Speaker 1: We are in fact talking about the Atlanta Falcons in
Speaker 1: terms of our preview today, and listen, I think the
Speaker 1: Atlanta Falcons are going to be a good team, but
Speaker 1: I feel like there might be some natural regression because
Speaker 1: of that Super Bowl hangover. And the other thing is,
Speaker 1: remember their their offensive coordinator last year was Kyle Shanahan.
Speaker 1: Shanahan has moved over and is now the head coach
Speaker 1: of the San Francisco forty nine. And if you remember,
Speaker 1: as we get into the quarterback position, listen, Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: won the m v P last year. He was quarterback
Speaker 1: two on the Player Raider. This guy through forty four yards,
Speaker 1: thirty eight touchdowns and only seven interceptions. Okay, he was awesome.
Speaker 1: I mean he won the m v P. A lot
Speaker 1: of people, however, credit this to what Shanahan was able
Speaker 1: to do with Matt Ryan. In years past, Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: was a guy who would start hot and then at
Speaker 1: the end of the season kind of fade. I remember
Speaker 1: last year in the football season, even telling you that
Speaker 1: I thought Matt Ryan would fade. He put it in
Speaker 1: my eye because he sustained his excellence all season long
Speaker 1: and ultimately won the MVP Award. But I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's going to continue this year.
Speaker 1: You know, I feel like there's been a couple of,
Speaker 1: you know, a couple of things around Matt Ryan. He's
Speaker 1: been like the poster child for kind of like, you know,
Speaker 1: not watching the film and putting it away. I don't
Speaker 1: know how this team is going to bounce back in adversity.
Speaker 1: And what I will also say, and if you listen
Speaker 1: to Fantasy Freestyle, you've heard me say this time and
Speaker 1: time again, he will not be a quarterback on any
Speaker 1: of my teams. Why Because I Am not using the
Speaker 1: draft capital that it takes to get one of these
Speaker 1: top five quarterbacks. Okay, I'm not gonna spend my second
Speaker 1: round pick, my third round pick, my fourth round pick
Speaker 1: on a quarterback. And by the time I'm looking to
Speaker 1: get a quarterback, whether that's in rounds eight or nine
Speaker 1: or even seven, Matt Ryan won't be on the board anymore. Okay,
Speaker 1: So he's not gonna be on any of my teams.
Speaker 1: Is he probably gonna be a top five kind of quarterback? Maybe?
Speaker 1: But I think there is some regression. And so, Chris,
Speaker 1: if you want to know the truth, we're doing. Last week,
Speaker 1: we did hashtag sleep a week. This week, it's like
Speaker 1: hashtag busts. Right. He is actually my hashtag bust for
Speaker 1: this team, the Atlanta Falcons, because people are gonna pay
Speaker 1: up to try to get Matt Ryan. I think he'll
Speaker 1: have a great year, but I don't think it's gonna
Speaker 1: be the m v P again. I think he's gonna regress.
Speaker 1: So that makes him my hashtag bus. But here on
Speaker 1: the fantasy Freestyle, you know what we call that, right, Chris,
Speaker 1: we call that what is means phony. You need to
Speaker 1: forget about it because he's gonna be going pretty high.
Speaker 1: I do have him ranked ultimately as my fifth highest quarterback.
Speaker 1: Corey Parson, the Fantasy executive, is hardcore fading Matt Ryan.
Speaker 1: He has them all the way down at QB ten.
Speaker 1: Let me tell you something, if nine other teams have
Speaker 1: drafted their quarterback and Matt Ryan is still available, then
Speaker 1: you can go out and get him. Okay, but I think, um,
Speaker 1: he will not return the value that you expect this year.
Speaker 1: As we moved to the running back position, Listen, Davante
Speaker 1: Freeman is a beast. He was running back six last year,
Speaker 1: and I think his contract extension that they're talking about
Speaker 1: is well deserved. My man had over fifteen hundred combined yard,
Speaker 1: thirteen combined touchdowns with over fifty receptions. I like this
Speaker 1: guy a lot. I think, if you're sitting at the
Speaker 1: back of round one and Freeman is available, snatch him
Speaker 1: up and take it to the bank. This is the
Speaker 1: guy they use in the red zone. They used DeVonta Freeman.
Speaker 1: I think DeVonta Freeman, even though Tevin Coleman is there,
Speaker 1: I think DeVonta Freeman is a locked and loaded RB one.
Speaker 1: I have him as my sixth ranked running back in
Speaker 1: all of fantasy this year. I think he's a great
Speaker 1: bet to stay consistent. But here's the thing. So is
Speaker 1: Tevin Coleman. Tevin Coleman, in my opinion, is the best
Speaker 1: number two running back in the NFL. I think when
Speaker 1: you look at all these committees, I think Tevin Coleman
Speaker 1: is the best committee member or number two back in
Speaker 1: the NFL. This guy, he also you know, he had
Speaker 1: a combined like nine yards. He had five hundred twenty
Speaker 1: on the ground, four twenty in the air, like eleven
Speaker 1: touchdowns him self combined. And he did that in thirteen games.
