Trending or Ending + Ride or Die, TNF Preview - Fantasy Football Podcast for 9/28

On today's episode, of course, we got the news and the notes. We got Ride or Die, a sensational segment of trending or ending. We highlight some players. Do we think that what's going on with them will continue or will they break out of a slump? The Thursday night matchup, plus a very interesting discussion about baking a pie. Make sure you stay tuned. Don't miss a moment. Subscribe to this channel, like the video, and enjoy. The Fantasy Footballer Studio is brought to you by Samsung Galaxy. Visit Samsung.com to learn more. To the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your host, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright. Oh, welcome in. Welcome into the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Wednesday, September 28th, Jason Moore, Mike the Fantasy Hitman, Wright. Whoa.

I was a little late on my what-up, so I cut Andy off. It was very deep and aggressive, too. What-up. Yeah, you're not even wearing a backwards hat for that what-up. It's part of who I am now. What, B, got in your bonnet? I don't know. That's the thing that people used to say in like the 1800s. Oh, great. Yeah. Let's bring it back. I mean, first you got to bring back bonnets. That's the first step one. Good example, like used in a sentence, would be like, in the midst of our Sunday matchup against one another, Jason had a B in his bonnet. Would that be? You're talking about the draft kings gone up where you lost and you get shamed on Friday? We've done, we've reached different stages of grief. Yeah. What is a bond? I was just going to say, all I see in my head is a chef's hat. Didn't Little Bo Peep have a bonnet on? Well, she had a sheep. Yeah, she did have a bonnet. Thanks, Mike. What's a bonnet? Is it a hat?

No, it's like a, it's a soft hat with like a chin strap, like a chin strap. It's a soft hat, Mike. No, it's not like a traditional hat. It's a bonnet. Oh, okay. It's the one that has the shield. Yeah, but it also goes down, doesn't it come down and strap under your chin or no? Like a softly? So it's like a, it's a big build hat. Yeah, big build hat with a chin strap. So there it is. A big build hat, I can now see if you had a B in one, it would be upsetting. That would be a problem. Oh, yeah, because it could get loose in the back because there's some space. Like, if I had a bee in my hat, it would be a bad time. Yeah, would it do much to you? I guess it would, I guess it would sting you. Well, I mean, it probably would not sting me, but the fear and terror once I realized there was a bee up there would be. Surrounding your bulbous. I mean, it's, yeah, there's a lot of surface area for it to sting. I mean, it would.

everything would be ripped off and I would just be screaming naked through the street. This is a fantasy football podcast. Welcome in. We have ride or die on the show today, news and notes to talk about some quarterbacks in question, trending or ending on the show and some mailbag. So it's going to be a fun one, assuming we don't stay on the bonnet topic. I'm looking into it. But Mike, yeah, maybe we get the bonnet into the wheel of shame rotation. Maybe we should figure that out with the B. We actually, after having with the B, after having looked up the bonnet, the first thing I realize is that we have actually had that on the wheel of shame before. The bonnet? Yeah. Oh, yeah, like a baby. The baby bonnet? Yeah, the baby bunnet. Oh, the baby. Babies still do the bonnets. Maybe not. All right. Footclan giveaway.com giving away some signed sports memorabilia. What am I talking about? Jalen Waddle, Jalen Hurts, DJ Moore, jerseys.

autographed, authentic memorabilia, and then a virtual studio tour. You can check that out. We're also live today this afternoon on Spotify. So every Wednesday, the party room, back in action, 3 p.m. Pacific, 6 p.m. Eastern, completely free. Just go grab the Spotify app. Or the Spotify Live app. Or the Spotify Live app if you want to participate and just tune in 6 p.m. Eastern to the show. Ride or Die, presented by Chevrolet. Ride or Die, presented by Chevy. Last week, I actually managed to win one of these. So two out of three, you guys each got one out of three. I think the reason we got stuck on the bonnet now that I think about it is because... It's an interesting topic. Well, and Brooks isn't here today. So the judge isn't here. So when I glance to my left to Deucer's Alley,

