The Ringer NFL Show - Draft (Vi)kings | The Dantasy Football Podcast

Episode Date: November 1, 2019

It’s Week 9 and we’re going all in on the Minnesota Vikings against the Chiefs, plus an appreciation for Josh Jacobs, and our weekly “Is Melvin Gordon good?” discussion (1:45). Then, we introd...uced a new segment called Galaxy Brain, discover the bargain buy of the year on the Eagles, and build our daily fantasy lineup for the weekend (28:00). Hosts: Danny Kelly, Danny Heifetz, and Craig Horlbeck Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Today's episode of the Tennessee Football Podcast is brought to you by State Farm. When you need a game plan for protection, state farm agents are here to help. With personalized service, agents are available to talk in person, over text, or through the State Farm app. So go at the one with coverage and agents you can count on. Find an agent in your neighborhood today. State Farm. Talk to an agent today. Danesie Football Podcast on the Ringer NFL show, on the Ringer podcast network. My name is Danny Hyphen, and I am joined as always by my co-host and my co-danny,
Starting point is 00:00:54 the hero we need and the analyst we deserve, the Dark Night himself, Danny Kelly. How are you doing, D.K.? I'm doing excellent, man. How are you doing? I know you're back from New York this week. I'm fantastic. I'm going to be honest. My accent came back a little bit. I know. I noticed this. Yeah, no, because people like, oh, I'm dark in here, but I'm walking here. And it's like, I'm just kind of, I don't know, it comes back on a little thick. Three Cs?
Starting point is 00:01:19 I kind of has got it going. I don't know. Oh, my God. He's looking at me. He's so happy about this. I'm pretty happy, but how are you doing over there, Craig? It kind of,
Starting point is 00:01:26 it's a little uncomfortable with this accent, but all right. I can't control it, you know, anyway. We're going to run, I can't get rid of it now. It's like,
Starting point is 00:01:34 we're going to run through a bunch of players we like in our, their mattresses this week. We're going to break down our lineup of the week at the end. But first, we're going to run through some categories. Some daily fantasy players
Starting point is 00:01:44 like this week. First, D.K. I just went home. It's a great wedding, by the way. But this is go big or go home. Expensive players we think are worth the money. Who are you going big with this week, D.K.? I am going big with Dalvin Cook.
Starting point is 00:01:58 Vikings going up against the Chiefs in Kansas City, 9,500. So obviously he's on the more expensive side. But Cook is a legit monster this year. He leads the NFL in Scrimmage Yards, 116. He's third and total touchdowns. Chiefs this year, or this year, 29th against opposing running backs. Last three teams that beat the Chiefs, and Danny, you've talked about this before, they did it by controlling possessions, running the ball a lot, basically keeping the ball out of Patrick Mahomes's hands. Now, we don't know for sure yet if Mahomes is even going to be playing in this game, but we saw it last week.
Starting point is 00:02:33 Matt Moore can fill in, move the ball with that offense. So I think regardless, the goal for Minnesota is going to be to keep the ball out of the Chief's offense's hands, and they're going to do that with Cook, I think, a lot this week. just running through the last three teams that have beaten the Chiefs, Aaron Jones to the Packers, rushed 13 times, 67 yards, added seven catches, 157 yards and two touchdowns. He went off. The week before that, or a couple weeks before that, Carlos Hyde, 26 rushes, 116 yards a touchdown.
Starting point is 00:03:03 Duke Johnson added two catches in 20 yards and a touchdown. And then Marley Mack, when the Colts beat him, ran 29 times for 132 yards. So that's been kind of the blueprint, and I could see them really just relying on Cook a lot in this game. So I think he'll be worth the money. Yeah, Aaron, I don't think that Dalvin Cook's going to be able to split out wide as much because the Packers are splitting Aaron Jones out wide and then Anthony Hitchens and the Chiefs
Starting point is 00:03:26 linebackers could not cover him and that was embarrassing. But at the same time, you just mentioned, I mean, Carlos Hyde and then Marlon Mack the week before him, I mean, Dalvin Cook is better than, I mean, I don't even want to mention him in the same sentence as Carlos Hyde. He's just as good, probably a lot better than Marlon Mac. And also, as you mentioned, Mike Zimmer, the Vikings head coach, would love nothing more than to run the ball 70 times in this game and not have Kirk Cousins pass. It's in his DNA. You're right, though.
Starting point is 00:03:50 They're not going to use, I don't think they'll use Cook on vertical routes quite as much as the Packers do with Jones. But with the way that they run play action, the way that they kind of like try and get the defense falling in one direction and going the other direction, they're very good on screen passes. And that's where Cook, he's like really good in the open field. You know, he's really, really elusive. So I could see Cook picking up big yardage in the screen game, too.
Starting point is 00:04:12 Yeah, and the Chiefs is just banged up. on defense. Chris Jones, the defensive tackle's not healthy. They lost Alex O'Kefour in that Packers game. They just the banged up defense. Frank Larks, her, the, every one on that defense is hurting. For me, my big go home, go
Starting point is 00:04:28 home, not going very far. Kirk Cousins. I know I just said three seconds ago that they don't want to pass, but guess what? They never want to pass, but they're going to have to pass a little bit in this game. Just because their preferred method is to run the ball, doesn't mean their offense is not going to do well. As we mentioned, the Texans and the Colts,
Starting point is 00:04:44 who beat the Chiefs twice, back-to-back weeks, they each had like 39 minutes or so of possession. When you have the ball for that often, you're going to be able to pass efficiently. The Chiefs run defense is worse than their past defense, but more amazingly is that I'm not saying Kirk Cousins is as good as Patrick Mahomes. I would never say that. I sure hope not.
