The Ringer NFL Show - The 2024 Fantasy Football Take Purge

Episode Date: September 2, 2024

Welcome to the Take Purge. All NFL- and fantasy football-related takes, including those you don’t actually believe, will be legal for 60 continuous minutes. All rational thought, logic, and professional credibility will be suspended during this time. Check out our 2024 Ringer Fantasy Football Rankings here! Email us! [e-mail] The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Hosts: Danny Heifetz, Danny Kelly, and Craig Horlbeck Social: Kiera Givens Producer: Kai Grady and Carlos Chiriboga Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the fall of 2014, a group of hackers pulled off the biggest Hollywood heist of all time. They broke into computer servers belonging to Sony Pictures and released hundreds of thousands of top secret documents. The attack would cause an international incident, upend thousands of lives, and change the movie industry forever. From Spotify and the Ringer Podcast Network, I'm Brian Raftery, and this is the Hollywood hack. Listen on the big picture feed. This is not a test. is your emergency podcast system announcing the commencement of the annual take purge. At the siren, all takes, including things you don't actually believe, will be legal for 60 continuous minutes.

No players, coaches, or media members of any kind will be granted immunity. All rational thought, logic, and professional credibility will be suspended. The Ringer podcast network thanks you for your participation. May our take God Chris Sims be with you all. Welcome to the Ringer fan Fantasy Football Show, my name is Danny Hyvitz, and I am joined by two men ready to cleanse their souls. Danny Kelly and Craig Rolbeck. D.K., are you ready for the take purge this year? I mean, I better be. That introduction puts me right in the zone I need to be.

So, yeah, I'm feeling good. I'm feeling, let's do this. I'm ready. Craig, for the people who are perhaps, you know, purging with us for the first time this year, would you like to give a short introduction to our annual ritual? Look, every year we have takes that bubble up like acid reflux, but you repress them. You need to keep them at bay. Until today, when we have this beautiful window of immunity where we get to say whatever we want and suffer no consequences from those statements. I don't know what's going to happen in there whenever the siren rings. I don't know what I'm going to say. Whatever I say, it's not me in there, okay? That's not who I am. I'm not going to remember. remember any of it? That is a different person on the inside of that room. Oh, wow. There's the siren. All right. It's starting. It's starting. We've now just entered a fugue state.

Fug state. No professional responsibility. All credibility suspended. We can't be held accountable. Time to purge. We're going to be cleaner people for it. We're going to be light at the end of this. Chris Sims is hovering above us. Take the wheel. Take the wheel. Take the wheel, Chris Sims. Help me, Tom Cruise. Help me. Oprah Winfrey.

Guys, I have something I want to get off my chest. Okay. I think Devon A. Chan's going to suck. I think I am worried that Dolphins running back Devon A. Chan is going to be the worst pick in the history of our show. The history. The history. The history. Worst than Tony Pollard?

Worse than Josh Jacobs. We said Tony Pollard should go first overall and drop. Well, you said that. But this guy, Devoné Chan had three good games last year, got hurt, then kind of sucked. And we got him as like a top 25 players. That's just absolutely fucking gaslighting. It's the all-time small sample size. Look, look, I understand.

I still believe all the arguments we made. Like, you know what I mean? Like upside matters. Don't be afraid. You know what I mean? Like, look, at the end of the day, there's every now and then. There's a bunch of players like, there's only two or three that really make a difference. So you could take them.

Don't be afraid of getting it wrong. You know, guys, I'm getting afraid. I'm getting really afraid, guys. Like he's 185 pounds. Well, 190. You round up. We keep talking about the game since September. You know what we haven't talked about?

When the Dolphins played the Chiefs in the playoffs, motherfucker had six carries for nine yards. It was cold. That was the last time you played football. No one on the Dolphins offense was good in that game. Six carries, nine yards. Last time he played football. Like, we're going to take, what are we doing?

This is really good. This fills me with rage, so it is a good take. This is why I love. Rahim Moster so much is I actually feel like I know what I'm getting with Rahim Mostert more than I do, Devon A-chan. You get him 60 spots later. I'm terrified.

I know Rahim Moster's good. Do we know DeVon A-chan's good? Do we know it? What do you talk about? We know he's good. I think the question is like, is he going to get hurt? D.K., is he one of the best seven running backs in the NFL? The talent question, I think, is still up in the air.

Isn't that what good means? He's insanely fast and he's a perfect fit for this offense. I don't think you can be bad. add and do what he did last year. Also, it's like absolute hogwash that you say only had two good games. Like, what are you fucking talking about? One of them was so good. He had five games over 20 points.

Yeah, three of them before he got hurt. So you're just making up numbers. You're just using random numbers to make your, to make your argument. Isn't that what you're supposed to do now? You just make up things. No, I'm saying he got four. Good games. What are you talking about? Half his rushing yards came in three games. And then he was injured. And I just keep thinking he's going to tweak his name. Look, I love Dave.

I'm not gas-legating. I'm fucking nervous, man. I'm Seth Rogen, and this is the end. I'm like, I'm not going. I'm getting a little nervous about this thing we all agreed on. I'm just letting you know, I'm getting a little squirley. You don't have any fear about this? You have no reservations about this, like, the most boom-bust pick in the history of fantasy football.

It's a good take because it gets me really angry. D.K. was paid to lead, not to read. He just fucking plows forward, baby. I think it's ridiculous that you say he's going to suck. Like, that's just, come on. What do you like that? Well, suck relative to where he's getting drag. Is it going to get hurt?

Is that what you're saying? Like, I'm afraid he's going to get hurt too. Okay, well, yeah. He's going to be a bad pick. I don't think he's going to suck, though. I have like almost no fear of that. I think if he's injured, he loses the thing and he'll then suck on your team. DK, yeah.

Do you think if Devon H.N. Tore's A. Tomorrow, knock on wood. Do you think if Jalen Wright, their rookie, stepped in in his place, would he be able to fill 90% of the Devon A. Chan role successfully? No. See, and that's where I think A. has legit talent.

And look, this is also me just sticking to my priors because I loved Achan coming into the draft. And then he came in and was incredible in this Dolphins offense. I think A. Chan has a rare combination of like vision bursts overall top top hand speed and receiving ability that makes him great for this. I think Wright is very fast. And that's where, you know, I think his vision is definitely spotty. We don't know much about how he's going to be in the passing game. And so I think that's a huge, huge leap.

Now, that being said, I think the Dolphins offense is really, really good for all the running backs in it. You know what I mean? I think Wright could do well if he ends up getting a lot of volume. But I think A-chan is a special player. So obviously, I'm very triggered about this first take. I feel later already. Huyves is floating. I worry that he's going to get hurt.

I think that's a legitimate worry. Like, you say he sucks, you're worried he sucks is just like crazy talk to me. As a fantasy pick, I think he's going to suck. That's fine. You're worried that he'll bust. Yeah, exactly. That's the concern. That's always the concern.

I'm always worried that. Exactly. You never know. Who wants to go next here? Who's anyone else got some other chest? All right, Craig. I've been thinking about this for pretty much like a month now. And I didn't realize I had felt this way until yesterday.

I kind of think that the Niners are going to finish third in the NFC West and miss the playoffs. I had this too. So fives are actually pretty atrocious right now. Look, it's really hard to bounce back after a super. Super Bowl loss. I mean, we saw it with the Eagles last year. Their team imploded. We saw it with the Niners themselves in 2020 when they went six and ten after they lost in the Super Bowl to the Chiefs in 2019. And I want to read a quote from Debo Samuel earlier this year in March after they lost a Super Bowl. Debo said, it's not as easy as people think to get to the Super Bowl.

It takes everything. Me, the coaches. People think it's easy to get to the Super Bowl? Well, whatever. The guys upstairs, you're not just going to snap your hands and use this magic trick to be in the Super Bowl again. It's harder than people think. I think it's because people just assume every year the Niners are like going to be in the Super Bowl or the NFC championship and that's just a very high bar to set. And when you just look back at last year, a lot of things went right for San Francisco. For starters, they were incredibly healthy, which much like the Eagles were in 2022 when they made the Super Bowl, according to Aaron's shots, that's for the numbers, the Niners had the second healthiest offense last year, which is pretty crazy considering their team. Debo, Trent Williams, George Kittle, and Christian McCaffrey all played 15 or more games. last year. And now, three of their best players are either holding out or banged up. We're recording this a few days in advance, so things might have changed. Iyuk might be on the Browns by the time you guys hear this. Yeah, we're recording this on Thursday, August 29th. So, yeah, this is coming out Labor Day for all we know, yeah. Regardless, whether they sign Iyuk, trade Iyuk, sign Trent Williams,

or they both are holding out in this week one, regardless, the vibes to me still feel bad. John Lynch is pissed in press conferences. Shanahan seems exhausted with this. and their schedule is an absolute gauntlet. They obviously have the NFC West they have to go against, which is one of the best divisions in football. Dude, outside of their division games, they play the Jets, Cowboys, Bills, Packers, Chiefs, Lions, and Dolphins.

