Fantasy Football Today - 12/26: Some Week 17 Talk and 2019 QB Chatter (Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: December 26, 2018

Bouncing around between Week 17 and 2019 outlooks with some general Fantasy talk mixed in, we start with good players with tough matchups (1:25) and look at Dalvin Cook, Joe Mixon and Nick Chubb in We...ek 17 ... What does the QB position look like in 2019 (12:00)? Which Year 2 QBs make the leap? How do we feel about Matt Ryan after a terrific 2018 season? Then we discuss some slumping players (22:33) who need to snap out of it in Week 17 and the Fantasy Regulators (26:55) are back! ... A look at red zone target leaders (32:16) and what the stats reveal. Also, tune in for Adam's random Fantasy Football thoughts (41:41) about IDP, standard scoring leagues, SuperFlex and more ... Your emails at fantasyfootball@cbsi.comThis episode is sponsored by www.ZipRecruiter.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. Here we go! Email us at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. Here we go! It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Let's go! Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. It's my favorite show of the week, and a little Christmas present.
Starting point is 00:00:22 Dave Richard is on the Wednesday show. God, you hate Heath Cumberland. Yeah, that little Christmas present. Dave Richard is on the Wednesday show. God, you hate me. Yeah, that must be it. Dave, welcome to Wednesday. Yay, it's Wednesday of week 17. Come on, you know what? Yay! There you go.
Starting point is 00:00:39 I got my very first Twitter question asking for lineup help of week 17. Usually I get them Sunday night, Monday morning. First one for Week 17 didn't come until early this morning. I'm surprised we actually got a lot of emails about Week 17. We did get some Week 17 emails. We have those. We have some tweets.
Starting point is 00:00:58 FantasyFootball at CBSi.com and of course follow us on Twitter at Adam Azer, A-I-Z-E-R at Jamie Eisenberg, J-A-M-E-Y, at Dave Richard, singular. We all have strange names. Let's start with some Week 17 stuff and then talk about 2019.
Starting point is 00:01:15 We're going to preview the quarterback position a little bit in 2019. I have some random fantasy thoughts that I'd like to share with you. I want to look at red zone targets of what they are showing us this year and the fantasy regulators will be making an appearance at some point today.
Starting point is 00:01:28 Good players with tough matchups. Dalvin Cook against the Bears. Joe Mixon at Pittsburgh. Nick Chubb at Baltimore. Let's talk about good players with tough matchups. Cook against the Bears. Mixon at Pittsburgh.
Starting point is 00:01:43 Chubb at Baltimore. Who's your favorite this week? Cook. I believe my favorite is Mixon. Are you sitting any of them? Because we've got some attractive waiver wire guys that have been picked up recently. You know? Can get away from some guys. Yeah, I would take most of them.
Starting point is 00:02:01 I'd be sitting them for CJ Anderson. I'd be sitting them for Jamal Williams. I'd be sitting them for Jalen Samuels, Damian Williams. So in that scenario, yes. But in a vacuum, probably no. I guess you could say that Jamal Williams himself has a tough matchup. Yeah, I think for the Dalvin Cook situation, I don't know how much the Bears are going to be playing their guys for a full four quarters. Whereas the Vikings, you know, are going to be out there because they have to win.
Starting point is 00:02:26 Right. And the fact that Jamal Williams is at home in week 17 with what he'll do in the passing game, that does not concern me so much against what the Lions typically do. And you would think that Dalvin Cook will probably be pretty involved in the passing game. And if not, that means he's getting a ton of carries, right? Yep. Eight running backs with 16 or more touches against the Bears. And that's what we've gotten four games in a row for Dalvin Cook,
Starting point is 00:02:49 16 or more touches. Seven of those eight against the Bears have scored double-digit fantasy points at non-PPR, 12 or more fantasy points in PPR. Six of the eight running backs have had pretty big games, 16 or more fantasy points in PPR. It's solid. Only Kenyon Drake had a bad game. And I think when you look at these guys, Cook, Mixon, and Chubb,
Starting point is 00:03:10 like the Ravens, the Ravens have given up double-digit fantasy points in non-PPR, 13 or more fantasy points in PPR, to nine running backs in their last nine games. That's a lot. Yet they allow the second-fewest fantasy points to running backs because they don't give last nine games. That's a lot. Yet, they allow the second fewest fantasy points to running backs because they don't give up huge games. And I think that's kind of where I'm at. I don't know that Cook, Mixon, or
Starting point is 00:03:31 Chubb is going to have a huge game, but there's certainly avenues for at least startable games. Agreed. Yeah. But who's the most likely to have a dud of those three? I'll say Chubb.
Starting point is 00:03:48 Why Chubb? Because I just think it's a tough matchup at Baltimore. Ravens playing for a lot. Browns just playing for spoiler. Jamie, why Mixon? I feel the same about Mixon, except he has no talent around him. Yeah. Kind of still a little mad at him for Week 16, by the way. But he had 19 touches, and they were near the goal line,
Starting point is 00:04:06 and he just couldn't punch it in. I was pretty shocked that the Bengals managed to get in the end zone a couple times last week. See what they can figure out this week at Pittsburgh. All right, those are some good running backs with some tough matchups. Here are your news and notes. Phillip Lindsey is out with a wrist injury. So your thoughts on Freeman and Booker?
Starting point is 00:04:26 I know we talked about it yesterday. I'm just going to assume some people missed yesterday's show. It was Christmas. So we'll recap a little bit of what we talked about yesterday. The Broncos running backs, guys. How do you like them? I don't mind Freeman. I think he's a low-end starter.
Starting point is 00:04:40 Better in non-PPR than PPR. He already faced the Chargers once, scored against them. I think you're going to look at what he did in the first few weeks of the season when Lindsay was obviously healthy. He was getting about 12 carries a game. You can run on the Chargers, so I think he will. And the Chargers may be one of those teams that starts to pull back some guys once they find out what's happening in Kansas City.
Starting point is 00:05:00 How do you feel about Melvin Gordon, Dave? Do we trust him after last week? I would. I believe that the matchup against the Broncos is easier than what the stats say because I just think the Broncos have kind of had it. And the Chargers have to play to win until they know that they're locked into the 5 seed. And the other news item, James Conner is questionable for his game against the Bengals. So we will have to keep an eye on that.
Starting point is 00:05:24 If James Conner plays, what kind of workload would you guys expect? Unless we get a report that says this is what his workload will be. What would you expect from James Conner? Normal. I could see it being a little less than normal. Just because Samuels has been playing so well.
Starting point is 00:05:41 But at the very least, it's enough to make Jalen Samuels a sit. Oh, you can't play Samuels, yeah. Low on flex. And Mike McCarthy could be interested in the Cardinals job, according to Peter King. And again, just to recap something we talked about yesterday, who is sitting,
Starting point is 00:05:58 who is playing this week? As you guys do your rankings, which teams are you just saying, yeah, we're not getting any good fantasy production from the starters there? Saints, Cowboys, and I'll throw the Bears in there, potentially the Seahawks too. I'm not so sure about the Bears, and I think the Seahawks will play their guys for at least two and a half quarters. Same with the Bears.
