Welcome to the latest episode of the Fantasy Life Podcast, where your favorite hosts, Cooterdoodle and Chris Allen, dive deep into this week’s most thrilling NFL matchups.
This episode is a treasure trove for fantasy football enthusiasts and sports bettors alike!
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🌟 Featured Matchup: DAL @ MIA – Witness our in-depth analysis of the Cowboys vs. Dolphins. We’re talking betting lines, player performance, and answering the big question: Who will triumph in this clash of titans?
⚡ Key Highlights:
🤔 Dak’s home/road splits: Should they influence your fantasy football decisions?
🔍 Dallas’s Reliable Players: CeeDee Lamb and Tony Pollard under the spotlight.
🐬 Miami’s Dynamic Duo: Why Hill and Waddle are the only names you need to know.
🏈 Plus, insights into the Cardinals vs. Bears, Colts vs. Falcons, and Jaguars vs. Buccaneers matchups.
💥 Burning Questions Answered:
– Is Trevor Lawrence overrated, or is he still a top-tier QB prospect?
– Baker Mayfield’s resurgence: Fact or fantasy?
– Justin Fields in 2024: Where will he land?
🎲 Our Picks: Who’s winning each game? Cooterdoodle and Chris Allen don’t always agree – find out their predictions!
Whether you’re a fantasy football guru or just love the thrill of the game, this episode is packed with analysis, humor, and expert opinions you won’t want to miss. Subscribe for more weekly NFL insights, and hit that Like button if you enjoy our discussions!
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TIMESTAMPS
0:00 – Intro
1:07 – DAL @ MIA – MATCHUP OF THE WEEK
18:52 – ARI @ CHI
30:02 – IND @ ATL
40:54 – JAX @ TB
All right guys welcome into the Fantasy Life podcast and today we’re talking matchups it’s me CA doodle and we have the very own Chris Allen joining us in and I got to say I was going to say we don’t have a special guest but I kind of
Feel like in the air there’s like the ghost of all the fantasy teams that didn’t make it right yeah that has to be the guest uh either that or whatever pathogen is coursing through my body at the moment like that is the special guest yeah Chris is on his on his flu
Game today yeah this definitely on my flu game today like you can hear it in my voice uh I was telling you before the show I was told I sounded like Morgan Freeman uh earlier today uh which uh that was actually something of a compliment that made me feel better uh
But either either way uh I mean we get paid to talk about fantasy football so I mean you have to power through these types of things so this is awesome so let’s let’s get into these matchups like what we got on tap oh the best one to go
First we got Dallas at Miami and this week dolphins are only onepoint favorites over the cowbo boys imply total of 49.5 which is the highest of the week my most favorite game I don’t know about you Chris um when we talk about G like teams that can score teams
That can fantasy-wise bring your teams to maybe the championship these are going to be players that you’re G to be talking about so first I want to go with Dak Prescott let’s just talk about him a little bit there’s you know home splits away are we worried about that is there
Anything we should be thinking about when we’re starting him so I was diving into that like when researching this game because I know a number of folks had talked about like these home road splits coming into last week’s game and of course they get blown out by the
Bills who had like to give credit to them they had just like an excellent game plan in terms of running the football right into like the teeth of their defense just rolling right by uh Michael Parsons I mean that is the way that you attack it I think the Eagles
Had shown that they could do that uh the week beforehand DeAndre Swift had actually posted his third highest rushing success rate uh against the Cowboys uh just the week prior Kenneth gain will actually at 100% success rate so that means for every Rush that Kenneth gainwell actually attempted he
Was generating a positive play by EPA measures like on every single Rush that he attempted against the Cowboys so the bill saw that they replicated it as a result we saw James Cook do what he did but that Home Road split like for Dak I mean let let’s think about this for a
Second I mean like all all things like have to have like a reason behind them like we can’t just say like oh well just because a guy’s not at his home stadium that can’t be the only reason why like he is not he is or isn’t playing like up
To his like standards and let’s think about like the the the defenses or players that he’s played against or Dak has played against when he’s on the road uh at the time when they were healthy like he played against the Eagles the first time like on the road and then he
Didn’t play as well played against the 49ers like on the on the road uh the defensive coordinators that he played against uh he played against like Shawn mcder just this past week Brandon Staley yes Brandon Staley at times like if you give him the enough time and like the
Right game plan he can come out with against a good team with the right game plan to neutralize most of their offense also kind of helps that he also had you know Kell Moore uh as well in order to like orchestrate some of that so it’s
Just like the defenses and the unit oh and also Jonathan Ganon like who again coming over from like the eagles like down to Arizona they also put up like a fairly good game to neutralize a lot of what the Cowboys were doing so it’s just like when you look at those matchups and
You see the units or you see the coordinators that he or coaching units that he was going up against you can see why some of those things like started to happen it’s not just the fact that they’re not playing in Jerry’s World we’re here in the here we go you know
Every you know every other play like that sort of thing so I can get why his passing success rate drops from like 54% like down to 42% like his EPA drops from like 0.29 which is like up there with like the patch M Holmes the Josh all of
The world world all the way down to 0.01 fantasy points per game definitely like goes in the tank like 25 per game at home versus like 14 like on the road so it’s just like home road splits I think is is fine to say but it becomes
Something of a uh it becomes like an easy narrative before just saying okay well it’s not just home road splits it’s also going up against good defensive coordinators which in this case going up against VI fangio and the Miami Dolphins like he also has a tough test in week
16 so you’re saying it doesn’t just have to do with like if they’re wearing the same underwear from the week before that’s disgusting like I don’t know isn’t mes the guy yeah momes does that and I was just like when I heard that brother like you don’t have to admit
