Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast - Starts of the Week + Week 15 Breakdown, Sketchtown? - Fantasy Football Podcast for 12/14

Episode Date: December 14, 2023

Week 15 playoff preview! On today’s fantasy football podcast, lots of matchup breakdowns with start sit dilemmas! Which studs are unbenchable despite the circumstances? Plus, Starts of the Week, injury updates, and the Boom Boom Kicker! Manage your redraft, keeper, and dynasty fantasy football teams with the #1 fantasy football podcast. -- Fantasy Football Podcast for December 14th, 2023. Connect with the show: Subscribe on YouTube Visit us on the Web Support the Show Follow on Twitter Follow on Instagram Join our Discord Check out today's sponsors: News & Notes presented by USAA. Visit https://USAA.com/Insurance Starts of the Week presented by Purina Pro Plan. Visit https://www.purina.com/pro-plan/dogs/sport-dog-food?utm_campaign=prp-sport2023&utm_medium=display&utm_source=youtube_spotify_callout&utm_content=cr-fantasy_football_podcast_sponsorship_pt-na&utm_term= Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by McDonald's. Monopoly is back at McDonald's, everybody. This is an alert. It's time to get back to Mickey D's. Monopoly Double Play is back at McDonald's, and it's easy to get into the win. First, you peel on pack, and then again in the app. There are millions of prizes to be won,

including a new chance to win cash every minute in the app. Get into the game with Monopoly Double Play at McDonald's. While supplies last, one in five chances to win game piece prizes at outset, chances to win Double Play prizes based on time of code entry, and draw prizes based on number of entries in each draw. See rules in the app. Get a credit card annual fee waiver and earn C-plus points faster with the Scotiabank Ultimate Package and bank more entertainment. Learn more at scotiabank.com slash banking packages. Conditions apply. Scotiabank. You're richer than you think. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright.

Welcome in. It's playoff time. I like it. I like the way you went. I expected something about the Thursday night game, and I'm glad you didn't go there. Let's focus on the big picture, baby. I'm on Saturday, boys. Triple header.

Yeah. Yeah, just Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, right? Or do we not have Monday this week? We probably have Monday. Yeah, we have Monday. We do, right? Yeah, you only don't. They skip Monday on the week 18,

which for those of you out there that are playing on week 18, we will unfortunately still be doing a show for you, but you shouldn't be playing a championship on week 18. Do we have five episodes in week 18, or when do we start punishing people for this? Brooks? I think we have four because of the holiday oh gosh we should probably take two days for new year's days yeah yeah i think so

monday night is a great game monday's the eagles and the hawks seahawks oh well that's fun um welcome in it is playoff time matchup previews on today's show we have our starts of the week we also have a story. We do? This is news to me. I hope I'm not telling it. I hope I'm not the butt of the joke. No, I was almost the butt of the joke.

Oh, let's hear it. I didn't know whether I'd share this because there's some nuance here. But Mike wasn't in the studio when it transpired. So I get to tell Mike this. Ah, yes. From beginning to end of what took place. Okay. Now, do you know what I'm talking about, Mike? No clue. Okay.

Well, we have always said that maybe you've got a bye week. You need to prepare for the next week. Fantasy players in general, you play defense, right? You try to keep quarterbacks away from an opponent that doesn't have a quarterback. You pick up the right defense. You notice your possible opponent. Now, Jason just knows what I'm about to tell you. This story, it's unbelievable. So I was hesitant to say it because- It better be good now, boys.

Well, listen, this is what happened in our League of Record yesterday, and I want to share it because genuinely it's genius. And I hate to say that when bringing up papa josh papa josh almost pulled off one of the most devious evil genius smart terrible moves that i have ever seen basically what he was going to do is extreme wise game theory, playing the game at the complete and utter detriment of you. At the highest level. Yeah. And so here is the – I'm going to set the table, Mike,

so that you understand what took place yesterday. Okay. My opponent this week in our League of Record has Justin Herbert. Had. Had. Had. So I know that in my playoff matchup, he is going to take his shot on the waiver wire for a quarterback for this week. He also has no fab.

Had no fab. No fab. And I have $1 of fab. Of fab. So I knew that I could use my $1 to protect myself from him having Matthew Stafford. Yeah, there's one great player on the waivers. Matthew Stafford is on the waivers.

That is correct. And then I had some backup claims in. I had a couple spots I was going to fill up to play defense because I also have the waiver priority on him for a tie bid. So I'm shooting for Matthew Stafford with my dollar. Then I was shooting for Geno Smith. And going from there. Here is where things get insane. Waiver wires process.

Papa Josh has a buy this week. Papa Josh already has Tua Tungavailoa and Justin Fields on his roster. I look at the waiver wire. Papa Josh signed Matthew Stafford for $2. My dollar ended up going into the bid for Geno Smith to block Geno Smith. My opponent ends up with Joe Flacco. That's where it went. But I start thinking to myself, I go, why did you sign Matthew Stafford? You were asking me.

You're like, why would he sign Matthew Stafford? He doesn't need him. He doesn't need to block him. It's not helping. He wants to actually play your opponent this week. That's right. I'm like, why wouldn't you try to let him through? Your team is better than your opponent's and he's going to

play the winner of that most likely. So he wants your opponent to win and somehow he blocked your opponent from getting Matthew Stafford. It made no sense. So I go out there and I look at him and I go, Josh, why did you sign Matthew Stafford? This makes no sense. You don't need him. You're not playing this week and his matchup sucks next week against New Orleans.

And he just stares at me. And then I ask him again and he just stares at me. And then finally, finally, I find out his purpose. And it was advanced. Next level genius. He paid the $2 for Matthew Stafford so that he could sign him to his team i would burn my one dollar of fab oh now he's gonna cut him and then he will immediately

cut matthew stafford so my opponent can pick matthew stafford oh because he knew he would be okay so he made andy waste his fab he burned fab. Okay. All because he wants to defeat me. He's leaning into his, what is, I say the evil. His devil ways. Yeah, his enemy of Andy mindset. Villain arc. Yeah, he's leaning into the villain arc. And I am flabbergasted.

And I can't even. That's a great move. I was going to say, I can't even complain on the grounds. It's not collusion. He didn't work with the opponent for it. He just wants to beat me. He wants me to be eliminated. Now I. Andy is able to say this story right now. Yes.

For one reason. And share it as. I just went and looked. Because after that waiver claim. After he burned my fab. After you burned your fab your opponent did use his waiver priority to then pick someone up. So now you, Andy. I'm 11th in waiver priority, and he is 12th. So you are okay if Matthew Stafford gets dropped?

I wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't be here today if he had pulled that off. It was genius. So now if Stafford gets dropped, I can still pick him up. Can you believe that, Mike? No, not really that is an intellect that yeah we had no idea ever shared with this office right we've been waiting for something like this just give me a sign of life poking with a stick and it's like wait this is in

you yeah if you if you channel his brain to evil he has advanced IQ channel it towards production here in the studio can't do anything can't do anything at all yeah how do I use this computer I don't he doesn't even know how there you go I mean that's that is a strategy that I don't think I've ever

walked through can you believe that so look ladies and gentlemen there are still things to look ladies and gentlemen there are still things to be unturned there are there are moves to figure out i honestly i i know i was probably due to my bias not able like had he pulled it off where i didn't get lucky enough with the waiver claim my bias would not have allowed me to commend him no but in the moment i would employ him yeah i mean be like sorry you you know we've changed the code on the door you're not welcome here i mean brooks did you you heard all this transpire yesterday were

you mind blown that josh had this in him uh a little bit but josh i don't know yeah it was evil genius yes i think his co-manager had some of the brains there i'm gonna give him a shout out but um okay it was uh it was quite the move and just yeah i had to tell the story because it was so good it genuinely was a great great move and totally legal legal evil can be had that is that's 40 chess right there. It really was. That's exactly the phrase Andy used yesterday. What's funny is- Oh, yeah. Let's tell that part.

Yeah. So I walk in the room. I hear this, and I'm like, I can't believe it. And I try to say nothing. I leave. I leave the room, and then I- He didn't want to praise Josh in front of him. Yeah.

