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That's B-A-B-B-E-L.com. Code FOOTBALLERS for an extra three months. This is Christian Kirk with Arizona Cardinals, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright.
Oh, welcome in. Back again, Friday, September 17th. Jason Moore, Mike Wright, Andy Holloway. Hey, everybody.
Howdy, partners. Don't make me bring my Southern lawyer back on the show. We won't. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast.
More match-ups to get into today, some news. We'll be talking about that Thursday night game that once again delivered. Primetime games are being... Jason, oh, man.
They're outstanding. I thought that thing was going to be a snooze fest, and it was for the first quarter and a half, and then, oh, brother, that's a great game. It was. That was just a lot of fun.
Yeah, I mean, I think the key for the giant success in this game was just elevating Daniel Jones to that number one spot on the running back depth chart. And that was the key. It certainly helped. He's so good at that.
Yes. Also, sneaky fast. Defenders, you don't need to bite on Saquon quite as hard as... I mean, it was like the same play.
It was like, I'm going to hit it to Saquon. It's like, I got you again. It's like, stop biting in so... Just maybe guard the edge, too.
Have you seen Daniel Jones or something? Have you seen Saquon Barkley? I mean, I think you might be wrong, Jay. If you don't bite on Barkley, it turns into that 41-yard run.
But it was the edge guy. The edge defender kept... Like, when they're fake and safe one up the middle, the edge guy's like, I'm going to get him. Dude, just guard the rollout from Daniel Jones.
Well, we'll break it down momentarily, but it is Friday. Foot Clan Friday. Friday is a spectacular day to win a Chris Godwin signed jersey from ChristineOction.com. And today, this Friday, the winner is Platinum Bala over on Patreon.
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Right back into the Thursday night breakdown. So we're talking about Daniel Jones. He rushed for a career-high 95 yards. You also had J.D.
McKissick with a career-high 83 yards receiving on five receptions. This was not the week one, 21-to-1 Gibson versus McKissick game. And so let's react first to the Washington running back room. Gibson was 13-for-69.
I think where he really hurt you was 2-for-4 in the passing game. So last week, when he didn't score, you still survived because he was, you know, more involved in the receiving game. This week, you saw McKissick. Oh, gosh.
The Snap Goblin himself. Running out on the field. And, look, guys. Was that a goal on Jerry?
Two minutes, it was mine. Oh, those were quotes. We were playing a clip from the field. Look, this was the problem with believing Gibson could go to the next level is the players that live in the next level, they get the two minutes.
And they get the receiving work. And you can't argue with Ron Rivera on a success basis. I don't know. They won week one and lost week two.
So, oh, wait. No, they didn't win. Oh, good goodness. Okay, well, it's the McKissick show.
It's the exact opposite of what you said. Fire him up. 5-for-83 through the air. However, you know, Gibson's great.
And we can talk and write stories about what a great wide receiver he was in college. But that doesn't seem to make Ron Rivera want to play him or run routes from the outside. So, what do you do? A couple of pedestrian weeks from Gibson.
A couple of, yes, fantasy pedestrian weeks. But, I mean, he, on the field, Gibson has been tremendous. I mean, week one, 20 carries. And if I'm not mistaken, I think that's the highest mark of his career.
Oh, no, he had 20 carries one time or twice last year. So, that was very encouraging to see that type of usage. He had, unfortunately, you know, the two fumbles that took him out of the running back two range. But week one was still solid.
And week two, 13 carries for 69 yards. A guy who's averaging over five yards a carry. We would hope that he would get more work. And it almost, it should have cost Washington the game.
That at the end there, where Gibson could have racked up a couple more carries, padded that yardage a little bit more. They decided to throw deep on their side of the field. And it turned into an interception that Washington didn't end up ultimately paying the price for. So, I'm holding with Gibson.
This, I know there is, I've seen my timeline. People are freaked out by Gibson. But this is, this is still very similar to what he was doing last year. He just hasn't scored a touchdown yet.
Which we thought, you know, regression was a potential. It was certainly a potential. But for a player who already has 150 or 160 rushing yards through two weeks, and he hasn't scored yet, that's a little bit of an anomaly. That the touchdown regression should go to his favor.
Feels a little bit like Kenyon Drake's start to last year for Gibson. Possibly. Where Drake came on a little bit later and was better. But Gibson looks like he's passing the eye test in a big way.
Well, let me ask this question then. You have this information before the draft, that you lose your quarterback on Ryan Fitzpatrick, and you've got J.D. McKissick used as he's been used. Does it change how you would have drafted Gibson?
I don't think so. I think he would have been drafted at just about the exact same spot. Less hopeful upside of having that top five, top three type of finish. But I think his baseline still puts him right about where you would draft him.
The only question to me would be if actually someone else like a DeAndre Swift would have maybe supplanted him. You know, so that would have moved him back one spot. It's hard to be upper echelon without receiving work. Yes.
Or getting into the end zone 11 times like he did last year. And does the switch of, we don't know yet because we're only one weekend, but because Heineke was the full-time starter, did that completely switch up what the game plan was? Where last week, Heineke wasn't the game plan for, and they stuck with Gibson. Is that what's happening now?
I don't know. I think we're going to be very excited about Terry McLaurin's involvement. 14 targets. Go-to receiver.
Had a couple plays that could have broken long as well that, you know, didn't see how to touchdown. This was an exhale that you had on Terry McLaurin after week one with the quarterback switch. Logan Thomas solid again, 5 for 45. It was Ricky Seals Jones that got the touchdown, though.
What a great catch. That was a very nice catch. And Heineke deserves a ton of credit. Like, he was very efficient.
34 for 46. Yeah, he was. He made some impressive throws that, you know, I don't know if it was just great coverage on the Thursday night football game, but you kind of got the perspective of some of these throws where he was under duress, and that's a good quarterback. It's really, really good news for Terry McLaurin because you're now not afraid of what happened at quarterback.
I don't know that you're excited about any other option on the other side of the ball. Yeah, let's go over there. Sterling Shepard has been extremely involved going back to the end of last year. Obviously, more of a PPR guy, but he's gotten touchdowns.
