Week 9 Matchups + Jason Melts, Wheel of Shame - Fantasy Football Podcast for 11/4

We have the rest of the week nine matchups during our first bi-pocalypse week this year. We're getting into a lot of news and covering last night's game that destroyed my soul. Make sure you like this video, comment, leave us a review of how things are going for your fantasy season, and enjoy the show. The fantasy footballer studio is brought to you by Samsung Galaxy. Visit Samsung.com to learn more. Hey, this is Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Kansas City Chief, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. To the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your host, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright. Oh, welcome in. Friday, November 4th, Mike Wright, Jason Moore, Andy Holloway, the Fantasy Footballers podcast. The... We're the one. The Ducers in the building.

Hey-oh. Thanks, guys. Good stuff. And we have a busy day. There's a lot to talk about, including a surprisingly interesting football game. Jason. Yes. You had, you were on this podcast earlier in the week proclaiming if there was just, if you could get a team to keep up with the Eagles so they actually have to do something in the second half. Mm-hmm. You got your wish. I didn't know it would be the Texans. We didn't, yeah. But were you happy? I was extremely unhappy, Mike. Extremely unhappy. Careful what you wish for, everybody. Apparently, I should not wish for that the single week that I am playing, the person with AJ Brown and Dallas Goddard, who received.

All of the fruits from the basket of delicious treats that Jalen Hertz was handing out. So it was not a good game for me, for yours truly. But at least I also faced Damian Pierce and had the great Eagles defense that could not stop him. I'm fine. I'm fine. Good stuff. Everything's okay. Everything is everything. You can trade you. Everything is good and good and fine. Yeah, it's just. The NFL relentlessly reminds us that if you don't bring your best, anyone can beat anybody. And the Texans, they put up a fight, made it interesting. I mean, they lost by 12. Yeah, like through halftime, they had a good game going. Kind of fell apart there. Yeah, but part of that was, yeah, that turnover, right? I mean, shortening in the field, getting them that extra opportunity. And then, yeah, the game, the game was over.

And the Eagles remain undefeated, the Texans, one, six, and one. And we move on. I mean, Damien Pierce is a legitimately great running back. It was one of those things you could see in preseason pretty quickly. You hoped. I think the only fear was like, okay, you know, they're not as forcefully committed to him as somebody that drafts a running back in the first round would be. but at least your eyeballs said, okay, maybe the coach should trust this guy to carry the rock, relentlessly hard runner, played a difficult defense and looked great. And I mentioned him because moving forward, I think it's that trust where you can say, look, Damien Pierce can be part of the backbone of a team. Absolutely. And he is matchup proof. The Texans have committed to him in a way. I mean, you're talking about 27.

carries in a loss against a great defense in a loss even when you're trailing they still gave him the ball and he is their best chance at moving the ball like i don't even blame them you know when you're the falcons and you're doing that and you're like why okay if you're down multiple scores and you've got cow pitts and you've got this great outside rookie drake london like you have weapons but in this situation Their best chance to move the ball is Damian Pierce. So if you've got him, he is locked in as a top 10 running back rest of season. Today's show, we're going to talk about some news and injury updates. We have the fantasy forecast part two going through six more matchups, the fantasy face off, the wheel of shame. And it is Friday. Put Clan Friday. I think I'm going to start a new tradition right here right now. It's Foot Clan Friday, which means that we have a weekly giveaway.

to a supporter at join thefoot.com and i am look i've been i've been hoarding the uh the ability to announce the winner and i'm going to start distributing this to a producer each week so i see you see what i mean well this specific week is yeah it's it's a it's an interesting oh is the name more difficult to pronounce Yeah. For us poor, dumb Americans, yes. So the Borgogan is our editor-in-chief, so he seems like he should be trusted. $100 gift card. Master of linguistics. $100 gift card to Fantasychamps.com. Kyle, who is our winner this week? The one, the only, Siddish, Nadkarni. Congratulations. There it is. Well done. How did that feel? You just gave somebody a wonderful prize. I felt good. I felt like I was announcing like a spelling bee. Okay.