Starting point is 00:05:03 I am saying that Kirk Cousins is second to Patrick Mahomes in every category that is underlying. Not like passing touchdowns or passing yards, but like yards per attempt, all the efficiency steps, completion percentage above expectations. Kirk Cousins is either number one or number two, two Patrick Mahomes. That includes average net yards per attempt, which is the fancy way of saying yards per attempt with sacks and picks and touchdowns included. Mahomes is number one.
Starting point is 00:05:28 Kirk Cousins is two. Russell Wilson's three. Aaron Rogers is four. Completion percentage above expectation, which actually factors in how far you're throwing and where the defenders are on the field. Kirk Cousins is number one. He's like 9% above what he's completely. completion percentage is supposed to be of
Starting point is 00:05:43 quarterbacks with more than two starts. If he's playing really well for the last month, we're wondering whether this would be real or not. He has just kept going. So I think he's going to shred this chief's team, even if they're trying to run the ball with Dalvin Cook. Not to mention, Cook can still bring up down the field. It doesn't mean they're not going to get.
Starting point is 00:05:57 Like, a lot of scoring drives doesn't necessarily mean it's all going to be Cook. Right. And most basically, Stefan Diggs and Adam Thielen are two of the three most expensive receivers this week. And Kirk Cousin's the fifth most expensive quarterback. I don't know if that makes sense. So I'm going with Cousins because he's way cheaper.
Starting point is 00:06:15 And there we go. Love some Kirk Cousins. I just wrote a couple weeks ago. I think two weeks ago I wrote a very glowing article on Kirk Cousins. And I'm with you, man. He's been playing absolutely out of his mind. And I get that some of these games that he's really balled out and are against, we're against bad teams like the Giants.
Starting point is 00:06:35 But at the same time, if you, and this goes to your expected completion, percentage stat that you just mentioned. I mean, if you look at some of the throws he made, he was throwing absolute dimes into tight coverage, into double coverage, putting it only where his receiver could get it. I mean, I was very, very impressed. And he works really, really well in that play action game. I'm sure they're going to do that this week. And they've just done a really good job of figuring out what he's comfortable doing and
Starting point is 00:07:02 then doing it a lot. So, yeah, I think the Vikings offense has really impressed me over the, you know, not necessarily last week so much, but, you know, in the, in the, in the, last month or so, they've been really, really good. Craig, you have any thoughts on Kirk Cousins' his Instagram? Oh, I haven't checked it recently. You haven't checked it?
Starting point is 00:07:17 So he went Halloween. Well, they did the thing where they have the kids over on Halloween, but not Halloween. And he was wearing the Kirk Cousins jersey, which he was either going as Kirk Cousins for Halloween or just one of those, like, he has to wear the jersey or no one will know who he is. I just thought that was hilarious. I really wish he would go as Gary from Team America World Police. How many followers do you?
Starting point is 00:07:40 you guys think her cousin says? 17. 17. Yeah, 19. Like 19 total or 19,000? Yeah, no, total. Okay, DK. 13,000, I don't know. 344,000. Wow. There's that many people that want to see Kurtz's life.
Starting point is 00:07:55 You guess 17. Yeah. It's Price is right style. I don't know. All right. Too rich for my blood. DK. Who is a player who's priced pretty high this week that you're not so into? I think this is the only time I'm ever going to say it, but Chris Carson of the Seahawks. going up against Tampa Bay. That's your guy.
Starting point is 00:08:12 I know, it's my guy. He's 7,200 this week, which is on the more expensive side. And it's going up against, he's the sixth most expensive running back on this slate, for the record. So going up against Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, which has been really, really good against the run, is, and that's the reason it gives me pause. The Bucks have legit one of the best run defenses in the NFL. They're 29th in points allowed to opposing running backs this year, i.e. the fourth fewest points. they've allowed just three touchdowns
Starting point is 00:08:40 to running backs all season, 390 yards total in seven games. So I think Carson still brings a little bit of upside as a pass catcher, but they really haven't gotten them involved on vertical routes like we're talking about with Aaron Jones. He's more of just like a dump-off swing pass kind of guy.
Starting point is 00:08:57 So I think I'm just betting that there's going to be better options for that price this week with the Seahawks, especially since they just lost their starting center Justin Britt on IR. I think they could potentially have some issues running the ball this week. And so, you know, you never leave it to the Seahawks to necessarily do the logical thing, but it would make a lot more sense for the Seahawks just to pass a bunch in this game.
Starting point is 00:09:21 And that's why I'm a little bit nervous about what Carson's going to do. Yeah, the Bucks Run De has been shockingly good. I don't know. Last year it was just bad because it was so easy to pass against them. Now it's actually been improved with – and now Jason Pierre-Paul is back. So I'm with you on the Buccaneers just weirdly being. more attacking there. But yeah, Pete Carroll doesn't love to throw when he should throw. But what else is no? That's true. Craig, who's too rich for your blood this week?