Starting point is 00:06:21 There's a chance the Bears could rest guys by the end of their game. The difference between the Bears and the Seahawks is the Bears are actually playing an NFL defense. That's true. They're playing Minnesota. And so the Bears get the two seed with a win and a Rams loss. That's what we're looking at there. The Rams should have no trouble. Well, they should win.
Starting point is 00:06:40 They should have no trouble. They should have no trouble winning, although the Niners beat the Seahawks a few weeks ago, so I don't want to put it past them too much. They gave the Bears a little bit of a run last week. They're a good team. It's obviously a shame they haven't had their guys all season long. Yeah. I mean, they're 4-11, but they're not that bad.
Starting point is 00:06:59 No, they're playing for Kyle Shanahan, and they're doing a good job. But still, going into Los Angeles is not going to be easy with what the Rams have to play for. You know, I'm not going to be on any of the shows in January. So I'm going to make this week just about me, basically. I just want to throw this out there. I have no idea who's going to win the Super Bowl this year. This is a great—I can't wait for the playoffs. It's going to be very unpredictable.
Starting point is 00:07:22 I agree. That's what makes football awesome. Who do you like? I don't think I can go with the Chiefs. You made a great point yesterday, Jame, when you brought it up. They barely have won any of their, you know, marquee games. I don't know who I can take them.
Starting point is 00:07:35 It's just their defense is not good, and that's going to catch them at some point. I'm going to stick by what I said preseason, which is, you know, I'm lucky enough to still have that alive is the Saints-Patriots. Saints-Patriots, yeah. Patriots seem vulnerable, but they certainly could get back to the Super Bowl. I mean, the road to the Super Bowl goes through them. Well, what do you mean?
Starting point is 00:07:59 For the Saints? Oh, the Saints. Sorry, I thought you meant the Patriots. Oh, you said the Patriots seem vulnerable? Yeah, yeah. They seem very vulnerable. The Patriots seem vulnerable? Yeah, yeah. They seem very vulnerable. The Patriots seem vulnerable. But again, all you have to do is win one road game.
Starting point is 00:08:10 I think that the Saints are the safest bet just because they're so much better at home than on the road. I agree. Yeah, that does feel... Right. Before last week, I felt strongly about the Bears. I thought Chicago would have a real nice chance to make the Super Bowl. But Saints aren't playing outdoors again this year. Everything else in the playoffs is indoors.
Starting point is 00:08:34 And they seem to thrive in that environment more so than not. I don't think the Bears are there yet. Trubisky's not playing well enough. I don't think they Bears are there yet. Trubisky's not playing well enough. I don't think they have enough skill on offense. They're getting banged up defensively, too. That's true. Yeah, they've lost two pretty important players. Now, hopefully Eddie Jackson will be back, but in their secondary.
Starting point is 00:08:56 That's true. And one thing about the Chiefs, the only thing about their defense, it's not good. But they are second in the league in sacks, one behind the Vikings. So they can get to the quarterback, and that can sometimes pay off. All right, so Jamie's sticking with Saints-Patriots. I will say Saints-Patriots. You know what? I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Ravens.
Starting point is 00:09:19 Yeah, they're playing great right now. That defense is tough. You know, the one thing about—this is the thing that sets the Saints apart right now is they're playing very well on both sides of the ball. Only at home. Their defense is bad on the road? Their offense is bad on the road. Oh, true.
Starting point is 00:09:37 Fair enough. But in terms of – they still scare you enough and can do enough to score. The Ravens right now, though, and this helps the Bears as well, is they can grind out these games and make them ugly and low-scoring. And that's all you need in the playoffs. Yeah. Boy, if the Ravens somehow win the Super Bowl, they're going to have the worst wide receivers in Super Bowl championship history.
Starting point is 00:10:04 Last thought. We haven't said the Rams. I think the Rams might be the most complete team. More than the Saints? Yeah, I don't know if they're more complete. I'll say that because the Saints have a better defense. But if you can somehow take Michael Thomas away,
Starting point is 00:10:20 you know, they have nothing downfield. And maybe Ted Ginn coming back will really help. But I think that, you know, the Rams are just loaded. They have a better offensive line. Not to say that the Saints have a bad one. No, they don't. When they're healthy, I think they have the best offensive line.
Starting point is 00:10:35 No, when both are healthy, the Saints are better. I think it's really close, but I think New Orleans has the better line. But they're healthy. That's the thing. Like, you don't know if Teron Armstead's going to be healthy. That's true. Fair enough. But when they're healthy, the Saints are better.
Starting point is 00:10:49 And I think they have a little bit more of a complete team. It's just you have to go into New Orleans. Yeah, which they've already done unsuccessfully. All right. Thank you for indulging me on this NFL playoff talk. And who would you take to win a big game at this point? Drew Brees or Jared Goff? Yeah, I'd take Brees.
Starting point is 00:11:04 Absolutely Brees. January will be Acer-less as I'll be on paternity leave, but Dave, Jamie, Heath, they'll be carrying the load. We're supposed to have two episodes per week. I'm pretty sure we can pull that off. That's our goal basically the entire offseason.
Starting point is 00:11:20 We still will have a radio show this weekend, Eye on Fantasy Football, and we'd love to hear from you. So you can call us up, 855-212-4227. We'll be doing our radio show, answering any Week 17 questions you have, but also largely looking ahead to the 2019 season. So please give us a call Saturday night, 10 to midnight Eastern, on CBS Sports Radio, Sirius Channel 206.
Starting point is 00:11:42 And there's going to be no mailbag show this week and no Sunday night recap. But we'll have starters sit on Thursday and Friday. Let's talk about the quarterback position in 2019. Yesterday on the Fantasy Football Today video show, we talked about tight ends. Quarterback is, I think, more interesting than tight end. How deep do you think it is going into next year? I looked at your top 12, the top 12s that you guys came up with, which we can go through. And one of my thoughts was like, I don't know that there are that many glaring omissions.
Starting point is 00:12:13 So maybe it's not going to feel quite as deep next year as it did this year. Thoughts? It's deep. It's extremely deep. I've got 17 quarterbacks that I think are okay options. But there is one or two, there are one or two, who are kind of above the rest of the group. And I believe there will be a premium paid on draft day for them.
Starting point is 00:12:38 We're talking about Patrick Mahomes. And I think Andrew Luck, I think people are going to gravitate toward him and they'll pony up for him. Yeah, I'll take Rodgers over Luck, but I think there's like five or six guys that are going to be really sought after in different degrees. I think there's probably, you know, it's going to depend on where does Teddy Bridgewater end up? Because he could be somebody that's interesting. Where does Nick Foles end up? He could be somebody that's interesting.
Starting point is 00:13:04 No. There's no chance those guys will be top 12. Oh, no. They might be late-round guys. In terms of making them relevant to extending how deep the position is. Maybe, but – okay, so you talked about 16, 17 guys. Dave, who are some of the back-end guys that're thinking could be, you know, number one starters? Here are the quarterbacks that did not make my top 12.