He had one week one, didn't get one today, or last night. But he seems like a... Do you believe he has made the transition into a reliable flex option? Nope.
Still not in? Correct. Not in yet because you... What was he, week one?
He was great. Oh, I fully supported starting him this week once Ingram was rolled out. So, here's what's happening in the office right now. There is no Evan Ingram.
There is no Saquon Barkley in the passing game of any sort. Will there ever be? And you still have Kenny Galladay, and you've got Darius Slayton. Tony's had no targets.
I'm not saying that you can't give him a shot. But he's kind of like starting Jarvis Landry. So, anytime you feel comfortable starting Landry, I'm fine starting Shepard. So, I don't know what that means.
But I think we've seen enough from Shepard over multiple years where he gives you a string of PPR effective games and then some that aren't. Maybe this is the year that he does it, but I just don't feel confident yet. Okay. And then moving over to Saquon Barkley.
Yeah. 13 for 57, had a 41-yard run, which means that there was 12 for 16 on the other carries. There was a point during the game where Saquon Barkley had already ripped off his 41-yard run, and he had 39 rushing yards on the day. And here's why I want to kind of focus on that a little bit.
This is who he was his rookie season. You know, after the big explosion, he crushed for fantasy his rookie year on the back of a lot of receiving work as well. But in the rushing game, this is what it was. Every single week, it was all or nothing where he had the physical traits are he can rip off his 41-yard run at any given moment.
But if he doesn't, he ends up at like two yards per carry when he doesn't hit that home run. Jason, are you concerned about Saquon Barkley in this offense where he's not getting like two targets or two receptions yesterday for 12 yards? Yeah, I mean, I brought up early in the offseason, he was my bust candidate because I wanted to paint a truthful story about what he's been like without Eli Manning even before the injury. But I don't think this, this level of what we're seeing, I'm not scared that he is going to be, he's not washed, he's not a bum, he's not going to be uninvolved.
And I think that this was a, keep in mind, this was a short week of rest. He hasn't done anything with that knee forever. And now he gets in and wasn't sure he was going to play when he goes in there. And there were, you know, interviews before the show or before last night's game talking about how Saquon was, you know, his knee was sore and this is really the first experience waking up this morning, he was going to have to see how he is.
And that, you know, that extra day of rest would have helped him now. He goes from a short week to a long week because, you know, of the Thursday night game. So I expect that starting this next week, we're going to get a little bit better Saquon than we've had. That would be by low opportunity after two weeks.
Yeah. Because it's been disappointing, 51 target pace, obviously that rookie year is 121 targets, 73 the next year in limited work. So this is your time to buy if you believe that he's still got juice and he's going to feel more comfortable. Yeah.
Let's talk news. News and notes from around the league. Presented by Sleeper. I'm going to blitz this news and you guys jump in wherever you want to.
We have nine matches to get through today. We have a wheel of shame to spin later on. Yes, we do. So Josh Jacobs wasn't present for Thursday's practice toe ankle injury.
Today's the day to pay attention. So if you are supporting us to join the foot, you'll have the Injury Blitz podcast after the Friday practice reports from Matthew Betts, our injury expert. But today's the day to look for for Josh Jacobs. Try to trade him now.
Try to bench him this week. Yeah, he's playing Pittsburgh. He looked banged up last week. DeAndre Swift and Jamal Williams were both limited on Thursday.
Groin injury for DeAndre Swift. I imagine that. I hope that is maintenance from the early part of the offseason. That is what it seems like because I haven't heard any new news of re-aggravation.
And the greatest personality in football, Jamal Williams, limited due to a chest injury. You guys saw the clip, right? I've seen it multiple times because it's so fabulous. I have not.
So for those who don't know what we're talking about, there's a clip. They're asking Jamal about him changing teams. And he uses this whole metaphor about how he's like, I didn't choose to leave. He's like, they dumped me.
They didn't want me. But now I got a new relationship. They're feeding me. They're taking care of me.
They're taking me out of dinners. He's just such a delightful man. I recommend everyone try and find the Jamal Williams clip. Will Fuller is out in week two with a personal issue.
The mispractice yesterday was due to personal reasons, not due to an injury. So he won't be here in week two due to the personal situation. I don't know anything more than that. Hollywood Brown returned to practice after missing Wednesday and Thursday with an ankle injury.
That's good. Maybe takes Watkins off the board as the spot start. Johnny Smith limited in practice on Thursday with a hip situation. You don't love midweek situations, but let's pay attention today.
Jameson Crowder was activated, but limited due to a groin injury. So, I mean, it's always interesting when somebody's activated from injured reserve or COVID list and all of a sudden you're still hurt or you got hurt during that time. Zach Hurts limited on Thursday. I think he's playing.
And then Trace Herman will be active for week two against the Eagles. Thank you for cleaning it up, 49ers. Yeah, it is something. Did anybody ask about Elijah?
Yeah, we're going to say Elijah this week. That would be difficult for me emotionally. That would be difficult for the entire fantasy football world. Trace Herman should run behind Elijah?
Yes. And as somebody who paid $91 for the missile, I hope he fumbles. Is that wrong to say? You hope Trace Herman fumbles.
That is correct. That is correct. Because what you put out in the world is that you hope that Elijah misses. That is what you said.
I'm sorry. I do not hope that. That's to yourself, yeah. That was today's news notes brought to you by the leader in breaking news alerts.
Sleeper, grab the sleeper app. You probably have it because you're probably playing a league on there, but if you don't. Megalable. Yeah.
You're playing in the mega. I am. My team is looking good. I went 0RB and I added Elijah Mitchell.
Bengals, Bears, Texans, Browns, Rams, Colts, Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Jets, 49ers, Eagles. All on yesterday's show. So if you want those matchups, you're not going to find them here. You're going to find them on that excellent show from yesterday.
Oh, it was so good. It was. All right. Nine games left.
Raiders heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers. DraftKings Sportsbook line. Steelers minus 6.5. Over-unders 47 points in this game.
