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Time now for Fantasy Football Weekly from iHeartRadio, your weekly source for the nation's best fantasy football advice, speculation, and whatever stupid stuff they decide to drop into the show. Now here's your host, Paul Chargion.
Welcome to Fantasy Football Weekly, Playoff edition. Yes, it's taken us eighteen long weeks to get here, but Brian Johnson, we've got playoff football.
Lots of it, and some football weather as people like to call it, right, Yeah.
You know, I think I think a lot of it's being overstated. You know, I'll believe it when I see it. This is the time of week when a lot of times people are are suggesting way worse weather than it turns out to be.
Yeah, I don't think there's something denying the cold that's gonna be in Kansas City.
Though it'll be cold.
We'll get into all these games, of course, Yeah, like historically cold for you know, I think of like the Giants Packers game in seven, the red based Yeah, Tom Coughlin game Vikings Seahawks.
I think is the most recent game that's in this ballpark. That one was negative five. I believe it kickoff, and of course Bud Grant came running out.
In Minnesota Stadium. Of course, people wondering they're plight the Gopher Stadium. Yeah, we Grant yep, shorts leeves.
Yep when they were building US Bank Stadium. So that was that was epic for sure. Lots of games to get through. And the way I decided to do this rather than like break every date game down and completely like FFW style, I just want to pick out sort of key interesting angles from each one of these. It could be for use in your DFS team. It could be for use if you're cobbling together a playoff roster like the full playoffs. If you're a better you could
probably use some of this for prop bets. So however you want to play. I think this is going to be some cool stuff to look at, Brian, and I thought, maybe we just attack these in the order in which they will be played this weekend.
Makes sense.
That brings us to Cleveland Houston. This is with all the great quarterbacks that are coming up this weekend, Brian. So like Miami, you get Tua versus Mahomes, then we got Josh Allen, and we've got Jordan Love who might be the third consecutive Hall of Fame quarterback for the for the Packers at Dallas and Dak Prescott. You've got the great quarterback situation between the Rams and the Lions. You've got Jalen Hurts and whether or not he's you know how hurt is he going to be? Can he
be effective? But the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans Joe Flacco.
C J.
Stroud is my favorite game from this whole weekend.
The first one. I'm going to watch. The other ones I don't. I'm not getting Peacock after that game. I'm the I'm the Mahomes and Tua. Yeah, this is the primetime game right here.
I love this game. So I want to the angle I want to talk to you about that I'm really interested in. Is a big game from c J. Stroud. I think most of America doesn't realize how good CJ. Stroud is. And because the Texans were never on national television they had only noon local time starts every week until Week eighteen when they had their win and in game against the Colts, most of the country doesn't realize just how good CJ. Stroud is.
Brian no and like what he's really catching fire. Maybe they would have flexed Houston into one of the primetime games, and then he got hurt and he missed what two three games. That's a road with the concussion.
Yeah yeah, but I.
Am he's gonna see how he handles the big lights, the bright lights.
Even knowing our listeners are hardcore football fans, I bet most of them don't realize Houston has won seven of the last ten games. You know, it took him a little while to sort of shake off several years of losing, right and then you know the last over the last ten games, I get seven wins. I mean that's you know, those are in several of the legitimate wins against good teams. So let's talk about CJ. Stroud in particular. The Cleveland secondary.
Denzel Ward questionable, Mike Ford questionable, two important cornerbacks safety Grant Delpit just got put on IR and the other safety wants Thornhill, may not play in this game. Those are huge angles. And the other thing that I think is really interesting is that you know, we all view Cleveland as an elite defense, and they are a good defense, but you know what their pass defense was elite for the first twelve games, Let's talk about the more recent
six games. Cleveland yielding sixty one more passing yards over the most recent six games and over the double number of passing touchdowns two over two two point one passing touchdowns per game over the last six Brian this pass defense and get a load of this over those four games, justin fields, Davis Mills, Trevor Simeon, and Jake Browning were among the quarterbacks who were putting up big games and helping propel Cleveland to the to the futility stats that I just mentioned.