Starting point is 00:13:28 And I'm not sure that this is the order I would put them in. Philip Rivers, Josh Allen, Mitchell Trubisky, Lamar Jackson, Thomas Edward Brady. Oh, yeah, it's pretty deep. Right. So there's five right there that you'd probably say, OK, if I have to start one of these guys week one of my season, maybe I won't be like over the moon pumped, but I'd be okay with it. It would probably mean that the rest of my
Starting point is 00:13:54 lineup would be on fire. You have Wentz, who's not a top 12 guy. You have Donald, who could be a top 12 guy. Things go right for him. You have Stafford, who could bounce back potentially with healthy Marvin Jones. With healthy Stafford. With healthy Stafford, yeah. I mean, there are guys that are going to end up in rebound situations.
Starting point is 00:14:15 You know, again, Wentz, Stafford, you know, the upside of potentially Sam Darnold. Dave mentioned Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and what those guys can do. So, yeah, there's guys there. Brady's going to be the interesting one to see where he ends up. I think Wentz will be the interesting one because he's not a top 12 quarterback for Jamie and Heath. He's like 10th-ish for Dave.
Starting point is 00:14:35 Do you know exactly where he is? 9th. 9th. And I anticipate having a lot of Carson Wentz if people are more like Jamie and Heath because I think he'll bounce back very nicely. Oh, he'll be fine. They're just 12 guys better than him.
Starting point is 00:14:49 Well, I mean, in my opinion, he could be much more than fine. He could be the steal of the draft because I still believe in Carson Wentz. I feel like they'll upgrade at wide receiver or at least try. And he hasn't run. He hasn't run this year. And I think that's been the— You think he's going to run after coming off the field and he's yelling a broken back?
Starting point is 00:15:06 Yes, I do. I'm not drafting him for his rushing numbers. It's not that I think he's going to be a rusher. It's that I think he's going to be better with his legs, and he'll have more rushing yards. You mean like more mobile in the pocket type thing? Yeah. I also wonder if he's going to end up being one of these fragile guys.
Starting point is 00:15:23 I mean, it's certainly a valid concern. Yeah, I'm not drafting him as a starter. I'll take him. We had a conversation during the show yesterday about pairing, or maybe it was during the thing we taped for Sportsline, about pairing guys. And you brought up a good point, Adam, I think it was earlier this week, about Lamar Jackson.
Starting point is 00:15:39 I would take Wentz with Lamar Jackson. Yeah, that was the point. I would pair Wentz with somebody who I think has maybe just as much upside, if not more. Like the point I made was Brady and Lamar Jackson. Yeah, that was the point. I would pair Wentz with somebody who I think has maybe just as much upside, if not more. Like, the point I made was Brady and Lamar Jackson. I would take a combination of Wentz and one of the younger quarterbacks, for sure. I would not feel comfortable taking Wentz as my only quarterback, though.
Starting point is 00:15:54 No, but that's the beauty of where you're going to be able to draft Wentz. Yeah, but I don't want to take two quarterbacks. That's the thing. Okay, that's fair. I don't mind taking two quarterbacks. And, yeah, that was my whole thing. Remember, though, there are a lot of leagues that only have four or five bench spots. You do not want to take two quarterbacks in those leagues. My whole thing with Lamar Jackson is I don't think anybody's going to have more upside than Jackson
Starting point is 00:16:15 to upside to outperform draft position. Obviously, Mahomes is going to have more upside, and Rodgers is going to have more upside, but upside to outperform draft position i think jackson will have the most and i want to take him i will reach for him if we think that quarterback is a deep position because i will reach for him and then i'll set up for philip rivers later or tom brady later or carson wentz later yeah yeah i i prefer josh allen to lamar jackson i think he's i think you're talking about upside relative to draft position. He's the guy. He's going to be a late-round pick in every draft. And he's going to continue to run.
Starting point is 00:16:50 And they will absolutely improve his situation. Another receiver will be added. That offensive line will be solidified. He's going to be in perfect position to break out next year. The problem with some of these guys is, what are they going to address in the offseason? For me, Baltimore can find a receiver. Buffalo's got to find receivers in offensive line.
Starting point is 00:17:11 That's true. The Ravens' offensive line is in a much better situation than the Bills'. So I know Allen has been just as good, basically, as Jackson in terms of rushing. But I would personally project more rushing yards for Lamar Jackson. But I would project more passing yards and more touchdowns for Allen. I think they're very similar. I mean, look, it's just a matter, I think, of personal preference and what you're expecting from both these guys. It'll come down to what they think, for me at least, what they upgrade. If Buffalo's able to do a complete overhaul of their skill position,
Starting point is 00:17:52 at least adding one premier. They've got to add a big play receiver. And upgrade their running back spot because LeSean McCoy's done. I don't know if the running back spot necessarily needs a major upgrade. They could find somebody to play that. They need offensive line help. It's big time. Big time.
Starting point is 00:18:08 But you know what? The, the bills have better wide receivers in the Ravens. They have, they have faster and younger receivers as a group than the Ravens. I don't know if they're necessarily John Brown over everybody, but those guys drop a lot of passes in Buffalo, in buffalo yeah they're young um yeah they're all right any other quarterback thoughts here so let's let's just take a look at uh at your top 12s and see if anything jumps out
Starting point is 00:18:38 so it's mahomes rogers luck for jamie it's mahomes, Rodgers for Dave. And then who's number four? Deshaun Watson for Jamie. Russell Wilson for Dave. Dave has Wilson five. Or Watson five. Jamie has Roethlisberger five. So basically your top four is Mahomes, Rodgers luck. And then either Wilson or Watson.
Starting point is 00:19:01 Yeah, let's talk about Matt Ryan. Matt Ryan is having an amazing season. He's the number three quarterback in fantasy just behind Ben Roethlisberger at two. Mahomes is number one. Matt Ryan is 39 fantasy points away from matching his point total from his 2016 MVP season. 33 touchdowns to six interceptions this year. And where did you guys end up on Matt Ryan? I ended up ranking him as a top 10 quarterback, even though I've got a little bit of worry about him being so up and down
Starting point is 00:19:31 on a year-to-year basis. He's six for me. I think if they keep Steve Sarkeesian, he's going to be awesome again. And if they don't, then I'll be nervous because we've seen him first time with a new coordinator. He struggles. MVP year in 2016, 38 touchdowns. The year after that, 20 touchdowns.
Starting point is 00:19:51 New coordinator. Right. 2018, second year with the coordinator. Big time bounce back. 4,500 yards, 33 touchdowns. Second year, Kyle Shanahan was his MVP season. Second year in the NFL, he played better when they switched coordinators. I'm sorry.
Starting point is 00:20:04 Second year in the NFL with the same coordinator. It's happened now, I think, four times in his career where they've changed coordinators on him. Every time the second year, he's been better. Does it bother you that he's never had consecutive 30 touchdown seasons? No. I like the fact that they made a concerted effort to upgrade his receiving court this season by giving Calden
Starting point is 00:20:20 Ridley, who will be better. Julio Jones is still playing at the top of his game. They need some help on the offensive line. The thing that I think will sway it for me a little bit if he stays at the sixth spot or goes down closer to 10 is will this defense bounce back? Because what we saw from this defense this season was a total disaster and put him in a lot of situations where he had to throw so much and be a lot more of a voluminous quarterback. That's I remember just having this conversation with Heath the other day. That was Heath's concern was he thought the volume wouldn't be there for him. But if the defense is going to be potentially elite,
Starting point is 00:20:53 which it could, they have a lot of good pass rushers. They have a great linebacker. They have good secondary, just injuries just killed them this season. So if they could be in the upper echelon of defense, that may hurt Matt Ryan a little bit. But I also think the offense, the run game is going to struggle
Starting point is 00:21:06 because who knows what's going to happen with Devontae Freeman. Tevin Coleman is most likely gone. And do they spend another draft pick on a guy like they did with Eel Smith this year? Okay, yeah. That's a great point. And we will talk more about quarterbacks during the offseason. Right now I want to talk about ZipRecruiter. You've got to do the smart thing all the time.
