November 16, 2023 • 22 mins
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It's Fox Sports Radio's Official Fantasy Football Podcast! Dan Beyer and Ryan Burschinger react to news of Justin Fields returning to the Bears, while Deshaun Watson is ruled out for the season. The guys preview Thursday Night Foobtall between the Ravens and Bengals. Plus, Ryan gives his Defensive Streams of the Week, and Dan gives his Survivor picks!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You want experience during your football season, well, buckle.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Up, sweet cheeks.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We've got all the experience in the world. This is
I Want your Flex with Dan Bayer and Mike Harmon.
Mike and Dan break down everything you need to set
your lineups, from position rankings to starts and sits. The
guys help you make those hard decisions. And now let's
get your flex onde. Here's Dan Bayer and Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
It's another edition. If I want your Flex today, You've
got the executive producer of the show, Ryan Berschinger, and myself,
Dan Bayer. Mike Carmen will be back on Friday with
the rankings of top five players at the running back, quarterback,
and wide receiver positions, plus his hot play, his hot
plays Goldsores and Ninja's. And I'll give you a reason
to start a guy at a bench. You guy, And
just to just to give you a little heads up
(00:56):
on that, I will not be telling you to start
a guy who threw a brick at a windshield. It
is not gonna happen in week eleven. It may have
happened in week ten. And my prediction came before said
brick was thrown at windshield. But we'll try to do
better in week eleven. That is in tomorrow's episode The Saints.
(01:17):
By the way, I have a buye in week eleven. First,
but we do start out with the news of the
week so far, and that's Deshaun Watson of the Browns
done for the season, fractured his shoulder high ankle sprain.
Now Dorian Thompson Robinson takes the starting rains for Cleveland,
and that's where the domino effect comes in because it's
(01:42):
Watson was I'm in a twelve team league and I've
rotated Watson and Russell Wilson throughout this season. Watson wasn't
a sure start for you when he was healthy, but
depending on certain matchups, if you didn't take a quarterback early,
he was playable for you. I would think about playing him.
Now I'm coming to a spot where, honestly, after the
game against the Ravens on Sunday, I thought to myself,
(02:04):
you know, David and Joku's you know, got some value
and if Watson is getting better, then you know, Amari
Cooper comes more of a piece he had Jerome Ford
having over one hundred yards, the Browns offense kind of
starting to get into a bit of a rhythm in
that second half and maybe they carry it over and
now I think that's all lost. Everybody takes a hit.
You know, Watson obviously not there, but I think the
(02:25):
running game hurts, and Joku's viability hurts. Same thing with
Amari Cooper. So tough news in the fantasy realm. In
my mind, if you have any Cleveland Browns on your.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Team, Yeah, absolutely, it's a very unfortunate situation if you're
owning any piece of the Browns, because quite frankly, after
last week, the way that they came back on the Ravens,
they were looking like suddenly they were very viable contenders
in the AFC, given how good their defense has been.
And Deshaun Watson actually looked better with a broken shoulder,
(02:56):
apparently because he played better in the second half. So
I guess, yeah, if you look at the the rest
of the passing offense, Amari Cooper falls into like maybe
flex territory. But if you have better options, you gotta
go with the better options. David Njoku falls off the table.
Jerome Ford is probably still startable, and I think even
(03:18):
Kareem Hunt is still startable because you figure he would get,
he would get passes thrown to him, He'll get some
some catches. A DTR is gonna have to dump it
off here and there. So but they, all of them,
they're downgraded in terms of actual rankings and whether or
not you want to play them. So you've got to
(03:38):
look at your alternatives if you have any of these guys.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
There's another quarterbacking situation that changed in week eleven in
advance of week eleven, and that is the Bears are
getting Justin Fields back. I think that could I'm gonna
just say this, hurt Kolkomett, help DJ, hurt Dante Foreman.
