Fantasy Football Today - 12/21 Fantasy Football Podcast: Start or Sit (AFC) - Ben, Hunt, Wallace & More

Episode Date: December 21, 2017

We discuss an emerging QB who you need to take seriously in 2018 (3:00), then Dave, Jamey and Heath give you a player they love (4:40) and a player they want to avoid this week (8:35) ... Debating Ben Roethlisberger (10:30) and Kareem Hunt (13:30)! The guys have different expectations for these players. And which teams could be resting starters in Week 17 (20:35)? Also a music wager is made (22:24) ... BUF-NE (24:10), MIN-GB (29:10), DET-CIN (35:24), LAC-NYJ (41:18), LAR-TEN (46:48), PIT-HOU (51:51), MIA-KC (57:02), IND-BAL (1:01:15) ... Email us 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 Dwarf 6. Let's go! Now here's some combination of Adam, Gabe, Jamie, and T. We have got seven AFC home games, plus we'll throw in Minnesota Green Bay.

Just as a little bonus for you today, on this Thursday morning, it is December 21st. Almost Christmas time. Hope you got your shopping done. If you didn't, go to cbssports.com slash gift and use the promo code CBSFANTASY for a discount. Tell you about that a little bit later. I'm Adam Azer with Dave Richard with Jamie Eisenberg with Heath Cummings. Well, I've got a quote to start the day with. Well, first of all, good morning, guys.

Happy holidays. Good morning. We should do a PSA real quick. All right. Check your results from last week. Stat corrections happened overnight. And we have a very poor soul in our office that lost his semifinal matchup

because of a Reuben Foster stat correction. Wow, so what happened? Maroon Berkson was going to the championship game to face you, Adam, as you know, in our Dynasty League. Right, Jamie's team. And he was up against rj and rj but marone's one of our producers here at cbs course and rj white is uh runs our nfl site yes there you thank you and rj had reuben foster who was given credit for an assisted tackle on a play the nfl looked it over

and said that was obviously not an assisted tackle it was a solo tackle. Changed it. And now Marone lost by.4. .4. So he was up.6 after Monday night. And lost by.4. So just to give you some of the potential things that could have happened in that game. He had, I'm assuming, he had Keenan Allen leave the game. This is Marone. And Perryman, the lineback he had Keenan Allen leave the game. This is Marone.

And Perryman, the linebacker. And Perryman leave the game. Either of those two guys play the full game, he probably ends up winning. And this is the second time it's happened to him where he's lost the game on decimal change. The first one happened against us, Adam. Oh, of course. Earlier this season, which I told him it was a potential. It's the first time that he's played in a decimal scoring,

and we ended up beating him 161.9 to 160.18. Excellent. Good for us. So check your results. Yeah, check your results. Very important. And this was great for you because he also had Ezekiel Elliott. Yeah, we were in trouble.

Oh, okay. We keep saying we, Jamie and I I are not really sharing the team. It's all Jamie. But, yeah, so you would have had a face. All right, good for you. And you know what? Marone beat my brains in in the two-quarterback league last week. So good for RJ.

I'm happy about this. Yeah, yeah. You're evil. I'm spiteful. Not evil. I'm spiteful. Evil. Hey, let me read you something awesome.

Here's a quote. Quote of the day. This is from Jason Lock and Forrest's recent column on CBSSports.com. Quote, he's already one of the better quarterbacks in the league. Trust me. End quote. Said one evaluator who has studied his film. Quote, he's got it all.

Another said, he's going to be really special. You can see it. Who do you think they're talking about? Jimmy Garoppolo. Jimmy Garoppolo is correct. Yeah, I read Jason's stuff. Yeah, it's a good article. They are raving about Jimmy G. Garoppolo. Jimmy Garoppolo is correct. Yeah, I read Jason's stuff. Yeah, it's a good article. They are raving about Jimmy G.

Garoppolo looks good. He hasn't put up monster fantasy numbers, and I don't think that's going to happen this week. But I think that he looks the part. He's cool in the pocket, sets his feet nice, mostly accurate on his throws. Some of his deeper throws haven't been quite on target. He'll work on that.

But he's been really good. Give him some weapons. Let's see what he can do. It will be interesting to see how the evaluation changes after this week. Because he has had a very friendly, a very soft cushion to land on in entering the first three weeks. Absolutely. Let's just see how it looks after this week.

Yeah, okay. We're not saying to start him this week after that glowing quote. I just thought it was interesting to get perspective on what scouts are seeing. Oh, they stole him. They completely stole him. It's very rare that you hear the Patriots getting swindled. They got swindled. I mean, they're going to get an early second-round pick for a guy that they couldn't afford.

They were going to lose in free agency. So I don't know about that. No, they could have franchise-tagged him. Why would they franchise? Well, okay, it depends on Brady. But if Brady's back, there's no need to franchise him. They could have franchise tagged him and then tried to trade him after tagging him. Or if you follow what the reports were at draft time, they could have gotten a first

round pick for him. Oh, maybe. Okay. Well, if you – I do apologize for not giving you a heads up on this. So I'm going to give you five – I'm going to talk long and give you some time to think. All I want is a player you love this week and a player you're avoiding this week. We don't need to go too deep into it here. I won't debate it with you.

I just want you to go give me like a 10-second explanation, someone that you're really high on that might be a bit surprising, and then someone you're kind of low on. You guys ready? I'm ready. All right. Dave Richard, kick it off. Player you love this week. I love Blake Bortles.

And I think Bortles is going to keep up the production that he's given you each of the last four weeks. 22 plus fantasy points. Even without Marquise Lee. I think he's going to do just fine. The 49er secondary is bad. And I don't think that they're going to slow down Bortles one bit. I actually think this is going to

be a fun game between the Niners and the Jaguars. I think Jacksonville will win it. I don't think it's going to be Leonard Fournette. He might finish him off, and he might finish the game with 100 and a touchdown, but I don't think he dominates touches and leaves Bortles to 18 pass attempts in this game.

I like him better than Brady. I would start him ahead of Tom Brady this week in fantasy. That's bold. I like it. Jamie, you got someone? You ready? I'll just go with our start of the week this week in fantasy. All right. That's bold. I like it. Jamie, you got one someone? You ready? I'll just go with our start of the week, Deion Lewis. Cool. No Rex Burkhead. He's been playing well. The one thing that made me a little bit nervous

is our good buddy George Maselli, who's a Patriots fan, said to me yesterday, I wonder if the Patriots... He didn't say I wonder. He was, I think the Patriots are going to take it easy on Deion Lewis because he's a little injury prone and lean on Mike Gilleslie this week because he's been a good soldier and hasn't complained about

not playing. I was like, oh no. Don't say something like that to me. He could definitely steal a touchdown. I don't doubt that at all. I just hope that it's not a 10 carry day for Deion Lewis and we see 20 carries for Mike Gilleslie. I'd be shocked that happened, but stranger things have certainly happened.

Stranger things. But Lewis has certainly proven enough in a matchup that's great that you should trust him. Yeah, and Deion Lewis, this is the stat of the game for that game for Buffalo and New England. Since Buffalo traded Marcel Darius, there have been four running backs with between 14 and 20 carries against the Bills. And that's kind of what I expect from Lewis probably. I would assume you guys too. And three of the four have scored 14 or more fantasy points. The one who didn't was Deion Lewis, but he still had a really good game.

15 carries for 92 yards, nine fantasy points. Plus no Burkhead. Maybe he catches some passes and, yeah, set up for a good day for him. They've given up over half of a season. So, seven games. So, less than half a season to running backs. 1,267 total yards and 12 touchdowns in their last seven games. Yeah, Buffalo's terrible against running backs.

Heath, give me a player you love this week. Mike Wallace is going to destroy the Indianapolis Colts. He's going to get you bombed for a touchdown. He's going to go over 100 yards. There's no Jeremy Macklin. The matchup is wonderful. I love Mike Wallace. I must jump in just because I think the rankings are really interesting here.