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Starting point is 00:22:26 Use it, people. It's really helpful. ZipRecruiter.com slash FFT. Zip Recruiter, the smartest way to hire. All right, more Week 17 stuff. Some slump busters. Are these guys going to break out? Are these guys going to break out of their slumps?
Starting point is 00:22:42 There we go. Speak. Jared Goff. Jared Goff. Jared Goff, four straight games with 18 or fewer fantasy points. Only 24 pass attempts last week. And he will face a 49ers team that has been pretty bad against quarterbacks, maybe getting a little bit better in their last five games or so. Is Jared Goff going to break out of the slump?
Starting point is 00:23:03 Big way. Big game coming. What makes you so confident? They need to win. They're playing at home. The only game he's had a bad game at home was that Eagles game two weeks ago. Of those four games, that was the only one he played at home. And he threw for like 330 yards or something in that game.
Starting point is 00:23:22 Right, and he just missed a few touchdowns. Jared Everett turned the wrong way on one. Todd Gurley dropped one on the one-yard line. He missed Josh Reynolds for a touchdown twice on the end of the game on that last fourth down throw. Prior to that game, his first six games at home, he was averaging 32.7 fantasy points per game. Wow. And he went for 20 at San Francisco earlier this season. I kind of like him, DFS.
Starting point is 00:23:45 Love him this week. Dave, any disagreement? No. Top 10 quarterback. The completion percentage was awesome last week. And that was at Arizona. I think this is an easier matchup for him at home against San Francisco. He can easily avoid Richard Sherman and throw against the other guys in that Niners D.
Starting point is 00:24:03 He should be fine. All right. Slump buster number two. How about Tyreek Hill? Tyreek Hill, four straight games without a touchdown. He did have a big game with 14 targets, 139 yards against Baltimore. But three of his last four games, pretty disappointing. And the Raiders actually, they don't give up a ton of big games to wide receivers. Do you have any concerns at all about Tyreek Hill? Nope. You should still start him. He also has been close to finding the end zone via big play or not. And Oakland's corners are all banged up. Gary and Conley didn't play last week. He's their
Starting point is 00:24:39 best corner. He might take away Hill a little bit if he plays, but even if he doesn't, it's still a great matchup for Tyreek Hill at home. Last one, Slump Buster. Did we talk about what Patrick Mahomes needs this week to clinch the MVP? You said it on the video show yesterday, but go ahead. Right. About 180 yards
Starting point is 00:24:59 and two more touchdowns, and he'll be the second quarterback ever with 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns. Wow he'll be the second quarterback ever with 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns. Yeah, wow. That's the MVP. He's the MVP. They're 100% going to get him into those numbers. Josh Adams.
Starting point is 00:25:14 I know most people aren't really depending on him, but could he be sneaky this week? He has three straight games with 21 to 36 rushing yards with a touchdown in there. He doesn't catch the ball, only four all season. Nice face, Dallas, the Rams, and the Texans. Rams have a bad run defense. Dallas and Houston certainly do not.
Starting point is 00:25:32 And he had 20 carries for 85 yards against the Redskins in his first meeting. Josh Adams is in a slump. Can he bust out of it this week? I think so. I think he's a low-end starter and non-PPR lead. GameScript is going to help him out a lot. I think my concern with Adams is that since that stretch against the Giants and the Redskins
Starting point is 00:25:52 where he had two straight good games with 20 carries, Sproles is more involved. Smallwood, you never know. Smallwood has had one 10 and one carry in his last three games. The 10 was when Adams had the back problem and kept leaving the game. And Smallwood had a hot hand.
Starting point is 00:26:09 Sproles had nine carries last week. So, yeah, I mean, it's interesting. That was a back-and-forth game where it was a lot of throwing. I think this is a game where Foles will get his numbers. Sproles will be involved in that regard. He scored three of his last four, but it's obviously hard to peg Sproles as a must-start guy. He's more of a close-your-eyes, peek through a couple fingers and hope that he does
Starting point is 00:26:28 well, finds the end zone potentially. But Adams, I think, will be in a game where he's getting 15 carries, and he feels very similar to Gus Edwards in the fact that, obviously, Edwards has been playing better, but they don't do anything in the passing game. You need a touchdown for them to be great. Edwards will probably get you 65 to 75 yards rushing. Adams is probably 55 to 65. But I do think both those guys have a chance to score. But I think this is a week you can buy back in Adams.
Starting point is 00:26:55 Okay. This is also a week where I think you can buy back into regulating. Two fantasy regulators to finish it out here in Week 17. This comes from John in Holiday, Florida. I have never heard of that place. Holiday, Florida. I'm going to – I'm regulating. I don't think this is a real place.
Starting point is 00:27:13 I'm in a points league that just accumulates points for the full 17 weeks with the top two teams getting prizes. I've been starting Jalen Samuels for the past three weeks at tight end because I'm stacked at running back. The commissioner just noticed it and called me a cheater, even though the system allows it. He took Samuels' points away and replaced them with Jared Cook, who's been on my bench for the past three weeks.
Starting point is 00:27:37 I protested, and I got the commissioner to agree to a league vote, and to my shock, they all voted with the commissioner. I'm in first place now by only five points after the adjustment going into the Monday night football game. This is a few days old, and Jared Cook did nothing there. Obi-Wan, you're my last hope slash appeal. Was I wronged, or am I a cheater?
Starting point is 00:27:56 This is atrocious. I feel all of the league voted against him? That's crazy. I mean, look, should he have been listed as a tight end? Obviously not. But it is what it is. And I'm going to assume it's Yahoo. They addressed it. They said that's what this was
Starting point is 00:28:11 what he was at the combine is what they listed him as. And that's what their policy is. And so if you play in a Yahoo league that allows him to be listed as a tight end unless prior to the season it was any position that a player is designated that does not play that position, you're going to change it. You're changing a vote in the middle of the season. A rule in the middle of the season, it was any position that a player is designated that does not play that position, you're going to change it. You're changing a vote in the middle of the season, a rule in the middle of the season.
Starting point is 00:28:29 It's absolutely, absolutely, this guy was robbed. I think the only other thing was you could have said when, maybe, maybe when Conor got hurt, you could have said you can pick up Jalen Samuels if he was a free agent. You can pick up a Jalen Samuels, but only as a running back. Right. That's what he should have done. But it didn't happen. That's what the commissioner should have done. Yeah. But the commissioner didn't do that. Right. And now retro changing
Starting point is 00:28:54 the points. It's terrible. Yeah, it's no good. Bad commissioning. It almost sounds like this is a personal thing against this guy. Well, I think, you know, the whole league obviously is going to vote against it because he was in first place. Of course. Yeah, but still there has to be more i would assume a portion of the league that realizes what the logic is behind this and and the the rationalization of what it is the right answer should have been you keep the points you accrued but you can't use them as a tight end
Starting point is 00:29:19 anymore yeah and uh well i don't know why should he still be able to use him as a tight end? If the commissioner really feels that strongly about the position eligibility thing, he could make that call. But it's unfair to take the points away now after he's been starting him as a tight end. All right. I consider this to be regulated. How about this one? Justin from the hometown of Harry Connick Jr. As Heath would say, I'm sorry, on that last one, Heath would tell that guy to quit the league.