Damn. Wow. I, Craig, I'm all in on this. I totally agree. I'll take it a step further. I think the Kyle Shanhan Niners, as we know them, will end this season. Like, they're basically over.

God. And I think that, like, crazy as that sounds, Everything Craig just said. The vibes are cooked. This team made two Super Bowls in five years. And when they made one when they were all young, the same core just made it. They lost to the same guy each time, Patrick Mahomes.

I will put a date. I'm going to give you a date when this whole thing's going to come crashing down. Dead on arrival. October 20th. The Niners play the Chiefs. They're going to lose to the Chiefs a third time. And then everyone's going to turn on each other. You're going to see all the, it's like the Eagles last season.

You can see all the leaks, finger pointing. Like I keep thinking about that. I know this sounds extreme. And maybe Niners fans are listening to this right now. are probably like apoplectic. And we're not picking on you. All my friends. Yeah, everyone, Craig knows.

Everyone's listening to this is probably like, these guys suck. I look at it this way. Why are you different than every other team in NFL history that like came really close to winning a Super Bowl and then kind of missed their moment? You could argue they are different because they got to do it twice, which is incredibly rare.

Like that's the thing. Like they missed the window and they made it back anyway. But now you look and it's like, it's the Pat Riley disease of Moore where everyone wants this new contract, Ayuk and Purdy and Debo and everyone, as you just said. but like they didn't actually win. So there's none of the winning to paper it over. I keep thinking about the Jason Kelsey quote.

He said when we were 10 and 1 last year, everyone was walking around miserable because we lost the Super Bowl. They were 10 and 1. If the Niners drop a few games, all the emotions that they've kind of bottled up are going to come out. It's like you propose to your girlfriend and get turned down. Somehow continue to date her. Propose again four years later.

She says no again. And you got to hope that three times a charm. What an analogy. Yeah, that's good. Every empire falls, guys. Every empire falls. Are you predicting a big Brock Purdy regression then? Like Brock Purdy falls back to Earth?

I don't know if it's like, we'll find out that Brock Pretty is secretly not good. I more think that this is going to be just a season from hell in terms of like injuries, vibes, all that stuff. I don't think Brock Pretty is secretly bad or anything like that. I just think it's more going to be like a collection of mishaps and bad luck throughout the season. and vibes, bad vibes. Niners cease it from hell. I'm totally in, correct.

I'm totally in on this. I take no pleasure in reporting it, but yeah, it's all the signs are there. When I go home today, I'm not going to remember this take. This is like severance. Like the second I walk in here, I'm a different person. Exactly. Ringer severance. Yeah, exactly.

Severance take purged. D.K., anything, you're severed purged. Yeah, I guess I don't think I got to get off my chest. And I have actually been thinking this for a while now for the last couple of months. fellas. I think Bo Nix is going to be a QB1 this year. And I'm like actually kind of serious about this. Like number one, very good athlete.

He's going to run around a lot. He's going to scramble. You know, he's going to play efficiently in the Sean Peyton offense. I think he's going to design sort of perfectly for him. Guys, Russell Wilson was the QB 13 last year in points per game in this offense. He rushed for 80 or he rushed for 380 yards and three touchdowns. I think Knicks could hit that or more just as a scrambler and occasional like keeper type quarterback. And if you think about that, like that range of rushing, that's like an additional four-ish points per game.

Like that is massive. And I think he's going to be efficient distributing the football. I think Sean Payton, he just has a history of like making things work in this type of offense. Like he made Taysome Hill work. He made like Drew Brees who couldn't throw anymore work. He's McGiver. Like, I know we've been really hard on Bo Nix all offseason, basically. Boomer Bo as Highfetz would say.

But I think he's like one of the actual best values in fantasy football right now. Didn't Sean Payton say that he saw the most similarities to Patrick Mahomes in Bo Nix? Bo Nix. Your take, Burge, Bo Nix will be better than Patrick Mahomes. God. Imagine if he outscores Patrick Mood. I do think I do kind of wonder if Bo Nix is just straight up going to win rookie of the year. That's a good bet.

D.K., you should add that to your take perch. Wait, I'm going to look up the actual odds right now. I kind of hear you, D.K., I actually, I'll give one of mine because mine is associated with yours. I think Javante Williams and Jaliel McLaughlin will outscore Noggi Harris and Jalen Warren this year. Yes, I like that a lot. I think we're all obsessed with Arthur Smith as a running back guru, when in reality, Sean Payton is a running back guru. Yes, yes. I mean, if you look at the history of his running backs throughout the years, it's like every single year he produced.

And I think a big part of that is he's just like passing to the running backs is a huge part of his offense. Totally. I can just buy into all this Sean Peyton bullshit. Year two is Sean Payton. Bo Nix is actually better than we think. The Broncos were actually better than we thought last year. And I think Williams and McLaughlin could be huge beneficiaries. They got rid of Samarge Pryne. He's out of the picture now. The Broncos had a league high, 144 targets to running backs last year. And Samarge Pryan cut or had 56 of them. So now those are up for grabs. Out of the picture. Yeah. Bo Nix checked down more than any college quarterback last year. And so I'm just like, I don't know, man, Javante, this is a year after the year after guy

that we have not really talked about this year. Torres ACL two years ago and his PCL, I think, two years ago, looked bad last year, now he's back, still only 24 years old. He was sick as a rookie. Good O line. I'm like, I don't know. I think I'm actually kind of in on Denver a little bit.

I think Bodhicks is going to end up in the Brock Pretty archetype where everyone's like, I don't know if he's good, but like he moves the ball and like runs the offense. You know what I mean? Like, I'll never know if he's going to be. he's actually good. I'll never admit, don't put it in the newspaper that I said he was good,

but like the offense functions. You know what I mean? Like he's going to be that type of quarterback. Yeah. Boe-nex, 11 to 1 to win rookie of the year. God, that's kind of low. That should be higher. Well, what's low, so the odds are actually, so Fandil, the odds of Rooker the Year, Caleb Williams is like basically even odds. Wow.

And then Jaden Daniels is 6 to 1. Marvin Harrison Jr. Jr. is 6 to 1. Bo Nix is 11 to 1. Drake May's 14 to 1. It's really just like Caleb versus the field. Yeah. It's going to be hard to be Caleb, just based on narratives. Or, yeah, Caleb and Marvin and Jaden, I think it's going to be one of those three. If they have even a decent season, we'll probably win.

Bo Nix would have to have kind of an otherworldly season. Hell yeah, boom or Bo. Now I'm excited to watch the Broncos this year. Yeah, we had boom or bust. Now it's Boomer Bo. Boer Bo, baby. All right, I got one. You got a bunch of fantasy ones.

I got a real-life one. Oh. The Cowboys should have traded Dak Prescott this all season. Oh. And started who? Are you encouraged by Trey Lance? Yeah, the five interceptions thing. I don't know, Gardner, Minshoe.

So Dallas has this crazy situation. And I think it's almost underreported what this situation is. Dak Prescott can walk in free agency at the end of this year, like Tom Brady left the Patriots and they got nothing. And in fact, they would get like maybe a third round pick later in like years from now. But it's actually worse than that. If Dak Prescott leaves in free agency at the end of this year, the Cowboys will have a 40-40,000,

million dollar dead cap it next season. So they would have a $40 million chunk, 20% of their budget basically, for Dak Prescott to play for someone else. So if they don't get that, if he leaves, it's probably the worst, it's probably the worst contract mismanagement

in the history of free agency in 30 years of the NFL having free agency. Like it's probably the worst thing any team's ever done. Because Dak will be the best free agent ever. Like Tom Brady was better, but like Tom Brady was 43. Peyton Manning was mid-30s with a neck injury.

Kirk Cousins wasn't as good Dak. It's not crazy to think that Dak Prescott if he left would play for his next team longer than he played for the Cowboys. Like that's possible that we're halfway through Dak's career. And he could just leave for nothing. So first of all,

that would be crazy if that happened. And then two, if they resign him, it's going to be for like $65 million a year. This is for a team that is dead last in cash spending this year. Like even with the CD contract, they're up to 30th. They're competing against the Eagles.

who are spending $100 million more in cash this year than the Cowboys. So I'm like, if they could, Dak Prescott now makes more per quarter than it used to make per year. And they couldn't win when it was like that. And now they had C.D. Lamb and Michael Parsons playing on 4% of the Cowboys budget. That's soon going to be 24%. So if Dak Prescott is going to cost 50% more than Patrick Mahomes, how are the Cowboys ever going to compete, build a better team than they already had?