(04:02):
That's my initial and Foreman status I think is magnified
because of the possible return of Khalil Herbert. But I
do think that he has carved out a role as
their back on first and second downs. I do think
that that could continue. But short yardage, are you trusting
Foreman as much as you were now that you have
Justin Fields? I think DJ Moore is the only one
(04:25):
that I could see, all right, okay, this could really
open up because it seemed like Camet and Beijit had
a bit of a rapport. That's how I see the
fallout coming with the Bears.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I agree with all aspects of that. I think Moore
is the only one that you get some greater confidence
in because of it. Their run game is Yeah, you're
getting not one, but two strong runners back with both
Justin Fields and Khalil Herbert, so your other options. There
Foreman had a really strong week last week, so he
(04:55):
probably still does get the ball, but they also want to,
you know, work in Roshawn Johnson when they can. Yeah,
but yeah, so I really don't know what to make
of Fields coming back. I don't know how in terms
of playing him. You've probably gotten other options in the
past few weeks because of the fact he's been gone
(05:17):
for so long. So I don't know. The Lions are
are a good matchup, but it's hard for me to
still see him as a top ten play because you
just don't know how much he's going to run right
off the bat. But yeah, I if you're able to,
(05:39):
I'd want to take a wait and see approach with
Fields and the other running backs in the bar.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
So the teams may not be afforded and have just
been waiting for this day, or they drafted them higher,
and so you're gonna play him anyway, but the residual
effects on how it trickles down, I think that it
hurts too. Helps one of the players. DJ Moore's numbers
demonstratively better actually with just fields than they were with
Tyson Bagent. And it's just a different anytime you have
(06:05):
a running quarterback, it's going to affect the running stats
of your running game and the other players. Plus again,
those goal line situations that we talk about, and you
know you mentioned the Lions. It's funny because I think
that we go back and forth on this Lion's defense
and now we're coming off of one where they gave
up thirty eight points against the Chargers. But it's also
one that can be stingy at times as well. We
(06:26):
saw this last year. Bad defense started the year, great
defense at the end of the year. I think it's
been more of a mixed bag with Detroit this year.
So we'll see no elements obviously the games in Detroit
so they don't have to worry about that, but yeah,
could be interesting to see justin field. So I think
as a very short leash. To be honest with you,
I don't think Tyson Bagent played as bad as he did,
but She also, if Fields doesn't show you anything, I
(06:50):
don't think you want to continue the narrative that maybe
Justin Fields is the guy and then you just move
on and draft your quarterback next year. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Yeah, I can totally see that Bagent was not terrible.
I wouldn't say he was like good, but yeah, he
wasn't awful, so it would it'll be interesting to see
how they handle Fields, especially in this first game. Yeah,
it's like you said, there's probably people who are not
(07:18):
afforded the opportunity to wait and see. But if you
in the meantime in the last few weeks were able
to grab Sam Howel, How's a great play this week?
So you know, hopefully you've got maybe another option.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Let's get to the Thursday night game, because there are
some key pieces missing from this one, specifically t Higgins
out for the Bengals as they traveled to Baltimore to
take on the Ravens. What's your gut thought on this?
I have I have my my feel of this game,
and it's not a gut feel. It's actually going back
on some data, some data. But how do you feel
(07:57):
that this plays out between these two teams on Thursday Night?
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I don't think it's as high of a scoring affairs
as it feels like it would be with two strong offenses.
I think obviously both of them are well. The Ravens
are coming off of that second half collapse, and with
the Bengals not having T Higgins again, the Ravens are
(08:24):
such a strong defense that it doesn't feel like this
game will pop as much. I think it must agree
a tighter battle.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
When you look at their meetings over the last couple
of years. Now, last year they played at the end
of the season in a game where Baltimore arrested guys
because of the ensuing playoff matchup that they would have.
But we're talking, you know, twenty four to seventeen nineteen
seventeen was one of their matchups last year, and then
they played in Week two of this season. Ravens won
(08:55):
it twenty seven to twenty four. But in that game,
it's funny T Higgins was the main target of Joe Burrow.
Jamar Chase was the one that was and I'm using
air quotes that you can't see on this podcast locked
up because Jamar Chase had five catches for thirty one
yards on eight targets. It was t Higgins, who had
the twelve Tyler board, was targeted eight times in that
(09:16):
game as well at six receptions. Maybe there's maybe it's
Tyler Boyd trying to bounce back from the touchdown end
zone drop against the Texans. I wouldn't I wouldn't be
afraid to play Tyler Boyd if I needed to in
Week eleven.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, I think I would. I would go there if
you're deciding between like Boyd and Trent and Irwin. Irwin
had that touchdown catch, but after that he also like
missed a target in the end zone and I wasn't
super involved after that, so I would I would opt
for Boyd if you're looking to stream one of those
options in t Higgins's place, But also they're both not
(09:54):
great plays there. I think that that Boyd is a
fine play. Irwin feels a little desperate.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Again, it's a bad week of buys. You don't have
a lot of great teams on so you should have
most of your roster, But if you don't, that could
be a place to look. Raven side of things, Trey
Hendrickson looks like he's gonna play for Cincinnati, but Sam
Hubbard is out, so you lose a little bit of
the pass rush against Lamar Jackson. I expect Mark Andrews
to UH to break out. It's been a bit quiet.
(10:24):
I think Gus Buss is starting to be a you know,
a play every week just because of when they get
down to the red zone. But Keaton mitchell status is
obviously when you're gonna have to keep an eye on.
But I do think that the Ravens will be able
to move the ball through the air against Cincinnati on
Thursday night.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
I Keaton Mitchell is the one that I find to
be very interesting because what we've seen out of him
in the last two weeks is that he is explosive,
but he's very different than their other rushing options. We
see a lot of Gus Edwards and a little bit
of Justice Hill because especially Gus Edwards, it's it's ground
(11:01):
and pound. And we saw last week where Mitchell had
that that big touchdown early in the game, but after that,
I think in the second half he took like four snaps.
