FSH NOTEBOOK: THURSDAY NIGHT MATCHUP

November 2nd, 2023

David’s Daily Digest

Thursday Afternoon Edition

Thursday Night Matchup

Tonight’s matchup between the Titans and Steelers doesn’t have too many hot takes, but it does offer some intrigue with potentially some new faces on the field. While the Steelers starting quarterback Kenny Pickett has a chance to play, the Titans will be rolling the dice with rookie quarterback Will Levis.

Levis is coming off a phenomenal debut last Sunday, when he completed 65.5% of his passes for 238 yards and touchdowns. With the short week and limited film study time available, I don’t see the Steelers defense being able to throw a lot of exotic looks or too much at the rook. We could see another strong performance against the league's 24th ranked pass defense.

MY DFS STACK PLAY

(QB-Will Levis and WR-DeAndre Hopkins)

Levis is coming off a strong performance where he hooked up with his primary receiving weapon, wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. The two were highly efficient and explosive in Week 8, connecting on 4 of 6 passes for 128 yards and three scores. This connection seems like a lock tonight against a suspect secondary that has been had by Jaguars wide receivers Calvin Ridley & Christina Kirk in Week 8 (10 receptions/129 yards receiving), Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua in week 7 (8 receptions/154 yards receiving), and Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers in Week 6 (6 receptions/50 yards receiving/1 touchdown).

I can see many entrants running with this stack tonight, so a possible change of direction to consider would be the Titans tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo. He was second on the team last week with 5 targets and could be effective tonight against the Steelers defense that surrendered 11 receptions to the tight end last week.

Looking to go against the grain, consider the Steelers Najee Harris tonight, but temper expectations. In two of their last three games the Titans defense has allowed 100 or more yards rushing..

That’s My Take!

~David G. Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: FF SOMETHING WORTH NOTING (WK 8)

October 30th, 2023

David’s Daily Digest

Monday Evening Edition

Fantasy Football: Something Worth Noting 

(Week 8 Takeaways)

After spending the whole day (as I usually do) on Sunday watching all the games, I came away with a few questions and observations. These are some of the things I think are worth noting.

1. Another Offensive dud from the Packers.

A lot of fingers will point at quarterback Jordan Love and for good reason, but I am not going to pile on. Sure there have been some mistakes and bad throws, but I also believe a big contributing factor to the Packers bad play can be correlated to ultra conservative and predictable play calling to open the game and the absence and non-use of running back Aaron Jones. Described as one of the most explosive running backs in the game, he is only averaging 11 touches per game his last two games.Until Jones is featured more prominently in the offense, it could tough treading for the Pack’s offense moving forward.

2. D-Hop still has plenty of Pop.

Give him a calm, cool, collected quarterback with poise in the pocket and Hopkins will give you a big-time game in return. That’s what happened on Sunday as Hopkins was the recipient of some very good quarterback play from rookie Will Levis. Hopkins only needed 4 catches to do serious damage in Week 8; 4 receptions for 128 yards receiving and three touchdowns. As long as he remains healthy, if he gets close to this type of QB play he’s a borderline WR-1 in the 2nd half of the season.

3. The Giants offense is awful.

I actually have a couple of takeaways from the Battle for New York. First, the Giants passing game was atrocious. Some may excuse it due to bad weather, but it’s been bad all season. Through 8 games this season, the Giants have just 4 passing touchdowns. Until we see great improvement, it’s best to avoid this catastrophe. 

Along with the offense, tight end Darren Waller left the game early on Sunday with a hamstring injury. Waller has been boom or bust and dealing with injuries most of the season. This is another situation best to avoid until Waller is 100%.

4. Javonte Williams is back.

The Broncos running back is coming off an ACL injury in Week 4 of last year and while there have been a few signs here and there throughout this season, Williams finally showed he is back on Sunday. Williams didn’t break any stat records, but he did put in a lot of work. Williams carried the rock 27 times and finished the day with a career high 30 touches for 98 total yards. Williams ran hard and looked like his pre-injury self. Next up, the big game.

5. Joe Cool is heating up.

With a tough road matchup with San Francisco on Sunday, Joe Burrow and the Bengals rolled into town and then rolled the Niners. Burrow has been heating up of late, with 8 touchdowns passes over his last three, leading the Bengals to three straight wins, including 4 of 5. With his wide receiver Tee Higgins returning close to form and Ja’Marr Chase doing what he does, Burrow could just be getting started.

6. The Return of Austin Ekeler.

The Chargers running back two games removed from his return from injury, looked like the old Ekeler fantasy managers have come to expect. After averaging 54 yards and 16.5 touches with no scores his past two games, Ekeler turned up huge Sunday night against the Bears. The Chargers ball carrier totaled 23 touches (15 carries, 8 catches) for 123 yards of offense (29 run, 94 receive) with a touchdown. Ekeler was a featured part of the pass game and was more than effective, something fantasy managers hope to see continue going forward.

That’s My Take!

~David G. Ortega