Starting point is 00:09:45 I'm sorry, I'm just kind of looking at pictures of Kirk Cousins in a Buzz Lightyear costume right now. Is he in a Buzz Lightyear costume? I can't think of anyone who is less like infinity and beyond energy than Kirk Cousins. He's very much like has a time stamp and is here, not infinity nor beyond. He looks so happy, though, so I'm happy for him. He's like a nice guy. He really seems like a nice guy. Yeah, he's a nice guy Yeah, you know He's not like
Starting point is 00:10:09 He's not gonna blow your mind To both conversation But he's a really nice guy He's organized He's an organized father He happens to be an NFL quarterback Um Do you?
Starting point is 00:10:17 Well, are we still going? Well, I was just gonna be like I'm just skipping you I'm like, you know who's too rich For my blood? My blood Do you know how much candy I've eaten today We're recording this on Halloween
Starting point is 00:10:26 You're getting in New Yorkie again Am I getting New Yorkie again? Oh man Devante Adams Okay, there we go Thank you for getting He is too rich for my blood this week It looks like he's finally going to be back.
Starting point is 00:10:37 He's been gone for over a month. He had turf toe, which is one of the most nagging injuries that a receiver can have. So he's $7,100, which is like in the top seven wide receivers. I just think this is a wait and see week for Devante. He's going to probably be shattered by the Chargers top corner, Casey Hayward. Yeah, I don't know. I think I would just rather allocate my capital, as Joe House would say, on something else. Yep.
Starting point is 00:11:00 Allocate my capital. Wow. Shouts to the Capitol, and that's winning the World Series. Oh, I did it again. All right. Let's move on. All right. Before we move on, though, let's take a quick break. All right, big news. NFL superstar JJ Watt wants to change your life.
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Starting point is 00:12:18 once again, that is omaze.com slash NFL show promo code NFL Show 150. How about that? Justin J. Love Justin J. Love Goldilocks. This is Middle Range Sweet Spot, not too high, not too low. These are guys right in the middle.
Starting point is 00:12:36 D.K., who's who you? you like is a good Goldilocks play this week? I'm rolling with DJ Moore the Panthers going up against Tennessee this week. He's 4,800, which just feels like the right spot for me. He's seeing really good target numbers over the last three weeks, 9, 10, and 8 in the last three games.
Starting point is 00:12:52 I think he's due for positive regression in the touchdown category. I think he could find the end zone this week. So I like his floor just as a PPR receiver, but I also like his upside his ceiling too with the potential for a touchdown. So I'm going with DJ Moore, Panthers, going up against the
Starting point is 00:13:09 Titans this week. I like DJ more. Better than DJ less. Oh. Hey, no, that's nothing. My goalie locks this week, the whole New York Jets, I'm just, I'm just rolling with the whole thing. Slamming Sammy Donald and the New York Jets playing the Miami Dolphins this week.
Starting point is 00:13:26 The Dolphins are going to be sleeping with the fishes. The dolphins dead last or last, or second of last, in every major defensive category. They just put cornerback Zavi and Howard on injured reserve. They traded for Keep DeLeague, but he's hurt, so he's not playing. So the Dolphins got no quarterbacks. They traded away Minka Fitzpatrick.
Starting point is 00:13:44 They got no one. Sam Darnold, $5,900. Robbie Anderson, $5,500. Robbie Anderson, deep threat. He's a receiver fastest the day is long. Now, he's not got such good numbers, but here's the thing. If you remove the games with the backups of Mr. Trevor Simeon or whatever, Luke Falk was playing, if you only look at the games that Slamming Sammy Donald was playing,
Starting point is 00:14:06 Robbie Inneson, 9th in Air Yards. Ninth, and we love Air Yards on this program. Jameson Crowder, $5,300 leads the team in targets. He's reliable. You know, reliable. It's hard to come by. Also, in the games just with Sammy Donald, top 10 in Target share among his whole team and the whole league. That's amazing.
Starting point is 00:14:24 So you got the Jets. The dolphins suck, and everyone's like, oh, well, you know, because the dolphins and the, sorry, because the Jets have been so bad. It's a great matchup. It's an excellent matchup. Danny, did you just go to New York and listen to sports radio for like 24-7 while you were there?
Starting point is 00:14:39 Did you like get a screening of uncut gems early? That's good. Holy shit. I feel like I've just become a W fan caller. Jeez, that was insane. I hope, did anybody get any information from that or were they just too distracted by your ass?
Starting point is 00:14:55 We'll find out. Craig. Oh my word. Who's your Goldilocks this week? Josh Jacobs on the Raiders. He is 6,500 bucks. and the Lions. I really like Josh Jacobs.
Starting point is 00:15:05 He passes the eye test when you watch him, you know? He just looks good on every run, always falling forward, getting yards for you. One of those work hard, a real gruden grinder. Do you know he's second in the NFL this year in Miss Tapples Force behind my guy, Chris Carson? I did not know that, and that's why you're the best, D.K., thank you.
