Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Starts of the Week, Week 3 Matchups, Debate

I have Kristen Michael much higher than Thomas Rawls this week. I believe all three of us do. I actually have Kristen Michael having a pretty decent game. I think the game flow in San Francisco, the way I'm predicting that game is for Seattle to get ahead and then be able to run the ball. I think that Christa Michael is an okay flex play as it is right now. If Thomas Rawls is marked out, Kristen Michael moves way up and becomes a guy that I'm starting him.

All right, tight-ins we need to monitor a few injuries, including Antonio Gates, a hamstring injury, now uncertain for week three. Austin Hooper would take over and could be a... No, no, no, Hunter Henry. Oh, yeah, I'm sorry, I went to... Different team. I went to Atlanta's rookie. Yes. Hunter Henry would take over. Could be a shot in the dark, a sneaky start. Yeah, I agree with that. Eric Eber did not practice after playing 71 of 74 snaps last week.

Might just be a rest day. Need to pay attention to the Thursday practice report on Ebrun. Delaney Walker did not practice due to a hamstring injury, but he seemed to be fine. So again, just pay attention. These are the guys that if they suddenly didn't play, you might need to grab a Hunter Henry or a pitta or a barnage if he was dropped or something like that. All right. When asked about Jamal Charles, Andy Reid said he needs another week before he gets back. So I think he may.

He may get on the field, but it's looking more like it'll be another week. It was also reported that he is desperate to get on the field. Chomping at the bit was the quote to get back on the field. So I am buying Jamal Charles. Yeah? I am buying him. I made some trade offers this morning for him. I am willing to endure a few low weeks of Jamal Charles if that solidifies my running back one-two situation down the line.

Now, it might be something where a 2-0 team wants to do that more than an 0-and-2 team does. But just my own personal opinion. Jonathan Stewart News, he could be out two weeks, three weeks, four weeks? The ever, the cremudgeon that is Ron Rivera, who cannot handle a single question from the media. I mean, any more. He seems so grumpy. He answered in very broad terms. He went.

Count Dracula or who was... No, no, I know what you're saying. One? Yeah, the count from Sesame Street. Three? Three weeks. Yes. So Cameron Artis Payne is supposed to be the feature back against the Vikings. Not exciting this week when you have Fossey mixed with Artis Payne and Tolbert against the Vikings. It's not a good matchup, but I went back and looked at what happened last year when Jonathan Stewart went out because...

What is very similar to what's happening this time, right? Before when Jonathan Stewart was playing, Cameron Artis Payne oftentimes wasn't even active. He wasn't even on the startable roster for the games. And so when Jonathan Stewart went out, other guys obviously took over. But the following week when Cameron Artis Payne was active and in, he was the clear lead back. Both games that he was basically the starter. He had 14 carries in each game. Fosie Whitaker in those games, I believe average.

averaged two carries. Tolbert was involved. Now, because Fossey had a great game this last week, he might be a little bit more involved, but I agree with this report. I think that Cameron Artist Payne is going to be the lead back there, and then I would probably play Tolber over Fosie, and I know Fossey was a big, a lot of people spent money on him. So, you know, it's not a good matchup against the Vikings. So for this week at least,

I'm not sure you're really excited, but if Cameron Artis Payne is possibly still out there or is purchasable on the cheap because of a bad matchup and you need someone for week two and three, then look for cap. Jim Caldwell said rookie running back, Dwayne Washington's role will expand after the Amir Abdullah injury. This is something to monitor. I mean, he has upside because he's a rookie and he's taking over possibly an early down role in Detroit. The beauty of the unknown.

Yeah, I mean, yesterday I did decide between Ozziata and Dwayne Washington, and I chose Ozziata. I felt like I chose Ozziata at the end of the day. I mean, that's kind of how I ended up feeling like, well, I got this guy. And the truth is, he might be the more productive back. We don't know yet. But.

If Washington's out there and you have a spot on your bench to burn, I would consider grabbing him. Yes, yes, yes. Pick him up. Sammy Watkins will be shadowed by Tyrant, or I'm sorry, by Patrick Peterson. In addition, in addition to him being shadowed by Patrick Peterson, Sammy Watkins was not at the start of practice today on Thursday. So that's not completely unexpected because he needs every second of rest he can get. But it's indicative of the fact that this is not a healthy man.

And then he's going to have Patrick Peterson draped all over him. I believe I have Sammy Watkins like 40 or 50 in my wide receiver rankings. So I say, can you play Watkins this week with any kind of confidence? No, no way. No, no. And then Brandon Marshall dealing with a foot ailment along with the knee, not practicing on Thursday. You must monitor him. If you.