That's gonna be a whole nother story with Stroud under the safety of a dome too. You got all the dome games.
By the way, I didn't realize that games. You're right, I got, I got, I got. I don't have any to deal with any weather for any of my games. No, yeah, the uh. If I were allowed to legally bet in Minnesota, I would be betting C. J. Stroud over one and a half passing touchdowns. I'm not Houston scores through the air, as anybody who rostered Damian Pierce sorry or Devin Singletary knows,
they don't score on the ground. This team scored seventy five percent of their touchdowns through the air, Nico Collins, and maybe, if you're feeling up to it, how about a little Dalton Shultz as an angle here or for receiving touchdown as well. I like I like those angles. I think I think scores are coming here another reason.
And by the way, I was gonna ask, is this the this might be the highest over under of the weekend.
No, it's not. No, it's uh, it's great. I think yeah, I think it is done. I think that one's like fifty five. Uh.
Everybody to guess all the Dome games of the top three probably probably.
Uh, here's the other angle I want to talk.
And and a half. Well, we'll get to those of the games later.
Go ahead, Sorry, Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt, I think are going to struggle in this game. So we mentioned Houston played it's nationally It's one nationally telbysed game last week, and Jonathan Taylor ran through the Texans and almost single handedly brought the Colts to the playoffs. But Taylor couldn't quite get there but a. It took Taylor thirty carries in that game to get to his hundred and eighty eight rushing yards. But more importantly, that output was a
total anomaly against a surging Houston run defense. Get a load of this. How great the Houston run defense had been prior to Jonathan Taylor last week in the ten games. Prior ten games along sample size, I'd mentioned that ten game win loss thing for Reston in the prior ten games, Brian Houston's run defense giving up two point seven yards per carry. That's it. Here's what some better runners than Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt have done against Houston recently.
Two meetings with Derrick Henry his average game twenty five yards and one point eight yards per carry, Breese Hall forty yards, Javonte Williams forty six yards, Travis Etn averaged two point eight yards per carry. Joe Mixon put up forty six yards, and two games ago when these teams met, Jerome Ford twenty five yards, Kareem Hunt eleven yards rushing. That's it. I believe Houston's gonna win this game.
They're the underdogs.
I believe they are underdogs. I believe three is point underdogs.
Yeah, I was wrong. Forty four and a half point over under. It is the third highest but it's like six seven points behind the other two indoor games, Dallas, Green Bay Rams.
Well, it's because you know, people broadly believe this Cleveland defense. I think the perception was set through those first twelve weeks that Cleveland is a shut down defense. I'm just here to say they haven't played that way for six weeks.
Yeah. I like parlaying the over with those props you mentioned, the Stroud overs, maybe the you know, hit that over. The Texans got to score some points, and they're gonna do that through the air, like you said, most likely.
All right, let's go to Miami taking on Kansas City.
All right, Yeah, we know it's gonna be cold, negative twenty wind, chill, all that stuff. Tickets are like forty bucks right now. I saw. That's pretty crazy for a Chiefs playoff, that really is. I doubt Taylor Swift will be there. But these teams played this season actually in Germany. If you recall back in Week nine, the pre hard knock days for the Dolphins.
Have you been watching I've not watched the end the season hard knocks. I watch a lot of football, Brian, I get enough, as.