They can't. They should have just trained. traded Dak to the Raiders for three first round picks. I just don't know what this is. So what's the solution? You sign Gardner Manchu on a one-year deal. You trade Dak. You trade Dak for multiple firsts to the Raiders.

The Raiders signed Dak to whatever the hell he wanted. Basically, if the Cowboys didn't want to give Dak, maybe Dak has a contract by now and I sound dumb. If they didn't want to give Dak this contract, they should have sent him to the Raiders for a lot of firsts. Because now he can just leave, which is crazy. Why is he a $40 million cap hit next year if he leaves? Because they push the money out to the future.

because they didn't think. And that's the thing is they probably will resign Dak. I don't want to be alarmist. They probably will resign him. But that's the point. Dak has all the control. They're going to have to pay him way more than every other quarterback because no quarterback has this kind of leverage.

So here's the thing, though. The Cowboys haven't made a conference finals in 30 years. How are they going to build a better team when they literally are now going to have to pay CD, Micah, and Dak? And they weren't even paying CD and Micah before. They're doing stars and scrubs. Yes. They're just trying to, they're just vibes.

They're putting on a show, but they're not actually competing. Yeah, Bill's been on this. About, like, 10 years from now, we're going to look back and be shocked that we were paying, like, two to three guys on a team, $40 to $50 million a year each, and then just figuring it out with the rest of the team. The Cowboys remind me a lot of Lakers and the Yankees where, like, you had George Steinbrenner owned the Yankees and you had Jerrybuss own the Lakers, and they were incredible. And then they passed the teams to their kids, and they had, like, real rough patches

literally as soon as the kids took over. And the Cowboys are just, like, under James. Jerry, like, they're in this half transition between where Jerry's get in the ocean's 11 vault. Yeah. And then the kids are half running it, half not. And I don't know. I just think that they don't want to spend. They're just going to spend on three players.

And like, if you're going to even get to this point, just let them fucking walk. Just trade them for picks. It's hard because the Cowboys are kind of in win now mode, though. Like, I mean, they're so close. They've won 12 games each of the last three years in the regular season. You're exactly right. But are you in win now mode if you were dead last in cash spending on August 24th? It's such a weird, weird spot.

This is what I've been thinking the whole time. I can't remember a team this good being this stressed about the future. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's just weird. Like they have a lot of really good young talent, but they're like, oh, God, what do we do with all this talent? I don't know what to do with it. They're literally like allegedly worth $10 billion to the most valuable sports team in the world.

And they don't spend money. It's like either don't spend money or try. And they just like pick one. They're like, they're like LeBron in the movie Train wreck when he like won't pay for coffee with Bill Hater at the cafe? He's like, you're fucking LeBron James. You're going to pay for my bill. I do have one purge related to this.

Oh, a double purge. I think Jerry Jones's kids should kill Jerry Jones. Okay. It is a horrible boss's situation. Yeah, it's kind of like a comidus kills his dad and gladiator. Oh, geez. You know what I mean? Like Jerry Jones said, his kids could do it

if he got hit by a car. He said that a few days ago. And I'm like, Jerry, you shouldn't give them many ideas. They should trade for Rishi Rice. There you goes. Just throwing it out there. That's good. How should they do it, Hyvitz? Jerry's the one who said, if I get hit by a car, my kids could do it. So, you know what? I just watched Michael

Clayton the other day. Yeah. Okay. I have some ideas. Yes. This is bad. I don't know what to say about this. Just throwing it out there. Do you think Cowboys fans would rather sign Dak Prescott right now or kill Jerry? I think it's probably the latter. Jerry Jones is older than Joe Biden. You know what fact? Jerry Jones is born closer to the Civil War than this coming season.

Shut up. Yes. Jerry Jones was born closer to the Civil War than the season. When was he born? The 40s? 1942. Oh my God. That is wild.

He was born 78 years after the Civil War. Wow. He is 81 years old. Oh my God. So he's literally closer to the Civil War. It's seriously wild. Just saying. Anyway.

All right, you guys, anything you want to get off your chest? I think that Kyron Williams is just once again going to be a top five running back in fantasy. Oh. I think that hates going

way too far and I have to zag. I think we're way over thinking this. The punt returner thing freaked everybody out. In addition to the Blake Korn thing freaked everybody out. Mike Clay was tweeting about this from ESPN.

Last year, Kyron Williams returned punts from weeks one to three. 100% of the puns from weeks one to three. During that stretch, he played 86% of the snaps. He had 40 carries, 20 targets during that stretch. Cooper Cup when he won the Triple Crown. He returned punts that year.

Did he? Yeah. Not the whole year, but part of the year. And so it's like, all right. What does Sean McVeigh's deal? I have no idea. Like, if McVeigh is actually going to commit to this, too. I mean, he could have done this to open up a roster spot.

I'm assuming they'll probably use a punt returner by committee role. I think this is like a lot of smoke that doesn't actually mean there's a fire. Look, Kyron was the second best running back in fantasy last. year, by far. It was McCaffrey, him, a chasm, and then everybody else. The offense knows how to feed running backs. McVeigh loves using one running back. I think Corm will be in the mix. I think that's totally fine. Kyron Williams played a ridiculous amount of snaps last year. He basically played 83% of snaps, which is nuts. Sequin, CMC, and Kyron were like the only three running backs to play that level of snaps. All the other dudes in the top 10 at the position, all the other good

running backs and fantasy. All those guys are playing like 62% of snaps. Like, I think Kyron can still play 60 or 70% of snaps and still be a top 10 top 5 running back and be great and Korum can still play and get mixed in. I think this offense is going to be awesome. I think Kairn's really fucking good and all of his stats last year proved that he was really fucking good and we're overthinking all of this. Yeah. I totally agree. Fantasy, fantasy people overthinking something? Like all of the sharps quote unquote like he's falling on these draft lifts. Nobody wants Kyron right now. And I think that's insane just because they drafted a third round rookie running back and this stupid punt thing came out. For all we know, he's not going to return punts week

one. Like McVeigh just said that. I also think that like players like being on the field. And if McVeigh basically was like, wait, Kyrin's like, I will be on the field no matter what. McVeigh's like, wait, we could get an extra roster spot because we're keeping this other guy just to return punts. Like if Kairn just does it, we have an extra spot. Again, Cooper Cup return punts is triple crown year. Yeah. I totally agree. So are you happy like building your team around having Kairn at running back?

Yeah, honestly. Like I think if I'm staring at A-chan or Kairn and I know everybody right now would take A-chan I actually think Khyr-N-I-N-I-aw-N-I-W-M-A-chan. Is that crazy to say? No, I think that's, I mean, I definitely- Yeah, the volume I feel like makes him I think of the first early second

is totally fine to take Kairn. I had a memento tattoo where I was like just take Kaird-Wilums in the first round next year don't think about it and that I ignored it. Don't think about it. Don't think about it. D.K., you got anything you want to get off your soul? Yeah.

Guys, I kind of think Kurt Cousins is just going to be bad this year. Oh. And we're like severely overpaying for Drake London and Kyle Pitts. So Kirk Cousins has had like one of the most incredible careers of any quarterback ever. Like fourth round pick, you know, has outplayed his contract every single time. He's done like the absolute perfect job of getting the most money. humanly possible from the quarterback position his whole career. And we must laud him for that and commend him for that.

But he's 36. He's coming off an Achilles injury. He has a new offensive coordinator. He is? He tore his Achilles? What? He has like a new line, new targets, no chemistry with any of these guys. He's still, he's like, we don't even know if he's fully healthy at this point.

I feel like the Falcons are telling us a lot by the, what, the things that they've been doing the last like six months. What do you mean? Dude, they just traded away Taylor Heineke. They sat, they drafted Michael Paddock's and then they sat him after one short outing in the preseason. I don't know, guys. It's like it's the, the wind horse thing or whatever. What's going on here? What is this mean?

Are you saying, do you think Kirk Couss is not ready for week one? I think they're worried that he's not ready and or not healthy. And you don't think Pennix is the answer there. No, I mean, Pennix might be good. I'm just worried about Kirk Cousins. This once again, I don't know if you guys, did you guys listen to Bill and Sal do their over-unders? They disagreed on like every single team. Okay, I have as one of my takes that I need to get off my chest that the entire Falcons experiment will work.

