Speaker 1: Welcome to Fantasy Football Weekly, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Time now for Fantasy Football Weekly from I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: your weekly source for the nation's best fantasy speculation and
Speaker 1: advice now leagues dot com. Here's your host. Welcome to
Speaker 1: a championship edition of Fantasy Football Weekly. I am Paul
Speaker 1: Charchy and my co host today are Brian Johnson and
Speaker 1: Matt Harrison. Hello, guys, Hi church, play the sleigh bells?
Speaker 1: Come on? Um uh the season for Fantasy champions I
Speaker 1: don't know who who would bother to move all my
Speaker 1: button that is yes, that is more appropriate for the
Speaker 1: for the season championship edition. If you are still playing,
Speaker 1: and congratulations if you are you. I think if there's
Speaker 1: a word for the kind of fantasy managers who are
Speaker 1: live in Championship week, it is resourceful. You are the
Speaker 1: people that have overcome so much adversity this year. There's
Speaker 1: no way anybody's fantasy team was unscathed by injury and
Speaker 1: illness and COVID. You pivoted, You made great calls at
Speaker 1: the last minute, the Saturday de activation of the player
Speaker 1: you thought you were starting, and you know you went
Speaker 1: to the backup. All the things you had to do
Speaker 1: to get here. Well earned. You just kissing the butt
Speaker 1: of all the people who are still listening to the
Speaker 1: show right now, aren't you. Most importantly, they listen to
Speaker 1: this show. How they got that? That's a great point, Um.
Speaker 1: I want to acknowledge up front, because of the holidays,
Speaker 1: we are taping this show on Thursday, and that just
Speaker 1: means we've got less information to go on than we
Speaker 1: normally have, especially around injuries. We're gonna do our best,
Speaker 1: but you may have more current injury information than we've got.
Speaker 1: But the good thing is is you get to hear
Speaker 1: the Friday matchups, the Saturday matchups, and the Sunday matchups.
Speaker 1: We're gonna try to squeeze them all into this show.
Speaker 1: We also risked our lives driving here in a blizzard.
Speaker 1: We we all got here. I'm happy to say. All right,
Speaker 1: let's begin with the Friday game. Brian, this is Minnesota
Speaker 1: at New Orleans. Yeah, and this is probably the first
Speaker 1: time anyone's on a Vikings matchup on this show other
Speaker 1: than you charge that is true for this year. It
Speaker 1: certainly is true. And not only that, I don't think
Speaker 1: we've ever We've never taped on a Thursday. History of
Speaker 1: the show. I don't think we've ever talked about a
Speaker 1: Friday game history of this show down a preview for
Speaker 1: Friday game. It's it's all all breaking stuff here we
Speaker 1: do in this twenty six years. You think there would
Speaker 1: be nothing you love to do, Well, there's nothing left,
Speaker 1: nothing new left to do. With Dalvin Cook. You're gonna
Speaker 1: start him still giving him an A on the season.
Speaker 1: The Saints do allow the sixth fewest rushing yards and
Speaker 1: the fewest touchdowns for opposing running backs, but over the
Speaker 1: last two weeks they've been tronounced by Miles Sanders in
Speaker 1: the Chiefs backfield, who have all combined to average h
Speaker 1: rushing yards at one point five touchdowns per game. Uh well,
Speaker 1: Cook's usage get dialed back, though probably not the He's
Speaker 1: are clinging to playoff and that's it's slim, but they're
Speaker 1: they're clinging to it. And I don't think Zimmer can
Speaker 1: stop himself from running the ball anyway to his own
Speaker 1: detriment the past couple of weeks, and for what it's worth,
Speaker 1: Cook trails Derrick Henry by a hundred yards for the
Speaker 1: rushing title. Probably not gonna make up that ground, but
Speaker 1: maybe they let him try hopefully so, but because of
Speaker 1: that lost game, head Cook played, which certainly would have
Speaker 1: helped over the receivers justin Jefferson going to give him
Speaker 1: a B. There is a upside here. New Orleans is
Speaker 1: allowing one sixty nine yards per game two receivers over
Speaker 1: the past three well above their sea season average. They've
Speaker 1: also surrendered four wide receiver touchdowns over that same three
Speaker 1: games span. Jefferson will probably deal with Marshawn Ladder laddermore
Speaker 1: and most, but he's not playing so great this year,
Speaker 1: allowing a passer rating of a hundred and five in
Speaker 1: his coverage and he's given up five touchdowns. So B
Speaker 1: for Jefferson and a B for Adam Feeling. Even though
Speaker 1: he's total just fifty yards over the last two games,
Speaker 1: he has scored four touchdowns over his last five, and
Speaker 1: just mentioned, New Orleans has surrendered four wide receiver touchdowns
Speaker 1: over their last three. So I like feeling here, especially
Speaker 1: going go one up against your Norris Jenkins. He's on
Speaker 1: the down slope for sure. Uh. The tight ends for
Speaker 1: Minnesota Rudolph probably not gonna play. Tyler Conklin looked pretty
Speaker 1: good last week. IRBs Smith did not, but they're all
Speaker 1: on the bench. Though New Orleans has allowed one tight
Speaker 1: end touchdown over the last nine games, and that one
Speaker 1: to Travis Kelsey, He's not on the Vikings. Lastly, for Minnesota,
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins gonna give him a sea. Quarterbacks the Saints
Speaker 1: have faced started with the most recent have been Patrick Mahomes,
Speaker 1: he shredded them. Jalen Hurts and his first start not impressive,
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan with no Julio Kendall Hilton, that Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: when Julio got hurt, Nick Mullins, Nick Foles, Teddy Bridgewater.
Speaker 1: These are all awful quarterbacks are Kirk Cousins is better
Speaker 1: than those guys. Folds and Bridgewater were able to throw
Speaker 1: for two fifty and two. That should be a safe
Speaker 1: floor for Cousins, So I'm gonna give him a sea.
Speaker 1: Over to the New Orleans side, Alvin Kamara gets a B.
Speaker 1: Over their last five games, Minnesota has allowed one nineteen
Speaker 1: rushing yards and a touchdown per game to opposing running backs.
Speaker 1: But Minnesota has only allowed one running back receiving touchdown
Speaker 1: all year, and no back has even hit forty receiving
Speaker 1: yards into the Vikes, so don't expect him much from
Speaker 1: Camaro with Eric Kendricks out, I think that's a huge
Speaker 1: difference in Eric Kendricks is arguably in the NFL, is
Speaker 1: one of the one of, if not the best pass
Speaker 1: coverage linebackers. No Kendricks, I think it's going to be. Uh,
Speaker 1: it's green light for Camara, definitely. Uh, it's not a
Speaker 1: green light for Michael Thomas. He's on I R, so
Speaker 1: you definitely don't want to start him. But that gives
Speaker 1: a b to Emmanuel Sanders, who has produced at least
Speaker 1: seventy six yards or a touchdown in six of seven games.
Speaker 1: With Breeze at quarterback. The Viking secondary has played better
Speaker 1: as of late. Only one opposing wide receiver as top
Speaker 1: sixty five yards over the last three games, but Sanders
Speaker 1: will see enough volume to warrn a start on Friday.
Speaker 1: Trey Kuan Smith might as well, but he's very If
Speaker 1: he with an ankle injury, I'll give him a see
Speaker 1: if he plays. But if Smith sits, you might be
Speaker 1: able to throw a dart at Lill Jordan Humphrey tiny
Speaker 1: Little Jordan's scored last week, or Jalan Johnson bow software targets,
Speaker 1: but Little Jordan is way more appealing for obvious reasons.
Speaker 1: I don't give little Jordan's see if tray Kwan smith
Speaker 1: sits why not? And you mentioned charge Eric Kendricks is
Speaker 1: out that puts Jared Cook into play with the Sea
Speaker 1: didn't do much last week, but the five targets were
Speaker 1: encouraging uh tight end as a soft spot against the
Speaker 1: Vikings with Kendricks out without a doubt, so it Cook
Speaker 1: gets a Sea with Breeze at quarterback, who also gets
Speaker 1: to see the concerns with breeze or age, slash ability, health,
Speaker 1: Taysom Hill, no Michael Thomas. The list goes on, and
Speaker 1: the Viking secondary has been much improved of the last month,
Speaker 1: allowing just two three six passing yards at one point
Speaker 1: to one point to five passing touchdowns per games. So
Speaker 1: just the softest of seas for Drew Brees. Okay, not
Speaker 1: to be confused as a C minus. It is a
Speaker 1: straight sea right there. Tampa Bay takes on Detroit mat
Speaker 1: and Detroit is gonna be without their head coach and
Speaker 1: offensive play caller Darryl Bevel Or it appears he's going
Speaker 1: to be that way. I saw that he's in tracing.
Speaker 1: He's an isolation right now. So it's possible that he
Speaker 1: could maybe be calling it from a booth up in isolation.
Speaker 1: They got him in like a sealed John Travolta in
Speaker 1: that seventies movie Boy in the Bubble. That would be
Speaker 1: so awesome to have Darryl Bevel in a bubble on
Speaker 1: the field call and play. Maybe they heart him in
Speaker 1: like Hannibal lecter On like a two wheeler. Yeah, that'd
Speaker 1: be fantastic fun. Uh, let's let's start on the Lions side. Um,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna talk about Stafford in the next segment, but
Speaker 1: I want to talk about Marvin Jones Jr. Who in
Speaker 1: your Fantasy Championship. I'm giving an a grade two and
Speaker 1: it's kind of worth it. Since week eleven, the Bucks
Speaker 1: have allowed wide receivers to hit yardage totals of two
Speaker 1: hundred sixty nine, one sixty three, and one thirty and
Speaker 1: then Russell Gage even chipped in sixty eight in a
Speaker 1: score last week. Jones had twelve targets last week, which
Speaker 1: is equal to what the other three Lions wide receivers
Speaker 1: had combined. By the way, Kenny Golladay not practicing again
Speaker 1: this week, so Marvin Jones is the lead dog in
Speaker 1: the Lions wide receiver room t J. Hockenson. I'm giving
Speaker 1: a B grade to the Bucks. Defense has softened against
Speaker 1: the tight end recently, allowing nine catches for one oh
Speaker 1: three and a score to the Vikings tight ends yes,
Speaker 1: and six catches for forty two yards in a score
Speaker 1: to the Falcons height ends just last week. Hockinson coming
Speaker 1: off a disappointing week, but prior to last week's stinking,
Speaker 1: very disappointing week, he put up sixty yards are scored
Speaker 1: in four straight Prior to that. Uh DeAndre Swift, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna give him a C grade. He's on field for
Speaker 1: two thirds of the snaps. They've definitely been easing him
Speaker 1: back in as returning from the injury. Eighty two totally
Speaker 1: yards and two scores last week was enough to keep
Speaker 1: many fantasy owners moving through to the finals. But outside
Speaker 1: of Dalvin Cook, no running back has topped fifty rushing
Speaker 1: yards against Tampa Bay since Week two. They've allowed one
Speaker 1: rushing touchdown to a back over the last five weeks. Again,
Speaker 1: that was Dalvin. That's a tough tough matchup for Swift
Speaker 1: who was trending all the right way. And then here
Speaker 1: in the championship game, you get the best run defense
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Yeah, that's not good. There's another running
Speaker 1: back that I'm going to talk about in the next
Speaker 1: segment for Tampa as well. But let's talk about the
Speaker 1: passing game there as Tom Brady. He gets a B
Speaker 1: grade in this one. The Lions have allowed at least
Speaker 1: two hundred sixty five passing yards in four straight and
Speaker 1: three of those four quarterbacks tossed a trio of touchdowns
Speaker 1: or more. The only worry is the Bucks start blowing
Speaker 1: out the Lions and Brady just stops throwing. But at
Speaker 1: that point, Brady's got his numbers, let's hope. So although
Speaker 1: the running the running situation is pretty tasty, it is
Speaker 1: Rob Gronkowski. I'm giving him a C grade. Gronk had
Speaker 1: seven targets last week, but Cameron brad had more receptions
Speaker 1: and yards. In fact, grons yardage totals over his past
Speaker 1: four have been twenty five, one oh two, two and nine.
Speaker 1: He's a little touchdown dependent. Yeah, I just don't know
Speaker 1: if I feel super confident about playing Gronk in a
Speaker 1: Fantasy championship week. The wide receivers Mike Evans gets the A,
Speaker 1: Chris Godwin gets the B. Antonio Brown gets the Sea
Speaker 1: Evans seems like he's the only guarantee for targets, as
Speaker 1: he's led the team in targets in four of the
Speaker 1: last five and he's topped a hundred yards or scored
Speaker 1: in four of the last five. Godwin played percent of
Speaker 1: the snaps last week, Brown was only on the field
Speaker 1: forty seven, but Brown had seven targets and Godwin only
Speaker 1: have five. And Godwin had the great matchup last week two.
Speaker 1: Over the last five weeks, no team has allowed more receptions, yards,
Speaker 1: and scores to the wide receiver position than the Lions.
Speaker 1: Although the Bucks are close and they've played one fewer game.
Speaker 1: It doesn't help that the top two corners, Jeff Okuda
Speaker 1: and Desmond true Font, are now both on I R.
