Week 1 Rapid Reaction w/ Daniel Dopp & Liz Loza

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1:03My name is Daniel Dopp, a little behind the scenes here pulling back the curtain. Liz and I are taping this Sunday night before Sunday night football. Liz, it's 8.15 my time. That means it's only 5.15 your time. I'm so freaking jealous that it's not even dinner time where you live yet. No, the sun is still shining. I have a whole evening ahead of me, but who cares about that? Because behind both of us was an exhilarating day of NFL football. Oh, so much fun. We're going to talk about it. Rapid reaction of our biggest takeaways. But first and foremost, we're going to quickly get through a couple of injuries. Ouch, baby. Very out. We're going to start with the scariest moment of the day. It was Kyler Murray, who was concussed in the first quarter on a play that drew an unnecessary roughness penalty. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Now we'll discuss the Vikings and Packers match up a little bit later. But obviously we need to have further information to determine what Kyler's prognosis will be moving forward. Zay flowers in the Baltimore Ravens game exited early with a hamstring issue.

2:07He was also did not return to the contest. But before he did leave, he gifted fantasy managers with 26 fantasy points. In that same effort, his fellow wide receiver, Jacobi Lane, hurt his wrist and also left the contest. We have to keep tabs on both of these receivers. Flowers was on the way to having an incredible day. Baltimore hosts the Saints in week two. When we look at the commander's Eagles game, my guy, Chigo Conqua, who was making his Washington day, Buu, tweaked his hamstring. He left. Now I am interested to see if that was why Antonio Williams was able to be so productive in the second half. No Williams is a rookie slot receiver. I have a really good feeling about him moving forward. So let's monitor that situation. Finally, Ladma Conkey, my goodness, he took a crazy hard hit from Cardinals linebacker, Mack Wilson. He hurt his chest, did not return.

3:07And interestingly, in that matchup, because Maconkey is such a fantasy name and star, Daniel, you had rostered him and were playing him against me in a matchup that we were, you don't want to, would you not want to? Maybe I should, I should, you know, that is a thing. You did get a little bit of a bump because of that. He was crushing until that moment, unfortunately. But we will definitely monitor the Ladma Conkey situation. Hopefully it is just a, this week kind of a thing and we'll be able to find out more from Adam Schaefter as we move on. But yeah, hopefully I get more from my guy, Rad McGronkey, as we move into it too. All right, Liz, let's dive into a new segment that we have called, What the Fantasy? Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast. Well, I thought the Bears game got out of hand in like a really good way because Ben Johnson said he wanted the Bears to be the highest scoring offense in the league. And he made good on that promise at least in week one because the Bears Panthers contest

4:08was the highest scoring week one effort in NFL history. And yet this is the WTF moment, Colston, Loveland, one of the most highly drafted and coveted players posted a goose egg for fantasy managers. He was unable to convert either of his looks though it is worth mentioning that one of them sailed right through his fingers in the end zone. So while the stat line obviously stinks, I am not scared. He is highly valued. I'm going to lean into it. The Bears host the Vikings in week two, another divisional matchup. While it may not be ideal from Minnesota defense versus Chicago offense as it pertains to tight end position perspective, it is worth mentioning that the Vikings gave up 65 yards to Tucker Kraft in week one. So I'm not pushing the panic button on Loveland just yet. Okay, not pushing the panic button, but zero points in week one when they scored an NFL record Liz Lose. That's the thing.

5:09What the heck happened there? Crazy. How about my guy? Christian Watson. Can I tell you that it's really tough when you talk down about a guy, all draft season. Only for him to come out and smash in week one. Here's the thing when you're talking draft season, I'm worried about season long prognosis, but week one is a weekly game. I'm just trying to beat my opponent in week one and Christian Watson helped you do that. Six catches, 147 yards, two tuddies, and he had eight targets. There is a reason for me to be concerned about whether or not he's going to be consistent and healthy for the entire year, but Liz, when this dude is healthy, this is what he brings to the table as a field stretcher for Jordan Love. 100%. Christian Watson may not be the most targeted receiver in the Packers offense, but he is the one with the highest ceiling and he proved that particularly on an 81 yard grab against a nut. I love these division rival games to open this season.

6:09This is my favorite thing in week one is just to see the clash immediately. I didn't work out for the Packers who are now last place in the division. Ultimately, but Christian Watson ceiling and volatility were both baked into his ADP. I am feeling very good about him and I'm feeling even better knowing that he plays the jets in week two. Oh, mama. Alright, let's dive into our biggest takeaways from the week. Then here we go. Well, let's start with two running backs that proved to be worthy of the 1.01 picks, both Jameer Gibbs and Bijan Robinson cooked in week one. Now Gibbs touched the ball 34 times for a total of 186 yards and two rushing scores, 33.6 fantasy points in week two. He will see the bills, but we still love what he did. Dan Campbell said that he wanted Jameer Gibbs to be his bell cow and he's doing just that.