Starting point is 00:29:50 By the way, Holiday, Florida is a northwest suburb of Tampa. Where's Harry Connick Jr. from? That's where this next email is. Is it in New Orleans? Yeah, I think so. That's where it's at, I think. Yeah, yeah. All right.
Starting point is 00:30:01 Somewhere in there. All right. Justin says, Dear Regulators, I was put in probably the toughest situation as an owner this past weekend. I'm the commissioner of my league, and I was playing my best friend and arch rival for years in the championship. Todd Gurley is sitting in my flex position, and we're in a close game heading into the late games.
Starting point is 00:30:20 My entire bench had started at noon. Once I received the news that Gurley was not playing, I attempted to drop Todd Gurley for C.J. Anderson. But Gurley is considered undroppable. I spoke to the owner an hour before and explained what the undroppable rule was in place for and explained that no one has an advantage by me dropping Todd Gurley since it was the last game of the season. He said, rules are rules. What are your thoughts on this situation? I can promise you we're changing this rule next year
Starting point is 00:30:49 because we have never had to deal with collusion in our eight years of our league. I think the other guy said it best. What? Rules are rules. Rules are rules. Yeah, Justin, why didn't you add him during the week or Sunday morning? Really? Before the game's locked.
Starting point is 00:31:03 I had a different take on this because I think the undroppable thing is kind of stupid. I agree, but we've kind of established throughout the course of our regulating that if the rules are in place prior to a situation or prior to the season starting, that's what it is. And so
Starting point is 00:31:19 if he knew that the lineups were, that Gurley would be locked or lineups locked or whatever the situation may be. As Dave said, he should have been able to he should have been proactive and picked up C.J. Anderson or somebody who played in the four o'clock games and been able to swap that player out because Gurley is on a drop list. Yeah, I was judicious here, unlike the commissioner and the previous regulator who just decides to change the rules in the middle of the most important time of the year. You're right. That's a good point. And, yeah, the thing that I didn't really consider was, like, he knew the rule. He had time to address it.
Starting point is 00:31:53 He didn't address it. So I'm sorry, Justin, from New Orleans. That's where Harry Connick Jr. is from. We don't support you. You've been regulated. Have you guys ever seen the movie Copycat with Harry Connick Jr.? I think I have. And Sigourney Weaver?
Starting point is 00:32:08 Yes, that's a great movie. I like that movie a lot. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I want to see that movie again. Is that the one where he tries to kill her in the bathroom too? Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:32:18 I want to look at – I don't know why. I was like, hey, what should we talk about? How about the red zone? What's going on in the red zone? What's going on inside the 20-yard line? Here are your red zone target leaders. And this is something I love about Packers wide receivers. Aaron Rodgers falls in love with guys in the red zone.
Starting point is 00:32:36 A lot of times it's two guys, but this year it was just Devontae Adams, and he is leading in red zone targets. Oddly enough, he is not in the top 10 in targets inside the 10-yard line, but he's leading in red zone targets. Oddly enough, he is not in the top 10 in targets inside the 10-yard line, but he's leading in red zone targets. How about Juju Smith-Schuster? He is second in red zone targets, third in targets inside the 10, and he only has six touchdowns. Michael Thomas is third in red zone targets.
Starting point is 00:32:59 Ertz, four. Kamara, five. Antonio Brown, DeAndre Hopkins, Travis Kelsey, Odell Beckham, and then we've got like a three-way tie for 10th with Ebron, Adam Thielen, and James White. There's a lot of high-end players here. Adam Schuster, Smith Schuster, Michael Thomas, Ertz, Camara, Antonio Brown, Hopkins, Kelsey, Beckham, Ebron, Thielen, and James White. Pretty much only high-end players. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:33:28 Does anything jump out at you guys when you look at red zone target leaders? Where's Julio Jones? Good question because he was among the leaders last year. But he goes back and forth. He's probably not far in recent weeks. Yeah. But this is part of the problem with Atlanta just in general. We would feel so much better about Matt Ryan
Starting point is 00:33:48 if Julio Jones was in this list all the time. Why is he not consistently... Matt Ryan was fantastic without Julio Jones being on this list. He was the number three quarterback of the season. So if Julio Jones gets more red zone targets, then he'll obviously just increase his value. You wouldn't feel better about him if he leaned on his number one receiver more inside the 20?
Starting point is 00:34:06 I mean, I think he leans on his number one receiver quite a bit. So the touchdowns, if he's getting them from other people, it's not necessarily a huge issue. It's more of a Julio Jones problem than a Matt Ryan problem. The odd thing is, let's look at Julio Jones. This will take me just a second. Julio Jones red zone targets last four years. Two good Ryan years, two not so good. So let's see.
Starting point is 00:34:25 So he was like seventh. He had 22 in 2015. Then in Matt Ryan's MVP season, he was way outside the top 10. Julio Jones had 10 red zone targets. Last year, he was among the leaders. 2017, another down year for Matt Ryan. Julio Jones had, where are you Julio Jones? Sorry everybody.
Starting point is 00:34:50 He had 19. He was like top 12. And then this year he's got 14 red zone targets. And he's a ways off from the leaderboard. But Austin Hooper has the 10th most targets inside the 10. So he's been looking at him. Ryan's been looking at Hooper. Yeah, so that's interesting.
Starting point is 00:35:09 One thing that I noticed, Odell Beckham. Odell Beckham is the only player, I think, in the top 10 in red zone targets that's missed time this year. Don't think anybody else has. And he is only catching 35% of his red zone targets and that is incredibly low. That is like, has nothing to do with
Starting point is 00:35:33 Eli Manning. That is just fluky low. Maybe it has something to do with Eli Manning, but it doesn't account for everything. How many of those targets are throwaways that he was the closest guy, so the statistician at the game assigns it to Beckham? Maybe. But his 16-game pace is this.
Starting point is 00:35:51 103 catches, 1,403 yards, 8 touchdowns. Touchdowns are a little low because he's catching 35% of his red zone targets. But I think that Beckham is definitely going to be like a little bit of a down arrow next to him going into next year's draft. Especially compared to – Yeah, a little bit. In terms of what you expect from him statistically? In terms of he's definitely not a top three pick at wide receiver next year. I mean, he's going to be behind Adams, behind Hopkins, probably behind Brown.
Starting point is 00:36:26 Yeah. He'll be behind Julio. Behind Julio. So he's probably fifth. He's fifth, but he's probably 12 picks later in the draft. There'll be more running backs that go. He will be a second round pick. He was barely a first round pick this year. I think the shine will be off of Beckham a little bit, and my
Starting point is 00:36:42 point is, if he had been a little bit more efficient in the red zone, he's on pace for a monster year. Over 100 catches, over 1,400 yards, and he should have a double-digit touchdown year again. We had this conversation on FFT yesterday with the tight ends. It'll be interesting to see if Beckham goes before Kelsey Ertz. That is a great question. I would take Kelsey over him.
