Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Wk 5 Studs, Duds, Rising Stars, Injuries

an okay game. Except there was Crockett Gilmore. On that note, you need to know this, the last two weeks, even when, even before this week, Crockett, Gilmore was running a lot of routes. He was running a lot of passing routes and was involved in that game. It didn't show up on the box score quite the same, but it did this week. And so it says to me that Dennis Pitta is not that super reliable, you know, 10 target guy. He's still getting tons of targets. Sure. But with Trestman gone.

And Crockett Gilmore being there, I think that Pitta, you just need to temper those expectations. I don't think he is going to be as valuable without Tresman. I'm okay tempering. I will say I think there'll be less volume to go around for the Ravens. None of that Tresman is gone. But I think that Dennis Pitta will be the tight end that gets it. He still had, he was seven for 59 on eight targets. So eight targets, five targets, eight targets. I mean, that's...

For tight ends. That's great. So I'm not worried about Dennis Pitta. So a couple honorable mentions, Devante Adams did not Limburger this week. He had a very strong game. And Randall Cobb. Randall Cobb went over 100. I like that. You did. And you liked Randall Cobb coming into this week. I don't believe I did.

I figure coming off of a buy at home, Aaron Rogers is very good at home. There was enough volume and touchdowns to go around. In fact, he caught a, what was it, like a 28-yard great touchdown catch in the game that was called back on a completely meaningless, I think it was Devante Adams, who kind of shifted on the line during that play. And so it was like it was called back because he moved his hand a little bit. But.

I mean, it was a great touchdown. So here's the deal. I was high on Randall Cobb coming into this week. I thought he was going to have a game like he did. This is where I now sell him. Very similar to me to Ryan Matthews. Ryan Matthews, I thought coming into this game was, and how about this? We got to bring up the water bag. Sure. This is nonsense. Andy, it is nonsense. So I said that Ryan Matthews is going to be their primary.

running back he is the ball carrier he is the ball carrier he is their primary running back and and he said no he said windle smallwood and can you barner they're going to be involved so i made him a water bet said he's going to get 15 carries i lost the water bet he fell short he got over 15 touches but he didn't get 15 carries i lost the water bet but i won in spirit

Because Kenyon Barner and Wittles Smallwood combined for zero carries. Yep. And it was clearly Ryan Matthews as the man. I believed in him. He did it. And I cannot recommend people enough to sell him. Sell Ryan Matthews right now because I still do see what Andy saw with Kenyon Barner and Wendell Smallwood there, the injury history of Ryan Matthews. And the fact that his contract says he's not the future, I think he might have another couple good games. If you can't sell him this week, sell him next week. But I'm looking.

I don't believe in Ryan Matthews rest of season. He's a scary guy to own. I would look to try to shore up running backs, try to trade him and someone else for an upgrade at running back. Rest of season, I would have him as a lower end running back too. I mean, it's going to be game flow dependent. I love the five receptions and the receiving touchdown that went to him. That was great news for Ryan Matthews owners. The 11 carries, if you weren't privy to what happened in the game, they were getting boat raced.

for most of the first half by Detroit, so they were throwing the ball, and they weren't able to establish that running game. Also, he fumbled the game away at the end. Yeah, that's not going to earn him a lot of carries next year. That's the big variable. He also had a huge 30-yard run that got called back because an offensive lineman was downfield. So he's still a curious case of, I don't know. I would probably sell if I could, but I don't know.

I don't know if I would. The hope here is not that you can sell and you can finally get rid of him on the cheap. The hope is that you can find someone who believes. Sure. I know you in our League of Record, you have Ryan Matthews. You said, yeah, I'm going to shop him. I'm probably going to shop him. But that doesn't mean you necessarily have to trade him. Right. You're just going to see if you can, if his name and if his value to a team that needs a running back, if, you know, that can net you enough in return. So Matt, Asiata.

Ooh, Asiata. Asiata has proven that you can just grab him off the waivers and start him if you're ever in a pinch. He's not going to be reliable, though. Is there any, oh, Todd Gurley, back from the dead, Todd Gurley had a very solid game. He wasn't enough to get in the full-on stud muffins. Three for 36 through the air, which is important to see again. Are you getting scared, Mike, on your Todd Gurley catches on the season? Oh, because it was Cunningham was out.

Yes. So what's nice, what I can fall back on is that Jeff Fisher is a creature of habit. And as soon as Benny Cunningham is back, I feel like he's just going to say, okay, Benny, you're the third down guy again. My goodness, man, when they were down on the goal line, I think they were like the four-yard line and it was fourth down. They're down by seven points. They're down by seven. So a field goal, if you get the field goal means you need a touchdown.

If you get the field goal, you still have to get a touchdown, and it's fourth and four. The game is almost over, and he kicks a field goal. And then guess what they had to do when it was fourth and forever on their own 18 later in the game? They had to go for it in a terrible situation. How do you not go for the touchdown? I mean, I don't even, you can't convince me of the logic. The football book.

of how to be a winner at football that was written in 1925. He needs the updated edition. That's the one he goes to. Game script, 1925. Always kick the field goal. So, uh, let's move on. We're going to talk some rising stars. Raising Keynes, rising stars of the week. Of course, I have to take this moment in the sun. Sammy Coates was a guy I had talked up.