So you saw when they were when they were in
that positive game script UH, they opted more for their
bigger backs to just grind things out. And while that
(11:22):
is a fully logical play ultimately wasn't great for them.
So yeah, if if Keaton Mitchell is a full go
he is. You know, he reminds me so much of
Devon a Chan right off the bat because of that
that tiny explosive nature. But in the matchup is there,
(11:44):
I would be hesitant to play him though, simply because
while the numbers have been there the last two weeks,
it has been very big play dependent and he still
has has great potential to be an explosive player the
second half of the season. But I think he's a
great bench stash, but probably still not a play I.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Just recent history to what you said at the start
of this matchup. I just am not a I'm not
a huge believer that this is going to be a
forty one to thirty eight game. I think it is
going to be that twenty seven to twenty four is
what they played to in their first meeting of the year,
somewhere in that neighborhood, but maybe just a little shy
of that. All right, there's your Thursday night preview. Hit
(12:27):
burshop at Ryan Berschinger and you could find me at
Dan Bayern Fox. Coming up next, we will stream defenses
for Week eleven and there are some interesting matchups plus survivorpool.
If you're still alive. If you took the Cowboys on
the free pass, congratulations, If you took the Bengals and
Bills last week, this is why you take the free
pass when you can. We'll give you some Week eleven
(12:50):
heads up on Survivor picks next year on I want
your flex All right, let's get to those streaming defenses again.
These are defenses that Ryan Berschinger hicks out points out
that you may want to pick up and just play
for one week only. And the matchups that we have
with the buys that we have this week, we've talked
(13:10):
about this Patriots Colts on by, Saints are on by,
So all of your defenses should be should be available,
and we've got some one sided affairs. Dare I say
the Commanders are a possibility in streaming in Week eleven?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Ryan Burschinger, Oh, I was just gonna say, if I
told you that you could play the thirty second ranked
Fantasy defense this week, you would say no, right, And
this is also a defense that lost two very key
components of their defensive line recently. You'd say no, absolutely not.
(13:47):
I have full steam ahead. With the Commanders this week.
They're playing the Giants, and that's it. That's all I need. Yea,
that is really all I need. They gave a fine
defensive perform orments against the Giants a few weeks back,
and that wasn't even Tommy DeVito. This is this is
full to Vito. He throw a touchdown last week. Good
good for you, Tommy. But no, I am absolutely not
(14:11):
at all afraid I'm playing the Commander's defensive.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Here's here's my question for you. Does the re emergence
now of Kyler Murray as the quarterback back healthy from
his torn ACL does that take the Cardinals off of
your page of possible options for streaming defenses?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
It actually does? Yes, yeah, I would not. I would
not touch the Texans this week. I think that because
also the Texans are rather vulnerable against the run. Kyler
is not. I mean we haven't.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
He didn't run as much and you know obviously he's
going to be easing everything back in. But overall, no,
I actually I think the Cardinals Texans can be rather
high scoring on both sides. I feel like that could
hopefully be a points of palooza this week.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
I haven't done points not that on the waist side.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
There's a lot of plays that that I think are
very strong in that game, and the defenses are our
our our no goes for me. In terms of other plays,
I mean, we talked about the Browns obviously with Dorian
Thompson Robinson. If the Steelers are available, that's a great play.
And we talked about the Bears Lions. I I am
(15:27):
playing the Lions in one league because yeah, even with
the return of Justin Fields, I I that's an offense
that at any point struggles to get things going. This
is gonna be a touch and go matchup. I think
that you can you can very comfortably play the Lions
(15:47):
defense because there there's tremendous odds that the Bears offense
struggles in this one.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
So I like that.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
I like that play, and I believe there's one more play.
I mean, the Jaguars against the Titans, I think are
a good play. And I do want to mention the
Dolphins were just on buy. So they've got the Raiders
this week and they've got the Jets next week, so
if they're still available, I think that's a strong pickup.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
The reason why I like this segment each week is
because of what we do is kind of connected. You're
looking for the spot play of a defense, and when
I'm making a Survivor pick, I'm looking for the one
team that we likely haven't used yet to pick in
a Survivor matchup. And so as we transition to that,
(16:34):
you mentioned some of the matchups that you're targeting. I
think that last week was a lesson to be learned
for some in a Survivor pool. And if they've gotten
to that point of the season, if you've gotten a
week eleven, congratulations if you're making a pick, because there's
probably about ninety percent of your pool that is no
longer available. A third of a pool that I'm in
(16:57):
knocked out last week because a lot of weight on
the Bengals against the Texans and the Bills and Broncos
on Monday Night. So those were two teams that you
thought had better matchups and turns out that they didn't.
