I was indoctrinated into the Speed Kills philosophy early in life, thanks to Al Davis and the Los Angeles Raiders. Cliff Branch. Bo Jackson. Willie Gault. James Jett. Rocket Ismail. Darrius Heyward-Bey. Puke. “Speed kills. You can’t teach speed. Everything else in the game can be taught, but speed is a gift from God.” – Al Davis. As a result, I always sorted via the SPD column in my Madden fantasy drafts. When it came to real life football, I always gravitated towards the speedsters, no matter how many times I’ve been burned. As Maverick told Goose, I feel the need…the need for speed. Now, speed is not the only thing that matters. There’s route running, the ability to catch, and opportunity, but speed will get a first date from me any day of the week. Yeah, I’m superficial like that. Jeff Smith of the New York Jets, coincidentally, has jets. Literally. 4.41 40-yard dash. He’s also received a whopping 20 targets over the past two games. Should you jet to the wire to scoop him up?
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Chasing The TDragon
October 12, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 43 Commentsby: Donkey Teeth
Many people are familiar with the term “chasing the dragon.” It’s most common interpretation is simply smoking heroin. But according to Urban Dictionary, there’s a deeper meaning to this term. Imagine you get doped up on heroin for the first time and the high sends you to a euphoric, nirvana-like state where everything is beautiful and perfect and life makes complete sense. Soon the high wears off, so naturally you get cooked again seeking the same euphoric state, but this time it’s not quite the same. So you sell all your possessions and steal from your family in order to buy more and more drugs, attempting to return to nirvana. That’s chasing the dragon.
But what about Chasing the TDragon, what’s that? It’s when you own only Broncos, Patriots, Lions and Packers receivers so you’re forced to start Chase Claypool in week 5 and he goes off for 7 catches for 110 yards, 3 carries for 6 yards and his 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th touchdowns against the Eagles defense. So of course you start the Steelers rookie every week for the rest of year, searching for that same high while destroying your fantasy season. Now listen, I’m not saying don’t pick up Claypool, you should. Just don’t get caught Chasing the TDragon. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday for fantasy football:
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Week 5 Fantasy Football Sunday Primer
October 11, 2020 | Fantasy Football Gameday | 61 Commentsby: MB
Thursday was a heartbreaker. And I should be used to it, right? The Buccaneers haven’t made the playoffs since 2007 and haven’t w0n a playoff game since 2002. I wasn’t thrilled about signing a 43 year old quarterback to try and break the streak, but I admittedly started to perk up after a 3-1 start. It’s not like the Buccaneers were impressive in the first 4 games or had beaten anyone good, but NFL wins are NFL wins. Committees don’t decide your postseason fate in the pros.
Losing that game on Thursday was pretty much inexcusable. The lack of discipline leading to dumb penalties, Tom Brady missing easy throws, the offensive line. All of it was horrible. And after all of that, they were still in position to win and blew it. It was the first time in a long time that a football game put me in a bad mood. But Sunday provides an opportunity to ease the pain with some fantasy wins. The slate is shorter than usual. Covid provides us three week day games after Sunday. The regularly scheduled Monday night game between the Chargers and the Saints will go off at the normally scheduled time and Denver will visit New England in the late afternoon on Monday. As long as there are no more positive tests for Tennessee, they will face Buffalo on Tuesday. Let’s get to the injuries and my updated rankings!
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Under The Hood: Marquise de Airyard
October 10, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Strategy | 6 Commentsby: Roto-Wan
We avoided COVID calamity in week 4 only to trade it for even more uncertainty in week 5. It’s going to take luck and an extra edge to win leagues this year. We’re all desperate for some luck. Trust me, the saying “Horseshoe up your ass” is purely metaphorical. Help get yourself that edge by popping the hood on some players poised to produce.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Shadow Coverage Report – Week 5
October 9, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Football | 2 Commentsby: Bobby LaMarco
| Shadow Coverage Tracker | |
|---|---|
| WR Finish | Total |
| 1 | 5 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 3 |
| 4+ | 11 |
| Grand Total | 22 |
Team: Jacksonville Jaguars
Opponent: Houston Texans
WR1: D.J. Chark
Shadow Coverage Match-up: Bradley Roby
Historical Production vs. Shadow Coverage
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All right, how many “old timer” fantasy readers are out there? I’m talking the guys and gals who used to mail in their fantasy rosters to their buddy, who then had to score them by hand like a baseball program. And then came Yahoo Fantasy Sports, which was like a dream come true. I kept drafting David Boston and hoping his hulking frame would bring me the fantasy glory. Then, ESPN came around, and everything kind of stagnated for another decade while fantasy managers sat on message boards and shouted at each other about Peyton vs. Eli Manning. Then, a new, brazen upstart came around: Fantrax. They didn’t have an internet search giant (remember when Yahoo was that?) or a massive Disney parent company supporting them. They were just: Fantrax. (sounds of air whooshing from my mouth, the sound of which was at one time a sound of awe and is now the sound of terrifying Covid emanation). And Fantrax wasn’t just about being a platform. Fantrax was all about having fantasy players that would join up with you and kick your ass into next Sunday. Try that, Disney!