That out loud like you’re getting paid so much money let’s bring let’s bring secrets back in 2024 you know what I mean yeah like I know it’s like I know like we we try and like we we want to be open we want to like try and you know
Like use like are even our own platforms as like almost like maybe a mode of therapy we don’t have to do all that like I I don’t I think that’s a bit too much I would agree but you know who I think hasn’t been changing his underwear
Is cidd lamb I want to talk a little bit about this Dallas offense did you like that segue by the way that was a smooth right smooth so let’s talk about Dallas because CD lamb since November 12th so the last six games he’s caught a touchdown in all but one right and then
Six games on the season he’s had 100 plus yards so I feel like he’s the guy this year at least this season we talked last week about him maybe even being like a um fantasy MVP right are we having any doubts this week with CD lamb
At all not not not at all uh just from a a volum metric standpoint that CD lamb has been like the main target getter from Dak Prescott I think what was the stat I think we were talking about the Dallas game like last week like C Lam
Had like 10 like 10 catches not 10 Targets in what like five of his last seven games or something along those lines I think the stat was some from a volume standpoint yes like he should be like locked and loaded in your light up like no problem and I know that going up
Against like Jaylen Ramsay and the the Miami defense and all that like poses something of an issue but we have seen like uh like other teams like actually try and force the ball like to their wide receiver ones uh Patrick Mahomes did it like that’s when we saw like
Rashi rice I think pop up for a fairly solid game like when they played the Dolphins that was with uh Ramsay like uh I think it was his second game back I want to say that was around week nine but the Dolphins defense is one that actually does shut down the middle of
The field so actually Patrick Mahomes passed to the perimeter or outside of the numbers on 40% of his passes which is about like 10 to 12 percentage points down from his seasonal average just around like 52 53% so if Dak has to pretty much like tap into his 2022 self
Like fitting uh balls into like Tight Windows like being that aggressive type deck that we liked it was like a double-edged sword right like we liked it when he was doing that liked when he was being aggressive but then that’s when the errant throws would turn into interceptions that might be what it
Takes in order to get by this Miami Miami Dolphins defense so from cidi Lamb’s perspective I think he should be like he should be absolutely fine uh we’ve seen in previous games I think it was in the first matchup against the Eagles his slot rate actually did tick
Down to around 50% versus the 60-ish percent that he typically averaged like throughout the season so if he’s the one that’s moving outside uh actually challenging either Jaylen Ramsey or Eli Apple uh for for targets I mean I think that does set up for him to have at least a decent day
From a from a volume standpoint then if he can hit an explosive because we know Dak is going to want to Target him as much as possible it’s going to be him maybe Brandon Cooks for for an explosive here and there and Jake Ferguson those would be the only real pass catchers
Like from Dallas I’m really into to trust in week 16 yeah and kind of moving towards you know rushing we have Tony Pard who I know Miami on the season is ranked ninth against the running back position so that makes me a little wary you look back at his stats and he’s
Around the 50 60 yards on average per game but the touchdowns haven’t really been there do you think he scores this week I know that’s kind of a big question to ask but how comfortable are you starting Tony Pard uh I think Pard he he falls into
The rb1 role and that rb1 tier just for the role like he’s still getting like over 50% of the team’s carries uh like a healthy Target share like 12ish percent if memory serves so I think just from a volume standpoint like he’s the one like
He’s an RB that you you can’t replace if even if you tried to find a guy in a better situation it’s like you can’t really Bank on that type of volume but to your point the Dolphins they haven’t been like all too great in terms of allowing other pass catcher or other
Running backs rather uh to get by them so it’s just I I do have some concerns about like what his upside is going to be like for for this game I can see him just having maybe safe floor comfy yeah that that’s exactly it it’s it’s GNA be
More of the he gets you maybe 10 11 points so let’s say like maybe 50 yards on the ground and then maybe it goes like three for 30 as a as a pass catcher I think that would be probably like a fair like a fair stat line for him but
If they do wind up like I said said uh getting into the Red Zone getting like inside the 10 he is the one that gets most of those carries Rico Dole like he you know he mixes in and out but I think he’s uh been on the injury report like
Throughout like part of this week so if Pard does get all of that role I mean he could have that you know low like you know saish floor like for an RB 2ish like somewhere in there but then if he can like punch it in that’s what we need
From him yeah and so I mean like we said earlier this is the highest scoring total on the week we know that we’ve got guys on that side of the ball and just to kind of talk about fantasy life’s rankings cidd lamb Tyreek Hill Raheem moard and Tony Pard all four of them
With our rankings are top 15 overall so this is a big game fantasy wise um and just to kind of switch over to Miami side of things I mean you have Tyreek Hill it looks like he was practicing today right that was the most recent update hopefully he’s playing and
There’s no injury there but him and waddle do you are you comfortable starting Wadd too even if if Hill’s healthy I mean I feel like after last week it’s hard to sit him that’s exactly it I mean I think the biggest question for me coming into last week was what is
The Dolphins offense going to look like without Tyreek Hill and while I assumed Wadd would be like the wide receiver one for that group it’s how much are the other guys going to factor into the offense like are we going to see Cedric Wilson are we going to see durm Smite
Are we going to see Braxton baros so like insert name here and it was just all jayen Wadd like over a 34% Target share almost 90% of the team’s air yards went to jayen Wadd last week that makes I mean that just like that stat like on
Its own just makes like no sense to me where it’s just like I could I get I understand uh the target portion I understand like absorbing most of Tyreek Hill’s role bumping up like some of his own and the getting to that Target share but the fact that once Tua was able to
