Last Call Week 15 Start Sit or Just Forget
Welcome to the fantasy football playoffs…or as we like to refer to it the private party where the liquor flows freely and we hope the last call will hold off for just a few more (hours) weeks.
It hasn’t been lost on me that the premium and well plays from last week both left injured and if we are being honest weren’t that productive before their injuries. This is the precautionary tale that may be telling us we need to stay away from dive bars for the time being and just concentrate on what is on that top shelf.
But first, we should celebrate making it this far, now for our celebratory toast we could just go with the good ole Champagne toast…but where is the fun in that? We are our fantasy football playoffs and damnit that deserves something special.
This week we are going with Mezcal for our liquor of choice, it’s smoky and it’s alcohol-forward, but that is precisely what this occasion calls for. And nothing speaks to your accomplishments as much as being both naked and famous so let’s do it with the Naked & Famous cocktail.
A little background this cocktail was created by Joaquin Simo, and this is how he describes it, “The Naked & Famous is indeed the bastard love child borne out or an illicit Oaxacan love affair between a classic Last Word and Sam Ross’ Paper Plane cocktail.” (He had me at illicit)
Naked & Famous
You Will Need
¾ ounce mezcal
¾ ounce Aperol
¾ ounce yellow Chartreuse
¾ ounce lime juice
You Will
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Add all the ingredients in a shake with ice and shake until chilled
Strain into a chilled coupe (or martini) glass
Drink and Enjoy
And now onto our premium, well and mat plays for Week 15.
Premium Play, Quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
The good news is that this game will be played indoors. The better news is that Tagovailoa is really good at football, especially since his return in Week 8. He has three straight games with over 300 passing yards, with zero interceptions (hear that Kirk Cousins) and leads the league with a 73.8% completion rate. In his last five games, he has averaged 22 fantasy points, and he has thrown 11 touchdowns in his past four games. That great news combines with the fact that the Texans are tied with Atlanta in allowing the most touchdown passes to opposing quarterbacks (26).
The Texans are coming off their bye week, but before the bye they allowed Jacksonville Jaguars’ backup quarterback Mac Jones to throw for 235 yards with two touchdowns and zero interceptions and Tennessee Titans’ Will Levis to pass for 278 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
What is most noteworthy on both is that Levis attempted only 24 pass attempts and Jones 32. In his last three games, Tagovailoa has 47, 46, and 40 pass attempts.
The Dolphins are still playing for post-season, per NFL.com they have a 13% chance of making the postseason (they are two games behind the Denver Broncos for a wild card appearance) and this game against the Texans is a must-win.
Since the Dolphins’ run game has been subpar as they are averaging 49.3 rushing yards per game in their last three games, expect the Dolphins’ 71.07% passing percentage to remain what propels the offense.
Well Play, Running Back, Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
Hubbard has been playing his butt off, per Yahoo Sports’ Sal Vetri, Hubbard has been a top 10 running back six times this season, and in nine of the last 11 games he has at least 100 rushing yards and a touchdown. He has in fact rushed for five touchdowns in his last five games.
Now that Jonathan Brooks is out, there is little worry about a timeshare in the Panthers backfield.
The Cowboys’ defense has gotten better with a healthy Micah Parsons back not allowing a running back to rush for more than 60 yards, including holding Cincinnati Bengals’ Chase Brown to 58 yards on 14 carries, but Brown did manage 65 receiving yards on six receptions.
Hubbard isn’t known for his receiving prowess, but he did have four receptions of five targets last week.
Unless your name is Saquon Barkley, Kyren Williams, or Derrick Henry it is unusual for teams to rely on one running back in the backfield (the proliferation of running backs employed by the San Francisco 49ers non-withstanding), Hubbard is the primary in Carolina which equals opportunity which is exactly what we need for fantasy relevance.
Mat Play, Or Just Don’t Do It, Quarterback(s) Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler, New Orleans Saints
I would even add Derek Carr if he wasn’t already potentially sidelined with a concussion and a fractured left hand. This has (almost) less to do with who is under center and more to do with who is on the other side.
This game will be a homecoming for cornerback Marshon Lattimore who was traded from the Saints to the Washington Commanders. It will also be Lattimore’s first game since Week 8 when he suffered a hamstring injury playing with the Saints against the Los Angeles Chargers.
New Orleans interim head coach Darren Rizzi has not indicated which backup would be under center for this matchup, but you aren’t seriously considering putting either in for your fantasy playoff fortunes.
This game is all about Jayden Daniel’s return to Louisiana, Lattimore’s return to the Dome, Washington being playoff-relevant and the Saints currently being not very good at football. Look for Daniels and Lattimore to make meaningful impact statements.
*NOTE: The Saints have announced Haener as their starting quarterback for Week 15 per CBS Sports.com😵💫
“It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~ Confucius
“Never give up on something you can’t go a day without thinking about.”~ Winston Churchill
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