Raiders with the very predictable week one win against Baltimore. Steelers, they survived. Their defense. Special teams.
And not a lot from Buffalo. So looking at this game, you've got short rest for the Raiders. They have to travel east on paper. The Steelers should knock the floor with them, right?
You should take care of your home field and take care of this game. And then you have a situation with all the offensive pieces in Las Vegas because you're facing a tremendous defense that slowed down a much better offense than Buffalo last week. So Josh Jacobs, you're looking to pivot. I'm not chasing Brian Edwards or Henry Ruggs in this matchup.
Agreed. I mean, there's one man, one man only. Oh, yeah. And that's how Derek Carr feels.
Did you? Well, that's how John Gruden feels. That's how Gruden feels, too. Because Gruden came out.
I don't know if you saw it. His quote was, he's the best player I've ever coached. I'm going to keep looking for him. It was kind of a in-your-face when you say don't give a 19 target, which has a fancy manager of Darren Waller I mean put the court up on the wall that thing is amazing for your team yeah I mean he is as sure as anyone in the league he's going to get his targets his yards his catches that's not the issue I think the question is what we saw at the end of the game with Brian Edwards will he be involved enough to be a flexed option he actually kind of was last week even though he wasn't involved for 98% of the game is he just a keep your eye on him is he a complete absolutely can't start because of the Steelers defense he's on the bench he's on the bench and Mike's the one that's authority here I'm the president Brian Edwards truther but let's see one more week the hope is that they saw the end of the game and Derek Carr is part of the game plan and Derek Carr goes oh that Brian Edwards guy is actually pretty good I should throw to him some more but until we see that again this one's easy for the Raiders I'm playing Waller and nobody else I think we learned that John Gruden calls plays for Darren Waller and Derek Carr that's the first read on the play and he doesn't generally pivot from the first read so it's a little bit of Gruden and it's a little bit of Carr and I think it's the right thing to do at least with the evidence we have so far and those plays that are called for rugs that's when Carr audibles out and he's like I'm going to throw to Waller on the other side I'm a little concerned about the Steelers offense this is I think the perfect matchup because the Raiders are not a roll over and die defense at all and they're also not the Buffalo Bills from last week I see them as completely average and the Steelers really didn't get anything going last week Big Ben didn't look good Najee obviously didn't look good behind the offensive line so this is one where I'm going to start these guys I'm going to start Najee I'm going to start Deontay Johnson I think you can start Chase Claypool and Juju the matchup and they're at home I'm going to throw him in the lineup too I think that the projection is that they have good performances but there is the thread behind the scene of saying I could see if it goes poorly I'm going to sound a red alert because Big Ben is older and this is a defensive team I think Big Ben actually said after that game he's like yeah we're going to win games with our defense I was like well you're the quarterback who says better things about your offense well and the offensive lines are not good in this game and I was impressed with the defensive line from Las Vegas last week I think this is a defense that has made massive improvements some of the names that they brought in there you saw Max Crosby putting pressure on Lamar and that's not an easy thing to do and if this offensive line is struggling for Pittsburgh because Najee had 100% of the snaps last week not a great game yeah it'll be a bit of an alert for fantasy players before we move on to the New Orleans Saints and the Carolina Panthers game we want to thank today's sponsors keeping the show going let's start with stamps.com quick question for you Mike are you still going to the post office and paying full price for postage I'd rather be dead right that's not pleasant post office yes or the post office get out of my face post office 1800s do I ride my wagon to the post office I wouldn't want you stamps.com brings the services of the US Postal Service and UPS as well right to your computer it's a must have for any business we have used them since day one whether you were a small office sending invoices a side hustle whatever the case may be with stamps.com you get discounts up to 40% off post office rates and up to 60% off UPS shipping rates stop wasting time in your wagon going to the post office and go to stamps.com instead there's no risk and with our promo code footballers you get a special offer that includes a 4 week trial plus free postage and a digital scale no long term commitments or contracts just go to stamps.com click the microphone at the top of the homepage and type footballers at stamps.com promo code footballers stamps.com never go to the post office again how's your back how's your neck I appreciate you asking how was your sleep how are you sleeping at night because I'll bet some of you out there got a soggy nasty old mattress soggy?
yeah it's not in the wilderness yeah just some nasty soggy saggy saggy's the word yeah but what if it's wet I mean time to replace it right look I'm telling you it didn't melt first hand I love my Helix mattress if you're on Team Hefty Boys with me they have like a mattress designed for people up there in the LBS and that's me maybe that's you but they have a mattress for everyone you take a quiz you tell them exactly what you want you like soft mattresses medium firm do you sleep on your side your back your stomach do you move around all night and it's not one of these gimmicky like oh take this mattress tell me what you want we'll just give you the same mattress we all took this quiz we all got different mattresses we all love it I mean this is the overall mattress pick of 2020 by GQ and Wired Magazine Helix mattresses are great and they're offering up to $200 off all mattress orders and two free pillows for our listeners at helixsleep.com slash footballers that's helixsleep.com slash footballers for up to $200 off and two free pillows the 1-0 Saints traveling to Carolina to take on the 1-0 Carolina Panthers DK Sportsbook line Saints minus 3.5 over under is 44.5 not too high no respect for what the Panthers did in week 1 correct you won't have Martyn Lattimore out there I mean that's going to help the passing attack for the Panthers or either quarterback options this week I mean I guess you'd stay away from Darnold completely but that is correct what about Ole Winston I think Winston is a streamer I mean he was on our streaming episode because when you go up he didn't throw for a lot of yards but you can't ask him to do anything more than he did five touchdowns and now you've got the Carolina Panthers defense which looked good week 1 could ask for six okay that's fair you can always ask for more but yeah I think he's a streaming option I'm really really interested in Carolina this week especially their defense I think they had six sacks week 1 but it was obviously the Jets and so it's hard to tell like when you only have that week 1 samples maybe it's possible we're making too much of how bad the Jets offensive line was and not giving enough credit to the Carolina Panthers defensive line or maybe that's exactly what it is we're going to find out this week one crazy Winston stat I have to bring up just to circle back there for a second last week the Winston pass to Deontay Harris traveled 50 yards in the air Drew Brees attempted 9,421 passes for the Saints he never had a touchdown that went 50 yards in the air isn't that crazy I mean he had a 50 yard touchdown he just did 50 air yards on the throw that's wild moon ball yeah I wouldn't expect five touchdowns but it could be a good matchup for Winston on the road Alvin Kamara 100% and DJ Moore 6 for 80 last week 83% of snaps he is the number one for this team and so far so good on the breakout season for DJ Moore I think you should try and trade for DJ Moore right now really like I've I've always loved DJ Moore but Andy you're kind on the side that the breakout is coming DJ Moore look at the numbers a 24% target share so that turned into 8 targets they gave him an attempt out of the backfield there was and he caught 6 of his 8 and I think one was a really