Drop back to pass and actually throw downfield the only person that was one capable of getting open to and earn and like and to earn a target from from Tua was Jaylen wad that’s it everything else durm SMI like got a few looks Cedric Wilson I think he had almost a flat like
A flatline absolute zeros across the board like Braxton Barry Go mixed in and you know Rahe moner and Deon Devon hhan also worked in in the passing game like those guys got some targets but it was all short like all short area of the field work so it’s just like to get all
Of that work and be as productive as wal was last week I mean I guess from a narrative standpoint uh I think what two uh not two a Tyreek needs to average over 140 receiving yards per game over his next three in order to break
2K so if they want to push for that and Tyreek is capable of being on the field and like doing all of that then okay cool I can see how like they might want to just try and like you know let’s let’s like you know let’s do what we can
In order to get heal to that point I don’t think that’s the case but still I think if uh like regardless with the way that W played last week how productive he was on the touches he got I mean if you’ve got him you have to start him
This week yeah and look to go to the narrative speak McDaniels is so much fun like he he’s making me a Miami’s fan at this point Miami fan but like did you see the clip where he was on the sideline and there about to have a play
And he’s like I want to make this a oneplay drive one playay drive you know and he’s talking about it and then Wadd goes in you could tell he’s just like yep called it set you know what I mean I feel like he’s such a um he’s got like
The bug of like oh this would be fun that I feel like he might try to get the 2K for Tyreek you know what I mean I I think so I I almost want to say like he dances on that edge of like a little bit
Of fun a little bit of yeah it’s just like you know I know I need him for the playoff run but it’d be really cool if if he broke the 2K it’s like you know and like I don’t think so let’s say like it’s the first
Quarter and Tua throws a bomb and it’s like you know he gets like the fif like you know Tyreek Guild does his like you know his Tyreek Hill thing and does like you know 50 yard touchdown thing and then it’s like the second quarter and you know the game is still competitive
Hill gets like maybe a few more like racks up maybe like a hundred yards and and all of that and it’s the fourth quarter game isn’t as competitive anymore because like the Dolphins have pulled away like from from the Cowboys I feel like Mike McDaniel would
Be that guy to be like all right we’ll just give him like two more catches make sure that he’s on Pace for it and then get him out I I feel like he’d be but like if it’s a complete blowout I don’t think yeah I think so if
It’s competitive and it all works within the flow of the game I think Mike McDaniel would be like yeah let’s let’s push it let’s you make sure that he you know he gets it but if it’s not competitive at all I could see like yeah
If he gets like his 60 yard touchdown or they they do what they need to do and then it’s just like yeah we gotta pull them yeah I could see I could see that that makes sense I just I’m hoping I want everybody to have fun everybody to
Score right score the points do the thing I know I know before we move on though let’s talk a little bit about running backs in Miami I mean moard has been on he’s been a touchdown machine aan earlier in the the season he was a touchdown machine not as much right now
Do you play him this week against the Cowboys I still think that you play him against the Cowboys uh because it was the same I think while moart has been involved in the passing game uh I think he has uh like what is it like averaging
About like a 5% like Target share like over the last like three weeks it’s the same type of uh Arc Type of running back that actually like blew past uh the Cowboys defense that really suits more of Anan like than than he monstered because think about it it was James Cook
The guy that can run like legitimate like fade routes and actually like beat not just uh like linebackers but also run by safeties like in the receiving game like for for a touchdown the week beforehand when I was talking about like DeAndre Swift like while monard can also
Like still like break off explosives uh in in that regard but just think about like how speedy how quick how agile like it looked like for him so it just feels like like from from a from a look standpoint from a subject Ive standpoint
It does feel like a guy like hn is more suited for for this match up at least if they’re going to attack it in the exact same way like where it’s okay fine uh you know we’ll we’ll uh you know maybe let Tua do his thing on early Downs
Because they do pass at one of the higher rates in the league uh in neutral situations on early downs but then once they get into like all right if we’re g to do a run or do a pass or whatever you want your speedier or quicker uh running
Back in order to take over afterwards and that kind of Suits hhan a bit more so do think in this matchup since hn is the is the passing down back earning more targets than both uh moard and Wilson so far like I would still keep him in my lineup just for
Those explosives and it does look like he was able to make it to practice uh back to practice today so if you do have him like I would still roster him and i’ still would start him this weekend all right so a lot of fantasy goodness this
Week from at least this matchup right oh um so let’s see you want to talk about wins I’ll go first I’ll I’ll just that way you can decide if we’re sweeping or not okay I’m gonna call the Cowboys I think they’re going to make it happen I
Don’t I think both teams are going to ball out but I think Cowboys take it now see I I see I almost had a feeling you’d say Cowboys did because if if the Dolphins lose that makes it easier for Josh Allen to get into the playoffs like
I see what you’re doing here I see what you’re doing uh I also I also have to give it to the Cowboys here I think they’re capable of of figuring this out uh and then like Dak comes out and has like one of his like signature games and it’s it’s more
Of a closer matchup like a let’s say 2724 3127 like some somewhere in there like but I needed to be high scoring I will because I want to say like the last like two matchups of the weeks that I’ve I’ve written up it’s just been all this hype
And it’s not to say like I’m the only one hyping the stuff up like we’ve talked about it yeah it’s consensus hype it’s not just me like don’t get me wrong but they always winds up being a DB like last week it was going to be you know it was
Prescott versus Josh Allen it’s Bills versus the Cowboys it’s going to be like in the cold at Orchard Park it’s gonna be all and then it’s just like like 31 to 13 like what what are we doing guys so we got to do better than this so yeah