Yeah, and that felt good. Announcing a spelling bee. Next week, I hope it's more prices right. You know, like, come on down. Absolutely. Get the hype machine going. This is a $100 gift card of fantasy champs. And now we're getting towards playoffs. Call your shot. Just go get your trophy right now. Yeah, we'll give the owl and the judge an opportunity to see if you can top the spelling bee level. Congratulations. Congratulations. If Kyle, Kyle, if Kyle botched your name, we apologize for him. Yeah. We have to do that a lot. Yeah. On to the news. News and notes from around the league. Presented by USAA Insurance. The Ravens, Rashad Bateman, is undergoing surgery for a list frank injury. His season is over. Deshawn Jackson. 52-year-old Deshaun Jackson will be active on Monday night football.

And then we are in Limbo Town with Mark Andrews and Gus Edwards. Being a Ravens fantasy manager is a, I mean, even if you have Lamar, you're not, it's not great. You're not like thrilled about the outcomes here where DeMarcus Robinson is your number one target. I mean, honestly, Deshauner. I dare you. If Duverny. Yeah. If Deshaun Jackson. has the juice left. This is a really good offense for him. And obviously they brought him along off the practice squad a little slower. He had to get back into football shape. He is available on dynasty waivers. So it's a name worth picking up in your in your much deeper leagues to wait and see. Duverne is a very fast athletic wide receiver that, you know, is worth picking up as well. Yeah. It's, you know, Mike, what do you think happens with Mr. Mark Andrews and guest Sederers this week?

My guess would be that Mark Andrews will play and Gus Edwards will not. I noticed, like you've been doing the by week juggle with the running backs and I was looking at your roster this morning and you have, you have DeAndre Swift, which we have an update on him. He did return to practice, but he said he cannot promise he'll be at 100% this year. And I see Gus Edwards on your bench and I don't know if you were sitting there going like, I'm going to gamble on Monday night or I'm going to make other arrangements. I mean, I have my one other arrangement, which is Caleb Huntley, because running backs, it's tough in the streets on the waiver wire. That's a bad arrangement. Well, it felt like an okay arrangement until they announced that Cordero Patterson is in his window to return. So should Patterson return on Sunday, then it is just an atrocious backup plan? Is that when you hit the streets again and you're looking around for? Yes. Okay. Something will have to be done then.

Michael Thomas placed on IR, his season is over. Yeah. And he might make it back this year. It's not to say that, that, you know, it's a season. Oh, no. No, that's right. He's got surgery. That's right. He's done. He does say he always toast. Oh, I liked it. He didn't like it. He says he always bounces back, though. Does he, though? I mean, given the timeline, we all bounce back, right? Not on a long enough timeline, Mike. That's true. The final bounce gets everybody. The final bounce. He did not bounce back. Oh, I mean, he had, it's been a while, man. Michael Thomas, you got to go back to 2019. He turns 30 in March. This is curtains, right? I think it's mostly curtains. I mean, you could, he could transition into a late career Jarvis Landry fantasy value.

But that's his ceiling at this point. Chris Olavé is the song, the dance, he's everything in New Orleans moving forward. Yeah, this is curtains. I like that expression. Austin Echler added to the injury report with an abdomen injury, got in a limited practice. We don't know more than that, right? I mean, Brooksie, have you heard anything about Mr. Echler that you can, anything good you can tell Jason who just sighed with the... sigh of a broken man. We'll be watching for more. Thanks, bud. Appreciate it. The whisperings were that. It was not a big deal. Just something. Yeah. Just a little tweak ski in practice. So they have to put it on the report, but he'll be fine. That's Austin Echler. We'll see. Austin Eccler has. That's the running back one, right? Yes. He is the running back one right now. And I will say this in his favor, which is he played through a lot of injuries last year. He was missing practices. And he is a.

tough guy that will absolutely play injured and play well injured. That being said, to say something against his favor is this is a Thursday crop up on the injury report. It would feel so much better. It was a Wednesday rest day. My two running backs right now, which are a great combo to have, are Austin Echler and Derek Henry. Derek Henry. Missed practice Thursday. Missed Wednesday and Thursday, but I. Just a good rest, man. It's almost better when you start on Wednesday and you could say that this could be rest. If you practice on Wednesday and then you crop up with an injury on Thursday, that is a new injury. It has to be for a reason. Right. Yeah. Josh Palmer, even though he's cleared concussion protocol, Coach Brandon Staley said he's not willing to say that he will absolutely be available on. What is happening? What are we doing?