Dave doesn't like Wallace nearly as much. He's got him 23rd. Jamie and Heath have Wallace 8th. Care to comment, Dave? Yeah, I'm not starting him over guys like Mike Evans, Julio Jones, Devin Funches, Josh Gordon, Larry Fitzgerald. I don't know where you guys have Adam Thielen ranked. You probably have him ranked like 30th because I don't know what's gotten in your water this week. Adam Thielen, he's a top 10 wide receiver.

He's fifth. He's top five. Thielen or Wallace? Thielen. Who do you have higher, Julio Jones or Wallace? Julio. Thielen. Who do you have higher, Julio Jones or Wallace? Julio. Who do you have higher, Mike Evans or Mike Wallace? Wallace.

Why Julio? Julio's been worse than Mike Wallace. Yeah, if there was one guy that you could actually make a case for here, it would be Julio. I don't have Julio in my top 10. No, I think Wallace is a good number two receiver. I just don't think he's going to finish as a top 12 guy. Okay. I wouldn't take that chance this week.

All right. Fair enough. Jamie, he's very high on Wallace. Dave says number two receiver, I just don't think he's going to finish as a top 12 guy. Okay. I wouldn't take that chance this week. All right. Well, Jamie. Okay. Fair enough. Jamie and Heath, very high on Wallace. Dave says number two receiver. So Bortles, Deion Lewis, Mike Wallace, those are the players that we love from Dave, from Jamie, from Heath.

You guys ready to give me a player you're avoiding this week? I'll start with Carlos Hyde. Rough matchup. He's been stinking anyway. And I think this offense, it's pretty clear, runs through Jimmy G. Cool. Jamie, player you're avoiding this week? All the 49ers.

Even Goodwin? Even Goodwin. That's the one I'm not. Yeah, I just don't understand the Wallace-Goodwin conversation. It doesn't make any sense to me. Because Goodwin's been good for the last four weeks. So has Wallace. Not as good.

How many touchdowns does Mike want? How many touchdowns do I have? If you're going to make Goodwin, I don't know. That's like the craziest thing. I like the targets better for Goodwin than I do for Wallace. Not as good? How many touchdowns does Mike Wallace have? How many touchdowns does he have? If you're going to make good one out of the argument, that's like the craziest thing. I like the targets better for good one than I do for Wallace, and I think the game script favors good one over Wallace too. All right. Game script is much more important to me. Heath, who's the player you're avoiding this week?

Des Bryant. Where do you have him ranked? 32nd. I read an interesting story in Dallas Morning News about how Ezekiel's return could force defenses to no longer double-team Dez. Yeah. Yeah. That's possible, although the Cowboys have run the ball just about as well

without Ezekiel Elliott as they did with Ezekiel Elliott. There's no way. No. There's no way. The one game, this is what I go back to with Dez, the one game where they had a great running performance was that Redskins game. And that was Dez's best game since Elliott got suspended. I feel like he's a touchdown or bust wide receiver.

Yeah. There's no chance he's getting a touchdown. He's Josh Gordon. Same thing. Yeah, that's fair. I didn't mean to jump in on it. Are you sure? That surprised me that they've run the ball as well.

It doesn't feel that way that they ran the ball as well without Z. They might have scored as many touchdowns. Their yards per carry might be good because Morris has had a good yards per carry. I think their yards per carry is better. I don't know that their total rushing yards is better. Not even close. But their yards per carry is better, I believe. I don't think the touchdowns probably are.

Yeah. All right. Well, that'll be an interesting one. We'll preview that game tomorrow. Heath and I talked about Dak Prescott yesterday. Heath and I also talked about Ben Roethlisberger. So before we do the normal thing, I'll give you the news and notes. I have a couple tweets I want to read, and then we'll get into the games.

I do want to talk about these two specific players. I think the ranking's very interesting on them. Ben Roethlisberger and Kareem Hunt. So you probably heard me and Heath talk about Ben Roethlisberger and Kareem Hunt. So you probably heard me and Heath talk about Ben Roethlisberger yesterday. Heath's the high guy. He's got him fifth. Jamie's got Roethlisberger eighth. Dave has him twelfth.

So yeah, look. Sum it up. He hasn't been great on the road. He hasn't scored more than 21 fantasy points and six points for passing touchdown leagues on the road all season. He only threw 30 pass attempts last week against New England. That was without Antonio Brown for much of the game. But Houston stinks.

They allowed the second most fantasy points to the quarterback. So, Jamie, you're right in the middle. You've got Roethlisberger eighth. Why don't you talk about Big Ben this week? Yeah, I think he'll be about 20 fantasy points. Obviously, look, losing Antonio Brown stinks. But in this game, with Juju and with Martavis Bryant, with Le'Veon out of the backfield, I think that's enough to get him to be a number one fantasy quarterback, given the matchup.

If they were playing somebody tougher, we'd stay away from him. But the Texans are so bad, and Roethlisberger, I think, is still playing well enough that he's not going to get away from what they've been, which is run it as much as they need to, throw it as much as they need to. I always go back to, what's your identity? And if your identity loses something, do you try to prove that that's still your identity like the Eagles did last week, or do you try to go and be somebody that you're not? And I don't think the Steelers are going to go try and all of a sudden just say, we're

just going to run it and that's it, we're done throwing the ball, then you're sitting on the bench. The Chiefs kind of did that earlier this year. They tried to change their offensive identity. They got away from Kareem Hunt, and they started losing a lot of games. And now look at how they've been doing lately when they've been getting Kareem Hunt involved. They've got back to who they were, and it's worked out great for them. I agree 100% with what Jamie said, right down to the number of how many fantasy points Roethlisberger should be good for, which is 20.

I think there are more quarterbacks that will get better than 20 this week. Okay. That's why you have Roethlisberger 12 be good for, which is 20. I think there are more quarterbacks that will get better than 20 this week. Okay, that's why you have Roethlisberger 12th. Yeah, that's it. And Heath, you're the high guy. How many fantasy points? You have him fifth. How many fantasy points are you expecting from Ben? Somewhere around 25 to 27.

He's not been good on the road. I just can't get past this matchup and how good it is. The Antonio Brown thing, yes, it hurts Ben a little bit that Antonio Brown's let out. But if this game was at home, I would have Ben Roethlisberger as my number one quarterback. Oh, easy. If this game were at home and Antonio Brown were healthy, Ben Roethlisberger might be your number one or two or three quarterback. He'd be my number one if Antonio Brown was out and he was at home this week. I'll tell you what, if Antonio Brown was playing and playing anywhere on the road, I think he'd be top five for me this week.

I think it makes a difference not having the best receiver in football on your team. All right. So everybody, Bortles or Ben? Bortles. Bortles. All right. Two Bortles and a Ben. Nick Foles or Ben?

Ben. I currently have Foles higher. Yeah, I'm going Foles. I'm starting Foles in two leagues where I have been. One is against Heath. Two Foles and a Ben. All right, let's talk about Kareem Hunt. Ben Foles 5.

Nice. Kareem Hunt. I was trying to make a Ben Foles 5 song pun, but I'm going to avoid it because I don't have anything. You're a brick and you're drowning slowly. I am drowning quite slowly. Heath, you are – so Dave and Jamie have Kareem Hunt in their top five. You have him 15th in standard, 16th in PPR. He's had 25 and 24 carries in his last two games, two monster games in a row.

Why are you a little bit down on Kareem Hunt with him 15th in standard, 16th in PPR against the Dolphins? Yeah, I still think I'm starting Kareem Hunt, so i'm not trying to make it sound like i'm not i just i don't i think this probably comes back to once again like early in his little stretch where he wasn't as good i think i was probably the higher guy on him because i was looking more at what his average number of carries per week are as opposed to what he'd done the last two weeks and that's kind of the situation we're at again. There is a chance that he gets you 24, 20-plus carries, and he really outperforms where I have him ranked. There's still the chance that he runs the ball 12 times.

Okay. All right. It's not been very consistent. One thing that's going in his favor, Dolphins' run defense is bad, and they've allowed 40 receiving yards or a touchdown to a running back in five of their last six games. And they've allowed both of those things, 40 receiving yards or a receiving touchdown to a running back in each of their last two games.

