The Ringer NFL Show - The Passing Boom and Week 6 Waiver Watch | The Dantasy Football Podcast (Ep. 318)

Episode Date: October 9, 2018

The Ringer’s Danny Heifetz and Danny Kelly offer their initial advice after Week 5 (1:00), list the top guys to grab off waivers heading into Week 6 (13:00), and make sense of the passing boom of 20...18 and how it will affect the players on your fantasy team (22:30). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey guys, it's Liz Kelly here with two quick announcements before you start the show. We have officially launched the Ringer NBA show's Twitter and Facebook feeds, so be sure to check out at Ringer NBA on Twitter for the latest news, analysis, and rumors from the Ringer crew you know and love, and check out Ringer NBA on Facebook to chat with like-minded fans and a Ringer NBA talent. Also, be sure to listen to our first narrative podcast called Halloween Unmast. Our host, Amy Nicholson, deep dives on the famous Halloween movie franchise. There are new episodes being released Mondays and Thursdays for the whole month of October. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:00:36 And now, on to the show. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Come on, come all to the Danny C Football Podcast brought to you by the Ringer Podcast Network. My name is Danny Heifitz, and I'm here with my co-host and co-danny, Danny Kelly. How you doing, D.K.? What's going on, man? I'm doing really well. Another exciting week in the books.
Starting point is 00:01:01 How are you doing? I'm great. I brought back the come one come all for you because I know you missed it last time. It's so good. It's really good. Did it make a difference? Did it bring a twinkle to your eye? It absolutely did. So thank you for that. Let's keep it going. Well, that makes me happy. We can start out with some initial advice.
Starting point is 00:01:17 You know, I'll throw out some designated hitters. You can throw out some dark nights. You know, people we can plug into your lineup with some confidence. Who's your first dark night? Tight-in Cameron Brate of the Buccaneers. They're playing at the Falcons this week, which we know is right now, terrible past defense, terrible defense overall.
Starting point is 00:01:35 I think number one, that's, you know, the matchup is nice. Number two, with OJ Howard, you know, his health status up in the air for a couple of weeks, you know, Brate's going to probably inherit a little bit bigger piece of the pie in Tampa Bay. And then number three, with James Winston back in action, those two guys have a well-established rapport going back 2016 and 2017. Cameron Brate, this is actually kind of crazy. Brate is one of like the red zone superstars of the NFL. He had 13 red zone touchdowns in that time,
Starting point is 00:02:06 which is actually behind only three players, Devante Adams, Jordy Nelson, and Jimmy Graham in that stretch. Wait, really? Yeah, it's kind of insane. So he's, he's James Winston's, you know, security blanket in the red zone. And we already saw that last week,
Starting point is 00:02:23 or I should say the week before, because they were on a buy last week, but he had three catches, 29 yards, and a touchdown. He had a touchdown. week three as well. He's kind of, he's a touchdown dependent fantasy option, I think, but his history with, you know, just in the red zone is so strong that I think in this thin, tight end sort of like world right now that we live in. He's a good option. So if James is back,
Starting point is 00:02:48 do you think that he's a one-week thing with O.J. Howard out, or do you think when Howard comes back, he's worth holding on to? I mean, he's at least worth holding on to for now. When O.J. gets back, you know, it might be worth kind of like stashing him on your bench and seeing how it all shakes out. But I mean, again, look at the numbers from 2016, 2017. In 2017, OJ. Howard was there too. I mean, Granite he was a rookie, but, I mean, Brate has just kind of the staying power
Starting point is 00:03:12 in the red zone and Winston really trusts him there. So he could be an option down the stretch. Okay. Who's your guy? My first one, I'm doing a repeat. I don't know if we're allowed to do that. I'm just, I don't care. I'll allow it. Screw you, Jim. I'm rerunning Muhammad Sanoo. I talked about him last week, but he, You're going against...