But the easy game, no doubt about it, was the
Cowboys Giants. Cowboys were seventeen point favorite. In the pool
(17:17):
that I was in. There was roughly about three hundred
entries left entering the week. Two hundred of those had
the opportunity to pick the Cowboys. About one hundred and
fifty or so did so. About thirty to fifty entries
still have the Cowboys available to them. But my point
is what better spot to just get a free ticket
(17:39):
to move on to the next week. And that's where
I think it was valuable. And I think that the
teams that entries that were trying to save the Cowboys
what for maybe this week against the Panthers, Like there's
no guarantee that the Cowboys are going to beat the
Commanders on Thanksgiving Day. We've seen teams actually beat Dallas
on Thanksgiving before, and then if you have a matchup
against the Eagles again, you're options are running out. So
(18:01):
my point is is take the win when you can,
when it's available to you, and don't second guess it,
because the key is to just stay alive, which now
leads us to this week, because there are a bunch
of games where you have significant point spreads. You just
mentioned Raiders Dolphins almost up to fourteen points in favor
(18:21):
of Miami. Thirteen and a half is what I'm looking
at right now. The aforementioned Cowboys ten and a half
against the Panthers, Lions, an eight point favorite in their
matchup against the Bears. The Commanders are an eight and
a half point favorite. Niners are an eleven and a
half point favorite. If you are fortunate enough to have
any of those teams, yeah, this would probably be the
(18:42):
week that you would want to take them. Don't just
because they're good. You've gotten this far. This is an accomplishment.
Don't feel like you need to have the Niners, Eagles,
and Chiefs all available to you in Week fifteen. That'd
be great, but just the likelihood that's not going to happen,
it's take advantage of it while you can. Now, there
are a couple of games that I didn't mention. In
(19:02):
the Tennessee Jacksonville one. Ryan has got me scratching my
head because I just don't get the Jaguars effort last
week against the forty nine ers, and now you have
the Titans coming in. And it's not that I'm a
Will Levice believer, but I do believe in Tennessee's front.
I do believe in them stopping the run. I don't
know how much they can stop the pass, but I
(19:23):
do think that they can stop the run. I also
think Derek Henry last week against a Buccaneers team that
just got ran up and down the field by the
Houston Texans probably had something to prove, So I think
Tennessee may have something to prove. And then falling into
my stay away from divisional matchups if you can and survivor,
I say stay away from Titans Jaguars. This week just
(19:44):
too toxic for me to touch on the two games
that I am looking at. You mentioned you think that
points of Balsa could be Houston and the Texans. My
whole point is this, Do I think that the Cardinals
are good enough to win back to back games? Probably not, Okay,
I don't. I just think that the Texans at home,
(20:07):
even after they're two great wins that they've had against
the Buccaneers and then last week at Cincinnati, I would
side with the Texans right now. That is my pick.
And then the other one Sunday Night, Vikings and Broncos.
Can the Josh Dobbs magic really really continue? Can they
go to Denver and top the Broncos, who are riding
(20:28):
a three game win streak with wins over the Packers, Chiefs,
and Bills. That's a tall task. I like the Broncos
as a pick to kind of end this Josh Dobbs
Cinderella story, and it's a way to get the Broncos
out of the way. If you were looking at value
for survivor pick those are my two picks Texans and
Broncos this week.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
The Broncos are super interesting given how they're trending up
and relating it to defensive streams. That was an offense
that I would target for a few weeks. I wouldn't.
I wouldn't target a defense against Theroncos right now because sure,
I think that that offense is working well enough that
they're gonna put up points. So I think that's a
(21:10):
good play. I really do, because the Vikings are definitely vulnerable,
and man, I just I hope justin Jefferson's in that game.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Well, yeah, that could change things as well. Denver probably
not going to turn Minnesota over five times. I remember times,
you know, the Bills turned it over. But I also
think that there's a way like Denver wasn't great on
Monday Night and they benefited from those turnovers for sure,
But are they a better team than they were at
the start of the season. Yeah, I think they are.
(21:40):
And you're in front of the home fans. It's a
night game. There seems to be some positive energy energy
around that. Again, it's across conference games. You don't have
to worry about a division matchup. If I'm rolling the dice,
I'd go with the Broncos. The other interesting one that
I'll point out Chargers in Green Bay. The only thing
that I'm thinking is all right, cold weather. But I
(22:02):
do think the Chargers, just as a three point favorite,
are significantly better than the Backers. That could be if
you don't feel good with the Texans or Vikings, roll
the dice and go with the road team. I don't
suggest it, but if you were go with the Bolts.
There's my survivor picks.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
There we go.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
All right, there it is. I want your flex. Mike's
going to be back again Friday with the rankings and
hot plays and cold stores and whatnot, and then I'll
give you a reason to start and bench you guys.
