Week 15 Matchups + Wheel of Shame, Mike Implodes - Fantasy Football Podcast for 12/16

Like, I think Trevor Lawrence is okay this week. I think Christian Kirk's in your lineup. I think Travis E.T.N. is nervously in your lineup. Zay Jones, I think you can spot start that man. Well, that's his name. He's the spot to start. I have to say it that way. Otherwise, you might rely on him and he will not perform. Right. I think, you know, Travis E.T.N. is someone that's been a little disappointing. I see him very, very similar to how I saw Kenneth Walker, where it's not a great matchup, but you're going to be involved. If you get, you know, a 33-yard reception at the end of the game, you're going to be happy. You know, if he falls in the end on, you're going to be happy. He's just kind of a low-end RB2.

that you can start. I don't expect big things from him, though, against the Dallas Cowboys. Well, would you play him or the second wide receiver on the Dallas side? I would play E.T.N. over the second wide receiver. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Zay Jones. Would you play Zay Jones or Michael Gallup? In this matchup, I think I would. Oh, Zay Jones or Michael Gallup. Interesting. I'm going to take the matchup side and go with Gallup. The Dallas side of the football, it's pretty great. Dak was Jason's start of the week. Zeke and Pollard are in, Lamb is in. You know, Dalton Schultz is in, 10 targets last week. A lot, a lot of questions regarding Evan Ingram this week. It's really hard to bench a player that put up that kind of a performance regardless of the matchup, right? I know Dallas, Jason's illustrated it earlier this week, not chasing Evan Ingram because Dallas is number one against opposing tight ends over the last six weeks. But I don't think you have to bench him, but I wouldn't.

I wouldn't make him an auto start. Yeah, I'm not forcing him in. Yeah, you're not chasing. You're not chasing last week's points. I view Evan Ingram the same going into this week as I viewed him almost every week, which is he can have a good game. He can be involved in the past game. He completely disappear as well. He's just a normal streaming option. And usually with those, I'm trying to play the better matchups. This isn't one of them. Schmevin or Greg D. against Arizona. Greg Dolcich. Schmevin or a con quo against the Chargers. Aconquo assuming, I mean, Traylon Burks, has he been ruled out here? Actually, I might have passed up a Traylon Burke's news blurb here. Remains sideline. Yeah, so he's not going to play. I'll go with Akonquo. All right. Let's take a quick break and come back with the remaining matchups. The Kansas City Chiefs are 10 and 3. They take on the 1, 11 and 1. One. One. Houston, Texans.

The Draft King Swartzbook line, Kansas City, minus 14, the overrunners 49 and a half. What do you do here? I mean, we have been facing the Houston Texans are not a good play for quarterbacks. No, I mean, it is really funny. I've looked at this matchup for a long time. As soon as we started looking towards the playoffs, you saw that Mahomes was going up against the Texans in week one. And that was, I mean, Currently on the season, they are the worst matchup for quarterbacks for fantasy purposes. Quarterbacks do not need to do much. This is why, Andy, you've got Isaiah Pacheco as a start of the week. He's a great start. He should have a phenomenal game. He's been seeing 15 plus opportunities pretty much of the last month. So I love him. Mahomes, though, is interesting because they run so much through short...

passes that are set up where even when you are up by three scores, I don't think they just hand the ball off. I think they continue running little screens and doing safe plays that will go to Patrick Mahomes' statistics. You're not going to binge them, obviously. But there's no chance that you get a 40-point performance out of Patrick Mahomes in some great big, dominant game because they just won't need it. I think it's... possible because I think it's possible that still all the touchdowns go to Patrick Mahomes. To me, for fantasy purposes, the rules are different for rushing quarterbacks and Patrick Mahomes because that, that offense, like, if they just, when they get by the goal line,

They love the bowling play where Patrick Mahomes gives the underhand, just whoever it is, usually Kelsey, but sometimes the bowling play. I love it. Or the tap pass. Yeah, they do other things. The defense for the Texans will fall for any tricks that make Travis Kelsey all alone someplace. So I still have Mahomes in this week with full confidence. And ironically, while they have shut down the quarterback, they've been terrible at guarding tight ends. So in this situation where the tight end is. pretty much half of your offense. I need you, Travis. I need you big time. He's going to have a great game. Pacheco's going to have a great game. Mahomes will have a good game. And then outside of that, I don't know who I really am excited to start. The passing, the receiving options, I would order it, juju first. And really, that's the only guy that I really want to take a shot at. And then I don't want, you know, I just don't think that the receiving core adds up to 200 receiving yards. And it's going to be.