Yeah, what are we doing here? What is happening? He's practicing in full. He's cleared the protocol. You desperately need him. Maybe play the guy. This is not coming. Is it your start of the week? Well, he's my start of the week. He's also my replacement for losing Mike Williams that I picked up to play alongside Austin Ackler and Derek Henry. I am really having a go this week. It's just confusing because we don't know what's going on. The information we have is they said he's out. He's out of the protocol. He's practicing. Maybe the coach is a little too afraid to venture into guarantees around concussions. Maybe. Maybe. Keenan Allen didn't practice. He's not going to play. No. Donald Parham. And it added to the injury report of the hamstring injury. Gerald Everett is, it's like the, he's like Will Smith in the house. Yes. Just looking around saying like, okay, no Palmer maybe, no.

No Keenan, no Mike Williams. I mean, DeAndre Carter, a dart throw. Cooper Cup returned to a limited practice. Jonathan Taylor didn't practice again due to the ankle injury. He looks extremely questionable for Sunday. Darren Waller, limited. We don't know when we're getting Waller back. I think when he's back, you just play him. Most teams, yes. If he comes back this week, Mike, or you have Gerald Everett on your roster, you probably go Everett. I would go Everett, yeah. Corey Davis ruled out. This is really good news for Garrett Wilson. For Denzel Mims? Yes, for Denzel Mims. But Garrett Wilson looks like he's a very good play this week. Corey Davis, I said, ruled out. Damien Harris did not practice Wednesday, Thursday due to illness. So he is very questionable. And then DeAndre Swift, not being 100%, Mike. You have DeAndre Swift. What are your thoughts on this report? Is this a way of saying, like when I read it, I heard.

Jamal Williams will be really involved for the rest of the season, and it's going to be annoying. Yeah, that's a good takeaway there. It's about adjusting your expectations when if you, like me, traded for DeAnders Swift back a couple weeks ago gambling on the return from the injury. We might have a top 10 running back here, and we're just getting a slight discount because of the injury. Buying an injury dip always comes with high risk. And everything that's going on between the low usage on Sunday, the talk after not practicing immediately on Wednesday, limited on Thursday. I think there is a, he's probably like 50-50 to even play this weekend with everything swirling around him. And even if he does, you're going to get low usage yet again, probably just passing down work. So it is.

Which he can succeed in. He can still be a useful fantasy player, but you're not getting top 10. You're hoping you're getting a top 24. A couple quick other updates. No Jonathan Taylor on Friday's practice either. He is a very, very doubtful at this point. And then the Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard, not at practice after being limited in the last two days. So he seems like he's going to miss. And Deonti Foreman will continue to get everything. Get it all. Yep. All right, that was today's news and notes presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance. Fantasy forecast. Foot Clan, just so you know that we know, injuries are the worst. The worst. They are, I mean, it's all outside of your control, just other than putting players in your lineups based on probabilities. It's all outside your control, but the injuries, they feel the worst of all because.

It can happen at any moment, any player at any time during practice, during the game. Sitting in a chair. You can. Jason. Yeah, I mean, you can have your entire season submarine, no fault of your own simply by being the guy that had Hollywood Brown on his roster or, you know, one of these players that gets knocked out. And we feel it. We feel it too. And that's accepting that you don't control it all is a good step towards not. having as many emotional issues during the season if you're a fantasy player. Because it happens to everybody. It does. Yesterday we covered the Chargers, Falcons, dolphins, bears, panthers, bangles, the cat bowl. The undersized cats. Yeah, the tiny little baby panthers apparently. Mike thinks they're like pocket sized at this point. I'm still thinking about this. 150 pounds? Yeah, and you're just, your mind's blown. Yeah.

Most, I don't know if you knew this, most house cats are Black Panthers. Packers, Lions, Colts, Patriots, Bill's, Jets. We also covered those games. So if you want to hear our breakdowns, click on yesterday's episode. Six games remaining, starting with the 6-1 Minnesota Vikings taking on the 4-4 Washington Commanders. I think this game is going to be pretty good. Draft King Sportsbook Line, Minnesota minus three, the overrunners, 43 and a half. Revenge game for Mr. Kirk, you like that, Cousins. Could be. Does he have that in his heart to take revenge? I don't know. I don't know either. He does. He gets pumped up. I mean, this guy gets, you saw it last week with one of his touchdown passes. Minnesota's won five in a row. They've only lots of the Eagles. Washington has won three in a row. And Carson wins is chilling on the sidelines. Which is why they've won three in a row. He's doing great work. The overrunner here, 43 and a half, Draft Kings has the sportsbook line at Minnesota minus three on the road.