Starting point is 00:37:07 And I might take Ertz over him too. Dave? I feel like if you're taking one, you're taking the other over him. I'm not sure where I come out on it yet. I mean, you're not going to get those guys anywhere close if you miss them in round two. So it just comes down to, can you find another Odell Beckham? Well, can you get George Kittle in round three if you find another Odell Beckham? Well, can you get George Kittle in round three if you pass on Ertz and Kelsey? I think you're going to see in the first 25 picks,
Starting point is 00:37:32 because somebody at the swing wants Kelsey and Ertz off the board because they're not making it to the end of round two, you're going to see George Kittle go at the swing spot, which is where Ertz was going this year. Yeah. So it's going to be those first three tight ends are going to go in the first 25 overall picks. So it just comes down to...
Starting point is 00:37:51 I mean, obviously it's different for 10-team leagues, but I think you can... I'm going to take Kelsey and Ertz for sure. I'm not going to take Kittle over Beckham, but I'm going to take Kelsey and Ertz over him. If we look at target leaders inside the 10-yard line, it's Hopkins, Michael Thomas, Juju Smith-Schuster. Oh, Thomas will probably go ahead of Beckington.
Starting point is 00:38:09 Yeah. Travis Kelsey, Jared Cook, Chris Godwin, Zach Ertz, Julian Edelman, T.Y. Hilton, and Austin Hooper. That's a more interesting list. You've got some tight ends on there. You've got Kelsey Ertz, but also Jared Cook. You've got Chris Godwin. I think a lot of that was early. And T.Y. Hilton.
Starting point is 00:38:34 T.Y. Hilton, I mean, he really changed with Luck. When Luck earlier in the year wasn't throwing downfield, Hilton became a short yardage guy, a red zone guy. It's not something we had seen. Now he can't score touchdowns, but he gets like 178 yards every week. Also, Austin Hooper on here. And Edelman maybe has picked up the touchdown slack, you know, with Gronkowski. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:39:00 Edelman's had a great year. He's the number 10 wide receiver in PPR since he returned. It's amazing since he missed four games. No, no, no. Sorry. Since he returned, Jamie. Hilton versus Beckham will be an interesting conversation. Yeah, I got to go Beckham there. I would too, but I think it's certainly close.
Starting point is 00:39:17 So Edelman has five touchdowns in 11 games. His career high is seven. This is his third highest touchdown total in his career. His career high is 7. This is his third highest touchdown total in his career. Okay. Those are your red zone leaders. What was your potential bet with him, with Heath, for Edelman versus Fitzgerald?
Starting point is 00:39:35 Gosh, I really don't remember. But, yeah, I won that one. I do wonder if sitting out four games helped him. Because if you recall, he was like, in the preseason, I'm just not right. You know, coming off the ACL. I never believed him for a second. You don't think so?
Starting point is 00:39:50 Him, look, he probably didn't feel right. I don't think this was Doug Baldwin saying, I'm not 100%. He just probably didn't feel comfortable with what he was doing. Yeah. Well, either way, I'll take it. All right, we're going to get into some of Adam's. By the way, speaking of Julian Edelman, my wife and kids love him because of the book that he wrote. He wrote a book?
Starting point is 00:40:09 He wrote a book. The name of it is Escapism. But it's about him as a squirrel. And he plays football with a goat that wears number 11. Oh, it's Flying High. Flying High. And it's about overcoming the inability to be considered a standout athlete. Oh, okay.
Starting point is 00:40:30 And so my wife read it at my older son's classroom, and the kids loved it. And so now she keeps telling me, which I'm not going to do because it's just not something I do. She's like, you've got to tweet at Julian Edelman and tell him how much we love the book. Well, I have good news. I'm not going to do that, so I'll say it here. Julian Edelman, if you're listening, we love the book. Well, I have good news. I'm not going to do that, so I'll say it here. Julian Edelman, if you're listening, we love your book. Yeah, and Julian Edelman's Flying High is selling for just a pre-owned edition. Just $114.75 on eBay right now.
Starting point is 00:40:57 So... You're saying I should go home and sell it? Yes, absolutely. Are you kidding? Wow. It also led to a funny conversation that we had in our green room when I brought up the story of the book and Pete Prisco drink. Thought I said Julie Nettleman. Julie Nettleman?
Starting point is 00:41:13 Yes. And he thought that was an author, Julie Nettleman. That's good. All right. We're going to talk about Adam's random fantasy football thoughts and read your emails and tweets right after this. Kick off an exciting football season with BetMGM, an official sportsbook partner of the National Football League. Yard after yard, down after down,
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Starting point is 00:42:17 at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. So here are some random fantasy football thoughts from your, your host Adam Azer, who's going to miss all of you in January. Uh,
Starting point is 00:42:33 I love super flex, huge fan. I want to play more of it. You guys can react to everything I say. Um, did you play a quarterback in your super flex spot every time? Yup. And I shouldn't have.
Starting point is 00:42:47 No. Week 16. I'm assuming you're talking about our flex league, right? I have two super flex leagues. One of them is PPR Dynasty. Are they both four points for passing touchdowns? No, one was six. Okay, so that's a different conversation.
Starting point is 00:43:00 Four points for passing touchdowns, it changes the philosophy. I started Alfred Blue over Ryan Tannehill in week 17, conversation i four points for passing touchdowns it changes the philosophy i started alfred blue over ryan tannahill in week 17 and thankfully they did yeah week 16 they're both terrible and it didn't matter um but that was actually i had gotten to the point where i said you know what i i'm gonna stop just automatically starting quarterbacks i this is not worth it so um no i don't think look hopefully you have good enough quarterbacks where you is not worth it. So, no, I don't think... Look, hopefully you have good enough quarterbacks where you can start them every week,
Starting point is 00:43:28 but if you don't, especially in PPR, don't be afraid to mix it up. Should Superflex be 10 teams or 12 teams? I'm fine with either one. Yeah, it could be both, but I think it's obviously more challenging in 12-team leagues. Okay, another random thought from me.
Starting point is 00:43:46 I'm still not sure how I feel about IDP. Not sure. What do you mean? I don't know how much I like it. I enjoyed it this year, but I think it's because my team was really good. But you're usually pretty good in that league. Yeah. I just don't know if it's because of the IDPs.
Starting point is 00:44:02 I think it's because everybody else puts so much focus on IDP, and I don't. I kind of stream the defensive players. I never really do either once I get my linebacker spot and at least one pass rusher locked up, and then it's just kind of, okay, I'll stream a lot of that. It's funny. We do the exact same thing, all three of us.
Starting point is 00:44:21 I like to get one or two IDPs that I can count on week in and week out. And then every week I'm looking to see if I can improve on all the other IDPs I have. Yeah, yeah, pretty much. It's kind of like streaming tight end, except I'm doing it with like seven different positions. And it's a bigger pain in the butt. I will say this, the league that you're referencing, it's a league we do with analysts from other sites, two of which, at least over the years of us doing this league, have been considered two of the
Starting point is 00:44:48 guys that people should follow for IDP advice. Justin Fialkow and Gary Davenport. Gary's one of the best, as is Justin. So they're very competitive in this league, and they focus very heavily on the defensive guys. And Justin was the number one seed going into the playoffs. Oh, he was?