Uh, I see, um, well, I see a reflection off the sculpt. You saw the scalp scalp of, uh, Papa Josh. You saw a head that desperately needs a bonnet. It would be better with a bonnet. Cover it up. The Borgogans here. And then there's, you know, like a head producer for the day is Al Borland. And so I was probably in a spitballers mood is all I'm saying. It's like the spitballers podcast. We, we might talk about if you want to hear bonnet talk for like 40, 50 minutes, which I know a lot of you do. That's spitballers, but we get serious here. Also, all jokes aside, this coming Monday. Oh, brother. You're going to want to listen to that spitballers episode. It's a big one. Yeah, what do you think? You agree with that, Al? It's great. Uh-huh, yeah. All right, ride or die last week, Christian Kirk, 12 fantasy points. Yeah, Mike stuck with Christian Kirk and won that one.

Jason and I went against Brady and Rogers. We got that in the Miles Sanders, 70 and more rushing yards. I can't believe he didn't hit it. I can because I said die. But here we go. For this week, week four, ride or die predictions. Kurt Cousins against New Orleans in London is he a top 12 quarterback. So far this year, QB12, QB25. That was a primetime game. And QB 10. So I am going to die right off the bat. If these trends continue. It's not even the trend. It's just that the London game in Kirk's mind may be mistaken for a special event. And I think anything primetime island games, anywhere where Kirk is being watched by more people than he's comfortable with, the defense is pretty good in New Orleans. I'm going to go die.

I'm coming along for that not ride because I am going to also. Your dying shotgun? Yes, I'm dying shotgun. This week there are a lot of other quarterbacks. I don't necessarily love for fantasy because they've been inconsistent like Russell Wilson. Yikes. But he's got a really good matchup. And I could see him sneaking in. You know, Brady hasn't been the best because Mike Evans back. He's against Kansas City. He could be high over or under. Even Jared Goff is, you know, at home against Seattle. So I think there's a lot of other quarterbacks that could push him down. So I will, I will select it die. I'm going to ride what Kirk Cousins. The, I'm the bounce back for Justin Jefferson. I.

would imagine it will be real this week. You don't go, you don't have an elite superstar wide receiver, have the worst game of his professional career, and then not do something about it. I think that's fair. Kind of impressive that Kirk was QB10 without Jefferson, essentially, last week. Jamal Williams, ride or die as a top 10 running back without DeAndre Swift this week. He was the running back two last week, went 2487 and two touchdowns, two targets. Takes on Seattle. The matchups great. I'm going to let you guys go first. So the Detroit Lions have the second highest implied team total of the week. They're over under, at least what I'm seeing right now, is sitting at 49.5 and it's their favor by 4.5, putting them at 27 points. They should handle the game script against the Seahawks. I mean, the Seahawks, they're wily. You know, they got some fighting them.

This comes down to touchdowns. Can Jay Willie have another dose on the ground? I don't think he needs two, but he does have, he leads the NFL right now and carries inside the tent. So when they get in there, it's, it's time for Jay Willie. Home favorites. I'm going against it, though. I'm going to die. I was hoping I could talk you into it because I was going to die. I love him. I think that he's a great play, but top 10 is a real high line. Yeah, where do we want to move it? Let's move it to top. 16. I will ride. Mike? I will ride. Top 14. All right. So top 14. What are you guys doing? Wait a minute. Why did we move it? Because we were all. I was going to ride too. Oh, all right. Just set the line where you'll, where you die. Okay. I will, uh, 15. Okay. I will ride. Okay. Top 15. Me and Jay, riding together. All right. Thelman Louise. Ride ride ride. There you go. And then, uh, let's go with Rashad Bateman.

against Buffalo. Will he have at least 10 fantasy points and a half PPR? 12.9, 18.8, 4.9 in the last three weeks. I believe this is, does Rashad Bateman score a touchdown? Maybe. I don't think it has to be score a touchdown, but with the injuries to the secondary in Buffalo, the total in this matchup, I think Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen are going to go back and forth. I will buy this. I think you could get to 10 without a touchdown, but. You know, easiest path will be a touchdown. I'm riding shotgun. All right. I will go. I'm going to go with die then. So you're really into 10 fantasy points catching two, four and two receptions a week. It is a risk. It is a risk. His route participation has not been where you want it. He's not up in the 90s. He's in the 70s. But his.