So for Ryan Berginger, I'm Dan Byer. Enjoy Thursday night football.
This has been I want your flex
You want experience during your football season, well, buckle.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
Up, sweet cheeks.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
We've got all the experience in the world. This is
I Want your Flex with Dan Bayer and Mike Harmon.
Mike and Dan break down everything you need to set
your lineups, from position rankings to starts and sits. The
guys help you make those hard decisions. And now let's
get your flex onde. Here's Dan Bayer and Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
It's another edition. If I want your Flex today, You've
got the executive producer of the show, Ryan Berschinger, and myself,
Dan Bayer. Mike Carmen will be back on Friday with
the rankings of top five players at the running back, quarterback,
and wide receiver positions, plus his hot play, his hot
plays Goldsores and Ninja's. And I'll give you a reason
to start a guy at a bench. You guy, And
just to just to give you a little heads up
(00:56):
on that, I will not be telling you to start
a guy who threw a brick at a windshield. It
is not gonna happen in week eleven. It may have
happened in week ten. And my prediction came before said
brick was thrown at windshield. But we'll try to do
better in week eleven. That is in tomorrow's episode The Saints.
(01:17):
By the way, I have a buye in week eleven. First,
but we do start out with the news of the
week so far, and that's Deshaun Watson of the Browns
done for the season, fractured his shoulder high ankle sprain.
Now Dorian Thompson Robinson takes the starting rains for Cleveland,
and that's where the domino effect comes in because it's
(01:42):
Watson was I'm in a twelve team league and I've
rotated Watson and Russell Wilson throughout this season. Watson wasn't
a sure start for you when he was healthy, but
depending on certain matchups, if you didn't take a quarterback early,
he was playable for you. I would think about playing him.
Now I'm coming to a spot where, honestly, after the
game against the Ravens on Sunday, I thought to myself,
(02:04):
you know, David and Joku's you know, got some value
and if Watson is getting better, then you know, Amari
Cooper comes more of a piece he had Jerome Ford
having over one hundred yards, the Browns offense kind of
starting to get into a bit of a rhythm in
that second half and maybe they carry it over and
now I think that's all lost. Everybody takes a hit.
You know, Watson obviously not there, but I think the
(02:25):
running game hurts, and Joku's viability hurts. Same thing with
Amari Cooper. So tough news in the fantasy realm. In
my mind, if you have any Cleveland Browns on your.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Team, Yeah, absolutely, it's a very unfortunate situation if you're
owning any piece of the Browns, because quite frankly, after
last week, the way that they came back on the Ravens,
they were looking like suddenly they were very viable contenders
in the AFC, given how good their defense has been.
And Deshaun Watson actually looked better with a broken shoulder,
(02:56):
apparently because he played better in the second half. So
I guess, yeah, if you look at the the rest
of the passing offense, Amari Cooper falls into like maybe
flex territory. But if you have better options, you gotta
go with the better options. David Njoku falls off the table.
Jerome Ford is probably still startable, and I think even
(03:18):
Kareem Hunt is still startable because you figure he would get,
he would get passes thrown to him, He'll get some
some catches. A DTR is gonna have to dump it
off here and there. So but they, all of them,
they're downgraded in terms of actual rankings and whether or
not you want to play them. So you've got to
(03:38):
look at your alternatives if you have any of these guys.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
There's another quarterbacking situation that changed in week eleven in
advance of week eleven, and that is the Bears are
getting Justin Fields back. I think that could I'm gonna
just say this, hurt Kolkomett, help DJ, hurt Dante Foreman.
(04:02):
That's my initial and Foreman status I think is magnified
because of the possible return of Khalil Herbert. But I
do think that he has carved out a role as
their back on first and second downs. I do think
that that could continue. But short yardage, are you trusting
Foreman as much as you were now that you have
Justin Fields? I think DJ Moore is the only one
(04:25):
that I could see, all right, okay, this could really
open up because it seemed like Camet and Beijit had
a bit of a rapport. That's how I see the
fallout coming with the Bears.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I agree with all aspects of that. I think Moore
is the only one that you get some greater confidence
in because of it. Their run game is Yeah, you're
getting not one, but two strong runners back with both
Justin Fields and Khalil Herbert, so your other options. There
Foreman had a really strong week last week, so he
(04:55):
probably still does get the ball, but they also want to,
you know, work in Roshawn Johnson when they can. Yeah,
but yeah, so I really don't know what to make
of Fields coming back. I don't know how in terms
of playing him. You've probably gotten other options in the
past few weeks because of the fact he's been gone
(05:17):
for so long. So I don't know. The Lions are
are a good matchup, but it's hard for me to
still see him as a top ten play because you
just don't know how much he's going to run right
off the bat. But yeah, I if you're able to,
(05:39):
I'd want to take a wait and see approach with
Fields and the other running backs in the bar.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
So the teams may not be afforded and have just
been waiting for this day, or they drafted them higher,
and so you're gonna play him anyway, but the residual
effects on how it trickles down, I think that it
hurts too. Helps one of the players. DJ Moore's numbers
demonstratively better actually with just fields than they were with
Tyson Bagent. And it's just a different anytime you have
(06:05):
a running quarterback, it's going to affect the running stats
of your running game and the other players. Plus again,
those goal line situations that we talk about, and you
know you mentioned the Lions. It's funny because I think
that we go back and forth on this Lion's defense
and now we're coming off of one where they gave
up thirty eight points against the Chargers. But it's also
one that can be stingy at times as well. We
(06:26):
saw this last year. Bad defense started the year, great
defense at the end of the year. I think it's
been more of a mixed bag with Detroit this year.