Kirk Cousins, he's the quarterback 12 on the year right now, fourth in red zone attempts. You have seen the difference on this offense, having Mike Zimmer depart and, you know, a brighter mind on the offensive side of the football. Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, those players are locked and don't need a lot of discussion. But I would like your guys' thoughts on the startability of Cousins versus players like Justin Fields this week. versus Tua, and then your thoughts on, like, Thielen, and then Hawkinson in his first week in Minnesota. Hawkinson in his first week in Minnesota is someone that I would be hesitant to play. You don't know, you know, there's a lot more to learn as a tight end coming in. That being said, he's had a lot of practice in his career of new systems in the NFL. So this is, you know, he talked about that, the fact that it's just new terminology, but he's used to learning new systems. So if I could avoid him.

I would, there's, you know, I would, I would play Robert Tunyon over. Would you play Evan Engram? I would play Evan Engram over, over Hawkinson. But I don't blame you if you don't want to roster two tight ends on a bypocalypse. You might not be able to so you could throw him in. As far as Kirk Cousins goes, I think he's a really good streamer, but he's a low end quarterback one. I would not play him above Justin Fields, who's been on fire. He is my quarterback 12 right now. I'd play him above someone like Trevor Lawrence. I think if things go right for him, it could be good. Washington 27th right now in schedule adjusted. So they have given up some points. But Adam Thielen, Mike, you comfortable with Adam Thielen? The problem for Thielen is like last week he had the, I think he got, what was it, a tempering knee injury?

Not temporary. Yeah, he went down for a minute. He went down. It didn't look great. Still had seven targets. But he did come back into the game. So that gives you some hope. But you know that he is limited. But since week two, he's averaging nearly eight targets a game. The Manders 30th against wide receivers if you adjust for schedule. So I think that Kurt, or Adam Thielen is in as that flex type of a play who at any moment, you know that feeling's good for a touchdown. Currently. for what it's worth now that we're getting through the year. He is the wide receiver 36 on the season. That sounds about right. And they don't, they haven't had, oh, no, they have had their by week. So no real top-in performances from him, but he could certainly help you not lose a week. Yes, that's a good way to put it. Yeah. On the other side, we're not going to get Jehan Dodson back. Terry McLaren was my start of the week on yesterday's show because Taylor Heineke loves throwing him the football. Yep.

as a means of success in the offense, which it is. What do you do with the running backs? It is a sketchy matchup. The Vikings are ninth if you adjust for schedule. They're six over the past six weeks. So like to me, Brian Robinson, maybe you fall into the end zone. That's always the chance for Brian Robinson because that seems to be his role. But Antonio Gibson is interesting. He's gotten more receiving work lately. And one of the, a low key injury, J.D. McKissick, go ahead and hit the drop, please. Thank you. Did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. If J.D. McKissick is not active, like the five target floor for Antonio Gibson. That's, the five target floor seems like that's in play for Gibbs. His, that may not. Smile right now is so, he's just so proud of himself. I will, I will see this, Mike. Like I was.

I was paying attention to snap counts from McKissick because when Robinson came back, like he was down at 16% against Green Bay. He went back up to 36% last week in the eternal deficit against Indianapolis. But no, I mean, it does lock in the floor for Gibson's passing work. Yeah. On the ground, it shouldn't be a good game for Gibson or Robinson. But you're just, you're hoping that Gibson, who has receiving touchdown, I believe in back-to-back games now. And just that role. is not going to Brian Robinson. And Gibson started last week. It's interesting. Garrett Wilson or Antonio Gibson in a flex position. This comes down to whether J.D. McKissick plays. If J.D. McKissick is out, I would play Antonio Gibson. I think he becomes a good asset because he will receive all of the receiving work out of the backfield. And that's just really valuable for fantasy. If J.D. McKissick plays and is active.

that, you know, then you're in a three-way time share against a good rush defense that I don't love. Then at that point, I'm questioning, you know, I think I would rather have A.J. Dylan than Antonio Gibson. The Las Vegas Raiders at 2 and 5 take on the 2 and 6 Jacksonville Jaguars. Confusing season for both of these teams. The Draft King Sportsbook line, Las Vegas minus one and a half on the road. The over under is 48. They're very weird teams both for fantasy and in reality. It feels like the aura around Jacksonville is that there is a positive momentum. The record is not reflective of that. They've been more competitive in games. They've given games away in the fourth quarter. They have more relevant fantasy players than they've had in the past. Mike, you make Christian Kirk your start of the week this week because, you know, those first...

