Week 10 Matchups + In-or-Out, Swimming With the Fishes

So we're expecting this 52 point over under to come to fruition. These are two teams that are struggling mightily defensively. The Buccaneers are strong against running backs. But everywhere else they're near the basement, whether it's fancy points given up to the quarterback wide receiver, a tight-in position. You start players against the Buccaneers and it ends well for you. And the same goes for the Cardinals. If you play against the Cardinals, yes, Patrick Peterson is back.

No, it hasn't really mattered much. He's been bad. I think he's out of shape. It's what it's looking like. Or he was in shape for other reasons. He even, unforced. No, yeah. When you're suspended. I love Patrick Peterson, but when you're suspended for a PD and you come back and play bad, those fingers are going to be pointed. He also admitted this week that on the touchdown play he gave up that he didn't really give it his all.

Which is a weird thing. That's not Patrick Peterson. Is that the better out? I don't know if that's better. I just played better. No, no, I just quit on the play, man. It wasn't like I was bad. I just, I gave up. I guess on one hand, I'm glad he admitted it because we all knew it. Right. It was an ugly play. But I mean, look, in the last two games against Patrick Peterson.

Mike Evans, and this is the good Patrick Peterson, has 6 for 70 and 1 on 18 targets and 3 for 97 and 1 on 8 targets. So I'm not worried about Mike Evans here getting shut down by a not good looking Patrick Peterson right now. Yeah, Evans and Godwinner auto starts for your lineup. Yep. Winston and Murray can both be played on Bipocalypse. They both have high upside weeks.

More question marks, I think, around running backs and then the Cardinals' wide receiving corps. David Johnson, Kenyon, Drake, and then Ronald Jones, who, you know, at least in the news from the lips of Bruce Ariens, kind of a boost of confidence in Ronald Jones. You can probably play him this week against Arizona. But what's the upside? For me, it's not probably. I'm willing to play Ronald Jones. I think he is a safe play for like a running back to the Cardinals.

technically are 14th against fantasy running backs, but they're just, they're bad all over the board. So Ronald Jones should see a good amount of carries, 18 for 67 with a touchdown last week against Seattle. I think Ronald Jones is up in that 15 plus rushing category. Yeah, I totally agree with you. It's one of those things where if you look at the season and how the running backs have finished for Tampa Bay, they've been pretty good. For fantasy, they've been.

The worst thing imaginable because you can't ever get to start right. We have no idea who's going to get the ball, who's not. Now with Bruce Ariens coming out and talking about, okay, it's Ronald Jones's time. Peyton Barber hasn't done anything wrong, but Jones is the more explosive player. He's giving us the best chance. We want to see what we have in him. That gives me the confidence to say, yeah, in a plus matchup at home, we're in your favorite against the bad defense. Ronald Jones is a very good play this week.

Let me put it like this then. If you're looking at, I know Jason has a lot of confidence in David Johnson, but on the week, our consensus rankings currently have Jones ahead. Mike, do you have more confidence in Ronald Jones at home with that boost of confidence than you do in David Johnson with Kenyon Drake in the backfield, coming off the injury, maybe some uncertainty about playing time? How do you feel about those?

Two guys. I do have Ronald Jones slightly above, and by slightly, I mean, one spot ahead of David Johnson. I think that Jones is the safer play, but his ceiling isn't what David Johnson is. I'm with Jason that I'm willing to put DJ right back in, but you're not putting him in as a top 10 player anymore. We overlooked Kenyon Drake last week, or maybe considered him far too high of a risk.

But if you played him, he dominated. He were rewarded, yes. And so this week, Kenyon Drake, people want to know, can I put him right back in the lineup? He had a huge game in his debut. Is this a flex-worthy running back? I think he's a low-end flex option. He's a guy that obviously has enough juice in an offense and in a game where there's going to be a lot of points scored. But it's not a great matchup. Not that the 49ers were a good matchup last week. My issue is just I think he's going to be the minority.

of the timeshare with David Johnson. So against the tough matchup, I'm not expecting big things for Kenyon Drake here. And I expect David Johnson to be the back that's utilized more in the passing game, which is where you beat Tampa Bay. All right. Let's go Battle of the backups here. So Kenyon Drake or Matt Berita. Brita. Breita. Kenyon Drake or Latavius Murray. Latavius. Yep. Okay. This one's going to hurt some people's feelings. Okay.

Kenyon Drake or Joe Mixon. Oh, gosh. I would play Joe Mixon if it was my roster. Yeah, I would, I've got Joe. I would play Mixing too, but Jason's reaction is exactly why I asked. Yeah. Versus Baltimore. Mixing? It stinks. Mixing with Ryan Finley. Gross, but I would put Mixing in. All right. All right. We'll move beyond this game. Just a heads up, the pace of play. Arizona is second in the NFL, Tampa Bay's ninth.

I hope that comes to, you know, that 52 point overrunner comes to fruition. I do want to ask the question. Christian Kirk is a good play. Yeah, I'm going to wide receivers right now. Christian Kirk's a good play, but is Larry Fitzgerald actually a good play because he hasn't done anything for fantasy owner, single-digit game since week three, and he's got a big name, and he kind of sits in people's lineups, maybe their flex spot, thinking you're going to get a great game, and this looks like a great matchup.