Starting point is 00:15:22 Yeah, you're welcome. Detroit's also giving up the third most fantasy points of running backs this season. And the last three weeks, they've kind of gotten killed. Jamal Williams and Aaron Jones had 150 yards combined. Dalvin Cook in Week 7 had 142 yards and two touches. And then last week, Sequin only had 64 on the ground, but he had 80 through the air with a touchdown. So maybe this is the week Josh Jacobs gets going through the air a little bit.
Starting point is 00:15:42 Oh, I hope so. But even if he doesn't, at home, Oakland, and they don't have to play on the dirt anymore. The A's are done. They got grass now. Oh, wow. Look at you. Yeah, I like it. Look at you.
Starting point is 00:15:55 I got one Josh Jacobs stat for you. This is from Matthew Berry's Love, Hate, Calm on Thursday. A little guessing game for you guys? Blind Resum. Let's do it. This is from Matthew Barry. Player A, 64.6% of teams carries, 67.4% of his teams rushing yards. 5 yards per carry on the dot, 2.2 yards per carry after contact.
Starting point is 00:16:16 Player B, 65.8% of teams carries, 69.3% of his teams rushing yards, 5.1 yards per carry, and 1.96 yards per carry after contact. Okay, so very, very similar. Very similar. Yeah, I probably could have just said that instead of. Anyway, player A. God damn. Josh Jacobs. Flair B.
Starting point is 00:16:37 Ezekiel Elliott is a rookie. Wow. Really? Yeah. How about that? Now, I've never once looked at percentage of team rushing yards. I don't know how accurate. I don't know how informative that is of predicting. Like how sticky. Of whether Josh Jacobs is Ezekieliot's career going forward.
Starting point is 00:16:54 But it does speak to, I think, the Raiders, despite having John Gruden, are weirdly forgettable in a way this season, even though they could still make the playoffs of the win this week. but Josh Jacobs, getting really getting better. Yeah. I think we should give shouts to the Raiders and Gruden in general too because their offense has been a lot better than I think I expected. Which works perfectly with. Yeah, well, I was going to say, so Contrarian play of the week, D.K., you want to get into this?
Starting point is 00:17:19 I snuck a little peek at who you got here. Yeah, so Derek Carr, quarterback of the Raiders. I don't know if I've ever touted him on this podcast before. We've definitely said bad things about him. Right. going up against the lions this week, $5,500, very reasonable cost. I think Carr, you know,
Starting point is 00:17:40 he's kind of become a punchline over the past few years because he's just been like a checkdown machine, but he's actually playing pretty well under Gruden. I saw this from Established and Runs Adam at him at the Lovetan. The Raiders, very quietly, fourth in yards per play this season, eighth in offensive DVOA,
Starting point is 00:17:54 ninth in yards per pass stint. So they're actually, they've been really pretty good, and it's interesting because they're running, basically they're passing off. offense through a couple of tight ends and they're not, you know, they don't have, Tyro Williams has been, you know, pretty good in the times that he's been healthy. But it's just, to me, it's very surprising how, I guess, efficient and good they've been this season.
Starting point is 00:18:16 The Lions, meanwhile, 30th against opposing quarterbacks this season per draft kings. And Carr scored 23.4 and 17.7 points in last two weeks. So, I don't know, he's got some upside there. Yeah, and as you mentioned, Darren is leading them in Target Share, and he's just been there. de facto number one receiver, especially because Tyro Williams has been heard a lot. And that's, again, just not a guy who's played consistent football for, like, his whole, like, only been playing football for, like, five years.
Starting point is 00:18:43 But in the NFL for a handful, he's overcome some substance issues and stuff. But this is his first season, like, really playing. And he's the leading receiver on the team. There's a lot of, I mean, if John Gruden wasn't such a meme, things we'd be calling, like, remarkable coaching. We're not really giving him any credit. It's a really well-run team. But you like Car versus the Lions this week.
Starting point is 00:19:02 Yeah, I mean, I think You know, if you're looking for, like you said, a contrarian play, someone that's not going to be owned in a lot of lineups probably. I think he could be the guy. I like that. Craig, you got a contrarian play this week? I do. I think this is rather contrarian.
Starting point is 00:19:16 I'm going with Melvin Gordon, who everybody hates now in fan of it. Yeah, that's a thing. I'm not really sure why. He's had like... I got an idea. What, because he's bad now? Maybe because he asked, one, aside from the holdout,
Starting point is 00:19:30 Maybe because he asked for more touches, like ahead of a game, and then fumbled the ball at the goal line so that they would lose the week after he asked for the more touches. Okay. Yeah. I mean, what's he supposed to do? Not ask for more touches as a player? Don't fumble. Anyway, I'm sorry, I cut you off.
Starting point is 00:19:47 Don't fumble is always the answer. But anyway, so the Chargers just canned Ken Wisenhunt, their offensive coordinator. And they just brought in their quarterback's coach. And I don't know how to pronounce his last name. Shane Steichen? Steichen? Anybody know? Sure.