So hopefully we can get Hunt a little bit more involved in the passing game like he was last week. But Dave and Jamie, you guys love Kareem Hunt this week, top five. Heath is saying, hey, maybe he gets back to the 12-carrier range like we've seen in the past. There's a little bit of risk there. And I picked those two guys because I think we've already gotten a ton of Kareem Hunt questions.

I anticipate getting a lot of Kareem Hunt and Ben Roethlisberger questions. And, boy, are we getting a lot of emails. So make sure you listen to our mailbag show. Going to throw a ton of emails on there. Try to respond to some as well, myself individually. But make sure you listen to the mailbag that will air on Saturday morning. And make sure you listen to our off-season podcast. We don't go away. We'll have a show every day next week, normal week. Except I don't think we'll have a mailbag. I'm not sure. And then we'll have two per week during the off-season.

Most weeks, two per week. We might skip a show here or there, but most weeks, two per week. We got Fantasy Football today, our live video show, noon Eastern, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. Eastern on Sundays until kickoff. Eye on Fantasy Football is our radio show. Two episodes left. You can hear us on Saturday nights at 10 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Radio and on CBSSportsRadio.com. We've got a lot of other podcasts that you need to listen to. Go to CBSSports.com slash podcast.

You heard Pete Prisco yesterday. He's on the Pick 6 podcast. You can search for it in Apple Podcasts and Stitcher and TuneIn. By the way, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to promote this yet. You know what? I'll wait. I have good news. I'll wait until somebody else releases it.

I'm not going to steal anyone's thunder. What are you talking about? Just a podcast distributor. Good news regarding our show on that platform, but I'm not going to steal their thunder. They will be releasing that information soon. And, of course, go to cbssports.com slash gift if you want to get someone a holiday gift.

You want to get them a hat, a shirt, any memorabilia from your favorite team, cbssports.com slash gift gift and use the promo code CBS fantasy. Get 15% off an order of $75 or more CBS fantasy on CBS sports.com slash gift. All right. Sorry about all that talking. Let's get into the news and notes. James White was limited with an ankle injury.

He's still pretty available. He's owned his ownership. So I think he's in the sixties, 60% ish. Uh, any interest in James White guys real with an ankle injury. He's still pretty available. He's owned his ownership. I think he's in the 60s, 60%-ish. Any interest in James White, guys, real quick? Yeah, I tried to pick him up in one league last night. I was pissed I didn't get him. Was it full-point PPR? Yep.

Those are the leagues to go and get him in. I think any format, to be honest with you. I mean, he's good flexing either one. I don't know if I like him in a standard league, but in a PPR league, I think he can be good. He averaged 9.3 PPR fantasy points per game without Rex Burkett in four games earlier this year. He had 32 targets in those games and 22 catches. That's a lot of catches. All right.

Leonard Fournette looking good for this week. Is he top 10 for you guys, Fournette? Not for me. Just outside. 12 for me. All right. Joe Mixon returned to practice. Is he top 10 for you guys, Joe Mixon?

Nope. He's not even to practice. Is he top 10 for you guys, Joe Mixon? Nope. He's not even ranked yet. Yeah, no. But if he plays, he's got a great matchup. He does have a very good matchup, but he is a huge question mark this week if he does play. Yeah, we'll talk about that game in a bit. Theo Riddick was able to practice. Kerwin Williams mispracticed.

So, all right. And wide receiver news, Julio Jones mispractice so alright and wide receiver news Julio Jones mispractice we expect him to play but you know Pete Prisco said he thinks Julio's playing hurt

apparently he's playing hurt Marquis he's got a tough matchup this week tough situation for the Falcons in general this week Marquis Lee

is not going to play and Alan Hearns is not close to 100% they're at San Francisco that game preview is tomorrow Amari Cooper status is uncertain Jeremy Macklin's probably not going to play, and Alan Hearns is not close to 100%. They're at San Francisco. That game preview is tomorrow. Amari Cooper's status is uncertain. Jeremy Macklin's probably not going to play. Chris Hogan was limited in practice.

Do you think Chris Hogan plays this week? Not as of now, no. All right. Devontae Adams still in the concussion protocol, probably not going to play, and Deshaun Jackson missed practice yesterday. Tight end news, Adam Shaheen was limited in practice. Is he a sleeper this week? Shaheen against Cleveland.

Give me plays. Yeah. Who would you start him over that you've already picked up off waivers, though, if you're streaming tight ends? No one. Not Ebron. Yeah, I'm not starting him over Ebron. No chance. I wouldn't start him over Bray.

How about Adam Shaheen? Adam Shaheen? Probably not even Charles Clay. And I don't like Charles Clay. Jesse James or Adam Shaheen? Clay, maybe? No, probably not even Charles Clay. And I don't like Charles Clay. Jesse James or Adam Shaheen? I'll go James. All right. I'd go Tyler Croft over Adam Shaheen.

And O.J. Howard's on IR with foot injury. Offensive line, Tyron Smith may miss this week's game. Does that affect your Prescott or Zeke or Dez rankings? It hurts. Yeah. I'm ranking as if he's not going to play. It's not going to matter to me with Zeke. It does matter with Dak. Speaking of, since we're

back on Zeke, can I give you the results of my Zeke-Alfred Morris research? Oh, you did the research? Yes. I was going to do that too. The Cowboys did rush for 27 more yards per game in the first eight games than the last six. Most of that was deck. Ezekiel Elliott has averaged 98 yards per game this season.

Over the last six games, Alfred Morris and Rod Smith averaged 98 yards per game. Nice job, Heath. But what about, I guess Zeke was basically the only guy running the ball. We had that one Alfred Morris 80-yard touchdown. The Rods? Wasn't it Rod Smith? He had a receiving touchdown. When Zeke was healthy.

Oh, I got you. He had one when Zeke was healthy. I don't think he scored. I think it was just a 75-yard run. Okay. Yeah. All right, cool. So Josh Sitton for the Bears.

He mispracticed with an ankle injury. And Chargers could be without both of their tackles, Okung and Barksdale. So keep that in mind. We're going to preview that game in a bit. Defensive news, you know what? Let's just talk about it when we get to the games. Forget it. Tweet of the day number one from Dre.

Can you guys talk about some players for Week 17 that will be playing no matter what and have value? So I guess really the question should be, which players are in jeopardy of not playing in week 17 the chiefs eagles the eagles i bet the eagles will play their guys for a half which means that you can't even use them right and the chiefs might do the exact same thing i i'm pretty sure if you go back to the last three years, Week 17 has meant nothing to them, and we got a Chase Daniel start, and we got a Tyler Bray start. This is Kansas City. Yeah. And I think the Patriots, too. I mean, if the Patriots win and the Steelers lose.

Patriots would have to win this week, and the Steelers would have to lose this week. Right. And I don't know, maybe the Jaguars, too. I don't know. Nope, Jaguars still have to play to have a chance at a bye. No, no, no. I mean, if the Patriots win and the Steelers lose, the Steelers cannot overtake the Patriots. But if the Patriots and the Jaguars both win and the Jags are a game back in Week 17,

do you know anything about the tiebreaker there? No. If the Patriots are a game up on Jacksonville going into Week 17. Off the top of my head, I do not know. It seems like the Chiefs, the Eagles, and possibly the Patriots might be sitting starters in Week 17. Off the top of my head, I do not know. It seems like the Chiefs, the Eagles, and possibly the Patriots might be sitting starters in Week 17. Everyone else I'm thinking would be playing, although it's possible that Jacksonville would be.

No, Jacksonville beat Pittsburgh, so there's no way they're going to be locked out of a two-seed. Unless they lose to San Francisco and Pittsburgh wins. That's true. If they lose to San Francisco and Pittsburgh wins, I don't know. We'll see. But Eagles are the biggest risk and the Chiefs. And then there's some risk with

teams that just are completely and totally out of it that in Week 17 they play younger guys. The Giants are talking about using Davis Webb. He's starting to get first team work in practice. He's not expected to start this week against the Cardinals, but maybe he plays in Week 17.