Starting point is 00:03:28 Yeah, it's Jim's favorite. I love it. They played the Steelers last week. It's the same principles against the Bucks this week. The Bucks also have a terrible past defense. The Falcons offense is obviously humming. Calvin Ridley's gotten a lot of the credit with these touchdowns, but it's just a thing about the overall offense is humming.
Starting point is 00:03:45 Julio's still getting attention. Ridley's still taking away attention because he's proven that he can't just be left with lesser corner one-on-one. And then, but Ridley is still the number two dog in the offense. and the Buccer have three rookies in their secondary. I think Sanoo is going to shred them, and I think he's another really good bet for a touchdown this week. So back in on Sanoo.
Starting point is 00:04:04 All right. I mean, he scored a touchdown last week. You called it, so I'm with you on that one. Oh, thanks, man. That's a cun of hurrah, as my grandmother would say. Bad luck. But who's your next dude? Alfred Morris, 49ers are back to him,
Starting point is 00:04:17 going against the Packers this week. With Matt Breda, you know, he got a high ankle sprain. I think the indication is he could be. out a week or two. We're not really clear yet, so you kind of have to pay attention to the injury report. But I think if Brita can't go, Morris is set to inherit some of the volume. The offense in San Francisco has actually been better than I think anyone expected with Beatherd under center, obviously losing Garoppolo's big deal, but Bethard, you know, has been able to at least move the football. They ran a ton of plays last week. And so I think Morris becomes
Starting point is 00:04:51 another fantasy relevant option. I mean, he's like a flex type of guy, but just the volume. volume-based thing. You know, he could get their red zone carries, that kind of thing. Right now, the Packers have given up the 22nd most fantasy points to running backs. I just think, you know, that backfield has been kind of up and down. Breed certainly came out on top for a while there, but the injury kind of shakes things up. And I think Morris could be an option. No, I agree.
Starting point is 00:05:14 I mean, I think he's definitely going to get a ton of work this week. You know how Mays and Kevin are workshoping their take shop on tall quarterbacks? and not being any good. My workshop takes up is that C.G. Beth is better than Jimmy Gropolo. Oh, that's... Which I say, which I say because my guy actually staying in the same backfield,
Starting point is 00:05:36 this is probably the only time I'll ever recommend a fullback ever. 49ers fullback whose name I will never be able to say, Kyle, Jusheck, Jushchuk, Yushchuk. Yushchuk. Anyway, Kyle, because he's a dear friend of mine. Kyle, I was going to call him. You're on a first name based. Basically, he's a full-beck.
Starting point is 00:05:55 who is on the field, and he's like the highest paid fullback in the league ever, because they don't use him at all like a fullback. He gets a ton of carries. He gets a ton of touches and targets. He played 68 of 90 offensive snaps last week, which is far more than Brader and Morris. He got career highs or almost career highs in targets and catches and receiving yards. I will never say with confidence play a fullback.
Starting point is 00:06:19 He's owned it like less than 1% of ESPN YRO leagues, but I think he could do really well this week. they're designing a bunch of plays for him and I think that without Brady I think that he's going to get I think he's going to get actually a lot of design screens and I think you actually
Starting point is 00:06:32 this is the you can play but flex and not freak out about it the 49ers offense right now their pass offense is running through essentially use check and Kittle it's the weirdest thing a big tackle breaking tight end
Starting point is 00:06:46 and a huge fullback it's the most it's not what you expect at all they're playing weird formation they're playing like 22, they're playing a lot of two tight ends, two running backs in the backfield stuff, and he's getting,
Starting point is 00:06:58 I mean, wheel routes, but also like design screens, checkdowns, he's, an a traditional pass-catching back is really what he is. Absolutely.
Starting point is 00:07:06 My third guy, I'm actually stealing your sort of track here and going with a repeat again, Kiki Kootie of the Texans, going up against the bills this week. I think we kind of saw on Sunday night that this guy's got a solid,
Starting point is 00:07:21 you know, role in this offense. He's not just like a one hit wonder. Obviously, week four, the first game in the NFL, he added 15 targets, 11 catches under nine yards. Last week, on Sunday, I should say, he had six catches, 51 yards and a touchdown. It came on kind of like a jet sweep option type thing. They use them all over the field. He's played tons of snaps. He's actually played in his first two weeks, 94% of the team's offensive snaps. It's got a 25% market share in terms of their targets, 22 targets in those two games.