I need I need like a a fast tempo High paced high scoring Affair like down in Miami this weekend like I just needed to have it feels like this is the week for it to happen with all these guys that are just like I said top 15 players you know what
I mean yeah it’s a good week it’s a good week for our fantasy teams I feel it I feel it I feel it I feel it now I don’t want to like flipflop on us but let’s talk Arizona and Chicago who it’s a little bit of a switch up here so the
Bears are four-point favorites over the Cardinals with a total of 43.5 but like let’s talk about these teams Arizona is 3 and 10 they’re fourth in the NFC West Chicago’s 5 and8 they’re fourth in the NFC North what’s been going on with these offenses Chris like what what’s been happening here I okay
So see I I’ll flip it back on you real quick like just just to uh set people up because if you were rostering anybody from the the Arizona side are you comfortable rostering like are you comfortable starting anybody from the Arizona Cardinals like from the let say
Just from their pass catcher Corp we’ll just say that any wide receivers for Arizon no The Only Name that I have right now is McBride that’s where I’m comfy that’s it well and let’s let flip it around to the other side what about Chicago you you are you are you really
Excited to to roster Darnell Mooney he of the dropped Hail Mary like are like are you excited to do that equinus St Brown you got him on any of your playoff rosters you know excited might not be the word there it might not Jones anybody nothing insert insert crickets please ah
Okay crickets and pin drops a so so sad but I mean look we’ve time and time again seen these teams where we feel this going in and we’re like oh it’s kind of like the and it’s a good game it’s a high-scoring game it’s a fantasy
Game so I mean it’s not the worst total of the week it could go that direction um the the the most that I’ve heard even in my home League my friends my husband is a lot of do I start Kyler Murray or do I start Kyler Mur Murray or this guy
So where’s he ranking for you because currently in our Fantasy Life rankings he’s ranked right behind Golf and Stafford and he’s ranked right above Mayfield and love do you feel like that’s The Sweet Spot would you kind of change that a little bit Yeah I think that’s that’s the sweet spot right there
Because it just look at his stats I mean his stats tell us like right there like how is he how many games has he even crossed like 250 passing yards in a single game I don’t think not a one uh like passing touchdowns how many multi- passing touch how many multi-touchdown passing games
Has he had like I think one I think say not many yeah yeah like the his very first game back his rushing has been there like which is great we expect it to be and that’s awesome that it’s there like coming off uh coming off of the ACL
Te but if he’s not connecting with his his wide receivers like downfield Maris Brown still isn’t healthy I think Michael Wilson that just come back from a stint like uh like missing a couple of games uh like uh who else Greg dorch Rond Del Moore I mean none of these guys
That are attached to the Kyler Murray passing game we’re not rostering them so if we’re not if we’re not interested in them from a fantasy standpoint I think it almost begs the question why should we be interested in Kyler Murray outside of the rushing so I do think that he
Fits like his ranking right now kind of fits like where he’s like how he’s played so far since he came back from the ACL ter so I think I’m fine with it okay well then let’s move on to the I guess shining star of the week on that
Side of the ball McBride I mean he’s one of the guys that’s getting you wide receiver numbers right he’s getting seven eight 10 catches a game his touchdowns are kind of sprinkled in there right but I looked at it and he’s ranked seventh and at the position tight
End position for receptions he’s ranked six at the position for targets and six in yards and then this week he’s going up against the Bears who are ranked 28th against tight end so like we just touched on he’s the guy you’re starting on this offense right yeah 100% I think
He’d be the only one maybe outside of James Conor we can have a conversation about him if you want I mean those are the only two reliable guys I think about so uh let’s see kyin Murray’s been back for what five games if I’m thinking right I think five games that Kyler
Murray’s been back Trey McBride has 45 targets like from Kyler Murray no other pass catcher on the team has more than 24 like it’s just like he is he is like Head and Shoulders Above the Rest of the Arizona like pass catching group and so
With like the way that he’s been able to completely separate himself from that group while still maintaining a healthy air yard share I mean top six I believe in aard share amongst all amongst all tight ends uh since Kyler Murray came back I think like he like he has really
Shown out like as the as like the one of the Premier tight ends in the league like so far so I think like it’s just H it’s him and pretty much I I can’t reliably I wouldn’t reliably recommend like any of the other wide receivers like for we
16 well then moving on to running back then so let’s talk about James Connor is he an rb1 this week how do you feel about starting him yeah I think like Connor like for the role that he has like in that offense it’s been the same
Role that he that became uh so lucrative for fantasy like almost a year or two ago like he’s going to get like most of the touches once to get inside the 10 yard line still involved in the passing game around like an 8ish percent Target
Share uh so we saw actually get him he got a few looks from Kyler Murray just this past week like and that’s what rup actually I think he want up scoring a touchdown like last week so while uh the Bears have been a bit more Stout and on
Their run defense especially after the trade for Montes sweat which is really paid off like so far uh if they are like if kyur is able to run or pass them into into the red zone or into the green zone I mean James Conor like like he read
Benefits from that type of scenario so I do think that if you are rostering him I mean how many other rb2s or like like lowend rb2s high in RB 3s can you really say like have a similar type of upside and I think that’s like fairly few at at
This point so I do think that James Conor like should be like really in that like top 24ish discussion for uh for this weekend yeah and I feel like we we say this almost every week but with injuries and all these other things going on and
Now it’s you’re you’re down to the wire right you’re in your either semi-finals or whatever it may be in your playoffs it’s a big game he’s safe enough right of all the running backs out there he’s safe enough yeah I mean definitely safer than any of the Bears running backs