Tweet of the day number two from WDB. Will Dave be rapping this year? My four-year-old loved it last year and was singing the intro for days. When did I rap last year? Christmas in Hollis. That was last year? Yeah, I think so. I have no recollection of that.

You were, I think, on vacation, Heath. It was Week 17. It was like the end. Maybe there's a bet to be made It was amazing It was like the best thing we did all year Oh, I can rap Let's do a Mike Wallace vs. Marquise Goodwin bit Okay

And if I lose, I'll rap And what happens if I win? Heath goes country Heath sings country music Okay There's one person in here that knows how to play the saxophone And there's one person in here Heath goes country. No. Heath sings country music. Okay. There's one person in here that knows how to play the saxophone, and there's one person in here who I'd like to hear sing.

I will sing. I want to hear Careless Whisper. I don't know that song. You're going to learn it. Oh, so Jamie's going to play the sax on that? Jamie will play Careless Whisper on the sax. Heath will sing it. Nice. And if not, you can tell me what song I have to rap.

And we'll do Marquise Goodwin versus Mike Wallace. Standard PPR? Half point PPR? I think half PPR is the best. Sure. Half PPR it is. Mike Wallace is going to double up. Is this an official bet?

Official bet. Jamie? Sure. Yes. All right. There you have it. Oh, let's go, Goodwin. Yes.

Love it. All right. Wait, do we get to choose what you have to do? You have to choose what I have to rap. Okay. All right, tweet of the day number three from Philly and Winnipeg. Remember him? He's the one who's sharing a team with Dave.

We have made contact, by the way. Good. We are now best friends. You just listened to yesterday's pod. You guys are the best. You had me laughing my butt off, and now all my buddies are ripping me that I'm going to, quote, slide into Dave's DMs. Oh, yeah. Did he slide into Dave's DMs. Oh, yeah.

Did he slide into your DMs? Yes. Yes. Let's go to the games. Buffalo's at New England. All right. I gave you that stat about running backs at 14 to 20 carries against Buffalo since the Darius trade. Jamie told you how bad the Bills have been, so we like Deion Lewis.

Let's talk overall about the Patriots running backs. I think it's the most interesting. No, you know what? No. Let's do it in order. Let's do quarterback, running back, wide receiver. Tom Brady does not really have a great recent history against the Bills at home, and he scored eight fantasy points in the first game,

and he's been bad for fantasy in his last three games with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Are we at all concerned about Tom Brady this week? I'm starting him over everyone. Over everyone? He's your number one quarterback? He's my number one quarterback. No.

He may be my number two quarterback. Russ? No, you have Wilson one and Brady two. Okay. He's my number two quarterback. I'm starting him over. Unless you're one of those guys that drafted Tom Brady and Russell Wilson, I'm starting Tom Brady.

It's so hard to tell people to sit Tom Brady. But if you had done it three weeks ago when you played against Buffalo, you would have looked like a genius because he had no touchdowns in that game. He's only thrown two touchdowns since that game. He hasn't been great. I think Buffalo's secondary has been playing pretty well lately. I'd like to know the status of EJ Gaines just to see if he's got a chance to play. Hasn't been great. I think Buffalo's secondary has been playing pretty well lately. I'd like to know the status of EJ Gaines just to see if he's got a chance to play.

Well, look, Dave, I don't want to— Despite all that stuff, he's still top five for me. Okay. All right, so let's move on. Let's talk about the running backs here. Would you start Deion Lewis over—this will probably be an easy one—over Carlos Hyde? Yes. Yep. Would you start him over Leonard Fournette?

Yes. Yep. Oh, okay. over Leonard Fournette? Yes. Yep. Oh, okay. Dion Lewis or Kenyon Drake? Drake. Drake. Lewis. Oh, okay.

But Lewis is a really good start this week. Yeah, it looks like Damian Williams is going to play. Dion Lewis or A.J. Green? Lewis, standard, Green, PPR. Lewis. Lewis.J. Green? Lewis, standard green PPR. Lewis. Alright, Mike Gilleslie, is he anything more than just like a Hail Mary? He is six points or zero points.

I'll say he'd give you eight. He is a Hail Mary. Okay. And then James White is definitely somebody, especially in PPR leagues that you could look at. If you need some help. I'll compare him to other running backs as we go forward. As far as the New England wide receivers go, do you have a lot of faith in Brandon Cooks?

And the thing about the Bills' defense, the reason why they've actually been very good against quarterbacks. 11 touchdowns, 16 interceptions. They allow the third fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. They give up the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL. So it just hurts fantasy production for wide receivers. They haven't allowed double-digit fantasy points to a receiver in four straight games, although Landry had 99 yards and 10 catches last week. Parker had a good game, too.

Are you comfortable with Brandon Cooks? And is he the only New England receiver you're starting this week? Yes. Yep. All right. Brandon Cooks top 10 for you guys? Yes. Yep. All right. Like, Brandon Cook's top ten for you guys? Yes. Yep.

All right. Start him up. Rob Gronkowski is our number one tight end in both formats. Rob Gronkowski has had 94 yards or a touchdown in all but two games in his career against Buffalo. He owns Buffalo. One of those bad games was without Tom Brady. So, Tyrod Taylor. Any hope

for him? No. Not in knowing him. There are so many quarterbacks that you can use that are better. That you can find off the waiver wire. Foles is better. Flacco is better. Bortles, if he's out there, is better. Deion Lewis or LeSean McCoy? McCoy.

Lewis. Lewis. Wow. Okay. Lewis. Wow. Okay, there's a scenario where you could be sitting Deion Lewis. LaShawn McCoy, rather. The Patriots allow 4.9 yards per carry to running backs. But you like them both, just like Lewis a little better. Jamie and Heath, and Dave likes McCoy, right? Correct.

Yeah, I'm not benching McCoy. Heath, you have Charles Clay, 9th and standard in PPR. Dave and Jamie have Clay, 14th and 16th in standard, 10th and 12th in PPR, so he's better in PPR. I don't know, guys. New England's been great against tight ends. Heath, why do you have some optimism for Clay? Just buying into the fact that last week was the first time in over a month that Tyrod, Clay were both healthy.

And it wasn't like 16 feet of snow on the field. And I expect that Clay is going to be the most targeted option in this game. Okay. And he had five catches for 68 yards last week. So Clay is 39% owned. Would you start Clay or Whitten? Clay. Clay.

Clay or Cameron Brate? Brate. Brate. Dave, Clay or Brate? Brate. Brate. All right, so we like Clay. We don't love Clay.

And no Buffalo wide receivers, right? Not unless you want to lose or have a really good crystal ball and you know who's going to do well. All right, Minnesota is at Green Bay. I've already bet my career on the outcome of this game. I've guaranteed a Vikings victory. I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about it at all.

Your stat of the game for Case Keenum owners. He gets a lot of good games. He has a ton of great games because Keenum owners. He gets a lot of good games. He has a ton of great games because Keenum doesn't usually throw more than two touchdowns. Three of the last four quarterbacks to face the Packers have thrown three or more touchdown passes. Would you start Case Keenum or Tom Brady this week? Brady. Brady. Brady.

Okay. But you guys like, love. If we did Cold Stone ice cream sizes, do you like Keenum, love Keenum, or got to have Keenum? Love Keenum. Like. Love. So that's not got to have. That's not the most.

No, he's not a got to have. It's such a great matchup. They're so bad, Green Bay. They're bad against everything. They're bad against everything. They're bad against everything. All right. Is this start all Vikings, sit all Packers? Yes.

I'm not very excited about starting Stefan Diggs. How come? I don't really see a lot of passing. I think Keenum's probably going to get you two touchdown passes and throw for 230 yards or so. I don't see him throwing the ball a lot of times, though. Nope. And Thielen's going to get the most targets. And from what we've seen recently, Rudolph's going to probably get the second most targets.

And then you've got McKinnon in there as well. So I don't know that Diggs gets more than five or six targets in this game. And it's hard to be a good fantasy receiver with that little volume, even against a good matchup. He's a safe number three receiver. Very safe as a number three. How many targets did he have last week? Six.