Starting point is 00:07:51 and he's basically the number three option behind Hopkins and Fuller. You know, obviously being number three in your offense probably limits him to being like a flex type option. But this week against the bills, you have to think maybe Trudevius White will follow Hopkins around. That could, you know, affect what Hopkins is able to. Hopkins is pretty much, you know, matchup proof. But at the same time, I think they could, you know, potentially look underneath to Couti a little bit more. I just think he's got a big place in this offense and I think he's going to continue to.
Starting point is 00:08:24 No, I like that. I mean, the Texans as a whole, actually, their offense weirdly looked good, which is weird to say after they couldn't score in the red zone. But if they had been able to convert, I mean, there's a lot of scoring chances. It's like a weird thing to think about it. He could actually end up getting more red zone looks
Starting point is 00:08:38 because, I mean, their red zone plan seemed to be run Deshawn Watson headfirst into linebackers this last week. What the fuck was that? I don't know. You just got off a torn ACO. It happened like four times. It's like that scene in the longest yard where they just wanted to like hurt
Starting point is 00:08:55 Adam Sandler and they weren't blocking. It was crazy. Yeah, just run far. Anyway, my last one, I'm breaking the rules here just totally. Forget like waiver ads. I think people should trade for Aaron Jones. The Packers are running back.
Starting point is 00:09:09 I think this is a fantastic bylaw opportunity. So we came into the season. Ty Montgomery was, you know, this receiver converted running back that was still in the depth chart and then he was really going to be a time share between Jamal Williams
Starting point is 00:09:22 who's this better past blocking back not as great of a runner and Aaron Jones who's better running not as good of a pass blocker got suspended the first few weeks
Starting point is 00:09:29 Aaron Jones has come back and promptly not risen above a committee he's got the fewest snaps last week and he's just not getting a lot of touches Mike McCarthy doubled down
Starting point is 00:09:38 on that earlier today on Monday saying I'm not going to I think that he said quote there's more to play in the position than just running the football end quote
Starting point is 00:09:47 from Ryan Wood of the Greenback Press Gazette. Robert Mays, and his column today called that, like, going to a Michelin restaurant because you like the mince in the bathroom. Basically, here's the thing. I think there's all this uncertainty about who's going to get the carries and stuff. I'm betting on the talent.
Starting point is 00:10:03 I am going to take the frustrated Aaron Jones owner who held him through all this, and now he's just freaking out that he's never going to be the person they thought he was and that maybe they wasted all this time having him on their bench. I'm going to get him. And here's why. He's actually okay in pass blocking. I think he's okay. But more importantly, Rogers is healthy enough
Starting point is 00:10:19 that I'm no longer concerned that that's a huge priority for them. Here's my thinking. This week they're against the 49ers, week seven they're on by. I think they're coming out in week eight. I believe that's against the Rams. I think that after week eight,
Starting point is 00:10:31 they're going to transition the full-time role to Jones during the by week. And I think that's what they're going to use their time to. McCarthy hot seat times the Packers just not being offensively where they should be. I think Jones is going to actually win that role in the next two weeks. And I think now with all this McCarthy tripling down,
Starting point is 00:10:48 on it publicly, I think it's actually a really good time to swoop in. So there you go. I love this. This is like, you know, you're just seeing the future, you're willing it into existence. I'm into it. Let's hope so. Speak it into existence. All right. Before we move on, let's take a quick break. Today's show is brought to you by Fanduel. Football season is already underway, and D.K. already has major regrets about his season-long fantasy teams. Harsh. I'm sure many fantasy players feel the same way. You spend all off-season researching and getting excited for the draft, and then comes the pain of the season when everything is dark and full of darkness.