Speaker 1: So you can fire up your Bucks wide receivers in
Speaker 1: this one, San Francisco takes on Arizona. These are all Saturday. Well,
Speaker 1: we've had a Friday, Saturday Saturday. We're gonna have another
Speaker 1: Saturday game for you tomorrow on the next segment. Triple Saturday. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Triple Saturday. This is San Francisco Arizona Saturday. C J
Speaker 1: bet Third is your starting quarterback for the and this one,
Speaker 1: and it's not pronounced beat hard. Yeah. I'm pretty sure, yeah,
Speaker 1: but I guess it could be like and be tard
Speaker 1: something like that. T hard. Uh. Let's start with the
Speaker 1: Let's start with the running game here. Jeff Wilson gets
Speaker 1: a C grade. He aggravated his ongoing ankle injury last
Speaker 1: week but hopes to play in this one. And I'm
Speaker 1: the reason name giving him into the C gradies because
Speaker 1: he does have this ankle injury, and so I'm factoring
Speaker 1: in this a little bit of risk that he doesn't
Speaker 1: finish the game. Otherwise he would be a B grade
Speaker 1: in this game. And I do like elements of this matchup.
Speaker 1: Over the past two seasons, in games in which Jeff
Speaker 1: Wilson gets at least eight eight touches, his average game
Speaker 1: is fifty six total yards, which is good, and one
Speaker 1: and a half touchdowns, which is really good. So Wilson's
Speaker 1: a pretty good start here. Cardinals have been middle of
Speaker 1: the pack and most running back defensive metrics, but they
Speaker 1: were obliterated by the forty niners backs in Week one.
Speaker 1: I'll note that Jeff Wilson was not a part of
Speaker 1: that back to the passing game now, Oh and by
Speaker 1: the way, Jerick McKinnon, Tevin Coleman dead to us for
Speaker 1: a wide variety of reasons, and there's no reason we
Speaker 1: should even spend time on why those guys are not
Speaker 1: going here where he mosted his out. Don't pivot to
Speaker 1: Jerick McKinnon thinking he's going to get more work with
Speaker 1: McKinnon out with the mostart out. McKinnon's proven that he's
Speaker 1: not a factor. And don't tweet at raheem mostart about
Speaker 1: your fantasy team now. He doesn't want to hear that.
Speaker 1: Very angry about it. He does not want to hear
Speaker 1: that stuff. Okay, let's go to the only element of
Speaker 1: the passing game that you should be caring about now,
Speaker 1: and that's Brandon Ayuk, who's finishing with probably the second
Speaker 1: best rookie wide receiver season outside of Justin Jefferson, and
Speaker 1: maybe better than Justin Jefferson depending on on how these
Speaker 1: games finished out. Despite missing several games, Auk has posted
Speaker 1: over one yards or a touchdown in seven straight games,
Speaker 1: and with this quarterbacking and is averaging ninety six yards
Speaker 1: over the last three games, Arizona is allowing a hundred
Speaker 1: fifty yards per game to oppose and receivers over the
Speaker 1: past month. That's kind of right in the middle of
Speaker 1: the back. But they've kept receivers out of the end
Speaker 1: zone in three of the past four. B grade on
Speaker 1: Brandon Ayuk, who comes in hot and c J a
Speaker 1: bet thirds by third string quarterbacks. He's he's highly capable
Speaker 1: by third string quarterback standards. But that's it. You're not
Speaker 1: starting anybody else there of the third stringers, king of
Speaker 1: the third stringers, best third string I like it. Let's
Speaker 1: go to the Arizona side where we'll begin with the
Speaker 1: running backs. Kennan Drake got dinged up in last week's game,
Speaker 1: didn't get a lot of action. Chase Edmonds came in,
Speaker 1: looked really good. But this thing could be flipped because
Speaker 1: Chase Edmonds has not practiced, did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday. Um,
Speaker 1: we don't know about Thursday at this moment. Then his
Speaker 1: status for this game is unclear. It's not trending well,
Speaker 1: it's not trending the right direction. Kenyan Drake is is
Speaker 1: practicing and full, so we're gonna assume he's going to
Speaker 1: be the starter. Get most of the work that gives
Speaker 1: him a B grade. Have been gutted by some unimposing
Speaker 1: running backs lately. Over their last five games, these guys
Speaker 1: have averaged total yards and over a touchdown per game.
Speaker 1: Tony Pollard, J D. McKissick, Devin's singletary, Cam Acres and
Speaker 1: that was before Cam had his breakouts, and Alvin Kamara.
Speaker 1: That's you know, those guys are getting about a hundred
Speaker 1: total yards and when I have touchdowns almost that's uh.
Speaker 1: That brings Kenyan Drake into play with a B grade
Speaker 1: with Chase Edmonds dinged up and for Chase, if you
Speaker 1: get a full day of practice on Friday or Thursday,
Speaker 1: then I could see where you might want to go
Speaker 1: with Chase Edmonds on C grade because he did look
Speaker 1: really good, but you want to feel a little more
Speaker 1: confident before about his health status. Let's go to Kyler
Speaker 1: Murray face the Niners in the season opener, and in
Speaker 1: that game we got a glimpse of what was to
Speaker 1: come for Kyler Murray. He had an efficient passing day,
Speaker 1: but an explosive running day with almost one hundred rushing
Speaker 1: yards in a touchdown. Niners past defense has been pretty
Speaker 1: solid over the last five weeks. Over that span, only
Speaker 1: Josh Allen has has really touched them. In a meaningful way.
Speaker 1: Everybody else averaging whoa, whoa, whoa. We're just gonna go
Speaker 1: buy that. Well, okay, not everything. Every single time you
Speaker 1: use the word much, it's a bad touch. There is
Speaker 1: such a thing as a good touch. I'll have you
Speaker 1: touched them in a meaningful way. Yes, sorry for your wife.
Speaker 1: Niners past defense has been pretty solid over the past
Speaker 1: five weeks, as I mentioned, averaging just one d sixty
Speaker 1: three passing yards and zero point eight passing touchdowns to
Speaker 1: non Josh Allen quarterbacks the toucher as I guess maybe
Speaker 1: we'll now call him. What's more, no quarterback has scored
Speaker 1: on the ground against San Francisco since Week four, and
Speaker 1: Taysom Hill is the only quarterback the top twenty three
Speaker 1: rushing yards against the fort since Week three, So I've
Speaker 1: got to be great and Kyler Murray against a good defense.
Speaker 1: DeAndre Hopkins gets an a comes in red hot with
Speaker 1: over one five yards and back to back games and
Speaker 1: touchdowns in two of the past three. And he's had
Speaker 1: some tough matchups over those last three games too that
Speaker 1: he's overcome. Forty. Niners are allowing an un characteristic one
Speaker 1: hundred sixty seven yards per game to opposing receivers over
Speaker 1: the last three weeks. They have allowed four touchdowns to
Speaker 1: receivers over the past three weeks. DeAndre Hopkins likely gets
Speaker 1: that touchdown. Last guy to mention Dan Arnold, I'm listening.
Speaker 1: I was. I was worried. He's been fantasy relevant in
Speaker 1: three straight games and four of the past five. Low
Speaker 1: volume dard throw against the Niners defense that has allowed
Speaker 1: fantasy relevant games to tight ends in three straight ce
Speaker 1: grade on Dan Arnold. It took weeks, but you finally
Speaker 1: got it right. So Josh Allen is the toucher. He's
Speaker 1: the toucher, So we need a sounder for the toucher.
Speaker 1: What does that sound like? Brand does not want any
Speaker 1: part of your touching sound, No kidding. When we come back,
Speaker 1: take a chance on me. Nine players not normally in
Speaker 1: your starting lineup will tell you who they are, and
Speaker 1: we've already alluded to three of them. When we come back.
Speaker 1: This is it's so much better. It sucks less. It's
Speaker 1: a legitimate song. It's unlike our previous Take a chance
Speaker 1: on me. This is that that had a full band piano,
Speaker 1: it had guitars. That was good. It was good. That's
Speaker 1: a song the band Nickelback's a billion times better than
Speaker 1: what we had no know. This is a song like
Speaker 1: Back conjected, I feel like it's good. Though you're on
Speaker 1: the wrong side of this. I'm grateful too. I believe
Speaker 1: it's called Soap Soap, so the band is called soap
Speaker 1: um that sent this song to me. It's original work.
Speaker 1: They clear they made. We are in the clear, no
Speaker 1: royalty issues. This is until somebody comes up with something better.
Speaker 1: This is our new taking chant song, which is it's
Speaker 1: the last week of the year for to take a
Speaker 1: chance on me. So we got We've got the mantle
Speaker 1: at least for the next year. Absolutely, thank you again,
Speaker 1: soapd the band. Let's go through our nine players that
Speaker 1: we would not normally start, but we are this week
Speaker 1: at the quarterback position, and that is Brian Johnson. We're
Speaker 1: going with the red rifle, Andy Dalton at home versus
Speaker 1: the Biggles. Over the last three weeks, supposing quarterbacks have
Speaker 1: average one passing yards and two point seven passing touchdowns
Speaker 1: versus Philly. Those are that was Aaron Rodgers, Taysom Hill
Speaker 1: and Kyler Murray. Dalton pretty much deserves to be in
Speaker 1: that conversation. Uh, Andy might be without Michael Gallup in
Speaker 1: this one, but he still has two top tier receivers.
Speaker 1: And let's not forget he's in a contract here. He
Speaker 1: only signed a one year deal with Dallas and he
Speaker 1: could still be a starter in this league. I'm quite convinced.
Speaker 1: So he's Dallas is alive for the playoffs too. So
Speaker 1: there's a motivation here is motivation. That's it. That's it. Okay,
Speaker 1: let's go to your quarterback, matt Matthew Stafford. Three of
Speaker 1: the last four quarterbacks to face the Bucks have topped
Speaker 1: three D fifty passing yards, and as an added bonus,
Speaker 1: if you throw for three fitty against the Bucks, you
Speaker 1: also get to throw exactly three touchdown passes against the Bucks.
Speaker 1: Each one of them has its science. Stafford was treated
Speaker 1: with kid gloves and practice again this week, especially with
Speaker 1: the Saturday game. The part that worries me. I don't
Speaker 1: know if he's gonna play. He's gonna play, he'll go.
Speaker 1: He's only two weeks removed from a four yard, three
Speaker 1: touchdown performance with that same injured thumb, and maybe maybe
Speaker 1: he gets to call his own plays in the huddle
Speaker 1: this week. With Darryl Pebbles in the bubble. They should
Speaker 1: let him. You know, in the old days, when I
Speaker 1: was a kid quarterback a night that ried, we walked
Speaker 1: up hill both ways. Quarter Veteran quarterbacks called all their
Speaker 1: own plays all the time. Now Tom Prady doesn't get
Speaker 1: to calls on plays. It's bizarre how things have changed.
Speaker 1: For the fourth straight week, I think you're still doing.
Speaker 1: I'm going back to Happy Trombone Ski. That's right. In
Speaker 1: the past four weeks as a starter, Happy Trombone Ski
Speaker 1: is a top twelve Fantasy quarterback and this matchup is
Speaker 1: so juicy with Jacksonville, a team that has allowed multiple
Speaker 1: passing touchdowns in eight straight games. Mitch loves to target
Speaker 1: Allen Robinson runs all over the field and he's got
Speaker 1: great matchups at every stop going Greg cornerbacks, Greg Mabon,
Speaker 1: Chris Clay Brooks is awful, and Trey Herndon. It's it's
Speaker 1: a glorious matchup. Four. Brian, you'll take a chance to
Speaker 1: me running back. I got Lynn Bowden at the Raiders.
Speaker 1: Got any music for Lynn Bowden? How would I know?
Speaker 1: Lynn Bowden is really a wide receiver, but he does.
Speaker 1: He's averaging eight yards per carry on on just three carries.
Speaker 1: But more important, he's running back eligible on all major platforms.
Speaker 1: But I like I like him. Play him as running back.
Speaker 1: But he's a great wide receiver. He's a safe play.
Speaker 1: The Raiders have yielded the third most red zone targets
Speaker 1: to wide receivers over the last four weeks and the
Speaker 1: most touchdowns during that span. Bowden has sixteen targets over
Speaker 1: his last two games. And if you weren't aware, the
Speaker 1: Raiders drafted Lynn Bowden and essentially kicked him to the
Speaker 1: They did it. They revenge. They took like a third
Speaker 1: round pick four and traded him for like Ach. Yes,
Speaker 1: it's a revenge game for Lynn Bowden. You take a
Speaker 1: chance to be runner Matt Uh It's gonna be Leonard
Speaker 1: four net because Ronald Jones is going to miss the
Speaker 1: week on the COVID list according to Bruce Arians, So
Speaker 1: we get another week of Leonard Fournett four net got
Speaker 1: seventeen touches last week. He rewarded fantasy players with two
Speaker 1: scores but an unimpressive fifty five total yards. That's gonna
Speaker 1: change this week against Detroit. Uh Darrenton Evans and Duke
Speaker 1: Johnson have had respectable Fantasy days. Against the Lions in
Speaker 1: the last month, along with Derrick Henry, David Montgomery, Mike Davis,
Speaker 1: Antonio Gibson, and Dalvin Let's just say this is a
Speaker 1: bad run defense in the game script could lean heavily
Speaker 1: towards Tampa running the ball copiously, could I've got Gus
Speaker 1: Edwards shooting for a touchdown? We just we want a touchdown.
Speaker 1: Gus Edwards has got a good chance at it. Mark
Speaker 1: Ingram a healthy scratch last week. In Gus's last three games,
Speaker 1: he's averaging eight yards per carry. He gets a lot
Speaker 1: of work inside the red zone, and the Giants have
Speaker 1: allowed a running back score in five of the past
Speaker 1: six games. Gus Edwards Brian, your take a chance of
Speaker 1: your receiver? Are you gonna use Linn bout In again
Speaker 1: that that eight yards per carry by Edwards is bowed
Speaker 1: in esque though that it is no I pity the
Speaker 1: fool who does not take a chance on Mr t
Speaker 1: Higgins at the Texans. The Texans have allowed the most
Speaker 1: red zone receptions two receivers over the last four weeks,
Speaker 1: twelve of them on twelve targets. A percent catch rate
Speaker 1: for the opposing wide receivers against the Texans in the
Speaker 1: red zone. Houston has been getting schmacked by receivers all season.