7:13Over in the ATL, Bijan Robinson who traveled to Pittsburgh touched the ball 29 times for 173 total yards as well as a receiving touchdown. No to a tongue of Iloa, no problem. Cooper Rush just handed that ball, checked it on down to Bijan Robinson and earned fantasy managers over 31 fantasy points in the process. By the way, Bijan gets the panthers in week two. We're going to talk about Deandre Swift a little bit later, but we like that match up for Robinson. Yeah, both of those running backs absolutely smashed this week. How about a wide receiver that we didn't expect, Liz? And Jalen Coker. Oh my gosh, age for 138 and two touchdowns here in this game against your Chicago Bears. And part of this, this is a little bit of game script because the panthers just had to say, you know, throwing they had to keep up with all of this one. But then why did Ted O'Romell and only have five for 75? Are we worried that maybe the sleeper is waking up and becoming a bigger part of this offense? I'm not worried about it. I think it's great.

8:13And I do think you're right. The game script needs to be factored into this equation and also coverage. We know that TET is the number one wide receiver and was drawing the tougher defensive coverage here. Sure. I think that Jalen Coker is certainly after today worthy of topping Eric Moody's waiver wire list today as well. Yes, I'm with you on that. Every game day starts before the lights go up. Before the snap, before the roar, something's already at work. Cleaner, quieter, energy, production. Running where the game lives. Strong enough for fourth and goal, smart enough for what comes next. Powering game day. Powering the fans and powering the communities that show up every Saturday. The same energy that runs your stadium, runs the schools and the hospital in your neighborhood. That is performance powered by blue energy. Powering game days. Powering communities. Many people's first serious relationship didn't start with a kiss.

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10:17All right, let's talk about the next one. How about Derek Henry? I mean, listen, we talked about how Derek Henry be an older running back. Sometimes I've said some maybe not great things about over 30-year-old running backs, but Derek Henry is not one of those guys. He's got a body that seems like it just won't quit and we saw that 24 carries, 144 yards. How many touchdowns did he have? Did he have three touchdowns? Three! Three, a hat trick for Derek Henry. And you know what I think is the most interesting about this is that there was, I don't know, not just because of his age and because of the odometer rating, if you will, on Henry, but the fact that there was a new regime coming, new coaching regime coming over, new offensive coordinator, and Declan Doyle said, my goodness, I want to say right after the calendar shifted into 2026 that he wanted to, he wanted to quote, hunt big plays and my goodness, at least for one Sunday, he did that both with Derek Henry and with the offense as a homing, Derek Henry had at least one run over 30 yards.

11:17So that running back cliff the people like to talk about, he ain't on it yet. No, no, and Lamar Jackson looked fantastic, especially when say flowers was healthy. Those two looked great while they were out there. So I'm very excited to see what this offense looks like next week against the Saints. What about David Montgomery Liz? I got to give you some props. You were talking about this dude, the entire off season, and then he comes out, also pulls a hat trick out of his pocket in week one girl. Girl, congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, here's a really cool stat. David, this was David Montgomery's first multi-rushing touchdown game since week three, ironically, against the Ravens last season when he was a member of the Lions. So, you know, I think we have to temper expectations, but all of that, Woody Marx is going to steal, no, David Montgomery heard y'all calling him old, and he said, nah. Oh, girl, the perfect RB2 right now, all the things that we talked about,

12:17it was almost, it looked exactly like you had thought. Let's run the ball as good as we can. They tried to play good defense, turns out Josh Allen still is very good at quarterback position. Anyways, let's move ahead and talk about the other side of that one, DJ Moore, kind of heard the same thing. We were like, you know what? No, no, no, I guess the Texans, you got to fade this guy. And then he shows up with five for a hundo and a touchdown, 21 fantasy points in his debut. Another former bear just showing folks that he needed opportunity, not that he was washed, that Josh Allen in fact had been begging for a reliable downfield threat for years and he finally got it in DJ Moore. You know, there's a lot of talk to you heading into this game about like, Moore being used as a decoy. You guys, DJ don't overthink this. Josh Allen needs something. And when Josh Allen asks for something, he's Josh Allen, so he gets it and DJ Moore is the player that the front office decided to gift Josh Allen to. Y'all, DJ Moore, even though he's not flashy,

13:17even though he's not 24 years old, he can still produce and he is still attached to the best quarterback in football period. I'm with you on that one, Liz. He looked fantastic here and we're one excited to see what he looks like next week or maybe not that excited against my lines in week two. Girl, is Gino cooked or is it not cooked? No. Okay, so the opposite of that. Gino can still cook. Gino is still stable. You know, we play this little game on fantasy focus countdown, FFC, the show that you and I do on Sunday mornings. There's this little segment called the survivor segment and I decided that I was going to take the jets because I believed in the stability that Gino Smith could offer. And I also thought that that stability might, by extension, be on this little survivor game, help stabilize Garrett Wilson's floor. Both of those things happened. I mean, Garrett Wilson converted six of seven for 79.