actual value per target is great. He is down the field, big play guy, and this matchup is wonderful. So I am going to stick with my man, Rashad Bateman. That was right or die presented by Chevy Silverado. Learn more about Chevy Silverado at Chevy.com. News and notes from around the league. Presented by USAA Insurance. Well, we need to talk about some quarterback situations. Tuatung of Iloa. Questionable for week four against the Bengals. Looking at this situation earlier this morning with what we know, I think he will play. He was listed as limited yesterday. Mike McDaniel is equivocating. I think maybe some gamesmanship. I don't think it's a guarantee he's out there, but I believe he will play.

against the Bengals on Thursday night. Yeah, it seems like if it's even possible, he's going to. So it would have to be a significant, serious back injury that means he absolutely can't go. He's a gamer. I expect him to play. But, and we'll talk about this game a little bit, you know, in a little bit on this episode, breaking it down more. It's been a weird week for the Dolphins. So we'll see how that turns out tomorrow night. Do you agree that? You think he'll be out there? I think so. All right. Head coach Robert Sala announced that quarterback Zach Wilson has been medically cleared and will start Sunday if there are no setbacks. Yay. Number two. Yay. That's his number. Oh, is it? Yeah. Mm. Yeah, just totally a coincidence. It's just.

Well, there was a void. Number two. There was a void on the jets for a number two. Yeah, there was a number two void. And Zach Wilson, please be good. Here's the thing. Please. We liked the passing volume of Joe Flacco. There wasn't really other things to like about that experience over three weeks. So the question to me is not so much do I believe Zach Wilson is good or not? Because I don't believe Joe Flacco is good. Let me just be clear. Joe Flacko was good for the receivers because he threw the ball so often. And catchable. And, well, sure. According to Garrett Wilson. Yeah, but not catchable enough to win or score a lot of points. I don't care. So all I'm saying is that the question to me is do I believe Sam Wilson would throw the ball as much as much as much as answer to that is yes. I think they will have to. I think they will let him. I think he, you know, he's going to get outside the pocket, something Joe Flacco cannot do whatsoever.

And you have players, Elijah Moore, Garrett Wilson, who, you know, their speed is going to put them in a position where plays that are extended put them, you know, they're going to be open. So I think it's going to be 80, 90% of the passing volume of Joe Flack. Well, and the 80, 90% of the overall number might even be good for the wide receivers because I would imagine that the. Target share to the running backs goes down significantly going from Joe Flacco, who's a statue in the pocket and has his little checkdown machine. You know, we've seen 10 plus targets in multiple weeks to Breece Hall or Michael Carter. So, you know, it's one of those I can't find someone dump it off, whereas Zach Wilson, whether he should or shouldn't, will probably hold on to the ball a little longer, can evade pressure, roll out, and we'll...

will be looking more towards, or at least I would anticipate, he would be looking more towards the wide receivers and even the tight end than he would be the dump-offs to the running back. All right, let's look here. Michael Gallup will get a bunch of work on practice. He's close to making his debut. I wouldn't, we're not going to bet on Michael Gallup's return, and you're not going to put him in your lineup until we see him return and have value. Those things may come conjoined with Doc Prescott's return in week five or six. It's still worth stashing at this point.

Brian Dable said Cadarious Tony and Wondale Robinson are getting closer to game action. That is great. Cadarious Tony has never been able to play football in the NFL. I mean, he is, his slew of injuries is outlandish. It goes from head to toe, and it's every game, and whenever he hasn't been on the injury report, he ends up getting injured in those games. But he is a must stash. There's, he is so important to this offense without Sterling Shepard. We've seen him on, when he's on the field, when he's got the balls, the ball in his hands, he, he's electric. So, you know, maybe that's the problem. Maybe that's why he's getting injured. Woo. Playing around a little too much. Yeah. Thank you. Um.

