Good Vibes / Bad Vibes + League Traditions, Preseason Hype - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/29

You know, it was just everything was so bad last year that maybe this is just neutral and it seems extra positive because you're out of the mucky muck. Yeah, when the house isn't on fire, you know. That's great news. But I actually think things have been not just average, but really positive. And their season's going to go as Trevor Lawrence goes, but he is a sleeper pick to me. The first four matchups, Washington, Indianapolis, the Chargers, Philly for Trevor Lawrence. I think week one, you could come out and have a great start to the season. All right. All right. Well, I am going to transition us into the more negative bad vibes part of this show. And I'm actually going to, it was difficult. There's plenty of options. And this one wasn't as earned as others with play this preseason, but it is reflecting kind of my direction on this player.

which is much different than it was in the beginning of the off season. And I'm going to go with Zach Ertz. Oh, no. I know. No, don't do that. Yeah, Mike, you've got to be so disappointed. He's your favorite. He didn't play in the preseason. He has a calf injury. He exited early on August 4th with that injury. And the more I look at this situation with Zachers, like very, very early in the off season, you had a really strong, clear narrative. with Zach Ertz. You paid him. He was very involved with DeAndre Hopkins absence. And, you know, you're going to need him again because DeAndre Hopkins was suspended for six weeks. So it's kind of like A plus B equals, we'll see more Zach Hertz getting targeted. But having not played this off season, having the team make what I think are two significant target moves in the draft that negatively impact Zach Hertz is.

output, which is you draft the number one tight end in the draft, Tray McBride. You also draft or you trade your draft pick for Hollywood Brown, who is somebody that Kyler knows and is going to soak up some targets. You re-sign A.J. Green. You talk about Ron Dale Moore. You know, there are a lot of reasons why I'm looking at Zekherst, and I even looked at his performances last year once he arrived in Arizona, which were pretty impressive overall. He was on 125 target pace. in that time he only finished one week inside the top five at the position so he was very steady but i don't know if i want to go and invest this kind of late middle round tight-in draft pick when i have upside tight-ins later a david and joku a col comette some of these players that i think can give you burst weeks that are inside the top five

You know, you can definitely do worse than Zach Erz. I just don't know if the trade is worth it, what you could draft to where you're drafting him anymore. And I don't know if you guys agree at all with this take, but I am just fine myself, I've just found myself ignoring Zach Ertz and drafts and just not seeing the upside because I know it's not going to get better once Hopkins comes back. Yeah, I still think he will be very usable for those first six weeks. Maybe the ceiling is not there the way that you're describing it, Andy. And so his draft price is really not my favorite. But I think there is still home leagues where he will fall and be kind of one of the final three tight-ins selected. At that point, I'm okay with it depending on your roster build because you know that he will at least get a few catches. But you're right. But he is an expiring fantasy player. Let me ask you two names. Okay. Both of you guys.

Dallas got it. We've seen him go off the boards. I feel like he feels a little bit more like an upside tight end. Goes almost in the same spot, I guess a round earlier. And then Dawson Knox is basically back to back with him. Jason, we know that there are target opportunities there. You've talked about Beasley's absence. Gabe Davis has a role to step into, but Dawson Knox has to benefit from that. Yeah, he very well could benefit from that. I mean, obviously they brought in superstar O.J. Howard, so you're a little scared. As far as Dallas Goddard, though, I would rather draft Dallas Goddard the round earlier, not just at the same price as Ertz. I think Dallas Goddard has juice, has a good player. Yeah, he's a great player. And there's a lot of fear, you know, because AJ Brown comes in and you go if they don't pass much. Look, this was one of the top 10.

tips and tricks to remember leaving last year. It's all the Titans suck. Okay, so Dallas Goddard and Dawson Nucks, if you're not Travis Kelsey, Mark Andrews, maybe Kyle Pitts this year, then you're going to be bad. And so what I want is I want upside. I want someone that can catch touchdowns, can break a tackle and run. So I would agree with you that the vibes haven't been great for Zach Gertz. And I... find myself looking for the cheaper option in Colquemette, who is younger, more athletic at this point. Yeah. And a target hog, probably even more so than Zekker. I would take the Muth two rounds later. Heck yeah. I think the Mew could. He looked good yesterday. He could stay very luth this year. The Muth is Luth. I mean, he's, he's always Luth. But he's, again, it's a young, I mean, they shouldn't have even been. He's got the youth. He's got the youth.