Speaker 1: They've surrendered twenty touchdowns to the position. Te Higgins, I
Speaker 1: want to hear your Mr. T impression, though, I gotta
Speaker 1: practice that next season. Your macho man spot on though
Speaker 1: that can do that, ad Huck Matt, you take a
Speaker 1: chance of me. Receiver Tim Patrick has been money near
Speaker 1: the end zone. In fact, inside the ten yard line,
Speaker 1: He's had seven targets, seven receptions, and six touchdowns. His
Speaker 1: seven receptions inside the ten are tied for Travis Kelsey
Speaker 1: for sixth in the league. What's more, his thirteen point
Speaker 1: one average depth of target is ninth highest in the league.
Speaker 1: And the Chargers are a break but don't bend defense
Speaker 1: allowing the most completions of forty or more yards this
Speaker 1: year with ten. Casey Hayward seventh in the league with
Speaker 1: most yards allowed in coverage. The other corner Michael Davis,
Speaker 1: and each of allowed three scores on the year. Fire up,
Speaker 1: Tim Patrick, might take a chance on my receiver. I'm
Speaker 1: I'm book ending the season the way it began with
Speaker 1: John O. JOHNU Now I looked brilliant in the first
Speaker 1: about six weeks of the season when Johnu John, who
Speaker 1: came out red hot your fourteenth round tight end selection,
Speaker 1: was looking fantastic. Then he probably hit a series of
Speaker 1: injuries and then they just didn't throw to him for
Speaker 1: a long time, missed some games, and then they just
Speaker 1: asked him to block. Now it seems that he's healthier
Speaker 1: because he's playing the snaps last week and he came
Speaker 1: up with five catches fifty two yards last week, his
Speaker 1: highest catching yardage totals since Week five. In the last
Speaker 1: five weeks, this week's opponent, the Packers have allowed three
Speaker 1: touchdowns to the tight end position and just over fifty
Speaker 1: yards per game to the tight end position. I think
Speaker 1: most of those fifty go to John U Johanu. I
Speaker 1: would love to see him finish on I'm honestly surprised
Speaker 1: you didn't use Zack Moss as your take a chance
Speaker 1: on me runner, just to really that whole thing and
Speaker 1: John John great. Yeah, the Moss thing never really panned
Speaker 1: out through less fault of Mosses and more that they
Speaker 1: just don't give their running backs much of anything. It's uh,
Speaker 1: it's I think it's a wasted opportunity for them. Let's
Speaker 1: work in some matchups beginning with Brian Miami takes on
Speaker 1: the Las Vegas Raiders. You already told us you like
Speaker 1: Lynn Bowden, so does that mean you like to as well.
Speaker 1: I'll give to a C and a reminder, this is
Speaker 1: the other Saturday games, so you gotta get these guys
Speaker 1: in your lineup or out of them either way, too,
Speaker 1: we're gonna give him a CEE. The Raiders have allowed
Speaker 1: exactly two quarterback touchdowns and five straight games too, should
Speaker 1: get there. Considering he's run for three scores over the
Speaker 1: last two weeks. I don't see a huge filing for
Speaker 1: two a year, but it definitely a safe sea over
Speaker 1: his receivers Davante Parker and give him a see if
Speaker 1: he plays. He probably will suit up in this one,
Speaker 1: but he has no proven chemistry with two are right now.
Speaker 1: But the matchup is nice on paper. For Parker. The
Speaker 1: Raiders have yielded the third most red zone targets to
Speaker 1: wide receivers over the last four weeks and the most touchdowns,
Speaker 1: and for that reason I liked win Bowdens might take
Speaker 1: a chance of main receiver like you said, church Uh. Lastly,
Speaker 1: for the receivers, Mike A. Sicky was not practicing on Wednesday. Uh,
Speaker 1: hopefully he suits practices later in the week. I'll give
Speaker 1: him a B if he plays the very comparable Hunter
Speaker 1: Henry had a great game against Las Vegas last week,
Speaker 1: and the Raiders have also allowed at least four catches
Speaker 1: and fifty yards to a tight end in five straight games.
Speaker 1: So B for Kisiki if he suits up lastly for
Speaker 1: the Dolphins. At the running back situation, this is very
Speaker 1: muddled now. Miles Gaskins should make his return from the
Speaker 1: COVID list, bumping Salven Akhmed back to the bench. These
Speaker 1: guys have never been really healthy at the same time
Speaker 1: this year. When Gaskin has been healthy, he's been the
Speaker 1: bell house. But Achmed wasn't really in the fold he
Speaker 1: was injured. Then I'll give Gaskin to see here, I'll
Speaker 1: assume he gets the lion's share of the touches at
Speaker 1: running back. It's a good matchup. The Raiders have given
Speaker 1: up the fourth most fantasy points of running backs, including
Speaker 1: the second most touchdowns. So a C for Gaskin, But uh,
Speaker 1: temporary your expectations at that backfield, It's uh, who knows
Speaker 1: what's going to happen there. Over to the Las Vegas side,
Speaker 1: Josh Jacobs can give him a B. No running back
Speaker 1: his cracked ninety yards against Miami yet, which is crazy.
Speaker 1: I mean, just stop on that for a second. Think
Speaker 1: of where the Dolphins were last year and the statement
Speaker 1: you just made. No running back has hit ninety yards
Speaker 1: against the Dolphins all year last year, every running back
Speaker 1: for the Dolphins. Yeah, and maybe the hat to uh
Speaker 1: to Brian Flores. Yeah, they've allowed just one running back
Speaker 1: touchdown as well over their last nine games. It's not
Speaker 1: a good matchup at all. But Jacobs has scored four
Speaker 1: times in his last four home games, and he has
Speaker 1: caught three passes in each of his last three games.
Speaker 1: That's insane. That's it's that's explosive PPR output for Josh Jacobs.
Speaker 1: So he gets a B based on volume. Here, Darren
Speaker 1: Waller gonna give him an A even though it's a
Speaker 1: tough matchup on paper. It is Darren Waller. There's been
Speaker 1: one comparable tight end to go off against the Dolphins,
Speaker 1: and that was Travis Kelsey, and Waller is a one
Speaker 1: guy you can compete to Kelsey, So he gets an A.
Speaker 1: Nelson Aguilar gets a bench grade though the Dolphins have
Speaker 1: only allowed three wide receiver touchdowns over their last six games,
Speaker 1: and those three touchdowns went to Tyreek Hill, Tyler Boyd
Speaker 1: and Keenan Allen. Nelson Aghilar is not in that same
Speaker 1: company and he'll probably draw Zavian Howard. So that's a
Speaker 1: sanilgo for Nelson Aguilar and for the quarterbacks. Mariota was intriguing,
Speaker 1: but it sounds like Derek Carr is gonna give it
Speaker 1: a go, even though I don't know. Tore is growing
Speaker 1: off the bone, but only a lot bad when you
Speaker 1: know when you saw that injury, like, well, that's it
Speaker 1: hurt me, It hurt everyone just watching it. Uh, I
Speaker 1: got them. They're both on the bench though, regardless of
Speaker 1: who starts, only five quarterbacks have thrown for multiple touchdowns
Speaker 1: against Miami, and only two of those five through for
Speaker 1: more than two touchdowns, and they were elite level quarterbacks
Speaker 1: as well. Yea, Mariota looked great last week, you did,
Speaker 1: but that doesn't necessarily matter under contract next year for
Speaker 1: ten million dollars. It's staggering contract for as a backup
Speaker 1: quarterback for Marcus Mariota. Tip of that to him for
Speaker 1: getting paid. Matt Indianapolis takes on Pittsburgh. I think Jonathan
Speaker 1: Dayler is pretty straightforward. The passing game is to me
Speaker 1: is way more intriguing, and I want to start there.
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers has been a top ten fantasy quarterback over
Speaker 1: the last six weeks. What do you think against a
Speaker 1: good Pittsburgh Past defense. Well, you mentioned it's a good
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Past defense. You know who. The last quarterback to
Speaker 1: throw for three yards against the Steelers was Philip Rivers
Speaker 1: as a Charger. About what in weeks six? Wow? I
Speaker 1: don't know if I'm more shocked that it's that long
Speaker 1: of a stretch or that it was Philip Rivers as
Speaker 1: a Charger who did nothing. Only half of the quarterbacks
Speaker 1: they've faced this year have hit two touchdown passes. None
Speaker 1: have hit three. The upside just isn't there for Rivers
Speaker 1: in this one. So I have him on the bench
Speaker 1: all the way down to bench great. I don't think
Speaker 1: that you can play him in a Fantasy championship this week.
Speaker 1: I have every one of his receivers on the bench
Speaker 1: to Hilton Pittman and the suddenly wide receiver one Zach Pascal,
Speaker 1: who led the wide receivers in snaps, receptions, yards and
Speaker 1: had two touchdowns last week, that only muddies the waters
Speaker 1: for Hilton and Pittman. Steph Diggs roasted this secondary two
Speaker 1: weeks ago when Joe Hayden sat out. But with Hayden around,
Speaker 1: the Pittsburgh defenses back to normal, he's been iron Hayden lately,
Speaker 1: keeping Terry quiet and holding the Bengals wide receiver group
Speaker 1: to a total of five catches and seventy one yards
Speaker 1: last week. That's nothing, nothing, that's nothing. The tight ends
Speaker 1: was Ryan Finley, and that's the tight ends are on
Speaker 1: the bench. Two targets each for Jack Doyle, Trey Burton,
Speaker 1: and mo Allie Cox last week. Mose on the injury report,
Speaker 1: but you need to to go down for the other
Speaker 1: one to be startable. And then Jonathan Taylor, he gets
Speaker 1: a B grade. The Steelers have been one of the
Speaker 1: best run defenses in the league until they met the
Speaker 1: powerhouse back g O Berner last week, who took twenty
Speaker 1: six touches for ninety seven yards and two scores. I
Speaker 1: think the Bengals might have laid the blueprint to beat
Speaker 1: the Steelers for the Colts here. I think it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a lot of Jonathan Taylor in this one and
Speaker 1: the Colts need the win to stay in the playoff hunt.
Speaker 1: They actually needed a lot worse than Pittsburgh doesn't on
Speaker 1: the other side. And tell that to Steelers fans, by
Speaker 1: the way, desperate for a win right now off the
Speaker 1: lost three in a row. There we go, Benny Snell,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give him a desperation See if James Conner
Speaker 1: is inactive, now you're now you're talking. If Connor Connor
Speaker 1: is still dealing with the quad injury, he looks like
Speaker 1: a true game time decision if Connor goes there, both
Speaker 1: on the bench. Snell had seventy eight percent of the
Speaker 1: snapshare last week against Cincinnati and took twenty one touches
Speaker 1: for a hundred and seven total yards in a score.
Speaker 1: But no back besides Derrick Henry has done anything on
Speaker 1: the ground this year against the Colts. That's why he's
Speaker 1: a desperation c slash D grade Ben Roethlisberger, he gets
Speaker 1: the CEA. Four of Ben's last five outings have seen
Speaker 1: him held under two hundred seventy yards, with two of
Speaker 1: those under two hundred. He hasn't topped two touchdown passes
Speaker 1: since Week ten. The Colts have allowed four of the
Speaker 1: last five quarterbacks they faced the top three hundred yards
Speaker 1: and three of those quarterbacks through from multiple scores, so
Speaker 1: the matchup isn't quite as daunting as it was earlier
Speaker 1: in the year. Now the wide receivers, which is kind
Speaker 1: of a mess. Juju Smith Schuster speaking of a mess
Speaker 1: in a non PPR league, finished with negative points last
Speaker 1: week and and knocked some people out of playoff matchups.
Speaker 1: It was crazy, um Chase Claypool had eight targets but
Speaker 1: only three catches last week, and then Deonte Johnson had
Speaker 1: thirteen targets last week. So durn't drop any there, we go,
Speaker 1: didn't drop any. I'll give Deonte the be here. With
Speaker 1: Juju and Claypool getting C grades, the Colts have been
Speaker 1: rocked by some perimeter wide receivers in the last few weeks.
Speaker 1: Aglare bit them for a hundred yards in a score.
Speaker 1: Both Kiki Cutie and Chad Hanson of the Texans had
Speaker 1: two good Fantasy days a piece each in the last
Speaker 1: two weeks. Also A. J. Brown and Davante Adams put
Speaker 1: some good days up against the Colts in recent history.
Speaker 1: And then Eric Ebron he did not practice with a
Speaker 1: back injury. Remember he left the game early on Monday,
Speaker 1: so you can't play him this week. No one in
Speaker 1: a championship scenario is moving to vance McDonald either. This
Speaker 1: starting any stealer with Ben rob the way Ben looked
Speaker 1: and several games, I don't know that I think it started.
Speaker 1: I think it's Deante and that's it. That's the only
Speaker 1: one I think i'd feel comfortable. Just the double digit
Speaker 1: targets every time he goes out. I think you're largely
Speaker 1: right on that. I just don't know if I could
Speaker 1: start Juju Um. It's tough. I don't feel like I'm gonna, yep,
Speaker 1: tough to get to a championship game of play Ben
Speaker 1: right now. By the way, in a redraft league, you
Speaker 1: drop those guys like Juju and Claypool. You just to
Speaker 1: see if your opponent some fights on those and wants
Speaker 1: to wants to do something daring and potentially foolish. Giant,
Speaker 1: We're gonna finish this segment off with the Giants taking
Speaker 1: on Baltimore. And for the Giants, there's only two guys
Speaker 1: to the starting grade. We start with Wayne Gohlman, and
Speaker 1: I'm worried about Wayne Gelman here because DeVonta Freeman has
Speaker 1: been activated off I R and he's gonna siphon off
Speaker 1: some role and that's uh, that's bad for Goldman's waning productivity.