Do I But I don't know. I don't know he's still in between the football you are. My favorite part of Hard Knocks is the non football, though I hate when they show the football in Hard Knocks. I like all the all field stuff, but the anyway, it was an ugly game Chiefs one twenty one to fourteen, and that one can't probably be an ugly game in this one. Kansas City four and a half point favorites over Under
a forty three and a half. We expect the weather, the extreme cold, to play a role in this game. On the injury front, Raheem Moster expected to make his return, but Miami's defense is all sorts of banged up. Xavian Howard has been ruled out both starting safety is questionable to play. Miami's lost about five linebackers the last four weeks, so that they're all they're all sorts of injured on the on the defensive side of the ball for Miami,
So you know, it's really all about the cold. There's not a lot of players that really stand out in this game, even though there are huge names, but guys I'm fading or like Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelcey. The guy I like most in this game is a DFS dark Pros. Noah Gray, who's a He'll probably come coming close to bare minimum. The Dolphins are one of eight teams to yield at least one hundred and twenty five targets to tight ends, one of five teams to allow at least
nine hundred yards and seven touchdowns to the position. And so those are great numbers obviously for posing tight ends. And we've seen Gray get involved. And I gotta give credit to Derek Brown of Fantasy Pros for this da he went in a little deeper. Since Week thirteen, Miami has utilized Cover three or Cover six. Those are zone coverages. You know the takeaway basically the deep play on more
than fifty percent of their defensive snaps. And this week twelve, against these coverages, Noah Gray has a thirty percent targets per route run that's third on the team and nearly three yards per route run when facing Cover three or Cover six. And those are great numbers. And I don't know Travis Kelce is taking a step back. So Noah Gray a great a dart throw there. When I talk about fading guys, I think Tyreek kill is the number
one fade in a revenge game. So this is a guy you know you're not gonna want to use him in your one and done pools, even though you usually win that team like the Dolphins, you don't expect to win. You're like, oh, I want to use one of the big name players. This is my only chance to use them, you know what I mean? A one and done game where you don't use a player once in the playoffs. Ye, he'll all sorts of banged up with the ankle injury.
The chief secondary, led by Lagerius sneed maybe the best corner in the game, at least one of the best. They're going to focus on him, and Kansas City as a whole deploys a lot of two high safety zone looks, which actually caters more to Jalen Waddle, So I have to pick a receiver in this game, it's Waddle against
two high safety zone. Wattle actually leads Hill in targets per route run, so he has more targets per oute run in his coverage and yards per route run four and a half, which is a lot for Waddle to just three from Hill. So the Chiefs are not going to want Tyreek Hill to go off in this game. So I think they're going to do everything in their power to take away, you know, the deeplay threat from Hill, So I like Wattle more in this game. So I'm totally out on Hill.
So you know, I'm just out of that game in a nutshell.
Hopefully no one gets frost play.
Like I'm just out on the passing games. I just think there's a point at which, if it's cold enough, the air just comes out of the ball, and I would be more inclined to try to orient maybe towards the running backs in this one. But that's that's just me, and I think we're at that stage where it's just it's just gonna might be one of those games where
nothing's really moving. So yeah, we'll see, we'll see. I think you raised some really valid points about the Miami defense being very suspect and very banged up, and you know, but I'm doneculating that this is the game that Kansas City turns it around, because we've been doing that for two months.
I saw, you know, that Miami's got historically bad record in cold weather games, and I saw how they Mike McDaniel said, they got the facility, they can get it down to fifty with the air conditioning.
That's it.
They've been practicing. We like you better be doing that like basically naked, like you know, ice packs.
Me.
I don't know, it's gonna be an ugly game.
That is gonna be an ugly game. Watch remember Miami you traveled to was it Buffalo last year? Skyler Thompson almost won that game in cold weather. Let's let's go to Pittsburgh Buffalo the next one up. This is also one of yours, and this is also a weather game.
Uh.
It sounds like over the totality of the weekend, there's going to be quite a bit of snow. It's unclear as to how much snow Brian is actually going to fall during game. You know, Buffalo knows all about from snow removal. You know, they all all the lake effects snow that they've they've gotten since the city was uh, you know founded. So I don't believe the rumors that
they might move the game or anything like that. And I'm not and I'm not fully believing the stories that it's going to be like a foot of snow during the game or anything like that.
No, and then supposedly the main snow is going to be on Saturday or you know overnight, so they love time to clear the field and all that. So I'm not too worried about that. It's uh, it's Buffalo. It's nothing, nothing new, and this is definitely not one of the sexier games on a Super wild Card weekend. From an offensive standpoint, Buffalo nine and a half point favorites over under a thirty five and that's basically all on the Buffalo side. Right. TJ. Watt been ruled out for Pittsburgh.
That is huge. I mean for Pittsburgh to have a chance in this game, their defense has a step up. Big TJ. Watt one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. So that boats well for Buffalo. Gabe Davis, I'm likely to play that might be.