They will win 11 games and all of this hype was super deserved. Okay. They honestly are there are a Rorschach test. You can kind of see whatever you want to see. And in general, look, I think outside of this world, outside of my severance workplace, I'm 100% with you, but inside the severance workplace. I'm like, you know, Kirk on the AC off the Achilles, Pitts is an enigma, new coaching staff, shaky defense.

I'm like, screw all that. Kirk's a gamer. Pitch is going to be awesome. This is his first time healthy with a good quarterback. NFC South stinks. That's true. Panthers and Saints might be both bottom five teams. The bucks aren't that good.

They added Matt Judon and Justin Simmons. The Falcons have the easiest schedule in the NFL this year. Craig, that's it. I saw that. from Warren Sharp, sharp football analysis, whatever that the Falcons have literally the easiest schedule in the NFL.

And I saw that after I had this take kind of like in my head and written down. And I'm like, okay, I'll stick with it. But I'm like, I don't know.

But yeah, the schedule thing definitely helps a lot. Let me read you their last eight games of the season, the Falcons. Saints, Broncos, Chargers,

Vikings, Raiders, Giants, commanders, Panthers. Giants, that's a loss of the Falcons. Right.

it'll be Drew Lock season by then. I actually am totally with you on this, Craig. I think the fact, yeah, I like this a lot. The strength of schedule thing matters to me. And also while we're here, I think the Michael Penning's thing was a good pick. Fuck it. It's good idea.

Yeah. You know what? That's a good thing. You know what? Like, they should have probably gotten their ducks in a row before they gave Kirk Cousins the $100 million. I'll admit, it would be better to have figured out what you wanted. But if you think Michael Pennix will be good,

you should take Michael Peddix and you know what? I do think Michael Peddix is actually going to be a really good quarterback. I do too. I think he's going to be great. They clearly did too. Here's my thing. What do you think was the most criticized draft pick

of the last 10 years because I would say it was trading up for Jordan Love. And like maybe it cost them a chance at a Super Bowl appearance, but it also maybe set the Packers up for another decade and a half. and the Pennix thing is the most reviled draft decisions since Jordan Love, and they're the same thing.

Fucking thinking ahead. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Is the Jordan Love the most criticized pick? I think so. Huh. I'll have to look back at the drafts. That doesn't ring true to me, but maybe it is. I don't know.

I mean, look, I get it. You want to, quarterback's the most important position in football. You want to make sure you're good. You have a 36-year-old guy coming off in Achilles tear. Maybe just in case, you get a guy who you're, really like. Oh, they didn't draft a defensive tackle. Big fucking deal. They just signed two that they know we're good.

Big fucking deal. How about I'll just trade for one that I know is good and then draft a top 10 backup for my injured quarterback. I'm in on this. Look, I'm just saying with the Kirk Cousins thing to wrap this all up that, the Falcons thing. I feel like a lot

of people sort of play fantasy football when it comes to like projecting what's going to, who's going to fit with which team going forward. It's like, there's so many variables. in football. And if even one is out of whack, it can, it can ruin everything else. And so I'm just like, Kirk cousin's going to a new team with entirely new coaches and supporting cast and receivers and everything. I'm just a little worried. That's all. Yeah, the Falcons are a real headline team. We're like, when you read it in a blurb, you're like, this sounds great. But it

definitely is going to. It's like the dream team. Remember the Eagles? On paper. It's going to go one way or the other. They're not going to be eight and eight nine or something. It's going to be a disaster or triumph. Four hours later, the Falcons are 8 and 9. All right, more purchase coming, but first, football is back. And we say that a lot in these ads, but you know, football actually is back. It's this week. The regular season, football's back. We made it. And there's no better place to get in on the NFL action than Fandul. America's, what number sports book are they, Craig? If it's not number one, I'm not interested. Number one sports book, Fandle, because right now all customers can bet $5 to get a three-week

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Anyone else got any purges? they want to get off their soul? I could do one. Perge it. Craig, you're not going to like this, but I think Chris Godwin is going to outscore Mike Evans this year. Fuck me. If you look at the numbers outside of touchdowns last year and total yards,

because Evans, Evans is a big like that. If you just look at the two things that aren't the points that you need to score in fantasy, the stats that mean you're good at fantasy. If you don't look at those two. Well, that's debatable because target rate was almost identical. Targets ultimately are very important in fantasy as well. Last year, Evans,

his target rate was 24, Godwin's was 23. Targets were almost identical. Evans, 136, Godwin, 113. Basically, Mike Evans was a top 10 receiver because he had 13 touchdowns, and Godwin was just left on the sideline with two. And it was just unfair for him. But I think the big move this year that's going to put Godwin back on the fantasy map is he's going back into the slot, according to Liam Cohen,

the offensive coordinator, the new Bucks offensive coordinator, who is bringing in a Ram style offense. He's referred to Godwin as playing. the cup role in their offense. And if you look at the last few years when Godwin, so basically the four years prior to last season, Godwin was a majority in the slot. And he was wide receiver two, wide receiver 16,

wide receiver nine, and then wide receiver 20 last year. Wide receiver two? Yeah, in 2019, in points per game. Godwin was the wide receiver two? Yeah, in points per game. Those were the Bruce Ariens offense. James threw for like 5,000 yards.

Are we making up stats again like I've said earlier? I don't think so. So basically those four years when he was majority in the slot, he was no worse than wide receiver 20 in four seasons. Last year, 33% in the slot, he was a wide receiver 38. This year, I think he's going to be pushing like 60, 70% in the slot. I think he's just going to get peppered with targets. He may end up scoring fewer touchdowns than Mike Evans ultimately, but I think he's going to have more targets. He's going to have more opportunities this year.

And he's going to be the focal point of this passing game. Right now he's going against the wide receiver 34. That's a massive value to me. Look, I'm not going to lie, the Cooper Cup thing did wet my appetite a little bit. You piqued my interest. That smells pretty tasty. But I just, I don't think I can do it. You can't let go.

You can't let go of the hatred. I was trying to tell myself this year that I was like, you know what I'm going to do in drafts next week? I'm just going to, or I guess this week since people are hearing us on Monday. I might be drafting right now as people listen. But I was like, I'm just going to take Mike Evans. Like, no one ever takes Mike Evans. Everyone's bored with Mike Evans. Mike Evans catches 10 touchdowns every year.

D.K., maybe you will live in my brain, and I will, at the very last second, pivot, and take Chris Godwin. Just like an earworm. Yeah. We don't make peace with our friends, Craig. We make peace with our enemies. That's right. Yeah, maybe this will, maybe this will be the beginning of something beautiful with me and Chris Godwin. New beginnings.

Yeah. I got one. Okay. Oh, God. I think Taysim Hill is going to be a top five tight end. Yes. Yes. Top five? Top five. I think he's going to beat

literally all but four quarter. Honestly, I think it might be higher. I think Taysam Hill is literally going to be like, like, insane. I think Taysam Hill is going to be like a goal line quarterback, short yardage guy. And I basically, it's two things. If Alvin Camar is healthy, I think Taysam Hill's role is to be a fullback who can play tight end or receiver or anything, except they're actually going to give him the ball more.

I think in the past, and the reasoning was so infuriating to play with was the Saints used them as like a knuckleball. Like they were just a total crazy off-speed pitch that was on purpose. Like they wanted you to never be able to know when to expect them. So they put them out there. You weren't expecting him. It destroys your team. The submarine pitcher.

Yeah. And then all these teams spent like five weeks preparing for in case Taysam Hill came out. And they didn't do any of that stuff. It's a waste of time. It's a waste of time. It's a waste of time. then bring it back out. I think now, because Clint Kubiak's their coordinator, I think Clint Kubiak's actually looking at Taysomil like a Niners-esque player as, oh, we'll have you on the

field all the time. And that way, we'll dig, whatever the defense does, we'll just dictate to them like, that's a mistake. So if they send out more linebackers, then like, we're going to do a, we're going to be able to pass and you won't be able to defend Tassum. And if like, we have two quarterbacks. And if you send out like, you know, light units, like Tacey Mill is going to play fucking fullback and shit. And then if Cabaret gets hurt, I think Taysamil straight up will be the goal end running back. Hyphins, I almost put this. Taysom Hill.

I almost put Taysom Hill as going to outscore Kyle Pitts. Dude. Honestly, yeah. I didn't want to like go too hard into the anti-Falcons hate because, you know, could be wrong on that. Tastom Hill, though, I love this. Think of him as like the Jalen Hertz of tight ends. Yeah.

Short yardage, third and fourth down and short. Goaline looks. Like he is pretty unstoppable. He, I'm sure they don't hit, like, hit at the same rate as the tush push. But like, his success rate is pretty damn good when they're using him in short yardage situations and that, you know, could translate to the goal line. If he scored 10 touchdowns, wouldn't be that surprising. Obviously, he's going to be a highly, highly volatile.