Speaker 1: He's averaged only twelve touches and fifty one scoreless yards
Speaker 1: over the last two games and like waxing productivity not
Speaker 1: waning correct And after that was after averaging eight yards
Speaker 1: and a touchdown per game over the pre the prior
Speaker 1: games as a starter since Week ten, Damien Harris, Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry Ezekiel, Elliott, Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, James Robinson, good
Speaker 1: backs of average, a hunter two total yards in a
Speaker 1: touchdown per game. I'm just I'm worried that Golman is
Speaker 1: not gonna get enough work here to approach those numbers.
Speaker 1: He's got a C grade. Evan Ingram gets a C grade.
Speaker 1: He's actually stayed healthy all year. And you know many
Speaker 1: touchdowns we've gotten out of Evan Ingram Pro Bowl or
Speaker 1: Evan Ingram Pro Bowl or Evan Ingram one. That's it,
Speaker 1: how Ingram on his career cheese, that's it. Ravens have
Speaker 1: allowed at least forty five yards or a score to
Speaker 1: tight ends in four straight games, and they've allowed the
Speaker 1: ninth most receptions to the position on the season. Evan
Speaker 1: Ingram gets a C grade here in the desolate landscape
Speaker 1: that is the tight end position. Everybody else is on
Speaker 1: the bench, and I don't even think we need to
Speaker 1: get into it. Whether it's Daniel Jones or it's Colt McCoy,
Speaker 1: you're not starting any other part of the Giants passing game.
Speaker 1: Let's go over to Baltimore. We begin with Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 1: Before mopping up the Jaguars last week, Jackson was averaging
Speaker 1: just one point two passing touchdowns in his prior six games.
Speaker 1: You know it's he's been a very inconsistent pass sir.
Speaker 1: Let's put it that way and blob more active on
Speaker 1: the ground though, And you're here for the rushing and
Speaker 1: I know that, so let's spend most of this most
Speaker 1: this time talking about his rushing Here. Giants are elite
Speaker 1: at stopping quarterbacks on the ground. They're giving up just
Speaker 1: twelve rushing yards per game to quarterbacks. They've given up
Speaker 1: just one rushing quarter rushing touchdown to a quarterback all year,
Speaker 1: just one. Fortunately, in recent games, we saw Russell Wilson
Speaker 1: hit forty five yards scoreless, Tyler Murray hit forty seven
Speaker 1: scoreless yards. So there's some hope for Jackson here, But
Speaker 1: I don't love him and I've only got a B
Speaker 1: grade on him. I still think he finds his way
Speaker 1: to like fifty rushing yards because he usually does. To
Speaker 1: be fair, Wilson and Kyler Murray were the only running
Speaker 1: quarterbacks to get all year. They didn't really face anybody
Speaker 1: who had feet. Everybody else just stumps. That's it, stumps
Speaker 1: in a shoe. Let's stick with the passing game here
Speaker 1: and talk about Mark Andrews, who gets a B grade.
Speaker 1: He's been much better lately, posting at least five catches
Speaker 1: and sixty yards and four straight games. The only tight
Speaker 1: end to see more than six targets against the Giants
Speaker 1: was Richard Rodgers and explicably, who put up six h
Speaker 1: six catches eighty five yards on that many targets. So
Speaker 1: hopefully he gets a bunch of targets and he can
Speaker 1: do okay. Giants just got nuked by the Browns tight
Speaker 1: ends last week, so hopefully there's an opportunity for Andrews
Speaker 1: here with a B grade, and Marquise Brown checks in
Speaker 1: with a C grade. He's been Brown has been downright
Speaker 1: reliable over the last month, which is bizarre because he
Speaker 1: was anything but throws entire l Jacks is inconsistent and
Speaker 1: Marquis Brown is reliable. What the world do we live end?
Speaker 1: Is weird. This is a tough matchup, though, particularly with
Speaker 1: James Bradbury likely to return from the COVID list to shadow.
Speaker 1: In fact, he has returned. Bradbury has allowed just one
Speaker 1: touchdown in his coverage since the opening game, and the
Speaker 1: Giant secondary surrender just eleven receiver scores all season. That's
Speaker 1: tied for fourth view of Bradbury's gonna shadow Brown. So
Speaker 1: it's a very bad matchup for Brown, but on the consistency,
Speaker 1: I'm still giving him a C grade here, hopefully you
Speaker 1: don't have to play him. Let's go to the running backs.
Speaker 1: Gus Edwards was might take a chance of me. Runner
Speaker 1: J K. Dobbins clocks in with a C grade, and
Speaker 1: by the way, Edwards is also a C grade. Dobbins
Speaker 1: has scored in four straight games and has had between
Speaker 1: eleven and fifteen touches in each of those four straight games.
Speaker 1: So if he's gonna get these teensy touches, look, you
Speaker 1: know the the uh, that's probably enough to make him relevant. Here,
Speaker 1: especially if mark Ingram is a healthy scratch again, then
Speaker 1: I think you can safely start Dobbins. The Giants have
Speaker 1: allowed to running back touchdown in five of their past
Speaker 1: six games, but Edwards could be the running back touchdown guy. Well,
Speaker 1: Mar Jackson's a rushing guy, so there is some danger
Speaker 1: here with JK. Dobbins. When we come back, we'll go
Speaker 1: through our next set of matchups, including Cincinnati taking on Houston.
Speaker 1: It's a bad Houston defense. Cincinnati's got some players you
Speaker 1: don't normally trust with Ryan Finley at the helm, but
Speaker 1: maybe you've got some opportunities here. We'll talk more about
Speaker 1: that matchup and what to do about Deshaun Watson in
Speaker 1: his offense as well when we come back. Fantasy Football
Speaker 1: Weekly Championship Edition. Stay tuned yea welcome back Championship edition
Speaker 1: of Fantasy Football Weekly. Paul Archian, Brian Johnson, and Matt
Speaker 1: Harrison with you. Brian Geo Bernard two weeks ago had
Speaker 1: his first fumble in eight hundred carries and probably got benched.
Speaker 1: Then last week, maybe perhaps Zach Taylor, realizing there of
Speaker 1: his ways, decides to turn him into a workhorse back
Speaker 1: and Geo paid off. Do you like him this week
Speaker 1: against a reeling Houston defense. Yeah, it was a tale
Speaker 1: of two cities over the last two games from Geo.
Speaker 1: So i'mnna give him a B. Put him safely right
Speaker 1: in the middle. But he does have a upside here
Speaker 1: against the Texans, who are a joke on defense, especially
Speaker 1: when it pertains to containing running backs because they cannot.
Speaker 1: Houston has given up the second most fantasy points of
Speaker 1: the position, and they've allowed a running back to score
Speaker 1: against them in twenty of their last twenty one games
Speaker 1: going back to last year. The Texans have also allowed
Speaker 1: the fourth most receiving yards to running back. So d up, Geo,
Speaker 1: Bernard Tyler boyd Tyler Boy. You gonna give him a B,
Speaker 1: but monitor him. He's in concussion protocol but probably should play.
Speaker 1: The Texans have allowed the most red zone receptions to
Speaker 1: receivers over the last four weeks, and they've been getting
Speaker 1: flamed by them all year. Twenty touchdown surrendered to the position.
Speaker 1: That's why T Higgins was might take a chance on
Speaker 1: me wide receiver, and I'll even give a j Green
Speaker 1: a ce who's showing signs of life here if you're
Speaker 1: super desperate. I've still got Ryan Finley on the bench.
Speaker 1: Though not all of the receivers are gonna go off
Speaker 1: the they all have potential to have a pretty good game.
Speaker 1: But I like Finley a little bit in daily You'll
Speaker 1: be a cheap option over to the Texas. They want
Speaker 1: to passed like seventeen times on Monday Night. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: that was against They're gonna let him pass more in
Speaker 1: this game, I think I would hope. So almost by definition,
Speaker 1: I have to over to the Texans side David Johnson
Speaker 1: and give him a B. Has given us at least
Speaker 1: ninety two combo yards already touchdown in each of his
Speaker 1: last six full games. The Bengals are kind of a
Speaker 1: tough matchup though They've only allowed eight rushing touchdowns to
Speaker 1: running backs on the season, and they've allowed the fifth
Speaker 1: fewest catches and eighth few s yards to running backs
Speaker 1: through the air. But they are without you know, Atkins
Speaker 1: and DJ Reader now and Bettell looks good against the
Speaker 1: Bengals last week. So I'll give David Johnson a pretty
Speaker 1: safe B. Here Brandon Cook's kicky qt you both get
Speaker 1: a B. The Bengals are allowing one plus wide receiver
Speaker 1: scores per game tied for the fifth most between the two.
Speaker 1: I like u t a little more. He'll face slot
Speaker 1: cornerback McKenzie Alexander, who allows a seventy catch rate in
Speaker 1: his coverage to the tight ends. Jordan Aikins. I'm close,
Speaker 1: but I got him on the bench just because Darren
Speaker 1: Fells is such a pain in the a that the
Speaker 1: Bengals have allowed the fourth most yards the tight ends
Speaker 1: over the last four weeks. So Aikins another guy who
Speaker 1: might want to take a flyer on in daily, but
Speaker 1: I'm done. I'm done thinking this is the breakout game
Speaker 1: for Jordan Nakins and lastly, DeShawn Watson gonna give him
Speaker 1: an a. Even though the Bengals secondary has been bolstered
Speaker 1: by the return of cornerbacks William Jackson and McKenzie Alexander,
Speaker 1: they've only allowed uh one passing touchdown per game over
Speaker 1: the last five weeks, but they haven't played any Deshaun
Speaker 1: Watson's during that stretch. He still gets a name. Matt.
Speaker 1: You told us earlier that you like to Tim Patrick
Speaker 1: and you take a chance to me wide received verse show.
Speaker 1: Does that mean you're like Drew Lock. No, He's on
Speaker 1: the bench alight. No single quarterbacks hit two touchdown passes
Speaker 1: in a game against the Chargers in the last four games.
Speaker 1: And an interesting stat I saw from Evan Silva Jerry
Speaker 1: Judy's catch erright in passes from Drew Locktent. That's absolutely horrible.
Speaker 1: That's why Judy's on the bench to uh, no offense,
Speaker 1: not on the bench. I'm giving him a B. Levin
Speaker 1: targets last week eight for sixty eight and one, and
Speaker 1: the Chargers just let Darren Waller go bananas last Thursday night.
Speaker 1: And the Chargers have allowed a tight end touchdown nine
Speaker 1: times in thirteen games this season. But it's only a
Speaker 1: BE because I don't trust lock. Melvin Gordon's getting a
Speaker 1: B grade. He's very close to out snapping dinged up
Speaker 1: Philip Lindsay by a two to one ratio. And in
Speaker 1: the first meeting in week eight, Gordon was disappointing in
Speaker 1: that first revenge game, telling only forty seven yards on
Speaker 1: fourteen touches. Double revenge coming here. Austin Ekeler on the
Speaker 1: other side, he gets a B. Only six of the
Speaker 1: snaps last week and getting replaced by Kalin Bolage and
Speaker 1: Air Bear at the goal line was worse Zack Moss
Speaker 1: and Devin Singletary just gouged this d just a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago. Mike Davis had a good day through
Speaker 1: the air. I love Eckler in this match, and I
Speaker 1: see this a little differently. I've got him as a
Speaker 1: top five back. I think he's I think he's a
Speaker 1: hundred total yards in a score. That's what I think that.
Speaker 1: There we go, air Bear, here he comes. He's getting
Speaker 1: an A grade each of the last three quarterbacks to
Speaker 1: face this battered secondary of top two or eight passing yards.
Speaker 1: But if you hearken back to last Thursday game, the
Speaker 1: thing that sticks out is that air Bear had two
Speaker 1: goal line plunges and one rushing score. Air Bear is
Speaker 1: also the ground bear. Oh I like it. The Broncos
Speaker 1: have given up an amazing five rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks
Speaker 1: in just the last four weeks. That's staggering. Air Bears
Speaker 1: get a score one on the crowd crownd to Bear
Speaker 1: Keenan Allen. I'm going to give him a bee. We're
Speaker 1: assuming the ten days off helped his hamstring quite a bit.
Speaker 1: If so, the match hup looks great against the team
Speaker 1: that just allowed eight for to Cole Beasley in the
Speaker 1: slot and seven for sixty eight to Curtis Samuel just
Speaker 1: the last two weeks. Finally, Hunter Henry, He's getting a
Speaker 1: B grade two. Henry is fifth in the league in
Speaker 1: target percentage inside the ten yard line, at almost a
Speaker 1: third of air Bears targets inside the ten go to Hunter. Henry.
Speaker 1: A tight end has scored on the Broncos in each
Speaker 1: of the last two weeks, and one of them was
Speaker 1: Travis Kelsey going bonkers for one thirty six and a score.
Speaker 1: So like Hunter Henry a lot in your championship week
Speaker 1: to I've got um, I've got a very high grade.
Speaker 1: In fact, my number one ranked quarterback is this week
Speaker 1: ever swunged like thirty right? Well, yeah, thet oh they
Speaker 1: are very f You can't outrun a bear. People don't
Speaker 1: realize that. The instinct the flight, you know when you
Speaker 1: reach the flight of the bear. No, the fight or
Speaker 1: flight instinct is to try to out on the bear.
Speaker 1: Bad idea. Know, you get big, don't climb the tree
Speaker 1: when you see the bear. You do your exactlary. You
Speaker 1: open your coat up to get to appear larger and
Speaker 1: there I think yelling is probably good. I would scream.