They've ruled them out.
Okay, yeah, I wasn't expecting to go. So he's out. Uh, so you can we can throw that. We can mitigate all roller coaster ride risk, whether you're gonna get zero points or thirty from from Gabe Davis. So Khalil Shakir a guy who will be popular for sure. He's stepped up after since if this has been down the last
game or two. Really, you know, from the Bill side, I'm worried about the Bills from the perspective of best ball contest, where you know there's an advancement after each round, where the Bills are probably gonna win this game, but they're not gonna score a lot of points. One would think so a lot of best ball teams are probably gonna die by that are heavily invested in the Bills even though they're gonna advance to the next round most likely,
but not gonna score a lot of points. So from a from a DFS perspective, I'm gonna go with a Steeler as my my dark phone. It's Jalen Warren who is has reverted back to the to the backup role behind Najie Harris, even though it's always been a fifty to fifty split. Essentially, the Bills were one of six teams to allow at least eighty five catches in seven
hundred yards to opposing running backs. Buffalo also deploys two high safety coverage at the third highest clip in the league, and Mason Rudolph has targeted his running backs over forty percent of the time against too high and Jalen Warren is the still the preferred pass catching running back and Rudolph gonna be under a lot of durest. Most likely. I see him checking down to Warren a lot in this game, and the condition is not being great for passing.
Most likely, I to see Warren as a safety blanket, and he's gonna be the cheapest running back on the slate that gets significant run for you, and he's gonna come in at a very low ownership percentage. So he's my contrariant dart throat in DFS. Really, the fade is just almost anyone else in this game, even from the Buffalo side. They're gonna need to score ten points and that's like I mean, they'll they'll put the pedal to the middle a little more than that, But this is
not a fun game. From an offensive perspective.
James Cook could get a lot of work. They could see them getting ahead and then just running Cook a bunch and and holding there. And it's hard to find your spots with Cook, right, you got to really be thoughtful about it. I think this could be one of them. Let's go to the next game that that's up as we transition to the Sunday late afternoon game, that's Green Bay at Dallas for Jordan love some night. I think there's some sneaky opportunity here. First of all, by the way,
is over under of rushing yards is like nine. He's gonna run from Micah Parsons for nine on the first drive potentially, So there's there's some opportunity for betters that way. The uh, I want to talk about some recent passing stats against Dallas, and I want to I'm gonna go all the way back to week twelve, so we're gonna have a fairly long sample size here. But I'm gonna throw out two games. First, the Cowboys got blown out
by Buffalo and they barely passed. I think Josh Allen threw like fourteen passes in the game, So I'm gonna throw that game out. I'm throwing out Sam Howell's woeful start last Sunday in a meeting, you know, in a meaningless game which everybody that they were gonna get uh, you know, everybody's gonna get fired howl those you know, was not necessarily the intended starter. They've been starting Jacoby him over Jacoby Brissetts. They had to blah blah blah.
So I'm throwing those out. But other than that, all the other quarterbacks are averaging two hundred and eighty yards against Dallas and two eighties a pretty darn good day. So I feel like Jordan Love's got that in them. It's probably Dallas is gonna score points in this game. Is when we talking about that in a minute. I think Green Bay answers with plenty of passing in particular,
and the Dallas safeties are bad. Donovan Wilson and jay Ron Curse have Pro Football focused coverage grades as safety thirty three and safety one hundred and one. I didn't think there were one hundred and one safeties in the NFL. Love's been obviously way better lately, and I I really seven of his last nine games he's had over two hundred and eighty six yards. I think Jordan Love is gonna flirt with the three hundred yard mark in this one. I really like him here and that like receivers.
Too, sorry to cut you off there, it's unlikely to happen, but he still will not have his entire offense healthy for one game.
Yeah, not all the starting receivers. Yeah, no, I mean nobody. You know, there are lots of cases. If you're like the totality of the offense. You don't have those. That's that's many many teams that don't have older starters. But he hasn't even had all of his starting receivers on the field for one game.