I'm looking for, what I really need to happen is the Saints just to finally commit to the bit and actually play him like full snaps. Because last year it was like, oh, he'll play 70% one game and then you don't see him the next game. And it's like impossible to utilize him in actual fantasy games because he's just so all over the map. I just want them to commit to the bit because I, like, at this point, I'm just like, taste him hill is good.

Like use him as a running back to be. clear, not a quarterback. In order for him to be top five, because look, this guy's not going to rack up a ton of yards. He's basically going to be a red zone weapon more than anything else. So you're basically predicting double-digit touchdowns for Taysom Hill. Total. I think he's going to catch a couple. I think he's going to run for a bunch. He might throw one or two.

Yeah, he's probably, yes, and that's kind of my point. He might coach a couple plays. Exactly, yeah. Cheerleading, I don't know. He might coach points per coaching. He might be up in the booth. We don't know. He's like, Michael Clayton, he's going to have them

assassinate Kendrae Miller or something. They'll take him up back. He'll bury the body. He'll assassinate Jerry Jones. Who knows? Exactly. Yeah. It's for hire. I'll do anything. So, okay. I know we're inside of this take Purge bubble here. But like, where would you actually draft him? I would draft Tayson

Hill. You don't have to take him early. I would take him in like the 15th round. Like I don't, I think even if you have like Mark Andrews or Sam Leporta, like usually I wouldn't take a backup tight end if I have Sam Leporta because I'm not going to play anyone over Sam LaPorter, right?

But even if you have someone like that, I would use my last pick on Taysam Hill right before defense or kicker, and I would just see, because again, maybe I'm wrong. Obviously, I might be wrong. Find out. Like, don't let Tasey Mill be on waivers and then score two rushing touchdowns in week one. Like, I would have him on your bench,

wait a couple weeks, see how the Saints use him, see what we're saying, and then you can cut him if you want. But like, he's free. He's like the 160th guy off the board. Taseom Hill, fuck around and find out in a good way. Yes, exactly. 100%. Craig. I think I just ended, Craig.

Oh, God. Where am I? I'm out? I'm out. He's like, I'm out. Yeah. Up is down. The Falcons.

So we just love the NFC South. That's what the take purchase is telling us. Wow, that one threw me for a loop. You're all topsy-turvy now, Craig. You feel like you've got to get something off your chest. Yeah. This one's also been kind of percolating for a while. I think Trevor Lawrence reemerges and cements himself as a top five quarterback in the league and in fantasy football this year.

Hmm. I hope that happens. I think it's his big comeback. This is his John Travolta, Pulp Fiction, his metamorphosis, and he will reemerge as a beautiful butterfly.

It sucks, man. Stroud really just waltzed in and stole his thunder completely from right under his nose in his own division. And we've hit on this before, but like the first three years of Lawrence

has been just really weird for a lot of reasons. Obviously the Urban Meyer year one, you can throw that in the trash. That was a fucking disaster. But he had a good-looking year too. he had that crazy comeback in the playoffs against the Chargers

where he threw four picks and then threw four touchdowns to come back and win. And then last year, look, they started eight and three. And then he had like five different injuries. It was like knee, ankle, concussion. He was really beat up, but he played through every game. He got paid. I think a lot of people are now like,

is Trevor Lawrence a bus, one of the worst contracts? How is he getting paid? Like all these other guys. There's now, there's like memes out there comparing him to Daniel Jones's stats. And it's like, is Daniel Jones just as good as Trevor Lawrence? That's tough. Yeah, dude, they were the most unlucky team in the year last year, the Jaguars. I don't know.

It just, it doesn't feel right that he's so low now. It doesn't feel right that he's just like going outside the top 15 now in fantasy. This is a guy who can do everything on the field. He's mobile. He's got the arm. I think he is smart. This guy was going seventh or eighth off the board last year. Now he's going twice as late.

I don't know. I just think this is Lawrence. It has to be this year or else we're in deep trouble with Trevor Lawrence. but I do believe in him as a player. Are there any other players that have had, I mean, I'm sure there are, but I can't think of any. Are there any other players that have very similar, like, career trajectories as him where he kind of just like flounders for the first,

whatever, three years? How many years has been in now three? Do you think he floundered? This was fourth year. Heifitz, yes, because people are still talking about him being a bust. I don't think a lot of people are talking about him being a bust. I think that's a narrative that's out there. He had a 28-point comeback in the playoffs.

I feel like floundering. Floundering means seeking. Well, that was after, I don't think he's seen as a top 10 quarterback in the league. No. I mean, look, I'm not saying that. I'm just saying, I think that's the perception. I think if you get the average fan and you say name the top 10 quarterbacks in the league, not many mentioned Trevor Lawrence's.

But I also think if you poll people, Rotten Tomato style and be like, is this person above average? I feel like almost everyone would say yes, right? Yeah. Yeah. I would say above average for sure. I mean, could you compare his career a little bit to Justin Herbert or no? I would say no because Trevor Lawrence was closer to like K. William's in hype than Justin Herbert.

Herbert fell to the third in that very draft. And a lot of people were like, we don't know about this guy. And then I agree that Trevor Lawrence is underrated. I don't think Trevor Lawrence is like that criticized. I think the Jaguars are just more irrelevant, honestly. And I think that like, but I agree though that Trevor Lawrence is, I actually think he's like going to be continued to be like outstanding as a quarterback. And I agree that I, this will be like a, I think a leap year for him.

It has to be. If we go into year five and Trevor Lawrence still doesn't really have one great year under his cap, I think things start to get weird. He was good as second year. I'll give him that. But that was like the year before year where everyone's like, all right, we've seen the evidence now. This is time for him to take off. And then last year happened. And now it feels like everybody jumped off the bandwagon.

I agree. Like I'm with you guys. I'm just my, I guess my perception of the perception of Lawrence is that people are out on him. I agree. Yeah. Maybe that's my Twitter bubble. I think the one big thing he needs to improve on is the turnovers. He has way, way too many turnovers, including fumbles.

And so that's the one big thing I want him to see, like, really improve. It's just ball security this year. But I'm bullish with you. I'm with you. I just think of all the guys going outside the top 15 quarterbacks and drafts. You get a guy like Trevor Lawrence who's just like easily one of the most, like physically, one of the most gifted quarterbacks in the league. You can't say that about anybody else.

Everybody else is like, situation's good. You could eke out a good season out of them. It's like Trevor Lawrence legitimately, if Trevor Lawrence won the MVP this year, I don't think I would be like shocked. Yeah. Yeah. He's a good athlete. He's going to run around too.

That's like a kind of underrated part of his game is he's going to add a couple points of game as a rusher. I think he's a great value at quarterback. All right. Diki, you want to go? I got a few left. What do you want to do? I got a, I got one that's just kind of,

a general piece, not a fantasy thing. I kind of feel like Bill Belichick is doing too much. I made a list of the things he's doing this year. He's going to be on the Manning cast, the Pat McAfee show, a show called The Breakdown on ESPN with Peyton Manning, inside the NFL, which is on the CW, apparently,

and the Underdog podcast. You're doing too much, my guy. That's too many things. Yeah, we know you're smart. We know you're a good coach. My take is that we're going to be kind of sick of Bill Wallachek by the end of the year. And we're like, okay, go back to coaching. You know how like Robert De Niro is doing movies like dirty grandpa?

It's like you don't you don't need to be doing that. De Niro. You're Robert fucking De Niro. That's pretty apt also. Considering his current dating habits. Yeah. It's like you don't need to make three movies a year. You're 80.

That's also he's going from literally never. talking in public to doing it every day. Like never saying anything of substance that he has to give, say something interesting every day. When was the last time he said something interesting ever? He showed up with the Tom Brady roast and did a shot with Bob Kraft. What are we doing? I mean, that being said, I am excited to like, you know, hear him talk.

But this is just a lot. D.K., this is excellent. Got a walk before you can run, pal. I kind of like that there's always been this, is it Brady or Belichick thing when they were together? Who is more important to the team? They have such a rivalry. It feels like the rivalry is.

continued off the field. Yeah, they're like, I fucking hate that guy. Oh, yeah, Tom, you're doing Fox games? Fucking, I'm doing Manitcast, nine podcasts. I'm doing five shows, bitch. I also, this is a good opportunity. I have, I have what I'm calling a Jay Barichel list, like, from this is the end when it's like, I bet, like, Craig, it's like, I bet you hate things that are universally loved.