Starting point is 00:20:01 I'm going to leave you on that island. I wanted to ask you guys a question about when new offensive coordinators come in, if you have any, I'm going to put you on the spot here, if you have any intel on what the offense normally does immediately, like my guess is that it's a lot harder to implement a new passing scheme than a running scheme right off the bat, that they're suddenly not going to get more creative from a passing perspective and they're going to probably like stick to the run more
Starting point is 00:20:22 right after a new offensive coordinator gets hired. What do you guys think about that? That's a good question. I think number one, you don't change. a lot because like installing an entire new offense takes weeks right so I think they'll still use the same place same language all that I think it's just going to be the only thing that may change is tendencies and you know just play sequencing and all that that's really the thing that they're going to be looking for going forward I think is is less completely overhauling the
Starting point is 00:20:52 offensive system and just changing the play sequencing and play selection and that kind of thing I agree with D.K. Because the moments, look, when they change their offense overnight, it's so rare that it really stands out. So last year, I mean, it happened with the Ravens where they bench Flacco used their buy and came out with Lamar Jackson and went from, I believe, running either last or like the least or the least or the least to the second least, to running the most and being like the least efficient running team to like among the top two. And then the Browns kind of really changed stuff. But now we've even seeing maybe that was more quarterbacks coach, Kenson & Pizzie than it was Freddie Kitchens. But as D.K said, those are rare. In reality, teams change offensive quarters during the season a pretty good bit.
Starting point is 00:21:32 And most of the time, as DECA said, it's about tendencies. It's about maybe they're changing, you know, what they're doing on first down, run past, like fundamental. Usually it's like going back to fundamentals. Fundamentally, I think the interesting thing is why did the person get fired? I think that's the good thing to look at. So like last year, Mike Zimmer fired John DeFilippo, and that was explicitly because John DeFilippo was basing too much. And he wanted to run more. So I think that if you look at why was this person fired,
Starting point is 00:22:00 do they want to be more aggressive or more conservative? That's the first question I would ask. So looking at the charges, why was Ken Wisenhunt fired? Not to go against your Melvin-Gordon point, but there have been 85 teams in NFL history. Like I'm talking like a century. 85 teams have had four consecutive games where they had under 40 rushing yards.
Starting point is 00:22:22 84 of those were before 1946. and the 85th was the Chargers now. The Chargers are currently on a streak of under 40 rush at yards, four games in a row. That is astonishing. My question to you is, what's different this year?
Starting point is 00:22:39 Why is Melvin Gordon bad now? Melvin Gordon was the RB7 last year and he played 12 games. They have essentially the same offensive line. Well, no, they don't have essentially the same offensive line. Russell O'Coon was out with blood clots in his lungs, like a pulmonary embolism until two weeks ago.
Starting point is 00:22:53 Yeah, he's back. Well, he's back, but the second he came back, Mike Pouncy, their center, who's, I mean, definitely their best line when Okung was gone. I got put an IR with a neck injury. So they don't.
Starting point is 00:23:02 So you already have Pouncy's out or just for the season. Okun is back. He also had a, I picked up an injury right as he got back. I am not willing to say he's himself yet. And then you have their guards. Their guards are,
Starting point is 00:23:13 if not the worst in the league, bottom three, easily. And honestly, the other L.A. team, actually, is probably the only team that is the worst guards.
Starting point is 00:23:20 Are those the same guards they had last year? Essentially. Okay. They've got poor Dan Feeney. and it's just not, Sam Tevi, Adiqa, Sam Tevi,
Starting point is 00:23:28 probably the worst right tackle in football. So, like, the Patriots literally laid out this whole game plan of how to destroy the Chargers' offensive line in the divisional round, and they haven't fixed the team. So everyone else is just like, oh, this is, so it's really hard to run. You have to change stuff every, you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:23:44 There's a change every year, and the Chargers just, they have a worse line. Also, they're just to hurt again. There's so many reasons, but, um. Gotta adapt. And also, Melvigort wasn't practicing. practice is important. It's not basketball.
Starting point is 00:23:55 You've got to practice. Yeah, but each week, you would imagine he gets better. So he's been bad on the ground, but Austin Echler's been worse. Echler's averaged 1.9 yards per carry since Melvin Gordon came back, and Gordon's average 2.5. I think that a lot of that's Mike. Look, Mike, so we kind of talk about these guys like their Legos. The reality is when you lose your center.
Starting point is 00:24:11 The center is the guy who's doing protection, especially Mike Pounce. This is, I mean, interesting guy off the field. But he's a smart player. There are the guys setting protections. They're the guy's doing line. I mean, Philip Rivers is obviously smart, too. But you lose your center. you're losing, generally speaking,
Starting point is 00:24:25 like the mind of your offensive line, and you can't always just replace that. There's so many reasons this team's gone by the wayside. It's like, it's not just as simple as well. Coon's back and Pouncey's out. Like, the team was derailed by injuries. And that's not even talking about the defense, unless Derwin James, like, in training camp,
Starting point is 00:24:43 I happen to actually be there, and all the players were, like, really despondent. I guess what I'm thinking is, is last year the charges were also derailed by injuries. And so aside from Marcus Pouncey, the only difference on their line. Well, Mike, Morkesus in Pittsburgh. Oh, you're right.