That’s what I was gonna say let’s move on to the Bears how are we feeling about anyone right here DJ Moore Cole KT Justin fields are we comfortable I mean I know Arizona’s allowing a good bit you know on the running back and quarterback side of things as far as points go are
You feeling comfy there with of these players not at all none of them I want I want none of it I want none of it so like so let’s say Justin uh Justin Fields has been back for four games five games I forget how many games he’s been
Back for so far uh but in that in that stretch so dant Foreman has two starts like by at least according to pro football reference like which again like you can that can maybe like change things I think they just look at like who is the first running back out there
Like to get the first touch but Dante Foreman has two starts KH Herbert has one start and Roshan Johnson like played most of the snaps just this past week so it’s like even the Bears are kind of like trying to cycle through like how many like you know all of their all
Their running backs at this point I think Herbert probably has like the the most upside because he has been the one to work uh like work in the passing game uh but again it’s just I can’t I wouldn’t want to have like my playoff hopes like riding on one of those
Running backs especially when Justin Fields is just as liable to run it in himself like if they are to make it like inside the red zone so I just unless you’re completely desperate uh and like you’re completely stuck because you have injuries let’s say if you had like I
Don’t know if you had Keaton Mitchell like on your roster from this past week and and you’re stuck with one of these three guys uh I mean I think Herbert I think Herbert or uh Foreman I think are the easiest ones like uh to um to push
To the side roson Johnson just because I’m thinking from a narrative standpoint if they’re trying to play for 2024 you know like TR want to evaluate this roster see what they got in their players like that sort of thing maybe that’s why they played him a bit more in
Week 15 so I do think he might have like the most upside of of uh of the three but still it’s just a tough out to try and figure out like who’s going to get the most uh the most play out of out of that Trio my favorite thing that you
Just said and I don’t think you meant it as The Slight that it was but you said if they get in the Red Zone yeah if they yes yeah they even make it there yeah if they make it there oh all right so maybe this is just a moot point but who are
You getting here I’m going Cardinals for the win what you got Chris give me give me uh Jonathan Ganon cring Lord the guy that was asking people you know remember the offseason thing where he’s asking people if they got on the bus to go to work this morning like the anal yeah got
Got a fire in your gut got a fire in your gut or like all that cringe Lord himself Jonathan Ganon like give give him another win why why not and make and make it such that because Also let’s think let’s take a step back like while
The Bears I think are still in the playoff picture I think it’s like a long shot but they still have a chance to get they’re not eliminated I don’t think yeah right so it’s like but they need to lose like you need to lose just be done
Done just go for the pick uh let’s let’s let’s move on from matd B flu and Company let’s move on from Justin fields and then let’s just start fresh next year you know let’s we don’t we don’t need these wins like you you don’t need like let’s do the the Jedi mind you
Don’t need these wins like for this weekend you don’t you don’t need like that guy in fantasy who’s like talking trash from the loser bracket you know what I mean just just lose out just wait next year just start over start over it all be better you know it’ll be It’ll
Like it’s all it’ll all be over soon anyway it’s just week it’s week 16 just like a few more games left it’ll all be over soon it’s almost over it’s almost over oh goodness all right before we move into some better days better matchups let’s give some love to Draft
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Look as a Saints girly we’re going to talk about Atlanta a little bit and what I’m rooting for you can probably already guess but Atlanta they’re two and a half Point favorites over Indianapolis with a total of I must have written this wrong I have 4.5 that must be 40.5 point total
Um it’s got to be um but there’s a lot of drama in this game right and as a Saints fan I’ve been loving it I love to see the teams fall apart when it’s not my own right um Ritter’s benched Pitman has a concussion JT might be back and
Then beon we can talk about that right um yeah let’s talk what’s What’s Happening Here do we want to talk running backs first we want to talk Bean do want to talk I mean let’s well that means we have to talk about Arthur Smith
Don’t we let’s do it let’s do it what is he doing well what is what is what is up with this guy like I I don’t I don’t understand like the the thing that he was brought in to do and the thing that he showed that he was capable of doing
Last year without bej Robinson was that he could create like just these elaborate and efficient offensive game plans these these running plans like with it was like oh I’ll you know I’ve got I’ve got Kyle Pitt I got Tyler alir I’ve got Drake London and uh you know
Then when he was even running with Marcus Mariota like he was just doing these high like play action I think Marcus Mariota had like a 45 like a over a 40% like play action rate just like last season and they were like top three
In the league in EPA per play I mean the rush success rate was through the roof like everybody really enjoyed seeing Tyler alir like come on towards the back end of the season because we saw not just the power but the efficiency along with like within that running game it
Was like okay so it was just like run run pass like run run Pass Run Run pass and like run run shot play like it was that’s that’s all the offense was last season and it was cool like it wasn’t all that great for Fantasy right because
It was like all right we saw like hints of what Drake London could be it was like okay well Desmond Ritter came on towards the back in of the season so maybe give him a summer to develop and it’s like oh okay but Kyle pittz got
Hurt so it’s like oh give him the summer to get right and then maybe the offense will be even better and now oh we’re gonna add in bejan Robinson who’s just like Stellar running back Prospect who can catch and he can like be powerful so he can be like saquon Barkley plus plus
Plus and they’re even worse how are how are you worse like they are I I think they’re bottom 10 in rushing success right bottom 10 in rushing EPA per play like they they’ve gone backwards in in every metric Arthur Smith said at least like not even like not verbally but
Showed us on the field that they were just capable of doing it’s like oh I I’m so good I’ll just go out and I’ll get ma Hollands and uh you know I’ll I’ll still have J I’ll get jonu Smith and like all these other guys and like what didn’t