Speaker 1: I'd scream like a girl if you saw air bear
Speaker 1: right now? Would you open your coat up in a screen? Wait?
Speaker 1: That sounds different. I don't sound different. When we come back,
Speaker 1: Three Tough Questions, our final edition, can you go three
Speaker 1: and oh in the Championship week? Come back after this
Speaker 1: our number two of the Championship edition of Fantasy Football Weekly.
Speaker 1: Congratulations for those still alive in one or more of
Speaker 1: your league's well earned this year for three tough questions.
Speaker 1: This a forward looking edition of three Tough Questions because
Speaker 1: there's only one week of play left for most right
Speaker 1: minded fantasy leagues, and we're covering all of this weekend's
Speaker 1: games right here, breaking the down this weekend's game, so
Speaker 1: I don't need to talk about anything really in this season.
Speaker 1: So all of these questions are forward looking. Tough Question
Speaker 1: Number one, you've got the first pick in your twenty
Speaker 1: twenty one fantasy draft. Based on what we know right now,
Speaker 1: who is the right selection? Brian, Well, you can't win
Speaker 1: your league with your first round pick, but you can
Speaker 1: certainly lose it, and we've seen that happen to people
Speaker 1: chasing the upsides of se Kwon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin
Speaker 1: Kamara over the last couple of years. I'm tempting to
Speaker 1: go with Travis Kelsey, but I'm going with the safest
Speaker 1: pick I can think of, and that's Derrick Henry. I'm
Speaker 1: taking him first overall next year. He has forty three
Speaker 1: touchdowns and counting over his last three years alone. He
Speaker 1: doesn't catch a ton of passes, but he's just bankable
Speaker 1: money in the bank, especially late in the season, and
Speaker 1: he wasn't utilized early on in his career either. They're
Speaker 1: given DeMarco Mody touches young telling you, I'm no, I'm
Speaker 1: telling you he was not the same runner he is now. Well,
Speaker 1: he's earned it now, and I got no problem at
Speaker 1: setting him to auto draft at one oh one, and
Speaker 1: I'll go for a higher upside guys later. He's he's
Speaker 1: money in the bank, all right, Matt Who should be
Speaker 1: the first pick in the fantasy draft based on what
Speaker 1: we know right now? I tend to play in PPR leagues,
Speaker 1: so I'm looking at the guys who can run and catch,
Speaker 1: and I got it down to two guys, Dalvin Cook
Speaker 1: and Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey had four two touchdowns, around twenty
Speaker 1: five per game, which is exactly the average he had
Speaker 1: in three games played this year. Cook is averaging twenty
Speaker 1: six touches per game this year. And what do we
Speaker 1: know about the last guy who averaged twenty five touches
Speaker 1: per your game year he got hurt. It was Christian McCaffrey.
Speaker 1: Was Christian McCaffrey. He's he was out. So I'm gonna
Speaker 1: take the guy with fresh legs. I'm going back to
Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey at one one. He's fresh. Well, that's one
Speaker 1: way of looking at it. I guess uh. The correct
Speaker 1: answer is the biggest differentiator in Fantasy for ball it
Speaker 1: probably three years straight. Travis Kelsey. There's no downside to
Speaker 1: Travis Kelsey catching pass. He's the best player in disposition.
Speaker 1: It's always a waste slanted tight end. People are gonna
Speaker 1: delude themselves, including me, You won't be sad if you
Speaker 1: take Travis Kelly. No, no one's ever been sad about
Speaker 1: drafting Tim Travis Kelsey. Now, are you as confident in
Speaker 1: this as you were when you're saying take Gronk first
Speaker 1: overall a few years ago, because and honestly, it panned
Speaker 1: out pretty well that your Gronk had like a ten
Speaker 1: eleven touchdown season. I think you can be more confident
Speaker 1: with Patrick mahomes n You probably can. The only why,
Speaker 1: the only reason to think Travis Kelsey would have a
Speaker 1: worse season next year than this year his age. I
Speaker 1: guess at thirty two. But it's not like he's thirty eight.
Speaker 1: And we've seen plenty of elite level tight ends play
Speaker 1: well into their thirties. Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates and
Speaker 1: you know good tight ends, you know Hall of Fame
Speaker 1: level tight ends, which is what we're talking about. Travis
Speaker 1: Kelsey can play into their thirties. Tough question number two
Speaker 1: for Keeper Dynasty and Empire leaguers. Do you acquire Allen
Speaker 1: Robinson before the start of free agency or do you
Speaker 1: wait until he potentially hits the open market? Matt So
Speaker 1: for me, if he resigns in Chicago, that's pretty close
Speaker 1: to a worst case scenario. I was looking at all
Speaker 1: the teams in the league what their quarterback situations might
Speaker 1: be next year. The only ones I thought might be
Speaker 1: worse are the Giants in New England. You can make
Speaker 1: a case that they're better than Chicago to so acquire
Speaker 1: him now. Because his value should either go up or
Speaker 1: stay the same if he stays with the Bears no
Speaker 1: matter where he lands, I think you can acquire him now, Okay, Brian,
Speaker 1: you don't have much to add, even though he's been
Speaker 1: playing really well with Truebhisky as of late. Basically going
Speaker 1: anywhere will be viewed as an upgrade. So I had
Speaker 1: tried to acquire him now, Yeah, I think that mostly
Speaker 1: makes sense. I think there there's some real open questions
Speaker 1: about who the Bears quarterback is going to be. True
Speaker 1: Whisky has looked better down the stretch, and they're going
Speaker 1: to give him. They might be tempted to give him
Speaker 1: another try, but man, I gotta believe that they're going
Speaker 1: to have They're going to do something to to buttress
Speaker 1: the position in the off season. Buttress We'll We'll find
Speaker 1: out Mitch dr Bisky has been targeting him ten times
Speaker 1: per game, uh since since returning, and that's smart. If
Speaker 1: you're Mitch Drobisky, why not just throw to Allen Robinson?
Speaker 1: And I think that extra usage is going to plan
Speaker 1: to Robinson's desire to potentially stay in Chicago. Nothing frustrates
Speaker 1: the receiver more than not getting the damn ball. Look
Speaker 1: at Stefon Diggs and him leaving the Vikings because of
Speaker 1: their run first team, he goes over to to Buffalo,
Speaker 1: they pass all the time, loves it and look at
Speaker 1: the productivity. Uber talented receiver. I think you guys nailed it.
Speaker 1: Let's go get him now before we find out before
Speaker 1: it becomes more obvious that he but finds himself in
Speaker 1: a in a likely better spot. Tough question number three.
Speaker 1: Should Cam Acres be a first round pick next year?
Speaker 1: Let's start with Brian. We're gonna see a lot of
Speaker 1: wide receivers returned to the first round next year. It's
Speaker 1: gonna be Tyree Killed, Davante Adams, DK Metcalf, probably DeAndre Hopkins,
Speaker 1: maybe even Stefon Diggs and Calvin Ridley going in the
Speaker 1: first round. You mentioned Avis Kelsey, you take him first overall,
Speaker 1: I'd certainly take him at any point in the first round.
Speaker 1: And then there's still like five six lead level running
Speaker 1: backs that are gonna be available that are generally viewed
Speaker 1: as more valuable than cam Akers. So it's not it's
Speaker 1: not a first round pick for Acres next year, but
Speaker 1: he seems to be on that trajectory. Maybe Matt, Yeah,
Speaker 1: Brian hit a lot of my points. I had six
Speaker 1: running backs, seven wide receivers, two tight ends, and one quarterback,
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes that I think I would clearly take over
Speaker 1: Camakers teen guys. So so I think him in the
Speaker 1: middle of I think he's the middle of the second round.
Speaker 1: His average draft position next August, I believe will be
Speaker 1: end of the first round. You're probably I'm not taking
Speaker 1: him there. No, But here's what. Here's the thing I
Speaker 1: want to really leave listeners with about cam Akers, and
Speaker 1: I think the hesitation is going to be I don't
Speaker 1: want to be part of the Sean McVeigh question mark
Speaker 1: rotating backfield. Never know game in and game out, who
Speaker 1: the guy is gonna be. We need a McVeigh Shenanigan's word.
Speaker 1: Let's go back to Todd Gurley in twenty seventeen and eighteen.
Speaker 1: Under Sean McVeigh, he averaged eighteen carries per game. In seventeen,
Speaker 1: Todd Gurley was Fantasy Football's number one scoring running back.
Speaker 1: In ten, Todd Gurley was Fantasy Football's number one scoring
Speaker 1: running back. Sean mcveigh's got it in him to have
Speaker 1: a workhorse back, and I think he's rotated backs out
Speaker 1: of necessity. Acres does have some sneaky workhorse to him
Speaker 1: that we're flashing on a very small sample size right now.
Speaker 1: But and now, and now he's hurt, so you may
Speaker 1: roll into next year not really knowing if McVeigh is
Speaker 1: going to use him as a workhorse back. To me,
Speaker 1: that's going to be a little bit of too much risk.
Speaker 1: And I don't take running backs at the end of
Speaker 1: the first round anyway. As a general rule. I won't
Speaker 1: take him at the end of the first round. But
Speaker 1: I think there is something's going to be a lot
Speaker 1: of people who will outside for him if McVeigh is
Speaker 1: willing to make him that workhorse guy like he did
Speaker 1: with Todd Gurley. Let's get back to the matchups, beginning
Speaker 1: with Carolina taking on Washington. We begin on the Carolina
Speaker 1: side where Mike Davis gets a B grade. To my eyes,
Speaker 1: Mike Davis looks like he's tiring a little bit. We're
Speaker 1: seeing more of Rodney Smith in his looks are increasing.
Speaker 1: Davis's yards per carry down to four over the past
Speaker 1: several weeks. Over the past five weeks, he's averaging just
Speaker 1: nineteen receiving yards as well. For Davis, he was so
Speaker 1: active in the passing game early on, and they were
Speaker 1: really using him much like they were using Christian McCaffrey earlier.
Speaker 1: It's not that way now, but it's easier to run
Speaker 1: on Washington than it is to pass on Washington, and
Speaker 1: Davis should still see a total of like fifteen seventeen
Speaker 1: twenty total touches since their Week eight by Washington is
Speaker 1: allowing a very healthy one fifty six total yards to
Speaker 1: running backs, almost one and a half touchdowns to running back.
Speaker 1: So that's um, that's an opportunity here other than a
Speaker 1: couple of injury ravaged offenses, I should say in that
Speaker 1: stat So Davis gets a B grade, we're optimistic he
Speaker 1: can get something done here, and then most of the
Speaker 1: rest of the passing game is on the inch, with
Speaker 1: the exception of d J. Moore, who gets a C grade. More,
Speaker 1: it's averaging one hundred four yards over his past four
Speaker 1: games and has gone over the century mark in two
Speaker 1: of the past three games, but a very difficult matchup. More,
Speaker 1: it is primarily going to have to deal with Kendall Fuller,
Speaker 1: who's largely responsible for holding DK Metcalf to ten yards
Speaker 1: last week. Washington is allowing the sixth fewest yards to
Speaker 1: opposing receivers and just held Russell Wilson to one D
Speaker 1: twenty one passing yards. It is tough to get anything
Speaker 1: done through the air. Teddy Bridgewater obviously on the bench.
Speaker 1: Curtis Samuel's on the bench. He's had to run a
Speaker 1: really good games in November, but September, October, December have
Speaker 1: been totally underwhelming for Curtis Samuel. And he's got to
Speaker 1: go up in the slot against Jimmy Moreland, who is
Speaker 1: not allowed a touchdown all year. Robby Anderson also returning
Speaker 1: to the bench. I liked him last year. Is my
Speaker 1: last week as might take a chance of me player
Speaker 1: at the receiver position, but not this week. He goes
Speaker 1: up against Ronald Darby, who's um mostly a speed guy,
Speaker 1: but this is not a favorable matchup. Darbey has only
Speaker 1: allowed two scores all year, and it's got the speed
Speaker 1: to hang with Robbie Anderson. Let's go to the Washington side.
Speaker 1: Not many starters here either. Antonio Gibson, if he can go,
Speaker 1: is a B grade and it looks like he's going
Speaker 1: to go, and man, do they need him back. Dwayne
Speaker 1: Haskins through the ball fifty five times last week? What
Speaker 1: age daft? By the way to see this, Dwayne Haskins
Speaker 1: was stripped of his captaincy this way getting stripped of
Speaker 1: his captain How was he, ever the captain based on
Speaker 1: everything you've ever heard about the leadership qualities of Dwayne Haskins,
Speaker 1: because you always make the quarterback the captain for no
Speaker 1: reason other than he's the quarterback, never should have been
Speaker 1: the captain whatsoever? From in my mind unclear. The assumption
Speaker 1: is he's going to be back under the helm unclear.
Speaker 1: But anyway, before getting injured, Gibson had scored in five
Speaker 1: straight games, and it's seen as rushing attempts and rushing
Speaker 1: yards increase in each But one of the questions really
Speaker 1: here is is Gibson gonna get the full workload on
Speaker 1: the turf toe injury or does he potentially have a setback.
Speaker 1: If I knew he was going to get a full workload,
Speaker 1: I'd have Gibson is an A. But because I can't
Speaker 1: tell you that, that's why he drops to a B.
Speaker 1: Panther's run defense has improved a lot since the first
Speaker 1: half of the season. Only Aaron Jones his top sixty
Speaker 1: eight yards in the last month against Carolina, They've only
Speaker 1: given up one touchdown. B grade for Antonio Gibson. The
Speaker 1: only other players you probably care about Logan Thomas and
Speaker 1: Terry McLaurin. Let's talk about Logan McLaren. He gets you.