you know, split between a lot of different options. Yeah, they only give it 20 points a game. So breaking that up across a bunch of wideouts is tough. Now, Derek McKinnon is a player that has been. He's very tough this week. He's been going into the start sit tool a lot on the website. People worried about can I start Jerich McKinnon. The matchup against running backs is great. You talk about running through the air a little bit. I think McKinnon's a flex. I think you can flex him and that's fine because of those like, you know, little screens, but. he is not the, he is a part of the passing game that won't be needed as much. If you just look at his carry counts going back the last, you know, six carries, eight carries, zero carries, six carries, one carry, three carries. He is not there on the ground running back, which will be used the second half of this game. What do you do with the Houston options in this game? Damian Pierce is not going to play. Is Rex Burkhead, Rex Burkhead or Antonio Gibson? Gibson. Gibson.

Okay, let's take it down a tier. Rex Burkhead. Give me another, give me another secondary type of. Corrine Hunt? Oh, yeah, there you go. Probably still Kareem Hunt. I'm more interested in a Guba Waleh because, like, I get that they held their own a little bit here with the Dallas Cowboys. I'm not going to project that at all. Yeah, I play Chuba over Rex. The Kansas City Chiefs are just different. So if I'm going. That disgusting direction, I want the pass catching running back at least. It's so confusing to me, though, because Rex was the past catching running back. Do you understand? Right. Rex was the past catching running back when it was Pierce. Pierce. So wait, now he's not because. He was at the beginning of the year, and that's kind of transitioned out. Okay. Nico Collins is not practicing. Brandon Cook could be back. If Brandon Cooks is out there, this is a chief's defense that necessarily gives up fancy points to whiteouts over the course of a game.

I really do want the wide receiver one for the Houston Texans in this game. They're going to have to throw the ball and they're going to find enough success to have fantasy relevance. It's just a matter of whether or not that is Brandon Cooks, who's been missing games with a calf injury. And terrible all year. And terrible all year before that. Or whether it will be Chris Moore. I would prefer it to be Chris Moore. You don't have fears of the calf injury having Brandon Cooks play a little bit and go out. So, you know, if Brandon Cook's plays, I'm not playing Chris Moore. I just, I don't have the confidence that the targets will be there. Hopefully you can avoid Texas altogether. Yep. Patrick Bahams has been 14 plus point favorites five times in his career. In those games, his opponents averaged 13.9 points, and they've scored fewer than 10 points in the last three of those. This is not the kind of offense and situation where you're going to get the Dallas performance. I don't believe.

Arizona's 4 and 9. They travel to mile high to take on the Broncos who are 3 and 10. Oh, what a fun game this will be. Draft King Sportsbook has the line at Denver minus 3. The overrunners 37. Russell Wilson could be back out there. He was cooking a little bit last week. He was. Colt McCoy will start for Arizona. Masterful at the dink and dunk offense that offers very little. excitement. James Connor has been outstanding. 71 of 75 snaps last week was a great play. He's one of the very few true every down running backs for their team. You know, you've got like the guys like Christian McCaffrey and now James Connor where he's just all of it. He gets, you know, spelled a time or two in the game and otherwise he's going to be in there.

for every play, for all the goal line. He's going to catch the ball. He's going to receive 15 plus carries. Now, this isn't a great matchup. It's not the opponent on the other side of the field that you would want to see your running back lined up against, but he's played through some bad matchups. I feel like he has to be in your lineup unless you have phenomenal options. I think he's a very good option this week. Yeah, James Connor has been really, really good opportunities up in the 28 opportunities against the Chargers. 22 last week against New England where he was very good. I agree. Cardinal options. Hollywood Brown is now listed as an illness on Thursday. I think that really takes them off the must start category. It's already a bad matchup. You know.

I don't know who's catching the ball outside of James Connor and DeAndre Hopkins in this game. That's the problem. I don't have somebody that I'm like, well, you have to start the dors. I mean, he wasn't even out there. Robbie Anderson was getting catches and. Correct. A.J. Green was out. And then Trey McBride, not enough targets. This is a road game with a backup quarterback against one of the best defenses in the league. You play a stud and a stud only. So it's Hopkins and then check out. That's the receiving options for me in this game. On the other side, however, the matchups delicious. Latavius Murray's Mike's start of the week. Greg Dolcich is my start of the week at tight end. Arizona is dead last in the NFL. They give up about 15 fancy points to the tight end position every week. So not only is that crazy bad for this year, but historically since 2014, that's 285th out of 288 teams. That's like almost a new historic record for Arizona. They're bad against tight ends.