Nice. Very nice. You know who doesn't have the youth? Who? I'm going to bring up the bad vibes. Oh boy. On the buccaneers led by 45-year-old Tom Brady. You want to poke this bear? I'm not. No, this isn't me calling for anybody's demise. I'm not poking this bear. I'm just sharing how the vibes have been at different camps. And the vibes have not been great around the bucks. It was weird that Tom Brady was gone for 11 days and just. You know, it was this, oh, we all knew this was pre-planned. We just never said anything until the day it happened. Nonsense. And you watch his press conference when he comes back. And he's asked the question because, look, I'm, I'm 45 years old. Yeah, that was a sad press conference. I got a lot of expletive going on. You know, he didn't look, you know, like happy go lucky, Tom Brady that we've been used to over the last 45 years.

And it gets worse. The offensive line vibes are horrific. I mean, they lost Pro Bowl Center Ryan Jensen. They lost left guard Aaron Steney. They've got their backup center. Robert Hainesi just got injured this last game. He walked off so he hopefully is okay. Nick Leverett, who is vying for that guard spot, who came in as the backup, got injured. Tristan Worf's didn't play because of an oblique injury. That's all after they lost Alex Kappa and free agency. And we know from history of Tom Brady when he gets pressure up the middle. Yep. It's over. That's the only time. That is his kryptonite. Superman has the rock. It's the kryptonite. Superman's got his one thing against him.

And Tom Brady has kryptonite. Superman has the rock. Yeah, the, the kryptonite rock. He didn't want to say it tonight again. Yeah, I just said kryptonite. So yeah, he wanted to. The order of operations was very funny. No, that's great. And so now I'm just picturing the rock is his actual like Superman cannot. And, and, and with Tom Brady, it's always been pressure up the middle. And the middle of this offensive line is decimated. You've had Russell Gage missing. Obviously, Mike Evans is back, but he had his hamstring. It's just, it hasn't been smooth sailing for the buck. It hasn't been a normal positive offseason that you're used to seeing for a Tom Brady team. And so I just, I caution, I guess when I am on the clock, I've been looking at Brady where he's going, someone that over the last couple of years I've always had as like my favorite.

late round. If I don't get one of the mobile guys up front, give me Tom Brady where I'm just so confident. Now it's like it's cheaper to get Kirk Cousins who I think is, you know, he might have a better year. Yeah, you have to, you have to make a bet on Julio Jones. Why make that bet? He was released from Tennessee. He was awful. So even if even if you've got Antonio Brown in the back of your mind, like Brown was playing at an elite level. Yes, he was. Whenever he hit the field. Julio has not been himself in a couple years. And, you know, what's in him? Is it an AJ Green season? I mean, one preseason catch from Julio Jones does not make me confident. And then you've got changes with the stability, not having Bruce Ariens, who is the offensive mind. You know, they may have all these pieces there to keep it stable, but Bruce Ariens is still a driver of that ship. There are some questions. Let's put it that way where, like, someday we'll be right. I mean, someday he will.

He will not be the same player or he'll retire before he isn't. All right, my bad vibes. We're pouring it on here, but it's because this guy has not gotten it together. Not smooth. Very flat. Kenny Colliday of the New York Giants. We're never playing the other drop. What in the freaking world? Candy Galladay of, like, you left last season of There was at least a little part of me that was willing to throw that season in the garbage of the management for the team, Joe Judge, Jason Garrett, like a preseason injury to Kenny Galladay. I was willing at the end to kind of overlook those things and say maybe he can bounce back and have value, not be elite, but have value and try and sort of return on this contract that the Giants gave him.

I don't think that he's going to. Over the preseason, we have 51 snaps. 51 snaps for Kenny Gallaudet that has turned into one reception for six yards. 51 snaps, one reception. This is an absolute catastrophe. Kenny Galladay has completely plummeted. This is the definition of bad vibes. Like this, these are like not just tremors. These are not mild vibrations for Kenny Galladay. This is like bridge destroying. Yeah, the Richter scale is all over. Yes. We're done. We are done here with Kenny Galladay. Yeah, we always say, you know, no one is off the draft board. It just depends on where the value is. And I would take him if I was in a 45 round draft.

