Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - AFC South Breakdown, News, Mailbag

What's the story? I feel like we haven't talked very much Jets and Gino Smith because he's kind of a whipping boy and laughing stock because he's not been very good after his draft fall. So many interceptions. He fell to the second. But he's not been in a quarterback friendly system. He hasn't really been given the weapons to succeed. And in his final four games last year, he completed 65% of passes.

touchdowns to two interceptions. I mean, that's a fantastic ratio. Now you have Decker can move back to his real role of being a wide receiver too. And you throw in Brandon Marshall. Jason Marl, well, they're not really predicting huge things, but he's still a solid player. He's now, he's getting weapons. And now he's got an offensive system that he should be able to thrive in far more than what he's been playing in.

I've actually been targeting Brandon Marshall on a lot of MFL tens and mock drafts because he's just so far down the ADP list right now. And, you know, maybe Jason's right. Maybe he's just what he was in Miami. But even that, I mean, that was still good. That's what I was going to say. He's going to be the number one target for Gino Smith, who can throw the ball. And Marshall pretty much catches what's around him. I mean, guys probably soured on him after last year. But that was a lot of injury and a lot of upheaval in.

I mean, they were just a terrible offense last year in Chicago. So other better news, if you are getting ready to play some fan duel in the upcoming season, don't forget to use the promo code ballers when you sign up if you want free money. Dollars. I would skip the code if you don't want free money. But if you do want up to $200 free dollars, go ahead and use the code ballers when you sign up for a funeral. It helps the show. Come on, Footplan. We need some help.

Also, FantasydraftWizard.com. We mention it every show during the offseason. If you're mock drafting because it's free, you can go on there, grab a different draft position, do PPR, do regular drafts. We used it on the live PPR mock draft show on Tuesday. So check it out. FantasyDraftWizard.com. I got one other piece of news. Oh, let's hear it. This is an audible. This is Foot Clan related. Oh. And we obviously, we get a lot of questions.

from all you listeners out there. And we want to do our best to answer them. So we answer them on the show. We answer them on email. We answer them on Twitter. And we're adding a new dimension to that. A closer dimension. That's called YouTube. So we're actually answering listener questions on YouTube. We have a few of them up there now. Mike and I and Jason are going to be just going through the inbox, going through stuff we didn't get to on the show and answering those questions on YouTube. So go on to YouTube.

Search for the fantasy footballers. Subscribe to our channel. And then you'll see those answers coming through there. We're just doing everything we can to get those questions answered and bringing you as much fantasy footballers as we can. I can't get enough personally. Yeah. It's pretty good. I wish there were more hours a day. I put us on a playlist on YouTube and that's what I sleep. That's my job, Mike. Yeah, I know. Let's get divisional. You like that drop?

You know what? A lot of people don't know this. I'm just going to say it right now. Shout out to the fantasy hitman. Shout out to the fantasy hitman because he makes all our drops. And when I say makes our drops, he doesn't just like mix music he finds on the internet. No, no, no. He is a musician. He actually does that music. Thank you. Thank you, fellas. I appreciate it. Pretty good stuff. So today we're getting divisional. We're going through the AFC South.

Everyone's favorite division. You know what's so funny? I really want to talk about this division. It's fun to talk about, but I mean, it's not the strongest. I would just put it that way. Yeah, you're right. I want to talk about... I want to talk about two teams. Colts and... Too bad we have to talk forward. I think... Yeah. I think two teams make the playoffs out of this division. Wow. That's crazy. I'm going right now and saying the Houston Texans do not make it. Houston Texans make the playoffs. No, that... Yeah, let's do it.

Water bet. We're starting with the Houston Texans talking fantasy football. What just happened? Changes. Yeah, we just made a bet that the Houston Texans are making the playoffs, which I believe you bet me last year, Mike. I bet you, no, I bet you two years ago when everyone said they were going to win the Super Bowl, and I called them not making the playoffs. Just get ready. Just get ready. Houston Texans, they were a great rushing offense last year. It's one of the reasons Arian Foster is my number one running back this year. They were fifth in the league last year on the ground.

