THE UNOFFICIALFOOTBALLERSFAN ARCHIVE↗Transcript links use the exact YouTube video’s clock. Machine transcripts can contain errors.
A complaint about co-managers slowing trade counters turns into a theory of absolute roster power. The manager is the king; the other manager is merely a member of court or wise man who can be summoned for advice, permitted into court, and finally demoted to assistant to the manager.
Thumps above the studio prompt Al Borland's report that a Lifetime gym is being installed on the roof. The hosts imagine ghosts working out and dropping weights, later decide a trapdoor may open into the studio, debate whether Jason's overhead bar protects or endangers him, and ask Al whether the facility is insured. Direct checks show an ordinary desk shot with no visible construction, damage, ghosts, or trapdoor; those images are dialogue inventions.
The hosts restate the every-Friday $100 FantasyChamps gift-card giveaway and name Macho Tiger 44 as this week's Foot Clan winner, lingering on the number in the handle.
Tyler Warren's toe issue makes the desk call toe injuries the bad part of the year, the current hotness, and the new posh injury. The joke immediately pays off when Kyle Pitts is added with a real toe injury and a host stops to verify it is not a joke.
Asked who won two Cardinals-Niners games, the Falcon repeatedly answers the injured Niners even after being corrected. The hosts say his brain stops when the microphone turns on, and he admits he was distracted by trading Henderson and Tootin for Josh Jacobs in his main league. Video visibly cuts to three producers at Deucers Alley. The desk loves the return but tells him to work; live show trades are reserved for Jason because he owns the company.
With Baltimore favored by four and a half on Monday night, the produced cue announces Andy's Almost Upset of the Week and the pick lands on Detroit. Later, the desk notes Andy already has another Almost Upset and jokes that two picks mean two points for being right or zero for being wrong.
Mike's failed Russell Wilson projection makes him spin the Wheel in its announced 2025 debut. Direct video shows the physical wheel land on Groundhog Day and Mike lift on a full furry rodent head. The hosts dispute its species based on the teeth, then settle on both Groundhog Bro and Groundhog Beaver while checking whether it fits his noggin.
Mike tries to use the furry head's mouth hole for both sight and speech, while Papa Josh is reported enjoying the struggle in back. Direct video shows Mike keep the head on through the remaining Faceoff picks. His voice sounds like a rooftop party and then an actual groundhog; the mask is hot, nearly makes him lose consciousness, fills with carbon dioxide, and appears unventilated, so the close promises to get him breathing oxygen again.
The show renovates Faceoff from one more-or-less projection per host into a weekly competition where each host builds a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end lineup. The lowest result still spins the Wheel the following week, with Mike completing the inaugural expanded slate from inside his Groundhog Day head.
All three regular hosts are named and visibly at the desk, with no missing host and no Jay Griz presence. A co-manager complaint becomes a royal theory of roster control: the manager is king, the supposed partner is merely a court member or wise man who may advise only when summoned, and the arrangement is finally renamed a monarchy. Unexplained thumps above the studio prompt Al Borland's report that a Lifetime gym is being installed on the roof. The hosts first imagine ghosts lifting and dropping weights, later envision a trapdoor opening into the studio, wonder whether the ceiling bar makes Jason safer, and ask Al whether the facility has insurance. Direct video shows the ordinary three-host desk during these exchanges, not any visible construction, damage, ghosts, or trapdoor. FootClan Friday follows with the recurring $100 FantasyChamps giveaway to Macho Tiger 44. Toe injuries briefly become the year's fashionable new 'posh injury,' capped by the real-time surprise that Kyle Pitts has joined the trend. During Cardinals-49ers talk, the Falcon twice insists the injured Niners won last year's games, is told his brain stops when the microphone turns on, and admits he was distracted by completing a live trade. A Deucers Alley cutaway visibly shows three producers at their workstations while the Falcon reports sending Henderson and Tootin for Josh Jacobs. The hosts praise the return, insult the league, remind him they are working, and declare that only Jason—who owns the company—may trade during shows. Andy then calls Detroit over Baltimore his Almost Upset of the Week. Fantasy Faceoff delivers the physical finale: Mike's prior Russell Wilson miss makes him spin the Wheel in its visible 2025 debut; it visibly lands on Groundhog Day; and he puts on a full furry rodent head. The desk cannot agree whether it is a groundhog or beaver, naming him both Groundhog Bro and Groundhog Beaver. Mike tries to use the mouth hole for both sight and speech, Papa Josh is reported laughing in back, and Mike keeps the head on while Faceoff unveils its new weekly QB/RB/WR/TE lineup format. His muffled voice is compared to a rooftop party and then an actual groundhog. By the close he says he is nearly losing consciousness, the desk diagnoses carbon-dioxide buildup and no ventilation, and the show promises to get him oxygen. Routine matchup and injury advice is omitted.