And once I start not knowing the names of players. So let's try to turn it positive, Jason. Okay. If Kenny Gulliday is done. Like if you're going to bury him finished. Yep. Not worth, I mean, clearly, in all those snaps, nobody wanted to throw him the ball. He was not in practice. He can't get open. What does that mean for the, I mean, someone has to catch the ball. Sterling Shepard has the Achilles injury. Yeah. This is a two-man show with Cadarius Tony and Juan Nile Robinson. Cadarious Tony might be ready. They lost Colin Johnson, too. Like, who was a promising young player to an ACL? I have, I have certainly started, like, this is good, good vibes, bad vibes. And the bad vibes to me are, they go a little bit beyond. Can he go all day? Like, early in the offseason, there was a lot of excitement. I've been a fan of Cadarious Tony, but.

He has not been able to stay on the field. He's currently not healthy. They're not sure he's ready of week one, so it's hard to draft him. Wondale, I think, is a really, really good player. He's starting as the slot-wide receiver, so that's great. But outside of that, everything's kind of gone poorly, it's not, you know. I got something for you. Daniel Jones hasn't looked great. Kenny Gallaudet hasn't looked great. Cadarius Tony's been injured. And I've started to question the whole Brian Dable narrative where it's like, oh, he is. You know, he's going to bring his system over. But I was looking at his, you know, deeper in his history. I just, I'm going to read you his history as an offensive coordinator passing, passing yardage ranks. Oh, wow. 32nd, 29th, 23rd, 32nd, 31st, still has a job.

26th. Wait for it. What seems are these? Well, this was for Cleveland, Miami, Kansas City, and Buffalo. So somehow kept getting those jobs. And then third and ninth. So maybe Dable was the change, or maybe it was Josh Allen. Yeah. Isn't that always the, uh, right? Maybe it was Ken Wisenhunt. Maybe it was Kurt Warner. Right. I'm sure the Adam Gase was just so good. as a coordinator when he had Peyton Manning. Is there any chance? That's interesting. Is there any chance that this turns into way more receptions for Sequin Barclay? Sure. I mean, he's going to be on the field. And we know vacated targets often go to the running back position. And that's the biggest issue with me with Sequin, aside from bad luck with the health, has been Daniel Jones when we have seen them in a small sample. He's not checking it down to Sequan the way that Eli Manning did.

And but if no one else on the field can actually catch the ball other than Wondale and everyone else, you know, Gawaday's toast, Tony just can't stay healthy. Darius Slayton? I feel like they want to trade him. He's the only guy that has shown a rapport with Daniel Jones at all in the last handful of years. Asked if Kennedy's roster spot is in question. Instead of shutting that down, Brian Dable said all those receivers are competing. Joe and I will sit. sit back and talk about everything he did come out afterwards and clarify that he is not in consideration for being cut yeah you because you can't yeah literally his dead cap is he should have been like do you know what that would cost us i wish he's got he's on the roster he's got a really big roll wink wink um get healthy cadarius you have an opportunity here yes you do uh wondale well very talented is not be kind of he's not a backbone wide receiver right he's not an outside

target that's going to, you know, he's going to be part of a system, not somebody you can lean on it at 5 foot 8. Kenny Gallaudet's dead cap this year would be $31 million. I mean, he's not getting cut. 31 million to get him out of your presence. Do you have, what's he being paid this year? Uh, right now his base salary is 13 million. His cap hit is 21 million. His dead cap is 31 million. Did he score it at all last year? Has he ever scored? He scored as much as Brooks last year. Okay. Not a lot. Oh, man. Get bodied. Zero. Zero touchdowns. How much was this contract? Total value, 70-something? It was a lot. For zero touchdowns? Yeah. I mean, that's what you call a bad decision. Four years, 72 million. That was the off season where no wide receivers of any kind got money. Will Fuller settled for a one-year deal. Nobody else got paid.