14:19Is it exciting? No. But does that mean that via volume and decent efficiency, he can provide low and wide receiver numbers? Sure. Does it also mean that I get to crow and insufferable about next Sunday when I'm on set with you because I picked the jets, which everybody bought that? Both things are true. Yeah, I'm with you. What we saw from the jets today, whether you liked it or not because you watched the game, was what we want in fantasy football. It was a two-headed fantasy attack and Breeze Hall at the running back position. And him featuring Garrett Wilson, he had seven targets, the next closest wide receiver or anyone else on the team was three targets. So he clearly, the number one wide receiver there. You know who wasn't the number one pass target in his offense, Liz? Are you going to say it was pretty good? It wasn't kind of... Yeah. What happened here? That one. Bucky Irving took over. We were all in on Gainwell being the guy we hyped him up, especially with that pass catching ability. And then not only did he disappoint from a running ability, but it was Bucky Irving with seven

15:21for 48 on seven targets. I think that is the most surprising part. Now, I will totally own this. I wrote about how I was down on Bucky Irving. I pounded the table for Gainwell in PPR because of his pass catching ability all summer. I will fully own it and I was definitely surprised not so much that Irving led in terms of carries, especially with Sean Tucker, not playing, but that Gainwell, who's coming off of this career season from a pass catching perspective, would just manage one target and one reception while to think that game in general against the Bengals, the Bucks Bengals game was... There's a lot going on in Tampa Bay. Yes, I'm with you. I'm with you. We got to figure some things out there because that running back room is going to be something interesting to figure out. All right, really quickly. We got two more things. One more thing I want to talk about before we move on. Justin Jefferson.

16:21Unfortunately, we talked off the top. Lost this guy in Kyler Murray. Carson Wentz did the best that he could to give us exactly what we needed. Eight catches on nine targets for Justin Jefferson. 92 yards and most importantly, two targets in the end zone. 31.2 fantasy points. Is this one of those things Liz, where it's just like, well, of course. We knew that the value you were getting on Justin Jefferson at the end of the first round was going to be too good. I mean, I think that my issue with the argument was that everyone was expecting Kyler Murray to be the savior. But I don't think the Kyler Murray needed to be the savior. I think everybody was confused about the fact that... Do you know that JJ McCarthy entered this game as the Vikings emergency QB3? Yeah. Right, I think we were so... The like, the smoke of the JJ McCarthy bomb that hit, confused us about Justin Jefferson's ability to produce despite the talent under center.

17:22And he does have a rapport with Carson Wentz. So as long as Justin Jefferson is buoyed and producing, I'm not really concerned with who's under center. He looked pretty happy here in week one. He was getting the football way to play. Especially when they upset the Green Bay Packers, which means the Packers are in last place in the NFC North just saying. Love that, gotta love that. Alright, last one. I really don't wanna talk about this, but I know we have to. Because there were so many massive fantasy potential players in this game, the Chargers. I mean, I think that we nailed Lad Maconkey. 5 for 82 and a touchdown on seven targets, and he left early, unfortunately. But like, he was looking like we had expected as the number one target in a Mike McDaniel offense with Justin Herbert. That's a potential elite upside. Everyone else, it felt like just sort of disappointed Quentin Johnston. I know he had six targets, but he didn't really deliver O'Marion Hampton. Super grateful that he found the end zone because he was not utilized as a pass catcher.

18:22Otherwise, it would have felt like a terrible day for him. Were we way off on the Chargers in this McDaniel offense? Or is that an overreaction here in week one? I think it's a bit of an overreaction in week one. I think could we have really just underestimated the Cardinals given the new regime that was coming in, by the way. One LaFlaur brother, very happy. The other one, again, quite literally upset. Yes, I think that maybe especially the run game, right? Because we saw Jeremiah Love make his NFL debut and so much of last season for the Cardinals was a below average run game, which I think had, which meant that the offense kept flailing like I am to get out the sentence, right? But now that there is an established run game, the offense can find more of a foundation. It can find more balance. And so I think I'm unsure if we just underestimated the Cardinals rather than overestimated the Chargers.

19:22I want to see how this Boltz Squad responds in week two against the Raiders. So there is a good match up for them. I'm with you. There is no excuse for them in week two. No, no. One thing that did not change, even with Drew Petsy and the OC that used to be in Arizona now moving on to Detroit Lions, Trimic Bride's still good at football. Oh, heck yeah. Nine for nine for nine for five. I'm going to touch down on 13 targets. That guy is going to be amazing no matter what. As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back. So, if you want to upgrade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery. They're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Granger knows safety is always a top priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRanger.com or just stop by. Need parts fast? Oh, Riley auto parts as fast.