Jerry Judy, very involved. I think he's in play as well. Is he in play if it's Brett Rippian? Are you going to be, are you going to be starting? Rippian? I saw myself do it. Yeah, I didn't know what to. I wondered if I was going to get called out there. I just made eyes to everybody. That's all. That's fine. Rippin. Rippin. If he's ripping the ball, do you still like? It's pronounced ripen. Or thank you. Ripin. Because you want it to get sweet. You go, woo, that's ripe. Oh, so now it's smelly. No, it's not a good record. This isn't fruit. This is your new starter. Is he your new starter for? Stay tuned. No, I, look, yes. Yes is my answer to your question. I agree. He's being, he's in play regardless of whether it's Brett, uh, ripien or not. Right. Peeing. Yeah. Yeah. Now you're adding letters. Respect the man. Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't know what foolish games we were playing here. You didn't watch his pops in Washington?

Growing up? I don't get it. Brett Rippin's father. He's his uncle. Uncle. Okay, whatever. Gotcha. Yeah, the answer is no. Yeah, the answer is no. Didn't he take them to a Super Bowl? They won a Super Bowl. Yeah, Washington. Brett, right? Wait, same name? Mark. Mark. Yes, it is Brett. Look at Mr. NFL trivia over here. But the Brett Rippin sounds right. That's because it's... Look, I had a 1990-91 NFL book when I was growing up, and I memorized that thing so well. It was not very accurate. They were playing snow games in Buffalo back then, too. I remember that. Put a roof on it. They're never going to stop. Can we move to the next matchup? Yes, please. All right. I can't believe I said Brett. The New England Patriots are seven and six. They take on the five and eight Raiders. The Raiders are...

Just a knife twist to their fans every week. The Draft King's Sportsbook line, Las Vegas minus one and a half. The overrunners 44. Mm-hmm. What? Is that surprising to you? What? Are you going to hit the button? I don't even, I mean, I don't feel like it's fair. It's a one and a half point line. But yeah, the New England's going to win the game. Are we kidding? Well, then I hit the button. All right. Andy's almost upset of the week. I'll add a little something to it. They're going to win by more than five. This is, if you don't think Bill Belichick is going to outcoach Mr. McDaniels here when the game is excruciatingly important to the Patriots, well, I mean, we'll see. We'll see what happens. Mack Jones, I think he's playing better. I think the offense is giving him an opportunity to play better, which is really the problem.

This is a defense that's going to step up here. Devante Adams, look, it's not a great matchup. The Patriots are fifth against opposing wide receivers. You're not going to bench Devante. No, doesn't matter. But you're going to just kind of understand that this is what the Patriots do. They try to eliminate the best option. They're the number three defense against the run. This is. temper your Jacobs and Adams expectations, but play them anyways. Yeah, this is a game that I see going the route of the under because one of these offenses is pretty good for fantasy purposes for, you know, just points on the board. And that's the Raiders, but they're going up against a really tough Patriots defense that I agree with you will completely outcoach them. The other side, the...

the Patriots have an opportunity against a really bad Raiders defense, except all their offensive guys are hurt. I mean, we don't know who is playing in this game. I think Damien Harris is going to be the starter. I'm pretty definitive about that now based on practice. Yeah, he's been practicing in limited fashion. Ramandre has not practiced at all this week. So let's say he is. out there. We don't know his entire health, but we don't know Jacobi Myers, who is probably not going to play. He was not participating in practice on Thursday. Devante Parker, that's a one-week concussion. Jacobi Myers is on week two, so he's probably not going to play. So this is just like you've got a really banged up offense against a bad defense and a good offense against great defense. So I don't love this game. Find me a diamond at the wide receiver position for New England. Nelson Aguilar.

Nelson Agalore, certainly last week, he was... Find me a cubic zirconium in that wide receiver. That's a better way to look at it. Yeah. Yeah. Kinderg-born Typhon Thornton? Yeah, I mean, these are all fake ones. You just need to fool them one week. Yeah, look, Nelson will be the primary receiver, nine targets last week compared to five for Thornton, the rookie, five for Kendrick Bourne. The vanishing of Kendrick Bourne this season is very interesting. He wasn't like a full-time player last year, but he made a ton of splash plays for them. I won't be surprised if he's the best option this week. It wouldn't be surprising, but I think that the volume and the probability will be Aguilar. The real beneficiary of this situation could be Hunter Henry as well, involving him in the offense. The Raiders are bottom half against the tight-in position. I am very comfortable with Hunter Henry.