egregious drop that is not normal for DJ Moore just saying that I feel very confident that DJ Moore sooner than later is about to explode for fans you go get him at that point yeah I was going to say you might want to hold off a week if you believe I mean obviously Lattimore being gone makes a big difference and if he explodes this week you're not going to get him so you've got to call your shot but I don't anticipate this being a perfect matchup or high scoring affair for the Panthers this week would you get him now? I'm saying that if he has because it wasn't it wasn't tremendous for fantasy last week and this week may not be incredible but if he has anything that resembles an okay game whoever has more isn't going to be looking to trade them so you're definitely gambling on this week if you don't go after him right now the target total for Robbie Anderson is going to be one of the things I'm most interested in in the two of the season to see if he is in fact relegated to lower totals because of McCaffrey whether that was a one-off whether he's a boom-bush guy or can be more rely on Callaway on the other side Marcos Callaway wide receiver for the Saints that would be a potential flex for me now that he is freed up from Jair I'd give him a shot Troutman's a desperation play I would agree and the last thing to throw out there Terrence Marshall Jr. rookie wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers he was running 83% of his snaps in the slot he's going to be that short hit the ball out quick guy the defensive pressure from the Saints what they did to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers last week I expect that there's going to be a lot of targets at least not necessarily high value but if you're in a PPR league and for DFS where his cost is next to nothing I do think he'll have enough targets he had the highest percentage of routes targeted in week one are you trying to tell us something about your upcoming lineup Jason? I don't know stay tuned and we'll see the different Broncos oh I spoiled it didn't I the one and all Broncos travel to the Jacksonville Jaguars DraftKings has a line Broncos minus six on the road that is I'll take it that is an indictment yes it is an urban indictment on Mr.
Meyer over under 45 in this game it puts Jacksonville under 20 Broncos at 25 and a half what do you do with James Robinson? like do you play James Robinson or Tyson with the rotating backfield of Baltimore? Tyson I think that Tyson is you have to take a slight wait and see approach on James Robinson if you can I thought Saquon was going to have a very very bad game last night still started him over James Robinson I am not terrified of James Robinson's outlook rest of the season but the Broncos are a good defense and I'm not just going to say I'm right that he's going to be the clear one of this committee I want to wait and see so I think you bench James Robinson if you can this week do you what's funny about the Jacksonville offense is you know that there's a likelihood to be throwing the ball a lot correct and you had relevant fantasy games from all three wide receivers last week in a brutal defeat anybody that rosters Charke, Jones, Chennault the juniors anybody that rosters them is kind of happy with the one they have like I've noticed that it's like oh I prefer Charke to the other two I prefer Chennault because he's on the team and so I mean how do you do you look at them all the same in terms of projections I mean they're sitting Chennault 36, Marvin 41, Charke 43 on our rankings right now is that how you view them like yeah I do I do view them well no no not according to the rankings I view them how they they finished week one I thought was what you were saying I think Charke is the number one he showed that in week one the Marvin Jones late garbage time helped him to be okay and while Visca has the guaranteed volume when it comes to manufacturer touches he's going to touch the ball the most they're very low value so if he doesn't break and he can he can break a screen 80 yards and get a touchdown but they're all the line of scrimmage so if you're in a PPR league and a five yard reception is worth a point and a half then I like Visca otherwise I'm going to probably put Charke in my lineup does that hurt you because I know you've been no I mean it's fine I actually don't agree I still think Marvin's the one but we'll see how week two and three goes I'm willing to let the players on the field tell me the truth Chenault's the safest in terms of guaranteed PPR touches like you said James O'Shaughnessy ran the third most tight end rounds he is interesting yes I mean O'Shaughnessy or Troutman Troutman Troutman okay didn't O'Shaughnessy have how many targets did he have eight? yeah he had a lot eight targets six catches 48 yards yeah and Troutman had five or six six I believe but O'Shaughnessy he's definitely on the radar he was someone who at least just week one he popped up similar to the way that Jared Cook did the particular matchup that I'm excited to play at that level of a tight end though so this week it would be Troutman much rather play Noah Fant on the other side oh yeah well that's not fair Noah Fant has an opportunity here eight targets last week I'd rather play Waller I like that you think of Noah Fant like that now thank you that's great better than O'Shaughnessy no in the same breath as Waller he would rather play Waller he likes Waller better he compared my Fant comparison to Waller Melvin Gordon's my start of the week at running back I also think you can flex Javante Williams both should have a meaningful game Ridgewater solid debut 28 for 36 last week lost Jerry Judy though and Judy was a he was six of those 28 completions in a lot of the yards so Courtland Sutton he's a wait and see I think you can if there was ever a week to just grab somebody and put him right into your flex Tim Patrick and KJ Hamler are interesting on that front I'm starting KJ Hamler and the matchup that he has against the cornerback rookie Tyson Campbell who gave up a 158.3 pass rating last week is great and you have the fact that Jerry Judy who in his rookie year was almost not exclusively but predominantly I think it was like 80% was on the outside in this first week of the season Jerry Judy ran a lot from the slot and was targeted was off to a race and that's where Teddy Bridgewater but KJ Hamler is kind of going to be in that role I think KJ Hamler is an absolute fine flex play this week I would put him in my lineup funny question here because I can see a situation would you flex Hamler or Fant if you had to choose oh that's a great question there are a couple weird tight end situations like that like Goddard like some people might have Goddard or Fant as they they pick them up because they're trying to figure out who their tight end is I would flex Hamler I would flex Hamler as well but it is interesting to think that Fant might be in consideration for a flex if he is a second tight end on the roster I wonder if I would play Hamler and Patrick over DJ Chark Marvin Jones or Vizca on the other side of the ball I wouldn't it's just tough man to trust what you saw from the Jackets I think you're going to see Gordon and Javante so much more involved than James Robinson and Carlos Hyde that I don't want the other extra 20 pass attempts let's talk about some other cornerback next year Minnesota Vikings 0-1 traveling to Arizona to take on the Cardinals Cardinals DK Sportsbook line here Cardinals minus 4 over under 50 and a half that puts the Cardinals at about 27 points Vikings at 23 huge week from the Cardinals offense Kyler Murray accounted for 5 touchdowns 1 on the ground 4 through the air 2 touchdowns for Hopkins 2 for Christian Kirk I remember when we were talking about the Christian Kirk situation was it before the show yesterday who knows man I can't tell when it's all a blur where am I like that Tuesday during where there's fire yes but I was talking about to these guys yesterday that there could be some staying power to the Christian Kirk universe right now the breakout because he is a prolific slot receiver but last year only had about 15-16% of his snaps from the slot he was forced to play outside the Cardinals had no other outside options this year they bring in AJ Green and the argument's kind of like AJ Green may be freeing Christian Kirk up to fly because he ran 70-something percent of his snaps in the slot last week something to monitor with Christian Kirk and being at home against Minnesota that just gave up pretty good games to Jamar Chase T.