And barely He's never had Aaron Jones and aj week one. Then it's been crazier for Green May. But I'm excited for this game too. It should be the over unders over fifty points, so it should be a pretty entertaining one.
Let's talk about Dak Prescott for a minute. I think sitting on a very big game. Here's the passers the Packers have faced for the last five weeks. Justin fields a half of Jaron Hall and a half of Nick Mullins, Bryce Young, Baker Mayfield, Tommy DeVito comes Dak Prescott and Cede Lamb and Brandon Cooks. You know, and Mayfield and Young, by the way, went off on the Packers. They combined for seven hundred yards and six touchdowns. Brian, I think
this is a big game coming for Dak Prescott. Green Bay has got the worst set of cornerbacks in the playoffs and maybe the whole league. Keishawn Nixon is basically a special teams return man forced to play slot cornerbacks. They don't have anybody else, which brings us to Cede Lamb gigantic game possibly in coming here against Keishawn Nixon, the eighty second ranked cornerback in coverage by Pro Football Focus, giving up an eighty two percent catch rate and an
opposer passer rating of one hundred and four. Here's what other slot receivers have done against the Packers since Thanksgiving. Adam Thielen ninety four yards, Chris Godwin ten catches one hundred and fifty five yards, when Dale Robinson's seventy nine yards. Rashee Rice, running mostly from the slot, eight catches sixty four yards. I'm on Ross Saint Brown nine catches ninety five yards. Keenan Allen ten catches one hundred and sixteen yards.
These slow receivers killing the killing the Packers, averaging eight receptions one hundred yards. Ceedee Lamb is the hottest receiver in football. It's gonna be a great game for him and tons of points coming.
I saw a prop when it was Ceedee Lamb, and I forget who else. It was like Tyreek Hill or Mike another big name receiver, but it was for Ceedee Lamb and that other receiver to combine for three hundred and a half yards.
Wow.
I like ceedee Lamb might get that himself.
Three hundred yards, man, that's not that much.
But she could sniff two hundred. That's not too far fetched any means.
The Sunday night game is also mine. That's Rams and Lions. Let's talk that one through for a minute. I think there's possible struggles coming for David Montgomery and Jamier gibbson this one. Quietly. The Rams have been a terrific run defense. It's largely powered. They're way into the playoffs. No back has fifty four rushing yards since Week nine. I mean that's you know, we're talking the entire second half of the season and over that stretch, opposing runners averaging just
three point seven yards per carry. And since Week nine they've given up one rushing touchdown. Brian, these are elite run defense metrics. Montgomery and Gibbs have been very safe weekly starters throughout the regular season. Not so much here, and let me put some icing on that Rams are great against running backs through the air. They ranked number two on the season in receiving yards allowed to runners and they gave up one running back touchdown through the air.
All season, the average running back game through the air was against the Rams four catches twenty one yards. So if Montgomery and Gibbs are gonna share that, that gives them two catches for ten and a half yards each. That's it. So I think those guys might struggle in this game. And it also, by the way, it makes me wonder if if the Lions do struggle to run the ball, which is kind of their bread and butter, that I feel like sets up the rest of their offense.
I wonder what happens the rest of their offense. Phokinakua is sitting on a potentially gigantic game, Brian.
We're gonna say that every week for like ten years, I feel like, But yeah, he's.
Gonna face off, most commonly against Kendall Vildor, an old FFW favorite. Oh if we loved picking on Kendall Vildor. Over the past five weeks, the Lions have allowed the most receiving yards to wide receivers. Buy a mile. Get that this is just to wide receivers, two hundred twenty eight yards per game to the wide receiver position. Who can akoup is good for?
Brian?
What do you think half of the total RAMS wide receiver yardage output?
One would think. Now there's Cooper Cup in town and DeMarcus Robinson though he's been guarding some attention. But yeah, yeah, that's a safe assumption.
So Kindallvildor is an outside cornerback, and you know they didn't want to start him, but they got stuck starting him because of Emmanuel Moseley's injury. Now, let me give you some Kindle Vildor futility stats. You're ready opposer passer rating in Kindallvildor's coverage, Brian, you want to guess.