Welcome to the top of the Razzbowl, Mick Ciallela.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Foles Bearly Outbucs Brady Yet Again
October 9, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Football, Fantasy Football Daily Notes | 52 Commentsby: Donkey Teeth
Everyone wants to get some booty. Living in my mom’s basement, I haven’t seen much booty. Pirate’s booty, I mean. What I wouldn’t do to get some of that swashbuckling plunder. The Bears, however, didn’t appear to want any part of the Buccaneers nor Tom Brady’s booty for most of the first half Thursday night. Then, late in the 2nd quarter, Nick Foles took off the eye patch, tossed his peg leg aside and began his quest for the Brady booty. Foles went 30/42 for 243 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception as he led the Bears to their 4th victory. It wasn’t exactly pretty, but plundering is an ugly business by nature. Anyway, here’s what else I saw yesterday for fantasy football:
Please, blog, may I have some more?It’s that time of the week again! Thursday night football will be played just hours after you read this. It’s week 5, which means the beginning of bye weeks. Bye weeks are another road block to go along with the plethora of injuries and COVID cancellations that are surely on the horizon. There might even be a cancellation this week between Buffalo and Tennessee. But we must trudge on and work with what we have. Hopefully you still have some healthy studs to get you through the tough times.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
The Elites
| Prev Rank | Rank | Name | Team | Avg Snap % | Total Tgts | Avg Tgts | Non-PPR | PPR | Non-PPR/G | PPR/G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Travis Kelce | KC | 0.88 | 33 | 8.3 | 41.7 | 65.7 | 10.43 | 16.43 | 24 | 297 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 | George Kittle | SF | 0.98 | 20 | 10 | 30.4 | 49.4 | 15.2 | 24.7 | 19 | 227 | 1 |
What do you want here? They’re really good. They play every down. They get a bunch of targets.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Welcome to Razzball’s dedicated gambling column-Teasers and Pleasers! Each Thursday during the NFL season, at 11:00 am EST, TnP will post our top bets for the upcoming week. Just sit back and win some money with us in 2020.
Last week these best bets were 3-0 against the spread, and we were 4-1 ATS on the Week 4 Sunday slate. Things are have been profitable, as TnPers are 12-6 in our last 18 contests. Let’s keep the profit train moving.
Whether you play fantasy football or are in the business of making player prop bets, Rudy Gamble’s Razzball Membership Tools are a must-have. He is giving away a FREE 7-day trial of all the tools you need to cash this week!
Now let’s get to it! Week 4 picks for your betting pleasure.
Please, blog, may I have some more?
Sexy Flexies Week 5 – Gage-ing Your Options
October 8, 2020 | Fantasy Football Strategy | 2 Commentsby: JB Barry
Week 4 brought us our first bye week due to the Covid cancellation of the Titans and Steelers game and fantasy managers scrambled to adjust. Thankfully, everybody is ok and the NFL had a simple fix issuing a bye to the teams and having an easy way to reschedule the game. With the recent news that there are still positive tests coming out of Tennessee, and unsanctioned practices being held as well (Morons!), I believe their week 5 game against the Bills is in serious jeopardy. Now we have planned and unplanned bye weeks and Covid uncertainty added to the flurry of injuries we’ve already dealt with, making it is even more important to find productive players to put in your flex spots. We have to be prepared!
As you know, every Thursday here on Razzball, I will be posting the weeks “Sexy Flexies” to give you a couple of players to consider starting in your flex spot. The objective isn’t to point out the obvious guys you’re starting in your RB or WR slots, but to take a look at a couple of players who are a bit more under the radar. These will likely be guys that you won’t start every week but will be good rotational pieces in the flex spot of your lineup based on matchup and opportunity.
Please, blog, may I have some more? Week 5 Fantasy Football Rankings: Donkey Teeth
October 8, 2020 | 2020 Fantasy Football, Weekly Rankings | 37 Commentsby: Donkey Teeth
I just snuck out of a court ordered gambling rehab facility to write this post, so I’ll have to be brief. After I was arrested for stealing old ladies’ purses from the retirement home down the block to fund my string of Arizona Cardinals’ Super Bowl wagers (a 50:1 lock!), the judge sentenced me to 6 month’s of in-patient rehab. Since I’ll be releasing my weekly fantasy football rankings each Thursday morning for the duration of the season, I’ve decided to throw in some bonus bold Thursday Night Football predictions along with my expertly handicapped pick for the contest:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3.5) at Chicago Bears
Forecast: We’ve been killing it with these Thursday night picks. And by killing it I mean butchering it. Kind of like the Bears quarterback play. The turnaround starts tonight though—for our picks, not Da Bears QBs—as Brady rides The Gronk into the Windy City for another Thursday night thriller. Chicago will start with their 30 million dollar man, Nick Foles, at the helm but make the switch back to Trubisky to start the 2nd quarter. After one of the worst halves in the history of professional sports, they’ll turn to a quarterback committee of Khalil Mack, one legged Tarik Cohen and mascot Staley Da Bear. On the wings of vastly improved quarterback play, the Bears will storm back to tie the game late in the 4th quarter. But Brady will answer with a game winning drive culminating with Gronk’s 3rd touchdown of the night. Buccaneers 38, Bears 31
Wager: Bucs -3.5 (1 Unit)
2020 Season: 0-4 (-3.85 Units)
Anyway, here’s my fantasy football rankings for week 5 which will be frequently updated until Sunday kickoff:
Please, blog, may I have some more?