Look, I don't necessarily think he's important to the offense. I'm afraid. The lights are still going. The lights are freaking out over here. Oh, the lights are in the dark. That was great. Here's what I think. I think the team won't have them back this week. I think if you're in DFS or Desperation Zone, Richie James will get a ton of work. There seems to be a meritocracy situation going on with the wide receiver room. And so Tony is the most explosive. He's probably the only one with any ceiling, any real fantasy value other than him and Wondale probably. But I don't know if he gets the opportunity this year. I don't know if the way that they're playing, the way that he's coaching. They like David Sills. Why? I know. And Kenny Gallaudet, the frustration.

Uh, he's going to have opportunities to. I'm just, Wondale's probably the only one that I'm like, I tried to get him yesterday. I tried to pick him up just on the, well, my team is, it tried to collect all the rookie wide receivers. Ah, yes. So it was important for my collection. Um, I just missing that badge. No, I, I, I'm trying to get to completion. Yeah. While we disagree on Cadarius, Tony, I agree with you on Wondale Robinson. Those are the two guys to me that I would, if, if you want to take a shot at having some kind of.

good fantasy relevant player going forward. It's one of those two. It's not going to be Kenny Gallaudet, no matter the opportunity. It will never be Sills, no matter the opportunity. And it won't be Richard James. I mean, not that they won't have one game with, you know, ooh, seven for 74 and maybe a touchdown. But that's, they just don't have the talent to get it done. Whereas Wondale and Cadarius both, if they are on the field, not only are they talented, but they're necessary. Um, I think that Rich James will have a week this week against Chicago. Possible. London game. James Winston was not at practice today. Dennis Allen says he thinks he will practice tomorrow. We saw Taysam Hill getting some QB reps at practice behind Andy Dalton. And Michael Thomas, not seen at practice with the toe injury, something to monitor because, you know, Landry might make it back. Man. It's not certain that Thomas will make it back. And then, oh, boy.

If Michael Thomas misses a game already. I know. After missing what, essentially what, two years is. That's Alave. Oh, okay. Okay. Andy Dalton can get the ball to Alave. Olave is, I'm very excited. Let's put it down away. I think you're set up to have kind of a consistency from a rookie wide receiver very early in the year. What? Double digit targets, two consecutive weeks? I believe so. Yeah, delicious. And his are high value. This ain't no Hollywood Brown 14 for 140. Yeah, he's just going down field. But I do think James is pretty necessary for the chuck-it-and-pray philosophy that he, you know, enjoys. Miles Garrett, the car accident, shoulder sprained, strained bicep, lacerations. Cleveland has not looked good on defense. They made basically zero plays, zero sacks.

interceptions fumbles in this last week against Pittsburgh until the, until Pittsburgh threw the ball backwards into the end zone on the final play of the game against Jason. So Marcus Marietta was Mike's stream yesterday, Cleveland. If they don't have Miles Garrett and they don't get Jadavius Clowney back, the pressure rates are already terrible. They don't look good. They've had defensive breakdowns in the secondary. Kyle Pitts could take advantage. So I think you avoid this defense this week if Miles Garrett's not out there. I agree. Probably even if he is. And then there are some weather concerns with the impact of Hurricane Ian. Tampa Bay is relocating their football operations to Miami-Dade County. No changes to the game yet, but that could happen, which means that you could have a shuffling of game times and things of that nature. Anything else? Kyle, you got anything for us? That's it for now. Are you wearing a red socks cap? I like socks. Hmm.

But yeah, it's the Red Sox. You like the White Sox? I just, I don't know how far down this rabbit hole to go, Mike. But he's a Braves fan. My interest is peaked. And yet you, you appreciate the Sox logo. My favorite baseball player is Nomar Garcia Parth. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Can we stop this baseball talk? How do you, how does your, you're like fellow Braves fans, how would they appreciate you wearing the socks? They would not. He went to Georgia Tech. He's. Come on. We could talk baseball, Andy. Keep going, man. Jason would never allow that. I'm out of here. That was today's news and notes presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance. Jason's favorite baseball player. I don't know if you knew this. Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth. Jason's favorite baseball player. I was wondering who you were going to say that I knew. And I do know him. You do know that one time like where he pointed.