Well, I didn't want him to know. It was just one of those things where I didn't want to encourage him to drop Matthew Stafford. At this point, I didn't know you had the waiver prior. You were just trying to stay out of it. Yeah, I was just trying to stay out of it. So I was leaving, and I was like, Andy, come talk to me outside. And I go, dude, that's a brilliant move. He did nothing wrong.

That's the smartest move. If he drops it. We agreed. I mean, we were both like, oh, my gosh oh my god he was like that was legit 4d chess so it's it's not a prescriptive thing for the future in the sense that this took an opponent who had a an injury a waiver wire that had one replacement uh the opponent of the opponent who only has one dollar fab like this is not specific not repeatable but it is an example of looking at your matchups, looking at the future, looking at what their needs are,

and how you can try to overcome and hurt your opponent. That is fine. That is not collusion when you are just trying to better your team by using the mechanics of the platform. It was genius, and exactly what you said. If you could give yourself a 1% advantage for your playoff matchup, a half a percent advantage, like there's luck involved. Let's not pretend that there's not a ton of luck involved.

So anything you can stack up to help yourself, huge benefit. Had to share it. We've got some NFL news to catch you up on, and let's do it right now. News and notes from around the league presented by usaa insurance the best part of this papa josh villain arc in general has been like in between his evil moves he posts like he tweets like yes like. Yes, like he's the pope. Like he's the authority on morality and ethics. Oh, he's just there to encourage you and tell you how to be humble and kind.

Look, I mean, his last tweet, seeing a lot of questions on collusion. It's 100% acceptable to block an opponent. It is not acceptable to recruit other people. Make sure you act with integrity. You villain. All right, NFL news. Let's catch you up on the Thursday night game. I am going to take some responsibility here on what has transpired in the game

because I saw the over-under was 34, and I'm like, oh, they're going to knock that out of the park. A few moments later, Keenan Allen ruled out with a heel injury. Yesterday, we had such a long Keenan Allen debate, and eventually we got to the point where we were like, let's just wait until tomorrow

to make a conclusion. Well, it's been made for you. If there's anything to be said here, like Mike was tortured by Keenan Allen saying, start me last year, or two years ago, and then all of a sudden he was hurt. This is the advantage of knowledge. So Keenan Allen has been ruled out. I didn't see it coming.

None of us did. Everybody's asking now, oh, do you just start Joshua Palmer with no issue? It's like, oh, there's issues. Issues. East and stick. Raiders D. you yeah yeah there's easton stick the raiders d i mean there's a there's a question to be asked of whether you should start palmer or quentin johnston uh quentin johnston had a couple of good receptions from uh the the hockey stick last week they now have a little bit more rapport

uh i would imagine you know it's tough i don't think you are excited to start any of these players. The Raiders have been susceptible on the ground, not through the air. So with Easton Stick coming in, no Keenan Allen, the defense having an easier time with these second and third tier wide receivers, I just don't expect a lot of success in the passing game. Honestly, because of this, I don't expect a lot of success in the running game. I think you're going to be able to buckle down against Austin Eckler. There's one weapon left. So if you've got Austin Eckler, you've got a lot of volume coming. You know he's going to touch the ball a lot, be very involved, and you're just hoping there are a million dump-offs. If he has a good fantasy game, it's because he has seven targets if he doesn't get seven

targets Paul uh model yeah exactly he's got to do it through the air that's that's my belief and this news with Keenan Allen being out to me the the number one like when fantasy outcome was like I went to my waivers and checked to see if the Raiders are there because if I could play him tonight against a team that has nobody left right um and the Raiders have been a pretty good defense of late um I would I would I would start them yeah that was the first thing you guys said coming in with the news was that Raiders D looks really good based on this information Josh Jacobs uh this was a report from this morning Brooks yes sir uh rap sheet said his status is very much in doubt.

Okay. The question then becomes, well, this team didn't score last week. He left due to injury. If his status is very much active, if before the game we find out Josh Jacobs is giving it a go, are you just closing your eyes and hitting the button and putting him in? I am. Yeah, Josh Jacobs has played through a lot of injuries.

We all remember the game where he missed practice the entire week. Looked like there was no chance he was going to play last year. I believe it was his best performance of the year. I want to say he had like 200 combined yards. He's a tough guy. If he's out there, the matchup is okay. They're going to need him, especially if Devontae Adams isn't I mean maybe maybe this is a lot a Chargers defense play as well this is not a game you're very excited about they did announce that Aiden O'Connell is expected to

start I doesn't mean he plays the whole game doesn't mean he plays next week the real challenge here even with the Keenan Allen news the the Josh Jacobs news, let's say Jacobs misses, both of these teams are done, right? And that's not my favorite place for guaranteed fantasy value moving into the future. If you are working yourselves towards the Brandon Staley firing slash highest draft pick possible, does Keenan Allen feel the need to get out there next week? Does Josh Jacobs feel the need to get out there next week? Does Josh Jacobs feel the need to get out there next week?

Josh Jacobs is protecting a new contract. Right. They all have something to play for. If Keenan likes Brandon Staley, and usually players like their coach, you're going to try to go out there and keep your coach's job. I don't think these guys like Brandon Staley anymore. Then you're going to want to sit out and be like, I'll see my new coach next year.

Justin Jefferson told reporters he will play on Saturday. That's great. I will be starting him. Devon Achan, let's talk about it. He mispracticed. He is listed with a toe injury. This is the fourth Devon Achan injury situation this year. I guess three if you count the knee re-injury as one injury. Most of the important skill position players seem to miss this Wednesday practice.

Mostert did not practice. He never does. Tyreek Hill did not practice. And Devon A. Chan did not practice. So I am hopeful that this is one of those, like, yeah, he has a toe issue. We're just going to give him some rest. Now, to be fair and integrous here, they did list with Mostert a knee-slash-veteran rest. They did not do slash rest with Devon A. Chan.

Because they'd have to say rookie rest. Right. Can't do that. Bad precedent. One of those things where if he's back at practice on Thursday, today, I don't care at all about him missing Wednesday. Like, it's irrelevant. If he is a DNP today, all of a sudden, because it's a new issue with the toe,

you're very worried and you need to make plans. Maybe pick up Jeff Wilson. Yeah, don't worry about Mostert. Every single week they've done this for Mostert all year, which, by the way, I looked this up yesterday. Raheem Mostert, Jason, do you know the total touchdowns this year? I want to say it's like 16. 16 touchdowns on the ground for Mostert.

His career, the previous eight years, I know, to somewhere out due to injury, he had fewer than that. He had like 12. Yeah, that makes sense. So it's been an absolute, like of steals, like he's the number two running back. Yeah. On the year.

Yeah. That's the greatest draft pick. By a really good margin. Like, first of all, there's a good margin between Christian McCaffrey and him, but then he is well ahead of third place. It's comical because I still look at my dynasty team that has Raheem Mostert, and I don't look at it and see Mostert on the team and say, because I have CMC on the team, I go, I got the top two in the league.

I look at it like, yeah, I got a flex running back in Mostert, and yet this has been. You're just still waiting for him to die. Everybody's waiting for it. You're waiting for him to add him Thielen where you start so great, and you're like, this guy at this age is not going to do this. And here's 16 weeks and 17 weeks and 18 weeks in, and he is not slowing down. And here's what's crazy.

He's doing the opposite. He has three games this year with 20 carries. There are three of the last four that they've played. So it's the, it's like these veteran day. I know. Tyreek Hill didn't practice. That one, he's had some days off as well in the past, but

he came out and said on Twitch, at least I'm good. I'll be alright. He will be. Yeah, and I know it. His wife will say, you're fine. Get in there. Yeah. Isaiah Pacheco did not practice. What's the latest on Pacheco? So it's the shoulder.

He's dealing with a shoulder injury of the shoulder that he had a surgery on what, last offseason? Yeah, it was a labrum. This offseason. So you have to keep an eye on it. It's very troublesome that after a full week off, you're still missing time on a Wednesday. So, I mean, McKinnon and Clyde are spot start players.