The production will be there. Even last week, what's kind of funny about it is all the headlines were, obviously, they haven't been connecting the catch percentage, the alligator arms. He was still 4-for-49. He was 4-for-49 in a game where he had a brutal drop that was a touchdown. He had 12 targets. Because I'm less worried about Brian Thomas than I am A.J. Brown. Yeah. I think I can agree with that. And so I tried. I failed to acquire him on the team. Samesies. I tried to trade A.J. Brown for him. Travis Etienne is my start of the week, and we got word today that
Bashaw Tootin is wearing a red non-contact jersey on Wednesday and Thursday. So we'll see what happens today, but banged up a little bit. And Etienne has been great. So it's a good start. I think that gives more confidence for the Etienne start. But does it – you had mentioned on the start of the week that you would be fine starting Tootin as well, who looked great, had juice. Does this make it to where you're worried maybe his snaps will be limited just from a game plan standpoint? Like if he is dealing with something that they might purposely give him fewer touches this game,
so don't start Tootin if he's active? It will depend on today and if he gets a full practice in. Yeah, full practice, I would play him as I was going to, but even limited today, then I would pivot. All right. I'm looking at the consistency numbers for C.J. Stroud. Oh, don't do that. Stop looking at Medusa. 5.9% of his games over the last 17. That's probably one. 20 or more points. One time. This is yet another reason why Jaden Higgins is not attractive to me or Hutchinson or any of these or Christian Kirk. There's not enough. Like Dalton Schultz, slow as he is, he gets targets.
And Nico Collins is the dude. I just – this is not a good passing offense. It's not a good – It's actually a bad one. Yeah, it's a bad passing offense. Nico, I think, is a fantastic play matchup-wise, so you're not worried about that. No one's benching Nico right now. I will say that while Stroud doesn't run a lot, and so, you know, last year, Stroud threw 242 and a touchdown against this Jacksonville Jaguars, but finished as the quarterback 25. Oh, my gosh. Now, earlier in the season, he was 345 and two, finishes the quarterback five against Jacksonville. So, this is a –
That was probably his last good game. That was his last game over 20, yeah. Yeah, that was week four of last year, the last game over 20 points. But it was this matchup. Nick Chubb, if he scores, you'll be happy. He scored two weeks in a row, right? He is the primary guy. Like, it's a volume floor play. He did not score in week one. I lied. 13 for 60 in week one, 4.6 to carry. Didn't score. Scored last week. But it's not – In this economy, you can play Nick Chubb. Yeah, you could do worse. You could do worse.
But that probably ends it. Where are you with Brenton Strange? Nine targets in two weeks. It's okay. He's a, you know, break glass in case of emergency type of tight end. If you had Kraft and you want to pivot, that's the level. That's like the – you have an injury. You need to start someone. Strange or Musgrave? Oh, I play Strange. Yeah, I'm on the Strange side. Are we going to get a Travis Hunter breakout game at some point? We haven't had an explosive play yet. I think we will because of exactly that, we'll have the explosive play. But in the meantime, are you starting him while you wait for it
or are you going to wait for it to hit and then put him in there? Eight targets week one, six targets this last week. That's good enough, but they're short. He's not in my lineup. They're short, not valuable targets currently. You know, he's six for 33 in week one, three for 22 in week two. Not in my lineup. Yeah. I'm trying not to play him. I play Matthew Golden over him. Really? Yeah. I don't mind that Golden. I hope the one play hits. Yeah. Well, I mean, I'm hoping it's more than one play this week for Golden. Yeah, it's very hard right now to run on Cleveland, and they need Golden.