16 in the last two games. Right, because he had 10 two weeks ago, and I was wondering if that was Minnesota trying to get him going or if that was just the way that the game flow went. Basically, other than that game, it's been 6-5-7, 6-5-6-4. Well, here's the problem. Like two of the three pass catchers for the Vikings are going to have a good game.

That happens every week basically. Last week, Phelan was basically shut out. Now he's the best option. But it's almost like does it kind of feel to you like either Diggs or Rudolph is going to have a good game and we just don't know who? That's how I feel. Yeah, I'm not. I'm a little less optimistic than that, I guess.

I think Thielen's going to have a good game. I'm afraid McKinnon, Rudolph, and Diggs are all just kind of okay. Okay. How much do you like Latavius Murray this week? I love him. Gotta have him him i'm sorry coldstone is so good by the way yeah don't think i've ever heard it uh i i think he's a excellent number two fantasy running back with a shot to finish in the top 12 i think he can score and i think he's i think this is gonna be one of those games where the vikings have a lead and they use latavius murray to build the lead and then kill off Green Bay at the end.

He's really been an excellent fantasy running back. He hasn't been a great running back, but he's been an excellent fantasy running back. Yeah, Murray, Latavius Murray scores a lot of touchdowns. Nine or more points in five of his last six or six of his last seven. That's what it is, five of his last six. And then McKinnon's got an interesting matchup because, well, first of all, Packers, a running back scored double-digit fantasy points in like five of his last six or six of his last seven. That's what it is. Five of his last six. And then McKinnon's got an interesting matchup because, well, first of all, Packers, a running back scored double-digit fantasy points in five straight games, has averaged 4.4 yards per carry or better in four straight against the

Packers, and they have allowed 41 or more receiving yards to a running back in four straight games and a receiving touchdown in two straight games. And McKinnon himself caught a touchdown in the first meeting. This defense has completely fallen apart. Clay Matthews is banged up. Their other linebacker, Nick Perry, is banged up. McKinnon or James White? Who's a better option this week?

Oh, McKinnon. McKinnon. Okay. Cool. McKinnon destroyed them in the first meeting. Yes, he sure did. Who's better? And he ran total yards and two touchdowns.

And there have been, like, it has looked like from time to time that this is a much better matchup for that type of running back than the Latavius Murray type. Now, there have been a couple of exceptions to that rule, so I'm not ready to say that's definitely the case. But even the last time these teams played, Latavius Murray had 15 carries for 28 yards, which is a lot like what Jonathan Stewart did last week. If you recall, though, that was him still coming back from that ankle problem. So while they were giving him work, he just didn't look right. We saw Alex Collins get 20 carries for 49 yards against this team. Jordan Howard, 15 for 54.

You also have to wonder about what their mindset's at. Because now they're done. They are done. Alright, so the Vikings should have a pretty high scoring game, and then Jamal Williams. Are you starting both Vikings running backs over Jamal Williams? Yes. Not in standard, no.

I'm starting Williams over McKinnon. Okay. Who's a better flex? Robert Woods or Jamal Williams? Robert Woods is not a flex for me. He's a starting receiver number two. I'd go Woods. Who's a better flex, Rashard Matthews or Jamal Williams?

Williams. I don't really love Matthews this week. Neither do I. We're going to get away from the Packers wide receivers, right, unless Devontae Adams plays. But even then, we're going to get away from the Packers wide receivers. I don't think Cobb is a bad number three in PPR. Has he ever had a good game against the Vikings, though?

In his life? Isn't this the team that he just stinks every time out against? Or am I making that up? Am I crazy, or did he know it was Adams who scored against them earlier this year? Yeah, it was definitely not Cobb. I thought I remembered actually Jamie pointing it out last year, his bad history against the Vikings. Let's find out. Yeah, go ahead and find out.

But look, I mean, there's obviously a lot of opportunity there if Devontae Adams doesn't play. This is not a good game for the Packers. He scored in his career against them two touchdowns. One was in the 2014 season. He had three for 34 in a touchdown, so nine points in the Standard League. And then he scored against them in the 2015 season

where he had two for 24 in a touchdown. He has never had 10 fantasy points in the Standard League against the Vikings. Wow! Acer with the memory. And then PPR-wise, he's had a nine-point game. There's nine. There's 12 with the touchdown.

There's 10 with the touchdown. So he's never had a 15-point game against them in PPR. Yeah. Okay, cool. So Minnesota's defense, fourth, fourth, and sixth for Jamie, Dave, and Heath. Detroit is at Cincinnati. I feel like there's some weird games this week. Detroit, Cincinnati in week 16 just feels weird to me.

How did you just pronounce Cincinnati? Cincinnati. That's how they say it. It's like Missouri. Okay. That's not how they say it. All right. So Jamie and Heath have Stafford top five.

Dave has them 10th. Dave, why don't Heath have Stafford top five. Dave has them 10th. Dave, why don't you have Stafford top five? Funny feeling that the Bengals play a little bit harder, a little bit tougher in Marvin Lewis's last home game. That assumes that they like Marvin Lewis. I think they do. I think despite what Marvin Lewis has done to that franchise and not really setting them forward, I think

they'll play for him a little bit. I would agree with you if they had bodies. Yeah. I don't know who's going to be healthy and who's not, but I don't see Stafford coming in and dousing them for three touchdowns. I think he can get to 21 or 22. He'll do better than 20. Kirkpatrick's going to play, right? Well, he's trending in the right direction.

Still in the protocol. Yeah, he and Mixon are still in the same boat. They're trending, but they haven't been cleared. And Burfecht probably not going to play. I guess the issue I have with Stafford at four, guys, is that he just doesn't really give you big games very often. You know? Like, you need a big game if he's going to be finished top four.

I do like that Stafford's going to have Rick Wagner back at right tackle. And Riddick back, too. And Riddick is going to be back. I think that's a nice option for him to have. But this is a pretty good Cincinnati pass rush. It's not the best. It's good. They'll get to him a couple of times.

The thing I like is this is arguably the worst defense in the NFL right now. Yep. And the Lions can't run on anyone. So even if the game script gets out of control, they're still going to have to throw the ball a little bit. So I just think there's too much opportunity there to fail. Yeah, I think this is a three-touchdown game. I think your boy Kenny might score.

I'd love that. Because T.J. Jones is out. Right. No T.J. Jones. One thing that seems pretty clear, Stafford is, like, extremely safe this week, right? Yes. Oh, my gosh, yes. If you have any hesitation, you're nervous about quarterbacks,

you just want someone that nobody's ever totally bus-proofed. This could be a two-touchdown Marvin Jones game, too. That'd be nice. You guys love Marvin Jones. Starter sit, Golden Tate. He's a good number two receiver this week. Yeah, he's fine.

I'm not as excited. A running back has scored nine or more fantasy points in standard scoring leagues in nine straight games against Cincinnati, and four running backs have scored 13 or more fantasy points in the last three games. They've been terrible against running backs. So what do you think? Would Riddick be worth starting here if he plays? You can make the case in PPR for obvious reasons,

but I just don't like trusting Lions running backs. I don't blame you. Would you start Theo Riddick or Golden Tate as a flex? Tate. Tate. Riddick. If Riddick's out, any— He practiced in full, so he's going to play.

Okay. And he's clearly the best one, right? Yes. Yeah. All right. If the best one, right? Yes. Yeah. All right. If Mixon plays, would you start Mixon or Riddick? Mixon. Riddick and PPR.

Riddick and PPR, yes. Nope. I'd go Mixon and PPR, too. I wonder if they just keep Geo in that role. I don't think Mixon will get as many touches as Geo has the last three games. Two games. Do you not see any sleeper appeal in Andy Dalton this week? Is Andy Dalton going to play the whole game?