20:24Need them now? We've got now. No matter what you need, we have thousands of professional parts people doing their part to make sure you have it. We're oh, Riley fast. Just one part that makes oh, Riley stand apart. The professional parts people. Oh, oh, oh, oh, Riley. Auto parts. As you know, managing maintenance, repair and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Granger has your back. From professional grade products, you can count on to fast, dependable delivery. They're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Granger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner in protecting both your people and your facilities. Call 1-800-GRanger. Click ranger.com or just stop by. All right, Liz Lose. Let's do one final segment before we get out of here.

21:26Just when I think you couldn't possibly be any dumber. You go and do something like this. And totally redeem yourself. Liz Lose. I did admit that I was wrong about Bucky Irving. But I got a lot of slack for pumping up Deandre Swift in the week one edition of Facts vs. Feelings the Column. I was very excited about him. And we just talked about two other running backs that managed hat tricks. Well, Deandre Swift was another one. He carried the ball 18 times for over 120 yards and three rushing scores on the matchup was solid. The Panthers did put a lot of resources into this defense to pump up the run defense. But as we like to say, both you and I regularly evolution takes time. Transitions don't happen overnight. And we obviously saw that not only is Deandre Swift ultra dynamic and the clear RB1.

22:31Also, if Deandre Swift keeps blocking the way that he did in this game, he's not leaving the field. It is worth mentioning that Kyle Menungai did manage 100 rushing yards and he found the end zone at an incredible 61 yard run. That was awesome. I think though that had more to do with the matchup than with volume. So I wouldn't rely on a ton. But I do think that Swift is the definitive RB1. And with so many field stretchers, even if they didn't get fed necessarily the way we wanted them to in this contest, Swift is going to find holes and produce on a regular basis. He looked unbelievable this week. Revitalized. He did. He looked revitalized. It's basically if you've played running back for the Detroit Lions, I mean, Jimier Gibbs looked great. David Montgomery look great. Deandre Swift. Maybe that's what it is, Liz. Maybe that's. Well, who was the OC when he was in? He was in. Okay. And that's now his head. I mean, he did. Well, we pick him. But you know, Ben Johnson might have a touch.

23:31I want to say something. I got my Drake call wrong. Drake may call. Drake, Drake may may call wrong because I still trusted him this week when I shouldn't have against Seattle. To be honest, heading in to halftime, he had 10 fantasy points. He had almost 40 yards rushing and a passing touchdown. I felt good and then he fell apart. But you know what I wasn't wrong about. Tell him. Number one quarterback in fantasy football. Josh Allen. Yeah. I mean, the dude was unbelievable. If there was one person to say, you know what, no matter what I do, I'm going to have him as my quarterback one every single week. It's Josh Allen because he is Superman. Three hundred and thirty four passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 23 rushing yards, two rushing touchdowns at the goal line. Number two quarterback in the game, 35.6 fantasy points only behind your guy, Caleb Williams, who had over 37 fantasy points in week one. Josh Allen, I mean, listen, we know that he was going to be good. Mike Clay only missed his projection by like 15 points or maybe a little bit more than that.

24:32We didn't expect him to drop 35. But come on. Josh Allen, unbelievable. Still, always deserves to be QB1. I've got to give you props on this because you were the only ESPN rancor that had Josh Allen as your QB1 despite the matchup at Houston. I think some I and I as my QB3, you and man, you had him as the QB1 heading into Sunday's action. And I feel like sometimes we get a little bit on our head because we see all these numbers, all these stats and we know the Houston defense is incredible. And we saw how Allen has struggled against this defense historically and in past efforts. So, you know, the data said we should downgrade him. You though believed in the Superman and you were rewarded. Congratulations. All right, Liz Lose. That's going to do it for us. I put a wrap on the very first edition of the fantasy focus Monday Morning Rapid Reaction Podcast. Thanks for hanging out with me. In case you want to listen to more of what Liz and I are doing, Liz, we do a facts versus feelings show every single Thursday. Where can people find that?

25:33On YouTube's? Yes. On the NFL YouTube page. Now that was great. That was fantastic. And so go check that out on the YouTube's and then Mike Field and I every single morning you can find us 10 AM Eastern time doing the regular podcast. And that's going to be it for us. For Liz, my name is Daniel. We'll see you guys next time. Many people's first serious relationship didn't start with a kiss. It started with a kickoff or perhaps it was love at first hike. But unfortunately, many of these football lovers don't live in the same city as their team, which is why Marriott Bonvoy has hotels close to nearly every NFL stadium, bringing fans closer to the teams they love with over 30 different hotel brands. So if you want to stay closer to your team, check in for Game Day with Marriott Bonvoy, the official sponsor of the NFL. We'll see you there.