I heard, I think it was Ian Rappaport that was saying they want to see him have practices in order to play. So this is one of those where, based on that report, you're going to watch. Well, I would say today is the day. Like Thursday, if he's a DNP then they're probably going to be making a game plan around not having him would be my guess because they're they're they're a schemer they you know the the Chiefs they make packages and they put things together you know you had uh Jarek McKinnon who was brought along slowly and he had

a couple of weeks of limited practice before they even activated him because they like to come up with game plans and say this is how we're going to attack this offense based on the personnel we have. And so if Pacheco is not active at practice today, then I would expect him to miss. Good news here to Mario Douglas. Return to practice on Wednesday. He is two weeks out from the concussion. Hollywood Brown, this is bad news. Didn't practice.

Had the whole bye week, didn't practice. So not a good sign. Michael Wilson did return to a limited practice. I don't think there's a possibility you could play Hollywood Brown this week. There is a 10% chance that he comes out and plays well. The Niners, as the matchup, can score a lot of points, and he could end up with 15 fantasy points this week. But that is such a low odds bet compared to the floor of zero,

and that's even if he's active. But he's been really, really bad three of the last four games. The matchup against the San Francisco 49ers could completely destroy the Cardinals. This is the wide receiver 40 on the season. Yeah, you've got to just sit him down and not worry about him this week, even if he's active. One more piece of news I'll just throw in here real quick because it feels like we're getting conflicting reports,

but Brian Robinson did not practice on Wednesday. Brian, did I say his name wrong you said brian robinson okay brian robinson yes i hope you didn't say his name wrong because that's who i want to not practice yeah heal up very nice table yeah brian robinson of the manders who missed a week from a hamstring uh he and they were on the bye week last week yeah so yeah he didn't practice they came out and said he's playing. Well, they said they expect him to practice. They did?

Yeah, there was reports earlier in the week. That's why I was like, oh, I didn't even think to look into Brian Robinson because they said he's going to be good to go. But it's at this point worth noting because waivers have run. Gibson might be chilling on your waiver wire right now. Robinson could practice today, and then this is all gone. But at this point, when you're getting desperate for running backs, be on it. Yeah, I think what happened is early, like late in the bye week, early this week, the expectation was said,

yeah, we expect to get Brian Robinson back. But if he's not practicing, then your expectations aren't always met. Interesting. Yeah, that's one you got to watch closely. My opponent in the Dynasty League has Isaiah Pacheco and Brian Robinson. You guys just need to get that rest. Heal up, man. For your body, for your health.

You still will be paid. You are living in that place. I need it. You are in that place. And what you guys out there don't know is that when Jason's been eliminated from other leagues, all of that energy goes focused into the ones he's barely in. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's powerful.

It's like a laser where they all combine. It's very dangerous for the players, actually. All right. That was today's News and Notes presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance. We'll take a quick break. We'll come back with the players, actually. All right, that was today's News and Notes presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance. We'll take a quick break. Come back with the Fantasy Forecast. Trying to find that Ron Rivera quote around Bryan Robinson.

I thought it was attributed to Rivera. I could be wrong. No, no, no. The practice one was, but I was trying to find the one about... We expect him to play? Yeah, where they said they expect him to be back out here. I'll look for it. Thank you, Brooks.

Let's get into the forecast. Fantasy forecast. Alright, it's time for three Saturday games, and I don't have any bye weeks to tell you about because they're finally over, which means we have a lot of matchups to talk about. The Minnesota Vikings at 7-6 take on the 7-6 Cincinnati Bengals. DraftKings Sportsbook line, Cincinnati minus three. The over-under is 40-1.

This game has question marks. Jake Browning has had two consecutive top five weeks, over 30 fantasy points. The matchup, the defense, the Vikings, they've been on fire. The game's in Cincinnati, however. I ain't playing that game. I ain't playing that game. You're not playing Jake Browning.

I'm not. And what's funny is we were talking about it. Yeah, we have a different view on that. Right. One of our leagues, I was going through the waiver options for quarterbacks where I lost Justin Herbert. And it really did seem like to you

that Jake Browning was the clear, obvious choice. He's back-to-back very successful weeks. And I would add two weeks ago looked great. Like I passed the eyeball test this last week. You can't fault him for all the screen games going ham and, you know, 54 yard screen. Yeah, that's making the right call. Yeah, absolutely. The right play.

But it also did not prove to me that he's got it now you've got this defense in the minnesota for attempt were higher this past week than the week before by the way well yeah okay that's not air yards never yeah when one attempt turns 50 yards that'll do it um but uh the minnesota vikings defense mercy they've really i mean i i don't remember a team that went from like one season to the next, from so bad to so good. Maybe it's just all Brian Flores, but genuinely, the Vikings have been shutting people down. On the course of the season, they're top five against quarterbacks when you adjust for schedule. The last few weeks, I mean.

It's not the last few, it's a lot. The Raiders scored zero points last week obviously uh the Bears scored 10 points the week before that Denver scored 20 uh New Orleans uh the week before was looks like 19 it's it's uh it's just they I don't think that Browning can succeed against a really high level defense the bet the bet on browning is just that he has jamar chase and t higgins he like he's surrounded by talent so he can succeed but i i am more on jason's side that i'm nervous about browning this week well i'm nervous about nick mullins on the other side i'm nervous about justin jefferson i'm nervous about Nick Mullins on the other side. I'm nervous about Justin Jefferson. I'm nervous about Addison and Hawkinson.

And, like, we don't have – like, we got very disappointed with the T.J. Hawkinson performance. Now we have another quarterback. Last week Hawkinson was 5 for 53. Whatever. I mean, it's not what you hoped for from Hawkinson. Nick Mullins, you know, you're on the road hostile environment decent opponent I'm just not that encouraged or excited about those options I guess

Jason you said you're playing Justin Jefferson yeah I understand it I'm not positive he's gonna have a huge game yeah, I mean, it's hard to be really positive when you've got Nick Mullins and you've got Justin Jefferson coming off of his second injury. But the matchup is there. The Bengals over the last six weeks, they're averaging 30 fantasy points given up. You know that Justin Jefferson is going to be kind of the first read in this offense because he's Justin Jefferson. Looked great until he got injured last week.

The injury was, you know, the MRI came back and he's going to be sore, but he's not injured. I think Justin Jefferson goes out there and, you know, it's very similar to Jamar Chase. You've been successful starting Jamar Chase. You've been successful starting Garrett Wilson. The majority of times, not every week, the floor is very low when you've got a backup quarterback. But the majority of times these players week the floor is very low when you've got a backup quarterback but the majority of times these players have gotten it done um in this situation in this matchup you've got justin jefferson on one side and jamar chase on the other but the matchup is so much better um you know for

the vikings for the vikings to play against the the bangles defense that just hasn't really looked like the last few years. That's a very low over-under in Cincinnati's favorite in this one as well. Joe Mixon's been getting it done on the ground. I definitely have Cincinnati winning this ball game. I don't know if you guys are on the other side of that coin, but Joe Mixon, the RB5 since week seven, gets every opportunity. Madison seems unlikely to play, didn't practice.

Ty Chandler and company would get the opportunity. I think Ty Chandler's, I think he's a good start. I think that he will be a workhorse usage of running back. The players behind him would be, what, in Wong Wu and C.J. Hamm. These guys are just, they're not going to get very many attempts. Ty Chandler can get it done in the passing game, and he is an absolute burner where you give him 15-plus opportunities, your chance of one of those ripping off for a huge chunk play,

maybe even, if we're lucky enough, a touchdown. So I think that Chandler's – this is only if Madison doesn't play, but the trend is that I don't expect Madison to play. So I think that Chandler's assume this is only if Madison doesn't play but the trend is that I don't expect Madison to play so I think that Chandler is in a very good spot. Addison and Higgins are they starts? Sits? I have much more confidence in Higgins

than I do Addison. I would agree with that Addison right now going to become the I think he'll be the third read in this offense for Mullins and that's a little scary to me if Justin Jefferson is there and Hawkinson's got his role you know last week you had um Addison had two catches for 27 yards the week prior he had 39 yards the week prior he had 44 yards it's just that's all Dobbs though so I'm not saying you're wrong, but the confidence is a complete unknown of what will Mullins do with this trio of passing weapons that he has.