Speaker 1: Remember he had that sickle cell issue. I think he
Speaker 1: is the strongest handcuff in the league. I think he's
Speaker 1: viable regardless. Okay, I have him ranked as my eighteenth
Speaker 1: running back and Corey Parks and the Fantasy executive has
Speaker 1: him at nineteen, So I think there's definitely fantasy goodness. Now,
Speaker 1: remember this is a productive offense. They had over five
Speaker 1: hundred points last year. So all these guys were talking
Speaker 1: about Matt Ryan, Tevin Coleman, Davonte Freeman, all of them
Speaker 1: are viable. Okay, wide receiver position, Okay, listen, Julio Jones.
Speaker 1: He's good. He's good at football. Okay, he's very good
Speaker 1: at football. In fact, I would tell you that I
Speaker 1: think he has the best skill of any wide receiver
Speaker 1: in the National Football League. If I needed to take
Speaker 1: one wide receiver and you told me that they would
Speaker 1: be healthy all sixteen games, I'll take Julio Jones. You
Speaker 1: can have Antonio Brown, you could have Oldell Beckham, you
Speaker 1: could have Mike Evans, you can have Jordy Nelson, you
Speaker 1: could have a J. Green. I am taking Julio Jones.
Speaker 1: I think he is, you know, pound for pounds, skill
Speaker 1: for skill, the best wide receiver in the National Football League.
Speaker 1: And remember he had surgery earlier in the off season,
Speaker 1: but they call it minor to remove a bunyon. My
Speaker 1: only issue is that he is a little bit injury
Speaker 1: or prone, and it is with that foot. Remember he
Speaker 1: had things like the Jones fracture of the Liz the
Speaker 1: Liz Frank that sort of issue, and that is something
Speaker 1: that can linger. That is something that it takes a
Speaker 1: long time to recover. Four um so if and he's
Speaker 1: gonna be a first round pick. So if you want to, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, roll the dice and think he'll play all
Speaker 1: six team games, I completely endorse him as the top
Speaker 1: wide receiver on the board. But remember the Atlanta Falcons
Speaker 1: are such a productive offense and they will probably be
Speaker 1: one of the top offenses again this year that their
Speaker 1: second and third wide receiver has become viable as well.
Speaker 1: I said the same thing where we're talking about the
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers. Remember it's not only Jordy Nelson, but
Speaker 1: it's also Davante Adams, It's also Randall Cobb. So in
Speaker 1: this situation, it's not only Julio Jones. In this case,
Speaker 1: it's also Muhammed Snow and it's also Tyler Gabriel Okay,
Speaker 1: Snow is gonna be more that PPR guy. He's gonna
Speaker 1: be more the guys that gets receptions. He's gonna be
Speaker 1: a guy. You know. He had six hundred thirty five
Speaker 1: six d fifty three yards last year. I think he's
Speaker 1: a viable wide receiver three even to have on your
Speaker 1: team or flex play. Same could be said with Taylor Gabriel.
Speaker 1: Gabriel is a kind of guy who's gonna be more
Speaker 1: the big play threat or the guy who can catch
Speaker 1: up and underneath and take it to the house. But um,
Speaker 1: he's also viable. So is their tight end Austin Hooper.
Speaker 1: There's actually been a lot of hype around Hooper. Okay,
Speaker 1: he's supposedly worked with Matt Ryan in the off season,
Speaker 1: and I think that because of this offense, there is
Speaker 1: enough production to go around. Remember how much Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: loved having Tony Gonzalez as his tight end. I'm telling
Speaker 1: you right now, Austin Hooper is my hashtag sleeper week
Speaker 1: on this show. We call him a diamond in the rough.
Speaker 1: Last year, he had only nineteen catches, two ord just
Speaker 1: seventy one yards and three touchdowns. I think it's possible
Speaker 1: for him to get fifty five undred fifty yards, maybe
Speaker 1: six or seven touchdowns. I think it's possible, so does
Speaker 1: Mike Clay who does his projections as well. A lot
Speaker 1: of people are high on Austin Hooper. So if you're
Speaker 1: gonna wait at tight end and knock at the Olsens,
Speaker 1: the Reeds, the Gronks, okay, I think a viable thing
Speaker 1: is to wait and potentially get Austin Hooper as a
Speaker 1: deep sleeper who could return interesting value. Remember in an
Speaker 1: offense that led the NFL and points scored last year
Speaker 1: and nothing nothing. Julio Jones is their big ex receiver,
Speaker 1: but guys like Gabriel, guys like Snow those are more
Speaker 1: underneath guys whom in the red zone he may look
Speaker 1: for Austin Hooper. I like Austin Hooper as a deep,
Speaker 1: deep sleeper. When you also look at their schedule, I
Speaker 1: think their schedule is very interesting. The Atlanta Falcons, they
Speaker 1: play the a f C East as their a f
Speaker 1: C division they play, but they play all four of
Speaker 1: those teams in a row weeks fourth rate early in
Speaker 1: the season, along with a little bye weekend there they
Speaker 1: gotta early by week five. I don't like that, actually,
Speaker 1: I think when you have guys like Julio Jones who
Speaker 1: may need that blow later in the season and a
Speaker 1: week off to rest and ankle or a foot, I
Speaker 1: don't think an early buy suits them that well. Um,
Speaker 1: they're also it's interesting they you know, they're play in
Speaker 1: the dome after week eleven, which is pretty much like November.