Higgins it's something to look at now this is I'm just putting it out there this is my play or go game for AJ Green if he can't do it against Rashad Breeland who gave up a ton of yards last week at home in Arizona against Minnesota this week it's done I will cut AJ Green and I will apologize for believing so then you're saying that those who are rostering AJ Green right now if he is even in consideration you should start him this week should I play or should I go game for AJ Green and this is I would be willing to flexed AJ Green in this game yes so the poetic justice that the Minnesota Vikings will be the ones that initiate the Viking funeral or AJ Green okay okay I see I mean the arrow is lit yeah would you like to jump in my time this team I think you said that earlier this week I think AJ Green has a fun game he was targeted six times last week at an in zone target you guys can disagree you will I know you will he's got a great matchup in this one and they're going to get him on track at home Chase Edmonds 58% of snaps in week one you can play him James Conner I do not have confidence to play I think he is a fine flex option we talked about last week on the road when you were not favored not necessarily the best opportunity it turned out that they did win the game he was about to get a goal line carry right on the one a penalty called that back but in this game at home in a favored matchup I think you're playing James Conner when there's an opportunity for a touchdown this game appears to me to be one where you would target a touchdown I agree you'd play him I'd play him he just was not out there in the first half when the game was competitive but Chase Edmonds is a good play this week what about DeAndre Hopkins are you pro Hopkins I'm going to give him a chance I'm going to give him a chance I think that if he doesn't do good this week I'm going to play him next week but if he doesn't do good two weeks in a row I'll play him alright I need some help because last week I played A.J. Brown or Julio in a lot of DFS lineups because the at home Tannehill Cardinal secondary narrative well burn me it burned me bad is this a bounce back game for Justin Jefferson is this another solid week for Adam Thielen or do the Cardinals at home with the pass rush eliminate those guys because no one's going to argue that Julio and A.J. Brown aren't elite wide receivers but they were rendered irrelevant by the pass rush of the Cardinals was unbelievable J.J. Watt combined with Chandler Jones the Tennessee Titans could not handle that and if you remember watching that Minnesota Vikings game against the Bengals in week one every single play Kirk was under pressure and the Cincinnati Bengals D line looked really tough so that could be that the Minnesota offensive line was not good that being said Tennessee was surprised by it Minnesota's not going to be surprised by Chandler Jones they've got the tape and they're going to be prepared they will not be surprised when they cannot stop the pass rush of Arizona entering the season Minnesota graded out as the 27th best offensive line from pro football focus I think this will be more of the same for the Arizona DST which says to me I think Justin Jefferson's fine but Adam Thielen might not be a great play you don't think Thielen's a great play?