But what are you doing with Larry Fitzgerald, Mike? Is he a solid bench player right now? Yes, he is. I'm benching him. Larry Fitzgerald is baffling. Like this past week, he played up in the 94% of the offensive snaps for Arizona. Before that, he had been kind of sitting in the 70s. But the last three weeks, an unbelievably juicy matchup against the New York Giants, one for 12. Wide receiver 87.

The New Orleans Saints, where they're a tough defense, but they give up points. Especially to wide receiver and quarterback. Fantasy wide receivers. Two receptions for eight yards. Wide receiver 90. San Francisco, four for 38. He's on the field. I have no idea why he's not getting more targets the way that he started the year. Michael Gallup or Larry Fitzgerald? I'll play Gallup. Debo Samuel on Monday night against Seattle or Larry Fitzgerald? I think I'm playing Debo. Like, Debo is a...

he's not a terrible start, and I feel like Larry's a terrible start right now. Could have no George Kittle on Monday night. Yeah, yeah. That's, that's, it's tough, man, because he is getting the 10 zone targets, you know, so maybe a touchdown could come and save his day. But I think if he doesn't get a touchdown this week, which could happen, he's going to be a bad play. And certainly not a guy I'm looking to have in my starting lineup, or even on my roster right now. I mean, he's not a guy I.

Yeah, I think that's fair. We miss you, Larry. At this point for fantasy, I would rather be stashing someone else's high value handcuff than Larry. Yeah. All right. Before we move on to the next matchup, want to thank Capital One Walmart rewards card. Earn 5% back at Walmart online. Games for the kids, headphones for dad, a laptop for mom. It doesn't matter. You get 5% back.

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footballers all right this was one of the ones that was tempting this matchup that i'm about to unveil as a almost upset lions at three four and one head into chicago take on the bears who are three and five divisional matchup bears are two and a half point favorites interesting but it's a 41 uh 41 and a half point over under ultimately i went against it i do i think

In the end, I decided that the Bears were going to win this football game. This is Mike's upset of the week. I got the Lions. So your interesting comment was not related to me thinking, it was related to me rejecting the almost upset. That you're going with the Bears. Yeah, I am. I am going. You know, divisional game. Both teams obviously need to win it. But in the end, I think at home, Chicago, the defense will be able to do enough. And that, you know, it's hard to kind of back Mitchell Tribisky. Yes.

So I'm not going to. But I think the Bears will do enough elsewhere. Let's talk about the starts in this game. Matthew Stafford is on fire, leads the NFL on average depth of target, air yards. Last three weeks, he's finished the QB2, the QB5, and the QB4. He was the number one pivot that we brought up if you lost Patrick Mahomes. It was basically go get Matthew Stafford. The schedule looks great. And then, you know, we didn't know Kerry on Johnson would end up out for the season.

But that's also added fuel to the fire of just letting Matthew Stafford step back in the pocket and sling it around to Kenny Gullady, Marvin Jones, T.J. Hawkinson and company. This is a difficult matchup for him. Bears are seventh on the season. They're only given up 14.3 fantasy points per game to the quarterback. And in the wide receiver position, they're fourth in the league. So ordinarily, you'd say, hey, let's beat the Bears by attacking those linebackers. Let's run the ball. That's what's been successful against them this year.

But they don't really have anybody to do it. I mean, where's your confidence level on a flex play for either Ty Johnson or a player with a lot of touches last week, J.D. McKissick. So... Mine is in... I guess a lot of...

production, not some much touches. To me, my confidence level in those two players is inside of the toilet. That's not something I want to... So you took your confidence level and then put it in the toilet. Well, I already flushed it. So it's inside of there somewhere. Now it's in the sewer. Is that what happens? I just assumed it goes into a magic wasteland inside of the toilet. You just have a pipe that runs outside of the house and just sprays.

Finding Nemo taught me and goes directly to the ocean. Well, yeah, all pipes lead to the ocean. Yeah, so everybody, that's why all those fish that you flush. Yeah, you flush down, they go swim with their families. They swim with the fishes? Yes, look, I'm still not starting either of those guys. I realize the bears can be beat on the ground, but I don't think they can just be beat on the ground by.

anybody out there they're you know if you've got a good running back a good running game maybe you can take it to this bear's defense but this is in chicago the defense there it is so look out below i always thought when you flush it hits the ninja turtles and i so i always thought where where they live flush they don't smell it doesn't smell very good down there no it wouldn't the sewers are not going to smell good

That's why they have so much pizza. All right, but Mike's still confident to roll Stafford out there. He's our quarterback 10 on the week despite the matchup. Yes. Personally, I'm still willing to roll Matt Stafford out. The matchup is, it's about as tough as they get against the Chicago Bears, seventh against fantasy quarterbacks. But the game plan for the Lions just creates safety. Now, the floor, it certainly is lower. Like his, his matchup in Green Bay.