No competition for Arian Foster out of that backfield, so that's why I like him. On offense, though, they were not a good passing team, 24th in the league. Still concerns about that again this year. They lose Andre Johnson. Ryan Fitzpatrick is also gone. They added Jalen Strong in the third round of the NFL draft, and they added Brian Hoyer and Cecil Shorts to the team. Subtraction by addition.

Hmm, yeah, that's correct. Is that Brian Hoyer's hashtag subtraction by edition? Oh, man. Oh, it's so brutal if it wasn't true. Ryan Mallet for president. Give me your impressions, fantasy impressions from the Houston Texans, the future playoff.

team. Playoffs. And part of the reason, by the way, is because of those other two teams in this division. But yeah, and that does make sense. There are some wins to be had in this division. Weren't they right on the wild? Yeah. They were in the wild. They were close to it. Here's why I think that they actually don't get it. Because I love the Houston Texans. I enjoy watching them. I like their defense. Who doesn't love J.J. Watt? However, I think that they have a serious problem in a downgraded quarterback this year. And I actually think it.

hurts a lot of the guys that we love. I think it hurts Arian Foster. I think it hurts DeAndre Hopkins. I went up and I looked at the games last year. I personally think Ryan Fitzpatrick is a good quarterback. I second that motion. I mean, he's not a world beater. You know, he's not going to.

take you to the Super Bowl, but he is a serviceable good quarterback. And by the way, I think he plays more games this year than Gino Smith, but that's besides the point for the Jets. Last year when Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't play. Okay, so DeAndre Hopkins has his breakout year, right? He averaged, I think it was like 15.8 yards per catch. He was a beast. He had three games, three games all year where he average under like seven yards per catch.

They were all without Fitzpatrick. And there were three games. The reason we like Fitzpatrick is if you're going to have a mediocre quarterback, you want one that's going to just throw it down the field. Yes. That's pretty much his story. If he wasn't mediocre in actual football, he wouldn't have bounced around so many times. And so I think that with the quarterback regressing, I think DeAndre Hopkins stepped forward. Look at it this way too, right? Nobody's really talking about the fact that, you know, Andre Johnson left this team.

You know, everyone's talking about Andre Johnson joining the Colts, but that is, they were, he was their number one target. You know, DeAndre Hopkins wasn't the number one. He might have had the most yards because he had that long yards per catch. But Andre Johnson was your number one target, your number one reception receiver last year. They lost him and they lost their starting quarterback. I think that's going to be hard to just ignore. And I think teams can focus a little more on the run. I don't think it matters because Aaron Foster's amazing. But I do think there is some regression there and from fantasy.

Yeah, I mean, it's hard for me to argue with going from Fitzpatrick to Hoyer and Mallet as, you know, if anything, it's going to be a wash. Right. Best case. But let me ask this question to you, Mike. Cecil Shorts or Jalen Strong? Who do you think has the better fantasy year? Cecil Shorts. Okay. They'll probably all be on the field. Yeah. Shorts could be one of those sneaky guys. He really hasn't done anything since 2012.

But an interesting stat of I just pooh-poohed Brian Hoyer. But did you know, or did you remember, the Browns started 6 and 3. And they were, and two of those losses, which were divisional games, were just a couple points. So they were a few points away from being 8 and 1 with Brian Hoyer. That's why I like Houston. Not because I think they have a good quarterback, but because I think the recipe for success is identical.

for Houston as it was for Cleveland last year, except for you got, I think, a better running game with Arian Foster and Houston. You got a better defense in Houston. I can agree with all of that, but if we are agreeing with that, that cannot speak that well for DeAndre Hopkins. And I've been all about DeAndre Hopkins. I love, he is so talented. And so he's coming into his third year. You expect that.

a step forward. But if the team starts focusing more on that run, which you have to do if you have Brian Hoyer as your quarterback. Yeah, but did that matter for Josh Gordon? I mean, if you're a supreme talent, you're getting all the targets. Was Josh Gordon really the Brian Hoyer years? No. No, what? That's not my point. My point is that that matters. No, no. My point is that Josh Gordon was successful on a team whose recipe was conservative, offensive football in a running game.