They trade for Van Jefferson at some point am I misremembering that but either way it’s like I’m just gonna get this gaggle of players together and just screw all the fact like all the draft Capital that I spent on well not the him specifically but him and fno and like
The the front office like well I’ll just forget all of that that we spent on you know Drake London and bejon Robinson because we’re gonna make jonan Smith the thing we’re gonna do pass plays or we’re gonna do handoffs or like pitch plays to Cordo Patterson in the Red Zone in week
15 uh we’ll give bejan Robinson his fewest touches of the Season Sans the headache game uh you know like while we’re trying to fight for the playoffs in the rain uh like what what is going on like I I really don’t understand the the thought process or like maybe it’s
Hubris like I have no idea I feel like he’s he’s the definition of like never let them know your next move well and nobody does and I don’t even think he does because it just winds up backfiring in his face because they wind up losing to the freaking Carolina Panthers yeah
Hey look I’m not complaining they one win behind the Saints barring the game tonight as we record against you know the Rams go Saints hopefully go Saints but like yeah it’s been a wild I mean even last let’s go back last season NFC South alone was just you know all the
Memes of the the fire and the dumpster and everything it’s just feels a little bit the same there’s something going on here um so yeah I don’t feel good about it like it’s it’s weird to think back to the offseason when you draft these guys like Kyle pittz or like bejon Robinson
And you feel good about the talent and then to see that kind of go to waste right it’s it’s very upsetting and just looking at our Fantasy Life rankings beon consensus he’s 17 overall but then it kind of drops we got Jonathan Taylor 21 overall and then drops Drake London
61 overall so I guess we should start talking about the other side of the ball here do we want to talk Colts I mean you have guys like Josh DS who’s had 17 total receptions in the last six games you have Alex Pierce who’s had even less
I mean next year what what’s the outlook for these guys for at least the pass pass catchers yeah so like for Josh down specifically I was having a conversation with uh our colleagues at Fantasy like I hate saying we colleagues they are friends there are friends D on it uh so
Dwayne McFarland and Yan hard it’s just about like the rookie class uh for the from 2023 and I know like if you stack up like the the headliners like the the tank Dells and the the Z flowers the Jordan Addis and like the Jaden Reeds of
The world I mean those guys like really like they they’re like the the the the cream of the crop like from this class but Josh DS isn’t too terribly far behind I know that he’s been hampered by a knee injury that he suffered I think
About a month ago but it wasn’t too long ago I want to say around like week six seven eight uh that he was one of like the top waiver wire ads like uh he was like had over like a 20% like targets per route run rate he was really
Battling with Michael Pitman in terms of like who could be like the uh the wide receiver to in that offense and I think for a time like might have been just maybe a two- we stretch uh he was really operating as like almost a 1B to Michael
Pitman’s like you know onea like that that sort of situation but now whether it’s the knee injury whether it’s Gardner muu like really trying to like push the ball downfield a bit more Alec Pierce I keep saying like Alex Pierce so I have to like really pronounce like the
C in his name like Alec Pierce like getting more of the downfield looks I think he has over like 30% of the team’s air yards over the past like few weeks so like I like I would like Downs more if Pitman wasn’t playing but I think Pitman was actually upgraded to a full
Participant in practice today which is Bonkers to me after seeing that hit that he took by uh KY uh on just like what five days ago six days ago I mean I would have just like spontaneously combusted on the field had I taken a hit like that but I would have liked Downs
In PPR leagues a bit more just from the fact that he runs like more from the slot has already shown to be a high Target earner and so I would have taken downs and said like all right we’ll toss him into your Flex wide receiver three position shoot maybe toss in Alec Pierce
Just for the downfield shots if you are super desperate but now with Pitman looking to be back H with the amount of targets that he has been earning over like what 27 28% like Target share if not higher over the past few weeks I think Downs then now falls back into the
Probably like the low end wide receiver two maybe highend wide receiver three and then Pierce is just somebody that again that that is a desperation play like at best so I think that’s that’s the way I’d probably rank or at least try and tier like each of those guys for
Week 16 oh wow so if you’re starting Alec Pierce um Good Luck yeah gotta get him out yeah hopefully you have some kind of like fourth place you know payout I don’t know what to say good luck um what about Atlanta though anybody you’re comfortable excited is
Excited too much to say to start this week Drake London if I if I had to I mean Taylor hinei at least has been shown that he can lock on to his wide receiver one I think with uh when he was still in Washington he made like Terry
McClaren at least some like a bit like as fantasy relevant as he could be with his pop gun arm so if there was like at least one pass catcher like out of that group like it’s not like I’m gonna go out and try we’re not I’m not doing the
C pits thing anymore I can’t do it I can’t do it I can’t I can’t do it I’m just not gonna do it anymore like it’s going to take me I will not I probably won’t be in on Kyle pittz until like 2025 yeah I’m I’m just gonna I just I
Need to I need to take a step back I need to see him with other people I need to see him happy with other people and then after that I’ll I’ll welcome back I’ll welcome him back with open arms in 20 yeah let him be his own person you
Know yeah you know let fall in love Yeah someone else and then better to have loved than have lost you know like that’s that sort of thing just let him let be with other people and then maybe in 25 we can talk again but I think it’s
Just Drake London I think that’s it because we already know that the passing volume is going to be limited uh like for the Falcons anyway their drop back OV expectation rate has been negative in three of their last four games uh then they they ran super run heavy against
Carolina that was mostly because of the elements I would assume but still if Arthur Smith is still going to call like a run heavy game the hope would really be that he leans more into bejon tries to redeem himself and give be on more touches and then really the only other