well it's one of those things where if the pass rush is getting through and they're not able to do much a la what you saw from the Tennessee Titans you need a yak guy you need a guy who's going to make plays happen while Adam Thielen is still great I don't see him making things happen on his own getting the ball in space and then breaking tackles and going in for a 25 yard score Justin Jefferson can and probably will do that Dalvin Cook disappointed in week one still the RB8 so you know what you're doing and I'm preparing myself to lower those expectations a little bit for Dalvin this week Falcons? no no Conk Cardinals have historically been terrible at that end not last year not last year last year they were horrific they were six against Titans last year you're thinking back two years they were outstanding last year the Falcons it just took such a toll on you it was a big mark it was years they didn't give up anything last week not that Berkshire was a big threat or anybody was a threat Falcons, Buccaneers Buccaneers at home my goodness drafting sportsbook line Buccaneers minus 12 and a half that's 32 points all over under 51 and a half I don't think anybody hesitates taking money line on the Buccaneers this week but what's the truth about the Falcons offense are we going to get it in week two I mean it's going to be really hard not to react if Calvin Ridley Kyle Pitts and this Falcons offense including Matt Ryan just fizzles and dies in a negative game script which Ryan's not great at he's not great at garbage time production and he's not deck if the pressure starts coming in he can't extend the play it's just that the play is over but you're going to be afraid you're going to be worried about the Falcons after this week you're going to be worried about the draft capital you spent on Ridley yeah I think that's a fair point going back and watching the Falcons that game was so bizarre I think going into the second quarter the Falcons already had over 100 rushing yards they drove the ball down the field no problem in the first quarter they got destroyed by penalties and dumb mistakes like Kyle Pitts thinking he's still in college and only getting one foot down and like I'm not sounding the panic alarm on the Atlanta Falcons offense just yet and Mike Davis while I don't want him running up against the Buccaneers front line he was very active in the passing I'm trying to pull up the number real quick but 18% party share like those outside numbers Davis is still an okay low end running back 2 play this week I would not play him I'll take the targets I mean Zeke last week against Tampa Bay Cordero taking a bunch of work what would you do with Mike Davis yeah if I can sit Mike Davis I would let me ask you this question Mike Davis or James Conner Andy Mike Davis okay so then you really hate James Conner Mike Davis or one of the Tampa running backs I'd play Fournette and Ronald Jones over Mike Davis yeah I think if you can bench Mike Davis it's probably a smart move this is an anti-funnel defense where last year and what we saw week one so far almost impossible to do anything on the ground but you can throw on them so you know Calvin Ridley you're going to start no matter what but I think he's going to be fine Kyle Pitts you have to start because you drafted him so high he's a giant question you're starting the week so you think he's going to be fine Andy this will be a really telling game for him because it should be okay this isn't a great team against tight end and they're going to have to throw the ball because I think we all expect Buccaneers are not going to have struggles scoring on the Falcons yeah I think Pitts will get 8-10 targets what he does with them we're about to find out Evans, Godwin, Brown, Gronk all in they're all in play all right the Cowboys at 0-1 taking on the Los Angeles Chargers who won last week drafting sportsbook line Chargers minus 3.5 while runners 54.5 I don't know I was a little surprised at the line obviously now midway through the week we have DeMarcus Lawrence in the situation there but Andy is almost upset of the week okay those Cowboys on the road coming off an impressive first game in my opinion offensively against Tampa Bay I guess you like losses I do they lost impressively that's right honestly they did lose impressively did the Browns not lose impressively oh yeah impressive impressive lungs okay so we've got the Chargers and Cowboys game what are you looking at in this one at all baby what are you not looking at because if you're out there you know the options I'm not going to start Josh Palmer yet rookie wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers can you start a tight end on Dallas I think they're in play for a desperation start which one Mike I would I'll give you the edge to Dalton there's better options I don't think anybody needs to play Jarwin or Dalton Schultz because Jared Cook was available on the waivers we had some waiver pickups this week that I would play over Jarwin and Schultz well then much rather have Jared Cook because it could just be the Blake Jarwin game where there was one particular route this past week where Jarwin was you could see Dak was looking at Jarwin as the primary target and it was going to be an end zone target he just the pass rush got there and blew up the play but I'm just saying that I believe in the over under I think it's going to be a high scoring game both teams are going to have to to put up points so that just there'll be a lot of routes a lot of targets going around so you might as well give it a shot speaking of the rounds Zeke had 44 of them last week this is going to be a better week for Zeke yes absolutely if you want Zeke on your team you've got to trade for him before this coming week Titans after the egregious week one at home they get the privilege of going to the Seahawks and traveling up north DraftKings line here Seahawks minus six over under 54 points one of the highest of the week that's why Russell's my start of the week I think he could be the best quarterback in week two Metcalf and Lockett they're easy decisions Carson yep he's in your lineup not a lot of hard choices on the Seahawks side of the ball to be honest not a lot of decisions to be made still watching the tight end position because Will Disley they both ran the same amount of outs pretty much so it's kind of maybe the way you look at Schultz and Jarwin where it's very similar but I wouldn't expect as much Are the Titans losing again in this one? Oh the Titans are going to get mastered in this game So it will be not an impressive loss? It will be a regular old L So what do you do with their offensive pieces in a regular old L?
If you're projecting the Seahawks to cover but the over under has the Titans implied points all at 24 AJ Brown is still in your lineup he's too good not to be Derek Henry's obviously still in your lineup he's too good not to be Julio's going to be a question and I think he'll probably be in most people's lineups where you drafted him and you're going to be doing the Julio or Mike Williams That's a great question I would rather have Mike Williams I think the points and the over under and the 12 targets from week one I mean you've got a talented player with a talented quarterback and a lot of targets I know that the fantasy football draft capital it was very different between these two players but the talent is there for Mike Williams I'm not saying that the talent's not there The implication is that the talent isn't there I thought that's what you meant No, no I'm not saying that Julio is not talented I'm just saying Mike Williams is not a scrub guy that ended up with 12 targets He's in Ogletree week one He could be I mean he's had big weeks before I'm going to give Julio another week Mike Are you going to give him another week ahead of Mike Williams? Yes Tannehill or Winston? Tannehill on the road I'll take Tannehill I'll take Tannehill as well Derrick Henry, better week for him That was his worst I think his worst rushing game since week five of last year against the Cardinals Still had 21 opportunities and I like the targets Yeah, I think it is a better week for Derrick Henry He should be fine There's some rain projected for this game A little bit of rain Possible light consistent rain A little soggy floors Right, soggy man How does a Yeti perform? In the slush?
In the rain The Yeti's fine in the rain The Yeti's good in the rain I'm fine with Derrick Henry He has a better game this week Sunday Night Football Another great one Primetime game I can't wait to watch The Chiefs taking on the Ravens Sportsbook line here Baltimore's at home Chiefs are favored by 3.5 Over-unders 54.5 I mean, this is Are the Ravens and Titans starting on too? Yep Mike and I Was it yesterday's show Where we both said that we think Oh, on the footcast Where we both think the Chiefs may just mop the floor with the Ravens Yeah, I would take the cover on the points You could be missing Ronnie Stanley on the offensive line The offense looked kind of on and off in that first game for Baltimore Yes And Kansas City Not a delightful matchup for Mr. Lamar Jackson and company So what are your starts at decisions on the offensive side for the home team? Lamar is in your lineup But Tyson So much has come out So much speculation They basically are saying Is Tyson going to be the highest scoring back on this team for another week?