Why wouldn't he? Well, I mean, they went to McCarron last week. Who knows if they're going to start to look at McCarron a little bit more. They've been at two of the last three games now. We've seen McCarron in the fourth quarter. So, yeah, I have him ranked the highest at 18th I would probably start him in a two quarterback league Because there is some sneaky upside there

But there is a floor of nothing Yeah Maybe a negative floor Alright guys, starters at AJ Green Heath and I talked about this yesterday The Lions have not allowed a touchdown to a wide receiver In five straight games AJ Green just hasn't really been that great lately So starters at AJ Green I'm kind of warming up to him, believe it or not.

I just think that the targets are going to be there. I know the Lions haven't allowed a touchdown to a wide receiver in five straight games. That's a jarring stat. But I think A.J. Green is just – it's almost the same argument as Mike Evans last week. He's too involved and too good to totally out-and-out sit. I would put him at a six on the start-o-meter. Start-o-meter. If I had A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, and Mike Wallace and could only start two, I would sit A.J. Green.

I would agree with you. All right, A.J. Green. Let me give you some running backs. A.J. Green, I think we already said Deion Lewis and Standard, Green and PPR. So how about A.J. Green or Jordan Howard? Howard. Howard and Standard. Yep, Howard, Standard, Green, PPR. A.J. Green or Christian McCaffrey?

McCaffrey. Yeah, McC PPR. AJ Green or Christian McCaffrey? McCaffrey. Yeah, McCaffrey. AJ Green or Golden Tate? Green. Tate. No, green standard, Tate PPR. Golly. Yeah, sure.

All right. And then if you want to take a flyer on someone, Tyler Croft, I mean, he's got two catches for one yard in his last two games, but the Lions have allowed five touchdowns to tight ends in their last five games. And the Lions' DST is sixth for Jamie, tenth for Dave, and tenth for Heath. Things are trending in the right direction. They've had two good games in a row, and the Bengals have given up two huge games in a row to Chicago and Minnesota.

Lions' DST is owned owning 71% of leagues. Let's go. I will also say if you want to take a flyer on someone, I agree with Jamie. Kenny Galladay is the guy to take the flyer on. Maybe a daily fantasy flyer. And Croft. I mean, look, the Lions against tight ends have been bad. Let's go west coast to east coast where Phillip Rivers and the Chargers face the New York Jets.

And Rivers actually has had decent success on the East Coast this year. This will be his fourth East Coast game. But here's your stat of the game. We'll talk about Jets running backs. In nine games that the Chargers have played without Denzel Perryman, including last week when he played

just 33% of the snaps, six running backs have scored double-digit fantasy points in standard scoring leagues. So that's six out of nine without Denzel Perryman or with Perryman barely playing. Start or sit, any Jets running back? Well, that's the riddle. Is it Powell?

Is it Forte? Is it McGuire? I think you've seen enough of Forte the last few weeks with that knee problem that it's just so hard to trust him. Powell at least has scored two of the last three games. Powell is a flex. I think he's on the border of a number two and a flex.

And I agree with what Jamie's saying, but there is an obvious chance where he gets wiped out at the goal line or he doesn't play a lot in passing situations. They really don't have any rhyme or reason for how they use these running backs. They use all three, and it's going to be a roll of the dice with Powell.

Powell or McKinnon? McKinnon. Powell or – Powell and standard. All right, all right. Powell or Mixon if Mixon plays? Mixon. Mixon.

All righty. One thing at least you know about Powell, I don't necessarily agree with what Dave said. They have been giving him the work. I mean, 13 carries two games ago, 13 carries last week, 18 carries three games ago. So Forte has been trending in the wrong direction with the knee problem. And McGuire just kind of is the third guy. And if he makes a big play like he did last week, you're okay with it. All righty.

And then Robbie Anderson, Dave and Jamie have him as like a three, low end number three. Heath, you got him as a high end number three, Robbie Anderson? Yeah, I still think the target volume is going to be there, and I'm hoping he gets maybe one more catch than he had last week. Mostly with Anderson, it's kind of a boom-bust type play because he, of all the guys I have ranked in that range, I think he has the best chance to break a long catch.

Sure. Okay. Yeah, he got 12 targets last week at the Saints. Didn't have a good game, but we know Bryce Petty loves him. Let's see. To the Chargers. Wow, you guys are a little bit lower on Rivers than I thought you'd be. Is it just like he hurt your feelings

last week? Jamie's got Rivers ninth. Dave Rivers 13th. That's your boy! You love Phillip Rivers and he has him eighth. 13th, Dave. I like a lot of quarterbacks better. It's the same argument for Roethlisberger. I was going to say, we could have the same exact bin.

Right. 20 fantasy points would not surprise me the difference is rivers is not without his best wide receiver and rivers does not have a history of being awful on the road and i'll add this he's done he's not gonna have hunter henry that's gonna put his faster wide outs on the field more and they'll put gates on the field more too so he might take more deep shots with tyrell Williams and Travis Benjamin, not saying that you should start them. But if they come through, then obviously that'll help Rivers have

a much better game than 20 fantasy. Maybe Phillip Rivers has been better on the road this year because all of his games are on the road. I also think this could be a big Melvin game. The thing about Gordon is the Jets may not have Leonard Williams.

So they've had a really good run defense the last eight weeks, but Wilkerson didn't play last week. He should be back this week, but Leonard Williams might be out. So I was actually going to bring up Gordon as a bust potential here. If Wilkerson and Leonard Williams play, are you concerned about Melvin Gordon? What are you concerned? That he's going to run for three and a half yards per carry like he has his entire career? I'm concerned that he really...

Okay, last week he was great, and he usually gets eight or more fantasy points, but in his three toughest matchups this year, Philadelphia, Denver, and Jacksonville, he scored three points in all of those games. I think you've got to keep an eye on what Williams' status is, Leonard Williams' status is. The one thing that was a little surprising yesterday was that Austin Eckler practiced.

It was on a limited basis, but he broke his hand and they thought he was out for the season. So I was more encouraged by Gordon with Eckler not playing just because those few targets and touches that he's taken away would go to him.

You said he was bad against Philadelphia, Jacksonville, and who? Denver. Okay. Now, two of those makes more sense because they have really good offenses as well. They just scored a bunch of points, but Denver's just the outlier. I think those are the three best run defenses that the Chargers have faced. Yeah, but if Leonard Williams isn't there, it's such a big loss. It's a huge difference.

All right, so Rivers or Bortles? Bortles. Bortles. Bortles, yeah. Rivers. Rivers or Keenum? Rivers. Keenum.

Keenum. Rivers or Breeze? Rivers. Rivers. Breeze. All right, we don't have consensus here. Start Keenum now Keenum. Rivers or Breeze? Rivers. Rivers. Breeze. All right. We don't have consensus here. Start Keenum now and start Melvin Gordon.

Antonio Gates or Cameron Brates? Brate. Brate. Brate, Brate, Brate. Brate. Gates is not a terrible flyer, but he needs to score. He had one catch for 10 yards and a touchdown last week. The Jets have allowed eight touchdowns to tight ends.

I think we can move on to our next game. The Rams and the Titans. All right, Tennessee hosting the Rams here. Jared Goff or Phillip Rivers? Rivers. Rivers. Rivers. Goff is such an interesting player to me.

He doesn't put up numbers, but he's got four straight games with two touchdown passes. He's doing what Jay Cutler did. Two touchdown passes every game, but there are very little yards with it. You know what it is? It's what you said about Stafford, but on a lower scale. He's not going to hurt you, but there's not a big blow-up spot for him typically most weeks. I think the big difference is the three games before this three-game stretch, he had 37, 37, and 43 pass attempts.

These last three weeks, he's thrown the ball 31, 26, and 21 times. So that's why the yardage is down. He's not necessarily been a lot worse on a per-throw basis. He's just not thrown the ball near as much over the last three weeks. So we don't want to start Jared Goff, right? I am willing to start Jared Goff over several players. I think Tennessee

is going to put up some fight in this game. They're fighting for their playoff lives, and it's a road game, so I don't necessarily think it's a situation where they can throw the ball 25 times, and if he throws the ball more than 30 times, it's usually pretty good. Okay, fair enough. You would start Goff over Cousins, Winston, Keenum, and Breeze. I don't think the others would.

