Podcast: A Shaun Hill to Die On

After a week off (not by choice), we’re back at it with our fourth episode of the season. And when I mentioned a week off, it wasn’t like we were all on a tropical island drinking Mai Tais (well, Tehol might have been). Nope, we recorded what was probably one of the best Podcast ever… Zach, Jen, Kevin, Tehol, and yours truly was doing our best impression of Dylan and spitting hot fire. But alas, technology railed against us in our time of need and all was lost. But do not fret, do not fear, Tehol and I are back and better than ever, delving into the unknown knowns (LOL, thanks Rumsfeld) of Tony Romo’s injury-palooza, Teddy Bridgewater’s 21 leg explosions, Colin Kaepernicks (valiant?) stand against the man, and our season preview of what teams finish where and how the NFL playoffs will shape and our Super Bowl winners. A betting man would expect us to pick the Seahawks and Chargers, so I guess this is my way of saying you should become a betting man (or woman). But still, it should be at least entertaining to see how much verbal calculus it takes us to get there… right? RIGHT? Right!

Anyhow, here’s Episode 5 4 :( of the Razzball Football Podcast!

Special Note: Next week, we’ll have our full panel going over the latest NFL news and the first week slate of games, including special guest Ramona Rice from our friends at Sports Gal Pal!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

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RCL Update, Preseason: Quick Question

September 1, 2016 | 2016 Fantasy Football, 2016 Razzball Commenter Leagues | 51 Comments

by: Jay

So, if you guys and gals didn’t know, our podcast last week didn’t happen. Tehol, Jen, Kevin, Zach, and myself all recorded what was basically the best podcast ever know in the history of the entire universe, but technology conspired against us and the files came to be just static and a couple grunts by Tehol. Which, to be honest, is kinda how he picks up women. Don’t ask me how I know, I just do. We did cover this in the latest podcast, which actually did record (yay!) which will be released later today, but I did want to cover something that we tried to on the aforementioned “pod that was lost in time”. And that was the Razzball Football RCLs. And as the title states, I did have a quick question. Actually, they are probably a few questions I want to ask, but the main one that branches out into the others (tree metaphors, woooooo) is basically this: What changes would you like to see next year?

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Razzball’s NFC North Fantasy Preview

August 31, 2016 | 2016 Draft Strategy, 2016 Fantasy Football | 13 Comments

by: MB

nfc-north-logos-800

Welcome back to our division previews here at Razzball. Today we are going to dive deeper into the NFC North than Mac Miller into Ariana Grande. By the end of this article we will be more worthy to be kings of the North than Jon Snow himself. Speaking of awesome shows, I’ve been watching Oz for the first time and I’m about halfway through the 2^nd season. Does the narrator in the wheelchair ever go away? Please somebody tell me I don’t have to go through 5 seasons of this.

Well anyways, this division has pretty average talent all the way around besides some outliers which we will get into. Just a heads up, if you’re looking for tight end takes, you clicked on the wrong division preview. There’s nothing to see here if you’re looking for top 10 guys. As always we will go in order of most fantasy relevant offenses…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

The Adventure of Bidding

August 31, 2016 | 2016 Draft Strategy, 2016 Fantasy Football | 31 Comments

by: malamoney

Good news folks, Razzball has renewed my contract for a third season! While I’d love to say that I am to Razzball what Game of Thrones is to HBO, or The Walking Dead is to AMC, it simply would not be true. I’m more like Silicon Valley and Better Call Saul. But hey, that’s something right? Speaking of The Walking Dead, is it too early to start the “who does Negan kill” conversation? Just let it be Glen and let’s be done with it. Ok, back to me. As excited as I’m sure you all are to the prospect of me spending another year spewing nonsense intermingled with football advice, I’m twice as excited to be back. However, I’d like to make a minor request. Good or bad, I’d appreciate you leaving me a comment after reading my posts. If after reading something I’ve written you instantly wish you had the previous six minutes back, then please say so. If taking a dump is more enjoyable than listening to my advice, then tell me about your dump. Got it? Good.

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Should You (Gulp) Draft Ryan Tannehill?

August 31, 2016 | 2016 Buy/Sell, 2016 Fantasy Football | 26 Comments

by: mikeMaher

As I write this, I am also preparing for my first fantasy draft of the season. I have been studying projections and ADPs, creating tiers and notes in the app I use to draft, and going over the different draft scenarios and strategies in my head. And there is one thing I keep coming back to when I start going over the different scenarios for quarterbacks: Ryan Tannehill is going to be a competent QB2 this year.