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Starting point is 00:13:19 or keeping your eye on somebody or adding them to your end of your bench or maybe even plugging them in. These are guys that are probably going to be popular waiver ads this week or just guys we like and how we feel about them and they're out. Yeah, let's go right into it. The first guy that I got on my list is Robbie Anderson of the Jets. Obviously broke out kind of last week. You know, he was a really, really good receiver.
Starting point is 00:13:36 The Jets top receiver in terms of yards and touchdowns last year. Kind of been a non-factor in the first month of the season. Just kind of didn't get on the same page with Sam Darnold. You know, actually I looked at it up per pro football focus. Darnold had thrown 17 passes of 20 plus yards downfield this season in the first four weeks and only completed three of them, which was, in that rating, that gave him a 43 rating, which is 31st at a 34 qualifying passers. So, I mean, his deep passing was just basically missing from his repertoire. We saw that come alive, though, last week, he hit Darnell or he hit Robbie Anderson on a 76-yard touchdown. I think the other one was like a 35-yard touchdown.
Starting point is 00:14:18 The second one was way more impressive, actually. It was just like floated this touch pass right down into the corner of the end zone, right into Anderson's hands. And it was just like perfect. And so I think Anderson at this point could be worth just an ad to see if that is, if there's any way that they can kind of keep that consistent. Because, I mean, the guy was one of their top receivers last year. He was a, I know he, like, you know, made me really competitive in a couple of my leagues
Starting point is 00:14:43 because I picked him up halfway through the year and he really kind of tore it up in a second half the season. So if Darnold can continue to have chemistry with him and push the ball down field, I think he's got, you know, that second half breakout type potential. Yeah, I don't love Rob Anderson, but I'm a Giants fan and very bitter about Sam Donald. So probably the best person to ask. That's fair. Speaking of the Giants, next guy, Wayne Galman, Giants are playing the Eagles this week. Sequin Barkley looked like he got, like, nicked up on his touchdown run.
Starting point is 00:15:11 He's probably fine. Reports indicate he's okay. I don't know if they would necessarily be the... most forthcoming about this? Did your heart stop when that happened, by the way? I literally don't even want to talk about what I don't, I'm serious. I want an Apple watch exclusively for like when I watch Giants games. I just want to see what happens to me, my body.
Starting point is 00:15:30 Anyway, this isn't rocket science. Galman is not Saquan, but there's so much value he eats up that he would be valuable. Jonathan Stewart's on IR, so. Gallman would just out of the amount of touches he would get, be valuable. Sequin was ever out or even limited. So, especially a Thursday game in case Seekwan were to miss it for some reason. It'd be interesting. or games going forward.
Starting point is 00:15:47 Two guys from the Seahawks I want to talk about real quick. Mike Davis, he could be worth an out of this point. I mean, the CX are running the ball a ton. I think they ran it 32 times this week, over 30 times last two weeks before that. They're clearly dedicated at this point to running the ball. And more importantly, it's been working for the most part. Davis had 12 rushes, 68 yards, and a touchdown.
Starting point is 00:16:08 He got a little bit nicked up, so keep that kind of in your mind and check the injury report a little bit this week. but he's been functioning sort of as like 1B to Chris Carson. Chris Carson's obviously the starter, but he's been in there a lot. And so he's worth a potential ad. The other guy that you're probably going to see on a lot of fantasy football ad list this week is David Moore potentially. You know, he had two touchdowns, three catches, 38 yards, and two touchdowns.
Starting point is 00:16:35 He's basically moved ahead of Brandon Marshall on the Seahawks depth chart. I'm probably holding off on him. I do think he's a really good player, though. He really flashed in the preseason. Highly athletic, really good body control. He had a couple of really impressive plays in the preseason. I think the Seahawks kind of slowly decided to bring him up. And I think he's a playmaker.