So we'll see no elements obviously the games in Detroit
so they don't have to worry about that, but yeah,
could be interesting to see justin field. So I think
as a very short leash. To be honest with you,
I don't think Tyson Bagent played as bad as he did,
but She also, if Fields doesn't show you anything, I
(06:50):
don't think you want to continue the narrative that maybe
Justin Fields is the guy and then you just move
on and draft your quarterback next year. Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Yeah, I can totally see that Bagent was not terrible.
I wouldn't say he was like good, but yeah, he
wasn't awful, so it would it'll be interesting to see
how they handle Fields, especially in this first game. Yeah,
it's like you said, there's probably people who are not
(07:18):
afforded the opportunity to wait and see. But if you
in the meantime in the last few weeks were able
to grab Sam Howel, How's a great play this week?
So you know, hopefully you've got maybe another option.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Let's get to the Thursday night game, because there are
some key pieces missing from this one, specifically t Higgins
out for the Bengals as they traveled to Baltimore to
take on the Ravens. What's your gut thought on this?
I have I have my my feel of this game,
and it's not a gut feel. It's actually going back
on some data, some data. But how do you feel
(07:57):
that this plays out between these two teams on Thursday Night?
Speaker 3 (08:00):
I don't think it's as high of a scoring affairs
as it feels like it would be with two strong offenses.
I think obviously both of them are well. The Ravens
are coming off of that second half collapse, and with
the Bengals not having T Higgins again, the Ravens are
(08:24):
such a strong defense that it doesn't feel like this
game will pop as much. I think it must agree
a tighter battle.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
When you look at their meetings over the last couple
of years. Now, last year they played at the end
of the season in a game where Baltimore arrested guys
because of the ensuing playoff matchup that they would have.
But we're talking, you know, twenty four to seventeen nineteen
seventeen was one of their matchups last year, and then
they played in Week two of this season. Ravens won
(08:55):
it twenty seven to twenty four. But in that game,
it's funny T Higgins was the main target of Joe Burrow.
Jamar Chase was the one that was and I'm using
air quotes that you can't see on this podcast locked
up because Jamar Chase had five catches for thirty one
yards on eight targets. It was t Higgins, who had
the twelve Tyler board, was targeted eight times in that
(09:16):
game as well at six receptions. Maybe there's maybe it's
Tyler Boyd trying to bounce back from the touchdown end
zone drop against the Texans. I wouldn't I wouldn't be
afraid to play Tyler Boyd if I needed to in
Week eleven.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
Yeah, I think I would. I would go there if
you're deciding between like Boyd and Trent and Irwin. Irwin
had that touchdown catch, but after that he also like
missed a target in the end zone and I wasn't
super involved after that, so I would I would opt
for Boyd if you're looking to stream one of those
options in t Higgins's place, But also they're both not
(09:54):
great plays there. I think that that Boyd is a
fine play. Irwin feels a little desperate.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Again, it's a bad week of buys. You don't have
a lot of great teams on so you should have
most of your roster, But if you don't, that could
be a place to look. Raven side of things, Trey
Hendrickson looks like he's gonna play for Cincinnati, but Sam
Hubbard is out, so you lose a little bit of
the pass rush against Lamar Jackson. I expect Mark Andrews
to UH to break out. It's been a bit quiet.
(10:24):
I think Gus Buss is starting to be a you know,
a play every week just because of when they get
down to the red zone. But Keaton mitchell status is
obviously when you're gonna have to keep an eye on.
But I do think that the Ravens will be able
to move the ball through the air against Cincinnati on
Thursday night.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:40):
I Keaton Mitchell is the one that I find to
be very interesting because what we've seen out of him
in the last two weeks is that he is explosive,
but he's very different than their other rushing options. We
see a lot of Gus Edwards and a little bit
of Justice Hill because especially Gus Edwards, it's it's ground
(11:01):
and pound. And we saw last week where Mitchell had
that that big touchdown early in the game, but after that,
I think in the second half he took like four snaps.