Uh like receiving option that we would have like would be Drake London all right well let’s just go ahead and just put it in stone here you know who I’m rooting for the Colts we know we know same for you or got a I I have to root for the Falcons
Because then if the Colts lose that helps my Bengals playoff chances the AFC playoff come on I just okay so what you’re saying is you think the Colts are going to win but you’re just trying to manifest that I got it I got it I got it
There we go see so we’re on the so if we’re on the same wavelength you know you know we’re at then you know all right but on paper you got the Falcons okay okay yeah all right let’s move on to another team that is you know one of
My no NOS let’s go Jacksonville and Tampa Bay Tampa Bay all right Tampa Bay is a twoo favorite over Jacksonville 41 a half total like I said I I mean at the end of this you know who I’m rooting for you know who I’m rooting against but
Let’s talk a little bit about Trevor Lawrence we know that things have been kind of iffy they haven’t been what people have expected um before I throw it over to you Chris though I just want to say I know people think Trevor’s been a little overrated okay but if you look
At his numbers and I’ve looked at him okay I know I know you’re the numbers guy but I look at the numbers he’s ninth in yards at quarterback he’s tied 16th for touchdowns I know that’s not like I mean it’s me right yeah but yeah yeah he
Has 10 interceptions but guess who has more Josh Allen has 14 Patrick Mahomes has 13 yeah and Jaylen Herz is 12 so I mean like is he overrated or is it just that our expectations were a little too high when he came into the NFL and what
Happened like you know what I mean like is he overrated I don’t know is it just that he’s having a just a me year uh I mean I think it’s a a bit of bit of all of those things all I think I think a lot of things can be true
Simultaneously uh could we have set the bar high for a guy that was claimed to be like the best uh quarterback prospect since Andrew Luck yes I can could we have done that as a as a football watching community that absolutely um but what could also be true uh they
Didn’t invest well into their offensive line uh the offensive line actually did take a step back this this season they’re now the 31st ranked offensive line in terms of pass block win rate according to ESPN standards uh what else is true uh the wide receiver one that they desperately needed Calvin Ridley uh
I would say that there is a chance that they didn’t know how to use him correctly uh there I would agree a lot of discussion throughout the season about how little he was being used into the slot how much they weren’t hiding him either in bunched stacked formations
Like putting him in motion I mean there are stats I’ve written about it uh go and check like Josh Norris from Underdog John John Shipley who like writes I mean there are number of people have written about like how little Ben soak from the ringer I mean there have been a number
Of people that have written about just this disconnect in all right well it’s almost like well we gave you the guy and so now just calv midly just make it happen just like and there was going to be like nothing after that so I there’s a lot of things that
Goes into uh just making the entire offense work once you bring in a high-end Target ear like Calvin Ridley and to Lawrence’s credit like he has tried to make it work like Calvin Ridley has been at least throughout most of the Season he has been like the wide
Receiver one like from a targetting air yard perspective but when he’s the the routes that he’s running and uh like compared to also how much time Trevor Lawrence has to throw given the offensive line he has to work around that creates problems that creates chaos so that’s where you see guys like
Christian Kirk like earning a bit more before he W up hurting himself and then the same thing for Travis etn like where he’s turned into the rb1 that really I don’t like I know for my own purposes I didn’t really see etn having the same role uh like as like he’s really turned
Out to have like throughout the season so I think it’s just a Confluence of a lot of things and if they wind up working on them throughout the off season maybe investing more the offensive line trying to work more on that uh from a schematic and play calling standpoint how they can get
Really involved then yeah I think like Lawrence can get back to where we thought he was going to be it’s just going to take a bit more scheming around in order to get it there see that’s the kind of answer I like it’s not necessarily just all in Lawrence right
It’s all these little p floating around all right all right that’s not bad I can I have hope for them then that sounds good now Tampa Bay I’ll be kind and I’m gonna talk about the nice things about this team like I said as a Saints fan
It’s hard to do but we’ve got Rashad white who I said last week has surprised me I did not expect this continued usage as much as it’s been we’ve got Mike Evans who every year people I feel like somewhat sleep on him so Rashad white we
Have fantasy life has ranked seven and a half overall and then we have Mike Evans 15 overall is Baker Mayfield to blame here is he is Baker Mayfield good Baker Mayfield is doing good things and I would say that uh again coaching matters
Uh I I do think that a lot of folks and like myself included when I saw it was like Baker Mayfield uh going to the Bucks and if you had to choose so like let’s rewind all the way back to like August like June July August and if you
Had a draft one of the two main receivers Chris Godwin or Mike Evans and you knew it was gonna be Baker Mayfield because I know they had the whole like Baker Mayfield versus Kyle TR like stuff going on which was like nonsense to begin with but like if you had to pick
One of those wide receivers to draft who would you have drafted Godwin I think yeah I think I think every Everybody yeah everybody thought that it was going to be and like it’s turned out to be the case uh towards the back end of the season now that Godwin has like
He hasn’t eclipsed Mike Evans from a Target standpoint but at least like the production the production is now there in ways that we didn’t really think was possible but it was just that the thought process would be oh it’s just gonna be Baker just goingon to drop back
Quick passes hit the slot guy no deep targets Mike Evans like his thousand yard season streak like might be in Jeopardy Baker Mayfield’s not gonna be throwing it deep I mean all all this stuff but like I said coaching matters so Dave Canales uh the OC now for the
Bucks uh the passing game coordinator or no former um for uh say passing game coordinator QB’s coach or o uh former OC for the Seahawks the same guy that helped re-engineer Gino Smith’s comeback season from last year I mean they emphasize like he emphasized like trying to find what works best for his