Have a spot for Quincy and Noon on your bench. He could be a guy you just roll in if Marshall's out. Yep. But he's banged up too. So you might have a better option already like a Will Fuller or somebody like that. So let's go ahead and jump into the matchups. Fantasy forecast. Let's start with the Thursday night game. The what? Jacoby brisket. Or not brisket. Brisket. He's delicious. Brissette. Brissette. Brissette.

Well, look. So do we call him Jacoby Beef Brissette? Oh. I think we call him one week starter, Jacobi Brissette. Maybe too. Maybe too. Is it Brissette or Brisset? Isn't, and that's the exact question that gets asked the first time you talk about a player. That's what Bill Belichick is asking, too. All right, the Texans take on the Patriots tonight.

You have Brock Osweiler against the rookie. You have Lamar Miller, who we should talk about briefly, because I brought this up yesterday. Jason is not disappointed in Lamar Miller. I understand that. He's had plenty of carry, so I'm not really disappointed in him, but I'm also not excited about what I've seen yet. He's only ran for 3.6 a carry on the season, and I know we can kind of veil that in the volume numbers, but...

That is exactly what we said in the beginning of this season, or at least I said about Lamar Miller, which was when the volume goes up, that magical efficiency is going to go down. He says he thinks he's close to breaking a big one. But what running back doesn't say that. I will say I know that on pro football focus.

The Texans are graded out as the worst run blocking line in the league right now. So it's not all just Lamar Miller, but you can throw some blame on him. He's rated very highly for me this week. When you have volume like that, it's great. He hasn't scored yet. That's part of the problem. If you have a guy who hasn't scored a touchdown and is so far not running efficiently, who has in his career ran efficiently, who's still putting up, you know, double-digit fantasy point weeks, week after week and is.

going to continue getting that workload. That's why I say, I love Lamar Miller. He's as safe as it gets, and you still have the upside you haven't even seen yet. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. And he's kind of, you know, when you look at that top tier of guys that was drafted, David Johnson's delivering on that so far. For sure. And then obviously you had like, I think Zeke is. Gurley isn't. Zeke is delivering. He's been okay. Zeke has been okay. Okay. Yeah. And Lamar Miller's been okay. But I would still put Lamar Miller in the category of like,

aside from C.J. Anderson and David Johnson, I don't know if there's anybody I want more than Lamar Miller. Exactly. So DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, what do you expect out of those two guys tonight going against the secondary in New England? I expect. Are they both start worthy guys? Yes. Yeah, I would start. I mean, Hopkins is one. You start him every single week. And I think Fuller is, man, I have Fuller as a two. But I don't, that's, that's tough. I think he's more of a flex guy still.

I believe he's a guy you want to have in your lineup. And we bypassed. LaGarrette Blunt is a must start for me. Until Tom Brady gets back, they are feeding the beast. Well, Garrett Blunt's carries have been through the roof. And he's getting it done. And let's see. Last week, he was, what, 29 carries? Yeah, I'll take it. But the game, you know, I predicted him for a high carry game tonight with low efficiency. Houston, what are they going to do?

They're going to stop Legerick Blunt. I mean, you have a rookie quarterback. They're going to bring pressure, and they're going, you know, they have the defensive front to stop Blunt. I'm not excited about him tonight. I'm not.

Yeah, that's exactly how I started him out. A lot of volume, very little efficiency. He ended up as the 22nd running back on my rankings, which is... That's a must start guy, though. The Texans are the third best past the 12-bust run D this year. They're a very, very good defense. Yeah, this should be a low-scoring game. Now, last Thursday, we had a game that should be a very low-scoring game, and we saw it just blown out of the water as far as, you know, points being thrown up on the clock. Right, as you would say.

Somebody, by the way, requested a snack count shirt. Oh, I love it. After we got to the snack count. By the way, the shop is back up. I mean, it was down for a few days. We were finding a better shirt partner.

Shotballers is back up and we actually have the stickers on there now in the mugs. Yeah, very nice. Pretty cool. Stat nugget from the game, the New England Patriots defense has not allowed a pass completion for 40 or more yards this season, which is first in the league. I think that breaks. Well, that's what you're saying. Something's got to give with Will Fuller's potential to run by people. And Hopkins. I'm sure. I'm calling this as a break. Okay, here's another game stat. The last two times that the Patriots have played at home as the underdog.

They have won and averaged a pretty good margin of victory. What's the line? The Texas are favored by a point. Does that break? I just don't see how the... No, the Patriots are going to win. I'm taking them to win. I'm taking them to win. I'm taking the Patriots. Yeah. All right. Yeah, it's hard to go against Uncle Bill. Billy B finds a way to get it done. All right. Before we get to the next game, we want to remind everybody about, you know, you've heard of...

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