Correct. Maybe Cousins. I'd start him over Cousins. Cousins, yeah, Cousins. Okay, Goff or Prescott? Goff. Goff. Goff.

Goff over Prescott. All right, the girly start. Are there any wide receivers that you're starting other than Robert Woods for the Rams? Nope. No. And Robert Woods is like a must start, right? Yep. Yes.

Would you start Woods over A.J. Green? Yep. Yep. Dave, would you start? I wouldn't. I'd go Green. You'd go Green. Dave, would you start? I wouldn't. I'd go green. You'd go green? Dave, would you start Rashard Matthews over?

How many wide receivers for the Rams would you start over Rashard Matthews? Rank the four wide receivers then. It would be Woods, Matthews, Watkins. Cup. I might go Cup. No. If Logan Ryan plays, then I don't like Cup as much. Cup would be last.

But PPR Cup would be ahead of Watkins. For me, it would be Woods, Kup, Matthews, Watkins. I'd go Woods, Matthews, Kup, Watkins. All right. So Woods number one, and then two people have Matthews second in that list. And Rashard Matthews is 69%. The Rams allow the eighth most fantasy points to wide – eighth fewest. Oh, no, no, no.

Yeah, I think the seventh fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. But Matthews has done pretty well in some tough matchups earlier this season. He's never had back-to-back good games this year. That's interesting. Which is funny because last year he had a ton of back-to-back good games. I mean, that's just something that's fluky, but if you're just looking at it, he hasn't had back-to-back good games at all. Now, whatever the factors may be, but it's what it is.

Well, the reason why I liked him last week was because of the matchup, because he was going up against bad corners. Rams actually have some – they've been getting good cornerback play. Do you consider him a bigger wide receiver? Because apparently Tremaine Johnson shadows big wide receivers, and he does not shadow the smaller ones. Well, he's definitely not a small, speedy guy. Corey Davis is a bigger wide receiver than Rashard Matthews, though, right?

That's right, but I don't know if he's anywhere near as dangerous in the ram's eye rashard matthews is only six foot tall i saw i'm i'm i would almost i'm certain that you'll see a lot of jermaine johnson on all right he's not small enough that you have to avoid him because he is there and he's not a burner he is their shortest wide receiver by three inches. So what are they going to do? They're going to stick Eric Decker or Tremaine Johnson? No, no, no, no. But Decker plays a slot for them. I'm sorry.

He doesn't shadow all big wide receivers. But if there's a – like Alshon Jeffrey, he shadowed. So that's something that they could do if Matthews were bigger. But I guess that probably won't happen. All right. We look at the Titans here. Any Titans you are excited to start this week other than Delaney Walker as a top five tight end?

No. Not excited. Would not be excited to use these running backs, even though they have a great matchup, and I think that they will be able to run the ball on the Rams. I'm not confident who will do what between Henry and Murray. I think you just have to look at touches and Murray's still getting more touches. Yep. I'm probably starting to

Marco Murray in most situations this week. Would you start to Marco Murray? In general. DeMarco Murray or Latavius Murray? Latavius. Jerick McKinnon or DeMarco Murray? DeMarco. I'll go McKinnon. Iarek McKinnon Or DeMarco Murray

DeMarco I'll go McKinnon I'll take McKinnon too James White or DeMarco Murray DeMarco DeMarco White and PPR Robert Woods or DeMarco Murray

Woods Woods Alright Woods it is And the Rams DST 11th for Jamie 12th for Dave 7th for Heath

All these rankings by the the way, they change. They get updated. So make sure you go to cbssports.com slash fantasy and check out the rankings page. Pittsburgh and Houston, your stat of the game. Pittsburgh has allowed 5.2 yards per carry or more to a lead running back in three straight games since Ryan Shazier's injury, including the game in which Shazier got injured. Start or sit, a guy who's been very disappointing lately, Lamar Miller. He's a number two running back.

Forever. Yeah. He's a tombstone. That's all right. Exactly. That's pretty grim, though. That should be on his Texans plaque. Number two running back.

Heath, you seem to be sighing. Yeah, I'm sighing. I would rather start DeMarco Murray than Lamar Miller. Wow. I think the matchup is also very good for Murray. Is it, though? I'm looking at the Rams, and the early part of the season was terrible for them. But really, the only team that's kind of gotten to them lately is the Saints.

And they get to everybody. And they get to everybody. To wrap me up if I'm wrong, I feel like the Rams, they are still giving up yards per carry, but just not a lot of maybe touchdowns. I mean, they gave up a touchdown to Elijah Penny. The Cardinals had a decent performance against them in a game where they lost by 16 points. They gave Kerwin Williams 16 carries. They got 97 rushing yards.

I wonder how much of that was garbage time. We liked Mike Davis last week, though. Yeah, but I think it's kind of like we keep falling into this trap that the Rams are a good matchup. Like the Eagles running back is at 155 yards. Right, but there's not one guy there. And I think that's kind of the point with the Titans, is there's just not one guy. If it was just DeMarco Murray, I agree with you, but it's because this could be a Henry game.

I would lean toward Murray. I just don't think looking at what the Steelers have given up comparatively to what the Rams have given up, the Steelers lately, that's a better matchup. For sure. Yeah, it's a great matchup. It's 5.4 yards per carry, 10.7 yards per catch, and five touchdowns to running backs in the last three games. Yeah. It's a great matchup. It's 5.4 yards per carry, 10.7 yards per catch, and five touchdowns to running backs in the last three games.

Wow. If there was a spot to buy into Lamar Miller, this is kind of it. So you'd start Lamar Miller over the Lions running back, over Theo Riddick? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, yes. Okay. All right. Stick with the Texans.

DeAndre Hopkins is our number one wide receiver, and that's it for the Texans. We talked about Ben Roethlisberger. So if you missed that, it's at about the 10-minute mark. We debated Ben Roethlisberger, 8th for Jamie, 12th for Dave, 5th for Heath. Start Le'Veon Bell. And then which wide receiver do you like better for the Pittsburgh Steelers? JJSS.

Yes. Yeah, this is a big blow-up spot for him too. Okay. Smith-Schuster or Mike Wallace? Smith-Schuster. Wallace, but it's close. I will go Wallace. Oh, okay.

It sounded like you were going to say in standard or something like that. Juju or Green? A.J. Green? Juju. Juju. Green. Okay. And then. Green. Okay. And then Martavis Bryant.

How do you feel about him? Would you start him over Lamar Miller? Who's a better flex? I'll take Miller. Miller is safer, but Bryant certainly has a higher ceiling. Yeah. There's something that scared me last week about Martavis. And I know he had his best.

I think it was probably his best game of the year. Second best. Well, statistically his second best. And I know he had his best. I think it was probably his best game of the year. Second best. Well, statistically his second best, but he made some really great plays. Okay. When Antonio Brown got hurt and they were near the end zone, he didn't come in. Their last three plays of the game, after Juju had the 69-yard catch and run, Martavis wasn't in. Well, Ben wanted him to come in, but the coaches overruled him. What's that, Ben wanted him to come in, but the coaches overruled him. What's that?

Ben wanted him to come in, but the coaches overruled him. But could he come in? Because they were hurrying up. Yeah, I don't think it's anything that they did. Didn't they call a timeout around then? They did call a timeout. They had the review. At one point, they called a timeout,

and apparently they didn't want the timeout or something. I don't remember the exact sequence of events. They also seemed to be in their run formation, too. He also never is good on the road, but I don't remember the exact sequence of events. They also seem to be in their run formation too. He also – he never is good on the road. But I don't know. I would be very – if I had to make any Martavis Bryant decisions, it would be really tough for me. It's like I see a ton of potential here, but a lot of – he is a real wild card this week. I think it depends what you need.

Like if you're in a spot – like you're looking at it. You're the sixth seed. You got in. You're playing the two seed, and the two seed is just a dominant, dominant fantasy team, the roll of dice. Alright, Martavis Bryant or Dez Bryant?