Starting point is 00:16:54 So he's a guy to kind of watch. I put him on a watch list more than Adam necessarily. But if the Seahawks offense keeps clicking in terms of the passing game, that was by far their best passing performance of the season against the Rams on Sunday. And so, you know, if the Seahawks continue to trend up and Russell has a bounce back, he could be an option. No, I agree there. next guy, Alfred Blue, he's Texans back, so we saw him on Sunday night football. Lamar Miller
Starting point is 00:17:18 had a chest injury, I believe, and he really was limited. So Blue got a lot of work actually was pretty good. He's kind of been like the ultimate, like useless backup in the past, at least in my mind. But it was actually pretty good. He proved he was worth it to people stashed him. Miller is coming back soon and he's supposed to be fully healthy. I actually think Blue is still worth picking up because in a given week he's actually clearly serviceable and I hope to God that some of those goal line touches. Deshawn Watson got are going to go to running backs. Seriously?
Starting point is 00:17:46 And I'm not so worried about Deontay Foreman who's coming back. He was that Texas running back. He was now in Houston. He had the Achilles injury. Probably the best talented, but Achilles injuries are tough. I'd hold on to Blue and keep an eye on Foreman, but I kind of think Miller might lose the job, actually,
Starting point is 00:17:59 over the course of season. So I like Alfred Blue. They've been riding Miller a lot this season. He's basically been their Belkow, and I think it might make sense for them to kind of vary it up. Obviously, Miller has not been as effective as people wanted him to be. You mean, he sucks. Yeah, I think it's one of those things where it's at least worth an ad.
Starting point is 00:18:16 Wow, you feel very passionately about this, I see. That was mean to Lamar, but like I said, for truth, third. Let's go to Christian Kirk of the Cardinals. Again, we talked about him last week. If you haven't added him yet, he's definitely worth an ad of this one. I kind of, I added him in a few leagues last year to just kind of try and get out ahead of it. And lo and behold, he had three catches, 85 yards, and a touchdown. Now, that line is a little bit misleading because for the,
Starting point is 00:18:41 The most part, the Cardinals' offense did not play all that great against the 49ers. But I do think Rosen makes them a lot better than what Bradford was doing. And so I think there's a lot of upside in that Cardinals' offense. Not necessarily, they're not going to be necessarily like a high-scoring, high-flying team, but it makes Kirk much more of a viable fantasy option. So he's actually out-targeted Fitzgerald, 17 to 12, or the last three weeks. He's sort of turning into Rosen's go-to guy. he's a low
Starting point is 00:19:11 He's like a high floor Or I guess he'd be a low floor Low ceiling type of guy Because you know Obviously he could hit a touchdown In any given in game But I don't think he's necessarily going to get Like a shitload of volume or anything like that
Starting point is 00:19:24 But he's on my bench a couple leagues I think he could be for you So low floor, low ceiling I don't know if I want to live there Speaking of which guys These are also low floor Low ceiling guys but DJ Moore And Curtis Samuel on the Panthers
Starting point is 00:19:35 These are guys who are really talented Don't have the volume yet I mean, D.J. Moore was their first round pick this year. Curtis Samuel was like 40th overall for them last year. They really got going against the Giants, actually. They didn't get too many touches, but they really did a lot with them. Samuel had like two catches, 37 yards and just 12 snaps. It was his first game of season after minor heart surgery, which is apparently not an oxymour.
Starting point is 00:19:59 Apparently it's fine despite how that sounds. But they're really great. Obviously, I want to see their snaps go out. So these aren't guys I'd add yet. But if their snaps go up, I would not be surprised if by the end of the season they actually are alongside Christian McCaffrey can actually make their offense go. So it's more of just getting their names out. But what about your next guy? The Panthers have so much athleticism.
Starting point is 00:20:20 My God. Moore and Samuel are so athletic. So speaking of that, I'm going to Jalen Rashar of the Raiders. He's been a boomer bus kind of guy. But for the most part, I mean, in PPR leagues, he has caught at least six passes in three to five games this year. kind of game script dependent. So I think if you imagine that the Raiders will be down and trying to play catch up, I think he's a potential ad.