Less than Cousins. Yeah, I think in the end, I believe that this game is pretty straightforward. You're going to start Joe Mixon. You're going to start Jamar Chase. I would personally start Justin Jefferson and TJ Hawkinson. Those are like the ends. And then you've just got to make decisions based on your roster, whether you're willing to throw in T. Higgins or Jordan Addison. And I'm probably looking somewhere else.

Like you said, Andy, it's a low over-under, two backup quarterbacks, second or third targets in their offense. I would prefer to look elsewhere. Let's move on. Pittsburgh 7-6, Colts 7-6, DraftKings Sportsbook line, Indianapolis minus 1.5 at home. Over-unders 42 points. Both teams currently holding the final wild card spots for the AFC.

We already know that Kenny Pickett's not going to be available. Mitchell Trubisky. Oh, hero. He was a quarterback eight. Yeah. He played like a quarterback 50. It's so ridiculous. He did not deserve that.

He bumbled his way to QBA. He was terrible. And he got you guys to buy, right? No. Shut up. He didn't. He did not. We don't need it. That's what he doesn't guys to buy right played no shut up he didn't he did not we don't need it i mean it it was not his fault he tried to get it yes my so pittsburgh's lost three or four they look real bad with mitchell travisky the colts gardner minshu throws the ball a ton michael

pitman is a must start every single week Josh Downs has been a disappointment I think you take him off the probably have better options is what I'm saying Josh Downs just hasn't gotten it done neither has George Pickens who now his complaints are drawing the ire of Mike Tomlin who's finally frustrated

with those oh did he finally get there? you guys didn't see that? I did not he had been throughout the season. When he was asked about George Pickens, it was kind of just, ah. Like, I want my players to have that fire. Yeah, it's changed.

Have we moved on? Yeah, he sees what everyone else is seeing now. He basically just came out and said, look, it's a problem when it's not solutions-oriented anymore. And nothing he's doing now is trying to make things better or create a solution. And so, Pickens, see you later. Josh Downs, no thanks. We about to clay pool here? and nothing he's doing now is trying to to make things better or create a solution and so pickens see you later josh downs no thanks we're about to clay pool here always pickens is always one blow of the wind away from a clay pool uh but let's get to the the bigger questions in

this game which is uh you know i think deontay johnson's a wide receiver three to flex yeah that's fine i think that's fine and then Zach Moss has had a ton of opportunities. Let's remember last week had a 10-yard touchdown run on a questionable holding call. Got called back. So it impacted him. But you look for opportunities, don't you? I mean, 22 and 21 the last two weeks. I'm in.

Yeah, I do want to point out Deontay Johnson was not on the injury report Tuesday, was a did not participate for a knee injury on Wednesday. So you do need to monitor that. Deontay Johnson seems like a – He's been sitting. Yeah. Is it a new injury or a same injury? I think it is new.

I will see if I can find more information. But I saw a report to pay attention. Okay. Yeah, I know last week the exact same thing happened for Deontay Johnson, but it's a good point because last week Deontay Johnson was not on the injury report. Well, he missed practice. He should have been on the injury

report. Yeah. Maybe it was the week before. I could be mistaken. Jalen Warren, Zach Moss. What are you doing there? Jalen, Harris, Moss. I would play Moss of all of them. Even though the Colts defense a much better running matchup. Do you have any confidence in Warren with the opportunities going down?

I mean, I have more confidence in Najee. The new regime seems to prefer him over Jalen Warren. They're both fine because the Colts on the season, 32nd, so they are dead last against running backs. They will give up points, but how exactly is it divvied up? Najee's sitting at about 16 opportunities per game. I'm okay with Najee. Warren, I think, is a bit more sketchy. You have to get that one big play. And then between the three of them,

Zach Moss, 22, 21 opportunities. It didn't pan out, but I'm more confident in this matchup for Moss. I mean, the last matchup against Cincinnati was great for Moss, and what's crazy is he's not just had a lot of opportunities, which he has, you know, plus 20 in both weeks. Right.

But he's had valuable opportunities. He had both weeks two carries inside the five, nine carries combined inside the ten. Like, he's had really valuable touches that he just hasn't been getting it done, which is shocking considering how talented I believe this player is. Yeah, I mean, you. He's just, he's the dude. You've got to be so excited.

But he's going to make sure to play his way to getting Jonathan Taylor back on that field quick. I would rather, I think I would rather play Najee. Over Moss? Over Moss. They are very, very similar here to me. They're high-volume players, both with decent matchups. But the matchup against the Colts is maybe the best in football for running backs.

Them or Carolina. Pat Frymuth, any confidence with Mitchell Trubisky? If Deontay Johnson is out for some reason, if that happens by the end of the week, I'll be more confident. But otherwise, no. Usually when Mitchell Trubisky has played with a full allotment of weapons, Deontay Johnson has a very healthy target share. Last two weeks for Fryer, me a 3 for 29, 3 for 18. I'd be trying to find somebody else.

Yeah, I agree. Like Mo Alleycox, you know, who has like seven catches on the year. No, I wouldn't do that. Denver, 7-6. Detroit, 9-4 the year. No, I wouldn't do that. Denver, 7-6. Detroit, 9-4. Draft game sportsbook line Detroit, minus 4. Over-under is 48.

And, you know, Sean Payton and the Broncos, they have won six of seven games. They keep getting it done. Cortland Sutton keeps scoring touchdowns. Javante Williams is averaging 17.6 opportunities per game. There's kind of a core group that you can start on the Denver side, and that's those three guys. Russ, I think, is a streamer. I agree.

But Sutton is in. Javante is in. And I don't really think there's big discussions. I mean, the Lions defense has been struggling, in particular against quarterbacks and wide receivers. But in general. They've been struggling for themselves against running backs as well. They are still a tough defense against running backs,

but their whole defense is starting to collapse. So I am fine with all these players. I am so weirdly disappointed in Javante Williams. This was the time where he was supposed to get everything together, and his opportunities have been there. I mean, you look at, you know, you just said since the bye week. Since the bye week, he is. Why don't you read his yards per attempt? Yeah, so his yards per attempt since the bye week,

3.8, 3.4, 3.6, 3.5, 3.9. He has averaged, looks like, 20 opportunities a game. That is a number that guarantees fantasy success. And his, you know, three of those four games, six fantasy points, eight fantasy points, eight fantasy points. And then this is a bad matchup against Detroit. He's not like a you have to start Javante. I think he is a let's look.

I would start Najee over Javante without question. Moss as well. Warren. No, I would go Javante over Warren. Zeke. Zeke, that's what I was going to ask. Zeke for sure. Against Kansas City.

Is this the Chiefs? Yeah, I would still go Zeke. He was like 90% of their offense. Jameer Gibbs on the other side. Guess what, folks? I just found this out. Since week seven, he's the running back three in fantasy football. He's been a revelation.

Thank you, Jameer. I felt so dumb. The weeks seven through 11 really padded that up. Good. felt so dumb the uh weeks 7 through 11 really padded that up good what's what's really what's really uh helpful for him lately is even in surprising fashion like twice against chicago they have found themselves down big and so when they're down it's not the david montgomery show it's the jameer gibbs show it's that we've to throw, we've got to get the explosive, you know, playmaker in the two minute drill. And so this is, yeah, he's had red zone attempts too. Yeah. And so it's really a matter of how do you see the game going in order to dictate whether it's more David

Montgomery or whether, whether it's more Jameer Gibbs, you know, if, if the lions end up dominating this game and win the game 30-12, I think that's a David Montgomery game. Andy, you're the best at picking how games go. Picking the game script of the Lions right now is a fool's errand. I'll say this.

They're favored. They're at home. They're in a dome. I don't want to mess around with Jared Goff right now against this broncos defense but everybody else that you've been starting you start um you know gibbs montgomery amon raw and laporta i was going to ask you how you felt about montgomery at this point in the year i think both of those guys are just automatic plays right now yeah laporta is absolutely in advanced joseph defenses are terrible against tight end,

even when they're good in general. The Denver Broncos, I just can't believe the turnaround. They are a good team, and I think they win the division. I think they take it over the Chiefs. What? If they can win this game. If they can win this game. If they can win this game. All right, lay it out.

