Dobermans and Razor Wire
Before I wax poetic about my return to form last week, I would like to wish the Simpson family a very merry Christmas. A man is only as good as his supporting cast and Rose and the girls tolerate Scott at a dosage level that inferior beings would quickly succumb to. All kidding aside, Scott is a brother to me. The parallels we share from 3,000 miles apart are remarkable. We each have enough empathy for one another to share stories and experiences without judgment.
Scott’s attempt to defeat me for the third-consecutive week was thwarted when Mark Andrews put on a clinic against the Packers. The rest of my Week 15 lineup was shadier than the business practices of a repo car lot. I put together a tougher pack of guard dogs this week. Our respective Cash and GPP articles were near perfect matches this week, so it’s no wonder that there will be only a few swing players in this week’s Clash. I only need a couple more wins to clinch the season series. Scott doesn’t know yet, but the Clash loser buys the winner a nice bottle of whiskey. Cheers to you, brother!
Bo’s Lineup
QB – Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles– $6,400
This is the type of offense that Nick Sirianni gets the very most out of his young quarterback. Hurts has been one of the very best fantasy quarterbacks all season, but we benefit from the Tuesday game pricing blind spot this week. The Giants are a pathetic excuse for a franchise and might give up 300 rushing yards to the Birds, with Hurts doing his best Josh Allen impersonation.
RB – Cordarrelle Patterson – Atlanta Falcons – $6,700
Sexy Flexy isn’t picking up a lot of fanfare this week, after putting up a rare dud in Week 15. Patterson is still a cheat code in PPR, picking up an insane amount of high-value touches each game. He also has tremendous touchdown upside with his specialized role in the Arthur Smith offense. Detroit has failed to slow down any type of running back or wide receiver this season. That’s nice, because Cordarrelle is both.
RB – James Robinson – Jacksonville Jaguars – $5,900
The only thing missing from JRob’s solid performance last week was the big play. I suspect they will come in bunches this week against the Jets’ historically bad season against running backs. Darrell Bevell believes in giving Robinson a full workload, early and often. I believe he could go for 30-plus points this week.
WR – Odell Beckham Jr. – LA Rams – $5,300
Cooper Kupp is obviously the alpha dog of this receiving corps, but don’t sleep on OBJ’s ever-increasing role. The Vikings’ secondary is putrid enough to feel very confident in Beckham’s potential at nearly a $4k discount off Kupp. From what we’ve already seen from OBJ in LA, it’s safe to say that the Browns be the Browns.
WR – Cooper Kupp – LA Rams – $9,100
I know I just talked about leveraging Kupp with Beckham, but there is absolutely zero chance I’m forgoing the league’s most productive receiver against the worst coverage unit in football. Regardless of his cap hit on DK, the 20-point floor is ultra-coveted in cash games like this.
WR – Byron Pringle – Kansas City Chiefs – $3,300
Even with Tyreek Hill getting the green light to come off the COVID list, I’m all about Pringle’s big-play ability against a vulnerable Pittsburgh back end. Mahomes has shown more trust in Pringle than with Hardman or Robinson. Needing only double digits to 3-max value on a player with this much potential is exactly what I’m looking for to put the cherry on top of a DFS build.
TE – Dallas Goedert – Philadelphia Eagles – $5,100
Mark Andrews and Goedert were each smashing successes in Week 15. The former helped me hit one of my best scores of the season and the latter padding my wallet on the Tuesday slate. Goedert, like Jalen Hurts, was priced for Week 16 before his massive Week 15 game on Tuesday. This kind of edge is very helpful in cash games to fortify lineup builds with the most potential value. Plus, the Giants really suck.
FLEX – David Montgomery – Chicago Bears – $5,700
It is Monty season, you guys just might not be aware at this point. He touched the ball 23 times last week against Minnesota, which included five receptions. The Vikings are much tougher on running backs than the Seahawks, who allow the second-most points to opposing running backs in the NFL (only the Jets are worse). A sub-$6k Monty in this situation feels like Santa left it under the tree.
DST – Chicago Bears – $2,500
It is a calculated risk to use a struggling defense, but stacking the Bears with Monty gives a nice correlation to my build. I also don’t fear the Seahawks’ offense one bit. Russell Wilson has been horrible since returning from the dreadful mallet finger injury. He is in typical late-season Mr. Ultra-Limited form and I expect the Bears to get after him.