Starting point is 00:24:56 Sorry, Mike Pouncey, excuse me. And Melvin Gordon was the RB7. I don't, I feel like we're all just penciling him in to be like not even startable for the rest, for every game going forward. And I'm just not, I don't know why this week couldn't be a week. The Packers give up the highest yards per carry in the league. I mean, Melvin Gordon is going to regress to the mean of Melvin Gordon. So for me, what changed my mind was the under 40 rushing yards, four games in a row for the first time
Starting point is 00:25:21 since World War II ended. Yeah, but maybe that means they're going to try and get over that. I know, doesn't that just tell you that's not going to continue? So that is the argument that's interesting to me is that they fired Wizard Hunt to fix that. That's where I think that you could be right, that they could come out and be like, so you know what? That is a contrarian play.
Starting point is 00:25:38 I like it, Craig. You convinced me. Great job. Jesus, full circle there. Wow. I literally laughed when you first brought him up, and you know what you convinced me that it is a good contrarian play. Let's go to Carson to watch that game.
Starting point is 00:25:49 Let's go to Carson to watch that game. Hey, Google. How long is the drive to Carson, California? By car. The trip to Carson is one hour and one minute with heavy traffic. That's not so bad. You guys want to go to the Chargers game? Let's do it. D.K. Fly down. I would love to, man. I would love to. All right. Before we move on, let's take one more quick break. Fight fans. It's fight season on DeZone.
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Starting point is 00:27:12 with Andy Ruiz on the Bill Simmons podcast, which might be one of my favorite pods he's done all year because that just had them on. It's excellent. Today's show is brought to you by the TVG podcast. Listen and subscribe now to hear TVG analysts uncover views, debate, and deliver crucial insight into the world of force racing. Hear from TVG favorites Mike Joyce, Ken Rudolph, and many special guests.
Starting point is 00:27:36 This week, TVG has a special Breeders' Cup edition featuring a celebrity guest appearance, figure out how to best place your wager for the big races this weekend. You might even get lucky. The TVG podcast is available in all your favorite podcast. platforms, Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and SoundCloud. Don't forget to rate, listen, and subscribe, and join the conversation on social. Utilize the hashtag TVGPod. All right, well, that was contrarian.
Starting point is 00:28:07 This is galaxy brain, which is like contrarian, but, you know, we're on an interdimensional travel level. This is like, taking it up a notch. This is a difference. So, D.K., you got a galaxy brain play that's, like, you know, operating on a different system. My Galaxy Brain play this week when we're all just completely have given up on Mitch Trubisky going up against the Eagles this week. Wow.
Starting point is 00:28:31 Why not? Why not? Look, he's due. And why is he due? He certainly is. Week 3, 20 points. 20.4 points against Washington. Week 4.0.36 points.
Starting point is 00:28:44 Not so good. Week 7 against New Orleans, 20.04 points. week eight, chargers, nine points. Week nine, profit. Maybe? This is absolutely galaxy brain, but going up against the Eagles defense, which has been very, very bad against the pass,
Starting point is 00:29:02 I could just kind of see, like there's a world that exists so I can see Nagy. And I've argued in favor of Montgomery in the past that David Montgomery being kind of the foundation of the offense, I could see Nagy just being really mad about all the media narratives and being like, look, we're going to show you how good
Starting point is 00:29:20 Trubisky can be because I think you had to come out in the media and defend Trubisky last week and I don't know this is completely galaxy brain and it's off my rocker. Yeah, you galaxy brained it. But yeah, if you want to really, if you want to really go past contrarian play, Mitch Trubisky is your guy. I'll pass. Most of these galaxy brains are going to be like, yeah, I'll pass. My galaxy brain, Matt Moore and the Kansas City Chiefs, baby, $4,800.
Starting point is 00:29:50 everyone's favorite journeyman, Matt Moore, he's the best journeyman after Josh McCown and Bruce Grankowski and Chad Hennie and Seneca Wallace and Gus Ferrat and Charlie Batch. But after all them, Matt Moore is the best one. He's running the Chief's offense and that is the beginning and the end of this argument. The Chief's offense, still good.
Starting point is 00:30:07 Matt Moore, still cheap. He had 267 yards and two touchdowns last week. One of them was those fake touchdowns that countess passing touchdowns where you just do the jet sweep, but you toss it in the air. Yeah, the touch pass. You toss it six inches.
Starting point is 00:30:19 they catch it, run for a touchdown, and it counts for you. But hey, those still count. They're still going to do them. The Vikings D, I mean, is good, but has given up the 10th most passing touchdowns, so they are vulnerable, and the Chiefs are going to have to score. And yeah, no, Matt Moore is not good, but he's better than you'd think, and that I mean that. If you watch that game, shockingly competent.
Starting point is 00:30:43 And competency might be all you need to run the Chief's offense, semi-profitably in draft Kings this week. So there you go. Galaxy brain For the record Trubisky is only $200 more than Matt Moore
Starting point is 00:30:54 Yeah and Matt Moore's gonna outscore Mitchell Trubisky You're trying to put something on this? Yeah, quite possible Yeah You're trying to put something on this, D.K? Absolutely not. Oh wow.
Starting point is 00:31:05 All right. Craig, you got a galaxy brain for us? I don't even know what Like, what is Galaxy Brain exactly? What does it mean? Well, like, no, Cosmic apopiosis. That's what it means.