Speaker 1: Wait all you ate, all show for that. Logan Thomas
Speaker 1: up to a B grade. Here's surging in the past
Speaker 1: couple of months, coming off season highs and catches and yards.
Speaker 1: Last week, perfect timing. Panthers are bottom ten in receptions
Speaker 1: and yards to opposing tight ends. Every tight end to
Speaker 1: see at least seven targets against Carolina has posted no
Speaker 1: less than five catches and forty five yards. Thomas averages
Speaker 1: eight point six targets into Wayne Haskins starts, as opposed
Speaker 1: to five under Alex Smith. So if if it's Haskins especially,
Speaker 1: I like Logan Thomas here, then there's a sad case
Speaker 1: of Terry McLaurin, who's been better in Haskin starts, which
Speaker 1: is sad. Uh Caroline is allowing just one forty yards
Speaker 1: to receivers over the past four games. McLaren's mostly gonna
Speaker 1: have to deal with cornerback Dante Jackson, who just played
Speaker 1: a big part in holding Davante Adams to just forty
Speaker 1: two scoreless yards and just to see grade on the
Speaker 1: wilting Terry McLaurin of Late Charge. I got some breaking
Speaker 1: news on the Alliance coaching staff. Daryl Bevil officially out
Speaker 1: as his defensive coordinator Corey Undwin and all three primary
Speaker 1: position coaches on defense, defensive line, linebackers and defensive backsh
Speaker 1: Lion's wife receivers coach Robert Prince will be the head
Speaker 1: coach this weekend. That's brutal. They're not gonna have a
Speaker 1: coaching staff that is that is that is that is
Speaker 1: not bad. Um. Let's take a quick break. When we
Speaker 1: come back, I want to talk about Cleveland taking on
Speaker 1: the Jets. Bryan Baker Mayfield has red hot and here
Speaker 1: comes the Jets. I think this is largely going to
Speaker 1: be self explanatory, but we'll talk about it when we
Speaker 1: come back. Next segment of our number two Fantasy Football Weekly.
Speaker 1: Please stay to Championship edition. Welcome back to a championship
Speaker 1: edition of Fantasy Football Weekly. Paul Giarchie and Brian Johnson
Speaker 1: and Matt Harrison with you. Brian Cleveland takes on the Jets.
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield comes in red hot and he gets the
Speaker 1: league's worst past defense. This seems pretty straightforward. Yeah, the
Speaker 1: only concern is the game script gets flipped on Baker
Speaker 1: and Cleveland goes and run heavy. For that reason, I'll
Speaker 1: give him a BE. But there's no upside, hey, upside
Speaker 1: for sure. Against the Jets will allow the second most
Speaker 1: passing touchdowns in the third most passing yards. Five straight
Speaker 1: quarterbacks of throwing multiple touchdowns against New York. So I'll
Speaker 1: give Baker the A, but a get him out, thank you.
Speaker 1: Worried about the time the game script goes the other way,
Speaker 1: Baker's already got his and the Jets run defense is
Speaker 1: really good. Yeah it is. We'll talk about that more
Speaker 1: in a second. Over to Baker's receivers, Jarvis Landry can
Speaker 1: give him a be. Opposing wide receivers are averaging more
Speaker 1: than yards and a touchdown per game. Against the Jets,
Speaker 1: Landry will face rookie slot corner Javelin Guidre. Who you
Speaker 1: made javelin j A V E l I. It's spelled
Speaker 1: like javelin javalin. I don't know how he pronounces it.
Speaker 1: He allows it catch rate in his coverage though, that's
Speaker 1: most important. That is not good for terrible, and I'll
Speaker 1: give Rochard Higgins to see. He's averaging eight targets over
Speaker 1: the last three weeks, the clear number two receiver for Cleveland.
Speaker 1: You can throw a dart on Higgins, but not a
Speaker 1: dart should be thrown on any of the tight ends.
Speaker 1: There are way too many in that trial. They're all
Speaker 1: on the bench. And for the running backs on the Browns,
Speaker 1: I do not like the matchup for Nick Chubb. You
Speaker 1: alluded to this earlier charts just to be for Chubb.
Speaker 1: Since Week six, the Jets have allowed just two rushing
Speaker 1: touchdowns to running backs. During that same span, only one
Speaker 1: back has topped eighty rushing yards against New York. And
Speaker 1: the Jets have also surrendered just one receiving touchdown to
Speaker 1: running backs. And that came way back in Week one
Speaker 1: to your boy Zac Moss, like the first quarter of
Speaker 1: Week one. That's practically so that makes that gives Kareem
Speaker 1: Hunt is pretty much the biggest boom bust player on
Speaker 1: the slate when it comes to fantasy relevance. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: give him a c. I don't. I don't trust him here.
Speaker 1: If you need a high upside play, he's look if
Speaker 1: they threw to him more. Kareem Hunt, I would try.
Speaker 1: I'd like him a lot more. They just don't throw
Speaker 1: for reasons I don't understand. As great as Kevin Stefanski
Speaker 1: has been this year, his unwillingness to throw the ball
Speaker 1: to Kareem Hunt is baffling to me. And running on
Speaker 1: the Jets does not work most of the time. I'm
Speaker 1: really nervous about, I'll say, overall of bench grade, but
Speaker 1: I can't fault you if you don't have better options
Speaker 1: at running back. I have to start Kareem Hunt in
Speaker 1: one league personally, So it's not a great matchup, though
Speaker 1: he said so temporary expectations and certainly well just don't
Speaker 1: really have any expectations for the Jets. But I will
Speaker 1: give jameson crowd or as see the Browns have surrendered
Speaker 1: four wide receivers scores over the last four games. He
Speaker 1: will be Sam Donald's top target for sure, and then
Speaker 1: to the running backs. If either Frank Gore Ty Johnson
Speaker 1: weren't playing, I would give one a see Gore at
Speaker 1: twenty three carries last week, Thy Johnson Ti Johnson caught
Speaker 1: six passes and scored. But they're both playing. They're both
Speaker 1: on the bench. I think that makes sense. Los Angeles
Speaker 1: takes on Seattle and Matt I hesitate to trust Jared
Speaker 1: Goff in any capacity, including his receivers. With my fantasy
Speaker 1: championship on the line, you should hesitate to trust Jared
Speaker 1: Goff for anything, ever, because that's what I've been saying
Speaker 1: for years. Uh. He looked Matt against the Jets last weeks,
Speaker 1: and understatement, I'm not imagining a lot of golf teams
Speaker 1: are still alive because he's averaging two sixty five yards
Speaker 1: per game, just over a score per game. Seattle has
Speaker 1: changed its entire dynamic on defense over the last five weeks.
Speaker 1: Quarterbacks are only averaging three two hundred and three yards
Speaker 1: per game against the Seahawks compared to three hundred sixty
Speaker 1: five games in the first nine. Amazing reversal, really sparked
Speaker 1: by Jamal Adams returned to that secondary. Yeah. Uh, Cooper Cup,
Speaker 1: I'm going to give him a SEA and Robert Woods
Speaker 1: gets a B grade. No wide receiver has scored or
Speaker 1: topped a hundred yards against the Seahawks since Week nine,
Speaker 1: and that includes a date with the Rams in which
Speaker 1: Cup and Woods each tallied a scoreless five catches with
Speaker 1: fifty yards for Cup and thirty one for Woods. In
Speaker 1: that game, it was Josh Reynolds with eight and ninety four.
Speaker 1: Cup has only topped fifty yards twice in his last
Speaker 1: six games and only has only three touchdowns on the season.
Speaker 1: I can't, I can't start him, No, you can't. Woods
Speaker 1: has been a lot better with his receptions and yardage totals,
Speaker 1: averaging eight catches and seventy seven yards over his last
Speaker 1: five games, but he's only scored in two of those,
Speaker 1: so that's not good. And then the running game cam
Speaker 1: Akers looks like he's probably done for the regular season.
Speaker 1: So Darryl Henderson and Malcolm Brown compete for touches and
Speaker 1: the most important fantasy day of the year. In the
Speaker 1: four games when Acres did not record a touch earlier
Speaker 1: this year, Henderson averaged four team carries. Brown averaged seven
Speaker 1: Harry's so signs point to Henderson getting the two to
Speaker 1: one workload. But don't sleep on Malcolm Brown messing this
Speaker 1: up for you, especially near the line. I totally agree,
Speaker 1: and I'll hear all these people pivoting to in the
Speaker 1: championship to Henderson under the assumption that he's going to
Speaker 1: get the vast majority of the work and goal line carries,
Speaker 1: and I don't know that that's true. The matchups not
Speaker 1: great either. The Seahawks randomly gave up a hundred and
Speaker 1: thirty five yards to Wayne Gallman a couple of weeks ago,
Speaker 1: but no other back has topped sixty yards against the
Speaker 1: Seahawks since Week seven. They've been a great run defense.
Speaker 1: I've got both of these guys on the bench. I
Speaker 1: like that angle. Chris Carson. I'm giving him a C grade.
Speaker 1: He gets between fifteen and seventeen touches every week. Also
Speaker 1: has three of the last four Seattle running back scores. Uh.
Speaker 1: The last time a running back hits sixty yards against
Speaker 1: the Rams was Raheem Mostert, who got a whopping sixty
Speaker 1: five yards back in Week six. They have given up
Speaker 1: five touchdowns to opposing backs over the last five weeks.
Speaker 1: That's why Carson still startable with the C grade. Russell
Speaker 1: Wilson he gets a C grade as well. This is
Speaker 1: I see. The Rams have given up two good games
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks all season. The toucher Josh Allen in Week
Speaker 1: three and inexplicably Jimmy Garoppolo in Week six. Wilson managed
Speaker 1: an average day in their first meeting, with two forty
Speaker 1: eight passing yards, sixty rush yards, but no touchdowns by
Speaker 1: land or air. The philosophy seems to have shifted around
Speaker 1: the ground game in Seattle, and Wilson's high passing yardage
Speaker 1: mark in the last six is only two sixty three.
Speaker 1: Dk Metcalf, He's closer to a bench grade than a
Speaker 1: C grade, but I'm still giving him the sea. He'll
Speaker 1: draw the Jalen Ramsey coverage and he only managed too
Speaker 1: for in the first meeting, and the Seahawks just aren't passing.
Speaker 1: I love that for Dk Metcalf. In the championship week,
Speaker 1: he powered almost all of his owners into the playoffs,
Speaker 1: and it's it's it's a dicey, dicey start. Metcalf has
Speaker 1: only cleared eighty yards once in his last six games.
Speaker 1: He had ninety or more in his first five. UH
Speaker 1: and Tyler Lockett, I'll give him a C grade. He
Speaker 1: was the highest scoring wide receiver in the Week ten
Speaker 1: meeting with the Rams. From the slot. Of course, He's
Speaker 1: averaging a very solid five catches and sixty yards over
Speaker 1: his last six games. He's just not scoring though. Chris
Speaker 1: Godwin and Jamison Crowder were also recent focal points from
Speaker 1: the slot against the Rams, so I like lock It
Speaker 1: more than Metcalf. In this matchup, Atlanta takes on Kansas City.
Speaker 1: Let's start with the passing game, where Matt Ryan's coming
Speaker 1: off the best game of his season last week, completing
Speaker 1: his passes for three hundred sixty five yards and three
Speaker 1: scores last week, and that was without Julio Jones on
Speaker 1: the field, and he completed passes to eleven different players.
Speaker 1: Even La Kwan Treadwell caught a pass. I think he
Speaker 1: got a touchdown too, It didn't. He may have the
Speaker 1: chief secondary made Drew Brees look downright feeble last week,
Speaker 1: but over the previous five games, the chief secondary had
Speaker 1: allowed a whopping two d seventy nine yards and two
Speaker 1: and a half touchdowns per game. I kind of like
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan here if he can build off of last
Speaker 1: week's success. But let me tell you, on balance, Matt
Speaker 1: Ryan's looked bad this year. B grade for Matt Ryan
Speaker 1: in this game, he throws a lot. He just forty
Speaker 1: passes per game, so the volume will be there, and
Speaker 1: that's part of why I feel like you can start
Speaker 1: him this week. Calvin Ridley is an obvious A grade
Speaker 1: that does not require explanation. I'll just note that he's
Speaker 1: been incredibly productive in games without Julio Jones, and then
Speaker 1: we get to Julio Jones. Even if he plays, I
Speaker 1: can only put a C grade on him because we
Speaker 1: don't know if he's gonna finish the game. He's been
Speaker 1: highly unreliable in these I'm playing hurt games. Kansas City's
Speaker 1: secondary only allowing one three yards per game to opposing receivers,
Speaker 1: and it feels like Ridley is going to get most
Speaker 1: of those hundred three yards, So I just I don't
Speaker 1: love him here. Tough matchup with Brashod Breland as well.
Speaker 1: Let's go to the running game where Edo Smith takes
Speaker 1: over and you're gonna leave him on the bench. He's
Speaker 1: the new starting running back since Smith became more involved
Speaker 1: in the offense in week twelve of these, averaging forty
Speaker 1: two rushing yards per game in four and a half
Speaker 1: yards per carry, which is better than Todd Gurley, but
Speaker 1: still not good enough. Chiefs are average against running backs,
Speaker 1: which is enough against this group. Todd Gurley's on the bed,
Speaker 1: of course, Edo Smith on the bench. Hayden Hurst on
Speaker 1: the bench too many zero one and to catch games
Speaker 1: for Hayden Hurst Chiefs the middle of the pack against
Speaker 1: tight ends. Let's go to the Kansas City side where
Speaker 1: you're starting Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey and Tyreek killed Nell
Speaker 1: of a grades, you drafted him early, you're taking him.
Speaker 1: They've been great. You're obviously starting them in the championship game.