Which I think is fair, right? Oh, man. Do you think they could win this game? Yes. Okay, let's just give them the W. I pretty much say could on any game in the NFL. But yeah, I think there's- The next week is the New England Patriots. Okay, hold on.

Let's say they win this game. That's eight and six. Okay. Then they're nine and six. Okay. The next game after that is the Los Angeles Chargers. Okay, they're 10-6. The next game after that is the Las Vegas Raiders.

11-6. Oh, my goodness. That's what I mean. They could win out the rest of the season. Where are the Chiefs right now? The Chiefs, I know, are one game ahead of the Broncos in record. I believe that is. The Chiefs are 8-5.

Oh, my gosh eight and five who's got the tiebreaker um because they don't play each other again so they we we know the head-to-head let's see looking at it denver one in weeks i'm sorry uh kansas city they split it right yes they split so then we need what strength of schedule schedule? No, division record. Oh, division record. Yeah. Also, to be fair, I'm looking at the Chiefs' schedule. Yeah. The Patriots. Okay, 9-5. The Raiders.

Yeah. The Bengals. And the Chargers. Okay, so they're 12-5. They win the division. Yeah, it looks like easy sledding for these two teams. But, okay, what you should have done is just said they're going to make the playoffs. Because that would have been a home run.

Yeah. The Broncos, even with the resurgence, still a negative point differential. Wow, when you give up seven to the Dolphins. I know. It's still very funny to be seven and six and you have a negative scoring differential. It's not great. The Chicago Bears Sunday night – or, sorry, Sunday games. We're moving on

five and eight bears against eight and five Browns. The DraftKings Sportsbook line Cleveland minus three. The over under 38 and a half. Joe Flacco has been named a starter for the rest of the year. What an opportunity for him. Cleveland is the fifth seed right now. Chicago's won three

of four. Wait wait. Is this true? How are they one game behind the Packers for the wild card? That's how records work. Yeah, but they're five and eight. Let's see. So the Packers are six and seven. And they're in the wild card?

That I don't have in front of me. Well, I mean, they... I'll pull that up. They're six and seven. Everybody's still in it. Yeah. I mean, the Bucs are leading the division. I believe the Packers are holding on to the seventh spot at six and seven.

I believe I heard. I know I heard this. I believe it is true that 22 teams in the NFL right now are either in the playoffs or one game out of the playoffs. Yeah, that's that one extra spot changed things a lot. The seventh seed. What? Yeah, crazy. That's insane.

Okay, I should never have questioned a Kyle stat or a Betz stat, but that just blew my mind because Chicago's 5-8. The Browns, with Flacco, have the number one pass rate in the NFL. I mean, he went right from doing it for the Jets, and now it's all happening on the Browns. Do they call running plays and he just doesn't do them? Maybe. Like, I can't imagine every team.

Is he so charming that he just arrives and everybody's like, oh, just throw him. I don't know that it's charming or he just, when they call in the run, he looks over and he says, what are you going to do about it? I'm out here. I'm old. You're over there. And I'm throwing and he says, what are you going to do about it? I'm out here. I'm old. You're over there. And I'm throwing the ball.

Guess what we're going to do? We're going to throw. He checks out of every run. I mean. What'd you see there, Joe? It wasn't good for the run. Joe, there was five guys in the box. Not looking good.

Not for me. So, look, Joe Flacco is. Joe, you threw in the triple coverage i made the best read he is a streaming option he really is okay it's not a good one it's a scary one what but it could be if you had a really good friend uh-huh who had to call him schmike who had to play either jared go, Joe Flacco, or Jake Browning in what you would call a must-win game. Okay.

I know my answer. This is the worst question that has ever been brought up on the show. You're telling me. I have my answer. I have my answer. Hold on. Let's write it down here. Because what do we got?

So the Bears right now on the season. I know what I would do in your shoes. The Bears? Or in Schmeich's shoes. Yeah, these are not my shoes, which are stunning sneakers. The Bears fifth against quarterbacks. We just went over the Vikings, who are, what, fourth against quarterbacks. Or the Broncos, who are third against quarterbacks.

So this is great news. All right. So the three options are awesome, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who do we got? Who do we got? Goff, Goff. Okay, that's where I'm leaning as.

We both wrote Goff. You have three bad matchups, and you've got one really good offense. Yeah, exactly. That's where I've been leaning of Goff. It will be a mistake, but that is what we do. He's at least, he's at home. He's in a dome and home in a dome. And over the last couple of weeks, last week aside, Jared Goff has looked terrible and yet still managed to come through right around that.

And if you think about the process, you go through the process of looking at, um, you know, not results, but process of these three guys. And there isn't a clear process winner so if at that point you go well so now what could i live with if joe flacco has the best game and you start golf it's like okay whatever how could i know but if golf had the best game and you start a flacco or a browning and a tough matchup you're gonna, what an idiot. I'm considering just benching all of them. Sure. Avoid negative points.

It's a 10-point difference in the over-under of those two games. That's what I'd be looking at too. In this Cleveland game, like I said, Joe Flacco might be a streaming option. He has Omari Cooper and David Njoku who dominated last week. But he also makes mistakes. They also have a defense that is, you know, I know that they've been a little bit shaky. They weren't shaky last week.

They put up good fantasy points against Jacksonville at home. It's an advantage that they're at home. It's an advantage that, you know, they make a Denzel Ward back and Miles Garrett's getting healthier. So, to me, there's a storyline here where it's about it's like 24 to 10 right and um in that world joe flagger doesn't have to throw as much but you know amari cooper season high in targets i think you play him david nojoku you gotta play him so yeah i'm looking at the running backs yeah that's where i was gonna to go. You've got two injured guys. Jerome Ford was limited with a wrist,

and I think the report was, in fact, very glad Jerome Ford did not break his wrist. That seemed, I mean, that's great, but that seems like we almost, we were very close to a really bad injury. Kareem Hunt didn't practice. I feel like he's not. He's not been good either.

He's good when you give him the ball. He scored a been good either. He's good when you give him a touchdown. He's good around the end zone. But he didn't practice on Wednesday. He's Lindale White now. Yeah, okay. That's fine. He has the lowest elusive rating among every running back in football. With 50-plus carries.

Unless you're around the five. Yeah. I agree. He does get it done around the five Justin Fields we talked about him yesterday Jason's hungry for more candidate I still think the matchup is brutal I think your floor for Fields is low low low

I completely agree your floor is 10 fantasy points because if he gets a couple of turnovers he'll rush the ball like he's going to have 50 plus rushing yards so the baseline will be there it's really a matter of can he protect it from turning the ball over i think he'll have a couple of touchdowns and um you know i'm it's crazy because detroit was the two matchups he dominated yeah you brought that up but in between was a good defense on the road and he was 24th at the position I mean you know it's it's tough obviously uh he he was great

against Denver but that was when Denver's defense was still uh very suspect earlier in the year and you know TBD but last year he went on a heater down the stretch. I mean, he won people fantasy championships in big ways, and that was against some good defenses as well. So this is a telling game, and it's a dicey start, but I think that there are a lot of fantasy assets that I would still start him over this week. DJ Moore, of course, you play him. The running backs, make it brief.

Deonta Foreman. Okay. If you need to play one, it's Deonta Foreman. The matchup is right around the middle, so it could be better, could be worse. But Foreman went right back to being the primary guy. Okay. Tampa Bay at 6-7, taking on the 6-7 Packers.

Apparently that is the record of playoff teams. DraftKings Sportsbook line, Green Bay minus 3.5 at home at Lambeau. Over-under is 42. Slightly different than the Brady-Rogers matchup of days of old. We've got the Baker-Love matchup. Both teams fighting to stay alive. You love that for motivation. You know, Mike Evans, last week you play him.