Yeah, that's, I think, a fine back end, a tight end that you could go with. But we're not excited. I mean, the only reason to play Patriots wide receivers is to take advantage of missing Jacoby and Parker and get a cheap option in, you know, a place where you're paying a value for. So like a Draft Kings lineup or something like that, I don't think in a playoff game I'm playing wide receiving options, even in this good matchup from the New England Patriots side of the ball. And you have. On the other side, you've got a couple guys that might be back here. Yeah, they may. In Hunter Renfro and Darren Waller. Josh McDaniels said on Wednesday we're hopeful, but obviously we're going to let their bodies tell us a lot here as we go through the next three days. So it's a... I think they're both on the field. It's a tough one, though. It's a late game on Sunday. You've got three Saturday games and all the morning games. I think you're going to have to make a decision well before Sunday. Agreed. You're not going to play them this week, but I think you'll...

see them this week on the field. And really, you're just hoping that they don't crush the one of the things that's been so nice about the Raiders offense over the last month or two has been the fact that it's all Devante Adams and Josh Jacobs. They account for the offense. And now if that ball gets spread around a little bit more, you just hope that they don't, you know, hurt your shiny playoff objects too much. Tennessee is seven and six. They take on the seven and six chargers. Really excited about this game. The Chargers minus three, the overrunners, 46 and a half. Games in Los Angeles. Chargers are getting cooking on the offensive side of the football. Titans pass defense is terrible. That sounds like a playoff delight. And Derek Henry is really, really good. I think this game is going to stay competitive. This is the kind of week where, you know, Tennessee just puts on the hard hats, goes on the road, and makes a game out of it.

The Yeti, it's going to be really, really good. The run defense for the Chargers, not that good. Have we looked up the weather in Vermont? I'm not sure that it's all snow at this point, right? I think it's, okay, he's just complete. We're firmly in the snow, and that's good for the Yeti. But other titans in this matchup, it's probably just Chig, a Conquo. That's it because he's a tight end. Obviously, if he was a wide receiver, not going to be good enough. He was six for 45 on a touchdown last week. He's a rookie tight end that we've talked up a little bit over the last couple of weeks. He has emerged and without other receiving options, then you can throw him in there. Mike Williams and Keenan Allen are both starts of the week on the Chargers side. Herbert's in your lineup. Eckler's in your lineup.

People have asked a lot of questions about Josh Palmer and Gerald Everett. Those are those fringe players, but the matchup is really good. I don't, you know, the pass funnel situation for Tennessee has provided 13.6 fantasy points per game over the last six weeks to the tight-in position. Everett isn't as necessary, but he's still getting targets. He is an incredibly tough decision. Would you guys go? Just the match, I mean, probably, but the matchup of Greg D against Arizona or Gerald Everett. I'll play the D. Yep. But I think you could be good for both of them. By the way, severe weather alert, winter storm warning in northern Vermont. Oh, watch out. Was that a little Santa coming through? Oh, ho. Oh, Mary Yetty. Very, very. Okay. I'll have a nice Derek Henry performance under the tree. That's fine. Yeah.

Cincinnati. Stay safe. Nine and four. Tampa Bay, six and seven. And Bengals, you know, one of the top six teams in terms of Super Bowl odds right now. Tampa Bay. Not. Trying to hang on. Six and seven division leaders. Drafking sportsbook line. Cincinnati minus three and a half on the road. The overrunners 44 and a half. One stumbling team, one not so stumbling team. Joe Burrow, quarterback four on the year. You are starting Joe Burrow on the road here, Jamar Chase. He's going to be great. But beyond that, you have questions of injury concerns with T. Higgins and Tyler Boyd. If Higgins is active, what are you doing, Mike Wright? I will. So very specific. If you're talking my team, you guys don't probably have the same roster I have, but the options will be like Antonio Gibson.