There was the Nelson Aguilar got paid. I was going to say, how dare you? Nelson Aguilar got a huge bag. But like you were expecting, you know, Kenny got his money. I mean, Waller might want to, who represents Kenny Gallaudet? Right. Waller might want to look into that. Yeah, maybe. Well, Kenny Gallaudet was going to come in and fix Daniel Jones. But now it's going to be Brian Davel that fixes Daniel Jones. Don't worry, guys. Oh, man. All right. So the vibes are not good for Kenny G. No, no. Viking funeral. Yeah. Giant funeral. Oh, yeah, yeah. I mean, that's the hard part is it's like you want to, you want to see some optimism for these teams that have struggled on offense. Yes. I mean, we're talking about a lot of them today. You know, Jacksonville. It's been a struggle. The Giants. It's been, you know, every other team that division has won it a bunch of times in the last 10 years. The Giants can't do it. It's tough. It's tough to climb out. The Chicago Bears, that offense. You see some optimism in the preseason. It's the preseason.

So got to temper those expectations. This is just a minor good vibration because even like Andy, as you're giving the, you know, the Chicago Bears one, this one you also have to like, I'm a little nervous sharing this. It's all right. Safe space, Mike. Do you guys know who the number one graded passer from Pro Football Focus is over the preseason? I do not. Number one graded. passer in the preseason. Yeah. Is it Desmond Ritter? No, it's the starter for that team. Marcus Marriota. Okay. Is the currently the high, and it's done, because preseason is over, the highest graded passer of the preseason. Small sample, because he only threw the ball 12 times. But how funny. He looked pretty good. He looked healthy. He was moving around. He has some of that.

The cheat code with the legs. And the cheat code with Kyle Pitts. That's really where it goes to me is if Marcus Marriota is going to, I don't need her to be great. I just need her to be competent. If he's actually going to be competent, then Kyle Pitts feels way safer at that third round draft cost. The preseason story for Pitts is why I like taking him, which is. Everything can be bad for three and a half quarters, but Kyle Pitts is one of the only tight ends in football that can catch a 52-yard pass across the middle. So good. You know, that's never going to happen with Zach Kurt. Zackertz needs to pile up five catches to get the fantasy points that Pitts gets on one catch. Yeah, and also from the preseason, he's lined up.

almost he's a wide receiver. He's playing wide receiver. I don't know when his contract comes up for renegotiation, this is going to be a Jimmy Graham problem where they're going to say he's a tight end and he's going to say, I'm a wide receiver and he's right because he's a wide receiver and you get to play him at tight end. So I am, I don't have any problem drafting Kyle Pitts where he's going anymore. I mean, it's just he's unstoppable. When you say, when you talked about the preseason story for him, I thought the story was going to be. She's enormous. His story is just, look at that dude. Well, and they'll have red zone opportunities there. And we know Matt Ryan really, really struggled in the red zone. You know, he struggled last year to get the ball to Kyle Pitts. He only had one touchdown. If Pitts scores like a median amount of touchdowns based on his targets last year, he would have been the, you know, this would have been a game breaking rookie season. So.

I took him in our family league in the third round, like a wild man, because I wanted him on the roster. I don't mind it. So lots to look forward to there. ironic talking about, like you said, a bunch of these negative offensive situations that maybe have some fruit. I mean, Cordero, in the midst of a rough season, had value there. Yes, he did. So any other vibes, Kyle, do you have anything that came to mind for you? Desmond and Ritters look good, too. I'm proud of the Falcons, but. I don't want to be mediocre. You want to be bad. You need that draft. You want the draft capital? Okay. Anybody else that you guys wanted to bring up or? I definitely want to echo the sentence that has been said twice, which the passing game for the Saints and James Winston. Yeah. I do. I think he's going to be able to move this offense very easily. Chris Oliva and Landry and Michael Thomas and Alvin Camara. He's going to.

I think the Saints' offense will be very good. And their defense will be good. All right. That is going to do it for today's episode of the podcast. Make sure you're ready for your drafts this weekend. It's going to be fun. Ours is Friday night. Check out the Ultimate DraftKit at Ultimate DraftKit.com. We'll see you tomorrow. Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on join thefoot.com. And follow us on Twitter at the FF ballers.