Starting point is 00:20:42 He's like more of a desperation flex type player. But in a PBR league, you know, just the fact that he's involved in that passing game. It makes it an option. Last week he had six catches, 53 yards, played 27 snaps out of 53. You know, he's just one of those guys that Carr has kind of leaned on in those games where to try to come back. car throws him a lot Dumpoffs The Raiders offense is an enigma
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Starting point is 00:22:32 All right, TK. Let's get into how the Patriots fit into this passing boom that's happening around the league. and what it means for their players from a fantasy perspective. So 11 quarterbacks have a pass rating over 100 right now. 13 quarterbacks are on pace for more than, or throwing more than 300 yards per game. Nobody broke 2.90 last season. That's insane.
Starting point is 00:22:52 Tom Brady led the league in passing 286 per game last year. And now 16 quarterbacks are ahead of him on that pace. But Tom Brady's not one of them. The Patriots are being left out of this for the first time in recent memory, not at the crest of a wave of a new trend in football and Brady is all the way down in the 20s at a mere 251 per game. So, I mean, what the fuck?
Starting point is 00:23:17 But now, you know, week five, it's like they got Josh Gordon, now Edamond's back. They finally figured out the running back situation with James White and so, Michelle. So my question for you is, are they going to be left behind in this wave or is this new offense, are they going to be able to change in this first month
Starting point is 00:23:35 will be a blips? So what is going on? What did you see on this Thursday night game between the Colts and the Patriots? What do you think is going on in New England? Well, I mean, I think, number one, this is not the same Patriots offense that we've seen in prior seasons where they're just talented and stacked at every single position. It felt like over the first month of the season, they were more just trying to keep their head above water. I remember one quote from Bill Belichick.
Starting point is 00:23:59 He said something like, it takes them about half the season to really know what he's got in his team whether they're kind of like a competitor or not. I think they were feeling things out, kind of testing the waters, trying to figure out what worked and what didn't. Obviously, they had to kind of make do while Edmund was suspended. I think the last couple of games
Starting point is 00:24:20 versus the dolphins last week against the Colts, I mean, it was just a lot more, I guess, you know, there was just positive progression, at least in terms of what we saw. The biggest difference to me, from what we saw, first couple of weeks to the last two weeks against, you know, these last two teams where they've
Starting point is 00:24:38 really been pretty dominant on offense is spreading the field. I think Josh Daniels made it a real goal and emphasis to, you know, stretch the field both horizontally and vertically. And I remember, I can't remember where I saw this, but it really kind of hit home with me. And teams should treat balance. Everyone thinks of balance as like run past balance, but I think team should have more of an effort to create balance geometrically on the NFL field. So in other words,
Starting point is 00:25:08 like run up the middle, run off tackle, get guys into the slot, tunnel screens, things like that, go deep on the outside, go, you know, swing passes to the outside, attack the entire field. And I think if you just look
Starting point is 00:25:22 at Tom Brady's scatter charts over at NFL NextGen stats, the last few games, there's been a much better distribution. It looks a lot more like what it looked like last year. in terms of where Tom Brady's going with the football. You know, he's spreading it out.
Starting point is 00:25:36 And you kind of see in that offense, everybody's got a little bit of a role now. Obviously, Edelman's kind of, he's returned to the slot. I think he played like 65% of his routes in the slot this week. I wanted to ask you about that because I totally get you on the geometric thing. And I love that because I was struck by that watching the Thursday night game, especially watching the NFL replay and Game Pass where James White would, you know, hit something up the middle, but then they're going outside toward Edelman or Gronk.
Starting point is 00:26:01 And that was definitely the missing element, I think, of their passing game was the first month, was they didn't have to respect Dorset, never mind Cordero Patterson, on the outside. And now that they have Gordon and people, it's much better. So my question for you is, now that Gordon's there and Edelman, how has those snap counts changed on Thursday? How did that change from the first month versus what happened on Thursday? Well, they're still easing Gordon in. I mean, he only played 18 snaps last week. You know, it's only a fraction.