You know we can have a big week. He was the wide receiver six through the first three weeks of the year, but it's been a while. He's the wide receiver 42 since then. Yeah, but still getting the targets, you know. And the Raiders defense, so benevolent. Yeah, so over the last three weeks, you know, chilling about 24% of Jacksonville's targets. And the Raiders are just, they're bad across the board. It, it is interesting to have a two-win team that you're, you nailed it, Andy. If like, it's just if they're weird, like are they good? Are they bad? I still don't know. The record indicates that they're bad, but I don't know that they're bad. Which two win team are you talking about here? I'm talking about the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Raiders are not good to me. But on the Jacksonville side, Lawrence is a very capable streamer this week. ETN has skyrocketed. He's just an absolute monster who's getting all the volume hitting a big run every week. Travis E.TN is the running back what rest of the season? Oh, six. Okay.

Yeah, he's definitely not top tier. Who would you rather have Damien Pierce or Travis E.TN? I see them very similar. I take E.T.N. Man, I would have to look at the schedule. That's how close those guys are to me. Yeah, I guess they are pretty close. But Kirk is in. Zay Jones, when six teams are on by, Zay Jones can definitely fill in for you. And Evan Ingram is a top 12 tight end who's been seeing more volume the last couple weeks. Yeah, let's go ahead and read the comment that Kyle left for Evan Ingram in the dark. Go ahead. What is it? In a dark world with tons of uncertainty. Evan Ingram might be the hero you need. Yeah. Let's go. I mean, Evan Ingram is Evan Ingram. Yeah. That's one of his best and worst qualities. But the tight end, so over the last month, he's been the tight end 8, 20, 9, and 4. He was the tight in four against the Denver Broncos. Yeah. Yeah. I watched that game. He scored a touchdown.

Still got in his mandatory two drops. Of course. I mean, because that's just part of his character. Josh Jacobs should bounce back this week. Jacksonville's defense 27th against running backs over the past six weeks. They're 27th against running backs. It's a nice matchup for Jacobs. And he's kind of the only, he's really the only piece that's had consistent, you know, chain moving success on this offense. Devante Adams back in practice, full strength. He should have a much better week as well. Yeah. And I'm not really starting. Like Hunter Renfro has been ridiculously bad. He's not in play. He's been so bad. He is not. I mean, the reality is Matt Collins is the wide receiver too. It's not Hunter Renfro for this team. He's kind of been worked out of being relevant for fantasy. So Devante Adams, Josh Jacobs, great plays. Darren, if he's active, you can play. Otherwise.

I don't think I'm messing with any raiders. And if you're saying car or Lawrence, I would rather have Trevor Lawrence. Yeah, I would too. I would too. All right, quick break back with the Cardinal game. All right, the five and three Seattle Seahawks. Go to Arizona to take on the three and five Arizona Cardinals. Draft King Sportsbook Line, Arizona minus two. The overrunner is 49 and a half. A nice palindrome game. Yes, it is. Cardinals are 0 and 5 in their last 5 NFC West games. Good news. They play NFC West teams the next three weeks. This is a rematch from the snooze fest we got in week six. We were expecting that to be a shootout. But Seattle's defense has stepped it up in recent weeks. Seattle won that game 19 to 9 on the back of Jason Myers.

on the foot of Jason Myers. But yes. There you go. Thank you. Sorry about that. The kicking is actually pretty important to remember when you go back to that last game. The Cardinals kicker was injured. They did not have any confidence. So they had several drives in that game where they moved the ball on the Seahawks pretty well. And then they would get down, fourth down. They would go for it, get stuffed. That's how they ended up with only nine points. That was pre-DiAndre Hopkins. And that was on the road. So it will be interesting to see if you can get.

What the hope was last time coming to fruition with some of these players actually healthy and back for the Cardinals, you also have a Cardinals defense that has been better than most people think that could be really bad this week depending on the health of Buda Baker. Buda Baker's been missing practice, unsure whether he's going to go. As he goes, the Cardinals defense goes. And as someone who picked up the Cardinals to play at home in this game. That's a terrifying thing to hear because they've been scoring a lot of fantasy points, the Cardinals defense. Just so you guys know, since Hopkins returned, his pace is 187 receptions for 2,200 yards. Yeah, if you stashed Hopkins through the suspension, you are being rewarded. He's been incredible and is a lock. The Cardinals running back room has been very difficult to have confidence in right now.