Yeah. I have a list of people that everyone loves right now that will, people will turn on by the end of the season. Oh, okay. A lot of people are going to turn on these, like, their time. is up. Like, just like, everyone loves you. You did your schick. So Belichick fits right on this list. I didn't even have him. But yeah,

everyone's in on Belich. Everyone loves Belichick and it's like, by the end, yeah. Number one, Mike McDaniel. The stick is up. Oh, this is great. Everyone loves Mike McDaniel. I love Mike McDaniel. I don't even say I'm going to turn on these people. I'm saying 100% people will turn on these people. The cocaine

80s outfit. It looks like Star Faces. What are you alleged? No, not him. I'm saying he looks like a cocaine dealer. Like the outfit That pause was way too long. It's like, pain.

This is like when your friend's like, yeah, I'm dating a musician. And you're like, okay. And then two years goes by and it turned out to be a complete disaster.

It's fun for a while. Makes you feel young, sexy, doing new things. Makes you feel dangerous, but also safe. It's so cool that they have little emotions

and like, oh, the dolphins are fast. They have no fucking pass rush. They're going to have to put up a Billy Gillian points every, a billion.

Jillian. Bajillion points every game. They can't win in the playoffs. Everyone's turning on Mike McDaniel. Like that's, to me, as a given. I couldn't love that more. Great call. By the way, we got producer Carlos,

Carlos on the show today, and he's just fuming right now. He's seething. No, he knows something right. He's actually dressed. Carlos is dressed like McDaniels from that press conference right now. Everyone likes Mike McDaniel.

That will change. The Texans. The Texans. Not CJ Stroud. No one's going to turn on Stroud, but people are going to turn on the Texans. Everyone loves the Texans. They're an awesome story.

Even Michigan fans love C.J. Stroud. He's the highest approval rating player in the NFL period. I think more people hate Mahomes than hate Stroud. Is that right? Michigan fans like C.J. Stroud? Not really. It was hyperbolic. I'm saying like those are the only people left in America who don't like C.J.

Stroud. Everyone likes him. I don't know if people are going to turn on Stroud. They'll turn on the Texans. Specifically, Bobby Sloick, the offensive coordinator. Everyone's like, oh, genius, head coaching. Now, here are the quarterbacks that the Texans defeat. did last year. I'm just going to read the quarterbacks that the Texans beat. Trevor Lawrence,

Kenny Pickett, Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow, Kyler, Murray, Russell Wilson, Will Levis, Gardnerman, shoot Joe Flacco. You're winning the games you should win. You're not playing the quarterbacks. Stroud's playing the defenses. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Strouds is not going to get the blame. Let me throw out some quarterbacks the Texans are going to play this year. Josh Allen, Aaron Rogers, Trevor Lawrence, Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Jared Gough, Dach, Descott, Patrick Mahomes, and then at Christmas Day, they get Lamar Jackson. I think the Texans are going to miss the playoffs and then you're going to have to put a head on a spike

and it's going to be Bobby Sloick. They're going to fire him. Seriously. You really buried the lead there. And then Bobby Sloak, they're going to fire him. And then they're going to assassinate Bobby Sloick on live television. They added Stefan Diggs. If they add Stefan Diggs and they miss the playoffs,

do you think they can keep the coordinator? Anyone's going to be like, yeah, well, he made Stroud good. I think Stroud made Stroud good. Nothing gold can stay, guys. So when you say people are going to turn on the Texans, you just mean the Texans are going to play poorly. I think, yeah. I think everyone's going to turn on them.

I also kind of think some people, like, first take will turn on Stroud. He's too likable for everyone to turn on. Other, I have other, okay, wait, a few other ones. Tom Brady. Well, you should have used these earlier. These are good. Sorry.

No, I like this. Everyone's going to turn on Tom Brady. Like, if there is one theme to Tom Brady's career, it's the more he played and shut up, everyone loved him. It's like a hot guy. The more he talks, everyone's just like, Jesus, what the fuck is this? Yes.

Hyphizai. This is actually, this was sort of what I was workshopping with Belichick is like, my take was essentially going to be like Brady and Belichick should just ride off into the sunset. Like their legacies are perfect, more or less. This is a theme in society in general. Nobody can fucking hang it up. Nobody can go away. Bob Iger was like the best entertainment CEO of all time left Disney.

And then it was like, ah, you know what? I'm 72 years old. I'll come back. Taylor Swift, top of the world, dating Travis Kelsey. this incredible torrent, she's like, I'm going to release a double album right now, even though it's like half-baked. Just people need to learn

that it's okay to go away for a little while and then come back. Tom Brady's not going to be an announcer and we found out this week, it's Thursday, August 29th, that because he's partial owner of the Raiders, he is beholden to rules of owners, which means he's part owner of the Raiders.

All those production people, like they're in meetings. One of the reasons Romo predicted so many things. He was at practice. They're running a trick play here, Jim. It's like, he fucking saw it. They told him they were going to run it. the situation. He fucking knew because they told him. And so Brady can't go to that stuff.

So he's not going to be as good, frankly, as the other announcers. And he can't criticize the referees publicly because he's an owner. The owners can't do it. So the NFL can find Brady if he does it. So not only are we going to hear Brady whinge about all the way that like the freaking young players couldn't do it like me. I know. On top of it, he can't even speak about the referees. Yeah. One of my takes that I was considering was that Brady's going to suck as a broadcaster. Yeah. I do think there's like a, Brady is at that level of celebrity where he's like not a real

person. I feel like Romo is a real guy who just like wants to golf and have a beer. Brady is an alien. Brady's one of those people where it's like he's going to be trying his best to seem like a normal person on air and it's just going to come off weird. Totally agree. Romo is like a good example of what Hyphen is saying is like Romo for a hot minute. I mean, he flew too close to his son because he was everyone's favorite.

it for six months or something. And now everyone's like, oh, God, Romo. Romo's on one today. I still like Romo, to be honest. I think he's still great. Super entertaining. I think the general perception is he's not any good anymore.

I think he tried harder earlier. That's fair. Other guys, sorry, more people everyone loves, people are going to sour. Marvin Harrison Jr. is going to be fine. Yeah. He'll be fine. Like, not great, not bad.

Yeah. Like Josh Norris at Underdog had an incredible tweet. Puka Nakua broke multiple rookie records for receivers last season and finished as the number seven wide receiver in fantasy points per game. Number seven. Marvin Harrison Jr. is being drafted as like the number nine wide receiver unlike every platform.

He has to have like an all-time year. He literally, we're banking. We're expecting Marvin Harrison Jr. to be the best rookie receiver ever, more or less. Which by definition seems like a stupid bet. Right. Yeah, he's going to have like a thousand yards, six touchdowns. Yeah.

He'll be really good. He'll have moments. Yeah. He'll be good. He'll be fine. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. What did he finished? 28th? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I had a good day. I have, um, again, list of just people who are going to sour.

I have one last. People are going to turn on. Not people turn. This is a little different. This one's going to be the one you guys hate the most. Us? You're going to hate me for saying this. No, I'm saying you're going to say people are going to turn on us for this stuff.

Oh, that too. Well, that too. They're going to turn it on me. After this take. Joe Burrow is going to get the injury-prone label this year, and I actually think Joe Burrow is on the back nine of his career. Look, I'm sorry, but Joe Burrow is injury-prone. All right.

Well, maybe, so it's not a hot take, is what you're saying? He's been injured five straight years. What are we doing here? We're going to, he came in number two. He's in the top tier with Mahomes in the quarterback survey, Mike Sando, just the players have Burrow high. I just, I think Burrow legit is having a professional. midlife crisis.

Like Joe Burrow in May said, I'm quoting Joe Burrow, whenever the injuries start to stack up your football mortality kind of comes into the back of your mind. And then he showed up two months later with a bleached blonde head to training camp. It's a midlife crisis, mid-career crisis, quarter life crisis. Rickier of the ACL tear, calf injury last year. He had to change his throwing motion because of the calf. And then what happened? He had this unprecedented wrist injury that doesn't happen to other throws of the football.

So now he's going to have to change the throwing motion again to figure out of spin it without his freaking throw with his wrist being different. And when you start tweaking your biomechanics on your throwing, weird shit happens. And it's all connected. So it's not just the wrist injury could get worse. New stuff can happen too. I don't like that at 27 years old, he's already tweaking the way he throws a football because his body's falling apart.

And I have no joy in being the one to say this. I have no joy in being the one to say this. I love Joe Burroughs. He's the fucking man. You're going to have a fucking aneurism. Call down. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. You sound like you're taking crazy pills

Do you think Joe Burrow spends more time in his 30s on the football field or on the Vogue runway? Dude, that's kind of what I'm saying. This sucks because I obviously love Joe Burrow and I actually think we've now become like our reputation is that we hate Joe Burrow. No, no, no. You guys, not me.