Starting point is 00:26:27 They played 63 offensive snaps or however many they were. Hogan and Gronk played 63 snaps. That was a team high. Gordon only played 18. So he's still really working his way in. You know, they got Edelman in there for 48 snaps. I think he's going to probably continue to climb in that. I'm sure they were sort of easing him in.
Starting point is 00:26:46 The distribution between White and Michelle, White had 43 snaps. Sonia Michelle had 27. So, I mean, they're definitely spreading it out. They're spreading the love. You know, even Devlin had 15 snaps. And then Patterson 8. And like I said, I mean, everybody's kind of got their role.
Starting point is 00:27:02 And that's the way that they're attacking the defense, you know, with a balanced manner geometrically rather than just like run past balance. They're really balancing where they attack the defense. That changes how they cover Gronk too, because we saw Matt Patricia just bracket Gronk with two defenders and say, I don't think your receivers can beat me one-on-one. They couldn't. And now that's changed. So do you see that changing how Gronk is able to patrol the middle of the field now? I think it will.
Starting point is 00:27:26 I think it will because, I mean, obviously, Gronk is. is going to be a player that teams focus on regardless. Like, even having Gordon in there, that's not necessarily going to completely change that. But I think having Gordon, Edelman, the way that they've managed to get Patterson involved,
Starting point is 00:27:42 the way that they've managed to get White involved, I think all that put together has kind of opened things up for Gronk. I saw this per Jeff Howe of the athletic. Gromkowski over the first three weeks, he ran 92 routes, and he was double-teamed on 65 of those. And I'm guessing,
Starting point is 00:27:56 I'm guessing, I haven't, I haven't obviously done the tracking, but I'm guessing that's slightly lower at this point because they're just, like I said, there's just more things to worry about in this offense. They've done a really good job of, you know, just using like pick plays on the outside. We saw Edelman drop a big pick play on the outside.
Starting point is 00:28:14 That was perfect for them. Yeah. We saw, remember, Cordrell Patterson, I think, had a big game. Even maybe had a touchdown on one of those two on the sideline against Miami. So tell me, tell me if I'm wrong right here. You're the Dark Knight. I hope you've seen the dark night.
Starting point is 00:28:31 You know that scene when the Joker is like, we're going to get some aggressive expansion? And then breaks a pool cue and it's like, we're going to hiring, but we only have one spot and he throws this broken pool cue in between three dudes. And only one,
Starting point is 00:28:43 you know, they have to kill each other and there's only one job. So tell me if I'm wrong. That is Julian Edelman, Dorset, and Chris Hogan, or at least for their fantasy values,
Starting point is 00:28:51 not in terms of each other. And then Edelman's going to win. And then Dorset and Hogan's fantasy values will be eaten up. Or am I wrong? I don't know. To be honest, it seems like Hogan is the odd man out. I think he had like four targets or something like that last week.
Starting point is 00:29:08 Dorset has had a little bit of chemistry with Tom Brady. And so I think that's sort of promising for his continue to roll on the outside. And so, I mean, I dropped Hogan in one league. I'm getting pretty close to doing the same thing in the Ringer League. We got him in the Ringer League. and I'm just like, we haven't started him in weeks because he's just hard to rely on at this point. So Hogan's one of those players that could have a one-off two-touchdown game
Starting point is 00:29:35 like he did early in the season, but at the same time, he's just not getting the volume that you really need. And I think that's probably not going to change a whole lot. Yeah, I think the snap count, I was surprised at how much he actually was able to stay. But the eye test says that Brady actually seems to be weirdly on a better page with Dorset than I think Patterson's done. But I think Dorset actually will be able to. to stay as like a weird end of bench option.
Starting point is 00:29:58 And Edelman's going to be really good. What did you think of the split between Sony Michelle and James White? Because I know you're a huge James White guy. So I love James White. And watching that game, I honestly had one thought in the first half, which was, holy crap, they throw to James White on half of these plays. It was absolutely stunning. He destroyed the first half.