I mean, last week was not good, but you play him. You barely missed a touchdown. He's been great all year. And Tampa's, you know the this matchup really is one that i want a piece of i think that this game hits the over it's only at 42 yeah i'm with you well i was looking at some of the over-unders yesterday trying to find one that jumped out and i did bet this one isn't over yeah um jordan love i like jordan love We'll talk about him in a little bit. He's been much better at home than on the road,

and Tampa is a pure, pure pass funnel defense. You can't run on them, and you sure can throw on them. I believe Desmond Ritter has proven that. If we have more consolidation at the wide receiver position for Green Bay, Dontavian Wicks didn't practice with the ankle. He may miss. Christian Watson didn't practice with the hamstring. He may miss.

If we continue to narrow this down, Dobbs and Reed, are they both locks? I think they're both players you want to start this week. I would personally start them in the order of Reed then Dobbs, but both are in most lineups where I've got either. Beyond that, you have just kind of dart throws. I mean, we talked about Malik Heath. He scored last week, but he only had two catches or two targets. You also have, I can't pronounce his name, but Torre, who had four targets, doubled the

targets of Heath. Both players will get opportunities in this one. Aaron Jones, limited. Mike, did you want to say something about the wideouts? No, it was not the wideout, but a pass catcher of Tucker Kraft against this Bucs defense. I think I would start, like if it's not Dobbs or Reed, I might go to Tucker Kraft.

He had the second most routes run on the team the last two weeks. They took what they were doing with the other rookie, and then just like, hey, you rookie, now you're our guy. So I think that in this world of the tight end position is very difficult this weekend in particular if you don't just have one of the locked in starters. And Tucker Kraft feels like a pretty good punt play. Aaron Jones, A.J. Dillon. And should I say Patrick Taylor because is there a chance

that both those guys don't play? Yeah, I'm not going to start either one. Aaron Jones obviously is coming back off of an injury that he's been struggling with. That's if he plays. A.J. Dillon is A.J. Dillon. One of his weaknesses. He just sucks, and he couldn't

match up worse against the type of defense that the bucks are although i will say um i need to look is vita vea he was a little banged up and injured so um that that makes a huge difference i mean he is a big reason why you can't run on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So I'll try to look that up. No, he's not at practice. Neither is Chris Godwin. Toe injury, did not practice Wednesday. Yeah, for Vita Bea. So monitor that. It does open things up. I still would prefer to not play

a Green Bay running back, but obviously that matters. I think on the other side, it's Rashad White and Mike Evans in the story. Yeah. I don't think you talk about the Bucs anymore. I love a short, sweet story. Houston 7-6. Tennessee's 5-8.

Levis v. Mills, maybe? The neck is back. That would be Davis Mills' neck? Yes, Davis Mills. One of the longest necks. It's a specimen. It's long, but it's not skinny no

it's a large tree trunk it is bail out and who's that, Glennon? Glennon's another one his is frail and giraffe like though this one, what is it to you, Jay? this one

it's girthy. There it is. His neck. His neck. It's not skinny. No. So CJ Stroud, we're not expecting Stroud. Hard to find a shirt.

It's hard to get the head through the net hole. Going to need the buttons on that one. More of a tank top guy. Where are we with C.J. Stroud? Didn't practice on Wednesday. I'm not expecting him to play. We've been getting him back quick.

We have. The good news for C.J. Stroud if you have him on your fantasy team is it's not a question. If he plays, Stroud's in. I would have no concerns putting him back out. But we need more information to see if he's actually going to play. Will Levis, some people wondering if this is a guy you need to start looking at

in the streaming category. I mean, we've had a lot of unexpected streaming success from players like Sam Howell, Will Levis last week. He's not afraid to chuck the ball downfield. DeAndre Hopkins was dominant. The matchup against the Texans, this is a great one. Is there a world where Levis should be above Flacco in taking a chance this week? Yes, but to me, the world is based upon C.J. Stroud.

I believe the reason they are such a good matchup for quarterbacks is because Stroud has got this offense humming. They're going to stay in the games. They're going to take leads. They're going to come back. You've got a pass to catch up. If Davis Mills is the quarterback, which as of right now, that is my expectation. We saw Derek Carr come back from concussion, but he was early in the week progressing and at practice. Right now, C.J. Stroud has been missing practice. So if Stroud misses, I'm not as interested in Levis, and it changes the dichotomy of how this game script goes. Derek Henry against Davis Mills is going to be a much better play than Derek Henry against C.J. Stroud,

and vice versa for Tajay Spears. Yeah, and on the other side, you have so many questions because of Mills. Like confidence level, like Nico Collins says he hopes to play this week according to their beat writer Aaron Wilson. So if he plays, he's been good, but he doesn't have Stroud. Like there is a world where it's Stroud and Nico this week. Like you could snap your fingers and both of those situations could happen. Yeah, and I guess you put Nico out there, but that is going to, man.

Sketchtown? It's Sketchtown. If Nico's active, I would have a really, really, really hard time benching him. If I have a different option. But if he's active, I'm going to have a really hard time starting him. I'm just saying, like, obviously, yes. Is there a middle between start and sit that he could live in? Like a purgatorious?

Start, sit's pretty binary. If you have a same tier player as Nico Collins, I would choose that other player for re-aggravation of a re-aggravated calf injury. For re-aggravation of a re-aggravated calf injury. For re-aggravation of a re-aggravation. Yeah. He's already so aggravated. Sounds like sketch down to me. It's like an angry rhino, that calf.

I would just love to have somebody else to play. That is for sure. Devin Singletary has been getting all of the opportunity. He got the big one last week, and I watched this very closely because it's torture for my team. They gave him the goal line. Like Devin Singletary just got like a normal goal line carry last week, and he scored, which Damian Pierce has scored on the goal line,

but it's about a one for 20 is how it feels this year. Is Devin Singletary off your board of his Davis Mills? Because this is a vulnerable Titans defense, especially over the last six weeks against the run. They've had some bad performances. I'd say not completely off. Like Pierce is gone, right? Off of potential plays?

No, I'm just saying Pierce is not an option for anybody, but Devin Singletary maybe? It's so difficult because the week that Pierce is is back or I don't remember if it's the week or the second week but two weeks ago Singletary nine opportunities running back 33 then back up to 16 opportunities so it's I mean he's running so much better than I yeah Singletary looks good as a player okay Singletary or AJ Dillon Singletary Singletary Singletary looks good as a player. Singletary or A.J. Dillon? Singletary. Singletary or Jerick McKinnon? Singletary.

McKinnon for me. Oh, man. I'll go McKinnon with no Pacheco. Yeah, assuming no Pacheco, obviously. You know, Papa Josh is really torturing me. What's he doing now? Every day this week, I'm going to have to refresh to see, right before our waivers go through through whether Matthew Stafford got dropped. Every dang day.

He was talking about dropping him, taking you out to a camping trip, all expense paid. Okay. No, I'm joking. Okay. You play DeAndre Hopkins for sure. It's a revenge game. Yeah. Will Levis.

I don't know if you saw Hopkins' comments all week. He was talking to- did yeah um des bryant about the fact that like no teams wanted him except for the patriots and the titans wanted to go where he was wanted and then he's played with a lot of quarterbacks and they have a player in will levis which i agree with i mean like i i'm genuinely a will levis fan will levis has flashed he has shown that maybe he could be the future quarterback i don't know if it will come true but he he's got the arm for it, which is saying something compared to all the other middling quarterbacks. He can make throws that even if he's less consistent, not as skilled, isn't as good at reading the defense as Kenny Pickett. Kenny Pickett could

never be Will Levis because he doesn't have the physical ability. Will Levis can work on his accuracy, work on how he reads a defense, work on those things. Kenny Pickett can't work out enough to get the arm that Will Levis has. It's such a good point. I'd rather have Levis than Pickett as an NFL franchise. Yeah, me too. In the playoffs,

I'm not willing to roll Will Levis out there. I mean, if you lost Herbert and you're up against it, you can light a candle. Flacco or Levis? Are you guys all going Flacco over Levis? I would. I would go Flacco over Levis. The matchup, yeah, it's on the Levis side, but it's the stat of they're pass heavy.