It's triple digits, and I'm not counting decimal points. There would be quintuple digits with decimal points. One eleven point seventy.
Four perfect, of course, is a one hundred and fifty eight passer rating in his coverage. He's giving up a one hundred forty four passer rating in his coverage. He owns. The league's longest average reception is against Kendall Vildor. You want to can't get us what the average reception against Kendallvilldor.
Is seventeen yards twenty two.
I mean, think about that. You're getting twenty too high. No, right, it's it's unbelievable. He's allowed the longest reception from scrimmage across the entire league Kindallvilldor and he's allowed touchdowns and back to back games entering this one. It's a potentially massive game for Puka Nkua on the outside, which is where you'll find Kindallvildor. DeMarcus Robinson also runs from the outside.
He's gonna see some Kindallvilldor too. I wouldn't. I would consider him as somebody that you could you could make some waves with. I think the Rams as much as we all want the Lions. I think with their years of futility, the Rams won the Super Bowl three years ago. You know, I think most people feel like the Lions deserve to win this. We might want them to win this. I think the Rams are gonna win.
I kind of do too. Another great game, though Philadelphia Philadelphia Tampa on Monday night is the least interesting of these to me, other than the possibility that Philadelphia ends up losing six to the last seven.
Fire the coach, I mean, who I mean this watching all of this happen to Philadelphia. Not that I want bad things for Philadelphia. I don't, but it's just I just can't believe what I'm seeing. When this team was sitting at what like ten and one through eleven weeks, they were they were on, they were gonna coast to the number one seed, and now here they are, they're traveling to Tampa. Nobody saw this coming. Unbelievable drama.
Yeah, they were like the first team that was ten and one to not reach twelve wins. Ever, I think I read and that's now there's an extra game where you can get to the twelve.
Wow, that's an amazing stat.
So yeah, they're in this total tailspin in Philly, and of course everyone outside of Philadelphia is loving every second of it. But it gets worse on Thursday. Jalen Hurts says he has not thrown a football since he injured his finger on last Sunday, So we'll see what happens on Friday Saturday. But his middle his fingers messed up on his throwing, and he said it was a mistake going back in the game against the Giants, and there's
really nothing to play forelmost at that point. So yeah, you gotta be worried about all of the Eagles, especially DeAndre Swift. He's the I'll roll the dice on the passing game because you know that's how you attack the Bucks. But it's no shock or that you don't want to go with DeAndre Swift really in any format against the Bucks, allowing three point six yards per carry and the eighth lowest rushing success rate over the final ten weeks of
the regular season. In Swift, you know who's usually he can be a bell cow back when given the opportunities, meaning you know, he gets his carries and he gets worked through the He's been invisible in the pass game over his last six totally, just six catches for seventeen scoreless yards on eleven targets during that span his last six games. So gross, gross prospects for DeAndre Swift in
this game. What I'm who I'm most excited for is Baker Mayfield, who coming off a really bad game statistically against Carolina last week, but he was banged up and teams just we said it all season, they do not throw against the Panthers, and the Panthers do have a good secondary when teams do choose to throw against them. But who doesn't have a good secondary, And it's taken
a total you know from last season is Philadelphia. Since Week thirteen, Philly has allowed the sixth highest yards per attempt, the third most passing touchdowns, the fourth highest passer rating, the seventh highest adjusted completion rate. Again, Baker's been banged up with the rib injury, but he'll benefit from the extra day arrest with its game being on Monday night, which I hate, by the way, it should.
Just be tween. So I mean some you know, the winner here is gonna get at most six days rest. They'll get six. They won't play him on Saturday, but they get six days.
Still disadvantage.
It's a sizable disadvantage, and.