And he was a monster. He was the number one wide receiver. Hopkins is a super, you know. He is a star. He's a star. Now with Hopkins, you're talking, where did you go? Hopkins had 127 targets. Andre Johnson leaves. That's 147 targets last year. Whole that needs to be filled. And if you're going to fill those targets to a bulk of them to Hopkins, he's just going to be a, he will de facto into being great. He is my number eight in.

standard leagues and he is mike's number 13 in standard leagues as of a few days ago and he is my number nine nope 11 sorry well that's uh that's why i'd receive a one range for sure let's uh any closing thoughts yeah the one the one last thought i had was i've kind of been trying to point people to this on twitter whenever they they show me a draft with foster handcuff with blue

But Brian Tesh talked about it a little bit. They signed Chris Polk, and Polk had some success in Philadelphia, and it wouldn't surprise me. This is one of the training camp things that people need to watch if Chris Polk ascends the depth chart and actually becomes the handcuff to Foster. Because as much as we love Foster, handcuffing him is a preferable thing to do. I think Jason and I talked about this off air a little bit. I thought Polk was the guy that would ascend to that role. He thought Blue would.

would do it. So I am curious to see who comes out in the role. Polk is Bernard Pierce to me. He is someone that gets some good things said about him from time to time, but he's not. Well, either is blue. All right. Let's move on now. We can't spend all day, although we probably should spend more time on that team than some of the others. The Indianapolis Colts bring you the law firm of Dorset, Moncrief, Hilton, and Johnson. Nice. Put those guys in order.

Mike. Say it again. Hilton, Johnson, Moncrief. Did you say Dorset? Correct. Yeah, that's how I'm going. Jason? I would go, I would go Hilton, barely. Andre Johnson, Dorset, Moncrief. Dorset finishes the year ahead of Moncrief. I go Johnson, Hilton, Dorset, Moncrief. Ooh. That's interesting. T. Y. Hilton, man. T. T. Y. Hilton is.

Not going to be on any of my teams this year. I can promise you that right now. No disrespect to T.O. Hilton, the player. He changes the game for the Colts. He's a great player, and he had seven touchdowns last year, and I believe two or three multi-touchdown games. So that is just not the kind of consistency I want to see out of my wide receiver one. That's my problem. So, but Andre, too. Andre Johnson is a- He's not a touchdown monster. Right.

I know. That's where he's getting to. Yeah, but I think he has the potential to put up nine or ten with Andrew Luck. I think he also has the potential to get near 100 catches, Andre Johnson this year. Yeah, that's possible. Did you have him stat it out, Jason? Do you have Andre Johnson statted out yet? I believe I do. Let me see. I'm curious where you have him compared to me because I have Andre Johnson at 16, so just outside of wide receiver one. You guys are both extremely high of Johnson. Yep. Yeah, I have Andre Johnson with 101 catches.

And nine touchdowns. Now, when I was going through it, I'm not nearly as high on Johnson as you guys, although I completely understand what the argument of the potential, because I believe what you would say is, look at what Reggie Wayne did. Is that kind of part of. And look at what Andre Johnson has done his entire career with nobody ever throwing him the ball. Right, but he's a good bit older now. Yeah, yeah.

But Reggie Wayne in 2012, 195 targets, 2013, only played the seven games, but extrapolated was 132 targets, 116 last year. So there's been a big decline for that position. So I'm just not sure that you put Andre Johnson in that that number magically inflates again. Well, this is a team that was the number one passing offense last year, the number three offense overall.