Flacco is going to throw, and the Titans, while Kareem Hunt is a good player when they get inside the five or whatever, when they get inside the five for the Titans while Kareem Hunt is a is a good player when when they get inside the five or whatever when they get inside the five for the Titans Kareem Hunt yeah I'm saying oh god comparing Flacco it's when they get inside the five the Titans it's always it's Derrick Henry time and maybe you get that one play action on second down and the random tight end scores, but more than likely they're going to keep going with Derek Henry. I think we learned talking through this. We need CJ Stroud back.

Come on back, CJ. Yes, baby. We need you back. Brevin Jordan? I believe Dalton Schultz is practicing in full. He'll be a play. So Brevin Jordan is – see you later. I mean, you're not starting Brevin Jordan.

Yeah, I agree. Darren Waller, breaking news. Hey. Designated to return and will practice today. That's fun. So there you go. Get the Waller, do Wallerists. Would you start the doctor?

No, I don't want to talk about the doctor. No, no. Wait on CJ Stroud and then make choices for Nico and the doctor. Does a Wallerist enjoy cutlets? And Noah Brown. I'm still... I see what you think in there. I'm hungry.

Probably. Who doesn't? DeVito throwing some cutlets his way. Did you see they had DeVito's agent? Oh, yeah. Nobody knows what this means. Did you know that? Even the agent doesn't know what this means.

What, like the Italian? Yeah, this whole, like, forget about it. it like this whole the the finger uh it's like the hand wag yeah none of nobody can tell you what it means and yet everybody knows it's just kind of like it just means like yeah it's a way of talking i think it just means like italian delicious almost like a chef's kiss i don't know nobody nobody knows i would say his agents like yeah it means different things for different people his agent is a riot wild character such a smart move marketing wise just wait you think he's like dressing up like this sure you don't i want to look at that agent four months ago was he did he look just like us and now he's wearing a fedora

and a pinstripe i'm just saying if that's the case it's smart it's he's becoming a fan favorite it's smart when things are going well the moment that things turn and and you're still doing that shtick it will not work it's like like, remember Lynn Sanity in New York? Now they've got Tommy DeVita. By the way, Godwin didn't practice today either. Right. Chris Godwin. Michael.

Michael. Oh, Michael Evans, come on. Be big. That's not his problem. He'll be big. Just don't drop as many passes as he always does. Okay. Be big. That's not his problem. He'll be big. Just don't drop as many passes as he always does. Okay.

The Jets, 5-8. The Dolphins, 9-4. The DK Sportsbook line, Miami minus 8.5. Over-runners, 37. This line has changed tremendously. Miami beat them 34-13 in Week 12. Miami's at home home Tyreek Hill situation Devon Achan situation

we talked about them earlier in the news Achan mispractice do we have a report today yet? nope not yet because they're east coast Achan I was a little here's what I was going to say

or I said earlier in the week I was a little surprised at the utilization of H.N. on the ground last week. I thought it was low. It was like seven opportunities, 21 for Mostert. I was shocked, especially like the second goal line opportunity. We've seen like H.N. mixed into those opportunities in that situation. Now, makes me wonder, was he dealing with a toe injury during this game and all of a sudden that is why he wasn't on the field as much.

That's fair. So, you have to monitor that. Mostert's a lock during this game, and all of a sudden that is why he wasn't on the field as much. That's fair. So you have to monitor that. Mostert's a lock in this game. 100%. The Jets are a very vulnerable defense on the ground, and A-chan's a lock if he's active. Tyreek Hill, you play him. The matchup's terrible, but it doesn't matter.

You're just playing. You're going to have to play Tyreek Hill, and you probably will play Waddle as well. Waddle had a great game against the Jets last time around. You asked that one yesterday, and he's the biggest question mark to me. He is. Against the Jets in Week 12, he had eight targets, eight receptions, 114 yards, was the wide receiver 16.

So you know he can get it done. Now there is some concern here in addition to the Jets and the fact that they shut down wide receivers about the weather 20 mile an hour winds sustained 35 mile an hour gusts we talked about the weather a little bit last week rain again rain does not affect passing game by itself rain when it comes with a storm that is windy has a massive effect uh when winds are above 50 miles an hour we won't know it now you just got to check later but like tua like i'm not starting to i i looked at tua's game log compared to a lot of other players like if you're looking you were asking about how

sam howell or tua it's it's no question it's it it should be sam howell sam howell has pretty much had like one game since week three or four where he hasn't scored 20 fantasy points, whereas about half of Tua's games are bad. Fields or Tua? Fields. I think they both have a bad floor. I don't know how high Tua's ceiling really is in a matchup against the Jets with a somewhat banged up Tyree Kill. We've seen him struggle recently. He didn't score 10 fantasy points last week against the Titans. Two weeks before that, he didn't score 10 fantasy points against these Jets. So are you benching Waddle based on the analysis of Tua and the fact that

the Jets give up on the year 13.7 fantasy points per game schedule adjusted to the wide receiver? That is insane. I think it's probably more difficult to bench Jalen Waddell. You know, a couple weeks ago, like I said, Tua had 7.8 fantasy points, but that was the same week where Waddell did have a good fantasy output. Tyler Lockett against the Eagles or Waddell? Oh, that one's interesting. I'll take Lockett. I think I would go Lockett there.

Drake London against the Panthers. I think I'd go Drake London. Man. Jalen Waddell last year was the wide receiver 7. Do you know what he is right now? I would guess 20? Yeah, that's where I would guess. 28. Maybe take the 7 out of your mind

and start looking at it matchups like you said. Brees Hall, you play him. Garrett Wilson, you play him. We're done. That's the end of that matchup. Jets are so easy. To beat. Actually, this would be my almost upset if

I got a run. I think it's very possible as well. Eight and a half is ridiculous. But it might... You just might not be able to move the ball on Miami. But isn't Xavier Howard banged up again? I know Kyle's on an But you just might not be able to move the ball on Miami. But isn't Zavian Howard banged up again?

Do we have? I know Kyle's on an airplane somewhere. We'll check him out. I think Zavian Howard might be banged up. And DeAndre Hopkins destroyed Jalen Ramsey last week. All right, you let me know, Brooks. We'll move on to the starts. Zavian Howard did not participate in Wednesday's practice with a hip injury makes me want to think about it's too late yeah welcome to starts of the week presented by purina pro plan

my start of the week at quarterback is Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson. And the soon-to-be 11-6 Denver Broncos. Look, they play Detroit. It's not always flashy. Russ gets it done. I like the fact he throws it downfield. You know, he's been 16-plus points in all but one game this year in six-point leagues, which is like a baseline for you. You know Sutton's going to score.

And Detroit's defense is like the best matchup for quarterbacks right now, so I'm going to go Russ. I'm going to go with Jordan Love off of a real masterful performance on Monday night football. It was a poo-poo Picasso. He was atrocious, and he hasn't been as good on the road,

but looking at this week, I do think at home at Lambeau, where he's been good, where he's averaging 19 fantasy points a game, where he's averaging 37 passing attempts per game, and he's got a matchup against the Bucs. He's still the quarterback nine on the course of the season. The Buccaneers are allowing 7.7 yards per attempt. That's tied for third highest in the NFL. And since week eight, Tampa Bay is 29th at scheduled adjusted fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. Just look at Desmond Ritter. He went Hamburglar on them this last week. And Desmond Ritter is, well, he's Desmond Ritter.

Right. So I think you can play Jordan Love in week one of the playoffs. I'm going Matty Stafford against the Manders. Yes. He is on fire. QB 7, 8, and 5. Those are the rules. And then the matchup is delightful.

The Manders, they are on pace to allow the second most passing touchdowns ever. And they are also allowing the third highest yards per attempt for any team over the last decade. The weapons are healthy. Stafford's in a great spot. So I wanted to bring this up on Stafford. I think that Stafford is the most important fantasy asset this year for like on the year what he's going to do in the playoffs everyone is picking him up to play him he is

either going to come through and win people championships or he's going to be the reason people leave okay like he is and and I'm on the side that believes in him I think with Cooper Cup with Puka Nakua with Kyron Williams he's going to dominate through the playoffs. TBD, but he's going to be the reason people win or lose championships. I think the counterpoint to that would be the guy that I have as the number one running back this week, my start of the week. Kyron Williams against Washington. Both could be true.