I don't even remember my lineup. I'm so tilted over. What about Elijah Moore? I would not go Elijah Moore. Jack Wilson is bad at football. Hollywood Brown? That, no, no, I would. Jerry Judy. Jerry Judy, I would consider it. Joshua Palmer. No, I'd still roll with T. Higgins. Really? Yeah. I would take Palmer over Higgins. You're saying with the question marks, even if he starts? Yeah, well, yeah, I mean, obviously I would take him if he doesn't start over him. But yeah, if T. Higgins is active, I worry about what you might not get, what kind of limitations, what kind of reaggravation to the injury. You know, it's like I think I would rather have a safe nine or 10 fantasy points than the hopeful, you know, 1520 that Higgins can do that could also be.

three or zero. About Alan Lazard. I would play Alan Lazard for sure. Yeah, this is one of those things where you're not, you're not just gambling on an injury. You're gambling on an injury that literally just benched him the game before. So he, you know, this was the exact same. Yeah, he got rest though. The same circumstance. He's ready to go, right? Well, no, because he reheard it real quick in the, you know, warming up. And not only that, but when we see these hamstring reaggravation issues, they aren't you. They aren't usually something that is just give it a couple days and you're good to go. I mean, think about some of these guys, Keenan Allen and Darren Waller. They missed so much time to get back. Now, it does not appear to be the same level of severity. They haven't talked about, you know, IR or anything like that. So I don't want to put, you know, things saying he's going to take weeks and weeks to come back. But those are fears that we don't have time.

to get wrong anymore. Lots of tough decisions on the Tampa side. Bengals are a good defense. You have two running back options, Rashad White and Leonard Fournette. I like Rashad White. I like the guaranteed volume in the passing game. Are you playing both players? I think both are available, but if you're saying one or the other, you've got to go Rashad White. Godwin's been great target-wise, but Mike Evans has not. You do something. Mike Evans. Chris Godwin's getting targets, but What he has done with these targets has been very, very disappointing. You can look back over the past six weeks with seeing it, with averaging double-digit targets, and he's been inside the top 24 in two of six games. But his floor is, it has been pretty high. Sure, but in the playoffs, I mean, I'm not looking for.

So rock solid floor. I need some ceiling. This is the lowest yards per attempt of Tom Brady's career, at least as far back as we can go on our website, which I know his career is probably longer than the amount of years we have there. His career does predate the internet. Yeah. Yeah. So 4.6 yards per attempt has a lot to do with that. So it's just depressing. Can you start Mike Evans? Do you have to start Mike Evans? I'm sorry, that was last game, but this year at 6.2 yards per attempt. But Mike Evans is just one of those players that if you put him out there, you're hoping that the talent wins out, the opportunity wins out, and you hope that it's a shootout because Cincinnati's going to be able to put up points. Evans or Pittman? Oh, Evans. Give me a break. I would be Pittman for sure on that one. Yep. Go ahead. Sure. Wow. Waterbed. How'd your last Pittman waterbed go?

Great. I mean, phenomenal. It was very, very important that I lost that bet because I needed Paris Campbell to do enough to get Owl a win that caused me to get a 101. A roster decision that I am actively facing with me and my son's league is Donovan People's Jones or Mike Evans. And right now, Donovan is in my lineup. What would you do, Andy? I'd play Evans. Okay. Yeah. He is, Andy is happily speaking as someone that has not in his main leagues been struggling with Mike Evans. That's not true. I have been. Have you? Yeah, but I don't, you know, I know it's been a bad run for Mike Evans. But these things over the course of a, you know, a.

a superstar's career even out. And, you know, we saw it last week. He had a 70-yard touchdown pass called back by holding. There's going to be downfield shots. He's not going to miss them all for the rest of the year. I mean, do I have to do this? Oh, no. I mean, you can. Do I have to do this? I mean, you're the vessel, but I mean, don't. It's speaking to me right now. Mike Evans touchdown guarantee. Oh, man. Oh, no. What just happened? Put it down. Put it down. I mean, you guys. Wow. You guys beck in the spirits and they came. Hey, well, great. I'm glad we did that. Yeah. Now who are you starting? Pittman or Evans? Well, now one of them's getting a touchdown for sure. Well, that's good. Mike Evans will get back into the end zone and break that streak this week. Wow. Which, you know, I did. It's only fair because I did do a touchdown guarantee with Godwin earlier in the year to break his streak. Yeah. I mean, those playing Mike Evans would be like,

surpassing 70 yards also fine i'll take that yes mike evans uh renewed touchdown oh man that's great that's great news i'm so happy to hear that uh but tom brady 20 fancy points one time this year but the options are thin like you go on aaron rogers over brady i assume yeah yeah but that's probably not an option are you playing golf over brady that might be a real decision no man I do think that Zach Wilson starting hurts golf as well. I agree. I agree. You would expect them to play slower? It hurts everybody. Yeah. Man, it's a real bummer. I mean, Mike, it was so much fun. If we hadn't had Zach Wilson elevated above Flacco, I don't think we're worried. I think if Flacco's out there, we're going, all right, though. Yeah, because if it's Joe Flackle, you're getting 40 plus pass attempts. And you know.