Well, yeah. Not me. For me. I love Joe Burrow. I think Burrow is like the coolest quarterback from the league. I think he's fucking awesome. When he's healthy, it's the best. I think it'll be fine.

it's one or the other. I feel like we're in a collective delusion where like Joe, I don't know if like Patrick Mahomes had an unprecedented wrist injury. I feel like we'd be talking about it. So question for you, Hyfitz, because I'm on your side here.

I don't want to be, but I am. How many weeks will it take of Joe Burrow playing great for you to abandon this theory? If he's like fucking ripping it still by like mid-October, then I'll be like, all right, this isn't as big of it.

You just throw it all in the trash? No, I think it exists, but if he can make it through like mid-October and he's still fine, then like clearly it's not as big of a deal as I thought. Like if he looks great in mid-October, would you be like, yeah, I'll trade for Joe Burrow, I'll trade for Jamar Chase. Everything's fine. Are you still going to be hesitant? Like, we are still flirting with the edge of the cliff here.

No, I wouldn't because, again, it's one of those things where it's like he's tweaked his throwing motion. So it's like any, he's already compensating for existing stuff. And so nobody finishes the season healthy. So then you add a thing with your leg or whatever And so I just don't like that he's already compensating for a leg and the wrist And so then you add in a third thing that happens to you middle of the season You know what I mean?

And I just just more pressure on his arm because he gives a park and bark stuff So we'll see but also maybe it's not that big of the deal But it might be fine I think I don't know I feel like Debbie Downer All right you guys have any more I just have one more I fear that the Steelers are going to be a bottom five team in the league and they're going to fire Mike Tomlin.

And I think Mike Vrable becomes the head coach next year. Oh, wow. I think things are actually quite bad in Pittsburgh offensively. The defense will be good, but I think the offensive line is going to be way worse than people think. A lot of people are just like penciling in that it's going to be better because they drafted these two guys in the first round in the last two years. One of them's hurt and the other one sucks and they're starting centers out for the year.

They have the number one hardest schedule in the league. They have the shallowest wide receiver room in the league. They haven't won a playoff game in seven years and the playoff games that they have won since they won the Super Bowl were against AJ McCarran, Matt Moore, Mark Sanchez, Alex Smith and Joe Flacco. That's been the Steelers for the last 15 years.

Do you think one bad year is going to cause them to... It's not one bad year. It's 10. They're always competitive, though. It's called No Man's Land. I actually am kind of with Craig here. Yeah, but did they see it that way? You have to if you're the owner of a team. You want to go eight and eight every year

and get blown out in the playoffs, that's the worst spot to be. They're not going eight and eight every year. They've had like winning record every year. The last time they had a strong winning record, they were like the most fraudulent team in the league with Ben when they were 12 and 4. Craig, to your point,

I feel like what's going on with Pittsburgh is like, Mike Tomlin is probably, if you hand him a roster, he's maybe the best coach in the entire world. He's fucking awesome. At working with the roster, but then you get personnel control. And like,

clearly he is not good with the quarterback situation. And there's almost so much belief in you can coach any group of people that there's no urgency around actually getting a real quarterback. And so I agree. Like if Kyle Shanahan like was his offensive coordinator or they just gave if he just had an elite guy. I think the Steelers would like be a super little contender every year. But I agree with what you're saying where at some point something has to change. I don't know if you fire Tomlin, but like they have to take getting a fucking quarterback more seriously. Yeah.

It's like unless they get Dak Prescott next year, I don't know what the Steelers are going to do because every year they go nine and eight and they have the 18th pick in the draft. We can't get anywhere. Yeah. I'm just going to say this. Because Craig, you're obviously much more like up to date with the Steelers. They have the eighth most wins in the NFL over the last five years. How many playoff wins over the last five years? Just saying like they probably don't see this as like failure.

They're really competitive every year. The Steelers are one of the most storied. franchises in the NFL. They have five Super Bowls. They haven't won a playoff game in seven years. I just always think it's just always funny to me when, like, literally they've won the eighth most games in the last five years of any team in the NFL. And you're like, we got to burn it down and start over.

Well, I just think we're all talking about the Cowboys as a dumpster fire. If the Cowboys are a Dummster fire, how are the Steelers not a dumpster fire? DK. DK., on that note, Craig beat me to the punch. What is the difference in your argument between Mike Tomlin and Jason Garrett for the Cowboys? I'm not arguing that the Steelers should do this. I'm arguing that the Steelers probably view themselves as competitive every year. I know, but the Cowboys, the year, even when they went eight and eight,

when they fired Jason Garrett. Even that year, the Cowboys were like number one in yards in the league. And the Cowboys under Jason Garrett, like, won 14 games and 12. But Jason Garrett was not a good coach. And Mike Tomlin is a very good coach. But if you are strictly a results-based person, what's really the difference? We're not, we can't win playoff games. We get destroyed every single season.

Again, we haven't wanted to playoff game in seven years. I'm the audience avatar for, you know, Falcons fans out there listening to the podcast right now and just wanting to strangle you. That's all. The Falcons were much closer to winning a Super Bowl more recently than the Steelers. That's the crazy part, though. Like, the Falcons have won many more playoff games.

Okay, Raiders fans. How about that? Look, I understand there are franchises that have been struggling for a long time. All I'm saying is, is I think we're kind of, pretending that there isn't a problem in Pittsburgh when there secretly has been for a long time. Craig, they're Irish. They'll stay in this forever.

DK, yeah, you know what this reminds me of when your friend tells you like, you're kind of preaching about a problem to the wrong choir? And it's, you know what I mean? Yeah. Like, it's your complaining about your dog to someone with kids.

Yeah, someone, like your friend who makes like 800K is like, oh, God, I had to pay so many taxes. Yeah. Because they're not making 800K. That is not the right comparison. Okay, that's just a number that came to mind. There's space for people's trauma. Craig, I think you're right.

And also Craig's acknowledging the privilege of having Tom as your coach. But also, I get it. Like, it's, how long are we going to do this? I have a couple other take purges here. Let's have them. Austin Echler is the best pick in fantasy this year. Wow. I haven't thinking this high fits too.

It's in the back of my mind. I see him go around some completely irrelevant players at this point. It's wild. Dude, this guy was a top five. pick last year, had a high ankle sprain, and now we've got him next to Devin fucking Singletary. Right. It was literally McCaffrey and then Echler in drafts.

Yeah. What the fuck? Like, I understand. I get the argument. He maybe he lost a step because that he first got hurt in week two. There's an injury. Maybe he's lost a step. Washington. Is Jane Daniels going to check down? Is that 95 spots for a drop? Is this that a little too much? Like, I think your friend who hasn't watched football

a few years is going to see Austin Echler next to Devin Singletary, take him 96th as his fourth running back. and that guy's going to win because Cliff Kingsbury is actually good at designing running game. I think Austin Echler might get the goal on stuff. They are going to design screens for him. You know why? He's the second best fucking receiver

on the goddamn Washington team. It's Terry McLaurin and then Echler. It's not Tommy Brown. They don't have anyone else too. It's the thing. Noah Brown. They just signed Noah Brown. He got cut by the Texans. He's probably the second best wide receiver on Washington. Like Austin Echler, I actually think

we're going to look back and it's going to be like a reckoning if Rahimoster. and Austin Neckler are both good this year. We're going to have to like, obviously they might get hurt, but it's more than priced in, man. He honestly fell so far just because of that one video of him getting caught from behind. When he came back from a high ankle sprain

because he was in a contract year and wanted to prove he was healthy and it backfired and now it's like, oh my God, this has jumped as shark. It's so funny that we haven't really talked about him because he checks so many of the boxes that we are looking for. Like this show specifically, like older guy, proven talent.

Good opportunity. Like, it all kind of makes sense. And yet, like, we like Rahim Moster. We like all these guys, like, in quote, unquote, a different phase of their career. But we have yet to get to Echler, but it feels like he's been right on the outside trying to break in. Also, Cooper Cup checkboxes of, like,

hardest working guy in the league. Austin Echler might be the strongest player, pound for pound in the league. I just, yeah. So Austin Echler, I just, I feel like I need him on teams. And we'll see. The question is really how much of a receiver, will he be? If they design screens for him, that's great. But how much on these

pure dropbacks will Daniels actually be throwing them? We'll find out. But I think it'll be funny. We had Brian fucking Robinson ahead of goddamn Austin Echler. We'll see. That's a good one. That's a good one. I got one thing I got to say before we end this thing. I think I'm in too many fucking leagues.