Both could be true. This is the matchup you want. This is a player that gets 90 plus percent of snaps. He's had 22, 26, and 29 opportunities. And Washington is 31st against running backs. Look, this was a layup. That's why I'm making the call. I think he's number one on the week. I think he's going to win a lot of people their playoff matchup. Yeah. And I don't think that that's mutually exclusive from Stafford. I mean, Stafford's been top 10 three weeks in a row Kyron's been the number one number nine and number 18 running back those same weeks so uh I would start both of them my running back

start of the week Najee Harris at Indianapolis boy look if I can get 16 and a half opportunities per game I know he's not flashy but if I can get that against Indianapolis in a game that I think could hit the over not everyone could be a sexy start Al knows that right uh teams are running on the Colts at the fifth highest rate in the NFL it just call him ugly yeah yeah okay that's now you understand yeah no I mean okay I mean you did yeah all right you told the truth. I mean, okay. I mean, you did. Yeah, all right. You told the truth. Yeah, I mean. Wow. This is an important segment. I love you, Al. I didn't say nothing.

I love him as a human, just not like his aesthetics. Right. That's what I'm saying. Like, he's a close friend. This is so unnecessary. No, he's a close friend of mine. I'm just saying he can't be sexy because of how he looks. But look, the Indianapolis.

Which is offensive. How he looks. Yeah. It's super offensive. Yeah. To me and anyone that looks at him. But the Colts are, they rank 31st in schedule adjusted fantasy points allowed to the running mix. You know, you two look kind of similar.

Did you know that? What? I've never been told that in my life. Look at me. Okay, now let's see Owl here on the right. Totally different. Now, what hat? We couldn't look.

Wait, the hat? We couldn't look further. Hold on. Take your glasses off. Yeah, we got to get. Wait, no, no, no. We got. Oh,'t look. Wait, the hat? We couldn't look in. Hold on, take your glasses off. Yeah, we got to get. Wait, no, no, no. Yeah, those are shades. Just glasses off. Glasses off, boys.

Yeah, you've never been. Yeah. Wait, Jason, how'd you get in the back so fast? No, no, no. One of you's ugly. One of you's beautiful. I'm super handsome. And my point here is that Al looks.

Yeah, who's your star of the week? My point is that Al looks like the Indianapolis Colts run defense. Okay. Visually, which is terrible. Who's your running back? Just from the creature. Just a man walking down the street that you hit with a brick. I mean, he's just trying to go to work, and he caught a stray. I'll take the running back on the other side.

I'm going to go with Zach Moss. Wow, this is the third time in a row he's been in this, hasn't he? And he failed the last two. This is how you get it done, boys. But my dude, man. Yeah, Jason loves him. Jason, you said if you could get 16 and a half opportunities. How about over 20 opportunities?

Is he playing against the Colts? No, well, kind of. But it's just the opportunities are great. opportunities. How about over 20 opportunities? Is he playing against the Colts? No. Well, kind of. The opportunities are great. It hasn't come through, but the last two weeks for the Steelers, James Conner running back five, Zeke Elliott running back one. You can get it done at the running back position against

the Steelers. I think that Zach Moss will bounce back and have a good week DK Metcalf against the Philadelphia Eagles is my start of the week at wide receiver the Eagles secondary is a punching bag they have they're on pace to allow 267 receptions to wide receivers that would be the most in the history of the NFL they're on pace to allow 30 receiving touchdowns that is the most in the history of the NFL. DK Metcalf, you know, people were

hesitant to start him against Dallas, who's a good defense, and then he's just bigger, stronger, faster. Philadelphia is going to have a just terrible time trying to stop DK Metcalf. If I were them, I would try to get him upset. That's all I would try to do. I would take the

drama... Did you see the report from Shanahan? That they basically tried to get him upset. They said, hey, whoever, I can't remember what the, like, not a huge reward, but just like basically a kudos. Whoever gets DK Metcalf fired up, we're going to be really happy about it. No, they have to go Draymond Green. Get him to throw a punch and get him off the field, because otherwise he's going to be, I mean,

he can score three times against Philadelphia. I don't care if it's Drew Locke or Geno. It'll probably be Geno, but I just think DK's a smash start. And I love your player, Jason. Yeah, I'm going with DeAndre Hopkins against Houston Hopkins. He went off in the second half of Monday Night Football against Miami this last week, and he is the apple of Will Levis's eye he is the apple of the banana rama as they say you saw that yeah like uh look since Will Levis

took over in week eight 28 percent targets per route run that number is awesome 2.47 yards per route run that number is awesome he has more targets number is awesome. He has more targets. DeAndre Hopkins has more targets, 107, than the rest of the Tennessee wide receivers combined with 106 during that time. And over the last five weeks, the Texas defense has morphed into a clear pass funnel. They're 28th at scheduled just fantasy points to wide receivers. We just saw what Garrett Wilson did with Zach Wells tore him up last week. I do hope CJ Stroud is there. I think that pushes DeAndre Hopkins higher, but even without CJ Stroud, DeAndre Hopkins should be a good play this week, my start of the week.

And I'm going with Odell Beckham Jr. against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday night. Last week, 10 targets, 4 for 97 with a touchdown. And there is a direct correlation that has been brought up and pointed out. When Odo Beckham is not on the injury report, he's been fantastic. So as far as I know, not currently on the injury report. That is a TBD, but make sure he's healthy. And then the Jaguars, 27th in schedule adjusted points to the wide receiver. Their secondary is atrocious. So I expect Beckham and Zay Flowers to have good games.

Let's go from that TBD to TMB. T-M-B-B. T-M-B-B. Wait, your star of the week is TBB? Yeah, baby. Welcome aboard. What? I knew it would make you happy, Mike.

Tight end one, baby! Merry Christmas. Yeah! Merry Christmas. Oh, yeah, it is. I am feeling the season now. It will be a merry Christmas. Trey McBride against San Francisco.

I want you to have confidence coming off the bye with the mess that is the Cardinals, the mess that is the game line. Just put Trey McBride out there. He is going to be their everything. I don't think Hollywood's playing. He's their number one wide receiver. So you play the number one wide receiver for Kyler Murray and you play him this week despite the fact the matchup's not great. I think it's going to be a big week. Have confidence. Put him in there. And I'm going with Sam Laporta off a bad game. He's playing against Denver

a defense that has gotten much, much better. They have improved over the second half of the season, but they still don't guard tight ends. They are 30th in schedule adjusted fantasy points to tight ends, 30th in tight end receptions allowed, 31st in tight end receiving yards allowed. This is a Vance Joseph truth for his entire coaching career, no matter which franchise he goes to. His defenses don't guard tight ends. Sam Laporta is maybe having the best fantasy rookie tight end season of all time. In PPR leagues, he's averaging 13.6 fantasy points per game.

That is second only to 1961 Mike Decker. Very nice. I mentioned it's a very difficult week for low-level tight ends, so I want to bring up Logan Thomas. I don't think it's a fantastic play, but here's the case for streaming him. The over-under, we're sitting at 49 points. That's great. Washington is averaging over 43 pass attempts this year with Sam Howell throwing all the time.

And then the Rams, 31stst schedule adjusted points to the position. Isaiah likely last week, two weeks ago, it was the Browns tight ends with 13 targets and a touchdown combined. So if you are, if you're looking at who you are starting and you have just no confidence in them, Logan Thomas has a chance. All right. That is it for starts of the Week. Thanks again to our sponsor Purina Pro Plan Sport.

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That was perfect. Tyler Bass, everybody. All right. Final reminder here before we close the show down tomorrow, we've got the matchups and the fantasy face-off, the Wheel of Shame. Yours truly will spin that. And the Foot Clan out there. Go to FootClanGiveaway.com.

We're giving away a free signed Travis Etienne jersey and a swag pack bunch of fantasy footballers gear all available for free for a lucky winner at footclangiveaway.com that'll do it for today's episode of the show thank you for joining us Al you're beautiful to me you're beautiful on the inside thank you

just on the inside goodbye thank you for listening to another episode of the fantasy footballers podcast All right. Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter at the FFBallers.