Before you make the gas face and move on to Googling pictures of Ryan Tannehill’s wife (no judgment here, Google knows):

Or go back to mock drafting or whatever else you do with your life with only a week left until real football, hear me out. Ryan Tannehill is not an elite Quarterback. I am not going to try and convince you that he is or that you should make him your QB1. All I am saying is that, depending on how things fall for you in your draft, you could do worse than waiting for Tannehill in the later rounds. Stats, please!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Razzball’s AFC North Fantasy Preview

August 30, 2016 | 2016 Draft Strategy, 2016 Fantasy Football | 12 Comments

by: Mike Honcho

02_AFC-NorthReport_news

What’s up fans of American Football!? It’s your good buddy Honcho back to walk you through the AFC North. Yuck. That was my first reaction when I was assigned this division. I mean, can you think of four teams that deserve each other more than this group of franchise swapping, Super Bowl gloating, bad chili pushing tough-guy wannabees? Yeah, me either. This division is tough to love. I mean truly it is. But I’m here to give you the tour so let’s proceed.

Our first objective is to identify the participants. Let’s start with the Cleveland Browns. Okay, cool. So you’re feeling good about the NBA season, but guess what LeBron’s not under center…..And that’s probably a bad thing. They hired a baseball analytics specialist to ruin – errrrr I mean run things. The Dodgers thought so little of him they ran him out-of-town. What could possibly go wrong? So here’s the thing…I think they’re on the right track, accumulating draft picks and athletes – but this isn’t the year. Heading south, but still staying in Ohio we find the Cincinnati Bengals who have a better than average team, but just can’t win a playoff game. They’ll give it another shot this season and will probably challenge the Steelers for the top spot in the division. Speaking of the Steelers….Is there a more insufferable fan base in football? I’ve been to Pittsburgh more than a few times and you know what? Every Steelers’ fan looks the same. How is that possible? The jorts say it’s summer, the tucked in jersey says it’s football season, but the waistline says you gave up a long time ago. Ha! Just kidding Pittsburgh, I love your city! Mostly due to Primanti Brothers but hey, gotta start somewhere, right? This year you’re the team to beat in the North. Don’t mess this up. Finally we have the Ravens. Flacco’s back. That’s good. They signed Trent Richardson and then proceeded to release him shortly after. He didn’t even stick around to try Ray-Ray’s famous “Deer-Antler” spray. That was rude. Anyway, the Ravens are staring 8-8 right in the face, but if any team can luck box their way into the playoffs it’s this bunch.

So, with all that said the fantasy relevant information awaits. Per usual, I’ll list the teams in order of predicted finish. Here we go!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

LeSean McCoy’s Ranking Confounds and Compels Me

August 30, 2016 | 2016 Buy/Sell, 2016 Fantasy Football | 32 Comments

by: RotoLance

LeSeanMcCoyBills

Compels me to write about him, that is, because he’s ranked too low. Specifically, LeSean McCoy being ranked behind Mark Ingram is something I just don’t get. Nothing against Ingram, I like him. I just like McCoy better. Here’s some last minute draft advice with #analysis, starting with the reasons why McCoy should be ranked higher than Ingram…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2QB Leagues and the 6-Point TD

August 30, 2016 | 2016 Draft Strategy, 2016 Fantasy Football | 78 Comments

by: Jay

Tony-Romo-Jay-Cutler

Welcome to one of our last strategy sessions of the preseason (I think it’s our last. Besides comparing our rankings with those of ESPN, Yahoo, and CBS… which isn’t really strategy as it is, “haha, look how funny they are at ranking things type of post”). This is probably the biggest draft week (and weekend) in Fantasy Football, and I’m sure there are plenty out there who either play in formats that either start two quarterbacks, or change their touchdown point value from four to six. And in that regard, I bring you a post that should kill two birds with one stone, because ef birds, but also look guys at my profound ability to both have amazing geometric awareness and mind-bending arm dexterity to actually kill a living animal that can fly by bouncing a stone off of both of them!

Want to take on Razzball writers and contributors in the great game of Fantasy Football? For Prizes? OH MY GOD YES. Where do you sign up? Great question! (Even though you didn’t technically ask. I mean, you might have, but I couldn’t hear you…) You can join here!

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Diving Deep for Lance Dunbar

August 29, 2016 | 2016 Buy/Sell, 2016 Fantasy Football | 14 Comments

by: Zach

I thoroughly enjoyed Alex Lee’s piece about Ezekiel Elliott a couple of days ago. Personally, I don’t have any issue with Elliott in the top ten, however I agree with Alex, it isn’t an ideal position for him to be in. In order to build the most ideal starting lineup, it’s probably wise for Elliott to be your early second round pick after getting a top-end WR1, which is possible in regards to current ADP. But I’d be remiss not to point out that Alex left out a crucial element about the Cowboys backfield as a whole, so I followed up with him…