Pretty strongly. I think I used very strong language for Sammy Coates over the off season that I loved him in the late rounds as a sleeper. He's been emerging lately. And this week we talked about it, six for one, 39, and two with 11 targets. I don't care about the drops. Look, Mike Evans drops the ball. Amari Cooper drops the ball. Guys have drops. But here's what Coates is not dropping. He's latched in. He's the Martavis Bryant roll.

for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is a very productive fantasy role. We've seen Martavis Bryant, who should have been a wide receiver one, if he could play an entire season. And now Sammy Coates, that's his job moving forward. So I have him locked and loaded as a weekly flex start at the worst. On the road as well? Even on the road, because I know that he, because of the big play is there, at any time, we've seen Martavis Brian.

zero's zeros you get to the fourth quarter oh here's a 70 yard touchdown bomb and now you have a wide receiver two uh for the week so it's just i love him if he's on your waiver wire i would be very aggressive trying to get him yeah no i i agree when we talk waiver wires tomorrow he will probably be one of if not the top he's he'll be my top wide receiver because i i do think that

He is a guy that for the rest of the season, he's going to entrench himself in a place where maybe he's not weekly. Maybe he is very similar to Ben Rothensburg or a home away start. But when you start him, he's going to have a lot of big performances. And you've seen his targets go up and up. The guy to me, who's rising up, and I alluded to this earlier, is Jordan Howard. Because I still have that fear. Look, they've got the week nine by.

And that's where I'm- His coach is still John Fox. Yeah. I'm still expecting Langford to come back and to cut into the workload. But what I used to think was going to happen was that it's going to come back and it's going to be a 50-50 split or even a 55-45 for Langford. You know, the starter to start the season. He comes back. He gets the work. And you saw this last year, right? You had Matt Forte there.

He was the starter. Langford took over and he was helpful to the bears from injury. And when Forte came back, they split. And Langford was still valuable the rest of the way. Forte was still valuable the rest of the way. And I'm going to say that Jordan Howard is going to be valuable the rest of the season even after Langford gets back because what he has shown is that he does, you know, the opportunity helps, right? Maybe he won't be an absolute monster after Langford gets back.

But he gets yards after contact. He is a good receiving running back. So if they get down, which I believe the Bears from time to time, we'll get down. Yep. And I think Jordan Howard is safe. I would be willing to trade for him. Crazy as it is. There's still 10% of leagues. He's on the waivers. I mean, it should be 100%. But Jordan Howard, I believe in him. He's rising up. I fully believe in Jordan Howard, too.

I've had this conversation with Andy who he happened to, he had that stroke of luck where he picked Jordan Howard up the week Langford got hurt. Yeah, the week before it. And I've engaged with in trade conversations, but I don't know what to pay. Okay, let me ask you this. Rest of season, who would you rather have? It's a draft starting today. And the only two running backs on the board are Ryan Matthews and Jordan. Oh, it's Jordan Howard. It's easily Jordan Howard.

But in our league, I mean, trades are different because we can trade draft picks and everything. But I'm with you that he should be a top 10 running back moving forward. But there's that ounce of fear that John Fox is going to screw me. And if I trade everything away, because Howard's price just keeps going up week over week. I didn't strike immediately when I should have. So now I'm paying the price because the law of economics, Jordan Howard is now far more in demand. So, but I.

I have a really tough time offering that price to get him. Here's what listeners need to know going forward. Jordan Howard. Look, he's rising up my raising canes, rising stars. Really love him. He's delicious. If you're going to trade for him, he's got a juicy matchup this week in Jacksonville. You want to get a hold of that, right? You want a piece of that. The next two weeks after that, he goes to, you know, he's got Green Bay, who's a really tough matchup, followed by Minnesota.

That's worse. Follow by a buy. Oh, I see what you're saying. So while I do like Jordan Howard rest of season, what I'm saying is that I believe in him weeks 11 through 16. So if you are a team that's, let's say you're one and four and you're trying to kickstart things, buying Jordan Howard because you need wins right now, might not be the best idea. Right, because you might get one. And then you're going to struggle. That's fair. But if you've got a late.

If your trade deadline is late, if it's week 10, week 11, I think he's going to be a late season great grab. So those, speaking of juicy, Raising Cain's Chicken Fingers, Those were the Raising Cains Rising Stars of the Week. Remember that game day tastes better with Raising Cain's tailgates full of fresh 24-hour marinated hand-battered chicken fingers, fresh brewed sweet tea, visit Raising Canes.com to find your nearest location. If you haven't been.

It's so good. Yeah, pro tip, if you have not been to Raisin Cains, go to Raisin Cain. Evaluate your life. Get it together and eat some Raisin Cains because it is just the best. It sure is. All right, let's move on to some guys who... Not so good. Maybe they let you down. Poopped in his big boy pants. When I say maybe let you down, I mean, they let you down in a horrific fashion.

Yeah, one of those guys would be Eli Manning. I had him very highly rated. You saw what should have been a high scoring game. What was so funny, sorry to interrupt you, was even the commentators like both of these secondaries are depleted. And you have two Pro Bowl, Super Bowl winning quarterback. Yeah, they said that. And no one could get it done. It was really bizarre. It was, I, something looks off with Eli.

Oh, that offense is a mess. Yeah, I don't know what's going to fix it. I don't know, hopefully they get it together for the sake of O'Dell Beckham alone. But they're not looking good. He didn't play well. 18 of 35 is not good. Didn't get to 200 yards. Only got a garbage time touchdown, and that was it. He was pretty terrible. Maybe the general.

That was Tom Coughlin who I'm not, I wasn't a big Tom Coughlin fan because I don't like the old fashioned coaching approach. But maybe that team needs him. Yeah. Maybe that maybe that team needs that they needed a father figure. Yes. And now they've got an uncle figure. Well, right now they have the principal from Ferris Bueller's Day off. Seriously, man. That mustache is who is is just unbelievable. But here's what Eli Manning does have. He's looking in the mirror like, yep.