Starting point is 00:30:19 If you watched the game, I think they said his name. It felt like every play. And that was really all I could think of was how. These two guys, I think, are, we think of Ingram and Kamara last year. I don't think they're quite that, but I think they were both such bona fide plays every single week. My favorite play of the game, actually, was Sony and Michelle lined up to Brady's right in the pistol, and then White was to his left. They both ran just options to the flat, to the flat, faked it to White, and then gave it to Michelle,
Starting point is 00:30:50 and he got like 12 yards on a first down, on a first 10. I love the dual direction screens. Those are one of my favorite plays. I think they're both going to be really freaking good. I think James, I wouldn't trade him high if you're thinking about it. I actually think he will be this good going forward. I don't know if every game script will quite call for so many passes, but I actually think he could just lead them in targets every single game.
Starting point is 00:31:12 And Michelle's just going to be an amazing back. So I'm not worried. I heard reports that they're signing Mike Gillisley maybe, but I mean, they don't have any other running backs. So I'm not surprised. Yeah, I think they're both incredible. I think that that comp in terms of the Ingram, Kamara, I mean, obviously, totally different players.
Starting point is 00:31:28 But I think that's actually pretty interesting in terms of just the way that they kind of use him. Because Michelle is like the grinder. He's going to be the guy who does the majority of his runs, like, you know, between the tackles. And he's the, I guess, probably more often a goal line type back. But, yeah, White has that, he's that versatile guy who can run the route. Like, he ran a touch. His touch on was just a nice little follow angle route over the middle of field. And that was just like easy.
Starting point is 00:31:54 And to be clear, I don't mean to compare Kamar. James White in terms of scale. But he's a receiver playing running back and it's just disguise. And it's absolutely fantastic to watch. So bottom line. Yeah. I was going to say, do you do see Brady improving this year?
Starting point is 00:32:09 Do you think it's going to be a part of that sort of group of guys? Yeah, I think we're going to feel really dumb to judge him based on September with the... Lombardi's talked in the past about... It's like Apollo 11 and they dump all the things on the Patriots, dump all these things that were like, okay, we have to like... build something out of like all these pieces. And the bats had this disgusting box of like trash. And we're going to feel dumb for judging him.
Starting point is 00:32:32 I think Brady's going to hop into this rejoin this upper echelon of passers really quickly. I think that they are the best at looking at what works and what doesn't. They're looking around the league. They're not afraid to steal trends or anything. Their offense is going to be back to elite top tier one status just behind the Rams and Chiefs very shortly. And I wouldn't sell on any of these Patriots low. I think that Brady's, if someone's like trying to sell Brady in your league, I'd go get them. I think he'll be back very quickly.
Starting point is 00:32:58 Yeah, I mean, I'm with you. I think, I don't know, it's going to be hard to catch some of these other teams, but at the same time, I have pretty much full confidence in the Patriots kind of figuring it out, and Brady starting to kind of hit his stride. Obviously, again, it's not as talented of a team as it was in prior years, but I just think, you know, like you said, they've figured out kind of how to use these guys. They figured out a better balance on how to spread the ball around. and the last couple of games have been really, really encouraging.
Starting point is 00:33:27 So I'm definitely bullish on Brady and the Patriots offense in general. Like, I think there's just going to be a lot of volume to be had there in fantasy, too. I agree. And I'm not worried about it. At home, I think the touchdowns to Gordon and Cordell Patterson are going to be spread around to him and Michelle and White and Gronk. And they're just going to be dropping 40 points again. So they'll get to the party. Don't worry.
Starting point is 00:33:48 But I think that's all the time we got today, D.K. Unless you got anything to add? Oh, man. By low on Gronk, I guess. I don't know. That goes against obviously Simmons is kind of like wondering if Gronk is just washed up at this point. Washed up by greatest tight end of all time standards, to be clear.
Starting point is 00:34:04 Right, exactly. All right, Dick, it's all the time we got. But thanks, man. I'll see you on Friday. All right, sounds good. Today's show was brought to you by Fandul. We're so excited to be playing on Fandul this football season. Over at Fandil, you get the excitement of researching
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