I think he is It's certainly not a gimme If Latavius comes out and gets more carries gets the goal line work Sure If Devonta Freeman ends up more involved than we think and takes away from Tyson that could happen But my projection I do think Tyson is still going to be the first backup get the majority of the work and get the high leverage work that will have him finish as the number one running back And I'm fine starting Tyson this week Some of these players like this You have to call your shot on it You can't We've been talking about some players who want to take a wait and see approach and that's fine Sometimes you can't And this is a situation where I think you're going to need to start him and I think he's going to be fine Alright, what about the passing game options? Hollywood, Sammy, Andrews Andrews is who you start You drafted him You were disappointed in week one You're going to be fine this week Kansas City has never been tough against tight ends And Mark Andrews if you didn't watch that game last week he was a foot away from a great bomb reception where he would have had eight, nine fantasy points and you would have been like I'm disappointed but he didn't crush you Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelsey are the auto starts on the Kansas City side Yep Clyde is probably not a start for you too but what are your expectations against this Baltimore defense in Baltimore after kind of a meh week one Yeah, I mean Baltimore's defense was kind of meh week one as well Obviously it was a lot of kind of fortuitous touchdowns to the running backs and Josh Jacobs but I do think that Clyde Edwards is going to be fine this week I would expect him to have at least double digit fantasy points and you've got to start him Yeah, very encouraged by the snaps the opportunities He was in for 72% of the snaps He only surpassed 70% twice last year I mean he was the dude The fears of is Clyde going to be bad because he's going to be in a full time share with Daryl Williams at least for one week that wasn't there The problem was that he didn't score and we need more targets for Clyde but I'm at least encouraged by those peripheral outside numbers that he's still playing I think he's going to be outside the top 24 again with a tough matchup on the road here He was 14 for 43 3.1 to carry last week and the offense is Tyreek Patrick Mahomes and Kelsey So I'm going to maybe if you believe in him maybe buy low after this week on the road Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Monday night football The drafting sportsbook Lions Packers minus 11.5 Over-unders 48.5 in this game Everyone wants to know Everyone's expecting the Green Bay Packers to just I don't know install their normal version of software and fix all the bugs It's payback time this week It's vengeance Who are they paying back again? They're paying back Well the payback goes to the Saints but they're taking it out on the Lions because they couldn't take it out on the Saints Sometimes the router is terrible How is this thing broken? You just unplug and replug it back in Oh this thing works perfectly Right yeah So is that true?
Is the router fine and it just needed a reboot here for the Packers? For me going into week two I would say yes I'm playing Rodgers I'm playing Jones My big worry that I've thought about a little bit more and again maybe the Detroit Lions are the salve for the worry but the offensive line looked really really bad for the Packers They got two rookies on there they lost a lot of pieces and you saw that on some of the interceptions the Saints defensive line greater sign the Lions defensive line but is it possible that the offensive line for the Packers has taken such a step backwards that the Packers offense is not going to be a prolific one of those top five offenses on the course of the season Devontae Adams is in your lineup Aaron Jones is in your lineup Do you take a shot with A.J. Dillon? Maybe because of the cleanup opportunity?
Yeah I mean if you're favored if you're at home 30 points implied total favored by almost 12 I don't know if you're ever going to play him Is this the week? If you're going to play him without an injury to Aaron Jones this would be the week that you play him James Conner or A.J. Dillon? That was the name I was going to bring up I'd rather have James Conner than A.J.
Dillon Would you rather A.J. Dillon or James Conner? I feel like I'm being trapped into saying I despise you if Conner be on a measure but I'll take A.J. Dillon That's great Have your favorites for the second RB Robert Tunyon 49% of snaps in week one You just saw the week out see what happens this week MVS Mike you brought him up as kind of a deeper play I'm curious to see what Randall Cobb does because he wasn't doing a lot with Aaron Rodgers but then ends up with well he only had one catch so never mind I saw a stat line I thought he had more targets from Jordan Love at the end of the game but it must have been my imagination DeAndre Swift and Jamal Williams are you playing both?
Yeah for sure and then Jamal Williams I'd like to hear a little bit more about the chest injury that hasn't limited in practice but this could just be rewind the tape of last week and the lines are getting smashed again and the whole offense is throw T.J. Hawkinson and dump off to the running back. Assuming that he's back at practice today or that the injury is not a concern with the chest injury for Jamal Williams, I would start him. I would start Jamal Williams over AJ Dillon and over James Conner.
It's funny because he's not the favorite. He's the heavy underdog, but we talked about it. There's just not a lot of weapons here in Detroit and they are going to let both Jamal Williams and DeAndre Swift touch the ball a ton. Tyrell Williams, their number one wide receiver.
He's currently still in the concussion protocol. It is a Monday night game, so perhaps he gets cleared, but if Williams is out for the whole game, that's another massive hit to the pass catching court. Yeah, at which point you could look desperately at Cephas on the Detroit offense for the number three quarterback in fantasy football with 57 attempts in week one for Jared Goff and a team that gave up 38 points. There's plenty of opportunity for this game to turn into a quarter of garbage time, which is what Goff did last week.
So I would look at Cephas in desperation if Tyrell was out. If you need DFS help, we do have a DFS podcast. Yeah. A couple of hooligans host it, not me.
But people seem to like it. On the hool. I don't know. Weird.
Zach Moss was inactive in week one. Looked good in practice this week. Part of it was health according to Sean McDermott. That's something interesting to pay attention to.
And like I said, the Injury Blitz podcast and the Game Day alerts can be found at jointhefoot.com. Time for our face-off. Fantasy Face-Off presented by DraftKings. Well, look, it's not the way I wanted the first week of Fantasy Face-Off to go.
We were going head-to-head on DraftKings, each with our own lineup. You guys ended up, now we don't tell each other the lineups beforehand, but you guys ended up pretty similar, like four or five players. Not fantasy points-wise, but yeah. So Mike finished second is what just happened.
The places we did not cross over, Jason, I had Mostert and Calvary Ridley. Jason had Cooper Cuff. Oh, Cooper Cuff. Tyson won with 170 points.
Mike at 123. I was at 104. Raheem Mostert didn't really help. So that means I am the, I'm privileged because I'm the inaugural spinner of the Wheel of Shame.