Yeah, they do. I think it'll be an okay week for Golden. All right, we'll take a break. We'll come back with the Broncos Chargers. What's up, Foot Clan? You can't count on much these days, but you can always count on Sundays with the NFL on CBS and Paramount+. That's right, football fans. Watch your local NFL game every Sunday on CBS and Paramount+, all season long. This year's schedule is absolutely stacked with rivalries and revenge games, including the next chapter of the epic Bills-Chiefs saga. That'll be fun. So stay connected all year on any device, at home or on the go.
Visit ParamountPlus.com slash NFL to get started today and count on Sundays for another must-see season of the NFL on CBS and Paramount+. Broncos 1-1, Chargers 2-0, divisional matchup. Vegas has Los Angeles' two-and-a-half point home favorites. Over-under is now 46-and-a-half. That's gone up a little bit. Whoever wins will be first in the division. So it should be a fun one. This is an exciting game. In 46-and-a-half, we're getting up there. And this is really the Chargers' home opener. I know their home opener was in Brazil, but, you know, wink. So this is the first game that they will be playing. Breaking news.
It's official. Marcus Mariota is starting for the Commanders. No more Jaden Daniels this week. It's also official. Marcus Mariota will be guiding my chopped league this week. Wait. Oh, wait. Was Jaden your quarterback? He was. So you made the necessary arrangements? I did. This is the second league that I've seen you. May God have mercy on my soul. This is the second league I've seen you make. Like Jake Browning starting in one of your leagues probably, or you picked him up, and then Marcus Mariota. Yeah. I've got Mack Jones in one of them. Let's just. Hey. Who needs starters when you got backups?
Sleeper and or Commanders. Whoever is at fault, please move him to out. It just broke. Yeah, okay. Do it immediately. All right. So, Jason, you've been the Justin Herbert. You made him the start of the week. You've been talking about him for weeks. Yeah, I mean. This train, the hype train is going. You are the conductor. The pass rate over expectation for the Chargers. A lot of the reason you liked Hampton coming into the season was because the Giro offense with Harbaugh, they want to run the ball. But it appears that what they really want to do is they want to put their best player in charge.
And with these weapons, when you've got Keenan Allen and Lad McConkie, we've talked about it. They're just so perfect for Herbert. And you have to focus on those guys. And then you've got a huge over the top. It's very difficult to stop that passing attack. So, they're going to put the ball in the hands of Justin Herbert. And I think they're going to have a lot of success with that. So, so far this year, they have not given up a lot of fancy points to the quarterback or wide receiver position. Denver hasn't. But they played, you know, Cam Ward in week one.
You like Herbert this week at home. He is, both of these teams are well above the pass rate over expectation. Like number one and number seven in the league. Bo Nix, the problem this year has been pressure. He has tried to look really cool outside the pocket, slinging it around. He's only four for 11 on those throws for 21 yards and two picks. Yeah, he is being protected. And when he has a clean pocket, he is succeeding. But when he is getting pressured, it is a very negative play. Okay, we have Amari and Hampton. What in the world do people do with Amari and Hampton right now?
And talk about both of these backfields. Because J.K. Dobbins, R.J. Harvey, question marks. Dobbins has scored a couple times in a row. And Amari and Hampton and Najee Harris. The opportunities were there for Harris. And they're going to probably rise. And Harris looked okay. Yeah, Harris looked fine. He looked like how he's always looked. A solid NFL running back. I mean, we have, you know, mocked that he's... With two eyes. Yeah. Yeah, both eyes open. So you got J.K. two leg and you got... No, I'm not going to go there. I would, you know, honestly, Dobbins looks like someone that you can't not start right now.