So you saw when they were when they were in
that positive game script UH, they opted more for their
bigger backs to just grind things out. And while that
(11:22):
is a fully logical play ultimately wasn't great for them.
So yeah, if if Keaton Mitchell is a full go
he is. You know, he reminds me so much of
Devon a Chan right off the bat because of that
that tiny explosive nature. But in the matchup is there,
(11:44):
I would be hesitant to play him though, simply because
while the numbers have been there the last two weeks,
it has been very big play dependent and he still
has has great potential to be an explosive player the
second half of the season. But I think he's a
great bench stash, but probably still not a play I.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Just recent history to what you said at the start
of this matchup. I just am not a I'm not
a huge believer that this is going to be a
forty one to thirty eight game. I think it is
going to be that twenty seven to twenty four is
what they played to in their first meeting of the year,
somewhere in that neighborhood, but maybe just a little shy
of that. All right, there's your Thursday night preview. Hit
(12:27):
burshop at Ryan Berschinger and you could find me at
Dan Bayern Fox. Coming up next, we will stream defenses
for Week eleven and there are some interesting matchups plus survivorpool.
If you're still alive. If you took the Cowboys on
the free pass, congratulations, If you took the Bengals and
Bills last week, this is why you take the free
pass when you can. We'll give you some Week eleven
(12:50):
heads up on Survivor picks next year on I want
your flex All right, let's get to those streaming defenses again.
These are defenses that Ryan Berschinger hicks out points out
that you may want to pick up and just play
for one week only. And the matchups that we have
with the buys that we have this week, we've talked
(13:10):
about this Patriots Colts on by, Saints are on by,
So all of your defenses should be should be available,
and we've got some one sided affairs. Dare I say
the Commanders are a possibility in streaming in Week eleven?
Speaker 3 (13:27):
Ryan Burschinger, Oh, I was just gonna say, if I
told you that you could play the thirty second ranked
Fantasy defense this week, you would say no, right, And
this is also a defense that lost two very key
components of their defensive line recently. You'd say no, absolutely not.
(13:47):
I have full steam ahead. With the Commanders this week.
They're playing the Giants, and that's it. That's all I need. Yea,
that is really all I need. They gave a fine
defensive perform orments against the Giants a few weeks back,
and that wasn't even Tommy DeVito. This is this is
full to Vito. He throw a touchdown last week. Good
good for you, Tommy. But no, I am absolutely not
(14:11):
at all afraid I'm playing the Commander's defensive.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Here's here's my question for you. Does the re emergence
now of Kyler Murray as the quarterback back healthy from
his torn ACL does that take the Cardinals off of
your page of possible options for streaming defenses?
Speaker 3 (14:30):
It actually does? Yes, yeah, I would not. I would
not touch the Texans this week. I think that because
also the Texans are rather vulnerable against the run. Kyler
is not. I mean we haven't.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
I don't.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
He didn't run as much and you know obviously he's
going to be easing everything back in. But overall, no,
I actually I think the Cardinals Texans can be rather
high scoring on both sides. I feel like that could
hopefully be a points of palooza this week.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
I haven't done points not that on the waist side.
Speaker 3 (15:06):
There's a lot of plays that that I think are
very strong in that game, and the defenses are our
our our no goes for me. In terms of other plays,
I mean, we talked about the Browns obviously with Dorian
Thompson Robinson. If the Steelers are available, that's a great play.
And we talked about the Bears Lions. I I am
(15:27):
playing the Lions in one league because yeah, even with
the return of Justin Fields, I I that's an offense
that at any point struggles to get things going. This
is gonna be a touch and go matchup. I think
that you can you can very comfortably play the Lions
(15:47):
defense because there there's tremendous odds that the Bears offense
struggles in this one.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
So I like that.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
I like that play, and I believe there's one more play.
I mean, the Jaguars against the Titans, I think are
a good play. And I do want to mention the
Dolphins were just on buy. So they've got the Raiders
this week and they've got the Jets next week, so
if they're still available, I think that's a strong pickup.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
The reason why I like this segment each week is
because of what we do is kind of connected. You're
looking for the spot play of a defense, and when
I'm making a Survivor pick, I'm looking for the one
team that we likely haven't used yet to pick in
a Survivor matchup. And so as we transition to that,
(16:34):
you mentioned some of the matchups that you're targeting. I
think that last week was a lesson to be learned
for some in a Survivor pool. And if they've gotten
to that point of the season, if you've gotten a
week eleven, congratulations if you're making a pick, because there's
probably about ninety percent of your pool that is no
longer available. A third of a pool that I'm in
(16:57):
knocked out last week because a lot of weight on
the Bengals against the Texans and the Bills and Broncos
on Monday Night. So those were two teams that you
thought had better matchups and turns out that they didn't.