Speaker 1: And um, and let's talk about Lavian Bell. This is
Speaker 1: where the intrigue is in this entire matchup. So Bell
Speaker 1: is gonna get obviously an uptick in work with Clyde
Speaker 1: Edwards a layer out. But he's looked totally mundane since
Speaker 1: arriving at Kansas City, and really it's been totally maintained
Speaker 1: since leaving Pittsburgh. His last eighties. He hasn't topped eighties
Speaker 1: seven rushing yards, which is not that much. He hasn't
Speaker 1: topped eighties seven rushing yards since twenty seventeen. Say, he
Speaker 1: did sit out a year too, sat out a year
Speaker 1: and then did nothing with the Jets. He's done nothing
Speaker 1: with with this team. Lavan Bell is not good now.
Speaker 1: Also of concern for me, Andy Reid's gonna throws him
Speaker 1: these extra carries around to Darwin Thompson, Darryl Williams, and
Speaker 1: Atlanta is a sneaky good run defense. No back has
Speaker 1: gone over eighty nine rushing yards against them, and only
Speaker 1: Tampa has given up fewer yards on the ground than
Speaker 1: the Falcons run defense. I have a C grade on
Speaker 1: Leavy on Belt and it was very close to A grade.
Speaker 1: Also on the bench, Sammy Watkins in your championship, you
Speaker 1: don't need four catches for forty five scoreless yards, which
Speaker 1: is what he always gives you. He has one touchdown
Speaker 1: since the opener. Also, uh oh no, that is uh
Speaker 1: that that is it. That's it for the whole matchup.
Speaker 1: I thought I thought I had a little bit. No,
Speaker 1: we don't need any more. I really don't have anything
Speaker 1: else in that matchup. But you know what I found
Speaker 1: was my page from Carolina Washington and which I failed
Speaker 1: to give J D mckissic a grade. So I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna back up for just a minute because I rewind
Speaker 1: for for those with j D mckissic, and you're wondering
Speaker 1: why I didn't mention him because he was on his
Speaker 1: own page and I had misplaced it. Panthers, he has
Speaker 1: a C grade. Panthers have allowed the seventh most re
Speaker 1: set into opposing running backs similar cast pass catching UH
Speaker 1: savants like Austin Neckler and Alvin Kamara. I've had huge
Speaker 1: days through the air, so I think mckissing gets enough
Speaker 1: to get a C grade in that game, just to
Speaker 1: see I think it's his very own page. It's kind
Speaker 1: of funny. I've never done that before. I don't think
Speaker 1: right I had I backed up and put a guy in,
Speaker 1: like we could just stitch it all together. That's too
Speaker 1: much work for Brian. Not in with the holiday, so
Speaker 1: she doesn't want to go home today. Who wants to
Speaker 1: go home for the holidays. Let's get to our final
Speaker 1: segment of our final matchup of this segment, Philadelphia taking
Speaker 1: on Dallas. Brian Jalen Hurts. Two weeks ago. You never
Speaker 1: would have thought you'd been starting Jalen Hurts in your
Speaker 1: championship game. But you might want to start Jalen Hurts
Speaker 1: in your championship game. Yeah, you certainly might. I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna give him a B here. The Cowboys past defense
Speaker 1: has looked a lot better as of late. They've only
Speaker 1: only allowed passing yards per game over the last five weeks,
Speaker 1: but they've also faced Alex Smith, Lamar Jackson, Brandon ll Alan,
Speaker 1: Nick Mullins, and C. J. Bethart, and during that span,
Speaker 1: those aren't very good passers. We're not that Hurts as
Speaker 1: a great passer yet. But the rushing quarterbacks that the
Speaker 1: Cowboys have faced. I mentioned Lamar Jackson, he had ninety
Speaker 1: four yards in a touchdown on the ground and Kyler
Speaker 1: Murray seventy four yards in a touchdown. So the rushing
Speaker 1: upside certainly there for Jalen Hurts. Not much upside for
Speaker 1: the rest of his teammates. I got Jalen Reagor on
Speaker 1: the bench. He did have eight targets last week. But
Speaker 1: you cannot start Jalen Reagor in your fantasy championship, at
Speaker 1: least I cannot. Probably not, uh, and I'm worried about
Speaker 1: starting Dallas Goddard and Zach ERT's gonna give them both
Speaker 1: the sea. Hurts has targeted Eagles tight ends in average
Speaker 1: of twelve times per game. That's pretty good. It is
Speaker 1: pretty good. Goddard has seen more targets than Earths, but
Speaker 1: Earth's closed the gap last week. But it's a bad,
Speaker 1: bad matchup for both tight ends. No tight end has
Speaker 1: topped four catches or thirty yards over Dallas's last seven games,
Speaker 1: and that includes Dallas Goddard's fifteen yard performance in Week
Speaker 1: gate scoreless fifteen yard performance, so just to see, Yeah,
Speaker 1: that sounds like the one thing Dallas has been good
Speaker 1: at all year has been that they have not been
Speaker 1: good at containing running back. So Miles Sanders gonna put
Speaker 1: them up in the a territory. Dallas has allowed these
Speaker 1: second most rushing yards one thirty six per game, and
Speaker 1: the fourth most touchdowns to opposing backs. Sanders didn't play
Speaker 1: when these teams first met, but the other Philly backs
Speaker 1: combined for ninety four rushing yards, so Sanders has that
Speaker 1: potential on the ground and can produce through the air
Speaker 1: as well. Over to the Dallas running back side, this
Speaker 1: is tough. No one wants Zeke to play. That Zeke
Speaker 1: owners don't want nobody packing Pollard. I don't want Zeke
Speaker 1: to play. The Pollard owners certainly don't want Zeke to play.
Speaker 1: But it sounds like Zeke is gonna play. I'll give
Speaker 1: Zeke a se because it's a good matchup. Since the
Speaker 1: Week nine by the Eagles are allowing one one total
Speaker 1: yards at one point two touchdowns per game to the position.
Speaker 1: Zeke only Mustard thirty three scoreless convoy yards when these
Speaker 1: teams first met, but Ben de Nucci was the quarterback
Speaker 1: see for Zeke. You agree with that? I think I
Speaker 1: think I'm gonna think they're gonna go fifty fifty split
Speaker 1: between Pollard and Zeke and game and they're going to
Speaker 1: cannibalize you to get one of them. Probably does okay
Speaker 1: fantasy wise, good luck guessing who it's gonna be. Talent.
Speaker 1: Try to showcase Zeke for a future trade. Oh, I
Speaker 1: like that, But the problem is they need to win
Speaker 1: the game. You know, they're still in the playoff hunt,
Speaker 1: so the Cowboys can't just showcase a guy at a loss.
Speaker 1: The best running back on roster is Tony Pollard. Now
Speaker 1: some of us told you that last offseason repeatedly. A
Speaker 1: chance to remind you Fantasy Football Weekly. This is our
Speaker 1: final on air broadcast. We are a weekly podcast in
Speaker 1: the off season. To listen so you can hear salient
Speaker 1: things like Tony Pollard is a better running back than
Speaker 1: Ezekiel Elliott and you don't want to draft him. Please continue, Brian,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna give Zeke the sea still, ok, because that's
Speaker 1: his upside. Those see upside. You gotta use your best
Speaker 1: judgment for what what running backs you have on your
Speaker 1: own rosters. You don't know the He's Pollard put up
Speaker 1: more Fantasy points last week than Ezekiel Elliott has in
Speaker 1: thirty seven of his last thirty eight games. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm not arguing as a better back at this point.
Speaker 1: Trust me, Peacock, peac yard. You might want to fire
Speaker 1: up the peacock next week if you started Marie Cooper
Speaker 1: and give him an a. The Eagles have been getting
Speaker 1: destroyed by alpha receivers recently, allowing at least one yards
Speaker 1: to their opponents number one receiver in three of the
Speaker 1: past four games. Cooper has scored in three of his
Speaker 1: last four games, and his primary assignment will probably probably
Speaker 1: be Kevon Seymour, who is allowing a near perfect passer
Speaker 1: rating when targeted in his coverage over to the other
Speaker 1: receiver because it's probably only the other one, only one
Speaker 1: other one. Michael Gallup very questionable to play, so I'll
Speaker 1: give him to see if he suits up, but he's
Speaker 1: unlikely to go. But Ceedee Lamb gets to be either way.
Speaker 1: The Eagles have allowed the most yards to wide receivers
Speaker 1: over the last four weeks, and Dalton Schultz gonna give
Speaker 1: him a c as well. Over the last three weeks,
Speaker 1: opposing tight ends are averaging five catches and seventy four
Speaker 1: yards against the Eagles, who have also allowed two scores
Speaker 1: to the position over that same three game span. And
Speaker 1: all those plus matchups for the receivers was the reason
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton's might take a chance on the quarterback. When
Speaker 1: we come back next segment, we will talk through a
Speaker 1: tricky matchup for Ryan Tannehill and the passing game for
Speaker 1: the Titans. They've been largely very productive, but the game
Speaker 1: script is all about Derrick Henry and this one. Can
Speaker 1: you trust Ryan Tannehill? Find out when we come back
Speaker 1: for the final segment of the final two hour edition
Speaker 1: of Fantasy Football Weekly for this season. It is the
Speaker 1: final segment of the broadcast edition of Fantasy Football Weekly.
Speaker 1: We are a podcast you can hear every week of
Speaker 1: the year, but the rest of the our off season
Speaker 1: are shorter shows. We're not breaking down matchups obviously in
Speaker 1: the off season, and um we'll be talking about the
Speaker 1: playoffs in January. And there's still lots of reasons to
Speaker 1: continue listening to Fantasy Football Weekly. We encourage you to
Speaker 1: do so. But if you're listening over the air, just
Speaker 1: know that this is the final over the air two
Speaker 1: hour edition of Fantasy Football Weekly. Then it's a good
Speaker 1: opportunity to thank my co host Scott Fish, Brian Johnson,
Speaker 1: and Matt Harrison. Thank you. This is mere eight for you. Wow,
Speaker 1: I'm getting up there. You are one of the older
Speaker 1: co hosts. Are nicely done six for me six year
Speaker 1: you're six y uh So it is not easy working
Speaker 1: this job. I appreciate it very much. And the engineering
Speaker 1: prowess of Brian Burdette, thank you with you it is
Speaker 1: the best. Thank you so much for all of your help.
Speaker 1: All right, let's jump into a final slate of matchups,
Speaker 1: which includes Chicago taking on Jacksonville. That is me in
Speaker 1: my final matchup of the year. Let's start with David Montgomery.
Speaker 1: It's gotten to the point that I don't need to
Speaker 1: explain why David Montgomery is an A grade, particularly against
Speaker 1: the Jaguars boxers. Please start him. He's my number two
Speaker 1: ranked running back this week. My number one ranked running
Speaker 1: back we'll be talking about in just a few minutes
Speaker 1: when we get to Matt's matchup. Let's go to the
Speaker 1: passing game where Mitch true Whisky. Let's give him one
Speaker 1: final happy He's earned it. He's earned a happy trombone
Speaker 1: Ski Moniker with his very solid play over the last month,
Speaker 1: and he is a B grade. Allen Robinson a grade
Speaker 1: averaging ten targets per game. Since True Bisky took over,
Speaker 1: He's had at least seventy four yards in all four
Speaker 1: of the True Bisky starts. Jacksonville is also allowed to
Speaker 1: receiver to reach yards and ten straight games, which is
Speaker 1: staggering incompetence. Robinson lines up all over the field. He's
Speaker 1: got very positive matchups everywhere, but especially against uber Green
Speaker 1: cornerback Greg Maybin, who has three career starts and is
Speaker 1: allowing a passer rating of one his cover. I think
Speaker 1: this is his first revenge matchup against the John w
Speaker 1: I even thought about the revenge matchup angle. That's very good.
Speaker 1: Darnell Mooney also with a C grade. He has scored
Speaker 1: touchdowns and back to back games. Um He's always in
Speaker 1: single coverage because Robinson soaks up so much defensive attention.
Speaker 1: Mooney will most often match up against Chris Claybrooks, who
Speaker 1: has allowed touchdowns in consecutive games and is allowing an
Speaker 1: approaching perfect passer rating of one forty six in his coverage.
Speaker 1: I like Darnell Mooney as a dart throw this week.
Speaker 1: Cold Commit also coming into the C grade. He followed
Speaker 1: up his snap share two weeks ago by playing every
Speaker 1: single down of the Bears offensive snaps last week for
Speaker 1: cold Commit. Unfortunately, the career high and snaps did not
Speaker 1: result in more production. He only had two catches for
Speaker 1: twelve yards last week. Jaguars allowed the most yards per
Speaker 1: reception to tight ends, along with eleven touchdowns two tight ends.
Speaker 1: That second most. They've allowed a tight end touchdown in
Speaker 1: four of the last five Cole Commit dart throw there
Speaker 1: as well. Let's go to the Jacksonville side, where there's,
Speaker 1: as you can imagine, only one starter, and that's James Robinson.
Speaker 1: He's proven to be matchup proof. The Bears gave up
Speaker 1: three hundred six rushing yards to the Vikings and Packers
Speaker 1: in their last two road games, and so you know,
Speaker 1: if we're gonna give up a hundred and fifty three
Speaker 1: yards per game on the road over the past month,
Speaker 1: that's that feels like an opportunity for James Robinson. Now
Speaker 1: he is wearing down a bit and we're seeing the
Speaker 1: usage get dialed back a little bits. They've used him
Speaker 1: so much, but the Bears have also allowed four touchdowns
Speaker 1: to backs in their last four games. He's catching a
Speaker 1: few extra passes under Gardner Minshew, which I like as well.