I do I will admit. Once Monday comes around, you know, Monday night, you're like, oh, there's a football game on, So I guess I'm glad they did wait, But overall it's it's stupid. But anyway, uh, not stupid would be stacking the Buccaneers from all angles against this Eagles defense, starting with the obvious guys Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, you can go all the way down to Kate Otten though, just super stackable friendly team. Uh for the Bucks who there's gonna be some rain in this one. Philly still
favored three point favorites. I don't know about that. This feels more like just a toss up to me with the way the Eagles have been playing, But I would not be shocked to see the the Bucks pull the upset here. And uh, you know, Rashad White can only say good things about Rashad White that the Eagles run defense is all so taking a complete one eighty just again, total tail spin. All the Bucks are in play in this game, I'd give.
Some you want, you want a dart throw buck, It's Trey Palmer. Trey Palmer. Yeah, the slot has been a problem for Philadelphia all year long, and in some cases a massive problem for them. And you know Philadelphia's you know, they got they got a Vonte Maddox back there, and you know Maddox is he's not terrible, but he's you know, also not all that good. Philadelphia is allowed let me look at it, see if they've allowed the fourth most
Fantasy points to the slot. So yeah, that'll be that'll be one to watch as well if you need a sort of DFS dart throw Trey Palmer potential. Can we can we just feel good about Baker Mayfield for a second. I mean, the dude when ignominiously ejected from Cleveland. You know, I think a lot of people, a lot of fans, you know, after watching his TV ads for three years, and we're like, what has he done to earn this level of stature? Blah blah blah whatever, just very quietly
signs with the Bucks. People felt like it was a desperation move from the Bucks, who didn't have anywhere else to turn at quarterback. And Baker Mayfield's turned in a good fantasy season and a good, well, just a good season. I don't want to qualify but make it sound like a fantasy season, Brian, it's you know, by I think, by any standards, it was a good season, in a better season than pretty much anybody expected from Baker Mayfield.
Oh yeah, for sure. And you can't forget last year he started off with the Panthers, didn't play well, but we all know the story in Carolina. They were a disaster last year. They're gonna be a disaster for a long time. Then he went to the Rams for a minute. They ran out of quarterbacks essentially, and he played all right for the He just showed up, I remember, and he played decent one game for the Rams, and I think they went to Green Bay and got rolled. But yeah, great,
great story. He should be Comeback Player of the Year.
Well not, unfortunately not, you know, not even in consideration. Really it's a right now it's Flacco and DeMar Hamlin, or at least that's how they closed out the regular season as those two.
Is Hamlin's he played what, like, I know, that's incredible.
Seven look delighted, yeh, obviously delighted he's alive and delighted he's still in the league. But I just think at some point to win this award, you need to play, don't you.
Yeah, seven snaps? Seven games we're taking.
Yeah, he had seventeen If I misspoke, it was seventeen snaps, which is pretty ridiculous.
I just like, a that's a quarter.
Yeah, and you know, and maybe, you know, maybe DeMar Hamlin's going to be much better next year, you know, further removed from nearly dying on the field, and so maybe next will be better. But you know, I think if it were my vote, I would I'd go Joe Flacco for that, or to your point, Baker Mayfield, by the way, you care to guests, were Baker Mayfield ESPN scoring? What position did Baker Mayfield finish in the quarterback position?
Got to be top ten to go seventh.
Ten Baker Mayfield ten. How about that?
I wanted to bring it up circle back to Houston Cleveland. Really we're talking about and just season awards Stefanski or Demiko Ryans.
Yeah, I talked about it on KFA and today, what an amazing job by both guys. Stefanski had to overcome way more. You lose Nick Chubb in week two, You're on four different quarterbacks. You have to juggle the hole Deshaun Watson thing, which is you know, really difficult, lots of injuries on and off to his defense as well for Kevin Stefanski. And now they've you know, they've really you know, they've turned into obviously a very good team.
That's parts great for Stefanski, for Damiko Ryans. Remember Houston picked two in the draft. They were so bad and there look at where they ended up. You know, they end up being they're hosting a playoff game. They win their division and hosts a playoff game. What a job he did. I don't if you had to, if you were to pick one or the other who would you pick?
I think, has there ever been a co co winner? This is the year that there should be one.
I think I'm pretty sure there has been a co winner of coach.
I know, I know you can't factor the postseason, but really this game should decide.
That's a great point. Now, the winner of this game gets to win that award.