Wheel of Shame. Which really, I mean, if you're watching on YouTube, you will get the benefit of the Wheel of Shame. I will not receive the benefit. I will receive its retribution upon my soul for a third place finish.
We'll reveal our week two lineups, but first, and Owl, for the people listening, yeah, the shameful things that one of us will have to wear each week. Sure, yeah, we got a lot of embarrassing masks, hats, wigs, things that hopefully don't degrade the audio side of our podcast, but we got fake mustaches, lipstick, bicycle helmets, bald caps. Sorry, and I have to wear this. Well, we'll see what you get.
Let's give it a spin. Let's find out what caps is a lipstick on a pig. All right. All right, give it a spinning clown wig, fedora.
Nope. Nope, it's not fedora. Yes, chicken mask. You're going to wear it.
I thought you said I wasn't going to degrade the show. Oh, no, it's just not the audio. Oh, fantastic. Okay, all right, I got a chicken mask.
All right. Andy gets to do this segment in a chicken mask as we victors here reveal our lineups for week two. All right. Can you hear me?
Oh, yeah. Loud and clear, Mr. Chicken. Yeah, unfortunately.
All right. So week two lineups and I can avoid this if I win? That's right. You just don't have to, all you have to do is not lose.
I look like an idiot. Go to youtube.com slash the fantasy footballers if you want to get in on watching Andy do this segment in a chicken mask. Get some serious fantasy analysis going on over there, man. I want to hear it.
Look, I'm not going to be with the top guy. I'm with Kyler Murray at home. 8,200 buckaroos, but I want it at home. I get it.
I am going with who I think has a good shot of being the top guy. Dak Prescott, $6,800. I want a lot of pieces in that Chargers Cowboys game. Mike?
Ditto. Oh, nice pick. Dak Prescott, I want in on that matchup. All right.
Well, I do want part of that game. My running backs, one of them, Austin Eckler, part of the Dallas Los Angeles game. Okay. 7,300.
And then I'm going Najee Harris against Las Vegas at home every snap, 6,300. All right. Running back, it's not a great matchup, but he's not 10,000 yet. Christian Caffrey's locked in my lineup until he's 10,000.
And I'm going Ezekiel Elliott back in that Cowboys game. He's only 6,200. I love my top three there. Yeah, I like the price on C, but I bypass that.
I also have Najee. The 6,300 was too alluring. I've got Daryl Henderson taking on the goal. 5,700.
I think that Henderson's week was truly understated. He was the workhorse for that team. Just didn't get a touchdown. Wide receivers, I got some powerhouses in here.
DK Metcalf at 7,600 in that matchup against Tennessee. Saw all I needed to see last week on the defensive shot. C.D. Lamb.
Sorry, I'm not laughing at that DK Metcalf. I'm laughing because you look so stupid. You look so stupid. It's pretty good, man.
Oh, it's fantastic. So I'm going to go C.D. Lamb in that Charger game with Dak, 6,400. And then I put A.J.
Green in the lineup at 3,700. No, you didn't. I did at home against Minnesota. So he was a bargain price, obviously.
Oh, yeah. I wonder why. Hey, call your shot. Wide receiver, I've got Keenan Allen in his full PPR.
I'm going to get all those points in that Dallas Chargers matchup. Cooper Cup of Coffee came through week one. He's coming through week two again. And then at only 3,800, I think K.J.
Hamler is someone that should be... I mean, he was an absolute lock for me in these lineups. Well, I'm going with the super stack, fellas. I've got Dak Prescott and I'm taking both of them.
I've got Amari Cooper and C.D. Lamb. I'm putting, pun intended, all my eggs into that basket of that matchup. Very excited for that.
And then my third wide receiver. Oh, who's this guy? Chris Godwin at 6,600. Very excited for the target that he saw last week.
I have Lamb in mind, but I thought about adding Cedric Wilson for the bare minimum is 3,000. Yeah, not a bad play. But instead, at 3,000, on the dot, I went with Adam and Peoples-Jones. In the Houston matchup for Cleveland, there's a chance Anthony Schwartz is banged up, not going to have OBJ.
Peoples-Jones could have a surprise game for... Mike can't take me seriously right now. No, Mike cannot. And then at tight end, I've got Noah Phan for 4,200 and the Saints defense for 3,100 against the Carolina Panthers.
At tight end, I've got Jared Kuk in the game, 3,900. And then at flex, Terrence Marshall Jr., only 3,300, should get enough PPR work and at defense, this is the Arizona Cardinals. I'm going for those sacks against the Minnesota. We did it again, Jason.
So my tight end is Jared Kuk at 3,900. The target volume for that price is too excellent. The Cardinals against the Minnesota offensive line for 2,900 is excellent. Where we differ is you took Hamler, I took the other wide receiver.
I took Tim Patrick for 4,600 to fill in my flex, but I'm going to ride or die with that Dallas game. I'm not wearing a mask again next week, boys. No, hopefully it's lipstick. I will say that if you two...
If the Charger game doesn't end up the way you want it to... Oh yeah, one of us is wearing the mask. We've got certainly too many pieces in that game. All right, Brooksie, do we have...
I guess that wraps it up. Don't forget to download the DraftKings app now and use the code BALLERS this week. New customers can get a free shot at millions of dollars in total prizes. That's the code BALLERS only at DraftKings, the official daily fantasy partner of the NFL.
Minimum $5 deposit required. Eligibility restrictions apply. See DraftKings.com for details. And as always, stay tuned for the listener or we'll post information.
It's so great watching you do this in a chicken mask. Look, I deserved it. But AJ Green's going to help me this week and I'll be off this night. All right, don't forget Sunday Live one hour before kickoff.
On Sunday, you can get there. BALLERSLIVE.com. Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel and click the bell. You'll get the notification when Mike is live and tilting on Sunday morning.
Oh yeah, so much tilting. That's going to do it for me and this mask. Thank you for tuning in and listening, supporting the show. And I'll see you on Sunday, Footland.
Good luck on the weekend. Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter at DFFBALLERS.