Starting point is 00:31:16 I'm saying what qualifies a pick as Galaxy Brain. It's bad? It's like... It's worse than bad. It's like if... It's so bad. The difference is Contrarian is swimming upstream
Starting point is 00:31:29 against the mainstream thinking. Galaxy brain is like on a third or fourth dimension of thought and reasoning. You know what I mean? Okay. Then I'm not sure this is galaxy brain, but I'm just going to recommend a backup running back. Is that galaxy brain?
Starting point is 00:31:47 Yeah, that works. There we go. Maybe it's more like military. Milky Way brain, but yeah. Milky Way brain. Solar system brain. Alexander Madison on the Vikings. It's playing the cheese.
Starting point is 00:31:57 I like this. Why is he $5 grand? I know. Not even a good value. I'll tell you why. He's more expensive than Matt Moore. He's playing. I mean, he's been better than Melvin Gordon.
Starting point is 00:32:09 I mean, so maybe that's why. He's averaging over 10 rushes a game in his last four games, and he's had over 50 yards and four of his last six. He has looked good. I'll give you that. Yeah, he's looked good. And, like, he actually... Are you admitting defeat on Mike Boone,
Starting point is 00:32:22 third string running back for the Vikings, D.K.? Yeah, that's right. Wave your white flag. I just won that August argument. Madison just straight up, like, has more yards than half of, like, starting running backs on teams. Dude, I'm irrationally excited. I just beat D.K.
Starting point is 00:32:34 in that argument from three months ago. God. I can't believe that. Sorry, I keep going. Let him have this D.K. It's all he's all right. I don't know. Minnesota runs the ball at time.
Starting point is 00:32:43 They have the second most rushing attempts in the league. Whenever Dalvin Cook has big games, Madison usually has pretty decent like flex startable games below him nobody notices and Kansas City bleeds fantasy points to running backs. They've also given up a touchdown to secondary running backs three straight weeks.
Starting point is 00:32:59 Fun little stat. Can I be honest? I kind of wish that I thought of this which is my highest compliment. Wow, thank you so much. All right, let's come back from Galaxy. You somehow turned a compliment to me to like you bragging. Yeah, no, I'm good at that. That's the New York in me.
Starting point is 00:33:17 Yeah. All right. Bargain bin play of the week when you're scraping the bottom of the barrel. D.K., who are you scraping off the bottom sides of the barrel? So Dallas Goddard of the Eagles is only $3,100,
Starting point is 00:33:31 which is extremely, extremely cheap. I'm actually, as you scroll through players on draft kings that are $3,100, some of these are so obscure, I legitimately do not know who they are. Who is C Reynolds? Are we supposed to know that? Either Washington or Buffalo.
Starting point is 00:33:51 0.0 points per game. Hey, his name's Craig. Craig Reynolds. Who is M. Burton? Michael Burton. Michael Burton is a person. That is $3,100. Dallas Gowder.
Starting point is 00:34:05 Also $3,100. That's incredible. Patrick DeMarco, 1.2 fantasy points per game. Is he a fullback? $3,000. He is a fullback. So, to me, this is like absurd.
Starting point is 00:34:18 Dallas Goddert has been a fantasy factor over the last three weeks. You know, he's been as good as Ertz in fantasy over the last three weeks. And so, I don't know, I just think that's a really good bargain right there. So I just looked this up. Do you know how many touches Patrick DeMarco has this year? No. Fullback Patrick DeMarco. Six.
Starting point is 00:34:39 You looked it up. I swear to God I did not. I heard typing and then an answer. Check my history on my computer. I heard typing and then an answer. I'm going to see all your tabs. I'm typing notes because I produced this show. All right, well, it's six.
Starting point is 00:34:52 Yeah, it's six. Now, I feel like the air came out of that. Whatever. The point is, it's not a lot. So, yeah, Dallas got it. Good. All right. I was really excited.
Starting point is 00:34:59 Saw the stat on Twitter from Graham Barfield. Zach Hertz over the last four weeks. 13 catches, 169 yards. One touchdown on 26 targets. Dallas Goddard over the last four weeks. 13 catches, 150 yards, two touchdowns on 20 targets. So, I mean, it's very close there. It's almost Patrick.
Starting point is 00:35:15 The Marco levels. Yeah, $3,100. You can't beat that price. You can't beat that. All right, bargain bin. Craig, we argued about this, so I think we're just going to have to talk about the whole thing. Jalen Samuels and Trey Edmonds, basically the backup running backs for the Steelers, because this is dependent on whether James Connor plays.