Starting point is 00:45:04 Yes. I think Heath upset him. No. Right. Like, I didn't make the finals in that league because of my IDPs. You did make the finals. It wasn't because of your IDPs. No, but I think the key to that league is not necessarily what you do on the draft in terms of your IDPs. It's what you do throughout the
Starting point is 00:45:19 season at IDP. The years where I've had success in this league is because I've ended up streaming to a point where I find guys that are good. And I did it with our Dynasty League too, where because he's a defensive tackle, nobody drafted Chris Jones. And my starting
Starting point is 00:45:36 we only play two defensive linemen. I have a combination of Joey Bosa, Cam Jordan, and no, Joey Bosa, Chris Jones, Mark Statenport. I had somebody else for a while on there. But if you hit on the right guys, and Corey Littleton wasn't drafted in that league. I have Corey Littleton.
Starting point is 00:45:55 You end up with the right guys, you're in great shape. You don't have to necessarily draft the right guys, but you have to end up with the right guys. Well, yeah, and I think that— You can't have duds at those, especially in that IDp league where we play a full roster of idp guys i think that there are so few people out there fantasy analysts or not that know defensive players the way we know offensive players so that just means that there are just going to be guys on the waiver wire that we didn't know about you know we didn't think about it that that have emerged. And it's just, yeah, it doesn't make sense to invest heavily in defensive players, in my opinion, in IDP.
Starting point is 00:46:30 Well, it does if you're getting the stars who are the stars. I mean, when you get Landon Collins in the year that he has, when he's great, if you get Gary Stunner this year. I have Aaron Donald, but I wouldn't invest in two. I would like to have one stud. But I don't know. Again, it depends how deep you go. If you play like ours, which is two defensive linemen, three linebackers, three DBs,
Starting point is 00:46:51 you've got to have at least two stars and three middle-of-the-road guys, and then stream the rest. But you don't have to get them on draft day because they're so interchangeable. You might. You might, but I don't know. I never do. I don't know. It wasn't really about strategy. It You might, but I don't know. I never do. I don't know. It wasn't really about strategy. I just don't know if I like it.
Starting point is 00:47:10 I think that's what it kind of comes down to. But you don't like most things that are fun. That's true. I'll tell you one thing I'm over. Another Adam A's or random fantasy thought. I'm over standard scoring. I don't think I want to do it anymore. A lot of people are. It's funny because I think a lot of people this year were actually wanting to go back to it. My next random fantasy thought, let's just all do half PPR. It's funny because I think a lot of people this year were actually wanting to go back to it.
Starting point is 00:47:26 My next random fantasy thought, let's just all do half PPR. It'll make everything easier for everybody. And decimal scoring. Decimal scoring, half PPR, yes. Remind me of this when I set up all the mock drafts next year. And my final random fantasy thought,
Starting point is 00:47:41 I felt this way about baseball after the year I said this about our fantasy baseball season and football. Fantasy success so often comes down to how your first two picks performed. Do you mean drafting Hugh Darvish in the fifth round is a bad pick? First two picks. First two picks. But drafting Hugh Darvish in the first five picks. No, for me it was drafting Chris Bryan and Charlie Blackman with my first two picks.
Starting point is 00:48:06 For me, it was drafting Melvin Gordon a lot in football. I had a great year because of it, you know? But if I had drafted Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette, I probably would have loved my team on draft day. You can overcome it and get in. You mean you didn't draft Dalvin Cook a lot of your leagues? I didn't draft Dalvin Cook in one league, luckily. Dodged the bullet.
Starting point is 00:48:22 You can overcome it. It was the bullet that you left. You put it in the barrel. I shot it, but I dodged it. What was I going to say? Okay, you can overcome it and have a good year by playing the waivers. You can't. I don't think you can win a fantasy league if you missed on your first two picks.
Starting point is 00:48:41 It so often comes down to that. Not unless you got lucky and James Conner wasn't drafted and you picked him up, or Phillip Lindsey, same thing. You picked him up. I mean, those guys are league winners. They are. Just, you know, there's so much that goes into it, and a lot of it is like, did your stud stay healthy? And that's just part
Starting point is 00:48:57 of it. I won a league personally. I was on a roster of a team that won. That's right. We got an email earlier this year about this guy who showed up to his draft, hung over, and he always wins, and they can't stand him for it or something. And he wrote in
Starting point is 00:49:14 Jamie Eisenberg with his third-to-last pick, I think. 15th round pick out of 17. And it's funny, because I tweeted the draft board, and the team that picked number one, here, I'll tell you, was so stacked. I'd like to know how it all unfolded because it's just like the common response was how did that guy not win with the number one overall pick? He had Gurley.
Starting point is 00:49:40 Here, listen to this. This is the team with number one over pick. Gurley, McCaffrey, Keenan Allen, Juju, Amari Cooper, Josh Gordon, Chris Carson, Kirk Cousins, Julian Edelman, Trey Burton, Sonny Michelle. Wow. There's somebody else. Who is that? Oh, Adrian Peterson with the second to last pick. And his last pick is Philip Rivers. The team that drafted me.
Starting point is 00:50:03 Me. Ezekiel Elliott, Mike Evans, T.Y. Hilton, Zach Ertz, Russell Wilson, Sammy Watkins, Mark Ingram, Andrew Luck, Sterling Shepard, Ronald Jones, the Jags defense, Jordan Wilkins, Stephen Gostkowski, Cordero Patterson, me. Me. Who went after me? That's still a pretty good haul. It's not as good as the first team uh deshaun jackson and john brown what were what's the circumstance in someone drafting jamie eisberg was he drunk was he trying to like i've had this once before where someone looked at my waiver wire column and thought that i was the guy who was being recommended to be
Starting point is 00:50:44 picked up and i wonder if and i think if I remember the story, Adam, you may have the email in front of you, the guy said something like he looked at a sleeper's list or a mock draft or something, and my name was on it, and that's what he just looked at it quickly. That's really funny. Yeah, well, congratulations, Jamie. The guy won, and Jamie was a big part of it.
Starting point is 00:51:03 Yeah, just 10 minutes ago I got a tweet. How didn't Joe win? Joe was the guy with the first. 17 minutes ago. Can you tweet back? How did the guy with the first pick not win? Look at that roster. So you can obviously tweet somebody who was in the league
Starting point is 00:51:12 if they're sending a picture of the draft board. We should find out how you got drafted. He told us the story. It's on the email when he first sent it. Last year we welcomed an experienced drafter into our league based on my suggestion. Although he showed up to our draft hungover, unprepared, fell asleep during the draft, failed to set a valid lineup week one, and didn't know what waiver wire priority meant until the playoffs, he still won the championship.
Starting point is 00:51:37 The commissioner decided before the playoffs that he would not be invited back, unknowing that he would be our champion. Fast forward to today. This is an email that was sent on August 27th. Fast forward to today. He was not invited back and is severely hurt about it. He happened to be invited to a different league I'm in where he failed to pick more than one starting running back and actually wrote in Jamie Eisenberg in
Starting point is 00:51:55 the 15th round. And this guy won the league. Let's read some emails and finish up here with emails and tweets. James from the state known as America's armpit. That's Jersey. Dear Randy, Rick, Dave, and Hunter. That is evolution. Okay.