Is that a hot take? That's the coldest take I've ever heard. I've never going to admit this publicly. But this, it might be too much. at this point. I fall behind on waivers. I don't put in the right amount of work in trading in leagues. I'm just kind of like, eh, we'll see what happens with this league. You're neglecting your children. I'm neglecting these these teams. How many leagues do you have? I don't even know at this point. Like, I've stopped counting. You're the Antonio Cromartie of fantasy football. You know, when you have a bunch of unread emails and you just like don't want to actually even

open them because you're like, there's just going to be more things I have to do and I don't have time to do this. That's like sort of how I'm starting to feel about all my teams. I'm just like, I don't, I'm not even going to open this because I, there's, I'm going to have to do stuff if I open this. Yeah, you have like decision paralysis. It's like when you open Netflix, you're like, I would like to watch a movie. You scroll through a thousand movies and you're like, ah, I'm just going to look at my phone. Anyway, I would never say that in real life, but in this fugue state we're in. Yeah, yeah, might be too many. Oh, we did it. I feel purified.

I feel light I feel lighter Man What the hell happened in there I feel like I just took a gigantic dump And I feel way better All right I feel like I was bathed in the light

Man I don't know how you guys I think the Steelers are going to be good this year Yeah I think everything's fine Storyed franchise that is competitive Every single year Yeah yeah yeah

I'm so excited for the Bengals To win the AFC North If it's you, let's be honest, you've been saying some anti-Bangle shit before the pit tape. I'm excited for Joe Burrow and have a long and healthy career. You should have gone the other way and said Burroughs going to win the MVP. I agree. Yeah. I feel great.

Oh, that was wonderful. That was therapeutic. We needed that. Please everybody tweet us, email us your takes. Ring or Fantasy Football at gmail.com. Please purge your souls to us before the season begins. Yeah. Email us your take purges at ringer fantasy football at Gmail.

or, you know, severance, if that makes more sense to you and you haven't seen the purge. And also, if you've made it this far and you've trusted us with your draft, we thank you. We really appreciate it. And just a reminder, we cover the whole season too. We got Sunday night recaps of the games. We have Monday help. We do waivers. And then also, if you don't care about waivers, we do trivia too, which is honestly just as fun

as the waivers part. We do power hour on Wednesdays. And we have previews of all the games on Friday. So stick with us into the season. If you've had fun with us in August, then I promise you, we have a lot of fun. during the season as well. You're here. Thank you, D.K.

Thank you, Craig. Good luck to everyone in your drafts. Thank you, Kai, for producing this episode. Thank you, Carlos. And, of course, thank you, Lord. Lord. Thank you, R.E.M. Nice.

I feel like, I don't particularly, I completely missed REM. Like, I obviously know the band, but for some reason they never clicked with me. They were never big for me, and I know they're huge and everybody loves them, and I know losing my religion is, like, one of the biggest songs.

But for some reason, R.E.M. never clicked. Well, it was a little early for you, wasn't it? So, when did, when did, when did, uh, they were like early 90s? 90s, yeah. Like, really. Yeah. There's a blind spot where there's, like, music you get from your parents.

And then there's music that comes out to you. Yeah. But everything in between, it's kind of like TV shows where it's like you lose that. You know what I mean? And I think that, like, REM is in that zone for us, Craig, where like my parents would not have known who they were. No, right. My parents are like, Fleetwood Mac and.

And then I missed the 90s. But with TV, it feels like it's the opposite because all I watched growing up is 90s TV shows, Seinfeld, Friends, everybody lives Raymond. Oh, that's interesting. Will and Grace. Like, I did all that stuff. But REM is like early 90s, late 80s. It's not REM.

It's like TREM. It's definitely not RAM. Fuck. I do this every time. That's my point. I missed it. I have. That's how we know D.

D.K.'s done this before. We're going to swap out D.K. Say in the bands. I called them REM before. Sorry. Do you guys know, I'm on their Wikipedia. You know, they have, they have. they have other band names.

They're also known as is Hornets Attack, Victor Mature, Bingo Handjob. Bingo Handjob. Yep. It crawled from the South and twisted kites. Weird. See, I can pronounce all those. Yeah.

You're always talking about bingo hand jobs. Dude, yeah, I know. I've been on that forever. Yeah. They're an interesting band. I think like, when I think of losing my religion, I feel like that is such a cultural marker of that era. Like, it's like that, that song, that start of that song just takes you back to like the 90s.

And it's like such a unique song. Like no rock songs or pop songs at all ever would start like that. You know what I mean? It's like the most unique start to a song ever. All that like alt rock counterculture grunge stuff. I missed all that. That never really resonated with me. I think you're right.

It's because of our age. There's also a, to that point. about unique introd of songs. You guys ever play that, like, we call it, name that tune, but just like, you know, you play a song and you have to guess what the name of the song is. And there's, like, a handful of songs

that because of the way they start, you can get them quicker than other songs. And I feel like the two most... Like you gave that, like, in one beat. Yeah, yes. And so I think the two ones that are most unique isn't a thing, but it's toxic by Britney Spears just starts unlike other songs.

And honestly, the other one is Gold Digger by Kanye West. also just starts in a way that you literally like a quarter of a second in. You're like, you know what the song is? You know what else? I'm just going to do it for you right now. Tell me what song this is.

It's been. That's a good one too. One week since you looked at me. Yeah. Is that the bare naked ladies? It is. I think we talked about this. Email us at ring your fantasy football at gmail.com.

If there are other songs that you need like half a second. It's been. To know what they are. Yeah. It's like. Yeah, that's good. Not a normal way to sing anything. either.

Chicken the China, the Chinese chicken? You have a drumstick and your brain starts sticking? Do you guys think, I have a question. Do you think that, like, when I think of, like, pop music throughout the decades, the 70s were very, like, you can differentiate the 70s. You can differentiate the 80s. Do you guys feel like you can do that yet with like the 2010s and, sorry, the a distinct sound or style? No, not as much.

I'm not as I'm not as musically intelligent as other people who heard the ringer but I will say I feel like the mid-20010s were just defined by like trap drums and everything started sounding like future beats and then or like Migos I think was huge and the Migo the future to Migos line

of just like that sound coming out of Atlanta I feel like became the basis for like a lot of pop music and then that's gone away. So I feel like there's a trap drums that for lack of a better term I'll call like what truffle Butter sounds like by Drake, that song. Like everything kind of sounded like that for a long time.

In general, though, D.K., I do think you are right. There's a really interesting lecture called the Slow Cancellation of the Future on YouTube. And this professor talks about, particularly with music, why nowadays, it's kind of harder to tell what era a song is from. Like, an Olivia Rodriguez song kind of sounds like it could be from, like, 2003. A Dulelepa song sounds like it's from the 80s. Well, they are from the 80s. Yeah.

But that's by design, literally just covers, yeah. But it's like, I think that because there's so much more history of music, there's so much more, like, source material to pull from, everything is starting to feel like everything all at once, where in the 70s, there was just, like, less to work with. And I think now so much has already been covered and done that people are ripping things off more, getting creative more, sampling more so that, yeah, you can just, like, make an 80s album, and then your next album can be a 2000s pop album,

and then your next album can be a grunge album because you have, like, examples of what all that stuff sounds like. Can I give you a nether take purge, actually, that I've been thinking about? Do we need more music? I feel like we have enough. Obviously, yes. No, we don't have enough. I'm just throwing it out there.

Like, there's so much. No, I think that's an insane take. It's a silly, silly, silly, stupid take. Is there anything better than finding a new song and loving it? That's exactly what I was going to say, Craig. It's like, there's nothing better. Maybe, I mean, there is things better. But a very good thing is like when you find a song that just fucking

hits so right and then you listen to it like a hundred times over the course of like three days. Yeah, see music, I'm like, we can't get enough music. Everybody keep making music. Movies and TV shows, I'm like, we can slow down a little bit. There's too much content. I actually thought of this while Taylor Swift was doing her tour and I'm like, I think we're good.

We can just stop it here. Like this is a good moment. Or pause. We just pause. Let's enjoy it. But then Chapel Road happened. I'm like, all right, fine. We need a music.

Right. Yeah. That's the thing. There's nothing better. Yeah. Hyphus, that's a terrible take. Yeah. Well, you should have said that during the take perch

because now you're responsible for that. Yeah, now I'm responsible. I already disavow. I refuse. I rebuke that. Let's hear more bear-naked ladies, Craig. It's been one week since you look at me. I'm talking to sign and said I'm crazy.

I don't know every lyric. Oh, dude, that's a joke in Ted that in the 90s, you can sing every song from the 90s that just vowels. Oh, yeah. I got nothing left to do. Hey, I owe me, my y'all. A E, I owe you. All right, goodbye everyone.

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