feel about the Bucs. I won't – and the problem with Jacquez Rogers is that Peyton Barber got two goal line touchdowns last week. So that sucks.

Mike Evans, I think everybody's going to start. The Packers have allowed nine or more fantasy points to at least one wide receiver every single week since week two. They've allowed eight or more fantasy points to a second wide receiver in five of their last seven games, including Martavis Bryant last week. So Jackson's interesting, but you just don't trust it. But it's so hard to get away from Mike Evans. Again, nine or more fantasy points every week since week two

against a number one receiver against Green Bay. Which Tampa Bay tight end do you like better, and would you start either one? Great as a streamer. I'm totally buying back into him being a thing with Jameis Winston. So Brett Hundley, would you start Hundley over Matt Ryan? I don't think I'm there, but I think Brett Hundley is a really good streaming option this week. And a very good daily play because of his cheap price. Buccaneers do allow the most passing yards per game.

They haven't given up that many touchdowns lately, but that could easily come. Devontae Adams, three straight games with 12 or more fantasy points are starting him. Would you start Adams or Baldwin slash Jeffrey? I think Adams is absolutely a part of that conversation. I think he's a number one wide receiver. And I would definitely start him ahead of those two. I love the consistency. And maybe my favorite aspect of this game is that Tampa Bay just doesn't have a good pass rush.

I think the offensive line for the Packers can do an okay job for Hundley. Four wide receivers have had at least 85 yards and a touchdown against the Bucs in their last three games. Incredible games. Four of them. Adams is up there, and I think Jordy scores this week. Kind of a bold prediction. Maybe even a bold guarantee. I think Cobb seems a week. Kind of a bold prediction. Maybe even a bold guarantee.

I think Cobb seems a little bit more likely to me. I think they've been trying to get Jordy going a little bit. And I wonder if they appease him at home. Okay. Cobb's about 50 yards. Three of his last four games caught a touchdown last week. But it's a total shot in the dark. Jamal Williams is really interesting because, you know,

he should get 18 or more carries, right, if the other running backs are out? Yeah. And even if Aaron Jones plays, you don't know just how much playing time he'll get. Do you really think that the Packers are going to just shove him right back on the field after a knee injury when Jamal Williams has been giving them something very good in the passing game, a pleasant surprise there. And he's been above average as a running back. He's been a 3.2 yards per game. Right, right, right, right.

He's not running well, but he's getting all the work. And four running backs have had 18 or more carries against the Bucs. They've all scored 21 or more fantasy points. Pardon me. Do you think Williams is doing better now than when Eddie Lacy was there? And I don't mean Eddie Lacy when he was good. I mean Eddie Lacy when he was bad. No.

Eddie Lacy averaged like five yards per carry last year. Jamal Williams is averaging 3.2. It doesn't matter. Dave, you've got to start him. If he's healthy, would you start him? If the other guys are out, I mean. Would you start Jamal Williams or Marshawn Lynch? I've got Williams ahead of Lynch right now.

Green Bay's DST, 28% owned, 14th for Jamie, 14th for Dave, 18th for Heath. How quickly can we do San Francisco-Chicago? Pretty quickly. Then I won't tell you that, according to cityofchicago.org, the remote control was invented in Chicago in 1950, and there's your stat of the game. That's what Chicago's known for. Carlos Hyde, Jordan Howard, are they absolute beasts this week? Yes, they should be.

Great matchups for both. Okay. Starter set Marquis Goodwin, starter set Dontrell Inman. Who's a better flyer? Would you put either in your lineup? I'll take the faster receiver with Garoppolo as his quarterback as the better flyer. That would be Goodwin.

Inman certainly has been getting targets, and it's a good matchup for him. There's no doubt about it, but I don't feel good about him being any better than six or seven fantasy points, 60 or 70 yards, four catches, somewhere in that range. Chicago's DST is 56% owned. Jamie and Heath have the Bears' 13th. Dave not feeling it, 24th. Yeah, their pass rush is hurting without Leonard Floyd there.

Oh, yeah. Okay, then. That's it for that game, right? Anything else? We're good. I think so. Okay, cool. You can stash Garoppolo.

Houston next week. If you want to talk about guys to pick up before the waiver wire, if he goes out to Chicago and lights them up, he's got Houston next week. All right, listen. All I'm going to say is that if you're doing a FanDuel lineup, we've got the wide receivers that you need to have. Dave and I both set a FanDuel lineup without knowledge, without prior knowledge, and we picked the exact same wide receivers. Keenan Allen, DeAndre Hopkins, and extremely underpriced Devante Adams at $6,500.

Keenan Allen, Hopkins, and Adams. We both have Jordan Howard, I believe. And we both have Justin Tucker. How about Devonta Adams is the same price on DraftKings as he is on FanDuel? He's great and daily. $6,500. So if you start with Adams, Allen, Hopkins, Howard, and Tucker, the other three players in our lineups are four players.

I have Rivers, Alex Collins, Jared Cook, and the Chargers. Dave, you have Cam? No, I don't. You have Huntley, Marshawn Lynch, Delaney Walker, tight end, just to be different, because everyone's going to take

Hunter Henry or Jared Cook, and the defense is Jacksonville. There you go. Enjoy it, everybody. Enjoy the games. We'll talk to you at our mailbag show later today. For Dave Richard, I'm Adam Azer.

See you later. I've got Le'Veon Bell