He's played... Correct. I agree with that, yeah. He's played very well. And his utilization is really what you're going for the most. You're talking about, you know, he's playing half the snaps. But his workload, 73% of the running back rushing attempts in week one, 70% in week two, 33% of the running back targets. So he's just involved enough where you're going to take that opportunity at the running back position. What about Harvey in a game where they're projected to, you know, play from behind? No. Not yet. When Bidet is still getting a bunch of targets and everything, like Harvey has to completely take over that role.
And I think he will take that over. I think so too. But you've got to stash Harvey on your bench right now and get excited for the future. It is not now. You'd play Dobbins over Hampton? I think I would. Oh my gosh. Are you guys... How out on Hampton are you right now? I'm not out on Hampton by any means. It wasn't working very well for him. He fumbled. Najee looked okay. They kind of had an even split. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Justin Herbert fumbled, Jason. Justin Herbert was credited. Check the stats. When that happened, I really quickly wanted to not blame Hampton because of how fast the defensive line...
It was like, it was bang, bang. It was like when the handoff happened. So they made the change. I don't know if we talked about it on the show. They made the change for... It wasn't a Hampton fumble. Those always get credited to the quarterback even when it's not... Like it was not Herbert's fault, but the fumble statistically goes to Herbert. Because they never made the exchange. Correct. Keenan Allen, Ladd McConkie, Quentin Johnston, put them all in your lineup? Yeah. I was going to ask, are you playing huge? I don't know how you don't play those three guys right now.
Well, I would think that Johnston will get the Sertan treatment of any of these guys. I mean, he had three catches last week, but he's over 70 yards two in a row, scored three times. You don't have to force him in if you have a better player, but I mean, are you playing Quentin Johnston? Or... I mean... Or A.J. Brown, Jason. No, no. A.J. Brown, that one's easy. I was trying to go lower down, like Debo with Mariota? Or Quentin Johnston? You're probably still going Debo? I think I'd play... Matt Caff? I'd play Matt Caff. Those are a couple of the bigger questions.
You'd play huge over Debo? I would. I think I would be on the Debo side. I'm a little lower... I think they'll just manufacture stuff for Debo. I'm a little lower on huge. He's still certainly a normal flex play in most leagues. But Keenan over him? I would play Keenan and Ladd over him. Okay. Yeah. Are we done with Evan Ingram for right now? Yep. Troy Franklin, eight for 89 and a touchdown. Are you chasing? Hey, it's Franklin. Are you chasing? Or are we expecting Cortland Sutton to kind of... You know, the target share go back his direction after those first two weeks?
It will go back to Sutton eventually. You don't pay a guy that amount of money and not get something going. So I think both are true. Like, I'm willing to chase what's going on with Franklin. The expectation kind of going in was that you'd see Sutton with the more consistency and the consistent targets. And then Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin, Pat Bryant. I think that's still how I view it. Yeah. Okay. I still view it where Cortland Sutton is the one. And we're not 100% sure Franklin will establish that too. Yeah, you gotta make your choice. It looks like it so far.
Two weeks in, it's looking great. And I've obviously loved the talent of Troy Franklin for a while. They've got the collegiate connection. And things are going well. And Bo Nix likes him. Troy Franklin is a player I think you can throw in in a flex. I would play Quentin Johnson over Troy Franklin. 83% snaps last week was the big number. Yeah. And Mims is down in the 30s and 40s where he lives. Is most comfortable. New Orleans at 0-2. The Seahawks in Seattle. They're 1-1. And they are 7.5 point home favorites. Love the defense in this one. Saints only have a 17 point implied point total.
The over-under is just 41.5. So, you know, this one seems on the surface like a blowout to me. Spencer Rattler has to leave home. Go on the road. Go to Seattle. Play a tough defense. You know, Kenneth Walker looked really, really good last week. Sam Darnold, JSN. They have the connection going. But then Cooper Cup got involved in a pretty big way in week two. Like for those that came out in week one with Sam Darnold, it didn't look great for Cooper Cup. And it kind of bounced back. Yeah, I agree. I think you bring up an interesting point as well with the Spencer Rattler.