“I like Dunbar as a deep sleeper option, especially in PPR. I agree that Elliott won’t have a Murray-like workload, I’d expect them to give some whole series to Morris and have Dunbar as a 3rd-down back out of the gate, with McFadden potentially being sidelined at the beginning of the season. He could take the first few weeks of the season to carve out a nice spot for himself as a Sproles-like weapon. If he does well with it early on, that would make it tough for Garrett to force him into a reduced role when DMC comes back. The problem is that McFadden is arguable a more complete player who is a competent receiver (he caught 40 balls last season), and if Dunbar doesn’t impress early on, the team probably wouldn’t hesitate to give his opportunities to McFadden or Elliott. He’s a risky play, but worth a late round stash to see how he looks coming off his knee injury and what kind of role the team has in store for him. He could pay big dividends, or be someone you drop quickly for the waiver wire darling du jour”.

Well, I guess I don’t have to write the article then. Way to go Alex. However, there are some other things I want to say and build off of, and it involves even more Lance Dunbar. So let’s get to it…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Swiftly Target Taylor

August 29, 2016 | 2016 Buy/Sell, 2016 Fantasy Football | 5 Comments

by: M@

During a football draft one year, we hit round six and I made the quote: “Here’s where it gets interesting, yet boring.” Seven years later, I still hear about it. But what those silly fools I play with don’t understand is that the statement’s not that Johnny Bananas in reality. Sure, everyone and their ~~mom~~ (mom’s don’t play fantasy football…they have Pinterest…) knows the names of the first few rounds, and you should all know to wait for upside, defenses and kickers for the final rounds, but what about the clusterf*ck in the middle? It can be a big pile of I don’t knows, wild guesses, and ESPN says he’s ranked 50th overall!!!’s. So let’s sort through the trash like Scrooge McDuck diving into his treasure room of gold coins and mine those players for the middle rounds to find some overrated hype, underrated targets, and the sleepiest of sleepers…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

Romonobyl Came Early This Year

August 28, 2016 | 2016 Fantasy Football, 2016 News & Notes | 67 Comments

by: Jay

romoinjury2016

Now that the weekend has ended and we’re that much closer to the start of the NFL season, one has to ask (especially Cowboys fans and Tony Romo fantasy owners): Can I get off this wild ride? No. No you may not is probably the answer. After Tony Romo took a hit from Seattle’s Cliff Avril during a benign slide this past Thursday, the chronological order of what then took place was as follows:

“Romo Back Throwing on the Sidelines.” [Source.]
“Romo talks about minor back injury, seems completely fine. No X-rays needed.” [Video.]
“Tony Romo had an MRI Friday and has a broken bone in his back.” [Source.]

Well, that certainly escalated quickly. Oh, and what’s that imaginary narrative voice used as a vehicle to add a nice flourish whilst moving to another but related point to what was just stated? There’s more…? Oh god…

“Romo to wear back brace. Garrett not ruling him out for week one.” [Source.]

LOL, Jason Garrett, never change my man. Anyhow, there are certainly some fantasy implications with such an injury, and to be completely frank, there are probably real life implications for your liver at the moment if you’ve ever found yourself residing in the Dallas area or if you’ve ever been afflicted at all by Romoliciousness (it’s a real thing, trust me). But let’s all be honest with ourselves at this present time… you’re used to it by now… right? I mean, you have to be.

So, the rankings have been updated already, but here’s how it all settled, at least until they install a robotic spine into Romo’s body and I have to change everything all over again…

Please, blog, may I have some more?

2016 Fantasy Football War Room

August 28, 2016 | 2016 Draft Tools, 2016 Fantasy Football | 42 Comments

by: Jay

I’m proud to introduce this year’s iteration of Razzball’s very own draft tool: The War Room. First created by frequent community member and once-contributor: Nico, I’m happy to report that I’ve worked with him to bring this year’s version. You may know the Baseball version, and the Fantasy Football one follows the same general application. Here’s a brief rundown of what this tool can do for you…

The “User Input” feature enables customization of league sizes, roster settings, flex settings, and PPR settings.
The “War Room” tab summarizes the number of players taken by each team, and ranks each team by position.
The “Cheat Sheet” displays players in order of the 2016 Razzball Rankings, fully sortable, of course.
The “Projections” tab is a full display of the 2016 Razzball Projections, for those who like more in-depth information.

“Keep in mind, this spreadsheet is not locked, so if you’re an Ex(cel)pert, you can further customize this worksheet as needed. While the War Room is an excellent in-draft tool, I’ve found that a lot of value can come from it post-draft as well. Going back through the draft picks and assigning only the anticipated starters to each team can provide an even more accurate analysis of the league after draft day.” – Nico.

So after the jump, I’m happy to provide the 2016 Fantasy Football War Room!

Please, blog, may I have some more?