Starting point is 00:52:17 10-team PPR league, crazy rushing and passing bonuses with a double flex spot. Winner take all. I guess he just wants to know if there's anybody on his bench that he should replace starter with. He's starting Mahomes. His running backs are Mixon and Chubb. He has Fournette and Marlon Mack, Damian Williams, Jamal Williams, and CJ Anderson on his bench. Yeah. Replace both running backs. With who? Williams and Williams? Dam. Anderson on his bench. Yeah. Replace both running backs. With who? Williams and Williams?
Starting point is 00:52:48 Damian and Jamal? I think Damian's got to be in there in a full PPR. I put him in there along with Jamal. Nah, or maybe C.J. Let's go with Jamal for now, and if Gurley's out, and we hear that Gurley's going to be out, then C.J. would replace him. Remember, he has two flexes, too. His wide receivers are Hopkins and
Starting point is 00:53:07 Juju. On the bench, he has Edelman. Just stick with Hopkins and Juju. Tight end is Herndon. I think that's his only tight end. His flexes are T.Y. Hilton and Chris Carson, and it's PPR. Carson, too. Do you take out Carson and put in Mixon,
Starting point is 00:53:23 Chubb, CJ.J. Anderson, Jamal Williams, Damian, like, you know, Edelman? No. Okay. Yeah, I'm thinking no. You wouldn't put in Edelman for Carson in PPR knowing Carson might, you know. They're playing the Cardinals. Yeah, but they have nothing to play for.
Starting point is 00:53:47 They do have something to play for. They do, they do. I might be a tad worried about Carson if Rashad Penny ends up playing. Not to bench him, though. It's funny because Carson versus Edelman, like, Carson is down six points right from the start. Is he? Probably. Carson has scored
Starting point is 00:54:06 at least 20 PPR points in two games in a row. Has Edelman? 20? Probably not 20. When you think about Chris Carson, you don't think about the catches. He had zero catches last week. And what, six the week before or something? Six the week before, which was uncommon
Starting point is 00:54:23 for him. You're asking about the last two weeks for Julian Edelman? The last three weeks he has 23, 16, and 19 fantasy points. All right, fine. Pat from Ohio. We know him. Which team? Say it the way he would say it. What is up, fellas?
Starting point is 00:54:41 Playing for most points. Which team at quarterback? I want to be a cowboy, baby. Or the Bears. That was terrible. Yeah, let's leave being Pat to Pat. Cowboys or Bears this week? Quarterback.
Starting point is 00:55:00 Team quarterback. Bears. Yeah. From Chris, should our league eliminate the tight end position and replace it with tight end wide receiver? I'm in a league that does that, and I love it. I hate it. Like, why make things so easy on yourself?
Starting point is 00:55:16 No. Drafting tight ends requires strategy and stress. It's the weak way out. That's right. Make fantasy football less fun. From Alexa, should I keep Kittle for an eighth-round pick or Gallaudet for a tenth-round pick? PPR.
Starting point is 00:55:31 I think I'd lean Kittle. From Can't Read Your Name, CT Fox. Can't read your Twitter handle. That's Nicky Fox. Okay. Who would you rather keep for next season? I know him. Le'Veon Bell or David Johnson, PPR?
Starting point is 00:55:46 Who do I keep next season? We have to make this call now? You could change it later. I'm taking David Johnson now. Johnson's younger. The long-term outlook is better for him than it is for Le'Veon. I don't want the Raiders running back. What if it's the Colts running back?
Starting point is 00:56:03 Different conversation. I don't think the Colts sign him, though. Chiefs running back. No chance Chiefs. Eagles running back. No if it's the Colts running back. Different conversation. I don't think the Colts. Chiefs running back. No chance. Eagles running back. No chance. Eagles. Jets running back. Take it. From Alistair. I heard you say the Bears aren't likely to play their guy. Should I drop the Bears DST for the Seahawks?
Starting point is 00:56:18 Absolutely. Yes. From Matthias. Jameis, Josh Allen, or Foles this week? Foles. Foles and six points for passing touchdowns. Allen and four points for passing touchdowns. From Colby, what's the appropriate amount of time to pay the winner of your money league? By the Super Bowl.
Starting point is 00:56:36 The real Super Bowl. From ThatFFNerd, who's the better one? Hold on a second. Hold on a second. If you're going to take that long to pay the person who won, at least let them know it's going to take that long. Yeah. Don't just keep them in the dark. Sure.
Starting point is 00:56:49 Jamie, thank you for letting me know. What do I owe you for? Which league? $250 for 2QB. Well, you owe me some money, too. I do, yeah. So a little less. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:57:00 So pipe down there. Who's the better wide receiver for Carolina this week, DJ Moore or Curtis Samuel? Find somebody on the team to buy into their wide receiver core. I agree, but it's Curtis Samuel. He had 13 targets last week. Yeah, it's Samuel. Daniel Hathaway, my question is—
Starting point is 00:57:18 Who's the quarterback for Carolina this week? Curtis Samuel's going to play quarterback. Why did it take Pete Prisco drink this long to admit Russell Wilson is a special player who is one of the best quarterbacks in the league? That's a great question. He, by the way, put drink in the question. That's funny. Dylan Raspberry. Great name.
Starting point is 00:57:37 If Rob Gronkowski plays next year, where are you drafting him and which tight ends are you taking before him? We had this conversation. He is on FFT. You can go watch back the full discussion if you are extremely interested. He's the seventh tight end for me off the board right now behind Kelsey Ertz, Kittle, Ebron, Hunter Henry,
Starting point is 00:57:57 and OJ Howard. I would take him not before round six. I have the exact same six tight ends ahead of him. And I'm thinking like round seven or round eight is the earliest I would take Gronk. I'm going to let somebody else take him. Wayne from a friendly town in Michigan. Don't you dare say Grand Rapids.
Starting point is 00:58:21 Fine. Average Rapids. Dear Paul, Gene, Ace, and Peter. There's your kiss. Six points for passing touchdown leagues. Lamar Jackson, Jameis Winston, or Derek Carr? Lamar Jackson. That's close with Winston.
Starting point is 00:58:38 Oh, another one from Matthias, this time via email. Maybe the first one was via email, too. Yeah, it was. Marlon Mack, Robbie Anderson, or Gus Edwards? Flex. PPR. Anderson, Mack, or Edwards? Mack. Yeah, I would lean toward Mack. It's close though, because Anderson and PPR
Starting point is 00:58:55 still have his catches. Alright guys, that is it. Thank you so much, Dave and Jamie. We'll be back tomorrow. I forgot one more tight end ahead of Bronco. Oh, who's that, Jamie? Same initial as Gronk. Oh, as Gronk, yeah. Rob, can you figure out what his name is?
Starting point is 00:59:13 Gotta go by Kowski. Yes! There we go. We're out of here, everybody. We'll talk to you starters at AFC tomorrow. Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na! Everybody, we'll talk to you starters at AFC tomorrow.

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