I think ins the fancy just because it's Yeah, Houston's been It just seemed like a total like that. They were just their season was over almost, you know, as soon as Nick Chubb went down, and then things got worse and worse and worse to the point where you're like, just shut it down. And then in comes Joe Flacco and yeah, fitting water with Dorriyan Thompson, Robinson and stuff. They had a win or two there, but Flacco thing is just incredible. I It's gonna be a Disney movie about this.
This is like, well, if you he wins the super Bowl, there might be yes, yeah, okay, And I'm wrong. I don't believe there has been have been co winners. I thought that there might have, but I do not appear to have been correct about that.
So has there been any steam I'm in Charlotte now, so I'm not hearing a lot of the local gibber jabber anymore. But Joe Flago of the Vikings next year, is that a possibility?
Not that I think. I think they're here. They're talking about the general managed for the Vikings came out and talked about how he's you know, the team's going to make an effort to resign Kirk Cousins. That doesn't mean they will, and it doesn't mean that Kirk will accept whatever they offer for a salary, but there will be an effort made to keep him, and I think ultimately they will.
Flacco can certainly play still, clearly saw Tom Brady. We saw Tom Brady play all forty five and he's an unrestricted free agent. Cleveland is unfortunately married to de Shaun Watson. And if someone's gonna be willing to pay him starter money, not gonna he'll probably take it.
Oh yeah, they always do, right, or almost always do. I if you had to pick a team where if you had to pick a team right now that Joe Flacco is going to be the starter for on Week one, who would you pick?
Like where it would work? I think it would work with the Vikings if they don't resign Kirk Cousins Atlanta possibly, I think it's getting one.
I think it's going to be a team farther down the draft that can't really realistically go get their guy, and that's Pittsburgh at twenty three. You know, there's Pittsburgh
sitting at twenty three. Is at least if they're twenty three now, they could move up depending on you know, wins or losses here, Pittsburgh at twenty three doesn't have a very viable way to get up into the top six or so that you're going to have to get one of the three quarterbacks that are believed to be going early in the lottery here.
So it'll be his third AFC North team that.
Wouldn't wild Yeah, yep, you.
Know, finished the career in Cincinnati.
Yeah right, maybe maybe he could Burrow goes.
Down in twenty twenty six or no, twenty twenty five, what you're Rewian, But yeah, it would be incredible if they just it's incredible already. But if the Browns make a deep run, if the Browns win the Super Bowl, what do you do with Deshaun Watson?
Yeah, how do you how would you at that point go back to Deshaun Watson and tell your fan base, Yeah, we just won the Super Bowl at Joe Flacco, but we're gonna let him go to Pittsburgh, our division rival, and we're gonna go back to the guy who was fully incapable of moving this offense.
That knows our whole postseason playbooked right walk away with that.
Unreal, God, it'd be it'd be such a great storyline, wouldn't it incredible?
Yeah?
Unreal? Thanks for coming on the show. Good to have you your first show from from New Diggs in Carolina.
And and yes I'm not the Brian Johnson who's interviewing for the Why and why.
Is he interviewing for anything? What has he done with this? What has he done with the Eagles offense? To Garner an interview.
That's why I'm further rooting for Philly's offense to Sputter, so he doesn't get this job, because I can't stand watching Eagles games. Hearing your own name over and over again while watching football game is very annoying. You're gonna have to trust me on this. And they're like Brian Johnson, Brian Johnson and Brian Johnson, then I'm like shouted up. So I don't want Brian Johnson in the news cycle right anymore, exactly until the ac DC lead singer dies.
That's the last time I want to hear Brian Johnson.
Well we're not. Let's not wish death.
No, this is many many years down there.
Yeah, decades, all right, Brian, thanks a lot. Appreciate everybody who listened to Fantasy Football Weekly. Back next week more of the same. We'll be breaking down playoff games, obviously throughout the entire playoffs, and we appreciate all the fantasy players who who continue to join us and continue listening throughout the off season, and we'll talk to you next week. Bye bye. Fantasy Football Weekly is a production of iHeartRadio.
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