Speaker 1: He's helping out a little more in PPR. Be great
Speaker 1: for James Robinson here. The entire passing game for the
Speaker 1: Jaguars is on the bench. Chicago is a good, not
Speaker 1: great past defensive late. If you're really determined to find
Speaker 1: a way to get DJ Chark in your lineup, um,
Speaker 1: you can check the injury status of Bears cornerback Jalen Johnson,
Speaker 1: who missed last week's game, and if Johnson doesn't go,
Speaker 1: you could throw a dart at Chark against cornerback kindle Vildor.
Speaker 1: That's definitely a made up name. It sounds like somebody
Speaker 1: in Game of Thrones kindle Vildor Harry Potter were an
Speaker 1: Amazon tablet. Yeah, well very much. I mean it sounds
Speaker 1: exactly like an Amazon tak got my kid a Kindle
Speaker 1: Vildor for Christmas? Very nice? Uh? Green Bay On Sunday Night,
Speaker 1: Green Bay takes on Tennessee, Matt. This matchup is fascinating
Speaker 1: to me a variety of different ways. Let's start on
Speaker 1: the Green Bay side. Aaron Jones obvious green light here. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Jamal Williams left last week's game with a quad injury,
Speaker 1: and so Aaron Jones at the snaps and the Titans
Speaker 1: defense has been below average against the run, but the
Speaker 1: path of least resistance seems to be through the air
Speaker 1: against them still. DeAndre Swift notch two ground scores last week.
Speaker 1: So Aaron Jones easy? A uh? Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams?
Speaker 1: Can they co aard Vark was this week? Sure? Why not?
Speaker 1: We don't have rules on Coard Park. Maybe Baker had
Speaker 1: three thirty four and four only three weeks ago. Minshew
Speaker 1: and Glennon combined for two sixty three passing yards. Stafford
Speaker 1: and Chase Daniel combined for three oh seven against the
Speaker 1: Titans defense last week. So Rogers will go for three
Speaker 1: hundred and multiple scores, which means Adams automatically goes over
Speaker 1: to hundred with a score. Robert Tonyan gets a solid
Speaker 1: B grade and it's closer to an A. You know
Speaker 1: what earns the trust of a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: catching a loven touchdowns well catching the ball. Tongyan has
Speaker 1: caught eighty nine percent of the balls thrown his way
Speaker 1: this year. What's more impressive, he's caught one hundred percent
Speaker 1: of his targets inside the red zone. Nine targets, nine
Speaker 1: catches you don't say nine times nine and six touchdowns
Speaker 1: inside the twenty. The Titans held the Browns, Jags and
Speaker 1: Lions tight ends out of the end zone in the
Speaker 1: last three, but they allowed seven touchdowns to the position
Speaker 1: in prior ten games. We're not gonna go as far
Speaker 1: as Alan Lazard or mvs. If you are going to
Speaker 1: go with one of them and you need one, Lazard
Speaker 1: is probably the guy. He had eight more snaps and
Speaker 1: five more targets than Valdez Scandling last week. Um because
Speaker 1: it's the late Sunday night game, and if you need
Speaker 1: a late swap, I'd go Lazard because he was on
Speaker 1: the field for the place on the other side, Derrick Henry.
Speaker 1: He gets the A grade. The Pack have allowed eight
Speaker 1: teen touchdowns to the running back position this year. That's
Speaker 1: the fourth most in the league. There's a little bit
Speaker 1: of danger here and that the Titans defense is so
Speaker 1: bad that the Pack get up and kind of like
Speaker 1: in the Cleveland game, Henry might get phased out just
Speaker 1: a tiny bits. That's what happened in the Cleveland game though,
Speaker 1: when they got down by three or four touchdowns in
Speaker 1: the first half. So that's the only danger here other
Speaker 1: than that. I like them to pound the ball with
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry, and that's over and over about the passing game.
Speaker 1: And I've got a middling grade on Ryan Tannehill because
Speaker 1: I'm worried about that very game script. The way you've
Speaker 1: be at the Packers is on the ground, dominate the clock,
Speaker 1: and keep the ball away from Aaron Rodgers. So it's
Speaker 1: very tricky because the Packers have been very good against
Speaker 1: the past since October um, when they faced the team
Speaker 1: with a good runner and two good receivers. The quarterbacks
Speaker 1: have had success. And here's a list of those quarterbacks,
Speaker 1: Philip Rivers, Kirk Cousins, and the Week two version of
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford. So that's not many. I think the Pack
Speaker 1: will have to send seven or eight to the box
Speaker 1: to try to stop Henry, leaving man coverage for A J.
Speaker 1: Brown and Corey Davis. Some open looks for Tannehill. Tannell
Speaker 1: does have multiple touchdown passes in three straight whether that's
Speaker 1: because they're dominating or they're in catchup mode, and the
Speaker 1: Titans have scored more points than any team in the
Speaker 1: league this year, so Tannell gets the b uh So
Speaker 1: do A. J. Brown and Corey Davis each B grades.
Speaker 1: Brown has had at least eighty five yards or a
Speaker 1: score in fourteen of his last sixteen games. That's consistency.
Speaker 1: Davis leads the team and catches in yards and has
Speaker 1: become a solid possession receiver with upside. It's unclear if Jaire,
Speaker 1: Alexander Shadow, Brown or Davis, but Kevin King on the
Speaker 1: other side is no slouch either. D J. Moore was
Speaker 1: able to tally a hundred and thirty one yards on
Speaker 1: six catches last week, and A Rob had seventy four
Speaker 1: and scored twice against them in garbage time a few
Speaker 1: weeks ago, and garbage time could be in play here,
Speaker 1: so I'm not going to give up on the passing game.
Speaker 1: And finally, John U. John U. Smith, was your take
Speaker 1: a chance on me charge. I gave him a C grade,
Speaker 1: all right. I appreciate the confidence in John U. John Wu.
Speaker 1: I hope he goes out of this season, uh much
Speaker 1: in the fashion that he came in to the season.
Speaker 1: The final game of Championship Week will be Monday night,
Speaker 1: and that's Buffalo at New England. Josh Allen has power
Speaker 1: teams into and through the playoffs, but this is one
Speaker 1: of the toughest matchups of his season to the toucher,
Speaker 1: even with even with the with Stephan Gilmore gone, I'm
Speaker 1: a little nervous as a about the prospects for Josh
Speaker 1: Allen in this game. It's a touchy subject to the
Speaker 1: red flo AGAs here are. Josh Allen did not score
Speaker 1: through the air when these first when these teams first
Speaker 1: met in week at Week eight, and New England has
Speaker 1: surrendered just one passing touchdown over the last four games,
Speaker 1: but the Patriots have surrendered five rushing touchdowns to quarterbacks
Speaker 1: over the last eight games. One of those touchdowns went
Speaker 1: to Allan in Week eight. So you can still do
Speaker 1: damage on the ground. And as you mentioned, Stephan Gilmore
Speaker 1: is out, so big for Alan. I'm gonna give digs
Speaker 1: An a because Gilmore is out. Diggs had six catches
Speaker 1: for ninety two yards in the first meeting that is
Speaker 1: when Gilmore was healthy. He will not play in this one.
Speaker 1: Diggs has commanded double digit targets and five of his
Speaker 1: last six games averaging ten catches for a hundred and
Speaker 1: three yards, making that span he'sn't automatic a almost regardless
Speaker 1: of matchup. Cole Beasley only two catches for twenty four
Speaker 1: yards in the first meeting. I believe John Brown was
Speaker 1: healthy for that one. I'm gonna give Beasley a b here.
Speaker 1: His target totals over the last three weeks ten, ten
Speaker 1: and eleven, seeing about just as much volume as digs.
Speaker 1: And to the running backs Devin Singletary and Zack Moss,
Speaker 1: gonna give them both a sea. New England has surrendered
Speaker 1: over four hundred rushing yards over the last two weeks.
Speaker 1: They're getting killed on the ground. Both these backs top
Speaker 1: to eighty rushing yards in the first meeting Moss. Moss
Speaker 1: scored twice and he'd certainly be the favorite at the
Speaker 1: goal line over Singletary, even though Josh Allen's Zack Moss
Speaker 1: was take a chance on me Worthy and then you
Speaker 1: could yeah, you could have all season long. And there's
Speaker 1: no sadder way to cap the season. And closing with
Speaker 1: the Patriots are all on the bench. Jacoby Myers likely
Speaker 1: to be shadowed by jadebus White. That's a no go
Speaker 1: if Damian Harris doesn't play, maybe Sony Michelle oh yikes,
Speaker 1: gets the C grade. But Buffalo allowing less in four
Speaker 1: yards per carry over the last month, just don't start
Speaker 1: any Patriots. There's there's nothing to like. I wish we
Speaker 1: could close with a bigger boom with some exciting playoffs,
Speaker 1: but New England has zero that that that is the
Speaker 1: that's just the reality of it. And New England's offseason
Speaker 1: will be fascinating. They've got about a billion dollars under
Speaker 1: them to spend, so they can bring in some notable
Speaker 1: free agents. Maybe it's maybe the receivers next year are
Speaker 1: Will Fuller and Allen Robinson and then they you know,
Speaker 1: they draft a quarterback or they find a quarterback somehow.
Speaker 1: I heard a lot of steam about Hunter Henry is
Speaker 1: most likely going to be a Patriot next year. Maybe
Speaker 1: maybe it's Scario. How about this angle, and I'm serious
Speaker 1: about this starting quarterback for the Patriots next year. Jimmy
Speaker 1: Garoppolot decide they've played that thing out. The Patriots, how
Speaker 1: obviously have a lot of familiarity at with Garoppolo. They
Speaker 1: liked him. Um, and they decide they go back, they
Speaker 1: go to Garoppolo. That would be fascinating. The one thing
Speaker 1: New England should do or should not do, actually is
Speaker 1: just don't draft a wide receiver. And kidding god, I
Speaker 1: can't pick up all the receivers they've drafted have totaled
Speaker 1: one touchdown. I think of the staggering level of drafting incompetence.
Speaker 1: It takes to go a decade of drafting needing receivers
Speaker 1: for much of that decade basically since Randy Moss retired
Speaker 1: and only being able to come up with one touchdown?
Speaker 1: Doesn't Belichick have a dog doing the drafting or something
Speaker 1: like that? Feels like it isn't it? All right? Let
Speaker 1: me ask you this next year, as we look ahead
Speaker 1: to next season, who is quarterback too? Next year? Patrick
Speaker 1: Mahomes is the obvious quarterback one. Quarterback two is not obvious. Matt,
Speaker 1: let me start with you. Do you believe his quarterback?
Speaker 1: Who are you going to have ranked as quarterback number two? Next?
Speaker 1: It might be a little bit surprising. Um, I have
Speaker 1: two names that kind of came to my brain right away. Uh,
Speaker 1: Josh Allen and the air Bear himself. I like both
Speaker 1: of them. I do like Josh Allen because he's the
Speaker 1: rare running quarterback who's really really good at passing to
Speaker 1: and he's got the wide receivers to to make that
Speaker 1: offense work. So I think I would go Josh Allen
Speaker 1: as my number two, but air Bears very close, very
Speaker 1: impressive rookie year for him. Well yeah, and I think
Speaker 1: as as we're in Minnesota, as much as we like
Speaker 1: with Justin Jefferson has done and is worthy of as
Speaker 1: of winning of the Rookie of the Year award, he
Speaker 1: usually goes to quarterbacks, and I think Josh, I think, sorry, uh,
Speaker 1: air Bear is going to end up getting that. Well,
Speaker 1: I think we're going to see air Bear with a
Speaker 1: new head coach, probably an offensive mind. If you're Eric
Speaker 1: b Enemy, why would you go anywhere else? Because you
Speaker 1: don't want to play the Chiefs twice a year? That
Speaker 1: would be like the only reason. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: if you if you want to be if you won't
Speaker 1: have a long ten year as a head coach in
Speaker 1: the NFL. There is exactly one clear path to doing that.
Speaker 1: Hook your wagon to a great young quarterback that's how
Speaker 1: you have a ten year run as a Maybe he
Speaker 1: wants to be a Jaguars coach. Well they but Jaguars
Speaker 1: might that might make some sense to another team with
Speaker 1: a ton of room under the captain Ryan. Who's your
Speaker 1: number two ranked quarterback for next year? Air Bear and
Speaker 1: Alan certainly in the mix. I think Aaron Rodgers deserves
Speaker 1: to be in the conversation ation after his resurgence this year,
Speaker 1: especially if they can put an elite receiver opposite Davante Adams.
Speaker 1: But I still lean the mobile quarterback. I'm going Kyler Murray.
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray's rushing quarterbacks. I think that's what's weapon. That's
Speaker 1: what the consensus will be. It'll probably be consensus. I'm
Speaker 1: on Josh Allen as well because I just I just
Speaker 1: like the overall level of play and I think he's
Speaker 1: a better passer than Kyler Murray and I get a
Speaker 1: lot of the rushing production as well. We need the schedules. Really,
Speaker 1: you might come down to that quarterback two is gonna
Speaker 1: be fascinating. You watch what's gonna happen. Mahomes is gonna
Speaker 1: go like round one, round two, and then no quarterback
Speaker 1: is gonna go for like four rounds. After that, people
Speaker 1: are gonna feel like that next year is there's such
Speaker 1: a big drop off, they can wait a long time.
Speaker 1: Thank you to everybody who has listened over the course
Speaker 1: of this season to Fantasy Football Weekly. It has been
Speaker 1: great talking to you throughout this challenging year for everybody.
Speaker 1: Congratulations and getting to the championship for those of you
Speaker 1: that are playing now. And as a final reminder, we
Speaker 1: are still available all season long as a podcast. Please rate,
Speaker 1: review and some scribe, but bye everybody. Fantasy Football Weekly
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