Starting point is 00:35:36 James Conner had a shoulder injury, AC joint specifically. Mike Tolman said he'd probably be fine without practicing. I enrolling with ESPN's Brooke Pryor, a fine. reporters on the Steelers beat, who tweeted today, with today is Thursday, at 324 Eastern time saying Connor once again mispractice, as did Benny Snell, who was technically third string, but was promoted because Jalen Samuze was out, so he was Benny Snell's second string, but now Jalen Samu's back, so Benny Snell's third string again. The point is, Brooke Pryor was saying that the odds that Connor and Snell don't play are higher
Starting point is 00:36:10 now that they didn't practice on Thursday. Obviously, Friday full participation usually means they're going to play. I mean, always means they're going to play. But Tomlin also said that Connor now practicing would be all right and could still play. So, what do you guys think this weekend? I think that Trey Edmonds, who is the fourth stringer, also the only healthy backfield candidate, $3,000 guy, $3,000, so Patrick DeMarco level money could end up getting like half the
Starting point is 00:36:36 Steelers touches, but also Jaylon Samuels could be healthy. So these $4,000, which is still $1,000 cheaper than Alex Madison, or James Connor could play. And none of these people mean anything. I mean, I love the Jalen Samuels thing if Connor doesn't play. But that is the big question. Yeah, so if Connor's out, Craig, you're the resident, you're the resident Seelers fan. Give us your take. I think Connor's going to play. I mean, Tomlin said that he could not practice how we can play. All that really matters is that he's like even limited on Friday. This is a big game. They're playing the Colts. And Connor, Conner's a tough son of a gun. That guy comes back from
Starting point is 00:37:10 injuries like three times a game. I don't know. If I had to put money down, even though, he didn't play today, and I don't know if he's listed as questionable or doubtful right now, I would bet that he suits up. All right. Let's build our lineup. Well, I'm lying. We already built the lineup. But we'll reveal the lineup.
Starting point is 00:37:27 Going through Draft Kings, again, this is point per reception. We are entering this week another double up. Double up. Thank you, Craig. Craig's got all the double up. Yeah, so the goal of double up, you want to come top 50%, top 40%, you want it better than average. So we're going for players who are high floor.
Starting point is 00:37:45 I mean, obviously high ceiling, but it's not like a millie maker where we're trying to come in first and we're just shooting for the moon. And let us just say our last week, we did our first double up and we doubled up. We doubled up. So now we're, I'm not good at math. Are we quadrupling up now or we're just doubling up again? We're just doubling up again. We're just doubling up again. All right.
Starting point is 00:38:01 We're going to double up again, starting with QB, Mr. Kirk, cousins, Kurt, whatever you want to call him. He's good for points to play in the Chiefs. We went through that. Running back. Aaron Jones, just $7,000 on draft kings, even though he had a, I mean, this. This is the technical term. A billion yards last week. They're going against the charges, which they're at Los Angeles,
Starting point is 00:38:21 but I think more like they're playing in front of a home crowd. He is a little limited in practice this week, but as long as he plays, he's worth the money. Josh Jacobs, our guy, $6,500 at running back receiver. Robbie Anderson against the dolphins. It's going to be great. Oh, boy. The Jets baby.
Starting point is 00:38:40 Seahawks, D.K. Metcalfe, the only other D.K. we are allowed to talk about on this podcast as D.K. Metcalf. Still leads the league in ends. And Red Zone targets. So look at D.N. Zone. Oh, Enzo. Yes, I apologize. End zone targets. Love D.K. Metcalf against the bucks because they're the bucks.
Starting point is 00:38:56 DJ Moore on the Panthers for $4,800, which seems so low. Goldilocks. These are Goldilocks. Platinum locks, DJ Moore. Dallas Goddard at tight end. Cheap as hell. Craig, do you have any remorse that we talked to out of Zach Ertz and into Dallas Goddard?
Starting point is 00:39:12 just going to put this into the radio airwaves right now. Zachertz is going to have a huge day. Craig is very upset about that we went with God. I got this. I'll take the credit. I mean, I'll take the blame if Ertz goes off, and I'll take the credit if Goddard goes off. Spidey senses are tingling for Earths.
Starting point is 00:39:28 Just saying. All right. Fair enough. But, hey, I will say, going to Goddert from Ertz gets us Kenny Goladay into our flex spot, which I'm really feeling good about. It's going to have a Gala day. Gala day.
Starting point is 00:39:41 I don't know if you're going to cut that or not. I hope you do. Defense Broncos. I hope you leave that. I hope you leave it too. Defense, Broncos, defense. They're rolling against the Browns, and the Browns quietly bottom five in every offensive rate category
Starting point is 00:39:55 that matters and also turnovers. And turnovers per drive, which is just, it's not what you want. They're up in the thin air of Denver. Who knows? I don't want to say anything because Baker will get mad at us and maybe yell at us. I don't want to say anything else. That's all we got. D.K., wait.
Starting point is 00:40:10 What are you dressing up a little? little baby Calvin is for Halloween. Oh man, I don't even know yet. Got to figure that out. Can you take an infant trick-or-treating? No. Did you think about it? I would do any excuse to trick-or-treat as an adult and get all that candy.
Starting point is 00:40:25 You should go as D.K. Metcalfe and he should be your football. Oh. Oh. That was actually pretty funny. What do you mean actually? Deke can just like go shirtless with just like all the abs and stuff. And then he can just carry around the baby. That is good. You are supposed to hold a baby like a football, right?
Starting point is 00:40:40 That's what my grandma told me. No, I got it. I'll be D.K. Metcalfe. My baby will be Tyler Lockett. No, that's not as funny as what Craig said. All right. Oh, my God. All right, that's all we got.
Starting point is 00:40:52 I don't know why D.K. isn't trying to get free candy from strangers. It's none of my business. Thank you, Craig. Thank you, D.K. Thank you, Jim. Thank you to everyone for listening. Best of luck this week.
Starting point is 00:41:01 We'll see you guys next week.

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