Down, But Not Out
Last week my comeback was cut short when Dak Prescott shit the bed and Pat Freiermuth was knocked out of the game with an injury. Bo ended my short-lived 2-game winning streak before it ever got going. This week I am down, but not out. I’ve assembled a Week 16 team that I am confident will be able to take Bo down. Our lineups are eerily similar, both rostering Jalen Hurts, David Montgomery, James Robinson, Cooper Kupp, and Byron Pringle. It will come down to matchups like OBJ vs. Keenan Allen and Mark Andrews vs. Dallas Goedert to settle it. I’m confident my team will bring me one step closer to my ultimate goal of winning the 2021 Clash of The Beard and Bellies Championship!
Scott’s Lineup
QB – Jalen Hurts – Philadelphia Eagles – $6,500
Death, Taxes, and Jalen Hurts in Cash. Hurts has been consistent all season long, scoring 19 or more DraftKings points in 10 of 13 games. RunTheSims.com has Hurts as the top point per dollar play this week for quarterbacks. The Giants are a shell of themselves and Hurts should be able to move the ball downfield all game long. I just love that Bo is playing him as well.
RB – David Montgomery – Chicago Bears – $5,700
David Montgomery rolls into Week 16 averaging 16.2 DraftKings points per game over his last four games. This week Montgomery faces a Seattle Seahawks rush defense that ranks 31st in the NFL, giving up 29.4 points per game. Expect Matt Nagy to feed Montgomery all game long. A potential negative games script could also mean more targets as the Bears play catchup. I’m not shocked at all that Montgomery found his way into Bo’s lineup this week as well.
RB – James Robinson – Jacksonville Jaguars – $5,900
James Robinson is back!! Last week he saw 24 opportunities, rushing for 75 yards and a score, picking up 17.8 DraftKings points along the way. This week Robinson faces the New York Jets defense that ranks 32nd to running backs this season. Their futility is remarkable. They have surrendered over 2,500 rushing and passing yards combined and 25 total touchdowns. Robinson is currently projected around 10% rostership, making him a great play in all GPP formats this week.
WR – Keenan Allen – LA Chargers – $7,700
Keenan Allen is a sixth amongst NFL wide receivers with 134 targets this season. Allen has a 27% target share and over his last seven games, Allen is averaging 10.9 targets per game. That’s translated into 20.5 DraftKings points per game. With Austin Ekeler OUT this week on the NFL’s COVID-19 list, the offense should be on Herbert’s shoulders, making Allen a top play this week. Bo is going to be kicking himself for not rostering him.
WR – Cooper Kupp – LA Rams – $9,100
Cooper Kupp leads all NFL wide receivers in targets (164), receptions (122), receiving yards (1,625), and touchdowns (14). Kupp has scored over 30 DraftKings points in six games this year. He’s the best wide receiver play each and every week. Don’t overthink this one. Kupp is a Gronk smash into your lineup this week.
WR – Byron Pringle – Kansas City Chiefs – $3,300
The Byron Pringle play has lost s bit of its bloom given that both Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill are not expected to be cleared to play on Sunday. This will ultimately limit Pringle’s upside. Thankfully Bo took the bait on Pringle as well so I won’t be wallowing alone.
TE – Mark Andrews – Baltimore Ravens – $7,000
Mark Andrews is the TE1 this year in DraftKings scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game. Andrews leads all NFL tight ends with 122 targets, 85 receptions, and eight touchdowns. He’s averaging 10.6 targets per game over his last five games and is the Ravens’ number one receiving threat whether Lamar Jackson or Tyler Huntley is under center. His 11% rostership is reasonable given his 30 plus point upside this week. Andrews is worth running out naked or pairing with Huntley if he gets the start in place of Lamar.
Flex – Cameron Brate – Tampa Bay Buccaneers– $2,500
It’s no secret that Tom Brady will be down both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans this week against the Carolina Panthers. I’m not expecting too much from Cameron Brate this week, all I need is 8 points. If he scores a touchdown, it’s icing on the cake.
DST – Minnesota Vikings – $2,400
The Minnesota Vikings are the best punt defense that I can afford with my remaining $2,400. I’m not thrilled about it, but there’s nothing I can do about it if I want to play studs like Keenan Allen and Mark Andrews in my lineup. It’s a deal with the devil for sure.
Nimble w/Numbers 