Quarterback and like what works for him and like we saw Gino Smith like being able to work through the or work through his Pro progressions use some play action and then he was aggressive I mean G Smith like he had like one of his like highest like um passing average depths
Of targets for his entire career especially with DK DK metf and Tyler Lockett so now you imprint that same type of philosophy but instead of DK metf and Tyler Lockett you have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin so it’s just like it but instead of like saying that oh
Well Baker Mayfield can’t be the same passor Gino Smith well if you scheme around him you allow him to work off play action you allow him to get out of the pocket you allow him to like focus on the boundary of the like the the sidelines or the the perimeter of the of
The field instead of like working across the middle of the field which again like for his height that’s not always the best thing but still like it allows him to generate or create some of those explosives so I think like from that standpoint it was just something that I
Overlooked and to see like Mike Evans already get past this thousand yard season like 10 in a row Hall of Fame career like for Mike Evans but now also seeing like Chris Godwin also getting into the mix as well as uh Mayfield’s play action rate has continued to tick
Up over the past few weeks because he was dealing with a knee injury I want to say around the week 11 12ish or week 10 11 like time frame like seeing all that seeing this pass game become all the more efficient and of course was with Rashad Wright uh Rashad Wright Rashad
White playing as well as he has and we can talk about him in a second but I think like hats off to Canales hats off to Mayfield for like really buying into the system and executing it then of course like Mike Evans and Chris Godwin just being the excellent like dynamic
Duo that they are yeah I mean Evans has had what a touchdown in all but one of his last six games I believe and he’s had two of those games are 140 yards plus so he’s not stopping right and so we have these three that I feel like
You’re comfortable starting each of them I want to say Evans and white both made Barry’s love list this week okay so yeah do you want to talk Rashad white I mean I feel like at this point if you have him you’re starting him this the floor is you know pristine
The ceiling where are we at there we feel comfy I think from a so from a volume perspective like Rashad white is one of six running backs in the entire league with the team rushing rate over 60% that Ian it’s only like it’s him CMC Josh Jacobs Joe Mixon Travis etn and I
Forget who this I think that’s him yeah so then white would be the six so yeah yeah yeah and uh only Christan mcaffrey uh runs like more routes per dropback uh for like his for his quarterback and then uh wh’s 12 I think it’s like around
A 12% Target share is behind only CMC Jacobs and etn gez so it’s like you’re you’re not like that is rb1 workload I mean and we I understand that a lot of folks thought that maybe like uh kesan vaugh or I don’t know whomever was going
To be working behind him like might wind up stealing carries they could resign Leonard forette like all this other stuff but like white has actually proven after last season having let’s say like a mediocre uh like rookie campaign like from an efficiency standpoint I mean he
Has shown to be like at least a a powerful Runner like a mildly efficient Runner as well and then capable of earning targets and that and working with him after the catch so I think like from a just from a workload standpoint like he has to be like in your rb1 slot
For sure yeah like when we talk about we were just saying with Jacksonville and maybe not utilizing some of their players in the way that they are built for here we have white who’s kind of Fallen right into the perfect place right it’s like the puzzle piece they’re
Using him correctly his talent is being shown and so yeah he’s been flourishing and anybody who drafted him I have to imagine is doing well if you’re still in it um before we end this off let’s pick one last win I’m just because you know
As a Saints fan I gotta go Jaguars even though I’m gonna be honest I’m gonna do like you did earlier in the last one right I kind of feel like the Bucks are going to win it but I’m going to manifest and I’m going to just say Jags
So okay let’s go with it what you got I I feel like the Bucks are going to win as well just because at this point I mean uh Trevor Lawrence hasn’t practiced yet I know that still possible for him to work through the concussion protocol
I know like Brock pie did it in like five days or I foret what the timeline was for him to get back uh so I I think it’s still possible for him to play but it’s looking more and more like CJ breth is going to be the one under center for
The Jags this week and I would say that’s fairly well and not just the fact that CJ Beth is gonna be under Center Z Jones is working through a hamstring injury so really like your pass catching core is going to be Calvin Ridley and as a Calvin Ridley and Parker Washington
Not I mean it’s not really what you would really want like for from a pass catching standpoint so a lot of volume uh from a DFS standpoint I love like Ridley’s cost I think on DraftKings he’s like 6,300 for this week but it’s just like we might see a lot of Jamal agnu
Getting uh getting targets uh like Travis CN getting targets I mean they’ll they’ll try and like scheme and like window dress and game this thing up as much as possible uh to take a lot of pressure off of bethard but in the end I think with the way the Bucks are playing
With I mean Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and like like we were just talking about I think the Bucs take I think the Bucs take this one ah I think you’re right I just don’t want to put that out there you know what I mean I
Know I know in the time that this airs we’ll already know if the Saints won or not yeah see all right who that Chris who that yes all right guys thank you for tuning in to the Fantasy Life podcast matchups episode be sure and hit that like And subscribe button so you
Don’t miss any more episodes if you’re looking for any more analysis you’re looking for some help with your start sits for the weekend heading in um you know you just go to Fantasy life.com real simple check out our tools we’ve got stuff for your weekly lineup
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Our other analys uh analysis analyst and me and the rest of the incredible Fantasy Life team good luck this weekend and guys we’ll see you in week 17
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What Week 16 matchup are YOU most excited about?!
Chris Allen flu game > Jordan flu game