Drake's Takes - Week 5
Here’s where I’ll empty the notebook. All my thoughts on football, life, whatever comes to mind.
My biggest piece of advice for fantasy players right now is to have playable depth. Your roster MUST be flexible. You can’t have a bench full of RB handcuffs in 2020. As much as I typically love doing that it’s not smart business this season. You have to have guys who in a pinch can come in and give you 10 points. Back-up QB and maybe a back-up TE too. It’s not ideal, I get it but when a game gets canceled on a Friday or Saturday you’ll be really happy you sat on James White or Zach Pascal or Mo Alie-Cox to plug and play.
You can just stop playing any and all Baltimore Ravens RB’s. There are zero reasons to have one in your lineup. Mark Ingram isn’t getting over a dozen touches a game. He’s getting outpaced by Gus Edwards of late. Plus Lamar Jackson is a threat to steal every goal-line carry. In a redraft, I get the lottery ticket appeal of JK Dobbins but unless one or two other backs go down ahead of him you won’t see any value this year.
I was never a big Van Halen fan. I know they are huge. I get they are legends. They just never did it for me. I’ll give Eddie Van Halen all the credit in the world as a guitar god. That’s not even arguable. He’s top 5 all-time. But there are 100 other bands I’d go to first before VH.
I was shocked to see sites and league commissioners doing virtual gymnastics to help sub players in and out of lineups. Configuring proxy settings where someone can be in a lineup but if another game gets played you get that guy subbed in. Forget all that. Here’s how I see it, if a guy has COVID and is listed as such then he’s IR eligible. If not, he’s just on your bench or dropped. Games being moved to different weeks sucks but it’s like a rainout in fantasy baseball. You have to adjust. That bench needs to be flexible. Sorry, you didn’t get the Steelers or Titans in week 4 but hey it’s a bye week. This year is going to produce insane outcomes, don’t get hung up on things out of your control. Just enjoy the games that are being played.
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As a content creator, I’m always looking for ways to get my podcast in front of more fantasy players. I think we as a community are terrible at marketing our products. Simply tweeting out your content with #fantasyfootball attached isn’t going to find that many new consumers. We get trapped in this Twitter bubble and forget that probably 80% of fantasy players aren’t even in this space. Where else can we go? Facebook? That’s a platform younger people are leaving in droves. Instagram? Very difficult to stand out (unless you pay for followers, cough). That app has grown immensely but is our audience looking for fantasy information there? Twitch? I’m not well versed in it and it looks like a mainly video game focused operation, but it could be promising. Reddit? Tinder? MySpace? I dunno but there has to be a better way to speak to the average player. YouTube is the focus of my show this year but drawing numbers at a level where you can get paid is daunting. Getting anyone to click subscribe is a Herculean task.
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I love pumpkin beers. Correction, I love one pumpkin beer. There is no better offering than Southern Tier Pumking. It is literally pumpkin pie in a glass. The past two falls I’ve shipped a four-pack to my pal and yours Mike Clay of ESPN. If you can’t get it in your area, find someone who can. These other pumpkin beers are overly produced and taste like you licked the bottom of the spice rack. Would love to hear about other fall beers you guys love. Hit me on Twitter @DrakeFantasy.
The best pumpkin beer on the planet.
If you listen to the show you know I’m an Eagles fan. Here’s the easiest advice I can give anyone in week 5: START ERIC EBRON.
TE's vs Eagles in 2020:
George Kittle corralled all 15 targets for 183 and a TD.
Tyler Higbee in week 2 scored three times.
Logan Thomas in the season opener saw 8 targets and caught 4 and scored.
There were rumors this week that Howard Stern was nearing a new contract with SiriusXM. He countered that on-air but eventually it’ll get done I'm sure. I’ve been a die-hard Stern fan since the mid-’90s. I followed him to satellite radio and never thought I would listen to anything else in the car. But as time wears on he does less and less live broadcasts. His three days a week schedule and seemingly endless vacation breaks have led me to look elsewhere. Stern is the greatest ever to do radio. Period. He’s on a level all to himself but you can only let people test the waters of other shows so often before they start to stray. If it’s not a fantasy football podcast my go-to is the Conrad Thompson stable of wrestling shows. “What Happened When with Tony Schiavone” is tremendous. This is two guys sitting around talking about old wrestling and busting balls. It’s an easy listen and you don’t even need to like wrestling. Howard will always be the King of All Media, but his kingdom may be shrinking due to the court getting bored.
The NFC East is a train wreck. Your first-place Philadelphia Eagles are 1-2-1. That’s pathetic. Dallas just lost Tyron Smith for the year and their defense isn’t competitive. The Giants are lost on defense and can’t run the ball. Washington just replaced their young Quarterback with Kyle Allen. The Cowboys have so much talent on offense that they should win this division by four games. The way it looks someone might take it with six wins. These are passionate fan bases who demand a good product. All of them are being let down.
Bill Leaf who was killed in 2006 by a drunk driver.
This Saturday would've been Bill Leaf's 40th birthday. Leaf, a Syracuse University graduate and local reporter for TV and radio stations in the Cuse was killed by a drunk driver in 2006. Bill was one of my very best friends. Not having him as a groomsman at my wedding or seeing him have a family of his own weighs heavy on me. A passionate young man with an infectious personality cut down in the prime of his youth is inexcusable. Be smart out there when you have a drink. Use ride-sharing, plan ahead, don't make a terrible mistake. Happy birthday my friend. I miss you.
Follow Brian Drake on Twitter @DrakeFantasy
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