Speaker 1: They only have one game where they play outside after
Speaker 1: week eleven. All but two of their games are at home.
Speaker 1: Week sixteen, which by the way, is the fantasy championship
Speaker 1: in most leagues. They are at New Orleans in another dome,
Speaker 1: and boy, when the Falcons and Saints get together, they
Speaker 1: light up the scoreboard. So if you're positioning yourself for
Speaker 1: a championship run, take note. Falcons at Saints Week sixteen
Speaker 1: is a week that's gonna have a ton of fantasy
Speaker 1: goodness in the Dome. Their only road game that they're
Speaker 1: outside after week eleven of the season is a game
Speaker 1: in week fifteen where they're at Tampa Bay on the
Speaker 1: long grass there in Tampa. Okay, one other thing I
Speaker 1: will say, though, you know how I like to fade
Speaker 1: the public and uh, last year on the Fantasy Freestyle
Speaker 1: or shot callers, I talked about the trap game. I
Speaker 1: think the Falcons opener it's potentially a trap game. They
Speaker 1: go on the road to UH Chicago to take on
Speaker 1: the Bears, and everyone thinks the Bears are gonna win
Speaker 1: only a few games this year. Everyone thinks the Falcons
Speaker 1: are primed to repeat and go to the Super Bowl again.
Speaker 1: Watch that on the road. I can see right away
Speaker 1: week one the Falcons involved in a trap game. But
Speaker 1: we shall see right that's why. That's why they play
Speaker 1: the greames. As one famous broadcaster used to say, like
Speaker 1: I said, though the poll has them at nine and
Speaker 1: a half, is they're over under right now? A lot
Speaker 1: of you guys are fans of the Falcons, forty seven
Speaker 1: percent of you, And thanks to everybody who's voting at
Speaker 1: F and T, s Y radio, at Spit and Speed,
Speaker 1: you could always ask me questions, you could always follow me.
Speaker 1: Percent of you right now will take the over on
Speaker 1: that line. So many people think the Falcons will win
Speaker 1: double digits. Only a third of you, thirty three percent
Speaker 1: say the under say, actually, that's a good line. I
Speaker 1: see them as about a nine or ten win team.
Speaker 1: So I would not make that bet I did. I
Speaker 1: mentioned my man Gabe Morancy, who follow as us here
Speaker 1: on the fantasy sports radio network Red Heat and Rage
Speaker 1: every night at a PM. Gabe has responded back. He
Speaker 1: says he thinks the Falcons are going back to the
Speaker 1: super Bowl. I don't know about that. I do not
Speaker 1: think that the Falcons will return to the super Bowl.
Speaker 1: There's some other teams I like in the NFC. I
Speaker 1: told you about Green Bay, I told you about Seattle.
Speaker 1: I also got a surprise team in the NFC East
Speaker 1: when we get to them. But um, Gabe certainly has
Speaker 1: high expectations for the Falcons. I think there will be
Speaker 1: some regression. I want to bring in my man, the
Speaker 1: bounty hunter. Hey, Chris, how do we feel about the
Speaker 1: Atlanta Falcons? They're over under for their win total is
Speaker 1: nine and a half. Would you be more likely to
Speaker 1: make this bet? And if you do, which side do
Speaker 1: you lean over or under? I'm definitely going over on this. Really,
Speaker 1: you're a big fan of the Falcons. Well, you know what,
Speaker 1: It's not just a biased thing for me, I do.
Speaker 1: I consider the Falcons one of my favorite NFL teams
Speaker 1: outside of the New York John Dirty Birds. The Dirty Birds.
Speaker 1: They've always been that was my peewee football team. So
Speaker 1: I have nothing. It's it's all sentimental for me. That
Speaker 1: being said, I do love this Falcons team. I don't
Speaker 1: think there's gonna be necessarily a super Bowl hangover. If anything,
Speaker 1: I think they're angrier and hungrier just to get back.
Speaker 1: I think Matt Ryan, I think you're right, Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: maybe top ten. I don't think he's m v P.
Speaker 1: I think the m v P of this team this
Speaker 1: year is running back DeVonta Freeman. Yeah, running back DeVonta
Speaker 1: Freeman is going very high. He is a first round pick.
Speaker 1: In my estimation, I have him is running back five
Speaker 1: or six UM. But I also think Tevin Coleman is viable.
Speaker 1: That is a backfield a committee where both guys can
Speaker 1: be productive. That is how dynamic this offense is.