But the easy game, no doubt about it, was the
Cowboys Giants. Cowboys were seventeen point favorite. In the pool
(17:17):
that I was in. There was roughly about three hundred
entries left entering the week. Two hundred of those had
the opportunity to pick the Cowboys. About one hundred and
fifty or so did so. About thirty to fifty entries
still have the Cowboys available to them. But my point
is what better spot to just get a free ticket
(17:39):
to move on to the next week. And that's where
I think it was valuable. And I think that the
teams that entries that were trying to save the Cowboys
what for maybe this week against the Panthers, Like there's
no guarantee that the Cowboys are going to beat the
Commanders on Thanksgiving Day. We've seen teams actually beat Dallas
on Thanksgiving before, and then if you have a matchup
against the Eagles again, you're options are running out. So
(18:01):
my point is is take the win when you can,
when it's available to you, and don't second guess it,
because the key is to just stay alive, which now
leads us to this week, because there are a bunch
of games where you have significant point spreads. You just
mentioned Raiders Dolphins almost up to fourteen points in favor
(18:21):
of Miami. Thirteen and a half is what I'm looking
at right now. The aforementioned Cowboys ten and a half
against the Panthers, Lions, an eight point favorite in their
matchup against the Bears. The Commanders are an eight and
a half point favorite. Niners are an eleven and a
half point favorite. If you are fortunate enough to have
any of those teams, yeah, this would probably be the
(18:42):
week that you would want to take them. Don't just
because they're good. You've gotten this far. This is an accomplishment.
Don't feel like you need to have the Niners, Eagles,
and Chiefs all available to you in Week fifteen. That'd
be great, but just the likelihood that's not going to happen,
it's take advantage of it while you can. Now, there
are a couple of games that I didn't mention. In
(19:02):
the Tennessee Jacksonville one. Ryan has got me scratching my
head because I just don't get the Jaguars effort last
week against the forty nine ers, and now you have
the Titans coming in. And it's not that I'm a
Will Levice believer, but I do believe in Tennessee's front.
I do believe in them stopping the run. I don't
know how much they can stop the pass, but I
(19:23):
do think that they can stop the run. I also
think Derek Henry last week against a Buccaneers team that
just got ran up and down the field by the
Houston Texans probably had something to prove, So I think
Tennessee may have something to prove. And then falling into
my stay away from divisional matchups if you can and survivor,
I say stay away from Titans Jaguars. This week just
(19:44):
too toxic for me to touch on the two games
that I am looking at. You mentioned you think that
points of Balsa could be Houston and the Texans. My
whole point is this, Do I think that the Cardinals
are good enough to win back to back games? Probably not, Okay,
I don't. I just think that the Texans at home,
(20:07):
even after they're two great wins that they've had against
the Buccaneers and then last week at Cincinnati, I would
side with the Texans right now. That is my pick.
And then the other one Sunday Night, Vikings and Broncos.
Can the Josh Dobbs magic really really continue? Can they
go to Denver and top the Broncos, who are riding
(20:28):
a three game win streak with wins over the Packers, Chiefs,
and Bills. That's a tall task. I like the Broncos
as a pick to kind of end this Josh Dobbs
Cinderella story, and it's a way to get the Broncos
out of the way. If you were looking at value
for survivor pick those are my two picks Texans and
Broncos this week.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
The Broncos are super interesting given how they're trending up
and relating it to defensive streams. That was an offense
that I would target for a few weeks. I wouldn't.
I wouldn't target a defense against Theroncos right now because sure,
I think that that offense is working well enough that
they're gonna put up points. So I think that's a
(21:10):
good play. I really do, because the Vikings are definitely vulnerable,
and man, I just I hope justin Jefferson's in that game.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Well, yeah, that could change things as well. Denver probably
not going to turn Minnesota over five times. I remember times,
you know, the Bills turned it over. But I also
think that there's a way like Denver wasn't great on
Monday Night and they benefited from those turnovers for sure,
But are they a better team than they were at
the start of the season. Yeah, I think they are.
(21:40):
And you're in front of the home fans. It's a
night game. There seems to be some positive energy energy
around that. Again, it's across conference games. You don't have
to worry about a division matchup. If I'm rolling the dice,
I'd go with the Broncos. The other interesting one that
I'll point out Chargers in Green Bay. The only thing
that I'm thinking is all right, cold weather. But I
(22:02):
do think the Chargers, just as a three point favorite,
are significantly better than the Backers. That could be if
you don't feel good with the Texans or Vikings, roll
the dice and go with the road team. I don't
suggest it, but if you were go with the Bolts.
There's my survivor picks.
Speaker 3 (22:16):
There we go.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
All right, there it is. I want your flex. Mike's
going to be back again Friday with the rankings and
hot plays and cold stores and whatnot, and then I'll
give you a reason to start and bench you guys.
So for Ryan Berginger, I'm Dan Byer. Enjoy Thursday night football.
This has been I want your flex
Host
Mike Harmon
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