Martavis. Dez. Alrighty, let's go to next game. I think we're good here. Oh, Jesse James. No sleeper up your hair? If he catches that touchdown, do we hype him up even more? Let me tell you the tight ends

that have had big games against the Texans lately. Ricky Seals-Jones, Delaney Walker, Garrett Selick. Two terrible ones in there. Two bad fantasy options in there. I'm not saying start Jesse James, but... He's touchdown or bust. If he catches it, he'll be great.

I think he's got a shot at getting five or six targets. Is Vance McDonald playing or not? A little bit more appealing than touchdown or bust. Not a lot. Is Vance McDonald playing? He has a chance to play. That's what Mike Tomlin said. If he plays, that changes a lot. Next game is Miami at Kansas City.

We have two games left. Miami, Kansas City, and Colts-Ravens. All right, stat of the game. In Kansas City's last four home games, no wide receiver has more than 66 yards, and Zay Jones is the only wide receiver to catch a touchdown. That includes Demarius Thomas, Michael Crabtree, and Keenan Allen. How do you feel about Jarvis Landry this week? I mean, he's basically proven to be a must-start wide receiver week in, week out. Yeah, it's hard to get away from him.

Especially if Parker doesn't play. He's really fine in PPR. Okay. Really fine. Really fine. Fine in PPR. How would you rank the Steelers wide receivers and Jarvis Landry? Juju, Landry, Bryant.

Yep, yep. That's how I'd have it. Eli Rogers. And then we're backing off a little bit on Kenyon Drake because of the return of Damian Williams. I mean, you have to just go by what the track record was when they both played. Drake has clearly proven to be much better, but I would imagine they give Williams some work. What do you think they give him? what the track record was when they both played, Drake has clearly proven to be much better.

But I would imagine they give Williams some work. What do you think they give him? 10 touches a game? I think if he handles strictly third downs, that won't hurt Drake too bad. I'm not benching Drake, but you have to take a little bit of a downgrade into account. And at this point, we've got a Damian Williams limited practice, but that's it so far, right? Right.

But it's the first time he's practiced since he got hurt. Right. He didn't practice last week? I don't believe so. If he doesn't play, does that put Drake closer to the top five? I haven't ranked fifth right now because I haven't changed it for Williams, so yes. I've got it ranked like Williams is not playing. So do I, but I'm just taking into account.

There's a lot of good running backs at the top. All right. Alex Collins or Kenyon Drake? Drake. Drake. I'll take Collins. All right. That game's coming up next.

Start Jarvis Landry. Nobody else. I got backs on limited base last week. Nobody else for the Dolphins. Alex Smith. Start or sit. The last three road quarterbacks. Last three quarterbacks against the Dolphins in Dolphins road games.

Cam Newton, 43 points. Tom Brady, 29 points. Tyrod Taylor, 24 points. I don't know if that means anything. But start or sit, Alex Smith. He had a good game last week, and I'll say it again, he should have had a big game against Oakland at home two weeks ago. He just had a bunch of funny situations play out

to where he didn't actually get any official touchdowns. I'm starting Alex Smith. I like him a lot. Yep. I've got him sixth. And it might become fifth really soon. Because right now I've got Foles right ahead of him and I might move off that. Alright, so are we going to start Alex Smith over, I think I may have asked you this, Phillip Rivers?

I would. No. Yes. Two yeses and a no. Are we going to start Alex Smith over Ben Roethlisberger? I would. No. Yes. Two yeses and a no. Are we going to start Alex Smith over Ben Roethlisberger? I would. No. Two nos and a yes. All right, but Smith is still a good starter. You'll have some good options at quarterback this week.

Kareem Hunt, we talked about at about the, I don't know, 13-minute mark or something. Dave and Jamie love Kareem Hunt. He's top five. Heath says the carries might not be there, so be careful. He's 15th in standard, 16th in PPR. Just look at the carries that he's had in the Chiefs' wins versus their losses. They're going to destroy the Dolphins. Yeah, they're going to kill them.

And Tyreek Hill is top seven in standard, top 11 in PPR. You are starting him. And there you go. I've got to say, though, Xavier Howard looks likePR. You are starting him. And there you go. I gotta say, though, Xavier Howard looks like he's a pretty good player, and the Dolphins have been great against Demarius Thomas, two points, Brandon Cooks, three points, and the Buffalo wide receivers were off.

So was Casey Hayward, and you saw what happened last week. Yeah, but he was playing hurt. But it's true. I mean... Are we really going to sit somebody because they're being covered by Xavier Howard? No, but I just – He's going to be one of these guys we talk about for the next few years. Yeah, but is he there now?

He's playing like it. He's emerging. It's pretty interesting. I don't know that whole shadow hill, but I can't in good conscience tell anyone to get away from hill. Nobody will. But I just think it's interesting. No, but it is worth mentioning. He's played very well.

And I'm going to say – He won that Patriots game. Yeah, right? He shut down Brandon Cooks. He was awesome. And he had those two picks. I'm just going to go ahead and say start Travis Kelsey. The guys have Kelsey somewhere in the 20s.

But I think he's going to have a big week. So start Kelsey. That's a joke. They have him top three. Colts and Ravens. Last game. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Man, I'm funny.

It's the end of the game. The Ravens have given up double-digit fantasy points to five running backs in their last four games. Lamar Miller, Riddick, and Tian Green. Bell and Duke Johnson. It's really been because of touchdowns, not because of yards. But do you have any hope for Frank Gore? No. Okay.

Yeah, no. You know the last time he scored on the road? 2004. No. Last year, week nine. No Okay You know the last time he scored on the road? 2004 No, last year, week 9 It's been 9 road games in a row 10 road games in a row I thought he could do it in that Buffalo game And they gave him 36 carries

In the snow And he still couldn't do it But he had a good game He's an old man's Lamar Miller He's an old man's old man They. He's an old man's old man. They're going to get smashed. Yeah, this is going to be a blowout. So sit all the Colts.

And then we've talked a lot about Mike Wallace. Alex Collins or Deion Lewis? I like Collins better. I think this is just a big blowout spot. Lewis. I'm going to go Lewis. I'm a little worried that Javorius Allen, that big percentage of those carries he got last week

Were in a garbage time type situation That son of a gun Oh boy But we are all pretty confident in Collins right Yeah I love the fact that they gained five catches last week And then it just comes down to Flacco Who would you guys start Flacco over

Cousins, Prescott, Goff And then it just comes down to Flacco. Who would you guys start Flacco over? Rothschild. Cousins, Prescott, Goff. I'm fine with all those guys too. Yeah, I don't. I think he's 22 fantasy points, 23 fantasy points. I would start him over Deck. You're like the low guy on Flacco? I'd start him over Alex Smith.

I am not wacko for Flacco. How come? Maybe I'd start Smith on him. 16th for Heath. Yeah, I mean, I think he'll probably have a decent day. If we think the Ravens are going to crush the Colts, then I'm not sure. Mike Wallace has 100 yards and a touchdown. And who else?

Watson. Could be Colin running back. He doesn't have the good juju on him anymore. Could be Daniel Woodhead. He had six catches last week. He ran for one last week. Yeah, he ran for one last week. Who's the best player?

I think he's playing really well right now. I think the protection from the offensive line has been great. He's playing the Colts. Yeah, at home. Listen, Adam, if there's ever a time for you to buy back in on the Ravens' playoff bandwagon, they're going to go in and beat Kansas City in the first week of the playoffs. And they're going to scare New England. They always do.

They are the one team that goes into Foxborough in the playoffs and plays well. They always do. Yep. All right. Final thing. Best tight end flyer. Watson, Jesse James, Antonio Gates. James.

Watson. Heath, say Gates just to give me a... Gates. There you go. No help at all. Pick your favorite analyst. It's James. It's James for you? Alright, two Jameses and a Watson. And Baltimore's DST is 1-1-2 for Jamie, Dave, and Heath.

And that is it for the Thursday show. We've got the other NFC home games. There are nine this week compared to seven AFC home games. We've got eight NFC home games to preview tomorrow. We don't have a game to talk about. No Thursday night football. Everybody watch basketball tonight or Stranger Things. Dave, Jamie, Heath, thank you guys.

I'm Adam. See you later. Bye.