That was my favorite of all the times. That's where the home runs going. Who's your second favorite? It was that one guy? Mickey Mantle. All right, quick break. And then we're back with another segment. At some point in time when we don't have such a jam-pack show and we can focus on baseball, Jason. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We should like play a game where Kyle named some pretty famous. players and you decide if they were baseball players or not. I genuinely, I guess the sport of this player. I started wondering to myself, could I name 20 players? Yeah. All time. Historical. Yeah, you could get to 20. You think? It gets to three though right now. No, if you said, my God, I got to start with two. Mickey Mantle of Babe Ruth. Yeah, get to three. Randy Johnson. Okay. We did it. But if you said 20 players playing right now.

Oh, that's a definite note. I would not be able to. I don't know if I can get to 20. We'll find out after the show. All right. Let's move on. Trending or ending. All right. These, well, these are going to be tough. Looking at players with essentially a good or bad games in a row. What do we believe their future holds? Let's begin with one of the more difficult players right now in fantasy football. Austin Echler. So he is the only running back right now with 20 plus carries that does not have a single gain of 10 plus rushing yards. 28th in week one at the running back position. That is also not in the top five in case you were curious where he got drafted versus the 28 finish. Sure. Number nine in week two because running back scoring was pathetic. Yeah, with 13.9 half point scoring. And then.

Back to 26 points in week three, they just lost their left tackle for Sean Slater. We think they'll get their center back. We don't know for sure. And shockingly, Echler is not just a case of give him the ball more, right? Like, Mike has been making this Ezekiel Elliott case for a while. Like, just give him the ball! Because when he gets it, he's running for like five or six a kid. But Echler, it's like... Two and a half. Yeah, he's 35th out of 36 qualifying running backs and rushing yards below expectation. There's a reason why you see more Sony Michelle out there and Josh Kelly of late. And whether we think that's valid or not right now, Echler is not effective. So, you know, Austin Echler goes to almost effective.

at this point in time. And I don't want. Almost effective. I don't want to. I don't want to say that because he's a good friend of the show. He is. But he would, I'm sure he would be the first to admit it. Yeah. And he, you know, we know the talent, right? We've seen this for longer than this three game stretch for the whole time he's been in the NFL. So trending or ending Austin Echler's current decline. I will jump in. Because I do think that this is a trend that will continue. I think that the high-end top, like what you drafted for Austin Eckler, what we all drafted, I don't think is going to happen. The receptions are still there. It's not like everything has just gone poof for Austin Echler. Four receptions week one, nine, eight. Like, he's putting up nine and eight catches and still, I mean, we said he finished in the top ten, but.

He had eight receptions and finished with under 10 fantasy points and a half point for catching the ball. He finished with under 10 points. It's like if you take the efficiency away on the ground, if you take the goal line opportunities away, this is like third down running back, scat back production, but he's not only playing on the third down, but that's all you're getting. from him right now. And I think it gets a little bit better as the offensive line can heal up a little bit. But that high end, I do believe that it is gone, especially with the platoon of three running backs, not just two. The receiving efficiency, which you left out, is also bad. He is currently of all qualifying running backs.

not only last in yards per carry, but also last in yards per completion. He has not looked like he has looked over the last couple of years. In addition to that, so far this season, he has yet to crack 60% snaps in a game. Last year, there were four total games he did not hit that number. Four on the 17 games season. We are in week three, and he has three of them so far. So he's on the field less. He's less efficient in the running game. He's less efficient in the receiving game. And to me, we're going to talk about another player who is very similar in the sense that is highly drafted running back off to a bad start. One of these guys is past my eyeball test.

And one of these guys has worried my eyeball test. And Austin Eckler has worried my eyeball test. He's getting a W right now on the test for worried. It's like for win? Well, and I think you guys summarize the case for, you know, trending in this bad direction. I should add some other things you've observed on the field. You would think he'd take advantage of no Keenan Allen for two and a half games. Hasn't done it. Gerald Everett seems to be involved in the offense. Josh Palmer, larger target share over time, Doundre Carter getting involved. So Echler has been, you know, last week if you don't have garbage time 38 to 10 chargers, this is a different story. This is not even a top 40 running back. So unfortunately, it does seem like Mike's summation of if you don't give him the goal line. Toast. And you take away the top end.