This will be his first road game. This is a very loud stadium to play in. The crowd will be, you know, full volume. And Rattler has looked better than... Tyler Shuck. Sure. Yes. Apparently than Tyler Shuck. But better than... Anthony Richardson. I expected him to look. Still, he has not looked great. But we haven't... You know, he's been playing at home. Comfy. You know, quiet environment. One of the things that you like. One of those don'ts that you want to play in. Yes. Alvin Kamara. Yeah, play him. Chris Olave. Lots of targets. I mean, Spencer Rattler. Third most total pass attempts in the NFL so far.
And has not thrown an interception. Pace of play. Pace of play is a really big deal. Rashid Shahid was four for 52 and a touchdown. touchdown. Olave and Shahid are kind of doing the same stuff. I mean... Yeah. Olave's got a lot of targets. They're lower. I would chase the targets over what Shahid did last week. Yeah. I think they're lower down for me. On the road, there should be a little bit of rain in this game as well. A little bit of rain? A little bit of rain. You look at the Seahawks. So far, you know, only through two games.
It's been the tight end position that's affected them. Juwan Johnson should be good here. Olave, man. Olave. He's turned 13 targets and 10 targets into 8 points and 8 points. Yeah. 54 yards a week. Two weeks in, he's the wide receiver 44. So he's the wide receiver 36. Juwan Johnson's my start of the week at the tight end position. And you should be able to count on him in this one. Right now, the Seahawks have given up the most points to tight ends through two weeks. So he's a must start. He's a must start. And I think everything else is pretty simple there.
We are waiting to get a couple secondary members for the Seahawks back onto the field. Devon Witherspoon being one of them. And that will help that defense out. But is Ken Walker going to be like the RB1 this week? He might be. I've been very possible. I've been. That's another place I'm failing in the trade market. I've been trying to pick. I mean, I would never tell Mike. So just hold on a second. Mike earmuffs. You can't tell me on the teams I got him. I've been trying to get Ken Walker, Jay. Wow. Yeah. That kind of. Is that because he's so good?
It's because he's so good. Sometimes he's so good. He's so good sometimes. Now, he's a much better runner. I mean, he's just so. He's so explosive and aggressive. And it should be good this week. Dallas. One and one. Taking on the Chicago Bears, who are sitting at 0-2. Crying into their hands. Again. I don't know if it gets easier for Bears fans to win the offseason and then lose the regular season. I don't think so. We're here on this show. Just telling you the facts. It's the same old, same old for the Bears right now. I would love it to not be the way.
I'm focusing on the cool stuff. Like Roma Dunze. Being a really great, viable fantasy option. That's cool. Yeah. That's really. It is. Unfortunately, I don't get to say that about Colson Loveland or Luther Burden. Or DJ Moore. DJ Moore, I had this. I mean, he may break out and have a great game. Who knows? But I was so afraid of him all offseason. Just the way that. I don't need more stories of how he's taking handoffs. Like that does not excite me for DJ Moore. That you have to come up with new creative ways to use him. Not as a wide receiver.
But, you know, in this one, Dallas is favored. It's favored by one and a half going into Chicago. The over-under is 50 and a half. It did open with Chicago as the favorites. So it's balanced back and forth? And the people have spoken. The people have. Yeah. I mean, who wins the game then? Who's going to win the ball game? It's basically a toss-up. I think the Cowboys win. The Bears' strength has been their past defense. And so far this year, that is their weakness. They are very banged up as well. Jalen Johnson. Come back. Jalen Johnson did not participate in Wednesday's practice.
Did not participate in Thursday's practice. His groin is not ready. So this is great news if you've got, you know, CeeDee Lamb. If you want to start Dak. Like, you know, I love when great defensive players are out. I mean, don't we all? Yeah. So. On this show we do. Yeah. You also like it if Xavier Leggett was out. That's also another thing that you would like. He's a great defensive player. For the other team? Dallas is easy because everybody is in. So Dak, Javante, NCD, and Pickens, and Ferguson. So they are a very easy team. Yeah. It should be all right.